Arc 3 Ep. 2: Into the Forest
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What is up, Rotators? Thank you so much for being here and listening to Rotating Heroes. For those of you that are just checking this out for the first time, this is a podcast started by the one and only Zach Oyama back in 2020, and it was originally released entirely on Patreon. This is the first time that we are releasing these episodes publicly, and I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for checking it out. There have been so many of you checking this out, and so I just wanted to jump on and tell you about all the other ways that you can get involved.

Because did you know that for the price of just one coffee per month, you can support the show, help us to make more episodes, and get yourself all of the arcs months in advance, plus the exclusive arc box, all for a price of a coffee. Like, it's so easy.

And then you get so much more rotating heroes in your life, including a bunch of behind the scenes stuff with Zach and me and the rest of the crew hanging out. Plus, you get to listen to all of the arcs so much earlier. You go listen to arc five right now with Brenna Lee Mulligan and Izzy Rowland. I mean, why wouldn't you want to do that? They play Awakened Wolves. It's so good. You can also check out the Rotating Heroes Discord. There'll be a link to that there.

in the description below so you can go ahead and jump in with a bunch of other rotators and find other people listening to the show so you can talk about some of your favorite bits. But listen, we appreciate you being here regardless. So if you can't support us with the Patreon right now, that is absolutely fine. We just appreciate the fact that you're here and you're listening to this episode because we love you. So if you want to help us out, you can do just go ahead and leave us a review or share the episode with your friends.

In fact, if you share an episode with your friends and you tell us about it, we will shout you out during our monthly updates episode, which are free to listen to on the Patreon. So you can sign up as a Patreon member for free and you'll get the monthly updates on there as well. So it's kind of like the best place to go and get all of your rotating heroes information is just on the Patreon as a free member, uh,

and that way you'll get all of the updates along with everyone else before we probably put it on social media, which we may or may not use. Sorry, Murph, for stealing your line.

But without any further ado, let's go ahead and bring in Arc 3, which introduces some of the most iconic characters in Rotating Heroes. It is an absolutely amazing arc, and I'm very, very excited for you to listen to it. We're going to kick things off with two full episodes. That's right, two full episodes. Because we want to get you all caught up as quickly as possible so that you can go ahead and check out the new stuff we're putting out

Like Arc 8, which happens to feature someone who is introduced in this very arc. Hmm, who could it be? I wonder. This is too much of me blabbering. So last thing I will say is a heartfelt thank you so much for supporting the Rotating Heroes podcast in any single way that you choose to do so without the amazing audience and people on our Patreon and people in our Discord and people

Welcome back to the Rotating Heroes Podcast.

I'm joined so far, as always, for the second time, as it were.

By the rotators of the third arc, we have joining me today, you know I'm gonna love him, the Loxodon druid, Gribb, aka Jacob Wysocki. What the? There it is. There it is. Thank you for having me. Thank you. Oh, you're welcome, little child. Yeah. And you are Jacob's spirit, right? Yeah, Jake passed away.

For our viewers at home can't see the zoom. There's sort of a little girl pretty far away from the camera sitting in darkness and sort of a long hallway walk all the way down this hallway. Yeah. Well, thank you for joining us. Yeah spooky. Just kidding. That was a character bit. Just kidding. It's me Jacob. Thanks for having me on the pod. Hey, happy Easter. Just a little Easter shenanigan.

Oh, classic Easter shenanigans. Spooky. Well, speaking of something that I don't think is quite spooky to me, a character who was anything but forgettable. We have Freya Black...

AKA Victoria Longwell. Victoria, how you doing? I'm good, thanks. Thank you for having me. You know, periodically, people who are new to this pod and maybe don't know you guys that well, we also would do shows as Yeti, our improv team, and we did some shows online. And a lot of people still ask me to ask you how you're doing, which was a weird bit from that show. My gosh. So, Victoria...

On behalf of all those people, how are you doing? Oh my gosh, I'm doing great. That makes me feel so good. I have a cat, which is new to those people. Yes. Okay. Okay. Yeah. What a dream. Thank you for asking. Man. Wow. That was for me and all of our listeners, frankly. On an entirely new subject, we have our...

Jumping rails to an entirely new subject. Doing a cool BMX trip to this other rail entirely. We have the raddest dude in town, a real skateboarder type. We have Rufus Cutler, aka Devin Field. Devin, again, was that the best intro you've ever gotten? One of the best, Broheem. Happy to be here at the X Games. Let's get it. Let's get it. All right. Let's get after it, man.

Rufus Cutler, of course, not very BMX, not very alternative sport. I don't know. Maybe not. Probably doesn't have the coordination. Probably would be confident to hop on a BMX bike and then would...

like kind of fall just going down into the bowl at like a skate park would immediately kind of fall off it and try to play it off like oh I forget how to sort of ride these things. -Yes, like a pretty viral TikTok of a guy who plays off a really serious accident. -Yes, he's right. -He gets like something from a soda machine and pretends like his head's not bleeding. -Yes, no problem here. Yes, exactly.

Rufus had a bit of a, we'll get into the recap in a second, a bit of a tough start. Bit of a whiff, you know, bit of a, yeah, it was not a success. But, you know, I think he feels like maybe it was a success. Oh, okay. That's almost the worst version of it. What, not learning a lesson? Yeah, totally. Totally.

Oh, God. Well, hopefully he has some sort of arc and progress and feels some sort of change in his heart. This is a question for the group. What's the name of the most famous BMX biker guy? I was trying to think of it. Oh, man. Well, there's the guy. There's Matt. Travis something. Matt Hoffman is correct. Matt Hoffman. It's not just Tony Hawk.

What does he do? Tony Hawk's the skateboarder. Who am I thinking of whose name is Slick? Right. You're thinking of Travis Pastrana. Yes. But he's a motocross. Got it. My mistake, Travis. Yeah, a terrible mistake. Then there was also, what was it, TJ Lavin, the guy who hosted all the Real World vs. Rogue Rules challenges? Oh, see, I don't know that stuff as much. Oh, he was a BMX guy? I think he was. I didn't understand where he came from. Yeah, I think he was a BMX dude.

The fact that I know the name TJ Lavin sucks. Yeah, BMX rider. The fact that it's just still in there. It was so easy for me to retrieve TJ Lavin. That's why I wanted to ask because I was like, I bet Jacob knows. Yeah, he'll know this useless pop culture drabble. Anyway, I'm glad I took us on that detour. I think it was worth it. I think it was. Hey, well, let me try to land the cool trick of giving everybody a recap, Sean.

Last time on the Rotating Heroes podcast, we met our two new adventurers going about their day at Fort Cutler. Freya Black began by helping the abbess Willow Talbot of the Church of the Emerald Light open up the doors for the day in the hopes of expanding their congregation from two people to maybe three. The abbess invited Freya to join her for the council meeting happening later in the day. Though feeling as though people at Fort Cutler found her forgettable, Freya agreed to join. Elsewhere,

Rufus Cutler, the grandson of the founder of Fort Cutler, found himself as the man in charge while his father and brother were out leading a mission to retake Walden Keep, a castle overlooking the forest along a mountain pass that would give their community a much-needed stronghold in the efforts to retake parts of the forest.

Sir Mallory Gunner, the man-at-arms of the castle, helped Rufus start his day of important business, and though he seemingly tried to get Rufus to not worry about the council meeting, Rufus was insistent that he attend and also run the meeting, in

Down in the bowels of the castle in a small dungeon below, a sleep-deprived Gribb found himself stuck in a prison cell held by a sadistic scout named Hobart who wouldn't stop poking him. Eventually, a nicer guard named Philip rotated in, and Gribb was able to use this opportunity to actually get some sleep.

He also offered his work order as evidence that he was there for a good reason, and Philip eventually took that on to the other people at the castle. Later, during the council meeting with the various leaders of town in attendance, including Freya and the Abyss, a heated discussion was underway about what to do with Grib. Swayed by Jesse Dugan preying on their fears, many thought Grib to be a horrifying creature of the forest and wanted to execute him.

As they eventually decided to chat with Grib, they were interrupted by alarms as riders from the mission to Weldon Keep returned in distress. Apparently something caused Dallin Bridge, a key passage on the mountain pass to Weldon Keep, to collapse. Before the riders could explain how, one of the frightened soldiers was attacked by a burrowing insectoid creature that dissolved him with acid.

More of these creatures arrived and our rotators battled it out. Freya proved herself to be anything but forgettable, smiting left and right and almost outright killing two of the monsters herself, while Rufus asked for everyone's attention before brutally embarrassing himself with a triple axe attack where not one hit came anywhere near close to landing.

But luckily, Gunner was able to finish off the monster nearby. Finally, in the dungeon below, another burrowing monster burst inside, and with the help of Philip and Zwam, and eventually Freya and Rufus, Grib and company were able to defeat the last bug and reveal his Ragnaros-slash-Zwam tattoo. And that's where we are today. Jacob, do you feel like, before we get into it,

that it's not canon that it's one or maybe it's just ragnaros still i think it's probably it's probably just gonna be ragnaros and gotcha and yeah it's probably just gonna be what it was when i said what it was awesome yeah yeah no no no no no no that's fine that's fine

uh so we're not sponsored by wow i should say i'm just like not gonna hurt swamp's feelings either though no that's okay but jacob you are individually sponsored by wow right the podcast isn't but you jake me as an individual yeah i'm i they call me a lifer um and that's somebody who they know will play until their last breath oh my god

Well, let's get into it. So this is shortly after you all met in the prison. An emergency council meeting is being held in the Great Hall. You all make your way there. Grib, this is your first time in this sort of greater hall. It seems like a really nice, like warm building in a situation where you weren't just held prisoner for days. Maybe you would have liked this place. But yeah, you are all here as everyone gathers here to figure out what's going on.

It seems like the battle is over, by the way. Like, everything has been killed, that attacked. Most of the scouts are on the walls, just making sure nothing else is coming. Well, I certainly wish I could appreciate the scenery. Me too. But I think we can all agree...

that no one knew what the hell to do during any of that. No one knew what was going on or how to be effective against it, right? I mean, the fog of war is so real. And I really respect everyone just doing the best they could with a really terrible situation. I think we all rose to the occasion. A couple of scouts are in the corner just like whispering and looking at...

Excuse me. Excuse me. Are you guys hearing my, I'm doing a bit of an address to the group. So maybe you guys could stop the side chatter and whatever you're whispering about. And cause I'm addressing the group. Like when they really deep sigh, they stop and just listen to you. So anyway, uh, I guess we're left at a place of where do we stand now? I mean, what has happened to my brother? My father is my main concern. At this point, uh,

You see some more guards, some scouts come in. They come through the double doors and they're pulling like a large tarp. And they end up dragging this tarp all the way to the front and hoisting it onto the table and they uncover it. And they reveal it's like one of those large, disgusting bug creatures that I think this one specifically that Freya killed. Oh my God.

I remember this one. She's the one who like sliced this one open. You hear these like dudes whispering like she's just like it was blinding light. Like they're just kind of like chattering to the side. Excuse me, guys. Maybe you could stop the side chatter. Seems like now's not a good time for whatever type of side chatter you're doing. It's OK. Just like throw their hands up.

It's okay. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I don't know what you mean. I'm not ashamed of anything. I reacted to a situation and I think I held my own. Okay, one just might think you're overcompensating in this situation.

I just shake my head along. I can assure you, I've had my fair share of bad brawls. It wasn't a bad brawl, is the thing. So we don't need to speak about it as if it was a bad brawl, because it was a brawl. It was a chaotic brawl, and we all sort of equally handled it. I'm relatively new to violence as well, and I'm finding myself quite traumatized by the horrors of fighting. Rufus, just roll a flat constitution save. Eighteen.

Okay, you don't start sweating. You're able to kind of hold it in, but you feel like there may have been a world where you just started flop sweating right there. It was just nuts out there. That's the headline. Everything was insane. Do we know anything about these beasts?

Has anyone seen anything like this before? As you say this, the people who dragged it onto the table, all the council kind of get around it and they start looking at it like a lot of these other less war-like leaders who have different faculties at the fort itself look really grossed out and are a little reserved and backed away from it. You see the abbess herself pull up

These, like, long blacksmithing, like, welding gloves and get some tongs and start, like, kind of working at it. Everyone make a nature check or, like, an insight check looking at this bug thing. Just a nine. 16. Yeah, I feel like Grib's inquisitive but unsure. I did a 21. Freya, you saddle up next to the Avis. Like, you're used to, like, assisting her.

do a number of different, uh, like ritualistic things at, at your church and just like different, she's helped train you in a number of ways. So this is not new for you to like kind of help her do her thing. You can tell from this that like, it does feel familiar to you in some kind of, uh, ancient reading of Zofia and like, uh, because that is like a religious text, but there's a lot of like basis within the forest for what you, what is in the books of themselves. Um,

So you would know from these books that this is some kind of bug creature that has lived in the forest for a really long time. And with a 21, that's a good enough score that like these are bugs that every couple of decades...

will birth again. They're almost like cicadas. They've been dormant for a really long time. And what you guys know, of course, like is that they were in the bridge that opened up. I mean, the bridge that down bridge that was destroyed when the guards came back, these bugs were had burrowed in there with the 21. You probably would assume that they had burrowed into this place to, you know, give birth decades later. Yeah.

And Rufus's dad's mission was going past this area without realizing that decades ago, these bugs had like basically taken over this bridge and they all happened to hatch at that point. As you with the 21 still, I think that and with Rufus's 16, you notice that the Abbas is pulling out with these large tongs like rocks from the thing's stomach.

it just can eat rocks. And you think that they probably had some kind of motive to be on that bridge. Like there's something about that kind of terrain that's conducive to their survival. Like it seems like maybe when they were born, they immediately started eating it because they can for nutrients. Tremors. Tremors. Tremors. Graboids.

Graboids, yeah. The abbess looks at it and she's like, well, I think, yes, I think these are from our texts. These are the Ankh eggs. They can eat limestone, sandstone, granite, anything like that. They also like to eat people and living animals, but they can process these for nutrients. I think this further proves my innocence. What do you mean? How does it relate?

Well, I didn't bring them. Everybody thought I'm some creature from the forest bringing these upon everybody. No, you are right that these would have been here for years. Yes. They would have been, you know, planted almost years ago. Yes, I didn't. I had nothing to do with this. Hobart chimes in, the guy who guards you, but that has nothing to do. He's freshly showered, by the way.

That has nothing to do with it. This is just a separate thing that happened. Oh, okay. Well, I guess that's my fault for being a little too self-important, thinking that maybe you linked this with the criminal that you were holding without a trial, without any real information. Grib gets a little too upset and calms down, takes a deep breath. Everyone stop making Grib upset, because that's the last thing we need, is him upset right now.

More people begin to whisper, like, fearful of Grib. As you guys are discussing this bug creature, Margrave is looking at it and he's like, yes, this is another evil of the forest that has been set upon us. I mean, it could be different from this Loxodon creature, but maybe they're related? I don't know. Rufus, I think you would notice that Gunner is over in the corner kind of shaking his head, like, seemingly worried. Gunner, you look worried. Yeah.

Look, I mean, what's on your mind? I mean, what are these things? Did they eat my father and my brother? I mean, tell me, Gunner, what do we do with these? One of the surviving rear guard is there as well. And he's like, well, we were on the other side of the bridge when it collapsed and the ones that were nearby started chasing us. It seemed like most of the other soldiers were across and maybe like far enough away that they're just able to run from

These creatures were, you know, they had enough of a distance that they definitely couldn't help us, but they were able to not be killed by them immediately or something. There were hundreds of them, though. Hundreds? There were hundreds. He was like, looks shell-shocked as he says this. Like, the rear guard was probably like 25 people and only two of them are alive. That means that around 75 scouts, including...

Your father and brother were on the other side of the bridge on the mountain pass without any way to get back. But so they could still be out there. Yeah. And Gunner, this is where Gunner chimes in. He says, well, it seems like if I were your father, then I would have kept going headed towards Weldon Keep to try to find some sort of fortress to protect ourselves from. If there was an unmanned castle out there, I would try to go there to protect ourselves from these bugs. Yeah.

And then he still looks worried. You guys, I mean, you can make insight checks if you'd like. How far is the keep from the location they think that they may be stuck from? Or how far is it from here?

Into the forest. You would all know that there's like a map laid out in front of you. And for our viewers who can't see this necessarily, the passage to this keep goes around to the left, never entering the forest. It goes along the mountainside, across this bridge, over into the other side. It's basically like the left side of a circle with some winding turns in it.

And that like from the bridge, they probably have another five or six days of mountain trekking to get to the actual keep. So that but there's nothing you guys can do to get to that pass from there. And this is where Gunner also chimes in at this point and says that the problem with the castle is that I don't know if.

I don't know if your father and his men know that that is actually not going to be very helpful against these bugs. So they may be walking into a death trap. Because they can eat through rocks. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Everyone hear that? Rufus got it right. You don't have to be like that. I did, all right? They can eat through rocks. That's the connection. I just happened to say it out loud. Everyone else kept it in their head. I was being honest. He was saying a nice thing. Look, so there's no other way to get to that place

to help them in any way, to reinforce them in any way. You guys can make some insight checks. Okay. Yeah, I got a six. I got a 19. I'm upset. I'm too upset. Nothing's making sense. I got a 26. Grib and Freya, you guys are looking at this map and there is a way and it's cutting directly across the forest. I think Grib would have noticed it slightly sooner with a 26. Up to you what you do with that information. Well, there is another way. He's right. Okay.

Blasphemy. Blasphemy. Shut up. Which other way? What's the other way? I point my trunk and just draw a line with my trunk. Oh, my God. Wow. That's expressive. It's really amazing that you can express yourself with that. It truly is an appendage, right, everyone? Yeah, yeah. It is an appendage. Oh, bother. Yes.

So you mean we have to cut across the forest? Is this even a viable route? I mean, this is deep woods. Gunner nods for a second. He's like, well, it is definitely a faster route across and truly the only route across. But the problem would be that it's through the forest. Like you said, I mean, 20 years ago, this would have been easier. We had pushed into the forest at that point and had a route this way, but it's completely overgrown now. We got pushed back. There was too much

Too much forest coming at us there and we had to give it up. So Weldon, keep us actually a way to maybe take this part back. But now it seems like we have to go against the current on that plan. And that's when Pastor Margaret chimes in and is like, well, it is... Why would anyone walk through hell here? I mean, no one in my congregation would do that. He like looks at them all and nods. They all reluctantly start nodding as well. You would leave the others to die? Well, I don't think it...

Look, I don't think of it as leaving them to die. I just think that we would be damned to hell by Ronas himself if we went through this forest of pure evil. And he puts his hand on his head and sort of fake faints and falls to the ground. This is pathetic. Well, I must say, I, not to be rude, don't believe in any of that.

I am not afraid of your forest. It's minor, just minor. Oh, God, goodness. It's just trees is what I'm trying to say. It's just trees. I love that. I'm not afraid of the forest either. The abbess nods at you. I'm looking. When we both say that we're not afraid of it, we both sort of look to Rufus like that.

And you? And I'd like to hear more information about the forest. I just am not... I grew up here, and so of course I know the scope and dangers of the forest, but I just would like to know more specifically about the area of deep forest that we'd be going into and how likely it is that we'd see these bugs. Obviously, I want to go because I...

I'm next to go get my father and my brother and dead. And I have to. Gunner chimes in. He's like, well, I mean, I don't know what you want me to tell you. It's, it's very mysterious for us ourselves. Like a lot of soldiers have just not come back. There are any manner of, of large beasts and wild creatures in there that, I mean, the bugs could be in there, but we, from what we know about them, it seems like they're kind of in the mountains. Um,

Okay. But they could be in the forest as well. I'm not sure. Not an overwhelming amount of positive information in that. Okay. Okay. I'm taking that in. You've only been taught the things to fear from the forest. There's many things to be learned and gained from the forest. I promise. We'd be okay. Goddess Zophim would protect us. Or I'll protect us.

the abbess like kind of squeezes your wrist uh freya and in a like like affirmative way like she's like proud of you for saying something she's like but i we should say that it's not a guarantee that you'll live i think that uh there are many beautiful things there it's um beautiful like like how a uh uh poisonous snake can be beautiful uh and or uh

Maybe like a big chunk of iceberg that falls off and crushes your boat could be beautiful. Mother willow. Maybe like a lion tearing up a carcass could be beautiful. Oh, should I stop? Okay. It's true that it's not without risk. Everyone thinks about this for a little while, trying to figure out what they should do at all. Pastor Margrave chimes in again. He's like, well, I don't think we can spare any forces.

Whoever wants to go in can go in if it's a small enough party, but I don't think we can spare the scouts remaining here because the fort itself will fall to the predatory nature of the forest. Let's try to take the emotion out of this conversation, all right? It's just a bit much, all right? I think it's clear that I, as the new leader of this fort, must...

Take up what I can of the garrison and lead a party of our strongest warriors. As many as I need to protect me in the trip. Everyone looks around. No one really volunteers. I will take any who would stand with me and return my father and brother to their rightful place in this fort. Please, no.

Step forward and join my party. Make a persuasion check, if you'd like. Okay, sure. That makes sense. Six. Philip raises his hand, then just sort of coughs at his hand. Philip, was that a... Philip, did you just volunteer yourself? Oh, he looks around like everyone's sort of staring at him. Join me, Philip, please. Please join me. I was... I had a...

And there's some dust in my throat from the cave. I got stabbed really bad by that bug. I don't think I should join. That's true. It almost killed me. Philip got stabbed by the beast. Is there anyone who wasn't stabbed by the beast who would like to step forward? Because I'm going to need many men for my safety. His voice is shaking a lot. Grib steps up. I could think of no better way to prove that I am not a companion of the forest other than to trudge into it.

Wow. I have no problem with that. I think that is great. Of course you don't have a problem with it. I'm happy to help under a few conditions. Name them. A scout is waving a little fan on his face. One, I would like to sleep. I'm so tired. I'm so incredibly tired. Secondly, you have something that belongs to me, and I'd like it back. What's that? Something inside of a satin envelope. You mean this?

I hold up the satin envelope. I couldn't figure out what this was. What is this? It's none of your business. It's mine. That's what it is. Well, now this is leverage I have over you, so I will return this to you when you come with me. Not that I'm trying to muscle my way into people joining the party. This is just an instance in which I have some leverage, so I think I'm using it.

Well, I hope you feel very big and strong for leveraging something that I'm calmly asking to receive back to help you. Fine. But if that's how it has to be, that's how it has to be. I will trudge forward to receive my belongings. Now, I've got one other thing, perhaps, besides sleep. Tell me where Jesse Dugan's staying. Tell you where Jesse Dugan's staying. Gunner was just like, well, he's staying in our castle, but he is our guest.

This is extremely suspicious to just ask where the man who... Do you have a problem with Jesse Dugan? I don't have a problem at all. I'd like to grab a beer with the boy before I depart. Ah, yeah, who wouldn't? A fun, fun person to be around, Jesse Dugan. Yes, yes. Does anyone... Can we arrange meeting Jesse? Jesse, I think, is in his quarters. It seems...

Maybe we should have some oversight there if he's just going to ask where he lives in a crowded room. We all know him to be basically your enemy. So there's tension here, right, Grib? He's in sort of the guest quarters in the castle. It's labeled. We can show you later. I feel everybody's really stressed out about such a simple question. I've done no wrong. I've only backed everybody up. I've only stuck with my word.

Yes, but I don't want you killing my guest the night before we depart for a party. How could I? I'm so tired. How could I possibly kill anybody? Grib, make a persuasion check. Sure. Ten. Yeah, everyone's like, I think he's gonna... Feels like you might try to kill him tonight. I don't know. They're whispering like that. I'm not convinced. Well, yeah, I mean, they're all talking and Gunner's like, I think, well, Grib...

It seems like if you want to go with Rufus, that would be great. Maybe he's thinking about it. He's like, I don't think I'd be great in the forest. He's got like a fucked up hip. Despite being so strong in battle, like traveling is not his strong suit. Gunner, I think I speak for all of us when I say, please come. Please come. We obviously need you in the party. We need your skill. Please come on the mission. I think I...

Make a persuasion check with disadvantage. So two, take the lower. Okay. Nine and a five. I mean, a lot of people are saying things like we're not in a really crowded room. I must be honest, I quite forgot. Listen, may I speak? Yes, of course. Of course. I know you're asking for men. And I know...

I'm forgettable. And no one, what do you ask specifically for me? I do recall. I did at one point say, I'll need many men. I want to say, I said that with no intention of, of only including men in that equation. I meant I will take all comers. I think that's clear from the size of the party. Well, I'd like to offer my services. Yes, of course. You were incredible.

Is that a rat? She's going? A lot of people are just like whispering like, wait, are you, the Bugsbane is going? Bugsbane. Yes, Bugsbane is going. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for agreeing to come. Thank you. Wow, it honestly seems like a cooler group now. Seems like a pretty chill group. If we could get more side chatter going, that would be good. I think continue those side conversations you're having. Are they all asking my name? Incredibly quiet at this point.

No one could forget your name, Freya the Bugsbane, right? Freya Bugsbane? Is that the name now? Bugsbane? As in the bane of the bugs? No. No. The abyss looks at you and is like, you like that, right? You like being called Bugsbane?

I'd say it's a step up from forgettable. My sweet child. Pastor Margaret steps up and is like, well, I think that's all the people that will go. I don't think anyone from my congregation will go. All the scouts are needed here because so many of them left on that mission that I don't think we could afford to let any more of them go. So it seems like you three are going on quite the fun suicide mission to save your family. Don't say that. You're a coward.

That came off way harsher than I meant. You're not even going to say, good job, nice try. And again, something I've been recently reminded of, we're in a crowded room. Listen, I forgot to... Almost all the scouts are behind us is kind of what's going on. It's difficult to keep them present in your mind. So for that, I apologize. But again, no more people. All right. Well, so be it. This is...

the group of three who will bring back my father and my brother. Gunner looks at you and he's like, okay, well, maybe at first light you should leave. And I think we'll hopefully... He thinks about it for a second. He's like, you know, all you have to do is let them know that the castle is not going to be as protective as you can. And then once you join their forces, it shouldn't be as... I think you stand a fighting chance if we can get through the forest. And it feels like all of you...

I have some sort of understanding of the Force to some degree. Rufus, I know when you were younger, we used to train you in Force skills. It seems like a little less important to you now these days, but I bet you could pick it all back up. Nope, nope. Still the same level of importance. Always been very important to me and something I've really kept up with, if not excelled at in recent years. Excited to be able to showcase all the skills I have of...

And within the forest. Okay. I think I will prove myself greatly. I didn't mean to say that as an... I think you'd do great, is what I meant to say. No, well, you said all three of us have a unique set of skills that will help us succeed in this mission in the forest. And that's all of us. That's one, two, three, everyone. Oh, okay. Okay.

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place have like a sort of garden grounds or anything like that? I mean, there's a huge forest outside, but I think they have like closer by like some, some foliage and stuff. I, there's like probably a little bit of a garden outside of that church or

So you guys finish up this meeting. Philip gets Gribb aside and he's like, there's a, you know, in the sort of barracks, there's a little quarters area for like kind of high ranking officials that you could just go stay in if you'd like. It's like not nice, but it's not a dungeon. And, you know, maybe, I don't know, maybe Rufus could give you a better spot too if you want to ask him, but yeah.

I just want to make it clear that no one's expecting you to sleep in a dungeon anymore. I'm passing by and I hear the end of that and I go, that's absolutely right. This friend of mine sleeps nowhere near the dungeons tonight. Good work, sir. Oh, great, great. To me or the... Absolutely not. To my pachyderm friend. Good work. And I walk away. Wonderful. Okay.

Well, I guess then, yeah, if you want to stay somewhere in the castle, I feel like there's the guest quarters that I think that Jesse Dugan's in, but I think on the main level there's some smaller rooms to the side if you want to stay in there. I can help you get set up in there. Yeah, do you mind showing me to a bit of a room? Maybe a spot of water before I go to sleep. Yeah, he takes you by a well and gives you a cup of water. Oh, I suck it back with my trunk. Did you swallow it that way?

Yeah, it's both, actually. Oh, I didn't know. Wow. No, actually, no. He sucks it and then he puts it into his mouth and he spits it into his mouth. That's what I thought would happen. Okay, cool. Cool, I think that's awesome. Loxodon? Is that what it's called? Yeah, it's Loxodon. Walking with you.

Yeah, I've pretty much lived my whole life here. He's like walking and talking. Are you doing okay with all of the hustle and bustle from the fight yesterday? Is your mind on right? My mind is on right. I got pretty much almost killed by that bug, but they were able to patch me up pretty well. So I'm just going to pretty much knock out for maybe a day and a half after this to heal on up. But I can take you into the castle. You guys go into the castle, and there's a little area with like

not like barracks level rooms. Like you're not on a cot. You're like in an actual castle side room with beds. And like you go into this room and it's got like, it seems like they've, they gave you like a robe and then like there's your clothes, but patched up. There's a, I guess you're naked right now. I don't know.

There's like an actual, yeah, it's, it's, this is, there's like a little desk and everything. Like it's, it's a nice quarter that is maybe not as nice as the one that Jesse Duke. Great. Thank you for getting here, my friend. I do have a bit. Is there any way I could get something to eat? Yeah. I mean, there's sort of kitchen quarters. I could, I could take you, I could, I could, I could bring some stuff. Maybe you could help me get my favorite fruit. What? God damn it. Um,

Philip looks at you and it's like, did you tell me what your favorite fruit is? Like, honestly, I can't remember. Not yet. Are you going to tell me? Because maybe we don't have it. If you ask properly. I don't care. What? I mean, I don't. No, it's fine. It's okay. It's fine. Is it a riddle? What? What's your favorite? Sorry. Sorry. I was being rude. What is your favorite fruit? It's pumpkin. Like, oh my God. Pumpkin.

I love pumpkins. They're so fun to eat. That's interesting. I honestly, if I tried to think of my favorite fruit or fruits even in general, I probably would never name a pumpkin. Huh? Aren't they our fruits? Yes, technically. Ha ha.

oh i guess you learn something every day uh he goes and gets you uh he's like well we don't have any pumpkins but i could probably find something else yes just something to eat please he brings you back like a little like dinner for the night um and and leaves you be and he's like well uh

you know, have a good night. I'm sorry everyone was so, hey, hell of a day. You started the day in a dungeon and now you are in sort of a nicer quarter in the castle. I've never even slept in the castle. Thank you so much for your help. An elephant never forgets. He nods and smiles and is like, wow, learned a couple things today. And he goes and makes his way to the barracks. So at this point, it's nighttime.

Rufus. Where's Freya staying? Freya. Did she get a room? Am I not just back at the Abbey? I would assume that Freya is probably at the little church. But Freya, yeah. Is there anything else anyone wants to do before they go to sleep tonight? I don't think so. I think Rufus is in for some pacing in his room, quietly facing his own fears and maybe drinking.

I guess Freya, I mean, she'd be back with Abbas Willow. And I suppose we just want to make sure that Abbas Willow is going to be okay without her. And also potentially ask for any forest wisdom that Abbas might have. Get some forest wisdom. Abbas Willow sits there with you and is like, I'm so excited for you. It'll definitely be thrilling. It'll be...

A way for you to... I think, first off, it is so amazing how selfless it is for you to volunteer yourself to save all these other people. That is closer to Zophine than most people will ever be. And even... I mean, it's almost literally like you are going on a journey to meet Zophine by walking steadily into the forest. I hadn't even considered it that way. And that's a new...

level that I'm so excited about. Will you be okay? I will miss you. She smiles at you and she's like, well, I will be fine. Everyone here, though there's not that many people who would consider themselves members of my congregation, everyone here would definitely protect me if anything happened. I do trust these soldiers here. And I think...

While they may not be willing to volunteer themselves to go in the forest, I think that they are brave enough when things come here. Don't let the porridge catch fire. Why do you always say that to me? I feel like, look, it's simple. I like wooden bowls, okay? You guys have just like a nice chat as it gets a little later. Is there anything specific you want to do with her before you go to bed?

uh uh no nothing specific but no unless there's like any like cool texts or anything i should have no nothing specific just well she's she's notices that it seems like there's something on your mind and so she's like well i was going to save this for the morning but i'll give this to you now she goes into her little sparse living quarters and digs around and

you know that she's as this like sort of religious figure, she like, she dresses really plainly. I mean, there's some like, uh, some green dyed stuff. There's a few like more, uh,

Beautiful touches that are just like green life in the house, but not like, you know, precious gems and things. That's a rare thing to see around here. But she comes back with a little kind of like prayer beads. And at the center of one of them is like this crystal that looks a little dull. It doesn't look like it's shiny in the way that like really nice jewelry is shiny. And she says, the magic of this was used up long ago, but...

but maybe on your journey, the magic will find its way back to it. Hands you a little like very simple necklace with a little dull jewel in it. Mother Willow, thank you so much for trusting me with this. Of course. She's like, it's 7.15, so I have to go to bed. Yes, get to bed. I'll never take this off the whole time I'm out there. You can wash it or whatever. I don't care. Okay. She goes to bed. Grib.

You're in your quarters. I'm getting, I've eaten my food. I've had my cuppa, my cup of water. And before I go to sleep, I'd like, I would love to turn into a rat. Oh, okay. With my wild shape. And rats have this thing called keen sense. And I'm hoping I can enter the hallway and make a perception roll to smell Jesse Dugan.

Okay. And can you read keen sense for me? You have advantage on wisdom perception on wisdom rolls checks that involve smell. Okay. So you're trying to smell Jesse Dugan. You might not be able to smell him from here, but you know, generally in the castle where he is.

It's nighttime. You know that this whole fort has been attacked earlier in the day. So they're kind of on high alert. But most of the guards are actually on the wall watching to make sure nothing comes in. That said, there are some guards in the castle itself. Great. So to make your way to Jesse Dugan, you're going to have to make a couple of stealth checks or a series of checks. Okay, great. So give me your first...

Check. And as a rat, I'll say you can do this with advantage. Okay, great. I'm just trying to... The advantages of being a rat. Am I... I'm gonna... Whose stealth am I using? Me or the rats? The rats. And his stealth... Or if you want to use your... What is his stealth gonna be based on? His dexterity? It should just be dex if he doesn't have a thing. It's plus zero. Does it say... Does it say any other stats? Yeah, I mean, it's just like a tiny beast. It's armor class 10, hit point one...

So that's the trade-off is that a rat would get to do it with advantage, even though it has zero, but maybe, I don't know if you have any other trades that would help you. No, that's, that's it. I'll just roll it advantage. Cool. Okay, cool. Three, 12. Okay. 12. I'll do a perception check for a guard. Roll the eight. So you get like you, you go up a little set of staircases to your left, um,

You see this guard kind of pacing back and forth. He's like two hours into his duties. He's clearly feels like shit's over. And so he's just kind of going through the motions and you're able to scurry past them up to another hallway. Uh, grip, can you give me another stealth check as you come into a second floor where it seems like there's the rims are on the other end of this. Got it. Nine, eight. Okay. 16, 17,

So the guard at the end of the hallway sees a little rat pop up on the top of the stairs. He's like, is that a fucking rat? Starts making his way over to you. I'm just going to run. I'm going to run past the hallway. Yeah. Smart. I'll do a check against that. Once you're out of sight, yeah, make another stealth check. You hear him clambering behind you. I rolled a one and then I rolled a 17.

Wow. So he enters the top of the steps where you just were. He can't find you. And yeah, make I guess make one more stealth check to see if you can just get past him. Oh, OK. I'm so OK. So this is like you're back now at normal. Yeah. Oh, it fell off my table. Oh, doesn't count if it fell off. Oh, wow. Five. 15. Classic Jumanji rules.

Three. Okay, so you are able to get past him and scurry into the hallway. He's looking around on the stairs, unable to find you. Unreal. Yeah. Wow. Near the top, the end of this hallway, you see this sort of nicer, like in a different turret of the castle itself, there is one last room with a guard standing outside the door. Straight up outside of the door? Yeah. Yeah.

Okay, this is my last check. Yes. I'm a cool-ass mouse. I'm a sneaky mouse. Ooh, 19. Nice. Two. So 19. I rolled a 19. Dang. He's going to try to get you. Okay. He sees you and he's like, oh, a fucking rat. He has no reason to suspect that this is anything other than a rat, so he's going to come and try to step on you. He's going to make a swing at you. Okay.

Rolled a nat 20. Okay. Well, the rat has an armor class of 10, so that definitely hits. Okay. He's just going to kick at you, so that's a melee attack, or unarmed strike. This is going to be bad. So he gets a plus one to strength, an unarmed strike, so he's just going to kick you. Yeah. It's one...

plus his strength modifier, which is two. So this is not that bad, actually. So he doesn't even roll a dice. It's an unarmed strength. So he takes one plus one, so two, but he actually adds another one because he doubles the first damage. So he only hits you for three damage. I turn back into Grib. Whoa, a reveal. Yeah, the rat has one HP. Yeah, you have to.

-You're Grib. -As a druid, if you take all the damage of your animal form, you come back into your human or your whatever form. Grib at the top of the staircase outside of Jesse Dugan's door. -You have returned. -This man kicks you and you turn into Grib. He looks at you shocked. What do you do? Make an insight check. -Yes.

Okay, this is like a nice guy who is on guard duty. Just to point it out before you make any sudden... Okay, yeah. I pop up and I go, and I startle myself. I seem startled and I go, must have been sleep morphing.

Make a persuasion check with disadvantage. You're going to have to use spells or something to get out of this. This is really bad. Okay. So, Grib, you are well within...

enemy territory in this castle. A lot of people are suspecting you. You have gone all the way up through this castle. You're right outside of Jesse Dugan's door. There is just a guard there, like a nice person who has kicked you because you're a rat coming out the door. You know, maybe not that nice if he kicks a rat.

But he might scream. Okay. And then that would be really bad. Got it. And I just want you to know that there's probably not, unless you're able to fix the situation right here, there's probably not going to be a lot of ways to talk yourself out of the situation. Great. If it's not contained to this moment. Great. Before he screams, I cast Charm Person. Okay. Read Charm Person for the listeners. Okay.

Okay. So he makes a wisdom saving throw, is that what you said? Yes. Okay. He has 11 wisdom, so it's plus zero. Make the roll. Okay.

What's your spell save? Deceives 15. He rolled a 12. So he is charmed. Great. And I'm not saying he... I'm going to say he's not doing it with disadvantage because he didn't... Like, I don't think that's a real fight. Yeah. That was happening. Yeah. So he is charmed. You successfully charmed him. Oh, he's like... Okay. So he's like, oh, sorry, Grib. What are you doing up here? So sometimes when I'm really, really tired, I'll transform in the middle of my slumber and I'll just scurry about or something.

Okay. Cool. Well, that's wild. I can't... You know, I kind of feel like I have power sometimes, but I can't figure anything out. What kind of powers do you feel like you have? Do you ever feel like you can... You feel like an energy in your hands, but then nothing happens? Well, not to be gauche, but I feel that way, and then something does happen. Wow. That's awesome. Like what? I produce a flame from my hand. No shit, dude.

Pretty cool, right? Pretty sick. Yeah, well, I'm supposed to be guarding this door, so I guess I'll see you later. Yes, could you point me back in the direction of my room? I'm just so turned around. I've never been in this part of the hallway. Yeah, totally. You go back down this one-way hallway. Oh, that's so interesting. You're at the complete wrong end of the castle at this point. I'm so confused about where I am, I didn't even realize it's a one-way hallway.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're deep. Are you going to be here when Jesse Dugan wakes up? Jesse? I don't know when he wakes up. I guess I'm here till the morning, so yeah. Well, if you don't see me before the morning, because I might get up, get a muffin, I'll bring you one or whatever, but if you don't see me, tell him I'm going to fucking kill him. Just kidding. I'm going to fucking kill him, but we're friends and you won't tell him, right? I'm going to fucking kill him.

Just kidding. Good night. At this point, he laughs with you and he's like, that's dark humor. And he walks with you back down the hallway, kind of letting the other guards know that you're with him and he's just walking you out. I lay my head to rest and a single tear drops because I don't have my seed and I don't have my kill.

Ah, Grib cries himself to sleep. Oh my God. Vengeance. What a tough night. Vengeance, unfortunately, eluding him. That's it for the night. But Grib, you are so, so tired. You're able to fall right asleep. The next morning, you all wake up in your individual respective sleeping places. And as you go about your morning routine, everyone is gathered by the gate to the forest at the edge of Fort Cutler. Um,

most of the remaining scouts are all there a few people are positioned elsewhere for guard duty uh gunner is standing there before the the scouts that are lined up there uh pastor margrave is also there sort of begrudgingly so like he wishes he wasn't there the abbas is there as well and everyone waits for you guys to get ready as you set out for the forest they help you with like supply you know just basic supplies food and

water and like you know just general survival stuff for being in the forest the abbess approaches freya he's like well i already gave you what i was going to give you today but i want to give you this and she gives you a hug just remember the forest is your friend after that sir gunner approaches rufus he steps you and he he would give you that kind of strong arm like a handshake but he's got a claw for a hand so he doesn't

He reaches down, he unclasps his arm bracer, and he hands it to you. And he's like, well, this is your bracer. Remember, this will keep your wrist strong and make sure you land a solid blow. You didn't have it last night. That's what happened. Yes, of course. Gunner, thank you for reminding everyone that had I merely had my leather bracers on...

I could have obviously warded off any attacks by the bugs. Thank you for saying so. And Gunnar, thank you for this gift. And I'd just like to take this time to say to you once and for all, please come. Please come on the journey. I honestly, I can't even write out, like, I can't walk half the pace. I heard Jesse Dugan wanted to come. Yeah.

Is that true? Did Jesse express an interest? Then he should definitely join us. Jesse Dugan is there. He's like in the back. He's like, uh, I don't necessarily... Wait, did somebody say I want to go? Grib just said so. Grib? Uh, Grib, hey, buddy. Sorry, no hard feelings. I guess I don't actually want to go with you into a dark forest. Oh, the misunderstanding? Oh, my bad. And I just get red in the face. Okay, I won't inquire.

Oh, yeah. Just going back a little bit. Rufus, just make a persuasion check to see if people believe you about these. 16. Yeah, people nod like, oh, okay. Good. Good. People understand. Just so you know mechanically how that works. You know how he had that little D4 he could give you when you're fighting? Once a day, you can add one D4 to an attack roll. Nice. So you guys have that, and Jesse walks up to you, Gribb,

Comes up to you, smiles and says, hey, buddy, you know, what can I say? I found myself in sort of a desperate situation where I didn't really have any ways out. He's like kind of leaning in close and whispering. And hey, I always find my way out.

I always do. You do, Jesse. Slaps you on the shoulder. Before you go, Jesse, I must say, you're quite right. But I want you to know one thing. What's that? For the rest of your life, you'll always be afraid. Every meal you'll eat, it may be poisoned. Every corner you turn, it may be an ambush. Enjoy living in fear. And I shake his hand with the most massive forearm that he's ever seen. Make an intimidation check with advantage. Okay. Okay.

Ooh, five and a 19. Oh yeah. On that 19 and you squeeze his hand, you feel it crunch a little bit and he like tries not to act like it hurt. And he's like, Oh, um, yeah, I, uh, okay. He like, he's smiling, but you can see the fear in his eyes as he smiles and he's, he nods and he's like, have, uh,

Have a good trip in the forest. He backs away, kind of tripping a little bit. And I have a little loud enough for everybody to say, it's so nice to squash our beef. Friends at last. Well, he nods and everyone else is like, okay, weird.

So at this point, everyone parts the doors, I mean, the gates to the forest itself open. And you guys are able to walk out in the forest. Does anyone have anything else they want to do before they leave? I turn to Freya. I'm very excited to fight by your side. I've come to love violence and I think you're very violent. That's such an honor for you to say that. I don't particularly love violence, but...

I'll be honored to fight by your side. I've never met anyone like you. Hopefully we won't have to fight, but if we do, a dance it shall be. Rufus, I'll be excited to hear what you have to say along the way. And I am most excited to stand with you both. Freya, please lead the way. You want me to lead?

Yes, of course. You're the guide. I am the captain of the expedition, of course. I am the leader. And thus I delegate the duties of guide to someone with a firm knowledge of the forest. Of course, that's me, but it's also you probably more so than myself. So I will let you lead. You know what? I'm happy to. I'm happy to take lead here. Good. I'm a little taller. You won't lose me so easily.

Yep. That was my thinking as well. In fact, I might bring up the rear. Since both of you are taller than me, I think I will travel behind you both. You don't want to be sandwiched, so you feel extra safe? Smart move. I will be sandwiched between the two of you. Okay.

Rufus, in sort of a druid paladin sandwich, heads off into the forest. You guys start walking. I can't wait to tell you guys about my dream. That's the last thing Groob says. It's not the end of the episode, J-Rock. Fuck!

I thought it was right there, dude. And that's the last thing I say. You're right. I thought that was the cue. I'm sorry. Jacob, we're going to hold you to that. Grib will not speak for the rest of this episode. Okay. Have fun.

Don't. Don't. I'm sorry, Zach. I always beef it. So anyways, so you all start heading off into the forest. And as you start walking through, it's pretty sparse on the edges and gets thicker as you go in. But what you notice is that it just looks like a forest. It doesn't look like anything magically crazy at first. It's just sort of

Trees that you'd recognize from even further outside of this area. Just plant life. You see some birds flying here and there. As you walk further and further, it does begin to get a little denser and a little bit darker. And it slowly becomes much harder to traverse. But yeah, everybody make survival checks. Or nature checks if you like.

See how well you travel this terrain. Got a 12. And Devin, let's look at your character because you might have... Because you are... I think your featured terrain or something is... Forest. You have a particularly familiar... You are particularly familiar with one type of natural environment and are adept at traveling and surviving in such regions. The forest. Okay. Okay.

Reading a little higher up, it says that you have an advantage on wisdom survival checks to track your favorite enemies, as well as intelligence checks to recall information about them. So you don't, I guess you don't have advantage. I'll say that. But if you were tracking something, you would have advantage on that type of check. Okay, so one more time, everybody tell me their scores. Four. I got a 19.

So, yeah, Freya, you started leading this adventure. I bet you soon immediately feel like a little like you're doubting your skills as you get into this like more uncomfortable and unfamiliar terrain. At this point, Grib, you're able to like step ahead of her and walk forward into the forest. You don't remember anything.

so to speak, this forest. But as you said, an elephant always remembers. And some part of you finds this area familiar and you're able to track your way forward. You continue through the denser and darker forest and you guys walk for the better part of a day. You get a point where you see some movement ahead of you.

And for a moment, it seems like it could be something more dangerous, but then it pops out and it's just some deer. Just regular old deer. You guys keep venturing on further and further into the forest.

Grib, you all have a map and it seems like you're going the correct way. You're following the route that was laid out before you to cut across to get to the Wild and Keep. It's getting to be about nightfall at this point. Can you guys make one last survival check to see where you're going to maybe set up camp for the night? Or how would you guys like to approach going to sleep? It's getting dark. Freya, what should we do? Well...

Do we sleep in shifts or do we all sleep at once? That's smart. We could build a fire. Someone could keep watch. Smart. I think we should most certainly have a fire. Good.

Grib, you can handle making the fire. Yeah, everybody make a survival check to see how well you can set up this campsite. I got a 13. Dirty 20. 15. Yeah, on that dirty 20, you're able to find sort of the ruins of a building that feels like something that you could kind of fortify yourself as you go to sleep.

Obviously, you're not going to find a straight up building out here, but you find some like kind of like stone structure that used to be there that is at least drier ground, it seems like. And you guys set up camp there. Can you believe our luck? The forest is really providing us a gift here. Partial walls. It's true. You seem to be very in touch with the blessings of the forest. We could all be in touch with blessings if we just open our eyes to them. To me, this feels like the destruction of the forest.

An infestation coming in, building ruins that the forest must overtake. It's taking them back, but not so much that we can't avail ourselves of its shelter for the night. Oh, I will capitalize on this damnation of the forest. Me, I like it. I think there's nothing so nice as buildings in a forest, don't you think? Buildings within them. It's nice to be reminded of...

interiors of a building. So you guys are all set up for camp. How do you want to sleep? Do you have an idea for how that works out? I'm happy to take first watch.

I know, Grib, you're very tired. You've had such a long journey. It's very kind. I will sleep, and I don't mind waking up in the mornings early so I could take the early morning watch, if that's okay. And that leaves me just the last hour before we leave watch, which works for me as well. It's not really how things get divided up. No, it's like a four and four situation. No.

Well, I'll do my four whenever it makes sense for me to do my four. So, good. I trust that we should be safe for the night here, right, Freya? Is there anything to fear as we bed down? As far as I can see, this seems safe enough. I suppose there's always something to fear, but...

We have each other. I'll protect you. Do I need to fear you? No, why would you need to fear me? Do I need to fear you? You're taller than me and you have an enormous sword. No, you needn't fear me. Cool, so Freya, it sounds like you're taking the first watch. Freya, everyone else, you know, you got your bedrolls and things and you get situated for bed. Freya, you're sitting in the darkness awake. It's been after about an hour or so

of just watching in this dark forest that you've stared at for so long but now are within, make a perception check. 16. You hear like some kind of movement to the north of you. What's that? You don't see anything. I don't know what that is. It's about like 100 feet ahead of you probably.

What do you do? Do I have a like can I get a light any type of light? I'll say that you can like take it I make a torch out of like wood from the fire and do something with that Okay, then I guess I'm just gonna take my sword and go check it out Freya you step out away from the camp make your way And you're stealthing. What do you think you're how do you think you're moving? Yeah, I'm I'm low to the ground Definitely stealthing very light tread

Quiet. Cool. Well, you make a stealth check for me. 22. Cool. So you're quiet, almost completely silent, except for your bright torch. There's sort of like a flaming light just crepes in through the pitch black darkness. But you come upon the sight of one of the deer you saw before. Oh. Just dead on the ground. No. Oh.

Make a perception check. Oh, this sweet, beautiful creature. 18. Cool. Well, two things you notice on an 18. It's not fucked up looking or it's like it's not it hasn't been eaten. It's just dead. And on an 18, you hear something behind you as...

Before it had a chance to surprise attack you, you turn and you see in the darkness a dark-looking beast with yellow eyes, almost like feline-like, except that instead of a tail, it has these two waving tentacles coming off of it with little teeth on the end of them. You're looking at its legs and you can't really find...

Where the legs are. Where are its legs? It's kind of glimmering. It's almost like when you're looking at like refracted light and it's sort of bouncing around. You're having trouble concentrating on it, but you see this beast in front of you. It snarls at you and before it has a chance to attack, that's where we're gonna end the episode. Oh my gosh! Wow. Scary.

Yikes. And with Grib and I, fast asleep. Oh, no. Snoozing. 100 feet away. Snoozing. Gosh. Well, that was a fun one. We got out. We were out into the forest. Jacob, I'm so sorry you didn't get to. I'm so sorry that we didn't get at Jesse Dugan. But also. It's crazy how mad I am. You're that mad. It's crazy how this ruined my night. Jacob is so quiet. Yeah.

Anyways. I've been stewing in it this whole time. Well, we'll talk more about that on the Ark Bark. I have a feeling that'll be the bulk of the Ark Bark. Thanks for listening, everybody. Does anyone have anything they want to plug or anything before we go? Just love, baby.

Yeah, we'll plug love. Anything else? Yeah, I'll plug my podcast, the Friends Talk Frasier and Feelings podcast. Check it out. We're on Patreon or anywhere you get your podcasts. And check out my podcast firsthand. It's just on podcasts. Amazing. Well, everyone have a great night. We'll be back next week. Thanks.