Timothy (DM)
Welcome to Shadows of Prophecy, a D&D real play podcast, where we will find out what it takes to become a hero, face our darkest fears, and pull ourselves out of a pit of despair. Shadows of Prophecy is a Dungeons and Dragons real play podcast with violent themes and adult language. Listener discretion is advised.
Timothy (DM)
With us today to traverse through adventures of loss and tragedy, we have myself, Timothy, as our ambivalent DM; Chris as everyone's favorite soft boy, Salvador Saltrose; Russell as our beefy army ship, Chef Paavu Skywalker; and Ian as an utterly discernible pirate, Arnold of the Sea. Join us as we enter the Shadows of Prophecy. Prologue: A World Unravels. Chapter 2 - It Came From the Deep
Timothy (DM)
So, you pick up the broken frame and look at the painting, and you see a portrait of a young gentleman, quaffed blond hair, and a big cheesy grin, blue eyes, and a ruffled collar, and an emerald, like, silk-looking jacket, ordained with lots of little golden baubles.
Chris (Sal)
I'm guessing this is somebody who used to live here or related to somebody they used to live here, and mayyybe they're haunting this place?
Timothy (DM)
[shriek from Russell] As you say the word "haunting", you hear a series of giggles, echoing omni-directionally around you.
Russell (Paavu)
[hurriedly] Yeah, maybe... maybe we go look at vantage point and then leave.
Chris (Sal)
Exactly. Yes. Good job team. Floor number one is clean!
Timothy (DM)
They're like little children, playing, having a fun time.
Russell (Paavu)
Yeah, we should hurry.
Chris (Sal)
Okay.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Yeah, no, it sounds like a plan!
Chris (Sal)
So... we, uh, take to the stairs,
Timothy (DM)
You make your way to the stairs, and as you place your left hand on the banister to step up onto the first step, you see a blur of motion out of the corner of your eye. When you whip around, there's nothing there
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Are all the creepy dolls still there?
Timothy (DM)
All the creepy dolls are still there on the shelf.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
[long pause] Alright guys, let's go upstairs.
Russell (Paavu)
Yes, post-haste.
Timothy (DM)
So, you make your way up the spiral staircase, which lets out into a entrance hall of sorts. You can see a hole in the floor that leads down into the room below you. There is a large orrery on this floor as well as two other doors on the same wall as the one below, and that's when you hear the faint pitter-patter of wooden feet on the floor below.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Did those things have wooden feet, the tiny little creepy things?
Timothy (DM)
Some of them did--
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Ohmygod :(
Russell (Paavu)
I pull out both hand axes [Ian and Tim laugh] I will watch the stairs.
Chris (Sal)
Is? Oh, there are no doors on the stairs! Okay.
Timothy (DM)
There are not! [Chris laughs] They're... just it is a stone stairwell up the vein of the tower.
Chris (Sal)
Okay.
Timothy (DM)
You pull out your hand axes, and you watch patiently at the top of the stairs, waiting for some sort of movement, but there is none. Again, the tower's sitting in silence.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Alright, let's, uh, let's do this fast.
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, ok.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Look! Watch behind us, please! [nervous laughter]
Russell (Paavu)
Okay!
Chris (Sal)
Continue going up the staircase?
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Yeah, sprint-runnin' it.
Timothy (DM)
You... okay, so you just want to go all the way up.
Chris (Sal)
Yeah.
Timothy (DM)
So, you pause for a moment at the landing of the stairwell, and then you make your way on up to the third floor. As you enter this room, around the stairwell is a large stone sigil that wraps around the stairs, and then a ladder leading up to the final floor. The sigil is scarred with fire and ash and several other substances that you may not fully pick up on, but, uh, are... appear of other colors, like a sticky residue.
Chris (Sal)
So, is the sigil engraved or is it in sort of--
Timothy (DM)
It is carved into the stone.
Chris (Sal)
Are these sigils recognizable from the sheets of paper we found already?
Timothy (DM)
No, they do not reflect anything on the papers from the writing desk.
Chris (Sal)
Mmm, I get a bad feeling from seeing ash and... is that blood?
Timothy (DM)
[secretively] Perhaps...
Chris (Sal)
--some resin?
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Is it a hatch to the next floor?
Timothy (DM)
Yes.
Chris (Sal)
Well, I.. I can think of one thing we could do is to try to destroy part of the ring. I don't know. I... I get a feeling that there's a certain thing you have to do to be able to pass through this circle without getting injured.
Russell (Paavu)
Oh.
Timothy (DM)
And then again, you hear the pitter-patter of wooden feet. This time, above you.
Chris (Sal)
Oh... Hello?
Russell (Paavu)
Can I take my servered head and throw it? [Chris and Ian laugh] See if it triggers anything?
Timothy (DM)
You may. So, you take the severed head that you have strapped to your hip, and you toss it through the sigil area. And nothing happens.
Russell (Paavu)
I think it's safe.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Okay. You first!
Russell (Paavu)
Okay, I go get my severed head.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, so you walk across the stone sigils. And-- [Ian laughs] it's just you're looking at me with so much anticipation. So, you walk across the stone sigils, and you retrieve your severed head.
Russell (Paavu)
Yeah, it's safe.
Chris (Sal)
Good job. Paa. I'll follow.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Yeah, I'll follow, too.
Timothy (DM)
You all cross over the stone sigils, and make your way to the ladder that leads up to the hatch in the ceiling.
Russell (Paavu)
I'll stay here; I don't like ladders.
Timothy (DM)
Again, you hear the patter of wooden feet on the floor above you.
Russell (Paavu)
It's fine. I'm sure it's nothing.
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, it's... it's probably seagulls. Right? Seagulls with wooden feet, maybe? No?
Russell (Paavu)
Wait. Is it not the roof up there, or another floor?
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
There was the top.... what did the top of the tower look like?
Timothy (DM)
There was a roof on the top of the tower. It's like a rectangular roof. There was a hole that you could see in the shingles, but it kind of gets progressively smaller.
Russell (Paavu)
Yep.
Chris (Sal)
And there are windows on these floors now.
Timothy (DM)
There are windows on these floors, yeah.
Chris (Sal)
Okay. So, from the third floor, what can we see?
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Yeah--
Russell (Paavu)
That's a good question.
Timothy (DM)
All right. So, you go up to the windows on the third floor, and you peek out, and you can just see over the canopy. Several branches do block your view, but far off into the distance, you can see the Port of Pollos.
Chris (Sal)
Ohhh...
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Oh, yeah, we don't have to go up anymore. Let's get out of here!
Chris (Sal)
It's a good point... I don't know, I'm still perplexed by these scrawlings.... and the animated androids or dolls?
Timothy (DM)
You are all still very tired, very injured, and very hungry.
Chris (Sal)
Hmm, yeah.
Russell (Paavu)
We could always come back.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Yeah!
Chris (Sal)
That's a good point.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Yeah. Yeah.
Chris (Sal)
Sorry, Tim.
Timothy (DM)
You're fine. It's okay. [mischieviously] I'm not letting you out.
Chris (Sal)
There are windows.... and I have rope! [imitating Tim] "And then there's the giant axe that swings and cuts your rope!"
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
[imitating Tim] "And then a dragon it appears, flying around the tower!"
Timothy (DM)
Again, you hear giggling, echoing all around you as a blur of motion moves behind you. You whip around to see what it was. [to Russell] What were you going to do? What were you gonna do!
Russell (Paavu)
I was gonna try to swipe at it with... with the handax.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, do it. Try to...
Russell (Paavu)
Not using that die anymore. 11?
Timothy (DM)
Okay, so describe what you do.
Russell (Paavu)
Paavu's gonna pivot on his heels with one of his hand axes, and just, like, swing with it as he turns.
Timothy (DM)
All right, so you swing out into the air, making no contact with anything. As you pivot around, you see something slip behind a bookshelf.
Russell (Paavu)
You! Come out!
Timothy (DM)
In response, a giggle.
Russell (Paavu)
[trying sound strong] Seriously, we're really cool... guys....
Chris (Sal)
We got to appeal to the kids. Yeah...
Russell (Paavu)
[stammering] I have... uh, a severed head if you'd like to play with it? Does anyone have any candy?
Chris (Sal)
What's in our provisions? Is it just bread? [to the ghost] We have some lightly dampened bread?
Russell (Paavu)
I have a soggy seasoning pouch. It feels really goopy.
Timothy (DM)
So, you are now trying to coax whatever it was out from behind the bookshelf when you start to realize the bookshelf is jutted up right against the wall. What could have slipped past there?
Russell (Paavu)
A two-dimensional being? Can I go push the bookcase?
Chris (Sal)
Which direction?
Russell (Paavu)
No? I don't have to...
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
I'm gonna start looking for shadows that don't seem right. [Tim laughs]
Timothy (DM)
So, Edgar, give me an Investigation--
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Sure.
Timothy (DM)
-as you are on edge, scanning the room for anything out of order.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
9.
Timothy (DM)
You scan the room, focusing in on the shadows that you all are casting, and nothing seems out of place. You can count your shadows 1...2...3... [long pause] Nothing's really moving...
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
I though you were about to say "four" [everyone laughs]
Timothy (DM)
I have to create tension! 1...2...3... all of your shadows are accounted for, nothing extra. No other movements this time, except the flicker of your torch, flicker of your lantern against the stone walls.
Chris (Sal)
So... so, the bookcase is not in front of a entryway.
Timothy (DM)
Correct--
Chris (Sal)
Oh, it's just on a wall. Okay.
Timothy (DM)
--It's on a wall, an outer wall.
Chris (Sal)
The only exit is either downstairs or up the ladder?
Timothy (DM)
Yes.
Chris (Sal)
Okay. Well, it's against my better judgment, but maybe we should go up to that fourth floor. [Ian laughs]
Timothy (DM)
Edgar is like "Noooope". [Ian laughs]
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
[laughing, to Sal] What?
Russell (Paavu)
I will hold the ladder for you.
Chris (Sal)
[rationally] Okay, I feel like there's some sort of spirit here that needs something accomplished. So, the sooner we can help them, probably the sooner we can get back to town.
Timothy (DM)
Ohhhh, the naive Salvador. [Tim laughs] You haven't been hardened by the war yet.
Chris (Sal)
Oh, definitely not, no.
Timothy (DM)
All right. Is... is Edgar going to say anything to any of this?
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Noo, he's...he's very shocked.
Timothy (DM)
Very shocked and confused at the compassion to a fault. As Salvador makes his way over to the ladder and starts to climb up, Paavu holding the base of the ladder, you hear the creaking of the rungs as you make your way up, and you reach the top where you see the hatch above you.
Chris (Sal)
And I push open on the latch and I fwoop over the door.
Timothy (DM)
Yep, so you push over the latch, and you peek your head up into the fourth floor of this tower, and in the center of the room, you see a large blue crystal floating maybe three feet above the ground but chained down by three sturdy chains.
Chris (Sal)
Mmm, and this is the only thing inside the room.?
Timothy (DM)
Yes.
Chris (Sal)
Well, gang, there seems to be a giant blue floating crystal with... and it's chained to the ground, uhh. It's an odd thing to keep at the top of your attic, but...
Russell (Paavu)
Does does it look evil?
Chris (Sal)
Can I do an Insight check on... on the rock?
Timothy (DM)
Give me an Arcana check.
Chris (Sal)
Okay, hopefully, uh, your dice will help me with this. Oh, yes, pretty good. That's a 15.
Timothy (DM)
A 15. This feels like a focusing stone, massive in size larger than any that you've ever seen, but you have learned about these. Source users tend to use them.
Chris (Sal)
So, it's like a spellcasting focus, but like the size of a bowling ball?
Timothy (DM)
Or like a large armoire.
Chris (Sal)
Oh my gosh!
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, it's a massive crystal in the center of this room.
Chris (Sal)
How they get this up here? Why is it floating? Oh geez...um, well...
Timothy (DM)
You've never come across magic of this scale.
Chris (Sal)
This is... I don't know if you guys want to come up and see it, but it is a very large crystal... and there are other windows in this room? Can I look out and see what my vantage is now?
Timothy (DM)
Yes, so you can climb up into the fourth floor, and again you stare out the window. This time, you see the Port of Pollos more clearly... no, no branches in your way, maybe five miles off?
Chris (Sal)
Okay. And there's... it's just a straight shot?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, it's on the coastline. So, now you know what direction to head up the coast.
Chris (Sal)
Gotcha. Oh, my, my curiosity is getting the better of me. I really want to touch it and I know I shouldn't touch that
Timothy (DM)
It lets out a faint hum...
Chris (Sal)
Like, what's the hum, like? [hums Itty Bitty Pretty Ones]
Timothy (DM)
Like [Ian laughs] *INSERT SOUND EFFECT HERE*. It's just like a low pulsing hum like very like bassy [imitates rhythmic bass]
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
The bass dropped? [Ian imitates Skrillex bass drop]
Chris (Sal)
The chains start rattling! [jugga jugga jugga jugga]
Timothy (DM)
Flashing light... strobe light,
Chris (Sal)
I cast Thaumaturgy to make the lights go all crazy.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Edgar will climb up because you've...you've climbed up.
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, it's all safe from what I've seen.
Timothy (DM)
Paavu is going to climb up?
Russell (Paavu)
Yeah, I climb up, too.
Timothy (DM)
So, Paavu... Paavu and Edgar climb up behind Sal, and you step up onto the fourth floor, and you see this crystal floating the center of the room. Alright, give me Arcana rolls.
Russell (Paavu)
7
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Aw, 0.
Timothy (DM)
Alight.
Russell (Paavu)
I throw my severed head at it.
Timothy (DM)
[Ian and Chris laugh] At the crystal? It splats against the crystal. You hear just, like, a little squelch as it drops to the floor and rolls a bit
Russell (Paavu)
It's safe.
Chris (Sal)
Ok... as a divine user, like, do I just see it as, like, illegal? Do I see it as inherently bad? It's just, like, I'm not somebody in power. I just... I just use magic.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, it kind of-- I mean, Praea and Pudicium are the two major religions, the ones that, like, police it, most other people just, like, don't interact with it enough, so it's kind of your personal opinion. You may or may not have experienced good or bad things in connection with it.
Chris (Sal)
Yeah. Well, I think... magic is magic. It's only good or bad if you use it for good or bad. So, I... I'm gonna go closer to sort of inspect it and see what it's all about because I've never seen something of this magnitude.
Timothy (DM)
All right, so you step closer, and as you do, you feel the hair on the back of your neck and your forearms start to lift as... it's almost like static, but it's just, like, charged in the air as you approach.
Chris (Sal)
It's a little spooky. And the sound of wooden feet? That's what... that's the crazy thing: sound of wooden feet, but there's nothing in this room... I don't know, I get a bad gut feeling. I put my hand on the stone.
Timothy (DM)
You place your hand on the stone, and you feel this, like, invigorating energy start to lift you up. Not physically, but just, like, energizing and, like, giving you...I dunno--
Chris (Sal)
A pep talk?
Timothy (DM)
--giving you a pep talk! Caressing your body with its warm [sensually] power.
Chris (Sal)
Well, this is an interesting feeling of... maybe, you'd be interested in it as well?
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Does it just look like he walked up to this thing and put his hand on it to us? Like, he's having this, like, semi-profound experience?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, he's having a semi-profound experience. You might acknowledge some of that through his composure and expression [to Salvador] because it feels good.
Chris (Sal)
Yeah...
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
But he just went up and touched a rock?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Okay.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah.
Chris (Sal)
[clarifying] A big blue rock. [Ian laughs]
Russell (Paavu)
Yeah, Paavu's always open to new experiences. And, I, uh, go up beside him and touch the rock.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, you place your hand on the stone, and you also feel this, like, uplifting, energizing [Ian laughs] flow through your body.
Russell (Paavu)
This is some good shit.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Alright... you guys are gonna, like, kill me if I don't touch the rock, right? This isn't.... No? You... you just want me... you want me to touch the rock in, like, a normal "you want me to touch the rock" sort of way, not like a "you must touch the rock" sort of way?
Chris (Sal)
This is... this is an open... this is open to whatever you decide, but don't feel any pressure.
Timothy (DM)
All right, Edgar, you also walk up, and you touch the crystal. Again, this warm energizing feeling fills your body.
Russell (Paavu)
Can I poke Sal with my other hand? [Tim laughs]
Timothy (DM)
S'you poke Sal?
Russell (Paavu)
Does it create a circuit?
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Yeah, I was about to say, are we going like... are going to...
Chris (Sal)
--short-circuit?
Russell (Paavu)
[Ian laughs] Can I lift my hand on the crystal over and over again?
Timothy (DM)
Sal, you feel the flow of energy going from Paavu into your right arm.
Chris (Sal)
Well, this is definitely top 10 of weird experiences that I can remember.
Timothy (DM)
This is like a weird arcane spin-the bottle, and I was not expecting this! [Ian laughs]
Russell (Paavu)
Far out!
Chris (Sal)
Well, on a side note, I think I know the way back to town.
Russell (Paavu)
Do we take it with us?
Chris (Sal)
I... I don't know, it's chained.
Russell (Paavu)
It could float
Timothy (DM)
As you are talking, and you all are weirdly enacting a strange arcane version of spin-the-bottle, you see a blur of motion start in the corner of your vision, but then move straight across, and what you see is akin to the strange dolls on the first floor in the entrance room, but something that immediately strikes you as odd is that it's moving across your vision from left to right, while facing you the entire time. You hear the sound of giggling children and the pitter-patter of wooden feet as it makes its way across your vision and stops. Now, all alerted to its presence, you turn to see it as it looks each one of you directly on, staring you straight in the eyes.
Russell (Paavu)
[waving] Oh, hello.
Timothy (DM)
[definitively] Roll initiative.
Russell (Paavu)
So, it always has the same perspective no matter what direction you look at it from?
Timothy (DM)
So, each one of you experience it as if it's looking at you. You don't have the shared experience that it's looking at everybody. Alright, the doll is looking at you. Its creepy distorted patchwork body just makes no sense, and neither does the way that it's been moving.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Well, Edgar is definitely panicking. So... he, uh, in a panic, draws his rapier and sort of brushes at it and tries to... take a swipe at it.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, make an attack roll.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
24!
Timothy (DM)
24 will hit; you slash into the figure.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
4 points of damage.
Timothy (DM)
You slash through its body, and that's when you realize it only has two dimensions. Not like the dolls downstairs, but merely a projection of them. [laughs]
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
I didn't... I perceived as, like, I just swung my rapier through nothing?
Timothy (DM)
You... you swing your rapier, it goes through their body, and then, like, it's still there.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Yeah, so I don't feel like I hit anything.
Timothy (DM)
It doesn't feel like you hit anything, no.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Okay, got it. Great.
Timothy (DM)
And you see maybe a small smudge across their picture.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Ah, so it looks like I might've done something.
Chris (Sal)
I am up next, and I think to myself, "This is probably tied to the dolls downstairs." So, I say to Edgar and Paavu "I'm gonna go check out those dolls downstairs." [laughter]
Russell (Paavu)
Wh-what?
Chris (Sal)
I think it's somehow tied to it... that either this is the spirit of one of those dolls or... I don't know, but I say that, and I move towards the latter while I cast Sacred Flame on the image. All right, it needs to do a Dexterity saving throw.
Timothy (DM)
Does a 12 pass?
Chris (Sal)
It does... because that is exactly my saving throw value.
Timothy (DM)
All right, so it passes.
Chris (Sal)
I'll be back.
Russell (Paavu)
I call dibs on prizes!
Chris (Sal)
You'll get the first one!
Timothy (DM)
As your Sacred Flame flies out, you see the image spins to evade the attack, and all you can see is a line that runs the height of the doll before it's.... it kind of swivels back.
Chris (Sal)
Okay [Tim laughs], and then I'd use my the remainder of my feet... how...how far down the tower could I get?
Timothy (DM)
So, you can... depending on how you want to do this, you can pretty quickly descend down the ladder, doing that fun little video game slide.
Chris (Sal)
Yeah.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah.
Chris (Sal)
So, like [imitates sliding noise]
Timothy (DM)
You got a little... couple of splinters, but it's worth it to avoid whatever the fuck this shit is. [laughs]
Chris (Sal)
Oh, yeah.
Timothy (DM)
All right.
Russell (Paavu)
Paavu is gonna try to make a beeline for its behind, like, flank it--
Timothy (DM)
Alright.
Russell (Paavu)
--and I'm going to swing at it with my first handaxe because I have two.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, you have advantage, now that it's flanked.
Russell (Paavu)
One was a nat 1, so that's good. Does a 19 hit?
Timothy (DM)
A 19 will hit.
Russell (Paavu)
That's for 10 slashing damage.
Timothy (DM)
All right, so you also slash across its body. It feels like you're slashing through air, but as you draw your hatchets... hatchets?
Russell (Paavu)
Yeah, plural.
Timothy (DM)
As you draw your hatchets through its body, you see, like, little cuts across it.
Russell (Paavu)
The second hatchet does 4 damage.
Timothy (DM)
All right.... aaand that's when you notice the second one. As you turn around, you notice the second one had been standing behind you all this time.
Russell (Paavu)
[down the hatch] Sal, come back!
Chris (Sal)
Oh, I'll be right there.
Russell (Paavu)
There's another one!
Timothy (DM)
So, the second creature is going to glide across the room towards you all and attempt to... attempt to claw at Edgar from behind.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
[astutely] Seems bad.
Russell (Paavu)
[whispers] Oh my god.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Su-per dead!
Timothy (DM)
Okay, you're gonna take 8 necrotic damage--
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Oh, I... I drop. [Russell whispers "Oh no"]
Chris (Sal)
You gotta get out of there. We need to get out of this place.
Timothy (DM)
--and your strength score is reduced by one--
Timothy (DM)
--as you have your life drained from your body. You all can see this black energy flow from Edgar's body into the child-doll thing as its form darkens, and the other one is going to attack Paavu...who is able to sidestep out of the way.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
[coolly] Cool.
Russell (Paavu)
Lets dance.
Timothy (DM)
All right.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
All right!
Timothy (DM)
Let's do that death saving throw, Edgar.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
16! Hey!
Timothy (DM)
Alright, one success.
Russell (Paavu)
Sal, Edgar's down.
Chris (Sal)
Oh no! Get out of there; we've got to escape this place.
Russell (Paavu)
Okay, get ready to catch him.
Chris (Sal)
Okay, well I'm down [stammering] okay. Yeah, I'll... I'll go prepare to catch him. Well, I could probably cast Healing Word on him, but I'll prepare Spare the Dying, so that I can catch them, and then we can flee.
Timothy (DM)
All right.
Russell (Paavu)
How, uh, far away am I from the hatch?
Timothy (DM)
I mean, the room is only like 20 feet across--
Russell (Paavu)
So, can I use my action to disengage across... drag Edgar to the hatch and just push him in?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah!
Russell (Paavu)
Okay.
Timothy (DM)
I think there's enough time for that
Russell (Paavu)
[shoves Edgar] THINK FAST.
Chris (Sal)
Whoa, I thought you were kind of come down and carry him. I'll go... I...I try to catch Edgar.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, give me a Strength save.
Chris (Sal)
Oh boy, baby....I got a +2 and I hope this goes well. That's a 5. [laughter]
Timothy (DM)
Okay, so, Edgar's body comes tumbling down the ladder, and as you brace yourself to catch him, your knees buckle, and you collapse under his weight. You are now cradling his body but on your knees.
Chris (Sal)
Okay.
Russell (Paavu)
Next catch!
Chris (Sal)
I cast Spare the Dying on him.
Timothy (DM)
All right. Edgar, you regain consciousness?
Chris (Sal)
He's just stabilized.
Timothy (DM)
You're sta--. Okay, Edgar, you're stabilized, but still unconscious, and Paavu is upstairs with both of the creatures.
Russell (Paavu)
Yes, I turn around, hatchets ready.
Timothy (DM)
All right... Is it mine already?
Russell (Paavu)
Yeah, yeah.
Timothy (DM)
Oh, fuck. [laughs] Okay. Okay...
Russell (Paavu)
[to the dolls] You'd better taste good.
Chris (Sal)
Probably empty calories.
Russell (Paavu)
Flavor's flavor.
Timothy (DM)
Two golem-esque dolls glide on towards you Paavu, and they reach out of their two-dimensional beings and try to claw at you.
Russell (Paavu)
Is that a Nat 20? No? Yeah?
Timothy (DM)
No, it's two 18s,
Russell (Paavu)
Those both hit.
Timothy (DM)
Okay, good. You are going to take 11 necrotic damage.
Russell (Paavu)
I am going to use my reaction to do Stone's Embrace and try to reduce that... I reduce all of it. [Chris and Ian laugh]
Chris (Sal)
Nice, you are a tank.
Timothy (DM)
Oh my gosh. What is this build?
Russell (Paavu)
That's a racial ability for Goliaths.
Timothy (DM)
Oh, I didn't know that. That's really fun. Okay, so they both claw into you.
Russell (Paavu)
Oh, that was both of them? I think I can only do it from one.
Timothy (DM)
Oh.
Russell (Paavu)
So, which-whichever was the higher.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, okay. So, they both claw into you, and you feel the piercing pain of your life force being stripped from your body as you find resolve to tense up...and...and just push through a sheer willpower to block some of it. You take 4 necrotic damage.
Russell (Paavu)
Ugggh, oh, I healed myself. [Tim laughs]
Timothy (DM)
Oh, yes Salvador. "And Edgar passes..."
Chris (Sal)
I'm gonna... I'm gonna cast Cure Wounds on Edgar--
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Woo!
Chris (Sal)
--and you're going to regain one d8 plus my spellcasting modifier. So...
Russell (Paavu)
Dang!
Chris (Sal)
Boo doo bah Boo, boop, boop boo. That's gonna be 9 points of health [Ian rejoices]. and I'm gonna give you a pat on the butt, and I'm gonna say "Let's get the hell out of here", and I'm gonna use my movement to go down the stairs, and I say "Paavu, please come down!" [Tim laughs]
Russell (Paavu)
But what if it tastes good?
Chris (Sal)
We can find out later when we have reinforcements.
Russell (Paavu)
Oh, yes, okay.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
I just... I just fell unconscious, and then woke up in your arms?
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, like 'Hey there"
Timothy (DM)
You wake up, and you see this tiefling's face just looking down on you. How do you... how do you heal?
Russell (Paavu)
What's the Healing Word?
Chris (Sal)
Oh yeah, the Healing Word is, uh...[grasping at straws] I can't think of a word. I'm gonna... it's gonna be uh...
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
[like a muse from on high] Bandolier. [Russell laughs]
Timothy (DM)
Bandolier, and...and how do you, like, you have to touch him, where do you touch him?
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, I, uh, I touch the bandolier and I sort of, like, wrap it. I sort of, I wrap it up, I give it a tug, and I sort of yank it back and forth and say, "You're gonna make it. You're gonna make through it. You're gonna make through it. We got wake up; there are dolls everywhere."
Timothy (DM)
So, you regain consciousness to this tiefling dude that you've just met recently, just shaking you awake. He's holding you in his arms--
Chris (Sal)
Slapping the face.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Before I realize exactly what's happening and who it is I go, "Yarrrr, what's going... oh, hey, man!" [Tim laughs]
Chris (Sal)
Good thing, you're awake!
Russell (Paavu)
Paavu shouts "Get out of the way."
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
I'm outta the way, I left.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, Paavu.
Russell (Paavu)
First, I'm going to use my bonus action to do Second Wind...[crestfallen] that's a 1 plus 2, so 3? And I'm gonna use my action to Disengage and just jump backwards down the hatch.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, Paavu, you jump backwards down the hatch--
Russell (Paavu)
Incoming!
Timothy (DM)
--you slam down to the floor below you. Give me a luck roll.
Chris (Sal)
Don't break your ankles. Don't break your ankles!
Russell (Paavu)
I mean, I'm a 400 pound guy.
Chris (Sal)
Oh, yeah, you're... you're like eight feet tall. So, like, you could just...
Russell (Paavu)
Natural 20.
Chris (Sal)
[in awe] Whoa.
Timothy (DM)
You feel the ground below you... kind of give. You hear the cracking of wood, but it sustains your weight.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Nice, I thought something else was-- [Tim laughs]
Chris (Sal)
Going like a spike through the floor
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
He's going to go through and be fine, right, but...
Timothy (DM)
All of your faces were so good just now. [happy sigh] Yeah, so, so you land on the ground below you.
Chris (Sal)
[imitating crashing through several floors] Doomp-doomp-doomp
Russell (Paavu)
Ah, I'm still a spry as a winter chicken.
Timothy (DM)
All right. So, from the hatch above, you see these figures start to move down the ladder after you.
Russell (Paavu)
Can I... can I run as part of the... does that kind of movement? Just?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, you all can start making your way to the stairs.
Russell (Paavu)
All right. Can I... I want to help Edgar up--
Timothy (DM)
Alright, so you go on over to Edgar and then help him to his feet.
Russell (Paavu)
--and put him in front of me and just stay behind him to block.
Timothy (DM)
Perfect.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Yeah. How do you look?
Russell (Paavu)
A little battered but not too bad.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Edgar, as he's running, he pats you on the shoulder and goes, "You're gonna do great." I'm casting Bardic Inspiration, and then run downstairs.
Russell (Paavu)
And that's just advantage with a--?
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
No, you're gonna get a d6 on the next ability check, attack roll, or saving throw. You can use it after you roll, but before you hear the result.
Russell (Paavu)
Okay. [poshly] Thank you, young man.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
You feel invigorated.
Russell (Paavu)
[Paavu gives a primal roar]
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
How far can I get? Just the next floor?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah. That's how far going downstairs is?
Chris (Sal)
Yeah.
Timothy (DM)
It's a turn. Sure. Yeah. All right. Next up is Salvador.
Chris (Sal)
Okay, I'm on the second floor. Do I sense any ill nature on this floor?
Timothy (DM)
You do not.
Chris (Sal)
Okay, I'm gonna continue to the first floor.
Russell (Paavu)
[shouting] Keep going, we're right behind you.
Chris (Sal)
And is the door still propped open?
Timothy (DM)
You make it down to the entrance room, and you do see the door's still propped open with the book you stuck underneath it. All the dolls are still in place.
Chris (Sal)
Okay, I'm gonna take one of those dolls, and I'm gonna smash it. [upon second thought] No, this might be a bad idea!
Timothy (DM)
You... do you want to commit?
Chris (Sal)
I take the doll off the shelf, and I'm going to take... I'm just going to... I'm going to hold it and I'm going to examine it.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Rock-a-bye baby!
Chris (Sal)
[to the doll] What do you need? Are you hungry? Do you need to change? [Ian and Tim laugh]
Timothy (DM)
Burp it?
Chris (Sal)
Yeah.
Timothy (DM)
So, you take the doll off the shelf, and you start to examine it. You turn it over in your hands quickly, and again, you see parts of flesh, parts of metal, parts of porcelain, all stitched or bolted together. You hear the rattling inside its chest.
Chris (Sal)
Is that a broken heart I hear? [Tim laughs]
Timothy (DM)
It doesn't respond.
Chris (Sal)
Well, I think I used... I used my movement to go downstairs. I'm gonna use... I guess I used my action to examine it, so I think that's my turn.
Timothy (DM)
Yep. All right, Paavu.
Russell (Paavu)
Do I have to use my action just disengage again?
Timothy (DM)
No, they didn't make it down the ladder.
Russell (Paavu)
Okay, so I'll run after Edgar and just stay just behind them to like--
Timothy (DM)
Alright
Russell (Paavu)
--to fulfill my tanking duties.
Timothy (DM)
So, you are beelining it for the exit. You are, like, flying down these stairs. You hear the laughter of children just behind you, the clamber of wooden feet on the wooden floor, and you find yourself, all three of you in the entrance chamber, while Salvador examines the doll.
Russell (Paavu)
I never did like children
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Yeah, let's get out of here. [laughs] Yeah. I run out the door. Come on, guys.
Chris (Sal)
Okay. Yeah.
Russell (Paavu)
Wh-what if it follows?
Chris (Sal)
Well, we can close this door.
Russell (Paavu)
Okay.
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, Sal's gonna put the doll back on the shelf, very nicely, and he's gonna run out the door and get his spears ready to sort of-- is there a lock on the inside of this door?
Timothy (DM)
The lock has been busted.
Russell (Paavu)
Yeah, I broke the door in.
Chris (Sal)
Oh, yeah, he kicked the door, I forgot about that. Let's see. Is there anything that we can.. we could probably tie the.. we can tie the... because it burst in, we can tie the handle with a rope...
Timothy (DM)
You are in combat. Things are running down the stairs.
Chris (Sal)
Yeah,
Timothy (DM)
You maybe have seconds to do this.
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, I'm gonna run out, and I'm going to tie a rope to the handle the door--
Chris (Sal)
--as I as I go out, I'm gonna say "I'm gonna pull it shut ss soon as you exit."
Timothy (DM)
Alright.
Russell (Paavu)
All right.
Timothy (DM)
Give me a Dex save to accomplish that in the allotted time.
Chris (Sal)
Okay, yeah, I am not a sailor, so let's see how this goes! That's an 18.
Timothy (DM)
All right, an 18 will do it, just barely. As you hear the laughter just beyond the wooden door, the pounding on wood, you hold the door closed tight
Russell (Paavu)
Wait. Help me!
Chris (Sal)
He's exited, right?
Timothy (DM)
Yes. [laughs]
Russell (Paavu)
[in nasally voice] Well, for flavor. [regularly] Paavu was gonna take one of his... Paavu takes one of his hand axes as he runs out the door and, like, kicks the book away, or did you already do that?
Chris (Sal)
I didn't kick it away. So, yeah, you can kick away.
Russell (Paavu)
Or hits it away.
Timothy (DM)
Perfect. All right. You're all standing at the base of this tower. You hear the laughter of children, the pitter-patter of wooden feet...
Russell (Paavu)
[quickly] Tie it to a tree!
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, I take the other end and I tie it to a tree.
Timothy (DM)
All right, you hold the rope taut, and you tie it around the trunk of the nearest sturdy tree, and it holds shut.
Chris (Sal)
Good job, team.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
Nice job.
Russell (Paavu)
That was was close. Paavu's gonna walk up to the door and take the point of one of his axes and just carve "BAD"
Chris (Sal)
Good thinkin'.
Russell (Paavu)
Yes. All right. Let's make a shelter--
Chris (Sal)
Back to the beach.
Russell (Paavu)
--or is anyone up for some platonic spooning? [nervous laughter from Ian and Chris] Y'know, just to keep warm.
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, I yeah, I suppose we don't have any blankets. So, um, I guess that'd be okay.
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
I saw a cape back there.
Chris (Sal)
Oh, yeah. Oh, you did? Oh, that's perfect. [wipes sweat from brow and whistles] Oh, wait, I tore that up to make rib- bandages..
Ian (Arnold/Edgar)
No, just a little bit of it, not the whole thing. Why would you do that?
Chris (Sal)
But yeah, so we make up camp and, uh...
Russell (Paavu)
[sadly] No cuddles for Paavu.
Chris (Sal)
Well, you're bigger than all of us, so you're definitely big spoon.
Russell (Paavu)
Yes, cuddles is cuddles.
Chris (Sal)
Yeah.
Timothy (DM)
And as you set up camp, you feel the warm sea breeze. You stare off into the sea and reflect on your day and whatever the fuck just happened.
Chris (Sal)
Hopefully, it's not strong enough to tear down a door or just climb down the side of the tower.
Russell (Paavu)
It'll be fine.
Timothy (DM)
Whatever it was you put your day behind you as you drift off to sleep.
Russell (Paavu)
[snoring from Paavu]
Timothy (DM)
And that is where this chapter of Shadows of Prophecy comes to a close. Thank you for joining us through the darkness and continue the story next time for a thrilling new adventure.
Timothy (DM)
Shout out to my brother, known as the chill electronic vapor soul artist LUSQ for writing our chillingly epic theme song; editing by Scrubcast; and a big shout out to Syrinscape for some amazing atmosphere and music. Make sure you check them out at syrinscape.com. I always use them at my game table, and it really does add that little something special to bring your players into the story. Also, please follow us on Twitter @shadowsprophecy and Instagram @shadows_of_prophecy. And hey, show us some support by becoming one of our fabulous patrons at patreon.com/shadowsofprophecy, where you can get access to bonus content like handouts, encounter maps, and even adventure guides to run your own horrific campaigns or one-shots. And at the very least, give us a five star review on your podcast platform of choice. This is how we get the word out about our podcast, and we love sharing it with you all. Thank you, and tune in next time for more tales of dread and despair at Shadows of Prophecy.