Ep 141 - Local Heroes

The Agents of Repair deal with the bloody aftermath of the battle with the Fatal Reserve, but are they prepared to face the consequences of their own power?

Transcript

0:01

Hey nerds, join us on Discord and hit that subscribe button. Well, hello, everyone. I'm Thessally. Olma, Ceallach, Flynn, Seeker, and I'm your DM, Seth. Welcome to Venture Forth. When last we left our heroes. The violence of the Fatal Reserve's attempt on Queen Isolde's life spilled out from the council chambers and into the halls of the Capitolium. The battle was tense, and at many points, the agent's fate hung in the balance. But truly, you all rallied, pulled out all the tricks, weapons, and cards in your arsenal. And with a little help from somewhere as yet unknown. For Thessally, all of you together turned the tide. Vossen was the first to fall beneath Thessally's blades, followed by Meryl at the hands of Seeker. And finally, Fain met an end he has long awaited at Thessally's hands, despite Ceallach's attempt to sway them away from their path of vengeance and restitution. And as Vossen, Fain, and Meryl all fell, Thessally also fell to their knees, weeping as they come to the end of the long road that has led them to this moment. So, as we return once more to the hall between the Parliament and Council chambers, the din of battle dies, the blades and the blood left on the floor. You all come back, Thessally and Ceallach in each other's embrace, as Thessally silently weeps into your chest, Ceallach. And I ask you all, what do you want to do? I drop my hood. Is it over? It's alright. You're alright. And I'm just gonna kinda like, I have fully soft, I'm gonna bite the inside of my cheek. I'm kind of, I'm not going to push you away, but I'm going to kind of like hold you at arm's length, watch the process of me like re-steeling myself, acknowledging that we still have things to deal with. I.... love you, and I, I love you. And I didn't say that. There is a lot going on. Right, but I do. I am in love with you. And I'm going to stand up and walk away. I'm I'm just watching this like my hands are down, my hood is down, and I'm just staring and then I look from Ceallach, to Thessally walking away, to Flynn, and and Seeker, and then back, and I'm just looking back and forth. So I'm over with, uh, with Seeker, and I'm just kind of like, like, helping him, like, hey, it's alright, buddy. It's alright. I'm, I reach back into my bag and pull out the potion of rapid rest, and I-- Oh, you haven't taken it yet! No. You smart boy! What the fuck? What the fuck? No! That's really funny. That's amazing. You can only do that? Yeah. You sneaky sumbitch. So sneaky. That's awesome. And you drink the, and it's small, it's like a little it's like a little shot, kind of, but you feel immediately kind of the warmth starts to flow throughout your body as you can feel the potion begin to take hold. It takes hold after 10 minutes, but you can kind of feel like your heart rates start to come down and, and the, the filling up of, of this sort of slow leaking of the exhaustion that is, that upon you, your bones. Um, so, uh, you stand up and you walk away, and you look over, and you can see that, um, uh, Valeris is, like, like standing there, like, kinda sword still out, um, and Salix, like, reaches down to, uh, his, uh, his arm, the shield like, and folds back in the stiletto, folds back into his arm as he reaches up to his helmet and starts talking, um, as he casts sending. And he basically, he just says, he says like five names and then says to the Capitolium, now. Mm-Hmm, . And, and he turns to Queen Isolde, who is like, surrounded by Admiral Alaya, Valeris, and Salix, now at this point, um, and like he looks at you and you can see he's like, wants to go to you, but he's also like torn with the duty that he has to the queen, um, as he turns to her and starts to go to talk. And she just like puts her hand on his arm and she walks over towards you and you as the queen kind of crosses the room. And she meets--Could I be walking up there too? Okay. Okay. Of course. So like, as you walk up to, um, to stand beside Ceallach, as Thessally, you kind of, you walk away a little bit, but you, I mean, which direction do you head off in? I was going towards Salix, so I probably don't get very far, I'm still getting up from the ground, but I have not moved. Ceallach is. And a lot of words. Um, I'll do that as the pair of you kind of slowly like you get seeker you stand up and you drink the potion you guys can also cross over but the queen kind of like it comes to you guys and she stands there and she waits for the two of you to get over and she stands before the five of you and she like looks for a moment her eyes kind of like go down and she looks back up. I owe you all my life. Ondale owes you a great debt. I owe you a great debt. And then she looks specifically kind of to the two of you. And kind of a little bit of a smile comes across her face. Thank you. You're welcome. You're welcome. What are all your names? We met already and I'm Olma. And you, uh, you know Olma Marsk. You know, uh I, I go by Sika, and sometimes Taka, which Taka. And, the rest of you must be the remainder of the Agents of Repair? We repair things. Yes. Mm hmm. And you also break things. And she's just Well, alright, but I've been rolling around the ceiling and I saw a hole in it! You're alive! I only just. Um, this is Flynn. Hi. Hello Flynn. And this is Ceallach. Yeah. Yeah. This is Thessally. Hi. Hello. That's Thessally. He's mine, and I point to Salix. He's like, like, like what? Brother. Understood. And, she turns to Salix. And, Captain, remind me of your name. And he like snaps to attention. And he, uh, he says, like he gives her kind of a crisp salute. And he says, Captain Salix Quinn, this is my sister, Thessally. Um. It is an honor to serve you, my queen. And she looks to him, and she says, Captain, I couldn't help but notice that your commander was conspicuously absent from my earlier meeting. Do you know what's become of him? And Salix, like, looks at Alas for Words, he goes, No, ma'am. I, uh Your Grace, uh, it seems to me that someone did something to manipulate Nassade's mind. There was the steel predators they were interfered with. He turns to her, he says, Your Grace, I can unfortunately confirm that Nassade allowed a dwarf by the man's description that was here earlier into the facility where the steel predators are. Manufactured and maintained just earlier this morning and requested that the meeting be kept off the books and Queen Isolde looks to Salix and she looks away for a moment. She thinks issue an arrest for Nasade Kalb's immediate capture and Consider yourself as she looks to Salix interim commander of the steam strike hordes Let's go. God dang it. And your brother gets a big promotion Yeah, no joke. He's like 22, right? He's so young. He is, yeah, he's 24 years old, but, and he became captain fast, but this is crazy. Um, he like, um, and she looks at him and she says, Considering that as of right now, you are the only member of the Steamstride Wartens I can trust. This responsibility lies with you until such a time as we prove otherwise. And he nods at her and he says, I have a few of my most trusted on the way. Um, I can personally vouch for them. And, and that's all he said. He like goes, and, and then he kind of leaves it unsaid that like, If not, he'll take care of it. Um, and Valeris kind of like claps Salix on the shoulder and like, you see the, like a kind of grin come over the half works, um, but, uh, Oh yeah. Cause they work closely together. Don't they? Yeah, they do. They do work closely together. Um, Your grace, uh, the lady felon or in the other room. It was, uh, killed. It might be that we can keep her alive quickly. And she, like, you take off and run me into that direction. Okay, um, this is, ooh, boy. Oof. How many rounds has it been? It's been like four rounds, Todd? It's been about, well, it was two and a half of the first combat. Oh. Three of this one, so far. You're good, right? Plus the intervening time to travel. Oh! You're probably fine. You're at 30 seconds. I don't know. And then this conversation, uh. How long do you have to do it? A minute? A minute. A minute? Um. I was like, yeah. Also as we leave this room, the lethargy is really tasting. Yeah. You guys run back. Hey, me and you. And I will say you arrive into the parliamentary chambers. Kig, you know that too much time has passed, unfortunately. Tell you what, Klik roll like roll a constitution saving throw for me. This is gonna say how hard you can run to get there. Can, can I cast? Um, Longstripe, I don't know. Yes, you can. Take advantage. Whoa! Would I, do you have a gentleman on you? Um, no. I'm gonna stick it in his pocket before he goes. I'll grab it, I'll grab it from Tesla. Okay. I like that. So yeah. Cause I can't keep up with him cause I'm gonna, but I'll handle it. Natural? Natural fucking 20! Yay! Okay. Same bad person's life. Damn it. Wow! Nice long start, Kelly. You are the best. Like, and, obviously, like, thank you for not, like, interrupting me, but I know Kellek would have said it a little sooner. He would have been like, we gotta get to the lady, she's talking. Oh, okay. So, you fucking take off, and as you pass Thessally, Thessally, you take it, and you, you, the exchange happens, Kellek, you grab the diamond, and you This is the diamond, not the dust, right? This is the diamond, not the dust. You run as Seeker, right before you leave, throws the sand at your feet, and you feel that buoyancy in your step as you are carried faster down the hallway. You descend the Capitolium steps, or the, uh, these Parliament steps, and you find Lady, um, Belenor. Thank you, I forgot her name. You find Lady Bella Belenor, and as you get up to her, you can see, like, her face is pale. She's lost a lot of blood through the neck. Um, and you have seconds. Okay, uh, uh, one second. I've never cast a spell before ever. Really? Never. Never. Yeah. No way. We've never had to. We haven't had to. Mmmmm. Exciting things. First spell. I've just had the diamond cause I'm like, I know it's gonna fucking come up. Wow. Wow. 140. Yeah. Never cast it before. That's awesome. And I will just, uh, I'll kiss my amulet. Let's undo all the work of these bastards. And, uh, Ritchie's out. Cast Revivify as I as I put my glowing hand on this person's sternum. All right Uh, what do I do? All right, so, um, casting Revivify is a medicine check. Um, so, or actually, excuse me, it is a, um, It is a straight wisdom check. Um, it's a spellcasting ability modifier. The base DC to revivify somebody is 10. Okay. Unless they've died before, which she hasn't. Okay. I am ready if I am needed. Uh, as you Pull the amulet up to your lips and you kiss it. You feel the warmth of it. And not from against your skin. Go ahead and roll. What kind of check is it, medicine? It's a 26. The pale skin of Lady Velanor. The blood on the ground. As you reach up, you grab her. You kiss your amulet. And you push your, place your hand upon her neck. Mm hmm. How do the wounds undo themselves? Oh, shit, yeah. I place my hand against her neck. In the other hand, I, I pull the diamond. Um, and I, uh, Is there a skylight in this room? How's it lit? Yeah. Mm hmm. Yeah, I will, I will Yeah, you see this You look up, and you see the glass ceiling. And you see the stars. Fuck yeah. I will hold the diamond aloft, To catch the light and I will look at my own reflection in it And in the way that it is refracted also see the reflection of lady velenor and as the diamond is dissipated Um, the, the angles of it that are distorting our, uh, countenances, uh, disintegrate until they are aligned. Until the only remaining angle aligns both of our eyes. And the light, um, disintegrates. Goes from mine to hers and she is restored and you see as the light returns to her eyes as The diamond disintegrates in the silver flow almost like the light is captured in that prism as it falls Surrounds her neck and you see as the blood reverses and returns into the wounds As she Oh god. Yeah, yeah, it's gonna be a shock. I've been shot. You're all right. It's going to be a bit, I hope you weren't How are you? Alive? Yes, very much so. Oh my god. Stop crying. She's like, I'm so scared. Yes, yes, it's over now. She's weeping. In your, uh, like, in your arms. Don't hold him. Don't hold him. This is, like, inconsolable. I'm lying into the room, and I see this, and I'm like If I could look over her shoulder, too, this way, I just gotta shake my head. And after, like, a good, like, 30 seconds of her just like, Thank you, thank you. She eventually, like, Like, she, she like, Thank you. And she like, reaches up and like, she like, wipes the tears away from her eyes, and she like, keeps just touching at her neck, like she's terrified. Um, and she, like, and you see, uh, as Cecily enters the room, so too does the rest of the of the group. The coterie of everybody, um, as one by one, the members of the queen, along with the members of her privy council, uh, enter back into the parliamentary chambers. Um, and this woman is restored to life. Um, did you restore one of the queen's council to life? Um, and, uh, just earned yourself probably a pretty solid favor from a very powerful woman. Um, and she, yeah, she says thank you and you, you look back and you can see, um, Queen Isolde as like her hands are folded and she looks at the way in which you cast the spell and the nature of the magic you channel. She looks at that and looks down at your arm and is like kind of just like not mean or anything Just kind of like almost like you're a puzzle to be sorted out Then you do see that she smiles and she walks up to Her council member and like takes her hands and like leads her away and she goes Valeris Is the large half orc gentleman just like kind of stomps forward? Passes you and he Nice job. And he like, elbows you, like, elbows you as he passes. All in a day's work. And then he stops. Thanks. Oh yeah, yeah. Hi, a pleasure. Do you ever need anything? Uh, I suspect I would. Cut, great. Hilarious thorn. And he, his fucking huge ass half orc hand just grips yours. Yeah, this dude's like almost seven feet tall. He's wow matchy. Um, and uh, and he reaches out and he shakes your hand. You did good work today. That's our aim. You and, uh, your friends. The agent's self repair. If you don't mind. We fix stuff. I don't mind at all. And, uh, and then he walks over and, um, and now, like, at this point, like, other people are, like, there are, like, Stilgard and Steamstride ones who are, like, starting to, like, Yeah. Where the fuck do you think he is? What the hell is happening so fast? Yeah. Oh, for sure. Yeah. The, the, some of them like walk up and almost like look at you guys really questioningly and the queen, the queen like raises her hand and she says, they're with me. And um, like the room very quickly gets like locked down, um, as uh, as you guys find yourselves once again in the parliamentary chambers. And then the woman is like led off by like five still guards. She is too emotionally disturbed to, Participate in this right now? It's a lot. Um, and leaves, uh, and Valeris, like, issues some commands before he turns as well, and just starts, like, telling people what to do, placing people, um, and, uh, and once again returns to the table as the Queen also does after bidding her goodbyes. How, and this is the Queen speaking to you all now, how did you all come to learn of this? And I know you, you mentioned, um, an emissary? Mm-Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Angel of ours. Farfetched as it may seem your grace. Um, now that you are this close, um, you see a holy symbol Mm-Hmm. Oh, around her neck. Mm-Hmm.. What? I noticed it too. You Yeah. The two of you would, as you see a holy symbol of a tear of a tear. Mm-Hmm.. Right, right, right, right, right. Um. And, uh, that sort of glowed earlier when she was casting her own magic. Yeah, yeah. Um, and she, like, smiles. And, um, my faith is often tested. Times being as they are. But it is good to know that the old gods still hold us in their hands. It is. And she, like, reaches up and, like, massages her temples. Where do we go from here? It's almost like a rhetorical question she's asking to herself. Flowers sent us to protect you. Which we did. Quite well, I might add. But, your husband was not wrong when he mentioned that there is a pending attack on Westreach? Westreach. Potentially from the Underdark. And then she like, But her eyes wide open Oh, wait, we heard this right we we knew You two do yeah, you two you two did but you did not communicate Um, wait, I think Flynn's people are are are one of the strongholds In, in Addersfeld. What's wrong with Addersfeld? What's happening in Addersfeld? Is your, um The Kaldurian military has attacked Addersfeld from the south. Half of the city is on fire right now. Did There's a stronghold at the Iron Light Castle, though. The Iron Light is, uh, where they're, uh They're holding up, uh We have to We have to go. Can you reach out to them, Callic? Uh, yes. Really? Let's see if they're okay. There are three, uh, particular We can't go fight an army, though. There are three particular points of resistance right now within the city that are still holding out most of my military forces within the city it's roughly divided into thirds quarters one at a castle and In the southeastern district of the city. I've been told members of a fighting collective the iron light. Yeah They're holding they're okay For now as far as I last knew And then she like turns, um, she says, uh, At least that was the information General Cade gave to me. And like, she is like, barely contained rage, um, at the betrayal of her, her general. And like she cut, you see like the gears turning in her head, there might be a little conversation that happens with that for a while. Um, Battersfield is under attack right now. That was part of the reason why I called. And then she turns and like the Admiral's like steps up. Um, and the Admiral has not really said anything at this point, but you see now up close their, their form. You see kind of the slightly blue tinge skin, the green. Um, As, uh, they, like, these bright green eyes just kind of, like, assess all of you, and, um, She turns, she says, Yes, my queen, um, We are, at the moment, without a commander of the army. And, um, She, the queen, turns to Valeris, And she says, Valeris? Consider yourself promoted as well. Holy shit! It's happening fast. Kind of moving fast. Um, for the time being. Um, she turns, yeah, she turns to Valeris, she says, you are interim commander of the ground forces of Hondale. Whoa! And he, like, bows his head, um, and he says, I will serve as long as you need me, my queen. Grace. Um, now what to do? And, um, at which point now Salix is also at the table and, um, he turns up and he says, uh, he says, your grace, would you like me to personally see to Naseid's capture? And she just nods curtly and Salix kind of turns to you all. And, uh, he says, I have. I have to go. Y Right. Um. Be, be safe. Be careful. I know, I know you can do that. That's silly to say. Um, And I just, I just, I just throw my arms around him. I don't care that people, unless he, unless he really doesn't want me to, I'm gonna give him a really big hug. He, yeah, he, he doesn't stop you. Big sister bear hug. He doesn't stop you. You feel the, uh, you feel both arms, the, the, uh, steel and the flesh kind of wrap around you. Um, and he just whispers in your ear, he goes, I love you sis. I love you too. As you guys like start to separate a little vial of ink. It's like floating in between you and it's like shaking back like a hands hold an invisible hands holding it like shaking it back and forth Yes, would you like would um, you can write a message on it and we'll we already give him one possible You can never have too much Yeah, I thought you're trying it And he, he turns and he, like, points out five members of the Steamstride Wardens, and he just says, On me. And he Yeah, I wave goodbye. He waves at you, um, and he bows to the queen before he leaves. I give him a snarky nod. Um, yeah, he, he looks at you, and he's like, he gives you a wink, and, and, uh, and he leaves. Um, and you see as he, as his back, uh, heads out and, um, as the interim command, high commander of the Steamstriped Wardens. Wow. Yeah, he is, uh, him being here, like I said, she's the only, he's the only one she can trust right now. That's for sure. Her, the circle of trust is at this table right now. Yeah. And it is us. And it is you, the Admiral of the Navy, the newly promoted commander of the armed forces of Ondale. And the Queen. Lady Velenor's legit. Yeah, Lady Velenor's fine. She took one for the team. She did. And that bolt was one that didn't find one of you guys. So, that's good. I'll look to the scroll. Is it glowing after hearing Adderstelt's? I don't have it. Who has it? When you did your night attack, I gave it to you three. Oh, do you have it? I think I do, yeah. Okay, so you would look, I'll look to uh, I'll look to secret, I fixed it to your, like, Secret, where's your, where's your, I gave it to you three when you went to go, I have it here. Is it, Is it, As you, as you check the scroll, um, there is, Uh, no message currently on there. Okay. Um, it is not gold. Okay. And I'll hand it back to Seeker. Okay. So, Seeker, you, you received the scroll. Thank you. Um, Uh, thanks. Uh, Uh, Uh, Shall I reach out to the Iron Knight? Is that a Can you? Uh, And the Queen looks to you? Yes. Alright. Um, Also, I don't hate to be like this. Any chance you could replace that diamond if we're to leave here? Of course. It doesn't even let you finish. Absolutely. Good, uh, I'll join you. Like I know Zorkal's thread really well. He's just there all the time, ready for you. Come on, buddy. Um, okay, what do you say? I assume so, yeah. Uh, Zorkal, we've thwarted the attack on the queen. How do you fare? At Addersfeld, are you there? Good to hear from you. The Addersfeld has fallen under attack. Ironlight Castle is holding. We have about 750 soldiers in here with us. I don't know how long we can hold. Oh, uh, he's alive. Uh, uh, they're holed up in Iron Light, at least. Um, his forces, pretty sizable, 750. Um, uh, but he's not in confidence. Yeah, he says soldiers, which, ah yeah, so, There's probably a military, like, they got them in the castle and they're holding up in there, yeah. Um, that's about it, I think that's about as many words as he can get to you. Totally. And he's like, sounds out of breath when you talk to him. You probably hear like a boom. I love the idea that Sending can like pick up some ambient noise. So yeah, like you hear like a boom. I like that idea, yeah. You hear like an explosion go off, and you can hear like, Uh, like Wilhelm screams in the background. He's using up one of his words. Yeah, yeah. Confirm. I didn't get that. Yeah, you hear like this grunt of effort, he's like, Like dodges out of the way or something probably. Um, but yeah, he is, so, the information, the most current information is that at this very moment, Um, Iron Light castle is holding. With an unknown number of sentinels and about 750 Ondalians on the person's side. Did he say anything about our class? Galen, Evelyn? It takes a lot of energy to communicate this way, Flynn, he could only say so much. Okay, um. I assume he would have mentioned, well, I don't know. You're all familiar with the Iron Light Collective? Yeah, I'm a part of it. I'm a sentinel. He's a sentinel. Touch me. And she kind of looks to the, uh, to the, to the pauldron on the shoulder and you almost see her mouth move with the same kind of like. Oh, then never trust them. Do I catch that? She doesn't, you, it's, it's hard to say what she, what she like actually says. I don't pick it up, I don't pick it up. She doesn't actually say anything, but she kind of like mouths something to herself. Um, and then, um, just odd the way, um, history sometimes changes. That's the plan. They're a bit of a dubious group, to be honest with you. Well, they're good people, Zorkhal especially. Um, yeah, we're fixing things. A lot of the leadership that they have is kind of out of it right now. It's a bit of a regime change. I'm glad to hear that they're Do you trust who's there now? Yes. Yeah. Zorkal's a good sort. I would. Good. Okay. And she sort of like spreads out the, the, like the maps and you see as they kind of come back to the table. She turns to, um, to the, with a group of you and, um, she says, um, as of this moment, the agents of repair are officially deputized directly under me. You are one of the few groups of people that I can trust, and as such, um, well, I intend to use you. Deputized? How? You report to me. Right! Um, direct the servants of the queen and Oh. Do Is that a problem? Well That little edge in the voice when she says it. No, not necessarily, but what if The gods asked us to do something and you don't want us to do it because that's why we're here. So We kind of have been taking orders from gods right now. So, I don't know if we took orders, we took information from a god and we put it to good use. If it comes to light that Atir's wishes contradict my own, we'll deal with that when it comes. Got it! How do you feel about Laurus? Or Fimir. Or Zachriel. No, don't! I think it's worth stating our aim, uh, Milady, is to try to end this damnable War. Uh, if serving you can meet that end, then we'll do it with vigor there are also other darker forces at work. I, I think there's a bit of a, well, all this business with usurpation, uh, it's all connected. Not, I mean, naturally in the mo more direct way, but, um, the war is not the greatest calamity headed in our direction. That's true. And what is? Um. I hate the, uh, spurious authority we have with which to report, but, uh, we have a pretty good indication that. Also an angel. That's confirmed. Yes, an angel confirmed, but we've been, uh, the past. We've spent pursuing an organization called the Order of the Red Wolf. Um, they serve a being called the Outcast and they seek to end the gods as we know them. New and old. Um, the Outcast, what we found out, was an original god, so the old gods are just the oldest gods. Fuck. How does the queen respond? Does she even believe us? I mean, why not? Worshipper of Atir jesus. We didn't tell her they're not God. We just dropped that. We just dropped the most earth shattering friggin You guys. You know, like, if she wants us to work for her, we gotta square some things. She's had to receive a lot of information today. She's also gotta know that, like, we are after this big bad. Yeah. So we can't just go and start battling, like, Kaldor. Like, we just can't just be like, Servant, that doesn't sit well. Well, I wonder why. Maybe because you serve too many masters. Oh yeah, you've had that. Yeah, a message we don't know about. She There is like a long Just pregnant pause as she stares at you and you can see the mind of a fucking brilliant woman working. And like one like kind of especially because you two were the ones to kind of reveal most the information just like goes back and forth and then eventually turns over to you. 30 years I've known this war. That has consumed the entirety of my reign. Three short years of peace. When I first ascended to this throne. Then the usurpation. If you think that I desire to continue to throw away the lives of my people for unjust cause. You are sorely mistaken. I simply wish for myself and she reaches up and touches the symbol at her chest and for my people and for all of the people of Elbor to worship as I see fit, as they see fit. The usurpers are real. That much is certain. And if they were not, Kaldur would have fallen long ago. But I will not bow down to the demand that I abandon what I also know in my heart to be true. The Old Gods Remain. I feel Atir's power still, and I will not abandon him. If a path to peace exists, I am willing to take it. But every attempt I have made has been rebuffed. Though, it has been some time since last I tried. But, perhaps if once we're able to put these, uh, uh, immediate conflicts to a standstill, it sorts. We can find that road again. I know we all wish it. And she looks at all of you. And, not for nothing, my queen, but, uh, well, I'm the physical manifestation of the union between the new and the old gods. I'm not with I'll deal with it. Yeah, I'm still working on it, to be honest. It's just like, totally compartmentalizes what you just said. Um, and You bring up something very important, which is that the immediate conflicts need to be put to an end. Addersfeld is burning, and that is my immediate concern. And Westreach might start soon. I'm so sorry to keep bringing up things that are bad, but it is really bad. We saw the whole army in the underdark like four days ago. So it's like serious. Was it maybe a week ago? Super recently. She grabs like a steam stride warden and she goes, Send for my husband. And, and, and, and, And this guy just fucking takes off. I'm not trying to tell you what, what is a priority and what isn't. I just, It's coming. I think maybe we deal with the one that is on fire though. Right! Right. Let's do that first. Uh, yeah. If, if I may be so bold. Put out the literal fires where they are. You may. Grant you permission to be so bold. Um, um, and uh, Um, but yes, she says, So, And she turns to the Admiral, She turns to Valeris, And she says, and she turns to all of you, where do we start? And she's like, asking for opinions now. Like, she is taking counsel. We have easy access to Addersfeld, quick access. Where? We do? Just, I mean, we do. Through the, through the void? Through the void. Yeah, we can do that. We have a, we have a circle that we can travel from. I, we can't get all of you there. But at least we would be able to get there quickly and, and, and help as quickly as possible. You have a teleportation circle with access to the castle? No, it's to the outside of it. It's, uh, I think it's a little shack, right? It is, yeah. We've never taken this car. a hidden path. But it is within the city. Yes. Aye. Is it by the bakery? I think it's, it's been so long since we've used it, but it's close. It'll get us close enough. Yeah, I think it's mainly in the slums there. But who knows what's been blown up, what's changed, what parts have been taken? Well, we don't know for sure. Might be something we have to risk. Yeah. How far away is it from your castle? Not far. Not far. We've done the walk before. Yeah, we, once we, if it stands and it's not overtaken by army, we could walk from there. It's in the basement, so, although unremarkable. Yeah, we've been there. It's, it's still standing. So it's likely uncompromised. Yes, likely. But eventually, can you get there? I'd like to go now. Well, I think we should sleep, but then we can go there. Do you have more of that, um, special juice? Or that, I don't know. I suppose. As she turns, she goes, If you take it again, you will pay a heavy price. I'm afraid it wouldn't do you much good. Okay, then I don't want to do it. We could take one. No, I could use some sleep. No, if you take the, if you take multiple times, it has really bad side effects. If you take it once, forever, like even if I take it a year later. No, no, no, not forever, but, Wait, I can't believe this, like, You need to go. You need to go. Wait, real quick, if you guys want to, she's just warning you. Right, right, right. It comes with the cost. So, we, we can get there tonight, but I don't know how much good we'll be tonight. We can at least convene with them and see how they're doing, maybe talk about a plan and the rest there. I, I don't know if I'd be able to sleep knowing if Zorkal, was he fighting? Is he, is he okay? Is he safe? He was winded, but he was able to form complete sentences. He was not, he was not, uh, mid combat with the displacer beast, for example. Flynn, Flynn, we could also talk to him more maybe once we get back home. Yeah, that's a good idea. Maybe we, maybe we call him again with the, the Mirror? Mirror? Yeah. And then we can have a longer conversation with him to see what, what a good step would be. I suppose that's, yeah. I mean, as long as I know he's safe then, yeah, we can rest in the void and then He's safe for the moment. The question is, uh, Queen? My Queen? Queen? My grace? Grace? Your grace, it's fine. Is that what you're supposed to say? Okay, um, your grace. And I like, do an awkward curtsy. Um, I guess the question is, is how quickly do you want us there? I mean She looks at you and she says, How many people can you take with you to wherever it is you're going? Aye I don't think we've hit a max, but As many can fit while it's open. It doesn't count. It's not quite like a wizard's teleportation, it's more of a gateway that we have access to. A dozen? Two dozen? If you have a force of people, we can just open it and see, I suppose. If you have like an elite force you want us to take? Yeah, or maybe some supplies and medicine too, I'm sure they need that as well, I don't Potions and Um, she turns to Valeris. And She asks is the first blade here Valerius he he he nods. He goes. I believe they've returned from assignment. Oh, oh and She says send for them, that's cool This is fucking cool Because it was I want to make sure I get this right he was But you guys fought in the third blade in this. I'm shocked. Oh! Is that the dude I let go? Mm hmm. Okay. No! You were trying to murder him in the third blade. Third blade? So this is the first blade? This is number one of his order, of his group, yeah. Yep. This is lit. Okay, let's do it. So now Ondale's Fatal Reserve is going to be joining you. Oh! On a little mission. Oh, that's frightening. That's acting. Um, so, Valeris, uh, as, um, he says, uh, yes, I believe they've returned from assignment. And she says, send for him. Uh, or send for them, excuse me. She says, send for them, because the first blade is both. Anyway. We'll find that out later. He nods and he, he like walks away from the table, whispers a command to a few still guard who also take off. The queen turns to all of you and she says, So, tomorrow morning, you leave? Well, We Or will you, can you depart tonight? Tonight, if, if it's alright, we We could, we could host your group in, where we have a bit of a hub, a place we, a base of operations. And maybe that would be best, because, um, we have a means of communicating a bit more efficiently there. Okay. And then we can go to either tonight or tomorrow morning, depending on how dire it is. I do think we should be rested. You're not going to make much difference and you're no good to me if you die. But I'm no good to myself if I die too. It's a fair point Olma. She kind of tests the name in her mouth. You can depart. When? Tonight. Tonight. So we'll meet with your people and, and we can go tonight. We just don't know if we're gonna go straight there tonight or to, um, our home. Understood. Do you have a place to stay already here in the city? I would prefer it if you were close. We were at, um, And she like, almost ignores you immediately, and she just turns to one of the still guards, Set up quarters for them in the monarch's residence, please. And just like, And the guy also takes off. Um, and As he takes off, you see Kind of like, storming in Uh, you see a tall Half elvish man With, like, sort of slightly graying hair at the edge, as you see, um, her husband, the, uh, who comes in and he, like, rushes up to her, and just, like, he, like, goes up to her, and, like, Then like stops and nods and he says, your grace, you've summoned me as he fights very hard to be the king, formal and not the husband in this moment because he does not want to undermine or do anything. So he like stops and very with great difficulty contains himself. Um, and he just says, your grace, you summoned me. And. She says, she reaches, she reaches out and she does, she grabs his hand and she says, yes, I need you to make contact with your people in West Reach and warn them. Apparently an attack is imminent from the underdark. Yeah. What's the name of your friend? Siren. And, uh, you see as the king kind of, yes, he's an aid for the council. Yes. I'm familiar. This is the man who's poor as we saw through his ring, right? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. That's how you knew? Mm hmm. You keep good company. Yeah, I look around and nod. Yes, your grace. And he, um, he not like, he like bows his head and departs kind of, and just like goes off to the side and he keeps like looking over at his wife, but, um, very quickly, um, he begins like, um, sort of like writing down, uh, like he pulls out some, some parchment and like starts writing some letters. Um, and, um, he like starts sending them off, not like letters, but like Specifically messages to get sent. As he starts like writing down messages. Two people who can send sending for him. As he starts like fear, kind of like just takes up a space and starts like writing out messages. Speaking, informing and sending the necessary. I cannot believe you guys figured that out. That's so cool. It totally changed the fucking whole world, which is awesome. That's so cool. Um, yeah. So he kind of goes off to the side and begins taking care of that, um, and the queen kind of looks over at her husband and then returns to the task at hand. Um, you leave tonight, your quarters will be set up for you so that you can rest. Given recent events, I'd prefer it if you were closer to hand. That's fine. That's fine. Fair enough. Do you have anything you need gathered from wherever it is you're staying now? I don't think so. No. No. In the first place, we'll meet us Where? Where? At the, um, at the monarch's residence. Sure. All right. We've been there. Oh, you We'll show you the way. Yeah. To Oh. Yeah. All right. And I will hand Some ink to the queen. Ink to the queen, let's go. Let's go. So, you can send us a message like anytime you need and, and, and I guess just let us know what We have a way to get in touch with you, but um, we will read that if you get to us. She puts it into the, the belt pouch that is kind of like at her side. And, uh, after sussing up our chambers, it, could I? Trouble, yeah, for one of those, um, visors that the, uh, steam stride Steam striders? Steam stride! The wardens that they wear, maybe in a very small size. Oh! Yeah. Then she turns to like a nameless steam stride boarder and she says, See that it's done. And he like nods and he goes, I think we have a few halflings on staff. And he like runs off to try to figure out how to get a small helmet for one of the steam stride boarders. Random boss, I'd appreciate it. Thank you very much. At this point, um, there are a few things that you could ask for that I would not be willing to accommodate. Speaking of, Have any, um, any Benton Glass. Ooh. See, I, you know, we didn't need it in that fight. Do we really need it at all? When we think about it, we don't. She like looks at you and narrows her eyes. It'll be arranged. Tarka. Um, will we see you before we depart on, in the circle, or is this? Unlikely. Um, I have something, it's kind of silly. I've never met a queen before. Um, and I was just wondering, um, and I'll go into my bag, and I'll go to a random book, and I'll just rip a piece of paper. Um. Um. Could you maybe write a note to, um, my parents? I don't know, sign it? Oh, this is the f ing cutest thing ever! Oh my god! I'm dying! I've, so I've been collecting things that I'm gonna give to them, and I just think it'd be cool to maybe show them that I met a queen. Shh! She smiles. It takes the piece of paper and she, um, she goes to, and like, she summons, so she like waves her hand up and somebody puts a, like a aqui in it. And, um, and like, it's like someone like sets it all up for her and she like leans down. She dips the, uh, the, uh, it's a, the clin fellow e and she begins writing, um, um, Nora and Bery. Like, she like, starts writing. Nora and Bodry, um, And, um, Do you try to peek at what she writes? I'll let her, I'll let her just write it. Alright, cool. She writes something down, And then, um, she, Like, it's, it takes, Like, a minute, you know, a little bit. She like, Like, writes for about, 45 seconds a minute and then, um, she, uh, She pulls like there's like a writing kit, you know, it's wax and all that stuff. She pulls it out She uses thaumaturgy to melt the wax and then she takes her signet ring and she pushes it into the wax The base of the letter. Yeah rolls it up And then, hands it to you. Thank you, my grace. Um, She doesn't correct you. She just kind of like, again, like, Like I start to, but I just take it out. Amazing. Um, we'll uh, we'll repair it. Hi. Your grace. If I, um Oh my god, sorry, uh, Devin. It was funny, um Will there be someone in the monarch's residence if I leave a message for my brother before we depart? Yes. For, um, C Commander Gwin? It can be arranged. Thank you. You're welcome. Is there anything else? No. Clap your life. Thanks for letting us save your life. Thank you for saving it. You're very welcome. Oh, uh, bit touch and go for a minute there, . And, um, at which point, um, she, she does, considering the depth of the favor, you've just done me, I'm electing to not ask too many questions, but I do get the sense that you perhaps knew of these people. Grace. How honest would you like me to be in terms of, uh, making you feel comfortable? Considering we don't have much time, save it for another time. Sounds. But, um, and she says any arrangements you'd like us to make. For them? Well, I'm in a fucking ditch for all I care. I recommend burning their bodies beyond repair. Oh, I like that. Yes, listen to Oma. I mean, ditches are fine, but technically you can still bring them back. Um. Or, um, And I don't wish to see that woman again. And you, she's talking about Sevarra. Um, and she turns. Yeah, I'm like, in my head I'm thinking about, um, Um, I'm thinking about, um, Corvin. Like, I don't even know. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm just thinking of like, my brain is purely like. Alright. Um. And, uh, she also, um, she writes another, uh, another note, presses it with her signet ring, and gives it to you. Oh, I take it? Yeah, it's rolled up, but, um, she presses it with her seal as well. My, I look at her like, should I open this now, or should I wait? If anybody gives you too much trouble. Ah, ah, thank you. You're welcome. I'll see that the appropriate Chain of command is notified of your countenances and new role. Right. Yes, I like. Sorry, I can wait till we're walking away. Hey man, success like speed. And she don't got time to fuck around now. Yeah, are we, are we walking? Yeah. She, uh, she nods, like, as you kind of, she hands you the thing, you say, like, throw them in a ditch for all I care. Yep. Her kind of eyebrow arches and nods, uh, and she turns to another person and, like, waves them over and kind of points and just says, Clean it up in there, please, and see that, um, See that the bodies are taken care of. She says, uh, any other possessions bring to their quarters. And, uh, Hell yeah, brother. Oh, fuck yeah. Hell yeah, dude. That's right, they had some sick shit. They did. Wizards. I want to know what that wizard had. I want to know what that wizard had in the field. Sorry. No, you're good. Oh, we didn't kill the cleric. But, uh. Sorry, buddy. Um. But, uh. You guys, uh. Uh. Yes, you, uh, if, unless there's anything else. No. You guys can bow. Yeah. She's now like, surrounded Yeah. As dozens upon dozens of, you know, still guard and steams, dried wardens and everything else. Yeah. And as we're leaving, I just like lean into Ceallach and I'm like, and to think, a couple weeks ago we were like, Kal Dorian's number one enemy. You know, like they wanted to. Imprison us, and now we're Still Kaldur's number one enemy, it would seem. Just with a title. No, no, right, but like We were prisoners, and they were like gonna come capture us, and we were like Our names were on Do you think our names are still on things? Is that what you're saying? Oh, well, they're gonna be on more important lists than before. Oh, really? Mm hmm. Mm hmm, they will. In a few days time. They probably added a name. Oh, maybe we have to. Stronger people on our side to help get us out of screen. Well, it's actually we can expect better sleeping conditions What's wrong with my house your house is fine, but the cats in the void whoo except for the magic one But I never get to sleep in that one. Oh, I see It is very nice Okay, um, To the monarch's residence? The monarch's residence? Okay, the monarch's residence is this way. It's really just like right across the way. It's, it's kind of strange. But you just, we, Follow me! Yeah. Alright. You guys walk. So while we were apart, man, It was so crazy. Seeker and I Snuck our way Into the monarch's residence. Mhm. Passed so many guards. And we got into the queen's room with her and the king. And, um, then we found out what happened at Ondo. Um, when, uh, then we found out what happened in Addersfeld. And so, she was gonna leave, she was gonna go and start her council meeting, so I took my cape off, and uh, my hood down, and I talked to her, and told her not to go. But that's how you became like, best friends with the queen? Yeah, best friends. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Seeker helped, because he told her that we could go with her, and, and help Just guards for her. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean great job. Yeah, it seems you guys got here too. You guys great job. How did you guys stuck on a boat? Yeah, oh yeah, there were tons of guards yeah, we stole a bunch of documents Silent as the night You guys Definitely see the two still guard from earlier this evening, who were like in there and they were just like, Like, just like cut at some point, like in my head, the movie, they cut like, as we said, I know it's the music, like, is that the talking couple? They were just talking about like, what? Who's who? Yeah, Silent as the night, as the two still guard, like, I see you guys walked out. I believe you. You guys are really sneaky. I'm really proud of you. I was very quiet. We actually kind of did a good job. I mean, you got here the same as we did. You got a lot of information. Flynn, a lot of that was you. Um, I really do have to give you props. I saw light and yelling, so I mean Oh, that was You didn't I was a man without But yes, it's been well done. Same, yeah, we, we, we handled it well, too, yeah. We make a good team when we, uh, kind of stick together. Or separate. Well, yes, but, you know, in a spiritual sense. Right. Stay cohesive. Right. When we make a plan. Oh my goodness, Des! Your brother's arm is so cool. It is pretty cool. It is pretty cool. It's fine, it's a nice arm. I don't think I got to see it. It's a cool arm! Was it a canon? My arm is a canon of I spent a lot of that under a table. Okay, your arm can be cool too. I'm just saying. Maybe we can make your arm metal? It's alright, it's fine. I don't think you need a metal arm. No, I don't want one! It's not a big no. It's a perfectly good arm. In which he got it was quite gruesome, so I Right, and this was a walk in the park. Ah, there's a piece of skin that just falls off. Oh man, that's funny. It's just like some kind of weird competition about arms. No, it's just not that common. It's nothing at all. I'm just saying it's a cool arm. It was very cool, that's all. I never even thought about it, which is terrible. I never thought that, like It was the first thought I had. Oh, it's so funny. Damn! God damn it. Yeah. I just wanted him to, I don't know why. I was like, he's got his arm ripped off. Yeah. I like it. The commander of the steel guard, or no, the steamstride wardens, that's so cool. Yeah. It's certainly. Are you proud of him? I'm very proud of him. But you know, um, he's not, he's still, Young. I mean, he's been through a old he kind ohma, I'm sure. Do you, um, people feel old, but um, the same age mostly, yes. When you're young, he's, he's 24. He's not that old to be little bit older than Flynn to be a commander. It's old. It's 24 is old to you, Flynn. Yeah. He's older than me. Well, love that logic. I mean, I'm just, he's old enough. I just hope it's not, it's a bit of a burden. He tends to take on a lot of responsibility, and I don't know that it's always, um, healthy, so. Well, we have a lot of responsibility. Sounds a lot like his sister. And Flynn's younger, and he has so much responsibility. And now, hopefully, he knows he has something to stay alive for outside of the war. Right. We will, um, we will have to come back after we take care of things. Um. Man, we have so many homes now. Do you think the queen will give us a house here? We could probably, yeah. Oh, goodness. We saved the queen's bloody life. Do you think the queen never met a queen before? Do you think we can get her to get us a house near Salem? Oh, can we get one of those little flying things? That would be really wonderful. We're just like, oh, you want to? No, we don't need a, a strider. This moment. Walking away out of the capital. Do you think we could get a house here? We Hey, come, come here. I need, I need, uh, some help. Oh, okay. And I like, put, I started to put my arm around Seeker's shoulder. Thank you, he's so heavy. Are you, oh, I didn't, well, someone should have said something. I just, uh, put my arm around your shoulder and can you help me walk? Yes. Okay. Yes. How, how are you? I'm, um, as can be expected. I, um, took down Meryl. She's, she's quite, uh, she's quite a lot. So it's kind of easy. Blueberry helps. Blueberry does help. A little bit. Blueberry. I'm going to kill that fucking dragon. Do you? Okay, we're like nine disintegrates. Yeah. Do you, uh, but you're, that was, um, they are tough and they're not done. No, they're still, um, some of them got away, but I, um. Come here. From what you said. Was this audible to us or was this more private? That's up to you. Um, we're all together. It's quieter, but I'm not hiding it. Like it's, it's for everybody. It seems like Vassen was the one with all the comption. Right? These were his followers. He was the leader. Um. Do you think that He and Fane were easily the most, uh Vicious even still feels underrated, but um, in terms of people I don't think should be walking around those were the two but I If Savarra and Hadrix will report back to the Kaldorean government our names will be on lists I have no doubt of that. And I don't know that their part in all this is done necessarily, but I I feel a weight lifted that we You Rid the world of that evil today. Hey. I was invisible to both of them, right? Oh. Didn't you come un un invisible, though, to Cal? You're already on a Kaldurian list. They never saw you. They think I'm dead. Who? That's true. They think we're all dead until now. Until now, except for Olma. Who are we talking about? Ruh roh. Ruh roh. Well, sorry. The Kaldurian government. Oh, yeah. So I'm just like, do they even know me? Because we, yeah, but I'm being selfish here, okay? That's true. No, I'm not. Okay. Like many things, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. We certainly will. It may be that we can create peace, but all of this will be able to beat her out. We'll deal right with that. Good. Should I, um, should I give Blueberry to the Queen? Her guards are really bad. In fairness. You want to give up something that powerful? She's nice. Wow, Seeker, that's some growth. I'm very proud of you. What is that? What? Well, Norma, I mean, in the past, I don't think you would have necessarily, like, given up an item like that. Maybe. Maybe we keep Blueberry just for this next thing, and then when we're back, you give her to the Queen. I like that idea. It is magic, so. We are about to go tasty, and Pretty big contingent in the Caldorian army. Yes, we might, you know, actually we might. We probably want to keep her. But then we can give totally Hey, I I mean, as long as she knows it I don't need convincing to keep magic. Mm hmm. Yeah, the only thing after that is we have to fight a god or something. So, probably don't need it for the dead guy. Oh, yeah. Who's not dead. We need the dead guy who's not dead. Right, and his army of undead. Well, maybe some of the stuff that I don't know. To be fair, I think we have the backing of pretty much the entire Ondalian government. Now we may have some resources that can help us with that, sir. We're not alone. That's true. We're not just operating in the wind, we can We can use their resources to try and find this What are we looking for? A phylactery. A phylactery? Right. Some kind of jewel or important object. So maybe their mages can look for the phylactery too? But some of them may know more about Corvin. He might not be completely under the, uh, sight of all these people. Okay, so maybe we deal with that. Oh yeah, he's really old. Do we deal with this thing? Perfect, yeah. Then Westreach, then Well, the ladder's spelled first, and then we'll go from there. What if we write a letter to give to the Queen to catch her up? On like, Like a debrief! Yes. And then she could start to do some research maybe. Hi, and she has our, our scroll. Yeah. Our ink. Yeah. I do want to um, We can start that, I can help draw that up. Yes, uh, We have a little matter to attend to as well, uh, in the midst of all this. Oh, what's that? Yeah, we'll get to it once we have a bit more of a plan. Okay, what? Some stuff we found in the library. Hi. Oh. Better read than I have to do. Yeah. In my downtime. Okay, so We don't get a lot of that. Maybe we'll rest? I'm ever really tired. Could we? Let's at least take a sit. We'll get to the Void soon, right? How long did they say that they're going to be until we get to the Void? I don't know, they've got to gather their forces. Yeah, and I They weren't expecting any of this. Yeah. The attack on Addersfeld. The attack on the Queen. Something. Gonna meet the First Blade. Wow. I know. Wow. Pretty legendary figure. Oh, I just thought it was a cool name. You know about it? Well, it's just pretty. It's, you hear, weird sort of thing. It's, it's, I mean, it's kind of impressive. Do they gonna work for us? I don't work with them. I think, I think we are giving them the access to our teleport probably. Right. They probably report to us. I true. And it think is that we are the delegate. We report directly to the Queen though. Did they report directly to the Queen? Yes. Well. Knowing, like, actually, like, having served with the Fatal Reserve, like, I probably would have heard of the First Blades and stuff. Like, how does that tier system work? Uh, the First Blades, um, Who did they report to? The commander. They report directly to the commander, and who reports to the queen. Awesome. so, okay, so you guys were like, could I guess contemporary. But who knows if they'll accept that. You don't think they'll listen to a 12 year old? I mean, we all know who's the one that continues to undermine them. Um, I just love the idea of like, Kaldur being like, Our warden has decided that these people are enemies. Here's these three faces on, or four faces on, six faces on, like, poster boards being like, fightin these people. Oh, they're dead? Great, they're dead. Five days later, they're alive and they killed your fatal reserve. No, some of those, what's that called, like an eye ry? Where, like, people are, like, trying to script the panelists. They're like, oh, fuck it! Right? There's like a printing press, like, Yeah, man! It's just so mad. We just pressed the button. Literally, he just marked it. He just marked it. It's like the biggest criminals, right? And they're like, cross these ones off the list. Yeah, we got em! Plans for the parade. That's fine. Somewhere, somebody is very upset. That you guys are alive. Join Corvin. Savarra and, uh, and Hadrix even returned. Yeah, I don't know where they are, honestly. They're in the witness room. They're gonna join Corvin being like, You guys are just getting in my way. I'm gonna get you fucks later. I'm just kidding. Um, but as you guys kind of cross the, uh, cross the threshold of, um, Like walking across the The large kind of open plaza area between the Capitolium heading up to the Monarch's residence And as you guys approach you can see like there are the presence of the guard is like quadrupled Still guard like constantly roaming the grounds there's steam stride wardens who are roaming the grounds and as you guys approach you like there's a moment of like discernment and then like And then, uh, you guys walk up, um, as you do so, you do see one of the Stilgard kind of, like, reach out his hand and just, like, you feel like a wave of magic kind of wash over you as he casts Dispel Magic. And just, like, sorry, just checking, um, and, uh, protocols. And, but you guys, uh, Just make it through the sort of large gates and make your way up to the, up to the garden. Um, as you guys walk up, um, Thessally, you're, um, you hear, um, your brother, who sends to you. I went to Naseid's office. He's dead. I'll tell you more later. Um, can I, oh, he's still going. Um, he says, um, something's not right here. Yeah. He's dead. And then like there's a pause where he goes, can you swing by? Oh, oh, what's going on? Um, real quick within that message, like, can I, I know it's been like seven years, but did he sound like in the way that I remember Nassade sounding off? Did he sound off to me? No, it just sounded like him. Yeah. Sounded like him. Um, so he is, he's asking me to go to Naseid's office, like where that would be. Um, I'm just gonna respond and say, I will be there as quick as I can. Give me a few minutes. Okay. What was that, Thessally? Um, I need to, uh, I need to go have some, some family time before we, uh, Um, are we going to go to sleep? Was that the plan? Was that what everyone? We're just going to take a seat, really, and wait for you to play people. Oh, all right. So I guess we have time. Do I have, do I have a few minutes? Yeah, you guys have some time if you'd like. Are you okay to go alone? Yeah, I don't really want to, if I'm honest, Thessally.. I want to give you space with your brother. Um, he sounded, he just, he sounded very vulnerable. And, I don't What did he say? He, well, Naseid is dead. Oh. And he's, he feels like something's not quite on the measure. Well now I feel like we definitely should go with you then. Right. You're all gonna, he only asked me to come and you're all gonna come with me? Well we could stay outside or something, but we should all go. I You go, we go, Thess. That's fair enough. I try to, I try to hide the smile, but I can't. Okay. All right, let's um, but I want to, I want to go to him as he sounded, he never sounds like that. He's shaking. Then let's move. Should we all go? Or should some of you stay? Should we tell someone? Maybe we just tell them? I think we alert the still guard. Right? We'll tell the still guard. They have to know that we're coming back anyway. We'll be quick about it, I guess. Very quick. Very quick. Yeah. You guys alert the still guard. You let them know. Yeah. We're on our way out. Grab the guy. Warning. I let them know where we're going to. Perfect. You say we're heading to Steamstride Landing at the request of the acting commander. Yeah. Um, and you guys make your way very quickly through the city. It's not very far away. Um, find yourselves wandering, going through the big hallway and eventually find yourselves in front of the doors. Um, you can see that there are several Steamstride Wardens, all of which are, excuse me, um, Uh, standing outside of the door, um, and as you walk in, you, they let you guys pass, um, having been given your description before, and you see Salix, and he's like standing there, and he's just looking at the desk of Esade, and you see that, um, like slumped in his chair, you see that the former commander of the Steamstar Wardens is dead, um, and you see a small overturned vial, That is on the desk. Oh man. You see a piece of paper with a quill laid across it. On front of, in front of the, uh, in front of his body. And you see that, like, his, like, mouth and the area around his throat and face is like blackened. Yeah. Oh no. And, um, and like slightly, uh, necroticized. Yeah. And, um, And you see Salix and he turns, like he turns to you and he just goes, thanks for coming. And then he, he just kind of like turns and looks and he's hurt by this. His faith has been shaken in some strange way. I'm just going to walk up to him and like slip my hand into his and just give it a real strong squeeze. Can I go read the letter? Yeah, as you can. Um, okay. You walk up and you see, um, as you get close, yeah, you can see that, uh, as exactly as described, you can see like a letter and a piece of quill, apparently a letter of some kind written. Um, and on the note, as I pen this final note, the weight of my actions, both seen and unseen, lies heavily upon my soul. I have walked a path shrouded in darkness, one that led me from the light of honor and duty I once held dear. The choices I made, and then there's a comma, it says, though they, and that's like done in like a weird scrawling hand that's different from the rest of the note, and then it's scratched out, have cast a long shadow over the legacy I hope to leave behind. In my heart I always drove to serve Stilgate and my queen with unwavering loyalty, yet. Comma, the text changes again, under, it's, I, N, and then it's scrawled out, you almost can't make it out, it's like almost ripped through the paper, I committed acts that betrayed everything I stood for, my part in the assassination of our beloved queen Isilde is a crime that haunts me, a stark reminder of the depths to which I have fallen, period. I was scratched out, I now stand at a crossroads where the path of redemption seems forever barred to me. The horror of my actions, the lives endangered, and the trust shattered cannot be undone. In this dark hour, I see no way to atone for the grievous harm I have caused. To those I have wronged, especially to Queen Isolde and the people of Stilgate, I offer my deepest apologies, though I know they hardly suffice. To the Steamstride Wardens, who I have led and worked alongside, my heart aches for the tarnish I have brought upon our honorable name. Forgive me. The Sadecalp. Mm hmm. Could I, could I also read this Aroma's shoulder? Mm hmm. I'm gonna There's Ceallach, there's no way. There's a simple shape. Yeah. Right here. Under it. In. Influence. What's it? Though I Though they It's though they. Though they. Like though, the choice is, though they were not my own. Though they were forced on me. Right. By what? I'm going to go over to the body. I want to do two things. One, just verify that the way that this appears is accurate. So like there was a vial of poison that, and then that's what killed him. I can make a medicine check for me if you'd like. And while he's doing that, I want to go back to the. Bookshelf that had the air. Oh, yeah the bookshelf And I want to just like start to pull things and see if it's a trap door of some kind natural 20 All right natural 20 for a total of what like fucking some yeah, uh, yeah 30 30, okay um so Because the other thing I would like to check is Early medicine. I want to just like, look and see if there's anything it is, like, look through his ear, try to examine his head to see if there's been any like, surgical, anything, or anything fucked up with the brain. Um, so, uh, a few things. Uh, roll an investigation check for me. What? You just start pulling shit? I just start pulling shit. Wherever the air is. But I can roll. But I'll roll it. If you just start yanking off every book, eventually you're going to figure it out. Yeah, I'm literally, because he's not there to stop me. You kind of hear, like, the sound of, like, pop, pop, pop. As books just start flying off the shelf and getting dropped on the ground. Kellick, you, with your very keen, uh, medicinal eye, start examining the body. Yeah. A few things. Um, damn, that's a fucking hell of a rule. What's the total? There are, you notice that there are a few, like literally three, droplets of blood, like tiny, on the back of his chair. Like behind him. Yeah. That's what you got with the DC 50. Okay. The DC 20. Yeah. Whatever. Like. There's only as like as you look at like the necroticized flash around the mouth. Yeah It should be worse if that's what did this it was like it Like it's not, it didn't like take the full effect almost, um, it should have had a greater effect on his appearance if that was the cause of his death. Right. And with the DC 25, as you look at his head, you start like searching and you look in the ears and you don't see anything, no blood or anything like that. Yeah. But then you look to the crown of his head Mm hmm. And you see the faintest outline. Of like a circular wound Right on the crown of his head recently healed And you see the faint flesh of new skin. Oh, I mean, I want to take my sickle and Get in there. What? I'm a fucking doctor Definitely as you like as he goes to do this, yeah, say looks almost like instinctively like And then he, like, you, you react when he goes to, like, move. Like, I'm already holding his hand. I just hold on tighter. He, like, like, he's struggling. This was a man he deeply admired. I, yeah. And, like, to see him like this. I just, can I pull him to look away? Yeah. Yeah. You, you pull your brother to look away. And as you open up the wound, You look into, into his head. Yeah. Oh! And his brain is gone. As oma you Pull a book and this the shelf swings open And you see a cavern Into darkness Behind the shelf What the? But we have to go to Addersfeld! We will! We have a whole bunch of people here! Next time is you figure out what you're gonna do! Stop the party! No! No! There are tons of superpowers! Steam Stride Wardens, who can investigate this? Alright, we got it. Awesome. Five different directions. We will figure out. We got a lot of choices ahead of you guys. Oh my god. So, we will figure out what chores the agents of repair make next time. I didn't pause it, but I go, whoops. And we will see what you guys do when we return. Oh god. Thanks gang. Oh no. And uh, thank you all for watching. Goodbye nerds. Bye nerds! We survived! Holy shit. Keep your heads on. Wow. Woo! Hey nerds, Rebecca here. If you're enjoying Venture Forth, please like, follow, and subscribe on whatever platform you're using, and make sure to tell your friends. If you're interested in going the extra mile, please check out our Patreon link in our description to support the show and get access to exclusive bonus content. Bye nerds!