Cursebreaker | 45 - Not According to Flan
Last time on Cursebreaker. We did it. It got scary there for a second, but we're alive and we're together. Tibia went to the underworld and came back in one piece and is resting peacefully in the middle of memoir. Thanks to all of his friends, the flow of life and death is saved.
Tim / GM:Also, I'm a tiny baby spirit now. Goo goo gaga, the genie needs his bottle. Over the last week, the last 7 days, Tibio has been unconscious in the middle of memoir, resting peacefully surrounded by forest animals and returning villagers. Among those people visiting memoir were a bunch of, Fae that you had met on the way here. They had gifts to give all of you in the form of magical upgrades to some of your favorite items.
Tim / GM:Holly, we had talked about Sal before. So Sal is now your permanent familiar. He weaves between your legs and follows you around at all times.
Thomas / Guy:Cute.
Tim / GM:He can turn back into a porcelain cat whenever you want him to, whenever you ask him to.
Maggie / Poppy:Can we talk in our minds or no? I have to say it out loud.
Tim / GM:You can communicate telepathically with Sal. Cool. Whenever Sal gets hurt, he fractures into smaller cats, up to a maximum of 4 total Sal's. All of these Sal's function as wizard's familiars, and you can see and hear through their bodies as vessels whenever you want to.
Thomas / Guy:Cool. Nice.
Tim / GM:In addition to that, as a bonus action, you can do one of the 3 following things on your turn. You can ask the cats to split or mend to become any number of cats. You can ask the cats to hassle a target, giving it minus 1 to its spell saves for each cat on it. Or you can have the cats empower your spells. Whenever you cast a spell, your cat will be able to deliver a little piece of that spell in addition to your spell cast.
Tim / GM:They do some extra damage of the same type.
Maggie / Poppy:Okay.
Speaker 4:Oh. Pew. So Meow.
Tim / GM:Over the last few days, you've been getting to know Sal a little better as he, spends a whole lot of time on your lap and just kind of watching you go about your life. Snack, you had also asked for something from the fae in the form of a mustache.
John / Doran:Well, I had a mustache.
Tim / GM:So Well, yeah, I guess you asked them to put it on you.
John / Doran:Yeah.
Tim / GM:Yeah. For forever forward, you have a voluminous, tufted white mustache that twists into 2 curls. You can wipe your mouth to wipe away the mustache whenever you see fit. To regain the mustache, you must gesture as if stroking and tweaking a mustache,
Maggie / Poppy:A human man? Human?
Tim / GM:A human. Mhmm. No matter what you say, they will always find you likable. You also get advantage on persuasion checks against civilized folks. Wow.
Tim / GM:And finally, while wearing the mustache, you can read and comprehend all languages. What? It's even better than Bert's mustache.
Maggie / Poppy:Yeah. It's a smart stash.
Tim / GM:Bert, when you decided to submit an item forward, what did you end up choosing?
Thomas / Guy:Bert would like a shield to go with his axe. And since he's always holding his book, it would be great if he could use that as a shield somehow.
Tim / GM:Patricia gives you kind of a smirk, and she takes your book and begins to thumb through it, which nobody ever does. This is your private book. It's okay. It's okay. She gets to a page and then stops and goes back a page and then looks up at you with a lowered eyebrow.
Thomas / Guy:Oh, what part are you at? Is that by trial? That's a good part.
Tim / GM:She nods. She skips past it, closes the book, and hands it back and says, I think this should suit your style. I have learned a lot about you.
Thomas / Guy:Oh, just from that?
Speaker 6:That and
Tim / GM:well, yes. That. This book is now divinely sentient. Oh, lord. Woah.
Tim / GM:The book hovers near you at all times and takes rough note of everything that you see, say, and hear.
John / Doran:Woah.
Tim / GM:In addition, you have a permanent as the shield will support you. You can also ask the book to protect someone else instead.
Maggie / Poppy:Wow.
Tim / GM:When you do, they gain 2 AC, and whenever they take damage, it's reduced by an amount equal to your wisdom modifier.
Thomas / Guy:Do you My rules is that, what is that, like, a bonus action or a reaction?
Tim / GM:As a bonus action, you can command it to go to someone else.
Thomas / Guy:Okay. That's a lot to write down. That's awesome.
Maggie / Poppy:Good thing you got an infinite book to write in now, so you can just write it all and
Thomas / Guy:Oh, look. It's already written down.
Tim / GM:And, that brings us to Uli who had worked out a little deal with Patricia to enhance your overalls.
Speaker 4:Why didn't you say enhance your pants?
Tim / GM:Enhance your pants. They're more than pants. They're overalls. Your pants now grant a base AC of 13 plus your dexterity modifier.
Speaker 7:Are they also very nice looking?
Tim / GM:This is a good opportunity for a color change. I believe they were red before.
Speaker 4:I didn't think about this.
Speaker 7:Uli's Technicolor Dream overalls. Yeah.
Speaker 4:Can they color shift depending on my mood?
Tim / GM:Maybe someday.
Speaker 4:For no reason. Maybe they're, like, leather overalls or something.
Tim / GM:Okay.
Speaker 4:Just a little sturdier.
Tim / GM:Sure. Yeah.
Maggie / Poppy:You just got leather,
Speaker 7:They got flames on the side.
Speaker 4:Yes. Flames up the side.
Maggie / Poppy:No. You just, like, patch like, there's sewn on leather flames on jean fabric, and then there's also, like, patches on the knees now. So they're, like, a little more durable and just, like, all souped up.
Tim / GM:It is the 7th day of rest since you've all returned to memoir, and Bert has been scrying all along. Punchline to that story is Joe has a red dragon on his side now, under his control. Bert, you've just, made this discovery on the 7th night.
Thomas / Guy:Well, that's bad. I should tell the others. Hey, guys. Hey. You won't believe what I just saw?
Speaker 4:What? Was it a book?
Maggie / Poppy:I mean, I swear, I was just saying hello to Dolly in his quarters. We weren't doing
Thomas / Guy:wait, Holly.
John / Doran:Okay. You are 2 doing things, snacks,
Thomas / Guy:snack nose. Snack? I got a dragon problem.
Speaker 4:Yeah. We know.
Thomas / Guy:No. Not Snack.
Speaker 4:Oh.
Thomas / Guy:Joe, he's got a dragon on his side.
Maggie / Poppy:Shit. What? Wait. Is it our dragon?
Thomas / Guy:It's a red dragon. Not one I've seen before.
Maggie / Poppy:Not mister Goldie Boy.
Thomas / Guy:He likes Megan's name.
Maggie / Poppy:Wait. What was that dragon's name? Snack?
John / Doran:Gold Dragon Man. I don't think Idris, of course.
Maggie / Poppy:Yeah. Idris. So it wasn't Idris.
Speaker 4:Did Idris give you any way of contacting him?
John / Doran:I think I, I don't think so.
Speaker 4:I think I don't think so.
John / Doran:Is that helpful?
Speaker 4:No. But that's fine.
Tim / GM:As you're all discussing this, you see a small train of deer, walking through town. It seems a a rather large party of animals are all heading into the center of memoir.
Thomas / Guy:Oh.
Maggie / Poppy:I wonder if Snow White's finally waking up over here.
Thomas / Guy:Let's go check. Maybe Tebio's okay.
Tim / GM:When you arrive on scene, it's hard to even, like, push up to the front of this. But you can see that the whole forest has turned up as Tibio begins to stir. You can also see that the villagers somehow anticipated this and are beginning to lay out food and drink for everyone. They've got a a huge vat of potato stew that they've placed down and this rainbow spread of harvested berries and and nuts from the forest, and there's fresh baked bread and rolls and fresh cookies all laid out on this large banquet table. And it seems everybody but you got the memo to show up to this.
Thomas / Guy:Are are we invited?
Maggie / Poppy:Do I see, fibolo or sacra anywhere?
Tim / GM:Yeah. It seems they're, like, in charge of this whole thing.
Maggie / Poppy:I'm gonna go up to Fibolo and say, hey, Fib. What's going on? Is this a party?
Tim / GM:You do not have to worry. You are the guest of honor, of course. Please have a seat.
Thomas / Guy:Oh, it's like a surprise party.
Tim / GM:Yes. But for Tibio, of course.
Thomas / Guy:Right. Right. He'll be surprised because he's unconscious.
Tim / GM:Now to fall along, and he, looks off at Tibio. And, Tibio, you awaken. As you sit up in your spot, the bones that had encased you just kind of fall away, leaving you to actually stand into your little gnome self.
Speaker 4:Good morning.
Speaker 8:What?
Thomas / Guy:Hey, sleepy head.
Speaker 8:What? Where am I?
Speaker 4:You're home?
Thomas / Guy:How am I sleeping out here?
Maggie / Poppy:Everyone at the table just started yawning.
Thomas / Guy:Tibeo?
Speaker 7:Yes. We went
Thomas / Guy:in we went into that place 7 years ago.
Maggie / Poppy:Bert, no. He's lying, Tibeo.
Thomas / Guy:I thought it'd be fun.
Speaker 7:Tibeo looks at his hands like, what?
Speaker 4:I mean, they are older.
Tim / GM:Look older by, like, maybe 7 years.
Speaker 8:Wait. How how long was I asleep?
Maggie / Poppy:It's only 7 days. 7 days?
Speaker 4:Yep.
Thomas / Guy:But now it's not so bad. Right?
Speaker 8:I guess.
Tim / GM:Yeah. The memories come flooding back to to you, Sebio. Everything that had happened in the underworld and the years that were taken from you and the singing that saved you and the genie that saved you and all of it.
Speaker 8:Oh, Snick.
John / Doran:Snick. Yes.
Speaker 8:I, is is genie okay?
John / Doran:He's fine and puny. He sleeps a lot too now, Tibio, not as much as you. Tibio, there were many animals that came to spy on you and left. I followed them and I've been taking notes, and Snack takes out some paper. These are where the squirrels dwell.
John / Doran:This this one is a squirrel, but it's got long ears. But which one which one was this again?
Speaker 4:You missed a lot.
Speaker 8:Yes. I I can see that. I is everyone okay?
Tim / GM:Tibia, you kind of stand up as you're talking now, feeling your strength return a little bit. And when you do, bones begin to form around you in a way they never have before. There is this intuition to the way that it works where it's no longer an effort. It's no longer a spell. It is the underworld serving you in a way.
Tim / GM:These bones are there when you put your feet down to make you taller and more imposing. They're there when you reach for things to give you better grasp. They're there when you need anything. From here on out, the bones help with every physical thing that you do, granting you plus 2 to strength and plus 2 to dexterity.
Speaker 4:Oh, damn. Damn. Pretty good.
Tim / GM:You also have resistance to necrotic damage if you didn't already.
Speaker 7:Yeah. I don't know if I did.
Speaker 4:That makes 2 of us now. Not me,
Tim / GM:though. Yeah. Once per day, you can don the raven helm, giving you 2 special abilities.
Thomas / Guy:Oh, god. Hi. I'm Don the raven helm.
Tim / GM:So donning the Ravenhelm lasts for 1 hour. When you do that, you gain 20 temporary HP. And during that time, during that hour, your AC becomes 16. Fuck.
Maggie / Poppy:Alright.
Tim / GM:As an action, being the guardian of the underworld, you can attempt to pull a creature's soul into the underworld. They have disadvantage on the save if they have less than half health. As an action, you can force a creature within 30 feet to make a death save. If they roll 11 or higher, they are unaffected. If they roll 10 or lower, they take d 4 damage equal to your level.
Thomas / Guy:Wow.
Tim / GM:If they roll a 1, a natural one, they take d 8 damage equal to your level.
Speaker 7:Good god.
Tim / GM:In that in that same vein, as an action, you can bar a soul Damn. That's sick. Tibio,
Speaker 7:Damn.
Speaker 4:That's sick.
Speaker 7:Tibio, starts kinda moving his arms around and seeing how the bones follow along.
Tim / GM:I I
Speaker 7:feel a little different, but
Speaker 8:not bad.
Tim / GM:Scekra kind of squints her eyes and smiles at you and says, it takes some getting used to, but, it is a grand way of life. Do not be afraid.
Speaker 7:I think it will be quite grand.
Tim / GM:Now sit. And she, brings out a bowl of stew, brings along some fresh rolls, has all of you sit together at this long banquet table, and Fibolo introduces the first act. He says, animals. A show of strengths. And he gestures out to a group of bear and elk, and they begin standing up on their hind legs and doing some balancing acts.
Tim / GM:And then one of the bears raises a large log up on end in a show of strength. Another bear climbs it while it's being steadied and balances on the log. What?
Maggie / Poppy:Wow. Amazing.
Speaker 4:Molly is having PTSD
Thomas / Guy:flashbacks
Speaker 4:to that deer. I'm, like, subtly checking for red worms.
Maggie / Poppy:Oh, the diseased deer.
John / Doran:Bidet kind of sucks, I think.
Thomas / Guy:Well, I
Maggie / Poppy:mean, you gotta train him better.
John / Doran:Yeah. I do. It's too nice to him.
Tim / GM:That takes about 10 minutes or so, and, they do all sorts of things that a lot of the villagers find incredibly amusing, and they cheer. Like, they cheer too much. Like, a bear does kind of a cartwheel thing, and people are literally screaming. Very supportive. Fibolo introduces the second act as a show of drama by the mice of the Northwoods.
Tim / GM:They put on a play that is voiceless and lasts for 45 minutes.
Thomas / Guy:Get it.
Tim / GM:It's got drama. It's got love. It's got murder. It's got mice.
Maggie / Poppy:Good job. Yay. Sal Sal is licking his chops watching the show.
Tim / GM:Keeps like Sal's eyes get huge, and he keeps, like, lowering himself and doing, like, a butt wiggle stick.
Maggie / Poppy:And I'm just yeah. He's doing the chit the chitter, and I'm like, Sal, no. Just watch the show.
Tim / GM:The last act is put on by the smallest, and most revered of the forest, the insects. Organized marching rows of insects, climb across the banquet table and all throughout the grounds in front of you, and you can see this mass of ants and beetles and spiders all crawling together. No. And they organize themselves to make a portrait of Tibeo's face on the ground.
Maggie / Poppy:Oh, that is horrifying.
Tim / GM:Everybody stands and cheers, and Bert sees text in his vision. Bert, it takes you completely by surprise, and you think it's part of the show for a split second before you realize that, for the first time maybe ever, you're receiving a whisper quill.
Thomas / Guy:Oh. Dear Engelbert, FF Wisherspoon. What a terrible name to have to write out. He's not wrong. Flynn burned the courthouse on the day of her trial.
Thomas / Guy:Burned Holly's shop too. She took my quills. She took my beard too and most of my life's work. She got me, Bert. She got Henry too.
Thomas / Guy:Margo needs help. Help us, Bert. Please help us.
John / Doran:Blank. Like there wasn't any signature or
Speaker 7:Well, has he told us what it was the other day?
Tim / GM:That was just a joke. I wanted that joke to come through, so I'm gonna keep it. Okay.
Thomas / Guy:Bert's gonna stand up and leave the party.
Tim / GM:Okay. The insects, are forming Tibeo's face, and they're trying to get it to wink. But their coordination is a little off, so one of Tibeo's eyes just starts leaking down his face, and then the whole face just kind of disassembles. And, people kind of stand and cheer, for the insect show, and everybody goes back to eating except Bert has left.
Speaker 7:Tibio is stuffing his face and hasn't even noticed. Every time there's applause, it's all of Tibio's bones doing the clapping, and his his actual hands are just stuffing food into his mouth.
Tim / GM:Yeah. Okay.
John / Doran:Perhaps Bert is, onto something. He seemed upset.
Maggie / Poppy:Upset? Oh, maybe he didn't like the bread.
Speaker 8:Is bread is okay?
John / Doran:Bread is fine, but perhaps it'd be best if snacks book with him.
Maggie / Poppy:Yeah. Why don't you go see what's up? Maybe he had some tummy troubles.
Thomas / Guy:Yes. Let let let me know.
John / Doran:Oh, I will.
Speaker 4:Ollie is putting more food onto Tibia's plate. Like, you need to eat your vegetables.
Maggie / Poppy:Holly's talking to everybody about how they should shop at the Fae Trader, and tell them Holly Hyacinth sent them.
Tim / GM:Dolly sees you from across the way and just raises a wine glass to you.
Maggie / Poppy:Holly winks at him.
John / Doran:So Snack will get out of sight. Mhmm. And once he feels he's hidden, he's going to stroke his stash to activate the magic spell.
Tim / GM:Yeah. You you, pull the mustache, from just beneath your nose into 2 little white tufts.
John / Doran:So I become a human form, white hair, white mustache, and a little goatee and golden eyes. And like, if you look really closely, you can see there's kind of a snake like, shape to the pupils. So, Snack approaches Bert in his human form. Mhmm. Oh, hello.
Thomas / Guy:Oh, hello, old man.
John / Doran:I, was looking for a book that I had and don't have. Do you see it?
Thomas / Guy:A book you say? You have piqued my interest, sir.
John / Doran:Never mind. It's not important. You look upset.
Thomas / Guy:Yeah. Well, my friend it's my friend Tibio's big day. I don't wanna ruin it, but I just got some really bad news that's gonna bring everybody down.
John / Doran:What news?
Thomas / Guy:Well, the place I'm from, Tildry, have you heard of it?
John / Doran:Oh, yes. The place with the dumb judges And, Snack's character leans up against the tree.
Thomas / Guy:Wait. What's he there?
John / Doran:Leans up against the tree
Thomas / Guy:Oh, yeah.
John / Doran:To casually.
Thomas / Guy:Yeah. Yeah. The dumb judges. 1 of one of those dumb judges got loose and caused some sorts of problems.
John / Doran:Oh, yep.
Thomas / Guy:Yeah. How do you know about these dumb judges?
John / Doran:I,
Thomas / Guy:I wanna make a perception check.
Tim / GM:Okay.
Thomas / Guy:Wow. This is a real human man.
John / Doran:Well, you met one judge, and you know them all, and they all are dumb and commit crimes. I set traps for judges when I when I can when I have time.
Thomas / Guy:You set traps for judges.
Tim / GM:That's my literal favorite thing.
Thomas / Guy:There's a happen. Well, there's a judge in town who's on our side, so be careful.
John / Doran:Okay? Oh, I will keep an eye out. Did you say your name is Bert? Nope. I must have just recognized you.
Thomas / Guy:Well, I didn't wanna bring this up, but the other thing that's happening in Tilderie is they're turning everybody into dragons. Anyone who wants to be a dragon can just be a dragon now.
John / Doran:That sounds we should go there, I think.
Thomas / Guy:I think I think so too.
John / Doran:Well, I I have to pee and, it has been nice meeting you, Bert.
Thomas / Guy:You too I didn't get your name?
John / Doran:Farewell.
Thomas / Guy:Farewell, farewell.
John / Doran:Skimper off.
Tim / GM:Yeah. I'm bored.
John / Doran:Go out behind the tree and, yeah, wipe away the mustache
Tim / GM:Yeah.
John / Doran:And wait a good 10 seconds before coming out of here.
Speaker 4:I realize Farewell is your canon alter ego now. Right?
Thomas / Guy:That's the same
Speaker 4:now. It's too late.
John / Doran:Yep. I guess. Bert, who is that strange beautiful man that walked away?
Thomas / Guy:Oh, Snack, I don't know, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of him.
John / Doran:We shouldn't talk about him just in case he's a spy or bad or something.
Thomas / Guy:Good call. So, I have some news for you, Snack.
John / Doran:Oh, some news. Are we going to, where are we going?
Thomas / Guy:Well, we may be headed for Tildry.
John / Doran:Oh, yes. Tildry. Yes. Well, we better go tell everyone and Tibio has, has been awake long enough, and we better get going. I I hear there's important things in Tibio we need to go to.
Thomas / Guy:Tibio's big day. We don't wanna ruin the festivities.
John / Doran:Yes. Of course. Yes.
Thomas / Guy:He's been asleep for a long time. Plus, he just saved all of death or whatever.
John / Doran:Right. Yes. Well, Bert, I I hope you're doing okay. You seemed upset.
Thomas / Guy:It's not good. It's really bad. And just so you know, I was kidding about the dragon thing.
John / Doran:I I don't I don't quite follow Bert.
Thomas / Guy:But that's fine.
John / Doran:Okay. Yes. Well,
Thomas / Guy:I'm gonna try to get in touch with people I know in Tildrey. You can go back to the party if you want.
John / Doran:Do you want to talk to someone right now? Sure. Okay. Maisie.
Speaker 4:Okay. Summon her.
Tim / GM:Yes. You, hit the gavel on the ground, and you summon Maisie. She is sitting when you summon her. She is, curled up with her knees to her face and she is like shivering and kind of rocking back and forth.
Thomas / Guy:Woah. Okay. Thanks, Maisie. Maisie? It's me, Bert.
Thomas / Guy:And snack?
Tim / GM:Yes. She looks up and, like, turns around and looks behind her and looks up at the 2 of you.
Thomas / Guy:Everything's okay. We just heard that some bad things might have happened in Tildry, and
Tim / GM:I guess just Everything's not okay.
Thomas / Guy:Can you tell us what happened?
Speaker 9:Henry, first mommy.
Thomas / Guy:Henry, your dad, is he
Tim / GM:He tried to fight the fire lady, and he died.
Thomas / Guy:I'm so sorry, Mayzie. Are are you safe? Where where did you come from?
Tim / GM:I was holding Margo's hand.
Thomas / Guy:So you're with Margo or you were?
Tim / GM:I was.
Thomas / Guy:Of well
Tim / GM:Where am I now?
Thomas / Guy:You're well, you remember your friend Tibio?
Tim / GM:She nods.
Thomas / Guy:We're in his hometown.
John / Doran:Do you want to see some bugs?
Tim / GM:She seems kind of humorless.
Thomas / Guy:Well, you you'll be going back to Margo really soon, and I promise we're all gonna come back to Tildry and try to fix things. Okay?
Tim / GM:She says you have to come back
Speaker 9:and fix it. You have
Tim / GM:to stop her. She's still here, and she disappears.
Thomas / Guy:Cowboy. What do you think? Is this a party interrupter, Snack?
John / Doran:I think it is serious, Bert. You know, we we we need to deal with this threat. Perhaps Marlboro or Holly could take us.
Thomas / Guy:Why don't we go back to our seats, talk to the others, give Tibio as much time as we can before we break the bad news?
John / Doran:I'm sorry, Bert. This is your home.
Thomas / Guy:I thought everything was on the right track for Tillery, but these dumb judges
John / Doran:Perhaps Marlboro will be more help this time.
Thomas / Guy:I think he will. Let's go.
Speaker 4:Tibia, you have to eat more broccoli. You got a lot older in a very short amount of time.
Speaker 8:I've had some. I don't know what you mean. I've had as much as I can.
Speaker 4:You are a growing boy.
Speaker 8:I don't think I'm still growing. I think I am done.
Maggie / Poppy:Tibio, I feel like you just seem so mature now.
Speaker 8:Oh, really?
Maggie / Poppy:Yeah. It's like your voice and everything and your whole crow hat and or it's ravens. Sorry.
Speaker 8:Do I do I sound different?
Speaker 4:Oh, yeah. A little bit. You're like a man now. It's weird.
Speaker 7:Oh, yeah. Oh, I guess. And he starts eating more broccoli. Okay.
Speaker 4:Thank you. Lily is first and foremost an older sibling.
Tim / GM:Bert and Snack kind of, like, take their seats again, very, like, slowly and cautiously.
Thomas / Guy:Is is Fibio sitting next to us?
Speaker 8:Yeah. Fibio.
Tim / GM:Fibio and Fibio.
Thomas / Guy:Do I
Tim / GM:know what his name is? Fibilo.
Thomas / Guy:Fibilo. Okay.
Speaker 7:Does feel good though.
Maggie / Poppy:Just call him fib.
Speaker 7:To the fib.
Thomas / Guy:I guess I wanna try to talk to Fibolo quietly.
Tim / GM:Fibolo has his fingers, like, folded in front of him, and he's staring at 3 different cookies. And as soon as you, like, talk to him, he says, I do not have room for all 3 of these. This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do.
Thomas / Guy:So you gotta make a choice,
Tim / GM:Indeed. And he just kind of, like, holds his head in his hands.
Speaker 7:Us promoters are very serious.
Thomas / Guy:3rd cookie, my man.
Tim / GM:He says, it is decided. And he takes it and begins chewing.
Thomas / Guy:Hey. So listen, I know it's your brother's big day and everything, but we just got some really bad news of some things going on in a place far away from here, and I'm afraid we might have to leave earlier than expected, like, as soon as possible.
Tim / GM:And he spends about 25 seconds chewing, and then he swallows and says, of course you must go. This is what the Guardian does. They help. Tibio is beholden to help anyone. Everyone.
Thomas / Guy:Oh, I'm glad you understand.
Tim / GM:His big day was a week ago. This is palti time.
Maggie / Poppy:Potty time? Palti time. Potty time.
Thomas / Guy:Well, I hate to cut a party short, but this is pretty important.
Tim / GM:Let me make it easy on you. He stands up on the banquet table and he says, everyone, I'm afraid we must cut the day short. Our friends in Tibio has work to do. And then people kind of, like, finish what they're eating, wipe their faces with napkins, and they all stand. And they all just look towards Tibio.
Speaker 8:Do we have somewhere we need to be?
Thomas / Guy:Tildry needs us.
Speaker 7:What? Tildry?
Speaker 8:But it was fine when we left.
Speaker 4:We're supposed to be going to Vindorin.
Thomas / Guy:Well, remember I told you that Brax was working on Judge Flann's case? She's about to go to trial?
Maggie / Poppy:Vaguely? Yeah. I was gonna say, I'm like, kinda. Sure.
Thomas / Guy:That was the least exciting scrying day for sure.
Speaker 4:Scry
Thomas / Guy:day. The trial didn't go as planned, and Flynn's
Speaker 8:Shit.
Thomas / Guy:Destroying the city.
Maggie / Poppy:What? Holly stands up where she is.
Speaker 8:Oh, well, then we must go.
Maggie / Poppy:Wait. What how did you find out about this?
Thomas / Guy:Blanc told me. You remember the the Quill guy he was working with the Cursebreakers?
Maggie / Poppy:Yeah. Benjamin Blanc, the tattoo artist. Right?
Tim / GM:Yeah.
Maggie / Poppy:Wait. Is he here?
Thomas / Guy:He's no. He's not here. He messaged me the way I can message people.
Maggie / Poppy:Oh, what did he say?
Thomas / Guy:Well, Snack and I already talked to Maisie.
Speaker 4:What happened with Maisie?
Speaker 8:Is she okay?
Thomas / Guy:Maisie's okay, but we think Henry is gone.
Speaker 8:We must go. We must go now.
Maggie / Poppy:Yeah. Where, where is Malboro? Holly's, like,
Thomas / Guy:they got your shop too. I don't know anything about Ivy, if she's okay.
Maggie / Poppy:Holly just looks at Bert with kind of, like, almost a glazed over stare, and then she pauses for a second. And then she just turns away and says, where's Malboro?
Tim / GM:A few people turn when they hear this sound almost like rushing water or like a flare being burned. But you see Malboro is already carving a circle into the air preparing to travel to Tiltree with all of you.
Speaker 4:Oh. Yeah.
Thomas / Guy:Good, judge.
Maggie / Poppy:Quick. Get your things together.
Thomas / Guy:Thibbeo, I'm sorry to do this on your party day.
Speaker 8:It is it is not just for me. It is for everyone here. There is nothing stopping them from continuing to celebrate, but I have a
Speaker 7:job. This is important.
Tim / GM:Melborrow finishes the circle, and you can all feel the air kind of pressurize or equalize between, the locale of Tildrey and the climate of the forest that you're in. And as the air exchanges, you can all smell fire smoke.
Speaker 4:Oh, fuck.
Maggie / Poppy:Holly gathers up everything, but she remembers at the last second, the Fae people brought our wagon.
Speaker 4:Mhmm.
Maggie / Poppy:And so she actually goes over to the wagon and gets Carl and, you know, summons him and is like, Carl, bring the wagon through the portal. Okay. We're going back home.
Tim / GM:Yeah. Holly, you lead the the wagon back in through Tildrey.
Speaker 4:What what happened with Maisie? You talked to her?
Thomas / Guy:Yeah. We well, Snack brought her here, actually.
Tim / GM:Alright.
Thomas / Guy:She's with Margo, so I think she's okay. But Margo might be the last step of resistance in the city.
Speaker 4:Do you can you figure out where she is? Does anyone know?
Speaker 7:Yes. Dear Margo Bingo.
Speaker 4:Like, can you write write and walk at the same time? Write and run preferably? We have a cart. Just get in the cart.
Thomas / Guy:Tibia, do you say goodbye before we leave?
Speaker 8:I yes. I will very quickly just just stop by and gather the few last things. I'll follow you.
Tim / GM:Yes. We'll say Holly kinda leads the way with the wagon through the portal. The rest of you gather the things that you came with, which is probably not much. You guys tend to travel fairly light and, make your way through the portal as well. When you step through, the air is saturated with the smell of smoke, tinged with a note of toxicity that makes you think the fire is unintentional.
Tim / GM:The In the distance, the tower of law is smoldering and you can see 2 other smoke stacks coming from the city.
Speaker 4:How many towers are here? 3?
Tim / GM:Yeah.
Thomas / Guy:2 2a half. Yeah.
Tim / GM:Oh, okay.
Thomas / Guy:Rebuild that one yet?
Speaker 4:Oops. How
Maggie / Poppy:long has it been since we've been in Teledy?
Tim / GM:Anytime between 3 weeks 2 months.
Speaker 10:Okay. Great.
Maggie / Poppy:Somewhere in there.
Speaker 7:Who knows? I just kinda wanted to button things up on my way out of through the portal.
Tim / GM:Yeah. Fibolo gives you an equally exaggerated hug as when he first got there. And when he pulls back, he says, I'm proud of you, and I will always look up to you and do good.
Speaker 8:Yes. And, I I expect you to take care of our home.
Tim / GM:He takes a big step back. He holds his bone crossbow up and down perfectly still. He pulls a lever, and you see his skeleton arm go up and do a rigid salute. And then he pulls a winch, and it, like, releases, and the arm goes, like, flying out as the portal closes behind you and you land in Till
Speaker 8:dream. Mhmm.
Tim / GM:Alright. Bert, did you wanna write that note?
Thomas / Guy:Alright. Dear Margo, it's Bert. Me and the rest of the cursebreakers are here in Tildrey, ready to help. We heard about what happened from blank. Where can we meet you?
Thomas / Guy:We need to make things right as soon as possible. Sincerely, Bert.
Tim / GM:She quickly writes back, I'm defending my shop. Maisie is with me. She is safe. Find
Thomas / Guy:Flann. Alright. I heard back from Margo. She's at her shop, and it sounds like she's safe for now, but she's telling us to go after Flynn.
Maggie / Poppy:When we look around, do we just see is it the tower where it's smoking?
Tim / GM:Yeah. There's the, Tower of Law still smoldering, and then there are 2 other smoke stacks from deeper in the city that you can see.
Thomas / Guy:Well, let's go to the closest one first.
Speaker 4:Sure. Who is the least fire resistant?
Maggie / Poppy:I have no fire resistant.
Thomas / Guy:Probably us 3.
Speaker 4:Okay. I can give one of you protection from energy.
Thomas / Guy:I think Holly is the most likely to die now.
Speaker 4:Okay. I'm just gonna like
Thomas / Guy:Defense Holly.
Maggie / Poppy:I'm the most I'm the most strong, kind of, but I'm also the weakest offense.
Speaker 8:Squishy.
Maggie / Poppy:I'm very squishy, but I'm very cast dispel y.
Tim / GM:It's called the glass cannon.
Maggie / Poppy:I will I
Speaker 8:like that. Go up to Holly
Speaker 4:and just boop around the nose and say, be safe and give you protection from fire damage for up to an hour.
Maggie / Poppy:Thanks, Lily. I'm probably gonna need that. And Holly's coughing already from the smoke in the air and just, like, the hazy fire
Tim / GM:Mhmm.
Maggie / Poppy:Air. Oh, also, I'm
Speaker 4:I need to
Maggie / Poppy:what time of day is it? Oh, did you surge?
Speaker 4:Yes. Oh, no. I'm sorry.
Tim / GM:It's like evening dinner time.
Speaker 4:I'm frightened by the nearest creature until the next turn.
Tim / GM:That that old chestnut.
Speaker 8:So I'm
Speaker 4:just like, Yeah.
Tim / GM:Alright. So so the wagon pulls up on the first smoke stack, and you can see the remnants of Henry's home. This is where Henry and Maisie live together. You guys had visited here once before to get your money back from Maisie.
Thomas / Guy:That was an awkward
Tim / GM:And steal her ring. Norp. The
Thomas / Guy:Yes. Why
Speaker 7:are we like this?
Thomas / Guy:Fan favorite, Norp.
Tim / GM:The professor from the, Tower of Knowledge, steps out of the smoldering ruins and, looks up at your party, and he says, I am glad to see all of you. Norp. Norp. Uli, you are terrified of Norp. Uli, don't don't you remember Norp?
Tim / GM:No.
Thomas / Guy:I guess you weren't there.
Maggie / Poppy:Sir, please, can you tell us what happened here?
Tim / GM:I know that judge Flynn was here, and and she had it out for Henry. And he's well, he's gone. I was looking for any sign of him, but there's not much here. And, he kind of gestures to the degree to which some of this stuff is charred. It seems Flan burns hotter than most and can disintegrate objects with her flames.
Maggie / Poppy:Can we tell if it looks like any sort of magic spells that we've cast before, like the damage?
Tim / GM:Yeah. I mean, you see the, like, the shape and size of fireball is all over this place. It seems like she can do that, like, at will. Okay.
Maggie / Poppy:Is there any other evidence of, like I don't know if I can do an arcane magic check of any other spells that have been cast besides fireball that linger or have scars.
Tim / GM:It it seems like, a little bit that the weave has been disturbed in this area. It's it seems like Flann is being reckless with her magic to a point where it's actually, like, causing harm to the weave around her.
Thomas / Guy:Okay.
Tim / GM:This is, this is how some wizards go out. They they kind of fall into their own insanity and they cast until the weave tears itself to pieces and consumes them.
Maggie / Poppy:Got it. So, Henry, we can't we think he's gone?
Tim / GM:I'm afraid so. He he was a good man, and he was a good officer. Just he didn't deserve this. That's for damn sure.
Speaker 4:No. He didn't.
Maggie / Poppy:Holly's crying a little bit. Her town is burning, and it's just a lot. And she grabs Tibio's arm and says, can you sense him at all? Or I don't know.
Speaker 7:That I I I will try. And Tibio tries to reach out with his necromancy and see if he can sense any recent death?
Tim / GM:Yeah. Unfortunately, Tibio, you you know where the body is. You can feel his energy kind of lingering there. And, you can tell that he's, he was actually pretty close to the front door and seemed to be, like, fought back into the hallway a little bit and, succumb to it as he was defending a doorway at the end of the hall.
Speaker 7:I I bow my head, and I turn to Holly and I say, I'm I'm sorry, Holly. I'm sorry, everyone, but Henri is in fact dead. And I pull the bones out from where he was laying, and I kind of assemble his skeleton, what's left of it Mhmm. And then sink it into the ground in front of the house to, like, bury him.
Tim / GM:Yeah. And it it really is just a few bones and a cloud of ash. When you begin to bury those bones, however, the energy inside of it scrambles. It runs away from you, and it bounces around the house like a pinball. All of you see this rumbling of debris, and suddenly, you see a little wooden plank stick up out of the debris and cobble into the rough form of a humanoid, and then you see a broom upturn and become a rough semblance of a face, and you see a cobbled guardian, not unlike the ones that had once prepared you lunch, stand into place and look around.
Speaker 8:Angkui, is that you?
Tim / GM:The broom does like a an overzealous nodding motion as the hair of the broom kind of flips back and forth.
Speaker 8:I see.
Speaker 7:I am I am so sorry that you have died. I we we are going to find Maisie and make sure that she is okay.
Tim / GM:You see 2 metal buckets pull up out of the debris, and those are his feet apparently, and clatter onto the ground. And you see this housemonculus start
Thomas / Guy:to show up.
Speaker 4:Wait. No. Damn. Homunculus. Homunculus.
Tim / GM:You see it scan the sky, and it sees that other smokestack, and it looks at each of you, and then it just begins running down the alleyway.
Speaker 4:Oh, no.
Thomas / Guy:No. No. No. No. No.
Speaker 4:Henry, come back.
Tim / GM:You hear this clunk clunk clunk clunk clunk clunk clunk clunk clunk clunk clunk.
Speaker 4:What are you going to do to it? Henry, you're made of wood.
Speaker 8:I think we should follow him. I think he might know where to go.
Maggie / Poppy:Yeah. Let's, let's go.
Thomas / Guy:We gotta stop him for burning up too, though.
Maggie / Poppy:This is the weirdest funeral I've ever been to. Holly's running now.
Speaker 8:I think this is his unfinished business. And I'm running too.
Tim / GM:Carl is, like, running behind all of you going, hey, wait up.
Speaker 7:Uli is still scared of Norp.
Speaker 4:Fuck. Get away from me.
Tim / GM:Holly, your fears intensify with every street sign that you pass, and sure enough, you're at the edge of the working wheel at Holly's Cobb. What? No. There's smoke pouring out of the face of the building. You can see it's it's a total loss.
Tim / GM:Ivy is standing outside. She is exhausted with her back up against the wall, and you can see her, like, look back and just launches a ray of frost into the window and then starts breathing heavily again.
Maggie / Poppy:Holly's just gonna shout, like, across the square, Ivy. Ivy.
Tim / GM:She looks back, and you can tell she's, like, she's, like, done crying. She's been crying so much. She says, it's still burning. Come on. And she, like, shoots another ray of frost into the building.
Maggie / Poppy:Is everybody out?
Tim / GM:She, like, nods her head and, like, wipes away tears again.
Maggie / Poppy:Holly just grabs her and, like, pulls her away from the building. I'm just imagining both of their faces are just completely covered in soot and ash and blackened, and, like, their hair is gray from the ash. And she pulls Ivy away and, like, Bear hugs or grapples her away, basically, in a hug, but also, like, get yourself to safety. Like, the building doesn't matter.
Tim / GM:She's, like, one hand throwing out spells. She casts create water. She casts ray of frost again.
Maggie / Poppy:It's okay. Don't. You don't need to.
Tim / GM:And she just kind of heaves against his ghost. Come on.
Maggie / Poppy:It's just a building.
Tim / GM:It won't stop. Sorry.
Speaker 4:Lee is going to reach into her pocket and pull out a storm token Okay. And snap it
Tim / GM:Okay.
Speaker 4:And hope for a downpour.
Tim / GM:Okay. Cool.
Speaker 4:So Uli pulls it out of her pocket and just, like, thinks super hard. Like, her face is turning purple, and then she snaps it hoping to summon a storm. Fuck
Thomas / Guy:me.
Speaker 4:Can I use my inspiration? Sure. That's such a stupid thing to waste it on.
Thomas / Guy:Yeah. I'm sure there won't be anything more important later.
John / Doran:The only other thing we can do is sacrifice a goat. So it's probably
Speaker 4:I mean, I have other storm tokens. So I summon some clouds, and I'm like, does that look like rain to anyone?
Speaker 8:I I can't even see anything up there. It's just it's very smoky.
Speaker 4:And I pull out another token, and I'm like, shit. And then I snap it to summon a storm. Please, for the love of god. An 8 is sprinkles,
Tim / GM:I think.
Thomas / Guy:Well well
Maggie / Poppy:It's better than nothing.
Speaker 4:Do I waste my third one, or do you need me to use them for anything?
Maggie / Poppy:What would Uli do?
Speaker 4:I'd snap it.
Maggie / Poppy:Yep. I was gonna say Uli would definitely do it.
Speaker 4:I'm using my inspiration.
Tim / GM:Okay.
Speaker 4:Fuck this.
Thomas / Guy:So this isn't how guidance works, but can I give her guidance for this role? Sure. What is That's a d four added to your role.
John / Doran:Oof.
Speaker 4:It's just sprinkling a lot.
John / Doran:Snack picks up a stick and concentrates really hard and tries snapping it. Okay.
Speaker 4:If you give him storms for this, I'm gonna be so mad.
John / Doran:Oh, okay. I have 12. Do it snap.
Speaker 4:Can I petition it to be sprinkling more than a sprinkle? Sure. Because I sprinkled 3 times.
Tim / GM:That's true. You did. Yeah. So I think the accumulation of clouds has has become a a respectable rainstorm.
Speaker 7:Okay. It's rain and rain. Hallelujah.
Thomas / Guy:Good job, Ruby.
Speaker 4:I don't know what I expected from the fae.
Tim / GM:Holly, as, as Ivy kind of pulls away from you, you notice that she's, like, holding something with her left arm close to her chest.
Maggie / Poppy:Oh, are you okay? Are you hurt?
Tim / GM:No. I'm not hurt. Just he and, she, like, pulls back and reveals a small chicken that she is holding. And she says, is this gonna be forever too? Rosemary tried to stab her, and this is what happened.
Maggie / Poppy:Wait. That chicken is Rosemary?
Tim / GM:She looks up at you with, like, like, just devastated eyes even though it's, like, kinda funny that it's chicken. And, she just kind of nods to you noiselessly and then bursts into tears.
Maggie / Poppy:It's okay. Remember? You were a chameleon for, like, I don't know, 2 years.
Speaker 4:So
Tim / GM:She cries harder.
Maggie / Poppy:Well, we can fix it. Just keep that chicken safe.
Thomas / Guy:Go. Wait. Wait. Wait. Was it Flynn who did this?
Tim / GM:She shakes her head and kinda breathes heavy until she can get her voice back, and she says, no. It was this huge chameleon that was on the roof.
Speaker 8:What?
Tim / GM:It just I didn't even see it until it was almost over, but it just, like, looked down at us and it I I got so scared. And when I looked back, Rosemary was just
Thomas / Guy:And this happened around the same time Flynn was attacking the city.
Tim / GM:She was here. I I she looks up, like, really proud for a second at Holly, and she says, I got Flan with a ray of frost right in her face.
Maggie / Poppy:Oh, nice. Good job.
John / Doran:Are you sure it wasn't a dragon, not a chameleon you saw?
Tim / GM:No. It was I know what chameleons look like. Okay?
John / Doran:I Okay. Do you know what dragons look like too? Or
Tim / GM:Like you, but bigger and better.
John / Doran:Turn you into a chicken? What?
Speaker 8:I think I think we know that it was Jinx that did this.
Maggie / Poppy:Jinx?
Speaker 4:But how did he get his polymorphs back?
Thomas / Guy:Yeah. We locked his magic.
Speaker 8:I don't know, but it must be that is his MO.
Speaker 4:It is.
Thomas / Guy:Well, this just got a lot more complicated.
Maggie / Poppy:Is Henry's bucket body still around?
Tim / GM:Yeah. It's, looking at all of you, and it's kind of, like, got an eye on the sky again looking for another smokestack, but it doesn't see anything.
Speaker 8:Okay. I I think that, Rosemarie and Ivy should go to Marco.
Maggie / Poppy:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That seems smart.
Speaker 8:Ivy, can you make it to Marco's shop?
Tim / GM:She nods and takes a couple steps down the alleyway and kinda looks up like, is there anything
Maggie / Poppy:else? No. I'm I'm so glad you're okay.
Thomas / Guy:If you see anyone else who needs help, just, lay them to Marco.
Speaker 8:Yeah. Gather as many people as
Speaker 7:you can at Marco's shop.
Tim / GM:She says, well, I'll be there, and she, takes off down the alley.
Speaker 7:Chicken in hand. Yeah.
Tim / GM:You see some feathers left behind in a tray.
Maggie / Poppy:She jumps, and she can fly a little bit with the chicken flapping its wings.
Tim / GM:You're all discussing what to do next, and it doesn't take long before you all hear in the distance another explosion and smoke begins to billow into the air.
Speaker 4:Well, you know what they say. Fight fire with fire, not rain. It doesn't work. Should we go? I'm ready.
Tim / GM:Let's go. You draw up to the tower of knowledge. You can see the bridge that connects the tower of knowledge to the main road here has been blasted in half. Mel Malboro on the wagon kind of stands up and says, no. The the pinnacle of magic, the tower of law.
Tim / GM:She's going to destroy them all.
Thomas / Guy:That's why we've gotta stop her.
Tim / GM:That's why I have to stop her.
Speaker 4:I I feel like you should sit this one out.
Thomas / Guy:Well, I'm kinda into this.
Tim / GM:He says, oh, I'll think of something.
Speaker 6:I just need a minute. I'm not good at this springing into action, but I'll come up with a plan.
Speaker 4:Can I insight check him?
Tim / GM:Sure.
Speaker 4:That was a 5.
Thomas / Guy:Thank Yep. Thank you for helping, Melbra. I I know it's not easy, but we've got your back if you've got ours.
Tim / GM:You've gotta stop her before she gets there. She's she's going after the book of truth. I know it.
John / Doran:Only one of all those books is true?
Thomas / Guy:Well, one's extra true, Snake, and I won't let her get it.
Tim / GM:I see. At the other end of the bridge, looking through the smoke as it clears, you can see Flann. Her fingers are flicking embers, as are her eyes every time she blinks. She is unhinged. She is wearing a torn and scorched gown, some kind of prison uniform, essentially.
Tim / GM:Her hair is all over in front of her face, mostly burned down to nothing. She's missing eyebrows. She is at her wits end. She ducks inside of the tower of knowledge to keep line of sight from you guys.
Maggie / Poppy:Any sign of a giant chameleon?
John / Doran:Nope. What is our plan? Are we going to kill, plan this time?
Speaker 4:I would really like to.
Thomas / Guy:I think that's on the table.
Speaker 7:Tibeo, reaches all his arms out and his skeleton armor kind
Tim / GM:of Yeah.
Speaker 7:And then his cloak over the top of it, and he's looking very dashing.
Tim / GM:Are you gonna don the Ravenhelm?
Speaker 8:Not yet.
Tim / GM:Okay. Yeah.
Speaker 4:Wow. It's very cool.
Tim / GM:Tivia was fully decked.
Thomas / Guy:I wonder why she would go into the tower. Remember last time, she tried to burn us in there and then the anti fire alarm got her.
Speaker 8:It is buzz about that she is best that that she has damaged it somehow.
Thomas / Guy:That'd be bad, but I don't wanna fight her in there. She'll burn the whole place up.
Speaker 7:Well, we must get her out. Let's go.
Tim / GM:How are you all getting over this bridge gap?
Speaker 7:How how far is it?
Tim / GM:64 feet.
Speaker 4:You I see.
Speaker 7:I see. I see, sir.
Speaker 4:Can we enlarge a rope? Alrighty.
Speaker 7:Alrighty.
Maggie / Poppy:I have a paper dinghy. I can make a boat.
Tim / GM:Finally.
Speaker 10:That I had since the beginning of the
Speaker 7:bridge.
Speaker 4:Oh, we're on the ground level.
Tim / GM:Yeah. You're still at the ground level. Yeah. You're still at the ground level. Yeah.
Maggie / Poppy:Okay. Yeah. I, Holly pulls a little piece of paper out of her pocket that looks like a tiny origami sailboat. Mhmm. And she unfolds it, and it keeps unfolding to bigger and bigger pieces.
Maggie / Poppy:And it takes her about a minute, but she completely unfolds a giant paper boat that can hold 6 medium creatures, and, like, just sets it in the water gently. And just, like, alright, everybody. Get in. Awesome.
Speaker 7:So we all step onto the boat and then stop off the other side of the boat.
Tim / GM:Before he gets into the boat, Melborrow, like, takes a step back on the shore and he says, when I figure out what I need to do, I'll be there. You can trust me.
Speaker 4:Yeah. I trust you.
Maggie / Poppy:You've helped us out of some tight spots, so don't fuck it up this time. This could be how you save this town and redeem yourself in these people's eyes.
Tim / GM:He gives Holly a nod, and then he looks up at the tower of knowledge and gives the dinghy a little push as it begins across the water.
Maggie / Poppy:Can I have a little paper sail that, like is like a paper lantern almost? It just,
Tim / GM:like, poof, something like that. Thing still feels and looks and is paper. You can see it's, like, soaking through and that this thing would only last a few hours maybe.
John / Doran:Snack is scanning the the water looking for an auto save trigger.
Tim / GM:Yeah. Snack, give me a perception check.
Thomas / Guy:12. Okay.
Tim / GM:The water seems disturbed.
Speaker 4:I was just gonna do that.
John / Doran:I will be back companions, and Snack slips into the water. Yeah.
Thomas / Guy:Okay.
Tim / GM:Fuck. Yeah. Snack makes only a tiny splash as his tail disappears, and he just kinda slithers off the dinghy. Snack, make perception with advantage now that you're under the water.
Maggie / Poppy:Okay. Wow.
John / Doran:17.
Tim / GM:With the 17, you see 2 things. In the far distance, not far from the tower of magic, you see the peak of the tower of magic. The pinnacle of magic is destroyed and laying at the bottom of the lake. You see a tiny glowing point of light.
Thomas / Guy:Uh-huh.
Tim / GM:You kind of zoom out from that and look at the other thing down here, which is a kraken Okay. That is reaching for you.
Speaker 7:Oh, fuck. Are you fucking kidding me?
Thomas / Guy:I would've looked at the other thing first.
Tim / GM:Roll initiative, everyone. Oh.
Speaker 4:Okay. I don't
Speaker 8:have my dice.
Thomas / Guy:This isn't even a flan.
Tim / GM:This isn't even a flan.
Speaker 8:This isn't even a flan.
Speaker 4:This did not go according to Flynn.
Speaker 10:It's in the
John / Doran:episode according to Flynn.
Maggie / Poppy:Okay. I
Speaker 4:rolled a natural one.
Thomas / Guy:Me too.
Speaker 4:What is wrong with this side of the table? 11.
Tim / GM:10.
Speaker 7:I rolled a kraken.
Speaker 4:Oh, shit. She got a kraken. 20.
Tim / GM:Alright. Strap in, y'all. Tibio, restart the show.
Speaker 7:Oh, dope. Okay. Can I see the kraken yet?
Tim / GM:No. Oh, well Meato. You have no idea it's there.
Speaker 7:I am going to hold my action until I see something emerge from the water that is an enemy that isn't snack, I mean.
Tim / GM:Okay.
Speaker 7:I will be casting vicious mockery when I see the thing emerge from the water that is not snack and has held my action for.
Tim / GM:Mhmm. Okay. Next in the initiative is flan.
Thomas / Guy:Boo. Yikes. Good thing the boat we're in is nonflammable paper. Right? You you
Tim / GM:you hear a distant voice say, paper, Bad choice. Everybody makes a deck save. Oh, lord.
John / Doran:Am I exempt? Yes. Okay.
Thomas / Guy:I was like, why? Because you're not here. That's my natural twenty song.
John / Doran:That was good.
Speaker 7:That was beautiful.
Speaker 4:Not natural twenty. Same.
Tim / GM:Alright. Damn.
Maggie / Poppy:Alright. 17.
Speaker 7:That's what I rolled.
Tim / GM:How did
Thomas / Guy:what did the boat roll,
Tim / GM:Tim? Well, yeah, the boat fails.
Speaker 7:The boat is wet at the bottom. True.
Tim / GM:Alright. You're all sailing on a piece of paper. A sheet of paper. Okay. Flan peeks out from the wall that she's hiding behind in the tower of knowledge and throws a fireball directly at the paper dinghy.
Tim / GM:It ignites and pretty much disappears beneath you. You get some buoyancy out of the lowest layer of this thing that had been soaked a little bit, but it'll only keep you afloat for another second. The, total damage there was 24, quite low for a fireball, and half that for everyone that succeeded, which is everyone.
Speaker 4:Does fire resistant overalls do anything for me?
Tim / GM:Yeah. Further halves the damage. Okay.
Maggie / Poppy:I have protection from fire from Uli too, so that's another so we do quarter damage?
Tim / GM:Yep. So a 24 down to 12 down to 6.
Speaker 4:6. Okay. Thank you, fire pants.
Maggie / Poppy:Thanks so late. This kinda makes up for that one time you heard us all.
Speaker 4:Hi. This is the 3rd week in a row we brought this up.
Maggie / Poppy:I'd add this to you.
Tim / GM:Next up is Holly.
Maggie / Poppy:Okay. So we're all swimming in water right now?
Tim / GM:Pretty much. Yep.
Maggie / Poppy:It's cracking below us. A fire lady in front of us. Holly's gonna try to swim back to shore because we didn't get very
Tim / GM:far. And So it's it's really equal if you were to go forward or backward.
Maggie / Poppy:How many feet do I have to swim?
Speaker 7:32. 32 feet.
Maggie / Poppy:Yeah. Which is, like, halved, right, when you're swimming?
Tim / GM:You you could make it up onto either bridge in this turn.
Maggie / Poppy:I'm gonna go back to the other shore that's not by the tower Okay. Because Holly can't be frontline fighter
Tim / GM:Mhmm.
Maggie / Poppy:Because she will die. So Yeah. But most of most of her spells can reach across. So, so that's my movement. Sorry.
Maggie / Poppy:Can I see Flan on the other side at all anymore?
Tim / GM:You know where she is, but you can't see her.
Maggie / Poppy:Okay. I'm going to hold, Phantasmal Killer. And when I can see Flan pop out, because I don't know about the cracking yet, I'm gonna cast it on them.
Tim / GM:Alright. Yeah. You lock your eyes on the threshold of that doorway and just wait for Flan to show herself again so you can cast on her. Meanwhile, Bert, it's your go. You are in the water in between bridges.
Thomas / Guy:Alright. If I can get tower side, I will do that. Mhmm.
Tim / GM:You pull yourself onto the bridge that is nearest the tower of knowledge. And as you do, you just barely see Flann, like, retract into the main room.
Thomas / Guy:Bert gets out of the water and looks up at the statues that adorned the outside of the tower Mhmm. And calls down a guardian of faith right at the entrance. This is what you are made to do.
Tim / GM:Yeah. You summon up a guardian that looks exactly like those statues. And, Bert, when you do, the statues on the outside of the Next up is underwater snack. You're trying to make out what this thing is. It's a big fish.
Tim / GM:It's moving very quickly and sort of undulating, and you can't really tell how many tentacles this thing has. And then you quickly find out how many tentacles it has as they smash into you. 23 to hit? Yep. 28 to hit.
Thomas / Guy:Those numbers are too high, Tim.
Speaker 7:Can we, can we, turn down those numbers actually?
Tim / GM:Snack, that is 31 bludgeoning damage, and you are grappled.
Thomas / Guy:Hatcha. Hatchi.
Tim / GM:Boof. Snack. You are rapidly moving through the water. And you can see this thing has kind of turned like a belly up, and it opens this wide jagged beak and is rapidly pulling you into its mouth to eat you. That seems fine.
Tim / GM:Next up is snack.
Speaker 7:Delicious.
John / Doran:Spells that require vocal components can't be cast underwater probably. Right?
Tim / GM:I think I have I have worked around that before all out. Great.
John / Doran:Okay. I am going to how how far underwater am I?
Tim / GM:At this point, you're, like, 20 feet underwater. Okay.
John / Doran:Well, Snack will think quickly and use eldritch blast. Yeah. So I'm gonna just
Thomas / Guy:I see. I see.
John / Doran:Eldritch blast the kraken a couple times. Try to. 20 to hit.
Tim / GM:That does hit.
John / Doran:26 to hit. Also hits. I can do big numbers too. So we got, 18 damage for the first one and, 7 damage for the second. Okay.
John / Doran:Then I'm going to use, bonus action 2, Misty steps 60 feet with the brimstone cloak, and then I'm just gonna shoot straight up into the air or try to.
Tim / GM:Okay.
John / Doran:Yeah. And, if you'll allow it, I'll
Thomas / Guy:say, giant squid, look out.
Maggie / Poppy:Yeah.
Tim / GM:Snack is still probably covered in, like, slime and maybe, like, an entire sucker from the, kraken tentacle, has been ripped off along with you. But, Snack, you are falling about 30 feet through the air back into the water after ripping a hole in this kraken. That amount of damage, you can see, definitely affected this thing. You could feel its whole body convulse as it was hit. But you you fall right back into the water, and it is waiting for you.
Tim / GM:Okay. Alright. That's it. Alright. Uli, it's your turn.
Speaker 4:I'm in the water now.
Tim / GM:Yep. Also, it's raining. Let's not forget that.
Speaker 8:It is. Yeah.
Speaker 4:You're welcome. If I'd, for any reason, re frosted the water, would it cause ice to form?
Thomas / Guy:Sure. Okay. Nice.
Speaker 4:Just also the champion gloves, is that an action?
Tim / GM:Bonus action.
Speaker 4:Okay. Then I want to reofrost 60 feet in front of me, like, across the surface of the water Okay. If that works.
Tim / GM:Yeah. It's not the steadiest thing in the world and probably won't last past this turn, but it's good for now.
Speaker 4:Okay. And and, like, use my movement to, like
Tim / GM:Shimmy across that.
Speaker 4:Shimmy across like a seal.
Tim / GM:Okay.
Speaker 4:And, like, take aim at the tower Mhmm. Where I thought Flann was
Tim / GM:Okay.
Speaker 4:And shoot off my glove.
Tim / GM:Sure. Yeah. I'll have you make an attack with, with disadvantage for not knowing where she is
Speaker 4:Okay.
Tim / GM:Or not being able to see her, rather.
Speaker 4:Is this basically fireball damage?
Tim / GM:It's more of like a targeted attack. Like, you're just hitting 1 person with a bolt, like a fire bolt kinda thing.
Speaker 4:Okay. 13?
Tim / GM:Does not hit Fland.
Speaker 4:Okay.
Tim / GM:You see this little ball of fire, fling in through the threshold. And as soon as it crosses into the tower of knowledge, you just see it turn this opaque white, turns to mist, and just disperses in the room.
Speaker 4:Because of the
Tim / GM:The icy protocol has been activated. Yeah. Ice.
Speaker 4:But that is still in effect. Alright.
Tim / GM:We are back to the top of the round with Tibio. You all know about that cracking under the water now.
Speaker 7:I use my bonus action to slam down my Ravenhelm.
Tim / GM:Okay.
Speaker 7:And eventually, I'll stop doing that.
Tim / GM:Yeah. Cacaw. Your AC becomes 16, you gain 20 temporary hit points, and you gain your guardian abilities.
Speaker 7:Dope. And then I am going to get out of the water on the tower side.
Tim / GM:Okay. To you and Bert.
Speaker 7:I'm gonna use Kingly Essence on Bert.
Tim / GM:Okay. To protect him?
Speaker 7:Yeah. So I take any AOE damage that you take, and you get plus 4 AC.
Thomas / Guy:Wow. Wow. Thank you.
Maggie / Poppy:No one dies.
Tim / GM:Yeah. Tibio
Thomas / Guy:Oh, it's Tibio.
Speaker 7:Making weird ghost sounds.
Tim / GM:A a good pocket of your bones, Tibio, float over towards Bert and make him a little makeshift set of armor to defend him
Thomas / Guy:from any clean attacks.
Tim / GM:It is Flan's turn. She steps out from around the corner, and she says, get lit. And she is struck in the face Yeah. By the guardian in the threshold. Hey.
Thomas / Guy:And
Tim / GM:that's just damage. Right, Bert? She
Thomas / Guy:has a deck safe.
Tim / GM:Not Flan's strongest suit. That's a 6.
Thomas / Guy:20 rating damage. Okay. Holy
Speaker 7:Wowie. Does Holly get her action?
Tim / GM:So then, yes, Holly would also get her action. Flynn is gonna take that 20 damage. Oh, you
Thomas / Guy:should've done that, Flynn. Did you
Tim / GM:say 20 or 25? 20. Okay.
Thomas / Guy:There's 40 more possible damage.
Speaker 7:Okay? That's fucking nuts.
Tim / GM:Alright. So, Holly, go ahead with your action.
Maggie / Poppy:As soon as I see, Flynn come around the corner where I can visibly see her again, right after that, I'm gonna be like, oh, no. You don't. And I'm gonna tap into the nightmares of a creature named Flan that I can see within
Thomas / Guy:your range.
Tim / GM:It's a
Thomas / Guy:very specific spell.
Speaker 7:Can see within Flan.
Maggie / Poppy:To try to manifest their deepest fears. Target must make a wisdom saving throw.
Tim / GM:Alright. A 5 total. Like a big ice cube.
Maggie / Poppy:That fails. Okay.
Thomas / Guy:On
Maggie / Poppy:a failed save, the target becomes frightened for the duration.
Thomas / Guy:Mhmm.
Maggie / Poppy:At the end of each of the target's turns, the target must succeed on a wisdom saving throw or take 4 d 10 psychic damage.
Tim / GM:Okay. What's the DC on that wisdom?
Maggie / Poppy:15.
Thomas / Guy:Okay.
Tim / GM:Yeah. You see Flan's face kind of, like, contort as soon as she comes around that corner and sees Holly. She was kind of getting ready to throw another fireball back into the water where the boat was, but sees that you've all split up. She doesn't dare attack Holly. Instead, she kind of goes shallow and throws a fireball at Bert and, Tibeo on the near side.
Speaker 8:Okay.
Tim / GM:I need both of you to make dexterity
Thomas / Guy:Well, enjoy taking 2 of these, Tibia.
Maggie / Poppy:It's cool.
Thomas / Guy:7. I got a 13.
Tim / GM:Neither of those succeed. You both take the full force of 27 fire damage. Jesus.
Thomas / Guy:Do you have
Tim / GM:So a Tibio, that is 54 fire damage to you.
Speaker 7:Mhmm.
Thomas / Guy:Don't forget that 20 extra.
Speaker 7:Yep. So it's 34.
Thomas / Guy:Bert flinches when he sees the fireball coming toward them and then opens his eyes and see that he's completely fine and tibia's
Speaker 4:Tibio's on one knee.
Speaker 7:He's on one knee, and he's got his other arm on his other knee, and he's just, like, breathing heavily, like
Tim / GM:Yeah. You can see his bones have been blackened in some places as the flames roll across him, but Tibeo is a okay as
Thomas / Guy:a shepherd.
Speaker 7:And he's got Tibeo is, like, f okay.
Thomas / Guy:I'm not gonna say a okay. Other arms on his other knees. C minus okay.
Tim / GM:Yeah. So that is the end of Flan's turn, so she's going to make a wisdom save. That is a would be a 6.
Maggie / Poppy:Yep. She fails that.
Tim / GM:Real bad.
Maggie / Poppy:Okay. That is gonna be 4 4 d 10 psychic damage.
Thomas / Guy:K. That's pretty good.
Speaker 8:12.
Tim / GM:Okay. What?
Maggie / Poppy:Right?
Tim / GM:No.
Maggie / Poppy:That's a 9. Sorry.
Thomas / Guy:25.
Maggie / Poppy:Sorry. 25?
Speaker 7:That's a lot better than 12.
Maggie / Poppy:I read the numbers wrong.
Tim / GM:You see Flynn's eyes go go wild as she looks up at the guardian, and then something else is deeply disturbing her. And she's staring at the ground, and then she looks behind her as if someone's coming. And then she just turns around, and she says, they'll never take me. I'm not going to jail. And, she runs further into the room, and you all hear this whoosh as she steps onto a bridge.
Speaker 8:Up, up, and away.
Tim / GM:Holly, it's your turn.
Maggie / Poppy:Okay. Can I see the kraken in the water?
Tim / GM:Yes. Great. You can make out where it
Maggie / Poppy:is. Great. Great. Great. Great.
Maggie / Poppy:I am going to reduce it. No. Just kidding. I'm just gonna magic missile the kraken.
Tim / GM:K.
Maggie / Poppy:We'll cast that at a 3rd to get 5 darts total. K. Okay. Four damage plus 2 more. Plus 2 more.
Tim / GM:Is anybody tracking this?
Maggie / Poppy:Plus 2.
John / Doran:I wasn't.
Maggie / Poppy:Listeners, only you know the damage. Let me reroll. Sorry. It's 5. Okay.
Maggie / Poppy:So I need to roll 5 a's puppies.
Thomas / Guy:Nice. Can roll fours on those.
Maggie / Poppy:Twelve total damage.
John / Doran:It's plus 1 for each. Right?
Maggie / Poppy:Oh, is it plus 1 for each?
Thomas / Guy:Yeah.
Maggie / Poppy:So 17.
Tim / GM:So you all see these magic darts, spring from Holly and pelt into the kraken just underground. Every time they impact, you see a little flash of light that reveals the size and shape of this thing, and it is disturbing to say the least. Next up is Bert.
Thomas / Guy:Bert's gonna go after, plan. Run into the tower?
Tim / GM:Yeah. There is there are 2 bridges in the tower of knowledge that can lift you up. Hers is already about 60 feet in the air.
Thomas / Guy:Ayli, are you still in the water?
Speaker 4:I'm technically on ice. Or I'm did I reach the end?
Thomas / Guy:You made it
Tim / GM:to the end of the bridge. Yeah.
Speaker 4:I'm not.
Thomas / Guy:No. Bert's not gonna wait for anybody. He's gonna take the bridge and go off.
Tim / GM:Okay.
Speaker 7:I'm gonna die.
Tim / GM:Alright. Yeah. So, Bert, you get on the other bridge, and as soon as you step on, it starts racing upwards. That smell of books and a cool breeze washes over you as if nothing was wrong and you're just back home in the middle of your studies. There's nothing to do now but wait for the bridge to catch up to Flann.
Thomas / Guy:Okay. So I probably can't reach Flam with anything?
Tim / GM:Correct. She's about 60 feet above you and you can't
Thomas / Guy:see her. What's the range on Fireball? Pretty big. Right?
Tim / GM:It's like a 100 feet at least.
Thomas / Guy:Okay. I'll use my action to dodge.
Tim / GM:K. Make a perception check, Bert.
Thomas / Guy:17.
Tim / GM:Okay. You can hear Flan chanting a spell that is much bigger than fireball.
Speaker 7:I'm gonna die.
Tim / GM:It is so much bigger than fireball that you don't know that you've ever seen or heard of anyone attempting this spell in your lifetime. I will give you your your action with that new information.
Thomas / Guy:Then Bert will reach in his pocket for the sphere of silence and hold his action.
Tim / GM:Sounds good. Next up is a kraken. Oh. I believe Snack is in the water, and Holly has attacked it. Holly gets a tentacle.
Tim / GM:You see a tentacle reach up out of the water and dart towards Holly. This thing is large enough to reach both sides of the bridges, if needed. Holly, that is a 20 to attack, to hit.
Maggie / Poppy:That hits.
Thomas / Guy:Yeah. Just Yeah. Just just sneaks in there.
Tim / GM:I was on the edge of my seat there. Snack, you are being attacked again as well. 12.
Thomas / Guy:What? That hits. Interesting.
Tim / GM:This creature cannot miss you, Snack.
John / Doran:Not even on a natural one?
Tim / GM:Natural one. Okay. That's the only way.
John / Doran:Oof.
Tim / GM:Holly, that is 15 bludgeoning damage. Holly, you are grappled.
Maggie / Poppy:15.
Tim / GM:Snack that is also, oh, actually, no. Yours is more. 22 bludgeoning damage, and you are grappled.
John / Doran:I want to spend my reaction Okay. Once I do this math. So you said 22?
Tim / GM:Yep. Once I do this math, I am dead.
John / Doran:I'm going to use hellish, rebuke
Tim / GM:Okay.
John / Doran:On this mean creature.
Speaker 4:Yes. Rebouquet?
John / Doran:So it makes a, deck save.
Tim / GM:I'm gonna go with cocked in your favor. You
John / Doran:can't just make that. Alright.
Tim / GM:In your favor. You're 19. Okay. Cocked out of 6. So Good well.
John / Doran:Thank you. So that's a miss. 32. Fire damage.
Tim / GM:Okay. You see an explosion play off on it, kind of right where its mouth was, knowing that it's trying to, like, pull you in for a bite again. And you see a piece of its beak, just kind of burst off and go sailing away in the water. You see some blood leak into the water as it, like, shakes its face back and forth and pulls away from where it was just a second ago. Yeah.
Tim / GM:Beyond bloodied. Next up is snack.
John / Doran:Wonderful. I'll do, hex as a bonus action. K. And then eledroblast. That's a 13 to hit.
John / Doran:No. K. Natural 20.
Tim / GM:Alright. It's like create all
Thomas / Guy:the reds.
Tim / GM:Yeah. Okay.
John / Doran:Just for the heck of it,
Tim / GM:I
Thomas / Guy:was worried about leaving you guys with a crack at all.
John / Doran:Okay. So, 25. You seem disappointed, Tim.
Speaker 7:Plus 10 because it's snack.
John / Doran:25. Let me just double check. I mean, it feels weird. You're the DM. 25.
John / Doran:Oh, no. This dice is double too because it it's critical.
Tim / GM:Oh, yeah.
John / Doran:So 27? Alright. Yes. Alright. Yeah.
John / Doran:Yeah. Yeah.
Tim / GM:You need less than that. Alright. With this elders blast, the second one goes again right for the beak, and this one just disappears into its mouth, and then you see it continue to sail onward through the lake. You see the kraken kind of rise to the surface, and suddenly all of its tentacles just pull into its body, and it turns into a black blob. And you just see it roiling back and forth.
Tim / GM:And then you see a tail burst out of it, and then you see 2 arms burst out of it. And something is swimming towards the tower, and it begins climbing the wall. A chameleon shape shifts to a dull, stony
Thomas / Guy:gray my gosh.
Speaker 8:As it Fucking drinks.
Tim / GM:Crawls around the threshold of the doorway and tries to get into the tower of knowledge.
Speaker 8:Fucking Jinx.
Speaker 4:Is the guardian still there?
Speaker 8:Goddamn it.
Tim / GM:Guardian's still there. It hasn't gone in yet.
Maggie / Poppy:Did it just drop me on the shore because of the
Tim / GM:Yes. Holly, you're free from the grapple. Okay. It is your turn, Uli.
Speaker 8:Okay.
Tim / GM:You see, the kraken kind of explode, the tentacles disappear, and then you see you hear this huge splash and see a chameleon go from a a kind of, like, pewter grayish blue to a stony gray as it begins climbing the tower.
Speaker 8:It's Jinx.
Speaker 4:How high up is where, Flynn is going?
Tim / GM:The top of the tower where the book of truth resides is 300 feet from the ground.
Speaker 4:Okay. I rush past Tevye, and I say I'm going up. Good luck. And then I would like to
Tim / GM:I have a sense about where this is going. Yes. Bert, you are being directly fed lines of truth. Great. You know that the chapel of truth is heavily protected.
Tim / GM:It is heavily warded. You know that it cannot be teleported into and that there are repercussions for trying to do so. You suddenly feel like Uli is going to try that.
Thomas / Guy:Okay. If I could pull out my book too and write a message. Dear Uli, don't try to reach the very top. You won't make it.
Tim / GM:Are you talking about her career?
Speaker 4:You're not wrong.
Thomas / Guy:Give it up.
Maggie / Poppy:Most ska bands don't even get any deals. Don't
Tim / GM:give it up.
Speaker 4:Don't make
Tim / GM:sense. Bullies bullies. Lily would have a scare.
Maggie / Poppy:Okay.
Thomas / Guy:Just try for somewhere near the top. They're umbrellas. Right?
Tim / GM:Yeah. There's, like, floors that go all the way up near it.
Speaker 4:Okay. So the floor that isn't at the top Yeah. But, like, above Flynn.
Tim / GM:Okay. Yeah. You go to the 30th floor, which is the last, like, floor of this place.
Speaker 4:And how high up is Flynn?
Tim / GM:She's only I think we last we checked him, she was 60 feet up. So she's a ways down from you yet.
Speaker 4:Okay. Because I wanna be up there and, like, prepared.
Tim / GM:Okay.
Speaker 7:You're just saving your stuff for later.
Tim / GM:Yeah. That concludes this round. The chameleon is poised to enter the tower. Inside here, it's Bert and Flan riding the bridges, and Uli lies in a wait. Bert, you are fed another line from the book of truth just a few floors above you.
Tim / GM:It identifies the spell that Flann is casting. Oh. She's not trying to cast fire inside the tower of knowledge. She's casting fire on the tower of knowledge. You hear the word for word incantation of meteor swarm.
Tim / GM:Seems like a bad one.
Thomas / Guy:Do I know what level spell that is?
John / Doran:It's the one that killed the dinosaurs.
Tim / GM:That is it is a 9th level spell that deals 20 d 6 fire and 20 d 6 bludgeoning. It takes down buildings.
Speaker 4:And people in buildings.
Tim / GM:And we'll actually end this one right there. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Tim, your DM and your genie.
Maggie / Poppy:I'm Hannah playing Holly Hyacinth.
Thomas / Guy:I'm Thomas. I play Engelbert FF Wisherspoon.
Speaker 7:I'm Tara, and I play Tibio Femur.
John / Doran:I'm John. I play Snack the kobold.
Speaker 4:And I'm Maggie playing
Speaker 8:Uli.
