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- Let's do that thing where we are on the table and introduce ourselves. I'm Jason. I'm the dungeon master. Going around the table, start with Valerie. - Hi, I'm Valerie. And I play Sora Greywing, the halfling ranger. - And Karen. - Hi, I'm Karen. I play Evelyn Haywood, a human ranger. - And Lisa. - Hey, I'm Lisa. And I play Elorath Beestinger, the halfling barbarian. - And Laurent. - Hi, I'm Laurent. And I play Cole Dufang, the long tiff-- long tiff. I'm sorry. Long two shifter druid. - And Kira. - I'm Kira. I play Ingrid Pike, a gnome sorcerer. - And Sarah Beth. - Hi, I'm Sarah Beth.

And I play Aaron Blue-Collar, a human bard. - So last time on the show, you guys made it to the town of Aubrey. You quickly became under attack by vampires after settling down for just a very short time. Sora sprang into action. Evelyn went with her. And you helped try to defend this little town from a vampire attack. It didn't appear as though the vampires wanted to stay in town and attack anyone. They just wanted to try and grab a couple of bystanders that were on the outer ring of the city. So after a paladin there named Alexandra ran off into the night to chase down two vampires that had taken away a couple of villagers.

The party decided it would be good to try and track her down and help her out. You ended up splitting up from where she went and deviated into a cave. You did your best there to save the young lady who was under attack. You managed to do that. And then you went the opposite way and ended up finding the paladin. That did not go as well. You ended up fighting something that was out of your league, let's say. You did not manage to save the male villager, unfortunately, that had his throat ripped out. But you did manage to help the paladin escape with the help of Bree, who showed up a moment of time, to be honest.

Right after that, she kind of filled you in on what's been going on. And she told you she was going to go requisition you some new gear. So how's about we pick up shortly after that? There is a local shopkeeper named Artemis. And Bree has procured you some weapons and armor, paid for out of her own pocket. And you guys have some new gear. So you're a little more respectable now. You'll probably be doing a little more damage, take a little more damage. So congrats on that. What would everyone like to do now? It's daytime. Currently, it is the 29th of Amada, which is more just for listeners to keep track of timeline than for you, necessarily.

But yeah, what would you guys like to do? Are we still at the shop? Or are we at the inn? This would be something that she went and got you guys. So I would imagine you're pretty much just in town. OK. Ingrid is going to have kind of gone off someplace to think about her life choices. Cole would be choosing between either going to see the shop for himself or possibly finding the pallet in Alexandra. With us positioned, how far are we from the shop? This is a small town. You're minutes away from the shop. OK. Alexandra's pretty much been known to frequent the temple.

There are a couple of places of worship, but the largest one by far is the Temple of Amada Tor in the city. And she pretty much just lives there. OK. Would you say it's on the way to the shop? Or which one would I encounter first? They're in opposite directions. Of course they are. I'll go to the temple first. OK. Is anyone joining Cole, or is this just a solo thing? I'm down for anybody joining me, if that's OK. If that's fine with anybody else. Elorath will probably go with you if that's cool. OK. If you say that's where you're going to go. Yeah. Jason, where's Bree?

Bree is still in town, but for the moment, she seems to have kind of dipped out. She handed you your stuff, and she told you she'd get back with you in just a few minutes. OK. I'm going to wait for her, I guess. But is the inn kind of like the hub of where everybody kind of gathers in the town? OK, yeah. I want to be where the people are. OK. Going to be able to listen and just kind of get the word on the streets kind of thing. Just what's going on. Just get a vibe for the place. The pulse of the town. So how about we go with Cole and Elorath? OK. Walking into this temple, this is by far the largest standing structure in Aubrey.

This is a pretty big house of worship. You can tell where a lot of their money and resources went when constructing things in this town. The old temple here burned down years ago. But this is kind of a bigger and better situation. You're going to spot Alexandra right off the bat. She is kneeling in a corner of this place. And she appears to be praying. OK. I'll be patient and wait for her to finish. As will I. So a few minutes goes by. And she finishes and stands up and notices the two of you. She's in full plate. She is decked out. Same as the last time you saw her, there doesn't appear to be any off time for this woman.

Like she doesn't-- there's-- normally when you're hanging around town, you would be in your regular clothes. But she is-- it looks like she's constantly ready for some sort of fight. Right. Do me a favor, roll a perception check. The two of you. OK. OK. I got a 24. 21. Not too bad. Both of you are going to-- both of you are going to notice that her armor is a little tarnished in places. There's some scrapes and scratches, specifically from last night. This is-- there were marks left by that vampire. And then you're going to see her face. While the clerics have healed her, there are four very defined rake marks from where that vampire just took his clawed hand and raked them across her face.

Eesh. They go down the side of her left cheek, just vertically. OK. They appear to be permanent. Does it look like it affected her vision at all? No. She had her eye closed at the time, so it does-- where the pinky would be, basically, is where it would go over her eye. But the rest of it is just side of her face. OK. Yeah, she's going to approach the two of you and just sort of give this half bow. I'll respectfully bow back. Yeah. The other half probably will too. Much shorter. [LAUGHS] Is your party all right after last night? They're fine. A little shaken, but they're fine.

How are you? I'll live. That's good to hear. Listen, I was told that you would be here, so I came here to apologize for how I acted last night. I was upset, and I decided to take my anger out on you undeservingly. You did everything that you could. That's going to catch her off guard a little bit, but not tremendously. It's not a crazy shock, but she kind of expected a fight. And after a second, she's going to regard that. It's all right. Tensions were high last night, and it's completely understandable. And she's going to offer her hand out to you. I'll take it and shake it.

So how long have you been protecting the city from vampires? Since I was a teenager. Just trained here at the temple, and this place has always had a problem with vampires, and I wanted to be a person who did something about that. Well, it definitely shows. From what I saw before I tried to move in for a flank, you were able to keep up pretty well with that vampire. Well, not well enough, sadly. But next time he shows up, I'll be ready. You mind if I ask who you trained under? Well, there used to be an old sword master who lived in the city. There used to be an old sword master who lived here years ago.

But he died. He took me in after my parents were murdered. Cole's going to freeze, and then he's just going to slowly nod. I understand. Just you after, or-- I was an only child, if that's what you're asking. Well, I mean, I understand the whole phrase, it takes a village. But was there anyone specifically after your mentor? I lived at the church after. These people took me in. Well, just know that I understand what it's like. I just wanted to make sure that we start on the slate where we understand each other. Again, it's not a problem. I completely understand.

And if you need anything, just let me know. How long is your party intending to stay in town? I don't know. I look at Ella Raff. You have any idea? Not really. I think we're just waiting on Bree right now. Does your face hurt? She's not very graceful or tactful. She's going to reach up and touch these marks. The pain's gone. They look pretty bossome. That doesn't help much, I know, but it looks pretty cool. She's going to give this really slight smile. And then she's going to pat Ella Raff on the shoulder. Why don't we find the rest of your party? Clap her on the back.

I got no problem with that. OK, so we know that Erin is kind of chilling out in the inn and just hanging around people. Where would Ingrid be? They had a room at the inn, right? So she would probably have just gone to the room to, again, have some quiet to think about things and consider her path. What about Sora? Sora would probably kind of just chill out with Erin. OK. And Evelyn? Evelyn would probably be outside, probably maybe underneath a tree doing some meditating, trying to get her thoughts together and get a little more focused. OK. So after a short time, I would imagine Cole, Ella Raff, and Alexandra are going to get back to the inn here.

Shortly after that, Brie's going to come back. And she's going to start to motion for all of you to gather up here. So she would pull Evelyn in too, just kind of motion to her before she came in. And she would check around. All right, is everyone here? And she'd kind of take like a head count. All right, everyone got their new weapons, armor, all their gear? Yes, thank you very much for getting all of that for us. I don't know. It's-- I figured it's the least I can do. You're going to need it. I wish I could tell you that last night was the worst of what you're going to be facing, but I have no idea.

I would like to say that with a decent amount of the vampires wiped out, they won't attack the town anytime soon. But we really have no idea how many of them there are in those caves. And I'm not asking you to explore them. Right now, I'm waiting on word from Overwatch. And the letter I get is going to determine our next move. It might be a good idea to stay here, at least for the night, just to make sure that whatever that thing was doesn't attack the town proper, because honestly, it might take all of us to fend him off. That makes sense. How's everyone feeling?

Ingrid is just going to shrug. I guess Eren is just going to kind of look around and just kind of look at Brie and say, to be honest, I'm just kind of wondering where we go from here. [SIGHS] Well, honestly, I'm trying to get some forces to come up north and garrison the town. These people can't keep going like this. And she's going to look over to Alexandra. How many-- no offense. How many of you are there? Is it just you watching the streets at night? And Alex is going to kind of give this-- you know, just-- there's a moment where she looks down for just a second and then just nods her head, yeah.

I'm guessing there used to be more. And then after a second, there's another nod. [SIGHS] All right. Well, I think the city can spare some people. But again, I have to wait to see. And you might want to stand outside soon. And she's going to look over to Eren. Eren will look very confused for a second and then kind of like realize, like, oh, my arm, yeah, OK. And I'll go outside. [LAUGHS] And I'll just like immediately kind of like hold my arm out like really weird, like awkward as hell. Like, OK, ready for it. She's going to kind of-- after Eren leaves, she's going to keep addressing the party.

I know it's a lot to deal with. And I really don't know what's going to happen from here. But hopefully, this town's going to get the protection it needs. And you can move on. And trust me, there's a lot to do. Have you ever heard of the town of Lockford? Ingrid will nod. No, I haven't. She's going to look over to Ingrid. What have you heard about it? Gosh, now you're asking me to remember Lockford. How else? One word, werewolves. Yeah, I was going to say that's the one with the werewolves where everyone gets eaten. But-- Not everyone. Everyone gets eaten. No, almost people get eaten.

Everybody else turns into werewolves. That's a five. Lockford's a town. Lockford's a town. It has some werewolves. The end. And they lived happily ever. I do not know about the villagers feeding people to the werewolves. Yeah. Bree's going to wait. That basically would you say it's a town. And that's where you trail off a bit. He's going to say, yeah, it's a town. Werewolves. Glade. I was really young when we went there. I'm afraid I just don't remember very much about it. Well, that might be a good thing. We're going to be sending you there eventually. It may not be right away, but you're going to start to make your way there.

Along the way, you'll have a few stops. But it is definitely on your checklist. I should really prepare you because we've had a lot of not so great reports. What do you know about werewolves? That they try to eat you. What would I have to roll to know about werewolves? Nature check? Give me history or nature. I'll give you a nature check because fuck history. 24. You would know that werewolves are people infected with-- well, they're cursed with lycanthropy. You would know that under duress or stress or anger, they wolf out into giant savage beasts that rend and gnash and gnaw at anything in their path until it's dead.

You would also know that, depending on the willpower of the person, sometimes you just lose yourself to the beast and are just that now. There ain't anything good if that's what you're asking. Well, that's what the town's been dealing with now for a while. And we're going to need someone there to at least investigate things. Maybe not tackle them head on, but we need to know exactly how bad the situation is so that we know who and what to send. And the problem is the Overwatch is stretched really thin right now. So just getting people here is going to be difficult.

I sent a raving out yesterday letting a nippon liar know what exactly was in that cave. And hopefully, they'll send something up this way. So Ingrid's actually going to look at Bree and say, you said that you've had reports from Lockford. What were the reports? Well, you remember how I said that we-- you were told that we had three groups before you. And you know that you're the last remaining group that we know of. Yes. Well, two of the groups went to Lockford. So everyone you've sent there so far has died. Yeah, but again, they were sent there to deal with the werewolves head on.

We're just sending you there for recon. We don't want you to fight anything yet. Do you know that they were killed by attempting to fight the werewolves, or were they just ambushed, even trying to get there? The last communication we had with them, they were heading into the Silver Glade to actually find them. And both teams, those were the last reports we received. So it stands to reason that they didn't make it out. But there's always a chance that maybe they were hurt, and they're recovering, and they just haven't been able to get word to us. That's what we're hoping anyway, at least some of them.

Sora's going to pipe up and say, how long has it been since you heard from them? The last team was about a week ago. And the one before that? About two weeks. Ingrid's going to look at Bree and say, do you really think there is a chance that they're injured and recovering? Honestly? Look, I'm not going to lie to you. It's a long shot, but there's always a chance. And I would feel terrible if they were recovering or hurt and we just left them. I'd rather know. Ingrid will nod. I understand that is certainly noble. Are you prepared for the worst case scenario, though?

Which is that you'll have three groups of dead? Or that the majority of them have already turned. That is what we're worried about. That would be the absolute worst case scenario. And in that case, we need to assemble the largest hunting party that that glade has ever seen. We want to wipe all of them out. What's so special about the ones you sent in? Well, a couple of them were actually old friends of Leora's. And they were something of renowned monster hunters. So if something happened to them, we can only guess that maybe something got the drop on them.

Maybe they were ambushed. All right, Cole's going to take a deep breath. Not necessarily of irritation, but more of like relief. Because the way that sounded, it was the way that sounded, it made it sound like that these people are super powerful. And that could have also transferred with the werewolf virus. So he's kind of relieved at that. Again, it's not going to be your next stop, no matter what. Even if that is the destination, you're going to have some stops along the way. So we're going to do everything in our power to make sure that you are outfitted with silver at the very least.

And we'll work from there. But again, this would be self-defense. We don't want you hunting any werewolves. Evelyn would ask what happened to the third group. We lost contact with them somewhere near Esterholt. And that's the one that's confusing us. Because according to our research, there shouldn't have been anything there that could have-- there's no reason why we should have lost contact. But we're investigating that. And that's not your concern right now. Erin. Yes? So standing outside with your arm extended after a little while, a raven is indeed going to circle and then swoop in and land on your forearm.

I would be much more excited about it than last time. Because the last time I was freaking out, thinking that it was something I was going to get Hunter. But this time, I'm kind of like, ooh, I did it. I've got a bird. So I'm going to be much more pleased with myself about it than last time. Because last time, I was just nervous about Hunter. So when it lands on me, I'm just going to go, ooh, yes, I've got a bird. Oh, so I guess I should see if it's got a message or something. Oh, it absolutely does. Yeah. At first, I'm going to be very preoccupied with the fact that I've got a bird.

So after I get over that bit, I'll check the message that's on the bird. So this is address debris right off the bat. They know that she's with you guys. And she actually doesn't have that nifty little arm thing that you have. Huh. Um, should I be giving her that? That might be a good idea. OK. So I guess I will take-- I will go inside with the bird. I don't know how the innkeepers are going to feel about that. But I have a rat, so whatever. I'm going to take the bird inside. And I'm going to tell Bree that she has a message. I'm going to hand her the message.

And I'm going to also, sadly, ask her if she would like my arm brace so that she will be able to get messenger ravens. I'm sad. I am sad. She's going to take the message from you. Thanks. You should probably hold onto that. I'm going to stay fairly local on the west coast. We may be sending you east very soon. So we're going to want to be in constant communication with you. So just hold onto it. But thank you. I want to try not to look way too relieved. But I'm very relieved. And I'm very excited that I get to keep it. So I'm going to pet the bird now. I've named him.

His name is Gilbert. Is it the same bird as last time? What if it's not? I hope so. Jason, is it the same bird? Can it please be the same bird? I've performed a detachment. Oh, god. You can't tell. To me, they are all the same bird. This is Gilbert. That one is Gilbert. It's like they are all named Gilbert. I'm still at the Gilbert thing because my mind immediately goes to Godfried. And I'm just picturing that bird with his voice. So it's Iago. Oh, my god. Cyberchase. Cyberchase. Yes. This is the cyberchase robo bird. I'm so excited. I don't know what that is. OK. So Bree's going to read this note.

All right. They are sending a battalion of soldiers up here. And they should be here in three days tops. So if you want to stay the night, fine. But we are going to get ready and send you east. Your destination is going to be Lockford. But again, this is purely just to find out what happened. Look around, assess the situation, and then get word back to us. That's all we want you to do there. I'm going to give Alexandra a glance. So I guess perception check. Sure. Oh, 28. She-- you would expect there to be relief in her face at a battalion of people coming up here.

And there is a tinge of that. But there's also kind of pride mixed in with that. It was like, I didn't need any help, but whatever. Like, she's insulted that she couldn't take out that vampire by herself. And the fact that there was a team standing behind her and still couldn't take it out, she's kind of pissed off at that. OK. And that's the main emotion right now? That's-- yeah. It's kind of pride and anger mixed in there. OK. I'm going to look at everybody else. I vote we stay here for the night. That's fine with me. I'm going to stroke the bird and say, I agree.

With the back of your hands slowly and gently. I'm stroking my bird, yes. Yes. I agree. Quite. Yes. Yes. Bree's going to wait for a minute. I actually need to deal with something in the Evergreen. So I'm going to have to be taking off in just a few minutes here. So if there's anything you need, now's the time to speak up. You said the Evergreen? Yeah. As a matter of fact, I'm going to approach Bree. And I'm going to hand her a note. And I'm going to say, there's an elf couple. The woman has red hair, a bit peppered, and a man with black. They answer to Lavenwood.

If you could deliver this to them, I greatly appreciate it. She'll take it from you. Sure, I'll see if I can find them. I actually know a lot of the elves there. So if I can't, someone there probably can. Thank you. So Aaron's going to just look over and say, where will Poe-- is it Commander Poe? Captain Poe? Captain. Captain. Where will Captain Poe be stationed? Well, for now, he's in the Overwatch. But he may be meeting me out in the field for a while. There's something personal we have to tend to. But you will be able to get a hold of him. And if you need anything, if you send a raven, I'm sure he'll get the message.

OK. I'm just going to nod. She is going to-- she's going to take out this scroll and hand it to you. And that is a map. And on it is a location of every tiny white raven camp between here and-- the last one is in Donhurst. There's a tiny one just outside of it. And after that, you basically have to be-- you have to wait to be contacted and then send the raven back. But that's pretty much as far as their influence is. So once you leave Donhurst, that's it. So what is our access to white ravens as far as the birds themselves? Do I get to carry one around and it goes and comes back?

Or do I have to wait till I get to a camp? It'll stay with you until you send it back. And the one that you have here, it's wearing this-- think of it as a little magnetic, a little magical magnet. So it is linked between your brazier and another one. So it'll fly back to the Overwatch where Poe's wearing the other one. And you will be in constant contact with them. They're trained to fly back to those two. They don't-- actually, they don't even need to be trained. It's magical. The rest are in the encampments. There are three tiny white ravens camps between here and Donhurst.

So there are three little pit stops where you can send a raven. They're friendly camps to you. They'll heal you food, water, all that. They're very small camps, though. So OK. So if I send my bird somewhere else, and then that bird does not come back to me, am I able to then, like if we make a stop at a white raven camp, like pick up a new bird? Yes. OK. Basically. Well, you can't pick it up and take it with you. Because the ones at the camps are just trained to fly back and forth between the city and the camps. OK. Gotcha. OK. Cool. Wait, so if that one does have a magnetic thing that's for my wrist, my armband, it is Gilbert.

I have not been tricked. If that makes you feel better. Because magic. You can't see it, but I'm doing jazz hands. I heard Laurent do them. Bree, after a second, is going to start packing up her things. I'm going to be in touch, and my advice to you would just keep a low profile on the road, especially when you're crossing the divide. There's a really small camp nestled in the forest. But again, tread lightly and keep your eyes open, all right? Cole's going to nod. She's going to make for the door and then kind of give pause for just a moment. Before she gets there, can Elarath stop her just to say something real quick?

Sure. OK. Like, Elarath's just going to approach her and say-- I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life. I thought I could take that dude, and it turns out I was wrong. So thanks. Just kind of broke a shoulder arm. At the mention of that, Cole's going to look at Elarath quizzingly. What? I want to go. Trying to say thank you here. No, no. When I mean quizzingly, more like, wait, what? What do you mean by that? He doesn't say it. He just looks that way. OK. I'm just like, what? Bree's going to look down at Elarath. There's no need to thank me for that. Yeah, I'd like to think you'd do the same for me if I needed your help.

Absolutely. But I don't like being indebted, so thanks and shit. Well, you might get the chance to pay me back one day. Yep. Just going to walk back now. She's going to address you all one final time before leaving. I wish you all the best of luck. And again, watch out for each other. Ingrid's actually going to mutter under her breath. Sounds like we're going to need it. Bree is going to walk out the door unless anyone has anything left to say. Just after her, Alexandra is going to follow quickly behind. And you can hear the two of them talking just outside this door.

Do me a favor, roll Perception. OK. Ah, really? That one? That's mean. Don't worry, Qualmite. I'll do worse. Holy crap, I got a 12. I didn't do worse. Twinsies. Hey. Elarath is going to pick up bits and pieces of this conversation, which is pretty much just Alexandra asking about the regiment of soldiers coming up from the Overwatch. How many of them will there be? Will they be stationed here permanently? And it sounds like they're going to get at least 24 people here in the city just standing guard, just making sure that what happened last night does not happen again.

Awesome. So these are trained soldiers. That is going to be a huge help to this tiny town. Elarath hears better than I do. Go you. I love her. So what would you guys like to do? I'll tell everybody that, by the way. Oh, OK, cool. OK. So party's filled in. What time of day is it? By this time, it's only like early. It's a late morning, almost early afternoon. OK, good. Did Alice come back in, or does she continue on? Yeah, she's outside now. OK. Well, Ingrid is actually-- we're at the inn. So she's going to go up to the bar, clamber onto a bar stool, and ask whoever's working there for a drink of something strong.

There is a young lady behind the bar who is going to-- there's a couple of different beverages you can have. And there's this really stiff dwarven ale, which is not exactly pleasant to drink, but it is strong. And then there's skull splitter, which is really, really strong. Ingrid's going to ask for some of the skull splitter. OK. Which will go very well for her, I'm sure. Do you remember the last time we decided to drink? She got tipsy after one drink. Yep. OK. All right. This is widely regarded as the strongest beverage in Theria, and it is pretty pricey.

As a result, a very small bottle of it can cost upwards of 100 and 150 gold, depending on where you get it from. But it will get you there. That's for sure. I was going to say, I will need a thimble. Yeah. Yeah. You're not-- yeah. So the bartender, she's going to pour you a little drink and look concerned. Like, are you sure? Like, that kind of-- like, really? You can turn back. It's OK. Yeah. Ingrid is just going to, you know, flick at her, give her a nod, and drop it back. Just one go. Do me a favor, Ingrid. Roll an endurance check. OK. This is going to go super well.

Wow. It just goes super well. Bravo. Nat 20. Very nice. That is a crit. She drinks it like water. You handled this. Yes. You handled this fairly well, even though this is a very, very, very, very strong alcoholic beverage. Ingrid's going to handle it pretty well. She's just going to get a nice, warm, tingly feeling. And it's going to relax her a bit. But that's going to be pretty much it. It's not going to affect her too much beyond that. She's going to take just a nice, deep breath and turn around, smile back at the party, give him a little salute. I feel slightly better now.

Cole's going to look at Ingrid like, well, damn. But it's soon going to go with, I'm going to find the shop. I wanted to look around a bit more. So unless anybody wanted to come with me, I'll be right back. Anybody want to go with him? Where are you going again? I'm going shopping. Actually, yeah, Ingrid, now that she has had her drink, she'll go with. Cool. Hold up, Cole. I am coming with. She'll just hop herself down off the bar stool and saunter on over. OK. I'm going to go with. So Cole, Elrath, and Aaron are going to wander over-- Ingrid. Ingrid. Ingrid. What did I say?

Not Elrath, damn it. Cole, Aaron, Ingrid, my bad, are going to wander over to the trusty blade. And inside, just beyond the door, you're going to get a little bell chime. And there is a gnome working behind the counter with kind of longer, kind of scraggly hair almost. And he has the most relaxed demeanor of any shopkeep you have ever seen. And he's just kind of leaning over the counter. Well, hey, how you all doing? I want what he's smoking, shit. I just realized you sound like that weird hippie guy from-- what is it, Family Guy? Oof. Hey, y'all. Oh my god.

I'm going to sell y'all some-- Hey, y'all. Buzz, buzz. There it is. Oh no. Oh no. Hell, he is my only means of transportation. [LAUGHTER] I'm just going to do as far as I can get. OK. Yep. Well, Cole's going to find his voice very amusing for a gnome. And he's going to approach the counter. What all do you sell here? Well, that depends on what you're looking for. Are you going vampire hunting? Well, not now. But we do kill shit. Cole's going to take a bag off of his waist, the same bag that has the 20 dragon teeth. He doesn't open the bag yet, but he puts it on the counter.

Do you make weapons? I've been known to make a couple of things. I'm more of an armorsmith myself, but yeah. I could whip something up for you. What you got? I undo the bag and let the dragon teeth spread across the table. I want claws. And he's going to look at your hands. I don't know how to break this to you, partner, but it looks like you already got claws. I want more. Yeah, OK. I think I could whip something up for you. How long you got? At the realization, Cole's going to go, fuck. A knight. Do you deliver? Huh. I used to. I'll tell you what. I can deliver him to you, or I could just rush.

Both services cost a little extra, but I think you'll find that it's quite worth it. [SIGH] So let me get this straight. What's your definition of rush? Because I've done quite amount of rushing myself, and it's usually sloppy. He's going to hold his little hand up to his chest like you've insulted him, like kind of like almost mock hurt. Sir, I assure you, I only make the finest weapons and armor. So Ingrid is going to move over, stand next to Cole, give Artemis a little once over and say, I am sure you make exceptional weapons, and just give him a little smile.

OK, let me ask you a question. Is this more in an effort to flirt, or is this just sort of to garner favor? Like, what is the end game? Well, she did just have some really strong alcohol, so I'm assuming she's probably flirting a little bit. I was just about to say, it's the drink talking. Mildly drunk. You know what, do me a favor, just roll diplomacy. OK. 17. He's going to kind of slide just a little bit down the counter and start addressing Ingrid. I want you a charming little thing. Erin was kind of looking around, but mainly stroking the bird. And at this, she's going to look up, as much as you have to look up to look up at gnomes, with very wide eyes and be like, I know where this is going, and quickly look at Cole.

I'm going to look back, and I'm just going to smile and nod, as if the silence silently said, let her do her thing. Ingrid is just going to smile at him, look extra charming, and just ask, well, I am sure a man of your skills would be able to create something extra special for my friend here, won't you? Do me a favor, diplomacy check. 25. He is, again, he's going to slide in just a little bit closer. Kind of tilting his head down a little bit. And he's going to lower his voice. I would be happy to make your friend something special. If this were just a couple of weeks ago, I would ask you out, but I'm afraid my heart belongs to another darling.

And he is going to reach out and just kind of stroke your face with the back of his hand. And Ingrid is going to look at him and look kind of coy and say, well, I'm really, really upset about that. But maybe, maybe you can just find some way to make it up to me and just sort of give a little look over at Cole. I'll tell you what. I'll try and get these done before morning comes. But if I don't, I'll get my boy Rusty to drive out to wherever you are and deliver him by hand. How does that sound? That sounds like just what I would have expected. I'm a man of your character.

And is his hand still on her cheek? Yeah, he's kind of like-- it's just behind your ear, just kind of like cradling your face now. Just like he is gazing into your eyes. She'll just give him a little nuzzle and then take a step back. And then he's going to look at Cole. 600 gold. Yeah, I can't top that. How much do I have? Oh, shit. If this is right, I only have 50 gold. You're kidding. I don't know. I don't know. Is this right, Jason? Is this right? You guys haven't really got any gold since you-- you haven't had a chance to really adventure for money yet. It's more survival.

So yeah. So I just totally broke out the seduction of the creepy gnome for you, Cole. For nobody. Now don't get me wrong. I appreciated everything that you do. And you have immediately bumped yourself up to my best friend level right now. Do the white ravens have a tab? Can we put it on the white raven? Can they build us to the white-- make the check out to white ravens? It's not an LLC. Are you telling him? So the realization is you can't pay, basically. You're zoidberging him. You're going to be asking for credit, Cole. I am not doing that one for you. All right.

That's perfectly fine. When he says 600, 600? Well, the kind of quality I make doesn't come cheap. You are asking for custom made weapons here, right? Well, yes. Custom made for individuals who are working with the white ravens. And he's kind of waiting for you to like, and? Like-- Oh, OK. When he does that, he's going to do that backwards head snap with the wide eyes. Like, oh, really? And he's going to go like, do you doubt my words? No, it's not that. It's just my understanding is the white ravens are more of a nonprofit organization. And that kind of runs counter to what I believe in.

It's no offense. You people are doing good work and all. But the odds of me getting paid back from dead people are kind of slim. Ingrid's actually going to step in, and she's going to-- well, I do know for a fact that the white ravens are planning on sending quite a number of soldiers into this area, soldiers who are probably going to be needing weapons and other sundry. I'm sure that we could put in an extra good word for you if you'd be willing to cut my friend here a deal. Roll a diplomacy check for me. Not that great. 15. You know what? You said you're leaving in the morning, right?

We are. Yes. Mind telling me where you're heading? We are heading towards Lockford. His eyes are going to be like, you're going to catch him for just half a second, like, and then stop, like just regain his composure. Yeah, Ingrid is going to kind of roll her eyes. Yeah, I know. But that is the direction we're heading. Y'all do something wrong, piss somebody off? Couldn't tell you on that one. But that is our general direction. All right, you remember-- you remember-- and I'm sorry for bringing up such a painful recent memory, but you remember how I told you my heart belongs to another darling?

I do, unfortunately. Again, I'm so sorry. I know the wound is still recent. Well, my lady Henrietta, she was headed east, and I haven't heard from her in-- I've been a couple of weeks now, and she should have got back to me by now. But I'm sure she just got delayed or inconvenienced, some hassle. Maybe if you find her, just send word back to Aubrey. Let me know she's doing all right. Well, even though this is obviously the woman who won your heart, and it will be so hard for me to restrain myself, I can certainly look for her and get some word back to you.

All right, don't you go thinking this is something personal now, because to be honest, she just got to me first. Well, she is certainly a lucky lady, and hopefully her luck will continue. I'm going to give Erin a side eye with a smirk. Erin is going to smirk right back, because she had a lot of respect for how this shit just went down. So Armus is going to lean back and address Cole again. And you notice every time he addresses you, his demeanor is stiffer than when he's talking to Ingrid. Oh, yeah, I noticed. [LAUGHTER] All right, I'll work on it tonight, and I'll see if I can get it to you bright and early.

How's that sound? Sounds like we have a deal, and I extend my hand. He'll give it a shake. Nice doing business with you folks. It was a pleasure to meet you, Armus. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And he's going to reach out and grab your hand. Pleasure was all mine. And he is going to kiss the back of your hand. And Ingrid's just going to give him a smile, take her hand back, and sashay on out of there real quick. I'm going to back up while giving Armus a nod and then leave the shop as well. He's going to give you that kind of the little bro nod, like the head tilt up, like, eh, just like that.

Aaron's going to smirk at Armus, wink, and head out the shop. All right. I'm going to turn to Ingrid and go, Ingrid, you beautiful motherfucker. [LAUGHTER] That was perfect. That was awesome. Are you-- are you even drunk? Was that all you? How much of that was the liquor? Not enough. Ingrid's just going to smile at him and head back towards the inn. Cole's going to sidetrack back toward the temple to see if Alexandra's still there or if she returned there. You guys going to follow him? Aaron is going to head back to the inn as well. She's going to try to get Gilbert and Hunter to associate with each other, to be friendly.

Are you going to teach them to do tricks together? No, I just want Hunter to not be afraid of Gilbert. Gilbert is a beautiful, pale creature. Hunter needs-- Hunter needs to be-- Hunter needs to be friends with him. So Hunter hates Whitey. Alexandra would be back at the temple by now. OK. Can I immediately see her when I enter, or is she somewhere else? Yeah. She's-- she's in a different spot, but you can hear-- as soon as you walk in, you can hear someone sharpening a sword. OK. And she is the only armed person in this temple. OK. I'm going to approach her with a smirk.

How long you been at that? Till it's sharp enough. Well, from what I've seen, that'll be pretty quick. So you guys are heading out tomorrow, right? Yeah. Yeah, we are. And you'll be getting a battalion soon. That is the word. I'm pretty sure someone like you can whip them in this shape pretty quickly. I don't really doubt it. Long as no one in town gets attacked again, I'll-- I'll be happy. Insight check to see if she meant that? Sure. You're not picking up too much. There's-- there's just the littlest, tiniest tinge of anger in her voice that you're picking up, but it doesn't sound like she-- everything else sounds very genuine to you.

You know, as long as no one else gets attacked in town, she'd be happy. OK. You know, there was a period when I was on my own. I had just learned to get a-- a hold of my anger while I'm clearly-- I'm still no good at it. I'm still learning. And there was a point where nobody could tell me that I was bad or that I couldn't fight or that I needed anybody's help because I was just like, fuck them. Wait, I-- I-- I can say that here, right? In-- in the temple? Yeah. That was in character. Right. I-- I'm not going to be offended. Father White may, but he's not here right now, so-- Oh, OK.

So it was fun for a while, but-- see, the thing about us long tooths-- long tooths-- that still sounds weird when you say it as a plural-- we get lonely very quickly, or at least I do. Didn't want to admit it, but I was. Then I met my first party, and I admit that their intentions weren't as good as I thought that they were, but all in all, there was a moment where I realized that whatever it is I'm trying to achieve in this fucked up world, I can only get so far on my own. You clearly have the talent, and I completely understand where you're coming from because, to a certain extent, I kind of was where you came from in my own sense.

But hey, everybody needs help sometime. I'm not upset about getting help, and honestly, I wouldn't consider myself alone. I have this town. I have the temple, and I have Clarissa, so I'm not alone. But I'm more upset with myself that I couldn't kill the vampire last night. No matter how hard I swung, no matter how quick I tried to strike, he was just there, and I could tell he was toying with me. And I don't think you understand how frustrating that is. When I have trained for years, I have put all of my faith in a monitor, and for some reason, he didn't see fit to bless me with the strength I needed to smite the enemy of this town.

That is the strongest, fastest vampire I have ever seen, and I have lived here for years. We have been under attack countless times. I have killed hundreds of vampires. You're the only one I saw that could keep up with the fucker, though. That says something, right? The simple fact is, if Miss Ebelmayer did not step in last night, we would all be dead. Oh, you're not wrong on that one, but still. I appreciate it, though, and I understand the sentiment. You have a good party, and it looks like you're all close. I'd like to think that we are. So-- and I'm going to crouch down to get on eye level with her.

She is sitting, right? Yeah. OK. So who's this Amanator? What's he all about? I was never religious. Well, in short, he's the god of light, the god of hope, and that is something this town needs in abundance, both. OK. Light and hope seems to work pretty well together. Pretty stupid if it was like light and biscuits or some stupid shit. And she's just going to look at you like, what? Like, just kind of-- Sorry, bad joke. But yeah, like I said, we're not going to be leaving until the morning. Anything you need help with? No. Honestly, it should be fine. They very rarely attack two nights in a row, and I think we took out a bulk of them.

So unless their leader decides that tonight's the night, everything should be very quiet. I'll be out on patrol. You lot should just get rest. Apparently, you have a long journey ahead of you. Yeah. Yeah. Werewolves. You think I'd be excited? All right. I'll see you later, Alex. You too, Cole. And then I'm going to head back to the inn. So how about we cut to the next morning? Party's going to get some rest, so it is now the 30th. The 30th, Hamada. At the inn the next morning, there's a package that's going to be waiting for Cole, and it's even got a little bow on it, like a little twine gift wrap D bow.

OK. So inside are these-- at first, they appear to be pretty makeshift, almost orcish in nature, because these things look just brutal. And what they are are these lashed together gauntlets. So there's this really finely crafted leather. On the outside of it, where the outside of your hand would be, there are these dragon teeth that have been filed down at the edges. These things are razor sharp. And there are six of them on each gauntlet. So these things are meant to be just raked across someone's face. Yes. Yes. Yes. I'm sorry. OK, continue. I'm excited. Now, the really nice thing about these is that you could throw one hell of a punch at someone.

And because they're made of dragon's teeth, these things are sturdy as hell. So the odds of these breaking or becoming damaged are pretty slim. You'd have to use them heavily for a long time. Let's say you whip these out in a bar fight. In a bar fight, these are pretty much going to be considered a war crime. OK. Oh, that's a noise I never made before. OK. Does Ingrid see this? I would say, yeah. I'd say the party gets a good look at these. So Ingrid's going to look over at Cole and say, yeah, you're welcome. At that point, I'm going to crouch down again and just hug the fuck out of Ingrid. [LAUGHTER] Yeah.

She's just going to laugh. I hope you're happy because I still feel unclean. [LAUGHTER] And then when you say that, Cole's going to back up his hands still on your shoulders and just give you a nod and a look that basically says, I got you, girl. I got you. She's just going to grin at him and say, I am glad I could help. [LAUGHTER] Well, you guys have a choice to make. Obviously, you're heading out today, and you have a couple of different options here. I'm going to give them to you. Now, if you wanted to take the most direct route to Donhurst, which would be the last White Ravens camp before you lose constant contact with them, you would head clean across the Divide.

Now, that would be just north of the Deadwood, south of the Stone Thunder Mountains. The problem with that is you would come dangerously close to the huge orc encampment there, which, if they caught you, would be certain death. But currently-- actually, you know what? Do me a favor. Roll a streetwise check for me, guys. That's going to be great for me. I got a negative there. One of you has to have-- Oh, 18. I think I have streetwise. --no modifier. Oh, snap. Me too. Wow. Four of you have no modifiers on streetwise. So Evelyn, Sora, and Elarath would know that currently the orcs are going through a bit of a time of upheaval.

They lost their old leader, and they are in-- they're a little distracted with that. Now, that's a double-edged sword. That could work incredibly in your favor or incredibly against you, and I'll tell you why. They're so distracted with infighting to decide who their next tribe leader is going to be. That they may pay no attention to the outer fringes of this encampment. Or in an effort to impress each other, they may be ultra vigilant and looking to kill anything that even sort of crosses their path. Your second option would be to stick to the road, head back through Durran Hollow, and then go through the Deadwood.

This has its own dangers, because not only do you have to deal with orcs and bandits, there are also creatures in the Deadwood that have been known to ambush many, many party leaders. The reason that area of the world is called the Divide is because the area between Durran Hollow and Dawnhurst is notorious for ambushes, especially for people like merchants with wagons full of goods. Your third option is to take the wide berth approach. Head to Aubrey, then Durran Hollow, then swing between the blistering peaks of Black Rock Mountains to Esterholt, then over to Heroes' March, then Fair Bay, and then up.

That will take you a long, long time. Which route would get us closer to Artemis's Bay? Last known whereabouts, he said east. He suspects she was heading toward Dawnhurst, but that is just last known whereabouts. What goes on in Pyre Forest? The northern portion of the Pyre Forest is still sort of-- it kind of bleeds into the Deadwood. Pyre Forest itself, the place is riddled with drought caverns, the place is pretty infamous for drought ambushes if you head deep in. But that's only if you're kind of encroaching on their territory and looking to go spelunking.

Which route is the least likely to get us killed? The longest way around. Esterholt is a fairly stable town that you know of. I mean, it's an upstanding city, like a well-to-do city. Fair Bay is a beautiful little town, and that would take you right to Lockford if you were to go the long way around. Problem is, you will probably be on the road for a week or more. Just supposed to be investigating and not actually fighting them. And we suspect that the other parties are already dead anyway. Is there any harm in taking the long way? It gives us-- out of character gifts-- it gives us time to develop our characters, have some life experiences.

God, that's meta. I know, I know. That was-- in all honesty, Cole would either choose either route one or route three, depending on whether or not Elorath or anybody else would share information about what they know about the orc encampment. Oh, dude, share that-- share the crap out of that. I'm just going to keep this to myself and let you all die. You'll find out. [LAUGHTER] Ingrid is going to look at them and say, I don't think that I can flirt my way out of certain death from orcs. Maybe we should take a different route? Jason? Mm-hmm? So what I just rolled there were history and nature checks, because I wasn't sure which one.

I just was kind of going ahead and just rolling both. But if I wanted to know what I knew about orc history, like our orc culture, would that be a history check or would that be nature? I would take your first roll there, the history check. Predominantly, of the races in Theria, there is an expression that there is no bad race. There's only bad people. When people say that, they usually exclude orcs, unlike races who have necessarily maybe got a bad rep or they are predominantly aggressive, like, say, the dragonborn, tiefling, something like that. Orcs are pretty much considered to be the most savage, bloodthirsty, irrational beings in Theria.

They will kill indiscriminately, unprovoked. There is seemingly no rhyme or reason to the violent outbursts that they have. On top of that, the only thing the orcs are interested in is expansion. They only care about furthering the tribe, furthering their influence, and if not for the dwarves of the Stone Thunder Mountains and their decades, decades, decades-long feud, they probably would have bled into the southern mainland by now and taken over places like Donhurst, Durnhollow. But because they're so focused on beating the dwarves at their own game, they've been preoccupied.

OK. So yeah, so since I know about orc culture, I'm just going to throw my opinion in the pot as far as the route number one going straight there through the orc encampment as being the worst idea. OK. So the long way? What was the other option? What was the option in between orcs and long way? Through the deadwood? The deadwood empire forest, kind of in the middle. I don't know. I don't like any of these choices. And deadwood was also filled with orcs and bandits and whatever. Yeah. Well, the one thing you have going in your favor for route number two is that you have no wagon.

You are not traveling with goods. And you will at least appear to be somewhat armed. So while you're not the most imposing force walking through there, at least you have a slightly greater chance of not getting jumped. But we're a party of midgets. That is what you have going against you. The term is little people. I know, it was just so perfect. It just came into my head and I had to say it. It just popped right in there. Like a little balloon. I mean, we took out those dragons like no problem. I feel like we should be able to kick some asses of bandits if they try and give a shit.

Says the barbarian. Yeah. Come at me, bro. But then again, we could always steal gold from the bandits if we take them out. Right, because gold is a thing. That is an option. Yeah, you got them new like Reiki Reiki finger things. You can totally kick some butt. I do. I do have these. Or like little claw hand motions. Don't you want to try them out? Don't you want to try them out, Cole? OK, stop. I see what the fuck you're doing, Erin. That's in character. I'm going to grin. And I'm not going to lie, it's kind of working. But I just want to let you know that you're not fooling me, except you kind of are.

Grinning, stroking the bird. I do want to try these babies out. But I'm not going to be selfish and put everybody in danger. So what does everybody think about going for route number two? I like it. I think it's our best option. I don't know if I would say best, but I think it's a doable option. I think for like a quick mission of just checking things out, it would seem a little ridiculous to do a week long route all the way around. Yes, but there's a chance that we would be able to accomplish our mission if we take the week long route all the way around.

Evelyn wouldn't be a big fan of that. Wait, so what's the main reason for us going to Donhurst? Recon. Actually, it's Lockford. And Donhurst is just the last White Raven camp. Donhurst is also the last known whereabouts of Henrietta, which is Artemis's crush. That's still route two, right? Yep. Is that the one that fall more along the White Raven map thing, route number two? Or are they just kind of scattered throughout? Well, they're kind of scattered throughout, but Donhurst is going to get you-- you know, that's your last. Right around Donhurst is where they lose their influence.

So as soon as you get toward the east coast, they just have no one out there. And the only influence they have near Donhurst is a tiny little camp with a couple of people in it. It's more just for recon and keeping an eye on things, and if someone needs to send a message or catch arrest. If our main goal is to get to Lockford, it doesn't seem like it would take much longer going the long route than-- I feel like it should take-- Well, the reason the long route is long is because you are heading through the mountains. Right, yeah. That's what I was thinking.

That will slow you down a little bit. The second route is more main roads, so it'd be a little quicker. I am OK with either the second route or the third route. Let's take an official vote. Cole, what say you? One, two, or three? I want to make my keep with these weapons, but at the same time, I want to make sure that everybody's capable of surviving. So my vote is two. Valerie. One question. That third group that went missing, they went missing in Esterholt? Near Esterholt. Near Esterholt, yes. And that's like right by where we found the dragons. Shit. OK, my vote is going to be route number three.

All right, Lisa. Two. OK, and Kira? I am OK with either two or three. For the sake of the vote, pick one. Three. OK. Sarah Beth? I think two. Oh, four needs. Two. All right, guys. Looks like you're heading route two. I think that's a pretty good time for us to stop for the night. And next time we sit down, you are going to start your trek toward Lockford. Yay. Yay. We can get eaten by werewolves. Hooray. You got a long way to go before you get to werewolves. (laughing)