Scattered Pilgrims | Age of Umbra: Sallowlands | Episode 1 Part 2

Summary

Critical Role: Scattered Pilgrims | Age of Umbra: Sallowlands Episode 1, Part 2

Date: July 21, 2026
Podcast: Critical Role
Game System: Daggerheart Miniseries

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Overview

In this continuation of "Age of Umbra: Sallowlands," the critical heroes traverse the bleak marshes of a post-apocalyptic fantasy world, forging uncertain alliances and facing the monstrous aftermath of a lost age. Episode 1, Part 2 is driven by survival, found family, and the search for meaning or salvation in the wake of tragedy. The party navigates both human and supernatural dangers, culminating in an intense and memorable confrontation with a legendary corrupted beast.

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Key Discussion Points & Story Beats

Aftermath on the Broken Coast (02:00–05:00)

• The episode picks up with the smoke still hanging after a violent conflict. The party regroups.
• Dilly ensures a slain foe can't rise, pouring torch oil and setting the corpse alight.
• Mercy assists by dismembering the body, collecting limbs as a grisly precaution.
• Quote:
  "I'll put my boot on its back...pour it over its body before it comes back." — Dilly (02:31)
• The group formally introduces themselves: Alphonse, Mercy, Dilly, Sister, Dinny, Kaguama.

The Quest for the Fabled City (05:17–09:17)

• Rumors swirl of a city “of light, welcoming” where magic is accepted.
• Kaguama reveals their own magical abilities and fear of making errors.
• Quote:
  "Do not be scared, brother. Find peace. You will learn." — Sister (07:57)
• Alphonse voices skepticism, suspecting a trap for the desperate and hopeful.
• Quote:
  "All of a sudden there's a Utopia in the backyard that I've never seen...I think wherever people are heading...it's a death trap." — Alphonse (08:15)

Exploring Origins and Building Trust (09:17–14:00)

• Characters discuss their backgrounds, roots, and superstitions.
• The Veiled Sisters are mentioned as an ancient order.
• Kaguama recounts time at the Luzon Monastery, referencing ancient communities clinging to old ways.
• The party weighs trust and safety—debating open plains vs. hidden woods.

Navigating the Sallowlands (14:01–19:00)

• The group sets out towards their destination, with Dilly guiding across treacherous land using local knowledge.
• Success leads them to the lakebed’s edge, observing a ruined, marshy expanse called the Rotten Shallows.
• Vivid description of the changing terrain, ruined structures, and looming storm passings.
• The burning peaks of distant mountains signal the rumored city.
• Quote:
  "You can just make out the lights of a lakebed community, its pyre barely visible..." — Game Master (19:00)
• Three notable paths emerge: Tower of Oxyros (with a burning pyre), Sorrowheart Sanctum (dark), and the stricter community of Oathwell.

The Group’s Direction (23:47–30:00)

• Dinny warns Oathwell is unwelcoming.
• Kaguama proposes seeking the Prophet at the Tower of Oxyros for wisdom and assurance.
• Emotional discussion about the legacy and memories of the old world and the ambiguous cost of survival.
• Final decision: move westward toward the Tower of Oxyros, seeking knowledge and potential safety.

Entering the Rotten Shallows (35:15–48:00)

• The terrain shifts—sliding, muck, decay, and mounting dread.<br>
• Mercy connects with the fungus and death-infused landscape to plot a safer route (“death connection”).
• Sister uses memory and fungal knowledge, recalling times when her own land grew marshy and dangerous.
• Encounters ominous signs: a giant winged predator circles above; the group decides to move stealthily, using Dinny’s wildborn abilities and Badger the companion.
• Quote:
  "You see another 30 minutes into this trek...massive wingspan, flashes of orangish feathers and a glimmer of a dark beak...massive birdlike, but far larger." — Game Master (47:54)

Danger and Dread: The Tatra Awakens (52:22–80:08)

The Battle Begins (52:22–58:12)

• A shriek reveals a brutal fight: an armored group is being decimated by the Tatra, a monstrous bird with a human face hidden in its beak.
• Mercy charges in, squaring up—displaying ferocity to distract the beast.
• Dilly supports, shooting the Tatra and inflicting major injury.
• Quote:
  "In a true...just to see someone with no fear run through the muck and face this face inside of a beak, I'm going to shoot it." — Dilly (60:22)
• The Tatra lashes out, but a combination of advantage, luck, and teamwork keeps the party afloat.

Moments of Compassion and Connection (71:01–79:27)

• Kaguama attempts something different: uses Presence and vulnerability, asking the Tatra what ails it (advantage, critical success).
• The Tatra stills, briefly reclaiming a glint of its lost wisdom in a moment of communication.
• Quote:
  "What ails you that is from within and not from without?" — Kaguama (72:01)
• Kaguama shares a deeply personal memory of love and loss, pressing their forehead to the beast in empathy.
• The Tatra, momentarily at peace, then panics and flees into the night.
• Quote:
  "You are beautiful." — Kaguama (79:15)

The Human Cost and Setting Rituals (81:02–86:47)

• The battered survivor of the templars, a young man named Bowen, is in awe of the group’s feat.
• They consolidate and burn the fallen to prevent undead resurrection, invoking prayers of Jarada.
• Dinny aids using fungal growth to pin bodies while the party sets them alight.
• The party requests haven with Bowen at the Tower of Oxyros, and he agrees to guide them.

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Memorable Quotes

• Dilly (on burning the corpse):
  "I'll put my boot on its back...pour it over its body before it comes back." (02:31)
• Sister:
  "Do not be scared, brother. Find peace. You will learn." (07:57)
• Alphonse (on the city):
  "All of a sudden there's a Utopia in the backyard that I've never seen...I think wherever people are heading...it's a death trap." (08:15)
• Kaguama (reaching out to the Tatra):
  "What ails you that is from within and not from without?" (72:01)
• Kaguama (to the Tatra):
  "You are beautiful." (79:15)
• Bowen (after the battle):
  "I don't know how you fucking did that. I'm sorry. How you did that. Trying to protect you. That's the most incredible thing I've ever seen. Who are you? Who are you?" (81:24)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |----------------------------------------------------------|-----------| | Burning the defeated bounty hunter | 02:31 | | Kaguama’s fear of magic, Sister’s reassurance | 07:28 | | Alphonse’s skepticism of the fabled city | 08:15 | | The Veiled Sisters explained | 10:22 | | Sighting the city and choosing a direction | 19:03–25:26 | | Entering and navigating the Rotten Shallows | 35:15–44:40 | | First encounter with the winged predator | 47:52 | | Tatra attacks and battle sequence | 52:22–66:03 | | Kaguama connects with the Tatra, averting disaster | 71:01–80:08 | | Aftermath, burning bodies, Bowen’s prayer | 81:02–85:21 | | Agreement to travel to the Tower of Oxyros | 85:21–86:47 |

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Episode Highlights

• Unlikely Allies: Players bond further, sharing personal hardships and showing trust—even in the face of supernatural horror.
• Setting & Tone: The Sallowlands are ominous, filled with decay and ghostly remnants of a lost world, with the session’s tone oscillating between dark, gritty, and emotionally profound.
• Memorable Confrontation: The group’s battle with the Tatra stands out, blending ferocity, creative problem-solving, and unexpected emotional resonance.
• Roleplay Beats: Compassion, shared trauma, and tentative optimism color the journey—a highlight is Kaguama’s breakthrough with the corrupted beast.

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Tone & Style

The speaker’s voices oscillate from dry wit and levity in dark situations to poignant, somber storytelling. There’s a blend of grim humor, horror, radical empathy, and a deep, roleplayer’s commitment to immersive narrative.

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Conclusion

Episode 1, Part 2 of Age of Umbra: Sallowlands is an atmospheric and emotional journey through the wasteland, culminating in a genuinely moving and suspenseful face-off with an ancient corrupted creature. Players’ roleplay and collaboration shine as they react with both courage and vulnerability, keeping the stakes high but the hope alive.

Next time: The party heads to the Tower of Oxyros, with new companions, new burdens, and the memory of both monsters and mercy.

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Transcript

[Laura Bailey]

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[Game Master]

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[Alphonse]

craving a McChicken you deserve a McChicken.

[Dilly]

And now that McChicken is just $2, limited time only.

[Game Master]

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[Laura Bailey]

Greetings wanderers of the Wastes. It's Laura Bailey here and you're listening to part two of this episode of Age of Umbra Sallowlands, our our Daggerheart miniseries. If you're enjoying this tale so far, consider supporting the show and showcasing your fandom with our new Age of Umbra T shirt and Umbi's metal inspired dad hat. Or enhance your Daggerheart games with our stunning new Daggerheart Duality die set. Find all this and more in friendly local game stores and critical role shops. If you haven't checked out part one yet, pause this now and head over there first. Otherwise, let's return to our tale in Part two.

[Game Master]

And welcome back. So here as the smoke begins to dissipate and the splattered remnants of two of the bounty hunter's troop left scattered across the rocks here partway along the broken coast, are gathering. Few have run into some new wanderers. As the heavy breaths begin to subside in calm eye contact is made until somebody breaks the stillness.

[Dilly]

I will sling my rifle around my shoulder and I'll say one second and I will walk back towards the edge of the cliff, slide down it. I walk up to the corpse of the person as I put my boot on its back. I will pull out a vial of torch oil as I uncork it and I pour it over its body before it comes back.

[Mercy]

I go to stop you and as you do That I place a hand, I take the axe and I just begin chopping limbs off. I take my shawl off and just pack some of the limbs in my shawl and hold it and then just give you a nod to continue.

[Hex]

Am I able to use final words for this?

[Game Master]

If you'd like to.

[Dinny]

Okay.

[Hex]

I see all of that's happening right there. And I decide to take a deep breath and get closer to these two very intimidating but fascinating creatures and get very close very slowly. And

[Kaguama]

may I would like to perhaps hear if there's anything they might want to say before we fully dispose of this body. Perhaps some information as to why they were following you.

[Dilly]

Do I know why these people were following me?

[Game Master]

You have an inclination?

[Alphonse]

I do.

[Sister]

Yeah.

[Game Master]

No confirmation, but save it for the

[Dilly]

next one and I'll light up my shot. And then the lightning will illuminate the body. Light up, my hero.

[Game Master]

The thoroughly butchered corpse of the crazed gentleman ignites and begins to smolder, thus preventing it from rising from the soulblight. While you all begin to approach the corpse of the Right Hand daggerwielder,

[Dilly]

I'll put my hand on your shoulder and

[Alphonse]

say, thanks for the help. I'll look over to you and say, I'm Alphonse

[Mercy]

Mercy. This is my best friend, Dilly and Sister.

[Dinny]

I look. I look over to you and I go. You've got skulls. Oh, you've got skulls too. Are we friends?

[Alphonse]

I'll take it.

[Kaguama]

My name is Kaguama. You all seem very capable. And I've been traveling alone for quite some time. I would. I could use some company.

[Mercy]

I kind of walk over to you. Towering over. You helped my friend. Your friend too. Moving this way, I go.

[Alphonse]

What happened to your jaw?

[Mercy]

Look to Sister.

[Alphonse]

Right. We were meeting up with some old friends when I met this one right here says a story about finding this city I keep hearing about.

[Kaguama]

Yes. I've heard rumors that there's this new city that's really beautiful and safe and they aren't as scared. Perhaps by people that wield magic.

[Mercy]

A place where the new gods stay of light welcoming.

[Sister]

Yes.

[Mercy]

Yes. We go there too.

[Dinny]

Maybe. Maybe we'll find some other friends that don't cast us out everywhere we go. Eh? Mercy?

[Mercy]

Yes?

[Kaguama]

I'd like to know for how long have you been using your magic

[Sister]

beyond remembering.

[Kaguama]

You see, I can use it too. But I've never been able to have someone teach me. And I'm scared of making a mistake.

[Sister]

Do not be scared, brother. Find peace. You will learn.

[Dinny]

Thank you.

[Sister]

This city. Do we Believe in it?

[Alphonse]

No, I don't. But I want to know what it's about. Something like this just shows up in my desert. For so long, I've been wandering these wastes, and now what? All of a sudden there's a Utopia in the backyard that I've never seen. Look around you. Look what we've done to survive, to endure. And now it's over. Have we done it? Have we repented? Have we found the reason that we were abandoned? And what, one more pilgrimage and salvation? I think wherever people are heading, I think it's a death trap. And if there's a way to save those that are heading to their untimely demise, I'm gonna be the one to stop it.

[Sister]

Why did they chase you?

[Alphonse]

The mercenaries, bounty hunters, sellswords, whatever you want to call them. To me, they're kin of the same cloth. It's my job too. They just got a high price for my head. I'm sure we were actually doing pretty good negotiations until the sound of a stone hit the side of a. Of a cliff and brought everyone's attention and made everyone on edge. Would you guys know something about that?

[Badger]

Oh.

[Dinny]

Ooh, the big bops.

[Alphonse]

Great.

[Dilly]

I start like, yeah, I'm moving the blood off of my body. I'm stripping from the tubes.

[Alphonse]

Where do you all hail?

[Mercy]

Where do we hail?

[Alphonse]

Where do you come from?

[Sister]

Well,

[Alphonse]

I.

[Dinny]

It doesn't matter.

[Alphonse]

Fair.

[Sister]

Do you know of the Veiled Sisters?

[Alphonse]

Do I know of the Veil Sisters?

[Game Master]

What's your knowledge?

[Dilly]

Zero.

[Kaguama]

No, no.

[Sister]

We hail from the woods.

[Alphonse]

That's why the woods are scary. Too many things hide in them. I like the open.

[Sister]

You'd rather see it coming?

[Alphonse]

It's a good way of putting it.

[Kaguama]

I do. I know the Veiled Sisters.

[Sister]

Have I heard.

[Kaguama]

I have one knowledge right now.

[Game Master]

I'll say you've heard it in some of your time in studying near the monastery. In the Far east, there are some remnant communities of the old world that cling to the old tenets of nature in the cycle of life. The Veiled Sisters, if you recall correctly, is one of these communities. But you don't know where they hail or even was sure if they were still around.

[Kaguama]

I have heard of the Veiled Sisters very briefly while I was at the Luzon Monastery close to Desperlock. I. I come from there. I worked as a humble delver, and I found something that I would like to take to this new city. I do. I do hope that there is something there that could uplift this cursed umbra that hunts our dear ones.

[Sister]

I feel the same.

[Alphonse]

Well, now that we're all acquainted, I think.

[Dilly]

Is it heading towards nighttime or it's late or afternoon.

[Game Master]

You probably have about two to three hours of daylight before it becomes truly dark.

[Alphonse]

Maybe we make it the rest of the way while we have light. Take up camp. See what we can do from there.

[Sister]

I've never been in the open before. Are there places to hide?

[Alphonse]

Here and there. Old breaking down wagons. Holes in the earth. Anywhere. Trees. You look like a tree person.

[Dinny]

I am a tree person.

[Alphonse]

Yeah.

[Dinny]

Sorry. Badger. Badger will find us a place to go.

[Alphonse]

Who's Badger?

[Dinny]

This guy.

[Game Master]

This little bat comes out with its bulging eyes and unveils its wings.

[Alphonse]

Is that a given name? Or did you give it that or did it have it?

[Hex]

Gives it.

[Dilly]

What part's the given? You give it where it gives it to you. Can you talk to this thing?

[TextNow Advertiser]

All right.

[Dilly]

I'm not much of an anim. Is this a badger?

[Badger]

It doesn't matter.

[Dinny]

Like it was a mutual negotiation. Wasn't it? Badger? Exactly.

[Alphonse]

Great.

[Dilly]

I guess I'll head southeast.

[Alphonse]

Fair. All right.

[Game Master]

You partially traversed it. The counterstorm since on 2. Who would like to helm the next length of this journey across the Broken Coast?

[Kaguama]

Sheesh. We're still going on the little triangle?

[Alphonse]

Yeah.

[Badger]

All right.

[Mercy]

I would look to you because I kind of move to you and I'm like, this is your desert.

[Dilly]

Yeah, Kind of. Can I start to see stars? Is it still pretty light out? Is it not?

[Game Master]

It's actually pretty clouded.

[Dilly]

It's actually pretty clouded. Yeah.

[Game Master]

The skies for the most part are gray. To see stars is a rare occurrence in most of the Halcyon domain. So you can't guide by them. You can just guide by landmarks and landscape. Thankfully, you know the sallow lands pretty well. And more of where the wind is going. The scents that carry it. Those are the best guideposts in particular direction. So how would you like to traverse this? Leading this troop in the right direction?

[Mercy]

Man.

[Badger]

Yeah.

[Dilly]

I think what I would do is try to keep everyone. I know it's relatively flat, but try to traverse in a way that I would know this area to stay on the high ground while leading them to some place where I would know. If we were to have to traverse down more into the bed of what used to be this lake or whatever it is, then I would want us to reach that point before the night happens so we don't have to spend the night at the bottom of this bed.

[Alphonse]

Great.

[Game Master]

Then I would say probably make an instinct or knowledge rule. Your choice.

[Dilly]

Okay. Sweet. I will make an instinct roll. I have an experience called I think that's the North Star. I wrote that before realizing I would not see the sky. So I would say it's ironic. And that would be. I think that's North Star and it's like a rock in the distance.

[Game Master]

I love that. So you can spend a hope and add a two to that.

[Hex]

Yeah, I want to spend a hope and aid in this instinctual.

[Alphonse]

Great.

[Game Master]

Then yeah, go for it.

[Sister]

Cool.

[Mercy]

Cool.

[Game Master]

So roll six and add it to his roll 96.

[Dilly]

And I said instant yen 19 plus with hope. Great.

[Game Master]

22 with hope.

[Dilly]

With hope.

[Game Master]

Success with hope. That ticks this down twice and completes the countdown.

[Mercy]

Yay.

[Game Master]

Amazing to get that hope back. With that you continue to press on, kind of finding the flatter areas as you can before the cliffs climb up a little more, helping each other up. Now as a more confident troop, both defensively and through a series of skillful experiences that you've all had in your own lives. It's a welcoming endeavor to be pushing towards dangerous lands ahead with more competence at each shoulder. With this momentum and this newly found companionship, it's almost over too quick. The broken coast goes by in less than two hours. You still have another hour before sunset as you begin to crest what is the edge of the lake tomb crust itself. As you head over, the clouds and the rainstorm that have been blowing through the sallow lands seem to have passed further into the west, giving you with what light there is left, a view of this continuous expanse of shattered rocky lake bed and marsh patch, you see one the direction that you were searching. There is an actual gradual eroded slide path that begins to wind and tumble down into the bowl of the once vibrant lake. There below you can see what is referred to as the rotten shallows. The rotten shallows are the most northern areas where a lot of the water and rain runoff from this region spills down in pools. In areas where there is still green growth and thick fetid swamp, small wayward communities of creatures, some sickly diseased figures, go and keep to themselves in these spaces and relish in the corruption of the umbra and either to become something more than just their disease. It is not a delightful place by any means, and it is the next leg of your journey. Beyond that still, you can see the ever continuing broken, winding open salt plain that is the beginning of the true core of this lakebend. You can see jutting out bits of odd angled rock pillars and what looks like cracked winding fallen chasms that

[Carter's Advertiser]

allow

[Game Master]

you at A glance to understand how much this landscape is visibly decayed. Much of the decay is on surface, almost like a hidden Monet, that until you get close, you don't notice just how bad it is. But here, the sallow lands themselves very much wear their desiccation on its sleeve. You do see two massive rock pillars that rise up, one to a southwestern direction from where you stand, and one to the southeast. These were once islands in the lake when it carried water over the past century. But with the receded depths of this lake, they now stand as pillar like mesas, so slowly eroding with wind and time. And atop each of them, the shattered outline of Gothic structures from the old world. Beyond that still, you can see the landscape grow more jagged and dangerous, the sands shifting from a soft white and brown to a lifeless gray. And you swear as the rain passes by, there's a sight that takes your breath from your chest. A range of mountains with three peaks burning red like embers. You see a central mountain, larger than any you've ever seen, that strikes up so high you cannot see its peak pushing past the clouds, but along its base, so many glittering lights. You've caught glimpses of this when these rumors began to slowly drift throughout the landscape. And every time you glance down towards this mysterious city of the new gods, you can't help but feel a chill wash over your soul. The rest of you, this. It takes a moment to try and take in the scope and scale of this mass on the other end of the sallow lens. It looks so far, but it looks so big that you can't imagine the scale. It's dizzying to consider. You see a flash of light in the distance, a bolt of energy released from the passing storm. In that one instance, you see the shape of a city. Two cities, maybe more. It is so hard to consider the scale before the remaining shadows of the fading day call it to darkness. And you just see this blanket of glittering specked lights, this promise on the horizon so the rotten shallows lay below the path before you. There are three ways to go. Here you could head towards the western rising pillar, known to some as the Tower of Oxyros, the pillar to the east, to where upon it sits the Sorrowheart sanctum, or carved between the two, where you can just make out the lights of a lakebed community, its pyre barely visible. The Tower of Oxenos itself burns its own pyre at its very peak. The only two lights in this entire landscape that promise safety. The Sorrow Heart lies dark. What would you like to do?

[Mercy]

Which is the closest that we can see.

[Game Master]

The closest would probably be the Tower of Oxyros. Then the Sorrow Heart. And then beyond that is the third community with a pyre.

[Sister]

Do they allow visitors?

[Dinny]

Have I been there?

[Alphonse]

Have you?

[Dinny]

I think I have. And I think I didn't like it.

[Game Master]

To the central community.

[Dinny]

Yeah.

[Sister]

Yeah.

[Game Master]

You know this is referred to as Oathwell.

[Dinny]

That's Oathwell. They're not nice there. I don't want to go back.

[Sister]

But they have a buyer.

[Dinny]

Don't make no difference if they're dangerous.

[Kaguama]

I've heard of a prophet that lives in the Tower of Exodus who survived the apostasy. I would like to perhaps go there first. See if I can show him something. And perhaps give me more information about this metropolis

[Badger]

visually. From where we are is Othua.

[Kaguama]

Is that what the name of it?

[Dinny]

Othwell.

[Carter's Advertiser]

Oathwell.

[Badger]

Othwell. Is that straight the most direct path to the sparkling city.

[Game Master]

Or it is the most direct path technically.

[Badger]

Okay. If either of the two pillars are going to take us off the path and bring us back.

[Game Master]

It's a little bit of a wider to get to either

[Dinny]

this prophet. Will it make you less scared?

[Kaguama]

I haven't met that many people who have been alive before for the apostasy. And I think knowing that there is someone that has seen what I have seen would give me confidence.

[Alphonse]

You are alive before the apostasy.

[Kaguama]

I was just too when it happened.

[Dinny]

They smell like old.

[Dilly]

I look away into the distance.

[Kaguama]

She's not wrong. I have not bathed in quite some time. And I was seaborne. There isn't much sea to bathe these days.

[Sister]

I was alive. Let me bring you confidence.

[Kaguama]

You were alive too.

[Sister]

Of course. All the sisters were. But we can go too the west. If that will bring you more comfort.

[Kaguama]

I think. How? What do you remember from before?

[Sister]

I remember the woods and water. Green.

[DSW Advertiser]

Yes.

[Sister]

So much movement.

[Kaguama]

I think. I think that's what I need. I need someone that gives me the chance to remember what it was like to keep moving forward towards the future. Have you? Have you folks think that cutting through directly is the best path forward? I trust you.

[Alphonse]

What was it like if it was so good and green and full of life? If we are to fight to see what the world was like before the apostasy. Was all our suffering worth it?

[Dinny]

Of course.

[Alphonse]

We must be careful if we head towards Oxidos. They're zealous. They're full of fear. As they are full of tradition. Many of us may not fit in there as well as we'd like. But with reason, you may be able to accomplish your goal. I'm fine with Oxydos. We stay away from Oathwell. They're bad people

[Dinny]

to the west. We can be brave

[Kaguama]

to the west.

[Alphonse]

What about you? What do you think?

[Mercy]

I go where Dilly goes.

[Alphonse]

To Oxidos.

[Game Master]

To Oxidos. As you gather your supplies and begin to trek down the soft, long eroding sand decline that treks down, down down the cliffs of the broken coast, you begin your entryway to the Sallowlands. As the remnants of day begin to fade, you can make out the tower of Oxodos, what sits atop this massive mountainous pillar, this rising black gothic tower. Anyone here have knowledge of two or more?

[Mercy]

You do?

[Dinny]

Yes.

[Game Master]

In the time that you've spent, you know the history of this place because you knew what it was before the age of Umbra, once known as the Atursium, an island prison temple to the veiled God Jareda in what was once known as the Elytros Lake before it ran dry. This mass here now houses what's referred to as the Order of the Twilight exemplars. They themselves zealous faithful of the old world order of Jereda, the veiled God of divine law and judgment. They are a safe space for those who are free of the ember's corruption. And they are the hammer that breaks whatever is not.

[Sister]

Do I know? Well, I know. If what afflicts mercy is caused by the umbra, what would that have been?

[Game Master]

Make a knowledge roll for me.

[Dilly]

That is a good question.

[Game Master]

Jerada jerayda.

[Sister]

That is 22 with hope.

[Game Master]

Oh, take that.

[Alphonse]

Hope.

[Game Master]

What you know about mercy's fate and being one semi responsible for it is the magics harnessed were based in old world natural magics. The best that you can hope and believe is that what keeps mercy, mercy in spite of their wishes, May not be of the umbrous corruption,

[Alphonse]

but that

[Game Master]

doesn't mean it's easy to convince people otherwise. So be that as it may, you have a little bit of time to decide how to cross that bridge. When you do.

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[Dinny]

Yeah.

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[Game Master]

And now the next chapter of the SERTA Counting Sheep. Hey Uncle Number one, why aren't we counting anymore? Let me tell you a story. Long ago, Serta invented the perfect Sleeper mattress.

[Dinny]

Oh no.

[Game Master]

Oh yes. It says the all new SERTA Perfect sleeper with a Q4 support system has four in one perfectly interlinked coils that help relieve aches and back pain.

[Dilly]

Or for perfect sleep night after night.

[Kaguama]

We'll never get counted again.

[Alphonse]

Nope.

[Quince Advertiser]

Serta, we make the world's best mattress.

[Game Master]

Do we press on?

[Dilly]

Is it nightfall?

[Game Master]

It's starting to get a little close. You will begin to hit the rotten shallows and you can already start to smell it. Now as you like. When I say like you're scooting down, it's like step, step, step, slide, step. Having to like catch yourself, help each other down. You find a shelf, get a breath and then have to slide down again. Certain parts begin to cave faster and you're sliding down, losing control for it before you catch yourself. And then eventually you have to stand up again. We'll say at one point, probably Kaguama tumbles over and then gets half buried up to the shell. And you have to help them out of the sand.

[Carter's Advertiser]

But

[Game Master]

the further down you go and the darker the sky gets, the more you can smell the rotten shallows, this long dead underwater forest, and various stone pillars that pockmark this ground. Between it is a patchy marshland and the smell decay is a welcome escape from what is a pungent, putrid, haunting wail of old world nature. Here, what seeps and sits gives a scent that evokes the vilest of bile and the haunting memory of water that drowned thousands. It's less about an actual scent more than it is the emotions it evokes when it hits your sinuses. This is just on the wind from above. You only expect it to get stronger as you approach. You begin to feel the sand give way to the slosh of damp ground and muck, as indeed you've reached the marsh itself. So I'm going to go ahead and initiate the patchy expanse countdown, which is a six. So while you work through this deadly landscape with all of its challenges and danger, you have to, as a party, complete the countdown of 6. So utilizing whatever inspirations and skills and navigational techniques and help you can offer, traversing this landscape with a success. It ticks down 1. A success with hope. It ticks down 2. Critical success is 3. Which is great. So what safe haven in this marsh do you march towards as you concern the weather might worsen?

[Mercy]

You say decay?

[Sister]

Yeah.

[Mercy]

Death.

[Sister]

Yeah.

[Mercy]

I'm going to use my death connection and the fungral elem. Like if there is. If I am surrounded by death and decay and if that is what I am of too, I'm going to communicate it with it to almost direct us to where might possibly be the safest space to be. But also get the sense of. Of what maybe other dangers or elements lie near us or around us.

[Game Master]

Certainly. Go ahead and make an instinct roll for me if you don't mind rules.

[Hex]

I'm going to spend a hope and

[Mercy]

block a stress for that death connection too.

[Hex]

Get that going.

[Sister]

Okay, Six.

[Carter's Advertiser]

Right.

[Mercy]

Instinct roll. Here it comes.

[Kaguama]

12 plus 4.

[Game Master]

16. Hope or fear?

[Mercy]

Hope.

[Carter's Advertiser]

Hope.

[Game Master]

Great. Take that hope.

[Hex]

Solid.

[Game Master]

Fantastic.

[Kaguama]

I currently have no hope.

[Game Master]

But you do. This land is marred with many variations of decay and they all talk to each other in the way that things that have been long dead in a land that won't be left to lie. Do you smell on the Air and feel in the water, the thickness, the viscous landscape. It seems to breathe you in as much as you breathe it in. And you know that there are spaces here that are hungry and some that are sleeping. And you know, the sleeping ones are the safest to trek for now. So obsess with hope. That'll count it down too. I will spend a fear.

[Alphonse]

Great.

[Game Master]

Actually, no, I don't know if that's worse.

[Badger]

I know it is.

[Game Master]

I think that's worse. Pressing forward. You can see another 30 minutes into this trek. It's getting thick at times. And as you step through, it's like I'm going to say for the joy of this. It's darker green. The sound of buzzing insects grows thick in your ear and your nose. They begin to gather and circle and cloud. You brush them away as you do. The surface itself seems thick and oily. What little bit of light catches it either from your emanations or beams that break through the clouds in the final throes of sundown. You can see that oil slick, almost multicolored vibrance as the oils themselves are dense with bacteria and good goodness knows what else. You can see almost ruins of stone structures that were once built here. Once the lake began to subside as culture and community tried to follow the water as it did, they built as it receded. And then eventually the swamp took the majority of these structures before they were abandoned. You see archways and sections of buildings where you can almost envision families trying to huddle away from the darkness of the Halcyon domain above and finding no solace here as the land began to recede as well. Who would like to helm the next leg of this journey?

[Sister]

I remember what these swamps were like. This is very similar to what my land was like as the water started to recede. So I feel like I can find the areas of ground that are the safest to traverse without slipping into the pools.

[Game Master]

I will allow you to roll a knowledge roll for this. To recall these memories of the land that you once knew and apply that knowledge to the land you now meet for the first time.

[Sister]

Seventeen with fear.

[Game Master]

Seventeen with fear. Express to me as you connect these memories. What do you recall and how do you apply them here?

[Sister]

I remember as my land grew marshier and thicker and sadder, our sisters trying to follow the water to find out where it was going. I remember getting stuck in one of the pools when I was younger. My sister's pulling me out. I remember what it felt like to sink into the depths.

[Game Master]

With this clarity. You almost seem to connect to the deeply soggy but existent network of fungus that finds a very healthy landscape to thrive on here, alien in some ways to what you're used to connect with, because this itself does. Does carry some of the umbra's corruption within it. But there's enough memory in that fungus and the memories that you carry to guide you on the drier patches of landscape and prevent your allies and yourself from falling into the hungrier depths of this swamp. That'll count down to a three, because you're with fear. The rest of you here suddenly breaking the relatively still consistent buzz of insect and swamp sludge sloshing, Echoing above. Somewhere, you instinctually kneel down and glance. The shadow takes to the sky and circles over distant treeline. Something is hunting. Something big, something winged. That is all. It continues to seek and hunt. You push on. Who wishes to helm the next leg of the this journey and offer their understanding and experience to push through to safety?

[Dilly]

There's a lot of trees around.

[Dinny]

I feel like this is your thing.

[Game Master]

Yeah, I feel like I handled it.

[Badger]

Yeah.

[Dinny]

I think she's going to jump from structure and tree to tree and just silently move around going this way, that way, and with Badger's help, like, we're just quietly moving around, guiding you towards.

[Game Master]

Okay, so you're helping the troupe find the quietest places to journey to as not draw the attention of what stalks in the sky. Very well. Go ahead and make a finesse roll for me, please.

[Hex]

Sure.

[Mercy]

We're moving and you say you're moving silently, right? Yeah, yeah, we're wildborn, so.

[Dinny]

Yeah, I'm wild born.

[Mercy]

We naturally move silent and have an advantage on rolls.

[Dinny]

And I'm gonna use.

[Game Master]

Yeah, you will get an advantage on this.

[Dinny]

I'm gonna use my waste wanderer as well.

[Game Master]

Fantastic.

[Dinny]

So, yeah, so I spend a hope for that, don't I?

[Game Master]

Yeah.

[Dinny]

Great.

[Game Master]

So how this works is if you have advantage and you have an ability that gives you. Oh, no, this is. You're using an experience.

[Dinny]

Yeah.

[Game Master]

So it's plus two plus D6.

[Mercy]

Great.

[Game Master]

Let's go.

[Dinny]

So plus two plus. So all three at once.

[Sister]

Yeah.

[Game Master]

So the two D12, D6 and then add plus two. You're finesse.

[Dinny]

Okay. God damn it. It's a 11. Wait, advantage.

[Alphonse]

What?

[Game Master]

You roll a D6, add it to the roll.

[Dinny]

Yeah.

[Game Master]

And then add your Plus 2 experience to that as well.

[Dinny]

Okay, okay, okay.

[Sister]

Okay.

[Dinny]

So I've got. Wait, 11 plus plus 3, which is 14, plus 2. 15, but with fear.

[Badger]

Did you add your finesse to it?

[Dinny]

As well. Oh, and I didn't add my finesse. Thank you. 15. So what did I just say? 15.

[Dilly]

So 16.

[Dinny]

16.

[Dilly]

And then plus your. Because it was 16. Because it was. You said it was 11 plus five.

[Dinny]

Oh, yeah. 17.

[Game Master]

Yeah. That is a success.

[Dinny]

Yay. But with fine

[Game Master]

to a two. So pushing forward, you all manage to get by unseen for the next 20 or so minutes. It's slow moving through the swamp. It is thick. And your movement, especially when trying to be quiet, requires you to even further pull back the pace in which you are maintaining. It doesn't seem to notice you, but its circling gets tighter. You see it swoop down and grab something. It looks like that crumbles in its grasp. Like it thought it saw something and instead snatched up a rotting log that began to disintegrate within its grasp. Who here has the highest instinct?

[Sister]

I have two.

[Dinny]

I have two.

[Game Master]

I have plus one. Okay, the two of you, in these final moments before the daylight completely gives way, you see this swooping entity. Massive wingspan flashes of orangish feathers and a glimmer of a dark beak. This appears to be birdlike, but the best that you can make out from this distance and the speed it's traveling is it's far larger than any bird you've seen in person. As you take this in, you hear once more carry out over the swamp. Even the insects grow quieter in the presence of its screech. It's getting closer.

[Dinny]

We could definitely take it.

[Dilly]

I saw a blast start shooting into the sky.

[Game Master]

It is night now.

[Alphonse]

Great.

[Game Master]

The daylight is gone. You could attempt to rest if you want to, or you can press on. The choice is yours. Push to the edge.

[Mercy]

Let's push.

[Dinny]

Yeah. I ain't there.

[Kaguama]

Let's push.

[Mercy]

Yeah.

[Dilly]

What are we at?

[Game Master]

We're at two on the.

[Dinny]

Okay,

[Mercy]

I know I've taken an action. Can I take another one quick?

[Game Master]

Yeah. If you have something else to offer.

[Mercy]

There is within my bag of body parts. I am going to just getting this vibe and feeling of death, decay, food, hungry and being that. Also of hunger and needing, you know, sustenance through death. I'm going to take an arm that I lopped off.

[Dilly]

Yeah.

[Mercy]

And I'm going to swing it round trying to listen to wherever this bird is. And I'm gonna lob it in the opposite direction of where we were walking.

[Game Master]

Okay. I'd like you to roll a presents roll for me,

[Alphonse]

Hopeboy.

[Mercy]

It is a 16.

[Game Master]

16 with hope.

[Dilly]

No way.

[Hex]

Yes.

[Game Master]

So that counts this down.

[Mercy]

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

[Dilly]

I was so scared the arm was

[Laura Bailey]

so big

[Game Master]

pressing on. You throw the limb and it gets maybe 40, 50ft over, still mid arc

[TextNow Advertiser]

before

[Game Master]

it snatches it out of the air. And you hear a. As it takes off, It continues to circle, but you've certainly distracted it for the moment. And you all press on, pushing further. The swamp itself as thick as it is, you continue to go. The smell itself making you almost dizzy for how long you've been enduring it. Your stomach lurches, it knots. You feel your eyes watering. You feel the surface of your skin takes on an oily texture just by proximity. But eventually the denseness of the swamp begins to become a little more shallow. The moments where you slide and slip down to your hip become more to your thigh and then now to your knee. What was once the thickest parts of the rotten shallows. It seems you've breached the midpoint and pushed now towards its eventual end must bend a fear. You all hear a shout. Here comes the shadowed shape descends crashing through the tree line. And you hear multiple voices upon it. Clashing of metal, heavy impacts.

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A scream.

[Game Master]

Get it. There is violence not but 120ft ahead and to the right. What do you do?

[Sister]

Should we help?

[Mercy]

We help.

[Alphonse]

We help.

[Dinny]

We help, I guess,

[Mercy]

Yeah. I'm going to bound and just start making my way towards the direction of sounds.

[Dilly]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. As I'm squishing in my now very damp, wet thick leather pants, core tip.

[Kaguama]

Yeah. Behind you the worst feeling.

[Dilly]

Yeah, it's terrible, terrible.

[Game Master]

You all continue to lumber in its direction. The screams getting louder. Another shrill, another commanding yellow, Another fearful yell. Suddenly the shape takes up again, spins and then darts down once more, crashing into two more trees that splinter not but 50ft ahead of you. There in this expanse. You can see now the bits of very shallow swamp river that wind through in areas and the bits of almost island masses that push beyond the puddle like expanse of the swamp. You can see heavily armored figures, big tower shields and metallic helmets with skull fronts on them. We are wielding blade and massive maces. You can see them swinging down as another gets swooped up by this entity. This orange and red and yellow feathered flying creature as it slams down, grabs one, holds it to the ground, bites and rips its head off with its beak and spits it down. Another one rushes forward and strikes it with a flash of energy. An arc of some sort of magical impact slams into the side of the beast, turns around Adam and swoops and knocks this other individual down into the swamp below. I'm going to go Ahead and pull a field to see what you're seeing in front of you and get to decide on what to do.

[Mercy]

Keep a note. It was magic. Magic mace. So whoever has magic.

[Dilly]

Oh, yeah, right.

[Badger]

Mm.

[Hex]

Mm. Holy wow.

[Alphonse]

Ew.

[Dilly]

This is so brutal.

[Game Master]

So here we have a multitude of ruined figures.

[Sister]

Oh, shit.

[Badger]

That's a lot of glory.

[Game Master]

And then here in the swamp, two figures still standing as they both.

[Hex]

Just two of them now.

[Game Master]

Just two of them remaining. With three other bodies torn asunder. Blood splatters across and pools of red that slowly shift with the marsh. The various bits of liquid surface that still snake through this part of the swamp as.

[Badger]

Oh, God.

[Game Master]

Oh, it's big.

[Kaguama]

Yeah, it's big.

[Dinny]

Keep partying.

[Mercy]

Ooh.

[Dilly]

Oh, it's a big old jaw dude.

[Game Master]

Dang entity.

[Badger]

It's got claw in its hands.

[Game Master]

You can see now it's bird like in most ways, but at the edges of its wings, long clawed fingers emerge. You see at the front, these small grasping additional arms claw. And where its beak opens in a second, you glance in, you can see a pair of eyes and almost like a face hidden within before it withdraws inside as it closes.

[Kaguama]

Oh, my goodness.

[Game Master]

The rest of you are over running away.

[Dilly]

Got it. All right. You don't help now, mind you.

[Game Master]

That is an option. It is distracted right now. What would you like to do?

[Sister]

We run right past it.

[Dilly]

We could. We could also gain favor. I'm assuming these people are from. Yeah, these are the Templars. And we could gain favor if we

[Alphonse]

save one of them.

[Dinny]

We helped him.

[Sister]

Oh, gosh. I really.

[Game Master]

At this point, as you're deciding it's going to go ahead and slash at that figure there, that's going to be a 16. That hits.

[Mercy]

Okay.

[Sister]

Oh, no.

[Game Master]

That's going to be a major wound to that one. This armored figure gets knocked back, kind of falls on its back. Its back its shield up. As the massive bird creature jumps up and tries to briefly dive on top of its shield. It pushes him into the muck itself. You can just barely see the surface as he's now submerged there. And it's trying to claw over and peel it off of the other one there is with fear.

[Mercy]

And just like, I'm just gonna beeline and go for the head. I'm gonna try and just grab the head and grapple the head of this.

[Badger]

You're gonna just run forward.

[Game Master]

So this is. Is going to be a dash on this. So I need you to make an agility roll.

[Mercy]

All right?

[Sister]

Okay.

[Game Master]

Because it is a mucky swamp, you will have Disadvantage on the agility roll.

[Mercy]

What does that mean?

[Game Master]

You roll a D6 and subtract it.

[Mercy]

Oh, great, great, great.

[Hex]

Can I give.

[Badger]

I'm going to spend a hope to give him advantage. Okay, so it'll cancel that.

[Game Master]

No, you just roll a D6 and

[Dilly]

that's horrible. Yeah, I didn't think about that.

[Mercy]

Okay, that is okay. Okay, I've rolled a.

[Badger]

You rolled so good.

[Mercy]

Rolled six. So I got a 15 with hope minus six plus four. Okay, so minus two. So 15 to 13 with hope 13

[Game Master]

is the difficulty of this terrain you shot. And with that you get to rush across and kind of capture up to its side right there where it is currently standing on the shield of the other gentleman.

[Mercy]

Right.

[Game Master]

Move this out of the way there so you can see where you are. All righty.

[Mercy]

And then I'm going to spend. Oh, can I still act? Yeah, I'm going to spend three hope to square up to this thing, which is essentially I can intimidate the target within close range, making them temporarily vulnerable.

[Game Master]

Yes, you can rest.

[Dinny]

We have not rested.

[Mercy]

We haven't rested, but it's fine.

[Dilly]

Look at it. Look at it.

[Game Master]

So explain to me how you square up this entity. It's scratching and beating down at this wounded.

[Mercy]

So I kind of, as I kind of bound towards it, I'm just again like pounding chest, kind of almost again matching its savageness, its ferocity with my own ferocity as a whole.

[Game Master]

And looks over and you can see these black, massive slick bird eyes that have a side slit as they blink over. One looks at you from the side and then it turns and opens its beak and the human face pushes through and looks at you with equally black eyes. That slid as well as it wasn't about its jaw hangs far wider than a human jaw should. And like, ew. You having been from this region for a while, know of this entity?

[Dilly]

Oh, I know it, yeah.

[Game Master]

This is actually a legendary beast from the old world known as the Tatra. It was a beautiful bird of magical witch wisdom and protection. And when the apostasy happened, it went mad and it.

[Dilly]

So I just see this brave, just brave humanoid, half dead giant thing square up with this old. Yes, it is vulnerable.

[Game Master]

It is vulnerable.

[Alphonse]

Right, yeah.

[Game Master]

Temporarily vulnerable.

[Dilly]

Right, yeah, yeah. Remind me. Vulnerable.

[Game Master]

So vulnerable means attacks against it have advantage until I manage to get rid of it.

[Dilly]

I'm going to shoot it. Can I shoot it?

[Game Master]

Of course.

[Dilly]

I would typically have disadvantage because I have the aimed feature on my rifle. But I'm going to spend a stress just because I want to Keep that advantage sweet. Okay, cool. Yeah. I line up and just like a. In a true. Like, just to see someone with no fear run through the muck and face this face inside of a beak. I'm going to shoot it.

[Game Master]

Oh, my gosh.

[Dilly]

Okay. That is okay. Seventeen with fear.

[Mercy]

Yeah.

[Dilly]

Seventeen with fear.

[Game Master]

That is a success.

[Dilly]

Okay, let's go for it.

[Game Master]

Roll damage.

[Dilly]

Since we have not rested yet, I still have two points on my power through pain ability, which allow me to add 2d6 on top of my original damage of 2d10 for this attack.

[Laura Bailey]

Yes.

[Dilly]

2d10. 2d6. As I shoot this thing. Okay. It's 26 damage as I shoot it. As this thing, its face comes out and tries to intimidate you. I'm going to show you that I got your back. I'm going to blow this thing away with a rifle shot.

[Game Master]

As you buckle yourself down, the sound. You've heard this gunfire twice, but this is intensely loud. Maybe it's because there's flatter ground here. Maybe it's just the intensity of the moment. But you almost have to cover your ears from the sound of this gun crack. It blasts immediately the tatra's face like shrieks back. And it means to shake its head back and forth in the impact. That is a severe wound on it. It marks three hit points on that nasty, heavy hit. I'll say it for you. So all of you, for the purposes of placement here, since you've all kind of come up into this area, well,

[Dilly]

you're all coincidentally in the AOE effect

[Game Master]

of its next attack. Yeah, we spread out a little bit. So many. If you want to maneuver. I'm just saying, like, you're on the board. So you. Since you've all decided to engage now,

[Badger]

I move on the board, like right there on the other side of the stump.

[Game Master]

Yeah, yeah.

[Dilly]

Next you at my back, baby. You guys are. Oh, no. I look forward. It's dashing towards me.

[Kaguama]

What's the name of it again?

[Dinny]

Tatra.

[Game Master]

The Tatra.

[Badger]

The Tatra.

[Hex]

And it's vulnerable right now.

[Game Master]

It is.

[Dilly]

I rolled a fear. Dang it. Yeah.

[Game Master]

So it does come to me first.

[Hex]

Okay, okay.

[Game Master]

Okay, I will. Okay, so I'm going to engage the tatra. It has a feature called Relentless 3, which means I can be spotlighted up to three times per GM turn.

[Sister]

What?

[Game Master]

I just have to spend fear for each additional time past the first. Okay, so that's great.

[Dilly]

I tried shooting it with a gun. It seems to be pretty vulnerable to that. Trying that. If you want, I.

[Badger]

We'll see what happens.

[Game Master]

Okay, here's what we're gonna do. First, it's gonna use an action called taste fortune on you. So it's gonna go ahead and mark a stress.

[Laura Bailey]

You taste like lucky charms.

[Game Master]

I need you to make an instinct reaction roll.

[Dilly]

Okay. I think I have something for that. Let me double check. Do I want to mark another distress? Probably not. I don't know what this does yet.

[Mercy]

Whatever.

[Dilly]

I'm just gonna roll.

[Game Master]

You said what kind Instinct reaction rule.

[Alphonse]

Oh, yay.

[Dilly]

Instinct.

[Alphonse]

Great.

[Dilly]

11 with fear.

[Alphonse]

Oh, no.

[Game Master]

It's a reaction 11.

[Dilly]

Yeah.

[Alphonse]

11.

[Game Master]

That's a failure. So after striking it, you get your gun ready for another shot. You look up at it, and when you looked at it initially, it was like reeling back in pain. You look away for a second, you look up, and it's just looking right at you as the head turns within the beak. So it's like within its space, something about a glimmer of its past, legendary essence connects with your spirit and soul. And suddenly, in a moment, elements of your true nature are revealed to it, laid bare like it pierces into your being and begins to read parts of you. Like a book that you did not consent to express to me in this moment, a memory of sadness or shame that is pulled from within that this creature gets to enjoy.

[Dilly]

I am on a wooden platform in the middle of a town. It has a large building behind me, what looks like to be the container for a pyre. But there is no flame. I'm chained as people watch around as they look at me with anger. I am blistered as I have been

[Alphonse]

clearly in the sun for hours.

[Dilly]

My eyes look up as I intertwine

[Alphonse]

a gaze with some priest. And my gaze goes back down to the wood beneath me.

[Game Master]

You pull out of that memory and vision. You mark two stress.

[Dilly]

That's fine.

[Game Master]

And I gain a fear that's cool.

[Dilly]

Thank God I did not mark that stress earlier.

[Game Master]

You watch as you look back, the face just licks its teeth and lips its tongue far longer than it should be to get all the teeth on the bottom row of its extended jaw. It enjoyed the flavor of your shame.

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[Game Master]

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[Laura Bailey]

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[Alphonse]

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[Alphonse]

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[Game Master]

I'm gonna spend another fear to activate it. It's going to turn around and attempt to finish the job on this gentleman here. That's gonna be. Oh my God. Yeah, that's an 18. It's gonna be. He takes six 15 plus two 17 points of damage. You watch as the other guy's getting up.

[Dilly]

He's like Bowen, Bowen. You have to get back, let them know.

[Game Master]

And as he's shutting this out over towards the other knight there, all of a sudden one of the hands grabs him. The beak bites down and just tears the head off of the knight like a long string of red flesh insignia. Just pulls before it snaps and then

[Alphonse]

it's

[Game Master]

then throws the body into the muck. It's then going to as part of I'm going to spend one more fear to activate it. It's going to use its bird of prey once per GM turn it can move up to very far range before or after it takes an action it then no swoops over to this side. This jump is done and with this it's going to go ahead and take a face beak strike against take it against you.

[Mercy]

Oh Dylan, no.

[Game Master]

It likes the fuzzy morsels so it's going to attack you. Oh, that's not a great roll. That's going to be an 11.

[Dinny]

Don't even touch the stuff.

[Game Master]

It goes to grab. It's One of those like cartoon moments. Like it keeps grabbing but you're just like, just one step away.

[Dilly]

It's like.

[Game Master]

And that's going to end my spotlight. It's back to you all.

[Mercy]

All right, Come on, Come on.

[Hex]

Okay, okay, okay. I don't.

[Laura Bailey]

Can I do something? Cuz I don't have to roll for it.

[Badger]

And I will help you go for it.

[Hex]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm going to mark a couple.

[Badger]

I'm going to mark a stress to hex it.

[Dilly]

Nice.

[Game Master]

Okay, let's go.

[Hex]

Amazing. Yes, yes, yes, yes.

[Game Master]

So that's minus two to its rolls.

[Badger]

Yes, minus two to its rolls. And I'm also going to envelop myself in shadows.

[Game Master]

Umbral veil seems to be five tokens on that.

[Badger]

Yes. Okay.

[Hex]

I didn't have to roll that way.

[Badger]

You can.

[Hex]

I'm going to try something a little different before you roll.

[Dilly]

I also just. I need to make sure so I don't. I'm just going to spend a hope just so I can get rid of two fear. Sorry to stress because once a day, once per long rest, I can spend a hope to calm myself or creature within, allowing the target to clear to stress. So, yeah, as I see you.

[Dinny]

Okay, yeah.

[Hex]

No, no, for sure.

[Game Master]

As I see you looking up at

[Dilly]

this thing, I think for a second, as I did back to what it made me reflect on. And then seeing you in the face of the face of the face of what could kill you instantly reminds me what I fight for. And I'll clear two stress from that.

[Game Master]

Fantastic.

[Mercy]

Go for it.

[Kaguama]

I'm going to try something a little unorthodox, but let's try.

[Game Master]

I love unorthodox. Let's go.

[Hex]

I saw how fearless mercy was attacking the beast. I see how this. How.

[Dinny]

How

[Hex]

you also come at it. Alphonse, I remember memories of this beast from the past. I know how wise they are, how knowledgeable they are and cunning. And there's a part of me that is interested in perhaps tapping into that beast's past memory. There's something in me that says if this beast is still able to access and enjoy shame, there is something that perhaps is tapped into with some sort of pleasantry that's far away from the darkness, that's perhaps closer to the light side. So I am going to use my experience of comforting.

[Game Master]

Okay.

[Hex]

And I am going to bravely stare into this face and ask it what ails you that is from within and not from without.

[Game Master]

After it's snapping towards Dilwyn. As you step towards it. Go ahead and make a Presence roll for me.

[Dilly]

First you turn around and you see like they're smoking a joint.

[Game Master]

It is still vulnerable. So you have advantage on the roll.

[Kaguama]

Yeah, I see you're vulnerable and you're desiring some sort of enjoyment. And I would like to ask you what ails you? Oh, he's a critical.

[Game Master]

Incredible. So gain a hope. Clear a stress.

[Kaguama]

Oh, my goodness.

[Game Master]

Okay, so the feral violence that has been shifted around this entity suddenly comes to stop. And you all watch as it folds its wings slightly. You see as the human face pushes out almost to the edge of the beak. Almost like it's reaching for you. The jaws open. You see it trying to make language. But as it does, it's broken teeth and its twisted tongue. It's almost like it's trying to recall a skill or an ability that it hasn't used and might not be able to ever again. But you look into its blackened, colorless, glazed eyes and it just looks towards you like it's seeking a connection.

[Alphonse]

What do you do?

[Kaguama]

I see that it's trying to reach into me. And I'm gonna give it some comfort. Something that once, long ago, gave me shame. But I was able to move through it. So I stare at it and I say, once, long ago, someone I deeply loved, who deeply loved me, protected me from a raid and risked her life for my own and our son. And I wasn't able to. To save her. I wasn't able to heal her. But she made me promise that I would do everything in my power to help those who once lived a full, beautiful life. And I see that in you. I've known creatures like you. You were once wise, beautiful.

[Game Master]

His two clawed hands begin to slowly reach towards you.

[Kaguama]

I'm so scared. Let me.

[Game Master]

The claws begin to grab the edges of your shoulders and pull you towards its mouth. Do you all allow this?

[Alphonse]

No.

[Dilly]

I'm sorry.

[Game Master]

They succeeded.

[Kaguama]

They succeeded. They succeeded.

[Game Master]

It's up to you all.

[Kaguama]

But it could just be a good distraction.

[Dinny]

Dinny has nature's tongue so she can talk to animals. Is it that it can't talk or. Or is it that it's talking a different language? Can she communicate?

[Game Master]

It's an interesting point. I will say from your experience in the world, the nature that you speak to are beings of the natural world. This is a legendary entity of the old world. And from what you can tell,

[Alphonse]

its

[Game Master]

consciousness is fractured through a century of losing whatever divine connection to the world it had and the slowly crawling corruption that has steeped within ever since. Where language fails, perhaps this connection is Finding a moment. To what end? We'll find out very soon. As it pulls you close, everyone around this. Okay. As it brings you in, its eyes meet yours over the humanoid face. Inside, the eye slits close slowly and reopen. And where there was once blackness, now you see a prismatic flash, like a glimmer of every color fighting for attention with other each in your mind. A warmth pierces your brain. And for a second you see flashes of landscapes, shapes, rainbows, color, light, stars, gold bridges, wondrous landscape. And then an overwhelming wave of sorrow and chaos. In a flash of a moment, it shares back to you so much pain that you fight to hold onto your own sanity. I need you to make an instinct reaction roll for me. Oh, hey.

[Hex]

How many?

[Kaguama]

Session one is this?

[Hex]

These two again?

[Mercy]

Yeah.

[Kaguama]

Oh, my goodness.

[Mercy]

It doesn't matter about her.

[Game Master]

I'll tell you right now. You have to meet or beat a 15.

[Badger]

Does anybody have a hope?

[Hex]

I don't think we can.

[Game Master]

For the basis of this reaction, Roy, you just gotta go.

[Dinny]

Okay.

[Game Master]

It went 22.

[Dilly]

22, 22, 22.

[Game Master]

It's 24.

[Hex]

It's 24.

[Dinny]

Okay, okay, okay.

[Hex]

It's 24.

[Game Master]

How do you manage to hold yourself together with this immensity in your mind?

[Kaguama]

I feel that rush of beauty and color. And it reminds me of Osha, the love of my life, who risked her life for mine.

[Hex]

A family of care, of tenderness, of compassion, of belief. I lean my forehead against this creature. I leaned into it. I surrender to it.

[Kaguama]

I take a deep breath and I whisper to it, you are beautiful.

[Game Master]

Your forehead touches it, and there's a moment where it seems to sigh before it kicks off of you. Mingin's just flailing about, madly screaming. You watch as spittle flies from its beak as it stumbles back in the process of pulling away into the side. It knocks over two trees, and its claws are up in the air, screeching. Its jaws are biting at the air and pushing at odd angles. It is having a full fit before it panics, gets back, whoosh. And just shoots off into the night sky.

[Mercy]

Fucking hell, bro.

[Badger]

Oh, my God.

[Kaguama]

Oh, God, I am so sweaty.

[Dilly]

I was ready for your head to just. Was I ready?

[Game Master]

It was like that reaction. Like there was a moment here where it's like, if anybody wants to jump in, you can. Or there's a very, very slight chance this is gonna completely change the dynamic of this. And if you miss that reaction roll,

[Dilly]

it's gonna get real bad.

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[Hex]

I take this moment and I look

[Kaguama]

up, I see the creature flying away. And I smile and I say, hosha, you're with me. I will always carry you with me. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Game Master]

Sent back into the night. You all catch your breaths a moment. And the one standing armored figure watching this goes. I don't know how you fucking did that. I'm sorry. How you did that. Trying to protect you. That's the most incredible thing I've ever seen. Who are you? Who are you?

[Dinny]

We're friends.

[Game Master]

This massive metal helmet with the skull emblazoned in the front. It's an intense image. The helmet comes off onto the ground and you see beneath it,

[Alphonse]

for lack

[Game Master]

of a better term, a boy. A man of no more than maybe 19 or 20 himself. Tear streaked on his face, muddied on his cheeks, short scattered hair that's sweat soaked in poison to one side. He looks like he barely fits his armor. He goes, whatever you are, whatever you've done, Tay, thank you, thank you. He immediately looks over to the scattered corpses and blood smears. We've got to burn them before they rise again. We've got to burn them. We've got to burn them. He throws his shield and mace on the ground and begins gathering the bodies of his compatriots, pulling them up onto the driest bit of land. Their armor heavy, he's like, I'll help him.

[Dinny]

I'll give him a nod.

[Game Master]

You all help him amass them and set them up. Many of them now muck soaked and probably hard to burn. But he looks upon the bodies of of his friends and nods. Do you mind if I say pray?

[Dilly]

Please.

[Game Master]

He gets down and kneels, and on his muck tattered tabard that sits over his breastplate there is a symbol of an open hand pressed into a diamond shaped pendant. He clasps it in senses by the might of Jairada, may you please see the great laws of their spirits wherever you may be, beyond the borders of the great light, may whatever the transgressions be be forgiven in thine sight. May whatever judgment you feel necessary be swift. And beyond that may they be reborn and the fiery light beyond. Once you return the spirit's weight till now the physical burn unto ash they lie until you return. And he stands up and reaches into a capsule. You can see on the back of his armor, this pouch. You hear the clinking of metal as he pulls out multitudes of oil in vials specifically for this purpose, in which he uncorks it and drizzles it across the bodies. You catch up the corner of your eye, one of the Hands.

[Alphonse]

Hands.

[Badger]

Twitches Can I push my hands into the ground and try to rise up the fungal network to hold the bodies and take over them as much as

[Game Master]

possible before anything root and vine pushed by the mysythium that you guide. Hold the body down as it begins to take on the curse of the soulblight. Sets his torch ablaze and throws it down. The bodies begin to burn as the flame flickers beneath you. Here in the darkness of the swamp. The crackle filling the air. The insects cast away by the smoke and the embers. There's just quiet. My name is Templar Bowen and it is by the grace of Jarada that we've crossed this path today. We've lost many.

[Alphonse]

I remain.

[Game Master]

As to you. I thank you.

[Sister]

We look for passage. Could we find haven in your tower?

[Game Master]

You travel to Oxydoci?

[Kaguama]

Yes?

[Game Master]

Oh yeah. Because it's best to travel with numbers. He looks back down to the pyre pile of his previous companions. I kind of looks over to you for a minute. Looks over to you with your skull emblazoned. And be you raiders.

[Mercy]

No, no.

[Game Master]

Be you faithful of hope. Yes, yes, yes. Be free of the umbra's corruption, brother.

[Sister]

Yes, he is.

[Game Master]

And perhaps you do have safe haven. Reaches down, grabs his shield, grabs his helmet and tucks it under his arm and runs a loop of his mace around his belt. Farewell. Perhaps we should shove off. And he stumbles for a second before catching himself and begins heading mostly in the direction you were traveling.

[Mercy]

You follow.

[Badger]

Hmm.

[Game Master]

There's just the sound of the crackling of those now laid to rest beyond the soulblight. The five of you and one young knight exemplar begin to trek beyond the outer confines of the rotten shallows and onward to the dark monolith of the Tower of Oxoros. And that's where we'll finish this episode.

[Dilly]

Yeah, dude.

[Game Master]

Alright then. Well, I guess we'll pick up from there next time. But until then, love you very much. And. And is it Thursday at? Good night. We've finished this episode. Thanks for coming along on this wild journey with us. If you're enjoying the story, you can tell your own stories in Daggerheart right now using the Daggerheart core set, which includes a full campaign frame you can use to dive deeper into the world of Age of Umbra itself. Check it out [e-mail] or your friendly local game store. See you next time.

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[Game Master]

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[Mercy]

Stop.

[Dilly]

This is Simplisafe police are on the way.

[Game Master]

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[Dilly]

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[Game Master]

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[Dilly]

Visit simplisafe.com licenses for alarm license information.

[Game Master]

Tennessee2012.