Heralds E6

RUSSELL: Greetings and salutations, one and all, welcome back to this week's episode of the Heralds of Wayinar. Now, um, check out our partner Questline, it's the little thing in the corner, you'll see them down there. All the beautiful maps and, um, hosting the map software in the episode is made possible by Questline, so thanks for that. If you're a DM, and you want to share that with your group, then check it out. If you're a group and you want to share it with your DM, tell them…tell them check it out. Uh, without further ado, we will jump right into this week's chaos, so thank you very much, and I'll see you on the other side.

[intro music] {title card}

Where last we left our heroes, if we can call them that, Obi had downed a dose of a mysterious liquid [mysterious, emotional music] and passed out on the roof. The others slumbered below. And as he lay beneath the stars from the sky above Jvar-VunGal, tossing and turning, not just of his body, but of his mind, began to churn and roll over memories of a time not so long ago.

{3 months earlier}

Birds calling, the roar of the ocean crashing against docks, and something else. A bustling city, lights twinkling in the night, voices chattering excitedly, singing, dancing, juggling, beneath great colossal spires reaching up as if to grasp towards the heavens. Sweeping balconies reaching from them, flying buttresses propping them up, at their feet, paved streets reach out to the ocean, cultivated gardens alive with a mass of figures. Dancing, singing, performing. Fervor is reaching its peak, festivities all around. At the docks, we find a vessel. Its anchor lowers, and a figure, hood drawn over their face, scowling, steps from a cabin and turns and pokes at a small figure next to them.

(authoritative) Obi,

(OOC) Says Gritzern.

[music fades]

[waves lapping, seagulls, ship creaking]

(Gritzern) Obi, are you paying attention?

BRAD (slight rasp, IC): Yeah, it's…this is Faltus, right?

RUSSELL (Gritzern): (sighs exasperatedly) I've been telling you this for a week. Yes, this is Faltus. Wake up!

BRAD (IC): Are they…are they always so happy?

RUSSELL (Gritzern): (sighs with disapproval) When you're on as many things as they are, yes.

BRAD (IC, wryly): Well, this is not my kind of place.

RUSSELL (Gritzern, sternly): Good! Then you won't get distracted. Do you…do you remember what you're supposed to do?

BRAD (IC): Uh, find your contact, bring him back to the ship, don't touch anything, don't take anything, don't steal anything. That’s everything?

RUSSELL (Gritzern): Yes. Don't take any drugs, don't party, you're just looking for the fellow we're gonna meet here. Find him, he's big, he's green, red beard, I hear he has an axe. Like, just…just find him. He should be somewhere near the docks in one of these buildings nearby. Just get him, bring him straight back here, and no partying!

BRAD (IC): Right. Big green fella, axe, beard. Y'know, pretty…pretty plain description, but I'm sure I'll find him, no worries. What was his name again?

RUSSELL (Gritzern): Vano. His name is Vano.

BRAD (IC): Vano. Not Vanu. Alright, fair enough.

RUSSELL (Gritzern): No. So go get him, bring him right back, (sternly) and don't take any drugs!

BRAD (IC): Alright. (chuckles) I'm sure we'll be fine. Crystal.

RUSSELL (Gritzern): Alright. Now get out of here. I…I want to get out of this place before the parade arrives, and this place erupts into absolute chaos.

BRAD (IC): I'm good to take my gear, right? Is it dangerous? People to look out for?

RUSSELL (Gritzern, frustrated): It's a fucking party! Of course it's dangerous. You see how many happy people there are over there? Now get out of here!

BRAD (IC): Shoot happy people with my crossbow, okay.

RUSSELL (Gritzern): (sighs with exasperation) Do I…do I need to go and hold your hand?

BRAD (IC): No. We're good.

RUSSELL (Gritzern, mockingly): Good! Shoo!

BRAD: And, uh, Obi kind of like leaps over the side of the deck onto a gangplank, and kind of like bounds down onto the concrete floor.

RUSSELL: As you step off of the dock, you are washed over [crowd chattering] by a wave of people milling and dancing about, spinning and turning, and Obi fades into the crowd.

[lively jaunty music]

BRAD: Obi kind of like turns and looks and sees the silhouette of Gritzern on the…on the stern castle and makes his way probably about 50 feet to the water…center of the town, and…Are there any, like, kind of like crates on the dock that, um, you know, unloading goods, that kind of stuff, Russell?

RUSSELL: As you leap off of the ship onto the stone dock below, you see crates piled around you, and then in front at the end, a mass of writhing bodies. Thousands of people. It's packed here.

BRAD: Obi's gonna turn and look up to the stern castle and see the silhouette of Gritzern and just shuffle behind one of the crates and, kind of like, slump down. Reaches into his like, uh, cloak.

(IC, mocking) Don't take any drugs, Obi! (dismissively) It's a party! Fuck that, I'm getting high.

(OOC) And he'll, like, drink a vial of Streak and let it sit in his throat for a bit. He shakes briefly, and eyes immediately perk up, and in front of him, colors and the shimmer of what was lots of people now becomes hundreds of people, thousands of people, as they all blend together. Obi kind of like wipes his mouth, a small drip of, like, this luminescent green liquid, and he shakes it off, looks into the crowd.

(IC, lightly) Whoo! Well, it's a party. I gotta find that guy, but eh, I'll take a detour.

(OOC) And I'm gonna sprint into the...into the crowd.

RUSSELL: As Obi sprints into the mass of bodies and fades in, the music, the dancing, the singing, it all swallows you, and Obi vanishes into the crowd. [music fades] Elsewhere, beneath a towering spire that reaches up towards the heavens, [light chatter] [lively dancing music] at its base, is a sprawling, complex series of pillars and archways, open to the sky and the grounds beneath, surrounded by gardens. Within one of these, stands Vano, surrounded by friends and family. His troupe. Dressed in bright colors, they dance and jostle about, swinging and swirling, some of them juggling, playing instruments. One of them, a young, clear-faced gal saunters up to him, swaying from side to side, a little bit tipsy, and smiles up at him with a bright, yellow face with streaks and swirls of green and slight flecks of blue which match the piercing blue of her eyes. She brushes back long, golden locks and smiles up at Vano.

(smoothly, cheekily) Vano! Do you want to take any of this? It'll make the night way more interesting; it is your last!

(OOC) And she holds up to you in her hand, a small, pink pill.

JOSHUA (Scottish, IC): Aye, Varisa. Not very often that I like to partake, but, considering I'm probably not gonna get anything of the like too soon, I'll give it a go. (fondly) For you.

(OOC) Vano reaches out, grabs the…You said it was a pill?

RUSSELL: Yes, it’s a pill.

JOSHUA: Grabs the pill. And, just, he's already had a flask in hand, full of…full of ale, and, uh, just pops it. There's a look in his eyes after he finishes drinking. He looks down and goes,

(IC) You know, Varisa? I don't really care for all the showmanship. I'm gonna miss you.

RUSSELL: (Varisa, gently): Oh. I mean…Why don't you just stay, then?

(OOC) She says. And then, in that moment, you are both interrupted by one of the other figures, staggering up. They place a hand on your shoulder to steady themselves and begin to violently retch all over the cobblestones.

(apologetically, sickly) (gaggling) Sorry…sorry, sport. Just give me a second.

JOSHUA: Vano laughs, and while laughing, puts his sandals…foot up against his torso, and just shoves him back on his ass.

RUSSELL (drunk): (grunts) (offended) Geez. Oh, I mean, okay.

(OOC) He says, face flushed. You see a similar flush also on Varisa's face, and you feel a warm tingling start to also flow through your veins.

JOSHUA (IC, pleased): I don't mind the feel of that, Varisa, oy! Been a minute.

RUSSELL (Varisa, hesitatingly): I…I was supposed to tell you that, the…the elders wanted to see you. They're in an antechamber just over there. Um, they also had something they wanted to say to you before you go.

JOSHUA: At the mention of the elders, uh, Vano's face goes from kind of smiling and trying to have a good time with it, to just, like, a mask that's unreadable. He just kind of looks at her and nods. Begins to walk off towards where the elders are.

RUSSELL: As you walk towards the adjacent room, to your side, you see through an open archway, another large room filled with bubbling baths, [mist hissing] pink mist rising from it, [slow, serene music] and figures writhe about within them, tossing bubbles into the air, laughing and staring up at the sky with wide open expressions and slack jaws. As you walk through this archway, you see the elders gathered there, about half-dozen of them, in a small semi-circle discussing amongst themselves with a newcomer, who has been traveling with your troupe for a little bit of time now. An aging fellow, who looks a little reserved, um, graying skin, with light flecks of an almost pink luminescent, um, dotted around his skin, almost likes paint that's just been flicked at a canvas.

JOSHUA: As Vano crosses the threshold into this room, he also kind of looks back with a little bit of a glare at the people who are just partying way too hard in the bubbles, uh, and their slack jaws, just kind of glaring at them a minute, and then continues through the threshold. He notices…he notices the elderly gentleman, but his attention is very focused on the elders, um, because he thinks he knows where this is going.

RUSSELL: As you enter the chamber, none of them seem to notice you right away. They're focused on the newcomer. One of them holds out a…a piece of paper to him.

(elder) Elyiaes, what do you think of this ingredient list? Um, you think this is too much powder? I want to make the explosion bigger, but, um, I don't want to sacrifice, like, the color or the finesse of it.

ANOOSH (gruff, IC): You're worried about too much about the aesthetic. It's too much. You can…you can go less. Trust me.

RUSSELL (elder): Okay. So, (exhales) okay. Okay, so we need to basically concentrate on something that's a little bit more…I…I don't really know, you're the expert here. What do you think this needs? I…I want it to have, like, more sparkle, and I want it to shoot a little bit higher.

ANOOSH (IC, boredly): I mean, if you wanted me to take a look at it, I could probably make it sparkle for you, but honestly, it's…it's not practical. You…why would you even want to put something like that on there? It's…it's not necessary.

RUSSELL (elder): Fair enough. Alright, alright, yeah, I'll stop trying to tinker with your designs. It's very elegant as made, I just decided…I just wanted to make it a bit bigger.

ANOOSH (IC): I mean, if you…if you really want it, Elder, I can…I can put something on there for you. It's not a problem.

RUSSELL (elder): No no, you…you leave tonight, you leave tonight. It's…it's not necessary. We'll tinker with it, but for now, we will use what you've made for us. It's, um, definitely better than anything we've had before, so we are still in your debt.

ANOOSH (IC): I cannot thank you more. And all the generosity that you've provided me, you and your family.

RUSSELL (elder): Of course! I mean, we are no stranger to the need to travel unseen. {looks over} Vano!

JOSHUA: At which, yeah, Vano clears his throat. (laughs)

RUSSELL (elder): Uh, yes, Elyiaes, uh, I don't know if you two have formally met. Uh, I'm sure you've seen each other this past week, but Elyiaes, this is Vano. He has provided some much-needed security for us recently.

ANOOSH: At this, uh, introduction, uh, Elyiaes, who's kind of hunched over a little bit, you know, like, kind of looking a little frail, suddenly cracks his back, and then stretches out, and stands up taller than he would normally look like, and then extends an outreached hand to Vano.

(IC) Greetings. The name's Elyiaes.

JOSHUA: Vano isn't big for shaking hands, if he doesn't know the guy, but he will nod and extend his greetings as well, just go,

(IC) It is a…it's a pleasure to meet you as well. That said, I think we have some business, the elders and myself. Do you mind a moment?

RUSSELL (elder): Well, we'll get to that in a moment, but first, we wanted to say that, after much conversation, we have agreed, though rather reluctantly, to part ways with you, and you have our full blessing in your travels. But we do not wish to see you go, it would be best if you would stay with us. For us, we understand that as a free person, you are free to travel the world where you wish, and we wish you too will know that we have agreed unanimously we will bear you no ill will for parting ways with us, and we wish you the best. And if you should ever need to seek refuge in the future, you know how to find us.

JOSHUA: Hearing that, Vano, like, takes a deep breath, and his shoulders relax a minute, the tension that he was carrying, um, and will just appreciatively, kind of half bow.

(IC, softly) Thank you, elders, for your understanding in this matter. As you are well aware, it was not an easy thing to be placed in this position. However, I must leave. Both for your sake, and for mine.

RUSSELL (elder): Very well, so be it. Uh, that being said, uh, based on our understanding, uh, Elyiaes, I believe you will be boarding passage on the same vessel as Vano. So, Vano, if you would do us this last courtesy, we would greatly appreciate if you would extend our invitation of security to Elyiaes while you companion with them. We would not ask you to go out of your way, but as we as the troupe have promised him safe passage through the area, if you would honor that, we would be indebted to you further.

JOSHUA (IC): As to the troupe, as to the family, you've got my word.

RUSSELL (elder): Thank you.

ANOOSH: Elyiaes bows, and says,

(IC) I'm under your care.

RUSSELL: (claps)

(elder, cheerfully) And with that, let us brush aside all of this and join the festivities. Tonight is a night of celebration! Yes, you are leaving us, but you are leaving us as a dear friend. So, let us celebrate! Drink, dance, be merry!

ANOOSH (IC, seriously): I appreciate it.

JOSHUA: The…the pill makes Vano smile bigger than he would normally. He actually full smiles, just, {grinning} ha ha!

RUSSELL: You notice, as you are smiling, that some of the other people here who also have the same flush to their face, some of them, there's dark circles that are starting to form around their eyes, and as one of them brushes long, gray hair back from her face, you see a bit of blackening at the end of her fingertips.

JOSHUA: That registers with Vano. He's not sure how much of that is just the stress of the time in the moment, especially with Bor-Borians being in Faltus for an extended period of time, there's a level of stress that comes with that. So, he'll make a note, but he's not going to act on it immediately.

RUSSELL: It is at this moment that out of nowhere, something crashes into you from above. A tarp that was hung above you all [tarp flapping] falls down and drapes over the group clustered here, and you hear a writhing and a kicking and some…some, um, a small figure, um, from within it thrashing about, and the sounds of vague cursing.

JOSHUA (IC, concerned): Elders! Are you alright?

RUSSELL (elder, confused): Y…yes, I…Does seem we're fine…Who's this?

[jaunty music]

(OOC) Says the lead elder, gesturing to a small, blue-faced Edwed Minor thrashing about in the center of the tarp.

JOSHUA: (chuckles)

ANOOSH: Elyiaes puts a hand on his hammer, unsure what's going on.

BRAD (IC): Someone get me out of this thing!

JOSHUA (IC): Little wee one! Are you lost? Where are your parents?

BRAD (IC, struggling): Somebody get me out of this fucking tarp! Gah!

RUSSELL (elder, curiously): I don't think…I don't think it's a child, seems to be an Edwed Minor.

JOSHUA (IC): Aye, that's a particularly wee one isn't that?

ANOOSH: I pull out my hand axe, and I cut through the tarp, [tearing] and then, like, at a side angle, and then kind of rip it off, apart, and reveal.

BRAD (IC): (gasps for breath) (disgusted) Oh, it's bright in here. Christ. Ugh, and it's so pink! Why?

RUSSELL (elder, confused): It's…a festival? Of course it's bright, how else would one celebrate?

BRAD (IC, painfully): Not like this. Especially not where I'm from. Hello! Uh, sorry about the roof, by the way. My bad.

ANOOSH (IC, annoyed): Are you alright?

BRAD (IC): Eh, to be fair, I've fallen from higher. This is nothing. {points} Woah woah woah woah.

JOSHUA (IC, confused): You're not part of the tribe! What are you doing here?

BRAD (IC): Big, green, beard? You don't happen to have an axe, do you?

JOSHUA: Vano just casually pulls out a greataxe. [sharp metal scraping] It's like 5'2" long.

BRAD (IC, impressed): Whoa. Okay, yeah. Whoa. V…Va…Van…Vanu…Vanu, uh, Van…Vano? Vano!

JOSHUA (IC, annoyed): It's not bloody Vanu!

(OOC) Put the axe back.

(IC) Why does everybody that's not from Bor Bor make the same bloody mistake. It's Vano!

BRAD (IC, awkwardly): Oh, well, well, um, funny thing is, I'm actually here for you! So, uh…hi!

JOSHUA (IC, realization): Aye, are you from the ship?

BRAD (IC, cheerfully): Yeah!

JOSHUA (IC): What was it, the something about a widow?

BRAD (IC): That's the one, yeah! [slow, serene music] The Prancing Widow.

JOSHUA (IC): Prancing, that's the…that's the right…that's the right word. Right. Took you long enough!

BRAD (IC, lightly): Oh, I actually only just got here. You should have seen how quick I was running. I was sliding under people's dresses, I was running up the walls…It's amazing! This party is awesome, man!

JOSHUA: Uh, seeing his face, can I roll a Perception check to see how…if I can tell how high he is?

RUSSELL: (snorts) Yeah. Go for it.

JOSHUA: Got a 14.

RUSSELL: Uh, he's pretty high. He's definitely on something, nothing you recognize, but he's definitely on something.

JOSHUA (IC, skeptically): Right, yeah. Running very fast. I believe you!

RUSSELL (elder): Well, as much as we'd love to keep you all through the night, um, you'd probably best head back to the harbor before the parade comes through. It'll be impossible to cross the main street when it does.

JOSHUA (IC): I had intended to have one last performance with the rest of the troupe and Varisa. If that's still alright.

RUSSELL (elder): Oh, by all means. I'll have someone keep a lookout for the parade. When it's on its way, we'll let you know.

BRAD (IC): Well, as an official timekeeper for this, uh, entourage, (dramatically) Vano, you need to come with me, whenever you can. But take as long as you want. It'll be fine.

JOSHUA (IC): Considering you know where the ship is, how about you stick with me for a little bit, and then we'll head back out together?

BRAD (IC): Is…Is there gonna be more pink stuff?

JOSHUA (IC, lightly): My…my wee little friend, there's always more pink stuff.

ANOOSH: Worried that this might have caused a scene of some sort, uh, to outside viewers, uh, Elyiaes will kind of edge his way towards the outer edge of the tent, and kind of peer on through, and look out and see if it didn't attract any…any attention of unwanted guards or anything.

RUSSELL: Uh, roll a Perception check.

ANOOSH: I rolled a 3.

RUSSELL: Rolled a 3?

ANOOSH: Plus…plus 4, 7.

RUSSELL: 7. Alright, as you scan about the crowd, um, people singing and dancing, and figures writhing on some of the couches and easels and benches that are spewn about in the gardens, and dancing in the puddles, you see, uh, not too far away across the street, facing away from you, someone dressed in a uniform. What looks to be a retired Nov Romarian legionnairian, hand on their short sword, and a buckler on their wrist, they scan the crowd, as if looking for something, and then turn and begin to walk toward the center of the city.

ANOOSH: Getting a little paranoid, uh, Elyiaes goes back inside the tent to head back towards the elder…elder.

RUSSELL (elder, concerned): Elyiaes, you look a little shaken. Are you alright?

ANOOSH (IC, softly): Yeah. When…when can we leave?

(OOC) And I look to Vano.

JOSHUA (IC): As I told the little one here, by the way, what's your name?

BRAD (IC): Ah, well, (grandly) I'm surprised you've not heard of me already. I am Obi, the Shadow of Tekinesh, at your service.

JOSHUA: Vano leans slowly over towards Elyiaes and goes,

(IC, mockingly) Ooh, we should have heard of him! Right.

(OOC) He leans back towards Obi.

(IC, pleasantly) Pleasure to meet you, Obi!

[drums]

RUSSELL: In the distance, you hear, rising above the music and festivities, drums. And a small figure darts around, underneath one of the stone balconies that surround you.

(stuttering) Uh, um, uh, the…the parade is coming! It…it's down the roadways, but it's coming!

(OOC) As if in response, a second figure from, uh, amongst the troupe staggers forward and, uh, begins vomiting. Flush from them fades, just like that.

BRAD (IC, disgusted): That is nasty. Dude.

RUSSELL: He looks up at you, looking a little bit haggard, but still smiling.

(British, lightly) Well, you know, it…I suppose sometimes it is the price you pay for a good time.

BRAD (IC, grandly): What you need, my friend, is the more potent variety. That which, uh, I can help you with!

RUSSELL (drunk, apologetically): Uh…I…Yeah, I think I've had enough for tonight but, uh, thank you.

BRAD (IC, lightly): Eh, you couldn't handle it anyway! Now.

RUSSELL (drunk): Yeah.

BRAD (IC): What's next?

JOSHUA: Uh, Vano would like to have one last performance with his troupe. As the parade tries to come near, he will don his mask and hood, leaving the rest of himself, you know, his torso bare like he would otherwise, um, and find his troupe, and want to do one of his halberd dances. {mimes swinging]

RUSSELL: As you are giving your halberd dance, in the distance, {cheers and whistles} you see rounding around the street, far down in the city, uh, the parade. Streamers arcing through the air, tumblers dancing on platforms that are being pulled on wagons by horses or oxen, and, um, a core of drummers at the front drumming away. And also, rounding on either side, pushing the crowd back to keep them off of the streets and to clear the streets in front, they are accompanied by a cluster of what appear to be also old, aged, retired Nov Romarian legionnairians.

JOSHUA: Vano’s rhythm with his dance shifts to match that of the drums, and his…his pace slows just a little bit, so that there's much more deadly precision in his moves. Less flourish.

ANOOSH: As beautiful of a performance that Vano is giving, Elyiaes’ attention is actually on Obi after he mentions that he's from Tekinesh, and that he has something potent that he can provide. His attention is like ice stare, glaring at him.

BRAD: Obi in the background is, like, he's put all his gear on the floor, crossbow, sword, like, everything, like, stuff just jangling out of his pockets, and he's, like, (laughing) really badly dancing in the background, like…like a jester.

RUSSELL: You're dancing as Elyiaes, as you watch him dancing, you see out of the side of your eye in the front of the troupe, some of the legionnairians draw together in a cluster around what appears to be their captain. He nods into the crowd and gestures, and a few of them break away and begin to search into the crowd on either side of the street.

ANOOSH: I pull up my cloak to kind of hide myself a little bit further.

RUSSELL: The parade veers to the right down the street, and now begins to approach directly towards you all.

JOSHUA: Vano's gonna continue his performance until the…the parade gets within about a block of him, at which point he will very abruptly stop, turn, and remove his mask and hood, and walk back into the…back into the tribe's territory.

RUSSELL: As you walk back in to where the rest of your troupe has now huddled around to say your goodbyes, you hear, um, shouts, they pat you on the back, they rub you, um, some of them pat you…the elders pat you on the head, an old lady hobbles up and pinches you on the cheek, they all say their goodbyes. Until, at last, standing there, um, Varisa stands before you, looking sheepish.

[soft, bittersweet music]

JOSHUA: Vano's facial markings had already kind of been flushed just from the performance and…and from the…from the pill, um, and they turn…instead of red, they turn a shade of bright pink looking at her, um, and he, like, visibly tries to, {rubs face} like, shove it…shove it down.

ANOOSH: I'm keeping an eye on the guards, and, uh, while my cloak is up, um, I'm kind of doing that thing [lively, jaunty music, cheerful crowd] where you're blending with the crowd and walking in circles from the…the perspective of, like, the outer guards, you know, trying to keep out of their…their radius, uh, just, like, while I'm focused on that, I'm also trying to keep one eye on the party I'm supposed to be with and stuff, so just, at the same time, staying in the same area, but trying to avoid their…their gaze. Just wandering through the party, acting as if I, you know, I'm just mingling, but I'm trying to hide my way through the party.

RUSSELL: As you do, you see the parade bearing down on you. It is going to cross right in front of where you are, uh, cutting off your passageway to the harbor, ringed on either side by, um, legionnairians, retired legionnairians and guards, who are now mingling with the crowd on either side as well. You see one of them reach up and wrench back someone's hood, peer into an elder man's face, and then turn to someone else.

ANOOSH (IC, muttering): This worries me.

(OOC) Uh, I'm gonna look around and see…Uh, do I see any of the…the children that was with the elder's party, playing in the area?

RUSSELL: Uh, there are some children tumbling about on the floor.

ANOOSH: I'm going to reach into my bag and pull out some…some little toys I've been tinkering with on my…my journey with this, uh, troupe, and, uh, I…I tinkered some harmless effects of like, you know, making, like, make it…make, like, make it sparkle and shine and give off noises, you know, like the things that the elder was asking me to do

RUSSELL: Right.

ANOOSH: for what he wanted, but I was saving it for the kids. I…I didn't want to give it to him. So, like, I…I came up to some of these kids. I'm like,

(IC, whispering) Hey, you know what? These are the toys I told you I would get you! {mimes throwing} Here! Here! Here here, here! {points} Go…go over there!

RUSSELL (lisping): Well, thank you!

ANOOSH: And then I point to where the guards are.

(IC) And then light them off! Go set them off!

RUSSELL (child): O-O-Okay?

(OOC) Says, uh, a little Edwed, um, who reaches up to poke you in the nose.

(child) You look worried. Are you okay?

ANOOSH (IC, quietly): I'm fine. Thank you. Go play.

RUSSELL (child): Okay. I will…I will go play with this toy over there!

ANOOSH (IC): Have fun. Don't hurt anybody!

RUSSELL (child): So, I light it?

(OOC) They say, and then “fwshhh” hold up a lit match.

ANOOSH (IC): Yeah, just…just…send it up off of the ground. Yep, just go right that way.

RUSSELL (child): Let's find out.

ANOOSH: (laughs)

JOSHUA: Of course the Bor Bor kids just have a lit match.

BRAD (laughing): Give children pyrotechnics.

RUSSELL (child): I love fire! Okay, I will go make it go boom over there. Bye-bye!

ANOOSH (IC): Yep, throw it away. As soon as it starts making noises, just start tossing it, alright? Have fun.

RUSSELL (child, squealing): Okay. Yayy!

(OOC) And the rest of the kids cheer and run after them, as they run into the crowd, threading underneath people's feet.

ANOOSH: And I start…

JOSHUA: I'm going to take a wild shot in the dark and say that wasn't super subtle, and Vano would have noticed.

[music fades]

ANOOSH: Yeah, and I…I start heading back to you, actually.

JOSHUA: As I turn away from Varisa and see you handing what can only be assumed as fireworks to children, um, I'll just look at you quizzically.

(IC) What was that for?

ANOOSH (IC, quietly, seriously): I'm sorry. We need to go. Can we go, please? Can we go now?

JOSHUA: I look up. Are any of the Nov Romarian legionnaires heading directly towards us?

RUSSELL: Yes, all of them are. The whole parade is heading directly towards you, and they're sweeping through the crowd on either side, and you see them start to, like, step into some of like the side chambers and open roof archway garden areas on either side as well, like…And you see them questioning some people. They've pulled a small family aside and appeared to be grilling them.

JOSHUA: Vano will look up and, not sure where Obi is in this, will just kind of shout,

(IC) Teensy Obi!

(OOC) And see if he hears a reply.

BRAD: As you turn around, you see Obi has got up on a nearby table, and he's like, kicking food and, like, um, cups over, and still dancing on top of the table. Um, his…all his gear is still in the middle of the room, just, like, crossbow and sword on the floor, and he's just, like, running along the table, like, just making a mess and dancing really badly.

JOSHUA (IC, whispering, sternly): Obi! Get down! Get your things!

BRAD (IC, slurring): I…I am the one in charge, here, and I say we should have a good time!

JOSHUA (IC, sarcastically): Sure, if you want to die.

[slow, heavy, tense music]

BRAD (IC): What, uh, did you just say…you just…I didn't hear you correctly, did you just say “die”?

JOSHUA (IC, seriously): Aye!

(OOC) And I look over my shoulder, and I point back towards the legionnaires that are making their way directly towards us.

BRAD: With my height…

JOSHUA (IC): We've got to get out of here!

BRAD: With my heightened Perception, I now probably immediately clock this.

RUSSELL: Yes, you immediately clock them. They are clearly looking for someone. Though, as far as you know, they're not looking for you.

BRAD: Sure. I mean…

ANOOSH: I…I go up to Obi, and I'm like,

(IC) You look like the type that likes gold, yeah?

BRAD (IC): Depends what you're asking.

ANOOSH (IC): Whatever you need. Let's get out of here. Now, please.

BRAD (IC): You need, uh, protection? Because that I can do.

ANOOSH (IC): I need to get out of here.

BRAD (IC, lightly): Alright. Um, wait, do you…you need a boat?

ANOOSH (IC): Yes.

BRAD (IC, cheerfully): You could come on my boat, then! I'm the captain, by the way. I'm the captain, by the way.

ANOOSH (IC): The captain.

JOSHUA: (laughs)

ANOOSH (IC, exhausted): Can we please leave now?

BRAD (IC, lightly): That's Captain Obi to you, please.

ANOOSH (IC, wryly): Captain Obi to you, please, can we go?

BRAD (IC, lightly): Yeah. Yeah! I got the green guy, so we're good.

JOSHUA (amused): Can I roll an Insight check to see how much I believe he's the captain?

BRAD: (laughs)

RUSSELL: Go for it.

(Brad and Joshua laugh)

BRAD (laughing): I'm so sorry for high Obi, he's such a nightmare, I'm so sorry!

JOSHUA: 13.

RUSSELL: 13? I mean, maybe? He seems pretty convinced when he says it.

JOSHUA (IC): Alright, Captain Obi. Let's just get out of here!

BRAD (IC): Alright. I'm gonna finish up my dance, I'll grab my things and, uh, that little scaredy cat over there, he can go in front. I'll, uh, keep up the rear. Let's go! (grandly) Back to the ship, eh?

JOSHUA (IC): Back to the ship.

ANOOSH (IC, quietly): Let's go.

RUSSELL: Alright, as you finish up your dance, and then grab your things, the, um, drums begin to drown out all other sounds, as you see now that the parade is nearly on top of you. With their back turned to you, standing just outside of the archway into the crowd, uh, one of the retired legionnairians, um, stands, scanning, arms crossed.

[tense music]

JOSHUA: If the legionnairian notices our passage at any point, Vano is going to make an action to, uh, Intimidate them.

RUSSELL: Alright, uh, they appear to be…Well, right now, their back is turned to you, directly, so.

JOSHUA: I'm sure we're going to try to sneak past, but just letting you know. I have something in mind if we get noticed.

RUSSELL: Alright. You're holding action, contingent on him noticing you, that's cool. Okay, does anybody else want to make a Stealth check, then?

ANOOSH: Yes.

BRAD: Yes. I get an advantage, due to my current condition.

RUSSELL: Yes, you do get an advantage due to your current condition.

ANOOSH: Natural 20! Whoo!

RUSSELL: Natural 20. Elyiaes is ready for this, he does not want to be found.

ANOOSH (laughing): I don't want to be found! Plus 2, so, uh, 22.

JOSHUA: I got a big old 7.

RUSSELL: 7?

BRAD: 26.

RUSSELL: 26. Alright, Elyiaes…

(Anoosh and Joshua laugh)

JOSHUA: Everybody's stealthy but Vano!

ANOOSH: I got a natural 20, and…and Obi here is still, like, whatever he rolls like, psh. (laughs)

RUSSELL: Obi…Obi runs into the crowd, disappearing above what are mostly Edwed Majors, between their feet. Uh, Elyiaes drifts into the crowd as well, weaving his way around this Nov Romarian legion, and, um, Vano brings up the rear, and as he attempts to step out of the way, he gets jostled by someone else, and just shoulder bumps the legionnairian, who looks up at him, and grunts, and then goes back to surveying the crowd. As you rush across the streets, just ahead of the guards who are clearing it, you hear a roar come up from the crowd and cheers, [whistling and cheering] as one of the floats bursts open at the top and a bunch of dancers begin prancing on top of a platform, twirling their masks and large feathered costumes in the air, and waving silk handkerchiefs on poles, and, uh, dancing about and the drums double down, and begin to boom, boom, boom.

BRAD (IC): Whoa!

RUSSELL: Like the very throbbing of the crowd itself.

BRAD (IC, excited): Whoa! That's incredible! (whispering) Oh sorry, we're trying to be sneaky. Sorry.

RUSSELL: Vano, another figure bumps into you, haggard, uh, sweating. You see dark circles around their eyes, and a heavy flush in their cheeks, but like a blackness has spread through their veins, their…their fingers are completely black and shaking. They look up at you for a second, eyes wide, and then screech, and run into the crowd.

JOSHUA: Vano will dead stop in the middle of their attempt to get out of here, and just…sit for a second, kind of stunned.

(IC, suspiciously) I've seen that before.

RUSSELL: As you sit there, stunned, you feel a squeamishness churning in your belly. Make a Constitution check.

[tense, foreboding music]

JOSHUA: Check or saving throw?

RUSSELL: Saving throw.

JOSHUA (singsong): This is why we track it. (normal) 17.

RUSSELL: 17. Alright, um, you are able to shove it back down in your gut, and return to a state of calm, but you still feel a slight, like, squeamishness, like, churning, almost like swimming about in your belly.

JOSHUA (IC, worried): There's something…

RUSSELL: It is then that you see, uh, figures throughout the crowd, others, stumbling about, also with the flush in their cheek, um, like, uh, black veins reaching up their arms or across their faces. One of them tumbles from off of a couch and begins to wave their hands in the air, and scream. [panicked crowd] Most people don't seem to notice, a few people look down at them, someone kicks them…kicks at them, and yells at them to be quiet. Another figure, um, bumps into someone, uh, right in front of you, Obi, shoving them over, and, uh, then looks at you with the feverish look, shaking.

(panicked) (gasps for breath) Don't look at me! Don't look at me! (angrily) What are you look… Hey! Hey!

(OOC) He says. You see little bubbles on his skin start to form, and parts of it begin to push outward in little black blotches that begin to writhe underneath the skin and the feverishness. Black blood begins to ooze out from the edge of their eyes.

(victim) (grunts in agony)

The figure collapses to its knees, and then falls to the ground in front of you, panting.

BRAD: I rub my eyes, and I think I'm seeing things, uh…

(IC, scared) Uh, uh, green guy!

(OOC) And I just point at the floor.

JOSHUA: Vano will straight up grab you by the scruff of your shirt, like, turn you around to see…see…look at you straight in the face, and just, hey, look to see if you have any black markings on your face. I'm also going to say,

(IC, intensely) Did you have any of the pink pills?

BRAD (IC, panicked): My eyes have always been black, I promise! Uh…

JOSHUA (IC, frustrated): No, around the eyes!

RUSSELL: Obi, as you look at Vano's face, you can see dark circles starting to form around his eyes.

BRAD (IC): Have you looked in the mirror lately? Jesus! Look!

(OOC) And, uh…

JOSHUA (IC, concerned): That's not good!

RUSSELL: As these two are having a conversation, Elyiaes, this figure who is collapsed on the ground, um, in this fit, falls still. And you recognize this. It seems familiar. You haven't quite seen exactly this, but you've experienced something very similar before. A nausea starts to rise in your gut, and a panic starts to rise in your mind, as flashes of a memory that have lived not in reality, but in your mind, replayed in your nightmares for someone very dear to you begin to replay.

ANOOSH (IC): (quick, shallow breaths)

RUSSELL: I need you to make a Wisdom check.

ANOOSH: 13, plus 2, 15.

ANOOSH (IC): (hyperventilates)

RUSSELL: 15? Alright, you are able to gain control of your rising sense of panic, and shove away those horrific nightmares, and as your vision begins to clear, and you grab…gain bearings, uh, you see the figure now dead, cold, in front of you. [music fades] And you know you have seen a very similar drug in action before.

ANOOSH: My medical training kicks in, and I start to examine his body, and, like, look around to see the noticeable signs that I assume that this might belong to the drug that killed my daughter.

RUSSELL: Alright, make a Medicine check.

ANOOSH: 13, plus 2, 15.

RUSSELL: 15. Uh, this is not the same drug, but it is very similar, um…This subject died a little bit too soon, and it didn't fully advance, but you have a…a pretty strong sense that if you could get your hands on a subject that's a little bit further gone that you could reverse engineer what's going on with this, but you would need a live subject.

ANOOSH: It's not much right now, but I will take out a vial and…and try to scoop up some of the blood that…that is in him. I'll, like, cut him open a little bit to, like, pull, like, gush it out into the vial, and then and cork it, and then put that in my bag.

(IC, muttering) (sighs) Ugh, where are those two?

(OOC) And then I start looking for Obi and Vano.

RUSSELL: Yeah, Obi you see at over Vano's shoulder, who's still holding you up.

BRAD (IC): Put me down. Um, your friend here is touching dead people. (wryly) This is not the party I was looking forward to having.

JOSHUA: Vano will…will turn on his heel, and just stare down at Elyiaes.

(IC, intensely) What do you know about this? You seem too invested to just be taken by surprise.

RUSSELL: Your voice is almost drowned out by the drums which are now crossing the street directly behind you. [drums] The festivities sweep down the street, the…the floats and other performers trailing behind, and with a thundering of footsteps, as the crowd swells around it, um, filling all on either side of the street, the mass of bodies cuts you off from where you came.

ANOOSH: Wiping my hands of some of the blood that is on there, I…I look up, and there's a pounding headache in my head right now, and then I just, like, grab Vano by the…by the scruff, and I'm just like,

(IC, intensely) Now's not the time to talk about such things. If you want information, I'm more than happy to tell you, but we need to get out of here, now.

JOSHUA (IC, softly): You don't understand. Elyiaes, I gave my word to protect you, and that I'll do. But I gave you that word, word as to the tribe, as to the family. (seriously) If you want my protection, they live. And they've been taking what I have.

ANOOSH (IC): This one's far gone. He was already dead. I was taking a vial of…I needed some of his blood. It's a long story. I…I really wish I could just sit here and talk about it with you, but unless those legionnaires catch up with us, I'll be telling you this story behind bars. So, unless we want to start talking about this on the ship, where we have space and time…I'm more than happy to share.

JOSHUA (IC, somberly): It'll be too late for that. We have to go back to the tribe. Now.

RUSSELL: As if you were attuned to it, as if listening, though you didn't realize you were, or perhaps you did, a scream pierces through all of the noise and the roar of the crowds and the trumpeting of horns on the other side, and through the mass of bodies, as if your eyes have been searching, you see just a flick, and beneath the archways where your troupe was, you see a table overturned and bodies tumbling right and left. And then a float flows across the front of the street, and the vision is gone, and the scream fades into the night.

JOSHUA: Vano is going to start pushing his way through the crowd.

ANOOSH (IC, whispering): Damn it. Damn it!

BRAD: Obi kind of like half sobers himself up in a way, um, and starts to concentrate on what's currently happening.

(IC, concerned) Okay, uh, um, yeah, to the boat. To the boat. Uh, things are getting bad. Let's go!

JOSHUA: Vano's pushing the other way. Vano's pushing back towards the tribe.

RUSSELL: You're talking to Vano's back, who is pushing towards…

BRAD (IC): Nuh-uh. It is my job to get you to the boat!

JOSHUA (IC, snaps): Try it!

BRAD (IC, frustrated): Come on!

(OOC) And I grab him.

RUSSELL: You grab him?

BRAD: I'm trying to pull him to the boat. I'm trying to pull him to the boat.

RUSSELL: Alright, um, make a Strength check, both of you.

JOSHUA: Garbage.

RUSSELL: Garbage? Oh good! I rolled a 12.

BRAD: Well, I rolled a 4 minus 1, which is a 3.

(laughter)

RUSSELL: 12? Alright, you grab onto Vano, but, um, you're not able to get good purchase on these smooth cobblestones, and then, uh, as he drags you further, you hit wet grass, and, um, the gardens, and your feet begin to plow through flowers, overturning them, as Vano drags you, uh, towards the street.

BRAD (IC, annoyed): You're trying to--Who are you going back for?

ANOOSH: While he's racing, (laughing) carrying Obi, I'm assuming, (laughs)

JOSHUA: Yeah, power dragging, yeah.

ANOOSH: Like, dragging…

BRAD: What, dragging me along?

ANOOSH: I'll…I'll whistle for, uh, for Bubo to come to me if he can hear me.

RUSSELL: Bubo swoops down and lands on your shoulder.

ANOOSH (IC): I’m a little worried, we might need a distraction. Go get Flitz for me, please. Bring him to the center of the crowd. Just tell him to stay there.

(OOC) And then I start ahead, and then if Bubo leaves, I'll start heading towards, uh, Vano and Obi.

RUSSELL: Bubo swoops off. You catch up to Vano and Obi right as they reach the edge of the street. [suspenseful music] One of the guards, um, hand on the hilt of his shortsword, cudgel over his shoulder, taps it on a shoulder plate…a leather shoulder plate, and points it at you.

(pompous) Now, now. You know the rules. Stand back.

JOSHUA: Vano had been power dragging with his head kind of down, until the stick came into his face. As he sees that, he looks up, and his facial markings have begun partially, in an effort to give himself an extra boost of strength while he's feeling bad, they've started to glow, and he looks up, glaring, straight into this guard's face. Tattoos starting to just go bright red.

(IC, growling) Get out of my way if you know what's good for you.

RUSSELL: Roll to Intimidate.

JOSHUA: 14?

RUSSELL 14. The Nov Romarian retired legionarian looks up at you, um, over thick, graying eyebrows, scowls, and takes a step back.

JOSHUA: And I will continue to power walk my way through the crowd, (laughing) dragging Obi behind me.

ANOOSH: (laughs) That's a weird Intimidate. (laughs)

BRAD: Well, at this point, I've relinquished my effort to stop a raging bull that is Vano going towards his tribe, and I'm just following in tow, um, kind of almost like trotting, uh, still under the effects.

RUSSELL: As you plunge into the very parade itself, um, pushing aside…a line of dancers, uh, shocked and…and screeched, and one of them bats at you with…with a fan, and…and yells something.

(high-pitched, offended) (unknown language)

(OOC) Um, and then from behind you, um, something bulldozes into you. Both of you pile to the ground, um, three, um, of…of the guards on…on top, wrestling with you. Roll initiative.

JOSHUA: Vano gets a 21.

BRAD: 14.

ANOOSH: 2 minus 2, 0.

RUSSELL: 0?

JOSHUA: (laughs)

BRAD: Nice.

RUSSELL: Right. We'll go forward with that!

ANOOSH: I'm a little distracted. You know, there's somebody in the crowd doing some, like, flamethrower stuff with their mouth, it caught my eye, I'm just like…

BRAD: You get your combat turn next year! Don't worry.

RUSSELL: Alright, Vano, it's your turn first.

JOSHUA: Vano, seeing that there are folks trying to creep on top of them, uh, is going to…Frankly, I'm going to double time it. [suspenseful, emotional music] I'm just going to try to, you know, use my full…my full movement speed, uh, and dash outta there. Heading straight for the tribe.

RUSSELL: I'm going to consider this difficult terrain, due to the mass of bodies that you are plowing through, so.

JOSHUA: That is fair. So, that will be full 30 between the movement and dash.

RUSSELL: Alright, you punch out the other side of the street. And now it is the guards' turn. Two of the guards lunge forward to grapple you, Obi.

BRAD: What would you like me to roll?

RUSSELL: Roll a contested Strength.

BRAD: 13.

RUSSELL: Um, that's an 8. Yep, that's an 18.

BRAD: Well, fuck.

JOSHUA: Should have stayed tied to me, man! (laughs)

RUSSELL: The first one lunges forward and staggers a little to the side and misses, but the second one, uh, shoves past him, and then grabs at you, and tries to…and begins to twist your arm behind your back.

BRAD: I just turn and spit in his face.

RUSSELL: He yells at you.

(guard, baffled) We're just trying to protect the parade!

BRAD (IC, annoyed): I'm trying to have fun in the parade!

RUSSELL: The third one, um, tries to run through the crowd after Vano, [exciting, ominous music] but gets, um, caught, their…their cloak gets caught on the edge of the float that's right behind the dancers, and they begin to tug on it and curse.

BRAD: I'm grappled, right?

RUSSELL: You are grappled.

BRAD: (sighs) Grappled is just movement is 0.

RUSSELL: Yes.

BRAD: Fine. Fuck these guys. Um, I'm gonna go into my shortsword, and take an attack on the one holding me.

RUSSELL: Alright, roll attack.

BRAD: That is a 21 to hit. 6 points of damage.

RUSSELL: 6 points of damage.

BRAD: As I hit him in the upswing of drawing my shortsword.

RUSSELL: So, you're just like trying to slam the pommel into his jaw?

BRAD: No, I unsheathe the sword, and cut upwards to…As I hit, I slice upwards with the shortsword.

RUSSELL: Alright. As you slice upward, you slice along [sharp metal scraping] the side of his face, uh, he shouts and, um, falls to the ground, um, pulling you with him. You both fall to the ground, but then he releases you.

BRAD: Okay, um, then I will use all of my movement to catch up with Vano, and if that triggers attack of opportunities, I'm fine with that.

RUSSELL: Alright.

BRAD: But I can move…I can move 40 feet in my current condition.

RUSSELL: That is good. Trigger attack of opportunity by both the others.

BRAD: Well.

JOSHUA: If it hits, should still get you out of there, though.

RUSSELL: Alright.

BRAD: I'm not hindered. I am a Edwed Minor. I can pass through people on the same square as me unhindered, so I can run full 40 feet.

RUSSELL: Alright. So, that is a 2 and a 17.

BRAD: Only one will hit.

RUSSELL: The second one, whose cloak is caught, um, as you are approaching the edge, he swings his, uh, stick at your ankles, uh, connecting with a crack. I want you to make a Dex check to see if you fall.

BRAD: And with my current condition, that is still with advantage. Uh, 23.

RUSSELL: Strikes you for 3 bludgeoning damage, which makes your ankle smart quite a bit, but it does not trip you. You're able to step out of it, and then dance out of his reach.

BRAD: Okay, and I want to take my full 40 feet. So.

RUSSELL: Alright, that's gonna take you to the other side of the street, and…

BRAD: It's more like I run between people's legs, and, like, slide through them.

JOSHUA: Yeah, yeah. Just do a baseball slide in between, like, five people's legs.

BRAD: Whee!

[music fades]

RUSSELL: As you stand up on the other side, you are suddenly rushed by another snarling figure. You see it is a person whose face is flushed red, but the…the black veins rush all…run all over their face. Their hands are black now, and little bulbous, um, points in their skin are, like, bursting out, and you see small, like, writhing, black, tentacle-ish shapes from the little pocks of their skin, like, writhing on the surface.

[ominous music]

BRAD (IC): This is the last time I come to Faltus! Jesus!

RUSSELL (diseased): (screams painfully)

(OOC) Screams in pain and, uh, lashes out at you.

BRAD (laughing): Stop trying to kill me!

RUSSELL: That's a 13.

BRAD: That will miss.

[tense battle music]

RUSSELL: That'll miss? Alright, um, it just claws at you with its, um, bare fingers, which just scratch along the side of your armor, and do no damage.

ANOOSH: I'm gonna reach into my bag and pull out, like, a…a big old canister that's labeled Flitz's pork rind butter, but it's really grease, and I'm going to…I'm going to throw it, um, into the direction of those guards and…and basically cast Grease as a spell, which…which covers a 10-foot radius of, uh, where their…their feets are, um, and if…They'll make a Dexterity saving throw on their next turn. If they fail, they will fall prone.

JOSHUA (laughing): It took me a solid minute to figure out what the hell you were doing!

RUSSELL: You cast this Grease [splat] into the street, and, uh, as it hits the pavement, dancers begin to slip and fall and trip and tumble about, and several of them get tangled up in the harnesses of the oxen who are pulling the float behind them, who veer and crash into each other, and then the large, three-story float that sits behind it begin…which is fashioned…it's like a wooden painted, uh, tower, and it…it begins to sway back and forth, and then it tips, and crashes and falls right on top of Obi, [wood cracking] enveloping him. Obi, you go from standing there in the street to now you have this…a wooden, uh, thing crashes over you. I'm going to roll to see…

JOSHUA: You…you may or may not

RUSSELL: You're lucky! You're lucky

JOSHUA: Retake that, because his full movement would have taken him past Vano,

BRAD: And in the house!

JOSHUA: which means if it's hitting him, it's hitting me.

RUSSELL: It's three stories tall.

BRAD: Okay!

JOSHUA: Okay, well then, I need to make the same check because it's hitting me too!

[dramatic battle music]

RUSSELL: Alright, uh, well, you're…

BRAD: I have a feeling Russell's out on a mission with me today.

(Anoosh and Joshua laugh)

ANOOSH: It…You know, like, uh, one of the components for Grease is…it says pork rinds or butter, so I'm like, How am I gonna make this a component? So, like, it's Flitz’s pork rind butter. So, that's…that's what it's gonna be.

JOSHUA: That's such a gross sentence.

ANOOSH: (laughs)

RUSSELL: This large, wooden tower crashes down on top of you. Vano, you are going to take, um, 4 bludgeoning damage as the boards break above your head, and Obi, you were extremely lucky, because I just rolled, and you just happened to be standing in the perfect spot (Brad laughs) where the whole thing crashes around you, and you're just "foof," a window you're standing within.

BRAD: I just look up, and I'm like, I look up above me.

(IC) Well, that's convenient. Vano! Are you okay?

RUSSELL: You are now inside a wooden structure that makes almost like a tunnel leading up to the front of this building, but it begins to sway. The boards are creaking, and you…you hear, um, pounding on the wood panels outside, and within, rustling, um, beneath the boards near your feet that are broken, is the figure that charged at you.

JOSHUA: Is my head sticking out of this colossal monstrosity that just fell on top of me? Or, like, do I have to make my way out of the rubble?

RUSSELL: Uh, you are still within it, though the top of your head is just poking a little bit out, um, of the top. It's just like broken a little, so it like broke over you, and then like your head broke up a little bit at the top. It's like sitting.

[music fades]

JOSHUA: Uh, Vano is going to punch through the roof, and climb his way out, and look out at the tribe and see how many have died/are covered in black veins.

[rhythmic, dramatic music]

RUSSELL: Okay, so as you clamber up onto the top of this rickety, um, structure [wood creaking] that is waving back and forth, let me roll and see…Okay. I'm sorry, Obi. I didn't do this to you, Vano did this to you.

JOSHUA: Shit.

RUSSELL: So, as Vano clambers up on top of this rickety tower, the sides give way, and it folds over on itself and collapses [wood clattering] on top of you.

BRAD (IC, dread): Oh, fuck!

RUSSELL: You see it coming down, {mimes structure falling} “ffffump”. And I'm gonna roll again. You're going to take, um, 6 bludgeoning damage as you're…this thing just collapses on top of you with Vano's additional added weight bringing its momentum slamming you down to the ground. You are now prone and pinned.

JOSHUA: (laughs) I just wanted to see how many of my tribe had died!

RUSSELL: The guards, uh, you do not see them as the crowd has just, like, swept around in the pandemonium, except for one, who pulled his jacket free, and is just standing there, blinking, staring at the chaos and, uh, just flabbergasted. Obi, it's your turn.

BRAD: So, I'm considered restrained under this rubble?

RUSSELL: Yeah, you're gonna need to make a Strength check.

BRAD: I'm not strong! (laughs) Natural 20! (laughs harder)

RUSSELL: Natural 20?

ANOOSH: It's that drug high!

JOSHUA: “I'm not strong!” Natural 20.

ANOOSH: (yells strongly) {flexes triumphantly}

RUSSELL: Despite the weight of the boards and an additional bulky creature on top of them, weighing them down even further, you are able to push up your little hands between two boards and pry them apart, and the boards break, and you burst up into the nightmare.

BRAD: Uh, was that my action to get out of there?

RUSSELL: That was your action.

BRAD: After pushing all of the rubble off of me.

(IC, annoyed) Agh, this is not how I saw my day going!

(OOC) I'm going to, uh…Is the…creature…Can I see the creature? Like, the thing that attacked me?

RUSSELL: Yeah, the Edwed Major who attacked you looks to still be pinned beneath all of the rubble.

BRAD: So, it’s considered prone?

RUSSELL: Uh, it’s prone and pinned.

BRAD: Fine, um, I'm gonna attack it, with advantage and sneak attack.

RUSSELL: Go for it. Roll.

BRAD: Uh, that is an 11. With advantage.

RUSSELL: An 11? That’s gonna hit.

BRAD: That hit still?

RUSSELL: Yeah, it's just a person in a party dress.

BRAD: Alright! I’ll take it. Okay. 5, 10 plus… [intense, stirring music] That's 22 points of damage.

RUSSELL: 22 points of damage? Alright, how are you gonna absolutely eviscerate this poor soul?

BRAD: Well, it swung at me, and it seems to be changing its form, uh, so I'm just gonna drive my sword straight through its skull and twist.

RUSSELL: It twitches, and then falls still.

BRAD (IC, annoyed): Stop! Ruining! My holiday! (grunts) {stabs}

ANOOSH: Noticing all the destruction that just happened from a little bit of grease, uh, Elyiaes is gonna see what happens. Put a little elbow grease behind it. But, uh, he's gonna look around and see if he spots, um, Bubo bringing Flitz by the…into the crowd by any chance. Can I, like…Uh, well then, can I, like, stealth into the crowd and try to walk my way towards the others?

RUSSELL: Absolutely. And make that check with advantage, considering you just created this distraction of epic proportions.

ANOOSH: 18 total.

RUSSELL: You are able to effortlessly blend into the chaos of the crowd and make your way, I assume you're…What are you gonna do for movement? Are you going to use an action?

ANOOSH: I'm moving slowly, but as quickly as I can. Like, you know, Stealth.

RUSSELL: Alright.

ANOOSH: It is Stealth walking, you know…you know the power jogging?

RUSSELL: Fair enough.

ANOOSH: Power jogging my way.

RUSSELL: You’re able to make it nearly across the street.

JOSHUA: Vano is gonna take a look at the, uh, into the area where his tribe is located and see how bad people are getting there. If there's, you know, if there's bodies strewn all over the place here, what's going on.

RUSSELL: You see several of them lying on the floor, a bunch of them are hunched over, vomiting, a few are staggering about, the rest are rushing here and there, attempting to like dab foreheads, or inspecting people, patting them reassuringly on the back, but it looks like no one has a clear idea of how to help.

JOSHUA: Do I see Varisa?

RUSSELL: You do not see Varisa at the moment.

[dramatic, sad music]

JOSHUA: Vano is going to, uh, seeing that, can he see Elyiaes?

RUSSELL: Actually, go ahead and make a, uh, Perception check to see if you can see either or both of them.

JOSHUA: Okay.

ANOOSH: It was 18 on myself if you want to get a record on it.

RUSSELL: Okay, so you gotta…

JOSHUA: Ugh, I only got an 8.

RUSSELL: You are not able to make either of them out.

JOSHUA: I am going to just run into the tribe area and shout for Varisa, see if I can find her, or look around for either Varisa or the elders.

RUSSELL: As you run into the mass of them, shouting, an elder lady grabs your sleeve and says,

(lady, wavering) There!

(OOC) And points to the inner chamber.

JOSHUA: That's exactly where I start running. I doubt after a tower crashed on top of us, very many people are right on top of us.

RUSSELL: Obi and Elyiaes, you are both able to make it to the…the stone archway and the open-air platform where the rest of the troupe are gathered without much further obstruction other than the mass of people milling about and running hither and thither yelling.

BRAD: I'm just dusting myself off as I, like, make my way through the archway, looking very annoyed.

RUSSELL: As you cross under the archway, you hear, um, screams in the crowd behind you, [panicked crowd] and then the people who were before rushing or milling about in a confusion begins to rise into a panic and a stampede begins to ensue. You hear a snarling and a shrieking, and everything else is drowned out by the roar of the crowd.

BRAD: Obi turns.

(IC) Elyiaes. (angrily) What is going on out there?

ANOOSH (IC): (sighs) {looks away}

JOSHUA (IC, intensely): What's going on here? I saw that look in your eyes. You know what's going on.

ANOOSH (IC, muttering): (sighs) It's too much…this is too much happening right… (mutters)

BRAD: I'm gonna slap him in the face and,

(IC, intensely) Pull it together, and help us out!

[music fades]

ANOOSH (IC, seriously): Show some respect, young Edwed Minor.

BRAD (IC, shocked): Respect? Three people have died, you've just greased up some guards, Vano's freaking out. I want to get back to the boat!

ANOOSH (IC, softly): I was wanting to go to the boat with you two, but Vano decided to go to his people, which is what he has to do. He is honor bound. That is his people.

BRAD (IC): (groans)

JOSHUA (IC): I told you.

BRAD (IC, frustrated): I have to look out for myself, don't I?

JOSHUA (IC): You want my protection, I give it to them first.

ANOOSH (IC, somberly): I know. I know! Listen. I don't know what's happening exactly, I don't have all the answers, all I know is this drug looks something I…I am familiar with that has been plaguing the city. This is…this has gone far beyond what I imagined the city could do. If many people are taking this drug, then I…There's nothing I can do to stop this. I don't…

BRAD (IC, wryly): Listen. Buddy. I'm all about the narcotics. This is not how you make a drug! This is definitely bad!

ANOOSH (IC, somberly): Yeah. I agree. It is not a good drug. As if any drugs are good. (sighs)

BRAD (IC, frustrated): Vano! Find who you're looking for! Fast!

JOSHUA: Vano just delves into the crowd of the…of the Bor Bor here, [melancholy music] just trying to find Varisa and the elders and check on their status.

RUSSELL: You're able to pick her out pretty quickly. She is sprawled out on a low couch, and is feverishly sweating and coughing. You see the, um, blackness has spread out in veins across her face and there's the beginnings of bleeding around her eyes.

JOSHUA (IC, anxiously): Varisa! Varisa, I'm here! I came back as soon as I figured out what was going on. (sadly) Oh, lord. I could have sworn I was leaving you behind to keep you safe, and now this.

(OOC) I take my hand, and I just place it on her…on her cheek, trying to feel how…if she's warm, or, you know, just give her a little bit of comfort.

RUSSELL: She looks up at you, eyes feverish, but you see no recognition in them, and you feel, once again, a boiling within your gut, and something squirming and swimming about. Make another Con save.

JOSHUA: 15.

RUSSELL: Ah, you're able to push it back down into the base of your gut once again, but you're starting to feel a little bit, um, weak, and you can feel yourself beginning to sweat, and your body temperature rising.

ANOOSH: Uh, seeing…seeing the sweat appear on Vano's face, uh, do I notice the similar symptoms that are happening?

RUSSELL: You see veins…you see veins of black begin to work their way down his cheeks.

ANOOSH (IC): Vano, can I take a look at you for a second?

JOSHUA (IC, softly): Aye, but you should pay attention to them who can actually be helped.

ANOOSH (IC): I'll get to them in a second.

(OOC) And then I'm, like, looking at his pupils and checking his pulse and seeing if his heart rate is…is beating faster than normal, you know, like, looking for the necessary symptoms that I've studied myself on…on this drug.

RUSSELL: Alright, um, make a Medicine check.

ANOOSH: 7.

RUSSELL: You are able to recognize the symptoms, but you cannot figure out what's causing it. Um, you need to look at a sample that is more advanced so you can isolate that factor.

ANOOSH (IC): Can I take some of your blood?

JOSHUA (IC): Odd request, but fine.

ANOOSH: I pull out another empty vial, and I…

(IC) It's gonna hurt a little bit, I'm sorry.

(OOC) And I'm gonna cut into him a little bit so that I can bloodlet him into the vial, and then…

JOSHUA: Vano doesn't even flinch.

ANOOSH: As I, uh, finish that, I'm gonna pull out the other vial that I had…that I took earlier of the…the person who died in front of me that was full on symptoms, and try to, like, examine to see if there's any alteration or differentiation that…that resembles what's happening to this blood. Is it coagulating, or is it, like, is it starting to, like, fester?

RUSSELL: It is separating. So, the blood is…you see the blood is actually, and you…you see it only a little bit, [music fades] a light film on the top of the black blood in the vial on Vano's of the water in it, separating, like floating on the top, and then in the other one, you see a greater separation. And then, you see within the blood, little…little, tiny, almost like, spores starting to form within it that are not in Vano's. But they look…look as if they're not fully matured. They're like part-way formed.

ANOOSH: I'm gonna pull out like a little seeing eye glass that's like my little magnifying glass, and try to look deeper into it, and just see if the spores are also, like, are like in both, they're contained in both, blood, correct?

RUSSELL: You do not see the spores in Vano's blood yet, but you see a tiny, like, almost seed type thing that may be what forms into the spores.

ANOOSH (IC, grimly): I'm sorry to tell you this, Vano, but I think maybe you might be infected. It's not really taken a hold of you yet, but it's definitely in you.

JOSHUA (IC, somberly): I already knew that. I can feel it. But these ones can still be helped.

BRAD (IC, annoyed): Are you telling me you've ruined my merchandise? I'm going to bring him back to the ship and he's “infected.” Nah. No. That ain't happening.

JOSHUA: Vano turns to Obi, and, with a burst of strength coming from…going into a rage, will pick Obi up, and say,

(IC, intensely) You want me to help you, you help him fix this!

ANOOSH: Is there somebody like…like passed out, like, in front of him, like, that he's like pouring over?

RUSSELL: Yeah.

JOSHUA: Varisa is, yeah.

ANOOSH: I'm gonna walk over to Varisa, and I'm gonna pull out, um, kind of like my own homemade health potion. This is me flavoring Cure Wounds, basically. And I'm going to start pouring it into her mouth and, like, basically start rubbing her temples and start going in [soft, eerie music] and seeing if I can figure out what's going…what…what can I do to…to help save this girl.

RUSSELL: Her breathing slows down a little and she seems to relax, and it looks as if the veins spreading on her face slow down, but they do not disappear.

ANOOSH: Pressing the…the young Edwed girl's hair, uh, and seeing that she's starting to breathe, he's like,

(IC, somberly) She's breathing. She…she'll be okay. But I don't know if the poison will take her again. This drug is too much. I need a live specimen to even think about getting an antidote. What do you guys think?

JOSHUA: As you turn to look, Vano's got Obi by the scruff of the shirt, and just, like, Obi can see in his eyes that the dark circles are growing, and they're starting to become tendrils out of them, and just the rage that showed up in his, uh, in his facial markings kind of starts to dim and die, and his eyes glaze over. Just kind of drops you and falls onto the ground.

ANOOSH (IC, concerned): Vano? Vano! (mutters) Shit.

BRAD (IC, worried): Okay, he's looking real bad. Uh…

ANOOSH: Like, looking into his eyes to see if he's still with us, and checking his pulse.

(IC) This isn't good, Obi. This isn't good.

[music fades]

BRAD (IC, sharply): You think? (softly) Uh, look. I've got some experience in, well, poisons, narcotics, drugs, uh…I may be able to help, but it's going to take me some time. What do we need? We need that live? We need one of those things?

ANOOSH (IC): Whatever was screaming out there, that snarling? That could be the answer.

BRAD (IC): And we can't kill it and drag it in, it has to be, you know, kicking?

ANOOSH (IC): I know this is too much, but… [sad, hopeful music] I can't let this man die. I can't let this Edwed's life end right before my eyes. Not again.

BRAD: Obi kind of like rights himself, and scuffs himself off from being manhandled by Vano, but he looks and sees him in real poor shape, and looks over at the young, um, Edwone that is also in bad shape, but can tell Vano really cares for her. He looks at Elyiaes.

(IC, wryly) (sighs) I may not like it, but this is what I do!

(OOC) And I'll pull my crossbow out.

[wood sliding]

(IC) Let's go hunting.

[noises fade] {fade to black}

RUSSELL: Greetings and salutations, one and all, Pink Tie Outro Russell here to deliver the outro, because productiony shenanigan nonsense happened, and the other outro vanished! So, here I am to take it for the other Russell who…who botched that up somehow. Yes, it's always his fault, never mine, always him. {winks} Anyhoobla! Let's dive right into the outro. So, today's episode, whoo! Bit of a hoot. Thrill ride. Vano is down for the count, and Elyiaes and Obi are in a certain general sense cornered by impending doom, so! But here's the thing, we don't have to worry too much, because this is a flashback, and main characters can't die in a flashback, right? (laughing nervously) I mean, it's D&D, so anything can happen, but when we film a flashback episode, the main characters can't die, um, that would be…that would be a problem for the narrative that would be difficult for the DM to explain later, um, so come back next week to find out if I have to sort that out! (laughs) (regains composure) Okay, but enough about me having a breakdown. So, uh, two announcements for you, and one is that we have partnered with a new company that is going to bring something extremely exciting to our visuals, so stay tuned in the next few episodes, you will see something, uh, debut in our episodes that you have never seen before in a D&D show like this. It will be very exciting, and we are super pumped to bring it to you. It's going to be a lot of extra work, and I will reveal soon, not yet, but soon, who that new partnership is with, and then you will see a beautiful debut of something stunning. The other thing that I wanted to mention to you is Premium! What is premium on our website? Well, Premium is how you can support us so that we can continue bringing you awesome content. But it's not just you helping us, and supporting the show, it's also us bringing you awesome new cool content! What is on Premium? Well, not only are there a lot more short stories that you can immerse yourself in, those come out periodically on a semi-consistent, wink wink, basis, where you can read more about the characters, more about the world, and immerse yourself further into the lore of Gregoor-Sheav with other short stories and adventures. On top of that, also, if you haven't been checking out Spawn of Chaos After Dark, which airs on our Twitch, uh, on Wednesdays, which we may move that to Sundays, but, uh, I'll come back to you on that later. But right now, it comes out on Wednesdays. You can watch a cast and crew commentary where we talk about…all us knuckleheads sit down and talk about, like, what we were thinking about when our characters made choices, what it was like producing the episode and creating it, all of the work that goes into it, all of that exciting stuff, so many behind the scenes content and sneak peeks, and you get to spend a lot more quality time getting to know the cast and crew, and how they put their heart and soul into every episode, and all of our derpy struggles and, um, speed bumps that we go through. Well, not all of them, but, um, many of them. All of them would be a very long list, but anyhoobla, how does this tie into Premium? If you're not watching those when they come out on Wednesday, or you miss them coming out on Wednesday, all previous episodes of Spawn of Chaos After Dark are on the online library available to Premium members, so if you miss any of those episodes go subscribe to Premium and you can check them out. There's lots of extra bonus content there for you, and on top of that, you also get a special status in our Discord server, because that's cool too. So, thank you so much for supporting the show, you can hit the link in the description of the video, or you can go to chaosawaits.com. Thank you, thank you for watching through a whole episode, it has been a thrill ride, and as always, it's a joy to see you…see you here at the end, just as much it is…is, (sputters) um, I can't speak English today! But it is a joy to see you here at the end. Just as much as it is to see you at the beginning of the video. (sighs in relief) Thank you, Pink Tie Russell! I don't know why that was so hard to get out, but we finally got there. But as always, thank you for watching. Like, comment, please share, it really helps us grow. We are very small, and we're growing fast, but, um, every little bit helps. It helps a lot, we really need it, so that everybody here can continue to put their heart and soul into what they love and bring you something amazing and new every single week. Take care of yourselves, and don't forget: Chaos awaits you, {winks} in the dark.