[ethereal music playing]
[haunting choral singing]
[choral singing continues]
[coughing]
Do not be afraid, my love.
I will see you again.
[crying]
-[shouts] -[groans]
[Minotaur priestess] As the body dies,
the soul lives for eternity with the Luxon.
[gasping]
[exhales]
[cries]
I cannot wait to see who you become, my love.
And I promise I will wait.
[explosions in distance]
[priestess] What is that?
[all exclaim quietly]
[explosion]
We've been breached. Get the beacon to the vault.
Lock it down. Now!
[pulsing music playing]
♪ ♪
-[sword thunks] -[muffled grunting]
Get the beacon.
[grunts softly]
-[guard] What in the hell? -[muffled mumbling]
[muffled yell]
[guard 2] Hey!
[alarm blares]
I see them! [shouts]
Go, go!
[platform guard] Down there. Go.
[guard 3] There they are.
-[guard 4] Move! -[guard 3] Quickly!
[door guard] Over there. Hurry!
Shut the gate!
[guards grunting]
[both grunting]
[shouts]
[grunts]
Unoj el.
[shadows growling]
[grunts]
Dain.
Yeah, yeah, I got it.
Vas Kul Shwaka. [grunts]
[groaning]
[birdsong]
They said they'd have our horses ready. Why is it so quiet?
Stay here. Eadwulf, with me.
Huh?
[low rumble]
[shudders]
My God...
[suspenseful music playing]
[gasps]
[Astrid] The Kryn are here.
-It's a trap. -[Dain] Run.
Run!
[Astrid] No.
[pulsing, intense music playing]
♪ ♪
[grunting]
Aw. You want a handout, you bum?
[grunts]
[coughing]
[laughing]
[other teen] Oh, whoops. Having a shitty day, huh?
[teenager] Oh, man. What a loser.
[other teen] Yeah.
[Caleb] Hey.
Dra-Trukosh,
-utho -Uh...
-ball-yeecrethen -Hey. What are you doing?
-Stop it, freak. -zo-veneshall
ethuada Vassen
-Ro... -[other teen] He's crazy. Come on!
Boo.
Aah! Oh, what the fuck?
[pensive music playing]
[indistinct chatter, laughing]
[groans softly]
[sighs]
[whistles a tune]
[in Zemnian] This piece of shit...
-[dog barking] -[exclaims]
[grunts]
[dog growls]
[in English] My pouch. Hey!
[energetic music playing]
-[gasps] -[in Zemnian] Wait!
[grunts]
[worker in English] Watch it.
[grunting]
[in Zemnian] What the hell?
[crows cawing]
[gasps]
[in English] All right, give it back, you little brat.
Give me the pouch, kid.
Take one more step and I will fuck you up!
[grunting]
-Let me go or I'll gut you like a fish. -Just... the pouch.
Give me the pouch!
-[pants, growls] -Goblin.
-Please. -[exclaims]
Please.
It's just a bag of junk.
Not to me.
[sighs]
[in Zemnian] Thank you.
[in English] You try to pick that lock again, you're gonna get caught.
N-Not to mention the door's trapped.
What do you want?
Who, me? Nothing.
[groans]
Refill my flask at the tavern and I'll help you break in.
Aren't you a little young to be drinking?
Aren't you a little old to smell like shit?
[sighs] Is that it-- more alcohol?
Well, it's easier for a human to buy it than...
than someone like me, okay?
Listen, I get you into that weird shop
and you scratch my itch.
All right.
In that case...
You are annoyingly good at that.
So...
what kind of trap?
[gentle music playing]
[Ikithon] Fear is a weakness
of all living things.
Because fear reminds us...
...we can die.
The living will do anything to prevent death.
They will lie. Steal.
Betray. Even kill.
Just to stay alive.
[muffled groaning]
The fear center is found
in a part of the brain behind the ear.
If you turn it off...
even their pain becomes quiet.
[muffled sigh]
[Ikithon] As wizards serving the Empire, you must come to terms
with your own fears.
For you will only be truly invulnerable...
[door opens]
...when you do not fear death.
Class dismissed.
Master Ikithon, the king is asking for you.
[sighs]
Thank you, Owelia. Prepare a sigil to Rexxentrum.
[bugbear moaning]
[muffled screaming]
[wistful music playing]
[general] Those monsters
attacked Rockguard Garrison.
I recommend a proportionate response--
Calm down. There must be a diplomatic solution--
-We're well past diplomacy. -We should be arresting sympathizers.
-And cause widespread panic? -Wildemount may be divided,
-but it is stable enough to remain self-- -Your Highness, we must strike first. -[door opens]
[chatter stops]
You called for me, my king?
Trent Ikithon, at last.
As my archmage of civil influence,
what would my people say to a war?
Ah, well, that would depend on whom
you declared war upon, Your Majesty.
[Dwendal] Axiom.
The Bright Queen.
King Dwendal. Yesterday,
your Empire agents crossed the border of the Kryn Dynasty,
defiled one of our holiest temples,
and stole a beloved relic from its vault.
Any one of those crimes would be an act of war.
This message is a courtesy, Bertrand.
One with a short fuse.
Return the relic immediately
or you will witness a war of reckoning
the likes of which not even your Calamity forebearers could fathom.
You have two days to reply.
[general] We would never send agents into the Kryn Dynasty.
-That would mean war. -[bureaucrat] War over what?
What even is this relic?
She's most likely referring to the Luxon beacon.
An incredibly significant artifact to the Kryn.
Why don't we just tell her the truth?
We don't have their precious beacon.
Because it does not matter if we have it.
All that matters is that they believe we do.
This beacon-- it is important
to their supposed religion?
Their entire society is based on it.
So, the "evil Empire" has stolen the very relic
that makes them who they are.
[Dwendal] That is certainly a narrative the Kryn would die for.
For decades, we have been in a cold war with the Kryn Dynasty.
Suffering incursions, retaliating in kind.
But the Bright Queen has been playing a waiting game.
All she lacked was a rallying cry.
And this beacon is it?
The people will follow you, Sire.
Because we will make them terrified of what will happen if they do not.
I trust you will, Master Ikithon.
We all have work to do.
Prepare for war.
[DeRogna] "Trust" is not the word that comes to mind when I think of you.
Archmage DeRogna.
The king requested that the Cobalt Soul investigate the beacon theft.
Will they find anything?
I doubt it.
[horses neigh]
[intriguing music playing]
Strange.
This horse looks like it's been dead a few weeks...
...not a day.
Ugh. Clearly a Kryn monster attack.
This was no monster. This was...
-something else. -Is that so?
Zeenoth might let you play detective back in the Rexxentrum library,
but out here, you don't know shit.
Okay.
What do you think happened?
"What do you think happened, sir?"
Damn Cricks and their freaky magic is what happened.
They're not like us, Lionett.
They travel in swarms like locusts. They're fiends. Savages.
To take this place would have taken at least a hundred men.
I only see five sets of footprints.
That's how fucking devious they are.
They stopped at the gate.
Run. Run!
[grunting]
They didn't go inside.
[Astrid] How many?
-[Dain] Two from the trees. -[Eadwulf] Two more at our six.
[Astrid] Keep the beacon safe.
[Ruzimir] Ha-ha! Found 'em.
Told you. Fuckin' savages.
[Lionett] Hmm.
This decomposition--
it's as if time just sped up.
But only along this path.
[chuckles] Good line.
Get that from some ancient tome?
With absolutely no due respect at all, Ruzimir,
you're stretching facts to fit over your gaping asshole of a theory.
And with complete offense intended,
you could stand to read a book. Sir.
What-- Did-did you just have a stroke, you dumb little shit?
We'll see what the curator thinks of that mouth.
Now get the fuck out of my sight!
[sighs]
[grunting]
And what are you?
[Ruzimir] Aha!
Dead Kryn, Kryn attack.
Don't tell me what I know.
[humming a tune]
Okay, you got your booze. Now--
Yeah, yeah. Now we steal your thing.
We, uh... we need a distraction.
Couldn't agree more.
[grunts]
-Uh, um... -Go out farther.
F-Farther. Farther!
Okay. Now barf your guts out.
That sounds like the opposite of a distraction.
Trust me.
I call it the up-chuck. [short chuckle] Works every time.
Uh...
[dramatic groan]
[retching]
[dry retching continuing]
Oh, sweet bunny on a spit.
[clears throat]
Uh... Oh, Papa! Oh, no!
Oh, you know what mutton does to you. [weak sob]
[quietly] What the fuck are you doing? You sound like a broken goat.
Blow chunks like you mean it.
-How? -Just better.
Just be better, but... Maybe cry a little.
[exclaims]
-[coughing] -Oh, Papa, no! Oh...
Uh, you let it all out. I'll go get Mama.
-[indistinct chatter] -[kid] Mama, that man is throwing up.
[groaning]
-[bystanders murmuring] -[man 1] What a maniac.
[man 2] Let's just keep walking.
[pensive music playing]
Scheiße.
[Nott] Psst. Over here.
Up-- Over here-- Come--
[both straining]
Ow. Ow, ow, ow. Ugh. [sharp inhale]
[sighs] How do you weigh less than me?
Thank you for not leaving me.
[dog barks, growls]
[Caleb] Careful. There is a dog.
A big dog.
What? No, there isn't.
[barking continues]
[barking stops]
Look.
Barking dog trap. [chuckles] Classic.
-[creature squeaking] -[gasps]
What the hell could you possibly want from this place?
[Ruzimir in distance] Your snot-faced rookie doesn't listen.
She doesn't shut her mouth.
She's dumber than she looks, which I didn't think possible.
She's not ready for the field, Zeenoth, and your butt is on the line for that.
[yelps, groans]
Both you little shits are going in my report to Curator Tasha.
-Um, look, I-- -Don't.
Walk with me.
You were meant to observe and learn, Beauregard.
-You wanted field experience. -And you pair me with some moron
who thinks the Kryn massacred those soldiers for shits and giggles?
I mean, who needs motive when you have racism, am I right?
Ruzimir has been fighting corruption and upholding truth
for the Cobalt Soul for 230 years.
And his argument is compelling.
[scoffs] Then you lead a boring life, Z.
So then what do you think happened?
Ah, you're asking my opinion?
And already regretting it.
The Kryn didn't attack the garrison to start a war.
-They were laying a trap. -A trap for whom?
Thieves. Three of 'em. And they stole something
pretty big if the Dynasty was willing
to jack an entire outpost to stop 'em.
My guess: it was a weapon.
The 12-sided explosion.
-Bingo. -But there was no sign of a weapon.
Which means someone out there has it.
And now they're in the wind.
What makes you think anyone even survived that explosion?
'Cause of this.
This stuff-- look, it amplifie--
Amplifies magic. [clears throat]
I think it's connected to whoever made off with this weapon.
-It's unlike-- -It is evidence that you should have
given to your lead investigator.
[scoffs] Ruzimir wouldn't know a clue if it was cupping his balls.
[monks gasp]
[monk clears throat]
We do not say "balls" in the sacred hall of the Knowing Mistress.
I was foolish to think that you were ready.
You'll return to the stacks immediately.
You're gonna bench me over Ruzimir?
I'm benching you because,
despite the vows of charity and altruism
that you have pledged to this library,
you still somehow think
you're the only one who can do the job.
Ego, Beauregard,
is unbefitting of a Cobalt Soul monk.
[Beau] Am I excused?
No, not yet. I--
[sighs]
[Dairon] You did the right thing.
Her insolence will only endanger the Cobalt Soul.
Like a younger you.
She just needs to point all that anger in the right direction.
Monks have been expelled for less.
Why don't you get rid of her?
[short chuckle] I wish I could.
[haunting music playing]
-[roars] -[exclaiming]
-Aah! -[screeches]
You know, normal people break into safes or jewelers.
But a pet shop?
Ah, bet this thing has ten copper, tops.
You can have all of it, and, uh,
take anything else you want.
[short chuckle] If you say so, crazy man.
[Caleb] There we are.
[creature cooing]
Okay, Kameradin.
We will play nice, ja?
[screeching]
We're done here, ja? Did you find some nice things?
Yeah, real nice.
Ah, gut.
[shop owner] Hey! Who's in there?
Aah! We're caught!
I'm not going back to prison!
[Caleb] Nein!
Hey, what the fuck are you do--
-What-- Aah! -[creature roars]
-You thieving bastards. Get back here! -[creature growls]
Oh! [exclaims, screams]
[laughing]
[chuckling]
[Caleb] Nicely done.
[Nott] Not bad yourself, weirdo.
[Caleb chuckles]
[bells tolling]
[intriguing music playing]
[indistinct chatter]
What are you doing in the Mudtop Ward, Z?
-[entry bell chimes] -[door opens, closes]
Welcome, child, welcome. Do come in.
[door closes]
Damn. For a shirt?
It would look quite nice on you.
[chuckles] Nah, sleeves are bullshit.
That guy-- buy anything?
Who? Oh, you're my first customer.
Huh. No one came in before?
Maybe I missed him.
I really should put on my glasses.
Ow!
Nice try, grandma. [soft grunt]
Where'd you go, Z?
Bingo.
[metallic tapping, clinking in distance]
[indistinct chatter]
[dwarf] Careful, now.
Yeah...
[gnome] She's back here.
[Zeenoth] I thought you people were efficient.
If I knew I'd have to clean up after you, I would have asked for more money.
[Owelia] Where did you get this?
[Zeenoth] One of my monks dug it out of the ruins at Rockguard.
[Owelia] Did you take care of them?
She won't be interfering again.
Did you have something to do with that explosion?
Is the Cobalt Soul suspicious?
Our investigator will report
it was just another Kryn incursion,
thanks to me.
Good. Then go back to your precious library
-and await our word. -[grumbles]
Anything else?
[sighs] No.
[door opens, closes]
And where are you going?
-[soft rustling] -[gasps]
[grunting]
[exciting music playing]
[Beau panting]
You want to dance, bitch? Let's dance.
You have no idea what you're doing, monk.
Eh, I don't know, it's not complicated.
Punch, kick, bleed, repeat.
[grunting]
[shouts]
[panting]
[coughing]
[short chuckle]
[sighs, pants]
[gasps]
[grunting]
Aah!
[strains] Why can't I move?
-Give it a second. -[straining]
G...
[sighs]
Huh. You some kind of serial killer boxer?
Yep. Saved your life just to box you to death.
I don't know. Today's full of weird shit.
You're Cobalt Soul?
Dairon.
-Beau. -Beauregard Lionett.
I know.
May I?
You're lucky I was tailing you.
Most don't survive an encounter
-with a fully trained Volstrucker. -[sharp inhale, exhale]
"Vol" what now?
Brave and stupid.
Volstrucker.
Elite wizard assassins.
All we know is they're trained by someone in the Cerberus Assembly.
But officially, they don't exist.
[hisses, grunts] Ow.
[soft clink]
What's with the wallpaper?
Here. Light it.
[atmospheric music playing]
[Beau] Holy shit.
You're an expositor.
A Cobalt Soul spy.
It's the emblem of the Cerberus Assembly.
That Volstrucker was refining the green crystal stuff.
Residuum.
Packing it in crates with this symbol.
Zeenoth was there.
Is he...
[Dairon] Yes. But he's not the only traitor.
The Cobalt Soul has been compromised.
No. The Soul is independent.
We operate outside the Empire and the Dynasty.
We stand up to the fuckwads at the top, not do their bidding.
We're the last bastion of tru--
Truth? Doesn't look like it.
I'm sorry. I know Zeenoth was your mentor.
Steward.
He brought me in, that's all.
Made me think that maybe...
maybe I could finally do something that mattered.
Should've known it was bullshit.
Not necessarily.
You were right.
Some kind of new arcane weapon has crossed our border.
Why are you telling me this?
Because war is coming.
The Dynasty will invade to get that weapon back,
and whoever has it won't give it up easily.
Normally, the Cobalt Soul would arbitrate for peace.
But now finding that weapon is up to me and you.
W-Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm just an archivist trainee.
Beauregard, you are a monk of the Cobalt Soul.
Yeah, the Cobalt Soul is all bullshit.
Which means I'm nobody, just like Zeenoth has always said.
You're right. You are nobody.
Zeenoth doesn't care about you.
The other archivists just see you as an annoying little brat.
That's how your father saw you, too, right--
trash to be thrown out?
You don't know shit about--
I know that's what makes you so dangerous.
Because you are nobody.
And they'll never see you coming.
[whimpering]
[shivering]
[gasps] Where the fuck have you been?
Eh, the tavern is busy in this town.
[exhales]
[sighs]
So, uh, now that you got your weird stuff,
I guess we're going our separate ways?
I'll move on to the next town and you'll, uh,
move on to the next heap of dung. [weak chuckle]
I-I should've stolen one of those pets...
...for a travel snack.
Coventh Umeyou.
-Felinth-Manis. -But I guess we all
-live and learn. -Coventh Umeyou.
Felinth-Manis.
Coventh Umeyou.
Felinth-Manis.
[majestic music playing]
[meows]
[Caleb] Hello, old friend.
[purrs]
[sniffing]
[purrs]
[crying softly]
[meows]
Nein. Nein. Nein, nein, nein, nein.
[crying]
Was that magic?
Can you... can you do more?
A whole lot more.
But I lost it.
Well, how do you find it again?
I need the right components.
The purer the components,
the stronger the magic.
But good materials cost money.
Or can be stolen.
May... Maybe we could travel
a little more together.
I could steal stuff.
For your magic.
You would help me?
Maybe we can help each other.
I mean, hey… [short chuckle]
this ain't gonna fill itself.
Ja. Okay, uh...
So, I was thinking...
this is where I would like to go next.
It will have exactly what I need.
Uh, sure, yeah, t-there's lots of booze
and shiny things at a carnival.
[laughs softly] I am...
Caleb Widogast.
Nott the Brave. No comma.
Pleasure to meet you, Nott the Brave.
Um, Caleb?
How did you lose your magic?
Was it a curse?
Someone took it from me.
Someone I loved.
Oh.
Did you kill them?
[dramatic music playing]
Not yet.
[Dain groaning]
[gasps]
[Ikithon] Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh. Breathe to the pain.
Breathe.
Astrid, Eadwulf, what happened?
I think one of them hit the beacon with some kind of mag--
[moans]
You did well, boy.
The Empire will be forever grateful.
[Dain exhales]
Master.
[suspenseful music playing]
♪ ♪
Damn it. We failed him.
[grunts]
[Ikithon] No.
Today we rejoice,
for this is the key...
to everything.
[pulsing music playing]
[dramatic music playing]
[screeches]
[shouting]
[choking]
Tell me where they took the beacon.
[Ikithon] The Luxon beacon is no religious relic.
-This beacon... -[explosive whooshing]
is a weapon.
[crackling, whooshing]
[pulsing music playing]
Don't you feel it? War's brewing.
The Kryn and Empire are always trying to kill each other.
-Not like this. -[soldiers yelling]
What if we could stop the war?
[laughing] No way. I work alone.
[Molly] We don't know each other.
But right now our hearts are in the exact same place.
[intense music playing]
Fine. Lead on, circus man.
Let's be muhfucking heroes.
I don't need the cards to tell me that adventure lays before us.
You people are damned interesting.
Let's dance.
It's not safe.
When you get a once-in-a-lifetime chance, you take it.
Come on, handsome!
How did you lose your magic?
[Caleb] Someone took it from me.
Did you kill them?
[Caleb] Not yet.
You stole a weapon from the Dynasty.
-[yelling] -[explosive whooshing]
There are thousands of souls in that beacon.
Our people.
In two days, I will unleash the full force of my armies on the Empire.
-If you want to avoid this war... -[explosive whooshing]
find that beacon.
[Fjord] Going up against the Empire...
this is way beyond us.
[Caleb] Oh, no.
[both] She found me.
So that's it? We give up?
Right when this group's coming together.
[shrieking]
We cannot give up.
If we're gonna do this...
...we need a plan.
Time to put on a show.
[laughing] This group is fucking wild.
[screeches]
[intense, dramatic music playing]
How much do you all have left?
A fine evening to you.
We are the Mighty Nein.
You are all very... odd.
We know, honey.
[dramatic music playing]
♪ ♪
Chirp.