Edge of Midnight | Ep. 26 | Stuff of Nightmares
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Howdy-do! Welcome to Legends of Avantris. I'm old Jericho Sticks, and you're listening to Edge of Midnight. Here's what happened last time. Looking at the tree, you can still see the remnants of Farron's face. You have put your grim to rest in this place. Keep to the shadows, my lady.

This spirit walks its own path. Atop a giant gray steed is Philip Druskinvold, an entire army of death behind him as he charges towards the house. I owe you one. Yeah.

No, think nothing of it. Especially considering I'm gonna tear down your house and we're gonna completely destroy the thing. What? Oh. If I can pay you early with the little trinkets that you required, there's enough skin off my back. You watch as the house is completely leveled by spirit and race, and I'll see you at Chateau Clair de Lune. You must be incredibly excited about the masquerade to come. You fall into the most comfortable slumber you all begin to dream. Yeah.

Two brilliant wings unfurl around you like a moth made of moonlight itself. You rise into the night sky, unbound, unchained, unbroken, and unstoppable. Finally, a bit of respite. After the terror and death that our protagonist has suffered through, a little bit of rest and relaxation will do him just fine. Now they're in a house made of dreams themselves and able to get a good night's rest.

I've heard it said that things are always better in the morning, but there's just one thing. In Druskinwald, there is no morning. Now, snug in your beds, you fall into the most comfortable slumber you've experienced in years, perhaps ever. You all dream. You're shrouded in mist, overwhelming, choking, all-consuming. You can't control your own limbs. You are powerless.

In this misty purgatory you feel the cold iron of chains that wrap around you, imprisoning you as you begin to fall. Down, down, down. You sink deeper and deeper until the darkness entombs you. The grave silences all. Then, a break.

Your chains are shattered along with the all-consuming mist. You rip yourself away from the broken links and pull yourself out from a cocoon, its misty threads falling aside as you rise. Two brilliant wings unfurl around you like a moth made of moonlight itself. You rise into the night sky, unbound, unchained, unbroken, unstoppable. And then you wake.

You all wake up in Chateau Claire de Lune, safe and comfortable in your beds. It's warm, cozy, exactly what you would expect. You can hear the sounds from the adjoining rooms of all of you stirring. You've all woken up at the same time. That was weird. Yeah, that was a bit strange, I suppose. What do you have to say about that, Virgil? Well, I suppose we should get up for the day. What do you think, Virgil? Virgil?

Well, I'm sure you're around someplace. Oh, shucks. Getting used to sleep in the morning is a little tough. I'll burst in into the common room. I don't know if anyone's there. I think you would find me. I would be up relatively early. Having wanted to sleep in, but not really able to as much as I... I'm an early riser. You all woke at the same time. Okay. Okay.

I would have immediately gotten myself ready, gone to the common room and ordered tea using the pulley system and just requested some sort of tea and enjoyed the morning in the common room until the others stirred and joined. Yeah, you pull on the pulley, you hear the sound of the bell in the hallway and as you were waiting for one of the servants to arrive to assist you, Brigsy barges in. Whoa.

Did anybody else have a dream? Are you alright? Yeah! I'm alright! But when we dream in this fucking place, it's always bad news. And I'm fairly superstitious about bad news. And dreams. Mainly the dreams which ARE bad news. Well... Now that you mention it, I did have a dream, which is... unusual. Felt familiar and strange in a way, but it certainly didn't feel ominous. And it was about...? We could, like, say it at the same time. Being a moth! Well, yeah! Oh, it was a moth!

Because I've been a moth. And it was actually quite pleasant. It's actually a lot less terrifying than the dreams that I've experienced in Druskinvald. Wait, before you were a moth, did you start in chains? And then, like, you were in a cocoon? Oh, yeah, that's... How do you know what I dreamt about, Briggsie? Because I've been... How many shared dreams have we had since we've been in Druskinvald? Oh, no. Several. It's usually not a good sign, but I'm with Jericho on this one.

I'm in full Ebenezer Scrooge get up like full what like Night Ganon with a little cap. Um... Exactly right. I mean...

It was kind of pleasant compared to some of the other ones, but uh... I don't know. Where's Lefica? She might be able to, you know, parse what the fuck it means.

What other amenities are in the rooms that we had our beds in? Is there anything or is it strictly a bedroom? It's strictly a bedroom. There's a small sitting area where if you had books on your person, you could sit and read. If the servants brought you tea, you'd be able to enjoy tea there. There's a small seating area...

like a lounging couch in front of the fireplace for you to enjoy some of the warmth there. And then you know that you had the heated stone at the foot of your bed. Oh, very nice. Um, clothing options. Do I have the ability to, like, do I have to order something? There is an armoire against the wall, a large one, that seems to have a varying amount of clothing for walking dresses, um,

winter coats, and basically anything that Lethika could imagine needing in this place. And they're all roughly sized to Lethika. It looks like the servants prepared for you to be in this room. I will give myself sort of a bit of a cleaning area, just cleaning in the area where I can sit down and sort of look into a mirror and make sure that I'm looking good. Yeah, the vanity in the corner. Once I've finished with the vanity, I'll put on something appropriate for morning wear.

And by the time I've really like relaxed and taken that time, that's when I will have burst into the room, feeling refreshed and ready for breakfast. - Oh, Lefka! - Yes, Briggsie? - You had a dream too? - I did. - What does it mean? - What does the dream mean? - Yeah, what does it mean? I mean, I feel like last few times we dreamed it was spooky and ominous and you know, grave portents and all that.

Yes? You know, dead men tell no tales. You know what I'm saying? I do, and yet I cannot say exactly what the dream means. I have no idea. Well, maybe it's saying that on account of our friends being dead, they was holding us back. That's really morbid. I don't know why I thought that.

I don't believe that. I don't know why. I don't believe for a moment that any of us were held back by the others. I truly believe we wouldn't get as far as we did without them. Yes. No, you're right. We couldn't have done any of that without Farron and Yogi. Yeah, that's true. That's mighty true. Then why do we feel, after such a sad, sad time, why is we being delivered that? Especially in this... I mean, this place looks like it's out of a dream.

Looks like less of a house than someone's memory of a house and it's fading. Whoa. Aristide. I don't know why I said that. That was some odd shit to say, I suppose. I do think that these dreams are visiting us. That there is intent. And I do not think it is speaking to the past. It is likely some sign or premonition. Something that either is a warning or a sign of what's to come.

Well, for what it's worth, as nice as this place may seem, I still don't trust anything or anyone for that matter. Oh, I mean, I'm willing to trust. I feel like Philip and Adela are the only ones that, you know, are remotely capable around here. They've saved our asses how many times? Several, to say the least. They gave us that nice house. Well, I mean, it wasn't so nice, I suppose, and then they destroyed it. But I mean, they put us up here.

Speaking of which...

I am hungry and I'll pull the chain. You pull the chain and you hear the bell ring down the hallway and you wait for a servant to appear. Does anyone want anything to eat or drink? I see you've already gotten tea. No, there is no tea. No servant has arrived since Marius pulled on the-- I see that you have already ordered tea perhaps. I attempted, but no one has answered the call, so to speak.

We can give them another 10, 15 minutes. Perhaps it is a communal breakfast eating time. You know, sometimes you gotta give them a friendly reminder. You hear the ringing of the bell down the hallway as it rings ferociously. Jean-Luc certainly heard that. Yeah, he was a real nice fella.

There was Jean-Luc and then there was all them puppet folk and them skeletons. Regardless, as nice as these people may seem, time will tell whether or not we can trust them. As far as I'm concerned, this is the last, this is the first time I haven't had a look over my shoulder. And just be worried someone was going to stab me in the back or some hag was going to curse me.

Oh, I was gonna be killed by some horrible crow demon. Or get captured by a bunch of horny perverted townsfolk. Right, or burned alive by a creepy perverted priest. Oh, yes, who really wouldn't stop eating the cream puffs? It's like guards have already had 15, isn't that enough?

It wasn't so much the number of cream puffs, but the way that he was eating them. Yeah, why did he have to bite into it before he closed his lips and squirt the cream into it? And that thing that he did with his tongue? Horrific. Horrific. What a weird, weird guy. Gosh, I'm glad that Rixie exploded him in the gourd viscera with his voodoo gun. Yeah, I'm glad too.

Marius, I need you to roll a perception check for me. This has been nice. I'd be honored. It's just been nice. It really has been. And I guess he technically killed me. I'm not really sure. 11. That's enough. You have felt unease since you woke up.

Damn straight. Riggsie seems comfortable, Jericho even so. Lethika is dressed in a beautiful pale lavender dress that befits this place, and she seems to be assimilating to it fairly well, but there's something about this morning, though mornings don't happen in Druskinval, this early dusk, that you, it doesn't feel right to you.

You can still hear the faint echoing of the bell ringing down the hallway, and it's been about 20 minutes since you called for tea. You remember before you slept when you rang the bell, there was someone there within minutes. And if Philip and Adela are what they say they are, there is no reason that someone wouldn't come to your assistance, especially after the thrashing that Frigsy gave the bell. Something must be wrong.

And as you are listening to your friends chatter about their feelings about things and their comfortableness here, you notice something, a color that is all too familiar to you. The color of rose petals, the color red, the window that faces into this room that looks out across the moor had been filled with the soft milk light of the moon.

But now that you look down at your hands, you see that your skin is tainted with a faint red shift. You look about the entire room and you realize it's almost as if there's a red filter coating this place. Your eyes shift to the window and you see the milk light of the moon that shines into this room is not milk white at all, but blood red. I think I'm gonna order waffles. Well, it would be certainly nice if we could get some.

And without a word, I stand up and I walk over to the window and I look out it, trying to see where the source of this light seems to be coming from. And if it's just me who notices it, I abruptly stand up and walk calmly over to where the window is. You all right, Marius? You make your way to the window in your room, unaware of what time it truly is, the crimson light getting brighter and brighter as it shines through the glass.

When you arrive and finally look up at the night sky, you see it. The hagmoon with its leering crooked teeth is a deep red, weeping bloody tears. And in an instant, the ceiling crumbles away and you see the sky bathed in a bloody glow as massive droplets of crimson tears crash down on the moors and landscapes all around you. Chateau Clair de Lune is in ruins. You're standing in the middle of these moors.

The entire place bathed in this bloody light as a literal downpour of blood droplets spatter against your clothing and your skin. The hagmoon ever leering at you, her face crying in pain. - I would immediately, even though I'm completely stunned at the shift that's happening, looking down at myself, I would quickly spin around to see if I see my friends. - Do we all see this?

- You all see this. - What happened? - The bell jingle thing. - What the fuck just happened? - I would like smell the-- - You don't even need to put it up to your face. The smell is overwhelming. The scent of iron.

that fills this space now. You are, it is taking all of your self control to keep yourself together as you try and wipe the blood from your, from your clothing, you do nothing but smear it as more rains down around you. - I would, having turned to face my friends to see if they have now experienced what I'm experiencing, which they are,

immediately begin to take several steps back and distance myself from them, especially Lethika, as I'm trying to wipe the blood from my face to keep it out of my mouth and my nose and my eyes, and I'm struggling to do so. Damn the gods, what is this? What is this? It's okay, it's okay, it's okay. I don't know if it's okay, actually. Just stay back, don't get any closer. No, he's wrong. Lethika just stayed on 10 feet away. I'm gonna race over to the basin where I...

- I believe that there should be like a water pitcher or something that we would have been able to have overnight. When I pour it into a glass, it's still water. - It's nothing but blood. - I would put myself behind Briggsie between like,

and like you are, I would have you between us. - And I would try to get in front as well. Are our rooms still there? - You find yourself in what appear to be the ruins of Chateau Clair de Lune. And you see the foundations of what were rooms at any given point, but they have crumbled and everything is just covered now in this raining blood. You're standing,

for all intents and purposes, on the moor. The chateau is behind you. It's not as if you're in the room itself. - If I go to the foundation where my room was, are any of my effects there? - You would have a difficult time with how big the chateau is. You're out front. You're essentially in the front courtyard. - So we just sort of got like... - Shlooped. - Shlooped. - Hard to say. - This is where you're standing.

As I'm standing behind Briggsia, I'm shaking and my hands are drenched in blood and as I look at them, I begin to cut my hands.

No! I'm gonna lunge forward and try to smack your hands as blood. No, Iverick, you ain't gonna get no blood from here, man. It's just me. It's just I'm all burlap and jaw and wood and metal. Just me. Focus on me. I'm gonna grab you by the lapels and be like, thank you. Okay. Keep me. No, you're right here. Help me. Help me. No, you're good. You're good. I'm

My banjo is... I don't even know where my banjo is. Is there a song that helps you? Don't you cry tonight. I still love you, baby. Oh, that's not the right one. I don't know how much longer I can resist. No, no, no.

No, no, no, no. Should we restrain you? I'm just worried about drinking whatever this is. No, don't. Hold on. Maybe if we just rain in blood, he won't cry for Lefica. No, who knows what'll happen. Maybe he'll turn into a horrible blood vampire monster. That's mostly bad.

- Is this the night of sin? Is that mother night? Is it actually happening? Was it just delayed? Did we stop nothing? - You're gonna get out of the fucking rain. - Yeah, I would immediately-- - All around you, falling tears of blood from the blood moon above you increase in speed and severity in which they fall until the rocky highlands all around you are coated in blood.

and then you see a massive orb of blood directly above you. You have no time to act as it smashes down atop the crumbled chateau and splashing in a massive tidal wave of blood that sweeps all of you away. You tumble through the thick, viscous liquid, rushing like a red tide until it finally slows down and totally stills. You all burst out of a bubbling pool of blood coated in thick crimson.

- Is it fair to say that Marius might have gotten some in his mouth? - 100%. - 100%. However, as you get your bearings, the heat and humidity hits you as you realize you're now in the midst of a temple ruin, surrounded by thousands of miles of sprawling jungle. Directly before you loops a huge statue of a striking cobra.

What the fuck? Am I still covered in blood? No. You are coming out of a pool of bloody warmth in the middle of the jungle. I would be drinking it. There'd be no way that with the tidal wave and the flood and it getting in my mouth that I wouldn't have succumbed to the temptation. And the rest of you scramble out of this bubbling, bloody pool in the middle of this jungle as you watch Marius just shoveling handfuls of blood

blood into his mouth, drinking down gulp after gulp of this warm red irony liquid. The rest of you are able to grab fronds from the nearest trees and wipe the blood from your bodies as it slowly begins to dry in this heat. Though it's humid around you, it's still drying and you feel yourself slowly begin to...

you feel yourself slowly begin to feel the blood start to flake away, and it's not coating every area of you anymore. - Go ahead. - I will instinctually grab for my flintlock

and pull it out of my belt, but realizing that I'm covered in this blood-stained nightgown with my little cap that's hopefully still on. It was very well affixed to your head. You look at yourself and you realize that the clothes that you were wearing, that you remember wearing at Chateau Clair de Lune are not the same. You were wearing khaki adventurer's outfits. You have--

a hat atop your head that's perfect for walking through the jungles. At your hip, where you would normally find your cutlass, you find a machete. What is this? Crossroads, is this you?

Oh no. Marius, are you all right? Virgil, what should we do? Virgil, where are you? Just let him get his fill. And I would drink until I started to feel some sort of-- Dizzy. Yes. You start to feel dizzy and sick. And slow, like, so I just had to slow down almost, you know? And you do get to the point where you feel--

overburdened by the blood that you've been drinking and you begin to pull yourself out of the pool and you find a leaf next to you, you wipe your mouth clean. But as I

As of now, you feel no effects from the blood that you drank. I will have instinctively kind of stepped in between Marius and Lethika. I don't know what you're doing in this moment as you're kind of getting... In this moment, I'm realizing that the blood is flaking off, and I am wearing a really nice...

teal button down, a broad hat, the khaki pants with the, I'm basically Emily Blunt from Jungle Cruise. - Yeah! - Exactly right. - And realizing that these effects are on my person, I'll reach into my back pocket and pull out a handkerchief and Jericho, please, give this to Marius. - Oh yeah, sure, sure.

Gosh, why am I wearing shorts? My legs are so skinny! You have weird bony stick legs. Where I'm from, they call them pantaloons. Oh, I miss 'em.

- Gosh, I wish I could have leg day. And I walk over to Marius. Marius, are you all right? - Thank you. And I'll snatch the handkerchief and begin to blot my face. - And as you begin to calm down as the bubbling pool, it's still there, but the scent of it is no longer so tantalizing to you. You are able to take in

this scene where you are in the middle of this jungle standing in the midst of these crumbling temple ruins. This cobra statue in front of you poised to strike but motionless as it's covered in the growth of the jungle as the jungle has clearly for many years been reclaiming this temple as its own. I'll be waving my machete around at the cobra. Machete. Machete. That's a cobra, Roy!

It doesn't look like a crocodile in any sort of way. No, that's not a cobra. That's a big old snake. That's a snake, right? Yeah, that's a big old snake. Are we not having a shared dream or some sort of shared experience? That's what I was going to ask you all.

I think we're still dreaming. Moments ago, we were in the chateau. And then we were outside in the... There was a... The rain. And then there was a... The moon. A tidal wave. I always dream of tidal waves. I would guess that this jungle is familiar to you, Rixie? Feels fucking familiar. But this ain't no crocodile. No. And I certainly wasn't wearing this fucking kit up. But it feels familiar. I would love to say that this isn't real, but...

"as vile as all of that was, and I apologize for losing my calm." It's okay, it happens to the best of us. I mean, Virgil would tell you, if it was he or Virgil, you wouldn't know what to do. Virgil... "That was vile and delightful at the same time. "I feel sick. I may have overindulged too much." Just take it easy. It's okay, it's better you drink from the pool than from Lefrica. "Yes, I agree.

Although God knows whose blood or what blood that is. Yeah, I mean, is that even... I mean, it looks and smells like blood. That's the truth be told. Look, if this is a dream, all we gotta do is wake up, right? With any luck, it is a dream. All of this is behind us. Somebody pinch me. I pinch him. Not too hard, but enough to lay... It hurts. Some of your flesh is falling off. Stop.

I apologize. I don't know my own strength. It didn't even really feel like it. I try to, like, paste it back on your flesh. Let me try. It hurts. Yes, I felt that, and I'm still here. I'm out of ideas. There is a way of getting out of here, and I think it is... We have to see where the dream takes us, what it is trying to show us. All right, Crossroads, come out! Come out!

Do I smell any rum or gunpowder or hot iron? Roll a perception. In the air. I think that's a nine. No, you do not. Come on, Virgil, help us out. You wouldn't know what to do. You have that big old brain. Big old bird brain. Wait, where is Virgil? He ain't here. I don't know. I don't hear him. I don't feel him. I don't see him. So you're free from Virgil in your dreams.

I don't know. Is that the key to all this? Virgil might be the key to all this. Does that mean he can wake us up? I don't know. Try to talk to him! Try to be like... I've been trying to talk to him! Virgil! I miss you, Virgil. I'm sorry. Oh, don't steal her, that's all. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. We can still be friends. You said this place, it seems familiar to you. Do you see a path or anything, or do you have feelings of which way perhaps we might be able to find something, another landmark?

much like the snake. I want to clarify, not literally this exact place. I went to a place kind of like this, from the shore, through the swamp, deep into the jungle, found a temple to an ancient crocodilian god. That's where I was cursed. This is different. It's not the same god or whatever. Well, you think it's maybe a snake-a-dillion god of some kind? Well, I guess it's all vaguely reptilian.

Are snakes reptiles? I mean, a snake is a snake. I'm concerned. That's all I'm gonna say. If the last one was Mary's dream, this is my dream. I take full responsibility for whatever happens. I pray that these are dreams. Well, I'll have this for a reason. Well, maybe if we ain't dreaming, maybe we got... After doing such a good job, we just got sent home, and we just gotta get our way out of the jungle and find a ship home.

As he's saying that, I'm going to walk up to, if there's like a path that I can clear with my machete, I would do that. Yeah, there's a bunch of the jungle you can imagine that you can clear. And you begin to do so. You have traveled through the jungle before and you know that this is the way. When the jungle reclaims its spaces, there are no paths to be seen. You have to forge one on your own.

You leave the temple behind and venture into the jungle proper, the dense underbrush and draping vines making the trip incredibly difficult. All around you, you hear the life of the jungle, but as you look to try to spy what creatures are around you, you see strange beasts you've never seen before. Some look like dinosaurs, others like large cats, but they look more like the stuff out of a fever dream than real animals, and none of them interact with you.

They seem to notice you, but they don't react like predators, though they look like predators. Uh, you know what kind of weird, gross animals these are? Anybody? I've never seen anything like this in my life. I have zero experience with any kind of jungle, flora, or fauna. Only what I have read in books. In my long life, I have never come to a place like this. No. Nothing like this.

Well, this feels like Crossroads. It is as hot as I have read, though. Yeah. Maybe that's why I have shorts on. Anyways... Uh, well, maybe we can talk to one of them and say... Oh, I'll pluck... Do I have a banjo or a vinicon? Do I have mine? No, I don't. Uh, maybe I'll sing a tune. Um, uh, gosh, I... We are in the jungle. We've got fun and games.

We just came full up from a pool of blood and we have questions for you crazy animals and I've also done the rules of choice decision. It's very funny. Animals, please be soothed by savage beasts, be soothed by my toons. And for all that you can see, they are soothed by the toons as none of them make a move to attack you or to engage with you in an aggressive way at all.

I'm gonna try to walk towards the one. Okay, you do. Be careful, Jerry! You see what appears to be some sort of large dinosaur. It seems... Oh, fuck. It seems...

Almost more round than you would expect it to be. Its colors are vibrant. It fits in really well with the bright colors of the jungle. But the reds are incredibly red. The yellow of the underbelly is almost like a neon yellow. Not at all the type of natural colors you would expect to see on a dinosaur. Does it seem kind of like almost cartoonish? Almost. Amazing. Ugh.

Jericho, what are you doing? Come on, can you take us out of here, big guy? I love you. Jericho.

- Jericho. - You see a purple T-Rex begin to make its way out of the tree line. It's incredibly large, it towers over all the rest. Its head is shaped almost boxy in comparison to what you would expect a T-Rex to look like. And it charges forward menacingly and as it stops next to you it begins to rock back and forth and if a T-Rex could smile it would.

Hi.

We just came here, we're not trying to intrude on your home and you got a lot of good looking, nice, friendly looking friends. We're just trying to get out of here, we're just trying to get home. We was in a place called Chateau Clair de Lune in the realm of Druskinvold. If you know where that is, we'd appreciate a lift. They both just stared down at you.

They don't seem capable of speech, though they do make noises. The noise as the Tyrannosaurus Rex opens its mouth, you expect to hear this ferocious roar, but instead you hear roar. It sounds almost comical coming from a creature of this size. You see the two of them run up against each other almost as if they're play fighting. And then just as quickly as it came, it turns and makes its way back into the underbrush.

and you find yourselves now alone here with none of the animals here to keep you company. Something is severely wrong. This doesn't seem like any kind of ferocious creature I've ever seen before. All this feels bizarre. Am I wrong? It feels out of place. I've never been in no jungle, but... I mean, Briggs, if you think this is not junglesque compared to what you experienced... There's nothing like I've ever seen, but I think that's the point. This is a dream.

So nothing's gonna make sense. Nothing's gonna be real. It's all a little off. But, I mean, for what it's worth, I think they're friendly. I think they just kind of, they're playing with each other and keeping an eye on us, maybe protecting us. From Crossroads, I'm starting to believe that Riggs is right, which provides me a great deal of relief. We just gotta figure out a way to get out of here. Oh no, follow me.

I wanna keep going through the jungle and looking for any kind of cross paths, anything that could be construed as a crossroads. Roll a perception check. We'll use this guy. I don't even know it's that high when you look. Oh no, it's actually higher, it's 13. You press onward.

And after pushing aside a huge frond of a fern, you are all face to face with a shrieking woman. Her skin boiled off and her eyes bubbling. Through a lipless mouth, she shrieks in pain and anger as she points at you with an accusatory condemnation. There's a chill to your bones as she screams. But that chill fills the air. The air gets frosty, cold to the touch.

Your breath comes out in wisps of smoke. With one final deathly shriek, the entire jungle around you is frozen as the woman disappears. The plant life and animals of the jungle have been encased in ice like ice sculptures frozen in time. You are all frozen along with them.

Then, in a moment, the ice sculptures shatter and fall to the ground, and an icy wind blows past you. You are in the middle of a blizzard, trudging through a mountain pass as the snow rises to your knees. Yet you do not feel the cold. The visibility is poor, but you see ahead of you, through the pass, a small red light that calls you forward. There. Do you see that? Yes, I see it. This has to be a dream.

Perhaps that's our way out. Are we made of ice? No, you were encased in ice, but you've broken free of it. What are you wearing? You look down and you see that you are all covered in furs and heavy coats, winter wear, garb suitable for this type of weather. I don't think that we should delay even a moment, for if we lose that light, I fear what comes next.

I think if that all happened, I would have broken out. Ah! Ah! Ah!

I'm not sure it's screaming at him! I saw a skinless woman with boiling eyes screaming at him! Jericho! Jericho! Jericho! Focus! Focus! This is a dream, Briggs is right, none of this is real! Who the fuck was there? Does it matter? Think about how absurd all of this is! It's just weird spooky stuff. Was that Crossroads? No, that was... I don't think it was Crossroads. It's Mr. Crossroads!

Oh yeah, it's not Mrs. Crossroads or Ms. Crossroads. Please, Jericho, you helped me keep it together and now I need you to do the same for me, alright? Alright, alright, alright, I just-- We can do this. None of this is real. I just feel a little out of sorts without Virgil here. He's my emotional support, you know? I just-- I feel mighty alone. The four of us will be okay, we have each other. But-- but-- Fuck, it's cold! It is unpleasant. You don't feel the cold. You don't feel the cold. Oh. Oh.

It's pleasant, actually. We should be freezing to death. And I've got a huge ring of fur, ice-climbing style. We should be freezing to death, but we are somehow being protected. I think I was right that we are being guided through these visions. Take good note of everything that we see, but be not afraid. Latika's right. I feel as though I can steel myself.

Well then why don't you lean the rest of the way? I'm done leading. You did good, Briggs. Thank you. You could have known that the crazy, gross woman over there would do this green menace. No, no, no! I didn't want to do that! She came out of nowhere, Briggs! I know, I was looking for her! If these are visions, though, as Lethika suggests, we need to make note of everything that's happening. Perhaps there is a message or some sort of lesson to be learned here, something to be gleaned. For some, dreams are a way of processing.

processing and digesting trauma or grief or hardship, trying to solve problems. It is possible that these are merely images, but I think that there is something more. I hope you're right. It would help me immensely knowing that I didn't drink that godforsaken blood. Probably not. I probably know that this is real. Come on. Stay close.

We'll be all right. Now what? Now I've got some stylish, comfy fur boots. That's nice. And even if it's slow, we begin to trudge towards this red light that is beckoning us. As you press onward through the blizzard, you suddenly feel something watching you. As you turn, you see an enormous black shape through the sheets of snow and sleet. Amidst this black shape, two huge red eyes peer at you, ever watching. Do your eyes feel that?

No, I started screaming. Briggsie, Briggsie, calm down. Call. No, it's okay, it's okay. Remember the aminals were friendly. Remember the aminals were friendly earlier. Oh, you're right. Steal yourself, please. What do you think it is? Does it look familiar? You think it's a dinosaur? It is... Roll an intelligence check. This is gonna be a plus one.

Come on. No! You have a million twists and you choose not to use them. It wouldn't have mattered. No, that's true.

Does anyone else notice? What is that thing? I'll look and see if my memory is jogged. Roll an intelligence check. Five twists. Red-eyed black shapes that we see in the past. You are too horrified by what you're seeing. On top of that, everyone else is wearing weather-appropriate clothes. You're still wearing shorts. Oh, dang! But you also have on boots with the fur. Gosh, I'm like that overpowered kid from high school who wore shorts in winter and a hoodie during summer. Ha ha ha!

You need to have the red flannel deer hat. Yes, I absolutely do. Deer hunter. Yeah, deer hunter hat. But yes, you are far too distracted and you-- I am? No, no, Jericho is. I pulled out five twists for you. For a perception or intelligence? Intelligence check, because this is recollection. I have a very big brain.

What is that? I have very big brains. What? Oh, brains. Huge brains. All right, I'd like to try. What did you get? Plus five. No, no, eight. I just have to roll well. I have plus zero to intelligence. But I just have to roll well. I just have to roll well. Okay, come on. Come on.

Yeah! 90, 18, plus five is 23. No bonus! None! That's not enough. What? I'm kidding. No, this is, you immediately think about the very first day that you arrived in Draskin Vault. That shape, that black shape with the red eyes looming in the tree line just behind you, ever watching. That giant creature, whatever it was, followed you all throughout Folsens.

It was ever present in the woods around you. And you feel that here as you look at its shape, you see that it is one and the same. Do you recognize it, Marius?

No, no, no, no. Where are the lights go? I'm extremely distracted, stop doing that. Stop it, stop doing that. Is it a woolly mammoth? No, I don't-- I can't say that I've ever seen any kind of a mammoth or anything like that. Awkward stories. It feels familiar. Remember the very first day, the moment that we stepped off that train.

Yeah, right. The thing that has been stalking us incessantly, the Woolly Mammoth. Oh, not the Woolly Mammoth. Did we ever get a glimpse of it? You never saw it. We just know that it's a large creature and this fits that profile. The silhouette is the same. Seeing it, I would instinctively reach to my side for my sword.

You reach the side for your sword, and you don't find a sword there, but you find a canteen filled with water. Damn. We're a family. If it hasn't attacked us yet, I'd be surprised if it did now. That being said, I'm unarmed.

Does anyone recognize where we were? It looks similar to Briggsie. The last place was similar to where Briggsie was. Has anyone been in the ice and the cold and the frozen wasteland before? The cold is no stranger, but I'm not sure I recognize this place. You don't recognize this place. I don't even need to make you roll for it. It's very clear this is not a place that you have ever been. I stand by what I said.

- Oh, I've never been any place like this. - Well, we don't mean you no harm, big goat that I actually think we just saw like face to face and also a shared vision from Mother Midnight. I'm hoping it's not one of those. It's just now you're probably just a memory or, you know, just a bad-- - As you continue to walk along, you notice that the shape continues to move with you. Always watching, never closer.

but never retreating, just following along as you move forward. Are we still tracking them? There is one singular red light. That's up to you whether you're gonna continue to propel forward towards them. I would be trying to, for sure. I'm doing my best to keep my eye on this creature, but not coax it, not startle it, right? Just observing it as it is observing us as we press forward and continue watching this light. You feel like you're being stalked and hunted like prey.

And then the shape in the blizzard is suddenly gone just as quickly as it arrived. The red light ahead of you is finally growing larger. You're almost there. You charge onward, drawn forward, and finally arrive where you were meant to be. Standing before you is a large statue of slick black stone carved in the shape of a terrible monster of the most feverish nightmares. Equal parts cephalopod and crustacean, but far more awful.

where an eye would be, a single ruby sits in the socket shining down at you. The light gets brighter and brighter until it turns orange and you feel a terrible hunger until you are all blinded by the light.

- After a moment of this blinding light, it shrinks back down to a singular circle of glowing light that races towards you as you find yourself in the middle of a street in a huge metropolis. The light is the singular headlight of a Magikar that speeds towards you, its Magitek horn blaring as it gets closer. What do you do? - Oh, I would, yeah, tuck it. - What do each of you do? - Tuck and roll, like dive out of the way so I don't get run over if I think this is some sort of immediate threat.

I too would immediately die. I think I would be so overwhelmed and horrified, I wouldn't have any sense of what the fuck this is, I don't think. So I'm gonna deer in the headlight, I'm literally just gonna stand there and be like... I don't move. Lavika? Lavika also rolls. Oh, you roll. I run. I will look at Brizzy. "No, we gotta go, man! We gotta go!" "We're gonna die here, man! We're gonna die!"

I'm like so freaked out. Oh, oh, no, no, no. Oh, no, no, no. Clicky-clicky-clicky-clicky-clicky.

All of this you would do, you try to do, but you feel like you cannot move your body. You cannot lift a limb or even a finger. - Oh, this is the worst. - The magical car crashes into you and passes through you as if you were not there at all, speeding off and rounding a corner, disappearing behind a huge looming building into the gloom ahead.

Suddenly, your ability to move returns to you and you realize you're in the streets of what can only be Galtica, the largest city in all of Avantris. You look around an empty street and realize you can see no color, only shades of gray. - I think I would maybe be aware of what Galtica is. I never would have been there. - No. - Would any of us have known what a Magitek vehicle is?

I have to think that would be my first time ever seeing anything like that. - I think the only person, I think Lethika would know what a magic tech vehicle is. - It's possible that I've been to Galtica. - I think it's possible Lethika has been to Galtica. I think it's also possible that Briggsie would have been to Galtica. - I think with,

He would definitely have heard of it. He probably knows friends that have been thrown in prison in Galtica, because they sailed too close, or they tried to steal from the harbor. I think that I mentioned in session one about being in Yonah, walking, or seeing Magitek trains somewhere. Basically far off in the distance, not the Ghostlight Express, but Magitek trains. And just seeing it from the distance, not going near, but I would be completely overwhelmed. How are we dressed?

You are all dressed to the nines.

- You look absolutely spectacular. Lethika is in a beautiful midnight purple flapper dress. Her hair is in curls around her mask. A headband holds aloft a couple of peacock feathers. The rest of you are in beautiful suits. Your black shoes shine in the city lights.

All of you have canes and top hats. Marius, you notice that you are holding in your hand what appears to be a cigarette holder. And you can feel in your pocket that you clearly have a pack of cigarettes. A smokes. My hair slicked back. Of course, I'm not wearing shorts, right? No, you're not wearing shorts. Tuxedo shorts. I'll like twirl around in my cane. Tuxedo shorts.

Oh, gosh, I haven't had one of these for a dance number in a long time. It's just like what Virgil has. Oh, I mean... Oh, no, not this again. I'm kept sound.

"Oh, and dressed to the nines I am." Well, this sure is indeed the proper caper. I heard tale of fine, fancy folk coming from the big city, and the biggest city of all of Galtica is the shining jewel of Yonah, the shining jewel of Avantris. "This is Galtica?" "Oh, yes." "This is Galtica." "This is the big city, the great matratnus on Yonah." "Unbelievable." "Have you been?"

Once, very briefly. Oh, I've only heard of it. I've heard Lox's stories. It was a younger city then than when I visited last, but it is still very much the same. The same air, the same people. I feel like I need a better fancy voice than the one I normally have. That one's basically perfected. No, no, I think your normal voice is just fine. I don't know, I feel so low class. No, no, no, I insist, please. It's wonderful.

Well, I ain't never dressed as fancy. Just in-- I feel like in just a handful of hours, I'm dressed fancier than I ever have instead of a torn old coat and torn old pants and torn old boots and torn old hat. All these different outfits, I would say that it is fun if it were not for the horrors that come in between. Do I have a cigar in my coat? You do. Oh, I've got it! Hold on.

Yeah, she

Yeah. Briggsy, are you all right? Briggsy? I think that's pretty good, Briggsy. I kind of like that. Oh, you like that? That's a good one. Yeah, I'd be very believable. I'm trying to fit in, is-- You really? Yeah, you did. Play the part! Garsh, I didn't know you were such a big city slicker. I didn't know you were such a city slicker. Oh, I'll tell you the story of the mobster, see? Oh, the famous Lobster Mobster, down from where I'm from. He used to talk like this. "Lathica, I'm...

Well, with any luck, it doesn't seem like we can interact with anything here. That thing...

I'd like to see the coppers try. Don't nobody take me alive. No, stop. Let's continue. I

I mean, first of all, I like it. I like it. I think that's pretty good. That's pretty good. But let's look around for some coppers. We'll keep an eye out for coppers and mobsters and other type folk and other crazy cars. As you wander the gray streets, you finally see some color. A purple glow emanating from the open door of a jazz club on the corner. A sign hangs overhead that reads, Cockatrice on a Lance. And the inviting glow in the club fills you with desire and it calls to you invitingly.

Does anyone else see that purple glow? Oh. Maybe this is your vision, or dream. If you've been here, and it's purple, it's sort of kind of your thing, your color. Just because I so commonly wear purple does not mean that this is for me. But you are the only one that's been here. What was the red light in the frozen wasteland for? I don't know, maybe that was Jericho, and he just, like, blacked out and forgot about being in a frozen dungeon.

You think that's possible? Well, I guess I do black out quite a bit. Especially when Virgil gets mighty hungry and gets unleashed and all that and people get ed up. But I don't think I've ever been particularly in such a snowy environment outside of, you know, winter down in the country. No, and unless I am at the top of the highest mountains, I have never been in a place like that. I propose we go in. Is this really what Galtica is like? There are usually more people.

Yeah, you see absolutely no one on the streets around you. Lovely.

Can I come? It's gonna be really fun. It's gonna be really fun when we all go to golf. Oh, that's gonna be such a fun trip. It's gonna be a great trip. We should. All of us should go. Well, especially, well, I don't know if they kind of let weird, gross, uh, uh, scarecrows when they walk around in pumpkin patches come into the big city, but, I mean, I feel like I cleaned up pretty nice. All rotting zombie crocodile pirates. If we make it home, if we make it out of all of this, perhaps we'll all be set right. Oh!

"Maybe we can use pseudonyms to sneak in and fit in with the regular old Goldricans."

Okay. Oh, okay. I'm just saying we could dress like this! Just like in Dream and we could be like, "Hey, remember that one time we all shared that weird, creepy dream? We all dressed fine." And we're all in shades of grey as well. Just blacks and whites and greys. Oh! And we'll have to, you know, adopt characters so they don't know our identities. Like what kind of characters? Oh, I don't know.

Like mobsters. You know? Man, I could be the lobster mobster. You know those tales of the singer seeing always ending in horrible tragedy and bloodshed and violence? I'm just saying, if I walk in as a pirate, I think, you know, they'll hang me from the neck until dead. You can dress however you want, Briggsie.

Well, I'm just not normally used to dressing like this. There's no time like the present to change, right? You might need some emotional support, you know, to play a different role, to play like a lobster mobster, that's all I'm asking. I don't know the tale of... Is it too much to ask? I don't know the tale of the lobster mobster. I don't know the tale of the altos.

Who? You know, woke up this morning, got some gobble goo. You ever heard that one? No, I haven't heard that one. I don't think any of us have any idea what you're talking about. I don't really know what gobble goo is, but I'm pretty sure it comes from golf. Oh, is it related to gobble goo? No, I don't think so. Anyways, maybe we should listen. Maybe they're serving up some nice supper down at the jazz club. Are we taking on different names?

Well, there's nobody to take a night name with. The streets are empty. Do we hear anything? Do you hear music spilling out in the streets? Well, perhaps the musicians will be able to tell us what is going on. Well, this is kind of your thing, so why don't you lead the way?

Follow me, gentlemen. You step inside the bizarrely named jazz club and see a crowded lounge as low, brassy music fills the air. You try to see the people that surround you and realize that they are strangers in shades of gray and that none of them have faces.

The purple glow fills the room along with the music, casting a seductive glow as the voiceless patrons smoke on cigarettes and cigars, a haze of tobacco filling the air. You see a table that would easily seat the four of you. There is what appears to be a goblin woman singing soft jazz as a band backs her.

her flapper dress shaking, but you see no face. Where there should be a face, it is just a blank slate. No contours for nose, mouth, or eyes.

Do I get a sense that I could, like, order a drink or talk to this individual, even though... She's a singer, so no, but you... There are people... She doesn't have a face either? No, nobody in here has faces. And as you look around, you do get the idea that you could motion for a drink and one could be brought to you. As you move through this place, people move out of the way. There is... You hear the sounds of talking and voices and speaking, but...

There are no lips on any of these patrons to produce that sound. But there's laughter in the corner, and you see a couple off to the side that are flirting, clearly happy and enjoying their evening. It's as though this city is all inhabited by strange ghosts. What's...

What do we normally do next? Do we sit down? Are we helped? If we were here for real, I would propose we find a table and order a first round of drinks. I will do just that, and I will lead us to one of the tables close up to the band and the singing, the main stage, and getting the attention of one of the waiters or waitresses, wait until they're ready to accept an order.

Yeah, just as quickly as you sit down, someone comes by to the table, doesn't take an order, but quickly puts a whiskey in front of each of you. And then bustles away just as quickly as they can. Well, this is where the city is. This is a mighty fine place. I'd really like to come here if we all survived Ruskin Wall and make it home. Very presumptuous. I had hoped to order a drink. I almost wish this wasn't a dream or a vision. This is kind of nice.

Again, when we are here for real, the people will be more amenable. It will be twice the crowd, four times. And I could get us a death in the afternoon. It's a delicious drink of champagne and absinthe. A classic in Galtica. Oh, that sounds quite nice. Cheers. Do they have faces in Galtica, Africa? Yes. This is a smoothie. It is inhabited by ghosts. That's nice.

I'm gonna drink like a genuine, uh, well-to-do haberdasher, is the way. You drink down the whiskey, and it is smokey and smooth. Oh. No faces.

Lefica, you basically don't have a face. I have two faces. That's what I was going to say. It's the opposite. It's the opposite of no faces. Two faces make a no face. Isn't that what they say? Classic saying, Diego. If you're referring to the lack of features on my mask, then I suppose one could say that. My point is that they're all sort of anonymous, but I have a no face. Kind of like your mask, is all I'm going to say. You think they'd let me play a tune?

I've never seen just a fine piano up there. Oh, can I taste the whiskey like normal, like I used to be able to? You can. Oh, dear. Can I taste the whiskey? You can. It would burn a little. It feels so good. Wait a minute, is this what Virgil tastes when I drink whiskey?

He's been hogging it all! That's right. Oh, oh, have another, please! This is delightful! You put your hand up, and almost immediately, another whiskey is placed in front of you. You drink one, two, three, four. You expect that dizzy feeling of the gentle buzz as you consume the alcohol to arrive, but it never comes. You can drink as much as you want with no repercussions. Let me see if they...

still adhere to this custom when I was in Galtica last. And I will reach, expecting to find paper money in my dress pocket, wherever I might be able to find. You find a small coin pouch. It's almost like a chain bag.

that you are able to pull open and this wire ring expands and you can reach down into it and pull out. It's very small, only enough to carry a handful of coins and a couple of bills, but you do find Galtekin currency in this bag. Jericho. Yes? They accept paper as money here. Paper? If you take it-- Paper money? And you give that to see the fishbowl there on the stage?

They would let you play the piano, I think. Well, I've seen a lot of creepy things. A lot of crazy, crazy things, Miss Lethika. Like a giant dope pope turning into a horrible gargoyle demon flying to the moon and getting exploded. Yes. I've seen a crazy crooked house and all my friends get turned into mash and go into a strange fave world. Yes. Paper money is probably the craziest thing you ever did say. It is a strange city, I will tell you. Gosh. Well, I'll take it. Oh, and if they give you any trouble...

Tell him you're with old Davey Two-Teeth, the lobster mobster. Is that a real person? Well, it is now. I'm going to give you a wink. Right. The first wink, the eye comes out, and the second wink, it, like, comes back in like one of those, like, pop things. Gross. Well, I'll go to the fishbowl, I suppose. I don't know if they let weird, gross scarecrows play the piano yet, but I'll walk on over. You stand up.

As smoke continues to fill the room and the visibility gets low as the music dulls to a sultry romantic love song. All of your attention is turned to another side of the room where you see the silhouette in the corner. More of a shadow than a man, he sits in the darkest corner of the club. He's tall, thin, and alluring, drinking from a whiskey glass and smoking a cigarette on a thin black holder. He raises a ringed hand and gestures all of you closer.

He acknowledges us? I'll do the ten-inch pose of the piano. Do you see that fella over there? Yes. He seems to know us, to want our presence. No one else is noticing us, right? He looks kinda like Viggo Mortensen. I don't know if it doesn't matter. I think it immediately goes to the table. If you remember Viggo Mortensen's canon in this campaign. Oh, I forgot about that, actually.

Oh.

The last thing you hear me say is, but how can paper be money? It isn't worth anything. All it takes to feed the... Then you feel a sudden drop.

in your hearts, your stomach, and your feet. And you fall through the smoke and plunge into dark and murky water. Muck and detritus of a cold black lake surround you as you sink deeper and deeper into the depths. You're drowning. You know it's over. But then you realize you can speak and you can breathe. No. No. It ended too soon. Where are we? Oh, God. No. Where are we? No. What are we wearing?

You're all naked. No! You were all wearing your regular clothes. No, that was actually a really nice place. Waiter, what's happening? Did anyone get a glimpse of the gentleman in the corner? Did anyone see his face? No, he was shadows. And he was mighty lurian, if I do say so myself. Damn. You could have been a shadow man. Where the fuck are we now? How are we talking and breathing? Yeah, I begin to look around, trying to take in our surroundings and see if I can see anything.

that might give us a hint of what's going on. - I think, I don't know how to swim. I'm really sinking. - All around you is just the murkiness of the water. You look up and you can see what is very clearly a moon or a sun or something shining above that orb that's present on the surface of the water. And you can see how the water gets, it starts off fairly light, gets darker and darker and darker. And where you are is very much towards the middle.

of this, it's not completely pitch black, but you can see beneath your feet just pure darkness as the water goes ever further down. You imagine it did this depth, you would feel incredibly cold, but you feel no change in temperature. - I'm gonna rush, I'm gonna sink to the bottom and I'll never get out. - I'm gonna swim over and get my arms underneath Jericho's armpits and just sort of like,

Calm yourself, Jericho. It's alright. Just stand down! We're not sinking. I like stand on the bottom of the... whatever we're on. We're there. You're just floating in the water. Oh, we're like mid-water. Mid-water. Oh. I can't see anything. There's nothing. There's nothing around us. We have been somehow made to not drown. I don't like this abyss. I don't like the abyss. I don't like it. I don't like it.

Calm down. It's okay. There seems to be some sort of light, something coming from above us. I don't know if it's a moon or what, but there's only a little bit of light coming through.

Virgil, help! Help us, Virgil! Fly us out of here, Virgil! Please, Virgil! I miss you, I'm sorry, Virgil! Please, help, help! I'm thrashing. I'm just gonna hold, uh... I'm just gonna grab the cup of Jericho and start to make my way towards the light. Jericho, block this! And I turn like a crocodile, and I'm slithering through. Just sit here! This is how you swim!

I don't think I can physically do that, Briggs! Virgil, help! Help! Jericho, calm down. You're gonna be okay. You all attempt to swim towards the light, but it never feels as if it comes any closer. You begin to start to feel exhausted. Your bodies get weak with the thrashing and the swimming and the attempt to save yourself from this watery tomb.

and then you see something swimming in the water just outside of view. It's huge and finned with a long neck circling you like a hungry predator. However, in a moment it stops and you hear a voice call out so softly, "You should've died." - What? Do we recognize the voice? - Immediately. It doesn't sound like the voice is talking to you, but more an internal monologue as if that voice is talking to themselves. - Adela.

Adela, Adela, can you hear us? I would begin screaming for her. Can you hear us? All of us, please. If you're a big old dinosaur down here, then I love you. You love me. We're an happy family. If I have the sense that we might be able to be heard in this moment, hearing the shouts of my compatriots, I will use Thaumaturges.

and I will expand my voice in order of magnitude, try to like reverberate through the water. - Adela, can you hear us? - You all hear, you all hear Letheka's voice boom out in the water around you and you, it sounds almost like a faint, Adela's faint whimpering and it stops for a moment

almost as if she's startled, as if she could hear something. And then once again you hear her voice again: "You should've died, Ben! You should've died! Help me save!" And she sounds scared, frightened, but her whimpering and her sorrow can still be heard until it's just silence again.

As you look about the murky lake, you notice that the lurking beast is gone. Then you suddenly realize that it is simply below you. You have no time to react as massive reptilian and perhaps saurian jaws emerge from the depths as you are all swallowed whole.

Yet, you do not die. You feel yourselves being hoisted up out of the dark water, higher and higher and higher still. You're approaching the surface, although all is black around you. You hear a splash and feel yourself break the surface tension, and then you wake. All of you wake in a cold sweat.

Your bed's in Chateau Clair de Lune. There's sweat coating the sheets beneath you. The fire in the fireplace has dwindled to mirror embers. The stone at the foot of your bed is now cold. - I would immediately come under the basin and splash my face. - I nearly fall out of bed and almost crawl scamper into the common room.

Yeah, as soon as I will have, like, rinsed my face off with whatever water basin is, like, there, I would immediately as well run to the common room. Don't tell me that was just me that just fucking experienced all that. No. No. No, we were together. Do I feel...

like I had just consumed or maybe in the-- Your stomach feels completely empty as if you haven't eaten in quite a while. I would, in the common room, I would immediately run to some sort of reflective surface, whether it be like a silver plate or a silver and like check my mouth and look at my fangs. Thank you, thank you. Oh, and I would put it down and I would collapse in one of the chairs. Oh, thank you.

Was I able to snatch Virgil if he's there and before he could fly away? I don't know if Virgil... Yeah, sure. Virgil's there. Okay.

"Virgil!" And Virgil will be trying to fly away and it'll be like that scene in Jurassic World with the pterodactyl when the mosasaur tries to snap it. "Virgil, I miss you so much! No, you can't escape! No, no, no, I'm sorry, Virgil!" I will have put my mask on. I'm still wearing the silk pajamas and what we went to sleep in. You are wearing exactly what you went to sleep in.

Oh, so I put my pajamas on, and then I race out into the room, and... That's very funny. And then I... We are all back? Yeah, we're fucking back. I believe so. There is one way to check also. I will run over, and this time I will pull the chain of service. You do, and it takes...

not even two minutes before you hear the pattering of feet almost running down the hallway. The door itself is wrenched open and you see another one of these marionette doll-like servants that run Chateau Clair de Lune alongside the skeletal servants.

This one is much shorter. She has golden blonde ringlets that cascade down her back, a cute bonnet on her head, very shepherdess pastoral outfit that she's wearing, flowing cotton dress with puffs and ribbons as she bounces into the room. Oh my gosh! You're fine, like you've been asleep for 24 hours.

We were beginning to worry about you. It's Mrs. Adela's birthday today and you need to be available for the dinner. What? Oh, I'm sorry. That was a lot of information to give you all at once. We've been asleep for more than the night. Oh, you've slept an entire day. I was told not to wake you unless it got to dire circumstances. Well, we needed the rest. Will there be food there? Can we get a small...

Perhaps a coffee and some snacks? Well, I can bring you drinks. Water, water, please. Waffles, waffles, please. No, I can't, unfortunately. Now that you're awake, oh, Miss Adela's going to be so pleased to hear that you're awake. I have to make sure that you are ready for your mid-dusk tea. That would be satisfactory. That's fine. Yes, but

that first, I have to take you to the tailor. You have to get your costumes made for the masquerade. Well, that would be very nice, but we need rest. You're just like for 24 hours. It was a stressful rest, okay? I wouldn't even really call it rest, but I guess we needed it. Or maybe we didn't need it. Do we, um...

Feel physically rested or are we at the top? You feel physically rested. You've endured a long rest. Oh, let's go, baby. I actually wasn't even trying for that. That's sweet. I do take that long rest. Yes, I do. Endured, for sure. It just...

Do we need to change? Should we go like this? "You should put on clothing for the actual day, of course. But then I will usher you to the tailor's. This is the plan for the day. I don't want to overwhelm you. But I will bring in something for you to drink so you can ready yourselves for the day. You should begin to think about what you want to wear to the masquerade, because a tailor's going to want to know right away.

I'm going to take you to the tailor's for your fitting and to describe your outfits. The tailor's going to get started on them, at which point I will take you then... Oh, let me see. Were you supposed to go to... I think you have tea. Yes. Then, after the tailor, I'll take you to have tea with Adela.

And that'll have to do for your breakfast and lunch, because really we don't have much time. After which, you have your tea with Adela. Then Adela is going to go meet up with Philip, because they're going to do something special on her birthday, which they do every single year. Special time between the two of them, you know.

And then from there, I will take you to the matron who's going to teach you how to hold a fork and drink soup with a spoon and how to act appropriately at a fancy dinner. Because following your tutelage, then you're going to have Adela's birthday dinner in the dining hall. We're going to Cotillion? Yes, Cotillion. I did want to say it. Oh, wow.

Oh, gosh. Me mum always wanted to send me to Cotillion. Let me get you your drinks, and you can talk amongst yourselves about...

anything else that you may need for the day, but that is what is on the schedule. And as it is Adela's big day, we can't veer from the schedule. You understand? Did she mention her name? She didn't. What is your name? Oh, my name is Charlotte Witherspoon, but you can call me Lottie, or Little Lottie, if you like. Garsh, a pleasure to meet you. That's a mighty pretty name, Lottie. I stop in between. Thank you.

Well, how about that? You seem to be a constructive of inanimate materials yourself as well. Oh yes, do you like the rouge on my cheeks? Oh, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I,

What? I had them update my lip rouge so that when I pucker, it's a nice pink. I think my pink is a mighty pretty color. My name is old Jericho Stakes. You can call me Jericho, most folk do. Oh, it's lovely to meet you, Jericho. She curtsies, and you see as she curtsies, she tilts forward and her bonnet falls into her face a little bit, and she giggles and pushes it back onto her head. My apologies, my apologies. Oh, no, no, no. I will get you your drinks. I will be back in 20 minutes.

Thank you, Miss Wizards. Yeah, we'll take anything, too. Good old country breakfast would be nice for me, and Jericho likes the fancy stuff. He likes a nice morning wine, too, if you have it.

She hops out of the room and in a couple of minutes returns with a tray of beverages, both tea and coffees, as well as a pitcher of ice cold water. But there are no tea cakes there. There are no biscuits. There's nothing, no food to go along with it. And she quickly makes her way out of the room to give you a little bit of time to discuss.

This podcast is brought to you by our Patreon. Become a patron today at patreon.com slash legends of Avantris and gain access to tons of exclusive perks, including a monthly movie night and a weekly Patreon exclusive campaign set on the high seas. Shroud over salt marsh. You can also go to the crooked moon.com to pick up your own copy of our first published supplement, the crooked moon, a full

horror tome for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. And don't forget to snag all the extra goodies like dice, miniatures, plushies, a tarot deck, and more. Thank you. As Charlotte, or Little Lottie, leaves the room after having deposited these drinks on the table for you, you find yourselves alone in this communal sitting room.

You know you don't have much time, about 20 minutes before she's coming to collect you for the day's events. You have a packed day. But you do have this bit of time to talk about what it is that you all endured together over the course of the last 24 hours. As well as make plans as you have a date very shortly with a tailor.

The moment that the door closes and this person has left these beverages for us, I will stand up and as I'm walking over to the water, I'll look at Jericho and I'll say, well done there, Jericho. You really kept your composure. Oh, thanks. I think I did pretty good. I think I... Virgil's even saying I did a really good job and he's very proud of me. Gosh, Virgil, you're mighty nice. You really are excited about getting that old amber key, eh?

Gosh, you think it'll show us the artifacts even before he gives it to us? He said that he would. I'd like to take it. I mean, I'd love to get a tour of this place. I mean, I feel like I've never really been in a fancy mansion before. Unless you count the crooked house, and that was kind of a gross weasel-filled place. I too would like a tour. It would be great to see the grounds and all of the amazing amenities that must come with a house of luxury such as this. We must like a... We'd like a boat day.

Yes. Like our real schedule. It doesn't seem like we'll be getting any kind of tour anytime soon, at least not until Adela's birthday dinner is done. Speaking of... Not sure what to make of anything that we saw, especially with the fact towards the end that we heard her voice. Oh, I can't pass it. What the fuck did it all mean? She sounded extremely distraught, speaking about someone should have been dead, dying. Why did we hear her voice? It was a big scary leap, Master.

When we meet with Adela, I think we ask her if she's been having strange dreams and perhaps share some of these details. It is possible that she was right next to us that entire time. Are we sure that we want to upset our host on her birthday? Do not wish to upset her. If the dreams are a sign of danger, it is our duty to warn her. That's fair.

Well, I mean, isn't there anyone who's gonna get premonitions of danger? Wouldn't it be Miss Adela? And all of her crazy powers that she has? I think she has powerful abilities of premonition and divination, but that does not mean that she cannot be surprised by danger. Certainly, she missed the threat that the Crooked House represented when we went there last. Oh, no. That's a good point.

What if all those dreams are like dreams from the future? What? What if all those dreams are like dreams from the future? No, I know what you said. You said what? No, I heard you loud and clear because you project quite well. I mean, what do you mean? What do you mean what do I mean? What if all that stuff that happened is gonna happen?

Clay the loon's gonna explode and the fucking evil moon is gonna weep blood down upon us and then we're gonna end up in the jungle and then we're gonna get boiled alive and then we're gonna go where it's cold and then we're gonna see a giant woolly mammoth and then we're gonna get blinded and then we're gonna get drowned and then we're gonna get eaten. Did I miss one? Oh, and the whole jazz scene. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That jazz scene. A guy in a corner booth.

The smoking man. It reminds me of the ways folks make deals where I'm from. That's how they encounter their patrons. Situations like that. Like in the corner of a jazz club when the lights are low and the music is lower? Just mysterious men and women that you never expect. The passions are high? Passions are high, that's right. I should learn how to play a saxophone. I don't have any lungs.

Oh. Could all Virgil help you out? He's a bird. He doesn't really have an embouchure for sex. You're not wrong. That's very funny.

I'll do the speak without the lungs. It's all magic, you know, I'm fueled by their demon and whatever kind of soul magic. There's the scarecrow body and there's the hag magic and who knows what kind of crazy concoctions that my best gal has put into this husk that I call a body. Have you tried playing a saxophone? I suppose not. The magic perhaps would produce the sound you are looking for in the same way that you can produce speech.

Well, I'd mighty like to try to find a saxophone album as well, because... Well, I'm sure you would be able to get one by asking. This place has many luxuries. Well, I'll ask. I don't want to be too presumptuous. That's for sure. I mean, none of that makes any sense. None of us has never been to an icy wasteland in the far north, and none of us have ever been to the jungle. Well, I guess you've been to the jungle, but no kind of snaky temples.

None of us have ever... I never certainly drowned in the lake. I've been near a lake. I've been down an old fishing hole. I got thrown into a pond, but it turned as big as that lake. Jericho is right. Something doesn't seem right about them being premonitions. Think of the series of events that would have to happen for us to experience all of those things. I mean, most of them were very clearly not where we are now. That means one of two things.

Either we escape, we leave this place, or it isn't literal. We also do not know all of Druskinwald. Is it not a large realm with many provinces? Is it possible that there is an icy wasteland somewhere within traveling distance from here? I suppose anything is possible at this rate. Amid that we only really know Folsense and now this Chateau. But then why Galtica?

Right? I mean, we know for a fact. Well, maybe it is. Is there a city in Draskinvald that's very similar to Galtika? That would be quite the coincidence. But again, anything is possible. It was a little different. I thought that perhaps it was because there had been so much time between when I last saw it.

Well, I don't know. I feel like we had to have seen that for a reason, but I feel like if we ask...

Miss Adela on her birthday, we might ruin her whole day. We might be the rain on her wedding day or that wine in her chardonnay. What? What? Something that's very ironic. I mean, chardonnay is a type of wine. It's far to say, no. Rain on your wedding day? A fly in her chardonnay. Rain on your wedding day is ironic? Seems like it's just unfortunate. Yeah, well, I mean, I don't know.

Do you know the definition of irony, Jerry? I mean, I heard it once. We'll teach you later. I heard it once. Anyways, I feel like it might sour her mood on her birthday, and I would feel mighty, mighty terrible about that, awful. If we all feel that we should wait, then we can keep it to ourselves until after her birthday. Oh, well, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe we, like, subtly hint. Like, how'd you sleep, Miss Adelaide?

Any good dreams lately? Any bad dreams lately? Even the first question coming from you is just creep-tastic. And for what it's worth, I'm less concerned about hurting her feelings and more concerned about how she might react. I still don't entirely trust these people. That's fair. And they are quite powerful. They are mighty powerful. They got all the lords. Lords, too. They got a whole court of them.

But I mean, if they've got in trouble with witches and we're their only hope, then I feel like they owe us. They acknowledge that there is trouble with witches, with hags, but they have left us to take care of the problem. The same way that they rely on the servants here to bring them tea or food or make their clothes. They are very powerful. Think of what we faced and then think of the power that Philip was able to...

I'm just not sure that, uh, you know, a show of force like that's gonna be too effective against these sneaky fucking wishes. Isn't that why they always sing the songs about, you know, pirates, like a sneaky band of scallywags can outsmart and evade an entire navy? I mean, that's a great point.

He also don't know how reliable a bunch of spooky ghosts and skeletons

"his as a force, I mean, they rode out, but "aren't there always rules about, 'Oh, I've left my ancient tomb for but a fortnight, "and now I'm a slumber for the millennia,' and other such nonsense?" Where'd you come up with this stuff, Jere? "I hear a lot of stories on my travels." Interesting. "You know, isn't that all sorts of--" Anyway, he's got a point. Imagine about 10,000 Eddies. It's not very threatening. "Exactly right." Yeah. Oh, you know, all Ed tried is best.

He did what he could. He's just not the brightest on me old crew. Well, and I mean another thing that he has to keep in mind is that if he's the lord of this whole place, he can't just go send an armory of ghosts wherever he likes. You know, maybe that'll cause some political tension.

Based on the province? I don't know much about politics. Oh, me neither. I just know that, you know, depending on who's the governor of what island that day, you know, you don't want to sail too close to the other island. Might piss some guy with a powdered wig off. Oh, gosh. You know what I mean? We're getting ourselves mixed up into some political intrigue. And I'm not cut out for it. I don't have the dialect for it.

Well, we're going to Gatillion! Yes. You think they have a dialect coach there? And they can help me with my... I'm going to go get changed. Well, yeah. Okay. We'll be here. Virgil's always trying to help me with my dialect. He speaks all fancy-like. I never just can pick it up. I don't know why you're so pleased about this whole situation with the dream, and you're so certain about your theories. You weren't even there. Anyways...

What are we wearing a masquerade by the way? I ain't never been to... I've been to the country ball, but that ain't no masquerade ball. And also they chase me out with pitchforks and torches. I just wanted a bob for an apple. In the old barn. Is that too much to ask? It's depressing. I just wanted a bob for an apple. Yes, this masquerade. I'm not sure what to make of this. Philip said that...

They were expecting company, correct? Lords and ladies of this place? Oh, I think, yeah, the implication was that, you know, they'd bring all the lords from all the provinces. That's why we think we might see Little Gazette. Fantastic. Oh, go ahead. She's been through quite a lot. I guess we all have certain ways. She'll get through. And we might see Miss McDuff, too, on account of Colette being her ward and such. I mean...

In terms of what we wear, I just heard that you pick a mask. Have either of you been to a masquerade? I'm coming back in, having changed into a nice dress. The morning dress that I intended to wear in the dream, with Bag at my side. I have been to many similar such parties, yes. What should we wear? I mean, I don't really know. I've never been to a tailor. The tailor is not just there for the fitting.

You can consult with the tailor on what it is that will be most appropriate, given your, uh, features and appearance and taste. And do we have to pick a mask? Like, like, like, what our mask is gonna look like? Imagine that you will have some input. They might grant us a mask, given that we are honored guests. But if we have the choice, then be thinking of what you would like to, uh...

Oh. Ought to be anybody at the masquerade. Given my natural state.

Well then, but then no one will-- people who don't know your whole thing won't-- they'll be like, "What are you doing? Why are you here? This is a masquerade. We're bringing down the vibe." It was a joke, generally. It seems context-sensitive. That's a good one. It will be a pleasure to wear something a little different. I appreciated the joke. Thank you. Hell no, me too. I love a good joke. By the way, do you think Lottie liked me? Do you think she liked my jokes?

She seems fine. Jokes? It's at this point that the door opens and Lottie bounces into the room. Are you ready? I suppose so. No, they are still wearing their pajamas. No, we're so ready. We already got changed. I remember I might throw my powdered wig on. Yeah, we would have gotten changed. For sure. All right.

It should only take us about 10 minutes to get through the halls and make our way to the tailor's quarters. And there you won't have much time to consult with the tailor, but he will wait outside and he'll assist you as best he can. And then it's time for tea with Adela. Aren't you excited? So lucky. Yes, we're so... So very lucky. I can't believe we got... It's her birthday. What are the chances? Oh, well, you know, it happens once a year. Well, we're very grateful. We're very excited.

You know, a birthday is a wonderful thing. Yes, it is quite. All right. When's your birthday? I'm not sure. Me too. Date on my back. If you lift up my dress right here, you might be able to check. And she twists around and shows you a little area where there are a couple of buttons. Do thanks. Oh, all right. Anyway, are you ready to go see the tailor? Yeah.

Yes, please. No, we do not wish to delay any longer. Please, lead the way. She bounces forward, basically skipping as she makes her way through the hallways of Chateau Clair de Lune. Every hallway is illuminated beautifully. The light coming from all of these sconces glows with that beautiful, cozy orange light.

and you make your way through hallway after hallway after hallway, some more elaborate than others. The entire time you see these beautiful paintings all along the ceilings. And you eventually make your way towards a hallway that is a little less extravagant than the others. There are... Each one of the doors has different symbols above it. One of them you see has a...

what looks to be musical notes. Another one you see appears to have a clay oven of some sort. Another has the image carved into the top of the door of a paintbrush and an easel.

And it seems like each one of these rooms has to do with some sort of craft work of some kind. You eventually get towards the end where you see a doorway and carved above it is a needle and thread and a spool. She opens the door and ushers you inside and you see that this room is just haphazard with sewing notions and things all over the place. It is clearly a workspace and not a showroom.

In the very center of the room there is a large table that is just strewn with fabrics cut up in varying patterns and shapes and sizes. And at the very back you see an incredibly small man.

His powdered wig is askew on his head. His glasses have slipped down his nose and he's barely able to keep them on his face as he is cutting out different pieces of fabric and checking a list and making marks. He's sweating and he, which seems strange to you because this is clearly another

but you can see what appears to be sweat dripping down his face as he is working hastily over these things. He doesn't even seem to notice that you're here as she ushers you in and then shuts the door and completely leaves you in there without even an introduction. - Excuse me, hello? - Yes! - You knew I was coming.

Oh, dear gods. I cast Inflict Wounds at 3rd-level on the old man. And I smite him. He just dies. He just loves a red. I'm kidding. What are we going to do with the body, Vivian? What? We don't have much time. We don't have much time to ask. Jereko, begin to dig. Brig-Z, eat it.

No, he's not even fledged! Hide him in the earth. He's made of like wooden chips. Just power through the splinters, power through. And in that moment, you consume this tailor. There's absolutely a world where Marius and Latika will be able to bully Jericho and bring him to an end. We leave right now, let's go! No one can see us!

We plan a breakout. Just kidding, just kidding. You say this and you hear-- Yes! And you see as he fumbles with his glasses, he drops them and they scatter about under the table.

- Look at those things. - You just dropped them, they're on the floor right there in front of you. - Right here, he smacks them and they fly across the room. - I will walk over gently. - He jumps off of his little stool to rush over and get them, not noticing that you're running towards them, slams into you and falls over backwards. - Over me!

He's a wooden man, yes, you really need glasses. That's a very good point. You really need glasses, old man. I can't see what I'm doing without them. Well, I will fetch them for you, I see them. Okay, I'll just lay here and mend my wounds. Just lay there and mend your wounds. Ow! D'Arshmister, are you okay? Oh, thank you, thank you. Oh my gosh, what is wrong with your face? I am wearing a mask.

Why? Because I, uh, it is a long story. I'm a priestess. It is part of my dogma. Oh! Okay! Amen! Uh-huh. Uh, what is your name? Oh, uh, yeah. Hongri! It's spelled like Henry, but you don't pronounce the H! Oh...

I thought you said hungry for a moment. Nope! Henri Thimble! I heard something much worse. It's spelled like thimble. Henri. I'm going to write this down. Mr. Orderly, sir, my name is Jericho Stiggs, but you can call me Jericho, most folks do. Okay.

Oh, boy. Well, okay. Here we go. Well, we've never been to the tailors before. At least I haven't. Oh, that's clear to me. Jesus. Henry, we are here to get outfits for the masquerade. But you're already wearing a mask. Well, outfits and a different mask. I wear this all the time. I need to fit in.

Well, you're not gonna fit in with anyone walking around like that. That's why we're here. We're here to have you tailor us new outfits and masks. Who sent you? Well, it was little Lottie who brought us, but Phillip and Adela, we are her honored guests. Oh, let me check my list! And he shambles over and climbs up onto a stool. What did you say your name was? Lethica. How do you spell that? Lethica Nightborne. L-E-T-H-I- Slow down!

- C-A. - It starts with a C-A! - L-E. - L-E what? - L-E-P-H. - L-E, your name's Ellie. - E-L-L-I-E. - Let me write this. Just give me the paper. - I'm not looking to write anything! I'm gonna die! Ricky!

I propose that we kiss on the way. That's my-- Can you make it look like a heart attack? Absolutely. Allow me to get my dick removed. What did you say your last name was again? Nightborn. Why?

Why did I say that, or why is that my last name? Why is that your last name? Oh, well, it was given to me. Were you born at night? No, it is a... I was born at night, just not this night! Ha ha! And he takes the last name. What a genius job. He's just absolutely savaging the shit out of us, refuses to elaborate, and now he's gonna leave. Ha ha!

He eventually... I can't find you in here. What's your name? Me. Yeah, tall, dark, and handsome. Thank you. My name is Marius Renathia. I'd ask you to spell it, but you're too pretty to know how. I just did a smile and a nod.

And you can tell, like, beneath the smile that I'm clenching my jaw a little bit. I've found you. Your name's Lethica, Ellie. Yeah, I said Lethica the first time and you were too slow to hear me.

Huh? That's exactly what I said. What? Can you speak up? I can't hear out of this ear. Oh, it's the mask. It makes it very difficult. Oh, yes. You don't need an outfit. No. No, I need a new outfit. So, we need three outfits for the masquerade. I believe it will be four. All of us need new outfits. Have you decided on your characters for the masquerade?

Oh, we have to make a whole-- Oh, I dropped the pen! Henri. Henri. Henri. Henri. Henri. Oh, Mr. Henri! Yes! Oh! Man!

My name is old Jere, this team's mindless. We need... Femur to steal the virgin weapon because it's Shad-Hodrie!

We need Aubrey with his ouch shirt. He's wearing a decent ouch outfit. Oh my god. Yes, yes, young lady. Oh. Oh. Oh.

- What? - Yes, young lady. - Oh, uh, am I on the list? - What's your name? - Old Jericho Sticks. It might just be Jericho. - Yes, they misspelled old. So I'll fix that here in the ledger. - Yes, OL apostrophe, technically. - Nope. - Here's the name. - And you are. - Oh no, don't do me, no, no, no. I'm feeling very sensitive today.

You don't want an outfit? Oh no, I do. You smell horrible. Could you take two steps back, please? Yes. If there's some sort of a cleaning fee when we're done, we'll be sure to make sure we make amends. Thank you. Thank you very much. So you are? I'm Briggsie. I'm sorry about the smell. Your apologies won't get it out of the upholstery.

If you have some spare lavender that we can stick in his crevices, it might help. There are baths three wings down. It doesn't help. Nope, I would be able to smell you from there anyway. Did you decide on your masks? I was going to ask, what is the theme of this party? Jericho, Brexit, areas. You said characters. Yes.

What kind of characters do you mean? I'm sorry, I can't hear you mumbling from behind that mask you're wearing! Oh goodness. Are you feeling ill? You're mumbling! What's the theme of this masquerade?

People from all over Drosgenwald are coming in, whatever they like. It's a grand costume party.

Oh, costumes? Yes, your outfit should match the mask you wear, and it can be really anything that you like. You should obviously be a jack-o'-lantern, because there's no way I'm going to make something for that body. Those legs are so thin. Well, I mean, I don't really have a choice. I can't...

I can't work them through sport or... I know I persevered. It's kind of how I was made. Virgil, why are you laughing? Why do you like this fella? Uh, Marius, why don't you go? Well, I'm happy to go, but I also would like to know what the theme is if there is one, and... Your theme can be whatever you want it to be! Oh, by the gods, ah, well... Did you not come to this...

Scheduled meeting prepared? To be quite frank with you, no. I'm about to sneeze! I take a step back, please do. Achoo! And he sneezes all over Laithika. As I was saying, unfortunately, no, we were not as prepared as we would have liked to be. Some of us have attended events like this in different fashions.

I was once a knight, and I attended events like this at the hand of my king. Not really so much as an attendee myself. Yeah, but what kind of mask do you want to wear? I'm starting to get tired! If you have suggestions, I would be open to them. Being a stranger to this. So you want me to do all the work after? Sew the outfit for you, fit it to you, and come up with the idea! Classic man! Did I stutter? Did you say anything of importance? So it doesn't matter, does it, Sonny?

Good luck, Briggsie. What is Lord Philip gonna wear? Maybe we'll do something. No, no, no. I won't spoil Lord Philip or Lady Adela's outfits for no one. What if we were to accidentally pick what they're wearing? I wouldn't let you. Oh, okay. Well, we can just guess everything. Yes, let us just guess everything. Is it a rabbit? Yes.

You want to be a rabbit? Fine! Easter bunny for Lethica! What is Easter? Oh, but I saw it on a notepad somewhere once. This fertile bunny was pooping eggs! I'm... I'm confused. I'm disturbed and appalled. I'm not sure where to go from here. Oh my god.

Does anyone else have any ideas about Lethika's outfit down? No, please. I'm afraid to go. I had suggestions. I made all kinds of... We're going to have to do this right. Are we not done? Are you with me or are you against me? Quite frankly, Lethika's the only one who did come prepared. If you already made the Easter bunny, I'll take it. I haven't made anything yet! Oh, well...

If you- if you needed- Would a rabbit be appropriate for the masquerade or would that be out of place? I don't care what you wear as long as it's a costume of some kind! What if we were all just crustacean themed mobsters? That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard! What are you gonna be, a lobster mobster? Ridiculous!

No, I think that's mighty nice! Are you implying that you don't have the skill to make a lobster mobster cotton mask rain outfit? Of course I could, but I'd never put my name on that shite! Jesus. Oh, so no crustacean themed mobster costumes for any of us? Is that all you've got? I guess I could be a woolly mammoth.

I'll put you down for the lobster. And that's negotiating, folks. Oh, man. I am truly at a loss for words. All right. Be careful what you say next. You might end up being masked by it. Do you want to be a jack-o'-lantern or a pumpkin? Or did you have some other idea? Have you thought at all about what you're going to do?

Well, I feel like... I feel like that might be a little on the nose. Well, that's where a mask is supposed to go! He has you there. You really... Uh, ooh. Oh, Virgil, do you have an idea? Oh, that's interesting. Hello? Is anybody in this room? Hello? We're still here. Oh, sorry. Sometimes my vision goes. Yeah, do you... How about a bluebird?

For what? For my outfit. Nope. Oh. Because that's one of the ones that Phil and Ben and Ella are wearing. No. You got it. Actually, you know what? With those scrawny legs of yours, that's about the only thing we can work with outside of a pumpkin. Well, I mean, most of my body is like stuffing and such. You could probably just get some straw or some feathers or some cotton. You can just stuff that right up.

Is that the best you've got? Well, let me keep thinking. No, it's not the best I've got. I've got more. I'm writing it down, and once I write it down, there's no change in it. Somebody else go. Somebody else go. Marius. I'm at a complete loss here. I asked for help, and he made fun of me. You've been most unhelpful. Most unhelpful. Oh! Oh, hold on. I've been really helpful. I'm glad to hear it, Ellie.

Please. What if you were a crustacean-themed gangster? I think you were already the lobster mobster. No, but you could be like citizen snips. Is that different than a lobster? Maybe you could be like crab-themed, you know, instead of lobster-themed.

I truly am at a loss for words here. I mean, just to suggest, you know, you can do whatever you want. I was a rose-themed knight for many, many years. I don't... Oh, you know what I think would be really... This should be good. What if you were a vampire? Perfect. I just put my head in my hands and say, wait, that sounds fine, I suppose. All right, then.

Wait, no, what about a rabbit? Isn't that very much Lathander? Mourning and fertile eggs? You could be a vampire bunny! We could call you Gula! As charming as that is, I think that dressing up in a mockery of a god would be blasphemous at best. No, that's true, I'm sorry. I just thought it was cute. Cute to have a bunny. Wait, a bunny's a god?

What kind of gods do you-- is this her god? Is this the bunny her god? Oh, so the Easter Bunny's a good costume for you then, cleric of bunny god. No. No, please. I am begging you to tell me any information about this masquerade that would help inform the choice

It's just whatever the fuck you want! I don't think... what he's saying is that there would be... It's just whatever mask people want to wear, they fucking wear. You know, we were nearly eviscerated by multiple hags and this is the most painful thing we've ever gone through. Oh, just wait! I haven't even started the fitting! Oh! Lefica. Yes? What about a crustacean themed femme fatale?

I like femme fatale. Let's lose the crustacean portion. What's wrong with the crustacean part? Oh, they can call her the... If your lobster is a crab, you could be a shrimp and they could call you the shrimp fryer. And you can make shrimp fried rice. That's okay. I don't hate it. You don't hate it. You don't hate that. I'm a broken woman. I'm a broken woman.

I thought stepping foot in this godforsaken land was the lowest point of my life, but here I am. Have you decided on Bluebird yet, you skinny-legged bastard? Bluebird would be mighty fine. I feel like that's quite pleasant. Oh, well, why'd you make me wait this whole time to

If you got like a nice blue linen suit and you know that might be with the tail feathers and the tail and all that that might be mighty fine. Little nice handsome hat and a cane you know that might be quite dapper. And what do we do about your face? They call me dapper when I have a mask. Of what if you're making everything else into your outfit? You just want a big beak coming out of your face?

Oh, by gods. Can't he just make like a bluebird mask? I'll do a huge beak coming out of your face. Well, I think that's kind of par for the course, I suppose, sometimes, Benny. All right, so we've got a bluebird.

Got a lobster mobster. You've got the best costume, vampire. The irony is palpable. And I will entertain the idea of something else for you, young lady, since you called me so helpful earlier. You are very helpful. Yes, I know. I would never speak poorly of you. You are clearly the most talented tailor in all of Draskinvold. I know.

I'm gonna cast Charm Person. Okay. Oh, my dice fell everywhere! That's a very good winner. Why did I get all of these dice? I dropped my pen! Oh my god. Thank you. You can take a look at my roll if you'd like to. What's your DC? 16. I rolled a natural 19.

- Shucks. - Andri. - Does he know that you're trying to charm him? - I would imagine that me attempting to take his hands, there'd be a darkening. There'd be a feeling of magic. - Andri. - Are you trying to cast a spell on me or do I have to use the bathroom?

I am just trying to make sure that I look my best at the mask. Oh, you think because you're wearing a mask you can get me to do whatever you want? It works on masks. You hoodlum! What about a moth for my mask? Huh? A moth. I like that idea. I could, uh... Hold on, hold on. Let me think of something. What if I made you a moth? Henri, that is inspired. I know! I know!

Is there a particular type of moth that suits your whole aesthetic? Well, I am not familiar with all moths. No, you don't look like you'd be intelligent enough to be. What the fuck? Why don't you surprise Miss Lethica with the most beautiful moth in the land on account of that's who Miss Lethica is. Are there moths that are native? Oh! Oh! Oh!

I know pastel colors are usually what's traditional at a party festival. A beautiful bowel syndrome. I think it's the big one. I think he's about to go down. Oh, he's having an accident. Oh! It smells like sawdust. Oh, yeah, the carpenter is right next door. I wish I was dead. No, but I've had a eureka moment. Yes. A luna moth. Yes.

A lunamoth. That's exactly right. Oh, it's the best idea I've ever come up with. Lunamoth Tata. What a wonderful phrase. Silks, satin, velvet. Cotton! The cheapest I can find. Perhaps some lace? Remnants! Silver and burglary?

Oh, yes. A wide silhouette with a tight... Plated coffer! Oh, I'd like an orange vest. Maybe some suspenders. You're a bluebird! Oh, you're exactly right.

That orange ain't blue, dum-dum! They have blue measures of purple, I mean, not purple, of orange, and I mean, orange and blue and black and white. Then why don't they call them orange and black bluebirds? You're gonna be straight blue and I'm not hearing anything else about it! Well, I could write down some notes for you.

- All right, well I have to get to work so you all stand perfectly still, make one move and I'll kill you. - Hold on, hold on, hold on. - And you watch as he jumps down off of his stool and he has a long fabric

measuring tape and he fills his mouth full of pins, which clearly you can tell he shouldn't be doing. - One trip and he's done. - But he immediately takes a bolt of white fabric off of one of the shelves and he starts wrapping you in fabric and pinning you up, taking measurements, writing things down, snipping things here and there, and all in all it takes about an hour.

Occasionally, he intentionally pokes you with one of the needles to draw blood every time you move, making snarky remarks and things as this event unfurls. Please do not pinch my ass again. Please stand still so I don't have to keep looking at your ass!

And he quickly jumps behind the counter with everything he needs. He rolls it out on the table. Okay, well, we've got one Easter Bunny Lobster, the mobster for Kermie LeCrew. We've got one blue bird, beak face all blue for Jerko. We have vampire for this dapper human lad here who's quite nice and has...

Yes, my youth. Is it a hat? Is it a hat for Dracula? No.

It's for Morius. Close enough. Morbius. It's Morbentime. It's for Morbius. And then lastly, we have discount furnitures, moth costume, Luna Moth for Ellie. That's me. No mask necessary. No, no, a mask. There's gotta be a mask. I hate to break it to you, Ellie. You're already

I plan on swapping the masks. Well, you're just wasteful. Must have a mask. Exclamation point. Well, time's up. Oh, we're done? We can leave now? Yep. We have your permission to leave?

It was really lovely meeting you. Goodbye! If you ever need anything tailored, please feel free to stop by the tailoring room at Chateau Claire de Lune and ask for Henri Thimble. Spelled like Henry, but you don't pronounce the H. Spelled like Thimble, but you say it in a fancy way. I have to get out of here right now. I'm about to mourn everywhere. Goodbye!

- Goodbye, you very nice woman. - Just as I close the door, I cast Summon Shadow Fawn. - Waiting outside the room is very clearly Little Lottie. She seems incredibly excited to see all of you as she skips around in a circle on the floor. - Oh, so it looks like you're all done

profusely. You only have a few pokes here and there. You've done out much better than most people, I'd hate to honoree. You closed the door behind us. Oh, yes, I wasn't going to go in there. I understand why. Oh, yes, he hates me. He seems to hate everything. Oh, no. What does he like? Just most things. Does he like anything? Solitude, money. What for, I'm not sure. Gosh. He is a

Needles, thimbles, sewing notions, fabric, a dull envelope, carnivorous plants. Oh, what? What was that? We have to get to tea! She quickly turns around and starts to skip down the hallway.

It does not take you long. It takes about ten minutes or so to make your way through the corridors. Once again, they're getting grander and grander. She eventually... She's chatting with you as you go through, and she eventually leads you towards what is called the garden room. And you find yourselves spilling out into a beautiful, almost conservatory-like room with a huge...

half circular window, a windowed wall that looks out to the gardens proper. There are plants galore in here, beautiful blooming blossoms. It is a room that looks like it has seen lots of sun, which is very strange for a land that only has the moon. But these plants seem to be thriving here. There are plush seating areas all over. The walls are painted in pastoral frescoes.

And sitting in the very center of the room is Adela Druskinbald. She is wearing a lovely dress of buttercup yellow. Her hair is pulled back and out of her face with a cute bow clip to one side with a couple of feathers that spill off of it in a

a pale, almost creamy color. Her makeup is much more demure. Her long planchette necklace that she always wears, she's playing with idly in one of her hands as she crosses one leg over the other, hums to herself a little bit as she sips her tea, barely even noticing that you've entered the room. But as she notices, she jumps up happily and claps to herself, oh my god!

Oh my gosh, you finally made it. I've been waiting here for like five whole minutes. I was so worried about you. Come sit down, let's have tea. You must be famished. You slept for a full 24 hours. Thank you. Absolutely crazy. Thank you so much for having us. Oh, you look so tired. I see the blood bricks. Oh gosh, you must have been to see Henri. It's all right. It was fine. We made it through. He was a nice old man. Oh, isn't he just lovely?

He's really just the best. Sometimes his eyesight's not the best, so he misses with his needles, but I don't mind. His words cut deep. Oh, his shears cut deep. I know he's the best tailor in all of Druskinvold. Brings you as a single to your room. Well, how are you feeling, Miss Lethika? I know you were pretty roughed up there by the crooked tree. Yeah, Lethika, how are you feeling?

Much better, thanks to your hospitality. Oh, great. How am I feeling, though? Yes. Well, it was scary, of course, and it took, you know, a full night for me to recover, but Phillip was by my side the whole time. I will say, I wish I could be a bit perkier as I normally am, but last night I was just dealing with tons and tons of nightmares. And that's where we'll end this episode. No! I didn't get to wish her a happy birthday. Oh, shit. Oh.

Happy birthday, Dylan. Happy birthday. Also, by the way, happy birthday. It will still be her birthday the next time I play. All right, all right, I just want to make sure I got it in all the way. Happy birthday, Dylan. Happy birthday, Dylan. Damn! Was it, and I'll save this, maybe I'll save it for next session. What?

Does she seem like miraculously recovered for how wounded she was? She looks incredibly tired. She definitely looks like she is worn out. Because she had broken bones and shit, right? But she very clearly does not have broken bones. She's wearing heels. She's dressed up. She's got makeup on. No bruises, nothing but magic heals. Oh, that's true. That's true, yeah. I got you this present, and I cast Summon Shadows. Woo!

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