Icebound | Ep. 29 | The Clutch of Command
03:03:12 Share

Welcome to Legends of Avantris. I'm Barnabas Dreadwake and you're listening to Icebound. Here's what happened last time. Dracar, mighty goddess of the land.

The primal, the savage one, opened my eyes and showed me. If we bring the human we call Daisy to this city, to this home, will danger befall her? I communed with Drakkar this time. It was a vision to answer the question I asked, and I believe

You should bring her here. Oh, sweetheart, come here. She races towards you. And I'm just gonna rush up and hug her. And you are suddenly in an embrace. She leaps over the railing and runs to embrace you, Taishan. And you can feel her pull her arms around your torso and almost shaking, you feel this great embrace. There was this, like, almost invisible sphere or something that was floating around behind us at one point. You are seen.

By whom, I am not sure. Right down the bridge, through the gate, a parting of all of the people, and you can see walking down that, at first small, but getting larger and larger, are woolly rhinos. In the sky, you see swooping down

the massive white wings of the ice dragon known as the Princess of Wrath. She transforms and lands on the very first woolly rhino, starting to ride it into the assembly area, essentially making her presence known. Peoples of Drakkar, for generations, few of you were alive to see the last oath swearing ceremony. I am pleased you will be here to witness it today. Let me also remind all of you, as I'm sure you know, of the dangers

that threaten us now. For I have vanquished one, but you will have to vanquish the remainder with me when they come. She reaches down and she pulls out what you can clearly see is the head of Secundus. Fire!

It screams out in this jarbled mechanical insanity and it reverberates through the space. They come in search of this. And she reaches down and she pulls out, it's about the size of a wheel of cheese, a hexature armament. This is what they seek, a powerful artifact. It is mine.

A final blessing to unite our tributes. It is time to let the cold in. The silhouette of a massive giant. My children, my spirit now stands before you.

Together we are united to build a world where the weak are culled. You, and he looks down with these glowing, piercing blue eyes, and he turns and twists and looks at each one of you. The icebound Castores know this. My blessing is now upon you. Remember these words and feel my wrath. And you, my princess, my chosen, my sigdes,

Together we will build a world of endless winter. It pleases me to declare that you, your return is less than a moon cycle away. We continue to collect the gold that would buy your freedom, but chance has presented an alternative path.

I have retrieved a powerful artifact that may be enough to destroy your bonds, my husband. The giant man, it pulls free and you seem to think he's shattering his bonds for a moment and that he's going to reach the crowd when his form turns itself to ice and massive blocks land and crash and shatter across the granite floor. No longer alive, quiet around everyone until a cross-hammered clan cult jumps forward.

It was said that in the shadows of the craggy mountains where the trees bowed beneath the weight of snow and the winds whispered secrets there stood a hut unlike any other. It was said that those foolish enough to even whisper her name risked drawing her twisted attention.

It was said that those who dared to seek her coveted treasures still lived, their cursed fates unknown to all but herself. It was said that those who gazed upon her were driven mad, condemned to wander the frozen wastes haunted by her gruesome visage.

Yet was it not also said that the hag lived eternally? Indeed, was it not proof that these rumors had pervaded for generations? Was it not known that there was stood a hut in the mountains feared by beasts and monsters and men? Kastan and Sigdis approached this hut with cautious steps, their breaths hanging in the frigid air. Its walls were made from small bones bleached white by the passage of time.

The roof bulged like a burial mound and thin blue smoke curled up from the modest chimney and lazy tendrils. The mouth of the hut gaped open like the maw of a dead animal, frozen in an eternal silent scream. Kastan led the way into darkness. Sigdas followed close behind.

Inside, the air was thick with the scent of incense and wood and must. The walls were lined with dried plants and roots and hanging jars with contents hidden beneath layers of dust. No sources of light were evident, and yet Sigda's felt her eyes adjust to a strange light that seemed to hang in the air as though in a dream. Then came a voice like the rustling of dead leaves.

Welcome, children. Children seeking power like birds chirp for food.

Kostan stepped forward, speaking into the empty space. "'We seek your aid, witch,' he growled. "'I want the power to crush our foes. I want to live forever, to slaughter in vengeance. It is said by the elders that you possess these talents. I, Kostan of the Norveld tribe and of Drakkar, ask you to save my people.' A low chuckle echoed through the room, sending chills down Cygnus's spine.

Invisible hands gripped Kostan and Sigdus by their shoulders, guiding them forward to kneel in the center of the chamber. Sigdus held her gaze on the hard-packed earth before her, where before her a shallow metal basin sat and somehow babbled like a mountain stream.

"And what would you offer in return?" Sigdis heard the voice whisper. Sigdis watched her husband gaze into the bowl. "A princely sum, tribute of gold, land, treasure, livestock, weapons, labor. When my foes are vanquished, I will be king. Name your price, witch, and grant us what we seek."

"When your foes are vanquished you will be king, you say?" The voice tittered back with amusement. "Ah, fortune holds no interest for me, conqueror. No, the things I desire are far more precious." There was something in these witches' words, something hidden beneath the surface. Sigdis could only hold her breath, her heart pounding in her ears.

I can grant you what you seek, my child. Immortality, strength beyond measure. I am no child, Costan dared. Tell me, what is the cost of this magic? Your name and the souls of those you conquer. A fair price. One need only speak into the hollow, my child. Speak your heart's desire.

Kastan's words flowed freely and the water within the basin swirled and churned like a blizzard. A cold knot formed in Cygnus' stomach as she watched the ritual unfold. Ice in the water formed into a brilliant black jewel which was then caged by the skull of a tern and then the skull of a hare.

The skull of a fish enveloped the hair and next an eagle, a fox, each skull nestled within the next puzzling and mesmerizing Cygnus. And as Costan spoke, the dark magic took hold.

Blood gushed from Cygnus' husband's eyes and ears and nose and mouth. His muscles swelled and popped beneath the surface of his skin, shifting and cracking like clay beneath invisible hands. Castan's humanity was being torn asunder. In three days' time, he will be reborn as my deathless, my Kostkichi.

The voice echoed. Cygnus found her voice then and chirped, What have you done? What have you done to him, witch? What have you done? Answer me! I have done what was asked, child. You killed him! Look at him! We are doomed! Cygnus pleaded. Your husband has what he wished for.

No, there was love between us once! Cygnus cried out, her voice cracking with a mixture of sorrow and desperation. Our fates are intertwined. I have never strayed from his side. We are bound together forever, husband and wife, just as we are bound to those who depend upon us. Cygnus did not perceive the roiling vessel, not seeing the emerging shape of the ice forming within. Return him to me! Custkichi is mine now, little one.

Return him to me. In spite of all that had happened, Sigdis could not help but grasp at the fleeting hope within her. No, not without a thousand, thousand, thousand gold pieces would I do this.

Sigdas was momentarily blinded. The hut was gone, displaced by howling wind and the bright of day. She could not bear to return home with the corpse of her husband. She felt bound by love, by duty, by the fate of her people, and so she waited there for absolution. Waited and watched.

Before we get into the night session, let's talk about what happened last time, because it's been two months, and I want to make sure that we have a full refresher. I can provide sort of brief summary, but I would be curious if anyone else remembers some of the more priority points. Yes, Mike. Dungeon Master? Yes. Is 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000, 1,000

If that may be who she is. Tung, tung, tung. Spoilers. She's on that hustle grind. It's my favorite NPC. The hustle grind. There's no way she's giving it up for a billion gold.

- The whole start of that speech was I don't care about riches. - Is there a billion gold in a Vantress? - Good question. - How long ago was that? - I mean, with inflation. - Oh yeah, I was gonna say, you know, if you just wait for inflation to catch up. - So this was a thousand years pre-inflation. There's no way there's that much at that time. - Well, we can just talk about when Frant started his bank in the Feywild and how much money he made. - Thank you. That was very, I made like a trillion gold easy in just a simple inflation. - What if gold pieces are deflationary?

What does that mean? Like they're immediately in position? Yeah, over time they devalue instead of increasing value. Presumably that might be the case since magic consumes gold in order to make spells occur. If there's a limited amount of gold on a planet, world building style, unless it can be grown or conjured, then yeah, you would have a... Well, it would become more valuable. Limited resource. Every single gold piece would increase in value. Yeah. If you were destroying gold. Yeah. Yeah.

What happened last time? Last time. Important. You went through some trials and tribulations. I think that, very importantly, Daisy...

had been restored, and you knew that there was a ceremony that the Princes of Wrath had invited you to. You journeyed through the city from your district to the center of this larger lake stronghold known as the Biting Bastion.

and crossing the bridge to it, found that all of the tribes had been assembled for your naming. But before the ritual or festival could begin, you had a smaller ritual or ceremony to participate in. You were led up one of the taller spires where you met a white kobold, a member of the winged tribe that the Princess of Wrath commands, the Ivory Clutch.

and he himself walked you through a ritual involving a basin filled with water, and the ice took form and eventually produced your, essentially, sort of house relic or artifact, a small wooden woolly rhino. With that task completed, and you having all contributed to this ritual, you made your way back down and enjoyed some festivities.

Didn't we also discover the Hexature Armament there? The Hexature Armament would be revealed during the speech the Princess of Wrath produced. But Yorneir did sense it. I thought, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so I was thinking. Yorneir sensed its nearness, literally your nearness, and no relation to my far. My farness. My farness. Best friends with. And.

Yeah, yeah, I knew that was coming. There were some tribute conversations that happened where the chiefs all talked about their contributions to the city, to the kingdom, the empire, whatever you want to call it, and the Princess of Wrath accepted them with one exception. She took the gold, but refused to grant Nimrodel his wish for death. Yeah, that's brutal. The others were contributing gold, and...

wood for burning for the various tribes, the things like livestock, men with arms, trained men, that kind of thing.

And he gave away all of Scrim's gold, right? Yes, yeah, the 25 gold pieces that I gave him, he used as tribute. Yep, yep, he tried to get away with it. And I said, "Superva, what are you thinking? "That wasn't the point of all this!" It wasn't Secundus-- And he said, "Oh, I'm a Superva, I don't know any better." Didn't we see Secundus after getting beaten up by bugs? Oh, it was just his head? Her head. No, she ripped his head out of the back. She had his head, and he was like, "Aaah!"

She insinuated that they had fought and that it had been a tough fight, but she lifted up the head of the Kundis. And it was screaming almost eternally before she put it back into a muted box. He was fine from the bugs. I think we had seen him again since the bugs. No, but you

Oh, did he go-- He was all beat up from bugs and he killed his horse and like, slooped all of its like, bits and bites and wires and stuff. Thank you, Rhett. He slooped the horse's energy in order to basically give himself a long rest. Dude, that guy's having a bad day. Greg, Greg? It's longer than a day. So Cletus is having a rough time. He really is. I mean, he's in a hat box now. He is, he is.

And finally, woolly rhinos were brought in after everyone got to consume some food and enjoy some sort of networking almost. Some folks came and talked with you. And what happened to those? Taishan went and spoke with the poet. But the rhinos' lives were taken when the pyre burned down and the Princess of Wrath used the Hexature Armament to produce a projection, a magical projection of a massive giant

seemingly bound, but screaming down at her followers and presumably his. This was Kaskachi, and he beseeched

beseeched the Princess of Wrath to free him. She claimed that she was close to getting the gold that she needed, but also that she had found another artifact that perhaps might be able to break his bonds. At the end, he crumbled, the projection turned real and became blocks of ice and shattered and crashed down where the pyre had been, spilling ice and snow in all directions, and

That's where we sort of pick things up. But what I'll say is there's that moment of darkness as when one of the kobolds scream, lights and torches are all put out in the shock of what you've just experienced.

I would say that you, um, almost, uh, mutely watch as the various tribes, uh, uh, some, some sort of clapping, others just sort of, uh, solemnly having taken in this, uh, naming ceremony, many of them which may have not seen, uh,

Did you have a question, or is that just hand up? No, I'm just trying to get the chicken stuff off of my plate. No, I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a question. You see the cleaning of the ceremony space, this large open circle in the center of the Biting Bastion. You see the kobolds racing to move the woolly rhinos.

You yourself are led back up and into a tower. Not the same tower that you went up to reach the chambers of Whisperfang, but instead to a wholly different space, a luxurious space. Clearly meant for...

conference. A place where probably chieftains and the princess meet, but the kobolds lead you in, close the doors, and sort of leave you there with a few words describing that the princess will be with you soon. And that is where you find yourselves as we pick up our session tonight.

What happens next is up to you. That's my line, you're only adulting that. You're supposed to be self assured. You are right, Scree. I'm the one who's supposed to be unsure and doubtful. The dungeon master forgot the most important part of last episode. Oh yeah? When the princess of wrath graced us with our clan's name. Oh. Yes.

I'm not talking to it. I'm not talking to you, God. I'm talking to the screen. Oh, ow. The gods can hear us? Do they speak through you, Yornan? They do. Oh, what do they say? Hark! How many times have I done all of my cool shit? Hark, pray tell, what do they say? Yeah, but I have a feeling you gotta do your cool shit for them to hear us. In a place like this, I don't think the gods are listening to anyone. That was pretty cool. Yeah.

Also bottom of the boat's in Thai shit out of there. So is that the scene we're in a different town? You are in a different town. We are alone. You are alone for now. You've just witnessed what happened. The light is dark out the windows. The sun is clearly completely set at this point. There is a good snowstorm happening.

There's a there's a a modern amount of snow just sort of thick fluffy flakes sort of drifting past the open window and in this large space there are seating and tables and and pretty rich accommodations. There's almost certainly a few like food items on the table that sort of thing but

Other than that, there doesn't seem to be anyone but the five of you in this space. Real quick, did we also have our prime stats overridden? Yes. When Koskachi emerged, the ritual that you had committed to...

dropped your primary stat. Yeah, my charisma's low. By one. Yeah, 'cause I was looking, I was like, "What is this?" I have minus two. Oh, by one. By one modifier. Yes, yes, yes, yes. By one modifier. Yeah, one was minus two. Good eye. So, I would say that you are feeling dazed and diminished from the transformation that happened in addition to the information overload that you experienced.

not just the information of who the Princess of Wrath is allied with, but also the devastating news that your name has become the Castaways. Holy hell! Did you guys see that she just, she had Secundus's head and it was screaming! Yes. Well. She said it was a tough fight? I mean, he's not dead. So there's that, I guess. Well, if she has the...

The Secundus imprisoned, doesn't that make the war won? No. He was just the first. First of many. The master of Secundus. He's the real enemy. And if she struggled, if it was a tough fight, her words, not mine, against one, and they're gonna send a whole army, what are we gonna do? You think he's got a brother, Secundus?

I mean, if there are more of him, it's likely, right? Yeah, Secundus and Blow Undyne. Oh, excuse me? Excuse me, Miss Marge. No, I'm just saying. Look who's being nasty now, Miss Marge. It's in the name. Thurdundus? Huh? Not Thurdundus? Thur? Like third? Second? Third?

Maybe it is second, I thought it was spelled S-U-C-K. Well, if you're nasty. Or der Cousin Sigdis. Or Klofton. That's true, I'm not gonna be able to keep a straight face in the field of battle. I'm just telling you right now, it's not gonna happen. And what about that image in the pyre?

What was that? Don't even get me started on that, Taishen. Are any of y'all feeling less than... Every day? Anybody but Scrim. After we made that deal with her, whatever we did, I feel less than. And I'm worried about it. I knew we were getting over our heads by agreeing to anything with her, but...

I feel weaker, almost. Like, my senses aren't as sharp. Like, there's a haze around my mind. I thought it was just because of my fight with the Goliath fella. Oh yeah, how you feeling? A little less than, if I'm honest. But I just thought I was just tired. Getting turned into a giant crab monster and cutting a guy's head off will take a lot out of you.

I was hoping it was nothing. Feels hot in here, though. But I do keep telling Scrim to stop eating moldy bread. Well, look, you know... He likes it the moldier the better, honestly. I literally eat garbage. It's fine. It passes right through. I tried to pass him a loaf of bread that had no mold on it, and he walked around for an hour calling me really bad names. I know what to do with it.

Perhaps you would feel better and not poorly if you stopped eating garbage. I don't think that's true, even remotely. Have you seen him when he stops drinking?

I don't know if I have. Queenie's right. Papa didn't raise no quitter and I'm not starving today. That's for sure. I saw him. He went 30 minutes without drinking once and he was miserable. I'm miserable right now. It's like Scrim always says, you only get hung over if you starve. That's right. And if I stop now, the Collective Hangover might kill me all at once. I'm not willing to take that risk. I think we just let him eat the moldy bread.

This is fine. I haven't seen any moldy bread. I throw away any moldy provisions in my kitchen. I don't know what you're implying about my pantry. Are you sure about that? I am very sure. I run a very tight galley. Okay, well maybe the reason there's no moldy bread is because swim is around. I would know. I run inventory every night. I keep a tight ship.

As you're talking, the door opens. Just one sign of the double doors that open into this expansive space. And in walks the ivory clutch kobold that you familiarized yourself with. His wings sort of back and down, but he sort of hops in and he's got a platter in his arms. And good, good, good oath swearing ceremony. Very good, very good.

More food? He holds out a platter of crumpets. Oh. Yes, please. Take, take, take, take, take. Crumpets? We just ate. He sets them down. Always room for more food. I kind of disagree with that. Do you have any fruit preserves? I'm sure we can order some. Yes, yes. I like my crumpets with peanut butter. Do you have any peanut butter?

Do you have any soft and salted butter I can put on this? Yes. I do not know this peanut butter. That was delightful. That's okay. You're welcome. Do you have any questions or needs while we wait for the princess? Oh yeah, who is that big fella on the ice that the princess was commuting with and swearing all manner of unholy atrocities? That was the princess's husband, the prince.

Koskici. Isn't he grand? That's one word for it, I guess. Why was he, like, stuck? He was tricked. He was tricked into his damnation by a terrible woman. A horrible woman. A terrible witch. Oh. Cursed. Sealed away. We have been working to free him a long time. Generations. Centuries. Okay. How's that going?

It has not been going well. Well, except the time is turning. The artifact that the princess was able to acquire? Right. It is a marvel. It is a remarkable thing. It is endless, infinite, unending, and it's

In its power, I have never seen such magic. And if anything is going to be able to break the chains that bind the prince, it is this strange alien object from another world. What is said will happen when the prince is freed? Well, we will finally begin our full plans of commanding Drakkar, freeing Drakkar,

I believe the princess plans to spread her dominion across the Ventress to move into the other continents so that they too can learn their beauty, her grace, her wisdom. So the ultimate aim of the princess's conquest once she frees her husband. It is the only way to make sure that Strakhar is safe.

When will this happen? The culmination of her plan to bring him into reality more than a frozen statue.

It appears a race against time. A question of if we can mine enough gold. The dwarves work very hard. They're fast. But we have procured very little these last few years. Or if we are able to figure out the trick of freeing him with the

Artifacts that the princess brought back? It could be tomorrow. It could be weeks from now, months. There's no way of knowing. I am working day and night. With the exception of this lovely ceremony in today's break, I lock myself away, studying and trying to unlock the arcane and primal and divine mysteries of this strange device. Nerd.

The man that the prince has found with the construct. Oh, the young man? Not the young man, the older man? With the sword. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Does he live? Yes, he does. Absolutely. We've been asking him many questions. He is a stubborn man. I would like to submit a formal request to...

and claim ownership of his keeping. Oh, you wish to have him under your banner? Yes, a member of the... Fascinating idea. I spelt Gaz the Wiz. Aye, say true.

He's an icebound castaway just like us. That would be a question for the princess. Of course, I have no real power in the matter of politics, nor would I care to. Wait a minute. Isn't it your knowledge and magical power that hopes to unlock the device? Well, yes. How you hold the greatest amount of power in this entire kingdom?

It is you! You are the pivotal member of this entire tribe. You are the keystone to her plan, are you not? It is a great honor, and I have worked very hard to reach the depths of magic as I have tried, as my father, and his father, and his father before him. We are descendants from a noble family. And there is no other spellcaster in this entire city.

that has your level of power? I wouldn't say that. There are other powerful spell casters. I happen to have talent. Well, what I'm asking, though, is... is there any other spell weaver that could study this device and unlock its power? Or is it only you?

Every clutch works day in, day out. I am not the only one with magical abilities within the clutch. I am simply the leader and in some ways the right hand of the princess. Ah, that sounds pretty important. So if you were to be killed in a tragic accident...

You're saying... God forbid it! Oh, may the gods forbid such an accident and tragedy that there would be someone to rise and take your place.

and be able to unlock the mysteries of the device in your stead. I admit that it would cause tremendous delay. I am-- How old was I? I am a bit of a keystone, like in an arch. If I were to be removed, the arch would crumble and they'd have to start-- But if you want to put the number on it. Are we talking weeks or months? Or perhaps even years or decades?

I'm afraid that, uh, should something happen to me, we'd be looking at a delay of months. Quite a bit of time. Terrible tragedy, I might say. And you saw the eagerness with which the prince, uh, desired to free himself to return to his seat of power and, uh, make sure that we could spread the togetherness of our people.

What was this guy's name again? Whisperfang. Hi, Mr. Whisperfang. I truly respect someone with as much power and someone who has the knowledge and the mastery of their own skill set. Thank you, Bonamose. I appreciate the compliment. I believe that we should discuss when it's not such a monumental day, perhaps out privately. I'd love to pick your brain.

I mean, I'd like to ask you some questions. I understand your meaning. I am, as you might imagine, a very busy man, as I say, day in and day out. Feel free to call on me and visit, but to leave the tower to delay even an hour, I know I would be doing my... The princess a great disservice. How old are you?

I have seen many winters. I'm old for a kobold. So you're in the winters of your life. If there were one word to put a season on it. That's... But you've lived a good life, yeah? I've lived a long and good life. That's wonderful to hear. You might say a full life.

You have no regrets? Nothing you've regretted? I have no regrets. I've raised a beautiful family. No regrets at all, you say? Almost none. Look out for that balcony! Look at Barnabas. And it's... Oh. Yeah, go now. Finish with that. Are there any, like...

Guards. Closets we can still kill them. Are there people outside? You know what I mean? You're levels and levels up. You're floors and floors up. You had to climb many circular staircases to arrive at this special room for the purposes of consulting with the princess. So your way's up. If just to like...

I don't know, have a metaphor. Functionally. Hypothetically. If this room was like the private quarters of Tyrell, and I was Roy, and he was Sebastian, could I just slowly and menacingly approach him and break a fucking toothache? Is that what Barnabas is thinking, or is that what Barnabas is doing? I kind of want to turn this into a scene from Blade Runner, Derek.

And that's so effective we only have to show it on screen, because you know what happens. Just roll 1d20 for me to see if you coulda-graw the guy. Do you want to trust it? No, no, no. It's gotta be straight. Okay. Oh, I'm 9. Hmm.

I should have done this one. No, that's a seven. I should have done this one. That's an eight. Well, seven, eight, nine. The universe didn't want you to cougar on. In another universe that isn't ours, Barnabas walks up and just breaks this guy's neck. But in this universe, you are beginning to have these thoughts, these revelations, these ideas of, yeah, if we take this guy out, that could mean...

some good things perhaps. And it's at this point that both doors push open and in walks the Princess of Rattles. Oh, sweet Jesus. That would have been a nightmare. I'm like... Oh! I have my arm around you. Oh, you come in here, Winter. I'm coming here, oh.

Oh, you, what a great opening ceremony. It's Whisper, Whisperfang. Oh, Whisperfang, Whisperfang. Please, please. He's going to waltz over to the fruit basket and start to pluck at some of the grapes and other fruits that are therein. And the princess walks in with a smile. She pushes both doors open and

Excuse me. She pushes both doors open and walks, almost saunters into the center of the room and glancing over. I see that you enjoyed the crumpets. How did you enjoy your oath swearing ceremony? It was something special, that's for sure. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I, as the great chief of the Icebound Castaways... Indeed.

It brings me pride to stand before you as a member of this grand horde you've assembled here, my princess. Have you ever had the mantle of command thrust upon your shoulders in this way? Well, I guess from a technical point of view, a ship's cook is an officer. But to be standing at the top of the hill. I can't say I have.

It is a great responsibility you find. It is burdensome to lead. Oh, I have my great right hand and advisor Grimnir and the rest of my companions. That's...

I'm Grimnir and the rest. Oh, yeah, and the rest. This is a smash cut to the three of you. I mean the Professor and Marianne. Oh, and trust me, Barnabas did handle it many, many, many months ago. I lobbied really hard for Star Mutiny to get him to be in the lead in the first place because I believed in him so much.

If anyone's familiar with Barnabas's thrust, it's grim. What? She asked if he'd had the thrust of Barnabas. There is no, I can wield a harpoon better than the rest of them. He fishes really well. It's all in the thrust. Good fisherman. It is good to be a leader with such close allies and friends. Almost like your family. And...

To not have to lead alone means that the lives that you are responsible for are that much more protected, safe.

including Whisper Splinter. Whisper Fang. Whisper Fang. Oh yeah. Speaking of the people that we are bound to protect, we, Whisper... Whisper Sister. Whisper Fang. Whisper Sister. Whisper Fang? Yeah, no, exactly, Whisper Fang was explaining to us about your run-in with Screamy Head

and that there was a gentleman with him. He is part of our group. He's also a castaway, an Icebound castaway. The one who had been captured by the metal man. Yeah. He is, you claim him. Yeah, we'd like to. Oh yeah, we do. That would be nice. Uh-huh. He came from beyond the stars to find us. It was his destiny.

I believe that. And he was stolen from us by the metal man, from a certain point of view. I admit that he has not been very forthcoming with his information. If you would be able to get some answers about the artifact that I was able to pull from the ship and to help guide along the process that Whisperfang and I prioritized so much.

I think that I would be happy to part ways with him and let him become a part of the place-bound castaways. Yeah, we could definitely do our best to do that. I mean, we can't guarantee that we'll make him talk, but I think he's more likely to talk to us than he is to you. No offense or anything. We'll do everything we can to help. No, that would be wonderful. Really, I...

The circumstances of our meeting have soured our ability to chat openly. Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah. Oi, but I'm sure that he can learn to put water under the bridge, so to speak. Just like we have, you know, the first time that we met, you murdered our captain in cold blood.

And we put that all behind us, didn't we? Yeah, we buried the hatchet. That's right. Knowing what we know now, I think he got what he deserved. I only did it because of his injury. You understand? No, I do. I didn't at first, but I do understand. I never relish taking the life of something so rare. A human. But...

He did not look long for this world and I felt I was doing him mercy. Well, you know it takes great strength to do what must be done when others will not, do not have the courage to do it. Indeed. My princess. Speaking of humans, I thought I would bring up a bit of a sensitive topic. It has come to my attention that you have found the human, the one you asked me of just before your hit fight.

in the giant step. I understand that you have brought her here, and I would ask that you let her join her people under my wing. No. Surely you can understand that she would be safer with the humans that were saved from Ogerton. I implored her once to consider her safety, and she declined. She does not wish for safety.

She wishes to serve under our banner. She's a strong ally and is one of my pupils. I wish to develop her ability, her connection to the weird. That would not go away. She should be here in the Biting Bastion. She should be with her people. There are... And I know everything that happens under Kar. There is...

only this handful of humans left. They were to grow again, to become their own tribe, to become a people. Yeah, well, about that, um, I think that you know love, right? Love? Yeah. You know what it feels like to be in love? Of course. You'd never want to pull someone away from their loved ones like that, would you?

if she had maybe feelings for someone who was not human and I'm gonna glance the scrim for a second and then look away. Now, the thing is, young love is very powerful. And she is at a state in her life where she needs to be with those that she feels the most safe and the most comfortable and that is not always blood. Sometimes found family is far more powerful.

Those we find along the way, those that become part of our souls. I hope you know what that feels like. You understand I'm a family girl. So I definitely understand wanting to be with my kin, but now that I've found my family here, I could never imagine leaving them. So I wouldn't want to pull her away from that. Would you?

The short distance between this space and your district would be all the difference of her being here. And think of what work you have as a new tribe just starting out. Think of the difficulties that you must deal with in governing and rebuilding the district.

Yeah, so having that extra hand would be great. Well, I want to say, Your Grace, what the beautiful words that Miss Mark says are true. You've lost a great love of your life, have you not? I know what that's like. Were I to have my love back with me...

I would not want her even a short distance away. If you had your Acosta G back, would you consider that distance so very short as you claim it to be? From one lover to another. She belongs with her own people. And? You're part of my rule, my kingdom now. I'm asking, do I need to make it a decree? No, you do not need to do any decreeing just yet.

We are, of course, oath sworn to your cause. We are just trying to offer our perspective. And I hope that you are always as honest. And I will make you a promise. I think she will be safer with her family, with those that she should have been found with in Oakerton before she was left all alone. As the season passes and it's obvious that you are...

trustworthy and safe and that the district is in good shape, then we'll ask her to choose and she can return. Is that a fair enough deal? No, but it doesn't sound like we got a choice, so... If she does go with her family, is it possible that we may call upon her as we need for her to spend time with your nearest study, though she may live with her family? That may certainly be arranged.

Well... Well, I appreciate your granting us with such an honored station and such a hallowed position and name. And we will do your rulership proud as your most mighty and valuable tribe. I am certain of that. I look forward to it, and you are most welcome. I would ask that you bring her to me in...

One or two days time. There's no rush for these sorts of things, you understand. There's another matter on my mind, unless you want to pick a topic. I want to make sure that you feel this is an open forum. I reach and I get my pipe and I light it. It's behind me. We are just, I've got a topic, if no one else does. If you're enjoying some nice after oath swearing ceremony refreshments,

She goes over and she starts pouring some wine out of a decanter to listen. Our friend Winterclaw here. Whisperfang. Oh, yeah, of course. Whisperfang. And you notice when she says Whisperfang, she looks at him, and he looks at her, has been this entire time looking at her with awe and obsessive love. She looks at him the way you look at a pet. Whisperfang. Brutal.

He seems to be the... your right hand, so to speak, right? Is that true? Exactly right. He is a powerful magic user. And he is the one who will discover the mysteries of that artifact from beyond the stars, correct? It is our greatest hope that he is able to

solve the mystery, to be able to use that amazing device to pull my husband free from his bonds. That is great to hear. And to unlock these larger mysteries means power beyond power for all of us, for the tribes of Drakkar and for those that we would share this power with. As an example, your friend, did you mention her name?

Who? Your friend who's going to be joining us here in the Biting Bastion. Oh, no, I... Something happened after we did that, uh... That Pledge in the Field tea to you, and I feel less than right now. She and her companions, one of our first priorities once my husband has returned to me. We think that we may be able to restore them the way that they've been scarred. That...

"Is it righteous cause, is it not?" "Well, I think it depends on if that's something that they want themselves." "How are you gonna do that?" "This device that we found on that ship, that I pulled free from it, it is an endless well of magic of all types. You would have to ask Whisperfang for the specifics, but I can feel it. I can feel it in my blood, just as I used it to

create the portal that allowed you to see my husband. What purpose will you have of it once you achieve your goal of returning him here? Perhaps to...

grow our civilization, to protect our people, to, if an army comes, to defend ourselves, to help us cross the oceans and see the world. There are infinite possibilities. Aye, that is quite an impressive power, which brings me to my main point. It is truly amazing.

Whisperfang that will be the one to unlock this great power? That is exactly right. Well, he is quite old as far as I can tell. Do you have a plan in case he tragically passes on in his sleep peacefully? Pardon my saying.

Why do you keep bringing this up? I presume that Her Grace has a failsafe. Exactly right, Mr. Fireblossom. You must with such an important task. If Whisperfang's plans are delayed and we continue to do what we have for decades and decades, collect gold, smelt coins, and...

Take the long road. Oi, well, I am glad that you have a backup plan. You have it all figured out, Your Grace. I hope so. I don't mean to keep bringing up the humans, but just one point of business. Is there nothing that we could trade or give you to maybe expedite the process to have it come over a little faster? My husband or the one that you... The human, the human. You mean shorter than a season?

Yeah, like something we could do to just, you know, have her with us tomorrow, maybe. Or a few days, instead of her having to stay with the other humans for a while before making a choice to come over. You know, all that. We could just expedite that whole process if there's something we could maybe give you or, you know, trade or something. If you have anything to offer, I'd hear it. But I, from my perspective, know the position that you find yourselves in. Perhaps you don't even realize it.

Your tribe has no credit with the other tribes. How will you survive without trees and fuel and food? How will you take care of the ogres and everyone else? This is my concern. I want to give you the best chance for survival. All right, all right, that's a good point. You raise several valid points. But if you have something specific you want to trade for this human, I would entertain it.

That's right. Mr. Staviskotch has been wanting to gift you something quite impressive, but I feel like this is the right time to offer that in trade. What? But, but, but, but, you mean right this minute? I was thinking maybe like in the next, like, day or so or something. Right here, right now, we're doing this. Um, of course. I mean, of course. What if...

What if, I'm just saying what if, you know, you like gold, right? You like gold coins? It is a necessity. Okay, well, what if I had a very special coin? A coin that you've never seen in your whole life, but anything like it ever. Would that maybe interest you? I'm not saying I have that. Okay, so don't go looking. But, you know, what if? A special gold coin? You know, in theory. This is a very long story.

but I need many individual coins. One would be nice, but it would not be the tens or hundreds that I see from the doors and tribute each week, each month. It is not the economy that we bring in from the disparate tribes that...

scatter across the rest of Drakkar? This is one coin? I don't know, I'm just saying, I don't think you've ever seen a coin like this before. But he does agree that one coin is quite paltry, which is why this was just the appetizer, the first course to his true offer. That he's going to present to you and convince you right away. It's a very special coin. It's really special. And, you know, maybe more of them will follow. Ha ha.

When you return with the girl, present whatever gift you like and we can see what we see then. You know, that sounds very fair. I'm so glad that Barnabas is helping me out here. Thank you both, yes. Oh, he's just the prelude. The real gift is coming. Much more impressive than a single coin.

I do have something else that I want to bring up. Oh, all right. Your turn. And it segues nicely from what we were speaking of, the food that your ogres require and everything that you've inherited in this way. I will grant you credit for provisions for a week's time. If you do a task for me, the spirit keepers, I think you saw them down there during the ceremony, the orc shamans.

I need you to deliver a letter to their chief for me. Sounds like an easy task. I need you not to read the letter. I need you simply to deliver the message. And... Sure. If this deed is done, then I will see to it that when you go to Winter Market next, you will have preserves and fresh fruit and vegetables and everything that you need. That seems like an easy deal, right? Huh?

I think that is an amazing compromise. We can definitely do that and we will not read the contents of that letter, especially Scrim. That is what I like to hear. Oh, yes. Come on, man. I'm going to need you to get all the way off my back right now. I'm assured that you will not read the contents of the letter. Throw me out the carriage here. Come on. I think that's everything. Before you go...

A very important topic by my sage advisor Grimnir. And the rest. I wish to make it known, I care not for names, titles, what we are called, but as our leader, I must ensure that you know that we are not castaways. We are not lost. We are not stranded. Fate has brought us to this land. Fate

has set us on this pilgrimage and we are where we are supposed to be. We experienced a death that day on the ice. A death of the past, a death of who we once were. We experienced a rebirth in this land. We are Iceborn. Good day. And I'll turn and I'll, if it's ending, I'll, you know, motion to leave. Yeah, she's sipping her...

whine from her goblet and she sort of has her arms spread out on one of the longer couches. And when you say iceborn, she thinks about the words that you said and there's a long pause before she takes another sip. Is there anything else? No, and Grimnir speaks with my voice, but he misspoke when he said that he was the leader. Don't worry.

I'm still the leader of the Iceborn. You are chief. And this boy, I was the leader.

I think you did. There's no mutiny, we're very alive. There's no dissension there. Both of you have said mutiny. It was in the past, you know, people have been mutinying, mutinying, mutinying. It was one time. Just to try it out. We are the oisborne, exactly right, Mr. Grimnir. I'm retiring. I was implying that she is our leader and that she should know that. That's why. I'm retiring. Go to bed. Deliver the letter tomorrow and we'll see each other

when we see each other. Good night. She turns and she walks away and Whisperfang is whispering and almost like a puppy follows her out through the door, leaving you here. You're familiar with at least the knowledge that there are almost certainly like guards or escorts that would be able to guide you downstairs, yeah?

And if you needed to, but you're left again alone in this luxurious space. Wine, vegetables, fruit. I do not know how you kiss her ass. That is a skill, Barnabas, I gotta say, because the way that she is just so relentless about allowing us to keep Daisy with us, it is driving me up the wall. And you just kept your cool. Is it working in the kitchens? Yes.

Was it all your time on the ship? How do you do it? The door bursts open. I don't know. And just as you say, I don't know, the whisper fang rushes in. And the princesses drafted the letter and they meet her. Let me go ahead and take that. No, no, no, I want it. I want it. I got it. Scream has the letter. I will make sure it's safe. And I'm not going to read it.

"Be sure that you do not. "If the queen does not like her commands to be disobeyed--" I'm not gonna read it. Whisperfang, thank you so much for delivering. I have one question before you go.

So curious. Just so we can avoid any assassination attempts, is there anything you're allergic to? It's gonna be peanut butter. It's gonna be peanut butter. Peanut butter. I didn't know what that was. Earlier I said I didn't know what it was. That doesn't make any sense. But that means he's never tried it, which means he could be allergic to it. Continuity is very important. It's important.

Not to my knowledge, Bonnibus. Thank goodness you are as strong as an ox. We're looking at the-- the Iceborn are looking out for you, our good friend Whisperfang. I've always been very blessed in this way. Strong physique makes for a strong mind, I've always said. You know what, I have just the thing. If you find yourself stressed from the job and the power of your position, have you ever smoked before?

I keep a small amount of tobacco and a long pipe in my study for when I really need to ponder. I will. I will give you some of my private stock. It's very weak stuff, so you should smoke a lot of it. Best to enjoy with this. I'll get him a giant bag full of it.

Hey, there you go! Yep. I recommend never stopping. Woo! That's the good stuff, too, I can attest to it. It's good. It's good stuff. I know what this smells like because of what season it is. That was a feature on that magical item we gave you that many years ago. I don't know, I don't know. I can't find the paper. This thing is fucking 350 pages long. I don't know where it is.

Thank you Barnabas for the gift. You're very welcome. I will think of something for you. You're very clever. Why thank you. You are a friend to Barnabas Shredwig and a friend to the Iceborne. Maybe I will come visit. I could teach you a game. We would love it for you to come visit and certainly alone. We don't want anyone else hearing of our game. It would be so cool if you came to hang out with us. We could try base jumping.

Space jumping? Who? Cave diving! Yeah. No, this is a game of literary puzzles. Yeah, no, I understand that. It is a game of guessing the letters of the word each other and thinking about it. It's a laugh riot. If you have never done extreme sports, you have never truly opened your mind. There is nothing like freeform jumping right off a balcony. I will teach you. To truly open your mind to what the world has to offer. I have wings. I know how to fly.

Oh, yes. You don't need to when you're strapped to a rope. You just let yourself fall. You close your eyes. You don't think about how close you get to the ground. And you just wait. And it's best when you're strapped to an anchor as well. If you play a game or two, a literary puzzle, then perhaps the mood will strike. And honestly, the rope breaks not often. No, no. And...

But when it's done, it's purely an accident. We are ready to play literary puzzles whenever you are, Mr. Fang. We can always play toss lawn darts and don't move. Or just ski. I am going to go teach to the princess until next time. Thank you. Bye.

And he makes his way out through the double doors and disappears and you find yourself once again in private. The moment the door closes, I would like to investigate the letter. I tried to tell him not to give it to Scram. To see how it's sealed.

and try to take in everything. This is a pretty straight forward fold-fold wax seal. There's a wax seal now. Close the door. I will ponder the wax seal and just think about, you know, the ways in which I might be able to

heat it up and soften it maybe to reseal. I'm going to ponder that. And then I'm going to look to Barnabas and say, Barnabas! You really messed up my coin gambit there, man. I was trying to see if I could do something different, you know, before we dove into this is a very meager poultry. No, exactly. I was building you up for the grand finale. No, you don't understand. I was going to show her the coin and see if I could trick her into taking it.

I thought she'd take the bait, man.

I don't think we should read that letter. Well, we can talk about that. She will know if you do. I don't think you should be holding onto that letter. Well, we can talk about that. I stick it in my back pocket and I sit down. I'm gonna try and sneakily use my beads to steal the letter from Scrim. I'm sitting on it. Okay.

I would say, because he's sitting on it, you can make a sleight of hand check. I'm gonna sting him on the ass. Well, how would you like to do this? I don't know. I just know that Queenie does not feel comfortable with Scrim having the letter. Queenie, your bees are so strong at this level that you would be able to pick up... You'd be able to pick up Scrim. Like King Kong picks up the fucking lady in the movie. Just see him do this. Scrim. Scrim.

Here's the thing. You shouldn't have that letter. Okay, we can talk about it. Okay, well, let's talk about it now. Who's in agreement with me that Scribd should not be in position of that letter? Is it just me?

"Arnabose, do you intend to harm the kobold?" "We have so many more important things to talk about!" "I give up." "That was really ominous, man. I can't believe he didn't pick up on that. You were laying it on thick like butter on toast, just butter and butter and butter, and he's just like, 'Oh yeah!'" "How do you feel, home?"

- How did you not pick that up? - Queenie is gonna go over, grab some of the fruit that's on the little platter, and then just sit down on the table and just start eating it. - Is it gonna be like the little rabbits that go, and they're like, this is like a legit bird. - Exactly right, exactly right. - Gosh, that's funny.

I thought I was pretty subtle about it. Hold on, hold on. Why do you want to slow down what she's trying to do with her husband? I mean, if we're really in danger, if Secundus is really saying that there's a whole army coming, don't we want the Princess of Wrath to be ready to fight them? Doesn't she need her husband back to do something to help us? I mean, am I crazy here? Look, I'm not beyond, you know, random acts of violence, but I'm just trying to understand here.

I think that the... I think that if we kill that sniveling coward, then we disrupt all of her plans. So you just want to sow chaos? I mean, I'm not against it. I'm here for it.

Does she believe that the way that we defeat the metal man is by resurrecting her husband or restoring him from his icy prison? That's the impression that I got, but I... It seems as though she believes that using the Hexacharmament and reviving the prince, along with wielding it as a weapon of sorts, will offer them victory against the Secundus's army.

If he follows your instructions and smokes all of that, he will certainly die. Did you forget that in winter your snuffbox creates crack cocaine? Time to get to work! Holy shit! The purest Dracarion snow! That is...fucked.

Oh my! Barnabos! How could you? Oh, he's naughty! He's ripping any slits either. It's perfect. Now to get to work on the hematuramma.

I can't feel my face! What is up? Is anyone else tasting blue? Why do I have three hearts? Oh yeah... Anyways, it's regular tobacco. Yeah, it's like, can't remember which. Winter's... I'll find it. Something. What I think is that we have to stop the Princess of Wrath. And I look around like,

We shouldn't be just speaking here. I don't know if we can even speak freely in our home that was gifted to us so graciously. She will see everything if she knows of Daisy. She has eyes and ears everywhere. For the winter, you smoke fern wha. The color of bruised plum tastes like coffee, peat, and cedar. Mm. Mm. That's very funny.

Alright, I'm out of ideas. I just thought maybe we could get Daisy back. You know, with...

Trying to trick her with a cool coin, you know? And now we're talking about killing Whisperfang. And we gotta deliver this letter. Oh, you're just saying it's an option! For a week's worth of rations. I'm just saying it's an option. It doesn't sound like what she wants for Daisy is too terrible. And she said that we could call on her at any time we might need. Any time we could potentially pry her away. I mean, maybe we talk to her. Explain the situation. She goes for a day or two.

We commune with her again, and maybe she enjoys it. She said a whole season. Faster than a whole season when I brought it up. That's a long time. I just... I don't know. I don't like what the princess is doing, trying to keep all the humans together like that. I don't know what she's thinking, what her plan is, why. Something doesn't sit right with me, you know? Well, I think for now, we have to play our parts. We have to play along until we understand how we can...

fit into the larger picture here and take advantage of the opportunity that arises. Aye. I think you're right. I think we have to just play our part until the time arises before we bring our anchor down atop her head, metaphorically or literally. Her and that whisper fang.

They really got it out for that guy. He has one of the most powerful artifacts seemingly that the world has ever known that could destroy reality that Mr. Yornear said could flatten mountains and vaporize this entire land and all of its people and he is meddling with it?

He's more dangerous than she is! That's fair. What happens when I hit this button? Kills your car and leaves you there! It's just like a mushroom cloud. That's a nightmare. I like, kinda sit there like... Well maybe instead of killing him we can... When we get, uh... Ket, Ket Brasteen back...

Maybe we can get information from him, we can look, we can get an edge on it, and potentially we can prove ourselves more valuable in the study of the armament.

We could possibly rest it away in that approach. He's tried for generations to unlock a way to free the prince. If we could offer a guaranteed, or at least seemingly so, a clearer path towards her goal, possibly she would shift its ownership, or at least its oversight, to us.

Aye, and then, when Whisperfell hits accident... Jesus. There will be no one left to give it to after we earn your trust. Mr. Fireblossom, you are truly a genius. I don't remember saying that. I think that we have to play our part. I'm not going to command anyone, even though I seem to be chief.

But what I am saying is that I think we deliver that letter to the Orc Chiefs and perhaps get some more information about what's going on from that tribe, and then we find the right time to smash it all down. And what of food? Aren't we being gifted credits for a week? That's the idea if we deliver the letter, yeah. We get supplies for a week.

And then for the next week. Well, hopefully she'll have another mission or something. I truly believe that this is just her way to test us to see if we will deliver this letter without opening it. And then once we do, she'll know that we're trustworthy and then she'll provide us with more things to do for more credits. How else do you think they're getting their credits? You think they're a bunch of gardeners or...

Or what, I mean, it's gotta come from somewhere. Violence and loyalty. Maybe when we deliver the letter, we speak with the spirit walkers.

See if they have needs that we could potentially offer services. They might be able to offer us something in trade. It did sound like one of the things she said was that we didn't have good standing with the other groups. It sounds like they barter amongst themselves to survive. Each one has a core output. And then they band together to...

truly come as one through these seasons. We have to find our place, offer it to the group and reap the rewards. But we have to deal with one thing at a time. And next is to deliver the letter. I could speak to the fellow shaman of the tribes and inquire how they provide services for her. I just have a crazy idea! Yes?

Scream. Scream.

I don't know, man, you got that crazy powerful eyeball. I know I have a crazy powerful eyeball, and of course I could read that letter in two seconds. The point is that she is testing us to see if we do not read the letter. Man, you're no fun. I got it. The crazy powerful eyeball.

You're doing it on the plan! I figured it out. Okay. You're thinking about how to kill this guy. I'll think of a throat pillow on the couch. If you just... No one will suspect a thing. Have you thought of just poisoning his food?

Well, they say that poison is a coward's trick. Pillows, on the other hand. That's a proper bushwack there. It's crazy. They talk about poison all the time. Not a thing about a pillow. Exactly right. Exactly right. I don't... We'll workshop it. I don't think we should... I gotta go to the bathroom. So I don't know if you talked about this or not, but I don't think we should be giving Daisy up.

She's not ours to give up. The only plan I have is to show her the coin and maybe the princess is just enthralled by a coin that nobody on Avengers has ever seen before. And that's all I've got. I think that we tell Daisy to run. That's a good plan too. We don't take her to the queen, but she's not with us. We trust that she can take care of herself.

She finds somewhere else to go. And we just pray our faith in her is not misplaced. Did the princess not say that she would give Daisy a choice? In a season. Yeah, that's what it sounded like. It's too much time. It's too long. Boy, I think that we should not be discussing plans until we ask the young lady herself. She might want to go in and meet her father and all of her friends and perhaps commune with them and share what she's learned.

I think she would love to do that if she weren't going to be trapped there for a season with no choice. That girl does not want to be told what to do or where to live. She wouldn't have left when she did and gotten up to everything she's gotten up to. She didn't want freedom. A season is nothing in the grand scope of the universe. Sure. That's for someone... I remember being in the egg.

A season's a long time when you're trapped. And so I agree with Barnabas. We gotta give her the choice. If she chooses she wants to run, I'm not gonna stop her. Winter is here. If we tell her to run, we send her. We're not gonna tell her to run. I agree with Barnabas. We give her the choice. We can, but it may have even untold dangers beyond just the season.

The princess knows that she's here. She may have... She may have us under surveillance. She may have people watching the house now. If she tries to flee, who knows how she would respond. I think that should be your choice. A season will pass before we even know it. And then it will be spring. Perhaps, even for our own sake, staying here for the winter, learning what we can.

Building our reputation amongst the clans and amongst the princess. We need the Hexager armament. Right, but I didn't say anything about us leaving. I don't think with Secunda struck down, I don't think a season passes before their response is felt. Yes.

I think it's... And I think there's a reason she wants those humans. And I don't think she's giving her up in a season because what she wants with those humans is not going to be fulfilled. So whatever she plans to do, she's going to do it to Daisy within that time. That's what I was saying. I don't like it. It doesn't sit right with me.

I'm worried. But that's if she wants to go and she wants to do that, then we let her. I agree. I'm just saying we don't get in her way. We let her know what's going on and what's happening and that in two days, if she is still with us, we have to take her to the Prince of the Wrath. And so if she's here in two days, we take her. And if she slips out in the middle of the night, then whatever happens to her is her choice and her life. That's right. I could invite him fishing. That's right.

Will they provide you solace? Am I being replaced? I'm the fishing partner. If on the way... Are we still in the Citadel? Also, Miss March is good privacy. Also, Miss March is correct. We can multitask. We should invite them fishing, first of all. Second of all, recall that she referred to humans like a precious gem. And her husband was once a human.

So what if there's some sort of ritual that we're in? She needs to collect them in order to return his humanity to him. Oh, what about like a sacrifice like those poor rhinos? Like the rhinos, exactly. Oh no. That's the big fear.

Yeah, we have. Where she gets her claws on the young lady. That might be it, but I still think that we need to give Daisy a choice. Could also just be she had mentioned that all of the humans of Drakkar, these were all that were left. Could be truly she just wants to see the expansion of life across the ice again. Well, why wouldn't she? Take in the ogres as well.

Why would she come across a mixed community of ogres and humans and say, okay, all the ogres, you stay with the Goliaths, but the humans are mine. And she scrapes them into her hoard. Barnabas is right. Something is definitely going on. And if we take Whisperfang fishing, we can easily tie rocks to his ankle and we push him overboard. Exactly. Fishing accidents happen all the time. Nobody bats an eye. No one. Would it provide solace if on our way,

back to our home, we visit with the humans, Mylon and the others. We request to see them. See how they are living. Speak to them. Should be here in the Binding Bastion. I mean, we might just be able to find them. I don't see why that changes what we say when...

There are people that are fattened up before they're killed. They could be living in the lap of luxury, but that doesn't mean nothing bad's not going to happen to them. I do believe she's taking very good care of them. I'm not saying that for a time Daisy wouldn't be happy there, but what I am saying is that Daisy's life has been controlled by everyone but Daisy for so long.

She's an adult. She doesn't belong to us. She doesn't belong to the Princess of Wrath and she doesn't belong to her dad. She belongs to Daisy. I have a meta question just to confirm something that's important for my context as I role play. We don't know that she was formerly a human, correct? And that we don't know that she might just have a natural... I'm talking about Kasachi, not her. But I... To us? We don't know that his humanity's been stripped. We don't know even that he was a human.

As our characters. Oh! As our characters, we haven't seen any of that. We haven't seen any of that. No. Yeah. And this is a tricky part of separating the advanced story that I'm giving you. So Richie's like, oh, well, she was a fucking human. Like, of course she wants to rebuild this fucking human tribe. As players, you all have to-- But as players, we're like, oh, she's an evil dragon, right? If we're pulling it apart, I would say, I don't even think she's trying to rebuild the human tribe. I think Baba Yaga asked for souls and for gold. That's very possible. Oh, souls and gold? And so these are the human souls and the gold. Oh!

But anyway, but anyway. Souls and gold? Oh! Queenie doesn't know that. Queenie just doesn't trust her and believes that it should be Daisy's choice what she wants to do. Thank you for that clarification, because yes, Barnabas would think of this creature as a giant, not a human. It's a horrible giant. Either way. I didn't say any of that. Take all that back. I scrimstance, motherfucker.

that he just doesn't like that she's collecting them. For some reason, that's-- I agree. That seems quite fishy. We can align on that in canon. No metagaming. Yeah, the way that she talked about the captain before she killed him, that she doesn't like to kill these precious-- So obviously she covets, and that's fine. She's probably taking good care of them. However--

I will not be responsible for taking away Daisy's agency. I won't. Then we're in agreement. We'll go back, we'll find her, we'll tell her what's going on, we'll present the facts. She can make a choice. And if she wants to stay with us and then we have to, you know, try to convince the princess to turn her over, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. But we'll at least present her with the facts. That may force our hand. That's all right. In what way? To violence. Against who?

You know who. Gwyner Ass? You're still talking about that guy?

Someone said fishy, made me think of fishing. That's just a quick trip. Look, sure, there is a possibility that when we show up, if we show up without Daisy, that she'll be frustrated and she'll take it out on us. But we won't be lying. Or take it out on her. But that will be Daisy's choice to make. If she wants to put herself in danger, she can.

Either way, Daisy's in trouble, whether it's out on the ice or beneath the wings of that dragon. She just has to choose which danger she's walking towards. We can't protect her anymore. - I don't like any of this either, but Queenie's 100% right. Gotta do it. There's no other way. - Just if she chooses to leave, we have to see if she's amenable to leaving in a fashion that at the very least can seemingly

cleanse us of any kind of hand in it. We could stage a fake fight so people hear us yelling and being angry so that when we wake up in the morning and she's gone, it would make sense that she would have left. Would she not be hunted? She's hunted now. It's certainly possible.

I mean, it's absolutely possible. If she escapes and the princess has some way to find her, she'll never be able to escape. That's just, that's just, that's just a life, right? I don't like it, but we have to just give her a choice. Tell her the dangers and let her make a choice. There's just too much we don't know.

We should provide what we do know to her, allow her to make her choice. We should spend our days currying favor with the other groups and our nights learning what we can to see if we can destabilize this place and set free Drakkar. Wait, we're working to destabilize this place? How long was I in the bathroom?

Oh, you're-- Was that the last four sessions? You know, you walked away for 30 seconds, and the next thing you know, Barnabus is talking about chaos. And I'm right there with him. Oh, you're exactly right. We're destabilizing this, and maybe if we have to wait to do it until the metal men are defeated, then we do it then. Either way, she's not leaving the continent. I think Tyshen had a good point, like,

With Secundus screaming in that box, someone's gonna come. Oh yeah, we're screwed. That was why, but that's what you missed. I asked Barnabas why- I had too much fiber. It's all right. I asked Barnabas why he was so intent on killing Whisperfang. May we cease speaking of Winter Splinter, please? And- Master Winter Splinter. My question was why, because if we think that Secundus is bringing a whole lot of trouble-

army of people that are coming behind him, then we would think that we want the Princess of Brac to be ready to have an army of her own to fight back. And I don't see how destabilizing this place is gonna help her. - I don't know, I kinda hope they kill her. - Well, then we should definitely deal with Whisperfang. - If the forces of Secundus get here and a war rages, all of Aventress will be ash.

That certainly doesn't sound good. Well, even if that isn't the case, innocent lives will be taken. And that is what we want to avoid. Tyshen is correct. The hexager ornament, if the princess understands how to use it, maybe she could win. But it is of them. I believe that she thinks she can outsmart them. They are not of this world. It is capable of ending everything. We must...

I look around.

I kind of creep to the door, grab a crown crown. And I like poke to see if Old Winter Splinter's still around. Whisper Fang. You open the door and you can see down this long hallway. There's five guards. Oh, we're fudged. There are guards, but they are not closing for the door for you to feel like you've been listened in on, assuming that...

That would be the method of eavesdropping in this place. Oh, jeez. Why are you pulling that, Derek? You, uh... But you do not see Whisperfang or the Princess of Wrath. They are either up or down this spire, or perhaps somewhere else in this massive stronghold. All right. I think that we've been alone.

Only thing that we need to go and do exactly as we said. Talk to the young lady, give her the choice, help her however we can, no matter what the choice is. And then we deliver that letter to the farseers, the spirit walkers, and get our people fed. You're wearing a green, right? Yes. Sounds good to me. A green? Let's shake a leg. You shake a leg.

And you make your way down. You don't need much direction from the guards. It's easy enough, having come up here, to take the path to the ground floor and make your way back out. You can see that by now, after your long conversation with Whisperfang, with the princess, and with each other, that most of the ceremony accoutrement has been cleared away.

the pyre, uh, is but simmering coals, uh, what was not destroyed by the melting ice. And, uh, there's sort of some cleaning operations, but it's late. And it seems that it's only being handled by a few kobolds. The gate is open, and it's easy enough to...

Take your path towards the one remaining bridge that still leads out of the Biting Bastion. You recall that one side had been completely collapsed. Originally, there were two spokes to this hub, and you take the only remaining bridge out to the edge of the city where you're able to curve around, passing the...

district of the Cabal, the elves, and eventually making your way back to your own district. Now, the five of you seemingly leaders of this small new tribe, and you make it home.

This podcast is brought to you by our Patreon. Become a patron today at patreon.com slash legends of Avantris and gain access to tons of exclusive perks, including a monthly movie night and a weekly Patreon exclusive campaign set on the high seas. Shroud over Saltmont.

You can also go to thecrookedmoon.com to pick up your own copy of our first published supplement, The Crooked Moon, a folk horror tome for Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition. And don't forget to snag all the extra goodies like dice, miniatures, plushies, a tarot deck, and more. Thank you. You push into the...

structure that you have claimed as your home. The lights on the street of your district are dim. There are no ogres or anyone in the streets. Instead, you just make your way up the very rough, almost cobblestone-like street and push through into the door into the space that you have started to familiarize yourself with. You find yourself in that sort of living area.

What do you all do? Do we see- do we see Daisy? You do not see Daisy. We're back! Hello, anybody here? You yell out, you cry out for a moment and sort of listen and silence. Oh, well, she can't hear us, right? She's not deaf.

Oh! She's mute. Yeah. Never mind. I don't say that. She's just mute. It's been...

Two months? It's been a couple months. It has been. Searching around through the house, starting to feel a bit of apprehension, it's when Barnabas goes into the kitchen and opens the door to the pantry, finds a sleeping Daisy curled up in one of the corners, having clearly taken very seriously the, not the command, but the warning, the caution, the needing of her being

kept a secret. And she's just passed out there underneath the shelves of the few food preserves that you have remaining. I will not wake her, but I will try to do a quick inventory. I know you'd say it's obviously dwindling. We sent the ogres to go, so they obviously have not been back from the winter market.

From the last time you sent them to the Winter Market, either they returned with some provisions or none. I take an inventory. But you take an inventory and everything is exactly where you left it. You keep a tight ship and it does seem that with the exception of perhaps a jar that Daisy snacked on, there's a, everything is where it should be. I check for moldy bread.

You look for moldy bread. You do not find any moldy bread. I ain't told him. You turn around, his crumb's falling. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. She's all right. Oh, good. Good. Great. He's in the pantry like we told her. And maybe we don't have to wake her. We could just go, you know, leave her here, deliver the letter, and come back? What do you think?

Up to you guys. Well, we're not delivering the letter tomorrow. Well, that's what she commanded. We're requesting. We have to wait? Ah, God. Well, let me, the bees are small enough to get under her. Let me get her moved to a bed at least.

And I'll use the bees to get under her and lift her very slowly, even pressure, kind of like a white noise of bee humming, hopefully, as they will carry her through bed. She stirs a little bit, but you lift her up, and she sort of curls into herself like a cannonball, and you guide this shape into the second floor where the bedrooms are located, and

Uh, are easily able to, even the bees are even able to like lift up one of the heavy duvets that are on top of these blanket, on top of these bed mattresses and sort of slip her in like a hand in a glove. Perfect. And feeling that she is sound asleep, the five of you, uh,

Realize that it has been a long day. It's been a tiresome amount of experience. And you make your way to your own beds, assuming...

that you are ready for sleep. I'm imagining that the bees, as they're dropping her off, they are thinking about beds and say, what's the deal with California kings? Are people really that much taller in California? They say this in a language that only Queenie understands. And you all look at her as she giggles a little bit. Queenie starts laughing uproariously. What the hell is California? What's the deal?

Must be a place in the Feywild. The spirits are familiar with that you are not. But you each make your way to your own beds as sleep takes you. And you all enjoy a long rest. Let's go. We did it. We did it. We did it. We did it. We did it. We did it.

We left the tower and we didn't kill Whisperfeg yet. We did it. Fuck! We did it. And we got back and we made sure that Daisy was safe. We did it. We did it. Yeah!

We do a full music. You're a dad. Benny, the ball got stuck in my wall. The next morning, you each wake almost at the same time. So in tune with each other's sleeping patterns from the long period of time when you were in dire, desperate straits on the ice sheets, having to get what rest you could before moving on, facing starvation, cold. You almost on the dot.

suddenly find your eyes blinking and even though you're a little weary from the exertions of the last week, you feel a bit nourished from your sleep and you feel whole. You make your way downstairs and Daisy is already stirring as well and comes up to you. How was it? Well, we gotta have a little bit of a talk. Is everything okay?

Depends on how you define okay. Okay. All right, we're just gonna... We're gonna present you with the information, and then we're gonna let you make your own decision. But the long and short of it is that the princess wants you to be with the rest of the humans. She won't let you stay with us. She knows I'm here? She knows you're here. Out? Somewhat close by. And she says in a few days, we're gonna have to turn you over. How did she find out? I don't know. Do you think, Queenie, that it was the...

The thing we saw when we were out there in the mountains? That's my guess. I think, I don't think she knows you're in the city. I just think she knows that you and I have been together. And so she's putting two and two together. She claims she knows everything that happens on Drakkar, though. We don't know how true that is. It's also possible we're just in her kingdom and she has eyes everywhere. She, uh, is powerful, right? Vastly so.

When you told me the story of your arrival, she was on you almost instantly, right? And... No, that's true. The ship, she somehow knew about the ship, right? We don't have any way of knowing how she does this. She knew of the gold, too. She knew which barrels had the gold. Oy, that is strange. Could be possible she has some...

unnatural connection to the ice itself. She can sense through it, maybe. Or some kind of powerful divination. Perhaps she too can see into the weird. Boy, and she knew where the hexature armament was. Hidden away in that great vessel. As we soar through the sky. The point stands that we're not gonna force you to stay here. We're not gonna force you to go. It's up to you. If you wanna comply with what she's

saying and we'll let you if you want to run if you want to try to escape you can and then if you do want to stay with us well then we'll have to come up with some sort of plan but she was saying that if you go with the humans you got to stay there for at least a season and then after that once we get our our new group up and running and it's more stable then you can make a choice and come back over but i gotta be honest with you you know we don't like

We get a bad feeling of what's going on with the humans that she's collecting. She's saying they're rare. I just don't like it. It doesn't sit with me right. We also learn that her husband, this Prince of Wrath, is a giant, seemingly imprisoned somewhere beyond her reach. And the main goal of this entire horde of tribes

is to bring him back and wage war across Dracar and then beyond. What? Uh... Oi, it's a... A giant? A giant, a huge hairy fella. We only saw a projection through the ice after some rhinos got sacrificed. There's some... He spoke with a tremendous voice. Oi. Oi. Oi.

I'm not sure what the end goal is, how he can be brought back from wherever he is, imprisoned away. But I am certain the cost is a high one. If there was a way we knew where she was keeping the gold, what if we were able to find it and threaten to destroy it in some way? Or remove it or take it? This is the only way I can foresee us bargaining with her.

Otherwise, I personally believe we should do as she says. Your choice is your own. Before you guys came back, I wanted to try and rescue the, my tribe, the other vassals. I thought I could figure out a way to get into that stronghold and maybe break them out. Do I have to go right now? I mean, unless I'm misunderstanding, as you said, we had a couple days.

We'll support whatever you decide. We meant it when we said that you are the master of your own fate. No one else, not even a dragon. As ancient and as powerful as she claims to be. Thank you. And please do take some time by yourself and think on this. Reflect upon your choice. We have errands to run. I... I will. I'm going to...

I don't want to put you out or put you in danger. I'll think about it. Take your time, and if anyone says that you hear through the grapevine that we are called the Icebound Castaways, you inform them that they are misinformed, and we are now the Iceborn. Iceborn is a lot cooler. What do you mean, castaways? You wish to call us Iceborn. Is that what you said?

I just wanted her to know that we are not castaways.

"Oh, I think that's a pretty cold-blooded thing to say to a motherfucker before you form your own tribe!" "I was gonna say, 'Wow, remember that time we were almost the Icebound Castles instead of Iceborne?' That was so much cooler!" "That's fair point, Mr. Fireblossom!" "I'm officially changing the name!" "I support your decision, Chieftain." "I am the Chieftain of the Iceborne House, I..." "Hello!"

I decree, I declare as chieftain that we are the Iceborn, that Nicasa weighs no longer, exactly what Mr. Yornir said. And finally, you need to be careful of the true mastermind of this entire city. Oh, don't get him started. He's a little sniveling old bony little winged kobold calls himself

Fang and claw. Master Winter Splinter. Master Winter Splinter. Lord Voldemort. No, that's not right. Snake Jowl. Whisper Fang. Whisper Fang. Oh, that was it. With you see him, let us know right away. But if you think you can take the shot, and you got a clear shot, and no one knows where he is, you have my permission. It's cheap to take it.

Okay. I think I'm gonna hide in here, but if he comes knocking, I'll do what I must. Right between the eyes.

And if you have some cool Psy Warrior subclass features at this point, feel free to use them. Yeah, just crush his brain! Leave no trace! I don't think I can crush people's brains. I thought I could just nudge arrows so that they hit their target a little bit right now. No you don't. You will get strong and then you will be able to use your mind beans to endeavor to crush something's mind. I feel like I could barely lift that crumpet over there. It's very little.

Oh, with trumpets? With trumpets! Oh! Oh, great! All in good time, young lady, all in good time. I'm sorry we don't have time or provisions for any kind of real breakfast. I'm hoping the ogres have not gotten lost in the winter market. Even if they did, we'll go deliver the letter and then we'll have currency of some kind. That's right. We'll have some sort of...

favor and we'll get some food. We'll have a week to figure out what comes next. Yeah, once we deliver that letter, we officially have a social credit score. That's right. I think they came back with food. I could hear and smell cooking. No way. Last night. I think I would know if the pantry was provisioned. And I would have bet money that that was never going to work. No one came inside. But on the street, you could hear they're very loud, the ogres.

They supplied the district. I'm gonna go check it out. I gotta see how badly this went wrong. We'll check to make sure they did not-- certainly they would not eat through all the provisions in a single night. This is gonna be so good! Certainly not. Well, young lady, you continue to hide. Think about what we've told you and the choice is yours. Take care of yourself. Be safe.

What happens next is up to you. That's a cool thing to say. Goodbye. You make your way out after giving your goodbyes to Daisy, and she has a bit of a pensive look on her face as you close the door.

make your way out into the street and sure enough what Daisy said is true you do see ogres they have eaten through all of the provisions that they brought back from Winter's Market there's but but a humble breakfast for ogres they are still eating tons and tons of food but it looks like they are eating through whatever happens to be remaining holy hells

and let them go. These dozens of ogres are piling on sausages and eggs and moldy bread all onto plates and passing them down. What they've done is, in a section of the district, set up a communal eating area and they are all

laughing boisterously. Those that spot you cheer and wave their hand and wave their hands, wave you over. They clearly have reserved some meals for you and you enjoy a breakfast when you arrive. I can't believe they even made it back with food. Look at them go. This is unbelievable. I know it.

As much as it would be easy to be mad about it, look at how happy they are. I was gonna say, they deserve it after the several weeks that they've had. And with the credits we're gonna get for turning in this letter unread, I think we'll be alright. Let them have their fun eating all of that. We can procure more food if we need to. Right, we had a whole week's worth. They deserve this little celebration, this treat, this feast. I feel like, uh...

Midwinter was the new year. It was just yesterday. This also brings up a good point. Perhaps once we figure out how much a week's worth of provisional bias at the winter market, we put someone in charge to help ration it. What do you think, oh glorious leader of ours, fearless captain? I will need to. I was gonna say, I would've served on a ship where that right there would at least be ten lashes before the mast. Maybe a hangin'. Goodness.

When you're in dire circumstances, every single morsel of food counts. Anyways, they deserve it. You take what fill you can. There's enough reserved for you to have a full belly. Hot dog! As you start to make your way to sort of the main...

thoroughfares of Argentholm and you're familiar enough now with the city to know that the northeast of the city is what people here call the Circle, the district of the Spirit Keepers, Orc Shamans. They almost look like Drakarian versions of

Yornir, what you know of them from spying them at the ceremony. Dark, deep, earthy, green skin. Facial features very similar, but to orcs that you may or may not have seen in your travels. But with...

adorned with the sort of like druidic totems and ornamentation that you come to expect from people with more wisdom and serenity. And that is the expression that they had on their faces for the most part.

You pass the district again of the elves and continue to make your way past the bridge towards the north where you can clearly see a tremendous amount of greenery. This area, even though there's been snow overnight, there's clearly young, old, and

in between forests that sprout up all around this space. Unlike the other districts that are purely urban in nature, what transformation has been undergone by the Spirit Keepers looks like a

like bringing the nature back, bringing nature in, as opposed to the buildings that you were living in, which are very evidently a relic of the culture that had been destroyed. This is the most radical transformation that you've seen yet. It is... These buildings have been completely reworked or...

and grown, perhaps, or built out of wood and, uh...

thatched roofs, longhouses, that sort of thing. You make it to sort of the entrance to this larger district, and you can see, you immediately get the smell of smoke from what are clearly like smokehouses and preservation of food, that sort of thing. And it isn't very long before you can spy the

the orc shamans making their way. They are moving briskly from space to space. They're moving with purpose. They are not lazily sort of hanging about and just having sort of gatherings in sort of a social way. Everybody seems to be busy and active in this space, and that's what you are confronted with when you reach the sort of main entrance of this larger district known as the Circle.

Two orcs in particular catch your attention as you're walking in. You see them sort of arguing. One is a very elderly orc, and the other one is sort of tapping his foot and looking a little frustrated, overhearing the conversation.

I know that it's a raw deal, but your quota, it's low today. I'm sorry that you haven't been keeping up. The elderly man. I know that I am getting a bit less able in my old age. I'm doing the best I can, growing what I...

I am able to grow. I work the same hours as anyone else. The chieftain may understand this month. I wouldn't count on it. That's for him to decide. I know it's been a hard year, but there needs to be fuel. Fuel and food enough to not just keep...

us alive, the spirit keepers, but also to make sure the city is fed and warm. You may not... You may be at the bottom of the list. I'm just telling you now. Telling you now in advance of what may come.

I understand. Then there will be younger men, younger men who can take... I will contribute to my best. I'll redouble my efforts. And you're hearing this conversation. I am known as Grimnir, seer of the Iceborne clan. We wish to speak to your chieftain. Grimnir. Yeah, and where are the rest?

This is Chieftain Barnabas and these are the rest. Yes, yes, news has traveled that a new tribe has been named. The five of you are the icebound castaways. Aye, the Iceborn, you've heard wrong. Iceborn? Aye. That is the name of our tribe. How can I help you today?

We have a important message. We've got a letter. We've got a letter. We've got a letter. I wonder who it's from. It's from the Princess of Wrath. It is from the princess. That's right. Messenger Marsh. A letter, you say? Oh yeah, that's true. A letter for your chieftain, from one chieftain to another. You look for...

Spiritcaller Greywind, our chieftain. No, that's true. He should be expecting us. If he's expecting you, then he might be at home. But he's a hard man to track down. He's not very present these days. Well, how can we find him? The message is very important. It is from the princess herself.

I understand. Well, if you were to make your way up to the circle, the center sort of ritual space, you'll see a large tree. Make a left there, and you'll find an orchard, a tree orchard. His cottage is there, sort of remote there. Thank God it's not a spider orchard. Those exist? I don't know. Oh my God! Ahem.

At the orchard. At the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the... at the

Keep the paper. What the fuck are you talking about? He doesn't seem to know what you mean, and he immediately sort of turns back to his companion, and they continue to have their conversation, quieting as you walk away. You pass a number of these almost druidic shamanic orcs who are doing work in

You don't pass any of the livestock pens that you expect to find in the district, but in this front area, you do pass more orchards. These grown trees that you're watching as these orcs are sort of circling and working together to push. And you can even watch very, very slowly as the bark expands

branches start to peel out and and and you can see new growth leaves this sorts of things they're clearly accelerating the growth of these trees in order to speed up the need for warmth for wood and you can see almost armies of these orcs all each of them attached to a single tree and then

catching their breath and then moving on to the next one and going from tree to tree in this way. Are they fruiting trees or are these trees just growing for wood to build? These do not appear to be fruiting trees. These appear to be like firs and that variety. They are purely what can grow fastest and others are...

you can see very sort of solemnly cutting down trees and pulling up the stumps of these trees and immediately coming to them with seeds and starting to plant a replacement. As quickly as they can grow these trees to maturity and bring them down, they are replacing them and beginning the process anew and pouring their primal energies into the land and into the nature of this space.

You pass more buildings with some spirit totems carved in the front, small altars. You can tell that this is almost a spiritual place, each of you, as you continue to make your way. And eventually you find what feels like an old orchard, but it is not getting the attention of the younger ones that you saw, these sort of factories of sorts. You instead get a sense that this is a protective place

place, almost a sacred place. And walking through and in, you do spy a number of cottages, but it's evident when you spot the chieftain's cottage. Not because it's particularly grand, but because it seems to have an aura about it, a feeling of

perhaps beyond even nature itself to some sort of spirit place. It just glows with this primal light. And that's where you find yourself as you make your way through the circle. Mr. Yorner, given that you are akin to these shaman, I will allow you to do the talking. You are a spirit walker yourself. You might have something in common to talk about. I do not know the way he's

of these southern tribes but perhaps I can learn it may be completely different you might be able to offer wisdom from the north they've probably never been to the North Pole have they but you have almost certainly not seems like they too wield and respect the magics of the natural world and you could be in great alignment here

You must find the chief. Is the chieftain there, or do we just see the hut? You just see the hut. The hut. Or the cottage, sorry. If he's not there, maybe he's got like a mailbox. We can just leave the letter and we can go, and we can go collect our supplies and be good for a week. What do you think? Gotta go knock, right? The task was to deliver the letter, not necessarily to his hand. Let's go see what he's there. Let's go see if he's there. We got nothing to lose, right?

You make your way up the few wooden steps to the large, heavy wooden door that is the face of this cottage, and knocking a few times, you get no response. Half a minute passes. Again, you remember the words of the orca greeted you, and the chieftain may not be here. It was a chance. Why don't you try the door? Maybe he's...

Maybe he's resting, it's hard. Instead of skipping right to B&E, maybe we just, you know, slip the letter under his door and then it'll be safely locked inside of his little cottage. Scream try the door.

That's almost gotta be me. I try whatever handle there appears to be. You reach up and there is a wooden arcing door handle that allows you to pull the door forward. I attempt. And you find that it glides extremely smoothly as you are able to pull it open. And looking in, you can see there is a living space, a very minimal area, small burning hearths. There's...

shelves that you can see are filled with herbs and other drying items on the side. This is clearly a small foyer entrance. Hello? Is anyone home? I need everyone to make a perception check. Our first roll of the night. Let's go. I'm about to get swish of smoke, too.

Oh, baby. That's pretty good. I actually rolled an open. You said perception? Mm-hmm. Oh, let's go, I got a 22. Oh, wow. I also got a 22. Nice. 15.

Natural one. Yeah! Welcome back, man! Welcome back, everybody! Hey! That's a five. You're shaking off a lot of rust. It's okay. The next one's gonna be better. It was on the 19 and then to the one. Like, classic. Classic. Some of the cookie crumbles. I didn't want to alarm everyone, but before this session, I rolled three separate dice. They all got 13.

Oh. Oh. And I didn't want to alarm anyone. We're only at 1 in 8,000. 1408 and a bunch of guys in the shelves. Oh no! Tearing down the room. Tearing the wallpaper down. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We never left! Yornir, I, anyone higher than 20? It was just the two of you. Oh. Yornir, you notice sound beyond the hut itself.

In the orchard, you sort of like are watching as Scrim starts to speak and walk into the space, at least just getting to the threshold, right? I like stick my head in, but I'm not gonna step in yet. Yeah, I'm not gonna take away your agency there. I'm just saying that he's looking in and you're looking out. Fair enough. And you're near, you can see that there's a figure probably 50, 75 feet from where you are now, sort of shuffling through the trees.

At the same moment that you have this perception, Scrim, you are looking inside, and your eyes go down to the hearth, and then you can see that there's broken glass on the floor. What would...

normally be like a rug and a wooden floor, there's broken glass and your eyes go up and you can see that a mirror, a window has been destroyed on the side of this house, one that wasn't visible as you walked directly up towards it. Uh-oh. Well. We're being trailed. And also we got a problem because we can't be in any of this place because it's already been being eaten. There's a bunch of broken glass and a window broken on the other side of that cottage.

I grab the lantern off the front of the cottage and I hold it up. Oh! Who goes there? I'll kill you now! You're going to give all the girls the ink! There's going to be women around now! I fall on my knees and I scream into the heavens. No!

The Iceborn Rizzlers. I know you didn't hear that, my lord. The legendary Invis Gats will never be ours now.

I do, I do, I don't, there's no lantern, but I say, hold your guns. You yell out, and you know that this creature is well within hearing distance. The remoteness of the space, the calm serenity of these woods being what they are, you look closer, and it...

shuffling forward in this sort of like jerky motion when it turns and you can see that this is perhaps another orc. It seems different from this different distance. There's something that seems a little off about this shape as you're listening to Scrim's words. - While this happens, since I know that Nornir's watching my back, I'm gonna take a couple steps inward to see if I can see if anybody's injured.

or just assess the state of the situation with the broken glass. Make an investigation check. Is there light in this cabin? Yeah, I mean, it's morning, and so it's not, it doesn't need a tremendous amount of light, but the hearth peeking over Scrim's shoulders, as easy as it is given how short he is, you're able to see the hearth, it almost seems magical.

It seems like it's burning. It's putting out some light, but the light coming in through the windows and in the space is more than enough to illuminate whatever you need to see. Yeah, okay. So it's not like nobody's shrouded in shadows. No shadows. It is bright morning, and the only shade, is what I'll call it, is because of the...

canopy of trees that are all around you. With my plus one to investigation, I got a 21. Oh! That's a 29. You take a few steps in and you can see that there's a, um, uh,

a kitchen to one side and what is clearly a curtained off space that likely would be some sort of a sleeping area. This is a one floor cottage and you get a sense that its modesty is something that most of the orcs here enjoy. But that includes this chieftain rather than having some sort of

glorious, you know, manner or something along these lines. And you can see that there's a trap door that's open on the end of the kitchen. Next to what would be a dining table for two, you can see that there's a door that's been opened that has almost like steps, ladders going down, possibly to some sort of a storage room or larder.

I would take a few steps forward and kind of like poke my head. Hello, Chafedead? Are you all right? Is anyone here? You peek down and the light does not touch this area. It's dark. Do you have darkvision? I have darkvision! He's a goblin. I imagine he does. Yes, goblins have darkvision. Yes, I do.

Your eyes don't have to adjust, it's just a question of black and white. And you can see that the stairs go all the way down, perhaps 10 feet, to a dirt floor. And you can see, you can even spy looking around, there's some shelves going in, but you can't see anything more than that without actually traversing the ladder.

Hello? I'm coming to check on you. If it feels... Do you want to go by yourself? No, I'm just going. I'm worried. I will say, now that I see that this has happened, I'm going to crab leg it up. And I'm going to say, come on, Mr. Stavis, go to the Cheech and May.

And I'm gonna barrel with my 40 feet speed. You're not sprinting. You're not climbing the ladder. I scoop scream off and I tumble down. I scoop scream off. I tempt you as I fucking spider my way down with my crab legs. You feel yourself getting lifted up. And it's a tight fit for you, Barnamoose. This is not a massive...

opening, but you are able to slip through the portal and stomp your way. You feel almost like when you have to walk down the very vertical stairs of a sea ship, and you make your way down to the bottom. There's no illumination in this space, but I think you have guardrails. I do. They added that. Looking around, you can see that there are preserves and barrels, and this does appear to be a storage room, but on the far end, what appears to almost be the side of a tree.

Instead of the, not wet, but just dirty, dirt-packed walls of this space, on the other side, there's... If you could have a tree that's ten feet wide, this would be the bark of that, almost making like a barrier. And in the center of it, you can see splintered wood. Something has pushed its way out and through this space. Meanwhile...

- Yornir, this figure is getting closer. It's not responding to your calls, it's-- - I would start approaching it. - Walking forward. - And letting them do their thing. - When you get perhaps 60, 50 feet away, make an additional perception check. - Oh, that's pretty good. - Beautiful. - That's 26.

26, easy. 26. With a 26, this feels unnatural. You look at this orc and-- Did you say unnatural? Its skin is rotting. Its limbs seem-- What? Thrawn.

Not gone, but lacking flesh. Its clothes seem bloodied, as though it had been injured, but long ago dried and darkened with the stains of some injuries. There are cuts that go in where a stomach should be. Instead you see a concavity just underneath the ribs that themselves seem a little bit arrayed and slightly broken.

moves with a bit of a limp as it continues to walk forward to you, and its eyes, white with almost like cataract lenses, seem locked on you as it starts to lumber forward. Does it look like it is mindful? Meaning, does it have intention and sentience? Or does it feel like a mindless thrall or zombie?

Like a shambling owl. Perhaps like the undead creatures that were animated by the Herald of Fear that we may have experienced previous. Where I could tell that the owl wasn't really flying like an owl, that it was being controlled. Make an intelligence check. Oh, not like a nature check. That's pretty good. That's still pretty good, 15. 15. This creature seems...

to be shambling towards you because you're alive. You get a sense of, not animosity, but you imagine that if you were to move 10 feet to the left or move 10 feet to the right, that it would continue to beeline towards you. That feels intentional in its singular purpose, but also mindless. Um...

Feel free to cut back to them while I just look at them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You are... What are you two doing? Yeah. Yeah. Um...

I'm confused as to what's actually happening right now. Let me back up. Where is everybody at? Barnabas and Scrim raced into the home of the chieftain. When Scrim found the broken window, he stepped in and continued to call out, and Barnabas picked him up and took him down into a basement. So if you were following them, then you could be on your way down the ladder to that space.

as opposed to Yorneir, who I don't know if he's indicated that he's seen this creature, but if you follow his eyes-- - Shout out to who goes there. - Oh, he did? Okay, so yeah, you also watch-- - Identify yourself. - And you're taking in much of the same information that Yorneir is if you are with Yorneir. Your choice as to whether you want to continue standing where you were standing out in the front of this home, or if you wanted to follow the more proactive actions of your companions. - Oh, I'd definitely just be standing outside of the home waiting.

I think probably the like your near shouting would have would have caught my caught my attention I would have I would have turned towards him with the shambling or you stand next behind your near and he is gripping his staff and watching this creature very carefully with great suspicion and

Queenie, you are watching and observing the same thing. Yeah, I'll look towards them, like, "Ah, they look like they got it." And then I'll hear them shouting the crab claws against the floor and Scrim shouting, "Oh, what are you doing?" And I'll be like, "Ah, it looks like they got it too. "Someone should watch the door." An undead abomination! And I'm gonna, I'll turn my hand and snow and ice will start to coalesce and form into a snowball.

as I flip my hand, and I'm gonna shoot a good ol' hail at this guy. Nice. Okay. And I'm gonna attack him to try to stop it or slow it down. You make an attack roll. When Yorner moves, I'll ignite flames on my fists, but I'll wait to see. I'll let him lead through it.

You're gonna be ready in your action. Yeah, I'm ready. In case you see a zombie, then you're gonna... *Grunts* *Grunts* Suddenly zombies. Yeah. *Grunts* Be kind, that bitch.

That is a 20 to hit. Beautiful. That does hit. So it gets clobbered by this magical icy snowball. It's gonna do 1d8 magical bludgeoning as I find... What starts as a small bead of ice in Jornir's hand spins and grows larger and larger and larger until this orb of ice is something that he can launch. It sails and arcs through the air and lands and hits this creature dealing...

Dealing five points of damage and it needs to make a con save. - It would make a con save, but when the ice crashes into the chest of this creature, it felts. You watch as you push the life out of it with this simple blast. This was very weakened creature and as soon as you hit it, two things happen. You watch it almost lose its animation, it drops,

But at the same time, there's this shocking almost explosion of roots as it shuts and suspends itself as the roots sink into the ground and crunch out in all directions. It looks like a spiky tumbleweed now, but it is completely lifeless.

Is it continuing to like grow? It just grew out almost like a quick ball. So he's mid-fall from death locked in this position, but from his bones and from his flesh, small and large roots just seem to have shot out almost like one of those lightning balls at Spencer's. What is this sorcery? This can't be any of what they do.

I want to quickly look around and see if I see any others, if I see anyone else approaching. You took a good walk to get into this orchard. So looking around, you know that you'd have to take five minutes to get back to sort of the main path before getting into this cottage. I fast-forwarded for the purposes of brevity, but you feel as alone as you did when you first approached the cottage. I will walk up to it carefully

and I will investigate the roots and the body. And I think Taishen was following me at some point, so. Taishen and Queenie are- No, I'm staying at the- You're staying at the entrance, sort of being this middle point as the two of you walk out. The sentry. How far was the hail blast? What's the range? It's,

15 feet. So it was a quick... I got pretty close. You would have had to have waited until it was 15 feet away. So just a few steps you take until you get close. And go ahead and make... What kind of check are you looking to make? Just... Sort of what are you looking for? Yeah, basically, I want to sort of... Almost if I could investigate...

the state of this creature, how it died, if I feel like it was killed, if I feel like this is natural rot. So like a medicine or nature style. Give me a medicine check. 19. 19. You look at these...

roots that are jutting out of this creature, almost like cordyceps. And you get closer, and it's... Don't like that. This creature looks like it was killed. Whatever happened to this orc, it looks like when you have come across...

other sentient beings that have been attacked by packs of wolves and not survived the encounter. This creature had clearly been bitten and clawed. Whatever injuries were on its surface were not from made weapons. It looked like a very primal attack to you with a 19. - Hi, Cheyenne. - What do you make of it, your name? - Stay on guard, this oracus.

Killed by beasts or something savage. Maybe before whatever this is that's happened to him. What if you make these roots that are planting in the ground? Perhaps. That's a good, do I know, is this wood? Is this fungus? It is very evidently wood. This feels like, I think you have it or you've taken it previously and maybe dropped it in previous times, but something like entangle.

Okay. Where like all of a sudden-- So this feels kind of familiar. From primal magic, there's a burst of druidic energy and all of a sudden a very quick growth, even in situations where nothing might grow in a natural world. This orc was animated by some sort of primal magic, I am not sure. This magic is unfamiliar to me as well, but there was a season once at Jade Shell

growing the tea. I tried to plant mint to change the flavor and it overtook the entire bed. Yeah, never plant mint. Never plant mint. It never planted. Ran through the crop. Took an entire season. I had to set fire to the whole bed and I lost the crop. We can't let whatever this is, maybe it was attacked by wolves, but this, this is something else. We should cleanse it with fire. I will let you do so.

We must return to the others and let them know.

Queenie, you can hear all of this, so you get all of this information as we return to Scrim and Barnabas. The ceiling is surprisingly high up, and you are looking and watching at this gap, this almost hole that has been pushed through from the inside. If you let me jump out of your arms, the moment that I see a splinters all over, you said? It looks like something punched its way from the inside of this

this trunk. I would jump out of Barnabo's arms and run over to, I guess, to get a better look at it, but is it obvious or pertinent to us from the outside as we were approaching this cottage that it was built up against a tree? No. Okay, so this is weird. It's very strange. It's like you're looking at a slice of a trunk, but there, to your knowledge, was never a trunk of this magnitude. It would have to have been, given how flat it is, it would have had to have been...

hundreds of feet in diameter. I would get right up to where it looks like something punched out of it, and I would, like, pick up a splinter. What in the hells are we looking at here, Barnabas? What devilry is this? It's a tree! No, you don't. It's an underground tree! The side of a tree. We didn't see a tree growing up. It should be thousands of feet high to be the base of the trunk of a tree like this. Oh, yeah, this tree's huge. What's going on?

This doesn't make any sense. What do you make of this wound in the tree here? I mean, like, something came out? So maybe, oh, maybe something didn't break its way in, but something came out of the tree, and no, the glass was inside the cottage. Oh, that's right. This doesn't make sense. What if something broke into the tree? And then something broke out of the tree? I think we're the greatest detectives in Avengers. You're right, Mr. Stavis. How far does this wound, this hole go in the tree? I don't know. I'll find out. What will go in there?

You put one leg over the other and you start to creep in and you can see that there are winding tunnels that make their way deeper and deeper and deeper into this area. This is the under orchard area and immediately you're struck by the ceiling, which is...

just covered in roots. It's so thick it's almost like fur. Just hanging down and going deeper and deeper and deeper. Clearly stressing and straining and attempting to get lower and lower. But looking around, this is a dry space. There's...

It's almost humid. Not humid, that'd be the opposite. It's arid in the way that you reach in. And you make a perception check for me, both of you. Both? Mm-hmm. I will put my hand on Scrim's shoulder immediately. Not bad, 26. 22. 18. 22.

You both smell the dry air and this slight hint of decay as you immediately enter this space. There's this rotten...

nature to the air as it fills your nostrils. But you, it's very quiet as you start to observe in awe the space that you're confronting. And you can hear this very, very, very quiet sound of some sort of burrowing animal, a rodent. You hear this like... Queenie pops up out of the ground. You're wrong when you're not a turkey. Potamus!

As you listen and you finally pause for a moment. Beep, beep, beep.

You do get this sense, this thin, high-pitched squealing noise somewhere deeper, deeper within the tunnel. It sounds like a ride on a ship. Well, if this goes deeper into the earth, we should fetch the others. Yeah, we should not go alone. No, this is some sort of crazy tunnel system. I mean, how can this even be down here? It reminds me of Ogerton.

More tunnels. All right. Who knows what devilry is down here? Stay right here, and I will race, just back up the ladder and poke my head up out of the entrance to where we went down. The moment you do you spy Queenie in the open doorway. Hey! Hey, Queenie! All right, there's a ride of the others with you! Oh no, they wandered out into the orchard. Get 'em! There's a whole tunnel system under here, and I think we found a rat!

You guys got a light? I ain't got darkvision. We have lights. We have lights. Just get the others. All right, I'll let him know. I climb back down. I call Alice. I probably should have mentioned that they're yelling about a zombie. I will. There may be large weasels in this hole. That's the worst to worry about. It's like a rat, a giant rat. Yeah, giant rat. Giant rats. We can handle giant rats. That's all there is. Oh, what is it? A giant mole?

Well, that might be. I've heard tales about mole people on certain islands. Mole people? Mole people. Entire civilizations under the ground. We go on like this. Well. And I will casually make my way down to Yorneir and Taishan. And I'll call it when I'm about like 10 feet away. I'll be like, scram screaming about tunnels under the house.

Oh my god, is that a zombie? Taishan's burning this weird blue orc zombie. Out, sitting over the wicket, like, firing flame into it. And the second that it starts to, like, take hold, assuming that it does, I would move to engulf it in flame. Oh, it smells like burning hair. Yeah, it's not hard for you to immediately...

inflame this creature. It bursts into flame. The age of the body being what it is and the fact that it has these sort of magically produced roots that don't feel

that feel almost like, not tinder, firewood, kindling. You hear the pops and the cracks of the sound as it burns down and you control the sparks from flying too far up and hitting the canopy or hitting anything else. It takes only a few moments for you to reduce this to ash.

What did you say about mice? Oh, I didn't say anything about mice. I said Scrim is screaming about there being tunnels under the house. Tunnels? Yeah. You think that could have anything to do with this thing? I don't know. Zombie tree root things? I don't think so. There are no coincidences. I'm going to turn and start immediately.

hustling back to the house. And if you find, if you hear all the missing people, it always is near the caves that go deep underground where the mole people wait one day plotting their eventual rise to the surface where they will take over and slaughter all the surface dwellers. Ah!

Oh no! It says you're talking about this, that the three companions that you know so well arrive on the other side of the bark barrier that has been pushed through. They're taking in all the same detail. Guys, guys, guys, guys, guys! Whatever you found up there, I promise you a bottomless and I found was cooler. There's a bunch of tunnels with potentially a rat or maybe mo people. What did you guys find? Well, Tashin just

burned to a crisp the corpse of a zombie-- An animated wood infected zombie. What? The house was so much cooler! If there's no people.

We might have a kingdom of mole people, though. That's a toss-up. Yeah, but are they the undead? We don't know! They could be. The mole people could be anything, even undead mole people. That's true. How do you know that they're mole people, though? Barnabas is really certain. He told me all about their history. I've heard many a legend of the mole people. They're unbelievable on subterranean kingdoms. And so they're going to rise and they're going to take over everything. But you're saying an orc was reanimated. A zombie orc. A zombie orc. Yeah.

Ah, that's how it's gonna sound good! Exploded into wooden thorns. All right. And took root immediately in the ground. So we burnt it. We need to go deeper. Yes, hear that? The chief's might be in trouble. I want some more people! You hear this, uh... Stand behind Barnabas. You hear the sound of footsteps. And, uh, can I get a show of darkvision hands? Oh, is it pitch black for those without darkvision? It's pitch black. All right.

I can create flames. I feel like-- I can-- Ty sheds his fire is all he knows. Just pull out a lighter. Pull out a Bic. Yeah.

It was extremely dark. Yeah, yeah. As soon as you cross the threshold, you would immediately be able to... or you'd feel compelled, given the very dim light to pitch black quality of this space. This feels like a cavern. And so you're now all experiencing the flickering light on your faces, and it's in the flickering light that you see, coming down the hallway, yet another orc shambling forward.

This is what we saw. Oh no. This is what we saw outside, right here on air. Well, I didn't see this. I just saw it on fire. It is the same. So why is one up there and why is there another one down here? What does it mean? What's going on here? Is it the Chieftain? We should be-- maybe this is how they do things here. Maybe we're just burning their ancestors alive for no reason. Should we go back and talk to that guy?

The one we just killed? No! The one we talked to who told us how to get here. The two orcs we met at the beginning. Yeah, of course. I keep an eye on this thing. This is the way of things! You don't know that death gives way to rebirth and all that stuff, so what if how they're hastening the speed of these trees growing is by putting shambling orc dead things down here to perpetually create the cycle of

Decay, I don't know. I don't know, it looks like they're just waving their arms and trees are getting bigger. I don't think that-- But isn't, I don't know. I'd say it's about 30 feet away. I take a couple steps back behind Barnabas, and with a swirl of smoke, the brood label appear in my hand as I ready myself. It's coming right for us! Sail away!

i i give a battle yell i don't know

Iceborn drives! You race forward and Iceborn swing, make an attack roll. Don't let it infect you! What? Don't let it infect you! Lighten up the medium! Look out for the brave natural flame! Hey!

I'm not even gonna roll. I'm just there for moral support. That makes up for Mace's natural one. Yeah, exactly. I guess I should roll something, something bad. Features, hold on. Oh god, oh god. That was that. Eight plus...

Oh no. Does rage give me plus three or plus two? At this level, at least plus three. Okay. Yeah, so it'll be nine, twelve... And you might have brutal critical? I don't know. I do. Nice! Oh, right. Nine, twelve, fifteen, eighteen, and then that also is great weapon master. Hold on.

Yorna just threw a snowball for the first one. We're like, I use Crusher to knock it back. And if there is a round of initiative, it would be advantage on everyone for everyone. Well, you kill him. No.

You push it back five feet, and it's a good thing that you do. When you smash into this thing, it flies through the air, and then this same explosion of roots comes from the body as it, and it, feet never touches the ground because the, the,

roots reach the walls, the ceiling, and the floor, creating this almost webbing of roots as it stops and silently, despite the blast, becomes lifeless and just hangs there. Barnabas, what the hell? I killed it! Are you sure? Yeah, I think it's an orc zombie. I don't think it's a mole man. Darn it.

I would have been checking the faces of the one that I killed and this one since we talked to, presumably we saw and I think even talked to the orc chieftain. Oh, yeah.

Does it look like a different orc? No, no, the-- It doesn't look like a different orc? Oh, yeah. Oh no, we killed him! You've killed two chieftains. You've killed two chieftains, no. It looks like-- I Gork and my twin brother Mork. Oh no! Neither appear to be the chieftain that you recognize. That was a taller, older, he had silver hair, braids, and all of the ornamentation. These were much younger men.

So now I... We must continue. Oy. Perhaps an assassination attempt? I don't know, maybe. Is there any room for us to get by without like hacking away at this, this, this?

I think that you and Queenie could squeeze, but with the medium size that the rest of the party brings to the table, you would have to do a little bit of hacking in order to cut some of the root sway and perhaps let the body sort of fall to the side to create an opening large enough to pass through the tunnel now that that

barrier has erupted out of this. How open is the tunnel, Warren? The ceilings are about 10 feet tall, but the roots come down perhaps two feet. And so just over Yornir's head.

by a few inches. That being, it feels low to you, but everyone else it feels like a good sized hallway. And it depends on where it's winding. It sort of undulates. It can be as narrow as five feet, but in the section that you're in, it's, no, no, I would say the section you're in is about five feet wide, but it seems to sort of open up and

From this vantage point, given your fire, you feel like it's not just a long tunnel that you're headed down, that you're heading towards perhaps a room or some other opening.

I would get to work burning. Oh, there's a lot of roots on your hands, I should. Holy smokes. Easy there, big boy. Put the flames down a little bit. It's okay, Scrim. I can control the path of the fire. I can control the burn. I look behind on my phone. Oh, yeah, control burn is a thing. I've heard of it. All right, all right.

I'm trusting you, as I said. Miss Marge, can you use your powers of your bees to sense if there's any? You were able to detect the mind flayers. I was. I'm pretty sure at the waterfall you were able to detect either the dream taper. That's cool. That's my favorite. She's like, bees, Rango. Yeah, yeah. Her foot is cyst, I'm saying.

I love Goons. It's funny.

Yeah, that, um, maybe. We'll see. We can say. We really can say. Oh, wait. I don't know how. What class am I playing? The worst class in the game. The breakfast. I mean, I was eating an ogre's breakfast. I'm all chocked out. Makes me knee-high on a grasshopper.

My bees can sting people. I have primeval awareness. I think that's the one. Yep, this one sucks. He's a spell slot.

- Yeah, I will turn into beans and my eyes will go very wide. My foot will be tapping as my ears are just going this way or that as the bees kind of rush forward, almost create like a funnel of sound as I attempt to sense whether any aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiend, or undead are present within one mile of me. - The prim of all awareness takes hold

And you get a sense that there are undead nearby. Yikes. Do you get the direction? No. Just sense if they're nearby. Does it give you like how big? Doesn't reveal the location or number. Just lets you know they're within a mile. But you know they're undead though. Yeah. Eventually the foot stops tapping and my eyes snap back. Okay.

- This is, I don't know how else to say this, but they're beyond dead down these halls. - Wow. - We think we have to keep going until we find the chief to clear out this whole place.

They die so easy, nothing could go wrong. And Tony Chen can control the burn. Plus the worst thing can happen. Just the whole orchard is a hellscape of burn. You can't breathe. It's the Indiana Jones scene where he ignites the flames. Anywhere.

No! I can control it as long as it doesn't leap beyond a five foot box. No, this is fantasy tunnels. It's like a volcano layer. It'll be fine. You don't have to mimic this. The smoke goes up. It just crouched down a little. That's what Custer said. As long as there's no mold, then I think we'll be fine. We need to keep going. Maybe the chieftain found out there's some kind of

evil corruption down in the roots of their orchard and he came to investigate it. You must burn the way through. I fear he does not live. But perhaps we are not too late. You make your way and you fire punch your way through the roots. Not necessarily, well, up to you. If you destroy the body, you can destroy the body.

- Well, so-- - If you're going for speed, then you just destroy the opening that you would need in order for everyone to pass forward. If you burn as much as possible, including the body, that takes a bit longer.

I mean, how much does this look like some kind of like fungal root? It's not fungal. I know I said cordyceps because I was creating an image, but it is just-- I played the last of us and you really scared me, okay? I know, that's a scary fucking game. All right, I just clear the roots. I clear the roots. Just enough for us to get by. Just our path to get by. You clear the roots, the body falls to the side. Reanimates and attacks you from above. Oh, fuck! Reanimates and kills everyone. And you continue to make your way another 20, 30 feet.

another 20, 30 feet after that, it opens up. It widens a little bit into a larger sort of

Room isn't the right word because this is this feels very much like a tunnel that has almost been molded, but there are a number of different tunnels that connect to this sort of central hub and You can see in the center with the with the your dark vision or with the flickering within the flickering light the stained floor

of violence. There's fabric pieces and bones and a tremendous amount of darkened soil, clearly saturated with blood. Walking a few steps further to begin to investigate and push on to see if there are any additional threats, there's this tingle on the back of your neck. And you just get this innate sense of

Fear for a moment. Horror. This, I shouldn't be here. Something is very wrong. Well, that's what you're doing. I need everyone to make... Horror saving throw. Uh-oh. Oh, I already rolled. I can't use twists. A wisdom saving throw. Oh. Uh-oh. Um.

I got plus six. We have a bunch of twists, sir. We have a ton of twists. I'd like to take three. Three? Is that reasonable? I think three is fine. Come on. Come on. I'm going to take three as well. I got a five. Ah!

You got a six. Okay. All right. I took nine. That gives me a 16. I don't think it's going to be enough, but it's better than nothing. It's better than most of us. What did you get, Barnabas? I got a five. Six. 19. 25. 16. 16. You all have this sensation of fear, but only Yornir and Queenie are able to...

Push it aside and continue to keep their wits about you. But the three of you feel this uncanny feeling of deja vu. This horror creeps along your back and you realize that you can see your breath. It is very cold. Colder than it should be. Even in the dead of winter underground. And you...

- You rolled a five, Barnabus. I need you to make a-- - A die roll. - Charisma saving throw. - Not the die you throw. - I'm gonna use five. Five twists for Barnabus. - Okay. - I have a plus zero to my charisma. - Probably a good call.

Oh, it was on 20 for like a minute and two seconds. And then it went to an eight. That's the brain. Eight, oh, 13. That's it. You. Yikes. Nevermind, that's not good. Mechanically, you're incapacitated. But what happens in reality is that you are, you lose control of your body and something else steps in. A dark passenger walks into your body and...

and looks through your eyes. You are, as Barnum boasts, completely lucid and aware of this transformation, and full of fear, banging at the door, uh, windows of your mind, trying to figure out what's going on. But in this, uh, turmoil, you can't control yourself. Instead, you look down at your weapons, and you look at the faces of your, uh, companions and your allies, and you pick one to attack. Shit. Shit.

Let me roll a d4. Why don't you roll a d4 and make Mace one, Queenie... Two, three, four? Yep. I knew it. You should have just picked me. I almost did. I knew it was gonna happen. It's so embarrassing. The dice tell the story. The dice tell the story. So my question is, if I'm feared, am I able to take any actions?

And mechanically what I'll say is, I'm assuming he's gonna roll an attack, like would I be able to cast shield? I think that you would have a moment to go like this. Well we'll see if he hits. Either way, I'm like, ha ha ha, ha ha ha. In fact, I would say if anything, you're even more on your toes right now and sensitive to fast motion. As strange as it would be for someone like Barnabus to do that, you always have shield at the ready when you feel like you might be ambushed or like when you feel combatant. I do, you're right, I do.

That's right. Do I do my full action or just crit him? I presume so. Yeah.

I'm imagining that I'm standing forward and suddenly I hear the muttering of the mole's beak. I don't even see butterfuck. And I turn around and I see this short little leering mole person. This little mole person. And doom music starts playing in my head as the mole people are everywhere. And I go, not tonight, mole people! As I'm going to

I'm doing it, so I'm hoping that I miss. You've seen the damage. So I'm using my great weapon master to drop my hit plus 10 damage. But if I hit his plus 10 damage... I got a lot of hit points. And you're recklessly attacking. You're recklessly attacking. He got a natural 20, didn't he? No, he didn't. He had to have. He got a natural 20 on Scrim. That's funny. Woo!

He's got to do 162. Oh, baby. There's no way. No, it's okay. There's no way. It's okay. It's okay. Oh, gosh. But Barnabas doesn't actually say anything, though. No, no, no. He's just like bearing down on him almost zombie-like. He just goes for it. That's all.

13. Did you actually get a nat 20? Yeah, oh yeah you did. Was it just one attack? Well I'm gonna do a second one. Well technically two more. Oh no! 13, hold on. You don't really have actual damage. Yeah no, hold on. 13 plus 10 is 24 points of bludgeoning damage. Fine, 23. 13 plus 10. Oh that's not a hit. 23 points of bludgeoning damage. Plus your 10?

That's with the 10. He added the 10. Yeah. Oh. I rolled low. 13 plus 10 is 23. Yeah, because it's brutal critical, right? But he hasn't rolled the damage yet. And then I'm going attack again. That's a 19 plus. That's enough. Plus 8. That's enough. OK. OK. That is 11 plus 11. Hold on, sorry. 11 plus 4 is 15 plus 18 plus.

28 points. 28 plus 23. Yeah. 28. One more? There actually should be three more damage because I was raging. Sure. And then I have to bonus action because I'm great weapon master and I crit. To hit, come on, minus five. Oh my god. What is it? Hold on. It is minus five, so 14 plus eight is 22. That's not that bad. Me or BD, you still get me. Okay. You still get me. 22's my max.

Okay, okay, only five. Five, nine, plus three is 12. Is that 17? Plus 10, 24. Wait, five plus nine. 23 plus 28 plus 24. 78. Yeah. That's pretty good. I'm alive.

I would say it's just one hit because yeah, you roll 3d 76 What's what's what's your weapon damage

It's only 3d6. Oh, okay, so you're using your crab claws. No, no. 2d6, plus 3d6, an extra one for riddle critical. You should have dealt your damage. Oh, then I'm definitely unconscious. Yeah, you got me. You got me. I was wondering when you rolled. I thought you hadn't rolled. I rolled two more. Plus nine. You got me. Plus nine. You got it? I was at one. Just the main thing keeps doing it. I'm not dead, though. I'm not dead. I'm just unconscious.

Oh, and you don't have--you can't like death save throw, right? Cause you're zero? Oh shit. Damn, Barnabas. I mean three attacks. And one's a crit, four attacks. This is very reminiscent of when, uh, Xelix Sitlergus was turned to by Toad. And I was like, "Oh." And he's like, "Windfury procs." I'm like, "What do they do with Windfury procs?" You don't even have time to think about shield when you--

And with two hands up, this anchor comes down and you've seen the damage and your, your, uh, fear transforms into terror before it's light out. As you are hit, you feel this spike of fear, but you are crushed down and crumbled down and you are scrambling, hoping for something, but you...

It's beyond you. Sometimes those are the breaks. And Barnabas, the spirit...

leaves you immediately after this attack. You stare down, looking down at what you have done, looking at your hands, those are your hands. This is your anchor, that is Scrim. You have dealt this mighty blow, you have put all of your strength into this, pushed and forced by this evil entity. Scrim's knees are broken. This is buckled.

I mean, if six seconds pass, right? Well, should we roll initiative to see who can act before he needs to roll? It's up to you. Make it a saving throw. Oh god, don't be a one. Don't roll a one. If you wanna use this one. Oh, and we all have to look away. So the red would be a natural one. Oh, right. And the red would be a natural twine. That's right. Oh god.

What is it? I'll hang on it. Just in case. Just in case. Just in case. You guys are good. You can look again. And you are digesting what has happened in this moment. The feeling of sudden jumping into your body. You are still frightened. And Mace, I mean, Taishan, you are also feeling this terrible fear. You both are, Yornir and Queenie, feeling this confusion.

When all of a sudden the pieces of this puzzle click into place as you hear a scream that you've heard before. And that's where we'll call the night session. I'll give you this back. What? That's not good. Well, we're down a player. Good luck. Good luck.

If we have like a boss fight, we're fucked. Thank you so much for listening to the Legends of Avantris podcast. We hope you enjoyed the session. If you want even more campaigns to listen to, become a member of our Patreon at the Pearl Dolphin tier or higher to unlock Shroud over Saltmarsh, a patron-exclusive campaign set on the high seas. You can find that at patreon.com slash legendsofavantris.

If you want to chat about the episode with the Avantris community, join us on Discord at legendsofavantris.com slash Discord. We also post content nearly every day on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. So make sure you follow our socials at legendsofavantris.com slash social. And make sure you check out The Crooked Moon so you can terrify your friends with a folk horror 5th edition supplement published by us. Get your own copy at thecrookedmoon.com. Thanks again and we'll see you next time.