Matthew Mercer (0:00)

When it comes to getting your hair cut, don't go just anywhere. Visit the specialists who live and breathe the styles you love at Sport Clips. At Sport Clips Haircuts, stylists undergo special training to be experts in masculine hairstyles, making them masters of mullets, finessers of fades, and understudies of the undercut. It's easy to have confidence in your look when you're in the hands of a pro. Just another way Sport Clips helps keep your head and your hair in the game. Sport Clips It's a game changer. You're out here hustling, but you're also using the McDonald's app to have your favorites delivered to your door. That's hustlin smarter. Order McDelivery in the McDonald's app at Participate in McDonald's hey There critter Podcast listeners. We have a special new membership service at Beacon TV where you get early access to all new podcast episodes, including Critical Role. For the first time ever, Beacon members also get things like live event presales, merch discounts, access to a private community discord, and new exclusive series like Critical Role Cooldown. Think of it as our digital Critical Role land. Head on over to Beacon TV to check it out for yourself and start a seven day free trial. Thank you so much for your support for being a podcast listener and for being part of our community. Hey there critters. We are so excited to share with you our brand new podcast from the World of Exandria. The Re Slayer's Take. In this audio adventure, you'll be guided through the wild continent of Isilra, home to some of the most dangerous creatures. Here, the Slayer's Take is the most notorious monster hunting group in the realm. But when previously slain creatures start returning from the grave, it's up to six misfit mercenaries to band together and reslay these supernatural threats as the RE Slayers take so come follow along these audio escapades as the second coolest monster hunters this side of Exandria battle a growing undead army of dangerous creatures. The party is led by a duo of game masters, George Primavera and Nick Williams, with the main cast including Jasmine Bular, Caroline Lux and Jasmine Shiong. Listen to new episodes every Monday anywhere you stream podcasts or become a Beacon member and listen to the podcast two weeks early and uninterrupted by ads. Once upon a time, a group of curious storytellers breathed life into epic tales set in the wide fantasy world of Exandria. This is Liam O'Brien here to welcome you to Critical Role. We'll dive into the story in just a moment. But first, a few notes. This is the audio only version of our broadcast that streams Thursdays at 7pm Pacific over on Twitch TV criticalrole and YouTube.com criticalrole. If you subscribe to our Twitch channel, you can watch the video on demand immediately after the broadcast. And it's also available Mondays at 12pm Pacific on YouTube. And of course, for all you wonderful podcast listeners, freshly minted episodes release right here on the Critical Role Podcast network one week after our broadcast on Thursdays. With all that said, let's get into the story. Hello everyone, and welcome to tonight's episode of Critical Role where a bunch of us nerdy ass voice actors sit around and play dungeons and dragons melting internally and outside. Marisha, you got some announcements? Oh yeah. Darts look like little carrots. Oh, Bo. Narrative telephone is back, baby. Back. By popular demand, Beacon members can watch the first episode of this monthly series right now as Matt tells our very first story. This go around that the rest of us, we try our best. Very naughty. It's gonna be fine. It's brutal. It's gonna be fine. I'm sure it will be available for everyone on YouTube October 30th. But Beacon, people get it first. It should be regiment. It's Beacon Expression. Beacon. Yeah. Oh, wow. Yes. That's great. First and only. Oh, wow. I know. He just hired you. So, still getting up to speed. Sam, Travis, you got some announcements as well? Yes. Episodes seven through nine of the Legend of Vox Machina season three are available tonight on Prime Video. I know you guys have been loving the first six episodes, I'm sure. Seven, eight, nine. Super boring. So feel free to skip these. You can just jump to the end or make sure you catch it with everybody else. Cause you know you don't want to miss them. Yeah, it's rare to have three bottles in a row. That's right. Next week brings the big finale with episodes 10 through 12. And then October 29th, we'll have a wrap party discussing the second half of the season and bringing you all of our perspectives and behind the scenes goodness and details. We can't wait for you guys to experience the thrilling finale of season three. I can't believe we're halfway through. Oh my God. Make sure to check it out. No, we're halfway through. Laura, you. You got something to talk about? Yes, I do. Guard our business. We partnered with Geeky Jerseys you guys to create Critical Role fame. Hockey Jersey dolls are. This is the first jersey that celebrates all Three campaigns with embroidered logos on the sleeves. You guys. East jersey anniversaries. You know what I didn't. 2015. Yeah, it's. That makes more sense. That makes more sense. I get it now. It's very clear. Each jersey. I didn't know. This is handmade. So stock is limited, but you can find it now@geekyjerseys.com. these are all handmade. You love hockey is for you. Also, fun fact 15 is the amount of player characters at the table tonight. That's true. There's like this texture y thing which is really kind of nice. In addition to that, I have other things to talk about. This is in our shop. I didn't take it out of plastic. Okay, well, I am prepared. Unboxing asmr. Look at that. Uh huh. Nice look. We have a retro hoodie and jogger set. You may remember our other hoodie and jogger set. This one's green. You can check it out now. And they are. They're so soft. In our critical. Put the jersey over that or a cold day. Go to the shopping. It is. Pam always wears his feels softer than even over here. I feel like it is soft. It does. Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Oh yeah, that is actually. I think that's softer. Sir, we're going to need you to go through secondary security. What size is this? I want to keep it. You're still doing the announcement right now? Am I done? I'm sorry. I'm done. Awesome. Thank you for our live show. Was I supposed to do that? No, I'm just saying it. Cause I'm going off the rails. Come say Cryptmas live show Saggerheart Christmas. Anybody else have any improv announcements? All right, I believe that concludes our announcements. Gardener Daggerheart. Yes. These feel very Keyleth inspired. Well, it would pair nicely with the Keyleth hoodies. Oh, you can wear the pants and then wear them. They do match. I'm just trying to stall because we're going to explode. So let's go ahead and jump into tonight's episode of Critical Role. Critical. Critical. It's Thursday night. One by one we climb until we reach the top Two by two we fall Will we meet our end or meet our destiny? Hold your breath and roll. How do you want to do this? It's Thursday. All ye critters, come join us it's time to continue our flight There is magic and mystery who knows what will happen in life? But one thing's for sure we never give up on the fight from the healer to the renegade we all share the same goal. Adding more, taking more chances. Hold your breath and roar. You can certainly try. It's Thursday night. All ye critters come join us. It's time to continue our blasting. There is magic and mystery from darkness Our friendship will rise when one thing's for sure, we never give up on the fight. Oh get ready Thursday night. Creating really great retail experiences is tough, especially with multiple stores, teams of staff, fulfillment centers, separate workflows. It's a lot. But with Shopify Point of Sale, you can do it all without complexity. Shopify's Point of Sale system is a unified command center for your retail business that brings together in store and online operations even across a thousand locations. The platform guarantees a convenient shopping experience for your customers by offering perks like endless aisle ship to customer and pickup in store. By allowing customers to shop however and wherever they want and providing your staff with tools they need to close every sale, Shopify makes retail simple. Shopify Point of Sale can even help tailor product suggestions for your customers. You can keep existing shoppers coming back to your stores with curated experiences and first party data that gives marketing teams a competitive edge. Want more? Check out shopify.com critical all lowercase and learn how to create the best retail experiences without complexity. Shopify.com critical this show is sponsored by BetterHelp. November is a month of gratitude and there are so many incredible humans in my life that I'm thankful for. My wife, my friends, my family. The list just goes on and on. But we also need to appreciate the impressive things we achieve in this hectic world, even if it's simply paying our bills, staying healthy, taking care of ourselves, and being there for our loved ones. However, if you're struggling to see the wonderful things that are going on in your life, that might be a sign to talk to a therapist at BetterHelp Online Therapy. Therapy is an amazing resource for helping you find the good in your life, even if things seem down. Plus, BetterHelp is entirely online and designed to be convenient, flexible and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapists at any time for no additional charge. Let the gratitude flow with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com criticalroll today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp. H E L p.com criticalrole your new beginning starts now. Dr. Horton has new construction homes available in Ellensburg and throughout the greater Seattle area. With spacious floor plans, flexible living spaces and home technology packages, you can enjoy more cozy moments and sweet memories in your beautiful new home. With new home communities opening in Ellensburg and throughout the Seattle area, Dr. Horton has the ideal home for you. Learn more@doctor Horton.com Dr. Horton, America's builder and equal Housing Opportunity Builder. Though drinking can be an enjoyable activity, alcohol doesn't always react well with the human body. So I decided to be proactive and start taking Zbiotics Pre Alcohol and it makes me feel so much better and more refreshed after a night of drinking. Zbiotics Pre Alcohol Probiotic Drink is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic and it was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. Here's how it when you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut. It's this byproduct, not dehydration, that's to blame for your rough next day. So to combat this, Pre Alcohol produces an enzyme to break this byproduct down. Just Remember to take ZBiotics your first drink of the night. Drink responsibly and you'll feel your best tomorrow. Go to ZBiotics.com criticalrole to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use Critical Role at checkout, ZBiotics is backed with a 100% money back guarantee. Remember to head to ZBiotics.com criticalRole and use the code criticalrole at checkout for 15% off. And welcome back. So, last we left off, Bell's Hells had returned to Vasselheim, having thwarted, it seems, the Unseelie reunion with the vanguard, and in doing so eliminated one of the powerful associates of Ludinus, Dileth, the Sorrow Lord, Zathuda himself, the Blood Father to Fearne. With the information you have, you walked through the city, you gathered some supplies, and you prepared yourself for what is the looming return to the surface of Ruidus, where you and another troop are to secretly traverse once more towards the capital city of Kuviris to delve beneath its surface into a hidden spot before infiltrating the core of the city to notify those back on Exandria that you are in position so the assault can begin and distract the enemy forces and factions to best enable both of your teams to succeed at their goals. After you've gathered your things, said some goodbyes, ordered some alcohol, climbed into Dead Titan's ass crack bar, you met up with two familiar Zephyr family members of Orym, who escorted you to Lake Umamu on the far western side of Isilra, where you had Uncovered that secret underwater portal, the backdoor entrance to Ruidus and its hidden tunnel. Unknown to only. Unknown to most, but just a few as you arrived in the familiar abandoned fishing village, now partially taken over by the Zephyran forces. In preparation for your arrival, you set up within the nearby inn where you had stayed before. Talks amongst yourselves until your companion team arrived. One you've met a couple members of, but have been told they're referred to as the Mighty Nine. A very chaotic introduction of both sides coming to meet together was left on a final question from Laudna, which was, okay, we're jumping in. Why are there only seven of you? I think I said it something like that. You're the mighty. Nein. It's funny. That is not the first time we've been asked that question. It's been a time or two. Well, you have your cat and I have my weasel. So technically we are nine. You have a weasel? I have a nine. Oh my. Slowly crawling out from. She's slowly crawling out from under her hood. This like frazzled red weasel. Oh my. This is Pringle. I love him so much. I know. This is Pate. He's just up. That was a crazy old face. Do you want to hold him? Yeah. Can I hold Sprig? Just in your grasp. Bob, heads up. Hello there, nice little blue lady. Oh, hello there, little dead rat. You look all so fancy and pirate like. Do you want to ride on my hat? Is that a euphemism? You know it is. I like this one. Hi, Sprinkle. Do you talk? Oh, that's good. You can ride on her, Sprinkle. It's okay. Do you ride? It does not. I shove him awkwardly in the house. That's probably too small for him. Just kind of the proof of Redford. There you go. These two look very good together. They do. Sprinkle matching. Uh huh. What's going on, you guys? I have like decision paralysis of who's gonna respond. I'm like, huh, that's good. You guys are the reinforcements. You're bringing up the rear? Yeah, you're bringing up the rear. The. This is great. That's what we needed. I don't know if you understand, but we are Bell's Hells. We are the ones that settled this beautiful town and located this secret passageway to Ruidus. You're very welcome. Beau speaks up. Feels so awkward. Yeah, I remember you guys. Back of the key. Or at least some of you. I remember you. I remember you. Hey ya. Get out of there. Almost there. Well, how did we get out of there. Assuming you got everything else by escaping. Well, you see, we escaped. No. Well, no, you played it out. You teleported in the middle of the crux at the live show in Wembley. That's right. Three lifetimes of characters in your head. Yeah. You know what happened to Plane Rider Rin? Huh? Plane Rider Rin? What happened to Plane Rider Rin? Oh, she was like a plane walker, but turned to stone down by the Malleus Key. We were trying to. Oh, we found where Stone arm was going to get him out before. Yeah, probably didn't happen then, if it doesn't ring a bell. This is so cool. I feel like I have thousands of hours to catch up on. This is Dorian Storm, by the way. Hello. Nice. Nice to meet you. Hi. Well, you are also blue. You are blue as well. Yes. Oh, you are beautiful, too. You're so handsome. Not as handsome as Ford. I. Ford. Hello. Ford. This is Admiral Ford. He's in charge of several fleets on the high seas. You have fleets? We are merchants, Jester. We've talked about this Stone Scroll Shipping is. We are a merchant vessel. We are not. We are not pirates. You are very much dressed like a pirate. I'm a pirate. I'm a pirate, too. Yeah. Pate. That's his name, right? Yes. I suppose we could all be space pirates, since we appear to be going to the moon. Space pirates that took on. Well, I'm just trying to join. Well, something we've really been missing is branding. I'm glad you're here. Oh, good. Yes. That's what I'm known for. What can we expect up on the moon? Is that. We probably wanna. Oh, hi. Yes, hi. Sorry. This is Beth. Nice to meet you. Yes. Hello. Good looking. Oh, how are you? I'm good. What's your. What's your name? Chetney. Pocketpee. But you can just call me C. Papa. No, I don't think I will. What am I looking at when I see Beth right now? Just a. Well, she's. She's dressed pretty fiercely right now. She's got like a cool black Catwoman type suit on. What? She. Yeah, so. I'm sorry. She's a halfling. She's a halfling? Yeah. She's short and she's badass. She's got cool buttons all over her. She's got packs of different potions and stuff like that. She's got a cool crossbow. I got all suited up to go rescue my son, but when I got there. Is that. You have a son? Yes, Yes, I have a son. And I mean, technically I have a husband, but you know, we have sort of an open thing sometimes. Open relationship. Sometimes I check. Yeah. Thank you. Always. Always. Yes. Go ahead and roll a persuasion or deception check. Where's Norm? Oh, I'm Caleb. It's a 21 Nashville one. Wait, Caleb was asking veth. Okay, well, I was just thinking. Just thinking. Just. Oh, that explains things. I was getting a very major midlife crisis vibe going on. Now that did that feel authentic to me or like bullshit above the table? I know what your character looks like. I just knew you were gonna do something with your outfit. I came to rescue my son but you guys had already finished the fight or whatever, so I rescuing your son. I'm so sorry. He ran off with the rest of my group and my group fucking brought him along for some reason. We thought he had your permission. He was super capable. He did very well handled it. He rode a dinosaur the camp. He what? Rode a dinosaur. I would have left that part out. I mean, Caleb did it. Well, of course Caleb did it. It was pretty cool. And to be fair, we did scold him 100%. We were very reprimanding and stern in your stead. I just don't want him to get too cocky because, you know, he's got this girl at the camp that he's interested in. I just don't want him to go running off with her or something. He has mad game. I would say he's very charismatic. Yes. Her name is Beth, which is so weird for me. It's like a weird mother thing. It's so gross. Oh, you think he's trying to date his mom? Maybe. I don't know. Well, you're super hot. I don't blame him. Thank you. That's still creepy though. That got weird. I am hot, aren't I? You are. Especially in that suit, I have to say. Should we talk about the task at hand? Mr. Dorian, who is the supreme, the most level headed of your group of people? No, None. Yes, we've been lacking leadership for a while in leadership. You know it's true. We should start from a place of honesty. Fern. Yeah, I'm probably the most level headed. I can honestly tell that's not true. London just reaches over and puts Fearne's hand down. Check who speaks for us often. But we don't always want it. But he is okay at it. I would say Caduceus is going to walk over to you two cause oh God, I love high wisdom. It's just great. So where have you come from? What's the plan. Anything that we should know? Do you want to leave tonight? Do you want to leave tomorrow? Does anybody want dinner? I could cook. Is there a kitchen? Dinner sounds great. There is a kitchen here in the. Any allergies? Any issues that anybody has? Almonds, actually. Orym looks way up. Caduceus body. Yeah, I think dinner is a good idea. I think we should sit down and compare notes and figure out whether we're leaving. How much do you all know about the moon, Ruidus? We don't actually know too terribly much. We just told that they needed some of the best to go in and compliment a group of fellow adventurers. Caleb and I have been in the weeds a little bit, but mainly dealing with the Cerberus assembly and their connection to this, but certainly haven't been there. Ludinus has been very involved up there, as we understand it. You have been to the moon? Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Hospitable. Depends on where you are. Is there gravity? Yes. Yes. Yeah, there's gravity. There's gravity. We made our way to the Astral Sea once, and shit was cray. Wow. Oh, Caduceus, by the way, I'm so sorry. I always. I'm gonna go start cooking. I'll be right back. What is a good almond? Cats? No cats. No omelet I could eat. I don't think everybody's introducing themselves. My name is Caleb. Widow guest. Oh, yes. I'm Fjord. And this is, of course, my lovely. Hi, I'm Jessa. I'm a pirate. Hello. Spice pirate. Yeah, we got engaged a few days ago. Like a week ago. How long has it been? Like a few weeks. Oh, my goodness. It time passes. Congratulations once more. I don't see a ring. Where's the ring? Did you not fucking get her a ring? Oh, my God. I was in the moment. I. I've meant to come around. One thing that you have to do, you know, honestly, what did you do? But I do still have the fire. I'm wearing it. Oh, is that the ring? Well, I was using it as the ring because Ford didn't give me another one, so I thought it had sentimental value. No, I like it. And I know how much you spent on it, so that's important. It was worth the money. It is. I'm fire resistant now when I attune to it. Sorry we got interrupted. Can somebody set up the table while you act like crazy people? Yes, we'll do that. That's Caduceus. And also this is Beau. Oh. Oh, yeah, yeah. Finish the introductions. Yes. Yeah. Beau Borger. Line, Ed. I'm actually with the Cobalt Soul. God, your personality just shines through. Maybe introduce your other. My other. Your partner. Oh, yeah. This is Yasha. My name is Yasha Nidoran. It's very nice to meet all of you. This is. Have fun. That's all kind of cute. Oh, hello. You are Imogen, right? I am. Oh, it's very nice to see you've heard about me. I have, actually. We saw you and. Yes, it's. We can discuss this at a time. This is Laudna. This is. Oh, is this your. Yes. In fact, Imogen got me this ring. Oh, how lovely. Yes. It didn't cost 5,000 gold pieces. Yeah, but at least she got something. So wait, you two are coupled up as well? Yeah. Me and her? Yes. And then me and her. Yes. Well, I thought I knew I understood you. This must be like an adventuring thing. Like a showmance sort of thing that just kind of happens. You get on a road, you share a lot, you kill a lot. You know, you connect in many, many ways. And to be fair, I fucking hated her guts when we first met. Yeah, she did not like me. Oh, okay. Who is this gentleman with the horns? I'm sorry. Breyess has been sort of Brayus has been sort of standing in the back, taking it all in his eyes keep going to Jester. Just sort of. He feels like he's seen her before somewhere. Mm. Can I help you? Oh, sorry, yeah. Did you just take that dog over there? Sorry, I was just. Hi, I'm Breyess. I'm actually a new member of this group, and it's lovely to meet you all. How long have you all been together? Oh, man, wax. So long. How long has it been? The trauma kind of shortens it all, but months longer. Oh, you're talking to. No, no, no, no, no. I'm sorry, not us. Not us. I'm going to go. Joy to do, sister. I mean the other. The other. I'm making you Sue, Chef. Come on in. It smells good in here. Damn. Well, it does. Who? Okay, wait. Cause that guy seems familiar, but I don't remember. An old guy. Was he the wolf? Which guy? Yes, the wolf. Yeah, yeah, no, that was. Turns into a wolf and does a thing. It's a whole thing. I didn't know he was fucking ancient. Wait, he turns into a dog? Yeah, he was like a werewolf. Like a dog. Oh, a wolf. Oh, that might be better. That's interesting. Yeah, he's actually really powerful. I'm so sorry to objectify your wife. But how do you work out? Like, what do you do? Because. Cause this is such an amazing. The abs. We've all been talking. We've all been talking about them. What do you do? Oh, shit. Well, you know, you gotta keep it tight, you know, so every day you wake up, bust out a set, squats, you know, pull ups. Yep. One handies. 100%. One hand. One handies. Dorian kind of eases over toward Beau and, like, loosens his sash to the side a little bit so you can see his abs. But, like. Yeah, you don't really have to move the shirt. You're wearing a sheer shirt. We see them all the time. I'm gonna dip off to the back of the caduceus and fort. I'm out of here. Short of the six pack there, friend. But, but, but where. Where did you all meet? Like, what part of the world, I guess, is what I was asking. Oh, gosh. I mean, you know, I mean, I'm from Nicodranas, Wildemount, some of us. Wildemount, Tal'dore, Xhorhas. I don't know if you have ever. Zadash. Oh, well. Well, I'm from north of Zadash. Yeah, I studied in Zadash. From Kamorta, originally. Are you from Zadash? I spent some time there, yes. Wow. Yeah, that's right. Cool. I forgot about that. We went through Zadesh a lot. Oh, you did? You did? Okay. At the Temple of the Platinum Dragon. The Platinum House. Oh, that's right. We did go there. Yeah, that's right. We did go there. What a fucking crazy time that was, right? Yeah. You and you. You and Beth had a good time. We had to place up. Yeah, we did. Oh, my gosh. Do you remember? The Traveler was so happy about it. Get rid of. Yeah, it was crazy. And we drew dicks all over the world. Don't you mean you were there when you heard. Heard about the vandalism? No, we were the vandalism. No, no, no, you were not. You see, they like to take. They like to claim other feats that are not theirs. What are you talking about? I think this nice horned gentleman might have been at that temple at the time when those poor, unfortunate, needy artists. Yes. The odds of you two being in the same place at the same time so many years ago and here today, that does not seem astronomical. What if we were? It's like fate. Oh, my gosh. It's brought us together. What's your name again? Reyes. I'm Jester. It's nice to meet you. I give you A hug. Oh. Oh, did you just come? No. It's nice to meet you. You as well. Listen, if the Platinum Dragon doesn't treat you well, you know, you're always welcome to follow the traveler. What is the Traveler? Follow the Traveler. He's kind of like, not quite a God, but he's kind of like a God, you know, he's super powerful, like a betrayer God. All these years later and still going strong. Lee, listen, is the Traveler one of the gods that might get eaten by the. No, no, no. That's the best thing about it. He's not on the menu. Oh, I've never heard of this God. What are his travelers? Draw. Dig something. Create a little chaos wherever you go. Sounds pretty good. Basically, do whatever you want and also tell people how. Cool. Yeah. I have a brochure. Here you go. Oh, God. I'm into it. Here's a pantomime. Would you like a. Oh, I've. I'll take one of these. I've seen one of these before. Thank you so much. Oh, my gosh. She's gonna be so happy. You should totally meet them. What's one more? God take. You're like, what? You're like. Three, four. Now just take a fifth. Oh, you have other ones? Frey is. Yes. Are you all right? No. Suck it in. No. You ruined my life. You seem like you're doing pretty well now. You destroyed my life. Oh, boy. How you fucked everything up. Yasha pulls out her sword. Listen, I'll pull out my flail. No, no, no. I do have a problem, you guys. We all have to work together. What's happening? This is very hard. You're doing great. You're doing great. I would like to remind us all of the task at hand and what is at stake. We can certainly discuss is at stake right now. Bryan. I don't know. Maybe you should fight, see who's stronger. No, Beau, I think we're gonna try and use words this evening, you know? No, listen, I don't think that you are. Do you want to bet? Are your people always this crazy? I will admit, perhaps post meal, I've tried to charm you. Very hungry. Food's ready. I'm not putting it out to y'all. Keep quiet. All right. You're attempting to cast charmed person on Breus. Breus. Go ahead and make a wisdom saving throw for me, if you don't mind. Big roll. Big roll. What does that say? Which one? The two numbers on it. That said, that's natural. 20. So nice. You resist the spell and are Also aware that you were almost charmed. Magically. What are you trying to do to me? Just make you my friend. Jester. What? Perhaps you should tangle. That might be the fastest way to settle all of this after dinner. Because I think once we break bread, get a chance to know each other. That might be the perfect opportunity to unite ourselves in this effort. Dasha, you shouldn't have to fight them. Although you guys like color coordinate. Really? Well, we do color coordinate, but that's besides the point. But you might want to have one last meal before you die. Wow, kids. Chad is doing amazing things with these lentils. You would not believe it. Caduceus, where did you learn to cook? We can table this. But I will have my satisfaction. Would an apology suffice? We are about to throw our bodies on the pyre. For the sake of the world, it would be good to have more people than less. What if I just say I'm so sorry I ruined your life? Yes. Maybe we could help repair one of your party. I don't mean to inquire, but are you? Well, that's a complicated question, but no. This is. This is a work of art. This is fine. It is? Oh, yeah. Cause there is a whole. Maybe. Could I draw you later? Oh, yes. I don't think I love being drawing alongside this entire time. Did you turn around for me? Oh, yeah, of course. Oh, that is fascinating. Thank you. Look at this. Everyone keeps doing that. Caleb, it looks like. No. Caleb. Oh, boy. You. Hey, look inside. You've gotten a message or two regarding this troupe from Essek. You have not been able to compare notes directly since you've all been scattered at the Four winds. But he did mention one individual with a very unique feature in their head that seemed to be tied unmistakably to a beacon. The Luxon. Or just a dudamantic source in general. And the minute you see this, you know this is the exact person that essay was mentioned. Caleb starts to trace his finger in small patterns on that scarred section of your head. And I use one of my signature spells now, which is fortune's favor. Spell mastery. Excuse me? And ignite the spellfortune's favor in you. Oh, that feels very weird. He was right. How did you come by this? Well, that was all kind of by accident. Long story short, I was attempting to rob somebody, fell out of a window, and then a bunch of friends just did their best to put me back together. Oh, see? We are going to get along just fine. Yeah, son's right up our alley. Yeah, speaking of Essex, when we were at his abode and there were pictures on the wall, did that conclude. You said there was some adventuring party. Does Belshalf have a vague recollection that that's a connection to Essek? Yeah. In fact, as soon as he mentions Essek's name, though you may not be present, many of you begin to pick up the images you saw or the portrait that you saw on the wall at Essex House. This is exactly the same team. I'm going to come out of the tent where I was just with Caduceus, and we're going to end up like, oh, man, he is sick. He is great. We just figured it out. We know someone, you know. Oh, yes, Essek. We do. We do. We do. That makes sense. That's complicated. Know him well. He was kind of our mentor. He helped us get around. It was an EOR in that whole insanity. He's a wonderful. Yeah, because you. He kept mentioning. He was like, oh, my partner's busy. Was that you? Yeah, guilty as charged. Oh, we were in your home. It was charming. Lovely. Oh, thank you. We worked very hard at it. Did you see the garden? Oh, yes. Beautiful. Yes. Good. Also love how he floats. I was trying to figure that out. He sure does. I started floating because of him. Yeah, I thought it was a cool thing. You are the. You are the Ruidusborn. Yeah. There are two of you. You and us. I am Iswell. Yeah. What can you tell us about our foes, the people that we are? Well, I think y'all are going to fight the Weavemind, which is good luck. Yeah. Well, talk to me. Talk strategy with me. Strengths, weaknesses. We don't exactly know. It's a group of, I think, five very ancient, very old. Very, very old Reilorans. Who? Reilorans control a lot of the population there. Wait, do you know what Reilorans are? Well, we've heard it discussed a little bit through. Through communications with the Tempest. Laudna just does a silent image of a Reiloran. It's a Reiloran. There's lots of different types of Reilorans, but. And I've had it explained to me that you share some overlap or similarities somehow with these creatures. A lot of psychic abilities have become more. More present in my powers. All right. Do you have psychic abilities in your head, you hear? Yeah. In your head, you hear. Oh, that is very interesting. Do I hear that there's a psychic in there? Can you read my mind and actually set a table? That'd be great. Yes. Yes. Caleb, enough of this boring talk for now. Let's get to dinner. We can. I have just one last question and then please, everybody dig in. But are we staying here for the night? Because that will dictate what I do for the next hour or so. Well, where do you want. What time of day is it? It's just past at this point. You guys are meeting just as the light of the sun passes the mountains. So you're entering dusk into evening. It's up to y'all. We could spend the night here and then make our way. The. The portal to Ruidus is through the lake. Everyone here will be able to open up the water. We won't have to use our powers. You don't have to face the water. You just have to swim down there. It's not that big of a deal. I don't even think we'll have to swim. I think the Ashari here are gonna hold the water back. All right, I'm in. Oh, that sounds nice. There's a cave that the portal connects to that we could all sleep in there if that's better for your spell conservation. I'm not sure. Well, I think there's some preparation that I and my friend and he looks to Jester, can do if we are spending a night here. But if we are going straight in, I will maybe hold back. We could eat more comfortably as well than these humble abodes that you have. I think we defer to Bell's hells. Is there an urgency to go this evening, or should we eat, gather ourselves? Everything rushing these days is pretty urgent. But we're rested, as your parents. Prepared is probably better than rushing in. The longer we take to. This is based on information we've gathered. The longer we take to set up and get in our position on Ruidus, the more of their armies they'll be able to bring over. And the people on the front lines will have to fight. Well, then we should go. Would a leisurely dinner be enough time for your hour that you need? Well, if we are dealing with beings with mental capabilities, there are certain things that I could do for myself, for you, Yasha, to make sure that you are not boned in the eight things. Yasha's, like, super easy to be swayed, you know, like, it's very strong. Very, very strong. But not up here as much. I don't know. Sometimes that's not true. Sometimes it's not true. It's not true. I mean, I love you. Yeah, yeah, sometimes. But sometimes you can be a fucking pain in the ass. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, when I want to be. Yeah. And I know Caduceus is cooking, but if he's putting extra love and care into that cooking, then perhaps I can pack it up. That's fine if we need to do that. You and me, Caducey. This is so good. Oh, is the dog man already eating? Woof. Oh, she was talking about you. Okay, let's sit down and eat. Yeah. I didn't want to pack this anyway. It would have just gotten cold. Wow. What is this? Well, this looks good. I don't know. Clearly. You actually added some things. This is something from back home. I've collected a few things. I garden, obviously. This is lentils in a lettuce wrap. It's got a little bit of spice to it, because I know not every. Everybody likes to eat vegetarian. It's also got some very specific cabbages and a few extra little spices that only. Is that quinoa? That is quinoa. Well done. Special tea, that is. It cannot be found anywhere else. Carnelian tea. It has these very tiny flowers. Very pungent. That sounds amazing. Yeah, it's a little sweet, little spicy. Where are you from? Oh, well, that's complicated. My family, we kind of have a quiet temple. You've never been there? It's all right. You worship a God. Wait, you worship a God? I'm blonde enough. Oh, that's cheating. What God do you worship? Well, I worship the Wild Mother. I'm a cleric of the Wild Mother. But also, we are under the. My family also has ties to the Archeart. And a tiny tie to the matron as well. Those last two. And the matron. Those are all. And the wildmother. Wow. We didn't meet the Wym. Well, we didn't, but Orym did. Well, you all collective we. The royal we, if you will. We've had a lot of visions and interactions the last couple of weeks. Wait, what's your connection to the Matron of Raven shit? Don't really have one, per se. We did literally just meet her. Yeah, we went into, like, a pool within the last 24 hours. I really liked her. Fought our worst fears, some of our deepest regrets, proved ourselves in a trial of the gods. That's. She was. I feel insane right now. I do, too. This is my favorite episode already. I haven't had to do anything. Eustis is gonna walk over to Breath. Huh? Oh, yeah. Huh. I like your armor. I like your fur. Thank you. The black and white is fun. Yeah. Yeah. You're a. You're a creature of faith as well. Aren't you? I am. I could tell because you're scowling. Your friend has me on edge. Oh, are you on edge? Do you need someone to maybe relax? Oh, my God. Ruined his life. Let's take it down 20%. I wouldn't say that she ruined my life. Why just me? You know, Veth was there too. No, she wasn't. She was you and some fucking goblin. Oh, no. Yeah, it was just me and the goblin. Yes, it was just you and the goblin. I wasn't anywhere near there. I wouldn't have done anything like that. It's okay, Beth. I know it's okay. Cause I didn't do anything. Here, let me settle you. I'll just. Do you like booze? I've got a lot. And she'll just sort of lead him away. I'll have a talk with both of them later. Lonin's gonna start eating lettuce rice. Wow. She's a lot well done on the sauce, by the way. Mr. Chetney. Yeah. I'm gonna pull out a little piece of dried meat from my pouch and then just start breaking it off with chutney and putting it into our lentils. Sprinkle it on nice cold storm. Delicious, though. Like, a protein bar does the stuff. She eats lettuce wraps. But no, it's. It's tough when you're, like, high protein and, like, you know, vegetarian. Around time you wish you had, like, some meat in your pocket. You know, just a little bacon or something. That side dish is a cauliflower derivative. It has tons of protein in it. But fine, don't listen to me. I don't know what I'm talking about. Yeah, nothing beats red meat. My guy, did you guys catch him up on everything that awaits once we go through the water hole? We sort of got into, like, the moon is kind of like this, but that's about it. Imogen is not attuned to the circlet right now and is, like, getting a little overwhelmed by all of the not. So just like. Like, I can normally handle it, but, like, I feel like somebody here is just singing constantly. Like, singing well or singing poorly. And we know who's singing. Well, wait, here's a question. Once we get to the other side of this portal, how long of a journey is it into a heart of the city? Hours? Days? Weeks? What are we talking about? Well, that again, depends on what all you can do to get across the. The plane, the desert, to get to the city. It was a few days, if I'm remembering correctly. Well, not having Been there. If you have some object from this city, I could shunt a handful of us there. Yeah. Would you want. I've got this behemoth finger. That's pretty good. I've got this dead alien. Oh, that would take us straight down into the. You also have that pretty spectacular. Yes. The little figurine would take us up top of Kerviris and then the little alien baby would take us potentially down into the. Well, you are the expert on the lay of the land there. So what would be the best place for us to hilo in? Oh gosh. It would certainly be harder to hide out near the alien baby. That's where we were attacked the last time. What if we got a. Do we want to be just slightly outside the gate? Do we want to get all the way in? Because there is that little outpost and it wouldn't be hard to take care of everyone. Well, we don't have anything from that outpost. The little glass figurine that Laudna took was from that weapon shop. Well, I wonder. A weapon shop is actually a really good idea. I wonder how thinned out or not it is in there. Because if they're garnering all of their forces and not the people, not the folks topside who just seemed like regular folk, but their army. If it'll be easy as you're moving through, we have to have the ability to sneak around. How's your group at being low key? Yes, as a group you're mighty. But are you sneaky? So sneaky? Like the sneakiest people you've met? Yeah. Insight check? Sure, make an insight check. Make a persuasion or deception and you just don't have to say which. Solid. What did you roll, Nat? 20. Oh, well then you succeed, right? No matter how high I roll? Unless you roll a natural 20 as well. No, I didn't. I loved it. Are you guys sneaky? We can't. We can be sneaky. You hear and you think. You think you read from me that we can't be sneaky. Maybe she's telling me. Maybe I'm not the sneakiest person you've ever met. We also are good at creating cover as we move and. And all sorts of. Oh yeah, we have ripped off some pretty high security locations. That's right. I have this one ability. I can make us all go into these kind of smoky, ethereal people and then we can just kind of move through this weird semi ethereal plane and then nobody can see. Basically we're ghosts. But they can only do it to six people and we can Totally. Just drop Bo off of really high. She just kind of falls and never gets hurt. Like a cat. It's very odd. What do you mean? You don't do anything to mitigate it, like turn into a fish or something? That's the wrong character. Yes, it was. But a good reference. And blood. That sounds very relaxing. Bo ignores that because Marisha doesn't have an answer. Teleporting in is probably. Probably the best way. The land, the sands of the moon kind of have creatures that move through it that detect vibrations. So the closer we can get, probably the better. And I think silence is golden because, as Imogen said, there's people with psychic abilities. And I think stealth is going to be our key. We need to link up with the coalition. The volition. The volition. The volition. Yeah. Um, Chet can teleport some of us. How many can you teleport, Caleb? Well, my entire group, if need be. Oh, great. I have this. I open the bag of holding, and a big ass fucking magic staff comes out. It's got all sorts of magic. A lot shorter than mine. This. I made it. Yeah, you made that. You made that shit. I am actually a master craftsman, but I also make magic shit. In your head, Bo, you hear? He did not craft that himself. That was Ludinus old staff. Yeah, it looks very Cerberus Y, but you do make stuff. Who are you talking to? I was talking in my head. You couldn't hear it because there's conversations above the table between 15 people. And then in our head, she's literally making the same face that we all make when we're doing it. Hell, by now, right? Also, you look over and Laudna's kind of sitting off in a corner and she's starting to tie red twine to Sprinkle to turn him into a puppet. Sprinkle has just given up and is just Sprinkle. Maybe this is it. Now be nice to him. He's not dead. Like your guy fully. Are you sure enjoying it? Look at him. Are you liking this? Oh, he loves it. My bad. That's the most life I've seen from that weasel in. Yes. After a long day of making decisions, your brain is fried and the last thing you want to do is plan and cook dinner. But instead of pulling out a frozen dish from the grocery store, let CookUnity help. CookUnity offers a wide variety of fresh restaurant quality food from award winning chefs that can be delivered right to your door. When I tried CookUnity, I went for their Japanese style chicken katsu curry and being one of my favorite dishes, I was kind of blown away how delicious and fresh the whole thing tasted. Also, it was ready in about five minutes and it required pretty much zero effort and had zero cleanup. Plus, CookUnity offers flexible and commitment free subscriptions so you can skip deliveries, pause or cancel anytime. So take a load off and let cookunity handle dinner. Affordable food crafted by award winning chefs delivered to your door. Go to cookunity.com criticalrole or enter code criticalrole before checkout for 50% off your first week. That's 50% off your first week by using code criticalrole or going to cookunity.com criticalrole your new beginning starts now. Dr. Horton has new construction homes available in Ellensburg and throughout the greater Seattle area. With spacious floor plans, flexible living spaces and home technology packages, you can enjoy more cozy moments and sweet memories in your beautiful new home. With new home communities opening in Ellensburg and throughout the Seattle area, Dr. Horton has the ideal home for you. Learn more@drhorton.com Dr. Horton, America's builder and Equal Housing Opportunity Builder Building a business may feel like a big jump, but on deck small business loans can help keep you afloat. With lines of credit up to $100,000 and term loans up to 250,000, OnDeck lets you choose the loan that's right for your business. As a top rated online small business lender, Ondeck's team of loan advisors can help you find the right business loan to fit your needs. Visit ondeck.com for more information. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by Ondeck or Celtic Bank. Ondeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval. You're out here hustlin'but, you're also using the McDonald's app to have your favorites delivered to your door. That's Hustlin Smarter Order McDelivery in the McDonald's app. I participate in McDonald's. I'm going to make the strong pitch that we prepare for a night. I know that we are pressed for time, but what you're describing sounds difficult and I feel like we should be stacking the deck in our favor as best we can. If we will rest for the night, I will throw up the tower and we can. I would actually say I don't know what what throwing up the tower means. It sounds weird. Getting at least across sometimes euphemism, but not always. Yeah, that's all of my worst fears. I think just getting to the moon for now and just getting into. Because the caverns are pretty private either way. And then we can sleep there since we're on the other side. Get there tonight. Get to the cave tonight. So there's some cover on the other side of the cave. Yeah, it's a cave. And also just in case you could throw up your tower. Yes, it's sort of an extra dimensional space. It's very. It's vast on the inside, really quite tremendous, but has a low footprint on the outside. I like the grumpy one's plan. I like the grumpy one agreeing with me. Are you talking about them or me? Yes. Well, I would call you by your name and tell you when you're being an asshole. You call me the grumpy one. Sometimes I'm called the grumpy one. Who's the fun one? You. That's me. I knew it. I knew it. I think. Yeah. Cause just in case something goes wrong on the way there, it's just one last step for something to go wrong and a little bit of time to, you know, just in case something goes wrong, which it always does. True. Plus sits next to Breus. He's just sort of stewing off in the corner and Veth has sort of left his. I am really sorry I ruined your life. Are you? Yeah, I really, really am. That was not the point. What was the point? Well, kind of to be funny. And also, you know, the traveler was having a really hard time and he needed a show of faith and so that was what he wanted me to do. He was kind of ignoring me at the time, you know, so it was. I was struggling and sometimes he wanted a big show of like artistic faith, you know, so that's what I had to do. And I realized. Artistic. Oh my gosh. Yeah, artistic. Yeah. I'm an art. Are you? I'm an artist. I've seen what you do and I would not necessarily call that art. It's more vandalism. Well, listen, that particular night it was a bit. But I am a really good artist. Did you see when you were in Essex House? I saw some dicks. Well, yeah, I did those. But I also did a couple of the big paintings too. Well, those were real paintings. Yeah. You did those? Yeah, I run an art class at Veth's camp. You do? Mm hmm. Do you have any of your work? Well, I don't. Yeah, I look in my pink bag and I pull out one painting. Oh, it's a work in progress. I'm still. But it's a painting of Ford. He's kind of naked in it. I noticed that. Yeah. I was going to give this to him as a wedding present. Is that accurate? I mean, I embellished a little bit. He doesn't normally wear the crown on as thick, but I thought it was a nice touch. It is a nice touch. It actually helps with the symmetry. Yes, that's what I like. The shine in his eyes. It's nice. It's a good touch. Thank you. Here, I'm painting this one right now, and I'll pull out of my sack a canvas that has Orym painted on it. There's still work to be done on it, but this is the little one of our group. You should make his dick more present. Oh, that's not a dick. That's his sword. Oh. It's a really good painting. Yeah. Well, I guess it needs work if you thought that was a dick. Well, no, I just, you know, it's just kind of. It's a work in progress. It's a splatter. I do sort of a splatter style. It's more interpretive. When did you start painting like this? I found my art when I was excommunicated from my church because of you. So because I ruined your life, you were able to become such an amazing artist? I guess so. Yes, technically. But I also, you know, lost my purpose in life, and also, my fiance left. Your fiance left you m. Because you lost your job at the Sanctuary? Yes. She sounds like a total bitch. She was awesome. What was she like? Yeah, she was beautiful and kind and nice and smart, and she loved me for me. And her name was Susie Green. What was her mother's name? Suzy Green? Yes. Wow. That's a really nice name. She was a very nice girl. Why did she leave you just because you lost your job, though? Because I lost everything. I was sort of. I came originally from this place, the Dynasty. Do you know the Dynasty? Oh, yeah. And I was. I was. They don't really like us over there in the Empire, but I was there. I was allowed to come in as sort of like a religious refugee. Port of the Platinum Dragons. Yes. Okay. But then when they kicked me out, I didn't have that status anymore, and they sent my parents back, and I lost everything. I was sort of kicked out, and so. Oh, my God. Susie said that we couldn't marry anymore. I'm very, very sorry. Do you want me to send her a message? What do you mean? Like. Well, I could call her and tell her that you've been reinstated into the Sanctuary and That, you know, the Platinum Dragon now thinks you're so amazing, and you're about to go to the moon on a top secret mission, and you're one of the most important people in the entire world. I could tell her all of those things. Could tell her all of that. All of it. 25 words or less. Okay. You would do that for me? Of course I would. I mean, I ruined your life. It's the least I could do. How do you. Do you need something of hers or. Oh, yeah. Do you have, like, anything of hers? It would help me. You could maybe tell me what she looks like. I do. Okay. Oh. Or a thing of hers would be even more helpful. I have a thing of hers. Okay. It's her underwear that hasn't been washed. What do they look like? Hell, yeah. Yeah, yeah. They're big, big old granny panties. And there's an extra hole in the back for the tail. Was she a minotaur like you? She was a quartertar. What is a quarter tar. Well, one of her grandparents was a minotaur, so she. Does she have little teeny weeny horns? Yeah. Oh, that's so cute. Nubtail. Okay, so what did she look like outside of that? I got to get an image. She wore glasses. And she had a big old ass. Okay. And she had a button nose and big dimples. Cute. Big flat teeth. You know, for grinding. Yeah. Two eyes. Ran. Nicole. Susie Green. Suzy Green. Okay. Is there anything specific you would like me to tell her or just kind of build you up? I mean, you said you could tell her all of that, right? Yeah, he'll tell her everything. All right. Yeah, all of that. Who's on count? Tell her that I miss her. I think about her every day. I haven't been the same without her. I considered becoming a dark version of myself. Oh, no, but you didn't. Well, I'm sort of at a crossroads right now. Maybe you could tell her that, too. Well, does she. Would she want you to be a dark version of yourself? No, I. Maybe it's, like, mysterious, though. Maybe. Just tell her I'd love to hear from her or something. Okay. How would she get in touch with you? I don't know. How does your magic work? Well, I have to reach out. Unless she's super powerful, too. Okay, then she can reach out to me whenever she wants to, I guess. Does she have magic? No. Oh, just her personality and that Swiss wheels. Okay, here we go. Suzy, listen, I'm here with Reyes. He's a shell of a. You got. You got 14 left. Oh no. Oh no. He misses you so much. But he's become important and super powerful. What about the rest? What about the rest? Hold on, wait, hold on. I'm here. What the hell? Who is this priest? What is this some kind of a joke? You get the sense she just woke up? Cause being dusk here in Isilra, it is early, early morning. Oh, it's like the middle of the night where she. It sounded like she just woke up. Do you want me to tell her anything else? Everything else. Okay. I love a drunk text. This is amazing. You up dynamic to this? Yeah, it's probably morning. I'm going to interject that Caleb, while not close enough to hear any of this, has been just sort of smiling, watching from 50ft away and has watched the dynamic and Bareus's physicality just like melt over two minutes and he smiles knowing that Jester's Jester. And then heads up, Ashton is sitting right next to you just with full. Tell me more. Yeah, listen, I'm the person responsible for ruining his life. But now he is strong and he's being sent on a secret mission. That's good, that's good. And you're at the front. The front of what? The front of what? The front of his thoughts is what I was going to say. Why didn't you say it? I of his thoughts. That I did say it. Okay, make a persuasion check. Oh wow, Jester sucks. Persuasion. Yes, yes, yes, that's true. Congratulations. Forgot about that. Uh, 10. Okay, look, I don't know who you are, I don't know what you're trying to do, but that was long ago. Leave me alone. How? Well, you know, she sounded like number one. She sounded really gross, like she's probably like let herself go. Okay, you could hear that? Could you see her too? I couldn't see her, but I could hear it on her voice. Was she slurring her speech or something? How would you. And did you know like when you. It sounded like maybe she lost a lot of those flat teeth, do you know what I mean? Oh, she was like mumbling. She was kind of mumbling and also like she sounded maybe like she hadn't had a bath in a long time. Oh, what of her voice made you think that? Yeah, you get the vibes, you get to, you can get a sense off of things. Doesn't sound like her at all. Are you sure you got the right. I mean, Susie Green, she knew who you were, she knew who you are and she was like, oh Bryant, but I've let myself so go. Oh she said that? Yeah. And then when I was like, he's so powerful, she was like, oh, it's too powerful for me, is what she said. Do I get the sense she wanted make an insight check and you make a deception check. Oh, boy. I love all of this. Natural 20. There we go. 17. 17. Oh, my God. She said that? Yeah. Something must have happened to her. It doesn't sound like she was so confident before. Weird. That's really weird. Well, maybe. Maybe in a weird way. You helped me dodge a. I want to say bullet, but it's like a projectile. I think there are bullets. Yeah, there's things. There's guns here. You mean a pepper box? Yeah, yeah, that. There's literally one with us right now. It just shoots poop. That's true. Yeah, right. Poop shooter, pooper box. I have a lot to think about. Yeah. Your name was Jester. You said it was. Thank you. Jester. Saint Jester the Pirate. Saint Jester the Pirate. You're the saint of your God. Yeah, he's super cool. Just letting you know, I also have a pretty cool God. A couple platinum dragon. Yeah, yeah. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Okay. Hope he doesn't get eaten. But if he does, you know, you can have the Traveler. I don't think. Oh, yeah, no, we're going to prevent that from happening. I think your friend wants to fight me. Which one? The big one. Who? Oh, Yasha. Yeah, the big mom. No, no, no, no. She wants to just fight everyone if they're into it. She's into it. You know, I do have a lot of stress. I could. If it's a friendly fight. Yeah. Yasha. Just standing off to the side, sharpening well. And I'm talking to Yasha, so. Okay. He's a big guy. Yeah. So I think you can, like, bob and weave underneath of him, you know? Yeah. He looks like he's probably going to move slow. Yeah, I think so. Just. Yeah. Use his weight against him, you know? I could use his weight. Yeah. I mean, practice sleeping that we've been working on. Hey, you guys. Okay. Okay. Reyes is so nice. And he doesn't want to fight anymore. Unless you want to do it and release tension. Is this true? Is that true? Wow. Sometimes I like to blow off some steam. Yeah, you do. Mm. Friendly little friendly steam. Yeah. I got some headgear here recently, actually, if you don't want to. Some pads. Your head is so fucking big. Yeah, I got some pads. Are we sure we don't want to do this inside the tower? Yeah, I mean, we can I would love to pass some time while people finish eating. Wait, I don't understand the inside of the tent that this is. Don't fight until you've had half an hour to digest. What's wrong? We should take him inside the tower. We can do this after dinner too. Which is. I don't want to force it down. Well, we're gonna get to the moon and then we'll get to the tower and then we'll fight. Moon, cave, tower. Eat like civilized people. This journey you're talking about. Well, I've been eating this whole time. Yeah, same delicious meat. Oh, my gosh. What? What? What is this? It's a cupcake. Oh my God. I know. Could you just never bring them up with these? I know. I like to bring them with me wherever we go. If I spend. Especially if I know we're gonna go somewhere where they don't have these kind of deals. Ashton makes eye contact with you. This might be hell. Yes, it is. Other people. It is. Other people, like went through a fucking portal. This is delicious. Size. Correct. I stocked up. Okay, so whenever you want then, you just let me know. We used to have a baker with us, but he is no longer with us. Oh, I'm so sorry. Yeah. So wait, I've really missed having a really nice warm cupcake. Or just pastries. We should share a recipe. Oh my God, thank you. This is so good. I don't bake these myself though. I just buy them. You lost your little shiny companion? Yes, we did. I am sorry to hear that. We are no stranger to such things happening. So you had people die too? Yeah, once. When you were fighting in the Astral Sea. Wow, don't sound so excited. Oh, when you were fighting in the Astral Sea. Which one of my friends told you about the Astral Sea? Yeah, I believe I did. Yeah, a long time ago, many years ago. Do you think that was like the moon? I guess. Astral sea. The moon. Sounds spacey to me. Yeah, we lost one of our best friends. Yeah, I'm so sorry. In a city that was like full of like. All the buildings look like bodies and body parts. What city was this? That sounds awesome. Yes. You remember the. Got confused again. That's true. Or take off an article of clothing. Three of them. It's like stripoker three of them. You gotta take something off. Are you okay? Please. But in a strange twist of fate, the one that we lost sort of came back. It was a little confusing, but you know, then again, what's not these days? Were they dead? They did. And they came back? Yes, more or less. We do have parts of our friend that we keep just. You carry parts of his body? Well, his face. You did it just. Molly's head of. We rep it all the time that we have to throw dice in every time we up. So it was a different. It was easier to intervene. We actually went with your friend Essek to eor. He was a aeormaton. Yeah, he was an aeormaton. He gave his life to protect us. We still have his face. You have his face? Well, I actually. Well, it's his. I think so. I think it's his face. I see. Well, this is. Am I carrying around FCG's face? Bag of holding. I'll just hold out the bag of holding and then you can ask for it. Yeah, I'll get it. I'll get you. Tell me, did you take. I feel like we kept somebody who has not taken his. Who has what? But I feel like we kept part of him in case we need. You took it. Was it the chest part? We took part. We kept a lot of chest piece. Chet's wearing part of him. I can't tell. Shoulder Pauldrons made. Which kind of is a little fucked when you think about it. That I can't tell the difference between a chest and a face? No, that we're wearing parts of his body? I don't think so. On our body. Come with us. What do you mean? I think you would appreciate it. He said on his jacket. I think what you guys are doing is weird. I mean, she's got a point. We carried around Molly's coat for quite some time. Yasha had it. Brazil has it. We did. Mr. Levitt. I'm still doing good over here. Not making any mistakes, to be fair. Molly's coat is super cool. This is super cool. All right, let's get to the fucking moon. Should we do that? Has anyone eaten? Yeah. So we go through the water, through the hole, we bam. Over to the cavern in the moon, and then we set up Caleb's dick tower. Yeah, that's. Ready to go for a swim? No. Oh, actually, was this a fancy feast that we were eating? It was not fancy. Why not? When it was cats. If you're worried about the water, by the way, I have the ability to make people breathe underwater. It's, you know, not an issue. Well, I think. Touch me. Hang on. We gotta talk to your sister in law. That's who she is, right? Maeve and Lita. Yeah. Maeve and Lita. Yes. I'm talking to you, Orym Lita. Yes. Cause part the sea. Maeve would probably take care of that. Yeah, but if they don't, we actually have a thing called a hole. And we could just open it. We could throw you in it and then close it up and take you with us. You never have to get wet at all. It's true. Yeah, but we just have to make sure that it's under less than 10 minutes. Yeah. You will suffocate because you'll suffocate. We've killed a lot of people in it. No, no, thanks. I don't want to. You go into a dark, suffocating hole. What's life without a little danger, sweetness? Well, let's just talk to my sister. In the whole. No one can hear your safe word. Do you just like, not like water or is it affect you as a. I don't like water in general. No, I don't. I really am curious to hear more about how you and your husband, or estranged, sort of have like this open situation. Oh, well, I mean, I don't. We don't. I. You and I can talk about it later when we're alone or something. How about that? Oh, is your husband also Minotaur? I'm sorry? No. Oh. Oh, no, he's not. He's. He's a very lovely halfling. Like me. Oh, yeah. He's very sweet. Very good. Very good, sweetheart. I'm starting to feel guilty now, actually. Yeah, we. We're very. He's wonderful. He's wonderful. I. I don't have an open relationship. But your kid is an. You said. Oh, yes. My kid's an asshole. You don't like your child. No, no, I like. I like him, but I. I love him. I just hate him. Oh, yeah. Just right now. I get it. Chris and hate go hand in hand. He's a teenager. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But I love him. He's so great. Teenage years are rough. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, shall we? Yes. If the hells feel like leading the way. This way. Yes. Roller Fern, actually follow Orym. Orym, please. Starts padding his way down towards the water, looking for. So we didn't eat a fancy Imogen floats. Why wouldn't you fix us a fancy fever? A, I can't get everybody. And B, I think since we plan on spending the night there, doing it at the very end of the afternoon, we are going to spend the night there. That's fair. Yeah. We're going to go eat again. It's our midnight snack. Dessert. Okay. Okay. Okay, okay. All right. Okay. Yeah. It doesn't take long. Once you get back to the water's edge where the number of Aerashari tents and the guardians of this lake and this entrance have been stationed, you find Leeta, Maeve, and a number of other familiar Druidic counterparts who've been keeping an eye on it. Maeve gathering the folks around. And as they all begin to set up a position about. Looks like there's five specific Druids of fair enough power to contribute to this that all spread evenly about 10ft from each other, facing in a direction towards the center of the lake. Maeve stops a minute and turns back to you. Orma's like, hey, I think we might be ready to go. Close to ready to go, right? Okay. Okay. Yeah, no, we can get that set up for you. All right, gather, gather. We're gonna go ahead and. Looks like we don't have time to practice. We're setting them off now. This is quick. We would hopefully wish you to travel there further quickly. We can't hold the water back too long. We're a tight group of 15. Okay. Just keep it a nice solid jog. As she's talking, Leda approaches from the far end of the water and comes up and. So you're off, brother. Yeah. Yeah. This is it. Well, we look forward to you coming back, and you can tell us all about this wild experience. I would like nothing more than to tell you everything that happens. Good. Wherever you land on all of this. You be careful too, okay? We will. At least we'll be in familiar territory. Reach out and do with one of these guys. Yep. Clasps. Just like dad taught us. One moment at a time, one day at a time. As she pulls back, she still clutches your forearm and takes to a full standing height, pulling you a little bit towards the front of your feet. And without breaking eye contact, shouts over her shoulder. Here we see off the savior blade of the tempest, his compatriots to a mighty endeavor. Keep your thoughts, keep your luck, and keep your hearts with them. I hold eye contact and cast gust. And just a swirl of air around us. And both of our short haircuts just blow at the talk. You see all the other Ashari step out of their tents, and everyone just kind takes a stoic stance, watching all of you gather at the edge of the water. As Leda releases your grip, she looks to Maeve. Maeve. And Maeve goes and just rushes out and gives you a big hug and then lets you go. All right, as we discussed, and we're about to practice. On three. One. Two. Ready to run. Three. And they all begin to mutter beneath their breath in semi unison these incantations that call out to the spirits of the land. Some meander in different incantations drawing from inspiration of the wild mother. Others just calling to the bound nature of this lake and asking permission to pass through. As they all culminate together just a few seconds behind each other, you watch as this faint bluish green energy emit from their fingers and the edges of the water begin to curl back almost like reverse waves crashing into nothing as it pulls away. You can see all manner of small crustaceans and various lake bottom creatures skittering back to catch up to the water. But slowly it begins to split and divide to about a 10 foot wide pillar of open waterless lake. It is a very muddy thick muck that greets you there, as most lake bottoms are. But you have a path ahead in which water is not a concern. You see Bo dart ahead and even though it's muddy, she's just kind of gliding along top of it. All of you begin to gather up quickly. Yes. And head into the lake. Yasha's gonna go over and pick up Veth. Come on. Oh, thank you. Although I'd rather ride him. Yasha goes up to Brass dear, slaps him on the axe. As you all trek rapidly through the sound of the rushing waters nearby. And the instinct to expect them to come crashing at any moment. That anxiety building within as you follow the path here into the dark shadow of the center of this lake. If somebody has the means of bringing some light to it that might aid you in this journey. None of us have the light spell. I'll summon the Star Raiser and use the word Galasvar. And the sword. You watch this beautiful Elvish blade, this longsword of incredible runes suddenly apparates in this half orc's hand and gives off this bright, vibrant, divine light that lights up the space like the golden glow of a torch. And you can just see in this another example of this strange troop among you, carrying with them truth to their words and a very immediate reason as to why they've also been chosen with such a dangerous task. It doesn't take too long before you come towards the deepest parts of the lake, sloshing through bits of the undergrowth. Oh my God. Sam. It took about a minute for him. Sorry, I was in the Stor story. I don't know what that's from the Candela live show. Anyway, having to leap past all the various underwater heavy Plant life and stuff. Eventually, since there is no real swirling portal, instead, you come to elements of. Of rock, deeper red rock than the rest of the surrounding stone. And there, just past a space that's barely wide enough for the largest of your troop to pass through, is just a black tunnel beyond. This is it. Well, we gotta use it or lose it. See you all on the other side. And I'm going to Caduceus as gonna head down that way. All right, why don't y'all go first? But it's instant swim, right? Right. Then we have to swim up at the gap. You leap in. As you leap in, you kind of hit wet rock. The source of the water that normally flows through here is being held back by the druids. And so right now, it is a what normally is an underwater river that has been cut off from its source. So it is freshly dripping all around. Is there anything interesting on the walls? Is there any. I know it's natural cavern, it's natural rock, but does it seem like any signs of unusual activity, of magical essence, of carvings, anything? Well, as you come to the. The portal itself, the entry that you step into, you can feel that permanently set carving in space that connects this to somewhere else in time. These ancient portals are rare that connect two points in Exandria, or in this case, beyond. But you feel the transition as soon as you dive in through the hole. It's like you feel that crossing over the threshold and then hitting the whetstone beneath. Going through with the light at your disposal, you don't see any carvings. It just looks like natural carved rock. It's like that line in the Lincoln Tunnel where it says, you are now crossing into New Jersey. Imogen follows after you and sends out her flickering dancing lights. I also have a light, just in case. I didn't know what was going to happen. Oh, no, that's really. Mine's a little less. I just tap the crystal on the staff, and it starts illuminating. Those are really great. Mine doesn't fly. Those are very, very pretty. You all emerge from the edge of the very, very small, tight tunnel into the subterranean cavern bit, where the rest of the pool continues on into a deeper cavern to the left, where it has a larger roof space. And then there is, to the right, the rock wall that clambers up at a relatively steep angle and seems to be broken through in a way that it was before in the way that you had left it. Okay. But you stand in this open space after you all come into the chamber and get your bearings. Only 10 seconds later, the water flows once more, passing just a few feet to the left of where you are. And that what was now this emptied river of water fills up rapidly and continues its long set natural state. As the water comes, Beth just goes and grabs onto Brea's. Wait, I was your stand in Brea. I'll take. Okay. Caleb is one of the last one in and globules of amber light float in with him and begin to co mingle above everyone's heads with Imogen's crackling pinkish green. Ooh, yeah, cool. And around Caduceus lit up staff in the center disco room now. All right. Do you all know where to go or. Yeah, we could make our way up. Are we doing the tower though? Well, how much room do we have? It's just this one chamber and then pretty much. And then no. Quite a few underground passageways in there. Well, maybe if we could get away from the wet, that would be good for my friend Veth. Sure. There's not a lot of solid ground from here on out. It's a lot of tunnels and whatnot. We do hit the city at some point though, if I recall. Or no, no. You find a large, smooth carved tunnel that was burrowed by some creature that you have yet to encounter, but only had visions of your first visit. And then that tunnel eventually comes to an end point where you broke through to the surface and that got you closer to the city. But then there was an extended element of traversing the open cracked landscape of Ruidus before you reach the mountain range that cradles the upper portion of Kreviris. So the idea would be to teleport into the city, avoid all of that desert. Would we teleport from the surface or would we teleport from here? What's easier for you? I don't know how this ship works. It couldn't be from anywhere. Here is fine. If there is a little bit more of a dry area a bit ahead, I would prefer that. Yeah, me too. Sure. Yeah. I'm not careful. Okay. You climb up the cliff face to the right of where you came in. It's not an extreme steep climb. Most of that is on the other side of the chamber that you climb to even find this region. But you do eventually find the larger tunnel. It is quite wide and continuous. You would think it was carved as part of the beginning of a sewage system and its size and consistency. But also having traveled in subterranean tunnels. Mighty nein. Especially those that have been dug by large worm like creatures in the past. You recognize this as being a natural burrow of some terrifyingly gargantuan entity? Can I make a suggestion? Yeah. If we're planning on teleporting after this, wouldn't it be wise to do that tonight? You are correct. But is there a safe place to. I can send a message ahead to the owner of that shop. There's a basement level that we get a cellar that we could hide in. Put the tower up. I don't know how much room. You have friendly contacts inside. Yeah. Well, that changes. Yeah, the volition. Yeah. Her name. Her name was Roshina. Rashina was the head of the bulletin. Right. But the owner of that shop, though. There was the owner as Jadot and Zesh was the Reiloran who. And that's where we bought. Did we buy blades there? We bought blades there. And Laudna bought the little figurine pieces. Figurine is from that shop. Yeah. That's way better. So we could teleport to that location. Set up your tower. All right. In the basement. In the basement. And then come up and out in the morning. Perfect. So wait, we're still underground? Is that correct? You are? Yes. We're underground. Where? On the moon. Yeah. Guess what? So Dorian goes. Oh, wow, this is so creepy. When do we teleport to the moon? Oh, right. We're on the moon. We're on the moon. This is it. It happened. Yeah. What even happened? I missed it when went through that hole whole. We went through the whole. It didn't feel like anything mighty. Everybody, everybody, they're with you. We're not on the moon yet. We're not on the moon? No, we're not on the moon. I thought you. Could we just keep it down a little? You guys, shut up. Just a regular cave. Wait, can we have quiet for a second? Sorry. Does Orym hear any giant monsters? Make a perception check. I'll join in that natural 20. Come on. Never mind. For a total of. That's Caleb Heath does not have great perception. I was going to 33. Well, that's great. Never mind. Fuck that. Okay, Robbie, go ahead and roll D20 for me. Oh, I'm sorry. I was excited to be on the moon. You summon. Summon the doom. It's not great. It's. It's. Maybe it's not. I don't know. It's an eight. It's an eight. It'S an eight. Okay. I thought you were supposed to dink for a second. So. So you listen and you. You do hear a shifting, thrumming, bassy vibration at first you're worried maybe something's rummaging through, but you pick up on it. There's also the faint whistle, occasionally, that comes with it. And you get the sense that wherever this tunnel opens up to the surface, there is currently a very heavy storm blowing overhead, and it is causing the wind and the general interior of this tunnel to carry that sort of vibrative sound. Is there a problem, young man? No, I just think it sounds pretty stormy topside. Oh. That is something we might have to deal with. There are a lot of storms. Storms. I can help with that. Wild. Wild. I said I can help you. Actually, I've got a prayer for that. It's in my name. Well, what do you mean, Caduceus? I've been working on a few things, all right. You know, I've had a lot of time. A lot of times. That's right. You weren't with us. With which one? I mean, you know, I have a lot on my plate as well. I know, I know. It's been a rough three weeks. I don't know. So, to the show, then. This. Yeah. Let me send a message to Zesh. Or Zesh. Okay. Or Judo, the owner. Or I'm gonna send it to Zesh. Okay. All right. We need a safe haven. Is the weapon shop clear? Just for moment. Is that all? Mm, yeah. About 10 seconds pass before a response comes. Things are very intense around here. It's cluttered, but should serve safe space for now. That's all I'd say. You know what's interesting about her, boys? She can do a message, and it's very precise. Yeah, it wasn't supposed to be the same, just, like, right to the point. Yeah, great. A little less than. No. Yeah. It lacks precise. What, like, that's hard or something? I could do that too, if I really wanted to. I know. I'm just saying it's a nice. I like the way you do it. Precise. Thank you. It's a total waste if you don't use all your words. I mean, what's the fucking point? That's right. We had buried our grievances. And we're good. Are we good? We're also trying. I'm totally quiet. Oh, sorry. I know. We just like to talk. Shit. Yeah. Sorry. Loud enough. May I see this statue? Wait, what? This statue you referred to. Oh, yes. Yeah. Now. Now it works. Oh, and Jet will probably need that as well, because. Do you want to say something? No. Oh, wait. Do you have a. I have the glass rouge from the weapon. He just turns it in his Hand a few times, studies it. Isn't it pretty? Hands it off to Chetney. Yeah. Are we going now? This is. This is a Martian tchotchke. Yes. It's got special properties. What kind of properties? Like when people who have psychic abilities and can use their mind, it kind of like vibrates. Oh. Actually, if they're going to the mindweaver, they should load up on that shit. I think it cancels out the psychic abilities, doesn't it? It does. What's it. What was that? I look in your. Yeah. I have two daggers. What does it say on the daggers? That's sashimi wields. I would really hate for. Seems like a good use. I think so. I would really hate for sashimi. I don't have one anymore. Oh, wait, this is Bo. Oh, I'm. I'm having this. The problem, but in my head. Wait, no, I have two tabs, but that was also bow tag. Oops. Wait, hang on. It's loading. All right, to what it does, is it. We're on the moon. We are. We are on the moon. It's pretty amazing. Maybe we could do a honeymoon on the moon. If we don't destroy it. Or die. Or die. Or die. Yeah. Maybe we should get married before we go fight this final battle. Because what if we die in there? Do you want to do a simple ceremony in the tower for that? No, I want a big, beautiful ceremony. I could do a ceremony for you, if that's something. Oh, no, no. Jester's very particular. She needs time to plan. Yeah, lots of really big. Like, a lot of dress and a lot of decorations. Yeah. But, you know, sometimes people go to the courthouse, they do something brief, and then they plan for a larger affair. I will now before she kills me. So this is sashimi. Oh, and you see a nightmare doll puppet with, like, a porcelain face and kind of like a weird jester hat. That's awful. And Chetney has taken off her hands, and now she just has two glass blades for him. Puppet master. Yeah. Yeah. So this is sashimi function. She's very pretty, but can be very deadly. So maybe we can get you some more of these daggers, because basically, like, you have a chance to, like, when you hit them, you have a chance to, like, hit real good. Criticals are better. And also, if you're near someone, a Rhuidian born with psychic ability, you get extra attack power and damage. It's, like, better. I don't think we have a Ruidus born with us. No, but if you're fighting them, then you'll be near them. We'll be around a lot of them. Maybe we make crossbow bolts with that. Wait, wait. How many are there? Well, I have two on sashimi. Well, could we loan them the harness? Maybe we are also going into it. That's right. We have to remember the next time we do that. You could give Mighty Nein. I know it's a gamble, but maybe two of you that it's best suited for could absorb them and use it in your upcoming fight. That could. I don't know what this harmony is. We know from studying the glass. The glass doesn't carry an enchantment to it necessarily. And you wouldn't know this, but you would know from studying before it has an inherent ability because of just the proximity of its creation and its origin. But it's not necessarily an enchantment that we're trying. It's a good thought. I don't know much about that. You have disadvantage on intelligence saving throws if you hit them anymore. There's no protective resistance versus psyching, anything like that. It's just damage. It just weakens them. You hit them a little, but yes. Let's check in. Maybe Xesh has some that can. Zesh. Rhymes with Beth. Kind of. Wow. Except not at all. Are you taking all 15 of us? Or perhaps these. That's a little outside of my capabilities. Okay. I was just checking. I mean, I could go and come back and then just. You shall pass. It's a white staff, right? It could be a white staff. No. Fuck. Are you really a plane? Plane Walker. I am, yes. 400 years and counting. I've seen many things, but none of them as pretty as you. Oh, well. I mean, so many suitors today. Right? All right. Ah, yes. Are you single? No. Well, then, no. All right. So who's. All right. Well, so Mighty Nein around me and then Bell's hells around. Chad. Yeah, Chad. I wonder. Does it make sense for us to do a little half and half? Just. Just in case. Just in case you want to cross the street. Kind of fucks up. Fucks it up, yeah. Excuse me. I don't know. Look, we'll chat. Not a bad idea to just have like. But not even. Yes. And then you'd have to track the split party and remember who's with who at all times. I'm actually honest. It's a great idea. I'm more concerned it has nothing to do with you, Dogman. It has more to do with Caleb. Because, you know, we've never. Yeah, we got this little But We've never been, you know, to the basement that we're playing. I dare to go with the wolf. The trinkets will do it, but you are not a. You are an experienced mage. Very nice. You're not grandfather. Mm. How about me and the Minotaur? The blue boy, the dead girl, the monk, the old man and the green man all travel together and then. And then. Oh yeah, the big bitch. The big. Could you say that again so I could write it down? The big bitch. Yep. Ms. Jokes allowed an Imogen form and. Ashton. Don't you fucking dare. Don't you fucking dare. What? Ashton? Just cause. Hey, Ashton could go with Caduceus. I want a name. I want a name. Give me a name, Chef. Oh, that's really nice. All right, Caduceus, you were going to say something. You had an easy way to figure this out. Oh, I was thinking. I mean, the immediate notion would be reverse alphabetical order. The reverse notion would be. Actually, it was difficult because it was Ashton's idea. So hold on, Ashton, you got. Yeah, actually, no, it's no problem. It's really nice not to be like the most fucked up in the group for a month. Both of them. One magic wielder, one healer, and one punchy person minimum in each group. So that if something goes wrong, you at least have options if something goes wrong though. Because sometimes magic gets weird. I really like the idea of this group who's standing on this side of the cavern and then we just happen to be over here and so we'll roll with Chad. Why is it. Why is it that I just disagree with you so much, but you're also so far like the one I like most from the new people. No attracts. Why? You're pretty cool. Yeah, you're all right. I don't know you very well. I hate new people. Alec is down. Come on, bitch. I'm fucking with you. All right, so what object are you using as your focus? The glass from the Ruidian scythe that I purchased from the shop. You got it. So as you hold the staff and you feel the energy because it does a little bit of damage to you, the usage of this many charges of it. But as it does, you watch as the runes glow and the top ones fade. As that magic is expended this side of the room, suddenly feel this strange collapsing of gravity around you for a moment. Almost like you're all being pulled together before space seems to bow out around you. And as it does, you're all standing in absolute darkness. If not for the currently still glowing sword being held by Ford Stone. And you look around you and there are all manner of boxes and crates. Most of them are empty except for some raw glass, greenish teal glass material. Looks like all the lids have been pulled off and some of them have been tipped over with some scattering bits of broken glass. You see a ladder that leads up to what looks almost like a closed latched trap door. And it's not terribly spacious. Basement, maybe 20, 25ft on each side. And with all the boxes in there, it's even more tight around you. The other half of the room. Yeah, Caleb. I'm using the little bit of driftwood art from Carmel that she gave me. Perfect. And with that casting of the spell, a different sort of experience, but the same outcome as you all almost feel pulled forward and you catch yourself with your foot as if you're about to fall onto your face. As you catch the other foot, you're standing in another space entirely here next to the rest of your compatriots. And it's enclosed space. All 15 of you are now pushed up around in this dark area with just the one glowing sword above you. This is a very small space for a meet cube. Standing on my foot. Well, if everyone could just back away five feet from me specifically for a moment, just for fun. I'm gonna cast detect magic in here. I want to see what pops up. Caduceus is Caduceus detect magic. Nothing pops up other than the numerous trinkets and objects that you and all these new and old compatriots carry. Yeah, just like. Also hoping that I hit the upstairs of the. If there's anything glowing through the wall. All right, I take 14 points of damage from the awesome stick. All righty. Do your friends know that we are here? Um, yeah. Yeah, they knew we were coming. All right, good. Caleb will push through the group and go to one wall. What's the floor here? The floor here is a rough, reddish stone ground. It's not very well hewn or polished. It looks like the basement was carved into the rock itself and just enough for functionality more than any sort of aesthetics. So with very little room, Caleb throws his coat behind him and takes a knee and pulls out Kalyana's wand. And I put it upright. And I have some pieces of granite that I use to prop it so that it stays standing. And there are bits of stained glass arranged just so and a small wooden cat. And in a few minutes, you guys are just seeing the top of my head as I'm crouched over it. And then A shimmering rectangle just goes up one wall. And I push a door open that has come into reality. Oh, my God. And you start to see light sparkling in from a larger chamber beyond. There's a lot more room in here. And I'll step inside. Wait, where is that going? I don't understand. Apparently, a tower. It's a tower. It has nine sides. Can I use my nose and get a whiff of what's coming from within the doorway? What does he smell? There's lots of cats. Very faintly you smell Pancakes. Very faint, though. Pancakes? The name of a cat? No, I have a cat named Waffles, but I do not have a cat named Pancakes. Smells good, Laudna. Dare me. Dare you? Jump in. Okay. Dare you. Caleb is already plunking up the brass stairs to the central platform that is about 15ft off the ground. In the giant entry hall, ringed in on all nine sides with stained glass windows each to the nine schools of magic here in Exandria. And then he begins to float. Come on, Come on. No need to delay. Eccentric vehicle. Very fancy. There's a younger. There's a younger me that would have been so excited to steal the silverware. I didn't know that this was, like, hidden under here in this basement. We could have stayed here last time. I think he conjured it. Is this tower, like, protruding out of the floor into the city 60ft above you? Oh, there he goes. Well, we're technically not on the moon anymore. Once you have come in here, we are in another place. Shit. How do we just go down through the door? That you're 30 seconds on the moon. It's a little Sad. Only like 30 seconds on the moon. I know it's pretty meager in here, but I think the higher you go, you'll be happy. And the bonus is you don't have to be quiet in here anymore. Guys. As she floats up. Is this some sort of helium whizz? Hold on. Yeah, so it's like, in the center, everyone's doing the floaty thing. That's right. I don't know. I'm gonna go in there. I want a Willy Wonka. This. Okay. Yeah. Indeed. In the center of the chamber, you lift up as you will yourself up. Kick off. Now, Ashton, as you fly through, there is an irised open portal in the ceiling of this giant room. And once you pass through, there is another hall. Not as tall, but on all nine sides. There are wooden doors that have swung open all around the room, and each of them is almost set up like a cabana. Bedroom on the beach where there are curtains hanging out and there's a very handsome four poster bed in each of those rooms. I just prepared this in a rush because there's so many of us. So Belshaus, you. You're free to wander anywhere in the tower. But we can go anywhere. Just about anywhere? Yeah, just about. Just about. Okay. Then it casts spider climb and just starts climbing all over the place. Did you get out of the center okay? I'm just sitting on the hammer for that. I just click the hammer and I'm just sitting, taking it in. It's real nice as. As you go over the side of this chamber, you're above the beds, but there are grooves in the wall and a spectral cat goes like. And just flies up out of a tunnel at the side of you. I poke my head into the tunnel. I think you're skinny enough to fit in there. You climb in like gloam glut squeezing through a temple window. And you can see cat anus about 50ft ahead of you glowing down a dark tunnel. The cat anus is glowing? Yeah, it's a spectral arcane. The arcane butthole cut. Got it, got it, got it. Shanks dislocate my shoulders to get even thinner and then just use the tip of my fingers to bishop your way through a polished wooden marble. Run in here and it splits off into three directions. And the more you travel through it, you realize that these things go through every wall of this place. You continue to go. She's in the wall. Make a mess. Hell yeah. Oh, no. Hell yeah. Don't even worry about making a check. Yeah, you just start wandering through the wall. Okay. As you all scatter off to begin to wonder and find your individual rooms and prep for an evening of hopeful rest before what is likely to be a very chaotic event in the day to come. A series of events with a very chaotic crew. We're gonna go and take a. This has been wonderful, chaotic fun. Yep. We'll be back here in a few minutes to pick up from this chaos. We'll see you all soon. We interrupt this Critical Role Podcast network broadcast to bring you news of dangerous treasures that lie sealed within the Critical Role Shops. Only the hardiest of adventurers should dare seek them out. In all seriousness, though, I'm Matthew Mercer and we've made some very cool things that we really like and hope you will too. If you'd like to support the show, please consider visiting any of our Critical Role online shops through the shop tab at critrole.com and see if anything catches your eye. Okay, back to the show and welcome back. So bells, Hells and Mighty Ninth. As you've begun to wonder about the inside of the nine sided tower, finding your various bedchambers, or getting lost in the various tunnels of the walls, is there anything you'd like to do before the evening closes? Yeah, we should have a midnight snack. Oh yeah, I'm gonna. Just in case he's. I'm going to get the assistance of a bunch of cats. As many cats as I can get. You have baking cats? Yeah, we're gonna make a big midnight dessert. We're gonna need two of them. I'm going to help you. So this is just pastries for. I'm not going to bake anything though. I'm just going to use my magic. I guess we can do it that way too. That's fine. I just feel like it's faster and I'm not a very good cook, Ada, so. Well, we've got. We. I was just going to figure we would. You could bake some things. I could. No, let's just get it done. Clearly. Could be our last meal. Caleb, is there anything that makes musical noise in your home? Is there a. I mean, I can just wish for it to happen and we can have it, but it is always nice. I see the instrument you're carrying. Oh yeah. I just thought maybe if you had a canonical piano or something in this realm that makes music. I've got mine. Do you need a piano? What? Do you need a piano? I don't need one, but if you have one. I have a piano. If you need a piano, then I. I just fucking play something. Okay. Can you make a piano? You know, so Yasha plays too. You play too. I do. She's a very talented harpist. Really? String instruments? Yes. I can play with you if you would like. All right, so I play whistle, but I'm really busy cooking. There is one floor, it's the third floor in here that is like a large library and salon. Multi tiered with library shelves. This is just for you, Robby. Yes. Yeah. Thank you. Library shelves and chaise lounges and little different well lit cubbyholes where you can go have separate conversations or gather together. There's a big fireplace. Yes. They have soiled my tower on numerous occasions, I assume. I usually just leave for a couple hours. And there's a giant fireplace with a stained glass window above it with the pattern of Molly Mock's coat on it. And there is like a house. You've Been born around the fireplace too. Molly would have wanted it. Okay. Who's Molly Jabeau? I say Molly Kingsley. It's a. We'll get into it later. All right. Well, we don't really have to. You're going to. Died. Kind of died. Came back, was a really big bad guy that we fought and then turned into a. You got into Ally? Well, it's the DL Doctor. Okay. You'll write a book about it or something. My bone harp. The harp is made of bones. Is it? Is it put together and then is it big or is it like a hand harp? It's kind of a hand harp. Oh, okay. There is a stunning harpsichord right next to the file for you to put. Do you know this one? No. Just kidding. Ah, you are very talented. I knew it. I'll just start to play some kind of pretty tune and see if we can drop into. You can set up our midnight snack in here while they play. Yeah, it only takes 10 minutes. Yeah, let's do it. By the way, Laudna, when you crawl, eventually crawl out of a hole, you come into this one chamber that is almost like V shaped and it is a kitchen. And then it's got about 100amber colored spectral cats in here. Most of them house cat size, but there are a few full on tiger sized cats walking around with trays on. And there are, funnily enough, red ribbons strewn from holes all over this room, crisscrossing and hanging. And there's bells hanging and one of them just goes like ding, ding, ding, ding. And you watch as a cat goes and then goes up a little tunnel and disappears out one of the marble run holes. It is like the CPU hub of the tower. This is amazing. Sprinkle. Look at it. I like that your folders are fingers though. Laudna, honey. They're setting up some sort of magical snack for us. Okay, I'm not sure where I am, but there's a bunch of magical cats. Come follow the music cause Dorian and Yasha are gonna play. Okay. Okay. Make a. Are you using the tunnels? Perception or survival? Yep. Perception or survival? Check. So last game Robbie was like, I'm gonna use my background feature, which I forgot was a thing. Okay, what's yours? Mine is that being an urchin. I know the secret patterns and flow to cities. And I can find passages throughout the urban sprawl that others would miss. Cat city. Yeah. And then I know the fastest location. Would that count apply to this magical tower? To the tiny cat back backrooms, if you will roll a perception or survival check. Okay. That's fucking fair. With advantage. Because of the feature. I mean, I don't know. I'm adjusting the DC accordingly. If you went form of dread into a cat demon, would it make it better? Maybe freaking all the time. You get like catty stuff. That's pretty good. That's a 15, so 22. Oh, yeah, yeah. You easily. You don't even take the same path back. You hear the music at Imogen's insistence and kind of like head slither your way through a series of new passages. Pussycat, pussycat, I love you. And kind of pour out of one elevated hole. Yeah. Did you help you find the kitchen? Oh, we decided that we're not doing it that way. Okay. Okay. We're just gonna make it magic. I looked at you Caduceus. Then I looked over for a jester, but she wasn't there. It was Imogen. I can see how that would make me very confusing, but did you need me? Nah. Nah. So we're just gonna magic a bunch of food. Okay. All of my food is heart shaped. What about you could use his. All my food is not heart. Sh. Hmm, boring. We'll see. Maybe like a human heart. I thought your food would be shaped like a dick. Jester. A missed opportunity. To be fair, if you take one of the hearts and then you take one of Caduceus Little and put them together, it looks like a dick. I knew it would happen. Anyway, what is this song? What is this song called? Oh, it's an old classic. Maybe your party's bard knew it. Did you have a bard in your party or. Oh, do all parties have bards or something? I just saw. Do you have Yasha? I mean, yeah, Yasha. Yasha played bards. I know it. I know. This is classic. This is how I know it. What is it? We try and keep a low profile. I feel like it's called the Alabaster Baby. Alabaster Baby. It's called the Alabaster Baby. Oh, such an insight. No, I remember my mom used to sing this as a lullaby before she left. When I was a baby. No, I was. Ashton would know it. Ashes don't care. Would you care to dance? Oh, yes. It's a lovely song, don't you think? Well, yes, it is a classic. I know. Josh, play something kind of like slow and sexy. Oh, okay. Okay, I'll jump in. I'll jump in. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Yes. One dance before dinner maybe. I guess that couldn't hurt. And it's just. It's super horny harp music. Sure, sure. Sure. So horny harp music. The horniest harp music you've ever heard. Yep. That. You look so sad. Yes, well, it's been a weird day for me. I. Your friend freaks me out a little bit. Yeah, she does that to everybody she meets. So you have a husband? Yes, I do. We're actually very happy. And yet you're. You're trying to get with me for some reason. Yes. Well, it's a problem I have. I don't know why I'm so attracted to minotaurs. I mean, we're very handsome, yes, but I don't know. I shouldn't be doing this. Keep playing. Keep playing. I want this moment to play out. Keep playing. I feel like this is how Sam write script. It all ends in Sam boning himself. Forget it. I can't do it. I can't do this. And Feth runs off. Beth, don't run too far. You need to eat something. Oh, you're right. She comes back. At this point. We have a nice table of soup. We have a nice bread. I have. Well, you've got the hearts. I made little moons. Red. Little red moons. Little red hearts. We got little. Yeah, little mooncakes. Purple horseshoes and yellow diamonds. Don't you? Just a couple. So you all live here in this tower? Yeah, this is a home. The home for the nine of us. Well, not. I mean, when we're traveling, when we're on missions. But I actually normally live with her. Yeah, she lives with me. Oh, wow. We had a really nice. Really nice little cottage in Zadash. Oh, you do? Do you have, like a. Like a garden situation? We do, yeah. Yes. I turn to it. Yep. We are neighbors. Not too far from Fiora. And my home, it was just about a block and a half away. Oh, really? Mm. Yeah. Caleb and I were still doing a lot of work together. Work partners. If you ever need any furniture, you know, Chetney over there is. Oh, yeah, an emcee. Oh, by the fire. That's an easy way out. I see. Well, I would love to do a little exploring before bed. You're a druid, right? I can sense it on you. Yes, I am. Okay, listen. So can you turn yourself into animals? Yes, I can. Me too. You can? Yeah. Should we go explore? Yeah. We could turn into cats or whatever. And we could go live amongst them for a little bit. Oh, boy. Oh, my God. We do need our rest because it's a long, busy day tomorrow. But maybe just for a little bit. Maybe just like a little bit. And then maybe just like. Just for A little bit. Yeah. And then you could just show me around. Yeah, but shove some of this food in your face. You need to get better. How, Mom? Have fun. Kids, please take notes. So everyone who takes part in the meals here, which all of you can on both sides, you gain this benefit for the next 24 hours. Ooh. First off, your hit point maximum increases by 2D. Who rolls? I'll say just one of you. Roll for both of you. Actually, you roll 1d10, I'll roll the other. Let's do that. Good idea. Oh, it's. Cause I rolled an image and dice. I should have rolled a jester. Dude. Wait, what'd you get? I rolled a two. All right, we're at seven. Then everyone gets. So everyone's rolling. Let me roll a jester dice and see if it's better. So everyone gets to add seven hit points. So all your hit points are increased by seven maximum. Not temporary. Maximum. Maximum. You know, for a day. For a day. Max HP modifier override. Max hp. Just keep a note of what it was before. I am just putting it in time. It's easy. I get too confused. Also, he's got feelings. This is intense. Yeah. Also, for the next 24 hours, you are immune to poison, both to status and any poison damage. You're also immune to becoming frightened, so nothing can make you fearful. And you have advantage on all wisdom saving throws clutch. Which is huge. Huge here. Caleb is also going to go over to Yasha. Yasha, come here, Ben. Bend down a little bit. And he places his thumbs. Bend over. Thank you, Jessa. Onto her temples and slides one thumb right into their center. Come on, Caleb, give me a thumbs up. Do you want to cast this into the center of her forehead, between her eyes? And then the other hand comes free and begins to trace lines through the air. And I cast at eighth level mind blank on you. So you for 24 hours, nobody can fuck with your brain. You are. Let me get it up. I'm in Orym's page. Keeping on the wrong one too. Until the spell ends, you're immune to psychic damage. Whoa. Any effect that would sense your emotions or read your thoughts. Divination spells Charmed don't work it. Foils wish spells. Effects of similar power used to affect the target's mind or to gain information about the target. And then I use my 9th level slot to do it to myself. Wow. All right. So for 24 hours. Okay, so we don't need the wild barbarian. All right. So you are affected by mine. Blink. Okay. I'm Cool. Great decoration. All right. Was. Does your group have any tricks? Oh, maybe. Oh, no. 100%. I start making sashimi and pate and I'll sprinkle do like, you know, like a commedia dell'art type of style play. Oh, that's really fun. I don't think that's. That's. I don't think that's. It's helpful what they meant. No, I mean I'm entertained. Cause I'm a fan of the odds. Do you have anything that lasts for most of them? Lasts for an hour. Yeah. Mine's an hour. Eight hours at best. Oh, eight hours at best. Okay. I mean we have things like that, but I don't know if we should use them now. Cause later. Later. Yeah. Is it still the same day that Dorian sucked in a thing and. Yep, it is. So after we wake up, we can do another one, Correct? Yeah. So that will have passed by the morning and then you could do another one. You could do multiple ones if you wanted to. You just have to roll the dice to see if it's gamble if the mighty Nein have any things that they would be willing to suck into a. Nothing super fancy until one a day though, for that device. Unless we want to risk breaking it. I mean, it might be smart at this point in time. I'd say one more day. Well, no, this might be the last day. This might be the last smashes. Yeah. So it's a 20% chance that it. 20% chance or goes down 20% each time. No, meaning each additional time it's used in a 24 hour period, there's a 20% cumulative chance. So 20% for the second one, 40% for the third, 60% for the. Yeah, you can try it. It's always a vibe. You know, Caleb notices that way, 100ft away across the salon, the little halfling fellow is sitting on a chaise by himself. He's oiling his sword over there. So what goes? And I take out sending stone and I kind of knock it on a wooden railing. You're awfully far away. Oh yeah. Just a lot to process. It is indeed. You know, over the past few weeks, I tried to use this to reach out to you. I did the same, actually. It never worked. Yeah, well, magic has been a little bit temperamental the last few weeks. You know, I'm tempted to ask you if you're all right, but I know that with what everybody is dealing with tomorrow, it's a silly question. You should probably be with your friends and. Yeah, I just. I Don't want to burden them. You know, not that wisdom is synonymous with age, but I have been around this flat earth a few more times than you and I can see you shouldering it. And it is harder to do if you don't tell your friends what's on your mind. Yeah, it's so much I don't. They're all dealing with enough on their own. They don't need it. Well, that is foolish talk. Aurum of the air. Charlie, maybe you and I are not going to see another 48 hours. If not now, when? Anyway, don't mean to talk your ear off. Come get something to eat before it goes bad. Stick to the pastries, Lord. Note goes up to Beau. Hey, Bo. Bo, no. And she walks away. Jester is feeding heart to Dorian while he's playing. This way you can still keep, you know, entertaining and you don't have to lose out on the hero's feast because it's really good for you. Mm. Mm. Well, Ashton is going to be taking mooncakes over to Yasha and also just kind of offering so that you can keep playing. Get that out of my face. I'll put it in my mouth. I have a question, if you won't mind. Well, finish your fucking food. You're getting crumbs all over my harp. How did you snag that? Cause I've been like trying to. I don't know, I've been like. I've been trying to like hook up, hook up with this girl. I've been completely off my game. I don't know what's going on in my head. I've been freaking out. But like how? Like you shouldn't have enough game for that. And yet here you are and you have so much confidence. I'm asking. Listen, I am not the person to ask. I have zero game. But how did that happen? I don't fucking know. Dorian just plays. I take some of the half chewed mooncake and I toss it at you. You need to have some advice on how to get with that person. Yes, she's the one who taught. Cause I could give you some advice. Fuck, I'm desperate. Okay, tell me who it is. Is it in this group? Is it in this room? Do you think? Do any of us, do any of us know anybody else at this point? I don't know. I don't know anybody else other than these people. Okay, let me guess, okay. Is it the little old man? We've already had a torrid affair. It didn't end well. Okay, is it the dead the woman? No. Is it. Is it the girl with the purple hair? No, no, no, no, no. What about the big furry girl with their horns? Horns are pretty sexy. Yeah. No, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. It's her. Tell me everything you've done. Have you told her how you feel? I have. I mean, like, I kind of fucked up some shit and like, you know, there was a moment and then everything kind of fucked up. I fucked up really big. Is kind of what I do because, you know, I'm no good at actually, like maintaining reasonable relationships with people. I'm a self sabotager. I'm well aware. I need more to drink. Very charming. I'm really not, though, but thank you. Okay. You are also crazy. Thank you. You're welcome. I mean it as a compliment. Okay, so, yeah, she's super hot. She's got big boobs. Yeah. That's fair. I mean, you know, I'm. I'm, I'm. I'm. You know, that's. I'm. I like all sorts of. I love her boobs. I love everything. I'm a big fan of everything. Okay. I like hot. Definitely hot. All right. She's very hot. Yeah. Okay. I mean, I wasn't going to say anything, but I noticed. No, no, no. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. Have you written her like a love letter? I mean, like, it's really not. I'm not that kind of person. I don't know. And I don't think. I don't think she's that kind of person. I honestly, I just want. I just want to like, you know, I just kind of want to see where something goes. But, like, I fucked up so bad in the beginning. I need you a copy of this book. You are. Listen. It's a great guide on how to woo somebody. It's called Tusk Love. It's like, it's got a lot of what girls like, even though they don't like to admit it, you know? So, like, there's two ways you could go about this. You. My fiance over there, he's so romantic. He's hot. He's super hot. You like? Okay, so he didn't used to dress like this. This. This is how it dresses now. Well done. No, you fucking. Yeah. Look at those nipples hanging out. No, it's really. Listen. Like that. Could you cut glass with that? When he first kissed me, he was super shy about it and he was like, jester, can I kiss you? Yeah. No. And I was like, okay. It was super romantic. Another way you could do it though, is Just go up to her, grab the back of her head, dip her over, and just, like, plant one on her face. She's a bit taller than me, so, like. Actually, that would require some sidestep, but I get what? You're strong, right? I'm very strong. I mean, yes. I mean, you could go up to her, just put your face in her boobs. Cause that's where you are. Right? I'm a little taller, but, I mean, honestly, I can just bend at the knees. I think this is a great plan. Yeah, no, again, it's. And then say, you are my everything. You're my heart and my destiny. I can't imagine myself without you. I mean, but I can. But, yeah, I get it. You light me on fire. That's fair. That's actually very true. She has a couple times. Actually lit me literally on fire. Wow. Yeah. And then, you know, if all else fails, just tell her exactly how you feel. Oh, fuck. Okay. Be honest, because that usually works. That doesn't usually work. By the way, I gotta say, that pamphlet was really good. And I appreciate. I appreciate the little maze at the back. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where you have to, like, get from the beach all the way to the volcano, and then you get the golden dick. That's pretty cool. Yeah. Oh, here. Yeah. You have more? Well, I have more pamphlets if you want to pass them out. I'm more than happy to give you some more, but no, this is just a little dick. You can prey on it whenever you want to. Think of the trouble. I feel like I already have a dick to crayon, but I'm into it. All right. That went well. Ford, you light me on fire. And I dip him and I kiss his face. And then I lift up and I shove my head in his chest. I told you these shirts aren't big enough. Yeah. You're so sexy. Final. Love it. Somewhere, a patch of Henry Crabgrass just died. 132nd generation Fearne has been in the other room. And I have turned into a cat. Just a white, fluffy cat, but also a Scottish fold. So they had. Oh, so cute. So I, like, come in the room. Caleb clocks the real cat, immediately looks for goes in between Jester's legs and then goes out the door. Oh, my gosh. Caleb. Fart, my darling poof. And I turn into a little blue cat and follow around. Not that. Not that. Oh, fuck. Uh, allergic. I can't turn into a. I'm just gonna. Yeah, they're adorable. I want to go to where we're not allowed. That does exist. Here. Yes. And I feel like Jester will take me there. I twitch my tail, we just wrap our tails around each other. Okay. And the two of you go wandering off in your cat forms. Caleb, do you care or let them want. Well, they could go anywhere they want in the tower, but eventually, eventually they would reach a floor where the. So each of the different floors of the tower, there's sort of a brass irising open enclosed shutter, and you reach a floor where that shutter is closed. We're gonna try to figure out a way to get up into it. Yeah. How? Or cats. Yeah. We're gonna look for little doors that go into the wall to see if I can find a cat door that opens up higher than where we are. Okay, go ahead and roll a perception or survival check for me, if you don't mind. Okay. Can I assist you? Sure. Yeah. So you could roll advantage. Okay. Uh, 19. 19. Pretty dang good roll, Caleb. Are there any pathways they ceiling off on this floor? I know we can't talk to each other when we're polymorphed. Right? I know. But you do find, you do find you can get into. Well, you can't get into the bedrooms because the bedroom all have little latched doorways so that the cats can't just invade uninvited and Scanlan can't crawl through them. I'm thinking in advance your son get into Caleb and Vith's laboratory. They have a shared laboratory, all the kitchens. Yeah. There's spells, there's like a magic workshop. Laboratory to fuck with if you want. Okay. I feel like we would go into the laboratory and just like knock things over. Uh huh. Just. Just 30 minutes of King King Kong. Nothing but eye contact between the two while they around. Bo goes and finds Ford after they've left. Yo. Huh? You doing all right? Oh, fucking cats. Every time. I know. I just always think we'll come back and it'll be like schnauzers or, I don't know, weasels. Well, there was that one time that Caleb let me turn them all into dogs for Yasha. You know, I kind of. Don't tell them that. Don't tell them this, but I kind of preferred it when it was dogs. Oh, I would also to throw my hat that ring. Yeah, he was very. He was very stubborn about it, to be fair. A tiger walks by. Jesus. What is the function of that? I don't know why. Just feels unnecessary. It does. I give him a little bit of whiskey, like, kind of like a hot toddy. Like work up whiskey. Hey, Yum. What do you think about these kids? Oh. Think they're gonna make it? No, I think that this is the definition of cannon fodder. Yeah. Yes. I mean, obviously they're meant to break the way as a diversion and then we, you know, do our thing. Yeah, I was kind of wondering that, like, you think they're literally being put forth as like bait? I mean, it seems like they were drawn at random. The one old one, the guy made of rocks, the big lady, I mean, you know. Yeah. Well, she has pink hair and purple lightning going up her arms. I mean, where is the cohesion? Yeah. Yeah. No, that's fair. Yeah. I kind of think they all might die, but. No, if they die, what happens to us? Are we supposed to go in fucking back? That was not part of the arrangement. No, I don't think so. I mean, I have to admit they do have a nice vibe, but, you know, I think our task is different from theirs. I don't know how we can be focused on ours and then keeping an eye on them as well. Well, we're top brass. They're a fucking grab bag that you can get at taste of tal'dorei chumps. Yes. I've never been there, by the way. You've never been there? No. You keep saying they just opened one in Zadesh. You've been on the. You've been on the river or fucking the ocean for too long. It's true. They don't have any out. They don't have any open. No. Well, next time you come by, we'll go. It's real dumb. Do you think we need to buff them in some way, give them a handout? I don't got shit. I don't think. Besides what Caduceus did. You can't teach him some moves like a fucking hook kick or some shit over fucking night. Their best. If they try to get into hand to hand combat, the best thing they should do is just go fetal. You'd be frankly irresponsible to try and put false hope in their head. That's true. The little one with the sleeve, though, I mean, he. He looks like a good. Oh, yeah, yeah. No, he's cool. He's all right. Anyway, well, I just think, you know, we're aware, if anything, you know, I. I just care, you know, I care about us. I care about Mighty Nein and I don't. They're a liability, so shit goes wrong. Oh, God, I'm such an. I mean, yeah, but it's. It's a fair point. I Mean, are we here to babysit or are we here to take care of our job? Feels like babysitting up until a certain point. Well, maybe they've. Maybe they've done something to earn this sort of trust. I don't know. I can't imagine what. Yeah, maybe it should be us fighting Predathos, you know? Why isn't it us? I hadn't thought of that. Why isn't it us? Are you rudeus born? No. Were you born under a moon? No. Fuck. Well, maybe we. Maybe we. Maybe we should keep an eye on them. We could bribe one of them to join our side. You know, the one that's like a deer. She seems pretty pliable with the hooves. Yeah, yeah. Ego, almost. I feel like I could give her a sucker and she would come over with us. That's true. All right, well, ultimately, if. Just if, you know, things go tits up, I just want to make sure that we're like, yeah, no, it's aligned. We're team focused. We're team focused on us first. Yeah. Things go bad, our own people first. And then if we can help them, fine. Yeah. I mean, we take care. We take care of our part of the puzzle. And then if we have to clean up their part, we do that. We'll roll, roll, assess. All right. I just want to make sure. Really hope they don't die. Do you have any more of that hot toddy? Oh, yeah. Here. I'm gonna go get some honey. Thank you. I'll be right back. Excuse me, Mr. Buckabee? Are you sleeping? Grandfather, I'm so allergic to cats. I can barely breathe in front of this fire. Is there anything that I can get for you? Anything? An EpiPen, like a quill? What? Your cats came by, was making biscuits in my ass. Listen, this is a little embarrassing. I didn't want to lead with it, but I am very honored to have you here. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. He just cracked one eye open. Ear. What do you. What do you mean? I didn't want to be too forward about it, but when I was a child in Wildemount, my parents used to take me once or twice a year into Rexentrum in the big city. And we could never afford to buy them ourselves, but I used to stand in the windows of the toy shops of Rexentrum and look at your work and dreamed what it would be like someday to own a Pocketpie Original. And I was never able to as a child. But now I am not a child. And I have several of your pieces upstairs in My personal chambers. And it is just a great honor for me to meet you and to work with you in this way. You do not. You have. You have some of my. My. Tell me your name again. My name is Caleb. Will. Caleb Widogast. It is a pleasure to meet you. You have a keen eye for craftsmanship. I can tell. This is your place. It is my place. And I can honestly say that when I was a child, you lit a little spark of imagination in me that I don't think was quite there, that has grown into such as this. So that means more than I can say. Wielandonk. Wielandonk. I had an idea to commemorate this evening. And he pulls out this large wooden shield. This big. It looks just like a shield, but it is carved just out of wood. I happen to have this in my workshop. And I would, if we could commemorate this evening. If we all live past this, wouldn't that be something? And I thought perhaps you could emblazon it with the words nine Hells. But one thing is very important. You spell it the right way. So. Not the. Our name is a bit of wordplay. Not the number you start to carve. N, E, I, N, N, E, I, N. Got it. Semnian for no. So nine Hells. Like your swords are with an S or a Z in your group? Yes. You have to tell me. I just figured Zemnian would be Wiggity, wickety. Bells. Bells, Chet, Bells. Nine Hells. Hells with an S were Hells. I mean, if you want to be boring about it. Technically, nine Hells could be very Zemnian, because Hells is the possessor. So we would be the bells. Hells Bells. The bells belong to Hell. It will be done with the greatest of filigree and care. And if you wouldn't mind, maybe even some representations of our group. That is too much, but please do so. Nine Hells with a Z. So, wait, have we never synced up on this as a crew? No. Bells was a. He is a Bells. But it's just such a bitch to ride the apostrophe. We never had it printed on jackets. Oh, yeah. No, never mind. Scratch that. Yeah. We never did write it down, did we? No, we just say it. Or someone else wrote it down. Did we ever write it on any of those contracts? Maybe that's why no one ever calls back. Oh, yeah. I'm already just starting to like a fucking 3D printer just going to shit. Imagine 10 bucks, he's dead by morning because of this. This might just be the last thing he can do. The irony would be just too. Too heavy. I never leave an invoice unfulfilled. Oh shit. But Chad is real old. Yeah. Really many years of bringing joy to children of exandria. That's right. I made many cat pieces. And if he dies early enough the cats can start feasting on him. And he can bring a lot of joy to cats. I can hear you. Ashton. Wait. So you make toys or furniture or something? All sorts of things. Well, anything but the greatest substance known to exandria. What are you a sea popper? Caleb? Widow gas. I am unfamiliar with the term sea popper. They're a fan group of chats that we've recently collected. I didn't know this was. Did you have some of his pieces? I did not know this. Caleb disappears up a hole. That's funny. I've heard you say the say C pop with hello, Caleb. Caleb. Caleb has the fifth. There are some eggs up there. Flying one right now. And he returns, he's got like a small wicker basket with some with things and a blanket inside with things gingerly placed. And he says these, I don't have many because they're hard to come by, but I have this. And he puts out a little wooden cat and he touches its tail and the paw goes like this on it. And then he puts out what looks like a big on two legs lizard with a huge tail and a big open mouth. Roaring. And then he places out a big wooden gorilla. And that one just goes like this with some sort of latch on the back. And then he places out a wooden egg. You know this are really rare. Holy shit. I am very aware. The last guy we met with one of those kept it locked away in a big magical safe. I keep mine in an extra dimensional space. That is incredible. And I reach for the lizard. I remember this very well. And I reach into the bag of holding and I take out an alligator that has a very flexible tail and a mouth that hinges. There's a whole evolution of these. Would you mind if you took the new one and I took a little bit of the old. It's history for me. Of course. Natalish. Wait. I feel like. I feel like Fearne wants to. Did we come back in? Sure. We batted around things enough. Yeah, I mean we've batted around things enough. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is that strike two? That was strike two. What strike two. Oh, also just a general announcement. You're welcome to travel the tower, but if you go into my study, please. Someone has been up there and knocked things all over the Place what? There's very expensive materials in there and very fine paper. Who would do such a thing? Maybe you know what it is, Caleb? It's probably every time you build this place, it shakes a little bit and you need to lock things down a little bit better. Also, you have, like, so many cats walking around, so. I'm sure cats like to do that. That is how it works. You have an egg. Yeah. Are you familiar? I can. Are you a sea popper? Yes, I am. May I see it? Yes, but please be very ginger with it. Oh, be so ginger, please. So ginger. Something tells me you might not be ginger. I have not given it to you yet. I'm still holding it. I'll just help. Please enjoy. Thank you very much. In your head you're gonna hear. Now, if that's important to you, keep your keen eyes open. I am using my ring of telekinesis and saying. I am already holding it with telekinesis, should anything go amiss, I'm gonna try to steal it. Okay, make. Okay. First make a slight hand check. Wow, this is so cool looking. Oh, no. 10. She also have to make a strength. That. That was the next contest. No. Okay, so make a strength check for me. And you go ahead and roll and add your spell model. Okay. It's the modifier, right? Correct. Yeah. Not great. What you got? 16. 14. 14. So, Fearne, describe how you very poorly steal this to nobody noticing as they stare at you. As I stare at you? Yeah, as he stares right at you. And it puts up resistance as it is being psychically held, but you still manage to muscle it free from its spotted space. I just am like, I have to go to the bathroom. Where is the restroom? As you do, it's like, where's the restroom? I pull the egg toward me. I couldn't help but notice that you put my very priceless pocket heirloom into your bosom. Shit. I would very much like to keep it, if that is okay. I would, too. That's where she keeps all her. What if we die? That's all I want. I mean, you're probably gonna die. Hi. What? Okay. Here. Here's your egg. Tarin. If it means so much to you, I could make you. I want one of the Five. They're collectors, clearly. But you can. If you want to make me one, you can. Oh, fuck that. I want the odds. It's fine. Maybe there's a way to find one of the other three that we haven't found yet. You know, it is also highly likely that this is A forgery. Caleb flies up into the tunnel. Fine. Well, I got it. Well, yeah, I was. Caduceus. He's going to. Okay, I'll do Caduceus now. Go ahead. Go ahead on. See this shit. Hello? That's actually not bad. What? Was that bad? This game is a gift that keeps on giving me. I know. I can't help it. Caduceus wanders over to Brayus. Oh, that makes more sense. Yeah. Move. Sure. I get the sense that you are probably, possibly the token man of faith in your group. We've all been wrestling with faith. Well, not all, but some of us have been wrestling with various forms of faith. If you don't mind me saying so, I've been observing you and your group of friends, and. And I can feel your conflict. And I can see that you are clearly wrestling with a few things. And. Well, I've always found that consulting with another person of faith when one's faith is in question, is a very good way of settling things and getting a clearer insight. And especially considering what we're about to do. This is a poor time to be conflicted. I agree. The gods don't make things easy, do they? We don't make things easy. True. I guess I would. The thing that I've been wondering or trying to figure out for myself is if you're not given a clear sign, how do you know? How do you know that your faith is directed in the right direction? I suppose I've found that people come to faith in a variety of ways. And sometimes it's because they have a question, and sometimes it's because they've found an answer. What brought you to yours? What is the thing that. What is the place where your fulfillment is found? Do you still worship the Platinum Dragon or. Yes, I do, in a sense. In a sense? Yes. Well, I felt betrayed by the Platinum Dragon and found solace in my grief and anger in another force. Well, there's no judgment here. But now I've met these people, beings, and everything that they have shown me about themselves and their hearts, it's pointing me back to the dragon. It's almost like what I thought was what I was so certain of and what I was so sure of is coming into conflict with reality and the people that I've met. I guess I don't know whether to believe my heart or to believe my friends. I'm surprised. They're two different things. That is conflict. I'd say sometimes we can get caught up in the question and stop looking for the answer. And why me? Very Common question that most people don't want the answer to. Sometimes that answer is because we made the wrong choice or the right choice at the right time. And sometimes that answers because we are at the mercy of the winds even more than the gods themselves. Maybe it isn't the Platinum Dragon that failed you. Maybe it was people. And that's, I think, much harder to get comfortable with. That's very wise. I have my moments. Unrelated. You seem like someone who would know the answer to this. I might. Is Fu Usaka. Good. Make a history. Check. All right. 18. 18. You know exactly what Fusaka is. Well, there's certainly an argument for it. I think so. But I'm often told that I'm incorrect about this. Just, we've been undergoing a lot of stress lately, and it seems like if it could relieve that in some small way. Who are you pledged to? I don't know anymore. What are the options? The options are good and bad. I think good and bad. The options are what you need. What did you think you need? Why'd you think? Try some honesty. I can help if you like. Do you want to try some honesty? That's so new. I guess I found my path to Asmodeus. I've heard worse from. I was in a place where I was sort of tossed aside and devalued. And. Well, he gave me strength, Purpose. Um. Power. Yeah, it felt good. That's a good place to heal. Sometimes you just don't want to get stuck there. I mean, how do you know when you've healed? When you realize it's time to leave? Is it time to leave? I don't know. I've been in four different planes of existence and two different planets in the last four days. When I first met these people, my people, I was a new addition. And it was vertigo inducing. I nearly threw up several times, panicked. Thought about going home, panicked. But eventually I figured out I was just what they needed. You were what they needed? Yeah. And honestly, they were what I needed, too. You think that maybe there's a chance I'm what they needed? I do quite a bit. In fact, I have quite a bit of faith in it. Hmm. That's interesting to think about. Oh, you smell nice. Thank you. This is actually a. I grow. I grow this at home and kind of press it into an oil. I've got a bottle of it. It's ready. I'll take it short. Oh, yeah. No, please. Just behind the ears. Yeah, I do. Just a little. I need a little wrist, too. Wrists. Yeah, it's a Pleasure to be fighting alongside you. You too, Caduceus. And I will say for now, Paladin of the Bells. Hells. You can figure the rest out later. Paladin of the Hells. Sounds great. Which one remains to be seen. Well, there's quite a few of them. Cheers to that. That all right? L. All right? Yep. Got a busy day tomorrow. Dorian. You can stop playing now. I. Sorry. I was startled by the profanity. And I wasn't going to stop until you stopped, so. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Thank God. End it on a strong note. And three, two. Oh, chop. Everyone should get some sleep. You guys are fighting Ludinus Dith. It wouldn't be the first time. Yep. We just see him all the time now. Yeah. Yep. Kind of obsessed. Yeah, it's weird. He's a bit of a prick. Yeah, we've noticed. A powerful frick. Just watch out for him. He's been around a long time. Yeah, we've done a little research. Caleb and I have been watching him for decades. Decades at this point. And you didn't catch on that he was trying to unleash a moon? God? Be nice. Sorry. Oh, we caught on. It wasn't the what of what he was doing. We knew he was doing something, just didn't have all the context. It's funny what several centuries of planning will do for you. If anything, it should just go to show you how tricky he is. Just watch yourself. Yeah. Yeah, well, we'll do what it takes. Whatever it takes. She's really cute. All right, I'm gonna go to bed. Come on, babe. You're. You. Were you sleeping? Yeah. We saw you from across the hour. Yeah, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Saw you from over in Campaign two, and we liked your vibe. I mean, the last night in the world. That's fine. Good night. But seriously, though, we're on the seventh floor. All right. Good night. I think she is. And why am I not included? I don't know that you are, too. If you knew how many taverns I had seen that little scene play out in. They have the vibe. Yeah. Fearne. Sorry about your egg. Fucking shit. I just want to start my collection. I want the real collection. I want all five. All five? Yes. Fucking Thanos over here. I am a collector, like you. Tell me there's a collection of something. Obviously I'm gonna try to get every single piece. Wanna go live? You can instantly kill Ludne. Yeah, probably. There's probably power in having all five eggs. We don't know earliest egg commissions Was for the Unseelie Court. Was it? Yeah. Shit. We should have fucked them up over it. Shit. We were just there. I'm just saying, for later. At least they're local to Grandma. Okay, I'm gonna write that down. Earliest egg was commissioned for an Seeley. Okay. I'm just. There's a future. Bells, Hells, One shot. Oh, yeah. Just the search for the quest for Chutney's Eggs. You should check with your dad. Tapestry and see if you commissioned an eggplant. What if your dad commissioned an egg? For what if he did? I think you have to jam that. Oh, that could be. What if one of the eggs is yours already and you don't even know it? That could be the start of our healing. That commissioned it. Do you know? No. Who commissioned it? It was a while ago. I'd have to check my wreck. Oh, okay. Well, I mean, it's fine. I just really. I like the eggs. I don't know what to tell you. You want to go work off some frustration? Sure. We're in the upper hills. Sure. All right. Now, y'all. Oh. Oh, we forgot to fight. Oh, we didn't forget. Hot. But it seems like everyone's going to sleep, so. Yeah. Well, I'll see you. I'll call this a forfeit. Excuse me. Yeah. I don't need to go to bed. I don't need to go to bed. Oh, my God. The room that I outfitted for the hells to sleep in can be used as a fighting arena as well. Oh, my God. You hear doors slam one level below us and then open again. Babe, Come on. Babe. Come on. Beth. No. Oh, sorry. All right. There's always time for tomorrow. There's always. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Tomorrow, Tomorrow. Tomorrow. So nine. The kit healed. The doors slam again. Tomorrow. Forfeit. No forfeit. No. Tomorrow. Forfeit. No. No forfeit. You better go. No forfeit. You better go. You better leave. You better go. You leave. Go on. You better go. Babe sex. Better forfeit. All right, all right, all right, all right. Is that all I got to do? You're still winning this. Babe sex. Babe sex. Yes. That's usually all it takes. I mean, I do. I like a little bit more of, like, a gentler approach, you know? You know? Yeah. It doesn't seem. Could you imagine me? Babe sex. That's not good. Not befitting. You know. So anyway, you wanna. Yeah, 100%. It might die. One by one, you all begin to scatter off to your rooms for the evening. What could possibly be the last Evening of the world. I'm interrupted. I knock on the side of the door that Laudna and Emission are in. I'm sorry, sorry, I don't mean to intrude. I was wondering if just for a moment I could borrow Ms. Templ. What? Why? What? Why not me? Is this a moon thing? Yeah, it is a moon thing. Can I come? Yeah, babe, you don't have to go with him. You don't want not. I do actually want to hear what he has to say. Can I come? No. Okay. All right. So I walk to the center of this big room with all these. Again, it looks like bungalows in a ring. In this sort of procurement room. I begin to float up through the tower, past floor after floor after floor. Eventually, we reach a small room with a sealed iris above it. And Caleb looks up at it and says, vega vanish, Friggessen. And it goes and opens. And he floats up past another room with nine doors all in a ring inside it in a very small vestibule. You come up with all this yourself? Yeah, I had a lot of time to think on my own. And the final iris opens and I float up in there. You follow. Mm. And we enter a. It is like we have left the building and we are floating, the three of us, in an infinite dark space with wafts of galaxy and star and motes of light moving all around us. You make a perception check, both of you. Okay, Dungeon Master. I don't do this otherwise. Okay, perception. Yeah. 20. Wait, so 21. Another dimension. 15. 15. Laudna Lautnach. You only can just barely see the thin out of a nine sided wall around us. And this sky is an illusion stretching out in what looks like infinity. But you can just barely make out the geometric shape of the actual room that we are in. And as each of you turn, and Caleb as Well, you see 50 of your arm and hand moving. And you see multiple simple Imogen tumults and a hundred loudness. Oh, that kind of makes me nauseous. Tomorrow. There are many possibilities. Mm. I know about you, Ms. Temple. What about me? I know who you are. I know about your mother. I am aware how close you are to all of this. I have spoken to the voice of the Tempest Lady Visorum, others. We know how on the edge you are in this moment in time a little bit. I can understand your position just a little. And it is probably impossible to know which of these 50 different directions you will take tomorrow. But when the splendor of reality is before you, and so dizzying, all you can do is focus on your own heart and the ones around you. Christian, I don't pretend to know what is the right thing to do tomorrow. This is unprecedented. These are unprecedented times, and I have lived through unprecedented times. And this wipes that board clean. Follow your heart. Power is an illusion. Says one of the most powerful guys I've ever met. I have very strong limitations. And I try to earn. Earn the gifts I have. Anyway, you're not just fighting for yourselves or your friends or the people you know. You are fighting for a great many people. Believe me, we're aware. Good. I know we seem like a bunch of slap dicks to y'all. We know it's at stake. I recognize raw talent when I see it. She's very capable. Yeah, very capable. It radiates from her, sometimes literally. And I'm sorry I will not be there to see it. You could come with us. Well, I have my personal friends and loves who are dear to me. And I see your potential row of Caleb's to extends out as he says those words. I have made my point. You know already the seriousness of this point. We are in. In history. Choose well. Choose wisely. And I am grateful that you are here. What would you do? It is hard to make that call in advance, isn't it? We're on the moon. Adjacent. The gods were never my specialty. I know very little about them. You talk about power. Far more power in their hands than mine. You know about Ludinus, though? Yeah. In all your time study and studying him, did you find any special ways to get under his skin? Something to distract him? Throw him off his balance? Well, I've always found with powerful men that mockery is a pretty solid way to get them off their game. But centuries old. Mage. You have your work cut out for you. Let me see. I am going to give you something. You'll probably not be able to use this. I don't think we will. But I'm going to give it to you all the same. He pulls out a small metallic pyramid shape. The three of us have been to the same place. A city in the frozen north. Yeah. This came from that place. A. This is called an intuit charge. I have held onto this for a very long time. Do they expire? I hope not. But I'm giving it to you. I will write down how it works for you so you don't forget. Because Liam doesn't remember a long read. It goes boom. But maybe it will come in handy. Maybe not. But I don't think what we are Doing? I think it'll be better used in your hands anyway. Here you go. And May hand that over to you. May chand it. My friend is right. We probably all should get some shut eye. Thank you for giving me these few moments. I know we haven't known each other much at all. Thank you, Caleb. Wow. You and. You and Essek. I see why you work. Took us some time to get there, but we found our rhythm. When we were with the matron, she made us fight. She made us fight a vision of what could be. We were fighting my mother. And in the moment that it really counted, I. I trusted in her. And it. It ended up being a really bad call. Was it your mother? No. But I don't know how much the matron sees, you know, can she. Can she guess people's real intentions? Does she know people's real intentions? I could not say. Imogen, you are going to have to find that answer inside yourself. Maybe one of these echoes has a mother that she can't trust. And maybe this one does. Trust your instinct. I think you'll know in the moment. Yeah. Thank you. Of course. I hope we can have a more relaxed dinner here sometime in the days ahead. I would like that. Yeah. There's been talk about, like, maybe a celebratory party at Taste of Tal'Dorei. I have been there. Oh, really? It's a little tacky. It is. But also fun. I don't know if it's just the one we went to. It seemed, like, super tacky. It was a little rundown, honestly. Yeah. I've only been the one time. Basarus. It was in Basarus. Super tacky. Super tacky. Yeah. The drinks are okay? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. They catch a drunk. Well. Serviceable. I think it's important to have something to look forward to. All right. To the Taste of Talora, then. This lady Visor said, not goodbye, fish. Beta, Fish baiter. Well, shall we? Yes. Real quick, real quick. In your head. In your head, you hear, why fish baiter? Why did he say fish? Maybe it's a cultural thing. Yeah. Can I do one quick retroactive thing that we don't have to role play? Yeah. Yeah. Ferny pants. Can you identify that raven mask before we go to bed? You don't have it. You don't have it. You gave it to Fern. I know, but can we pretend that I want. Hey, Brayus. Hannah Fearne. The raven mask. So Fearne can identify it. Grace, do you want to. You can? Sure. Uh, sure. I mean, yeah, if that's something that you guys want? Yeah, yeah. Let me check it out. We did this over dinner. Yeah, sure, sure. Okay. If any you want to, you can pull up in your inventory. The Mask of the Matron. Oh, wait, it's in here. It's in. Dean. Bja. Excuse me. Blasphemy. Bless you. We both do that. Okay, good. Never mind. We got it. We got it. So you're going to say it out loud or no? Well, I don't know. Anyone can look at it, actually. Weird. Okay, now I want to look at it. Generally, you're making weird faces. You gotta say it out loud. Okay, that's fine. That's fine. All right. Mask the Matron. Whoa. Very cool. Can I say it out loud so the audience can't hear me say it? This. Freak out. It says when you place this mask upon your face, it's unreadable. Cool. Matt, even your. Even your item descriptions are cool. Whoa. Mask of the Matron. Just anything. Matron. Okay. What? That's so cool. Cool. What? What? This is really cruel. We'll see. Okay. That's really fun for bed. Hey, I'm gonna work on. Hey, I'm gonna work on my Aurum painting. Can you give me a little inspiration? Just a little hit? Bryce? Is that you? Yes, this is me. Okay. She's making sure. I have to double check. Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. You want inspiration? Just a little hit. Okay, I'm gonna paint. All right, so you can take it. E10. Okay. I think actually. Actually, we just leveled up. I think it's a 12 now. Oh. Let me make sure. You want guidance? Let me make sure. From who? Me? From Justin. You would do that for me? Of course I would. Artist to artist. I understand. Wow, 12. Yeah. That's very kind of you. I'll take a minute. All right. I guide you as well. What does that do? D4. Yeah. All right, I'm going to do art. All right, so performance or dexterity? Check. Okay. Oh, my God. Insane. 16 plus 11. Already 27 plus 2. 29 plus 6. 35. An incredible job on this piece of art. Yes, thank you. All right. I feel good. Good. Everyone else is going to bed for the evening. Any last conversations here on the dusk before the end? You didn't want anyone to give us just like a little. A little side marriage before we do our real marriage? A side marriage? No. I mean, what do you. Why? Well, I don't know. It seems like maybe you were regretting the fact that you proposed or something. No. Regretting? Never. Of course not. I Just want you to have the real thing. I do, too. Yeah. And plus, it's a vote of confidence in us. Yeah. Don't want to rush it with something small. I mean, don't get me wrong, I would be thrilled, but you deserve all the finest things. And I can only imagine what your imagination has in store. I wouldn't want to shorten. It's going to be so beautiful. Fort. Just do me a favor. No cats. Of course not. What about weasel Sprinkle? Don't worry. We're friends now. Just scatters to nothing. Jester's just. What? What's that? Just dust and gore. Oh, my God. Do you actually fry? Pete? Yes. You were almost assassinated in this tower. Where is that wizard? No, that was the dead woman's pet. You just killed it. Oh, you know, Are there any bits left behind? Or did it just disintegrate? You think it just poofed away? I don't think anyone will know. Don't tell her. I. Why? But we have to, because she still has Sprinkle. How am I going to get sprinkled back? I'll take care of it. We'll treat it like a hostage situation. It'll be fine. In the morning. Yes. I guess tonight he'll just sleep with her. She doesn't know it's actually Artie, though. I just don't want Artie to do anything weirder to her or anything. I thought that's why you handed him off to Imogen. Maybe I'll have some fun. Imogen. We have to make room between us for the weasel. Oh, you gotta do a little creepy thing. No, he's got to sleep with us. Oh, it's okay. Scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch. Yeah, this poor guy, she feeds him really poorly. You can see his ribs. You can. I need to teach her about Aunt. And it, like, backs up and Sprinkle darts off the bed and, like, just. Oh, well, jumps underneath part of the furniture. No. Come back. Mage, hand him. I think you're gonna have to give him back eventually. Well, yes. He's just on loan. She's with Pate. It's fine. Fine. I'm sure he's keeping her such great company right now. Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go in your. Go in your house. All right. I'm probably the last one to go to sleep, but I will stop short of exhaustion. But there's work to be done, and I have a canvas that needs my utmost attention. And so in front of a fireplace. I whittle away. Naked is the day I born. But yeah, I'm in. I'm fully fucking naked. I send a cat away for a shot of ayahuasca and I just fucking let it roll. Oh, my God. Go ahead and make a dexterity or performance chick and I'll give you an advantage on this because you are. The situation inspires you. I feel inspired. 17. 17. Pretty well done. You're pretty happy with your work by the time it comes to a close. You wouldn't know that though, because you pass out before you finish. But you do wake up in the morning before anybody else does and still manage to finish before anybody else knows, like old people always do. Like the early, early morning. Did you live? A little bit of puke from the ayahuasca I lived. Got him. Amazing. I feel like he's getting what's the limbo stick that you don't want to go under? I'm tempted to do it to half my level, but no. Maybe using the staff hurts me more. As Chetney's nodding off, you just hear on Orym's door, just a gentle come in. You're awake. That's. I've been trying to walk over to your place for 20 minutes. May I sit down? Yeah, I'll sit on the edge of the bed. You've been quiet lately. I haven't been honest with you. I have feelings for you, I think, almost from the day I met you. And I'm way out of practice and always worried about being a burden, but I'm so happy that we got to see each other again before whatever the hell happens tomorrow. Sure feels like in the face of all this, some things get swept to the side, eh? Rightfully so. No time. No time. I feel like. Well, I feel like the worlds have kept us apart ever since I've been back. And I've just wanted the tiniest moment with you. And I couldn't sleep either. You are the reason I'm here. You've always been the reason I'm here. And I've known it. And I've been grateful. You held us together in the past and you made me feel like I was a part of this group. You. And if it were up to me, there would be no responsibilities. Where. Wouldn't that be something? Wouldn't it? I don't know what this is. I've never felt anything like this. I've been closed off for so long and who knows? Maybe you're just the first beautiful, kind face that I have ever seen. But I don't care. I could never ask anything of you. But tonight, may I simply hold you? I want nothing more. Just let me comfort you for once, please. And I'll awkwardly kind of scooch myself onto the bed with her pillows and kind of just put out an open arm, bide the pillows and ask if Lorim wants to come. Crawls over and curls in and Dorian feels flushed. He feels a. A rush of emotions. He feels passionate. He feels confusion and he's red and hot in the face and he feels the feelings of lust and burden and guilt and he lets them all go. And he just pulls you in so close tight to his ribs and cups his hand over your head and holds you there. I don't see anything as I am terrified to spoil the moment. Just appreciate it. I just think about the time we spent together and. And I start to like fantasize about the way things could been. About different choices and every little thing that's come our way. And those thoughts fade into a dream as I slip off to sleep to the sound of your breathing. I think I'm up a little longer with fingers curled into yours. I'm just thinking this is okay. Then pass out. And then I carries on, restful for some. Anxious, quiet and at moments joyful to just appreciate a brief moment where all that responsibility can wash away before sleep takes you. Here in this space between spaces, a place built out of love for friend and family along new friends and old bonds of kinship. Love of many kinds. A little time away from it all. For tomorrow you march for everything. That's where we'll end tonight's episode. Oh my gosh. Could have gone longer. But there's no perfect. No perfect moment to stop them right there. Dorian, are you there? I made coffee. There's no one. Okay, fine. Me man, so much happened. Oh my goodness. I love my friends. That was crazy. We'll pick up from there next time into what comes next. Holy shit. But yeah. Thank you all so much for joining us. We love you very much. And is it Thursday? Goodnight. Thank you for listening to Critical Role. If you've enjoyed the adventure, please consider rating and reviewing this podcast. Your insight can reach really help support the show by bringing new critters into the fold. Until next time, dear critters, adventure awaits. You're out here hustlin'but, you're also using the McDonald's app to have your favorites delivered to your door. That's Hustlin Smarter Order McDelivery in the McDonald's app. I participate in McDonald's. Every day, our world gets a little more connected. But a little further apart. But then there are moments that remind us to be more human. Thank you for calling Amica Insurance. Hey, I was just in an accident. Don't worry. We'll get you taken care of. At Amika, we understand that looking out for each other isn't new. New or groundbreaking, it's human. Amica, empathy is our best policy.