Aerois - Episode 36: Goblins and Guardians

Katie Morrison as Aila

 Kim Richards as Nova V'ger

Rhiannon Frost as Oriya Marius

 Tom Hazell as Pyri Adhara

**Goblins and Guardians** is the 36th episode of the Aerois Campaign. It was broadcast live on both the Yogscast Twitch channel and highrollersdnd Twitch channel on 9th June 2019 from 5PM to 8PM BST.

*We arrive at the Midwife's Forge and tackle the dangers inside...will we finally be able to save our fallen comrade?*

## **Summary**

### **Announcements**

* Mark welcomes everyone and introduces the players.
* Sponsors this week are D&D Beyond and NordVPN.
* Everyone has levelled up to level 6 this week.
* Merch: the barbarian t-shirts are now gone, but there is other merch available. Use code HIGHROLLERS for 10% off.
* High Rollers DnD now has a Patreon. Patreon.com/HighRollers will support High Rollers, gives you a special discord role, you will get the podcast part 2 released on Monday (rather than Thursday) and other posts that will only be available to patrons.

### **Recap**

"*Our party of adventurers, still unnamed, have made their way to a place called The Midwife's Forge. Having trekked through the Stormwall Mountains, the party have encountered numerous dangers en route and began to discover small mysteries about the strange, growing storms that erupt from the valley beyond. Having crossed a river (eventually), the party encountered a strange creature within a rocky valley, which nearly caused disaster for one Pyri, a Fire Genasi that had temporarily joined forces with the team. Bypassing that, you made your way into a forest of sorts, of crystal pillars, where clever use of tactics and Oriya's knowledge of monsters helped to avoid a basilisk. Then you eventually made your way to a covered valley of sorts, a gorge almost, where at the far end a large statue of the dwarven goddess Valena marked the entrance to The Midwife's Forge. However, it was occupied by a series of goblins, strange tribal, crazed goblins being led by a figure who calls himself Vezzek, who did reveal a little bit of information and has made a temporary bargain, or at least the beginnings of one, with the party, to explore The Midwife's Forge and in exchange he will give you knowledge on how to restart it, or how to activate the Forge itself.*"

### **Part 1**

*Teaming up with a gun-toting Goblin the team try to navigate the Midwife's Forge!*

Skaldi waits outside the mine shaft for them on the wagon drawn by the klakk, Skorb, the bodies of their friends Sentry and Quill covered in the back. The rest of them make their way into the mine, seeing a ramshackle carved stone tunnel ahead of them filled with a dozen Goblins who are hard at work mining, repairing tools, and carrying items. Vezzek stands by a table, reading and looking at maps and diagrams. Most of the Goblins ignore them, but they notice one that is following them and dancing behind them making strange noises. The area they are in looks to be a waiting or storage room that has been tunnelled into and dug out somewhat. The Goblin that is following them is curious, prods Aila and runs away, cackling to itself.

Vezzek introduces them to Smeek and orders him to get back to work. Vezzek tells them that Smeek is one of the stranger Goblins who has had the madness for quite some time, like most of the Goblins who live near The Stormwall. He now mainly does manual labour since going into the Forge and refusing to be killed after being pierced by one of the animated bows and arrows. Vezzek found most of the Goblins he has working on the tunnel scavenging, looting, and eating their own filth. Most of the Goblins are scarred with Lichtenberg figure scars, and Smeek is particularly heavily scarred thus along with what look like prior deep cuts, an arrow puncture wound in his chest that has been healed over, his back is covered in Lichtenberg figure scars. Smeek looks over at them manically and exposes his rotten, brown teeth in a big grin – he comes over to them holding a broken bracer and hands it over to them, babbling excitedly. Vezzek explains that Smeek is talking about them being part of the storm and there to bring him a glorious death because most of the Goblins believe that if they are killed by the storm they will come back as more powerful creatures. Pyri asks if the Goblins are loyal and Vezzek tells them that they follow him because they see him as more powerful and because he provides food for them.

Vezzek has been preparing his notes about what is ahead and confirms that their deal is still in place – they will fight the guardian of the Forge and they will all share in its abilities, although the party will get to use it first. Vezzek says that both he and his Goblins have attempted to make their way through the Forge and have been thwarted every time by the guardian that is in there. He tells them of the first room they will face, the antechamber, which has a collapsed floor but fallen rubble that can be scaled up to the next room, which is the Forge itself.

In the antechamber they will find several animated weapons that were probably once part of the Forge’s defence systems but have been corrupted by the black lightning of the storms. The animated weapons are aggressive and potent, but Vezzek has managed to sneak past them when he was by himself. He recalls seeing a sword, a mace, at least one bow, and perhaps an axe, he thinks that they are old creations of Valena’s that have been animated through magic.

Nova asks Vezzek what he knows of the magical storm in the valley, and he tells her that his ancestors believed that it was something connected to a weapon, something that they were sent to do, but this information had been passed down through generations and had probably been distorted over time. There was some information regarding a nightmare and a Dragon, and now that that magic is out of control, it is beginning to infect other things, especially magical technology, and Vezzek believes that the storms are connected to Kalus Starbane, possibly some sort of weapon that he designed.

The guardian in the Forge, he tells them, is a construct made of stone and is in the form of a large Dwarven woman wielding tools, probably built to look like Valena. Vezzek tells them that it is quite mad and crackles with black energy – they will not be able to reason with it as he believes that it has been corrupted by the storm much like the weapons in the antechamber. Restarting the Forge may fix it, he thinks.

To re-start the Forge will be a four-part process: firstly, they will need to cleanse the Forge of magical effects (if it is similar to Starbane technology, Vezzek believes that there will be a system to purge the room of any existing magical effects and will probably be found on the main console at the far end of the room). This system would dispel any active effects on them if they are still in the room when it is triggered. Secondly, they will need to reset it using a manual override near the entrance – this fill force the chamber surrounding the Forge (at the centre of the room) to re-open (it is currently protected by a defensive barrier). After this, the barrier will need to be manually moved back into place, and since it has not moved for a long time, it is likely to be stiff or rusted and will need someone strong to move it. Thirdly, they will need to find a new power source – once it is opened, the Forge will have a compartment into which a new power source can be inserted, and it must be securely inserted into the core chamber. The final step is dual activation: the manual override and the main command console must both be activated simultaneously. As long as the steps are done in order, there is no timeframe for them to be completed. The Forge itself is a magical platform and to activate it is to reignite all of its systems. Once they have re-activated it, they can bring Sentry in to attempt to revive her.

The main problem they will face is the guardian of the chamber – the black energy that infuses it may affect the systems of the Forge if it gets too close to them. The guardian can be damaged, but any damage taken is repaired within minutes through some sort of regeneration powers provided by the Forge. Vezzek thinks that the construct is currently using the black lightning as a power source and making it revert to its original power source, the Forge, will make it dispel the effect of the black lightning. The party considers whether they might use some of the Goblins as a distraction.

Nova has been watching Vezzek – he is clearly knowledgeable and knows about magitek, and she thinks that he believes what he is telling them, however, he is dismissive of the other Goblins and is making them do all the work, appearing to be very selfish. She is fairly certain that his information is good, but not sure that they can trust his general intentions and is worried that he might Brookstone them. The group firmly believes that he is using them and their power source.

Smeek is listening to them talk, apparently understanding what is being said. Aila zaps him briefly with lightning – he yelps, his hair stands on end, and his eyes go wide as he is overwhelmed and stunned by her power. Smeek gets on his knees and begins to worship Aila, when she tells him to hush, he puts his head to the ground and goes quiet. She later calls him to her and gets him to heel.

Vezzek claps his hands, and six Goblins appear carrying pitchforks and pick axes and wearing pots on their heads and scraps of armour attached to animal hide. They are ordered to protect the party and run interference as they attempt to get to the Forge.

They make their way down the tunnel and notice two things: they have to stoop as the tunnels are only 5’3” in height, and that any piece of worked stone is beautiful – every floor tile is engraved with visages of the gods, images of Aerois, landscapes, and all worked stone around them is like a work of art. The tunnel leads into a natural cavern, and they see a room beyond filled with partially collapsed stonework, broken columns, and a platform about 10 feet up that appears to lead to other areas. The floor they are on appears to be a storage basement and the stairs leading to the platform above have crumbled. There are no lights, but there are bobbing, very dim, somethings that give off a soft glow further into the room.

Pyri casts *Produce Flame*, and by that light they see the rough walls of the old basement that they are in. They see shadows dance around the broken columns and the faint outline of old weapons scattered all over the ground. The Goblins tug at Aila and try to pull her further into the room until she zaps them which makes them excited and obedient towards her when she tells them to wait. Nova uses *Detect Magic* to see a bow, a mace, a sword, and an axe that have lingering magic, but they do not activate. Nova shoots the nearest weapon, a sword, with two bolts of *Eldritch Blast* then runs away – as she moves away, she hears a hum and crackle of lightning as four weapons activate and come to life, surrounded by black lightning. The bow moves towards them and creates its own arrows, shooting a flurry of them from its string of lightning and killing three of the Goblins. After it shoots, its lightning string seems to fade.

A fierce battle with the weapons ensues before Lucius destroys the sword with a twinned *Chromatic Orb* of frost. The bow recharges its rapid-fire ability and kills Smeek and another of the Goblins. Aila smashes the mace and destroys it, and Nova uses *Dispel Magic* to disable the bow, which falls to the ground without its magic. Aila destroys the axe with a mighty blow.

### **Part 2**

*It's time to restart the forge while avoiding a powerful Guardian in the Midwife's Forge!*

Nova casts *Spare the Dying* on Smeek, leaving them with two conscious, living Goblins, and Smeek, who is unconscious. Nova is concerned that the bow may not have been destroyed and they ask Vezzek for more Goblins – he calls four more to aid them. Aila climbs up to the prostrate bow and nudges it, but it does not react, so she destroys it.

Nova asks Lucius if he would be comfortable placing the power source inside the Forge, saying that he must be very careful with it and ensure that it is secure. He tells her how, at the end of every year when he was with Daddy, he would be asked to put Daddy’s exotic hand-me-down weapons on display for all the families who came to visit to see. He managed to do this successfully while under verbal attack. Once he is given the star fragment, however, he starts to shake and become too anxious to do the task, so Nova talks Oriya into doing this task. Nova hands Oriya the star fragment – it is in a long, slender, tube made of a strange dull grey metal unlike anything she has seen before, there is a glass window in its centre, and it looks like it is unlocked by twisting it and sliding it open. Inside it, held by a lattice of metal, is a diamond looking for all the world like a blazing star in the night sky: it is radiating magic, and at its core is the purest of diamonds. Smeek’s eyes flicker open, he looks down and looks sad that he has survived, picks up a rock and hits himself in the head with it.

Vezzek points them to the large double doors on the platform that Aila is on, indicating that they lead to the Forge. The large stone doors lead from the antechamber into a long, worked stone corridor and there are elements here that seem familiar to Nova. There are lines of dull blue crystal that make their way through the room along the floor and the walls, the stone is remarkably clean and the lines expertly and sharply cut (almost impossibly so). There is no flaw present – this is the work of such skilled artisanship that it is near perfection. As they enter the main chamber, they see rising up before them a large statue of a Dwarven woman, hammer in one hand and chisel in the other, pointing towards them. There is a large round table of sorts upon which there are multiple runes as well as one large T-shaped handle that can be twisted, and there is a smaller lever built into the front of the console with runes, buttons, and crystals inlaid around the edges.

The room expands into a larger space surrounding a large section in the middle that is surrounded by a stone cube. There are tracks in the ground that seem to indicate that the sides of the cube can moved apart. At the back of the room are stairs that lead up to a platform overlooking the rest of the room and nearby are huge stone columns that reach up to the roof which have torches on them that shed a very faint white light. On top of the platform is a semicircular console that looks down on the rest of the room.

As they step into the room, they watch as the giant statue in front of them starts to move, black lightning starting to crackle up and down its body, and when its eyes open, they burn with a dark purple flame as it calls out in a soft autonomous female voice, “Intruders detected! Intruders detected!” Aila and Pyri fight against the statue (“the attendant”), Lucius keeps the Goblins under control, and Nova moves to the console at the back of the room. Nova, not understanding the meaning of the symbols on the console, attempts to activate the purge function but presses the wrong buttons and is hit by a blast of magic that causes her to be paralysed. Lucius tells the Goblins to stay put and flies to the console – on looking at the controls, it appears very similar to aetherium technology, and it looks similar to the controls for an air ship. Recognising a few symbols, he hits them in order and hears the machinery start to hum before a pulse echoes through the room. Nova is immediately unparalysed. The attendant is heard to utter, “Cleansing protocol complete” before heading slowly towards Nova and Lucius, so Nova makes them both invisible.

Aila asks Vezzek what to do and he tells her to rotate the large lever in the centre of the table, which she does. The room begins to shift as the cube at the centre of the room opens to reveal a large circular chamber, unlike any forge they have ever seen.

Oriya moves to the now opened Forge and sees a circular hole that she can slide open – within it is a chamber set with a very similar lattice to what is inside the metal tube. It appears that she will need to take the diamond out of the tube and place it carefully inside the command console of the Forge. Oriya delicately places the diamond into the lattice work as the attendant starts moving in her direction and telling her to move away from the command console. The latticework wraps itself around the diamond and pulls it into the Forge before the chamber shuts. As the attendant gets closer to the console with the black lightning travelling up and down her body, the console almost begins reacting to it. Lucius casts *Lucius’ Luscious Light* to blind the statue and it begins to stumble around.

Nova calls out to activate the simultaneous lever-pull – the same twist and pull device is on the front of the console at the door and on the platform. She drops *Invisibility* so that she can coordinate with Aila, and they both activate their levers: there is a clap of thunder, and everyone falls to the ground, there is a hum and pulse from the central chamber as blue light travels through the crystals, through the gaps in the stones and into the ceiling. The console in front of Nova and the manual override light up, and they watch as the dark lightning around the attendant disappears. The attendant powers down for a moment before coming back to life with blue eyes and saying, “Greetings, worshippers of Valena. I am the attendant.”

As everyone regains their feet, Vezzek gestures behind him and the two Goblins that he had remaining away from the party drag Sentry’s body to him – he points his cannon at Sentry’s body. He is concerned that restoring Sentry will drain too much of the Forge’s power so wants to alter their deal – he will use the forge first, and if there is any power left afterwards, the party can use it.

Lucius casts *Hypnotic Pattern* on Vezzek, and his eyes and the eyes of his two Goblins glaze over as they stare at the swirling mass of colour before them. Aila grabs the cannon out of Vezzek’s hands and picks up Sentry’s body before placing it on the Forge, the attendant offers to assist, and they gratefully accept. When they say that the attendant must hurry, she asks why – Aila tells her that the three Goblins have ill intentions, and the attendant offers to remove one of them. They indicate Vezzek and the attendant notes that he is wearing armour and weapons of Kalus Starbane and will be removed immediately. She raises her hand, Vezzek is lifted off the ground and pushed towards a chute in the ceiling which he vanishes into. Noting that the Goblins appear to have some sort of malady, Lucius asks the attendant if it can help, but she cannot since her arts are in craft not healing, but she suggests that they might be able to use The Maiden’s Forge to assist with this problem, although the attendant is no longer connected to her sister’s eyes.

The attendant scans Sentry before announcing, “Sentry… unit assigned to Solwynn… prototype. Very well, I will assist repairing this unit. It has been marked for special operations.” When asked to elucidate, the attendant responds with, “There are not any classifications or security protocols as to why I cannot. Yes. This unit was originally designed as a protector for the Solwynn Royal line, however, since within the last one hundred years it has received a new priority mission, to seek out the Prime and take control of the Prime Matrix. The priority task has been assigned by the Prime itself.” When asked if the attendant knows where the Prime is, she advises them that the Prime is in Solwynn, in the mines of Volcanos, in a secret research facility deep beneath the ocean. She cannot help them further with location because of the seismic activity and tectonic shifts that have occurred, making her navigational data useless. The “City of Glass” does not register in the attendant’s database either. The attendant tells them that only Guardians can be brought back to life at The Midwife’s Forge, so that Quill cannot be revived here. Even though restoring Sentry will consume considerable amounts of the attendant’s power, she says that she will still be able to fix Pyri’s wrist device and upgrade a magical weapon. The attendant also offers to fix and upgrade Sentry’s armour while she is brought back over the next few hours, and they are asked to leave the Forge area while this occurs.

Pyri asks about Vezzek and is told that he is being held for processing – if he has information regarding the Court of Shadows, this will be passed to Valena and can be shared with them. The attendant says that Vezzek is an enemy of Aerois and will be detained until Valena deems that he should be released. They decide to check on Skaldi but before they leave, Lucius asks if the attendant is aware that she was under the control of the dark energy, she says that it is aware and that the dark energy has many similar traits to Starbane’s weapons. Since the forge lost power when Valena withdrew to the Halls of Infinite Resplendence, the attendant used the dark energy as a backup power system, although unwillingly. She tells them that the energy comes from the nearby storms originating about twenty miles away and does not know what is causing them or whether they can be stopped, just that there is an unusual weapons signature that appears to match Starbane’s weaponry. When asked about the star fragment, she tells them that the star is a pure energy source and different to the dark energy. Nova asks if the energy signature is similar to that in Pyri’s watch but it is not – the watch appears to be Aerosian technology.

They step back and watch as the cube starts to close with Sentry’s body lying on the middle of the Forge and the blue crystal lines pulse regularly with power. The attendant stands back and closes her eyes as something begins to happen in the cube with whirring and mechanical noises.

Making their way outside with the Goblins, they find that the wagon has been pulled to the side and Skaldi is unconscious, looking as though she was surprised and hit from behind. Quill’s body is still safely in the back of the wagon, but Skorb has been tied up and he is trying to shuffle around. They untie Skorb and settle in for a long rest with Lucius telling the Goblins that they are free – they go back to throwing sticks around and trying to kill each other with rocks.

Nova drifts off to sleep and begins to dream – she finds herself in a familiar place, a cavern with a broken gate portal deep beneath the Brightflame Abbey. She hears a familiar male voice, “I thought that perhaps I should choose somewhere familiar to speak with you again,” and emerging from the portal once again is Kalus Starbane. Valla has told him about them and asked him to check on how they are doing. Valla is well, he tells Nova, he is instructing her on how to use her new powers and they are developing quickly. Kalus is doing everything he can to keep her needs met and says that she is learning to understand his crusade, but she misses the party. Valla has asked about Arval, and he is concerned at their disappearance, assuming that most of them are probably dead. Nova asks Kalus how his crusade is going but he declines to discuss his plans with her. Nova wants to know if he has taken over Kalie’s Rest – he says that she is thinking too small. Nova mentions the technology that she has seen that is close to his, yet not his and wonders if people have the wrong idea about him: Kalus smiles and calls her very smart. Nova begins to babble until Kalus stops her with a raised hand then looks down at her waist and recognises Tiangong, his old friend, now that they are stronger. Kalus is glad that Nova has found their shards, scattered across Aerois from his fallen ships, and admits that he carries many of their shards himself. He tells her that it is possible that people have the wrong idea of him but that nothing is black and white – he is on a mission that is so great the mortals will fail to understand its scope. Siaska understood it but her nature led Kalus to stand against her eventually; when Nova asks if the mission has something to do with Hadar, he looks at her and smiles before agreeing that it does and praising her for her intelligence. “Hadar is an ancient evil,” he tells her, “far greater and far worse than anything you can imagine. It Is the black star that consumes everything from the centre of this galaxy, and I have given everything to fight it.” Nova admits that she has seen a small glimpse of Hadar, and it terrified her, which pleases Kalus. While she does not wish to pledge her allegiance, Nova is willing to help Kalus because Hadar does not belong there. Kalus nods and tells her that they will speak again, telling her that he has powerful magic at his disposal. He also tells her that the Aerosian gods were not wrong about him, that he came to conquer Aerois and take its resources and people, to put them into his armies and do everything he could to stop Hadar. “Siaska’s sacrifice was unexpected, and a true loss” he says, telling her that he will talk to her again (although he cannot speak to the Elves in the same way). Nova sends Valla her regards, asks Kalus to remind her to practice with her daggers (he had wondered where they came from), and also asks him to tell her that Sentry is back. Kalus promises to do so and says that he will consider her offer. The dream fades but Nova remembers it precisely.

After their rest over eight hours, Skaldi comes to and apologises for underestimating the Goblins. They tell her about what has happened and go to wait for Sentry to be revived. On the way in, they see that the attendant has repaired half of the collapsed tunnel with perfect stonework.

Even though Guardians do not sleep, Sentry starts to feel her mind awakening almost as if she were waking up. She feels a swell of power within her chest, greater than it was before, and a surge of energy that gives her a flash of memory – a memory that she had thought was lost. She recalls seeing the royal family of Solwynn, the Astoria line, crouching and hiding within the remnants of their palace as the world around them shakes and trembles. Huge waves crash against the outside of the building as the stone roof itself begins to collapse. The king looks up to Sentry and gives her a final command, but her memory doesn’t end like it usually does at this point, and she now recalls watching the king as he begins to inscribe a rune upon the ground, a teleportation pattern, as she uses her arms to hold off the collapsing ceiling stones. He finishes the last of the circle, looks up, and just before he touches the rune, the rest of the roof breaks away and a great wave crashes through, pulling Sentry away from the family – but she sees them teleport away successfully although she does not know to where. Sentry’s body is whisked away and thrown violently into the sea, smashed against rocks and debris as Solwynn itself begins to crumble. In the distance, she can just see Volcanos, a mine where Guardians would extract volcanium, the ore used to create many of Solwynn’s weapons, begin to erupt with plumes of smoke and bursts of lava. She is plunged again into the sea where she sinks and is pulled by currents through darkness and murky water for days or months before finally, another blow to the head renders her unconscious. Eventually, she wakes up and sees Quill…

The rest of them see the large stone cube open with a hiss of steam: standing on the Forge is Sentry, made whole again. Her armour has been repaired and reinforced, all dents and blemishes are gone, and her core swells with purple energy. Echo floats up behind her head. Sentry sees many familiar faces, some unknown and waves at them. Nova and Lucius, overwhelmed, fall to their knees. The attendant reassures Sentry that she is back to functioning perfectly and advises that she has upgraded Sentry’s armour and echo (which now has a transportation mode). The attendant transmits mental codes that allow Sentry to turn echo into a mount – Sentry activates it, an energy source is projected from her chest to echo which twists and transforms into a large, metallic and wooden elk with a single gemstone eye. Nova gives Sentry a hug, Aila gives her back her axe and shield (and gets a hug in return), and Lucius flies over and covers everyone with glitter. Nova tearfully apologises to Sentry and tells her how much she loves her before Sentry asks the question they have been dreading… “Where’s Quill?”

## **YouTube Timestamps**

00:00 - Episode Start
0:43 – Mukbang DnD
1:00 – Trott’s NordVPN sponsorship ad
4:25 – DnD Beyond ad
5:29 – Consequences
6:24 – Patreon
7:50 – Dun Duns
08:59 - Recap
10:46 – New house rule
12:26 - Part 1
14:45 – Goblin harassment
17:05 – Crazy goblin examples
19:13 – Be the goblin you are inside
28:03 – Vezzek’s dinner is here
28:44 – Nova is the one for the job
32:13 – Lucius and the goblin
32:28 – REVOLT
36:09 – Brookstoned
36:38 – Pyri doesn’t need to know
38:07 – Aila founds a religion
39:48 – The plan
41:10 – Lucius is ready for a scrap
41:19 – Aila’s the leader now
44:09 – Clueless Pyri is clueless Tom
44:42 – Tom and Pyri are one
45:02 – Pyri’s hair
46:33 – Vezzek vs. Aila
47:46 – Lucius sits
48:02 – Map time
1:00:15 – Nova’s surprise round
1:01:50 – Battle begins
1:12:48 – Lucius’ kill
1:14:31 – Fun time coin!
1:17:21 – Aila’s kill
1:22:06 – Nova’s kill
1:22:31 – Tom and Trott roll for stepping on fingers
1:24:25 – Aila’s kill
1:25:23 - Break time/Donations
1:32:49 - Part 2
1:39:02 – Nova and Lucius
1:40:05 – Verbally attacked
1:43:07 – Smeek wakes up
1:45:24 – Next map
1:48:54 – Battle begins
2:03:45 – Nova tries the console
2:10:08 – Lucius tries the console
2:16:45 – Sentry’s life in Oriya’s hands
2:20:05 – Pulling the levers
2:21:55 – Curse his sudden but inevitable betrayal
2:23:02 – Hypnotic pattern
2:25:24 – Sentry lore
2:26:20 – The Prime
2:33:27 – Skaldi and Skorb
2:35:14 – Nova’s dream
2:43:36 – What is this technical jargon?
2:44:44 – Sentry’s memories
2:47:16 – The return of a friend
2:48:55 – Echo’s transportation mode
2:50:06 – Reunion
2:50:45 – Where’s Quill
2:50:58 – Episode ends
2:51:42 – Donations
2:51:48 – FranktheNPC’s episode prediction
2:53:15 – Meanwhile in Suvonna
2:57:34 - Outro/Donations

*feel free to add extra timestamps of significant events!*

## **Featured Characters**

#### **The Stormchasers (Player Characters)**

* Aila
* Nova V'ger
* Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto
* Pyri Adhara
* Oriya Marius

#### **Returning NPCs**

* Skaldi Ravenscar
* Vezzek
* Kalus Starbane

#### **Mentioned NPCs**

* Valla
* Arval

## **Featured Locations**

* Myrskyr
	+ The Midwife's Forge

## **Trivia**

* This episode introduced the "Fun Coin" house rule as a test rule: If a player fails a dice roll three times in a row, they will be awarded inspiration by Mark, represented by the "Insipiration" [sic] coin from D&D Beyond. Katie was the first to win the fun coin in this episode.
* Mark introduces Trott as “Chris” – who is this guy?
* Trott took over sponsor reads this week and does a VPN sponsor read where he suggests that VPN stands for “Veiled Projection of Non-detection”, a new magical apparatus that allows secret access to people and places all over the world. Kim spilled most of her drink during this read. Trott has to be reminded to do the second sponsor introduction for D&D Beyond.
* Mark’s dinner – nuggets, chips, and something from McDonalds - arrived part way through part 1 of this episode because it was meant to arrive earlier and “Deliveroo fucked up”. It was brought over to the table by Sid (AKA “Sidrick the Goblin”). Mark eats his nuggets dry (without sauce). Mark roleplayed this as Vezzek eating his rations.
* Smeek was actually introduced last episode as the Goblin that was worshipping Skorb as they approached the mine entrance but was not named.
* Mark briefly left the room to grab the players’ miniatures and Kim called for a revolt. Tom’s idea of a revolt was to “read his notes!” while Kim’s was to “eat his McDonalds!”
* They are given six Goblins (and Smeek) to take with them into the Forge. Each Goblin has 7 hit points, +3 for any attacks, and they do 1d6 damage. All skill checks are at 1d20 + 0, and they move at 25 feet per round. They always have an initiative of 10.
* Dichromancy was reduced this week to 30 feet attack distance.
* Nova’s *Dispel Magic* suppressed the bow’s abilities for one minute, essentially putting it to sleep.
* The statue of Valena at the Forge ("the attendant") is described as “Michaelangelo-esque”.
* The statue is immune to poison, psychic damage, weapon attacks from non-magical sources, and it cannot be charmed, exhausted, frightened, paralysed, petrified or poisoned. It can be stunned, but it is immune to any effect that would alter its form.
* Mark considered making the recessed floor around the Forge lava for a short period of time.
* It takes approximately 9.3 hours for the attendant to repair and bring back Sentry.
* The attendant was built by Valena herself and cannot leave the forge (but has no reason to).

## Quote

* Mark: …emerging from the portal, like he did before, a figure in long dark armour with a long cape and long dark hair…
* Kim (as if in pain): Oh, he’s so sexy…
* Mark: …as Kalus himself…
* Katie: Stupid sexy Kalus!