Until Proven Guilty

This transcript is machine-generated and may contain errors in names, terminology, or attribution.

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Because everyone loves geeky s***, everyone loves surprises. I won't hold you for too long, just remember that the address you need to visit is geekfuel.com/dandr. And enjoy the episode. Let's do that thing where we go around the table and introduce ourselves. I'm Jason, I'm the Dungeon Master, going around the table starting with Tom. Hey, I'm Tom, I play Yennard Farr, a self-admittal fighter. And Delmar. Hi, how's it going? I'm Delmar. I play Isumtsuna Fe, big lion dude, lots of armor, a cool sword. And Rachel. Hey, I'm Rachel, and I play Tevin Brightheart, a hippy dippy minotaur.

And Rob. Hey, I'm Rob, I play Malchus Grimness, tiefling warlock. And Kelsey. And I'm Kelsey, and I play Diana, the tiefling maid. Last time on the show, you made it to the town of Fairbay, and you met with Orkled and her people. And it was sort of put to you that there was a third party that would have you murder a small group to further their gain in Esterhold. Now that sort of set off a little shockwave within group one, and a debate started. And it was pretty much decided that you would hear this person out, you would meet with them the next day in Fairbay, and let them make their full pitch and give you all the details, and then a decision would be made.

Is that pretty much what happened last time? Am I pretty much nailing it? It's the gist of it. Okay. How's about we pick things up, unless anyone has any objections, the next morning in Fairbay? Okay. Okay. Did anyone want to do anything that night? Was there any roleplay stuff? Did anyone want to talk to anybody in their rooms? Their room was... Hm? Annunciate Kelsey, come on! Sound off like you got a pair. There's something I want to do that night. Well then, that's why I'm asking. Do it. Then let's do it. How's about we pick things up that very same evening in Fairbay?

So I would imagine you guys are at the inn? Or is there another... okay, so... We're not going to talk about rooms because that... I was about to say, that's a weird thing on group four. I asked any other group, and it's like, what is the room situation? It's like, we split up. On group one, it's like, well, I can't room him because they have gastrointestinal problems, and I don't want to be kept awake all night. I burn my sleep. It's... So, what did Diana want to do here? Okay, so I figured this would probably happen after everyone's gone to bed or whatever.

She does not sleep much or well anyways, so at some point, more towards, like, it's pretty much like most people would be asleep and stuff. She'd probably head out of the inn and go towards the water, the ocean. There's a dock, right? Like, yeah, fishing town. So yeah, she'd really just walk along towards the end of the dock, and she'd get there kind of like, stand there looking at the water for a bit, and then she would pull out Hondo's ashes that she's had since he died. And she'll like, hold them in her hand and look at them for a bit, and then just...

Well, I guess this place is as good as any. I probably should have done this in Brightport, but I couldn't let you go back there. Wouldn't do that to pretty much anyone. Besides, there was other stuff going on and other stuff going on here, and I don't know what you would think about any of this. You wanted to change things, and whatever happens here, change. I think, I hope it's coming. And I guess you were my friend. I think. I don't know, but for what it's worth, I hope for your sake that the Raven Queen does exist and that you're somewhere better than here.

Then she's gonna open the vial or whatever and kind of pour the ashes out onto the water and then throw the glass in as well. And she's probably gonna stay out there for a bit before heading back to the inn. Okay, that's kind of littering, but other than that it's sweet. I totally spot the same thing. Some poor fisherman's gonna step on that one day. That's a perfectly good container, don't you throw that away, you can use that. Did anyone else want to do anything? Right, just a little bit. No, Tebene's more of a morning person. Morning as in started a day, not crying.

Ah. To clarify. So, let's pick things up now. The next morning. This would be the 20th of a motto. Timeline wise, you guys are a little behind the rest of the world, group wise. But we'll get to that, don't worry. So, what would be the first action everyone would like to take in the morning? What's your morning routine on the road? Tebene would wake up and she's kind of neurotic, so she would get up and she has a small wooden comb that she would stand in front of some kind of little looking glass and comb her hair out very nice and primper herself basically so that she's presentable.

You know, get dressed, make sure her things are all packed appropriately and ready to go for the day. Okay, well this is interesting. I gotta ask a question. Mm-hmm. 'Cause when Tebene was introduced I got the sense that she's more outdoorsy and is used to sleeping outside. Is she more akin to being indoors or outdoors, would you say? She's akin to being outdoors, but she does like to be presentable and clean. Okay, so not your regular hippie. Yeah, she shaves her armpits. Gotcha. Everything else is hairy. Just her armpits, everything else is hairy. She's wookiee everywhere else, but...

Yep, but no B.O. for her. Gotcha. Yeah, like she would go through and preen and make sure there's no like insects. Like she doesn't do that business, but she definitely doesn't mind like sleeping on the ground or, you know, enjoying the stars and that kind of business. She's just very... she likes to be presentable 'cause that's how she was, you know, brought up. Okay, so in contrast, how would Yenward wake up in the morning? Yenward would wake up and he would just kind of like shake the dust off, maybe pick through his fur, find a bug for breakfast, you know, the usual.

Okay. Is the group gonna meet up or are you all just doing your own thing and stretching, getting breakfast, getting a drink? What would be the plan here? I mean, I think for Diana it's probably regular that she's already like up and ready to go by the time the rest of them wake up, at least when we're staying at an inn or something, because yeah, that's not much sleep. So she probably already has eaten breakfast or whatever and be downstairs like, I don't know, studying magic stuff. Malthus has already done the following number of shots. Three shots.

Oh no. To start the day off. Of what, sir? Uh, something hard. He's just kind of like sitting at the, you know, provided they're willing to serve it, he's just kind of sitting at the bar sulking. Like as he takes his third shot and sets down the glass, he hasn't let them take away any of the glasses and he's just kind of like absentmindedly running his finger around the rims and kind of playing with them as he stares off into the distance. Okay, two things. One, would you mind if Theo would have accompanied you here? Theo can totally accompany me. Okay, because he, of the people in this party so far, it's pretty much Yennward and Malthus that he has talked to at all, really?

And them not threaten him in some fashion. T'Vin is new, so, you know, but yeah, he's kind of warming up to Malthus a little bit. Two, would Malthus be talking at all or just pretty much drinking? If he's, if Theo has asked him any questions, he can certainly respond. He's probably bought Theo a shot as long as Theo's coming to keep him company, so. So let's do a thing. I don't know what a morning shot is. I don't know what shots you do in the morning. I drink like a mimosa for breakfast. Shots are not a morning thing. That's a clear sign of alcoholism, actually, if you're doing like...

Because I'm talking, it's like... I think Theo would have a croissant mimosa. I feel like, like this is like 8, 9 am-ish, like that kind of... Oh yeah. Okay. So, yeah, you said you wanted to do kind of a scene? Okay, let me set up a little bit. So there is a lovely tiefling girl named Nala who works at the Tipsy Pig. And, okay, I'm assuming when you say hard stuff you don't mean like the hardest stuff. We're not like... Not like ever clear. Okay, so we're not pouring shots of like skull splitter, but like this is some... Okay, so... Like a good rum. Gotcha. Okay, so here's what I'd like you to do.

I would like you to roll an endurance check, give me a negative 3. Okay. No, that's not the thing I click. That's the thing I click. Okay, endurance at negative 3. Yes. Endurance. I'm okay at that one. Oops, that's not what I clicked on. Yeah, you're not terrible. Okay, 17. That's not bad. That's totally not bad. You're holding your liquor, but you are going to start to get like... You're going to express yourself very honestly, let's say. That was already the plan. Okay. Let's... Okay, so I'd say Theo would be kind of like sipping on some ale or something like that and sort of nursing one glass, but let's have him roll an endurance check.

He's not great at this. It's one ale, man. Oh my god! Rest in fucking pieces, Theo. Theo has generated a natural 2. A natural 2. Alright. Whoa. So... There we go. Okay, so Malkus is sitting here, three shots have already gone down, and Theo is just kind of sitting there silently, I think. I would think that the pretense is like maybe he thinks Malkus wants to talk about something, and then after shot number 3, nothing... I don't think it's apparent to him, it's like, "Why are we drinking at 9 AM? What is... So..." Is he actually asking that, or is he just... I think that would be, yeah, I think that would pretty much be like that, but maybe a little slower and slightly more slower.

Just, "Why are we drinking at 9 AM?" If we're going to do things that we're probably going to regret, we should probably enjoy it while we can. Mm. Our fearless leader/king did not seem inclined to be talked down from his idiocy. So might as well enjoy this while we can. You know, here's the thing, right? Because people, they're ready to say, "Malkus did this, and Malkus did that." You've got to understand, I did what I did to try to stop an enemy and stop a war. I mean, this is kingdom building. Theo, are we really prepared to do what they're going to ask us to do for kingdom building?

Isn't that what we want to be remembered? Theo, are you listening? I would like to think that the entire time Malkus is speaking, every once in a while, Theo would raise a hand and start to open his mouth, and then Malkus continues. And so he just like, kind of stings in at the end, like, "Have you been listening to this?" Love it, love it. Okay, I want to ask, because I thought about this last night. Are we going to kill people? Like, hunt, like, just people down and kill them? Yenward wants to hear the pitch. I'm unconvinced that they will be able to say anything that will make this proposition halfway decent, but he wants to hear them out.

If he's in for killing innocent people and handing this town over, I don't know if I can stay, Theo. I... I've got... Like I said, people love to put my past in my face, but... I'm trying to clean things up, right? Not getting deeper. I made a decision, and it had a lot of fallout, but that doesn't mean to just throw caution to the wind at that point and just start racking up the egregious deeds. Things need to be moderated. Can... Okay. Can I ask a question? You just did. I'm messing with you. Go on. What did you do? How much do you know about the battle against the Overwatch?

There was a fight. And it was a lot of people. And a bunch of them died. And I know they have a new ruler, but that's all I really heard. Ooh! I know you're wanted for something. I've kind of pieced it together with the wanted poster and stuff. Oh. You ever met a Warforged, Theo? Nope. Well... Don't expect you will anytime soon. They were... largely a substantial portion of the Overwatch forces. Or rather, a substantial number of them were a part of the Overwatch forces. Eight, nine out of ten, maybe. There were some who were not part of the force, but... the vast majority were.

You know, it's war, Theo, right? Like, you do what you need to do to defeat the other side. And that sometimes there's collateral damage. But you follow through, because... at the end of the day, they want to kill you. And there's no finding peace, right? There's no "live and let live" at that point. So you do what has to be done. Consequences be damned. Hey! Not you. Another. One more here. Nala's gonna set Malchus up with one more shot. And when she kind of walks out of earshot again, Malchus goes on... "I think I killed them all, Theo." "I think I did." Or at least the vast majority.

So...you... killed a race. I killed... most of a race. Sorry. I didn't...I didn't mean to exaggerate. I killed an enemy force... along with 10% collateral. Like I said, they weren't... all a part of it, but... you have to play the numbers at that point, right? Like you did...what choice do you have? You have...the capacity... and you have the enemy staring down the battlefield... at yourself and people you care about. And you look at their numbers... and you look at your numbers... and you say, "If this does not even up very quickly..." "people on my side..." "aren't going to go home to their spouses..." "to their children." Okay, wait, wait...

Aren't you wanted by Winterhaven? For questioning. I did not make clear the nature of my... decision or action. Oh... I knew that the best chance... for them to push forward with battle... is...was... if I were not there to complicate things after what I did. Well... Theo's gonna raise his hand and put it on Malchus' shoulder. Just very reassuring. I mean, if you...if you explain that... I'm sure they'll... they'll get it. I mean, you won, right? Mm. Win a war and Theria's still a mess, but... I suppose in a sense you're right. You got any ale left in that thing?

And yeah, you can...you can hear like there's still... a quarter of this mug just kind of sloshing around in there. So... basically three quarters of an ale and he's...he's pretty blessed. Uh, Malchus holds up his, uh, his... shot and he kind of looks down at the mug and looks at Theo. Uh, Theo's gonna raise his...raise his mug and just kind of like... like a toast type of thing. Yeah, yeah. And...yeah. Go ahead, sorry. And, uh, Malchus, uh, Malchus, uh, clicks it against his...his mug and says, "To greater goods or necessary evils, may they less often than previously be the same thing." Yeah.

And he tilts back his shot. He's...he's just gonna like nod his head to that. And he's...he's gonna drink right alongside of you. Do me a favor, Malchus. Yes? Give me one more endurance check with a...with a negative four. Like a champ. Coming up to bat. Here we go. You got it. You got this. Malchus Grimnius can hold his liquor. That's a good roll. That's not a bad roll at all. Again, you are...honest. 9 AM, I'm still fresh. Yeah, dude. That's a functional alcoholic, guys. That is the definition. Little hair of the dog and he is as good as new. Theo's gonna hop down off this stool here.

Maybe we should...maybe we should get ready. Yeah, the time's coming whether we like it or not. Alright. Rally up. Everyone else, what would Sassoon be doing? Thought y'all forgot about me. Dude, I could never. Sorry, I was chewing the scenery. That's how it is. Um, Sassoon would be up nice and early. He'd be walking around town, seeing what's going on. He'd get down to cleaning his armor, keeping his weapon in good shape. Probably wouldn't have his armor on because he doesn't wear it all the time because it's fucking heavy. You know, just doing a couple laps around the town, what's going on.

Chilling. So, yeah. Well, the people of Fair Bay would be kind of giving a little side-eye. Not like they're suspicious of you or anything like that because the people of Fair Bay are genuinely really nice for the most part. But lionfolk do not venture through these parts very often. So it would be more of not openly gawking, but more like, "Oh wow, look at that. Don't see that." That kind of thing. Not openly mouth-of-gape pointing and stuff, but you can see the people are taking notice. Okay, then I'll go up to the nearest vendor, grab his face, and go, "What are you looking at?" Kidding.

No, I'm not nice. No, no, no, no. He would pee himself. Yeah. "What are you looking at? Leave Sassoon alone." But yeah, that's it. Just morning exercises and keeping my shit in check. Give me a favor, roll a perception check for me. Okay, I can do that for you, Jason. That's 18. Well, 27 total. Sassoon is going to get the impression that more than just the average townfolk have their eyes on him as he makes his way around town. Ugh, these guys. They're so jealous of me. Jeez. It's going to become apparent to Sassoon that these drow are definitely keeping an eye.

And every once in a while, just maybe reporting back, probably to Orklad, maybe Meila. It depends on who would be in charge of keeping an eye on this group. Okay, I'm going to do something stupid. Because he's a... I don't know if I've ever described Sassoon in terms of age, but in terms of a lionfolk, he's actually quite young. He just has a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders, so he has to kind of age up how he presents himself. So seeing that these guys, and probably ladies, are looking at him, he is going to try and show off and do something stupidly acrobatic.

And just so the audience knows, my acrobatics is a plus too. I'm sorry, as soon as you started talking about your lot in life as Sassoon, I just started to... I'm gonna be your mighty king. What were you trying to do to show off? I'm running, I'm running, I see a car in the way and I leap over it. Okay, well then do me a favor, give me an acrobatics check. Oh, acrobatics, that's a plus three. Oh, well then you got this. Oh, dude! You got this, that's a 22! Without breaking stride, Sassoon is going to... There's kind of awnings around the street, again think sort of a Westtown type of thing.

So as he's running, there's kind of carts set up and people are getting their wares ready. Because it's early morning and people are still setting up. Sassoon is going to run without breaking stride and just almost casually leap over this sort of cart of like apples and some veggies and stuff like that. So just clean leap over it. Don't look, don't look back, don't break stride, just like totally meant to do that. I'd like to add a little caveat because this was a 22. Literally, not like when you... Ah, baseball, who references baseball anymore? Fuck baseball.

I do. A little touchdown basically. Sorry Tom, I apologize. I jump over, still have that momentum going, slide and just be like, "Oh, what's that thing called, t-boning? Is that what that was when you'd be on one knee?" Yeah, t-boning. There you go, slide into a t-bone. That is a timely reference. And then yeah, just continue with my workout. High 2011. Yeah, I was about to say, what was that? Hello? But okay. Yeah, you want your phrase back? Okay, no problem. He almost made it to even the series, Trevor. Okay. I'm going to say that the group spent the morning doing, you know, just kind of getting their things together.

Whether it be exercise or whether it be stretching, grabbing a bite to eat, preening themselves, or hitting the bar. Everyone's done their morning ritual, and I'm going to say that it's right about noon-ish. Now, you're supposed to meet with the drow early afternoon, so you got a tiny bit of time left. Now, we can advance right to that, or the group can sort of get together and see if any of their opinions have changed with a good night's sleep. I think we should meet. Yeah, I agree. Discuss our plans. So let's say that you guys did the exact same thing that you did before.

You tried to pay a child to keep an eye out for you. Do I get to do the streetwise thing again? I, yes, please. This is all a muck, this is completely a myth. I'm on a hot streak, guys, what could possibly go wrong? Okay. Okay, what we're going to do is, okay, that's fine. That's a good rule. That's 26. That's trustworthy children. We're also wanting the kid to just run up and shake them. Give me the ball, old man. Yeah, so these, yeah, your same setup, these kids are going to be on the ball. You've expressed yourself very well, even though your breath smells like rum.

All right, come here, do daddy a favor. Do you realize that you're the strange older man whose breath smells like rum and you approach these kids in an alley? I'll buy you some good trinkets if you do something for me. Oh god. I'm just going to fish your money out of my pot. Pot! Pot! Not please. I'm done. It's okay. Oh, dude, no. Okay, so you guys are in this alley, you have kids watching your back to make sure that you're not being openly spied on. When did we say we were in an alley? The last time. I thought we were in the inn. No, no, that was, that's what the kids are, the kids are sort of looking out.

You guys were in sort of an alley and the kids are kind of playing lookout to make sure that no one's going to spy on you. Can I throw a perception check just to run into the general region? You sure can. Boop boop. Oh my god. That's butts. Apparently I'm staring at my feet. Everything looks great to so soon. Because you're worn out, you're just tired from running. Yeah, all that running. Sweats in your eyes. Instead of showing off. It's all that timely t-boning you've been doing. Listen, t-boning is timeless. Oh, you keep calling it t-boning. That's what I thought it was called.

Is that what it was called? T-boning. His name is T-bone and he did the thing, right? His name is not T-bone. He is not a 70's pimp. That is a disrespectful pimp name. That's a nice Christian boy. That is a disrespectful pimp name. Got my money? Yes, Daddy T-bone. No, doesn't work. It don't work. Don't roll off the tongue. [Laughter] Oh, God. I would watch that show. I'm just saying. If there was like a 70's cop drama with a pimp named T-bone, I would totally watch that. Anywho, yeah, everything looks on the up and up to so soon. He doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary except for his fellow compatriots in this alley.

The kids are at the other end of the alley keeping an eye on things. I leave the floor to you. Me specifically? Or the group? Anybody who wants to speak up. Oh. Oh, you know what? Everybody in the party besides the soon. Do me a favor and roll a perception check. Okay. Not bad. Not bad. I'll take that. I see everything. I see everything better. This is so weird. Why are the two cow people seeing everything? I'm not saying dumb. I'm gonna fuck you. That is racist. Cowpersons? I have a plus twelve, thank you. No people? Our eyes are set on the sides of our head. We can see everything.

Exactly. Right in front of us. Except when I'm standing right directly in front of you. They've got great perception, but it's all peripheral. That's why Yenward couldn't see Strahd that one time. You're gonna do your life. Right in front of them. So, let's see. Tevin, Yenward, and Diana are going to pick up that... Theo looks kind of intoxicated. There's a little bit of a sway. Just a little bit. And Malchus appears to be pretty fine. Like, he just looks like Malchus. Smells like booze, therefore it smells like Malchus. Yenward and Tevin are going to smell...

They're gonna smell liquor. Emanating from Malchus and Theo. So their lovely, bold senses are going to pick up the faint smell of hard liquor coming from these two. Yenward's not gonna call him on it, but if Tevin wants to. I wouldn't outright call him, but I might look at Yen... You know, Tevin would look at the Yenward and kind of like look at them. And then look back, that question like, "Is this normal? Should we be worried?" Kind of look. Yenward's gonna shrug. Ah, naval areas, you guys are great. Well, she doesn't know you guys, so... And she's new. She doesn't want to step on people's toes.

Diana's gonna give you a bit of a disgusted look. Wait, no, a bit more of a disgusted look than usual. That's good, that's important to clarify. Hmm. You know what? It's really D20. Yep, okay. Theo's gonna stick his tongue out at Diana. Just kind of notice, like, yeah, whatever. And just kind of like... Almost absentminded, like he doesn't realize he's doing it. Like, it's like having a thought and expressing it out loud. Would we all notice this? Can I see this? I would say yes. I'm just gonna shoot my brother Theo the dirtiest look. If looks could kill, he'd be a dead man.

Do me a favor, roll an intimidate check. 24. I believe that will do it. You pigs. Essentially he's just going to kind of curl up in himself, just kind of like put his hands in his pockets and look down. That's all. That'll nod us, isn't it? Like the cool, like, bro nod, like, yeah, yeah. So, Tavine is gonna kind of look at you and be like, have you thought more about what we will do if we decide to decline their offer? Yes, have you thought about the terrible things we're about to do that we're going to regret? You don't know if they're terrible yet, you're assuming things.

I would say I've got a pretty strong track record. I really don't see why we're discussing this again before we know anything else. Exactly, so let's go. We should have an idea and be on the same page about, I guess, if things don't go in our favor. I agree with Tavine. What happens if these drow turn on us because we don't go along with their idea, their plan? Mm-hmm. The whole point is that we're deniable assets. They'd have no problem dumping us off the pier. That's not exactly true. Yenn would mention that last night. Refresh me. She's gonna kind of look towards Yenn where it's like, you want to take a shot at this again?

Yenn is gonna scratch his head. Mountain, dwarves, drow. Drow can't beat dwarves, minotaur can't beat dwarves. Together, mountain. And the drow need Yenn where to have the minotaurs. Drow use minotaur. Drow dispose minotaur. Well, this is going nowhere fast. We may as well just go to the meeting and let this all blow up in our faces. Come along. Do we have some kind of signal? Do you guys as a group have a signal? Oh, they have a signal. I know what said signal is. Malchus coughs conspicuously. Something in my throat. Disregard. I mean, do you as a group have a, I mean, I'm assuming I'm at least for the moment part of the group and if there is some kind of hand gesture or phrase that you guys use to let each other know when things aren't going well and it's time to bail.

I'd like to be in on that so I'm not left standing by myself. We generally tend to make things up as we go along. Okay, Yenn word? If at any point during this discussion you think we need to leave urgently, just say blue. Okay. There, see? Now we've got protocol. Look at how gloriously prepared we are. Okay. The group is going to walk down the one main road in Fairbay. Everyone do me a favor, roll a perception check. Oh, Jason, could, could, could I have adorned Yenn with my cape? Like take your cape off and put it on Yenn? Put it on him, yeah. I don't see why not.

Yenn, what is that? Cool. Sure, yeah. Alright, I did. I did that. Okay. That's canon. Okay. Tivine, Malkus, and Diana. The three of them are going to notice that the street here in Fairbay is unusually quiet for this time of day. And the only people out right now are the group in a smattering of drow that are hanging outside of the building that you met the previous day. And a conspicuous tumbleweed. Sorry, I'm done. Other than that, the town is pretty quiet, but these drow are going to be, they're going to be eyeballing you as you approach. You're also going to notice that Theo has sort of filtered into the back of the group, just to make sure that he is close enough to be clustered with you, but definitely behind you all.

That's a good call. How would you guys like to approach? I think the same as before. Obviously open the door for everyone. Yenn would go first, and then everybody would file in, and then I would follow behind, I think. Well, Theo has to announce. Oh god. Yes, yes, you're right. That's true. Okay, let's do that again. God, this is going to go so much worse than, no, no, no, I don't want to make a bad first impression. No. Okay, Theo, you know the drill. Go in. Announce my arrival, and step aside. Theo is going to vigorously shake his head. Like, yes, sure, yes, gotcha, yes.

And well after Yenn would stop speaking, he's going to continue to shake his head yes. Gotcha. Yeah. Totally. Yeah. Is he standing up straight? Nope. Question! Do we notice this? Oh, you already know he's- You already know, he looks fairly intoxicated. If there was a guy who would look over to Yenn, I'd be like, perhaps Theo isn't the best choice for this today. Look at that enthusiasm. Theo, you got this, let's go. Yenn heard. Stop nodding. Turn. Tavine's going to kind of step up. Yenn heard, maybe we shouldn't. He's maybe not up to the task like you think he is.

And she's going to kind of look over to Theo, like, almost like that look, like, just go with it. Who else is going to announce that your royal majesty has arrived? They're expecting us, Yenn heard. The announcement yesterday was more than enough. That was yesterday's announcement. Theo's going to interject, "Hey, I am tired of everyone telling me I can't do things in this group. I can do this." That's right, Theo. Tavine's going to kind of shake her hand and be like, "If you really want to, and if Yenn heard, do you think this is the most diplomatic approach?" This is the most kingly approach.

Now, Theo, go ahead, announce my presence. Theo's going to march forward here. Again, smattering of drow on the outside of this building. There's one lone door walking into this place that's kind of closed too, but not closed completely. And these drow are going to look at you, but again, it's been cleared with everybody, they know who you are. And Theo is going to walk up to the door, push it open with one smooth motion, walk into the building, and let's see what he rolls. He's going to close her eyes, by the way. If I don't pay attention to it, nothing bad can happen.

He just kind of does not want to be a part of this at all. His inhibitions are lowered, he's about to give the most charismatic address of all time. I have a thing that can do a thing. A loaf of bread. Sober up quick. Damn it. Never mind. It only happens to myself. Okay. Save it, you might need it. Here we go, guys. Okay. Theo's going to walk in and kind of push this door aside with one smooth motion. And he is going to march into the center of this room, same one that you were in yesterday. Just sort of clap his hands. Loudly, to get everyone's attention. Hey!

Okay. Everyone listen up. King Anwar's coming in in a second. And friends of mine, I want you to treat him really good. Here we go. And he just steps out of the way. Theo just became Tyrion the Imp. I don't know, I think we can enter that. Malchus, Yennward. Oh, Yennward's already leading the charge. He's burst through the door, Kate is switching, head up. Chest puffed out. Do me a favor, everyone roll, I'm a said initiative, roll Perception for me. Get ahead of yourself, Jason. Naturally, naturally. The one that actually matters. Fuck you. I see how it is. I see how it is, table.

Oh! That 20. And I'm still high. Everybody's on that game. Except Diana. Except for Diana, yes. We are sharp as knives, people. Diana's kind of intention doesn't exist right now. Oh, Jesus. Everyone in the party except for Diana and Theo. The setup for today's meeting is slightly different. There is a table. One single table set up horizontally. In the back of this room. Seated at the table are three drow. Oraclad is still sitting in the center. Meyla is sitting to her left. And there is a third drow. Sort of a taller male sitting at her right. And there are no other drow in this room.

There are no guards. There are no other people in this room beyond the party and these three individuals. Now, Ora and Meyla are sort of... As soon as Theo enters and does it, there's kind of a look on Ora's face like, "Really? Again? We're doing this again." But it's less... It's even less dignified this time. The male sitting to her right is just sort of staring unblinkingly at the party. As if he is just gauging reactions. Just kind of taking you in. There are chairs set up on the opposite side of this table for you all to sit. And there are drinks ready to be poured.

What would you guys like to do? As soon as a bad cat, he's not going to sit down. Okay, where's he going to position himself? He's going to post up at the door, by the door, overlooking everybody else. Okay. On top of the mantle with all his hair raised, he says something. Keeps swiping into Christmas. He's sitting everywhere. Malthus will take a seat. I'm imagining Yenward's going to sit down the rest of the party, probably. Yeah, while Yenward's playing as Choud, he'll extend his hand to the new man. The gentleman, the fella, is like, "Oh, you must be who we're here to meet.

Me and my friends are practically drunk with excitement to meet you." The man's going to extend his hand out and sort of gently shake Yenward's. Again, not breaking eye contact the entire time. Sort of drinking in the party. Hey, nice to meet you, Yenward. Talk to her about parties. Jason, I need to ask this, but... It's because it is a possibility. I don't know. Would Diana recognize? No. Okay. No, I would say no. Tavine will probably do what she did last time and just kind of stand off to the side. Like, casually, not like, off-standish or anything. Just kind of stand over...

Ora's going to speak up, seeing that there are a couple of you who kind of refuse to sit and... You kind of seem uneasy about the situation. I had everyone else wait outside. You seemed... Apprehensive yesterday. I didn't want anyone interfering with the conversation. Well, I appreciate that some of my friends do happen to be a little uneasy about this proposition, to be honest. So, after everyone is where they're going to be... She's going to offer a drink to anyone who would like one. Are we all pouring from the same container? Oh, yeah. Okay. Let's get the details, right?

Right. Oh, absolutely. You know what? That is a classic scenario. Totally fair. And they're drow. Come on. Yeah, they kind of thought about that too, and they're all drinking from the same... Yeah, the same pitcher. So that shouldn't be a problem. Diana will take them and take a sit. It's like she's not there for the drink that's kind of just a... I mean, it's more of a... Polite. Yeah, like diplomacy sort of thing. She would be sitting next to Yen, where she would have sat down at first. Forgot to say that. Same as before. So, Ora will speak up again. You've already met Meyla in the field.

The gentleman to my right is Seraph. He comes from Esterholt. Brightport, originally, if I'm to understand. And she'll look over, and Seraph will just kind of nod. I understand you had questions about what we were sending you out to do. Would she recognize the name? I need to know. I need to know! It's just for reaction stuff. Do me a favor and roll a streetwise check. She was involved with the houses and stuff. Mm-hmm. Oh, streetwise? Sorry. Yes. Naturally. That name would not ring a bell. Great. Okay. Brightport with a... That's what I was... Yeah. Let me see. Does anyone else have a connection to Brightport and the party?

Sassoon worked with House Hammerhand, right? For a very short period of time. Yeah. So I landed there, worked there, then came and met you guys. Malchus? Oh, that's true! Malchus... Well, that's the thing. Malchus disappeared for 17 years. Mm-hmm. So I don't think he would have much of a connection to Brightport during the time that... Yeah. Um... Okay. Who exactly are we going to dispose of, and what did they do? The gentleman to our right is going to lean forward. And... He's going to take a long sip from his glass. I'm going to cut right to the chase. There is a small group of adventurers.

Pretty much like yourselves. I want you to kill them. I want you to kill the leader of the current Temple of Kord there too. And that should square us up. But why? So I can take over the city. It's really quite simple. If you do that... I'll help you take back your mountain. If I may ask, and I do not mean to offend, but if you were in Esterholt... Would it not have been more efficient for you to have done this yourself? Instead of relying upon an unknown? The tiniest smile is going to creep across his face. Believe me, I tried. Unfortunate timing kept me from doing that.

I assure you, I want the city for... Good. You could put it. It's not just for selfish gain. So Soong's rolling an insight? Mm-hmm. What he's going to glean from that is that yes, he absolutely intended on killing those people. If he had to. And a little bit at the end. He was saying that he wants the city to do good. There's something to that. That might not be the entire truth, but there's something to it. He's not outright lying. Out of character? This sounds horribly familiar. Whatever do you mean? And there's going to be a pause as he's watching the party.

I was hoping that we could just hand you your marching orders and you would take care of this, but... Looking at you now, I can see we're going to have to have a detailed conversation. Diana's going to kind of like have a grin at that. It's like, it's like, oh yeah, you noticed. Like, kind of. We're just looking for some peace of mind. I mean, we want to do business with you. More than anything. But killing innocent people is not really our bag. They are not innocent. See, now we're getting somewhere. That's what I'm asking for. Tell me all the despicable things these mongrels have done.

He's going to glance over to Aura. And then back to the party. Where would you like me to begin? Just like the nitty gritty. Cut to the chase. Do you know how our kind are treated on the surface? Uh, sorry, can't say that I do. I can see by the look in half of your party's eyes that you don't trust us. Before you knew a thing about us, you heard that we were drow. How did you react to that? Some of us did not exactly react well. Of course you didn't. And why would you? Most of you probably think their all kind are just murderers. Thieves. For most of us that couldn't be further from the truth.

Though, I suppose some of us do play to that stereotype. Dan is again going to grin at that because it's kind of the same thing. She gets it. I'm just going to look to Malkus and sort of glance from Diana to Malkus as he asks a question. I suppose you do understand what I'm talking about there, don't you? Absolutely. I have context. What I would like to do with the city of Esterhold is completely gut its management. And reorganize the city as a place where people like you and I can live there in peace. A peace of mind that comes from knowing that we will not be treated any differently than a human or an elf or a dwarf.

I don't really think that's so much to ask. Do you? Right guys? That sounds nice. Thanks for everybody. But again, I feel like we're tiptoeing around the issue. Like, the people we're going to kill, what they do. Unfortunately that kind of change doesn't come without giving something up in return. The people I'm asking you to kill, I don't ask you to do lightly. Two of them happen to be my daughters. Hmm. Unfortunately, people who have control and power very rarely wish to hand that over willingly. And that is why I need you to kill them. I'm afraid there's just no other way.

That city will remain as is for the rest of its existence until someone like us does something about it. So you're saying they didn't really do anything in particular, they're just in the way? Again, I don't ask you to do this lightly. I fully understand the implications. And I would reward you handsomely. Do you really think that all of the dwarves you wish to slaughter are monsters? Or that even all of them had anything to do with the taking of your mountain in the first place? Well, I really thought about it, but no. But you still want your home back, don't you?

Yeah. It's not theirs, it's ours. He's just going to sort of sit back for a moment and look at the rest of the party. There's a thing I'm noticing about this whole proposal. You were so quick to say we leapt to a conclusion when we heard that you were dark elves. When we saw you, we assumed the worst, and so on and so forth. The problem is that if we follow through with your request, we're proving everything that was projected upon you. We don't change the reputation of your people. We reinforce it in this fashion. Playing good and bowing and scraping at the feet of humans hasn't exactly got any of us far.

He is going to lean forward again. Your Malkus Grimness, correct? The one and only. You and some of the members of your party helped fight against the Overwatch. Is that correct? It is. And Carter, before he died, he had a projection about your people, didn't he? That you're all murderers and thieves, and that you were coming to take his kingdom away from him. To endanger his people. But you came anyway, and you took his kingdom, and you endangered his people. But wasn't that for the greater good? Didn't that, in the long run, at least you hope, bring a better life to that city and the people of this continent as a whole?

This isn't an equal comparison. Perhaps not. If I'm being unfair, please tell me. Not inclined to think that you're foolish enough to miss? That the Overwatch marched upon and oppressed the cities surrounding it, the peoples surrounding it? You're looking for a revolution. You're looking to walk into a city and change the status quo. The present danger is not the same. You're the aggressor. And by extension, we're the aggressor if we follow through with your plan. You are 100% correct. No one has marched against us specifically from Esterhold. There has been no act of aggression physically, like there was with the Overwatch.

The war they fight in Esterhold is one of finances, its economy, it's a class of life. Of all the shops and storefronts in Esterhold, how many of the shop owners do you think are drow or even tiefling? Malkus just kind of snickers at that. "I appreciate the angle you're taking, and there are many to whom it is a sensible appeal, but you will have to find a different way to convince me. I don't consider myself a hero of my people, or even so much responsible for bringing tieflings to glorious situations and improved life. I just... my people are whichever people watch my back, love me and respect me, and treat me decently.

So, an argument for the advancement of one people over another, just on the basis of race? It's not enough. You said yourself there were heroes and villains among all peoples. That's perfectly fair. And I want to be very clear with you. I am not pitching a new Overwatch. I just want the playing field to be level. But if that's not enough to convince you that these people are no angels... ...Maela, hand me the binder. And Maela is going to reach down to her side and hand a fairly large brown leather binder over to Sarah. Did you people know a drow named Hondo?

Yeah. He's her friend. He didn't make it. That is very unfortunate. But before his untimely demise, he had a discussion with Miss Cladd. And he's going to motion his head over to Ora. Ora is unblinking, looking at the party. Seraph is going to unwrap the small amount of cord that is holding this binder together. And he is going to open it up and then sort of take out these papers and sort of lay this parchment out in front of the group. Everyone do me a favor and roll a perception check. Awwww. I'm at the back of the room. I can't see anything. I see something.

Edward is right in the center. What is he doing? That's the problem. It's none of his periphery vision. If you want to hide in front of a minotaur, hide in front of a minotaur. I'm off to the side. Dan is going to be more attentive to the people in the papers. I just figured someone will read it. Tevin is going to pick up a few words on this parchment. And what it looks to be is... it looks to be an Overwatch after mission report. This looks to be official paperwork from the Overwatch while they were still the Overwatch. Like these were marching orders for someone.

If you were to pour through this paperwork, it is documented evidence that the group I'm sending you after murdered Drow children. Not only did they murder them, they then sat in front of Ork Lad and lied to her face about it. They are unrepentant child murderers. They don't deserve your pity or your hesitation. Why were you reluctant to lead with this information? It makes a much better case for what you're trying to have us do to begin with. I like to know who I'm getting in bed with, Malchus. I wanted to know if you were more interested in change for the positive.

But if vengeance is something that speaks a little more to you, I completely understand that as well. Not everyone wants to get involved. If you're working under the assumption that these people are innocent, you would be incorrect. Would we be able to take this paperwork with us? Examine it? He's going to glance over at Ora, or is going to give a little head nod. I think we have everything we need from it. Malchus nods. Appreciate it. So, now that you know who you're getting into bed with, are you pleased? I suppose that would depend on your answer. Will you help me?

Yammer's going to glance at Malchus's and so on, waiting for their answers. I think you've made a reasonable case, but that's what gets us to looking at your evidence. That's why I asked you to hold onto the paperwork. I'm not unreasonable. And while I would prefer to do this sooner rather than later, I would be willing to adjourn for a week. Is that acceptable? Malchus looks at the party, at least those at the table, and says, "I think we can have a response within a week." And he kind of looks for an answer from the others as well. Absolutely. Tavine will nod, just letting you know that she's up for giving an answer after we've discussed it.

Uh, yeah. I'd do the same. Well, I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you. I hope we can come to some sort of agreement. You know where to find us. I have no doubt you'll hear from us. If there's one thing we're good at, it's sending clear messages. So I've heard. And Malchus just kind of half-grins. Anything further before we adjourn? He's going to look over to work one more time, and she's going to shake her head no. I think that'll do it. Thank you for your time, Seraph. I think we have everything we need, guys. Let's go. The three drow are going to stand up.

Not move to shake hands or anything like that, but just sort of... All three are going to give sort of a version of a head nod. Just like, "Mm-hmm, we're done here." And that's it. But they're not going to leave. They're going to watch you walk away. Malchus will walk through the door. And nothing will be in your way, unless... unless the suit's going to stop you from walking through the door. Yeah, nothing's going to barf. No, I'm not physically standing in front of the door. Okay, I'm just making sure. I didn't know if you were the muscle. Where you going, boy?

And as Malchus walks toward the door, he reaches into his cloak for the detonator and pushes... no. Excuse me, I've got to go to the bathroom, and I'm going to go get the gun taped behind the stall. Say my name. I'm the one who knocks. Does everyone else... is everyone leaving? I would imagine everyone's leaving. Before Diana leaves, she's going to kind of hesitate and almost open her mouth as if she's about to say something and then reconsider and then follow everyone else out. Yeah, probably being the last person to leave the room. Just look each of the drow over as I leave.

You guys' achievement unlocked? Not dead. Let's go kill group three! Okay, guys, I say we slaughter all of them in the city, cut their hands off, take them to some doors... That's part of it. So, the current group three has no connection to this, because all of them don't have any. So, we're going after all of the group three members that are no longer group three. I don't... I mean... yeah, kid killers, okay, but... How's about... I don't know, man. I still don't know. Well, here's the thing. I think we need to have a patented group one discussion. So, in character... we'll do this in and out of character, because I'm sure that people are going to go off the rails, but...

Let's say, same alleyway, same type of situation, that is your safe room. Let's get an actual indoor room. Oh, oh, let's rent the bar, let's rent the bar, let's rent the bar. That's probably not... Do they have like a party room? Do they have like, you know, like the private reservation? No, let's rent the whole bar, it's my birthday! I want to plunge a knife into a bar room table when I make my point. I don't want to spend that much money. No, I'll soak up all the money I have. I mean, I'm supposed to give my money away anyway. I don't give a fuck about the money.

She'd be amicable to that, like she would allow you to, you know, she's more the type to... She's not trying to necessarily make a buck, but it's more like, "Hey, we got something really sensitive we need to discuss." And she's like, "Oh yeah, of course." And she would actually scoot people out of the bar. Get them the fuck out. Clean those fucking tables. She is ridiculously nice. I feel like we arrive back at that bar and Malkus just kind of like bashes the door open, like just pushes it so it slams all the way around against the wall. And her name's Nala?

Nala, yeah. Nala, around and some privacy. We have business. There is one other person in this bar besides Nala. And both are going to flick their head toward the door as soon as the door makes the noise against the wall. And she's going to be startled for a second and then seeing that it's Malkus, who has already kind of developed a reputation in the short time that he's been there as a valued customer. First class. He drinks a lot. And she's going to kind of snap to, "Sure, of course, of course." And she is going to usher this older gentleman out of the bar.

And you can kind of hear her whisper, "You can come back later." And she's going to kind of pat him on the shoulder and send him off. Does he look like he's coping? He'll be fine. He looks like he lives in town. It could have been another Theo guy. Yeah. Yeah, Theo and then the elderly man. Theo and the old man. This is what we do, just go to bars and kidnap people. Make them into heroes? So you guys have this bar to yourself and she will bring you food, drink, whatever you guys are looking for, but you are alone. Which, by the way, I'm just throwing this out there.

This is the same setup as if everyone would like to go back into our feed and listen to episode 10, "The Aftermath." You guys go to a bar after that, the treaty signing, and kind of hash things out. History repeats itself. I mean, there's no better way to have a powwow. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I leave the floor to you. Malkus just kind of hunkers down and pours over the documents to, number one, see if it says everything they say, and number two, to get context for their actions. Do me a favor and roll a perception check. Perception? For reading? Okay, are you just looking it over, like glancing it over, or are you just delving into it and reading the whole thing?

I'm sitting down and reading. Okay, well then that's fine. So just reading. So it appears to be legitimate, firstly. This has the official wax seal, the whole nine. This appears to be official paperwork from the Overwatch when they were in full swing. Two, it documents several people. You haven't gotten the official "hit list" from Seraph, but you're guessing that at the very least some of these individuals were tied to what he's talking about. Otherwise, why bring this up? There is a complete documented mission from start to finish of these individuals being sent out into the field to accomplish something, and they sort of stumbled into a drow hideaway.

They made their way through, and then finding a door that was locked to them, they decided to blast through it. Unfortunately, this appeared to be some sort of drow nursery, or at least someplace where the drow were keeping their children, and apparently many of them died in the blast. That is pretty much everything. It is in black and white in this paperwork. Yeah, Malchus is just kind of pouring over it, and he does his first shot and then uses the shot glass as a magnifying glass for any fine print. *laughs* Classy. *laughs* So he's kind of reading and muttering and he says, "Well, this seems to more or less add up to what he described.

Agents of the Overwatch, explosives, Dark Elf children." Malchus is going to notice something else. *gasps* He's going to recognize a couple of the names listed. Okay. One being Jatze, Grace. The other being Fi, Larva. And the third being Una Hanawata. He did meet these individuals, albeit briefly. Yes he did. Mm. Hold on. The n-word. Hm? Could we...look at these. Didn't these people meet up with us at Winterhaven when we were staging the defense against the Overwatch assault? Yeah, we're just going to look down at the book. He's going to look back up at Malchus.

I'm sorry. *laughs* I seem to have left my glasses upstairs. Would you mind reading that for me? Yeah. Forgive him. He's a few drinks deep. Malchus...yeah. Malchus reads off their names. Una and Fi and Jensia. Kind of rings a bell. But I mean, you meet a lot of people. They could be anybody. I mean, admittedly, I wasn't around for the...of what went on afterward, but I know I met them. But I wasn't there long enough to see what transpired after. You don't know if they stuck around and fought on for the Overwatch or...maybe were infiltrators? Something else? I couldn't tell you.

Are they the ones that killed the kids? Apparently. Malchus doesn't know, but I guess...insight check on Yenward? I can't tell if Yenward's being misleading or not. No. Really? No, honestly, because keep in mind I haven't listened to a lot of those episodes. Right. No. I'm in the dark in-car. No, I know, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that was really on Yenward. Like, there's nothing to do with any of that. It's just... What would everyone else's impressions be of this? You say you met them, but not for very long and we already know that they lied to the Drow.

Because...they could have seen that the tables were turning and did what they could to save their skins. Doesn't make them good people. Hmm. True to us. Does it have any of the conversation about when they lied specifically in there? This is just the after action thing. This is just a report drafted by someone in the Overwatch. They rattle up everything that happened and this is completely documented. It has no interactions with Aurra or anything that would have happened after that. Well...okay. To Vayne, I was asking in character, so... Oh, I'm sorry. Jesus.

So assuming Malchus said that to Unite, well... If it doesn't specifically say that they lied, they may not have been lying depending on how the questions were asked. And also, if those reports don't say that they were specifically sent to kill the children, they were just doing what they were told, which would be setting off the explosives. Children aren't exactly subtle or quiet, generally. No. But if it was a locked door, it might have been a thick locked door. And it may have been nap time. She says that dead serious too. Diana's just kind of like, "Wait, you really just said that?

Like, what?" Sincerely. She's...okay. I don't condone the killing of children. However, it was a time of war and people are told to do things during that time that they may or may not want to do or may not know the full extent of what they're doing. This could be one of those instances where they went in with a mission and did what they were told, which is to set off the explosives to close up a tunnel. And that's all they did, knowing that they were setting off the tunnel. There are members of the Overwatch. I doubt they would have exactly balked at doing something against another race.

They did report that the children were killed, apparently, of their own free will. Seems like the kind of thing you might minimize if you were in a similar situation and regretted your actions. Or if they didn't know, then how could that information have gone back? Right. They could have found the bodies, I suppose. Regardless, we can project and speculate all we want. The only practical thing to do is to work with the information at hand. Assuming we're going to treat it as factually accurate. That's another point. But there's a further issue that we haven't even really gone over.

What is the city that... It's Esterhold, right? I'm terrible with proper nouns. No, no, no. Totally cold. What we haven't gone over is what is Esterhold like under their rule, and does it necessarily improve? Do we damn a bunch of people to tyrannical or unreasonable governance, assuming we do find these people reasonable targets? I don't understand why he also wants the leader of the Temple of Kord eliminated. That too. He never went over that did he? Well, Carter was originally a priest. Perhaps Esterhold is in even just somewhat of a similar situation with the local religion having power in the government.

Jason, can I make some kind of roll to know whether the cordites and the dro are buttonheads? Oh, give me a history check. If anyone else wants to join in, I take it discussing it is trigger enough to offer a check. Yeah! Big three! Boom! There's that natural 20. Rolling dice when it matters. It isn't that big of a deal. It's not a death saving throw, so you've got that going for you. No, you're... yeah. Still got that one crit on the speech. It's my one saving grace. Let's see here. None of the party can think of any direct conflict that might be coming from the followers of Kord and the drow specifically.

Malkus would know that none of the tenets of following Kord would specifically set them against another race just inherently because they're a different race. It's more about courage. It's more about someone having the courage to face someone else. If anything, it would be more of a trace amount of Kord followers, a little pissed off that drow tend to, if they're going to fight, they tend to be more assassins who fight with poison and they would sneak up behind and slit someone's throat. That would be the thing that would get under someone's skin if they were a follower of Kord.

But nothing in the actual, you know, the beliefs of the church. So racism basically. A little touch of it, a touch of it, but more a fighting style. It's more diametrically opposed philosophies, right? Like one is straightforward, strength of arms. The other one is shanky while you're asleep. If you believe it all drow like that, yes. No, no, no. Just the ones that... I'm just saying like just the ones that they have faced. But yes, if you... I'm not saying that there isn't a follower of Kord who isn't a racist because that's not true. I can't think of any specific confrontations between these elves and the church of Kord.

I suppose it could just be they don't believe the same sorts of things. Maybe it's just to remove the possibility of resistance, you know? It'd certainly be a stalwart force if they rebelled against the new order that Seraph would like to install in the town. And he also said he wanted his daughters taken out. True enough. Thanos just kind of like look at three and like, "Yes, and?" Like she's just kind of like not... Well, he's willing to kill his family. I mean, obviously he has no care for relatives and relations. So the fact that he's sticking up for other drow just because they're simply drow as opposed to family makes me feel uncomfortable, to say the least.

Perhaps he cares about other things or... I mean, we do nothing of his personal life. He used to say that he even had any relation with his children. But would they not also be drow? It depends. At least in part. Theo's gonna kind of thrust his hand up in the air like he has a question. Yes. You said you met some of them, right? The ones were maybe gonna kill? I believe so. Their names are familiar. Did they... did they seem like the type of people who would kill kids? I'm afraid I wasn't around long enough to be a good judge of their character. The n-word? No ideas?

You got nothing. Hmm. But, I mean, look though. They killed kids and their Overwatch. I mean, what's a few more Overwatch? I mean, the priest, we can ask about that later, but can we just agree that that's good enough for them? But King Jengr, what side at the battle in the Overwatch were they fighting on? The bad guy side. They were Overwatch. Which side were they fighting on? If you met them and walked away, then they weren't on the Overwatch side. You're arguing that they've redeemed themselves, perhaps, or at least intended to, hm? Yes. I participated in the battle as well and I never met these people.

So presumably they didn't take part at all. There was a large battle. It would be easy to lose track of them, I suppose. They already knew Jens word and some of the other party members that we had at the time, while I was just kind of shocked. Okay, so assuming this point is an impasse, what do we think about turning Esther Holt over to the drop? Turning Esther Holt over to the drop. It seemed to me like Seraph was making comments of two types. His interest was, for one, economic, and number two, one of creating a sort of enclave where less respected or subterranean races could come to the surface without fear of snap judgement.

Jason, quick question. Being as I lived in Evergreen, would I recognize any of the names, specifically Una, because of the fight in Kalkas? You know what? Do me a favor and roll a Streetwise check. See what the word on the streets was in the forest. Really? Streetwise? That one? I knew nothing. I lived on the outskirts. Yeah, you were Northern Evergreen. I was too busy planting. Different tribes, different circles. I tried. I mean, not even speaking of races, but rather of this particular collective of drow instead. I mean, do we have reason to believe that rulership of Esther Holt by them and any of theirs would be just to the people?

We don't know for certain that they would necessarily be ruling, just at least not in the long run. But they're asking us to perform what's effectively a political assassination. Diana's just going to go, like, she's waiting for you to continue. That does not phase her. Someone has to fill the vacuum. Why would they not put trusted parties in, people close to them, if they want to create this so-called enclave? Presumably, yes, you would need someone in charge, but I don't understand what your problem with this is. My problem is that if we go to observe Esther Holt in what appears to be a place of happy sunshine, peaceful living, and prosperous life, what right do we have to turn over its governance to people whose concerns are primarily overturning the demographics and finding financial gain from rulership of it?

Jason, did Serif mention anything about financial gain from Esther Holt? Well, he mentioned that he did say that it was a war of finance. He didn't necessarily say anything more about it, but it was more that the situation is skewed so that people like him could make an honest living. That kind of thing. He more insinuated it than anything else. Okay, so look, check it out. We have a week. We can go, we can meet people in Esther Holt, they can be mean to us, all of your worries can be absolved, we can mop the streets of some kitten killers, I can get my mountain back and everything will be great.

I understand your apprehensive. His voice is really creepy, but he hasn't given us any reasons not to trust him. Other than it's a shady way of trying to make a peaceful place. Sometimes you gotta crack some eggs. And we're talking about kitten killers here, man. It's not like we're killing some school children. They're the ones who killed school children. We're heroes. We're doing the right thing. This is good guy stuff, guys. We're killing leftover Overwatch. We're tying up loose ends. It's the problem. So let's pack up our things, go, find out they're all icky to people that don't look like them, we'll come back, shake hands, and we'll get this ball rolling.

What do you say? How far away is Esther Holt, Jason? Just a hop and a skip. It is the next town over. It's the next major city, and that would be to your west. Currently traveling, you're gonna have to go through Heroes' March, and it's gonna take you a couple of days to get there. Esther Holt is right on the cusp of the Blackrock Mountains. So the wildlife on the outskirts is a little dense, but the city itself is fine. So you getting there? Two, two and a half days unless you really book it. So we'd have at least a day there if we needed to take the temperature of the town and come back.

Oh yeah. I'm not gonna lie to you. Right now, my answer's a yes. If we go there and things aren't as he sold them to us, I'm willing to reconsider. But right now, everything he's selling me looks pretty good. Well I appreciate you remaining open-minded. See you soon. You've been quiet, cared to weigh in. So this whole time while everyone's been discussing, Sissun's had a flagon of milk, and he's been trying to put it to its head, but it's like dribbling on him, so he decides to pour it out into a bowl. And he's been lapping up the milk and listening, like his ears have been twitching and moving around listening to everybody speak.

So then the minute Marcus addresses him, picks up his head, he wipes off his mouth. Jason, quick question. The other race on T'Lor is Ghiscari? Ghisari. He looks up and then he's like, "That man, he is nothing more than a beggar king, and I will not bow. Yennward, I promised you that I would help you take back your mountain, but this, this I cannot be a part of. Currently, my home, we are locked in civil war. It is ongoing, forever churning, nothing changes, blood for blood. Do you not see, if we go chasing after these Overwatch people, and we kill them, somebody who loves them and cares for them will come after us and try to kill us.

I do not want to spend my life looking behind my back. I have to keep looking forward, Yennward. I made a pledge to you. I will help you get back your mountain, but I will not do it this way." Then he's going to look at Diana and he's going to say, "I also made a pledge to you. If this is what you choose to do, I must retract. I cannot be a part of something that I fear will bubble over into cataclysm. I am sorry. No." There does continue to be the other option, which is make new friends. You know, not rely on a questionable faction of drow. Drow, sorry, we see a drow here.

We could choose not to rely on them and try to rally people, what do I want to say, with whom we have more in common. Like-minded? That's a good one. I for one would be more comfortable, but I'm also trying to look at the practicalities and keep an open mind. Hence the analysis. He's going to stick his hand up in the air like he has a question. Malkus just kind of points a finger at him and he's like, "Ice guy." Oh wait, did he do lightning or ice? This was lightning, but he did say he has ice. Thunderfinger. Yeah, yeah, Thunderfinger, that's better. Okay, so they want us to do something for them.

Yeah. Which, I mean, doesn't that kind of mean they need us? That's what I've been saying. Well, why don't we just tell them that we have stipulations? I mean, the city's going to still be there, so what if we went and... ...talked to these people? I mean, they wouldn't know why we were there, right? We can kind of feel them out and if we still think that they might be...bad guys, then maybe we do something then? You're saying we talk directly to the party that we're being sent to assassinate? Right. That's one option. That's right, they don't know we're coming.

So, he's going to look up again? Is there like milk dribbling down his chin? No, no, no, no, no, no. Or was there? There was, but he wiped it off. Okay, cool. He's not a sloth-chaser. I'm just trying to get a picture, man. Do you not feel like you're being used? Theologist, like me? Like, specifically? No, I'm dressing like the whole group. Oh, go on, sorry. Do you not feel like you are being used? Why, if this man wants justice for his people because of all the racism... ...and his attempt to kill his own children, and now we must do the job? I am not a pawn to be used.

Yanward, you're a king. Yes. There must be other allies. I could not trust these people as far as I could throw them. You look pretty strong, you could probably throw one of them pretty far. But all that aside... They're here. Like, I have them. Everything else is, that's just... It's dreams, man. The Drow are here and they want to help me. Not everything presented to you is always a good thing. Just because the option is right in front of you does not mean you have to take it. Every road traveled, no? I don't know, man. Mopping up some kid killers and establishing a utopia city where everyone can get along sounds pretty sweet to me.

Are you... She seems to have lost himself. A utopia? To make a point, he's gonna like, ruffle through his, um, uh, like, sack... Oh god, that sounded terrible. His backpack? I don't know. Take out a map and like, spread it out and it's like a map of the mainland. Point. Point to a utopia. Yanward's gonna shrug. Yeah, but we can make one right now! Yanward, they are selling you false hope. They are selling you a dream. In fact, it is a nightmare wrapped in a beautiful package. Why must it be us? Same reason, I guess, why it has to be them. We're here. C'est suis is gonna take a deep breath, 'cause he doesn't feel like he's getting through to Yanward.

And he's just gonna say, "As you say, my king." He was gonna raise his hand again. See ya. Okay, again, if they need us, we could just kind of put stipulations in. Just tell them maybe we need more time? Maybe we wanna go talk to them? Maybe we wanna feel them out? I mean, if everything's the way they say it is, it should be pretty clear, right? I mean, if that's the... I mean, if that's the thing we're worried about, that they're not telling the truth. You guys got a point, guys. I can see where we might be perceived to have some leverage. But my gut tells me that we're being used as deniable assets.

That the goal is to have the appearance of clean hands on their end, and let us do the dirty work. I do tend to agree with C'est suis on the idea that a leap of faith may be the better choice in this situation. We strike out, we find allies who don't ask us to do questionable things. We get you your mountain with, well, as clean a hands as we tend to have. But cleaner than what we'll have if we work with the drow. I'm also open, however, to going and meeting our potential targets, seeing if they are who these reports say they are. That's the spirit. But know that if we walked out of this town's borders saying we were going to find different allies, that's the thing that I would be most atone with.

Lady Diana. Please, you of all people, do you not see why are we playing into their game? When he says she's going to jerk a little bit, like if anyone had been watching her before, she was a bit off into the distance, eyes glazed over a bit, but then she'll take a second. She'll also take a second and then look at C'est suis and just, we're using them as much as they're using us. They also want their home backs the same as the Minotaur. We scratch their back, they scratch ours. It's not a matter of being used, it's a matter of making friends. And not making new enemies.

I'm not trying to keep them out of the mountain too. We're, it was shared before, it can be shared again. This is a lot of pressure. This is about justice for child murderers, or justice for a race of people who have been looked down upon. This is about one madman's power hungry drive to take over a small town for gold or whatever it is. Why do you people not see we are being used? And I don't care about using them to use us. I do not understand any of this. What I understand is these are very bad people. I do not want to get in bed with bad people. We have no reason to believe that they're bad.

To this day I have not seen a piece of our trophy. He's got a point. They likely don't realize the cultural or the significance it has for you or they're also preparing to fight a war to regain their home. They need everything they can get. Lady Diana, excuse me if I speak out of turn, but do not presume to patronize me. These people are not good people. I cannot get that through your heads and I do not understand why. Look at the bigger picture. For one second take a step back. This is not our fight. Well, the mountain is Yenward's fight. He needs forces to take it back.

Which is why, as we're at an impasse, how about this alternative? Instead of using the week we've bought ourselves to go to Esterhold, we spend that week going somewhere else with sympathies towards any one of us, favors owed. If we can find a force that is at least reasonably close to, if not as powerful as the Drow force. If within that week we can find a pitch for an ally that leaves us less uneasy, Yenward, would you be willing to accept that method instead? If you find me an option as feasible as the Drow and not as creepy, then I will gladly tell Seraph no.

But I'm gonna tell you, Malchus, it's a week. I don't think you're gonna be able to get a dime. Susan's gonna stand up. You have a deal. I will do everything in my power. Okay, Jason, what cities are within a week's travel of where we are now? Well, you guys got options. Good luck, Rick! Oh, by the way, we're not going back to that place. Okay. So that's option out. Okay. Well, let's see. You're just talking about the journey there, not a round trip? Just the journey there, because we can't, well, sure, just the journey there. So if you're extending a one-way trip in seven days, barring any real catastrophes, you could make it to Uminiro, you could make it back to Brightport.

Ooh, they have magic. And there's a house Hammerhand there in Brightport. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Continue. You could make it to Donhurst, Durnhollow, you could make it to Esterhold, and if you really booked it, I'm talking like you stopped minimally and nothing really got in your way. You could get to either Winterhaven or Overwatch. Do you know what the funny thing is? We've done this before, but it's fine. I really wish we had some kind of fast travel system in this world to get around from place to place in really good times. They're called horses. You got horses?

Is there anything faster than horses? There is a courier/mail service in Theria, right? There is a courier/mail service in Theria? Oh, there sure is. Because they seem to get places quickly. Well, I mean, they're doing it the same way you do on horseback. So I'd like to have like ten guys just to make sure my letter gets to one person just in case. I mean, there's always the chance, do you ever see the postman? There's always a chance that just like that person ends up in a ditch. Messages just sometimes don't get there. Now, sending something by Raven is a bit more...

It's how he's gonna say it. Alright, Malgus. Known parties who hate dwarves enough to help us evict them from a mountain. Now, that is an interesting question. Do me a favor, give me a history check, sir. Can I prime the party to do it with me? I don't see why not. Wow, never mind Sassoon. He's new to the continent, guys. Dwarves? What are dwarves? Twenty-three. Oh, all the proactive knowledge checks going on here. Thank you. Okay, Malgus and Diana would have a think. And there are a lot of races that hate the dwarves. The dwarves have not made many friends. And you're talking about...

See, the thing is, if you're talking about enough hatred that they would openly help you murder them and evict them, or at the very least ask them to leave the mountain and hand it back. Obviously the Minotaur, the Drow come to mind the fastest. In a pinch... Well, this is unfortunate. The Warforged? Loves. Yeah, that's... A pitch could be made to the elves. But, if you're talking about a race in Theria that hates the dwarves more than the Drow and perhaps the Minotaur combined, you're talking to Orcs. Let's do it. We unleash them. We ground them up and we just unleash them like in Gremlins 2.

If you think the Drow are bad, like a shaky ground to stay on, allies... No, but here's the thing though. The Orcs will just kill, go crazy and probably kill us. I can deal with that. The Drow will go behind our backs and then kill us. That's long for man. If you're gonna fight me, fight me. Don't go behind my back. But we don't know for a fact that the Drow would even do that. There's no proof of that. That's racism, man. Damn right it is. Mr. What's-His-Face in there playing the race card every two minutes. Our people got picked on. Oh, look at us when you think of us.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, Drow and Drow. Drow lives matter. Preach. Preach. Drow lives matter. Okay, so to actually be honest, I don't know that the Orcs are that great an option just because I feel like... They're too unstable. They're too fucking crazy. Yeah, yeah. Anything we'd offer to give them, it would just be to give a mouse a cookie except the mouse would be a raging Orc. So elf leverage? Malchus looks too tevene. That could do something. Do you have friends in leafy places? If you mean the Evergreen, then yes. Based on your time with them, can you imagine them being eager to join a fight against the Dwarves?

I don't know if they would be... You could roll a streetwise check if you like. Thank you. I'm being streetwise? Actually, hold on. Streetwise, but give me a plus two because this is not... this is just your general perception. You live there. Okay, so, 24. To tevene, it would depend. The elves are kind of in a shitty spot right now. They're dealing with a major loss to their homeland. A good portion of the Evergreen was burned down by Strahd. They lost a ton of people in the war with the Overwatch. They're kind of going through this big transitional thing. Now, there really isn't a ton of love lost with the Dwarves just because of their previous history.

Everyone do me a favor and roll a history check. Okay. Oh, come on. Damn it. Our god of the net can remember anything he wants from a book. Malchus, come here. Let's see. History, history, history. Diana and Malchus again. Books. That's the English problem. This is kryptonite. Diana and Malchus would know that while the... traditionally the elves might be able to be convinced to help with the Dwarves, the elves were the ones who drove the drow underground in the first place. There was a massive event that occurred at a place now known as Betrayal Ridge between one of the old elven leaders and one of the old drow leaders.

Now, the good news is that Brittana Moonshadow has worked tirelessly in the recent history to sort of mend that bridge and help out the drow. Uh-huh. But there's a lot of bad blood there, though, is the thing you'd have to work through it. Well, but if we make our pitch not involving the drow at all and just say, "Hey, you know what would be really cool? An elf nation and a minotaur nation as next-door neighbors and really good buddies that could help each other out for the next many decades." You're literally giving the drows home to the elves? Is that your pitch?

No, no, no. It's... we're saying the minotaur will take back their top half of the mountain thing and then because... Leave that other part out. Yeah, and just like because of the wonderful cooperation that the elves had with the minotaur and helping them get their home back, suddenly we have peaceful neighbors and lucrative trade and minotaur might to, uh, what's the word, compliment elven grace. They would be magnificent neighbors. And then someone would think about this. If you took over the mountain without the drows, they'd be coming up to you again and be like, "Yo, please let us in, let us in, we need you." I don't think that's how that would work.

I don't think that's how that would work. I think they would use exactly that voice. I think that's how they would sound. I could literally go back on the... Because he'd get the mountain back for all the minotaurs. His pitch is here. That's a sin. Well, because this is getting a little late, let's put it to a vote. In character, what would everyone like to do? I like what Tom said about finding him... sorry, Yenward said about finding him help within a week. That's my thing. I'm voting for that. Okay. Malchus says, "Go elves." Meaning? Meaning go and see if we can get the elves to help the minotaur in exchange for a future of neighborly cooperation.

Sorry, but specifically, are we only going for minotaurs? Damn it, you're a minotaur. Are we only going for elves or are we going for... I think it's what time allows. Yeah, we have time to get to one and make a great case. Just one? Okay. What other races are around? We could have gone... you said we could get to Uminiro, right? I don't think we have complete opposite direction, but yes. Yeah, like you said, we have options. Uminiro wants nothing to do with the mainland. That's their thing. Maybe there's some magic shit underneath the mountain they might want to research.

I don't know. Yeah, but I don't know the genocide. That worked out so well last time. Okay, well we can do it again. Physically meet with the elves, send mail to the rest of the parties, and hope for couriers to return. And ravens. Are the only white ravens that use ravens, Jason? Pretty much. Damn it. There are people who communicate using birds and stuff like that, but that's their thing. Okay. Do we know of any white raven hideouts or coalitions? Some of the party does. Within this vicinity? Within ravens' reach, yeah. Like you could... yeah, some of the party knows exactly where.

Cool, then get your links together people. Let's get some hookups going. Come on, let's keep it moving. How big of a force is Winterhaven's Force comparable to what the drow have? If you were to get them to agree to help? Oh yeah, they have an army. Hmm. The Dragonborn! Oh no, but then again they're doing their own thing now. I'm missing it. Well, okay, I feel like this isn't as simple as everybody throw a vote out because... Well then, let's do this. Let's narrow this down. Is the agreement to go with Seraph or Clad and Meyla, or seek help elsewhere and use that week to pretty much get as far away from Fairbay as possible?

I say strike out on our own and try to get help. Yeah, Amalkus is for seek help elsewhere. Devain's for strike out. Yeah, and what I believe your answer was if you guys can find a reasonable answer within that. If you have a week and if you have a reasonable answer, then I'll tell Seraph now. Okay. Democracy, bitches! We're not trying to make enemies with the drow. Right, but we're also trying not to be hired knives. So this was tumultuous guys, but I feel like you did a really good job of... The old Group 1 would still be arguing, end of the night. Loudly.

Nobody left, nobody walked off. That's fantastic. Yeah, dude, it's really good. I think that's a pretty good time for us to wrap things up for the night, and I want to thank each and every one of you guys for making the time to do it twice in a month. No, thank you. Yeah, good times guys. I liked it. Okay, I'm gonna get out of here. I want to get ready for bed. I love you all. Take care. I will talk to you guys later. Bye. Wait, wait, wait, let's continue this discussion on the group page. Yes, I would love to, but we'll see. Jump on the group page and see what's going on, and we'll discuss where you guys are going to go next.

Hey everybody, Jason here. I hope you guys enjoyed today's show. If you want to support us, you can go to patreon.com/dandr, and just for one dollar, there's a ton of content you can get. We always appreciate five star reviews on iTunes. You can visit us on Facebook at facebook.com/dungeonsandrandomness. You can also find us on Twitter at twitter.com/dnrpodcast, and you can find us online at dnrpodcast.com. There are forums there. There's a wiki. It's all been completely renovated, so the wiki is completely up to date. Steve Tremblay keeps pretty good track of that, so even the timeline is up to date.

It's beautiful. The forums have been crazy active with the new group four that went up, so thank you very much, and we will see you next week.