Aerois - Episode 40: Ticking Timebomb

Kim Richards as Nova V'ger

Mark Hulmes as Aila

Rhiannon Frost as Sentry

 Tom Hazell as Qillek Ad Khollar

**Ticking Timebomb** is the 40th episode of the Aerois Campaign. It was broadcast live on both the Yogscast Twitch channel and highrollersdnd Twitch channel on 14th July 2019 from 5PM to 8PM BST.

*BOMB! THERE'S A BOMB!*

## **Summary**

### **Announcements**

* Mark welcomes everyone and introduces the players. Katie is not feeling well and is not playing today.
* There are two sponsors today: D&D Beyond and Nord VPN.
* HR is currently doing another mini-series on straight after Aerois on the DND Twitch channel – Lightfall’s Descent (Episode 5 today).
* Merch: there are new shirts available (Paladin and Sentry shirts).
* Mark, Tom, and Katie will be appearing at PAX West (Seattle) this year. Idle Champions have invited the team out and they are still figuring out exactly what they will be doing – plans currently are for a panel, signings, and maybe even a live game with some guests.
* Twitch has new Smeek emotes available to subscribers. Sub for Smeek. Tom promised not to kill him if people get the Smeek emote.
* There will be a fan art video in the break.

### **Recap**

"*The party have travelled to the sky city of Gusthaven, a huge floating island with a city that has developed to survive above the clouds with magic. Here, they have successfully resurrected their friend, and Chosen of the god H'esper, Qillek ad Khollar. However, they have also discovered the fate of Lucius Elenasto's family, and began to unravel what could be a dark conspiracy. Lucius escorted the party to find a surviving member of his household: his old Nanny, a half-elven woman called Norfir. Locating Norfir's house, they found her inside, armed to the teeth, and ready to kill. Norfir's past as an assassin was revealed, and she detailed what she knew of the Elenasto tragedy, believing it to be the work of sky pirates called the Wind Barons. The party went to procure Lucius new clothes and also to find a big magical store called the Aethegora. There they met with Azaria Yorien Perel, a young elven noble, who runs it. They purchased various new magical devices in exchange for a potion of longevity that they sold. Meanwhile, Lucius cut and dyed his hair, in the hope to try and avoid attention. And as the party began to plan their next steps, a small metal sphere teleported, warped through space and time, into the room, and began ticking.*"
### **Part 1**

*Something has appeared in front of the party and... it's ticking?!*

A metal sphere has suddenly appeared in the air through some sort of teleport and fallen to the ground – it has started ticking, urgently.

Aila grabs Lucius by the collar and tries to run out of Norfir’s flat with him. Smeek is curious as to what the metal ball is, but follows Aila as she moves across the room to the exit.

Lucius sees that the metal sphere is inlaid with small amounts of aetherium and hears that the ticking is getting faster and faster. Nova turns casts *Gaseous Form* and Norfir starts yelling, “Get it out of…” as the ball breaks apart to reveal a tiny orange bead that is familiar to them. Suddenly, a fireball erupts in the room.

Everyone but Aila is burned, Nova maintains her gaseous form, and echo is destroyed. Norfir has managed to pull a table in front of her to provide some cover but has been blown backwards into a wall. There is a sudden popping sound, and two individuals appear just outside the apartment’s front door and two more appear on the balcony. The figures have masks tied around their lower face, bandanas, and are wearing black leathers. They are also wielding fierce looking scimitars and daggers, looking for all the world like trained warriors. Quill moves to the centre of the room and casts *Spirit Guardians*, surrounding himself in a whirl of birds and feathers, preventing anyone from coming within 15 feet of him.

Aila hits one of the nearby intruders with her hammer, missing with her second blow. Quill hears the crack of a gunshot from nearby then feels a burst of pain as he is immediately downed in a spray of blood, his jaw and beak being broken by the bullet. Smeek moves up behind Aila and tries to fend off the invaders with his halberd but flails about uselessly with the unwieldy weapon. Lucius uses the Barrier Ring before feeding a healing potion to the broken-jawed Quill. Quill is so badly injured that he is unable to speak, and Lucius realises that Quill will have to be taken to a healer to have it repaired. He manages to drag Quill into the kitchen and away from danger – as he is doing so, he spies out the window, a man perched on the roof of a building about 120 feet away – the glint of a rifle scope gives away his location. Lucius warns the others about the man’s position and threat.

Nova drops *Gaseous Form,* casts *Hexblade Curse* on one of the men, ignites *Green Flame Blade* and attacks him with Tiangong, injuring both of the men on the balcony.

The cutthroats out the front are heard to shout, “Deal with his friends quickly, we’ve got to find him!” The two on the balcony attack Nova with multiple swift strikes – she manages to parry a few but is hit. Aila is likewise attacked and hit by the two out the front. Norfir picks up the table and blocks the window with it before moving to help Nova against the two outside with her short blade. Sentry swings her axe at one of the enemies near Nova, striking him and pushing him backwards off the balcony with a *Thunderous Smite.* The man falls 40 feet to the ground. Quill looks at Lucius and casts *Bardic Inspiration*.

Aila turns on the uninjured man in front of her and sinks a lightning infused hammer into his chest – the man is surprised by the suddenness and violence of the attack. The sniper, unable to see into the room, vanishes into the night. Smeek attacks but only manages to get his halberd stuck in the ceiling – he tugs at it desperately but cannot remove it. Lucius jumps out the window, casts *Lightning Lure* (which fails), then jumps back into the room. Nova casts *Vampiric Touch* but the man jerks to the side and avoids her extended hand. The man retaliates with three strikes but only manages to make contact with Nova once. The two men attack Aila, but although they both hit her, she barely notices due to her rage. Norfir stabs the man on Nova, and he stumbles, on the verge of death.

Quill stands up, leans out the window and shoots at the stumbling man with the Thunderstone Pistol but fires wide. Sentry moves to Aila and casts *Heroism* on her, Aila raises her hammer and brings it down on the head of the man in front of her, snapping his neck, and he falls over dead. Lucius throws an acidic *Chromatic Orb* at the man on the balcony and flicks him with Dichromancy – the man is heavily injured but still standing. The man attempts to swing onto the balcony below so that he can escape – unfortunately for him, Nova stabs him in the leg, he stumbles, and Norfir grabs the man by the back of his neck before sticking her shortsword into the side of his neck and pulling it forwards. She boots the dead body off the balcony.

The last assailant decides that it is time to leave – Smeek stabs him with the halberd, Aila smashes him with her hammer, and the man continues running. Norfir comes back in from the balcony noting that the fire in the room is starting to burn her curtains and furniture but that the detonation has not done much damage to the room, which is made of stone. Quill looks down from the balcony to see that the first man who was blown off the balcony by Sentry, now nursing a broken leg, is dragging the dead body of his colleague away down the street. He hears whistles as the town guard draws near.

Sentry runs after the man who is trying to escape down the stairs before shooting at him with her flame lance – it scorches his shoulder but does not do significant damage. Aila chases after the man, following him onto the stairs – she hurls the Howling Tempest at the man but misses him, much to her chagrin. Smeek follows after her and tries to throw his halberd at the escapee, but it is a disastrous throw and it lands at Aila’s feet – Smeek is not happy. Lucius runs to the stairs and shouts down that they should subdue the man so that they can get information from him, then goes back to Nanny Norfir to get a hug.

Nova moves to the edge of the balcony and tries to blast the broken-legged man with *Eldritch Blast* but both beams miss. She moves back into some cover, knowing that the shooter is still outside somewhere. Aila chases down the other assailant and knocks him out. Smeek retrieves his halberd while the last man manages to escape.

### **Part 2**

*Barely surviving the recent encounter the team are scrabbling to find out what just happened!*

The fire is starting to burn out of control so Lucius casts *Snilloc’s Snowball Swarm* to put it out. Quill stumbles out of the kitchen with his beak shattered and blood all over his tunic. Nova uses the scarf that her mother gave her as an improvised bandage to wrap up his head. She insists that they must get him some healing and Norfir recommends the priestess at the Temple of Siaska, she thinks her name might be Elris (it is Eris). Norfir tells them that the Watch will want to ask them some questions – they have one of the perpetrators and she hopes that there might have been some witnesses to the explosion and the gunshot. Lucius is a little in awe of Norfir but she tells him that she is the same person that she has always been, it is just that he now knows more about her and her long life and expertise.

Quill pulls out a piece of paper and writes, “Prince?” on it – they agree that Aridan may be able to help them, both with the situation and Quill’s healing. Nova asks Norfir if she recognised the perpetrators – she suspects they were members of the Wind Barons given that they came to her property and were clearly looking for her or Lucius. This is her first encounter with them and she thinks that they may have been trying to tie up loose ends. Nova notices that the men were wearing all black and she suspects that they might have been an elite unit or were trying to disguise their identity.

Aila drags the unconscious man back into Norfir’s flat while Smeek sits on his chest and batters at him. Norfir recommends that they ask the man what they need to quickly – once the guards arrive, he will be taken into custody and they will have lost their chance. Norfir is happy to try to stall the guards while they try to get some answers – she thinks that they may have a couple of minutes at best.

Lucius begins the questioning while Smeek slaps the man, Aila pulls him off but maintains a hold on the pirate. Sentry restrains the man while Lucius questions him.

Lucius advises the man that because of the loud gunshot, guards are on their way, but that if he answers some questions, they might be prepared to give the man a head start. The man chuckles but says nothing. He knows that he is in serious trouble but smirks and laughs at Lucius when he suggests that he might have to torture the man to get anything out of him. When Lucius suggests that the man may be locked up for a long time, the man smiles and tells Lucius that he has a lot of faith in the city, but that he shouldn’t. What Lucius sees as a bastion of peace and hope, the man says is weak and ripe for the plundering. Lucius asks the man how much he is paid by the Wind Barons, “A lot,” says the man, unwittingly confirming his employer, “but it’s more than just gold”. When Lucius asks who pays the Wind Barons, the man answers sarcastically, “The careless merchants that go about their business without protecting themselves.”

Quill hurriedly writes on a piece of parchment, “Why us?” They catch his eyes glance towards Lucius before he noncholantly answers, “Bunch of rich folks in the city. What’s not to go after?” Nova asks what the man’s mission was but gets no answer, then asks if it was to go after Lucius (Lucius looks hard at her asking her who that is). They realise that the man is not intimidated and appears to believe that he is safe, even with the threat of guards coming to take him. They realise that they were, in fact, after Lucius. Sentry takes the bandanna off the man’s head.

It does not take long for Norfir and the guards of the City Watch, made up of Elves, Half-Elves, and Humans, in their black and white uniforms come up the stairs behind her and reassure the concerned but nosy citizens. One of the officers is very clearly a Royal Guard whom Lucius recognises as Valera Demethal, Captain of the Royal Guard – he has seen her before in processions before and knows her to be from a working class family. Aridan’s father installed her as a Captain of the Guard despite her background and against tradition because of her excellence. Valera is middle-aged and wears the full plate armour of a Royal Guard with the blue tabard of Gusthaven. While she does not carry a weapon, there is a younger Elven man behind her, her squire, wearing a breastplate and gambeson, and carrying a sheathed sword and shield as well as a large spear with a banner.

Valera marches straight towards the party and asks the Watch to return any neighhbours to their houses while she speaks to the witnesses. She ushers them inside – Smeek is terrified of the people in armour and clutches onto Aila’s leg, silent for a change. They move into the apartment followed by Valera, the squire, and a robed Elven woman. Asking Quill to be seated, she tells them that she has spoken to the Sky Prince and is aware of who they are. She tells them that this sort of thing does not normally happen in Gusthaven which is why she has been sent before asking them what happened.

Lucius tells the story, and when he gets to the part about the appearance of the metallic sphere, Quill notices a glint of recognition from Valera, indicating that she is aware of the devices or has hear of their use. Nova realises what has happened and tells Valera that the device contained a *Fireball* spell, and that when it opened, the spell activated. Valera calls over the Elven woman, a Stave called Jessir, and asks her to investigate the area – she casts *Detect Magic.* Valera then asks them what the second loud booming noise was, which they tell her was the gun shot, and when it is revealed that the shooter is probably still somewhere outside or in the city, she sends her squire to inform the local Watch and have them on the lookout for a man with a firearm as well as the others that the group tells her about. Sentry hands the bandanna to the Captain telling her that it came from their captive – it is plain black but may be useful for scrying on the rest of their party. The Captain asks how the men came to be there and Lucius tells her that since the men had no magical ability, they must have been teleported in by someone else.

Having nothing else to ask them for now, Valera allows them to take Quill to seek aid but tells them that they will be closely monitored and asks them to advise her if they seek to leave the sky city. She tells Lucius that the Wind Barons have become very bold of late, attacking sky ships and messengers, travellers inside and outside the city. She advises caution, telling them that the pirates fortunatly have not used these tactics frequently.

The rest of the party notices Quill go very quiet and sit down. He begins to feel a buildup of energy as he prepares to use the Eye of the Storm for the first time. Quill looks at the subdued captive then closes his eyes and sees before him fog, cloud, and storm, picturing the question in his mind. He asks mentally, “Who sent this man to kill us?”

*Quill senses a blast of lightning then feels the world shift as he realises that he is no longer looking at the now, but the past. He sees a beautiful, stately room with polished white glistening walls, beautiful bookcases and desks filled with magical paraphernalia, spellbooks, potions, pendulums and talismans. He sees the foreman and rifleman that they fought standing in a circle on what appears to be a sketched-out rune. Standing behind them in a mask and cloak is a male with a long metal staff in his hand. A magically altered voice (to hide his identity from the assassins) comes from the figure as he reaches out a hand: "Find the Elenasto boy. He must not live". The assassins are then teleported by the man before Quill finds himself back in the present.*

Valera recommends that they take Quill to the Cathedral of Siaska for healing. Nova asks if they need to have their weapons re-sealed since they had to break the seals to defend themselves – the Captain says that technically they should, but she summons the mage who confirms the presence of evocation magic. Valera asks the mage to place a Writ of Authority on the party (and Smeek) to allow them to carry unsealed arms for the use of self defence only. They are clearly informed that they are not deputised and are not to pursue criminals. The mage goes one by one, adding another seal over the passport of admittance that appears on their hands.

As they leave the flat, it is late at night but a crowd has gathered. As they walk through the assembled throng, Lucius pretends that they were in the flat a floor below the explosion and suggests loudly that the assassins were after the Magronas. The streets are relatively quiet and they pay 20 gold to hire a pegasus carriage to take them to the Temple of Siaska. Eris is asleep but Quill sees another priest who heals his injury for 300g.

Lucius sits the party down to discuss their financial situation. Nova tells them that they have just over 1000 gold in the party fund but Lucius tells them that he has considerably more than that, both from his compensation (from the families that bought the Elenasto company and assets) but also from his father’s will – a total of 43,000 gold. Lucius proposes that they purchase an airship. Norfir had handed him a pamphlet from a ship builder in the docks called Sprocket and Lily’s Shipwright Co. Lucius knows them as a family of Gnomes who only build airships for specific purposes or for eccentric buyers: they are known to hand pick their clients and only select people who they think are going to do good things with their ships. Nova asks Lucius if he would not rather spend the money rebuilding his estate but he says that it is not going anywhere and they would be better off being able to move around freely. Nova asks if he has given up on his father, but given that people teleported in, it is possible that he may still be alive. There is also the larger picture with the Wind Barons, the noble houses of Gusthaven fighting, and so on – she asks if he really wants to leave that. Lucius counters with the fact that all of these things are trivial if there is no Aerois. They talk about checking up on Kalie’s Rest and Quill tells them that he can do that now, having to explain to them the enormous power that he now has with the Eye of the Storm.

He explains his previous question about their assassins and the man who sent them. Lucius asks if Quill would be able to see what happened to his father – Quill says that he can but wonders if Lucius is ready to hear the answer. Lucius says that he does not have time to pursue a lie, that Starbane’s forces will only get stronger the longer they wait, and that he would prefer to know now.

They make their way from the Azurebright Plaza, the noble district, to the nearby ruined remains of the Elenasto estate. It is late at night and they are tired, the Cradle shines down on them with its multicoloured light. This is as close as they have been to the Cradle and there is a heavenly feeling to the bright, prismatic barrier of light that encompases the planet in a protective shell. They climb over the closed gates that shut in the Elenasto estate to find rubble and broken stone, smashed wooden beams, burned wood, furniture, and parchment, and they move to the middle of the wreckage. Sentry is moved by the destruction, touches Lucius gently on the shoulder and takes a few steps backwards to move and stand respectfully outside the broken building – Aila picks up Smeek and joins her, plonking Smeek at Sentry’s feet.

Standing with Nova and Lucius, Quill asks Lucius’ question: “How did Virion Elenasto die to this explosion?”

*Quill closes his eyes and sees the storm gathered before him with bolts of lightning. He pictures the estate and Lucius’ question in his mind. Time rolls back and Quill sees a workshop full of designs of metal cages, rods, machines, aetherium stuff that Quill does not understand - it is a well-organised and well-laid out workshop. He sees a framed picture of an Elven family: Lucius, his twin sister (who looks remarkably like him but with two blue eyes and long blonde hair), and then a mother and a father. There are trunks and materials lying about, the door opens to reveal an older Elven man, very distinguished with a trimmed beard and dusky-grey, blond hair, his eyes have dark circles and wrinkles that reveal his stress and lack of sleep. He slowly walks down the steps and looks around the workshop as he reaches the bottom step. The man sits down, and Quill sees a glow begin to emanate from under the desk. The man's eyes open wide, he peers underneath the desk, and Quill sees another one of the metal spheres. The sphere pops open – inside this one is not just a Fireball, inside this one is some hideous conflagration, terrible energy bursts out in green and violet flames. The man opens his eyes wide, and he has just enough time to reach for the picture before the conflagration overtakes the vision. Quill is returned to the present.*

A shaken and overwhelmed Lucius thanks Quill, then walks away without saying anything else. He walks to where the workshop was, a basement floor of the house, and he climbs down into the broken space. The room has been blasted to pieces, the ceiling blown off, but Lucius finds half of a picture frame still remaining – on the back of the frame is a metal inscription, “The Elenasto Family”. The photo that had been inside it has been burned, blackened, and destroyed. Lucius gently picks it up and dusts it off with a trembling hand before clutching it to his chest, tears rolling from his differently-coloured eyes.

Lucius falls to his knees in the ash. The night is still and quiet with a gentle breeze blowing across the estate. Sentry, seeing this from afar, mutters to herself, “One day, we will stop losing everything we love.”

Quill feels the divine touch of H’esper on his shoulder and almost hears his words whispered on the wind, “Sometimes the right questions are the hardest ones to ask.”

After a while, Nova goes and puts her arm quietly and comfortingly around Lucius. They talk about his father and how much he would have loved to have met Nova. Nova reminds Lucius that he can still work on his father’s inventions, that he is his legacy now.

Quill suddenly catches sight of a shape that appears to be flying down through the night air, wings spread out, dive bombing straight for Nova and Lucius. He realises that the figure is humanoid, and is gliding, not flying, and is about to land. He yells to the others that they are not done yet and points his (unloaded) pistol at the shape. To Lucius and Nova, the figure seems to appear at the top of the workshop, looking down at them – they are wearing a white, porcelain mask with a large star shape on its front, and a long cape and gloves. The figure throws something in the air and a smoke cloud suddenly engulfs them. They hear a magically modulated voice call to them, “Who the hell are you? You’re **not** Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto.”

The figure then points a hand crossbow at Lucius.

## **YouTube Timestamps**

0:46 - Smeek killed Tom
1:06 - Health comes first unless it’s Kim
1:29 - Tom is actually perfect
1:42 - NordVPN ad
4:15 - DnD Beyond ad
8:23 - Surely not America!
9:57 - Aerois intro video
11:14 - Recap
12:40 - Episode begins/Battle begins
13:28 - Tom cannot roll for Smeek
14:20 - Tom kills Aila
22:01 - Sudden realisation
26:12 - A mysterious held action
30:13 - She cares not!
31:40 - Suspicious DM questions
32:30 - Quill goes down
32:52 - Injury check for Qillek
33:50 - Absorb the bullet into the future
33:59 - The microphone is trying to save Quill by silencing Mark
34:15 - The injury
34:36 - Method acting
35:06 - How the cookie goes
37:38 - Quill’s jaw breaks off
39:57 - Gween Frame Braids
40:13 - New house rule! Crit hits = max dice damage + extra dice roll
45:47 - Thoroughly Tommed
47:54 - Sentry’s kill
48:34 - Silent inspiration
50:56 - Keemstar Smeek
51:34 - Vas Voraak
53:20 - Quill’s gift to Lucius
59:28 - Aila’s kill
1:04:30 - Norfir’s overkill
1:05:32 - The nanny we all deserve
1:14:09 - Nova spell flavouring
1:17:39 - Break begins
1:18:01 - Fan art video
1:31:32 - Break ends
1:39:23 - Interrogation begins
1:46:16 - Inquiry begins
1:51:38 - It’s very smoky in here
1:57:57 - The Eye of the Storm
2:01:40 - Skorb wants vengeance
2:05:38 - Lucius’ deception
2:08:20 - YO YO YO HEALERS
2:21:24 - Leading the witness?
2:22:52 - Lucius’ question, and we’ll find out NEXT EPISODE
2:23:59 - Tom may actually explode
2:31:47 - Quill’s vision
2:35:12 - The workshop
2:36:55 - Lucius rips a big one
2:37:47 - Smeek was the bomb all along
2:38:56 - Quill and H’esper
2:39:27 - Lucius and Nova
2:42:56 - Episode ends and MASSIVE CLIFFHANGER
2:43:47 - No insiperation for Kimberly
2:42:56 - Donations
2:49:35 - Stream ends

## **Featured Characters**

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

* Aila
* Nova V'ger
* Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto
* Qillek Ad Khollar
* Sentry

**New NPCs**

* Valera Demethal, Captain of the Royal Guard
* Jessir (Stave)
* Moonstar

#### **Returning NPCs**

* Nanny Norfir
* Smeek

#### **Mentioned NPCs**

* Siaska
* Arval

## **Featured Locations**

* Gusthaven
	+ Norfir's apartment
	+ Starsorrow Cathedral
	+ Elenasto estate

## **Trivia**

* Tom played Aila during combat to make it easier for Mark.
* Kim had a cold for this episode.
* With Nord VPN sponsoring today’s show, Trott’s ad read mentioned something about hacking. Mark commented that this was a touchy subject for Kim at the moment because she had had her credit card details stolen shortly before this episode.
* Tom rolled a 2 on the injury table which resulted in Quill’s broken jaw.
* This is the first time that the High Rollers use the “max damage” rule for crits. These were rules that Mark had seen used in a private game with friends of his from LARP (Steve and Oz). The rule is that you get the maximum dice roll, roll the dice again, then add modifiers at the end.
* Tom realises, after Quill’s jaw is broken and he cannot cast spells with a verbal component, that all of his spells have a verbal component. He realises that he can use the bandalore… until Kim points out that he has not attuned to it. She pulls a Tom on Tom. *(Touché, Kim. ~Crispi)*
* Kim wanted Mark to tell her that Smeek was not Keems backwards and that Smeek is not Keemstar. Mark would not do so.
* Someone commented that every Mark Hulmes Goblin spell was “Vas Ferrag”. Mark later uses this as something that Smeek says.
* Smeek misheard Sentry when she referred to his weapon as a “halberd” – he thinks it is called “halbert” and refers to it as such.
* It was agreed this episode that the warlock spell, *Cursed Spectre*, should be used as a reaction at the time of the enemy’s death. There is no range mentioned in the spell.
* Mark specified that Cursed Spectre would not actually be an undead spectre, it would be like an illusory copy of the dead person. They thought that “sweet little Nova” with “good old Tiangong” raising spectres was a little odd.
* Mark has always pictured Hexblade curse as a holographic targeting thing – Tiangong feeds Nova information like Jarvis gives information to Iron Man, projecting how she should swing the blade, aiding her in combat, and giving her helpful little facts. As the creature dies, Tiangong can syphon off some of its life energy and it reinvigorates Nova.
* Nova was granted the Insipiration coin, having failed to make 3 attacks in a row.
* **Continuity error:** Mark continues to refer to Grand Light Seer Eris as “Elris” as he did last episode.
* Lucius was left 20,000 gold in his father’s will and was given 23,000 gold in compensation on his return alive to Gusthaven.
* Much of the information about the airship comes from the Acquisitions Incorporated sourcebook.
* **Continuity error:** Lucius picks up what Mark describes as part of a picture frame (the photo from inside it having been burned and destroyed) but Trott refers to Lucius as looking at the photo in Episode 41: Moonstar, Monsters, and Money. Mark corrects him soon after. The "photo" will later show up again in Episode 181.