The Return to Brightport

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The randomness source swing by the site, check stuff out, send us an email, uh, dnrpodcast@gmail.com. You get the idea. Thanks a lot. Alright, let's go around the room and do some introductions. I'm Jason, I'm the Dungeon Master going around the room with Danielle! I am Danielle, I play Trixie, the Drow Assassin. And Alana? Hello, I'm Alana, I play Braneth, I'm a cleric elf and I've been a very bad, bad girl. And Tyson? Hey, I'm Tyson, I play Galford, the gnome warlock asshole. And Brian? Uh, I'm Brian, I play the mole-rooted demon priest. And Megan? Hi, I'm Megan, I am Tala, the Ravenclaw shifter who is shifting to a zombie.

Are you a Ravenclaw now? Razorclaw. Whatever. I thought we were playing Potter. I belong in House Ravenclaw just so we're clear. People are writing fanfiction. I'm sorting hats, hats, oh. Hufflepuffs wears hats. So let's recap real quick what happened last time. You guys made it out of Ona Kaul, so congratulations on that. Firstly, there were, however, a couple of complications. Tala, as we all know, was bitten and she is not so slowly dying in front of you, actually. And she will reanimate after she dies. Valus was resurrected by Baranath. Bitch. So... So that's kind of interesting, and we'll see what happens with that later today.

But I would say he helped you guys escape the city. Picked up my fat ass. You had one bad roll, you know, it just happened to be a really bad time to have a bad roll. Going down the stairs. So what we're going to do is start out today. You guys, after escaping the city, came across a lovely man with a wagon heading into the city making a delivery. And strangely enough, he was by himself, which doesn't usually happen. There's usually a caravan of people, there's some guards, there's stuff going on. So what we're going to do is, you guys have been on the road now for about a day.

And you're on the outskirts of the desert at this point. And this has been quite a quiet wagon ride thus far. Is there anything you guys would like to do, speak to each other, anything like that before we advance? Anyone want to stop for a potty break? I'm going to be riding in a wagon for a day. It's true. You might want to stretch your legs, something like that. We can do that, I'll stay near Trixie. Now, here's the cool thing about you guys riding in a wagon. Keeping out of the sun, this is a nice covered wagon. Tal's condition has not worsened as of yet.

Partially because you guys have kept out of the sun, she's able to lay down and you're not running around constantly. Which was one of the big problems in Onakol. So her condition hasn't decreased any. But she still is, I believe you made it to stage 3 last time we sat down. That's correct. Can I keep working my healing mojo to help with pain relief and stuff? Yeah, you absolutely can. That's fine. It won't help her condition of course. But yeah, this is more acting like a painkiller type thing. So you guys have brought the wagon to a halt and you've all jumped out and kind of stretching your legs and kind of fan out a little bit.

Started peeing everywhere, good job. So Valus kind of separates himself from the party. Just kind of stands off by himself a bit. Staring toward the direction of north. It'd be towards Brightport. This is just a large expanse of sand. There really isn't anything on the horizon other than more sand. We're on the outskirts of the desert. Yeah, you're on... Whereas the further you head into the desert, you're going to catch glimpses of things moving beneath the sand and things like that. If you don't know where to go, you're going to get ambushed. There's awful, horrible things out there.

And of course you'll see cactus and cacti and all types of things like that. But other than that, it's mostly just more and more and more sand. It's incredibly easy to get lost unless, again, you know where you're going. Luckily, you just followed the tracks made by the wagon on the way out. Plus this guy seems to know what he's doing. You're gathering that maybe to keep costs down on deliveries, he's just making the run alone or maybe circumstances just had him doing it by himself. Whatever the reason, he seems to have made this trip many times. So what's his attitude towards us right now?

He's just resigned to the fact that he's taken the trip, but he's still pissed? He's pissed. Yeah. It's still risking your life. You guys are dead broke, so he's getting no money from that. You took his wagon, even though he's still aboard and you could have left him to die. But yeah, that's a dangerous trip to make and to get nothing for it. The wagon's filled with bags of grain, things like that, some fresh produce. Nice. Yeah, so there's that. And of course water. But that's more personal use. That wasn't really for delivery as Onakol has its own water source.

What was he delivering? The grain, produce, things like that. This is just stuff that they can't grow there in Onakol, they get imported. There are towns on the outskirts of the desert where they actually grow things and they'll pay a pretty penny to actually ship in things like apples. Just regular stuff that people take for granted, they obviously can't grow in the desert. And they make enough money from slave trade and entertainment and things like that. It's kind of like Las Vegas out in the middle of the desert. That's the only thing people go out there for, is to bet on whether slaves kill each other or giant scorpions or whatever.

Not that that's happening anymore, but... Clearly. They're in a recession. Yeah, time's tough. Okay, so I'll finish up my leak and walk over to Rikas and just say, where do we go after this? Assuming that we find some miraculous cure for Fortala, what do you do after this, Rikas? What's your commitment to this gathering of people? I guess my commitment would just be to... I feel like we have something better to do. Making it out of here wasn't necessarily in the detailed plans, but I just have in my head and in my heart, I feel like this group was brought together for a number of reasons.

But I feel like even after we find this cure for Tala, there's going to be another piece of the puzzle that we're going to be looking towards. I agree with you in theory. Part of this is just a disaster that I can't turn away from. This is the wreckage that I want to see where it goes. I don't wish that Talisa comes to the zombie bite. It's not a pleasant way to go. And many times I've felt my connection to this group dwindling due to the way that I'm sometimes unfairly treated for my opinions. But I would say I would stick with you until we at least resolve this current chapter.

How do you feel about our guide, the tiefling? What do you feel about him? He's definitely... It's kind of a mystery because none of us have a big connection to him outside of Baranath. And I just feel like at this point, outside of the gentleman that we more or less said, "Hey, you're coming with us!" I think at this point he's our best shot to get out of the desert and at least get Tala the help that hopefully she can get out of the sickness that she's feeling. See, we don't know enough about him. I mean, one of my things is that, sure, he wants to be away from the Slave City too, no matter who he is.

But I don't know, frankly, if I trust him. And I would liken an explanation from the elf on why she felt that he was so valuable to resurrect, besides her own pathetic guilty conscience is what seems to be the most obvious. Riggis will kind of roll his eyes a little bit as you refer to Baranath as the elf, but then just look at you and say, "My theory is very simple. I didn't have an expansive growing up. I didn't have a big, huge expansive learning. But I have just a few simple theories. I fight for the person that's fighting next to me. That's a simple thing, especially with this group.

That's something that's carried on throughout every battle. But also, I respect and trust anyone that I come in contact with until they do something otherwise. And I feel like while Baranath may have not made the best choice for the group, she has her reasoning behind it, and she has what she believes to be a good decision. And until I hear it from her, and not form any opinions, I will trust her and Thallus and the direction that we're headed towards. Well, let's hear it from her. We're stopped here. She's right over there. I'd like to hear a little more about what makes her so confident that we're not traveling with some murdering tyrants, or in the middle of the night he's going to make off with our fingers and our ears as trophies.

It doesn't seem like Baranath has been particularly stable since some of her arena battles. Now that we're out of danger, maybe a little more calm explanation on why she throws so much faith behind Valus, and maybe has wasted a valuable resurrection scroll that someone else could have used. I mean, I know if I was bitten, I'd sure want that resurrection scroll in your hands, Rikuus. Yeah, but see, you just... we don't know. Like, we're working off... I feel like we're working off very little facts and very little true statements outside of what we can see in front of us, which is not anything to be ashamed of.

We're working off of what we know. But I feel like there's more to the story and there's more to what things led to her choice to actually do this. So I feel like while she may or may not owe us an explanation, I feel like it's slightly unfair to her for us to be damning her for the choice she made already when we don't know... We don't know how this is going to end. We don't know what Valus's opinion is of all of us. We know his opinion of Baranath, but we don't know the opinion of all of us. We don't know what his agenda is. We just... we gotta get... we gotta get more information about this before we can really make a solid opinion about it.

Alright, I think we can all have a chat with Valus while we're traveling. We certainly have enough time on our hands. But in the meantime, before we get back in this wagon, I think the elf owes us a little bit more of an explanation. If you feel that way. I will... before we walk over there, Galford, I just want to remind you, if... if... if Valus steps up here, I... and... and it starts to get into a heated discussion, I'm gonna pull you away because we don't need this added drama right now. We need to be focusing on getting Tala cured and getting forward with our... whatever this is.

Whatever we're going towards. We need to make sure that we stay focused. I... I agree with you, Rikas. I just... I... I just think that this should be information gathering. Let's go over there and we'll talk... talk with our comrade because... I mean, maybe not necessarily for me, but I... I... I think she owes an explanation at least to... at least a better explanation to Tala. So let's... let's walk over to... to Baranath and I'll say, Baranath, my friend Rikas here, you know, I think as we all do, he... he feels that, you know, you owe us a little bit more of an explanation of why you felt Valus was so valuable to be brought back to the life and... and as we said before, maybe have damned other members of this group and then I'll stand behind Rikas.

Just totally throw him under the bus, make it look like it was his idea. Oh, great. So you'll facepalm. So, Baranath, where are you? I'm... I'm sitting a few feet away from you working my healing mojo on you, so... but far enough away so I don't freak you out. Okay. I'm whispering under my breath like sad... like sad angry things. As Baranath is kind of working her healing mojo, I will scoff a little bit and kind of facepalm at Galford and just kind of lean down to Baranath and look at her and obviously while she's very concentrated with her healing, but just look at her and say, "Hey, I know you have a lot of enemies with us right now and you don't need another enemy.

I may not know every single thing that you wanted to accomplish with bringing... bringing Valus back. I know you probably have your own theories and how you were brought into this group wasn't completely fair, obviously. So I'm not going to be another enemy. I may not completely support what you're doing. I may not completely understand your logic behind it, but I'm here for the entire group, not just one or two people. I don't have my own separate agenda. I'm here for the entire group. So if you have any need to talk, if you want to just kind of... I know you probably have a lot going on in your head.

If we ever have another time where we're stopped and away from everybody else, I'm more than willing to talk to you. Rikuus, take off the kid gloves. When you're dealing with kind of a selfish manipulator like her, you just got to come right out and say it. Elf, stand up and tell us why you did this. You owe us an explanation of why you brought the tiefling back to life. Rikuus will turn around and kind of put his arm against Galford's chest and kind of push him back a few steps and just go, "Look, I told you we were going to have a calm conversation.

If you want to make this a heated discussion, you can do this without me." I'm completely calm. I'm completely calm. I would just like an explanation. You're being disrespectful is what you're doing. Okay, Braneth is going to get up and interrupt this right now and look straight at Galford and say exactly what's on her mind. So I owe you an explanation, do I? And I'm going to look around and make sure Valus is not too close. Is he very close? No, he's kind of off to the side by himself. Alright. So let's have a little talk about exactly what I owe you because never mind the consequences of the things that you've all done and the world that exists beyond the six inches between your ears, what do I owe you as far as I'm concerned?

I owe you nothing. No, wait. Hang on. That's not entirely true because I think I certainly owe all of you a great deal of thanks. Thanks for running into me in Brightport and dragging me into your little party here. And I suppose I owe you thanks for saving me from that white dragon. You fools. You murdered. You stole for money. You didn't save me. That dragon was never after me. It was after you. And being forced into the sewers. Yes. Thank you for that. Covered in filth and attacked by swarms of rats. Thank you. And for the lie. Wrong place, wrong time. Hey, Galford.

And oh, this was all just a big misunderstanding, huh? I really need to thank you, Galford, for that lie. And to the rest of you, certainly for letting that happen, for keeping the truth from me. It's a real credit to your honor. And thank you now for my life and for what it means to be alive now. A lifelong slave, chattel property of a thug. And in my first day of freedom, I made a vow to protect you with my life. I was a healer. Now I'm a murderer. And the city of Vah Nakhal is dead. And I have a target on my back. I haven't thanks enough for what you've given me.

I haven't tears enough for what you've done to me. And I'm going to cape switch walk away. Wow. I'm going to go sit kind of on the back of the caravan because I need to seriously cool off right now. Rob is just calling his lawyers. Initiate Sue and he hits a big red button. Riku's jaw drops. Wow. OK, so Galford being a prick is going to is going to kind of back away from Riku's quite slowly, unassumingly, hobbit like and kind of sneak around the other side of the caravan and walk up to Brandon. And it's just just sort of throw up, hold up his arms a little bit and just say, you know, hold on.

I, I don't want any don't want to fight. But really, I mean, who are you trying to convince? Are you trying to convince us? Are you trying to convince yourself? And you never answered the question. I mean, there is there is another reason why you brought him back to life. And I don't know if you're trying to keep it from the rest of the group, but there's something that you're not telling us. And you at least give me some type of indication that you're a creature like I am. You probably know the value of a resurrection scroll and no amount of personal strife can explain why he was the one chosen from all of the people that have died because we're all murderers, as you say.

And liars. I'm that was one of my betters. It did give did put you at ease at the moment. But I just I just need to know. I mean, if I had that scroll, I would pick somebody. But I have a damn good reason for why I resurrected them. Or maybe I'd hire someone to resurrect me. I don't know. But it's just it's it's curious to me. And I'm hoping you'll at least let me in on a little bit of it. Just speaking from, I don't know, one magic user to another. So Branath has gone from shaking with anger to a little more relaxed now. I, Galford, I don't believe this. Do you do you really believe I would gamble Talos life for to satisfy my own conscience?

I don't. That's that's the thing is that I don't believe that this was just selfish guilt or your or your crush on tieflings. I don't know. You really don't get it. You really don't see this, do you? I mean, I see myself falling into a pit at the hands of a you know, maybe a demon that's living up to his name. And I see you spouting your guilt and your regret over killing someone that I don't know. Maybe you had some affinity towards, but that just doesn't seem like enough of a reason for him to be the one to bring us back. OK. I'm sure Katie or Sil could have fought zombies and rode a carriage out of the city if it was something just to alleviate your guilt.

OK. I wonder if you want to maybe check the plumbing on your magical tap, because I don't know how you cannot feel this. You got to know this. You're a magical creature like I am. I'm in the dark in light. Enlighten me. I'm in the dark and my magical tap is is just fine. On that day in the arena, when I struck him down, I saw a strike on hundreds of thousands of innocents. When he fell, I saw the fall of nations. When I killed him, it all came to me like a living, waking nightmare. When I killed him, I killed us all. Something is coming. Something something dark, something bigger than us, bigger than dark Spain, bigger than the disaster at Onacol.

For the good of the world, Valis must be here to stand against it. And I don't know how to explain it, but what I know is that he's he's he's a leader in in the fight to save our future. I had and I had this one chance. I had to bring him back. I knew it. I knew I knew that there was some other reason. I mean, I don't know how, but I mean, you you were trying to convince yourself of the reasons of bringing him back. But you just you just laid it out right there. You maybe had some type of premonition for him. I mean, I'm still not convinced whether he's maybe some savior, as you say, or potentially the destroyer of all of us.

But you've obviously placed some other importance on him based on a premonition you had when you also melodramatically vomited in the arena. But I knew it. There was more to this. And I know a little bit about what it's like to have, you know, sort of premonitions about destinies and things. And you offered to sort of roll his eyes and kind of like point his thumb around the edge of the caravan at RICUS, like sort of comically like don't just I'll leave it at that. But I'm I think we understand each other a little bit better that whether you choose to share this with the rest of the group, that some type of premonition assisted in your reasons for bringing back Valis.

So I'm convinced that he's maybe a little bit more important now. So I'll I'll leave you to your brooding and maybe we can have a bit better understanding. Branath is satisfied and has decidedly hate Skelford less. I'll I'll I'll still like kind of have a really smart me kind of smile and a wink kind of like it and walk away. Brandon kind of looks around and she's kind of looking for a friendly face to kind of explain herself to, because despite how strongly she feels about what she's done, that it was the right thing. She still feels immeasurable guilt about what Tala is enduring right now.

But she doesn't quite have it in her to approach her at this time. I walk over to Brandon for a moment after, you know, taking my arm from around Tala and telling her it's going to be OK and walking over to Brandon for a moment. Yeah. Sure. Brandon, I understand that guilt is a very powerful part of your life. I understand. I don't hate you for what you did. I understand completely. Just please, in the future, think through these things before you do them. Talk to us before you do them. I'm sorry for what we got you into. I'm sorry for all of this, but we're here now and we can't change that.

So please, if you're going to be a part of our group, then just think these things through and talk to us. You know, you can talk to me. I just don't I don't like being left in the dark. Despite the way things started and the way things have gone so far, you know, don't don't don't misunderstand my my anger is hatred. I don't bear any ill will against any of you. And you're the closest thing to a family that I have now. Please believe that I'm going to do everything I can to bring a cure to Tala and that you'll get nothing but the best of me in in our fight to to make it through this alive.

Be kind of looks over at at Tala with just, you know, just sadness and remorse and and kind of hides back in the caravan. I offered to walk out kind of into the clearing. He's kind of stretching his injured leg and he's like, my leg feels considerably better. I mean, just resting and not running has done wonders. You know, we we have a mission now to to head back into Brightport and heal our comrade here. Everyone want to get going and we'll we'll carry on here. It comes across as really phony when I'm saying that. Also, can I have my full speed back? I don't need my cane anymore.

Or is that permanent? No, it's not permanent. I did. I was going to give it to you at the end of the journey anyway. It's a few days off your feet. Yes. OK, I'm going to keep the cane just for aesthetics, but because it's fly. That's why you keep it. It's awesome. Every time I clear a tactical every time I kill someone or lie or betrayal, put like a little notch in it. Oh, wow. So before we get ready to leave, Rheekus will calmly approach Valus from behind and just kind of not really tap him on the shoulder or anything, but just kind of walk up on his left hand side and kind of start looking in the direction that Valus is looking in.

And before really trying to chat to Valus or anything like that, just saying, look, you obviously have a skill set that's very valuable to our group. And while there's going to be a lot of differing opinions about whether or not you should have been brought back, I trust you. And I trust you as long as you don't do anything to take away that trust. So I hope you can get our group to safety. I hope we can get Tala cured and I just hope that we can do what we're do what we're set out to do for a better good. I'm kind of poking my head out of the wagon right now and just kind of not really listening, but kind of just looking at Valus.

He's he's still staring off kind of in the middle distance. But he says we need to make a stop. There's the town of White Hedge. It's about a half a day's ride from here. And then there's kind of a long silence and he says, I won't be long. OK. Can you tell us why we would be stopping at that city? He says, I'll tell you when we get there. It's on the way. Like it's not out of the way, but it is a stop. So since Valus is considerably taller than Rikas, Rikas will kind of look up at Valus and his eyes and just kind of stare at him for a moment and nod quietly, just kind of giving him a kind of a respectful nod and just saying, all right, as long as as long as it helps us get Tala to safety, we can stop.

He turns he gets ready and turns back towards the wagon and he stops and looks back at you and says, I'll do everything in my power to cure your friend. Rikas will nod and tell him I appreciate it. Tala has been kind of watching that conversation from a distance. She'll come out of her like little hiding spot and kind of slowly walk up to Valus, look at him for a minute and then give him a quick hug and run away. He doesn't he doesn't move his arms or anything or try to hug you back. He just kind of stands there for a minute and not really shocked, just kind of quizzical, just kind of looking at you more like, OK, maybe her fever spiking or something like that.

Just kind of. And Valus returns to the wagon. Are you guys you guys heading out or you want to talk a little more or what would you guys like to do? Let's head out. And everybody cool with that or? I think we need to get back on the road. I think we need to not waste any time. Anyone think while we're driving, we should have a little chat with the driver that we. That's maybe not a bad idea while we're driving. See what's up with him. And actually, how is our how is our carriage propelled? Is it like big lizards or horses or what's pulling it? I figured it was a big lizard thing because it was a desert.

No, it's actually more of a cross between an oxen and a camel. Kind of they look like specially especially bred animals. OK, but camels. Yes, I'm going to name him Fluffy. Gelford's kind of extra jovial and sort of an annoying way, like he's kind of bouncing up and down in the back of the carriage a little bit, sort of like we're going on an adventure and kind of like elbowing Rick is a little bit. And it just seems strange that he's seems positive or rejuvenated a little bit. It's just a little bit inappropriate. You just just casually look at Gelford and go, hey, do you want to have another broken leg?

And, you know, I'll kind of clap Rick is on the arm and go, no, we're we're going to she'll be healed. We'll be fine. We'll be back to Brightport. You're right, Rick. We've got things to do. So the driver who isn't really driving anymore so much as a passenger is just kind of sitting kind of her off with his arms crossed, just pouting, not not he's he's hating this entire situation. He feels cheated and he's been really silent this entire time beyond the initial, hey, what the hell are you doing? OK, I'm getting in this this wagon, I guess. So what did you want to say to him?

We should probably explain to him that the ambush was kind of an emergency and that there's nobody to receive that delivery. Unless he was delivering brains, he wasn't getting paid. Yeah. Is he like is he near us? Is there because I'm trying to like think about the actual wagon. Like, is he can we see with this is this is not that large. Like this is think of think of it like a van, that type of thing. You're all kind of crammed in the back except for Riggis, I guess, who's driving. So this is think of it like an old covered wagon type of thing. OK, so I mean, everyone's within earshot.

Everyone's crammed into this thing. It's not it's not a situation where it's expansive or anything. OK, so I'll kind of like lean slash crawl kind of towards the driver and just lean my head forward a little bit so he can at least see my face and go, hey, how's it going? He just he just kind of he doesn't move his head. He just kind of like moves his eyes over towards you and just just staring daggers at you. Look, we haven't been properly introduced. I'm Riggis and our group, we're a group of former slaves and we apologize very, very much. We want to apologize very deeply for the fact that we more or less kind of hijacked your hijacked your wagon.

I imagine you expected to get paid for dropping off your load and dropping off everything that you were delivering. But the situation was on the other side of that gate that you were trying to get into was nothing but zombies. And we do apologize for just kind of like grabbing your arm and taking you with us. But we do appreciate the ride and we just we do feel awful about the fact that we just more or less kind of grabbed you and forced you to go along with us. But we did it both for our safety and your safety. We wanted to get out of that city as quickly as possible just because the situation was getting so dire.

And when you're mentioning zombies, he kind of like lifts an eyebrow up. And after you make your introduction, says, Charles, it's a pleasure. And yes. OK, I'll bite. Why is the city filled with zombies? Riggis will kind of just kind of stick out his tongue a little bit out of his mouth a little bit, kind of the corner of his lip and just go, your guess is probably as good as mine. We we really we got a few tidbits of information, but we really didn't get anywhere further than what you know, probably at this point. We just know that something happened.

We woke up one morning and a lot of undead were just walking around the city. So Riggis do me a favor. Roll Bluff check. OK. OK. This guy's bullshit detectors going off like crazy. And he says, yeah, I'm I'm sure you trustworthy lot. You have no idea why the look is it something the guards are going to get under control by next week? Because I got another delivery. I got a living to make here, guys, assuming you're not going to kill me. I take my card. I can safely promise you we won't be killing you. Great. That means a lot, at least not deliberately. Yeah, actually, we tend to have it.

We won't be killing you. Yeah, you guys have a terrible track record with meeting people and them staying alive. Hey, Brent, still alive, damn it. Yes, that's that's true. That's the one that's barely. We got a destination or are you just running? Where are we taking the wagon? Riggis will kind of look back at Valis a little bit like you want to you want to mention where you want to stop off before we get any further, anywhere further. Valis leans down next to the driver and he's just looming over this guy. And it's not intentional. It's just he's he's really imposing and again, covered in gore because you guys haven't had a shower or anything and you're riding around in the hot desert now for a while.

So the wagon stinks. I'm just going to just going to let you know. And he leans down to the driver and says, if you know of a way we can get to Whitehead quickly, that would be most helpful. And he's asking genuinely, like in the nicest fashion that Valis can ask. But it comes off as this bubbling threat just because that's that's that's that's the presence this guy brings. And the driver kind of goes wide eyed and he's reaching out with his right hand, but keeping eye contact with Valis the entire time. And he's kind of like grabbing at Riggis's shoulder.

And he says, you're going to want to you're going to want to lean to the left up here. Just lean away from the tracks, but not too far. And you you you get the you get the feeling again that this guy knows kind of knows at least this stretch of desert. He's made this trip more than a few times. He knows what to avoid and where to go. Tala. Yes, sir. Here's what we are going to do. It has been a while since we've had you make a check. So what we're going to do is this is a plus 10 versus your fortitude. Holy shit. OK. That's a twenty five. So what we're going to do is advance you to stage four.

Yeah. Stage four, you have no healing surges, none. Negative two attack rolls and negative two to your fortitude. She's got two healing potions, though. You do still have two healing potions. You are also slowed. Which means the max speed you can move is two spaces. So you you just feel this wave of of pain and and such strike you. This is noticeable by everyone at this point. This is not something. This is not something you're hiding. This is pretty advanced at this point. Is there anything you guys would like to do in this situation? I'm going to offer some more pain relief.

And that's that's doing very little at this point. Like that's that is a Band-Aid where you need a tourniquet. Well, I'm already sitting next to her, so I'm just going to, you know, wean in and ask her, is there anything I can do? I can't stop, I can't stop, I can't stop. Ricus will just look at Valus and go, we really need to hurry up now. And he's kind of looking at this and he's he said, Valus just leans over and says, just skip Whiteheadge. Just keep going as quickly as this thing will take us. We need to get to Brightport. Valus, I promise that we will go to Whiteheadge after this.

If we can fix her, we will go straight to Whiteheadge for you. He says it's nothing that can't wait. Now, you guys have another day and a half of travel ahead of you. And this is avoiding towns. This is sticking to the road. This is as quickly as you can get there. This is another day and a half. Is there anything you'd like to do before we would just advance you to Brightport? I don't know. What do you think you guys? If the driver's not in any danger of betraying us or anything like that, I'd say we just go to Brightport. Yep. Would he like to leave? Like, I don't know if he wants to hang out with us.

Is there any little town on the way that he maybe wants to be dropped at? Well, Whiteheadge would have been a good spot, but then again, you are taking his cart. Yeah, that's his livelihood. So he's probably just going to want to go wherever it ends up. I mean, leaving him in a town without that is basically killing him. He doesn't have another trade that he can fall back on. He's not college educated, guys. I'm sorry. He doesn't have many skills. Riding into Brightport. You approach the same gate you guys originally did way back in the day, which in game time was only a couple of weeks.

And you approach the town guard who don't really pay you too much attention, actually. Being as how you have a wagon and such, they assume you're just here for a delivery. So they just kind of wave you in. You travel into town. Where would you like to go first? Do you guys think you want to, like, find an inn or something? Like, rest up, wash up? Oh, fuck, we have no money. Yeah, you have no money. Could we ask for a donation of funds from the driver? And then upon that, we would let him leave him to take his wagon and go? You can absolutely ask. Okay. So I'll, you know, go up to him and just say, you know, Charles, we know you're in charge.

Son of a bitch. It's bound to happen. Say, Charles, we appreciate the ride and we're going to let you leave with your wagon here, but we don't have any. It's very generous of you. Thank you. In the long run, we probably saved your life. And if you're going to make deliveries to Onacol, I'd maybe give them a few weeks to clean this up. Either that or there's lots of opportunities here in Brightport. But we appreciate what you've done for us. We're going to stay in an inn for the night and we were kind of hoping you could make a small monetary donation so that we could stay in the inn, if you know what I'm saying.

Oh. Oh, well, that seems like the least I can do. Well, here's what I'll do. I'll take some of the money that I got from that delivery and oh, wait. No, I don't think I'll be doing that. And he just stares at, just deadpan, just stares at you. Okay. So I'll lean in and I'll say, you know, you've seen the other one. We spoke of the zombie plague. She's been bitten. She's close to turning. She's probably getting hungry. And if she bites you, I guarantee you, you won't be making any more deliveries. So you probably want to get us off of the back of your carriage fairly quickly.

Intimidate check? Sure. Yeah. Ten. You know, Galphin's just not intimidating. Asshole, I got down, but... You didn't have a cane in your hand, that's why. That's the thing. You got to wave it. Yeah. I got a cane in. You don't. He, uh, he's, look, I'm broke. Okay. I was counting on that. Why do you think I'm so pissed off? I'm counting, I was counting on that to get me through the next two weeks. Did he miss the part where he's lucky to be alive? He's, uh, yes, he's lucky to be alive in that, like, he didn't survive what you guys did, though. He never saw the inside of the city.

So he's completely taken, like, he's, he's not exactly assuming you're the most trustworthy folk. And that lie that, that Rikas gave wasn't exactly convincing, so he's not totally sure that you saved his life so much as carjacked him. Okay, fair enough. And you didn't murder him and leave him in the desert, so that's something, I guess, but I mean, he's, yeah, he's not, you guys aren't besties. Hmm. Would we like to take a donation of some of his wares and sell them quickly? (Laughter) I've already eaten some of those veggies. I'm just trying to get a soft bet for Tala to lie down on, what?

(Laughter) It isn't any more dubious than some of the other shit we've done. No, it's very ultra-docious of you. I like how you call a donation. Yeah, a donation. (Laughter) So you're pitching this to the group. Yeah. Uh, Valus kind of steps up and he says, "Look, I know a store in town we can hit up. Don't take any more of this man's personal belongings." Alright. Lead the way. When Valus turns around, Galford will give him a little sarcastic salute. (Laughter) Rikas will just nudge Galford lightly in the side and just tell him to shut up. I'm gonna roll my eyes.

(Laughter) Yeah, can I slap him in the back of the head? (Laughter) Oh, let's not get into that again. Yeah, physical violence towards Galford is... It wouldn't be hard. It'd just be like a slight tap. Yeah, I know. It's really entertaining. Feels good. It stimulates his vocal chords whenever anyone touches him. (Laughter) It's a natural defense. We're talking like an NCIS Gibbs smack. That's all we're talking about. And if anyone knows about NCIS, Gibbs slapping you in the head is a good thing. I don't know what that means. I don't either. Justin does. Don't make me roll another intimidating ten on you guys.

(Laughter) I'll be moderately intimidating at you. I'm gonna intimidate the shit out of my belt buckle, little man. (Laughter) Okay, so back in character, you guys. Okay, so Valus knows of somewhere to go, so I'm gonna be next to him. Like, kind of stand next to him at the ready to go wherever we need to go. I'm looking at you guys. Are you coming? I'll follow. Alright. So, Valus starts marching through the city, and it's... So you're leaving this guy's wagon and stuff. You're letting him continue about his way. I'm gonna tell him thank you. I said... Even though it wasn't really...

Kind of took him by force, but thank you. But still, you know, it's a nice gesture. To be clear, is the pain I'm feeling perpetual, or was it just like for a shifting so some-odd hours I was feeling this pain? It comes in waves. This is the kind of thing where... It comes in waves, but you're definitely very sick. You are constantly very fevered, very drained and flushed. You don't look well. It's to the point where you couldn't... You guys are gonna have a very hard time hiding that from people. Like, you are visibly ill. Well, I'm sure. So, yeah, at this stage in the game...

Like, at stage one or two you can sneak by and stuff, or put a frumpy cloak on or something like that. But, I mean, when you get into three and four, like, you are... Not someone you'd sit next to on the bus. That kind of thing. So, Valus is marching through the city, and there's a poor part of town. And he's... There's the area of town where all the rich... The more upper class people live. And then there's kind of an area where the dregs go. And then beyond that there's a series of kind of back alley shops and things. And these places tend to... Kind of the black market of Brightport.

And there's a little pawn shop called the Filigreed Faun. And it's this tiny little establishment next to a bar and a couple of other not so desirable places. And outside of the bar there's a group of thugs kind of hanging out. And they are eyeballing you ladies the entire way. I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable. These are real scumbags. Can I noticeably get between their eyesight? Like, the ladies are walking maybe on my left hand side and I'm on the right hand side. Yeah, that's... Yes. I'm staying pretty close to Valus at this point. And I would say if not for Ricus and Valus these guys would definitely make some kind of move.

And they're just eyeballing you. Just stink eyeing you the whole way. And Valus marches up to the Filigreed Faun and just kind of turns the knob and walks in. And gestures for all of you to follow him. I'll follow him. I'll follow him as well. Galford loves pawn shops. [laughter] Yes he does. So just on the other side of this door, Valus kind of leans down and speaking to Baranath personally, but within earshot of everyone, he says, "Don't walk on these streets at night. Not without some company." And then he kind of motions to where the bar is next door.

I'll look at him and nod. From behind the counter, a slightly older looking tiefling woman races from behind the counter and shouts, "Valus!" And runs across the small shop and wraps her arms around him. She is not nearly as tall as Valus is, so it's just kind of hugging his waist. That kind of thing. She comes up to about chest high on him. And she says, "I thought you were dead!" And he's kind of dismissive, not coldly, but just kind of a reassuring pat on her shoulder. And for the first time she kind of looks over at you guys and, "Who are your friends?" And Valus doesn't make any introductions as to who you are because, firstly, Baranath is the only one of your names he's bothered to learn.

I am absolutely... I'm kind of tickled at what I see right now because I think it's really cute. Is that his mom? It is, actually. Aww. I'm going to approach Valus' mother and say, "My name is Baranath and I am very pleased to meet you." And she grabs her hand and shakes it vigorously. "I'm Tessia. I've never known Valus to travel with anyone before. How long have you known each other?" Not very long. We met under very unusual circumstances and I kind of look at Valus. And he's just kind of visibly uncomfortable at this. Visibly. And he's just kind of scanning the room and after a time he starts walking towards the back of the shop.

I'm going to turn around and start you with Tessia. Tessia. I'm going to introduce her to Galford, Rikas, Trixie, and Tala. These are my friends. We've been traveling for several days through the desert and we need somewhere to rest, even for a short while. As you're introducing everybody, you get down to Tala. And she has a smile on her face, just very warm, very inviting. And then you get down to Tala and she makes eye contact with her and that smile completely disappears. And it's replaced with a look of pure concern, just raw concern. Our friend here in particular could use some help.

She's quite, quite sick. She hollers back to Valus, "Valus, get me the bench in the corner." And Valus with one hand kind of grabs this long six foot bench and just drags it. And it makes this awful sound as it's dragging across this hardwood floor. And he kind of drags it out into the middle of the shop where Tala can have a seat and take a load off. Before I do, I'll look to Trixie and Valus for a hint. A hint of... Oh, just have a seat? Like, is it okay? Is this okay? I'll just reach out and grab her arm and just kind of pull her toward the bench, just kind of smiling like it's okay.

Valus just stands here looking at you like he's not in any way, shape, or form biting. He's just kind of like, "I brought you the bench. Just sit. Fucking sit." [laughter] Sit the hell down. [laughter] Like, it should be obvious. This is a chair. Sit down. Like that kind of thing. Tessia pulls Burana to the side and says, "Your friend's very sick. You know that, right?" Oh yes, we're aware. Um, Valus kind of helped us... Oh gosh, it's such a big story. She kind of holds up her hand and says, "I assume you're either running from something or running toward something if you're with Valus." Kind of both.

Like, we ran with him to escape some danger and we came here because we're looking for a cure for our friend. And she says, "You're welcome to stay here as long as you need. We have a room upstairs you can sleep in. Free of charge, of course. Any friend of Valus." Oh, thank you. I'm kind of looking around this pawn shop just to see what's... This place is an oddity. It's filled with all kinds of things. Animal pelts and there's kind of trophies hanging up on the wall. There's your random assortment of swords and axes and such. They all look to be a pretty standard quality.

At least the stuff that's out on the floor that people can walk up to and touch and kind of hold for themselves. And then you've got things, the more valuable stuff in the glass cabinet in front of it that kind of makes up the counter. And behind it you can see some random potions and things like that. I wonder what the going rate is on a legendary walking stick. Oh gosh. I'm seriously going to try to do business right now. I'm going to look at Tessia and just thank her from the bottom of my heart for the hospitality you offer. I think we need to get Tala upstairs and resting really soon right away.

And then we kind of have to make a plan on what we're going to do next. Like how we're going to go about getting a cure for Tala. Tessia kind of leans in and gives you this general hug. She can sense that you've been through a lot and you guys need a break, essentially. You need to catch some kind of break. So she motions for Thales to help Tala upstairs. And it's kind of almost this child grumbles. And he kind of walks over and reaches down for Tala's hand. I'll take it with some degree of questioning in my eyes. I won't say anything. And he leads her upstairs and out of earshot.

Okay, so Thales has taken Tala upstairs. And he's kind of returned after tucking her in or whatever you assume might have happened upstairs. And you guys need to get to the business of deciding what you're going to do. Yes we do. Do we need to rest up here? Is there any... You guys have had a rest. The wagon afforded you guys enough rest. That counts as an extended rest. You haven't exerted yourselves at all in three days really. Other than just the wear and tear of the desert sun and stuff. Okay. So I think we've got to talk to Valus about what he knows about how to get this cure.

I mean honestly, as much as you guys have interacted enough, I think you're probably going to be the best person to try to get that information from him. Okay, if you don't want to I'd be willing. No, that's fine. I didn't know if there's anything else. Like if we want to figure out a way to acquire some supplies or some healing potions or whatnot. Or if we're just going to get right down to the Uigui Center. I would talk to Valus first. Okay. Just tell his life as a priority. Alright, that's what we're doing. So I'm going to... I'll approach Valus and... And...

Valus... You know, time is of the essence. We need to... If there's a cure, if it's in Brightport, we need to get our hands on it so we can help our friend. While you're talking to him, he takes off this makeshift pack he made by emptying out a sack of grain. Like a burlap sack type of thing. And it was slung around his shoulder and he drops it to the floor and it sounds like about 20 pounds of chain hit the ground. What the... And it's this large metallic clang rattle sound when it hits. And then he starts reaching into the pack and unpacking that fucking weapon he uses in every fight.

And it's clear he's getting ready to go do something violent. Alright. So Valus is ready. What about y'all? [laughter] Can we figure out why he's unpacking the weapon or are we just diving headfirst into this? Um... Valus, I need you to talk to me. What do we do? Where do we go? I'm heading to Darksbane. I would all advise you to follow me if you want to save your friend. Um... I'm going. I'm going. Are we all going? I'm going. Are we maybe keeping Tala here so that she can rest up? That's a tough decision. I mean, I don't want to leave her behind. I mean, she's slowed.

But I mean, her defenses are down. Like, if we run into anything, we might be putting her at greater risk by bringing her with us. Yeah, but at the same time, if she turns, we don't want to leave her here with all these people. Oh, yeah. Like, we can leave and come back and she's eating everyone. I mean... Well, I mean, the pros and cons would be... I mean, the cons are obviously taking her... Like, her fortitude's down and she's slowed, but not taking her. You're losing a member of the party and you are endangering... You're definitely endangering everybody here.

Oh, um... Okay, Megan, do you want to speak to Tala's condition? And whether she's able or wanting to come with us to Darkspane? No, she's upstairs. So she doesn't know we're leaving. Megan's not. That's why I'm asking... Megan, what would Tala do? Well, with Tala's mentality right now, she's probably taking a nap. Like, I'm wondering also too if we find a cure there, we might want you with us so that we can connect you right away. Right, but at the same time, from what I've been observing, like, between my roles and stuff, it seems like whenever I strain myself in some way, it advances it faster.

So if I don't go, it'll likely give you guys more time. Okay. Than if I do go. And if it's a magical cure, we'll just do our best to kidnap the person that can perform it. See, that's my only concern, is that it's going to be in the shape or form of something that can't be physically removed from wherever we find it, and that she's going to have to be there anyway. But I mean... I would think it would be someone having to perform some type of a ritual. I doubt it's going to be like a potion. And I kind of doubt that too. So are you thinking that that means she has to come with us?

Well, no. If we find somebody who can do the ritual, I think we could probably just snag him. We snag him and we bring him back to Tessia's place. Okay. Because of course, you know, wrecking people's homesteads is kind of what we do, so... Oh, it's just items. Well, if Valus or Rikus just carries me, and then whenever you guys get into combat, just set me down in a corner somewhere. Okay. That's not dangerous at all. Nothing like having a fireman carry a zombie, because, you know, that's not shady. Not just that, but it's... I mean, there is still the potential for you getting caught in a blast.

You're dealing with magic. I'm just throwing that out there in case you guys have forgotten, so... I'm just looking for feedback, everyone. Just tell us, day or does she go? I think if she comes with us, we have a better chance of healing her on the spot. That things are going to advance anyways, and we may still be able to use her in combat. I'm not weighing in just... Yeah, I wouldn't want to leave her, just in case something happens while we're gone. And I'm not weighing in just because my character's not there to make the choice. She's upstairs, everyone else is downstairs.

Okay, but I mean, like, we're going to go upstairs and ask you. Alright, so I go upstairs and, you know, I can see that she's sleeping, so I slightly, like, you know, lay my hand on her shoulder and whisper "Tawa." Try to get her to wake up. I'll jump awake, but relax when I see it's you. Okay, so Tawa, we're going to go try to find whatever it takes to cure you. I need to know, do you want to stay here, or do you want to go with us? I think I want to go with you. Okay. I like Remy Tessie, but I don't know her so well. Okay, so Trixie just picks her up and carries her downstairs and says we're bringing her with us, but someone else is going to have to carry her the rest of the way.

Valis would do it once he sees the condition she's in. But, you guys get the distinct impression that the very second there's an opportunity for combat, he's going to toss her aside. Yeah, that kind of makes sense. Um, Reekis, would you be willing to carry her? I guess. Well, I mean, if it comes down to, if we get into combat, we have to put her down, just like, we're going to have to either take turns or someone's going to have to be a barrier between us and her, just to protect her. I thought you meant kill her. If it comes down to it, I'll kill her.

Yeah, I thought, well, we got to put her down, we got to, man, that is cold. That's, oh, you meant, like, set her down. Okay. No, no, no, god damn it. No, no, that's not what I meant at all. No, I was confused. Like, the rest of your sentence made complete sense. It was my fault. I picked up, like, put her down. Damn, that's, I didn't even talk about dogs like that. That's... As you guys are chatting, you hear the back door of this place swing open, kind of violently, actually, and then it swings shut, and you hear a voice shout from the back room, "Hey, hey, Grinnis, did that guy get here with the rings yet?

Because I swear to god, if he didn't show up today, I'm just going to be pissed." So coming from the back room, after the door swings shut, and you hear that voice is a little gnome wandering through the place. "Tasia! Tasia, do you hear me? I swear..." And then he gets into the room and sees you all standing there staring at him. Can I run up there and just slam him against the wall? Make an athletics check. As soon as he sees you guys, "Aw, shit." I'm kind of, you know, looking around like, "What the fuck? Because I've never met this guy before." I tripped and fell.

That is a crit miss. You critically do not slam him up against the wall. Can someone else run up to him and slam him against the wall? Trixie starts towards the little gnome and instantly trips over some baubles that are on the floor. There's a series of tables and stuff with goods on display, and she trips and falls through a section of these. And shit just clatters to the ground. Gosh, Jason, did you have made it worse? Well, it was a crit miss! You're like you didn't gore yourself on something. And the little gnome starts running towards the back door.

Can I chase after him? You certainly can. Hold on one second. He's gonna make an athletics check. This is gonna be fun. Six. So he doesn't fare too much better. He falls over the baubles too. And he is completely scared shitless that you guys are standing there, and he starts tripping over himself to get to that back door again. Can I run after him and try to pin him against the wall? Go ahead, make a jump for it. If he makes athletics? Athletics, yes. Nineteen. Nineteen. So, Riek is kind of deftly, before he can get to the door, just kind of races towards it and pushes it shut with his hand.

So this guy, you know, the gnome is not going to get away, and you grab him by the shirt collar. What would you like to do now? I got him holding up against the shirt collar. Anybody want to ask him some questions? I mean, I can ask him questions. Are you lifting him up, or are you just restraining him so he can't run? I have no idea what's going on. I was gonna say, I'm restraining him so he can't run. So to Baranth, this just looks like some random act of violence against one of the shop owners. This just... Essentially. I'll look at him and just go, "Hey!

Long time no see!" And he's just wide-eyed with shock that you're standing here. And he's pissed, slash scared shitless that you're holding him. And he's kind of clawing at your wrist and hand, just trying to get away, and he's just struggling in vain against you. And he's not saying anything, he's just putting everything he has into it. And getting nowhere fast. I'll just kind of... Can I walk him towards the wall, or am I just standing in the middle of the room holding him, or am I bracing him against the wall? That's up to you. What do you want to do with him?

Oh, I kind of want to brace him up against the wall just because he is kind of clawing at me. And I'll just look him straight in the eyes and go, "Really? You should just probably stop struggling because it's going to be a hell of a lot less painful for you in the long run if you stop clawing at me." And he stops. And he's just kind of like... He's just looking at you. Still in disbelief. How the hell did you make it out of on a call? Wouldn't you like to know? That's why I asked. Yeah, I would like to know! Why doesn't someone just ask him what was he thinking doing what he did to us?

There you go. Just not me. I think you're on your feet by now. Yeah, but that's like trying to talk to someone and then farting in the middle. You're not taking serious after that. Just shake it off. Just shake it off, babe. You're fine. What do you know about what happened in Ona-Call? And he kind of looks at you... What, the slave thing? I kind of thought we'd been over that. That's business. It wasn't personal. No. Not that. Do you know anything that happened to that city? And he's just looking at you, just completely puzzled. No idea what you're talking about.

I guess I can storm up to him right now. Go ahead. I walk up to him and get in his face and be like, "Did you know what they were going to do to us?" Well, I mean, the fights and the... Ona-Call is gone. They're all dead. Undead, excuse me. What the hell are you talking about? What do you think I'm talking about? The entire city? The entire city is zombies. No idea what you're talking about. Like, he's just... This is the... You can tell this is the first that he's heard about this. Or that's what it looks like to you. I just throw my hands up in the air and walk away.

I'm sure if you can just unhand me, we can figure this out together. Do not let him go. I'll keep holding onto him. His face kind of takes on this. Like, he's... It was almost a pleading expression on his face, and then when he realized you weren't going to let him go, he just stink eyes, tricks you. I'll walk up to him. Riek, you're still holding him against the wall? Yeah. Gelford walks up to him and pulls out Katie's dagger and just starts sort of cleaning under his fingernails with Katie's dagger while he's looking at Graddick. And he'll walk over and he'll...

You know, just kind of wave his dagger a little bit under Graddick's throat and say, "Maranath, I'd like to introduce you to the sixth member of our party." This is Graddick. You can see he's also a gnome, and he's one of the most important businessmen here in Brightport. I mean, the economy just revolves around him being wanted. And I'm sure there's lots of other people here in Brightport that would probably pay for pieces of him to be delivered around the city. So hopefully he will share some of his business secrets with us so we can find out a little bit more about his former employer, Darksbane.

Go ahead and make an Intimidate check, please. This is not going to work. Hey! Hey! It's money. Gnome violence. His eyes kind of go wide when you threaten to sell him out. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, we're all friends here!" There's no reason to jump to such extremes. When he says that, can I lightly push him more against the wall, just when he's saying those words, just like, "Yeah, friends? Really?" Sure. So you have him right up against the wall, and now you're just kind of pressing into him with force, just kind of like, knock it off, that kind of thing.

And as he gets to the end of his sentence, he kind of lets out an "Ehh!" as you're just kind of expelling air out of him as you push into him. Tessia comes marching into the back room with a look of concern, and says, "What are you doing to Grattic? Leave him alone!" And she walks up to Rikus and tries to pull his arm away from him. What did he do to you? Rikus will knowingly look at Grattic, but just very gently put him back down on the ground, giving him that look that if you make any funny moves or funny business, you're going to go back up against the wall.

But just because Tessia's been so kind to us, and so generous to us, he kind of gently agrees to put Grattic down at this time and kind of take a step back a little bit, just so the hostility goes down. Tessia looks at the way you immediately unhanded him, right? And then she starts putting two and two together, and she looks down at Grattic, and she says, "What did you do to them?" Like, her tone of voice completely shifts. It's not one of reassurance and comfort. It's almost accusatory mother figure. "She knows it better." And Grattic says, "Nothing!

These people are insane! They just broke into the shop and they threaten me! I've been in town all day! I'm serious! Didn't do anything to them! Psychos, all of them!" And Tessia corrects him, "They didn't break into the shop. Valus walked in with them." "Oh. Ah. Ah. That, uh..." And he's just kind of trailing off, not trailing off. "He sent us to the bad place. It's all the me people." "Quiet, you!" [Grattic screams] R-Rekis will look at Grattic and go, "Uh, hi. You're gonna talk to us, not anybody behind us." And when you let him go, he starts kind of dusting off the lapels of his little suit that he's wearing.

"Alright, what do you want?" "Answers." And he's... he... the balls on this little gnome that he's... you're wasting his time is the demeanor that he's proposing to you. He's just kind of... that's the aura he's presenting. He's like, "Okay, look, I'll give you a few minutes. What do you want?" Uh, uh, Rekis will kind of turn around to Baranath, keeping an eye on, uh, Grattic the entire time, and, uh, just kind of lean his head a little bit, kind of gesturing towards Grattic, and look at Baranath and go, "This is the reason that we actually ended up in Odokal." "He... he... he sold us, uh, and... and put us in Odokal, and he's the reason that we had to face all the trial and trepidation and fear and... and violence that we had there." Uh, he raises a finger in the back of the neck.

Actually, that's debatable. Uh, it could be due to your own carelessness. And then he kind of puts a hand up. Just... just saying. And backs up. "Uh, uh, and I'll look at Grattic and just go, 'When I want to talk to you, I'll... I'll look at you and... and say... mention you by name, but right now you should probably just not talk at all.'" "Bee's looking daggers at him. Um, really not impressed, and immediately dislikes him. I'd like to know a little bit more about the relationship between him and whatever got us, uh, hauled over to Odokal. Like, I want to know about his relationship with Tessia, his relationship with Valus, why he's here, what he does, and I'd like to know what you plan on doing with him." Uh, Tessia speaks up first.

Uh, and she says, "That's... that's Grattic. He's one of the less desirable portions of Brightport, but he owns half of the shop with me. Uh, we became business partners years ago when the shop fell on hard times, and I had trouble making ends meet. Suffice it to say, he's good at coming up with goods to sell, and he's been a great source of insider information, but..." Uh, and then she looks down on him. He can be more trouble than he's worth sometimes." "Were there any other questions?" "There were several. Like, how did... uh, Baranath was asking, uh, he's asking, she was asking if... like, how did that all happen?

Because if you remember, Baranath was in a separate cell when he arrived. She's never seen Grattic before, had no idea of the contract you guys took up with Silverclaw, had no idea why you were stealing that dragon figurine, had no idea... That... that just... I mean, well, she found some of that out in the wagon ride there to own a call, but... yeah." "Like, essentially, I know you guys have been sold out on some kind of, you know, deal that went wrong. I have no idea what your relationship with him is, or why he came to you on behalf of one of the houses." "Well, I will at least go over to her and explain that, you know, we came in to Brightport, and we were looking for work.

He was one of the first people that addressed us, and said that he wanted us to look to get a figurine for him. We went to the place that we were supposed to go, raided it, got the figurine, and that's where you came in, because he, um, we had to fight the dragon from that house. You know, it was his fault that all of this happened, because he did not tell us what we were going up against, really, and, you know, it's... you know, you were brought into this because of his betrayal." "Who does he represent?" "Uh, Graddick kind of steps forward and offers his hand.

Graddick the Wanted! House Silverclaw, at your service!" "Bea's gonna kind of look at him with narrow eyes, very suspiciously, um, you know, on instinct and what I've heard so far. I already don't like him. But I, in character, I have a hard time believing that this had something to do with a figurine, you know, who risks their lives for tchotchkes." "So you're not shaking his hand firstly?" "Um, I will reluctantly allow my hand to be shaked by him, but I'm not, uh..." "And he grabs your hand and pulls it down, and since you're so much taller than him, you kind of have to arc down a little bit, and he leans down and kisses your hand." "Oh, man.

I'm gonna pull my hand away and kind of shake it and look around for some, like, hand sanitizer." "And he, when you have such a violent reaction to pull your hand back, 'Ah, that was pretty rude. You fit right in with this crew.'" "Is there, like, an elven equivalent to flipping him off?" "Punch in the face is universal. I'm just letting him..." "Everyone understands it." "No, I'm not willing to break a nail over this kid. Seriously, you guys, a dragon statue. I can't believe that all of this was over a little piece of metal." "Rekis will kind of take a deep breath and look at Baranath and just say, 'When we first got into the city, Gratikir, we very suspiciously found him and met him in an alleyway.'" "And you saw just who we were and a group of adventurers and obviously some skilled people." "And he had hired us to steal a dragon statue from another house." "The dragon statues represent the kind of the influence and the control over the city economically-wise." "And where you came in was we had gotten the dragon statue in a less than desirable way." "Basically, I don't know, the equivalent of walking to the kitchen and throwing every pan in the kitchen around and making a huge mess." "And because of that, and because of how loud and how destructive it was towards what his idea of what we could do, we ended up in that jail." "And eventually he ended up making a deal where we ended up in Odokal." "So the equivalent of the dragon statues is basically we were hired to procure a statue for him and we did, but we did in a less than desirable way." "And in turn, he wanted to get rid of the evidence as quickly as possible." "So Baranath's gonna look at Gratik and say, 'Oh, so did you get your statue?'" "There's a funny story about this, you're gonna laugh." "Did you get your statue?" "I did." "Ah, Baranath's gonna put her hands on her hips and kinda jut one hipboat to the side and say, 'So I guess my friends deserve to get paid.'" "Well, it's a murky area, really.

There's a lot of grey in the deal. They kinda took it back a week later." "They..." "Darksbane." "Darksbane. Well, if you can't keep your hands on your toys, honey, that's not my problem." "And I'm gonna tap my foot and look at him." "It also should be noted, these kids are real amateurs. Porto Real smash and grab made a lot of trouble for us in this city." "We're still fighting Darksbane over, to be honest." "You've cost us way more than it would have cost us to pay you, so we really should consider this even." "Yes, you sending us to be slaves after some of us have experienced that before.

Yeah, we'll really want to call it even." "I'm still at the point where you got exactly what you asked for and my friends deserve to be paid." "Uh, he starts eyeballing the door again. Like, he starts, like, casually, like, shifting towards the door." "Reekis will just look at him and start shaking his head no. Like, you really don't want to do that." "You'll definitely regret making that decision." "And he stops shifting." "Like, this is his business, you guys. He's not gonna disappear too far, too long." "Like, I'm having a little bit of fun scaring the crap out of him right now, but I mean, we need to get what we need out of him so that we can go to Darksbane and get a cure for Tala." "And he... the only thing he's noticed about Tala is the voice.

And then he's kind of, he's kind of looking at her and she's just coated in sweat." "Just obviously flush, fevered, looks like shit. Terrible." "Reekis will look at him and just kind of sigh a little bit and just go, 'Look, we both probably aren't in the best ways of, uh, best ways and best circumstances right now.'" "But, uh, our friend here has been bitten by one of the zombies, ironically enough, one of the zombies in Notakkal. What's the current situation like between, you mentioned before that how Silverclaw and Darksbane are kind of still added with each other.

What's kind of the situation, what's kind of the layout right now between the two?" "Hang on you guys, I have an idea. Um, I'm gonna kind of get down to Graddix level and I'm gonna kind of soften my stance and my look at him and say, 'I think we can come up with a deal. You're gonna help us get into Darksbane and you're gonna help us get a cure for Tala and we'll call that your debt repaid to my friends.'" "Uh, and he's kind of, uh, he kind of softens his expression but it's more, it's, it's not one of anger anymore that he can't leave and he's trapped.

It's more, 'Oh really, am I? And why would I do that?'" "So Galford will walk over to Graddix and say, 'You know, Graddix here is a businessman and it sounds like you're proposing a business deal to him. I think we all feel like we're owed something from him and maybe he could help us get into Darksbane but, I mean, he also deserves to be rewarded if he's gonna stick his neck out to help us again right after all the problems we caused. So if we went into House Darksbane and we were successfully able to cure our friend, I, there's a pretty good chance we might run across that gold dragon again and after all the trouble it caused us, we have no use for it.

I'm sure we could turn that over to Graddix as payment for his services and curing our friend and, uh, we would all walk out of there richer in body and spirit. Can I do a bluff check?" "You absolutely can." "I'm lying to his fucking face. I'm not giving an idea." "Yes, you absolutely are. This is, this is not even a..." "Big money, no whammies." "Uh, seventeen. Graddix is a very accomplished liar. That's pretty much his business. So he's seeing through your ruse here." "With a seventeen?" "With a seventeen, yeah. That's, he's not a fighter, that's what he does.

This guy's pretty much town slimeball. That's his, that is his job. Um, that's a good try. I appreciate the effort, I really do. Man after my own heart. I have a counter proposal." "I'd love to hear it." "I would really rather not involve Silverclaw in this. I'd really rather not tell him that people we've exiled have come back and... ...it's just making trouble, you know, I really like to want that." "You don't want to mention that you failed at trying to kill us." "Fail is an ugly word, let's not use fail. It's, it's, again, it's a gray area. Um, he's... ...what I can do.

You can stay here the night, free of charge. And, I may be able to give you something to help you on your quest." "That's more like it." "Uh, and he yells over to Tessia, who has kind of been hanging by the doorway for a while. 'Tessia, do me a favor, could you make up some beds for our guests? They're gonna be staying the night.' And she said, 'I already promised them they can stay as long as they want.' " "And he's kind of staring at her like, 'Come on, work with me here.' Like he's just kind of giving her, 'For free?' You told them they can, for free, as long as they want, huh?

That's, uh, generous of you. Very generous. Um, and he kind of disappears into a side room, and he comes out holding this, this really small trunk, and he flops it up onto this counter. Uh, and he's like, 'Look, you can take these, it's the only two I have, and I was kind of holding on for a rainy day, but being as how I am so generous, I will let you take them free of charge.'" "Can I roll insight on that?" "Sure." "23." "Uh, 23. Um, he can't get rid of these things, and he's been trying to sell them now for a while. Uh, but because of the volatile nature of the item, uh, no one wants to keep them in their, in their, their sacks for a long time.

No one wants to keep them in their, their backpacks." "Oh my. What is this stuff?" "And he cracks this chest open. Uh, and what appear to be two small bombs are sitting in this, uh, this tiny chest. Um, a little large, like, a picture like, uh, Magic 8-Balls, something like that, about that size. Uh, and, uh, he, he, I'm sure you can find a use for these. You guys are pretty destructive." "Welcome, Brightport. Let's blow some more shit up." "So, Galfer say, you know, I think you've, you've probably had these for a while and have been trying to unload them on someone else in the city, but you haven't had any buyers.

But I think we'll take them off your hands because we could probably find a use for them, and if things don't go right, we have two of them. One for Dark Spain and one for the front door of Silverclaw if we need to find you again." "And he just narrows his eyes at you. Like, he's, he's, 'Don't mistake my generosity for weakness, friend.' Uh, and, uh, who wants to take them, firstly? Who's gonna, who's gonna be the daring one and put them in their, their backpack?" "I'm looking at Trixie. Trixie and Galfer." "Are these things shiny in any capacity?" "Not really.

Kind of dull, black orbs." "If someone is, if, if Rheekus, if you're carrying, if you carry Tala until she gets better, I will take them." "Sounds good to me." "So, they're sitting, uh, let me, let me describe this to you, because they're sitting, they don't appear to be lit with fuses or anything like that. It doesn't appear to be, uh, like dynamite or, uh, like your traditional black bomb. Uh, they, there's, there appears to be a, uh, a whole board in one end of it, and, uh, this, this cork-like stopper, and it's been, uh, shaved down so it's flush with the material.

The only way to get it out is to, uh, bore into it or, or something like that. Uh, and they're packed in this chest with a lot of straw, and, and he, he was very ginger in the way he was handling the chest. So, uh, you can guess that these are, these go off on impact." "Is this something, like, if we're gonna use these, what's the role, like, for, to him?" "Uh, well, they act like potions, so you can throw them as a minor action." "Okay, so I'm just, I'm thinking, like, I didn't know if the person with the highest, um, uh, like acrobatics or strength or something." "Oh, these are, okay, it, it doesn't matter.

Anybody can use these, and, uh, it's gonna be a roll versus reflex." "Okay, all right." "Is it possible for me to take the box that they're in as well? I just take all of it, so at least they're padded?" "Sure, you absolutely can. It's, it, it is gonna be bulky, and you can't fight with it. So it's, it's, while it's a small chest, it's still, like, it's something you gotta hold with two hands and kind of lumber down the street with. Like, like a, like a case of water, something like that, something about that size." "Okay, okay. Um, are we done with Galph- uh, not Galford, sorry, Gratic?" "The other shitty known.

So you guys are advancing on Darkspane. Now, it's, okay, I have a few questions to ask you. Are you waiting for cover of night?" "Uh, that's probably not a bad idea." "Uh, the thing is, Thallus had warned you not to walk without company, so..." "Well, he is my company." "You'll have company, yeah, you guys will have." "Well, I was gonna say, I'm just, it depends, I guess. We can go." "No sneaking off, I wouldn't advise sneaking off." "Yeah, no, not an issue. I got a giant tiefling, you know, who's got my back." "So, you're waiting for cover of night.

Okay, so that's, that's only a couple hours away. So that's not a long wait for Tala. Are you taking Tala?" "Yes." "Okay. How do you want to handle this? Are you just charging in, guns blazing?" "Uh, that's a good question. We want to talk to Thallus about exactly where we're going. Like, we blew up their house, so where are they now?" "Well, they are in the process. It's still very much, like, actually let's load up the map. How about we do that, guys?" "Pretty much the same structure as what you saw before, except the whole front of the house, whereas this used to be kind of a, like a real nice looking old house, is just in tatters in the front.

They're still rebuilding. You could tell during the day that that's what, that's what they're spending a lot of time doing." "You're guessing that they probably haven't had a chance to fix a lot of the indoor stuff? Or, it's, it's, it's probably a work in progress, just like the outside of the house? Like, they've, they've had two weeks to work on it, but it takes a while. Like, that was, that was a lot of damage you guys did, inadvertently, but still, a lot of damage." "Um, outside of the, outside of the place, uh, let me load this up for you, uh, are, uh, two warlocks that are standing guard, and that's all you see, that's all you see on the outside of the building." "Well, it's just no more puppies." "Well, those are dead." "Oh my, um, can we canvas around the whole building, like, in a way that they won't see us, to see if there's anyone else outside of the back entrance?" "Yeah, is there another entrance?

I see another one at the back." "Um, you could do a stealth roll if you like." "Alright." "Now, who's, okay, who's attempting it? Is this something the entire party is attempting, or something?" "I kinda, I'm wondering if we should kinda, like, make our way around really sneaky-like, and see if we can, first of all, find another unguarded way in, and, um, I wonder if we can look through, like, see through a window, and maybe see this guy that we're looking for?" "But, but, do you always think that if we move as a whole party, we'll be less, you know, like, I mean, there'll be less stuff?" "Yeah, you'll have to look at the giant elephant feet that I have, and then else." "Oh yeah, no, I'm not suggesting that we all go, like, you know, Scooby-Doo style sneaking around together, like, I'm, you know, I'm suggesting that as a, as a, an MO for whoever's gonna be all stealthy-sneaky-like-trixie." "I say one of us sneaks up, tosses a bomb at the front door, blows up the front door, and then in the confusion we sneak in the back." "I, I'm okay. I'm okay with that." "Huh." "Since I have the bombs in, well, can I even do a stealth check, since I am carrying a box of bombs?" "Um, you could do, well, I would assume you'd set them down, and just grab one, instead of take the entire chest and bottle up to the front door." "Oh yeah, but if we use them with the bomb's feet a lot lighter." "But God, if I, what if I fall, what if I roll, like, a, you know, a crit, and then I fall and I blow myself up?" "Or you could, you could hit a crit and, and blow some serious shit up.

I have faith in you. I think we can do this." "I really, I really like Galford's idea, actually." "Can I, like, if I, if I roll a crit, can I fling it and just maybe not fall on top of it?" [Laughter] "We'll deal with that when we get to it. Let's not." "Alright, I'll roll. Damn it." "Okay, okay. Couple things first. Hold on, before you roll. So you guys are standing across the street from this place in an alley, much the same way as you did the last time you approached House Darksebane." "And, uh, Valus is, uh, standing in the alley with you, and he is walking forward just advancing towards this place.

Uh, he, he's not, have you told him what you're trying to attempt?" "I'm gonna kinda grab his arm and be like, uh, uh, uh, hang on, hun, let's, um, we gotta plan on how we're gonna approach this, um..." "Uh, when you grab his arm, the, the, the massive amount of chain that's in his hand just starts, like, jangling." "Oh boy." "And he kind of, like, he kind of, like, steadies it against his leg so it doesn't make more noise than it has to." "Sorry." "Um, okay, is, are we agreed on? That's what we'd like to do. We're gonna toss a bomb in the front, create a whole lot of confusion, we're gonna sneak in the back." "I'm okay with that idea." "Okay, anyone object?" "Sure.

Tell Valus your plan and let's do it." "Okay, Valus, this is what we're doing, um, so we're gonna be, uh, we're not headed straight for the front door, we're gonna, we're gonna sneak around." "Um, okay, no time like the present, you guys, let's, let's get in there." "Alright, here's what we're gonna do. Uh, Trixie, go ahead and make a stealth check." "Bake money, no amies." "Don't say that. Oh, maybe." "16." "Well, it's not terrible." "No, it's not terrible. Uh, let's see here, you go ahead and let's put you on the board here. Let's say that you were right here behind the fence, and at 16 they didn't see you." "Okay." "Uh, so these two guards are just kind of..." "Playing their DS?" "Sittin' there, just kind of chillin', not really, not really paying too much attention.

Uh, what I want you to do is, okay, you're taking one of the bombs and throwing it towards the front porch." "Yeah." "Okay. So, uh, what I want you to do is roll, uh, against these two guys, roll a D20+7, and that's gonna be versus their reflex. Uh, roll for number one first." "Uh, 14 will miss, and number two. 13 will miss. Wow." "Oh, dammit." "Um, so this is a blast three, so I'm assuming you're tossing it right here in the middle, like right, right here, somewhere." "Yeah." "So that would, that would have caught both of them in the blast had that not, had that hit either one of them." "So what happens is, uh, you, you throw this bomb out there, and it explodes on impact, and both of these guys have the wherewithal to, holy shit, and dodge out of the way of it." "Does it do damage to the building?" "It does, absolutely.

Uh, fire, uh, erupts from this thing after it explodes. Uh, and the entire front porch is just on fire." "Uh, which is gonna do two things. One, that's gonna get a lot of attention, uh, 'cause it, it makes this tremendous boom when it goes off. Uh, and you can't help but wonder, 'What if that was in my backpack and I fell down or something?'" "Can I run like a crazy person?" "Um, no, what I'd like you to do is roll initiative, because, um..." "Am I by myself?" "You are, right now. Um, on the next round everyone's gonna race out and join you, though, so.

I'm assuming, I, I can't speak for them." "Of course, yes, yes, yes." "Reaches the parley back away slowly and said, 'I didn't see anything.'" "Uh, 20, nice, that's, that's good. Alright, and 17 and a 24, okay, so let's sort that out. Uh, Warlock number two, uh, he gets up and dust himself off." "He's going to use Hellfire, just straight up Hellfire. Uh, and he's going to target Trixie and that's a D20 plus 9, 20, and that's versus your, um, reflex." "So that'll hit you, yeah. Uh, D6 plus 4, 9. So that's 9 damage and it's your turn." "Can I use my Shadow Darts on number two?" "You sure can." "28." "Uh, 28 to hit, roll again." "That's nice." "10 will miss, and 19 will hit, so two of them hit." "Oh wait, no, that doesn't work that way, I'm sorry, after you miss the second time you stop rolling.

So you hit him once." "Okay." "Yeah." "The first one was a crit, though, does that?" "Oh, it was a crit, you're right, yeah, so you do max damage with that first one at least." "So that'd be 1d8 plus 1." "1d8 plus 1, so he's gonna take 9 damage." "No, you don't have to roll it, it was a crit, honey." "Oh yeah, that was a crit. I'm sorry, yeah." "9, okay." "Uh, 9 means no. Um, Fire Warlock number 1, he is going to shift, or run, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6." "Oh Jesus Christ!" "He's gonna try and stab you." "Oh God." "Uh, so that's a d20 plus 9, he's just going to try and put his dagger in your gut, and that's a 13, he's gonna miss." "Oh God." "Uh, everyone else, roll initiative!" "Darn right I will." "20." "16." "21." "Kala." "Where are we?

Like, where should we place our characters?" "Um, you are, let's put you all like right here." "Should I really bother with initiative since I'm not gonna be fighting?" "Uh, if you're not gonna be fighting, then no, you don't have to." "Do I, well, when it's my turn should I like..." "No, I was gonna say, when it's my turn do I need to like specify I'm putting her down somewhere before I do anything?" "Um, I would, yeah, just to clarify." "Alright, so, uh, Helfar Warlock number 2, uh, he is going to target Baranith, and he's gonna use Concussive Inferno." "So that's a close burst 2, uh, d20+7, uh, 23 versus Fortitude." "Oh, God damn it. Yes, that hits." "Uh, 2d6+2, 5, that's 5 damage, that's nothing, that's, that's a boo-boo." "Eh, still pisses me off." "And he pushes the target back two squares, and you're prone." "Aw." "Yeah, so, uh, but it's your turn." "Okay, um, I need a favor." "Okay." "Um, I would, oh, you know what, I'm gonna use that later, but I would like you to uncheck my Shield of Faith." "I think I did already." "Did you?" "Yep, you all took rests, you're good." "Oh, okay, it was still checked the last time I looked, so, alright, um, I think I'm just gonna run up to my friend here, uh..." "Well, you have to stand up, because you're prone." "You have to stand up, yeah." "Oh, minor action, is that my move action?" "Yep." "Ah, Motherjumper. Okay, um..." "Motherjumper." "Oh, wait, I'm not at work, I can say 'fuck' here, okay, um..." "I was gonna say, yeah, we don't say 'fuck' on DNR, I'm sorry, we just don't say it." "No fucking way?" "But you already said it!" "Fuck." "That's it, I quit." "Well, now I guess we do." "Okay, Astral Seal on, uh, number two." "Okay." "Astral Seal's an at-will.

Targets one creature. Wisdom plus two versus reflex. Hit until the end of my next turn. The target takes a minus two penalty to all defenses. The next ally who hits it before the end of my next turn regains hit points equal to two plus my Charisma modifier." "And I'm so charismatic." "Um..." "Oh, 15." "15 versus his reflex?" "Uh, yes." "That'll hit. That will hit." "Alright, um, there's no damage to roll on that." "So he just gets negative two to all his defenses and you guys gain health if you punch him, so..." "Whoever, yeah, the next person to hit him will regain some HPs.

And I'm done." "And Trixie, your turn." "I'm gonna do my melee basic attack. Got a 26." "Uh, yeah, 26 will hit anything." "I got an 11." "Okay, 11 damage." "Max damage, nice." "And... Kjalford, your turn." "That was a great pun." "Uh, okay, so I'll do Shadow Claws on number one. And that's Crit Miss." "Damn. Um, do you want to move or anything like that?" "No, I'll just stay where I am." "Uh, Valus is going to take that chain. Well, he's going to move up too." "And kind of sidle up next to, uh, Baranath." "And he's going to start whipping that chain around and make these real high arcs with it." "Uh, and he's going to go ahead and roll at, uh, number two." "27.

Okay." "So this thing clamps down on him." "And does seven damage." "Uh, and then he's going to drag him over the fence, that spiky looking metal fence they have wrapped around the perimeter." "Oh my." "And, uh, do another 10 damage to him, raking him over this fence, jerking him with the chain." "Eeee." "Uh, so that's going to be 17 damage. And anybody who can do something similar gets the same bonus." "Uh, he's bloodied. And it is Hellfire Warlock number one's turn." "Number one's going to go ahead and swing at you again with his, uh, with his dagger." "Kick him in the nuts." "Uh, 22.

That's going to hit you. And he's going to, that's, uh, 1d4 plus five." "Uh, eight damage. Rikas, your turn." "Um, so, uh, putting down Tala, is that my move action or is that just a minor?" "Uh, she, yeah, that's a minor. Just set her down." "Okay, so I'll set, uh, Tala down, kind of, away from the action so she doesn't have to worry about getting hit." "And I will move up, uh, hmm, wait, let me see, one, two, three, okay." "Well, I will, uh, rush up just because Numero Uno seems to be being a pain in the butt." "Um, I'll charge him and take a swing at him with my basic melee attack." "Alrighty." "Which is, and then, um, okay, I only get the bonus if it's critical." "So, oh wait, no, if I rush him, do I get the plus one of my bonus too?" "With the level one?" "Um, you, well that's just part of charging someone." "Okay, so it's-" "You get two weapon damage for, for charging if you hit with a basic melee." "So it's plus, still plus ten, or is it plus eleven?" "Yeah, well wait, you're using basic melee, you get, it's plus eleven." "Okay." "Because you're charging." "Twenty-five." "Twenty-five will hit, so go ahead and roll two D ten plus eight." "Uh, two D ten plus eight, eighteen." "Uh, eighteen's pretty damn good, not bad at all, he's gonna be bloodied, bam, bloodied." "Uh, anything else you want to do on your turn?" "Uh, no, I'm good." "Alright, and that brings up Tala, Tala's not doing anything, okay." "And Hellfall Warlock number two, guess what guys, he's gonna use Hellfire, 'cause he kinda digs it." "That's what he does." "And he's gonna use that against Valus, uh, fourteen versus, yeah that's not gonna do that, so yeah, no." [Laughter] "Uh, Baraneth, your turn." "Alright." "Does, does Valus still, um, have his resistance to fire?" "Like that's an innate thing with him?" "Sorry, Alana." "Just wanted to ask that." "It's okay." "Yeah, Valus is just as he was when you fought him in the arena." "Alright." "I move five, right here, I am gonna use as a minor action, I'm gonna use Healing Word on, uh, Turksey." "Okay." "So, that is a minor action, close burst five, um, uh, I'm gonna use my, for myself for one ally in the burst, um, Target can spend a Healing Surge and regain one D six additional hit points." "Do I roll that D six?

I can't remember." "Uh, yes, you do." "Alright, uh, Healing Surge and two HPs for Turksey, please." "If, if you want to spend a Healing Surge, honey, sorry, I probably should have asked you." "No, I do at 19, I'm almost half, I'm almost bloody." "Alright." "Uh, you're back up to 30 there, Turksey." "Thank you." "No longer bloody." "Alright, um, I'm going to, uh, use Sunburst on, uh, number two here." "Sunburst is standard action melee, uh, Wisdom versus AC, um, radiant damage, you and each ally within five squares gain five temporary hit points and can make a saving throw." "We don't need a saving throw, but I like hit points." "So, uh, D 20 plus 11 is how that works." "Crap, 13." "Uh, 13's gonna miss, sadly." "It's Wind of versus AC, now he, until the end of my next turn, he gets a negative two to all defenses, does that still take that into consideration?" "What, uh, okay, what's that against AC?" "AC." "Still gonna miss." "Ahh." "Sadly." "Okay, as a minor action I'm gonna pout." "Um, I'm done, I'm done my turn." "Trixie, your turn." "Okay, um, I'll just do my melee basic attack again. 22?" "22 will hit." "Three." "Three damage." "I'm trying." "Uh, three damage." "Uh, do you wanna move or anything like that?" "No." "Okay, uh, Galeford, your turn." "Okay, I will do Shadow Claws on number two." "That's a crit." "Well, there you go, that makes up for the other one." "Alright, um, so that will do max damage, which would be 16." "Okay." "Uh, and then also I think I get to roll another dice because of my, uh, Rod of Deadly Casting." "Yeah, uh, plus one d10 extra on a crit." "Holy shit, go ahead, yeah." "Plus another nine." "Hey, guess what?" "He's dead." "He's totally dead, yeah, totally, totally dead." "Alright." "Bam, dead. Um, so his, his corpse just falls down and there's a bear trap, uh, it's lodged on his shoulder and he's just got these, these awful rake marks across his stomach and his cloak's all torn and then you just rend him with this, like that guy's had a bad day." "Ew." "I like that I stole Valus's kill with like an ice power or two." "Yeah, heh, heh. Uh, do you want to move or anything?" "Uh, no, I'm good." "Okay, and Valus.

Uh, Valus has a minor action, is gonna reach down to where the body is and, uh, open up the bear trap again and stare back at Galeford and Claire. Uh, he is then going to move up two spaces and swing the bear trap back around, uh, and try and target one. And twenty-two? That thing always hits, damn." "Oh my." "Uh, and that, the bear trap's gonna clamp down on the back of this guy, like the, the small of his back, so it's just this awful, like, kind of grazing hit, but it's terrible. And grab this guy by his muffin top and drag him back with an eleven.

Uh, and this guy's just screaming in agony, just screaming, and it drags him back. Uh, Hellfire Warlock number one, uh, is going to whip around, uh, at Valus with the bear trap still attached, uh, and he is going to, uh, just use his dagger again. Uh, you're getting the feeling that maybe this guy isn't the best of spellcasters, 'cause he's only tried to use this dagger. That's all he's tried to do in the fight." "Yeah." "Uh, nineteen is gonna hit Valus, and he is going to do a one-d-four plus five. Six damage to Valus. Uh, as a reaction, uh, Valus is going to set him on fire." "Because that's what you do as a reaction." "Uh, with Infernal Wrath.

Uh, and that's gonna be a one-d-six plus seven. Uh, and the Hellfire Warlock dies." "And, uh, I could just imagine that, like, whole scene where he, like, just stabs Valus, and Valus just goes, 'You little prick,' and, like, flicks him in the forehead, and his entire body catches on fire." "It's almost a, it's almost this Dragon Ball Z-esque thing, and he can only do that when no one next to him because it creates an aura. So, the guy hits him, and he just, ugh, and just fucking obliterates him. Uh, it's, it doesn't, it doesn't hurt incredibly, but it's, it's, yeah, it's nice to polish somebody off.

And you guys are out of combat." "Nice. Okay. Anybody need to heal up?" "The front door is now unguarded. Uh, let's see here, Trixie's down to thirty hit points. Everyone else seems to be pretty good. Uh, Valus has only lost a few, so, yeah." "I was gonna say, I will, I assume we're gonna start moving in towards the house." "Yeah, we gotta go in now." "So, I will go back to--" "We just made a huge ruckus, we need to act quickly." "I'll go back to Tala, and, uh, just gently pick her up." "So, uh, the front porch is engulfed in flames here. Uh, it's, it's, it's, there's a lot of damage done." "Uh, guys wanna head, uh, this way?

To this entrance?" "Yeah, I don't feel like walking through fire today, so, sounds good." "Alright, so, uh, you guys travel around to the back of House Darksean, and, uh, you walk into the back door, which is now unguarded, and you guys are gonna make your way into the house."