The Vanishing | Critical Role | Campaign 4, Episode 20 Part 2

Summary

Critical Role – "The Vanishing" | Campaign 4, Episode 20 Part 2

Date: April 7, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode of Critical Role, the party investigates the recent massacre at House Divinos, striving to uncover who—or what—is responsible for the cover-up, and attempting to rescue friends wrongfully accused of arcane conspiracy. The group navigates magical mysteries involving potent paints, hidden necromancy, illusion magic used as a mask, and political maneuvering within Dolmakia's arcane authorities. Emotional weight hangs over the party as the players process the loss of Thiazi, grapple with internal guilt, and struggle to protect their allies while avoiding the tightening grip of the city’s marshals.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Aftermath of the Inspector’s Collapse

[01:22–05:48]

• Grotto, deeply shaken by a magical backlash, is questioned by security and the party about his experience.
  • He reveals there was a hidden recording in the floor, evidence that Octus Taconus was murdered (03:25, Mercer).
  • Grotto suspects a cover-up within the priestly houses, and magical tampering that left him physically harmed (04:26).
  • "Lieutenant, there's been a cover-up here...I don't think anyone went to fucking Ferry." (03:56, Grotto/Mercer)
• Azune gathers evidence (a broken glyph, a hand-drawn Stone of Night Song) and entrusts Dalla to keep records.

2. The Flickering Blue Flame & Hidden Magic

[06:46–10:19]

• Belair and Murray discuss the extinguished, blue magical candle—possibly a sign from Demetus, and evidence of magical erasure (07:10, Ray).
  • Speculation: The blue flame is a hidden message; demonic/other planar influence is suspected.
  • "I think it was a message." (10:18, O'Brien as Belair)

3. Regrouping at the Hallowed Round

[10:56–13:34]

• The party reconvenes, processing guilt, confusion, and concern for missing persons—especially Misha Undragor and Demetus Blix.
  • Hal appears increasingly anxious about Misha’s absence.
  • "It's been a day. Hold on. I just have one or two more of these." (12:20, Taliesin Jaffe as Hal)
• The group theorizes that their efforts have successfully planted a narrative about the Divinos massacre.

4. A Magical Investigation: Paints, Potency, and Purpose

[14:51–29:14]

• Examination of enchanted paints used for murals at the theatre reveals layers of illusion magic masking something much deeper.
  • Arcana checks (with help, guidance, inspiration) unveil that beneath the minor illusion lies a powerful intersection of conjuration and necromancy.
  • "The minor illusion...is a foil wrapping. It is weak magic foil wrapped over something." (24:25, Mercer)
  • A metaphor arises: the paint is like buttered toast—something almost too perfect.
• Discussion suggests the paints could be used for dark rituals: summoning, resurrection, creating magical thresholds, or opening planar portals.
  • "You are feeling a hum of the exact center point between the schools of conjuration and necromancy." (27:04, Mercer)

5. Arcane Ceramics & The Hand-and-Wheel Connection

[36:15–38:47]

• Closer inspection of the paint amphoras reveals marks from the Hand and Wheel company—a mark denoting approval for vessels that can safely hold magic.
  • These are special commissions, likely traceable and significant to the case.
  • "These amphoras have the same imprint from the spell glyph part of the company...special, expensive, probably custom made." (37:14, Mercer)
• It is hypothesized that the very act of painting with these colors is what 'activates' their deeper properties.

6. Misha’s Arrest & Interrogation

[41:31–54:07]

• The dance master Drangor rushes in with urgent news: Misha Undragor has been arrested by the Arcane Marshals.
  • He is accused of arcane conspiracy and alleged theft with Demetus Blix.
  • The party immediately goes to the Brethren Hall to intervene.
  • "They were asking for this kid...Demetus Blix...They want me to say where he is. I don't know where he is." (71:03, Misha/Mercer)

7. Political and Magical Webs – The Nature of the Crime

[80:53–83:12]

• Investigation and arcane history reveal the following:
  • House Taconus, the source of the massacre, lacks access to Illusion magic (their lineage is necromantic).
  • Demetus—a specialist in illusion—was likely manipulated into masking the true magical nature of the massacre with his abilities.
  • "So they needed someone that did [illusion]" (82:40, Riegel as Azune)
  • The paints and illusions served not to create, but to cover up the necromancy at the crime scene.

8. Negotiation & Rescue

[83:34–87:36]

• Hal bribes the lieutenant (successfully, with a 23 persuasion) to release Misha into his personal custody.
  • A month's salary (50 gold) changes hands to resolve the issue cleanly.
  • Emotional beats as Hal and Misha reunite, with gratitude and weariness between them.
  • "You can find us at the rookery staked on my name. You know me. This city knows me. I'm not going anywhere." (86:18, Hal/Jaffe)

9. Wizard’s Insight & Augury

[43:05–56:45]

• Murray uses augury/divination to sense the deeper implications of Thiazi's death, the mural, and the party’s path.
  • The mural, paints, and recent events are a stage set for something much grander—a convergence of magical schools, a city-wide message.
  • "The world hums with potential divination...There are some schools of magic yet to make their will known in the stage that has been set here." (54:51, Mercer)
  • "If you continue on this path, you will face that strife in the light, perhaps with many others by your side." (56:34, Mercer)
  • Murray feels a hesitant sense of purpose: the group is poised to act as a beacon for the city, whether they wish it or not.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On uncovering a cover-up:

  • "I don't know why a Taconis was murdered by his own family in the middle of the Divinos estate...I don't think anyone went to fucking Ferry."
    (03:56, Matthew Mercer as Grotto)

• On magical concealment:

  • "The minor illusion...is a foil wrapping. It is weak magic foil wrapped over something."
    (24:25, Matthew Mercer)
  • "You are feeling a hum of the exact center point between the schools of conjuration and necromancy."
    (27:04, Matthew Mercer)

• On Demetus and the true purpose of the illusion:

  • "So they needed someone that did [illusion]."
    (82:40, Sam Riegel as Azune)

  • "That's why there's the illusion of fairy magic. To cover up the necromancy."
    (83:12, Sam Riegel as Azune)

• Powerful emotional resonance:

  • "Thiazi set you up for enacting an apocalyptic plan?...The path you walk right now seems to seek to speed that arrow forward to the target that the Aziz selected for us."
    (51:30–52:35, Matthew Mercer, during Murray's augury)

  • "If you continue on this path, you will face that strife in the light, perhaps with many others by your side."
    (56:34, Matthew Mercer)

• On the power and risk of their choices:

  • "Well, this is something we can all take care of together at least."
    (42:54, Liam O'Brien as Belair)

• Hal’s practical heroism:

  • "You can find us at the rookery staked on my name. You know me. This city knows me. I'm not going anywhere."
    (86:18, Taliesin Jaffe as Hal)

---

Important Timestamps & Segments

• [01:22] – Grotto’s collapse and revelation about the cover-up.
• [06:46] – Discussion about the mysterious blue flame and magical negation.
• [10:56/12:16/13:34] – Group reconvenes, discusses evidence, guilt, lost friends.
• [14:51–29:14] – Forensic magical analysis of the paints, amphoras, and murals.
• [36:15] – Revelation about the Hand and Wheel ceramics company’s special imprints.
• [41:31] – News of Misha’s arrest; party makes plan to intervene.
• [43:31/45:18] – Murray attempts deep arcane insight through augury.
• [80:53] – History and arcana checks on the true source of magic; connections to House Taconis and Royce.
• [83:34–87:36] – Hal negotiates Misha’s release with a bribe.
• [88:37–89:00] – Post-release, group notes ongoing danger and next steps.

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Episode Flow & Narrative Tone

The episode is marked by:

• Tense, noir-like political intrigue: High tension as the party balances uncovering magical evidence and evading state suspicion.
• Moral ambiguity and emotion: Characters wrestle with guilt over trauma inflicted (magical and emotional), and with their limited ability to make things right.
• Improv camaraderie: Frequent in-character quips (e.g., "How many mages does it take?") and collaborative problem-solving.
• A creeping sense of dread: The party uncovers that what seemed like an ordinary cover-up may hint at world-shaking magic.

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Next Steps & Unresolved Threads

• Find Demetus Blix: Last seen in danger, likely the key to the crime’s true nature.
• Meet with Romina Rountree: Scheduled for later in the evening.
• Trace the custom amphoras/paints: Potential lead at Hand and Wheel ceramics.
• Unravel the deeper ritual: Detect the big spell lurking in both mural and plot.
• Protect the company: Ensure the safety of their allies amid city-wide suspicion and escalating political violence.

---

“What have you gotten yourself into, Demetus?” (90:38, Marisha Ray)

As the sun sets over Dolmakia, the party heads out—united, empowered, but knowing the real confrontation with darkness still lies ahead.

Transcript

[Matthew Mercer]

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[Taliesin Jaffe]

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[Matthew Mercer]

Premieres April 19th on MGM. In a small, inescapable town, understanding the monsters may be the only way out. Desperate hope may lead residents toward even darker truths.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I think they're doing it to make us afraid.

[Marisha Ray]

Well, then it worked.

[Matthew Mercer]

Something ancient is feeding off of their suffering and it won't stop. Survival will demand impossible choices from season four. Premieres April 19th on MGM. Hey everyone, it's me, Morgan Stewart, and I have a new podcast called the Morgan Stewart Show. Join me each week as I talk

[Marisha Ray]

about pop culture, fashion, my personal life

[Matthew Mercer]

and just a warning, I'm gonna be

[Marisha Ray]

giving my opinion on everything. I'll also have some really fun guests

[Matthew Mercer]

to join in on the fun.

[Marisha Ray]

The Morgan Stewart show is out now.

[Matthew Mercer]

Listen and follow wherever you get your

[Marisha Ray]

podcasts or watch full video on YouTube.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hello again, it's Brennan Lee Mulligan and you're listening to part two of this episode of Critical Role. If you haven't checked out, pause this now and head over there first. What are you doing? Otherwise, let's jump right back into this adventure and the world of Ahriman. We return to Dolmakia as the Inspector Grotto collapses in your arms Azune and is screaming, bleeding from the nose. I suss. I sus. There was a young man. There was a young man who. There was a recording in the floor somewhere. I. Slow down, Grabba. Slow down. Slow down.

[Sam Riegel]

I'm gonna bring him towards where there's gonna be other witnesses to what he says.

[Matthew Mercer]

You bring him out. You bring him out to where there are some Einfassen security who begin to question him out in the courtyard for Murray and Belair. What are you two doing?

[Sam Riegel]

I'm going to.

[Marisha Ray]

Let's get the fuck out of here.

[Liam O'Brien]

Hey, I don't need to make this better.

[Matthew Mercer]

Where do we get the fuck out? Clearly you're sending us somewhere.

[Liam O'Brien]

I'll talk to you later, sir. And then I'm going to make my way.

[Matthew Mercer]

You guys take off. Make my way. You guys take off and get to where you need to Go as fast as possible. Grotto is so addled that he doesn't think about another. He just sees some Revolutionary Guard armor but is not in like a. Who's this guy? He just had the most horrifying thing. That's what happened to. What happened to him? Osny, you lead him.

[Marisha Ray]

That was so cool. I feel a little guilty.

[Liam O'Brien]

Let's get to how guilt's the best part.

[Matthew Mercer]

And you wander. Murray having seen that little blue candlelight flicker away and a little trail of smoke go up around it. You azunate head down to the garden where Grotto sits down. There's a medic that begins to administer to him, helping heal some of his injuries. He just goes I in the room there was a young man, he called himself Octus Taconus and said that he and was being murdered. He was being murdered. There was a recording left in the floor underneath. I don't know if he somehow hid it before they scrubbed it, but there's been. He looks around knowing how dangerous what he's saying is. But he looks up at you and says, lieutenant, there's been a cover up here. They tried to kill. They tried to scrub that recording. I don't think. I don't know what happened here. I don't know why a Taconis was murdered by his own family in the middle of the Divinos estate. I don't know what happened to the Divinos family. But I'll tell you one thing. I don't think anyone went to fucking Ferry.

[Sam Riegel]

Take a breath. We're going to need you to repeat everything that you said so it's on record. And I'll call the rest of my detail, Dalla and Horace. I'll gather them, make sure that he's well taken care of. I heard a couple things in there. And Grado, you were repeating over and over again that there was screams, screams, screams.

[Matthew Mercer]

The priestly houses. Something about the priestly houses. I don't know what the fuck that means.

[Sam Riegel]

Somebody get this man some water.

[Matthew Mercer]

You see, someone runs off to go get him some water. Medic is there. One of the einfasen begins to just take all of this down, saying we can record the notes here as well. You see that? Dala looks at you and says. Do you want me to take it down as well?

[Sam Riegel]

Yes, take down the notes, keep them. And can you handle this?

[Matthew Mercer]

I got it, Lieutenant, Yes.

[Sam Riegel]

Okay. You're safe now, Grotto. Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's never happened before. I've never felt the magic like that where it physically harmed me. Whatever they did to try to clean it up. I don't know why the recording would have harmed me. The person really wanted people to know that he was being killed. So whatever hurt me was some kind of curse. I don't know.

[Sam Riegel]

I think it's clear that there was a great violence that happened in that

[Matthew Mercer]

place and maybe there was a little

[Sam Riegel]

bit of that left over that found

[Matthew Mercer]

its way to you. God, I don't want to imagine what kind of necromancy would do that kind of damage as a byproduct.

[Sam Riegel]

And I'm going to pull out two things that I found in my investigation. The half of that glyph that snapped. And I will say to Dalla, take note of this. I found this. I'm going to look into this further and I'm going to pull out the handwritten, the hand drawn Stone of Night Song that Thimble gave me a long ass time ago.

[Matthew Mercer]

Ooh, Hell yeah.

[Sam Riegel]

These are some things that I discovered in the moment that grados seemed to have become overtaken.

[Matthew Mercer]

In the chamber.

[Sam Riegel]

In the chamber.

[Matthew Mercer]

She nods. All right, I'll mark it down, Lieutenant,

[Sam Riegel]

and I'm going to put it away on my person and I'm gonna leave.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hell yeah.

[Sam Riegel]

To meet the others as planned.

[Marisha Ray]

As Belair and I are walking, I'm kind of replaying everything that just happened in my head. Was there anything strange about the candle going out? Or is it just going out because it's done over time? Did it feel like it was being overtaken? Is there anything strange about it? The candelabra.

[Matthew Mercer]

Tell me how you describe it to Balare.

[Marisha Ray]

I don't know if it was magic coming to an end or if. Whatever magic that they're doing to try and counteract and erase the magic that was there is slightly slowly spreading. It was almost like a fumigation, like they're trying to slowly erase everything. Maybe it happens in time. I don't know.

[Matthew Mercer]

Curious. Do you tell Balare what you saw? Physically describe what you saw?

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah. The candle being snuffed out is kind of what you saw.

[Matthew Mercer]

It was like the candle was dying down. And it was a blue flame.

[Marisha Ray]

It was a blue flame, right. I hope we weren't being watched. That would suck. Like you think someone was scrying and tapping into that?

[Liam O'Brien]

I don't know. Even if they were scrying, they wouldn't necessarily have seen much.

[Marisha Ray]

But Izune was trying to say, from what I heard, sounded like some sort of whatever magical remnants was there had been scrubbed. What have shown up? I mean, all these Houses. All these sundered houses are going to be riddled with magic just from an aesthetic purpose.

[Liam O'Brien]

So is there. A, is the blue flame hitting anything in my head? And B, I know that I had that spider sense about the shadow shadows very, very early on about the dark, creeping energy. Is this rattling anything as you are walking?

[Matthew Mercer]

I think you guys are joined by Azune on your way to the hallowed realms. As Azune joins you. Give me a history check.

[Liam O'Brien]

History check.

[Matthew Mercer]

We'll call it a DC10.

[Marisha Ray]

Can I help him?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah, give him.

[Marisha Ray]

And this as we're talking it out. I'll help you.

[Liam O'Brien]

Love a little advantage.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Yeah.

[Sam Riegel]

25. 25.

[Matthew Mercer]

As you're describing it, it was a pretty beautiful shade of blue, and it was actually somewhat whimsical, the color of the blue flame. And, you know, house Royce house colors are green and gold. So having blue flame is sort of an interesting choice for the candles. Balare. I've mentioned blue candles earlier in this very episode.

[Sam Riegel]

Oh, my goodness.

[Marisha Ray]

Yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

I mentioned it as the trick that Demidus pulled off in his. He was gonna change a yellow candle flame to blue. He's. Holy shit.

[Sam Riegel]

I don't know this. Yeah.

[Liam O'Brien]

I suppose I have been thinking about him a bit.

[Marisha Ray]

You think?

[Liam O'Brien]

I think it was a message.

[Marisha Ray]

You think he was nearby? Where is Demetus? It was just a singular candle, but

[Matthew Mercer]

all the others had burned down. They'd been burning since the golo.

[Liam O'Brien]

Interesting.

[Marisha Ray]

Oh, boy.

[Matthew Mercer]

You guys arrive at the hallowed round. Hal, no sign of Misha having shown up here. As you're waiting for your friends, is there anything you do at that point?

[Liam O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

So everyone has left, and I was not initially too worried, but the more time I've had to stew here, the more it begins to bother me that he is MIA I have taken my jacket off and thrown it over a large knot in the side of the central tree at the rear of the performing area in the round. So jack it off. And I have slowly been carrying the pots of paint. I'm waiting for my conspirators, but I've been moving. My daughter has carried them to different places along the two wooden structures that she's painted the murals along. So they're all scattered about. And as they're arriving, I don't even register that they come. I don't think. And I'm getting the last two or three over to this spot.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

And just been getting more tense and more worried.

[Matthew Mercer]

You guys arrived to find Hal moving this paint onto the stage.

[Liam O'Brien]

I would have taken a second once we got Close enough to dive into an alley and drop my illusion.

[Matthew Mercer]

Cool. Yeah.

[Marisha Ray]

Now I've dropped invisibility, of course, at this point as well.

[Sam Riegel]

Hey.

[Marisha Ray]

Hello.

[Liam O'Brien]

It's been a day.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

It's been a day. Hold on. I just have one or two more of these. I continue toodling around. Somebody go first. Anything new?

[Liam O'Brien]

Oh, my.

[Sam Riegel]

Who wants to start?

[Marisha Ray]

I don't know, man.

[Sam Riegel]

Well, we just came back from the Plaza Divinos because Einfassen had me investigate what happened there, and we managed to find. I don't even know how to explain what the two of you did, but we at least acquired some more evidence that can implicate Taconis.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Okay,

[Marisha Ray]

how did it work after we left?

[Sam Riegel]

It worked.

[Marisha Ray]

Did our narrative seem to hold?

[Sam Riegel]

Yes. He was screaming about what happened to Octys. He saw it and he didn't mean to hurt him.

[Marisha Ray]

I feel bad about that.

[Sam Riegel]

It's okay. He'll be fine.

[Marisha Ray]

I've sort of just a symptom of the spell.

[Sam Riegel]

It's better that it hurt a little so that it's taken seriously.

[Marisha Ray]

Basically was able to really implant the narrative in his head about a massacre happening at House Divinos.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

How'd that work?

[Liam O'Brien]

Well, someone's being loud. The two of us working together did quite the job.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Okay.

[Liam O'Brien]

The museum is little bit of illusion

[Marisha Ray]

locked down, a little bit of divination.

[Liam O'Brien]

People are missing.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Yeah, yeah, people are missing.

[Marisha Ray]

Wait, who's missing for you?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

My master of magic, one of my teachers, old Misha Undragor, who has taught this troupe for decades, whose family goes back to the before times.

[Marisha Ray]

One of the Pentebril Star students is also missing.

[Liam O'Brien]

No Dimitus what's worse, there are signs that he was at the massacre and witnessed it. Somehow there was a clue left

[Marisha Ray]

that

[Liam O'Brien]

he might have been there.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

There's also a king in town. And I. What, peel my sleeve all the way up to the shoulder and I just dunk my hand into one of the pots of green paint and feel around inside. Is there anything in there?

[Matthew Mercer]

Give me an investigation check.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Okay, we'll go with that one. That is not great. That is a 14.

[Matthew Mercer]

You reach around on a 14 investigation. Goopy goopy paint. You look at Shadia's mural work, by the way, is beautiful, right? Sort of front and center in one of the murals. You see, she has one of the murals done up with Vulkjan Murzot, with the historical figure that the play is based on. Who you can see looks sort of cutting. A heroic, tragic figure gazing up at the stage at the head of A doomed revolution. The shade of green matches to the green of his skin as he strides at the head of this phalanx of orcish rebels. And you scoop around in the green and it feel goopy, goopy green paint. Nothing in there. All right.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I drag my arm out, which is dripping green. It's not too different than my own. And I just whack my arm out to the side and it spatters the grass on the ground. Well, shit.

[Liam O'Brien]

Well, I wouldn't have thought to do that at the very least.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

What is it, the Aussie?

[Marisha Ray]

Well, wait a second. Can I take my mage hand and lift the. What's it called? The bucket? The picket? The.

[Matthew Mercer]

The amphora.

[Marisha Ray]

The amphora. Thank you. This is what I was looking for. Can I lift the amphora so that we can peer underneath of it at

[Matthew Mercer]

the bottom of it? Yes, you can. Well, actually, mage hand is not strong enough to lift it, but you can physically lift them. Obviously, getting down and looking underneath, you do see that they are pressed with the symbol of hand and wheel. So this is Oras Blade's company that at least made the ceramics.

[Marisha Ray]

Detect magic. I got you this time. Yeah,

[Matthew Mercer]

paint's magic.

[Liam O'Brien]

I'm also taking. I'm taking this moment to do that once.

[Marisha Ray]

I feel like we did get a

[Matthew Mercer]

little bit of my pack magic back.

[Marisha Ray]

Well, because we thought maybe the paints were like. The paints had some sort of illusory.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

Give me. If you'd like, give me an arcana check. Give me a little arcana or an investigation.

[Marisha Ray]

I'll help. All right.

[Sam Riegel]

Magical components of spells usually ping as magic. When you do detect magic.

[Matthew Mercer]

Magical components of spells do not ping as magic.

[Sam Riegel]

I think this is a component. And I pull out the half of the thing, the glyph. I think these paints are meant to be drawn on these.

[Matthew Mercer]

Please.

[Marisha Ray]

23 is you, right?

[Matthew Mercer]

23 arcana is very high.

[Marisha Ray]

I roll a 15 plus 8.

[Matthew Mercer]

You get the same thing that pinged before. You know, like a little slight. It's like, oh, there's something. Maybe this is maybe, you know, could be zhuzhed up with a cantrip. Make this colors a little brighter. Pop more. More under lighting.

[Liam O'Brien]

And it's the paint, not the pot.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's the paint, not the pot.

[Liam O'Brien]

Oh, right.

[Marisha Ray]

Cause I get that from the paint that he just smattered on the grass. Like that is coming up.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. I think as you look at that on a 23 arcana, looking at the paint on the grass. Let me ask. And you have detect magic cast right now, right? Yeah. You're looking at it, there's like a faint little bit of illusion. Like something like a cantrip. Maybe. But again, it's hard to say. Lesser than a minor image, almost just like, oh, maybe this will be a little brighter. On 23 arcana, you're looking at the paint on the grass. Ajune is statement. Components don't register as magical. There's like. There's something about the cantrip that's like. I think. I think you're looking at the. The faint residue of magic on. On here. That feels so underwhelming for a thing that was in Thiazzi. Fang's dying thoughts to his brother where he said. Where the three things he said were. What was like, belair has paint for you. Help Murray tell Thimble. And then he died. Right. So this paint was a third of his dying whatever. And you're looking at something less than a minor illusion cantrip. But this minor illusion cantrip was interesting. On 23 arcana, I sadly can't give you what you're looking for, but I can tell you this. You know, if you saw a piece of toast that was perfectly buttered, would that strike you as odd if the butter were completely even and to the edges? Exactly. And no more.

[Sam Riegel]

That's how I butter my toes.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, maybe it's unusual, then. I'm just kidding. No, yeah. That's just something I think you're noticing with this little minor illusory residue. It's just like. This is a very faint, weak piece of magic. It's really uniform. The paint is. It's not like it's radiating from the center or like, oh, this glob has extra. And it gets weaker as it goes out to these little specks. Sort of pretty uniform. It's actually kind of some prodigious spell casting to get a cantrip that's like this vacuum sealed, kind of glued to the outside of this thing.

[Marisha Ray]

And while I have detect magic up, I'm going to focus it and look at the backdrops that Shadia has painted with this magic. Same vibe.

[Matthew Mercer]

You look to the backdrop. Give me another arcana.

[Liam O'Brien]

Are you talking to me about this as we go?

[Marisha Ray]

Sure.

[Liam O'Brien]

Talking about it.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

All right, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Do you have this advantage?

[Liam O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I go because you're helping. Okay. All right, never mind.

[Sam Riegel]

Never mind.

[Marisha Ray]

Why? What were we gonna do? You're advantage a little inspiration.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay.

[Sam Riegel]

I want to contribute as well as we're sort of putting our heads together and you're looking at the Painting. I. If I can see this coming.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Sam Riegel]

I'd like to cast. Guidance.

[Matthew Mercer]

Perfect.

[Sam Riegel]

My first time casting guidance on another person. I put my hand. As I see you focusing, I put my hand on your shoulder, and you feel almost like a Rolodex of memories moving through your mind.

[Marisha Ray]

So I have advantage and guidance and

[Taliesin Jaffe]

another hand on your other shoulder. And you just hear a low, a reverberating. Please. Bardock inspiration.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay.

[Matthew Mercer]

Advantage from Polair. Guidance from azune. Inspiration from Hel.

[Marisha Ray]

What's your inspiration? D6 right now? Yeah. Do I have to use it on this one or can I just bardic6? I can use it afterwards. Right. If I choose.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

When you fail, the creature can roll the bardic inspiration. Die. So start. Start with the bardic inspiration.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. The DC here is 25. Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

I have a plus 8 to my

[Sam Riegel]

Arcana, plus a D4 to your Arcana.

[Marisha Ray]

It's a D4. Let's do like what you did earlier. Let's start with a D4.

[Sam Riegel]

Yes.

[Marisha Ray]

Hang on. Here's the other thing. Hang on, wait. Thirteen plus eight is gonna be 20.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

The Bardic is for failed rolls. So start with the bardic. If you fail to get it above a fail, roll and then build.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. Or yeah, you'll roll with advantage. The guidance is for free. Yes, guidance is free. And then. Yeah. Yeah.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

You might not need the bardic at all.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah, I might. I also have my portent, but then I would have to. There's still a chance I would biff it on my portent. So I'm gonna roll.

[Matthew Mercer]

Got it?

[Sam Riegel]

You got it.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay, so that's gonna be a 12 +8.

[Sam Riegel]

20 a D4.

[Marisha Ray]

a D4.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

So I'm gonna fail, though. If it misses 25.

[Matthew Mercer]

It misses 25. It's a fail.

[Marisha Ray]

It'll miss 25 anyway. Regardless.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

For guidance, do Bardication 4.

[Marisha Ray]

So there's no way. There's no way I could fail. 26.

[Matthew Mercer]

26. Unbelievable.

[Marisha Ray]

4 2 of my Barbicans were on my guidance.

[Liam O'Brien]

There's like 4 of us at a gallery going, really?

[Matthew Mercer]

The color captures it.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah, it's got an iridescent shit.

[Andy Richter]

I like it.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I don't know what it means.

[Matthew Mercer]

A penteveral trained wizard, a master of antiquities, an arcane marshal, and the proprietor of this place of magical art.

[Marisha Ray]

How many mages does it take?

[Matthew Mercer]

How many majors does it take? How many humanities mages does it take?

[Marisha Ray]

Oh, no.

[Matthew Mercer]

And a cantrip. You gaze at the mural. This little illusion.

[Marisha Ray]

Is there going to be some sort of secret message in this shit. Keep going, Keep going. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

[Matthew Mercer]

Gazing past. There is the mural before you finished with the paint. It's stunning. There's a couple murals throughout that Shadia's finished in this time is which with her team. The minor illusion you're getting on the paint is a foil wrapping. It is weak magic foil wrapped over something. Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

It's concealing the goods.

[Matthew Mercer]

Concealing the goods. And as you look at the mural, it's like if you're listening to some twinkly ethereal something like a thumb piano or an ocarina, some little small kind of thing. And then you realized you're standing on a 2 mile tall subwoofer that is playing a bass note so deep and so low that you couldn't hear it over for the twinkly little ocarina music. And as all of you tap into that bass note, the school that you register incredibly potently is actually. I think. I think it's two schools first and foremost. And it's actually at the edge point of where the schools meet. You know, like the schools of wizardry are. Yeah. The schools of them are adjacent, and there's places where they blur and blend. And a lot of times it's wizards, basically, like, the categories are, like, wizard created, more or less meaning. Like, the wizards find it useful to categorize them this way. But magic might know no bounds of its own kind of situation.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah.

[Sam Riegel]

Of course.

[Matthew Mercer]

Potent at first, the noise is like this feeling is so potent that it's hard to even pinpoint. And you realize that you are feeling a hum of the exact center point between the schools of conjuration and necromancy.

[Marisha Ray]

Well, I hate that.

[Sam Riegel]

Yeah.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay.

[Sam Riegel]

Huh.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's terrifying.

[Marisha Ray]

And then minor illusion was the. Was the mask.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah. With this sort of illusory overlay on top of that.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

So someone who is familiar with the arcane. There is an outer layer of obfuscation on this to mask something stronger so that its initial read is weak sauce.

[Matthew Mercer]

When really underneath is a very faint, not even an active spell, a faint residue of illusory. In the same way that almost like an instantaneous spell leaves a minor residue. There's a little bit of illusion magic on this, but that's a very carefully laid obfuscation. As you said, it's a mask around this deeper, potent magical energy. That magical energy on what you got at 26 is your detect. Magic is bringing back the school of conjuration. And I think on conjuration, you specifically don't. Yeah, it's. It is There. There is a. There is a. A powerful school of conjuration, and then there's necromancy. They're both very powerful. But if you had to say which was slightly more powerful, I think you'd actually say conjuration is the. Is the deeper, more profound note.

[Marisha Ray]

All right, so saying all this out loud, going off of kind of what you were. I think you were on the right track, Azune. Mm.

[Sam Riegel]

What does that mean? Conjuration and necromancy as a component.

[Marisha Ray]

Feels like you would summon something real nasty.

[Sam Riegel]

Yep.

[Marisha Ray]

A lot of times you need some sort of paint. Chalk, tauc powder, some sort of something to paint runic circles, to summon something. Maybe that's what this was originally meant for.

[Liam O'Brien]

Well, there's a lot of options. This could be.

[Marisha Ray]

Am I off base with that? Am I on base with that?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

You would know better than me.

[Liam O'Brien]

This could be something to speak to someone who's passed. Well, this could be to speak with someone who's dead. This could be to bring someone back. This could be part of what happened to Octis for all wings.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Those all seem really likely. I've read a tale or two. Isn't conjuration also about conjuring doorways?

[Marisha Ray]

Oh, fuck.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh.

[Marisha Ray]

Oh, fuck. Well, we already know there's been some shit going on with the Taconuses being really fixated on the idea of there's been all these demons and whatnot coming from other planes. You think this is to actually paint a doorway?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Maria? I don't know. This is over my head. I run a dog and pony show here. I don't know, but I've read. I've read a lot. People used to be able to jump halfway around the world.

[Liam O'Brien]

This was given to you.

[Marisha Ray]

Where did you get these from, though? Bellair. Where'd you get these paints from?

[Liam O'Brien]

Thiazi. I was handed them, but they're.

[Sam Riegel]

I mean, I guess it's just the barrels themselves that are the hand and wheel. The paints. I don't know if they would know anything about the paints.

[Liam O'Brien]

They certainly had their fingers in quite a bit, haven't they?

[Marisha Ray]

Well, I mean, it's a hand and wheel, like you said. They make blank runic discs. Perhaps, you know, if they have a little bit of a slight in terms of a specialty in making ceramics that are designed to hold magic. Right. So it could be that these amphoras were designed for keeping highly magical substances.

[Liam O'Brien]

Your brother wanted three things. Wanted you to have the paint. He wanted you to talk to her, help her.

[Marisha Ray]

Help me with what?

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[Matthew Mercer]

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[Matthew Mercer]

Bro.

[Marisha Ray]

Hang on. The dungeon master was about to say something important. Now I want to know.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go ahead.

[Sam Riegel]

Go ahead.

[Matthew Mercer]

Actually, anyone who wants to give me an investigation check? Also right now, in this moment.

[Sam Riegel]

Investigation.

[Marisha Ray]

What an okay investigation. Anybody?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I rolled balls.

[Liam O'Brien]

I've got a dot in that big seven here.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Big seven.

[Travis Willingham]

Me too.

[Matthew Mercer]

Seven. Eleven.

[Sam Riegel]

I'm a terrible.

[Marisha Ray]

I rolled an 18.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Let's go. Yay.

[Marisha Ray]

So we're talking 22.

[Matthew Mercer]

22. Yeah. I think looking at the amphora, you recognize the symbol of hand and wheel on it. Hands and wheel Ceramics. What's interesting is you have your beautifully appointed maximalist apartment. You have some stuff by hand and wheel. They're great. They do good work. You have some plates from them, a lovely home set. It's a matching set. They're beautiful. Their symbol is such that they have a little. They have a trademark. They have their press that they put into the things that they make. But you realize that the ones you have on your plates at home are not the ones you saw in the spellglift. The spellgliff one is the same symbol, but it has a small quill on it, which you realize is actually part of the safety considerations of the city when people are making magical stuff. These amphoras have the same imprint from the spell glyph part of the company, Meaning that even though they're not magical, these are made.

[Marisha Ray]

They've got the stamp of approval from

[Matthew Mercer]

them, special approval to be able to hold magical stuff or do magical stuff, which I think you would know off the top of your head, means that these are special, expensive, probably custom made.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Probably.

[Matthew Mercer]

Probably made to order. Meaning that there is a potential. They're also quite large. Right. So I think that you would look at these. You feel this powerful magical energy coming from within the paint and specifically from within the murals. It almost feels like the stuff in the murals is a little bit more potent even than the stuff in the actual AM4, although it's present there as well. You. Yeah, but the. Similarly, you also. I think you feel on that investigation check that you're like, these amphora are special enough and expensive enough that a follow up could probably be brought with auras. You know what I mean? If you come in and be like, hey, you sold my friend's some forks. They'd be like, what? But if they're like, hey, my friend came in here and bought the trebuchet last week, they're not going to be like, which one? You know, it's like they're going to know. Right. I think that's the. That's the takeaway.

[Marisha Ray]

So potential follow up conversation with Oris is definitely on the table. I think it's also, I'm wondering, like, do you think that just the sheer act of Shadia painting with these paints kind of activated them a little bit?

[Liam O'Brien]

Absolutely.

[Marisha Ray]

Where's Shadia? Is she here?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

She. It cut out about an hour ago. I'm going to just rest my hand on what looks like a dryish portion of the mural. Does anything out of the ordinary happen when I touch the wall?

[Marisha Ray]

You beat me to it.

[Matthew Mercer]

What are you feeling as you touch it?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

What am I feeling?

[Matthew Mercer]

What are you feeling as you touch it?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

In the picture, you mean?

[Matthew Mercer]

No, no, I mean not what you're feeling with your. But with your heart. What is Hal feeling in the moment where he touches the painting?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I think trepidation to at how far down the rabbit hole we've gone.

[Matthew Mercer]

You touch the painting and it, you know, smooth to the touch again, very well rendered. Beautiful.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

But I do not move my hand past Murzot in the picture.

[Matthew Mercer]

No, no.

[Sam Riegel]

I'd like to join. How? As you're studying the paint, and before you let your hand go, I kind of just touch your shoulder and I say, how's right? Here is I'm just going to tell you what I've learned from you. You're touching the act of creation, and your daughter is all over this mural. When you watch her create, what does that do? Because I think what makes this component come alive is the intention of the person that uses it for whatever that they're making as something that is left behind.

[Liam O'Brien]

And your brother would know exactly what

[Matthew Mercer]

you would do with it. Noise of footsteps approaching. Rushing to the top of the amphitheater, the top of the staircase. Drangor Tosh. Your dance master. They're in their early 40s. They are a wiry, muscular, ropey Orcish dance instructor. They have a shaved head. And they rush in. Trangar looks at you and goes, what is it? Misha's been arrested. No. I stopped by his flat, his apartment, and there were some people outside of the cafe. They were asking questions. There was a broken glass in the window of his home. They.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Was he harmed?

[Matthew Mercer]

We don't know. I don't think so. He walked out under his own volition, but he was manacled.

[Marisha Ray]

Do you happen to know if he was at the gala the other night? At House Divinos?

[Matthew Mercer]

No, no. Misha at House Divinos? No.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Under whose purview? Where were they taking him?

[Matthew Mercer]

Arcane Marshals.

[Sam Riegel]

Who was in charge of that?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Did you?

[Matthew Mercer]

I wasn't there, but they said that a lieutenant of the Marshals came in.

[Sam Riegel]

Okay, well, there's only a few of us. I need to get there so I can get ahead of this. Maybe I can get some answers.

[Marisha Ray]

I bet that answers the question of what happened to Dimitus.

[Sam Riegel]

Yes,

[Taliesin Jaffe]

we know Nothing. We don't know. Under what pretense, nothing.

[Matthew Mercer]

Someone asked where he was being taken, and they were struck across the jaw with a gauntlet.

[Marisha Ray]

Arcane. Marshal's just gonna start arresting mages.

[Sam Riegel]

They should be. They shouldn't be.

[Marisha Ray]

Seems to be the case.

[Sam Riegel]

Well, unfortunately, if they're doing something that's against the protocol that's been set forth in the city, then we're meant to report it. I will find out. We're not all cut from the same cloth.

[Marisha Ray]

That's the problem, Zunai.

[Sam Riegel]

I know, I know.

[Liam O'Brien]

Well, this is something we can all take care of together at least.

[Marisha Ray]

Should we all go together?

[Liam O'Brien]

I think so. There would be no suspicion with the four of us having an opinion on this together.

[Marisha Ray]

I'm gonna turn and just look at the mural one more time. Is now a time for this? Okay, I want kind of like zone out on the mural. And this mural is representative of this era in the history of our.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

It's multiple generations of the people of Do Makyark from pre Loss of the gods up until today.

[Marisha Ray]

If you all can give me just a minute, gather your things, get ready to go. Just give me a second.

[Liam O'Brien]

Okay.

[Marisha Ray]

Is now the time? Can I do a little augury situation?

[Matthew Mercer]

Sure.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

We defy augury.

[Marisha Ray]

Murray is going to walk center stage. No, she's going to walk out into the amphitheater. She's gonna walk into the center, and she's gonna sit in the front center row in the center seat, and she's just going to stare at the mural and she's gonna take in the whole

[Liam O'Brien]

set

[Marisha Ray]

and go almost into a meditative state. Her eyes fog over, and if anyone was looking closely enough, they might see what almost appears to be little glints, little shimmer, almost like the faintest of stars in a far distant galaxy. As she zones out and wants to meditate on everything that they had learned, but also everything that this mural represents and everything with the paints and just try and take in any glint of further information of what's happening.

[Matthew Mercer]

You reach out with your augury, there is so much information, the amount of vibrations that you feel, your different gem teeth all. Each one of them sort of humming at a different frequency. If you're looking for every signal at the same time, all you get is noise. And you can feel as you begin to. First of all, the murals painted on the outside of the boxes of these little sort of like viewing boxes where people sit, you realize that most of the murals actually face the stage. They're decorations. It's almost like the beautiful Statuary of cherubs looking down at an auditorium. Right. Like the art is almost collected to be in the same position as the audience. They are one. The figures of the murals are in and of the audience because the stage, of course, is rendered to hold the performance. It's almost like these murals are here to watch. You reach out with that information and realize that you're getting all information, which is the same as getting no information and need to focus and drill down. To get a good answer, you need a good question. What is the knowledge Murray is reaching out for in this moment?

[Marisha Ray]

What is the knowledge Murray is reaching

[Matthew Mercer]

out for at this moment?

[Marisha Ray]

New spell who this?

[Matthew Mercer]

New spell who this Technically, automatically you receive an omen about the results of a course of action that you plan to take. You propose what you are planning on doing, and it tells you whether this will be good or ill. I'm happy to stretch that a little bit if it makes sense for Murray to be able to do so.

[Marisha Ray]

I think. I think, like a lot of the question is going back to the three things that the Azzy said at the end, which is like paints Murray thimble and. Essentially wanting to figure out at least. At least if we are on the right track and we're not going off on a wild. We're not so incorrect that it's going to spiral us off onto the wrong path.

[Matthew Mercer]

Let me ask then, are you seeking to know? Because there are three different. You mentioned three things the Ozzy said, which is him helping you, him getting the paint from Blair and then. And the last things that he wanted to say to Thimble. Of those three, which of them does your mind go to as essentially asking, does this bode doom or does it bode well for the future, the paint yourself or Thimble?

[Marisha Ray]

Things have been moving so quickly over these past three days. Marie hasn't even fully begun to process her relationship with the Ozzy. And I don't think she's fully even accepted that he's actually gone for her. She knows if you play stupid games, you win stupid games, prizes. And the Azzi knew that as much as Murray does. And both of them are in the business of big risks and big rewards. The Azzi for Murray, in a way, as a dark, they were cohorts. And what happened to Thiazi can easily, easily happen to Murray. He knew that. I think she's trying to process in a way, like if she is, she can't be sad for Thiazi's death. She can be regretful. But at the end of the day. Thiazi knew exactly what the risks were and what he signed up for. As does Murray. And if she questions that, then that reflects on her and everything that they worked for over the years. Years. The best silver lining that I think she has almost been trying to convince herself of is that that adage and probably falsehood, that the Aussie died doing what he loved. But what the fuck was he doing? And what the fuck am I doing? Murray needs help. Help Murray. Outside of maybe her own mental faculties. And questioning those, what does Murray need help with? What the fuck does he want me to do in this post mortal era without the Aussie?

[Matthew Mercer]

Throughout all of the noise, all of the humming. Magic, conjuration, necromancy, the Taconis. What? Death and doorways. Oh, opening doors to death. Did Thiazi set you up for enacting an apocalyptic plan? Seeing conjuration and necromancy doesn't fill you with any great sense of bravery. And there's Thiazi, one of the most reckless men you ever knew. Who Hal saw ride in on a white horse. Who Balare personally had contempt for. Who, ah. Zune felt that he had been given a marching order. This mad Pied Piper figure, was he even a good man? He launched an arrow from a bow and then died before it hit its mark. The path you walk right now seems to seek to speed that arrow forward to the target that the Aziz selected for us.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

It.

[Matthew Mercer]

How much faith do you give to a man who wielded the liar's blade before his brother inherited it? How much doubt can you put in a man who never stopped believing that the world could be fairer? You reach past this with your arm. A piece of divination. Divination. School of magic. Seeking truth, knowledge. Azune said these things might be components of a larger spell. The humming of conjuration and necromancy is a component, but the spell has not been cast. It has, frankly. And the metaphor hits you thunderstruck. In the moment, staring out these schools, this paint, whatever Thiazi's plan was has merely set the stage. Something far greater will happen still. In this moment, you vibrate and hum with an understanding that you as a wizard, past your fury and your passion for justice, past your love for your home. You have spent so many days and hours fighting for a place dedicated to something that inspires this moment. You find that brief little candle in yourself, Past the warrior, past the berserker, past the person standing up for those around her. You find that little candle in the middle of your heart. That if things were kinder, would just love being a wizard. The world hums with potential divination. There are some schools of magic yet to make their will known in the stage that has been set here. Past that conjuration and necromancy, you feel perhaps an even greater wave or tempest of illusion. Divination, Transmutation. A background hum of all of Ahriman singing behind you. And in this moment, you feel a profound connection between all things. I think in this first augury you feel the glimmer also of an arcane thesis. This place before you is set to speak and be heard by many. There are forces moving on this world. People need to know they're not alone. You feel a hum and a vibration and an inkling of a wizard's knowledge that there might be a way to be heard by many. Great strife lies before you. You. But that strife is unavoidable. If you turn from this path, the strife will wait for you in the darkness. If you continue on this path, you will face that strife in the light, perhaps with many others by your side.

[Liam O'Brien]

Hell,

[Marisha Ray]

This is gonna be a damn good show.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I still have to put it up during her. I want you to find the rest of the company to tell everyone that I am. That I'm handling it. All right? Tell everyone to go home. I don't want anyone else getting snatched up off the street tonight. We don't know what's going on. Find Shadia. Tell her to go to Elodie's. Tell her to wait with her mother and her sister. And I will find them as soon as I can. Can you do that for me?

[Matthew Mercer]

I can't. I'll do it right now.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Hal.

[Matthew Mercer]

Are you going to be all right?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Yes. It's going to be fine. We'll get it sorted.

[Matthew Mercer]

I'll go get it done. Drenger embraces you and then takes off to see it done as fast as possible. You know, Azane, that you do have the authority to. If this is true, that Misha has been taken by the arcane marshals, you can absolutely not only gain access to speak to Misha, but also bring those that would. If Misha has been arrested and it's a public thing, people that are going to advocate on Misha's behalf in a potential trial can be allowed to confer with the person who's being detained.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Beautiful.

[Sam Riegel]

Then let's get going. Whenever you're ready. Are you okay?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Great. We're all doing great.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Come here. Come closer to me. I sort of wander just to the edge of the realm at the bottom. Give me your hands. I take yours. And I take yours. And we close the loop. Misha Undergore. Above the table is the master Dramatis Arcana. For this theater, it's stagecraft. This theater is run on magic. We deal in illusion, sound, light, trickery, truth, lies. It's all harmless. It is all stagecraft, mostly. And I grip Baulaire's hand. And here, in this ancient place, steeped in history, I set aside stagecraft and speak old language. Rongjani. Words that pull at the strings of power. I pass the pulse and cast aid. And my heart passes through each of you three.

[Matthew Mercer]

And

[Taliesin Jaffe]

you feel yourself fortified. And all of you get five temporary hit points.

[Sam Riegel]

Actual hit points.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

And actual hit points. So you're five higher.

[Sam Riegel]

Five higher. Your max hit points increased by five.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Yes. For eight hours. I don't know what's going to happen next. I don't know if we're doing a show. I don't know if we're going to see tomorrow. Let's get the fuck out of here.

[Marisha Ray]

Let's go. Get her up, boys.

[Sam Riegel]

Let's go.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hell, yes. You guys take off and I presume head altogether to the Brethren Hall.

[Liam O'Brien]

Yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

Arriving there, entering into this place, you walk in. It's a little bit of a ghost town, but you walk in, see some Einfausen standing around, and you walk with enough authority that. And also you guys have enough status as well, that you're not being questioned here. Like the Pentevral or the Arcanad. Coming to speak to the Arcane marshals is not untoward at all. No one would think to question this. This is not. And again, the fact that you've just been assigned to the hallowed round to. I have the paperwork to prove it. Yes, you actually, weirdly, as much as you have been sent to oversee them with extreme prejudice, it's now the reason Hal can be here. So you walk in and walk up and see some other Arcane marshals you see there is filling out some paperwork at his desk, looking extremely put upon because the record keeper has been let go. Is Lieutenant Shammad Il Kafsarah. Shamad is. This is.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I don't know.

[Matthew Mercer]

I have to write this in Helvarian.

[Sam Riegel]

I approach. Lieutenant.

[Matthew Mercer]

Lieutenant, how's it going? How did it go with the. Hello. Hi, group.

[Sam Riegel]

Colleagues.

[Matthew Mercer]

Colleagues.

[Sam Riegel]

Got it.

[Matthew Mercer]

Plaza to be us. All right.

[Sam Riegel]

Well, you'll get the report. It's a bit of a mess.

[Matthew Mercer]

Gotcha.

[Sam Riegel]

But you were on an assignment as well. You apprehended somebody yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

We just worked over at the rookery and apprehended someone suspected of arcane conspiracy. This was Misha Undragor.

[Sam Riegel]

Suspected of arcane conspiracy. Where did this come from?

[Matthew Mercer]

We had a report filed from a steward at Obermus Manor. The Taconis Manor. Ah.

[Sam Riegel]

Mm. Very interesting. What have you gathered? What does the suspect say for himself? Can I look at your report?

[Matthew Mercer]

Sure. That's probably better. And you see, he gestures like, let's not talk about it in front of the civilians, but, yeah. He hands the report to you. It's half completed. You can infer what directives he was given, because you see that Misha is being accused of arcane conspiracy for a theft of sorceress heirlooms from Obramis Manor. And he was being questioned about his accomplice, Demetus Blix.

[Sam Riegel]

There it is.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Aha.

[Sam Riegel]

As I'm reading it, I will. As if I'm reading out loud in my mind. Actually, no, because you'll see me do this. I'll just take that in and I'll share that later. I'd like to. It appears that I'm on an investigation that might overlap with this. I would like to see. Speak to the suspect. Is he in a cell?

[Matthew Mercer]

He's in holding. Yeah, absolutely. Okay.

[Sam Riegel]

These are some people that are working with me. Colleagues from the Penteveral, from the Arcanon that are.

[Matthew Mercer]

He looks at you for a second and goes, are you. Sorry?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Your prisoners under my employ. I'm going to assume this is some sort of a misunderstanding. Misha. Misha has worked with us for years. He deals in baubles, lights, magic tricks. I can't imagine he's done the things you are seeing of.

[Matthew Mercer]

You see, he looks and says, you're, of course, welcome with the lieutenant to speak to the suspect right now. Can I be forthcoming with you, Mr. Fang?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

You are, yes.

[Matthew Mercer]

You should convince your employee to talk with us. We're not looking for Mr. Undergor. Mr. Undergor is not the target of this investigation, to my knowledge. But Mr. Undergor is not producing the information that we need regarding the true target of the investigation. So I think if you can help us convince Mr. Undergor to be a little bit more forthcoming, that will be to his benefit most of all, and yours as well.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

And if he doesn't have the information you are hoping he has,

[Matthew Mercer]

I find it unlikely.

[Marisha Ray]

And the true target that you're going after is this Demetus.

[Matthew Mercer]

Demetus Blix, who we understand. Actually, Professor Magnassen is a student at your university.

[Marisha Ray]

Yes. You think he was the mastermind of this arcane espionage?

[Matthew Mercer]

He was spotted at Obermas Manor stealing from the Taconus.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

So

[Sam Riegel]

allow us to speak to him. Perhaps the suspect will be more forthcoming when he is met with a familiar face.

[Matthew Mercer]

I think that's probably a good idea for him to see a familiar face. He's a little rattled.

[Liam O'Brien]

Do we have any, do we have any leads on Mr. Blix?

[Sam Riegel]

Do we have any leads on Mr. Blix, aside from the suspect that you have in custody?

[Matthew Mercer]

We are really hoping that this is the lead on Demetus Blix.

[Marisha Ray]

So they do not have Demitus Blix is what he's alluding to.

[Sam Riegel]

That's what he seems like.

[Matthew Mercer]

Demetus Blix is that large.

[Sam Riegel]

Is that large?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Yes.

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[Andy Richter]

it's Andy Richter and I'm here to tell you about my podcast, the three Questions with Andy Richter. Each week I invite you to friends, comedians, actors and musicians to discuss these three where do you come from, where are you going, and what have you learned? New episodes are out every Tuesday with guests like Julie Bowe and Ted Danson, Tig Notaro, Will Arnett, Phoebe Bridgers, and more. You can also tune in for my weekly Andy Richter Call in show episodes where me and a special guest invite callers to weigh in on topics like dating, disasters, bad teachers and lots more. Listen to the three Questions with Andy Richter, wherever you get your podcasts,

[Marisha Ray]

I'm

[Matthew Mercer]

Kiana, and I leveled up my business with Shopify. Once I figured out that Shopify was a thing, I never turned back. I can create a site with my eyes closed. Shopify thinks ahead of us, you know, and it thinks about the customer more than anything. Every day I'm thinking about some other new business, but Shopify is doing it to me because it's so easy to use. It's like I can't stop. I'm addicted. Start your free [e-mail] Blueair Blue Signature

[Taliesin Jaffe]

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[Liam O'Brien]

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[Taliesin Jaffe]

Shop blueair.com Official Air Care Partner of the New York Knicks. My God, my vibe on this guy is. I'm talking to him. Is it that he.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I'm trying to ascertain if he really believes that he's got a criminal on his hands. He seems convinced and convictions are strong. Or if it feels like he's pulled in a person that he's trying to squeeze a scripted story out of.

[Matthew Mercer]

Give me an insight check.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

19.

[Matthew Mercer]

You look at Shammaad, tall human man. He's got a thick mustache, shaven head. He looks at you with a sort of condescending glare. Shammaad has made his way as an arcane marshal by cutting a really large corner, which is if you just assume everyone's guilty, you find the guilty ones most of the time. Or so he thinks. And all it costs is a little bit of discomfort and terror amongst the not guilty, which is, in his estimation, an increasingly small number of people. Wow.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Well, let's get. Thank you for your assistance.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, good luck. If I find anything that corroborates with your report, I'll pick up your report from Dalla. And if I find anything that corroborates, I'll give it to you.

[Sam Riegel]

Okay,

[Matthew Mercer]

great.

[Sam Riegel]

Is Dalla here?

[Matthew Mercer]

I believe that she's parked. Yeah, up in the offices.

[Sam Riegel]

Okay, I'm going to tackle one thing at a time. Give a him a nod, and I'm going to lead the group to the holding cell.

[Matthew Mercer]

You all walk into a holding cell where manacle to a large wooden chair bolted to the ground, a sort of fat upper lip with a small split in it. Is a sort of orc in his late 60s. He's alive normally. Lively, spindly old guy.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

This is like punching Joel Gray.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Oh, boy.

[Matthew Mercer]

Who looks up and goes, hal, Hal.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Hey, old friend.

[Matthew Mercer]

I Don't know what I did. They're asking for. God, I don't. Officer. Lieutenant.

[Sam Riegel]

I'm sorry for what happened to you. We're gonna see if we can help you.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Tell us how it happened. Just to start.

[Matthew Mercer]

They're asking for. They're asking for this kid. I don't know if you would have known him. He's come by some of the shows. I used to get him the penny tickets to come by and say, see the shows back at the Lyceum or. Honestly, you know. But Demidus Blix. Young, sweet, gnomish kid, studying at the Pentaveral. Working and studying at the Pentaveral. I've worked with him a couple times in the past. He's a big fan of theater. And he. You know, he's not. He's not a bard. He's not a musician or an artist, but he's an illusionist. And. I don't know, he's knocked around a couple times. They want me to stay where he is. I don't know where he. I don't know where he is. They said that I helped him steal something from House Taconis. That's not. Doesn't sound like Demetus. This is a kid who kept. This is a kid that if you gave him a copper piece, he'd offer to buy you a drink and you'd say, don't buy me a drink with my copper piece I just gave you. That's for you to have.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Doesn't sound like you either.

[Sam Riegel]

When was your last encounter with him?

[Matthew Mercer]

Yesterday morning. Yesterday morning? He showed up later in the morning. He came and spoke, but he came and spoke to me, and he asked me to go get drinks with him and talk to him real briefly. He. He's done a lot of consulting with me because he's a really talented kid. But the. You know, he. He works in a path of. Of trying to do these illusions that are not stagecraft, that are. That are. You know, he works on levels of lighting and texture and verisimilitude to truly make, you know, make a wall that runs. Really looks like a real wall, not something that. But he came to me yesterday because I've consulted with him a couple times on some of the finer points because he performed in the Ogremock marketplace. And I helped him out with some showmanship and ways to think about illusion to make them a little more. I don't know, put a little more pep in your step. Things like how to hit a joke with illusion, magic, things like that.

[Marisha Ray]

We All. Thank you for that.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right. I appreciate it. Well, he's a talented kid.

[Marisha Ray]

His sense of humor has always been a bit dry.

[Liam O'Brien]

I liked it.

[Matthew Mercer]

He came to me top of the day yesterday, panicked and thrilled. He. He. You know, he'd been in a hard way since they outlawed performance in the marketplace, and he said that a listing had come in through the. The university's job board, that he told me that one of the sundered houses had reached out to hire a job. Hire a big job. And he asked me if I knew anything about fairy music and if I knew anything about

[Marisha Ray]

shit.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, shit.

[Marisha Ray]

He got hired as, like, the cocktail performance at this party. Is that what we're hearing? Sorry, I'm jumping ahead. This is above table. This is above table. Sorry, I'm doing that thing that I do sometimes.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

We're all there.

[Matthew Mercer]

We're all there. He came. You know, this is. He's a really sharp kid. He just was saying, you know, he's like, he can make anything, but he can't make an illusion of a song that he doesn't know the chord progression to. He can't make the illusion of a piece of poetry unless he knows the style of poetry.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Basic stagecraft.

[Matthew Mercer]

Basic stagecraft. He came and talked to me about sylvan, about telmoran stringed instruments. He came and talked to me about fountains and the kind of. If there were any signature. If there were any magical signatures associated with the House of Royce or associated with fairy craft and everything like that. And I said, well, it's been eight years since the doors to fairy closed, but there's, you know, I tried to steer him in the way. I said, do you want. I said, I can put you in touch with. I mean, if, you know, there's fairies that live here in Dolmaka. They. They stay hidden for the most part, and they're hard to find, but we could probably. And he said he didn't have any time. He said, I have to put it all together today.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

So he came to you so that you could help him bone up his act. They think that you two are involved in something far more nefarious, or at least him.

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, they questioned him about stealing from the House of Jaconis. He said nothing of the kind to me. He was asking about Royce. He's coming to ask him about House Royce. He wanted to know how to write in their. How to write in their script. He wanted to know how to play their music. He wanted to know how to create the feeling of all that. That was what he was doing, but he said it needed to be. He said it had to be ready today. And it was a make or break. The amount of money he was going to get was going to be life changing. He had to get it right.

[Marisha Ray]

He's a lingering threat. He's a witness.

[Liam O'Brien]

He's alive.

[Marisha Ray]

He's alive. They want him dead. He knows. Sorry. Don't worry about it.

[Sam Riegel]

Yeah, this is. We're going to see what we can do to get you out of here. You clearly are not a suspect.

[Matthew Mercer]

You've done no wrong, I swear. I can show you the songbooks. I showed them. I just wrote down all those Telmoran folk songs, have the same three chords. It's not, you know, guess half of them.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

We're gonna get you out of here. This can't stick. This cannot stick.

[Sam Riegel]

No, no, no. Okay, let's step away. We're gonna see what we can do.

[Marisha Ray]

Yes. Give us a second, Misha.

[Sam Riegel]

I wanna take a close look at how busted up his face is. Yeah, he's got a fat lip.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yeah.

[Sam Riegel]

Well, how's the rest of his face looking?

[Matthew Mercer]

He's looking. It looks like as you look at the lip, he goes. They pulled me out of my flat pretty fast and I just hit my face on the side of the door. Lintel. They didn't.

[Sam Riegel]

They didn't actually put their hands on you?

[Matthew Mercer]

Well, they grabbed me, but. No. They didn't strike you. They struck someone out on the street.

[Sam Riegel]

Okay. Doesn't mean they won't later.

[Marisha Ray]

Why would they just randomly strike somebody out on the street with the hell.

[Sam Riegel]

Did somebody try to intervene?

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah.

[Sam Riegel]

Yeah, a Good Samaritan got in the way and that's what they were met with. Okay, Tamizune, let's step outside for a moment. Yes, I'll step away from him, but not quite back to where everybody else is.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hal, I'll see you. Right, of course you will. I'm happy to cooperate. I said everything I knew and they just seemed pissed as hell that I just.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

There's nothing here. Can you put on theater? You put on stories.

[Sam Riegel]

You teach.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

You're a teacher. We're gonna get you out of here. All right? That's what I'm working on today. We're gonna get you out of here as soon as possible.

[Matthew Mercer]

You guys exit from this room with

[Sam Riegel]

just the four of us. Hopefully you find privacy. Okay, so we all know exactly what's going on there, but. There's something really strange about that. At the Palazzo Divinos.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah.

[Sam Riegel]

Did you share above table? Did you share the blue Flame.

[Matthew Mercer]

I shared it with Belair.

[Marisha Ray]

I definitely shared it with Belair. And I think you had caught up at that time. Okay, so, yeah, and I'll reiterate to how just now, I think this very clearly explains Dimnas Blue Flame at House Divinos. It was exactly. It was a sign. So he is a witness. They know that he's a lingering thread and they're gonna come after him. It's just where Timid is.

[Liam O'Brien]

We can just. We can put them in a circle

[Marisha Ray]

right now and I swear to God, this is why intelligence and wisdom are two separate stats. That kid is smart as fuck, but he is a little bit dim witted, naive when it comes to indubitably reading situations.

[Liam O'Brien]

Well, clearly we can add to the narrative in a reasonable way. He stole from Taconis. He was attempting to fence or had been hired by the devivos to purchase some options. I'm well aware, but let's just go with it. They were unavailable, clearly to buy the merchandise. And so he's on his way to the Royce to see if they will buy the missing artifact.

[Matthew Mercer]

You guys have been traveling across the city a couple times today. So it's getting into the late afternoon. As you guys are exiting this chamber with Misha. I'd like anyone who wants to give either a history or an arcana check in this moment, do history.

[Marisha Ray]

Okay, I'll do arcana and I'll join for history.

[Matthew Mercer]

History.

[Marisha Ray]

Arcana. To history.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

17 on history.

[Matthew Mercer]

17.

[Marisha Ray]

Icky. 12.

[Sam Riegel]

19 arcana.

[Liam O'Brien]

11 history.

[Matthew Mercer]

11 history. You got a 17 history. 19 arcana. On a 19 arcana in a 17 history. I think both of you guys would be aware, especially like Hal, actually going back as you feel that sword at your side, feeling the feeling of having served in the Falconer's Rebellion. That's the difference is that you both fought in the Falconer's Rebellion against Sundered Houses. One of the things you remember fighting, you didn't fight in the rebellion, but you fought in the war of Axe and Vinehow is that sorcerous Houses get their magic from a source. They get it from a connection to a potent magical font or a direct, divine, celestial, demonic, whatever ancestor, or something potent and powerful in the world that gives effortless magic, but it doesn't give versatility. The Draconis wield the magic of Death. The Royce wield the magic of Faerie. The Royce have always had very powerful illusion and enchantment spells. And I think you both remember on that 17 and 19 sorcerers do not choose actively their spells. They access Them, they increase their spellcasting potential. The tucannis, historically and in the terms of the arcane, have no access to the school of illusion.

[Sam Riegel]

So they needed someone that did. Okay. Oh, boy. There was no.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Does that mean they roped him in?

[Marisha Ray]

I think they roped him in. I think that means that like they

[Taliesin Jaffe]

honey potted him in with a gig,

[Sam Riegel]

they needed him to create the foil that we saw wrapped around the paints.

[Marisha Ray]

But is this even about the paints or is this about the coverup?

[Sam Riegel]

It's about the COVID up.

[Marisha Ray]

They made him cover up the scene.

[Matthew Mercer]

Yes.

[Sam Riegel]

That's why there's the illusion of fairy magic. To cover up the necromancy.

[Marisha Ray]

And he somehow got away.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Yeah. He must have a cover story for why they need him.

[Sam Riegel]

What is it?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

The sadist.

[Matthew Mercer]

Stolen.

[Liam O'Brien]

So let's lean into it. Do we want to get your friend out right now or is that too dangerous?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I walk away from these three and I find Shamod. Yeah, hi. Sorry to interrupt.

[Sam Riegel]

Sorry.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Yeah. We've just spoken to him. I'm sure this can be worked out. I have known Misha Andregor since I was a boy. He's taught children, performers of all ages. He is an old man. And yes, he's met this kid. But we are talking about a coincidence. I know half the council. I know half the city. I have contracts in place for the theater. He is sanctioned to teach what he does to my troupe. Everything is. The T's are crossed, the I's are dotted. I'm sure we can work something out. I'm sure. I'm sure you and I can work something out. And my hand goes ching on a little sack of coin on my waist.

[Matthew Mercer]

Go ahead and give me a persuasion roll.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I would like to offer to bring him to my home for a house arrest of sorts while you figure out what you. Persuasion.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's persuasion.

[Sam Riegel]

I also gave you a heroic inspiration at the beginning of the day.

[Matthew Mercer]

That's true.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Which is a. How many?

[Sam Riegel]

A reroll.

[Matthew Mercer]

It's a reroll.

[Sam Riegel]

If you wanted to reroll. Yeah.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

That is. Let me just check my features as a bard for the College of eloquence. Yeah. That's a 23.

[Matthew Mercer]

Everybody here at the Brother in Hall appreciates what you're doing for the city. His eyes drag down your body to that purse at your side. But it's a complicated situation. And he eyes the purse once again.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

We all just want peace in this city.

[Matthew Mercer]

He doesn't even move to touch it once it lands on his death. He looks over at one of the inspectors and Says. We can remit Mr. Undragor to our friend's custody here. We'll find him at your home in the rookery.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

You can find us at the rookery staked on my name. You know me. This city knows me. I'm not going anywhere.

[Matthew Mercer]

I appreciate your forthrightness.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

I appreciate your understanding.

[Matthew Mercer]

He smiles and nods. And you see that one of the inspectors goes over and releases Misha and brings him out. He looks and says, is everything going to be all right?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Yeah.

[Sam Riegel]

Yeah.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

She's going to come stay with me tonight.

[Matthew Mercer]

Okay. All right. Thank you. And if I hear anything from Demetus, I'll let you all know. And you see that Lt. Shamad looks over and just goes, thank you for all your help, Mr. Undragor. And please, if you do remember anything, let us know. And you see that Shamod smiles and lets you guys walk out of there as the goal just rests. How many gold pieces are in that bag?

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Let's say 50 gold are in that bag.

[Matthew Mercer]

Great. You leave 50 gold on the table, which is about a month's salary for that guy.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

He's got helped raise my kids. Yeah.

[Matthew Mercer]

He looks and says, well, congrats to him. And Congrats to you, Mr. Fang. I'm excited for opening night. And he smiles as you guys prepare to leave this place. Mm.

[Sam Riegel]

I'd like to get that report, please.

[Matthew Mercer]

He hands it over to you. Great.

[Sam Riegel]

Cool. I'll leave with it.

[Matthew Mercer]

You see, he looks up and says, the old guy's a dead end.

[Sam Riegel]

Looks to be. So we'll see.

[Matthew Mercer]

All right, we got other. We'll just keep digging. You guys exit that place. As you do, you walk out under the gray sky as the sun begins to get a little bit lower. You see that? Misha looks out and says,

[Sam Riegel]

I don't

[Matthew Mercer]

know how you do it, Hal. Let's see. You're a magician. I don't know how you do it.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Learn it from you.

[Matthew Mercer]

Ah, give me a break. Oh, God, what a frightening day. Good grief. You think Demetus is gonna be all right? I don't know. I don't know.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

We're gonna try to. We're gonna try to find them ourselves and see. See what's what.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah. The day's not over, Misha.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Seems like a misunderstanding.

[Marisha Ray]

I'm gonna also rake my nail across my jimmed teeth and whisper to you with a message. Let's not forget the house. Daconis is watching. House. House.

[Sam Riegel]

Oh, no. I certain that he's being watched by other houses as well.

[Marisha Ray]

In fact, actually, with you saying that I'm gonna once again, I'm gonna take while we walk, I'm gonna take out my compact and just do a little powder under my eyes, these bags. And I'm gonna cast the invisibility and just see if anyone is watching us as we exit.

[Matthew Mercer]

No one is watching as you exit.

[Marisha Ray]

As I keep it up. I'm just gonna stay perceptive.

[Matthew Mercer]

You guys together staying perceptive. This night you are supposed to meet with Romina Rountree at the Seven Stars. There are a few hours before that has yet to occur somewhere. Olgood Akarat, your business partner has the body of Thiazi Fang. Much unfolds here in the city. But you know one thing. Demidus Blix knows something of what happened to the Palazo Divinos and he has not yet been found. That's all for this episode of Critical Role.

[Marisha Ray]

Oh, boy. What have you gotten yourself into, Dimitas?

[Sam Riegel]

We've gotta find that busker.

[Marisha Ray]

Did I do that

[Matthew Mercer]

killer work, gang? Holy smokes. Thank you so much, everyone watching at home. And as always, is it Thursday yet?

[Marisha Ray]

See you in the cool down.

[Matthew Mercer]

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

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Time.

[Matthew Mercer]

Hey, this is Will Arnett, host of Smartless. Smartless is a podcast with myself and Sean Hayes and Jason Bateman, where each week one of us reveals a mystery guest to the other two. We dive deep with guests that you love, like Bill Hader, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Aniston, David Beckham, Kristen Stewart, and tons more. So join us for a genuinely improvised and authentic conversation filled with laughter and newfound knowledge to feed the smartless mind. Listen to Smartless now on the SiriusXM app. Download it today. And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual, even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

[Taliesin Jaffe]

Hey, everyone, check out this.

[Marisha Ray]

This guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?

[Matthew Mercer]

Oh, no. We help people customize and save on

[Liam O'Brien (Ad Read)]

car insurance with Liberty Mutual.

[Matthew Mercer]

Together we're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.

[Marisha Ray]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league. Anyways.

[Matthew Mercer]

Only pay for what you [e-mail].

[Marisha Ray]

liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.