Bloodstone #29 | The Road to Duskwatch | Terra Prime

[00:00:00] You're listening to a Saturday Night Gaming Podcast, Bloodstone, run by the Game Master, Scott Hibbard. Hope you enjoy.

[00:00:23] Good evening. Good afternoon. Welcome back. Good night. Good morning. Quad City. I mean, wait, what? Wait, what? You're back with DC Sizzle, or DJ Sizzle. Yeah. MC Sizzle? MC Sizzle. That's right. MC Sizzle. Yes.

[00:00:52] All right. Man. So, let me recap here for y'all, because, wow, you guys have done a lot in the past couple of sessions. We tried. Diplomacy with twins, cutting off heads of werewolves, walking into the temple, and taking on the council. Uh, Saving Little Girls. We started everything by saving little girls. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:01:22] Sure did. Would you believe that that was 17 sessions ago? 17 sessions? That's right. Wow. The longest game I've ever run is maybe fives. Yeah. All right. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Your average campaign takes 12 sessions. Okay. So, if you take us together, it equals an average person. You excel at the number of success. Success. Sessions.

[00:01:49] And Mike has only changed characters. And I do the bare minimum of sessions to make a cohesive story. You know what, Dan? Just as a side note before I read this recap, I'm just waiting for you to create a second character that's a twin of him, and it's Mike and Ike. Oh, God. Oh, I love that idea to explain why that one's different. I have played to the seed. You are welcome.

[00:02:18] I'm going to do a Venom-style thing where I just leave a piece of myself somewhere. There you go. Oh. All right. So, last time, you walked into a house of faith and found a throne of monsters. You returned from Black Pine, bloodied but victorious, carrying proof of Scarn's fall and the weight of everything the hunt had cost you. In Varnwick, you took what piece you could. Steel was polished.

[00:02:48] Wounds were bound. Prayers were whispered. And for a fleeting moment, the world held still. But beneath the cathedral, Commander Varamont uncovered something far more dangerous than any werewolf pack. The twins. Lilitha and Veyron had been erased from history itself. Not forgotten. Removed. And only one man had the power to do that. So you chose to walk into the lion's den. Inside the grand chancel of St. Belisande, beneath stained glass and suffocating incense,

[00:03:18] the truth finally bared his teeth. The Belar did not deny his sins. He confessed them. His children were blemished, and he had cut them from the world like rock from flesh. And then the room changed. The bishops revealed what they truly were. Vampires. Every last one. Their loyalty not to the church, but to something far older and far darker. Chaos followed by thunder after lightning. The cathedral became a battlefield.

[00:03:45] Fire, acid, steel, and spell tore through crimson rogue monsters as the party fought to survive the ambush. Greg's armor became a storm of flying steel. That's me! Ulrich's hammer fell like judgment itself. Lena, Sybil, Mike, and the traveler carved through the undead with ruthless precision. Even as the revenant forced its weight into the sanctum once more, hunting Sybil now, you held a lion. And then the Belar showed his hand.

[00:04:13] When you struck at him, the bloodstone flared and turned your power against his own counsel, burning them to ash in an instant. He didn't defend them. He used them. Then with a jester, he bound the revenant in chains of radiant light and spoke the truth none of you wanted to hear. The bloodstone alone is useless. The amulet held by Count Dracula is the other half. Together, they are the key to ending the blight. So you made you an offer wrapped in a threat. Travel to Duskwatch.

[00:04:43] Infiltrate Dracula's fortress. Bring back the amulet. In return, he frees you from the revenant's relentless judgment. Refuse, and he lets the hound off its leash. As if to prove his control, the twins are dragged in chains before being taken away, still bickering, still dangerous, still very much alive. Commander Viermont stood in a wreckage of everything he believed, silent as the truth collapsed around him. Now you stand at the edge of your next impossible path.

[00:05:12] Three roads lead to Duskwatch. Each one promises danger. And somewhere in the dark, something is still watching, waiting, judging. Sorry, I just got a mental image of the lion from Chronicles of Narnia. Don't quote the genealogies to me. I was there when they were born.

[00:05:39] And so, you are currently in with Vardwick. And the three paths that you were given was one, Dredfang Pass, which is close to Crow's Hollow. It is the furthest away from Castle Dracula. It's the longest journey, but it's also the least difficult to travel. You have the Vail Spire Pass, which is middle ground.

[00:06:08] It's more difficult than the Dredfang Pass, but it's also less difficult than the Moonfall Pass in a shorter time. Then you have the Shortcut. The dangers. Which is essentially going around behind the castle, which is Moonfall Pass in the north. And it's very treacherous. Many have tried and attempted. Didn't we already think so? And they have all died. All of them died.

[00:06:36] Oh, and not a single person has made it through that pass. Oh, we're going down by our home. I want to go back. Yeah. Especially if a traveler can tell the portals. You have 100%. That's all. We're getting there. It's all of them. Yeah, we'd be crazy to go that way. Well, that's the shortest path. Yeah. The shortest path is, yes. Well, you will see why time matters in a moment. Tell me they're all still alive. They tried. They're just traveling with some time.

[00:07:06] But you guys have decided to go ahead and take a short trip back to Crow's Hollow before you begin your journey. So, with that said... It's going to save us to travel all the way across the continent. The traveler, I believe, wants to travel. Traveling... To teleport? Ideally. You said there's rivers all over it. I mean, I'm down to walk. I just don't want to narrate that for the next... It's going to go a couple different ways.

[00:07:33] You can try to teleport, which will be your role. Or you can make multiple roles and travel back. Not using teleport. It's up to you guys. I feel like teleportation is always more fun. Dan would totally say. Yeah. It may not be the safest way. But it's always going to be more fun. Portals are better than teleporting, I think. At least you're not getting rearranged.

[00:08:03] That's just because you can see the destination on the other end. I think it's the fact that your atoms aren't being rearranged. Yeah, there's that too. But you do get to possibly go through hell to get there. All right. Let's do it then. I get a plus three bonus because I know the place very well. I helped build it. Yep. And what is the spell cast difficulty?

[00:08:32] It is a roll of 16. 16, and you get a plus three. I get a plus three. From it, plus where your bonuses are for spell cast. We all have to be holding hands. There's a spell cast bonus here of plus three. Okay, so that's the confusing part. So down here it says plus three spell cast roll. And then I can click here. Know the place very well. All right. Oh, so now it's a plus six. So I get, yeah. So it's just an automatic.

[00:09:00] It's a static plus three plus the three of the bonus. It's your trait. It's your trait plus the bonus. Oh, okay. Because you know the place really well. That's my assumption. Right? I'm assuming your trait is plus three. What am I supposed to be true? Yeah, my knowledge. Yeah. And any number of willing targets within close range. Is everybody willing? Nice. I'm not willing. Everybody has to touch me. I am not only willing. I am excited.

[00:09:30] Everybody's excited to do this, right? My full plate armor is wobbling. Oh, shucks. Hey, are you rotting? Yeah. My full plate armor is wobbling. Oh, my God. Why did you have to do a noise? That's a good noise. I enjoyed that noise. Because I generated the full plate myself. So we'll do a plus six on the roll.

[00:09:58] I only have to make a 16, so I feel like that's sufficient. Uh, she has that thing that gives you a plus one bonus. Who has it? That's only when she has her thing up. Yeah. Her dome. Yeah, I don't have the dome. So if she could drop the dome. I think all I've got to make is a 16 of the dome. If she drops it and teleports, she's not going to get it back. Right, you're not? Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[00:10:27] Okay, so first of all, and you heard this, strange patterns. I said six. My hope is a six right now. So that means I gain a hope. Nice. All right. And so that would be plus the six. I actually made 16. So I met the score. Because that's a six and a four, so I rolled a 16 total. 16 meter with hope. With hope. With hope.

[00:10:57] So that's a success with hope. So we also got another hope. So I got another hope. What a great way of starting. You're almost caught up to me. By the way, I have 10 fear to start just as I bring out there. Hey. You're running short. By the way, I have 10 hope to start with just so I don't know. You got 10 hope? I just declared it. Just so you guys can know what mine sits at. Yeah. No way. All right.

[00:11:27] We have Crow's Hollow. Wee. Wee. He's being circled. Long time enough for being home. So the way that this would look for you to know, though, is that I actually shoot the revolver directly into the ground. And then a blue fire just starts to surround the area. I'm just so glad you didn't shoot everybody. Yeah. You just get up with it. Like, you're just like, you go home. And you go home. And you go home. Of course, I was thinking he was going to do that. Like, he's just going to sit there and pull it and he just uses his hand as the hammer.

[00:11:57] And you're just like, wait. Before you keep your reaction, you're just there. Where am I? Yeah. I'm going to send everybody home. That's a lot of ammo. I just conserve. Shit hit the ground. Big portal. You fall through. The flame eats you. You don't know what's going on still. It still seems scary. And then you realize, hey, my treehouse. I don't have to walk. Welcome back to Crow's Hollow.

[00:12:27] Well, except for Sybil. Welcome for the first time to our treehouse. Dude, come check out our really cool treehouse. It's the awesomest treehouse ever. Now, by the way, here at Crow's Hollow is where you, quote unquote, took your rest or whatnot. But then also where you acquired your items, et cetera, et cetera. That you guys have. It's like showing up and you're like, where did I put that thing? Yeah. I should have taken it when I first left.

[00:12:53] So, here at Crow's Hollow, why don't you guys go ahead and describe. Obviously, it's awesome. Where did you land up anyway? Where did you land up at Crow's Hollow? Where did you land up? The brothel. We're right there. It's now a brothel. It's been taken over by someone different who likes brothels. Yeah. Management. Management had a shift. Now there's a brothel. We went to the cemetery.

[00:13:23] That is downstairs, sir. That is where Travion lives. That's too much money. That's where you're going to make him walk. We don't want to intrigue on the floor. That's where Silent Robert and Jason, the zombies, live. The tree village, though, is really cool. It's a tree village. I just remembered the thing. You can totally hang out at our house because we have like a house with hammocks. What's up? I just remembered what I picked up. Oh, yeah. Hey, and you get to go back to your apothecary. Yeah.

[00:13:52] See how everything's going since... I'm assuming the wizard is probably there. That's my dad, right? He was training. Did he die? The wizard's not here. You know what? He's staying at the wizard's tower. Greg, what are you doing in Crow's Hollow? Is this my dad I'm talking to you? No. No. Are you Greg? That wizard is over here. Oh, yeah. He's at the... I'm just going to go visit. Oh, is he over here? Oh, no, no, no. He's at the far end of the comp region. Oh, okay.

[00:14:21] We went to the other, other place where we first started. I'm just going to stand next to the door because I feel very comfortable just standing in the spot. Okay. Done. All right. It's kind of his calling in life. Yeah, I'm going to have my sword in his holder. Standing right at the door. He's a decorated servant. He decorated. All right. So, why don't you go ahead and describe for us what your graveyard looks like, sir? It's well overgrown and nobody's taken care of it since we left.

[00:14:51] I was like disappointed in the town of Crow's Hollow. I think you maybe need to raise up some gardeners. I do. Get busy, gardeners. Yeah. Silent Robert and Jason. Put them back to work. Yeah, like we need somebody to maintain the graveyard. They just pop up and they're like, whoa, it's gone. All these hands just start pulling flour, pulling weeds down.

[00:15:17] Yeah, like you see the weed and then a hand comes out and grabs the weed and then pulls it back down. Oh my God. That's a great idea. Yeah. Holy crap. Holy crap. That's a really cool idea. Undead gardening? Yeah, like how would you keep the graveyard? This is why we have plants versus zombies. That's it. Well, I read a book. No. I don't want to do that. What are you doing, Mike? I am checking on the apothecary. All right.

[00:15:47] Okay. So, as you go back to the apothecary where, quote unquote, it all started with Pyrrhus. Yes. Oh, Pyrrhus. Nobody has taken care of anything here. Mass fact? It looks a little ransack. Uh-oh. Yeah. Everybody stole all your ass. The supplies are all over the place. Somebody got into my poisons? Are they still laying on the ground? They're broken vials. Some are empty. Oh, are the people that got into them still laying on? Don't know.

[00:16:17] But, yeah, just there's some dust, you know, like it's not been taken care of because nobody's been here to run it. I know somebody who has gotten into brewing potions. So, any tools that I find that are still okay, I'm going to get to still. Give to Sybil. She can hang out there and make health potions if she wants to. Oh, so you bring Sybil one? Yeah. All right, Sybil. She doesn't work there.

[00:16:45] Well, I'm giving her work to do. I know. I was saying because Tony said, do you want a job? Because Pyrrhus apparently moved into the Astral Spire and never came home. He upgraded. Yeah. He's good. I mean, if a wizard asks you to become his apprentice, you say yes. Well, especially if he can teleport. Depending on the wizard. Yeah, let's not get carried away. There's some wizards. Like Tim. Would you really apprentice for Tim? No, I would not.

[00:17:15] Tim was a great wizard. If he forgets his own name. If he could teleport me to the action. Isn't he Tim too now? He upgraded. Tim too. Tim too. So anyways, with Sybil there though, since you do give access to these supplies, Sybil, if you want to go ahead and write on your sheet there, you get an additional minor health potion. You're welcome.

[00:17:47] And what do we get from hanging out at the brothel bar? We were always very careful to keep the poisons in one room and the potions in the other. You get syphilis by hanging out at the brothel bar. Oh, syphilis. Well, then you need poisons to kill the syphilis. Penicillins at least. I think that's a poison for syphilis. Is it? I don't know. I believe you. You're the father carries that I can't argue with you. You're the syphilis expert here.

[00:18:17] Who? Me? I don't know. The apopitone. Well, at least it's cute. Is that where syphilis goes? No. No. You don't want it there. So, Traveler. That's me. What are you doing? Not actually getting syphilis. What are you talking about? We're at the brothels. Just drinking. I'm drinking at the bar. I'm getting hammered. That's also a poison. It's been a long, arduous quest.

[00:18:46] I'm telling everyone who's sitting at the bar, like, listen, I have seen some shit that would turn you white. Cats and dogs getting along. Living together. Living together. Turning into human. Turns out there were wares. There was a few wares. Were bears and whatnot. But they weren't aware. But they were over there. They were not aware of it. Or where. Where are they? I don't know.

[00:19:17] I love that shirt that's got all the different, oh, we're wolf. Oh, we're wolf. Oh, no. This bar's been taken over by the bar bear, Ian. I found that shirt not that long ago. Yes. I know. This is now the barbarian's bar. I put it with Ian's bar. Yeah, he's a bear that owns the bar. His name is Ian. And his bar bear. Bear Ian. Yeah. Exactly. All right.

[00:19:46] What about Lena? I'm hanging out at the bar as well. She's hanging over the bar. She's trying to, like, reach over for the bottom shelf stuff. I don't need to go around. I mean, I can just go around. Like, this is my home. Barbarian's like, hey, whoa. Hey, chill. Show some respect. Chill. I got this. Respect the process. Put some respect on my bar. Ulrich, by the way, he is finding him a place to meditate.

[00:20:16] I bet. And to reflect. He's had some big revelations. Like next to a mirror, perhaps? Yes, he has. Like he had an entire book of revelations? Yeah. No. But we just watched the end time fight. No, no, no, no. The entire book was one revelation. It was just one. Yeah. Here's the revelation. I'm just going to be cleaning up in the poison side.

[00:20:45] Check it out the crows, man. Excellent. And Sybil. New place here. After Mike has kind of showed you where the potions are. Where the good stuff is. I don't even look like I used to work. No, you don't. At all. Not even close. So what do you do? So you've never been here before. So you can hang out with us at the bar. You can explore around.

[00:21:14] You can make potions at the apothecaries. Next time you need to make a character. Okay. That works in the pot. Sounds good. He should be. He should be. Magus white. He should cook all of his recipes. Does this count as downtime? What's that? This is. Does this count as downtime? This is where we got. This is where we did everything. But like. That we put on our third. We got recovered. Everything got recovered. And we got. Yeah. But we. We leveled up. A whole bunch of shit. We didn't.

[00:21:43] We guys didn't actually take. Downtime action. We leveled up during downtime. Basically. Yeah. We just leveled up. What I'm saying. If you're at the apothecary shop. Can't. Don't you have like a downtime action. That like. Let's you make sure. That's. I wonder if I gave you the extra. That's why he just gave me. Hey. Okay. She just proved it. Isn't that. What's we're doing now? I'm confused. Seriously though. I don't know. I'm at the bar now. So. You came to the bar? Yay.

[00:22:13] Did you need something to drink? Barbarians got plenty. Are you into clear liquor? Brown liquor? It's not potions. Pointy or people liquor. Right? Just say yes. Yeah. All right. Give her the four horsemen. That's the shot she's here for. Ulrich had revelation. She gets the four horsemen. All four? Yep. I did not hear her. Jim. Jim is outrageous. Evan. Jack. And. Wait.

[00:22:44] Johnny. You know their names. Who else was it? Johnny. Johnny. That's it. Johnny. Johnny. Johnny, Jack, Jim, and Evan. Johnny's my favorite. Mix them all together. You got the four horsemen. The fourth guy just happened to have a different name. Because he couldn't be alliterative. It was Johnny, Jack, and Jim. Everybody was like. And what's your name again? Evan. Oh, he made it even. He made the numbers even. Jevin. Got it. No, they're all pronounced in old world tongues. So it's Yak.

[00:23:13] Yevon. Yanni. Oh, yeah, Yanni. And Yevon. And he starts playing piano. Piany. Um. All right, so. So. As you. Oh, while we're here, do you pick up your poison that I brewed for you? What does it do? Behind door number one, tell us.

[00:23:42] Oh, it's still on an old character sheet. I wrote it down for Scott to know if she ever actually used it. And she has never used it. And I've replaced that character sheet. She probably doesn't want to. What does it do? I wrote it down. What was never told? I gave it to you in my backstory. That was two Mike's ago. Yeah. I was never told what this does. Mike never told you. A free experiment. Why would you make a potion for somebody and not tell them what it does?

[00:24:10] You told me a very deadly poison. I did say that, but I don't remember why I needed it. And. And I created it for you. And you've never touched it. He doesn't ask questions. See, Mike's real backstory is that once a long time ago he had a lot of friends. A very powerful mage was actually one of his friends. And she fought and killed this undead sorcerer.

[00:24:38] And then he got really sad that she didn't come back and all his friends moved on and did stuff. So he went on about to become slime. Mike's real backstory is that he just doesn't ask questions. Oh, we'll come hang out at the bar. Because too often. It's the best place to be. The questions just lead to weird stuff. And it's a whole lot simpler if you just killed everything. Oh, no. If you don't ask questions, that leads to weird stuff.

[00:25:06] Yeah, but you don't understand that it's weird if you don't ask questions. Oh. So after you. Are taking the time to prepare for your journey. Clean up the poison. Shut up. So that nobody gets into the poisons on accident. Yeah. So that it doesn't contaminate the tree. I'm assuming it was dripping into the cemetery. Upgrading the zombies. Where do you guys.

[00:25:34] Where after you're prepared to go on your journey here into Duskwatch. Where do you meet? What was your rendezvous point? The cemetery is where we met last time. Yeah. I think that sounds right. It's the base of the tree. We meet by the gravestone. Sounds good. It's well fertilized. Underneath where the poison is. The poison pool that gravestone. I wouldn't.

[00:26:03] Well, it's not dripping anymore. But there was some acid in that tree. It's like acid. It'll send you on a trip. On a rocky ship. To the ground. Oh, sorry. We're on a ship. Get it? Because the acid dripped a hole in the ground. Yes. So. Have a nice trip. See you next fall.

[00:26:31] You rendezvous at the graveyard. Javion. Javion. Where you at? You old rotten looking motherfucker. All except for Ulrich. What the fuck? That's really mean. Ulrich's so romantic. Why would you say that? He's an un-tead necromantic vampire. He's contemplating life decisions. But y'all were the ones at the bar. Hey, you slimy son of a bitch. What are you up to? Hey, don't talk about the bar. I don't quite know.

[00:27:00] I was looking at you, you son of a gun. What are we doing? I got into the booze. I can tell. Well, hell, if it ain't hollow, man. How you doing? Over there, Greg. Booze. And pointy ear, lady. Your ears are still pointy. I've been with you the whole time. Shit! You were here the whole time. I really did drink too much. Jeez.

[00:27:31] He's like, man, maybe I should have said that. I turned off that filter a long time ago. So on the bright side, we never brought back the wagon. You did not. Well, because the wagon wheel broke off. That was the end of it. That was the last of the story. So we're going to need you to make another wagon.

[00:28:01] I mean, it's customary when you go on a trip, you need a wagon. So then we had the wagon. I stole it from that old farmer because we had a little girl that was sick. That's why we got the wagon. Yeah. You got legs now. You can walk. I do have legs and they hurt when I walk. Well, I did. Yeah. And the mist shrouded forest where you are at. Heading towards Streatfang Pass. Nope. Not yet. Graveyard still. Yep.

[00:28:32] But in the direction of. All right. You see. Hi. A pair of red eyes. Is it my friend? The one that got away? And then as the mist begins to part, you see a familiar figure. Oh. Is it sexy figure? Yeah. Is it the little girl? It's the physician. Is the physician a woman? Is it curvy? No, it's the vampire physician that took the little girl. Oh, Frank?

[00:29:03] Wasn't his name Victor? No, Frank. No, Victor. Wait, that's my dad. These are two different names. I'm not sure which one. Not a different name. Maybe his name was Victor Frankly? Frankly, I think his name's Victor. Jesus. Surely I'm not wrong. His name is Victor. Another name. His name is Victor, yeah. But anyways. Don't call him Shirley. Then you see another familiar sight of a little girl. Yep. As she runs up to you, Mike. Hey. And then hugs your leg. Aww.

[00:29:32] Then she looks at you and she says, it's Uncle Mike. What the hell? I'm going to save you, little girl. He didn't even know you. He was jumping in trees. She's a little girl. I won't fuss at her all. You're an adult. She's a child. He doesn't even look like he looked when she knew him. I ate the thing that ate her mom. Is that what you can tell? No. Okay. So theoretically, it's possible that I could look like her mom. Oh God. Sybil could.

[00:30:02] Have I seen her mom? I'm able to take the form of things that I've eaten. He can show you. He can show you what she looks like. I can only turn into her mom if I've seen her mom. Oh, I just realized she could turn into Mike. That would be so fucked up. Just look at her. Oh, she could turn into Mike. Oh God. This is so fucked up. Can it be another, what's his name in heels situation? Night Owl. Night Owl. Night Owl in heels.

[00:30:32] Night Owl in heels. Can it be another Night Owl in heels? Yeah. No, just look like Mike, like he looked when she knew him. And then she can unmute his other Uncle Mike. All right. So you see the doctor once again. Yes. As he sees her party. I'm petting her. I'm assuming she's still about this high. So he looks at her and he says,

[00:30:59] Victoria, go into the village. I'll catch up. Wait. No. Tell me this, doc. You didn't like rename her, did you? Did you like, what's your name little girl? Well, my name's Victor. So you are now Victoria. Like, so. I want that to be true. Like her real name's Ellen. And he's like, your name is Victoria. As everyone's kind of confused, like looking at her,

[00:31:28] because nobody ever got her name. So. Even Uncle Mike never got her name. Nobody ever got the name. Didn't I? That's a good one. I know. Maybe she'll be my next character. Eight people. Not a single person. I was assuming she was young enough to not have a name. Yeah, people don't get named until they get. She was like a legend. You're close. So, Victor, he looks at you as everyone's a little confused. He's like, but she didn't name? Well, he looks at you and he says,

[00:31:57] a side effect of the treatment was amnesia. So he gave her a name. He gave her a name. Yep. Because every living being deserves a name. Oh. I would have just called her Newt. He looks at your party and he says, I have heard you're beginning your travels to Dustwatch. Yes. I hear that's where we're going.

[00:32:26] Well, actually, we're going to specifically see this old dude, Dracule. He's got a... We've got to actually say his name. Yeah, he's got like a necklace. We need his necklace. Yeah, it's the Bloodstone Amulet. Yes. Wait, the entire thing. Does he have the Bloodstone Amulet or the necklace part? We have the stone.

[00:32:56] We have the stone. He has the amulet. Right. He doesn't have the stone. Bellart does. Yeah. Well, I mean, he's in our pocket. Yeah. The Bellart's in our pocket. It's not like we could just... He says, yes, I knew one day this would occur. We have to get the Bellart and get Dracula. Thank you.

[00:33:18] He says, just so you understand what you're about to face. He says, my father is unforgiving. We're all so genealogically connected. I've been getting into genealogy lately. I met some twins.

[00:33:48] Weird, it's even consuming people. Wait. He's your brother. Kinda. He was also born of your mother. Somewhat. I'm well aware. Ah. That's what you've said. That means he knew you were his brother, but he just didn't want to tell you. And that's why she called me uncle. He says, I assume that my mother has already showed you the truth. That makes sense. We have been shown the truth, yes.

[00:34:19] We have been shown a vision of a tree and a lady that was dying at the tree and a dude that's put the lady in the tree. Yes. That's the truth. As I understand it. Those were the pictures that flashed before my eye. And then I was born from the tree. I'll just take your word for it. And then I was born from that tree. And it wasn't a vision. We were actually there. This is memory. We were there in the memory.

[00:34:49] We were time traveling. We affected the memory. Yeah. You guys are in the memoriescape. That was, I assume, you're doing Mr. Time. Probably not. I don't know. This is time and space, not time and memory. Donagard does creation and destruction, which you can do with memories. Are we still in a tavern? I just wanted to know. You guys are in the graveyard. Okay.

[00:35:16] To both of us put together to make a memory. The creation of time and the destruction of space. Bam! Memory. Dead brothers. Yes. Yes. And he says, I presume you're traveling through Dreadfane Pass. That is the current plan. Do you know of a reason not to? Well, Duskwatch itself is the most dangerous place in Wachovia.

[00:35:46] The closer that you get to Castle Dracula, the more dangerous your travels will become. It's not just him you have to worry about. It's the other vampires. Yes. Are they on his side or against him? Is there civil unrest within Duskwatch? What do you know about this place's politics?

[00:36:12] I know that the families serve Dracula, but they also wouldn't mind no longer serving him. Chomping at the bit, as it were. If he was to be removed, there would be a battle for power. Power struggle. Yes. I have another question.

[00:36:40] Seeing as I've never fought a vampire, well, we kind of did. They were bishops. I've fought holy vampires, which confused me because I've read books as a child that they were allergic to holy water and such. In this land, what are the best ways to kill vampires? If I was going to. Not that you are one.

[00:37:12] He's already admitted. Yeah. He says... Half. Sunlight is the best weapon. However, it's in short supply here in Wachovia due to the everlasting mist. Your next best is going to be sanctified and blessed weapons, which those in Duskwatch are in very short supply. What about sarcasm? Would that hurt them? Does it matter which deity is blessing it? Yes.

[00:37:40] You need the holy blessing, such as from Saint Belisant. Hers seems to be the most effective blessing, most likely due to her connection to Dracula. And the tree. She's dead, but... Right? Oh, look at the stakes out of the tree. Something else altogether. It's affecting the tree. Dracula seems to be unaffected by her delight. That's good. I have a question about that.

[00:38:06] He also seems to be heavily resistant to most forms of harm against vampires. Pretend it or something. We get his ex-baby mama, Saint Belisant's blessing for our weapons. Well, the best way to do that is to cleanse the tree. Can you cleanse the tree? And then I can just go home? It's the bloodstone that cleanses the tree to you.

[00:38:36] The path you're traveling through Dreadfane Pass, you will come across two vampire families that you must be careful of, or potentially will come across. You have the Night Reach vampires. They are winged vampires. Winged or winged? Like they've weaned themselves off blood or they have wings? They have wings. Oh, winged. I love them having suckling vampires.

[00:39:05] And they use them to their advantage. They're not the Cullens. Like leathery bat wings or angel wings? They're bat wings, right? They're bats, yes. All right, cool. And he says, then you have the Duskborns. They specialize in the mind. They can make you see things that are not there. They can project illusions over themselves. And they can also... I've had more than a drink in a bar. I know how that works.

[00:39:33] They've been known to place others in a trance while they're drinking their blood. To give them the most euphoric experience you could have. Yeah. Let's go down. One night at a bar. But also, before you get to Castle Dracula, you'll pass through Gravenmir. Oh, those are herded.

[00:40:06] They're... We're eternally bound to this land. Some would say they're one of the first ones to be trapped here. They're ancient. They're powerful. You will have to pass through there to get to the castle. They're probably slightly crazy at this point. They're spirits. They don't even have flesh and brain. They don't even have brains. All they have is consciousness and memory. So they'd just be cycling through this. It'd be Groundhog Day for a thousand years. And he says,

[00:40:35] The final piece of information I can give you before your travels is the most crucial and important one. Second. The blight is spreading exponentially. Much faster than anticipated. Soon it will cover all of Wachovia. Yeah. This bloodstone amulet is the only hope that this land has to fighting it and to restoring the land.

[00:41:01] The only hope against Dracula is the bloodstone amulet. I share my notes with him. Dracula's not responsible. He's not the one dealing with the blight. Yeah. But he's not affected by it. That's true. Because he has the name. No. Uh, I share my notes with him from the warbot that I got from my father. About the black pack werewolves and the corrupted guys.

[00:41:31] Yes. In hopes that they'll help him keep our home safe. He thanks you for that. He says, Thank you for those notes. Well, thank you for yours. He gave us several notes about the coming difficulties. Yes. As he says, um, The blight, as it continues to spread,

[00:42:00] it has begun affecting even the spirits, as you may have encountered. Yes. Soon, even the protection ward from Balguard will not be enough to keep it at bay. The bellarch and the holy empire are powerful, but this blight, it's drawing strength. And he says, Good travels. And I hope to see you again.

[00:42:30] We're taking the long one, right? And, Yeah, we're going the long one. In the interest of self-interest, Godspeed. And then he takes his leave, and he goes into a gross hollow to chase after his charge. Yeah. Now, as you will see here, I have placed a countdown counter. That's how long it's going to take for her to get drunk at the bar. No. After convincing the barbear, Ian, that she's of age. He's a barbear. He's not stupid,

[00:42:59] but she has vampiric glam. There is a countdown. How is she? Die of six. Is she a vampire? No, she's a werewolf. Focus on the countdown die. What's it do? It gets to zero. That's it. We'll find out. The world ends. The blight takes over. It's pandemic. That's right. I played that. That's it. The end. Wachovia becomes completely corrupted by the blight. Well, that would suck. Well, nothing. I'm assuming that ticks down on long rests.

[00:43:29] You will find out shortly. It ticks down every time. It ticks down every time. It ticks down every time. Every time. Mike changes form. Oh. Well, we might be screwed. Anytime Mike changes form, because I've got four forms. It counts down for the next battle. That's a weird battle. Oh. But yes. So that is your countdown die. Okay. I'm guessing sessions,

[00:43:57] but could be how many times we say his name. Who's introduced? I'm not saying it so that the countdown doesn't go down. Voldemort? Yeah. I'll do for it. So, as this countdown die goes down, by the way, more and more Wachovia will be covered by the blight. Yeah.

[00:44:25] So that will affect return trips. Yeah. Something to keep in mind. Well, they'll be like the funniest people. If I remember correctly, if we get rid of the progenitor and cleanse the blight oak, all of this kind of goes away anyway. Well, if you can get the bloodstone amelent put back together,

[00:44:54] it can cleanse the blight oak, which would, in theory, remove the blight, according to the bellelark, at least. Yeah. Depends on what you want to believe that guy. But the entire reason that we were trying to do this in the first place was because this realm is overlaying onto the realms that we all came from. Oh, yes. Because if this realm falls to the blight and that tree is connected to other places,

[00:45:23] it can then spread. Yep. The other tree has become a blight. And actually, it kind of already has. It has two lights. We're all dead anyway. There's certain backstories. Yeah. So... There's a reason Donogar sent me here. Is that true? Password. I kind of was awakened here. But yeah. Yes. All right. So, with that said...

[00:45:53] You may begin your journey. This tree is one of the great trees that can trap with rhythm. It's connected to all the other trees. So, if it's infected, then it's your own fault. Okay. Then it infects the other trees. But it's also a timey-wimey. Yeah. Is it? But... I don't care about that. Well, I just mean like... I am tiny. This could have been like a past event. That's already happened. Oh, yeah. I've been doing this for like a thousand years.

[00:46:20] So, we're gonna go ahead and make for our dread final pass. Do what? I hope so. To make our way into the mountains. To the mountains! Yeah. Sounds good. To the wall. All right. So, we're walking. We're hiking. I got my backpack. I made a leadership call. Say bye to your little friend girl. Say bye. Yeah. Say bye to my niece. Stop it. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye, Felicia. That's your real name.

[00:46:50] All right. I got my pack. I thought that was a mechanic. I got my gimmick. I ran away from the graves. You were ridiculous. Don't get him anymore. I'm walking to the mountains. I'm walking to my stick. Let's go. Actually, I think we buried her. All right. Yeah, she's buried. Because we killed it. She's buried that. Oh, Travion. Do you want to let her see your mom again real quick? Please. No, shut the fuck up. God, don't get him. You're such an asshole. He's a dick. Final words. What?

[00:47:19] Why are you so mean to this little girl? What's wrong with you? Sorry, that's just from getting rid of you. Your character is not actually a dude's to kids. Why are you being like that? He is like that. Are we sure? I just reminded me of the... Yes, I've read this. We must avenge my brother. Long back story. You have my axe, my sword, and your brother. Oh, God. The shape shift? No, the decrements. Oh. Yeah. Oh, I thought you were doing your part, like here.

[00:47:48] Or there's the Phoenix Wright thing that says, it's widely known that dead men tell no tales. Objection! For my witness, I call the victim. Alright. Judge Payne, pass. I'm assuming this is travel talk. Here we go. He's been regaling us with his jokes and lyrics. The journey from Valgaard has been long,

[00:48:16] but nothing prepares you for the moment the world changes. The last traces of Whitmore's moss-draped... Oh, excuse me, not Whitmore. Grow havens. Moss-draped boughs fall away behind you, replaced by stark skeletal cliffs of dagger reach. Dagger reach. Now, dagger reach is his mountain range that one separates Duskwatch from the rest of Wachovia, but two, it's got a second part. By the way, it makes a V. Funny how that works.

[00:48:46] So, you've got two parts. You've got East Duskwatch and West Duskwatch. You guys are heading through the Eastern part. Let's say his name again. He's gonna come. The path narrows into a series of switchbacks carved into stones so dark it seems to drink the light. This is the dread Fane Pass, a route spoken of in half-whispers by coin-binders and Templars alike.

[00:49:14] A place where caravans vanish without a scream, where glamours lure travelers off the path, and where the sky itself is a hunting ground. The air grows thin, the cold grows sharp, and the silence grows watchful. The events cling to you like a second shadow. Skarn's death, Therian's spirit, the bellwark's confession, the council's monstrous revelation. Every step into the mountains feels like stepping deeper

[00:49:43] to the consequences of those truths. The cliffs loom high above you, jagged silhouettes cutting into a storm-choked sky. The path zigzags upward, each turn revealing another sheer drop into mist-shrouded valleys below. The stone beneath your boots is slick with frost, and the wind carries the faintest echo of wings. Not birds, not bats, something larger. Something patient.

[00:50:12] The people of Wachovia call this place a gauntlet. Others call it a hunting ground. Wait, we get to hunt? Group roll! Who is leading this little expedition into... I'm leaving. Heading dagger each. Doesn't it behoove us to be some... Don't we get like a band of... You'll have to use instinct for this one. Would you say this is low light?

[00:50:42] Oh yes. It's low light. Then I have advantage. It's low light, and that's what you get. Rolls to hide, investigate, or perceive details. Well this is... I mean, you're navigating. What are we on with E-12s? I'm assuming that would help me... So, yes. ...perceive details here? Sure, yeah. We'll go with that. Do you have anything that helps you in the natural environment? Are we rolling D-12s? Yep. Two D-12s. That's what I got.

[00:51:12] Now hold on to your roll it. Don't... First, we're going to select the leader. Yeah. For travels. So... So... I have advantage now. She... I'm naturally silent. She's got the... He's got the advantage on doing in the dark. Okay, but what's your instinct? Two. Hers is four. Does that matter for who should be leaving it? It's just... I get a D-6 extra. His can go anywhere from a three to an eight.

[00:51:43] And hers is a four instinct. Instinct is a four. I don't know what... Somebody do the odds for me, but I don't know. I just think... There's a decent chance that mine's higher than a four, but hers is definitely a plus four. Yeah. I mean... Yeah. I mean, you've got... And she's a wild elf. I'm wild-born, so... 68% chance. Yeah, she's got wild-born. I don't know. I'll do 68. Y'all decide. I'm not trying to make a decision. It's a group role anyway,

[00:52:12] so basically we have one person who's trying to make up for everybody else's low roles. Are you ready to make up for our other roles? I love how positive you are about this. I've just noticed... You guys are so positive. Quite often when we do a group role. Okay, make up for the minus two. Someone asked if you got this. Absolutely. Absolutely. That's it. I love that confidence. I was confident. So you lead. Yes. And we'll aid.

[00:52:42] Okay. Get out of here. So we're rolling. So we're rolling instant. So you're leading? Oh, she's leading. She's civil? Yes. Okay. So civil's leading. Okay. So when I critical role as a help action, does that mean I just automatically help? I roll the same thing. No, no. This is a group action.

[00:53:12] But if it's a critical role... He crit-rolled his help action. Does it count as an automatic help just because they match? Yes. Yeah, I mean, that counts. But the group... Well, no, it counts as a... It gets a plus two. So your crit... Let's just say that that's a plus two then. Yeah, your crit is a plus two and two or a plus one. It's a two and a two. So four seems bad, but it's two and two. Anytime you add the two numbers... Yes. That's fine. That could have been a horror game.

[00:53:41] You have two ones. It doesn't matter. He's like hiding. They're like, it's a crit. It's a very tiny crit. That's what it is. Oh, okay. All right. Go look at my crit. No, wait. Actually, it's going to be shit. We're going to keep the lights off for this crit. Don't judge my crit. All right. Oh, God. You got a nine? A crit's a crit.

[00:54:12] Yeah, just your... Minus one? Fifteen. Minus two? You're hoping. He got a plus two? Good. You made it a zero. Yay! I made up to them. Yeah. What do I add to this again? Your instinct. Instinct. That's where the dot is. I don't know. I'm just blind.

[00:54:42] Eighteen. Minus one? Whatever I rolled. Which I don't know. Because you haven't rolled yet? Oh, he rolled it. I got a total is seventeen. Is that with your instinct? I don't even know what my instinct is. So now. I probably have negative five. Oh, John. What do you see with your specializers? Oh, I'm zero. So it is seventeen.

[00:55:12] Okay. So that's a minus two. What? Like I said, I actually predicted that. Minus how many? Just minus two. Twenty-one. Twenty-one. Is that good? Does that pass? With hope or fear? Success with fear. Can we change it to a hope? What was the standard? Twenty? Who can change it to a hope? I don't have that. Ah, Ronnie can. Ronnie.

[00:55:42] That's in my vault. Why would you put that in your vault? That's super useful. Because I have other stuff that's way better. I might have that. Do I have that? If Ronnie has it, does he have it? Not necessarily. No, they're not the same. Not the same. They have some overlap, but they aren't. I don't have an ability. It's like Lena and... Ronnie's also got Sybil. They're not the same. They just have some overlap. They still have Sybil.

[00:56:10] He's also got a thing that he can use that's just on his character. With his one, two, three, four, five. I have a thing to clear a hit point, but he's got a hope thing that lets people re-roll. Well, the point is, she succeeded. Yeah. She succeeded with fear. We're just afraid of fear. We're scared.

[00:56:39] It's not like he can get... I mean, when we saw really high numbers not succeeding, it was like, oh shit. We got afraid. And now we're more. So I'll reach max. By the way, I did spin that. Yes, you did. All right. Not that it helped. As you ascend, you begin to notice the marks. Deep gouges in the stone. Talon marks. Too wide for any natural creature. Carved symbols. Warning sigils. Left by desperate travelers. Scratched into the rock with shaking hands. That also wasn't me.

[00:57:09] A broken glamour charm. Its silver threads frayed as if torn apart mid-spell. That also wasn't me. The wind shifts, and for a moment, you swear, you see a silhouette perched on a distant spire. Wings unfurl, watching. The Nightreach vampires are said to rule the skies here. Their court perched atop the unreachable obsidian... That's just Vinny. He's a good guy. ...known as Nightreach Spire. Yep. Predators of elegance and cruelty.

[00:57:37] They descend without warning, their wings blotting out the moonlight. These are what the rumors state. Mm-hmm. Um... And tonight, the moon is already gone. New moon. Another group roll. It's the best time to set out on a new travel is a new moon. Same instinct. I assume we have the same symbol being, right? Might as well. Sure. He's one of the few that didn't do success. Oh. And you were a Saiyan? Um...

[00:58:07] No, he's not a Saiyan. He's a slime. Yeah. You're a slime-y. What is this? Oh, crap. You're a... Similar to a Saiyan, no? You get beat up really bad, and then you just evolve into something else. Yeah. This isn't even my final form. This is gross. Let's see. What were you all? How do you even read this? It's either a 9 or a 12.

[00:58:37] I'm going to let the DM decide. Uh... That looks like I was a 11, and I was a 5, so... And I'm at a 16. 16? Wait, that's not that good. That's good, just not what you need. That's what I'm saying. So, minus 1. What are we hitting? That's good. I know I'm not hitting it. 20. Yeah. Did anybody roll a 20? Just raise your hand if you rolled a 20.

[00:59:06] I didn't roll an actual 20, but I got above 20 with my instant added. I got 28. Just... Just how many totals that I can do the math. So, minus 1. Minus 2. 28. So, plus 1. Wow. Minus 1. Minus 2. 21. Minus 1. Hey, you got a nice 1 this time. That's not as bad as the last time. Except she didn't succeed. You rolled over this time. 14 with hope. That was hopeful, though.

[00:59:38] You got a hope. And currently, you're 1 for 1. 1. 1. Uh-huh. Well... Oh, yeah. 1 and 1. Excuse me. 1 for 2. There you go. You're batting 50%. That's another 3. I waited much longer. Overwhelming again? The path tightens into a ledge barely wide enough for two.

[01:00:03] The drop beside you is a yawning void filled with swirling mist that hides whatever waits below. The stone walls close in, forcing you into a single file march. The wind dies. The world holds its breath. Then, a whisper brushes the back of your mind. Now the voice of presence. Hi. I love presence. Hi there. Hi there you go.

[01:00:35] Another roll. Oh. What kind? Is it still instinct? Still instinct. It's a roller. Come on, Stimble, you got this. Oh, I don't know. Oh, yeah, that was super good. Minus one. He's like, oh, I don't got this. You're adding your instinct, right? I'm a minus one. Don't we get small guessing? Can you all roll again? Yep, roll again. Yay! Final one. Two and four. Best out of three. Plus one.

[01:01:06] That's not good. Not even close. It's 13. Zero. Minus one. Minus two. Why not? Lena? Lena, it's on two. You can make this a minus one. It's a robo. Still is wrapper. Oh, fuck it. I'm coming. Open up that weird creepy panel dance. Let's get in, cat lady. Three. Wait, cat down. Oh, hell yeah. You can catch, you can kidnap me any day of the week.

[01:01:35] I got a 19. Oh, no. Minus three. It's minus two. What? Is it? Or is it minus two? We were already with minus two. Oh, okay, yeah. Minus three then. All right. Got you, Sybil. You've got a roll of 30. 30? What is it? Aim high. Is that even possible? Four with hope. So she actually gets a 20.

[01:02:04] Yeah, she gets a 21. With hope. That still makes it. That better. 21 with hope, yeah. That's success. Success with hope. Well done. Nice. You pulled it off at the end. How many hopes you like to have? Six. Six. That's nice. Yep. All right. Oh, God. Lucky you. Lucky you. Ooh, ooh. Ooh, ooh. Go. I knew you were in.

[01:02:38] I'll be here. All right. Ooh, ooh. A distant screech tears through the air. High, sharp, predatory. Another answers it, and then another. The sky darkens as shapes circle above. Wings catching the faintest glimmer of starlight. The night reach have found you. And whether they see you as guests, prayer, and entertainment remains to be seen. The path ahead winds towards a narrow stone archway carved into the cliffside.

[01:03:07] The final threshold before dusk watches shadowed valleys. The wind picks up again carrying a whisper that is not your own. Welcome to the reach. See, they said welcome. We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode. If you did, head over to our website, SaturdayNightGamingLLC.com, for some more fun content. Also, make sure to like, share, and subscribe on all of our social media platforms. I hope you have a fantastic week.

[01:03:36] And until next time, this is Laura Hibbard with Saturday Night Gaming, signing off.