The Unforgiving City | Age of Umbra Episode 6 Part 1

Summary

Critical Role: The Unforgiving City | Age of Umbra Episode 6 Part 1 – Detailed Summary

Release Date: July 17, 2025

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Introduction

In the sixth part of the Age of Umbra campaign, hosted by Matthew Mercer, the party continues their perilous journey through the treacherous landscapes of Desperlock. This episode delves deeper into the dark lore of the Age of Umbra, showcasing intense combat, character development, and pivotal story advancements.

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Setting the Scene

At the outset (02:15), Matthew Mercer introduces the ongoing narrative of Age of Umbra, emphasizing its dark themes and intricate world-building. The players—Ashley Johnson, Taliesin Jaffe, Marisha Ray, Laura Bailey, and others—are immersed in a campaign set within the newly released tabletop RPG, Daggerheart from Darrington Press.

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Key Events and Plot Progression

1. Escaping the Screaming Forest (05:32)

   The party narrowly escapes the Screaming Forest after a fierce battle with Mother, the matriarch of the Hive. They retrieve a massive glaive from her corpse, providing both a weapon and symbolic comfort. Holding the glaive, Idol gains increased combat prowess, symbolizing the party's temporary respite from immediate threats.

   Matthew Mercer (05:32): "You rent from near her corpse the massive glaive that she used in that struggle, which is now wielded by Idol as well as at least a momentary bit of comfort to know that the Screaming Forest is slightly less dangerous for the time being."

2. Arrival at the Amber Gate (06:16)

   Upon leaving the forest, the party arrives at the Amber Gate, takes a long rest, and experiences strange visions. They decide to proceed westward into the Ashcall Quarter, moving through the Drowned Sprawl and into the Cinnabar Quarter, eventually aiming for the Barrow of Blind Repose.

   Marisha Ray (05:32): "But good news, we're offering a one month free trial on Beacon TV so you can take a look before you become a member."

3. Navigating the Drowned Sprawl (14:08)

   As the party traverses the Drowned Sprawl, they encounter restless spirits reenacting ancient riots. Engaging in battle with these apparitions, they manage to break their hold, uncovering secrets from the city's tumultuous past.

   Taliesin Jaffe (14:08): "I did too minor standing."

4. Encounter with Veiled Gods (17:03)

   The discovery of a piece of quilted armor emblazoned with a veiled God symbol introduces deeper lore elements. Through roleplaying and dice rolls, the party uncovers the significance of Tyrus, the God of Protection and Hope, whose influence shapes their actions and decisions.

   Matthew Mercer (17:03): "Tyrus was one of the veiled gods primarily known for the protection of family and hearth."

5. Short Rest and Strategic Planning (22:22)

   The group decides to take a short rest to recover and strategize. During this downtime, they assess their resources, prepare for upcoming challenges, and reinforce their commitment to the mission at hand.

   Ashley Johnson (22:22): "But we can just hope it's safe."

6. Confrontation at the Ashcall Quarter (29:47)

   As the party approaches the Ashcall Quarter, they face a colossal adversary—the Glom Tower Thrall. This formidable creature, encased in dark iron, poses a significant threat. Through coordinated teamwork and strategic spellcasting, the group engages in a fierce battle, resulting in substantial casualties and escalating the tension.

   Marisha Ray (50:31): "He's so vulnerable."

7. Heroic Sacrifice and Climactic Battle (105:15)

   In a moment of desperation, Taliesin Jaffe's character, Screeve, makes a pivotal decision to execute a "Blaze of Glory" maneuver. This act of heroism inflicts devastating damage on the Terragux, a demonic entity threatening the party, but comes at a great personal cost.

   Taliesin Jaffe (105:15): "I'm going to just look at everyone and run."

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Character Development and Dynamics

Throughout the episode, the interactions among the characters highlight their individual backstories, fears, and motivations:

• Ashley Johnson as Adelia: Adelia grapples with traumatic memories, particularly a haunting vision of past betrayals and losses. Her emotional turmoil is palpable during critical moments, influencing her decisions and combat effectiveness.

  Ashley Johnson (78:19): "I just remember being in the tunnel and I have a memory of being attacked by one of these creatures."

• Marisha Ray as Brixton: Brixton exhibits protective instincts, especially towards fellow party members. Her actions demonstrate leadership and a willingness to sacrifice for the group's well-being.

  Marisha Ray (85:15): "I've been aiming for it. I would have to do it for you."

• Taliesin Jaffe as Screeve: Screeve's character faces abuse and personal demons, driving his transformation into a resilient and determined fighter. His final sacrifice underscores his commitment to his companions and their mission.

  Taliesin Jaffe (108:19): "If they continue, good will happen. And this is much longer than I."

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Notable Quotes

• Matthew Mercer (14:16): "Pyre, heist, pyre, heist, pyre, heist."

• Marisha Ray (34:17): "Maybe, perhaps his presence is far more suited for the times we live in now."

• Taliesin Jaffe (105:15): "If I can do this, I can end this fight. I can end this fucking fight. I think."

• Ashley Johnson (118:18): "So, I'm going to grab August's body."

• Marisha Ray (122:18): "So we all saw the 10 and got excited for half of a second."

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Conclusion and Cliffhanger

As Episode 6 Part 1 concludes, the party faces significant losses and the lingering threat of the Terragux remains unresolved. The sacrifice made by Screeve leaves the group grieving yet resolute, setting the stage for the next installment where they must rally to overcome the darkness engulfing Desperlock.

Matthew Mercer (133:49): "That's a lethal first half."

Ashley Johnson (134:00): "Well, that's a really good rule."

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Looking Forward

The episode ends on a tense note, with the party having triumphed in battle but at a steep personal cost. Viewers are left anticipating the next episode, eager to see how the remaining members will navigate the challenges ahead and honor their fallen comrade's legacy.

Stay tuned for Episode 6 Part 2, dropping the following Tuesday at 5 AM Pacific.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• "You rent from near her corpse the massive glaive that she used in that struggle..."
  – Matthew Mercer (05:32)

• "If they continue, good will happen. And this is much longer than I."
  – Taliesin Jaffe (108:44)

• "I just remember being in the tunnel and I have a memory of being attacked by one of these creatures."
  – Ashley Johnson (78:19)

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Final Thoughts

Episode 6 Part 1 of Age of Umbra delivers an intense and emotionally charged session, blending intricate storytelling with dynamic role-playing. The players' strategic maneuvers and heartfelt character arcs enrich the narrative, making this installment a compelling chapter in the ongoing saga of Desperlock.

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Note: This summary excludes promotional segments, advertisements, and non-essential content to focus solely on the core narrative and character developments within the episode.

Transcript

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[Ashley Johnson]

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.

[Matthew Mercer]

This is Ashley Johnson and Telusin Jeffe.

[Ashley Johnson]

And we're popping in here to talk about our new podcast on Beacon, Weird Kids.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

In this series, we're diving into our lives as former child actors, from unraveling our eccentric upbringings to embracing all the delightfully odd interests we still have.

[Ashley Johnson]

Today we're covering so many topics like antique toys, taxidermy, Japanese pop culture, and honestly, anything else we come up with.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Weird Kids is available exclusively on Beacon. But good news, we're offering a one month free trial on Beacon tv so you can take a look before you become a member. Just use the code weirdosacon TV to start the trial.

[Ashley Johnson]

You can also find fellow weirdos by following the series on our heirdkids pod, Instagram and using the hashtag weirdkids.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

So to all the misfits, outcasts and weirdos out there, come take a seat at our table and celebrate all things unconventional, nostalgic and wonderfully weird. Welcome to Weird Kids.

[Ashley Johnson]

New episodes release every Tuesday.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hey there, Matthew Mercer here and you're listening to the podcast version of Age of Umbra, a dark tale and campaign setting from our recently released tabletop RPG Daggerheart from Darrington Press. You don't need to know anything about the rules or system to enjoy the story, but if you're inspired to want to play along, we have several short how to Play resources we lovingly call get yout Sheet Together, available to watch right now on Beacon TV and YouTube.com criticalrole this is part one of the episode right now, and part two arrives the following Tuesday. If you'd rather get instant and ad free access to the full episode, consider becoming a Beacon member where you can watch bonus content like the cast discussing each episode in Critical Role Cooldown, receive Critical Role shop discounts including on Daggerheart and much more. Sign up now at Beacon TV and that should cover it. Now let's dive into the adventure. Hello everyone and welcome to tonight's episode of the Age of Umbra. Now, before we jump in for ton for Age of Umbies, Marisha, you got announcement.

[Marisha Ray]

Yes you guys, Critical Role Cooldown, our Beacon exclusive after show has had some really awesome little discussions after Age of Umbies. You know, not only getting into the story, the world and characters, but also like debriefing about how Daggerheart plays in general. If you're not familiar, we have a show called Cooldown. It's exclusive to Beacon. You should watch it. You can hear our feelings on death moves, combat flow, and you know how we all share in the narrative with Matt and how just incredible he is. In fact, if you haven't watched any of Cooldown and you've been interested, we are giving new and returning Beacon subscribers a free month to check out these after shows as well as all the other perks and content that Beacon holds. So just go to Beacon tv, join and use Code Coolumbra through the end of July. Coolumbra, bro. Through the end of July to watch all of the Age of Umbra cooldowns as they release. It's good fun.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yay. Yeah, I believe that concludes our announcements. So let's go ahead and jump into tonight's episode of the Age of Umbra Sam.

[Ashley Johnson]

SA.

[Laura Bailey]

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[Matthew Mercer]

Us.

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[Matthew Mercer]

Welcome back to the Age of Umbra before we jump into our session when we did our cooldown after the end of the last episode, we recalled that I had forgotten the number of you who had fallen unconscious in the previous episode. We forgot to roll for your possible scars in which you roll, your hope die and what you roll is equal to or lower than your current level. You permanently cross out a hope. So we did that in the cooldown. But for those who haven't seen it, you rolled for yours, you were fine. You rolled twice, once was fine, one was not, and as such Misty now has a permanent hope slot crossed out. But in the Age of Umbra, you get one to all damage rolls for each scar that you have. So you're just a little bit more deadly fueled by trauma indeed. However, though damn. So last we left off, you all were fleeing from the Screaming Forest and suddenly were stopped at the edge of a recently erupting ever shifting sinkhole that had stopped you in your tracks. While something had been notified of your recent presence and was giving chase, Mother, the matriarch of the Hive beneath the Forest and the one responsible for the unique mutations that make up August, assumed that she could clean you out and drag you back to the Hive for her own experimentations. The battle was hard fought and many of you fell multiple times and it got very hairy. However, before she could truly flee, she was struck down and with that you rent from near her corpse the massive glaive that she used in that struggle, which is now wielded by Idol as well as at least a momentary bit of comfort to know that the Screaming Forest is slightly less dangerous for the time being. You then left the forest and came to the Amber Gate. You took a long rest there, had some strange visions, and upon waking, stepped into Amber Reach itself. You decided, amongst the various paths that you could take towards your destination, to head westward past the Drowned Sprawl into the Ashcall Quarter, then onward into the Cinnabar Quarter, past the Astra Foundry, and then eventually to the Barrow of Blind Repose. Entering the Water Sunken District known as the Drowned Sprawl, you had to leap from rooftop to rooftop while spirits from the past began to manifest, beginning to Recall and reenact the ancient riots that set fire to this city after the apostasy, some of these spirits took notice of you. You battled with a number of them while some of you dove into the waters and began to uncover secrets from that moment of the past and convinced them to look away, eventually breaking. What held these spirits to your presence here in the sprawl and battered, jumped and swam your way to the edge of the district, climbing onto the base of the ashcall quarter. Here, looking up this crumbling mountain of cracked cobblestone and winding stairways around ever taller academies and institutions slowly crumbling, would the passage of age rise before you. At its apex, you can see the mighty university fortress known as the Sellsian Athenium. It looms like a lone survivor against the shaded spaces and dark that surround it. The distant fiery sacred pyre burning from one of its reinforced towers. The one little spark of light in safety and possible promise should you make it. As you all catch your breath trying to dry, your body's soaked. Those that fell into the murky, thick waters eventually try and shake it off. You gather yourselves. Prepare for what's ahead of you. What would you like to do?

[Lowe's Representative]

I'm going to go steal the fire from that pyre. Get out of here.

[Laura Bailey]

That would be very much, much easier probably.

[Matthew Mercer]

Pyre, heist, pyre, heist, pyre, heist.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm going to pull out the piece of fabric, the piece that was wrapped up, and try to see what it is.

[Matthew Mercer]

So as you unbundle this waterlogged fabric, it seems somewhat hydrophobic. The water falls off of it for the most part. It's drier than you expected as you shake it out. It is a piece of quilted armor. It's like a tunic that is very, very well crafted. Something that you also see has emblazoned on it one of the veiled God symbols, ones that you don't necessarily recognize. But you get why, in the midst of that conflict in which heretical judgment was being thrown about in the riots, why such a symbol was being hidden within the temple by that individual. But you do discover this tiny, soft armor is now at yours or somebody's disposal.

[Ashley Johnson]

Should somebody wish to use your thresholds up to age 18, which is great, your armor score up. You gain a plus two bonus to rolls you make to move silently.

[Lowe's Representative]

But check it. The bottom part's the most interesting armor.

[Ashley Johnson]

You utilized by the high reel scouts of the ordinate crest.

[Lowe's Representative]

You could pretend to be somebody you're not even more with official merch.

[Ashley Johnson]

I mean My armor's really bad, I feel like.

[Laura Bailey]

But you keep dying.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah, it's. No, but you're.

[Laura Bailey]

How many armor slots?

[Ashley Johnson]

Look, your damage threshold is. I mean, mine is also very low. But yours is.

[Lowe's Representative]

You built a shitty character. This is not how you play this game.

[Matthew Mercer]

Don't listen to him.

[Marisha Ray]

I did.

[Ashley Johnson]

No.

[Laura Bailey]

Fine. I'll take it.

[Lowe's Representative]

Give it to the killer.

[Marisha Ray]

Does it say what God it is?

[Ashley Johnson]

Tyrus Soft armor.

[Matthew Mercer]

You don't need it. You're listen.

[Lowe's Representative]

But if you change your appearance to wear this stuff, you're gonna have to make really kickass. Like she doesn't recognize the name High in deception.

[Matthew Mercer]

No. Being one who has been in the process.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes, that's my highest.

[Matthew Mercer]

For one who's been in the proximity in Desperlock to the various researchers and shreds of past faith that you've had fascination and a growing personal interest in. Tyrus is the name of one of the veiled gods.

[Marisha Ray]

Tyrus is one of the names you like, but do anything about what the make an instinct.

[Ashley Johnson]

Would I have learned anything about it from my family as well during my lessons?

[Matthew Mercer]

Just a second. We'll do your instinct roll and then you can do a knowledge roll if you like.

[Laura Bailey]

Brixton, tell us about the old gods.

[Marisha Ray]

Well, you see. Can I use historically inspired to add to this?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, I don't want to spend a hope to add to it. Go for it.

[Marisha Ray]

Experience.

[Laura Bailey]

Would you like one of the five pencils I have over here?

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah, I used to have a bunch.

[Laura Bailey]

I keep stealing this.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

6:13. Knowledge.

[Matthew Mercer]

This is instinct for you. Watch. No, you were studied on this. This would be knowledge.

[Marisha Ray]

Fourteen with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

Fourteen with hope. Okay, take a hope. Best you can recall, Tyrus was a veiled God that was primarily known for the protection of family and hearth.

[Ashley Johnson]

That's nice.

[Matthew Mercer]

They were one of the veiled gods that as opposed to being a defender and a protector, they were one that swallowed the dark that would threaten to creep into your heart, home and safe spaces. So in its own right, a somewhat dark and strange God without context, like many of the veiled gods were beheld as beautiful entities. But most of their presence was almost a negative to the mantles that they promoted. And Tyrus was indeed a. A dark shadow being amongst the gods. But from that shadow was the bastion that held it at bay.

[Marisha Ray]

Interesting.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

This is a good omen.

[Ashley Johnson]

It is. Mm. Would anyone like to take a look at it?

[Lowe's Representative]

Seems like it's for you.

[Ashley Johnson]

You got it. You should wear it.

[J]

I'll take a look at it.

[Ashley Johnson]

Take a Look at it. I mean, it would be useful for anyone.

[Lowe's Representative]

I'm fine.

[J]

Above table, the Hyrule Scouts of the Ordnant crest. This is an old timey. Before the fall order.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, yeah.

[J]

The grand ordinance were probably the same generation as the Ghosties we saw.

[Matthew Mercer]

Likely. Yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

But if someone sees you wearing it, are they going to be since they were trying to keep that hidden. The ghost is real.

[Matthew Mercer]

You don't know. That was 100 years ago. So it would have to be somebody who's pretty well studied to recognize it. Okay. Or at least somebody who is faithful within the old ways to recognize the symbol.

[J]

I feel like this wouldn't let my skin breathe the way I'm accustomed to.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah, it would cover up your circle.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes.

[J]

Can't get a tug in so easily.

[Lowe's Representative]

A tugging What?

[Ashley Johnson]

He grabs it with his. He grabs it with his tinklets.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, yeah.

[Lowe's Representative]

Didn't know if he was trying to get a casual tug in.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah, a little.

[J]

Whenever possible.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'll get it.

[Marisha Ray]

Quick little.

[Lowe's Representative]

What was that pull on the ring? Yeah. What was the hand gesture there? Much like rolling your knife.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah, that's what I was doing.

[Lowe's Representative]

There you go. Oh, boy.

[J]

Take a little pinky underneath.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Lowe's Representative]

Oh, God.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[J]

Would you like this?

[Marisha Ray]

No, I'm good. I'm good.

[Ashley Johnson]

Violet could wear it.

[Laura Bailey]

It's Misty's.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

You found it.

[Ashley Johnson]

I think I will put it on the top of your stone. I think it will. I think it will. And I think I will put it on and it'll look great. And I will very much enjoy having a little bit more health. So because this is armor four and I only have two armor shields left, do I just go up to four?

[Matthew Mercer]

How many did you have spent?

[Ashley Johnson]

I have spent one. So because my armor is three, so I had spent one, so what would that. But it would be putting on new armor.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's a good question. Actually, I'm looking to forward because I can do this. Because this is a new game.

[Ashley Johnson]

Will you look in that book and see if there's anything I can do to lower my stress?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. Take a rest.

[Marisha Ray]

Not in the game.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, if I knew.

[J]

Stay here at this table.

[Ashley Johnson]

Does that book have any more stamina potion?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I can make one or more.

[J]

So that armor is. This is gigantic. It's the size of a field tent. It would really only feed you Misty.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Can we only make them during long rests?

[Ashley Johnson]

Sure.

[Marisha Ray]

Just whenever you take a rest. Action.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Oh, any downtime?

[Laura Bailey]

Should we take a short rest? Right now?

[Ashley Johnson]

This is the area where most of the monsters are. But perhaps they Won't see us. How long is a short rest?

[Matthew Mercer]

Short?

[Marisha Ray]

I'm assuming an hour.

[Matthew Mercer]

Ish. I can't find the rule off me, and I don't want to sit here and do it. I'm going to say for the purposes of this, it is new armor. So you can change it out, but you can't just quickly change the armor. It'll take you a minute to do so.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, so we should take a short rest while she changes her armor.

[Matthew Mercer]

If you'd like to.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

That works out well either. Yeah, let's do that.

[Ashley Johnson]

All right.

[Matthew Mercer]

There we go.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah.

[Marisha Ray]

Is this a safe place?

[J]

I will look for safety.

[Matthew Mercer]

No places.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

No places.

[J]

I will try to find the safest user. Slyborn advantage on rolls to find a safe place to hide.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go ahead and make an instinct roll for me with advantage to see if you can find a place nearby that would be the safest.

[Laura Bailey]

As we stand here, I notice. Misty.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes?

[Laura Bailey]

What's that new scar you see?

[Matthew Mercer]

If you would like to describe how your scar has manifested itself upon you.

[Ashley Johnson]

I think that in the battle with Fighting with a stone statue, I do think I'm missing one of my top wings.

[Lowe's Representative]

You're missing a wing?

[Marisha Ray]

Wings.

[Ashley Johnson]

I mean, I have four sets. Wait, four sets of metaphors.

[Lowe's Representative]

And now she's missing one. You're gonna fly all crooked.

[Ashley Johnson]

That's what I was trying to do because Talis showed me the. The biblically accurate angels, and they horrified me. So I was like, this is what I'm gonna do. Yeah. So I think her top. So she has two. No, I think one full.

[Matthew Mercer]

Like a broken one full.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes. So now I've only. Thank you. So three wings on the. Yep. Break it off.

[Matthew Mercer]

Can't do that.

[Lowe's Representative]

Break it off.

[Matthew Mercer]

Break it off.

[Lowe's Representative]

Break it off.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah. So I think her top left.

[Matthew Mercer]

So as your illusory form that you had placed upon yourself upon traversing the sprawl vanishes. You can see the snapped wing that in the chaos of fleeing and resting, has managed to chip and fall away from her stones.

[Ashley Johnson]

I've lost my soprano notes.

[J]

You have a jagged, sharp, chipped spike.

[Ashley Johnson]

Would you like to run your finger along the side sight of it.

[Laura Bailey]

I also have a broken horn thing.

[Ashley Johnson]

What happened to you?

[Laura Bailey]

Oh, just life.

[Ashley Johnson]

Did it just. Just.

[Matthew Mercer]

So scree. What you want?

[J]

I got a 20. With fear, my dice are appropriately cursed at this table.

[Matthew Mercer]

So Scree keeps an eye out to find a safe space for you guys to rest and take your momentary reprieve. You step over into an overhang of a higher level banister. And a railing that protrudes from the stone of the first proper level of the ashkall. You all scurry underneath. You can hear the foot scraping of stone from above and this distant, low gurgling growl that every now and then peeks out like a creature communicating with a language you don't understand in the far distance. You haven't taken a moment to get a good look at what's ahead of you beyond just the shapes of these massive structures to climb and eventually rise to. But you have a brief moment to recover. So now you can take your short rest. If you'd already marked it because you were impatient. That's okay.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I did too minor standing.

[Ashley Johnson]

You made him. Oh, my gosh.

[Lowe's Representative]

Thank you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah, me neither.

[Matthew Mercer]

You know, take a short rest. You can change out your armor and I will say that allow your slots to.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, so would that be one of my actions then? Switching out?

[Matthew Mercer]

No, I'm just letting you do that as part of this right now until I can look up the rules specifically. Great. New games to learn the minutiae myself too. Indeed.

[Marisha Ray]

But.

[Matthew Mercer]

So is anybody taking watch? Or do you leave it to fate?

[J]

And that means you.

[Matthew Mercer]

You get to roll your hook dice for one of your actions. And you can choose to use yours or mine.

[Ashley Johnson]

And you're trying to roll high.

[J]

Right.

[Matthew Mercer]

But.

[J]

So does that mean I don't do one of my upcoming steps? I will. I'll take watch. Because I was only bad in one department, not multiple.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. Go for it.

[J]

So this asshole's gonna sit over here. There we go. I'll take mine.

[Matthew Mercer]

What's yours?

[J]

Nine.

[Matthew Mercer]

Nine. Very well. As you walk.

[Lowe's Representative]

What was yours?

[Matthew Mercer]

Mine was a seven.

[Lowe's Representative]

Gamble's got to know.

[Matthew Mercer]

Exactly. So as you all settle here and catching your breath, you can still see past the mists and fog of the drowned sprawl. The little flickering blue lights of the various ghosts and spirits that blink in and out through the water above the water and you hear the shifting above. Oh God. Got me a heavy footfalls that get heavier than softer Something large patrolling the region above the path you're looking to take unseen just heard and felt it shakes you all to your core as I gain one fear from that one. But I still get to roll a D4 to see what else. That's going to be two more. So I'm going to come out of here with 11ft.

[Marisha Ray]

Just one. Just take the last one. Why not just fuck it now?

[Matthew Mercer]

I want to earn it. But with your actions taken the brief reprieve allowing you to steady yourselves Your new protective armor intact. What would you like to do?

[J]

They've been trying to get a pyre festival going in this quarter for years, but it always falls apart.

[Marisha Ray]

I heard the guy who's running it, he was locked away for a long.

[Lowe's Representative]

Time, and then they let him out and then tried to do it again, and that also fell apart. And anybody that signed up for the second time was just.

[Matthew Mercer]

Asshole.

[Marisha Ray]

Just chokes on you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Or the food situation was Salzian.

[Laura Bailey]

Athena. An ancient university stronghold. Do we go in or do we go around? Do we have to go through?

[Ashley Johnson]

There's lots of monsters in this area. They seem to be drawn to it. Haven't you noticed?

[Marisha Ray]

But it's safe if we can go inside, if they'll let us in. It could take us some time before we even get there.

[J]

Oh, yes, I'm sure.

[Marisha Ray]

Might be our best bet for a long rest.

[Matthew Mercer]

Just so you're aware too, the path to get to the athenum, which is at the top of this district, is winding up a series of rising levels. It's like climbing up a series of switchback streets and the various structures that rise up it. And the path to escape into the Cinnabar Quarter is alongside the athenum.

[Ashley Johnson]

So we have to go there anyway.

[Matthew Mercer]

Unless you want to double back and pick another route.

[Lowe's Representative]

Hell no.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

No, no.

[Lowe's Representative]

We go up, we climb.

[J]

We go up.

[Ashley Johnson]

Onward. Ho. Who you calling myself.

[Laura Bailey]

Oh, you're sort of taking power.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm taking power over my body.

[Matthew Mercer]

As you step from the safety of Shadow, you are now exploring the Ashclaw Quarter. So I place on here. Oh my gosh.

[Marisha Ray]

Wait, what's on that?

[Matthew Mercer]

As part of your dangerous both of these, there is a progress counter and there is a consequence countdown as you traverse this. Your successes and attempts to get safely through this region will work towards your progress. Your failures or fears will work towards the consequence counter. So who is helming the first leg of this journey and what are you doing to help ensure your safety as you move?

[Ashley Johnson]

I can do it. I'm very good at avoiding monsters. And maybe I can lead the way.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, so you want to peer through the mists towards the parts of the rising ridges and the expanded platforms and the stairways that wind up along this ridge rising cliff face of the entire quarter. For the best path forward and the safest path forward, I would like for you to roll an instinct roll for it.

[Lowe's Representative]

Are the streets full?

[Matthew Mercer]

You haven't started climbing. Do you want to keep an eye out?

[Lowe's Representative]

Yes, please.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'd like you to also make an Instinct Roll.

[Ashley Johnson]

Can I use my experience? They mostly come at night.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes, you may if you want to spend the hope to do so.

[Laura Bailey]

Is it night?

[Matthew Mercer]

No, it is late after afternoon.

[Ashley Johnson]

But it's about monsters.

[J]

Okay, gotcha.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Lowe's Representative]

12, 15, 13 with fear. Hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

13 with hope. All right, so you take a hope and yours was with fear. With fear.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, what Was yours for 13?

[Lowe's Representative]

Oh, just to see if the streets were empty or full.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, so you take it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hope.

[Ashley Johnson]

I didn't take it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct. So for you over here, Adelia, looking up and peering on the path, you begin to lead the troop up around one of the bottommost wide staircases. There's multiple heavy spiral staircases that are 10ft 15ft wide, that rise up. Two of them are partially collapsed and at the top you can see a group of devils hanging over the top looking out. One of them has a massive looks like a pike with some sort of an arm, an untethered arm just speared on it. It's dangling its fingers half rotted and peering out. So you move them around successfully bringing the troop up a third through the quarter. As you maneuver around and find one open region, the next higher platform here has a large marble surface where it looks like perhaps there might have been celebration or event that were held here in a once grandiose period of time. But now you can see the marble is cracked and there is an open expanse in which you are both exposed. But there does not appear to be anything immediately present. But you grab the rest of the troop and you wait for a moment to hear. No movement, no sound, and you all rush through. You hear another distant boom and the pattern of walking. Instead of stopping, you just rush to the nearby side. But nothing seems to react to your presence. So that is successfully first leg of the journey. You keeping an eye out with a hope. You look around to see where the source of that was. And as you rush past this marble opening there, you careen around the side to a gazebo. A beautiful tall 20 foot gazebo that it's cracked on top and looks like bits of glass sunglass that were built on the side has shattered and cracked and fallen to the floor around you. You slide and catch yourself and look up and you hear this distant and there are flying beasts ahead. It looks like something may have noticed movement and at least is screeching out to notify its brethren or all other things that exist in this quarter that you are present. Careful.

[Lowe's Representative]

We may have been spotted in the air.

[Laura Bailey]

Brixton, is there any veiled gods that we can pray to for guidance or protection. You know about this stuff?

[Marisha Ray]

Yes, well, ironically, the armor that Misty just found from Tyrus, he's technically the God of protection and hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh.

[Marisha Ray]

It'S strange just being here in this halcyon domain.

[Matthew Mercer]

And.

[Marisha Ray]

Back in the olden times he was looked at as an intimidating figure.

[Matthew Mercer]

But.

[Marisha Ray]

Maybe, perhaps his presence is far more suited for the times we live in now. I feel find comfort and shadow. And that was his aesthetic, as the kids say.

[T-Mobile Representative]

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[Matthew Mercer]

Up to.

[T-Mobile Representative]

$800 per line via virtual prepaid card typically takes 15 days. Free phone via 24 monthly Bill Clinton credits with finance agreement. Example Apple iPhone 16128 gigs $829.99 eligible trade in example iPhone 11 Pro for well qualified credits end and balance due if you pay off early or cancel.

[Matthew Mercer]

Contact Us.

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[Matthew Mercer]

Do you know what time it is? It's time to go. Radio Rental Radio Rental is a podcast with a collection of the scariest stories you've ever heard, all told by real people. That's right. These are true, scary stories straight from the mouths of those who experienced them.

[J]

Terrifying glitches in the Matrix, horrifying humans.

[Matthew Mercer]

Ghostly encounters, possible abductions, and all sorts of paranormal phenomena. Radio Rental is available now. Listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your stupid podcasts. It's at this point as you're talking about this, that part of the gazebo you're hiding in, what crumbles from under your foot. A piece of the somewhat broken terrain all of a sudden falls from underneath, and you barely keep your hands on the side before you watch as Idol falls down below, ends up stumbling into a platform beneath heavy impact. You hit the ground not enough to damage you, but enough to knock the wind out of you for a second. And now the rest of you are up above and about 20ft down is idol separated, as I use the waning structure to separate your group. Also, because you had rolled with fear to bring it back to me as part of that action.

[Ashley Johnson]

The echo that I rolled with fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

Sorry. You rolled with fear, but it's still killer. No, sorry, I misunderstood that. So, yeah. So as you see him plummet down there, and Idol for a moment isn't even visible except for just the slightest bit of light that creeps through from the nearby bit of moon that barely peeks through the clouds, you feel the echoes of anxiety wash over you and you lose a.

[Lowe's Representative]

Lose a hope.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

This area I'm going to fly on down to Idle.

[Matthew Mercer]

I would like you.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Oh, yeah, go ahead.

[Lowe's Representative]

Sorry.

[Matthew Mercer]

To explain to me how your fears manifest and your vision and memory as you feel the hope fade from you.

[Ashley Johnson]

I remember escaping from my home and I was alone and I had to hide in the tunnels underneath. And it was very scary. I. I heard stomping above, things falling from the roof, and I was afraid it was going to get me and Violet. I couldn't sleep. I don't know how long I was there before full screen.

[Matthew Mercer]

You notice that Delia whispering to herself, almost living through a recollection. Her hand's shaking. The one darkened hand itself blackened with whatever strange magic transferred from the box that you carried quivering next to it. She shakes free from it as Idle, you pick yourself back up and find yourself in some partially collapsed subterranean chamber.

[Marisha Ray]

Adelia, are you praying as Snick suggested?

[Ashley Johnson]

Um.

[Marisha Ray]

Would you like to pray?

[Ashley Johnson]

Sure.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

Good night. Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite. And if they do, then I hope they eat me quickly quit.

[Marisha Ray]

That was a good prayer.

[Ashley Johnson]

Thank you.

[Matthew Mercer]

Amen.

[Ashley Johnson]

Amen. I'm just going to just sort of saunter over a little and put a couple of my wings out and just sort of. I'm sorry. Thank you.

[Lowe's Representative]

I'm glad you're sorry to her. I just fell in this fucking hole. That's okay. I'll take my divine powers and I'll light up my bone hook because I have no fucking teammates. And I light up the subterranean area to try and see what's around.

[Ashley Johnson]

Wait. Idol. Stay put. There are things down below. August, can you fly down and get him?

[J]

Oh yes.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

One moment. I'm going to take my. I'm gonna fly down into the cavern.

[Lowe's Representative]

Wait, wait. We should. Okay. I don't know what's down here.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Looking around.

[J]

I'll never come back.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

How far can we still see?

[Matthew Mercer]

It's about 24. Not so terribly. Yeah. And you hit the ground and like they're lost.

[J]

Definitely dead.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Anything to see down there before we.

[Matthew Mercer]

Get out of here?

[J]

It's like I can see.

[Matthew Mercer]

Glancing around here. It looks like this was a larger subterranean hall that has mostly fallen in from what looks like part of the interior rock of this built out hill that it was constructed on. Had kind of slid in. So not much is visible beyond this collapsed period. And this maybe 35, 40 foot wide space. Cool. Fly down.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Going to cast an arcane door.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh actually.

[Marisha Ray]

Oh yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

I don't mind it. Be onto something. Screeve. Why don't we take the tunnels?

[J]

Sure. I don't want to push this little party in directions they didn't want to go in.

[Lowe's Representative]

I don't think there are any tunnels. Den are there tunnels.

[Matthew Mercer]

You can go ahead and search if you'd like.

[Lowe's Representative]

I think I just fell in a hole.

[J]

Our tunnels were to the east of here. But there must be catacombs.

[Matthew Mercer]

Look for some real quick.

[Lowe's Representative]

Can I search around a little bit?

[Matthew Mercer]

So you go ahead and build light into space. With more light in the vicinity, you go ahead and begin to search for other means of egress from this chamber. Go ahead and roll an instinct roll for me if you don't mind.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I have darkvision. So can I assist?

[Matthew Mercer]

Do you want to spend a hope to do so? Yeah. I'll assist to help an ally to help with the terminology.

[Lowe's Representative]

Out of five, what was the roll? What kind of.

[Matthew Mercer]

This is instinct.

[Lowe's Representative]

21 with hope 26.

[Matthew Mercer]

Nice.

[J]

You like it with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

That counts down the progress to a 2. Glancing about inside here, this chamber you feel pretty confident is locked solid. There doesn't seem to be an additional way out of here. This just looks like an unfortunate collapse at your moment of reprieve. So looking about you feel confident that you can move on from here. And with your help, you emerge back onto the top point where the rest of you have been waiting. Keeping an eye out, you begin praying as well.

[Ashley Johnson]

Just a hoe.

[Laura Bailey]

Maybe you should start to pray also. Idol, do you have a favorite of the old gods?

[Lowe's Representative]

Nick went neck knick knack. Tallyware. Give a dog a bone. These old gods. Shoo. Begone, shoe. Begone. Sho.

[Matthew Mercer]

Begone.

[Lowe's Representative]

Amen.

[Matthew Mercer]

A shuddering chill washes over your shoulders at your improper profane attempt.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, no.

[Matthew Mercer]

Lispendo fear. To mark a stress on you as some. Some of the dark curse that sits on this quarter seems to either playfully enjoy your blasphemy or punish you for the way you lean into it. You're uncertain.

[Lowe's Representative]

We should get out of here.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. For the next leg of this climb, who is helping and how?

[J]

Regardless, I'm going to scoop underneath Adelion, lift her up onto my shoulders, hold her little hands. None of it makes any sense, does it?

[Ashley Johnson]

Mm.

[J]

That's why it's best to find our sport where and when we can.

[Ashley Johnson]

Lean to the left. Lean to the right.

[J]

Sorry, Idol.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. I'll get out of your way. Figure. I can't.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I can take a stab at it.

[J]

Yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

So I'm going to get a little distance, fly up and see if I can start tracking the next leg from the air.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. We glide up. The mist sits in this space, but there are shapes of things flying in the low clouds around here. So you do your best to keep perception available in case something were to crawl closer towards you from the sky. Looking upon, you can see the multitudes of layers that wind and switch back up the quarter itself. Go ahead and make an instinct roll for me. Then go ahead and make it with disadvantage. Cool.

[J]

Because fuck you specifically.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Fuck me specifically. Yeah, that's fair. Come on.

[Matthew Mercer]

Keep looking.

[Marisha Ray]

I know.

[Matthew Mercer]

Smile.

[Marisha Ray]

Just staring at disappointment.

[Ashley Johnson]

Maybe it'll change.

[Matthew Mercer]

Four with fear.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Wait. No. I'm so sorry.

[Matthew Mercer]

Six with fear.

[J]

Oh, wait a minute.

[Matthew Mercer]

Six with fear.

[Marisha Ray]

Do you get to add anything?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. Too. He did.

[Ashley Johnson]

Did you roll a six?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I rolled a one.

[Matthew Mercer]

No.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

And then with a negative one and then a four. That was. That was just awful.

[Laura Bailey]

Why'd you take them both away?

[Ashley Johnson]

Uh. Oh.

[Matthew Mercer]

Cause the event's done.

[Marisha Ray]

Uh oh shit.

[Ashley Johnson]

Here we go.

[Matthew Mercer]

You see, actually up this next portion of the cliff there is the rocky hill. This is built on as it rises up, it's a small mountain. There are these switchback staircases that lead upward and you can see these beautiful towers and these monumental structures that represent various Houses of learning. Where once at a point in time, this was probably a beautiful alabaster beacon of knowledge, history, learning. You can almost have this vision of the past. And to see it fallen as it is, it's also impressive that it stood strongly this time in the face of all of this decay. But you follow the path and can see indeed, if we go this way, this way, this way. And we go through this massive archway that leads upward that gets us through the secondary wall and hopefully beyond that, that can get you to the fortress, to the Lyceum itself.

[Ashley Johnson]

You found it?

[Marisha Ray]

August, did he find it?

[Matthew Mercer]

You let the rest of the team know and you all begin to clamber up around. Other creatures growl beyond the way. And you stay low. You head around the base of one of the massive structures and begin to head up this sense of staircase. As you get halfway up to where the large archway sits, you would saw a shadow begins to loom out of it. A massive 2025 foot humanoid shape lumbers through. And you hear this.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, my God. Every fucking time.

[Lowe's Representative]

I heard a little too much.

[Matthew Mercer]

Rocks rattle and tumble down the cliff face and scatter on the ground around you. As it emerges from the mists, you can see pale blue, some lifeless or corrupted skin smooth, stretched wide, shoulders with metal bolts in them, with chains wrapped and dangling where the extended small head would be. A metal cage of dark iron is affixed and wrapped around it as it leans and stumbles one shoulder into the side of this arch, part of it cracking in the process. It steps forward with its other leg and you see where the chains wrap around and dangle from one arm. The other one has built and bolted into it a massive metal cage that is partially open and bent and empty as it stands there, gives out this heavy, bassy, baleful cry that echoes loudly out into the space, calling forth whatever may have heard it. Give me just.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh.

[Lowe's Representative]

Yeah. Oh, my God.

[Matthew Mercer]

I don't like it, boy.

[Marisha Ray]

Oh, it's so great.

[Ashley Johnson]

Goodness. Oh my goodness.

[J]

It is like Lombard Street. Switch backs.

[Marisha Ray]

Whoa. Cool.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, boy. Wow.

[Lowe's Representative]

Holy crap.

[Laura Bailey]

Now, all this comes with the. The base box of Daggerheart, correct?

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

This is all paper. Crap. Now, as you all have gotten partway up the switch.

[Lowe's Representative]

Gorgeous man. Come on.

[Ashley Johnson]

Who was it that fell? Which one of us? I think it was Idol.

[J]

Idol. That's all he does.

[Ashley Johnson]

Almost there. Almost there.

[Matthew Mercer]

There he is.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, you almost got it. You almost got it. There he is.

[Lowe's Representative]

I'm the defibrillator.

[Matthew Mercer]

I can't shake him.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, wow. He's so.

[Matthew Mercer]

He's cool.

[Marisha Ray]

He's so cool.

[Ashley Johnson]

Cage.

[Marisha Ray]

I kind of love him.

[Lowe's Representative]

Is that a cage on his head?

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes. Spikes coming out of his head on his back. Oh, he looks so unhappy. He's got a cage hand, poor guy.

[Marisha Ray]

Not the bees.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

If we remove the cage he'll pop out.

[Matthew Mercer]

It roars out into the space around you and you know, at least this has spotted you. And other things may be coming.

[Ashley Johnson]

Rhett Row.

[Matthew Mercer]

What do you do?

[Laura Bailey]

Maybe we can push him down the stairs.

[Ashley Johnson]

Why is there a lot of pussy?

[Matthew Mercer]

Where are we?

[Marisha Ray]

Such a terrible idea. We do have to get through that.

[Matthew Mercer]

This is the path you had seen that would head towards the inner wall on the outside of the athenium.

[Marisha Ray]

I feel like anytime we try to run it's backfired.

[Laura Bailey]

Have we ever tried to run?

[J]

Yes.

[Ashley Johnson]

Well, we tried many times.

[Marisha Ray]

Kind of.

[Lowe's Representative]

I'm going to take off running.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Thank you.

[Lowe's Representative]

I'm going to run up the stairs.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'll get you closer. If you want to go for a far you can go ahead and make an agility roll to see if you can go the full length on that.

[Lowe's Representative]

Thank you much.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh no. He's doing it. Get a hope. So we get an on run. Yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

Clear a stress. Take a hope and that'll get you up to that point on the stairs before your rushing. The rest of you watch as idol goes into a full sprint up around the curve of the top the of across the center pathway and starts heading most of the way up the second set. And there you arrive. Anything else you want to do while you get there?

[Lowe's Representative]

Get off the axe. I'll send a beacon bolt just as I arrive just to try and light him up.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got it. Go ahead and roll for that beacon bolt. Light em up.

[Lowe's Representative]

This is a spell cast.

[Matthew Mercer]

Roll.

[Lowe's Representative]

It's 10, 11, 12, 13. Shining a light in the dark. 14, 15. 15 with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

Take that hope. And that just hits.

[Lowe's Representative]

Just hits? Yes, 15 just hits.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Okay, good to know.

[Matthew Mercer]

So go ahead and roll. Damage on that D8.

[Lowe's Representative]

That's a one two one S plus two four. Four points of magical damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Look at that. It takes a minor wound as one hit point is marked. However, it is currently 2:1 vulnerable.

[Marisha Ray]

And is this like a sheer cliff face around us?

[Matthew Mercer]

It's not sheer. Oh, off the edges here? No, the whole. The rocky elements kind of continue outward. I just can't build a map this big.

[Marisha Ray]

No, for sure.

[Matthew Mercer]

And then carry it outward.

[Marisha Ray]

Seeing if.

[Ashley Johnson]

We could push them.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'd love to fly up. These are all neighborhoods and things around here. You can try and if you want to try and push them off down there, there is like some creatures would still fall and take damage maybe or things like that, but there is no sheer cliff like some previous encounters.

[Marisha Ray]

Gotcha.

[Lowe's Representative]

Not yet.

[Marisha Ray]

Gotcha.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I would love to try and take flight and head towards that little rock outcropping next to the tower.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, so you're spending a fear to take flight.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I don't think I.

[Matthew Mercer]

Sorry. I fear.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Do I have to spend a. I think I can just take flight, can't I?

[Matthew Mercer]

As a fairy.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Yeah, you can fly while flying.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, you can fly while flying. You spend it to do a thing. That's what it is. Yeah, sorry. I'm understood. No worries.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'm going to just head towards that little outcropping to get as far as I can. That is reasonable.

[Matthew Mercer]

Which. Where? Which outcropping?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

The one next to the tower.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. Oh, gotcha, gotcha.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Just kind of on my way over there.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, so as you put you about there for close range.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Sure. And then I'm going to just attack. I'm actually just going to use my wand. I'm just going to give a little pinprick and fire off a quick go. Last at that with advantage because.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, let's do a little better.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Than last time, shall we?

[Matthew Mercer]

I know. Good.

[Marisha Ray]

Much better.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay, that's 12, 35.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

15, 21, 25 to hit. With magic.

[Matthew Mercer]

With hope. Oh, with hope.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'm sorry.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. Please always know hope of fear. That's all good.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'm so used to it. Didn't even like.

[Matthew Mercer]

No fair. All right. Yeah, that definitely hits Guard roll damage.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

All right, one.

[Matthew Mercer]

Then that's 2d6.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

There we are. That's seven points of damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, that is another minor wound to him. I'm going to spend a fear to spotlight the Glom Tower Thrall.

[Marisha Ray]

Glom Tower Thrall.

[Matthew Mercer]

He's a Glom tower thrall. Now, the Glom Tower Thrall is a slow creature, so it's spotlighted and does nothing. Instead, I put a token on it, and the next time I activate it, it can go. So as you slam it, it's like, oh, boy.

[Ashley Johnson]

And that's him.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

And that's his activation Frank Train.

[Matthew Mercer]

So it's a slow moving creature.

[Lowe's Representative]

Big tug.

[Ashley Johnson]

It's bad.

[Laura Bailey]

I feel like we're gonna get hit by the. So wet and dirty. You guys might have noticed in the last couple days, I've been infested with small bugs.

[Ashley Johnson]

I didn't anticipate their swarm.

[Laura Bailey]

I shake my body a little Bit and a whole bunch of armored beetles fly off me and surround me. I'm gonna conjure a storm, but I'm gonna tell my beetles to protect me so they just fly around me in protection. I. I mark a stress to do that.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got it.

[Laura Bailey]

And then I'm gonna move. Just hop up a level and go up one step. Or no, no, no, like hop up up here? Yeah. And then try to go up those stairs as much as I can.

[Matthew Mercer]

If you can get about there for close range.

[Marisha Ray]

Oh, that's right.

[Lowe's Representative]

Beetles in close.

[Laura Bailey]

The crabs don't protect me.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh.

[Laura Bailey]

They'Re just for fun.

[Matthew Mercer]

Is that all you want to do on your go?

[Laura Bailey]

I think so. I'm not going to do anything that spends fear because I don't want to activate him. If anyone else wants to do any preparatory things or should we just start hitting?

[Marisha Ray]

Well, I mean, I don't know.

[Matthew Mercer]

Or running or whatever you want to do.

[Ashley Johnson]

I want to run and get off of where we are.

[Laura Bailey]

Then do it.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay. Can I run up?

[Laura Bailey]

Stop talking about it.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay. Is it possible to run up and get behind this thingy right here? Not to the stairs, but you can.

[Matthew Mercer]

Get close range if you want to try and hop up here. That is about a 10 foot jump and climb. So I will have to ask. Because you're not a faun, unfortunately I would ask you to make a strength or agility roll to try and make that leap. Or you can take the stairs.

[Ashley Johnson]

But the stairs I would just.

[Matthew Mercer]

The stairs will only get you about there.

[Laura Bailey]

You can make a leap and I could try to catch you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Kay. I'm on shape to make a leap. Yeah.

[Laura Bailey]

So I spend a hope to do that.

[Matthew Mercer]

You spend a hope to do that. You roll a D6 and you roll a strength or agility, your choice.

[Ashley Johnson]

What is that?

[Marisha Ray]

Wow, that was a skill shot.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay. 11, 16, 17, 18, 19.

[Laura Bailey]

Plus two more. 21.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh no, I rolled a six.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay, that's fine.

[Ashley Johnson]

19. But I rolled with fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

So you do success, you run, you leap up and you barely reach forward and grab her arm pulling her up onto the platform.

[Laura Bailey]

Ignore the Beatles.

[Matthew Mercer]

Right. As you get up the massive thrall.

[Ashley Johnson]

I can't run anymore. I just did the leap and I can't move anymore because on a failure.

[Matthew Mercer]

It brings it to me.

[Ashley Johnson]

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

[Matthew Mercer]

Success. But if you. Oh, sorry. I was successful with a fear. Yes. When a fear or a failure, it comes to me for the spotlight. So as you get up onto there before you get a chance to even turn on the thrall turns and is going to activate. I'm going to remove the token so I can do that.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Oh no.

[Lowe's Representative]

Did you mean to just isolate yourself out in the open like that?

[Ashley Johnson]

No. Yes. I was drawing it to me and.

[Matthew Mercer]

It'S going to to do Cage the Judged. Going to spend a fear.

[Marisha Ray]

Cage the Judged.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Oh no, I don't like that.

[Marisha Ray]

That's my Cage the Elephant cover band.

[Lowe's Representative]

Two past tense words in an attack.

[Matthew Mercer]

To make an attack against. He's a big boy. He's good. It's gonna make a very close range on you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oof. That's a natural 18. So 21 to hit you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah. Oh yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right.

[Lowe's Representative]

So about to watch Adelia get punted off this motherfucker.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Oh, I think it's a. I had a blast.

[Matthew Mercer]

29 points of physical damage.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, listen.

[Matthew Mercer]

And you are restrained as it slams its armed cage upon you. And it slams onto you and it pulls its arm back. The rock cracked and wrecked around it as it pulls it free. It has snapped onto Adelia and you are now caught in its cage as.

[Laura Bailey]

Get in the cage.

[Ashley Johnson]

Wait, I gotta do the math here. Wait, wait, wait. So 29 points you said. So my doubled is 24.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's four hit points.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, I'm gonna try to use my runeword to at least take it away from that.

[Lowe's Representative]

Okay. Do you have any armor left?

[Ashley Johnson]

I do have armor, so give me a second. I'm gonna run.

[Matthew Mercer]

We're doing it stage by stage.

[Ashley Johnson]

Stage by stage. So I'm using Hope Runeward. Fuck. Okay. No, that's a D8. That's a fucking D8. That is impressive. Okay, that didn't do it. So I'm still 29. Still 26. Holy shit. Okay, so then I'm gonna use the Mimer and I'm gonna drop it down to. Then it just drops to severe.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh my God.

[Marisha Ray]

So wait, how much damage did she just take?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

3 hit knock down to 3 armor.

[Ashley Johnson]

2 armor so I can at least drop it down to a minor. So I.

[Matthew Mercer]

Well you can't spend. No, you can't spend more than one armor.

[Marisha Ray]

29 total.

[Matthew Mercer]

Wow.

[Marisha Ray]

You can only spend one armor for a bowsers.

[Ashley Johnson]

So I'm in.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

You're bleeding in the kitchen.

[Ashley Johnson]

So I'm taking three hit points right now.

[Laura Bailey]

Oh my goodness, Bedelia. You need to pray harder.

[Ashley Johnson]

I already laid me down to sleep.

[Matthew Mercer]

We're going to spend a fear to activate. Off screen, another sound begins to catch your attention. Fast paced heavy footfalls and what sounds like a chorus of moaning voices as. Oh, keep laughing.

[Lowe's Representative]

Hey, man, when you're married, you can eat as much as you want. You get to laugh at yourself.

[Matthew Mercer]

As a massive clawed gray hand clumps onto the side of this tower. And pulling ahead, you see a massive gray hand.

[J]

So another giant is coming.

[Matthew Mercer]

A 25 foot tall demonic entity creeps around its vacant eye sockets and tooth filled jaw opening wide. Wide enough to swallow one of you whole. Its horned crest of a crown curling up behind its head. Massive spiked shoulder armor protruding from its shoulders. And as its corpulent swollen body opens into an iron cage within, souls push against the bars, screaming and reaching out as it begins to turn the corner, its offhand cracks a massive whip of continued pieces of sharpened vertebrae that snap against the top of this tower send it cracking and falling backward full. His spotlight was his arrival. It's back to you. His activation was still right.

[Ashley Johnson]

Can you save? Too late.

[Marisha Ray]

We saved. Too late.

[Ashley Johnson]

This is not the point to save.

[Matthew Mercer]

We can get them.

[Laura Bailey]

Pit them against each other.

[Ashley Johnson]

I know.

[Marisha Ray]

I was actually thinking that about this.

[J]

We see forward up the stairs and leap at the cage hanging from. Thank you, big boy number one's arm here. Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. If you're gonna leap up there.

[J]

She's in the cage, right?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, she's in his arm.

[J]

So Screeve is going to leap to try to hang onto the cage. And then I want to use pick and pull. I have advantage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Well, first, because you are leaping to the. That is an agility or strength roll to see if you can since it is both moving and crossing a distance to go onto it.

[Lowe's Representative]

You got this. You got this.

[J]

Can I use creepy climber? My experience, that tells exactly what that experience is for spin the hope plus two agility is a one. Come on, you little bastards.

[Matthew Mercer]

Shit.

[J]

The fear's cocked.

[Ashley Johnson]

That was barely cocked. That was barely cocked. You should have just taken it.

[J]

It was cocked 14 with fear, unfortunately. Then I'm going to use my human ability to rid.

[Matthew Mercer]

Well, actually, no, that wasn't against his difficulty. This was you leaping. So I'll put that at a 12 difficulty since that's not a terrible thing to leap or you succeed. But it is a fear, all right. Which means you leap and clasp onto the cage.

[Lowe's Representative]

So you're about to use adaptability. Yeah, Cool, cool, cool.

[J]

May I continue to try to pick and pull in this moment?

[Matthew Mercer]

Unfortunately, no. Because of the fear. It comes back to me. Just a moment.

[J]

Be right with you.

[Matthew Mercer]

So you do successfully leap and grab onto the cage and you're not hanging onto it as the arm's pulling back as it comes to my. To my spotlight. I'm going to go ahead and put a token back on the slow thrall. Who now is reaching the arm back seeing you on it and is making a large arc with it. I'm going to spend a fear now to activate the Terra Gut.

[Lowe's Representative]

The terror gut.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah. That would be.

[Matthew Mercer]

What is wrong with you?

[Ashley Johnson]

Terrifying.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. This is going to.

[J]

He's been too nice for too long.

[Ashley Johnson]

I can try.

[Matthew Mercer]

Step forward. Oh, he's fast to the top there. He gets to move close range up to there. Might be a little bit closer to there actually for his further range creatures vertebrae.

[Ashley Johnson]

Is that. That's a huge.

[Matthew Mercer]

And is going to attempt to devour you.

[Lowe's Representative]

To devour me?

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh.

[Ashley Johnson]

And you'll be in his bag.

[Matthew Mercer]

Wait. No. Actually sorry. The devour requires. I'll give you. That Gets me another fear. Let's do it.

[Lowe's Representative]

Get in my belly.

[Matthew Mercer]

The terror gun is going to reach forward with its open hand and say a language you don't understand but you feel the intent. That's going to be a 17 to hit.

[Lowe's Representative]

Definitely hits.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, so you. That's basically what it translates to. You take. All right, that's going to be 20 points of physical damage.

[Lowe's Representative]

Great.

[Matthew Mercer]

And you need to roll a strength reaction roll for me please. Got it.

[Lowe's Representative]

Strength reaction roll. That is 16, 17, 18, 19. With hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

That is a success. You don't get any hope because it's reactional. That's okay. What is this? But he goes and reaches and the claws dig into you. And as he begins to pick you up, you just pull his claws and fingers away from you and leap out of his grasp. Hit the ground and back on your feet. And the soul's reaching for you past the iron bars. They're asking for help. Or they want to consume what heat you have. You don't know.

[Ashley Johnson]

Are they souls or are they. They're souls.

[Matthew Mercer]

Their souls. That's my activation.

[J]

I would like to try to release Delia from this cage before one or both of us get squished.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right.

[J]

So pick and pull. You have advantage on action rolls to pick non magical locks.

[Ashley Johnson]

Maybe we can. Wait. Maybe we can tag team this.

[J]

The lock.

[Ashley Johnson]

No.

[J]

Or the baddie.

[Matthew Mercer]

Wait, sorry. Before this happens. Because I have to remember I'm getting used to these things that I built. It does have as part of its terrifying passive. When Terra Gut makes a successful attack, all PCs within far range lose a hope and I gain a fear. Wait, all of us? Everyone within far range, which is this sheet of power. All of you. Lose a hope.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, that sounds a lot.

[Matthew Mercer]

That was what reminded me about that.

[J]

So I'm going to try to open the cage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[J]

All right, go for it. So that is with advantage. And it's. Is this agility or finesse? Finesse.

[Matthew Mercer]

This would be finesse.

[J]

Finesse. So plus two and advantage. Stop fucking me. Lemon drop. Die. Oh, they fucked me again. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. With fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

15 is exactly the difficulty.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

So managed to find part of the cage. There is a odd iron latch that hooks past and holds in place. You get your blade and lift underneath. Find the right lever of the fulcrum to pop it off and it opens and you onto the the ground there right beside him where you're standing.

[J]

Do a barrel roll.

[Matthew Mercer]

At which point.

[Ashley Johnson]

Off the clock.

[J]

Just bounce down.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm going to activate the glom tower. Thrall by.

[Lowe's Representative]

He's been winding up.

[Matthew Mercer]

He's been winding up. And the cage is now open. So I'm going to spend a fear shut the cage to have him cage the judged against you. As you're in the air to the left of it. The cage is now open. It's empty. And just one massive swing towards you with the now open cage.

[J]

Fuck.

[Matthew Mercer]

That is 15. That hits. Okay, 12 plus three for this you take.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Don't make that phase. That's not cool.

[Matthew Mercer]

27 points of physical damage.

[Marisha Ray]

Yikes.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'm gonna spend a shield to mark that down to major damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. You are plucked from the air and are currently now inside his cage. All right.

[J]

Rage gauge.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay.

[Laura Bailey]

August is gone.

[Matthew Mercer]

Let's leave him. I'm gonna spend another spear to activate the terra guts.

[Ashley Johnson]

No.

[Matthew Mercer]

Is going to use its bone whip. Okay. Let's say in close range. You're right in front of him.

[Lowe's Representative]

I sure am.

[Matthew Mercer]

And you broke free from his grasp and it's gonna. All right.

[Ashley Johnson]

So cool.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, that's only gonna be an eight.

[Lowe's Representative]

That. That misses.

[Matthew Mercer]

That misses you. Great. So the you just dodge out of the way and you snakes kind of dive the other direction and it cracks into the stone which splits and bits of rock and shale go flying across the place at impressive speed. The whip comes to rest across the entire. And as he withdraws it, it hooks tears and grinds through the stone.

[Lowe's Representative]

Like a red knife.

[Matthew Mercer]

Its massive mouth opens with its teeth.

[Marisha Ray]

How much hope do you have?

[Ashley Johnson]

All right. I have three.

[Marisha Ray]

I also have three. I'm looking at Misty. Let's do a tag team. I sense a deep seated rivalry between these two fucks.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah, I do too.

[Marisha Ray]

I feel it. I'M going to try and push him into the big rock gutty guy. And then maybe you can do an illusion. Make him look like he's like, great. Fuck you, man.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes. So I will cast an illusion, and if as they're sort of getting pushed and pressed together.

[Marisha Ray]

They'Re all slipping.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah. So it seems like big boy up here, he has hands. Fingers to be.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, he has an open hand.

[Ashley Johnson]

Great. So he has a middle finger.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, great. So in the sort of, you know, them getting pushed together, since I can't make any.

[Marisha Ray]

If you want. Works.

[Ashley Johnson]

If it works. He's going to flip off the other guy.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah, we're going to make.

[Matthew Mercer]

This guy's going to flip off this.

[Ashley Johnson]

Guy'S going to flip off this guy.

[Marisha Ray]

That's the illusion.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right.

[Ashley Johnson]

That I'm. We're. Yeah, we're trying to incite a fight.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

So can I move base to base with this guy kind of in front of Misty?

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, so you move thereish.

[Marisha Ray]

Y. That's great.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got it.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah. And I will. I noticed that gesture to me.

[Matthew Mercer]

Do you want to move anywhere or do you want to stay focused?

[Ashley Johnson]

You know what? I'm just going to sort of get behind.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

Beside and behind.

[Matthew Mercer]

Get behind me right there. Yeah, you got it.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay, let's both roll.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

Right, we both roll, right?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, you both roll. And you take your choice of the two rolls.

[Marisha Ray]

Come on, come on, come on, come on.

[Ashley Johnson]

Wait, hold on. Let me see if I can add anything.

[Marisha Ray]

Do. Do good. Please do good.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay. Okay, let me see if I can add anything. I don't think I can.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Okay, we're not reliving.

[Ashley Johnson]

We're in it. What are we.

[Marisha Ray]

What am I.

[Ashley Johnson]

Can I add anything? Seeing if I can add anything here.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Is it a spell cast roll. Add your spell cast modifier.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah, but. Okay, it's. It's. It's. It's 12 with fear, 13 with fear.

[Laura Bailey]

Oh, no.

[Marisha Ray]

Hang on. Wait, Do I have anything? Hang on.

[Ashley Johnson]

I know, I know, I know, I know.

[Marisha Ray]

We've got to have something.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Well, wait, which one were you. Were you pushing the big giant big guy? You have advantage.

[Marisha Ray]

Oh, I have advantage.

[Matthew Mercer]

You both have advantage on this because. Because he is still hit by the bolt beacon.

[Ashley Johnson]

Can I use.

[Matthew Mercer]

So roll a D6 and you roll a D6.

[Ashley Johnson]

No, but I have to spend a hope to do an experience.

[Laura Bailey]

To what you've got.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

Six.

[Laura Bailey]

Oh, that's way better.

[Lowe's Representative]

Just roll it.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah. Hey, it's a five.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay.

[Ashley Johnson]

It needs, like, a certain amount of rotation in my hand.

[Matthew Mercer]

Respect to that.

[Marisha Ray]

All right, so 19. So we're both with fear, right?

[Matthew Mercer]

19 with fear. That does succeed.

[Marisha Ray]

That does succeed. 19 with fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

You create immediately this illusion of the massive terror gut standing there, its whip curling back.

[Marisha Ray]

So wait, I'm doing my forceful push ability. So I push this guy into hand, right?

[Matthew Mercer]

Or does it just push it?

[Marisha Ray]

Well, on a success, I knock them back into close range. And then also he does take damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Let's roll the damage.

[Marisha Ray]

So this is gonna be plus seven drop the lowest. Okay, so that's 12. Plus seven is 19. 19 points of damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

19 points of damage. That is a major wound on the glom tower thrall. The glom tower thrall has a feature, a passive called dense but clumsy. An attack that would move the thrall moves them two fewer ranges, so he stays put. However, the thrall has to succeed on a reaction roll of 10. And if he fails, he falls over.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay, come on.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's a two. Okay, so he doesn't. He doesn't slam into it. But as you slam into the thrall with your body, its leg slides up from underneath it and it just comes crumbling down towards the two of you. The two of you barely step out of the way as it slams onto the steps and still with you. Rattled in its cage, the thrall is now on the ground.

[Ashley Johnson]

What an idiot.

[Marisha Ray]

So in our tag team, to try.

[Matthew Mercer]

And aggro this guy, restrained and vulnerable, temporarily sweet.

[Marisha Ray]

And then the tag team.

[Ashley Johnson]

Did it work?

[Marisha Ray]

We did a tag team. Did it work?

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct. Did the guy. Did the guy.

[Ashley Johnson]

I feel like after he fell, the.

[Matthew Mercer]

Guy flipped him off. You're uncertain if the thrall was affected by the illusion necessarily, because you don't know yet. It just fell over.

[Ashley Johnson]

Now, do we both spend three hope or one of them? You do. Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

I. I did. So you keep yours.

[J]

Are you queued up with fear?

[Matthew Mercer]

I am, unfortunately, because that. That tag team was with fear.

[Marisha Ray]

Well, I don't know if it's a good idea.

[Ashley Johnson]

It was great for Jed. Let me try it. We tried something.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm going to activate the thrall on the ground. It's going to go ahead and put a token on its slow passive as it's now withdrawing its cage with August in it with its arm back. Then I'm going to spend a fear for terrut to. Let's see. It's going to release a sham gambling zombie. You watch as its arm reaches into its mouth. Its mouth opens up and it pulls one of the partially digested corpses Out. And throws it on the ground. It stumbles past the stairs before.

[Marisha Ray]

That's so good.

[J]

That's good.

[Matthew Mercer]

And begins to lumber forward. And it immediately is spotlighted. This zombie is going to move right here next to you. You Snyx drops it on the stairs between the two of you. And it turns towards you as a shambling zombie. It's going to attack you for five. You just. Out of the way.

[J]

Okay, I have a quick concise. I'm going to just take a few skitter forward towards big guys on the ground and do what I tried to do the other day and throw my arms into the ground. And shadows come out of my little piercings into the ground. And I'm going to shadow bind the big guy while he's down.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I gotta get out of the cage.

[Ashley Johnson]

Wow.

[J]

Fifteen with fear.

[Lowe's Representative]

Concise.

[Matthew Mercer]

Fifteen with fear.

[Marisha Ray]

Crazy.

[Matthew Mercer]

So that's a success. Begin. Of fear. Also as a note, because of the echoes of anxiety, you both lost hope. Because you rolled your spell with fear to illusion.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, cool.

[Matthew Mercer]

So both of you lost a fear. The Ashcall Quarter's curse siphons the hope from you as you cast spells with fear. Got it. So both of you lose a hope.

[J]

I had to have hope to begin with.

[Matthew Mercer]

Boom. Boom. There you go.

[Marisha Ray]

However, tell him.

[Matthew Mercer]

As you bind the shadow, you feel some traumatic memory seep into your brain. Misty. What flash from your traumatic past shakes you where you stand and pulls you momentarily from this fray?

[Ashley Johnson]

I just. I remember being in the tunnel and I have a memory of being attacked by one of these creatures. And this is a very similar creature, I think. And it brings back a memory of my wandering soul, of possibly how I was.

[Matthew Mercer]

Was murdered. You recall a thrall smaller but similar to this one, spinning its arm out and smashing your small frame against the wall. You feel your bones break as you tumble onto the cold rock. And as your vision begins to go dark, you turn to see your family scream and the statue you've been dragging through the tunnels with you. You pull out of the vision, new cracks forming on your body and a wave of recognition you weren't expecting. Screeve. What trauma curls through your consciousness?

[J]

I remember the years of abuse taken from Farah of the Ruby Crown. And the mask queens kicking me, cutting me, bruising me, slashing me, treating me like a dog. Which is why I've worked so hard to own my pain, be fueled by it. It's mine, not theirs.

[Matthew Mercer]

That pain subsides and you harness what you can hold onto. But it slips back before you can grab onto it. And with that, that bit of hope leaves your spirit. But as you come back to yourself, your fingers are still within your shadow. The shadow that now clings the thrall to the stonework. With that, it comes to my go. I'm going to activate the thrall, taking its token away. So it can now activate. It's going to cage slam. It's going to cage slam against you. She's just a little goo ball. You were the first that escaped its cage. And you're kind of off to the side. And you're just right around its arm reach as it spins itself over to the side.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

It has disadvantage clearly, because it's on the ground.

[Matthew Mercer]

No. Okay, sorry. So it's been that fear there.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I would be remiss if I didn't try.

[Matthew Mercer]

No fair. That's gonna be a 17 hits. Okay, so both. Both Adelia and August. As it damages the person within the cage equally upon the impact, you both take what's conned. Okay, that's going to be 24 points of physical damage on each of you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay. I'm going to help you. Doing that to Adelia to use my runeword.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

That's not good.

[Lowe's Representative]

Not.

[Ashley Johnson]

At least it takes it out of that. And then I'm gonna drop it down to major.

[Marisha Ray]

She very close.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh no. But that's all my hit points. It doesn't matter. That's still all my hit points.

[Laura Bailey]

Are you down?

[Marisha Ray]

She's not.

[Matthew Mercer]

She's out of range.

[Ashley Johnson]

Damn it.

[Marisha Ray]

Just on that ledge.

[Ashley Johnson]

That's all my hit points.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's all your hit points. Okay.

[Lowe's Representative]

Is this your first one?

[Matthew Mercer]

So, Adelia.

[Laura Bailey]

First time?

[Marisha Ray]

First time.

[Matthew Mercer]

As the shadow of the cage comes crashing down upon you.

[Lowe's Representative]

Oh shit.

[Matthew Mercer]

A flash of bodily pain before possible darkness takes you. What do you choose? Blaze of glory. To have an immediate critical success and then leave this plane. Avoid death and face the consequences in which you will drop unconscious. And we roll your fear die to see if you take a scar and possibly have to recover elsewhere. Or risk it all and roll your duality dice.

[Ashley Johnson]

And if I risk it all and I succeed, I come back.

[Matthew Mercer]

You come back, you get to heal your hit points. Or stress equal to the number you roll in your hope die.

[Ashley Johnson]

That's really good.

[Matthew Mercer]

But if your fear is higher, I'm.

[Marisha Ray]

Dead and I get nothing.

[J]

Nothing.

[Matthew Mercer]

You lose. Good day, sir.

[Ashley Johnson]

Good day, sir.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

It's rough in there, ain't it, man?

[Marisha Ray]

So hard.

[Matthew Mercer]

Decisions.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Decisions are so much worse than Gus.

[Ashley Johnson]

Save everyone. Well, I can't believe it's your first time down, save everyone.

[Marisha Ray]

It's your first time down already.

[Lowe's Representative]

Know what you're gonna do?

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah, I think you should. I kind of want to blaze it, y'.

[Matthew Mercer]

All.

[Marisha Ray]

You've only been with your child because you.

[Ashley Johnson]

You guys would be.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

It won't necessarily help.

[Matthew Mercer]

Help us.

[Ashley Johnson]

See, I know. That's the thing.

[Lowe's Representative]

Yeah, that's the thing. If there was like.

[Marisha Ray]

If it was on the edge, it would be horrific.

[Ashley Johnson]

If I roll bad, then I'm just gonna.

[Laura Bailey]

Huh?

[Matthew Mercer]

But if you roll good.

[Marisha Ray]

But I know you like craps.

[Ashley Johnson]

I do like craps.

[Marisha Ray]

Oh, my God, my palms are sweating. Yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, you guys, this is so stressful.

[Marisha Ray]

Take a little nap in the cage.

[J]

Give yourself your first one.

[Ashley Johnson]

Don't go yet.

[Lowe's Representative]

Your paints are waiting at home. They called to you from beyond.

[Ashley Johnson]

We rode together. I'm still here. If I die.

[Matthew Mercer]

Adelia, what are we doing?

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm rolling to see if I. Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, let's do it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Risk it all. Adelia, roll on the table.

[Marisha Ray]

Oh, my God.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, my God. That was almost it.

[Lowe's Representative]

That was almost it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh.

[Ashley Johnson]

That was a good roll.

[Matthew Mercer]

That was a really good role.

[Laura Bailey]

Does she get to use her feature? They mostly come out at night to dad.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, no. It happened.

[Ashley Johnson]

I should have just blazed it.

[Lowe's Representative]

The little girl.

[Matthew Mercer]

Adelia. The halcyon domain is a cruel place, uncaring. But the people within it are. And you've met some people in the time away from your strange upbringing. That showed you a glimmer of that. As you look around at the companions you've only just met. After such periods of time, alone or just with one other, a little glimmer of that hope is brought to you. Could you please describe your final moments for me?

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, no. As I lay underneath the cage that's just squished me. I'm going to reach down and pick up Violet and I'm gonna look at Scree next to me, make sure she's safe. I love you, Scree. I'm sorry.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, no. You love Scream.

[Marisha Ray]

Oh, no.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, don't.

[J]

Take the doll and wedge her into the ring against my flesh so there's no longer any loose spirit. And she just hangs there off my chest.

[Matthew Mercer]

The rest of you stare in horror as the creepy little girl. Oh, no. Like many kind, wayward souls in this domain have. Leaves this mortal plane. I'm going to spend a Fear.

[Lowe's Representative]

No remorse.

[Laura Bailey]

You bastard.

[Matthew Mercer]

We don't get a move after that.

[Marisha Ray]

We don't get a move in. Sales activation again.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's our friend. She was spooky it's okay. I'm going to bring her back because you watch as her body twitches.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, no.

[Matthew Mercer]

We got to bring her out.

[Marisha Ray]

Two seconds.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm back in your shambling.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh.

[Lowe's Representative]

Oh, no.

[Marisha Ray]

She's even creepier.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Lowe's Representative]

Scream.

[Marisha Ray]

What the Happened so fast.

[Ashley Johnson]

What? We didn't even get a shot.

[Matthew Mercer]

You never know how long it takes. Oh, man.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, my God.

[Marisha Ray]

So wait, did she work against us though?

[Matthew Mercer]

She's a shambling. Zomda. No. It's your activation. What would you like to do?

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, you have to kill me.

[Laura Bailey]

We have to go. We can't fight these guys. We gotta go.

[Ashley Johnson]

All right, I'm gonna pump some wild flame. I'm pissed. I just. Hands on the big guy's head that's laying down Gaboosh. Pump some flame into him.

[J]

Do you have your get out of the cave three hope?

[Ashley Johnson]

No, no, I only have two hope. All right, so I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna do that.

[Laura Bailey]

I think we should run.

[Matthew Mercer]

I would like.

[Lowe's Representative]

We should tag team Whiplash.

[Laura Bailey]

Do you have any hope?

[Lowe's Representative]

I do.

[Laura Bailey]

Oh, my God.

[Ashley Johnson]

Spell cast.

[Matthew Mercer]

Roll.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, I gotta make a roll first. Why am I forgetting these things? Oh, and I can against.

[Laura Bailey]

I feel like we can outrun one of these guys. We just need to kill one, and that one's already hurt the other one.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah, I can. I can do this up to up to three. Up to three creatures. So is there any way I can get into an area where I could have it be on both of them? It does say within melee range, so probably not.

[Matthew Mercer]

No. Okay, so you want to move up to getting melee with this guy?

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, so you shift up the stairs.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Just double checking. Is this going to do damage to me too?

[Lowe's Representative]

You don't know Fog of war, baby.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh.

[Matthew Mercer]

I assumed it was a crit by the reaction. Hell yeah.

[Laura Bailey]

Six was fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

I knew that. It does not affect you because you are within the iron of the cage and this affects the flesh.

[J]

What's that girl? Adelia fell down the well.

[Matthew Mercer]

You gain a hope, you clear a stress. And for the damage of this, you maximize the damage dice for it, which would be.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, it's 2D6. So 1212.

[Matthew Mercer]

And then roll the dice and add that roll high.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay. Seven. So 19.

[Matthew Mercer]

So 19 points of damage. And that is a major wound. The glom tower thrall is hurt and on fire.

[Ashley Johnson]

So I do mark a stress as flames erupt from my hand. But now he's all he attack him again. I think that's all. I think that's that? That's.

[Matthew Mercer]

Fast.

[Ashley Johnson]

I want to try to get the them out of the cage.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'm gonna try.

[Laura Bailey]

Still our charge. We go.

[Ashley Johnson]

You're gonna try to get out.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's still your guys ghost. So you can go again if you want to help getting out of the cage.

[J]

So if I'm dives into the shadows between Misty and the giant, I'm going to spend a stress to vanish and I'm going to reappear in the shadows around this thing's grundle.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[J]

So I am cloaked between its legs and I immediately start stabbing.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. Okay, let's go.

[J]

You know it, baby. I'm gonna. I can't spend a hope. I don't have a hope. So I can't use an experience. So this is finesse. Cloaked.

[Laura Bailey]

When you move, we gotta get him out of the cage.

[J]

Does cloaked give me advantage? I can't remember.

[Matthew Mercer]

Cloaked gives you advantage on your attack. Yes. Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

And also he still marked anyway. So you get advantage.

[J]

Get it Anyway.

[Matthew Mercer]

Anyway. All right.

[J]

Ooh, hope for once. 13, 14, 15.

[Matthew Mercer]

Wait.

[J]

8 and 5 is 13, 18, 20. With hope that succeeds for once. Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

So I'm just gonna give you the shambling zombie statue.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, I'm gonna be a shambling zombie.

[Matthew Mercer]

I figure it's more fun when I tell you it's time you can choose how to.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Be your zombie. Okay.

[J]

Plus three.

[Laura Bailey]

What do you want to do?

[J]

Oh, pretty good. 16, 21. 20, 24.

[Matthew Mercer]

24.

[J]

So I just with iron rusty tetanus ridden claws, just start tearing apart his fucking anus.

[Matthew Mercer]

That is a major wound. He is looking very, very hurt as you're shredding into it. Its pale flesh tearing open. There's no blood. There's just dried muscle and sinew coming out in shredded tatters. It's trying to rouse from its current prone position, but it's having a hard time doing so as you're carving it close to its destruction.

[J]

And he is shell shocked. Screev is shell shocked. He's not laughing, he's not crying, he's not talking. He's just breathing really heavily.

[Matthew Mercer]

Steal your go if you want to go again or somebody else wants to.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Jump in damage or get out. Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna try and get out of this thing.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'm going to make a strength or.

[Matthew Mercer]

Agility action roll to try and break free.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'm gonna. Can I use an experienced sticky fingers because I've got my needles and I'm gonna try and get into that lock.

[Matthew Mercer]

And pop it here.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

That was the notion of it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. Bold. I'm looking to see if you can add experiences to reaction rolls or just action rolls.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm just gonna double check real fast because a reaction rule.

[Laura Bailey]

Laura died.

[Ashley Johnson]

I died, you guys.

[Matthew Mercer]

You fucking died. I'm sorry.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I really wasn't expecting you to be the first.

[Marisha Ray]

I actually agree with him. It should have been him.

[J]

I've been aiming for it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Sometimes that's what the dice say.

[Marisha Ray]

Damn. I can't believe you rolled.

[Lowe's Representative]

I am near dead.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I might add.

[Marisha Ray]

12.

[Matthew Mercer]

I know. I was like. I was like, oh, 10. She's gonna make it. Oh, that a four. No, that is the dagger.

[J]

Yellow draws the eye first. So we all saw the 10 and got excited for half of a second.

[Marisha Ray]

Yes, it's true.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, you know what? This instance. Allah. I'll look it up later. But.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

So I'm gonna mark his stress, which means I get to double that. So I get a plus four. And it's agility or agility or strength. Okay. No finesse. Okay, that's fine.

[Matthew Mercer]

This is you.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

It doesn't matter. Agility and finesse are the same.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. This is you trying to squeeze through in this instance.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

And this I do not get advantage because of his. Yeah, it's just a straight roll or no advantage for this.

[Matthew Mercer]

Since it's a no, it's. Cause it's not against him.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

It's not against him.

[Ashley Johnson]

One by one, we die until we all are.

[Marisha Ray]

Hey, we die until we get all our sand.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

16.

[Matthew Mercer]

16 is what you needed with hope.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Not that hope matters.

[Matthew Mercer]

So. Yeah. So that manages to break you free. You break free from the cage, but you can still keep going. That's just a reaction rule. So it doesn't think you're active.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Do we think he's about to die or no?

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah, go for it.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

All right.

[Lowe's Representative]

Just don't biff it.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I won't biff it. I'm actually. I'm going to. I'm gonna make an auto. An auto hit.

[Matthew Mercer]

Just.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Cause that way we don't have to know which is a. Where is it? I've lost the thing there it is arcane. There's too many things. Arcane barrage. I'm just gonna shuffle through as I fly out of there. I'm gonna just shoot an arcane barrage for just one D6.

[Matthew Mercer]

Cause. Okay, go for it.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

One point.

[Matthew Mercer]

But it's still a minor wound. It's a midpoint. It's holding on by a thread.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Okay, so. And that didn't trigger anything. Anyone Else wants to hit. I am flying the fuck away from this dude.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. So you pick up and you take off. Flying out of the cage like the most grotesque butterfly. Which direction do you want?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'm going up and towards the arch there.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

There you are.

[Marisha Ray]

Get the fuck out of here.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. So activation's still yours.

[Lowe's Representative]

Snicks.

[Laura Bailey]

Do you want to do. Yeah, let's do something.

[Lowe's Representative]

Take care of him. Go get him.

[Ashley Johnson]

Me?

[Matthew Mercer]

Who?

[Lowe's Representative]

What do you want to take care of the guy that's down?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

He's gonna go any second. Go.

[Lowe's Representative]

Let's just.

[Marisha Ray]

We're giving snakes a. How do you want to do this again?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes.

[Laura Bailey]

But we were gonna do a tag team either.

[Lowe's Representative]

Yeah, but it's on Stew.

[Matthew Mercer]

It didn't he. Yeah. We can do that. Just kill the thing that. Ah. All right. Do what you want to do.

[Laura Bailey]

I'll go kill the thing that's down.

[Matthew Mercer]

Do what you want to do.

[Laura Bailey]

It's my mission within our group to be the guy who kills everybody.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Form the blazing sword.

[Lowe's Representative]

You're the cleanup crew.

[Matthew Mercer]

Alrighty.

[Laura Bailey]

I say a quick prayer to Tyrus.

[Marisha Ray]

Tyrus.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Marisha Ray]

Tyrus.

[Laura Bailey]

Please protect my friends who are still alive.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Ashley Johnson]

The eye contact brutal.

[Laura Bailey]

And I'll go over there and do a leap and bring my book boomerang down right on its jaw. I know it's a far thing. But I can get one far far move without an agility.

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct. So you just go for a full on. You're rushing and you're stabbing it.

[Ashley Johnson]

Ah.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. Full on leap. Like jumping right in front of Misty and screeve as you arc in the air. Your fawn form. Yes.

[Marisha Ray]

He's so vulnerable.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

Oh no.

[Laura Bailey]

Terrible. 12 with fear.

[Lowe's Representative]

Can I use a prayer dice to give him an extra 3?

[Matthew Mercer]

You can?

[Lowe's Representative]

Yep.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, they'll do it.

[Laura Bailey]

Is that 15?

[Matthew Mercer]

15 is exactly what you needed to do. Oh God. That's where the seraph kicks in, baby.

[Laura Bailey]

Thank God that was Tyrus who blessed me.

[Matthew Mercer]

What? Tyrus.

[Laura Bailey]

Tyrus was smiling on me and gave.

[Matthew Mercer]

Me an extra blessing. Thank.

[Laura Bailey]

Praise be to Tyrus.

[Matthew Mercer]

So I take a fear and it will come to me after spotlight. But we'll go ahead and roll your damage. That is a success. Okay.

[Laura Bailey]

Damage I will actually I'll spend. I'll mark a stress to increase my damage dice by 1. 24. 26 points of damage.

[Marisha Ray]

Howdy doody.

[Matthew Mercer]

Do dis. Howdy.

[Ashley Johnson]

I think I've gotten a kill the side of him.

[Laura Bailey]

Put another slasher.

[Marisha Ray]

Just the timing goes away into the sight.

[Laura Bailey]

I will scream out. Adelia's. Name for Adelia. And I will plunge my boomerang down straight into its mask, into its face.

[Matthew Mercer]

You push through the cage and as you slam it into it, it collapses inward. You hear a. This horrible low sucking sound. And then it just stops moving and goes limp against the stairs. I'm going to leave it there because it's going to stay there. Sure. And is also on fire. Smoldering from the flame of Misty's grasp, just slowly burning in place. But it is finished. As it comes to me, the Terragux is going to. It's going to attempt to devour you again. Since you're still right there in front of it. We spend a fear to do so. That's going to be a nine to hit you.

[Lowe's Representative]

That is my evasion.

[Matthew Mercer]

That does hit. So you take as the claws with much more gusto and fury from you. Avoiding its devour before and avoiding its last strike with its whip. Slams down with claws with extreme prejudice. That is.

[Marisha Ray]

You're postmortem guilting her.

[Matthew Mercer]

12. Sorry. 20 points of physical damage upon you.

[Lowe's Representative]

20 points. Okay. I'm gonna burn one armor to drop that to a minor.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. And I need you to make a strength reaction roll for me.

[Lowe's Representative]

We got it. Strength reaction. Don't wanna go in the belly. 16. 17 with it's a reaction.

[Matthew Mercer]

17 is a success. My first one.

[Ashley Johnson]

You remembered.

[Matthew Mercer]

It grabs you and lifts you up into the air. And the rest of you watch as it's about to plunge Idol into its jaw. And he's holding tight as part of its terrifying passive. You all watching this. Lose a hope and I gain a fear.

[Lowe's Representative]

You lose a hope as well. Right?

[Matthew Mercer]

I had no hope to lose, but. Oh, you had no hope to lose. I gain an additional fear.

[Laura Bailey]

Oh, I also have no hope to lose.

[Marisha Ray]

I also have no hope to lose.

[Matthew Mercer]

Look at that.

[J]

Everybody loses hope. Who's in far range?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

Sorry.

[J]

I lost a hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[J]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Delightful. But right. As Idol begins to disappear into the jaw. You withstand. And you watch as he pushes away his halberds, holding it upwards. Glaive at this point. And you leap from its jaws and back down onto the stone. It is very unhappy. I'm going to spend a fear to after that. Activate that shambling zombie that's going to turn around and assail you from the back as you land. It stumbles over to try and grab you from behind. That's going to be. That's an 18 to hit.

[Lowe's Representative]

That is.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. So you take six points of physical damage as it reaches onto your back and is trying to bite into your throat, but your armor and fur is keeping it from digging too deep into your skin. And then I'm going to spend another hope to activate fear. Sorry. Another fear to activate Adelia. Adelia, the shambling zombie form filled with hunger and the need to destroy, rend and consume. Who do you stumble towards?

[Ashley Johnson]

I stumble towards item.

[Marisha Ray]

No.

[Lowe's Representative]

There's the one fucking person.

[Matthew Mercer]

Can't stand it.

[Marisha Ray]

Creeping on them.

[Ashley Johnson]

Girl.

[Matthew Mercer]

Fuck. As a ring girl. Oh no. Scampers up with the hair in her face and rushes towards as you turn around. Try and get help. You just watch.

[Lowe's Representative]

Come on, man.

[Laura Bailey]

I think she's still in there. You can reach her if you just talk to her.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go ahead and roll an attack, please.

[Marisha Ray]

I think Laura just doesn't want to Uber home.

[Ashley Johnson]

I gotta get in here.

[Matthew Mercer]

But you get to use.

[Marisha Ray]

I gotta kill him.

[Matthew Mercer]

You get to use the T20 for this since you're rolling on my end.

[Lowe's Representative]

Oh, that shit.

[Ashley Johnson]

And I add six because we've got multiple ones around him, so I get too many to handle.

[Matthew Mercer]

You do indeed.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, no, that's Ka Ta.

[Lowe's Representative]

It is Roll over.

[Marisha Ray]

Nope.

[Ashley Johnson]

Road high. A beach that's 18.

[Matthew Mercer]

What the heck does she roll?

[Laura Bailey]

A D20.

[Matthew Mercer]

Now I roll a D20. You guys roll two D12. But since I'm letting her roll for me. Cause since it's her corpse that hits. That hits. So go ahead and roll 1d6 plus 1 physical damage.

[Marisha Ray]

I'm going to damage her corpse. Her choice.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

Wow. Whoa. Third rate.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm picturing she's like down on her hands and feet, crawling like this. And so she's gonna bite his calf.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, I run up a bite.

[Ashley Johnson]

Pet cemetery two damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Two points of physical damage to you. Idol.

[J]

Very tiny teeth.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm little. I'm still talking a little bit. I'm not totally brain dead yet.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. You now have two zombies upon you, one of which was your previous companion. The rest of you watch as Adelia is now feasting on the ankle of Idol. It's your activation.

[J]

Screeve's going to skitter off of the giant's body. And I'll put me right where Adelia was a moment ago there. And I'm going to reach out a hand towards Adelia, who's chewing on Idol. Adelia, we still have more games to play and I am going to use Enrapture and make a spell cast roll on Adelia.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[J]

So low seven. I couldn't use it. It's only an eight with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

Unfortunately, the difficulty Is ten. That's a fail. Okay. Adelia, how do you react to this attempt of spellcraft?

[Ashley Johnson]

I glance behind me and I look back at Idol and shake it off and just keep gnawing on him.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got it. All right. So that brings it back to me.

[Lowe's Representative]

I'm surrounded by three.

[Marisha Ray]

Wait, why was it we failed though?

[J]

It was hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

It was hope. But if you fail or fear the terror gut is going to activate.

[Ashley Johnson]

But you lose a hope if you failed your spell. Is that right? So it just cancels out or you lose a hope. If you roll with it, you're taken care of.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's going to turn back towards you as you fly by. Watch as the zombies swarm and it's going to see this buzzing sound as August flies through the air. And it's going to take its whip and whip out with its massive bladed bone. Whip. That's gonna be an 18. Yeah, that hits. Shit. All right.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Unless it's real low, I'm going down.

[Matthew Mercer]

20 points of physical damage.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'm down low.

[Lowe's Representative]

You're down down.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I only have one HP left, so we're gonna armor.

[Matthew Mercer]

But.

[Lowe's Representative]

But it's still the last.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

It's still 1hp. If I mark it down and I only have 1hp left, do I have anything I can do?

[Matthew Mercer]

You watch, baby. You watch as August goes craning in the air as the terror God starts arcing down at a massive drop towards the base of this archway. Here in this moment, do you wish to choose to blaze of glory, avoid death and face the consequences, or risk it all?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Okay, so I have a question.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes?

[Laura Bailey]

Can you undo what you just did?

[Matthew Mercer]

So Blaze of Glory Gods aren't here anymore, buddy.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I need no gods, only devils.

[Matthew Mercer]

Does Blaze of glory have to be.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

A damaged thing or. If I come up with an interesting narrative thing, can I use any action you want to.

[Matthew Mercer]

If it's a critical success within reason, it automatically succeeds and it's a critical. But then you immediately die. Okay, I am.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Going to. Yeah, I think I'm going to.

[Matthew Mercer]

Fuck. I think I'm going to blaze with glory.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

If I can do this, I can end this fight. I can end this fucking fight. I think.

[Matthew Mercer]

Sure. Can you?

[Lowe's Representative]

Yeah, that was a good question.

[J]

Can you?

[Marisha Ray]

What's your thought?

[Ashley Johnson]

What's your idea?

[Marisha Ray]

What's your idea?

[Lowe's Representative]

Might be a hit from the gm.

[Laura Bailey]

No, no, he can come over the.

[Matthew Mercer]

Terror guts taken one hit. Yep.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I am going to just look at everyone.

[Ashley Johnson]

You're doing it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Run.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

And I'm gonna fly right at the fucking Terrorgut. I'm going to grab onto the rib cage and I'm going to full blast my arcane push. I'm going to knock the fucker over.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

And I'm going to send him down the fucking stairs.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay? So you. After it slams you with the whip, you watch as August fucking run, people. Begins to arc down, crashing into the ground right beside it. As the blood begins to leave his, you clasp your hands together and begin to utter the last words from your lips, which are the incantation. It is a critical success. Go ahead.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

And I am not wearing my hat. My hat is gone.

[Matthew Mercer]

What is the damage for the spell, that is.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Where is it? I'm so sorry. There's so much stuff on these cards, and I'm freaking out.

[Matthew Mercer]

There we are. That's.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

2D10 plus 2. So that's 22 plus 2d10. Roll 1d10.

[Ashley Johnson]

2D10.

[Marisha Ray]

2D10 plus 10.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Well, since it's a crit, it's 2d10, which is 20 plus 2, which is 22 plus 22.

[Matthew Mercer]

32.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

33 points of damage.

[Marisha Ray]

Nice.

[Matthew Mercer]

That is three wounds to it. That's a severe wound to it. And it blasts back to far range, you say? Yes. Whoa.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, sick. Cool.

[Matthew Mercer]

This is all right.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Oh, also, it's actually. That adds another four points because it's. Oh, yeah. Because it's also using my proficiency. So it's another four points on top of that.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'd still.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Just in case.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's okay. Good to know. You all watch as August begins to arc down. August, in this moment that you've accepted, the moment of sacrifice of all you've experienced and endured, the friendships you've made and the hope of this journey to save the city of Desperlock that has been a place of solace and new beginnings for you, you realize what's at stake and what needs to be done to help the rest of them finish this journey and save not their lives, but the lives of the many, many more that wait for the success of this mission? What are the thoughts that go through your mind as you careen towards the stone clutching the arcana you're about to blast from your hand?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

The number of people who have been kind to me after seeing my face is very small.

[Matthew Mercer]

All.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

And they are all here. It's not even about the pyre.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's about.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

It's about them. If they continue, good will happen. And this is much longer than I.

[J]

Was supposed to live.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I was long supposed to be dead if it weren't for that one.

[Matthew Mercer]

Mmm.

[J]

I'm.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Very Grateful for nearly having one bonus year of life.

[Matthew Mercer]

Worth it. This is all worth it. Vanishing behind the Terra gut as it turns back. Covert shoulder. A blast wave of Arcana detonates from behind. And you watch as the Terror Gun is flung at an arc and thrown and continues to tumble off the side of the cliff in the very bottom. And is restrained as it falls to the ground. The next moment you're waiting for August to stand back up.

[Ashley Johnson]

August.

[Matthew Mercer]

But he doesn't. But the last words that still ring in your ears that he shouted were Run.

[Marisha Ray]

Brixton grabs. I'm right next to Misty. So once again as I run by, I grab Misty.

[Matthew Mercer]

Come on.

[Marisha Ray]

He did this for you.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

We have to run this way.

[Matthew Mercer]

I go with.

[Ashley Johnson]

I go with.

[Lowe's Representative]

Decapitate. Adelia.

[Laura Bailey]

God damn it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Adelia. Well, so you're both running close or full far range run?

[Marisha Ray]

We would have to run like make rolls.

[Matthew Mercer]

You have to make agility rolls to try and make the whole distance.

[Lowe's Representative]

But it's.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

You don't have to make agility rolls.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right.

[Marisha Ray]

Let's go. Let's go.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. So the two. You just run up the stairs around the corpse into there and then you run up the stairs. Unless you want to try and climb up here. Otherwise there's two zombies in the way that you can run past. But it'll prevent you from moving further than this.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'll try.

[Matthew Mercer]

You'll climb?

[Ashley Johnson]

I'll try to climb.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. Make a string fall for me, please.

[Lowe's Representative]

Can I. I was going to say. Could I spend a hope to try and encourage her by saying we've got to go.

[Matthew Mercer]

You got it. Let's go. Spend that hope. That adds a D6 to your roll. You just need to be a 12.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yep. Would agility be a little better for this or.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'll allow a jump if you want to go agility. It's only about a 10 foot jump and it's trying to catch the ledge. So. God darn it.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

Was it bad?

[Matthew Mercer]

Added your D6.

[Ashley Johnson]

I did.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Ashley Johnson]

11 with fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay with the D6. Yeah. So you leap and catch the edge. It's not a hide difficulty. It's a 10 to do this. So you succeed. You catch up and pull yourself up onto the ledge.

[Marisha Ray]

I can give her a little bit of a boost behind me.

[Matthew Mercer]

You can get right about there with your close movement. But that's going to end your spotlight. Bringing it to me. My gain of fear. I'm going to activate both shambling zombies.

[Marisha Ray]

Did I run? Did I get Adelia close enough? Is that as far as I could.

[Matthew Mercer]

Get, I hadn't ran up the stairs to there. But that's a close distance.

[Ashley Johnson]

Damn it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Like I said, you want to go that full distance. You make that agility roll and if you succeed, then you go that full length.

[Marisha Ray]

I was doing that. But then she rolled with fear.

[Ashley Johnson]

Right.

[Marisha Ray]

So it's back to you.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. So, okay, so go ahead and roll your attack against idol, please. Or anyone else you'd wish to change it up.

[Lowe's Representative]

It could be anybody else.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's true.

[Ashley Johnson]

Actually, I am. I'm. I'm going to. As I'm actually, I'm biting idle. I'm going to stop and look back over my shoulder and she's going to turn and look at scree.

[Lowe's Representative]

Oh, jeez.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm going to crawl and try to bite him. So.

[Matthew Mercer]

But it's like.

[Ashley Johnson]

Is he still. The other zombie is still close, Right. So I still get advantage on him.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes, you still have. You still get to use the too many to handle passive feature.

[Ashley Johnson]

14.

[J]

Oh, yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go ahead and roll, Wendy. Six plus one. Physical damage on Screev.

[Marisha Ray]

I am your shield.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm still just biting for a little measly too.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, I'll take it.

[Marisha Ray]

I see that screeve is in this fugue state and he is not reacting and I just shove him to the side and throw my shield up in front of him. It's not her anymore. She's gone.

[Matthew Mercer]

She's biting on your leg and your armored shin.

[J]

So that blocked all that damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct.

[Marisha Ray]

I took the damage.

[J]

Whose side turn is it now, Yours or ours?

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm still going.

[J]

You're still going.

[Marisha Ray]

How much damage was that?

[Matthew Mercer]

2. 2? 2 points of physical damage against you. Okay, I'll. The other zombie is still focusing on you, Idol. It's going to be a seven to hit.

[Lowe's Representative]

You can't see me.

[Matthew Mercer]

Misses you. It's still clambering to try and bite towards you, but it just can't seem to find purchase on your flesh again. And spend the last fear to activate the terror gun which I'm going to spend a fear to remove his restrain ability and the one to activate. So he gets back up down here. He will move up to there and he's gonna go ahead and the only thing he can do from here is make his bone whip strike out to a close range. This is gonna be. I think only screeve's the one in range. Oh, no. Is it in range? Yeah.

[Lowe's Representative]

Yeah.

[Laura Bailey]

Screevy.

[Matthew Mercer]

So that's going to be screaving. 11.

[J]

No.

[Marisha Ray]

Nice.

[Matthew Mercer]

Nice. As you're taken aback by the sight of her trying to attack you and biting onto Brixton, you hear the crumbling and shifting of stone. And at the corner of your eye, you see this massive form of the Teregot clambering back up onto the cliff face. As it withdraws its whip you just whips past you with barely a motion as you come back into your body. That's my spotlight.

[J]

I shoulder past the whip. I shoulder past Brixton and I reach down and I scoop Adelia up and wrap her in close. Screeve, we have to go back to the Tamils Screev. No, we have to go back and I just start walking with her in arm this way towards that tower structure.

[Laura Bailey]

That's not the way we're going.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's not the way we're going.

[Ashley Johnson]

What?

[J]

That's my move.

[Ashley Johnson]

All right.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's your activation, your spotlight. No.

[Marisha Ray]

Let me. I'm gonna run up and get base to base.

[Lowe's Representative]

You're holding her like this.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah, let me. Let me try and go for this zombie.

[Laura Bailey]

This.

[Marisha Ray]

This shambler that's next to Idol, at least.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, you can definitely get up to.

[Marisha Ray]

That because he's blocking our way, right?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. I mean, you could probably try and shoulder past if you wanted to. You can. Well, it's not a lot of room there actually.

[Marisha Ray]

Let me just kill him. I'm gonna kill him. The zombie.

[Lowe's Representative]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

At least I'm gonna try to better.

[Laura Bailey]

Roll with fucking hope.

[Marisha Ray]

Jesus. Guess what?

[Matthew Mercer]

What?

[Marisha Ray]

I didn't. 12 with fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

12 with fear. This is so rough. That's a success.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Because the zombie only has difficulty at 10. So go ahead and roll damage.

[Marisha Ray]

That's stupid. This is stupid. That's a really good rule.

[Matthew Mercer]

That is.

[Marisha Ray]

So that's gonna be 18 plus 7. 25.

[Matthew Mercer]

25.

[Marisha Ray]

Yes. Whatever. He said 25.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's more than double its threshold. So it takes four hit points. It has four hit points.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

You just completely carve through this zombie scree.

[Marisha Ray]

I just shout out again.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm going to spend. Well, first it's my activation. As you are being carried off by Screeve. It's your spotlight. Go ahead and roll an attack. Attack against Screeve. Oh, come on.

[Laura Bailey]

Screave and Colbert.

[Lowe's Representative]

No.

[Ashley Johnson]

19.

[Matthew Mercer]

1V6 plus 1 physical damage against you.

[Marisha Ray]

Scream.

[Ashley Johnson]

Bite down on his neck.

[Matthew Mercer]

You feel the pain of her just tearing into your shoulder.

[Ashley Johnson]

Still just two.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm really like, you needed to do that.

[J]

Wait, so it's two points of damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Two points of physical damage.

[J]

So if that's under my minor.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

No, it's still a minor.

[J]

Oh, it's a minor.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[J]

Okay. So she's like chewing through the leather, tearing away my.

[Lowe's Representative]

Through the doll.

[J]

I just breathe through and I'm still slowly walking forward as she digs in.

[Lowe's Representative]

And you're taking.

[J]

I'm not taking an official action because I could get quite a ways and I'm not taking my turn because I want you guys all to have your turns. But he's moved another six inches as she digs in.

[Lowe's Representative]

Okay, okay, okay, okay.

[Ashley Johnson]

All right, so I'm going to pick up August's body.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm going to spend one more fear.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I don't think that there's.

[Matthew Mercer]

To activate the terror gun. I have a hat up there.

[Marisha Ray]

So spotlight's going to be him.

[Matthew Mercer]

He's going to.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Guys.

[Marisha Ray]

God damn it. We've got to run. We've got to run. Come on.

[J]

We can just imagine it higher. You don't have to risk.

[Matthew Mercer]

It works there. Cool.

[Marisha Ray]

Risk it for the biscuit shifts up.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Not let me die in vain, please.

[Matthew Mercer]

And is going to go ahead and make whip strike against Eust since you're now. Actually, no, you're kind of over by the corpse there. The most viable one it's going to see are the two of you.

[Marisha Ray]

Yep.

[Matthew Mercer]

And you just took out the zombie. It's going to come towards you. Great.

[Marisha Ray]

Let's go, baby.

[Matthew Mercer]

Natural one.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

Great. It goes to strike at your with its bone whip. And as it pulls back, the bone whip is caught on one of the nearby pieces of stone. And kind of like.

[Marisha Ray]

We've got to run.

[Laura Bailey]

Yes, we do.

[Matthew Mercer]

We have to run free. That's your spotless.

[Lowe's Representative]

I'll run it. I'll take off.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah. Idol's in front of me.

[Matthew Mercer]

Are you doing a full sprint move?

[Ashley Johnson]

Don't sprint. Just move that way. You can't roll.

[Marisha Ray]

I know.

[Laura Bailey]

There's no. Like, you can't use your action to dash or anything.

[Matthew Mercer]

Right. You can more or less like your rolling agility to see if you can move.

[Lowe's Representative]

Yeah, but that's a chance to fail.

[Marisha Ray]

Or we can just.

[Matthew Mercer]

But then if you don't do that, I'm gonna spend a fear to spotlight.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah.

[Lowe's Representative]

So we should do it.

[Marisha Ray]

So we should do it.

[Matthew Mercer]

You can't just break the system by slow moving and doing that.

[Lowe's Representative]

You can't even see me anymore.

[Matthew Mercer]

I suppose it's he who is farthest.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Should then roll with.

[Lowe's Representative]

Roll with.

[Matthew Mercer]

I technically can take my spotlight if ever it feels like it fits the narrative. So if you all just start moving Slowly. I can slowly take my spotlight.

[Lowe's Representative]

It's 16 with fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

16 with fear. That is the success story. You continue your run over here to the edge. And as you're rushing up, you look over and see the crumpled force of August. All right. But that finished that with fear.

[Laura Bailey]

Pauses to just take a quick leak on the body.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I thought for a moment I was going to zombie too.

[Ashley Johnson]

But that's good.

[Matthew Mercer]

Now my spotlight. Because you rolled with fear. Going to activate you once more.

[Ashley Johnson]

Oh, I failed that one. I just kind of like.

[Matthew Mercer]

Aw.

[Ashley Johnson]

And just rest my forehead on his shoulder.

[Marisha Ray]

Get a tie.

[Ashley Johnson]

Tie. No.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Zombie needs a nap.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's now the Terra Guts activation. It's going to dammit. Step up onto this platform and it's going to go ahead and try and whip out.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Damn it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Motherfucker. Probably you again.

[Lowe's Representative]

Come on, come on.

[Ashley Johnson]

Come on.

[Matthew Mercer]

You're making me angry. Come on. That's gonna be a 12 hits. That hits.

[J]

Damn it.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Need air evasion, man.

[Laura Bailey]

Well, did your armor fall off when you were running away by any chance?

[Matthew Mercer]

21 points physical damage.

[Lowe's Representative]

Got it.

[Marisha Ray]

Wait, who? His armor.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's real good.

[Ashley Johnson]

Grab his armor.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's a good idea. And then I'm gonna spend the fear. August's leg begins to twitch.

[Marisha Ray]

Oh, it's happening.

[Matthew Mercer]

He's gotta get out of here.

[Ashley Johnson]

Get into armor before he wakes up.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Or, you know, I'll bring the armor to you.

[Marisha Ray]

That's fair. That's actually fair because I don't know if this big boy can fit through the arch.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah. You guys have just made it through the arch. Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

Where did I put the.

[Ashley Johnson]

He would have been fine. The web. Oh, he's hidden in there.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, okay.

[Lowe's Representative]

Sorry.

[Matthew Mercer]

Over here.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. Stands up and gets back to its feet. The hat missing. The head is partially caved in. You can see one of the tucked mandibles is bent off to the side. The shoulder is busted with a bone poking out. And as August stands up and heads towards you, Misty, go ahead and make an attack roll with a D20 for me. Please not.

[Marisha Ray]

I was getting out of here, dude.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

15. Wow. Now I'm rolling. Well, roll a D6 plus one six plus one seven.

[Matthew Mercer]

Seven points of physical damage.

[Marisha Ray]

I am your shield.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's seven points of physical damage to you, Brixton.

[Marisha Ray]

I'm just going to take the damage at this point. Once again, I'm just watching all my friends become victim to my other friends. I'm gonna just try and bash him away with my shield. We've got to run.

[Laura Bailey]

Yes, we do.

[Ashley Johnson]

I am going to Pump flame onto August.

[Laura Bailey]

Chat's not running.

[Marisha Ray]

I gotta go.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm not gonna let him die out here like this. But if you body's been fucked with.

[Matthew Mercer]

Too much, roll your skullcat first. She can move afterwards.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, so 13 with hope.

[Matthew Mercer]

13 with hope. That succeeds. Difficulty is 10, so take a hope and roll damage.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay, so you know, five points of damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

Five points of damage. That's two wounds until you have four hit points. So you have two more hit points left. So you watch as you ignite. Now, does he catch fire?

[Ashley Johnson]

He catches fire.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, so as you reach out, tell me what you say and do. As you reach out to August and.

[Ashley Johnson]

Set him aflame, I just sort of grab his face and even though he's twitching, I kiss his forehead and I say, I'm sorry, but I want to set you free. You can't live here like this.

[Matthew Mercer]

Flames begin to curl up around. So hope still with you.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'll take his top hat.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, yeah, the top hat's. You can go again or someone else can take an activation.

[Lowe's Representative]

I'm going to burn three. Hope to do a combo move with you to pull you up from the ledge and flip you over backwards and turn and run through the door.

[Laura Bailey]

You're comboing me just to get me out of there?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes.

[Laura Bailey]

Yes, you are. I'm so agile, though.

[Lowe's Representative]

I understand.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

Just run.

[Laura Bailey]

So we both run or we both roll?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. Okay, so what are you both doing? You're just leaping over that way?

[Laura Bailey]

I guess I'm just doing this.

[Lowe's Representative]

I'm also helping you up and over.

[Matthew Mercer]

So you don't have to roll for.

[Laura Bailey]

Also fire off a shot as part of this combo move or no.

[Matthew Mercer]

Well, here's the thing. If you're helping him roll, then you're making his agility roll for him. I'll say to get him over there, which means you won't be able to move double distance.

[Lowe's Representative]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

And you'll be able to make your attack roll. I'll allow that to be three hopes to tag team. Yeah. So I'm saying I'm allowing it. Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Lowe's Representative]

14, 15, 16, 17 with Hope.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Sweet.

[Laura Bailey]

Well, that's a 10. So I'll take his.

[Matthew Mercer]

So both of you gain a hope, and that is definitely a success. With that, you.

[Marisha Ray]

It's all turning around, you guys. It's all uphill from here.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's right. You idle over and idle. You go flying through the archway to the opposite end and kind of catch the edge and land as you're in the air.

[Laura Bailey]

I am going to Fire. The scepter of Elias.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes.

[Laura Bailey]

At Adilia.

[Ashley Johnson]

Can you reach me? I'm so far.

[Laura Bailey]

It's far range.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's far range. So if you're over here, you could do it while you're leaping, which would be within range.

[Lowe's Representative]

Oh, lovely.

[Matthew Mercer]

Good. So as you run over to grab the hand of idol, you.

[Laura Bailey]

10 points of magic damage.

[Ashley Johnson]

Why are you trying to kill me?

[Laura Bailey]

I'm trying to get you off of him. So come with us.

[Matthew Mercer]

So as you're walking away and she's gnawing towards your shoulder.

[Ashley Johnson]

Leave my body.

[Matthew Mercer]

Everything's washing over you. Second wave filming this. Adelia spatters against your shoulder and neck.

[Ashley Johnson]

No, I'm not. Oh, I'm dead.

[Matthew Mercer]

In your grasp. As you now see the dark shadow of the soul blight spill out of her. The corruption that animated her post her demise. And it clicks within you that what you're carrying hasn't been her for a moment. I.

[J]

Turn my head over my shoulder and see the golden man.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, no.

[J]

And as I walk into this archway here, I'm looking over my shoulder. The small one over here.

[Marisha Ray]

No, he's over here.

[Matthew Mercer]

Me.

[J]

Me. Screeve.

[Matthew Mercer]

I know I'm moving that. Because on your turn, as part of that, you would have moved.

[J]

I step into the shadow of this archway while looking back at Snix, and you just see my form go and melt into the ground and shadow and I'm gone. Spending stress.

[Lowe's Representative]

Oh, no. Oh, no.

[Laura Bailey]

Because I succeeded. I also get to roll a D4 because of the scepter and get rid of all my stress.

[Matthew Mercer]

Ooh, all of it.

[Laura Bailey]

I rolled a 4 on the D4.

[Matthew Mercer]

It says you get rid of a stress if you roll a four.

[Laura Bailey]

It says on a hit, roll a D4. Oh, on a four. Clear. A strats.

[Matthew Mercer]

Correct. Got it, got it, got it, got it, got it, got it, got it, got it.

[Laura Bailey]

Okay, I cleared a Strats.

[Matthew Mercer]

There you go. And you are here on the archway with Idol right at the edge. You guys are all rushing towards the exit point. It's still your go. So the spotlight's on your team. Screeve has vanished in the shadow.

[Lowe's Representative]

I'm going to reclaim my last prayer dice, which is a three. And I'm going to redeem it for a hope equal to the result.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay? So take three. Health.

[Marisha Ray]

Also, we didn't move Misty after she did her blazing hands. She should have moved.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, that's right. Yeah. We would have shifted into here.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah.

[Laura Bailey]

You guys come.

[Matthew Mercer]

We gotta come.

[Marisha Ray]

I'm going to run by as I Do a move. I'm gonna try and put August out of his misery because I do agree with Misty.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, go ahead and roll.

[Marisha Ray]

He shouldn't die like this. Not like this.

[Ashley Johnson]

Not like this.

[Matthew Mercer]

Not like this.

[Marisha Ray]

Come on now. No, wait, hang on. These are two fear die. What's good? What's good? Let's try this one. Bless this. Bless this.

[Laura Bailey]

He's a zombie.

[Ashley Johnson]

Great.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Well, hell.

[Marisha Ray]

Wait, wait, wait.

[Matthew Mercer]

No. 69.

[Marisha Ray]

I thought it was a crisp.

[Matthew Mercer]

Nice.

[Marisha Ray]

Our house rules. Okay, so that's going to be 15 plus 3. 18 to hit.

[Matthew Mercer]

That definitely hits. With hope of fear.

[Alltrails Representative]

With fear.

[Matthew Mercer]

Well, that is a success. Go ahead and roll. Damage.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

You do two damage?

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah, I definitely do. That's going to be 1724 damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

How do you want to do this?

[Marisha Ray]

My first Howdy Doody Doody. And it's Tal.

[Matthew Mercer]

Welcome to the hm, bro.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

My coat has mostly burned away. And now all you see are my six arms and my legs, which are very inaccurate. And the weird moth that is sewn to my back that clearly hasn't quite died yet, that's trying to peel off in this wings completely burned.

[Matthew Mercer]

That is so beautiful. And spider there is.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

There's nothing human left.

[Marisha Ray]

Brixton just goes up and she grabs the back of his. The nape of his neck and just kind of buries it in her chest plate to give that protection from any type of bite. And she whispers a small prayer to Iratu and takes her blade. Many will live for your sacrifice here today. Thank you. And I'm just going to slowly plunge it right into the back of his neck.

[Matthew Mercer]

Run. The creature goes limp. And as you release it.

[Marisha Ray]

No, I don't do that. I throw him over my shoulder because I want this armor.

[Matthew Mercer]

It is on fire.

[Ashley Johnson]

Well, no, because it's not. Unleash cinder grasp keeps them on fire.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, I see. I misinterpreted.

[Ashley Johnson]

Wild flames does not.

[Matthew Mercer]

Gotcha. No.

[Ashley Johnson]

So, no, I think you might have said yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'm sorry, I misinterstood.

[Ashley Johnson]

My bad.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay, so sure enough, you take the charred body and throw it over your shoulder.

[Marisha Ray]

Fireman carry in with that. And then I run the rest of the way in. I would have gotten as far as I can go.

[Matthew Mercer]

That was with fear, you said.

[Ashley Johnson]

Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

The activate there. As you all begin to charge. On the way out, the terra guts can attempt to strike out with its bone ribbon. Oh, God.

[J]

What if he gets off the spud?

[Matthew Mercer]

That's going to be so. I didn't even say it was attacking, which is unfair. I'm going to have to reroll that. You've been avoiding it this whole time and it's really pissed at you. That's gonna be a 21 to hit.

[Ashley Johnson]

Wait, but I thought you were already in the archway.

[Matthew Mercer]

He's standing right outside of it. He's not on the inside.

[Marisha Ray]

Wait, he gets hit with what? With the whip again.

[Matthew Mercer]

And this guy would have been right.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Are you gonna do your thing?

[Matthew Mercer]

Probably. That's gonna be believe in you. Okay. 14 points of physical damage. That was a really bad damage roll.

[Marisha Ray]

I am your shield.

[Lowe's Representative]

What does that do?

[Marisha Ray]

I take it for you.

[Matthew Mercer]

You take 14 points of physical damage.

[Lowe's Representative]

That's good or I would have been rolling.

[Marisha Ray]

I have a lot of points in a lot of armor. This is the thing that I do. Although, wait, I should have been marking stress for these. I did it for you earlier. How many times happened and I did it for you.

[Matthew Mercer]

This is the third.

[Marisha Ray]

One, two, three. So this is the third.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Ashley Johnson]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. Don't forget that.

[Marisha Ray]

Yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

As you're calling everyone in and shouting, you look over and see August being put down and thrown over the shoulder. And in that brief moment of distraction, you shout in slow motion as you turn and see stepping over the whip cracking down in your direction just as Brixton shoulders in and crack. Takes it across the back and shoulder.

[Marisha Ray]

I use the shoulder that I have on.

[Matthew Mercer]

I was about to say the legs are sheared off. Thank you. Oh, my God.

[Marisha Ray]

I'm gonna take two armor to take that to be no damage.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. What you can do. As you all gather and charge through the archway, the terror gut slams into it and is a little bit too large to pull through. Tries to begin climbing on the other side. But that's more than enough time for the rest of you to charge past this outer wall and begin to enter the exterior perimeter surrounding the Athenaeum before we fully.

[Ashley Johnson]

I'm not going to do anything. But once we start going in, I'm just going to scream. Through the archway screes.

[Matthew Mercer]

It echoes out into the late afternoon. But nonetheless, you shout a name with no response. Sweating, still processing these sudden and unexpected losses around you. You rush towards the one little glimmer of hope that carries you forward. The sight of the sacred pyre that burns above this fortress. That's. We're going to take our break. Oh, boy.

[J]

That was a lethal first half.

[Ashley Johnson]

I thought I'd hang in there a little bit longer.

[Marisha Ray]

Dude. I thought like that 10 was deceiving. That was deceiving.

[Matthew Mercer]

I know. I saw the tenant was like, oh, me.

[J]

I thought you were going to take.

[Laura Bailey]

One mulligan and then start playing.

[J]

Start gambling?

[Ashley Johnson]

No, it's two. Although I can't hold back from the gambling.

[Matthew Mercer]

Save it for the after show. All righty, that's a wrap for part one of this podcast episode. Part two will land here the Tuesday after this episode at 5am Pacific, and we'll pick up this story right where we left off. Until next time, keep the umbra at bay, and we'll be back for more of this adventure before you know it.