Asteria the civil war: Session 55

The group finds themselves in the thieves guild, where they have a fight with Darix. Wren decides to make a last stand and the gods save them from the collapsing building. They return to the guild and meet Wren's father, who knows two people who can bring Wren back. Lucien and Fenris fly to a city and witness an explosion. They find the rest of the party in a demolished building and meet a dragonborn who leads them to Voss's master. They learn about a missing symbol in a teleportation circle and fix it. They are then teleported to a place with a missing friend and find a throne with missing jewels. Ark, a summoning stone, offers help and suggests they speak to Melora. That's what I imagined Craig to be, is a kinkoo, just like recording. So last session you guys found yourselves outside, no not outside, you were in the thieves guild where you had knocking on the door where Century has managed to knock some of the Warforged out that were about to attack you. Wren had decided to let his father go and escape. You managed to have a conversation with the lady that ran the thieves guild and she sent you two people to help you get into the building where Darix was hiding out. An ome and a kobold named Locke and Ratchet, which Ratchet then decided to fight the doors and you guys managed to get inside the building and have a massive fight with Darix where you guys got to the last point of the fight where Wren had decided that he was going to pull the last stand. He prayed to the gods and the gods gave him power and where Fenrir and Ixion had noticed what was going to happen, they managed to get you out of the building after some final words from Wren, between Wren and Malachite. You guys were outside the building and the building came down. You guys managed to rummage through the rubble trying to find your friend Wren and all you found was Darix's staff, a piece of Wren's cloak and his dagger. Devastated, you made it back to the thieves guild where you found Wren's father, Lord Darkcloak. He was having a conversation with a now remodelled and renewed sentry and you asked him for any kind of way of bringing Wren back. Lord Darkcloak said to you that he did not know a way of bringing Wren back but he knew two people who could and at that moment two people had walked in the door. One Riven will know very well, it's his cousin that you guys met in the thieves guild previously. The other would be someone Vos would know. And that is where we're going to start the session. Well, actually we're not going to start the session. Lucian, you had just left Holy Sigil whilst having a conversation with Alyssa. Alyssa had informed you of the party's departure to Erosia and they said that they were after Darix, another member of the Six. And you got swiped off by Fenris as he knew the way, as Anders and Liliana did not know the way but Fenris did. So you're flying on the way to this city. What's going through Lucian's mind? What we got ourselves into and how are they going to fuck it up this time? Fenris turns round and goes, knowing that lot, no fucking idea. They could do anything to be honest. I can't even believe they didn't invite me to the wedding as well. Bastards! To be honest I would have been outside anyway, who wants a big fucking dragon in a holy city? Everything's better with dragons. That's true. Oh God, sorry Lucian, go on. Is there any problems? Just add a dragon and it becomes better. Simple. Annoying child constantly screams, dragon. Elderly person taking too long on the road, dragon. As you and Fenris are flying and you see this outline of this flying city, Fenris is like, well it seems like we're here. As Fenris says this, roll me a perception check. That's a natural one. So there's a moment, I don't see anything wrong and you hear this massive boom as something exploded in the city, like it's a massive explosion. What do you do? I just instantly look over to Fenris and say, I think I found him. Frickin' pure party, Jesus Christ. You notice that he gets a little bit quicker and you land in the front of this building and there is no one there but this building is completely demolished. It's basically rubble. Someone had a good time. I hope your friends aren't in here. Hello? Silence. Fred, are you dead? Nothing. Mel? Silence. Are you dead too? Nothing. We're in a rush into the taxi. You're still standing. Behind you, you hear, you're looking for your friends, you're part of that party, the ones that were here earlier. And as you turn around and Fenris turns around with you, you see standing in front of you is a dragonborn, a silver dragonborn, and goes, it's not every day you see a dragon. Yes. You're with the other party? The tabaxi and the orc and the weird scheming fella? Loosely aligned, yes. You need to come with me. I'm looking to look at Fenris like, ah shit. As you're followed, you follow the dragonborn, they go back to the rest of the party. So, as your cousin approaches with them, your cousin points out this man that's walked in. He's an older looking human man with very similar clothes to Foss on. And Foss, you instantly know who this is. This is your master. He goes, Foss, it's been a while. Just sort of nod awkwardly. And he kind of like, comes up to you, gives you like a smack on the back and goes, someone told me you were still fighting with the dictator. What are you doing here? Um, do you want the long or the short version? Short would be nice. Someone got married, lots of teleportation, and weird time stuff, and being very polished, building collapsed. And yeah, that's pretty much the short of it. I don't think I'm missing anything important. You're the ones that need passage to the halls of deities. Right, we can help you. Buzz. And then he points to Riven's friends. There's one thing we need. There's a powerful artifact that belongs to the gods. Do you have one? Is it one of the new coins that we've got? Or is it the thing that they're going to make the molds like this? That could probably do. We need something a little bit more powerful. I will pull out the crook of Melora. Your cousin Taz, do you have something, guys? Where the hell did you find that? Um, holy sigil, it was left back there for me by grandpa. Jeez, okay. Right, and you notice, Foss, you've seen this sigil that's being inscribed onto the ground that this is some kind of teleportation circle. It's very different from the one that you use. And as this is being said, the door opens again, and in comes a silver dragonborn, and your friend Lucien walks in. Oh, Lucien, it's been a fat while since we last seen you. Yes, well, um, I don't like doing all the hard work. Oh, that's right, I just realized. We need to catch you up on the information, and I tell Lucien about what's occurred and happened. Rhythm just looks sheepish and looks down at the floor and just kind of averts eye contact. He's ashamed that he couldn't help! This is literally ripping him up inside, that he's had to wait this long. You hear a voice in your head as Shaver talks to you, and she goes, Your friend's friend, Lucien, told me he died. It would seem so, yes. I'm sorry. She just, like, disappears. Like, a voice just goes. And your Master Vos gets up and goes, Right, Foss, can you do me a favor? Always. What seems to be the issue? There's one small issue. There's something missing in the sigil. He points to, like, the left-hand side, and it seems like there is an incomplete symbol. Okay. Is there any way you can fix that? Would I know how to fix that? Roll me an Arcana with advantage. Arcana. 29. Bloody hell, 29. Yeah, you know that it's just missing one corner of this pentagram, and if you manage to fix it, and your cousin goes to the middle and holds the crook of Ballora and goes, Orc, can you come here for a minute with your maul? You're going to help power this circle. Does Malachite step forward? Oh, yeah, definitely, yeah. And you notice, as Malachite steps in, the whole circle lights up. And Vos, your Master steps out of the circle and goes, Right, the circle's ready. Are you guys ready? Yes. Anything to get our friend back here. Okay. Does everyone step in? Yep. Yeah, Lucien looks around and is like, If I must, then double-zoom. Yep, cool. As the sigil lights up, Vos would recognize this. It's almost like it's teleport. It feels like that same recognition, but it's almost like a different sense of teleportation. As Vos will know, as he rolls 29, that this is not teleport. This is planar shift. As you get shifted, it's almost like your body gets separated from your soul. Your soul gets separated from your body, and as you come back, Malachite, you've been recognized where you are. This is where you got your upgrades for your weapons many, many, many times ago, and you're standing there, but there's one thing you notice that's missing. Rosa is not there. I look around, it's like... And it's echoing. As I just look around, it's like, Rosa! Rosa, we're here! We can't need your help! No answer. It's silent. And I just turn to the others, like, well, apparently a lady friend of mine seems to be very busy. I don't know everything. I don't know, maybe she's occupied, sort of thing. Well, in any case, we must hurry and find the main thing. Let's go! Vos will follow along. You walk along this long corridor as it keeps continuing on forwards, and you notice along these doors are insignias of different deities. There's Melora. You'll notice there's Melora, the Raising Queen. There's the Saw Lord, and it carries on. And at the far ends of the corridor is a giant throne, all ornate and gold in colour, and with different jewels. But at the top of the throne are seven missing holes, that are missing what seems to be jewels. What do you guys do? Do we have anything which will fit them? Oh, the Summoning Stones! The Summoning Stones. You mean the Summoning Stones, which I don't have one of. And as you say this, Vos, you sense something, and it goes... At least you seem more awake now. And Malachi and Riven will know who this is. This is Ark. Ah. That's not a good ah. That does not sound like a good ah. He goes... No, no, no, no, no. He's a Summoning Stone. He's a Summoning Stone. He's an Ark. He's the wings of Ark. Yeah. He goes, you want some help, right? And he looks at you, Vos. Uh, yes, we would love some help. He points to Melora's door, as you see this white door with all this hanging ivy. And I think he needs to go speak to her. Alone, or...? All together, alone. I don't care. I think we should all go. We need to work. We need to kind of... The last time we split up, someone ended up dead. That's a good point. You have a bigger point there. Yeah, let's go talk to Melora. Who opens the door? I probably think I would. I've got the strongest connection to Melora. As you open the door, roll me a Wisdom save. Oh, shit. Right, Wisdom save. Let's see what my thing is. Plus two. Oh, shit. Okay, that's an eight. An eight. So you fail. Oh, shit. You... I can change maps. I will describe this solution, because Lucian has not got access to his laptop. Do you guys all see that? I'll describe it to Lucian. As you open this door... Yeah, as you open this door... That's right. As you open this door, there is almost like a wooden... Not fortress, like a wooden town all up on the treetops, as there's different buildings. Wisdom, you instantly recognise where you are. This is your hometown. Oh, shit. Wow, okay. I have a question. Yes. Does this remind me of anything from my past? That is a very good question. Lucian, roll me History with advantage. I'm not using that dice again. You gave me a natural one. Oh, no. Dice jail. Dice jail. With advantage. With advantage. That's good, because I got a natural one. Fifteen. Fifteen. You look around and go... There is a vague memory of you being taken in in Celestial Woods, and you look around and you're able to point out, I'm going to point it out for the others, a house on the far east. That's not east, it's west. Where you... It's almost where someone looks after you, but you don't remember who looks after you. I'm just going to pause towards that house, and I'm going to go to say something with my hands, but then just stop and just keep walking, but my head's just going to angle to that house as I'm walking until it's out of view. Just like, it just points out. You see that Lucian's almost heading that way. Are you guys heading that way? I'm not following, I'm following everyone else. It's just my head as I'm walking past in the group. I'm following the group, but as I walk past, my head's just on an axis fixed to that location until I can't... You guys would notice that, that Lucian's... As you're heading around town, Lucian seems quite fixated on that house, and he's just going to point it out to you. As you're heading around town, Lucian seems quite fixated on that one point. What do you guys do? I will talk to Lucian. You all right, mate? Seem like you know this place. Yes. No. Maybe. If you ever had it when... If you got really drunk the one night, and then someone seems to know you from the night before, but you have absolutely no regulation of who or what you did that night? Yes. Multiple times in my life, I have felt that feeling. Not so much recently. No one has family here, right? Me, this is my hometown. I have absolutely no idea what I've done, but I am so sorry. You're a fatso. You haven't been holding hands, and then walk off. I turned to him fast, and it's like, uh, what? Did, um... Lucian did something wrong? Apparently. I don't know. Apparently, he was apologizing to me for something he did here, some time ago, or something here. Just shivering all bases, because chances are, if I don't remember something... Well, where is the case? Sarah? Um, I think I would be... I'm going to try and head for my home, my home, my mum's place. And as you say that, you notice, really unusually, that the one building that Lucian is focused on, your family home is right next to it. Oh shit. Okay. As you guys are fixated on this point, you hear laughter, like little kids' laughter, and you hear the sounds of kids running up and climbing up the branches of this tree. And you notice, up on one of the, on these branches here, on your right, so Lucian knows, you see, sitting on two types of branches, or two boys. One is a tabaxi boy, and the other is a human boy, that has like a little tiny pseudodragon sitting on his shoulder. It looks like they're playing... Yeah? No, no, it's me. Yes, no, I know, I know, yes. No. Yeah? Does it look like me when I was a bit, like when I was young? Yes. Oh, oh fuck. And? So is, does the little, does the human have any resemblance to Lucian? Yep. Are we in the fucking past? And as you say this, sitting on this stump here, is this very beautiful looking Aladrin woman. And she's looking down at you, and she's playing this really beautiful harp that has all kind of like vines around it. And, Britham, you may know exactly who this is. You've seen a statue everywhere, and your mother speaks very highly of her. This is Melora, looking down at you. Looking down at you. I, if I, as soon as I see her, I immediately just get on my, get on my knees and just bow down. Just like, um, like, like, like someone would a king, like they go on one knee, put their hand to their chest and just bow their head. Okay, we're doing this then, okay. I can't believe that. They're a god of the freaking universe! If you don't show respect, they could smite you out of existence! So, I'm covering my faces. I'm just going to, I'm just going to turn around, see them all bowing, and just look around confused. You know the John Travolta meme in Pulp Fiction, where he's holding his coat, and then he's just like, I'm just going to be like, wait, what's going on? And she's still playing the song, and you feel a breeze go through all your hair, as this beautiful song is being played. And you saw that time being pushed forward, and it stops. And I can't wait to do this. As you, um, as you hear footsteps behind you, now you look around, and you see a woman with this dark, long, dark black hair. It's a really weird, like, sorceress outfit that's being followed by two small children. One with deep brown hair, and the other that has really, like, scraggly brown hair. Now you would know instantly who this is. This is Ren, as a little boy. And that's Liana. And as you look around, looking towards the woman that's approached, is your mother as coming up, and they are giving her offerings of things, and you're there as a small child, like, clinging to your mum's leg. And you see that a woman standing next to your mum is very similar to Lucian. She has this long, like, graying brown hair. And she turns to your mother and goes, are you sure we can trust her? And your mother goes, I don't know. There's something not quite right about her. And Liana comes closer, and there is a conversation that's had. And Rhythm and Lucian, you'll see your younger selves approach young Ren, and who you would assume is Elissa as well. And Rhythm, small Rhythm, like, reaches a hand out to Ren and Elissa and says, come, come play with us. And you see, kind of, Ren, like, little Ren, kind of, like, withdraws and holds his hands to his chest, looks up at his mum, looks at you, really wants him, like, he wants to play. But Elissa, like, grabs yours and Lucian's hands and says, I want to play. And she turns to Ren. My body is literally breaking. Ren, come. They want to play. Come. And you see Ren's, kind of, like, still a little bit withdrawn. And you see your mother reaches down to Ren and goes, you can play. While your mother's talking to us, you can play. And you see Ren, kind of, like, uncurls himself, and he, like, gets led by you and Lucian. And you guys are playing in the trees. And Melora plays another song, and the whole, the whole tree houses are empty. And you notice there are fires along the ground. And Rhythm, roll me another wisdom save. Let's pick a different, let's pick a different piece, a 220. 18. Plus two. Plus two, so 20. Yeah, so you, you save, but you still have these memories of the fires, of celestial woods, of when your parents were trying to save you. You're running away, and you notice that someone reaches out to you at the edge of the forest, as your mother is, is, like, like, handing you over to someone. And you realize it's Lucian's mum. And you get scooped away, but you see that image of the forest burning, and you're, you're back in this room, this empty room, where you guys are back into a normal room, where this grass is beautifully green, where at the end of this room is a tall tree in bloom. And sitting on a branch is Melora, and she's still playing that same, that same tune. And she stops, and she looks down at you, Rhythm, and goes, what does friendship mean to you? Everything. Roll me a persuasion check, there's an advantage. Everything. Roll me a persuasion check, there's an advantage. My, what's my, my, I had said persuasion. Uh, oh, plus ten, that's good. Oh, I don't have a dice, so it fell off the table. Reroll that. Uh, that's 19. Cool. Perfect. So, as you, you hear that strings, and it stops, and the melody livens up, and you hear it gets happier. It's almost like a happier tune, and you hear, in the distance, there's a young boy's voice laughing that echoes around the room. And then she looks down at you, Lucian, and goes, where do you find your courage? It's like, just, amazed. Like, he, he, he allows you to open his mouth, but words, sound just doesn't come out. And he tries, like, two, three more times, but, essentially, the words of, I don't. And then, he just kinda, steps away. Roll me a persuasion, just straight persuasion. It's a 19 natural. Just waiting for the stats to load up. Yep. Persuasion is a plus two, so that's 21. Cool. Okay. So, as you, as the melody livens up even more, and the song echoes around the room, and you notice the tree blooms even more, and she looks down at you all, and smiles. And, Bism, in your outstretched hands, is a crystal. A green, deep green crystal. And she just smiles, smiles at you. I will take it. Yep. And you all feel pushed out of this door, and the door shuts. Where do you go next? Are there seven doors? There are seven doors. There's one for each deity. Okay. Well, I guess we just have to know what, um, we must do this for. We've got to convince every deity the reason why we want to bring Ren back. Yeah. Okay. We've been pushed out of the door from... From Melora. Yeah. So the next one would probably be the Raven Queen, wouldn't it? It would be the Raven Queen. Let's do this. He's just gonna kind of, like, stop and stay in place before moving on, as everyone else walks away. Okay. And he's gonna just lean against the door for a little bit. Okay. And you notice, as you look down this corridor, you only, you would notice standing at the end is a figure that's starting to, to, um, come into focus. And then you notice there's another one, and it's almost like you're seeing the same two people you just saw in that vision, standing at the end of the corridor. What's your decision, Dave? Same two figures I've just seen, like... So your mother. Yeah. I'm gonna follow my mother. Perfect. So as you, as you follow your, your mum, she actually leads you to the door, to the Raven Queen's door, and she opens the door for you. As I look into the door, I'm just gonna stop and look and stare at my mother. My mother. And it's just, my face is gonna go white. Yes. And all kinds of, like, the smokiness and everything is just pure shock on my face now. Yes. And I'm just gonna wave my hand, like, in front of the figure, and I'm just gonna go, is this real? She nods. She can't talk, but she nods. Lucien's gonna nod back. He's gonna look up and down. He has absolutely no clue what to do with himself here. Yeah. What does everyone else do? You've just seen, you don't see these figures, but you see that something has opened the door in front of Lucien. I guess I'll take, I'll take that as a sign and start walking in. Yeah, definitely, I guess we're in to it in this one. Come on, boss. As Mal steps through this door, Mal, roll me a wisdom save. Oh, okay. Where's one? Nine. Nine. You are not on your feet. Oh, shit. As you land, let me quickly change maps. Oh, no, that's the wrong one, hold on. It's that one. You're in a small mountain town, standing by a well. Mal, as you, as you look around, everybody else doesn't really recognise it to begin with, but Mal, you know where you are. This is your hometown. Um, wait, this is in Asgard, isn't it? Yes. It's a small town, like a farming town. Where you and your wife raised a family to begin with. Oh, gosh, I'm getting emotional now. Oh, gosh, um, I knew I should get some tissues. Um, I look around the area and it's like, wait a sec, this is my home, my own home. And I, and I'm trying to find my house. Yeah, so, um, roll me a perception. Oh, come on. Um, you, you, you struggle for a little bit. But Vos, in, as you're standing there watching Mal looking very confused, you see at the far end, standing there, sweeping a step, is a half-orc woman. And for some reason, in the back of your mind, you've met her. But you, you can't quite put your finger on where. I'll sort of nudge Mal and sort of, just sort of gesture. I presume that it was, from what Mal said in the past, that this might be her, his wife. Yep. So I'll sort of nudge him discreetly and just sort of nod and like, try and walk, like, turn to face her. Um, I sort of find my, and I lock my eyes to my wife. And I, and I slowly put my hand towards her. But I imagine the bit most obvious thing, if I, if I can hold onto her, wouldn't it? Yeah, so as you kind of, as you're walking towards her, she opens the door behind her. And you see, behind the group, is, is a small version of G, of Geochan, running around. And he runs through the door and he, he ushers you all in. And, Vos, you see an older boy, he's much older than, than, than Geochan was, who was running around, messing with, with Geochan, like, playing tag or chase. And you think, he looks really familiar. He can't be older than, like, 12, 13. This is a younger version of you. What? Yes. I'm just going to stand, look at the younger version of me, like, look back to, like, the rest, like, where Mal's gone, look at the younger version of me. Yeah, yeah. I just sort of, like, what the fuck? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, what the eff, is everyone in this, in this party connected to someone else in some way? Yeah. Oh my gosh. I mean, who's mother did I raise up? Okay. And, Vos, you notice standing behind you is your parents and your master. And it, and your master goes, well, it seems like the time, the time, the time magic had worked. So, you're safe now, at least, at least the dictator's not watching over you. I'm sure Gamora will look after your son and your, you two. And your mother turns around to, to your master and says, thank you, I appreciate it. And he disappears in there, like a flash of white light. You can imagine he probably teleported somewhere. What's Vos in the party doing? Vos is speechless, it was just like. Yeah, rhythm, rhythm is just connecting all the dots that we've all kind of, like, known each other in, like, really, like, six degrees of separation kind of shit. Yeah. I look at, um, to Rhythm and it's like, Rhythm, why are you doing an Asgard? I thought, um, you came from- I was Vos, Vos was here. I was Vos. Vos was here, not, not Rhythm. Oh, oh, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, yeah. So, like, okay, I said Vos and he's like, Vos, why are you doing an Asgard? Have we, we're at, um, oh fuck, what's the name of, uh, the- Little Asaria, yeah, Little Asaria, yeah. I, I, I don't know. I honestly can't, can't give you that answer. And I just, like, can I listen to the conversation? It's like, wait, does that mean this whole thing was, pre, pre-happened before Asgard was destroyed? Hmm, I wonder. Rhythm's going to start talking to, uh, Lucian, it's like, I think I know why you think you know the Celestial Woods. I think because your family lived there. From what we just saw, I think we grew up together until Liliana tried to, uh, kidnap us. And then your mother took care of us. Let me remind Lucian for a minute, as you know your mother was killed, you don't know how she died, how your father ended up where he was, and how he was, like, maybe she was left on her own before she met your mother? Was it your father, Rhythm? Try again. Yeah, that's what I'm trying to think. It's like, I know, you and I know backstories. Or maybe she ran away because she was scared of your father. I'm going to be honest, that's not what I was thinking about this. Oh my god. Um, yeah, it's just, mate, his face is complete confusion. Like, so is Rhythm's, but he's like, he's slowly piecing bits and pieces together. Yeah. I'm just going to ask, kidnapped, were you, what? I wasn't kidnapped, I think because Liliana came to steal the kids, I think to steal us, but my mother gave me to your mother to take care of. Try and save me from Liliana. And as you say that, Mel sort of turns to Rhythm and is like, that's funny because the one who brought me to Asteria was Ariana as well. Yeah. It's funny how it's all coming together. Wait, Ariana is, was that my mother's name? Yeah. No. Ariana. Whoa, whoa. We were all brought to Asteria by Ariana. Yeah, Balakai, that's a good memory. Ariana is a woman that you know was your, she spoke to, to, um, to Gael Mora. That also Gael Mora had, are you talking about Ariana? No, Ariana, no. Yeah, I'm talking about the, um, Asamar bard. No, no, she, she tried to, she tried to stop you coming from, coming from where you came from. Someone. Else. Might, him, hence why Zost is here. Someone prevented Ariana from, from doing it. Okay, so, so I've basically got the, so what I, so what you're saying is that what I assumed was her, but it's something completely different. Something completely different, maybe someone's messed with your memory. All right, gotcha, okay. Oh, you. Okay, so it wasn't just me that's got the memory shook. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Oh, that makes sense. Oh, well. Yeah, I was, I was piecing some pieces together because of my memory, but now, now I've clicked. Because I knew my memories got fucked with. But I didn't know everyone else's had been fucked with. Didn't know, but now I'm pretty sure Jackson now that your memory, his memory's been fucked with them, had a big gap in his memory. Now he knows, I've kind of, I didn't think of what happens, but didn't know the full story because he had, because what was going on in Australia. So now it's time to piece things together. This is mad because for me as well, this is the first time I'm actually seeing my mother. Yeah, this is the first time you've seen her. You have no memory of her. No, you don't. Yeah, like, my memories were completely wiped. They weren't, they weren't just fucked with. And Voss had a big gap in his memory and now he's remembering. Oh shit. I'm going to start tearing up because I kind of saw my mum's death. My heart hurts, guys. My heart hurts. I did warn people there was going to be. You won't, I'll get the tissue. And sitting on this roof is a woman with a white porcelain mask and this big long dark cloak, not cloak, it's like a dress, but like covers her whole body. And she looks down at you, she looks at Voss to begin with and goes, Where do you find your hope? Or what, or what does hope mean to you? The possibility of making the future better for those who come after. Roll me persuasion with advantage. With advantage. Sick, good answer. That's a great answer. Yeah. Let's see. Honestly, I would have said I find hope in my friends and the next generation. Oh, you guys are so selfless compared to me. I feel like an asshole. 17. Cool. Okay. And she nods and you notice that the whole, the town around you is kind of gathering in this darkness. And then the Raven Queen turns to you, Mel, and goes, Malachite, or should I say Forerunner, or Seven Forerunner, where do you find your hope? Or what does hope mean to you? Oh, where do I find my hope? And, um, Malachite turns to look back to his, um, wife and the house that, that's what it's, the young, his young son. Oh God, I'm tearing up already again. Um, and Malachite to the Raven Queen, I say, um, well, hope is to bring, um, to bring hope to others, especially for the, not just for the present generation, but for the next generation. And the, and the, and the generation, and the generation going onwards and onwards, as long as they have, um, bravery and courage, as well as contain the hope into themselves. And she enrolled me, because I think that was a great answer. Okay. Oh, come on. Come on, come on, come on, come on. I need this persuasion. Plus six, come on. Oh my God. Okay, so she looks at you and nods, and this, you see this whole maelstrom of wind and darkness, and you see these big dark wings, but this angelic creature looks down at you on land, and as he lands, you see, you realize that this is Hades, and you're like, you see, you realize that this is Hades as an angelic, as an angelic creature, and he wraps his wings around himself and unleashes it. And standing there is a teenage, probably the same age as what Thesaurus is in this vision, friend. And you see that as he reaches out a hand, you guys all get pushed out of this room, and the door shuts. I look to everyone, it's like, did I say the right thing? Did I, did I, I fucked it up? I think so, but did we get a gem from that room? As you, as Vos and, um, Vos, because I was going to say something there, as Vos and Malachite both look down, you notice there are two crystals in your hands. One, Malachite has one, and Vos has another. One is deep, dark, red and black that you automatically think is Hades. Vos has one that is deep black in colour, with hints of white, which Vos would automatically kind of go, that's probably the Raisin Queen. You guys managed to get two more. What was the colour of the crystal that Vos has? Green. Deep green, okay. Green. Steep green. I think we should, I think after we get, after we get them, we should put them in this, we should put them in this, in the chair, in the top of the throne. Yeah, especially if, if we're being flung out like that, we don't, we don't know what we're losing, that's for sure. Yeah. As you look down the end of this corridor, there is a figure at the end of it that you very much recognise, I'm probably going to make Jack Frink cry now, god damn it, and you may know who he is. Yep, I've got a tissue, go for it. Is your wife, is standing at the end of this corridor. And another man, is a man with her that looks very similar to Vos. You could probably wrangle a guess that it's probably his dad. I, I look at it, I look at it similarly, I guess I imagine that's your man, right, Vos? And Vos, you look around, that is your dad. Yes, it is. Well, I just turned to the two of them, it's like, well, it's like, um, our loved ones are leading us to the, to this potential door, so to say. Yeah, as they, they both walk forwards, there comes this set of double doors, which on the front is, is designed as in like a dragon's head with an open maw, and they both push this door open, and they look at you all. What's yours, Dave? I walk inside. Is my wife still, like? Yep, she's still there, yep. Okay, I went, oh gosh, um, I look at my wife and I say, like, I'll just give her a dance. Yep. And I walk in, oh god. Yep, as you all step into this room, you feel the cold flow over you, as it feels like you are back up on that mountain where Borden was, whereas it's the freezing cold. And Lucien, you recognise at the far end of this, this hall, is a lying doorman, is this deep black dragon, large in, in size, with these deep black scales, and he's looking at you with these deep green eyes. Ah, shit. Is this the dragon from, that scares the shit out of all the other dragons? Okay. I'm just gonna stop at my 45 degree turn to the rest of our party and say, you guys may want to wait here for this one. I mean, I'm more than happy to wait here when the dragon evolved. As Lucien says this, this dragon gets up on his all fours, he comes forwards, and he reaches his head down to Lucien and goes, are you ready to face your courage? No, but, fuck it. And Lucien does not see this, but as Lucien stands there looking at this black dragon, the black dragon's green eyes blaze, and Lucien, you're standing in the middle of a street, and at the far end of the street is your father. He holds his finger up and goes, you left your mother to die. Why and how does it make you an adventurer and a hero? Lucien's gonna stop on the spot. Put his hands on his hips and to the bottom of his trench coat behind him. He's gonna pause for a second. And he's gonna lift his tongue up to his upper jaw, just like he's licking his lips. Hero, you're a hero, you're a hero, you're a hero, you're a hero, you're a hero, you're a hero. Hero and adventurer. Funny, really. Never really claimed to be either of those things. He walks towards you. You know that your father was quite an imposing figure. It's been a while since you've seen him. As he walks towards you, he pulls out the sword, this big jagged blade. He puts it up to your face and goes, you're not fit to be a member of your party. Prove it, so you can make it further and speak to the dictator. Lucien's gonna stay there with his sword and he's gonna smile. Okay, it's like, you don't get the right to tell me who I am, if I'm fit or not. Call me a persuasion, straight persuasion. Straight persuasion. Oh god. It's this side's got a load of the... Bad time for my finger update. One second. But I was an 18 natural and I think off the top of my head, it's a plus two or plus four. So we'll say it's a plus two for now. Okay. So as he pushes the sword across your face, you notice behind you rises a dragon. And you notice that it's Warden and she's facing him down. And you notice from over your shoulder, your father gets eaten by Warden. And she kind of, like, nuzzles to your side and goes, move on. You did it. And you come back to the present and you're still in front of this dragon. And he looks and goes, well done. He moves a little bit closer and he moves up to Rhythm. Prove your courage, small cat. And Rhythm, you find yourself standing at the foot of a grand tree. And facing you is a face you've not seen for a while. But you recognize him. It's Garrix. Okay. And he goes, it seems I'm here to prove that you're not as courageous as you seem. You let yourself be hidden behind people who are bigger and stronger than you. How do you think you are courageous and can follow to defeat the dictator? Prove it. And you say, well, I'm here to prove that I'm not as courageous as you seem. Prove it. I prove it every day when I rely on my friend to help me through difficult times. He moves closer and you see that his hands are balling up. It's this big red fiery ball in his hands. He goes, you know what most people would think? That's his cowardice. Why is it cowardly to rely on your friends? Roll me persuasions. Advantage or not? No, just straight persuasion. 17. Okay. You, Garrix, are still when he smiles and you feel a blast of heat in your face. Your vision goes black and you see red and static in front of you and he fades. You come back to the present as you see the black dragon is staring at you. Goes, fine. He walks over to Vos. Vos goes, the dragon goes, it's time to, it's time to, it's time to prove your, your courage. And you flash and you're standing in the middle of Little Osteria. And standing on top of the Statue of the Dictator is someone you've not seen for an even longer time. A familiar-looking Asimar Bard is looking down at you. So. The cowardly wizard who lets his parents rot in a town that was controlled and manipulated by the dictator. You think you're courageous? I've never claimed to be. She jumps down from the statue. She walks towards you and she changes. And yet, standing before you is Boris. He pulls out a wand and points it right at your face and goes, right at your face. A wand. And points it right at your face. And goes, really? You think you're courageous by letting people stand in front of you and take attacks? Like Ren did? I will repeat myself again. I do not think I am courageous, no. Problem with persuasion? That's my character you've got. Persuasion, I'll be honest. Yes. Six. Uh oh. Oh no. Okay, as Boris is pointing the swans at your face, the wand tip lights up and you see the flash of green light. No Counterspell. And again. Oh, I'll be another persuasion. Oh, come on. I was literally about to use Silvery Barbs as well. And I forgot to say, it's advantage. So it'd be a 15 then. It's a 15. Okay, as you Counterspell, Boris goes from pointing the swans at you as you feel a hug. And Boris' spirit is hugging you. And goes, you did it. You have courage. You've just proven it. And you flash back to the present. And the black dragon kind of looks at you questionably. Goes, that I did not expect. He moves back over. He stands in front of Malachite. You are the last. Can you prove the courage to move forward? And the eyes flash. Malachite, you're standing back in Rebel's Run. Standing opposing with the creature that was Alissa before you changed her back. She's standing behind you. And standing on top of the demon's head is Ariana. But she's in witch form. And goes, someone who thinks he's courageous, who stands behind his rage and anger. Thinks he can bring his friend back. Do you have that courage? And for the times I've seen Ren fallen and for sacrificing his life. Not just once, but twice for the greater good. And for the scene, his life is coming together, reunited with his sister. Becoming a father. I just, and now with the thoughts of him dying for the second time. And leaving his what will he regain back. I just shake my hand up and it's a bit tense and anger and frustration. But then I just stop and I just give a smile. And I just look at this entity before me. And it's like, courage takes a long path to go through. When I arrived in this world, I was so lost and I was trying to fill in those gaps. But the people I know of, especially Red, Anka, and everybody else who was with me. They showed me the means of what I could do for better worth. What I can do better and improve myself. And then with that, my room started to blow as I'm starting to grow in size, to a giant size. To become much more opposing and more intimidated. And I look and it's like, but now I have a reason why I have to be here. Show people the strength and courage to everybody else. To me, my friends, as well as my family. And especially my son, who has now had to live his new life here. Which I might punch my fist in my chest. That I have to show him courage. To be the man that he will become, for sure. I'll need some patience. Oh, so close. 18. Okay, give me a second. I need to message someone. Oh, shit. Okay. Is this where Brendan gets to control the big bad boss? No. Sorry, I've just seen Mel. Sorry? I saw Mel's gift in Jekyll from where I was. Hopefully they answer. Hope. I say this, now I'm not sure if he's gonna, they're gonna. Oh. Fucking hell. Okay, so, as you, as you feel this presence. It's almost something is guiding your way. As you see, guiding your hands, Mel, is two hands. One, you look to your left, it's Alyssa. The one to your right is not fully solid, but it's Ren. Guiding your hands, and you see Ariana's lich form disappears and disintegrates. And you see, as the demon dissolves, you see that hug. That Ren and Alyssa are hugging. And you flash back, and you see the black dragon is looking at you. It seems someone has stepped in. The black dragon sits back. And the black dragon disappears, and standing before you all is Stormlord. Oh, shit. Well done. You passed. And she clicks her fingers. And Malachite, in one hand, is a crystal that's multi-coloured. Almost rainbow. And in the other hand is another crystal, pure white in colour. And you feel a hand on your shoulder. And you realise that this is Melora's sister. This is Sahain, going, you did it, Malachite. You pushed the boundary. You really are my champion. And she walks towards the Stormlords. And you see, they both embrace, look at you both, look at Lucian and Malachite. Because they're champions. And you both get pushed out of this door, and door shuts. Oh! Oh, gosh. Okay. So, how many crystals do you all have? Well, Rhythm has one. Yep. Vos has two. Malachite has two. But also, did Malachite get another one, as well? Yep, he has two. He has a rainbow one, and he has a white one. And I've got one of Hades. Yep. Did Lucian have one, as well? No, I never, you never told me that I got a crystal. Ah! So, Lucian, you feel a tap on your shoulder. Do you turn around? I freeze on the spot. Don't worry, it's just me. And as you turn around, you see a newer god that not many of your people have met. You see a woman with blazing red hair, and this paladin-like robe, standing next to Kelmore. Well, you have that last crystal you need. But we have an important question. You all must answer, so go forward and insert the rest of the crystals. Insert the rest of the crystals into the throne. What does Ren mean to you all? Who would like to go first? Or would you guys like to roll for it? I will roll, why not? Unless Mal really wants to go first. Rhythm would say he's our rock. He's one of our best friends. He's one of my best friends. I cannot count how many times I've had a good time with him. I was the music at his wedding, and I was so happy that he asked me to do that. I'm literally tearing up, I cannot, I cannot picture finishing this quest without him. Do you notice, on the top of Kelmore's mace, there's five points, and one is starting to glow. Roll me a persuasion, Rhythm. So plus ten is my persuasion. That's 17. Cool. Who wants to go next? Who wants to go next, any volunteers? Can I go last? Yeah. I feel like we should go in order, so the ones who have the closest relationship to him go first. So then when I come up... I'm literally just trying my tears. Okay. My response will be, what does Ren represent to me? It's a man who knows to make changes to improve oneself. If it wasn't for him, I would be the sleazy playboy of a hunk that I am. But if I were to continue, then I'll lose the one that's most dear to me. Not just my wife, but most definitely my son. The one thing I do not want is a son that disrespects the man that I try to raise. But since now that Ren has become a father himself, that he needs to take responsibilities like I did, that's why he inspired me to become a better man. Roll me persuasion. Oh my god, I'm crying out loud. I'm going to pat him on the shoulder and give him bardic inspiration. Thank you. It's a 17, okay. Plus a d6, no, plus a d12. Yeah, roll a d12. Oh my god. Oh, okay. Wow, okay, yep. So you wait a few moments, and on top of Kellsmore's mace, another like, like, like, like, like, mace, another like goes. Who wants to go next? Uh, Vos will go. What do you say, Vos? Vos will sort of, like, stand up and, like, brace himself. Ren wasn't just, just a flesh, a being of flesh and blood, like all of us. He was a commitment and a meaning. He was an ideal. He strove to be the best, not for gold, not for knowledge, not for power, not for influence. He strove to improve the world and those around him, and solely motivated by being good, no more, no less. And that is what Ren is to me. Okay, roll with Frasian. Also with Bardic Inspiration. Oh, for Frasian, my best skill. And because of Bardic Inspiration, it's advantage, yep. I thought Bardic Inspiration was the d12. Yep. Oh, no, because it's, you're in the Hall of Deity, it's advantage as well. So that is a 20, then. Just 20. So, you guys, you see another one lights up on the, on the mace. Lucian, you're last. What would you want to say? Well, I'm going to look like an asshole now. Well, question, Rosemary was related to Ren, wasn't she? Or was she related to someone else? And that was the one that gave me the ring, yeah? Yeah, yep. Well, Ren was a guy, you know. Really useful with the demon summoning. Definitely didn't scare the shit out of me. You know, the shape-shifting as well was quite useful at times, especially when we lost him in forest. His arm was really fit, that's, yeah, I think that's the main thing. The exploding dagger came in clutch, I've heard. Um, the guy really went out with a bang as well. Gotta give him points for that. Oh, God. I loved it. I was trying to bluff as much as I can, bro. Lucian's so well as well, that's why I love it. It fits him so well. Yeah, yeah, I'm doing it. I think it sort of makes sense. Does he have a sister? You know he has a sister, but you have not met him yet. Actually, no, Lucian has met her, yeah. Yes, he has a sister. Who's his sister again? Ellie. She's the one that you guys rescued from the laboratory. Yeah, he had a really, really sweet sister. We'd like to see her brother again. I mean, he could have invited me to his wedding. That would have been nice, you know? But, um... You see... I mean, yeah, that really would have helped me, like, here as well. It's like... Everybody else sees the girl, the younger deity. Look up at Kel'Thul. Look at Lucian. You see her slowly crack against this, like, mast. And Kel'Thul, like, gives her, like, a kick in the back of the knee. Just, like, shut up. That reminds me. He had a pretty good kick on him as well. You know, he's very good with his feet, surprisingly. Um, except... You know, one of my favorite memories of him was, um... We went to a brothel this one time. Oh my god, you went to a brothel? Yeah. Oh my god, I can't believe it. He got absolutely plastered and took out drinks for me. He failed. This was before, by the way. Okay. I mean, yeah, that's a thing. His wife, Alyssa, speaking of his marriage, um... It would really save me an awkward conversation, uh, when we go back. If he came back, you know, I mean, he'd go, Hey! I'm gonna go up behind Lucian, tap him on the shoulder, and give him bardic inspiration, because bloody hell, he's gonna need it. Oh, I'll be frightened, Lucian. Oh, damn. He's a fucking DM inspiration for that, though. Jeez. It might just be the greatest natural 20 of all time. Natural 20. Oh my god, add a D12 to that. And do you know what? For the shits and giggles, I've saved my inspiration point. This entire campaign. I'm using it here. And I can keep going as well with this, as well. I've been repairing this, that's why I wanted to come back. It's like, um, yeah, if he could come back alive, I mean, it'd save me an awkward situation with his wife. It's like, imagine me going up to her and saying, Hey, good news! Welcome back to the dating market! Did you roll the D12? Did you roll the D12? Roll the D12 for shits and giggles, why not? Oh, I didn't roll the tweet D12. Yeah, it's my bardic inspirations on D12 now. Just for shits and giggles. I don't have a D12, guys. Do you want me to roll it? Oh, no, yes, I do. I like. That was a 10 on the D12. 30. What do I add with my inspiration point? Is it just a simple D6? Yeah. Okay, uh, that's a 4. Nice, okay. 24. So, that light. Hey, the guy can't say I didn't put in work for him. So, that last light lights up, and Kelsmar does. You passed. I'm proud of you all. And he and Arsene have clasped hands, and they both open up, and there is your last crystal. Combined with this blue and green crystal, they hand it over to you. One more thing. Yes. I'm going on a full rant about Ren at this point. You know, because he didn't invite me to his wedding. Yes. You know, because you guys can do, like, this super cool magic stuff, especially with time and whatnot. Yes. Could you make him think that I'm his dad? Stronger persuasion. Just stuttering with him. Unfortunately, he's already met his dad. You've met his dad now? No, no, no, no. But we've already established, right, that our minds have been fucked with, you know? You know? So, this is... Oh my god. This would be the gravest prank of all time. Throw me Deception with disadvantage. Oh no. Because then... No, I wrote a natural 19! Thank god, so I can see everything! I wrote a natural 19 on the first one, and then the other one was, uh... Fuck, it was a 14. But I don't know what my modifier is for Deception. Yeah, Charles Moore looks at you like, No, not this time. That's why I'm not your champion. You just don't know how to have fun. Damn. I'm just gonna walk off. Cool, and they kind of, like... Before I go off, I go to the pad and then just go, Call me. I think we're a win. Because I really like the way she laughs. So, they walk through a separate door, and the door shuts. You are left in a room with this throne. What do you guys do? I'm going to start moving towards the throne, putting my gem into one of the slots. Save a slot, yeah. I'll put the third slot in. Cool, just leave, put the last one in. Should be a dick and run away with it. Why would you dare? I would, if he literally did that, I would pounce on him and start mauling him. That's what... So I have the last one, right? Yes. You have the last one. Guys, how was that wedding, by the way? It was a wedding, it was... I may have had a date, but it wasn't that exciting. I mean... Oh, so you had a date too? I did have a date. I've been seeing this lovely lady from the revolution called Tana. Lovely tiefling woman. Ah, Tana, yeah, yeah, yeah. We've kind of become a thing. Next time we're anywhere near a jeweller's, I may buy a ring, you never know. To wear it for fights, you know, to get the ring. Might want to invite everyone, you know. Yes, okay, I will keep that in mind. I love this. I'll wear it, not if it's the last one. You never know when you'll blow up and need someone to come and bring you back. Yes, exactly, I'm keeping this in mind any time I do die and I need... I'm going to talk the gods back to bringing me back, all right? I'll make sure you're at my wedding. Yeah! What if I make you my best man? Yes, Luffy and his bestie did ruin all the ladies' time right now. You are now my best man. Just honestly, after seeing... I'll hold you to it. No, well, to be honest... I'll hold you to this. To be honest... You said this has ruined the gods. No, the thing is, as soon as he realised that we have been friends since, like, our children, he's like, oh my gosh, Mal wouldn't... Mal would be a groomsman, but I think Lucien would be my best man. Because with my memories being untucked, I would now kind of have this... like, a heck of a lot of a bigger emotional connection with Lucien now. Yeah, yeah. So, like, he would probably be my best man if I get married. So you don't know if it's not the time. Oh, thanks! This is very much Lucien in a nutshell. This is Lucien in a nutshell, thank you. You know, I can probably expect that. I can probably expect, like, marrying up with him. And I love it. So if he does start running out, I will chase after him and pounce on him and... slap the shit out of him. You see, as this happens, if you run away... I've already got a plan for this. I've already got a plan for this as well. I don't know what this plan is. So, right, so... I go to run away, he pounces on me, right? That's technically an attack. I use my ability to... No, no, no, no! You are laying physical contact upon me. That is not willingly, or asked for, in any way, shape or form. Okay. Therefore, in my mind, it counts as an attack, which would trigger one of my abilities to cast... Basically, I get to turn into mist and teleport up to 30 feet away. Okay. And as soon as that has finished activating, that mentioned all my ass out of there. Where are you going? Oh, I have no clue. So I'm not going to do that yet. Oh, okay. I'm not going to do that yet. That was just my plan, you know, if I wanted to. Okay. Because right now I'm going to be needing some convincing, you know? I'm not a complete asshole. I'm going to be honest, I didn't expect to get past the gods. So, Lucian, why are you so opposed to bringing Ren back? Is it literally that you missed his wedding? Is that it? Yes. Pretty much. Yeah. Why is me making you my best man not enough? You're my best friend. I am literally your best friend. You're my best friend. I don't even remember your name. So this conversation is being had, the lights in the back of the throne glow, and sitting in this chair, clearly heavily laughing at this conversation that's been going on, sits a woman with long, like, celestial hair, lots of stars that run down to the ends of her hair. These deep, like, starry eyes look at you, and this deep, like, midnight dress that comes down all the way down to her ankles, laughs and laughs and laughs and goes, you guys are very heavily entertaining. Excuse me, what are you doing? You summoned me. I'm surprised you did not want to talk to me. I thought, um, I thought he didn't have put the last crystal in, yeah. Oh god, Kelthmore told you you had to put all of them in? No, god no. Kelthmore is a very nice man. Did you see, like, how much bargaining power I've lost here? No shit. Really? You really think you're going to pull that, that nonsense, really? She gives you that, like, questionable look. I mean, it's worth a try. Gods love a try-out, right? No, but I do. She goes, well, I can happily say you have most of the god's support, apart from one. I don't really trust him anyway. What were you going to say, Rowan? I was, I was going to say, let me guess, well, I know he's not a god anymore, but Hades? Yes. The crystal you got was from his, from his brother. She looks at Kelthmore's door. But, so inspiring, Quintet, you have passed all your trials. One, you passed just because someone had stepped in. But, I ask you, if you really want to bring him back, I need your full support in something. Anything. Okay. Sure, no, no, not anything. We need to wait first before we can say anything. I want information first. I want information first. You all have to promise me two things. One. Is just to use the summon stones to destroy the dictator and what may come after. Of course. What comes after? Happily, happily. The other is once the dictator is sold and what may come after, you will rebuild this world and make it better. With every essence of my being, I promise that. She gets up, you notice she's really freakishly, and she comes down and she says, everybody come around in a circle for this to work. I need you to all seek inside yourselves and find your best and strongest memory of your friend. Are you ready? Yep. As you all connect hands in a circle. Forcibly revolution, apparently. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. I've looked at the gym because as this is going on, I've snuck a gym in my back pocket and I'll join in and I'll help them. Okay. I'm just laughing at my memory of Ren. Yeah, I'm just laughing at my memory of Ren. As you are all crowded in the circle, thinking of these strong memories of Ren. Everybody, roll me, because you've passed all your trials, roll me a persuasion with advantage. No, that would be a 22, not natural. Cool, 22. 17 for boss. Cool. Now? Now? Okay, here we go. Natural 20. Nice. Motion? Quite ironic that the stage where I was, I hope, expecting to fail, I got a natural 20. At this stage, where I actually kind of want to help the guy, I got a natural one. No! So, as you're- If you feel in the wrong direction, it's better. As you're all around this circle- One second. You feel yourself spinning, the world around you spins and spins and spins. You all fall to the floor, motionless. One second, sorry. And you recognize where you all are. Motion, you've not been long here. This is Holy Sigil. And you hear running footsteps, because you've made some really loud noise, running towards you. Well, Rhythm, as you raise your head, as you're on these steps of the grand cathedral of Holy Sigil, running towards you are two people. One, Rhythm will definitely know who it is, it's Tanner. Yep. And the other one is G. It's GHM, Malachi's son. Jesus! Medics! And they're kind of like, Mal, your son comes up to you and tries to lift you up. Like, Dad, you're too heavy! Please tell me you're awake! I'm sorry, these muscles are too heavy. I'm going to try and do a perception test to see if I can find Ren's body. Run me through perception. That's solid. Come on. 16. 16. No. You just see Tanner and G? I looked around and I asked my father, it's like, son, we were at the Swansea Islands and now we're back here. How's that possible? I don't know. It's just, it is. And, oh shit! That thing's in the Holy City. There's something I need to get to the Cathedral. All right, calm down. Tanner's like, guys, you need to calm down. Maybe we should just go and see someone. You guys have been gone for a couple of days. You sure you're okay? Well, not again. No. No, no, you went. There was a big explosion. We just let the other adventuring party go, like, not even long ago. And then you just appeared out of nowhere. You weren't even married in that time. No. No. Come on. And I didn't stare at Fazz. Tanner's like, just like, come on, let's go. Yeah, I'll try my best to kind of help her. He pushes you towards the entrance now. Come on, Dad, let's go. Okay. This whole wobbly-wobbly time shit is doing my head in. And as you kind of step through the Cathedral, there's lots of hustle and bustle, as it seems like there are several repairs going on. And there's lots of medics going around. And you're brought to a kitchen where Ritia is standing there. Oh. I... You guys are here. Where have you been? Well, we went to Erosia. We defeated Darak Stormblade. Um. Uh-huh. And unfortunately... Right, as you say this, she, like, wipes down on her aprons. Sit down with them. Everybody sit down. I'll bring you some tea. Um, he sits down, but as he does, he's kind of tearing up and on the verge, very much on the verge of tears. Like, I'm hugging you, like, just doing that, like, that confident thing, like, toughing you on the head. Like, it's okay, it's fine. And he will literally just struggling through the tears. We lost Ren. And as this is said, are you... Someone comes from the back, kind of, with a, like a, like a baby carrier on their back. And Elissa enters. Oh, fuck. Um, you guys okay? I heard you guys on my back. What happened? I, um, I stand up and I go... And everyone else? I stand up and I go to her and I, um, I put my hand on her shoulder very gently, it's like... Yeah, I'm literally, I'm literally crying into Flippin' Tanner's shoulder. I'm literally just bawling. I'm, I'm, I'm dead. I'm done. I can't, I can't say it again. God, okay. Okay, guys, I'll do this. I feel like I've walked into, like, a, like, someone's fear of what happened. Well, I don't know. Uh, there's good news and there's bad news. Right. Which one would you like first? Good news. Welcome back to the dating market. And I'm just gonna put my hand out to the side. Oh, Jesus, Lucien! He likes to look at you, like, what the fuck? She, like, she takes, um, Trayda out of, out of the baby carrier and hands it to Mel and goes, like, you guys can be honest, what is going on? Like, let the jokes aside, but... Um, um, as I'm holding the, the baby, I'm just, like, looking at the letter. It's like, um, it's like, um, well, well, sorry, uh, Lucien, well, anyway, just, um, ignore the fact that that's important. Yeah, I told the gods that's what I was going to say. I'm not, I'm not lying to the gods. Oh, hold on. You guys close to the gods? Like, okay, now I'm really confused. Um, and I, I'm, I'm just gonna hold it in a single take. I'm down and I look at her and listen. It's like, it's, it's about red. Um, she, and I looked down at the baby and I was just like, and it really started to hurt and I look at Alyssa and it's like, I'm sorry. Red didn't make it. They both look at each other, like, between Alyssa and, and Rydia and she, they all, like, look at each other. Slightly shocked. And Alyssa looks at Rydia and you hear shuffling coming from the back. And you hear, like, almost someone sliding their foot along the floor. I thought, you know, as they all look around, as someone walks in. Okay. Uh, hey guys, what'd I miss? And that's where we're going to end the session. What? I will, I, I, I will say as you, as you, as you see me, I'm walking with a cane and I have half my face burned. Like, there's a big, like, burn. Like, as in, uh, Dark Knight Tomb Raider, uh, Dark Knight, uh, Two-Face, uh, burned. Ah, not so much. I have bridgement temp.