Curse of Strahd - Episode 13 'The Tome of Strahd'

The players find an invaluable piece of hidden lore about Strahd himself. They also continue their attempt to gain entry into Krezk, which they hope to be a safe haven for Ireena.

Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:00

Thank you all for joining us for session 13 of our Curse of Strahd adventure. Last episode we began as the players, along with Soldar, Yevgeny, and Arena arrived in Kresk, or should I say, outside of Kresk. They tried to get in, trying to leave Arena in the safety of the Abbey of St. Markovia. But the Bergamaster of Kresk, yep, uh, was being a little bitch. Um, and he said, You can only come in, since you're outsiders, you can only come in if you bring us a delivery of wine, because we are sorely lacking the lifeblood of Barovia. Um you agreed, taking Arena, Soldar, and Yevgeny a bit south to the Wizard of Wines winery, where you found a destroyed building stomped to bits all of the vines and uh the building was rubble, um, but you did find these massive strange footsteps or trail leading up to Yester Hill. So continuing south along the road, you encountered Winter Splinter, a massive tree blight ass name, summoned by the druids using the stolen magic seed. So you killed Winter Splinter fairly quickly, recovered the magic seed, and continued up to Yester Hill, where surprisingly there was no druids. What you did find, guided by a strange voice, quick draw, was led to a spear, this magical ancient weapon from time even before Strahd, possibly. Recover that, continued, and guided by a were raven pointing you to a tree just like it was foretold by Madame Eva. You see a massive Golfias tree standing at the bottom of Yesterhill that you walk up to, and you see three vine blights, six needle blights, and twelve twig blights crawling out from under through the roots as they approach you guarding this tree and the treasure within it. Roll initiative.

SPEAKER_02 3:06

Oh shit.

SPEAKER_05 3:08

New dice.

unknown 3:10

Look at how my dice.

SPEAKER_05 3:12

Whoa, whoa!

SPEAKER_03 3:14

Like that happened. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_05 3:15

Just like Leo, it's edging. Yep.

SPEAKER_03 3:20

You're right.

SPEAKER_05 3:20

Uh 21 for a quick draw.

SPEAKER_03 3:23

19. 13.

SPEAKER_05 3:26

I feel like you always roll 21 and you always roll 19.

SPEAKER_02 3:30

Well.

SPEAKER_05 3:31

Feels pretty consistent. Um, awesome. You guys are the first three up. Oh, sick. Okay. Uh pretty. We don't need to switch normal rolls, but uh they don't have great modifiers. It's going to be Quick Draw, Leo, Leary, Yevgeny, Soldar.

SPEAKER_03 3:48

Could we still switch though? Because if I get all of those guys in the first line, then you can attack the second page.

SPEAKER_05 3:54

Sure. All right, Leo and Quick Draw will switch initiatives. Okay. My Leo will be up first with a 21, and Quick Draw will be second with a 19.

SPEAKER_03 4:05

Leo's gonna move 25 feet to there's like a line of blights.

SPEAKER_05 4:11

Yeah, they're all they're all kind of uh standing guarding uh from one direction. Yeah, a wizard would have been handy with some fireball that would have been.

SPEAKER_03 4:23

I don't know how to pronounce this, but I'm gonna call it Lyriel's Silver Lance. It's like Laryl's Silver Lance. Um, so it's strength 15 for all of the ones in front of me. So there's six of them.

SPEAKER_05 4:40

Yeah, Larol, Laryl, Leroy, Layroll.

SPEAKER_03 4:44

I think it's funny. You call it that.

SPEAKER_05 4:46

Larry Silverlance. Larry Silverlance. Here?

SPEAKER_03 4:50

Well, my best friend's name is Larry Elsie.

SPEAKER_05 4:52

Okay, so everyone in that line, which is six twig blights, is going to need to make a what save.

SPEAKER_03 4:58

Strength 15.

SPEAKER_05 4:59

Oh, they're dead. Okay. So twig blights are the baby ones. Yeah, those are the small babies.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

Fail. Fail. Fail. Fail. Fail. Success.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

Okay, so the ones that failed take twenty damage. Um, it's and half on a success?

SPEAKER_05 5:27

Yep. They're all dead. Oh man.

SPEAKER_03 5:32

Cool. Excellent. Wonderful. It's force damage, by the way. Just exploding.

SPEAKER_05 5:38

Yeah. Uh shards of twig go flying out. Damn. As you hear their gentle squeals.

SPEAKER_03 5:47

He looks at Yevgeny after they all die and he gives him a wink. Oh. See how he exploded that one? Yeah, he he means business.

SPEAKER_05 5:56

He means business. Yevgeny is not looking.

SPEAKER_03 5:59

Oh, fuck you, Yevgeny.

SPEAKER_05 6:01

He's aiming his shot. Oh shit, he's uh one eye closed, uh, aiming at these vine blights in the back.

SPEAKER_03 6:09

Okay. Um I'm not going to move. That might be controversial, but I'm not gonna move.

SPEAKER_05 6:16

Controversial. You're gonna get cancelled. Oh shit.

SPEAKER_03 6:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 6:21

Alright, that's your turn.

SPEAKER_03 6:22

Yep.

SPEAKER_05 6:22

Quick draw. Should I double dual wield my short swords so I can so you're not the only one? Like the only melee. There's a lot of them.

SPEAKER_01 6:36

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 6:37

Meet me on the front lines, William. And he'll holster his crossbow, his hand crossbows, and draw out his silver short swords and charge.

SPEAKER_03 6:46

Lyriel is gonna look across at Leo and go like 25. Leo's gonna look at Lyriel scared. She doesn't even know how to do that. She's wide-eyed, like, I don't know, and I don't really care.

SPEAKER_05 6:58

Instead of it's still pretty good. It's plus seven instead of plus nine. Because I don't have the I didn't pick, I picked the crossbow uh fighting style with the ranger. But giving them another melee target when it's this many enemies is uh probably gonna come in handy. Yeah. Uh okay. So I don't remember how powerful these guys are. I'm gonna bonus action hunters mark. Well, you just saw one die immediately from 10 damage. That is true. Uh I'm not gonna bonus action hunters mark. I am going to give each of them a hit from left to right. So my bonus my bonus action will be the third attack. Alright. Alright, so from left to right, that's gonna hit. AC is 14 for those guys. That's a 15 on the die. That's a natural 20. Oh fuck. And seven, eight, nine. The third one. So the one on the far right is going to miss. Okay. The one closest to Leo then is.

SPEAKER_03 8:09

Quick draw, this one next to me!

SPEAKER_05 8:12

So for the first one on my far left.

SPEAKER_03 8:17

Well like your fart left.

SPEAKER_05 8:19

It's only okay. Got it. Uh that's only no, that's not a d20 test. I can't do that. Okay, so that's only uh five damage. One in the middle there. That was the crit or no? No, that was not the crit. Got it. This is the crit. Nice. Uh that's 14 damage for the crit on the middle one. Okay. One directly in front. Uh, yeah. So you create a gap in between this front line that you can push through if you'd like, uh, as you slash this twig into uh utter shards.

SPEAKER_07 9:08

Utter shards.

SPEAKER_05 9:09

A bit rusty. With blades. Uh, and you do quite a bit of damage. Um, obviously, you know that ten took one out, so five uh is quite a bit of damage for it, and it goes into the bloody condition. Do you want to move or anything else? Uh no. Okay. Lyrielle.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Okay. Um, yeah, I'm just gonna run straight forward if you can move me up next to you. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 9:38

There you are.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

That's quite good. It's too arresting.

SPEAKER_03 9:44

Um I'm going to vow of enmity just to give myself advantage, just in case. Because my rolls are sometimes really bad.

SPEAKER_05 9:52

Um you're swinging on the bloody one first here?

SPEAKER_03 9:55

The one in front of me, yeah. Um, if that kills it, my second attack will go to the one uh on my left.

SPEAKER_05 10:01

Okay. Um minimum damage.

SPEAKER_03 10:11

Yeah, uh 11 damage.

SPEAKER_05 10:13

Yeah, it'll take out its two HP.

SPEAKER_03 10:15

Okay. Switch my switch my valve to the one on the left. Uh, yep, 21 to hit.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 10:24

And another 11 damage.

SPEAKER_05 10:28

Okay. Shatter that one too. You're much better than I am with swords. That leaves three of the twig blights remaining. Uh, and then still six needle blights. I have a big one, but I never use that either. Is that your turn?

SPEAKER_03 10:47

Yes. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 10:49

Um, Quick Dry, you do have that new spear as well. Finish off. I do have that new spear. Um if you feel like it's worth it, obviously no pressure to use it. It's just a just a cool little thing. Uh Yevgeny and Soldar are going to take shots um at the biggins. The uh the vine blights in the back. Those are both gonna hit. Those are both gonna hit. So that's gonna be four d8 damage total. Nice. That is four d8, not four t eight. Where are my d8s now? Oh, that's max wait, no, it's not. It's double sixes. It's not max damage. But I can read.

SPEAKER_03 11:40

Almost.

SPEAKER_05 11:41

I was thinking they were d6es for a second, even though I just said. Um fuck, I clicked on the wrong one. Okay. That is going to be sixteen damage to one of the vine blites, sending it into the bloody condition.

SPEAKER_07 12:00

Okay, good.

SPEAKER_05 12:01

And then the other one. Oh my god. High rolls over here.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

What?

SPEAKER_05 12:06

The other one is going to take.

SPEAKER_01 12:08

Are there's the middle ones?

unknown 12:09

13.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

Are they the big ones?

unknown 12:11

What?

SPEAKER_05 12:12

He said the vine blades in the back.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

Oh, in the back.

SPEAKER_05 12:14

Oh. There's twig, needle, vine, tree.

SPEAKER_01 12:18

Needle was the middle, that's what I forgot.

SPEAKER_05 12:20

Uh, and then 16 damage to the other one. Uh both of those are bloody. Um, these long shots that they arc just over the front line to hit the vine blights in the back. Uh, as you see, their arrows, uh, two arrows each sink into these plants, and they let out these.

SPEAKER_03 12:42

Wow. Oh.

SPEAKER_05 12:45

Continuing on, the remaining twig blights are going to try uh to jump on the little guy.

SPEAKER_03 12:57

That's me. I'm halfling, I'm halfling. Doot doot doot do.

SPEAKER_05 13:07

They are all going to have advantage attacks. They're picking on some on their own, so literally. Uh they're all gonna have advantage on their attacks because of pack tactics. Ah, okay. That's not good. That's a 21 to hit for the first one. A 15 to hit? No. And a 23 to hit. They don't do too much damage. They did take out um.

SPEAKER_03 13:40

They killed me in front of me. Whichever one I had with me back then, I don't remember.

SPEAKER_05 13:45

I think it was Soldar.

SPEAKER_03 13:46

Soldar.

SPEAKER_05 13:48

Soldar. You're gonna take six slashing and another six slashing. So 12 slashing damage. Uh, that was max damage on both of them. Jesus. Okay. Um, as two of them jump onto you and start clawing away with their sharpened twig fingers. Um that's gonna bring it to the needle blights. And they are also going to run up and surround you.

unknown 14:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 14:29

Thirty feet.

SPEAKER_02 14:35

Oh no, not me. Not Larry.

SPEAKER_05 14:43

Do the needle blights also have advantage because of pack tactics? Because that would suck.

SPEAKER_03 14:48

I guess we're about to find out.

SPEAKER_05 14:50

They do not. Okay, good. Um, so we're gonna have two attacks on each of you as they run up with their sharp needly claws um to take swipes at you.

SPEAKER_03 15:05

I need to get some reactions.

SPEAKER_05 15:08

Um okay, so two attacks at Leer Leary first. One of those is a 20, one's an 11, so that's gonna be one hit. Quick draw. That is a natural 20. Oh my gosh!

SPEAKER_03 15:25

Good lord.

SPEAKER_05 15:26

Anyway, yeah, warding flare or something. Leo, that's an 18 and a 10. Uh, so one hit on each of you. Quick draws is a crit.

SPEAKER_03 15:34

I should have stayed back. Why did you try to run up to the front with me? Hide behind her next time.

SPEAKER_05 15:43

You're the only one with the big sword, then it would be just you surrounded.

SPEAKER_03 15:48

I can take care of myself, it's alright.

SPEAKER_05 15:50

Uh, the critical hit on Quick Draw is going to do seven damage. Wow. Okay. It was 4d4 plus 1. Okay. Um, the regular hit on Leary is going to do seven damage. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 16:12

That's fine.

SPEAKER_05 16:14

And then five damage to Leo. As the needle blitz surround you. Um they don't hit very hard. Um neither do the twig blitz. Maybe you could have taken them at the winery after all.

SPEAKER_02 16:28

I guess so.

SPEAKER_05 16:29

I mean, you are a level higher. Yeah. Or maybe even two levels higher. Yeah. You might have been level four when you went. So. Who knows? Um, but that is all six of them. That brings it to Arena. She does not have a ranged weapon. She's gonna stay right the fuck where she is.

SPEAKER_03 16:49

Don't move.

SPEAKER_05 16:50

You see, she takes a step forward and draws her rapier. Don't you dare!

unknown 16:54

Alright.

SPEAKER_05 16:56

Okay. Um, if you start getting hurt, I will run into battle.

SPEAKER_03 17:02

Fair enough.

SPEAKER_05 17:06

Uh, so she's gonna stay back there. Um, she's going to use she's gonna get ready a dash. Put her in her place. Um in case one of you gets blinded.

SPEAKER_03 17:17

I only need to be worried about one of you out here. I I can't have her out here almost dying again.

SPEAKER_05 17:22

Um that brings it to the Vine Blights.

SPEAKER_03 17:26

Wait, then we turn and yell at her like a dog. No! Put it up, put it down. Drop it down, drop it, drop it.

SPEAKER_05 17:33

Drop it. Say it. Stay. Okay. Um the first one is going to cast an entangle spell. So you see these thick vines out of the um out of the Gulfius tree's roots and start to wrap around your legs. I need you to make a constitution save, that is a DC 12.

SPEAKER_03 18:07

Everybody. Um quick draw will have a plus three to this because of my aura. Let me make sure that you don't, Leo. I don't know how long.

SPEAKER_05 18:17

I'm sorry, a strength save. Constitution's their spell save or spell casting ability, but it's a strength save. It's a strength save, DC 12. Pass.

SPEAKER_03 18:26

Yeah, same. You're just out of mind. It's okay. I'm I'm good. Okay. Uh I can read. 13.

SPEAKER_05 18:37

Okay, so you all save. Um, the second one is going to try it as well. Um, so they're gonna cast entangled, another strength save, DC twelve.

SPEAKER_07 18:47

19 shit.

SPEAKER_05 18:52

15. That is a fail. It's a three on the die. Okay. Um, seeing the two of you still unrestrained, the third one is going to start shooting up uh more entanglements, another DC twelve. You do not need to make it uh quick draw because you are already restrained by it. Damn it. So I'm restrained.

SPEAKER_03 19:13

Nine.

SPEAKER_05 19:14

Okay. Leo and Quick Draw, after three entangle spells, are restrained.

SPEAKER_03 19:22

What is that? What's gonna happen to us? I don't think I've ever been restrained.

SPEAKER_05 19:29

I forget if it gives disadvantage on attacks. I will tell you in one second. I think it does.

SPEAKER_03 19:36

I'm always out of the way, so I never your speed is zero.

SPEAKER_05 19:39

Attack rolls against you have advantage, and your attack rolls have disadvantage. You also have disadvantage on deck saves.

SPEAKER_06 19:46

What the fuck?

SPEAKER_05 19:46

So they use their turn trying to restrain you and get two of you. Um, and that is gonna be all they can do.

unknown 19:57

Great.

SPEAKER_05 19:58

As they saw how quick uh they got knocked into bloody uh by Yevgeny and Soldar. Do we make that save at the end of our turns? You can make as an action, uh, you can make a athletics check.

unknown 20:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 20:14

Is this concentration? That's what I was gonna ask.

SPEAKER_05 20:16

It is concentration.

SPEAKER_03 20:17

Okay.

unknown 20:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 20:20

If you can't knock that.

SPEAKER_05 20:21

Uh that brings it up to the top of our initiative order with Leo, Quick Draw, and Leary.

SPEAKER_03 20:26

The one directly in front of me here. I'm gonna cast a word of radiance at it. So it's a con 15.

SPEAKER_05 20:32

Okay. That is going to succeed. That was a 17.

SPEAKER_03 20:42

Quick draw, how are you?

SPEAKER_05 20:44

I'm at 38 out of 57.

SPEAKER_03 20:46

So you're okay. I'm not gonna do anything yet.

SPEAKER_05 20:48

Yeah, my rat.

SPEAKER_03 20:49

Um, that's Leo's turn, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_05 20:54

Okay. Quick draw. Uh, is the non-bloody one the one who has us entangled? Uh, one of them, uh the middle, the one in the middle uh who is bloody has you entangled. Okay. The one on my right has Leo entangled. Alright. Oh, that's both of them being bloody. I will sheathe my short swords and flip out my hand crossbows again. Uh, even if I wanted to shoot a twig blight in front of me because of my mastery uh, or not mastery, but my feet, it will not impose disadvantage. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 21:34

Uh even though you have disadvantage anyway?

SPEAKER_05 21:36

I will have disadvantage because I am restrained. So I'm going for the con one that is concentrating on me. Okay. Uh I'm gonna try and attack. DC is going to be 12 for the Fine Blights. Okay. I am going to bonus action Hunter's mark on him. Okay. So I will have two attacks. Oh man. Fuck, that was a nat 20. Uh three plus nine. Uh 12. Mm-hmm. Okay. Just hits.

SPEAKER_04 22:08

You probably don't need the second one.

SPEAKER_05 22:11

Okay. So 12 hits. So roll damage for the first one. Alright. Seven. Uh that is going to kill it. Great. Can I keep that 12? Uh you can keep that 12. The second 12, I can keep that 12, or you could roll flat. Um to see if you get a nat 20. Um it's up to you. If you miss on the second one, then it's it's gonna be a flat roll. So no. Uh it was not. Uh let me then keep that second 12 roll to go for the one that's concentrating on restraining Leo. Okay. Uh, and then that will be nice. Uh plus four is 13 damage on. Okay. Both of them have both of them have three HP left. Let's um, so you absolutely slaughter them instantly. As you flip them. Flip my hand crossbows, one for each, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:13

Hey, quick draw! That's pretty good.

SPEAKER_05 23:15

And instantly the entangles um one of them is still up, so it's still difficult terrain uh from the first one, but you are none of you are restrained by this one. Uh so quick draw, you fire at the first one, break free out of your restrained uh the vines restraining your legs, um, and then shoot the second one, and Leo breaks free as well. Okay, so none of you are restrained, but you are still in difficult terrain. Any movement for you, quick draw? No. Okay. I'm not moving. Uh Leary.

SPEAKER_03 23:47

Okay. Um move my vowel to the one directly in front of me, the twig directly in front of me. Um, if this kills it, I'll move my second attack to another one. But uh 23 to hit.

SPEAKER_05 24:04

You know, she gets a good roll and she goes, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:09

And 13 damage to the twig blight.

SPEAKER_06 24:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 24:13

In front of me.

SPEAKER_06 24:14

Yep. Uh doesn't stand a chance. Lovely.

SPEAKER_03 24:18

Um and then the needle blight to my left. Switch over there.

SPEAKER_05 24:26

Can't read.

SPEAKER_03 24:27

Uh 12.

SPEAKER_05 24:28

12 to hit?

SPEAKER_03 24:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 24:31

Just hits.

unknown 24:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 24:35

The twig blights have the highest AC out of these eight. Purely because they are small.

SPEAKER_03 24:40

Oh, they're tiny.

SPEAKER_05 24:41

Oh, interesting. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 24:42

Um, seven slashing. I'm not gonna smite um anything. I am gonna use my bonus action to cast shield of faith on quick draw. So you have a plus two to your AC. Yay! My AC is 18.

SPEAKER_05 24:59

It was that one you wanted to hit?

SPEAKER_03 25:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 25:01

Okay. It is not quite bloody, but I just wanted to mark the one that you hit.

unknown 25:05

Yep.

SPEAKER_05 25:05

Um, does definitely get a pretty hurt from that, though.

SPEAKER_03 25:09

Yeah. She'll just kind of wave her hand and like a vaguely transparent, like gold kind of shield goes over you.

SPEAKER_05 25:18

Sweet.

SPEAKER_03 25:20

I know it's quite pretty. I've never actually tried it. It's quite pretty, isn't it?

SPEAKER_05 25:24

Uh Soldar and Yevgeny are going to be able to uh try and take out this last vine blight together. The power of friendship. Uh Soldar is going to hit once. Yevgeny is going to also hit once.

SPEAKER_03 25:46

I was gonna. Yevgeny's gonna hit once, and if Leo's lucky, more than once.

SPEAKER_05 25:53

Um they're going to knock the Vine Blight into the bloody condition. Um, they do 12 damage to it.

unknown 26:01

Nice.

SPEAKER_05 26:02

So 12 damage to the Vine Blight from both Soldar and Yevgeny. Uh the Vine Blight is now bloody. And that will bring it to the remaining two twig blights. My goodness.

SPEAKER_03 26:14

I swallowed wrong. Yeah. Water went down the wrong side.

SPEAKER_05 26:17

Hopefully, doesn't do that. Yeah, right?

SPEAKER_03 26:20

You know, it's like fucking go.

SPEAKER_05 26:24

Two attacks, a quick draw from the twig blights. Both of these are going to be advantage. One hit.

SPEAKER_01 26:32

His AC is 18 now.

SPEAKER_05 26:33

One hit. Yeah, it was a 23.

SPEAKER_01 26:37

Just checking.

SPEAKER_05 26:42

Okay. Uh just one hit. So that's gonna be three slashing damage. Ow. Uh, as one claws through your now magically blessed uh protection and just scratches the surface. The needle blights are all going to attack. Um three attacks. No, sorry, two each other, all still up. Um so two attacks at Leary. Does a 17 hit.

SPEAKER_01 27:21

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 27:22

One hit, two attacks at quick draw, no hits. Yes. Two attacks at Leo, no hits. So one hit total.

SPEAKER_03 27:30

One hit wander.

SPEAKER_05 27:31

One hit wander from the bloody needle blight. It's going to be six slashing damage to Leary.

SPEAKER_03 27:41

Oh. Is uh shield of faith concentration? No.

SPEAKER_05 27:45

It's not.

SPEAKER_03 27:46

I don't think so. Oh, it is. I've never okay, I've never had to do this. You have to make a constitution saving throw DC is 10. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

What is my Yeah.

unknown 27:59

Twice.

SPEAKER_05 28:01

Um you look back and you see uh arena ready to go, raring to go, waiting for any of you to get bloody.

SPEAKER_03 28:08

I'm still here. Use me if you need me. Don't tempt me.

SPEAKER_05 28:13

Alright.

SPEAKER_03 28:14

Use me if you need me. Goodness.

SPEAKER_05 28:18

Oh god. Uh the she would find a bloody Vine Blight is going to uh let's see. No. This recharges.

SPEAKER_03 28:34

Leo in his head is going, if you need me is crazy. He's like, well, you know what? They're not biological siblings.

SPEAKER_05 28:47

You see the vine blade walks up to Leo. Fuck you. It's going to make a constricting vine attack. Oh, God. That's definitely gonna hit a 23. It's going to be seven bludgeoning damage. Okay. You have the grappled condition. Right. And you are gonna take some bludgeoning damage at the start of each of your turns as it constricts you.

SPEAKER_02 29:17

Uh uh.

unknown 29:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 29:20

But uh until that ends, it is fully concentrated on you. Its whole uh its whole body is wrapped around you, so it can't really do anything else.

SPEAKER_07 29:30

Oh, he's a hugger, Larry.

SPEAKER_05 29:32

Yes. So these vines wrap around you and start to squeeze the breath out of you.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

He's a hugger, Larry!

SPEAKER_05 29:40

That brings it to your turn.

SPEAKER_03 29:44

I have disadvantage on him, right? But I can still hit him.

SPEAKER_05 29:48

You do not have disadvantage on him.

unknown 29:50

Oh.

SPEAKER_03 29:53

Um, I'm gonna try and do a word of radiance. I'm just gonna like expel some radiant light at him. That's a con 15.

SPEAKER_05 30:03

What word? Fuck! Fuck.

SPEAKER_03 30:15

Oh yeah. That's 11 uh radiant damage.

SPEAKER_05 30:20

How do you want to do this? Nice.

SPEAKER_03 30:22

Uh, he just goes, fuck! And it this radiance bursts from his chest and burns the fuck out of it. Nice. And then he he just kind of shakes the shape.

SPEAKER_05 30:36

Uh, so knocking this third and final blind vine blight down. Uh now that Vine is dead, we'll have to wait for TikTok, I guess. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 30:52

Musically fast.

SPEAKER_05 30:54

Uh that brings it to Quick Draw as Leo breaks out of this uh constricting vine, slaying this vine blight.

unknown 31:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 31:03

You are surrounded by a couple enemies here. Because oh uh sneak attack, does that mean I also have advantage? No. No. It's just the extra sneak on the side. You get sneak attack if you have advantage.

SPEAKER_03 31:17

Or if I'm within five feet.

SPEAKER_05 31:18

You get sneak attack if you have advantage on an attack, or if an ally is within five feet of them. So because Lyriel is within five feet of them. You get sneak attack. You do not get advantage. Oh, okay, okay. I just get the extra d6. Okay. Cool. Well, since she is within five feet of all of them, uh I'm going to go for the not bloody ones. Okay. One hit one bolt into each of them. Got it. So starting with uh counterclockwise. Beep, beep, beep. Okay. First one. AC's 12 for this one. That's gonna hit. That's 13 on the die. That's gonna hit, that's 13 on the die. AC's what? 12. Fuck. Uh 11 is not going to hit. So the counterclock counterclockwise? Yeah. So the one directly behind me is going to miss. The other two are going to hit. The other two are gonna hit. That is 13 damage. Bloody. And 10 damage to the one directly behind Lyriel. And bloody.

unknown 32:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 32:36

Um I thought that one was bloody too. The one No, I was just marking that that one was hit.

SPEAKER_03 32:40

Yeah, the one to my left, I still have my vow up on, so we'll see if I can kill him with this one hit. Uh 22 to hit. I was like six. Um 13 slashing to the one on my left.

SPEAKER_05 33:01

That kills it.

SPEAKER_03 33:03

Okay, nice. Uh move my buttons. Move my vow again to the one caddy corner in front of me.

SPEAKER_05 33:11

Got it.

SPEAKER_03 33:15

16 to hit. And hello. Uh 10 slashing.

SPEAKER_05 33:25

Okay. We're still a kill that one too.

unknown 33:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 33:31

Val will jump again to the one behind me until it dies.

SPEAKER_05 33:35

Nice. Um, awesome. Uh that will bring it to Evgeny and Soldar. Um they're gonna try to take out the little fucks, uh. So they're gonna fire one shot. He's gonna hit. And a Nat 20. Dead.

SPEAKER_02 34:00

Nice. Minimum damage.

SPEAKER_05 34:02

Soldar uh is trying to take out the one with his two shots. Um shots. The first one.

SPEAKER_03 34:10

Shots, shots, shots, shots. Do you hear that? Shots shots. What is that?

SPEAKER_05 34:14

He's gonna kill the first one with just the regular shot.

SPEAKER_06 34:18

Sounds like the 1980s.

SPEAKER_05 34:19

And then kill the second one with his crit. Nice. Let's go. So all that remains are these uh four needle blights as the final two twig blights have been knocked out by Soldar and Yevgeny. Uh Yevgeny still has his two shots because Soldar did his. And he is going to try to take out the bloody needle blight. That's a miss on the first shot and a miss on the second shot.

SPEAKER_03 34:54

Um distracted by you, Leo.

SPEAKER_05 34:57

Shooting. Just over quick draws head from the angle that they're at. Um that will bring it up.

SPEAKER_07 35:07

I'm not a twig blind.

SPEAKER_06 35:09

Be careful.

SPEAKER_05 35:10

That'll bring it to uh arena again. Um, I guess you didn't need my help. I'll just be here. She sheathes her rapier and just kind of leans up against the wagon.

SPEAKER_01 35:22

She literally died last time. Why is she upset?

SPEAKER_05 35:25

She's got like non-HP. Yep. Exactly. That will bring it back up to the top of the initiative order to Leo.

SPEAKER_03 35:36

We're gonna do another word of radiance to the one right in front of me, so that's uh con 15.

SPEAKER_05 35:43

Success.

SPEAKER_03 35:45

Um, isn't it isn't word of radiance like around stock?

SPEAKER_05 35:50

It's a cancer.

SPEAKER_03 35:51

But it should be the ones behind you should have to do the roll too.

SPEAKER_05 35:54

Oh, is it like a range?

SPEAKER_03 35:55

It says five foot emanation creature. Oh, so both of them. Oh fuck! Everyone should have been taking damage.

SPEAKER_05 36:02

Uh the second one fails.

SPEAKER_03 36:04

Okay, cool. Damn it. Well now I know I'm using it. I was thinking of using it when we were surrounded. It's a five foot emanation.

SPEAKER_05 36:10

Right. Five damage. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 36:16

Well, I got you. I don't know how to reach it. We have some of the same spells, I got you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 36:20

That's fine.

SPEAKER_03 36:21

Let me know. I'm gonna. Yeah, yeah, that's all I'm gonna do.

SPEAKER_05 36:26

Alright, quick draw. Okay. I am going to see how much I can kill here. Going for the bloody one. Uh I'm gonna bonus action hunter's mark, because I still have that up. I just keep forgetting to move it. Uh, two hit or at least at least two hits onto him. Yeah, that's a 18 to hit. Let's see if I kill him. Six HP on it. Yep, that'll kill it. Nice. Uh, and then second attack or bonus action. Nope, I already did that. I already bonus. Uh and then just I already bonused actioned. Uh so that one, since I already bonused actioned, uh, it'll just be a straight for the second hit on the one directly in front of me. That's a 19. And I'll get to sneak. Oh, max damage 12 plus four is 16. Exactly their HP. How do you want to do this? Uh one shot. Oh yeah. Just take out that, and I will just straight arm swivel and shoot it up the chest and out the top of its head. Point blank. You see needles start to rain down as it falls onto its knees and then gets stuck into this dirt.

SPEAKER_02 37:53

Wow, you really brought it to its knees. Well, uh quick draw.

SPEAKER_06 37:57

The tip of my hand crossbow.

unknown 38:00

All right.

SPEAKER_06 38:01

Guns don't exist in this world, so everyone's like, huh?

SPEAKER_03 38:05

Yeah, definitely stick with the crossbows, I think.

SPEAKER_05 38:07

Yeah, I think so. Okay, after quick draw, Leary.

SPEAKER_03 38:12

Yeah. Over to weather. Um, I'm going to switch my vowel uh to the one it beside the rock over there and run up to it. Yeah. Uh 21 to hit. Damn.

SPEAKER_05 38:33

Actually, it does not hit.

SPEAKER_03 38:36

Wow. Why?

SPEAKER_05 38:38

Because I'm lying.

SPEAKER_03 38:39

That's what I thought. All men do is lie.

SPEAKER_05 38:41

Trying to make this battle interesting. All men do is lie.

SPEAKER_03 38:43

That's gonna get clipped. Uh nine slashing, and then I'm gonna hit it again.

SPEAKER_05 38:49

You're hitting the bloody one or the not bloody one? Or not sorry, the one that was hit or the not one?

SPEAKER_03 38:54

The same one I just hit.

SPEAKER_05 38:57

But your first target was the one that she hit or not the one that she didn't hit.

SPEAKER_03 39:01

I don't know. Whichever one is next to the rock.

SPEAKER_05 39:03

This one she. Just tell me if you want do you want to attack the weaker one or the not?

SPEAKER_03 39:07

The weaker one.

SPEAKER_05 39:08

Okay. So nine damage bloodies it.

SPEAKER_03 39:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 39:11

Second attack.

SPEAKER_03 39:14

Hello. I threw that out of my tray. Um 17 to hit. 13 slashing.

SPEAKER_05 39:23

Okay, with two HP left. Uh, you slay it. Um Genian Soldar are gonna try to finish off this last one. Four attacks total here. That's gonna be one hit. And two hits. It's gonna be two d eight plus four. Trying to take out sixteen damage. Nope. Uh eleven. So they knock it into blade condition. Four. Uh for 11 damage. It is very, very hurt. Um it's going to uh try a last stitch effort. The only thing it can do is continue to just claw at Leo.

SPEAKER_03 40:22

Right.

SPEAKER_05 40:24

That is going to be a 17 to hit.

SPEAKER_03 40:27

Yeah. Just hits. Well, I have a 16 AT.

SPEAKER_04 40:32

And it's gonna do eight slashing damage.

SPEAKER_03 40:35

That's fine.

SPEAKER_04 40:37

That brings it back up to Leo.

SPEAKER_03 40:39

I'm gonna heal myself, first and foremost. Yeah. Um as my bonus action. Let's see what I get. I get 22 back.

SPEAKER_05 40:51

Whoa. It's almost brings you to full, or it does bring you to full. It does bring you to full. Nice.

SPEAKER_03 40:57

And then I'm going to cast um another word of radiance.

SPEAKER_05 41:00

Okay. Time save, right?

SPEAKER_03 41:02

Yep. 15.

SPEAKER_05 41:04

17.

SPEAKER_03 41:05

Fuuuck!

SPEAKER_05 41:07

Damn.

SPEAKER_03 41:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 41:10

Does Leary also have to make that save?

SPEAKER_03 41:13

I don't think. It's each creature of your choice. So you can just choose for it to not affect me. Unless you hate me and you want me to No. You are stepping on my cloak, though. Yeah, to keep you look at look at the minis. She's stepping on him.

SPEAKER_05 41:30

Um okay. That brings it to quick drop trying to finish it off. Five HP left. Bonus action. 100 mark. Okay. Even though I don't need it. Uh we'll get sneak attack two. First attack. Yep, that's going to hit. And I'm just, that's all I need. 15 damage. Alright, final blight. How do you want to do this? Uh Leo's poor word of radiance fails it and it and it it stands its ground, the dirty blight. And as I can just imagine him like stomping his foot like a come on! Uh after that you see hear a bolt sear past your ears between your heads, and it hits in its it hits it in his head so hard that it just topples over. What?

SPEAKER_01 42:34

What? What are you talking about?

SPEAKER_05 42:36

Hand crossed. You know what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_01 42:39

I don't know what you're talking about. Okay. Yeah. So the tree Yes.

SPEAKER_05 42:51

You see this massive Golfias tree. Sickly and poisonous. You its roots extending deep beneath this tall hill. Make a nature check for me, please. Quick draw as a ranger, you can make this an advantage. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 43:11

Guide myself.

SPEAKER_05 43:12

Oh, won't I know that?

SPEAKER_03 43:18

Oh, yeah, I can guide myself too.

SPEAKER_05 43:19

Oh, natural twenty.

SPEAKER_03 43:21

Uh nineteen. You rolled a I rolled a one and you rolled a twenty. Nineteen.

SPEAKER_05 43:26

On a natural twenty, you will get all the information. Oh yeah. This Golfias tree. This is a Golfias tree.

SPEAKER_01 43:34

Did you look it?

SPEAKER_05 43:35

Uh creates these blights from ordinary plans and is the only tree of its kind in Barovia. If the Gulfius tree is killed, no new blights can be created within Strahd's domain. It has an AC of fifteen, two hundred and fifty. HP. Damn. Immunity to bludgeoning, piercing, and psychic. Well, that sucks. If it's reduced to zero HP, it seems to be destroyed, but isn't truly dead, regaining one HP every month until it is fully healed.

unknown 44:17

What the fuck?

SPEAKER_05 44:19

So, in order to really kill it, you either need to uproot the entire tree or cast a halo spell. That's a pretty high level spell. Somebody could. Because it's an at 20, I'll just tell you Leo could get at level 9. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 44:42

Well, we'll just come back.

SPEAKER_05 44:43

Leo, when we're a bit stronger. Yeah, I think when we're a bit stronger. You should certainly do quite a bit of damage to it. Wouldn't fully kill it. But if you wanted to take a couple minutes to just lay some damage into this, it would certainly slow the blight creation. But it's immune to like Leary alonized. Plus, piercing and psychic.

SPEAKER_03 45:06

I'll just do a bunch of ships.

SPEAKER_05 45:07

So you can just do you can throw a bunch of cantrips at it, you can do slashing.

SPEAKER_03 45:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 45:13

So if you guys want to say that you like, I'm not going to have you roll a bunch of times because there's nothing that's attacking you. Yeah. If you guys want to roleplay essentially chopping this tree down with spells and the silvered short swords, oh, that doesn't count as a magical weapon, does it? The silvered short sword does not count as a magical weapon. So I literally couldn't do anything. However, the spear. As you are, yes, the spear, but as you are looking, I think the spear does piercing, though. But I guess it would be magical. It is a magical weapon, yeah. But as you're looking for kind of ways to either uproot it, which would be very difficult without a shovel or anything. And I'm like lumberjacking it, like you see embedded into the roots of this tree a dead adventurer in tattered leather armor. Oh no. And his axe embedded in the tree. Whoa. Exuding this magical energy as it is tangled up in these roots. But you can certainly chop it, chop it free and take it.

SPEAKER_03 46:27

I do have a question. You said it's poisonous. Can we get up close enough to it that we would have to do that?

SPEAKER_05 46:32

It's not like poisonous, not in the way that it's going to do damage to you. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 46:36

But like we might get like contact orbatitis.

SPEAKER_05 46:39

No, just more as in like it's I guess I chose the wrong word in the D in the context of D. It's a fucked up tree that's that creates this animates these plant matter into evil beasts. Okay. So poison was not the correct choice of words to use. You I'm assuming you pull this battle axe free.

SPEAKER_01 47:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 47:08

You see its handle carved with leaves and vines. The weapon itself weighs half as much as a normal battle axe. If you'd like to make an arcana check.

SPEAKER_03 47:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 47:29

Figure out. Or a cast identify would use.

SPEAKER_03 47:34

14 for arcana. That's only a nine.

SPEAKER_05 47:38

I'll try. I'll low zero. Nope. That's a five. On the fourteen, you recognize that it has been specifically crafted to do damage to plants. Dealing an extra d8 slashing damage to plants or plant creatures.

SPEAKER_03 48:04

Oh, these are basically just prunes. Oh. John Pruner. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 48:09

But you also see thorns embedded in the handle of it. They don't seem to be poking out so that when you grabbed it, it probably wouldn't affect you, but they're kind of like embedded inside to poke out under certain circumstances. But on a 14, you're not quite sure what those circumstances may be.

SPEAKER_03 48:32

Interesting. It's like maybe when I make a hit.

SPEAKER_05 48:38

So if any of you would like to wield this weapon, I didn't think it is called the Yesterhill Axe. And you can try. If you make an attack at this tree, it'll tell you. I'll tell you if it if it pierces you or if it does the extra damage. It does not require attunement.

SPEAKER_03 48:58

Just see what happens? I don't know. Like fine your hands a little bit, but Yeah, you can use it. You can touch yourself and heal yourself. Stop saying it like that, please. That's what you do. You touch yourself. Oh my good god. Like on your arm or something. Yeah, sure. It's only what I mean if you make it weird. Is it like literally called that in here? Yeah, it's not.

SPEAKER_05 49:20

Yeah, yes, sir.

SPEAKER_03 49:22

Sure. Yeah, I'll give it a test swing, see what happens.

SPEAKER_05 49:25

You swing it, chops through the tree much better, about 1d8 better than your normal your normal attacks with your greatsword. But you do not get pricked by these thorns.

SPEAKER_03 49:42

Oh, I wonder if it It might just be for show, because nothing happened. It might be like if you hit something that's not a plant. Oh, like it only wants to hit. Yeah, hit me. I'm just kidding. Please don't. Please don't. I lied. I thought it would be funny, and then you got a look in your eye.

SPEAKER_05 49:57

So this battle axe does magical slashing damage and an extra d8 to plants or plant creatures. Nice. Well, if we run into any more blitz of any kind, that would be very useful.

SPEAKER_01 50:09

Yeah, I guess so. So I'll keep it on me, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 50:13

I think I might stick with my normal sword there.

SPEAKER_05 50:16

As you continue to chop through this wood increasingly fast with this battle axe, um, you uncover a thick leather-bound book. In an opening at the bottom of this Golfias tree. The item of knowledge from Madame Eva's prophecy.

SPEAKER_02 50:44

Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_05 50:48

Leo, you're a wise man.

SPEAKER_03 50:50

Oh, thank you. You can read most of the time. I can. I'm really good at reading. I can. They told me I was reading well above my grade level. Who were they? The teachers at the temple. The nuns! The nuns!

SPEAKER_06 51:04

Well, they put you in the gifted program.

SPEAKER_03 51:06

Yeah, I was in the I think they lied, and I think you just proved my point. I do need everybody to know that canonically, Leo is very smart. He just doesn't show it. He's book smart, not street smart. Yeah. Yeah. He got like straight A's, gifted programs, AP courses, on a roll. And he doesn't use that knowledge for anything.

SPEAKER_05 51:31

As you reach down and pick up this book, you see steel hinges and a um on this leather-bound book and a uh symbol of strahd on the front in this uh beautifully carved steel.

SPEAKER_03 51:51

It's got you know who on it. Oh. Can I make like a some kind of check to see if it's gonna hurt me if I open it?

SPEAKER_05 51:58

Um, yeah, you can make a perception check.

SPEAKER_03 52:02

Uh no.

SPEAKER_05 52:04

No what?

SPEAKER_03 52:05

Um 14.

SPEAKER_05 52:08

Doesn't seem like it's trapped.

SPEAKER_03 52:10

Okay. I forgot that I have a plus seven to perception. Okay. Um, I'll try to open it.

SPEAKER_05 52:16

Okay. Uh, you do. Um, most of the pages in here uh are parchment and very brittle. This seems to be very old. Um, most of it seems to be written in the curious shorthand that only Strahd employs.

SPEAKER_03 52:37

Curious George Hand.

SPEAKER_05 52:41

Stains and age have made most of the work illegible, but several paragraphs remain intact and readable. If you'd like, you can read them aloud.

SPEAKER_03 52:54

Yeah, I'm reading that bitch's diary out loud. Oh guys, guys, it's his diary. It's his diary. It's his diary, should we read it? I'm reading sit in a circle. Anything to get in the middle. Anything to get this, anything in the middle. Oh god, I have to actually read it in real life. Oh, okay. Okay, should I do my best strawed impression?

SPEAKER_05 53:16

No.

SPEAKER_03 53:17

I am the ancient. I am the land. He wrote that. Yes, he did. My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past. I was the warrior. I was good and just. I thundered across the land like the wrath of a just god, but the war years and the killing years wore down my soul as the wind wears down, wears down into the sand.

SPEAKER_06 53:48

There's a very important lore that you seem to not be taking very seriously.

SPEAKER_03 53:52

Okay, alright.

SPEAKER_06 53:54

That approach is pretty good.

SPEAKER_03 53:56

It is, but keep going.

SPEAKER_06 53:59

As long as you ever you can one can understand what you're saying.

SPEAKER_03 54:03

Oh goodness slipped from my life. I found my youth and strength gone, and all that I had left was death. I'm gonna read this normally. My army settled in the valley of Barovia and took power over the people in the name of a just god, but none of a god's grace or justice. I called for my family, long unceded from their ancient thrones, and brought them here to settle in the castle Ravenloft. They came with a younger brother of mine, Sergei. He was handsome and youthful. I hated him for both. From the families of the valley, one spirit shone above all others, a rare beauty who was called perfection, joy, and treasure. Her name was Tatiana, and I longed for her to be mine. I loved her with all my heart. I loved her with all I loved her for my youth. I loved her for her joy, but she spurned me. Old one was my name to her. Oh, Elder! Damn, brother, also! She friend zombed him. Shush. Lyriel, like does like she laughs out loud at that. Old one. Her heart went to Sergei. That's right They were betrothed. The date was set. Oh Lyriel is looking at Irina like, how? Liel is so gagged. Damn.

SPEAKER_05 55:25

Uh, as you look over and you see Arena, she's just stunned.

SPEAKER_03 55:32

We're all making fun of him, and she's like having a memory.

SPEAKER_05 55:35

You see her breathing fast, and like her heart, you can see in her neck is Darling, slow that down.

SPEAKER_03 55:42

He might he might be on to you. Vampire blood.

unknown 55:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 55:50

With words, she called me brother, but when I looked into her eyes, they reflected another name. No, death. It was death of the aged that she saw in me. She loved her youth and enjoyed it, but I had squandered mine. The death she saw in me turned her from me. And so I came to hate death. My death. My hate is very strong. I would not be called death so soon. I made a pact with death, a pact of blood. On the day of the wedding, I called killed Sergei, my brother. My pact was sealed with his blood. I found Tatiana weeping in the garden east of the chapel. She fled from me. She would not let me explain, and the great anger swelled within me. She had to understand the pact I made for her. For her. I pursued her. Finally, in despair, she flung herself from the walls of Ravenloft, and I watched everything I ever wanted fall from my grasp forever. It was a thousand feet through the mists. No trace of her was ever found. And even I knew her final fate. I rose from the castle guards, pierced me to my soul, but I did not die. Nor did I live. I became undead forever. Damn. I have studied much since then. Vampire, my new name. I still lust for life and youth, and I cursed the living that took them from me. Even the sun is against me. It is the sun and its light that I fear the most, but little else can harm me now. Even a stake through my heart does not kill me. Though it holds me from movement. But the sword that cursed that cursed sword that Sergei brought. I must dispose of that awful tool. I fear and hate it as much as the sun. I have hunted for Tatiana. I have even felt her within my grasp, but she escapes. She taunts me, she taunts me. What will it take to bend her Oh my god What will it take to bend her love to me? I now reside far below Ravenloft. I live among the dead and sleep beneath the very stones of this hollow castle of despair. I shall seal the shut the walls of the stairs that none may disturb me.

SPEAKER_05 58:03

That was a lot.

SPEAKER_03 58:04

Larry Larielle and me, the player. Ew. That is every woman's worst nightmare is to find a fucking diary entry like that.

SPEAKER_05 58:18

Jesus. Find a man who's just obsessed with you.

SPEAKER_03 58:23

And not in the fun way.

SPEAKER_05 58:24

And like and you want nothing to do with him.

SPEAKER_03 58:28

She called him Elder. Well, you I no longer think that situation. Larry all kind of looks at Irene and she's like, she what you called him Alt One. And Elder. That's terrible. But also I get it.

SPEAKER_05 58:41

And so finishing a friend zoned his ass.

SPEAKER_03 58:44

Honestly, I'm carrying his side now. I thought it was hot, but I don't know what to do. She was going to marry his brother.

SPEAKER_05 58:51

But he killed him. But that sword that his brother had, the cursed sword he mentioned, that must be the sword of sunlight that Maname Eva took the bottom of the world.

SPEAKER_01 58:59

And if he's terrified of the sun, well, I paladin of the sunlight.

SPEAKER_03 59:04

Paladin of the Morning Lord is his worst nightmare. Believe it or not, I also have daylight, even though I worship the moon. So Cast daylight on me. Cast daylight on me. I've seen this as a Delfire twice this year.

SPEAKER_01 59:27

That's terrible. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 59:31

You see as you finish reading this, uh Solar spits on the ground. That book is a curse. He will want it back. Well, it's too late. We already read his diary.

SPEAKER_03 59:47

It's kind of bad that I made fun of him in the beginning, but you know, I think he kind of deserved it a little.

SPEAKER_05 59:52

He completely deserves it. He's a pedophile.

SPEAKER_03 59:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 59:55

He's a creep.

SPEAKER_03 59:56

We should go kill him. I mean, not now. I want that soul. I can't believe I thought that was hot. You did. Well, he still thinks it's hot.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:05

So he got friend zone and he got so upset about it that he turned himself into a vampire, killed his brother, flung himself onto Tatiana, and she was like, no, and killed herself.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:20

That's really dramatic.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:21

Make a history check for me. That is not a beautiful, tragic love story at all.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:27

No.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:29

Sixteen.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:30

Thirteen. Sweaty twenty.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:37

Sixteen.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:39

Lyriel, as you start to think about what Madame Eva mentioned from the sword, you remember her words as you hear this talk of Strahd's brother. I see a sleeping prince, a servant of light and the brother of darkness. The treasure lies with him. Yes, that's a good one.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:08

Oh my god. As we're like talking about like how gross that is, she just kind of stares past you for a second and goes, it's buried with him. The sword is buried with him. Buried with him! It's b buried with the brother, yes. Uh Sergey. Oh. Oh where is he buried? I don't know. There's so many graveyards around here.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:31

Watch him be buried in freaking Castle Raven Loft. Yes. The family lived at Castle Ravenloft. Of course he did.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:37

He's buried in the castle, so we can't get we shouldn't get back in there until we're a bit stronger. But once we're in there, if I can get my hands on that sword.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:46

We can, as you say that, level up to seven. Let's go.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:54

Once I get my hands on that sword, I will be his worst fucking nightmare. I know you will be.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:59

We gotta use that teleporter at the coffee maker's house. Yes. So that's that's our way to sneak in there. I mean, he'll probably know that we used it, but you know what? I don't care. We're gonna sneak in there and we're gonna get you that sword. So, level seven. Lyreal, what'd you get?

SPEAKER_03 1:02:15

Yeah. HP is up to 60. And I don't get much here. I have a new feet, Relentless Avenger. Yeah, if I hit a creature with an opportunity attack, it the speed becomes zero, and then I can move up to half my speed. So it's very situational. I don't see that coming in at all. And then I got one more spell. So I did take purify food and drink just in case when we get to the winery, everything is gone to shit. So that way I can take care of it. That's it.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:51

Nice. Okay. Quick draw. I took my second level into rogue. So five levels ranger, two levels of rogue. I will continue to go in rogue until I think third level. Or level eight, I suppose. I got cunning action, which will give me the opportunity to do dash, disengage, or hide as a bonus action.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:23

I ditched silence because I don't know if I'm going to use it. And I took Aura of Purity, which will give us advantage on ending conditions that do blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, or stunned. And we'll have resistance to poison in the midst of it. And I took Spirit Guardians. And now my cantrips will add my wisdom modifier to the damage rolls.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:50

Cool.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:51

Yes. So I'm a potent spell caster.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:55

Awesome. The level seven opens up a world of opportunities as you explore this land, some places that you might have been a bit too afraid to go to. But as you stand at this now chopped down Calthias tree, you stand at the foot of it among its roots, you are then drawn as as the kind of world around you opens up. This tree is now felled, and uh you can see a bit more around Yester Hill. Your your eyes are drawn to the edge of it. To this wall of fog. To the western side. If you'd like, you can walk towards it. Unless you're a bit too afraid, which would be understandable.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:52

I was being afraid of fog at this point. That is That makes sense.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:56

I'm not afraid. Let's check it out. Alright, quick draw leads the way. It's on the horizon. And as you look west into the curtain of fog, you see a white fortress on a hill above a great city. The city appears quite distant, maybe a mile away. The fog obscures all detail, but you can hear what sounds like the echo of a church bell. But as you look out, the Soldar goes, Do not worry, it is just an illusion.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:36

An illusion church.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:39

Everything in the folk.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:41

Oh. Are you real? He like waves his hand in front of his face.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:47

Yes, I am real. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:49

Punches your shoulder.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:55

I am not sure why it is here, but It it always has been. Arena goes I don't mean to alarm you, but I smell him.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:15

What? Strahd?

SPEAKER_05 1:06:16

I smell Strahd.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:18

It could be an illusion.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:19

Uh no, I he must have been here recently.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:24

What I'm I'm going to regret. I'm gonna regret asking this. What does he smell like? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:31

Just in case we can yeah, let's compare notes.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:36

He s smells like wine and smoke and like he's covering up the stench of death.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:52

Oh, there's a bit of brandy bergamot rosemary.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:58

And then axe chocolate.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:03

That's what I wear. No way.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:05

Bath and body works noir.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:08

For real though, that like the Astarian scent that he talks about in game, I have that in a roller oil. Delicious. Smells so good.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:19

We have his book and myself. If he was here recently, maybe he's close by. Maybe we should we should get it going.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:29

We should absolutely get going. Can we get an insight check on her?

SPEAKER_05 1:07:34

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:36

I don't know why she'd be lying. Maybe there's information she doesn't want to uncover. I think she's just scared. 27.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:46

Utterly scared and confused.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:51

Alright, alright, darling, let's let's leave.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:55

Are we going to uh attempt to go back to Cresk or search the winery for any we're gonna go right back to the winery since it's right there and see if there's anything we can bring back to Cres to get you in there. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:12

I don't I don't take this the wrong way. I know you were so ready to jump into the fight. I'm not so sure that you should be sitting up front any longer. No, absolutely not. Please sit next to me. I won't try anything, I swear.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:27

Shotgun.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:30

Oh no, no, you sit back with me too. It's a party. Sure, Arena, how we know how we're gonna do it. Would you like to sit back there? Are you sitting up front alone then, quick drop? If you don't want whichever one just.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:42

No, I want Lyrielle up front with you.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:45

Oh you want me up there with you?

SPEAKER_05 1:08:47

I want Lyrielle up front with me. She's our frontliner.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:52

I mean the logic checks out. Oh, okay. Sure. He is kind of Lyrial.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:56

That makes sense.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:58

Leo's kind of looking at Lyrielle like Spongebob when he finds out that Squidward likes crappy patties.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:05

Quick draw is sitting in the front of the wagon, not looking at any of them as he's saying that. He's just like sitting stiff, like no.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:15

Leo, if he is staring that intently at Lyrielle, her ears go red. She's like, Yep. If you want me to go to what? What? What are you giggling at? I'm not giggling. I laugh like a man.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:30

What are you rolling over there, Dallas? Might have been an insight check.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:34

Oh, Miss Irene from Irene.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:36

Who knows? But they didn't succeed.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:39

Irena. Yeah, she'll go and she'll hop up in the seat.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:44

Awesome. So what's the weather like? It's terrible. Cloudy skies. There was lightning striking the chill. Is it warm? Yeah. The the air is is chilly and a lot of electricity in the air. As I mean, lightning has been striking this hill ever since you got here.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:06

There's a lot of electricity in the air. What are you talking about?

SPEAKER_05 1:10:11

Look at his hair standing up.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:12

Oh god, I'm gonna get struck by lightning. It might help you. I don't know.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:18

Roll a D10.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:20

Why? Six lightning strikes.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:22

You had six lightning damage. Three lightning strikes.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:28

Oh my god!

SPEAKER_05 1:10:30

Right next to you.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:31

You were right.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:35

When you start to veer your feel your hair start standing up, lightning's gonna come down to you. What is this? Breath of the Wild. QuickDruck says that. It's a book I read once.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:49

Which is Breath of the Wild.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:51

Alright. The winery's white here. The winery's white here. The winery is white here. Let's go check up and see if there's any weft. So the last time that you were told the cellar contained three barrels of the purple grape mash number three and 40 bottles of Red Dragon Crush. Okay. Bring it on. That's the only place other than the poisoned wine. Yep. But the cellar. I'd like you all to make, let's say, survival checks as you scout through this rubble. Give me that plus seven.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:32

Oh slutty twenty. That was terrible.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:38

Nine. Thirteen.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:40

Quick draw. Being the smallest of the group, you're able to find your way through little gaps in the rubble, making your way downstairs into the cellar, and you find half of the bottles of Red Dragon Crush have been smashed onto the ground. Yeah, I figure. The other twenty are hanging, you see, are hanging in a box that is like on the edge. A paper football touchdown. Yeah. Nobody moved. Hanging over the edge as everyone's like kind of rifling through this rubble and like shaking things. Everybody stop, everybody stop.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:23

Hang on, hang on, hang on. Nobody move.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:26

All right. There's only half left and it's about to tip.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:29

You cannot reach it. Shit. Somebody come down here and help me. Lyriel, you are much taller than the boys. Come on down here and help me. Whoever comes down, I will need them to make a dexterity check as you try to move through a small gap without disrupting this wine. This is the good context. Quick draw. If you stand underneath, you might be able to catch a few. Oh yeah, I'll try that.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:58

Alright. If I need to, if it does get buggered. If I need to, I will use my inspiration for this because I do still have that. Guard yourself too. Can I guide myself on a dex check? I don't think so.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:07

Oh, I will give everyone inspiration as well for finding the tomes. It is a dex check.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:17

So guidance wouldn't work, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:18

Oh, it would work.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:20

Yeah.

unknown 1:13:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:23

Or acrobatics if you have any modifiers to that, but I don't think you do. I don't think I do.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:26

I think it might be the same. It's the same.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:30

Okay. Two.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:34

I am gonna use my inspiration.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:37

Are you sure? What'd you get?

SPEAKER_03 1:13:38

An eight, so it would have been 10 minus one, so a nine.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:42

Okay. I had the DC at 10, so.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:45

Ah, okay. That was better. That was worth it. 16.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:51

Okay. What a thing to use as a few. Quick draw, you stand underneath this.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:56

I'm not fucking this up for us.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:57

I sort of thought it was a case of these wine bottles as you watch Lyriel in her heavy armor try to meander through this small gap that you got yourself into.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:12

I can do it. I can do it. It's all right.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:13

Pushing her her bottom half through with her hands and sliding into this room with you. The two of you alone in this room. This is as Lyriel, you just uh just within reach this box of wine bottles. Careful, careful, careful.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:31

I don't know how I did that.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:33

I don't know either.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:36

I'm kind of impressed with myself. Anyway.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:38

I don't know why I asked you. You're the clanker, but why did you ask me?

SPEAKER_03 1:14:42

Clanker.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:43

You said I was taller. I trusted you. You're you're a lot taller than those guys. They're not much taller.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:49

You trusted me because I'm taller.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:50

Yes, you can reach it.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:52

Okay. And she will grab the box very gently.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:57

And I'll kind of like kind of just underneath be like a guy and you're like, whoa. And she pulls the box down here. I'll kind of like, well, the box will pass our eye, our our vision, and my eyes will land on hers. And just like sit there for a hot second, just like breathing a little heavy out of nervousness of dropping the wine, but also like just we gotta get going.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:28

Yeah, of course they're waiting for us up there.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:30

There's the barrels here too. We gotta get them up. Yeah, we'll get the boys down here.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:36

Should we check them to make sure that they aren't poisoned?

SPEAKER_05 1:15:40

Yeah, let's bring one up. The the hole that you guys just went through is big enough for these barrels to fit through. Okay. Just about lifting them and putting them in, which you are strong enough to do, Liriel. So if you'd like, you can kind of make that line like you thought you were going to before of just like handing barrel, handing barrel. Or rolling it.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:01

Start handing barrels up to you all. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:04

Leo, you're gonna check them.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:07

If you find any that are poison, set them to the side. I can purify them later.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:11

Alright. So you guys as a group make these three barrels, the trip with the three barrels back to the wagon, as the two of you squeeze your way back out of this cellar with the extra 20 bottles of the Red Dragon Crush and seem to be good. Around you, watching, are these eight ravens that have that flew here from immediately once you slayed Wintersplinter, flew here, and they they sit perched on top of some of the rubble watching you. Leo waves. And then they see you, they see Leo wave, and they see everyone with the wine, and they kind of like hop in. I like ravens. And then you see one of them flies down and starts to kind of peck at your cloak, quick draw. Wherever you have the magic seed, gonna kind of peck at it and go. Yep. Yep, that's right. We're gonna put it in the ground here. And as you take it out, it you see it flies a little bit, turns towards you, back towards you, stops, waits for you to catch up, flies further, leading you to where to plant it. Yep, yep. All right, show me where. And you find a piece of very nice dirt that has obviously been dug up recently. You see a pile of dirt, but as a ranger, you would know what nice fertile soil looks like. And you see this immediate area, about like a five-foot radius. Now that the seed has been gone, the fertility of the soil has been kind of waning. But this five-foot radius around this specific hole still has some of that that nice soil feel to it. So as you dig your hands into it and replant the seed, oh yeah. That's good. That's how it cover it back up. You see the this dead earth begins to uh kind of moisten and liven up as you as you see some of the the dead grass that is kind of tilted over and gray and yellow begin to turn green and kind of raise up.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:48

That's beautiful. Would you look at that? I wonder if that's why they call it the lifeblood. Uh possibly very well, maybe like actually life. Yeah, it really is.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:58

These are powerful seeds. You see all of the ravens fly off squawking and and flapping, and you see the one, the one that was with you guiding you, like nods and and goes. Kind of like kissing, doing like a kissing, kissing motion towards your hand.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:23

That's quite nice.

SPEAKER_05 1:19:25

And then as as you kind of stand up and and head back to the wagon, it it separates and flies back up to meet its group.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:33

Could I make medicine checks on the wine before we leave?

SPEAKER_05 1:19:37

Yeah.

unknown 1:19:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:19:38

You can Yeah, these ones should be okay, but some I want to check like a crowbar or some way to get the wine open. Um and then carpenter's tools. Yeah.

unknown 1:19:47

Cool.

SPEAKER_05 1:19:48

Yeah, and I'm sure yeah, if you have carpenter's tools. How many should I make? Just make one. Okay. I'd say uh as you excuse me. As you take sips of these wine, uh each each barrel. Uh, do you want to take sips of the glasses as well? The bottles?

SPEAKER_03 1:20:03

Twenty-one.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:04

They were all made prior to the poisoning of the wine. They were all sealed shut completely. You taste it. The barrels is are the cheaper ones, so it doesn't taste great, but definitely not poisoned. The bottle of Red Dragon Crush is very delicious and also not poisoned.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:27

I've had a thought. We steal the Burgermaster of Kresk is sucks. Oh, yeah. He sucks hard. I think we don't give him any of the Red Dragon. We just give him a bigger one.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:39

The Burgermaster of Valocky also sucks.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:44

There's only one Burgermaster that doesn't suck it. He's the one that I hope is.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:50

We give him some red dragon crest.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:52

I think we give Kresk one or two of the bat if we can get away with just giving them one of the barrels of the ig stuff.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:01

We're gonna see we got three.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:03

Well, then maybe we can give them two, but I think that we should give the Martikovs all of the good. I think that's a great idea. They've been so helpful. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:14

Mardikovs.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:15

The Irwin and Danikov where we stay?

SPEAKER_05 1:21:17

Oh, oh of course, yeah. The Mardikovs are also the owners of like there's Irwin and Danica at the Blue Water Inn and then there's the Mardikov's family that lives at the winery and works the winery. Yeah, yeah. Oh yeah. We give these bottles to Irwin and Danica. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:35

Do we have like a giant blanket that we could cloak, I guess? You guys all have bed rolls and hide it in the throwing, like cloak to you. It's just for looks anyway, it doesn't really do anything for me.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:47

We can give Kresk the three of the gross ones.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:51

Yeah, yeah. I think so.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:53

And then yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:54

And if they make a fuss, it's like, well, that's all we could get.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:56

So I think we should have uh have a bottle of two for just the three of us, huh? Yeah, under the circumstances they will certainly be glad with whatever wine they can get, especially if it's three barrels.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:07

Perfect. Maybe we should leave a nice one for Arena. She could take it with her and just like stick it out of her pillow or something for a nice night. That'd be nice.

SPEAKER_05 1:22:16

A nice little gift, a parting gift or something. Yeah, I think we should keep a bottle of two for just absolutely. And we can get drunk in the bed in the inn.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:26

What?

SPEAKER_03 1:22:27

I need to.

SPEAKER_06 1:22:28

Did you say in the bed? In our bedrooms, we can get we can get drinks.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:33

I'm going to be stoked caught soba. Oh, yes, you need all your wits about you too.

SPEAKER_05 1:22:38

Oh, yeah. Do I look over at Eve Geni and do I see him making like eyes at Leo? At Leo? Yeah. Make an inside check.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:48

I want to make one. I'm also gonna make one.

SPEAKER_05 1:22:51

Oh man.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:52

19.

SPEAKER_05 1:22:53

I don't see that.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:54

I'm natural 20. We're locked in.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:57

I'm locked in for my best friend.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:58

Let's go.

SPEAKER_05 1:23:00

He's yearning.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:01

Oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_05 1:23:03

You can see as you sip this wine, like a drip goes down your chin. And Yevgeny, like, you can see his like thumb lifts as he's he like wants to wipe it off, and then he he looks over at Soldar and kind of sinks into himself a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:22

Leo licks it off. Lyriel catches that and goes, looks at Quick Charlie, like, oh damn. No, so Leo catches that Yevgeny wanted to do that, and he like he does it to himself, and then he likes while he's looking at him.

SPEAKER_05 1:23:39

Yeah. Uh you can see he crosses his legs.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:43

Oh Lyriel gets back onto the are we back on the on the bench? Are we getting back on the bench on the wall? Lyrielle, Lyrielle sits up front of the wagon and she looks like do you see that? He's so in.

SPEAKER_05 1:23:58

As as she's he's he as they're getting up, he'll get up first and he'll kind of offer his hand to her to get her help get her up. And I guess you can say that as yeah, I saw that. That was good.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:10

Yeah, that was quite good.

SPEAKER_05 1:24:12

He wants him bad.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:14

I'm on the I'm on the wagon. You can let go.

SPEAKER_05 1:24:19

Sorry, I didn't realize.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:20

Yeah, it's all right.

SPEAKER_05 1:24:21

Too busy uh being excited for our boy here.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:24

Yeah, exactly. He needs this. Leo gets into the wagon and he kind of like smacks him a little bit. He's like, I still got it.

SPEAKER_05 1:24:32

Yeah, you do.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:32

Yes, you do. This is usually how it goes back at home.

SPEAKER_05 1:24:36

Really?

SPEAKER_03 1:24:36

Yeah, I have to be truthful, yeah. It is.

SPEAKER_05 1:24:39

All right, I trust your judgment. He'll light a cigar and come on, jaque. Not John is able to light it. What?

SPEAKER_01 1:24:52

Were you able to light it?

unknown 1:24:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:24:56

Oh no, I'm good. As you head back north to the village of Kresk. A couple miles a few hours you arrive and Yevgeny whispers to Soldar. And Soldar goes Yes. I d I do remember that. Yevgeny whispers a little bit more Yes, I I can tell them. Yevgeny remembers just north of here. Fuck, I'm I'm sp the accent's lost. Yevgeny remembers just north of here. A den of werewolves. So if they do not accept this wine, we should leave it. It's it is about to get dark.

SPEAKER_07 1:26:00

Oh, oh.

SPEAKER_05 1:26:01

Dan of werewolves. Yes, uh just north of of Kresk is uh well yeah you don't want to know. Uh yes, actually we might we should we should go back to the tavern. The tavern. I'm sure Kresk will let us in after we get this wine tools. Just if if they didn't we should make haste. Uh jaque can outrun these wolves that we saw earlier. Yeah. But I am not quite sure once it hits night time, werewolves from the north will come.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:26:42

Werewolves from the north.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:43

Interesting.

SPEAKER_05 1:26:44

I wonder if one of them could be the one Manameva spoke of.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:48

I feel like that sounds like it would be more of a lone wolf type of werewolf or something like that.

SPEAKER_05 1:26:53

Maybe, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:55

I don't know.

unknown 1:26:55

I'm sure.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:59

Yeah. I'm sure they read a check.

SPEAKER_05 1:27:03

What kind of check? What do you want? Well, what do you want to know? And I'll tell you what kind of check. I want to know this is where the the one werewolf that we're looking for is your character would have as good of a chance of knowing as you, the player, would. So no check is gonna happen. You're probably right. It's probably just like a lone wolf situation.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:25

That's what I'm thinking.

SPEAKER_05 1:27:26

If it's something maybe they're an Arganboscht old.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:28

Possibly, yeah. Could be.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:31

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:32

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:27:35

You guys ever seen any lone wolves? Female like werewolves?

SPEAKER_05 1:27:42

No, uh, when we see werewolves, we usually just run. Uh we uh we kill regular wolves, but werewolves You don't try to make friends. Uh no, they do not like us very much.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:56

That's fair. You do kill the, you know, species mates.

SPEAKER_05 1:28:00

I don't know what they are.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:02

They might be mates.

SPEAKER_05 1:28:04

Well, let's hope we can let's hope we can get this wine to them. My damn cigar won't stay lit. I'm running out of matches.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:14

I try something.

SPEAKER_05 1:28:16

Try wood.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:18

Let me try something. She is going to the teeny tiniest sacred flame just on the tips of her fingers and lean over and light the cigar.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:31

Maybe a bit of holy light, holy fire, we'll keep it lit.

SPEAKER_05 1:28:38

That gives it a pretty good flavor.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:40

Really?

SPEAKER_06 1:28:42

That's nice.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:43

Of course, Ronnie.

SPEAKER_06 1:28:45

Huh? What do you say?

SPEAKER_01 1:28:46

What?

SPEAKER_06 1:28:47

What'd you call me?

SPEAKER_01 1:28:49

I said, of course.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:00

21. Nope.

SPEAKER_05 1:29:02

Ah no, that's a five. Must have been the wind.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:07

Even though she successfully deceived you on that, like she is a little bit like she's a little nervous.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:13

She's like, oh god, I can't believe I said that.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:16

It's fine.

SPEAKER_05 1:29:18

It's a little chilly tonight.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:19

Yes, it is. And I gave Leo my cloak to hide the wine from the podcast.

SPEAKER_05 1:29:27

Oh, sorry. Go for it. He'll kind of like it's as it I guess it's arriving at nighttime, coming to nighttime. It's sunset currently. So just before nighttime, you'd you'd if you were to run back to Villachie, you'd arrive around nightfall. Yeah. So as the warmth the sun comes down, it'll kind of like try and he's gonna try and be sly about this. Like he'll adjust himself on the bench just to get a little bit like kind of in an effort to scoot scooch closer to Liriel.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:09

You're alright.

SPEAKER_05 1:30:11

Oh yeah, I'm good. He's like, you can you can fucking hear his like heart beat out of his ears. Just he's he's very stiff. Okay, my god.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:26

She will the just the tiniest bit, just lean a little bit. A tiny bit over.

SPEAKER_05 1:30:34

Towards or away from?

SPEAKER_03 1:30:37

Towards. Just a little bit. No, like so little that nobody would know.

SPEAKER_05 1:30:41

And he kind of relaxes a little bit, like just lets out a nice long sigh and calms down. As you arrive back at the gatehouse of Kresk.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:53

Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_05 1:30:56

We see the guards between the eyes. Four of them atop with their fur hats and spears.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:02

Who you are?

SPEAKER_05 1:31:04

And then one of them like stomps their their spear on the ground. Stomps their spear on the ground, and you hear a loud clack of wood on stone. They were here earlier. It's okay, we can let them in. I see you have the winery. Kind of. I see you have the wine delivery. We were told if you return with wine, Burgomaster Kreskov has allowed us to let you in without retrieving him. He is preparing to rest, so not to be bothered.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:46

Lovely.

SPEAKER_05 1:31:47

Uh raise the gate, and you hear the as the gate raises. Uh come on in. The village of Kresk welcomes you. About time they did. As you enter the mist shrouded village beyond the wall is nothing more than a scattering of humble wooden cottages along dirt roads that stretch between strands of snow dusted pine trees. So many trees, in fact, as to constitute a forest. To the northeast, grey cliffs rise sharply, and the road winding up to the abbey is easy to see from this vantage.

unknown 1:32:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:32:38

I that's the abbey up there, I th I believe. We should get there before nightfall. Yeah, absolutely. I think we're gonna drop you off now. As you go up the winding road that hugs the cliff, it's covered with loose gravel and chunks of broken rock that occasionally you have to kind of step off the wagon and and move uh so that you can continue on. The ascent is slow and somewhat treacherous, and the air grows colder as you near the top. You are scaling this this road up all the way to the abbey.

SPEAKER_03 1:33:14

Pretty keeping them away from everything, aren't they?

SPEAKER_05 1:33:18

Yeah, seriously. Finally, the road from the village climbs above the mist to the wide ledge on which the abbey is perched. A light dusting of snow covers the tree and the rocky earth. The gravel road passes between two small outbuildings, small stone outbuildings, to either side of which stretches a five foot high, three foot thick wall of jumbled stones held together with mortar. Blocking the road are iron gates attached to the outbuildings by rusty hinges. They appear to be unlocked. Viewed through through the gates, the stone abbey stands quiet. Its two wings are joined by a fifteen foot high curtain wall. A belfry protrudes from the rooftop to the closer north wing, which also sports a chimney billowing grey smoke.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:34:18

You see as you approach the gate is unlocked, but rusted, would likely squeak if you were to open them. And inside you see two gate guards asleep as you approach this gate. You recognize that any attempt to open it would obviously squeal loudly and wake these guards up. But you kind of need to get inside. What would you like to do? I think I'll just I think I'll just open the gate just a little bit, wake them up, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:35:05

As you do that, the loud squeal of rusted hinges wakes up these two mongrels that sleep under these animal furs. They kind of shift, and the one beardless dwarf-looking one in a dark black cloak shuffles up first. Who goes there? And that's where we'll end our session, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:35:37

I wonder what's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_05 1:35:39

Every time he says, and that's where we'll end the session of three of us.

SPEAKER_03 1:35:44

We won our game. I think that we could do like most of Chris Straden one day if we set our minds to it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:35:51

What? No fucking way.

SPEAKER_03 1:35:54

No, if we locked in.

unknown 1:35:56

No.

SPEAKER_03 1:35:56

No, we have too much fun role-playing and we have ideas and we have stuff that we want to do.

SPEAKER_05 1:35:59

Even if we didn't lock if we locked in. Yeah. Where you can just level up three times immediately. Yeah. There'll be no way. Alright. See you next week. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of Chaotic Naturals. Find us on all social media platforms at Chaotic Naturals or reach out to us by email. Chaotic Naturalspod at gmail.com. New episodes every Saturday. Listen wherever you find podcasts.