Don't Forget, The World!

As the season opens, it appears that the "world" we'll be exploring will be confined to the corrupted castle city of Vyndarea. To save the wider world, the gang will have to breach the city's walls and make their way deep into the heart of this lich-infested lair. Knowing how the group excels at stealth, their descent will be smooth and uneventful. Here are some things they might like to remember along the way about their journey through the world of season 5:

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 37:**

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 36:**

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 35:**

* The final death blow is delivered by Jolly, who uses his radiant flame to cook the torturer's head inside his helmet.
* With nothing else standing in their way, they head through the door at the bottom of the stairs to find a room-sized elevator, and use it to descend deeper into the castle city's decrepit lower levels.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 34:** Riding an elevator deeper into the depths of the castle city.

* The entity turns out to be a 15 foot tall, shirtless hulking beast of a man, metal helmet bolted to his head and wielding a massive cleaver.
* The battle takes place in the claustrophobic confines of the stairwell, and while the torturer puts up a good fight, the group with relative ease is able to get him prone and vulnerable.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 33:** In a stairwell just past the torture room, making quick work of their latest adversary.

* Blessed bird pee was not enough. The group will use the very moisture in the air to deface this dastardly pentagram! Jolly blesses the air, and Dr Uid casts ice storm, raining down blesses hail stones in the center of the pentagram, helped along by a small cube of hot air thanks to Winnifred's prestidigitations. A pillar of green flame shoots up from the center of the pentagram, and out steps Hawshinka! Another warm reunion ensues.
* They turn their attention to the large door before them, and after Winnifred successfully de-trapifies it, Ronnie sneaks down the stairs on the other side to peak through the door at the bottom. He hears some massive entity lumbering on the other side, and gets bonked in the face when said entity opens the door into him.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 32:** A torture room behind them, a torturer in front. And there they are, preparing for battle again.

* As luck would have it, Qweep is able to pull himself out of his tailspin and get Jolly and himself to the other side. Everyone has made it across except Fizzbort-the-once-Mallerthil, who magically appears beside the rest of our heroes. No other explanation is necessary.
* The door in front of them, as it turns out, has a nasty spear-thrusting trap, but once they heroes have bested that, they find themselves in a most horrific torture room. A massive pentagram, 55 feet in diameter, is carved into the stone in the center of the room. Four tables upon which lie desiccated corpses are positioned at each corner, and in the center is a 10 foot in diameter basin. As old and dried up as the corpses are, they still are somehow dripping blood into the channels of the pentagram, eventually collecting in its basin center.
* Six smaller cages and a torture wheel are in one corner, and on the far wall is a central door and a prison cell on each side. Jolly checks one of the cages to find Gus! The reunion unleashed a torrent of emotions from Qweep and Dr Uid.
* The group then turns their attention to consecrating the pentagram, hoping in some small way that it will damage the arch lich's plans. This escalates from dumping a canteen full of blessed water to Qweep flying over and peeing on the pentagram from his blessed bladder!

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 31:** Letting that beautiful blessed bladder water fly and watching the green flames rise.

* Ronnie sneaks out into the library and returns to let his friends know that a massive spectral aquatic beast has appeared in the library, swimming around the ceiling.
* With Winnifred taking the lead, they cautiously head back out into the library to confer with the beast. Winnifred's charisma wins the day, and they are able to learn about the beast's plight and align themselves with its interests, thereby avoiding a more violent confrontation.
* With the beast nullified, they head to the door behind the altar, clearly the way forward and down. Behind the door is a staircase spiraling downward, which seems infinite until they realize there is a puzzle to be solved. Some clever torch manipulation solves the puzzle, and the stairwell transforms itself into a landing with another stone door. In this world, torches can be more than they seem.
* Through that door they enter unto a stone landing. In front of them is a swirling green magical tube, at least 200 feet long, through which they can see a far off landing and door. This world contains tunnels of a most devious nature.
* Winnie uses doorways through dimensions to get across herself, Ronnie, and Bunk, and Dr Uid goes air elemental to get himself across. That just leaves Qweep, Jolly, and Fizzbort. Jolly clings to Qweep as he flies cross the void, but a wingtip scrapes against the tube, sending them both spiraling off balance!

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 30:** Attempting to cross some type of magical expanse, the heroic Qweep having a bit of trouble.

* Inside the library, a new fissure opens, this time of silver flame. Out steps Jolly, an unconscious Lucas still strapped to his back! In this world, fissures can produce the good as well as the bad.
* The group reunited, they turn their attention towards Bunk who has begun to levitate, his eyes glowing yellow. From Bunk's mouth flows the slippery voice of King Valux, mockingly suggesting they pledge servitude to his royal lichness. Winnifred steps forward and dispels magic, shutting that shit down quick.
* They take stock of their surroundings. The library is massive, shelves over 20 feet tall. They seem clearly to be the first of the adventurers who have made it this far. At the rear of the library is an alter upon which lays a massive book. Behind the altar is a door, with two additional doors on each side.
* In one corner of the room is a table upon which a number of maps are laid out. Some cover Feywild civilizations, others those of Cloddenheim. All show that this evil elf race is at war with the world.
* They head into one of the four side chambers to rest, particularly so that Jolly can refamiliarize himself with a spell he knows which can fully bring Bunk back to life.
* Rested, and with Bunk back but still in bad shape, the group turns to investigate strange and disconcerting noises which have begun to emanate from the library.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 29:** Rested and with Bunk back, ready to face what new horror awaits them in the library.

* Even after dispelling magic, a flood of leech-filled water crashes over our heroes when they open the door. Even biomes can be weapons in this twisted world.
* Through the doors, they come upon a most mind-bending sight. Cleanliness! Ornate tapestries on the wall, an immaculate rug on the floor, and a large table and chairs in the center of the room. Unlike the decaying husk they had previously been exploring, this is a room quite literally fit for a king. And speak of the devil!
* Above the table a fissure forms from which waves of blue smoke emanate. The smoke forms a cloud through which King Valux admonishes our heroes to get out of his castle.
* Instead, they bum rush him and dive through a door on the room's far side, escaping into the adjoining library.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 28:** Finally inside the portion of the castle city which King Valux considers his own, ready to make it theirs once they find and deal with the evil arch lich.

* Upon whose shoulders does the success of our heroes in this world rest? Upon Winnifred's. In short order, which magically reattaches her severed fingers and pulls Dr Uid back from the brink of death. Fizzbort-the-once-Mallerthill lends a hand and resurrects Bunk, dead from being digested as he was, giving them some time to a true healer to fully bring him back to life.
* Rested and patched up as well as one could hope, they press on to the temple gates on the NE side of the room. Through these doors should be one of the last rooms they'll need to navigate before they can finally start making their way downwards.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 27:** In the penultimate room, standing before what should be the last set of doors, about to start heading into the depths.

* Jolly teleports away. Silver Flame business takes priority. Heroes are beholden to more than just the needs of their friends.
* But even down to seven fingers Winnifred is still formidable. She incapacitates the worm with her mind, giving her friends space to whittle down its HP. Finally, Dr Uid provides the death blow.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 26:** Down, but not out. The beast has been felled and our heroes have managed to survive the battle of the royal hall!

* As the battle rages on, it becomes increasingly murky who here is the most difficult foe, the pick worm? Or our valiant heroes themselves! Our tireless leader Ronnie has jammed his armblade into his shoulder up to the hilt. Our unrelenting Winnifred has cut off three of her fingers attempting to pull the armblade out. And the delightful Dr Uid has tripped and given his stomach a good impaling on the pink worm's stinger! Not to mention poor Bunk, swallowed up by the worm.
* Things are looking bleak. The only bright spot is that Jolly is still standing and ready to save the day!

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 25:** In significant trouble, with only Qweep and possibly most importantly Jolly, as their healer and protector, holding the party back from the precipice of annihilation!

* Now inside that set of doors, they find themselves in a massive chamber, long since fallen into decay and completely covered in the magical vines.
* Parts of the ceiling have been caved in, letting in streams of natural light, but all sound seems to be magically deadened.
* While exploring the room, Jolly turns a corner too quickly and Lucas snags and breaks off a section of dried vine.
* As the vine thuds dully against the floor, the group notices that the floor immediately begins to vibrate.
* Before they know it, a massive pink worm explodes upwards from the floor at the center of the chamber!

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 24:** Battling a giant pink worm in the decayed royal hall of the evil elf city.

* Mallerthil, who now prefers to go by the name Fizzbort, relates that further ahead is the throne room, and somewhere behind that should be stairs leading down into the bowels of the castle.
* He tells them that there is some kind of magical growth they most likely will have to overcome before they can get to the path leading downward.
* They head out of the arena and quickly find themselves in what must have once been one of the grand hallways leading to the throne room. They soon have a choice to make, head in one direction which seems heavily populated by guards, or in the other direction, a hallway absolutely packed full of magical vines.
* One might call it luck, but there is no luck when it comes to our heroes. There is only heroicism and mastery. Winnifred has just learned a spell which allows her to talk to plants!
* With the help of that spell, they make it all the way down the hall, with only Lucas getting crushed by the occasionally collapsing ceiling. On Jolly's back he goes.
* As the final layer of vines recede, they find before them the doors to the royal hall!

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 23:** Before the doors of the royal hall, with only one slightly pancaked friend, ready to take on what may!

* With the final orb defeated, the group rush to heal the 4th NPC they've met since landing on the rocky shores outside this foul castle.
* His name is Mallerthil, and he was in fact another of the adventurers Gago dropped off. His was a solo mission, to infiltrate the castle city on his own and gather intel, then find a larger group to help. Luckily for him, he found the best larger group in all the land!
* He tells them that they must get to the lower levels of the castle city. They must press forward until they can find a way down into the bowels of this necrotic nightmare castle.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 22:** Catching their breath from the batter, welcoming a new ally, and preparing to press on and find a way into the lower levels of the castle city.

* Spells and dual blades and arm blades zap and hack and slash until only a single orb remains.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 21:** Nearing the end of a formidable battle with what must only be a small handful of the monstrosities this castle city contains.

* Back to the murderous descent with more halls and doors to check. Inside one door they find a room containing a lava pit which they surmise must be used for some specific magical purpose! This world contains the strangest mechanisms and machinations!
* Back into the hallway and checking another door, they stumble into a massive battle taking place between a human wizard and a plethora of strange beasts!
* The human seems clearly to be a potential ally, so the group throws their not inconsequential might and magic into helping him slay the monsters.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 20:** In a massive arena, helping a hopefully friendly wizard fight a massive gelatinous cube, a lurching treasure golem, and a pack of glowing orbs.

* We take a break from the murderous descent into the arch lich's lair to enjoy a beautiful Nerd Poker 10 year anniversary celebration!

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 19:** In stasis, as their players and the fans get to share a moment reflecting on all the fun that has been had over the years.

* They conclude their rest uneventfully and head on. Down the next hallway they see brass tubes with mouthpieces lining each wall. Another way for the enemy to call for backup in this dastardly castle city.
* On the left side of the hallway are doors which should lead outside, and ahead is a door which should lead to a sub-chamber connected to an outer wall of the Arch Lich's keep. Past that door, the hallway veers off to the right.
* There is a terrifyingly loud howling wind sound from the doors on the left, and Ronnie hears the sound of guards coming from the sub-chamber door, so they follow the hallway as it veers off to the right and find an empty barracks. Another sign that the Arch Lich has spread his army thin as they hunt for the Castaway Cuties.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 18:** Slowly making their way deeper into the castle city, through mostly deserted hallways and empty barracks.

* The group are pushed hard but they manage to vanquish the squad of undead elf soldiers. Now, it's time to get their rest on!

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 17:** Deciding where to rest, still in the tower on the outskirts of the castle city.

* The battle begins, and our heroes begin to whittle down the group of elves. Winnifred uses her mage hand to flip a leaver which raises the portcullis. Reunited, the group is able to fully carve into the enemy forces.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 16:** Fully engaged with the forces of the evil lich king for the first time.

* They finish exploring the top of the tower and decide that they won't be freeing the lich. They're here to kill baddies, not make them their besties!
* Heading back down the stairs they hear commotion, and turn a corner to see a squad of elves heading away from them down the hall. A portcullis is lowering, and just before it can cut them off from their soon to be victims, Ronnie and Qweep slide underneath.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 15:** Separated into two groups by a just closed portcullis, with Ronnie and Qweep about to bring the pain.

* The magical trap turned out to be a floating skull, and while it scorches them a bit they are able to dispel it eventually.
* At the top of the tower they find a chained up lich. In this world, even the bad guys have bad guys they need to keep locked up.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 14:** Up in a tower, interrogating a lich, and searching for loot.

* Pushing forward, they find the next room absolutely filled with spider webs, strange pods covering the ground. They torch the room, causing the pods to hiss and crack open, letting out strange whisps which float up and disappear through the ceiling. This world seems to contain near limitless strange and disturbing entities.
* They continue on into the next hallway and are reunited with Bunk. They keep walking and come upon a guardroom at the base of one of the watch towers.
* Their path forward is blocked by a closed portcullis. With no obvious way to open it, they decide to ascend the stairs up into the tower. Ronnie trips on one of the stairs, and in an instant it feels as if all the air is sucked out of the tower stairwell. How wide a variety of devious traps can this world possibly contain?

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 13:** Leaving a deserted guardroom, ascending the stairs of a watch tower, and wondering if they've set off a trap which will lead to their doom.

* The group follows Lucas' lead, down the hallway in the direction of a guard tower. Soon enough, though, their path is blocked by an overgrowth of disconcerting pink glowing mushrooms covering the floor, walls, and ceiling. Bunk teleports past it to scout ahead, and Lucas points out a door which will lead to a dining hall, then, kitchen, which should eventually get them around and past the growth.
* Past the dining hall and inside an adjoining storeroom, they find a pulsing and glowing brain inside a glass terrarium! Even in the most innocuous places, this city contains weird and disconcerting surprises.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 12:** Continuing on their long, circuitous journey to the heart of this forsaken castle city.

* Finally, the group has made it into the outer structures on the north east side of the castle city. Stables containing monstrous beasts lie behind them. Ahead, a hallway which curves off to the left and right.
* This hallway contains a long dead magic tree. The group learns that when it was alive it had the power to petrify anything that touched it. They learn this by revivifying a petrified elf. His name is Lucas. He had only just become a royal guard when he met his stultifying fate. This was back during the reign of King Eldred the 3rd, generations before the castle city fell to lichdom.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 11:** Making their way deeper into the castle city, their ranks bolstered by a new, if naïve, friend.

* Looking for the best way to enter the castle city, the group sees mouseman Terry scurry into a hole in a distant wall. Hopefully they will encounter their newly transformed friend in the future.
* Qweep flies up and spots a gate at the base of one of the nearby outlying towers. Despite the fact that piles of bones lie on each side of the gate, this strikes the group as their best point of entry.
* Inside, Ronnie scouts his way through a magically dark room. Ronnie, leads the group to a door on the other side, but Jolly trips a "You better not cast magic in here" trap, and the group barely makes it through the door before being swarmed by the sea of green eyed monsters which had awakened behind them.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 10:** Finally, inside the outer structures of the castle city, slowly making their way to the heart of this evil abode.

* Inside a different room, Terry! But at the point in his redemption arc where he's been turned into a mouseman. So, this world contains things beyond just unrelenting evil. It also contains things of delight and friendly faces.
* Waking from a long rest, the group finds that the mountain of harpy corpses has been cleared out. This world contains strange entities working in the shadows, just out of view.
* They emerge from the caves into a small outcropping, ocean waves lapping and ghost ship circling far below. They are close enough to the top that they're able to scramble up with the help of Qweep's wings and Bunk's teleporting ability.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 9:** Finally, atop the cliffs, taking in the daunting sight of the castle city rising before them. Seemingly impenetrable walls, towers rising up to disappear into fog, a foreboding forest to the east. Their dangerous journey has only just begun.

* With the harpies finally defeated, the group can finally get back to exploring the world. Behind a locked door is an entity seemingly impersonating a helpless victim. The evil this world contains is vast and devious.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 8:** Battle worn but alive, pressing forward with their exploration of this cave network.

* The never ending onslaught of harpies continues this episode.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 7:** There is no world. There is only harpies.

* Exploring the world is on hold for now. The group needs to focus on their survival as wave after wave of harpies attacks

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 6:** Buried in a continually refilling pile of harpies.

* Judging by the absolute horde of harpies which swarm the group, the evil this city contains has taken advantage of the centuries afforded it by its time in the Feywild to grow to massive proportions.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 5:** Putting their not inconsequential might and magic to bear in destroying the hordes of harpies they have finally confronted.

* This cave and inner dock network contains much older encampments, which makes sense considering the city is hundreds if not thousands of years older due to the time it spent in the Feywild.
* Judging by the elaborate rigging of tripwires the group encounters, this city will be full of deadly traps.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 4:** Only just catching their breath from avoiding catastrophe with the tripwires and having mangled the opening of the black onyx tribute box, they now see that the harpies are upon them!

* The harpy cave contains signs of previous life, abandoned camps, bodily remains, and members of the undead, and leads to a vast inner dock system
* Via Talk to Dead, they meet Paloral Vonderon, a moon elf from their city of Vonderon, located south of Bozor. He was part of an envoy there to bring a peace offering to King Valex.
* This interior dock was clearly a major entry point into the city, long ago.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 3:** Slowly getting their bearings inside the harpy cave, pressing forward, and steeling themselves against what might come.

* Queep notices that some ships have begun to return to the western docks.
* There are actually several caves in the northeastern cliffs. Around a dozen as yet nameless heroes enter one, while our group enters another further up the cliffs.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 2:** On the northeastern shores outside Vyndairea, climbing up the cliffs to the harpy cave, while a number of other heroes enter a different cave a bit further down, with the ghost ship quickly approaching land.

* If you encounter magic Feywild vines, don't touch them. Not even for science.
* There is a haunted ghost ship in the eastern waters. Probably bad news.
* The southernmost cliffs have been melded with the giant skull of a dragon turtle. According to Goggo, the city was teleported into the tragic beast in order to sacrifice it to a god and in doing so absorb its power. The skull's eye sockets are one possible point of entry into the city, but as Goggo says there's no certainty that they lead anywhere.
* The main docks are to the west. They're less heavily guarded now that Vyndairea's fleet is sailing the worlding looking for heros who destroyed the Archlich's phylactery, but most likely are still guarded by sea monsters. "A pretty scary place to come in," according to Goggo.
* Coming in from the north would be the route to take pre-lichification, but it's now a battlefield strewn with the corpses of invading armies. Monsters and left over armies might be roaming, so probably not the best entry point now.
* Long ago, boats would land and people would enter the castle city via the southern gate, but that portion of the coast has been warped by the dragon turtle skull, and massive piles of the bones of Vyndairea's enemies have been deposited against the southern wall, so probably not a great entry point. Corpses of frost giants also litter that field, further reinforcing the conclusion that a southern entry should be avoided.
* At this point, Goggo recommends entry via caves to the northeast. They seem to be home to a group of harpies, so they're not without danger, but he believes they'll lead up to caves atop the cliffs northeast of the city. From there, the heroes should be able to sneak through the animal stables and into the city proper. According to Goggo, nobody is really guarding that part of the castle. It’s hard to get to from the path to the north, since there are barracks, monsters, a haunted forest in the way. Season 5's first new NPC, Bunklechee Rankenboing, a halfling of the royal guard of Donkeyland, makes his appearance and asked to be dropped off at these caves.
* The big tower in the middle of the city seems to be our ultimate goal. It appears to house the teleportation mechanism and is located above the Archlich's lair.
* The long building to the south of the tower is the royal hall, surrounded by the houses where a most of the undead elves appear to live.
* According to Goggo, it’s possible to encounter undead elves who aren’t evil, as well as other beings trying to break the castle.

**Where our heroes stand in relation to the world after EP 1:** On a boat, piloted by a drunken evil fairy, heading to a harpy-infested cave, while attempting to avoid a haunted ghost ship, with the ultimate goal of breaching an evil lich city. What could go wrong?

**This episode's vibe in gif form:**