S1E23 - S01E023: Wanted "Undead" or Alive

Well, we'll be almost done. We'll do shopping probably. And then we're gonna do shopping. Shopping.

We couldn't possibly sound more New York. Like, I don't say we roll into the city and we totally like, oh.

My God, this is like a West side story.

Oh, we're gonna dance. Fight.

Shit.

Maria.

I was thinking that, like, oh, this is gonna be some sort of west side. That they're gonna think of instead of like.

Wait, so did I put the ring in the thing?

Ye.

Hey, hey. Dm. I put the ring in the thing.

I put the ring in the thing.

The ring in the thing. Waste of time here. Come on. Chop chop. Gather your sword and board and get ready for adventure. Because it's time for pain. Camp Pain. Let's roll. In the Sunfire Kingdom of Valdoria, our adventures attend a relatively mundane school named Pyreglow Preparatory Academy. The land has once again become plagued by creatures, abominations and other nefarious forces in the wake of the Great Vanishing which occurred almost a year ago. And all the heroes were rushed off on an assignment and never returned. Wake up. Ever since, a new generation of heroes. Ever since a new generation of heroes has been vying to rise to the call and save the land. The only problem is, they need training. That's where we come in. We welcome you back to our unmitigated disaster of a D and D campaign with friends. We ask the question of what happens when we combine a coming of age summer camp with D and D. The dice of fate. Well, we're going to find that out here. Let's get started. From the murky bottom of Time Before Time, following a rare mushroom instead of stone, we have Mike playing Gold or Firebeard, the Honesty Goodness Sworden Druid who's old enough for a beard and knows how to use a shillelagh.

Hey, everybody.

Hey, buddy. When this water force lays its hands upon thee, you better hope for some divine intervention. Because wood and metal still has pain in motion. Especially when a little seagull is walking. What animal you want to go with tonight?

We'll go with the seagull, Ka Kaw.

Especially when a seagull is flying by. Mike Levine is TR33, the war forge Palad. Oh, my friends. What's up? We're out of practice, so we don't do this more than once every two months. When tracking is needed to cross a path that seems lost, or an arrow needs to find its target that seems too far away, we look no further than Bridget playing bellith our Tiefling ranger who hates plans, loves adventure and would rather pull out her bow than engage in pointless conversation.

I already rolled two. Not ones today. It's not going to be a good time.

Can I get a three? A third? I'm Michael Hidoff. Key rated rock, as always. I'm playing seven the Bard, but it's not about me. I'm going to pass it on to our friend who puts the danger in dm. Our master of ceremonies. Liam, take us away to Shimmer Lake City, where the grass is green and the sky is pretty. I don't know. Here we go.

Thank you for that most loquacious introduction.

That was a big word.

Thank you. I don't know, Staff.

Sure. So, for some potential heroic inspiration, what do you all remember from last session? And then I will finish filling in anything we've misunderstood or any gaps in our knowledge. You can kind of rewind it to like the end of the last session. Not necessarily the entire thing. That helps.

We all had weird dreams because some pixie lady made us fall asleep in the middle of the forest. And one of them was a lie. And then I think. And then we fought. I don't remember what we fought, but we fought something.

Yeah, he fought like this weeping treant.

Oh, yeah.

Was protecting the little baby tree.

Yeah. And we had to like get something to it and. Because we helped that guy. The. Yes, the wolf guy. Right, the line.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So his name was Barsu. He's a Leonin, meaning like a lion, like humanoid, if you will. And he makes some promises to you all as well, if you let him go.

Oh, he was gonna get us to like become part of the Thieves Guild or give us an entryway into that. Right. Something like that.

I just. I wrote down his name and I put networking.

You know what, that looks pretty good, I think.

But yeah, his full intention was to go to Shimmer Lake City and join up with the equivalent of the Thieves Guild there and offer to offered an on the house free service the first time you used the Thieves Guild in the city as well as leaving you some goodies for yourself. So, speaking of which, for the listeners at home, we are doing our first session where we are all converted to the 2024 rules to try that out. And overall it gave all the characters a nice little buff in power.

Nice.

So do you want me to add 150 gold for each of us to my stock so that we know that we have it?

You can add it. No, no. Each. Each person could add 150 gold. To themselves. You can add 20 gold to yours so that you're 150. So everyone should be adding for themselves until they reach 150 gold.

Okay, gotcha. Nevermind. Yeah. Oh. Lifestyle expenses. Modest. Cool.

Well, guess what? You need some lodgings in the city. So that's gonna be some gold.

Just like Kvoth. I shall sleep on the rooftop. I feel like it rains a lot in the city.

So I will say since Bell, unless there's some more to add there. Anyone? Session recap. I'll give us the most important part. Okay.

We met with people at the end. We met with everybody and they were like, is there. Have you seen demon stuff? And we said no.

Okay.

Oh wait. It was Orcus. Orcus. It was the Knights of Orcus.

Yeah. Yeah. And then we're going to the city for the cult situation.

Okay. Go to the city to find that cult.

That's awesome. I love it.

Out of the. Out of the four of you, I'll say Bridget has earned heroic inspiration.

Oh, definitely.

You get regular inspiration. And I don't think anyone. For the listeners at home, what's the difference? We are doing our heroic inspiration allows you to reroll any dice, damage, whatever. Whereas regular inspiration just gives you advantage.

Either a wax on or wax off. I don't see an option. Did you.

Did you give me any part of the recap? I do say every time. For some. For some inspiration. Would anyone like to.

Rest?

Yes. For speed. You may all take a long rest. If you have not. I think I may have done this for one of you because I noticed you. One of you were like at like 30 out of like 60 hp. I was like, that's not right. So yes, last session we leveled long rested. And I am gonna retcon one thing where we're gonna leave. Say the last session left off towards dusk when you were in the office talking with the director Fizzlewick. And then you also had a visit from the liaison to camp to the camp, Hector Applewater, who sent you and a coup camper groups off to investigate potential demonic activity by the cult of Orcus. You are being sent to Shimmer Lake City for that purpose. And that there are reports of the undead about.

I say we take on all the undead.

All of them.

All right, so here is where we are going to pick it up.

Then.

We'Ll bring ourselves back into Fizzlewick's office. Hector Applewater, if you might recall, used a scroll to teleport out of there on a. You know, on a very busy schedule. That. That man. And so Thistlewick, the director goes, oh, by the way, Hector left these for you. And he hands. Or she hands over a sending stone. She goes, hector has the other one. Anytime you need to message him, you can, once per day, but be careful. The message has to be 25 words or less, and it resets every dawn. For ease. I've already added this to Belas inventory. The sending stones. And Hector Applewater has the other one. He left a note scribbled along with it. Should you have any questions or you come across any significant information, please contact me asap. All right, would anyone like to do anything before you go to the last departure of the day towards Shimmer Lake City, and you'll arrive there by morning.

What time is.

Is close to dusk or really dusk. So basically, you're gonna get on the night. The night ship that is on its way to Shimmer Lake City very shortly.

Yeah, there's not really much time to do anything because we're gonna get on the ship shortly.

Yeah, there's time to talk, to visit quickly, and then. Yeah, then you can get on the ship. You guys can totally skip. No worries. Just wanted to give you the chance in case you want to.

Do we need to touch base with Shelby before we go, or. We're good here.

Shelby's in the room. She's like, well, I'll be coming with you, of course. Now, I won't be too involved, but I'll help where I can, especially where it involves the Church, because, you know, as a cleric, I have some context there, so of course I'll help. And, of course, whatever accommodations we have has to be nice. I'm not going there to spend the week in squalor. So whatever building, whatever inn or tavern we choose, let's all stay at the same one.

So you're gonna pay for it? If it's expensive, then, Shelby, no, of course not.

This is your learning experience. You have to manage your expenses.

Why do you have to come?

Do we want to maybe go to the library real fast, see the Friendliest drag, and see if there's any books on Cultivarcus to take out before we. Is the library open?

So you would. You would recall that the library didn't have much because Fizzlewick in front of you has kind of taken out all the books.

Oh, that's right.

But she is currently kind of hoarding them to herself. She definitely won't let you. She kind of eyes you as you're looking at her books, like, she goes, you're not taking them. I should have asked beforehand. But your character would remember that when you went into the library for your scavenger hunt, you did have a little. A little piece about Orcus in your. In the letter that you read. If you'd like, I can bring up that letter real quick, if you don't mind.

I mean, it was just two days ago. But the worst memory, it was like last December.

Last year.

And it was like, in our game, it was like, Tuesday.

I will bring up the relevant excerpt here. Basically, it was mentioned that in the past, there was an era where different demon lords, including Orcus, had threatened the land. And Orcus was using his wand, notably named or obviously named, the Wand of Orcus. And the heroes of the time were able to shatter it into several pieces, and the exact locations of it were lost to time.

Cool.

We have broken shard. Lost in time.

So the Horcrux. What to find those.

The Horcrux.

Sorry.

I won't ever do that again. I'm sorry. And then the last piece, I have a lot of requests that didn't tell you that. The last part was. There was a letter that. A long, long time ago, last Tuesday, we were asked to deliver.

It was. It was a little over a week ago at this point. Yeah, a little over a week ago.

We have to deliver that letter to somebody, right?

Letter to someone.

So if you might recall, you were all attacked by some harpies on the ship and saved some civilians. And one of the civilians, by a man named Tolan, gave you a letter to his cousin while in Shimmer Lake City. And so you gladly accepted the charge of delivering the letter with the promise that upon delivery, his cousin Lila would award you for services rendered both for the harpy saving and delivery.

Might as well.

Might might be a good place to. To check out when you get there.

Do we hear three magical objects? All right, Orlop, how we doing down there? I stay down there because on the bottom of my screen is a Sorry, let's go back to Gold or Fire here in first his name.

I'm Quaza afk. I'll be back in like a minute or two. But no, dude, I am AOK with what we're doing so far. I am a okay.

With what we're doing so far.

I am a okay with what we're doing so far. I am a okay with what we're doing so far. That we're doing so far. I am a okay with what we're doing so far. I am a okay with what we're doing so far. I am okay with what we're doing so far, I am a okay.

That makes sense.

I am a okay with what we're doing so far. I am a okay with what we're doing so far. I am a okay with what we're doing so far. I am a okay.

And so in conversion from the 5e rules to the 2020-14 tree, you've. You've gained some proficiency with cooking. Yes. Yes. You've been practicing really hard this week, even though you've like almost poisoned everyone with a. With a. Bad rabbits too, you know. Close enough. Close enough. Good enough.

For government work, you gotta fail to make, you know, to make it, you.

Know, you gotta crack a few rabbits to make a stew. You know, that's what they say.

You hear that, Shelby?

There's no more eggs. There's no more eggs. Even in the glorious island of Gnarl Tooth island, no more eggs. Prices are too high. All right, all right. So you are all boarding the ship. And again, you see, Shimmer Lake is aptly named as its bioluminescent algae coat the surface in almost like a neon blue as the water goes back and forth across the ship. All right, you can basically all take a long rest and we'll be arriving at the city in the morning. Did anyone have any pre bedtime things they need to take care of?

Yeah, while I'm on the ship, I want to find like a, like a place away from everyone else.

Can tree just stay outside Bella's room to be safe.

So in fact, as you're boarding, you're gonna hear kind of like the. The dockmaster say, please pay when you get to Shimmer Lake City, you'll. You'll pay the attendant when you get there. If you, if you are claiming a private room for the night, then you'll, you'll pay accordingly. When you go, if you want to go into the comments down below with the rest of the cargo, you'll pay a little less. So who here is taking a private room? And who here is just going to the bilge and the nastiness with the cargo?

I'll be in the hallway.

Yes. Yes, you will.

Tree, you are big enough on this ship where you are actively blocking people going in and out of that hallway. Just FYI, that's right. Okay. All right, Bellas, can I, Can I assume you're taking a private room?

Yeah, you assume right.

Okay. Seven. Come on, Goldorice.

Come on, Goldor. Let's do this, buddy.

I'm just going below deck so I don't need To. Yeah, I don't need. I don't need. I don't need to pay extra for privacy. I think my. I think my sour demeanor will keep people away from me and give me the privacy I need.

It's only a gold more. The Dockmaster shows.

I want to wander around.

Only a gold more.

All right, Liam, we are expecting we may run across him undead. Is that correct?

That is what you have been told. All right.

I may swap out one of my spells for something.

Yeah, you can go ahead on your long rest here and your level up technically, since we're completely fine since we're.

Long rest here anyway.

Yeah. Yes, 100%. You can do that while Bellith is doing what she wants to do. So what do you want to do, Bellith?

I want to send a message or use the sending stone to Applesauce or whatever.

To the wrong guy. You got the wrong number.

You should toilet Applebee's.

I'm just going to call them apple something every day.

Every time. It changes every time. Like apple pie, apple crumble. Apple.

Applecrest.

Applecrest. Did this thing come with any directions?

Yes.

Did this thing.

Are you asking is Belth or is Bridget.

No. As Bellith. Does she know how it works?

Yeah. So being told what the magic item was and spending a little bit of time with it, you kind of intuitively know how it works. You've also probably seen this in your father's line of work, where only the best to make sure have instant communication across his empire and to the point where he might give the same person several sending stones through to the limitation. Okay, so yes, you're familiar.

This thing come with any directions? You sound like you are absolutely going to the city where you should be. That's amazing.

I'm walking here.

Hey. Hey. Dystonia. Yow. Yow.

Fella's gonna develop a New York accent.

In like 20 seconds. It's amazing. I wanna stand aside with a tree and see what trouble we can get into.

Okay. So I'm gonna. I'm gonna send a. Send a. Sending a message, whatever.

Yep. Okay.

How do you type in this thing?

Okay. Okay, hold on. I need to focus because it's 25 words. Okay. Okay. Hey, applesauce, it's Bellith. How are you? I'm good. We saw, don't forget, in the woods. Demon related smells like sulfur and demon carvings.

You got one more word?

10.

404. He responds. After a few seconds he says, let's be forthright about what we know. Bring the party. I'll explain about the heroes too. Meet me at Sunfire hall tomorrow night at 10.

Wow, he's really good at this.

Sean.

What?

Sean, Sunfire hall. Tomorrow. Tomorrow night at 10.

P. Oh, the Irish at night.

Never mind.

This is very secretive.

I agree. Tree. I'm standing right next to you, by the way.

So. That'll be up to Belt. If she wants to tell the party to actually. And actually bring them to this meeting. But that's what he. He did request. So as of right now, this information is only. Only available to Bellas. All right. Okay.

Do we. Do we know she sent out the message or no.

Nope. Okay.

Even though she knows all the information. No, she like contact.

Yeah, not unless you were actively eavesdropping on Bella, which I don't think you were. Okay.

So, Chef, what do you want to do?

Well, my friend, I will stay in this hallway to protect you and all of my companion.

Yeah, which companions are you choosing to protect? Because I'm not with them. That's so rude.

Well, I think Bella is watching Harold. And I'm with you. And you know, should we. Should we scope this place out? I'm. You know.

Yeah, Yeah. I mean, but you know, I gotta go to my post, my security duty. You know, I. I gotta get in the hallway and protect all my friends because, you know, I don't want anything to happen while you guys are sleeping.

That's true. That's true. What if we. What if. What if we all split up a little bit? Then where do you go?

I'm going to bed. I'm in bed. I'm already asleep.

I just want to shout to Bellith. He hasn't put on his shoes yet.

I'm gonna lace up my high tops. I'll take a walk with you, Seven. And then I'm coming right back to this post.

I want to ask Tree about his dream.

My dream.

Yeah, I don't think he. So before you do that, dude. So just for reminding me who actually shared their dream after that event in the forest. I don't think anyone did.

Well, Tree, after it happened, he started saying random words and then height. You said what you did, but I didn't say what mine was. And I don't think.

Yeah, Tree was having a fever dream.

Okay, so right now, Seven and Tree are talking about their dream. I can bring up the dreams if that helps.

Yeah, it's like the Matrix.

Because trying to remember my dream, other than me not remember me seeing my little piggy.

Right?

Or something like that.

You did. You did see Shelby. You need to get more Information about your past, not necessarily about Shelby. It would be a good idea if I could find where I put the Dreamzo. That would help. It's not there. Not there.

I have weird words written down about tree.

Oh, I found it.

Okay, you didn't see anything.

So, tree. Okay, what do you think you remember? Yeah, you, Tree, you didn't see. You didn't actually see anything. You only heard.

I. I honestly don't remember.

All right, that's okay. So, tree, what I'm going to do as a. As a one time courtesy. So I did say in the past, try to take better notes.

Oh, wait, I think I have my notes.

Hold on. Oh, my gosh. Oh my gosh. Do we have a miracle? Miracle on Tree Street.

Oh, my God. Too many opportunities for music, for song titles.

I wrote down I feel older and in great pain. Senses are working fine. Useful asset in four. Something like that.

That's a. That's a decent summary.

Those are my highlights.

I will as this courtesy send you the. And I can do this for each of you. If it helps, I will send you the. The transcript, as it were. Okay, let me just make sure I didn't actually leave in any myo notes. So I will do that really quick for everyone. We got a coffee. It's possible I may have ad libbed some things slightly differently, but you should get the gist. Okay, so everyone has their dreams.

Okay.

All right. So, tree, you can decide to share with seven what you will.

Okay, so get this Seven, I had a.

I want you to read it word for word.

So I say so I said so I says so I says tree. I says so I says so he.

Says, please start like you think you're better than me? You think you're a water forged.

How does. How does this message rock work with the directions? We're like. We're like the most city folk.

We're all gonna develop New York accents.

Amazing. Like we didn't have one for the entire time and now all of a sudden we pop off the boat, we're like the whole. What you looking at?

Yeah, the whole episode is gonna be New York accents.

That's right, Chef. Heard.

Heard.

Heard, Chef.

Oh my God. Whenever you guys hear me, can you say heard? I would love that.

Heard.

Dad make her. Dad make me feel so good. That's my dream. Felt.

Felt, Chef.

So anyway, tree.

So anyway, let me tell you about this little dream that I had.

So he says. I says.

So I says to him.

I says, so he says, tree says.

I don't know, man. I just felt older in this. In this. In my dream. And I. I was like, in like, a lot of pain. Like a lot of pain, you know?

How old do you think you were?

Somebody pulled my.

I don't know.

It's like if somebody pulled my leaf off and just watched and just made me watch it get, like, ripped up into shreds. Like a lot of great pain.

But you give those away on a pretty regular basis.

But this was a special leaf.

Oh, like a little higher up. Like a little newer. Like more green.

Yeah, yeah. Tree treat. I want to note that there is a quote in there that said your breath is ragged right now. You don't have breath as a warforged.

So he says. It dawned upon me.

Breath.

So.

Yeah, so. And then I was, you know, breathing, which was weird because I don't have.

Breathing, which is weird. Yeah. That's the greatest retelling of all time.

I'm like a warforged. And, you know, we warforged. We don't have breath. You know what I mean?

This is the based on a true story version.

This is like a completely different campaign now. So I says. I said, look at this egg coming out my mouth. It's like treaty stomata.

But look, let me tell you.

And then I had somebody give me some orders, right? And I intended to follow them, but.

I did it, you know, and. Yeah, it's not likely. I. I think you retold that dream very much in character. Hold on.

I'm just trying to. Trying to recap here.

Can you just hold up like, one hand and, like, two fingers while you tell that to me? All of a sudden, we get. We lose.

Can you leave me alone for a second?

We lose our PG rating. The leaf.

Yeah. So. It's just weird, man. This weird stuff happened.

So in your dream, it felt. Your dream felt like a nightmare. Kind of like mine, it seems like.

Yeah.

And the key points to my dream is breath, pain.

And. What's the very last phrase there? What do they need to forge your soul anew? The last. I'll just read the last line. It says, prepare the Aether ore.

Prepare the Aether ore.

Wait, wait. Was there a reference to the. To a wand in. In your dream anyway, shape or form that you remember?

No.

Okay. I just can't keep. I can't get out of this thought that somehow these dreams are connected. It somehow.

Perhaps I'm mistaken, my friend.

Oh, your ax went away again. So, yeah, I mean, do you remember anything else? Your dream, Was there any cult of Orcus or anything wacky going on there?

No. No.

Cult of Orcus. Did hear somebody, like, talking about mean.

You know, I know. I can't. I can't help but wonder if all of this is. If some of this is real, some of this is fake, but I just. You know, something tied to Val. I want to keep searching. You know, I didn't.

I did hear a Sylvanus. The name Sylvanus.

You hear anything with that in your dream or mine? In mine, I didn't.

Yeah.

You know, but at some point, you know, when Goldor and Beleth get up, maybe we could ask them about if they had dreams.

Yeah, it was weird, these dreams, you know, I kind of like. Well, like you said, more like a nightmare. So I kind of woke up, you know, and I felt like I had breath, but I didn't because I'm warforged.

And I just can't help but wonder if there was some sort of connection to these. This wand and stuff. But I guess we're not gonna know until the morning. But on that note, my good friend Chef, I think I'm gonna retire to the. To the cheaper sanctum.

You retire, my friend, because I will send God over you.

You know what? Bada bing, bada boom. Thank you, Chef. Heard. All right.

Heard.

I think I will 86 any of the foes that come knocking on your door.

Wow.

Thanks, man.

Yeah, no problem.

All right, well, and let Bellith know.

I'm also watching over her door too, you know?

Yeah, I mean, I'm gonna. We'll let her know that in the morning. Maybe you shouldn't. I mean, you can tell her now, I guess, if you want to, but I'm assuming she's probably asleep. All right. I'm gonna head out.

All right, So y' all head to bed. Anything else before we. We wake up in the morning?

I'm gonna practice my accents.

So everybody's sleeping now, right?

Yeah. Everyone, if you have not already, make sure you've long rested.

Yeah. Long rest. Click that bad boy.

Amazing. So you all awake? Minus tree, because he's always awake to the sound of a bell ringing, and you hear a voice. Time to get up. We're about to arrive to Shimmer Lake. Time to get up. So during your morning, you're getting your stuff ready. About to go on the. You know, on the top deck, does anyone quickly share what they discussed last night with each other or fill each other in on anything?

We're just moving forward, I guess. Can we mention to you. Yeah, I guess we're just going to ask her ask you guys about if you had any crazy dreams. Like we had Bellathan and Coldor.

Hey, Bellith.

Goldor.

Just so you guys know, me and Seven were talking last night and we both had these crazy dreams, you know, separately. They were kind of. We felt. Me and Seven kind of felt like they were connected, but I'm not really sure you know.

You know what I'm talking about?

Yeah, it was nuts. We had these intense dreams the other night.

Well, we all know what happened, right? Like we were all in the woods together. We all know that something.

Yeah, no, I guess we kind of went from there and everything was kind of hectic after that. We never even touched base. If you not to go snooping, but wonder if there was any coincidence that we all seem to have these intense dreams. If you or Goldor had anything. Maybe they all tied together in some weird way.

What were yours?

Well, yeah, exactly. Exactly. You always all have the option to be like I do the thing, you don't. Yeah, that's always a valid option.

But you didn't say yours.

Me. I think I was. I think I shared brief with it. Val student. He was getting tortured by what appeared to be like. Like a. Like a zombie or an undead of some sorts. Like a bloated skeleton, sunken chest, glowing eyes, gaping mouth.

Some might call it a demon.

A demon. And it had like a elongated claw. And it started to cut Val really from shoulder to hip, as terrible as it sounds. And it was looking for the second piece of the wand, which somehow I guess relates to the cult of Orcus. Orcus's wand. Somehow Val has that knowledge and he wasn't giving. Giving in. So I know I could get a little crazy at times searching for Val. But something seems kind of odd that we would all have these. Have intense dreams. I was curious if you guys had anything that related to that.

What about you, Goldor?

Well, you.

I saw my gun as they got crushed in a cave in after finding a glowing blue ore. But that's really all I saw. I mean, my dreams always come to me from Sylvanas himself.

So I suppose you know Sylvanas too.

Oh, sure.

We're on a first name basis. He's the one. He's the one that saved me when my client was killed.

Interesting.

So I'm sure. I'm sure he's the one that sent me. That sent me the vision.

Wait a second. I heard Sylvanus in my dream.

They are.

They're definitely connected. They are connected.

Bella says there anything going on with your dreams? Or did you have one?

Well, you guys know my grandma's dead and talks to me, right?

Like in a visual. Like. Like in a nice, like, you know, way to look back. Like she looks after you kind of way. Like in your mind or.

Well, I don't know. Sometimes she sits at the end of my bed and just says the same thing over and over. But that's not the point.

Is she there now?

She just comes, like when I dream sometimes. But, like, it's like more than a dream.

It's real.

Wow.

Does she respond to you or does she only tell you. Is it kind of a one way conversation?

It's a one way street. She's not very conver. What is conversing?

Conversational.

Yep. That's what it is. Thank you.

She sees dead people. I see dead people.

Does your. Wait, so back to your grandma. Did that touch upon something with her that. Did you have an incense from the other night too, or. No.

Yeah. I mean, yeah. She told me to beware of this cult that we're going to find out about. So that's interesting. And then she also told me that I can only really trust apple water or applesauce, whatever we're calling them nowadays.

Wow. Interesting.

Oh, apple pie.

I know.

Yeah. Him.

Her chef. But the. The thing that. What is wild, is that if you guys had some commonality with the Sylvanas thing, I just can't get over this hunch that maybe they're all tied together in some weird way. So we should really listen to Bella's.

You also have to remember that one of these is not a lie.

Oh, no. Are you telling me that tree is not a chef?

So. Yeah.

All right. I don't know how to suss out the one that's not true, but I guess we should just kind of be wary, right?

Yeah.

And also, we were today years old when we found out that Bella talks to her dead grandmother on the edge of her bed.

I'm not gonna lie, Bella.

You're freaking me out a little bit. Freaking me out.

I'm gonna say maybe from this point on, I think we should try to trust each other with information and help each other out, because.

I agree.

We've been through this for a bit.

Don't worry, I will still protect you, even though you're a little freaky.

That's a lot of past judgment.

You know what? I'm starting to like you, tree.

I try.

I try.

Only just now. Only just now.

Just now. Now we've made it.

I mean, come on.

We've only Survived death in countless battles. But, you know, I'm starting to warm.

Up to you, buddy.

Now we've made it.

Now we made it. All right, Goldor, we're gonna. We're gonna keep. Keep tabs in Sylvanas and see if there's anything that, you know, we could help you with to find out or anything that pops up. I feel like you're gonna take the lead on this one. All right, so for Gold or anything that relates to Sylvanas, I guess we'll kind of go by. Go by his route because there's a connection with. With Chef and Goldor.

Yeah. All right, you all head to the top deck. As the ship is approaching Shimmer Lake City, and as the ship is gliding across these shimmering waters of this vast lake, the city comes into view. Comes into view almost like a golden jewel nestled against the shore. It's like in a half circle shape against the edges of the lake. And you can see a huge amount of infrastructure in the city, even from this distance. You see towards the center, towering above all else, a grand domed castle cathedral with large spires. And at the very top of the central dome spire, you all see the symbol of a sun. The same one, in fact, that has been on your plate that you've been questioning, even though you've already been told it is the symbol of Lathander. But you see the same symbol on this building. To the east, you see beyond the eastern docks and behind it kind of like looks like a bunch of different storefronts. And beyond that, like, large private estates. Like, nothing's like, not very crowded over there on the western side. The docks there seem a little more shanty, if you will. And you see a lot of densely packed tenements and things like that. Very soot streaked stone. A river is cutting through the center of the city with bridges growing, going across the city. You see on the lakeside, a few different watchtowers and things like that for defense. But as you're approaching, you hear the hustle and the bustle of the city. You hear the seagulls in the distance as well. And mine.

Is your friend here.

I'm gonna try to.

I'm gonna see if he's here. I'm gonna make my special call to him.

By the way, Tree, let me just double check I'm not being incorrect here. I believe you can now ritual cast speak with animals, which means you don't have to waste a spell slot if you do that outside of combat as often as possible. I forget if we've been doing that or not. But that's at least a 20, 24 thing. It probably was also in the old one, but I don't think we did that. So if you want to try to speak with the seagulls, you can. You can for sure. You should for sure do that.

I like it. I will definitely speak with them when the time comes.

Do we know where the Lathander Temple is?

It's like I said, towards the center of the city. And so the ship docks along one of the many piers coming off of the side of the city here, the docks, and you all start to get off, and you see the attendant facing the opposite direction from which you're walking. And you do see a sign next to him, though, that says, oh, please, please pay here for your journey. Two gold for private room, one gold for regular passage. All right, so whoever got private passage, please. Minus two gold. But you'll have to give it to the attendant who has kind of, like, grayish skin and mopish hair. Clothes are a little raggedy.

I just, like, drop it in his hand, say, thanks for the ride.

So in order for you to do that, you're gonna. Yeah, you're gonna walk around. You drop it in a little basket kind of thing hanging around his neck. And you notice he goes. And you fully see a zombie in front of you.

Whoa.

Oh, snap.

Okay.

And then it turns around and looks at the rest of the crew here and then kind of like shakes the basket using his body movement.

Just give him the money. Just give him the money. Just give him the money.

The money in the basket.

No, do not give the money to evil zombies.

This is gonna be interesting.

Don't worry.

I'm just gonna go ahead and tree, and I'll just drop my. Drop my coin in turn. Look at him. Be like, tree. See anything funny with this guy? Sorry, Chef.

I'm going to smash my hammer in his face.

That's a good. I don't think it's a customary way to get for both.

Please, please make me an attack roll.

All right, here we go.

All right, I'm just gonna take a coin out of my.

I've been nearly giving this guy money, and Trees comes up behind me, also.

With the updated rules. Levine, you have. You have mastery with warhammers and short swords. With a warhammer, if you hit a creature, you can push it up to 10ft away. Yes.

Could I go into the drink?

If it's larger or smaller, I'm going to.

Okay, we'll say it's more than you.

As, like, a Large roll for initiative or. No, I'm already.

Nope, you. You just. You just swing at it. So what, you.

What did you roll D6 right?

Or.

No, no, no, you roll. You roll a D20 to see if you hit. Okay.

Okay, I'm rolling right now.

Gonna spend a gold point.

Okay.

Down to 149. Wait, did you just roll that 20? Do you roll 20 or did you.

Yeah, you. Absolutely. Where do you. Where are you. You're intending to kind of just hit it in the face?

Yeah. So I see it go zombie mode on Bellith, and I go into full protection mode and I just take my. I unsheathe my hammer from my back and I just smash its face right across.

Okay. Like a. Hitting one or two hands, one hand, one D8. Two hands, one D8.

Saving. But here we go.

Two hands, two D. Two hands.

Roll a D10 and then add two.

That's a 12.

And that is a 12. That is a four.

I mean two.

Wait, you rolled a 12 on a D10? God, yeah. You're good.

Yeah, that's weird. I hit D10.

I guess.

Hello.

Let's try that again.

Wait, hold up. Did you click roll or did you just click on the 20?

No, no, no. I. I rolled the D12 before. That was an accident.

Okay.

And then.

But did you Click from your D20? Did you click from the action tab or did you click your D20?

You are. You are. Okay, okay, okay. So you attempt to hit this thing in the face, you end up collapsing it on its shoulder fully. Like dislocating. Like it's like upper right third of its body off of itself. Like it's like hanging by, like a fleshy hinge.

Yes.

And then you see a dog work mover. What do you think you're doing? What do you think you're doing? That's my husband.

Well, I don't know if you notice, but he's a zombie. Zombies eat things. And he was gonna eat Bella, so I took his head off.

Not.

Not these ones.

We.

We feed them same dinner as we do. They're getting along just fine. They're all back, you know.

Oh, okay. So we'll just put his head back and, you know, let him eat, you know.

Well, you know, I'm going to have to bring him to, you know, I guess the mortician or someone to stitch him up. So if you could give me a few more gold here, because it's gonna cost a pretty penny to get him back in working order. He had just passed only a couple months ago. Too. His body was in good shape. Shape?

Oh, unfortunately, no.

How much gold do you want? I'll give it to you.

Five gold.

Take it.

I want Bella to walk over like a thick ax and be like. So how much is it going to take to make things right, huh?

Just take it.

Here. Hey. Little something for the effort.

I say take it, and then the second I get the chance to, I'm pickpocketing Tree for five gold. Just so you know.

Okay, make me. Okay, hold on. We have to adjudicate this real quick.

Wait, I want Balance to take that last coin and, like, do that thing where she's, like.

Disappear.

Exactly.

Okay, Paladin, in.

In Bellas, you're going to add. You're gonna add eight, plus your proficiency bonus, plus your stealth mod. Or, sorry, your sleight of hand mod.

Wait, wait, hold on.

So I add 8 plus proficiency, plus sleight of hand.

17.

Okay, so no. So that 17 is the number to beat. So, Tree, I need you to roll me a perception check. 17 is the number to beat.

Oh, I got plus two to perception.

No worries. You only need to roll 15 or higher.

Seven.

I rolled the seven. Surprise, surprise. You fully pickpocket tree for five gold. So tree, please remove five gold. Your character doesn't know this. And then belve, you can add the five gold back. Or, you know, just keep it the same as if nothing happened.

What happens when a Paladin is in cahoots with pickpocketing?

Well, technically, the Paladin was not in cahoots with it.

Oh, he was just. Okay.

Also, how did you figure out what the DC was to beat?

So in the new rules, there's. There's no opposing, no opposed roles. It's. There's like a DC now, and the. The DC for anything is 8 plus your. Whatever you're calculating. Yeah, so I was just looking at a reference from the other. Because, like, you'll see, everyone should see under their actions, their DCs for grappling and shoving. Or like, the formula for it. So same formula for any other. Any other ability if there's an opposed.

Rule under actions or reactions, whereas it under action under.

Should be under, like, unarmed strike.

Attack. Oh, I see that. And then when you told Bri, when you told Bell before to add her proficiency, where was just the. Where was just. Just the proficiency bonus.

It's up top by your walking speed, right above initiative.

Oh. Oh, I see. Thank you. All right, so you. So you said basically take your. Take your sleight of hand plus that plus Eight plus eight. And the eight was just. The eight is like a ne is a zero is a zero number.

Eight is like eight is like their base number for, like, these things.

Okay.

If that makes sense. Yeah.

So the higher those numbers is casted.

In a similar fashion, like your spell DC is like, you know, eight plus your proficiency, plus your.

Whatever.

Yeah. Or. Yeah, whatever your spellcasting score is. Exactly.

That's cool. So, see, we learned a lot in a week and a half.

All right, then you hear a greater clanging than you heard from the boat. You hear a bell ringing from the cathedral that you saw in the distance towards the center of the city. And you're starting to see people flocking towards the center from the docks, from the shops, from the living quarters. They're all heading towards the center of the city. Do you follow?

I'm down, you guys. We follow.

Are you gonna follow? So the church is technically just located on the east side, but it's as far as closest centers you're gonna get. So you cross over to the east side of the city because you have the river dividing it. And you're all following the crowd towards the cathedral. And in front of the cathedral, again, this is like a towering domed, massive complex, many different spires, smaller domes, it's gilded. You see, like a large sun ordained on the very topmost domed spire. And it's clearly like the. The piece de resistance of Shimmer Lake City. So you see in front of the church, someone standing up on, like, some scaffolding with, like, a little podium as a portly man with a top hat and. And, like, a black suit, and he's. He's looking at the crowd with a smile. He's waving. And the. The people of the. The city are flocking, and it's getting very, very crowded at this point. You know, thousands of people, People are starting to listen in. You see a wizard next to him in, like, these greenish robes. He cast a spell on this figure in front of the podium, and he goes, can you hear me? And you hear his voice magnified across the space. Well, welcome one, and welcome all. It is that time of year again. The annual Great Hunt to commemorate the founding of our great city. When heroes of old routed out the goblin seat of power through the cavity below. We were placing, this year a displacer beast within the sewers. The contest is open to anyone and any walk of life. The reward for slaying the beast is 500 gold and an invitation to the Feast of Light celebration on the eastern side of the city. To be hosted by one of our distinguished families at a random drawing later. Additionally, you may bring your recently returned, your loved ones to the festivities. So what I will say is, before I continue here, at any point, if you. After anyone kind of finishes a line, if you want to make separate perception checks, you can, but because your attention is diverted, I'll say throughout this. Kind of like this. This point right now, you will each get one perception check. You have to say, hey, after that, I want to make a perception check. And then that's your perception check for this little, little scene that's happening. So would anyone like to make a perception check at this point?

Does that put us. Does that put us at a disadvantage of, like, if, say. Say someone was trying to pickpocket us or someone's going around us if our focus is so far.

Not necessarily, Depending on what your passive perception is.

Okay, I'll go first.

I guess I want to make a perception.

You go first.

I don't care. I'm going first.

Okay, you want to.

Okay. So, belf, this is your. So, belf, what are you. What are you trying to percept? What are you focusing on?

I want to, like, see, like, the vibes of the crowd. Like, are people, like, excited. Excited that this is happening? Are they, like, here for it? Are they, like.

Yeah, that kind of thing? Yeah. Okay, go ahead.

That's a 25.

That's a 25. All right. With a 25, you're, like, zoning in on all the different information that's going on in the city. You see from the western side, that's flocked together. The people there are very much more economically not as advantaged as the eastern side. The eastern side, people that have flocked towards the center are dressed in the best finery that the city has to offer. Silks, gilded garments. Whereas the west side, covered in dirt, looks like they're more in the same clothes for weeks and days on end. And. And you see on both sides, different clergy members. The clergy members are also kind of reflective of the half that they're coming from. You also see behind the speaker, you see someone that's clearly from, like, this church that's dressed in the most refined robes, priestly robes that they could wear, very much gilded with the large symbol of the sun on top. And he's wearing, like, a fancy, fancy hat. Have you seen priests wear? And so right now, you're gauging that, generally speaking, across both sides, the people are very happy to a here at this event. And there you see them all nodding Their heads when they say, oh yes, bring your returns returned to the festivities.

Ring you returned.

Yeah, they're all coming back.

So you see. So everyone then sees this, this. This well dressed priest behind the speaker that Bells just saw. So again, again, in the. The greatest religious finery that one could wear. Literally golden with an orange sun emblazoned on his chest. You see that person speak up behind the portly man. Well, I agree with the vigor in which our Governor has set this sacred right. I would like to remind you that the Church of Lathander does not yet know the returned are a true sign of the thunder and to please take caution. In any event, they are not welcome in our churches or official church hosted events.

I'd like to do my check now.

Anyone making a perception check right now?

Yep, definitely.

Go ahead.

There we go. 17 plus. You said perception.

Correct.

Okay, 19.

Okay. With a 19. You're seeing that most of the crowd is kind of silent here. You see that? This now identified as the Governor. The speaker is the Governor that. He's kind of like. Almost like he's like that posh. Like, this is a little bit awkward. On the west side, you see the west side clergy, you. You see kind of like what looks like the high priest there. And you can kind of tell by the way they're dressed and things like that, the high priest there, he is vehemently shaking his head no in disagreement with this figure who just spoke.

So do we get the impression that the people with less money are more in favor of this return with their. The past? The. The zombie people.

Everyone's very happy with it. But what you do notice is a great disagreement with the west side clergy with the. The main body about the Returned. The return. So the church's. Their outward stance, as you just heard, was anti returned, but the west side clergy outwardly disagrees. Using his posture. Interesting body language. Yeah.

And the. Okay, getting some. Very.

Okay, moving on. The Governor returns to his speech. Yes. Thank you, Hierophant. Welcome. Anyone who wishes to sign up for the event may do so today at Sunfire Hall. The event will begin tomorrow at noon precisely where you will be designated one entrance to the sewer system, which again, as I remind you all connects to the cavity. So we don't have the entire thing mapped out. So even if you search for the knowledge, it'll be very limited and makes it fair for everyone. And then you see someone from the west side shadow out. What about the heroes? Usually they'll help out if it becomes too dangerous. And the. The Governor Says, I have been assured by our various guilds, the wizards, the druids, etc. Etc. That they can send representatives to capture and put down the Displacer beast as necessary. I, Elric Vamar, as your governor, am happy to pay their fee for your safety. And he says it's like smiling and waving. And the crowd starts cheering. Hunt. Hunt. Hunt. Hunt. Hunt. Hunt.

What was his name?

Alric Vamar. I'll put that in our chat here. Text chat. Or the chat on Omnicaster is better.

I need to spell it.

All right, I just put it into the Omnicaster chat. And then you also just heard the hierophant, the head of the churches in this location's name. I'll put that in you then. All hear behind you, because you've kind of been ignoring her. Well, that was quite an introduction for your first time in Shimmer Lake City.

Well, is this the fairy?

No, it's the Shelby stupid rabbit. Rabbit? Oh, don't worry, Shelby. So we could bring our past ones with us.

Yeah, well, I think we should get lodgings for the weekend. You've been cleared for at least that. I can always write a report saying that you need more time, but you may want to settle in, explore the city. I'll check in with the church and see what I can find out. And, you know, I have my ways, but I heard you're meeting with Hector later at Sunfire hall, so please be sure to stop in with me before you head out there.

What ways do you have?

What a rat. I didn't tell anybody. I didn't even tell you guys.

I'm a rabbit.

What? A rab.

A rat. Rabbit.

Rab pit.

Are you sure you're a rabbit?

So you guys have no idea what she's talking about, right? Because I didn't tell you.

Sorry.

Wait, so, Shelby, since you're here, what can you tell us about this whole zombie thing and the displacement really quick?

What's everyone's passive reception?

Oh, 110.

And then. And then you can ask your question. So on the left hand side about the middle, it'll say, pass the perception.

17.

Damn.

20.

Did I not take a thing?

All right, all right. Hi. What was your question? Or seven. Sorry.

Oh, I wanted to see what kind of information Shelby might be able to give us in terms of this whole zombie thing, the displacer beast, and how the. How orcas might tie into zombie life here in the big city.

It's not. It's not zombie. That could be an offensive term.

Oh, sorry. Returned family members. So sorry. I want to take a special moment to apologize.

That thing looked crazy. Yeah. Also, you are seeing throughout the crowd a lot of these returned standing with their family members or their friends or whoever might be. So the city is like you knowing, with the dead a third. A third of the population right now? Yes. Are the. Are the return, you could say.

How's. How's Tree doing over there? Might be sweating a little bit.

Abominations. Do. Do you really want to talk about this here? Or we could talk about it maybe where we're in a place more private, like in our. In our, you know, whatever inner tavern. You choose. Just make sure it's nice, you know?

We can't afford nice.

Oh, I think you can. I think you can.

If you want to treat us, you can.

It's only. Let's see. Oh, why did I not see before? There we go. It'll only, you know, for something comfortable, it's only going to be two gold per night. How about uncomfortable only?

Well, if we get 500 gold, we could pay for it.

That's true.

Are you guys signing up for the hunt?

I said if till.

I think that's a good idea. I think it's a good idea to sign up.

If we sign up for the hunt, would you be there to help heal us? No.

No, I don't go in the sewer.

Oh, why? You too good for the sewer rat?

Well, Shelby seems to be really helpful.

She. She. She like, gives you a look like, keep. Keep. Keep talking. Keep talking, Bella. Keep talking.

All right.

My number one enemy is a rabbit. So there's a whole culture, character sheet.

You cross out goblin, you put rabbit.

She goes. She goes, please, please find some lodgings, and I'll meet back up with you later. I'll know where to find you once you select your place.

God, Shelly turns into the big bad. I swear to God.

How does she know everything? I'm so confused.

She's listening to you.

She's a creeper. You have all accepted many goods from the camp. Just saying. Oh, my God.

That's so rude.

Hey, tree, I think we're bugger.

All right. Well, anyway, so this is where it kind of opens up to you all. You have a city to explore. I could give you a rough description of, like, the different districts that are available or things like that. Or if you're, like, looking for somewhere particular, you can kind of let me know. You know, you don't have to listen like, this is me as like the DM separately saying to you, the people not the characters. Like, you don't have to listen to Shelby. If you want to go somewhere that's not, like, you know, comfortable, you don't have to.

I want to do the opposite of whatever Shelby's. Do we know necessarily, like, time spans or how to sign up for this hunt or what's involved or.

Yeah, he said, come to Sunfire hall later today, and the hunt begins noon tomorrow.

Would it be really obvious to us, like, who else is doing the hunt? Obviously, I mean, with the exception of people that go into the sewer as well.

Make me either an insight check or, like, an intelligence check.

I will go for. Oh, I will definitely go home for insight. Let's see. Insights. 17 plus 4, 21. Not natural.

Reflecting on, like, your perception and the way you saw. The governor reacted like that, that person who spoke out about the heroes, you kind of get the sense that, you know, normally there might be a higher echelon of, like, people taking part of this hunt, but he. The governor made it a point to say it's open to anyone this year. And you might think that this might be because there's a lack of heroes that is really, like, kind of like corralling this event, as would be in the past. So, like, prior years, folks from the west side or the east side really participating in this.

So in prior years, it wouldn't necessarily be open to all these people.

Correct. Or even if it was open, you know, there certainly would have been, like. Like, almost like. Yeah, like, almost like rules that, while not outright blocking certain groups, basically indirectly block certain groups from Brick of Spaden.

Okay. It's kind of good to know.

Do we know the logistics of the hunt? Like, is it in group form or is it.

You did not hear that. But if you. Again, he directed you towards Sunfire hall, if that's, you know, something you want to sign up for later.

Do we have.

So I think we should go find lodging.

Yeah.

Somewhere. And then we can go, like, do our own thing. Shop around if we want to.

Well, we also have this letter, too, remember.

Right. We could figure out, like, try and find out where that person is and then go to the Sunfire thing.

On. On the letter, it does say, please deliver to Lila Naadam, proprietor of. Give me a second here. Proprietor of Lila's Odds, Ends and Curiosities.

I want to go shopping there. That sounds awesome.

Sick.

Odds, Ends and Curiosities. Oec. Let's do it, baby.

All right, so let me. So obviously, for everybody to tell so far, the west side is kind of the more Run down side. The east side is the more wealthy side. So let's start with the question. If you're looking for lodgings, what. What side do you want to stay on? Say, in. It'll be a little more expensive on the east side, less expensive on the west side, but west side could lead to more opportunities where you get taken advantage of and you end up losing more anyway. And that's something that I'll kind of be able to figure out.

I was going to say the east side.

I say east temperatures. I think we could always.

I thrive in the unknown. Let's go west.

Okay. Well, I thrive in two boats.

Two votes for east.

I'm gonna go for east. Yeah. I think Golder's like, I can stay in the garbage.

Yeah, sure.

All right, three to one. Sorry. Tree.

So in the center, like, you're kind of basically in the center of the city, and you see a rough map in front of you, and you see that on the east side, north of the docks and east of the church, there's like this. This Shimmering Heights district, it's called. And this is where you would find. This is where you would find. Or actually, sorry, it's more north of the church and even more north of the docks. This is where you're gonna find lodgings as well as shopping opportunities. So you start heading that direction and you see, like, these really polished storefronts. There's, like, stores, like, every kind that you could think of. And then you have a few choices as you're passing of, like, different kind of, like, inns and things like that. Just give me one second here. You see one titled the Celestial Rose. You see the Azure Jewel? You also. Let me see if there is another one. Give me one second. Sorry.

Decisions, decisions. Do we have, like, a Rick Steves book?

No. I mean, you're also free to ask people around. Like, you know, and again, as you're walking through, you're noticing people with their. Their returned ones nearby throughout. But, yeah, I'll just say for now, just to kind of speed things up, the two main ones that you see as, like, large and kind of like, comfortable or lavish are the two that I mentioned, the Azure Jewel and the Celestial Rose.

Coin flip.

Yeah, sure.

It's less of rose. Sounds fun.

Yeah, I don't care which one. Rose, jewels. They're both pretty.

Whichever.

It's.

What'd you say? Or look.

Okay, I said whichever. I'm not very particular.

Great. Oh, sorry.

I think we just probably would go in, like, the first one that we see.

Probably accurate.

That looks decent.

Okay. Yeah. You stop by the Celestial Rose and you enter this rose colored selvol story establishment immediately. When you enter, you see that it's decadent. Dim lighting. You see off to the left, like a quiet, dimly lit dining room with, like, soft music playing in the background. To the right, you see kind of like almost like. Almost like a little kind of ballroom hall, kind of like an event hall that's of kind not really currently being used. Most people are in the dining right now. And then, of course, you've got like this, you know, this grand lobby with, like, plush chairs and things like that. And so it's like this theming is like a mix between, like, rose and, like, the. The stars and things like that. And so you go up to the. The counter, and the attendant behind the counter says, hello, Davina. Can I assist you today?

I think we're here for some rooms.

She kind of like looks you over and she's like, can you. Do you have gold? Do you have gold?

Sir, Are you assuming we don't.

Oh, I'm sorry. We're just. We're just not used to travelers in here anymore. Like, of your. Your. Your assortment, I should say. We usually get, you know, business people coming in here. Well, that'll be case. How many rooms will you be needing?

Well, I don't need a room. I sleep in the hallway.

I'm sorry, sir. You can. Or is it sir, you can't actually see.

We keep a bit of a low profile. He's a bit of a bodyguard for us.

You all notice a goblin in the lobby, kind of like cleaning up, and it notices tree, and it gives kind of like a fearful look as. As it hurriedly continues to clean and goes into a different room.

That's right.

So will that be four rooms, or are you sharing?

We could probably get by with. Do we get by with two, three, one probably rooms. Goldor, do you want to join up or do you want to have your own stuff?

I can bunk up with someone.

All right, so two. Two rooms.

All right, so two rooms. And this is me as the DM asking, is anyone making sure there's a room available for Shelby? She'll pay her away, but just. Just a room.

That's not my problem.

No. Okay.

All right.

Don't care.

Just making sure. All right, Shelby, two rooms. How long are you staying?

At the minimum, I think probably at least as long as this contest is going on. Right?

Oh, well, the hunt is tomorrow, and then the feast is the next day. Should if you're participating should you be the winner? And again, she kind of like, looks you over and is like, I don't know about that. So I would say, you know, we'll do a three. A three. A three day stay, two nights at the minimum if we need to extend the game. Absolutely. And she goes, all right, so that's gonna be 2 times 2 times 3. So we'll call it 12 gold.

Okay, so 6. Now.

Can I have someone bring her things to your room for you?

That goblin?

No, I'll do it myself.

Okay, well, she gets these golden keys and puts two on the counter. Well, please enjoy your stay at the Celestial Rose. We have many amenities to offer, and so if you ever need anything, please let us know.

I want to go talk to that goblin that walked away.

You want to go to the goblin that walked away?

Yeah.

Okay. He went into the. The dining room to the left. So you. Is Anyone else following? 7 or everyone else went to the room.

I'll be right behind him.

Yes.

Fantastic.

Yeah, I'll follow.

Sure.

I'm not sure.

Come on. Now. They're all making friends.

Oh, wait, Sorry. You said belth. You're not. Okay, but oralp. You are.

Yeah, I'll follow.

Okay, so you follow. The moment you, the three of you, enter the dining room, you could tell, like, even if. Even if you can afford to say your culture, culturally, you do not belong here. You see? Very, like, basically, Belle probably picked it out as, like, oh, this is the type of place my father would dine during for business meetings. She never related that to you, but to kind of give you the. The people a sense here. And so you see the goblin clearing. Clearing one of the tables close to that entrance. Do you. Do you go up to the goblin or.

I want to give him kind of a nod, like, I want to speak to him.

You hear? Oh, sorry, sir. I. I have to get back to work. I don't have much time for talking.

Just a short one. Short conversation. Promise. You get right back to work.

Well, your. Your convenience is my pleasure, sir. Just be sure to merge into the front desk, please. How can I be of assistance today?

Just curious, because we're new to these parts, but you seemed oddly nervous around our friend here.

He eyes tree again. Well, you know, don't you know?

Would you be so kind?

The Great Hunt, as you may have heard, commemorates the fact that founding of this wonderful city that you've all built here. But it was once home of the goblins Glimmerdell back then. And a great war was raged upon us to secure the city and the opposing side used the warforged to root us out. And so we do not take kindly to their. To their kind as they have done us great harm in the past.

See how you without a doubt, might be an edge. This warforge in particular, he's of a different lineage, so don't worry about this one. But out of curiosity, since you are here, I know you got to get back to work, but this whole thing with the family members and the returned. Has this always been like this? Is this recent? Seems pretty out of sorts for us.

This. This must have started, oh, a little longer than a month ago now.

That's it. Wow. 19 perception check.

Yeah. Well, ask nest time.

Sorry.

You can do.

You can do an insight if you want instead.

That would be better. Yeah, we'll go start with that 20. Not net.

So reroll that.

I'll reroll. Okay, never mind. That was good. That is Insight is a 14.

Yeah. You. You. Sorry, what was the question that led to this?

Sorry, I was just. I really was trying to get us. I wanted to see this whole thing with the. The family members returning.

Oh. Oh, yeah.

I wanted to get his. I wanted to kind of really feel it out.

You get the sense that he's being truthful regarding everything he's saying? As far as you can tell, is.

There anything that we should be nervous about with evening or anything that might put us in harm's way with what's coming. Going on here?

Well, I do hear things from the sewer grate behind the church, the big one. But I keep my head down. I don't report things. I don't want to make trouble.

Thank you and. Sorry, what was your name again?

Oh, you never asked. My name is Braha.

Braha. Seven. Thank you for taking the time.

Seven what?

Seven of the Nightwood of the.

There are seven of you.

Boats, maybe, but what of me? That guy over there. That's tree.

And then you hear from the lobby brah, get back to work. And he scurries off.

While that was all going on, can I have walked out to the other inn that we saw?

Yeah, sure.

Just like to it like I don't want to go into it. I just want to go outside of it. Are there like bushes or anything around there?

The Azure Jewel.

I would say the. Your only maybe place of concealment is either a potential alleyway or like a stall. Like, you know, like.

I'm not trying to hide myself.

Okay. No, there's no. I mean they have like some potted plants and things like that can I.

Try and, like, put the ring of tracking in one of the potted plants and, like, slyly, so that nobody else would know it was there except for me. Unless you went, like, digging in the potted plant.

Sure. Where did you have your ring of tracking?

I don't know. I was like, it was in my pocket or it's in my bag of holding.

Let's say it's in your pocket and you said you want to put it in the pot of plant.

Mm.

Okay. So you. You put it in the pot of plant, but as you reach for the ring. Give me one second here.

I don't know if this dumb rabbit is tracking us through this ring. Like, it was attuned to her and they gave it to me because.

Thank you. Because for a moment I was like, I think. She thinks. I think the bush is going to go for a.

As you reach for the ring, you find a slip of parchment in your pocket. And it says, if you want to call on that favor, find me at the Hollow Hearth, west side. Signed, Barsoo. I'm joining a culture.

Say guild. And you said cult.

I said, no, I almost said cult. And then I said, guild.

I'm a join the thieves cult.

Hey, listen.

One of us. One of us.

Oh, man. Tree walks out with a Kool Aid in his hand. He's like, what's going on, guys?

Also, I wasn't listening.

Where.

Where did it say to meet him?

The Hollow Hearth.

Did he say when?

Nope. He just says if you need to call on a favor. The Hollow Hearth.

I wonder if. I wonder if Beleth remembered that seven also got lock picking stuff and was wanting to go in on this. But I'm sure she remembers that she won't go off without me.

Totally.

Hey, I'm just gonna run to the restroom real quick.

I'll be right back.

That's what Bella said. Then she went to their inn.

Do you guys want to take a quick bathroom break? Now would probably be a good time.

Sure. Sure.

Oh, are we all back, by the way?

Yeah, I'm back.

Okay, cool. All right. Well, all right. We will bring this back together then. What do you all. So balance is outside. The three of you are just probably leaving the dining room, putting your things upstairs. Belle, can I assume you go back in and set up your room as well?

Yeah.

Or your shared room. Okay. Yeah. So you're upstairs. You got adjoining room. So that way, if you want to, like, go back and forth between them without going the hallway, you can. I know the hallway is the preferred place to Tree but, you know, propriety is required in a place like this.

This is a silly question.

Yeah.

If we. Let's say we were under the guise that there was an item that was allowing Shelby to listen in or follow us or track us, would we have any arcana or could tree do detect.

Does anyone have a. Have a detect magic spell?

Have detect good and evil?

Yes. I was curious to cut it. I don't think I do. How about Golder? Golder, do you have anything to detect magic?

I'm sorry.

Do you have any.

Oh, wait. I have detect magic.

Oh, heck, you could spend.

This is the first time I'm reading Mike.

I know.

What's the ritual cast time on that?

Great question.

Ten minutes. So, Bel, if you were to do detect magic, ritual cast, which you could. We have to be each kind of like, object individually so they don't get crossed and be 10 minutes per object.

Okay, so we need. We can do that yet, because we need to have some inkling of what it is first before we. I can't use all my spell slots.

You can also, like, ask Shelby, too, by the way. Like, you know.

Yeah, no, that's. That's good. I'm gonna confront that next.

I have detect magic, too.

Well, guys, you know.

Ritual casting doesn't take a spell slot, so I think. Wait. Hi. You have a ritual cast for, like, a fine familiar?

I do.

You all have some ritual cast that you could do Where.

I know this is. Is that listed as a. To the right of the spell? Like a note? Like, it's should be in your spells, right?

You. You have the spell.

It's a ritual cast for me.

I have unseen servant and animal message. Yeah, there's an R. The hell uses that unseen servant?

You can get somebody to go do things.

Oh, I thought you took find familiar. Maybe you changed it. I probably changed this since I last saw.

Wait, that was.

Don't change it now.

I know.

Well, you had it earlier today.

No, I want that because I think I messed up my warlock.

Yeah, you could always change it after this session.

Okay, familiar, like bridges.

What's your. Your plan right now?

Your school, though.

I want to go shopping.

Oh.

Treat yourself, Bridget Austin.

Treat yourself.

Where you going? You just walking around the market district looking for stuff or like a buddy.

System or is it.

Well, I'm gonna. Well, yeah, I'm gonna. No, I'm gonna, like, knock on everybody's door, and I'd be like, I'm. I want to go shopping.

Get in.

Get in. We're going shopping. Actually, it's get in, losers. We're going shopping.

Get in, losers. We're going shopping.

Get in, losers. We're going shopping.

I say heard, Chef. Let's go.

Heard.

All right. Heard.

Wait, did anybody ever do the detect magic thing we just talked about going shopping?

No, we'll do that when we have. When I confront the rabbit.

Oh, okay. If not, we could always get a rabbit. A lucky rabbit's foot.

Are you. Are you just walking around? Do you have any. Any specific place you're on the lookout for here?

I'm gonna be looking for upgrades for my weapon, but, yeah, go ahead.

I want to look for, like, a new cloak.

Look for a new cloak.

Like, one with a little extra.

Darker.

Cloak than I have.

Like, the darkest of cloaks. Oh, I want one too. I want a match. You're like, get your own.

Get your mind.

We could be cloak buddies.

Are you checking out Lila's odds ends and curiosities first or just kind of.

Wondering, oh, can we bring the note with us?

Yeah.

Yes, please. You want to kill two birds in one stone and get this note taken care of too?

Yeah. You all set out? So depending on where you're going first, do you want to take care of the note first and then go from there, or do you want to wander? And the way we'll do that is we'll kind of like. We'll kind of, like, maybe, like, roll percentiles or investigation checks to see if you can kind of hunt down what you're looking for here.

I would say we could. If we get, like, a reward or something, we might as well use it and get something cool.

Well, you were. Yes. You were promised a reward for turning in the water.

Yeah, we know we're going there. So we could just look for that place instead of wandering around and, like, while we're walking, I guess, like, I'll just, like, look like window shop. Just, like, see if there's anything for.

A really dark cloak.

Yeah.

In the window.

You've done this before.

Okay, so you head out. You asked the. The Davina in the lobby, like, oh, where. Where is Lilah's odd sense and curiosities? She tells you it's basically a few blocks down from where you are on the way. So far, I've heard Belth is looking for cloak. Belth, roll me a percentile.

How do I do that?

Roll the two detents.

Two detents?

Yeah. Yeah.

To get Your percentage of 161.

Yeah. On your way to Lila's, you do see a store that might catch your eye for later called the Velvet Purse, which looks like an upscale clothier. And you see fine cloaks in the store. You don't know if they're magical yet, but you do see finally, woven garments in this place called the Velvet Purse. All right, so is anyone else looking for any type of specific store on the way? I can't guarantee that you'll find it on the way without searching further, but if anyone's looking for anything I can. We can click.

I'm looking for a new warhammer.

Whoa.

Okay. Yeah, roll me two D10s as well. A percent. Or actually, if you're doing digitally, Livy, roll a D100. That's what it would be, a D100. Okay. Yeah.

That a good.

Roll all the numbers that you could roll on a D100.

Would you get? Oh, yeah. No, you don't. You. You don't find anything. At least on the way. At least on the way.

Hold on a second.

Yeah, well, shocker, there's a hundred numbers that you can.

Could have rolled.

I know. Seriously, which is why.

And I rolled 26. I know, I know.

Okay, so within like, you know, 10, 15 minutes, you've made your way to Lila's. Odd sense and curiosities. The odd thing about this store is the curiosities. So far as you've been in this market district guild row, you've noticed all the stores are extremely upscale, well kept, clean, polished. But Lila's seems a little more out of sorts. The store looks shabby. In addition to that, the stores to the left and right are boarded up, closed down. So it appears as if she's running like this small little shop in the heart of the market district.

What? A history check. Can you tell us anything about this?

I. I would just say you probably won't know much about the store actually, you know, give you specifically seven. Or actually I'll offer this to one of you. Between Belf and seven, who would Val more likely talk to about like shopping for gear?

I feel like he probably.

I feel like not seven because you. Yeah, I feel like not seven because he wasn't much interested in heroing before initially.

So I think that his day to day life. I think he had much more conversation with Belth and me.

Yeah. So Belth, if you want to roll a history check, we'll see if you get lucky here and something pops up.

25.

Not bad.

Well, there goes my plans anyway. Alright, so you do recall Val said that. Oh, he. You don't know if this is the store, but he mentioned on the east side like there was a store that he frequented that kind of like had it all really great selection and things like that. You don't recall the name of the store exactly or not necessarily recall, but if he specifically mentioned it. But he, but he kind of like was giving you like a heads up like oh, like I can show you the store once you make it to camp kind of thing. So he didn't mention it by name but you, you. You might have a suspicion.

Okay, I like relay that to everyone else. Like hey, this might be. Well I guess relay it to seven at this point.

Like when I hear that I'm gonna lose, I'm gonna be too. I'm gonna be hyper focused on that the Val thing. So probably make decisions that aren't wise.

Well, I'm still saying it to everyone, so Cheers.

All right. Well, you all enter through this shabby looking door and what greets you upon entering is a not well lit small store. It seems like she literally has odds and ends, not so much curiosities. You might be able to kind of eyeball a few magic items, but they look very like oh, I would give this magic item to my 3 year old nephew to play with type of deal. But you do see a black cat on the counter and you see a woman behind the counter with like frizzy brown hair and she's reading a broadsheet and kind of like leafing through the pages. Like very bored. Kind of just you know, one. Her chin in one hand, elbow on the counter and like leafing through the broadsheets for the city. Oh, hello.

Hi. We have a message from Talon.

I mean howdy.

Howdy. So Talon.

Can I help you?

Trying to. Talon gave us Toland. Gave us a message for somebody in the store.

Toland? You've heard of Toland?

Sure have.

I haven't heard from him in like two weeks.

Well in our time that is like it's been a bit.

Must have felt like a year at least.

You can say that again, sister.

Have you seen these people?

Bro? Tell me, how's Toman doing?

So right. We. We met him on our passage to Shimmer Lake island and we did fortunately protect him.

I hope he wasn't no bother.

Well, no.

An attack.

Attack from Harpies.

You say that so blase as they say.

Well as they say tone seems like to be a good. A good person. So. So we felt obliged at album out and deliver this letter to you.

Could it be the four of you are heroes in training?

Yes.

Well, I wouldn't say we're heroes Per se. But we are pretty bad.

At you.

I just like.

There's just some things you don't.

And she goes, what on Lathander's gold earth is this?

Oh, that.

I'm more of a treat, per se.

You know, just gently take out the letter.

Clearly. Well, I wish I had more for you, but this is what you see. Einlessia is my cat. Midnight, Can I pet him? Sure.

Petting the cat.

Give me an animal handling check.

Oh, no. If this thing bites me, I'd be so mad.

Yeah, like, unprompted. You're just like, oh, cat, let me pet it.

No, no, I was asking. Asking her if I could pet it.

Oh. Oh, well, he doesn't much like it, but. Midnight, what do you say? And the kind.

I'm gonna talk to this cat.

Oh, so, like, you pet it?

Yes.

Do I still have to make an animal handling check?

No, no, no.

Yes. Petting the cat.

Oh, my God. Do you have anything in your pocket?

Tell me, as heroes in training, how's camp these days?

Well, as well as they're talking to this person on the side, I'm gonna sneak over to the side and try to talk to the cat.

Sure. All right. So you. You. You sit there for like, however many minutes of this, a ritual cast animal speak with animals or whatever it is. You have, like a fierce look of concentration face, and all of a sudden you start meowing. What do you say? Well, I.

To everybody that hears me, I'm just like, saying. But really to the cat, I'm saying, yo, sister bro, what's up with this person? Can you give me any scoop?

First of all, I am not your bro. How dare you address me in that manner beneath my station. You are, I would imagine, her cousin Tolan gave her something to receive.

Yes, yes, he gave her something. Do you know what it is?

No. That is why I'm prompting you. I was not with Colin.

Who runs the shop, the cat or the.

Seriously? Listen, bucko, you sound. I'm just trying to be a little nice here to you. Trying to. Trying to speak your language.

Does anyone have a letter in their hand by any chance?

I do. I've been holding it for, like, at least a couple minutes.

The cat, like, literally goes and pounces on you in the letter. Oh, wow, okay. It's gonna be like that, huh? So now, now, don't kill the cat.

Don't kill the cat.

I'm just gonna unsheathe my mace a little bit. Just like, I'm stretching it out, you know, I'm just kind of like scoping it.

The knight like Cox's head and starts using you as a scratching post. Oh, you little.

You little.

You little friend. I bet you like that, don't you? I bet you like that stupid sh. Go. Oh, what's he saying? He's so cute, isn't he? What's he saying? Oh, he's just so cute. I mean, he's just. He's just the cutest little thing, you know?

Now I go back to meow, meow.

Meow, meow, meow, meow. And I say to the cat, I'm.

Like, you better get the heck off.

My little post here. Make me.

Aww, tree. He likes you. I'm still petting him.

And then the cat just fully sits on his. Like his shoe.

Those are my high tops, man. Don't you mess those up.

I think you only wear those at night. Are you sleepwalking again?

I'm sleepwalking again, yeah. So she goes, what. What's that on the floor?

A cat. The note.

The letter.

The note, yeah. Oh, a letter for me. From who? Ton.

A letter from Ton for you, not the cat. And I pick it up.

Can someone please pick it up for me?

I.

Dude, can you. Can you hand it over, please?

And I want to prestidigitation as I look at the cat. I want my eyes to flare bright green as I stare at the cat picking the letter unblend, not blinking.

Why is everybody being so mean to this cat?

Oh, honey, if you think that's scary, you should have seen the heroes back in the day.

Do you by chance know Val?

So anyway, she. Are you asking. Are you saying that I'm asking as you. What do you. What. What's your question?

She said, the heroes back in the day, that totally, you know. All the gears started clicking together. I have to ask her.

Val. You know Val?

I do. He went missing. I've been trying to find his whereabouts. He's my brother.

I. I heard he was one of the. The many that perish. How do you know him?

He's family.

By the Lathander stars. Are you seven?

Bowing.

She goes, oh, bow just a tree.

Hold on just a moment. And she like, side eyes. You like, no one cares. She opens the letter and starts reading out loud.

One free burger with purchase.

Cousin Lila. Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burgers. My dearest cousin Lila. As you suspected, my efforts on Paglo have been fruitless. The farm is now firmly under the ownership of Netherbacher Crombie, through whom I Now have become an indentured farmer, for he seems to have his eyes set on other nearby farms as well. On Gnarl, too. I wonder why. Regardless, I hope to break the cycle so my family can once again live independently. I know you've offered to help me before, but my pride still does not allow it. There is a path to freedom. I know it. The heroes who saved me gave me a new lease on life after they saved me from some deadly harpies. Please give them my thanks, and I hope you can in no small measure aid them. Yours sincerely, Toland.

Wait, so Toland is indentured servitude?

Well, let me see. I.

We are.

Yes, it seems so. I've tried to offer him money before to buy out his farm, but of course he would accept no favor.

We lost Bella for a second. No, she's back.

I gotta put the right spelling in the chat here, Kronby.

Oh, okay. Cronin. Like Cronby stills in Nest.

Yeah, well, midnot, this changes things. Midnight, will you do the anos, please? And the cat gets off of tree shoes. And behind the wall, there's imperceptible. But now that the cat is getting to it, you see almost like kind of like a pressure plate in the wall. And the cat pushes into the wall. The front is completely being covered now so that no light or windows can be seen through. And then I mentioned on the other outside the shop that the two adjoining the two adjacent stores were closed down. But as you'll see now, the walls to the left and right are opening up and those spaces are filled with her merchandise. And you truly do now see all the odds ends and yes, curiosities. You see weapons, you see capes. You see every odds and ends that you can imagine. You see potted plants. You see potions. Like, you see, you see a lot of different things that could catch your eye. Well, so as a reward for helping my dear cousin, first of all, you get a first purchase discount. And then of course, you have anything to sell. I'll give you a bargain.

Oh, hell yeah. So somebody with the knowledge that you seem to have with this, with magical items and such, maybe you can make some recommendations for us. I know our friend Bella looking for a new clothes.

Well, what's. What's. What's your budget?

Seems like we.

We are probably like 10 gold.

Oh, my, my. I don't know if I have quite anything for 10 gold. But if you have anything to sell, we might be able to grease the wheels, as it were.

What are some of your Ticket items there.

Well, so my barkskin friend here, what are you looking for?

Looking for a nice mace to smash faces with.

A mace for face smashing before you, of course. I. Oh, God, I'm sorry. I apologize. Maybe our dear friend didn't realize that we might have some things to sell. We have a potion that might be worth a pretty penny.

Oh, only the one potion. Better be a good potion if that's the only thing you're selling.

Do you wanna bell if you wanna do the honors?

Oh, sure. I pull out vials and I go, ta da.

Oh, ta da.

Are you just pulling out? What are you actually pulling out?

Sorry, Leo, what the heck is the name of the potion?

That is, I guess the potion Clairvoyance.

Clairvoyance or no, I don't know.

I was gonna do the potion of fire breath.

Okay.

The one of poison.

Did freaking Shelby give us any of these potions?

The one.

Need the clairvoyance one now too, right?

I don't even know what the potion of clairvoyance does. There is no disagreement.

It's like. Was it mind reading of some sorts?

Under the should be in the new dmg. Let me just bring it up real quick. I'll bring it up so you can read the effect potion of Claire.

Let's see the future.

Future. Future. Okay, ready? When you drink this potion, you gain the effect of the clairvoyance spell. No concentration required. The spell is you create an invisible sensor within range in a location familiar to you, a place you have visited or seen before, or in the range is a mile by the way, or in an obvious location that is unfamiliar to you, such as behind the door, around a corner, or in a grove of trees. The intangible invulnerable sensor remains in place for the duration when you cast the spell. Choose seeing or hearing. You can use the chosen sense through the sensor as if you were in a space. As a bonus action, you can switch between seeing and hearing. A creature that sees a sensor sees a luminous orb about the size of your fist.

I'm gonna get rid of potion of vitality, Potion of fire breathing, Potion of poison.

Mm.

Should I get rid of the Clairvoyance one?

Honestly, I think we know is the one that's worth actually worth something, Right?

Which one?

The clairvoyance is probably worth the most.

Oh, you think that one's worth the most?

Okay, I would have.

So should I get rid of it?

I would say that's our ticket to magic item land.

Okay, so that one and then also water Breathing. And the two gems.

It's pretty good.

Great. So I have in total here, we.

Might have a tree for sale. Sorry.

Are you adding to the pot belth, the studded leather that you're no longer wearing because you have the armor now.

Yeah, sure.

Okay, so that's that.

Imagine he's like four gold. Damn it.

Okay, Goldor and tree. Goldor, you have leather armor that you're no longer wearing. And tree, you have a shield you're no longer wearing. Are you selling those?

Oh, yeah, I'll sell them.

Yeah, I don't need the shield.

Yeah, because you got the boomerang shield, so.

Heck, yeah, I got the Captain America shield.

Actually, we're not allowed to do that.

Well, I can tell you all that you are about to have a shopping spree.

I also don't need the long.

Ha.

The long sword. I don't need that because I have the. I have the hammer, which is.

Sure, yes.

One sword.

Open up. Let me just see how much. A long sword. I didn't put that in because I forgot I gave you that today, so I didn't put that in. My initial calculations. 15 gold, both for a long story. Okay. Okay. All right. Well, with that in mind, you each can get at least one singular great item, and perhaps a minor one, too, depending on what your choice is. So we have things that help the general party. It could be useful for any. We have this immovable rod over here. We have a few different feather tokens. One could turn into a movable whip or a whole bolt, if you wish.

How much is the immovable rod?

So I was thinking this could be more transactional, but this would be about a quarter of your total credit.

What kind of transaction did you have in mind?

Oh, sorry. I meant more of a barter, where we're not necessarily putting gold up front, but with the items you've offered and the services you've done, my cousin, I would say the movable rod is about a quarter of your credit.

Fancy.

Maybe a little less. Maybe a little less, as you say.

If that's the one. Like, if we all get one thing, then that's a quarter each.

My interest is definitely piqued.

Oh, but are you a. If I'm not much mistaken, are you a Druid even though you're a dwarf?

Why, yes, I am.

Well, of course, I have items for druids, too. All the heroes came to me back in the day. I have a wonderful moon sickle. I have a pop that if you keep growing things in it, a little shrub will Come out and serve you every so often. I have here a mantle that will. That will help you blend in with your surroundings more and let you hide even more carefully. And I would dare say that's good for a ranger too. Although I have other things for a ranger if you're looking to hide.

What do you got?

Oh, well, I have this elven woven cloak here that will let you make sure that people cannot perceive your location as well. And you can hide even better. Quick question, out of character here. Do you already have advantage on stealth checks?

I don't know. How do I know that?

If you go on your sheet, it should say next to it like a for advantage. Next to stealth.

No, I don't have an advantage on anything.

Oh, not just a plus. It just would say an A.

So yes, this cloak would help you be more stealthy. I also have something that I see you carry. A bow. I have some special bracelets that can help you strike true if that's what you're interested in. I of course can give you a better description if you're curious, but I just thought I'd give you an offering. I also have, and this is for anyone, I have this robe of useful items. So when the purchaser wears it, additional patches are created and we don't know what they will be until you purchase it. But you know, at least some of the things that you'll get up front include a variety of items. Lanterns, ropes, poles, mirrors. But patches on the inside that could be a hundred gold in a patch. You could be getting a rowboat in that patch. So you never. You never know what you're gonna get.

Wait, so in that row in particular, can you. Is there any sort of like, can you think of something? Can you want something and reach in and hope to find it, or is it more so.

Not quite so you're guaranteed to get a robot. So you'll see a bunch of patches on the rope. Correct. So you see the little lantern one, you'll get a bullseye lantern that really fills up the dock. You see a dagger, that one's gonna pull out a dagger. But they say it's six foot sub.

And you get from the sandwich, when.

The wearer puts this on, you know you'll get additional things. So sometimes it could be potions, it could be gold, it could be a horse. You could pull a horse out of wool. We don't know what it'll be until you buy it and wear it, but. But we truly don't know what you. What you're gonna. What you're gonna get until you wear it.

You never know what you're gonna get.

But you look to be like a bard. I have some musical instruments for you. I have pipes of the sewers and pipes of haunting. Pipes of the sewers let you control a swarm of rats. At your command. I have a drum set here that will make your spells even more dangerous, deadly and accurate. I have these pipes of haunting here. The pipes, they can frighten even the fiercest of foes. I have one of illusions. I have an instrument that can help you. Oh. Oh, you're getting really into it, like.

In a situation, like, I'm sorry, listeners, I hope, like he's describing this. I'm thinking about, like, walking into, like, what seems to be like an impossible battle or surrender. Things are really dangerous, and they pull out like a recorder from the third.

She. She looks over a tree and he goes, oh, curious. Most curious. My, my. What's the word I'm looking for? My green friend will say, do you. Do you have a penchant for animals? Am I correct saying that?

Yeah, I love animals.

Well, I've had this abstract gold figurine here, I guess you could call it, for many, many years, and not one person has walked in the shop has ever affected it. But they say the true user of this, if they so choose to accept, will have it morph into a representation. Representation of their soul. And this figurine was not originally in the shape of a pig, but you see a little figurine of a golden pig behind the counter. Now this. This use. It will allow you to summon your soul as a creature. Creature once per day, and you can use it to fight alongside you. So this would give you. This is added character. Now, this would allow you to essentially summon a giant boar once per day. What?

That sounds super cool.

I want it some boar, please. Boar, please.

So, no, no. Warhammer.

Poorly there.

The warhammer. You know, I was always losing the shot. I was always in the. Looking for a warhammer, but, you know, now I see a trinket that summons a piggy.

I mean, you could. You could always come back for a warhammer in the future. I'm always here.

Do you by chance, can I show. Can I show her my. My loot?

Yeah.

And is that something that. Do you do upgrades? Oh, well, like magical kind.

I cannot do upgrades, but I can put you into contact with someone. What you'll need for this upgrade is either some sort of formula, or you'll need the equivalent item to kind of suffuse this one. So if you're looking to upgrade this mandolin, I would say you need that's as powerful.

You just moved from the country from.

Lake Georgia to inter Manhattan.

Bless your heart. So what you did is you got yourself a little bit of a.

So if you truly wanted to upgrade this, it would take a lot of time and you'd have to buy the item you wish to infuse it with. So like a mandolin that's a little more powerful.

So hypothetically speaking, if I was to go for maybe one of these magical musical instruments that you had mentioned.

Oh yes. It wouldn't be as you hear, as I say, your spell casting focus or your weapon. It's just an item like any other you could use in combat.

Interesting.

What's the difference between if it's magical pipes or it's a rubber ball? Same difference.

Let's, let's get back to the piggy.

How much you want for the piggy? I'd say that's about, about a quarter of your. Your credit.

My credit.

Done. Good deal. Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on. Hold bomb there.

Quarter of of the group's money.

We bartered. We bartered some items.

Get one thing.

Yeah, yeah, one thing.

All right.

I love it.

And on Wecaster Levine, I'm typing the name of the item you should search to add. I had to make a custom for you.

Okay, cool.

Giant boy.

What were the two things that you gave? Well, the cloak was one. And what was the other thing that you said?

Well, there's two different cloaks.

There's two different.

It was the.

Oh no, the bands.

Two different cloaks that help out with like hiding slightly different effects. But there's also the braces of archery here that can make your shots more deadly.

Decisions.

So the braces of archery would. While wearing these bracers you gain a few bonus to damage rolls made with longbows and short bows. I would say if you got the braces of Autrey, I would throw in the quiver of Elhona.

What is that?

It's basically like a bag of hold em but for ranged weapons. And the largest thing it could hold are objects that, that are six feet long, like a quarter staff, a spear or a javelin. It's got three different pockets. It's got a small, medium and a large. You can hold many bolts. You can hold a few weapons in there. So if you do the braces of archery, because this is not a well desired item, I'd throw that in there for you.

Question before I make my decision.

Yes, I do have Other items, of course as well. But I just, you know, those are what we've been discussing so far. Go ahead.

The plate down the street, the velvet purse. Are they just selling fancy cloaks or are they selling magic fancy cloaks?

Oh, I believe they have their cloaks sometimes enspelled. You'd be looking at about for a cloak of Elvenkind like this. Oh, that might be at least a thousand gold.

Oh, okay, okay. You guys pick your stuff first.

Especially in this market where they could upcharge eggs.

I get it, man. I get it.

Did you want to hear the difference between those two cloaks again?

Yeah.

So, okay. The cloak of elephant kind. When you wear this cloak, wisdom checks made to perceive you have disadvantage and you have advantage on dexterity self checks. Nature's mantle, on the other hand, it shifts color and texture to blend with the terrain around you. While wearing the cloak, you can use it as a spell casting focus for your druid and ranger spells. While you are in an area that is lightly obscured, you can hide as a bonus action even if you are being directly observed. So one has more utility in combat. I would say one has more utility outside of combat. Generally speaking, both can be used technically in either situation. But to me, the nature's cloak stands out to me as more in combat because you can be like hiding behind something and then completely obscure yourself. Whereas the cloak of Elvenkind is just like straight up stealth advantage.

Mine was super easy.

What cloak do I get?

The hiding in plain sight seems freaking awesome. Wait, Birdie real fast. So wait, I only was really paying attention to the part about you hiding even if you're being perceived. Both cloaks have that.

Well, one cloak has like, I get advantage on stealth checks and then people get disadvantage on like wisdom checks. Just perceive me freaking crazy. And then the. The other one is like, I can take a bonus action to like hide in plain sight. Like even if I'm like somebody's looking at me, I can still hide.

That's really cool.

Which like that one kind of would be more helpful during combination.

I was gonna say like, if you could hide already being seen, does that give you a bonus in your attacks to go back to being like in shadow?

Like, like you would if, like if you're staring at me and I bonus action. Hide, then I would be hidden no matter what.

And then does that give you like a bonus in the next attack for you? Like the next round? Like the.

Eventually it could, I think like that.

Has like utility in combat and in. And as.

Okay, Levine, I added It. And I renamed it by accident. Hold on. I need to unplug that. But basically, you can use it twice per day, and then you have to wait till the next day to use it again.

Oh, that's awesome.

Okay. I also have. I also have some gloves of Thievery. You can be super dexterous when trying to steal things.

The coolest store I've ever been in.

Can I get one of the cloaks and the. The gloves for together? Can I give you a little bit extra gold to get them together?

Yes, if you were to give me extra gold, at least a hundred, I'll give you the gloves and any cloak of your choosing.

Damn.

Can we. Can we make it 50 instead?

No. I'm sorry.

No.

Midnight has seen you here.

Midnight looks fine.

No, Midnight doesn't. Midnight's Midnight.

You can still understand them. I need to eat my Friskies every night.

How dare she insinuate canon in this game.

Don't get all frisky. That's crazy.

Oh, this. This looks like it would have been nice for my friend the tree here, but he already chose his item. But I also have these winged boots that allow you to fly a few times a day so you can speedily get into battle.

Oh, my God.

Are they High Touch?

Ooh.

How much are they?

Oh, those are gonna be 400 gold. Maybe 300 with a discount.

What?

Strawberry?

The echo is crazy.

I know. Did you hear that? It sounded like it went all through the entire time.

I feel like it happened in real life. Like.

Damn it.

Now, my druidic friend here. Are you looking for some combat utility? Are you looking for. You looking for outsider combat? You looking for some friends? You looking for some things to help you?

This is Family Guy, damn it.

So, Golder, what are you looking for in an item? I can give you some options.

To be honest, she had me at immovable rod.

The immovable rod.

Okay.

Oh, yeah.

You can. You can do it. You can do the immovable rod. That's that. You can.

What was that back in the day? It was the immovable object in the. What were the two things that would, like, cancel each other out?

The unstoppable force.

Yes. Oh, my God. Back to wow.

It's like having a Stormtrooper shoot a red shirt.

Yes.

Yes. All right. So we've bought in a giant boar figurine. We've fought in the movable Rod. Bell, are you taking the Gloves of Thievery on a cloak deal for a hundred gold?

You're feeling decisive, aren't you? I am too I'm gonna let seven.

Do his thing first, and then I'll let you know if I want the ghost.

And my. My druidic friend for 100 gold. If you would like an alchemy jug, I would be obliged to sell on that to you. The alchemy jug appears to be able to hold a gallon of liquid and weighs 12 pounds. Whether full or empty. You can take a magic action and you could pour out anything from acid, basic poison beer, honey, mayonnaise, or vinegar water, salt water, wine. Up to gallons for some of these per day. So if that's something that interests you, we could do 100 gold for that.

I just want to know why does everybody get 100 gold and I get 400 gold from my item?

What's up with that? Well, those winged boots are quite desirable. If you would like an item for around 100 gold, I can get you this guardian emblem.

That's a nice emblem. But I want those boots, bro.

Jesus.

Well, you can come back when you.

Have your gold boots, bro.

Now it's 450. Come on.

Deserve that.

You catch a break around here. What does the tree got to do to catch a piece of bark?

Pay for it. So, Golda, would you like to play hundred gold for an alchemy jug?

For an alchemy jug, yes.

So that'll let you pour anything from oil, wine, beer, water, honey, mayonnaise, up to like various amounts. Some of them are gallons per day. Some of them are like a variety of different ounces. But essentially you get an infinite amount of that over the course of your lifetime. Essentially.

That sounds definitely intriguing.

The other item I could do for 100 gold is this pot here that I mentioned before. As I mentioned, every three days, if you plant a shrub in there, every three days, it will become an awakened shrub and it will serve you and obeys your commands. So it's like having a little little extra like kind of like animal buffer combat. It doesn't actually do that much damage. It does like one damage. But like, if you want to like throw it in the way of an enemy, you could. It's like cannon. Exactly, exactly.

The alchemy jug.

Hold on.

I'm taking a look at the alchemy jug, cuz that's.

Sure. And while you're doing that, we're going to get back to seven because I feel like he's finally had enough time.

Would you have anything that maybe could help me with my casting from my loot? Anything that would maybe cast or anything that would allow a bard to cast spells Longer or an echo or make the duration of spells less.

What I have here is the rhythm maker's drum. While holding this drum, you gain a bonus to spell attack rolls and to saving. Throw DCs of your bard spells and you'll get a one to all of that as an action. You can also play the drum to regain one of your Bardock inspirations once per day. So it's always going to buff your spells and your save DCs and then you can get a bardic inspiration back per day with it.

That's pretty cool.

But also for 100 gold, I'll throw in. If you get one of those items, I'll throw in the instrument of illusions while you're playing it. You can. Basically, it's like a big prestidigitation in a 15ft emanation.

You had to say it was big prestidigitation. It's the best day of my life. That sounds amazing. Could I throw in a little bit more? Would you have any sort of glasses or monocles? Not monocles. Jesus Christ. Any sort of glasses or anything that would allow me to see in the dark like my compatriots here?

Oh, yes. I have goggles of night vision. Goggles of the night while wearing these dark lenses. You have dark vision out to 60ft. Let me see how much I can charge you for that.

60Ft? My natural dark vision is 120.

Okay. You're like, you lesser. You lesser. Race you. 60 is better than nothing, though, right?

No, that is true. Better than being blind, especially when we're going into a sewer.

Yeah, I was kind of thinking about that.

Yeah, I could throw that For. For 150 gold.

Oh, man. That would put me at nothings, but I would do it. So wait, so we got the. The goggles, right? We have the. The whistle and then what was the.

Rattom. Hold on one second.

Oh, the big ass press digitation.

One second. Sorry.

In my inventory, the big ass press like that, that just screams flavor text to me. I think I'd have a lot of fun with that one. All right. I think, man. All right. I think, I think. And then the. The bardic inspiration would give me like an extra bardic inspiration once per day. And then it would give me bonuses to spell casts, all spell attack rolls.

And increases the save DC of your spells. So instead of passing a 13, now they have to pass a 14.

That's pretty good. That's really freaking good. All right, I think I'm gonna go for that. And then the. The. The biggest Prestige.

Yes.

And then I'll go blind in the alleyways.

Okay. I typed in what you're looking for for your inventory.

Okay.

Rhythm makers, drum. So it doesn't. Again, doesn't have to be a drum. You can decide what instrument you want it to ultimately be. Make something. Make it a. It could be a whistle. It could be.

Oh, I kind of like that. How about like a whistle I wear around my neck? Like a little whistle.

Like a little tin whistle.

Like it's. Sure.

No, no. It should be the little. The little whistle that Willy Wonka plays. The beginning movie.

Oh, my God. Yes. 100. Oh, my God. There we go. And then what is the. In the press digitization thing? What is that? What is that? A.

It's called the instrument of illusions. And that could be any instrument you want to.

Oh, man.

If you want, we can say they're both the same item. They have the dual effect. And I could choose how I use it. Yeah.

Okay, let's do that. Let's.

For the purposes of your inventory, you're going to add those two items.

Well, there's chocolate and then there's chocolate. Let's do it, baby.

What?

Well, that's. I'm sorry. My. My Noah plays the. The Willy Wonka soundtrack in the house way too much. I scarily know too much of that.

Now, were any of my other three friends interested in their extra items for 100 gold or so?

Mine.

I'm going to pick up the alchemy jug. I'm not sure.

Hell yeah.

But I'm going to do with 2 gallons of mayonnaise a day, but.

2 gallons?

Oil. Oil on fire. Oil on fire, my friend.

You know, I'd like to buy another item, but my item's way overpriced.

You don't have to only do the one item.

I did say so. You can. You can buy a Guardian emblem for 100 gold. You get a little.

What does the guardian emblem do?

You put a little warforged piggy on your armor, and then it has three charges. Whenever you or creature you see within 30ft of you suffers a critical hit while you're wearing this emblem, you can expend one charge and turn the critical hit into a normal hit. It gains all charges back at dawn.

And it's only got three charges, though, per day.

So anytime there's a critical hit. Yeah. So you. Basically, you can save your party from three critical hits in a day. Wow.

Okay. Okay. And what else you got Anything else for me?

Let me take a look. Well, you know, I would Gladly. Sell you this feather token for 100 gold. So what this does is hold on. You can throw this feather to a point 10ft close to you. The feather will disappear and a floating whip will take its place. You can take a bonus action to make a melee spell attack against a creature within 10ft of the whip. With an attack bonus of plus 9 on a hit, the target takes 1d6.5 force damage. And as a bonus action, you can direct the whip to fly up to 20ft and repeat the attack against a creature within 10ft of the whip. So basically you can make two attacks. Hold on. You can take no only one attack return, but you can repeat the attack and squeeze it within 10ft of the whip. The whip disappears after one hour when you take a magic action to dismiss it. Or when you die or have the incapacity condition. Hold on. Let me re read this to see how many times you can actually attack. The token disappears and floating. You could then take a bonus action to make a melee spell attack against creature. No, I think it's. They just worded it poorly. I think it's just still one attack return. But basically you can have it fly around and attack people.

Like that. Were you always usually getting into ranged battles? I may pick that up.

Sure. So I'll type into the chat what you're looking for here and then. Bellith, you said you're doing the gloves of thievery.

Yeah.

All right. Well, I do hope that you come back soon. I always appreciate the sales. And then she clicks the button behind the wall again and everything closes back up.

That's crazy.

As if it were never there. And of course, if you have else to sell or I find any new items, I'll be sure to tell you. All right. I think we're probably gonna call a session there.

Yeah.

So before you all go. What I do want to find out right now so I can plan next session is other than you said you're signing up for the tournament, correct?

Yes, please.

And then what else do you think you might do next session? You guys can talk about it right now. Signing up for the hunt. But what might you do the rest of this day? Because you still have a whole day ahead of you.

Like Bridge is going to join the Thieves Guild or try to.

I was going to say I'm going to try and sneak off to go just talk to the guy that left the note in the pocket. And then at 10 o' clock we gotta meet a apple tree for. Yeah, whatever.

I also want to look behind the church and See what that. What they were talking about with like the. Whatever that was called at the entranceway.

Or by the church.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay. Alrighty. Oh, I have like a thousand tabs open.

I know. Seriously?

Well, if anybody. Anybody needs anything stolen, I have plus 11, just light of hand. Oh, my God.

That's crazy.

Oh, my God.

Plus 11. I think you just steal for the sport of it.

Jesus Christ.

All right, should we wrap it up?

I'm excited to use the new equipment next time, that's for sure.

All right. All right. So I think that's gonna do it for this episode of Campaign. You heard us. Make sense. Some friends see some quote unquote zombies. Tree almost took someone's face off and we ended up going on a shopping spree that may have taken a couple hours, but when it came down to making those decisions, I think we all got items we really wanted, even if they were immovable for us at first. That's due for me, for Goldor, for Bellith, for our dm, Liam, and for Tree. And we will see you next time. Bye bye.

Peace.

Bye bye. Campaign is produced by Mike Levine, Liam McManus, Mike Orla, Bridget Vecchio, and me, Michael Height. I edit and mix our show. Our intro voice recording was done by the one and only Coltrane. Music used in this podcast was sourced from Fanatical's 2023 music bundle featuring Dark Fantasy Studio. If you like our show, we hope you'll consider going to our show now. Us and supporting the show. Doing so helps us put out more shows like this one. Thanks for listening and we will see you next time.