Bloodlines and Lifelines [Full Episode] | Escape From the Bloodkeep Episode 5

- [Brennan] We find our vile villains here, in the skies above Gorgar. On board the Siren, flagship of the Forgotten Fleet. Markus, come home. - Uh yeah, I wanna come home, but without you. - [Brennan] And a goblin war zeppelin charges ahead (gasps) With Olag leaning off the front. Somebody fucking kill me! He takes one step back, boom! And fall off the side of the ship. (laughing) - Leiland, how you doing back there? - [Matt] Fine! - [Brennan] Swinging from below and rip this tree fully out of the ship, it bursts fully into flames. You see Olag calls out to the goblin. "By the fire!" Olag reaches his hand to the prow of the ship, I have been cursed with eternal life! and rips the front of the ship in half. You all begin to plummet out of the sky. (dramatic music) Welcome one and all back to Escape from the Bloodkeep. I'm your Dungeon Master, Brennan Lee Mulligan. Here as always are our vile villains. Say hello vile villains. - (all) Hello vile villains. - Ah gosh, guys. Last we left off, our vile villains were in the air! - Whee! - In a rending skyship that had been torn asunder at the final effort by an insane orc barbarian, but mostly by a massive explosion, an attack of roots and mangling goblins, - [Rekha] Mmhmm. - basically just taken a punch. - Mmhmm. - [Brennan] Time slows to a standstill. For all those below decks, which include Markus, Leiland, Maggie, all of you watch as floor suddenly stops pushing up on your feet. It's not pushing up anymore to keep you in one place, and instead you're going to be in another place. And very shortly after you're in that new place, you're going to be in an even newer place. (laughing) And odds are, that's going to keep happening faster and faster for a while. - Hmm. - That's very detailed. (inaudible crosstalk) (laughing) - Very Tolkien-esque, by the way. (laughing) - Who? (inaudible chatter) Ruckland. - It's Ruckland. - It's Ruckland, okay? - (silly noises) (laughing) - For Lilith hanging on the side with Old Pickering, you hear Old Pickering go "yar!" and his, you begin to (cracking) You are safely holding on to a giant spar of wood but that wood is no longer attached to anything. And you begin to fall away as all your little children jump onto your massive body. Efink, you get to watch a ship disintegrate in front of you holding onto a wheel that remains to be the only solid thing you are still grasping, so you're holding (stammers) (laughing) - Sorry! (yelps) (laughing) - You look out of the deck and see Bulrick Belbarrel, the dwarven warrior, begin to fall and she hits terminal velocity right away. (laughing) - No! - She was too heavy. - [Brennan] Yeah, like - Re-entry (crumbling) (players laughing) - You get that fucking mass of heat towels on the bottom, Yeah, this dwarf just fucking rockets and you see that she doesn't even twist in the air, she remains upright, (rocket noise) shooting down like a fucking bullet. - Oof. - And Sokhbarr. You get to watch all of this happening as a weird thing of gas that- there's a feeling baked by the heat of the volcano and as you're floating, you can feel the essence of the crown within you that's kind of like hold-over temp crown containing the essence of the Lord of Shadows, and as you're like almost like focusing on keeping the steam and mist together, you feel a (squishing) as a membrane of mucus wraps around you. - Awww! - And you feel- (trilling) - Oh, I love you so much, J'er'em'ih! (laughing) - So this adventure is all about balloons. - True. - Yay! (clapping) - I'm just a cloud of gas inside a J'er'em'ih skin. Or just a J'er'em'ih balloon. - You're a fart, you're a J'er'em'ih fart! - I'm a living fart! - You kind of look like a snot green Glinda bubble, like from The Wizard of Oz, scintillating. - Like a prisoner, the weird like... - Rover? - [Mike] Yeah. (laughing) - I will ask this: I'm gonna go around the table and probably the answer to this question is nothing, so I want to make it okay for you to say nothing. But, is there anything you guys are attempting to do as you begin to fall? Rekha. - I feel a sharp pain from within my belly. - No! - Wait, what the? - And I think I'm going into labor. (laughing) - Thank God. - Things weren't dramatic enough. - [Brennan] Yeah. You feel your fire break and a blast of fire (laughing) - You said it was okay to do nothing. - You gonna do nothing? Yeah, you feel yourself begin to go into labor. Is Leiland doing anything as he begins to fall? - Leiland, having his slow, kind of almost like indie rock soft jazz in his back mind as he takes in the idea that he's gonna die. He glances over and sees this flame jet burst out of her, and goes, You fucking serious? (laughing) - And just closes his eyes and accepts his fate. (wind blowing) - Efink. - Um. As I am still, I feel like not every, it's like the way an earthquake works, so it hasn't quite necessarily gotten to the helm and as there is no balloon holding it up, I do assume that magic is holding it up and I wonder if there's any sort of shard of wood or splinter that still has the magical flying power that might even half hold me up a little bit, that I could possibly maybe surfboard or something - [Brennan] So you - Titanic-style hold onto a door. - So this is going to be a Arcana check to identify said piece of wood, then coupled with an Athletics check to actually jump and grab it. - Perfect. - So we're gonna call both of those, well, the Arcana check on the fly, this is you doing hard arcane thing as the ship is rending in front of you. - (moaning) - So we'll call this a DC, I'll call it a DC 22 Arcana check. - Okay, and I have a plus five, so 17 or higher. (dice rolling) And that is a nine, so 14. - You look around and you're like, How does this ship work? (Amy laughing) And you're like, interesting, not what I need, ooh, that's elvish, that's nice, (screaming) Falling through the air, Sokhbarr. - Am I falling or am I flying? - No, you're flying. You can just head to the ground. - I'm just gonna drift, I'm gonna wander slowly as a cloud. (laughing) Just gonna drift gently down to the ground, I guess. I'll try to, like I assume that I can see where other people are kind of heading, trying to just get close to wherever people hopefully land. (Matt singing slowly) (laughing) - Awesome, Lilith. - Okay, so how can I see, 'cause when everything fell, I was sort of right near everybody. Can I see them? - Yes. - So I'm attached to the spar, am I falling at a quicker rate, like where-- - You're not falling at a quicker rate, you're holding onto Pickering right now, your children have all sort of jumped on your back, - [Erika] Uh-huh. - And you are starting to fall as well. It all depends sort of on what you wanna try to do. There's also kind of this explosion. Olag, you see also, is falling to his doom right now. But you have basically a snap second to try to do something. I will also say this: You guys are not going to fall clean, because you're not falling from a thing that was stationary. You're falling from a thing that already had a lot of velocity and movement, (wooshing) and was spinning and turning so you've got like a split second basically to try and do something. - Okay, and I don't- do I see everybody? - Make a Perception check. I'll say for every five points above ten, you can see an additional person. Not because it's not bad visibility, but because there's so much debris that it's obscured with ship parts. - Is this a disadvantage because-- - Yes it is. - [Erika] Okay. - Is it, has my aura dissipated? - It has not, so you still have your aura, so you're just gonna be a flat roll. (rolling dice) - (sighs) Uh, 13. - Um, cool. So I said every five points above ten, you can see an additional person. So ten means you can see one. You can choose whether you... You can choose which of the other PC's you are seeing. - Really? - Yes you can, you can choose one. (sighing) - I'm putting that on you. - Really? - [Amy] Wow. Alright, so let's see. When... Who's closest to the door? - I think the closest to the door is probably Markus. - So I can see Markus. And how far away is he? - At the moment of the explosion, probably about ten, 15 feet away. - Okay, here's what I want to do. So, instead of, so I'm clinging to the spar, I have my aerial shape as I drew my wild shape aerial is instead of becoming a different animal, I lean into the spider thing and so I have an aerial balloon, the kind that little baby spiders have. So I can drift with currents. So what I'm gonna do, is I'm gonna activate that but attach it to the spar. - Okay. I'm gonna say that your, mechanically in-game the way that's working is, your strength allows you to hold onto the spar of wood just fine, and you now have a fly speed due to your wild shape. So you're holding onto the spar, you have the balloon, you're holding onto it, what is your (inaudible) attempt next? - So I'm going to try and fly over and catch everybody. Both manually and if we do it in rounds, with vine whips. - Cool. The only person you can see before you guys are scattered distance-wise, beyond beyond range to catch up, is Markus. So you're going to have a chance to catch Markus. - Okay. - What is the spell you're using to do that? - Um... - Or if you're not using a spell, you are-- - Do I have the ability to manually to fly over - [Brennan] To just fly after him? - Fly after him and catch him? Or web whip has 30 feet. - Web whip has 30 feet. You can get manually closer to him with a fly speed, you can either use the spell or you can try to fly which will be a skill check. - I'll be, I will fly. - [Brennan] Okay. - Fly over. - Cool. So you fly over to get Markus, go ahead and all I'm gonna ask you to do is make a DC 20 Acrobatics check. - Oh gosh. - [Brennan] Okay. - And this is at disadvantage. Okay. (dice rolling) Oh no. (laughing) Uh, that's a Nat one. - You fly over on the spar, (wooshing) your kids are safe, you've got the balloon behind you, you (whipping) reach out for Markus, you see this web, Pickering says: Put out your arm, Captain Hook! And (wooshing) web (wooshing) goes and Markus is off in the smoke, in the column coming off of the Scary Volcano and you lose everybody there beyond vision. (wooshing) And you guys are falling through smoke. Not above the caldera, but just the latent smoke in the air that's close to it. And we're gonna go-- - I'm gonna check what I'ma do - Oh yes, Ify, sorry, yes! (laughing) - So, speaking of debris, Markus grabs a piece of debris as he floats through the air and readies his Fog of War and waits 'till he gets 30 feet from the ground. (laughing) - I mean, I'm gonna make you make a check. (laughing) There's gonna be some skill checks involved. That's the most wild shit I've ever heard. Incredible. We'll start altitude-wise, with Sokhbarr and Lilith. You guys (wooshing) are falling and Lilith, you're flying so you're (wooshing) right, you have Pickering, and you see the Sokhbarr bubble, the J'er'em'ih bubble. - Eew. (laughing) - You guys fall through- you guys fly at a slower rate through the smoke together - So the battle didn't go well, I take it? (laughing) - You were setting up for a while and and then I thought, ooh, oops, shitty directions. - It could've gone better. - Could've gone better, okay, alright. You got the crown! - Ooh! - You guys look out and there's a moment where a thin sliver clears in the smoke and you guys are descending slowly enough that you can kind of look through it. As you're looking through the smoke for a second, you guys behold white lights all throughout the lands of Gorgar. All the forces of men, elves, and dwarves that have gathered here, they have closed into a distance of probably about, you know, they're within maybe another hundred miles into Bloodkeep. And you're maybe about 20 miles or 30 miles from the Bloodkeep yourself. So you're almost halfway to the forces of light. You look and see them all and then you see the Scary Volcano begin to erupt and lava spilling out, so (scary noises) spilling down from it. (scary noises) You hear a roar of rumbling, you see that one of the outlier towers of the Bloodkeep has fully collapsed, it's still standing but you can see some cracks in the base, and you both look out and, Sokhbarr, you behold the Bloodkeep and all the forces of light, and you see this tower, and it strikes you for a moment how alike the Bloodkeep is to the towers of men and elves beyond it. You look at all the civilization of these orcs and trolls and you look out and they're all wielding the same weapons, and it's just more war, and you look out and see no swamp or tree or anything of that kind, and you smell the bodies of dead and burning orcs and alrochs that have been slain all in the name of Zaul'nazh. And Lilith, you have a moment, you look behind and you have Pickering under your arm, you see all your kids are covered in ash and soot and a lot of them are tending to their wounded brothers and sisters, except for the ones that are too wounded, they're being eaten. And you see that Russell looks up and goes, Mom, are we gonna be okay? - Yes. Everything's going to be just fine, Russell. - You look and see the Bloodkeep standing there, and for a moment, can only wonder if all of this would have come to pass if someone else had been sitting on that throne. And maybe not even from a place of power-hunger, but from a place of all the foolish decisions that have been made, not telling anyone the nature of the crown, not telling anyone what was going on with the hunt for it, and you think of all your children on your back depending on you and needing you to survive. You both have this shared moment together, hanging in the sky as you look at the Bloodkeep. (sighs) - What are we gonna do? (laughing) - You descend even lower in altitude. Efink, you are falling through the sky. - I'm technically still on the ship, like I'm holding the wheel. - You are very much not on the ship. There is no ship to be on! - You're right. - You're in a big cloud of chunks of wood, holding a wheel that steers nothing. - Thank you. - And the metaphor of holding a wheel attached to nothing and how that relates to your oracular properties - Ooh! - [Brennan] Is not lost on you. (laughing) - Spicy, spicy fall. - As you fall, it also is not lost on you that earlier this day, both your father and your husband fell as well. And you hear voices in your ear. Mistress Farseer, we bring you tidings of the future. All will be good. - Okay. Fuck, fuck right off. (laughing) - (inaudible) right now, get out of here, none of you my favorite. (laughing) - Please, Mistress, we know it's going to work out! We know it is! - Mmmhmm. (whispering mysteriously) Mmhmm. I do believe you. (laughing) - If you bring the crown to the throne, all will be well. - No, that's not gonna help, stop it. You've lied to me. - You will be queen, we know it, we know it. Go ahead and make a, give me another Arcana check and a Religion check. - Or, (mumbling) there was another thing I kind of wanted to do if I have even a slight chance is Death Ward myself, which if I'm reduced to zero hit points, I could still be alive with one hit point. - [Brennan] Cool. - Even if I'm mangled. - That's a good move. - Okay, cool. - Mmhmm. - Should I still roll the Religion, or is that action kinda taking- - Oh, the Death Ward's absolutely what you can do, but you should roll the Religion and Arcana in addition to that. You guys got time, by the way. (laughing) - Okay, okay. (laughing) - Oh, god. - Is it a nat one? - It's a nat one. - It's a nat one. - Okay, give me the Religion check as well. (laughing) - Okay. - Is it a nat one? - Two in a row. (laughing) - Oh my god. - This is a bad day. - This is the bad day. - Efink, you feel at your castigation, that you bidding them leave, that your spirits well and truly leave. And for the first time, for the first time in perhaps centuries, you are alone. With yourself. (laughing) (wind blowing) - Oh. - Markus. Can you-- (laughing) Oh no! Oh no! - Leave... - Truly couldn't get much worse than this. (laughing) - Why aren't there napkins? - Ohhh. - [Rekha] That's so mean. - In terms of axe structure, the break from two to three is what we call a Dark Knight of- (inaudible) (players laughing) Markus. You are plummeting through the wreckage of your ship, you see the bodies of Anne of Killcathery and Bad Henry floating through the air, your brother (wooshing) falling away, you see your treasure scattering through the winds, you have Fog of War ready here. As you are falling, you look around you and see the wreckage of this ship all around you. And you know that if Torkellen has fallen, the skyships of your father, like what will happen to the rest of the Forgotten Fleet, you don't know, and your hearing stone is still gone. That halfling took it. There is a potential future for you on the throne of Kell's Stoop. if you can make it there from here. What's going through Markus' head-- - Yeah, Markus is floating and you know, just this, him being in the air and flying, and him growing up in a sky kingdom, this actually does take him back. He has seen the word from this view. Maybe not as smokey. (laughing) And he finally has what he wants, he killed his brother, but you know, at the cost of Bad Henry and Anne and he's wondering if that's what he really wanted. He's wondering if that's what he really wanted, he knows that it's not gonna be easy to get back on the throne, he knows he's gonna have some opposition, and at the end of the day, political bullshit got him into this and is he willing to put himself through more political bullshit? He's not too worried about his ship, funny enough, because he's coming from an affluent kingdom, he's always had it but now that he's lost his crew, his ship, and a lot of his treasure, he now knows that if he loses his fellowing lieutenants, then he would've lost everything. And that in this moment, in the next moves he makes, when he finally hits the ground. It's probably gonna be the most important thing he's done in his life. - That moment of determination fills Markus as he plummets through the sky and the smoke and you ready Fog of War, and focus on that determination. You are a quick guy. Both mentally and in terms of your dexterity and this is going to be the most important act of dexterity you've ever done in your life. Leiland. (wind blowing) - Falling as the wreckage passes by him and he's accepted kind of this failure after failure after failure, his eyes close as he just feels the wind rushing past him, thinking a bit of all the sacrifices he's made for the lord that is now gone. What have I accomplished? Nothing. What reason is there to remain and endure? Can I roll a perception check? - Yes you can. (dice rolling) - Aw, never mind. - Add advantage. - Ope, there you go, add advantage. (rolling dice) - Natural 20. (gasps) Do I happen to see a parachuting halfling? (laughing) - One last chance at vengeance! - You do sense a parachuting halfling. - Yes! (clapping) - You smell on the wind a parachuting halfling. - Sensing Ham. (laughing) - Hamhead. (laughing) - In this deep pit of despair, suddenly this spark of life reignites. I'm taking you with me. (laughing) - As you fall and plummet, suddenly you're like I have to survive to destroy this halfling. You feel something plummeting near you, by the way, A little bit ahead of you, you actually catch up as you kind of are determined to hit the ground. (blowing) And you see wrapped in thorns and vines is Miles, who is plummeting near you and you see he's way more fucked up than you, and he knows this is it for him. You see (wooshing) you're falling side by side for a second, he looks over and with great sorrow, you see he's going through the same thing you're going through. He looks over and goes, (blowing) Is it true? You killed Declan? - It is. But his sacrifice may restore our Dark Lord. - Oh, can it, you hag! (crying) You killed- (blowing) He goes, and looks up and says, You know something? You were always his favorite! His first. What are you supposed to do when your entire soul is devoted to something? And you know that you'll never be in first place. - As much as you want to think that's something only you understand, it's something I deal with every day of this entire endless existence as well. (laughing) - [Matt] As I look over towards the fire-emitting woman, (laughing) in the other direction. - You see that Miles looks at you, Looks at you and you see the points of blue fire, you see he takes his helmet off and (breathes) his ghost looks and smiles at you and says, You really think that? You have no idea then, do you? - I'm sorry I failed you. And I failed every other thing that's been important to me. - Not you, Leiland, you have no idea about the Lord of Shadows. If you believe what you say, then you are a fool. And make an Insight check. (dice rolling) - That will be... Nine. (laughing) - Something is lost in you. Miles knows something you don't. - Like what what? What, what, what do you mean? That thing that you, (stuttering) you're about to-- (screaming) - No! (explosion) (laughing) - No! - And you are left with this huge question mark of what he could have meant. - Ahh! - And Maggie. You're falling through the sky, (panting) (fire blowing) just pain, fire, ahhh! And you, I mean, your focus has gone from your own impending death to being in labor. (laughing) You exit your rage, you are just fully concentrating on, you know, make a.. - Birth check? - Now here's a fun part as a DM, where I get to decide what the associated skill check is with giving birth. - I'll tell you it's Athletics. (laughing) - Animal handling. - Animal handling! (laughing) I'm going to say, go ahead and make a Const, a flat Constitution check for me. (rolling dice) - 17. - 17, awesome. You manage to, in mid-air, falling through volcanic ash and sparks, start to push, you're not finishing yet, and you, you're like (screaming) you're giving birth to this demon and you hear something going (demonic growling) Fire, green and blue flames exploding out of you, and you hit- (Rekha laughing) Boom, boom, boom, boom, all four of you hit at the same time. - Hit what? - Hit the ground. - [Amy] Ground. - Mmhmm. (dice rolling) - Rekha, you take (dice rolling) 71 points of damage. (laughing) (dice rolling) What do ya got? - 107. - You landed and are fucking fine. You (crashing) into the crater (screaming) - Whoo! (laughing) (dice rolling) - Leiland, you take (dice rolling) 66 points of damage. - All righty. - What's your hit point total? - Negative eight. (Brennan gasps) So I am unconscious and dying. - So unconscious and dying. - Efink, (dice rolling) - Get me to zero I dare you. (laughing) - Why would? - Yeah. (dice rolling) It's gonna be, 67, 73 damage. - Okay, I'm at five hit points. (laughing) - Oh my god. (laughing) Markus. We have a skill check to make. (laughing) - Yeah. - This is going to be a, I'm just gonna say that attacking this thing at, this is literally the, if an elevator falls and you jump at the last second. (laughing) Cool. So this is where you're gonna do a flat Dexterity check, no skill, no proficiency bonus to this. - Okay. - DC 20 Dexterity check. - Alright. (deep breath) (dice rolling) (sighs) It's gonna be 11. (deep breath) (laughing) - You get Fog of War, slash the ship, and teleport and you have only ever teleported with Fog of War moving under your own power, you learn an interesting thing about the physics of Fog of War, which is that as you exit the teleportation effect, you maintain the velocity. (laughing) So instead of hitting the ground going straight down, you shoot at like 90 miles an hour going horizontal. (laughing) (skidding) And just skidding, (groaning) (laughing) (bouncing) Yes, skipping like a stone on water. (rolling dice) (groans) You take ten, you take 61 points of damage. What's Markus at? - I am at 35. - You've fallen out of ships before. So you turn your fall from being lethal into (pounds) and just stand up. (panting) - Alright. - After fully wiping out, (rolling dice) Matt. Let's go ahead and get that D20 out. (spooky music) We're gonna roll some death saving throws. - Yes we are. - [Brennan] Roll number one. (dice rolling) - Natural one. (rumbling) (gasping) Failure. (laughing) Wait, how far away are we, are we-- - Quite far. - [Amy] Really? - Split up by a great distance. - How far away am I? - How far away are we? - Above great bubble fires. - Uh, cool. Let's go ahead and do this. We're going, I will ask you guys to do, everyone here make a Dexterity check. - Everyone? - No, those two, just our fliers. Make a Dexterity check. - At disadvantage? - Does that include J'er'em'ih? - That's not a disadvantage. - It includes J'er'em'ih as well. - Okay. - Eight. - Nat 20. (cheers) - Woo, baby! (clapping) Before your second roll of this, the J'er'em'ih bubble lands and pops and J'er'em'ih is fully restored to his normal form. You're right next to Leiland. - Cool. I have a Potion of Greater Healing, will that bring him back or do I have to do like a Medicine check or something, just sort of stabilize him first. - No, you do not have to stabilize him first, you guys take an action. I'm trying to think about what is the most fair thing here. - [Mike] Sure. - You fly down to the ground, Leiland's just made his death saving throw, how 'bout this. Each of you, 'cause J'er'em'ih is the one that rolled the Nat 20, J'er'em'ih deserves the credit. (laughing) (trilling) - How 'bout this, we'll do initiative. So you roll initiative, you roll initiative, and we'll just determine the order of that, it'll be another death save if Leiland goes first or you'll administer the potion before the next death saving throw. - I typically take advantage on initiative, do I do that here? - [Brennan] You have advantage on initiative. - Okay. (rolling dice) I have 12 plus three, 15. - 15, for you? - 13. - 13. You go first. (sighs in relief) You administer the potion, how many D4 is that, or you heal a certain amount of hit points? - Yeah, that is... Four D4 plus 4. And I take off Leiland's helmet (metallic clinging) and open his mouth, (groaning) (laughing) I'm covered in J'er'em'ih mucus, - [Rekha] Eew! - Smell vaguely of bog. Ah, here you go, buddy. (gurgling) (laughing) (deep breath) - [Brennan] Incredible. - What, what happened? - What, where are all of you? - What- hi. - J'er'em'ih saved you. (laughing) - You owe him a kiss. - You owe him a kiss. - And the soft haze and somewhat just completely bell-rung persona that I have right now, I look over at J'er'em'ih (trilling) - Five extra mouths appear on his face. - Eew, smiles! - While they smile, all the mouths meld together in one giant smile. - It wasn't until this moment that I think Leiland ever appreciated the true beauty of this magnificent beast, who crawls out of the crater he's left in the wrong floor. J'er'em'ih, thank you so much. You're so cute. (trilling) (crying) (slobbering) - You see that J'er'em'ih takes a little bit of your Vinguri blood (slobbering) and pockets it away in his body somewhere. (squishing) - Oh, fun. - And you see that he sort of changes color for a second, (squishing) into this weird gray and then you see (wooshing) pops into a translucent ghost form, he's see-through for a moment, and then (squishes) goes back to normal. (laughing) I look back over with one swollen eye, I'm like, Sohkbarr, he's beautiful. - Yeah, yeah, he's great. (laughing) - Oh boy. - Yes. We're gonna resolve the scene a little ways away from you over on the other side of the hill. You're in a crater, you feel something thud on the ground next to you (thudding) as you are giving birth. - Mmhmm. - You look over to you as you're pushing, (panting and gasping) just sort of like and you hear something thud with a sickening crack and a lurch. You look over next to you and you see, covered in blood, struggling to breathe, his suit torn to pieces. - No! John! - It's John Feathers. (gasping) John looks over at you, his eyes flutter, he goes, It's gonna be okay. - No it's not. - It's gonna be okay. - No, it's not. - I need you to breathe. - No, I need you. - I need you to breathe. - Be my true love. - You see he puts out a wing touches your hand, and he goes, Maggie, look at me. I'm a giant bird in a suit. - [Rekha] Yes. - But you need to breathe, okay? (deep breathing) Go ahead, make another Constitution save for me. (dice rolling) - 12 plus ten. - [Brennan] 22? You being to feel something (snarling evilly) You feel claws moving inside you (snarling) John goes, (laughing) It's okay, this is natural. - Really? - This is natural. - [Rekha] Okay. - Alright, you're about to lay an egg. - Okay. (gasping) It's an egg? - I assume, I don't know. (laughing) - No, don't you say it's on me, is it an egg - Look, I don't know. - Or is it not an egg? - I'll be honest, I don't even really know how my whole shit works so-- - Oh god, read a book, haven't you met a female eagle? - Of course, I have a girlfriend, I get how it works but I just don't-- - You have a girlfriend? - Yeah. - You never told me. - Yeah, Samantha Eagles. (laughing) - Of the Philadelphia Eagles? (laughing) - We're gonna roll first a death saving throw for John, I'll roll it in front of the board. This is John's first death saving throw. (dice rolling) Ten. That is a success. He looks over at you and says, Okay. I know it's hard, being a single parent is hard, - [Rekha] Yeah. - But you look at me. - [Rekha] Yeah. - You look at me, it's gonna be okay, alright? - [Rekha] Okay. - I just want you to breathe and focus, what are you feeling right now? (exploding and screaming) (growling evilly) - It hurts. (laughing) - It's all right, I heard, it's all right. - Okay, it's okay, oh my god. (dice rolling) - 18, another success. (whispering inaudibly) We're in this together, okay? - Yeah. - Okay, we're gonna get out of here. I'm gonna teach your kid how to fly, - Oh my god. - Sorry. - Teach him how to throw a- what do you throw? - I don't throw anything, we are bad at that, we mostly duke talons, that's mostly what we do. - Great, teach him how to claw stuff. - Yes, I'll teach him how to claw. Him? You know it's gonna be a boy? - I do. - He rolls another death save. (dice rolling) 12! He stabilizes. (calm music) He says, Thank you. And you see that stemming from your fingertips, red flame, not hot but just warm, enters John's wings. It grows and you watch as wounds heal. (gasps) And the power of healing flows through you from your own blood that you have never seen your father or Zaul'nazh or any other demon do. Your own miracle. - Fuck yes! (laughing) - And John looks and goes, I like the sound of that. Uncle John's not a bad call. And he stabilizes at zero, goes into unconsciousness, and you hear a cry (distant roaring) coming from the base of your hips, and-- - It's not an egg. (laughing) - You look down and see the most beautiful little bright purple baby with two little horn nubbins, sweet little cloven hooves, and a little forked tail that is crying down below you, its eyes are pools of jet-black ichor, it looks up at you with a look of complete death and desire to dominate and rule the world and a swirling vortex of red hellish energy (wooshes) goes from its navel back to your body as it looks up at you and says, (crying) - Oh no. Oh, no. - You take your child up into your arms, and the heir to the Throne of Blood rests in your hands. (gasps and screams) (laughing) - Thank god. - Is it a boy or is it a girl? - It's a little boy. - Oh! Wow, I don't know how to raise a boy. (laughing) - Wonderful. You guys, Lilith, you land (cracking) and you see Maggie next to an unconscious John Feathers, holding a little baby with a swirling fire umbilical cord. - Aww! - And you see Maggie lying on the ground there, injured but holding her child. (gasping) - He's beautiful! - I know, he's so cute! - She reaches out and touches his forehead. (Brennan laughing) He's beautiful. - Thank you. - And you touch his forehead and you see a sweet little black spider mark appear on his forehead. (squishing) into eight little spikes and it's this sweet little horrifying spider blessing rests on his head. - Aww, thank you for the spider blessing! - Lilith, as she looks around and sees her friends, and only people she really cares about, her children, (dramatic music) in dire danger, this new life. She sees the crown that Sokhbarr's holding and she realizes that none of this would have come to pass if it hadn't been for some stupid promotion! (laughing) The fire of hatred and vengeance is lit in her cold, jaded heart, and she says aloud, There will be no Dark Lord upon the throne, not ever again! (laughing) - Is that a challenge to the baby? - How would Maggie interpret it? - Is that a challenge to the baby? - Oh, no, no, no. I just meant your- I'm sorry. - No, it's okay. - Your boyfriend was a piece of shit. (laughing) - I get that, yeah, I get that. - Otherwise he should have done the right thing. - I mean, and we should've gotten married, but now I'm just kinda, through this whole thing I didn't need him once! That's kinda cool! - We will create a world in which your little one is safe. - You guys all congregate here in the craters, stumbling. Some of you are very low hit points right now, but you guys are all here in the crater together, you can hear- well, you can't hear, but, well off in the distance you see, are aware of the tramp of the forces of light. - I throw the crown on the ground. I sorta say, Well, we all fucked up pretty bad here I think. I wanna be straight with all of ya. I was pretty sure there was a non-zero chance that Zaul'nazh may have nagged in our agreement when all this was done. Truth is, no one really likes me or my whole thing (laughs) Or J'er'em'ih's thing. We're not great to be around and kind of just that Zaul'nazh at least had the decency to say he would maybe give us a shot. And that shot's kinda gone. So I think maybe this crown stands maybe an okay chance of this all going all right, possibly. Pretty slim. I don't know if you should be wearing it, or the baby should be wearing it, probably not Leiland but maybe, I don't know. Well I think... I think I'm done here. I don't think Zaul'nazh has given me the best chance of my swamp surviving. I don't think the forces of good are either, so I think I'm just gonna make a last stand back at my swamp. 'Cause I think that's all I got left. - Y'know, guys, based on everything I'm hearing, and everything I'm feeling, only one that matters is the one standing around us right now, not that crown. But, that crown still may be our only way out of this. - Wow. - With Davian dead, I am the rightful heir to Kell's Stoop. And my shitty brother and father did align with the forces of good. As an heir, I may be free from the crimes. This isn't a go-to plan but it's the best plan we have. As an heir, I can grant you all sanctuary or clemency or whatever. Back at Kell's Stoop. We give this crown to them, they do whatever weird hero shit they wanna do, we go back to my place, we live how we want. - Here's the thing. Each of us is poised in a unique way to make a better world for all the rest of us. - Oh, I am not. (players laughing) To be clear. - Efink. - What, all of my- - Don't say it- - Efink. - You're totally poised to make a better world! - What did we talk about? Stop saying bad things about my friends. - This is an objective statement. My entire divination abilities have absconded, is I think an important note. That being said, I have reinvested-- - Efink, Efink. - In myself and my instincts. - Efink! - But I will not be putting my name in any bucket. - I will say, Lilith is right. Your husband, the king, is dead. You are the only standing royalty. - Oh, fuck. - You shall rule the lands of men and elves. We have an heir to the Bloodkeep Throne. The swamps and the nature, you can be guarded by Sokhbarr, and you have your sky kingdom. Leiland, I'm sure there's something-- - Someone's gotta find something for you. - Mayor of the Dead? - Leiland doesn't need a kingdom. Leiland needs one thing. The head of Galfast Hamhead. - The Ham of Galfast. - Is there a greater crown than that? - Here's the thing though is, the Bloodkeep is crumbling and the men and their armies are coming towards us. Is there a way, from what we read in the book or from your visions, to somehow imbue the power that remains in that crown into maintaining the Bloodkeep but without summoning the Dark Lord? - Oh, I guess I could try. - Believe in yourself. - Look. As the resident magnificent failure-- (snorting) - And you are magnificent, you have to know. - (inaudible) wonderful at failing. - One, allow me to be the basis of your self-comparison. That's the best I can offer you. (laughing) But also know. (spooky music) These tricks that you've relied upon for so long, this divination, these spirits, these things outside that give you purpose, that's nothing. The true strength you need is in here. And you know why? Because, as I've learned, if a frying pan-wielding fucking halfling can be unkillable, can the puzzle to destroying the ship, escaping the volcano, (Rekha snorting) parachuting across these lands, and evade the entirety of the Dark Lord's trusted circle of generals. You can do anything you want. - Alright. (laughing) Your metaphor feels a little too personal. (laughing) - You can do anything. There are no rules anymore! (laughing) (inaudible crosstalk) - Your point is taken. (laughing) - What a mess! (inaudible) - You don't know what the fuck's going on! (laughing) - Leiland, cool. - Yes, the point is made albeit desperate. And I would like to interpret the book based on Lilith's-- - [Brennan] Interpret the book of-- - Of what is, now that we have a crown imbued with something what the options actually are. - You... (dramatic music) take the book out, and you look at it for a second. The through line through Efink's life-- - Don't do this. - Of a dad that never gave an emotional reaction to anything, a husband that you decided to marry just because he liked you, and spending countless hours concocting dark rituals to bring spirits to you, so that you would be able to like yourself because other beings gave you permission to. And you look at a book and now that the fucking cacophony of all those elven spirits you always kept in your head, Azra, Orgra, Abaseel, the spirit guardians, everyone you've always kept around to constantly check in and out and ask, How am I doing, how am I doing, how do I look, how is my magic? What are all the things that are worthy about me? That's all gone. The only thing left in your mind is your voice and what you think. Efink gets to decide right now if she's good at magic or not. - Okay. Okay, so she, yeah, you know what, I'm glad these spells are a little weird. She opens the book and she sees a bunch of pictures and designs and runes that god knows what they mean anymore and before she turns one more page, she looks at each of her compatriots, who know how duplicitous and I guess capricious she's been. (slow music) How much do we need this? - Our very lives and those of everyone we care about depend on it. - And she does realize that for once in her life, her magic is, or her self- there's magic within herself but it actually, it was nothing compared to the magic that she got from her friends. - Aww! (giggles) - And the bonding moments that they had every time the Dark Lord would issue forth an order and they'd share a glance and nudge each other and be like, What an idiot. (laughing) The wrong thing or the right thing, maybe, but they just wanted to share those moments. So in the moments that they had as friends, she decides she's not ready to let that go. - You look down at the book, and for the first time in such a long time, you realize that it's always been a part of you, it's always been in there, but it was always drowned out by the other voices. You have a moment where your ego is totally destroyed. It's gone. You have no thought of yourself so you just are. There's a moment where you're thinking my friends need me. And the "my" just disappears and just becomes friends' need. Friends need. And you are completely focused on doing this task to save the people you love with not a thought for yourself. You look at the book and are lost in the book, in the first true vision you've ever had, you don't notice anything going on yourself, all of you guys are blasted back ten feet, as Efink rises into the air, not in photo-negative, but surrounded by glyphs of pure white and black and gray elven magic, and then (magical sound) blasting into resplendant reds and greens and blues. All of the different truths of the world, good and evil, surround, and you see a vision of someone possessed of the light of the first gods. Elven blood back from the very first songs of the creation of the world. Efink, you don't notice anything, you're looking at the book for clues. And you watch this miracle occur. The book (wooshing) flutters open and as the pages move, you read past the runes, into the writing of the runes, and see clearly in your mind's eye, young Zaul'nazh at a fountain of blood. The vision that so scared you earlier today when you emerged from your pool. You see a young Zaul'nazh, broken, weeping, approach this fountain of blood. You see this fountain in the very bottom bowels of the Bloodkeep, the deepest, most cavernous point past everything, towards the hot core of this world. Zaul'nazh is weeping, you see he collapses at the fountain of blood, and rising from the fountain of blood, there is a figure, hooded, face invisible, just empty cowl, hands wrapped around a long pole in a boat floating in the blood. (water splashing) The boatman looks at Zaul'nazh, who weeps and says, (breathing heavily) I have to- I have passed off to the lands beyond. I am alone. Our mother's made me leader. Which is fucking crazy, Lilith is the obvious choice. He says, I'm gonna fuck this up. I know I'm gonna fuck this up. He looks up and goes, I don't know what I'm going to do. It's supposed to be me. The boatman croaks and says, Gogmoth is gone. There must always be a vessel to lead the forces of evil in this world. You'll learn the law. You'll find ways of creating your own power. But, you must sacrifice everything to claim that which you need. The boatman extends his hand and you see that Zaul'nazh reaches into his chest and trades out his own soul for something in the shape of a gleaming crown, a fiery crown in his hand. The boatman extends it, he takes it. Looking into the fountain of blood, the boat and the boatman sink back into the fountain. He looks at the flaming crown, he says, I'm no longer myself. I am only the crown. (dramatic music) I would give up everything for this crown. (wooshing) The crown goes into his chest, and you recognize the secret of this crown more, and the secret of that it means to rule over the world and to be the leader of the forces of evil. What you have concealed in the crown that you have forged, back in the forge in the Scary Volcano, that is not Zaul'nazh's soul, Zaul'nazh's soul is in the lands beyond, being punched and kicked by Gogmoth still. And still getting the shit beaten out of him. That's where Zaul'nazh is, you saw it. So the part of him that was left in Declan's crown, that is still left here in Leiland's crown, is the soul of what it means to rule here. And the crown that you hold has within it the potential to see a new world, and a new definition for evil, a new definition for the forces of darkness. All that you would need to do is bring that crown to that fountain of blood. - There were no eyes rolling back in the head, and she doesn't gasp back to life, it's almost like she was reading. She does all the glyph things, she sits back and she's normal as hell and tells you what happened. - Wait, what do you mean, it just, like there was a lot of lights, but you were completely dry the whole time, so I was like very (laughing) confused if you were actually doing that glyph-- - [Brennan] You're so dry. - I didn't even recognize you though! - How'd you do magic dry, I thought you had to be wet to do it. - I thought that was a thing for you! - I mean when I say, Efink, that is the hottest you've ever looked, darling. - Truly radiant! - I don't think we need to discuss my outward appearance anymore. (gasping and laughing) - It's whatever you want! - Efink, where did you find your power? - Oh, within all of you. - Oh, well, I was entirely wrong. (laughing) But I'm very happy for you. (laughing) That's wonderful. - Wait, what did you think I was gonna do? - No, nothing, that was great, I'm so (clapping) (laughing) You were magnificent. - Oh. - Maybe I don't have to go back to the swamp. - Oh please don't. - Maybe we'll give it one more go, where? - We do have one last decision to make. Who's gonna take the power? - I think the most important thing is we do decide what the definition of evil has to be. And I think it has a lot to do with not necessarily one ruler. - Are we gonna get ahead of ourselves, I mean like sometimes you try to imagine success and you imagine the trappings of success before you actually do the work to be successful. - That's true, sometimes it's- - If we have a committee, maybe. - I feel like-- - It's one thing to imagine who the ruler's gonna be, wearing the crown, but like-- - I'm actually having deja vu - We've gotta (growling) it's too crazy with all this shit to do. - Right, your house before the party, yes yes. - Wonderful, if you just wanna take a second we'll do another short rest here-- - Mmhmm - [Brennan] in the caldera, because you all crashed. Do your stuff. And then after you get a chance to do so, let's just go around the table and say what our current HP are. And Rekha, we can start with you if you wanna let me know what your HP are. - I'm back at max, 220. (laughing) - After giving birth! - [Brennan] And falling out of the sky. - It's easy! - After using all the hit dice, I am at 95. - [Brennan] Awesome. After using the rest of mine, I'm at 42, but I want to reserve the right to heal myself and other people. - Cool. - [Amy] After this. - Yes, absolutely. - I've used all mine, J'er'em'ih's used all his, and I've given J'er'em'ih a potion of greater healing. We're both at the maximum of 61 for me and 91 for J'er'em'ih. - And Lilith. - Uh, 114. - [Brennan] Awesome. - I have no hit dice, so I just, you know, stood there while everyone rested. - What? - You used up like five or whatever? - Hell yeah, I burned all my hit die after the last fight, 'cause I got beat up pretty bad last time. - So where are you? What is your-- - 35. - Jesus! - [Rekha] Okay. - Yeah. - I'm going to heal-- - Protect the rogue! (laughing) - I shouldn't be going head-to-head as much as I do. - You got brewed up something pretty tasty, if you want some. - Yeah, I'll slurp all night. - I've got two more potions of greater healing. - I'll slurp it. - Is my son a different player than me? - Yes, your son is an NPC, you see that (wooshing) in a blast of flame, the umbilical cord disappears, and you are holding-- - Aw, I wanted to eat that. (laughing) - Incredible. - And be it, you're holding your bouncing baby boy. So I will play your baby. For the most part your baby is just extremely newborn, and is sort of hugging onto your body, now being very still. - Okay. - This is a Baby Mario situation. (laughing) - Oh no. (baby crying) - No, I'm still scarred by that. - How did you know one of my name options? - You also see that there is a stabilized but unconscious John Feathers on the ground next to you guys. - (sighs) John. - Can I do a Medicine check-- - Please! - or Animal Handling or Nature? - I like to have an Animal Handling. - Give me an advantage Animal-- Give me an advantage Medicine check. - Advantage Medicine check. (rolling dice) Great. (rolling dice) That is 17 plus, you said medicine? - [Brennan] Yeah. - So that is 17 plus eight, we're looking at-- - [Brennan] Whoa, 25. - Yeah, 25. - You see that John is actually still at zero, is still stabilized, but returns to consciousness, looks up and goes, (clearing throat) Hey, Sokhbarr, how ya doin'? The kid alright? - I look over at Maggie-- - Aww, hey there, bud! He looks over and he sort of nuzzles his beak against his head. - Aww! - And goes, he's beautiful, Maggie. - Thank you. - Really beautiful. - Really? Thank you. - He's a lucky kid. - I'll tell you what, gang, I think, I think we're gonna call it here, I'm lucky to be alive, I'm feeling something in my wing fucked up, I think staying here at high altitude for a little while is gonna be good for me. - You don't want to go underground in the deepest cavern of the Bloodkeep to find a fountain of blood? - Yeah, I'm fully good, man. (laughing) I do appreciate that. - We're gonna miss you so much if you stay. - He smiles and goes, You know, it's an interesting thing, 'cause the eagles are often called the freest of all the races of Elna and you know, it doesn't really mean anything to be free if you can't choose to go off on a wild tangent, joining up with the bad guys, buy a suit and a skin hat, make six great friends all in the same day. Sorry, seven, J'er'em'ih. (laughing) (trilling) - And eight! - And he says, and the little guy! He goes, (clears throat) You gotta name for the little guy in mind yet? - Well, I was debating, you know. Do I name him after his father? I don't wish to name my son after a man who couldn't commit, and who ruled without a soul, an evil land that could just be evil, but was also soulless and evil. I thought instead I would name him after somebody who tries to have a good heart. And truly fails so much, so astonishingly. All the time. But continues to get back up with a purpose. Leiland. Junior. (laughing) - [Matt] You watch as she says that, Leiland mouths the word John, fully expecting it to be John. (players laughing) - [Matt] He goes, I'm sorry, what? - I'm naming my son after the name of yours that I prefer. - What? Why me? I've...(laughs) I'm going to be honest, I don't think I've really brought anything to the table ever. I've failed my purpose, that I was brought back to life for, I've done nothing but been an anchor attached to all of you this entire time, I'm not even certain why J'er'em'ih thought to bring me back from the ground there! I-- - Leiland. First of all, J'er'em'ih's an excellent judge of character. (laughing) Secondly, we've all fucked up so monumentally. I mean, to the extent that you are a failure, you're hanging out in a big group of, I mean, I haven't been back to my swamp in months, I have no idea what's going on there. I mean, we've all really beefed it hard, and you know, I don't think that you've failed as hard as you think you have. - When you're only paying attention to your own failures, of course you're going to put everyone else on a pedestal. You won't notice that we're all fucking up too. - Yeah, I totally say when you said, like, Imma make things chill, when y'all froze that guy, I was like, that's tight, but you know, everyone didn't hear so I pretended like-- (laughing) - Oh, Markus, that's beautiful! - I don't begrudge with that all, but that's... Thank you, I-- - Remember when I suggested we actually fuck off and join the good side? (laughing) - Yeah, that was very confusing. - So I'm just saying. - You only fell off that ship in the first place 'cause you were trying not to hit me. - Leiland, yes that's, you've realized that's true, you know and Leiland, as you sit there kind of confused by all of this camaraderie and friendship, you see that your hands at your side, you feel something, Maggie's standing right next to you, and you look down and you see a tiny little hand wrapped around your finger. And you see that with jet-black eyes, this little newborn infant looks up to you and goes, "Kneel." (laughing) - Maybe. Maybe the Leiland destined for greatness was not this one. But if I'm going to serve something, I'll happily be the one to carry the name farther than I could. - Godfather. (laughing) - Yeah! - Leiland Junior. - (baby talk) Kneel before me. (laughing) - Yes, of course, I'm very good at it, I've been practicing for 200 years. - Wow! (laughing) Your first command! (laughing) - And it's really this sweet, wonderful moment as Leiland kneels before the tiny child clutching his finger, he looks up with a big smile. (wooshing) Suddenly the wind shifts, the temperature drops about 40 degrees, his eyes burn with vibrant blue flames, and he says, On this day, let it be known that this soul is bound in eternity to you, Leiland Junior. For all of the decades from this day forward, I will slay all that you require, I will be at your right side, I will ensure no harm comes to you. (wooshing) - Can't you keep anything in like 80 percent? (laughing) Jesus Christ. - And I will pick up diapers, Sokhbarr. - I will clean your bottom. I will ensure all the corners of the furniture are well padded. (laughing) - You see that the baby just smiles a weird gummy smile and just wipes frost off its face. (squealing) (laughing) Wonderful. So you all stand in this caldera. Yeah, John Feathers-- - You know, I think maybe falling out of the sky was the best thing that ever happened to us. (laughing) - This is a good day! - It really puts things into perspective! - Efink, did you relay what you saw to us? - Yes, I did. - Do we know anything other than just like, there's a fountain of blood, it's deep in the Bloodkeep, and we don't really know how to get there? - Mmhmm! - Question. I'm just going through all my potions, what have I got here, (clattering) I've built up a lot of stuff here. I have a Potion of Clairvoyance. Which can let you see a place now that you have seen before. - [Brennan] Okay. - If Efink used that, could she see where this blood fountain is and maybe get a sense of, I don't know, passages, ways in, anything to come in and like get our bearings or something? - Yeah! Absolutely, absolutely. That's no sweat, that's not even a roll. If you use that Potion of Clairvoyance, you can absolutely find a way through the Bloodkeep. - Yeah, that sounds good. I did cure wounds myself, so I'm at 55, and I'm-- - You are, can you hit me with that too? - Yes I can. (laughing) - Blast these with a hammer. - Cure wounds is a second level as well, and that'll be, oh god. - Oh god! - [Amy] Okay. I rolled two ones. (booming) So you get seven hit points. Isn't that the second time? - They were D8s, so the odds are higher. - The odds are higher but not- still very impressive. - Still depressing. (laughing) - Depressing and impressive and dumb. (rolling dice) Okay, cool. But yes, I also, I mean, I don't- should I heal our friend John so he's not just up here? - John looks and says, The only eagle that saw me wearing this suit is dead, so you don't have to worry about that. (coughing) - Man, that's ominous as hell, and rad. Oh, I meant to tell you, John, after all this, I feel like we could make it. Maybe at Kell's Stoop. I still owe you a nest. - He says, hell yeah. And I owe you a drink, my friend. You turned my life around. - He drinks? (laughing) - I never had before, glasses are hard with beaks. But I'm gonna figure it out. - I mean pants, a suit, and a glass of alcohol, I feel like it's a new world for you, John. - It's a brand new day. - You're amazing. - Good luck, Leiland Junior. It's a pleasure to meet you. - Wanna see a second option for the name? John Feathers the Eagle the Baby. (laughing) - You see he says, I'm honored, Mags. That's great. Alright, you kids get outta here, huh? - Yes. - Goodbye, Feathers! (caws) (laughing) I take the Potion of Clairvoyance out of my bandolier and give it to Efink and say, Whenever you need to use it. - Um, now. (laughing) - [Rekha] This instant. - The way that she does things is the most effortless, graceful way that you've ever seen a human move, it's like she learned kung fu but instead of kung fu it's ballet, and everything she does is picture-perfect and the curves of her body do everything right, but she's no longer concerned with that. (sipping drink) - Clairvoyance, you just down it (angelic choir) and you see a perfect trail though the Bloodkeep leading down into this original, it's like a tomb or a temple, almost to forces of evil more ancient even than Gogmoth if possible. Rather things nameless and unpersonified and ideas of what it means to have wickedness in the world. Deep, deep, deep in the heart of the Bloodkeep. And you see a path there. Also, clairvoyance on the Bloodkeep in general, you see chaos. Just fucking chaos. You know, the word got out, people are fucking looting, We're talking a bunch of goblins and trolls and orcs, like hey, ding ding ding, the good guys are on the way, we got no boss, woohoo! Like it's just fucking wild in the Bloodkeep right now. And the only person that was in charge, Olag, just fell out of the sky with you guys. So you guys head off towards the Bloodkeep all together. - What about, were there any, I guess secret entrances that didn't make us go full-hog into the-- - Maybe there's a bird that's like quacking out a stone at a very specific time, but he's definitely gonna be quacking there the time we need! (laughing) - When the thrush quacks! (laughing) Incredible. Well yeah. Go ahead and if anyone wants to make a Stealth check, I'll allow you to use and make the Stealth check. - Um, can I-- (gasps) - [Brennan] What's that? - I rolled a natural 20! (clapping and cheering) - You know everything, you know every room and hallway, and tunnel that goes through this place. You begin to, yeah, you guys head off to the Bloodkeep. As you begin to go, let's see, so you guys leave John Feathers, he's like high up on the thing, you guys go, you're, like to a bridge over a lava flow, that's destroyed this orc village, the lava's just spreading out across the plains now, which is hopefully slowing the advance of the forces of light a little bit, and you guys see that you, even if you wanted to just flee, there's no way too, you're hemmed in by lava on one side and the forces of light on the other. It's like the only way out is in. You know, like, just have to go deeper. - Before we leave, is Olag's dead body there? - You do not see Olag's dead body there. (groans) - You can take time to search if you want, but you do not see-- - I'd like to do a quick cursory search. - Yeah, give me an Investigate check. - Okay. (dice rolling) (sighs) It's an eight. - Cool, no worries. Anyone else can make one who wants to as well, but-- (rolling dice) - 15 plus one, 16. - 15 plus one, 16, you go for if you want (rolling dice) - I'm looking for Hamhead. (laughing) 20. - 20 for Hamhead, cool. - J'er'em'ih and I will both investigate, I guess. (rolling dice) J'er'em'ih's not very good at it, unless he's just sniffing or something? The best thing he can do is just general Perception of sniffing for Olag. But here. (rolling dice) Ooh, not good, that is a seven minus... Investigation is intelligence, right? - [Brennan] Yep. - That's a three for J'er'em'ih, and for me, that is a four. (laughing) (clapping slowly) - What's going on? - With that 20, I will say that you got for looking for Hamhead, and you find actually where Olag landed, number one, you see there's no body there, there's some blood for sure, some debris around, and you spot a couple tears staining the rock. - A mutant eye. - As though someone wept here. - He wanted to die, so help him now. - As though someone really badly wanted to die here. You also do see a big scrap of sailcloth of a parachute, and tracks leading away. I will roll something back here. (rolling dice) Okay. Leiland arrives at this scrap of sails and you see the trademark footprints of a shoeless, barefoot li'l wonder headed in, you know the wind blows, sparks and ash move past you and you see lava flowing underneath you. You see the footprints are about an hour and a half old at this point, and they're heading in the opposite direction from the Bloodkeep towards the forces of light. - Be careful. I pull out my runeblade, (clinking of metal) look in the direction and begin to follow the tracks, take like three steps (footsteps) and stop and look back at the rest of them all in the middle of their search towards the Bloodkeep. I look back and take another step towards the tracks after Hamhead's stop, close my eyes, take a deep breath, look back, at Maggie, Leiland Junior, Our day will come. (laughing) Hamhead. It will come. I turn back and head back to join them going, Hey! Ham's still alive! Fucking still out there somewhere! (laughing) - Your hexblade curse rings out across the land (ringing) and somewhere far in the distance, a little whistling halfling (ringing) turns around- Right well, that'll be the day, sir. (laughing) (cheerful singing) - One day we won't just kill that halfling, we'll kill all the halflings. (laughing) - That's beautiful, Sokhbarr! - And we never specified because I'd thrown the crown on the ground, but I guess I'll pick it back up as we go who, who has it, I guess I should've-- - Yeah. - Before they go down, Lilith says, Oh, okay, everyone off, everyone off. (skittering) And she addresses all of them and, You can gather all any of your brothers and sisters that are hungry at the moment. And (skittering) I guess just anybody around. - Whoa! - Relax, one day you'll have little ones of your own crawling around, then it won't be pretty with 3000 of them. (laughing) - 3000, Jesus. (laughing) - That sounds hard for a human. - Why thank you. Mommy is going into a very dangerous situation, and those of you who don't wish to go along with her may stay here but know it may be the last time that we see one another. - All the spiders look around (skittering) They all sort of stare at each other, they look up at you and you see Jason goes, (sniffling) and a spider tear forms. Mom? That's bullshit! We're family! And if one of us is in danger, we're all in danger! If one of us is in trouble, we're all in trouble. You're gonna go back in there. You see Jessa puts a big old arm on his back and says, If you're in danger, then we're gonna help you. (sniffs) Fuck, fuck, this is stupid! - Ah, we've been over this, feelings aren't stupid, honey. It's very, very good to express yourself always, crying's not a bad thing. - I give him a little tiny finger and-- (laughing) - Aww! - You see that Jessa looks up and says, Mom, I'm sorry, you're stuck with us. And Russell goes, Whatever happens, it'll happen to all of us together. (inaudible whisper) (skittering) They all crawl back up on your carapace, and go-- - You did a good job with those ones. - Yeah, you really do. - My special little boys and girls, and you know what? In some ways you've all done so much to help raise them. They've had such good role models around. - As the daughter of my, if my dad told me to fuck off, I'd fuck right off. (laughing) Those kids are good. (laughing) - You see that all the little spiders start cheering on your back, and go, Go Team Spider! Go Team Spider! Go Team Spider! And just are cheering and you see that Jessa (skittering) creates a little silk banner, a black banner with a little white spider logo on it, with a little crown on top of it, and it says Go Team Spider on it. - Aw, she's so talented. - My special little girl. You're all Mommy's special little girls and boys. - They all cheer and and they (skittering) - I hate to say this but, I've got a good feeling about this. (laughing) - Yeah, nothing bad from here on out! Let's make a pact! (cheering) - You guys all head out towards the Bloodkeep together. That was so touching. (laughing) I love that so much. You go ahead, you know the perfect path to get there, you guys head off towards the Bloodkeep together. (whistling) You can see chaos goblins running around, you see a sort of warg running around, you see that sort of a partially-singed Bezo runs up and he goes, Whoa, well hey there, Sokhbarr, this is a-- - Bezo, you made it through! - Aw, I sure did, I've eaten a bunch of people! It's been wild! - You've been having a great time then! - I guess so, everything's just fucked, we're all fucked! - I mean, look. I don't know if we're totally fucked yet, we're working on something here but I mean, you probably wanna get out of here if you can, Bezo. - I sure do, hey Sokhbarr, you're alright. I'm gonna run off into the hills and just live like a wild fucking thing, I don't need this whole army. - That's the dream, isn't it? - You and me both, brother. Take care! (neighing) and he gallops off. You guys get to this sort of back entry, little guard tower, open a post, walk through. You just hear screams and howls around you, all over the place as you start walking. You take a really circuitous route, actually, just to get, like, you don't take the straightest route, because you also, your clairvoyance is allowing you to avoid-- - Yeah, you gotta see it as if it's like a beautiful mind, but instead of a beautiful mind, it's one of Tolkien's maps. So it's like cool writing and lettering, and calligraphy-made mountains and tunnels. - I just wanted to say, as we pass by the library, I just poke my head in and I wave this dispel magic. - You see that in the library, there is an enormous towering basically like a titan of books. (booming) And you see that it's smashing its fist against the wall. You dispel and all the books fall down (paper crumpling) and in the midst of the fist, you see Keldriel just (groans) (splats) and sort of splat on the ground, and she goes, (screaming) - No, no, but Keldriel, seriously, you can find one on a sliding scale, just see somebody, see a specialist. - We're leaving and you can't come with us. - Good luck with the keeping of horrors! (shuddering) - You guys head off further on your way. You guys go a little further, you see this chaos in the Market of Spines, all the different booths have been looted and everything like that. You see in the chaos, near the hall that leads to the tortury, you see Master Ipskix just looking deflated, sitting on a thing, and you see there's a bunch of little note cards around him, and he's just like writing stuff on note cards. He looks like he's gotten hit in the head or injured, and he's like stabbed somewhere, but there's a lot of dead bodies around him too. Just sort of scribbling, he looks up as you guys approach and goes, Hello, it's me, Master Ipskix. Can I ask a question, is this anything, I know that my arms and bones are, and that's why they always called me a sawbones. - Ipskix, I just think you shouldn't be doing this. - No, I'm trying to work on just, honestly, just a ten minutes, just a tight-- - Okay, no. - Look here. Ipskix, you got a talent. You just need to train it. You got me chuckling a few times through the year. - Leelee's injury! - But you have to figure out the science behind it, it can't just be random scattershot approach where you just say whatever the hell you want. - Take a class or something. - Also, you seem to really love torturing people. - Yes. - I do, but it's like, I get delight from it, and there's this part of me that's like-- - Or maybe you're supposed to talk about what you know! Just sort of work that into your act, you know, go with things that are funny from your infernal life. - I'll say, you have never been funnier than when you were just a lighting on a victim. - Look, I might regret this, but if you come down to, uh, Kell's Stoop, there's a comedy school that's The United Classes of Buffoons. (laughing) They got chills there. We got what you need, we can teach you a few things. - You know, I was sort of like, I'd like to do that, but this, I sort of learned my comedy's kind of edgy, you know, it's demented, and it's-- - Putting labels on yourself is wrong, you should let the audience put the label on it. - Yeah, also you totally missed a solid pun there, you know, and then you sit in that. - What, what is it, what-- - You said your comedy's edgy and you have a big blade connected to-- - Fuck! It's right here! - Just be present, be present, and they'll like, I dunno. I just can't help you with this any more. (laughing) - You guys leave Ipskix to scramble away as rocks begin to start to fall all around you in the marketplace. Awesome, you guys sort of continue on your way. Oh, I just realized something. You see, he's literally been hiding behind your tresses the entire time, he sees your hair parts and open the curtain, leaning back. (laughing) - Well is it safe to come out again? - Ah! - It's Old Pickering, no, I can-- - Ah! There he is, he's a good captain. - Yeah, yeah, we used to fight, we survived. I feel bad about Henry and Anne but, you know. There's a reason you're the oldest person on my crew. - I can't die! Ruin them away, Leiland and me, and I'm down a hand, but I'm still breathin'. - We, we're gonna, this is just the first part of a big mission, 'cause we'll have to take Kell's Stoop. - I could probably heal your hand, I just need about four hours of meditation. And we haven't come across any time. - Well, isn't that just the cut of it, you know, there's so much to do in this world, I always thought that I'd want to see the far-off mountains to the north and everything like that, but you know, you get what you get and you don't get upset. - Here's something I have for you, Davian. Uh, Pickering. Use the stone, the hearing stone, to touch base back at Kell's Stoop. - Ooh, I can do that, that's right. You see he takes his little hearing stone out and goes, Touching base at the Forgotten Fleet and everyone there! And he starts to sort of talk to people in Kell's Stoop, as you guys continue on your way. As you are-- - That man shot a flintlock into a room full of gunpowder no less than three times. (laughing) - I just wanted to say, Bad Henry thought he was a bad pirate, but that guy. (laughing) - Cool. You guys arrive at a chamber off to the in-between floor. This is the Cathedral of Gogmoth, within the sort of heart, so kind of like the Lord of Shadows lives at the top, and directly down the spine of the Bloodkeep. So at the base of that, in this huge cathedral, you see (wooshing) up and away, huge torrents of blood, a yawning mouth and this horrifying imagery. You see the central of dark cathedral. - As we're looking at this, we kind of approach this grotesque visage. Just staring at it, stop a minute, leaning in the direction of Maggie, go, It's taken me a bit of thought with that, but I've really begun to realize how unhealthy my relationship with Zaul'nazh was. - It's-- - A borderline obsession. - It is crazy, I mean I was dating the guy and I was like, he's a (mumbling). - I think I may have left him, and I think I put a lot of unearned loathing on you for that. I am so sorry. - You know, I'm so glad we're talking about this, I think I was kind of doing the same, you know he was my one purpose, and you know, - Same! - and then he's gone, it's like, what am I gonna do with myself, Mom? - That's true, what about your own career options now? You've got a whole bunch to think about. - We don't need that, what about that? - As you guys say that, you actually see that a flickering image appears and in the giant, truly, to figurine scale, almost like this big, so like a hundred foot across stature of yawning Gogmoth, and it's up here. Deep in its eyes, two flames light, and though the statue does not move, you hear an echoing voice as though traveling from planes beyond this one echo from the mouth. And you hear, (growling evilly) - Maggie, my daughter. - Speaking of unhealthy relationships. - Haha, you're talking to me. - God. Hi, Dad. - I want you to know I'm sorry for losing my shit earlier. Zaul'nazh has been wrapped in chains of fire, and he's being pulled apart across the Burning Springs of Shernau. - You know what, good. - Great, I don't care what he's up to anymore. - You deserve to know the truth. And you guys see that a little door of flame (wooshes) opens in the cathedral, and like a little knave, for the chapel area, too, and you see that just images of fire of Leiland and Maggie appear there. And you see the statue looks down and says, (gasps) Is that my grandson? - Yes, it is. - Oh, what's his name? - Well, it's Leiland Junior. - Oh. (laughing) - What? What, Dad? What? - I dunno, I just thought, um... - Name him after a guy who's like, never here? - Okay, so it's always my fault that I was banished by all the gods' blight. - I dunno. - It's my fault that I wasn't around? - I dunno, you put yourself in that situation all the time. - I would love, I would absolutely love to be wandering the world of Elna again. You think I wouldn't love that? You think I like having to talk through a fucking statue? - Oh, oh, I don't know what you like, Dad, because you never open up to me! - You know, maybe I'd leave myself more open to you if you were a little bit more, tender, you know? - Ohh, tender. We're talking tender now? (wooshing) - I shut down their communication real quick, and I was like, I couldn't do it for you before, but I can do it for you now. (laughing) (wooshing) - You see that vanishes, but you see that there's still this flaming door that has just images of you guys in it, just (blowing) and you see there's almost like a vision though it. But it's of course your choice whether or not to walk though. - I mean why, why is it happening? I have to know. - I'm not gonna lie, the curiosity is very strong right now. - It's very strong, I mean-- - As the king's new High Advisor, I have to tell you I don't know. (laughing) - How far in front of the door? (excited crosstalk) - That's really beautiful! - It's a single door where you both have your images in it. - Okay. - Like side by side? (laughing) - [Brennan] Yeah, they're side by side. - If you leave, shall I hold the baby? - Yes. - [Brennan] You see a bunch of little spiders go, aww, let's look at it, aww look, he's so little! Oh, his skin's soft instead of hard! - Please don't bite him. (laughing) - You see that he actually bites one of your children's ankles and they're like, wow! - I'm sorry. - Oh, this kid rules. (laughing) You see that he like gnaws and chomps on your finger. (laughing) - Is that your b- hard, - Yeah, it's biting me! It's the same feeling as when the lava mog, you know, it's just like aww, this is great! - You guys walk in and you begin to see images of the entire life of Zaul'nazh. You see images of him working with Lilith back in the day, and then Lilith being sidelined, and you see lots of times of him-- - You will see, you definitely see them hooking up. (laughing) (screams in disgust) - Z had never told me that! - Like, boy, he like never stayed the night, instead it was just like a, you know. - Yeah, raw, physical, and there was all like (sighs) Exactly. It's just like, you grow up with someone for 800 years. - Yeah. - Yeah, exactly, that's gonna happen. - You see Zaul'nazh and Lilith-- - It's like weird stuff. Weird stuff. - Uh, okay, we'll talk later. (laughing) - You guys move up through from there. As you're looking around, you see images of him, you see Zaul'nazh speaking to other demons, and other ancient spirits of evil, you see also the other Vinguri. You see the way he talks about you, Maggie, when you're not around. - Fuck. - You basically just see him going like, sort of speaking to these elder spirits of evil, being like, Yeah, yeah, I really, she's, you know, she's completely hot, she's stacked, she's great. - Stacked? - You see he says, and you know, we get along fine. Sure, we get along fine. And you know, it's good, the marriage will be a good idea. I mean her dad's Gogmoth, it just sort of makes sense. So it's hard, it's really hard though, is you know, it'd be nice to keep the field open a little bit. And you see that also he says, it's like, I'll be honest. If I had my druthers, there's a lot of the Vinguri that look really good, I mean Leiland, have you seen that guy? I mean I would love to send him on missions and watch that dude walk away from it. (laughing) (gasping) - If you've ever seen a wraith turn red. (laughing) - You see as you turn red, you watch images of the other Vinguri, you see that he has Miles and Oswald and Declan in front of him, people like that, you see he's going like, look at you, you're fucking tattered, there's not even, you don't have any tatters Leiland has in his robe. Sorry, he actually says, Kraz-thun's got a million tatters. He's got tatters all over the place. He keeps his shit tight. He keeps it tight, like he's workin'. You look like a fuckin' mess. Torbael, come on, let's keep it (snaps fingers) Let's keep it up here. And you just see all the other Vinguri as he like compliments you and praises you in all these weird, gross, twisted ways, and uses you to put down the other Vinguri. And you guys are just in this (wooshing) fiery vortex of all these images of Zaul'nazh. - What a fucking pig! (gasps) - I agree. - Oh, do you? - I do, actually. (gasping) - I can't believe it. You think you're with someone for a hundred years and there's some- behind the scenes, they're talking about you like they're in a fucking locker room? (laughing) - Declan, I am so sorry. (wind blowing) - It's alright, my friend. Resting is not such a bad thing. (wooshing) And Declan disappears into the maw of Gogmoth. Outside, as you guys (wooshing) The door vanishes, you're both standing there back in the cathedral again. Having gotten a sight, I imagine it's first of all, all of Maggie's worst fears confirmed. - Mmhmm. - And then for Leiland, I think this bizarre moment of like, winning the lottery after you've already realized that money can't make you happy, or something-- - Yeah, very much so. - Yeah it's this moment of like, I was held in esteem that I spent centuries searching for, by a guy who didn't deserve how hard I served him, and how hard I worked for him. And you guys are standing there side by side, in the Cathedral of Gogmoth, with your friends nearby. - Was there cool shit in there? (laughing) - What were they showing you? - Do you regret not bringing the baby? Was it something the baby should've seen? - No. - No. (laughing) - Alright. - You deserve so much better than him. - Likewise. (Brennan laughing) What a crazy fucking spell we were both under! - You're telling me. - Gosh! - We should go on a shopping trip! (laughing) - Yes! - I'm all about this! - So into it! - And I have some color schemes I think will look wondrous on you. - Oh, no. - Yes! - Seriously, I-- - Yes! Yes, Bogmoth. If you-- - What, I'm sorry? - Bog? What is your name? - Wait, what did you say? - Sokhbarr! - [Rekha] I almost called you my dad's name, fuck! - Believe me, this is one of the lesser times it's bad to say your father's name to everyone. - Yes, yes. We gotta get you in some new clothes, for sure. - I feel like you, you know-- - What's wrong with feathered rags? - You're an Ottoman, I feel like the feathered rags, in sort of warmer colors would do a lot for you. - It's not about getting rid of the rags. It's about finding the right things to accessorize! - Can I say something? - [Ify And Rekha] Yes. - I was really jealous of Jonathan Feathers' skin hat. (laughing) You think I could pull that off? - Oh, yes. - Sokhbarr, yes, Sokhbarr, yes, Sokhbarr, yes. (laughing) - And you see Lilith holding little Leiland Junior over there. (sighs) - He's so well-behaved. He only spit up fire onto Sokhbarr once! - Aww, good. I'm glad you don't love a thing-- - Still on fire. (sizzling) - So did you two get a little bit of closure then? - Yes. - Yes. - Give me an Insight check, if you'd be so kind. You're rolling advantage on this so it'll be just a flat skill check. - Oh, okay. 18 plus-- - [Brennan] Ooh, it's gonna be high. - Oh, 28. - What does Lilith being very insightful see in Maggie's eyes as-- - What did you roll? - 28. - Oh, then you see everything. (laughing) I'm an open book. - Often times abusers can be very charismatic, can't they? - It's crazy. (Brennan laughing) - What I always enjoyed about the two of your relationships was I felt, I'd hoped, that you made him better. I'd hoped that he'd found somebody that he'd, you know, change. We always hope that they can change. - Oh, yeah. We put all that work into hoping that they change, when in reality, we need to change. We need to move on. (laughing) - [Erika] Yes. And now you have your child, you have a world of career options open to you, as do you, Leiland. - Oh, I've already chosen my new occupation. - Oh! Fascinating. - Protector of this one. (laughing) - Cool it 80 percent. (laughing) - Look, I have a particular set of skills. There's only so many ways that I can apply them. (laughing) - As we see this enormous statue of Gogmoth, I kind of approach it with my hand outstretched and I'm not really talking to anyone but I say, You know, I used to pray to you and worship your very being, asking you for direction and guidance, and now you look so small, as I know that I now worship the line between good and evil. (wind gusting) - You guys see some of those bands of magic from back in the crater after the fall circle around Efink. (spooky music) She sensed that. - Do we know, are we in a position to do something with the crown here, do we know like what-- - This is like a huge, we're talking about, this is, there's a secret door here that leads straight down to the chamber deep, deep, deep down. If you want to do something here with the crown here, you possibly could. - I know we're sort of talking about, you know, who's gonna be the face of evil and who's gonna remake stuff. I'm sort of mulling it over in my head and thinking about how again, I can't stress this enough, we've really fucked things up a lot. And sometimes, you know, it's humbling to say that maybe the answer lies in the future. Maybe it lies in some sort of, do we not always say things like, I'll see you, I'll fight you another day! And you haven't seen the last of me! - Oh, you just said that. - Yes, you did. - It feels good to shake your fist and-- - It's more of a reflex, really. - You need to learn the power of evil is not in any one of our particular philosophies, but in the idea of a continuing lineage of evil, and a continuing line. - Yes! - Maybe the crown should go with Leiland Junior. - As much as Zaul'nazh did make so many mistakes, I can count two good things that he's done. One, your child, and two, bringing us together. - Aww! - That is two! (laughing) - Wonderful. - It's not my kid, I don't even know if this is my decision, but I'm at least gonna give this to Maggie. And you know what I think we should do with it. - I agree with Sokhbarr. I was thinking it the whole time. Leiland Junior for the new king. - Well, I will say this, as a former angelic being who has seen the beginning of time itself, that in the end, sometimes it may be dangerous to imbue just one being with all this power. But, we, the Council of Elders, and the input of some wise individuals, - Oh, sure. - I'm sure that a figurehead, a symbol of hope for the future of evil, would do well to wear a crown. - I mean, a baby's not gonna be-- - I'm in complete agreement. I think that the king is a figurehead and then we have more of like a prime minister situation as an actual executer of the law. - Yes, yes. - You guys start engaging in a fun conversation about statecraft. (laughing) - It's a constitutional monarchy. - Literally it's like ancient statues are crumbling, there's rocks coming in, and you're going down, this whole thing is just pure evil tunnels. And it's like, high camera of legislature versus this. (inaudible crosstalk) - I agree! - I see terrible things happening, I see better things happening with the crown on that boy's head. - Mmhmm. - You guys make your way all the way down 'till you finally arrive deep, deep down, and open your way into this ancient tomb. The walls are lined with the bodies of the ancient dead high priests and priestesses of Gogmoth entombed here in the fountain of blood. (splashing) The root of the Bloodkeep itself rests in the center of the chamber. You feel a stillness here, (crumbling) disrupted by the noise of the tower beginning to come down up above you. The blood shimmers in the fountain. You feel the ways of escape above you collapsing. The future of the forces of evil and the lands of Gorgar will be decided here, in this room. (splashing) The fountain of blood rests before you. You hold the crown. You hold Leiland Junior. You are here. The six of you united. Plus J'er'em'ih and Old Pickering. (laughing) - Oh yeah, thank god Old Pickering's here. - That motherfucker! (laughing) He was more harm than he was good. - You can tie him up? - Just tie him up, yeah, put him in a web somewhere safe. - It's always such a funny thing in D&D when you're like, us companions three, and my dog. (laughing) - Yes. - But you arrive here at the fountain of blood. You feel the (rumbling) beginning of tremors, even here this deep underground, but you're deep in the earth that the trembles from up above are not fully reaching you yet. As you approach the fountain, you see that there are these incredible statues around you that are statues to these, you don't actually know them. Anyone here can make an Arcana check to see what you know about these statues here. (rolling dice) - 20. Dirty 20. - Dirty 20, cool. - 10. - 10, cool. - 7. - 16. - Leiland, you look over at them and see these statues as nameless gods of old, from the very beginning when the early songs that founded the world were first corrupted, and these things are older than names. And you realize that Zaul'nazh, Gogmoth, these things have always been wielding a power and in the manner of piggishness and hubris that defines Zaul'nazh and Gogmoth both, claimed to be the source of a thing that they were only ever speaking for. And these things represent by having no name and being this ancient, a truth about that force, that it can never belong to just a single being. And as you look at the six of you, and having this conversation about sharing something that was always sought after singularly, the fact that this truth has come to light fills your cold, dead heart with a sense of purpose and determination to know the truth of this room. But you recognize them as being important spirits that are overseeing this place, and the fountain of blood rests in front of you and you feel that all that would need to be done would be to approach this fountain and call forth the powers within. - As I'm kind of making these connections, I'm not even acknowledging the fact that I'm out loud speaking it to everybody as I'm kind of just scanning the scenery. So here we are. Surrounded by what is essentially the cradle of all darkness. - It's pretty cool. (laughing) - It's not too bad. A little bit gauche in places, but you know, it's old. I appreciate the history. - They built it like that, back when, you know, before time. - Yes. - I'm excited to say yes to my feelings from now on, and Lilith, I'd like a hug. - Awww, oh my god! - Lilith scuttles over (scuttling) and just picks her up in a huge embrace. - My legs kick out from behind me. - Aww! - It just feels like an important moment that I'd like to share. - Aww, thank, thank you. I'm so proud of you. - You know, guys, why don't we all get one big hug around the fountain. - Yay! (inaudible crosstalk) - This was supposed to be the evil game! (laughing) This was the evil one! Dandy is too powerful a force for good in the world! (laughing) I'm like wow, working together and being united in social situations really makes me see that we all are in it together! (laughing) Incredible. Cool, you guys all hug and you hear, as you hug, fuck it. You don't approach, you see the fountain of blood erupts, (spraying) in a shower of fucking fiery hot blood, and this evil boatman appears and goes, No no no no no! This is bullshit! Listen here. You are the last generals of darkness. You are hugging each other in the tomb of final evil! What the fuck is going on? - Well, we just realized that we can be more evil together than our individual evil parts alone. - Yeah, it's like a greater than the sum of its parts kind of thing. - Yeah! - You're just- you're defining good! You're defining good. - [Matt] No, no! - We're defining evil! - Let me draw a (trilling) Imagine there's nine squares in a grid, right? (laughing) - We're not defining evil, that's why evil has failed for so long. We are evolving evil. - We're disrupting evil! - Okay, this branding thing-- - It's true that we're disrupting, we're taking out the middle man and we're bringing evil straight to you. - Damn right, girl, damn right. - Alright, I've had enough of this! (laughing) Am I to understand that you here have the crown and you wish to create some new type of evil here? - [Players] Yes, yes. - Alright, well I'm not into it, so if you're going to do this, what I'm going to need is a blessing from the spirits here within. All the spirits of the room must give a blessing to this child, and then I suppose I'm gonna be honor bound to, have to grant it power over the forces of darkness. - And how do we obtain these blessings? - That's up to you, you will have to speak to the spirits themselves and see what can be offered. I will say, You guys hear a noise coming from behind you. (dramatic music) And the trample of many feet following down the passageway. And you hear a voice say, I have been only very clear about what it is that I want! (laughing) - Dear god. - Again, this guy, he's so punching it, and just really hard to be around, you know. - Oh, boatkeeper, if you were seeking forces of evil, you might just have found it! - You see the boatkeeper says, Well, if whoever that is gets to it first, then I'm gonna give it to them. So, best of luck. Olag and all his orcs come charging through the passageway which is arrayed forces, he looks at you and says, These traitors! They're trying not to die! And he comes with all his orcs, you see boom! (rumbling and cracking) The foundations of the Bloodkeep shake, the door collapses behind them, and I need all of you to roll initiative. (laughing) (rolling dice) - Ooh! - Aha! - With that, we are going to end this penultimate episode of Escape from the Bloodkeep. Tune in next week for the thrilling finale! Bye, everybody! - Bye! (clapping and laughing) We find ourselves here, in the tomb at the core of the Bloodkeep, where the boatman of pure evil waits in the fountain of blood. - Make sure that baby gets blessed! - Right here! - In the name of friendship! - We're evil! (laughing) - We're evil! - My special! - No! - That ability has never been more useful. Nope, nope. - This is my evil character, but we're actually playing evil players. (gust of wind) - No.

Channel: Dimension 20

Views: 322,458

Rating: 4.9751019 out of 5

Keywords: matthew mercer, rekha shankar, amy vorpahl, mike trapp, erika ishii, ify nwadiwe, Escape From the Bloodkeep, Dimension 20, tabletop rpg, villains, freaking out, monsters, lying, fantasy, fights, death, feels, spiders

Id: ITLvyb41lDA

Length: 117min 10sec (7030 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 28 2020