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Ch. 30 - Thank You for Your Thyme | Corrupting Presence
0 Playsin 2 hours
If you're having trouble determining what protein would best suit your soup, perhaps it's time to call up your old friend The Butcher.
Meet the cast:
Dungeon Master – Zach Meikle (IG: @zachabee)
Clay Campbell – Prima Zhao (IG: @primbdraws)
Faunalyn Vaydark – Shannon Meikle (IG: @sharsharbinks)
Glimki Treefellow – Jordan Johnsen (IG: @jordan_johnsen)
Edited by Zach Meikle
Follow the show:
Instagram: @bard_soup
TikTok: @bard_soup
Website: www.bardsoup.com
Music & Ambience
The following songs are created by Alexander Nakarada (www.creatorchords.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Beyond the Horizon (0:00)
The In-Between (3:37)
Skaga (35:05)
Wanderer (43:52)
Solitary Diversity (1:31:39)
Enchanted Forest (1:45:14)
Nomadic Sunset (1:48:21)
Night of Mystery (1:54:44)
Roaming One (2:01:19)
8-Bit Tavern (2:03:46)
Before the Storm (2:20:23)
Additional music and ambience created by Tim Roven (www.tabletopaudio.com)
Escape from Shadow (19:50)
The Gaping Maw (29:45)
Terror in the Woods (42:27)
Field of Heroes (52:03)
Defiled Temple (1:16:30)
Lakeside Camp (1:44:15)
Sound Effects
Additional sounds provided by Pixabay
Recommended
Transcript
Arrival and Initial Plans
00:00:00
Speaker
Now, let's see, where were we? Ah yes, that's right. After arriving on the island of Mengen, our heroes traveled from the city of Onkyil to the nearby Manus town, drawn by rumors of a burgeoning rebellion.
00:00:17
Speaker
Upon their arrival, the party split up, each with their own interests to pursue. Glimke attempted to crash a meeting of the rebels, but set off a trap and was set aflame. He chased after their leader, a halfling named Callum Swift, and was able to catch up with him and explained that their goals aligned.
00:00:35
Speaker
Callum told Glimke that in order for his fellow rebels to trust him, he would need to prove himself. And Glimke determined that the best way to do so would be by finding the nature spirit Etigan and proving that he had called for his help.
00:00:52
Speaker
Callum agreed to come along on the trip and help secure lodging for his new allies in the attic of a dingy tavern called the Pike and Pint. In the morning,
Rebel Alliance and Strategies
00:01:01
Speaker
the party again embarked upon the Calimari, houseboat belonging to the town's denizen hag, Fishhead Franny.
00:01:09
Speaker
They brunched with Franny, exchanging barbs and bits of information, before Farnel and ushered Clay and Glimke out so that she could negotiate freely with dear old Fran. Ultimately, Farnlin was able to obtain the information needed to bring down the Korak Mining Company, but in exchange, she agreed to serve for 50 years upon Franny's boat.
00:01:30
Speaker
However, there was a carve-out that a willing volunteer could take her place. provided one could be found within the next two weeks. c Clay attempted to learn more about the ship's captain, the former husband of the artist, Kusty Crowther Breeze, whom they had previously met with, and in the process, Clay learned that the man had become a zombie.
00:01:48
Speaker
Despite wondering if anything could be done for him, they decided to leave him, at least for the time being, and carried on with their voyage. Our heroes set off
Mysterious Encounters and Battle
00:01:57
Speaker
for Etikin's Grove with Callum, and along the way they crossed paths with a strange mouse-like creature, which Callum tried to speak with, but it quickly ran away.
00:02:06
Speaker
He informed the party that the creature was a brigginog, an elusive species living on the island, and the only group to work in the mines other than the dwarfs. Callum wanted to talk to them and see if they could be potential allies, but...
00:02:18
Speaker
Thus far, he had been unsuccessful. Eventually, our heroes reached Ettingin's Grove, or once beautiful forest turned to stone. They walked amongst petrified trees before finding a single flower with ten petals growing amongst the stone and ash.
00:02:33
Speaker
Upon reaching it, they could all hear the voice of Ettingent speak out to Glimke, asking for his help, asking to take refuge amongst the leaves in his hair. Glimke gave his permission, and Ettingent took root, until such a time that he could be reunited with a portion of his strength he had buried deep within the island.
00:02:52
Speaker
With their mission accomplished, our heroes began their return trip out of the grove, only to be accosted by what first seemed to be leaves, but soon revealed itself to be locusts. As a familiar man, Thayun Zahir materialized in front of them.
00:03:09
Speaker
You already said all that. Nope, I did not. You are wrong. part with the story.
00:03:31
Speaker
Come gather round, travelers, and sit on the stoop. We'll tell you a story about Batsu. Three lovable scamps in our traveling troop.
00:03:45
Speaker
We'll tell you a story about Batsu.
00:04:13
Speaker
time. Spooky scary bod suit. It's something really scary. I didn't shave my face today, so it's looking pretty hairy.
00:04:25
Speaker
Joining me, number one player in the field and in our hearts. Prima, who do you play? And tell me what you're dressing up as for Halloween. Actually, make the question
Leadership and Battle Tactics
00:04:36
Speaker
who your character would dress up for. That mean seems more fun.
00:04:39
Speaker
Hi, my name's Prima. I play Clay Campbell. And for Halloween, i think, well, Clay would go as a dragon.
00:04:51
Speaker
Nice. Yeah. It might be sacrilegious or it might just be sick. But number two has hair with leaves and also hair with sticks. Jordan.
00:05:03
Speaker
Hi, I'm Jordan and I play Glimki Treefellow and I think he would dress up as the crab tower. I don't know what that was called, but think that would be a sick, sick costume.
00:05:15
Speaker
That would be a sick costume. Claws and a little house hat. love it. That would be a sick costume. There's no denying that. Big tall headpiece also belongs to our favorite elven brat.
00:05:29
Speaker
Shannon. so That can only be Fawnalyn Vedark, who is the person that I play. I, Shannon. And the person that the person that I play, which is up for as, dress up as for Halloween, is i think Fawnalyn would do a couple's costume with Fallow.
00:05:46
Speaker
And they would be just like a classic. Like it would be like Fiona and Shrek. And Fallow is the one that has the uglier and more cumbersome costume. But they would look really good together.
00:05:58
Speaker
or it'd be like Daphne and Scooby-Doo. Hell Or like, like Barbie and Oppenheimer. Shut up. You're done. I'm your favorite dungeon master. Maybe I am not.
00:06:10
Speaker
That might be presumptuous of me, but I hope you like me a lot. Hi, I'm Zach. Welcome back to Bard Suit for this spooky Halloween episode. As always on Halloween, we celebrate by introducing a man who turns into locust and tries to kill our party.
00:06:23
Speaker
Let's jump in.
00:06:28
Speaker
Ash rains down, filtering through leafless stone branches. Our heroes find themselves in a slight depression, there's steep embankments on either side of you, stretching out maybe five, ten feet.
00:06:44
Speaker
The ground is littered with twisted roots and fallen trees, several large boulders, all covered in a thick layer of ash. You can't help but notice that there small fissures in the ground, likely the result of the recent seismic activity plaguing this island.
00:07:05
Speaker
But most importantly, There is a man standing before you, roughly 50 feet away, a war pick drawn, a solid metal helmet fashioned to look like a swarm of locusts, matching those that swirl and pool around his feet.
00:07:25
Speaker
His cloak whips in the breeze.
00:07:29
Speaker
Thayun Zahir, the butcher, stands before you, ready to finish what he started. back at the Prailmi Estate.
00:07:43
Speaker
I need everyone to roll initiative. Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn. Oh man. Cool, cool, cool, cool. I'm gonna get out some good dice for this. I'm gonna get out my pink Vonelin dice that always rolled ridiculously high for me.
00:07:57
Speaker
Good idea. We need those nat 20s. I rolled a nine. I got a six. That's 17. Fantastic. fantastic Now, I would say you were likely walking either single file or given the width of this path, I would say two by two also would make sense.
00:08:15
Speaker
Who would be in the front? Kwanilin was on Clay's back. For the return trip as well? Oh, yeah. Okay. Oh yeah. oh Did I say I got off? No, you did not say you got off. So I think, wasn't it Callum leading us around?
00:08:31
Speaker
I suppose so. So it would be me and Callum probably. And then Clay in the back with, uh, Fondolin on top. stockba for The sandbag. The sandbag.
00:08:41
Speaker
That's cute nickname. In that case. I think Fondolin could be called worse. Yeah. yeah Yeah. You watch as Thayun Zahir steps forward.
00:08:57
Speaker
Large clouds of ash kicking up with each step.
00:09:05
Speaker
He's going to take his Warpick, sort of draw it across his his body, and then just whip it out towards Glimki. You watch...
00:09:17
Speaker
the locusts that are pooling around him start to wrap around his arm, extending over the Warpick,
Thayun's Capture and Interrogation
00:09:24
Speaker
forming a lance that shoots towards you.
00:09:30
Speaker
Okay. Does a 24 hit. ah oh this will Now it will be with disadvantage. So ah first attack, because he's inside his normal range.
00:09:41
Speaker
Oh, I see.
00:09:44
Speaker
Does a 15 hit. No. block with my shield. Amazing. These locusts come swirling towards you, cutting through the air. Zoom. but you raise up your shield just in time and they go did you did do do did didn pinging off of it, almost knocking you back a foot, but you hold your ground.
00:10:02
Speaker
And I would say he went forward 20, he'll back up 10 feet. So he's about 40 feet away now. Okay. Just start testing the waters and we go to Callum.
00:10:16
Speaker
Oh, Callum, be careful. This, this thing's nothing to mess with. I, I, Yeah, I guess i guess the dwarves are on to us. Callum is going to... There's a boulder just like 10 feet up.
00:10:29
Speaker
Callum is going to run forward and jump up on it. And he's going to turn to the three of you and say, Hold fast, everyone. If we fight together, nothing can stop us. And he is going to use his leadership ability, which means for the next minute, Callum Swift can utter a special command or warning whenever a non-hostile creature that he can see within 30 feet makes an attack roll or saving throw. So whenever one of you makes an attack roll or saving throw for the next minute, as long as you can hear him, he will continue to shout inspiring phrases that will give you a D4 bonus.
00:11:03
Speaker
Oh, Callum, let's go, dude. You have to be able to hear him. So if for whatever reason he is silenced or you're deafened. Or he dies. Or he dies. Exactly. The effect ends up he is incapacitated. So yeah, that is going to be his action.
00:11:17
Speaker
And we go from there to Faunalyn. We are fighting the Lord of Quiet. He better not be wearing a red shirt. That's for all the Trekkies out there. So you can't see bleed.
00:11:28
Speaker
Dang, I was going to say that Faunalyn and Fallow would be spock and Kirk. um but in like their slutty mirror universe costumes ah for Halloween. And I should have said that because it would have tied in really well.
00:11:42
Speaker
Yeah. Evil Kirk? Fondalina's Evil Kirk? Come on. Does that mean Star Trek exists in Zav? Like as a... Does Star Trek exist in Zav, Zach? 100%. It's like a so series of bard tales. Tell me, Hank, I'll be sure to ask him about it.
00:11:59
Speaker
Ask him about Star Trek? That's so cute. He's wasting time writing Star Trek songs when he's supposed to be writing about not the captain. What the hell? You need a free spirit. Sorry, not to ruin the vibe. It's battle time.
00:12:14
Speaker
No, no, thank you for vamping because I didn't know what I was going to do. We're going to be giggly and funny until somebody gets hit for 30 damage and then the vibe immediately share. Yeah, then this will be no longer fun at all. And it seems to be funny.
00:12:25
Speaker
Okay, what I'm going to do is I am going to use my movement to run I'm gonna hop off of Clay. I like put my hand on Clay's face and vault myself as far as I can towards one of the trees.
00:12:37
Speaker
And I'm going to use my bonus action to attempt to hide myself. Amazing. Let me ask, are you going forward or back? Forward. Okay. So you're going up and left to get closer, but like not, yeah, but like hide behind that tree that's close to him.
00:12:53
Speaker
Yes. Am I able to do it? ah No. way and It would be about 50 feet, I think, or so to the tree. So if you wanted to use your action to dash and then your bonus action to hide, you could.
00:13:08
Speaker
Otherwise it would be a bit far. There's trees behind you that are closer. You could slip off one of those if you wanted to stay further back. For this turn, I'm going to do that because I'm I'm trying to get advantage and I'm pretty sure somebody else is going to end up in melee range of him by next turn. So this turn I will run further back and hide behind a tree that's closer to me.
00:13:28
Speaker
So I hide behind this tree. I dash behind these bony branches and I lose myself in the branches and I take a quick breath before i immediately immediately unloading my short bow and attempting to, through some of the branches, shoot him.
00:13:45
Speaker
Amazing. Give me first off a stealth roll with your bonus action to see if you gain advantage on this attack. Okay. Oh, that's a, that's a cute little 21.
00:13:56
Speaker
twenty one Can I do something for you? As the locusts clang into Glimki's shield, they scatter, slightly obscuring the field of vision.
00:14:07
Speaker
And I will say you are able to dash to the nearest tree, hide behind it, take a breath, and then come out arrow drawn. Oh, Lordy, that's a 10 to hit.
00:14:18
Speaker
With advantage? With advantage! I forgot! That's another 21. 21 will hit. That's two 15s today. Give me damage and don't forget your sneak attack. I never do. I never have and i never would. That's because you've never attacked.
00:14:31
Speaker
Okay. Yeah, this is the first time you've done a move that is based within the confines of the rules. Maybe since episode seven.
00:14:44
Speaker
Zach actually ruined my life here by putting me in a field for combat where there's literally nothing to try to light on fire. Like, what am I going to do? I'm going to attack like a Queebian? also made trees stone. The trees are literally stone.
00:14:55
Speaker
Did you do that if I wouldn't do this? Was that a Shannon-proof measure? I don't know. I don't know. This is going to be lot of damage. I can already tell based on vibes.
00:15:08
Speaker
Oh, that's a one. That's 13 damage. 13 damage, not bad. Okay. Yeah, you shoot him and I think he is going to Locust Shift.
00:15:19
Speaker
You hit him with this arrow and it catches him in the shoulder, but as it hits, he is going to burst into a cloud of locusts and then reappear 10 feet to the side.
00:15:30
Speaker
He just shifts over in the swarm. So he is going to have the damage he takes in that attack. Using his reaction to do so. Interesting. That is the trouble of shooting an arrow at a swarm of things that can move.
00:15:43
Speaker
That's what I've always said. That's what I've been saying. Action bonus action movement. Anything else? What else is there? Don't forget also for what it's worth, despite the fact that you hid, Callum would have been like, and remember,
00:15:55
Speaker
you're the greatest fighter I know. hearing you could add a deeper yeah To my attack or to the damage? The attack. So you don't need it for this round, obviously, but remember that going forward. Got it.
00:16:08
Speaker
Yep. Good to know. Callum, I'm going to need you to say some more stuff that's realistic because we just met. So that one's not going to work. That's not realistic? You didn't think that one's realistic?
00:16:20
Speaker
I just it's not on reality. I just mean it's not based on reality. He doesn't know who else. I have a wig, because I'm pretty and beautiful, I can't also be a fearsome warrior? yeah This is also the first time I'm seeing you do this. Sorry, I meant to say you're the prettiest warrior I know.
00:16:37
Speaker
Well, that's actually, now it feels condescending.
00:16:42
Speaker
We go to Clay. Fondland slides off your back, runs off. Callum runs forward and starts shouting at you guys. Glimki has his shield out. What are you doing? I remember you said burning hands at the end of last session, but like... Instead of burning hands, I'm going to cast Scorching Ray.
00:16:58
Speaker
Okay. Amazing. Create three rays of fire and hurl them at targets within range. I will point out to you that he is there and you see as he shifts around, you can see that there are a couple of swarms of locusts kind of pooling in, like seem independent of him.
00:17:14
Speaker
So he is not the only combatant. Similar to last time you fought him, he seems to have a couple of swarms of locusts in tow. Is he himself like one target or is he like the individual locusts?
00:17:27
Speaker
So most of the time he appears solid, but then it seems at times he's able to just like burst into a cloud of locusts and then reappear as a humanoid shape. well Okay. All three rays go directly to him.
00:17:38
Speaker
Amazing. Clay's going to extend her hands and fireballs come out. oh bo These bursts of dragon fire burst from your fingertips. Give me three attack rolls. Plus seven. Whoa.
00:17:51
Speaker
That's 22. Ooh. That hits. Let's go. Yay. Should I roll all the attacks and then damage? Yeah. give me all three attacks. if they're all three, you're going at him. Give me all three and then.
00:18:01
Speaker
Okay. That's 20. Not natural. And that's 17. not natural
00:18:08
Speaker
that's seventeen All three hit. Callum is looking at you and saying, yes, burn him. The dwarves won't know what hit him. And the three fire blasts come firing out at him.
00:18:20
Speaker
Give me, is that a D6 or 2D6 per? It is 2D6 fire damage. Damn, okay, 6D6 fire damage. Wow, holy.
00:18:31
Speaker
ah Let me pull out all my D6 for this because it's... I don't have that many dice. Oh, I rolled. Okay, let's see what that is. 12 plus seven. shit, this is a good spell.
00:18:48
Speaker
Okay. You see some of the locusts that are clinging to his armor, just wings flapping, incinerate. His cloak starts to smoke and pats it out. There should be a yell, something to indicate the pain that he's undoubtedly feeling.
00:19:03
Speaker
but he doesn't make a noise. His head turns to look at you. ah Appearing before us was a big mistake. We're gonna end you this time. And while he's distracted with the Scorching Ray, she's gonna cast her spiritual weapon as a bonus action behind Aha, not this time, muchacho.
00:19:21
Speaker
I can't cast two level spells in the center. Ah, okay. If you want to take back that 19 damage and cast spiritual weapon, I won't stop you. No, no, I'm still going to keep... No, no, no, no, no. I'm going to just run towards him then.
00:19:36
Speaker
Okay. With all your movement? Let me see. What is my movement? 30 feet. So I get like, what, halfway there? Yeah, you'd be able with about 10 feet away. Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah, I guess I'll go up towards... Where are his locust swarms located?
00:19:51
Speaker
We'll say that he left one behind when he shifted, and then we'll say one pooled kind of near Glimke. Like he's kind of a coalescing around Glimke from the ones that were shot off by his ranged attack.
00:20:02
Speaker
Okay. I think Clay is going to try to go towards the tree on the hill on the left tree on the hill or right tree on the hill. ah Left, I guess.
00:20:14
Speaker
And if she has any movement left, can she try to like go up the hill? I would say with your movement speed, you can get right to the base of it. Okay, then that's where I'll go. So you dash over 30 feet in a diagonal.
00:20:27
Speaker
Fondland dashes to the right and hides behind ah different tree. it is the turn of the locusts. Ah, yes. It's the turn of the locusts, yes. So, one swarm. What's their movement speed?
00:20:38
Speaker
30. 30. Okay, one swarm is going to dash towards you, Clay. So they're going to use all their action or all their movement to their movement and their action to traverse the distance and start swarming around you. They don't have a chance to start biting yet, but they will.
00:20:53
Speaker
The ones that landed next to Gloomkey are going to start swirling around. They're going to move into your space and start biting. Does a hit? yes okay
00:21:05
Speaker
You take 10 piercing damage as they start finding openings in your armor and your your clothing and start tearing at your skin. God damn. Okay. Swarming. that The noise is just deafening as they all around you.
00:21:19
Speaker
That is the locusts. And we go to Glimki.
00:21:24
Speaker
um Would moving from the locust provoke an opportunity attack? I'm going to say no. Okay. Maybe technically, hey, hey, kids at home, it's been a while since we've talked.
00:21:35
Speaker
I don't give a shit. Nice. Hell yeah. Because I don't give a shit either. Glimke's going to try to swat away
Moral Dilemmas and Revelations
00:21:42
Speaker
the locust and start running right up the middle, his 25 feet, and then he's going to stop and I'm going to take the dodge action, but in this case, flavor it to just be shouldering up behind his shield.
00:21:55
Speaker
Gorgeous. To like get ready for the next attack. Okay. You dodge and Thayune moves in to strike. He is going to attack you with disadvantage.
00:22:07
Speaker
nish Twice.
00:22:11
Speaker
The first attack is a 17. Nice. Glancing off the shield again. oh Amazing. like Okay. so So first strike, boom, glances off the shield, but again, almost enough to knock you off your, off your feet.
00:22:25
Speaker
It is a heavy strike. Second strike, also a 17. who but boom Pounding at the shield. He's exerting so much force, but you don't hear so much as a grunt coming out of him.
00:22:41
Speaker
God dang. He looks down at you, an unreadable expression, masked by his helm. God. As he strikes at you, you hear a voice faintly within your ears.
00:22:58
Speaker
Green Knight, I do not know if you can resist this foe.
00:23:04
Speaker
If you need my help,
00:23:07
Speaker
I can awaken one of my children, the tree, across from us. And for you, the a guy with the map, the tree in the back right corner.
00:23:19
Speaker
If you lay your hands upon it, I can deposit some of my remaining power into it. And perhaps he can be awoken once more.
00:23:31
Speaker
Okay. Sounds like a plan. He says in his mind.
00:23:38
Speaker
The ground erupts. Wait, what? You've experienced this once before since arriving on the island. An earthquake tears through the grove, shaking the ground.
00:23:48
Speaker
Clouds of ash erupt up. I need everybody to make a dexterity saving throw to try and maintain their balance. Goddammit, dwarves. 13. Clay, you fall prone.
00:24:00
Speaker
I got 15. Glimki, you get exactly what you need to keep your feet. and you fall prone, sliding down next to that tree, just falling and trying to grab onto it and just losing your balance.
00:24:15
Speaker
Callum falls off the rock. No. so He doesn't take any damage. Faunal and Zahir rolls a natural 20 and maintains his balance. Because he's flying, this bastard.
00:24:28
Speaker
The locusts don't need to roll, so Glimki and Thyune stay upright, locked in combat. Bonnel and Clay and Callum all fall prone. Glimki, you can't help but notice the ground that you and Thyune are standing upon.
00:24:41
Speaker
There was these small fissures throughout this space. Oh, I see that. The ground appears to be crumbling. Oh, shit. It hasn't given yet. You don't know if it will, but it seems like something has been dislodged and it probably the ground standing upon. Uh-oh. Oh, shit.
00:24:59
Speaker
Callum, who is prone, is going to stand up and pull himself back up onto the rock. He's going to pull out a skinning knife, fishing, like a knife he would use to peel a fish. Peel fish? you peel fish?
00:25:11
Speaker
Hey, I was born in the prairies. Skin a fish. Descale a fish. He's going to take a dagger, and I think just outside of normal range, so it'll be disadvantage.
00:25:22
Speaker
Okay. That'll miss even with- Oh, he's trying to throw it? Yeah, he takes this dagger from the rock and says- Okay, was like, this kid better not run out here. Take that, you dwarven goon!
00:25:32
Speaker
The dagger goes spinning to the air, doesn't come anywhere close to hitting Thayun Zahir, and he goes back to standing on the rocks and looks over at Clay and Fondlin in turn and says, Come on, get up! Don't stop fighting yet!
00:25:47
Speaker
Such classic friend and bc RPG friend.
00:25:52
Speaker
That's Callum's turn. He's no longer prone. Fawnily, it is a you. It's a me. I'm prone. I'm going to use my movement to stand. Sure. That's half your movement. You still have 15 feet. I'm going to stay right where I am because I can't get to another tree with 15 feet. Nice try, Zach.
00:26:07
Speaker
I'm shooting at him again, and I believe I'm still hidden. ah You'd have to make another stealth roll. so I have to use my bonus action again to hide. Do they get advantage because I'm within five feet? is I do, yeah.
00:26:18
Speaker
Then I get my sneak attack. You won't get advantage. We're not advantage, not advantage, but you get the sneak attack. Yeah. So I don't need to, so I don't need to hide. Okay. I'm going to save my bonus action then. Well, you can try to hide to get the advantage if you want. I don't want to.
00:26:31
Speaker
I want to do something else with my bonus action. i should have hidden. That was a two ahead you to I mean, six is eight. You're welcome to add a if you want, but. What's a D4? That's 12, a 12 to hit.
00:26:46
Speaker
12 will miss. Callum says, come on, hit him again. And you don't. Cool. I think negative reinforcement helps her better.
00:26:57
Speaker
Ategorically untrue. Let him try it. I'm going to use my bonus action to use my master of tactics ability to give someone the help action.
00:27:09
Speaker
And I'm going to give game key. I help you. da I yell. I cut my hands and yell from behind the tree. Don't listen to Callum. Listen to me.
00:27:20
Speaker
You're not doing that well yet. I know you can do better. That's more like it. And you get the help action. Amazing. You shout out your help to Glimki and we go to Clay lying on the ground.
00:27:36
Speaker
Okay, I use my movement to stand up. Kip, that's half your movement. This time I will cast Spiritual Weapon as a bonus action. What does it look like? My flaming mace appears behind him and comes slamming down on his head.
00:27:52
Speaker
Okay, give me the attack roll. Yes, come on. o Okay, that's not good. That's a nine. Total? Yeah. Oh, can add a d4? We can add a Callum says, hit him with that flaming mace.
00:28:08
Speaker
That was cool in the first episode he was introduced to Mal. For a total of 11. 11 will miss as the mace comes crashing down into the ground. Thayun glances over his shoulder, sidesteps it as Ash kicks up in a cloud around you, around him.
00:28:20
Speaker
Okay. God dang it. You still have half your movement and an action. Okay, so if I try to climb up to this hill and I'm on higher ground, can I attack with advantage? Is that how that works?
00:28:33
Speaker
No. No? that No. I don't believe high ground can raise an advantage in 5e. And I'm saying 5e as if it implies advantage in another system that I'm like aware of, but I don't.
00:28:47
Speaker
You know what Hey, I'll give you advantage. If you want to climb the hill, I'll give you advantage. This guy's making up his own rules. This might backfire a lot with the sneaky rogue, with the sneaky sneak attacks, but hey, screw it. If it starts being unfun for me, I'll change the rules again.
00:29:03
Speaker
But if you want to climb up... I can see this being very dangerous. Yeah, well, I figure two of you, only one of you really seems to benefit from this, and frankly, it's the class that I think is... Oh, no, no, I'm not talking about this thing, but I'm going to start carrying a stepstool around. ah um he says One second, sir. Climbs up a stepstool, slaps him with advantage.
00:29:29
Speaker
Yo, if I piggyback Glimki, does he get advanced? higher ground i don know No, no. I think so. Minimum of like 10 feet. Oh, okay. Well, I'll use my 15 feet.
00:29:42
Speaker
So you you climb up the hill, up the ah yeah embankment? Yeah. So you pull yourself to your feet, summon this spiritual weapon, and then pull yourself up this embankment so you know you're standing at the base of this old stone tree.
00:29:54
Speaker
Okay, does it seem like it's loose or anything from the earthquake? It's big, it's hefty, but you see the ground has probably been loosened from this seismic activity. There's a chance.
00:30:08
Speaker
That the tree might fall over? It would take a significant exertion on your part, but if you want to try and push a tree down onto a guy below, it might be possible. Okay, well, I'm not saying that's what I plan to do, but I just wanted to know if the option was there. Of course.
00:30:24
Speaker
Then I can cast a cantrip as an action now. Sacred Flame is 60 feet. Am I still within 60 feet of him? Yep, for sure. Oh, I guess if spiritual weapon is, then then this is also.
00:30:38
Speaker
Target must succeed on a dex saving throw. Dex saving throw? Yeah. Okay. He gets a 19. Oh, well.
00:30:50
Speaker
Let's see. That's it then. Okay. This fire comes down from the sky again. We'll say it's like ah an afterglow of the spiritual weapon burning through the air.
00:31:02
Speaker
Some of the fire shoots off and starts to try enveloping him and he just steps out of it. Doesn't take any damage. That is clay no longer prone. We are going to go locust mode.
00:31:13
Speaker
look The locusts are going to follow Clay up the hill and the other locusts are going to swirl back onto Glimki. So first attack against Clay. Oh, Zaddy's rolling hot tonight, kids.
00:31:27
Speaker
That's a 22 to hit. Oh my god, yeah, guess so. Clay, you take 12 piercing damage. Piercing? Piercing. it Glimki, that's a 6 to hit.
00:31:40
Speaker
Ha! The untouchable Glimki tree fellow. Well, don't jinx it. Locust, but you're just you're pretty heavily armored. They can't seem to find purchase. Clay, it hurts.
00:31:53
Speaker
That's decent chunk of damage. Glimpki's turn. Locust on top of you, Thayun in front of you. Glimpki's going to raise his shield up. He's going to try roll between the butcher's legs and use the disengage action to try run towards the tree behind Okay.
00:32:09
Speaker
I love it. Disengage. Disengage. Full speed. Okay. so you get about, we'll say halfway. We'll say it'll take one more move to get all the way there. Nice. when You disengage, start sprinting.
00:32:20
Speaker
Did you take, you took damage on the locust on your first turn, right? Yep. I will say Clay and Faunlin, the two of you see Glimki run past Thayun.
00:32:31
Speaker
He's got this orange and pink flower now embedded in his hair with 10 petals. But you see as the locusts start biting him and damaging him, one of the petals falls out.
00:32:42
Speaker
Okay, nope. Oh no. Oh no. no It's like an escort mission. Oh Yeah, if Glimki dies, does Etigan die?
00:32:54
Speaker
i think Glimki can't take 10 hits because then Etigan's dead. I don't think take 10 hits in general. Okay, so that's Glimki. You disengage and sprint.
00:33:04
Speaker
Yeah. It Thayun's turn. He is going to charge after you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. yeah Trail of locusts streaming out behind him, weapon drawn.
00:33:16
Speaker
He's going to try and drive the Warpick into the back of your skull.
00:33:21
Speaker
Does a 13 hit? No. Second attack. A 21. God dang it. Yep. Uh-oh. Glimke, you take 12 piercing damage.
00:33:33
Speaker
Mm-hmm. I need you to make a constitution saving throw. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 19. You cry out in pain as this blow hits you. You feel your voice start to get silenced by this silencing strike.
00:33:50
Speaker
but you manage to fight through. The scream comes out, but in the process, you lose another pedal. Oh, fuck me. Okay. Two down, eight to go. God damn. Holy frick. way. way.
00:34:04
Speaker
Uh-oh. We have to end this quickly. The ground collapses. Oh, fuck. Deck saves. I'm going to need a dexterity saving throw from both you and Thayun Zaheer.
00:34:18
Speaker
Oh, fuck. As the ground tears open, falling into the- Oh, shit. The tree that was closest to you is uprooted and tips over, balancing perilously on the edge of this cracking, crumbling, collapsing ground.
00:34:32
Speaker
ah Holy. I can add a d4 to this or? You can add a d four to this. thank fuck. Wait, so where are you guys standing? Oh, I rolled a four. That's an 18.
00:34:45
Speaker
An 18. The ground is falling out beneath you. You're not going to make it. Callum shouts, go, so go, go! And you jump with everything you've got, managing to just grab onto the edge of this ravine, pulling yourself up, catching your breath.
00:35:00
Speaker
Goddamn. Thayun needs an 11 or higher. It's a 50-50 chance to see if he keeps up with you or falls into the hole.
00:35:09
Speaker
Natural one. He rolls 17. Fuck. fuck ah down He burst into a cloud of locusts, swirling, and once again, coalescing next to you, unrelenting, unyielding.
00:35:27
Speaker
It's Callum's turn. He's pretty freaking far away from you. I think he's going to start moving his way towards you. He's outside of a range of daggers. He's outside of the range of anything.
00:35:38
Speaker
No. No! Anything else he can do. So he's going to just pick his way around the exterior of this crevice, taking the right-hand side. He'll run over, jump over some of the smaller gaps, keeping a decently wide berth in case there's further aftershocks or collapse.
00:35:55
Speaker
We'll see he gets about halfway to you by dashing. Fun. It is your turn. Am I able to run up to Glimke? Nope. You are maybe 90 feet away.
00:36:08
Speaker
Motherfucker. Even with a dash, you'll only get two Even with a dash, I'll only get two thirds of the way. You're sick and twisted. Sick and twisted. Okay, fine. you have the chance to go forward or back. You win back. Bonus action. Bonus action.
00:36:21
Speaker
Dash. And then I action. Dash. And then when I get close, I... yeah I'm gonna taunt the butcher, because you're gonna lose all your flower petals, and I'm gonna yell,
00:36:33
Speaker
Are addicted? you want to get high again? you miss this stuff? Don't worry, we can hook you up. Do you still have Cermiche in her ass?
00:36:45
Speaker
window I'm not even going to have him roll for this. His head turns to look at you. As you get closer, you can see he's wearing this locust helm.
00:36:56
Speaker
Before, there was a slight gap between the shoulders and the helm. That's how you were able to poison him last time with the black leaf. You don't know if he's had it reforged or if this is some sort of living metal made of locusts, but it is completely sealed.
00:37:11
Speaker
There is no seams in your head. You hear. I will silence you. And he his attention is fully on you. That's scary actually. Oh joy, okay.
00:37:25
Speaker
Anything else? i don't think you can anything else, but anything else? What else is there? Unless you want to give me one of my secret. I get, you know what I get a lot of flack on the, on the small sphere of the internet that Bard Soup owns. I get a lot of flack for getting an action, a bonus action, and then a, like a secret Shannon action.
00:37:43
Speaker
And then like a second action, the second bonus action, if I want them. But this is proof that i I follow the same rules as everybody else. Okay. I get an action, and a bonus action and a movement. And that's all I get. Hell and misery upon anyone who says that.
00:37:57
Speaker
Being said, Actually, I'll save that. Lest we forego the hell and misery upon our foes. Trust the secret Shannon actions are going to come as soon as I get within range of the the secret Shannon action sphere. Excellent.
00:38:13
Speaker
Clay, it is your turn. You are standing up on this hill. Any thoughts you may have had of throwing a tree down on a man probably have evaporated as the ground has broken around them.
00:38:24
Speaker
Glimke and Clay stand 20 feet from the far tree that Glimke appears to be running towards. You don't really know why. Your spiritual weapon could still be moved and attack. It's floating in the air over this ravine, but you yourself are fairly far from the action.
00:38:41
Speaker
Okay. How far in feet? I would say roughly 75 feet. Okay. I'm 75 feet away. My spiritual weapon was next to him and now it's close enough to move up to him and it's swing again, right?
00:38:54
Speaker
Okay. So I'm going to do that first. Go for it. that's a bonus action. Spiritual weapon activates. Yeah. It's just following him around. geez. geez Okay. 15? 15 is enough. fifteen fifteen is enough Okay, nice.
00:39:09
Speaker
What does spiritual weapon do? plus 4. 11 damage. plus four eleven damage Okay. The spiritual weapon goes flying through the air like Thor's hammer, fire burning out behind it like a comet, catching him in the chest.
00:39:24
Speaker
I will say he is going to Locust Shift, reducing it from 11 to five, and he shifts in front of Glimki. Actually, no, he will shift in front of Faunolin. Oh, shit.
00:39:36
Speaker
leaving the path to the tree clear for you, Glimki. Okay. But Faunolin, there is now one Thyunzah here right in your face. ah Okay, I still have an action.
00:39:47
Speaker
How far is he away from me now? Still 75 feet? Yeah, roughly. Okay, then what this? Guiding Bolt is 120 feet. That would work.
00:39:58
Speaker
Okay, I use that then. Okay, roll it. That's good. 26. 26 hits. me some damage. Guiding Bolt does 46 radiant damage.
00:40:14
Speaker
16. 16? Yeah. yeah Zam, dude. Okay. Holy shit. You're doing work on this guy. i'm no i'm I might be mistaken, but I think you've done 40 damage to him so far. God dang. Oh my lord. Amazing. Clay, I'll keep distracting him.
00:40:32
Speaker
Callum calam turns to look at you, Clay, and says, you're doing great. Fondal and sacrifice won't be in vain. Then I'm going to try and get his attention on me instead of on Fonlin. Sure. By attacking him and screaming across the chasm.
00:40:50
Speaker
Look over here! You ugly piece of shit! Nice. Can I get a, I'm going to call this a persuasion roll. Very high.
00:41:01
Speaker
Unless you can think of a more applicable skill. This isn't deception. It's not really intimidation. Okay. I guess persuasion. Performance, arguably. My persuasion is actually pretty good. So my pretty good. I mean, it's plus four. Oh, that's not good. Can I add a D4 to this?
00:41:17
Speaker
No. No. That's a seven. Okay, seven. He does not seem to hear you. His attention is fully focused on the loud elf in front of him. That makes sense. noise is an unpleasantness that he wishes to stifle.
00:41:32
Speaker
And it's the locust turn. They are floating in space. i think they're going to continue on with their attack pattern. Clay, one on you. Glimke, one on you. God. Get away from me. Clay, does a 12 hit.
00:41:44
Speaker
Nope.
00:41:46
Speaker
Glimke, that's an unnatural 20. God damn it. Come on, low damage. Let's go low damage. 12 more piercing damage. Frickin' And another petal. Etikin! No. Okay.
00:42:04
Speaker
It is Glimke's turn. If you heal, will that heal Etikin too? I don't know. Okay, how far am I from the tree? 20 feet. twenty feet Okay, perfect.
00:42:15
Speaker
Close the distance to the tree. going to just say in his mind, like, okay, Ed, again, it's your time to shine. Plants his hands on the tree. Okay.
00:42:27
Speaker
The green flash of power. that normally emits from your sword when you divine smite is mixed with flickers of pink and orange as the stone that has enveloped or become the shape of this tree begins to melt away.
00:42:47
Speaker
You hear Etigan's voice a little stronger now than it has been previously say. Sap fiend, come forth.
00:42:58
Speaker
I need you. The stone cracks.
00:43:05
Speaker
And then bursts. Shards of stone go flying in every direction. And you watch as this tree begins to take on a more natural brown color. Bits of leaves and flowers begin to bud and sprout from its branches.
00:43:21
Speaker
And you can see a face. almost carved into it, but do you think it's more natural. A mouth opens. Etigan, old friend, let me assist you in your time of need.
00:43:35
Speaker
As Sapfiend, the treant bursts forth from the ground. Nice. As you celebrate, three petals fall from the flower. Oh. Oh, no. What is he at?
00:43:51
Speaker
Four. Four remain. Yeah. Okay, bye, Etigan. It's been a slice. got this. How? In what sense? All of them.
00:44:03
Speaker
Oh. Sight, sound, smell. Was that my action? That was your action to do so, yes. The treant begins to burst from the ground, roots wrapping around stones, pulling himself forward.
00:44:20
Speaker
And I think Etigan will say... The Locust Man, he must be stopped. And Sap Fiend will attempt a slam attack. Let's go, Sap Fiend.
00:44:33
Speaker
Come on, Sap Knock him into the hole. That is a natural 20. Let's go, Sap Fiend, dude. He will hit him for 66 bludgeoning damage. damage.
00:44:47
Speaker
twenty eight bludgeoning damage Thayun Zahir thinking that... who does he looking. Thayun Zahir thinking that he had a good sense of the other combatants, unaware that help was on the way, nearly dies as this Ent burst from the ground, charges towards him and hits him. He tries to turn into a swarm of locusts, but he's already used his reaction. He's unable to, and he is sent spinning through the air.
00:45:18
Speaker
landing in a crumple and this time he makes a noise he plants the war pick in the ground and pulls himself up to his feet you see that the helm is slightly cracked but he is not defeated yet and it is his turn the come on come on He is going to disengage from Sapfiend and Fonelin, his plans of striking her down, temporarily abated, and he is going to throw himself into the fissure in the ground.
00:45:53
Speaker
What the? No! What? You hear a rustle of leaves from within. We're not leaves, a rustle of wings from within, and he seems to be attempting to flee.
00:46:04
Speaker
What? God damn it. What's in the fissure? Is it like just a hole? is it like endless? Nothing's really endless except for... I feel like it's probably like mine shaft maybe is below or something. I don't know. We have to follow him.
00:46:19
Speaker
Can't let him get away. we? Yes. He's almost dead. We can kill him. We can question him. Callum is going to say, we did it!
00:46:30
Speaker
Yes! Korok's got nothing on us! Cuckoo-cachoo! I'm just trying out some new battle cries. i don't know if I like that one so much. We'll workshop it. Shut up, peasant boy!
00:46:42
Speaker
And I am going to... have I'm going to see if there's any way down that hole. You run up to the edge of it. There are handholds. It is natural rock. It is rock that has collapsed recently. it looks like the edges are loose.
00:46:56
Speaker
It's not there. There are handholds, but they might not hold. You can also see to the bottom. um How far is it? 20 feet. Okay, not bad. And you can see a ah swarm of locusts dispersing into the different cracks in the ground.
00:47:11
Speaker
There's still enough of a shape of a man that you could strike at it, but he's clearly trying to escape. Easy peasy. I yell, Slitherforth Magic Rope!
00:47:22
Speaker
And I jump into the pit with my hand outstretched above me, trusting that the rope will follow my command to latch itself around something above and find its way into my hand.
00:47:33
Speaker
Please let it happen, so cool. I will let it happen for sure. It is only a bonus action to activate the rope. Nice. I'll say you lash out the rope and it wraps around one of the branches of Sap Fiend and you just slide down into the dark.
00:47:48
Speaker
And then how close am i once that's done? How close am I to him? couple feet, 10 feet away. Close enough you can get everything in. Oh, man. I assume my movement has been used up by vaulting myself into a hole.
00:48:02
Speaker
I will tell you what. If you want to get up to him, I'll have you make an acrobatics check. On a failure, you may, like, that's like you pushing your your speed limit, you know?
00:48:13
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. you may You may fall, you may take some damage if you if you're unsuccessful, or you might just slide down the rope like a badass and get up to him, no problems. slide down the road like a badass and get up to him, no problems.
00:48:24
Speaker
Ready? I just gave my dice a little kiss. cookies I did it didn't like the kiss. My dice might be asexual. That was acrobatics. Do I get help from buddy boy?
00:48:37
Speaker
Sap fiend? Nah. No, D4. No, no, no, from the peasant boy. Oh no, that is only for attack rolls and saving throws. What is the use of him? Okay, i got a 12.
00:48:47
Speaker
I will say... You have your choice of taking some fire damage as you burn your hand, rope burn, or not being able to reach him in time. Oh, 100%. I want to take some damage. Hit me. Hit me.
00:48:59
Speaker
You take four fire damage. Easy peasy. ah been on fire before, you guys know that. Okay. And I am going to swing at him with my rapier. I think as I, just for flavor, as I swung down on the rope, I held on with one hand and with my other hand, I pressed the button on my umbrella. So I deployed it midair and almost like slowed down my descent just fractionally with this parasol and end my, i land hard on the rock and I swing up and As I swing, the parasol part dislodges and just floats and flutters to the ground as I continue my swing with the deathly sharp rapier at the end of it.
00:49:41
Speaker
Amazing. Give me an attack roll. Ooh, that's not bad for once. That's going to be... oh and I get a plus four. I get a 16 to hit. 16 will hit.
00:49:55
Speaker
Okay. Yes. know Credit where credit is due. That was all Callum because I didn't have it without Callum. does Callum say? Yeah. Callum says stab him.
00:50:06
Speaker
So helpful. Okay. And I don't have to talk for any reason. Nope. Ooh, but I rolled maximum damage. that's That's going to be... Oh, it's... Frick, I forked up.
00:50:18
Speaker
I rolled a d6 instead of a d8, and I got a 6 on the d6, but now I have to re-roll with d8, because I was supposed to roll a d8, and it's probably going to be less than 6. Backstabber. Oh, it was an eight!
00:50:29
Speaker
Oh! Oh, shoot! Cool.
00:50:37
Speaker
cool So that's going to be super sexy twelve non-lethal damage No, kill him. You need to do eight or more as he attempts to locust shift once more.
00:50:51
Speaker
But you just pin one of the locusts at the center of his body to the ground. And as he tries to dissipate, his body pulses oh my god then coalesces around this rapier.
00:51:02
Speaker
He lies on the ground bleeding and unconscious. Whoa. I hope the last thing he hears as he falls unconscious is, I'm going to put drugs in that hole in your mask, in your mask buddy. I'm going to put so many drugs in it.
00:51:16
Speaker
I'm not actually. What I am going to do is remove my rapier carefully and attempt to administer enough first aid. Like, I would like to give him, like, help to stabilize him so that he doesn't bleed out while my friends come collect me. As I trust they're going to do.
00:51:31
Speaker
as he is knocked unconscious, the swarms of locusts that seem to be bearing more intellect and more directionality, intentionality, before, revert back to their base state.
00:51:47
Speaker
And they just land on a couple of these stone trees, look for leaves that no longer exist, and stop attacking And quiet is restored to the growth.
00:52:00
Speaker
Bonalyn? Hmm... I'm alive. Somebody come fetch me. We have a prisoner. you kill him? No, no, no, I did stab him, but no, he's still alive. I want to question him.
00:52:14
Speaker
Oh, make sure you tie him up real good. When you tie up Locus? We need to put him in like a, like a chamber. Like jar. Under a jar? Each individual Locus? Yes. But he's in man form, so where are we going to get a jar that big?
00:52:28
Speaker
Big jar. any of you have a spell for this?
00:52:32
Speaker
Spell for big jar? No. But creative. ah Recast spiritual weapon, but it's a giant jar. I could use, um like, if we wanted to just flavor it out of combat, I could use my channel divinity to use nature's wrath and wrap him up in spectral vines.
00:52:52
Speaker
and Assuming because he's unconscious, he would fail automatically. For sure. Okay. Nice. Let's do it. cool I'm worried he would shift still, but like shift out of it still. But I think it's still he would have to make a saving throw, I would imagine.
00:53:07
Speaker
OK, good. I just don't think he would ah automatically escape, but I don't know. Come down here and let's question him down here because i it's harder for Locust to fly through a tunnel than it is through open air.
00:53:19
Speaker
Sure. Okay, Glimki is going to climb down right after he uses his Lay on Hands to heal himself because he's almost dead.
00:53:29
Speaker
So we're going to give myself 20 hit points back. Gorgeous. Does the healing affect etiquette? Oh, good question. You lay your hands upon yourself. Your wounds, there's like this nasty bruise forming on the side of your face.
00:53:44
Speaker
It begins to heal. The color fades, but the flower in your hair is unaffected. No. Damn. Okay.
00:53:55
Speaker
Glumki climbs down the side of the cave here and then using my channel divinity, yeah like takes a knee, places his hands on the ground, and like that green energy spreads from his hands like a tree root base, and then the the spectral vines kind of erupt from the earth and wrap the butcher up.
00:54:16
Speaker
Nice. I'll say the branches and vines pull his limbs back bursting from the side of this ravine and pull him back up against the wall of this gap in the rock.
00:54:30
Speaker
So he is slightly suspended off the air and entirely restrained. Okay. Very nice. What questions do you want to ask him before we go wake him up? No, I wanted to kill him. This is kind of on you Yeah. this know This guy killed my friends. This is evil manifest. He tried to kill us. Yeah.
00:54:49
Speaker
Yeah, but somebody sent him to do all of that. Malfourth, we assume. But what does Malfourth want? What does he know? You know what I mean? Like, there are important questions we have to ask. And then you can execute him.
00:55:02
Speaker
Should we take off his helmet and see who... Oh, my gosh. Yes, yes. Unmask him. Oh, yes. Do we have more drugs?
00:55:13
Speaker
We've got one thing left. Cool. I think we should drug him. Is that going to help us with the communication or is he going to be worse off? he Give me the drugs and we'll threaten to drug him.
00:55:25
Speaker
I also have a spell, Zone of Truth. Oh, let's just use that. Let's just use that. I have Zone of Truth. oh It's a spell I've prepared just in case.
00:55:38
Speaker
Amazing. that might be progression in Let's just do that. but i don't want it i like i feel like we're going to get a better use out of the black leaf. This guy's death's door. know, I really just wanted to drug him to, like, mess with him again.
00:55:50
Speaker
Because he changed his mask to not get high. We can use the black leaf or something else for sure. Don't threaten me with a good time. and Like, infiltrating this base, I think we're going to There's going to be a gambit there somewhere.
00:56:03
Speaker
Ooh. I want to dress you up like a dwarf, but we can circle back around to that. good That's crazy. Okay, yeah. What do you need to what do you want to ask him? I mean, it seems like you're kind of you kind of have an idea.
00:56:17
Speaker
You want to know where this guy came from? Why he killed Prima's friends? How are they connected to the princess? But let's start with the most obvious. Who the fuck is this guy?
00:56:28
Speaker
Let's peel off his helmet. Yeah. Let's take off his helmet before he wakes up. Take off his mask. The helmet is cracked in damage from the various strikes he endured.
00:56:42
Speaker
Like I said, the helmet seems to have been modified so that it is a whole part of his armor. It is continuous. There's no seam. There's just this crack. So you start chipping away. you start peeling away at these cracks and it managed to reveal the bulk of his face.
00:56:58
Speaker
you see that he is ah he, first off. Humanoid. A human, to be specific. Appears to be in his late 30s. He's got a shaved, not quite to the bone, but very tight haircut.
00:57:13
Speaker
Dark features. Rather impressive scar upon his cheek. A flat nose. And a mouth that is sewn shut. Don't be dissuaded by that. He can talk perfectly well. Yeah, he shouted at us.
00:57:27
Speaker
He shouted at us. In my head, he did. So he can talk. He's been yappy. Don't even worry. Okay, well, go ahead.
00:57:37
Speaker
Okay. Wake him up. Cast the hyper-relevant spell that you have, please, Claire. I cast the Zone of Truth. The target knows that it's been cast, though. It's the only issue. and he doesn't have to answer.
00:57:49
Speaker
But he can't lie to us. And it lasts for 10 minutes. I don't have anything to wake him up with. Can one of you guys give him, like, a hit point? I don't have anything for that. I'm more of a battle master.
00:58:01
Speaker
ah and you guys should stand 15 feet away from him, unless you also want to tell him the truth. Oh, good call. Stand within. I didn't care. Well... I could retroactively remove one of the points from my Leon hands.
00:58:20
Speaker
I'm fine with it. Give him one point. He will wake up after an amount of time, but... Okay, I'll do that. yeah rapidly and as so um Yeah, okay. I'll do that.
00:58:30
Speaker
Can I just slap him awake? um yeah You slap him a few times and his head just kind of lulls from side to side. Blimki comes up and does the same thing but slips in a little healing magic.
00:58:43
Speaker
And his eyes slowly open there dark. He's suspended from the cave wall and he looks down at you with just fury burning within them.
00:58:56
Speaker
Good morning, sleepyhead. Did you enjoy your rest? There's no response. Yeah, he's good. This guy's a pro. Greenkey, get the... Why don't you be a deer and get the black leaf ready? You tried one question.
00:59:13
Speaker
Just get it ready. Just get it out. Have it on hand. We're still talking. Mr. Zaheer, or should I call you Butch? Tell me, who are you? There's no response. Oh my god, this is going to be so tedious. I will say, are talking, you are...
00:59:28
Speaker
talking you are by nature an insightful person his eyes are darting around and they are not it's not a look of fear it is a look of calculation he is looking for a way out of this situation oh linky would you prepare yourself for an escape attempt from our friend if he makes any move to escape can you beat the shit out of him with your weapon Klimki pulls out his sword, puts his shield on the ground and sits on it like right next to him. He's like, yeah, I'm ready.
01:00:03
Speaker
did Okay, Mr. Zaheer, my name's Lady Veydark. We have a few simple questions for you. And if you answer our questions, number one, i will continue to speak quietly.
01:00:17
Speaker
i think you know from experience that I can be very, very loud. And I'm holding a big metal thing. And I hold up his helmet. And another big metal thing. And I hold up my rapier and I like kind of mime the way that I could bash his helmet with my rapier and just make a terrible, terrible noise.
01:00:36
Speaker
But I don't want to resort to that. so The other thing I don't want to resort to is killing you. I don't want to do that. So I would appreciate if you answer a few questions quietly.
01:00:46
Speaker
We can keep our voices down and then we'll see about letting you go. Are you amenable to that? i need to know, are you being genuine? So I chose my words very carefully there.
01:01:01
Speaker
Fonelin does not want to kill him, to resort to killing him, and she doesn't plan on being the one to do it. So nothing of what she just said is a lie. The possibility remains that anyone else down here might kill him.
01:01:14
Speaker
I think ultimately that still falls within the realm of deception. So I'm going to have you make a deception. roll Does the zone of truth give me disadvantage or anything? You're standing outside of it, aren't you?
01:01:26
Speaker
No, she said she didn't. oh you I said I was going right in there. don't think she was lying you can lie. You create a magical zone that guards against deception. In a 15-foot radius sphere centered on a point within range until the spell ends, a creature that enters the spell's area for the first time on a turn or starts a turn there. Oh, it makes a charisma saving throw.
01:01:46
Speaker
So I'm going to have you make a charisma saving throw to start. Yeah, that's so slay. That's a five. The fondling dice are kind of ruining my life right now. hey Creature can't speak a deliberate lie while in the radius. You know whether a creature succeeds or fails on this save.
01:02:02
Speaker
Now, this is a weird thing because i i I hear the wording that you have provided, and I think that falls within the purview of not speaking a deliberate lie. like You've kind of talked around the issue to some extent.
01:02:15
Speaker
I'm still inclined to call it a deception roll, but you can make it a persuasion roll if you would like. I would way rather make it a deception roll. A deception I am better at. you we're going say persuasion because you're in a zone of truth.
01:02:28
Speaker
Okay, that's that's a 15.
01:02:32
Speaker
should have given him the drugs, guys. He looks down at you, Phonelin. Slowly nods his head. Amazing. Okay.
01:02:42
Speaker
ok Who are you? nod in a zone of truth, I guess. You cannot speak a deliberate lie. ah Oh, we're but we're all getting into the synagogues now.
01:02:55
Speaker
ah With words, please. He kind of juts his chin forward, showing you his sewn mouth. Clay's going to go over and rip his mouth open.
01:03:05
Speaker
Oh!
01:03:10
Speaker
final in the zone of truth and loki like almost throws up but comes back clay you do that and he screams yeah yeah i guess and then falls unconscious oh man it's him Clay, that was crazy.
01:03:31
Speaker
He can talk in our heads. We didn't even ask him to do that before you ripped his mouth open. Are you crazy? Alright, somebody want to wake this guy up? I don't have any. I don't have anything.
01:03:44
Speaker
Oh my god. Clay, do you have a spell to fix him? Can I do a medicine check? No. What? What? Can you fix him?
01:03:56
Speaker
Uh, no, so sorry. I'm- Holy shit! I'm talking to Sapfiend up here, and this tree shape leans over the ravine. That tree was my friend. And he points at the stone tree that's kind of fallen into the into the crevice.
01:04:13
Speaker
But not a very good one. So, listen, Sapfiend, I think if you're interested, there's this rebellion going on. Rebellion.
01:04:24
Speaker
Oh my god! okay! Can we do a medicine check on him or what? Can we please do a medicine check? Do you have a healer's kit by any chance? Healer's kit? No.
01:04:36
Speaker
Surprisingly, no, I don't think so. I have a thief's tool somehow. so
01:04:44
Speaker
Can I look inside his mouth?
01:04:48
Speaker
Sure. What does look like? Is there a tongue? There is a tongue. His lips are bleeding from where the stitches have torn. You see on his tongue, in fact, there is a tattoo.
01:05:01
Speaker
It is a dark circle with a line through it. Oh. The keep out symbol. It extends beyond the barriers of the circle.
01:05:11
Speaker
Imagine, for lack of a better description, hes like ah a minimalist drawing of Saturn. Right. If you'd like, you can make a religion check. Yeah, sure, I'll make a religion check. My religion is notoriously bad.
01:05:23
Speaker
Such an interesting healer cleric you are. Yeah, she's not good at very much as she is. 13. Just a vibes guy. Yeah.
01:05:34
Speaker
And she hates this guy. You did a ton of fire damage, too. Yeah. You can assume or you have a strong feeling that this is probably, for lack of a better word, the holy symbol of the Lord of Quiet.
01:05:49
Speaker
yeah implying to you that this act was probably part of some sort of religious ceremony, an indoctrination, not something.
01:06:01
Speaker
i mean, you're even like looking at like the stitching. It looks professional. You doubt that somebody would have been able to do this to themselves looking in a mirror. This man is likely a true believer.
01:06:15
Speaker
Now it sounds like nobody has any healing magics. Can we stabilize him? We'll say he's stable. He just passed out from the pain. Okay. Holy shit. Clay will cast Healing Word, I guess.
01:06:29
Speaker
So you did have something! No! Clay's gonna, like crouch over this guy and, like, lean in really close to him and, like, whisper the Healing Word into his ear.
01:06:40
Speaker
and When he's awake, she's going to whisper to him, I don't care what kind of deal you make with Lady Fonelin, whether you tell the truth or not.
01:06:52
Speaker
You killed my friends and I'm going to kill you here. Doesn't matter if you were acting on anyone's orders. What you've done is not right. And you deserve to pay for what you've done.
01:07:06
Speaker
She whispers that in the zone of truth. So baller. After healing him back to like 1 HP. don't know how much healing word did. Yeah, you like lean, like, you know you reach up.
01:07:18
Speaker
You cast the spell. You whisper in his ear. He looks back at you. I believe you. His voice is hoarse. It likely hasn't been used in many years.
01:07:32
Speaker
cracks as he speaks. He looks at you with resignation. Was it worth it? Whatever Malfourth has over you to make you do this?
01:07:45
Speaker
He doesn't have anything over me.
01:07:52
Speaker
Your friends were nothing but coin.
01:07:56
Speaker
How did you find us here?
01:08:00
Speaker
I've been following you.
01:08:05
Speaker
Since the ship.
01:08:08
Speaker
Locust here. Locust there.
01:08:14
Speaker
Almost lost you on the dragon, but managed to keep up.
01:08:23
Speaker
Why? Just for coin?
01:08:29
Speaker
I've never
01:08:33
Speaker
let a contract go unfulfilled.
01:08:39
Speaker
Guess you were my first.
01:08:43
Speaker
Where Lord Malforth now?
01:08:47
Speaker
If you let me go,
01:08:51
Speaker
I can tell you, Hals. oh I'll take you there myself.
01:09:00
Speaker
We can can strike them down together. It's nothing personal. It's just business.
01:09:11
Speaker
He's saying this in the zone of truth still? Yes.
01:09:18
Speaker
I really want to kill this guy.
01:09:22
Speaker
He's offering to take us to Malford. and he's in the zone of truth, so he must be speaking the truth. Yeah. So now i'm like, uh, do I let him live?
01:09:36
Speaker
do want to kill him Question. Have I heard how I've been able to hear any of this exchange? He is talking. It is quiet. But there's, other than the murmurs of a tree and Callum up above, there's no other noise.
01:09:52
Speaker
And I'd say you can make out the details of this conversation. And we know he failed his charisma save, right? ah Clay would know as the one who... Yeah, I'm going to say yeah for the time being, Zone of Truth is a spell that like every six seconds I have to like make a die roll, you know, like, you know, whatever. Right. And I'm just like, for the time being, until a time arises that you touch on something he doesn't want to talk about.
01:10:15
Speaker
Okay, I see. that he's I'll know if he's trying to. Yeah, right. Got it. Right now he's not trying to resist. He's trying to survive. Clay is debating whether or not to take this path of vengeance. Yes?
01:10:26
Speaker
Yeah, she's debating whether to let this guy live or like, avenge her friends and kill him anyways. But, like, letting him live and lead us to Prince Malfur, who is ultimately, like, the one who ordered the hit on her friends.
01:10:42
Speaker
So... Fondelan approaches Clay and lays a hand on their shoulder and says in a low voice, I will never judge you for exacting the justice that you feel is correct.
01:10:55
Speaker
I would only say that at times where I wanted bloody revenge, you and Glimke have cautioned me that there might be a more strategic approach.
01:11:07
Speaker
And on a personal note, sometimes I think death is too good for someone. Oh, holy shit! Oh, holy shit! Oh, shit!
01:11:18
Speaker
Oh, my god! Oh, shit! What if, what if, oh, we're getting out of this deal so fast. What if we take him to Tildy? What if we take him to Tildy and have him walk on the thing and then he doesn't die and he gets 50 years of punishment.
01:11:30
Speaker
That's pretty good. I don't even have to give the punishment to the guy that I originally bargained the punishment punishment for. And we take him to Tildy, not Tildy, whatever the name is, the other spooky lady. Fanny, Fanny.
Confrontations and Decisions
01:11:40
Speaker
Fanny.
01:11:41
Speaker
Fanny. Yes! Don't tell her called her for accident. She'll be really mad. And then he doesn't have to die and he gets sick, sick vengeance. And we can just ask him where Malfourth is. We can say, where's Malfourth?
01:11:53
Speaker
Fauniline is talking really loud, by the way. Her voice is just like echoing loudly around the cave. and And we just, we just, this because we just, we just ask, we can just ask, hey, hey, where's Malfourth?
01:12:05
Speaker
Tell us now. I was going to ask if Fauniline was telling the truth about the bloody vengeance thing, but it seems kind of moot now. 100%. Fonelin is driven by revenge. She's not going to judge her friends for wanting it too.
01:12:18
Speaker
Yeah, so how much of that do we tell this guy? All of that stream of consciousness, exactly as I said it, was out loud by Fonelin. Got it. I got it.
01:12:28
Speaker
Okay, I think that sudden burst of energy from Fallen probably snaps Klai out of it a little bit, as well as her honesty about vengeance and like being pulled back a little bit.
01:12:40
Speaker
So I think Klai is going to be like, as much as it pains me to leave you with your life when my friends are dead, if you value your contract so much,
01:12:55
Speaker
then I will allow you the dignity of reporting your own failure back to Malfurth. And you promise here to show us where he is, tell us where he is, and fulfill contract that Fonelin has made with fish head Franny and willingly offer 50 years of your life.
01:13:20
Speaker
Otherwise you die here. Give me a persuasion
01:13:24
Speaker
oh can somebody somebody do something to help i have no nothing to help you with but frick that was sick prima you're scary today i like it just give me the health action yeah you're sick as hell today it hates this guy i don't know what can we say about this i can add And for your information, I promise the contract is much less abusive than the one you're currently entered into. It'll be a cakewalk, a long cakewalk, a cakewalk compared to what you've been doing. You can roll with advantage.
01:14:01
Speaker
Oh, yes. Okay. That would have been bad. That would have been bad Okay. That's better. That's better. I rolled a two and a 13. Okay. okay So with my persuasion, that's a 17.
01:14:18
Speaker
He closes his eyes for a long second and for a moment you think maybe he's fallen unconscious again. But he opens them and he looks at you, Clay.
01:14:31
Speaker
And he nods his head. Mm-mm. Mm-mm. Glimki slaps his light with his sword. Uh-uh. Out loud. Yeah, Clay like grips his bloody jaw.
01:14:44
Speaker
Clay!
01:14:47
Speaker
Sonalyn has a little handkerchief out over her mouth and is just like slightly gagging into it every time Clay does something gnarly. Am I? He's going to attempt to resist the zone of truth.
01:14:59
Speaker
Ah, he's not going to do it. What's your spell save DC? 15. Charisma's 15. I want to say this guy's charisma must be super low. He's a disgusting man made out of locusts.
01:15:13
Speaker
he opens his mouth and says, Fine. I'll do it.
01:15:26
Speaker
I'll fulfill this contract.
01:15:29
Speaker
And you know that he is lying. Okay. Clay says, thank you for your time, and casts Burning Hands. oh Oh, shit.
01:15:45
Speaker
Damn. you for your time is so cold. cold so part but I can see Clay, too, like, sitting in, like, the, like, slav squat with, like, head hanging, like, I tried, dude. Like...
01:16:05
Speaker
The vines that he is wrapped in begin to burn. Fire wraps up around them, consuming his body. He bursts into a cloud of locusts. hot Fire rips through the cloud, burning each and every one of them to ash.
01:16:24
Speaker
He opens his mouth to scream, and no noise comes out. And Thayun Zaheer dies.
01:16:34
Speaker
Yo. Sorry, guys. He was lying. he wasn't going to do it. Kuki stands up and cheats his sword and he says, no, you did the right thing.
01:16:46
Speaker
Sorry, Faunolin. I meant it. I will never stand in the way. i will never stand in the way of your vengeance. And don't worry. got lots of other guys that we can light on fire or whatever, rip their faces open until they agree to take on my contract.
01:17:01
Speaker
That was freaking crazy, Clay. Oh my God, I threw up over there. That was crazy, but honestly, very badass. Very badass. i'm I'm sorry you had to see that side of me.
01:17:13
Speaker
He deserved it. And for him to have helped us, he had to be willing and he wasn't going to do it. If I was looking at, one of my enemies as you were, i think I would show exactly the same amount of restraint.
01:17:29
Speaker
Okay.
Sabotage Planning and Exploration
01:17:30
Speaker
I'm hungry because I just threw up a lot. So should we go back and get some lunch? Uh, yeah. Yeah. Did to Callum see all that?
01:17:42
Speaker
Probably. You hear from up above. So yeah, like there's not a lot of us right now, but we recently doubled our numbers. And if you join, you'll be the biggest member. And I think, I don't know if that matters to you, but it might be might be in a good incentive.
01:17:57
Speaker
The biggest member of your forest. I could get used to that. Falk Breath was always the biggest of this forest. Is he around? No.
01:18:11
Speaker
Um, i I don't, I don't know who that is. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah. Callum D'Nati. Pay attention for a second as to what was going on down there.
01:18:24
Speaker
Oh yeah, Glimke, what the heck did you do Who's that guy? That tree? Was that you're doing or Etigan's doing? It's all Etigan, baby. And Glimke reaches up to feel the flower and now is realizing the um the petals are are missing.
01:18:42
Speaker
It doesn't seem like we have that much time with him, though. So whatever it is we're going to do to restore this area and this forest, we better act fast. What does Etigan want you to do?
01:18:56
Speaker
I don't know. But it seems like the thing that's sucking the life out of this place is hidden behind the walls of that mining operation. So I think we keep chasing our leads.
01:19:08
Speaker
Okay. On that note, I have a few ideas. Number one, we need to break into the office that we were told about by Franny. have a few ideas about how to do that. Number one, Glimke, I do think you would make a very becoming dwarf.
01:19:21
Speaker
And I'm pretty sure I could make it happen with one of my wigs upside down. And I'm really good with disguises. So I actually think that would be a really good idea. Number two, I'm actually very sneaky. So the point is, don't exactly know the plan, but there's moving pieces. Clay has a lot of really good spells. So we've got to get one of us up to the office, or all of us even, and we've got to get that thing. And once we've gotten that thing, I think our lives will be easier because then we'll know what our ammunition is.
01:19:49
Speaker
you know what I mean? Well, and speaking of ammunition, maybe we should go check on Callum's friends and see how their deal turned out. Yes, good idea. Because they were buying some essentially black powder, I guess.
01:20:02
Speaker
Yeah. Right? Is that right? Yep. So yeah, but hopefully that didn't go south. and They got like an inside man, I guess, shipping them out some black powder. So it's probably a good idea to head back and see we can link up with them and see how we can ah divide and conquer.
01:20:18
Speaker
Excellent. And then I do think we should do something to stop the mining operation. Like, I was thinking, Funnel can pitch these ideas as they like crawl out of the out of the cave. and Actually, before we go, can I look around this funnel? Where does it go?
01:20:34
Speaker
Yeah, you look around. Give me an investigation or perception roll. That's like my fourth 10 of the night. I'm pretty perceptive. That's a 14. You look around. It seems like it doesn't really go anywhere. Like there's smaller little fissures that shoot off of it.
01:20:50
Speaker
It seems like the ground just kind of collapsed. You don't think it was like a pre-existing tunnel. More so just the ground caved in from the from the earthquake. If there's any larger pathways, they are fully buried in rubble.
01:21:04
Speaker
You look around and it does not appear that there's anywhere really to go from here. Is this a natural tunnel or a made tunnel? Definitely looks natural.
01:21:14
Speaker
It doesn't look like it was like an access path or anything that was previously carved. Interesting. Okay. Okay. This is good to know that there's natural tunnels running under this place. I wonder if Ettingen or one of the gang would know where another one is because actually another one of my ideas, I do want to also hear your guys' ideas, but another one of my ideas was that we essentially sabotage the mining operation by spooking like big noises, something really scary and say that like they've dug all the way to hell and there's a demon down there.
01:21:45
Speaker
And then we can go around and be like, Oh, the mining corporation doesn't care about the lives of the workers. Look, they sent that guy to live on the boat and he fucking died. And that other guy is going to have a heart attack on the wheel and fucking die. And they don't care about you because look, they dug a hole to hell and all the demons are coming out and they're still making you work.
01:22:02
Speaker
Anyway, I think that would be a useful and creative way to undermine the enterprise. Boost, please. And Farnalyn accidentally like clicks Grimpy in the face as she steps up on a higher rock.
01:22:16
Speaker
Excellent. I'll climb up using the magic rope. good point. Slither forward, magic rope, and she, like, gets pulled up, and both of her feet hit Grunkey in the head, and she zips up.
01:22:28
Speaker
ah Just, like, her loose feet.
Journey and Strategic Discussions
01:22:30
Speaker
Amazing. God.
01:22:39
Speaker
Doctor, quickly. It's my son. I think he's caught a plague.
01:22:46
Speaker
Gothica Plague Worlds is a dark fantasy 5e compatible TTRPG coming to Kickstarter in November. Wander the cobbles of gas lamp lit streets inspired by the Victorian era, choosing from many new subclass archetypes or even one of the brand new classes.
01:23:01
Speaker
Gothica Plague Worlds is a complete package with new mechanics, storylines and a diseased world ready for your next campaign.
01:23:12
Speaker
ah boy should be fine You, however, do not look so good. Let me take a closer look. No, don't come any closer. It's too late for me, Doctor. Bolt your door and do not open it.
01:23:28
Speaker
Goodbye, boy.
01:23:34
Speaker
okay
01:23:39
Speaker
and
01:23:48
Speaker
Gothica Plague Worlds goes live on Kickstarter on the 1st of November. You are pulled up through the air. The treant sap fiend looks at you and says, Hello.
01:24:02
Speaker
I'm the biggest tree in this forest. I look around to see if that's true. You immediately spot a larger tree, maybe like 20 feet away. 50 years is not very long in a tree's life, right?
01:24:15
Speaker
Hey. Hey. You thinking that out loud? She's exploding options. No. She's desperate. Sapheen just woke up from being stone. I'm not putting him on a phone. Yeah, why were you stone?
01:24:28
Speaker
Like, why are all the trees covered in stone? Oh, good question. Our creator, Etikin, faded the joy The Ent Song was silenced, and in our sadness, we turned to stone.
01:24:49
Speaker
Well, we're gonna get you guys singing again, but we're gonna need your help. I don't know how yet, but if Callum has done his job in recruiting you to the cause, we're gonna need you.
01:25:02
Speaker
I am Sapfiend, the tallest tree in this forest.
01:25:12
Speaker
And I will help you. Nice. Okay. Well, time to go. And as you say that, the sun explodes.
01:25:25
Speaker
Nice. You can rest here under my branches. Oh, thank God. No, thank me.
01:25:37
Speaker
Right, sorry. Thanks, Sapfiend.
01:25:41
Speaker
Sapfiend. You're welcome. Yes. You're so tall. You're taller than all these other trees. I'm Fonelin, by the way. I'm Sapfiend. Do you have to rest? Because you were just sleeping for a really... I know. You were just resting for a really long time. So if we just... And Fonelin is going to hoist herself up onto a branch.
01:25:59
Speaker
If we just did this, could you just keep walking in the direction that we point for the night? I could. You may fall and break your neck like countless stupid children before you.
01:26:11
Speaker
Oh my god. But it is possible. Okay, well, okay, let's take a nap. No! I have two weeks to find some dumb bastard to walk for 50 years on a stair climber, okay?
01:26:26
Speaker
Who would agree to that? I can't do two minutes on the stair climber. We've got to go! No! Gloomkey is unfurling his his bedroll under the tree.
01:26:38
Speaker
He says, don't remember making that deal. no, no, no. Slither forth and I'm going to lasso Gloomkey's bedroll and yoink it up into the tree.
01:26:52
Speaker
Gloomkey's fully asleep. Climkey and his bedroll are suspended by the magic rope. and Callum climbs up into the branches, looks down at the two of you, Clay and Fonelin on the ground.
01:27:09
Speaker
Clay will gently step up onto the tree also and secure herself to take a nap. ahll I'll tell them which way we need to go, and then hopefully we can catch some sleep.
01:27:20
Speaker
And hopefully we don't break necks. don't to sleep. Oh. I don't need sleep. i i um all over it. And I seize two branches as if I'm like driving, like piloting a...
01:27:33
Speaker
spaceship like one of the ships in star trek like kaiju and i'm going to gently turn his head towards the direction that we need to go oh yeah roots from beneath him spring out of the ground then
01:27:54
Speaker
so is this a short rest or is this long rest i will say it can be a long rest if you want it to be like yeah yeah You're going to hang out awake, Faunelin, and make sure we don't die?
01:28:06
Speaker
Yeah. Well, I was going to a trance, and they only need four hours of it, so I feel like after you guys rest for sufficient- Oh, so Callum can for a little bit. guys six hours? Yeah, exactly. Callum can watch for a little bit. I'll wake Callum up for four hours at the end.
01:28:18
Speaker
It's like a half day's walk, right? It's like a 12-hour walk or something, right? Ten miles, so, you know, like a half day. Or we can sleep when we get there for a few hours. But the point is we're not stopping to sleep. We are moving. It saves time. Okay?
01:28:31
Speaker
It's efficient. We can take shifts. I will sleep for a bit. And then when I'm feeling better, you can trance and I'll make sure you don't fall out of the tree. Gorgeous. Thank you.
01:28:42
Speaker
Okay, I'm going to need two things. First, I need a percentile roll for everybody to avoid randomly falling out of the tree in the middle of the ah What if we prepare really well by securing ourselves to a thick bridge? tied to the magic row.
01:29:01
Speaker
Glimke will say you're exempt. ah Clay and Fondolin, if you wish to take similar precautions, you are welcome to. Yes, I tie the other end of the magic rope so that we are like both dangling.
01:29:16
Speaker
Excellent. On either end. I'm going to say the magic rope is then not available for you, Fonolin. <unk>ta Wow. That's fine because I'm the one who's keeping watch for all of my sleepy, sleepy friends.
01:29:31
Speaker
So we'll say you don't need to make that roll either. Callum, however, aum however will need to make the roll.
01:29:39
Speaker
Okay, so Callum falls out of the tree in the middle of the night and only takes three bludgeoning damage, but he will get next roll. He'll get it back. It's a long rest. Yeah.
01:29:50
Speaker
I need everybody to now make a DC 10 constitution saving throw. Again, we'll say not you, Fondolin, but Clay, Glimke, and Callum as you attempt to gain the benefits of a long rest in this uncomfortable position.
01:30:05
Speaker
It's comfy. You guys love it. Callum rolled with disadvantage because he fell out of the tree and he rolled a natural one as a result. So Callum gains a level of exhaustion and will have disadvantage on any ability checks going forward for the next day. I've rolled good.
01:30:19
Speaker
ah got a 17. Clay sleeps like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders. Nice. And Glimke? I got a two. Glimke, you will gain a level of exhaustion. Dallian,
01:30:32
Speaker
You do not regain or you do not benefit from a long rest. Oh no.
01:30:38
Speaker
The tree lumbers through the night. Glimke, you bonk against is his trunk with every second step.
01:30:50
Speaker
God damn it. At one point he starts singing to himself. I'm the tallest in the forest, young and tall as far as me. And you're like, those words don't make any sense.
01:31:04
Speaker
Tallest tree up in the forest, look, look, look at me. The tree lumbers through the night and eventually, Fonelin, the sun bursts back into life above you.
01:31:19
Speaker
In the distance, you hear the sounds of the lake and a short while later sap fiend comes to a stop on the shores not far from where callum's boat is tied up did i get to talk to him during the night sure if you want to just like want to ask what kept glimki up what happened to ed again like trying to sleep and she's just gabbing away
01:31:51
Speaker
So then Fanny talked about my brother Dianil, and I haven't heard from Dianil in a hundred years, so that was a real curve. By the way, what's Ettingen's deal?
01:32:01
Speaker
Like, what happened to them? island is corrupt. You might think this is merely snow falling from the sky, but actually it's ash.
01:32:18
Speaker
Yeah, way ahead of you, buddy. Ash. Glimki, go to sleep. Shush, shush. Glimki's bouncing off the trunk of the tree. We ah we found that out 10 seconds of after we got here.
01:32:35
Speaker
Dwarves burn our tree kin to fire their forges. Ooh! That seems to excite you. Sorry, that was a really inappropriate noise for what you were saying. I not an idea. Could you finish what you were saying, please? I'm so sorry. It's okay. I had a separate thought.
01:32:53
Speaker
Then it was intrusive. and I really like sap. Whoa. Yes. Everybody loves maple syrup. Yes. Yes.
01:33:05
Speaker
I haven't seen my brother in ten years. Ten years is not that long for you though, right? Like ten, fifty, fifty years. It's not like that long. Fifty years is not that long for one such as myself.
01:33:21
Speaker
I think I could do anything for 50 years if I put my mind to it. I bet you could. like you. I'm glad that we are such good friends.
01:33:33
Speaker
And Fonelin is going to, Fonelin is like sitting on the ranch. She's going to like flip backwards like those kids in the show Recess and like dangle face to face with Glimke with one hand on her wig so it doesn't fall off her head.
01:33:44
Speaker
glimki since you're not sleeping even though you're supposed to be now would be a really good chance to ask about like don't know edigan i was thinking and she lowers her voice and like swings she's like swinging back and forth but when her head is close to glimki she says one word at a time and she's like i was thinking maybe you could learn more about edigan the god council thing but shaing and that's what it's called but Something like that.
01:34:12
Speaker
And um she like hits your head with her head. Sorry, this guy might know something. And she crunches up to sit in the sitting position again. i i appreciate that.
01:34:23
Speaker
I feel like the information we're go to get out of this guy is Ed again went away. The trees were silenced. He's the tallest tree in the forest. I am the tallest tree yeah in the forest. Also, don't want to judge.
01:34:41
Speaker
This guy was very helpful to us. I don't know if putting him on a boat is the nicest thing to do. I hate boats. See how easy that was to figure out? They're made of my kin. I much prefer sap.
01:35:01
Speaker
that Sap fiend, my man. how How do you think we could help restore power to Ed again? The corruption must be stopped. Yeah, got it. That's what I thought.
01:35:13
Speaker
The sap must flow.
01:35:17
Speaker
Okay, i'm goingnna try to I'm going to try to sleep. Callum wakes up at this point and nudges your shoulder, Glimki, and says... Yeah, so i was thinking instead of sap, water.
01:35:32
Speaker
That was my idea. That's why I'm trying to get this blast powder. I think if we could find some weak spots in the mines, this is an island. We might be able to blow some holes deep within and just like flood the flood the tunnels.
01:35:46
Speaker
And I should put a stop to things once and for all.
Infiltration and Sabotage Plans
01:35:51
Speaker
Are we sure that damaging the island's integrity more will actually help? I'm just worried about if we start blowing up portions of the island or the tunnels that are running through to the heart of this this place, we may not actually restore it.
01:36:12
Speaker
And Ettingen said that I had to find his his heart in inside the island. So I don't think flooding the tunnels is the best idea. Maybe it's a it's a two-part operation.
01:36:25
Speaker
Step one, you find the heart. Step two, light a fuse on the way out. Maybe. Ettingen's restored.
01:36:36
Speaker
The mining stops. And maybe maybe he can take it from there. Yeah, maybe. ah wonder where the best way to get into the and to the core of the tunnel would be to find out where his heart is.
01:36:49
Speaker
I think you're right, maybe we save some for an extra strategy, but... We should definitely use some to playing off what Fondlin was saying as well. Maybe not the whole haunted tunnel demon portal thing, but just instill some fear into these workers so they don't want to work for them anymore.
01:37:08
Speaker
Like, let's blow blow up a boat or, like, I don't know, a transport depot. That's what my idea was. Guys, I'm awake now, too. I had a such a good, long, restful sleep, surprisingly. Oh, that's awesome. I'm really happy for you.
01:37:23
Speaker
I hope you slept well. Yeah, the the rocking motion of your steps is really soothing, actually. You're covered in sap. Yeah, helped me stick to your tree bark better so that I didn't fall off.
01:37:38
Speaker
Do you like sap? ah Yeah, it's good. It's good. Good. Yeah, I love maple syrup. You are the second tallest tree in our forest.
01:37:55
Speaker
That's true. Anyways, so I had an idea too. came to me in my sleep. With all the quakes going on, if we secured the blast powder, whatever, instead of blowing up the tunnels, we could blow up like headquarters of the dwarf operations specifically and say the quakes have been getting more serious and they should stop mining because it's affecting their...
01:38:23
Speaker
Like it's actively harming themselves to keep going. And maybe that will make them stop. I wonder if any of these tunnels run underneath the city. Because what instead of just trying to attack the building, what if we dropped one right out of a city block?
01:38:40
Speaker
Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Under the guise of the quakes getting battered, we can blow up one of their buildings. Then you scare the workers. They don't want to work in a mine that's potentially going to collapse.
01:38:54
Speaker
Yeah, but they don't want to mine if it's going to keep making things worse for themselves. I think if we were to, I don't know, kind of stage of mine collapse, maybe we could get some kind of pause to their operations and we could access the mines ourselves without anybody in there.
01:39:13
Speaker
I just don't think that's going to last very long because... you know the leadership will push them back to work, offer them hazard pay or something to get them back inside the mines. But even if we scored ourselves a day where we can... Just enough time to find Edgid's heart.
01:39:29
Speaker
Yeah, maybe maybe that's a play. To get all the things we need from it before they go back to work. It's worth a try. It's worth a try.
01:39:41
Speaker
I don't think I understand. I think what Prima and I are thinking is if we can if we go to some find a way into a mine or near a mine where they're operating, we blow it up on purpose so it collapses.
01:39:55
Speaker
But like in the vein of the earthquakes are getting worse because people are mining. Maybe if we stage some collapses, they'll pull everybody out for a day and be like, whoa, this is dangerous.
01:40:08
Speaker
In that time, we sneak into the mine and have free reign to go searching. And then, but I'm thinking that we won't have much time because you know the mining operation is going to be like, we don't care.
01:40:20
Speaker
Like we need materials. So go back in and we'll pay you extra. So like we probably will only get a day or even a few hours between them coming out for safety and having to be sent back to work.
01:40:35
Speaker
That's just an assumption. hi I like that plan. And we want to use the time where the mines are presumably being evacuated or people are just distracted to specifically search the... For the heart of that again.
01:40:48
Speaker
he Oh, for the heart of that again. Genius. Okay, okay, okay. So it's separate. What confused me was I was... I got... When you said search, my mind immediately went to, like, the portrait that we have to look behind.
01:40:58
Speaker
oh no, no. But that will be a separate ruse. That is also a separate thing, yes. We're going to lots of ruses. I'm into it. We could honestly start there still. Like, our... Our infiltration element could still be a thing, but that could play maybe more of a role in you getting out of your thing. <unk>re like You need to find somebody that's going to be willing to go on this boat. So finding dirt on them is probably important.
01:41:21
Speaker
And the second prong is, can we protect the Heart Etigan? Okay. Yeah, we probably want Etigan. I feel like this whole thing is going to come down into some kind of giant confrontation. So we probably want... Potentially.
01:41:34
Speaker
You like that plan! Okay, so we came back here to find out how the explosion gathering went, and that's going form our next action, yeah? Yes, yes, yes. Yes, this all hinges on the fact that we get explosives. This all hinges on if they got the blast powder, yeah. Yeah, and weren't immediately all arrested.
01:41:52
Speaker
But if they did get the blast powder, it means there actually is someone on the inside that's selling blast powder, like a dwarf is. Yeah. hu So that could be an inn also. Could be.
01:42:04
Speaker
So Callum is going to look up at Sapfiend. He's going to climb down and look up at Sapfiend and say, okay, so you're part of the Rebellion ah forest.
01:42:18
Speaker
So could you just like stay here and wait for me to contact you? Like don't wander off. I won't wander anywhere. There are many trees i have not spoken with in some time.
01:42:34
Speaker
Okay, great. you So why don't we why don't we go back to town? I don't know about you guys. I didn't sleep very well. I might... Also, like, I almost died yesterday.
01:42:46
Speaker
so I might take it pretty easy today until I hear back from my my friends. Okay. I don't know I suggest you do the same. I think the less we're seen together, the better.
01:42:58
Speaker
But why don't you why don't you grab a drink at the the Pike and Pint and... Oh, you know what? so ahll I'll tell you what. You go to the Pike and Pint and if Rint, he's the lizard who owns the place, if he says that man across the bar bought you a drink, that means I've got news for you.
01:43:17
Speaker
And if he says anything else, it means I don't have news for you. Sounds good. Okay. So you're going to buy us a drink if you have news for us.
01:43:28
Speaker
Yes. And then... and if you don't buy us a drink, you don't have news for us. Correct. Yeah. And if I buy you a drink, you should come down into the wine cellar.
01:43:39
Speaker
And don't step on the last step because I am going to reset the trap and you'll get crushed under a bunch of ale. And I think I'm going add like some cement bricks or something.
01:43:52
Speaker
Because frankly, that didn't do nearly enough to you. Thanks. All due respect. Like if it doesn't at least like knock you out or kill you outright, then what good a trap is it? Yeah, yeah, that's true. Okay. Why don't we hop in the boat then?
01:44:03
Speaker
And we'll, we'll go back. Okay. Bye, Sapfiend. Goodbye, Sapling. And the four of you climb into the boat. Callum removes the rope. Nice meeting you.
01:44:17
Speaker
Unfrozen. Nice to meet you too. Callum unfurls the sail and his boat takes off back across the lake. He's got a tack a bit, kind of going into the wind for part of it.
01:44:29
Speaker
Takes a little bit longer. You see in the morning light, it seems to be like a slightly clearer day. There's a little less ash. Sun's shining through a bit and you can see tower coming.
01:44:42
Speaker
glinting in the middle of the lake. You don't see the Cali Marie maybe is pulled off into one of the little outlets or inlets that dot the lake. There's numerous fishing boats. An older, leathery man in a rowboat flips you off as you pass by. And eventually you reach the docks. Is that the guy we stole the boat from?
01:45:06
Speaker
It is, yeah. and And then flips him off too. Perfect. Callum says, well, yeah, I guess I'm going to do some fishing. So ah I'll see you guys tonight, I guess. And if I don't say anything, then come back the next night. Okay, well, we have 14 nights left.
01:45:23
Speaker
yeah Where's too many nights meeting? Yeah. When is this deal supposed to go on? They were going to go they left early yesterday. They had to chat up a benefactor. We don't have the kind of cash to afford that much blast powder.
01:45:42
Speaker
So they had to secure some funding. And if that went well, I think they were going to meet with him last night. So I'd expect them back probably like mid-afternoon.
01:45:57
Speaker
We don't have time for this. good king clay Why don't we go back to the city, steal an all important document and then come back here. We don't have two days to faff around and learn if there's bombs or not. If there aren't bombs, we're going to put a bunch of cow dung in a barrel and light it on fire anyway.
01:46:16
Speaker
So I don't know how bombs work. I'm not a terrorist. so yeah know we are sold you are You're literally a terrorist. sneak we can literally We can still do our sneaky thing. Like sneak into the sneak into the into the headquarters and get that. That's what I'm saying. Let's go do that and then come back. and come back yes that We don't have time to wait. We'll meet you in a couple days, Catlam.
01:46:36
Speaker
That's in the city, yeah. Okay. Yeah, let's go. Okay. sounds Sounds good. Stay safe and I'll keep an eye out for you. You part ways, leaving your new friend behind.
01:46:52
Speaker
lake is dotted with boats pulling in fish. It'll be sent off to the cannery this afternoon. And you start the four-hour walk back. Glimke, you are very tired.
01:47:05
Speaker
Fondlin, you didn't really get much of a meditation in, but you're doing okay. Clay, you feel good, all things considered. It's that sap. Magical. It's that magical sap. It's the weight of your friend's murder off your shoulders.
01:47:20
Speaker
Perhaps there was more to be learned from Thayunzahir. Perhaps not. Either way, what's done is done, and all you can do is look forward. As you set off, I am going to need the three of you to help me determine how your co-conspirators search for blast powder goes.
01:47:42
Speaker
Oh, um no. I am going to have each of you roll d20. To one of those rolls, you can add a plus four. To one of those rolls, you can add a plus two, and to the last, you don't add anything.
01:47:57
Speaker
You will then assign them to Stealth, Perception, and Athletics. Three checks that these co-conspirators are going to need to make.
01:48:09
Speaker
That's really fun. Sorry, what were the three things we're making? Stealth, Perception, and Athletics. Okay. I rolled a 14. Ooh, rolled 16. Nice. I rolled an eight, guys. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.
01:48:22
Speaker
Okay, so 16 can stay, i think, right? Or do we want to buff one up to an 18? Yeah. What are the three? Stealth, perception. And athletics.
01:48:33
Speaker
Athletics.
01:48:37
Speaker
16 on athletics and perception or like stealth and perception each is pretty good. And then we bring the maybe athletics up to 12, like a 12 and two 16s is pretty good. We can do a plus four and we can do a plus two.
01:48:52
Speaker
So we get two 18s and just leave the eight and just leave one of the things at risk. Ooh. ah yeah I kind of like that better. that was two 18s. That's two high rolls.
01:49:04
Speaker
But I'm worried that it's a situation where like if we fail any one thing, then... Yeah, something's going to give. i i I'm just wondering which piece is going to be most integral.
01:49:15
Speaker
like because i feel like Stealth is important. like Stealth should be good. Why Blast Powder? why would that i guess frank like i'm guessing it's going to be the amount maybe they can steal.
01:49:28
Speaker
Now we're getting really meta-y. That's okay. This is by by nature a meta conversation. Okay. I will advise each of the DCs is a different number.
01:49:39
Speaker
I figured too. Yeah. love What do we need for each? I think lower perception is Or we do 16 to We do 16, add 2 to 14, and then add 4 and go to 12. we could 16, 16, and 12. What about 12, 14, 18?
01:49:51
Speaker
So we could do 18, 14, 12. And which would you add to which? 18, 16, 12 is what it would actually. Oh, not adding to yours. Got sixteen sixteen and twelve twelve fourteen eighteen so we could yeah so we could do we could do eighteen fourteen twelve and which one would you add to which eighteen sixteen twelve is what it would be actually oh you're not adding anything to yours got Yeah, the 16th dance.
01:50:15
Speaker
18, 16, 12. Otherwise, it would be 20, 14, 12. for you go You could do both. You could do 18, 14, 12 or 16, 12 if you want a 12.
01:50:27
Speaker
I mean, that feels like it. Yeah, because if one of them is going to have a lower DC, we could try to figure out which one we think. I don't think you can do 18, 16, 12. It'd be 10, no? Yeah. correct No, no, no, because mine is the 16. So 14 plus 4 is 18. The 16 stays 16.
01:50:45
Speaker
And then the... ah two eight Plus 2. 8 plus 2 is... Oh, it's a 10, yeah. What about an 18 on stealth, a 16 on athletics, and a 10 for perception?
01:50:56
Speaker
Because I think perception tends to be one of those ones you can kind of get away with where it's like you'll see enough on pass. 10. Or we could get up to 12 in perception. We could do 16, 16, 12. 16, 12, 16, athletics, 12 perception.
01:51:12
Speaker
I feel good about that. 16, 16, 12 is safer than 10. Yeah, I feel good about that too, to be honest. Because I feel like like we want to get over the 50 percentile. Okay, let's do it.
01:51:25
Speaker
And I agree. I think perception-wise, if we put 12 at the perception, it's a little better than some people's passive. And yeah, then when it comes to stealth or or whatever, hopefully that carries more weight. 16, 16, 12.
01:51:40
Speaker
sixteen sixteen twelve Yeah. it. sixteen sixteen twelve s two kind of feel like that might be the play and i yeah so stealth 16 strength 16 perception 12 i'm cool with that final answer lock it in yeah yeah i think we try it won't tell you the exact outcome But when you walk into the town square, a group of children are struck off
01:52:13
Speaker
up. Oh no. I won't tell you the specifics of what happened. But what I will tell you is your co-conspirators, though you have not met them,
Ankeel Base and Propaganda Efforts
01:52:30
Speaker
failed to see the ambush waiting for them with a 12 perception. Oh God.
01:52:35
Speaker
Oh, um no Oh, shit. Did they escape with the stealth? and But with the 16 athletics, they were able to escape from the ambush. And with the 16 stealth, they were able to further evade those hunting.
01:52:55
Speaker
However, oh shit not all of them will be returning. Oh, shit. got scared off. And they will not be returning with all of the blast powder that was promised to hear them.
01:53:07
Speaker
Shoot. Will they be returning with any of it? You'll have to find out next time you go to Manus. Shoot. Mamma mia. I will say, based off of your dice rolls, that was the best possible outcome you could have achieved.
01:53:23
Speaker
Oh, wow. If they saw the ambush coming but weren't able to escape, that would have been worse, I think. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, shoot. Okay, we gotta act like we don't know this now. yeah I mean, we were we had our doubts about these kids. Yeah, totally. We kind of figured it was gonna go.
01:53:41
Speaker
that's That's so sad to have it be true. Shit. Okay. Man. All right. So, the journey back to Ankhil takes about four hours.
01:53:53
Speaker
It's middle of the day as you arrive, as you get closer to the city, the ash increases, the guards at the the gate don't pay you much attention, and you are admitted back into the city.
01:54:07
Speaker
It is more crowded than the last few days have been for you there is a hustle and a an energy despite perhaps the downtrodden population that is different than the sleepy town of of manis there's less of that fishy smell but you can do you do smell the elsuin sea it's nearby you left through the eastern part of the city so you are once again in the artist district and where i guess where would you like to go
01:54:40
Speaker
So where is this building we have to go to to find the thing that you have to find? The office that we have to sneak into? Boontar's office. So that's the info we have, but we don't know which building it is. Yeah.
01:54:54
Speaker
No, his office is in the is in the headquarters building. Which we don't know. we do. I went there. Did you? Okay. Okay, there you go so we sneak we sneak in there.
01:55:07
Speaker
Or maybe one of you guys sneak in there. I don't know if we all sneak there. Well, I'm still exhausted, so this is probably a bad time to do this. Okay, why did we get another in-room? And that can be our base of operations.
01:55:19
Speaker
I have a few ideas. Firstly, I think given enough time and if the earth holds still, I could make a fairly convincing writ of authority to audit the company on behalf of the King of Erdeneen, which should get us through the door.
01:55:32
Speaker
Or another forged document to get us through the door. We could even forge... No, I haven't seen his writing. I was going to say we could forge... a letter from, what's his name, inviting us in.
01:55:43
Speaker
And then we could go all the way up. but Do you have exhaustion? Maybe you need to go do this stuff. I'm hella tired. I'm feeling like if we do a plot, I'm going to screw something up.
01:55:56
Speaker
We don't need to get it in. We can actually stay at my artist friend, or I guess my guildmaster's friend, yeah who's an artist in the other and maybe we can help with your forgery Yeah, they were kind of kind of interested in the rebellion. They knew about the rebellion, but they were on the fence, i think. Well, maybe they can play up the ignorance and be like, oh, we just want to try to get some help with this.
01:56:22
Speaker
Yeah, that could help. and then or maybe they can help with the disguise. Like you said, maybe their artistic background can be crafty and help make me a beard or whatever. Let's just try that. Yeah, you can rest there first and then we'll maybe talk her and into helping us recruit more people or like using her artistic talents.
01:56:41
Speaker
I didn't need anyone else's talents. I'm very good at forging. Like out of character, I have proficiency in forging or whatever. She's mostly into etching, I think, which I don't know if that will be helpful. Oh, she can make political propaganda for us later.
01:56:54
Speaker
Let's get her on that. Let's get her on some propaganda posters. Like, what's his name? What's his name? He has such a funny Boontar Strigamole. Strigamole wants you strig-a-ed in a hole dead because he doesn't care about you.
01:57:08
Speaker
Something like that. Strig-a-hole. Actually, you know what? like this I feel like we're circling something really brilliant here. What if we did it get her to design some sort of symbol that we could put up oh yeah after we' either we break in steal something, like a calling card, the sign of of this resistance, make us feel bigger than we are. Because I mean, right now we have six people, so or maybe seven, if we count the tree.
01:57:32
Speaker
We do. So we make it feel like there's like hundreds of us, you know? That's such a good idea, Glimpy, because from what Franny told us, when we get that document and we share it with the people, everyone will want to rise up.
01:57:46
Speaker
I like the idea of, you know, whipping them all up into a frenzy and then directing them towards this rebellion that has a symbol and a unified character that they can, in their confusion and their anger, latch on to.
01:57:59
Speaker
I think that's really smart. Like, you know, we knock over the dominoes and then we're there to pick them up with this organized rebellion with a symbol and a name that isn't just like seven people in a bar basement.
01:58:10
Speaker
Did Callum have a name for the rebellion? Not that he told you. Damn, Callum, dude. Branding. no one's joining your cost because there's no branding. We can brand it for him.
01:58:24
Speaker
Low-key, would a swarm of locusts be kind of sick? ah No. Absolutely not. Too soon, too soon, soon. That's on me, my bad. What's the opposite of a locust?
01:58:37
Speaker
We could use ah dragon as the symbol of Makrog. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. whoa What about a cocoon? Ooh. Cocoon.
01:58:48
Speaker
And we we start we start painting cocoons around town. And then when it all blows up, we yeah paint a butterfly. Yeah, that's nice. You can incorporate the plumeria flower. Yeah. theness Yes, like the wings could be the petals of the plumeria. Yeah.
01:59:08
Speaker
o We can call ourselves the Etta Gang. Etta Gang. Etta Gang. Brilliant. We are the Edda Gang, hope of the island.
01:59:20
Speaker
Yeah. We might be onto to something here, dude. Sorry, Callum. This is our uprising now. We always were the people rolling in and taking over. We always were. We're going to go to the artist.
01:59:31
Speaker
Vimki needs an eeepie little nap. We're going to coordinate some kind of posters, branding, while I forge this documentation to get inside. I don't think we should necessarily steal the thing as soon as we're inside.
01:59:44
Speaker
I think this might just be reconnaissance. But... No, fuck it. Let's steal the thing as soon as we're inside. If we have a window of opportunity, we take it. but Okay, I'm going to write a letter authorizing us to go meet with Buntar Strigamol in his office.
01:59:58
Speaker
And I think we're going to dress Glimke as a dwarf. I don't know why that will be helpful, but it will be Good. Okay. One thing at a time. The artist's house. The artist. And let's try to get her to help us with the propaganda play I'm feeling the inspiration.
02:00:14
Speaker
I'm definitely down to start sketching some options and hope that inspires her. Let's do it. God, we could make like, what is it? Those graffiti tags? It's like stickers. Yeah, stencils, dude. Let's just. Yeah.
02:00:27
Speaker
She does etchings. I'm all in. Let's go. so you travel through the streets of Ankeel. through winding alleyways and unfamiliar streets.
02:00:41
Speaker
Many of the buildings you see are boarded up. as As you recall, the streets are cracked and damaged. Clay, you remember the way to speakeasy artworks. It is just along the river on the east side of the city, past the north bridge, the painted bridge.
02:01:00
Speaker
And so you travel until you see a familiar building With a door. With a slat. Here it is. Alright. I go up and knock.
02:01:12
Speaker
The slat opens up. Password. Madame Tarossi, it's me. Back with my friends. Hi, it's it's great to see you, but we said a password last time you were here.
02:01:24
Speaker
shit i don't remember the password. Hey, what's the password? Clay? Uh, did I write it down? Uh-oh. play for the love of god oh good lord oh no uh it was it was um uh my brain is so blank uh devica or shay think it was devica Come on in.
02:01:52
Speaker
God damn it. Was it Devika? I think it was just Devika. I think it was. i also can't remember. I was really hoping he would. Boom. Well, it's canon now.
02:02:03
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. and Oh, fans of episode 28 or 27 are going to be so stinking mad. You go back and edit that out. Yeah. Yeah. I'll do it. I'll do it. Yeah, she opens the door and Fonelin and Glimke, you see for the first time this space.
02:02:21
Speaker
It equal parts art studio, art gallery, and tavern. There are few soft-looking
Final Preparations and Execution
02:02:30
Speaker
couches and comfortable looking chairs, faded fabric in one corner, there's some kegs of ale and bottles of spirits and a bar top with stools on one side.
02:02:44
Speaker
In the center, there's sort of a different artworks on display, some of them on pedestals, others hanging from the walls or some support pillars. And then off to the side, the opposite side, there is a workshop.
02:02:57
Speaker
where there's an engraving space, though I think the two of you, probably don't know exactly
02:03:07
Speaker
any of those tools are for. They're just art stuff. And you see this woman. She is human woman. She appears to be in her late 40s. She has blonde hair that's slowly turning little bit white, you can tell, and slightly rounder physique.
02:03:27
Speaker
You look at her eyes and they are mismatched, though Fondalyn and Glimke, you immediately can tell that they are, of them is a glass eye. She looks at you and says, hey, good to see you again.
02:03:41
Speaker
These are some friends of yours. Hey, yeah, yeah. How are you holding up? I'm doing okay. i'm I'm glad you came by. i told those Korak bastards that I wasn't selling and they weren't too happy, but felt good to stick it to them, you know?
02:03:57
Speaker
Yeah, no, I think that's, you made the right choice. And I'm really proud of you for staying to defend your home. And i think we have a way to stick it to them even harder if you're interested. The harder, the better.
02:04:11
Speaker
Yeah. That's what Devika always said. That does sound like her. yeah So we met up with um Callum about that rebellion you told us about, or told me about.
02:04:23
Speaker
oh yeah, you betcha. Yeah. Yeah. You got a big operation going? It's a growing, growing operation. okay Yeah. You told them they could, uh, they could crash here?
02:04:35
Speaker
I was hoping we could ah at least take a rest here. My friend, we had a bit of an encounter. Yeah. With all due respect, you look like shit, but, uh. Thank you and so Sorry. I, I, you, the others can crash here as well. You're welcome to tell them that.
02:04:51
Speaker
Oh, ah they're mainly based in Mencken, the rest of the the um rebellion. Manus? Yes, yes, yes, Manus. The island's Mencken, but a common mistake. They sound very similar. In Manus, in Manus, yeah.
02:05:05
Speaker
Okay. Sounds good. Well, if they if they need to have a place to lay low here, then they're welcome, but... That's good to know. They're taking care of themselves. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So so what's what's happening? What's what's the plan?
02:05:19
Speaker
What are we doing? Okay. So we're going to break into the headquarters of Korak and steal something from Boontar's office. Fondalyn, I'll let you explain the plan.
02:05:32
Speaker
okay. Sorry. Hi. Nice to meet you. You had a reaction just now when Clay mentioned the plan that made it seem like you might have thoughts about this.
02:05:43
Speaker
Oh, I just think it's a very bold go into the heart of the lion's den and wrestle with the biggest lion of them all. But ah you you seem to be the expert, so. Okay.
02:05:56
Speaker
Okay. Blinky, do you want to explain your vision for the propaganda? So basically, we're mounting a rebellion. It's very well organized. We're locking and loading significant ammo right now that should rouse the public to be on our side.
02:06:10
Speaker
The thing is, once the public is roused, we don't just want them to be angry and uncoordinated. We want them to understand that there's a movement that they can join, which means that starting tonight, we're going to be slapping around symbols of a rebellion.
02:06:25
Speaker
so Brinky, do you want to describe your vision for the symbol? Yeah, we want to commission you for this. okay. Yeah. So we saw the paintings outside, right?
02:06:35
Speaker
what What paintings would those be? There's paintings all over the place. That's the other person. That's the other artist. There's so many people in this city. You look tired.
02:06:46
Speaker
I may die, actually. you know you You shouldn't do that. We're just hoping the artists of this of this island obviously have been stripped of their their inspiration. Yeah.
02:06:56
Speaker
And without a cause to to sit in front of an easel or a canvas or a wall, if there's no reason to find joy in that, then we want to make one.
02:07:08
Speaker
We'll keep it simple. Keep it to symbols and and get as many of our artist friends to just paint things. paint as many of those as they can on every blank surface or canvas used or but ah or empty to start inspiring some sort of movement or call to action so people can start to feel like there's there's more happening with the people of this island than they may believe right now.
02:07:36
Speaker
So we're thinking something budding into a bigger movement. So cocoons, like a metamorphosis, it's is us transforming into something that can come out from underneath the thumb of the Korok Mining Company.
02:07:52
Speaker
Okay. I can get behind that. Exactly. Okay. Yeah. So spread the word and spread the c symbol and okay use use the knight and don't get caught.
02:08:05
Speaker
Yeah, and incorporate some like Plumeria flowers and hopefully we can reignite some support to Etigan, the original spirit of this island.
02:08:18
Speaker
Exactly. Okay. You betcha. You betcha. you better You betcha. I'll spread the word and I can probably make some, you know, make some engravings. I could probably even just like take some metal and carve out a shape. So.
02:08:32
Speaker
Oh yeah. Extensils. So people can do it quickly, quick and dirty. Yes. Yes. Yes. Just how Devika liked it. And, uh, quick and dirty and hard. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
02:08:44
Speaker
The harder, the better. Oh, you too, eh? Yeah. We studied under the same teacher. Okay. Oh, she studied under you. So I guess I'm learning from the original.
02:08:57
Speaker
Yeah. She looks over at Fonelin and Glinky. We're not talking about art anymore, but I'm not sure your friend knows that. Okay. and I'll get to work on that.
02:09:09
Speaker
I'll tell you what. And she goes behind the bar and comes back holding a small metal key. you can You can take this.
02:09:20
Speaker
Come and go as you please. I'll be here during the day. It'll be unlocked. But if you need to let yourselves in late at night, you can you can do it with this key here. Can you... ah First of all, thank you very much for that. But could you also just maybe you guys could sketch a few onto some, I don't know, some some notes or some some canvas or pieces of wood or paper or something just so that we can have on us.
02:09:44
Speaker
Of course. Yeah, yeah, yeah. maybe we can hand them out or leave them somewhere. I printings as well. So why don't you come back tonight and I'll have a big old stack for you. Yes. I can help with that too.
02:09:55
Speaker
If you help us make the design, i can replicate it. Okie doke. I love to hear it. Let's get to it. um Amazing. So Clay and Baina Tarosi set to work on making this cocoon imagery.
02:10:12
Speaker
Fonelin and Glimke, what are the two of you doing? Let's go case this joint. You should rest. I'm forging. Yeah, you need to sleep. You need to be sleeping.
02:10:23
Speaker
Okay. Faunelin's going to forge a document. So, Glimke, you go crash on the couch and Faunelin, you start forging.
02:10:35
Speaker
Clay, could I get a dexterity check using your proficient in artist supplies, I believe, so you can make a dexterity check and add your proficiency modifier?
02:10:46
Speaker
Okay. Okay. What's my proficiency? i will say because you and you and Baina are working together, you can do it with advantage and your proficiency is a plus two. Oh, that's not much better.
02:10:58
Speaker
ah okay I got a four and a five, so it's a seven total. Seven. Yeah. It takes you some time. Some of them look like turds.
02:11:11
Speaker
Some of them look like pancreases. feel them look like pine cones. it turns out cocoons in abstract are kind of a hard shape, but eventually you start to get something closer to a pea pod And then eventually ah cocoon.
02:11:27
Speaker
And I will say with the low roll, the actual task is not incredibly hard, but it does eat up, we'll say like the rest of your day as you work on that. It goes into late evening before you have a design that you can replicate easily and that you are happy with and you feel is a symbol of a revolution.
02:11:44
Speaker
Yeah. The Eddie gang. Yeah. The Eddie gang. Fonelin, could I get a forgery roll, please? What is a forgery roll? Yeah, what do I add to a forgery roll?
02:11:56
Speaker
Are you proficient with forgery tools? Of course. Okay, then I think there's an argument to be made for either intelligence or dexterity as the prevailing skill needed to forge.
02:12:11
Speaker
And so I will say you can make a check with either of those and then add your proficiency modifier on top of that. Yeah, that's a 20 one. This time around, it goes a lot better.
02:12:22
Speaker
The ground doesn't quake beneath you, your ink bottle doesn't spill, and at the end of it, you have a convincing invitation letter. Nice. It basically says, i request, you know, with the authority of a kingdom seeking beneficial deals on both sides, that you meet with my representatives immediately as time is of the essence.
02:12:46
Speaker
Excellent. When do you plan on presenting this letter? Later today. as soon as I'm done the letter, I'm going to go over and start doing makeup on Glimke while he sleeps.
02:12:59
Speaker
Maximize efficiency time. Yeah. What do you do to dear Glimke? but Okay, so I take one of my wigs and I use eyelash glue or just glue. I have a disguise kit, so I have all kinds of things.
02:13:13
Speaker
I glue it to his face and I kind of piece apart some pieces so that I can give him like a good, huge gray beard. And i leave a couple of the bows and braids in it, but I take out all the pearls and the butterflies.
02:13:27
Speaker
So it it looks like he has this like huge, long, bushy beard. And then I... I think about what the dwarf on the boat looked like. And I'm going to take like Gleamke's spare shirts and any of Clay's clothes. And if I have to, my clothes and try to sew together like a very close, as close as I can get approximation of.
02:13:51
Speaker
what the dwarf on the boat was wearing in my memory. Okay. What are you doing to hide his branches? I guess just a hat. He's going to wear a hat. Yeah. I'm going to give him some like big old eyebrows. i'm going to glue on like a couple wig tendrils.
02:14:05
Speaker
I feel like I probably have a prosthetic nose in my disguise kit. So I'm going to slap on like a big old schnoz. Nice. The thing is, I have fake beards in my disguise kit. I just think my wig would look better. It's higher quality hair.
02:14:18
Speaker
It's a nice dwarf beard. Yeah. Wow. This is actually made of dwarf hair, this wig, so... Maybe Boontar will fall in love. Whoa. Whoa. Yes.
02:14:31
Speaker
Give me a give me a roll with your disguise kit. Oh, that was a natural 17, so it's going to What am I adding to this? My charisma? Plus my proficiency, since I'm proficient with disguise kit.
02:14:43
Speaker
Maybe your intelligence. I don't know. that's ah That's a tricky one. I'll to do some reading on disguise kits. Performance is charisma, right? I want to argue that it's like a type of performance. Okay.
02:14:54
Speaker
It's either a 21 or 22. We don't need to quibble. But what if Glimpy gets found out with a 21 investigation? Then I guess you're a cruel and wicked DM. Yeah, it's.
02:15:06
Speaker
I will say you create a very convincing dwarf disguise for your friend. Nice. Glimki, you awake from your nap. Your exhaustion is removed. Your hit points and spell slots are restored you. you gain half of your hit dice back, which is the normal amount to get back. So you've got two more than you did before.
02:15:27
Speaker
And you are a dwarf. water Yeah, we made a deal with Franny. No. No. Just kidding. Not anything but dwarf. you racist?
02:15:43
Speaker
and It's fine. can Just become an elf and we can be friends forever. I would much rather be a gnome. It's fine. It's just my beard glued to your face and stuff.
02:15:54
Speaker
Wait, sorry, it's a dumb thought. I want to fashion us little like cocoon pins like the fellowship from Lord of the Rings. You can wear it under the beard so they don't see it.
02:16:05
Speaker
Nice. You do that. Hell yeah. And then I guess my last question is, are you still trying to go like tonight before, you know, end of day? are you waiting until the morning?
02:16:17
Speaker
It wouldn't make sense for us to show up in the night and be like, we have an audit. That would be weird, I feel like. Yeah, but should we go and, like, case the joint, like, look look around see what the... I don't know. I think there is an element of us having to just go into the lion's den. We're not going to get that much of an idea from the outside, I don't think.
02:16:37
Speaker
Yeah. Maybe that's my idea. Yeah, I spent the whole day designing this. Yeah, time's little asynchronous. I'd say you finish your work before Clay finishes theirs.
02:16:49
Speaker
So it's like late afternoon by the time you finish with the forgery. i think it's aided by the fact that it's your second draft of that and then the disguise. So let's say it's like five-ish by the time you're done your work.
02:17:04
Speaker
It's five-ish? Oh my god, you guys want to go right now? I mean, already like I look like this. so Yeah, you can sleep like that. okay but got Okay, here's what I think we should do. and when we walk we're gonna I'm going talk while we walk. And I'm like straightening Clay out so that Clay looks less like they spent all day doing crafts and more like an auditor from Airdenine.
02:17:22
Speaker
I like take a spare pair of little glasses and I pop the lenses out and I like put them on the edge of Clay's nose so Clay looks really smart. And I'm like, so here's what I think we should do. Tell me you have other ideas. I think we should go in.
02:17:33
Speaker
Clay and are the auditors. Glimke's not an auditor. Obviously, he works for the mining company. I think as soon as we get in the office, give us a couple minutes and then I think Glimke should run in and be like, boss, there's an emergency in the mines or better yet, the rebels.
02:17:47
Speaker
There's talk of rebels putting up cocoon. Maybe, I don't know. Maybe not. Glimke, you create the diversion. Do a good voice though. For sure, do a fun voice. And we just need a couple minutes alone in the office because what can happen is me and Clay will figure it out from there. But Glimke, we need you to make as much time as possible outside.
02:18:04
Speaker
And if he tries to come back in, Clay will block the door while I deal with the portrait and will say that my period came and I'm bleeding all over the carpet and something. Okay? We're going to make it work. Why was American that whole time?
02:18:17
Speaker
I just forgot i kind of make up that I have an accent. This is my auditor voice now. And I'm committing to this bit now. I'm doing a voice and I'm an auditor and this is my voice. smoing Your accent is so good.
02:18:30
Speaker
yeah how are you pulling that I'm really good at disguises. i I'm actually a bit of an actor and I'm i'm i'm impersonating a really cool noble lady I met some years ago. Wow.
02:18:40
Speaker
And she talks like this. Oh my gosh, say something else. Aluminum foil. Wow. Oh my gosh. Yeah. It's like that's your actual voice. That's so good.
02:18:51
Speaker
here it comes to me very naturally. Okay. Okay, let's get after it then. Let's get after it. I'll come up with something. I know you will. And if he tries to come back in, we'll keep him out and then we'll figure it out.
02:19:04
Speaker
We don't need a better plan than getting me in the office because I'm very adept with Eve's tools. And Clay is very resourceful. And I think Clay will come up with good stuff too. And Glimke, I know you'll lie your little butt off. So let's go. Yeah, I'll guard the door.
02:19:21
Speaker
The three of you cross over the Painted Bridge leading into the western side of the city, the side controlled by the dwarves and the Korak Mining Company. You filter through the brutalist streets with their gray, drab architecture.
02:19:39
Speaker
before finding your way to a familiar thoroughfare that extends from the docks to a walled off building, headquarters the of the Korak Mining Company.
02:19:52
Speaker
Several dwarves stand guard outside a gate that leads into the property. And as you approach, forgery in hand disguises dawned that's where we'll stop tonight's session of bard soup this is the most solid plan we've had for a while and we've talked about it for 12 seconds yeah
02:20:32
Speaker
Thank you so much for listening to chapter 30 of Bard Soup. You to know it, but Glimke had 2 HP at the end. He nearly died. As always, I have been your gruesome dungeon master, Zach Meikle, joined by Prima Jow as Clay Campbell, Jordan Johnson as Glimke Treefellow, and Shannon Meikle as Fondlin' Veydark.
02:20:54
Speaker
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving five-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It really does help us grow. And while you're at it, consider checking out bard underscore soup on Instagram and TikTok or bardsoup.com for all sorts of extra content and goodies.
02:21:11
Speaker
We will be back in two weeks with Chapter 31. And it's going to sound like a sales pitch. It's going to sound like hyperbole. I think it is my single favorite episode we've ever done. It is insane.
02:21:25
Speaker
But that's all I'll say. If you want more, you got to come back. You got to come back. In the meantime, stay frosty and we will see you around. but Bye bye. Clay's going to say, how dare you appear before us again? and That's your, ah this is your, ah what do I say?
02:21:46
Speaker
I don't know what Clay says. Something righteous and furious. Hell yeah. Something righteous and furious.