The Demon Under Donhurst

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

[clattering] [clattering] Pickaxe. Coming to Apple TV+ on August 9th. You're the Marine? Yeah, you're the ex-con. Yeah, I did time, but you don't gotta cast aspersions at me. From the director of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Identity comes a new film. It's your first job? I know what I'm doing. I'm a little late for a crit change. Starring Matt Damon. Everybody in New England is after us. And Casey Affleck. Go, go, go, go, go! What are you doing? Taking notes. Taking notes on a criminal conspiracy. The Instigators, rated R. Streaming August 9th on Apple TV+.

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Or a friend if you're not feeling too selfish. It's a fantastic time of year to give things like this to people who are into tabletop gaming. Who are into D20 systems. Who are into just collecting dice to be honest. Because I have tons of sets of them and I don't even play in person with other people. Check them out and let us know what you think. Let's do that thing where we go around the table to introduce ourselves. I'm Jason, I'm the Dungeon Master. Going around the table, start with Alex. Hey, I'm Alex and I play Brela the Halfling Bard. And Jamie. Hi there, I'm Jamie.

I play Tatiana the Human Rogue. And Karen. Hi, I'm Karen. I play Kali the Elven Druid. And Ian. Hey, I'm Ian. I play Cauldron Halec the Half-Elf Sorcerer. And Jameson. Hey, I'm Jameson. I'm playing Larg the Half-Orc Paladin. And last and certainly not least is Valerie. Hey, I'm Valerie and I play Elena the Human Fighter. So in the pre-show here, I prepped you guys on what happened last time. You're all pretty much caught up. You're ready to go? Yes. Mm-hmm. Totally. So your situation currently... you are in this temple. And you have in your possession the Bell of Vecna.

And also some scrolls and stuff like that from the previous owner. Brelan was keeping watch and heading toward the building, at least looked like they were lurching forward, where these stitched together creations... they're definitely made from people, but they're not made from the same people. It'll be like a torso of this, an arm of that, a head or two of this thing. And they are closing in on the front doors of this temple. What would Brelan do at that point? Okay, Brelan is invisible currently. So I'm good. I'm assuming I'm looking at the front door of the temple, right?

Yeah, it sounded like that last time. Okay. Is this a closable front door? Yeah, totally. How big are they compared to me, though? Because this is always going to be a problem. They're actually just regular-sized doors. It's not eight-foot tall, reinforced, all that stuff. These are pretty standard wooden doors. Okay, and how far are they from the door? Like a couple feet? I got some time. You got some time. These things are about 25 feet away, something like that. The closest one is about 25 feet away. Okay, I'm going to try and close the door as quietly as possible.

Okay. So maybe they think the wind closes it because I'm see-through right now. Okay. I'll tell you what, give me a stealth check. Ah, balls. Just to see. It doesn't have to be high. Do I get an advantage because I'm invisible? I would say yeah. Yes, I got one. Wow. Ah, I guess. That's not bad at all. Okay. So you can walk up to these front doors, and there's kind of a front room situation here. So there's the big front doors in the front, and then there's a small room you're in, and then you back up, and there's another set of double doors that close. So I'm guessing you're just closing the front doors themselves and shutting them to, like, kind of, you're going to hear a creak, click.

Okay, cool. Can I, so there's another set behind me? Yeah. Okay, I'm going to do that again. I'm going to run behind those. A little, I run back there. And no need to really do a stealth check on this one. Nothing like that. I close the second set, and there's like a, I assume, some sort of bar or something to, like, brace them. Well, I mean, this is a temple, so it's not really meant to, it's not meant for, like, oh, if this building comes under siege or something like that. It's not like a shelter. This is more of a place of worship. It's meant to be open all the time.

Those doors only get closed when it's raining out and stuff like that, or they're closed or something like that. So I wouldn't say that, but you can barricade it. Absolutely. Okay, let's do that. Let's barricade it. Okay. So the party is probably going to notice Brailin doing this. Would anyone get curious? Yeah, Cauldron will see this door moving. And do we know that, like, has Brailin done this before? Only with Tatiana. She's seen me do it, but I don't think anyone else has. I would assume, you know what, at this point I would assume, like, maybe everyone, except Lark, everyone would know because we've been traveling along together.

Okay, okay. You know my repertoire is increasing. Yeah. Then Cauldron will, like, see what the, like, Brailin reinforcing these doors somehow and see that it's, like, sort of ghostly. And the first thing he'll do is snap up and be like, "Brailin, is something wrong?" Brailin's going to be panting, closing, trying to barricade the door. "Monsters! People fused together! A lot of them outside! We've got to find a way to hide. We've got to get out of here." And Cauldron will, like, whip to Lark and be like, "Is there a back entrance out of this temple?" Excellent question.

Is there a back entrance to this temple? There is not. There is no back entrance. Okay, that's not to code. [Laughter] Yo, if we get these people back, we are going to find the shit out of them. [Laughter] Where's the fire marshal? Are there any, like, windows that are kind of accessible and big enough or anything like that? Excellent question. You know what, I'm going to share a map with you guys. Hold on a second. Oh, good. That's always the good side. I'm sharing it for reference. I love maps. No, that means we're going to get back. [Laughter] Reference for where you die. [Laughter] Oh, fancy!

See, this is why I like getting the map shared, because there's always something cool like this. It's even called church and everything. [Laughter] Oh, I see what you're talking about. The front was right down there. Yep. Oh, well, damn it, Alex, you fool. Why is it? Why are you a fool? It's like a shitty door. I might as well just let him come in. Well, you barricaded it. Yeah, but kind of tried. They're just going to step over it like, "Oh, cute door, bro." [Laughter] Well, you see all those black marks? Yeah. All of those are windows, and everything up front are these beautiful, slightly reinforced, they're tempered.

Just these stained glass windows. Just beautiful, right? But there are some clear bits where you can see out. Obviously, smashable, too, if you're trying to get out. Or in. Again, yes. Technically, totally. So Largo, he'll kind of shake his head like, "No, there's no other doors." And he'll look at the windows and think about it, and be like, "I don't want to break those windows." How many of them are there? I know I saw three clearly, right, Jason? Yep. As Brelin will say, you'll hear a voice. I saw three, but probably more. Yeah, I'll go to the window and see if I can see out whichever direction.

Okay. Do me a favor. Give me Perception. Give me a nice, juicy Perception check. Oh, ho, ho! Very juicy. I didn't see. Was it good? That's your first crit? Yeah, Lara's gonna take a bunch of stuff in here. For starters, there are more of these things. They appear to be kind of slow and shambly. They are monsters. And I'm not talking... I'm talking in the most literal sense. Some of these things are just stitched-together arms with sort of a head attached, or eyes, like loose eyes. Ugh. They are horrifying. And each one of them shambles in a different way. Do you remember the video game Spore?

Do you remember how you could create different things, and then the video game decided, "I guess it would walk like this." And it would just animate... That's basically what these things are. They are... Some of them look kind of Frankenstein-esque, the monster. And they're just stitched-together cadavers, and they are moving. Some of them are purely either mistakes or experiments or something. They are... They should not be. None of these should be, but some more than others. Okay, so I've got two follow-up questions. One, it looks like they're clearly headed toward the temple, right?

It looks like they're being attracted by something, yes. Okay. And second, they're clearly undead, right? Yeah. They are not living anymore. It also appears as though there are four heading toward your side, the side you're looking out on here. Okay. I'm going to add that to the three. No, hit me. Now, how close is the closest one that I can see? The closest one is probably about 35, 40 feet away, somewhere in there. Again, they don't appear to be crazy fast, but they do appear to be... You're guessing that they're more numerous than what you're seeing here.

Okay, so Largo will sort of peer out the window for a second and then spin around and be like, "They're coming here. We need to go. There's no other way out. We need to leave out the front now." Brandon's going to sigh. You're going to hear a knock at the front door. Not so much a knock, more of a thump. Okay. Too late. I was going to say, that's confusing. Yeah. Cauldron will say, "It doesn't sound like the front's an option anymore." And then he'll go over to a window on the side that they're not, like the furthest away, and take out his hand crossbow and just smash the glass with the butt of it.

Like, holding his head away. And then he'll toss the hand crossbow to where he last saw Brelyn and say, "Brelyn, catch. I think you may get more use out of this than me." I'd like to think that he throws it at nothing and just falls to the ground. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just like, "Whoo!" Just like, his skin's across the floor. You hear Brelyn walk over like, "Pick it up." And then he'll motion to everyone else out the window. Guess we're jumping out the window. Elena wants to go first. No, you miss him. So, you are climbing out of the building, one by one, right?

And you're trying to climb out on the side opposite that Larg was looking out of? Mm-hmm. Okay. And like, if they're from the front door, then probably, I don't know which side Larg was on, but probably one of these northern windows, whichever side is furthest away. Okay, so, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna have you outside of this church. As soon as everyone gets out of the building, though, like we all land on our feet, and Cauldron is gonna look at everyone, and his eyes are gonna go wide, and he's gonna say, "The horses." Uh-oh. Oh, my. What do we do about the horses?

Well, I'm sure once we tell Taran that there were giant monster zombies stalking us, he won't mind so much if the horses got eaten. I was gonna say, "Oh, you can't see me." I was gonna say, "He shrugs, but you can't see me." The costume. And who's to say that these things want to eat horses? Like, they're being attracted to something. I think it's the bell. And Cauldron will look down where he's got it. That makes a lot of sense. Where should we go from here? This note mentioned this mox was going to the mine, maybe to find someone. Should that be our next move?

M'gul Nod. What about the Black Hand? Their goonies are still headed towards the city. Well, if the fang are still headed, there's no one here left for them to hurt anymore. And maybe perhaps they'll be dissuaded after they see what's left in the town of Dawnhurst. Maybe even a few of them will get unlucky with some of these monstrosities. We can put the Black Hand on pause for the moment. I think what we have to do now is somehow break this curse, figure out a way to bring these people back if we can. And he'll look at Larg and say, "We'll try and bring back Mox and his father and this Ellen and as many people of Dawnhurst as we're able." Kaldun's going to point to the smoke and look at Larg and say, "Are the mines there?" That's the direction of the mines, right?

Yes, that would be the direction of the mines. God damn it! Yeah, he'll look at the smoke and go, "Yeah, that's where they are. We gotta get everybody back." Do the mines usually create smoke, though? Nope. While everybody's talking about this, can I make a perception check? Peek around the corner to see how many of these things I've gathered. Absolutely, yes. Well. Well, okay. A four is good, right? I think they left. I think we're good. Plus one. Mostly it's going to be sounds. This big courtyard is going to reverberate, so it sounds like they're coming from everywhere.

And they might be. But looking around the corner, you're definitely going to see them moving toward you. They are not as slow as, let's say, a zombie or walking corpse normally would be. But they're definitely not sprinting. They're not like your friend the cochlor who is chasing you down the street and stuff like that. They are moving at a walking pace. We're not friends. I told you that already. It wants to be your friend. No, no it doesn't. Wants to give you a terror hug. So you have options at your disposal, is the thing. And how many, sorry, I know we've asked this a bunch of times, but how many are coming around?

Or how many are there? Like four? There were four on the one side that were there moments ago, and then in the front there were at least three. So that gives you seven. Okay. I would say this. One, it sounds like there are more of them than seven. Boy. Okay, mines sound like a pretty good idea, kind of. Yeah, let's not waste any more time. Lar, show us the way. Okay. Break off into a run toward the mines. Alright. While running, at this point it would not be too terribly difficult to avoid these things. But they are definitely, they are definitely following you.

This is, if you had any doubts up until this moment, all that goes out the window, right? Like they are definitely following you. They will turn and open their mouths. Sometimes they have two, three, four mouths. And just bellow into the sky. And just, it looks like they are trying to claw at the air to get some kind of leverage to pull themselves toward you. That is how desperate they are to get to you. So Lar has kind of changed tactics. Instead of kind of barreling ahead and hoping everybody else keeps up, he is sort of almost shepherding the group at this point.

He has got a shield in one hand and his holy symbol wrapped around his fist in the other hand. And he is kind of making sure that everybody is together. He is guessing where Bralyn is, but everybody else, he is keeping them together. Bralyn is very close to Lar. I would say almost like, like every time, it is like with a dog that you almost step on sometimes. And you are like, "God, get out of the way." He is like, "Sorry." There is a little crossbow bouncing around. That is true. Actually, I believe it becomes invisible as soon as I touch it. That makes sense.

That adds up. I was just going to say, he is, in part of doing that, he is also basically putting himself between the group and whichever one of those things is closest. And I am not going to make you roll anything yet, because again, a light jog, a decent run will keep you out of range of these guys for the most part. But it is getting thicker, more congested. The closer you get to these mines, the more these things you are going to see. As we are running, Cauldron is going to look over to Kali and be like, "Kali, can you conjure any flame?" Only a little bit, honestly.

Just enough really to light our way. Just my hands. A little bit, I think, is all we are going to need. And Cauldron is going to stop, pull out one of his vials of oil, and just wait for some of these guys to group up or get around. And then he is going to chuck one of his oil jars at these things. Ooh. Oh, and then I can shoot fire at it. I am so excited. That is such a good idea! That is a really good idea. That is a good callback. So this jar is going to break, and oil sloshes everywhere, cascades. And some of them are going to slip a bit, some of them are going to regain their footing.

Some of them, again, are made up of multiple legs or hands, and they have a much sturdier footing than some of the others. And they are going to continue to crawl toward you. Is Kali going to light them up? Oh yeah. Light them up! I like her hands. I think I can do both. So both of her hands are going to flame up, and she is just going to toss a little ball of flame at the spot that cowled in through the oil. These things are going to go up like a Roman candle. They are insanely flammable right now, and they shriek even more otherworldly than normal. And they are most definitely in pain.

Just perpetual flamey pain. And the ones that got caught up in the fire are going to start to keel over. As the other ones behind them are closing in, they are going to stop just shy of the flames. And that's going to give you guys a bit of an advantage getting away here. Yes. Good call. And then we keep running. Yeah. Keep running to the mine. Oh, I imagine the sound is just horrible. And the smell. Oh, God. Just like a piercing scream and moan and just a horrible burning smell. You ever see The Thing? Oh, God, yes. It's one of my favorite movies. Yeah. It's right up there.

Mm-hmm. The mines. Who would like to do me a favor and be the first one to peek around the corner here and see what's going on with the mines? I think I should be, because I'm invisible. That makes sense. I feel like I don't have much time left on the visibility. It's not a ton. Running around the city and doing all that stuff, not much. Perception, yeah? Yep. Okay. Wow. That's good. Well, you've definitely found the source of the smoke. If you were to guess, there was an explosion or something here. There is this column of thick black smoke kind of coming out from the mines and going up in the sky.

The mines are sort of on the edge of town here, at the edge of the city, and it doesn't look very hospitable for a couple of reasons. One, the thick black smoke and all that. And two, the fact that more of those things are littering the area. And it seems like there are more than a few either coming out of the entrance of the mines or just sort of hovering in that general vicinity. Like guarding or just patrolling or just kind of wandering about? They look like they're wandering about. Okay. I'm going to go back to everybody and be like, "We might have to fight our way through there." There's some of them just kind of lingering, man.

There's a lot of them. Is there any other way in? No, this is it. No well or any excavation route or anything? I mean, Jason, I don't know how much Lark would know about the mines. Give me a wisdom check. Okay. Ooh, wow. So you know a fair amount about the mines. That is the main entrance in and out. That's pretty much what everyone uses. Up until now, again, the mines haven't seen a ton of activity. The last several months have seen the most activity they've probably seen in years. Obviously, this smoke, this is not indicative of what usually goes on. So someone either set off some sort of charge down there or a fire or something terrible happened.

And the monsters are a new addition as well. Okay, well, while we're like, I guess we're hiding somewhere, right? And the sun's going down and we see these guys shambling about the entrance. Breland's gonna pull Elena, Tatyana, Larg, basically everybody. He's gonna be like, "Okay, look, I think if we can try and reverse this ourselves, we have a shot at stopping this here now." He's like, "But, Caldin, did that scroll, does it really look that hard to do?" I mean, I just gave it a really quick glance while we were in the temple. I think it's doable, but the risk is great.

I mean, you can see what happens if something with a spell of this magnitude goes wrong. Yeah, I know, that Mox kid, he really did a nice one here. He's gonna look at the rest of the group. "If we can maybe work together and stop it and you guys cover our back, and I'm assuming there's gonna be some super crazy spellmark or something where these monsters are being made or coming from. If you guys can cover our backs, maybe we can reverse it." Are you saying we go in the mine? He's gonna be like, "Yes, yeah, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, don't get all angry right now, Tatyana.

Let's think about this for a second. What else can we do? You wanna leave this place? Yeah, let's walk straight through all those golem things again. Right? You wanna ask the fang for help? No thank you." Brailin makes a good point, and Mox was going into the mine looking for somebody or something to help him. Who knows if he found it, but there might be a chance that we do, and it might be a way to help reverse this. Even if there's no one down there, I'm willing to try. Can't we just do the spell right now? Like, where we are? Why do we have to go in the mine to do it?

That's a good point. Brailin's gonna think of... He's gonna look like he's thinking out loud, and he's gonna look like he's adding numbers on his fingers for no reason. Well, I mean, the kid wanted to go in there to get someone, but did he need to go in there to complete the ritual? Can I, like, now that we have a minute, can I look over these papers and see if I can figure any of that out? I know what his letter said, but from that ritual, is there some component or specific location or something that is required of it? Do me a favor, give me an Arcana check.

Gotcha. 20 is good, right? Is the 20 good? That'll do, I guess. I suppose. Okay, I want to lay this out very clearly for everybody here. This is an option. Totally, 100% is an option. It comes with its share of risks. One, whoever's working on this, this is a ritual that needs to be performed kind of precisely. Again, you brought up, you could see what happens when things go horrifically wrong. The way Mox made it sound was that they were not up to the task magically, just not magically inclined enough to pull this off or not studious enough, whatever. So they were looking for somebody in the mines that could help them.

Now, if you feel like you are up to the task of doing this, then essentially what you would need to do is find some kind of quiet place, something, or at least a place where you will not be touched. It's going to take a lot of concentration, and if something were to strike you or something like that, that could really screw things up. So you need to find some place where you'll be relatively safe to do this. Two, it's going to take time. About 10 minutes or so to really cast this. Now, you're going to need the Bella Vecna, and you're going to need some patience, basically.

Okay. Got it. Dang. Alright, so I guess what I want to know, I guess what I want to try and figure out, and maybe we can all figure out how to do this, is what's in the mine? What would be in the mine that Mox would need? I guess that's what I'll do. So, Cauldron, I'll look at Larg and just sort of like, if you're from here, can you think of anyone that is in the mine, lives in the mine, anything special about it that they might seek out for this spell? Jason, am I misremembering something last time about a... we found something about a demon living under the mine?

No, you are not misremembering that. Okay. I was going to say. I wish you were, though. But where do we see that? Was it in those papers? Yes. It was. Okay. Uh, essentially, and if you were... at this point, you guys got enough pieces of the puzzle that I think you're piecing this together. Mox really screwed up, and instead of bringing someone back from the dead or saving someone that they cared about, they ended up releasing a pretty substantial demon. To do all this? That is not a low-level demon. You are dealing with something horrific. We're talking probably way above your pay grade to take on single-handedly.

Sounds great, and we're about to go in there. That was... okay. Okay, okay. That makes sense. Alright, so demon is down in there. Yeah, so Wargle just kind of shakes his head and be like, "You know, I think he might have been talking about the demon in the mine. That might have been it." I see. "I don't want to do that." Then you should get the fuck away from the mine. And you'll look really agitated. Yeah, Braille will be behind her shaking his head. "Yep, move far away. No hookshots, please. No flashbangs." Definitely don't want to do that again. Alright, if we're going to attempt this, I'm going to need somewhere where we're not disturbed, or at least I can concentrate for some time.

I don't know how long, as I've never performed this before, but it's going to take some time for me to understand it and for me to perform it. But I'm willing to try if we can find a place like this, somewhere safe, or somewhere that we can defend. How close is the nearest guard tower to where we are? Not far away at all, actually. That's totally runnable. So, yeah, he'll point to that and say, "How about there?" Yeah, I think that will do, if we can get there. Okay. So I guess he'll take off and sort of like leading the group again the way he did before.

So, there's some good news and bad news here. The good news is that you are going to get to this tower unscathed. You're going to get there. You're going to weave in and out. The bad news is these things are definitely honing in on you. And they are moving toward your location. Now the guard tower itself is a pretty decent place to fortify, right? You've got some reinforced doors right off the bat. You have elevation. So even if they did break in, they're going to have to climb to get to whoever's casting this spell. The problem here in terms of cons is you don't have a ton of room to move around.

And if they do get in, there's not a lot of maneuverability. Is there like little window perches and such? Yeah, actually there'd be. Yeah, it's kind of a lookout tower type thing. So yeah, if you were to get up top, totally. I think that's probably what Tatiana would do. She'd take out her bow and perch herself right up in that little window to start keeping these things away from the door. Before she leaves, Bronn's going to grab her in the back like, "Hey, wait, wait a sec." And he's going to motion her to come down face to face. Okay, hi, what? He's going to put a hand on her shoulder and look at her and say, "Look, I know we have our differences, but you're really fun to hang out with.

So I don't want you to die and I don't want to die either." Okay, so he's going to give her a little bardic inspiration and say, "You're the best shot I've seen in a long time. Please don't fuck up." She did win that contest. He's going to have a little smirk and he says, "We all know you're pretty good. I need you to be better than me this time. Just this once. I'll allow it just this once." Just this once. She'll look back at Brelin and she'll say, "Thanks, I'm glad we're on the same page about the dying thing." And she'll head up. Okay, and then he's going to go to Elena and say, "You two come here." Okay, she'll come over to him.

He's going to do the same thing. It's going to be a different talk. "I know you cut Khaldun's hand off. It's totally cool. We forgive you. I forgive you because he is my best bud. You're a pretty good friend too. I think you're strong. I expect you to do what you could not do with that wheelbarrow thing. I expect you to lift one of these guys off and throw them over if they get too close." And he's going to give her his last bardic inspiration. Khaldun will also, while Brelin's handing out bardic inspiration, he'll give to Tatiana and Elena. He'll say, "Here, in case you need it.

This seemed to work pretty well." And Kali knows what to do. And he'll give each of you his last oil thing. Okay, I was going to ask for those. But also, what is the tower made out of? Is it made out of wood? We'll throw it away from that way. Well, I just like, like worst case scenario. Well, yes, wood. Yes. It's a tower! What else would it have? Do we have time to maybe like, pour a line of oil, like kind of in an arc around the door at the bottom? Or nah? Let's see. Do me a favor, roll a flat T20. Okay. I'd say yes. Cool. I think I want to do that. I'm going to take one of the oil jars and I'm just going to pour like a line a safe distance away.

And then like, have it prepared, ready to go in case anything gets too close. Nice. And then someone else has one, just like a full one does. Tatiana or I guess Elena. I give it to Elena. Okay. So this is very important. I need to know where everyone is going to be. So there's a picture of this as a ground floor. And then there's the elevated portion, right? So the top of this, the top of this guard tower will have vantage points to shoot down and stuff like that. Ground floor is your first line of defense, making sure that these things do not get in through the doors.

The elevated part we can see outside? Yep. Okay. Callie will be up there. Can, can Cauldin go up there to... Cast? Is there enough room? Yeah. Yeah. Totally. Am I helping you with that or am I defending too? It's up to you guys. Basically, what are you putting a premium on? Are you putting a premium on casting the actual, the actual counterspell or buying Cauldin enough time to cast the spell? Arcana's not very good so I think, Brelin, he knows a little bit of magic obviously because he learned from the mentor but it was all like accidental, you know, so I think he would help defend.

I would be down there with Larg and whoever else. Is Elena going to be down or is she going to be on top? No, Elena's going to be down there. And like, is, is this the ground floor of the tower? Yep. And so we're letting them go into the tower before we start fighting them? You are trying to, well okay, I guess that's another thing. Do you want to be outside? Yeah. Interesting. I want to be outside. Okay. Oh, to like have somewhere to fall back to. Sure, sure. All that calculus is coming in handy. Alright, so everybody, the situation, the situation here, just to let everybody know at home, Larg and Elena are just outside the front doors of this tower.

Right now there are five of these golems that are going to be closing in. Brelin is just inside. He cast Bardic Inspiration on some people. Up top of the tower, we got Calvin who's getting ready to cast this Counterspell. And we have Callie and Tatyana up top getting a vantage point on these golems to fire down on them, I'm guessing. Yeah. Alright. I have really scary music playing too in the background. Everyone do me a favor, roll initiative. Oh fuck, I forgot how to do that. Oh my god. Oh there we go. Oh crap. Four is good, right? We've established that. It's better than my natural one.

Oh yeah, that's good right? That's real good. So you guys are about to attempt something pretty damn big and if you pull it off, this is no small feat. Activating the Bell of Vecna is not to be trifled with. You guys are, this is big deal. This is not small potatoes. So are you ready? Go big or go home. Let's do it. Tatyana, you are up first. Alrighty. She is going to attack with her shortbow and she's each time going to try to do whichever one is closest to the door, basically. Okay. So this one would be golem number one. Okay and I gotta add a d6 to my attack because I have bardic inspiration.

Woohoo. Alright. Well. That'll hit. Oh perfect. I need to do six. Perfect. And then damage. Yeah. Six damage. She hit it in one of its gross mouths. Oh the sound effects that you guys put into this. Boop. Alright. This thing is going to take an arrow right in the shoulder somewhere in there and just kind of keep lurching forward. Let's see. Flesh golem number one is going to march forward here and target Elena. And it is going to try and slam down these beefy, like this big pendulous forearm type thing. Just kind of use gravity and just kind of slam at Elena. Thirteen.

That's going to miss. Oh perfect. I have a thing. So this golem misses me. And so I can use my reaction to strike back at it. I will spend one superiority die and make a melee weapon attack against it. Okay. So let's... That'll hit. Perfect. Then I also get to use that superiority die in my damage. So it's going to be... This is regular damage. Okay. Seven damage. Masters of the game. Yep. So that's going to be nine damage total. Anything else? Oh, that was me. So that's going to bring up flesh golem number four. Boop. Going to target Elena. And another thirteen. Going to miss.

Cool. And that brings up Elena. Okay. I'm going to keep going at flesh golem number one. Okay. So I will slash it with my longsword. That is definitely going to hit. And damage. Eight damage. And that's going to be it. Alright. Brailin, what do you want to do? So Brailin's standing in the doorway, right? And he's kind of like a baseball player on base, kind of just like bending the knees, waiting and stuff. And he just sees Elena dodging hits and cutting them up. He's like, "Oh man, yeah, yeah!" He's getting all hyped up. He's going to use one of his bigger spells.

Dissonant Whispers on number four. Is he going to whisper stuff as he plays an instrument? What are you going to play? Ooh, I want to play, because it's Dissonant Whispers, I think I've done this one on the show before, I'm going to play Careless Whisper again. Okay. What? Did he fail? Fail the save, yeah. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. He takes... 3d6 psychic damage and must immediately use his reaction if available to move as far away from me as possible. He doesn't move into obviously dangerous ground such as fire or a pit. If he succeeded, he would take half damage when I...

Okay. Oh hell yeah. 12 damage. So the music just flows from my mouth and I'm... I'm never going to dance again. I imagine the flash golem like stops, like lurches a little bit and then starts moonwalking backwards. Yeah, all kinds of... I don't get to hit him, right? No, because you used your reaction already. Yeah. On the first guy. Oh, you only have one reaction? Per round. Yeah. Oh, I didn't even know that that was a thing. Okay. Yeah, it's to make it so that no one comes off as a superhuman and can be everywhere at once. Which you would definitely have been if that role did not exist.

You would be just slashing these fools. Yeah. That's true. You'd basically be a Cuisinart. It's a magic bullet. I'm done. I'm finished. Alright. Pistol of deck. I'm going to light this line up pretty soon. Colin, you ready to try this? Yes. Yes I am. What do I need to do, boss? I think it's time for a skill check challenge, ladies and gentlemen. Yes, it's time. Oh boy. I believe... Where's my Bardic Inspiration? I believe that this is our first skill check challenge of the season? Really? Oh. Thanks, Colin. I'm glad to be here for the inaugural skill check challenge. And this one's for all the marbles, ladies and gentlemen at home.

This is a big one. So many marbles. So many marbles. My heart is going so fast. What if it fails? Like, what happens? Does another team come out? I don't know. We didn't talk about it. We didn't talk about it. If, if, not when, if. Don't talk like that. Yeah, there we go. When. Did you say when? Maybe. So, the way this ritual works is you're up there casting and you're doing your thing. Now, for every failure, obviously, things are going to start to go wrong. Things are going to go bad. Anywhere from this Counterspell starting to do damage to you, or your allies might be under some stress and torment from these things down here.

But we're not thinking about failures right now. We're thinking about successes. Positive thinking. Yep, that's it. Just keep succeeding and nothing bad is going to happen. Now, each time that you succeed, the check is going to go up a little bit. Are you prepared to give me your first Arcana check? Yes. Okay, go for it. Here we go. Oh, yes. Oh my God. Do they still count crits as two successes or no? We won D&D, right? We won. I think you just win D&D. We all pack up and go home. That is a crit. Everything is fixed. Okay, so, oh boy. Cauldan will roll out the bell and lay it out and kneel, nod to Elena and Kali, and just go into deep concentration, start reading the words on the scroll, and as he does, the bell just raises up in the air and rings, and the ritual begins.

One thing I got to mention is when we're finished this, you're going to have to give that bell a good ring. By the way, Elena's not up there with you. It's Tatiana. Tatiana, yeah, sorry. That's okay. I didn't say how many successes and failures yet. Oh, good. Okay, so you're hiding it now. Hiding is a strong word. No, but yes. So, that'll do it for Cauldan Larg. Your turn. All right, so Larg has had the chain of his holy symbol basically wrapped around his fist since they left the temple, and as these things start coming forward, he basically is going to hold it up in front of him and start marching toward the one that's directly in front of him.

He's going to start basically chanting in a different language, celestial for anybody who understands it, and it sounds like he's basically barking orders at it as he marches towards it, and the holy symbol is going to start to glow brighter and brighter and brighter as he gets close to it. And as soon as he gets in front of it, he's going to complete it, and basically he has turned undead. Ah. What? So, everything within 30 feet of him makes a Wisdom save, and if it fails, it runs away for a full minute. Interesting. Ooh. What? Is it creatures or enemies?

Any undead or fiend in the area. There are no actoronosis. And I'm not a fiend? Nah, there are no actoronosis on this team. I'm not a fiend. I don't know what is a fiend. Big demon. Okay. And I'm not that? You are not that. That we know of. That we know of. Twist. All right, let's start, what's the save? It's like Patience-y plus your modifier. So that would make it 12. All right. Let's start having them roll. Ooh, wow, they got dick. Aw, for... So, on their turn they have to move, or they move now? Yeah, they'll start moving next turn, you know, for their turn, and then for a full minute afterwards.

All right. So let's just go down the list here. Oh my god, Larg. Holy damn. If they take damage, it hurts it. That one succeeded. Yeah, that one's... three is good. Okay. Ooh, four is good. Oh good, the one I got right in his face. And five is bad. So one, two, and five have been affected by this. All right, he's just gonna post up in front of it with his shield. All right. So, flesh golem number five is going to start to move away from all of this nonsense. Flesh golem number two is also going to start to move away and sort of shamble back away from Larg. And it appears as though it almost causes them physical pain to be near Larg.

That type of thing. Callie... Okay, so since Larg is on the other side of the oil line, she's not gonna light the oil just yet. But she is gonna light up her hands with her flames. Yeah, and she's gonna offer her hand to Tatiana so that she can light her arrows on fire. Ooh, nice. And I guess that's all I can do on my turn. Flesh golem number three is doing just fine, though. It's gonna shamble right up to Larg, target him, and miss. Oh boy, that'll bring up Tatiana. All righty, so Tatiana is going to light her arrow ablaze. Thank you so much, Callie. And she is going to shoot an arrow over at flesh golem number three.

Or I suppose number one is closest, so number one. So you're playing a game of Space Invaders up top. Basically, yes. Okay. Ooh, okay, sweet. That is definitely gonna hit. Cool beans. Yeah. Nine damage to... let's see here. Does she get to roll extra damage because of the fire? Yeah, I'm looking at... let's see. Let's see, it's not extra damage, but the golem now takes disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn. Yes! I take it. Nice! Yay, teamwork! And that's to one. Wow, that is... that poor golem. Anything else? That'll be it.

Oh man, flesh golem number one is going to start to make a hasty retreat. One, two, three, four, five... Trying to get away from Larg. And number four, however... Huh. The Dislip Whispers thing is over now, right? Um... let me check... I think it's only for that one time. Jesus' reaction, yeah. So he catches back senses and comes back. Right, okay. So here's what we're gonna do. Let's see, flesh golem number four is gonna move up to Larg. And... slam... and miss... And that'll bring up Elena. Okay. Um... let's see. So, much to Callie's chagrin, Elena is also going to cross the oil line.

And, uh... Try to attack flesh golem four. Oof, that is... that is gonna hit! Wait, it does? Yep. Oh, okay. These things aren't really wearing any armor or anything like that. They're all fleshy, yeah. They're probably like, what's it called? Chansey's from Pokemon. They have a lot of HP. They just keep pumping them, they're like, "Whatever, hahaha." Jason, is this a Chansey? Are we fighting Chansey? Where are my Pokeballs? I wouldn't want to catch one, that's all. Eight damage to the golem. Anything else? No, that is it. Braylin, your turn. Okay, I'm not going into the kill box.

Uh, so... I'll move... Kill box. That's what I can think of in that. Iron Man 2, kill box. I'm gonna go one... two... three... And I'll use... I'm still targeting that guy, my bad. I'll target this one. I'll use another level one spell slot to cast Dissonance Whispers. Same thing. Never gonna dance again. Alright. Oh, super fail. That's a super fail, yep. So, let's see, flesh golem number three. Yep, as it comes to damage. Wha! Ooh, cool. Sixteen damage and it is going to move away. As he moves away, Lark, do you have any reactions left? Yes, I do. You take a swing at him?

You should. That's up to you if you want to keep it for something else. I don't know. Your call. Yeah, I might as well. Well, I don't have one... Alright, I'll take a whack at it then. What the heck. Which one was it, number two? Three. Three. I wasn't ready. Oh, jeez. Oof! Oof! I'm sorry, no. That is a crit miss. We're gonna roll on the table. Lark is embarrassed. Receives a negative two penalty to attack rolls against the target until you successfully hit the target with an attack. That's not the worst thing I've ever heard from a phone before on the table, but it's like the most embarrassing.

It is. That sums it up nicely. After that wonderful moment, now I'm bashful. I think that's all for me. After I see Lark, he's like, "Oh, wow." Kaladin, are you ready to try this again? Yes. I needed that plus two. That is another success. Oh, what? Needed that plus two, thank you. Yeah, Kaldin's eyes do that thing where they just turn into light, and he's just reading the thing. I guess a little sublimation will start coming off of him as his magic is starting to work into this ritual. Is there anything happening around, like, environmentally? Around the bell, there's going to be just this subtle bit of air movement.

It's going to feel a little breezier. There's a bit of a chill coming off things, and it's kind of tough to see whether that's from Kaladin just using magic or if it's the bell itself doing something. So that's another success. Congratulations. He's not out of the woods yet, but that is a definite good thing. Lark, your turn. All right. So he's going to try to recover from the miss and swing at the one in front of him this time. Oh, my goodness. Are you kidding me? This is the second crit miss I am so-- [laughter] Lark is embarrassed. Again? Yes. Oh, man, if I had more inspiration, I would go there and help him out.

I'm like, "Come on, you got this, big guy." But I don't have anything. So Lark is just going to walk away with his head down. Oh, it would be really funny if one of the golems was just made up a bunch of dicks, and that's why he's like-- Kind of weirded out. There's so many dicks on it, and he's like-- All right, well, that's my turn. Oh, that is terrible. Let's see, number five is just gone. How long does Turn Undead last? Full minute. Full minute? Oof. How much seconds each round, Jason? About six to ten, something like that. So it's a while. And then however many rounds to come back, I guess, right?

Yeah. So two is gone. Callie, you're up. Okay, so Callie's just going to keep handing out some fire. So I'll just keep offering my flame hands to Tatiana, but I definitely do want to keep an eye on Kaladin as well, just to make sure he's not struggling too much. Just throwing that out there. Yeah, this is only going to get more challenging, more difficult. It's like-- It's that thing where he's checked out. He is completely engulfed in the thing. Once you start the Counterspell thing, it's not light reading. He is gone. Yeah. Yeah, I guess she's just looking for signs of stress, basically.

Boy, howdy. Flesh column number three is going to move back here. And going to target Elena and use Slam. The one against Elena hit. Sixteen damage to Elena. Whoa! Oofy doofy. These things do not hit often, but when they do... Okay, that is the end of the round. A couple of friends are going to be joining the fight. Friends, yay! The eagles? Are the eagles coming? The eagles. Oh my god, if it's Kla'kor's, I'm going to fucking lose my shit. God damn it. Fuck me. So let's have them roll initiative. Twenty... And the second one is going to roll. I can't use magic on these things, by the way, guys.

They cannot hear me. Eighteen. That'll bring up Taktiana. So you're going to be... Things are going pretty damn well on the ground right now, except for Elena just getting hit. But that's the first time that any of your side has been hit by anything. And all of a sudden, streaking onto the battlefield are two more of these Kla'kor. Obviously they represent a huge shift because they're not slow and shambling. These things are fast and brutal. Right. And I think at this point, because of the experience that the group has had with these before, Taktiana's probably going to switch her actions over to the Kla'kor.

Okay. Oh, that's totally going to hit. Yeah. Kla'kor number two is going to take some damage. Nine damage. Gorgeous. And that was on fire, but... You know what? Give me an extra d6. Oh, okay. Cool. I'm not going to combine that. There you go. Alright. Boom. Anything else? That is it. Oh man, these Kla'kor rolled real high on their initiative. They fast. Yeah, they did. They are fast. Kla'kor number one is going to charge up to Brelyn. Hi. How's it going, old friend? Target Brelyn. And swing. And that'll hit. Sixteen damage. Ouch. Big ouch. Oh, I have one left. Oh no. Holy crap.

I'm going to die. Okay, and the second Kla'kor is going to move here. Target Larg. Kla'kor is going to miss. Let's see. Flesh Golem number one is still affected by that. Flesh Golem number four is not going to target Larg. Going to slam. Going to miss. Larg's built like a tank. Do you know that? Not right now. In a very big way. So, Elaina sees that Larg is currently surrounded. But she also sees behind her that Brelyn just got hit and he's not looking good at all. And she just met Larg. So, she's going to disengage from these Flesh Golems. Okay. And then she's going to move here opposite of Brelyn.

Okay. And then Action Surge to attack it. Okay. Let's do it. Um. Right. Okay. So, yes. That's what I'm doing. And... Oh, that is going to miss. Now, I don't know how it works. The inspiration. Bored inspiration. Is that like a one time thing? Yeah, it's a one time. You can use it once and it's gone. Well, then I'll use it now. Okay. Let's go. Let's do it. Is that another D6? Black D6. Okay. That makes a 15. That is just going to miss. Ah, no! Okay, okay. Then, fine. I will use a precision attack. I can expend another superiority die and add it to the attack roll. So, you are throwing everything at this thing.

So, that's obviously going to hit because there's no zero on a die. So, you got it. Okay. Well, mark that down. Another superiority die. So, then you will just... That means you have two left, right? Two? Uh, yes. Okay. Seven damage to the K'kor. Hey, Brelyn. How you feeling? I feel a little woozy as I am bleeding out all over the floor. I am going to... Okay, so, I heard Rob do it and I wasn't sure if we could do this, so I haven't tried it. I'm going to shift, right? Or, I guess, move here and I'll be okay? Yeah. Swipes? Okay. I'm going to have to bust out my bonus action healing word.

It is my last level one spell slot available. Hold on. So, things are starting to get desperate here. Yeah. That's all I get. I get that. Heals. That was my bonus action and I'm going to just, I guess, attack the K'kor with a... Oh, we get an advantage. I'm an asshole and forgot that when Elena was throwing everything in the kitchen sink at this time. I totally forgot. It's okay. I did too. And I'm the one who moved there for a reason. Can I go back and try to, like, because I can only hit this thing with regular attacks. My magic doesn't work on it. My cantrip, I should say.

Does it say it has to be able to hear? Because, like, all of my stuff is voice. Opponents V, V, V S. And it says, for Vicious Mockery, I throw an insult placed with subtle enchantments at a creature I can see. If the target can hear me, though it need not understand me, it must succeed in what I'm saying through these things tonight here. Can you flip it a finger? Yes, yes, either. They don't have eyes, remember? Can you do it in Morse code and stamp it on the ground? Alright, I'm going to have to... After I shift and do that, can I move back? Yep. Because my movement is breaking up and then I'm going to do...

Oh boy, this is going to suck. Just a regular rapier attack, I guess. Let's do it. Oh god. Nope. You didn't roll with advantage. Even worse. I don't take that one. Okay, we're dropping that one. We're dropping that one, though. So, Brantley basically moves away for a second and talks to us and is like, "You're okay, buddy, you're fine." Catches his breath and then hops back and tries to use the rapier and it just does that thing where it bends again for the first time. Wow. Oh. And I look at Elena and I mouth, "I'm sorry." That's the end of my turn. Cauldin, are you ready to continue this?

Yes. All of your friends are counting on you outside. They are going through a tremendous ordeal. And you have not failed them thus far. You are doing a tremendous job. No pressure. Okay. Thanks. Can I do -- can I pitch you a thing? I'd like to, if you'll let me, use my last sorcery point to give myself advantage on the roll. Just sort of like let that magic course through me. Is that something you'll allow? You know what? I will. Awesome. You are the best. Okay. So, arcana, advantage. There we go. That is another success. Yay. And I've got -- I'm all -- I'm tapped out of sorcery points.

So things are starting to get a little desperate around here. Cauldin's throwing everything he's got at this. Healing is running low. Points are starting to run low out on the battlefield here. And this is desperate. These things are not playing around. They are desperately trying to get into this tower. And it seems as though if they got their way, they would rip Cauldin to shreds. So just in a little FYI. Larg, your turn. All right. So if I shift to the space to the left of the second klakor, I draw an attack from those flesh golems. Like if I move here. Yeah, I believe so because -- yeah.

Unless you disengage. Yeah, you know what? I'm just going to disengage in that point. Okay. And -- well, it's going to burn up all my movement, but I'll move here. Okay. And that will be my turn. All right. Let's see. Flesh golem number five is gone. Flesh golem number two is gone. That brings up Kali. Who wants to see a wall of flame? Yes, please. Light it up, mama. I feel like when Larg -- when Larg like rushes back, all me and Elena at the same time are like, "Kali, fire!" All right. I'm going to throw some fire down on that oil. Okay. Light it up. So this thing is going to go up.

We're talking like eight, nine foot, you know, wall of fire here, like when it erupts. This is -- this is good because there's like -- I imagine there's straw mixed in there and stuff like that. This is pretty -- pretty highly flammable. The klakor is going to go up. Oh, fuck yeah. And we're going to do 2d10 damage to it. That is six damage to the klakor. Yes. Anything else? So now you have a wall of fire separating your team from their team, except for the klakor on the other side. Cool. I have a question. Yes. So my produced flames were already like on. Can I -- does it take my whole action to throw that or as like can I relight my produced flames because they go out when I throw the fire?

I think it's going to take an action. Okay. Because I think it's -- yeah. No big deal. That's it then. All right. Flesh Golem number three is kind of trapped here on the other side. So let's skip forward here. Tatyana. It's me. Your turn. Okay. So being that this wall of fire is now up, she's only got one clear target, which is this klakor. And she's going to shoot her short bow at it, no fire this time. Oof. That's going to just miss here. That's going to hit the ground near Larg and Blaylan. Even though I still have Bardic Inspiration. I get to roll d6. Roll that d6?

Yeah. Didn't help at all. Oh, that's a one. So yeah, I'd say that would land right in between Larg and Blaylan. At least I didn't hit him, so I'll take it. No. Blaylan put his thumbs up without looking behind him. Like, yeah, I know you tried. Klakor number one. Oh boy, howdy. If he attacks anybody other than me, he'll have disadvantage. Well then let's attack us a Larg. I mean... 14's going to miss. There we go. Klakor number two is going to leap through the wall of flame. I knew it. Take more damage. Damn it. So take another, well, another damage. One damage from the flame.

And streak over here and mix it up. He is also going to target Larg. 20 will hit. That'll do it. 19 damage to Larg. All right. All the golems are trapped on the other side of the wall of flame. That brings up Elena. Okay. She's going to go for Klakor one. That will hit. Perfect. Let's see, Klakor one. So she's also going to use Distracting Strike. Basically, I expend one Superiority die. And I add it to the damage roll. But the next attack roll against the target by an attacker other than me has advantage. If it's made before the start of my next turn. So you are just trying to keep these things off-brain, it sounds like.

And try to focus fire down. Yeah. So I'm going to roll damage and then another d8. Okay. So that's not one damage because I have great weapon fighting. So I can reroll the damage and then we have to use that one. Okay. Go right ahead. Okay. So we're going to redo that. Oh, that's max damage instead. Perfect. And then the d8 because of the Distracting Strike. Holy moly. Max damage again. So that is 20 damage to the Klakor. Nice. Holy shit. That is amazing. So Elena is going to stab this Klakor in the chest then rear back and stab it in the throat. And the entire time it's just these weird, awful noises.

Well. Brailen, your turn. I don't have much left but I'll try and attack the Klakor again with my rapier. This is going to kind of shake it off. Try again. It's with advantage. Let me turn it on real quick. Oh, wow. Let's take the 20. Whoa. Holy shit. Okay. We dropped a one to take a 20, folks. That's awesome. Critical hit. The table's a six, right? Yep. Did I roll the damage? You roll damage. Go right ahead. Oh my god. Yeah. 13 damage to the Klakor and you're going to knock it down. Ooh. Go prone, fool. Oof. So Brailen's all panicked. Just attacks out of pure rage and I think somehow just manages to get the rapier in a nice spot between the little chite armor and the neck collarbone area.

Just like perfect squishy zone. Pulls right back out. Oh man. That is so fucking cool. And I'm done. Kaladin. Jason. Yeah. Before Kaladin makes his next skill check, can I, I had read up on this a little bit a while ago. Can I give him my inspiration point? Tension's killing me. Well that is a good idea if it is allowed, Jimmy. You know what? Yeah, go ahead. Oh yeah. So I pictured Todd Tiana like after missing this Klakor and seeing Brailen bleeding. She's going to look back to Kaladin and say something incredibly inspirational to him and just be like Kaladin, you've got this.

You can do this. And then ta-da, here's your inspiration point. All right. So you get advantage on this next roll if you choose to use the inspiration here. Hell yes I do. All right. Do me a favor. Give me an arcana check with inspiration. That is one more success. Yes. Oh my God. I was going to cry. So Kaladin at this like he's deep in his like chanting and like arcane moment, but from somewhere outside of this, he hears like this echoing voice like you can do it Kaladin Kaladin. He like hears that and he begins to just sort of like levitate off the ground a little bit just ever so slightly and a bit more like snow and ice begins to like billow out from him and out the windows.

Did we get it? Are we done? Kaladin is going to feel something. Kaladin is going to feel the beginning of the end here. This counterspell feels like it's wrapping up, but not quite wrapped up. Larg, your turn. All right. Brailin, what's your hit point maximum? What are you at now? My maximum sir is 17. I currently have lost 11. So I have six left before I pass out. All right. Go ahead and go back up to maximum. Larg is going to basically reach through and put a hand on his shoulder and that same kind of white glow is going to come and he's going to spend 11 of his 15 lay on hand points.

Good lord. As Larg reaches out and does that, Brailin is going to look at him and have those anime eyes, like the tears. Thank you so much. And he'll just give a nod like, good job, buddy. And that's it. All right, Kali, your turn. It's not a big deal. Like they're still doing OK, so it's not like dire straits. So I'm just going to use one of my first little spells and I'm going to do Faerie Fire. And so I'm going to like aim it on the click horn number one, but it'll hit both of them. So there's going to be like this green light that shoots down and like falls over the area and they have to make a dexterity saving throw.

So. What am I doing with my life? Hold on. Me every day. I think I have to do them and then. Is that the right one? There we go. That is the right one. They both succeeded. Well, then nothing happens. They both rolled the exact same thing. Which is exactly what I spell save. It's exactly what a fuck you. I turn around and give Kali the finger. Like a light is going to shoot out and really cover the area, but then it's just going to like dissipate immediately. Speaking of light, there's this crackling energy coming from behind Kali with the bell and Kalden. And there's this there's this faint light that's going to be shining up into the sky itself.

And by now, the sun has the sun has pretty much set and it's it would be beautiful from far away in the middle of this. I don't think the beauty of it is really shining through. But here's what we're going to do. I am going to ask Braylin. Of course. Yeah. What's up? Do me a favor. Give me a flat D4. Also, I just want to add that this is the second time that Kalden and I have experienced a light shooting into the sky. I was going to say like, we're pillars of light. Three more click or are going to. Why not? Why not? I may have doomed us all. I'm sorry. Not gonna lie, I'm glad I'm up here.

I imagine Tatiana said that really like really to herself as those three show up. She would. Now, the good news is they're on the other side of this wall of flame. That's not going to slow. That's not going to stop them. It will slow them down a little bit and they will take some damage coming through it if that's what they decide to do. Flesh columns are not even a problem anymore. I'm going to I'm going to let you guys in a little secret. Things are looking really dire right now, and that's because the spell is going so well. It's drawing these things to you.

They are desperately trying to stop Kalden from finishing this ritual. The demon beneath Dallinhurst is doing everything it can to stop this from happening, which means it's throwing out all the stops. Sadly, you guys you guys are caught right in the middle of the path here. The good news is if Kalden gets one more success, then the ritual will be complete. You guys ready to do this? Never. Turn around, baby. Tatyana, your turn. Start round five. OK, Callie, do I get fire? No, sorry. Fire. OK, that's OK. She is going to aim over actually at core one and she's going to fire short bow again and probably miss.

That one's going to miss. But I still have partic inspiration. Wait, does it work? No, no, it's over. You can't use it again. One and done. Oh, it's one and done. Never mind. It doesn't matter. That would have missed anyways. I missed because it sucks. Whatever. I like trying to sneak that in there. Good job. Click core number one is going to attack Larg and miss. Click core number two is going to attack Brailin. Disadvantage. With disadvantage. Good. Wow. That's a 24. That is... No, that's disadvantage. He takes the eight, but either way slits me. Oh, no, that was Larg.

I'm sorry. That was a 19. Holy crap. Well, that's just bad luck. Yeah. Ah, Jesus. That is 14 damage to Brailin. Click core number three is going to... Race and jump through the fire, take a d8 damage. So that's six damage right off the bat before this click core does anything. And it is going to target Elena and miss. That is such a badass image though. These horrible demons just leaping through this wall of fire. Just like... You know what? I'm going to do a thing. Just because I think it'll be so cool. So this click core, right? It runs through the fire, leaps through it, catches the claw of fire, takes damage, tries to swipe at Elena, misses.

And so she will use riposte again. And so she's going to, as it comes toward her and it misses, she'll take her sword and try and plunge it into the click core. Ooh. This is your last one, right? Yeah. Okay. Let's do this. Nail it. That will hit. Yeah! So it's going to do damage. And then my superiority die damage. Which is another six. Good Lord. So in this one round, that click core took 19 damage, leaping through the fire and then getting stabbed by Elena. Badass. These things got some health on them. Holy crap. That's what it means. Badass scene though. Elena, your turn.

Okay. So she just finished stabbing this click core and she's going to take it out, turn around and try and hit this one that's been around for too long in her opinion. So she's going to attack click core one. That is a crit! Yes! Do me a favor, roll damage. Okay. And it automatically does crit damage, right? Yep. That will kill the click core. Thank God. Tell me how you finish this thing off. So she took it out of click core number, what was that, three, quickly turns around and just swings her sword and slices it in half. Boop. From crotch up, boom, just done.

These things don't really have crotches, but you get the idea. In twain, it is going to fall to the ground. Anything else for your turn? Nope, that is it. That's pretty damn productive. Send your click core crotch artwork to Dean. Please don't. That was like the most, the highest damage done in any round, I think in a long time. Oh my God, MVP, Elena, holy crap. Click core number four is going to leap through the fire and attack Larg, but first it's going to take one D8. Boom, four damage to the click core. It is going to target Larg. It is so gonna miss. I like envision these things like trying to like just bash him and he's just kind of standing there watching them hit his armor like nothing.

Is somebody there? What is this? Raylan? So after I get swiped, I'm like, "Ahh!" He's going to start bleeding again. He's going to look up at the tower for like a second and he's going to whisper in his breath, "Calvin, please hurry up." And I will shift one, right? That's pretty good. And I'm going to be like back to back with Elena and I'm going to say, "Hey, good job. Keep doing good stuff, okay?" And then I'm going to try and stab number two. That'll hit. No advantage needed. Oh, sucksores. Six damage to the click core. And then reaches in and pulls it back, actually gets like a nice little belly spy.

He's like, "Woo hoo hoo!" That's it. Oh boy, can you feel it? Can you feel it in the air, everybody? Calvin? I can feel it in the air tonight. Ugh. I think you're out of stuff. I think you're out of... Yeah, I don't know if there's anything else I can do, but I think it's just it's got to come down to this role. You know what I'm saying? Here we go. The bell is ready to be struck to finalize this. Ah! That is five successes that will finish the ritual. Oh my god. With the help of all of his friends and the power of his magic, Cauldron finally steps down from this short levitation onto the ground and says the final phrase of this incantation.

And just with his finger, with his one hand, he flicks the bell hanging in the air and it makes a chime. So it's going to start as a chime up top on the tower and it is going to ring out as if someone struck this massive bell with a hammer. And it's going to ring out. And for a moment, nothing's going to happen. And then Cauldron's going to feel something. Cauldron's going to feel as though something is in him, taking control over his body. Cauldron's going to get a thousand images flashing through his head over and over and over again, just as if someone's flipping through a slideshow at maximum speed.

And if Callie and Tatiana were to look at Cauldron right now, those are not Cauldron's eyes looking back. Cauldron's arm is going to regenerate. What? But it's going to be skeletal. What? So this skeletal arm covered in loose bits of muscle is going to sprout from the stump. And there's going to be a single eyeball in the palm of his hand, kind of purple and black. And Cauldron is going to point that up into the sky. And there's going to be this tremendous purple light that is going to erupt from it. A shotgun blast of magic. All of these klakur are going to erupt in this purple flame.

Everybody on the ground is going to, for one brief second, catch a glimpse of what looks to be a giant scythe running through these things. They are all going to drop dead. Gone. Ash. Everything in Donhurst, save for the flames in front of you, is going to go deathly silent. Cauldron is going to return to normal and fall down unconscious. And the bell is going to stop shining. Guys, I feel like that's probably a good time for us to stop. Oh my god! Okay, so let me clarify. Does he have an arm still? Or is he gone? It was just Vecna for a moment. Yeah, is that what it was?

Just for a brief second and then just like, okay, bye. A little bit, yeah. Oh man. She didn't even give him an arm? He just saved the world. Vecna's a bad god, I thought. Like one of the mean ones. Good and bad are subjective. Holy shit. Across the ocean, on the island of Botan, home to the Goliath, Finwe Dawnharp and Dagon Arkenscape make their way through the jungles in order to reach the gate that got them to the island in the first place. After exploring the area for some time and meeting some of the locals, the two realize that it was time to continue their journey.

Finwe is going to approach Dagon. And I would imagine that there's a routine for this. You guys have done this a handful of times. But he's kind of sort of approached Dagon and you can tell he's a little pensive. He's not confrontational. He doesn't like to bother people. Hey Dagon, don't get me wrong. I really appreciate you taking me with you and I've really enjoyed getting a chance to explore and watch you use these gates. But the last time I saw you before all this, it really looked like you were struggling and now it's almost effortless. And I've never seen a scion be able to do that.

I was just wondering if maybe you could tell me a little bit about that process? I'd love to get some down for the notes and honestly, I'm just pretty curious. Dagon will slap away some bugs and whatever that are flying all around him. He's not really comfortable in this climate actually. But he'll look at Finwe and just say, "Lokon." Lokon? Did you know that there are no more Scions? You're a scion. I've watched you open these gates for weeks now. Bri helped me out but there was one other time and it took quite a bit of anger to push me to the point where I could open it.

Obviously now it doesn't take much effort at all. But when I was able to open it, it was to get to Kion to... Do you know much about the seal in Kion? I know what Poe told me but he wasn't in the best shape. With Bri dying, he wasn't... But yeah, he told me certain things. It sounded terrible. It was rough. Bri made a sacrifice. Actually, a few people made a sacrifice. But when that gate was opened, that was it for Scions. There was no need for us anymore. So how are you opening these gates? Have you ever lost something that meant so much to you that you would do anything to have that back in some shape or form?

Finwe's going to have a seat next to this large stone tablet here the gate sits on. It's the same way you guys came in. There's rocks next to it, just part of the natural landscape. I lost my family when I was younger. There was... No, the Warforged didn't take Kion into elves. I didn't really see where there was much I could do about it though. I joined the Ravens when I was a little older and they were kind enough to take me in. All I've ever really been good at is research so I just stuck to that. But if you had the chance to bring back your family, wouldn't that be worth trying?

Yeah, of course. Well, oddly enough I had that chance and I got my family back. You must know the Aladdin are alive and well. Yeah, living in Onakol. Yeah. That's right. Except they're about a hundred years removed. I mean, the day they disappeared, to them, is the day they came back. Oh. I guess I never thought about that. But, I mean everyone can adjust though, right? Finwe, I'm older than my parents. Well, I could see where that would be pretty weird. I mean, I'm grateful they're alive. And I was happy to be with them. Despite getting my family back, once I lost my power there was just a gaping hole inside.

And I thought, for sure, the Aladdin, who created that power in the first place, would surely give it back to me. I mean, after all, I don't want to sound selfish, but I did contribute largely to them coming back. Not that I was doing it for favors. Right. But they didn't. No. My mother and I took it to the High Council and they ruled against it. They didn't want to mess with that kind of magic anymore. And they denied it to me. I'm really sorry, Dagon. That had to hurt. Deeply. So, I took it upon myself to find power elsewhere. And without regret, this is something I chose to do.

And I made a pact. With what? Lokon. You can see Finwe trying to access portions of his brain and he's like, "Okay, wait. Why does that name sound familiar?" Now that it's in context. So, you're saying you made a pact with a demon. You sold your soul. What was left of it? You have to understand, I should have been filled by the fact that my family was back. My fiancé was back. But she's a kid. My parents could be my children. Do you know how awkward that is? I can't imagine. But aren't you afraid of what's going to happen when you die? I've had so much taken from me.

There's not much I'm afraid of anymore. He's going to rub his forehead just a little bit. So, you sold your soul so you can use the gates again just to have that same power back? It's not just about power. It's partly about the gates. I became rather attached to them. It's about being whole and fulfilling a need. Well, look. Trust me. I more than anyone want to see everyone eventually be able to use these gates. Do you know how many lives that could save if people could not only get across the continent quickly, but maybe one day be able to get anywhere they need in just a few seconds time?

I do. And isn't that worth the sacrifice of one partial soul to benefit the rest? Okay. I thought we were exploring these continents. And now I'm starting to get the impression that we're not just exploring, are we? You're a smart guy, Finlay. I may have an ulterior motive, but for now I would like to map out these gates with you. Maybe find a more sustainable power source. And when we're ready, we can reveal it to Theria. Well, I guess you already did the thing. I mean, you can't undo it, right? Nope. Believe me, I thought about it for a very long time. Alright.

Then we might as well keep going. Finlay's gonna hold out his hand to shake Dagon's. He'll shake it? In a weird way, I kind of admire you. How so? I mean, I don't think I would have done what you did, but at the same time, you know what you wanted, and you're making that happen. I kind of respect that, I guess. Well, thank you, Finlay. I know it doesn't always go as planned, but I have some experience in things working out one way or another. Where to next? He's going to sort of snap out of his train of thought here and reach in to get this little book he's keeping notes in.

Well, that's four gates so far that we know of. We pretty much know where they lead. I guess we power this one up and jump to a new one. You ready to give it a try? Into the unknown. I can admit I'm looking forward to leaving the jungle behind. The Goliath were nice enough, but I don't really care for this weather either. No, I don't know how anyone could possibly live here. So I'd imagine Dagon would step up, and they've been through this routine before. Kind of place his hands on the two handholds. And through just some concentration, but not a lot of straining, this blackish-purple-ish light is going to emanate from Dagon's hands.

The gate is going to power up, and through the other side you're going to feel this heat. And Dagon and Finway, if they look through, this is pretty clear. You can actually see through this. This is the most powered and focused the gates have been since Dagon received these powers. And you're going to see sand and rock, and you're going to feel that heat on the other side. And immediately Finway is going to express some displeasure here. I think I know where we're going next. The jungle doesn't seem so bad anymore, does it? It's not too late to turn back if we wanted to, but I think that's Kodai we're going to next.

There's supposed to be a lost civilization there. Well that sounds like an adventure. Good lord everybody, what an episode today, and what a fantastic way to close out the month here. Obviously on the 22nd, Friday the 22nd, we're going to be doing extended rest and we want to see you there. It's at 9pm Eastern for the last Monday of every month. We like to try and post an extended rest for everybody in the feed, and we always record them on the Friday before that. So that's what we're going to be doing. Obviously everyone is welcome, we try and take everybody's feedback on the fly and respond to people, and we usually have a huge blast doing that.

We're going to be doing a little bit of something new in that we're going to be reading iTunes reviews. The last few iTunes reviews we get, we're going to try and read them and credit people who do that. If you're interested in holding back on iTunes reviews, do it now, and that way it'll at least appear on extended rest and we'll try to get to that. You can also support us by going to patreon.com/dandr for a dollar. One dollar! You can help support the show, keep our lights on, keep us doing what we do week in and week out. And you can get some cool content for yourself.

Of course you can send us an email at dandrpodcast@gmail.com. That's dandrpodcast@gmail.com if you have any feedback. There's our Facebook page, Twitter, our website at dandrpodcast.com. There are a thousand and one ways to reach us if you've got something on your mind. There's an official Facebook group and a Discord if you're on our Patreon. Thank you guys for hanging out with us for the month. Thank you for listening to the show. Thank you for all your feedback and thank you so much for your support. We'll see you guys next time with extended rest. Bye!