Crits for Breakfast will be streaming more Sacrament in about an hour, 4:30 PM PST at our home of twitch.tv/afterdisbooty.  Make some time to join us, and if you weren't able to join us last night, here's what you missed: 

Ricky decides to step forward, claiming that he has a plan with the Diva De Luna for a brand new ending to the concert… but when speaking to Maurice, the manager, no amount of deceit is able to convince him, as he personally planned the concert meticulously. Unable to hide his true reason any longer, Ricky finally admits that he’s the Diva’s son, and his Dragonmark, combined with an illustration of a 14 year old Ricky that she keeps on her makeup table, is enough to convince him… but he’s still unwilling to alter the concert just for them. Frustrated at being doubted, Ricky uses Prestidigitation to mess up Maurice’s hair… which ends up being a potential problem, as Maurice is extremely vain specifically about his hair. In spite of his rage, he does arrange for the party to speak to Diva De Luna… Ricky’s mother, Elizabeth. She’s shocked at the sight of Ricky, but confused at Ricky’s insistence on adding a kidnapping adventure to her performance. Crush convinces him to come clean on everything… explaining Gilly’s capture, their need to impress the Unseelie court, the need to have her position as the Diva De Luna get them into the Unseelie court to begin with. Against her better judgment she agrees to help them, but under the assumption that she’ll simply use her influence to guide them, not to accompany them any further.

With Ricky’s help, a flashy kidnapping is performed, with Maurice assisting them by informing the guards of the plan. Fidget and Kanec find themselves forced to be backup dancers for Liz, which results in them spending an inordinate amount of time in very little clothes, but covered with an excess of oil. Crush gives a well-trained heel speech, introducing Ash as “The Lady”, to the fright of the audience. Liz plays along, perhaps too well as some of the guards who weren’t fully informed try to stop the escape. A few hard shoves from the larger party members is enough to escape to Liz’s personal carriage… along with the sudden appearance of Trogdor, Liz’s pet Blink Dog who Ricky knows from his childhood. When Liz and Maurice realize the party is taking them to the Unseelie court they immediately object, with Maurice actually attacking Azure with his magic while Ash and Crush are busy trying to steer the carriage. Ricky actually manages to tackle Maurice into Kanec’s Genie bag and convince both him and Liz to help. Liz’s frustration is eased somewhat by the sheer comfort of Kanec’s Genie bag… and in frustration she immediately commandeers his large, elaborate bath… to the frustration of Kanec and Fidget, who are both covered in oil and glitter from Liz’s performance.

However, while they enjoy the comfort of the Genie Bag, Crush and Ash are still struggling to lead the carriage through the feywilds… a disastrous roll on Ash’s part sends the carriage flying off of a cliff… Ash manages to cast fly on Crush, but gets interrupted before she can extend the magic to herself, getting flung free as the fey horses simply abandon the carriage and fly away. Crush attempts to slow the Carriage’s descent, but even with his strength there’s not much that can be done for the extra large, luxury carriage. Azure finds herself laying across the well-oiled torso of Kanec, who protects her as best he can from the fall. Azure finds herself embarrassed in the situation, but she gets off light compared to Ash, who finds herself impaled on a long tree branch. Fortunately, as an Undead the damage to her internal organs is little more than cosmetic, but there’s no way to take the carriage any further. Still under the effects of the Fly spell, Crush holds the Genie Bag, flying alone toward a land of perpetual night on the way to the Unseelie Court.

Within the Genie Bag, there’s debate with Maurice about what happens next. Corrio, who had been resting from his intensely draining interrogation by the Seelie Court, finally wakes, learning for the first time of the plot to abduct Ricky’s Mother. He’s upset and confused, and worried for Verrick, who had stuck his neck out for the party. Ash takes responsibility for everything that happened, since she was the first to propose the plan to abduct Liz in the first place. This still leaves Corrio in a panic, but he’s too tired to object. Ricky, meanwhile, joins Crush, lamenting that he feels he was right when he was scared that coming back into his mother’s life would ruin her career. Crush does his best to comfort his non-blood brother, but he’s not sure with his own feelings of guilt, as he hasn’t seen Liz since Crash’s death. Maurice eventually is convinced to come out of the Genie Bag to help guide the way toward the Unseelie Court, although he makes clear that not even the “Diva De Luna” can simply walk into the Court unannounced.

As they’re traveling Fidget joins them and they hear the sounds of a large creature. Ricky is the first to see a lumbering figure charging toward them… a Depraved Brute, somehow finding them in the Feywild. Knowing the Brute’s weakness, Ricky pulls out a small diamond, using it as a focus to cast Chromatic Orb, focusing on Fire damage. The upcast spell blasts it with devastating energy, but when it finally gets a chance to act it roars, its frightful presence unable to get past Ricky’s halfling bravery, but Crush is still left trembling in fear. Fortunately, he’s able to force his way past it with a Reckless Attack, landing in a critical hit and felling the monstrous beast just as the party members inside the Genie Bag are making their way out. While investigating the creature’s body, Ash notices a leaf stuck to the creature’s foot not native ot the Feywild, but instead belonging to the trees of Ortheia, the Kingdom of the Elves. Maurice tells the party to look for blue flowers, as they protect against some of the more malevolent creatures that call the Feywild home.

After some searching they find a patch of flowers, which Azure recognizes as the same flowers that bloomed when Corrio used the power of his Goddess Eldath to cleanse the water of any contamination from the corpses of Depraved Gloom assassins. As Ricky is ritually summoning his protective Tiny Hut, Crush notices a perfect circle of cobblestone ground in the middle of the forest. He tests it by throwing a caltrop on it, but seeing that nothing happens he chooses not to investigate further, at least not alone. With the protection offered by both the Tiny Hut and the blue flowers, everyone finally congregates inside to have a talk about what all they’ve seen and heard. Ricky is concerned with Ash’s patron, who is known to actively spy on the party through Ash and could easily share that information with the Depraved Gloom. Ash dismisses this, feeling her patron’s pride is too great to be subordinate to a cult that isn’t in his own name. There’s also the theory that the Depraved Gloom were alerted by someone in the Seelie Court, which was able to use their Trial of Truth to extract very delicate information from Corrio. When the discussion goes to how the Brute got there in the first place, Ash remembers in Ortheia that teleportation, while expensive, is not difficult to acquire, although a person teleported would normally be found holding a clay tablet, which is part of the teleportation ritual… no such tablet was found on or near the Brute. Crush mentions the circle of cobblestone he had seen outside, which triggers a memory from Corrio, who instantly pulls out the notes left by Duncan. He’s able to learn that they’re known as a Witch’s Circle… often crafted by Warlocks bound to Archfey patrons or Hags, and allow travel between the Material Plane and the Feywild. Crush suggests simply destroying it, just in case, but Corrio warns that such powerful magical circles can only be placed with the permission of the Archfey that rules over the land where they’re built, and destroying it would be akin to destroying the Archfey’s property.

Without more information there’s not much the party can do, and nothing they’ve learned changes their plans, at least for now. Corrio wants to keep researching, but everyone insists he get more rest as his interrogation left him with serious exhaustion, but Azure steps forward and volunteers to take over researching. But it’s getting late and the party hasn’t eaten all day, leading Ricky to head to the kitchen to start cooking… only to find his mother waiting for him. Dinner is delayed so the two of them can finally talk. She opens up to Ricky about how his father had tricked her into signing paperwork that, essentially, barred her from visiting her son under any circumstances. She regularly got letters from Duncan about Ricky’s life, following her son as best she could without defying the law. By the time Ricky was old enough to be considered an adult and no longer barred legally from seeing Liz, Tricky had sent him away to Ricky’s teacher, Peeter, the mad bard who taught Ricky the ways of the Stars. Coincidentally, Liz’s nickname for Ricky had always been her Moonchild. Ricky is slow to open up, worried that she’ll be disappointed in him… but as the two talk and bond he starts to relax. The two cooking dinner together as they laugh and share stories, with Liz scolding Ricky for messing with Maurice’s hair… apparently when Maurice first left the Underdark he had been shaved bald, and his hair is a point of pride for himself ever since. Meanwhile, Ash remembers how, before the performance earlier, Maurice had admonished her for her split ends as, despite her haughty appearance, Ash actually cares little for proper haircare. Just to mess with him, Ash takes one of Fidget’s dagger and unceremoniously chops off her long hair. As Maurice panics at the waste of hair he doesn’t notice Ash’s hair magically growing back to the same length it was before… before messily shoving most of it into her hat. Crush, meanwhile, spends this time carving a small wooden figure of Fidget to give to Fidget’s son as a gift. He makes sure that it has Fidget’s cut ears, wanting to make sure the child isn’t raised to hate or distrust goblins who are mangled like Fidget has been.

As everyone squeezes into the relatively small kitchen to eat some stew they all bond with Liz, who, now that she knows all the details, insists on helping the party to rescue Gilly. She asks for stories about her son, and Crush details the events of the night in the haunted house and how, when he had been taken over by evil spirits. Before he could hurt his friends, however, Ricky used his magic to subdue Crush. Knowing how Crash died, Liz understands how important it was to Crush to have Ricky protect him. Ricky also eagerly chooses to show off his sketchbook to his mother. After all… she’s the one who taught him how to draw ***** in the first place.

Our streaming schedule has changed a bit this week... normally we stream Hoard of the Dragon Queen on Fridays, but instead this week that game will be streamed on Monday, and our usual game of Sacrament will stream tonight at 4:30 PM PST. Join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty, and in case you missed what happened last time...

Before night falls, Liz warns the party that they won’t be able to simply sneak Gilly out of the Unseelie court… the Fey will know if one of their “possessions” is stolen, and they have the power and resources to punish those they feel have wronged them. Although they discuss using a performance of the “Diva De Luna” to entice the Unseelie court into allowing them in, they realize there’s not much they can do until they know for certain what Gilly’s situation is.

As everyone gets some rest, Crush opts to keep watch outside, while the powers of fate allow Ricky to rest fully in only an hour. As Crush watches, a fairy dragon takes interest in the Tiny Hut Ricky had set up, curling up on top of the dome and resting. Fairy Dragons are small, pink and purple dragons with some degree of telepathy and the potential to cast spells. However, the teleportation circle Crush saw the other night flashes… and another group of Depraved Gloom arrive. The sound wakes the fairy dragon, which growls in defense… to keep it from drawing attention to the tiny hut, Ricky allows the dragon inside, the confused creature falling inside, immediately attacking Ricky with its breath, which rather than deal damage causes confusion in its target. Ricky fails to animal handle the creature, so Crush attempts to simply pick it up and throw it out of the hut now that the Depraved Gloom have left… only to have the small creature smack against the wall of the hut and land even angrier. It casts Polymorph on Crush, transforming him into a small fey rabbit, while Ricky stops the fairy dragon with a sleep spell. Crush, who’s familiar with the polymorph spell, attempts to simply damage himself enough to revert to his true form, but has some trouble… leaving it up to Ricky to stab Crush. Much to Ricky’s discomfort, it actually takes two stabs before Crush reverts to his true form, with Ricky manipulating the hut to allow the fairy dragon back out as Crush carries it out again. However, just as he does, the teleportation circle glows again, with Crush just able to get back to the hut before more Depraved Gloom assassins arrive. They watch them carefully, seeing that the Depraved Gloom are splitting up and seem to be searching the woods.

The morning is delayed a bit as Kanec wakes up only to find that Ash’s pet snake, Vanity, had bitten him… luckily, as a Reaver, Kanec is immune to poison… but on the downside, venom has a drug-like effect on them, and the sheer amount of Vanity’s potent venom is enough to basically make him stoned out of his gourd. Ricky and Crush reveal that the Depraved Gloom have followed them into the Feywild, while Ash reasons that they can’t be tracking the party through divination, otherwise they would have found them immediately in the Tiny Hut. Still, everyone is on high alert as they make their way out… and although they’re ready for the Depraved Gloom, what they weren’t expecting was a group of Gnomish bards to drop out from the trees, playing music and trying to entice the party to join them. Ricky realizes what they’re doing and quickly uses his Countercharm to protect against their music. Angered, the Gnomish women attack… Crush starts combat using his skills as a Tavern Brawler to punch one of the women in the face, then grab her and throw her at one of the other women. Rather than convince them the fight isn’t worth the danger, it only enrages them, as they’re revealed to be Bard-Barians. Luckily, Ash is able to intimidate them by touching a nearby tree, revealing herself to be the “blight” that they had heard about. This frightens a two of them, but the others still attack. Not wanting to harm them, Ricky casts blindness on the entire group of Bard-Barians, with everyone sneaking off while the blind women stumble around.

Victory is short-lived, as the party quickly finds themselves attacked by Brutes. Ricky attempts to blind them again, but their high Constitution lets them shrug it off. However, Ash has a better idea… polymorphing the nearest Brute into a snake, she pulls out the golden idol the party had found on the same island she had first found Vanity… which transforms snakes into gold. Surprisingly, it has the same effect on polymorphed snakes… Ash and Ricky both use Polymorph spells to transform all the Brutes into snakes… and although it’s a bit of a struggle, they manage to transform all of them into gold. Knowing how Polymorph works, Crush is worried that they’ll just turn back into Brutes if damaged enough… or if the time of the spell passes. To test this theory, they let Crush slash one of the golden snakes with his axe, which shatters to pieces, but remains in the form of a snake. As they gather their loot they discuss the value of the golden snakes… Fidget knows the weight of gold coins to be about 50 coins in a pound, and Ash knows the rough weight of a python is around 27 pounds… assuming they’re simply worth their weight in gold, they reason they’re worth 1350 gp each, and that’s not even considering their potential value as perfectly realistic golden statues. As they’re considering this they hear rumbling again… attempting to stealth in anticipation of another Brute attack, they instead find that the wagon of drunken gnomes is careening wildly through the woods of the feywild… and Ash is able to discern it’s the same wagon that they had seen before on the material plane.

Moving forward, they approach a forest of mushrooms that faintly glow and stand as tall as trees. Maurice informs them that the forest is dangerous, and instructs the party to travel Westward along the edge, telling Crush to keep an eye out for a cabin that has purple flowers growing in front of it. He warns that a witch lives inside, but luckily the witch is a fan of the Diva De Luna and may be helpful to the party. Meanwhile, inside the Genie Bag, Ricky milks Thaco to feed Fidget’s son. Liz wonders why Fidget’s son doesn’t have a name, but she understands when it’s explained that Goblins don’t traditionally name their children until they’re a few years old. Ricky also takes some of the goat milk to make cheese. With Azure’s help he has a soft, but edible serving of cheese to eat with bread. Outside of the Genie Bag, Crush, Ash, Fidget and Corrio are traveling by foot when suddenly their coinpurses are stolen, as well as Ash’s bag of holding… with the sound of giggling fairies flying away the only sign of what happened. Ash polymorphs Crush into a Roc, reasoning that he’d be the hardest one to carry otherwise. They take off, the Roc form easily able to catch up to the fairies… but Crush fails to catch them, and as they scatter they have to decide whose bag to seek. Ash’s Bag of Holding is considered the top priority, since it contains not only her gold, but her reanimated skeletons… and the skull she uses to commune with her patron. However, when Ash tries to grab her bag she overextends, nearly falling off of Crush. Fidget and Crush work together to catch her in his talons, but she’s still left dangling dangerously close to the giant mushroom caps… but she does lose her hat in the process. Crush manages to catch the fairy in his giant maw, landing and allowing his friends free, while still holding the fairy in his mouth.

This turns out to be a poor decision, as the Fairy turns the bag inside-out, letting out a large group of animated skeletons. Luckily, Ash is able to bring the skeletal creatures back under her control, and the fairy is let free. With Ash’s Bag of Holding returned, the party realizes they’re off-course from where they started. With some trouble they backtrack, realizing that they’ve passed the home of the Witch they were hoping to meet. The young witch is revealed to be descended from Green Hags, although aside from a green tinge to her skin tone there’s little she shares with her hag ancestors. She recognizes Liz as the Diva De Luna, and is eager to assist the party in reaching the Unseelie Court… especially since it means getting front row seats to the Diva’s next concert.

We're playing more Sacrament tonight! Join us at 4:30 PM PST at our home of twitch.tv/afterdisbooty to see what the Sacrament crew is getting up to next, and stay tuned tomorrow as we stream Hoard of the Dragon Queen. We learned a lot in our last session, so read on if you missed yesterday's stream:

Sitting with Taysha, the witch, the party realizes they’re only a short walk from a city in the Unseelie court. Reminded to be careful of the manipulative members of the court, they’re told once again to avoid giving out their true names or thanking anyone as Taysha leads them. Arriving in town, Taysha greets others as she passes, clearly familiar with the others, including a green hag named Thara selling delicious looking, but suspicious sweets. They learn that the sweets are made from fairy parts, as it’s perfectly legal in the fey court to do anything one wants to trespassers. She also shows that, when Jarnen the Abyssal demon moved to the Feywild, he brought some of the Abyss with him. A portion of town has a permanent hellish stench and has demons living there. She guides the party to a tailor who specializes in elaborate costuming… the shop owner is revealed to be a young human boy called Luke… Taysha explains that this isn’t his true form. She doesn’t say exactly what he is, but it’s revealed that he’s able to possess the bodies of the recently deceased, and he only recently took on the body of a young boy after finding the corpse of a boy who had lost his life after stumbling into the feywild some time ago. With the help of Ricky and Maurice, expensive costumes are purchased for Liz… and they also learn that evil souls which are sent to the abyss are transformed into nightmarish worm creatures… and those same worm creatures are sometimes used as currency, especially with abyssal shopkeepers.

As they purchase clothing, Luke gets mail… among his letters is a wanted poster for the party… a 50,000 gold reward has been offered for the group that abducted the Diva De Luna. As they travel, Taysha reveals that the Depraved Gloom is the name of a particularly powerful Hag coven. She tells them the story of the Green Lady… a forest garden who fell in love with a human and betrayed the forest to protect him… and was transformed into the first Green Hag as punishment. They make their way into a nearby cafe, where Taysha orders for them baked raven and a dragonfruit/passionfruit tea. However, the raven is enchanted to be extra filling, and Ricky gets sick from the feeling of his halfling stomach being obscenely full. Liz comes out to care for her son… but her presence attracts the attention of others who know about the large reward on the party. To keep up the appearance of being kidnapped, Liz acts surly and distrustful, with Ricky playing along. Crush plays the part of the heel, intimidating the onlookers before making their way out. Taysha suggests letting her hold the Genie Bag so the full party can hide. She mentions that she has a friend who works in the castle of the Unseelie Court… but she also warns there’s a possibility her friend is dead, as a visiting King has been casually killing servants that displease him. Crush hesitates for a moment, but he recognizes the devoted fandom Taysha has for Liz, or as she knows her, the Diva De Luna.

Going into the genie bag, Crush calls a group meeting. Informing them of the plan to get Taysha’s friend to guide them into the castle, with the rest of the party being carried in with the Genie Bag. It’s nearly unanimously decided that Ricky should be the one to sneak in… aside from being the best at deception, he also wasn’t seen in the initial kidnapping, and isn’t pictured in the wanted poster. The one objection, however, is Liz, who doesn’t want to have her son sent into danger. It takes some convincing from both Ricky and Crush, but they convince her that Ricky is the best man for the job… he can talk his way out of almost anything, and his Bardic College allows him to find Gilly in the castle, and they know that they can’t plan further without knowing more from Gilly.

Everything seems calm… until Ash playfully reveals that Ricky nearly got himself killed attacking her patron. She drags Ricky away by the ear to yell at him for his reckless behavior. Meanwhile, the others take some time to work on different projects… Azure completes a special project she’d been working on to create armor for Fidget’s Son. Similarly, Crush completes the crib he was working on for Fidget’s Son as well, decorating it with an aquatic theme. Liz continues to admonish Ricky for not being careful, but the two clearly are bonding from her motherly need to protect him. Ricky asks Maurice to help him fix his hair, while Crush reminds Liz that she had asked for stories about Ricky, and he asks her to join him alone in the kitchen to share some.

Once in the kitchen Crush brings out the carving he had made of Ricky while he was meditating, telling her about the Siren Queen, and how Ricky spent 24 hours straight focused on casting Hallow, protecting the ship from the sirens and saving everyone’s life in the process. She’s eager to keep the figurine, and talks more with Crush… about how she originally blamed him for Crash’s death, about how she knew about the Grimveils, but refused to join herself, and that Crash as well had been asked to join, but refused unless Duncan could convince Crush to join with her. She talks about how she had sought out Crush after Crash’s death, only to find him drunk and beligerent… too pitiful for her to even strike… an interaction Crush doesn’t even remember. Ultimately, she realizes that Crush has changed, and forgives him for what happened. When she asks Crush to continue to protect Ricky, Crush admits that he honestly feels more like Ricky is the one protecting him. Not wanting to look emotional in front of others, she asks Crush to tell her some funny stories about Ricky instead, and Crush regales her with tales of Ricky pretending to be Fidget’s son to get him out of a clingy date, or the infamous “Officer PeePee” interaction as Ash and Azure step into the kitchen to get some food.

The Crits for Breakfast crew is playing through Hoard of the Dragon Queen tonight at 4:30 PM PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty . The party are making their way into Baldur's Gate, and if you want to see what happened last time, here's what you missed last week:

Katniss purchases fishing tackle before setting out, although their attempts to fish fail. Frustrated, they instead spend some time trying to make a necklace with the goblin arrowheads they had recovered when first starting their adventure with the party, but fails again as the arrowheads slip from the leather strips meant to hold them. Meanwhile, Loki pulls out the magical Dragon Chess set given to her by Frulam, attempting to use it... unfortunately, with no idea of the game’s complex rules, she barely manages to even move a single piece, and quickly loses. G’houl attempts the same, but despite his high intelligence it’s not enough to make up for the fact that he doesn’t know the rules, and he also fails regularly... much to Dahlia and Leosin’s amusement, who is simply enjoying the show. With the night growing late, the party sleeps until being awakened by the ferry docking in the port town of Berdusk to resupply and pick up more passengers. This gives the party enough time to pick up some breakfast, returning to the ferry to find a Married Couple joining them on their journey... however, an elven family clearly chooses to avoid their ferry when they see Dahlia and G’houl... the two of them unfortunately familiar with being judged just for being a Tiefling and Half-Orc.

Sailing further along Chionthar river, the day is passed with little difficulty. As night falls the party gathers below deck to have some food and discuss their plans, but Katniss notices something alarming... looking out the window, they see what appears at first to be fireflies... but with their innate knowledge of the Undead they recognize them as Will-O-Wisps... dangerous undead spirits floating toward the ferry. Everyone rushes up to the deck as the Wisps begin their attack. Fortunately, Loki is able to summon the holy powers of Tymora to Turn Undead, sending many of the wisps running... and also revealing a few Specters that had followed the wisps. Between Loki’s ability to turn Undead and Katniss’s expertise in hunting the Undead the small wave of spirits is pushed back, while the ferry rushes through the woods. Captain Charles admits that Will-O-Wisps are often seen in this specific area of the woods, but they rarely attack passing ships, and especially not in large numbers. Katniss and G’houl put their heads together, theorizing what could cause this... remembering the research they had done, they theorize that attempts to release Tiamat may have weakened the veil between realms, and beings like spirits may increase in number or act erratically as a result. Fortunately, the ferry is drawing close to Elturel, the grand city which has a glowing halo above it that is harmful to the Undead.

With that revelation, the party and Leosin take some time to discuss their plans. Leosin discusses the Order of the Gauntlet, warning that, while they often appear boisterous and lighthearted, they’ll be testing the party to see if they can handle the challenges they’ll face. He also reveals that he once dated Onthar Frume, the female dwarf who leads this band of Order members... when pressed by Dahlia, he reveals that he reason he and Onthar broke up it was because of an argument about Wave Echo Cave and the Forge of Spells... and the party’s own insistence that the forge not be used to craft weapons. Like many other harpers, Leosin agrees that using the forge to craft weapons caused a literal war and doing so again only invites more chaos... while Frume and the other members of the Order of the Gauntlet feel the weapons would make them better prepared to deal with threats. He warns the party not to mention that they’re literally the ones who recovered the forge and also negotiated the plans to prevent its use for crafting weapons. G’houl and Katniss also finally reveal what they learned from Frulam... that it was a member of the Lord’s Alliance who warned the Cult of Tiamat of the party’s presence. Unfortunately, Leosin can’t offer any theories on who it could, but he does assure the party that the Order of the Gauntlet and the Lord’s Alliance rarely work closely. They may, however, have some insight on the increased activity of the Undead.

The ferry finally arrives in Elturel in the afternoon of the next day. Leosin attempts to guide the party toward A Pair of Black Antlers, the pub where the Order of the Gauntlet members congregate. However, they’re delayed as Dahlia wants to look for souvenirs. She spots a woman with a cart selling glowing wire “Haloes” as souvenirs for tourists. For whatever reason, the party is instantly suspicious of these minor magical knick-knacks, purchasing a few after thoroughly insighting the seller. They’re only relaxed when G’houl takes the time to cast Identify on one, determining that its under the influence of an extremely minor enchantment based on the Light cantrip, which should hold for a little over a year. Leosin admonishes the party for getting distracted by “tchotchkys”, until he’s reminded that his Ex is waiting for him at the pub... which instantly changes his mind. To playfully rib him, Loki buys him a halo to wear as well before everyone makes their way to A Pair of Black Antlers.

The tavern’s namesake is obvious when the party enters the tavern, seeing a giant pair of black antlers from some ancient hunt hanging proudly above the bar. Just as they’d been told, the tavern is boisterous and lively... with plenty of drinking and games. Dahlia is instantly drawn to the stage where she finds a half-elf woman enthusiastically playing violin. Playing her pan flute, she enters a brief musical duel, playing enthusiastically and skillfully, the song building to a crescendo until the woman’s violin bow, to the delight of the audience. The Half-Elven woman is delighted, introducing herself as Onsom Sweeney. However, as Dahlia finishes her performance she notices Leosin being escorted to a back room... she attempts to follow, but an Elven ranger interrupts them, not allowing them into the private room... but instead he challenges anyone interested to a game of darts. Katniss doesn’t hesitate to step forward, taking the challenge and quickly asserting their skill in darts. The Elven ranger stumbles early on, but does assert himself as a skilled ranger, although still less skilled than Katniss. He introduces himself as Tasar Phiyra and continues to play darts with Katniss.

Loki, however, immediately looked for an opportunity to gamble as soon as she enters the room. She quickly spots a game of dice going on as a young human man eagerly takes on any challenger. Loki greets the young man, who shares his name of Dwigt Rortrugal, then takes on a 10 gold bet. When the game is played, however, she notices Dwigt using sleight of hand to cheat. When she calls him out on it, rather than be upset or embarrassed, Dwigt is delighted. He tests Loki some more, doing more tricks that she’s able to spot. He then asks her to show him her skill in sleight of hand, with Loki able to make a perfect roll. Dwigt admits that the Order of the Gauntlet has been testing them, and assures Loki that this definitely passes. He rewards her the first 10 gold bet, and the two play a few more rounds... more a test of each other’s sleight of hand skills than any real gambling, with Loki able to make a profit.

At this point the party is finally invited into the back room where they meet Onthar Frume. She’s a stout dwarven woman with a long, well-maintained beard and tall hair to match. In the back room they find Leosin waiting, along with Onthar and several of her guards. They’re served glasses of fine Dwarven Wine as the plan is discussed. The party is tasked with getting to Baldur’s Gate before the cultists, then tailing them as they travel North to discern where their home base is so the Order of the Gauntlet can be directed there. Onthar warns that North of Baldur’s Gate are the Fields of the Dead, a deadly land with unnatural necrotic injury in the ground itself that animates the dead. Especially with the increased activity of Undead, not even the cult would dare travel alone through the fields, and would most likely join a caravan. Onthar knows a merchant by the name of Jundo, a Loxodon who is arranging a caravan and who would be willing to delay to assist the party members in their journey. Dahlia is the only member who knows what a Loxodon is, as they are a rare, but not unknown race in her home country. Leosin wants to accompany them, but every member of the cult likely knows his face, so there’s no way for him to assist in an espionage mission like this. To assist the party, the Order of the Gauntlet gifts them a batch of healing potions and some gold, and also arranges for a ferry to guide them to Baldur’s Gate, along with Onsom and Tasar.

OKay, our game got delayed a little bit because people were having trouble with their alarms, but we're about to start!

We're going to be streaming Hoard of the Dragon Queen again tonight! Come join us as the party makes their way into Baldur's Gate and prepares for the Cult of Tiamat. We'll be streaming tonight at 4:30 PM PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. But in case you missed what we did last time:

Taking off from Elturel, Tasar offers the party a pair of Sending Stones, explaining they’re activated by the phrase “I would like to make a call”. Loki, while holding both stones, says the phrase... and immediately hits herself with painful feedback as she’s both the sender and receiver of the magical message. Tasar is shocked at everyone’s cavalier attitude about what’s happening, but Leosin assures him that, despite their tendency to get caught up in minor details, they know what they’re doing. Resting below deck for the night, the party is awoken by the smell of breakfast being cooked in a portable grill. Onsom and Katniss bond as Katniss shares some of their salted fish, enhancing breakfast enough to impress everyone else on the ship. As everyone spends time talking together, Katniss reveals that they were originally from Baldur’s Gate.

Katniss’s father is an avid elven hunter, and once had a fling with a human tanner. Neither of them expected this to lead to a serious relationship... but some poor planning on their part resulted in Katniss. At a young age, Katniss stayed with their Mother, although there was no animosity between their parents. However, after some years, the small town Katniss lived in was hit with separate tragedies... Will-o-wisps began to lure villagers into the woods, causing them to disappear, and setting Katniss on their journey to specialize in the hunting of Undead. But after that issue was resolved a seemingly unrelated problem arose... a plague swept across the small town. Uncertain of the cause, only knowing that they were immune, Katniss stayed by their mother’s side as long as they could, but eventually left to live with their father in Baldur’s Gate.

In Baldur’s Gate Katniss’s father was a lesser Lord... living in the Upper City, but unusually close to the Lower City at the same time. Katniss was raised with her simultaneously older, yet-younger half-brother... as Katniss’s half-brother is a full-elf, he matures more slowly, and even now is still considered a child by Elven standards. Katniss’s Father and Step-Mother both care for Katniss, but Elven Aristocracy looks down on Half-Elves... Katniss often found themselves talked down to by the elves, treated as lesser but assured that they are “one of the good ones”. Things took a turn when a particularly cruel member of the Elven nobility targeted Katniss for abuse... and when Katniss’s Brother spoke up for his sibling a fight ensued. To protect their brother’s life, Katniss killed the noble... and to protect Katniss from the law they were sent away to join the clan which Katniss now belongs to. Katniss, now in their 60’s, has not been to Baldur’s Gate in 30 years. They stayed in communication with their family through letters, but none of their family knows that Katniss is so close to home once again.

As Katniss’s tale winds down and the other party members express their sympathy, the pereceptive Dahlia notices black smoke in the distance as dark clouds fill the sky. Katniss smells the air, trying to discern what, exactly, is burning... but even as a light drizzle starts to rain down, obscuring most smells, Katniss’s well-trained nose identifies the distinct, sickly rotting scent of Undead flesh... followed shortly a woman’s shriek of fear. In panic, the party orders Onsom to steer the ship to the river bank... fortunately, the ground is soft sand and she’s able to steer their ship to land. Dahlia uses her boots of springing and leaping to jump from the side of the ship, reaching land first as they find a trio of commoners... a dwarven man, a human woman, and a gnomish woman, standing trapped on a precipice, with their own burning cart blocking from one side and a cadre of hungry zombies surrounding them... some already feasting on their dead horses. Katniss, however, recognizes two particular Undead on the top of a hill... Wights, dangerous Undead that maintain the intelligence they had in life, and with the ability to create and command more undead servants. At the party’s appearance the zombies lose all interest in their original victims... the mindless creatures swiveling to focus on their new targets.

Despite their opponent’s greater numbers, the zombies are little danger to the party, especially when traveling with both Leosin and the two members of the Order of the Gauntlet. The Wights shift their focus, guiding their minions to attack whoever they deem the greatest threat. When Loki steps forward and unleashes her Channel Divinity to Turn Undead, she instantly becomes the target of the Wights and their ire. The Wights keep their distance, relying on longbows, but as G’houl begins to target them with lightning and other devastating blows they focus on escape... but not before firing their longbows at the otherwise harmless commoners, forcing the party to care for the injured civilians before they can be devoured by zombies. As the Wight’s flee both Katniss and G’houl focus their powers on them... G’houl incinerates one Wight with a fireball, but the other Wight displays unusual skills. The Wight is seen casting spells... teleporting away, then summoning a spectral steed to gallop away. However, Katniss has him targeted with their Hunter’s Mark, and with some powerful Sharpshooter shots they manage to fell the fleeing Undead. They both examine the corpse, finding that it carried a simple glass orb, which G’houl recognizes as a common arcane focus, and a rotting, damaged spellbook, with only a paltry few spells still legible in the water logged pages. Katniss recalls that a spellcasting Wight isn’t an impossibility... a wizard turned into a Wight may retain enough memory of their life to continue to cast spells, but it is extremely rare.

Returning to the ship, the Gauntlet Members realize they need to report this back to the rest of their order as soon as possible. Even in rainy weather, it’s rare for the Undead to move during the day... and especially unusual to move this far south. Interviewing the commoners they are Thetgrok Leadbrand, a dwarvern merchant, and his human wife Amelia, as well as their business partner, Tekwi FullGrove. They were transporting ale and were herded to the location they were found by the Undead. The wights had lit their cart on fire, and the zombies surrounded them... but didn’t attack. They were forced to stay in that position for half an hour before the party saw the smoke, with G’houl realizing the civilians had been set up as bait to lure more victims. Katniss, keeping watch, notices another burnt cart left in a similar position to the one they had found... although no sign of life remains nearby. The night passes without further incident, but as they arrive near Baldur’s Gate the next morning, Thetgrok thanks them for their help, and tells the party that, if they’re ever in Waterdeep, to seek out the Leadbrand Brewery and let them know what happened, and they’ll help to repay the party for their kindness. He refuses Dahlia’s offer to give them some money to make up for the loss of ale... and although it seems to be foolish pride, Amelia assures them that it’s a matter of honor, which they all know is something that most dwarves take very seriously.

As the ship docks they notice a young Firbolg guiding traffic who immediately catches Dahlia’s eye. He’s focused on his work and doesn’t realize that Dahlia is flirting with him, but he’s a friendly and chipper young man, and he’s happy to have someone to chat with, even if he can’t give her his full attention. He introduces himself as Belmog. However, when she makes her intentions clear by wrapping her tail around his he becomes flustered but is clearly excited at the opportunity for a date with the beautiful, outgoing Tiefling. He lets Dahlia know that he’ll be off work in 4 hours and she agrees to meet him at the docks for a date. Leosin admonishes her... reminding her that they have an important job to do and don’t have time to go on dates with locals. But Dahlia silences him... reminding him that Belmog sees everyone who comes in by ferry, and is in an ideal position to watch for the cultists. Leosin begrudgingly has to admit that her plan makes sense.

Making their way into the city, Katniss guides them to an important location... The Traveler’s Bounty tavern. It’s near the front gate, and the rooms of the tavern have large windows so that those who stay are able to watch the front gate. Dahlia, however, is drawn to an odd cacophonous sound coming from the open doors of the Travler’s Bounty... listening closely, she realizes it’s the sound of two separate bands playing. Hurrying inside her suspicions are confirmed... two separate stages are set up on opposite sides of the tavern... on one there is a large group of gnomes playing brass instruments while on the other there’s a band of three female tabaxis, both bands playing very distinctly different music. The bartender, a handsome man named Ray, greets the party happily. Leosin doesn’t hesitate to rent a room, but before anyone else can do any business Dahlia demands to know what’s going on with the two bands. Ray admits that the tavern owner promised two separate bands that they can be the house band for the tavern... but the owner can’t remember which group he promised first, and just installed two separate stages on opposite ends of the bar. As a musician, Dahlia takes it upon herself to resolve this issue.

The Gnomes finish their music and take a short break so the singer can drink some water. Speaking to them, she learns that they’re known as the Mighty Mighty Brass Gnomes, and they think that the Tabaxi band have weaseled their way into their gig. Both bands clearly having animosity for each other... but Dahlia talks to them about working together with the Tabaxis. They’re incredulous to the idea, but she’s able to persuade them using her musical knowledge that the two bands could harmonize well. The gnomes discuss the concept, the bandleader admitting that he has a few songs that would benefit from a woman’s vocals, and they say they’re willing to try if she can convince the Tabaxis. Going across the tavern, Dahlia can hear that the Tabaxis have set up their stage in a part of the tavern with better acoustics, allowing the three-woman band to compete with the large band of gnomes. The lead singer has more emotion to her voice as she sings of love, loss, and becoming stronger on the other side. Dahlia is impressed and convinces them to take a short break to discuss her plan. The leadsinger initially scoffs at the concept... she thinks the Gnomish band performs with no soul or emotion, just loud music to please the crowds. Dahlia isn’t as successful in convincing them to work with the other band... but they issue her a challenge, since they recognize her as a fellow musician. She is tasked to compose a song that both bands could play together, and if it’s good enough they’ll try and work something out with the Brass Gnomes. Dahlia demands pen and paper from G’houl so she can start on her composition... while her party mates mostly just enjoy the show as they all rent rooms to make certain they’ll have a place to stay that night.

Crits for Breakfast is streaming our Halloween One-shot tonight! Come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty tonight at 5pm PST for The Final Haunt. 

Our story is set in a modern fantasy setting... a group of unlikely friends are getting too old to Trick or Treat, but they all want one last night to get together and enjoy the Halloween season. Our team is as follows...

Jax - A Goliath Druid... a gentle giant who would excel in sports if he would actually commit to it. He's dressed as Ganondorf, his favorite character from Smash Bros.

Lucy - A fiery gnome whose recently gotten into witchcraft, finding herself in the role of a Blood Hunter. She's dressed as the werewolf from Thriller

Snek - A lizardfolk rogue who regularly finds himself in and out juvie. He's dressed as one of the few things that frightens his lizard brain... A Lawyer.

Zoe - A rich young elf... teenage for her is practically early childhood. She's dressed as Princess Zelda... but specifically the version from the animated series.

Join us tonight as we return to our main campaign, Sacrament, where the party finds themselves in a sticky situation in the Unseelie Court of the Feywild. Join us tonight at 4:30 PM PST at our home at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty, and for those interested, here's what happened last time:

Ash arranges for Azure and Kanec to be locked in the bathroom together, along with a tray of freshly made tarts. She sends Azure a message spell, telling her that they’re going into something incredibly dangerous, and if she wants to talk to Kanec, now may be her last chance. Despite their awkwardness together… Azure joins Kanec in the bath, canonballing with him as the two share a tray of tarts. Azure finally admits her feelings to Kanec, but also admits that she’s never had any romantic experience in the past and doesn’t know how to proceed. The two of them share the last tart, splitting it in half as a sign of affection… however, by this point the two are ready to leave, and it takes some effort to get Ash’s attention enough to get her to open the door. She teases them a bit and refuses to explain herself, enjoying how flustered they look.

Meanwhile, Ricky is talking to Maurice, opening up to him about the drama he experienced with Corrio. About the guilt he feels for torturing the Depraved Assassin who helped kill Corrio’s mother… about the way he messily broke up with Corrio at first, and in general how he’s still not sure how to speak to Corrio. Maurice is struggling to help Ricky, especially when Ricky reveals his jealousy of Verik, and the fact that Ricky was Corrio’s first romantic encounter. The drow Maurice admits that his first lover was captured and sacrificed to Lolth… Maurice himself was going to be sacrificed as well, after being forcefully shaved and humiliated, explaining his strong attachment to his hair. He advises Ricky to be gentle, as some people aren’t as strong as they seem.

Ricky checks in on the kitchen, finding Crush still sharing stories with Liz. In particular, he tells her about the time Ricky polymorphed into a purple horse to pull the drunken gnome party wagon. Maurice joins them, subtly hinting at Ricky’s relationship with Corrio. Ricky leaves to look for Corrio, while Crush tries to explain Corrio’s relationship with Ricky as best he can without overstepping too much on things Ricky might want to keep secret.

Not surprisingly, Ricky is going to speak to Corrio at the same time. He’s awkward and uncertain of himself… but confesses that he does still love Corrio, but what he wants most is for Corrio to be happy. Corrio isn’t sure what to do… Ricky is unpredictable and he’s afraid to get connected, and he’s still dealing with depression from being rejected by his own father and learning the tragedy of what happened to his family. Ricky admits that he’s scared that things could go poorly here and this might be the last chance he gets to confess to Corrio, and Corrio is uncertain if he’s ready to handle the drama and stress of a real relationship. Ricky feels dejected… stepping out to find that most of the party has been standing near the door and listening in. Embarrassed, Ricky storms off to the Bathroom for some privacy.

Ash decides to tell Liz about what she overheard… with Liz immediately hurrying to the bathroom to talk to her son. She knows Ricky’s moods and comforts him as best she can. However, as Ricky is getting cleaned, Taysha’s voice echoes into the Genie Bag, letting them know that her friend has arrived. Stepping out, the party meets a small blue pixie, shocked at the sight of the tall figures exiting the bag. She admits that she can get the party into the castle, but when asked about the visiting King she clams up, not wanting to speak of a “guest” to others… but Ricky is able to convince her to speak to the Diva De Luna. She agrees, entering the Genie Bag and fangirling over Liz… she sticks strictly to her deal, only revealing details to Liz, but Ricky and Ash both listen through the door. They learn that the visiting King knows Gwendola, the Unseelie Archfey, from some time long ago. He insists on being called simply “The King”, and refuses to divulge more information about himself to servants. He’s tall and handsome, and creates some amount of drama with her and her husband, the Demon Jarnen. The King casually kills any servants who displease him… and oddly, Gwendola seems entertained by it, instead of viewing it as an insult. However, she also reveals that the Fey Court is planning some kind of entertainment… although there’s very little that could compare to a performance from the Diva De Luna.

Things take a turn, however, when the fairy finds Fidget and starts aggressively flirting with him. Ash, upset at this, insults her… and the fairy only insults her back. The two of them bickering until the Fairy attempts to cast a spell, which Ash counterspells. The two of them erupt into combat… Ash nearly killing her with one use of Shocking Grasp before Azure can use her Astral Arms to separate the two of them. Ash storms off, unwilling to listen to others, while Ricky and Liz work together to smooth over the issue… successfully convincing her to relent and continue helping them. Ricky introduces himself as Bilbo Swaggins, and she introduces herself as Sapphy.

She leads the party toward the castle, accompanied by Ricky and Crush while the others ride in the Genie Bag. They both notice figures watching them from the shadows… Crush successfully scares some of them away, throwing some scrap wood at them, but soon the remaining figures rush toward them… revealing themselves to be deadly Shadows. Ricky focuses on defense, while Crush cuts down the invading shadows, eager for combat. However, during the combat Sapphy sees the wanted poster and considers giving up on this quest, but Ricky and Crush are able to convince her to continue to help. She knows that Gilly is kept as the personal servant of Jarnen, but strangely she’s given her own room, and Sapphy was only able to peek inside once to see that Henri is inside as well, although she doesn’t know who he is. Getting closer to the castle, Crush needs to hide in the Genie Bag as Ricky is left outside to pose as a servant.

Approaching the castle, Ricky feels an odd sensation… realizing he’s in an antimagic area, unable to cast any spells. She leads him to a large tree trunk… warning him to stare straight ahead and hold his breath. Ricky barely makes it to the other side… taking a deep breath and told he can look back, where he sees a chittering, dangerous creature made of black mold. Sapphy brings him to the castle… tall and gothic, covered in winding vines that look almost dead. The corruption of the Unseelie Court and Jarnen’s abyssal forces clearly visible as Ricky is warned to obey any command without question.

Once inside, Sapphy leads him to a stern orcish woman. Ricky pretends to be a wide-eyed amateur, who the Orcish woman finds only annoying. Still, she’s lost several workers already, and is willing to take a chance… sending Ricky to deliver a salad to Jarnen, musing that she’ll let him join the staff if he survives. On his way, Ricky can hear voices… the sounds of someone displeasing the rulers of the court, and their laughter as this other worker is incinerated. Steeling himself, Ricky heads inside to deliver salad to Jarnen. However, as he turns to leave, Jarnen casually tosses fire at Ricky’s backside, who manages to avoid the majority of the damage… but plays up a comically professional reaction to the damage, trying to keep them entertained. This is enough to impress the manager, who hires Ricky, assigning him to continue cooking. Ricky lets everyone know that he’s in, and the plan is set in motion.

The party plans to reveal Liz to the Unseelie Court as soon as possible… hoping to impress them with the delivery of the Diva De Luna in such record time. Crush debates the need to get some sleep first, but Liz assures him this is the best way to get on their good side. As they’re preparing things take a turn when Fidget’s Son takes interest in Ash’s cane… gumming the silver snake handle and crying when they try to take it away from him. Everyone takes some time to try and calm the baby, which fails until Ash uses prestidigitation to give the baby a toy cane… which lasts just long enough for her to get her cane back before he starts bawling. Meanwhile, Ricky is still busy cooking, required to prepare a large meal for visitors. He prepares a large fine meal, revealing his spellcasting ability when he casts Unseen Servant to set the table… with the manager simply upset that he hadn’t used the magic sooner. Ricky is left alone long enough to speak to his friends in private. They finalize their plans… intending to reveal themselves at the next opportunity. They quickly hide again as Sapphy returns, and Ricky is assigned the task of delivering a priceless bottle of wine to the mysterious King.

Outside of the throne room, the party readies… making a grand entrance presenting the Diva De Luna to the members of the court… in particular, Gwendola and Jarden, although the King isn’t present. Strangely, Gwendola seems amused… not at all surprised and, in fact, seeming to expect the party. As Gwendola laughs, Ash is suddenly touched on the shoulder by her Patron… who is greeted by Gwendola as her honored guest. She refers to him as Larlock, and he teases Ash. It seems that he promised Gwendola that his “pet” would deliver the Diva for a performance. Ash immediately recognizes him, then Ricky recognizes his voice… and gradually everyone recognizes who he is. They’re invited to join the Court Members for dinner… although Ash’s Patron guides her to another room for some privacy. Once arriving at the table, everyone takes their seats, until Gwendola asks them where their other two friends are. Crush thinks she’s talking about Ash and her Patron, but when Gwendola makes clear that’s not who she meant, they realize she knows about Corrio and Maurice both still hiding in the Genie Bag.

Our session got cut short last night due to one of the players getting some minor food poisoning from some Domino's pasta, so we're going to be finishing our session tonight! Not too much happened so I won't have my usual recap, but we'll be finishing our session starting tonight at 5pm PST. Come join us at our home, twitch.tv/afterdisbooty

Crits for Breakfast is going to start in about half an hour at 5pm PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. We're playing Hoard of the Dragon Queen tonight, and I'll be DMing my party as they ready to make their way out of Baldur's Gate. But in case you missed our stream last Friday, here's what you missed:

Dahlia takes some time to start composing a song to unite the two bands in the Traveler’s Bounty, but is interrupted by Leosin, who mentions that the party should meet the man whose caravan they intend to join. Once told where to meet him, Katniss uses their knowledge of the city to find a faster route, leading the party to a large, plain building marked as Jundo’s Construction. Inside they meet Jundo... a loud, boisterous, but friendly Loxodon who immediately clicks with Dahlia. He’s assisted by Aila Stoneheart, a dwarven mason from the famous Stoneheart family. He’s only vaguely aware of the plan, and reveals that he’s organizing the only large caravan planning to travel North, especially because of the heightened activity in the Fields of the Dead has forced travelers to avoid travel without heavy guard. The party is also informed that the Lionshield Coster is traveling to “A small town near Neverwinter”, which they instantly recognize as Phandalin. The party opts to work as guards for Jundo’s Construction, receiving a 50 GP stipend and planning to report to Jundo when they know the cult has joined the caravan, with Jundo perfectly happy to hold off leaving for at least a few days to make sure his caravan is as large as possible.

Satisfied with their plans for Jundo’s caravan, Dahlia laments that she needs help finding something to wear for her upcoming date with Belmog, the Firbolg she had met earlier. Katniss mentions that they could guide the party to their family’s home, where hopefully there will be extra clothes to spare. Katniss’s father is a lesser lord,with a two-story manor located on the cusp between the Upper and Lower portions of the city. Entering the home, they’re first greeted by Katniss’ older-yet-younger brother (as Elves mature slower than Half-Elves) Juniper. Unlike most Elves, he’s large and burly, eagerly hugging and lifting his sibling. They also meet Kael, who is delighted to see his child. The interior of the manor resembles a hunting lodge more than a manor house, with hunting trophies hanging on the wall, and animal parts used to construct various objects around the manor. However, he notably doesn’t own any taxidermied creatures, or use furs as rugs. He’s instantly interested in Katniss’s bow, able to discern immediately that it’s made from a Roc’s feather. The two swap stories of hunting before Katniss mentions their desire to get some different clothes so that they will be more difficult to recognize by cult members. At this point, Katniss’s step-mother, Freesia, enters... surprised but delighted to see her step-child visiting. Katniss’s family is generous, and provides clothes for the whole party... Dahlia is able to borrow a dress to take on her date, Loki is able to cobble together an outfit from bits and pieces of Freesia’s wardrobe, and Katniss is free to take any of their clothing left behind that still fits, opting for a fine suit to wear for formal occasions. G’houl is relatively thin for a half-orc, while Katniss’s brother is large for an elf, and as a result G’houl is able to easily fit Juniper’s clothing, ending up with some hunter’s clothes so that it’s not blatantly obvious that G’houl is a wizard to everyone that sees him.

Happy with their gifts, Katniss’s father has one last gift... a set of silvered arrows to help protect Katniss from the Undead. The party leaves, with Katniss wanting to show Loki the Temple of Lady Tymora, which is less a temple and more of a casino. Entering, G’houl and Katniss both notice a dimly lit hallway in the back that seems to be the “real” temple, while most of the large building is filled with drinking and gambling. The first thing they’re drawn to are the Fruit Machines... magic and clockwork devices that would otherwise be known as Slot Machines. They’re separated into machines that accept gold, silver, and copper coins. Not certain how the machines work, they opt for the copper machines... lamenting that they don’t win anything when the images of fruits that line up would obviously be a delicious combination... until a gnome playing one of other machines lets them know that they’ll need to get the same fruit on all three slots to win. Losing interest, as there’s no skill involved, the party separates here... Loki and Katniss staying on a “date” in the casino, while G’houl returns to the Traveler’s Bounty and Dahlia makes her way to meet her date for the night.

Belmog is shy and a bit nervous, but Dahlia is able to calm him down as he takes her to the square, where a small circus is performing... in particular, she sees a trio of Kobold tumblers on their way to a diner. She bonds with her date... but when she learns he’s 28 she’s able to remember enough of Firbolg culture to realize that he’s not quite an adult, as Firbolgs don’t reach adulthood until 30. Still, she’s able to enjoy her time with him, although considering he’s basically a teenager with little romantic experience. Still, she’s able to convince him to keep an eye out for the cult members, informing him about their unique salute, with Belmog promising to inform Dahlia if he sees them.

Meanwhile, Katniss and Loki go to the proper temple area of the casino. There they meet Sister Longclaw, the proprietor of the temple and casino. They find a wishing fountain in the back, tossing in golden coins. Sister Longclaw instantly takes interest in Loki, sensing that she’s been touched directly by Tymora. She shuffles a deck of cards, asking Loki to pick one... just as her dream had predicted, Loki draws the Wheel of Fortune. Sister Longclaw gifts her the full deck before Katniss and Loki return to the casino. They’re drawn to lizard races, where casino goers are able to bet on lizards that run across water. Examining the lizards, they find that the one with the lowest odds is actually sick... but the casino workers don’t allow spellcasting to influence the race. The two make a point of stealthily casting, but unfortunately Loki realizes she doesn’t have any spells prepared that would heal an illness. However, they do inform the lizard’s owner that it’s sick, and he withdraws it from competition to treat the lizard and the two instead simply bet on another lizard... fortunately, their chosen lizard wins, giving them a generous payout of 50 gold each before returning to the tavern.

With the full party reconvening. Dahlia is frustrated and embarrassed at going on a date with someone who isn’t actually an adult, and opts to drink her troubles away, chugging an entire bottle of wine by herself. Although they’re still not expecting the cult to arrive until the next day, they still take turns keeping watch through the night, but ultimately Katniss, Dahlia, and Loki all share a small bed for the night. Katniss is the first to wake up in the morning, and as they watch the front gate they see familiar figures... Kreeg and Shee-La, the Bugbear and Hobgoblin hunters along with their troupe of goblinoids. Their presence causes a commotion, as one of the guards mistakes them for a goblin raiding party. Katniss intervenes, speaking out on their behalf and convincing the guards to stand down. Kreeg and Shee-La are happy to see Katniss, and reveal that they left the cult, refusing to guide them through the Wood of Sharp Teeth after seeing how the cult punishes their own members... it’s revealed that Travis, the young man who helped organize the escape of the cult’s dissenters, has been considered the mastermind behind everything the party did in the cult’s camp.... and Travis’s parents were punished in his place, having their fingernails painfully torn off. Despite their openly racist attitude and cruelty to their son when she met them, Dahlia still feels sorry for them... she was hoping they would be taught the errors of their ways and hopefully becoming the kind of loving parents Travis deserves. Leosin mentions that, without the shortcut through the wood, the cult will arrive at least a day later, giving everyone more time in Baldur’s Gate... and Dahlia has the idea to hire the hunters to help keep an eye out for the cult when they arrive.

We're playing Sacrament again tonight at 4:30 PM PST at our home of twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. Our last Sacrament game was split in two parts because one of the players couldn't finish the night, but here's what happened in both short sessions:

Gilly is seen delivering silverware to the table… and is clearly shocked to see Ricky, Crush, and Liz, but says nothing. She’s quickly shooed away by Jarnen, but Ricky offers to get the other two guests that the hosts were expecting. He gets Corrio and Maurice, with the cleric Corrio clearly getting the stink eye from the demon and Unseelie Archfey. As the party starts to eat the meal prepared by Ricky, their hosts are tight lipped, not interested in speaking to them while “The King” is not present. Ash’s patron, Larlock, has led her aside to have a private conversation. He thanks her for the work she’s done for him… then consumes the souls Ash has held for him… leaving her unconscious to recover. When he returns alone he seems to tease Fidget, enjoying making him uncomfortable. Crush tries to chat a bit, not certain what Larlock told the Unseelie Courtmembers, but his response makes it clear that they know what the party is capable of. He also learns that Gwendola’s full title is the Iron Queen of the Unseelie Court… but when he asks Ash’s Patron what he is the King of he seems to enjoy giving a slippery answer.

At this point, Corrio is sent to fetch Ash, who is barely recovering from being drained. When Ash joins the dinner Gwendola and Jarnen seem particularly interested in her, and treat her as Larlock’s pet. They inquire about her ability to taste, treating her like an experiment of some kind. Larlock also takes a moment to lament that Ricky made such a fine meal, as he now has no excuse to incerate him as he had done with other servants. Still, the Unseelie royalty don’t see that as a necessity, suggesting that Jarnen set Ricky on fire anyway, just for the entertainment. Liz objects, and out of respect for The Diva they decide not to set him on fire… but instead ask Ricky to decide who will be set on fire in his stead. Ricky can’t decide, so Gwendola chooses someone at random… selecting Fidget. Crush tries to volunteer, but his request is ignored. As Jarnen casts a spell to ignite Fidget, Ash quickly counterspells his attempt… and although this leaves Jarnen seething, Gwendola and Larlock are both entertained enough to let it pass. The Unseelie Court members excuse themselves and the party is told that they’ll be given rooms… but Gwendola makes it clear she plans to speak to some of them in private at some point.

Left alone, the party discusses their plans, uncertain of what to do next. They know that they need to speak to Gilly, as they can’t plan for specifics without her. Ash lets them know that her Patron can’t be relied on… he’s just as likely to betray the party as assist them, depending on what’s in his best interest. The party is led to rooms for the night… Kanec and Fidget room together, while Ricky and Corrio room together as well. Liz is given her own room accompanied by her assistant, Maurice. Ash is forced to room with her patron, while Crush and Azure share another room… which Crush immediately makes a large mess in by checking the room aggressively just in case a fairy is hiding somewhere inside to spy on them. Azure takes interest in a bookshelf that Crush has casually tossed over in his search for fairies, finding a book on romance to focus on.

However, something much more important occurs in the other room… out of curiosity, Ricky takes out the Grimveil shield… shocked to see that it’s faintly glowing. In particular, the druidic portion of the script inscribed onto the shield is glowing. He takes it to Crush and Azure’s room, and they decide they need to get everyone together to discuss what to do next… but Crush mentions that Ash likely won’t be allowed to leave her Patron’s side.

Speaking of which, as Ash approaches Larlock’s room, she hears the familiar voice of Zephyr, one of his other warlocks who has expressed jealousy toward Ash in the past. Zephyr is forced to leave as Ash banters with Larlock… he mentions that she’s more than fulfilled her bargain with him at this point, but he hints that there’s more he could offer her. Seeing her Patron fully restored and casually writing two letters simultaneously, she asks him about his lack of sanity in the past… a subject that he’s clearly not eager to speak about. He implies that, if her power continues to grow, that same madness is in her future… but he claims that he can prevent her from losing her mind in the way he had. He also makes very clear that he didn’t simply spy on her occasionally… he’s been able to watch anything she’s done, and knows perfectly well about her family, friends, and more. When he promises her that he could prevent his power from completely corrupting her, she hesitates… uncertain of the price of such a gift. He offers Ash the position of his Right Hand… or more specifically, his Queen. Ash is stunned, but does a good job keeping her voice calm as she stalls in responding… forcing herself to sit still as he kisses her. Not wanting to risk upsetting him, she plays along… sleeping with her patron as she tries to figure out what to do next.

Ricky stops at his mother’s room to say goodnight… but also to warn her about the Grimveil trouble they’ve found so that she’ll be ready. She implies that she can help arrange a meeting with Gilly. She warns Ricky that Gwendola is planning a masquerade ball, and lets him know that he needs to prepare for it. Under the guise of having a Room Party, the rest of the party members gather in Fidget and Kanec’s room. They discuss their options as they examine the Grimveil shield, which points them to something nearby. Ricky mentions that his mother volunteered to keep Jarnen busy, which could give them the opportunity to speak to Gilly uninterrupted. They also discuss Ash’s patron… wondering just what, exactly, he is… Azure has been reading a book on the Undead, and the only Undead she’s aware of that are capable of growing to such power would be possibly a vampire, a mummy, or even a lich. They realize they’ve been awake long enough to be at risk of exhaustion… they make plans to get some sleep and rely on Liz to help them by distracting Jarnen the next day.

Stepping out into the hallways, they spot Zephyr, along with a group of cultists. They wear iron trinkets pinned to their robes in the shape of a skull… the eyes of the trinkets glow, and they appear to have glowing orbs flowing about them. Zephyr clearly knows who the party is, referring to Ricky as a “worm” just as Larlock does… he leaves before the party can confront him, but as he does the cultists take up guard positions around the halls, summoning skeletons to assist them. Crush and Ricky both try to intimidate some of the guards… Ricky in particular makes a point of knocking down one of their pins so he can examine it… once he’s alone, he tests to make sure he can recreate the pin with prestidigitation. Ricky does his best to comfort to Corrio, who is clearly on edge after seeing not only the Undead, but the Unseelie Court, which clearly is uncomfortable with a cleric of Eldath in their presence. Ricky tries to relax him with a story… regaling him with a story his grandfather told him when he was young… it’s a legend about where humans came from… according to Ricky’s grandfather, a halfling woman wanted two husbands… marrying both an elf and a dwarf. However, when she gave birth to two children, they inherited the worst of all their parents (at this point, Corrio realizes that Ricky’s grandfather is fairly racist against humans). As their parents were disgusted by them, the brother and sister were abandoned… and with no one telling them not to, they married each other, and then their children married each other, and so on for generation. And although Corrio is a bit disgusted by Ricky’s grandfather’s insistence that all humans are just a bunch of inbred freaks, the story is enough to help him relax and the two sleep in separate beds for the night.

Meanwhile, Ash has finished laying with her patron. He promises her that, if she stays by his side, he can protect her mind from the damage that her transformation will one day bring… as well, he’s not bothered by the slow corruption of her body. She’s left pondering whether she should take up his offer… but her feelings for Fidget complicate the matter. Still, she forces herself to sleep… or as close as she can, considering she’s an Undead elf. After a few hours, Ricky is the first to be woken… Maurice has come to visit him, as Liz is trying to spend time with Jarnen, and hopefully call for Gilly to assist her. However, he also reveals that Kanec has been brought to Gwendola’s private chamber. Ricky decides to take advantage of the situation… using his familiar roads ability combined with the invisibility spell to sneak out… using some of Gilly’s paperwork as a focus to guide himself to Gilly’s room. He spots Zephyr talking to one of his subordinates… however, Zephyr’s subordinate makes the mistake of insulting Larlock for choosing Ash over Zephyr, and is immediately punished with death. Ricky takes advantage to snatch the iron pin from the corpse before continuing to sneak ahead… momentarily entering a room filled with Zephyr’s men before sneaking away, finding Gilly and her husband, Henri… with Henri still clearly injured.

Ricky makes the mistake of touching Gilly’s shoulder without revealing himself first… she pulls a hairpin out of her hair, which magically extends into a staff which she nearly strikes him with. She’s shocked to see Ricky in her room… and is even more shocked when Ricky reveals his Grimveil Pendant… and also reveals that Duncan is dead, which happened after Gilly had gone missing. Stunned by the revelation of Duncan’s death, she admits that what the party had ascertained was true… she was lured to an ambush under the disguise of being an adoption. When she was to be sold… Henri came looking for her, apparently led to her location by Tricky. Jarnen purchased Gilly to be his slave… and to keep her obedient he purchases Henri as well… carefully poisoning him so that Henri won’t recover from his injuries, but also allowing him to stay alive as long as Gilly dedicates herself to regularly treating him. Ricky considers casting Regenerate to help Henri recover… a spell that would give him an instant recovery of injury, but unfortunately wouldn’t treat the illness in his body. She also warns of something she saw… Jarnen experimenting with a strange illness that dried out a victim, killing him instantly.

Our schedule changed a bit this week... some of our players were unable to play yesterday, so tonight we're playing in our homebrew world of Sacrament, and the Hoard of the Dragon Queen game, which normally airs on Friday, will air on Sunday instead. That said, we're playing tonight at 4:30 PM PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty, and this is what happened last week on Sacrament: 

Stepping out of his aunt’s room, Ricky finds that the necromancer who had been killed last night has been revived as a zombie to continue his guard… and despite casting invisibility on himself, he steps too clumsily and gets the zombie’s attention. Luckily, Ricky is faster than the zombie and able to move past it. Unfortunately, he’s still a bit too clumsy and one of the dryad guards takes notice of him… shouting for help, a crowd of guards come to attack the invisible intruder. Ricky gets caught in an Ice Storm, but fortunately the chaos gives him an opportunity to stealth again… unfortunately the difficult terrain makes it too difficult for him to get away from the group, and he gets caught in vines. Necromancers try to cast blight on him, but since they can’t see him they’re basically firing blind… doing more damage to the Dryad’s vines in the process. His allies are starting to wake… stepping out of their rooms, giving Ricky an opening to sneak in. Once back he’s able to let everyone know what happened to Gilly and Henri… and they realize that there’s no classic “deal” bonding Gilly to this location… rather, Henri is being used as a hostage to force her to stay. If they can heal Henri, there’s nothing keeping Gilly here. They can’t leave at least until after Liz’s performance, but after that they can simply make their escape if they find a way to get Gilly and Henri into the Genie Bag. Unfortunately, they can’t plan too much yet, and opt to get some sleep.

Azure can’t quite fall to sleep, instead choosing to finish reading the book of Undead she’s been studying. She finally reaches the final chapter detailing the most feared and powerful Undead… Liches. She learns of their great power, and the fact that their souls are stored in phylacteries… magic storage devices… and even if a Lich’s body is destroyed, if their phylactery is intact they will return to Unlife, and a phylactery could be stored anywhere, and could take nearly any form. Most liches were wizards, but even a Cleric can become a lich depending on the god they worship. The book, however, speaks of the Dreaded Lich King Larlock… a being so powerful that other liches would try to kill him and steal his power. The Lich King is considered a legend, and there’s no proof that he ever existed in the first place…

Ash is the first to wake up, with Larlock again asking her to be his Queen. Ash hesitates… his promise of power and authority is tempting, but as her memories and emotions return she has truly fallen in love with Fidget, among other concerns. She goes to find the group, waking them up to discuss what she knows… she’s hesitant, but she admits Larlock’s proposal, and while everyone immediately objects, Ash explains that Larlock can protect her from losing her mind. There’s a long discussion about what this means, but Ash believes her best choice is to agree to his proposal… with the caveat that she not join him as his Queen until she finishes her duties as a Grimveil. Still struggling, she leaves to speak to Fidget in private.

When Ash leaves, Azure shares what she learned about Lich’s… and King Larlock in particular. They realize that he’s not quite as invincible as he seems… but at the same time they also have no idea where his phylactery could be. There’s another long discussion as they try to figure out why Larlock would want a Queen in the first place… until Azure puts together that Ash’s ability to absorb souls and hold them in her body would allow Larlock to use her, essentially, as a backup Phylactery. If he were to be injured or killed, rather than reform at his phylactery, he could simply use the energy of any souls Ash holds to instantly recover. Ricky remembers the corrupted souls that took the form of worms which Devils and Hags use as currency… Ash could potentially be a money printing machine, in a sense.

Ash makes her way back to Fidget’s room, running into Kanec… who has spent the night with Queen Gwendola. Kanec is clearly filled with shame and embarrassment at himself and doesn’t want to talk about it. More imporantly, she finds Fidget cradling his son and asks to speak to him in private in the Genie Bag. She confesses to Fidget that her Patron has offered to protect her mind and body from the corruption of her undead form… at first Fidget is delighted at the possibility, but his mood changes when Ash reveals that she must marry Larlock to get this gift… like the others, Fidget objects. He’s certain that this is wrong for Ash. That he’ll use this to control her and make her miserable. But Ash still can’t get past the fact that, without this, she won’t even remember her friends. Fidget starts to cry, desperate for Ash to remain safe, but he’s certain there has to be another way… and after some hemming and hawing, he buckles down and proposes to Ash. And to Fidget’s surprise… Ash agrees… wanting at least one good memory of a marriage.

Meanwhile, Crush has taken the time to carve a mask for the masquerade party… he opts to create a grinning bearded dwarven man wearing a large visor (essentially, a Macho Man mask). However, it’s quickly overshadowed by Fidget bursting in and demanding Corrio marry him and Ash.

This leads to a fluster of activity… the others trying to make the wedding elaborate and memorable, but Ash and Fidget only care about completing their marriage as quickly as possible. Ricky still insists on preparing a cake of some kind… Azure finds herself assigned to being Ash’s Maid of honor, while Fidget can’t settle on who his Best Man should be, so he just declares that all the men present are his best men. The two share sincere vows… proclaiming their love and admitting that they know there’s unspeakable challenges ahead, but promising to face them together. With their vows complete, and without rings, they instead symbolically tie their hands together with a sash and share a deep, passionate kiss.

Ricky realizes he doesn’t have nearly enough time to bake a proper wedding cake, instead opting for a Croquembouche. While Ricky is busy working on that, Crush carves a present that Ash had requested earlier… a small replica of Ash’s cane, which Fidget’s son has a habit of grabbing and gumming eagerly on Ash’s cane any time he sees it. He makes sure to give it to Ash first, so that Ash can start her new life as Fidget’s wife by giving her stepson a gift she knows he’ll love.

With the wedding complete the Croquembouche is eaten and they discuss the need to prepare for the Masquerade. Ricky requests that Crush carve a mask for him that resembles a wolf. Crush also decides to step out of the bag for a paranoid security check… hearing voices in the hall… he hears an unfamiliar voice being directed to stay in the room that was recently vacated by Ricky and Corrio… news that worries Ricky, as his blanket of rest is still left in that room, along with a few other personal items. Still, it’s no trouble to simply knock on the door to ask for their items back… although they find that the room is now occupied by a very cranky vampire. He angrily threatens Crush and Ricky, who seem more amused than anything else, but still angrily returns Ricky’s possessions without trouble.

While Crush stays in the room to work on more masks, Ricky and Azure go to Liz’s room to help her prepare her costume for the party, and to inform her about what Ricky learned from Gilly. Liz also reveals that, while sleeping with Jarnen, she convinced him to assign her a Halfling servant to assist… not realizing the relationship between Liz and Gilly, he agrees to let Gilly assist Liz during her visit. When Gilly finally arrives they greet each other with a big hug… followed by shouting as they each chastise the other for putting themselves in danger. When Ricky shows her the Grimveil Shield she recognizes it instantly, shocked to see the shield… and certain that it’s a bad sign that Duncan left it to them. The shield is ringed with a repeated phrase, “To Bring the World to Light”, in a variety of languages. Each language represents a different, potentially world-ending threat… and the specific language denotes the nature of those threats. With the druidic text lighting, it implies that the threat is fey in nature… which Gilly interprets to mean Queen Gwendola herself. Azure realizes this is something everyone should be here for, and goes to get Crush.

Gilly explains that there are specific roles for each member of the Grimveil. Corrio is known as the Tome-Keeper. The other members are known the Key Keepers… The different keys they had received at the start of the journey denoting their different roles in the group. She also reveals that Ash’s parents were Grimveils as well, and held the title of Peace Keepers. However, she finally realizes Ash’s undead nature, wondering why Duncan would invite an Undead to join the Grimveils. Remembering the blade he had drawn earlier… the raven-handled blade wielded by the man who killed Ash and her parents. Gilly recognizes it immediately, but Ash leaves before the name could be revealed… knowing that, as a Revenant and vengeful spirit, if she learns his name she’ll lose her mind, only capable of seeking revenge. Gilly reveals that the man with the raven blade is an assassin known only as Death’s Shadow… a very powerful fighter who is capable of defeating multiple skilled opponents on his own… and able to manipulate shadows to his will.

Before she can reveal too much, the tailor arrives to help Liz with her dress. Most of the party retreats into the Genie Bag, while Azure and Ricky remain outside. Seeing this as the opportunity to get some alone time with Henri, they return to the room, giving Ricky the opportunity to cast Invisibility on himself and Azure. The halls of the Unseelie Castle, unfortunately, are quite crowded with the more deadly and dangerous of the Feywild’s denizens… including a massive, foul smelling hag that even the other creatures find detestable. They also notice Larlock speaking to his subordinate, Zephyr. With Ricky’s guidance they move to Henri’s room, with Ricky using his Gloves of Thievery to help him pick the lock. However, just as he’s getting the door open, Larlock approaches them… just in time for Azure to remember from her studies that liches possess true sight. Seemingly amused, Larlock asks them what they’re doing.

Bad news! I know I said we'd be playing Hoard of the Dragon Queen tonight, but two of our players are having trouble with their internet provider, so we will most likely simply miss one game stream this week. We're planning to have things back to normal next weekend, so look forward to it!

Good News! At the last minute, our players have sorted everything out, so come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty in about 15 minutes (4:30 PM PST) for more Hoard of hte Dragon Queen! In case you're wondering, this is what our players did last week...

Dahlia arranges to hire the Goblinoid hunters, hiring them to watch the road and signal them when the cult members arrive. Katniss then mentions Viktor’s House of Wonders... a magic item shop in the city. Guiding the party to it, they take a brief stop to get breakfast at a roadside stand. Purchasing fish and chips, the Tiefling vendor has condiments available... when Dahlia asks for something very spicy, he offers a spice concentrate delivered via individual dropper... Dahlia’s so enamored she purchases the concentrate outright. Continuing on their way, Viktor’s House of Wonder appears to be barely wider than a single doorway, wedged beween two larger buildings... however, inside is a large knick-knack shop, with valuable magical items kept behind a counter toward the back of the store. Viktor is revealed to be an older, burly tiefling with a flying monkey familiar named Mr. Jingles, with a bell attached to the end of his tail. Katniss knows what they want immediately, asking for a Cloak of Elven Kind, which Viktor luckily has in stock. They ask briefly about putting it on credit with the Van’adiel family, but is shocked to learn that the Van’adiel’s already have outstanding debt with Viktor.

Realizing Katniss can’t afford the cloak, Loki steps forward and volunteers to sell the magical Dragon Chess set left to her by Frulam... which is worth enough to pay for the cloak and still have money left over. Seeing Mr. Jingles, Loki instantly gets interested in having a familiar of her own... fortunately, Viktor sells spell scrolls of Find Familiar... unfortunately, as a Cleric, Loki is unable to cast the wizard spell even with a scroll... but G’houl can. Loki instantly demands a pet monkey from G’houl, and G’houl also purchases a scroll of Chromatic Orb to increase his offensive abilities.

With credit still left, Dahlia asks for help with a disguise, since her distinct blue coloration and large horns make it far too difficult for her to blend into crowds. Viktor doesn’t have anything specifically for that, but is aware of somewhere in town he could trade for a Hat of Disguise... for the large profit he’s willing to close shop and seek it. Dahlia clearly feels conflicted... she’s been mistreated and judged for being a Tiefling her whole life, and chooses instead to be proud of her heritage and open... the thought of hiding herself feels shameful and wrong, but she understands the need for stealth.

With Viktor closing shop to do some shopping of his own, the party returns to the Traveler’s Bounty, where Dahlia is expecting Belmog to be waiting for her. Unsurprisingly, Belmog hasn’t seen the cult members arrive yet, but is happy to share a meat pie with Dahlia. While chatting with Belmog they discuss the music, with Dahlia getting inspired to compose more of her song to help bond the two bands. G’houl takes advantage of his evocation specialization to quickly transcribe Chromatic Orb to his spellbook. Belmog needs to return to work, although Dahlia can see that, since it’s clear she won’t be able to date him, Belmog’s interest has shifted to Josie, the leader of the Tabaxi band: Josie and the Housecats. With time to spare they discuss what else they can do to pass time... Katniss mentions that they know about a brothel, since Dahlia had shown interest in one... but Dahlia is still melancholoy about hiding herself, and isn’t in the mood. Instead they realize they still need supplies for their journey, and Katniss knows just the place.

Katniss leads the party to Mick’s House of Goods... although they notice a temple to Mystra across the street. Inside they meet Mike, the son of Mick, the original owner of the shop. He enthusiastically sells his home-made jellied preserves,but otherwise provides the usual adventuring gear. Everyone makes sure that they have enough rations for the party, since they won’t be able to start campfires in the Fields of the Dead. In preparation for the Undead, they also purchase some silvered weaponry... in particular, a rapier for Dahlia and silvered crossbow bolts for G’houl. With their purchases complete, the focus shifts to the temple of Mystra across the street.

Known as the Library of Mysteries, it’s less a temple and more of a wizard’s tower with a massive library of books and knowledge. Inside,G’houl is immediately addressed as “Quiet”, the orcish translation of his name, by the keeper of the temple... and elderly wizard named Brian Valarus. G’houl instantly recognizes his name... knowing him to be a famous and accomplished wizard of Divination, credited with creating the spell Legend Lore. He knows bits and pieces of what’s happening, but as they speak they realize that Valarus is having memory problems, losing track of where he is. With the party helping him he understands their mission to defeat Tiamat. He explains that a spell powerful enough to summon a God to the material plane would defy the will of Mystra... G’houl knows that spells beyond 9 level are forbidden by Mystra, meaning that whatever spell the cult is attempting to cast is a 10 level or higher magic. He also reveals that, when BowGentle had described how to hault the spell to summon Tiamat, he inadvertently described the ceremony itself in order to reverse it. Valarus is struggling at this point... lamenting the irony of living a life watching the future, only to find himself now struggling to remember the present. Before they leave, he has one last thing for G’houl... a spell scroll of Locate Object, which he assures him will be invaluable at some point. Dahlia,however, is able to see that there are several failed scrolls... Valarus’s shaky hands unable to reliably scribe scrolls.

Still needing to wait to return to Viktor’s shop, they once again find their way to the Traveler’s Bounty. However, on the way, Katniss sees their brother Juniper... and decides to ask him about his debt to Viktor. Juniper sheepishly admits that he purchased an expensive magical crossbow that creates duplicate arrows when fired. In fact, he’s even in town to deliver a payment, but found the shop closed when he tried to pay. Satisfied with his response, Katniss invites him to join them on their way to the tavern, but a brief stop is made so that Dahlia can mail a letter back to her family in her home country. In the tavern, Josie and the Housecats and The Mighty Mighty Brass Gnomes are playing chaotically. Her heart heavy after sending correspondence back home, Dahlia pours her emotions into her composition... preparing a song that combines Josie’s soulful, emotional vocals with the rhythmic, powerful sound of the Brass Gnomes. Katniss spends time with their brother, enjoying a few friendly rounds of darts while G’houl goes to his room to spend the time necessary to scribe Find Familiar to his spellbook, with Loki describing the type of monkey she wants him to conjure for her.

Once satisfied with her composition, Dahlia firts shows it to Josie. The young tabaxi is incredulous at first, not interested in sharing the stage with her longtime rivals, she humors Dahlia by reading the composition. Criticizing it harshly at first, but as she reads more closely its as if she can almost hear the music in her head... and she knows she wants to hear it out loud... lamenting that it can’t be played without the help of the Brass Gnomes. Dahlia then shows the composition to Joey, the lead singer of the Brass Gnomes who is similarly impressed. Begrudgingly, the two bands are convinced to work together. Migrating to Josie’s stage, which has the better acoustics, Dahlia helps to arrange the musicians and prepare for the premiere of her new song.

As Dahlia is finishing perparations, G’houl completes his transcription of Find Familiar to his spellbook... in the process casting the spell for the first time. As he enters a trance, he finds himself surrounded in blinding white light... which begins to dissipate, revealing that it’s not a single white light at all, but instead thousands of individual motes of colored light. The motes gradually float away until 3 remain floating around G’houl. He can sense their personalities... the green mote is happy and energetic... the red mote is brash and inquisitive, while the blue light is shy and curious. G’houl finds himself drawn to the blue light, its personality reminding him of himself. The shy spirit seems delighte to be chosen... floating to his hands and awaiting to see what form G’houl grants it. Forgetting his promise to Loki, G’houl’s first instinct comes forth... willing it into the form of a Russian Blue Cat with brilliant blue eyes to match its original color.

Downstairs, the band begins to play. Its slow at first, neither band wanting to be outshone by the other. But as the song continues, both bands get caught up in the emotion of Dahlia’s composition. The loud brass instruments entering into a duel with Josie’s vocals, but as the music builds the competing styles. Reaching an intense harmony, each band elevating the other. G’houl comes downstairs accompanied by his Familiar, which he dubs Dusk, just in time to hear the finale of the music. Loki is not happy to find that her promised monkey appears to be a common cat... which clearly frightens Dusk, but G’houl promises he can change Dusk’s form in the future. Still, the music receives a standing ovation, and the barkeep is so touched he gives a free round to everyone present as he wipes thick tears from his eyes.

With the sun beginning to set, it’s finally time to return to Viktor’s and see if he managed to procure a hat of disguise for Dahlia. They return to his shop slightly before he does, with Viktor arriving with a hat box containing a hat of disguise. Juniper also makes a payment on his debt, and G’houl requests to purchase some more magical inks, in particular so he can scribe the scroll that Valarus had gifted him. With their purchases complete, the party makes their return to the tavern to coninue to wait.

You all know the drill... Hoard of the Dragon Queen! Tonight, 4:30 PM PST, twitch.tv/afterdisbooty! And here's what happened in the last session: 

Before the night is through, Katniss takes Loki to their family’s home. Katniss wants their step-mother’s help for a makeover... intending to alter their appearance so they won’t be easily recognized by the Cult Members. Meanwhile, Loki gets to know Katniss’s family, chatting about Katniss, sharing stories, and eventually Katniss’s father gives a satchel of 100 gold to Loki, knowing that Katniss would object to such an extravagant gift, but still wanting to help his child as best he can. The entire family enjoys a simple dinner and hugs, but Katniss and Loki return to the Tavern as the night ends.

While Loki and Katniss are away, G’houl retreats to his room to transcribe the Locate Object spell into his spellbook. Dahlia is still feeling melancholy, taking enough time to test her new Hat of Disguise, but clearly not happy to disguise herself. She purchases some bottles of wine from the bar, but also notices Belmog in the crowd watching Josie, the Tabaxi bandleader who is jamming with the Mighty Mighty Brass Gnomes, seeming to get along after Dahlia’s song united the two bands. She speaks to Belmog, encouraging him to pursue Josie, especially since the two of them are more appropriately aged for one another. Still, she’s more interested in spending time alone and enjoying her drinks. But just as she’s going upstairs she notices Loki and Katniss outside... while Loki and Katniss notice a raised flag on a distant water tower... the symbol arranged with the Goblin Hunters to mark the arrival of the Cult Members.

Gathering inside, the party is soon joined by Kreeg, the Bugbear leader of the Goblin hunters. She’s been watching for the signal as well, arriving to explain its significance. Using a mirror, she’s able to signal her allies and learn that it’s just one cart arriving. She singles out the cart as it arrives at the front gate... they can see that the driver is an older human man with a stern face and a distinct scar across his nose. Dahlia is able to use her skill in lip reading to discern that he’s an early arrival, moving ahead of the rest of the cult to prepare for their arrival, and seems intent to join Jundo’s Caravan. With the cultists’ arrival, Leosin realizes that his presence is more of a risk than an asset at this point, and he says goodbye to his new friends with plans to return to Elturel. Wanting to learn more, Katniss stealthily follows, while G’houl sends his new familar, Dusk the Cat, to accompany Katniss to help him see everything as well. With Katniss’s new Cloak of Elven Kind, they are able to easily remain hidden... getting close enough to find the warehouse rented by the cult, and to see something important... the cultists are no longer using the open-palmed salute to distinguish one another, and are actually informed to kill anyone who uses that salute, following the escapes from the cultist camp. They’re able to listen closely enough to hear what seems to be a new code phrase: “Long Live the Queen”.

Satisfied, they return to the Tavern to watch for more cultists. Taking turns keeping watch, Loki recognizes another cultist arriving late at night, riding alone on a horse is a woman with wild hair. However, nothing else happens until the morning... with the sun rising, the cult members arrive in droves. Once again, Katniss stealthily follows them to the warehouse, able to see that they’re diligently sorting their treasure and loading it onto hand carts. Dusk is sent inside to spy on the cultists... not able to learn much, except that the cultists are carefully instructed with false identities for their travel, and that the scarred man they saw last night is called Brother Johnson. Katniss decides to test their security, approaching the building under the pretense of looking for their lost cat. The cult members are clearly not willing to let them enter or even see into the warehouse, but when Dusk comes running out of the warehouse they seem satisfied with Katniss’s story, but still force them away.

Once certain that the Cult isn’t defying their expectations, they stick to the plan... continuing to Jundo’s Construction to let him know that it’s time for the Convoy to move now that the Cult has joined. In the process, they also meet additional security... members of the Church of the Raven Queen. Dahlia and G’houl both recognize the church... worshippers of the Raven Queen are sometimes considered cultists themselves thanks to the Raven Queen’s own controversial origin as a mortal who ascended to Godhood through the sacrifice of thousands of souls, and the fact that her worshippers are often warlocks rather than clerics or paladins. Still, it’s known that the Raven Queen is considered a Goddess of Death who abhors the Undead, and her worshippers are prepared for the Undead scourge in the Fields of the Dead. Most importantly for Jundo, however, is the fact that they’re willing to escort the convoy through the Fields for free... much to Loki’s shock.

They meet two churchmembers... Father Tridier, a white Dragonborn wearing a black suit and tall hat... dressing and acting like a mortician. He speaks politely and clearly, happy to meet the party and unphased at the concept of traveling with Loki, despite their religious differences. The party informs him about the Wights they had fought, confirming his fear that intelligent undead have risen in the Fields. They also meet Sister Angelica, a pale human woman wearing an elegant dress. What catches everyone’s attention the most, however, is the Raven that rides on her shoulder. She calls him Balance, and explains that he’s not quite a familiar, but rather, a tiny portion of the Raven Queen herself given physical form. She seems amused at everyone’s reactions to Balance, and looks forward to traveling with the party.

Finally, they make their way to the convoy. As soon as they inform Jundo’s assistant, Aila Stoneheart, of their intent to leave she sets about getting the carts loaded and it isn’t long before the convoy begins its long journey to Waterdeep and beyond. The late summer air is thick and oppressive... an unpleasant humidty in the air as they travel under grey skies through Undead-infested lands. Between the party’s own skills and the assistance of the Raven Queen worshippers along with the other guards, the few Undead that are encountered this first day are quickly dispatched. Katniss notices a long-abandoned cemetary... an old graveyard that hasn’t been used thanks to the corruption in the Fields. With little else to do, the party takes some time to get to know their fellow travelers.

Loki spends some time trying to find someone to gamble with. She finds an odd fellow... a Deep Gnome riding in the backmost cart, sitting on the back and staring wistfully at the long road behind. He’s quiet and melancholy, but she sees that he lights up at the opportunity to gamble. During a break, she takes time to sit with him, playing a simple highest number dice rolling game. Loki is disguised as a human woman for the trip so the cultists won’t recognize her, and she joins the Deep Gnome for a few games. He mostly bets jerky, but is delighted when Loki offers silver in return. She doesn’t press him for details, but is able to discern that he has some deep sorrow he seems to be moving from... in the end she actually uses her sleight of hand to deliberately lose the final match, letting him finish with a win before the short break is finished. Dahlia has started to spy on the interaction at this point... and points out that Loki hasn’t even asked his name yet. Once asked, he introduces himself as Radecere.

Inspired by Loki’s act of kindness, Dahlia decides to seek out the loneliest looking traveler she can find. She spots a tall, lanky human man riding alone in a small cart pulled by two donkeys... but perhaps most interestingly, perched on his cart is a gargoyle tehered to the cart by a silver chain. He’s an unusual fellow, rarely speaking, and when he does it’s with as few words as possible and quietly. When pressed he says his name is Lasfelro... and when asked if he has a nickname, he admits to often being called Lasfelro the Silent. When asked about the gargoyle, all he says is that it guards the cart. However, he notices Dahlia’s pan flute, asking her to play some music. Uncharacteristically, as she plays he seems to go into a trance... singing in an energetic, rich tenor along with her music before practically deflating back to his normal, silent state.

G’houl, meanwhile, notices a cart marked by the symbol of Azuth, the God of Arcane Magic. Speaking to them, he meets the Kindheart family... a friendly group of Halfling cobblers making their way to Waterdeep in a bid to franchise out their business. Most imporantly, G’houl meets Lucas J. Kindheart, better known as Lucky, a wizard in training who’s on his way to attend the School of Knowledge, where G’houl also studied magic. The two bond over their interest in magic... but they’re interrupted by his younger sister Lucia, who insists on being called “Luckier”. She shows no interest in G’houl, but when she sees Dusk she aggressively tries to get the cat’s attention with food... and when Dusk instead shrinks away in fear she angrily throws the food at him and accuses G’houl of having a broken cat.

As the sun begins to set the convoy approaches a small fort, taking advantage of the additional security in anticipation of the increased Undead activity at night. They see that the fortress has recently been reinforced, with more guards present than normal. Uncertain of when they’ll next have access to such security, the convoy enters the fort, trusting its thick outerwalls to protect through the night.

We're playing Sacrament again tonight! Come join us in about half an hour, 4:30 PM PST, at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty.

Also, here's what happened last time:

When the lich Larlock questions Ricky about breaking into the room, Ricky insists that it’s something he would find boring, but invites him to come along just in case. Less than amused, Larlock accompanies… curious when he sees Ricky’s uncle Henri resting on the bed. Larlock is interested in Henri… especially the strange illness he’s been cursed with. Larlock offers to simply kill Henri and end his suffering, angering Ricky… which Larlock deliberately makes worse, pointing out that one of Henri’s arms is beyond repair, touching it and imbuing it with his necrotic energy, causing it to shrivel and blacken. Ricky yells at him to stop touching his Uncle, with the revelation of their relationship being interesting enough for Larlock to be satisfied.

Azure enters the Genie Bag to get help… although she chooses to call for help in Dwarvish, to avoid alerting Ash and Fidget. As a result, no one else realizes how dire the situation is as Azure leads Corrio out of the bag… Larlock is clearly unhappy with the sight of a cleric. Instinctively, Corrio tries to Turn Undead, but Larlock is so powerful that it doesn’t affect him… in retaliation, Larlock targets his Holy Symbol, causing it to melt into a puddle of molten metal on the floor. Ricky sends a message to Crush, who immediately comes out of the Genie Bag, but is able to do little more than observe.

Larlock explains that Henri is suffering from something known as Abyssal Rot… a magical disease that harms those with good hearts more intensely. Unfortunately, he casually touches Henri while explaining this, his necrotic touch harming Henri further. Crush interferes, harming himself just by pulling Larlock’s hand aside.

Ricky, however, is ready to treat Henri. There’s no convincing Larlock to leave it be, so they’re forced to let him stay and watch as Ricky uses his 7 level spell to cast Regneration on Henri… his rotted arm actually falling off before a fresh arm begins to grow in its place. The spell isn’t able to cure him of his disease… but it undoes much of the damage that’s been done to his body. Despite being healed, Henri is still discombobulated… unable to focus on a conversation. Crush scoops Henri into his arms… taking a moment to thank Larlock for telling them the name of Henri’s disease, and asking if there’s a known cure… Larlock implies that there is, which he may be willing to divulge… for a price. Crush doesn’t even wait to hear what the price is, carrying Henri into the Genie Bag to rest.

Now that Henri is safe, Corrio hurriedly leads everyone out… although the sight of a cleric hurrying through the halls of the Unseelie court draws laughter and teasing from the dark creatures gathering for the party planned for that day. One of the women even trips Corrio, and while Ricky doesn’t want to make a scene by confronting her, he does take advantage of his Gloves of Thievery to steal a pouch from her. Making their way back to Liz’s room… Ricky has trouble explaining himself to Gilly, who takes Ricky literally when he says he made a mistake as a ruse to get Liz’s assistants to give them some privacy. Neither of them listening to the other until Crush steps out and explains Henri’s condition… however, it also comes to light that Larlock now knows that Ricky and Henri are related… and anyone who knows about Gilly’s relationship to Henri would know about his relationship to her… and perhaps more importantly, Gilly’s relationship to Liz. As they panic about what comes next, Ash steps out of the Genie Bag, having heard enough of the conversation to know what’s happening.

Ash knows one option she has… she goes to speak to Larlock directly. Managing to contact him before he can discuss what he learned with Jarnen, the archdemon who is enslaving Gilly by holding Henri hostage. She agrees to become Larlock’s bride, in exchange for him agreeing to not harm the other Grimveils or their families… and to have her soul contained into a ring… indirectly requesting the Phylactery that would lead to her eventual ascendance to Lichdom. Both of them request an open marriage, although Larlock insists that she makes sure any of her dalliances don’t “embarrass” him. Larlock, however… demands to know any of the information the party gains through their journeys as Grimveils. A legal document magically appears, with Ash signing the name “Ash Oriven”, the new name she took since her Undead life began.

Meanwhile, Ricky is having trouble with Gilly and Liz, as the family of halflings are in a shouting match considering the danger everyone is potentially in from Ash’s patron. Gilly leaves to the Genie Bag to check on Henri, while Liz and Ricky argue about what’s going on they eventually realize they’re both over reacting and panicking. They calm a bit as Ricky opens the bag he stole… finding expensive makeup inside, along with some platinum jewelry and a ticket to a concert of the Diva De Luna. They speak more calmly and Ricky gifts her the mirror of Sune that Sune herself had gifted to him. While they’re having this conversation, Crush goes into the Genie Bag to speak to Gilly… explaining to her that Ricky was the one who healed Henri, and noticing that both she and Ricky are stubborn to a fault… but also notes that the two of them are quite similar in that way.

Ash returns, letting everyone out of the Genie Bag know that she’s made her deal with Larlock… and that he’ll assist them in escaping, but she knows Larlock well enough to know that he can’t really be trusted. Everyone realizes there’s nothing left to do but prepare. Crush realizes that Corrio’s holy symbol was destroyed earlier, and helps to carve him a new one, along with Ricky’s help to paint and finalize it.

On the way out, Ricky realizes that the vampire who had taken up the room next door (and who had insulted Ricky earlier) has left, and his room is only guarded by a skeleton, which doesn’t seem to be intelligent enough to find anything wrong with them opening the door. Inside, they find that the vampire has several fine costumes prepared for the masquerade ball… including a black dragon-themed outfit that perfectly matches the black dragon tattoo Fidget already wears. They make their way to the party… the large hall of the castle lit by floating candles… the denizens of the dark side of the Feywild mingling, sitting wherever they like. As the party is mostly keeping to themselves, they notice several members of the Depraved Gloom entering and paying homage to Gwendola, the Queen of the Unseelie court. Ash listens as they mention their “lady” regrets being unable to join them.

Realizing they risk looking like Wallflowers, the group decides to mingle with the crowd. While they initially planned to stay in pairs and Ricky had already asked Corrio to be his date… Ricky and Corrio are both feeling awkward and tense… the two of them both surprised at their own argument with each other as they split off. Ricky is repeatedly mistaken for a server seemingly due to his short stature… rather than argue with it, Ricky chooses to lean into it… going to the kitchen and donning a disguise to deliberately pose as a server. Azure notices Ricky making his way out, staying and chatting with Kannec… the both of them feeling awkward after Kannec lost his virginity to Queen Gwendola.

Crush decides to take advantage of the party atmosphere to speak to Zephyr, the other servant of Larlock who is clearly jealous of Ash. Crush speaks to him casually, which Zephyr takes as an insult… Crush critically fails his attempt to persuade him to open up, and Zephyr responds by throwing a glassfull of wine into Crush’s face. Crush responds by grabbing him and slamming him face-first into a nearby pillar… driving his face into his mask made from real human bone. Zephyr is enraged and readies to attack… but Ash sends a message to Crush, telling him to end the fight. However, Crush’s idea of ending the fight is to grab Zephyr and slam his head down on Larlock’s table and telling Larlock to call off his dog. Unfortunately, when Larlock doesn’t object, Crush takes that to mean he endorses the fight, throwing Zephyr into a large pit in the center of the room to continue their fight. Zephyr summons a pair of flaming skeletons, but before the fight can continue Ash steps forward and polymorphs Crush into a snake, ending the fight before it can begin.

Crush is left in Fidget’s care, still trapped in the form of a snake. Ricky finally makes his return in disguise, listening in on conversations… unfortunately, few people are talking about anything other than the fight. He approaches Fidget, but thanks to his necklace of Speak to Animals he can understand Crush trying to explain himself, even though Fidget can’t. Ricky reveals himself to Fidget, taking Crush away to break his polymorph and speak to him… using his dagger to cut Crush, but unfortunately lands a critical hit, dealing more damage than intended. Ricky opens up to Crush… feeling like he’s not wanted. His Aunt Gilly has done nothing but yell at him since he came here to rescue her, and his Mother accuses him of acting like his father when he tries to argue. Crush does his best to comfort him, and assures him that Ricky is doing the right thing.

Returning to the party, Crush resolves that he’ll make a public show of apologizing to Ash, specifically, to help her reputation. However, while the two of them are away Azure notices that Corrio seems to have gone missing… delaying Crush’s plan as the focus is immediately on finding Corrio. Ash realizes it as well, and Larlock isn’t interested in offering her aid after the mess Crush made earlier. Ash uses her Sending spell to contact Corrio, but he’s injured and confused, unsure of where he is. Still, this information is enough for the party to drop everything and go on the search for Corrio. Ricky recognizes a tiefling that Corrio was speaking to… but it takes some pointed threats from Crush to get him to reveal that he saw Corrio exiting the party… accompanied by the Depraved Gloom members who were attending the party.

They rush to search for Corrio, desperately checking their pockets for any objects that might have belonged to him so that Ricky can use his unique Bardic abilities to track him. Unfortunately, Corrio is careful with his possessions and no one has anything on them that originally belonged to him… until Azure remembers that Corrio’s holy symbol may have been reduced to slag, but it’s still an important object that belongs to Corrio. Ash reveals that she can’t contribute to the search, as she’s stuck by Larlock’s side for the length of the party.

They stealthily pick the lock to the room the holy symbol was left in, and find the melted symbol still on the floor. It’s enough for Ricky’s Familiar Roads ability, but the path it conjures is twisting and confusing. Attempting to follow it leads to locked doors, and checking the doors only gets one of the Dryad guards to intervene. Azure is able to realize that the Dryad is lying when she claims to have not seen Corrio or the Depraved Gloom, and another threat from Crush is enough for her to point the party in the direction they actually went. The party, sans Ash, storms off… intent to rescue Corrio at any cost.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving... unless you don't celebrate or like... live somewhere other than America. In which case I hope you at least enjoyed some of the Thanksgiving media that America puts out. Anyway, we're not doing anything Thanksgiving related, I just figured I'd mention it. Anyway, we're playing Hoard of the Dragon Queen again tonight. We'll be starting in just over an hour at 4pm PST at our home of twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. In case you missed last week's game, you missed an exciting adventure with lots of Undead battle, but here's the specifics:

Leaving from the fortress, the party spends time interacting with the other travelers on the convoy. Katniss speaks to Sister Angelica, the Warlock servant of the Raven Queen, learning that the Church of the Raven Queen has discerned that the heightened necrotic energy in the Fields of the Dead was released in a single large burst a few months earlier, and that the increased activity can be cleared out, although it will take time. Loki, meanwhile, wants to spend more time with Radecere, the quiet Deep Gnome who only seems happy when gambling. She finds him engaged in a game of dice with a human merchant, Verther, who is boisterous and overly generous with his gambling, confident that he’ll be rich once he reaches Waterdeep because of his supply of rare Calishite silk... although it attracts Dahlia’s attention when Verther pronounces Calishite in a manner that sounds like “Cow Shite”. To prove that he’s not expecting to sell a cart full of cow excrement, he brings the group of guards close to examine his collection of silks... Dahlia’s perception is so high that she notices bugs infesting his supply. Katniss is able to identify them as Silverfish... Verther has a visible breakdown, momentarily blaming Dahlia for the problem, but rather than get upset in return Dahlia shows him sympathy, helping to calm him down... although there’s only so much to be done for someone who has just lost what he believed to be a fortune.

While the rest of the party is investigating Verther’s wares, G’houl attempts to speak to Lasfelro the Silent... whose strange, quiet personality leaves little room for the similarly quiet and reserved G’houl... luckily, Dahlia finishes with Verther and comes along to assist him. Their conversation with Lasfelro is pleasant, albeit not particularly informative, but Dahlia brings G’houl along in an attempt to learn more about the Cult Members. Taking advantage of her position as a security guard, she starts to go cart-by-cart, using the damage to Verther’s goods as a pretense to interview the merchants and ask about their products... although her real goal is to speak to the Cult Leader they had spied in Baldur’s Gate. She opts to go flirtatious in her interaction with both him and his guards, although they seem mostly unfazed. Still, she’s able to learn that the leader goes by the name of “Malcolm Johnson”, and he claims to be a jeweler. He’s clearly not interested in speaking to her, but does his best not to createa scene, as G’houl helps to sell that they’re simply doing their duties as guards. Aside from learning Malcolm’s name, they’re also able to spy one of his guards leaving to speak to another traveler, successfully discerning one more cart owned by the cult members.

Travel continues over a few more days with little trouble. Undead are occasionally seen, but between the party’s skills and the presence of the Raven Queen loyalists, it’s not enough to require a full battle. However, as they approach a small cluster of buildings normally considered a safehouse for travelers they find it empty. While the Church of the Raven Queen searches the other houses, G’houl leaves Dusk with the Kindheart Family while the party members explore the main house. Dahlia is able to spot a Gray Ooze lurking in a nearby rocky area... attacking it attracts the attention of nearby zombies. However, the Undead prove to be little challenge... that is, until G’houl hears sounds coming from an outhouse nearby. Examining it alone, the door of the outhouse burts open and a Flame Skull erupts out, laughing maniacally and blasting G’houl with a Fireball spell. The Flame Skull keeps its distance, relying on the Shield Spell to protect itself from attacks and Magic Missile while the battle manages to attract more zombies. Loki’s Turn Undead skill keeps most of them at bay, and the fight eventually turns into a magic duel between G’houl and the Flame Skull... a duel that G’houl wins when he counterspells the Flame Skull’s attempt to protect itself with Shield once again, smashing it to pieces with a higher level Magic Missile.

Once the threat is resolved, Katniss takes the lead of investigating what happened, using their intimate knowledge of the Undead and how to defeat them. They find that someone had attempted to hide in the Outhouse, but someone or something wielding a sword sliced his head off. And based on necrotic symbols written with the victim’s blood, they’re able to discern that this person was forcefully transformed into a Flame Skull, and G’houl’s knowledge of arcana, aided by the information learned from Nezznar, reveals that the ceremony was performed with outdated, inefficient magic. They theorize that it might have been done by an intelligent undead wizard, using the magical techniques more common centuries ago. The house itself has been locked from the outside, and after G’houl’s Knock spell is used to open the door they find the homeowner left in a hurry several days ago, if the food left on the dinner table is anything to go by. Searching the house further they discover a pet cat left behind... Dahlia tempts the hungry animal with jerky, rescuing the cat and bringing her along as Katniss helps to guide the convoy to a new safe location to stop for the night.

Once they find a relatively safe campground, Dahlia and G’houl take the cat to the Kindheart Family... Dusk, as a familiar, can safely travel with the party, but Dahlia doesn’t want to risk putting the helpless kitten in danger. The Kindheart daughters are instantly enamored with the new cat, although Dahlia has to put her foot down to keep the bratty Lucia (who insists on being called “Luckier”) from smothering the frightened creature. Fortunately, while the young girl can be a handful, she takes Dahlia seriously and promises to care for the lost animal.... and even manages to avoid feuding with her younger sister, Tanya, when it comes to caring for the cat. As the cat had no identification, the Kindhearts are forced to come up with a new name for her, dubbing her Lady.

As everyone gathers to camp down, Katniss remains up for the first round of guard duty... able to spot in the distance mysterious figures on horseback, just barely visible on a nearby hilltop in the dark of night. The figures ride away, moving further along the path the convoy intends to travel in the Undead filled night. The next few days pass with little incident, although when discussing their plans for the future Dahlia is told about the nearest large settlement... the remaining towns left on the outskirts of Castle Dragonspear. She’s instantly interested when G’houl explains that the castle was destroyed in a battle with an Ancient Red Dragon... and the skeleton of the dragon is still visible, draped over the crumbling ruins left behind... although she’s given pause when she learns that the mountains that separate the Fields of the Dead from the lands farther north are known as the Trollclaws, and starts to make plans for how to deal with Troll attacks.

As they near the edge of the Fields of the Dead they pass through a small pathway surrounded by shallow hills. However, a figure is seen on horseback waiting in the middle of the path. On their guard, they approach cautiously... only to have three of the small hills surrounding the convoy bursting open. Massive Skeletal Juggernauts erupt outward... huge Undead creatures made from the combined skeletons of dozens of victims. While the Church of the Raven Queen takes on one Juggernaut, the guards of the Lion Shield Coster focus on the other, leaving the party to deal with the Juggernaut attacking from the front. Assisted by a spellcasting Wight, the Juggernaut lays waste before, slaughtering Jundo’s horse while the Wight and G’houl catch each other in a counterspell loop. Dahlia prioritizes support, while Katniss and G’houl unleash the most devastating damage on the hulking beast. Luckily the Juggernaut is not held together solidly, losing pieces of itself just by moving... unfortunately it can also collapse deliberately, assaulting as a literal avalanche of bones. G’houl uses a lightning bolt blast to kill the Wight and destroy the Juggernaut... unfortunately, despite losing the ability to stand as a single unit, the remaining intact skeletons rise once again. Luckily Katniss specializes in facing down hordes of enemies, and Loki’s Turn Undead ability keeps the swarm of Undead from rushing past them to attack the civilians. With this massive threat defeated, the party has successfully travelled the Fields of the Dead.

The Crits for Breakfast team is back to playing the homebrew game of Sacrament. We'll be streaming at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty tonight at 4:30 PM PST, and if you missed our last session well... it was a rough one. Read on to see what happened: 

Ash is left behind in the party as the other party members are looking for Corrio. She uses her Message spell to tell Gilly about what happened, hoping her knowledge of the layout of the castle will be helpful. Unfortunately, Gilly is unable to leave Jarnen’s side without raising suspicion. Queen Gwendola gives a speech, celebrating the alliance between the Unseelie Court and Larlock… as well as formally announcing the impending marriage between Ash and Larloch. As they’re congratulated, Larloch gives Ash an engagement ring. Ash notices that a few Depraved Gloom members are still in the audience, watching excitedly.

The remaining party members, however, are stumped… after the conflict earlier they don’t want to create a scene by breaking down doors, so they instead opt to go outside… Corrio’s message to Ash implied he was in a room with a window, and Ricky’s ability to track others using his Bardic College works best under starlight. Searching around the castle, they’re slowed when a trio of Redcaps attack the party, but Ricky’s ability leads them to one window that’s 9 feet in the air and blocked by iron bars. Peeking inside, Ricky is able to see Corrio inside surrouned by cloaked figures. They hurry through the nearest door, thinking it will bring them closer to the room they just saw… only to find that it leads back into the ballroom. Hurrying through the dance hall, they realize that the room they need to get into is the first room they attempted… but let it be after a high Intimidation check from Crush got the Dryad guard to direct them in a different direction and, as before, they were making a deliberate effort not to create chaos or appear as violent thugs. Ricky at first attempts to pick the lock, not caring anymore about the guards’ presence… but when it seems that they’re drawing too much attention he changes tactics and simply knocks on the door… careful not to actually speak, but instead knock incessantly until someone inside gets annoyed enough to open the door, at which point Crush simply forces his way in.

To their horror, they step inside to find that whatever ceremony was going on had been completed… and the Depraved Gloom aren’t alone. Joining them is Zephyr, another of Laroch’s henchmen, and several of the necromancers he commands. Zephyr smugly teases the party, happily returning Corrio to them, but refusing to explain what the ceremony is he had performed. Crush attempts to force him to reverse whatever he had done, but Zephyr casually refuses… but when Crush attempts to attack Azure stops him, as they’re surrounded by enemies and if things go wrong at all they’ll be forced to fight their way out of the entire Unseelie Court, and the myriad of powerful creatures attending the party. Begrudgingly, he lets Zephyr and his men go, while Ricky uses the Identify to learn what happened to Corrio… realizing to his horror that Corrios’ alignment has been forcefully changed to evil… making the normally kind and caring Corrio cruel and vindictive, and cutting him from the peaceful magics of his Goddess, Eldath.

Corrio immediately chastises the party for failing to rescue him. Accusing them of not caring and only using him for his knowledge of Duncan’s notes, storming off. The party is wracked with guilt, but Ricky is the one to step forward and come up with a plan… he demands from Fidget all the drugs he has ever purchased… and as a Reaver, Fidget is now immune to most drugs, so he’s purchased many in an attempt to find something to help him with his inebriation. Although many assume Ricky’s plan is just to get stoned, he has a more complicated plan to bake a cake to serve to the hosts, Gwendola, Jarnen, and their guest, Larloch, and to top it with Sune’s Salt… magical salt imbued by the Goddess of beauty and lust that lowers inhibitions and increases pleasure. However, in order to fit all the drugs into the cake, Ricky instead bakes enough to feed not just the hosts, but also the majority of the partygoers as well. Fortunately, it’s not difficult to convince a group of fey to enjoy magically enhanced, drug-filled cake, and they make a show of delivering the cake as a form of apology for the scene Crush created earlier.

Despite their immense power, even an archfey and archdemon are susceptible to the sheer volume of drugs paired with Sune’s salt. While Jarnen is under the influence it’s fairly easy to convince him to relinquish Gilly… signing over her contract to Liz, who has convinced him that she needs the help of a fellow Halfling assistant.

While Ricky assists his aunt and mother, Crush takes on the task of wrangling Corrio… the now-rebellious former cleric resisting Crush’s attempts, but unfortunately for him he also partook of the drug cake, lowering his ability to fight against the much stronger Tortle. Once wrestled into the Genie Bag Corrio continues to insult and wrestle against Crush, but in his sorrow Crush simply hugs his close friend. Weeping openly as he promises Corrio that he’ll make this right somehow. As he ignores Corrio’s verbal and physical assault and just does his best to comfort whatever part of Corrio remains hidden under this change to his personality, he feels the ethereal presence of his sister, Crash. Hearing her voice in his head, letting him know that it’s going to be okay.

Meanwhile, Ash needs to convince Larloch to even allow her to leave. It’s a struggle, especially as he’s eager to take advantage of the pleasures allowed by Sune’s Salt, but considering their open relationship she’s able to convince him to seek another partner. She also takes advantage of her magical skills to torture and embarrass Zephyr… using Prestidigitation to make anything he eats or drinks taste literally like dog crap… making the snooty necromancer vomit in public. Before making their way out, Ash and Ricky both opt to return to Zephyr’s room… stealing any valuables they can find and ruining all his clothes… either by burning it or, as Ricky more delicately chooses to do, cutting nipple holes in all his shirts. They also steal a large fainting couch from his room, stuffing it into Kanec’s Genie Bag, although Crush is too caught up in his sorrow to even notice the couch crashing down into the Genie Bag.

Once their petty revenge is complete, Ricky pulls out his Feather of Sending, using it to contact the Merc with whom the party still has credit. The Merc happily appears, eager to finalize the credit the party has. Before anything else, they ask if he’s able to cure Corrio’s curse… unfortunately, however, he lacks the resources to do such a thing himself… but is able to give some hints about the nature of the curse… discerning that it’s not simply a 9 level spell, but a 9 level spell that requires the assistance of multiple spellcasters and expensive components to cast… and requires a similar amount of spellcasters and components to reverse… essentially forcing them to cast the spell itself again to change his alignment back to its original form. With that established, Ash and Ricky both agree the next logical location to travel to is the Reaver home country… the Reavers are accomplished spellcasters and have long prioritized education, not shying away from subjects considered taboo, and truly excelling in medicine. Reaver scholars are their best bet for curing both Corrio and Ricky’s uncle Henri, who is cursed with a necrotic disease. They also know that literally the only known being in the world that can cure Fidget’s impending Reaver Madness is the Reaver War Chief. However, the Merc can only send them so far… for the majority of their remaining credit, he’s able to send them to the Northernmost Reaver Port far South in the Reaver country. The Merc summons a portal, allowing Ricky and Ash to step through while carrying Kanec’s Genie bag, both of them arriving in the dead of night under a starlit sky in a vast desert just outside of a bustling port city.

The land of the Reavers awaits.

More Hoard of the Dragon Queen tonight, with me as your humble DM. The party is making their way toward the ruins of Dragonspear castle, so join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty tonight at 4:30 PM PST. But in case you missed last week...

Jundo’s convoy successfully navigates the fields of the dead, and Father Tridier of the Church of the Raven Queen thanks the party for their support, and assures them that he believes the Wights they battled were the main threat in the Fields, and they’ll be able to handle the remaining undead on their own. Katniss also goes out of their way to speak to Sister Angelica, admiring the Warlock’s skill in battle and making a request: Katniss was hoping to keep a few feathers from her familiar, the Raven she calls Balance. Balance offers Katniss a few of his feathers, and Sister Angelica comments that Katniss would do well in the Church of the Raven Queen, and implies the Queen herself approves of Katniss’s methods.

Travel continues into the Trollclaw mountains. Unsurprisingly, as large birds circle above, a trio of trolls attack the convoy. The trolls seem intent on grabbing horses, trying to drag them into the woods, but the party fights back. Things take a turn, however, when they realize the birds circling above aren’t birds at all... but rather, Perytons, a dangerous monstrosity that prefers the taste of elf. They attempt to snatch a few of the convoy members, but with the other guards on the convoy assisting they’re killed. With their vigilant actions, not a single horse or merchant is killed, and the few that are injured are quickly treated. In particular, a young woman whose horse was nearly dragged away becomes enamored with G’houl after he rescues her and her beloved partner. Dahlia, for her part, gets the attention of the young half-elf who had been selling beer from his cart to the other members of the convoy, guaranteeing herself some free drinks later that night.

Once all the horses are checked on, the convoy continues without interruption until they reach the Winding Waters river, where they find a large bridge with guards from Baldur’s Gate stationed to keep trolls from taking up residence below the bridge. Katniss leads a group of hunters in a hunt, including Johnathan Kindheart, who appears to be an enthusiastic hobby hunter, as well as a Goliath woman who seems to be in charge of the carts for the Lionshield Coster. Meanwhile, G’houl reveals one of his more potent spells: Galder’s Tower, summoning a magically-crafted tower, complete with a functioning kitchen and a bath, which instantly makes him popular with the convoy members who are able to enjoy the facilities. Dahlia, meanwhile, is still struggling with the depressing need to hide her Tiefling heritage to maintain anonymity with the Cult of the Dragon Queen. While Dahlia has to force herself to avoid the affections of the beer vendor, she encourages G’houl to seek out the young woman he rescued earlier. Gathering his courage, G’houl finally seeks her out... he meets the attractive, plump young woman caring for the pack animals. She tells him her name is Werond, and she’s a Teamster working for Jundo to care for the animals in the caravan. The two of them have one of the most awkward first “dates” possible, but ultimately G’houl is able to help her relax... with a little help from Dusk.

Meanwhile, Katniss uses a combination of their magic and experience to take charge of the hunt, felling two healthy boars. Johnathan Kindheart, despite his enthusiasm for hunting as sport, settles for small game like pigeons and quayles. However, the Goliath from the Lionshield Coster clearly gets frustrated with Katniss landing all the kills, stepping in front of Katniss to claim one last boar, insisting on carrying the fallen beast on her own. Crude, but the show of skill impresses Katniss as they make their way back to G’houl’s tower... small game and sides cooked inside using the kitchen facilities of his magical tower, while large bonfires are built to cook the boars, the belabored convoy celebrating the first safe night they’ve managed to enjoy since beginning their journey. However, as dinner is being completed, Katniss gets a message through the Stone of Sending from Leosin... he says that the Order of the Gauntlet is clearing out the Fields of the Dead and he also delivers ominous news... the disgraced former Lords’ Alliance member, Iarno Albrek, escaped from prison in Waterdeep over a month ago... lining up with the increased activity of the Cult of Tiamat.

G’houl returns around this time, and after the night’s meal Katniss gathers their allies to reveal what they learned... taking advantage of the privacy in G’houl’s tower. There is some difficulty, however, as Dahlia has been drinking heavily while relaxing at the riverside, entertaining herself by dipping her tail in the water while its hidden by the magic of her Hat of Disguise. She needs help getting into the second floor, and once upstairs she unceremoniously climbs into one of the bath tubs as Katniss reveals what they learned from Leosin. They all suspect that Iarno is the one who warned the Cult about them, but how, exactly, he’s tied to the cult remains to be seen. With this knowledge share everyone splits up to get some sleep, Katniss and Loki sharing a tent together once again.

In the morning, Loki wants to take some time to speak to Radecere, the troubled Deep Gnome she’s spent time gambling with... however, not fully trusting her own ability to comfort others, she brings Dahlia along to assist. They find him eating alone under a large tree, enjoying the shade and eating a simple sandwich. They chat for a bit, but he steers the conversation toward gambling, closing up when it comes to any details about him and his life. However, when Dahlia asks him about his family, she says it with such honesty, such openness... and also with a hint of sorrow as she remembers the tragedy of her own family that it punches through Radecere’s defenses... dropping his sandwich in mid-bite as tears form in his eyes. He confesses that he had a family once, but he lost them long ago, and he blames himself for it. With assurance from Loki and Dahlia that they won’t judge, he finally tells his tale...

Radecere first describes one of the great threats of the Underdark... The Ilithid, or as they’re more commonly known above ground, the Mind Flayers. These strange, alien creatures reproduce by inserting their larva into victims... the victims body used as raw material for the young Ilithid to grow its own body... however, they still retain memories from the host body. He lost his wife to the Ilithid, but when “she” returned, he willingly overlooked the danger... tricking himself into believing somehow this thing is still his wife, deep down. He protected and hid “her”, giving the Ilithid the opportunity to kill everyone else in his village, feasting on some and converting others into more Ilithid. Wracked with guilt, he travels constantly, unable to find peace no matter where he goes. He tells this tale stutteringly, struggling to find the words, speaking between heavy tears and fearful gulps. When he’s finished he looks terrified up at the two of them, convinced that they’ll look down on him as the selfish coward he believes himself to be, but they treat him with kindness and sympathy. He starts to suspect that Loki has let him win a few of their games of chance, and when she playfully denies she would ever do such a thing, Dahlia plays along, claiming Loki is far too selfish to ever lose on purpose. Still with tears in his eyes, Radecere laughs... an intense, joyful belly laugh. The kind of laugh that’s been held back for years, pehaps even decades. Allowing friends to help him bear the burden of his guilt and with that weight lessened he can finally begin to move forward.

Streaming again tonight in about an hour... 5PM PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. We're back to our homebrew campaign of Sacrament with Hazel as the DM. The party has made their way to Tiavet, home of the mysterious Reavers. Read on to see what happened last week...

Corrio passes out in Crush’s arms, and with Fidget’s help he takes Corrio, along with the recently stolen fainting couch, into Kanec’s trophy/training room. No one is quite pleased to have to restrain or lock up Corrio, but there’s not much to be done about it. Once he’s locked in the trophy room, Crush and Fidget check on Fidget’s son, who is happily playing with his toy cane. Fidget expresses surprise that they went to Tiavet, the land of the Reavers, instead of the Elven country of Ortheia. Crush reasons that it’s the logical place to go… Reaver medics are more likely to be able to treat Henri, their school of magic would be more likely to be able to treat Corrio’s curse, and the Reaver WarLord can treat Fidget’s condition. They realize that they should use the anti-magic manacles to restrain, and since Ricky is the one who was last carrying them they step out of the bag to speak to Ricky.

Outside, the land is warm and sandy, with the scent of the ocean filling the air. Ricky’s eyes are glowing with the light of stars, making him worried about being seen by the Reavers, who see that as a sign of the Nightmother. They’re near a sandstone road, with Ash surprised to see such a well maintained road so far from civilization. Ricky and Azure return into the Genie Bag to restrain Corrio, while Kanec suddenly received several magical letters from his father all at once, since they couldn’t arrive while he was in the feywild. One of the letters reveals the date to be the 10 of Tarsakh, almost a month since they first arrived in the Feywild. More worryingly, it reveals that a disease is spreading in the country of Estea, the home country of Ricky and Crush. It’s called “The Brittles”, and those infected act rabid. Even worse, the leaders of Estea are convinced that The Brittles is a viral attack from the Reavers, and war has been officially declared on the Reavers.

Inside the Genie Bag, Ricky and Azure fully restrain Corrio, and make certain that he doesn’t have any of his weapons on him. Ricky then steels himself to speak to his family, uncertain how they’ll take being forcefully taken to another country. When he speaks to them they’re shocked to learn of where they are, but when Ricky and Azure explain why they went here they understand that this is the best place to go considering the circumstances… and Liz in particular is eager to meet more tall, muscular men like Kanec. Gilly isn’t particularly chatty, but she implies that she intends to lecture all of the Grimveils. After some time… Ricky confesses his real feelings. The sorrow he felt worrying about his aunt. The fear that he’s not able to live up to her aspirations for him. How good it feels to finally be back with family. This cools some of the tension, and Ricky uses his magic to produce a healthy breakfast, sitting and relaxing with his family for the first time in years.

Azure, however, is starting the long, daunting task of studying Duncan’s notes. Aside from being in multiple languages, the information is also coded. Luckily, Ricky makes sure to cast Enhance Ability on her as well as giving her inspiration. She’s able to make progress on the research, but it’s difficult and time consuming. The members out of the bag continue to travel… spotting a large black sea viper and, shockingly… the drunken gnome party wagon, which has apparently found its way to Tiavet. It’s being chased by a guard on a strange creature… it has the proportions and silhouette of a horse, but dragonlike features as well. Kanec informs the party that it’s called a “Dorse”, short for Dragon-Horse, and it’s much faster than any traditional horse. However, Ash notices figures hiding in tall bushes… a Reaver bandit steps out, ordering the party to surrender their goods in exchange for their lives. Crush, however, steps forward… giving a dramatic speech threatening the bandits in return. To his surprise, rather than be frightened, the Reaver is impressed… and curious about what Crush even is, as Tortles have never been to Tiavet. He also notices Fidget’s son, and immediately his Reaver instincts kick in and he admires the baby, leaving the party be as he doesn’t want to harm a child.

They finally make their way to Port Tiavet, seeing warships docked. Kanec explains that they’ll need to fill out paperwork explaining who they are and what they’re doing in Tiavet. The guards give them little trouble, although Crush gets a few curious looks. The offices are currently closed, and they take the time to get some food at a nearby fruit stand while they wait for the offices to open at dawn. While it’s still night, however, Ricky finds some privacy and attempts to commune with the Night Mother. Focusing on his connection with her, he experiences a vision of her floating with him in space, floating above the planet of Hearth. He asks her why she hurts the Reavers, and she sorrowfully admits she can’t say. Only stating that sometimes things need to happen in their own way. She warns Ricky to be careful, as the Reavers will instinctively oppose him. Ricky, meanwhile, is more concerned for the Night Mother, sensing her sorrow and loneliness. He promises that he’ll find some way to make things better. She appreciates his kindness and offers him a gift… but warns that it might be more dangerous in the long run, letting Ricky decide if he’s willing to take on the risk. Unsurprisingly, Ricky accepts her gift, trying to hold her hand as the light of the sun moves across the planet, her form dissipating in Sol’s light. As the vision fades he realizes he’s been left with a pendant that glows with the light of a galaxy within. But as the sun rises the glow dulls until it appears as simple silver. Ricky recognizes the symbol of the night mother, remembering from Kanec’s stories of the Night Mother that, when she betrayed Sovereign, the Night Mother’s followers were killed en masse, and their pendants melted down… although he doesn’t know what they were turned into.

With the sun rising the office they need to enter opens as well. Inside they register as visitors and are issued passports. Azure needs to prove that she’s not a Rakshasa… a dangerous demon that resembles a humanoid tiger… although Rakshasa’s have the unique feature of reversed hands with palms facing outward. Liz is charmed by the secretary processing the paperwork for them, flirting with the tall and handsome Reaver. The secretary can also detect that Ash is undead, but Reaver culture does not consider Necromancy as taboo as other countries, and it’s not uncommon for Undead to be used as servants. He is still surprised to meet an autonomous undead like Ash, but the paperwork is able to accommodate her. However, the real challenge arrives with Fidget and his son.

Fidget, on a whim, gives himself the last name of Blackdragon for the purpose of paperwork. He’s able to learn of his children, Fidget Jr. and Sly, who had been sent to Tiavet for safety and were also registered. The two of them had taken the last name of Dagger, and had already moved to the capital city. Ash is registered as Fidget’s wife, and when it comes time to register Fidget’s Son, they realize it’s finally time to give him a proper name… it’s still early by Goblin standards, but Fidget’s new instincts as a Reaver make it impractical to leave his son unnamed for years. Ash suggests the name Cane, since the baby always enjoys playing with Ash’s cane, so much so that Crush carved him a miniature version which he’s always holding. However, when it comes to spelling, Ricky recommends spelling it with a K, officially dubbing him Kane Blackdragon.

Things take a turn, however, when the secretary asks who the child’s birth mother is, seeing as Ash is undead. When told the child’s mother was a siren, he asks what type of siren, and Kanec blurts out that it was a Queen Siren. The secretary is shocked, needing to go to a back room to speak to someone else. There’s some concern that this might be dangerous, but Crush reminds everyone that Reavers would never do anything to harm a child. When the secretary returns he asks if they’re certain of the Mother… Ricky uses a Minor Illusion spell to show the secretary what the Queen Siren looked like, and he admits there’s little chance for foreigners to be able to accurately recreate the appearance of a Siren Queen without seeing one in person. He mentions that the only other Reaver known to be born from a Queen Siren is their leader… The War Lord, and the party hopes that the uniqueness of Kane’s birth will be enough to get an audience with the War Lord, and an official Tiavet birth certificate will help to prove his birthright.

With the paperwork complete, the party realizes they don’t even know how long its been since they last slept… although with the impending war, the inns are likely to be filled. Fortunately, Genie Bags are common in Port Tiavet, and they’re able to rent a safe space to store Kanec’s Genie Bag while they rest inside. However, they still have a serious problem to deal with… they need to feed Corrio, many of the wrestling with the guilt of holding their friend prisoner until they’re able to heal his curse. Corrio berates the party, preying on their insecurities and demanding his release. When they’re able to at least ask him about food, the vegetarian former-cleric demands something with meat, and even implies he’d be willing to eat Ricky. Ricky struggles to hold his tongue, still feeling guilty about what happened to Corrio as he leaves to prepare a vegetarian stew for Corrio… but he still uses his cooking skills to try and give the meal a rich, meaty flavor. Corrio doesn’t attempt to escape, but he still continues to berate his allies… everyone hurries to get some rest so they can start their journey as soon as possible.