AI Summary
5 min readDarktow | Echoes of Exandria | Edinburgh Live Show 2026 Part 1
Kingsley is drowning. Chained to a boulder and dropped into the Lucidian depths by James Tibbles, the Plank King's right hand, he has about three minutes of air and no obvious way out. "I'd like to go on record that I tend to take being killed very personally," he says before the water takes him. "And I'm going to be needing a very sincere apology from each and every one of you."
The Execution That Didn't Stick
The episode opens with Kingsley's execution in Darktow, the pirate island ruled by the Revelry's Plank King. He was caught stealing from the Plank King's private office—a drunken dare that turned into something more when he found a ledger documenting bribes and contract killings reaching into the Clovis Concord itself. The Plank King has been systematically buying control of Nicodranas for at least a year and a half, and Kingsley stumbled onto the evidence.
Using Aetherwalk, Kingsley slips free of his bonds underwater, surfaces unseen, and stows away on a ship heading to Nicodranas. Weeks later, starving and barely clothed, he arrives at the Lavish Chateau seeking Marion Lavorre. "Is your daughter around?" he asks. "We need to get the gang back together. Something's gone a bit terribly wrong."
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What you'll learn
- 1 (02:30) **Sam Riegel's Edinburgh Warm-Up** - The cast takes the stage for a boisterous, profanity-laced introduction, including jokes about Irn-Bru, the Royal Mile, and J.K. Rowling.
- 2 (09:03) **Main Show Introduction & Location Setting** - Matt Mercer welcomes the audience to the live show at Edinburgh Castle and sets the scene for the adventure.
- 3 (16:45) **Kingsley's Escape from Execution** - Kingsley is thrown into the ocean to drown but uses his abilities to survive and escape.
- 4 (27:53) **Kingsley Recruits the Mighty Nein** - Kingsley, starving and half-dressed, sneaks into the Lavish Chateau and asks Marion Lavorre for help, revealing the Plank King's plot.
- 5 (39:40) **The Plan: Usurp the Plank King** - Kingsley pitches his plan to kill the Plank King and take over Darktow, arguing it's the only way to save Nicodranas.
- 6 (59:15) **Teleporting to Darktow** - The party teleports to Darktow, but their arrival is shunted by a magical ward, forcing them to land on a shoal offshore.
- 7 (67:16) **Infiltration: The Water Approach** - The party uses a combination of magic and teamwork to swim unseen to the docks, where Kingsley's ship is docked.
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Show Notes
Part 1
This episode is sponsored by Ravensburger. Grab Horrified: Dungeons and Dragons Ravenloft at Target today! https://rav.wiki/CRHorrified2
Many years of slow-moving machinations come to a head as the Plank King discovers Kingsley’s plot to take Darktow and the Revelry is now hunting the would-be-usurper! His hand forced, Kingsley must call the Mighty Nein to his aid and rush to claim the throne of Darktow before the Plank King claims him!
Featuring Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Matthew Mercer, Liam O’Brien, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, and Travis Willingham
Captured live from Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland on July 12th, 2026
Master of Ceremonies: Daniel Sloss
Character Artwork by Will Kirkby @chamonkee
Darktow Key Art by Coey Kuhn @coeykuhn
Environment Art by Daniel Jiménez Villalba @danieljimenezvillalba
Set Design by Abigail Strasser
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