Beginning credits: In This Moment - "In The Air Tonight" [Official Lyric Video]
After credits, music changes to: Low Level Combat | D&D/TTRPG Combat/Fight/Battle Music | 1 Hour | Copyright free
(Fade in on the party where we left them last time - in the bowels of Mistamere Castle, confronting three identical versions of their fellow party member Greegan)
Fleetwood: "What the hell?!?"
Greegan #1: "They were Bargle a second ago."
Greegan #2: "Hold on, mate! Those two are the impostors!"
Greegan #3: "Come on, Fleety. You recognize me don't you?"
Silverleaf: "I think… maybe… that one is the real one, but I can't tell."
Greegan #2: "Come on, luv. You know me. Sure you do."
Felonious: (Points to Greegan #1): "That one's real - I think."
Greegan #3: "Only a traitor would say that."
Felonious: "What?" He notices the suspicious glance between Clarion and Fleetwood. "Oh, so that's how it is. You're going to believe a fake Greegan? You barely believe the real one."
Fleetwood: "He looks real to me."
Greegan #2: "I hope you're happy, fake me!"
Greegan #1: "I don't know about you, but this is all confusing the hell out of me." Sighs deeply. "Bugger this!" He attacks the other Greegans - a three-way brawl between the identical Greegans breaks out. It is absolutely impossible to keep them straight.
Clarion: "Help him!"
Fleetwood: "Which one?"
Greegan #1: "Yaaaaaaah!" He stabs one of the other Greegans, who pitches over and lies dead at Fleetwood's feet - now it does not look like Greegan but is instead a gangly bluish humanoid with blank features. "I'll teach you bastards to impersonate me!"
The other Greegan stabs him in the arm, but he drives his dagger into its back, causing it to turn into a similar form to the other.
Greegan: "Never bet against *me* in a scrap - even with me."
Felonious: "I knew it was you the whole time."
Clarion: (Nudges one of the dead creatures with her boot.) "What are they?"
Felonious: "Doppelgangers. Their race can impersonate anyone. Thieves and assassins mostly. We had a lot of dealings with them in Glantri. I'm not surprised Bargle hired them. Deuced hard to recognize - they read surface thoughts, helps them blend in. And that's another thing - what is this 'traitor' business?"
Silverleaf: "That smarmy bard told us you work for Bargle."
Felonious: (Acting hurt) "And you believed him?
Fleetwood: "I guess we'll find out soon."
Greegan: "Well," (he indicates the doppelgangers) "They could know something that we don't."
Felonious: "Awfully convenient that they are both dead now, isn't it?"
Clarion: "Well you were Bargle's apprentice."
Felonious: "Until he hung me out to dry!"
Silverleaf: "Did he?"
Felonious: "I'd leave this little… soiree… right now, but you all will need my help if you run into Bargle. And unlike some, I'm not willing to let a little suspicion get in the way of what needs to be done. If we catch Bargle, we can settle up then."
Fleetwood: "Fair enough. Now, how do we find him?"
Greegan downs a sip of potion as they take a short rest. The party heads south, where the find another door. Greegan checks the door, and then opens it to reveal a small but well-appointed chamber with two comfortable-looking beds. The party takes a search of the room, finding a chest with some gold Royals and some shiny jewelry inside.
Greegan: "I hope this wasn't what he paid them. This doesn't look like it's worth what you'd think. Sounds like old Bargle, though. Fooling the foolers."
(The party returns to the camber of doors, where soft laughter echoes around them now, weaving between the adventurers like a playful breeze. Fleetwood instinctively tightens his grip on his sword, scanning the room for any sign of danger. Clarion steps forward, her holy symbol glowing faintly as she calls out in a steady, yet cautious tone.)
Fleetwood: "Who goes there?"
(His voice carries authority, though the underlying tension is evident.)
Clarion: (Gently but firmly.) "What is your purpose?"
(She reaches out her senses, searching for divine insight into the figure's intent.)
Greegan: (Muttering with irritation.) "It's not the bloody imp again, is it?"
(His eyes dart suspiciously around the room, half-expecting trouble.)
Silverleaf: (With a faint smirk.) "It doesn't smell the same."
Greegan: (Turning to her with incredulous disbelief.) "I really don't want to know how you do that."
(As the party exchanges words, the ghostly figure begins to resolve itself, coalescing into the ethereal form of a young girl. Her translucent visage seems both innocent and mischievous, her pale features framed by wispy hair that moves as if caught in a gentle breeze. She giggles again, her laughter carrying an unearthly charm.)
Ghost: "Did you come to visit me? Only Bargle comes down here, and he's so mean. Sometimes he brings those awful ogres. I haven't had any other company in ages."
Fleetwood: "Where is Bargle now?"
The ghost girl points toward the western door.
Silverleaf: "Would you like us to make Bargle go away?"
Ghost: (She seems to consider it) "I don't know. Then I would have no one to talk to at all."
Silverleaf: "I guess Bargle would be better than that. But not much."
Clarion: "Why do you linger here? Surely your family has gone with Thanatos by now."
Ghost: "I got sick. They were still alive; Thanatos took me but I have a strange affection for this place that pulled me back. I missed my home, my friends, my toys. But everyone was afraid. They left me all alone. Until Bargle came."
Clarion: "Would you like to see them again, little one? I can send you home."
Ghost: "Oh, very much." She looks a bit frightened. "Will it hurt?"
Clarion: "Not a bit."
Silverleaf: "Wait." Taking the teddy bear from her bag, she places it at the ghost's feet. "So you don't get lonely on the journey."
Clarion begins the rite that will grant the ghost peace, as she folds her arms as though hugging the bear. Finally, the ghost disappears, taking the bear along with her. The party stands for a moment, lost in the sense of peace. Finally, Fleetwood breaks the reverie.
Fleetwood: "Well, we came here to fight Bargle. Let's do this."
Greegan walks to the western door, and examines it. Apparently unable to tell if it has a trap, he finally shrugs and opens it - to reveal yet another small closet.
Felonoious: "A bit anticlimactic."
Greegan: "There's a door here like the one over on the other side." He pokes and prods at the door, but doesn't seem able to trigger it. " I can't quite get it open." Fleetwood kicks the secret door in, hurting his foot doing it.
Fleetwood: "Ow."
Greegan: "Sure, that's a way to do it."
Throne Room
Background: Tendrils of Doubt | D&D/TTRPG Dark Fantasy Music | 1 Hour
Unlike the other rooms of the castle, this one is richly decorated with marble and gold, with a raised dais to the north. Waiting on the dais stands the imposing figure of Bargle himself. Bargle seems amazed that the party is here.
Bargle: "Who dares disturb the mighty Bargle? You will pay for your insolence."
Fleetwood: (Roars) "Surrender, Bargle!"
Bargle: "To you? That is a good joke. You obviously don’t remember last time you thought you had me."
Greegan: "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get."
Bargle: "Please." (He snorts) "Is this the best challenge you can bring me, Felonious?"
Felonious: "Bring you? I didn't bring *you* anything!"
Bargle: "You don't have to lie anymore." (Chuckles deeply)
Felonious: "You're not worth the thousand gold pieces we'll get for your worthless hide."
Bargle: "Then why don't you come and get them?"
Fleetwood: "With pleasure!"
Bargle waves his hands and chants a protective spell, then draws a dagger and awaits the party charge.
The wizard proves deceptively agile, his billowing robes making it difficult to hit a vital spot. He almost dances through the party, seeming to know exactly where each blow is coming, and even avoiding Felonious' magic missiles and stabbing expertly with his dagger - putting Greegan out of the fight and badly wounding Silverleaf as well.
When he mows through to the other side of the room, Bargle quaffs a potion and disappears from sight - laughing the whole time. The party can hear his footsteps running away.
Fleetwood: "After him, quickly!" Silverleaf sprints after the invisible foe, and Clarion stays to tend to Greegan as the others try to assist her in locating Bargle. Unfortunately, they quickly lose track of him. For a moment, Silverleaf thinks she hears his footfalls, but once out of the immediate area he stops moving, making himself even more difficult to locate. The party continues to pursue in what they think was his direction but find themselves facing a dead end with no idea where Bargle has gone.
When the party returns to Clarion and Greegan, the rogue remains unconscious and Clarion is none too steady on her feet, having taken much of his hurt upon herself. Felonious' healing potions get Greegan and Clarion on their feet, but neither is at full health. It's only now that they notice the door on the western end of the room. Greegan examines the door, then opens it on what appears to be Bargle's treasury.
Treasury:
The chamber is opulent, far grander than anything they’ve encountered in Mistamere thus far. Gold trim glimmers against elaborately carved stone walls, and intricate murals depict ominous scenes of Bargle’s supposed triumphs.
Greegan: "Bargle really likes to toot his own horn, doesn't he?"
A massive, circular pedestal sits in the center of the room, with strange runes glowing faintly along its edge. Two iron chests sit on the floor of this room, open to display dazzling wealth. The first is filled to the brim with gold coins, while the second contains several crystal wands, and vials of colored liquid. Greegan examines the chests, and finding no obvious traps, picks up one of the gold coins. He scratches it with a thumb nail, and the gold flakes off, revealing copper underneath. Frowning, he turns to the second chest, and motions to Felonious. The wizard waves a hand over the chest, and then looks as disappointed as Greegan.
Greegan: "It's all a fake. There's not even a trap in here."
Silverleaf: "We need to catch up to Bargle before he goes to ground. He probably doesn't even keep his treasure here."
Greegan: "There's more to this, I can practically smell it."
Heading out into the throne room, the party searches it again. Greegan locates a heavy stone door concealed in the south wall, but he doesn't seem sure how to open it. Fleetwood stands ready to bash the door open, but he warns:
Fleetwood: "Whatever's in here, it's going to hear us coming."
Everyone readies themselves, and Fleetwood shoves the door open. Light streams out as the party barge into the next chamber.
Bargle's Lair:
Background Music: The Feeling Of Bargleness
(Yes, this appears to be a real band)
After that the background music changes to: End This | Epic Battle, Combat, Boss Fight Music | D&D, RPG Dark Fantasy Ambience (1 Hour)
The heavy stone door opens on a chamber more opulent than the last. On the far side of the room, across a placid pool of water, sits a marble throne decorated with gemstones atop a raise dais. The party stops in the doorway, amazed to see that the room appears to be filled with identical Bargles.
Silverleaf: "And I thought three Greegans were bad."
Bargle: (Voice multiplied many times) "I see you have pierced through all my ruses. I should have known fools like you were too stubborn to be tricked so easily. But your stubbornness has earned you nothing but death."
Bargle and his duplicates unfurl identical scrolls and began to chant, causing the water in the pool before the throne to churn violently. As the party charges forward to confront their evil adversary, the water rises up, forming a colossal fist that slams down upon them. The force of the blow drags them into the pool, where they are pulled under by the powerful undertow. Bargle's laughter, amplified by his duplicates, echoes around them as they were sucked into the depths.
With tremendous effort, Fleetwood manages to push his companions and himself above the water, gasping for air as they struggle in the whirlpool. The water seems alive, attempting to drag them back down. Felonious quickly downs a potion and levitates out of the pool, pulling Clarion and Greegan along with him.
Fleetwood dives down to attack the water, freeing Silverleaf but putting himself in danger of drowning again. Silverleaf peppers the elemental with magic missiles, causing it to release Fleetwood, but it remains unharmed. Clarion attempts to banish the elemental, but the spell fails dramatically due to Bargle's powerful magic. Greegan throws his magic dagger at Bargle, but it only strikes one of Bargle's duplicates, which vanishes in a flash of light, leaving the dagger out of reach.
Fleetwood and Silverleaf try to swim out of the pool, but watery hands grab them and try to dunk them back under. Clarion attacks a nearby Bargle duplicate, which vanishes, but she strikes a glowing rune on the tile it was standing on, causing an explosion that knocks her out. Felonious casts a magic missile spell, wounding the elemental, which lashes out against him, but his mage armor spell deflects the attack. Greegan takes out two other daggers and attacks more of the Bargle duplicates, but he steps on an explosive rune, barely avoiding the blast.
Fleetwood flails about, trying to attack the water, but he's rapidly running out of breath. Silverleaf wounds the elemental with another magic missile but is dragged down toward the bottom and floats unconscious to the surface. Fleetwood also sinks toward the bottom of the pool. Felonious casts a spell, finally slaying the elemental as Greegan dives in, unsuccessfully attempting to pull Fleetwood up from the bottom.
Bargle chuckles and casts another spell, his duplicates mimicking his every move. A fiery barrier erupts between the pool and the throne. Felonious suddenly splashes back into the water. He and Greegan struggle to pull Silverleaf and Fleetwood out of the pool, but eventually manage to bring them to the surface where they can breathe. Felonious forces a potion down Fleetwood's throat, causing the warrior to cough and gag back to consciousness.
Felonious: "Come on. Swim for it."
Fleetwood barely manages to get himself and the others out of the pool, and lies on the edge gasping, staring daggers at the wall of fire on the other side.
Greegan: "Whatever Bargle's concocting on the other side of that, we're in no shape to beat it." Felonious administers his last healing potion to Clarion. She remains unconscious.
Felonious: "We need whatever you have left to get out of here before he pulls something else." The three of them pull up their unconscious comrades and limp toward the exit as Bargle's voice calls out mockingly.
Bargle: "Do come back and visit again, won't you? Next time I'll be sure to have tea and crumpets."
Montage: The party, battered and weary, painstakingly navigate their way out of the dungeon, narrowly escaping the remaining creatures and traps set by Bargle. Their arduous journey culminates as they finally return to the familiar and welcoming embrace of the Juggling Ogre.