Monarch

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

(CLINKING) Peacocks. This summer, during the biggest sporting event of the year, Peacock turns to two broadcasting legends for the Olympics coverage you can't find anywhere else. Um, I think they mean us. Oh, s***. Um... (CLEARS THROAT) With an incredible duo sure to take home the comedy gold, Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson. New episodes Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Only on Peacock. 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. This your first job? I know what I'm doing. I'm 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+. After finding a friggin' sweet risk chronobulator from Museum Replicas Limited that is currently available for $20, Dr. Breanna Marie vanished. She awoke to find herself trapped in another time and space, driven by an unknown force to change worlds for the better.

Her only guide on this journey is Jason, an observer from her own time who also showed up for some reason. That only Breanna can see and hear. And so, she finds herself leaping from world to world, striving to put right what once went wrong. And hoping each time that her next leap will be the leap home. Ah! It's cold! Jason, where are we? Ah! Just as the prophecy ordained! You two heroes have come to end my age of suffering! I will not allow it! Bree, watch out! He has the Black Sword from Museum Replicas Limited. Yeppers! Wait, you can see me? Of course I can!

That's... But, I mean... The narrator said that you couldn't... Silence! I am the great necromancer, Reck-na-Morkan! I have demolished entire cities with this blade! I have farted in front of so many historical figures. This Black Sword, forged by the Dark Elves in ages beyond counting! The sword was held by the Wood Elves for hundreds of years! Until it was gifted to a man known by many names, called Black Sword thereafter! Feared by Orcs, Dwarves, Men and Evil Beasts alike! The bearer of the sword carried out many great deeds until his death while slaying an evil dragon!

Now it is in my hands! Wait, isn't Reck-na-Morkan just necromancer backwards? Shut up, you! Wait, is that a Museum Replicas Limited item on your wrist? No... Mine! Yoink! Hey! Oh, this is bad. Now with this wrist chronobulator, I will be able to wait out the cold winter months! Wait, that's your plan? Dude, you just scored an item of unlimited potential! And you're wasting it on skipping winter? Well, I don't want to be like Napoleon. You know who Napoleon is? Quiet! All will bow before me! Now, give me your shoes! And a belt. Gimme, gimme, gimme! Now it looks like it's the winter of your discontent!

Mwahahaha! Bye bye. Well... Pooh. Will our heroes be able to retrieve the wrist chronobulator? Will they separate Lord Morkan from the legendary Black Sword? Where the fuck are they? Why haven't you bought a gorgeous item of your own from Museum Replicas Limited? All of that and more next time! Use the code THERIOTAN to get 10% off of your order at checkout. Let's get ready and do that thing where we go around the table and introduce ourselves. I'm Jason, I'm the Dungeon Master. Go around the table and start with Michael. Hey, I'm Michael, I am Amvin Yamil, I play a Stormmage sorcerer.

And Kelsey. Hey, I'm Kelsey and I play Arya Lethea, Drow Sion. And Rachel. Hey, I'm Rachel and I am ready to rumble. And Rob. Hey, I'm Rob, I play Malchus Grimnus, Tiefling Warlock. Oh god, I'm so fucking pumped guys. Let's do this. We can tell! We're getting close here. You made me picture that Family Guy episode where Peter does the crystal meth and then jumps through the ceiling. I am so fucking ready. Yeah, yeah. Oh god. Like I told you guys before we got started, this will probably be the last session before we're in the final ten of the season. And it's just, oh, I'm so, like, so, so many dominoes.

Today it is the 13th of Thorim. Guys, last time we left off, you got to the Overwatch, you dropped off your prisoner after she tried to barter for your freedom. That's the way I put it when we were off the air. Malchus, will of iron. Yeah, don't give me too much credit. It wasn't difficult. She was a jerk. Not his type, not his type. Not, nope. So you ended up dropping her off and who knows what's gonna happen. So you decided that it probably wouldn't be prudent to just barge right in and try to speak with Liara right away. So you decided to stay the night and kind of get acclimated.

You talk to a lovely dwarf that's running the jagged rock. That's an inn. Yeah, lovely. You pay to keep him quiet though. Yeah, that's true. You guys also dropped off that wagon, which was pretty much belonged here in town. And talked about the tours running that were still going and you guys went and I think it was the last thing you did in the last session was you took the tour of the infamous home of Malchus Grimnus. The old tour, not the new one. Well, the old tour. Yeah, the classic tour because it's about history. I got lots of notes. So we're gonna start off with the thirteenth of Thorim, guys.

I'm gonna say that you got your sleep. Everything's good. What would you like to do to start things off today? Leave a mint on the pillow. I'm just kidding. When you say mint. Not the kind of mint you want. A minotaur sized mint. Oh no. No, I'm just kidding. Tevin's thinking about it, but she will pass. What is the breakfast service here? Minimal. I figured. Wait, wait. I thought we were going straight from the museum to the palace. I'm confused. I might be completely wrong. I'm sorry. Yeah, I thought we were too. When I say start off today, I meant like in today's session, not the day.

Okay. Sorry, I should have been more clear. Why are we having breakfast? I'm sorry. Because you can have breakfast anytime. Well, yeah, it should. When pizza's on a bagel. We decided to take a nap. All that racism tuckered you out. Okay, so if I remember right, we did the tour, gave the wagon back. Malkus got an awesome action figure or three. And that's where we ended it. Yeah, they're collector's pieces now. That's in 10, 20, 30 years. Who knows what the market value on one of those would be? Who knows? Who knows? Who knows? I, for one, can't imagine. The sentimental value is off the charts, though.

God, you know what I want? I really want to make those in real life. No! Just so I want. You want to make bigoted precious moments dolls. You want to have branded bigoted precious moments dolls. Okay, wait. It's like all the Grimnus' family now. There are so many other things that you can get an action figure made out of that you want to do the racist one, Jason? It's about history. It's not- here's the thing. It's only racist to t-flex, firstly. Secondly- Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Let's- let's- let's- let's- let's just, like, analyze that sentence for a second.

That's not how that works. Of course it is. Anywho. So you guys want to go to the- want to head to Castle Overwatch is what I'm hearing. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I guess so. Yes. Sorry, were you waiting for me? I was just- I- Just- just- just- just kind of getting- taking a- taking a pulse, that's all. Okay. So it's going to take a bit to get there. Probably about, you know, 15, 20 minutes, something like that. Little bit of a hike. And again, it's- it's kind of crowded today. I would like one of you to please roll a flat d20. Alright, I'm doing it. I'm doing it. There we go.

Nice. Nice. 18. Good job. Very nice. Very, very nice. Man, how'd you get that 28? Oh, we're entertaining Jason's math again. Okay. Okay. Sorry. You gotta remember the bit. [laughter] So, you guys are going to make your way to Castle Overwatch. Now, I've mentioned- I've mentioned previously that there have been a couple of attempts on the current queen's life, which means security is beefed up. So when you get there, there's going to be a lot of guards milling about, and there's a lot of security on the grounds. Now there's this- there's this bridge that sort of spans this small stream to get to the castle.

So, you would be walking past a lot of guards just to get there, and then there would be three or four guarding the actual door, like the actual gates. So, how would you like to approach this situation? Maybe we should have sent a note ahead of time. Well, I remember you guys discussing it. The problem was you'd be moving about as fast as the mail would be. Yeah. Maybe faster. Let's just walk up there. I mean... What's worse than that? They can't expect everybody to send a note. Right? Yeah, I guess- I mean, we know what our intentions are. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Alright.

So, they're gonna- they're gonna let you approach the main doors here, these large double doors, and they're gonna let you approach, and they're gonna let you get up to the front doors, and there's gonna be a look- one of the people guarding the place is gonna be a look. Big, tall gentleman. Gonna look down. Almost eye level, actually, with- with Tavine. And just sort of assess the- assess this crew here. Can I help you with something? Is he looking directly at Tavine, or is he just kind of- I would say panning over the group, but then making eye contact with Tavine, first off.

Probably because Tavine, physicality-wise, would be the most imposing figure in the group. 'Cause it ain't Theo, and it ain't really Amven or Arya, and while Malkus is definitely an attention-getter, it doesn't look like, "Hey, I don't wanna mess with that guy, necessarily." 'Cause again, like, Malkus is kind of cloaked up, and sort of got a hood up, and stuff like that. So Tavine would be the most imposing, like, the largest figure in the party. Okay. She would just kind of do that thing where you kind of put, like, a hand, like, almost up, like, a half bow, and, like, kind of nod her head and be like, "We'd like to have a meeting with Queen Liara." Yeah, you and a lot of other people.

I don't suppose she'd be expecting you, by chance. Unfortunately not. We had a- we're in a bit of a rush, and didn't have a chance to send word ahead of time. Well, I'm gonna tell you what I tell everybody else. There are general meetings, but that isn't for another three weeks, so you're gonna have to wait your turn. Uh, go ahead. Yeah, I was gonna say, she's gonna kind of, like, glance over at, like, Malkus and Amven, and kind of, almost, like, half-step to the side. I don't know what you wanna do to, you know, give you that kind of, like, "I'm not sure where to go with this next." Um, yeah.

Malkus will step up front, I guess, and, um, sure, let's risk it. He'll step up and say, "Could you ask her if she'd make an exception for Malkus Grimness?" Da-da-daaaan! This guy's gonna look you up and down. Your Malkus Grimness. Uh, Malkus will just, like, kind of, like, splay his hands wide, as, like, "Here I am!" He is going to reach out a hand for you to shake. Uh, I'll shake it. Sure. Hi, I'm Drauk. Um, it's really nice to meet you, Malkus. Now, in three weeks, if you could come back, that would be just darling. Uh, that'd be great. Should I pencil you in for then, or...?

Um, try- do I have anything on my person that's a little more, uh, provable Winterhaven stuff? Parafinalia? Well, I mean, you always- you always kept that tattered. And, I mean, there's a- there's a few things you could do. You could whip out the blade, you could- there's a few things that would sort of... Whip it out. I mean, you have these really lifelike replica figures that you just purchased, or not purchased, were given to you that are in your pack. I think it appears- Yeah, exactly. You see the resemblance. You could case-wish, you could... The only chance we have using those figures to get in is if these people are like, "Oh yeah, all tieflings look alike." Like, they, you know...

I don't think that's the strongest argument. Um, I also don't think manifesting a blade of black energy is, uh, is the best. Uh, well, okay, hold on. Let's give him a little walk up to it here before we do anything. So, um, well, what do you know about Malkus Gribnis? And we'll see if I can provide evidence that matches what you know. I pretty much know what everyone else knows in this city. I've taken the tour, and yeah, I know some of my history. Did they tell you that he can sprout giant bat wings, cover himself in spines, sprout a blade of dark and necrotic energy to sap the very life from the fingertips?

Something like that, yeah. I've heard the stories, yeah. I literally take a couple steps back to get some space, kind of do, like, one of those little, like, neck crack things real quick, and then literally do all three of those things. Wait, wait, okay, so, so, so, so summoning the Shadow Blade itself is too much, so you have to do all of it? Well, I mean, if, I'm sure they, I'm sure they think that, like, any tiefling can do at least one of those, you know, like, that's just who we are. I'd like to make sure I put myself in a defensive position, just in case.

And, and once I, once I, you know, once I've powered everything on, I go, "Is this satisfactory?" I think Theo would just take, like, half a step back, like, "Holy shit!" Like, just, like, just, just kind of a, like, not expecting that. Just, like, just probably expecting, like- I warned everybody! No, it's just, there's a difference between, like, it's, it's, there's a difference between, "Hey, I'm gonna go in and do the thing," and then just, like, "Pah-pow!" Like, it's very, very Beetlejuice, very, yeah. Has Malphus done this since Arya joined the party?

I can't, I don't think he's- I don't think he's- Did the thorn thing in the wagon, the bat wings and the blade, obviously, but, like, the bat wings might be new. Okay, so it's not, that's not new. Arya's already terrified anyways, it's probably- It's just another layer, I think. It's over 9000! I hear he poops flames. So do they answer my, "Is this satisfactory?" Well, okay. Yeah, yes. Okay, so the, remember how I said the, the, the area surrounding the bridge is kind of coated in guards and stuff like that? All of them are gonna sign with, like, "What the fuck?" and just draw weapons.

All of them. Like, what the hell? Like, 'cause that is easily taken as a show of force, like a threat, a potential threat. And the guard standing in front of Malphus is going to, like, hold up his hand, "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh." I don't become some savage monster when I do it. These are just things I can do. Is this proof enough? He's gonna lean in. You understand why that might put a few people here on edge, right? Then you understand exactly why I was willing to go to that risk to talk to your queen. Let me see what I can do. Just put all that away, okay?

Not a problem. And then he just, like, nonchalantly stops manifesting all of it. Okay, good. So Malchus tucks it back, and then the, the... This guy's going to walk inside for just a moment, and you can kinda hear him speaking in some way. Can we do it for septum to see if we hear it? Sure, yeah, absolutely. I'll try that. Holy shite! Nope. Oh, come on! Theo, Theo, the withdrawal. Oh, this is, uh... Yeah, no, look for Malchus. Look at that. 12, 13, 14. Great. 11. Awesome from 11. Theo ain't here in March. Theo, Malchus are perception buddies. Oh, boy. So, Arya would pick up at this.

This guy's kinda stepping inside. He's like, "Hey, you're not gonna believe this, but..." And it's essentially him running it up the chain just to see if... could she see somebody? I mean, would she... I mean, like, it's... And then the person on the other end's like, "Bullshit." Kind of like, "I don't buy it." No, really, it's him. Right. Come on, man. And after some debating, after some arguing, this person's going to walk away, and the guard's gonna step back outside. We're checking to see if her highness is busy, and if she isn't, we're gonna escort you to see her.

But you understand, no conjuring of weapons, and the rest of your party have to relinquish any weapons of their own. Do you understand that? Malchus looks around the party and says, "Can we all agree to that? I remember her to at least be a sincere figure. I don't suspect she'd do us any harm." Quick question out of character. Who carries weapons actively? Well, I mean, you have, like, a totem or something, right? A "spear" is the only "weapon." I don't think a totem appears as a weapon, though. It's just like a little trinket-looking thing. No, it's more like a cudgel, almost.

Oh, I always imagined it as just a little trinket. What about Amphin? What sort of implement do you use? I've got a staff. You do not depart an old man of his walking stick. I was just saying, none of us really carry stuff, do we? Well, Theo's got a sword. Yeah. This is a weapon, kind of. Arya is a weapon, so... Arya probably has, like, a pocket knife or something. A Swiss army knife? I feel like, yeah, something totally, like, completely utilitarian. I feel like she'd probably try to give it up, like, just, like, trying to comply. I'll hand over my knitting needles.

And they would look at you like, "That's how you live out there? That's how you defend yourself? Really?" Jealous. Yeah. Okay, sorry. I was just curious, because I was just thinking, like, who carries weapons? I know I have a spear, but I never use it. Yeah, but they don't know that. They just see it like, "That's a long pointy stick." Yeah. You haven't lived until you've seen Minotaar's combat cross-stitch. Oh, man. It's deadly. Okay, continue. Yeah. So minutes are gonna tick by, and eventually, someone's gonna peek their head out and kind of wave that guard back in.

The guard's gonna come back in. And then stepping out is going to be a halfling. *gasp* And the halfling is going to approach the group, and sort of, sort of like Eyeball Malkus specifically, are you the one claiming to be Malkus Grimnus? Uh, do I recognize this guy? No, not offhand. Okay. I am. He's gonna hold out of hand. Pee-pos. Pee-pos Quinn. I'll take his hand, sure. It's him! It's the pancaked man! What is even happening? I just wanna get... for not listening to other people's episodes. No, uh, he's appeared on Group 4 a few times. Just a nice guy, basically.

I am to escort you to the Queen. Um, again, sorry to do this. I have to take all your weapons and such. It's purely precautionary. There have been a couple of attempts on Her Highness's life recently. No doubt. We understand the caution. Would you come with me, please? Clip-clop, clip-clop. Yeah, he's gonna escort you through these double doors, and then once you get inside, more guards, obviously. But there are some people just sort of like, rushing around, obviously not armed, and they're just kind of going about their day. And there are stairs leading up, and that is where you guys are going.

And along the way, obviously, they are going to take your weapons as long as no one has any problem with that. Theo would give up his sword, but there's kind of a concern. He's like, "I'm gonna get this back, right?" That type of thing, but... Aww. They give us claim tickets. Getting them back. It's like a separate trunk. Kind of like how they do an omenuro a little bit, but not magical. Not many people get into the... It's like before you go on a rollercoaster at Disney World Universal. Right. Yeah. What's that lock reading at? I had to hand over my stuff. Okay.

Do they want my staff, or do I keep it? Uh, it's... I mean, obviously you... If it's being used as a walking stick, maybe not. I doubt it. I mean, I'm a pretty young apple. That's how I was thinking. I didn't know if it were like, "I have an old knee injury that acts up." I didn't know. Ah, no, I don't have any of that, or pretending, but I didn't know if they were like, "Come on, dude." Well, I mean, magic users are a thing, so they would probably be like, "Come on. You're not fist fighting anybody. Come on." Right. I was just seeing if they were like, with their actions.

So I gave it to them. Obviously, just a quick two second... Okay, here. So going up these stairs, people would try to strike up conversation. "So... this is a pretty big day. I'm almost honored. I never thought I'd get to meet the Malkus Grimnus. What brings you by the city?" "It's... complicated. I'd prefer to share only with... the most concerned parties." Oh, of course. Of course. Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It's just... it's kind of a big deal around here. I don't know if you've... Oh, have you taken the tour? "We took the tour." Oh, what did you think? "What do you think, I thought?" Uh... accurate?

I... I don't... I don't... I don't know. It's been a while since I've... since I've taken it. I haven't taken the new tour, actually. I should take the new tour. "We took the old one." Oh. "It was about what I expected." I am very sorry. He is not supposed to be giving the old tour. I will send someone to speak with him and sort that right out. "Don't bother. We requested it." "Oh, why?" "Incognito." "It was fairly enlightening." "It's always nice to understand how people see you." Is he still doing the thing about... you eating cats? "Mm-hmm." Did you? "No." "Oh, goodbye." I didn't know.

I didn't... I... The only reason I ask is because there is a few people in town who took that as an example that it was okay. So they started doing it, so I thought there might be something to... Maybe they're tasty. I don't know. I just... I was just curious. "Well, there's people doing it now that'll probably give you one and you can find out if that's your thing." I just want to say that at the mention of eating cats, Aria's gonna look horrified. Yeah, Thea would too. This is legitimately seriously upsetting for her. I think Devine would just kind of make that face like, "They probably don't taste good, but if that's what you want to eat, that's what you want to eat." Continually underlines his crossed out "not applicable" on his notebook. [Laughter] And eventually, climbing these stairs, you are gonna get to the top here.

And there's a long hallway that leads to another set of double doors. And there's a large set of double doors and he is going to sort of motion that way. She would be right through there. She requested that you be allowed entrance and just walk right in when you're ready. I might knock first. Thank you. Malchus will go up and knock. From the outside of the door, there's gonna be a voice. "Come in." Push the door open and walk in. So this... okay, so walking into this room, there's going to be... This is a big place. And what this used to be was the throne room for Zann and Carter.

This used to be... pretty opulent, to be honest. There used to be a massive stained glass window that sort of looked out over things. And that's been busted out. There is a large table in this room, just full of different scrolls and letters and sort of blueprints and things like that. Just with a cursory glance, without rolling a perception check, you could tell, "Oh, this person's probably busy." "There might be a few things on her plate." Liara's gonna be standing there, just sort of taking Malchus in. I feel like when they... I don't know when they approach, Aria's gonna start to bow almost, unless if no one else does too, she'll stop.

Oh, that's the thing. Thea would be very confused about that too. It's like, "Okay, do we do this thing?" Because technically it's supposed to be royalty, so it's like, "Okay, okay." It's not like meeting the Lord, even a Lord or something like that. You go, "Oh, hi." Just kind of half bow something. But it's like, "Oh, you're a queen. Oh." So he would try to do the same. Okay. So Amven being educated in that also would probably do that. He would bow and do it all. Okay, okay. Good. Yeah, Malchus will tuck his head in a small bow and say, "So what do you prefer?

Your majesty? Your grace? What's the going term?" Firstly, stop it. And she's gonna be looking at everyone. Just stand up. You don't have to bow. It's fine. I feel like Arya would be looking from the other members of the party, kind of glance towards Lyra and then glance back, looking to them to see what they do. Because as far as this question, is that what she's doing? She looks terrified. I'll say that. Malchus straightens up. Okay. Yeah, I think Tevin would have done a little half bow, almost more like Malchus's style. Just a polite bow, not an over-like, "Oh, madam." And then straighten up and just very, almost relaxed, stand kind of towards the back, closer to the door.

Okay. It would take some effort, but Thea would stand back up. Oh no! Clunk, clunk, clunk, crinkle, crinkle. Yeah, a little bit. Oh no. Yeah. Most of the time, people just call me queen. But let's skip all the ceremony. Can I ask what you're doing here now? Of all the times you could have come back to the city. Why right now? Is there something substantial and disruptive going on that makes this an exceptionally bad time? Why don't we have a seat and talk? And she would motion for everyone to be able to sit down. Like I said, there's this large table in the room.

Sure, settle in. How big are the chairs? They're pretty large, actually. So I'm not going to be hanging off the half-moon or something. No. And she would get comfortable. Did you get a chance to look around? Like, really look around the city? I took the tour, if that's what you're asking. We're right in the middle of what you would call a transitional period. And every single day, what we're trying to do is keep this place from just becoming unglued and tearing itself apart. Did anyone recognize you coming in? This is the first person I've really revealed my actual identity to, right?

Basically, yeah. Basically, I am. Yeah. Maybe besides the guard. I've been deliberately keeping a low profile. Your guards are the first people I exposed my identity to for the sole purpose of informing you how urgent it was that we meet with you. I honestly have no idea what the city would do if they actually found out you were here. No idea. I'm glad I showed some discretion. But you're saying, you said the city's in transition. It's getting better, right? I mean, growing pains, of course, but things are improving. More accepting place, slowly but surely?

We're trying. It's not easy. The lower quarter is not exactly a safe place for non-humans to be, but hopefully over time we just get to some sense of normalcy. What is it you need, Nokus? To the point, then. I suppose before I ask you for any sort of help, I should ask you how you feel about the measures that I took. I'm guessing you're talking about the war-fledged. I did not come up with the solution, but I did implement it. Well, if you're asking me personally, I could care less. Kind of an unexpected response. Can you unpack that for a moment? Well, we were in the forest for years, and when I left the city originally, it was before everything with the war-forged army and all of that, but I already didn't like where the city was going and what Carter was doing.

And after the war-forged took hold and they started chopping down the forest, they started arresting or executing people, things only got tougher. If you doing what you did helped us get to where we are now, then that's what you needed to do. Malchus will nod. I'm glad you see it the way I saw it. It's certainly not something that I did without any trepidation, but it's a thing that I thought was necessary as well. Do you... Is overseeing Overwatch's transition into a more accepting and open place? Is it rewarding? Are you... As hard as it is, are you glad to be here now?

I would have never elected to take all this on, and I think that there are probably people better suited for the job, but I'm making the best of it. It's going to take decades to get this place truly back on track, where people can grow up and not have to worry about being a dwarf or an elf or halfling or whatever. You mind if I ask you a question? Go ahead. After you did what you did, you disappeared. I did. I get the disappearing. I understand that. Why did you never reach out? Why did you never send a letter, never try to get in touch with people? At first I worried about leaving a trail, but as time went on, eventually some of my former companions ran into me and we reconnected.

And at that point, I just focused myself on trying to take the temperature of Theria, so to speak, see what people thought of me, see whether or not I could afford to be public again, make people aware of who I was. As far as not sending a letter, I don't have a perfect explanation for that. I focused on what was in front of me, and the solution, it seemed, though I got there by a bit of a meandering path, was to go back to Winterhaven and try to reconnect there. It was the first place where I felt some sense of belonging. Sure enough, that brings me to the reason I came here, unless you'd like to ask other questions first.

She's going to give a really small, ever so slight grin. How did going back to Winterhaven work out? Well, Winterhaven is divided, both among the people and among the leadership, as to whether or not to be accepting of what I did. Some part of the leadership thinks that I overstepped my boundaries acting as a knight of Winterhaven. Some other part believes like you do that I did what must be done. There is a hearing coming up, and it would help them reach the correct conclusion if I had a certain number of influential people supporting me, making a case for me.

They're torn between imprisonment and execution, or actually approving what I did and letting me be on my way. I know that what I did sets a precedent, and perhaps other knights of Winterhaven may take it as a sign that they can expand their measures too. It's all case by case. I know that if my actions are declared reasonable, it will create more questions as far as what we can do, what measures we can take to defend Theria, or as some might say, irreversibly scar it, depending on your side of the argument. I stand by what I did, even though I understand the complaints against me.

That's why I'm here asking you to, if possible, represent me. Even if you can't come, a letter of recommendation, a letter making a case on my behalf, would be more than I could ask for. Hmm. So this is a full-blown trial, then. The words "hearing" and "trial" get tossed around interchangeably. It's kind of strange to me, honestly. It's not a guilty or innocent thing, so much as setting a standard for what is and isn't acceptable. Everyone knows I did what I did. It's a question of whether or not that's a thing to be punished. She's going to sit back for just a moment.

So... they just don't want to come down on one side or the other right now. That's the problem. The leaders overseeing my situation are three. One is on my side, one is fully against me, and one is riding the fence. Perhaps because he's legitimately conflicted, perhaps as a power play. And where does Nathaniel fit into all of this? Nathaniel is not well. At least from what I hear. I was unable to get an audience with him, but he is not taking any guests. And from what I understand, both physically and emotionally, deeply wounded. Hm. So it's not just us that's in the dark here.

We haven't been able to get ahold of anyone there. That wasn't really surprising given the history of the cities, but we're actually in the midst of sending a group there now to hopefully start brokering some kind of peace mending fences, that type of thing. Don't they understand that there's new leadership in that doesn't hold the same beliefs as Carter did? I'm sure they do, but things don't change overnight. And... we took the city, but there's a lot of damage done. But you haven't yet taken the hearts. Not really. We can integrate the place, but it's years and years of the same thing being drilled into their heads.

It's not instantaneous. So if you don't mind me making an observation here, I don't see any familiar faces in your party. I don't see any wrong of a story you'd like me to tell. They've all, for one reason or another, chosen new paths. In a way, perhaps even I chose a path of my own. But new companions? Certainly, they've certainly been dependable ones. And a beat's gonna go by. Well, if you don't mind introducing me. Sorry, where are my manners? The drill here is Arya Lethea. She'll kind of nod. She's almost blatantly not making eye contact. Don't look at me, please.

Bye. She has powers that we've seen before. Liara would arch an eyebrow at that. Arya would glance at Malkus too at that. How do you mean? Just like, he shouldn't have said anything? Or more like... I thought that he should have said anything, kind of wondering why he's bringing it up. Ah, the powers that manifested with Breeze's emotions. Arya has them as well. Yeah, Liara would look over at Arya, kind of taking her in. Just kind of... you don't say that type of thing. Arya would kind of shrink back a bit underneath her observation. And she is kind of glancing back and forth between Liara and Malkus.

Clearly kind of curious, but also not really feeling confident enough to ask anything. Right. And after a beat, it's nice to meet you, Arya. It's nice to meet you too. And then here we have Tavine Brightheart. She has been invaluable as a healer and a steady center, I would say, to the latest group. Tavine would just smile and bow her head. It's a pleasure to meet you, Queen Liara. Liara would do the same, just sort of like bow her head, like hate. Kind of a bro nod type thing. Soap. Finger guns. And here we have Theo Pox, who has proven remarkably durable as of late.

But we're pleased that he has been willing to face the many challenges of traveling beside us. He's been a bit of a jack of all trades, as our needs have varied. He's going to raise his hand, just kind of like crinkle crinkle crinkle. Just kind of like, you know, then just, "Hi." And our most recent recruit, Amvenyamo, studies the nature of magic. Amven nods and says, "My lady, stop that." Tips fedora. More finger guns. Okay, here's the thing. You can tell that she's kind of reserved, like almost uncomfortable with the entire situation. And the only time she loosens up just a bit is when someone overreacts on the ceremony of it all.

Just like, "Not at all. Just stop it." And then just kind of like fades back into the, "Hmm, interested," like that type of thing. Which makes you think it might be a learned behavior recently. So, certainly they all have their own designs on the future of Tharia, or just on figuring out the mysteries that are plaguing them. But they have all been quite supportive in my quest to take care of my own baggage. Well, as you can imagine, leaving the city is going to be difficult. When is this hearing supposed to be? The 23rd of Tharia? Man, that was super close.

Damn, that was the second. Right? Yep. The 22nd. We have... this is not our last stop. We have multiple, multiple people to check in with in an effort to build the strongest case that I was acting with good intentions. What's your next stop? We're headed to Esterhold after this. I actually might be able to help with that one. Please. What do you know? What do you have to offer? Well, I could at very least send a raven that way, but I know the person in charge over there. At least, somewhat. So what happens after you clear your name? What's the next step? Well, provided no one lights the fuse on Tharia again in the near future, I'm certain my companions have intentions of their own, and I owe it to them to help them find what they need at this point as well.

Maybe "oh" is the wrong word. I'm grateful. So I would plan on following them next. Giving them my support. They've more than earned it. You know I wasn't always your biggest fan, right? There are many in that boat. But when they said they had to take our weapons to come to see you, I told my companions to not worry. As far as I've ever seen, you've been sincere. I didn't think we were in danger surrendering ourselves. Oh, no. No. I have no interest in killing you. That's more the guards idea. There's been a couple of assassination attempts recently. We're dealing with problems here, and some of these were problems back when I was...

God, even as far back as helping Trayas when he was captain of the guard. But it's different now. It's more heated. And they're not going away. But I think I can take time out. You can travel? You have that leeway? I can make it. It won't be a long stay, but... Of course. I feel like she's gonna start planning her escape so she doesn't even know she's gone for a few days. She leaves a note, "I'll be back." Back in twenty minutes. Mind the castle. Yeah, out to lunch. The extent of what would help most is just an appearance at the public hearing. All you need to do is just come up and say a few things that... give the audience the right idea.

Nothing long. Nothing protracted. I think I can do that. Then I am in your debt as well. So who else do you have speaking for you so far? We... Terrible with NPC names. We sent letters to Clarissa and... That's right. Father White. Father White, yes. I was gonna say, the four of us at the table raise our hands. So it's Liara, Clarissa... Father White. Father White. So they would both be coming? That's who we petitioned. Okay. Okay. And then I feel like we were stopping somewhere... Oh, um... Tessia. Yeah, that's in Esterholt, though. We have to talk to her. 'Cause you didn't...

I don't think you told her by mail. You just told her that you needed to meet in Esterholt. Right, right. Was there anyone else? You didn't tell Liara that you were meeting Tessia in Esterholt. I just thought you were going there, I don't think so. Yeah. We're gonna get them in Esterholt, and that's Tessia, Jadzia, Valis... I think that's it? Okay. Tessia, Jadzia, Valis, Father White, Clarissa. Okay. I passed that list along to Liara. So right now I'm the only person, is what you're saying. If I weren't optimistic about getting some of the other ones to come along as well, I wouldn't have asked them to meet me and prepare to talk.

Alright, we can make this work. I still don't know what to do about you and the city, though. I'm sure parts of the population will be excited, almost morbidly curious to get a chance to meet you, and... Oh, I'm not gonna lie, some people are probably gonna want to kill you. For the time being, let's continue to keep my presence in the Overwatch... ...under wraps. How long are you planning on staying? We need to set out for Esterholt in fairly short order, actually. Wouldn't want to be late for the hearing, and we have, as I demonstrated, several people to ask.

Hmm. Well, I could send a raven to Esterholt to let him know what I've decided. And I could send one toward Winterhaven, but we probably won't hear a word from anyone there. That would certainly help build the Coalition. Thank you. Mm-hmm. It's gonna take you days to cross the mountains to get to Esterholt, so I get why you'd want to leave pretty soon. Can I insight that? That's kind of a known thing, isn't it? For what? I don't know, maybe that's just me being hurt. No, no, no, for which part? The thing about it's gonna take days to cross the mountains, that's kind of a known thing.

Mm-hmm. I want to insight that. Go ahead. My paranoid senses are tingling. You're getting a vague sense that, like, there's a lot tangled up in that. You're getting a vague sense that she probably wants to help out in some capacity, but there's something she isn't quite saying, and part of it, you're getting a sense that, like, "Dude, you could cause a lot of trouble by being here. I don't want to hold you up, so..." So get the fuck out. Not quite that, but, like, if you're planning on staying, we need to figure out something. You can't just stay in a fucking inn in town.

Like, we need to figure something out. Oh, okay. Part of it is there might be some more personal stuff wrapped up in there. Oh, is it like, "Oh, you better get going, you know, just because there's enough time to make the..." Oh, it is getting late. That's, yeah. Okay. Okay. That was just me. Nice job catching that. No, that was good. No, not at all. I understand why you... That seems off. It'll be so much better in post. She... There's gonna be a pause. There's gonna be a few minutes. Or a few seconds here. What do you plan on doing with Bree afterward? And that's when, like, her eye's gonna kinda narrow, just very much studying Malkus.

I... I honestly don't know all the details about her whereabouts these days, but I would want to reconnect and see... see how she is. I wish I could tell you more, but I don't even know enough to have intentions. I just... I would need to reconnect with her first. What do you know about what happened after you left in Winterhaven? Bits and pieces have been explained, but I would appreciate your perspective, your information. Well, a lot of this is second-hand, but when I spoke with her again after your departure, she was understandably... upset. Understandably?

And it hasn't exactly been an easy time after that, so... I haven't really had a chance to... to really unpack all that with her, but... She came to the city for a while, and we discussed things, and... To get her mind off of what was happening there, she decided to do some new things with the ravens. That's the group we decided to send up north. What I'm saying is, if and when you do eventually reconnect with her... I don't exactly know how she's gonna react. I don't expect it to be a generous response, and I don't deserve one. I've been looking after my own hide, so to speak, for a while.

Not proud of it, but it's what I did. I will... convey my regret about that to her. I'm sure there's a thousand things I would have done differently if I'd... slowed down through this process, thought things over. Unfortunately, we don't always have the foresight to do that kind of thing. You know what I mean? She'll nod her head. Yeah, I've, um... It's not malice. It's instinct. Well, for now, I don't think you have to worry about it. It sounds like she's getting ready for a trip. I actually just got a letter from her not that long ago. There were some complications in Lockford, but I think she's okay right now.

If you... If you write her back, would you tell her that I wish her well? I... I don't... I'd send something of my own, but I feel like my own first words to her after what happened should be in person. I can do that. Again, I don't know how she's going to react, but I can send word. Yeah. I'm not asking for it to go well. I just want her to know. I wish her well. Alright. Well, is there anything else I can do for you? I should be asking you that. You've really been willing to give me a lot of leeway and a lot of favors here. Certainly I'm on a time crunch right now to do what I need to do for this hearing, but I owe you.

I'll make a deal with you. We get done with the trial, I go speak on your behalf, and if things work out in your favor, we can talk a little further about how we can improve things here in the city. I'd like to see Overwatch become a kinder place. I'm sure you'll have the best ideas, and I'll be happy to help in any way you think I can. My ideas aren't the problem, it's actually carrying them out. But we can talk more about that later. If you need to stay somewhere for the night, you can stay in the castle. I can make arrangements for that if you'd like.

I shouldn't linger. I did have to reveal who I was to your guards. I'm sure you trust them, but for someone as divisive as me to reveal my identity, we can't guarantee that the word hasn't gotten out. And she's going to say it very matter-of-factly. There are some guards who are absent gossips. I'm sure there's already one or two of them talking about it, and it's only a matter of time before someone talks about it outside. Then we won't linger. Is there any sort of emergency route out of the Overwatch for you or other important figures that we could take to stay out of sight?

Well, we found a tunnel that leads out into the cemetery. We could take you out through that way. We could have a detail escort you out. There is one thing. Go on. I'm going to point to Theo. He looks absolutely ridiculous. Are you telling me that's your front line? And Theo's going to look almost effe- just kind of like trying to sit up straight. He's like, "Hey." Don't make me get up. Please don't make me get up. To his credit, he's been very adaptable in these trying circumstances, but I recognize that we haven't used him to his gifts, no. What are his gifts?

Almost like- almost questioning it like, "He's good at something? What's that?" Like, just almost shock. He can do a couple magic things. Give him credit. He took a knife across the throat for us, for crying out loud. I don't- and she's going to stop herself because the thing she was going to say is meaner, probably. Because Liara is not one to mince words. She's gotten better at it as queen, but that's not her first instinct. I have no- I have no doubt that your friend is good at taking punishment, but it's only a matter of time before that catches up with him.

Is there any way that I can convince you to at least give him armor that fits? To be with God, be like, "Yes, actually." Malchus looks at Theo and says, "You speak for yourself in this regard. We don't order you around. Much." I was about to say, "Theo's going to look at Malchus like you don't." Less than previously. Yeah, I guess. I mean, as long as- I- yeah, I guess. Sure. And Liara's going to speak up. All right, before you leave, I'm going to get you in touch with somebody and they're going to see what they can do about all of that. Oh no. Picture like the diva hand, all of that.

Yeah, all of that. Just that- just a general hand wave, just that. Aww, Theo's going to have a thigh gap again. Give him something elven, something sleek. So, if there's nothing else, I really have to get back to work here. Malchus will reach out to shake her hand. You've been more generous than I could have ever possibly hoped for. And whatever you need once this is over to help you right the ship of Overwatch. I'm here to help. She's going to reach out and shake Malchus's hand. A lot of mistakes were made, but I wouldn't expect everyone that you encounter on your journey to be as understanding of that.

We've seen plenty of evidence to verify your speculation. So we'll get Theo fitted and leave via that secret route? Yeah, that would probably be best. Would our transportation fit, or will we have to have somebody escort that outside of town to meet up with them? We can have someone meet you outside town. Thank you. How soon do you think we could leave? Are you still talking to her? Yeah, well, either her or Malchus, whoever. After the uneasy, like, "It's going to take you several days," it's like, "Yeah, no kidding, we gotta get on the road. Let's go, let's go." Right.

I would imagine that she'd set up arrangements to have your transportation get to where you're going to be now. It would just be like, "Alright, let's just get on the road here." And then after Theo's done, it would pretty much just be exiting the castle. Okay. Cool. Aw, Daniel did our drinking tour. It'll be here. It'll always be here. It'll be what we do to celebrate Malchus's freedom. Like a World's End kind of thing. Bar hopping. Con saves for all. So, I would say it would be about an hour or so. And they're working on Theo. Like, it's a combination of getting fitted for a suit and then putting a car up on a lift and working on it.

It's like, it's...'cause Theo's body type isn't, like, he's an exact...he's small. Like, he's not exactly like...they're trying to find some stuff that would fit him and would be... It's like, "Okay, can you move in this? Can you...okay, cool." And what they end up coming up with is... Not necessarily Elvin, but it's not standard issue Overwatch armor. It's a lot smaller, for one. Like, it actually fits. And it takes him a while to kind of get that right and everything. But he now has an actual suit of armor that fits him and the helmet and everything. And it's way lighter.

Way lighter than it was. And when you guys would meet up with him again, it's very much like him just, like, bending and like, "Hey, alright." It doesn't make as much noise as it did before. It's very different. What is the re-armoring Theo montage music? I would say Push It To The Limits from Scarface soundtrack or Grand Theft Auto 3. Something like that. What do they do with this old suit of armor? Probably junk the shit out of it. Because no one's... It's a... Cash for clunkers. Okay. Like, if John... Here's the thing. If John Goodman wore armor, that is essentially...

It was several sizes too big and clunky and it made noise and it was just not suitable for combat. So, yeah. This would be... First of all, he could move. He could stand up on his own and everything. Okay, you ever go a long time without getting glasses and then you get new glasses? It's like, "Holy shit, I have elven eyes!" That's basically... I just did that, actually. So that's basically what's going on with him. It's like, "I can stand up! I can stand up, guys!" Like, beaming. Just ear to ear grin. He'd be very happy. Does he feel like a badass? Not even badass.

It's not even like, "Guys, check me out." He can move and just be very, very happy about that. I feel like he needs to go to a training area just like, "Hey, try to hit these things. How do you feel?" "Get some flexibility. See what you can do in this new armor." That's adorable. The way you're describing Theo's adjustment into this new armor and stuff, I feel like it's... The montage song I'm picturing is "I'll make a man out of you from Mulan." Sure! We can do that. I have the eye of the tiger. The Huns! The Huns! And this is one of those things where it's like, this'll help him move and stuff.

It won't necessarily make him better at killing or whatever. But definitely this will help in combat. So you guys are taking your leave? Yes. Got your weapons back. They would hand you those things and then escort you through. What they're doing is taking you through this old lab and then there's sort of a descending staircase then a hallway and this would just be... This would kind of go on for a long way. And then after you get out, it would be through this crypt and then just open up and you're in the middle of this huge cemetery. This vast cemetery. Fun fact, the cemetery that is adjacent to the Overwatch is the largest cemetery in Theria.

Awesome. Fun fact. Quick question. Was that the tunnel that they made the escape through? Wasn't there a tunnel at one point? Isn't that where Hondo died? Yes. This is the tunnel that we took out of the Overwatch and then we chased Lord Weaver into a different cave system and that's where he died. I think we remember a tunnel in another thing. Nope, this is exactly where it happened. This is where I forgot to say the Arcana check and Draconis got fried by the electric thing. I remember that. But you guys don't have to deal with that. That was a previous group one.

That's all we're going to do is the only one that knows. No, he wasn't there. Oh, that's right. He wasn't. Nope. That was on his little hiatus. That's right. So, your wagon is going to meet you there just outside the cemetery and you guys are good to go. Now, let me ask a question. What route were you taking to get to Esterhold? Esterhold would be your next stop. Excitingly smooth. So there's a couple of different ways you could go. You could either take the path north, take the fork and go north around Betrayal Ridge and then straight on through the bit in between the Blackrock Mountains and the Blistering Peaks and get to Esterhold that way, which is a lot of mountainous travel and it's kind of slow.

Or you can go south around Odyssea and then head up north to Esterhold. What's the best passage for a carriage? The portal of instant transmission. Who would like to do me a favor and roll a nature check for me? Oh, I'm good at those. Hey! Wow! Screw you. Well, you know what? Both very close. You're both very nature, guys. Screw you. Screw you. We have the same check bonus. Hey. I know. I got a three on my insight earlier. I'm sure you'll get- You know what? I'll have you roll the next thing. Don't even worry. Oh, no, I don't want to roll the next thing. Whatever it is.

Don't worry. I gotcha. I gotcha. So here's the pros and cons of your situation. The pros going north is that it's a slightly straighter path. All the way up into the mountains, then it gets slow. And some of the stuff in the mountains isn't very pleasant. You got drakes, you got stuff like ogres and hill giants, things like that. And recently they've had a bit of a dragon problem surrounding Esterholt in general. So it's an issue going through the mountains and stuff because that's kind of where dragons like to hang out. So the pros would be it's a straighter path and until you get to the mountains then your carriage is going to be a bit of an issue.

Getting over the rockier bits, you might get stuck, you might break an axle or a wheel, something like that. That might be an issue. Going south is going to take slightly longer, maybe add another day or so to travel. But it's a windy path but not as hilly, not as mountainous. One of the other big drawbacks though is you're going to have to go around the city of Odysseus. And if you guys remember there's that whole black dragon business that people have been talking about recently. No one knows exactly where this black dragon is. Just know it's in the south.

Just know that it's in the south. Don't know. We don't have a in-character reason to avoid Odysseus specifically. You don't. That is true. So it's up to you. I think going south would definitely sound like it's going to add another day at least. Yeah, but going through very tough mountains and a carriage and the possibility of stuff breaking down or everything, I feel like going safer is going to be faster in the long run. It's a very Oregon Trail decision. That's exactly what I was thinking. Listen, okay, there is another group that has made similar decisions and they chose the more dangerous but potentially faster path twice and did not exactly recover them.

I'm just saying, can we please go safer? I don't want to die in an iceberg. And later, group one was eaten by a dragon. But yeah, I just I think that the on paper, it looks like it'll be longer but if you take into the fact that we're more likely to be attacked by things or have things break down, etc. I think we're equally likely to adapt, to be honest. Well, let's take a look. Do you want to get attacked by dragons or by drakes and hill giants? The dragon thing? The dragon thing, if it attacks us, we probably won't survive it though. But there's not, we don't know, Rachel, we don't know that there's a dragon in Odysseus.

And you don't know that we won't make it through the hills without any attacks by hill giants, ogres and things. I mean, I'm inclined to take the faster, riskier route is my inclination, but obviously we could vote if need be. Amven? Wonder if we should like roleplay this? Might not be the worst thing. Then we get rid of the whole meta component entirely. And you know what, if Tevin's driving, you all don't get any say, bitches. I would like to think on day two or three, everyone's like, where are we going? Shh, quiet. You're just going to crack us in the back of the head with a shovel and bury us, that's what this is.

Shh, just let it happen. Don't ask questions. I thought we'd turn this cart around. So let's do that. Let's roleplay this whole situation out so that does take out the meta component and I like it. So let's say that you guys have piled into the wagon, you're getting ready to take off. I would imagine the, which route are we taking, conversation comes up. Amven pulls out his map, so which way? Whatever's fastest. That was what our check told us though, right? We've got a good, we've got a good pro and cons. We've got like Arya fighting for the slower because her nature says, hey this is better and you've got the faster.

So it almost sounds like they could play off each other. For each route. I think that we need the extra time in case, in case we get there and perhaps Valus, Jadzia, or Tessia don't need any, or need more convincing than maybe Liara does. I think. I mean I'm just inclined to take the faster route because we're capable. I'm not afraid. Certainly will be rough, but. Do we have supplies to fix the wagon if it breaks? I'd like to think that there's a basic set of tools on board. Like if you have a wagon it's not like in today's society where there are people who don't even have jumper cables or a tire jack, something like that, which frustrates the shit out of me.

But people kind of just travel around and if they get a flat tire they go, I don't know what to do. They could just call somebody. That's not the case in Theria, there's no AAA. I'd like to think that people have a basic knowledge. Alright, cool. Established. So, Emon will also agree. I think the sooner we can get there the better and hopefully we can just, any issue that arises we can fix. But I'm willing to listen to why we shouldn't go. Aria, I don't think you've chimed in yet. I mean if that's what you guys think is the best route then let's just do that.

Theo, you on board? Yeah, he would. Everyone must be like, what, uh, um, yeah, sure, no, that's fine. We have consensus. The fresh air will be good for us. Come on, let's get moving. Alright, we're going through some mountains. Let's do it. First, you guys got a good two, maybe two and a half days of travel before you even get to the mountains. You got a little time. It is the 13th of Thorim. We're talking probably early afternoon. Alright, roll to resist dysentery. Do you have 5D20, Jason? Um, well, Tevin felt left out earlier. So what I wanted to do was give Rachel a chance to roll a 5D20 and see how this generally is going to be going.

The good news is you are in an area of the world that isn't too bad in terms of monsters. It's not that bad. So, um, this is a fairly low risk roll. I'm not going to say no risk, but low risk. Thank you for cursing it. Hey! What? See? Bam! See? Solidly okay. Unless, here's the thing, unless you guys have an objection, what I'd like to do is just talk about the next, let's say two, two and a half days for you guys. No, I think... Yeah, that's fine. Okay. He would just be plodding along up top. Yeah. That's how nice that day is. I'd say this montage goes to stand by me as we roll over the mountains.

I love it. I gotta watch that movie again. Damn it. So, the rest of the day is gonna go, it's just gonna go swimmingly. The weather's on your side. It's cloudy, but not, uh, not too cold yet. Nice breeze going. Almost chilly, honestly. And you guys are gonna get some rest, pick things up the next day, start making your way. You'd be right around like Betrayal Ridge by the end of the day past that, and you'd be making your way to the fork in the road from Durren Hollow that would lead into Esterhold. And then you'd start to round the bend and go south. Now, let's pick things up on the, let's see, rest of that day, then a full another day of travel, then another.

This would be the 16th of Thorim, I would say. We're picking things up. You guys would be in the mountains. Now, when traveling in the mountains. How'd you get the 16th of Thorim? Well, you're finishing out today, right? Which is the 13th. Right. That would put you before Betrayal Ridge, and then another day of travel would put you past that to the fork in the road, and then by the time we pick things up, like between Blackrock Mountains and Blistering Peaks, that would be like... Oh, one more day. Yeah. Very early morning, though. That's why I'm like, I'm only getting 15th there, buddy.

Yeah, because it would be two and a half days just to get to the mountains and all that. But... Okay. Did they want us back at the 19th for prep? Yep. If possible, there may be some things we could do about that, but we'll see. Depends on what you guys decide to do here. The good news is you could press through and get to Esterhold on the 16th. You could still do it if things go smoothly here in the mountains. Now, so far, this trip has been wonderful. Just wonderful. I believe. I do, too. Hey, Kelsey? No! Could you do me a favor, please? No, I can't. I've lost both my hands.

I can't click on things. Somewhere along the line, a level of trauma set in about this journey that I was not privy to. I think it comes from listening to the rest of the show. Kelsey, you need to embrace obliviousness like I do. You need a flat D20, Jason? Let me throw some dice for you. Oh, we got one. Hers doesn't count. She doesn't have hands. We have a third. Okay, I'll give you the option, Kelsey. Do you want to take that 10 or do you want to let Malchus roll here? What do you guys think? It's pretty... pretty epic. Do you want to take the 10 or do you want what's behind the mystery door?

Deal or no deal. Let's be ballsy. Take Malchus. No. Do you guys think you should keep it? 10 isn't bad. Yeah, that's what I'm... So technically, we have a 50% chance of improving, a 5% chance of staying the same, and a 45% chance of going down. So we actually have a better chance of improving than dropping. I'm a keep it. Keep it. Keep it. I'm a coward. Can you hear the studio audience yelling at you at home? Yeah, dude. Every time I've seen Save It's at that show, I'm just like, "I am not." I'll just take like $10 on group at that. Alright, so now that we're keeping the 10, can I roll the d20?

You absolutely can. It's gonna be a 19 or a 20. I'm saying it right now. I know what it's gonna be because it would have been different if it... This is the roll you missed, okay? This is the roll you missed. Kelsey wins. That's a 4, ladies and gentlemen at home. Very, very wise decision. I mean, it's still pretty good too, but... I like the 10 better. I'm starting to think maybe Rachel has the problem with numbers. We dodged a bullet there. So this parallel universe group one is gonna have a real hard day. Oh yeah. Sucks for that. I'm rerolling characters on parallel universe group one.

But let's worry about this reality. We really all did get dysentery, didn't we? That's what parallel universe group one did. [Laughter] Oh boy. So this is gonna be another long day on the road. Once you get to the mountains, it gets a little slower, obviously. Your wagons aren't the best for this type of thing, but obviously there's trade and travel. They've tried to make this route a little better because things have to get in and out of Esterhole, obviously. And they're a big trade city, so yeah. So things are gonna slow down a bit, but it's not terrible.

It's not the worst thing in the world. Weather is getting colder. It's gone from a little chilly to straight up like, "Oh, jeez, okay." So I'd imagine you'd bundle up here and there. At a certain point, and I'd put you... There's a river that runs along the path here. Oh no! It's this Oregon Trail. The fjord. Well, there's a river that runs here, and you can tell that recently there's been some really bad weather. Probably some bad rains, something like that. And part of the road is gonna be washed out ahead of you. You said it's the 16th of Thorim, by the way? 16th of Thorim. 16th, okay.

You're actually making really good time, considering when you set out and all that. You're making phenomenal time. Things have been on your side. But yeah, the road is gonna be washed out here, and it continues on for several yards that way. And it looks a little deep. Not crazy deep, but a little bit deep. So you kind of have a decision to make. Now, you can either try and find a way around this, or see if you travel horizontal to this, that maybe there's a better way to cross. Or you can just try and just kind of ford it, and get across that way to the other side.

Because looking at the road on the other side, it looks a little muddy, but fine. Could we do a perception check to look up and down river and see if there's a better crossing point? You absolutely can. Yep. Oof. Can't see shit. Oof. And Malthus? Yeah, sorry. There we go. I think we might be leaning on Arya on this one. Yep, I think we're leaning on Arya on this one. What do your elf eyes see? Oh boy. So, looking up and down, it doesn't appear in the immediate vicinity that it would get too much better. Obviously, the road that's traveled here isn't in wide usage.

People usually don't take the mountain pass for a lot of travel, unless time is of the essence. And it's really just bad timing with the weather. So what Arya does see is that it doesn't look incredibly deep. It doesn't look like the cart would get washed away or anything like that. It looks like you should be able to make it through and everything be okay. Me being the tallest, can I tell how high would it come up to? Like, would it come up to Tevin's waist? Chest? If you were to just be standing in this, it looks like it would come up to just above Tevin's waist here.

So almost belly button? Okay, so it's like maybe like four and a half feet deep or so. Yeah, somewhere in there. Okay. So the cart would get wet. Like there might be. Yeah. I mean, I'm the tallest one. I probably have the best chance of not losing too much footing and stuff since I'll be more above the water. Yeah, I was gonna say, Arya's not gonna be of much help. Like anything physical. Yeah. I mean, I'm not strong, but I can lead the horses through maybe. I was about to say, is the idea to walk alongside the wagon? Yeah, like for Tevin to get down and like lead the horses to keep them from panicking.

And yeah, this would be like chest high for Theo. What season is Thorim in again? It's fall. So you're yeah. Late fall or early fall? Early-ish fall. Okay. Maybe it's like we just crossed over to fall. I was gonna say, you don't want to be cold and wet. Everything I've ever heard from survival training says you don't want to be cold and wet. Well, it'll be unpleasant no matter what. I'm shaggy. You're shaggy. You're a teething. You make fire. It'll be fine. Yeah. Just, you know, light a fire and it'll warm you up. All right. Well, we'll commit. We'll commit to this.

Sure. I mean, do you have another option? I mean, well. Malchus can fly. I don't know what you guys would do, but. Can Malchus carry the carriage and fly with that? Do we have to cross the river? It comes like it's like perpendicular to us? Like we have to cross it or is there a way to just follow along it? Well, normally there's kind of this like it dips down and stuff like that, but it's completely overflowed. So it just spills over, over the, over the road here. So it's completely like washed out. Okay. Yeah. I mean, to be, I'd get down and offer to like lead the wagon through and then maybe do we have any like long poles?

Maybe if the boat does the boat. If the wagon starts to float, you guys can use the poles to keep it like stabilized so it won't turn over. Maybe you got a spear. That's the best I got, guys. So how much, like, is there a path along the river? This kind of whole way? Like, is it, is it pretty wagonable along the side of the river? For the most part, yeah. The problem is this terrain gets really rocky and it would become very easy to break something on the wagon if you were to go off road. Now this only, okay, let me paint a picture. This is not a, I don't want to paint this as like, oh, it's like raging rapids or something.

It's just, it's just like waist deep for, to be in any way for, it's just waist deep water. It's just, that could become problematic because there is a little bit of current to it. It's just not like raging. And you'd have to be, basically the way this breaks down is that you'd have to be in the water for about, I don't know, like 25, 30 yards, something like that. Nothing crazy. Nothing crazy. Okay, let's do it. Sure. So before we do this, so as, as Tevine gets down and gets ready, she's going to like kind of do the thing where she like rolls, like, I don't know if she's wearing pants or like a skirt or whatever, but she's going to kind of like hike it up.

So it's like not going to trip her, you know, basically like tie it off so that she won't like, it won't be like wrapping around her legs if the water does have current. And then she's also going to use Speak with Spirits. So basically during this turn I gain a bonus to my next skill check equal to my wisdom modifier. Because guys, I have no decks. I have a feeling that may come into play. Never know. Arya can look at things really well. I don't, I can't. I don't have many skills to help here. I'm sorry. No, that's fine. I'm the tallest so I'm figuring you guys shouldn't get in the water because more than half of you will be getting wet.

Yeah, my thought was if it like tips over, I've got spells and stuff to like lightning jump away or fly away or take a friend out of the way. Oh God, I thought you were talking about casting lightning in the water. I do not think you felt this through. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Like lightning shift or lock step where I literally take someone and we go out of there. Seems like it's going to tip over. Or I just am like goodbye and fly away. It's not super deep so if we do fall out it's not. I'd be more worried about tipping over and dumping all our shit out.

Do you guys want to tie stuff down so it won't. Yes, yes, yes. Let's let's do that. That sounds like a good plan. I like that. Let's think it ahead. Okay, we're gonna do that. We did that. We're gonna tie all our shit down. Ten minutes from now. Ten minutes from now. And another thing. So to recap. Wait, how fast is the river going? Hold on, let me drop a plumb line. It's a very, it's a mild current. Again, I don't want to paint a picture. It's like raging rapids and it's crashing. It's not that at all. It's just the roads washed out. There is a current it's it's it's heading.

It's heading downstream to the south but it's not raging at all. So if for whatever reason one of us does fall out, probably going to be able to swim to safety. It's not like a huge. You can stand up. Yeah, exactly. I'm just making sure. Okay. Can you swim? Thank goodness we got Theo out of that other armor though. I mean, I'd like to say I can swim but the way I roll typically I'm not confident anymore. My, my confidence is shattered. Yeah, I, Malchus is good for low rolls on a lot of occasions. Yep. He's been through a lot. It's many scars. So are we fording this river?

Yep. And I have to speak with spirit on. All right. So you guys are going to just trudge into this water and Tevinne leading the charge kind of like pulling the horse like come on, let's let's go. They'll go in. Not. It's not reluctant. It's just, they're not super pleased about it. You can tell. Yeah. Should be like patting him on the nose and like, you know, talking quietly like it's okay. Come on, you got it. Like, you know, and just guiding him like very slowly and like as cautiously as possible. So the, the wheels of the wagon are going to dip into the water and then submerge and it's going to come up to just above the point where water would start to get into the wagon and anybody inside of it like it would start to kind of seep in and spill and it's, it's just gonna, it's just gonna ruin some of this fabric.

I'm going to be honest, like just, just a bit of it. Didn't lose much. Anyways, it's fine. We can get insurance to cover it. We can get it, Esther Holsted. Oh, get out. Get out. Valiant effort. Okay, the turn of phrase you were looking for was has to pull stirred. I'm not even better. I understand what you're going for. I hate you both. At a certain point, you're going to get, you're going to get to about the center here of the, of this and this wagon is going to start to slip like you could see where it not, not to the side to get traction. It's kind of struggling to get through.

Like you could tell that maybe at the bottom here, it's very muddy. The carriage is going to start to struggle a bit and you could tell the horse is just like, like, just come on. How would Tevene, how would Tevene like to handle this? Like, just like double down and just like, come on guys, let's go or try to push from the back or? No, she wouldn't leave the horses because she doesn't want freaking out and making it worse. So she definitely stay with them. But first she'd call back to them saying, hey guys, it's it's sinking a little bit, just a heads up, you know, and then she probably would try to get the horses just kind of like double down and pull.

See, you know, even if she can like kind of reach between them and grab like the stuff. I don't, I don't know horse terms, the stuff, the stuff kind of help, you know, haul with them almost. Okay. I feel like Aria's gonna go ahead and talk to Tevene. Should we get out and just swim across with that pelt? Give it another minute. Let me see if we can get maybe it's just caught on a small rock and just needs to hop over it. But that may end up having to be what happens, unfortunately. Yeah, she'd keep tugging. Any luck, Jason? After a few tries of this rocking back and forth, just and go and stop and go that type of thing.

It is going to break free, and you're going to get some forward momentum going again. And it runs me over. No, the wheels broken. No, everyone do me a favor roller perception check. I get a plus six on top of it. Just saying, I see everything. Hey, I know what I wrote this time Aria is the only one that didn't roll. Look at that. Even Theo. Just flip flop. Her hydrophobic open eyes. Five for that. 35. I didn't add the additional six. Gotcha. Well, let's see. Everyone in the party is going to pick up on a noise. Now this sounds like it's in the distance, actually really far in the distance.

It's going to be one of those things where you can just barely make this out, but it's very distinctive. It sounds like it's a very large creature, letting loose a roar. And it sounds vaguely familiar in that there's something bestial about it something something it's it's it's massive, and it's either so large that it can shout over mountains and tree line, or it's airborne. And on top of that there's going to be this sort of rending metal sound that accompanies the roar. So this is what we heard before. It sounds very reminiscent of what you heard that night.

Okay. Can we tell the direction. It's, it's, it's very echoey and distant if you were to make a guess and to veen would be the best one to make a guess. It sounds like it's coming from the south. Okay, well, I mean, that's it. Don't stop. Yeah, I don't plan on it. The rationale here is that that something that that big if it were even remotely close to us we probably see it. It's probably like, yeah, that's that's really terrifying. Hopefully not something we have to be concerned about at the moment. I mean, even if it is there's not much we can do. So if you're continuing through.

Then after a few more moments, the characters going to get to the other side and it'll be just dripping wet, obviously, some of the material will be sort of just well wet and ruined, but you'll get to the other side and you'll be ready to continue on. Yay. Did it. Imagine to be in would kind of do like that like shimmy shake off, almost like a dog. And then climb back up. It's it's the same the door Explorer song. I don't know the door and the explorers, I don't know. Here we go. All popped into my head was we just figured out blues clues. I do know that one only from babysitting though.

This is exactly the type of scenario that would happen in Dora the Explorer he got across the river. So we're across the river and the direction that the road goes, it doesn't sound like it's more toward the scary sound or parallel to or again, it would be kind of tough to pick up on but you guys are heading southeast toward Esterhold. And the sound came from South generally south generally, this sounded like it was miles away. Problem is something that large could potentially close the gap of miles in a very short amount of time. Theoretically, of course.

It seems like the path is taking us a little closer to the sound but we're no good stuck up here in the mountains. We best just continue. Yeah, and the sooner we get to Esterhold the better. Agreed. Yep. Aria will make a note about the sound and what direction it came from again just if we do see Clarissa again at Winterhaven. Okay, cracks the whip. Let's go. All right. You guys are going to continue on. And it will be just about nightfall. But on the 16th of Thorim, you will close the gap. And you will be nearing the city of Esterhold. And I think that's a pretty good time for us to stop for the evening.

And we will pick things up next time. Yeah. Oh, we're almost there guys. Wait, so is the next episode is going to be Esterhold. Yep. Yep. So, is that. Oh, man. There's a lot of there's a lot of stuff there. There's a lot of stuff going on. Hey, DNR listeners, Kelsey here. Just wanted to let you know that you can follow us on Facebook or Twitter. And while you're at it, check out our forums and wiki and take a swing by our sponsors by going to our website at dandrpodcast.com. And if you could take a few moments of your time to drop by and give us a review on iTunes that would be such a big help.

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