Transcript
The Blade's Edge: Hello, one and all, and welcome back to the Blade's Edge, a D&D actual play podcast where we are currently playing through Curse of Strahd. This is our penultimate episode, our second to last.
Kyle B: Hell yeah.
The Blade's Edge: um And before I get started here, i have dropped um ah some stuff over on our Patreon for patrons only. ah First and foremost of those is ah Crafting Valentine.
The Blade's Edge: So our mad mage, Vanificus Ridley Valentine, Over there, i I crafted him at his full power. So we've been sort of ah he's been sort of regaining power as we go along, and I sort of crafted that just for the patrons to hear.
The Blade's Edge: also ah did, just for the patrons only, I did an entire Patreon-only episode where I prepped all the work I needed to do for another podcast called Your Mom and Dad Podcast, where two of my...
The Blade's Edge: ah Best friends do a podcast that's mostly about reality TV and like Bachelor and stuff. But every now and then they bring me into a host D&D for them. We've had guests on that have ranged from other podcast hosts to former bachelorettes um and and beyond. ah Comedians, it's always a blast. And I did an entire episode up on the Patreon of prep for that, where you can hear my thought process going into it.
The Blade's Edge: ah So if you're into that, go check it out. But it is time for us to dive back in into the world of Barovia.
The Blade's Edge: There's um really quickly, why doesn't everybody here go ahead and mark down for this for this session, mark down inspiration. We're going to mark down a DM inspiration here for all the the gang.
Kyle B: And I am inspired in real life.
The Blade's Edge: For D'Saun, Stal Vadak, Anabi, for Bash.
Trev: Thank you, Bri, but also, yeah yikes.
The Blade's Edge: um
The Blade's Edge: ah Why is he giving me free stuff? Why is he giving me free stuff?
Trev: hey Yeah.
Kyle B: No, no. Hospital.
Trev: This is like when you find a couple potions in a video game before entering um a room.
Kyle B: Hell yeah.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah.
Trev: You're like, hmm.
Kyle B: but but butop but up o
Tommy: He just wants us feeling good before he rips the rug out from under us.
Trev: Yeah. Yeah.
Trev: yeah
Kyle B: helia
The Blade's Edge: um i also will have um i i i'm confused on when this airs and when it'll be up but there will be a crafting strahd up as well um that will be up on the patreon at some point don't think it's up right now but it might be so uh keep an an eye out for that too if you want to see um how i went about crafting uh monsieur strahd um
The Blade's Edge: But I digress.
The Blade's Edge: Dark clouds hang above Barovia.
The Blade's Edge: Our group, Call the Lightning, has recently been to the Amber Temple, each given a gift that has come with some ah side effect, whether it's Stalvadak now being covered in hair,
The Blade's Edge: ah or Inabi having extra fingers on his hand.
The Blade's Edge: Then you went to Argen Vostholt and you laid to rest the bones of a silver dragon, the order of the silver dragon, and the ghosts of this former force that used to combat Shrod.
The Blade's Edge: Um,
The Blade's Edge: And after that, some time has passed, maybe a day or two. guys can go ahead and give yourself a long rest if you haven't gotten a long rest on your sheet.
Kyle B: Oh, yes, please.
The Blade's Edge: um But as we go through this last sort of prep, As you guys maybe go your own ways, you sit around a campfire after Argenvossoltz and Valentine says, Right, I'm going to head back to Vallaki and I'm going to um sort of get the troops all in order.
The Blade's Edge: ah We've got Star of the Dark, you're going to see Van Richten, yes?
Kyle B: Yeah, I need to go back home.
The Blade's Edge: Okay. Okay. So the Olenst Inquisitors, right, they'll see you. That's great. The Order of the Silver Dragon knows we're heading out in a couple of days' time. The Keepers of the Feather, I'll talk to them in Valaki.
The Blade's Edge: um And...
The Blade's Edge: i Tommy, here what is are you what is the name D'Saun is going by and once he chose Lathander?
Tommy: It's still D'San.
The Blade's Edge: Okay, so it's not okay, cool. Um... He goes, uh, D'Saun, and you're going to, uh, the village of Brovia?
Tommy: Yeah, I'm going to the village.
The Blade's Edge: To bury Alma, yes?
Tommy: Yes, yes.
The Blade's Edge: Okay, well, maybe... Okay, so then you're you'll handle... He's got Van Richten, the almost inquisitors. You've got the ghosts from the graveyard there. Um, when I'm in Valachie, I'll search out the Evgeny.
The Blade's Edge: Um, we've got the druids. I'll talk to the baron and make sure we've got his support. Um... Right. Okay. And break.
Kyle B: Go team!
The Blade's Edge: As you, that was a couple days ago as cut we come through the dark clouds. Rain is falling. ah light drizzle hitting the top of Dasan's head as he stands over the graves.
The Blade's Edge: The graves that say Gilmond, Roy, Valerius,
The Blade's Edge: and an empty plot that once, at one point, had your name, Dasan.
The Blade's Edge: As the rain comes down, some some flowers have been planted at at Gilman's grave and Roy's grave, and you can see at one point the roots ah pop above ground for a second, intertwined the plants from both of their graves.
Tommy: I kind of move the plants aside, um go to the grave. Does the gravestone say, um does it still have my name on it or is there, is it like changed?
The Blade's Edge: um Yeah, I think probably at this point it would have been blank blank slate.
Tommy: Okay. I'll, I'll call our, I'll carve Alma graves into the, into the headstone. and I'll just kneel, take out the ashes,
Tommy: um take out my prayers of the dawn, and lay Alma's ashes to rest.
The Blade's Edge: As you start reading hymns of the dawn.
Tommy: Oh, Hymns of the Dawn, sorry.
The Blade's Edge: You start reading hymns of the dawn. See Barry Alma next to her brother's grave.
The Blade's Edge: A single beam of light comes down on you and the grave. A welcome sight in this dreary realm. You see one beam.
The Blade's Edge: Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. And for a second, D'Saun, maybe you get a little beat of sweat as these eight beams of light almost look like eight spider legs.
The Blade's Edge: But then a ninth and a tenth.
Tommy: sigh of relief.
The Blade's Edge: And then those ten sort of beams cutting through the clouds coalesce into one giant spotlight on you and Alma Graves.
The Blade's Edge: tombstone and that night maybe you spend the night in Vallaki when you're sitting outside with tea in your hand at the grave sites looking at the graves of your friends Gilmund Roy Valerius Alma our fallen heroes At a certain point that night, you begin to see these green ghostly forms all over the graveyard begin to rip themselves from the ground.
Kyle B: you
The Blade's Edge: Knights of wearing armor, you recognize knights wearing armor from a bygone era long ago. People begin to rise up and start marching towards Strahd's castle. You see, and the blink of an eye,
The Blade's Edge: Four familiar faces. Gilmand standing behind Roy, who's sort of sitting down, legs crossed. Gilmand's hand on Roy's shoulder.
The Blade's Edge: Valerius, you look and he's almost looking through your book, The Hymns of the Dawn, nodding and smiling and looking up at you as if to say, finally got it.
The Blade's Edge: No longer does it say Limbs of the Spawn. It says Hymns of the Dawn. And you see Alma ah next to her brother. And she sort of gives you a smile and a nod and looks towards Strathcassle.
Tommy: Yeah, I'd like to go up to Alma and ah place her prayer book in her hands. um This is for you.
Tommy: and thank you for lighting my path. I'll carry the torch from here.
The Blade's Edge: At that moment, you see all around the graveyard torches alight that ring the entire graveyard.
The Blade's Edge: One in particular at the far end as she takes the book and the four of them turn to follow the rest of the ghosts heading on their nightly prowl to fight Strahd.
The Blade's Edge: She turns with the book, one torch at the end of the graveyard as you walk with them. They're all lit, but one, as they walk out, is lit with a green flame.
Tommy: take it.
The Blade's Edge: She grabs this torch and hands it back to you.
Tommy: i take it
Kyle B: Now it's your turn.
The Blade's Edge: um Cool. She sort of um nods, and you hear... ah hear a voice in your head and you realize it's sort of all of these ghosts talking at once.
The Blade's Edge: um You look and see an old woman ah with, you know, a a bite mark on her neck. You see a little boy carrying his own head.
The Blade's Edge: You see a man who's been split into sort of stitched together in this ghostly fashion as they all say.
The Blade's Edge: We follow he who carries the torch.
The Blade's Edge: Alma gives you a wink, and you know that when the time comes and your assault on the castle begins, the ghosts that come from this graveyard will follow he who carries the torch.
Tommy: As I hold the torch in my left hand, I'd like to pull out the sun sword, light it, and just start chanting, A new dawn! A new dawn!
The Blade's Edge: Anudan!
Tommy: A new dawn!
The Blade's Edge: Anudan!
Kyle B: A new dawn.
The Blade's Edge: Anudan! You hear this cacophony of Anudan! Anudan! And we're sort of going to pan out from that the
The Blade's Edge: person watching this. um Anudan! talking about noodles.
Kyle B: Yeah. oan food
The Blade's Edge: um
Tommy: to the ra To the ramen shop!
The Blade's Edge: Anudan! What's your favorite?
Trev: I fucking love New Dawn.
Tommy: place! to the ramenplace
Kyle: you
The Blade's Edge: What's your favorite noodle?
Tommy: yeah
The Blade's Edge: Anudan! Anudan!
Trev: but
The Blade's Edge: um As you are all sort of chanting a new dawn, we pan out and we see back in the town, a little boy looking through a window, and father behind him, keepers of the feather patch on his breast, sharpening a sword.
The Blade's Edge: And from this little boy's point of view, as he looks out into the graveyard, he sees one man alone holding a torch with green flame by himself saying,
The Blade's Edge: A new dawn! A new dawn! A new dawn!
The Blade's Edge: You wake up the next morning, Dasan, and before you leave Barovia to meet back up with the group, pass by the grave, and you see
The Blade's Edge: sitting on top of Alma's grave, flowers placed on it, is the book that you handed her the night before.
Tommy: I'll take up the book and stow it in my pack.
The Blade's Edge: Okay.
The Blade's Edge: Stow it in your pack. And as you're leaving the graveyard, you give one look back.
Kyle B: Thank you.
The Blade's Edge: And you see on ah on a sort sort on like a mausoleum pretty close to you as you look back before you start to head out. Pack on your back, your new torch sort of stashed in the pack. ah You look back and on a mausoleum close to you, you see skittering up the side of it.
The Blade's Edge: there's this kind of big spider.
The Blade's Edge: Just, just, hit it up the side.
Tommy: i
Kyle B: Thank
The Blade's Edge: Not a giant spider, but just like, you know, palm-sized.
Tommy: yeah
Tommy: i look over I say, i'm not afraid of you anymore. I've come to terms with who I am and I'm okay with myself now.
The Blade's Edge: As you say that, you hear a loud sking as a shovel comes out of ah from behind it and a shovel smashes the spider and comes back and you see the spider has been squished on the mausoleum and you see Donovich, the guy who runs the church here,
Kyle B: Hell yeah.
Trev: Fire.
The Blade's Edge: sort of looks looks over at you as it's motion. He goes, so sorry about that. We've had a little bit of a yeah insect problem, but... Almost all taken care of now, one at a time.
Tommy: One at a time.
Tommy: One day at a time.
The Blade's Edge: He smiles as he as he turns to go, and as he turns, you see ah his necklace swaying as as he turns the symbol of Lathander on it.
The Blade's Edge: As you head back to meet up with the rest of the group,
Tommy: Are ah can i are there any like marigolds around? or like what's like I'd like to see if I could find some sort of like yellow dye to paint my shield with like a sun symbol on it.
The Blade's Edge: Oh, yeah, definitely. I think i think maybe that is what maybe that's the gift from Alma. You give her her book, and she can't quite take it to the afterlife with her, so you find it on top of her grave.
The Blade's Edge: And as you grab it, um you see tied to it and with sort of a piece of yarn ah to the outer ah cover is sort of this yellow this yellow dye.
Tommy: Yeah, i like to take this yellow dye, ah sprinkle it on my fingers so like my whole right hand is just yellow, and draw, ah not very well, but just draw sun on my shield um and just say a new oath for the future, ah path towards redemption, and a new dawn for everyone in Barovia.
The Blade's Edge: As you say, redemption and a new dawn, you see the ghosts as you're leaving, sort of walking with you of a a child, sort of a kid in his teens who looks at you completely normal, sort of eating an apple, this ghost, Huck Finn style.
Tommy: Thank you.
The Blade's Edge: And you realize this is Doru. This is the son Donovich who had become ah vampire. And as you swear your new oath to redemption, this sort of normal ghost of this kid, no longer ah vampire, but in death, he looks at you and sort of gives you a nod.
Tommy: I nodded him back. i I'm speechless.
The Blade's Edge: He nods at you, ah physical manifestation of the redemption you now embody. And as you ah go on your path, you swear ah clouds today are just a little less gray.
The Blade's Edge: Maybe you even pass by a couple huts or a couple houses along the way. You see a family. that maybe you've seen before, gaunt and sickly and thin, enjoying a meal.
The Blade's Edge: You see a smile on the mother's face. You see a kid laughing.
The Blade's Edge: Um,
Kyle B: Oh, yeah. yeah
Trev: you
The Blade's Edge: And you make your way back to, ah i assume Vallaki is where you guys are are meeting up before you head out. um And as you do, there is a little ah present waiting for you at the Blue Water Inn, um a little tiny box ah with a tiny little note card on it.
Kyle: Mm-hmm.
Tommy: Yeah, I'll open the card and see who it's from.
The Blade's Edge: um You open the card and this is maybe um something from your past that you had tried to bury deep inside or forget about.
The Blade's Edge: But you see that this is a note from somebody who has, you know, to be dead.
The Blade's Edge: And it says,
The Blade's Edge: I forgive you. We all deserve a second chance.
The Blade's Edge: And it says, Burgomaster Dmitry Kreskov.
Tommy: oh shit
The Blade's Edge: is the Burgomaster of Kresk.
Tommy: who are who I may or may not have tried to poison with wine, allegedly.
Kyle B: ah there it
The Blade's Edge: yes going Going back for 20 some odd sessions, you you you switched out his regular wine bottles with the poisoned wine bottles and ah him and his wife both died.
The Blade's Edge: Because
Trev: Cusco's Poison.
The Blade's Edge: he was poisoned.
Kyle B: Poison for Gooseco. Gooseco's poison.
The Blade's Edge: ah But it says, ah I forgive you. Everybody deserves a second chance. Burgomaster Dmitry Krezkov. And sort of as you read it, the words disappear. And there's just the box laying in front of you.
Kyle B: Believe it or not episodes six and seven were the Wizards of Wine episodes. So, wow.
Tommy: Callback.
Kyle: Lord.
Kyle B: He's
The Blade's Edge: Yes.
Trev: I feel like D'Saan could hold Mjolnir.
Tommy: ah
Trev: You know what i mean? Like he would be worthy of Mjolnir at this point.
Kyle B: heard yeah.
Trev: He's earned it.
Kyle B: he served it yeah
Tommy: I kneel down and just like sobbing, just uncontrollably like shaking. i like open the box.
The Blade's Edge: You open the box and maybe as you do almost Sixth Sense style, you start to have visions of ah you you look around and realize there's people around you.
The Blade's Edge: And you sort of as you're kneeling down and these people were not in your room before people walking around outside village seems crowded. And you realize that in this moment, D'Saun is getting a glimpse of what Barovia does here, which is you are seeing all of the people who have died. And you see knee kneeling down next to you, giving you a sort of knowing look, holding his wife's hand. You see Bergamaster Dmitry Krezkov.
The Blade's Edge: And as you open the box, these visions all disappear. And do you see that in the box is one diamond or 300 gold, the material components needed for revivify.
Tommy: Oh my god.
Kyle: wow
Trev: Sheesh.
Kyle B: Oh yeah.
Tommy: i just, I just remained in my room and I like hold the diamond up to my forehead as I just I'm uncontrollably just crying and under my breath just saying, I'm sorry.
Kyle B: but
Tommy: I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
The Blade's Edge: We pan out from this sort of sobbing, saying, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, through the village of Vallaki, over to the west, from where Alma was buried to where Alma died,
The Blade's Edge: over over a ah bridge, over a lake, into a tower, an underground, Stal Vadak,
The Blade's Edge: We zoom in into this underground where where uh, Van Richten and, uh, Desdrelde Davenire are currently hard at work.
The Blade's Edge: You see that they've got, uh, many ravens around some were ravens from keepers of the feather, some, uh, messengers notes all over the place notes from them asking for help for, from, almost inquisitors who live far away notes returning saying that, uh, you have my sword. You have, uh,
The Blade's Edge: My axe, you have my shield. We will be there. um But as you have returned here, ah sort of to Strelda going around, building last minute sort of weapons, ah taking all of these sort of crossbows and cocking them all the way back, lining them up on racks that they plan to roll out and give to the militias of the towns to help assault Strahd's castle.
The Blade's Edge: And as that happens, Van Richten sort of walking around going, checking out your whole body in construction. His gray hair, um red coat.
The Blade's Edge: He says, so how's it been going?
Kyle B: I think I'm due for some upgrades.
The Blade's Edge: i was thinking the same thing.
Kyle B: i i realized I like to be in control of my own body, not anything else. um And I'm trying to lean into this this angle of being covered in wolf fur.
The Blade's Edge: Amen.
Kyle B: And um can you create me something that allows me to move with the agility of a wolf?
The Blade's Edge: Yes.
The Blade's Edge: Yes. He says, actually, we can take this. And he picks up your sort of a little cannon thing on all fours that was with you. And um he starts to, you know, he finds a seam on it and opens it up. And much like, ah you know, an Iron Man when he puts on that that fist that like transforms into the thing.
The Blade's Edge: ah he As he pulls it apart, you you realize it sort of folds out to be bigger than it seemed on the inside. And he goes, yeah, this is actually something quite like that in here. We'll have to modify it, of course, but we can absolutely do that.
Kyle B: Oh, hell yeah. um And I look him up and down and he's always so well dressed and I used to make fun of him for it, but now I understand the allure.
Kyle B: um And could you put a little bit of red flair on it for me?
The Blade's Edge: Absolutely. You see a montage of you being placed on a table, ah parts of you being opened, ah new parts being added.
The Blade's Edge: While he's at work like a mad scientist, you see Desdrelda going around with a paintbrush with sort of this red paint um going around making markings.
The Blade's Edge: More ravens come in. You hear more information ah from the druids and the barbarians saying that they'll be there. um
The Blade's Edge: that yeah they they get They've gotten word that the werewolves have marched to the castle and have sided with Strahd. um that the hmong that there's ah there was a sighting of an army of mongrel folk from Kresk, deep within Kresk, that has marched with the werewolves to be outside Strahd's castle.
The Blade's Edge: um So you get sort of some some info on the the the enemies, potential enemies, and some info on the allies. And ah you wake up the next morning to the smell of coffee,
The Blade's Edge: you You smell the coffee. You so you hear Desdralda and Van Richten um sort of talking. And as Van Richten makes his way over, he says, um right.
The Blade's Edge: How do you feel?
Kyle B: um I just kind of jump around, um feel my my newfound agility from taking the Infiltrator ah subclass for Artificer.
Kyle B: And I take this little um glowing gem in my palm and just fire it at the wall.
The Blade's Edge: Thank you.
Kyle B: ah And shoots out this cool lightning bolt. And like, think this is going to work just fine.
The Blade's Edge: Uh, he, uh, is nodding along sort of with a smile, Desdralda smiling as well. And you see in this moment, somebody they don't see, ah you see this sort of young ish boy, maybe 18, 19 years old, this ghost sort of hanging around.
The Blade's Edge: and you see as he's like sort of made a note on the schematics, um, without their knowledge. And he sort of looks over at you and, and smiles, but sees you looking at him.
The Blade's Edge: and Van Richten notices you looking somewhere else. And he goes, what is it?
Kyle B: Did you upgrade my ocular functions?
The Blade's Edge: No, we left the head alone.
The Blade's Edge: What's going on?
Kyle B: ah Well, it looks like there's a little guy over there pointing at the point at the schematics. Do you know him?
The Blade's Edge: He looks over and you see but maybe a perception check.
Kyle B: Yeah, sure.
The Blade's Edge: Her first to roll tonight. Some roll is gone.
Kyle B: That's going to be a 15.
The Blade's Edge: The 15 you see Desdrelda immediately not showing interest in this immediately turns away and sort of busies herself with something as a little tear in the corner of ah Van Richten's eye.
The Blade's Edge: And he says out loud, he just says, Erasmus, is that you?
The Blade's Edge: You see the ghosts of the kid float over to Van Richten and give him a hug that you know he can't see, but you can you can tell he feels it.
Kyle B: ah Can i hug him as well?
The Blade's Edge: Yes, you hug him as well. You remember the story of Erasmus, the son of Rudolf van Richten, kidnapped by Vistani, sold to a vampire.
The Blade's Edge: He was vampirized. And when van Richten found him as a vampire, Erasmus begged to be killed, to be put out of his misery.
The Blade's Edge: As you see.
Kyle B: We will get revenge. We will get revenge.
The Blade's Edge: We will get revenge. Camera pans out. As you begin to your trek back, ah you know that not far behind you will be Van Richten, Desdrelde, the other Allmist Inquisitors.
The Blade's Edge: But not only that, you see these ghosts, much like um how D'Saun was seeing these figures on your walk back. You see these ghosts who all look at you, sensing you can see them for a brief moment as the dead of Barovia.
The Blade's Edge: The people who have been wronged by Strahd and his minions all pay you mind. And you notice Erasmus in like ghostly armor with like a ghostly great sword behind him is like marching with you.
The Blade's Edge: You see him like marching behind you the entire way back to Vallaki.
Kyle B: Fuck yeah. Yeah, I mean, i'm a I'm not human and seeing you know the ghost of this this boy kind of provides me a kinship as two things that are other in this world that seems to constantly put humans through so much struggle and I'm gonna do everything I can to snuff out that darkness.
The Blade's Edge: And with a 15 perception check, you ah notice as you get back to the end, Blue Water Inn, and you know maybe Dasan is sleeping at this point, so maybe you guys get back at a similar time.
The Blade's Edge: But as you go to bed, you're putting in your you know your coat away, your new fashionable part of your ensemble. And as you do, you realize there's something in the pocket of your coat.
Kyle B: Yeah, I put my hands in pockets and I don't think I've had pockets before in the front. So I'm kind of excited. It feels kind of nice. But I pull it out and what do i find?
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, so this is, ah you you recognize the little dot two dots and the curved smiley face from Desdralda immediately. um And she ah you see a little note that says, a little ghost must have put this on the schematics.
The Blade's Edge: Guess you'll be needing it. And you find in that, ah the diamond dust, of which you need the spell components for...
Kyle B: Oh yeah. ah For Glyph of Warding.
The Blade's Edge: or glyph of wording. You have a use of that.
Kyle B: Hell yes, I like that. Exciting spell.
The Blade's Edge: Hell yeah. And um
The Blade's Edge: ah both Inabi and Bash
Kyle: Yeah.
The Blade's Edge: As you guys sort of parted ways and Valentine went to go ah get some of the militias together, barons, keepers of the feather, and they went there.
The Blade's Edge: Where do you think the two of you would have gone in this time?
Trev: Probably get some udon noodles together, you know?
The Blade's Edge: Hell yeah. Yeah, you go and you get some udon noodles. ah Maybe for that, you have to go Kresk. ah You have the time to do so. So, Inabi, you head to Kresk.
The Blade's Edge: And maybe at some point, too, very much like Lord of the Rings, you have to sort of... hide off to the side as you're you're making a trip solo and you see this army walking through the woods, bearing the mark of Shrad.
The Blade's Edge: um And these people that you see are
The Blade's Edge: it's, it's maybe maybe, maybe a little bit sad, but also a little bit scary as they look like humans who have been experimented on, um, this, maybe you hear with one of them, use the term mongrel folk.
The Blade's Edge: Uh, but you see these humans sort of with the snout of a, of a dog and the legs of a werewolf and a tail, um this whole army of them marching towards Strahd's castle to protect it.
The Blade's Edge: Maybe later on in your journey to Kresk to get these noodles, ah you pass by, you hear the distant howling of werewolves and you begin counting on your hands. How many?
The Blade's Edge: One, I hear one, two, three, five, 15, 30, 100. fifteen thirty hundred
Trev: I have enough fingers to make it a 13, I think, after that I'm fucked.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, that's right.
Kyle: Mm-hmm.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah. Yeah, you go 13 and then you start doing math in your head.
Trev: Yeah.
The Blade's Edge: but Yeah. yeah 13th to the power of three.
Trev: Yeah, yeah.
The Blade's Edge: um As you count, you know, you hear this army of werewolves also heading.
Trev: Damn.
The Blade's Edge: You make your way finally to Crest because the rain is... beating down, you get noodles. And as you do much like in Fight Club, you go to pay at the end of your meal for the noodles.
The Blade's Edge: And the waiter sort of lifts his sleeve up. And you see a tattoo, much like the one that you bear. You know that this is a fellow
The Blade's Edge: priest of Osibis, as he rolls the sleeve down and sits across from you, your belly full, and he says, Nah, priest of Osibis don't pay here.
Trev: Okay, give him a little nod.
Trev: And then reach out my hand to shake his hand and just say Anabi.
The Blade's Edge: Where?
The Blade's Edge: He shakes your hand and notices the extra fingers on your ah hand and ah says, wow You're the chosen one.
Trev: I kind of cocked my head to the left a little bit. I'm a little, as in like, what does that mean kind of?
The Blade's Edge: The prophecy foretold of the one Osibis would lend his power to.
The Blade's Edge: Must be my lucky day.
Trev: Still not too sure what exactly
Trev: he wants for me after, uh, you know, this or perfect.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, why don't you make me an insight check? Great use of an insight check. What does this guy want from me?
Trev: Yeah.
Trev: Let's go 22.
The Blade's Edge: 22. This guy is... you have a fan. You're looking at a... ah As ah the priests of Osibis fell sort of into...
The Blade's Edge: um just life here in Barovia after what had become this battle ah ah back in the day with these dark powers. This guy seems like he's just fallen into the life of chef, a man who makes udon noodles and serves udon noodles at a a fine establishment in Kresk.
Trev: damn nice
The Blade's Edge: um And he is looking at somebody who, you know, maybe he'd read the stories of when Osibis um was going to lend power to one ah at the Amber Temple that the the person he would lend the power to would have extra fingers.
The Blade's Edge: And so this guy seems to be just sort of a fan
Trev: i kind of like tear a little piece of cloth off of my robes and kind of start wrapping, wrapping that hand kind of almost like when I went to shake his hand, I didn't, I wasn't, I'm not still not used to the fingers.
Trev: So I probably like clocked that and like, I should probably hide this a little better. So I'm like wrapping those fingers up like against the back of my hand kind of, um, and we'd probably just say something like, I mean, I guess he,
The Blade's Edge: Yeah.
Trev: I hope he chose right. i hope I can do what I have to do.
The Blade's Edge: He sort of, at that moment, sort of nods, gets up, grabs the plate as if to bus it back to the kitchen and says, ah he's never wrong.
The Blade's Edge: Good times are ahead.
The Blade's Edge: Long live Osibis.
Trev: Long live Ocivis.
The Blade's Edge: Heads back to the kitchen and on your way back to Vallaki. ah Maybe,
Trev: Also, as i when I stand up, like before i dip, I would leave like
The Blade's Edge: yes
Trev: ah five gold pieces just on the table for them.
The Blade's Edge: Hell yeah. You leave five gold pieces and as you start to head back to Vallaki, the opposite of your of your journey to Kresk, you're not ah hiding in the woods from armies marching in the opposite directions.
The Blade's Edge: You link up with the armies marching in the correct directions. You link up with the druids and the barbarians um ah heading to Vallaki and as you do...
The Blade's Edge: um Maybe you get to talking, maybe ah some of them know Bash or Valerius Moonstone, whose ring you wore. And ah they're going around handing out provisions amongst the armies of these druids and these barbarians.
The Blade's Edge: And when they get to you, they hand you a pack, same as everybody else.
The Blade's Edge: And do you have this sort of wrapped package, this sort of leather wrapped bag in front of you?
Trev: Hmm. I'll, uh, yeah, I'll open it. Check it out.
The Blade's Edge: um Two potions of greater healing.
Trev: Oh, shit. Let's go.
Trev: fuck yeah, I would tell whoever handed me that. Thank you.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, you see this druid.
Trev: Okay.
The Blade's Edge: You see like yeah like the potions maybe not red, maybe it's green because it looks almost as if these druids are ah like brewing their own sort of home homemade ah potion.
The Blade's Edge: make Maybe there's actually some like soot in the bottom of the of the vial. ah like They had to sort of mortar and pestle this thing together. ah But you have these sort of green two healing potions and you see they're handing them out to like everybody.
The Blade's Edge: Hundreds of of druids and barbarians all marching around ah wearing the A lot of them are wearing the symbol of Kavan.
Trev: Sick okay.
The Blade's Edge: um Yes, so Kavan the Grim, ah you know, was Bash's papa? Papa.
Kyle: Yep.
The Blade's Edge: Papa.
Kyle: That's correct.
Trev: Fucking tight.
The Blade's Edge: Uh, and do you make your way back to, Vlaki and, uh, bash, where do you think you, uh, what do you think you would have been doing during this time?
Kyle: Yeah, so it's been a couple days, you said, since we kind of like went on our own ways, or how long has it been?
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, you tell me. i mean, time's a little wibbly-wobbly, so we can start directly at when you guys are heading back. You can see Argenvost and Vallaki are not that far apart. So when you guys headed from Argenvost to Vallaki, maybe that's when you, you know...
The Blade's Edge: camped out for a night in the woods in the middle and uh people went their different ways and nabi went west uh a nabi and um stall the dock both went west stall the dock went over here to lake baritak where um van richten was and nabi went and got some udon noodles and kresk uh ah D'Saun went east to the village of Barovia and Valentine just stay sort of stayed in Vallaki getting ah people ready.
The Blade's Edge: ah Where do you think you would have gone?
Kyle: Yeah, i think I think I would have stayed in Vallaki as well. um And I would have holed up at the Blue Moon Inn, right?
Kyle: That's where the...
The Blade's Edge: Blue Water.
Kyle: Blue Water. um And I think super, super early in the morning, ah would have found... um Wait, where's my Roll20? Hold hold on, hold on.
Kyle: My Roll20 has disappeared.
The Blade's Edge: How dare I to do that?
Kyle: I think I would have...
The Blade's Edge: Yes.
Kyle: I would have um woken up super, super early in the morning and found sort of like an open... an open area potentially in the woods a little bit.
Kyle: Um, and i would have just been kind of just practicing exercises with my, with my ax utilizing my, my newfound strength, um, and just sort of getting used to it. And, um, yeah, just honing in on my technique with my, with my battle ax.
The Blade's Edge: Absolutely. Go ahead and roll me a, um, roll me, roll me a to hit.
Kyle: It's
Kyle: gonna be a
The Blade's Edge: 17.
The Blade's Edge: Um, you are practicing and as you roll that 17, also make me a ah perception check.
Kyle: gonna be a nine.
The Blade's Edge: Okay. ah You are sort of practicing and practicing. And when the time comes and you head back, your your practice for the day done, you realize um as a voice calls out to you that you didn't see, but you were being watched.
The Blade's Edge: the entire time. And as you look around, you see all these eyes in the darkness, the dark eyes of these critters. And you remember your time being in the blood spear.
The Blade's Edge: Blash bash bloodsinger, uh, the blood spear that, um, a former adventurer, Roy Halovich held. And as you look up in the trees, you see all these little tiny critters,
The Blade's Edge: that used to follow Roy Halovich around, circled around you, enshrouded in darkness, these shadows, their eyes wide, all watching you. And as you sort of make your way back to the town, you see they're sort of following you in the trees, keeping their distance, sticking to the shadows, but following you all the way back.
Kyle: I mean, i I see them and I'm not, I don't feel intimidated by them at all. 18.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, make me an insight check.
Kyle: eighteen
The Blade's Edge: Nice. Yeah, they are sort of as if as if they were left here when Roy died and have been here for 70 odd years.
The Blade's Edge: just a living on the land in their shadow stuff um forms. And as they see you, they just send some familiarity and it's more interests, not intimidation as they are following you all the way back to the town And as you get back, they stick to the forest besides one.
The Blade's Edge: ah You see ah sort of ah not not really with a big limp, but sort of you know coming out of the forest with this limp.
The Blade's Edge: um You see a dog.
Kyle: i' um
The Blade's Edge: Looks like he has ah sort of something in his mouth.
Kyle: I'll kneel down ah get to it's a ground level with it. 16.
The Blade's Edge: Nice. um You kneel down. This dog ah makes its way up to you. And make me, why don't you make me a history Okay, so you ah you recognize this dog.
Kyle: sixteen
The Blade's Edge: ah You recognize Lancelot.
The Blade's Edge: As this dog that was with Gilmand. This sort of ghost dog. now it Now looks like he's running with this pack of other sort of um shadow stuff animals as he approaches, ah you know, his body now looking more like shadow. But you recognize this dog, this sacrifice that started this whole trip off.
The Blade's Edge: The sacrifice that led for the original Call the Lightning group to be able to even live and not die in the death house. For them to live meant they would find the spear. For them to find the spear meant that your life would continue.
The Blade's Edge: And it all started with this dog.
Kyle B: Damn.
The Blade's Edge: You see his little collar. It says Lancelot. And in his mouth, there's sort of like a little brown bag, slobber and drool all over the brown bag.
Kyle B: citizen
The Blade's Edge: But he makes his way up to you with it and sort of is like comes up and sits right in front of you with the bag in his mouth.
Kyle: I'll reach my hand out and try to grab the bag.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, make me an animal handling check.
Kyle: Yeah.
The Blade's Edge: You grab the bag. The dog instinctively goes into tug of war with the bag.
Kyle: Yeah,
The Blade's Edge: Less, less you can't have it and more we're having fun.
Kyle: yeah, yeah.
The Blade's Edge: This is, this is a great game. You guys, you know, play for a little and then at a point the bag rips in half and falling out of it are two potions of greater healing.
The Blade's Edge: You see these potions are not the normal red potions that you would find in a town. These potions are pure black, and you get the sense that these creatures that followed Roy Halovich, that Lancelot now seems to sort of be the leader of, however they did it, however it was possible, they mustered together the power, the magic, the arcana, the will, the resources to be able to put this together together.
The Blade's Edge: And as you look at the two vials of this black, greater two greater potions of healing up at Lancelot, ah much like when a dog drops a dead bird at your feet, he looks very pleased with himself.
The Blade's Edge: You pet him.
Kyle: Can I pet the dog?
The Blade's Edge: You look back at the forest at that moment, and you don't only see eyes in the shadows. You see big, toothy smiles.
Trev: Can I pet that dog?
Kyle: Creepy, but I love it.
Kyle B: Hell yeah.
Kyle: Good boy.
Kyle B: Dog alchemy. Ghost ghost ah alchemy.
The Blade's Edge: And you make your way ah back to Vallaki, maybe at the same you know at the same time that Inabi and Stalvadak and ah Dasan all make their way back to the Blue Water Inn.
The Blade's Edge: 100%.
Trev: Hey, Bri. I got a couple things. Could I add a couple things to the trip back?
The Blade's Edge: Hondo P.
Trev: Small things. um
The Blade's Edge: anddo p
Trev: Hell yeah. I have like the... I still have like 20 arrows on me ah just in my inventory.
The Blade's Edge: Yes.
Trev: If possible, I would used my whetstone to like sharpen them is you know as best I could and like do what I can to make the arrows as sturdy and sharp as they could be and then give them to whichever...
The Blade's Edge: Cool.
Trev: Like if I saw a you know, competent or solid archer looking person in the group. would have just given him the arrows.
The Blade's Edge: Like in the, with the druids and barbarians.
Trev: um Exactly. Yeah. yeah Yeah.
The Blade's Edge: Totally. Totally.
Trev: Would it get, that would have been 20 years of them. And then I also would have just like been using my whetstone the whole way back. I would have tried to find ah bunch of like little rocks and sharpened them into like discs kind of like sharp rocks.
Trev: like disc blades kind of, like 10 of those and just like a little, tried to find or fashion like a little bag to put them in.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, love that.
The Blade's Edge: Oh, yeah, definitely. Yeah, you definitely you want to be one of the druids who you give the arrows to gives you this sort of a small ish, you know, leather sack um that you can put these these things in.
The Blade's Edge: And you definitely have a couple nights, you know, take you a couple nights to get there a couple nights back. So ah totally doable to be sharpening these things at nighttime during rest and especially on the way back traveling with the army.
Trev: Okay, cool.
Trev: Sick. Cool. Perfect.
Kyle B: And similar to that, um I would, once I got back in touch with Dasan, um I would ask if you have a way to get a flask of holy water.
Tommy: I mean, I i could try to bless it or we could go to the temple or
Kyle B: We got the Temple of Lathander here in Vallaki, right?
Tommy: Yeah, I mean, we could try it
The Blade's Edge: Yeah.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, you go you go to the temple and ah Vicar Jim gives you ah one flask of holy water.
Kyle B: Sweet.
The Blade's Edge: um
Kyle B: sweet
The Blade's Edge: And ah as he's there, he sort of there's some mundane water. He looks at you, D'Saun, in your new way with the the the the thing painted on your shield, the sun painted on your shield.
The Blade's Edge: And he sort of looks at the sun sort on your belt. and holds the sort of mundane water towards you, this on and says, you can do it.
The Blade's Edge: Try. and you can make a religion check if you'd like.
Kyle B: Also, I'm looking to add holy water to my inventory and Steve's holy water shows up, a wondrous item.
The Blade's Edge: That's right. Yeah.
Kyle B: breastt Blessed by a priest of Steve.
The Blade's Edge: That's right. Yep.
Tommy: Yeah, I'll um.
Trev: Fuck yes.
The Blade's Edge: Not too hot, not too cold but room temp.
Trev: That's perfect.
Tommy: ah
Trev: It's perfectly Right
Kyle B: Oh, shit.
Tommy: Just Steve.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah. pH balance for sure.
Kyle B: Nice.
The Blade's Edge: Balanced right in the middle.
Kyle B: al Alkaline water.
Trev: right in the middle.
Kyle B: Yeah, alkaline water.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah.
Tommy: ah Yeah, I'll ah I'll hold out my right hand as I make this religion check and try to.
Kyle B: Hilarious.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah.
Tommy: Here we go. 22. twenty two
The Blade's Edge: 22, you have two Flats for Holy Water. As Dasan, you feel the, not your connection to the weave and to magic, but your connection to divinity and the divine ah washes over this ah sort of mundane water.
Tommy: oh
The Blade's Edge: Maybe it's in one of those little... um
The Blade's Edge: like a basin inside, maybe that, you know, they let folks drink. It's not holy water, but just for people who parched. And do you see that whole a basin ah turn into another flask?
The Blade's Edge: So you now have two flasks.
Tommy: Wow.
Kyle B: I slap him on the back and say, it's nice to see you embrace who you truly are.
Tommy: Two flasks total.
The Blade's Edge: Two flasks total, one from Vicar Jim, one from your divine ability.
Tommy: Okay, okay.
Kyle B: I put one in my inventory, Tommy, if you can have the other one.
Tommy: Deal.
Tommy: Deal. Hell yeah, i can I can do that now.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, you... um As the the days progress, I will also say maybe at some point as the the armies are almost ready and you guys have a a day, maybe maybe you guys decide to go through the woods here as we're looking at this map of Vallaki.
The Blade's Edge: Maybe you decide just as ah just as a... Just you want to scope it out. And you want to go check out the windmill.
The Blade's Edge: Come in from behind.
Kyle: Oh god.
The Blade's Edge: Not... not do anything. You just want to scope. You just want to see what's going on. It's just, it's been on the list of your guys's thing.
Kyle: Mm-hmm.
The Blade's Edge: You go you scope the windmill. All four of you, Valentine included. Maybe they send along a couple. Maybe you guys let them know what had happened there and,
The Blade's Edge: Two keepers of the feathers go with you. ah Van Richten comes with you. ah There's like 10 ghosts with you that like only you guys can see. Yevgeny comes with you. two druids, two barbarians as you guys make your way through the woods. Stealth mission at night just to scope it. But maybe you never know.
The Blade's Edge: And you go and you are certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that the windmill is empty.
Kyle B: And yet the hags may remain.
Tommy: Huh.
The Blade's Edge: You guys want to make an investigation check? Get on your ah Batman?
Kyle: Any pastries sitting around?
The Blade's Edge: Yeah. Yeah, one for each of you, actually.
Kyle: Oh, perfect.
Kyle B: um That's a 25 investigation.
Tommy: seven
The Blade's Edge: Sam.
Kyle: Investigation, you said?
The Blade's Edge: Yes, sir.
Kyle: Yes, solid six.
The Blade's Edge: And Nabi, you want to roll one?
Kyle B: And then.
The Blade's Edge: Triv, I think you're muted.
Kyle B: ah
Trev: Oh, yep. I am muted. and
Kyle B: welcome Welcome back.
Trev: That's a 23 investigation.
The Blade's Edge: Nice. So maybe as you guys notice it's empty, you decide to probe Anabi and Doc, you guys... are the ones who decide to go in. Maybe you scale the outside of it, check through the windows.
The Blade's Edge: Maybe you guys are are just a really small stealth mission as you know the druids have their arrows knocked the ones Nabi sharpened. The barbarians are standing with bash ready to go.
The Blade's Edge: um And as you guys go in there with a 25 and a 23, you are ah fully certain that the witches have joined the werewolves and the vampires and the mongrel folk at Shrod's castle.
Kyle B: And of course they have.
The Blade's Edge: As Strahd is consolidating his armies, he is aware of the massing armies against him. And while on your side, there are many people um coalescing together on his side, the witches, the werewolves, the vampires, the mongrel folk are all um at his spot.
The Blade's Edge: On your guys' way back with this whole group, back to Vallaki, You go back into the Blue Water Inn and you see a room next to you guys has been rented out.
The Blade's Edge: ah And you check the books at the Blue Water Inn to see who rented out this room. And you see two names. You see Jimothy and Yachsizzler.
Kyle B: Hell yeah.
Trev: Holy shit.
Kyle B: Nice. um Hey, I got another question. Who is going to break the news to Yevgeny about Alma? Is that you, Dasan?
Tommy: ah Oh, man, I've been avoiding this. Yeah, I... I would tell Yevgeny before that big battle for sure.
The Blade's Edge: Yes. Did you tell me something?
Tommy: oh he's right here. Yeah.
The Blade's Edge: Yes.
Kyle B: He's right behind you.
The Blade's Edge: Yes, they sort of hang out with team called the Lightning, right?
Kyle: Uh,
Tommy: Oh,
The Blade's Edge: ah Part of the team, beginning.
Tommy: man. Yevgeny, you gotta take a seat. Can I get your...
The Blade's Edge: It's me that you call the Lightning. It's me, it's you, it's Alma, my wife.
Tommy: oh Take it. Hey, take it. Evgeny, I gotta tell you.
The Blade's Edge: Yes.
Tommy: so I gotta tell you something.
The Blade's Edge: Okay, I take seat.
Tommy: Um, I,
The Blade's Edge: Do you think we should get the drink?
Tommy: uh, yeah. Hey, um, what are you drinking? What are what are you drinking?
The Blade's Edge: Do you get the the ah one ah beer for Miri and a wine for Alma?
Tommy: Uh,
The Blade's Edge: She never knows, she might want.
Tommy: Yeah, hey buddy. Alma's not gonna be needing that wine. i don't know how to tell you this.
The Blade's Edge: She's pregnant, we having child?
Tommy: No!
Kyle B: but um
The Blade's Edge: I didn't even know you could get pregnant without having the sex.
Tommy: a
Tommy: No, she's...
The Blade's Edge: It is miracle like Jesus Christ.
Kyle B: Jesus is canon in Brovia.
Tommy: God damn it!
Kyle B: Oh no.
Tommy: No.
The Blade's Edge: Alma Magdalene.
Tommy: She's dead, Yevgeny! She's dead!
The Blade's Edge: What? No. How'd this happen?
Tommy: She... We... We buried her. We laid her ashes.
The Blade's Edge: That's how she died? You killed her by burying her life?
Tommy: No! No!
Kyle B: Uh...
Kyle: yeah
The Blade's Edge: Why you doing Dressa's sword? Why are you doing this?
Tommy: Yevgeny, please. You're getting irrational.
The Blade's Edge: Tell me how she died.
Tommy: Look, she's gone, Yevgeny.
The Blade's Edge: well kena is it that you cannot remember how she died?
Tommy: We... We buried...
Tommy: No, Yevgeny, please stop. She's gone, Yevgeny. Hold let me go back.
The Blade's Edge: if you actually can't remember, somebody can just tell you.
Tommy: I gotta to go back in my notes.
Kyle B: ah
Tommy: gotta go back in notes. so sorry.
Kyle B: she she blew up and then got killed by the leader of the wolves the werewolves
The Blade's Edge: Wolves.
Tommy: Oh, the wolves hurt.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah.
Tommy: Me, I, yeah, me, IRL fucking rolled a nat one on the, on history. um
The Blade's Edge: ah
Tommy: I know I had my notebook in front of me, Yevgeny. I'm so sorry.
The Blade's Edge: There it is ah small section of werewolf in city. I've met them. They are part of resistance.
Tommy: Their leader got to I don't know what to say. Evgeny, the werewolves got her, man. Yes.
The Blade's Edge: He sort of looks down and looks back up and he says, a hero's death. Yes.
Tommy: Yes.
The Blade's Edge: I drink to that. Takes a sip of his, of his drink and begins, uh, he has this little like wooden, a coin in his bag. He takes out, takes out this small little knife, begins carving on it as he,
The Blade's Edge: starts telling, he says, we tell stories about Thalma, make this celebration. He has like two stories because he didn't really know her that well. Um, and at the end of it, you, you see, he has carved, um, uh, almost face into a pen and I rolled a 19 on my D 20. So it's pretty good.
The Blade's Edge: Um, and he looks just like her and he pins it to his chest as he sort of brandishes his sword.
Kyle B: Hell yeah. earlier
Tommy: looks she Looks just like her.
The Blade's Edge: And he says, uh,
The Blade's Edge: sorry just saying bye uh he pins it to himself as he sort of takes his sword and ah takes some oil on ah on a rag and sort of runs it over his blade and says well then we fight from yes we'll do this for her
Kyle B: And we'll slaughter all the werewolves.
The Blade's Edge: we slaughtered werewolves we fight from and my unborn child they killed They killed her with my baby in her womb.
Kyle B: ah The unborn child of potential.
The Blade's Edge: but That's what you're saying to me. i'm basically I'm basically John. Is that Mary's husband's name?
Tommy: no joe the chip No, no, no.
The Blade's Edge: Joseph.
Tommy: What is it? Oh my God. the
The Blade's Edge: Come on, Tommy.
Kyle B: Uh...
Tommy: i know. I know. I know.
The Blade's Edge: I guess I could also kind of look at Trev.
Tommy: This is my day.
The Blade's Edge: Were you ever?
Tommy: Oh man.
The Blade's Edge: When you grew up, were you?
Kyle B: I wasn't much of a church going boy.
Trev: i was I was very religious growing up.
The Blade's Edge: You're... you're
Tommy: yeah i was joe Yeah, it was Joseph.
The Blade's Edge: Do you remember Mary Magdalene's?
Tommy: I was right, I was right, i was right it was Joseph. It's hard to fucking panic attack over here.
The Blade's Edge: Okay. this basically Basically, call me Evgeny Joseph. They kill my but my baby boy.
Tommy: yeah That's a boy.
Trev: to
Kyle B: ah
Tommy: I, I, look, I can't, look, Evgeny, I,
Kyle B: Um,
The Blade's Edge: Yes, Evgeny Jr. Evgeny Christ.
Trev: That's not, I don't know.
Kyle B: Oh, yeah.
Kyle: oh
Tommy: yeah Get me out of this conversation, dude.
Kyle: ah Evgeny Christ has to be the name of this episode.
Tommy: Um,
Kyle: People
Trev: Yeah.
Kyle B: yeah
Tommy: well I can't.
Kyle: are to what does that mean?
Tommy: i
Tommy: I put my hand on Yevgeny's shoulder and I just go she helped light the path forward for others to follow. Her and Yevgeny Christ.
The Blade's Edge: Yes, we'll do it for you.
Kyle B: ah yeah
The Blade's Edge: Give me Christ.
Kyle B: Evgeny, have you ever killed a werewolf?
The Blade's Edge: Yes, of course.
Kyle B: Do you have to use silver to kill them?
The Blade's Edge: No.
Kyle B: No? Okay.
The Blade's Edge: it Because silver can help.
Kyle B: Do we know anyone in the city who can fashion those kind of instruments?
The Blade's Edge: um He goes on to let you know that um if you if you if you don't have a magical weapon, he'll they'll silver your weapons.
Kyle B: Hmm, okay.
The Blade's Edge: So maybe yeah over the course of the next couple of days, if any weapons you guys have... Even like backup weapons or like javelins or something for bash or whatever like that.
Kyle B: Okay
The Blade's Edge: Like anything you guys have is not magical. It's they'll silver it over the course of the next couple of days.
The Blade's Edge: But if your main if your main weapon is magical, ah that acts the same way as a sort of a silver weapon.
Kyle B: yeah, I have this lycan light crossbow so I was just curious if that would work but it does
Trev: Weird.
Trev: Weird question. Could i have them silver those ah stone discs that I made?
The Blade's Edge: Oh, yeah. Hell yeah.
Trev: is that possible?
The Blade's Edge: Yeah.
Trev: That would be sick.
The Blade's Edge: Totally.
Tommy: You're like Magneto. can show like these spinning silver discs.
Trev: We'll see.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, i love that.
Trev: That would be tight.
The Blade's Edge: um They silver all of your... but One second here.
The Blade's Edge: okay um Yeah, they silver all of your guys' weapons. And, um, you guys get some rest. You have Genie, Timothy, uh,
The Blade's Edge: along the way. And the next morning is the morning that you guys are marching out. Even before you wake up, you hear the sounds outside.
The Blade's Edge: ah Look out your window from your room and you see the Olmest Inquisitors. You see the ghosts of the Order of the Silver Dragon, as well as maybe some like really old men who have like donned armor that has like Order of the Silver Dragon emblems on it, like people you didn't know maybe were part of that organization.
The Blade's Edge: uh the keepers of the feather you see uh much like uh what's his face who runs the tavern what is his name um his name is that's okay uh markov the markov's erwin um and his family not in sort of uh raven form but you see all these other ravens about flying overhead and you
Kyle B: Shoot, what was his name?
The Blade's Edge: You see them outside your window amassing sort of in the the town of Valaki. and You see the far off in the distance D'Saun. You see green...
The Blade's Edge: your green ah uh, torch has lit up and you look off into the distance of the morning haze and you see another green light, you know, from the ah graveyard in Barovia, the town of Barovia.
The Blade's Edge: You see Evgeny outside with the Druids and the barbarians, uh, and the Baron of Vlaki, um, outside with a militia of people ready to go.
The Blade's Edge: You see ah Valentine out there with his goat and his cat. And they're sort of waiting on their leaders to march them into battle into Strahd's castle.
Kyle B: When are we moving out?
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, you guys are up in your room. They look like they're all out so outside ready to go. Now's the time.
Trev: Is this bad idea? Should we just cancel? Should we not do this?
Tommy: Yeah, sure.
Kyle B: No.
Trev: send ever Send them all home?
Tommy: Colin's sick.
Kyle B: i fling I fling open the windows and start howling and then yelling out a new dawn.
Tommy: i don't know. My tummy's kind of upset.
Trev: I don't feel so. Maybe today is not.
Tommy: Yeah.
Trev: Maybe tomorrow.
The Blade's Edge: A new dawn being chanted Nabi you look out and you see the guy who served you udon noodles as a part of the crowd has come to Valaki.
The Blade's Edge: You see he's with a bunch of other people who are wearing sort of hoods and stuff. They look like other priests of Osibis as they spot you. and sort of put a tattooed hand fist over their hearts.
The Blade's Edge: um And they each hold up three fingers towards you. ah thats There's a little ah group of priests of Osibis who have made their way to join the cause.
Trev: Sick. i also definitely heard that as a comma between served you and Udon noodles. And I thought that was his name and I thought that was great.
The Blade's Edge: yeah His name was or Udon Noodles.
Trev: Yeah. Yeah. The guy who served you Udon noodles.
The Blade's Edge: Nice. Yeah. Yep, that's as far as you're concerned.
Kyle: It's Udanudulz.
Trev: like Hell yeah.
The Blade's Edge: Eda-noodles.
Trev: Oh yeah.
The Blade's Edge: Eda-noodles.
Trev: The spelling. Yeah. It gets tricky. Yeah. Sick.
Tommy: All right.
Trev: Yeah.
Tommy: i
Trev: I would unwrap my hand and hold up the three fingers for him.
The Blade's Edge: They all sort of nod, smiles cross their faces, their tattoos glow with power.
Tommy: I put my hand in the middle and I look at everybody and I say, one last time, let's call the lightning.
Kyle B: Hands in.
Tommy: Hands in.
Kyle: I place my hand in.
Kyle B: ah put my hand in and my hand is crackling with lightning.
Trev: I put my hand in and my three fingers are weirdly caressing the other three hands.
Tommy: I pulled my hand back.
Kyle B: Oh, God. Jeez, you're like salad fingers but for those that are old enough to know salad fingers.
Trev: Yeah.
Kyle: oh god
Tommy: I don't, I don't, I don't like that.
Trev: Ew. Gross. Oh, yeah.
Tommy: Um,
Kyle B: I like rusty spoons.
Trev: I like rusty spoons.
The Blade's Edge: You, all of you put your hands in the center and as you do a tentacle slithers in the room and comes up over, ah over your wrist and then under the next person's hand and then over the other wrist and then under that person's back around and it's sort of tenses.
Tommy: no
Kyle B: Oh.
The Blade's Edge: So your hands are stuck there. in this position one on top of the other this tentacle from outside the room is all of your eyes go wide the tentacle is crackling with energy and you all start to see visions visions of death visions of your birth your death everybody hears death the times that valentine had tried before the skies go dark lightning thunder As you guys see these visions, your eyes roll back white in your head and you feel your feet moving.
The Blade's Edge: right laugh Right, left, right, left, right, left. You see just white. Right, left, right, left. Then green and browns.
The Blade's Edge: The roads underneath you. You're walking through a mountain pass. Jimothy right behind you, all four of you as you maybe stop and look back, leading an army, an army of people, of ghosts, of ravens, of ah friends, former enemies, people you've redeemed, people that have redeemed you as you're walking through.
The Blade's Edge: Jimothy right there sort of smiles and you swear as the lightning crackles again. The rain starts to pour beyond the clouds in the distance. You see an unknowable shape, the shape with tentacles and arms in the sky floating bigger than anything you've ever seen before.
The Blade's Edge: As you realize, how did we get from there to here? The marching continues. You look forward. Call the lightning. You bring your um your forces right outside Shradd's tower.
The Blade's Edge: The rain, the lightning, an army at your back.
The Blade's Edge: As you stare down, you look at the other the other side, and you see three witches at the front, one of them being the witch who killed Shradd.
The Blade's Edge: you all of your friends, Dasan, killed you as well.
The Blade's Edge: You see behind these witches are werewolves. You see the werewolves that killed Alma. If it's not them, it looks just like them.
The Blade's Edge: You see vampires, some flying, some standing, skeletons in armor, bows and arrows, short swords, mongrel folk on all fours crawling around,
The Blade's Edge: Bats everywhere. And you realize that you guys are outnumbered. The skeletons alone. You think every every skeleton in Barovia has risen up at this point and is standing outside his castle. Skeletons and zombies.
The Blade's Edge: Weapons in hand. wearing armor, albeit rusted, cut, not full armor, standing, being led by these witches, these werewolves, these vampires, these mongrel folk.
The Blade's Edge: And do you see, standing on the battlements of the castle, a figure silhouetted by the lightning, his high collar unmistakable, as Strahd watches on,
The Blade's Edge: a battlefield in between your side and the other.
The Blade's Edge: And I think at this point, uh, Erwin is going to approach you guys. And, um, Erwin, Erwin, Van Richten, uh, Evgeny, Jimothy, uh, you know, the council, you know, the war council, baby.
The Blade's Edge: Um,
Kyle B: That's our elite group of soldiers right there.
The Blade's Edge: yeah yeah it starts off really strong erwin wow van richten wow ifgeny okay jimothy huh what the fuck yeah um as they get there uh you yeah you guys see van richten um ah with his son standing right behind him the ghost of his son erasmus as he says um
Tommy: but
Trev: We're losing steam.
Kyle B: Yuck, sizzler.
Trev: A goat?
The Blade's Edge: Gentlemen, this is an unwinnable battle. Erwin comes in and says, ah lads, the odds are stacked against us here.
The Blade's Edge: This doesn't look good.
Trev: Yeah, you're right. Let's wrap it up. but's so Let's get out of here,
The Blade's Edge: ah You see Evgeny says, yeah, leave the fight another day. I say, um we could, there always be, listen, they say, ah more fish in sea, right?
Trev: eh?
The Blade's Edge: Another Evgeny Christ somewhere.
Tommy: yeah jeny
Trev: I do say that.
The Blade's Edge: What? What do you mean? I'm young and virile, spread my seed.
Tommy: WW...
Trev: yeah
Kyle: ah
Kyle B: You guys...
Tommy: WWYCD, what would Evgeny Kreis do?
Trev: yeah
Kyle B: Hell yeah.
The Blade's Edge: Um, you see ah Jim at these sort of pushes up his glasses and is sort of paying attention, uh, breathing very loudly through his mouth.
Kyle B: well
Tommy: Why are you already sweating?
The Blade's Edge: Uh,
Kyle B: oh
Trev: We haven't even started
The Blade's Edge: uh,
The Blade's Edge: Desjelda comes over with maybe you know the head druid, the head barbarian, the Baron of Vallaki. um And you you guys see who steps forward and begins to talk is ah ghost following the torch that you are ah bearing, D'Saun.
The Blade's Edge: You see ah four ghosts approach. Gilmund, Roy, Valerius, Alma, These shadow creatures that you saw in the woods bash right behind them, part of the army.
The Blade's Edge: As Alma looks, Gilman nods and Roy nods, Valerius nods. And Alma says,
The Blade's Edge: guys, this is this war on their terms. An open battlefield.
The Blade's Edge: It's not winnable.
Kyle: What do we do?
The Blade's Edge: She looks back at Roy, who's sort of smirking at you with this ghost dog at his side, who's sort of tongue out. And she says, as far as we see, there's only one way.
The Blade's Edge: You guys need to get behind the army. We'll hold them off as long as we can. Meet them in open battle.
The Blade's Edge: but you guys just need to go kill shrod we can create a divergence here out front and lock up all these ah she mentioned she like looks over and you look and see that like while you guys might have like you know maybe 200 people on your side uh you're looking over and you're seeing like 5 000 enemy soldiers um
Kyle: Oh, god
The Blade's Edge: ah mostly skeletons and zombies and stuff, but you know ah with their their vampires probably rival around 200. Their werewolves are probably around 150. The three witches, the you know maybe 200 to 300 mongrel folk, and then all of these skeletons and zombies. She says, we can hold them off as long as we can, but when we kick this thing off,
The Blade's Edge: I think we've we've done the math and the only way that this thing ends, that we win this thing, is if while we create this distraction, you get in there and kill him.
Kyle B: We cut off the head of the beast.
The Blade's Edge: they They begin to nod and Valentine says, Right. I never thought about that. Yes. Without the head of the beast.
The Blade's Edge: When you kill the head vampire, the vampires which the head vampire has infected will lose the vampirism. So if you kill Strahd, not only will the dead that he has raised fall,
The Blade's Edge: all of these skeletons and zombies, but the vampires out here, if he is the one, whichever is the ones that he specifically turned, they will be unturned and will just be mortal human men, which really just leaves the werewolves and the witches as the main problems.
The Blade's Edge: It really gives us the best chance.
Kyle: Mm-hmm.
The Blade's Edge: You see um Van Richten says, not to mention morale, kill the head general, the Mongol folk will scatter.
The Blade's Edge: They don't have it in them to continue fighting without knowing that they have the safety net of the count on their side.
Kyle B: We know where we can find Strahd when we get to the castle. But how do we get there? Unseen. Unnoticed.
The Blade's Edge: They look back to Alma and ah she looks around and yeah you see that the the druids and barbarians bring over these sort of coats, these sort of big bear skins and sort of big leather um things. And they they throw them at you guys and they say, when we, Alma says, when we begin our assault and meet them in open battle,
The Blade's Edge: you guys sneak around. Stealth through. Stealth around back. With these, make your way into the castle. Find Strahd.
Kyle B: Okay.
Tommy: Well, from our Taroka card reading, we'll note we know that he'll be in his father's tomb. i mean, how do we, what's, do we have any idea get
Trev: We also, i mean, we see him already, right?
Tommy: get there
The Blade's Edge: ah You see him right now, maybe at this moment, you know, some time has passed. And as now that the battle is about to begin, you look up and you see the lightning goes and you see his form sort of take a step off the battlements and head back into the castle.
Trev: Okay, cool.
Tommy: So the plan is to sneak around the back and find...
Kyle B: He'll
The Blade's Edge: Around the army.
Tommy: Yeah, around the back of the army. Yeah, yeah. So like go all the way around the army. and Do we have like any way to know if there's like a back door into Ravenloft?
The Blade's Edge: ah give me yeah Give me an investigation check.
Tommy: mean, it's huge castle, right? All
The Blade's Edge: Everybody can roll that if you'd like.
Kyle B: sure
Tommy: right. What's a nat one give me, Brian?
The Blade's Edge: um Don't forget you have advantage if you'd like to use it. um And as you guys tell everybody what you roll, just give me up back and in literally five seconds.
Kyle B: ah
The Blade's Edge: One second
Kyle B: 26 for me. And then I um remind the group that I have the rope trick spell that I can use a couple of times to get us to scale some areas that might be a little harder to scale.
Kyle B: um
Tommy: True. Ooh.
Kyle B: I also have, i can cast fly now.
Tommy: oh
Kyle B: um So we'll be able to potentially get in somewhere that we otherwise could not. um And then with that flask of holy water, I look at Dasan and I think, I've been thinking, hearing the stories about Gilmand, how he fashioned all of those oil flasks to become improvised bombs to destroy all of the plant folk by the wizards of wine, how Alma triggered a glyph of warding that ultimately caused her ah her demise.
Kyle B: I want to combine those ideas. And I want to inscribe the glyph of warding into... the um Flask of Holy Water.
Tommy: What does Glyph of Warding do again?
Kyle B: um So Glyph of Warding, basically you put like a magical glyph um into an object and you give it either the um the command to, here, one sec.
Kyle B: So it's either explosive rune or it's a spell glyph.
Kyle B: So I can inscribe with, with um fireball, essentially. Because it has to be a third level spell or below.
Kyle B: And then i can put it on the spell of Holy Water and I could probably cast the spell Catapult to launch it at Strahd.
Trev: Hell yeah.
Kyle B: This is basically the way that I'm thinking that we can create a nuke to do a lot of damage to him.
Tommy: Crazy enough to work.
Kyle B: ah
Trev: fire ball.
Kyle B: It could be crazy enough to work and just from learning from the successes and failures of those who came before us. This is, this is the way it's gotta to be.
The Blade's Edge: ah With a 26 investigation and a 23, Doc and Inabi, you guys seem to be the investigation crew here. You guys investigated the ah the windmill. And as you guys do, there's not a back entrance into the castle. You can either scale you could scale the walls anywhere on the castle, or you could, once the army was pulled into the battlefield, you could sneak around them and enter through the front.
Tommy: Thank you.
Kyle B: Okay. Yeah, and like I said, we've got rope trick and we've got fly, so we've got some ways to do it.
Kyle B: But obviously we need to be out of sight. um And then, Brian, did you hear what I was just mentioning about the Glyph of Warding and my idea for that?
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, just just remind me when the time comes.
Kyle B: um Yeah, it just has a casting time of an hour, so I just do all of that stuff as we're leading into the battle.
The Blade's Edge: Sure. Yeah, and anything, else anything else anybody wants to do that is casting time of whatever now would be your time.
Trev: Yeah, I would do a find familiar if my familiar isn't already out.
The Blade's Edge: Hell yeah. You got it familiar made of avoiding made.
Tommy: oh I would have done fine, Steve, but I feel like we're trying to be stealthy, so I'm not going to do that.
The Blade's Edge: Okay.
Tommy: Tenacious d will come out another time.
The Blade's Edge: um Yeah, maybe maybe there were to maybe the horses did get you there and they were bringing supplies for the army. um ah They're out there and sort of the ghost of Alma looks at you guys and says, well, when you're ready, we're going to kick things off here.
Kyle: Ready as we'll ever be.
Kyle B: It's time to roll.
Trev: Autobots?
Trev: Let's roll out.
The Blade's Edge: All right, you guys put those things on, and as they begin the battle, you guys work your way over maybe to the tree line
The Blade's Edge: as you watch ah first and foremost arrows. sharp arrows from Inabi being sent out, dropping on werewolves and witches and vampires and mongrel folk and skeletons and zombies alike.
The Blade's Edge: As the arrows begin to drop, the ghosts lead the way. The green ghosts lead the way. In front, you have ah Roy and Gilmand leading the way in lockstep with Alma and Valerius right behind All of the these green ghosts from the graveyard meeting in the battlefield with all these skeletons and zombies as they clash.
The Blade's Edge: ah The militias of Vallaki head in and are immediately met. And a lot of them just begin to immediately get ripped apart by werewolves and mongrel folk.
The Blade's Edge: as the keepers of the Raven and the Olmos inquisitors are holding their own, really keeping them in the battle. Uh, the, uh, order of the silver dragon, ghosts are going up and they're, they're old nights going up against the witches as one of the witches cast a spell. And you see a guy entire, head shrink to the size of a peanut and he falls over onto the ground.
Kyle B: Oh God.
The Blade's Edge: Um,
The Blade's Edge: At that point, it looks really bad, and you're not sure when your time to go is. You see out there ah screaming at the top of his lungs, for you've given it cries.
The Blade's Edge: slicing this hunter. He ah slices with a scimitar, sheathes it in the same motion, takes a longbow out, let's ah shoots three in rapid succession at guys heading towards him. um And when right when a guy gets up on him, ah you see a wave of water, this globule of water come out of nowhere, knock that guy to the south, saving Evgeny's life as Jimothy ah runs up um To save him, ah you see the witches all casting a spell at the same time, a cauldron bubbling as it begins to rain acid.
The Blade's Edge: a lot of the common folk who are just in regular militia gear immediately dropping as the acid is boring holes into the tops of their skulls. um At that moment, you see a shape in the clouds as this ghostly silver dragon flies over the ah the enemies and unleashes a breath that takes out a swath of werewolves and mongrel Vulcan skeletons.
The Blade's Edge: um At that moment, you see another shape beyond the clouds as these massive tentacles come from the clouds and two of them wrap around one of the witches and rips her in half.
Kyle B: Oh, yeah.
The Blade's Edge: um
Kyle: Oh my God.
Trev: What are we even doing here?
The Blade's Edge: ah
Trev: this
Tommy: that's Just, ah just, yeah, we're just watching.
Kyle B: yeah
Trev: They got this. well We're good.
Tommy: Wow. the Our guys are so cool.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, even though all that's all that's happening, but you you guys definitely see your your numbers dwindling fast. I mean, if you started with 200 after sort of the acid rain and the the sort of ah mass skeleton longbows of it all, you see there's probably about 100 while you know While they maybe only killed 100 and you guys your guys' side has maybe killed 400, that still leaves them ah with about 600 to your 100.
The Blade's Edge: But now you get the sense is the time. Now that forces have been thinned, the pathway is clear. And you guys must roll me a stealth check as you make your way from the woods to the entrance of the castle.
The Blade's Edge: This is a DC 15. Don't forget you have advantage.
Trev: you
Tommy: Oh boy.
Kyle B: right
The Blade's Edge: Group check. You advantage if you want it.
Kyle B: um Okay, I'm gonna add plus five to my first roll there to be a 19.
The Blade's Edge: You have Airbacazia as inspiration.
Trev: 16 from a knobby.
Kyle: um
Tommy: I have disadvantage.
Kyle: We have advantage because you said because of the inspiration.
The Blade's Edge: you just have inspiration that you can use?
Tommy: Okay.
The Blade's Edge: Okay.
Kyle: Is this a team stealth check or my boned?
The Blade's Edge: It is.
Kyle: Okay.
Kyle B: And as we're as we're taking off and departing from the rest of the group, um I'd look back at Von Richten and i would say, thank you, Father.
Trev: Let's see how.
The Blade's Edge: He sort of smiles as you say, thank you, father. You see heading with you inside is Erasmus and you and Erasmus at the same time say, thank you, father. uh, as you guys begin to head inside, uh, you are fully stealthed, but as you go, uh, bash, um,
Tommy: you
The Blade's Edge: Bash is making his way in, and and he's he's running, and he's running, and he's running, and he accidentally steps on a bear trap, and the bear trap springs. ah Bash, I need you to make a dexterity saving throw.
The Blade's Edge: Mm-hmm.
Kyle: ah Okay, we get plus one, right?
Kyle: So this is gonna be 13.
The Blade's Edge: Nice. So at 13, you take half this damage, you take three points of piercing damage as this bear trap is sprung, but more importantly, as the bear trap is sprung, um it sort of alerts this, the the sound, you see like 10 skeletons at the back of the battle turn at the sound, and as they do...
The Blade's Edge: um As they do that, Dasan, you are running up, and you, as he gets caught in this bear trap and sort of doesn't take that much damage, ah you guys are moving so quickly that Dasan, you bowl into the back of him.
Tommy: ah like i felt It's like i fell down thiss like I fell down the stairs.
The Blade's Edge: and it sort of trips you, and you fall forward, kind of doing like a front flip on your back. And as you do, ah there's a lull in the battle, silence, and as you hit the ground, all of your armor goes.
The Blade's Edge: ging honging gang pong ging gang ging grang gung pong and
Trev: That was so good.
The Blade's Edge: and
Kyle B: Fucking Looney Tunes ass.
The Blade's Edge: on
Kyle: yeah
Trev: yeah
Tommy: I'm sorry, guys.
The Blade's Edge: and
Tommy: I got one. I'm so sorry. I had disadvantage.
The Blade's Edge: and
Trev: There's definitely an anvil ah hanging in the trees somewhere near us.
The Blade's Edge: yeah
Trev: I can feel it
Kyle: yeah
Tommy: stepped on a rake, it came up and hit me in the face, you know?
Kyle: Metal pipe sound effect.
The Blade's Edge: ah
Tommy: Yeah. yeah
The Blade's Edge: And you see the leaders of the werewolves and the remaining two witches all turn and look in your direction.
Trev: but
The Blade's Edge: um And they are going to begin to head your way. I will say you guys have inspiration unless Bash and or D'Saun wants to use that inspiration on this.
The Blade's Edge: Otherwise, this is just going to happen.
Kyle: um
Kyle: Well, I mean, so if I use inspiration, I pass. Do I take that damage?
The Blade's Edge: ah Yes, you'll still think the damage, but you might not have alerted. As they look over at the sound, they maybe they ah will think that you guys are part with them.
The Blade's Edge: They're reinforcements.
Kyle B: Yeah, Dasan, maybe...
Kyle: got you Gotcha. Gotcha.
The Blade's Edge: Or maybe they'll look and you'll blend in with your furs against the background in the rain. They might think you're werewolves, et etc.
Tommy: how could ah How could they have noticed us? I'm wearing all yellow and I have a sort of sunlight.
The Blade's Edge: ah they put a they put a They put a cloak over
Tommy: Yeah, I'm just kidding.
Kyle B: I've been practicing my wolf howl.
The Blade's Edge: ah maybe
Kyle B: um
The Blade's Edge: So maybe this reroll, if you decide to reroll it, will be maybe your cloak didn't come off with a nat one and you just look like, you know, somebody that's with them that fucked up and, you know, fell.
The Blade's Edge: But it's up to you guys. Either you can use your inspiration and reroll or you can fight two witches, the heads of the werewolves and a bunch of zombies and skeletons before you even head in.
Kyle: Yeah, probably a good idea to reroll the swarm.
Kyle B: Yeah, Tommy, sure surely you can't roll worse than a nat one, right?
Tommy: Come on. No. Two nat.
Kyle B: Surely.
Tommy: You know what's worse than one nat one? It's two nat ones.
Kyle B: oh that's so true, bestie. You're the only one who can do it.
Tommy: I mean, i'm willing to i'm I'm willing to re-roll it. I just have disadvantage on stealth rolls.
Kyle B: I think it might be good to re-roll it.
Tommy: All right. Hey.
The Blade's Edge: and So your reroll won't be at disadvantage. This is just be a straight roll.
Tommy: okay All right.
The Blade's Edge: Inspiration is just 1d20 plus 2.
Tommy: All right. All right. I'm standing up, Brian. you Okay, look. You want me to stand up? I'm standing up.
The Blade's Edge: I think standing up has and historically have been proven to be bad.
Kyle B: I'll...
Tommy: I can't hear you. I'm already rolling it.
Kyle B: He did call the lightning first with...
Tommy: but
The Blade's Edge: I can't hear you from all the way up here.
Kyle B: ah Yeah.
Trev: yeah
Tommy: I can't, I'm standing five foot seven inches in the air. I can't hear you for the the clouds up here. I'm above them.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah.
Kyle: Yeah.
Tommy: Normal roll. 14, It's 15, yeah.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah.
Kyle: Wait, is it a DC 15?
Tommy: fifteen yeah
The Blade's Edge: 15 and so that would just leave you, Kyle, if you'd like to reroll.
Kyle: Wait, no no, you get a plus one though.
Kyle B: You get a plus one.
Tommy: Oh, yeah. No, that's a saving throw.
Kyle B: so
The Blade's Edge: This that's the saving throws.
Tommy: It's not a saving throw.
The Blade's Edge: So your AC and do your saving throws.
Kyle: or
Tommy: Not a saving throw.
Kyle B: Can I use another charge in my Flash of Genius?
Tommy: Don't.
The Blade's Edge: Unfortunately, you can't because you guys rolling at the same time.
Kyle B: That's true. Yeah, it's all at the same time.
Kyle: Here's mine. I will be ending it all.
The Blade's Edge: OK.
Kyle B: Ha ha ha ha.
Tommy: right, so I don't stand up anymore for big rolls. I'm sitting back down in my chair, and i'm rolling it back into my desk.
The Blade's Edge: Well, here's why that role was was important, because even though you got now two successes and two failures, ah now we're going to go to a roll-off here. Rather than a natural one counts as two failures on a group role, you had two successes versus three failures, and now you just have two and two.
Tommy: oh Okay.
Kyle B: Mm-hmm.
Tommy: So no matter what, we ended up on top.
The Blade's Edge: Got it. so And I will say, now that there's no not and a natural one involved, as the head werewolves look back and the witches look back, immediately ah you you hear from the battlefield, ah ah you hear, eyes this way, bitch.
The Blade's Edge: as Van Richten sort of slashes one of the witches' face, and she turns back around and has to engage him in battle. The witch is no longer looking your direction. As Erwin and a swarm of ravens flying V formation fly down, and as they're about to impact with these werewolves, turn back into their human selves, turning themselves into cannonballs, flying into these werewolves from the sky.
The Blade's Edge: ah So they're they're no longer paying attention. It's just whether or not ah these sort of lesser minions will be paying attention. So we're down to a roll off. Who feels lucky?
Tommy: Please no.
Kyle: Not me.
Tommy: No, just not me.
Kyle B: Yeah, I can do it. I can do it.
Tommy: Not me.
Kyle B: I can do it. I can do it. I can do it.
The Blade's Edge: right. So you're going to, you're going to just roll me a D 20 on a one to a nine.
Kyle B: D20.
The Blade's Edge: This is a failure on a 10 to a 20. This is a success.
Kyle B: Okay, yeah we go. I'm calling. I'm calling 16. Oh, 15. oh
The Blade's Edge: close
Kyle B: fifteen
Trev: Dan is how close.
Kyle: We'll take it
The Blade's Edge: um You guys, ah while your stealth was contested, you see maybe some of the ah the ah skeletons and zombies maybe do follow you guys, but nobody else notices.
The Blade's Edge: And as soon as you guys make your way over the bridge, over the moat, into the castle, these sort of 10-odd skeletons that come in, you guys make quick work of them.
The Blade's Edge: Oh, I forgot Valentine is with you. So i he would have rolled as well. Let's just see. Natural what? I'll fuck it all up, huh?
Tommy: Are you standing up?
Kyle B: Ooh, 12.
The Blade's Edge: Okay, that's fine. You already did the thing. um He'll use it. Let's see. What if he had inspiration?
Tommy: Come on, Brian.
The Blade's Edge: Just so I can not have you. Okay.
Kyle: oh
The Blade's Edge: The inspiration was a, the inspiration was a nat one.
Trev: It was not very inspirational.
Kyle B: and
Tommy: You shouldn't have- Were you standing up or sitting down, Brian?
The Blade's Edge: Nice. So we'll we'll say as as these these you know maybe 10 or so skeletons follow you guys in, um you guys make quick work of them you know using cantrips, not having to expend any spell slots.
The Blade's Edge: I will say um you guys are going to have to divvy up this damage ah between the five of you, including ah Valentine. You let me know how much you want Valentine to take. 11 points of damage is all they could do in this battle.
The Blade's Edge: There's no use in running this. You guys would have absolutely mopped the floor with them.
Tommy: I'll take the 11 and then use 11 Leon points hands to bring it back up.
The Blade's Edge: Great, cool. They do damage. You you ah go first and foremost into the fray. um They do 11 points of damage to you as you guys destroy them. As you guys pass this threshold, yes.
Trev: Hey, Bri, I got a quick question for you. ah
The Blade's Edge: ahead.
Trev: When that happened, when we tripped and fell, could I have, is there, like on Anabi's mind, he would have been thinking like, is there, did anybody look at us that looked as though they might have the ability to send like a sending spell to like alert somebody that we were, you know what I mean?
The Blade's Edge: Mm-hmm.
The Blade's Edge: Oh, right.
Trev: Like i that's what I would have been looking for potentially.
The Blade's Edge: yeah ah Yeah. No role necessary. No.
Trev: Okay. Okay, cool.
The Blade's Edge: No. Heed a battle, even if they could. You mean the witches maybe have that spell, but as they maybe begin thinking about it, you see Van Richten ah you know and Desdrelde slash at the two of them and take them each on, ah taking their attention away.
Trev: Right.
Trev: Okay, sick.
Trev: Cool.
The Blade's Edge: ah You guys make your way into the castle as you as you cross the threshold, you feel the mad mage beneficous Valentine for the Valentine's power emanate as it's been slowly coming back over the years.
The Blade's Edge: um or over the ah sort of days and weeks that you guys have been with him um you guys feel his power growing back to where it used to be and we're going to do his portent rolls here um and this will be the group can decide when to use them uh would you like me to roll the d20s or does somebody else want to roll the d20s
Trev: fire
Kyle B: I can do a roll. Tommy, we need a roll from you.
Kyle: Doc is rolling hot.
Trev: Straight up a low one would be good.
Tommy: ah you need a Oh, you need a low roll? Here we go.
Kyle B: Yes, yes.
Trev: Yeah
Kyle B: A low one would be good.
Tommy: Okay, all right.
The Blade's Edge: Because you can choose them for roles for you or for the enemy.
Trev: Yeah Watch him nat 20 this shit.
Tommy: ah One low roll coming up.
Trev: but
Kyle B: Oh!
Tommy: God!
Trev: No way
Kyle B: Oh, my God!
The Blade's Edge: is so...
Tommy: Dude, stop, please! Stop!
Trev: Oh, that's hilarious.
Kyle: A natural 20.
Kyle B: Oh, my God.
Trev: That's honestly sick, though. Now we have a nat 20.
Kyle B: That's sick.
Trev: Yeah,
The Blade's Edge: I do think, Tommy, that this has shown you the error of your ways.
Tommy: don't know what to do!
Kyle B: Oh my god.
Tommy: I don't know!
The Blade's Edge: I think it's...
Kyle: and
Kyle B: I'm so confused!
The Blade's Edge: I think it's when you try to roll natural 20s, you roll natural ones.
Kyle B: Plank!
The Blade's Edge: When you try to roll natural ones, you roll natural 20s.
Tommy: Dude, I'm standing up. I'm sitting down. don't.
The Blade's Edge: Have you tried laying down, like flat?
Trev: yeah maybe you got to plank this shit.
Tommy: Oh, okay.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah.
Tommy: Okay. I'll disconnect my mic. I'll late i'll lay down for the for the whole. i don't. Dude, I don't know.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, plank challenge?
Tommy: yeah dude.
Kyle B: likeke
Tommy: Oh, my God, dude. I even rearranged. I rearranged my office.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah.
Tommy: So, like, my desk is in a new place.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah.
Tommy: um I mean, a totally new. Whatever. Yeah,
The Blade's Edge: You could put like a, you could put like the squatty potty things under your feet at your, while you're sitting there sort of hunched over.
Tommy: dude.
Kyle B: There you go Yeah.
Tommy: You have getting cries, dude.
Trev: That's...
Tommy: I don't know what to do.
The Blade's Edge: right. Well, you guys, that's great. Those are both good rules. I mean, that's 20 is amazing because you guys can choose to use that on any one of your attacks.
Trev: Yeah, yeah.
Tommy: Literally a definition of falling upwards.
The Blade's Edge: Uh, you,
The Blade's Edge: um You guys choose that, and then let's go ahead and let's get um Trev, Inabi, and Bash.
Trev: Yeah.
The Blade's Edge: I need the two of you to roll me D100s. No.
Trev: Where's my D100?
Kyle: Natural 100 coming up. It's a 20. Wow. Yeah.
Trev: Got a 96.
Kyle B: A 96, huge.
Kyle: wow
The Blade's Edge: Okay, cool. So as this happens, as you go and this power emanates out from ah Mr. Valentine, um you rolled 20, you said, Bash?
Kyle: yeah
The Blade's Edge: Okay, ah make me a dexterity saving throw.
Trev: but
Kyle: 15.
The Blade's Edge: All right, at which is a success. um ah or what Let me see. Is it's whose DC is it?
Tommy: if If you're within, you get get two more if you're within like 10 feet of me.
The Blade's Edge: Yes, and you definitely are. um As you begin to, this arcane energy that blasts out from Mr. Valentine, the Mad Mage, causes this, like, maybe it knocks over a barrel near you and grease, ah like, seeps out of the barrel right in front of you and you, like, slip cartoon style, and then you catch yourself and you don't fall.
Kyle: We say real quick, um I have something called Danger Sense, which is advantage on deck saving throws against effects that you can see while not blinded, deafened or incapacitated. what are ah What are effects that I can see?
The Blade's Edge: Anything you can see.
Kyle: so would I have had advantage on that?
The Blade's Edge: Yeah. You would have. And don't forget, you have a plus one dexterity saving throws. And ah was that is that while you're raging or is that always?
Kyle: um It doesn't specify, so I assume always.
The Blade's Edge: Cool. You would have advantage, but you're fine. The grease pours out of this bucket from this sort of arcane blast from Valentine.
Kyle: Roll it anyways.
The Blade's Edge: And you are OK. Trevor ah with a 96, right?
Trev: Yes, sir.
The Blade's Edge: Okay, with a 96, for the next minute, as you guys are running through this castle, making your way, um you you feel very like um like, you know when you're sick and your skin, you just feel so sensitive to any sort of touch?
Trev: Like papery almost.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, exactly. Your skin feels super papery for the next sort of minute.
Trev: Mm hmm.
The Blade's Edge: um Luckily, that doesn't come into play at all. Maybe you run by a door at one point, And ah there's like ah a little piece of bent metal sticking out from the frame. And you accidentally cut your arm.
The Blade's Edge: And it hurts maybe as twice as much as it should have.
Trev: Okay.
The Blade's Edge: Rips open your skin.
Trev: Got it. Damn.
The Blade's Edge: um But after a minute of searching through this castle, that goes away. This is...
Trev: Sick. So that metal dealt me what?
The Blade's Edge: this is
Trev: 14 damage probably.
The Blade's Edge: Yeah, no, no, no damage, but just, um yeah, as sort of the the mad mages, for those of you listening, if you wanted just to see why that's happening, I did crafting Valentine on the Patreon, listen only, so you can see sort of his abilities and why that, something like that would happen.
Trev: I'm just kidding. Sick.
The Blade's Edge: um As you guys make your way through this castle, why don't you guys roll me investigation checks to find your way towards the Father's Tomb?
Kyle B: It's 22 from Doc.
Trev: 21 from the knobby.
The Blade's Edge: these's ah It's Dokken and Nabi, the investigation crew. Why did I even ask?
Trev: yeah
Tommy: just, it gives me solace knowing that but like when we started this podcast, Kyle G was like, look, I'm the king of low roll. So it's really, we're going toe to toe for low roll king right now.
Kyle: Yeah. Real.
Kyle B: But Kyle G is also the one who hit three net 20s in a row, right?
Kyle: That was pretty silly.
Trev: True.
The Blade's Edge: Yes.
Kyle: Was it three or was it four?
The Blade's Edge: Yes.
Kyle B: think it was just three because four, I think we all would have shit our pants and I don't remember shitting my pants.
Trev: That's true.
Kyle: I am changed.
The Blade's Edge: you You make your way into this place. ah You guys are sort of leading the way.
Tommy: Thank you.
The Blade's Edge: You pass a dining hall, ah study, um ah a treasury, bedchamber, a bath chamber. There are many closets. There's this sort of hall. It looks like there's heroes in there, these 10 statues in there, but it's not the right place.
The Blade's Edge: ah You continue to make your way. um You check the guest rooms, the closets. You go up, too. You check the rooftops. You check ah the the towers, the high tower peaks, the north tower.
The Blade's Edge: As the battle rages on outside, you eventually find sort of an elevator that heads down, um this sort of hand-crank elevator. You work your way down into the wine cellar.
The Blade's Edge: like there's kitchen, there's butler's quarters. There's a hall of bones, bones all around that, uh, places empty. All of the people are outside. They're fighting, um, an office downstairs and then you stairs and then you make your way into a dungeon all the way down. You find a torture chamber as you guys make your way, uh, and, uh,
The Blade's Edge: a room full of braziers, tunnel, ah this sort of marble slide that could go upstairs, this spiral staircase, these catacombs.
The Blade's Edge: um And then eventually you find
The Blade's Edge: black marble steps descend to a dark tomb The essence of evil permeates the very air. The smell of freshly turned earth in here.
The Blade's Edge: You see these shining black coffins of finely waxed wood. Brilliant brass fittings. Lids closed.
The Blade's Edge: And as you enter this room...
The Blade's Edge: You see on the far end of the room a massive black tree.
Kyle: Whoa.
The Blade's Edge: Brazier's lighting up the room. These tombs litter the room all the way. And at this massive black tree in this dark marbled black room, you see sitting on a throne...
The Blade's Edge: sort of playing with a a coin in one hand over his knuckles, while in the other hand looking at what looks to be like a wedding photo of a man and a woman.
The Blade's Edge: and A man's wearing a black wedding suit, the woman's wearing a wedding gown of pure blackness. At this, you see Strahd von Zarevich sitting in this seat in this tomb,
The Blade's Edge: And as he looks up at you guys, he says,
The Blade's Edge: well, this is how it's got to be then.
The Blade's Edge: man searching for love, forced to kill.
The Blade's Edge: So be it.
The Blade's Edge: I will find Irina in this life or the next.
The Blade's Edge: he stands up. He draws a blade from his um scabbard. And you see this blade looks like it is a blade made of pure,
The Blade's Edge: um like coagulated blood.
Trev: Sick.
The Blade's Edge: The blade is pure red.
Kyle: wow
The Blade's Edge: And as it comes out, it's sort of dripping. Drips on the back of his hand, and he licks the back of his hand.
Kyle B: Sanguine.
The Blade's Edge: And he says, Right. Well.
The Blade's Edge: Tell me this, mad mage. Your life is forfeit. I will not let you live again. But the rest of you.
The Blade's Edge: When you die, I turn you into one of my spawns. one of my thralls.
The Blade's Edge: Do you want to clean the shit in the bathroom?
The Blade's Edge: Or do you want to bury the dead of all those outside? Your friends.
Kyle B: I think I'll just clean you out of my teeth.
Trev: Jeez.
The Blade's Edge: Farewell.
The Blade's Edge: Well, let's not waste any more time. He takes a step and begins to levitate off the ground. Slow motion. Left hand pointing towards you.
The Blade's Edge: Long fingernails. Teeth out. Soar back in his right hand as he's in this jump position. Begins to fly. Stal the Doc, Inabi, Dasan, Bash.
The Blade's Edge: You're familiar. Mad Mage begins to cast a spell as all of you begin to sort of run slow motion. We pan out of the castle to a war outside.
The Blade's Edge: Many people dying. Slah! no Ghosts being killed, the heads being lopped off of ghosts, their essence going back to the graveyard to fight another knight.
The Blade's Edge: um You see Erwin, Mardukov, and his brothers with their backs sort of against ah the wagon with the two ah Tenacious D surrounded by like five werewolves all scratching them. Erwin takes a gash on the left side of his face. His eye flies out. His left eyeball flies out of his face as this kid takes that swipe.
The Blade's Edge: ah You see ah Van Richten with one of the witches and he cuts off ah the witch's right hand. And as he does, the witch takes a wand out and shoots it at Van Richten. And you see his entire body shrink to the size of a little boy.
The Blade's Edge: As he looks up and the witch smiles, you see Evgeny fighting off about 20 zombies and skeletons. He's in the middle, keeping them all around him in a circle.
The Blade's Edge: And they just keep getting a little closer and a little closer. and He kills one, kills another until a spear enters through his right thigh. He falls to one knee, continues to fight them off.
The Blade's Edge: You see Jimothy ah throwing waves of water that he's conjuring from the sky ah at at people, knocking them over and knocking them over.
Trev: o Let's fucking go.
The Blade's Edge: And then you see the second witch um and casts a spell at him. A tentacle comes down to intercept the spell, but it still hits Jimothy. And as Jimothy gets back up, he goes to cast a spell and realizes that his mouth is no longer on his face.
The Blade's Edge: And he cannot cast the spell he needs to as the witch begins to laugh.
Kyle B: oh shit
The Blade's Edge: And we pan out through the clouds, through the rain. And we will see you guys next time for our final episode of The Blade's Edge, where Call the Lightning will face off against Count Strahd von Zarevich.
Kyle B: ooofo
The Blade's Edge: Thanks for joining us.
Kyle: My heart is racing.
Kyle B: Yeah, I got chills.
The Blade's Edge: I'll see you guys next time. Bye-bye.
Kyle B: Bye.
