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 podcast with violent themes and adult language. Listener discretion is advised. With us today to traverse through adventures of loss and tragedy, we have: Dan as our ambivalent DM; myself, Timothy as our astute historian bard, Alice Prerok. Helen as an eclectically mossy druid, Panret; and Russell as our rambunctiously protective hermit, Uprielyn Upri. Join us as we enter the Shadows of Prophecy. Prologue: A World Unravels. Chapter Three - A Reckoning of Truth.
Dan (DM)
Hi, I'm Dan Shaw. I will be DMing today. My pronouns are he/him, and my characters pronouns are... many... a lot of different ones.
Russell (Upri)
Hi, my name is Russell Belisle, my pronouns are they/them, and I'll be playing Uprielyn slash Upri, whose pronouns are she/her.
Timothy (Alice)
Hello, I am Timothy, I will be playing Alice Prerok. My pronouns are he/they, and Alice's are she/her.
Helen (Panret)
I'm Helen. My pronouns are she or they, and I will be playing Panret, whose pronouns are they/them.
Dan (DM)
Beautiful. Are we ready party ready to go? Best of luck, hold on your butts. [clears throat] I'm so sorry, everybody who listened to that. A fecund landscape of thick underbrush and towering trees hide the many mysteries of the Enchanted Forest. Shimmers and glints of color catch your eye, but pass beyond your peripherals too quick to make out. A magnificent flora of Technicolor dreamscapes unfold at every step, and behind every bend, a new feast for your eyes waits to be seen. It's day three of your trek into this magnificent woods on your search for the Temple of Freya. It's the morning of day three. You all are waking up in your camp. I imagine you've got cute tents and whatnot. What is everybody doing?
Russell (Upri)
Upri actually slept in a tree because she finds that a lot safer than the ground.
Dan (DM)
That's fair, honestly.
Russell (Upri)
So, she climbs down from her tree, and you see a tall half-orc woman with this really long beautiful, like, raven black iridescent blue hair that's just like a beautiful mane, and it goes down like halfway through her back, like, it's just, like, wild, like, like Rose Quartz wild hair. [laughs] She is quite muscular, super thick, stands about six five tall. She doesn't wear any armor; she just has a bunch of like animal leathers; she has a mid drift; a little, like, shoulder cape that's made out of some sort of, like, fox; and then she has a bunch of belts, maybe, like, five or six, that just are holding up a bunch of different, like, animal pelts that she's kind of smashed together in, like, this kind of skirt thing. She's barefoot; no shoes.
Dan (DM)
Perfect. I was really hoping when you said multiple belts. I was like, a LuLu belt dress?
Russell (Upri)
Kind of, but not really. [Dan laughs]
Dan (DM)
A LuLu belt skirt.
Russell (Upri)
She... she has sharp features but a very wide set jaw, and most notably, her weapon is very distinct. It is a small sapling that rooted itself around a rock that she has uprooted and just carries around as a hammer. [Dan laughs] So, it's a baby tree with its roots wrapped around a rock and that's her weapon.
Dan (DM)
That's amazing.
Timothy (Alice)
[in a wistful lady's voice] "Oh, Upri, you're up. I'm just putting the kettle on. Would you like a cup?" and you see Alice crouched over the fire. She has a long leather duster over some rough hewn linen clothes. She has a lot of scrolls and quills and other, like, writing utensils, journals strapped to her hip in a little satchel, and she has, like, fiery red hair that's all kind of thrown up in a very quick messy bun, and she kind of has this very frail frame with a very long gaunt face.
Russell (Upri)
[in a Southern lady accent] Well, a cup of tea sounds lovely. I'll be right over. I just have to water my hammer.
Helen (Panret)
Um, a cup for me too, please, also.
Timothy (Alice)
Oh, good morning, Panret.
Helen (Panret)
So, Panret emerges from the woods, covered in leaves. You're not really sure where they've been for the past eight hours but they see me well rested. [Tim and Russell laugh]
Timothy (Alice)
Okay.
Russell (Upri)
[as Russell] Poor Alice.
Helen (Panret)
Panert is... is short, around five two, built sturdily (for human, at least) is wearing, well, mostly the leaves, but also some leather, and it looks like a few pieces of wood are in there also. It all comes together, actually... y'know, it works as a look. [Tim nods] Y'know if you're... the look that you're going for is, like, a bush that's hungover. [Dan laughs] But, Panret wait patiently for a cup of tea
Timothy (Alice)
Wonderful. That's three cups this morning, same as the last.
Dan (DM)
What's Alice's race?
Timothy (Alice)
She is an elf.
Dan (DM)
And I don't remember who said that about...
Timothy (Alice)
She is actually a high elf, too
Dan (DM)
With enough drugs, all elves are high elves. [Dan giggles, Tim sighs]
Timothy (Alice)
Very funny.
Dan (DM)
That's fine. So, you all get ready for your day, you pack up your tents if you had one pack up your... ropes? that you tied yourself to a tree with maybe so you don't fall out?
Russell (Upri)
Just one.
Dan (DM)
Just a single rope, and then pack up your bush? I don't... for some people? Anyways.
Helen (Panret)
Well, I am the bush.
Dan (DM)
Oh, right. Fair enough. [Tim laughs] And you head out for the day. So, it's... you've been looking for this temple, the temple of Freya. You know, it's supposed to be somewhere in this area of the Enchanted Forest, but you have yet to find it over the past two days. And it is day three. Somebody gives me a Survival check.
Timothy (Alice)
Upri, do you mind leading the way today?
Russell (Upri)
Why, of course, Al.
Timothy (Alice)
Oh, Panret. You look a little anxious. Is there something you'd like to say?
Helen (Panret)
I have spent a little bit more time in the woods. I'm...I'm happy to to lead us off if you'd like.
Russell (Upri)
I mean, I live here, but by all means. Have at it!
Helen (Panret)
[packpedalling] I didn't mean to... I didn't mean to offend.
Timothy (Alice)
Oh, wonderful. Yes, Panret, lead the way; maybe we'll have some luck today.
Russell (Upri)
Yeah, clearly I've been the problem that's why we haven't found it yet.
Dan (DM)
*INSERT SHADE NOISE* [makes some ch-ch-ch-ch noise]
Helen (Panret)
Do we need a mediator?
Russell (Upri)
No, I'm good. I'll just...
Dan (DM)
Is Panret also from this forest? Like, do you live in this forest?
Helen (Panret)
No--
Dan (DM)
You're just from a forest?
Helen (Panret)
--no, I'm from the hills.
Dan (DM)
Okay, gotcha.
Helen (Panret)
But I don't know.
Timothy (Alice)
The more guides, the better!
Helen (Panret)
I don't know how to, like, compare Survival skills but, uh, without, like, asking in a meta way.
Russell (Upri)
Oh, no, you can.
Helen (Panret)
Can I?
Russell (Upri)
Yeah, I have a plus 3.
Helen (Panret)
I have a plus 5.
Russell (Upri)
Alright, so I'll just help you.
Helen (Panret)
Okay.
Russell (Upri)
Pan Pan, why don't... why don't you take the lead, and I'll just assist.
Helen (Panret)
Okay.
Dan (DM)
Yeah, so you can have advantage on that roll because, um, you're being assisted by a local... a yokel!
Russell (Upri)
THE local [Dan laughs]
Dan (DM)
The OG local.
Helen (Panret)
There's only one?
Russell (Upri)
No, there's two of us.
Helen (Panret)
Oh, okay.
Russell (Upri)
Yeah, my master, Nim Nim.
Helen (Panret)
Are you on good terms with the other local.
Russell (Upri)
Yeah, he's my mentor. [to Dan, the editor] Cut out master.
Dan (DM)
Mhmm.
Helen (Panret)
Okay, yeah. Should I roll it?
Russell (Upri)
[to himself] My mentor, Nim Nim.
Helen (Panret)
I'm rolling for a Survival check. I don't need to narrate. [Tim laughs]
Dan (DM)
Do you want another d20 'cause you got advantage?
Helen (Panret)
Huh?
Dan (DM)
Advantage.
Helen (Panret)
Oh, I have another.
Dan (DM)
Okay, there you are.
Helen (Panret)
11 and 12 plus five. So, 16 and 17.
Dan (DM)
17. Nice. So, yeah, 17 will do it for you. As you start your trek for the day, you eventually make it to an area where the landscape starts to change. Everything before seemed to be very, like, wild, a lot of underbrush. You're kind of, like, pushing or cutting your way through it, and you eventually find your way to where you find paths, or what at least used to be paths in the forest. It's easier to walk through, and eventually you start to see, like, small ruins of structures. You start to see these crumbling walls, you see a few rusted braziers about, as if, like, a civilization or people used to be here or some kind of humanoid civilization used to be here. What is everybody's passive Perception?
Helen (Panret)
Passive Perception of Panret is 13.
Russell (Upri)
Also 13
Timothy (Alice)
Alice is 14.
Dan (DM)
Perfect. So, you all have pretty good passive Perception. It's not 10 or less. So, that's pretty good in my... in my opinion. With your passive Perceptions as you're walking down this path, which starts to get more manicured as you go through, more buildings off to the side, and as you kind of walk past a building, something catches all of your eyes in the overgrowth of these ruined buildings. Does anyone have... take a look? You just see some kind of what looks to be maybe a statue, kind of hidden in the brush.
Timothy (Alice)
Could he be? Panret! I think we've... I think we've done it.
Helen (Panret)
Let's take a closer look at that statue.
Dan (DM)
Yeah, okay. So, you dig through the brush and eventually find a small statue, which seems to be a naked woman, round with child. You all recognize this to be one of the symbols of Freya, who is the goddess of fertility and love.
Russell (Upri)
[astutely] Wow, she has some biiiig titties.
Timothy (Alice)
Upri, of course, she does.
Russell (Upri)
Who's that supposed to be again?
Timothy (Alice)
Freya, she is the goddess of womanhood and motherhood, and she [pause] would of course have large breasts; she must feed the children.
Russell (Upri)
I mean, I guess that makes sense. I mean, I'm sure the sculpture wasn't a pervert at all. "Sculptor", my bad
Timothy (Alice)
No, of course not. Get your mind out of the gutter, Upri.
Helen (Panret)
Is there anything else noticeable nearby?
Dan (DM)
Give me perception check.
Helen (Panret)
6.
Russell (Upri)
15.
Timothy (Alice)
Dirty 20.
Dan (DM)
So, Alice and Upri, you notice that as you're kind of stopped to, like, check out this small statue, you notice above the treeline that you can see smoke, which looks to be kind of consistent with campfire smoke, just like thin lines of smoke going up into above the canopy. Alice, you also notice a little bit of rustling in the bushes just a little bit farther ahead of you.
Timothy (Alice)
Oh, what do we have here? Do we have a little critter?
Russell (Upri)
Al, do you see that smoke? Were you expect another party?
Helen (Panret)
Wait, can you guys fill me in? There was a leaf over my eyes. [Dan and Russell laugh]
Timothy (Alice)
Oh, it appears that we are not the first visitors of this area. There may be a camp over there.
Russell (Upri)
I'm going to take your head and point it gently up and to the right so you see the smoke rising up above the treeline.
Helen (Panret)
Good. Okay, well, were we expecting this to be inhabited?
Russell (Upri)
Oh, you think they live here?
Timothy (Alice)
Well, if there are--
Helen (Panret)
Well, someone's been taking care of this area. It's not nearly as overgrown as...
Russell (Upri)
Oh, fair.
Timothy (Alice)
--well, if there are locals, maybe they know more about the ruins and can point us in the right direction.
Russell (Upri)
Would I know what inhabits this forest?
Dan (DM)
There are a lot of different creatures that inhabit this forest, intelligent and otherwise.
Russell (Upri)
Any dangerous ones?
Dan (DM)
I mean, plenty of dangerous creatures inhabit the forest: natural predators, also, creatures like gnolls or bullywugs might find their way into making small camps and whatnot in the forest...
Helen (Panret)
Are gnolls smart enough to make a fire?
Dan (DM)
I think so. Right? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, they have hands they can make fire.
Helen (Panret)
So, do we think they're friend or foe?
Russell (Upri)
Uh, let's proceed with caution. You never know who you're going to get in this here forest.
Timothy (Alice)
That is probably the best course of action.
Dan (DM)
Alice, you notice that the rustling in the bushes has stopped.
Timothy (Alice)
Oh, d-did we scare you off? Don't worry, we're-we're quite kind.
Russell (Upri)
Al, who are you talking to?
Timothy (Alice)
Oh, I think there's just a little critter in the bush over there.
Russell (Upri)
Which one?
Helen (Panret)
It's me, Panret. [Dan and Russell laugh]
Timothy (Alice)
Oh, not you, silly. That bush, over there. I saw something rustling
Russell (Upri)
[to Alice and Panret] "Stay back" and I'm going to take out my tree hammer and approach the bush.
Dan (DM)
What was your Perception check earlier?
Timothy (Alice)
20
Dan (DM)
20, okay. As Upri is approaching this bush that Alice noticed, Alice you also notice that behind the crumbling walls, you see movement as if somebody is, like, trying to move around to, like, pince... like, to get behind you guys from in front of you.
Timothy (Alice)
It appears we are not alone. The camp is closer than we must have thought. Um, everybody on guard, please.
Russell (Upri)
Aye aye, doc? Professor? Do you have a diploma? A degree? A doctorate?
Timothy (Alice)
I d-do actually have several degrees from uh, universities around the world
Russell (Upri)
Oh, do go on. What do you have them in?
Timothy (Alice)
But, now is not the time [Dan laughs]
Russell (Upri)
Yeah, you're right.
Dan (DM)
Alice, this... the uh, the whatever it is that was, kind of, trying to get around behind you: it doesn't seem to be paying attention to what you're saying and continues to go as if unseen.
Russell (Upri)
Can I hit the bush? [to himself] Why did I have to say it like that?
Helen (Panret)
I know we had a disagreement earlier; don't hurt me.
Russell (Upri)
No, Pan Pan. Not that... not you.
Timothy (Alice)
Hello, there. We do see you.
Dan (DM)
Oh!
Timothy (Alice)
W-w-would you like to come out and talk? Um, we don't mean you any harm.
Dan (DM)
Yeah, from the bush, you hear [flustered frog noises], and out of the bush jumps two bullywugs and from behind one of the walls behind you jumps another bullywug like [in a trio of frenzied ribbety voice] "What did you do with our... what did you do with our... what do you do with the golden lady?"
Timothy (Alice)
[panicked] Uh-uh...settle down now! There's no need to be all flustered. Um, w-we've just arrived here ourselves.
Dan (DM)
All three close in with their spears and continue to, like, deal you, [frog voices] "Wh-what? Give her back to us. What did you do with her? [frog cackling]"
Russell (Upri)
Now, now. We don't know nothing about no golden lady. Just the big titty one over there.
Timothy (Alice)
Is it... are you speaking about this statue?
Dan (Merl)
No, she was big and gold, and that one is small and stone! We want our golden lady back!
Russell (Upri)
I mean, we could help you.
Dan (Merl)
[stammering in Bullywug]
Timothy (Alice)
Yes, we-we-we would help you look for it, but we have never seen it before. Would you- would you mind putting your spears down and just talking this out?
Dan (DM)
Give me a Persuasion check, and everybody else give me Insight checks.
Timothy (Alice)
A 10. [laughs]
Helen (Panret)
I failed the Insight check.
Russell (Upri)
Natural 1 on the Insight check
Timothy (Alice)
Oh no!
Russell (Upri)
[cluelessly] "They're my best friends"
Dan (DM)
Two natural 1s?
Helen (Panret)
Yeah!
Dan (DM)
Perfect. So, I guess, Alice, you can give me an Insight check as well because you are talking to them.
Timothy (Alice)
17.
Dan (DM)
Okay, that'll, that'll do it. So Alice
Timothy (Alice)
Didn't do my Persuasion very well.
Dan (DM)
They're not terribly hard to persuade, so they'll, like, at least listen to... and listen to you and hear you out, and you also notice that while they're terribly aggressive and, like, violent, they're also, like, you can see in their eyes that they're, like, incredibly flustered as well, and they're just kind of... they almost seem lost, like, you see, like, this kind of pain in their eyes rather than just, like, "I want to kill you to kill you" sort of vibe that a lot of enemies give off a lot of times in D&D. [in Bullywug voice] "I'mma, *pant* *pant*"
Timothy (Alice)
Now, now, my dears. W-we can help you. J-just put your spears down, and we'll talk.
Dan (Merl)
"Okay", and they kind of like sheepishly put their spears away. "Wuh-wuh, we're sorry. We're just uh... we had our golden lady, and then she disappeared, and we're worried that somebody probably took her, and we're... we're just oh, we're just here. Come with us. Come with us. We'll we'll we'll--" [crying] they start to cry.
Timothy (Alice)
Don't cry, my dear. [Dan cries] Just show us wh-where you last saw it--
Dan (DM)
[rapidly] Oh, okay.
Timothy (Alice)
--and we'll start from there.
Dan (DM)
"Yes, yes. Let's go. Let's, uh, go to the temple, uh, we'll show you, we'll show you" and they--
Timothy (Alice)
Upri, Panret, come this way. I don't know what they want, but perhaps we could help and maybe they'll help us in return?
Russell (Upri)
Yeah, we can see how that goes.
Helen (Panret)
Sure.
Dan (Merl)
As you're walking, the bullywug, who is... seems to be the leader is leading you down the path. He goes "Um, oh, my name's... my name's Merl. And this is Kerkle and Barack, and um, we've been searching for the golden lady for a few days, um, and we just don't know where she went. She was atop our, our temple, and now she's gone. But here!" So, he leads you into the temple area.
Russell (Upri)
Merl, have you seen anyone suspicious in the area besides us?
Dan (Merl)
Uh, no, there's nobody else in the area who's come through except for you guys, which is why we had just assumed that you had taken her. She vanished a couple of days ago, and w-we've just been searching for her ever since."
Dan (DM)
So, he leads you down this path, and as you get closer and closer to what you assume is the temple as he's leading you down, you start to notice that these white and purple mushrooms are starting to pop up under the underbrush and are like attaching themselves to like dead trees and things like that, and so as you kind of get closer and closer, there become more and more mushrooms, just kind of popping up everywhere.
Russell (Upri)
Can I try to tell what kind of mushroom they are?
Dan (DM)
Give me a Nature check
Russell (Upri)
16.
Dan (DM)
No, you can't. You've never seen these kinds of mushrooms before.
Helen (Panret)
Can I tell what kind of mushrooms they are?
Dan (DM)
You can also give me Nature check.
Helen (Panret)
22?
Dan (DM)
You also have not seen these kind of mushrooms before.
Helen (Panret)
[amazed] Wow. How mysterious.
Russell (Upri)
Should we lick one? I mean... [coughs]
Helen (Panret)
Do you want to try one? [reaaaaally long pause]
Russell (Upri)
Uh, I mean, we can take a couple for the road.
Helen (Panret)
Can I ask the pollywogs about the mushrooms?
Dan (DM)
[pushing up his glasses] Um, the bullywugs. [laughs at pollywogs]
Helen (Panret)
What are they?
Dan (DM)
Bullywugs?
Helen (Panret)
Can you spell it?
Dan (DM)
B-U-L-L-Y-W-U-G. Bullywugs.
Helen (Panret)
[confident] Pullywags.
Russell (Upri)
Bull-bully. Bullywug Bully. Wog.
Dan (DM)
B, with boy... B like boy.
Russell (Upri)
[in a cool voice] Bullywug
Helen (Panret)
I thought you said "pollywog:, and I was picturing little frog fellas.
Dan (DM)
I mean, like, they are little frog fellas [laughter]
Helen (Panret)
Oh, good! I really wasn't that far off? Yeah, ok, good. The bullywugs? Can I ask the bullywugs about the mushrooms?
Dan (DM)
Sure. Yeah, go ahead.
Helen (Panret)
Okay. Excuse me, Merl and esteemed friends.
Dan (Merl)
Oh, yes. Yes.
Helen (Panret)
Have you been cultivating these mushrooms here?
Dan (Merl)
Oh no, they've been growing around this temple probably for a few years now. They just started popping up and--
Helen (Panret)
Are they edible?
Dan (Merl)
Um, well, we don't. We haven't tried we... it's not, it's not a part of our normal diet. So... we like bugs and fish. Sometimes small birds.
Helen (Panret)
Curious.
Dan (Merl)
You can try one if you want. It's... I mean, I'm not going to be offended.
Helen (Panret)
Panret tries the mushroom.
Dan (DM)
There are two types: they're white and purple.
Russell (Upri)
Do you want try the white, and I'll try the purple?
Helen (Panret)
Yeah, that's perfect. Ok, I'll take a bite of the white mushrooms...
Dan (DM)
So, I will say with those incredible Nature checks, you would know that typically brightly colored things in the wild tend to be poisonous.
Russell (Upri)
[folding his arms] Just a lick then.
Helen (Panret)
Okay, I'm gonna try the white mushroom.
Dan (DM)
Okay.
Russell (Upri)
Oh, purple's bright? Is that what you're saying?
Dan (DM)
Yeah, purple's a bright color.
Russell (Upri)
What if it was a dark purple? [Dan and Helen laugh]
Dan (DM)
They are brightly colored, even like it is... could be a dark purple. They kind of... multiple purple colors that you see, but...
Russell (Upri)
I will also try the white one.
Dan (DM)
Oh, it's tasty. It's like a button mushroom like like,
Russell (Upri)
oh, that's disappointing.
Dan (DM)
Spongy and delicious.
Helen (Panret)
Delicious. I'll just take a few. We probably shouldn't try the purple mushroom.
Dan (DM)
I mean, that's up to you, but your Nature check says "No". [laughs]
Helen (Panret)
My-my-my gut instinct is that probably the purple mushrooms are dangerous. They are a "warning" color.
Dan (DM)
Yeah, your gut would also thank you for that, yeah.
Russell (Upri)
They're a tummy no-no.
Dan (DM)
Cool.
Russell (Upri)
Yay, we didn't accidentally poison ourselves. [Dan laughs]
Dan (DM)
It've been a short trip, it's fine.
Russell (Upri)
Also, this is dangerous: our characters being both chaotic.
Dan (DM)
After your little snack break, you continue down the path and just like before, more buildings start to pop up. You also start to see statues much like the smaller one that you found earlier of women, pregnant women, round with child, covered in vines and things just as you might imagine, having been abandoned here for a long time until eventually, you find yourself at the base of a massive stone structure. A ziggurat! Or pyramid, if y'know... ziggurat's like a pyramid with levels, you get it.
Helen (Panret)
[confidently] I 'veplayed World of Warcraft. [Tim and Russell laughs]
Dan (DM)
I haven't, so I had to look up what a ziggurat was when I saw the notes about it. But this pyramid like structure towering over the canopy... and Merl starts to lead you up the staircase to the top of the structure.
Timothy (Alice)
[in awe] I can't believe it! We've... we've actually found it. This, this civilization has been lost for millennia. [joyfully] There will be so many stories to tell; I'm so excited!
Russell (Upri)
Well, aren't you cute as a button, Al?
Helen (Panret)
Let's not forget that we still need to help these bullywugs; they did lead us here, so we should repay the favor.
Timothy (Alice)
Very true, but that shouldn't be too difficult. How-how difficult is it to find a golden statue in a forest with no other people around?
Russell (Upri)
I mean, it took us three days to get to this giant ziggurats, so....
Timothy (Alice)
Precisely.
Helen (Panret)
What are the chances that the statue walked off on its own?
Russell (Upri)
[gasp] You read my mind.
Timothy (Alice)
Oh, in that case, there'd be great magics here. They might be able to help you, Panret.
Helen (Panret)
Panret looks lost in thought.
Dan (DM)
Also, lost in a bush. [Tim laughs]
Helen (Panret)
Lost in thought. In a bush.
Dan (DM)
So, you guys continue to climb this massive structure. It takes a while because you've seen, like, those, like, images, like, thousands and thousands of steps, probably maybe not thousands; hundreds at least...
Russell (Upri)
Like Mayan city, kind of?
Dan (DM)
So, your glutes are burning by floor two when you reach there, and eventually, you get to a point where you start to, like, peek above the canopy of the forest. You can see the ocean. You can see this amazing mountain range, and then the fields that are on the other side of the forest.
Helen (Panret)
Panret points off to the east and says "My favorite bush is over there."
Russell (Upri)
Oh, do go on.
Helen (Panret)
It's a really big... bush. Great for, um, napping.
Russell (Upri)
Is it really full?
Helen (Panret)
Yeah.
Russell (Upri)
Oh yeah, that sounds sound lovely.
Dan (DM)
How big just for, uh, canonical purposes?
Helen (Panret)
How big is the bush? My favorite bush, specifically, is... I would say about five feet at its tippy toppest height, but it has some respectable girth to it.
Dan (DM)
Okay...
Helen (Panret)
I mean, enough that I can kind of sit in it and also add a couple things into the branches, like it can hold some snacks for later.
Russell (Upri)
Oh, that sounds quite lovely.
Dan (DM)
I like to think that this bush is like slightly hollowed on the inside, so you have this, like, little, like, cozy area where you just, like, hang up little decorations
Helen (Panret)
Yeah, exactly. Yeah,
Russell (Upri)
Y'know what? That bush isn't that far from Nim Nim's tree. Y'see, it's this one over here. She points, like, just into the horizon to a tree. They all look the same.
Dan (DM)
That one tree, right there.
Russell (Upri)
That one tree over there.
Helen (Panret)
It's a very nice tree. You have good taste.
Russell (Upri)
I didn't pick it out, but thank you. Everything okay, Al? You alright over there?
Timothy (Alice)
Alice is just, like, staring off into the horizon, just, like, taking in this great scene, and then you see she takes out a journal, and she just starts jotting down notes. She has this, like, amazing florurishy cursivey handwriting, and she's just, like, swiping across the page in like grand flourishes, very excitedly.
Helen (Panret)
What language does she write in?
Timothy (Alice)
She writes in Common,
Dan (DM)
Just a flourishy Common
Timothy (Alice)
Just a very flourishy Common.
Russell (Upri)
[snapping in a Z formation] She educated.
Dan (DM)
Unlike the plebian Common that the rest of us write in. [Helen laughs] So, eventually, you do find your way to the very top of the ziggurat, and Merl... as.... just before reaching the top, kind of like runs ahead and and starts to play. "Come on, come on, come on. She was here, and now she's gone." And as you guys reach the very top, you see that there is a giant hole in the very center of the top platform that goes all the way down to the ground. So, it seems like whatever was here had collapsed and fallen directly down into the ground.
Russell (Upri)
Oh, well, that's suspicious.
Timothy (Alice)
Well, at least I think we solved the problem. I don't suspect this statue went very far.
Dan (Merl)
But what do you mean? Someone must have taken it!
Helen (Panret)
I think that someone might be Gravity.
Dan (Merl)
What?
Helen (Panret)
Well, there's a statue-sized hole right here.
Dan (Merl)
Well, I go. You know, that makes sense. [panicked] Well, uh, uh. Uh, well, what are we gonna do about...uh... We need our golden lady back!
Russell (Upri)
I have an idea, and I take a rope, tie it around Merl's waist, and kick him into the hole while holdin' it. "Hang on!"
Dan (Merl)
[frog wailling and falling sounds]
Dan (DM)
You hear him, like, catch at the bottom of the rope.
Russell (Upri)
You see anything down there?
Dan (DM)
How long is your rope?
Russell (Upri)
Only 50 feet.
Dan (DM)
Yeah, so he's maybe, like, a floor down? And he goes. "Uh, it's a stone... No, no, it goes down way farther."
Russell (Upri)
Anyone got other rope?
Helen (Panret)
I have the normal rope that come with, like, the adventurer's pack.
Russell (Upri)
Alright, so we probably can't reach the very bottom then with 150 feet of rope.
Dan (Merl)
Oh, please pull me back up. Uh, this is uncomfortable.
Russell (Upri)
I'm gonna pull him back up, and then I'm gonna, like, drop it as a joke and then keep pulling.
Dan (Merl)
[frog yelp and scared muttering]
Helen (Panret)
There's no need to be cruel.
Timothy (Alice)
Upri!
Russell (Upri)
Oh, sorry. I'm just... I'm a natural prankster.
Dan (Merl)
[frightened] Oh, okay. Well, well, um, uh. Please don't do that again.
Russell (Upri)
Scout's Honor.
Timothy (Alice)
[to Merl] Why don't you, uh, just wait up here, and-and we will go go down into the temple and search.
Dan (Merl)
Oh, I would really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Um...
Russell (Upri)
What's the diameter of the hole?
Dan (DM)
Probably about 15, 20 feet
Russell (Upri)
Okay, so we can't, like, shimmy down it. Got it. [Helen laughs]
Dan (DM)
No, and when you look down the hole, you can see that, like, whatever fell through crashed through multiple floors to get down.
Russell (Upri)
Oh, it's not like a smooth cylinder.
Dan (DM)
No
Russell (Upri)
Okay.
Dan (DM)
No, so, like, it seems like the top layer gave way, and then the weight of whatever fell, assumably the statue, smashed into the other floors and like smashed all the way down to the bottom. Because there's no light down there, you can't quite see to the very bottom, but you can see that, like, multiple, like, two or three floors worth of smashied floors.
Timothy (Alice)
Well, maybe we could take it floor by floor? Is there a ledge that seems relatively, uh, stable down there, Upri?
Russell (Upri)
Do I see a stable ledge?
Dan (DM)
Because the inside structure has also walls on the inside because it's a building, and you can't just, like, build an open floor, on every floor, you can see at least a landing platform that you could probably make your way to in order to kind of, like, settle and then retie your rope, and go down again.
Helen (Panret)
Panret asks the bullywugs, "Do you know if there's any other entrance, possibly on the ground floor?"
Dan (Merl)
Not that we were able to find out. It seems like this entire building was sealed off by whoever built it.
Russell (Upri)
[conspiratorily] That's suspicious.
Helen (Panret)
So, it looks like we may need to work our way down from here. Maybe a floor at a time?
Russell (Upri)
Sounds good, and I go into Al and tie a rope around her waist. "Alright, Al, I got you. Hop on down!"
Helen (Panret)
Wait, how are you going to get down?
Russell (Upri)
I'll try it, and then just [downward whistle, Tim laughs] while she, you know, like a slinky? Oh, maybe you should go down too and help her because I'm kind of heavy.
Dan (DM)
Give me an Intelligence roll.
Russell (Upri)
That's a minus one!
Dan (DM)
Anybody? Anybody give me an Intelligence check? [laughs]
Russell (Upri)
17; [ruefully] I know better.
Dan (DM)
So, well, you got a 17, so that's fine. So, as you're, like, thinking ove,r like, your plan, you do notice that on the very top floor there are, like, stone structures that, like, what are the words that I'm looking for?
Timothy (Alice)
Columns?
Dan (DM)
Like columns? Not necessarily columns, but parapets?
Helen (Panret)
So, you're describing something that would be good for tying rope to.
Dan (DM)
Yeah, so there are stone structures that you might be able to tie a rope around, so you that you could rappel down--
Russell (Upri)
Well, then the rope is stuck up there... so, here's what we're gonna do. Alright--
Dan (DM)
Well, how many ropes do you have?
Russell (Upri)
Just the two.
Timothy (Alice)
Well, I-I do actually do have some rope by me as well.
Dan (Merl)
We have rope, I could. He pulls out a rope.
Russell (Upri)
Alright, will do.
Timothy (Alice)
Oh, wonderful. Thank you, Merl.
Helen (Panret)
Okay, we have some rope to work with.
Dan (DM)
Also, Kerkle and Barrack also pull out ropes, and they offer them to you
Timothy (Alice)
Oh, wonderful! We're all so prepared.
Russell (Upri)
Alright, I'll go down first. I tie it to a parapet, and I start scootin' over and rappellin' down.
Dan (DM)
[laughing] I'm pretty sure parrapet is the wrong word, not what I'm looking for, but we're going to go with it!
Timothy (Alice)
As Upri is descending, Alice is going to pick up a pebble or, like, some loose stone and cast Light and drop it down, trying to shoot for something, like, maybe halfway down? She does have dark vision, so hopefully she can see something about halfway down.
Dan (DM)
Give me a Dexterity check. Right?,Throwing things, Dexterity; that makes sense.
Timothy (Alice)
[chuckling] A 7.
Dan (DM)
Um, you miss the platform, and the pebble falls all the way down into the hole, but that does illuminate the bottom of the... bottom of the hole that you're descending through, and you notice that the hole doesn't stop at the ground floor; it falls farther in what seems to be maybe like a sinkhole? So, like, it goes all the way down into the earth, which is fairly far, so you can't make out the details, but you do notice that it's, like, dirt rocks down there.
Russell (Upri)
Do we have enough rope?
Helen (Panret)
This might take a little longer than we expected.
Russell (Upri)
We can still slinky our way down. Just sayin'
Dan (DM)
Kerkle, Barrack, and Merl also pull up more rope and they go "Oh, we always have plenty." And they pass over copious amounts of rope. [Russell laughs]
Russell (Upri)
Alright, I just, you know, retroactively, Upri actually just has a bunch of bundles of rope around her arms, and she climbs down to the next floor.
Dan (DM)
You climb down without any problems. You're fairly strong, so you're not too much of an issue going down the ropes. What are the other...what does everybody else do?
Helen (Panret)
Climb down-- do we need to make like a Strength check to climb?
Dan (DM)
Yeah, yeah! Give me--
Timothy (Alice)
No!!!!
Dan (DM)
No. I'm not gonna... it's fine. You have all climbed ropes before, Bush Lady and Miss Adventurer.
Timothy (Alice)
I have a minus one to Strength, which reflects a minus one in Athletics and plus one in Acrobatics.
Dan (DM)
Okay. I think with Upri at the bottom base of each rope, you all can climb down fairly--
Timothy (Alice)
Assistedly.
Dan (DM)
--fairly, fairly assistedly. Not afraid now. So, yes. Do you guys just continue to go to floor by floor?
Russell (Upri)
Yeah. Do we see anything on the top floor?
Helen (Panret)
Is there anything interesting inside the ziggurat?
Dan (DM)
For the most part, you can't get too far into the other buildings. Just like the outside of the building, it seems like most walls are sealed in. The historians of the group would know that, like, ancient buildings like this were oftentimes used as, like, burial chambers, so they'd be sealed in much like burial chambers in ancient Egypt or whatev'.
Helen (Panret)
Do we have... do we have a historian?
Timothy (Alice)
[realizing she's there] Oh, yes.
Helen (Panret)
Okay.
Dan (DM)
Our local historian.
Timothy (Alice)
Sorry, did I forget to mention? I travel the globe collecting stories.
Dan (DM)
Yeah, so, Alice, you've seen ziggurats like... you've seen buildings like this before, or at least read about them and texts. So, you would know that... that oftentimes, that even the insides of the buildings were sealed off, so you can't really get too far into any room.
Helen (Panret)
Okay, so this is most likely, like, a giant grave.
Dan (DM)
Maybe. Who's to say?
Russell (Upri)
Al? Are curses real?
Timothy (Alice)
Well, yes, Upr.i Um, I-- just don't touch anything.
Russell (Upri)
Okay.
Dan (DM)
So, you guys are rappelling down the interior of this ziggurat. So, you just go down the same way on every floor. Is that the plan?
Russell (Upri)
Yeah, and do a quick scan for anything shiny, and then, right?
Helen (Panret)
Sounds about right.
Dan (DM)
All right. So, who has darkvision? Just so I'm aware.
Helen (Panret)
Not I.
Timothy (Alice)
Alice and Upri
Russell (Upri)
Yeah, only 60 feet.
Dan (DM)
So, Panret's just hoping someone guides them down the rope? [laughs]
Timothy (Alice)
Yeah, 'cause I can only cast Light once--
Helen (Panret)
I'm just trusting.
Timothy (Alice)
--so we did it. We did the light.
Dan (DM)
There's a glowing stone at the bottom, which I guess is helpful. You can kind of see the sides as the light shines upwards.
Russell (Upri)
Why don't you, uh, cast Light on one of Panret's leaves like a little headlamp. [laughter]
Dan (DM)
That's really cute.
Timothy (Alice)
I guess now that we know where the bottom is... I could... I could potentially illuminate our immediate vicinity, and I'm going to cast Light on Panret's pack. Do you have a pack or something?
Helen (Panret)
A bag? Like a backpack?
Timothy (Alice)
Yeah. So, I'm going to cast Light on your bag.
Helen (Panret)
Okay.
Dan (DM)
So, now you have this really weird view of everything lit, like, at, like a [laughs], like a 100, like, like a 100 degree angle, but everything in front of you's dark
Helen (Panret)
You're right
Timothy (Alice)
Oh, I guess that doesn't work...
Dan (DM)
Oh, but I guess your straps would glow!
Timothy (Alice)
Yeah, your straps would glow.
Dan (DM)
Like, your, like, backpack straps would glow. Okay, so, you... it's this weird patchy glow, but it's worked. It's working. It's great.
Helen (Panret)
Well, thanks. That's really helpful.
Dan (DM)
When do you do this? When do you cast this?
Timothy (Alice)
Maybe on the second level?
Dan (DM)
Okay, gotcha. So, a few floors in. As you do this, Alice, you notice that one of the nearby rooms, one of the walls has collapsed. Most of the rooms, like I said, are kind of walled in, but Alice, you notice that one of the walls in these rooms has collapsed, and you can get inside one of the rooms.
Timothy (Alice)
Just-just-just a moment. Just-just wait here I-I cannot pass up this opportunity.
Russell (Upri)
Opportunity for what, Al?
Timothy (Alice)
And as Upri is asking that question, Alice is going to crawl in through the hole in the wall.
Timothy (DM)
And that is where we will put a pause on today's story. Thank you all for joining us for a plunge into the abyss. I hope you all enjoyed this episode of Shadows of Prophecy. Join us next time to find out what becomes of our unfortunate players in this most dreadful act.
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 adds 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.