Ep 3 | Honey, You Forgot About You! Announcer Guy (Ryan): Last time on the Empire Initiative. Back in Bedegar City, the crew returned to the stable master who had aided them previously. Dart persuaded Rudy to drink the Potion of Domination and proceeded to take his body for a joyride. Meanwhile, Reign and Zevari disguised themselves and headed into town to gather information on the whereabouts of Zola Honeycut. A discreet meeting with a member of the clock revealed that Zola will be publicly executed the very next day, with the Hemp Crusaders be able to rescue her in time. This is episode three. Honey, we forgot about you. MD (Shanna): You guys managed to make your way back. Dart: Uh, what'd you guys learn? Reign: Uh, that really guy is pretty dope, apparently. Dart: You know full well that was me. Zevari: We learned stuff... the lady we gotta save gets executed tomorrow at noon. Dart: Ticking clock scenario. Love those. Zevari: Yeah. So we can break her out. Or it's also possible that we can get to her when they're trying to transport her. MD: Or when they're trying to egg her. Zevari: Yeah! They have no idea who took Saxton, so that's good. Dart: Indeed. Zevari: And the Regent is the former treasurer, Nance. And he's the one that raised all the taxes. Dart: Right. MD: Fuck that guy. Let him let the money guy get into control. And then what is he going to do? Dart: What do you guys think is our best play? Zevari: I think maybe trying to sneak in because the priests have access to the prisoners right before they get executed. So I thought maybe I could disguise myself and I could turn you invisible. Or I could turn three? I could turn two other people invisible at this point. Dart: I have a scroll of invisibility. Zevari: Okay. Reign: We could put the teleportation circle near the gallows or under the gallows. Zevari:I feel it would be hard to make sure that it wouldn't get messed up then, or, stepped on something. Reign: It goes under the stage, Age, right? Because there's a, a hanging part. MD: Yeah. There'd be a, it's basically, so what it would be is there's a wooden stand. It has a trap door. So the prisoner sounds on top of the trap door with the noose. And they dropped the trap door. And so it's it's a rise. There's enough room, you know, for a person to hang. so, I mean, theoretically, you could, if the inside of, the rise is, hollow, you could get underneath it and make a teleportation circle, and she would technically be inside of it, even if she's not touching the ground. Reign: If we were, when we teleported her, would you teleport out of the noose? Or would we have to cut the noose? Because I just don't want to, teleport her if it’s yanking her. MD: Well, it's not uh, her or her clothing. So it wouldn't teleport with her. Reign: Okay. MD: Or I guess maybe the rope would teleport, but nothing, the gallows wouldn't teleport. Zevari: It's just the rope. here. MD: Yeah, it might just be, torn by the fabric of magic or something. Reign: It's just an idea. Because if she falls, then it could be a last resort situation. Zevari: Yeah. Reign: She falls, it grabs…grab her before she does the gravity thing. And then. Zevari: Get the hell out of there. Reign: Get out of there. Zevari: We could check out the gallows and see if they're hollow. And so I think that's definitely worth it. Dart: I once saw a fantastic play about a man who escapes the gallows by sabotaging the noose, so that when he falls through the trapdoor, he lands on a horse drawn carriage and rides away. So, it seems like a feasible plan to me. Reign: It'd be cool if one of us could pose as the guy who just felt the noose putting on… MD: The executioner. Reign: The executioner. How do we become the executioner? Dart: That was my only potion of domination. Plus they wouldn't. I would, only you could. Reign: Or I could with very special circumstances. But we could pose as them. And then you could Mask of Many Faces. Be the executioner. Zevari: Yeah, she looks a little nervous about it, but I. That's something I could do. Dart: If in the night we could sabotage the noose and then hide under the stage and make the circle, we could just wait. We wouldn't have to do anything else. We wouldn't have to fight anybody or anything. Just as soon as she dropped through and the noose broke because we sabotaged it. She landed on the ground. We'd activate the circle and poof! Zevari: I probably could send Daru to nom on the rope a little bit. Dart: I mean, presuming we can turn invisible. I feel we could get. And we have to get access to the stage because we have to be under it when things go down Reign: Or we're on top of it invisible, and we cut the rope and jump down. And then when they're all in there, you land down and in your superhero landing and you hit the teleport. Dart: The reason I like the being under the stage idea is because when we disappear, no one but Rudy will ever be over there. Reign: Okay. Do you think that there are people in the clock who are going to make an attempt to attack? Because there could be a nice distraction? Zevari: I don't think so. Reign: Because, if you think that there are… Dart: I don't want to get them killed. Reign: I don't want to get them killed either. But if they're already planning to do something. Zevari: She made it seem like nobody was going to try to get close. Reign: Okay. MD: She said, because they're all worried about being killed on site. So? Reign: So, yeah, we can just be not in sight. MD: You guys aren't recognized members of the clock. So even if they…but you guys are wanted, aren’t you? Nevermind. Yeah, you’re wanted. Reign: Mhm. MD: So you have to be out of sight in some way. Zevari: Out of sight or disguised. MD: Yeah. Reign: Hiding again. MD: It does also say here that the priests of Saint Verona, uh, are also allowed…are also allowed to speak to the guilty on the gallows just before hanging. So that's another. That's another time when the priests would be, very near the prisoners. And then there's obviously guards and an executioner. So there's a lot of different people that could be potential disguises, I guess a lot of, other types of people. Uh, so, yeah. And then there's always the option of trying to go into the prison itself. If you are stealthy enough, you could probably break her out of her cell. Reign: Might be able to break other people out. MD: Mhm. Zevari: If I posed as an executioner or one of the priests, I think that is what you said. If I can touch her, I can use dimension door and just teleport us down. Reign: Mhm. Zevari: To say if it's below the gallows, I can just teleport us down instantly and then we can get out of there. Reign: Is it a spot that you have to see? Zevari: You teleport yourself from your current location to any other spot within range. You arrive exactly at the spot desired. MD: It doesn't say you can see within range or just the spot within range. Zevari: It can be a place you could see, one you can visualize, or one you can describe by stating distance and direction. Reign: Okay. MD: So there you go. Yeah. Zevari: So that's an option. That's an option. MD: That's interesting because it would be really quick. Reign: Before the noose is even on. MD: Because you could have Reign ready the teleportation. Reign: Yeah. that's if they're going to be expecting someone to attack and all of a sudden... Dart: Why would they be expecting someone to attack? Reign: Maybe because she's a big member of the clock. MD: Yeah, it's hard to say what they're expecting, but, it wouldn't be far-fetched for them to think that somebody would attack. Reign: I'm nervous about it being so close to the end Of our time. You know, if we mess up, she dies. There's no… There's no room for error, is what I'm trying to say. Dart: If we try to break into the prison, there's a much higher chance of things getting messy. Reign: Okay. You're right. Dart: It's just we can go that route, but it'll have its own complications. MD: There's probably a lower chance of her dying. But yeah. You're right. There you go. a higher. Definitely a higher chance of other complications. Most likely. I mean, we'll say that you do, you know, get caught when you're trying to rescue her at the gallows, you know, that doesn’t mean she instantly dies the second the timer is up. Dart: I was gonna say, can I Kevin Costner it where I use my bow and arrow to shoot through the rope all Robin Hood style? MD: Yeah, well, you could try. Reign: My other concern is that, too, is that there's probably going to be a lot of guards and stuff at that moment. MD: There definitely will be guards. Yeah. For sure. Reign: Versus in transport, there will be less guards. Can we have like.. MD: So I mean, there will definitely be guards at transport though for sure. Reign: Do you think there'll be more at the gallows than transport? Dart: Well, here's the thing.. MD: It’s hard to say. Dart: I think we should go to the gallows in the middle of the night and see if we're able to access, because if we are without much complication, then we can make this real easy on ourselves and nearly guarantee success, in my opinion. I mean, it's never guaranteed, but it's really good odds. Reign: Okay. Dart: And if we see that it's not accessible, then we can always go to the prison and see what we can make of it. Reign: Sounds like a plan. Let's go. MD: You guys are gonna wait until the evening and go check out the gallows? Dart: We’re gonna wait till nightfall. MD: Karina’s like, feel free to use the room. Just, you know. Don't make a big deal out of it. I don't draw attention. Reign: Yeah, of course, Karina (Shanna): If you want to hang out in the room until it's time, you can do that. I don't have any books or anything, though. Reign: It's okay. I have a book I'm supposed to read. MD: Yeah, you could get a couple hours in. Reign: Yeah, I got a couple hours in my book. MD: Hell yeah! There you go. Reign: Then, I’d have to start. I've committed. MD: Oh, now you have to keep going. Reign: Mhm. My manual of quickness. Zevari: I want to read some of my book. MD: The tome of leadership and influence? Zevari: I've kept track of how many hours I've spent reading. MD: Oh, but have you been reading it lately? Zevari: Yeah. MD: hmmm…All right. I don’t remember. but yeah, I mean, however. However you guys want to use this time, it passes. It's boring. Karina, clips her toenails for forty five minutes at one point. It's a very involved process. She's kind of a strange person. Reign: Spend forty eight hours over a six day period. MD: Okay, you can do it. You can do it. Reign: How many hours do we read? MD: So, I mean, if you guys just, read the whole time, you could probably get a good amount in. Because I always thought it was It was probably four or five o'clock. I mean, you could probably get a good five, five, six hours in, depending on how late at night you want to go. Maybe you want to go in the a m hours that you know where it's when it's still dark. if you want to go, one a m, it'd be six hours. Reign: That sounds good. MD: Yeah. So you get a good six hours of reading and roll to see how interesting that you find it. Reign: Fifteen. MD: Fifteen. It's not as bad as you thought it would be at all. Reign: Yeah, there's a lot more pictures and graphs. So it's I feel a little bit more gratified going through the pages. I got through six chapters. I feel that's how I'm gonna track it. MD: Yeah. That's awesome. Uh, yeah. And it's got, what little comic strips. Reign: Yeah. And how, exercises and stretches. MD: Demonstrations and big arrows. Reign: Yeah. So Reign is basically reading and just stretching for the working out, but basically doing all the stretches to get ready for the warming up for her, the and the stealthy sneakiness, MD: The stealthy stealthiness. but yeah, I mean, so if you guys are comfortable with it, I will move us to the evening where you guys will go to the plaza, which is represented by the TV screen here to the gallows, which is represented by this paper here. The place with the gallows is against the wall that goes around the castle. And on one of the sides of the one, on one of the sides of the wall, there's kind of a somewhat somewhat residential area and there was a plaza there. And that's where the gallows are. so it's roughly in that part of town, which is sort of towards the middle, because it's not difficult to find. And, uh, there's. Actually, let's say that I was over here. Because there's, there's, buildings just right, you know, right outside and there's merchants. There's merchant carts out. Like empty merchant carts placed out. And, it's I mean, it's the middle of the night. There isn't there isn't anyone there currently. Because you guys said you were waiting until, 1 a.m.. There's some activity going on in the house nearby, but there's no one outside. Reign: I want to investigate. under the gallows. Is it boarded off? Is it? Is there a curtain? Is it open? MD: So it is boarded off underneath? it is 15ft high. The platform is 15ft, so it's tall. And if there's panels. If that makes sense. Big wooden panels all along the front and the sides that kind of close in underneath. Reign: Uh, and then the back of it is the back of it, a wall with water? MD: It's brick. It's up against the brick wall. And then so there are these two large posts which the gallows hangs from, basically. And then this is the trapdoor in the middle that gets pulled. There's a, there's a lever. Reign: I’m assuming they didn't leave any rope. The rope is not there. They're bringing the rope with them. I’m assuming. MD: There's no rope yet. It's just a frame. Reign: I wonder if there's a way to make a little platform that's Well, no, because we're going to. Okay, we need to get under there or see what's under there and see if it's even possible to align with the studs in the ground. The teleportation circle. Zevari: Somebody breaks this, I can put it back together. Looks like we were never here. Reign: Reign cracks her knuckles and shows off her diamond studded, brass knuckle things. MD: Yeah, Diamond Knuckles. Diamond knuckles. Reign: I'll break it. But, not loudly, because I don't want to draw suspicion. MD: That makes sense. Zevari: Don't be suspicious. MD: Go ahead and make an attack. Also under the stairs there is a triangular panel. Reign: Ummmmmm….. MD: It’s an unarmed strike. Reign: It would be a 19. MD: Okay. So. Yeah. You hit that bitch hard. Well, No. Then let me resume. MD: Go ahead and make a stealth check. Reign: Ugh.. God Zevari: “You’ve got this..” and she will awkwardly give you guidance. Reign: Okay.. *Rolls Dice*. Well, even with guidance, I will have to use my inspiration. *Rolls Dice again* Reign: Now I want to use my other one.. I’m gonna use both of them.. Because I feel this is.. I don't want to.. Because that would be eight plus 1D4.. Zevari: Eight? Reign: Yeah. Zevari: Damn. Before I rolled a seven and that would’ve been seven plus five. So I'm gonna use my.. We were given two inspirations for epic role playing. So I'm going to burn my other one because this is important.. we need to not fuck this up. All right. 12 plus 5.. 17. Zevari: There we go. MD: Okay. So yeah you hit it so swiftly and skillfully that it just makes a crack. But it's not super loud. Dart: Can I just walk on stage and just open the trapdoor? MD: You could try that. Dart: Sure. MD: All right. so if you walk up to it.. Reign: Mr. Fancy Pants over there! You’re gonna fall 15ft! Dart: I have Aerial Agility.. Zevari: Mr. fancy ability over there. MD: So there is, right next to the pole, there is a lever in the ground. It has a housing around it. How will you be opening the door? Dart: It's got a lever. MD: Yeah. Dart: I’m gonna pull that lever. MD: Okay, so it's a squeeze and pull. And you pull the lever. It's a little bit hard to pull, but.. And you feel it kind of resist. The door.. The trap door splits, open in the middle. And, once it starts to open, it kind of goes. It goes *whoosh* really quick, if that makes sense. It kind of gets stuck right.. right at the.. right when it starts to move. And then it flies open really quickly. I mean, yeah, it's just you look, if you look down at it, it's just it's a roughly 15 foot drop into, dirt. Dart: I'll go down there. Reign: How loud was that? I'm being sassy. I shouldn't have said anything. Uh. I'm sorry. MD: I feel it's a little bit louder than.. Louder than what you did, but, probably not loud enough to be.. Reign: I mean he’s stealthy as fuck so.. MD: It doesn’t arouse suspicion. Reign: I’m just being salty. MD: Yeah. So, But. Yeah. So, I mean, you get down there and Reign? I assume you're getting in as well. Reign: Indeed. MD: Underneath, I mean, it's scaffolding. There's basically.. so underneath the scaffolding it kind of goes you know like this. And then there are some that have bars, but not all of them do. So there's kind of a path, if that makes sense, but that you can actually walk through, whereas a lot of them are reinforced with these parallel bars. So there's not a ton of.. like immediately there's a lot of support underneath of it. So there's not a ton of maneuverability under here. If that makes sense. Zevari: Is it.. would it be reasonable to be able to get.. to draw a teleportation circle down here? Is there a space big enough for that? MD: How..? We'll figure out how big the teleport circle is.. I think ten feet. Zevari: Which would just be a five feet..? Maybe? Oh! Ten foot diameter circle on the ground. MD: It's diameter, not radius? Zevari: Yeah, I have it pulled up right here. You can take a look. See? MD: Sure. Yeah, because it usually says radius and not.. Yep. Okay, so.. Exactly under the trap door is the only place where there's enough space.. Zevari: Perfect MD: ..to easily put a teleportation circle down. You could maybe squeeze it somewhere else where it's partially under the lower scaffolding, if that makes sense. But you'd have to.. you'd have to find a weird spot for it.. other than that. But the only obvious spot, Reign, would be right.. right under the trap door. And you just see.. you just see Dart drop down.. Reign: And then I’m like “The fuck? I mean.. I see you. Yeah. You're right”. And she puts the door down or the wall down.. She just broke it Zevari: Zavari mends it. Reign: Yeah. Sorry. MD: It smells really.. It's not.. I mean obviously it's.. you're just in this little.. dirt building. It smells really, uh, what’s the word? Goddamn. It smells dirt. It smells ground. Earthy, I guess. Zevari: Pungent? MD: Pungent. And there is a little bit of.. It's kind of dark. But you guys have dark vision, right? Reign:Mhm. MD: Yeah. So in the corner, over here, there's a big mass of.. it looks hair or hay. Kind of bundled up in a sort of a, a wreath almost. And there's kind of a hole going into it. Dart: I'm sorry. Could you repeat that? MD: There’s some sort of, uh, mass of hair and hay in this corner? It's not super big. It's Maybe this.. This big. I'm gesturing about two feet of just gunk, hair and hair and whatnot, and there's, a hole going into it. Zevari: Should we poke it? Reign: Mhm? Dart: Right. Rachel: So then they just cut the body down and drop it down and whatever's down here eats the body? Zevari: Do you even know if that thing's alive? Reign: “There's a hole.. I'm assuming that’s its home”. That's what Reign is thinking. Zevari: Can I.. send Daru over just to make a quick investigation check about it? MD: Yeah. Zevari: Got a 9.. MD: Daru is spooked. Zevari: Brother ugh! Oh. I'm sorry, Daru come back. I'm sorry.. MD: But as Daru starts to come back to you.. From inside the nest are two little beady eyes glowing in the darkness. And then another two eyes.. And another two eyes.. and another two eyes.. And a single rat kind of pokes its head out. Zevari: A rat? MD: It just kind of.. it's not doing shit, but it's like “fuck's going on here”. And it looks like an older sort of chubby rat with some gray.. Reign: A middle-aged dad/rat? Zevari: I do not have ‘Speak with Animals’. MD: “What the hell's going on out here”? Nobody can speak with animals, so we don't get to do that here. Zevari: Aw.. MD: But.. Dart: Animals don't technically speak a language, do they? MD: They don't. Dart: Alright.. *jokingly* I throw my Crimson Mist at him. MD: It completely devours them up. And then turns on you. Dart: And then I coax it back into the jar with my soft nature. MD: You could try.. It’s worth a shot. Dart: It's the most insane thing I've ever heard. Zevari: You can technically try anything. Yeah, true. Yeah. Just release the Crimson Mist in a small area like that too.. where you guys can't really get away. Reign: That's fine. Dart: Okay, let me think. Zevari: Maybe we should just ignore them, so long as they don't do anything to us. Reign: Maybe just throw them some food? Zevari: Yeah.. Dart: I guess I'm a little worried that their scurrying around could damage our teleportation circle.. And make it non-functional at a critical moment, which would not be ideal. Two instincts at this point. One, the noose isn't here. And our plan kind of heavily hinges on the idea that we can sabotage the noose so that when she falls through the trap door.. she's not hanging to death.. Reign: Or.. she becomes a priest or an executioner. And dimension doors down. Zevari: Yeah. Dimension door has a range of 500ft, so that's not too bad. MD: And we had discussed that. You don't have to see where you're.. Zevari: Yeah. You don't have.. You just have to know, or be able to describe where it is you're trying to go. Reign: We do have my paint. I could paint it and it would become hard. MD: That's true. You could do that. Yeah. They don’t eat paint. Zevari: That's really cool, actually. Reign: But Daru would have to fuck with it so no one would follow us. MD: Oh, it wouldn't be able to.. wouldn't be able to. It's probably not a super hard substance, but it's hard enough, if that makes sense Zevari: Or if we immediately, on the other end, we could mess up.. Mess it up when we come back home. Reign: I did think about .. we should put our teleportation circle in the jail cell so that we have.. We can check.. Zevari: Check that shit out immediately.. Do you have to have a background check? We have to have background checks. MD: At this point, you can't be too careful in this. Reign: In this castle.. I almost said “In this economy?”. Zevari: But we are the economy. Reign: We are the economy! That's what I was going to say but I was like “Wait a minute. I shouldn't say that”. MD: Yeah, Lord Dart is making passive income right now. Reign: Mhm. Reign: But it's going back to the people.. Zevari: Once we do something with it. MD: I mean Dart is people. Reign: Okay. Okay okay. MD: That's why it's justice.. because it's just us. Zevari: Oh my God. Reign: It's like talking to Zevari about Asmodeus. I get it. Note to self. MD: Just right away. Reign: Yup. Yup. Zevari: You hear the word Asmodeus fly out from her mouth and you’re like, Please don't. Reign: Listen and acknowledge just to make sure Zevari: You feel heard. Reign: And that you feel heard. Zevari: Save that with a bold question mark with it, as well. Reign: Your mother has already said that she would send the force of the Umbermoor army on me if anything has happened to you. So I… Zevari: Well, obviously nothing's happened. I'm totally fine…………THE SILENCE!.....I'm totally fine. Reign: Are you though? Zevari: Yeah! Reign: Okay. Zevari: I'm just about cutting my hair.. Reign: Again? Zevari: Like all of it. Reign: I mean, girl, you do you. Whatever you feel you're in control or you feel you're in control of your hair. Do it. We can get you some wigs. Morag probably could… Zevari: Wigs? I don’t need wigs! Reign: This is true. Show off the horns. Zevari: I’m still a little self-conscious about them. Reign: So we're having a discussion under the gallows? MD: With the little rats looking at you. Reign: Sprinkle’s origin story. MD: Oh my God. send the rest to Ravenloft. Zevari: Phephii will know what to do with them. Reign: So. So… We could always… Someone could stay here under or two people stay here under just to make sure that the circle stays safe. Zevari: Dart would be on patrol. Reign: Indeed. My other thought too, was maybe we could find a priest and follow him home for you to. Because I don't know if we're going to find out who the executioner is or how do we get you to be a priest? If we follow a priest home and assume their identity, then other priests going in and out of the… Zevari: I imagine priest priests have free reign to do whatever they want. Reign: So, is it common for priests to be there that they have no idea who they are? Zevari: To confess their last sins and… Reign: You can be a priest from the church of Asmodeus. Or probably not. Zevari: Probably not. They probably do more of a Pelor thing here, I'm guessing. MD: It is... There is an answer for that. Zevari: The priests? MD: Yeah. Zevari: Oooo. MD: Saint Verona, their priest of Saint Verona. These are not the weird Saxons priests, if that makes sense, that were in the Star chamber. These are just priests of Bedegar. So, Verona is a good alignment. And I mean, they wear robes of Saint Verona. Reign: I feel we’re also going to need the robes, right? Zevari: I just need to see the robes. Reign: Yeah. MD: Make a history check, Zevari. Zevari: Oh, no! 10. MD: You haven't seen. You don’t know what they look like. Zevari: Damn. Reign: Should we go to the prison or.. Zevari: Were these the same priests that were involved that were going into the prison earlier? Reign: We didn't see them. MD: You didn't see any priests going there. Zevari: Oh, yeah. Whoopsie. MD: But they're not the same priests as the ones that were going into the Star Chamber. Zevari: Okay. Reign: I mean, if we are able to sneak a peeky peek over at the prison and see some going in and going out… Zevari: That's all I need to do is just be able to see it and I can recreate it. Reign: Can you see it through Daru? Zevari: Mhmm. Reign: Because you can just send Daru over to the prison. Zevari: Yeah, I can do that. Reign: Or is there a church or something there? MD: Presumably there's churches in town as well. Reign: We just know that there's someone going there frequently going to the prison. MD: Well, so they're allowed to go to the prison to visit people who are about to be sentenced to death. There's probably not any there now, you know, because it's the middle of the night. It's kind of I mean, it's likely that you'll see one. And, uh, you were told that there would be priests with the procession, with the, with the, the escort because a priest usually speaks with the person that is to be executed right before they're executed. But yeah, there is presumably, I said, there's oh, there's there's presumably churches down. Or at least there was. Reign: Do we know if there is a clock phrase or a symbol? Zevari: The clock is always ticking. Reign: The clock is always ticking. Or is there something that we could say to her or get a message to her somehow for her to know that we're on your side? Yeah. So you're if you pose as a priest so that she can be that one's my priest. Zevari: As far as I remember. Uh, the clock is always ticking was their phrase. Reign: The clock is always ticking. The clock was always listening?.. Zevari: Or something? The clock is… MD: The clock is always ticking. It's something you've heard them say a lot. Yeah. I'm kind of a catch phrase. Almost. Zevari: Okay. MD: You don't know if that's a code that they would use, but you do know that they say that and that it does identify them to at least people who aren't a member of the clock, if that makes sense. Reign: You just have to be very careful so that people don't hear you say it. Except for her. Zevari: Yeah. I can do that. Reign: So what are we going to do about here with these rats? Dart: I think that we're hard pressed for time to make this priest plan work out. I don't know how we're going to do it. My feeling is that we either need to while we still have some night time left, find the church that has these priests in it so that we can disguise you. Because I think, given my frog nature and your chair, we're not going to be very disguisable. So you'd have to go on your own to do that. I don't know how comfortable you feel doing. Reign: She can send Daru. Dart: No, I mean. If she's going to go into the prison, she'll have to go without us. Reign: Well, I wasn’t saying for her to go into the prison. I would so that she can join the people and come up… Zevari: With the procession? Reign: The procession, not the prison. We were just. We were trying to figure out where we could find the priests. And we. We were told that the priests go in and out of prison or sometimes go into the prison. Zevari: Yeah. Dart: Yeah, that's what I'm saying is… MD: But that's not the only place you find a priest. Dart: But that's the time when the priests are supposed to be with the prisoner as they go and visit them to give them last rites before they're taken to be executed. They don't do it on the stage. MD: Well, they do. They said that the priest will pray for them, right before. Well, has an opportunity to speak to them right before they pull the lever. Dart: Oh. Zevari: Yeah. I was thinking if we went that route, that could be my opportunity to be like, “The clock is always ticking,” or something and dimension door out of there. MD: Imagine if you can dimension door right underneath. Zevari: Yeah. MD: So that then you could just teleport. Zevari: Mhm. Dart: Okay. MD: In which case, you know you two would just need to wait. Dart: I have an idea. Okay. The first thing we need to do is go and find one of these priests so that you are able to disguise yourself. Zevari: Yep. I just need to see him. Dart: Because once you know what the disguise looks and you're able to do it, we can all hide under the stage. We can have that panel you removed just be loose so that when it's time for them to come out, you can just pop on out and join the procession on stage. Plain and simple. Zevari: Yeah. Dart: The second half of my plan you guys are gonna love. Because I've had these in my inventory for a while. I have smoke grenades. So you could say, get on stage with her. Say the clock is always ticking. Smoke grenade. Dimension door. Teleport away. Bing bang! Boom. The whole thing is done. Nobody knows who did it. And we're gone. Zero witnesses, zero combat. Reign: I shoot my wand of beans off. As we go. Dart: Just remember… Zevari: Just as a final saying. Dart: We are trying to take over this place in a peaceful manner. I feel if we drop a pyramid and kill everyone in town right before.. MD: It doesn’t always happen. Dart: I'm just saying it could. It's the only reference I know from your show. Girlies: *Laugh* Fair. Dart: I'm just saying it seems unnecessary because we're gonna, come back and be hey, we liberated Bedegar. We got Edmond back. He's slightly less of a douchebag now. It's going to be awesome. Yay! Reign: We haven't killed anybody. Party: Yay! Reign: Good guy win. Okay. MD: We’re putting Saxton on trial…like real good guys! Reign: I just want the beans. Dart: We're gonna get our opportunity to use the wand of beans. Undoubtedly. We're going to fight… Reign: Reign has been hanging out with the church too long because she thought of a real sadistic way… Dart: We’re going to go fight for… Zevari: You have not been hanging out with Zevari’s side of the church… Reign: Nope. Dart: So I guess the first thing to do is to go try to find the church that contains the Saint Verona people, usually. Zevari: Yeah, I can send Daru. You can fly around. I can look through Daru's eyes. MD: Yeah. I mean, if you're just doing that, then, it just happens. It's just. It's just a matter of time. I mean, yeah, nobody's really looking for Daru. Especially at night. Nobody’s fuckin… Zevari: Nobody's checking for Daru. MD:Yeah! Dart: Yeah, but they're gonna be inside the church, right? Zevari: If there is a church… Dart: If there is a church… Reign: It's an open air church… MD: Umm… yes. You you do find three closed down churches. They're kind of boarded up. Reign: Oh, yeah. MD: But one of them has a light coming from behind the boards, and the windows are all smashed. Daru (Samaria): Daru is going to just sneakily, stealthily in a Daru like manner creep on in there… Dart: I should have cast Pass Without Trace on us. Daru (Samari): Ooh. I'm gonna use my inspiration. MD: Oh, we're rolling low tonight. Daru (Samaria): Please, Please! Yeah. What the fuck? Sorry. Never mind. I rolled a 19 without any modifiers. MD: Okay. So, Daru kind of wiggles his little body in between some boards and kind of sneaks in. So. Yeah. so the inside of the church is intact. There's pews, you know, and whatnot, and there's about ten or so people. Oh, and two priests and, uh, a couple, one of the priests is is leaving one of them in the wake. And, I mean, he's, talking to…He's talking to someone. an older man who is missing a leg, and he, it looks kind of you know, very, skinny and sort of malnourished. And he's talking with the priest and, you know, they're just, you know, discussing something. Basically, he's talking about his life and how the system has failed him, basically. Daru (Samaria): I can hear that. MD: He's you know, he's also saying, you know, and he's the old man's kind of going on a rant, right? he's kind of getting passionate and he's you know, honestly, thank you for still still helping us. even though, you know, I know that you're risking potential persecution for operating the church still. This church has always been a second home to me. and especially now that I've lost my home. Uh, losing this church, too, was just awful. Devastating. Devastating. *coughs* Daru (Samaria): Two things. Hearing this person spill their heart out to the priest. It makes Zevari, feel almost warm inside. She wants to be that person for the people in her church. MD: The priest is a he is a he looks to be a man and is maybe mid to late 30s. And he has a very soft, kind face. And he is holding he reaches out and holds the man's hand and is you know, all we can do is pray for things to change and, you know. Trust in Saint Verona. They may shut down the churches, but that will never stop us from worshiping. It'll never stop us from serving the people. Yeah. So then that's basically what it says. Daru (Samaria): And then the other thing. What does he look like? MD: The priest? Daru (Samaria): Yeah. MD: The priest. So yeah. I said, mid to late 30s. Very kind of soft. He's kind of got a baby face… Daru (Samaria): Mhm. You know what kind of garb. MD: ..and he's a little bit chubby. Just a little. and the garb that he is wearing, he is wearing a grey robe and it has a, it has a green, sort of stitching along all the edges. Daru (Samaria): Mhm. MD: But it's very, it's pretty plain and you know, it's not, it's not extravagant or fancy or anything. It's like humble. Daru (Samaria): Unlike her robes. MD: Yeah. It just says, it says ruff spun grey cloth robe. Daru (Samaria): The robes for Asmodeus are way more extravagant than that. MD: But. Yeah. Yes. And the priest lowers it so you can see that he is, a little bit bald on top, he has, you know, sparse hair. but, yeah, I mean, he just looks like a really nice guy. He speaks very softly. Dart: I don't know why, but I was kind of hoping that the Saint Verona gear was going to be sports jerseys. I was going to say Saint Verona at an angle across the chest. And they're Father Chuck number eight on the back. MD: That’s what it should have been. Reign: Damn. Patreon merch. Oh. That's good. Dart: Father Chuck had a kind face and a wicked jump shot. MD: So, this guy is Father Chuck now. Daru (Samaria): Okay. Well, I’ve got what I need. Daru will listen in for just a little bit longer. But if nothing really interesting comes about, Zevari will phase out. MD: Well, the old man starts talking about his late wife and his daughter, who he hasn't seen in years. She cut contact with him and he's, “I just don't understand why. Just don't get it. She kept telling me she wanted to be a they/them, and I was that doesn't make any sense. You're only one person. Daru (Samaria): Oh my God, womp womp. MD: Yeah. Hey, even shitty people need help. Okay. Yeah. So. And, uh, the priest is like, “You know, I think we should stay away from those topics.” Dart: Who are those people you don't again? Oh, them foreigners. I think you got the pronoun thing down. All right. Cool. MD: And he dabs a bit of sweat off his forehead. He's working overtime. Yeah, he's working overtime. Yeah. I was oh, my God, this guy. But yeah. And then, if you're the Daru hangs out for a little while longer, the old man transfers into his wheelchair and goes and spins to a corner where there's cots set up. He goes to go to bed. Okay, well, I will phase back down in and, “Okay, I gotta disguise.” *Level Up Noise* Ham Fact It Up! Reign: So at 14, 15. Reign. So, Reign became disabled at 12. She woke up from a nap and took walk. And so from then on, she hated naps. My advice to her would be. Being a boss bitch is exhausting. Take some motherfucking naps. MD: That's good advice. That is good advice. Reign: Take a nap. But not while we're playing. Thanks. Pinna (Shanna): If I had to give advice to my younger self, I would give advice to me, like, at least a couple of months ago. And I would say, whatever you do. Always bring your spellbook with you. Even if you're just going next door or down the street or to a show. Bring your spellbook. You do not want it to go missing. And that's because if I hadn't forgotten my if I had left my spellbook at home, I may have never been kidnapped and dragged into the Underdark and mine controlled by, uh, that deep sea creature that beyond comprehension. Thank you. I'm becoming slightly better at, uh, you know, spell casting. I'm almost ready, I think. You guys should take me on a mission sometime. Reign: Well, we have a pretty big mission coming up that we would like some assistance on. Pinna: Oh, yeah?! Reign: We'll talk about it later. Pinna: OKAY! Reign: Not when we’re Ham Factin’. Pinna: All right, all right. You're right. Dart: I think I would tell my younger self that you don't need to find a mate to have a family. Reign: These are, like, pretty good. MD: That’s fire! I don't know why, I just felt like it. Zevari: Zevari would tell herself just from a few months ago, I know you are lost and scared, but you don't have to be. You have somebody in your corner. You just need to let him in. To go against him is to deny yourself. Stop hurting yourself. And so she would tell herself from the beginning of the adventure. MD: We are all deeply disturbed. Thank you. Zevari: Yay YAY!!! Thank you. Thank you. Dart: Read my upcoming book, it's called Chicken Soup for the Bullywug Soul. MD: Patreon content. Reign: Get writin’, Ryan. MD: Get writin’. *Table laughs* Ham Fact It Down… Reign: I'm sorry I’m doing this…I know it's really late, but I messaged both Eula Poppinov and Willoby Twobuckle? MD: Okay, Yeah! Reign: Heyyyyyyyyyyy. I know it's 2 a.m., but, Right. No kidding. but really, uh, I know we're really not part of the crew, and this could be life or death for Zola, so we I just. Are there any visual cues that we could give Zola to, not tip the people around us off, but to tip her off if Zevari is with her. But translated better than what I just said. Dart: I thought we already knew about the clock is ticking. Reign: I know, but I… MD: You want check. You want to see if there's anything else, maybe a visual. Reign: Yeah, because I'm just thinking, the thieves guild they have, the two earring situation. Right? Is that or there's… MD: I don't know if Reign would know that… Reign: Reign doesn't know that. But… MD: But there are other visual cues. Yeah. Reign: The scraps. My scraps. MD: Exactly. Reign: The Scraps. Uh, knows that Reign. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So she's looking at do you have any visual cues? I could just signal that we're with them, with you, and then we're there to help? Either that we could do in the distance or, on her person. MD: Okay. Yeah. While Zevari is doing that, it actually only takes a few minutes for you to get a response. Eula Popinov actually responds. So, she’s like, “well, you're certainly up later. You're feeding an infant like I am? Just kidding. I know that you're not. And anyway, yeah, tell your people to wear two rings on their left ring finger and flash it and tap it six times. Exactly. Each tap a second apart like a ticking clock. Tick tick tick tick tick tick. Dart: Very subtle. Now, we got to go jewelry shopping in the middle of the night. Reign: ehhh…Zevari probably has some. MD: I guess six times a slot? Three times. Tick tick tick. Probably, yeah, because that would be too far. Too slow. Zevari: It's subtle. *Laughter* Dart: I think we should just get right in her face and be like this is going to be way more fun than you're expecting. Reign: It would be different if it was Dart. Dart: Yeah. The executioner is like…*gestures* Zevari: Two thumbs up. MD: If you have a watch to show? Reign: Do you have a pocket watch or something? Zevari: I can make myself have one with my disguise. And with my armor that takes form however I want it to. Dart: Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. MD: *Mockingly* I can have whatever I want. Zevari: That's right. She's mentally ill. Reign: *Mockingly* I'm also dating the DM. No, I'm not just kidding. Zevari: I'm not the stereotypical girl. MD: Is a watch really clothing? Zevari: I'm fighting the allegations. MD: That's why I crit you the most. Zevari: Because you'd be fucking trying to kill me. Reign: Yeah, but at the beginning, it took you a long time to hit me at all. Zevari: Yeah, it did take a while. MD: Your armor class was ridiculous. Zevari: It still is, baby. MD: There were several sessions out where you just did not get hit. But I was swinging. Zevari: You were missin’...wide swing….wide swing… Reign: Swerve. Dart: Oh, man. Zevari: She's made up for it now. She crits me so often. Dart: I'm just wearing one of these. *Shows picture of a sundial clock to room.* MD: Yeah! A sundial?! Yes. I’d be fine with Dart having a sundial watch. Dart: It's the middle of the night and I’m like, “I have no idea what time it is.”. Zevari: Write that down in character details. MD: But yeah. So you have the costume. You have the information. I feel… Reign: We have the courage. MD: Yeah, you have the courage. Great. Reign: I'm glad this is another video. MD: What are you guys doing? Uh, with the, uh, the circle. Reign: So I could just draw it then. I know how to draw, right? MD: Probably at this point. Yeah. You have, a reference. The reference is on the scroll. Reign: Yeah. MD: So you just… Reign: I feel like what I would need to do is… MD:...look at the scroll and draw that particular one. Reign: What if I watered down the paint? MD: Would be it be softer? Reign: Would it be softer? Zevari: It's jello. MD: Sure. Why not? Reign: That's a technique, right, where you just add water? And that's how you lighten instead of adding white. That's what you do in watercolors. You just keep adding more water, and it makes it lighter. MD: Sure. I’m here for it. Yeah! You know, it's a thin paint, so. Okay. Reign: Just a little bit. And then so that at least it'll be a little bit more rigid. But then Daru can mess with it. MD: Like a jelly circle kind of? Reign: Yeah. Zevari: Gelatinous. Reign: It's blue so it’s blue raspberry. Dart: I need to reset the trapdoor so it doesn't appear that people have been there. MD: Oh, yeah. You do need to reset the trapdoor. Zevari: Would mending fix that? Dart: I mean you just gotta close it. I just used it. MD: You just gonna crank the lever the other way. Zevari: It’s like Soulja Boy. MD: So you're drawing the circle just right underneath. Right here. Is that what you're doing? Reign: I'm sorry? MD: You're just drawing the circle, right here. Right underneath. Reign: I'm just really concerned. Zevari: We can also have Daru stay down here. Be on rat patrol. Reign: I'm not concerned about them following this. I'm concerned about her getting to us. And we just.. we watch her hang… MD: Yeah… Zevari: We gotta be faster than that. Dart: They're not even gonna get the chance to put the noose on her neck. She's gonna walk up… Zevari: If she dies, we have a way to resurrect her. Reign: Oh, let’s go. Zevari: I have a Ring of Storing that has Raise Dead on it. Dart: But she's gonna walk up to do the last rites first… Reign: Is that ….good? Raise Dead. MD: That is like neutral. Reign: Okay. MD: It doesn't it doesn't harm somebody. Although there are consequences obviously, from dying, but like.. But the spell isn't evil. Reign: Yeah. MD: Go ahead. Dart: It's not going to get that far. Reign: Okay. Zevari: Let's say if it does, we do have a backup, which is that spell, but I don't think we'll need it. I think we'll be able to get the spell off before they can hang her. MD: What do you guys do? Zevari: Should we leave from under the gallows before we're seen? Reign: We're not going to be able.. I'm not… We're not gonna be able to get back in. Zevari: Oh, right. MD: You guys are just gonna stay there? Reign: I was gonna stay here. Dart: Me, too. MD: Okay, so you're.. Reign: Do you want to pop out while they're coming up? Or do you want to be out there already coming in with procession? Zevari: I think it would be better to already be there in the procession. I think otherwise it risks too many eyes being able to see. Reign: All right, then, you will mend it on your way out and we'll just be Dart/Reign. Zevari: I'm gonna keep Daru here with you guys in case you guys need to contact me for any reason. Reign: We also have our diplomats pouches. Zevari: Yeah true Reign: Maybe I can.. We can have a thing where it's code. It's a buzz. So, I send some in a pattern. *** MD: Oh, yeah. Reign: And so you just feel *shift shift shift* But it’s so, you know, it's so you don't have to read it. You just.. Zevari: Just know *** sorry MD: *** they're so heavy. Reign: Yeah. Zevari: Like Fuck.. God damn. MD: So, Yeah, I mean, so you guys... What do you guys do while you're stuck under there? And you paint the teleportation circle in a jelly? Reign: I feel I'm painting.. MD: The rats are pissed. They aren't coming out, but they look mad. They're just “LEAVE!” Reign: Reign throws just some scraps of whatever food she has, some rations, just like.. MD: They will happily run out and grab it and tear it apart and bring it into their little nest. And then you see a couple of rats crawling under. There's a little spot where there's a tiny rat sized hole and they just scurry out under and they just go. Reign: Hey Dart you.. you think this is gonna work? Dart: Yep. Reign: Cool. Dart: Now we played the waiting game. Reign: How do you play the waiting game? Dart: You just sit here. Reign: Do we want to sleep at all? Or We… No? She's yawning and.. Dart: We don’t want to oversleep and miss it. Reign: This is true. So I guess.. MD: Sundial doesn't have an alarm. Reign: I'm going to read my books for a couple more hours. How many more hours until.. And then I'm doing my stretches.. MD: I mean they’re hanging her next day and you guys are.. you're in the middle of the night. So you have.. Zevari: Yeah, it's like 1am right now. MD: Yeah. It's.. you have ten hours. Reign: She can't read ten hours straight, but she wants to try. MD: I feel like.. okay, so here's what we'll do. What.. how many of you do you think is the minimum number of hours she could read straight for sure. You say you read for four hours, and then you do a constitution check to see if you can read longer. Reign: That sounds a plan. I was reading four hours. MD: Okay, cool. So yeah, you start. You're reading. You've been reading for a while. You're really starting to feel tired. You're at the four hour mark. You're like “Can I keep going”? Reign: You said Constitution? MD: Yeah. Constitution saving throw. Reign: Uh, 19. MD: Okay. “Yeah, I can keep going. I can keep doing this” Reign: I can do it. MD: Five hours pass.. Reign: Reign is cramming. She's trying to get all the hours in at the beginning, and she's gonna burnout. And we'll see how it goes in the second half. MD: Oh my gosh. Reign: Oh.. I have something about Constitution Saving Throws.. MD: Do you have advantage or something.. as a… Is it just versus poison? Reign: It just versus poison. MD: Uh.. Reign: Well, I got a nine. No. Yes, nine. MD: A nine? Reign: Yeah. MD: Yep. You can go one more hour. Reign: Oh my God. MD: Go one more hour. The difficulty is ramping up. Reign: Okay. 11. MD: 11? You burn out, you're too tired. So you get six hours in. Yeah. Reign: I got six hours? MD: Yeah. Because, yeah, you did four and then five. So long as you don't roll a Nat one, you can do five. And then I was okay, now you have to get an eight. And you got a nine. Then it’s like okay, now a 12. Reign: I'm 12 out of 48 chapters through my book in one day. MD: Nice. Reign: Or like.. MD: Uh.. and then you have the rest of the time to sleep. Reign: Yes. I need sleep. MD: Zavari, What are you doing while you're out? Anything? Zevari: No. She's just gonna return back to where they were sleeping. I don't know. MD: The Stables? Zevari: Oh.. yeah. MD: Yeah. Zevari: Okay. I'm gonna pay for a hotel right now. Dart: I mean, Rudy's not there. Reign: Yeah MD: He's not. He's not home. Zevari: Then she is taking a nice little nap on the couch. She does want to read her book as well because she has.. she has a streak going. MD: Okay. Zevari: She’ll read as long as she can before sleep overtakes her. MD: Okay.. we’ll.. We'll try. We'll do.. Is the same thing fair? Zevari: Yeah. MD: All right. Four hours, plus make a Con Save. Zevari: Let me look at my Con.. Um…13. MD: Yeah. You're good. You can keep going. Zevari: Mm. Six. MD: That's it..? So five hours? Zevari: Five hours.. that's a MD: Yeah you’re.. So you pass out. Dart. How are.. You said you're not sleeping? You're just gonna.. Dart: Most frog species are nocturnal. MD: Yeah. True. Dart: I'm pretty chilled. Just uh.. Gonna hang out. MD: You've been having it rough, then? You guys usually sleep at night.. But. Yeah. So Dart just hangs out. And.. Dart: Picks his toe crusties.. MD: Mm. Zavari, What time do you want to try to, post up, to join the procession. Zevari: She'll just get up at Sunrise, bright and early. MD: Okay. Zevari: She doesn't need sleep. MD: Reading for five hours and then getting up at sunrise. Zevari: Yeah. MD: Got it. Zevari: She doesn't need sleep. MD: So well.. Then you didn't really sleep because it was 1 a.m.. You read for five hours. Dart: Maybe you want to sleep and then read for five hours until it's about time for this thing to go down. Zevari: She doesn't believe she'd get one level of exhaustion, right? MD: Not necessarily. You guys didn't, exert yourselves? Really? How does it. How does sleep actually work.. Technically? What does it say, actually? Oh, Oh, yeah. It's a saving throw, a Constitution Saving throw. Yeah. Go ahead and make a Con Save. I guess Dart you as well, because you're not sleeping.. Zevari: 21. MD: Okay, yeah. We're good. She just lights up that book all night. Dart: Ten. MD: You're good. Ten is the DC. So you guys stay up. Time passes. How do you disguise yourself? Zevari: Um.. that's just a regular, nondescript man. But wearing the cloak this time! Oh, yeah. With the rings and the watch and.. MD: And the watch? Zevari: And the watch! Let's see if there's anything else specifically. No. The rings. The two rings are on the left ring finger. MD: So can I change the.. the signal? Zevari: Yeah. MD: Okay. So you spin the ring. Zevari: Okay. MD: It's three times. Zevari: As in The Clock Ring? MD: Yeah. As in The Clock.. Zevari: Okay, well, I’ve got that shit on. MD: You’ve got it shit. Got it.. Make a disguise check with advantage. Zevari: Can it be deception? MD: Yeah. Zevari: Yes. 18.. 18 is the best roll. MD: Oh, yeah. That's pretty good. Yeah. You.. you know, you definitely don't look anything yourself. And maybe that's comforting. Dart: Oh, yeah. And I gave you a smoke bomb. Zevari: Yes. Dart: *** MD: Yeah.. Yeah, if you're.. Are you out in the streets? If you're out in the streets. I mean, people are *** You know, they're pretty respectful of you. People keep their distance. One person, you know, walks up and is like “Will you pray for me”? Zevari: Absolutely. MD: Thank you. Thank you. And then she just walks away. Zevari: This feels very familiar somehow. MD: Oh, yeah. I bet it does. And Yeah, I mean, you know what gate they're going to come out of, so.. Zevari: Making my way to the gate MD: You’re just making your way to the gate. Okay. So. Yeah. Where is.. uh, here we are.. So. The procession is. Eight guards, and a warden. You can't even see Zola. But you can tell by the formation that the guards are walking in that she's in the middle of all of them. There are also two priests of Saint Verona who are following the procession. And so you see them kind of walk out and they have to go through.. they have to follow the roads and it goes through town a little bit and then kind of loops back, you know, so they have to walk through town a bit. Zevari: Mhm. MD: So what do you do? Zevari: I'm going to approach from behind. And just try to blend in. MD: Okay. do you uh.. Make a deception check or.. Wait, you're blending into the crowd outside of the procession? Sorry. Zevari: I'm trying to blend into the procession. MD: Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Make a perception check. Zevari: I got a 15 plus eight. MD: Okay. So. Yeah. So if you kind of.. walk up to where the other priests are walking they don't even really lift their head up at you. You just kind of, if you just fall in line behind them, no one raises suspicion. The guards look at you, but they don't do anything. They don't react. One guard even nods at you. And as you guys are walking, another priest joins. And it is the priest that you saw last night, and he looks especially tired. He hasn't gotten any sleep. Uh, what was his name? Zevari: Uh. It's Chuck. MD: That's right. Yeah. Father. Chuck? Yeah, it's father Chuck. Zevari: Mhm. MD: And he looks tired and he.. But he will join you and kind of walk behind. And now that you're walking behind you can kind of see Zola a little bit. She's got a.. She got kind of like.. She's got more like an orange hair than red hair, if that makes sense. She's got this sort of, bright blondish ginger hair. And it is really.. It's really bright in the sun. And she is tied like.. her hands are tied behind her back. She has a short chain between her legs and there's a hood tied with rope around her neck, but the hood is down. So.. you know, if that makes sense. And she's kind of walking in the middle of all these.. of all these people. You can't really.. you just see kind of behind her. Zevari: So, I'm going to kind of get Chuck's attention, almost. And, ask him in a low tone. “Have you thought of what you're going to say to the, uh, prisoner?” and just kind of.. to get a feel, to make sure that all the priests have their time with the prisoner, or if I need to start taking somebody out. MD (Father Chuck): He's going to say, “oh, I wasn't planning on speaking. Uh, I was just going to pray for her. Usually, you know but.. I'm tired”. Zevari: You look tired, brother. MD (Father Chuck): Thanks. Thanks. You? Zevari: You know, these things are never easy. MD (Father Chuck): Uh. First time? Zevari: Yeah. MD: “Hey”. He looks over at you. “What's your name, brother? I haven't seen you before”. Zevari: What’s a nondescript name? James. MD: James. Brother. James? Zevari: Yes. MD: Doesn't ring a bell. Where are you from? Zevari: Fucking Ohio. MD: Oh, yeah. Ohio? That's far. Zevari: Not far enough, if you ask me. Reign: Mhm. MD: You know, I've heard nothing but wonderful things about it. Zevari: It's because you've never been. MD: This is true. I have never been. Well. So. Are you new to the city? Zevari: Uh, yes I am. MD: Ah. Okay. Let me understand. Well, typically only one person will talk to the prisoner. Sometimes they have, uh, priests that they've talked to previously, you know, that they already have a relationship with. Zevari: Does this one, do you know? MD: I don't I honestly don't know anything about her. So, I mean, not that I know of. Zevari: Well, have they decided on a priest to give her last rites? MD: Yeah. I think, I think it's going to be, uh. Oh, my God, I now I have to come up with the name… David. The shoes on the other foot. Reign: The shoe. Shoe? MD: Yeah, it's gonna be Shoe. Dart: Lee, there's a million Lees. MD: Yeah! Okay. Yes. Brother Lee. Oh, such a great reference. Dart: Best one of the night. MD: Yeah. So far. Yes. Brother Lee, I think was going to take a lead on this one. He likes doing these. But if you want to talk to him you can talk to him. Zevari: Okay. Thank you so much, brother. MD: Sure, brother. Come to our church sometime, but keep it on the down low. Zevari: Of course. MD: I'll tell you more about it later, actually. I forgot there are guards right here... Zevari: Priestly giggles. MD: He pulls out a fan and chuckles behind it while fanning himself. Reign: Lay it on, Zevari. Lay it on. Zevari: We have AC in the church of Asmodeus. I don't know nothing about that. MD: but yeah. So what do you do now? Zevari: We’re still walking. I'll just slowly make my way. I'm first. I'm which one's Brother Lee? MD: Brother Lee is the taller one. Zevari: Okay? Yeah. I'm gonna make my way to him. MD: Yeah, it's tall, skinny, brown hair cut very short. Zevari: I feel so silly saying brother all the time. I feel Hulk Hogan for. Hey, BROTHER let me talk to you. Oh my gosh. No. Hello, brother. Can I have a moment of your time? MD: Sure. Uh, what troubles you, brother? Zevari: Well, it's more of a request than a trouble. I wouldn't… MD: Okay? Unusual. Right now? Zevari: It is very important. MD: Okay. Speak. Zevari: You see, I want to provide more services for our faith and I feel this is a service that I would give my hand at talking to the prisoner in their final moments. MD: He kind of looks at you and squints. Make it. Make a deception check. Zevari: I'm going to use my last inspiration. Oh, my God, I'm so 14. MD: He goes, are you new? Zevari: Question. Is this guy evil? Yeah. MD: No. Zevari: Okay. Never mind. No. Damn. I'm new to this area, but not new to the faith. MD: Oh, okay. I see, I see. well, I mean, I was going to do it. I kind of like doing it, but are you sure you're ready for it? Zevari: I am very sure. I wouldn't have come to you if I didn't feel prepared. But, it'd be so. MD: He seems reluctant to give up his spot, but I will roll to see what he decides. You know what? Sure. And he, pats your shoulder. Take it. Go ahead. You know, give it your best shot, brother. Uh. Zevari: James. MD: James. Zevari: Hell Fuckin’ Yeah! Zevari will keep her satisfaction to herself. Reign: Her inner Sakura is a cha! Cha! Cha! MD: Okay, so while this is going on, people are gathering at the gallows, Dart and Reign. You guys hear a bunch of fucking noise in the morning. It sounds like construction. Almost. Reign: *whispers* Daru. You left Daru, right? Zevari: Yeah. I imagine stars, straight up, sleeping on his back. Looks a little dead. Reign: I feel like we need to see what's the construction. What construction is happening? Daru: Cute little whimpers from Daru. Reign: I just hold him a treat over Daru's face. Daru: It does not take long for Daru to get up immediately. Wide eyed alert, Reign: And I. I snatch it back carefully, and I give him half for waking up. And the other half is for checking. Or… Daru: Bribery… Reign: I don't know, there's we're sealed in here, right? MD: Mhmm. Reign: I can use Flux… Okay. I give him the other half. But I'm sorry I woke you up. Okay. Here's some more treats. Daru: Daru is definitely contemplating biting Reign's ankles but doesn't… Reign: Because I give them more treats. Daru: Yeah Dart: The handwriting is terrible but read this. MD: It doesn't go on for a super long time. It's just you hear, a hammer. You hear… Reign: So I want flux to turn into, Okay, jelly flux through the crack of the thing, the panel on the top. And then kind of a one eyeball periscope. MD: Okay?! Reign: You know? MD: I see it. Reign: Just to kind of see what's going on, but incognito. MD: Okay. Reign: Do I investigate? MD: Oh, sure. Reign: 18. MD: So does Flux just talk to you? Reign: I feel I use him as a periscope. MD: Oh. You use Flux. Oh, yeah. Reign: Yeah. MD: Okay. So with an 18. Yeah. So you're, looking at this big fisheye sort of lens. It's a little bit goofy, but they are. They're erecting a temporary riser. For a viewing platform. Reign: Okay. So they're expecting lots of people to be here. MD: Yeah. they don't always have one, but they needed one for this event. And Yeah. people And people start rolling in, overtime. And you hear, you hear, vendors calling out, being you know… Reign: This is so crazy. Okay. Let's go. MD: uh, get your donuts! Get your donuts! Reign: Get your popcorn here! MD: Honeycut Glazed Donuts! Reign: *Honk Laugh* MD: Honeycutt donuts tonight! Reign: I feel there's a friar walking around with them on each end of his staff having kids trying to eat it from the hanging from the staff. “They're hanging honeycuts!” Zevari: Oh, no! That's really a theme. MD: We're really going there…Yeah. And there's, activity. You can hear it excitement. There's a buzz, you know? Reign: Gross. MD: Yeah. People are gathering. People are standing on the riser. There's Yeah, there's quite a few people, but it's not you know, a thousand people, but it's a lot of people. It's a pretty deep. It's a small block party. Reign: Gross. I will repeat. MD: So. Yeah. and, uh, so the first crowd fills the circular plaza. It's not exactly circular anymore. Sorry. The square plaza, a stern woman, referred to by several in the crowd as the warden leads guards and the accused, Zola Honeycutt, to the platform steps. So you now hear *footsteps of several people* Coming up the steps. Reign: So, uh, I, I start to do it. I start to do my… Zevari: Jelly. Reign: Yeah. Because it takes a minute to cast. MD: So one guard stations themselves at each set of stairs, and the other two accompany their charge to stand over the trapdoor, so they'll bring Zola over the trapdoor, and they're holding the priests back for the time being, if that makes sense. You guys are the priests and are all standing. Ah… I forgot we have the map. so there's three priests, right? Zevari: Yeah. MD: So you would be standing here at the front. And there's a guard right here in front of you. You two are under. You just have to. Oh, my gosh, this is crazy, because you literally just have to trust that Zevari is there. Reign: Yep. Look at me doing some trusting. MD: Wow. Reign: I didn't even think twice either. MD: Yeah, I didn't even think about that. Zevari: There will be angst about it. MD: The taller of the two guards guide Zola atop the trapdoor, uh, briefly blocking her from view, and you can see him sort of run the rope up and over and secure it around her neck. She is…She's looking out with her, head held high, and she looks kind of defiant. And you just, uh, you guys hear the sound of somebody spitting, and she goes, “Fuck Saxton!” And the guards, the guards, run up, and they can't quiet her. And one of them takes the hood and pulls it over her head. So it's a, you know, a bag over her head, basically covering it. And he kind of frowns and he kicks her in the ankle a little, just a little bit. And then he sort of steps aside the other, uh, the guard on this and steps aside, and the executioner walks up, who's just this guy in a black hood and a black, executioners, you know, robes. And he's going to stand by the lever. His hand is not on the lever yet. And then that is when the guard here, the one that kicked her, gestures to the priests to come up. Zevari: Zevari will come on up. MD: And the other priests will follow you. Reign: In addition to not knowing if she's there, we have no idea what she looks like. We just know that she's just going to arrive with someone else. We have no idea what it looks like… MD: So the three priests that are here to kind of, support, stand behind, kind of near the wall, and they bow their heads in prayer. And you can see them all in their mouths. They're all, mouthing a prayer. And now it's just you two guards. The executioner. The warden is standing, on this is. The warden is also going to be coming up and standing, next to this guard. And she just looks fucking mean. Zevari: Boo….Okay. So, I walk over to Zola just slowly, evenly, and, she'll clear her throat in front of her, “Can you hear me? Mm. Miss Honeycutt.” Zola: Who are you? Oh, man, are you the fucking priest? Zevari: It's just a yes or no question, Miss Honeycutt. You know, the clock is always ticking. Zola: “Oh, my clock is definitely running down right now.” That's what she says. But are you here to mock me? Zevari: No. I'm here to say a prayer for you. Zola: She has her eyes covered, her head's covered, and her arms are tied behind her back. Zevari: Of course. Zola: Who are you? Do I know you? Zevari: She ignores her question and doesn't answer, and starts saying a little prayer for just a little bit above a whisper. Not for everyone else to hear. MD: Okay. Zevari: Zola Honeycutt, today is the day that you are meant to hang. I pray that you find salvation and that you find meaning in all of this. And I will place my hand on her shoulder. And I'm going to quicken darkness so nobody can see in it. And as I have my hand on her, I'm going to cast dimension door. MD: Is dimension door concentration? Zevari: It's instantaneous. MD: Okay. Okay, so you're a quicken Darkness. Dart: I want my smoke grenade back. Zevari: You'll get it back. MD: So as soon as, the spell goes off and this orb of inky blackness just swallows up the whole stage. There's a collective gasp from the crowd. You hear. You immediately hear swords being drawn. Presumably the guards, the warden, everyone's drawing their swords.Yeah. And, I guess they're going to start just sort of cutting in that area. Zevari: Would they be able to do that before Dimension Door goes off? MD: You and I, here's what we'll do, you and I will both make an initiative roll. Okay. Zevari: Would they get disadvantaged because they can't see in the darkness. MD: Not on an initiative. But they would get disadvantaged if they tried to hit you. I got an 8 Zevari: I gotta 8… *Gasp* MD: We have to roll again! 17. Zevari: You got me. MD: So. Two. so. The guard and the warden both swing at you, and they have disadvantage. A 15? Zevari: No. MD: And a 9. Zevari: No. MD: So you just. You just hear us, and you're oh, I'm being attacked. You feel the edge of your robe getting, tugged on by, you know, a blade tearing through it, and you push through the door that you've dimensioned, which you just by feeling it because you can't see it in the darkness. You're okay, I hope this is right. And, I have her with me. What? What did you picture when you created the door? Just what angle are you coming out of this? Zevari: I literally imagined just, going to be just, kick it on this. MD: Okay. So you guys just fall down through.. Reign: or oh, I I can imagine you just, coming back up the ground, Just it's an elevator. But then it's up. Zevari: Okay. Yeah. MD: Yeah. Reign: And you're sinking down into the darkness. MD: And then somebody, uh, you hear, So. So Zevari and Zola appear just out of the ground. Zevari: Go go go go go go! MD: And Randomly… Zevari: I'm fucking screaming. MD: I guess. Have you been preparing? Reign: Yeah, I had started it when they were walking up. MD: Yes, that's right. You did said that. Roll a spell check because it's a, it's a level spell that you don't, you can't cast yet, so you have to roll. Reign: *Gasp* MD: Can Zevari give you guidance? Reign: I had guidance from earlier, but. Yeah. Zevari: So I should give you guidance. Reign: I'm at 13. Ummm….Bardo? MD: How much of the guidance? Zevari: A D4. MD: Yeah. It's possible. It's also possible that you still don't get it. Reign: 1… MD: You didn't get it. 14 is not enough. I think. Wait, let me double check the level of the stuff. Let me double check the level. Because… Zevari: If she can't get it off, would it be possible for me to quicken it? MD: Yeah…you’d have to get a 15. Zevari: Is it possible for me to cast it with quicken? MD: No, because it's not one of your spells. Reign: Can I Bardo myself? MD: I would say somebody can donate an inspiration to you if they have one. Dart: I do. Reign: It's up to you. MD: Otherwise, you have to try again, and it takes a minute to cast it. Reign: They have no idea where we’re going to be. It's up to you. It's your inspo. Dart: Yeah. I got two of them. MD: You hear the lurch as a guard. As, throwing open the trap door. Yeah, but it's just darkness above. Reign: Oh, shit. Zevari: Can I pray to somebody Asmodeus? Can I give her the Dark One’s Own Luck? MD: Okay. Pray. Roll. Roll to pray. Reign: Oh my God. Zevari: I rolled it 18. Nat. MD: Okay. Plus your concordance. Zevari: You said that's an 8 or 6. MD: 6, right? Yeah. So. Okay, so what does the dark one’s own luck do? Zevari: Dark one's own luck lets you add a d10 to your roll. MD: Okay. You give her dark one. The dark one's own luck. So you get Asmodeus’s own luck. And you can feel it. Zevari: It’s up to you to take it... Reign: Oh, god… MD: Yeah. You do have to decide whether or not you want to accept it… You just feel a warmth creeping up your spine. It creeps like frost but it’s heat. Reign: That’s bad because that's what… Okay… MD: Yeah! Reign: So, when I have surgeries. That's what it feels when they inject the dye into my spinal cord and, so that's it's I have to hold my breath and get injected with this, fiery pain. And so, Reign is used to this pain as well. And so I feel it hurts at first. But then she breathes it out and she's just like, “You’re a means to an end.” and takes it. I don't know what I need to do. MD: You roll a d10 and you add it to your roll. So your roll is currently..was it a 13 plus one. So you have a 14 year old D10 and I have to roll. Reign: Plus 5. MD: Yeah, that's enough. The circle activates. Zevari: You hear Asmodeus’s dark chuckle… Zola (Shanna): What the fuck is going on? Zevari: We're getting you out of here. That's all you need to know or care about really. Let's get the fuck off your fucking head. I snatched it off. Zola (Shanna): She, looks around at you guys and, “Fuck! It's so dark in here.” MD: So yeah, they throw open the trap door and they're look, “where the fuck is she? Somebody get down there!” And somebody jumps down and you're casting a spell. So jumping down into the circle. Reign: Someone grabbed my wand of beans. Just kidding. MD: Dart. You're the only one that's not too busy to react to this guy dropping down. Because you're casting the spell, you're taking the hood off of, that's when the guy jumps down. Dart: I animate my shield, uh, so that when the guy tries to drop down the shield, smacks him out of the path so he doesn't land on the circle with the rest of us. MD: Okay. Yeah. yeah, you could definitely, uh, try that. So, the shield sort of animates in, naturally protects you. That's kind of the gist. So you've gotten kind of used to I mean, you just used it a couple of times, you understand how the shield moves. it's pretty intuitive in that sense, right? It's. It kind of points itself at the enemy. Dart: Yeah. MD: What kind of check would that be? I would say make an acrobatics check, because you got to, position yourself as you're activating the shield. And what's the activation word? Dart: Anderium, I guess. MD: You said it. Yeah. Whatever you want it to be. Dart: Okay. 19. MD: Yeah. Because presumably you're standing in the circle. So you have to. So as soon as you see them come down, you call upon the shield. You're like, “Anderium!” And then you do a fucking spin, a 360 spin in the air. And the shield spins around and just pushes him over and he falls, next to the circle. And he's And he sees you guys because the circle lights up and he’s like, “Hey! Wait!”. And then you guys are gone. And for a few solid seconds you are standing or floating, drifting with Zola Honeycutt through the astral sea. And she's like, “What the fuck?” Reign: Yeah, you get used to it after a while. Zevari: We're the Ham Crusaders. Nice to meet you. Rachel’s Outro: Thank you for listening. To roll forth this has been the Empire Initiative, featuring Samaria Hawkins as Lady Zevari/Lady Litria, Ryan Musgrove as King Dart of the Hopkins, Rachel Voss as Reign Vosgrove, and our wonderful MD, Shanna Cantu. The clock has given you a mission if you choose to accept it. Tell your friends about this podcast. I mean, it really, truly is one of the best ways you can support this silly little adventure we have going on. So please, if you could just tell your friends, uh, do all the share, subscribe stuff that I can't think of right now, but please, it really would help us in our little, little, tiny, little baby voice we got going on right now. And, you know, what would help you is if you make sure to take some really deep breaths today, maybe once every hour or do a couple every.... Whatever, whatever you need. Whatever floats your boat. Just take some breaths today and stay safe, friends. Rachel: Well, we got a new cool game table thing! Shanna: Yeah, for the folks listening at home who will never see this… Rachel: Except for patrons. Shanna: Well. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, for. Except for the patrons who will totally get access to stuff that other people don't get to see. Samaria: Wink. Shanna: Wink. We have a cool, uh, virtual table. Rachel: That we made for $41 from the ReStore. Shanna: Yeah! Rachel: Support affordable housing. Okay. I'm done. I'll stop working now. Samaria: It's time for play. Rachel: It's time for play. Not for for the work, but also support Habitat and your parks. Okay. Samaria: No work! Shanna: Buy Local. Samaria: Yes. Shanna: Buy local! Rachel: Small businesses. Shanna: Never buy store brand Mac & Cheese. Rachel: Visit Champaign County.