"The Battle for Tallfield!" is the sixth episode of High Rollers.
- Previous episode: "Super Saiyan Buckland!"
- Next Episode: "Orcs, Dragons and Bears! Oh my!"
The entire room is momentarily stunned as Cam, pushed by Jiǔtóu, sails through the air and is about to barrel into the woman presumed to be Nanny Bones. Elora reacts first and tries to reason with Amelia, telling her that she could be responsible for countless deaths if she aids the old woman. The half-elf acknowledges that Nanny Bones doesn't seem to be the person she thought she was and draws her blade, ready to aid the group. As Elora aims an arrow in preparation, Jiǔtóu leaps over Cam and tries to shove Nanny Bones into the wall and pin her there. However, the witch foils the tiefling's attempt, following which she assumes a defensive stance as her fingernails elongate into claws.
Amelia turns on Nanny Bones, brandishing her short sword, and shouts at her to leave, claiming they won't be making any more deals. Vixanis looks towards Trellimar and urges him to get her confiscated equipment from a nearby chest. She throws him a thin lock pick to get it open, but he goes to fire an Eldritch Blast at the lock instead. The attack proves successful, allowing Trellimar to open the chest and grab Vixanis' equipment, which includes some basic gear, a crossbow, a rapier and some daggers.
Nanny Bones attempts to move into a corner, providing Cam with an opportunity to stab her in the knee. Simultaneously, Jiǔtóu grabs onto the hag's wrist, preventing her from escaping. Nanny Bones snarls at them as her form distorts slightly, with dark purple skin shimmering underneath her guise of an old woman. Then, she grins and summons a sphere of darkness in her hand that instantly sucks Cam, Jiǔtóu and Elora into it. Trellimar, however, is unaffected, his patron's presence shielding him from her attack, at which Nanny Bones' eyes go wide.
Awakening in the Far Realm, Cam looks around and hears the voices of the Bucklands, calling him a murderer. Suddenly, the darkness shifts and he finds himself back in Keran Blackhearth's manor, with Mirela's body in front of him and Keran crying beside her. Cam looks at the bloody dagger in his hand as the voices grow stronger, accompanied by banging at the door. Mirela gets up, blood pouring from the wound in her chest, and walks towards Cam, asking him why he did it.
The cleric tries to back away, but the room seems to move with him as Mirela continues to advance, a misty tendril rising from her body. It feels so real to Cam that he drops the dagger and runs through the first exit he finds, only to end up in the same room he was in before. Facing Mirela once more, he takes out a dagger and cuts himself, hoping the pain will make him come to his senses. The sudden jolt makes him realise that, as vague as his recollection of Mirela's murder is, this isn't the way the events really transpired. Cam then throws a dagger at Keran, striking the man in the chest, which causes him to shift into a shadowy creature; Mirela does so as well.
Elora is the next to awaken and finds herself in a forest, with the Spire of the Moon, her home, burning in the distance. Hearing screams, she runs towards it and arrives almost immediately, seeing bodies everywhere. Suddenly, her heavily-wounded father staggers out of the gates and spots his daughter, asking her why she didn't save them. Elora goes over to him and, after touching him to confirm he's real, holds her father as he breathes his last. Then, the bodies, looking gaunt and undead, rise again and advance on her, causing the elf to fire an arrow into one of them. The creature subsequently dissolves into black mist, while the rest turn into shadowy versions of themselves and close in on Elora.
Jiǔtóu comes to in an arid desert and realises that, physically, she's suddenly a lot younger. Feeble, malnourished and in chains, she looks around and sees tieflings mining in a quarry. A group of dragonborn march towards Jiǔtóu's parents, who are desperately trying to hide their daughter. The slavers command that the tieflings hand her over, but they refuse; in a flash, one of the dragonborn snaps the neck of Jiǔtóu's mother with his whip, while another cuts down Jiǔtóu's father. Even though she's still an adult mentally, Jiǔtóu's response is almost child-like: she runs over to her mother's body and tries to wake her.
Back in the marshall's office, Amelia panicks at the trio's sudden disappearance and demands to know where they've gone, to which Nanny Bones retorts that it's a shame she didn't join them. In response, the half-elf strikes, slashing the witch across the face with her short sword. Although she's hurt, Nanny Bones focuses on the sphere in her hand to keep the spell active. In the Far Realm, shadows descend on Cam, Jiǔtóu and Elora - the first manages to evade the attack, but the second and the third are both struck by these figures made of black mist.
Vixanis, seeing Nanny Bones concentrate on her spell, moves up to the door of her cell and uses another lockpick to unlock it. She gently pushes the door open, shoots a glance at Trellimar, and then slams it into the witch with all the strength she can muster. Even though she caught onto the attack at the last second, Nanny Bones is shunted forward and attempts to slash at Vixanis in retaliation. The drow avoids the witch's claws and dashes towards Trellimar, snatching her crossbow out of his hands. As Vixanis frantically loads her weapon with bolts, Trellimar fires his Eldritch Blast at Nanny Bones, punching a hole in her torso.
As a result, part of the orb in the witch's hand disintegrates and Elora is catapulted back towards the real world. Nanny Bones is clearly winded and summons three copies of herself as the gaping wound in her torso slowly regenerates. She also has a crown of bones form around Amelia's head, putting the half-elf under her control. Meanwhile, Cam casts Light on Duracell and stabs Mirela, having figured out that she's the real target. The attack triggers something and he's suddenly transported back to the marshall's office as another piece of the sphere in Nanny Bones' hand falls away. Elora fires an arrow and hits one of the duplicates, causing it to shatter, following which she transforms into a dire wolf and blocks the exit.
In the Far Realm, Jiǔtóu breaks down at the sight of parents' bodies. She struggles to gather her thoughts and think properly about what is going on, but eventually realises that certain details don't match her memories - for one, a single dragonborn killed her parents, not three. Her fear turning to anger, Jiǔtóu gets our her guandao and cleaves through one of the shadowy dragonborn, before lashing out with a kick. As her opponent dissolves, the final remnants of Nanny Bones' orb crumble away and Jiǔtóu is sent back to the marshall's office, where she arrives with a scream of fury.
Distracted by the tiefling's sudden appearance, Cam fails to notice Amelia walk past him and towards Trellimar, whom she stabs in the gut. Instinctively, the drow casts Hellish Rebuke, engulfing the half-elf in white fire that knocks her out and to the ground. As she lines up her shot with her crossbow, Vixanis quips that she wouldn't want to get on his bad side. She then fires a bolt into one of the copies' heads, instantly causing the other two duplicates to disappear. As Nanny Bones falls to the ground, her appearance of an old woman disintegrates, revealing her to be a pink-purplish blob with a single crystalline eye. She thrashes for a bit, before turning to dust; simultaneously, the crown around Amelia's head disappears and Cam rushes over to her, casting healing magic that stabilizes her.
Jiǔtóu, having been denied her revenge against Nanny Bones, finds herself with a lot of anger and nothing to take it out on. At the same time, Elora looks outside and sees the previously bewitched animals flee the village. She changes back into her regular form as Cam turns to Vixanis, asking her if she has anything with which they can heal Amelia. The drow jokes that she's more adept at shooting crossbow bolts into witches, causing Cam to throw a dagger past her head to indicate he's being serious. Unbothered, Vixanis pockets the dagger and tells Jiǔtóu, who has begun smashing various breakables, to calm down. Elora tries to reason with the angry tiefling, telling her it wasn't real, but Jiǔtóu nearly punches the elf in retaliation, before storming out.
Cam and Trellimar argue a bit about the latter having set Amelia on fire, with the former eventually picking up the half-elf and leaving to find help. After wryly commenting she should've broken out a long time ago, Vixanis mentions they should probably inform the marshall, to which Elora agrees. The drow then off-handedly asks Elora and Trellimar where they're headed after this. Upon hearing they're going to Talis'val, she offers to join them, since she's headed to Briarcest, which is in the same direction. As she prepares to leave, Trellimar comments Vixanis is his kind of woman, to which she bemusedly responds by saying he's not her type.
Meanwhile, Cam is looking around town for someone who can heal Amelia and sees injured people are being gathered in Finny's tavern. He walks towards it and shouts out, hoping someone will be able to help him. Cune, Finny's friend, approaches Cam and gestures questioningly at Amelia. Upon receiving confirmation, he brews up a healing potion on the spot and gives it to her, restoring some of her vitality. Cam quickly shoves Amelia into Cune's arms and runs off, meeting back up with Elora as she's trying to find Calvin.
They walk towards the center of town and quickly spot Calvin and Barris, with the former organizing the militia, while the latter is pointing out injured from a vantage point. Cam and Elora speak with the marshall, explaining that the mastermind behind the attacks has been dealt with. When Calvin asks about Amelia, Cam claims she ran off - Elora doesn't buy it, but doesn't say anything. The cleric gives a noncommittal response when the marshall mentions Vixanis, but is let off the hook since they did just save the town. Cam then shouts up at Barris, thanking him for his aid. The rest of the militia start cheering for the young man as well, and only grow more excited when Cam claims drinks will be on Barris that night. Calvin assures the men he will pay in Barris' stead, before turning to Cam and Elora and reminding them to speak with the reeve about their reward after they've rested up.
Back at the marshall's office, Trellimar looks at the remains of Nanny Bones as a voice echoes in his head, telling him he did well. It explains that she had been made by the Daeylkyr, before instructing the drow to continue his journey to Talis'val and find the artifact. Still heavily injured, Trellimar picks up the black crystal that used to be Nanny Bones' eye and then heads towards the tavern to rest.
He arrives there before Cam and Elora and, after being greeted by Finny, sits down in one of the booths. The other two come in shortly thereafter and also speak with the halfling, who happily offers them his room again for the night. After Finny runs off, Cam goes over to Trellimar and casts Light on him, pretending it's a healing spell. The cleric then leaves to go upstairs, but changes his mind and heads out to look for Jiǔtóu with Elora, while Trellimar stays at the tavern. The pair ask around town and eventually find out from Barris that she went into the direction of the ruined manor, leaving a vague trail of destruction in her wake.
Eventually, Jiǔtóu reaches a hilltop that looks over the old manor and she lets out a cry of frustration. She is angry not only for having been made to relive those painful memories, but also for losing her temper so easily. The tiefling drops to the ground and notices she's crying again. As she sits, she remembers the teachings of the monks, which comforts her somewhat.
Sometime after, Cam and Elora arrive, with the former cautiously asking her if she's coming back to town. Jiǔtóu replies she doesn't know, prompting the elf to go sit beside her, though she doesn't say anything. Cam awkwardly stands around, before offering that they all meet up tomorrow and then continue towards Talis'val, to which the two women agree. The cleric subsequently departs, while Elora stays. Jiǔtóu apologizes for almost punching Elora, who forgives her friend, following which they go to sleep.
The next day, Jiǔtóu awakens and feels a draft coming through the flagstones she's lying next to. Remembering the stories of the lost vault she'd heard from Calvin, she wedges her guandao into the crack, pushes and discovers a trapdoor. Beneath it, Jiǔtóu finds a steep stairway and decides to venture down, with Elora reluctantly following. Almost immediately, the tiefling triggers a trap that causes her to be hit with jets of fire, which she shrugs off relatively easy thanks to her fire-resistant skin. As they descend, Jiǔtóu uses her guandao to tap each step, setting off the traps pre-emptively.
Eventually, they reach a chamber, at the end of which lie various wooden chests, barrels and clothing, sealed behind a row of bars. There's also two statues that stand on either side of the room. Wary, Jiǔtóu approaches one of them to take a closer look and realises they're suits of armour, which have faint magical symbols etched into them. She prods it to push it over, causing both sets of armour to come alive. Elora tells Jiǔtóu they should leave, but the tiefling is eager for a fight and strikes one of them with her guandao, which proves ineffective. Although she lashes out with a powerful kick, her target doesn't appear to be deterred in any way.
Elora makes another attempt at convincing Jiǔtóu to leave, but then resigns herself to attacking. Figuring magic is the better approach, she casts Shillelagh on her staff and bashes it into the statue. The opponent retaliates and thrusts its fists at both of its attackers, missing Elora, but hitting Jiǔtóu. The other suit of armour approaches and also strikes the tiefling, heavily injuring her and causing her to lose consciousness.
Seeing Jiǔtóu fall, Elora transforms into a dire wolf, swoops the tiefling onto her back and then runs out of the chamber, managing to dodge the statues' fists as she flees. Outside, she returns to her normal form and pours a healing potion into Jiǔtóu's mouth, only to find that it doesn't do anything. She realises that her friend has died from her injuries and immediately transforms back into a dire wolf so she can carry Jiǔtóu's body to Tallfield. Upon reaching the tavern, Elora shouts for help, waking up Cam and Trellimar, who come down to see what the commotion is.
Elora spots Cune and begs him for help as Cam confusedly walks over to Jiǔtóu's body and realises what's happened. After a failed attempt at healing her, the cleric goes into prayer, reaching out to his goddess, Avandra, for help. Cune walks over, but after checking her body, he shakes his head and signs to Finny that she's gone. In Cam's mind, a voice suddenly appears and tells him that, while she cannot help, there's an elven spire several days away where he might find something. Filled with resolve, Cam picks up Jiǔtóu's body and walks out, a tearful Elora following after him. Trellimar contacts his patron, who informs his vessel that there are two places - a forest and a city to the north - where power resides that could bring back the tiefling, though at least one of them would come at a price.
Trellimar runs after his two companions and tells them what he knows, but Cam's mind is already set on the elven spire, since he trusts Avandra and Elora knows vaguely where it is. As they're walking, they hear a whistle and spot Vixanis, accompanied by a horse she has somehow procured, running towards them. Before she can get a word out, Cam throws Jiǔtóu's body onto the horse, before explaining to Vixanis that they're headed towards an elven spire to revive her. When Vixanis mentions that she will continue to Briarcrest, Trellimar contacts her telepathically and asks her to look into the powerful source of magic that is supposedly located in the city. She agrees, but tells him he might have to do something in return when they meet up again.
Leaving the horse with Trellimar and the others, Vixanis heads off towards Briarcrest, while the rest continues north. After roughly five days of travelling, they reach the edges of an ancient forest and, as they proceed, sense the presence of fey magic. Time and space starts to distort slightly, with the group passing the same rock several times and glimpsing figures that appear and disappear; Elora realises they've entered the Feywild. Eventually, they reach a clearing and find a fey spirit, an elven woman that, from the waist down, has the body of a deer.
Upon learning of the party's quest, the creature examines Jiǔtóu and remarks that her demonic heritage could prove difficult. Nonetheless, the fey spirit agrees to restore the tiefling to life, provided the group does something for her in return. She explains that the Spire of Endless Autumn has recently returned to the material plane, but found itself under attack by orcs that are empowered by a creature called the Green Hunter. The fey spirit charges the group with defeating him and taking the horn from his helm, so she can seal him away for good.
Cam asks her why she hasn't done anything herself, to which the creature responds that she must stay neutral, as a spirit of nature. She also warns him that the resurrection process might cause Jiǔtóu to experience changes, lose memories or even take on other forms entirely. Since the body will stay with the spirit in the Feywild, Trellimar quickly takes the green potion, the metal canister and Gulthia's seed that Jiǔtóu had with her, reasoning that they might come in handy. The fey spirit then parts a few trees with a motion from her hand, creating a path that will transport them back to the material plane. Cam asks if there is anything else she can do to help them, but she responds that they need to accomplish this on their own.
The three depart and soon find themselves in regular forest again. With Elora's help, they determine in which direction they need to go, but after a few hours of travelling, they sense a group of orcs nearby and decide to hide. Trellimar instructs his companions to grab hold of him as he uses his magic rope to pull himself up into the trees. However, Elora can't hold on and falls to the ground, with the resulting noise alerting the orcs, who get out their weapons. While they don't notice Cam and Trellimar, they do spot Elora and immediately start tying her up. Trellimar takes the orcs by surprise by hitting one in the shoulder with an Eldritch Blast, before using his rope to swing towards another tree branch. Unfortunately, the sudden motion causes the drow to lose his grip and fall to the ground as well, landing much more harshly than Elora did.
Meanwhile, Cam casts a magical command on the orc binding Elora, causing him to stop what he was doing. The elf uses the opportunity to Druidcraft herself out of her bindings, following which she transforms into a dire wolf. Two of the orcs strike at her, wounding her badly, while the third one goes for Trellimar, who narrowly avoids the blow. The drow then uses his telepathy on his attacker, unleashing a primal scream in the orc's mind that causes him to instantly back away. Getting up, Trellimar moves in front of Elora and attempts to hit one of the orcs with another Eldritch Blast, but misses. Cam throws two of his daggers, but neither of them connect, leading him to leap down from the tree.
The three orcs subsequently strike at their targets; the one attacking Trellimar fumbles so badly he gets his axe wedged into a tree, while the other two miss both Elora and Cam as well. The drow retaliates first, summoning an energy blast of such power, it completely vaporizes the orc's head. Cam stabs one of the remaining two in the thigh, with Elora subsequently biting into the orc, though she doesn't manage to drag him to the ground.
The other orc gives up on trying to pull his axe free and instead lunges at Trellimar, trying to wrap his hands around the drow's neck. While Trellimar dodges out of the way, Cam receives a devastating blow from his opponent's club. About to fall down, the cleric's hair illuminates with a golden light, the mysterious power once again allowing him to hang on, barely. Lightning-quick, Cam pulls out a dagger and thrusts it into the orc's face, before pinning him to the ground and stabbing him several more times. Trellimar attempts to blast the last orc, whom he just avoided, but his target rolls out of the way. Elora finishes him off by tearing into his neck, following which she reverts back to her regular appearance.
Heavily injured, Cam slumps down to the ground, his glowing hair fading, prompting Elora to cast some healing magic. Trellimar questions Cam on the mysterious power that causes his hair to glow and allows him to survive deadly blows, but the cleric says he doesn't understand it either. Trellimar then asks whether the "curtains match the drapes" when it activates, so Cam drops his trousers to demonstrate, to the embarrassment of Elora.
Afterwards, they examine the bodies of the slain orcs and notice their green tribal tattoos, as well as a brand of a horned helmet on their chest. They also find a crudely-drawn map, which they assume to be some kind of patrolling orders. Cam gives Trellimar a Blessing to improve his stealth, following which the trio carefully makes their way towards the tower depicted on the map. Although they aren't spotted, it takes them a few hours to make it to their destination, due to the sheer amount of orcs patrolling the area. Eventually they see the tower, which has a white stone wall, where several elven archers are positioned, surrounding it. Deciding they need to get the elves' attention, Elora emerges from the treeline with her hands raised and starts walking towards the tower.
When Elora's about halfway, the orcs notice her presence and start to fire arrows at her, but none manage to hit. The moon elf breaks into a run and reaches the gates, where she is greeted by a group of armed soldiers and an older elf with a staff. Upon being ushered inside, Elora tells them her friends need to be let in as well, leading the elf to cast magic and determine whether or not she is telling the truth. Elora is then granted permission and beckons for Cam and Trellimar to come inside as well. When the older elf realises that they're dealing with a drow, however, he grows suspicious and has his guards surround Trellimar. Although Elora protests, the elf does not relent and, deciding they need to report this to the queen, leads the group to the tower.
