Last time on the Empire Initiative, our heroes
learn more about their new friends, the Leap
Syndicate, including how dangerous rescuing the
tadpoles can be and how rarely that mission is
successful. Hoping to find them a more permanent
home, Bubbles tells the team about a nearby cave
that could serve as a safe haven if they can
clear it of a few runaway orcs. Boulder reveals
that his weapon is no ordinary dagger. The blade
is called Atraxia and it serves as a prison for
a devil named Oriphany. Boulder has made a terrible
pact with this devil, agreeing to kill 100 ,000
souls in exchange for dark power. Meanwhile,
back at the pyramid, the Crusaders witness Orcs
escaping through a magic portal, but the leader
betrays one of her companions, kicking him back
into the pyramid to save herself. This is episode
17, Necessary Sacrifices. I don't know. I'm interested
in these orcs. Honestly, even if it's to help
us get in the pyramid, Rain is also very like
aware that we are on a time constraint because
we have a vampire in Castlerend. And so is this
a one or other situation where we have to I'm
just thinking Who are these orcs? Why aren't
they with? the town or with the friend friend
is Enemy of our enemy our friend in this situation
could we convince them? To let us have where
they currently are if they help us clear out
this pyramid like and Maybe they can like I do
have one concern with trying to team up with
any orcs and that's Pointing at Boulder, I think
you might be like, what the fuck do you think
you're doing teaming up with orcs, you know?
But that's also a bridge we can cross when and
if we ever get there. Yeah, um. I feel like the
orc thing is going to be a pretty tough sell.
Plus, if I recall correctly, I think we overheard
Okara talking about having some kind of connection
to Rin. No car definitely is connected. Oh, yeah,
she Has been making the blood marked orcs the
ones with like the ass. Are you guys talking
about the ones in the cave in the cave? Yeah,
the car was in the pyramid and rain doesn't do
this Rachel knows that dart Saw an orc so it's
a little meta. I'm sorry That didn't attack us
and fled during that fight You have no idea Presumably
because the orcs from that fight were Bloodharvester
of Wrynn's troops. Whoever it was probably ran
back to give him forewarning of our intrusion.
Or it was one of the orcs that are from the cave
and that they were scouting their own stuff.
Just... Rain doesn't know this so this is also
like us kind of above the table talking about
what we want to do, too. I also Worry that in
the pyramid there could Be something that the
enemies could use I'm scared of like that crazy
woman coming back and like getting some real
fucking shit You know, let me know if you guys
have any questions Like to help you like make
an informed decision okay so like that's just
another another place where my mind is going
scared if this like powerful ass priestess couldn't
handle it like i'm a stronger priestess than
she is i mean i have no doubt love but i do have
a doubt no i'm just kidding i know you do i don't
doubt you it's you i know i know it's me it's
me i don't doubt you i doubt Like, I don't know.
I just, as always, am concerned. But I will do
what everyone feels is necessary to move forward.
I'm just here to help Dart. No, everyone's looking
at me. Oh boy. Well, of course you have your
own opinions too. Yeah. Well, it's just like
above the table sort of discussion It's a really
tough question because I Feel like I recall LoCara
saying something about the stuff inside the pyramid
being like something that Vrin would want and
I also feel like we are on a timeline and dealing
with The orcs in the cave and the orcs in the
encampment and dealing with the pyramid is too
many things. We can't do all of it. And like...
It's possible that the pyramid could be easier
to get through because those orcs already went
through it and did stuff and came out of it fairly
scathed. So presumably... They won, although
not by a lot. One enough to flee. One enough
to be alive. Savaree, make like an insight check,
because you're the one who watched it happen.
15 15 So yeah with a 15 like I would say that
you noticed that They Seemed a little Like they
seemed like they were still worked up when they
left if that made like when they came out They
like seemed like they were still in like adrenaline
mode And, like, you saw that, like, Lokhara had,
like, an active wound, you know. As in, like,
they didn't wait to seal up any wounds before
they left. And they seemed kind of, like, panicked
a little bit. And then extra panicked because
of the pit trap. Yeah. So, yeah. Do with that
information what you will and as far as like
the? encampment just It's More than that right
there's a there's like an entire city. There's
multiple small towns So When you say deal with
like You know, I guess what do you what do you
mean about that? I mean, I guess just whatever
if we're gonna try and play out that plot line
to its, you know, conclusion before we head back
to deal with the many other things, the many
other lines of plot that we also need to resolve.
You mean like the court case that we need to
go to in two weeks? Yeah, and the vampire that's
holed up inside of our castle. That we need to
get the bow and arrow from your ex? From the
Kenways, yeah, that's a whole nother thing. And
we don't exactly have a ton of time to do all
of that. Court hearing isn't all around. I mean,
you guys have gotten a lot done in a few days.
Like, if that makes sense, like, I don't want
to, like, I don't want you to, like, feel like
it's not happening. And we can tell at the end
of time it's fucky wucky. Yeah, it's like fucky
wucky. So, like, you know, I just like, you know,
you're talking, we're talking until the trial,
which I mean, like meta, this is again above
the table meta talk, but like for the trial,
like it is like two weeks away, which is 14 long
rests and you're teleporting, you know, like,
I mean, you always teleport to shit. So like,
I mean, I'm like fine with hand waving, like
travel time and stuff like that. I'm not like,
I met it as like the DM like, thanks God. Obviously
there is always going to be like a few too many
plates to like get everything done. But at the
same time, like, I'm not, I'm not going to like,
let you guys not accomplish things if that makes
sense. Like, you know what I mean? Like I, like
we can, we can. We've been on tighter time crunches.
Yeah, I don't think that I don't think the time
crunches as tight as it sounds. Okay, I guess
I'm personally, but that's just my like DM input.
I got it what I like. I'm concerned because I
don't feel like Dart is going to want to leave
to go do other stuff until he's freed his people.
We do not even have the beginnings of a plan
for that. Right now, the most plan we have is
to free up a cave for the Leap Syndicate to hide
out in. That's possible. It is possible in the
funness of D &D that the thing inside the pyramid
could be the thing that we need to make it all
happen. And I feel like I would be remiss in
not exploring that possibility. I can always
- Sorry, what do you think? I was gonna say it.
Um, if we're in the pyramid and we need out,
I too have dimension door that everybody can
come out of. I - Yeah. Um, what was I gonna say?
I was gonna say something else. Shit. Fuck. I
have a sneaking feeling that God made a plan
for us. We decided that we in fact want to explore
the pyramid. I mean, you could do it either way.
What is God planning? If we're metagaming, there's
loot in the pyramid, of course. There's potentially
a live orc that was just betrayed in there as
well. the ins and outs of the city. You know
what the fuck the priestess is up to. Who is
like at least a well enough accomplished adventurer
that they would like send him out in a team with
their priestess. And on the other hand, like
I just I feel like, you know, either way you're
getting you have like the potential for plot,
like without revealing too much, just like from
what you guys already know. Like either way you
have potential for a plot and like regardless
is go I guess like my meta as meta meta as like
the DM as like my actual design because I knew
you were going to do one or the other my overall
encounter design I was trying to make sure that
regardless it still furthers the goal of freeing
darts people in some way or either way you know
but like obviously you know that like the leap
syndicate is gonna need a place but the cave
isn't your only option. You guys haven't really
tried to scout out a different option or anything
like that. And you would have time to do both,
probably. Let's do the pier. It's just up to
you guys what you want to do. I'm not trying
to pressure you in either way. I just want to
assure you, as the DM, trust me in the sense
that I know you don't want to waste your time,
and I don't want to waste your time. Meta, meta,
meta. There's a story. At the highest level,
Shanna to you guys, I don't want to waste your
time. So either way, there will be progress.
Honestly, you probably have enough time to do
either one in whatever order you want. I have
a question for Bubbles. Question for Bubbles.
Is the cave... Yes, sir. I mean, yes, my liege.
Is this potential new hideout cave large enough
to take in an increased number of, like, frog
refugees? Well... I'm a little unsure, if I can
be honest. I haven't... been fully inside. I
don't know. I like to think that it connects
to some larger cave system because that the probability
of that is fairly high. Um, but I'm having a
brain blast. I'm not sure. So, but you know,
regardless, um, I think any kind of room would
be enough room for more of us. Just, I don't
know how many more. of us, you know? I just wanna
bring this to the table real quick. If this cave
is connected to a larger cave system, it is entirely
plausible that it could be connected to the underground
area where my people are being kept and farmed.
And that's just speculation on my part. I don't
know for sure, my liege. I don't want to mislead
you. But the water is coming from somewhere,
right? Don't dismiss your genius bubbles. I believe
the water might be groundwater because we are
near a river. Okay. I'm just saying it is possible.
That's why I think we can flood it to make like
a larger surface area of water until I kind of
close. My hope my hope is is that there's like
another exit because typically caves are made
by you know, like water flowing through or Something
of that nature. So like there should be an out
There may not be though. It's not necessarily
true and it could be a dangerous out There's
a lot of unknowns. I'm not I'm not gonna lie
to you. I'm a little hidden over my head I do
also want to say maybe I shouldn't have brought
it up at all, honestly I do also want to say
that I feel like I kind of want to do the pyramid
because as it stands right now I only have enough
scrolls to burn down two cities and I feel like
I'm gonna need to burn down more. I feel like
you're packing a little light right now. Yeah,
yeah. At bare minimum I want to have enough firepower
to burn at least five cities minimum. Do you
want the suit of armor? You want to have some
heat. Zaris would be proud. Frogs like humidity.
They do not like fire, but I am willing to make
some concessions in the name of burning down
Orc villages. You're bringing that smoke? Something
like that, yeah. So I guess, um... Let's go to
the pyramid and see how it goes, and if it seems
like it's leading somewhere positive, we'll keep
running with it and see what we find, and if
not, we'll dim in some door out and try to figure
out this cave system. Yeah. Does that seem like
a... I'm stumbling. I'm fumbling. Uh, does that
seem like a reasonable plan to you guys? Watch
the punchy sticks. fuck I Mean They're rectangular
so you can kind of corner into the entrance way
It's only that you would walk directly out into
them because you were unaware of their existence
that they become Truly threatening. Thanks. Thanks
for the explanation. Thanks that being said,
you know, they do have poop on them. So Guaranteed
infections for those or frog poop. Yeah the real
question is Do we let Boulder come with us? I
don't fucking know. Dude, the real question is
do you think that we, that Boulder would let
us not let him come with us? I mean we don't
imagine we're gonna find anything more than potentially
one left behind orc inside this pyramid. He's
definitely gonna want to come if we attempt to
do the freeing of my slash our people. I'm just
concerned. I don't think Boulder's strong enough.
Like above table, I don't think he's strong enough.
We need someone to watch the other frog folk.
And that's what he's been doing. And if something
happens to him while we're in there, like we
need someone still being able to lead the Leap
Syndicate. Yeah, and he's like their only fighter.
Like proficient fighter, at least. And he knows
the ins and outs of the city better than we do,
and... Do we think that we can handle what's
ever in there, just the three of us? I don't
know, that's what we've been doing pretty much
so far. Yeah. We've been handling the world.
And we're strong. Plus, there's technically not
three of us. There's four of us. Oh, and three
becomes four. Thanks, Drift. There's actually
like five and a half of us You've once again
forgotten the wiper He's doing his job, man I
wonder where he is He does not reveal himself
Rain fixes her ribbons I hate him to be the same.
I saw your fucking face. You spotted him. That's
literally what Rain says. I saw your fucking
face. There's like, um, there's like a couple
of like, like everybody's like backpacks are
all like together in a corner. And he's like
blended into the backpacks. So you just see like
a backpack pocket wink. Wrong cortex style now.
Just as long as it's not soccer style because
he does not have a wink. No, like he doesn't
move any like any of his face. It's just so like
that's just a just a wink. It's like very it's
kind of it's that and nothing else. Yeah. So
what do you you know, you also have drift. I
am this suit of armor to stand guard outside
the door We have to add to it right I think you
I don't know you have to love to read everything
you have to do You have to read the description
of the item Drift does speak up though. He's
like, hey guys drift here. I I can stay outside
if You want someone to keep watch? I don't mind.
I guess. I just think, you know, I do think it's
a good idea to have somebody keep watch. What
is the armor? It's like living armor, I think?
It's uh... Hold on a second. Did I send it to
you guys? It's like a list or something. Animated
armor? Or there is living armor. I need to be
able to hear you. Um, yes, it's not animated
armor. That's the monster. So it would be living
armor? So you got five fire tiles, three incident
houses, two horns of silent alarm, two animated
swords, one animated armor. Okay, yeah, so...
That is animated armor So essentially it would
be the same as like an animated sword But just
a whole guy if that makes sense And I just saw
that in the inventory that we left at Castlerend.
There was a scroll of psychic resistance. I sure
wish I had that. For the armor, I think the idea
is... Yeah, it's also activated via a word, like
an activation word. You can't like put it by
itself and have it, you know, it's kind of like
mostly, it's like an extra body when you're fighting,
like if you're fighting off like a... An attack
tracking it does require It does require attunement
to someone and then anyone that they designate
can activate it But yeah, and it will just like
fight so like if you know, you don't turn it
off It's not necessarily that I'm like intentionally
kill people but like It'll still keep trying
to fight so But yeah, so drift could chill outside
with it he wouldn't mind that I I've had quite
a lot of adventure lately I'm not gonna lie a
little a little break would be nice Do you have
a diplomat's pouch? No. What's that? Oh, is that
how you're getting all those letters? Yes. I
was wondering about that. I didn't see any birds.
We should get him one. Is this another adaption?
This is a grown man. Gonna be like a permanent
picture? It's up to him. We don't have to decide
that right now. Um, shall we? We'll see if I
make it back. We shall. Alright, Drift. Guard
the door. Stay hidden. Be safe. Okay, so... I'll
guard the door. Um, or do you want him to come
with us? No, I think we'll be able to handle
it with Shredda Viper along for the ride. Um...
Boulder? Hey, Boulder. Hello, Zavari. I'm six.
I can't really do the voice. I think that it
would be best, Boulder, if... I would prefer
to protect my people. Yeah, that's what I was
gonna suggest. When we come back and we have
to try to get more of our people out, we'll need
you for that. For this, just stay and protect
the kids. Think of the children. Drift will say,
if we use those horns of silent alarm, if Drift
ends up needing backup, he can blow on the horn
and I can leave my post here and back him up.
Or vice versa. Okay. That sounds great. We are
stronger together. all the way over mechanical,
but by the orange bungee. So horn of silent alarm.
Um, this horn is four charges when you use an
action to blow it. One creature here, the horns
Blair provided the creature is within 600 feet
of the horn and not deafened. So He can run to
within 600 feet of the pyramid. It's really not
that far. I think If I remember correctly He
can run he can run into it like somebody can
run until they're in range and then blow on it
And it doesn't require attunement or anything
I do believe They should theoretically you should
be able to hear it inside a building Provided
that you know There's nothing like magically
blocking it or any other weirdness But if you're
you know, if you as long as you're within 600
feet So that could also be a way for drift to
like alert you guys to come out Okay If he can
if we can hear it through buildings that seems
Reasonable, I mean also we have three diplomats
pouches so we could like give one up with him
Yeah, which would also be fine Just don't give
him reins. That's what I was thinking. It's just
in case My god not for free Definitely not for
free. I was sitting here going, oh god, I can't
be right, I can't be right. Nobody say me, nobody
say me. I think if my parents went without hearing
again for me for even two days, it wouldn't be
great. Sorry I don't have one of those fancy
pouches, guys. It's okay, I think we'll be fine.
Unless if you want to give him your start. I
mean... I don't feel like we need to if we got
the silent alarms. It should be fine. Let's go
to the pyramid. Um... Zavari, uh... Daru sweeps
down and climbs up on your shoulders and has
missed you. Aw. Well, can I give him a chin scrub
and a belly rub? You're a little tubby. That's
fine. Scratch scratch. Scratch scratch. Kind
of purrs. You know, a dragon purr. I'm sorry.
I don't know what a dragon purr sounds like.
Yeah, something unnerving. Yeah, very soft, but
you know, you know that Dara is happy. Despite
the shaming. I was gonna say from all the good
bugs. I'm glad that he's like, you know, getting
a little tubby. It's good. It means he's happy.
Yeah. There are some good bugs. Yeah, I'm very
happy that he's tubby. Some real good bugs. Finally.
He's a little heavy now on my shoulder, though,
but it's fine. You've gotten stronger. I already
have back problems. Same. Okay, it's not a contest.
I didn't say it was. Because you'd win, right?
So yeah, I mean like they're down with that plan
if you're down. The pyramid, if you recall, used
to be a chapel and it's sort of near the hunting
camp. There has been or activity Obviously you
guys just saw those orks leave it wasn't that
long ago. I believe we're still in the area Yeah,
I say like that was like you guys saw it and
then you guys came over and by the time you got
here They had left you have followed their trail
a little bit. I believe yeah, and you saw that
they were going back to the city So the pyramid
is a sort of like I Guess this is a like it's
like sandstone And It is smooth Like sort of
all the way around There isn't like a clear like
doorway But Dart, you do remember seeing it open
up and that there was a doorway of some sort.
I put the punji sticks in front of wherever the
doorway was. Oh, yeah, that's true. Yeah. So
then you have like a vague idea of like where
where that doorway is. It is. The door itself
or the doorway area itself is probably like Ten
feet wide, you know, there's like something there
essentially Mmm What do you guys want to try
to do like, you know, there's some way of like,
you know, there's a door here You know, there's
some way of like activating it Open sesame Neither
one worked. Um. Oh boy. Let's see. What do I
wanna do that might have an effect on that thing?
I shave and I haircut two bits of it. The bits.
BITS. It'd be crazy if that worked. I know. And
it opens and rises. I have absolutely no idea.
I could dimension Dorison. I don't need to see
the location. I think you need to know the location.
The spot does not need to be in sight as long
as you can visualize it or describe it by standing
by standing by stating distance and direction.
Okay, so you can't visualize the space but you
could tell me I teleport or I'm gonna dimension
door Like 10 feet in 15 feet down. Yeah, they
so like I mean there's a risk involved because
you don't know exactly where that is the only
thing Theoretically try doing that Dar do you
want to roll a history check see if you remember
anything about when you saw them going in. A
party's worst enemy, a locked door. I'm gonna,
if nobody minds, roll in my new caboodle. Nice.
Use that caboodle. Question, are we still in,
I guess, like, forest and or swamp, or are we
directly in jungle at this point? Um... You're
you're technically in like a magical jungle so
That being said I think we've been giving you
your favorite terrain anyway, I don't know is
jungle a favorite terrain option I Didn't think
so. I thought it was just like decided. I thought
forest kind of included jungle, but I don't Actually
know they're really they're not exactly the same,
but they're kind of similar like a tree area
Yeah Honestly, I'm personally okay with giving
you the favorite terrain Because you're a ranger
And you're outside Yeah, jungle is not included
it is Arctic coast desert forest grassland mountain
swamp or under dark so I would say The most similar
ones to jungle is forest and swamp. So and those
are the two I have exactly Seems reasonable.
Hell. Yeah Know how that really necessarily impacts
me but Um, Boulder, he's about to head out and
he goes, Good luck, my king. Thank you. Secure,
um, Mighty Bounty. And if you find that orc,
kill him for me. Tom Boulder sent you out. Oh,
I know. Anytime I make an intelligence or wisdom
check related to my favorite terrain, my proficiency
bonus is doubled. Well, we're doing history.
but it's an intelligence role but it's not really
necessarily related to the terrain i guess it
doesn't matter i got a plus eight to history
screw so that's 21 um so with a 21 you remember
that um locara walked up to that side of the
pyramid and Touched it somewhere and then after
that you saw her kind of stepping backwards and
you saw that her she has like a staff with a
crystal on it and Her staff like that the crystal
on her staff was glowing as if she had just used
her arcane focus That stuff is dangerous shit
Don't you have a dangerous staff? Hers is better
than mine. Oh damn. When I was watching her cast
spells through Daru, she was casting multiple
of the same spells in a way that shouldn't be
possible through that fucking staff. Yeah, but
I think I think the message here is just that
someone with magical ability should be able to
open this doorway. That's all of us then. That's
more you than me. I'm thinking it's a you, love.
Um, Zavari, I have a question for you. Yeah?
Are you... Do you currently have Scorpius the
Sword of Lies with you? I am currently attuned
to the sword, yes. The sword reveals secret doors.
The second time this has become relevant. The
first time was under Betagar Castle when we were
in there like shit. Right before the podcast
started and it came up once. I always have Scorpius
because I think it looks cool. She doesn't use
it, but I think it looks sick with her character
design. Fuck that attunement slot. Honestly.
I don't even need it. I don't even need it. Zavari,
once you get close enough to the pyramid, about
15 feet from that wall where the punji sticks
are, you see a golden glow, kind of like a pattern
in the... stonework. And you can kind of see
that there is like an outline of a doorway. And
then there is also like one like large sandstone
that like around the edges of that stone glows
as well. There's hella doors around there. So
like the, but like the, yeah, so like Scorpius
is illuminating the The door is all one door,
but there's like a there's like a specific spot
On it as if that if that makes sense I want to
touch the spot. So you touch the spot And you
immediately feel You immediately feel the weave
and it's in the sense of like you it you it connects
like it connects like instantly connects to your
arcane power to your infernal arcane power and
And through that connection, at first, when you
push on it, it feels solid. But if you continue
to just place your hand on it, as that connection
grows stronger, you start to be able to push
that stone in. And as you're pushing it in, the
outline of the stone is glowing, but is now glowing
red. Do you continue to push it in? Like you're
like, you're like, I feel like I'm like halfway
there, but it's red now. It was golden a moment
ago. It doesn't feel any different. There's no
resistance. There's no... I'm gonna step away
from it and be like, I don't think this is a
me job. So I invoke duplicity instead So as you
step away from it, it immediately starts to like
slide back into place and like the the glow fades
Like if that makes like the glow of like it's
been activated fades you still see like everyone
you guys could see the glow when she pushed it
in but like Zivari is the only one who can see
the glow. That's like From the sword illuminating
it if that makes sense so You like it kind of
just immediately starts regress and deactivate
But you can still see the door. Mm -hmm And everyone
can see what spot you touched so you're going
to invoke duplicity you said yeah It started
glowing red and you know, I don't know if that's
best color to see when pressing on random doors
so Go get him, tiger. And send my duplicate in
to finish the job. So your duplicate, it's an
illusion, right? It can interact with... It can
touch stuff? Oh yeah. Dang. It's been attacking
and fighting and stuff. I know you can cast spells
from it, but I didn't think it could like...
I'll look it up to make sure, but I'm pretty
sure it can interact with the environment. It
doesn't say explicitly one way or the other,
so I guess they're leaving that up to the DM.
It says it's an illusory duplicate of yourself,
and that you can cast spells from that space
that it's in. You cast spells as though you are
in the illusion space, so it's not even like
the illusion's not casting the spell, it's like...
You casting the spell from But the origin point
is the illusion. I would say that like the illusion
doesn't have like strength It doesn't have like
a corporeal form. Okay, so just now you got a
cast page hand through it I don't even have mage
hand in that case. I probably wouldn't have stopped
pushing it in them. I Mean that's I mean you
could go back and press it now. Yeah, I just
won't press if you don't want to spend your duplicate
Yeah, that's fine. You don't have to spend your
channel to be beneficial. Yeah, press all the
buttons. Yeah Yeah, I look at rain. I make the
kind of face and try again. Yeah Okay So sort
of the same deal You keep pressing it and it
turns red you feel as though it's sort of reacting
to you It begins to feel warm And you, it finally
kind of sort of gives away and you like, by the
time you're done pushing it all the way in, you're
like to your elbow in this like hole, right?
You hear like a click when it gets to the end.
And - If this thing sets me on fire, it's okay.
And you feel kind of like a rumble. And you feel
something Rather heavy Slam down on your like
forearm and you can you can you immediately feel
that like it's like it feels like stone and just
like grabbed your arm and that makes it you don't
take damage from it, but it immediately grabs
you and like you It's like holding you, your
hand. And you can still feel the connection and
you can feel this warmth. It's not like super
hot or anything like that. So and you guys, you
guys see this happen. So you're. It's sort of
like it kind of closes on your hand, on your
arm. How do you react? Not well. What does Zavari
do? She starts just fucking screaming. It's not
hurting me, but there's a hand here. Ew, ew,
ew! Rain! Rain instantly looks up above her because
I am scared something's about to drop the fuck
on top of her and like tries to like see if anything's
about to open up because she's up or like she's
gonna... Yeah. No, there's nothing above you.
There's nothing above you. Zavara is panicking.
Right. I have to go over there. And like, look,
because like, yeah. It's my job. I gotta go.
Just hear Preyas' voice in the background. Yeah,
so I try to investigate, I guess. I don't...
Okay, yeah, make an investigation check. 15.
15. Zavara, your hand's starting to feel a little
tingly. Give me a hug, give me a hug, give me
a hug. I know what to do. Wand of enlarge, reduce.
I'm a big girl now. No, you are a reduced girl.
I'm a small girl. So before you activate the
wand, or before you bring out the wand, Reign's
going to look into things. So essentially she's
kind of pressed this stone in to the point where
her elbow is against the front of the pyramid.
If you look inside, you can see that a stone
panel has come down over her, like, forearm and
wrist. And on the stone panel are, um... There
is, like... Basically, like, there's, like, an
archway. Like, there's... It's a highly stained
or painted. And there are jewels embedded in
the archway. They are highly faceted, sort of
roughly hewn jewels with like many fractures
in them. And they look kind of like when you
look at the jewels, you kind of like or the gemstones,
you kind of like, they look like familiar, like
the, especially because I feel like you're a
dwarf, you have an eye for this kind of stuff.
I have stone cutting. Oh yeah, you have stone
cutting. So actually, yeah, so you notice that
there are psionic crystals embedded in the panel
that has shut around Zavari's hand. Is this like
the crystals on the table at the Church of Asmodeus?
It's kind of like, well, yeah. I keep finding
something on the crystals. That was in the dream,
but yeah. Oh, yeah. But I did find a... Oh, yeah.
Yeah. You did recruit some people there. But
it's sort of, it kind of reminds you of that.
Reminds you of those crystals. Yeah. Am I taking
any damage? No. Okay. It doesn't hurt. It was
alarming. Like if that makes this scary and you
can't pull your hand out. Okay. But it doesn't
hurt. I want to make sure I'm overreacting the
correct way. Yeah. It's warm and like I said,
your hands feeling kind of tingly. Can I like
move my hands at all? So yes. So kind of like
imagine if, you know, like I said, you're pressing,
you push back the panel, like the panel, your
hands against the panel. So you can like wiggle
your fingers. There's a little bit of a space
there. It's not like fully restricting your hands
movement. You could still say do like a somatic
component. I was about to ask, can I like maybe
do like an arcana check, see if there's like,
like the vibe that I should cast something into
this. Yeah, you can do an arcana check. I feel
like with it, you can do it with advantage because
I feel like you and Rain are looking at it together
now. Now that Reign's actually spotted something
on it that 21 a 21 So yeah with the 21 You Well,
okay, so Reign's looking at the crystals and
she recognizes them as psionic crystals and lets
you know about that They're psionic Sorry, sorry,
I know, I know, I know, I know. There are certain
psionic crystals inside. They seem a little damaged.
So I think that maybe we need to connect to those
to open it up. Can you go in my bag and get my
little dragon heart out? Yeah, I got it. I got
it. And maybe it'll resonate. She goes in and
accidentally pokes shadow viper in the eye. Oh,
sorry, bro. How the fuck did he get in there?
Wrong pocket, wrong pocket. And like, it's going
in. grabs it and hands it to you and is like
so creeped out by this like heart of... Have
you held the heart before? No. Oh, you're getting
up close and personal with her. So like when
you hold it, it... It... Teams with the hum of
like magic. But psionics is different from magic.
So it feels a little different, but it's kind
of got that same sort of like live feeling to
it. And there is a soft sort of rhythmic thrumming
to the sensation. And it's just a little, it's
like, it's kind of like. Is it a large heart
or is it? It's like the size of like. Like a
mango, like a decent sized mango. Pretty good
size heart. Like it fills your hand, you know
what I mean? Like you have to, so, but yeah,
and it feels kind of like, like I said, it feels
alive. It's weird. It reminds me, there's, my
mom has a friend who goes like looking for fossils
and stuff in caves and he found these like magnetic
metal. Droplets things that are weird and that
when I touch it like felt like it spiked me compared
to everyone else. Oh Yeah No, it was reacting
to you. Yeah, I Don't touch that. I'm just thinking
about it right now. Yeah, so I ain't in the psionic
heart so you give it to Zavari and Zavari you
do feel like and you've noticed this before like
when your psionic crystal is near another psionic
crystal. It kind of like resonates. There is
like a resonance, yeah. They don't necessarily
like completely interact, but it's kind of just
like a, you know, like a little bit of a feeling.
And you do feel that resonance. And you do know
that psionic crystals are like supposed to recharge.
And it doesn't look like these do that anymore.
So, you... They're broken. Well, in the sense
that they don't generate their own psionic energy
anymore. But you have the heart in your hand.
Wait, my arcana roll did... Yeah, so Yeah with
with the 21, I mean, like I said you you notice
that it that the crystals themselves they have
been damaged in some way So they are no longer
regenerating their own charge You Believe I cast
mending you good. Yeah, I cast mending. Okay,
so you cast mending and That will seal up like
the major cracks in the crystals and they kind
of like, they sort of regenerate a little bit
and they start to sort of buzz. So you get the
feeling that this is powered, like the lock on
this thing is powered by the psionic crystals.
um so that you would need to you know maybe give
them a little juice at this point now that they're
now that they're um don't give you a little give
a little something now that you've repaired them
um they'd be able to hold a little bit of a charge
and they will regain a charge but you you'll
have to wait like hours for it to like regain
on its own I think these guys just need a little
bit of healing. That's psionic healing. It's
just an awful disrepair. I could try to heal
them somehow, but I don't think necessarily healing
wood would work. My hand's still stuck in here.
Well, and again, they're psionic crystals. They
need a little psionic surge. I'm just imagining
you like it's dang. I can't say the reference.
Yeah, cuz I don't know if I can't but um it's
like your Your hand is in there and you can use
it as like a way to like jump start like you're
thought you're the jumper cables, right? Can
I use myself as the conduit? Okay, so you're
attempting to use yourself as a conduit between
The lock and your heart yeah Go down, and then
down into your stomach, and then up. Yes, yes,
you're directing that psionic energy. Instead
of to your stomach, you direct it to your head.
She's like, this is going to give me a tummy
ache really bad. You have to direct it to your
head so it gives you kind of like this swirly,
dizzy feeling. And it charges your horns buzz.
Yeah. They start to glow a little. Mm -hmm. That's
hot. Oh, that's cool. They glow a little. Your
horns glow a little bit. And you feel like right
at like basically you you activate your heart,
but you don't like Do an ability if that makes
sense like you start you start wrapping it up
and tap into it and as soon as you tap into it
like Like a siphon it just you immediately feel
as soon as you start getting that flow of psionic
energy This thing is happily happily just taking
it all in. Keeping a close lock on this. Taking
it all in. Don't overdo it. Don't overdo it.
I'm not. I'm not. I'm being very conservative.
Roll a d10. You know, I don't know what a d10
is. I could roll a four if you want. Just god
no. This? Yeah. Five, I guess. Was it a 50? Yeah.
It drains five charges from your psionic crystal.
That's fine. Before you feel it starting to activate.
And you can cut it off at that point. Yeah, cut
that shit off. It will continue to take it though.
It loves it. I bet. Super happy. So basically
like, and you guys may notice this at this point,
but as it's sucking that psionic energy out of
Zavari, the very top of the pyramid, like, It
looked like it was just regular sandstone and
Dart saw this before, but it sort of like projects
this beam of light out of it. And even during
the day, this beam is very visible. We rang the
dinner bell. We signaled that the avatar is here.
And Zavara, you feel it release your hand, like
hope. Eternia. That would have freed her for
sure. It would not unlock the lock, but it definitely
would have freed her. You're right about that.
Once it opens, I pull her out of the way and
I'm just in front of her, in front of the door.
So that whole side where you saw the door and
it's it's it's huge it's like it's good like
15 feet tall and that whole side starts to push
in and the The stone becomes stairs and it's
like a stairway up into like a glowing doorway
And it is golden. It's golden like the glow is
golden and You cannot see inside like it's like
if you stare it's like looking at the sun almost
like it kind of hurts your eyes a little bit
to like stare directly at it ouchie yeah um but
it is open and it is waiting for you um tell
me about a time from your character's childhood,
a childhood story, if you will, that shaped the
person that your character is today. I can finally
disclose about Rain Day. So, the hilly city cool
and rigged in which she is from. is very hilly
and muddy and so as a wheelchair user with very
limited resources to cool magical chairs and
stuff she would always have to stay inside when
it rained because it would be too muddy so she
wouldn't really be able to get up like it'd just
be like a hills flowing of mud and you would
just see Dwarves out there working and kids having
fun and playing in the rain and When it was a
rain day rain would get really sad and so her
family Then started making the rain day And so
would focus on things that they could do like
upgrading her chair or Some days she'd be really
really mad and so they would like Spar or not
like spar like fight but like like do Training
things or whatever So that they would just whatever
rain wanted to do that day. It was a rain day
So yeah, and that really shaped her because it
instead of seeing the negatives she saw it started
seeing positives and things that she could do,
and then made her start problem -solving different
chairs and stuff. For Zavari, I wouldn't know
if she would consider this a childhood memory
that changed her, but it is a memory that she
holds very dear. Growing up in a royal family
can be really cool. Sometimes, not all the time.
when Zavari was younger, starting to really learn
what, how her family was different, you know,
and that like, what it meant to be the second
born in the line of succession, like she was
really starting to understand these things. And
she was becoming self conscious about it really,
because she started to look through the lens
of everybody's being so hard on me or like not
considering me at all just because you know I'm
the second born she felt it was all very unfair
and the only person that she really confided
to in those feelings was her grandmother the
previous countess of umbermoor Liliana umbermoor
the mother of guns yeah yeah yeah you know Liliana
really Listened to Zavari and just let her vent
about how she felt and You know once Zavari was
kind of got it out Liliana took off the Ruby
Necklace that she has always worn pretty much
for as long as Zavari has ever been alive and
Gifted it to Zavari and told her like I want
you to have this even if you feel like you're
being discounted or nobody's listening to you,
as long as you have this necklace that shows
who you are, what you're worth, and nobody can
ever take that away from you. So that has influenced
her a lot, I would say. Dart has a scar in the
ankle area. from where he was like exploring
a cave with some friends and got attacked by
a koatoa. It went almost very poorly for me and
I escaped but with a scar and a lifelong distaste
for koatoa. My follow -up to that story would
be that I could not hide the evidence of my...
rascally adventure from my father and he asked
me what happened so I told him and rather than
scold me for going into a cave I should not have
been in he decided that I was old enough to learn
the basics of defending myself and he taught
me how to use a slingshot oh snap which is like
the before you're you know big enough to Handle
a bow a good way to like learn some aiming skill
and to start building up your like pulling muscles
Your drawstring muscles is to learn the slingshot
first. So my dad and I can't remember if I pronounced
it Bogart or Bogart, but either way Set about
Instructing me on how to build my own slingshot.
Razzlax, a time from when he was a child. So
Razzlax comes from a military family. He became
a squire at a very young age. He was about six.
And he sort of lived and breathed the, like,
knighthood, right? Where he is from, his family
was like noble knights. We're talking like, you
know, justice, peace, mercy, protect the innocent,
that sort of thing. And because of that, he sort
of idolized the idea of knighthood. until one
day when he was a little bit older. He was probably
about 11 years old or so. He was traveling with
the knight that he was squiring for. I don't
know what the terminology exactly is for that.
They were on like somewhat of a... They were
on like a diplomatic... trip, essentially, where
they needed to escort a noble home. And when
they got there to the capital city, that was
the first time that Razlax had ever met people
who hate knights. And he had found out that the
local knights in that area were assholes. They
were bullies. They were... you know the kind
of people who like extort extort the local townspeople
for money and people like Sir Peloton um for
example but he like that kind of like shattered
his worldview because he had no idea that like
that you can be a knight but you also may not
be good Zavari, also, you notice that you have,
um, you, like, you know, you pull your hand,
you know, you pull your hand out, rain pulls
you away, um, your hand, you know, you're probably,
like, shaking it a little bit because it was,
like, stiff, and when you look at it, on your
palm, is it almost looks like it's like painted
and it's a symbol and it's like this tan it's
like stained on your palm this sort of tan stain
and the symbol is an eye. An eye? Yes. Heard
and tan paint you said yeah, I'm imagining like
a colored henna like I was saying exactly I'm
glad we're all the same age and the eyes like
kind of like You know kind of Egyptian II sort
of like I have Horace II But that's some real
fucking flavor right there. Yeah so it's like
it's not like It's you know clearly Specific
to the it's I don't want to mislead you it's
like specific to the pyramid of that makes sense.
Mm -hmm the eye It does look kind of nice in
the middle your hand Hmm she's just kind of Show
anybody not right away. Oh, you're the girl who
got bit by a zombie I'm sorry. I'm at the end.
Sorry Even God is I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry
now objectively do whatever you want. I don't
care. I've never cared. Don't is I've already
will do what she wants. Unfortunately, but she
sees that shit. She's like Episode 8 lasts like
20 minutes So, um, yeah pyramids open guys, what
are you guys gonna do? Drift is like, wow I'm
not gonna land. I'm kind of glad I'm not going
in there Just seems kind of weird, doesn't it?
You want to switch places? I'll stand guard.
I mean, I won't stand, but... No. Okay. Just
now call what you said. I say it too often, let's
go. That's okay, I almost made a stand guard
joke earlier. I was like, nah, Rachel's got it,
I'll just wait. It's what I do. Hell yeah. Unpredictable
in my disability jokes. Not always, but you know,
sometimes it's just like, you know, it's too
easy. Gotta hit them low -hanging fruit sometimes.
Hey, the fruit is low -hanging because it's ripe.
This is true. Yeah. Yeah. I learned that from
a wise friend, actually. So... Yeah, I mean,
you guys are standing before the mysterious pyramid.
A golden light bathing over you. I guess you're
bathing in the golden light. That's what I'm
sorry. You're bathing in the golden light of
the pyramid. What will you do? Who will enter?
Who will return? Girl, thank you for saving me,
Ray. Hmm. You saved yourself there pretty much.
I just kind of handed you something really weird.
I mean, um, I couldn't have done it without you.
I'll take the compliment. Let's work together
in here because we're gonna have to. Where? Who
goes first? I don't want to go first anymore.
While they're debating it, I've already taken
like 10 steps. That's literally what I was going
to do. I'm just waiting for Dart. Dart's walking
up into the pyramid and as he's like walking
up the steps and he gets closer to the wall of
light, the light is bright enough that it like
overtakes your vision of Dart pretty quickly.
So if you're not falling right behind him, the
light is bright enough that you can't see him.
In the moment, Dart like... passes the threshold
in which we are. It starts to disappear. I start
going. Yeah. Same. Um, so you enter the pyramid.
Um, cue pyramid music here. As you like walk
through the doorway, um, this brightness, this,
this light does not cease. Um, the Like you guys
step up basically and like through the threshold
and to like a realm of light very very bright
If you close your eyes It like doesn't even seem
like you closed your eyes like your your lids
do nothing in the face of this Of this light
and you can still feel the ground beneath you.
It's very nice and smooth um it kind of feels
like a like a nice marble um but you can't see
anything and you kind of feel this feeling like
you're being pulled and you become weightless
and now you are now it's a feeling you recognize
um it's kind of the feeling of being teleported
um however you do not travel through the astral
sea you travel through this realm of light instead,
where you can't see anything. You do hear like
a distant bell and like a chorus of chimes echoing
right before you're teleported into the first
chamber of the pyramid. You immediately get that
sense that you are no longer on the material
plane. I hate this fucking feeling. And as a
matter of fact, like, I don't know exactly where
everybody's been, but for those of you who have
only been to the Underdark as far as like other
planes, this feeling of distance from your home
plane is greater. Like, imagine that feeling
like two times over. You like, you can, it's
kind of like this, this like innate sense. Like
all creatures have this kind of innate sense
of like, I don't, you know, I don't belong here.
This is not, this is not like my origin plane.
And you are in a very small, but like opulent
room. The... Walls are They're the they're the
sandstone of like the outside of the pyramid,
but they're like polished There is like gold
trim everywhere The floors are like a white marble
There is like there's like a patterning To the
to the the marble on the floor. There's like
a there's like these intersected Sort of geometric
line patterning on the on the floor and it looks
specific, but it can be meaningless to you on
the walls there is Like imagery ancient looking
imagery that's inscripted and is perfectly preserved
There is basically like a humanoid figure a standing
it's like it's like their side profile so they
appear to be you know sort of male because they're
they're not like curvy or anything like that
they have like a large headdress on and they
have like jewelry fine clothes and They're like
kind of like holding up their like hand like
like with their with their fingers spread and
in front of this person who has a you know, all
these all the jewelry and stuff there is a creature
of some sort It looks like It's somewhat it's
like a creature that's somewhat cat like somewhat
fox like and it has like a horn Coming out of
the middle of its head and like multiple fox
tails And It's green Like the fur is green and
there's so there's so he's like holding up his
hand there's a creature in front of him and the
creature has its back to him and so you're in
this like kind of small room and then mirrored
on the end so i'm describing like i'm going to
describe like the it's sort of like a rectangle
so i'm describing the short little sides where
so there's a guy and he's kind of like facing
the the the direction that you you know should
be, you know, he's facing the direction of like
a wall in front of you, basically. And so on
the other side is a mirrored figure who looks
a little bit different. Like it's obviously a
different guy, but he's in the same sort of pose.
And he is wearing, he has like silver jewelry
instead of gold jewelry. And he is... also got
his hand up and he has um in front of him a creature
as well um and this creature looks to be like
it sort of looks like a like a modern hobgoblin
um with um with like like fine armor and a large
like spiked mace and this creature is also kind
of like standing and it looks menacing and so
does the the other the green creature the green
creature also looks it's kind of standing in
a menacing way and this sort of hobgoblin -y
type creature is also standing in a menacing
way but it also has its back to the Figure the
humanoid figure The wall in front of you has
a very clear like large arched doorway there
is like There's opulent psionic crystals like
lining the doorway. It kind of looks like the
lock in that sense of like it's sort of it's
like the same sort of design if that makes sense.
These crystals are not broken. They're not like
weathered. They are in like they're intact. They're
in good condition. The door itself it has, it
has like runes on it. They're kind of like, they're
like, they're like, I guess they're not runes.
I guess it's what it's the cuneiform or like
pictograms kind of thing. Like there is these
little images and they're clearly in a specific,
you know, sort of block, like kind of like a
text block. And, like, on either side are these,
like, ever -glowing burning torches, um, like,
on these, like, golden sconces. Um, there is
a... And then under these, like, sconces, there
are, like, these two tables that have been, like,
dipped in gold. And on them are, like, platinum
and... like silver trays and goblets and there's
um there's like a string of pearls in like a
large silver goblet um it's just like it's just
like loaded up with like you know precious metals
and fine crafted cutlery where the hell are we
um two things one does my like fey wanderer -ness
make me feel less like perturbed about my distance
oh probably i would say that you know you're
probably more used to the feeling. And two, given
the semi -Middle Eastern vibes of this pyramid,
is this one of those like touch nothing but the
lamp type situations? You know what I'm saying?
I wasn't going to touch a damn fucking thing.
This seems like an offering room or like the
first like secret like I'm not interested in
jewels. I'm interested in like the space. I mean,
I wouldn't mind having the jewels. It would be
nice. Dart, you do remember when you saw the
adventuring party go in, Locara had warned, because
she was like arguing with the guy that they ended
up leaving behind, and she had warned him not
to touch anything. She said let me take the lead
don't touch anything. It was something like that
that she had said to him so you would remember
that Yeah, I mean it seems pretty evident that
we shouldn't touch anything yeah Unless we're
sure we're supposed to touch it or that nothing
will happen if we touch it or if we can handle
whatever happens when we touch it I've got to
stop saying touch it touch it The question is,
do we feel like we need to make an offering on
the table in order to like move to the next chamber
without being attacked by menacing figures? That's
smart. I'm trying to make an offering. Make an
offering? I don't know what we're making an offering
to. Maybe we should find out. I don't think Asmodeus
would like me making blind offerings. I don't
think so. In a strange place. Sylvanas gives
zero bucks. I'm confident. I can give us a ring
for both of us. I got your cover, girl. Oh, thank
you. Sylvanas is like, hell yeah, bro. He's like,
there's no reason here. It's cool when your god
isn't the jealous type. It's okay, honey, I got
you. And now it's my goal to make asthma daddy
jealous. Okay. I'm scared now though. Good luck,
babe. I've done it once, it's fine. The DM is
listening. I know, I know, I know. What? I'm
not gonna be able to back it up. I'm not that
girl. There's never too late. You can become
that girl. I mean... We'll see. The church is
turning around. Anyway, second after that character.
I throw down 10 gold each at the tip. It's my
standard tip. Oh, I'm kind of low -balling today.
10 gold onto the table? Well, it'll be 20 because
I'm getting her cover too. Okay. Do you pile
it onto the table or you put it in a bowl? Do
you... i don't want to touch anything that's
already on the table okay so like she paints
a bowl two little bowls and like do you have
an offering that you're doing sets them down
rain originals do you need a bowl i don't think
we should put anything on the table that isn't
like a Anything on the table that's dissimilar
from what's already on the table Which is money
and Jewels and jewelry and handcrafted things
So just to be clear there's like a table in front
of us with a bunch of fancy shit on it and two
menacing looking statuesque type characters.
So they're like paint, they're like painted or
stained onto the walls. And it's just generally
very decorative. Not with my paintings, bro.
No, I'm considering the possibility that if we
don't do this right, we might become paintings
on the wall. I don't like that. I don't like
that either, but... Like I don't know if those
are guardians or people who didn't solve the
puzzle correctly, you know what I mean? Like
it's a tough call Do the paintings on the wall
like the hobgoblin and The thing I can't remember
Do they appear to be dressed in like Garb reminiscent
of what I would expect from this culture like
so sorry no just yeah the green fox slash cat
slash thing thing it is like a beast it doesn't
have clothing on it doesn't look it's like on
It's like on all fours. Can I investigate it
to see if it like seems off or different from
like the rest of the decor? Sure. And then I
was going to say about the hobgoblin kind of
creature. It's not exactly a hobgoblin. It's
like a creature you don't recognize that's just
like most similar to a hobgoblin. And he is wearing
armor that is like... Mean he's wearing like
like steel armor like not like ornamental but
like for battle. Yeah. Yeah, exactly And the
two humanoid figures are are Wearing like More
ornamental guard they're wearing like dirt like,
you know, okay Yeah, screw it up with ten gold
coins on the table Okay, you put 10 gold coins
on the table. You put 20 gold coins on the tables.
Nothing happens. But nothing is disturbed either,
if that makes sense. Like, it didn't have any
negative or positive effect, seemingly. Okay.
um yeah all right the last thing seemed to function
off of psychic energy and there are more of those
crystals around do we want to try and fiddle
with those and see if that does something i'm
scared to touch anything um so the crystals they're
intact and like working um You do see that there's
like an inscription on the door. Oh, that's a
yeah. I said there was like runes. There's pictograms
Oh in that case, I would like to helm of comprehend
language is that thing because oh, yeah, that's
right. You have that I touch I Forgot you had
that Dope. Yes. What did the runes say? Okay,
so Speak friend and enter damn it Tried that
before on the previous door true so the runes
say Traveler if you have come for riches Take
them now and leave if you have come for something
more Take the Pharaoh's trial And then there's
like so that's what it says and then there's
like a there's like a second sort of paragraph
and it says To prove your commitment Provide
a personal sacrifice. Oh, I had to be personally
fucking Now is your chance to you get kind of
get the vibe it's trying to say like now is your
chance to like and if you just wanted some gold
or whatever just take it from here and don't
bother the rest of the the tomb but if you if
you're seeking more grand you know grand adventure
you can take the pharaoh's trial you have to
provide a personal sacrifice and rode to eldorado
this should be like both yeah both that's good
I was worried you might say that a personal sacrifice
does it seem like there's like a any place besides
the table where like other sacrifices have been
laid make make an investigation check Start just
put down his wild magic 14 14 So Because you
have the helm on and you can actually like read
the text You can now tell that some of these
symbols are not like text, and that they're actually
like a channel, like a very thin sort of channel.
It looks like, you know, a liquid of some sort
would flow really nicely into the channel. Oh
my gosh. I might have to open one of my fluid
-filled canals. Okay. Okay. I know just what
to do. I am going to... No. No. Where'd that
thing go? I had it here somewhere. I have a dagger
of ritual sacrifice. Hey, I mean, you know, it's
got sacrifice in the name. It's been waiting
this entire game to get used. Yeah. Yeah, I'm
going to... It's not a magical dagger, by the
way. No, it's just one we found from a cult.
But it seems appropriate, since I've had it in
my inventory for like a hundred sessions, that
I use it to make a small slash in my palm, I'm
gonna say. Okay. And I'm gonna dribble some fluid
onto like the channel. Um, so you dribble fluid
onto the channel. Been there before? Frogs bleed,
right? Yeah. Okay. Um, so yeah, you dribble a
little of, uh, a little of your froggy blood.
This one does. And, um, it, so I don't know if
you've like had like, you know, obviously you've
had your blood drawn or whatever, you know how
it like, kind of like in me, kind of just. you
know, just moves itself kind of into the channel
of the tube. It does that. It sort of like just
naturally sort of travels and flows. And it doesn't
take like a lot of blood. I did say small cut.
It reminds me of Blade. To fill the channel.
I thought I was going to have to put my crown
down. I thought I was going to have to put pictures
of Zara's down. Um... Roll a D4. That's why Zavari's
giving you a dirty look. Three. That is how many
hit dice you have to pay. Snap cracklin'. So,
um, but now that you have done that... golden
panel on the wall opens up and reveals on an
opulent cushion with like little tassely corners
is like a golden bracelet or bracer of some sort
and it has like it's like oddly like exactly
the right size for a skinny frog wrist and it
has like facets on it sort of similar to like
the facets you've seen with like the psionic
crystals and stuff but the facets are all empty
there's there's four of them and they're kind
of there's like a big one and then like they
kind of like you know get a little bit smaller
so you can see they're empty facets and I've
got an infinity gauntlet. Because it's got the
little things for the stuff. Yeah, it got so
bad, think about that. It's dope though, it's
dope. This one's mine, don't even look at it.
Yeah, and it feels like you get kind of like
a good feeling from it, like good vibes. Yeah,
I'm gonna slap that baby on my wrist, you know,
like like I'm entering a club. Nice. Checked
your ID. I'll see you losers in the VIP section.
I'll be back. You put it on your wrist and it
fits you perfectly. It was like it's made for
you. Like a glove. It, yeah. Before I proceed
to the door, I walk back over to the table and
just like shove all of the stuff on it into my
bag of holding. It definitely is a magical item
of some sort. You kind of instantly get the feeling
that like you can't turn it on yet because there's
no crystals in it. But you can kind of feel like
basically so like you can feel it kind of like
it tunes into your arcane energy a little bit.
So. If you wanted to try to give it a jolt by
giving it a spell slot or something, you could
maybe try to push some magic into it and see
if that does anything. But otherwise, right now,
you can tell this is magic, but it's incomplete
and it's made for you. I gotta pass the trials
first. That's what's up. So do you guys want
to give a sacrifice? Reign does want to give
a sacrifice. She does want to try though to put
a couple pictures of Zars down or some of the
paintings because she's like, this is a personal
sacrifice. Reign. You can borrow my dagger. Put
them face down. Please. My turn. No. Is this
the kind of personal sacrifice they're talking
about? I don't think so. Oh. Yuck, by the way.
Um, they look great. Okay. Thanks. Um, I guess
so Instead when she puts them back into her secret.
Well question about the the pictures really quick.
Oh god Is there any canal fluid on the pictures
What There could be oh like tears sweat the blood
I feel like Damn. I mean, I was gonna say it.
But you didn't have to say it. Oh, yes, I did.
It was implied. Zavari's been taken to dark places.
You don't understand something. There are definitely
probably rain tears on a couple of them. That
makes sense. Down bad. So in that case, the channel,
when you like put it down, like where dark drip
dripped his blood into. The channel will take
your tears. Take my longing tears, please. It
will take your tears from the pictures. It doesn't
want the pictures, but it will take the tears.
In that case... So you give it your tears. Roll
a d4. Three. It's your longing, right? Your longing.
I would say that... I hate that this is gonna
be my, like, opening Kingdom Hearts. Like, which
podium do you choose? Take... So, three is how
much you take off of your wisdom saves. Oh. I
am well on my way to only nail player jail. Just
your wisdom saves, not the checks. Just the saves.
Um, Ms. Avari, what would you like to sacrifice?
Pee on it. I just want to see what you lose.
i had an idea but now i'm scared of it you do
get the feeling that this is just for the time
being like you're you're giving this up dirt
for the duration of the trial uh it'll actually
help rain not focus on zaris yeah it's kind of
like you're kind of like in the sense of like
i was thinking that kind of like you're sacrificing
some of your like emotional intelligence some
of your like connection to your current emotional
state like I've got to see what you lose if you
pee on it. I need to know. Yo Drift, get in here.
You need to pee on something. There's not much
that Zavari's willing to part with. Lose one
D4 kidneys. I don't know, I'm just kidding. D4?
Yeah. I was gonna... I said what I said. You
have to come up with two more kidneys if you're
rolling four. Not my problem. I was gonna have
her offer the last letter that she got from her
dad, because she's been like reading it over
and over and over again. She's like, I need to
get rid of this thing. If you'll take it, please
take it. Sounds like more tears to me. They won't
take the letter, but we'll take your tears off
the letter. Sure. So what kind of tears are these?
Angry. Angry tears. They're angry tears. Roll
a d4. Three? We all got threes. Three. What should
anger take away? Insight? I was thinking maybe
like... So if it's taking... Perception so you're
like passive perceptions. I was gonna say your
initiative Yeah, because it's kind of yeah because
like it's taking your anger from you And holding
it so like that kind of like you would lose some
like motivation So I think that makes sense minus
three to your initiative. My initiative is plus
one now But with your sacrifices... Does that
mean I lose my proficiency bonus with things?
Oh wait, you said initiative, never mind. It's
your initiative, yeah. Yeah, my initiative's
still just one. So with that, two additional
golden panels open up and identical, but properly
fitted. Bracelets are available for the girlies
They'll work out tennis bracelets Christmas It's
like more like a chunky sort of like it's a kind
of like a cuff like a wrist cuff You know, it's
got rains gonna hate it. No, I think it's gonna
like limit. Yeah, it does a little bit Yeah,
actually, um when you put it on I say something
it like It like thins itself out as much as it
can okay on the bottom to Like it's kind of like
it kind of like it's sort of like this is made
for you So it's like a tune to you So like if
you like as you're putting it on it kind of like
closes around you and and and as I move around
or moving It allows, it creates like some plating
there that allows for like some, a joint. It
just reminds me of like when you do like mouth
guards and you heat them up and then like you
get a malleable. Yeah, it's like fly of one.
It forms to you and it's comfortable. It does
have a little bit of weight to it. And again,
missing some jewels. You feel, by the way, I
guess I didn't mention this to Dart, but you
feel like you're attuned to it. It's not taking
up an attunement slot, but you do feel like you're
attuned to it. Same deal with the Uzavari if
you put it on. Once you put it on, once all three
of you have it on, you all instantly teleport
again. This teleportation feels less like a portal
type thing and more like a blink as in you're
like still in the same place. You're just in
a different room. When you land, each of you
immediately notices that you are in sort of a
narrow corridor. This polished sandstone walls
all around you. You're in like some sort of hallway.
Are we separated? And each of you is alone. Fuck.
Yes. Sorry, I jumped again. No, you're okay.
Yeah. So you're you're in some sort of hallway.
There's like there's, you know, turns ahead of
you. There's it's pretty nondescript. Reign just
screams of re and then dark clearly. But like,
do I hear it? But I could be that far away. It's
true. Roll perception. Me? Yeah. Girl, don't
even worry about it. I rolled a seven. Ten total.
You don't hear anything. So basically, so the
rooms that you guys are in... The hallways are
10 feet wide. The ceiling is, it looks to be
about 30 feet up. The walls go straight up to
the ceiling. I'm going to write each of them
a note that says, are you by yourself? and then
send them in the diplomats pouch. Do they work
here? Do they work here? Oh my God. Yes. Yes.
The diplomats pouches work. You do get, you get
your messages from Dart. Are you alone? D -mail.
You get your D -mail. You feel like shit to your
diplomats pouch. Boom. Oh shit. Rain grabs hers
and then opens it up and she's like, okay, fuck.
And like assesses her situations. The scene is
safe. Looks around and like, yeah, I'm alone.
Zavari. And screaming Zavari. Exclamation point,
exclamation point, exclamation point. It's like,
I'm here, I'm also alone. It's pretty dank in
here. It's not like it stinks. Yeah, it's definitely
like less than mid. Um, it's like, um, it smells
like, uh, the air in here doesn't move. You know
what I mean? Very stale. Um, yeah, stale. Um,
it's, like, clean. And I also want to point out,
though, by the way, that, um, unlike the floors
in the other room, how they were, like, marble,
they were different from the sandstone, the polished
sandstone walls, the floors, the walls, the ceiling
all look the same. They're all the same sandstone.
Same size blocks Like almost like intentionally
mayor maybe not almost intentionally uniform
It's kind of disorienting you don't necessarily
like see like if you Move around at all. You
can see there's turns in the hallway You're in
and it's like almost like you don't even necessarily
like see it until you're right up on the turn,
you know You're each by a turn and if you look
down that hall You just see more stuff all you
have is yourself and Your new bracelet It started
with me Do you did you still have Daro with you
then? Yes, okay? It fluxes with me. Yes, you
still have flux with you Oh, Shadow Piper didn't
do a sacrifice. Shit. Fuck. Just the three of
us, but really it's just the one of us. On our
own. It's probably been like a really long time
since you guys have been alone, really, like
alone alone. The stuff I shoved off the table
into my bag of holding, did it weigh 500 pounds?
Do I have 500 pounds of gold now? Um... hypothetically
speaking. Oh, did you take gold? I didn't hear
you say that you took it. Yeah, he said it at
one point. Oh, my bad. I was kind of half kidding.
I wouldn't advise doing it. We'd have to retcon
some stuff. Basically, if you took the gold at
all, it teleports you out. It says if you're
just here for money, take it and leave. So you
take whatever you want and it teleports you out.
So you can leave. So we'll cut that out. I still
could have made like 500 pounds worth of gold.
Sorry about that. I missed it. I didn't hear
you. I was half kidding. But yeah, that would
be a lot to wreck on at that point. If I could
do both, I would. Didn't we all get chalk? I
was like, I know somebody's got chalk. I don't
know if y 'all decided to get our own like colored
chalk. When you went in the Underdark, right?
Yeah. Yeah, you guys all have a specific color.
At the bottom of our, like, bag. Our bags are
holding. Rain was here. She's like, remember
your chalk. It's chalk's own time. Oh, fuck.
I forgot about the chalk. I ain't got no chalk
You should because we all did I do remember that
you guys all did that so I would I would if you
unless you don't want the chalk I'm willing to
say that you have Yeah, I don't remember what
your guys's colors mine was light blue. I'm just
gonna say mine's purple. It's easy Maybe you
had yellow I like yellow chalk It's like very
very visible and vibrant It's better than white
should fight me. But yeah, I mean, does anybody
want to do like some experimenting, exploring
or anything? Rain wants to punch a wall. Okay,
time to fly. Okay. Sure. Yeah. Are you just punching?
Are you punching with your diamond thingies?
Because it's plus five damage to structures.
So go ahead and punch. Yeah, well like a 17 plus
eight Wow, okay, so roll for damage Ten ten okay,
so You punch the wall you give it a really good
punch and it and it It gives way under your punch.
It crumbles and cracks and breaks. It's much
like you would expect stone to to break as a
stone. Yeah, you're and there's like dust and
everything That it wasn't like enough damage
to like damage the structural integrity of the
wall overall But by punching it you can tell
that it's awfully thick because you you break
off like a like a couple of inches of stone And
it's and it's still holding up good In addition
like once the dust settles and you're looking
at this hole this crater on the stone that you've
made you can see that it starts to seal itself
back up and Okay, I was afraid of that sort of
like heal and regrow and like the dust and the
crumbly pieces they kind of like crumble away
into like a sand and just sort of like dissipate
into the stone floor like it's like healing itself
and you know I'm gonna do do you want to go I'm
gonna pull out my harmonica nice I would imagine
if no one is around to be annoyed by it I can
play it to my heart's content that's true yeah
yeah Nobody hears the harmonica music. I'm just
gonna play the harmonica and I am going to Just
casually proceed forward Okay, so are you going
to just like stick to the hall you're in or you
want to like turn When you hit a turn or how
do you want to like what do you have a strategy?
Oh, I'm in like a maze maze They're like options
in front of me. There are options. Yeah I mean,
yeah, I didn't outright say it but You are in
a maze, yes. Uh, that begs a question. Let's
see. I might have a thing for that. Do I have
a thing for that? That's why, that's why, uh,
Rain, Rain had mentioned the chalk. To help you
navigate. So you're like marking your starting
spot, correct, Rain? Yeah, Rain was here. Yeah.
With an arrow pointing the direction in which
she's gonna go. And, uh, after you do that...
um you see that the chalk stays okay i was waiting
i was it starts to morph and goes away this might
be the only opportunity where i've really gotten
to use this particular aspect of my natural explorer
trait that can't be lost except by magical means
is this magical means ah it does sort of seem
that way but is it um Because I have cartographers
tools so I can make a map of where I've been.
I've got the chalk to mark where I've been and
I got a great memory for where I've been because
I'm great at exploring. So I feel like as long
as I don't see any obvious threats in front of
me, I do want to just cautiously proceed forward
just in case this place has its own punchy sticks,
you know what I mean? Yeah, no that makes sense.
And as far as like your natural explorer thing
and being lost, I would say that there is currently,
there currently doesn't seem to be any like magical
means going on. I would say that like it definitely
is going to help you not retread like old ground.
When we do have the map up, I do have a labyrinth
map for you guys to explore. So, but yeah, like
I would say that it would definitely help you
find your way out, but it wouldn't like, you
know, like. It wouldn't I guess I would say it
wouldn't like just show you you know what I mean
like you wouldn't just you wouldn't just know
I guess Okay, that makes sense, but you would
know where you've been before especially if you
have the chalk you have like the abilities. I
mean you're You're a ranger, so I mean I definitely
think it would help Obviously we can work on
this next session, but I feel like what I'm gonna
do is use my cartographer's tools and as I explore
my labyrinth I'm going to draw out like what
I know and have been so that I can send that
to you guys in my diplomats pouch So that if
you guys come across an area that looks like
somewhere that I have been We know that we're
in the same labyrinth and could potentially find
each other. That's a really good fucking idea
That's dope. I'm not gonna lie. Thanks, that
makes me feel really good about myself. That's
cool. Now I'm imagining Dart getting some paper
ready and setting up some grids and stuff so
that as you're exploring you can quickly... Time
to blast out the sextant! That's right! I don't
have my drafting table, but I got my sextant.
And that's my next carpentry project when I get
out of here, is to build a collapsible drafting
table. Yay! That'd be fire. I'm not gonna lie,
I love drafting tables, they're just cool. Um...
Isn't there one for sale at the restart? So yeah,
that's great though. Zivari, do you want to do
anything? Daru, get up out here. Look around.
Go down the hallways for me. Um... Okay, so yeah,
Daru will kind of travel ahead, look around.
Daru kind of makes a couple of turns and there's
like nothing. It's like really boring, right?
And then Daru looks around a corner and sees
a dark shadow on the wall moving very quickly.
Fuck. towards, like, the direction Daru is in.
Do you want to have Daru retreat? Oh, yeah. We're
going to poof back and go the other way. Poof
and dodge. I'm going to say, um, write down,
like, Daru has seen large, very quick shadows.
Be aware. And the shadows, like, moving along
the wall. They move along the wall. Yeah, like.
It's like it's just kind of like a sort of blobby
shape shadow. It's kind of like it's moving so
it's moving quick So it's kind of like got like
a sort of stretched shape to it. So you don't
really know It doesn't have any like discrete.
It's non -descript basically non -descript shadow
that Daru has run away from. Can Daru make a
cell check for me? I may not have Shadow Viper,
but I've got a bottle of Crimson Mist. Yeah.
You're never alone. I'm never alone. Oh my god,
that's hilarious. 13. A 13? Daru nervously is
like looking behind him. The shadow does not
appear to have followed Daru. Okay. Go the other
way. Daru starts to go the other way and sees
another shadow on the wall. Okay. So the shadows
are everywhere. Got it, got it, got it, got it,
got it. Hello? So, so far Zavara is the only...
One who's seen anything that seems like menacing.
Does anybody want to further their experimentation?
We just got a couple of minutes left. Rain messages
them and says that the walls heal. Oh yeah? Yeah.
The walls heal and they have shadows. But chalk
is fine. Make sure you're marking where you go,
where you've been. Oh, Zavari, you're marking
where you go and where you've been. Yeah. Stay
safe. You too. Don't trust the shadows. I never
do. Thank you for listening to Roll Forth. This
has been the Empire Initiative featuring Samaria
Hawkins as Lady Zavari slash Lady Litria. Ryan
Musgrove as King Dart of the Hopkins, Rachel
Voss as Rainn Vosgrove, and our wonderful M .D.
Shanahan too. Make sure to follow our socials,
like, subscribe, do all the things, and yeah,
please stay safe friends. Bypassing trials once
it is complete. It is your key to get into the
final change That's kind of what i'm thinking
is that we need to collect this like collect
some some psionic crystals I hope I hope it's
all good. Hope my hand tattoo is a good thing
because like Each one of those things was perfectly
customized fit to us. I have a feeling we all
us all got our own personal customized labyrinths
But who knows, we're gonna find out next time.
My labyrinth shadows are in the shape of the
people who assassinated me. Next time on Ham
Crusaders!