Episode 416 - The Tragic Fate of Tidtowne

Content warning for mention of suicide towards the end of the ep.

With our crew solidifying their allies and potential enemies of their enemies they receive a letter from an unlikely source… Meanwhile old friends have made some…cosmetic upgrades to their entire bodies/ town.

## **Story**

### Long Story

The Tower of Grey prepare for the upcoming battle against the dreaded Trant Thumble. That means preparations, battle plans, many lengthy discussions on the various goings-on of their myriad allies across Drunkeros. And it means sore fingers for me, MisterRed, so let's get started!

They begin by having *The BTS* sent off to The Feywild by way of The Astral Plane, carrying with it the Sphere of Annihilation, as well as Bercy Hamhands, Lonny Caplain, Pandora Thorne, Duclaw Honeypaw, and Wordsworth Zics. This is because the Feywild is where they believe Trant is going next, to slay Melora. Rowan is, in particular, loathe to let this happen, as she's developed quite the crush on the Queen of Spring. In addition to the BTS, Toby also sends out many spies to various points throughout The Multiverse, with the goal of getting caught by Trant's team. These spies are carrying false information, barely encrypted (just enough to be crackable, but seem believable), to the aim of confusing Trant, and keeping the Tower of Grey's next steps obscure. Sneaky stuff, Toby. That's all the planning they have time for today, so the party take a much needed (long) rest...

Except for Toby, who's once again visited by a chilling and familiar presence. Vecna speaks to him, again reminding the gnome about their mission: to use the God Killer device to, well, kill the gods. Fortunately for everyone, Vecna agrees with the current goal, that Trant must be stopped. If he becomes too powerful, then Vecna/Toby will never be able to get their hands on the God Killer, and their mission will be over before it begins. That said, however, Vecna threatens Toby, warning that, should he betray her, she will kill all his friends, and all the clones, and save Toby himself for last. Toby, who's been putting off this decision, is afraid to be finally facing the consequences of his actions...

The next morning, a breakfast is prepared, though it's a bit of a dick measuring contest between Gengar (Skud's new Water Genasi familiar), and Toby 2, whom we haven't heard about in a dog's age. As these two compete to serve the best G.D. breakfast this side of The Crossroads, Rake enters to inform Rowan of a message that has come. It bears the sigil of Bigby, and it reads: "Meet me in the Calm Belt at Midnight". The Calm Belt, Toby knows, is a nearby valley where magic is unable to exist. Seems weird that Bigby, as a super magic-y dude, would want to go there at all, but alright. Toby warns Rake that if they don't make it back, all of the documents in the basement are to be destroyed. Frank knows which ones. Also, Lahni gives Rake a lock of her loose hairs as a gift. Strange as it may seem (and it does seem strange), this is actually a great idea, because it allows Rake and co. to scry upon Lahni and co. if need be, so, good job, Lahni.

Anyway, they have the whole rest of the day to continue their preparations. The Tower of Grey has assembled a number of allies at this point, some of whom have already sworn to send help by way of soldiers to the Feywild. These include: The Fey (the beings of the Feywild), the elves of Galanthus (who have a strong connection to the Fey), the Wood Elves, the Sun Shields of Pelor's Hope, the wizards of the White Spire (which Toby is in charge of, btw. I always forget that), and some angels from Elysium (courtesy of Pelor). Queen Aludra Wyrmsbane and Jaela have decided not to send any Dwarves to the fight, believing it not to be necessary. They plan on using Deephome as a fall back for the survivors, in case things go south. Aludra and Jaela are currently with the Tower of Grey, helping with preparations, as is Adira Harper. The three badass ladies are going to accompany the Tower to the Feywild to fight alongside them.

There are more allies, less confirmed as to how they may help. Some of them haven't yet been contacted. There are various cities, such as Tidtowne, Glaine, the Jewel of the East, and Mastwick, and many devils around that won't be too happy about Trant's ambitions, and might deign to help them out. There's also The Crossroads, who Rowan doesn't want involved, to keep her mom safe, as well as Yanghar, The Temple of Erathis, The Coven (Including Wren and Lex). And, there's the dragons. We'd previously heard of a great battle at Mt. Celestia, in which Tiamat and Bahamut were both presumably killed. Jaela and Aludra had gone to help Yazdir Dosh in this fight, but that seems to have been forgotten about. Oh well. Now, we aren't sure who survived, or where their allegiances lay.

Feeling like things aren't complicated enough, Skud draws a card from his Deck of Many Things. He draws *The Throne*, which suddenly grants him ownership of a keep somewhere out in the world. It's currently in the hands of monsters, though, which he'd need to clear out to gain control. It's out in The Wildlands, far to the west. So, cool. That's a thing. Anyway, ignoring that, there are two plot threads the group decides to focus their efforts on: The dragons of Mt. Celestia, and the myriad beasts of Tidtowne.

First, they ~~contact~~ ~~teleport~~ slow travel to Tidtowne, whereupon Skud meets Steve Meloncamp, and the two have a strange conversation with each other. It's here that everyone involved makes their greatest mistake in not disconnecting Bachmann's internet, because he decides that, and Michael for some reason agrees to, everyone in Tidtowne has died, and turned into Flesh Golems. This was, initially, done as a way to ensure that Cheryl Meloncamp would still be alive. Gnolls live about 30 years, so she would have died by now, but Steve, as a Flesh Golem himself, made her into one, too. But then, for whatever reason, this was expanded to the entirety of Tidtowne. This does not include Xena Meloncamp, who at this point would be the equivalent of around 19 years old in human years. Nor does it include any player characters, so Baz, Beetle, Kass, Shank and Bone, Brip Brap and probably Tug (and maybe others), are all fine, probably.

Bachmann hasn't had enough, though, apparently, because he then decides to pull another card. This one is most likely a custom one, and it allows Skud to, at any point, send an individual back in time 24 hours. Alternatively, he could send back a room full of people 1 hour, or the entire world for 13 seconds. Or, the entire Multiverse 3 seconds! Gotta be honest, that doesn't seem to scale accurately, but oh well. This is manic anyway, who am I to apply any kind of reason to it. Anyway, Skud asks Tidtowne to help, and Steve agrees. Cool, let's move on.

As this nightmare is unfolding, Jaela uses a Sending Stone to communicate with Yazdir Dosh. The two gab. Yazdir is "bummed", because all the dragon gods are dead, but she's totally up with getting her claws on a big ol, steaming cold glass of sweet, sweet revenge by killing Trant Thumble. She mentions how dumb it is that there are good and bad dragons, and implies that all the remaining dragons have decided to come together as one group. And they'll help fight! Great. Finally, Jaela and Aludra ask about Kate Aurochs, who Yazdir doesn't know, but vows to find out about. Somewhere, Toby begins vibrating and says, "I don't know what's happening, but 2 things are going so poorly right now."

The rest of the day is devoted to other such preparations. Anticipating that many clerics and healers are going to suddenly loose access to their magical abilities (as their gods have died), the Tower instructs them to prepare scrolls, potions, rings, and wands to store healing spells, and the like. Many of them are told to gather together to do this, and the meeting place is set as the Sbarros in the Elemental Tramway. And finally, with no more preparations to be had, night comes, and the Tower of Grey, along with Aludra, Jaela, and Adira all decide to go head to the Calm Belt, to meet with Bigby (?).

As they approach, they are on their guard, to keep sure they won't be ambushed. Lahni runs into the no magic zone first, but she can't see anyone there. She runs back out to report this. They all roll in, leaving no one behind, as a show of strength. Midnight comes, and passes. Bigby is late. Then, a small figure approaches. He's alone, and little, and nervous looking.

Bigby reveals many things to them. Most notably, he was not acting as Trant's assistant willingly. He was threatened to help, or Trant would kill him. Bigby was never in control of things, and never thought that Trant would get as far as he did. Way back, when Trant found Bigby in The Abyss, Trant didn't "rescue" Bigby, like everyone thought. Rather, he imprisoned him, forcing him to tell Trant about the God Killer, and how to use it. Bigby was cursed, in much the same way that Adira Harper was cursed, so he could never reveal the truth. It's for this reason that he called them here, to the Calm Belt. Without magic, the curse doesn't apply, but that also comes with a catch: as soon as he leaves, he will die. Bigby seems oddly at peace with this idea, fealing that his life has no value anymore, and things are better this way. This is never true, but Bigby refuses Toby's offer of allowing him to live here indefinitely. He then offers them some more information on Trant Thumble.

Trant keeps the God Killer in 2 chests, dimensionally locked via ~~the plane of "Lyktion"~~ The Abyss, meaning that the contents of one chest can be accessed by the other. Like *Undertale*. Fun Fact: Lyktion is ~~the plane that the spell *Maze* sends people to. And it's ruled over by Baphomet, whom we just saw fighting for Trant's amusement recently~~ *(Michael later clarifies that Lyktion is a fortress within The Abyss, and that fortress is ruled over by Baphomet. But The Abyss is also home to a giant labyrinthine Maze, called The Endless Maze, that the spell* Maze *sends people to)*. Turns out, both Baphomet and Trant carry keys that unlock the two chests, so if they can get their hands on one of those keys, they could get their hands on the God Killer. Well, not Lahni's hands, unfortunately, since she's inhabited by evil god energy, but what can you do.

Bigby also tells them that Trant is going to be heading off to the Feywild within the day. He'll defeat Melora, bring out the chest, and use the God Killer to steal her power, killing her. The Tower of Grey needs to stop him. Together with Bigby, they form a plan, to infiltrate Lyktion, kill Baphomet, take the key, then go through the portal and surprise Trant. Should be pretty simple, I can't see anything going wrong. Bigby says goodbye, but not before requesting that Rowan tell her mother, River Grey, the only one Bigby ever loved, that he tried his best...

### Short

This episode is mostly preparations for the upcoming *Infinity War*-style battle that's coming up. Here are some of the highlights:

* Jaela calls Yazdir Dosh and recruits the dragons, who have all teamed up together, to fight for them.
* The *BTS* is sent off to the Feywild, carrying the Sphere of Annihilation, Bercy Hamhands, Lonnie Caplain, Pandora Thorne, Duclaw Honeypaw, and Wordsworth Zics.
* Rake is told to destroy all of the Tower of Grey's documents if they don't make it back. Frank knows which ones.
* Toby sends out fake spies with incorrect information, to intentionally get intercepted by Trant's side.
* There are many allies who have sworn to send armies to the Feywild (see the Long version above)
* Skud has a Water Genasi fighter with him named Gengar.
* Skud owns a small keep somewhere that's swarming with monsters.
* Skud goes to Tidtowne and learns that Steve has had everyone there killed and made into Flesh Gollems. Yep. That's cannon.
	+ Xena Meloncamp, and all of the player characters are fine, though.
* Skud also draws a card that allows him to sends someone back in time 24 hours, or multiple people for less time.

In the end, they meet up with Bigby, who tells them that he was forced to help Trant, he was under a curse that will now kill him, since he's revealed everything, and tells them where Trant keeps the God Killer. It's in 2 chest, connected through "Lyktion", where Baphomet rules from. It's where the spell *Maze* goes. There are 2 keys, Trant has one, Baphomet the other, and the plan is to go to Lyktion through *Maze*, kill Baphomet, take the key, then jump through the chest portal to surprise/kill Trant. Easy.

## **Trivia**

* Hugo had the Wiki updated for the last few episodes when they recorded this, so Bachmann was able to use it for the recap. Thanks, Hugo!
* Gengar doesn't sleep, and Lahni also doesn't need to sleep that much, so the two talk all night
* Drunkeros doesn't have racism, but it does have that sports-like thing of everyone who doesn't support this team is a douche, kind of thing. So, it's all chill
* All the Gnolls in Tidtowne died and had to become flesh gollems, except for Xena Meloncamp, she's an adult now
	+ Wait, no. It's not just the Gnolls. It's everyone in Tidtowne. Steve had them all killed (again, except for adult baby Xena), and made into flesh gollems.
		- Michael rules that this doesn't apply to other player characters, so Baz, Beetle, Kass, Shank and Bone, Brip Brap and probably Tug (and maybe others), are all fine, probably
* Michael didn't even look at the cards that Bachmann wanted to include in the deck. This seems like a disastrous mistake
* No one is sure why there's no magic in the Calm Belt. The leading theory is that the ore within the ore deposits below are somehow blocking the magic
* Michael clarifies some things in a later episode about Lyktion, so for clarity, I just added those notes above

## **In This Episode...**

### **Cast and Player Characters**

* Michael DiMauro - *Dungeon Master*
* Tim Lanning - Toby Treacletart
* Jennifer Cheek - Rowan Grey / Queen Aludra Wyrmsbane
* Mike Bachmann - Skud Derringer / Steve Meloncamp
* Nika Howard - Lahnik "Lahni" Caplain / Jaela

### **Non-Player Characters**

* Vecna
* Rake
* Yazdir Dosh
* Lady Adira Harper
* Bigby

### **Pets/Familiars**

* Rowan's Sloppy Pheasants
* Gengar
* Toby 2

### **Locations**

* Drunkeros
	+ Greenham
		- The Tower of Gray
		- The Calm Belt
	+ Tidtowne

### **Quest Log Updates**

* [Active] - Stop The BBEG!
	+ [Active] - Go to The Feywild and save Melora
		- [NEW][Active] - Steal Baphomet's key to the Dimension Chest
			* [NEW][Active] - Find Lyktion, in The Endless Maze of The Abyss
* [Optional?] - Destroy The God Killer
* [Complete] - ~~Find Bigby~~

### **Quotes**

* **"It was the best of times... it was the best of times... it was the best of times... just, the best of times..."** ~ *Bachmann's recap*

* **"My favorie Lord of the Rings is the one with the Crystal Skull."** ~ *Mike Bachmann*

* **"I love you, Bachmann. I say with the most malice I've ever said in my whole life."** ~ *Tim Lanning*

* **"Bachmann, do you want to use your time travel power on yourself, to go back in time, and say, 'That's not what happened to Tidtowne, actually. I got stressed out, and I said something I didn't mean. I accidentally made my character famously known for being the only good guy a serial murder Frankenstein. This is the bruised ugly part of an apple on the lore of our show."** ~ *Tim Lanning, reaching the edge*

* **"*Come Alone*, the classic porn parody of *Home Alone*."** ~ *Mike Bachmann, unfortunately*

* **"Good job, everyone. Except me! Hahaha!"** ~ *Mike Bachmann*

## **Rolls**

* **Recap**
	+ Tim - 11
	+ Nika - 7
	+ **Bachmann - 12**
	+ Jennifer - 7

* **Toby** rolls *History* to examine the seal on the message - 31
	+ The insignia on it is a fist, and it's the insignia of Bigby
* **Rowan** also rolls *History* - 18

* **Toby** rolls *Arcana* to know what the Calm Belt means - 17
	+ It's a place outside of Greenham where magic can't exist

* **Skud** draws a card that decreases his Intelligence by 1d4+1 - 2
	+ Decreases by 2 points!

* **Lahni** rolls *Perception* after running into the Calm Belt - 13