Buried Truths | Critical Role | Campaign 4, Episode 23 Part 2

Summary

Critical Role Campaign 4, Episode 23 Part 2: "Buried Truths"

Airdate: April 28, 2026
DM: Brennan Lee Mulligan

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on a daring and chaotic heist at the Arcanade, the fate of the mysterious Pariah Blades, and shocking supernatural developments that threaten the lives—and very souls—of the party. The characters grapple with high-stakes deception, magical confrontations, and revelations about ancient, god-killing artifacts. The pacing is electric, with life-or-death stakes, gallows humor, and major plot advancement, culminating in a wild sequence where a cursed mask, a family secret, and the ambitions of rival houses collide.

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Key Discussion Points & Story Beats

1. Arrival at the Arcanade & Chaotic Shutdown

• [01:16–06:46]
  • Bolaire (Belair) and Hal return to the Arcanade, only to find their staff in disarray after Lady Dacen Cormoray abruptly orders all work stopped.
  • Comedic exchanges with the staff about dinner and accidental overtime set a slightly farcical tone for the chaos to come.
  • Bolaire attempts to smooth over staff confusion and covertly shut down operations:

    Belair: "Why don't we send everybody home for the evening? Since clearly we're supposed to stop production anyway." (04:04)

2. The Pariah Blades Heist

• [06:46–13:14]
  • Hal and Bolaire plot to smuggle the legendary Pariah Blades to the theater, mixing in replicas to obscure their actions.
  • Stealth and perception checks unfold with tension and some mishaps.
  • As they move the last blade (the one that "struck down the God of war"), Hal senses a supernatural chill and wind—an omen of trouble:

    Brennan (DM): "The temperature in the room drops a couple degrees..." (10:55)

3. A Sudden Confrontation: Lady Amaria Dacen Cormoray Arrives

• [15:45–28:14]
  • An elegant, dangerous figure—Lady Cormoray—catches the duo mid-theft.
  • An intense verbal sparring match ensues as Belair and Hal attempt to bluff their way past Lady Cormoray using quick improvisation and deception checks:

    Hal (deadpan, as he dons a feathered headdress): "Oh, this does stand out, though." (22:36)

  • Lady Cormoray's insight is terrifyingly high (plus 12!), and she sees through most lies, escalating the confrontation.

4. Magical Duel: Deceptions, Spells, and Suggestion

• [28:15–37:14]
  • Lady Cormoray seizes a Pariah blade and demands an explanation, exposing a forged document.
  • She casts Detect Thoughts on Belair, who resists, then attempts to pry further—a magical battle of wills unfolds.
  • Belair manages to cast Suggestion, astonishingly breaking Lady Cormoray’s defenses:

    Brennan (DM): "You have caught a tiger by the tail... the fact that that counter failed and then her wisdom save failed is an unbelievable stroke of good fortune." (36:00)

5. Descent into the Secret Vault & Unleashing a Curse

• [39:14–47:28]
  • Escorting Lady Cormoray to Bolaire's secret vault as per Suggestion, they expose her to a mysterious coffin.
  • When Lady Cormoray opens the coffin, a cracked black mask flies onto her face, possessing her.
  • She’s overtaken by the spirit of Termina—Bolaire’s long-dead sister—who drags her bodily into the coffin and vanishes in a supernatural burst:

    Hal: "Her whole body just got hoovered into this child sized casket and closed." (50:01) Belair: "That was my sister. She’s been dead for 80 years." (49:09)

6. Aftermath: Shock, Regrouping, and Revelations

• [51:01–63:03]
  • The group regroups at the rookery, hiding the blades and the now infamous coffin.
  • They exchange harrowing tales in classic “after-heist” fashion, lacing trauma with jokes:

    Hal: "Shit is fucked." (54:44)
    Belair: "It's so fucked." (54:45)

  • A broader discussion follows: the missing Cormoray, the corrupting power of the coffin, and their own complicity.

7. Unpacking the Ritual & Ancient Magic

• [63:36–71:38]
  • Murray delivers a dire vision: the Taconus family’s attempt to summon an “angel of death” capable of razing the world.
  • The arcana check (nat 20!) reveals the extent to which halfling, elven, and necromantic magics intertwine in the artifacts and the coffin.
  • Theories emerge: is a fragment of the trickster god enshrined in the mask? Has the party inadvertently helped assemble a ritual that could shatter reality?

    Murray: "Pretty sure the Taconuses are trying to summon an angel of death to storm the Golden Orchard..." (63:36)

8. Stagecraft & Subterfuge: Hiding the Evidence

• [71:38–80:47]
  • Elaborate magical stagecraft: painting the coffin and blades to conceal their magic signatures using enchanted prop paint.
  • The box is labeled “Extra wigs (maybe lice)” to ward off curiosity:

    Hal: "I paint in simple words: Extra wigs." (79:18)

  • The party finally gets a moment of comic relief amid exhaustion:

    Hal: "Some days you just have to embrace the absurd." (80:30)

9. Downtime & Professional Fallout

• [81:07–92:24]
  • The next days unfold with the crew taking “normal” jobs, feigning ignorance as investigations ramp up over Lady Cormoray’s disappearance.
  • Staff at the Arcanade, and the revolutionary guard, begin probing into missing persons and missing artifacts—but the group covers their tracks for now.

10. Gathering Allies: Army in Waiting

• [96:47–98:31]
  • Azune’s contact Varin Cadorn returns:

    Brennan (DM): "I got about 350 guys that are interested. Wow." (98:09)

  • The scale of the group’s insurrection grows—setting the stage for open conflict.

11. Closing Reflections

• [98:56–99:41]
  • The cast decompress, marveling at their survival and the wild narrative turns.
  • Classic closing:

    Hal: "That felt like being on a roller coaster with one wheel off the track." (99:09)
    Brennan: "And for everybody else, the only question I can think of is, is it Thursday yet?" (99:15)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Belair, on staff confusion:
  “Really just continue to be you. Phenomenal.” (04:04)

• Hal, on the heist:
  “Then let's rob this place fucking blind.” (06:50)

• DM on Lady Cormoray’s resistance:
  "She is a lady of asundered house. Remarkably powerful." (24:35)

• Belair, desperate:
  "I have not made a threatening move yet." (34:48)

• Brennan (after successful Suggestion):
  "You have caught a tiger by the tail..." (36:00)

• Hal, after the coffin erupts:
  "Her whole body just got hoovered into this child sized casket and closed." (50:01)

• Murray, on the true threat:
  “Pretty sure the Taconuses are trying to summon an angel of death to storm the Golden Orchard and bring upon an army of undead unlike anything that we've ever seen and lay wastes to all of Ahriman.” (63:36)

• Hal, re: stage paint plan:
  "I paint in simple words: Extra wigs." (79:18)

• Comic relief after all the chaos:
  "Some days you just have to embrace the absurd." (80:30)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Arrival at Arkanade & Heist Setup: 01:16–06:46
• Pariah Sword Vault Intrigue: 06:46–13:14
• Lady Cormoray Confrontation & Deception Attempts: 15:45–28:14
• Magical Duel & Suggestion: 28:15–37:14
• Descent into Secret Vault / Termina Awakens: 39:14–47:28
• Post-Heist Confessions: 51:01–63:03
• Murray’s Vision & Ritual Theory: 63:36–71:38
• Stagecraft Hiding Scene: 71:38–80:47
• Downtime/Investigations: 81:07–92:24
• Recruitment Army Update: 96:47–98:31
• Debrief and Outro: 98:56–99:41

---

Overall Tone & Final Thoughts

The episode balances breathless action with existential dread and irreverent humor. The team narrowly escapes exposure, only to unleash something perhaps far worse. Characters remain in-character, with moments of camaraderie and comic relief offsetting genuine horror at what they’ve set in motion. Tensions escalate for future confrontations, and the undercurrent is clear: the world of Exandria stands at the edge of something catastrophic, and this chaotic band may be its only hope—or its accidental doom.

---

Is it Thursday yet?

Transcript

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[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

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[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Hello again, it's Brennan Lee Mulligan, and you're listening to part two of this episode of Critical Role. If you haven't checked out part one yet, pause this now and head over there first. What are you doing? Otherwise, let's jump right back into this adventure and the world of Ahriman. We return to Dolmakyar, leaving our friends in their horrific vision to instead venture off to the Archonaut. Bolaire and Hal, the evening has worn on each other. After a long walk across the bridge, you guys arrive at the Arkanade. And what I would love is a luck check from Taliesin.

[Belair]

What is a luck check?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

A luck check is us seeing how unlucky you're about to be. Sure.

[Belair]

What do you want me to roll for?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I want you to roll a D20 and I want you to. And I just think you don't want to get a one through a four.

[Belair]

Let's try this one. All right.

[Hal]

One through four. One through four.

[Belair]

Oh, 16.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

16.

[Belair]

Sorry.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You arrive. You arrive at the Arcanade. You've been out for a little while, but you spent the whole day there. As you arrive, you see that one of your staff comes up. Who's here? Most of your staff is here. Late because it's a crazy day. She runs up to you. This is Rosadella, archimist Rosadella, who comes up and says, I'm so sorry, Master Lothalia. Message has been left for you by the Lady Dacen Cormoray has there. She was quite cross and we were forbade from doing any further work. And she said to put everything back. And then I had to explain that because multiple systems of taxonomy were occurring simultaneously that it would be impossible for us to put anything back without continuing our work. And she asked me to explain that and I did. And she looked very cross again and said that you were to speak to her at once as she's confused about why the work was begun so promptly. And I spoke on behalf of the Loy Wing and said, we endeavor always to begin promptly. And she said in the future that we should wait for direct instruction. At which point I said, instruction from whom? And then she sort of looked at me and smiled and walked away.

[Belair]

I want you to know and think very carefully upon how well you just did. Really just continue to be you. Phenomenal. Let's put a hold on certain things in a moment. We'll put a hold on things for a moment. We actually have to pick up some things for the theater really quickly. Why don't we send everybody home for the evening? Since clearly we're supposed to stop production anyway. Everyone can go home and start having some thoughts about how to start putting everything back. Don't think you're hot on it. Are really not going to do it anyway.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You see that? Spiro raises his head. He's got a massive multiple lenses contraption of glasses to closely inspect things. And he says, are we being sent home right away? We did think we were working late and did send out an order for dinner.

[Belair]

That's very fair,

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

relatable. I'm sorry we did it before you come. But you. Oh, forgiving Master Lothalia. You've never eaten with us one time.

[Belair]

No, no. Usually have better company. Ah, kidding. Love you all. Since there is dinner coming, you might as well continue, have the dinner and then go home early.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

All right. You see, everyone says, all right, well, we don't have to continue work if it's not necessary. Everyone pause work. We'll wait for dinner. And you see that they all sort of head off, leaving you and Hal in the wing here as a couple, folks. Even some of these people leaving Rosadelloux and says, hal, good to see you again. Hello.

[Belair]

Evening.

[Hal]

Evening.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Excited for the gala. Assuming that we are working that night.

[Belair]

I'M of the opinion that you will not be working that night. I think my opinion is this is an event. Everyone should enjoy the show one way or another.

[Murray]

Oh, lovely.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

So are we, our staff, invited to the.

[Belair]

Not officially yet. I've got to deal with whatever this insanity is, but it is my hope, and I would hope that you know that I am pushing for it.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

If there's space. If there's space. Absolutely. No, I won't be pushy. And you see that they talk. I will be.

[Hal]

Everyone deserves a little revelry.

[Belair]

Echo.

[Hal]

Echo.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

And you guys are left. As the archivists and curators funnel out. It is absolute fucking chaos in the loitering room right now. You see the main doors are closed. Everything's been pushed into the centers of the room. Everything is off the rack. And you can see that a place that is normally sparse and has lots of distance between these massive exhibits is now cluttered with stuff that's been dredged up out of the vaults to be sorted and resorted. And resorted up here on the main floor.

[Hal]

You still have closed carriages and wagons on premises?

[Belair]

We have one ready to go.

[Hal]

Then let's rob this place fucking blind.

[Belair]

Excellent.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Go ahead. If you would be so kind. And I'd like you guys to give

[Murray]

me

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

a group stealth check, which means that because there's only two of you will just take the higher of the two rolls and then a group perception check.

[Hal]

Okay.

[Belair]

Start with stealth. Yours will be higher.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Nope.

[Belair]

Sure. Nope. Oh, no.

[Hal]

For me, it's a six.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Great.

[Belair]

You're higher.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Wow. Gotcha.

[Belair]

I'm a one.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

As you guys are moving through the. Have all of the pariah blades that you have access to been brought up to this main floor?

[Belair]

Well, they're still. The notion is they were still in the lower levels where they're normally kept. I've just mixed the fake ones in in a way that it would be nearly impossible to tell which is which if you didn't know.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Go ahead and give me. What I would like to know is this. How many pariah blades are up on the main floor? How many are below, and how much access to your private vaults? Like, there's the vault and then there's your private vault. How much access did any of your staff have?

[Belair]

They were not allowed access to my private office and they did not even know, I don't think. And that wasn't even like there was clearly a private. It was a private office and they had no idea. There's a secondary thing in there that is a well kept Secret.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Gotcha. Great. But for the blades, which are not in the private vaults.

[Belair]

They are not.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

How many have come upstairs?

[Belair]

None. They are all in the vault next to my office.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Gotcha. Okay. Or not the private vault next to your office.

[Belair]

No, no, no, no, no. They're in the normal downstairs there. It's been too busy to get them anywhere really. Would have been weird if they were not there.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You guys begin to take. So you go down, begin to get the various blades and go ahead and give me a perception check. If you'd be so kind.

[Hal]

Catch hold of Bolair. Spin him around. It's been a while since we nerded out over the arts. It's almost like the world isn't in free fall.

[Belair]

I needed this.

[Hal]

Let's. Let's not fuck it up. And I pump bardic inspiration into your.

[Belair]

What do I get out of that

[Hal]

central nervous system that is a D6. To add to stuff? Features and traits. Features and traits. Yeah. D6, I'd say.

[Belair]

Here's to the heretics, but all the gods are dead. Here's to being deep in sedition.

[Hal]

Let's go.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Great. I'm gonna need a perception check for each of you.

[Belair]

I'm using that die. And I'm really glad I did roll well.

[Hal]

O'. Brien. Okay.

[Belair]

I'm really glad I did.

[Hal]

It's been dog shit. Now it's just mediocre. 11, 11, 16.

[Belair]

Thank God. Just.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Oh, my crap. You guys are downstairs moving. You know, your stealth check is basically like, how quickly can you make sure? Because essentially, as you move the real blades to the theater, where are the replicas going?

[Belair]

They're staying.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Replicas are staying.

[Belair]

Yes.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

But they're being marked to be recovered by the loids. Potentially.

[Belair]

No.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Okay.

[Belair]

What I have done, what I am doing is I'm moving the real ones to the Lloyds and then I'm leaving. They don't know, in theory, the Lloyds do not know that there are replicas exist. Why would they. So my thought is to leave the replicas and insinuate that they're not replicas, that I sent the Lloyds the replicas. Some of the real ones, but some replicas as a way of being a good boy.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Gotcha. Okay. Understood. On a 16 perception, you move the pariah blades into the wagon, the real ones, as you go to the final one, the one that struck down the God of war. And you pick that up and begin to move it. How? The temperature in the room drops a couple degrees in a way that on that 16 perception, you can't help but notice you're deep in the vault and can't help but notice a rustle of wind which the doors are closed upstairs. So you're not sure why that's happening.

[Hal]

Okay, so not emanating based off the end of that. Not emanating from the blade itself. Quick question also, how big is the blade? Is it a sword? Is it a sword?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

It is a longsword. You look and see the blade that was crafted by Tysha's great grandfather who you know, you look at it and it is a beautifully weighted. The craft of the blade is impeccable, but it is made of sort of cold iron. It doesn't look. There's no gems in the hilt. It is a breathtaking in its earthiness, its mundanity and humble and utilitarian in its design.

[Hal]

I freeze while holding the blade and I want to. I try not to tell that I have been bumped by this change in the atmosphere, but I want to see if I can hear anything anywhere around us or tell from if there's anything in the vicinity that is causing that.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You pause. There is wind up above you in the main hall, which there should not be, but you can hear wind blowing.

[Hal]

So the layout of this place is that we have to go back up the way we came with this stuff.

[Belair]

We at least have to go up into the labs. I think that would be up to you. If there's a way to get out. Normally there would be a way to get out without going through the main. But there's no way out of here. There's only one way out of the.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

If your carriage is in that back loading dock area where Thiazi dropped off the paint, you will not have to go back up the way you came.

[Belair]

I do have to get the box from it. At the very least from the. From the lab. It's not the main part of the museum. But I do have to go get the box.

[Hal]

I quickly also quite a bit quicker because of that change. Grab some other period historically accurate non God killing blades and headdresses and garb of the time to be used in the production? Or at least to say they will be used in the production. When we're moving these things, do we have some sort of a librarian's cart or the equivalent of.

[Belair]

Yeah, fancy Home Depot cart.

[Hal]

So I make a little bit of clutter with other lesser blades on top of the important ones.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Gotcha. But all of the blades have made it into the back of the carriage.

[Hal]

Yeah, well, like a cart.

[Belair]

Right.

[Hal]

Moving through the and we're talking about there being a carriage or wagon outside.

[Belair]

Yeah, like going to a con. The dealer's room.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Great.

[Hal]

Get in the golf cart.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You get in the golf cart. Go ahead and give me a. Give me an acrobatics check, both of you, for how swiftly you are able to assemble. Come on. Acrobatic had it worse

[Belair]

still. Shit.

[Hal]

What do you got? Dirty 20.

[Belair]

Oh, thank God.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You load up the cart and begin walking as you get to the place where the hall diverges. One staircase going back up to the main floor and another that heads off towards the. The loading dock where that paint originally was from. Thyazi. Both of you can do a perception check.

[Belair]

Ah, fuck.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Come on.

[Hal]

Yes, it's. Oh my God, it's 21.

[Belair]

Fucking done with that.

[Hal]

Yes.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

The footsteps are walking through the hall. None of them are the soft slippered feet of curators. There is a clack of refined raised heel and elegant design that is marching towards the staircase. Antechamber. Antechamber.

[Belair]

Where to hide?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yes.

[Belair]

Let's go to my office then. Actually, if we're at the back, we can just load the card and go and I'll try and come back for the box later.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

This is your museum.

[Belair]

They're coming from upstairs.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

From upstairs?

[Hal]

So that's a no for

[Belair]

not at the moment? I don't know. Well, there's other people here right now.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

It's gonna. Tomorrow.

[Hal]

I'm start pushing tomorrow.

[Belair]

Yeah. I say it's better to just get the fuck out of here then.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

So you guys are going to abandon the cart?

[Belair]

No, we have the cart.

[Murray]

We're gonna.

[Belair]

The footsteps are coming from behind us. Right. So we can just push the cart

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

to get it to the. You've pushed down to where the path splits. One going to the loading dock and another headed to the staircase that goes up to the main floor.

[Belair]

So. And the footsteps are coming from upstairs.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

From upstairs.

[Belair]

So let's just go to the loading dock and pretend this is not our problem.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Get the fuck out of there. Okay, you guys go towards us again. You head to the loading dock. Gotta get this ready as you arrive there.

[Murray]

Oh, God. Oh no.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I'm going to need initiative from both of you.

[Belair]

Well, fuck off.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Oh my God. Who can get the fuck out of Dodge quicker?

[Hal]

It's a six for me.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

18. Oh my God.

[Hal]

Flip.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Great. 18 from Bolaire.

[Belair]

Mm.

[Murray]

This is so cinematic in my head right now.

[Belair]

Yes.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I'm going to need. As you guys arrive at the carriage now. Valeria, you can hear the footsteps too. They're coming down the staircase. The loading dock is not a secret area.

[Belair]

No.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

And I am going to need. Animal handling for the horse. Acrobatics for loading or. Sorry, let's do. No, for loading quickly. Yeah, we'll do acrobatics for that. So we need acrobatics and an animal handling. I'll need one of those checks from each of you and all. So each of you are making two. That's four in total. All four need to be above a 10.

[Hal]

Are you better at one of those?

[Belair]

Nope.

[Hal]

Because I'm dead even.

[Belair]

I'm dead even.

[Murray]

Both have to do it.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You both have to do it.

[Hal]

Oh wait, you're doing both.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You're doing both. And they all have to be above 10. So let's go one at a time. Let's go ahead and give me the acrobatics first. Let's see if they're both above a 10.

[Belair]

They're above a 10.

[Hal]

Yes. 13.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

13.

[Belair]

And what do you do? Plus minus 17.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

17. Okay. You both walk up, hear footsteps behind you below. You hear it now too. Load up the wagon as fast as you can. Just everything goes in the wagon. And then I'm going to need animal handling as a sort of sleepy horse that's like stabled here looking at the entrance of the loading dock. So I'm gonna need a 10 or higher on animal handling from both of you. Good girl.

[Hal]

Good girl.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Good girl.

[Hal]

Good girl.

[Murray]

Oh boy.

[Hal]

Good girl. It's a six.

[Murray]

Nine.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Six. No tap. She's coming.

[Hal]

We succeeded and failed.

[Murray]

She's coming.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

The horse doesn't know. Both of you jump onto the front of this carriage and realize you are not carriage drivers. Oh, by the way, I will say if any of you have vehicle land proficiency, you can swap that in. I don't imagine you would. What's a vehicle?

[Belair]

Land. I've never heard of that first.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

So you guys aren't fucking with land Vehicle couldn't be beat.

[Belair]

This is New York. No one drives.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Oh boy. You realize why cid Teor's brother was so involved. It's like no one knows how to drive a carriage in this fucking town.

[Hal]

I feel like we're missing something as you get there.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Going, trying to get this horse to move and just sort of waiting for like yeehaw.

[Hal]

Go horse, go, go.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You got you. Only Bair can act first on that 18. You cannot howl as the footsteps round the corner and are about to approach onto the loading dock.

[Belair]

How many footsteps does it sound like?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

1.

[Belair]

Just one.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

One pair. One set.

[Murray]

But she's in those Louboutins. She's in those murder shoes.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Oh, no. Okay,

[Belair]

I'm going to calm myself. And I know it's coming, but I'm just going to act natural. And I just want to take a look at what the disposition of this person rounding the corner is to whether or not. And I'm preparing to cast a spell, depending on the face that I see and just how angry or otherwise they are.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Great. Rounding the corner, beautiful white gown, hair in braided rings set with gold, and a sort of long ivory fingernails painted white to match. The gown is the Lady Amari Adacen Cormoray. She turns the corner. Master Lothalia.

[Belair]

Hello, dear. You are the next person on my schedule. I heard you had some issues with the speed and movement of what we're doing here.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Not at all. She turns and says, to whom may I direct my attention here?

[Hal]

Helldilfang, owner and purveyor of the Hallowed Round and the Rookery here in Dolmagjar. Pardon the late hour, but we are here to acquire some accoutrements for the production at hand. And we've taken some bits and bobbles. Nothing too problematic for you, I hope.

[Belair]

I have the list of what we're pulling right now upstairs. We suddenly realized that with everything going on at the museum, that it was going to take look over here. Way too much time to put together the normal list. So it seemed prudent to just get it done with now so I can get back to the gala and this nightmare.

[Hal]

Oh, this does stand out, though. And I pull a huge feathered headdress and go and put it on my head.

[Belair]

Save it for the theater, dear Lord.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Okay, I am going to need a deception check. I'm going to need a deception check in. In this moment. From, I think from both of you, actually. So both of you go ahead and give me deception.

[Hal]

For me.

[Belair]

Terrible. For me. Nine.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Nine.

[Belair]

Why am I. Oh,

[Hal]

no, it's good. Because of Silver Tongue. Anything less than a 10 is a 10. So for me.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

And that's an advantage.

[Hal]

That was an advantage. So just two tens.

[Belair]

Oh, you have advantage. I don't have advantage.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

18 for me.

[Belair]

I don't. I have advantage. Okay, that's crazy.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

18. And you had a bardic inspiration that you've already used, correct?

[Belair]

I already burned that. Mine comes out like anything I do. Cause nothing I said is a lie. But clearly I'm not saying everything.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yes. Lies of omission.

[Belair]

There's a lot of dice back there.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Oh, my God. What's about to Happen he stood up. I'm about to roll an insight check. Sure. Okay. I like it when we react to what the numbers are. You rolled an 18. Correct. The Lady Amaria Dacen Cormorrae has a plus 12 insight. All right, so you need a. Get out of here.

[Murray]

Under a six.

[Hal]

Get out of here.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You need a. She is a lady of asundered house. Remarkably powerful. Uh huh. You're looking for a five or lower. Oh, God. Oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh.

[Belair]

No.

[Hal]

No. Shot.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

10.

[Murray]

No.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Do you. I'm not there. Oh, you have to be there.

[Murray]

I'll be able to see her.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I know. I'll see you down there. Okay. Both of you have just forfeited your lives.

[Belair]

I don't think that. What are you talking about?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She raises a hand and the last Pariah blade shoots out of the wagon into her hand, gleaming with the blood that she left when she cut herself. I tried to clean that motherfucker. God damn it.

[Belair]

I'm personally of the opinion that

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

she lowers the blade to point directly at you.

[Belair]

There's a. There's a piece of paper upstairs that will explain what's happening.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Take me to it, Belair. You too, Master Fang. Are Luis and Marcia under the table?

[Hal]

Yes, they're talking down there.

[Murray]

We were talking about making a pillow fort for safety.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Come join the table of kids. She turns and says.

[Belair]

I was really hoping not to show you this yet.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I do not know what form of sedition or conspiracy is at play here. Only that I'm tired of the noise of little vermin running around wherever I'm not looking. So you'll take me to wherever this explanation is? Balare. And might I assume it's in an area of the museum I've never been before?

[Belair]

No, it's actually. Honestly, it's just. It's up in the archivist's workroom on one of the desks, stack of paperwork.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Go ahead. And to what is Boldera referring in this book?

[Belair]

I'm referring to the document that says that the swords don't belong to us.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Gotcha. Do you lead her there?

[Belair]

Oh, yes.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She walks with you to that office. As she does so, you arrive there and she investigates the document in front of you. Oh no. I am so sorry.

[Belair]

No, I'm excited.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I did just roll a NAT toilet.

[Belair]

Oh.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

So you know, she takes it and says the Lois have requested the Pariah Blades back.

[Belair]

Apparently.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Are you so easily fooled by a forgery? And she burns the letter in front of her.

[Belair]

You think.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I am going to need a wisdom saving throw and she is going to heighten spell to have you roll at disadvantage.

[Belair]

Okay. God, I was. I was just gonna fucking go for a thing. God damn it. Okay, that's on me for holding before casting a spell for too long. That's on me. You're gonna. I need to roll wisdom at disadvantage.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Wisdom. Disadvantage.

[Belair]

Wisdom. Save. Here we go.

[Hal]

This is just a woman in a beautiful dress.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah.

[Hal]

Now holding a pariah blade.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah. In hand. Okay. With really cool hair. Super cool hair.

[Belair]

18.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

18 is the lower of the two.

[Belair]

Yeah. I got a Nat 20 on the other one. Hell yeah.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Whoa. Da da da. She casts a spell and you can see that she's beginning to pry into your mind.

[Belair]

I'm curious how that would go, genuinely, because that's never occurred to me. I'm. I'm. Do I know that she's doing this?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah. She makes no bones about it, you see. Takes a hand and begins to cast detect thoughts on her.

[Belair]

I'm going to cast suggestion on the other direction.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

As you go to cast suggestion, she is going to counter it. Roll initiative.

[Murray]

Oh, no.

[Hal]

I have to go home.

[Belair]

I thought you get away with it, but no, nevermind.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Why are we there?

[Belair]

Are you rolling initiative 2? Are you weirdo?

[Hal]

I did it.

[Belair]

13. Shit.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Go to meet them. Okay. Hold down a second.

[Belair]

You're gonna get die down.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Killed by a very hot blonde.

[Belair]

That's terrible.

[Commercial Voice]

A five.

[Belair]

That's absolutely terrible.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Oh my God.

[Belair]

I had such a great roll at the earlier. At the earlier one and then this one just went to.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Oh, shit.

[Belair]

Okay, so I don't make it to this, do I? Or. No, I burn the. If she gets the reaction, then I burn the spell, don't I?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

No, go ahead. Well, she has her reaction ready. She's not using it for any reason.

[Belair]

Okay, so I don't get the spell doesn't get countered. Then let me go ahead.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

What's your initiative?

[Belair]

My initiative is 5.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

5. And for Hallendil.

[Hal]

13.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

13. Okay, So as she goes to. As she goes to cast detect thoughts. You cast suggestion in response to that. Hal, do you do anything as this is happening?

[Hal]

I think I. I think I am trying to put faith in Bowlaire to turn the situation around. Oh, we're so far behind. I know.

[Belair]

Yeah, I know. Actually, hold on. It may not have been suggestion.

[Hal]

It seems like a bad idea to light this woman up. I know that we might have to.

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[Hal]

But suggestion and those two spells are happening ahead of anything or the suggestion. These are falling in initiative.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She casts detect thoughts. You are casting suggestion in response, which

[Belair]

is a wisdom saving throw, which is

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

a wisdom saving throw throw. But she's going to counter that, which she can do. I think we're going to resolve this counterspell and then enter into initiative on Hal's turn. Does that sound fair? So the suggestion might go through. You've already resisted the detect thoughts. This is going to be fucking sorcerers. Mm. I'm gonna use the Legacy rules for counterspell here because I find them much like the athletics checks for Julian during the Seekers table. I find them to be very fun.

[Belair]

You're here.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Okay. That's a second level spell. Correct. So she just needs on a seven or higher, she's going to counter that spell. One she does not counter the spell she's unable to counter. What is the suggestion that Baler is making in this moment.

[Belair]

This is a giant, huge error, you know. This is a huge error. You're going to put the sword down. We're going to go back down to the archive and just have a very reasonable conversation about this.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

After you.

[Belair]

I have not made a threatening move yet.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

That is true. You suggest a course of activity script. No more than 25 words, as you can see.

[Belair]

You can go downstairs and have a nice conversation about this.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Okay. She does still have to make her wisdom save.

[Belair]

She does. I thought she just did.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

That was her counter she was entering.

[Belair]

Counter.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Oh, counter. Okay, so now she gets a wisdom save against her, I'm sure, highly strong. Your difficulty here, I believe, is currently a 14. Correct.

[Belair]

You're 14.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You're looking for a seven or lower on the die.

[Belair]

Okay, I'll take it.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Four.

[Belair]

Wow.

[Murray]

Oh, my God. What is happening right now?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I have a headache. She. Blair, I need to tell you. As this magic works its way onto her, you have just. This woman, you realize, flew here alone. The moment someone touched the Pariah blade, some magic that she had on it alerted her that it had been disturbed. Right. When you detected that the temperature of the room dropped, that was her on her way here. Having immediately felt that the blade had been touched, you have caught a tiger by the tail. The fact that that counter failed and then her wisdom save failed is an unbelievable stroke of good fortune. As she lowers the blade, she says, finally, you see reason impudent to resist the spell in the first place.

[Belair]

I. I just want to keep my job. Honestly, I just want to keep my apartment.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Both of you have been lying to me. Take me downstairs at once. And Bolaire, I want to see. And she grabs the lapel. You realize that she believes part of the suggestion working is that she believes she defeated it. She thinks that for suggestion to work for the duration of this spell. Right. Cause suggestion must sound achievable. Not above anything that would obviously deal damage to the targets or its allies. It's like she's under the Charmed condition right now.

[Belair]

So she buys it.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She buys it. But you can see the way that's manifesting in her mind is that she overcame whatever. Yes.

[Hal]

She's won.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

So she goes downstairs at once and let us converse.

[Belair]

I have a question.

[Hal]

Part of your wording was to put the sword down.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah. You see, she's lowered it.

[Hal]

Oh, she didn't put it down. Down.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She didn't put it down. Down. But she has lowered the point.

[Belair]

Yeah, there's a couple little things I put in There that we'll get to. But I am.

[Hal]

Hal had inhaled to unleash if need be and just quietly goes

[Belair]

as I'm dizzy. I very specifically put forward the after you to her so that she can walk ahead of us. It was part of the suggestion. It was part of the suggestion.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She takes off down the hallway.

[Belair]

I follow. I'm just going to make a little to you to. I'm just. We're going to have to deal with this. Prepare. So as we walk down.

[Hal]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Before you start walking.

[Belair]

Yeah.

[Hal]

I'll place a hand on your shoulder before you start to follow. And very careful, but clear as a bell. You just hear Hal's voice.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Careful.

[Hal]

And cast aid. So five hit points. Target max and current. Go up by five. Myself as well.

[Belair]

We are as long as you know we are about to get into this.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Oh, boy.

[Belair]

A version of getting into this at the very least.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah. She takes off headed back downstairs towards the vault.

[Belair]

I following.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah.

[Belair]

As I do, I am going to open my office door.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Mm. You open your office door. And this is to the real office.

[Belair]

To my real office.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She smirks. Suggestion lasts for eight hours. Yep.

[Murray]

Eight hours.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She smirks and says, I always knew you little officiants had your hidey holes. Look at this.

[Belair]

I'm trying very, very hard to. To give you a gesture of good faith.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She begins to walk down, seeing the massive stone giant's hand.

[Belair]

Oh, we're not down there yet.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Closer.

[Belair]

Got you.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Gotcha.

[Belair]

We are not down there yet. To the big vault.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah. Oh, my God.

[Murray]

Hidey holes.

[Belair]

Now, I'm going to need a little bit of. Need some trust on your end because I'm going to be laying out a little bit more than I ever have before. I want this job.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I want to keep it. Well, of course, I understand that both of you are now very much negotiating for your lives.

[Belair]

I open the door to the secret vault.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You open the door. Refresh my memory. The upper real office that doesn't have the coffin in it. The coffin is all the way down.

[Belair]

All the way down.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She begins to proceed down. Oh, no.

[Belair]

Well, I offer her the big fucking spiral staircase down. The one that doesn't have a rail, by the way.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah.

[Murray]

Maybe she'll trip on her dress.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She can barely find.

[Murray]

Break her neck. Came over.

[Hal]

Do we hear any staff anywhere else in the museum from where we are? No. Great.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

No, no, she.

[Belair]

Is she wearing a dress?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah, she's wearing a white dress. Pretty white dress.

[Belair]

Yeah.

[Murray]

I was done.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She begins to walk down the staircase.

[Belair]

I Kick.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You kick. Okay.

[Belair]

Or actually, no, I've got a sword. Well, no, because I want to shove. Actually, I don't even. Actually, I'm going to do one.

[Hal]

What a journey.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yes.

[Belair]

Do we do physical or do we do mental? That is the question, isn't it,

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Baler? I'm gonna ask for an insight check.

[Belair]

Yeah, I would love an insight check. That would do really well, you insight.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She's level 18. I'm just kidding. I'm not.

[Belair]

How hardcore is this woman right now?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

First of all, this woman, you can tell from how wind swept the gown and everything else is this woman flew here under her own power.

[Belair]

Okay. She's that good. All right. That helps.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yes.

[Belair]

Hold on. I'm just trying to get a sense of where I'm at. Thank you for that. No, I'm just. I'm trying to figure out the best way.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You have caught a challenge rating similar to a dragon.

[Belair]

Okay.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yes.

[Belair]

Good to know.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah, yeah. Just need to be very clear that you are two third level characters who have managed to pull off a suggestion on a character who challenge ratings in the double digits. Okay. She proceeds down the staircase, walking with you, Balare and Hal. Both of you. Watch again as she, holding the Pariah blade, moves down, sees the massive stone arm. You've got your suggestion on her. She's charmed. The fact that you have averted death is incredible. Is incredible. As she gets down to your real office, she moves past the handle and says, treasures unfold. Look at this. Wonders never cease. And she walks into the office, points. You can sense the pride of pointing with the Pariah Blade. She points at Oblad's coffin, which is on your desk, and it seems to be the thing you were last working on. I thought it was upstairs. Shit.

[Belair]

That's okay.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She.

[Belair]

Yeah, fuck. This works fine, you said. Yeah, I know.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She gets down into the office, points at it and says, what is this?

[Belair]

I have no idea. It's mine. Doesn't belong to museum, but I have no idea. I was just starting to. Honestly, this was what I was going to be working on tonight before I was interrupted.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Go ahead and give me persuasion or deception with advantage because she is charmed. It's basically true.

[Belair]

All right. Oh. Persuasion or deception, it doesn't matter. It's the same. 18, 19, 24.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

24. She standing before the coffin, looks at it and says, Halfling?

[Belair]

Yes.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

What are you belair?

[Belair]

A very tired veteran. Not a halfling, obviously.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She turns and says, and are you aware of what you are guilty of, Mr. Fang? In this moment Stealing from the Archonaut.

[Hal]

We're discussing a family heirloom.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She looks back at the coffin wood taken from the wastes Salandri. Fascinating. You see, she casts detect magic. Interesting looks at it. What motivated you to try and steal the blades?

[Belair]

I was attempting to return them to their owner.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

So you had this theater proprietor help you return them to their owner?

[Belair]

I was moving a bunch of things out of here. It's a fucking mess right now. One trip is better than many. And I know every day that I wait everything getting catalog filed and eventually moved down the bloody hole.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She smiles. You are either a fool or a liar. And once I have these treasures returned to the beneficence of House Cormoray's vaults, we're going to use as much magic as it takes to find out.

[Belair]

I assure you, I am not a liar.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She reaches out to the coffin and says, we'll see. And for you, Mr. Fang, after we're done here, I think I'll curry a little favor with an old friend of mine and drag you by the earth to the Fotarch's home. She's been so excited to meet you. Maybe you know something about her son. Think you've bitten off a little more than you can chew. She opens the coffin, looks into the mist and says, now what have we? A cracked black mask shoots out onto her face and she stumbles backwards, hits the deck and falls into a row of things behind her. One moment. That is nat. One on the die. See? She goes as the pryblade falls. The mask looks up as the cracks congeal. You see that? She stands up, looks at you, Bolaire.

[Hal]

I'm grabbing the pariah blade while that happens.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Give me. Go ahead and give me sleight of hand or athletics with advantage to investigate the bonds.

[Murray]

So much is happening.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

So much is happening.

[Hal]

Sleight of hand, did you say it? Advantage.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Advantage. Yeah.

[Hal]

It was fortunate. 17.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

17. You reach forward as she stands again, she. You grab the pariah blade out of her hand with the shattered mask. This is not supposed to be a shattered mask. You hear a quavering voice, look and go, brother. And she shoots into the coffin, vanishes into the mist and the coffin slams shut. Was.

[Belair]

Do I know who that was? And can I make a guess?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You can absolutely make a guess. You don't do know who that was. But they are not supposed to be grim.

[Belair]

Was that Termina? No. Was that Termina?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yes, that was Termina.

[Belair]

Oh, no. Oh, no.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

That's.

[Belair]

Oh. Oh, wow. Okay. Fuck. I literally, I just Say out loud. Termina.

[Hal]

I literally was about to suggest you show her the mask, but it seems she has one of her own.

[Belair]

She. Oh, that. That was my sister.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

And

[Belair]

she was. Been dead for 80 years. That was my. That was.

[Hal]

That was.

[Belair]

That was the mask.

[Hal]

Termina, I've got the blade. Grab the box

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

and you're going to leave the archonaut. Fuck. Oh my God. Termina. Why?

[Belair]

Termina, you asshole.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Oh no.

[Belair]

Okay, I'm good.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Oh, no.

[Hal]

Plus 12 on insight. Plus 12.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Plus 12 on insight. He's high level. He's high level.

[Belair]

Yeah, Termina. Real bad.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Oh, no.

[Murray]

We're in so much trouble.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Oh, I'm not in any trouble. I don't know if you die.

[Belair]

Yeah. Did terminate. Did die. Right.

[Hal]

But she got hoovered.

[Belair]

Terminate?

[Hal]

Yeah, her whole body just got hoovered into this child sized casket enclosed.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yep, yep. Yes. Who put the fr.

[Belair]

Okay, no. Okay. That's gonna be a whole explanation later. Shit. Dude.

[Murray]

You fucking Lady Cormoray just got sucked into a box by a.

[Belair]

By big sis. Yes, I am. Yeah. Oh, no. Oh, wow.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Settle. Yeah, I'm good.

[Belair]

Settle.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

We return to Matsune.

[Hal]

Act casual, guys.

[Murray]

We don't know anything.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Anything.

[Hal]

We're all about this candle.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You guys are like, we're about to blow their minds. Yeah.

[Murray]

Whoa.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

We made some discoveries. Okay. Oh, God. Are we at the rookery at this point waiting for them? I think you're at the rookery waiting for them. We'll just cut right to the rookery. You guys,

[Murray]

I've explained everything that I saw.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

The vision. My mind is blown. Yeah. So I will explain it. The vision you saw, right. Was not a vision of things that have happened. Yes. Your identify mixed with your augury happens to work extraordinarily well. Because the magic item you were identifying is a source of potency for great workings of magic. As such, in identifying it, you were able to catch some residual waves of what this was being used to power. And essentially that augury cast it slightly into the future. So once this angel of death is created, what is it supposed to do? What it was supposed to immediately do did not happen because the ritual failed. Right. But the phase two can happen the hard way. And what you saw was sarcophagi, stone statues, glowing eyes, and a voice calling for the white banners. Did you happen to see where those coffins were being marched?

[Murray]

The. The.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

The. I'm still definitely there too. No, it's okay. I think you guys are at the rookery. Hal's old, so you guys are like at an old theater. There's some puppets like, like piled up on a little like bench looking out on the street.

[Hal]

Oh, that little theater in la.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah.

[Murray]

A little. So ambitious.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

And Azune and Murray, you guys are a little rattled at what you've discovered. Yes. And I think you said you see Bolaire and Hal riding on the driver's seat and shotgun of a carriage pulling up. And these are the faces.

[Hal]

I am mint green, Hale.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Mint green.

[Belair]

I don't know if I think I'm just reflecting your green. And it's a nice bottle. This is just. The mask is just. It looks like the tragedy mask is just sunk solo.

[Hal]

Shell shocked. Shell shocked. What took you so long?

[Murray]

Murray's kind of leaning on Izune. Just fucking spent. Absolutely exhausted from everything and from the vision. Honestly, I'm not sure how much more I'm gonna have in me tonight.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I won't.

[Murray]

We might have to save some of this investigating for tomorrow.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah, that sounds good. I think I need to sleep on some of what we learned.

[Murray]

Yeah.

[Hal]

We've arrived here.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yes. You guys pull up in the carriage. I'll see if they need a hand.

[Hal]

I.

[Murray]

What?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

What?

[Murray]

Looking at their faces, I just.

[Hal]

With Pariah played in Liar's Blade on my back and Pariah blade in hand, I don't say anything. I walk past them. You watch me walk into my theater. I cross the inner chamber, go to a side cabinet, open it up, grab a couple bottles of Yargraz, bring him to a table with a bunch of scripts in the middle of the room and lay the Pariah Blade down on the table.

[Belair]

I'm going to walk up with the rest of the swords. Including the broken ones.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yes.

[Belair]

Just drop them on the table and grab some of that bottle.

[Hal]

Funny story.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Uh huh.

[Hal]

Shit is fucked.

[Belair]

It's so fucked.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah.

[Murray]

What? We know.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

We don't know that. You don't know.

[Murray]

You don't know what I saw.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah, you don't know how fucked we are.

[Murray]

What did you see?

[Belair]

Ah.

[Hal]

Who goes first? I'll flip you for it.

[Murray]

Boulder, parchment shears.

[Hal]

Boulder, parchment shears.

[Murray]

Oh, wait, are you.

[Belair]

Oh.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

We're not going on shoot.

[Murray]

Why are we doing 1, 2, 3.

[Hal]

I'm the 1, 2, 3, shoot guy.

[Murray]

You were. I was compensating.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Shoot. Okay.

[Murray]

Okay.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

How come we don't get to play?

[Murray]

I get to choose.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Okay.

[Murray]

You go first.

[Hal]

I take a huge slug of Yargrass.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah.

[Hal]

Got the prime blade.

[Belair]

All of them.

[Hal]

That part worked.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah.

[Hal]

Whole family.

[Belair]

We've got the coffin. We've got the box.

[Hal]

Got the coffin. Comes with a catch.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah.

[Murray]

Why is your mask sweating?

[Belair]

Well, we got caught moving.

[Hal]

Good news is we handled it.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Okay.

[Belair]

The bad news is we didn't handle it. Someone else did. The box opened up and they spuffed.

[Commercial Voice]

It did.

[Belair]

And my best way to describe it, I suppose, is my long dead sister hopped out, took over someone's body and sucked them back into the box.

[Hal]

Oh, Cormoray.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yes.

[Hal]

Cormoray.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yes.

[Belair]

Who's now in there, witch?

[Murray]

Cormoray.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Lady. The.

[Belair]

The Cormory who was going to kill us? Maybe. Possibly. I don't know.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

We were dead.

[Murray]

Wait, so you murdered Lady Komray?

[Belair]

No, My sister did. No, I had nothing to do with that. I told her not to touch the. I was very, very.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

That was my box.

[Belair]

Don't touch my box.

[Murray]

Oh, my God. She felt sweaty.

[Hal]

Mist. Mystery. And then something shot out of the box mist and latched onto her face. And then she. Right in. Like water down a drain. Okay.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

And she was going to kill you.

[Hal]

There was.

[Belair]

There was. It was not going to end well one way or the other. She was going to take the sword she had.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Who.

[Murray]

Who all know. Who knows that Lady Cormory was with you?

[Belair]

Honestly, I don't think anybody probably knew she was alone. As far as we knew, no one, almost nobody knew that we were there who didn't work for us. And they.

[Murray]

But do you know if she told anybody where she was going? She could have told her entire house where she was going.

[Belair]

She could have. I don't think she could.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She did. She was at the Penteveral. Right? That's where they might expect her to be.

[Belair]

Yes.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Where she's posted up.

[Belair]

Well, I got the sense she had just come around specifically to see us.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Did anybody else see this happen?

[Belair]

No.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Then this is not so bad.

[Belair]

It happened very far away.

[Hal]

I mean, it's bad.

[Belair]

It's bad.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

But you getting killed because you got caught is worse.

[Belair]

Oh, way worse. Yes, of course.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

What do you.

[Murray]

What type. What drugs are you all on? Because, please, for the love of gods, give me some. Because we have Primus Suconus is missing. His son, Octa Saconis is missing. We now have Lady Cormoray missing, Lord Davinos dead, his son missing.

[Hal]

Yes. I believe you had a story for us.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yes, please, to calm you down at least a little bit, to let you know what I'm sort of on. Where are they pointing fingers at right now with all of these people that have gone missing each other. And nobody saw this happen?

[Hal]

No.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

And you're Alive. And that's all that matters to me.

[Hal]

When we were at the loading dock area, you would have called out if there was gawkers around.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Nobody. Nobody that you saw. The only loose end is depending on who was having dinner upstairs, Right?

[Hal]

She might have passed other people at a different point earlier. They might have known she was in the building. She could be placed in the building, but she also.

[Belair]

There's a need.

[Hal]

It's in the building. A significant amount. Right? I'm talking above the table.

[Belair]

Oh, yes. Oh, yeah. And also there's an easy way out of the building. Anyway, if she was going to see us, she could have left by the back. There's nothing unusual and there's no. Honestly, there's no evidence that. I mean, everything bad that happened, happened so far away from prying eyes that it couldn't be more.

[Hal]

I don't feel foolproof, but I think we're all right.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

We'll find out soon enough, but at least you're here.

[Belair]

She got possessed by a hundred year old God killing mask and then sucked into a tiny box.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Okay,

[Belair]

I don't think that leaves a lot of clues.

[Hal]

We have to get through some things here. Yes, yes.

[Murray]

Don't beg. You can try and be more pedantic about it. Belair. What?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

How much control. How much control is she under? Is it like your situation?

[Belair]

Oh, no, my sister. No, my sister is a much bigger issue than me. She's. She's the.

[Hal]

She's a God.

[Belair]

Prison.

[Hal]

Tell us all about her.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She's a God? Yeah. What you know, Bolair, is nothing in the process of what you and your sister and your other four siblings did. Cracked her. She never broke. Like you don't remember. What was a success did not result in her breaking. So her breaking is a thing you would associate her breaking with her being destroyed? The fact that she was broken and speaking to you and her voice didn't sound the same either. It sounded extremely unusual.

[Belair]

Okay, good to know.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah.

[Belair]

Because, I mean, she was the first part of that trap. She was the mask that captured the goddess.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You convinced the goddess to wear your sister and that was the beginning of how you.

[Murray]

Yes.

[Belair]

She was the thing that. That locked her into the story. She was the part. She was the part of the mechanism that started it. She was no thing. She was. I don't know how we work. I don't. I. She was. She was one of the first parts, which means she was very strong. She didn't have to begin her part of the ritual halfway through. Once things had weakened since Things were moving. She was just an explosion.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

And she. At the end of everything that you did, she survived?

[Belair]

I didn't think so. I. When you are made by people, it is very, very difficult to know what thoughts are real and your own and which thoughts have been put there. And when you conduct a ritual in the first hour of your existence, everything in there has been put there. So I actually, I can't tell you what is true that I know because it was all made for me.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Okay.

[Murray]

Sweating like a pig on a spit. Oh my gods.

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[Murray]

Pretty sure the Taconuses are trying to summon an angel of death to storm the Golden Orchard and bring upon an army of undead unlike anything that we've ever seen and lay wastes to all of Ahriman.

[Belair]

At least that's in character, right?

[Hal]

But that one of your hunches?

[Murray]

No, I kind of saw it when I looked into the candle. I stared at the candle. Candle.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

This candle.

[Belair]

Plop candle.

[Murray]

Showed me a vision, Saw octys face. I think they were trying to turn Octus into an arbiter of death and destruction and lay waste to Faerie and all the realms beyond.

[Belair]

How real? How long did it go?

[Murray]

Didn't work. Obviously.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

It was interrupted. Okay, but they have a backup plan that's meant to take. Well, it takes longer.

[Murray]

It does take longer, but they're trying

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

and they're already on the move.

[Belair]

This is very upsetting.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

And there's another one of these out there in the world. As I point to that candle, this

[Murray]

seems to be like a shortcut to what I assume is a very complicated ritual.

[Belair]

Is any of this ringing a bell with anything I would have seen in the museum or otherwise?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Give me, give me Arcana or religion.

[Belair]

All right, thank you. Enjoy. A natural 20 for a 26 on Arcana.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

This is part of the Taconus were a part of. I mean, the Taconis were the people that their job was spurring humanity on to the realm of Tansul, right? They were a house of old Obrademia, but this was the main dwelling place of that God. It was like his chosen empire. Right. And I think on that NAT20 you see that this candle is a corruption of an old inheritance. Right? The Taconis were always a house of death and corpses, embalming, funereal rites, the passage through the underworld to realms beyond. And in the absence of a beyond, they just. It's like being the gatekeepers on half of a bridge that goes straight into the water. It's all corrupted. Necromantic magic, right? And I think balaire on that NAT20. On that nat20 old ballad's coffin. This is manufactured, right? Like this coffin was not. It was made. These plates are real plates taken from halfling holy places added to this coffin. This is a corruption. This coffin was. Oh, no, this is part of something wrong. And you realize that Termina fundamentally is still a part of the halfling tradition. Like Terminia was made by rebels of the halfling shapers war. The halflings stood up against their God as well, their shaper as well. So in other words, this is a coffin for a celestial of the trickster goddess.

[Belair]

Fuck me.

[Announcer]

Okay.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

With the halfling mask that bound her, shattered into it.

[Belair]

Oh, no.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

And there's something going on in all of this. You connect to this. There was the whole Stone of Night song, which Velas had come chasing that. So someone's attempting this. You go, there's a vast shape moving on the world. That has to do with how the gods mediated to realms beyond. Why?

[Belair]

So why would I think that she was destroyed if she wasn't? Why would you put that into a thing's head unless there was a reason to not go looking for them? Oh, what if there's a sliver of the trickster God stuck in the mask?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

What if that's a thing?

[Murray]

Sounds pretty fucking likely.

[Belair]

Cause this is all clearly, there's a.

[Murray]

I mean, the crack that you were describing in the mask also feels a little literal and on the nose.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

And she. The way you described, she seemed different.

[Belair]

Her voice was wrong. She looked off. It was wrong.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

And is there such a thing as undeath for a shaper?

[Belair]

There's only. There's only five of us.

[Hal]

And the last time you saw your siblings was the shapers whore.

[Belair]

We spent precisely a day together one day and that was the end of it. Does this.

[Hal]

Does this casket have any kind of clasp or mechanism? Does it seem like it could just

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

easily be a very humble latch that can be lifted with a finger?

[Belair]

I see repeating patterns.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

This is what I do on that. Nat20. The coffin has been crafted quite recently. Not only since the Shapers war ended, but maybe in the last 10 years.

[Belair]

It's just built of older pieces.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Built of older pieces. It's a Frankenstein. And just looking at this candle, you look at the candle. The candle is a Frankenstein of an old Taconis ritual that used to mean something sacred and now means something profane. The casket. The Stone of Night song. Why would an elven artifact be made to get put into octystekonis chest? And then there's something else.

[Belair]

This is a power play. Why would they need the sword? It's the sword, it's the candle, it's the mask, it's.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You've seen an elven one of the. Like the Stone of Nightsong. You saw with your own eyes. You've seen this coffin of old ballad. You have seen the. You've seen Octys Taconus who is himself like anathema to the original intent of his house which was to speed the passage to an afterlife. So he's actually. Octys is kind of the third in that line. And on Nat20 you can't help but feel like you've seen a force. There's something in the magical signature of the coffin that feels like the hum of what Murray saw at the Hallowed Round. There is some magical connection though you can't be sure. And I think you dwell again on those amphora. The paint that showed up from Thiazi and what the fuck that was all about. The hour's grown late. My understanding is that you are hiding these objects at the rookery, the old theater, right?

[Hal]

Yes, we're in the rookery.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

In the rookery. It's the rookery.

[Hal]

I will nod my head at the three of you and walk further deeper into the theater and. And leads you back to a larger

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

room

[Hal]

that has piles of sheet covered props. There's a wooden horse in here. There are costumes strewn about, some on racks. And there are multiple in the room places where there are weapons racks with stage books, stage blades and weapons of all kinds. Towards the very back of this room is another one of these. A weapons rack with three or four very broken shitty looking stage swords holstered into it. And there is a very Dusty wooden emblem with a picture of a bird carved into it. And Hal was walks all the way to the back of this room and rests his hands on the crossbar of this weapons rack. Then he leans in and pushes really hard and the whole rack goes and you hear in the floor underneath. Then he walks over to where some of the wooden slats of the floor are now uneven. And he lifts a five foot wide trapdoor up and there is a small set of stairs down just like five feet to a few chests. Some more bottles. This is our budget for the year.

[Belair]

You sneaky bitch.

[Murray]

I'm gonna leave all this hidden here then. Yeah.

[Belair]

I hope it's the right thing.

[Hal]

One additional thing. Flawed that paint.

[Belair]

Yes.

[Hal]

Presents low level nothing. Right.

[Murray]

Almost auspiciously so.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Right. Yeah.

[Murray]

There's something else to it.

[Hal]

Do we want to put the coffin in a box and paint the box?

[Belair]

I want to put the coffin in the box and I want to paint the swords as well. Or put the contours in theory and make it not look like the blades

[Hal]

don't know.

[Murray]

If we die and all this is left here, some improv troupe in like 20 years is going to have a real shit day.

[Belair]

Mm. They're an improv troupe. They're gonna hit every day to shit.

[Hal]

It's their fault for getting into the business. Honestly. That's on them.

[Murray]

Do.

[Belair]

This is how it's done.

[Murray]

Can I. Can I. This feels like all ideas welcome. Can I do an arcana check to see if that if what they're talking about.

[Belair]

It would probably be better to give

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

me an arcana check.

[Belair]

Handing the boxes is a smart idea.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I think we might be just because

[Hal]

for the first portion of this story, the paint was like nothing to see here.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

We delved into and we learned that there is underneath a layer of really something powerful underneath it. And it feels. I'm going to sit like. Because it came to me before, like it's meant to be a component for something. And if we're mixing components and mixing

[Belair]

things, at the very least I think putting it on the box that the coffin is in is not a bad idea.

[Hal]

Just lead box.

[Murray]

Okay. This is going to be. Hang on. Oh my God.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

My brain.

[Murray]

You guys.

[Belair]

Less is often more.

[Hal]

Why everything's great.

[Murray]

23 total. 14 plus 8.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah. 14 plus 8 is 24. 28. 14 plus 8. 14 plus 8. 14 plus eight.

[Murray]

Or 13 plus 14 plus 8 is 22. Is 22.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah. Good number on a 22 arcana. All of these plans carry an enormous amount of risk. But on a 22. You guys haven't said one reasonable thing all day. These plans are stupid. But. But you're not doing a common sense check. You're doing an arcana check. And an arcana check says that is a good idea. An arcana check says this. The magic that you sensed in the hallowed round was so foundations of the earth strong that the light illusion on top of it was truly some of the best spellcraft you've ever seen. You have no doubt that it would cover up this coffin. You have no doubt that it would cover up the pariah blades and it might even prevent them from being located with something like locate object, which is a second level spell, which if someone just needs to be within 1,000ft. So if you don't figure out some way to stop that from happening, I

[Belair]

think it's a great idea.

[Hal]

I don't know if it's a perfect idea. You do not have a maximum security X Men vault.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah. You don't have a Faraday chamber. So like.

[Murray]

All right, let's do some stagecraft.

[Belair]

You don't hide antiquities.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

That means you're going to have to get in the carriage and go to the hallowed round where the paint is essentially.

[Hal]

Yes. Yes.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You guys rock up to the hallowed round. Go ahead, if you'd be so kind, Hal, and give me a. Give me a performance check or a calligrapher or painter's proficiencies check. For painting. Yeah.

[Belair]

Do you want help?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I think I. Blair, actually might be the person for. In terms of having that proficiency.

[Belair]

Yeah.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Whoever is going to set to do it, I will approach you. I will put my hand on your shoulder and I will guidance you.

[Belair]

We can do it together and then

[Hal]

do a. I'm at a six.

[Belair]

Oh, you're probably. Because I'm just a.

[Hal]

Help me out.

[Belair]

I can help you out.

[Hal]

Keep me calm.

[Belair]

Yeah.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Steady your hand.

[Belair]

Sure.

[Hal]

Crazy mask.

[Belair]

Not the craziest mask anymore.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Great. It's a Rolodex of memories move through your mind. A calming memory from your past. Incredible.

[Hal]

Three on the.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Three on that.

[Hal]

And it's performance.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Performance

[Hal]

dirty 20.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Dirty 20. Of the seven pariah blades, three were broken or lost. Four yet remain whole. The pariah blades that you have with you here are painted to look. You get the paint and literally gloss and they look like stagecraft. So it's this weird thing where these blades were made the most mundane and utilitarian they could be to kill ghosts, gods, and have now been covered in magic stagecraft paint to look extra flashier than a normal sword.

[Belair]

We've McCurdied it. If you know that story.

[Murray]

It looks like a nerf gun.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah,

[Belair]

it's the train robber who was hung in a. Who looks so fake. He was hung in a.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

What do you paint the coffin to look like? Or I guess you could put it in a box and then paint the box.

[Hal]

That's what I do. And then I paint in simple words. Extra wigs.

[Murray]

Yes.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Extra wigs.

[Murray]

Yes.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Extra wigs. Incredible. Wear the leopard. Well done. Extra wigs. No, no, no, don't. It's not in Wii. It's not in extra wigs. It's in regular wigs. Don't open extra wigs.

[Hal]

I put extra wigs. Then in parentheses I put maybe lice.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Extra wigs. Old maybe. I love the idea of in the future, someone's like, we must find the coffin of Oldbalad. Check everything s. This one says it's baby lice. Ooh. No. I'm not bathing my soldiers anymore.

[Belair]

Take the handful of dust and just toss that on top of everything to give it a nice sheen and let's.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

It is once again. 2 o' clock in the morning. You are covered in paint.

[Murray]

Why does this keep happening to us?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

It is once again.

[Belair]

This was our easy right.

[Murray]

This was the easy day. We gotta sleep.

[Belair]

Go back to sleep.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I think we're gonna do the fastest of this and I'm gonna keep pushing us along.

[Belair]

Yeah.

[Hal]

I walk up to Belair and I say, some days you just have to embrace the absurd. And I've got a bunch of soot on my hand and I rub my thumb across the mask and I make a little mustache.

[Belair]

I've always wanted facial hair.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

The next day, real quick. We're not even gonna go into it at all. Everyone just give me a profession chat. Just let me know how you do the next day. I also think you guys could make the call if you wanted to to not meet up the next day given that a member of a sundered house just vanished.

[Hal]

Unless something terrible happens.

[Belair]

Working. And I've got party to plan, so I'm doing great.

[Murray]

We can't keep, like slinking off and building together.

[Belair]

We got a normal day.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Great. Everyone go ahead and give me a profession check if you'd like.

[Belair]

What's a

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

give me? Just primary spell casting.

[Murray]

Okay.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

This isn't.

[Murray]

Sorry, sorry, Brennan.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I would say give me whatever skill you feel you most use in the day to day course of business.

[Belair]

All right, let's do it.

[Murray]

This is a new day, so I would roll new portents first.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yes. That's right. Yep. Yep.

[Murray]

Let me do that.

[Belair]

Hey, long rest.

[Murray]

Let me do this.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Oh, yes. This is long rest. Everyone take a long rest.

[Murray]

This is the next day.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Okay?

[Hal]

I used Persuasion all day long as a twist. 24.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I also. If this is the next day, Murray, you have a heroic inspiration. Because if I already have a heroic inspiration, the next day I gain it. I can give it to someone if I already have it. Okay, great.

[Murray]

Now let me see.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Perfect.

[Murray]

One's up.

[Belair]

Okay.

[Murray]

I get a void shizzer. I'm gonna reroll. I'm gonna reroll with my heroic. Okay, Murray is so tired. It's 11 for me. Mm.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You see, you got an 11. I think you get one thing from Cora, who comes over to you at a moment on that 11 and goes.

[Murray]

She's kind of like. Murray's kind of nodding off at her.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Jesus. Sorry, Murray. Just want to put my head in. Hi, it's Cora. Hello. Sorry.

[Murray]

Hello.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Where did you. You submitted Hero Diven for the internship at the Arkanaut?

[Murray]

Yes, I did.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Well, I just had invited those students for a celebratory brunch to begin their program, and Hiro informed me that she hadn't applied.

[Murray]

Oh, you know what, Dean? Cora? I think she could be more of a go getter. I see something inside of her, but, you know, she's a little shy. She's a little introverted sometimes.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Murray. Murray.

[Murray]

Hello.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Who put in her application?

[Murray]

I did.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Give me Persuasion.

[Murray]

She's so tired, she can't even be

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

bothered with any bullshit.

[Murray]

Natural 20.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah. Finally you see natural 20. She looks at you and goes, unrested.

[Hal]

Betrayed.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Cause you submitted a student without their knowledge because you thought that she would be right.

[Murray]

Sometimes magpies need to be shoved out the nest. They're not gonna do it on their own. May look like they're falling and flailing, but that's how they learn.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She looks at you and goes. And this has nothing to do with how influential her mother, Elodie Divan, is with the Merchants Guild. Oh, you are naughty. I love you. That's a great call. And that's exactly the kind of effort that I want to see us taking is thinking about long term effects for the Penteval. I like it. I really like it. You see, she walks out of the room there.

[Murray]

As soon as she leaves, Marie just goes on her desk.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

What did we get for profession checks elsewhere? 19. 19. Okay, 19. Once again, you're doing your job just fine. It's just like, same pattern, same pattern. You actually get assigned that day to review the arcanade for any arcane. You see that Lord Horondas Einfast and says House Cormoray has reached out. A member of their house has gone missing and she was last seen at the Argonaut. If you can investigate and see if you discover anything, Lord Einfassen. Yeah. Oh good. I will of course agree to that task. And then I'm going to because I've been holding on to Il Kavsare's report and as I have been looking through it. Does he have any mention of getting paid in his report for the release of the prisoner? Oh, the bribe. He. The bribe. I mean, did he put that in the report? He did not put that in the report. Well, what I saw him do was I saw Hal post bail and he didn't. And so to Einfelsa and I'll say I've reviewed Il Kassar's report for the prisoner that's been released on bail that Hao Feng post it in this report. He has no mention of it on a 19 profession check. Go ahead and give me deception with advantage because of your high professionalism role. Great.

[Hal]

That's nice.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Is a 23. Oh yeah. Mr. Fang posted bail for the release of Misha Andrigor. Yes, Yakovsare. He's actually on house arrest now at the. He reviews this and says Ah, understood. Thank you very much. Yes. By the end of that day you see that Ilkhafsore's desk is empty. You see him look out in the courtyard and see he is being dragged away as the Lord Einfassen holds up the exact bag of gold that was given to him. Being like corruption in the ranks of the Revolutionary Guard will not be accepted in any way, shape or form. Absolute adherence to protocol will be demanded. And you see Ilkovsry is out of there. You don't have to face him if you want, but you just see by the end of that workday, you do that earlier in the morning, he's gone. I. Carry on, carry on. I want to add to that Balare 22. 22. 22. You're able. You spend the day helping the good Lieutenant Nyar review the arcanade for any trace of anything that might have befallen the Lady Amaria Dacen Cormoray.

[Belair]

I can honestly say. Are you looking into that or no?

[Hal]

I am.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

This is my job for the day.

[Belair]

Oh, well, I can honestly say that I've already talked to Azune and there's nothing that I know about it that he doesn't already know.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Great. So you're able to review and you find my report is just as we want it. Incredible. And Hal, you got a 23.

[Hal]

You said 22.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

22. Great. On a 22. When the performance check for opening night arrives on a 22, you can add an extra D4 to that roll. Please mark that down on your sheet.

[Hal]

Okay. For the opening night of.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

For the opening night of Kotherai, assuming you survive long enough to.

[Hal]

Not confident.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Not confident. Incredible. Da, da, da. I'm vindictive.

[Murray]

Head is spinning.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I'm vindictive. I'm vindictive. At the end of that day, so far, so good. As rattled as you are, you realize that that event the previous night has filled you. Put a fucking pep in your step. The feeling of like, I'm alert. And you see coming back from one of the street crews, you see Shadia comes back towards the end of that tank goes, dad, we sold like. I mean, we sold like 200 tickets today.

[Hal]

Oh, we're ahead of schedule then.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah, yeah, we pulled up from yesterday. It's awesome. We had a great time. These new swords are great. You see that? She holds up and she says, we started fencing with these ones and the sound they make is awesome.

[Hal]

Did you pull those out of the back?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, the old ones. Cause we were doing it and the old ones. The old ones were sort of padded and so they didn't make an exciting noise. But these new ones are like some flashy kind of metal. And I don't know, every time we banged them together, everyone just paid a lot of attention.

[Hal]

Show me.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You see that? They clang together. And as these two pariah blades clang together, the noise that was last heard in this world when these blades struck against the Titanic Glaive, the massive greatsword of the God of war, is heard in Kahad once more. And every orc in this place is filled with a sense of pride and vigor and joy of life as they go. Hey, I love that sound.

[Hal]

Hal, he almost can't talk at the sight of his daughter. Daughter wielding her ancestor's God felling blade here in the rehearsal room at the rookery. And he just sort of blue screens for a moment and says, I think we got a good show here, folks.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Great. That day, none of you sneak into buildings or commit any crimes. Boo.

[Belair]

Boo.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Boo.

[Murray]

I think Murray. As soon as the workday is done, she stumbles into her glorified dorm and face plants on the bed and sleeps for 12 hours that night, absolutely stunning.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Absolutely stunning. The next day.

[Hal]

What about the three hours where I lay in bed smiling and staring at the ceiling? Brennan, what about that?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

The roll for existential bread? Roll for existential bread. The next day. The next day, yeah. Everyone go ahead and give me a roll. We'll keep it grooving on new importance, new ports, new portents, new dis.

[Hal]

If it's the next day, then long

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

rust belair, you get heroic inspiration too.

[Belair]

Oh, thank God. So that's what do I get.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You get to do a reroll of any die.

[Belair]

Okay, I'm gonna take. This is a middle Y1, but I'll take a 12, by the way.

[Hal]

I don't announce it to anyone, but I sleep in the theater.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Great. You sleep in theater? Great. Love that. So Misha's just sleeping in your house by himself?

[Hal]

Oh, yeah. He's got a bachelor pad for a bit.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Great. I love it.

[Hal]

I'm sleeping with the pariah blades and a thing of true dread.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Great. Love it. 1919. Incredible. Hiro comes by your office. Professor Magnussen. Hiro.

[Murray]

Hi. Where's my accent, hero? Ha.

[Belair]

Feel that?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I wanted to come by and say I was really confused by why my name showed up, and I really didn't know what was happening. And now that I do, I just wanted to say thank you for believing in me. It really means a lot. I won't let you down.

[Murray]

You got a spark to you, kiddo. I believe in you. Also. Everyone else that got accepted are absolute fucking nitwits. So I'm going to kind of be counting on you to, like, keep a tight ship.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

All right? Yeah, you got it. I'll do it.

[Murray]

Hey. I hope you're doing all right.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

I'll assume a leadership position amongst the other entrants. I'll whip them into shape. I'm not going to let him slack off.

[Murray]

If you need anything or run into any problems, you come find me, okay? My office is already open.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Balare, what do we roll here?

[Hal]

12.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

12. Fine. Sort of like average workday. Just like you see the cormorays, this project, you see the whole thing. You, after Azune puts his report in, you see that? Some Cormores come by the museum. You see that? The lady Dacen, Cormory's consort husband, the Lord Dacen, comes by and just says, Ms. Lotholia.

[Belair]

Oh, yes.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Should you hear anything at all about my lady wife, please report to me as soon as possible. And for the moment, just put everything in the museum on hold, you understand? Including everything on hold. Just until we understand what's happening all right.

[Belair]

I suppose since everyone's getting paid anyway for the time and purpose, would it be all right if since we're not packing everything up, we'd just turn this into an educational field for. Might as well just use everything to make everyone better.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

You know your work better than I.

[Belair]

Yes.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

And he leaves that place. What did we get here, Hal?

[Hal]

Oh, it was 1818.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Great. Another solid day prepping for everything here. Azune. I got a nine. And this would be the day that I think I want to in particular check on Grotto after what I've put him through.

[Belair]

Yeah.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Grotto is recovering from everything that he saw. And I think on that nine, you know, it's like sort of like a subpar work day. Grotto is in recovery, looking up and saying in this sort of Brethren hall infirmary and just goes like, you don't think I'm in danger, do you? I think we're all in danger.

[Belair]

Okay.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Okay. I'll be out of here tomorrow and I'll be back on patrol. Okay. If anything. Anything comes up for you, you let me know right away, okay? Yeah. I want you to. To feel like you're safe. You got it. He nods, Looks up at you. I'll tell you, don't worry. I know what I saw. And people need to know. They do. Azune, also waiting for you that day is where your torch was at Falcon's Rest. Yes. Is a return that just says the word tonight from Verin. Okay. That night, all of you, having taken your day off, rejoin at the Seven Stars. Waiting for you out there at the front is your old friend Varen Cadorn. Aaron, he looks at you. You guys are all arrived. He says there's somewhere good for us to talk. There is. Okay.

[Belair]

Yeah.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

He walks up.

[Murray]

As he walks up, I tap my tooth and bite my nail in a whisper to Izune. What is this about, do you know?

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

This is my contact.

[Hal]

He is.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Who is recruiting people for us. All right. He's got an update. Okay, you guys walk up Faren, head shorn, sort of thick facial hair, veteran of the Falconers rebellion. He's probably six or seven years older than Azune is. He looks at you all sort of shocked to see, I think, Azuna, you in the company of academics and you know. But he just looks. Crosses his hands and says, it took me a couple days. I've already put in my notice. They paid out the rest of my wages. I'm not with Yale Brindy anymore. I put out a few feelers to a few guys. That I trust, saying if an opportunity, you know, people that were thinking about going to the Sons of the dawn, mercenaries trying to sign up for sundered houses. I said, just give it a few days before you do. If you're interested, if I can drum up something else, I got about 350 guys that are interested. Wow. Three might have gotten out of hand. No. Oh, my God. I got chills.

[Murray]

I mean, this is incredible.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

It is.

[Murray]

And also alarmingly excessive, potentially.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

She looks and says, I didn't say shit. They don't know a name. These are guys that are willing to give everything. They just need someone to say when. And that's all for this episode of Critical Rich.

[Belair]

Oh boy. Let the nightmare begin.

[Murray]

Begin.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Yeah, I know, right? Weren't you through enough? I am ready for more, baby. Yeah. How about it, gang?

[Hal]

That felt like being on a roller coaster with one wheel off the track.

[Murray]

We have so much to unpack in the corner.

[Brennan Lee Mulligan]

Cooldown. I know. We certainly do. And we will. And for everybody else, the only question I can think of is, is it Thursday yet? Thanks for listening to this episode of Critical Role. If you're enjoying this story, consider leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice. We're always looking for new critters to share our adventures with, and your review may help a new batch of wayward souls find their way to Ahriman, Exandria and beyond. Or if you want to hear what the cast discussed after the episode, head to Beacon TV and check out our exclusive show Critical Role Cooldown. You'll be right there at the table immediately after we say, is it Thursday yet? And experience our cast's post show reactions. We'll see you next time.

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