Ashes of Divinity EP 4 Sand for Stone

[00:00:00] Speaker A: This is where our story begins. And this is where we determine. Have you been forsaken to the will of the dust? Greetings, earthbound traveler. It is Sunday night. That means it's time for will of the Dice. That's us to present Ashes of divinity. I am Tyr the dm. I will be your dungeon master this evening. I'm guiding the players through my homebrewed world of runeth Kesha. 38 years in the making now. And yeah, it's going to be a good time to be had by all. But before we get into it, we do have some housekeeping and some introductions. So first and foremost, we are for mature audiences. Viewer listener discretion is advised. Alice. [00:01:08] Speaker B: Hi, everyone. We at will of the dice, do not encourage the use of nicotine products such as cigarettes, cigars, and vaping, though some of us may be users of such products. Do as we say, not as we do. Nicotine is a harmful and addictive substance and we want all of you out there to be happy and healthy. If you are looking to quit or trying to quit, there are resources out there and we support you in that endeavor. Apologies for the cattail getting in my camera. [00:01:29] Speaker A: Nope. We welcome animals in frame. That's just the kind of people we are. [00:01:39] Speaker C: Greetings, gamers. I'm Locke Clark, and I'm going to take a moment and talk to you about our musicians first. They are the people who make the music for our show. They give us permission to use their songs, and that makes the whole experience better. They make the highs feel higher and the lows feel lower and generally immerse us all deeper into the story. And tonight, those musicians are Michael Gelfie, Kevin McLeod, Jeff Farber Duergar, our very own peculiar Patrick, and the one and only Ames. Also, we'd like to take a moment and thank our partners in this endeavor. First up, we have Red Panda Dice and Delights, fine makers of quality dice for all your dicing needs. When you buy a red panda dice, you get diced with cute little red panda faces right there on the D20 side of the. On the 20 side of the D20 and the 6 side of the D6. So that when you roll that critical hit or get that maximum damage, you get cute little red panda faces staring back up at you going, you got them. You got them A retin the spleen. And who doesn't want that? Also, they sell cute little plushies like this little guy. He's wearing a hoodie. That hoodie has a pocket. You can put in that pocket. I'm not gonna tell you what to put in there though. I guess I'm not your mom. So to get your very own dice or plushie, head over to redpandadice.com and tell them tear sent you. Also, we'd like to thank our other partner, stalwart makery Solid makery makes high quality wooden gaming accessories like the dice trays that Alice and Ames are Vanna Whiting for you right there. When you roll in a Star wars ray, you roll with authority. I've been rolling in my Star wars ray since first season. I personally endorse this product. Everyone here rolls with Star wars ray and we all love them. So head over there and get your own and or some other wooden gaming accessory like maybe you get a custom DM screen like the one tier has that you could actually see in person and drool on a little bit at a cadecon. So go over there and check those out and feel free to while you're at it, swing by our website and check out the merch store where there's artwork by in sketched and our very own cat bat of our characters and logos and things. Also some cosmor. Go check those out and maybe get a shirt and support us that way. Chris, why don't you tell us about that other partner thing? [00:04:00] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, that other partner thing. So I represent Catbat. Our whole goal is combining art and gaming to kind of spark curiosity and passion and in one or both. The main product we have is an adventure pack. It comes with a whole bunch of different goodies, journal mechanical colored pencils. It has the dice you would expect but it also has a very nice glass dip pen and 5 ML of a colored ink. It comes with stickers and goodies and all of that. We've also had expansions into other stickers, other art products and we have a full art cat bat themed tarot deck coming very soon. Please visit catbatmedia.com Also follow us on Facebook Instagram bluesky@batmedia. Also CatBat is with a K. [00:04:58] Speaker A: Awesome. Let's see. We warned people, we told people about things. Now we'll do introductions. [00:05:08] Speaker E: Hi, I'm Christina. I'll be the voice of Veyre. Veyre looks like a 5 foot 2 elf with lavender skin and silver hair. She has opal eyes and it's just not really sure what's coming but knows there's something coming. You can find me on Blue Sky Deadly Kisses. [00:05:33] Speaker F: Hi, yes, this is Ames. I'm a she. They playing Azariah. She is also a shide she is an astral elf monk, way of the beautiful suffering which is a subclass that me and tyr created. She's 6 foot 2, pale opalescent or pearlescent skin, pale blonde hair that's almost white. Her right eye is a very vibrant teal while the left one is hazed over with white. Dressed in just simple long sleeve wrapped shirt and harem pants. Maybe made out of sackcloth, who knows. And she just carries her quarter staff. And you can find me on Twitter Moonbeam and Bluesky as Lali Gfeifo. [00:06:13] Speaker D: Hey, my name is Chris again I'll be voicing Opus as well as describing Minkus and Ropis. Opus is a 2 foot tall kobold artificer, specifically alchemist. It's a subclass kind of a little bit different than typical alchemist that Tyr helped create for Opus himself. He is a green skinned kobold so a little bit different. And has a yellow kind of dirty leather trench coat looking armor. Yeah. And his friends or companions as however you want to describe it is a chest looking almost like a nice mimic and then a rope. That's name is Rope. Both he and I are he they. And you can find me as I mentioned before at bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and Catbat Media. [00:07:14] Speaker G: Hi, I'm Casey. I'm going to be playing Nyx. [00:07:17] Speaker H: We go by she or her both of us sometimes she'll be spunky and you might want to call her it depending on how spicy she is. She is a three foot tall black Tabaxi. She's got bright like honey amber eyes. Everything else about her is just all black fur. Yeah, that's mostly her. [00:07:43] Speaker I: Hi everyone. I'm blue she he. I'm playing Luminae who is a human barbarian. Five foot five, five, long dark hair with a little blue streak running through her bangs all the way through the back and bright blue eyes. She's wearing typical like road leathers and you know, some fur on the collar and stuff. And she has a really big sword and she's not afraid to use it. You can find me at the darlingblue on Instagram. [00:08:15] Speaker B: Hi everyone. I'm Alice, the voice of Lenore. I am a she. Her Lenore is a she. They and they are a 5 foot 8 herringon in the same style of a black fire rabbit which is mostly black with with little highlighty parts of orange. They are very cool looking. Google them. I encourage it. And she mostly wears black leathers with red highlights. And she's kind of very excited to test out a new bow she got a couple episodes ago which you should listen to if you haven't already. And you can find me on Twitter, Tumblr, bluesky and Instagram captaincuppycake. [00:08:59] Speaker C: Greetings gamers. I'm still Lock Clark. That hasn't changed. Not yet anyway. Keep trying. And tonight I will be playing Kagan. Thord Kagan is a he him. As am I. Khagan is 6 foot 3, is a turtle with gray and black skin and shell. His shell is spiky. He is a dowslinger fighter. Dowslinger is a class that I wrote with input from Tyr or a subclass I should say. And he's got some mottled like dull red spots and some big serpent like tattoos running down his arms. He wears a sort of brocade looking surcoat and a gin casa style woven hat and a pair of little like pinch nez red spectacles. And you can find me all over the social medias. Ock unruly. That's Locke with an H. [00:10:13] Speaker A: Yay. It's going to be one of those nights. I'm he him. The scavenger hunt is to. Come find me and you'll win something. I don't know. One other thing that I want to make known and I will be making this announcement probably when we come back from breaks as well. Some of us don't watch chat and it's encouraged not to interact with chat while we're playing because we don't want to break immersion. So if you're sending us messages and such and we don't respond right away, that's why. Don't take it personal, please. All right. With all that being said, the last piece of business, our safe word for tonight is rosebud. If for whatever reason the situation becomes too intense and you need the scene to stop, please use the safe word. We will go straight to break. We will discuss the situation in return only if we're comfortable to do so. Because I want my players to be happy and healthy and as I make their characters lives a living hell. With that being said and we prepare to sally forth into this. Are there any last requests? [00:11:15] Speaker C: Now the face. [00:11:16] Speaker A: Tally ho, buddy. No cookies, no face. Gotcha. When last we left, the party emerged from the temple of the Third Wind, forever changed opus manifesting ethereal dragon wings, and Nyx retrieving a reformed crystal heart missing its centerpiece. After resting in the temple sanctuary, they faced an attack by five null raiders seeking to loot the sacred site. The party's coordinated assault proved devastating. Azariah demonstrated her unique Pain transference abilities. Veyre unleashed sorceress force blasts. Khagan fired devastating arcane crossbow shots. And next used psychological warfare with ominous divine whispers. The surviving gnolls fled in terror. Leaving behind only a couple copper coins, tea leaves, and a breakup letter between two gnolls named Ophelia and Roger. Continuing their desert journey on the sand skiff, the party made excellent time. Until brutal heat from the artificial sun. Caused Opus and Vayra to succumb to exhaustion. They sought shelter in a massive black obelisk scarred by lightning. Where they discovered a chamber with fractured ruins. And a scrying pool that showed visions of the past. After facing personal trials from ancient voice. That tested their truths and hidden natures. They descended deeper into the temple. Where Ozeraya volunteered to face a deadly trial. Lightning struck her down, but she chose to return from a peaceful afterlife. Visioned to rejoin her companions. A mysterious figure called the storm. Rewarded her sacrifice with a heart of the storm staff. And gave each party member a protective ring of mind shielding, Warning that their past would soon catch them. While offering his sanctuary as permanent refuge. This, my friends, is where our story continues. Continues. And this is where we discover. Have you been forsaken to the wheel of the dice? The artificial sun has gone out. Night has sunk in over the sands known as the Sea of Solace. The storms have abated. And you find yourselves feeling a bit peaceful in this obelisk. What would you like to do? [00:13:48] Speaker H: But just to verify, we just had a long rest. Was that correct? [00:13:53] Speaker A: No, you've not had a long rest yet. [00:13:55] Speaker E: Okay. [00:13:57] Speaker D: Opus would like to start making some potions for the night. So how. How many hours does Opus have to work with? [00:14:11] Speaker A: Well, that depends. Is Opus going to take a long rest? [00:14:14] Speaker D: Yes, he is definitely time. [00:14:16] Speaker A: Then you'll have about two hours that you can work with. [00:14:20] Speaker D: Okay. So Opus would. You would see him kind of rifle through. Oh, Minkus. He goes back to the bed where Minkus had plop down. And starts opening and shuffling through the stuff. And is trying to go through his different reagents that he has. But I'll give a. You got to give Chris a little bit of time to figure out what that would be. All right. [00:14:54] Speaker H: As he's ruffling through Minkus, since it's on my bed, I would kind of peer over into Minkus very slyly, stealthily. [00:15:06] Speaker A: Make a stealth check. [00:15:07] Speaker D: Okay. [00:15:13] Speaker G: 18. [00:15:15] Speaker A: Okay. You're very stealthy. [00:15:22] Speaker H: Do I see anything distinctly in there? [00:15:25] Speaker A: Sorry, What I was gonna say, Opus can attempt to detect the stealth. Making a insight check. [00:15:32] Speaker D: Or Just, he's really. I don't think he's really paying much attention. And I don't think it's that big of a deal to him. For you to see kind of what he has. So you would. Inside of Minkus. The inside is kind of. Has a lot of inner workings, different moving parts and such. But there is a distinct, large, you know, 80% of the. The body section of a chest. That has little inner blocking, like trays that come out. Think of a big tackle box or toolbox. And inside of that, you see anything from powdered plants. To kind of dust of different minerals, liquids. You see jars, you see pouches, all kinds of colors. As well as several items that we've talked about. That has been stored in there, Such as the heart item and a book as well. [00:16:45] Speaker I: Luminae would like to set a perimeter, make sure everything is safe. For them to be taking this relaxation. Like, just double check everything. Make sure nothing's in the corners. [00:16:57] Speaker A: Make an investigation check. [00:16:59] Speaker I: Okay. Let's see. Investigation is a plus one. 19. So plus one for 20. [00:17:11] Speaker A: There's nothing waiting in the corners to leap out and bite. So. [00:17:17] Speaker D: Good. [00:17:18] Speaker I: Very good. [00:17:23] Speaker H: I would like to see if I can sneak something into minkus. Without opus realizing. [00:17:29] Speaker A: Okay. That would be slight of hand. [00:17:32] Speaker D: Okay. [00:17:35] Speaker H: That is going to be a 19. [00:17:39] Speaker D: Opus would be very protective of that kind of thing. So that would be something that. [00:17:46] Speaker A: Make a perception check. [00:17:47] Speaker D: Attention to active perception, Right? [00:17:51] Speaker A: Yes. [00:17:52] Speaker D: Okay. [00:17:53] Speaker A: And we'll call it with advantage. Because of how protective you are of. [00:17:57] Speaker D: Okay. Okay. Well, the first one is just six. [00:18:04] Speaker E: So I was literally thinking. [00:18:05] Speaker H: Is six your lucky number again this time? [00:18:08] Speaker D: Oh, no. As I said that, I rolled another six on the die. Which means that's a nine. [00:18:14] Speaker A: So what are you depositing in minkus? [00:18:19] Speaker H: It's going to be two of the raspberry thumbprint cookies. That he pulled before. [00:18:35] Speaker A: What's kagan doing? [00:18:38] Speaker C: Kagan is. I want to look around. Is there. There's only one way in and out of here, right? [00:18:52] Speaker A: That is correct. [00:18:56] Speaker C: Then K is going to walk back outside. Just to the, like, landing just to the doorway, basically. [00:19:03] Speaker D: Okay. [00:19:05] Speaker C: He's going to sit and do a little light mending on his gear. And clean his weapon. And just sort of watch the night for a little bit. In particular, I'm like, I'm interested in how viable Traveling at night is. As opposed to during the heat of the day through. Through the desert. And so I want to see what the landscape looks like at night. If there's predators or things in the ecosystem that come out at night that are easy to spot. Like, just what I can see from this vantage point, because I think we're. We're up a little bit. Like, we're. We're a little elevated here. Is that right? [00:19:57] Speaker A: Yes. [00:19:58] Speaker C: Yeah. So just having a sort of like a raised vantage point to look out and, like, take it in and see. Because he's never been through this section of desert and doesn't know what it contains and doesn't know the. What the danger of night versus day is going to be. [00:20:21] Speaker A: All right, we're going to call this, since you're actively looking at investigation. Check. [00:20:28] Speaker C: Oh, good. I'm so good at those. 12 is what I rolled, and 12 is the number it will remain. [00:20:40] Speaker A: So the. You'll notice a couple of things. One, it is super dark when the fake sun goes away. There's no stars. There's no moons. It is just dark. And as you sit there looking around and mending clothing, the next thing you'll notice is the temperature falls about 45 degrees rapidly. You can see your breasts. There's little bits of frost that form in the corners of your mouth. It is cold and getting colder in the desert. [00:21:18] Speaker C: Okay. [00:21:19] Speaker I: Yeah. [00:21:19] Speaker C: I'm gonna sit out here for a little while and see if it gets a lot colder. If that's about as cold as it gets. And just keep an eye out for any wildlife that or, you know, other things moving in the night. [00:21:35] Speaker A: It'll drop another 6 degrees just in a few moments, and it's continuing to drop. [00:21:44] Speaker C: Okay, so once it's like. Once it gets, you know, to the point of, like, too chilly to really be reasonable. I'll go back inside. [00:22:00] Speaker A: All right. What's Veyra doing? [00:22:04] Speaker E: Veyre's gonna trance for the first four hours. She's got that exhaustion. They've been in the sun all day. And she figures after that, like, she'll just kind of lay there. Like, if she needs to take a watch, she will, but she's just chilling. Like, that was too much. [00:22:20] Speaker A: All right. What about Lenore? [00:22:25] Speaker B: Lenore would be spending a little bit of time with the. The new ring. Just having it on, looking at it, concentrating on it for roughly about 15 minutes, probably longer, because, yeah, there are. [00:22:44] Speaker A: No souls in the ring. [00:22:47] Speaker B: Okay. And then she'll be setting up for bed because it looks like that's what they're probably gonna do. [00:23:08] Speaker A: It. It threw me because your name is still Ragna Ames. What's Azariah doing? [00:23:17] Speaker F: Oh, sorry. That's the one thing I forgot to do today. Once everybody else starts Kind of going about their way and doing their own thing. She's just of kind going to find a quiet corner and sit down and craft a sorrow stone. It says it takes an hour. [00:23:36] Speaker A: Okay. [00:23:39] Speaker F: And so anybody paying attention, she's. She's not necessarily trying to hide it, though. She's not doing it loudly, either. She's just sitting in the corner, kind of like lotus position. She takes off the. The mala that she wears on her. On her left hand, on her left wrist will take off one of the gray. What looks like a gray pearl. Hold it. And speaks very softly in a very lyrical language. If anybody knows Celestial, they might understand it. But it's. It just sounds. It almost sounds like she's singing, not really talking. And it's directed to the. To the stone in her hands. And there'll be that brief, almost like black, smoky tendrils that comes out for a moment. She pricks one finger and drops it on the gemstone. And at that moment, instead of just being the black and white, there is the saw, the slightest tinge now of a little bit of teal that matches the color of her one eye. Just before it just kind of coalesces on the stone and gone. She just kind of sits in the corner for a little bit. After. [00:24:55] Speaker A: Do you all take a long rest? Yep. [00:24:59] Speaker H: So Nyx will curl up really close to Minkus, maybe slightly around Minkus, and just start snoring. [00:25:09] Speaker D: Opus would find all this stuff. Honeycomb, silver leaf. Where did it put that? Resap. Drusap. Okay. There's the mossberry. They'll take these and try to craft a potion of barkskin. And then following that, an antitoxin. [00:25:40] Speaker A: All right, go ahead and make your checks. [00:25:47] Speaker D: It's gonna be one of those days. [00:25:49] Speaker H: Did you get another six? [00:25:52] Speaker D: No. Unfortunately, I will get the actual end result number. Okay. Okay. So the first one was a six. Actually, ironically, the end result is a. Oh, wait, hold on. Nope. So correct me if I'm wrong, because I want to make sure I got this right. It is an intelligence check with a tool. So I can add the proficiency for that tool. And for this specific one, I get to double it. So that'd be four. And then I also add my int. Mod. Correct. [00:26:50] Speaker A: Yes. [00:26:51] Speaker D: Okay. And then, of course, the die roll. So, okay, so a little better. That's 11. [00:26:56] Speaker A: Yep. Still not enough. If I memory serves me correct. You have the DCs on them? [00:27:03] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah. Actually, for a common, it's 10 uncommon. [00:27:06] Speaker A: Okay, cool. [00:27:08] Speaker D: Okay. Yeah. Okay. And then I'll roll. That was for the first One which was the bark skin. Second one is the antitoxin, and that was a four on the die. So that should be a 13. [00:27:21] Speaker A: Okay, that'll work. [00:27:23] Speaker D: So perfect. So as Opus is making these specifically for these, you will see kind of a hardening inside of the bottle, almost as if there are twigs and pieces of SAP in this liquid. And it'll cork it up. Put it in his pocket. And then the second one actually will have a distinct honey color to it, and he'll cork that up and put it in his other pocket. Okay, thank you. And then Opus will go over to his. To his bed with the notebook he has and start writing a little bit in it. He'll stay up for a little bit. He'll tap on his little night light that he has and put on these earmuffs as well. [00:28:24] Speaker A: All right. [00:28:25] Speaker H: Just to let you know, when you're doing the voice, it seems like you're cutting in now, at least for me. Is anybody else having that for him? [00:28:33] Speaker A: Yeah, I just want to say something. Yeah, okay. [00:28:35] Speaker D: Okay, I'll mess with it then. In the meantime. [00:28:41] Speaker A: So you all take your long rest. And true to the storm's word, nothing terrible befalls you while you're in the obelisk. And it is morning. The artificial sun illuminates part of the inners of the obelisk. Through the doorway, the heat begins to rise. It is a new day. You may take bail yourself with a long rest on your character sheets. [00:29:30] Speaker F: If you said something we didn't hear you. [00:29:31] Speaker D: Okay. [00:29:34] Speaker E: I forgot. I was on mute as a vor. Make sure she eats and drinks so that it gets rid of the exhaustion. [00:29:39] Speaker A: Okay. Yep. The exhaustion goes away from the rest and eating and drinking. So you and Opus may remove your exhaustion point. [00:29:55] Speaker C: When Kagan gets up, he's. Yeah, he. I imagine he sleeps mostly in his shell. Like, he pulls inside his shell, mostly his. His little, like, conical jinxa hat sort of just sits on top of the hole where his head is to keep it nice and dark for him. And once he gets up, he. If anyone's paying any attention, he kneels down and sits back on his feet and takes out the crystals that he used in the fight the day before and sets them in front of him and puts his hands over them. And I'm gonna take a little time to prepare shots for the day. [00:30:44] Speaker A: Alrighty. [00:30:47] Speaker C: Until at the end of the. Of the. The ritual he does, the two stones will be glowing again, and you'll see him put him back in his. In the strap on his shoulder where he keeps them and then he takes out a. Like some strips of like it's a very cloth like paper and. And writes some symbols on. On them and rolls them back up and sticks them back into a pouch. As he preps a couple of other things. [00:31:41] Speaker A: Who's next? [00:31:51] Speaker I: Luminae is just going to wake up and probably do an equipment check. Making sure her gear is all accounted for. Making sure swords sharpened. Yeah, that's about it. [00:32:06] Speaker A: All right. [00:32:10] Speaker H: Nixel. Stretch. You see how her paws like stretch out like a cat normally does. [00:32:16] Speaker G: And she'll be like morning meow. [00:32:20] Speaker H: Just as loud as possible for everyone to hear. [00:32:24] Speaker I: Good morning. Did you sleep well? [00:32:29] Speaker G: I think so. Meow. [00:32:33] Speaker H: You. [00:32:33] Speaker I: I'm glad I slept as well as I could. [00:32:40] Speaker H: She. She'll look around and see who's like, awake versus not. I assume everyone is just waking up. So eyes barely open here and there. [00:32:54] Speaker A: That's a good assumption. [00:32:57] Speaker D: I would say. I hope it's a little bit better, but if not on break, I'll mess with it a little bit more. But Opus would be still asleep, actually a little bit longer than everyone else and still has these kind of earmuffs on almost. It's like a tight fitting wrap. And you. If you were to listen very closely, you can kind of hear this kind of rhythmic, almost gurgling or bubbling of a brook or a bayou or something. And while laying there, Opus would. You would see or hear a little bit of opusopia. And he would jolt open or Joe, jolt open. Jolt up and look over to his side and look over to where Minkus is. Do. Are you still by that, Nyx? [00:34:07] Speaker H: Yes, I would still be in the bed just sitting up. Because I would have just stretched and sat up. [00:34:12] Speaker D: Okay. So. But yeah, so he would. He would jolt up and Mincus is. Is Mincus. Is he. Is he okay? [00:34:28] Speaker H: She'll look over and at him on the top of whatever, like the top of the chest and be like, I think so. [00:34:36] Speaker G: Meow. You okay, Mincus? Meow. [00:34:40] Speaker D: I'm pretty sure Minkus would probably on the lid kind of open and close. Almost like a nod. Okay. And. And Opus is gonna rifle back through it. Cookies. Mikas. Where. Where did you get these? [00:35:01] Speaker H: Nyx is gonna like scurry off the bed and run towards Kagan and kind of lift up the conical hat and. [00:35:09] Speaker G: Be like, morning meow. [00:35:13] Speaker C: Morning. Little kitties. Oh, yes. [00:35:22] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:35:22] Speaker H: She's just gonna keep making her rounds and making sure everything. Everyone's up and everyone's chipper and ready to go on an advent. [00:35:36] Speaker F: Oz has probably been up through all. Go ahead. [00:35:39] Speaker B: No, you go ahead. [00:35:40] Speaker F: Oz has probably been up through all this. They only have to trance the four hours they had just been sitting in there, you know, in the, in. In one of the corners of the room, just watching. But she'll eventually stand up, stretch, and walk to where everyone else. [00:36:01] Speaker B: Lenore would not need Nyx's help with getting up. She's an early riser, so she would have already been up after doing a big stretch with her floofy little cotton tail. Doing a little flicky flick flick as she stretches and then preparing her spells for the day. [00:36:24] Speaker A: As you all go about your morning routines, the air will come filled with the smell of breakfast foods. Ham, bacon, sausage, gravy, eggs, biscuits, bread, cream, berries. Just a smorgasbord. As it did the night before. Food will appear, a gift from the one known as the storm. There's also coffee. I know some people are going to ask. [00:36:57] Speaker I: Oh, by the fallen. It smells amazing. [00:37:03] Speaker G: Is everyone all right from last time? Meow. If so. [00:37:06] Speaker H: And she'll like, hesitantly reach towards the table while looking at everybody. [00:37:14] Speaker C: Yes, yes. Eat, little kitty. You're tiny. You need more foods. [00:37:20] Speaker H: She's just gonna down like a bunch of stuff on the table. As soon as he says, like the first part of that. [00:37:32] Speaker A: You're still breaking up, Chris. [00:37:34] Speaker D: Well, darn. [00:37:36] Speaker H: We can hear you when you talk normally. It's when you talk in your voice that it kind of cuts out. [00:37:42] Speaker C: The more excited you get, the more it breaks. [00:37:44] Speaker A: Yeah, it's noise canceling is. Is kicking you. [00:37:48] Speaker D: I'll go like I said, on break. I'll fix that. But yeah, so he has Ropus go to go get himself a cup of coffee before Nyx gobbles up everything. [00:38:04] Speaker H: To be clear, Nyx won't touch the coffee. [00:38:06] Speaker B: I think it's for the best. I don't want to see Nicks on caffeine. [00:38:11] Speaker H: She'll drink tea. Tea has a little bit of caffeine. [00:38:18] Speaker B: Lenore's mostly just going to grab veggies, veggie type stuff for her breakfast. [00:38:29] Speaker H: Yeah, I think Nyx is probably grabbing most of the, like, let's say if there's biscuits and gravy, she's going that route where it's just like biscuits, gravy, that bread type of carb stuff. [00:38:40] Speaker A: Yep. That makes me want biscuits and gravy. Damn it. [00:38:46] Speaker C: Living in the north, that is the thing I miss the most, is like decent biscuits and gravy. [00:38:52] Speaker B: And apparently being able to find blondies in grocery store. [00:38:58] Speaker C: Well, yeah, the Difference is, I get. I get devil dogs up here in the grocery store, which are much better. [00:39:07] Speaker A: See, I'm blessed. Ames knows how to throw down in the kitchen, Southern style. So I'm a fat man. I like food. [00:39:17] Speaker F: How'd you make some good sausage gravy? If I had more counter space, I'd actually make homemade biscuits. But we don't have enough counter space for that mess. [00:39:27] Speaker I: Very fair. [00:39:30] Speaker A: So, as you all eat, drink, perform your rituals, you will hear a rumble of thunder way in the distance. But the sky is illuminated brilliantly with the artificial sun. And there's a soft breeze, causing some of the sand to kick up and form wavy patterns as it goes by, almost like the sand itself is alive. And before long, you'll have to make the determination if you stay or go. [00:40:08] Speaker C: Yes. So last night, before I went to sleep, I went outside and watched the night for a while. And it gets very, very cold and does not show any signs of stopping. It just continues to get colder as the night progresses. But that means maybe less predators are out. But I. I don't know how weatherable the cold will be if we stay out of it all night, Especially if it continues to drop like it did for the first couple of hours. [00:40:50] Speaker E: Yeah, I don't. Maybe after we stop somewhere and can get maybe some thicker gear. I don't know that that sounds like a viable. I mean, the heat was draining, but at least it wasn't like we were losing body parts. [00:41:05] Speaker C: Yes, there is the other consideration, that the longer we stay, the more time the rider has to catch up to us, which maybe not bad thing overall. Maybe. Maybe we want to find out what rider is, why rider is chasing. Maybe we put stop to the chase. But this is something we must discuss. Yes. [00:41:35] Speaker B: Another thing to discuss in terms of your idea of potentially traveling at night, we might also lose our way. We can't exactly see very far with how dark it is. [00:41:50] Speaker C: This is true. It is very dark. And there are really no stars in sky anymore. [00:41:55] Speaker G: So I have a special candle now. [00:41:59] Speaker H: And she'll pull out, like the candle of the deep that she's got in her backpack. [00:42:10] Speaker I: I don't think that'll be enough to help us find our way across the desert. [00:42:16] Speaker G: Opus had a light thing. Meow. [00:42:23] Speaker D: Opus would kind of rifle through and hold out this gold coin and kind of tap it, and you'd see a little bit of light, like 10 foot bright, 10 foot dim. But ultimately it would stop in about 20 foot radius. [00:42:46] Speaker F: I think Kagan had a point, but maybe not the one he Was trying to make. It's cold outside. Yes, but it was fine in here. And the storm said we're protected here. If we wait here for the rider, we at least have fortification already here. And there's no one else around that we can tell. [00:43:17] Speaker G: That's true, Mio. [00:43:20] Speaker E: So if we die, it's just us. [00:43:23] Speaker F: It's not hurting the villages, it's not hurting the cantons. [00:43:28] Speaker I: It's our best worst case scenario. [00:43:34] Speaker F: And who knows? They said we're protected here. They might help. [00:43:42] Speaker G: Who say Miel. [00:43:43] Speaker F: The storm. [00:43:47] Speaker G: The storm's gonna protect us. Miel? [00:43:51] Speaker F: Yes. The being that we met last night that directed us to come down here. Further into the Obelisk. [00:43:59] Speaker G: How do you know, meow? [00:44:03] Speaker F: I don't. But they did tell all of us that we're protected here. [00:44:09] Speaker G: I am suspicious, meow. [00:44:12] Speaker F: I don't know if he'll help. But we're supposed to be protected. [00:44:18] Speaker H: Or are you gonna say luck? [00:44:20] Speaker C: I only see one problem. Problem is there is no taxi backsies on this plan. If we wait Rider comes, we talk to. Rider cannot. Rider is not reasonable and it is going to come to violences. Then there is only one door out. And we are trapped until we die or defeat Rider like this is. It is all or nothing plan. And while I'm okay with this, I do not want to make decision for all of you. [00:45:12] Speaker D: I don't want to die. Makers. Are you okay with this? Mingus would not respond this time. [00:45:21] Speaker F: Sadly, I don't think anybody in this group wants to die. But the cold hard truth of it is, is that death is on the table. Like it is every day. You just don't always know that it's there. In this case, we know it's possible form. Even if we go onto the mountain, there's still a chance that we get stuck. Stuck. So it's taking the unknown and hope that we find a better situation in the mountain or a known. Which right now is this obelisk. [00:45:54] Speaker E: For me it's the. The people. The more that we go to a more situated area. Are we drawing this malevolent rider there? And influence inflicting it on more people. I mean, we left the walls of the city to take this away from the city. Why would we take it to someone else's home? [00:46:22] Speaker A: Go ahead. [00:46:23] Speaker B: That is part of the idea with the dwarves is we don't know if they're still there. If it's completely empty fortress in the mountains, then we're fine. [00:46:33] Speaker C: Yes, but I think Azariah's point is reverse point. Is that we have to get. We don't know how many villages or, or towns we are going to pass through on the way to get to mountain. None of us have taken this path. I do not know whose home we are going to walk through that the rider will trample through to get to us. [00:47:02] Speaker I: That's true. I didn't think about that. [00:47:05] Speaker F: Nor do we know the state of this Dwarven kingdom. [00:47:11] Speaker G: Well, maybe we could set up a trap. Meow. [00:47:14] Speaker H: And then she'll say, looking straight at Opus. [00:47:18] Speaker G: Can I borrow Opus? Meow. [00:47:24] Speaker D: I don't know, Rufus. Ropus is gonna kind of pull away almost as in memory of you yanking on him last time. No, no, Catus, no no, no. [00:47:40] Speaker G: Just stretch him out now. [00:47:43] Speaker D: Stretch. And Ropus will kind of, you know, stretch as far as he can outward like that. [00:47:53] Speaker H: And then I'll cast Thaumaturgy and make it look like a giant snake and. [00:48:00] Speaker G: Say, does this help me out? [00:48:02] Speaker H: And I'll focus on trying to get everyone to see it as a snake. [00:48:10] Speaker C: Oh, that is, that is very scary. Yes. I like this. [00:48:16] Speaker B: What a lovely creature. [00:48:20] Speaker D: Rufus, can you still move? And you, you know, you see it move almost as if it's lighter than you would think. So you know, I don't know how big of a snake it was, but like let's say, you know. Actually. Yeah. How big, how wide was the, the snake? [00:48:41] Speaker H: I would try to make it look big. Bigger than any of us. Like if you're looking at the round of the snake, like how round it would be, it would be bigger than any of us around. [00:48:54] Speaker D: Okay. Yeah. So, so this like 7, 8 foot in diameter snake is moving as if, you know, extremely fast. I, I looks intimidating, but I still, I don't want to die. [00:49:17] Speaker F: Nobody does. [00:49:20] Speaker D: The Dwarves, they're strong. They can help. [00:49:26] Speaker F: They're there. We don't know if they're there. That's the point. [00:49:30] Speaker I: And even if they are there, they may not help us. [00:49:35] Speaker C: We were heading to Dwarf because we know Dwarven fortifications are good. And no one has heard from Dwarves in since Calamities. So if, even if Fortress abandoned, we have, we have bulwark, we have, we have fortress to make strong in. Right? But, but Obelisk, Obelisk strong and protected. These, this is as good as Dwarven stronghold for, for that feature at least. [00:50:19] Speaker H: Ropus is only going to look like a snake for like a minute before it turns back into looking like a rope. [00:50:25] Speaker D: It's gonna come back towards me as it, you know, as it reveals, you know, to just Be a rope again. [00:50:32] Speaker A: Going to make a roll. I'm going to use judgment. My big dice. [00:50:36] Speaker D: Oh. [00:50:38] Speaker A: To see if the storm communicates with you or not. Based on your plan. Call it lock. High or low. [00:50:48] Speaker C: Oh, you're rolling on the big die. I'm gonna go high. [00:50:55] Speaker A: That was six. So, no, the storm does not operate. [00:51:04] Speaker B: Tonight's episode brought to you by the number six. [00:51:09] Speaker D: Seriously, Opus is. Is. Has kind of like, not. Not backed away from the group, but kind of like backed at the edge. You know, kind of like to where everyone is in front of him. Like, the whole group. We got stronger, more people. But if we find more people, more. More people, we should be able to help. [00:51:40] Speaker E: More people. [00:51:41] Speaker G: I think you just want to steal their names, Neil. [00:51:43] Speaker E: More people than when we left. I mean, there was a ton of people there. And you see that they turned against us. You think if we arrive someone's home with this big evil whatever following us, they're going to be like, yeah, come on in. We'll fight with you. [00:51:57] Speaker A: Cool. [00:52:02] Speaker D: Yes. [00:52:05] Speaker F: It's likely not to happen. It comes down to this is a gamble either way we go. But we at least know here this is stable. It's protected. Further, we don't know what to expect. Also, this being a sacred area, if I remember right, we wound up here in the singing sands. There's not as many people going to be here. Which was the objective, I thought, when we started. That's why we left Amblehold. [00:52:44] Speaker I: Even though. [00:52:45] Speaker F: They turned on us. Dad. Sorry. [00:52:49] Speaker I: It was my objective. The fewer people that get in the way of this thing, the better. The only harm should come to us. [00:53:03] Speaker F: I'll make it clear I'm fine either way. It just comes down to a vote. [00:53:12] Speaker D: Vote. Then. [00:53:15] Speaker H: Nyx is gonna, like, paw up some of the dust on the floor and, like, swipe it across her face and grab her sickle out of her bag and be like, I'm ready. [00:53:25] Speaker G: Meow. [00:53:28] Speaker C: You have good fighting spirit, little one. You are very brave. I respect this. [00:53:32] Speaker D: This. [00:53:33] Speaker C: I respect it a lot. [00:53:35] Speaker G: Thank you, Mr. Tle. [00:53:38] Speaker E: Do you often vote with your weapon? [00:53:43] Speaker H: Do I what? [00:53:44] Speaker E: Often vote with your weapon, you said. Yeah, vote. You're like, I'm ready. Sa confused. [00:53:53] Speaker C: Oh, I. I believe her vote is. Is fight now. Yes. [00:53:57] Speaker H: Yeah. So she'll look up to you with, like, her little sickle and be like. [00:54:01] Speaker G: This is my boat meal. [00:54:03] Speaker D: Oh. [00:54:03] Speaker E: Oh, okay. I just. I wasn't sure of your customs. [00:54:14] Speaker D: Minkus. What do you vote, Ropus? We all vote Mountain. And you see Rhopus raising up Mingus opening kind of up. And the tiny kobold kind of crossed arms. But ultimately, hand up. [00:54:33] Speaker H: Yeah. Nyx is gonna immediately look over and. [00:54:35] Speaker G: Be like, you don't wanna fight with me, Minkus. Meow. [00:54:41] Speaker D: Minkus is not gonna respond. [00:54:45] Speaker B: I believe there's a better way for us to do this. And get a more solid count. Instead of having to keep track of who says what when. All in favor of fighting? [00:55:00] Speaker C: Aye. [00:55:00] Speaker F: Aye. [00:55:03] Speaker D: Minkus, put your lid down. And you know, Opus is gonna be trying to close Minkus. But Ropus is still straight up. Like, still, like. Yeah. [00:55:14] Speaker B: All in favor of mountain. And Lenore will raise her handy paw. Hand. Paw to be. [00:55:24] Speaker D: Now, now, now. And. And you know, Minkus is going to open. And then Opus is also going to raise his hand. A. Ropus has not changed. To be clear. It's still just straight. Like, you know. [00:55:42] Speaker C: Ropus is going along to get along. Just. Just. [00:55:48] Speaker B: That was for fighting. And 1, 2, 3, 4. For mountains. [00:55:58] Speaker G: We fight. Me. [00:56:01] Speaker I: We fight. [00:56:05] Speaker C: All right. Fight it east then. [00:56:09] Speaker D: And you. You know, Opus is kind of, you know, cross his arms. I gotta find my stuff. And so I'm gonna. Opus is this time, you know, once again, going into Minkus. You hear clinks and all that. [00:56:30] Speaker I: For those that didn't want to fight, I. I'd offer for you to leave, but if we fail here, it'll just come after you anyway. [00:56:39] Speaker B: And also, there'd only be two people worthy enough fight left at that point. [00:56:52] Speaker H: So I don't know the, like, technical ways. If there's a way to do this. Is there a way to, like, bless food or make it to where it's like. Like, if I wanted to give everyone a cookie that had, like, an extra, like, does, like, one healing or something like that? Am I able to bless cookies, or is that a special thing? [00:57:09] Speaker A: That's a special thing, unfortunately. But you all have made your vote. You will stand and wait for the rider. I'm a neutral party in this. I just play what happens. But we are going to go ahead and take our first break, get our beverages of choice, Our snickety snacks. And then we'll see what happens when the writer finds the people. And we're back. Thanks so much for hanging out while we took our break. Got our beverages of choice, Our snickety snacks. We are in a black obelisk in the middle of the desert. The party has decided that the thing that is chasing them, they are going to stay and try to stand up against. So that is where we're picking up from. What do you guys wish to do? [00:58:33] Speaker E: I. I feel. I know we voted and it was all democratic, but I feel bad. I don't want to force Opus to stay and fight if he's still scared. [00:58:44] Speaker D: Opus is. Is sitting there staring at Ropus. Robus, you were supposed to only mountains. You know, trees swing. [00:58:59] Speaker B: To. To be fair, I did only count Ropus's vote for mountains. [00:59:04] Speaker D: Oh, well, thank you. Thank you, Rabbit. Rabbitus. [00:59:09] Speaker B: Thank you, Lenore. [00:59:13] Speaker D: Lennis. Okay, cool. Thank you, Rupus. Thank her. Rupus is gonna kind of go over to you and just kind of nod. [00:59:27] Speaker F: And to be clear, like I said, I'm fine with either plan. We just needed to weigh all options and that there's a gamble either way. [00:59:41] Speaker E: I mean, we can always go on for another night and see if we can find somewhere like, we've managed to find shelter both nights so far. [00:59:52] Speaker I: And if we do find other civilization, we can always go around it. We don't have to leave a trail through which it can chase us. [01:00:05] Speaker D: Ambassador. One can go in, ask help strong, smart. Others can wait. [01:00:17] Speaker E: Are we meeting barbarians? [01:00:23] Speaker I: And what's wrong with barbarians? [01:00:26] Speaker G: Nothing. [01:00:26] Speaker E: You are very educated barbarians, but ask help strong. Like, it just, you know. [01:00:40] Speaker C: So. I appreciate vot of confidence in my diplomacy skills, little kitty, but I find a lot, sometimes people think I am gruff and off puttings, but appreciate the vote. [01:01:04] Speaker G: Well, you can't send the scaredy lizard meal. [01:01:11] Speaker D: Who are you calling scared? [01:01:14] Speaker H: She's just gonna look over at you. [01:01:15] Speaker D: And go distinctly, Opus is like, towards the door. Like, not out the door. Nothing like that. But like, Opus is distinctly at the edge of the ring of our. Of our group. [01:01:29] Speaker B: And from what I've heard of the description of the writer from the people who had the vision of him, I. While we do have good numbers, I personally don't feel like I could go against something that could be described as godlike. [01:01:48] Speaker E: Oh, no. We're gonna die. [01:01:53] Speaker D: Why did you vote? [01:01:55] Speaker E: Who did? I want to fight. I mean, I'm not just going to be like, here I am. Kill me. I would obviously fight. I just don't want to make extra people die, was all I was saying. Maybe we should be cautious in the way that we handle this. [01:02:14] Speaker C: All right, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I'm hearing now that vote is cast. Many misgivings. We cannot. We cannot proceed if we are not unified and strong together. If we are not all on page, then this will never work. [01:02:39] Speaker I: Agreed. [01:02:44] Speaker D: Agreeing. [01:02:46] Speaker G: If even one person wants to stay back and fight meow, I have to stay back and heal meow. [01:02:57] Speaker C: I I think that I am still for information is missing. And I was hopeful that you know, if this is planned we get information because now we would at least know why this person pursues. But if. [01:03:21] Speaker E: Did you get the feeling that it would communicate with us? I just got overwhelming malevolence and gut wrenching fear. [01:03:31] Speaker C: I felt that with the protection of obelisk place, perhaps communication might be on the table. But it feels like the. As I said before, this is all or nothing planned. Yes. And if. If all are not, then then plan is nothing. And it sounds like all are not. And that split vote was not good enough for. For decision makings. In this case. Democracy is. Is failed us. [01:04:15] Speaker E: Is the way down still there or. [01:04:18] Speaker A: Did it go away after that's where you all are. [01:04:21] Speaker E: Is underneath still down where that was? [01:04:23] Speaker A: Okay, yes. [01:04:28] Speaker H: Nix will look up at the ceiling, whatever is above her and just be like Mr. Storm. [01:04:35] Speaker G: Meow. Mr. Storm, are you there? Meow. [01:04:38] Speaker A: Roll a D100. [01:04:39] Speaker D: Oh gosh. [01:04:42] Speaker E: Can she get help on that? Like if Veyro gets in on the like trying to contact storm. [01:04:49] Speaker C: Calls are personal. [01:04:51] Speaker A: 93. [01:04:52] Speaker D: Yes. [01:04:53] Speaker A: You will hear a loud rumble. The obelisk will shake. And emerging from the shadows, the shadows in the four corners come to the center of the room and lift. Forming a bipedaled creature in black robes. You summoned. [01:05:09] Speaker H: Her ears will go back and be like Mr. [01:05:12] Speaker G: Turtle. Meow. Here you go, Meow. [01:05:14] Speaker H: And she'll back away. [01:05:21] Speaker C: Greetings, Lord Storm. We are. We are questioning and would seek advice if you are willing to offer. [01:05:35] Speaker A: It depends if I may interfere or not. What is your question? [01:05:41] Speaker C: You have said we are protected here. [01:05:45] Speaker A: Yes, we know. [01:05:47] Speaker C: We know. Rider is coming on our back throw. [01:05:53] Speaker A: No. No. You're not protected from the Rider. I'm not that strong. I can only protect you from the Sea of Solace. [01:06:01] Speaker C: Ah, I. I see. We were hoping that protection would give us chance to possibly discover why Rider chases us. And give us opportunity to perhaps negotiate or to find other solution. But it seems is not case. [01:06:22] Speaker A: I can tell you why they pursue you. [01:06:25] Speaker C: No, this would be great help because. [01:06:28] Speaker A: You are who you are. This is not find. When you find who you are, you will understand my advice. Like hell. [01:06:44] Speaker C: This is DC's help? Yes. We take word of of powerful being until we have more pieces of puzzle, I think. Thank you for your generosity and hospitality. The food and especially the coffee was. Was very, very good. [01:07:11] Speaker H: Nixola, pull out from her bag an Earl Grey cookie. It's gonna look gross. It's gonna look like it's got pieces in it. And it's complet. Going to hold it up and be like, thanks, meow. And she'll be like, shaking. [01:07:23] Speaker A: He will. The figure will take the cookie and eat it. [01:07:27] Speaker H: It's delicious. [01:07:29] Speaker A: They will clasp their fingers. And a teacup will appear. And they will sip some tea as they eat their cookie. [01:07:38] Speaker B: I will miss. [01:07:44] Speaker A: We'll meet again. [01:07:48] Speaker D: So Opus and Minkus. And ropes are distinctly at the top of the stairs at this point. And just come on. Come on. Come on. You heard him. And then gone. [01:08:03] Speaker B: He does have a point with being more hasty about this. As the. As we take more time discussing this. It gets hotter outside. [01:08:13] Speaker C: Yes. And the rider gets closer. We should be on the move. And Kagan is very quickly going to move to the table of food and. And. And quickly gather up anything that is like, you know, Cured meats that will keep longer and breads, maybe some cheese. And just toss them into a pack and grab the rest of his gear. [01:08:39] Speaker I: Good thinking. [01:08:42] Speaker A: I will buy you some time. [01:08:47] Speaker C: We are in your debt. And will remember. Once we know who we are and how we may repay. [01:08:59] Speaker D: Thank you. [01:09:03] Speaker G: So how do we talk to you again, meow? [01:09:07] Speaker A: Just like you did. [01:09:09] Speaker H: I can do that, meow. [01:09:17] Speaker I: Oh, come on. [01:09:18] Speaker A: One day, I'll give you my real name. Shadows will sink. The food will become engulfed in paper with string tied to it in five packages. And you will hear the rumbling outside of the storm building. [01:09:45] Speaker C: All right. Let's get on skiff. Get moving. [01:09:49] Speaker I: Okay. [01:09:53] Speaker E: Make sure that we grab the packages of food. [01:09:55] Speaker B: Yes. [01:09:55] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:09:56] Speaker I: Split up. [01:10:00] Speaker H: Nyx will go straight out to the skiff. And then look over to Kagan and be like. [01:10:06] Speaker G: You got this, Namiel. [01:10:09] Speaker C: I will give it my best. You give pointers if you see me doing a wrong thing. Yes. [01:10:15] Speaker H: She'll look down and be like, yes, meow. [01:10:19] Speaker D: Da. [01:10:20] Speaker C: Good kitty. And I'll start working to get the skiff underway. [01:10:24] Speaker A: Okay. So. [01:10:25] Speaker D: Already on the skiff, by the way. [01:10:29] Speaker A: We're going to call this. Your navigation will be survival. [01:10:35] Speaker C: I actually have a score in that. All right. [01:10:38] Speaker A: Road trip. [01:10:41] Speaker C: Oh, yes. I rolled the Natural. 19/6 is a 25. [01:10:49] Speaker B: 3 noise. [01:10:50] Speaker A: And you are underway. The storm around you grows bellows. Even the lightning does not come near the skiff. But it is crashing in different places in the sand. Causing glass shards to rise up out of the sand. And the wind is very strong. Roll a 1D6 lock. Since you're at the helm. [01:11:30] Speaker C: That is a 2. [01:11:33] Speaker A: The sea of solace is not a true sea. But a vast stretch of desert Cracked in places Showing only salt flats. Other places, huge dunes of sand. It once lay beneath an ancient sea. In light, it blazes like molten silver, so bright it sears your eyes even through cloth. The air, especially in this part of the singing sand, tastes sharp, as if salt has been carried into your lungs. When the wind rises, it carries with it the faint, haunting sound of waves. Not like waves of an ocean, but waves of sand, rising and falling like the magnification of the sound of an hourglass. The day heat shimmers off endless sand. By night, it is cold to the almost death. But still you travel on with your two lock. You make good time, better time than you would have with the help of the wind. Soon, the stone, or the sand, gives way to stone. Stone gives way to larger stone and mountains. And before long, you are looking at the towering peaks of the Ragnar Khan Mountains. [01:13:09] Speaker F: Is it still storming around us? [01:13:11] Speaker A: No, no. The storm stayed at the obelisk. [01:13:15] Speaker F: Okay. Well, crap. Never mind. [01:13:23] Speaker I: We really made it. [01:13:29] Speaker D: Are we able to. Does it look like we're able to continue in the skiff? Or is it because we're at the, you know, theoretical foot of mountains that we're going to start running into? You know, forestry and stuff? [01:13:40] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. You will not be able to continue in the skiff. This is all jutted, rocky crag terrain. It is. There's no forest on the Ragnar Karn Mountain. It is just all rock. [01:13:57] Speaker D: Here. [01:13:57] Speaker C: I've been to the base of the mountain before. Yeah. The area. [01:14:04] Speaker A: Yeah. Just. [01:14:06] Speaker C: Yeah. But I'll have some idea of, like, the terrain at least, and kind of which way we're headed from here. [01:14:13] Speaker A: Yes. [01:14:14] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm gonna. Can I look for a. Like, a place that we can put the skiff that, like, it's not obvious, like, it might not be found right away by someone looking for us? [01:14:33] Speaker A: Make an investigation. Check. [01:14:35] Speaker C: Cool. [01:14:37] Speaker B: Can I help? [01:14:38] Speaker A: Oh, either way, make it with advantage. [01:14:43] Speaker C: Thank God, because that first roll was a 2. That is a 14. [01:14:49] Speaker A: You do find some boulders that are on the outside of a. A smaller. A cove alcove that, if you all work together, you could probably get to skiff inside there. [01:15:05] Speaker C: Help me. We put skiff in. In there. Perhaps the writer will pass by and have trouble finding where we have gone. [01:15:14] Speaker I: Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I'll help you. [01:15:18] Speaker F: Can't hurt. [01:15:25] Speaker A: Y' all are able to secure the sand skiff in the alve? [01:15:32] Speaker I: Big push. [01:15:39] Speaker C: And I'll start. Oh. [01:15:42] Speaker D: Go. [01:15:42] Speaker A: I'm sorry. [01:15:42] Speaker D: Go ahead. [01:15:43] Speaker A: I said now. What do you wish to do? [01:15:45] Speaker C: Oh, I Was gonna say I'm gonna, I'm gonna look for a trail for the, a path, the you know, a, a way of transversing towards where we want to go that I think the group can manage. That'll give us the best cover that I can find with, you know, in. [01:16:09] Speaker A: That parameter give me a survival. [01:16:15] Speaker C: That is an 11 plus 6 is 17. [01:16:19] Speaker A: There's not really any cover this far down on the mountain. There are a few, for lack of better word, game trails that have some areas of dirt and then transverse large distances of stone. You may or may not be able to pick up the trail again as you cross over it. The Ragnar Carn is a very desolate place, especially now. [01:16:52] Speaker C: All right, let's start heading in the direction then. Go ahead. Sorry. [01:16:56] Speaker D: No, yeah, I was, I was assuming we were. So yeah, as we're traveling I, you know, take this as like a question slash, you know, action. Opus would be trying to see if he can find anything of use, any kind of alchemical reagents as he goes. So we're talking salts or certain like metal bowls or certain rocks of note, etc. [01:17:25] Speaker A: Give me a investigation check. [01:17:39] Speaker D: That would be a 17. [01:17:44] Speaker A: Unfortunately, this far down the mountain there's not anything. As I said, it's a very, very desolate place, especially at the base. There's a few squigs, twigs, a little bit of moss here and there, a few sprigs of wild grass that grow up, but there's really nothing here. [01:18:10] Speaker D: It is nothing usable basically. [01:18:12] Speaker A: Yeah, there's nothing usable. [01:18:14] Speaker D: Yeah. Gotcha. Okay. [01:18:17] Speaker F: Looking back the way we came, does it trying to find a way to make this work. Does it look like the storm has followed us or is it like so far back that it. It's not coming? [01:18:31] Speaker A: Yeah, it's far back. You can't see it. [01:18:35] Speaker F: Okay. I was going to try to get up on a boulder and basically kind of like scan mountainside looking for anything that looks like cave door, something. [01:18:57] Speaker A: All right. Make a investigation check. [01:19:05] Speaker F: All right. [01:19:08] Speaker A: Sorry. [01:19:08] Speaker F: That's a dirty 20. [01:19:13] Speaker A: There are a few caves further up that you see. They're not large, they're, they're smaller caves, but they might be shelter for the evening. The dwarven city is going to be hard to find because the dwarves mine and create their entrances in such a way that they're almost invisible. [01:19:35] Speaker F: Yeah. [01:19:36] Speaker A: So you're going to need like a ranger or something that can really dig into the terrain. [01:19:50] Speaker F: Do we have a general idea of like. I know there's no real time keeping anymore, but do we have A general idea about how much time we have before basically lights out. [01:20:03] Speaker A: After leaving the sun. Everything is a darkish grayish. Like you know how when it's really overcast, everything's like. It seems like dusk. That's everything now. Period. There is no dawn or dark. There's only this level of dusk here. [01:20:21] Speaker D: Because we're away from the artificial sun that essentially was in the Sea of Solace. Okay. Yeah. [01:20:26] Speaker C: Right. [01:20:28] Speaker G: Does anyone know where to go? Miel? [01:20:33] Speaker I: Has anyone researched dwarves before? [01:20:38] Speaker B: No. [01:20:43] Speaker H: As far as I understand, I've been around dwarves and I've done like excavating and stuff like that with them. But do I know much about them themselves and their town and city and stuff? [01:20:55] Speaker A: No, because there's not been anyone from Castandula seen since the calamity. [01:21:01] Speaker H: Gotcha. [01:21:05] Speaker E: So how do we. If nobody has their memory, how do we know about Castela? Like is it a book or oral stories that somebody read about somewhere? Like how do we do that when we all had no memory? [01:21:21] Speaker A: The. The interesting thing about your all's amnesia is that the landmarks of Runeth Kesha remained. It is the personal stuff that you all cannot remember. [01:21:34] Speaker E: Okay. Can I do like a history check to see if I knew anything, heard anything in the bar, anything like that? [01:21:42] Speaker A: Yeah, go ahead. You often hung out with Coleys. So. [01:21:49] Speaker E: That'S 12 plus 6. So 18. [01:21:51] Speaker A: 18 if it meets. It beats. You know that the entrance to Castandula is towards the northern side of the mountain. And that it takes a special eye to see it. Because it is made to blend in with the surroundings. So you would need something like a dwarf, a ranger, something of that sort. [01:22:22] Speaker E: The stories that Kola used to tell. The entrance is on the northern side, but it blends in very well. We need like a dwarf or a very sharp eyed ranger or something to find it. [01:22:39] Speaker B: Hello. [01:22:39] Speaker A: Bless you. [01:22:44] Speaker E: So as long as we get to the northern side, I say we let Lenore do her thing. [01:22:51] Speaker I: Agreed. I have faith in her. [01:22:54] Speaker G: That's the way, Ms. Bunny. Meow meow. [01:22:59] Speaker C: Agreed. [01:23:01] Speaker B: Can I tell if this is the way north? [01:23:05] Speaker A: You're a ranger. You can tell which way is north. Okay. No role is needed for that. [01:23:10] Speaker B: Okay. [01:23:12] Speaker A: Now I want to make a ranger that is dyslexic with directions. Thanks. [01:23:17] Speaker B: That would be dyspraxia. [01:23:20] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:23:22] Speaker B: Which by the way, her player is both dyslexic and dyspraxic. [01:23:27] Speaker A: I couldn't think of the word. Thank you. [01:23:30] Speaker F: On a whim. When they. When. When Veyra mentioned Master Coleys. Azariah is going to remember that she has that Dwarven staff that he gave her that was carved with all kinds of Dwarven stuff. [01:23:48] Speaker D: Okay. [01:23:49] Speaker F: And kind of take a look at it. Is there any landmark on there? Or is it. [01:23:56] Speaker A: Just give me an investigation. [01:24:00] Speaker F: Is it just. [01:24:00] Speaker H: Am I able to go for it? Sorry. [01:24:04] Speaker A: Yeah, you can help. [01:24:06] Speaker H: I was gonna say, can I actually see that? [01:24:10] Speaker F: She's gonna pull it out. It's big quarter staff. It's just on her back. [01:24:14] Speaker H: Can I see that? There's, like, runes on it. And are they actual Dwarvish? [01:24:18] Speaker A: Yeah, they are Dwarvish runes. [01:24:20] Speaker H: So theoretically, because I speak Dwarvish, I could read it. [01:24:24] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:24:26] Speaker I: Oh, that could too, because. [01:24:28] Speaker F: Well, the other thing I was trying to ask too, is, I think if I remember right, you said it wasn't just runes. It was. It was like artwork. It was. [01:24:35] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:24:36] Speaker F: Murals as well. So the. [01:24:39] Speaker A: The runes spell just random words like apple or tomato or stone pigeon that, like, you can see. But what'd you get on your investigation? [01:24:52] Speaker F: It is a 21. [01:24:55] Speaker A: You see that carved at the base? At the very bottom, in teeny tiny carvings, there are two peaks that jut up, separating from each other as a Y and a crown in between them. This. [01:25:16] Speaker F: This may be helpful. Master Colise gave this to me because I didn't have my weapon, but she's got to point out that very small. The two peaks with the crown, it may help as a landmark. [01:25:32] Speaker B: Lenore's going to definitely, like, peer over and take a look. It's a good amapazoni. [01:25:40] Speaker G: I mean, maybe Miau, but the rest of it's just gibberish. Meow. [01:25:51] Speaker A: Okay, now I'm curious. Christina. [01:25:59] Speaker E: No, that was me and not Veyro, which is why I didn't say it, because so. [01:26:02] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [01:26:07] Speaker C: Tier. Now they've pointed out that symbol on the staff, having at least been around the base of the mountains. Maybe not in this spot, but in a different spot. Have I ever seen two peaks that look like that in that orientation? [01:26:22] Speaker A: But you haven't. [01:26:23] Speaker C: I didn't. I do not know where this is, but we will keep eyes out. We should keep moving. [01:26:36] Speaker B: To the north then. [01:26:38] Speaker F: That was kind of my intention. It was just another landmark to possibly look for. [01:26:44] Speaker A: So. Marching order. [01:26:48] Speaker B: Lenore first. I guess. [01:26:52] Speaker I: Luminae will be last. Or last. Ish. If someone wants dead last. [01:26:56] Speaker D: I would say that Opus with his entourage would probably be towards the back, but not necessarily fighting for the back. So if you're like, hey, I would like the back. I don't think he would try to, you know, be behind you. But, yeah, Yeah, I would say second last. Let's do that. [01:27:16] Speaker F: I was just gonna kind of make sure the shorter ones, the smaller ones are keeping up. [01:27:25] Speaker H: Nyx, as per usual, is gonna hide behind the turtle. [01:27:32] Speaker C: I'll be up near the front because at least I've been in this area ish before. And, you know, if we come across something, I'm. I'm a fighter type. [01:27:42] Speaker E: So I guess that leaves me in the middle. [01:27:49] Speaker A: My turn not to make a comment. All right, Lenore, give me a nature check. Or survival, rather. Survival check. Let's see what happens. [01:28:00] Speaker B: Alrighty. I'm good at that. Fifteen. Eight plus seven. [01:28:12] Speaker I: Yes. [01:28:16] Speaker A: The first leg of the journey. You are able to follow these quote unquote trails, climbing upward in the mountain range slowly. The grade is very. Not very steep, but it is solid. You find one track of a deer, and then we'll soon find that the remains of the deer. [01:28:50] Speaker B: She's gonna weirdly take a. Just a tiny pause and take a big old sniff of the remains of the deer before continuing on. [01:29:01] Speaker A: It is rotten. [01:29:05] Speaker B: It's weirdly going to bring a smile to her face. [01:29:10] Speaker E: Lenore. [01:29:12] Speaker D: Yes. [01:29:14] Speaker E: But what. What? Can you tell what killed the deer? Like another animal or like a person or, you know, shifter kind of thing? [01:29:27] Speaker B: Can I do an investigation, Jack, for that? [01:29:29] Speaker A: Yeah, do an investigation. I'll saw her stop and sniff the dead deer. [01:29:36] Speaker D: Okay. We did. [01:29:39] Speaker B: That's a 10. Apparently my number for tonight is 8. [01:29:43] Speaker A: So it is so mauled and disfigured and been hitting by carrion eaters, you have no idea. [01:29:53] Speaker B: It's a little too far gone for me to tell. Okay. [01:30:01] Speaker E: I just wondered if we needed to be cautious. More cautious. Cautious, sir. [01:30:09] Speaker B: It can never hurt. [01:30:14] Speaker D: Real quick, Casey actually had a blue screen, so give a couple seconds. [01:30:21] Speaker A: Yeah, we'll go ahead and go to break. [01:30:24] Speaker D: Yeah, sorry about that. [01:30:26] Speaker A: No, no, no. They happen. Our jokes were not bad enough. [01:30:30] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [01:31:02] Speaker A: And we're back. The tech gremlins came, but we beat them back with sticks. Thanks for understanding. Also because of a message, I got someone checking in to make sure I'm okay. Thank you for doing that. I am in a lot of pain tonight. I'm a chronic pain patient. That's why I'm making the faces. It's not at my players. If it was my players, it would be this. So there you go. [01:31:28] Speaker F: Followed by are you sure? [01:31:32] Speaker B: Or the other way around. [01:31:35] Speaker A: Okay. [01:31:36] Speaker F: Yeah, yeah. [01:31:37] Speaker D: That's the tone I'm used to. [01:31:39] Speaker H: Yeah. [01:31:40] Speaker F: If you hear him say okay, like that you should be rethinking all of your life's decisions up to that point. I'm just saying. [01:31:50] Speaker A: And also, Alice, spot on. Okay, where were we? I forgot. Oh yeah. Y' all are looking for the entrance to Cast and Doula. [01:32:06] Speaker I: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [01:32:07] Speaker A: So you had come across a carcass. You're gonna have to explain that one to me after game. And what do you want to do? You want to keep going? Are we going to stop and make camp? What are we doing? [01:32:27] Speaker B: About how long have we been traveling, would you say? [01:32:33] Speaker A: I would say that you're close to the well. Hours mean nothing in this place. Place. You're at the ten hour mark. [01:32:41] Speaker B: Okay. Finding somewhere to make camp's probably a good idea. [01:32:44] Speaker D: Then 10 hour from the obelisk or 10 hour from when we got off the skiff. Okay. [01:32:49] Speaker A: 10 hours from the obelisk, then. [01:32:51] Speaker B: Then finding a. A cave or something to hunker down in for the night's probably a good idea. [01:32:57] Speaker A: So Azariah did find a couple of caves. [01:33:01] Speaker F: Yep. [01:33:01] Speaker E: She. [01:33:02] Speaker F: She will point them out along the mountainside. I'm of course can't tell how big they are. But. [01:33:11] Speaker B: We'Ll try the closest one first. [01:33:14] Speaker G: Yes, please. Meow. I'm so tired. Meow. [01:33:18] Speaker A: The closest one. You will make your way up the incline. There are cobwebs over the entrance to the cave. Not thick or giant spiders. Just. It hasn't been used. [01:33:46] Speaker B: Well, Opus or Nyx. Light source. [01:33:55] Speaker D: Yeah. Yes. One sec. Mingus, reach in, grab the. The little. Little night light and go. There we go. And kind of hold it out. Passing it forward. Not necessarily. [01:34:21] Speaker F: Pass it along. [01:34:26] Speaker B: Into the cave. She'll go once it's passed up to her. [01:34:33] Speaker A: Hold on. I've got to change the music for this one. [01:34:36] Speaker B: Oh no. [01:34:41] Speaker I: We chose the. [01:34:42] Speaker A: As you enter the cave, there will be a couple of things that will strike you as odd. The first being that the cave has not been used by man nor beast for quite some time. There's a thick carpet of dust settled on the floor. The cobwebs over the entrance. Perhaps that's not the oddest thing. The oddity is that there is a stone fire pit in the center of the cave. Back towards the back of the cave is a copper. You can tell it's copper because of the patina. Clawfoot tub with a red crystal and a blue crystal. There are two chest high ricks of wood against the very back wall. [01:35:31] Speaker B: Well, this is interesting. [01:35:37] Speaker I: Was this someone's home. [01:35:42] Speaker F: Dear? Since Oz spent some time over the eight years between Cataclysm. And now she wandered a bit. She didn't necessarily go looking for things in particular, but she did do some wandering some of the other cantons and stuff. But she have an idea of what this could possibly be? [01:35:59] Speaker A: Yeah. Make a history check. [01:36:02] Speaker C: As I widely traveled for scavenging purposes. Can I get in on that? [01:36:08] Speaker A: You can add the help action so she can do it with advantage. [01:36:10] Speaker C: Cool. Yes. [01:36:12] Speaker F: Okay, so that is a 1619. [01:36:21] Speaker A: It is known that from pre cataclysm writings, journal letters, and stuff of the nature that some rangers would take caves and put amenities in them, like a bathtub, a firing, and stuff, so they could pass on the comfort to someone else. It was sort of a communal way station. [01:36:50] Speaker F: Oz will kind of like duck in and look around and. And kind of tilt her head for a second, like she's trying to. I. Due to the nature of this and. And just how forgotten it feels, I think this was what they call a way station. [01:37:14] Speaker C: Yes. Yes. I have. I have read about these. I. In books I found for althora. I always kept eye out, hoping I would find one while I was scavenging, because it always sounded like it would be a nice place. Place to. To mark and make shelter and use as well use for its intended purpose again, you know, while traveling and trying to find lost things in the wilderness. This is. This is good fortune. This is, how you say, Providence. We really are chosen ones. [01:37:51] Speaker B: First cave. Best cave. [01:37:55] Speaker D: I think Opus would make his way over to the tub. You said it was. There were two. [01:38:02] Speaker A: Gemstones you mentioned, a red gemstone and a blue gemstone. [01:38:06] Speaker D: It. Are they, like, just at the end of a. Like, are they just on the side of the tub? Are they on. They're what, Beside the faucet? Okay. Does it. Does it look like there's pipes and it goes, you know, where, somewhere? [01:38:27] Speaker A: No. [01:38:27] Speaker D: Okay. [01:38:30] Speaker H: You know, if you're wanting to steal them, maybe you should just steal them. [01:38:35] Speaker D: Opus would reach out and. Actually, no. Opus would. Would get a little bit closer. But rope is. Touch that, twist that, bop that, and it would be pointing at one of the two of the. The gems. Opus wasn't distinct, so Ropus would just kind of go to one. [01:39:03] Speaker A: This is gonna have to be which one? [01:39:05] Speaker D: Let's say the closest one. So if typically red, what is it? Hots on the left. Yeah. So the red. [01:39:12] Speaker A: So you have ropes reach out and touch, and you see steam. As water begins to fill the tub, it will come to a certain level and stop steaming hot water. [01:39:29] Speaker D: That's odd. Opus would come forth A little bit and actually be the one to hit the blue one. [01:39:40] Speaker A: The water level will rise a little more. The steam is still there, but the water is a little cooler. [01:39:48] Speaker B: This would be good for us to clean ourselves and maybe even our gear if we needed. [01:39:56] Speaker D: Good job. Ropus. Cup. Come here. And he's to open it and kind of rustle in it. [01:40:07] Speaker H: Nyx would like to try to push Opus into the water. [01:40:12] Speaker C: Hold on. [01:40:13] Speaker D: Opus is two foot tall. How. How tall is the bathtub? [01:40:17] Speaker A: The bathtub is taller than Ropus or Opus. [01:40:22] Speaker I: Pick him up and get him in. [01:40:25] Speaker D: He doesn't pick me up. [01:40:27] Speaker H: Yeah, I want to try to. [01:40:29] Speaker A: We're not eating the cobalt. [01:40:32] Speaker B: We did it with the gnome once. [01:40:36] Speaker A: The gnome was willing. [01:40:39] Speaker B: That's fair. [01:40:40] Speaker A: It was a consensual yeet. [01:40:42] Speaker F: And the one time that we threw a goblin. We threw a goblin into water. Was after he was covered in poo and was refusing to bathe. And the rest of the party was not going to have it. And so, yes, the goblin got yeeted into a pool of water for a reason. [01:40:59] Speaker C: Also, hi. We're consensual gnome yeeting. And we just need a one word suggestion to get started. [01:41:08] Speaker E: So seeing, like, what's in there and everybody doing stuff, Veyre's gonna go outside and see if she can get, like, not like logs, but, like sticks for, like, kindling kind of thing. [01:41:26] Speaker A: There's. Everything you need is in the cave. The ricks of wood, the. The kindling. Everything is there. There's even flint and steel. [01:41:33] Speaker E: Okay. She'll. She'll start trying to make a fire, then in a firing. [01:41:39] Speaker A: Ah, hold on. Tech ribbons. [01:41:43] Speaker I: I know. [01:41:49] Speaker E: That'S at 8. [01:41:50] Speaker B: I'll help. Oh, never mind. [01:41:54] Speaker A: And before long, you have a nice crackling fire. [01:41:56] Speaker E: Okay. [01:41:57] Speaker B: At which point Lenore will give the light back to Opus because it's not needed as much anymore. [01:42:06] Speaker D: Ropus, grab that. So Ropus will kind of go over and. And reach out for that. [01:42:17] Speaker A: All right. Sorry. I was contacted by one of our. Our partners in this endeavor, asking how many dice trays do you need again? So. [01:42:33] Speaker F: All of them? [01:42:35] Speaker I: Yeah, all of them. [01:42:41] Speaker A: So you have a fire, you have a warm tub. What do you want to do? [01:42:48] Speaker B: If no one objects to it, Lenore's gonna be the first to take a little dip. She's still gonna keep her skivvies on, but she'll at least take her armor off. [01:42:56] Speaker A: All right. It is luxurious. [01:43:01] Speaker D: Opus. Like, I don't. I don't know which would have happened first, because it's sort of as it's happening. But Opus would be making potions. But trying to use this water. And so if you jump into it, he will be like. Excuse me. [01:43:22] Speaker H: So as soon as I hear that Nick's gonna be like. [01:43:24] Speaker G: You should jump into. Meow. Your back smells. Meow. [01:43:29] Speaker D: How dare you. [01:43:33] Speaker E: I think we take turns. [01:43:35] Speaker D: I'm gonna scurry away to. To like the other side of Minkus. [01:43:44] Speaker C: Kitty cat is right. We should. We should all partake of the bathing. Because it is here and it is clean and it is hot. And we do not know when we will get another chance. [01:43:56] Speaker G: Yeah. Didn't he make you rub some smelly stuff on your butt? Meow. [01:44:00] Speaker C: Yes, I fully intend to wash completely. [01:44:07] Speaker A: So we will just go ahead and use DM prerogative that you all have bathed. You have your camp set for the eve. You even have your food. Will you be setting watches tonight? [01:44:23] Speaker C: Yes, definitely. [01:44:25] Speaker D: Oh yeah. [01:44:25] Speaker A: Who takes first watch? [01:44:28] Speaker I: I'll take first watch. [01:44:31] Speaker D: Opus will take next. [01:44:35] Speaker B: Lenore will. Will take last. [01:44:41] Speaker F: Eyes will fill. [01:44:42] Speaker C: I'll take. [01:44:43] Speaker F: Yeah. She only needs the four hour trance, so. [01:44:47] Speaker B: And now we can buddy up. [01:44:52] Speaker F: Yeah. [01:44:53] Speaker E: Vera will go with Oz because she only needs the four hour trance too. So that'll be a good. She can trance and then pop in. [01:45:02] Speaker C: I'll go with Lenor. [01:45:07] Speaker G: Next. [01:45:07] Speaker H: I'll join in with Blue or. Sorry, Luminae. [01:45:15] Speaker B: So the security lizard's all by himself? [01:45:17] Speaker H: Well, I mean he's got Rufus and Minkus. So he doesn't really need. [01:45:21] Speaker I: Yeah, he's got built in. [01:45:24] Speaker D: Opus is gonna be. Is gonna make a couple potions at the beginning of the watch too. So gonna be up at the same time as the first watch. [01:45:35] Speaker A: Alrighty. So those of you on the first watch. Give me a perception check. That will be luminating nicks. I believe if I wrote it down right. [01:45:46] Speaker I: All right. [01:45:47] Speaker G: Yes. [01:45:49] Speaker I: O. 9. [01:45:51] Speaker G: 19. [01:45:56] Speaker A: Your watch will be quiet. Almost deathly quiet. Next you will notice that on the far side of the wall beneath the dust. As you're watching the campfire. There's a soft glint. Like something metal. Reflective. [01:46:24] Speaker H: Reflective. Off the wall or off of something to the wall. [01:46:28] Speaker A: Off of something next to the wall. [01:46:33] Speaker H: So Nixel like get down and start like crawling over there. And just try to. Try to look at where that's coming from. [01:46:42] Speaker A: Given like I said before, there was a thick coat of dust on the floor. You see that there is a bump, for lack of a better word. About 12 inches long. With just a little bit showing metal that is glinting in the sunlight or off the firelight. [01:47:01] Speaker G: Luminate. Meow. Luminae. Meow. Look here, meow. [01:47:05] Speaker I: What is it? What'd you find? [01:47:09] Speaker G: Not sure, meow. It just. It looks little different, meow. [01:47:14] Speaker I: Luminae will reach past Nyx and take it upon herself to try and brush away some of the dust from whatever this object may be. [01:47:23] Speaker A: And you'll take two points of damage as you cut your finger and brushing away. It is a dagger in a mostly decayed leather sheath. [01:47:40] Speaker G: Are you okay, Mio? [01:47:42] Speaker I: Yes. I just cut myself on the blade. There's a dagger here. Something from the last person who left who used this place. [01:47:55] Speaker G: Yeah, maybe, meow. I don't really use a meow. Do you want it, meow? [01:48:00] Speaker I: It's a bit small for my taste. But she'll carefully try and pick it up so as not to hurt herself. [01:48:05] Speaker A: Again as you unearth it. It is a very unusual blade. The handle is made of deer antler and has carved grooves and each groove is elven runes. The pommel, to counterweight it, is carved from obsidian. And it is the head of a panther. And the cross guard is the shape of two scimitars. The blade itself has a bluish sheen to it and. Yeah, and if you look at the scabbard, you may learn more. [01:48:45] Speaker I: It's beautiful. People investigate the scabbard as well. Do the runes say anything in Elvish? [01:48:52] Speaker A: Do you speak Elvish? [01:48:53] Speaker I: I do. [01:48:56] Speaker A: They say, hold on, I gotta get verbiage. Right here. Though we stand in fire, though we stand in night, we will forever stay in the fight. You're turning it as you read it. Okay, I swear this BS. [01:49:25] Speaker I: Seems like a ceremonial dagger of thoughts. Now I'll take a look at the. [01:49:32] Speaker A: At the COVID The sheath was real fine leather. There's golden embossing. You see a N and an E, like down the length of it, what's left of it. [01:49:58] Speaker I: But I know of any sort of group, like maybe it attached to the Rangers or something. Thing that would have a ceremonial dagger like this. [01:50:07] Speaker A: You can make a history. You have done some trouble. [01:50:11] Speaker I: Let's do that. All right. History. Go. That would be a 10. [01:50:20] Speaker A: No, nothing. Sounds familiar. [01:50:26] Speaker G: Antler. Meow. Right, Meow. [01:50:29] Speaker I: Yeah. Pia, what do you make of this? She holds it out to Nyx. [01:50:34] Speaker H: So I don't know of us or anything. I'm just gonna kind of cock my head a little bit and be like. [01:50:39] Speaker G: It looks like a pretty dagger, meow. I'm not really sure, meow. [01:50:45] Speaker I: Never seen anything like this before. [01:50:50] Speaker A: No. Nyx would have never seen anything like this. [01:50:53] Speaker H: Okay. [01:50:54] Speaker G: Not that I know of meow. Maybe. Maybe weapons in general meow. But not this meow. [01:51:00] Speaker I: Okay, that's. That's fine. [01:51:03] Speaker G: Well, Lenore seemed to like that deer body. Meow. Maybe she would like it. Meow. [01:51:12] Speaker I: It seems like something someone who's well, traveled in the wilds would like. I'd like to pass this around everyone to get a look at someone might know something about it. [01:51:23] Speaker G: Maybe don't give it to Opus. Meow. He might just put it in minkus. Meow. [01:51:27] Speaker D: Did I hear that? Considering I'm still awake, Yep. What was that? [01:51:38] Speaker I: Nothing. We're fine. [01:51:41] Speaker D: Okay. I'm just gonna wave you away. [01:51:43] Speaker I: As I'm toiling, still illuminate leans into Nick's. Like. [01:51:49] Speaker H: She'S gonna look over towards Opus direction and again do that. [01:51:57] Speaker I: So with that, I'm guessing we kind of have like, the communal pile of stuff somewhere in the cave. Or if not, Luminae will just pack it with her stuff for now. The dagger. [01:52:13] Speaker A: Okay. [01:52:17] Speaker H: So because this wasn't said last session with Lenore and Luminae not there when they pulled out the cookies last time, it was peanut butter cookies with peanuts for Lenore and oatmeal chocolate chip for Luminae. I'm gonna grab out of my bag and oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, give it to him, and then I will eat an oatmeal raisin cookie for myself. As we're waiting through the night, doing the watch. [01:52:39] Speaker A: The rest of the watch goes silent. Enjoy some fresh cookies from the bag of endless cookies. [01:52:46] Speaker I: So good. [01:52:49] Speaker H: Which has to be the best item ever. [01:52:55] Speaker A: I've home brewed a bag of cheese and now a bag of cookies. [01:53:03] Speaker C: That bag of cheese came in. Clutch it. [01:53:06] Speaker A: It did. [01:53:07] Speaker F: Well, don't forget the special insulated bag. [01:53:10] Speaker B: For bacon, the cold hot pouches. [01:53:14] Speaker A: All right, you're. It is time for you all to take your sleep, and it's time for Opus to stand watch. Opus, your turn. [01:53:25] Speaker D: Okay. One sec. And I'm gonna. I. I'm assuming. And you know that that would have been maybe an hour or two of time, so. Yeah. So if you're good with it, I'll go ahead and roll two common potions then. [01:53:42] Speaker A: Yep. Go ahead. [01:53:44] Speaker H: Before going to sleep, I'm just gonna set one of everybody's favorite cookies next to them, then curl up and sleep. [01:53:51] Speaker A: Okay. I want cookies. Yeah, I want biscuits and gravy and cookies. Just not the same type of pump. [01:54:01] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean. I mean, well, no, I don't want to say it. [01:54:11] Speaker A: I do like grape jelly on a fried egg sandwich. It Is good. [01:54:15] Speaker F: It's gross. [01:54:15] Speaker I: I got to try that. [01:54:18] Speaker B: I knew people who would put jelly on their sausage biscuits in school. [01:54:22] Speaker C: That's fine. Sausage and jelly go together. [01:54:27] Speaker H: You have biscuits and gravy with chocolate gravy. [01:54:32] Speaker A: I'll try. It. [01:54:35] Speaker E: Were like. Like, you know, UK biscuits Where they're like cookies, then, you know. [01:54:43] Speaker C: No, I think Alice has the right. But a buttermilk biscuit was sort of a mole sauce, like, as. As the grape. Yeah. Like, I can get behind. [01:54:51] Speaker I: I could see that. [01:54:51] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:54:52] Speaker A: All right, Chris, what'd you get? [01:54:56] Speaker D: So I got a 13 and 11 for. For both potions, so that should be successful. It was two climbing potions. Okay, so grabbing some of the pieces as we walked in. Some spider silk and some limestone mixed together. And you even see a little bit of the. The spider silk kind of sticking on the inside of these flasks. Perfect. And I shove them in, say, thank you, minkus, and then close minkus. And pull out a book as I'm, you know, doing my watch. [01:55:33] Speaker A: All right, so since you have a book, Make a perception check with disadvantage. [01:55:38] Speaker D: Okay. [01:55:43] Speaker H: Is it a six? [01:55:44] Speaker A: No. [01:55:45] Speaker D: Well, actually, I haven't added it yet. Oh, that. That just hurts. It was a. It was A. The second was a 20. The first one was a 2. So. Okay. It is a. You said perception, so that's a five. [01:56:01] Speaker A: Okay. [01:56:02] Speaker B: So close. [01:56:03] Speaker E: Almost six. [01:56:04] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:56:05] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:56:06] Speaker A: Everything seems to go by perfectly well. You're lost in your book. And before you know it, it's time to wake up Azariah and veyra. [01:56:16] Speaker D: Rufus, go get them ropes. Is gonna kind of nudge both of you in the shoulder a couple times. You know, kind of like, maybe a little rude. But almost like a child would come up and poke, poke, poke, poke, poke. To wake you up. [01:56:29] Speaker E: You know, we're conscious when we trance. That's fine. That's a lot. [01:56:35] Speaker D: Sorry. [01:56:42] Speaker F: Yep. I was just like, we're up. We're good. [01:56:50] Speaker A: All right, so I need perception checks from Veyra and Azariah. [01:57:01] Speaker E: 10, 7. Go in a corner. [01:57:08] Speaker A: As you all set the watch. The fire is not out, but it's low, Giving a soft amber glow to the cave. The darkness beyond. You will see a translucent figure Walk into the cave. They pay you no mind as they set about the business of building a fire. Bringing in armloads of wood to stack. Sitting down with some rations. And leaning back against their pet panther that came with them. You will see that they are whittling with a dagger. They will put the dagger behind them, Close their eyes, and as they Drift off to sleep. The image disappears. [01:58:09] Speaker F: Did you see that? [01:58:12] Speaker E: Yes. Can I do a history or insight to see if it wiggles anything in Veyre's mind? [01:58:20] Speaker A: Yeah, go ahead. [01:58:22] Speaker F: New history player knows who. [01:58:25] Speaker G: Right? [01:58:25] Speaker F: Right. [01:58:29] Speaker E: Not as great as I was hoping. That's a 14. [01:58:35] Speaker A: You know what the person was? Their armor, and the fact that they had a drape that covered from their nose down most of the time. From the stories that coal eyes used to tell, they are known as Tal Kafara, the Rangers of the Elven Wood. [01:58:56] Speaker E: It kind of looked like a Tal Kafar, don't you think? [01:59:01] Speaker F: Would Oz know? Tal Kafar? [01:59:04] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Oz has traveled. [01:59:08] Speaker F: Now that you mention it, yes. [01:59:13] Speaker E: Must have used this place a lot. [01:59:16] Speaker F: I mean, it makes sense they were some of the more worldly traveled Rangers. It would make sense they might be the ones that set some of these up. [01:59:32] Speaker E: And not malevolent. So, you know. [01:59:35] Speaker F: No. [01:59:36] Speaker E: Interesting at least. [01:59:37] Speaker F: Yeah. [01:59:46] Speaker E: Let's go back to watching. [01:59:48] Speaker A: The rest of the watch will pass peacefully. It'll be time to wake up Kagan and Lenore. [01:59:56] Speaker E: It's. It's time to get up. And Bever will lightly tap. [02:00:01] Speaker C: Yes. Yes, we can watch them. [02:00:05] Speaker B: Lenore's nose will start twitching as she's. She can smell the peanut butter cookie near her and she'll. She'll sit up and spot it. [02:00:18] Speaker E: Lenore, you. You. You heard of the. The Tal Kafar, right? We saw the spirit or memory or something of one earlier. I kind of take it as a good sign. Just thought you should know. [02:00:47] Speaker B: Hopefully they'll come back. [02:00:49] Speaker A: So I am going to give a little bit of information for our audience and for our new people that are not well, Lord. In Runeth Keshta there is a woodland stretch called the Emerald Forest. It is where the birthplace of magic in Runeth Kesha lives. It is also on a narrowing of the veil between the Abysmal planes and the primal material plane. So the elves have a specialized ranger called Tal Kafar. They're called the Rangers of the Deep. They go and spend months roaming the woods to fight off things that come through the Abysmal, the doorways from the abyss. They are not heralded as heroes. In fact, most people do not even acknowledge them because they are considered dead when they take the oath. Because they die in duty more. [02:01:50] Speaker D: Not. [02:01:50] Speaker A: More often than not. So that's just a little. And they're known. Their trademark is that they wear black and gray and they have the drapes that cover from their nose down. So just a little bit of information for you. [02:02:04] Speaker I: Everyone that's so cool. [02:02:17] Speaker C: Benevolent spirit keeping watch over us. He's. He's. Yet another in a long list of good signs. I told you. We are blessed great warriors. [02:02:43] Speaker A: All right, Kagan and Lenore, make your perception checks. [02:02:54] Speaker B: That's much better. 23. [02:03:06] Speaker C: Also a 23. [02:03:08] Speaker B: Why do we keep rolling the same numbers? Stop it. [02:03:10] Speaker C: I don't know. Stop it. Or don't. As long as they're high, it's fine. [02:03:17] Speaker A: Your watch passes without incident. Everyone may avail themselves of a long rest. Make sure you add those potions to your inventory. Chris. It is a new day. What do you wish to do? [02:03:36] Speaker B: Lenora's gonna eat her cookie. [02:03:40] Speaker C: At the as our watch is getting close to an end. I'm gonna take out some of the food that we got from the storm. And I'm gonna start like, warming it up over the fire. And I'll make us some coffee. [02:03:57] Speaker D: Ah, Opus would definitely would pull out those mysterious cookies that came out of nowhere that Minkus had. Also, Ropus would grab a cup of coffee for Opus as well. [02:04:17] Speaker C: I didn't eat my cookie while on my watch. And I dunk it in my coffee this morning and eat it. [02:04:20] Speaker E: Yeah, that's what I was about to say. [02:04:22] Speaker D: Like, she's gonna be like. [02:04:30] Speaker I: So Nix and I found this strange dagger last night. [02:04:33] Speaker B: Oh. [02:04:35] Speaker E: Oh, you, you. You all were asleep before. We saw a visitor too. [02:04:41] Speaker G: Someone came in? Me. [02:04:43] Speaker F: Well, spirit memory wasn't really, of course, person anymore. [02:04:53] Speaker E: So Veyre will, like, put out her hand, like to see if she can see the. The dagger closer. [02:05:01] Speaker I: Oh, yeah. Eliminate reaches over, grabs it from her stuff and hands it over. [02:05:06] Speaker E: Does it look like the dagger that the Tel Kafar had? [02:05:10] Speaker A: It does. [02:05:12] Speaker E: Oh, this is their. They had a dagger just like this. [02:05:18] Speaker B: Interesting. [02:05:18] Speaker G: The visitor. Miel. [02:05:20] Speaker A: Yeah. [02:05:22] Speaker B: Can I get a look at the writing on it? [02:05:25] Speaker E: She'll be handed over. [02:05:28] Speaker B: She'll read what appears to be the oath that's written on it in Elvish. Because she does know Elvish. I believe you're correct. This. This is definitely a Tal Kafar dagger. This has an oath on it. [02:05:45] Speaker A: All right, before we get the day, we're going to go ahead and take our last break. I just noticed the time I was caught up in the story. So sorry that it's late. We're going to take 10 minutes, get our beverages of choice, our snickety snacks, and we'll be back. And we're back. We took our break. We're going to call it for tonight. I normally do this before we take a break, but my back exploded while I was getting something to drink and upright is not a position I can be in. So I do apologize and this is a good stopping point. So we're going to go ahead and remind people who we are, where they can find us and we're going to take our exit. [02:06:58] Speaker H: I'm Christine. [02:06:59] Speaker G: Christina. [02:06:59] Speaker E: She her and I was the voice of favorite also she her since I forgot to do that in the beginning. And you can find me on blue sky at Deadly kisses. [02:07:08] Speaker F: Hi is this is Ames and tonight I was the voice of Azariah and you can find me on blue moonbeam, Blue sky and Twitter as lollyg Fifo. [02:07:18] Speaker D: Yeah, my name is Chris. I was a voice of opus and I yeah you can find catbatatbatmedia.com as well as all of our socials, Blue sky, Instagram, Facebook. [02:07:33] Speaker H: I'm Casey. I play the voice of Nyx, the bringer and provider of cookies. As Chris said, you can find Catbat at our many social media outlets. [02:07:47] Speaker I: Hi, I'm Blue. I was the voice of Luminae and you can find me at thedarlingblue on Instagram. [02:07:55] Speaker B: Hi everyone, I am Alice. I was the voice of the lovely Lenore and you can find me on Twitter, Tumblr, bluesky and Instagram at capincupcake. [02:08:04] Speaker C: Greetings gamers. I'm still Locke Clark because I still haven't figured a way to not be that. So tonight I was Kagan Thord and you can find me all over the social medias at Lock unruly. [02:08:16] Speaker A: That's Locke with an H and I'm tear the DM. 9 out of 10 proctologist agree. I'm a pain in the ass. Also, just a side note, that's cat bat with a K. Go check them out. They got great. I'm telling you, I love their stuff. Remember to be kind one to another. Love each other, love and inclusion. These are the torches that light a path to a better tomorrow. Come join us and be torchbearers. And until next time, make a life that makes yourself proud. We love you guys. Sam.