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; Dan as our compassionately resolute small business owner, Wren; and Ken as the coy yet seductive Midnight Dunreath. Join us as we enter the Shadows of Prophecy. Prologue: A World Unravels. Chapter Nine - Hidden Carnage.
Dan (Wren)
I'm gonna look at Mara and Middie and say "Give us a minute."
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
"Okay." and I grab Mara, and we just walk to the side.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
Alright, boss.
Dan (Wren)
So, I'm gonna, like, kneel over this guy, and I'm gonna, like, pull him really close so that, like, our faces are next to each other so I can just, like, whisper in his ear really menacingly. You get it? Y'know, you see the scene, okay? [Tim: "Yeah."] And I'll go and whisper in his ear. "Let this be a message to you and your crew that the members of Lark's Perch are OFF LIMITS, and if you EVER come near them EVER again, you won't be so lucky..." and I shove him back to the ground.
Timothy (Rough-Looking Jack)
He is going to SPIT at you. [Dan gasps] "FUCK you."
Dan (Wren)
[resolutely] I'm going to stab him in the leg.
Timothy (Rough-Looking Jack)
[painfully] AAAAAGGGHH
Dan (Wren)
"I would get that checked out because if you don't get it checked out soon, you're not gonna walk again." and I'm gonna hold the dagger out.
Timothy (Rough-Looking Jack)
[through clenched teeth] Fuck you so BAD. [groan] You're gonna regret this! [deep breathing]
Dan (Wren)
Can I just knock him out with, like, the hilt of my dagger?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, go for it.
Dan (Wren)
*heh* *Pop!* [laughs]
Timothy (DM)
And you knock him out. He goes unconscious. Blood is pooling beneath him.
Dan (Wren)
[in an "OK mom" voice] And I'll stabilize him. Ooookay, here we go, I guess I'll do this for him. That's a 10? 10 is stabilizing, right?
Timothy (DM)
10 is stabilizing. So, you're able to just, like, wrap some gauze around his wounds and apply the pressure.
Dan (Wren)
He's still not gonna walk again, through; I'm not fixing that.
Timothy (DM)
[laughs] Yeah. Just-just applying enough pressure that he doesn't bleed out after you leave.
Dan (Wren)
Cool, perfect.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Awww, I want him to die. [Tim laughs]
Dan (Wren)
I mean, me too, but...
Timothy (DM)
Don't we all? [Kendrick laughs]
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
[looking at the other unconscious body] He has a mohawk; gross.
Timothy (DM)
All right, and so you stand up, and you see just these two thugs knocked out in a pool of their own blood, unconscious but stable: message has been sent!
Dan (Wren)
I'm also going to take stuff. Is there stuff to take?
Timothy (DM)
I mean, yeah, there's, like... how-how, um...?
Dan (Wren)
I'll grab the whiskey bottles--
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
I knew you were gonna take the whiskey. [Dan laughs] I knew it!
Timothy (DM)
So, there's, like, random things of moderate value about: lots of liquor bottles; they each have coin purses that you could probably lift off their bodies, but anything of great value would probably be stashed elsewhere.
Dan (Wren)
I'm done here. We can go. I'll grab a couple bottles of whiskey, and we could head out, and so I'm gonna say "Good job, guys."
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Midnight's gonna be a little sad because she is really rusty and she's gonna be like "I'm sorry, guys. I just thought it'd be a lot stronger. I'm so rusty, sorry."
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
Don't sweat it, Midnight. You were great out there.
Dan (Wren)
Yeah, I'm sure Mara will spar with you to get those skills back.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
Ohhhh, yes, I would.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Um, I think I'm... I think I'm good. I will... I can... I can practice on my own, but thank you, Mara. [Dan laughs]
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
All right, the offer always stands; Mara's ya' gal! Anyways, I think we send a message, boss.
Dan (Wren)
Yeah, I hope so.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
--our work here is done.
Dan (Wren)
Again: "boss". Why? Just, like...? [laughs]
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
I don't know! It just feeeeels right, y'know?
Dan (Wren)
All right. Let's get going.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Mara, you're a hoot. [Tim laughs]
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, and so you all exit the Copper Crow Company's den, and you return to your homes for the evening. Several days go by, and you hear nothing of the matter. No word is passed across town of this event, and Justice continues to come into work.
Dan (Wren)
Ok, I'll continue to send him home with an escort just for the foreseeable future, just to make sure.
Timothy (DM)
So, that all is until or four days later... [Dan softly "Noooo"s] Justice doesn't show up for their shift.
Dan (Wren)
[whispers] Goddamnit. I ask around the other employees and see if they've HEARD from Justice.
Timothy (DM)
You ask around, especially those closest to Justice, and nobody has heard anything. They're just as confused as you are.
Dan (Wren)
Okay. We saw him yesterday, right? He came to shift yesterday?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah. You've seen him the last three days. It's just the fourth day he doesn't show up.
Dan (Wren)
Oh...what time of day is it?
Timothy (DM)
It's the evening, it's typically when your business, um, is at peak.
Dan (Wren)
Yep. Are Mara and Midnight busy at the moment?
Timothy (DM)
I mean, they're always working, but their work is flexible.
Dan (Wren)
Okay, I'm going to go and find both of them and bring them into the back room and apologize profusely to any guests that they might be with at the moment. Assuming that they're not, like, "in the moment" [Dan laughs] when I burst in. [Editor's Note: *wink wink*]
Timothy (DM)
I mean, you're able to find them in some downtime and pull them aside. So, Mara is going to go into the backroom and along with Midnight.
Dan (Wren)
As you probably noticed, Justice has not shown up for his shift today... and naturally, I'm concerned.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Didn't you send him home with an escort last night?
Dan (Wren)
I did... and that escort said that he got home just fine. So, I'm worried that something happened earlier today.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Should we go visit his home?
Dan (Wren)
I'm thinking that might be a good choice, and I wanted to bring you to with me because... we fought well together the other day, and, um, if you don't have any patrons that are... will have a fit if you're not around, I can put someone else in charge for a while.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
My patron can wait. She knows what it is.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
Yeah, same here, boss. This is important. I'll be around. They'll be around. We'll be all good.
Dan (Wren)
Meet me out front in 30.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
All right, let me grab my armor.
Dan (Wren)
I'll go change.
Timothy (DM)
And you all suit up, meeting out front 30 minutes later.
Dan (Wren)
All right, off to... I imagine I know where.
Timothy (DM)
So, you know where Justice lives (you pretty much know where all of your employees live just to keep tabs on them) and you are able to travel to their home. They live along the port. They have a small modest house to themselves. They live alone.
Dan (Wren)
I know where this is. It's probably not too far. It's like a few... like, 10/15-minute walk, [recalculating] um, a 30-minute walk; maybe something like that. I can go knock on their door.
Timothy (DM)
You go to knock on their door, and you see that it's been bashed in.
Dan (Wren)
"Oh, no." And I will go in then; I'll push in.
Timothy (DM)
All right. Give me Perception check.
Dan (Wren)
God help me if you kill Justice. [Tim laughs]
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
[fearful] I hope not.
Dan (Wren)
I rolled a nat 1.
Timothy (DM)
It looks rather thrown about. You see, like, spatters of blood and just, like, broken things.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Can I do a Perception check?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah!
Dan (Wren)
Yeah, 'cauze I imagine we look around.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
I got a 22.
Timothy (DM)
All right. So, Midnight, as you enter Justice's home, you hear a faint wheezing upstairs.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
I immediately run upstairs hoping that Mara and Wren follow.
Dan (Wren)
Yeah, I'll follow with urgency.
Timothy (DM)
Yep. So, you scramble up the stairs and follow the sound of the wheezing until you reach Justice's bedroom. They are leaning up against the wall beneath their bedroom window, and their eyes are closed, but you see them breathing... verrry belabouredly. [belabored wheezing]
Dan (Wren)
"Move!" and I'm gonna push past you.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Justice!
Dan (Wren)
Um, I'd like to "medicine" Justice.
Timothy (DM)
All right, give me a Medicine check.
Dan (Wren)
Oh GOD! [nervous voice] I'm nervous about this one! That is a 18. [laughing] Thank God I have a high Medicine skill.
Timothy (DM)
You go over to Justice. They are bloodied, bruised, their nose looks broken, looks like they have a couple broken fingers. They have been beaten to within an inch of their life. They can hardly open their eyes because their cheeks are so bruised, and you start tending to their wounds and checking for the extent of their injuries. As you continue to examine them, you notice a broken rib.
Dan (Wren)
Is any of this fatal? Like, will Justice die? Can I treat Justice?
Timothy (DM)
They seem treatable.
Dan (Wren)
[relieved] Okay.
Timothy (DM)
But it will take some time. They probably should get some immediate care.
Dan (Wren)
Well, I am immediate care. Thank you very much. [Tim laughs]
Timothy (DM)
So, you start tending to their wounds--
Dan (Wren)
Question (and I know I say that a lot)
Timothy (DM)
[whispers] Oh my gosh, yes?
Dan (Wren)
My skills compared to a healer's skills, at what capacity, like, an actual healer, like, do my skills match theirs or, like, how...?
Timothy (DM)
I mean, so... what you are able to provide will stabilize people, it will help their recovery process; it won't immediately make them recover--
Dan (Wren)
Like magic would.
Timothy (DM)
Like magic would. So, you can reset the nose, you can tie up any broken bones, keep them stabilized, stop the bleeding, put creams, oils, ointments, poultices to reduce bruising and inflammation, and you do know some tricks up your sleeve that are particularly useful in combat situations that help rejuvenate the body, but in this situation, nothing is going to heal the broken bone immediately.
Dan (Wren)
Sure, that makes sense. Ok.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Poor Justice.
Dan (Wren)
"I will bandage up Justice as best I can, set anything that needs to be set, which is [pained groan] hurts my soul because that probably hurts a lot!" and then I'm gonna turn to Mara: "Can you carry him? We're gonna bring him back to my place."
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
Sure thing, boss, uh.... [sighs, shakes head sadly] Justice, what did they do to you?" and she is going to scoop him up in her arms--
Dan (Wren)
Big muscley arms. [laughs]
Timothy (DM)
--her big muscley arms [Kendrick and Dan laugh], and she's going to carry him down the stairs, and you can hear that he's trying to talk but it's hard for him to get the words out. A few things that you can make out are "the Copper Crow Company".
Dan (Wren)
Figured as much. [eyes lit with vengeance] They're all gonna die now.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
"How did this happen?" That's what I'm saying to Justice even though I know that he probably can't respond.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, he continues to mumble as you carry him off back to... Wren's home?
Dan (Wren)
Yeah, so my home above Lark's Perch.
Timothy (DM)
All right, so you carry him back up to Lark's Perch, Wren's home above the Perch.
Dan (Wren)
I'll also scoop up some, like, clothes... of their clothes to bring back to change.
Timothy (DM)
And you get them set up in your bed, prop them up, make sure that they're in a comfortable position, give them some water, all of those things, and eventually they pass out from exhaustion.
Dan (Wren)
Ok. I'm going to pay someone extra to stay in my place just to watch over him [turning to the duo] Because we've got work to do, y'all. [laughs] I will send a message like a note to the General, General Gith d'Grey with a short description of the situation that the Copper Crows have been harassing and assaulting my employees and any support he can provide would be greatly appreciated. I imagine we have some kind of relationship like that.
Timothy (DM)
Okay.
Dan (Wren)
And you could do with that what you will.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, so you send that off.
Dan (Wren)
All right. [sighs] I'm a little bit stuck on what to do; any thoughts from the peanut gallery? Because I WANT to go kill literally ALL of them.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Midnight is kind of on the same boat at this point because she hates seeing people in pain.
Dan (Wren)
Yeah, but the problem is, is that the three of us aren't going to be able to take on a group of 20.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
No, you're right about that, boss, and it's strains me to say this, but I'm more concerned about Justice at this point.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Same.
Dan (Wren)
Justice will recover. I checked him well enough that they're not in any immediate serious danger of... from their injuries. I will continue to tend to them. We need to do something; we can't just let them walk all over us like this.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
We should have killed one of them to at least send a better message.
Dan (Wren)
You're probably right.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
An eye for an eye then.
Dan (Wren)
I mean, technically we get... well, we beat the crap out of two of their guys, and they beat the crap out of one ours; isn't that an eye for an eye?
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Semantics, Wren. Let's just go kick their asses.
Dan (Wren)
I'm just, yeah-- out of character: I don't want to be stuck in, like... at the front of my thoughts is that I don't want to be stuck in a cycle of "where we beat the shit out of one of them--> they beat the shit out of us--> we beat the shit out of one of them
Timothy (DM)
[waving off the concern ]Yep, don't worry about it right now.
Dan (Wren)
Okay, fine! Let's go ki- [laughs] Mara, are you in?
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
[concerned] We better have a good plan before we go in there.
Dan (Wren)
"We're not going in through the front door like we did last time." Would I know about the layout enough to be able to know about a back entrance? Only the front entrance? [Tim shakes no] Okay.
Timothy (DM)
No, you do not. You would definitely need to case the place to figure out how they're functioning. Maybe over several days.
Dan (Wren)
Okay, yeah, I was gonna say I will, over several nights, stake out the place because I... I imagine that I'm the stealthier of the group, so I don't know if [incoreneht overlap]--
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Yeah, why don't you do that.
Dan (Wren)
--see if I can glean where they might, like... different entrances and things like that, how many of them might be there, at what hours, things like that.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Can Midnight stay with Justice to see if there's any more information they can possibly give us about what happened? So, at this point, for the next few days, I'm not taking on any clients. I am just with Justice, making sure that they are as stable as possibly can, both mentally and physically.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah. So, over the next couple of days, Wren and Mara are going to case out the Copper Crow Company and learn more about their functions. You are able to get a little bit more familiar with how many people are there at one given point, how they come and go, some of their general dealings, and you do find a back entrance, eventually [Dan: "YES"] Midnight spends some time with Justice, helping them get better. After a couple of days, the bruising and the swelling goes down, their bones begin to set, and they tell you a little bit more about what happened. They don't know much, because the thugs did get the drop on them. So, they were at home, getting ready for bed when the front door was broken in, they went downstairs, there was a bit of a fight, they ran up to the bedroom, where they had a knife hidden beneath their pillow, went to go for the knife, unfortunately did not make it, and they were basically kicked and punched into the state that you found them in.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Okay, and I relay this information to both Mara and Wren. [Dan: "Mhhm, mhmm]
Timothy (DM)
But after a couple of days, they are recovering. They're making recovery (they're still mostly bedridden). They are able to get up and move about the space a little bit.
Dan (Wren)
Have I heard from the general? Or have I seen any influence from, like, the city guard? Like, have there been arrests of Copper Crows that I've heard of? Things like that.
Timothy (DM)
So, you do eventually receive a letter back from the general, but it is not what you were hoping for. Unfortunately, their hands are tied; the Copper Crows' influence is too strong for them to deal with at this time. They know they could probably pick off some of the, like, lower grunts but that's the best they could do.
Dan (Wren)
That's fine. That's enough. It's more than nothing. [Tim: "Yeah"] I send that back. I sent, like "That's more than nothing. So I'll accept that."
Timothy (DM)
All right.
Dan (Wren)
[whispers and wiggle fingers] ESPIONAGE. Dun dun-nah!
Timothy (DM)
Woot-woot-woo.
Dan (Wren)
Can I also during that time investigate what medicines Justice was getting from the Copper Crows? Where it's sourced if I can?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, give me a Medicine check.
Dan (Wren)
Oh, Medicine check. Oh, I imagine I could probably get my HANDS on some of it in the meantime.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, so you are able to visit Justice's mother.
Dan (Wren)
But that's a 20. Dirty 20.
Timothy (DM)
All right. So you visit Justice's mother, and you find out a couple of pieces of information, (1) of them being yes, she is VERY sick; (2) her supply is running VERY low (they've basically been cut off at this point); and (3), you examine medicine, and you realize that this is not just a simple concoction of herbs or drugs. There is magic involved. Particularly powerful source magic.
Dan (Wren)
Gotcha. Oh, okay.
Timothy (DM)
And that kind of explains why nobody really understood how or what it was doing to her.
Dan (Wren)
Mm. Is there anything that I can do for her beyond the medicine? Like, from a medical perspective?
Timothy (DM)
Give me an Arcana roll.
Dan (Wren)
Oh, great. I definitely have THAT. [whispers] I don't have that. [laughs] Oh, that's an 18 though!
Timothy (DM)
You are not super familiar with arcana or the arcane, but you do get a read on this residual magic over her, and you've read about curses before, and you suspect that she may actually just be cursed [Dan: "Ah"] and no physical ailment.
Dan (Wren)
Okay. Would there be anybody in the city that I would know or be connected with that has experience with curses, that has a magical affinity that might be able to help in a more magical way?
Timothy (DM)
Other than clerics? You might know a cleric or two from your experience in the war?
Dan (Wren)
Can I call in Goldfinch? Just kidding.
Timothy (DM)
So, you don't really know where Goldfinch has settled down. [Dan: "Okay."] You've lost touch since the war.
Dan (Wren)
Okay. Well, I will send out some letters and notes to people in the somewhat immediate area, this city and maybe closer cities, and see if I could get anyone to come visit her and check her out, that could do... potentially break this curse or do more for her than I can, and hopefully I receive a response at some point.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, you would know that there is a little bit of a risk here. Typically, people who have been cursed, have gotten involved with the sort that perform curses. And were any of these clerics to find out that they were meddling in curse magic, or even running with the sort, that could potentially risk their livelihood.
Dan (Wren)
Gotcha. Then I will only send letters to those that are more "subtle" in their work. Our business kind of works in the underbelly of the city anyways, so hopefully, I would have some connections of healers and clerics that might not... might not work in, like, an official sense [Tim: "Okay"] in the government. Someone who's more likely to be more flexible.
Timothy (DM)
Alright. So, you send off some letters.
Dan (Wren)
[laughs] That's all I do.
Timothy (DM)
All right. So, you've spent maybe a week now doing various sorts of [sensually] espionage tasks. [laughs] Not really espionage, you're not spies, but you've spent about a week now doing several related tasks: casing the headquarters of the Copper Crows, tending to Justice, reaching out to your contacts, and planning for what course of action you should take.
Dan (Wren)
All right. I'm gonna gather the crew, Mara, and Middie. "Yeah, tonight's the night, everyone. I have scoped out a more discreet entrance than the one we took last time. If their routine is normal, we shouldn't encounter all of them at once in their den."
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Are we keeping most of them alive? Or can we kill?
Dan (Wren)
I mean, Mara? We... we can kill. We SHOULD kill.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
All right, boss. It's your call. I hope you're ready for the HELL that is going to rain down on us.
Dan (Wren)
Yeah, we kill. We send the strongest messages that we can.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
All right. Midnight. I hope you've been practicing.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
I have been practicing. We'll see how it goes.
Dan (Wren)
Wren will pass Midnight his shortsword. You could probably use this, right?
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Yes. I can.
Dan (Wren)
No more fists, yeah?
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
I'm going to kill.
Dan (Wren)
--Except for you. Mara. You: you do you. [laughs]
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
Oh, yeah, I will MAKE it hurt.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
I will kill as many as I can.
Dan (Wren)
Perfect. All right, we're gonna head out to that [Valley Girl voice] secret entrancccce. That secret backdoor.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
Let's do it. *clears throat* Ready!
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
[airily] Let's go.
Timothy (DM)
You make your way to the secret entrance: the back door to the Copper Crow Company.
Dan (Wren)
Do they guard the back door?
Timothy (DM)
They do not.
Dan (Wren)
Okay.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
You gave me a shortsword, right?
Dan (Wren)
Yeah, shortsword.
Timothy (DM)
And everybody gives me a Stealth roll as you make your way into the back door and down the dark chambers.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
I received a 10.
Dan (Wren)
I-I almost rolled a nat 1. I only have an 11.
Timothy (DM)
And Mara rolled a 13.
Dan (Wren)
God, I'm rolling like garbage, EXCEPT for my Medicine rolls. Those have all been very good.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Better than mine.
Timothy (DM)
So you press into the dark halls of the abandoned barracks, and you follow the corridors down to the back entrance of the den, and as you approach, you notice the door is ajar, and it is uncharacteristically silent inside.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
*dun-dun-dun*
Dan (Wren)
I'm gonna put my finger up to my lips to denote that we should remain quiet, and I want to try and get up close to the door and peek in.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
Maura nods.
Dan (Wren)
--through the crack
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Midnight nods.
Timothy (DM)
And you creep up to the door, and you peek in. Give me a Perception check.
Dan (Wren)
Noooo. God! That's a 12. Yeah, that's a 12. That's right.
Timothy (DM)
You peek in, you see the flicker of candlelight, but you can't see much into the room, but you notice something really odd. Along the floor, a pool of blood trickles toward the threshold of the door.
Dan (Wren)
The door I'm standing at?
Timothy (DM)
Yes.
Dan (Wren)
So, like, there's a pool of blood IN the room that's kind of slowly, like...
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, you can see through the crack along the floor there's, like, a pool of blood that's still fresh.
Dan (Wren)
Oh, so fresh, Okay.
Timothy (DM)
Trickling towards the door.
Dan (Wren)
Wren will try and, like, slowly push the door open a little bit to be able to peer farther into the room. I do have... remember, I have, like, subtle dark vision because I'm part elf... [laughs]
Timothy (DM)
It's lit with candlelight and torch.
Dan (Wren)
Oh, okay. Gotcha. Oh, gotcha. Okay, so it's not dark, got it.
Timothy (DM)
So you pushd the door open and stick your head in, and you see bodies, limbs rent apart. Blood staining the walls and floors, spattered across the ceiling. The screeching of rats as they knock on the flesh and flies flock in swarms to the putrid odor of death.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
Timothy (DM)
You see one body pinned to the wall with a pike through their shoulder, their intestines spilling onto the floor.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Kinky.
Timothy (DM)
You see another collapsed on the floor, blood still dripping out the long slit across their neck. Hunched into a table, a dagger sticks out of another's head. [Dan retches] And among the bodies, you see two high ranking officials of the Order, torture tools in hand.
Dan (Wren)
The Order as in...?
Timothy (DM)
Of Praea and Pudicium.
Dan (Wren)
Oh, so like government officials?
Timothy (DM)
Yes.
Dan (Wren)
Jesus. [pointing to the government officials] Do they see me?
Timothy (DM)
They're dead? [Dan: "Oh!"] They're AMONG the bodies.
Dan (Wren)
Oh, okay... [deep breath] I would like to pull my head back... [all laugh] out of the room!
Timothy (DM)
[devilishly] Not what you were expecting?
Dan (Wren)
No! Well, at least there's-there's... now I guess there are NO MORE CROWS... [Tim laughs quietly] uh, okay. I will pull my head back out into the room and turn to everyone and go [deep inhale] "They're all dead. Every one of them is dead. You don't want to look in there."
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
[incredulous] Excuse me, boss. Is this a joke?
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
What?
Dan (Wren)
"No, uh...god [sighs, preparing to make a Jurassic Park reference] Hold on to your butts." and I'm gonna open the door.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
[slightly laughing] Hold on to your butts.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
Holy SHIT. You weren't kidding! What the fuck happened here?
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Oh. My. Gosh.
Dan (Wren)
So, there's nobody alive in this room? [Tim: "No"] Okay, I'm going to point out the two in particular the two from the Order: "It seems like government officials were involved, either with them or they were part of what killed the Crows?" It's... can I tell if, like, based on, like, the layout if the the people from the Order were fighting the Crows or if they were, like, killed with the Crows by something else?
Timothy (DM)
Give me an Insight.
Dan (Wren)
Oh! 22 :)
Timothy (DM)
They look like they were part of the slaughter.
Dan (Wren)
Okay, so they were--
Timothy (DM)
They were here. You notice the tools that one of them is holding. It's like a pair of pliers that you-you experienced during the war as a tool for pulling out teeth. [Dan grimaces, Kendrick: "yuk"] You can see across the room that there is another door ajar, where you can see a table of tools and a chair with leather straps.
Dan (Wren)
Gotcha. So, someone was being tortured here, but they're NOT here, and everyone else is dead. I would like to check the chair with leather straps to see if... I imagine someone was bound there, and now are those straps, like, broken? Or were they, like... did somebody, like, let them go?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah. So, you step over this scene of carnage--
Dan (Wren)
Gingerly, yes.
Timothy (DM)
--Very gingerly, tiptoeing almost, across the room to the torture room, for lack of a better term, and you start to inspect the chair with the leather straps. Give me an Investigation check.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Can I also give an Investigation check? 'cause I'm curious to see what I find?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, what are you inspecting?
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
The bodies.
Timothy (DM)
Are you following? Or you're just going about the room and inspecting the bodies?
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Inspecting the bodies.
Timothy (DM)
Yep.
Dan (Wren)
I got to 17.
Timothy (DM)
All right, and for Midnight?
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
[forgetfully] What was I rolling again, Insight?
Dan (Wren)
Investigation.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Investigation, alright, I got a 13.
Timothy (DM)
Wren, you go over and you inspect the chair. You look at the leather straps, and you notice they're quite worn. This chair has gotten quite a bit of use, and you look at the tools. They are dirty and rusted, as if they have also been used quite often and over a long period of time. Nothing else really stands out to you, other than just the amount of usage that these torture devices have gotten. Midnight, you start to examine the bodies around the room, and whatever happened here happened very quickly, while there is a lot of carnage, there is very little struggle.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Oooo, would I know how long ago this happened?
Timothy (DM)
It appears quite recent. Perhaps whoever did this is still around. And that's when you hear a blood-curdling scream down the hallway.
Dan (Wren)
From where we came, or from the other direct-- the other doorway?
Timothy (DM)
The other door, the front entrance.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
I jump up in a fright because that scared the SHIT out of me.
Dan (Wren)
I'm gonna hold up my hand and put my finger to my lips to denote that we should still remain silent. And is the front door ajar like the others... the other one was?
Timothy (DM)
Yes.
Dan (Wren)
Okay, I'm gonna sneak over and peek through the crack of the ajar door.
Timothy (DM)
You peak through the crack, and you can see maybe 10 feet down the dark hallway. You don't see anything else.
Dan (Wren)
Okay.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
At that point, Mara walks over. "What is it, boss?"
Dan (Wren)
"I don't know. I can't... I can't see you much too far into the hallway. It's pretty dark." She's a half elf, she probably sees farther than I can. "Why don't you take a look?"
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
Uh, sure thing. So, Mara is going to peek through the crack and look down the hallway. "Uh, I can't see much of anything, boss."
Dan (Wren)
Okay, well, um... [deep exhale] should we check it out?
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
I guess we have to.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
She gives you both a look [laughs] of just, like, confusion and, like, just kind of perplexed but then shrugs her shoulders and pushes open the door.
Dan (Wren)
[caught offguard] Oh, okay, we're just goin'! Um...
Timothy (DM)
You hear the door creak--
Dan (Wren)
Oh good. [laughs]
Timothy (DM)
--as it knocks against the stone wall. [ominously] And that's when you see it.
Dan (Wren)
[inhale] Nooooo. [Kendrick winces] Is it a Demogorgon? [laughs]
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Stranger Things!
Timothy (DM)
Blacks tendrils writhe upon its head above a face devoid of eyes or mouth. [Kendrick: "Ew", Dan: "No"] Its purple-gray skin is stretched tightly over a sharp bony form.
Dan (Wren)
Absolutely not.
Timothy (DM)
Four fleshy wings stretch out the width of the hallway, sharp talons along the ridges. It holds its hands up towards you, hundreds of bulbous eyes along its forearms staring at you, [Dan wince-laughs] and it begins to briskly glide towards you, pulling a long bowed knife from a rib in its side.
Dan (Wren)
[fearful groan] Ohhhhhh God.
Timothy (DM)
Roll initiative.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
As you roll initiative, [Tim laughs] I'm going to say that I have advantage against being charmed and magic can't put me to sleep, so...!
Dan (Wren)
In the case that comes up. [laughs]
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Exactly. I got a 19 again.
Dan (Wren)
Wow, okay. I rolled a 15. What did Mara roll?
Timothy (DM)
Mara has a 16.
Dan (Wren)
Ok, so Mara is probably... uh, what did the Thing roll?
Timothy (DM)
[evilly] 20.
Dan (Wren)
Oh god.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Oh, noooo.
Dan (Wren)
I just gonna call it "the Thing". [does the initiative setup]
Timothy (DM)
The Thing!!!
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
[preparing for the eventual copyright infringement claim] No relation.
Dan (Wren)
In true fashion, I go last. [Kendrick laughs] Is it 18 for Mara?
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
15, oh never mind.
Dan (Wren)
15 for me...[unearnest enthusiasm] great!
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Let's merc this thing. [Dan and Tim laugh]
Dan (Wren)
This thing just merc'd a lot of other people. [Tim laughs]
Timothy (DM)
All right, so it glides down the hallway towards you, and... it has pulled out a rib that resembles a bow knife.
Dan (Wren)
Actual gliding like off the floor?
Timothy (DM)
Actual gliding.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Ew. That's kind of sexy.
Timothy (DM)
[perplexed] Mmmmmm, I think we need to revisit your definition of "sexy".
Dan (Wren)
I feel like that's... but I feel like that's how Midnight wants to come down the stairs, not actually on the stairs, but just gliding, so her hair just kind of flows behind her.
Timothy (DM)
[sensually] DrrrrAMA. [Dan laughs]
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
I'm using Prestigi-tation as my... so people can't see that I'm walking. It just glides.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, so it is gliding down the hallway. It has the rib bow knife raised in the air and is going to glide on up to Mara and just slash at her. She is unable to move out of the way [Dan: "Mara!"], and she will take 6 points of slashing damage.
Dan (Wren)
Oh, that's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Did it roll a 1? [laughs]
Timothy (DM)
[ignoring the monster's whiff] All right, um... And then it--
Dan (Wren)
[laughing] Fine, don't answer the question.
Timothy (DM)
--glides past her as it does this, and I need each of you to make a Dexterity saving throw.
Dan (Wren)
Oh, no. Oh actually, my Dex save is high, so... That's an 18.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Mine is not...4.
Timothy (DM)
As a flurry of blades lashes out at each of you.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
[laughing] Can I pull up my shield? [Tim laughs]
Dan (Wren)
[smiling] Don't know if up that's gonna help.
Timothy (DM)
[quickly] On your turn you can. [Kendrick: "Damn"] Midnight takes 8 points of slashing damage [Kendrick: "Well, ok"] and Wren is able to duck out of the way of the blades.
Dan (Wren)
So no damage?
Timothy (DM)
No damage. [Dan: "Phew"] The Thing continues into the room where its back is turned on you.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
[frightful] What the hell was that?
Dan (Wren)
I have no idea! It's Middie's turn.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
All right, I'm gonna pull out the shortsword that Wren gave me and the hand axe, and I'm just going to lunge at it. So, does a 17 hit?
Timothy (DM)
It does.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
And does *heh heh* a 9 hit?
Timothy (DM)
It does.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
YES.
Dan (Wren)
Oh, okay.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
The hand axe. It gets 4 damage and then the shortsword is 8 [long pause] Why are you looking like that? You very maniacal, and I DON't like it. [Tim laughs] This is Kendrick (speaking)
Timothy (DM)
Okay, so it has glided past the three of you. There's just a flurry of blades flashing out at you, gone past, its back as turned. You slash into it with both your shortsword and your handaxe; they smack into its shoulder blades. You pull out the weapons. A dark purpley viscous liquid starts to drip out, and then before your eyes, you see the wounds seal up.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Noooo!!
Timothy (DM)
--as it begins to slowly turn to face you, again holding its arms up, and the hundreds of bulbous eyes along its forearms, staring at you, motionless.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
[helplessly] Help me.
Dan (Wren)
It's Mara's turn.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
Mara, normally EXTREMELY brave, [Dan clenches] freezes at the sight of the wounds sealing and starts to back up, stuttering: "B-b-b-boss. I think we should get out of here!"
Dan (Wren)
No, yep, I agree.
Timothy (DM)
And as you agree, she turns and start SPRINTING down that hallway as FAST as she can. What is Wren gonna do?
Dan (Wren)
That's an excellent question 'cause I don't want to leave Midnight there... on her own.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Please don't let me die.
Dan (Wren)
Yeah, I know I'm trying to... I'm trying... I'm just trying to think of what I can even do to help. I mean, I'll take out my bow, and I'll dip it in the poison that I have, and I'mma fire off an arrow at the thing.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, make an attack roll.
Dan (Wren)
This is piercing damage, so might be different than slashing damage; we don't know [Kendrick laughs] Let's see: does a 12 hit?
Timothy (DM)
A 12 hits.
Dan (Wren)
Okay, perfect, and I get Sneak Attack damage because Midnight is right next to it, which means I need another d6. [rattles dice] ASMR. That will be 12 piercing damage +4 poison damage.
Timothy (DM)
Your arrow lodges into his chest. It does not flinch.
Dan (Wren)
Uh-dammit. [laughs] And I'm going to hold the door, ready to close it once Midnight's through, and I'm going to call out [like a anxious tour guide] "This way please!" and that's my turn!
Timothy (DM)
The Thing grabs the arrow and rips it out of his chest. You see the wound drips with just a drop of the purple viscous liquid and then seals up--
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
[understatement of the season] This bitch is powerful.
Timothy (DM)
--as it pulls another ribcage out.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Noooo. [laughs]
Dan (Wren)
It's got two? [groans]
Timothy (DM)
--forming another bow knife. It raises both above its head and stands there. Midnight, what are you doing?
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
[normal voice] "I'm bouncing the fuck out." Sorry, let me do my character's voice. [airily] "I'm bouncing the fuck out." So, I run.
Dan (Wren)
So, you'll probably want to disengage from a mechanical perspective.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
So, I'm gonna disen-- yeah,
Dan (Wren)
[confused] You don't need to?
Timothy (DM)
Nope.
Dan (Wren)
[still confused] Okay...
Timothy (DM)
It's not engaging.
Dan (Wren)
[unsettled] Oh, okay.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
So, I'm going to--
Dan (Wren)
Just going to lightly close the door and walk away like nothing ever happened. [laughs]
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
I'm going to run out in fear 'cause I have not seen anything like this before. So, I'm going to run out, yelling to Wren "Close the door! Close the door!"
Timothy (DM)
Alright, you run down the hallway right after Mara. Wren, you slam the door shut and follow suit. The three of you sprint down this hallway, your breath heavy, you hear the echoing of your loud footsteps down the hall reverberating on the cold stone, and you make your way to the stairwell up into the barracks and out the front door.
Dan (Wren)
[gradually sputtering out the words laughing] And I'm closing every single door that I pass by behind me.
Timothy (DM)
Slamming each door you pass along the way, desperately trying to put that thing behind you, out of mind, out of sight, and as you exit the barracks, give me a Dexterity saving throw.
Dan (Wren)
Oh no. [laughs]
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Why? Not a sponsor.
Dan (Wren)
Oh god. I rolled a 10.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
20.
Dan (Wren)
Geez, all right.
Timothy (DM)
Wren, as you exit the barracks, you stumble into Justice Drake, knocking him over.
Dan (Wren)
Oh. Oh! What-- Wait, what are you doing here?
Timothy (Justice Drake)
Uh! Uh...sorry. I, um... I wanted to go f-for a walk.
Dan (Wren)
"Wh-- a-and they let you? Wh-- who... I'd left somebody with you! Oh! Anyways, c'mon. No, we have to get out of here." and I grab his hand and I pull.
Timothy (Justice Drake)
What-what-what's going on?
Dan (Wren)
I pull and I run, we run.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, you run as far as you can--
Dan (Wren)
Back to Lark's Perch if we can.
Timothy (DM)
--'til you're out of breath, and you make your way back to Lark's Perch and run up the stairs, slam the door shut behind you, and you all sit [Dan: "Collapse"] in your dining room. Out of breath. Exasperated. Confused. Terrified.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Do the patrons see this?
Dan (Wren)
No, I think we went to Wren's... well, so we took the private entrance to my... into my suite.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Alright, as Midnight is catching her breath, she's going to look at Justice, and be like, "What the hell were you doing over there?"
Timothy (Justice Drake)
I-I-I wanted to... go for a walk.. I'm-I'm sorry?
Dan (Wren)
[momly] And you decided to walk past the place where the people were that were beating the crap out of you?
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
That makes no sense, sis.
Dan (Wren)
Probably not a great choice.
Timothy (DM)
Give me an Insight check.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Both of us?
Timothy (DM)
Yes.
Dan (Wren)
11.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
I got a 12.
Timothy (DM)
All right. I mean, their lie is REAL BAD, and they're not doing a great job at covering it up. So, you can tell there's something that keeping from you
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Midnight's going to look Justice directly in their eyes. "What's really going on? Do not lie to us."
Timothy (DM)
Give me an Intimidation.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
17.
Dan (Wren)
Nice. [Tim laughs]
Timothy (Justice Drake)
[sighs] All right. [big inhale] So I let it loose! I didn't know it was gonna be so BAD.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
You let that thing loose?
Dan (Wren)
[very WTF] I'm SORRY?
Timothy (Justice Drake)
[rushing like a kid caught in a lie] I read the text, and the banishing spell didn't seem too complicated. I didn't know what's going to happen so quickly. And--[stammering]
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
[betrayed] Justice.
Timothy (Justice Drake)
[indignant] You know, they deserved it. Y'know?
Dan (Wren)
I... don't disagree with you.
Timothy (Justice Drake)
They're a plague on this city and [sighs] but [sighs] y-you got to help me. I-I just don't. [sighs]
Dan (Wren)
What is it?
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
What did you release?
Timothy (Justice Drake)
[scared breath] It's called the Cursed Aberration of the Crypts of Torture.
Dan (Wren)
A subtle name (to say the least). [chuckle]
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
I'm staring at Justice right now in disbelief.
Timothy (Justice Drake)
The spell was so easy to cast, I just... [sighs] How could something is so easy be so powerful?
Dan (Wren)
All right. You said that there was a banishing spell?
Timothy (Justice Drake)
Yes.
Dan (Wren)
Did you try this spell? Or were you not able to?
Timothy (Justice Drake)
No, I didn't realize that it was all going to happen so quick. I thought that I had time... to prepare everything. And no, I haven't... [labored breath] There's-there's like [rapid breath] a bunch of different things... but I let [paniced breath] Oh my gosh, I can't even remember what I need.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Justice, breathe. Breathe.
Dan (Wren)
[trying out the tone for size] Where is-- where is-- where is-- WHERE is the banishing spell right now?
Timothy (Justice Drake)
[exhale] I thought I would remember all the components. I know there's something about candles. They needed to be... [unsure] was it red? Or-or black? There's something about cord needing to bind it, and [frustrated sigh] Y'know what [sigh] I didn't want to take the scroll because then someone might notice it was missing.
Dan (Wren)
Where was this?
Timothy (Justice Drake)
The Order archives.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
[shaking their damn head, whispering] Justice.
Dan (Wren)
How-- how-- how? Hold on, how did you get yourself into the Order archives?
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
You can barely walk.
Timothy (Justice Drake)
[lightly kicking the ground] I... used to be a member.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
[shocked] What?
Timothy (Justice Drake)
I used to be a member of the Order before I realized how bad they were!
Dan (Wren)
I'm not going to fault you on your past.
Timothy (Justice Drake)
[rapidly] So, it-it's not too complicated. You... I mean there's a back entrance. It's not heavily guarded because it's the Order! What is-- like, they have so much control; like, they don't care if anybody breaks in. They will "deal" with them.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Do you have any more information on this thing that we may have to face... again? And, like, I'm very disappointed.
Timothy (Justice Drake)
I don't think we can kill it. I...
Dan (Wren)
Well, we definitely can't kill it. We SURE tried, and it didn't do anything. [inhale] H'okay. All right, um... [thinking] We need that scroll.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Where is it?
Timothy (Justice Drake)
I left in the archives.
Dan (Wren)
Do you know anything about the nature of this creature? Will it... stay where it's at, or will it go out and do more damage then it's already done?
Timothy (Justice Drake)
I gave it instructions.
Dan (Wren)
Continue.
Timothy (Justice Drake)
I told it to kill everybody in the barracks.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Justice.
Dan (Wren)
Were you in the barracks at the time?
Timothy (Justice Drake)
No, no, I-I did it from outside.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Were we in the barracks at the time?
Dan (Wren)
I don't think we were because it didn't attack us. Right? It stopped. It didn't follow us.
Timothy (Justice Drake)
I don't know. [crying breath] I don't know. I-I-I really... I-I-I--
Dan (Wren)
Okay, okay. Breathe. Take a breath. [Tim exhales] You-your-you said that the banishing spell is simple, right? So, if we can get our hands on the spell, we could... potentially... take care of it ourselves. It'll be easy. Right, Mara? Mara, it'll be easy.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
Uhhh...boss, frankly, I've NO idea what's going on... The Order had this THING?!?
Dan (Wren)
Apparently. [correcting himself] "Allegedly."
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
We are as confused as you, Mara.
Timothy (Mara "Oriole")
FUCK, um. There's a LOT I don't know about this town. [laughs]
Dan (Wren)
Okay, here's what we're going to do: Justice, you are going to lead me to where I can find the scroll, or if you think that you can safely get the scroll, or maybe transcribe what we need from the scroll. That's also an acceptable solution. Is this doable?
Timothy (Justice Drake)
Yes, o-of course.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
And Justice, you should have told us that you were doing this; we are a family here! [Justice exhales] I'm very disappointed.
Timothy (Justice Drake)
[sad boy] I-I didn't think you'd approve.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Well, no, we wouldn't.
Timothy (Justice Drake)
I know. It doesn't matter now.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
We're not mad at you. Just show us where the scroll is and we can handle it.
Dan (Wren)
[OOC] I'm not mad; I'm just disappointed [all laugh]
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
I really wasn't trying to be a mom, but I think that's what it became. [laughs]
Timothy (Justice Drake)
Alright, well, the Order's at the top of the hill. So... [crying inhale]
Dan (Wren)
Would now be the time to go? I mean, it's probably gettin' pretty late at night at this point, right?
Timothy (Justice Drake)
If that thing's after you. I don't... think it's going to stop un...til you're... dead. So, we should... we should absolutely go now!
Dan (Wren)
Okay, all right. Let's go now.
Timothy (DM)
And so the four of you now are going to BRISKLY make your way across the port of Entropolis.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Naruto run. [all laugh]
Timothy (DM)
And you are going to head over to the Order House. Justice will guide you around to the back of the archives area.
Dan (Wren)
[Naruto run noises] HHRHHRHRH-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch.
Timothy (Justice Drake)
All right. It shouldn't be too difficult. We just have to cross through the courtyard when nobody's around and at this time of night, there's probably nobody in the archives, so we should be fine.
Dan (Wren)
Ok, let's do it.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
Should we sneak?
Dan (Wren)
Yeah, let's do that. We'll sneak.
Timothy (DM)
Everyone give me a Stealth check.
Dan (Wren)
We'll be stealthy. Oo! Dirty 20.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
8.
Dan (Wren)
It's okay, there's no one around. It's fine.
Timothy (DM)
All right. So, you all begin to sneak across the courtyard. You see the back door of the archives and Justice leads the way. They turn the handle, and it is unlocked. They push open the door, and you enter into the archives.
Dan (Wren)
I was worried that you were gonna be like "And you see forearms with EYES!" [Kendrick and Dan laugh]
Timothy (DM)
The archives are an old grand library. You see shelves that are two, three stories high, filled of books, locked glass cases around the perimeter of the room, one of which is broken.
Dan (Wren)
Is this the one, Justice?
Timothy (Justice Drake)
Yeah, it's that one over there. I... thought that... if I didn't steal it, they wouldn't... come after me?
Dan (Wren)
"We'll find out." I will go over and take a look at the scroll. Can I read it? Is it in Common, or any of the other languages that I speak?
Timothy (DM)
You walk across the archive floor, stepping on broken glass, and the scroll is sitting, still in the case, unraveled.
Dan (Wren)
I'm going to take the scroll back over to the party. It's fine. "Summoning Spell: (1) Hold the ritual dagger above you; (2) Recite the summoning phrase (Not going to say it); then (3) Provide instructions to who to target; (4) The creature will return on its own once it has consumed all living targets, so... if it didn't return on its own, it still has a target. Good! Good to know. Banishing Spell: (1) the incense of musk and humanoid fat to draw it in (Gross.); (2) Eight red candles and five-pointed star of metal flakes to bind it (Don't quite know what that means but that's fine); (3) Needle and cord to bind it (Okay); (4) Animal sacrifice with ritual dagger-- Justice, do you still have the dagger?
Timothy (Justice Drake)
I do.
Dan (Wren)
Okay. (5) Banishing phrase below. (Okay, great); (6) Kill the creature with its protection dropped.
Kendrick (Midnight Dunreath)
So, this means that we were most likely in the building if it hasn't come back,
Dan (Wren)
I would say so. Why it's not after us now is a bit... [inhale] perplexing mystery, umm... Okay, let's wrangle up the things that we need.
Timothy (DM)
You hear the crashing of a window break behind you [Dan: "Oh no"; Kendrick: "Fuck"] As you turn around, you see it standing in the window, watching you.
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 our unfortunate players in this most dreadful act.
Timothy (DM)
Shout out to my brother, known as the chill electronic 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/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