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.
Timothy (DM)
With us today, to traverse through adventures of loss and tragedy, we have myself, Timothy, as our ambivalent DM; Chris as our professional negotiator cleric, Salvador Saltrose; Jen as the meek heiress to the Valerian estate, Lenore Valeria; and Ellie, as the boisterous heir to the Camaxtli fortune, Xocatl Camaxtli. Join us as we enter the Shadows of Prophecy. Prologue: A World Unravels. Chapter Eight - Bound Souls.
Timothy (Narrator)
[in an unplaceable accent] "Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean." A fascinating musing that such parallels seemingly transcend all barriers to repeat themselves time and time again against all creation. One should think that all of time and space is merely collapsed in on itself. Well, such is mortality. Enough now with my idle nonsense; we have a story to tell!
Timothy (DM)
So, Chris, if you want to start and we'll just go around the room.
Chris (Sal)
Hi, my name is Timothy Lalowski. [Editor's Note: this is not Chris's real name]
Timothy (DM)
[frowning] Okay. [all laugh]
Ellie (Xocatl)
Powerful start. [laughs]
Chris (Sal)
Hi there. My name is Chris Brucker. My pronouns are he and him, and my character's name is Salvador Saltrose. He/him.
Ellie (Xocatl)
All right. Hi, my name is Ellie. My pronouns are she/her, and my character is Xocatl Camaxtli, and his pronouns are he/him.
Jen (Lenore)
Hi, I'm Jen Douglas. She/her. I'm playing Lenore. Her pronouns are also she/her.
Timothy (DM)
And I am Timothy the DM. My pronouns are he/they.
Timothy (DM)
The warm salted breeze draws the smell of fish into the chambers of the town hall, where you all are seated around the council, a very rare full house. Reginald reads from a scroll before the room.
Timothy (Reginald Scalloptop)
[in hoity-toity accent, reading an excerpt from the scroll] 'And so it is with extreme rigors in my study and investigation that I am pleased to announce to the esteemed Council of Terra Vas that we have finally located the last burial ground of the city's founders just off the coast. It appears that after years of tectonic shifts, the entrance has once again reemerged.' He then goes on to describe the extensive process by which he came to this conclusion of which I will not bore the Council of these details, but then finally signed Elvis Vindigo and the coordinates, which leaves the Council with a painstaking decision of who is to lead the expedition, one should presume?
Ellie (Xocatl)
[buffly] I volunteer!
Timothy (Reginald Scalloptop)
[nodding] Xocatl. and, uh, why do you believe that you should lead this expedition?
Ellie (Xocatl)
Well... somebody has to.
Timothy (Reginald Scalloptop)
And that someone should be you... for what reason which may persuade the Council?
Ellie (Xocatl)
Well, if I say my charming good looks, that's, uh, not really going to cut it, is it? Well, I have experience on the sea, I have, uh, INTEREST in this sort of history. I think [smiling] everybody likes me. So, uh... that's my pitch!
Timothy (Reginald Scalloptop)
All right... simple and to the point. [laughs]
Ellie (Xocatl)
I mean, I'd be interested in seeing if anybody gets up here and says that they don't like me.
Jen (Lenore)
[softly] I wouldn't say that, but, uh, I would also like to volunteer.
Timothy (Reginald Scalloptop)
[squinting] Lenore, is that you over there?
Jen (Lenore)
Yes. I think it would be really important to my family if I were to lead this expedition. Yeah.
Timothy (Reginald Scalloptop)
Right. [looking around] And, uh, who in this room heard that?
Ellie (Xocatl)
Not me.
Chris (Duncan Stilts)
I didn't. [Tim laughs] Speak up!
Timothy (Reginald Scalloptop)
Alright, uh, would you like to try again or are you go with that?
Jen (Lenore)
[a la a elementary school student giving a report to the class] Uh, hello, I'm Lenore. I would like to lead the expedition, I think it would mean a lot to my grandmother if I did. Thank you for your time.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Wow. Stellar qualifications.
Chris (Duncan Stilts)
Y' got the real personal connection.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Hmm.
Timothy (Reginald Scalloptop)
Alright, so we have Xocatl and Lenore who have volunteered for the expedition. Is there anyone else out there?
Timothy (Elmira)
Right then, Elmira, sitting at the council table, stands up. "I would like to nominate Salvador. All of you remember, he had won various medals through the the war in Galadia and has demonstrated his-his abilities and his competence in these areas, and therefore, I believe he should be the one leading this expedition... if I am I able to do so? Would anybody like to second this nomination? And, Salvador dear, would you accept?"
Chris (Sal)
[caught off guard] Yes, I suppose so. I've got some experience with tracking. So, I think it would be, uh, fine by me.
Ellie (Xocatl)
So, you're saying Salvador is in charge and the rest of us get along for the ride?
Timothy (Elmira)
I mean, if you are amenable to that.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[nonsarcastically] That sounds STELLAR to me. I am ENTHUSIASTICALLY supporting Salvador Saltrose for leader of this EXPEDITION.
Jen (Lenore)
I agree. Me too.
Timothy (Elmira)
Oh, wonderful! Then it does not need to be put to a vote. I mean, are there any other volunteers or nominations out there?
Timothy (Reginald Scalloptop)
It does not look like it. Well then, there it is. Salvador, you will lead the expedition. I guess the next order of business is: which ship are we to take? And whose crew will we be bringing?
Ellie (Xocatl)
Oh, I think my family's, of course. I mean, it's a well-known fact that we have the finest ships and crew.
Jen (Lenore)
[begrudingly] That's debatable.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Well, it's not really.
Jen (Lenore)
Oh, well, as you know, my family also has some excellent ships and crew. But...
Ellie (Xocatl)
[tilting their head] Mm-hmm!
Timothy (Reginald Scalloptop)
Alright, then I think it is settled.
Ellie (Xocatl)
I would agree that it is settled.
Timothy (Reginald Scalloptop)
[deadpan] Salvador will lead the expedition [Ellie and Jen laugh] upon Camaxtli ships--
Ellie (Xocatl)
Our stellar ships: our excellent, high quality, finest, and fastest ships.
Timothy (Reginald Scalloptop)
Absolutely. You will all figure out the details amongst yourselves. Just know that this expedition is of utmost importance to the people of Terra Vas, and its success is equally as important. And with that, I think we can adjourn this meeting. There's nothing else to discuss.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Stellar! Who wants drinks?
Chris (Sal)
Go team. [Tim laughs]
Timothy (DM)
All right, and so with that, the gavel is struck, and the members of the chamber begin to filter out.
Chris (Sal)
Well, it's a pleasure to be doing business with both of you. Xocatl, you said?
Ellie (Xocatl)
[confidently] Yep.
Chris (Sal)
And Lenore?
Jen (Lenore)
[genially] Yeah.
Chris (Sal)
Pleased to meet you both.
Jen (Lenore)
Very nice to meet you, too.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Likewise, I just want to say how glad I am that you're in charge of this. So... [in rapid succession] When are we meeting? Where are we going? What are we doing?
Chris (Sal)
Well, it appears that Elvis had found some coordinates of where we'd be sailing to, and I suppose this is a rather important investigation/journey.
Jen (Lenore)
Yes, very important.
Chris (Sal)
So, when are you available? I imagine within a few days to get all their supplies ready and...
Ellie (Xocatl)
You know, I'm supposed to be picking up a new jacket tomorrow, but [thinking *mmmm*] I can have him hold it for me, I suppose until I get back.
Jen (Lenore)
Yes, I've already cancelled all of my lessons for the next few weeks, so I'm ready to go whenever.
Chris (Sal)
Wow, that's taking some initiative.
Jen (Lenore)
That's what we're all about in my family.
Ellie (Xocatl)
I do have a tea at three today that I REALLY can't get out of, but after that, I think I can put you in my agenda.
Chris (Sal)
Sounds good.
Ellie (Xocatl)
I'll have the crew start getting the ship ready. Any special requests? We do have tiny little bags of peanuts already aboard, so don't worry about that.
Jen (Lenore)
That sounds delightful.
Chris (Sal)
I'm trying to think: 'cause this is a recently unemerged... unsubmerged? Is there a word for that?
Jen (Lenore)
[astutely] Merged. [all laugh]
Chris (Sal)
A recently... recently "merged", uh, entrance to a... to a burial ground, so I imagine something around either shovels or some sort of self-contained breathing apparati.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Wow. That's some leadership. You're volunteering to get these things?
Jen (Lenore)
Wow, thank you so much. That's really helpful.
Chris (Sal)
[caught off guard] Errr...
Ellie (Xocatl)
This is great. You are such a powerful spirit.
Jen (Lenore)
Yeah, and truly, truly professional.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah, great. We will leave it in your capable hands.
Chris (Sal)
[stammering] Well, I-I suppose I could--
Ellie (Xocatl)
Xocatl turns and walks away. [Jen and Ellie laugh]
Chris (Sal)
[yelling in the distance] Wait, we need to talk about who's boat!
Ellie (Xocatl)
[walking further down the hallway] My boat, my boat.
Chris (Sal)
Are you okay with that, Lenore?
Jen (Lenore)
I suppose so. The peanuts do you sound very nice. So, I think I'd be okay with that.
Chris (Sal)
[diplomatically] I mean, there's nothing to say we can't take two boats.
Jen (Lenore)
That is true... but that sounds like a lot of work. So, I'd rather just do the one, I think.
Chris (Sal)
It's a fair point. Well, you have a tea to get to, and you have nothing to get to, so I will go... [to Xocatl] do you have a pier on the... or, like, a dock on... that I can go to the boathouse and sort of talk to your people?
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah, absolutely. You can just head to our boathouse; it's just a skip and a jog over the river. Take the bridge. [see Sal is taking notes] Skip AND a jog, in that order. If you jog and then skip, you're gonna end up... elsewhere [all laugh] In the river! Yeah, you can talk to our guys. I'll tell them you're coming.
Chris (Sal)
I shake both of your hands. "It's a... I think this is the beginning of a beautiful expedition."
Ellie (Xocatl)
Likewise.
Jen (Lenore)
Yeah, yes. [choosing their words] I agree. I think this will go very well, and we'll all get along, and it'll be... great.
Ellie (Xocatl)
This is gonna be a LOT of fun.
Jen (Lenore)
[in a fake laugh] Oh, yes.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Okay...byeeeee. [Tim and Chris laugh]
Chris (Sal)
How... do I know these families? Is there, like, feud?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, well, so these two families own a fleet of ships.
Chris (Sal)
Warring fleets?
Timothy (DM)
Yes, and basically they are the two families that have a monopoly over anything going in and out of Salva-- [correcting himself] Sal, not Salvador, Terra Vas! [laughs]
Ellie (Xocatl)
[laughing] Oh, do we have a monopoly of what's going in and out of Salvador!
Jen (Lenore)
[laughs] Goin' in and out, Salvador! Oh, damn!
Ellie (Xocatl)
Poor Salvador's like "Guyssss"
Chris (Sal)
I just met you! [laughs] You already own everything about me.
Ellie (Xocatl)
How is your dating life, Salvador?
Chris (Sal)
Gettin' personal!
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, they have a monopoly of what goes in and out of Terra Vas. All of the families basically depend on THESE two families to get their goods and basically maintain their status. Since Terra Vas is a mecca of artisans and connoisseurs and all of those sorts. Alright, so you all go about your business, making your preparations, telling your tailor to hold onto your coat for a day.
Chris (Xocatl's Tailor)
[a French accent] But Madame, I just finished the stitching! The buttons need to be made!
Ellie (Xocatl)
Like a day or two, maybe... or like a week. Thanks, doll. [Tim laughs]
Timothy (DM)
And that basically will bring us to Salvador, approaching "Deardra", which is the name of your ship.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[loving] Great. "Old D." How we love her.
Jen (Lenore)
Old D.
Chris (Sal)
Big D.
Jen (Lenore)
Big D! Big Ol' D!
Ellie (Xocatl)
[laughing] Big Old D! How we love her!
Timothy (DM)
So, Salvador, you are making your way down to the Camaxtli docks, where you will be boarding Deardra, their most prized and beloved ship. You see a crew is already working aboard, making preparations for the voyage.
Chris (Sal)
I strut down... [sheepishly] I don't-I don't strut. I-I-- [all laugh]
Ellie (Xocatl)
Wowww, Salvador.
Jen (Lenore)
Strut down!
Chris (Sal)
I walk... I walk down the catwalk. I stroll down the boards of the ship to look for the first mate or the person that seems to be managing all the other folks and just saying "Oh, well, uh, [sticking out hand] Salvador Saltrose. Nice to make your acquaintance. I'll be leading the expedition for this... for this journey.
Timothy (DM)
Oddly enough, nobody aboard the ship seems to be giving direction. All of the crew members seem to be operating under their own training, and no one seems to be in charge.
Chris (Sal)
Perfect! Wellllll, I look for... is there, like, an external steering capacity? Like, is there a helm at the back of the ship?
Timothy (DM)
[offering on further information] There is.
Chris (Sal)
Good to know; [pointing to the wheel] That is there! [Ellie and Tim laugh] I'll go down to the hold to see what exactly we have in terms of... well, how big is a ship in terms of size?
Chris (Sal)
Mm-hmm, yeah, that's a big one.
Timothy (DM)
So, it's a relatively large ship. There are three masts--
Timothy (DM)
--and there's probably maybe 20 to 30 crew members?
Chris (Sal)
[rubbing his chin] A bit bigger than I was expecting.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, it is a very large expedition, considering that you three will be the only ones entering the burial chamber.
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, I imagine these are Xocatl's... somebody to get the grapes, somebody to use the fan. Somebody to fan the person that's fanning the fanner.
Jen (Lenore)
Of course, of course.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Wow, you really dialed into Xocatl's personality. [all laugh]
Timothy (DM)
So, as you're entering the ship, walking down the catwalk, I'm gonna need you to make a Dex save.
Chris (Sal)
[singing in unison with Ellie and Jen] Dun-dun Dun-dun
Jen (Lenore)
[sing-songy] First roll.
Chris (Sal)
That's a three [Jen and Ellie "ohhh"]
Timothy (DM)
All right, so you are just about to step foot onto the platform of the ship as one of the crew members that was mopping nearby charges at you and shoves you into the side of the ship and just stares at you blankly, [Salvador yelps] and at this time, Xocatl and Lenore are arriving. You see one of your crew members, Xocatl, has pinned Salvador up against the edge of the ship.
Ellie (Xocatl)
I stride up the gangplank, strut perhaps [Chris laughs] up the gangplank and say "Easy! Off!"
Timothy (DM)
And with that, no questions asked, not a single word, the crew member steps away and returns to their mopping.
Ellie (Xocatl)
I am so sorry about that, Salvador. I didn't realize you were gonna step ON to the boat. It sounded like you were just gonna sneak around the boathouse like the little critter you are.
Chris (Sal)
[rubbing his throat] Well, uh, sorry about that. I-I-I thought I would see what exactly was on board already and then evaluate what needs to be added.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Oh, you know, our deckhands are a little territorial of their big shiny boat.
Jen (Lenore)
[sassily] Is this how all your employees act?
Ellie (Xocatl)
[defensively] Sometimes.
Chris (Sal)
"Well, uh, no harm, no foul" as Salvador sort of like straightens his jacket. "Well, I don't quite know exactly all what we have on board, but I will find that out shortly."
Ellie (Xocatl)
Let me escort you down into the hold so we don't have any more "misunderstandings". [Jen laughs]
Chris (Sal)
It's probably for the best, yes! Lead the way.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Xocatl turns towards sort of the-the open deck and says, points to Lenore and says "Fine! Allowed!", points to Salvador, says "Fine! Allowed!" and then escorts Salvador down. [Jen laughs]
Jen (Lenore)
Lenore is getting her trunks brought aboard [Ellie and Tim laugh]
Ellie (Xocatl)
Oh no! Xocatl turns around to the poor, I guess, your servant, Lenore, or something who are bringing them on board and are about to also be charged by a deckhand, and says "Fine! Allowed!" and just like gestures at the whole thing. [all laugh] UGHHH!
Chris (Sal)
There's got to be a better system than just having to rely on you to point that out.
Ellie (Xocatl)
"Well, these are unusual circumstances. We generally don't have STRANGERS on our boats." and he looks skeptically at, uh, Lenore.
Jen (Lenore)
Lenore turns her her nose up at him and kind of, like, looks away.
Chris (Sal)
Well...
Ellie (Xocatl)
To the hold! [make Batman transition noise] Yeah, Xocatl takes you down to the holds, which are well-stocked. I think it actually looks like the boat was maybe being stocked for, like, a transit journey, and now some of that material is being unloaded in anticipation of it being used for this purpose instead. So, there are people swarming about, but you are bothered by anybody else, and the hold is well-stocked with, like, general ship stuff. Whatever's usually on boats.
Timothy (DM)
[totally knowledgeable about nautical things] Yeah, stuff on boats.
Jen (Lenore)
[Valley Girl voice] Boats stuff.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Stuff on Boats. Boat Stuff™. [Tim laughs]
Chris (Sal)
Pitch, rope, hardtack. Lots of hardtack.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Lots of hardtack.
Timothy (DM)
I looked up the names of parts of boats, and that's about it. [Ellie laughs]
Ellie (Xocatl)
Big barrels of water, you know. Canvas for repairing sails, nails!
Chris (Sal)
Now, where's the foc's'le?
Ellie (Xocatl)
To your left... [Jen laughs] to your stern. Bow? Portside! [Chris and Tim laugh]
Chris (Sal)
Well, it seems like we have all the traditional sailing gear. I guess I should have asked this before but--
Ellie (Xocatl)
[sensually] And some non-traditional ones....
Chris (Sal)
Ooo, now I-I'd be interested to learn more about that, but I kind of wanted to ask what is your experience with delving into ruins? Have you ever been in a crypt before?
Jen (Lenore)
Not, not per se. You know, in my studies, I've read-read a lot of adventures that take place in crypts, but my grandmother is quite protective of me given that, you know, the rest of my family is dead. So... noooo, I haven't, but I feel like... I feel like I can figure it out!
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah, I try and stay out of crypts except for funerals and birthdays.
Chris (Sal)
I feel like that's the traditional way of going about it. But we--
Ellie (Xocatl)
Awful drafty down there, and the statues give me the creeps.
Chris (Sal)
They're always in these weird poses where their arms are outstretched. It's very, very annoying.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah; hate that.
Chris (Sal)
But since this is a subterranean mission, I think we'll either have to have torches or-or... I don't know either if you have dark vision...
Jen (Lenore)
I'm a human, so I do not, so I-I did pack a few torches to bring along.
Ellie (Xocatl)
I have dark vision.
Chris (Sal)
That's good. One less thing to carry [Jen and Tim laugh]
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yep, I know that. 'Cause I've always had dark vision my whole life. [all laugh]
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, you didn't turn on the lights, and we're just... we are behind you, we're like--
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah, we're in the hold, I'm like gesturing around. I'm like "We got barrels over here! We got this over here!" All the deckhands are just silently working in the dark. You guys are just making noises like "Ooooh." [Tim laughs]
Chris (Sal)
Very fascinating.
Jen (Lenore)
Uh-huh, great, wow!
Chris (Sal)
Well, I guess if you have a navigator, we can hand over these coordinates and eventually, uh, get ready to set sail.
Ellie (Xocatl)
"Oh, yeah, sure thing." I hold out my hand for the coordinates.
Chris (Sal)
Oh, you're the navigator? Or...
Ellie (Xocatl)
No, I'll just hand them over.
Chris (Sal)
"Here you go" and I--
Ellie (Xocatl)
"Thank you!" I turn and hand them to the nearest deckhand. [Tim and Ellie laugh]
Timothy (DM)
Who, without a word, takes the paper from you and goes about their business, giving a sidewards glance to Salvador and Lenore.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[staring at the deckhand, pointing at the duo] Fine! Allowed! [Tim laughs]
Timothy (DM)
So, as you all have all entered the ship and been taken down to the... what is this place called?
Timothy (DM)
Lenore is a young human, she's around 14 years old. She has long white, lightly curling hair, and is generally very cute and tries to be very proud and support her family name even though she is woefully underprepared. [laughs]
Ellie (Xocatl)
Hold. [Ellie and Jen laugh]
Timothy (DM)
--the hold. So, as you have all entered the ship and been taken down to the hold, you stand about kind of observing the, kind of, cleanliness and orderliness of the ship, and this nagging feeling just cannot be shook of all the eyes that have been on us since the moment you stepped foot aboard. But as Xocatl has introduced you to all of the various aspects and materials aboard, you stand the three of you are looking at each other. And what do you all see?
Ellie (Xocatl)
Xocatl is a perfumed and pampered half orc. He is big but strong. He has a build like the captain of the wrestling team at a prep school, an expensive prep school. That's like the vibe. He is wearing nice jewelry. He has, like, a waistcoat on, his hands are very soft with lotion, and his cuticles are all, like, pushed back nicely so that... it looks nice. You just get the impression overall that he's someone who enjoys luxury very much [Jen laughs] and maybe doesn't like responsibility that much. Yeah.
Chris (Sal)
This-this is great color 'cause I-I now realize... I imagine some of your crew are orcs and just like pile-drived me into the... to the side of the ship. Salvador is a tiefling. He's sort of in his fancy clothes, double-breasted vest with a shirt and a tie. He is pragmatic, he's usually less likely to talk among people until everybody else, and he is... having difficulty trying to come up with a description. Is that... is that fine?
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah, I think it's fine.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, that's fine. Doesn't need to be too complicated.
Ellie (Xocatl)
At least we all know what races each other and that [angrily] ONE of us is a CHILD!
Jen (Lenore)
Yeah, that's important. That's important.
Chris (Sal)
That one of has VERY soft hands.
Timothy (DM)
I apologize for what's to happen.
Ellie (Xocatl)
We have a child, we have someone with soft hands, and we have a pragmatic fellow. [Tim laughs] And that's the team!
Jen (Lenore)
Those are the genders!
Chris (Sal)
Yeah. [Ellie and Tim laugh]
Ellie (Xocatl)
Low to v soft hands. [Tim laughs] [Editor's Note: v stands for very; Ellie is referring to a spectrum of hand softness]
Timothy (DM)
All right. After settling in on the ship, you all depart from the docks and make a two-day journey to the location of this offshore burial chambers. Your trip is relatively uneventful: you have fine weather, a little on the chilly side, but not too windy, no rain--
Ellie (Xocatl)
Makes me wish I had got that jacket from the tailor. [Tim laughs]
Jen (Lenore)
Yeah, Lenore is SO sick. [Ellie and Tim laugh] Lenore's just so ill, and she's trying really hard to hide it, but she's real sick. [Ellie laughs]
Chris (Sal)
Oh no. Here, uh, try-try... Salvador pulls out, like, a compress or... there's like-like a small bag of spice and just... "Smell this! This should help with some of the seasickness, I think?"
Jen (Lenore)
Thank you very much; that's very kind.
Chris (Sal)
[laughing] And Salvador thinks about... how-how much bigger is Xocatl than Salvador?
Ellie (Xocatl)
[leaning in] How big is Salvador? [Jen and Tim laugh]
Chris (Sal)
Salvador's like probably... he's like 5'11" like 150 pounds.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Xocatl's probably like, 6'5".
Timothy (DM)
[laughing] Very large.
Chris (Sal)
Okay. I was gonna... Salvador thinks about putting his jacket on the shoulders of Xocatl and just, like, tying it around his neck. He's just like "This is not perfect, but it should be a little bit warmer."
Ellie (Xocatl)
You are divine. I love this. Thank you so much. [turns to Lenore] What a leader. [Jen laughs] What a leaderly move. Leaders eat last [Tim and Jen laugh]. Leadres have no jackets.
Chris (Sal)
[humbly] That's me. Yeah,
Jen (Lenore)
[sagely] Leadership is when no jacket.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Leadership is really about being... cold.
Jen (Lenore)
Yes, and hungry. [laughs]
Chris (Sal)
Leadership is about not complaining, yeah. I got to write that down. "Leader ship is about... [trails off]
Ellie (Xocatl)
[clarifyingly] Xocatl says, as he pops an eggs benedict, though [Chris and Jen laugh] that people made him, in his mouth, that he's having for breakfast.
Chris (Sal)
Can you pop... like, is that a poppable food?
Jen (Lenore)
An eggs benny? It's a little messy.
Ellie (Xocatl)
For Xocatl it is! Yeah, full eggs benny! [scarfing noise] Down the hatch! [Jen and Tim laugh]
Chris (Sal)
[sighing] Oh my, I'm learning so much.
Ellie (Xocatl)
It's kind of an upsetting experience to watch. [Tim laughs]
Chris (Sal)
I turn away and I'm like [whispering to Lenore] "I'm going to need that spice back." [Ellie laughs]
Jen (Lenore)
Oh, yes. Of course.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Everybody's sniffing my spice.
Jen (Lenore)
It's okay. My-my personal chef might-might have some. Oh, also, I hope you don't mind but I have a personal chef aboard.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[a bit peeved] My chef isn't good enough for you? I gesture to, uh--
Jen (Lenore)
Well, uh, my grandmother is just very "specific" about what I eat. What I am allowed to eat, so, uh, she instructed--
Ellie (Xocatl)
Oh, you got dietary restrictions?
Jen (Lenore)
I do. She instructed him to come along. His name is Reginald; if you see him, he's just a little deep gnome.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[enlightened] I wondered who that was!
Jen (Lenore)
Mm-hm, yeah, he's very polite. Very polite.
Ellie (Xocatl)
That's been my experience with him so far. [Jen laughs] I did have to wrestle him out of the hold of one of my deckhands.
Chris (Sal)
He's too small to be covered by the "Fine! Fine! Fine!" cloud. [Jen laughs]
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah, he was right underneath.
Jen (Lenore)
He was in the shadows, just...yeah.
Chris (Deckhand)
I AIN'T SEEN THAT GUY. HE DOESN'T BELONG HERE!
Ellie (Deckhand)
NOT FINE! [Tim laughs]
Timothy (DM)
And all things were fine... [ominously] for these two days.
Chris (Sal)
[whispers] Thank goodness.
Jen (Lenore)
Phew!
Ellie (Xocatl)
Wow.
Chris (Sal)
Salvador's starting to sense a litle tension that he didn't really see between these two people before.
Jen (Lenore)
[in a chill bro voice] Guys, I feel like we've really gotten through the thick of it. It's, like, we're good. [Tim and Ellie laugh]
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, absolutely. Um, and that--
Timothy (DM)
--is when you come across the rocky shores of a newly emerged island off the shore of Terra Vas. From the boat, all you can really see is the black stone peeking out from the waters and no other landmarks on this island that's maybe large enough to put a small house, none of the mansions that you are all accustomed to.
Ellie (Xocatl)
So far, so good.
Chris (Sal)
As a History, can I do some sort of History to why do they bury people out here? And do we know, like, the scale of the burial ground?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, give me a History roll, and for clarification, this discovery came from one of the university scholars, who is a historian of the region, and these burial chambers have significant ties to the families of Terra Vas, most of whom have a looooong, long, long, long, long, long lineage of habitation in Terra Vas.
Chris (Sal)
And this used to be just a regular island, but then tidal change has made it a disappearing/reappearing thing?
Timothy (DM)
Yes, exactly.
Chris (Sal)
So, that's a 13.
Timothy (DM)
So, really all you know is what the scholar had put into their documentation that was put forth in front of the Council. So, that would be all you're aware of.
Chris (Sal)
[holding up a prop that Tim gave him] Also, I got this thing? It's, like, an amulet? [Editor's Note: Tim had accidentally placed the magic amulet from the It Stalks At Night arc in front of Chris when preparing the table]
Timothy (DM)
Yep, you need that item. [Ellie and Jen laugh]
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, I've got a lot to manage, ok--
Ellie (Xocatl)
WOW, you've got all kinds of stuff over there.
Jen (Lenore)
All kinds of fun stuff, woOOoow.
Timothy (DM)
A fun little amulet that they had to give necrotic energy in order to do damage to a phantasm.
Chris (Sal)
It's a surprise. I'm actually Elfinirin!
Jen (Lenore)
[intrigued] OooOOoh. [disgusted] Not a phantasm, oof! Hate those guys, oh man. [Tim and Ellie laugh]
Timothy (DM)
So, yes, you see the rocky shores as the ship sets anchor off the shore. It is unable to get any closer. So, you all need to take a small rowboat over to the island.
Chris (Sal)
Well, if you want to prepare any eggs benedict or any other sort of portable food, or I imagine you both have of the packs that I made for you?
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yes, yes, of course. That was very, um... [looks at Lenore]
Jen (Lenore)
Very well done. Very, uh, good leadership.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[nodding] Yeah.
Jen (Lenore)
[reassuring] Again, really excellent.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Stellar initiative.
Jen (Lenore)
Extremely so. [Chris laughs]
Ellie (Xocatl)
[reassuringly] You're doing a great job, Salvador. We're both really proud of you.
Jen (Lenore)
[politely ]Truly, truly, we're... I'm SO happy to be here.
Chris (Sal)
"Oh, well, thank you! I-I appreciate that." Salvador blushes slightly, which you can't see because he has pink skin, but he says "Well, [inhale] you can put anchor here. I think we'll be ready to ship out (row out?) in 20 minutes?
Ellie (Xocatl)
[to the deckhand] "Well, listen to that man; he's the leader!" [Jen laughs] I say to the deckhand, and they start making tasks...
Timothy (DM)
They start making preparations, quickly and silently. They drop anchor, and they prepare the rowboats. They lower the rowboats down into the water, and... [to the group] is that how that works? [enlightened] No, you probably have to get in them first.
Ellie (Xocatl)
I think you have to get in them first, and then they lower it.
Timothy (DM)
You have to get in them first, ok! [Tim and Chris laugh]
Jen (Lenore)
Yes! Yes, yes, yes.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Or we could just jump forward?
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, cannonball!
Timothy (DM)
You all get in the boat.
Jen (Lenore)
Yeah, Lenore's arguing with Reginald. She's like "I don't need this many cloaks. I really don't. I'll be fine, please." And Reginald's like "No, really, I insist." and she's like "No, oh my god. Stop." [laughs]
Ellie (Xocatl)
And Xocatl's talking to a deckhand and saying "I'm going to need at LEAST three or four more cloaks. [all laugh] I don't know how long I'm gonna be in there and I want to wear a different one every day. What if one gets soiled? Hm? What if one gets soiled and I need the one with all the pockets? I need my CARGO CLOAK. [all laugh] Where's my cargo cloak?!? YOU DIDN'T BRING IT?!?"
Timothy (DM)
A very frustrating conversation.
Ellie (Xocatl)
There's an equilibrium of cloaks we could reach. [Jen and Chris laugh]
Jen (Lenore)
Mine are just maybe too small for you. [all laugh]
Chris (Sal)
Salvador's sitting in between the two of them, and is like "Oh man, if only... it seems like there could be so much synergy here if they just could work TOGETHER." [Jen and Tim laugh]
Timothy (DM)
So, they pack up these paddle boats--
Ellie (Xocatl)
[surprised] Paddle boats?! [all laugh]
Timothy (DM)
[realizing his error] Row boats.
Jen (Lenore)
Yes, it's canon. It's canon!
Chris (Sal)
YES! YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT BACK. [laughing] That's definitely in alignment with what Xocatl would have.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah! They're paddle boats... with the feet!
Jen (Lenore)
[confused] What-what is paddling? What do I do? [Chris and Tim laugh] [to Xocatl] Explain this strange... contraption to me, please.
Ellie (Xocatl)
It's manual labor. Beggars do it. [looks at Salvador]
Jen (Lenore)
Ohhhh! I've read of this... [looks at Salvador]
Chris (Sal)
As you both look to me, I... [Jen and Ellie laugh] Salvador sit... because it's usually two people there--
Ellie (Xocatl)
It's usually two. Otherwise, it turns! [Jen laughs]
Chris (Sal)
He straddles the center of the thing, and he uses one foot on either of the sides of the paddle, and he's slowly paddling this.
Jen (Lenore)
Lenore's feet, like, JUST reach the paddles. [Tim laughs] She's doing her best.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Xocatl is NOT paddling. [Jen laughs]
Timothy (DM)
And so you sloooowly inch towards the jagged black rock that's the island--
Ellie (Xocatl)
Sort of swirl-- [Tim laughs] Sort of going in a little swirl as you doooo.
Timothy (DM)
--with Salvador having to continuously correct for the veering that the paddle boat does with the uneven effort.
Ellie (Xocatl)
And probably uneven weight as well.
Jen (Lenore)
Yes, oh yes, certainly.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, but eventually you do make it to a relatively smooth section of the island, where you could tie up the paddle boat, and from this point, you can see a pit in the middle of the island, maybe 20 feet in diameter, that just appears to go down.
Jen (Lenore)
Lenore, panting and red-faced [laughs] is-is like "Oh, is that... is that where we're going?"
Chris (Sal)
It definitely seems that way. I don't see any other entrance. Xocatl, can you look down?Can you see anything beyond the darkness?
Jen (Lenore)
With your special eyes? [Ellie and Tim laugh]
Ellie (Xocatl)
Well, are... so we've tied up... are we... well, have we walked up to the hole?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah. So, you can tie up your boat and step onto the island and start making your way over to the pit.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[pulling out her geology hat] And you said it's like black rock, or is it like pumice? Or is it like glassy volcanic obsidian?
Timothy (DM)
It's like pumice. Yeah, so it's rough and jagged and, like, pitch black.
Ellie (Xocatl)
What time of day is it?
Timothy (DM)
It's day. It's about midday on the second day of your trip.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah, I'll look in the hole. [Jen laughs]
Timothy (DM)
So, you peer down to this hole, and you see 60 feet of stone wall along the sides of this pit and no bottom in sight.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[to the duo] No bottom!
Jen (Lenore)
Oh, goodness.
Chris (Sal)
That's what I was afraid of.
Jen (Lenore)
Hopefully there's another entrance, right? There must be. [Tim laughs]
Chris (Sal)
Can we investigate for another entrance?
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah, it's a small island, right? Can we, like, sort of--
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, it's a very small island. It's about walking across a house.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Oh wowwww. Ok, yeah. If there was another, like--.
Jen (Lenore)
This is like Wind Waker island. [Editor's Note: Wind Waker is a video game that involves exploring small islands]
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Timothy (DM)
It's like half an acre that you just walk right on across--
Chris (Sal)
And the pit is the majority... it takes up a majority.
Jen (Lenore)
Most of it.
Timothy (DM)
--and the pit is a large portion of said Island.
Ellie (Xocatl)
It's like a house with a sinkhole in the middle. [all laugh]
Timothy (DM)
So, if you all want to make Investigation or Perception checks, whichever your expertise is in.
Ellie (Xocatl)
That's a 6 for Xocatl.
Chris (Sal)
Also 6.
Jen (Lenore)
5! [Chris laughs] That's a fiiiive.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah, baby! We are blinded by the sun bouncing off the waves.
Timothy (DM)
So, Lenore and Xocatl, they make an "effort" [finger quotes], in quotations, to explore the island, whereas Salvador is, like, kind of jogging up and down the rocks, peeking underneath little outcroaches?
Ellie (Xocatl)
Outcroppings?
Ellie (Xocatl)
Outcroaches is great though.
Timothy (DM)
--outcroppings.
Jen (Lenore)
Outcroaches sounds great--
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, we're going to make that a word now.
Jen (Lenore)
--Sounds like a town. Like, "I'm from the Outcroaches"
Timothy (DM)
So, peeking under little outcrops, outcroppings to see if there's ANY sort of mechanism or other entrance, and you come up with nothing.
Jen (Lenore)
Lenore is going to cast the Light cantrip on one of her coins that she has and throws it down into the pit to see if she can see anything.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, so Lenore throws the coin that is now illuminated down the pit, and it starts to fade off into the distance before then it veers off to one of the sides... and just stays there, maybe a hundred yards down.
Jen (Lenore)
But it doesn't look like it landed? It just looked like-like in midair, it, like, got wooshed off?
Timothy (DM)
Pulled off to one side of the pit.
Jen (Lenore)
Ok. [optimistically] Oh, well, maybe we can jump down? [Tim and Chris laugh]
Ellie (Xocatl)
You first!
Chris (Sal)
A hundred yards is 300 feet.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[totally supportive] That's a great idea, Lenore. [Jen laughs] I think you should go ahead and do that. Let us know how it goes.
Jen (Lenore)
[plainly] I don't like your tone.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[obliviously] Everybody likes me. [Jen and Tim laugh]
Chris (Sal)
Salvador holds his tongue. [Ellie laughs] "Well, I feel like the most direct way down would be to scale down, and I only have 50 feet of rope, and I imagine there's much more back on the ship."
Ellie (Xocatl)
We got a LOT of rope on the ship.
Jen (Lenore)
All the rope, even. [Tim laughs]
Chris (Sal)
Or if you have a rope ladder?
Ellie (Xocatl)
I also have 50 feet of rope. We could tie our ropes together.
Jen (Lenore)
[eyes wide] We could do 150 feet of rope.
Timothy (DM)
We can say that they packed up the paddle boat with some additional rope, considering that they didn't think that you would need to carry all of it.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[remembering the paddle boat exists, lovingly] The paddle boat! Yeah, wise of them.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah.
Ellie (Xocatl)
It's a big paddleboat.
Timothy (DM)
Your crew is very well trained.
Ellie (Xocatl)
They are the pride of my family. [Chris laughs]
Jen (Lenore)
Do we see, like, a tree or, like, a big rock we could tie off the rope to?
Timothy (DM)
Oh yeah, there's tons of little jagged rocks that reach up into the sky that you can definitely--
Jen (Lenore)
Oh! Wonderful.
Timothy (DM)
--wrap the rope around, tie it off real nice. Whoever has a good knot-making skills.
Jen (Lenore)
Yeah. Lenore's just doing it if anyone wants to stop her. [laughs] Um, she's just trying her best to just tie a normal knot... with a bow.
Ellie (Xocatl)
With a bow!
Chris (Sal)
Oh, no!
Jen (Lenore)
And then she's like, "Okay, I, uh...all set!"
Chris (Sal)
Salvador's gonna pat-pat Lenore on the shoulder "That's a really nice bow you have there."
Jen (Lenore)
Thank you!
Chris (Sal)
Um, I am going to try to double knot it.
Jen (Lenore)
Oh, that's a good idea.
Chris (Sal)
You know what, it always happens to my shoelaces, so I don't want it to happen to this rope... [fearful for what's next] Have any of you ever descended on a rope before?
Jen (Lenore)
[quietly] No.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[not quietly] No.
Chris (Sal)
[rubbing his hands together] This is gonna be a good crash course. What you want to do: you're gonna wrap... uh,friction it around your waist? I think this is how descending on a rope... like, if you don't have a belay... like, a harness.
Timothy (DM)
We're not professional belayers, so the audience is just gonna have to bear with us.
Jen (Lenore)
I won't call you out. [Tim and Ellie laugh]
Chris (Sal)
But I think you're supposed to have sort of wrapped friction around your waist.
Ellie (Xocatl)
I think it's like this [demonstrates a loop circumventing your waist] like a U behind your back and that way you can control with the top and bottom hands your... and by pulling it like this--
Timothy (DM)
Without burning your palm.
Ellie (Xocatl)
--Yeah, right, and you can increase the tension by going like this, which helps you stop. As far as I know.
Timothy (DM)
Beautiful
Chris (Sal)
So, I do that, yeah.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Xocatl was trying to decide if descending on tied together bedsheets from a tryst's room counted as... [all laugh] While their angry wife slams on the door. But I think eventually he decided that it wasn't applicable to this situation. [Tim and Jen laughs]
Jen (Lenore)
Lenore's like [coyly] "We have a really big staircase in our mansion. Does that count?"
Chris (Sal)
Uh, have you... [laughing] mean by sliding down the bannister?
Jen (Lenore)
Um, yes.
Chris (Sal)
It's pretty similar, yes.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Well, I think that knot looks just great. I love the collaboration I'm seeing here and the leadership I'm seeing here.
Jen (Lenore)
Don't patronize me, please.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[dropping the facade] Fine: it was NOT a good knot, and I'm glad that Salvador fixed it. [Jen laughs] You go first.... [all laugh] Rancid little child. [all laugh harder]
Chris (Sal)
[stepping in between the two] Ok, ok! Now, I think.... tensions are a little bit high. I know there's some history between your two families, but we have to work together without sort of this animosity that I'm sensing between the two.
Jen (Lenore)
[staring at the ceilling] I have no animosity. I don't know what you mean. I have nothing against his family, you know?
Chris (Sal)
[not believeing] Lenorrrrre...
Jen (Lenore)
I don't! [out of the side of her mouth] My grandmother does. [chipperly] I don't!
Chris (Sal)
Well, I'm glad you were able to move past that, whatever history is between the two of you.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah, to be honest, I don't have THAT much of a problem with her family, but I do NOT like children.
Chris (Sal)
Well, you know, that's gonna change.
Ellie (Xocatl)
--it's a little embarrassing, isn't it? To be a child? [Tim and Jen laugh]
Jen (Lenore)
I can't help it.
Chris (Sal)
What are you like as a child, Xocatl?
Jen (Lenore)
Probably the same... but shorter. [all laugh]
Ellie (Xocatl)
"Oh, you know: I took baths." He looks accusingly at Lenore. [Ellie and Chris laugh]
Jen (Lenore)
I also take baths, I'm confused.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Really? Cuz you look dirty.
Jen (Lenore)
Well, I was covered in a bunch of cloaks. I'm pretty sweaty.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[aloofly] Rancid child. [Chris and Jen laugh] Anyway, down the rope! [claps hands twice]
Jen (Lenore)
Leader! Um...[all laugh]
Ellie (Xocatl)
Time to lead your way down this rope, my good fellow!
Chris (Sal)
Yes, I-I triple check the knot that Lenore's tied, and I get in my belaying stance, and I start to descend, and I keep my eye trained on the Light coin at the bottom.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Well, not really on the bottom; like on the sides.
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, it's-it's stuck to the side of the--
Jen (Lenore)
On the side bottom. [Ellie laughs]
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, so you start to repel down into this pit, and you're going down 50 feet... to 100 feet... 150 feet, and the light is growing of the coin illuminating along the side of the pit. And as you get closer, you start to notice that it is definitely not at the "bottom" of the pit: it has somehow gotten stuck on one of the stones partway down, and you get about 250 feet, you can start to see the stone all around you (it's very well illuminated) and the pull of gravity starts to shift. You start feeling yourself struggling to fall, and almost as if you need to push yourself off of the rope to get down further, and by the time you reach the coin, you find your body is pressed up against the side of the pit and that you're almost laying.
Chris (Sal)
I shout up on my back."Uh, it-it appears there's some weird gravity... field? I'm not sure if it's possible to go any further down, but I'm stuck to the wall now.
Jen (Lenore)
[distantly] Have you tried standing up?
Chris (Sal)
I-I try to get onto my... all fours.
Timothy (DM)
[devilishly] You get on all fours? [Ellie and Jen laugh]
Chris (Sal)
Uh, yeah, to get up. Yeah.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[innuendoishly] No, not to get up. [Jen and Ellie laugh]
Timothy (DM)
You go onto your hands and knees, and you are now crawling on the ground. You push yourself up into a stance, and you find yourself looking up out of the pit as if it was the end of a tunnel.
Ellie (Xocatl)
So, he's like standing on the wall, protruding out into the...
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, you are, like, standing on the wall, looking up/forward, and it looks as if you're just staring at a tunnel as you kind of stumble to get your bearings, you take a couple steps back, and it's as if you're walking on the ground.
Chris (Sal)
"Well, I think there's something odd about this tunnel, but it seems safe enough to descend into." Is it just smooth wall? No delineation between, like if it's bricked or...?
Timothy (DM)
They're like stone bricks.
Chris (Sal)
Okay. Can I light a torch and drop it?
Timothy (DM)
You may. So, you pull a torch out of your pack. You light it up.
Ellie (Xocatl)
There's also the Light coin near you.
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, I was trying to see if I... if I could throw it down... if I threw my torch further beyond, like further into the tunnel below me, would it go? Or would it just snap back up to here?
Timothy (DM)
So, you light the torch, and you throw it where you think down is and it goes about 10, 15 feet and arcs down and hits the side of the wall/floor.
Jen (Lenore)
Okay, Lenore's gonna follow down on one of the ropes or the same rope, I guess. [Jen and Tim laughs]
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah, Xocatl will also after Lenore has hit the gravity spot, Xocatl will follow as well.
Jen (Lenore)
[in rad DJ voice] Hit that Gravity Spot. [Tim laughs]
Ellie (Xocatl)
Buh-dum bum.
Timothy (DM)
So, while disorienting, you all find yourself standing about 300 feet from the top/end of tunnel.
Jen (Lenore)
This is fascinating.
Timothy (DM)
A torch lays about 15 feet down the ways.
Chris (Sal)
[pointing up] "Really hope that rope stays there, but it seems like our path is that way." and I point down where the torch is.
Jen (Lenore)
"Thank you for your excellent leadership." and Lenore follows on.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah, Xocatl follows also along but at the back in case gravity changes. [Tim and Chris laugh] I wanna see one of them fall off first.
Timothy (DM)
If you'll fall again?
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah, exactly.
Timothy (DM)
All right. So, you all start walking down this long tunnel; you still cannot see the end of it.
Ellie (Xocatl)
I do have an idea.
Chris (Sal)
[pleased by the initative] Go for it!
Ellie (Xocatl)
"Well, I wouldn't want to be presumptuous, since I'm not the leader, but..." and he unhooks a crossbow from where it hangs at his side. "Lenore, why don't you do that fancy, uh, you know" he wiggles his fingers vaguely at the coin.
Jen (Lenore)
I cast Light on the bolt.
Ellie (Xocatl)
And then Xocatl cocks it and shoots it 320 feet ahead, and we can watch the bolt sail and see if the gravity changes or see if it hits something.
Timothy (DM)
So, you shoot the bolt, and it travels a couple hundred feet, starts arcing down as bolts do after they have been shot out of a crossbow--
Ellie (Xocatl)
In the normal way.
Timothy (DM)
In the normal way
Jen (Lenore)
In the very normal gravity way.
Timothy (DM)
Very normal way, except for the fact that gravity is now facing a different direction, and then it hits... something--
Ellie (Xocatl)
I hope it wasn't somebody!
Timothy (DM)
--and you hear the sound of a bolt impacting wood.
Jen (Lenore)
[breathing a sigh of relief] Oh good. "You hear the sound of a SCREAM" [all laugh]
Ellie (Xocatl)
"Ah, roll for initiative. Oops!" Okay, well, the good news is I don't think we're gonna have any more gravity situations.
Jen (Lenore)
[geniuinely] That was a really good idea.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Thank you; [pointing to his head] I got a couple monkeys up in the old noggin.
Jen (Lenore)
What? [Tim laughs]
Ellie (Xocatl)
Oh, it's an old saying.
Jen (Lenore)
Sure. Sure, it is. I believe you.
Ellie (Xocatl)
You wouldn't get it.
Jen (Lenore)
Oh, yeah, probably not. [nervous laughter]
Timothy (DM)
And at the end of this tunnel, you can see the light of the bolt.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Great. Well, leader, lead away!
Chris (Sal)
I lead in the darkness towards this tiny tiny bolt of lightning, and I imagine I get to a door.
Timothy (DM)
You doooo. You eventually approach a door after a couple hundred feet. It is a double door, wooden with iron reinforcements and stonework around the trim. At the top of the door, you see a crest of a sea turtle set over an orchid. [Editor's Note: I believe he means the sea turtle is superimposed over the image of an orchid]
Chris (Sal)
Is this to a particular family in town?
Timothy (DM)
You look at both of your party members, and you see a sea turtle on one of their cloaks and an orchid on the other.
Chris (Sal)
Fascinating...
Ellie (Xocatl)
[trying to act casually] How INTERESTING.
Jen (Lenore)
Yeah, Lenore is very confused. [all laugh]
Chris (Sal)
Your families are one of the oldest in town, so I imagine maybe one of your ancestors are in this tomb.
Jen (Lenore)
Oh, yes. Yeah, we are the oldest family, um, in town.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[butting in, doubtful] Mmmm, wellll..... [Tim laughs]
Jen (Lenore)
[tilts head] Mm-hmm!
Ellie (Xocatl)
Welllllll... one of the oldest families in town [Chris laughs], but I know you wouldn't know that because you're so young. [pats Lenore's head]
Jen (Lenore)
I'm gonna ignore that. So, why are they together? That seems strange.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah, my ancestors wouldn't be caught DEAD near yours. [Chris loves the pun] He looks around for approval. [Jen and Chris laugh] A single tear falls down Lenore's cheek. Nobody laughs.
Jen (Lenore)
[imitating a sad Xocatl] "Awww, but everybody likes me."
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, I pat Xocatl's shoulder as like--
Ellie (Xocatl)
No, it's fine. [firmly] Don't patronize me.
Chris (Sal)
"Well, beyond these doors lies history. So let's go for--" Are we in search of something in particular? Is... did they say that the beginning?
Timothy (DM)
No, not really.
Chris (Sal)
They're just like... just like "Go in there, and find something."
Timothy (DM)
The scholar uncovered the burial tomb location, but there's really not a lot that they were able to find on what is actually there other than they know that several of the founding families were buried there.
Chris (Sal)
Salvador breaks out some rolls of parchment and some charcoal and hands both of them sets to Xocatl and to Lenore and say "If anything, we can maybe take some etchings or write down the names of people that have been buried here as just sort of like a accounting. Like, 'Yep, they're here!'"
Jen (Lenore)
Lenore's holding the charcoal like it's a bug that she's never seen before in her life [Tim laughs] and she's just kind of like... [ick face]
Chris (Sal)
"Oh, you-you're probably better with pens" and I pull out a pen.
Jen (Lenore)
Oh, thank you. [Tim laughs]
Ellie (Xocatl)
[staring at the charcoal] "How interesting. [Jen and Tim laugh] Yes, these efforts will certainly be an important part of our expedition." Xocatl smiles tuskily. [Jen and Chris laugh]
Chris (Sal)
Oh, man, I didn't know.
Jen (Lenore)
[breahtlessly] Tuskily!
Chris (Sal)
I try to open the door.
Timothy (DM)
All right. The door pushes open easily and is relatively a smooth glide, and as the doors push open, you enter a chamber with a large stone statue in the middle facing away from you, and along the two sides of the room are altars with several large dusty tomes set atop them. Oddly enough, there are roses growing in planters in the corners of the room.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[trepidatious] Like alive?
Timothy (DM)
Like living roses. Like alive living roses.
Jen (Lenore)
Well, Lenore's gonna go look at one of the books.
Timothy (DM)
All right. You pick up a book, and it has a blank cover. Do you want to open it?
Jen (Lenore)
[determined] Yes.
Timothy (DM)
All right. You start paging through the book, and you notice that it is a family tree. Your family tree.
Jen (Lenore)
Oh, dang. M'kay.
Timothy (DM)
It stops about three generations prior to you, and next to each of the names, you notice the words "I offer you to..." and the name of a demon that you may be familiar with.
Jen (Lenore)
Lenore shuts the book very quickly and puts it back down.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Xocatl leans conspiree--, conspiratorial--, conspiriatoritally?
Jen (Lenore)
[laughing] Conspiratorially.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yep!--over to Salvador and says "See, this is what I'm talking about with the statues. I hate this." [Jen and Tim laugh]
Chris (Sal)
Can-can we walk around to look at the front of the statue?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, you can. You walk around to the front of statue, and it is a gentleman in armor with... leaning on the hilt of his sword.
Jen (Lenore)
Is it a human gentleman?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, it's humanoid. Human-ish.
Jen (Lenore)
[nodding] Human-ish.
Timothy (DM)
They have a helmet on, so you can't see the features of their face.
Chris (Sal)
It's definitely less creepy than I thought it might have been.
Jen (Lenore)
Yeah, at least you can't see its eyes. That's the worst.
Chris (Sal)
I give a reassuring shoulder squeeze to Xocatl saying "It'll all be... OH! Look over here; we have some flowers."
Ellie (Xocatl)
"MmmMMm." Xocatl's, like, still looking at the statue, skeptically. [Jen laughs] "I don't like it, but will come look at the flowers. Yeah, sure."
Chris (Sal)
This is interesting because I'm not aware of any subterranean flowers that can grow in pure darkness.
Jen (Lenore)
Certainly not roses. Can I do an Arcana check on flowers to see if I know anything about these magics?
Timothy (DM)
You may, and also, there is another door at the other end of the chamber. I forgot to mention.
Jen (Lenore)
12.
Timothy (DM)
A 12. With the 12, you can sense arcane energy. Not sure of what type.
Jen (Lenore)
Lenore picks a flower. It stays alive?
Timothy (DM)
It stays alive. Yeah.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Is the room and the tomes... (you might mentioned this) are they like dusty? Are they decrepit looking, or, like... the roses are growing. Does it look like everything else is in fairly good repair?
Timothy (DM)
So, most of the tones are dusty, except for on each altar at the far end of the room, one of the tomes on each altar is free of dust.
Chris (Sal)
Can we check the other book?
Jen (Lenore)
The free... the clean book?
Timothy (DM)
Which side of the room would you like to pull a book from?
Chris (Sal)
[to Lenore] So, what was in the book that you saw?
Jen (Lenore)
[curtly] Just names.
Chris (Sal)
Aww, like a family tree?
Jen (Lenore)
Yeah! Mm-hm
Chris (Sal)
That's fun.
Jen (Lenore)
[laughs nervously] Yeah, that's the word I'd use.
Chris (Sal)
So, I-I look at the other altar.
Timothy (DM)
On the other altar? Okay. And which end of the altar are you selecting a book from?
Chris (Sal)
There's one clean book on the altar?
Timothy (DM)
Yes.
Chris (Sal)
I'll open the clean book.
Timothy (DM)
All right, you open the clean book on the other altar, and you start flipping through it, and you find a family tree. You don't recognize a lot of the first names. However, the name Camaxtli is continuously repeated on every page until you get to the final one, where you see Xocatl's name.
Chris (Sal)
Oh, Xocatl! Your name's in this book! [Ellie and Jen break down laughing]
Jen (Lenore)
Whaaaat!?!
Ellie (Xocatl)
Whaaaaat!?! My name's in this book that's been under the ocean for years and years?
Chris (Sal)
[shortly] Mm-hm. [Jen and Tim laugh]
Ellie (Xocatl)
"Well, I hate that!" I stride over and grab it out of your hands to look at it.
Chris (Sal)
Maybe it's a... do you have anybody in your family named Xocatl, like maybe a grandfather?
Ellie (Xocatl)
I think it is a, like, historic family name, but when I look at the family tree, does it like... it's me?
Timothy (DM)
Your parents are right above you.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Uck. [all laugh] Well...
Jen (Lenore)
[looking at Xocatl] How could this happen?
Ellie (Xocatl)
[defensively] I don't know why you're looking at me!
Jen (Lenore)
Well, your name's in the book!
Ellie (Xocatl)
I slam the book close! [Jen and Tim laugh]
Jen (Lenore)
A lot of defensive book slamming going on. [all laugh]
Ellie (Xocatl)
There has to be someone down here: the roses; the books being updated. There has to be someone down here who's in communication with the people above. That's the only possible explanation. There must have been somebody in here when it was buried, and there's somebody still in here when it came up.
Jen (Lenore)
Maybe there's a portal or something...
Ellie (Xocatl)
[squinting his eyes] That's a little fantastical, don't you think, Lenore?
Jen (Lenore)
Okay, you're right. I'm sorry. [Tim laughs]
Ellie (Xocatl)
That's a little silly. It's a little goofy. [Jen and Tim laugh] Did you read that in one of your children's books, Lenore?
Jen (Lenore)
I read at a very high level.
Ellie (Xocatl)
I'm sure you're advanced for your age.
Jen (Lenore)
Lenore has a thing where she literally can read every writing. [all laugh]
Ellie (Xocatl)
Ohhhhh! Xocatl's such an asshole!
Jen (Lenore)
She can read everyth-- every written language.
Ellie (Xocatl)
"I'm sure you're advanced for you age."
Chris (Sal)
Well, okay.
Ellie (Xocatl)
I don't know that, so...
Chris (Sal)
I imagine they're just like more names?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah. Salvador, do you wanna start flipping through some of the other books?
Chris (Sal)
Since Xocatl seems unhappy with going through their history, I guess I'll go to Lenore's altar.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Thank you! That's private. [Tim laughs]
Chris (Sal)
Lenore, is it okay if I go through some of these books?
Jen (Lenore)
[unsure] Um, sure. [Tim laughs]
Timothy (DM)
All right. So which one are you going for?
Chris (Sal)
How many are on this altar?
Timothy (DM)
So there are five on each of the altars.
Chris (Sal)
--and Lenore's looked through the clean one.
Timothy (DM)
So, Lenore looked at the first one which was dusty.
Chris (Sal)
Okay. I guess I'll go for the one that is not dusty.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, so you go to the other end of the altar, and you open the newer looking book, and you start seeing a family tree, but something strikes you odd about the family tree. There's these words kind of inscribed next to each person's name "We offer you up to..." and then each one has, like, a different weird-looking name that they're supposedly being offered to.
Chris (Sal)
Are these like runes of a different language, or... it's, like, incomprehensible to me.
Timothy (DM)
They are comprehensible that you could phonetically sound them out, but there are a bunch of names that you're not familiar with.
Chris (Sal)
Do I see Lenore's name in there?
Timothy (DM)
So, you continue to flip through the book, and you get to the end, and right at the very last page is Lenore's name... except she doesn't have that text next to her name.
Chris (Sal)
I clossssse the book. I don't know if you were just staring at me reading the book.
Ellie (Xocatl)
I was looking at the statue again. I'm still holding the clean book from my family, and I'm unsettled in general.
Chris (Sal)
I pick up the book from the altar, and I give it to Lenore.
Jen (Lenore)
I open it and look at it, and then I close it again. And I'm like, "Oh, thank you."
Ellie (Xocatl)
You know, if I were a superstitious sort (which I'm not), I would say it's not great for us that the books end here... with us.
Jen (Lenore)
Yeah. I mean, I'm, I haven't had any kids, so that makes sense.
Ellie (Xocatl)
But there's not any like blank pages. extras for later.
Jen (Lenore)
Oh, I didn't think of that--
Ellie (Xocatl)
Like last page.
Jen (Lenore)
Oh.
Ellie (Xocatl)
[to Tim] Last page is us, right? Is that true of both books? Last page is us?
Timothy (DM)
[pleased] Yeah, it's the last page.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah. So...
Jen (Lenore)
I... oh, no...
Ellie (Xocatl)
But I'm not a superstitious sort. Maybe they just need to order a new book.
Jen (Lenore)
Maybe... yeah, maybe it's magic and pages will just appear.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Or you can just buy a blank book because obviously they've done that several times before--
Ellie (Xocatl)
Get a bullet journal on Amazon. [Tim laughs]
Chris (Sal)
Yeah, they have to... is there a bookmaker in town? I don't believe so.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, Terra Vas has everrrrrrything.
Jen (Lenore)
There's everything. They got everything in town.
Chris (Sal)
But yeah, it's probably a strange coincidence.
Ellie (Xocatl)
It's really a supply chain problem--
Chris (Sal)
Exactly.
Ellie (Xocatl)
--is what it is and I--
Jen (Lenore)
The pandemic is really affecting supply chains everywhere, the world over. [Chris laughs]
Ellie (Xocatl)
If there's one thing I understand, it's supply chains. If there's one thing I don't understand, it's spooky books. So, we're going with the former, not the latter. [all laugh]
Chris (Sal)
Well, this this has been intriguing. Shall we proceed through the door?
Ellie (Xocatl)
Yeah, I think so. Lead the way, leader.
Jen (Lenore)
Please.
Ellie (Xocatl)
Leaders lead.
Chris (Sal)
I lead with my leading...
Timothy (DM)
My leader's skill?
Chris (Sal)
--with my... with my-my line leader leadership skill, and I open the door.
Timothy (DM)
All right. So, above the door, as you are pushing forward, you notice again the crest: a sea turtle set atop an orchid.
Chris (Sal)
[miming the layout of the crest with his hands] Sea turtle --> orchid?
Jen (Lenore)
Mmhm. You got it.
Timothy (DM)
And you push the doors open into another chamber. This chamber, very similar to the last in construction, but all that sits in it is a dusty floor-length mirror in the center of the room.
Jen (Lenore)
[creeped out] That's very creepy. Does anyone else think that's really creepy?
Timothy (DM)
And Lenore, you recognize this mirror as the mirror that sits in your grandmother's room.
Jen (Lenore)
[strained whisper] That's really creepy, you guys.
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 becomes of our unfortunate players in this most dreadful act.
Timothy (DM)
Shout out to my brother, known as the chill electronic and vapor soul artists, 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/shadows of prophecy, 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