26. An Explosive Side Quest

Blackstaff Tower continues to serve as a sandbox of arcane strangeness as the Skeleton Crew explores the hidden basement level. First, they encounter the remnants of a ritual gone wrong and find themselves communicating with what just might be a Whisperer. Then, they stare down the jaws of an underwater predator inhabiting a flooded chamber.  Roll the Bones is a Dungeons & Dragons podcast. You can reach us at [email protected], learn more at www.rollthebonespodcast.com, or get more content—and vote on events in the show—via our Patreon page.

Locked inside Blackstaff Tower with the Blackstaff missing and Calix Grimwood making his move, the Skeleton Crew decides the cleanest way to earn the tower's trust is to start eliminating Grimwood's students. A meditating apprentice drags Oz into a vision of his sister reading their story aloud, and the party learns that the School of Whispers doesn't let its disciples die cleanly. A newly unlocked basement turns up dead teleportation circles, a crypt, a caged catoblepas, and a sphere of annihilation someone has been studying in secret. Then a voice in the dark makes an offer — will the Skeleton Crew consider it?  Roll the Bones is a Dungeons & Dragons podcast. You can reach us at [email protected], learn more at www.rollthebonespodcast.com, or get more content—and vote on events in the show—via our Patreon page.

Today we've got an extra long episode as Malifax DuVex's dinner party comes to an end, and the Skeleton Crew takes its first steps into Blackstaff Tower. The Tower isn't just full of little puzzles — it's a giant puzzle unto itself, and if they're going to unlock its secrets, they're going to need to understand exactly how the Tower works. There are a couple of wrinkles, though: The Blackstaff herself is missing, a mutiny is brewing among the wizards, and the Tower's on lockdown until the crisis is resolved.  Roll the Bones is a Dungeons & Dragons podcast. You can reach us at [email protected], learn more at www.rollthebonespodcast.com, or get more content—and vote on events in the show—via our Patreon page.

With the Queen of Knives' blessing, the crew calls on Malifax DuVex, retired Blackstaff instructor, professional provocateur, and owner of a puppy assembled from several other puppies. Mal has exactly one way into the tower, and it costs one evening of catering. So: white uniforms, illusory decorations, aboleth soup, and a guest list of people who want to murder or rob each other. Somewhere in the room is a young mage with an arcane focus the crew needs and no interest whatsoever in being charmed. The mission is simple: Steal the crystal. Return the crystal. Try not to die over dessert. Roll the Bones is a Dungeons & Dragons podcast. You can reach us at [email protected], learn more at www.rollthebonespodcast.com, or get more content—and vote on events in the show—via our Patreon page.

Then there were three. Today, we say goodbye to a member of the Skeleton Crew.  Afterwards, it's time for another round of downtime activities: Oz carouses and makes a new enemy, Four tries to be good but struggles, and Mal'kreth makes his debut as a pit fighter. Next, the crew needs access to Blackstaff Tower. In exchange for helping, the Queen of Knives tasks them with demolishing a rival gang's headquarters. Then, things start to get strange.    Roll the Bones is a Dungeons & Dragons podcast. You can reach us at [email protected], learn more at www.rollthebonespodcast.com, or get more content—and vote on events in the show—via our Patreon page.

Stranded in Skullport and scrounging for passage back to Waterdeep, the party takes a detour into petty larceny—lifting a locked chest from a dockside tavern that doubles as a front for a local assassins' guild. Loot in hand, they drop in on an underground auction where the final shipment of The Witness's teardrop weapons goes under the hammer, won by a mysterious buyer they haven't seen before. By dawn, they're back in Waterdeep, at the Lighthouse, ready to regroup. Roll the Bones is a Dungeons & Dragons podcast. You can reach us at [email protected], learn more at www.rollthebonespodcast.com, or get more content—and vote on events in the show—via our Patreon page.

In the aftermath of the Witness's death, the party picks over her sanctum for clues and a few choice pieces of loot, then steps back into the Infinite Library—this time ten years in the past. This one's a lore-heavy episode: every answer the crew pries loose reveals more questions. And the longer they linger in the stacks, the more of themselves they seem to leave behind. Roll the Bones is a Dungeons & Dragons podcast. You can reach us at [email protected], learn more at www.rollthebonespodcast.com, or get more content—and vote on events in the show—via our Patreon page.

About 20 minutes into this episode, something happens at the table that leaves The Skeleton Crew speechless—and by now you know that's pretty rare. The wild moments don't stop there, as the gang fights tooth and claw to survive a battle to the death against The Witness, a foe more dangerous than anyone they've ever encountered. Roll the Bones is a Dungeons & Dragons podcast. You can reach us at [email protected], learn more at www.rollthebonespodcast.com, or get more content—and vote on events in the show—via our Patreon page.

The Skeleton Crew is reunited just in time for another fresh hell. Mal'kreth and Oz duel another gith prisoner for the key they need to move forward, while Four Stone finally escapes their trial chamber. Once the gang reunites, they reach the armory—where The Witness finally stops watching from the shadows and addresses them directly. But before they can reach her, the gloves come off one more time: with their gear finally back in hand, the party kicks off a chaotic, full-contact brawl against the dungeon’s last remaining acolytes—one final fight on their way to the boss, assuming they survive it. Roll the Bones is a Dungeons & Dragons podcast. You can reach us at [email protected], learn more at www.rollthebonespodcast.com, or get more content—and vote on events in the show—via our Patreon page.

Inside The Witness’s dungeon, the party searches for their gear and each other while the maze throws fresh traps and mind-games in their path. Oz and Mal’kreth encounter other prisoners, but trust is dangerous down here. Four Stone tackles a new puzzle and guzzles an acid-based brew. Kahu rescues a prisoner and sneaks through a monster pen. It feels like they're close to reaching the Armory—but what waits for them there? Roll the Bones is a Dungeons & Dragons podcast brought to you by a crew that includes writers, actors, game designers, and a college professor. You can reach us at [email protected], learn more at www.rollthebonespodcast.com, or get more content—and vote on events in the show!—via our Patreon page.