Timothy (DM)
Welcome to Shadows of Prophecy, a D&D real play podcast following the ill-omened web of lives whispered by the Void, their names repeated in the darkness. Shadows of Prophecy is a Dungeons and Dragons podcast with violent themes and adult language. Listener discretion is advised.
With us today to traverse through adventures of wllies and wiles, we have myself, Timothy, as our ambivalent DM.
Kendrick (Yonce)
I am Kendrick and I play the searcher of salves, the eater of bacon, Yonce Bey (pronouns he/they). [Russell laughs]
Russell (Blades)
I'm Russell (pronouns he/they) and I'm playing Blades (pronouns he/him). Blades, a dashing young fellow with eyes of yellow.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Well...
Russell (Blades)
If yours doesn't rhyme...
Nicole (Sorelli)
You're really upping the ante here. I am Nicole (pronouns she/her) I'm playing Sorelli (pronouns she/her) Sorrelli is the twisted orphan sister of the forest.
Russell (Blades)
"Oh, we're at the forest, now darling? Didn't we grow up in the city?" Just kidding.
Timothy (DM)
Join us as we enter the Shadows of Prophecy. Act One: In the Shadows. Chapter 12 - Overgrowth.
Previously on Shadows of Prophecy, the Sorrelli siblings answered a call for aid in the village of Magalie, where a frazzled and overworked cleric of Voluptia, Audrina, solicited their illicit services in spiritual arts. [Russell: "Illicit?"]. When they arrived, they were welcomed by droves of agitated spirits and the lingering friend, one with a knack for theatrics. [all laugh]
Kendrick (Wynn Dee)
How you doin'?
Timothy (DM)
After an attempt to exercise a particularly angry spirit, Sorelli is overwhelmed by the One Who Follows, who to EVERYONE'S surprise, passed on to them visions of Upri. In the chaos of these amalgamated events, Audrina apologizes to Wynn Dee and Veragus, giving her life to save the town from events she apparently caused. Our Sorelli siblings are left with moral quandaries and a vague instruction: "Find her: Upri." [Kendrick: "Wow."] And with the events of Magalie behind you, you set off on the long journey into the Enchanted Forest, a new and truly bizarre land unfamiliar to you, and after nearly two weeks of overgrown flora and fauna, everything seeped in powerful magics, several very close scrapes saved only by seemingly dumb luck and a few tricks up your sleeves, Sorelli's visions again start to flash, this time as if to fall into place with the images surrounding her, and as Blades cuts down a ginormous philodendron blocking your path, you realize that you've reached your destination: a giant blue jakaranda tree towers above you into the canopy. There is a long rope hanging from the largest of three wooden structures built into the boughs above you connected to a rusted brass bell, which takes us 200 yards to the east in a secluded cottage, hidden just out of view. The air is heavy with the morning dew, and a slight chill causes your skin to tingle. The sounds of the night birds still linger as the first rays hit the water droplets in the leaves of the blue flowers in the trees around you, casting shards of light through the room. Kendrick, please introduce your character.
Kendrick (Yonce)
With pleasure. My character is Yonce Bey. They are about 26 years old. They're 5'10", they are half elf of melanated variety. They have tattoos all over their arms which is different from the last time you may have seen them, and their eyes are of hazel, and as you look in you notice that they have a slight frown to them. I think since the events of last, it's definitely taken away their joy. When you walk in on Yonce, you notice that they are looking at a journal, a little dusted while holding a cup of tea. They open the book, and this is what follows: 'I am on the floor of the antichamber. Tired, bloodied, scared, arms outstretched, screaming your name, watching you willingly taken by the Shepherd. As you walk through that portal, darkness fills around me and I suddenly find myself falling. I look around and there's no one. No Panret. No monsters. No one. I wake up in a cold sweat, not being able to move or even breathe. It's been like that for the past four years. Every night I have the same nightmare. Going to sleep is a constant reminder of my failings that day. For years, I have searched every bit of land trying to find you again. Every adventure since that day has ended in failing. Every lead I found ended in a dead end. I've made deals with the devils of this world, deals with prices too steep for one person to pay. But I did it to find you. And yet, I am not any closer to finding you. For four years, I've kept hope alive that I would find you but those hopes have died and what's left is guilt that will never go away. I'll live off the land until it is time for my debts to be collected. Maybe only then, will I see your face again, Upri. But until then...' Then Yonce closes the journal. "Wow, that was a little bit dramatic. But okay." He closes the notebook and then continues to sip on his tea as he looks outside the window.
Timothy (DM)
So, let's pan back over to the Sorrelli siblings. You've reached your destination. You see a rope hanging from these wooden structures. At the top of the rope is a bell. You don't see anybody visibly in sight.
Russell (Blades)
This is the place, sister.
Nicole (Sorelli)
"We've arrived. This is the place that I saw... except in the vision, there was someone hanging from the rope." [to Tim] Is that true? [shakes his head, Russell laughs] No. Just kidding. Just kidding. I am still trying to sacrifice someone I guess.
Timothy (DM)
The visions are kind of blurring together in your mind. [Nicole: "Ok."] So, you ponder that thought for a moment and you're like 'No, that's not quite right. That was somewhere else.'
Nicole (Sorelli)
It's all blurring together. Past and future possibility. I can't tell what's real. I'm gonna need your help on this, Blades. Just like the last time.
Russell (Blades)
I'll do my best.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Thank you, dear brother.
Russell (Blades)
Do we ring the bell? Just...
Nicole (Sorelli)
It seeeeeems like a bad idea.
Russell (Blades)
Why's that? What if someone lives here?
Nicole (Sorelli)
Hmm. I didn't think of this. Okay, if you insist.
Russell (Blades)
I ring the bell.
Timothy (Meredith)
All right, Blades, you ring the bell, and this ringing clambers through the forest startling some of the birds. You hear their wings flapping up into the sky. You wait a couple of beats before you see a water genasi in colorful silks and dangling jewelry leans over the balcony above. [Midwestern accent] "Well, hello there. Ah, have you come to visit? Like, who are ya?"
Russell (Blades)
We are the Sorelli siblings. I'm sure you've heard of us. And yes, we've come to visit. Who might you be?
Timothy (Meredith)
Can't say I know of the Sorelli siblings. [Russell gasps] Haven't seen you before, but nice to meetcha. I'm Meredith. I live here. Do ya have a reason to be here? Are you looking for a place to stay?
Russell (Blades)
We're looking... I mean, if you're offering, we wouldn't turn it down, but we're looking for someone.
Timothy (Meredith)
All right, who you're looking for? And obviously you can stay. The treehouse is open to anybody who comes around in the Enchanted Forest and needs a place.
Russell (Blades)
Oh, how pleasant have you.
Timothy (Meredith)
Yeah, you can come on up. There's a stairwell right around the other side of the tree. Come right on up and we can get you sorted. Figure out who you're looking for and where you need to be.
Russell (Blades)
Right, well, we'll be right up. [to Sorelli] Sorelli, it this a trap
Nicole (Sorelli)
Do we trust Meredith?
Russell (Blades)
Are we about to get robbed?
Nicole (Sorelli)
I'm unsure.
Russell (Blades)
Yeah, alright, just be on your guard.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Yeah, okay.
Russell (Blades)
[clears throat] We walk up the stairs.
Nicole (Sorelli)
[to Meredith] Be right up! [Rusell laughs]
Timothy (DM)
Yeah. So you walk around the tree, where you see a spiral staircase that leads up into the wooden structure. As you make your way up the rickety stairs, you realize that there are three large buildings set in the boughs of these jakaranda trees, and they're rather patched together. Lots of little, like, construction projects that kind of *piece* it together. Little repairs here and there, moss growing, sections of it are slightly decayed and kind of just, like, in this ecosystem with the rest of the forest.
Timothy (Meredith)
As you round the top, this woman, Meredith, is standing at the door, welcoming you in. "Well, glad to have ya. Come on in and make yourself at home. Would you like some tea or maybe some gin?"
Russell (Blades)
Oh, some gin sounds *lovely*. Thank you.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, absolutely. And for you, miss?
Nicole (Sorelli)
Water if you have it.
Timothy (DM)
"Oh, absolutely. We do always have water on hand." [Russell laughs] And she goes over to this. like, table with lost of--
Russell (Blades)
[whispers] Sorelli, that's offensive. She's made of water!
Timothy (DM)
... lots of just, like, random cups, glasses, bottles of sorts. It's very eclectic in aesthetic, like, lots of little things kind of pulled together as you make your way into the space. There's several low sofas, a coffee table, always some sort of clutter about: instruments, candles, books, random bits of clothing, and she starts pouring drinks into glasses.
Timothy (Meredith)
She then kind of floats on over to you and hands them to you. "So, yeah, why don't you have a seat and we can talk about who you're looking for."
Nicole (Sorelli)
"Okay..." Sorelli's gonna sit on one of the low sofas with her water, and I guess we'll share a little bit more about why we're here, huh.
Russell (Blades)
I mean, I got a good-good vibe from them. Just tell her who we're looking for all right.
Nicole (Sorelli)
[to Meredith] Alright, well, who lives in these woods?
Timothy (Meredith)
That depends on what you're talking about. I mean, quite locally, it's us: we refer to ourselves as the Strays. There's me and all my siblings. Senin, Alton, Varn, Yonce... and, like, our mentor, Nim Nim.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Nim Nim?
Timothy (Meredith)
But, like, nearby, there's, like, druids nearby. There's, like, this village called Ilrune just 'bout an hour south of here.
Russell (Blades)
Have you seen any goopy trees lately? Of the purple goop variety?
Timothy (Meredith)
[knits brow] Goopy trees? Oh, can't say that I... have. Interesting. Naw...
Russell (Blades)
Right. Do you know any one of the, uh... any tall half-orc women with wild... hair? Are any of the people you named...
Timothy (Meredith)
[narrows eyes] Who did you say you were again?
Timothy (DM)
Why, we're the Sorelli siblings. Y'know, infamous exorcists goat hunters? Yes? Also ghost hunters. [all laugh] [attempting to save the sale pitch] If you need a goat or ghost exterminated, we're-we're your siblings! ...sorry, the gin is kicking in already.
Timothy (Meredith)
And why again do you find yourself... here? Sorry, I don't mean to pry, I just... I haven't heard mention of Upri in a... a good minute.
Russell (Blades)
By a good minute, do you mean, like, they're dead or...?
Timothy (DM)
[sighs] I suppose so. I, uh... nevermind. I must know why you're here. Sorry. I... you come here imposing and asking all sorts of weird questions. I-I'm starting to suspect some ill intent.
Russell (Blades)
Oh, nothing of the sort. Right, sister?
Nicole (Sorelli)
Yeah, it's really, really a calling that led us here.
Timothy (Meredith)
A calling?
Nicole (Sorelli)
To the woods.
Timothy (Meredith)
What do you mean by a calling?
Nicole (Sorelli)
Well, sometimes I get visions, and there was a particularly strong one of recent where I saw this tree house and so we've... we've arrived. Is there any way that we can be of service here? What's happened here?
Timothy (Meredith)
Huh? You best be seeing Yonce now. [Russell: "Alright."] He's not gonna be happy to have some visitors, but if you are who you say you are, you've been receiving these visions...? They're gonna need to know about it.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Will you take us to them?
Timothy (Meredith)
I will, but I have to do a vibe check first. Make sure you two are legit, and you are not going to bring any harm here on the Tree House or any of my family.
Russell (Blades)
Dare I might say it: 'we're too legit to quit.' [as Russell] That scared the shit of me.
Timothy (Meredith)
I don't know what you're referencing... [Russell laughs] I need some sort of agreement or...?
Russell (Blades)
"Uh, Sorelli, why don't you do your thing?" and Blades nods towards Meredith. [Tim laughs]
Nicole (Sorelli)
Meredith, if I may take your hand, can I show you who we are?
Timothy (Meredith)
"If you can do that by holding my hand, then I can't see why not!" and she places a hand in yours.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Sorelli offers a visual message to Meredith with the... some of the imagery that she's seen, and some of the past experiences that the Sorelli siblings have been on.
Russell (Blades)
[a la Upri] "Maybe skip the..." oh no! I'm doing a Southern accent! [all laugh] "Maybe skip the last one."
Nicole (Sorelli)
Sorelli sucks back the imagery [Russell retches, all laugh] and leaves it to the images that led us here.
Timothy (Meredith)
Oh, god, that's awful. Um... Wow, I'm so sorry. But yes, I will take you to see Yonce.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Thank you.
Timothy (DM)
So she gets up. You can tell that she's very disoriented. She's kind of, like, gliding across the room in a very, like, slowed pace from your initial interactions with her, and she kind of gets up, moves over to the door, and it's very kind of, like, lost in thought. Kind of gazing that, like, hundred-yard Stare as she, like, opens the door and looks at you.
Russell (Blades)
What door? Wait, to leave?
Timothy (DM)
To leave. Yeah.
Russell (Blades)
Okay. [laughs]
Nicole (Sorelli)
To go see Yonce.
Russell (Blades)
Alright, well, we follow.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Thank you for greeting us and for the water.
Russell (Blades)
And gin. [Tim: "Yeah, uh..."]
Nicole (Sorelli)
Are you... are you quite well? Have we freaked you out? [all laugh]
Timothy (Meredith)
Gosh, that was a lot. I don't know how anyone keeps those visions in their head. That was... that was quite something.
Russell (Blades)
I mean, she really doesn't honestly. [laughs]
Nicole (Sorelli)
I do get confused sometimes, and I don't always know what the darkness intends.
Russell (Blades)
Don't pay any mind to that last bit, uh... Yonce? It was we're going to?
Timothy (Meredith)
Yes. Well, you see here Yonce, um... well, they haven't been taking many visitors as of late. I mean, like, several years now. Uh... so hopefully they are *hospitable* to such... *interesting* strangers. Uh... I guess we'll see? Yeah! [all laugh] [Rusell echoes!]
Timothy (DM)
So, she leads you down the stairwell and into a thicket in the woods. She kind of pushes aside shrubbery and other, like, large leaves to reveal a small cottage kinda hidden away. She pauses in front of the door, gives you both kind of a delicate look before she very gingerly taps on the door. *tap-tap-tap*
Kendrick (Yonce)
Yonce hears the tap on the door, puts the journal down and walks over to the door. "Hello?"
Timothy (Meredith)
Yonce, it's Meredith. Oh goodness, I haven't heard your voice in forever! You're still alive in there?
Kendrick (Yonce)
[bleakly] Yes, I am still alive. Still alive unfortunately.
Timothy (Meredith)
I'm sorry, dear. Um, I hate to bother you. Uh, but we appear to have some visitors, uh, that I really do think that you should talk to!
Kendrick (Yonce)
Meredith, you know I'm not taking any visitors. I don't want to be seen by anyone.
Timothy (Meredith)
She turns to the Sorelli siblings and she just says [whispered] "Wait a... wait a moment and I'll get through to him, I promise. [to Yonce] Uh, Yonce, I really do think that you're gonna want to talk to them. They, um... they showed me visions of Upri?"
Kendrick (Yonce)
And with that, Yonce kind of opens a little flap that's in the door just... so you still see their eyes, but they're still pretty guarded. "What do they know about Upri?"
Timothy (Meredith)
Uh, well, hi! :) [all laugh]
Kendrick (Yonce)
[shaked head] Meredith... hi, Meredith. Upri, Upri, what are they talking about Upri?
Timothy (Meredith)
Um, well, I don't know too much, but they seem to have seen her.
Kendrick (Yonce)
That couldn't be true. No one's seen her since five years.
Timothy (Meredith)
I think you were in the visions too.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Listen, I appreciate everything Meredith, really, but... I don't really *trust* people. I've gone through a lot of bad roads and I just... I can't go through this again. I-I can't.
Timothy (Meredith)
Upri! Uh, Yonce... sorry. Upri's been on my mind now. I do miss her, and I know you do too. Can we at least give them a chance? If they're charlatans, or some sort of pokey bullshit, I will get them the fuck out of here the moment we suspect a thing.
Kendrick (Yonce)
So Yonce looks at Meredith and then kind of looks behind Meredith to see the strangers whose names I do not know yet. [Tim: "The strangers."] He looks at Meredith. "For you... fine, but the first sign of trouble, we're kicking them the fuck out. Okay?"
Timothy (Meredith)
Absolutely, Yonce.
Kendrick (Yonce)
"All right. All right, I will let them in. Back up." and then Yonce opens the door, there's a lot of latches, you can tell that they're WAY too many, where it kind of teeters on the edge of paranoia and a sense of how much they do not want anyone else to enter their space. So, after about 10 seconds of you hearing unlocking of locks, latches, all that stuff, Yonce finally opens the door.
Timothy (DM)
And as you do, Meredith pushes through and jumps on Yonce, embracing him.
Kendrick (Yonce)
[shocked] Oh, oh.
Timothy (Meredith)
Oh, Yonce, it's been so long! ^.^
Kendrick (Yonce)
"Hi, Meredith. I miss you, too." Yonce is very uncomfortable by this. [Tim: "Yeah."] But because they do love Meredith, they're allowing Meredith to hug them, even if it's going to be a few seconds long. [Tim: "Yeah."] but after that--
Timothy (DM)
She, like, *sinks* into this hug. Like, she is fairly intent on just holding you for much longer than you would like.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Yonce allows that. So instead of 10 seconds, allows it for a minute, and then he slowly lets Meredith off of him. "Alright, Meredith. Meredith. Okay. Enough."
Timothy (Meredith)
"All right." She straightens herself up and kinda motions over to the Sorelli siblings. "Well, you seem to know something. So, uh, out with it, I guess.
Nicole (Sorelli)
We know only what guides us here, and we know that we must find Upri.
Kendrick (Yonce)
How did you hear about that name?
Nicole (Sorelli)
It came to us in-in a vision really, and that is often how the realms communicate with me.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Is this one of those real visions or one of those fake visions? I've heard a lot of people that have had visions of Upri and it's only been a way for them to take my gold, to take my things, so I need a little more convincing than that.
Timothy (Meredith)
These ones seem pretty legitimate, Yonce. I mean, there were details in those visions that...
Kendrick (Yonce)
Meredith, please, I got this. [Russell laughs]
Timothy (Meredith)
All right.
Kendrick (Yonce)
I got this.
Nicole (Sorelli)
I'm sorry other travelers have wronged you, but I see the pain in these visions. May I show you?
Kendrick (Yonce)
[to Tim] Does Yonce believe this or is Yonce willing to allow this?
Timothy (DM)
Make an Insight check.
Kendrick (Yonce)
All right. That is a nat 20, so 21. [Russell: "Damn."]
Timothy (DM)
Everything about the way that they've presented themselves seems truthful. You can sense that there might be additional motives that are not merely an act of compassion, but they have some reason to be here, but they seem truthful.
Kendrick (Yonce)
"All right. Okay, Meredith, for you, I'll allow this, but you guys better be telling the truth. I REALLY cannot do this again." and Yonce opens their body up... "D-do whatever needs to be done!" [all laugh, Russell: "Well, damn!"]
Nicole (Sorelli)
Sorelli takes Yonce's hand in her palm and shares the visions more carefully this time, controlling the speed a bit at which the visions come through and really feels the pain that Yonce seems to be in. "I don't want this to be hard for you. There's more at play here. Please, see this. We *have* traveled and taken gold for visions before but this is not that. Upri is connected to something bigger. We need your help."
Kendrick (Yonce)
So Yonce takes these visions and is really startled 'cause it's the first time, like, they've actually seen ANY visions.
Timothy (DM)
They bring you back into that room. You are STANDING in that room when you get that vision [Nicole: "Oh shit.", Russell laughs] And you see the portal, you see the blood dripping from Upri's wrists [Russell retches] You see the look on the Steward's face, and then you watch yourself collapse on the ground as they step into the portal, and you feel that, like, knot in your stomach, that, like, DROP as the portal closes. You're reliving every moment of this.
Kendrick (Yonce)
[tearful] I have not seen anything like that... in YEARS. Um, sorry. Yes, Upri, um... are you sure we can find her?
Nicole (Sorelli)
If we can follow the truth and see through the lies and the distortions of the darkness, then yes, but it will take all of us.
Kendrick (Yonce)
I just need a yes or no.
Nicole (Sorelli)
There is nothing certain in the In-Between. I wish I could tell you differently. This will be a brave and difficult choice. But it is the only choice.
Timothy (DM)
You feel Meredith's hand wrapped on your shoulder, Yonce, as she gives you a pained smile.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Alright, let's-let's do this. Let me just grab a few things and we can go off. I just need a moment.
Russell (Blades)
I'm sorry, where are we going now? I thought... I thought we could stay here, rest a little bit. We've come a-ways.
Kendrick (Yonce)
If there is a way to find Upri, I'm not going to waste any time.
Russell (Blades)
[sighs] All right.
Timothy (Meredith)
Yonce, maybe give them a little bit of a rest. Who knows how long they've been walking through these woods?
Russell (Blades)
Oh, so long, Yonce.
Timothy (Meredith)
And I don't mean to point out... Y'all aren't from around here, are ya? These forests can be quite unforgiving for outsiders. I'm surprised you made it. How DID you manage?
Russell (Blades)
I mean, I'm quite at home in the forests, honestly.
Nicole (Sorelli)
[whispers to Russell] Did we grow up here?
Russell (Blades)
[whispers] No, we grew up in a city.
Nicole (Sorelli)
[whispers] Okay, thank you.
Timothy (DM)
[loud whisper] Y'all grew up in the city. That's the backstory you gave me. [all laugh]
Russell (Blades)
Technically, I'm a ranger and my preferred biome or whatever is forest, so I know how to survive in a forest.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, I mean, you all have been through the wringer in terms of traveling, going to very random places and not ever quite knowing what to expect. You've figured out ways to do things. I mean, you're always on edge. So...
Russell (Blades)
We know how to survive wherever we go.
Timothy (Meredith)
All right. Yonce, I know that you're in a rush, but one more night isn't... one more night isn't going to prevent us from finding her. Not after all this time.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Yonce looks at Meredith and looks at the siblings, looks back at Meredith and is a little ticked off, like, they REALLY want to go now if they have any chance of saving Upri, they really want to go, but I think Meredith is kind of their lifesaver at this point, so Yonce looks at you all and just says, "Fine. Let's have one night of rest for you guys so you can collect your things, shower, eat, and then we can go off in the morning. Is that okay with you guys?"
Nicole (Sorelli)
Yeah, thank you. We'll need...
Russell (Blades)
Sorry, wh-what? What's a shower?
Timothy (Meredith)
We'll get you all squared away. [Russell: "Oh perfect."] Yonce, why don't you come I have a meal in the main house today? How about that? What do you do that for me? Maybe we can talk logistics.
Kendrick (Yonce)
[sighs] Fine, one meal, I will come. I just need to do some things in the house before I head over.
Timothy (Meredith)
All right. We'll see you for d-supper.
Kendrick (Yonce)
All right, I'll be there, I promise.
Timothy (DM)
And Meredith gives Yonce a hug goodbye [Kendrick: "Uh, okay."] and then motions the Sorelli siblings out of the cottage. She leads you back into the main house, where she starts kind of prepping things for dinner. You get simple explanations of each of the people that are in this family to expect, and she kind of asks for your assistance with various preparation things, putting together a nice meal. You can tell that the kitchen's not quite prepared for the level of preparation that she is currently trying to do. She seems to be scraping together random bits of food that's available, and collecting a bit of a smorgasbord, almost as if she wants it to be something special, but wasn't really prepared to do so. You have some downtime as this is all happening. You might assist her a little bit, and slowly, you start to see the rest of the family sprinkle in. Eventually Yonce shows up, and you all have a sit-down for dinner. Anything that you would like to do during dinner?
Kendrick (Yonce)
I think Yonce is just very uncomfortable, like, being around people right now. So, they're kind of to themselves, they are making small conversation with their family just because I know it will make them happy. I personally don't want to do it, but you know, you gotta please the family sometimes, but they're pretty, like, reserved into themselves during this dinner. I think they're only thinking of Upri and how to save Upri at this point. So, that's what you are noticing from them at this moment.
Russell (Blades)
So, Yonce, tell me your favorite memory of Upri. [Kendrick laughs]
Timothy (DM)
So, the table kind of falls silent as Blades ask that question.
Russell (Blades)
Um, nevermind. [clears throat]
Kendrick (Yonce)
"No, no, it's okay. It's okay. My favorite memory of Upri was actually one of the last memories I've had of them before everything kind of went to shit (to say). We were hunting this big elk, and they had this idea of tying a spear to a piece of, like, rope or something like that and tossing it to the elk. They didn't really do a good job of it but it was really funny and I remember us catching that elk. We went back to Ilrune, and my other favorite moments we were just posing on the elk just, like, being so proud. Upri showing her six pack, I'm looking at them just... just really, really proud of what we did..." and as Yonce is, like, mentioning this he is lighting up but after that he kind of just closes off again because the memory actually does hurt even though it is a good memory. "So yeah, that I guess was my favorite memory of her."
Russell (Blades)
Sounds like a good one.
Kendrick (Yonce)
So, Blades, Sorelli. Tell me a little bit more about yourselves.
Russell (Blades)
Oh, you know we're just your typical siblings that... hunt ghosts and the like... uh, to better the-the realm if you would... and support ourselves of course.
Nicole (Sorelli)
It has become a bit of a career. We're not siblings by blood, but orphaned siblings who found one another and work quite well together. I often get lost in the In-Between and Blades keeps me grounded in this reality so that we may go on these quests to rid ourselves and the world of these shadows. But there are some shadows that follow, and it is a haunting life that we live. We never stay anywhere very long.
Russell (Blades)
What she said.
Kendrick (Yonce)
And the In-Between is the section between life and death? I'm just...
Nicole (Sorelli)
Very much so.
Kendrick (Yonce)
How do you live with that?
Nicole (Sorelli)
I'm not sure I can call it living, but... we find our way.
Timothy (Meredith)
I'm sorry. I... I have to ask: you tellin' us all of this about your life and your spirit visions? Does that mean...? Please tell me doesn't mean... is Upri dead?
Russell (Blades)
[laughs] Blades looks nervously at Sorelli.
Nicole (Sorelli)
There is a space between life and death. I do think that life depends on us finding her very, very soon, but I cannot feel her all the time or completely, so I won't lie to you. I do not know, but I do know that the calling is strong to find her.
Timothy (Meredith)
She nods, kind of lost in thought a bit. "All right. Thank you for that. It's at least a little bit of a sliver of hope."
Kendrick (Yonce)
Yonce looks at the siblings and looks at Meredith and the rest of Yonce's siblings, and I think at this point, I don't know. They're just really... I think they're just tired now. [laughs] I think they're just... they're kind of... they've been kind of living up to other people's expectations but like... like coming back into the family in a sense, and they just want... they really want to go, so hearing that Upri has so little time or is in danger kind of propels them to want to move forward in a sense. So with that said, "So if you're saying that Upri is in the In-Between that means we should get started now. I don't know why we're waiting if we really need to save her."
Russell (Blades)
We can't save if we work ourselves to death.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Listen, Blades your name is? I don't know you and to be honest, I particularly don't like you right now. I just want to go.
Russell (Blades)
I mean, I understand. We can set out at first light but we've come a long way. There's no point if we collapse trying to find her.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Yonce looks at Sorelli. What do you think?
Russell (Blades)
[laughs] I see how this is going to be intent against me!
Nicole (Sorelli)
Moving too quickly makes us vulnerable, so we must tread carefully here, and I do not know if you have met my kind before, but it is in the what you call "dream state" where I often find more. So the rest will be important tonight.
Russell (Blades)
Okay, sleeping helps her put all the bits and bobs together.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Okay, I'm sorry. I just really miss her.
Timothy (Meredith)
We all do.
Nicole (Sorelli)
It's a lot for you.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Yeah, it's been a really rough five years. I don't think you know this but up until about a year ago, I spent every day searching for her. Every day! and I just gave up hope so I came back here. My siblings wanted me to stay in the house, but I honestly
Timothy (Meredith)
We still do Yonce!
Kendrick (Yonce)
I appreciate that but I I don't think I can, so... I built a cottage out back, and they are very helpful with bringing me little things that I need. So, if I'm a little snappy or upset, it's just because I just miss her so much so... I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Blades. I did not mean to defend you. I truly am.
Russell (Blades)
Oh, no offense taken. Very hard to offend me, honestly.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Well, that's very good to know. I think this conversation has taken a lot out of me, so if you don't mind, I'm just going to retire for the night, and I will meet you back here at firstlight. Is that okay?
Nicole (Sorelli)
We'll see you then.
Russell (Blades)
Yeah, cheers.
Nicole (Sorelli)
"All right." So Yonce gets up and then kind of just walks out. No goodbyes.
Timothy (Meredith)
Yeah. You see Meredith and Alton, actually, they-they go to get up out of their seats to go, like, say goodbye, and as they see your trajectory, kind of straight out the door, they kind of stopped themselves and slumped back down into their chairs. Meredith then again turns to the Sorelli siblings. "Thank you for understanding. This is difficult for us all. Upri was our sister, and losing her was like losing a piece of ourselves. Yonce took it the hardest. We almost lost him too, and I'm so grateful that he's made his way back to us, but he's never been the same, and [sigh] I really wish that I was able to give him what he needed, but there's some healing there that whatever I have can't patch up. So... well, why don't I take away your plates and, uh, clear up after dinner. If you go through that door over there, you'll see the sleeping quarters. There's three beds, so you get your pick that don't have any shit on them. [all laugh] Those are... those are for guests. Uh, so yeah, make yourselves at home. Probably gonna be a *pretty* awkward evening with the vibe going around here." [all laugh]
Kendrick (Yonce)
Yonce is not passing the vibe check, I get it. [laughs]
Timothy (Meredith)
But you're welcome to those beds and anything else you need. The pantry is available if you have like a little craving in the midnights and yeah, just be ready to go. Come down because I don't suspect that Yonce is going to want to wait around for ya.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Thank you, Meredith. You've-you've done so much, not only for us here tonight, and we will do whatever we can. Brother?
Russell (Blades)
Yes. What she said. [Tim laughs] Sorry, the gin's kicking in a bit.
Timothy (DM)
"Good." And with that she starts clearing the table, washing up. The rest of the family gives exchanges, just a little small talk, and people start to mill about going about their business. You make your way eventually towards the sleeping chambers. It's, like, one big room with lots of beds all around in a circle, various clothing, trinkets, chests, all sorts of personal effects, kind of strewn about the room, but there are three that are very distinctly empty: empty chests, made beds that are very, like, straight and clean. No other personal effects on them. Maybe, like, a piece of paper that someone that bent over and set down, but pretty obvious which ones are set aside for you. Anything that you would like to do before heading to bed?
Nicole (Sorelli)
Brother, I'm going to take a walk in the woods to move my body and settle my mind a bit before rest.
Russell (Blades)
Alright, just don't go too far.
Nicole (Sorelli)
"I won't." and Sorelli's gonna go for a walk. [Tim: "Yeah."] Just close by nowhere too far.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, so you stroll about the forest. You start to hear the crickets kind of grow as night is starting to set. There's a loon in the distance.
Kendrick (Yonce)
[laughs] Sorry. The loon always gets me! Fuckin' loons.
Timothy (DM)
Killing my vibe. [all laugh, Kendrick: "Not Rit."] There's a loon in the distance and you hear an owl, the rustle of the wind through the leaves, and it sets into a quiet, warm, humid evening.
Nicole (Sorelli)
After hearing the owl, Sorelli finds a rock to just sit on and just kind of soak in the nature for a bit, meditate a little, maybe take a few breaths before getting up to head back to the sleeping chambers.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah. So you stand up, and you start making your way back to the treehouse, and you've been getting visions throughout this whole experience, but they've been kind of more subtle, and they start to subside. You clear your mind and the vision start to kind of fade a bit, and you have this, like, moment of respite as you head back to the tree house. You make your way up the stairs and into the sleeping chamber where you see Blades has already, uh, [Russell snores] fallen asleep, knocked out like a light, his sack just kind of tossed to the side of the bed.
[sleepspeak] That's seven bucks! Stuck in a bag. No, jump on the... jump on the cinnamon buns. [all laugh]
Kendrick (Yonce)
C'mon, Anakin.
Timothy (DM)
And the bed next to him is free.
Nicole (Sorelli)
I walk over to the free bed and *quietly* get into it to go to sleep.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, and you lay down, close your eyes, and it takes a while as you recount everything that's happened in the past couple of weeks. All of your disjointed, jarring visions, the questions that keep nagging at you about what this all means where you're actually supposed to go, the pressure of all of that on your shoulders, and you just you have, like, a slight headache that takes a while to kind of relieve itself before you can finally slip into sleep. As you sleep, you don't dream because you never do, but the visions start to come back, and when you're in this state, your visions are a little bit more stable. They play out a little longer, they're less jumpy and chaotic and flashy, and they... you kind of can zoom in on some of the details, and you start to make out details of a village and the images of this village start to fade into ruin. There's these wooden cottages, and you see the sun rise and set and rise and set and rise and set and the wood begins to decay and then it begins to blacken as this purpley ooze starts to creep out and cover everything [Nicole: "Well..."] And then you're awoken by a ray of sunlight hitting your face.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Feeling the sunlight on my face. immediately I'm worried that I'm late for the departure [all laugh] that I've rested a bit too long but I am grateful for the rest; that's the most peaceful rest that I've had in a long time. But that purple ooze! That purple ooze. Oof.
Timothy (DM)
[coyly] That purple ooze, I wonder what it means--
Nicole (Sorelli)
I knoooow.
Timothy (DM)
--let's go to Yonce. [all laugh]
Kendrick (Yonce)
So we're getting to Yonce in the morning or at night?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, Yonce in the morning. [Kendrick: "All right."] You wake up; it... the sun has not risen yet. You are agitated, anxious.
Kendrick (Yonce)
So, Yonce, I don't think gets a good night's sleep. I think she... Oh now she... Oh my god, goodness, HE... I'm thinking of Upri. Lord Jesus. So even I'm getting... even Yonce is getting their pronouns wrong at this point [all laugh] and so Yonce has packed all their things and is just looking through the journal that they have... is looking at entries and entries and entries of things that they wrote down in the four years search for Upri and is just kind of just waiting for the sun to rise. I think there's a sense of brooding in a sense, just waiting for the sun to rise so we can go, like I'm... Yonce is ready to just do the damn thing at this point in time, so I think... so at first, like, Yonce is already in the tree house waiting for the siblings to come downstairs. Is there anyone up at this time?
Timothy (DM)
No, they probably went to bed at their regular times, which is a lot later than when you left dinner. [all laugh]
Kendrick (Yonce)
So I'm just going to sit at the top of the tree house waiting for everyone to be up, but I'm just, like... I'm an anxious little toddler waiting just to go. So that's where Yonce is right now.
Timothy (DM)
All right. So, you're sitting and waiting and waiting and waiting and you see this sun starts to rise, the shards of light start trickling in through the leaves, and you've yet to hear any sounds coming from the main house.
Kendrick (Yonce)
I am going to... after waiting a little bit too long, which is probably not that long, I'm going to go into the house, and I'm actually gonna go wake up Meredith because I think she will have a more personal touch of what I want. So... [all laugh] So...
Timothy (DM)
Dig.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Meredith, are you up?
Timothy (Meredith)
Hi, hi. What are you doing here?
Kendrick (Yonce)
It's time for me and the siblings to go. Why aren't they up? [Russell laughs]
Timothy (DM)
She looks on over at the siblings...
Russell (Blades)
'Cause it's a bunk room right? We're all just laying around... [all laugh]
Timothy (DM)
You're all in a bunk room, yeah, um, so you kind of, like, bee-lined over to Meredith's bed. She looks over at the siblings, and you see Sorelli has just kind of started rustling.
Russell (Blades)
Blades is completely out cold, drool going down the side of his face, kind of half-off the bed. *snores*
Kendrick (Yonce)
"Meredith, can you..." Yonce looks at Meredith, um... "Can you... can you wake him up?"
Timothy (Meredith)
"Uh, sure thing, Yonce" and she kind of slowly sits up, brushes the sleep from her eyes, and scratches her hair, stands up, and lumbers on over. She first goes over to Sorelli. "Uh, good morning, honey bun. Are you awake there?"
Nicole (Sorelli)
I am. It looks like it's time.
Timothy (Meredith)
It does appear to be so. Hope you slept well.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Thank you. We should talk about...
Timothy (Meredith)
Yeah, we should talk. Should I... should I wake your brother?
Nicole (Sorelli)
"Oh, him? Uh... [Russell snores and laughs] Well... in these situations, I-I prefer to just, y'know, throw a little water on him. So allow me." and so Sorelli's gonna throw what remains of her water glass on Blades' face.
Russell (Blades)
[snorts awake] Wh-what? Where are we?
Nicole (Sorelli)
Blades! The gin! The gin got you again.
Russell (Blades)
I barely had any!
Nicole (Sorelli)
It's... it's already light! They're... everyone's waiting. We have to go.
Russell (Blades)
Oh, shit. Sorry. It's been, what?, over a week since we've sleeped in a damn bed!
Nicole (Sorelli)
I know. It's...
Russell (Blades)
Alright, I'm up. [mumbles]
Nicole (Sorelli)
Let's gather our things.
Russell (Blades)
What? Oh, yep. Mmhm. Yep. Ready.
Kendrick (Yonce)
I look at them finally awake, and Yonce's like "Alright, I'll meet you down there. Collect your things. Let's go."
Timothy (Meredith)
I apologize. He's really ready to go.
Russell (Blades)
I mean, clearly.
Nicole (Sorelli)
It's no trouble.
Russell (Blades)
Perhaps you made breakfast for us to go?
Timothy (Meredith)
Ah, I'm afraid not. I just... Well, Yonce just woke me up as well, uh, but potentially we could whip together a cup of coffee.
Russell (Blades)
Eh, I'll just take some bread. I don't want to keep him waiting.
Timothy (Meredith)
Oh, yeah, I guess I can grab something from the pantry for ya.
Russell (Blades)
Lovely. I'll take a few loaves, thank you. [all laugh]
Timothy (DM)
So she kinda stands up again and lumbers off towards the main house, and you're able to, like, gather your things a little bit and get yourself prepared for when she returns with just like a couple things from the pantry, so she has, like, loaves of bread that she's wrapped up in a cloth, some, like, fruits and mushrooms and a couple-couple little random bits and baubles that she might have picked up from the pantry, and she hands them to you. "Well, I guess this is where we part ways for now and... well, I hope you find what you're looking for, and I hope you return Yonce save to us. We really can't lose another one of our siblings."
Nicole (Sorelli)
I understand.
Timothy (Meredith)
All right. Well...
Kendrick (Yonce)
BYE!
Russell (Blades)
[beats it with the bread] Cheers!
Timothy (Meredith)
It was nice to meet ya.
Nicole (Sorelli)
"You too, Meredith. Thank you." Sorelli is going to make her way out of the treehouse to where Yonce is waiting. "I'm rather eager... I'm rather eager to see if you know anything about the purple goo, so... Yonce, I know we need to leave soon, but I'm going to need your help. Do you know what it means? Do you know what the purple goop was?"
Russell (Blades)
[in zany voice] The goop! Tell us about the goop!?
Timothy (DM)
What is the goop?!? [all laugh] No, Yonce, you haven't seen the purple goop from the visions. You got a glimpse of it when Sorelli shared them with you last night, but that was the first time you had seen them.
Kendrick (Yonce)
I know nothing about purple goop. I'm sorry. The only time I really saw it was when you shared with me your visions. So I'm sorry, I can't be more helpful.
Nicole (Sorelli)
That's all right. Are there any villages nearby? Where have you looked before for Upri? And where haven't you?
Kendrick (Yonce)
To be honest, I've looked everywhere. All over this godforsaken place, I just... the one place I haven't looked too much and because it still kind of triggers me is Ilrune.
Nicole (Sorelli)
I believe that's where we... where we might begin.
Kendrick (Yonce)
All right, I will lead the way.
Timothy (DM)
So, Yonce begins to lead the way. They head off to the south, away from the tree house. You begin trekking through the wilderness. The underbrush is thick and very quickly, the, like, landscape changes from the tree house's kind of slightly manicured area and becomes a dense, dense wild forest. As you notice you're kind of following a path that seems semi-beaten, almost as if it might be a deer path of sorts, that Yonce just is aware of leading to the self when you come across a small clearing, and the pathway begins to split into two different directions. In the clearing, you see in gnarled old bare tree, and you hear a chipmunk scurrying in the branches. Would you like to go left or right?
Russell (Blades)
Which way is the clearing?
Timothy (DM)
You're in the clearing?
Russell (Blades)
Ah, are we.
Kendrick (Yonce)
So, we're in the clearing right now. I think if I remember correctly, we should go right. So let's go right.
Russell (Blades)
Yeah, sure. I mean, we've never been here.
Timothy (DM)
Yonce, can you give me a Survival check as you start navigating through the forest?
Kendrick (Yonce)
All right. That is an 8.
Timothy (DM)
An 8.
Kendrick (Yonce)
So gonna retire that die right away.
Timothy (DM)
[giggles manaically] All right. So just a couple dice rolls just, like, don't worry about ittttt. [party is in dismay]
Kendrick (Yonce)
That was...
Russell (Blades)
'You're gonna die.'
Timothy (DM)
'You're gonna die?' No, definitely not. So... you start following this path off to the right when you come across a river, and you start to think to yourself 'Ooh, I don't remember crossing a river', but you do see a bridge across the river that has collapsed.
Kendrick (Yonce)
"So, I think we have to keep going this way. I... if I remember correctly. Ugh, I don't remember crossing a river, but I..." and Yonce is getting frustrated because it's been a... It's been, like, over four or five years since she's last been here, so I think she trying to stay faithful in a sense bein' like 'I know the way' but she's still kind of confused. "Yes, it was this way. It was this way. All right. So let's just cross the river and keep going."
Russell (Blades)
After you.
Kendrick (Yonce)
"All right", and Yonce starts crossing the river.
Timothy (DM)
All right. Everybody give me a Dexterity save. [Russell: "Oh no!"] Acrobatics?
Russell (Blades)
Yes. Yes. Give me Acrobatics.
Kendrick (Yonce)
That's an 18. [Tim: "All right. All right."]
Russell (Blades)
Damn, Yonce.
Nicole (Sorelli)
20!
Russell (Blades)
Oh, 15.
Kendrick (Yonce)
We're so good.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Wowwww.
Timothy (DM)
Wow. Okay, those are all very good. So...
Russell (Blades)
We all run across the surface of the water.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Naruto run. [Russell laughs]
Timothy (DM)
So, as you kind of slowly make your way down into the riverbank, there's kind of this, like, dirt bank that you slip down just slightly, but you get to the bottom and you see there's a couple stones in the water that you can hop across. So, you do so, you make it to the other side when you start to hear the, like, yipping of some beasts kind of off in the distance, maybe 100 yards off into the bushes to the right, but you continue on. Yonce seemingly sure of themselves continues pushing on over the river. Who wants to give me a Nature roll?
Russell (Blades)
If I must... [all laugh]
Timothy (DM)
Blades, give me a Nature roll.
Russell (Blades)
Um, that is a 4.
Timothy (DM)
A 4. All right. So you hear the yiping and you're concerned; [Russell retches] you can't quite make out what the noise is, and you continue pressing on. [rolls dice]
Kendrick (Yonce)
I don't like that.
Timothy (DM)
When you hear rustling now maybe only 20 yards off to the right and a growl.
Kendrick (Yonce)
The growl kind of surprises me and I kind of backup towards Blades, and I'm like "Oh I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Russell (Blades)
All right. What's going on? Do I hear the growl? Do we all hear the growl?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, y'all hear a growl in the bushes.
Russell (Blades)
Oh shit, bow out. [*chick-uck*]
Timothy (DM)
You pull out a bow.
Russell (Blades)
That's the pull-out-a-bow sound [*chick-uck*] [all laugh]
Timothy (DM)
That's the sound bows make... um, very much so.
Kendrick (Yonce)
I'm gonna pull out my dagger just to be prepared, and I'm going to start fidgeting with a ring that no one has noticed on my finger.
Timothy (DM)
All right. I'm gonna need you all to roll initiative.
Russell (Blades)
Oh, tits.
Kendrick (Yonce)
I gotta 9.
Russell (Blades)
Oh, shit.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Nat 20.
Timothy (DM)
Dammmmn. All right.
Russell (Blades)
Plus 1.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Oh, so 21. Yes.
Russell (Blades)
I only got 14.
Timothy (DM)
So we got 21, a 9, and a 14? [all: "Yes"]. Beautiful. Alright, Sorelli. You are all kind of standing on guard when you see a knoll step out of the bush, growling at the three of you. Another one (skeletal) is in tow. What do you do?
Nicole (Sorelli)
I'm going to cast Ray of Sickness on the knoll. [TIm: "All right."] Well, that's not right. 12?
Timothy (DM)
A 12. So you cast Ray of Sickness, and in your startled state, you miss. Blades, what are you doing?
Russell (Blades)
I'm gonna loose two arrows. [Tim: "All right."] 'cause I get an extra free attack at the start of combat or on my first turn. So arrow number one: does an 18 hit? [Tim: "An 18 does hit."] That does 8 points of piercing damage. Arrow number 2: 12.
Timothy (DM)
A 12 does not hit. So you loose an arrow; it hits the shoulder of the beast, and it starts to growl even louder. The skeletal knoll then lunges at you, attempting to bite you.
Kendrick (Yonce)
And you see it's nothing my skin and bones.
Russell (Blades)
What the fuck! Yonce, are there...? You didn't say there were undead in these woods!
Kendrick (Yonce)
Whoops.
Russell (Blades)
That's a pretty important detail to forget!
Timothy (DM)
It clamps down on your arm for 8 poison damage.
Russell (Blades)
I start smacking it. "Bad dog. Bad!"
Timothy (DM)
As it tries to claw at your body., [Russell retches] it is whacked away and you're able to knock it off of you. Yonce, what are you doing?
Kendrick (Yonce)
All right, I am going to use Eldritch Blast. So, does a 10 hit? [Tim: "It does not."] So since I haven't used this power in some time, I'm also a little rusty, so I end up shooting my Eldritch Blast into the sky.
Timothy (DM)
Uh, and what does your Eldritch blast look like? What's your your flavor?
Kendrick (Yonce)
Oooo, my flavor? It's a Fanta... I'm kidding. [laughs]
Russell (Blades)
What flavor Fanta?
Timothy (DM)
I will slap you.
Russell (Blades)
Strawberry?
Kendrick (Yonce)
Strawberry.
Russell (Blades)
Unsponsored.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Unsponsored, not a sponsor. Just kidding.It is... Blue Heat.
Timothy (DM)
Blue Heat? [Kendrick: "Yes. Is that--?"] Okay, I don't know if that's a reference to something...
Russell (Blades)
Is that an energy drink? Like...
Kendrick (Yonce)
No, it's just like... I panicked so Blue Heat!
Russell (Blades)
It's the flavor of Takis, right?
Timothy (DM)
The flavor of Takis?
Russell (Blades)
The blue... blue Takis? They have blue Takis.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Yeah, it's called Blue Nitro though.
Russell (Blades)
Oh. [cackles]
Timothy (DM)
Alright, um, so you try to blast it with your Eldritch Blast, and again miss as you see the first knoll off to your right go to lunge at you Yonce.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Let it attack me. Let it!
Timothy (DM)
Oh, my gosh. I'm rollin' dice. All right. So it lunges at you, and at first misses, but quickly turns on point and claws at you. It slashes your upper thigh [Kendrick: *argh*] and you take 6 slashing damage.
Kendrick (Yonce)
All right, since they attacked me, I do have a reaction Hellish Rebuke since they attacked me...
Timothy (DM)
Yes you do.
Kendrick (Yonce)
See. [*eyrow*] So I'm gonna cast that, and I can cast it at-will as my reaction, and I need you to make a Dexterity saving throw.
Timothy (DM)
7.
Kendrick (Yonce)
A 7 does not pass. [Tim: "All right, roll for damage."] So, all right. It is going to be... just for effect [rolls dice] I already did it on D&DBeyond is 15 damage.
Timothy (DM)
15 damage. Holy shit. Uh, so you--
Russell (Blades)
That's a lot.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Wow.
Timothy (DM)
--blast it with your Hellish Rebuke. You see flame just, like, envelop it. The smell of burning fur fills the air around you as it starts to yelp in pain.
Russell (Blades)
[to the smell] Oh, that's awful.
Nicole (Sorelli)
[impressed] Wow, Yonce!
Kendrick (Yonce)
Yonce is surprised of how powerful that is. So, like, Yonce is actually taken aback and kind of takes a couple of steps, like... and is just like muttering [stammers] and just muttering.
Timothy (DM)
You all feel the warmth of the flames. Sorelli, what would you like to do?
Nicole (Sorelli)
Well, once I recover from admiration that I feel for Yonce [all laugh] y'know, shake off the last spell I tried to cast, I'm going to this time cast Mind Sliver on the skeletal...
Timothy (DM)
Alright.
Russell (Blades)
The skeletal knoll? [Tim: "Yeah."] [to Nicole] Knolls are hyena people.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Okay. [Kendrick: "Oh."]
Timothy (DM)
They're not people. They have very low Intelligence.
Russell (Blades)
Well, I mean, humanoids.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Have you met some people with some low Intelligence?
Russell (Blades)
[to Tim] Have a delicate mien when you say that.
Timothy (DM)
They have Intelligence of 5, therefore they have no language. [Russell: "Oh!"] They don't have a society. We're not killing people in this unless--
Kendrick (Yonce)
Not yet.
Timothy (DM)
There is a very distinctive reason--
Russell (Blades)
What Intelligence do Bullywugs have.
Timothy (DM)
We are not killing *random* people in this campaign.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Not yet.
Russell (Blades)
Again, why are you looking at me? [Nicole rolls] Oh tits. Why are you rolling?
Timothy (DM)
Why are you rolling?
Russell (Blades)
It's a DC, so the knoll rolls. [Nicole: "Oh."]
Timothy (DM)
Okay, it's... what is... is it Wisdom save?
Nicole (Sorelli)
Intelligence.
Timothy (DM)
Intelligence? Oh, well, sorry, knoll. A 1.
Russell (Blades)
5? What's that? Negative 3?
Timothy (DM)
Well, I rolled a 4, so it's a 1. It has a -3, yes.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Okay. Take 1d6 of psychic damage.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, so you roll that? Roll a d6.
Nicole (Sorelli)
It's going to be a 3.
Timothy (DM)
All right. So, you see that as you cast the Mind Sliver, the skeletal knoll starts to shake its head and growl, kind of disoriented. Blades, what are you doing?
Russell (Blades)
Blades, feeling ineffective with the bow, is going to toss it to the side, draw both swords and then kind of squat down and, like, get ready to... not like pooping position but, like, [all laugh] get ready to, like, charge forward as you see him focus, you kind of feel a gust of wind start to blow around him, and he's just [*pfoop*] like a blur shoots forward, and you just see a whirlwind of blades as he goes out after the fleshy one [Tim: "The fleshy one, yes."] casting Zephyr Strike, so I'm gonna attack twice with my mainhand, once we my offhand.
Timothy (DM)
Right. Those d20s.
Russell (Blades)
Does a 21 hit? [Tim: "Yes it does."] That is for 5 piercing. And the offhanded strike is 19. Ooh, and that's for 10 piercing.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Oh fancy.
Russell (Blades)
[*wh-ch-chu-chu*]
Timothy (DM)
All right, so you lay into it with a flurry of blows. You're slashing at it and it yips each time you do so.
Russell (Blades)
Aww, that's so sad.
Timothy (DM)
The skeleton one is going to continue tracking you as it lunges again after you.
Russell (Blades)
Bring it!
Timothy (DM)
As it lunges at you, you get hit with another bite. It clamps down on your leg this time.
Russell (Blades)
Damn, so much for my 17 AC.
Timothy (DM)
As you take 15 necrotic damage. It has multiattack so it's missing at least once every turn.
Russell (Blades)
Okay, cool. You said 15?
Timothy (DM)
No, 5.
Kendrick (Yonce)
I heard 15.
Timothy (DM)
Did I say 15? 5, 5.
Russell (Blades)
As it bites down and you see the venom kind of go into the veins and the veins darken, you see, like, my flesh pull the venom in and then you kind of see it radiate down my arm and kind of just hold there. So my arm is all veiny and gross.
Timothy (DM)
Mmm, yum.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Woooow..
Russell (Blades)
Gross veiny armssss.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Ew.
Russell (Blades)
Yonce!
Kendrick (Yonce)
I am going to... (since my Eldritch Blast wasn't really effective) I am going to of course do it again because when something fails once, you do it again until it succeeds! So does a 21 hit? [Tim: "Yes it does."] All right, 1d10+3. Does a 13 hit? I mean 13 damage... [all laugh]
Russell (Blades)
So max damage.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Does a 13 hurt? [Editor's Note: underrated joke of the episode]
Timothy (DM)
So blast it with your blue fiery Eldritch Blast, and it gets pummeled with the blast.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Yonce is, like, still surprised by all this magic. Like, how it's working, so Yonce's gonna be like "Oh shit! Oh fuck! Shit shit shit." And I'm just... I'm just exclaiming profanities and I'm going to turn to Blades and be like "Blades. Are you okay?"
Russell (Blades)
Oh, yeah. Why-Why do you ask? Are you new at this? What's going on over there?
Kendrick (Yonce)
I just looked flustered, and I'm just like, [*neeerrrww*]
Timothy (DM)
Alright, so as you're having this conversation, it is going to try to return the favor.
Russell (Blades)
Oh shit.
Kendrick (Yonce)
To whom?
Timothy (DM)
To you, of course. [Kendrick: "Aw."]
Russell (Blades)
It's gonna shoot fire at you.
Timothy (DM)
All right, so it is PISSED. You have angered it, and it lunges at you. It is clawing. It is gnashing its maw, and it clamps down at you, scraping at your torso. You're going to take [Kendrick: "Ow.", Russell winces] 9 poison damage [Russel: "Oh, okay."] plus... [Russell: "Oh..."] 14 slashing. [Russell retches]
Russell (Blades)
Are you down... are you up?
Kendrick (Yonce)
9+14. I am close to... Yonce is close...
Timothy (DM)
As it just RIPS flesh out of you.
Russell (Blades)
OH FUCK!
Nicole (Sorelli)
Oh my god.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Yonce is like... on... is, like, on the floor, like, in obvious distress. But even though they kind of... on their final breath, they're going to cast once again Hellish Rebuke as their reaction. [Tim: "All right."] So you need a Dexterity save.
Timothy (DM)
Does a 4 pass? [all laugh] I know the answer.
Kendrick (Yonce)
'Damn, it does.' I'm kidding. It does not pass. And that's 3d10s I'm gonna just do that...
Russell (Blades)
Jesus.
Timothy (DM)
Hellish Rebuke is legit. [puts on sunglasses]
Kendrick (Yonce)
It's gonna do 10 damage.
Timothy (DM)
All right, again, you see flame envelop this creature. Most of its fur was singed in the previous attack, but whatever was left goes up in flame. You see the burn marks of its gnarled skin, and this repulsive odor just *fills* the air around you.
Russell (Blades)
It's still up?
Timothy (DM)
It is still up, but just barely as it kind of teeters back and forth, still growling on its last leg. Sorelli.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Sorelli's gonna try to finish the job here and cast Ray of Sickness. [Tim: "Alright..."] It's gonna be an 18 to hit.
Timothy (DM)
That will do it.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Okay, 3d8. It's gonna be 13.
Timothy (DM)
Finish it.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Okay, well, as I cast Ray of Sickness, there's a greenish energy that shoots at the gnoll, and the poison fills its body.
Timothy (DM)
It begins to decay right before your eyes as it just kind of slumped over onto the ground.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Is that near Yonce by any chance?
Timothy (DM)
Yes. That's the one that just attacked you.
Kendrick (Yonce)
So, Yonoce's just... try to back up, like, while still hold-- because they're still on the floor... while holding themselves and just be, like (because they're grossed out by this) "Oh my god that's disgusting. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god." and I'm trying to back up as that's happening.
Russell (Blades)
Nothing's worse than the smell of burning gnoll, darling.
Timothy (DM)
[laughing] Blades, what are you doing?
Russell (Blades)
I dash to the other one, the quick... [misses the roll] not one of my sword... "Oh! Slipped on some of that goop there, sister darling." I'm trying to follow up with my off-hand... that is a 9... and then I cast Zephyr Blade going again! That's a 6! [all laugh at Russell's misfortune] Can I just say that I slip on the goop in like a flurry of blows and then I flop onto the ground covered in rotten flesh. [*retches*] "Oh god. *bleh* Oh god. *bleh* It's so bad. *bleh* OH!" Can I... can I do a Con save? [Editor's Note: Con stands for Constitution]
Timothy (DM)
[laughing] Uh... you can. I'm gonna make you do a Con save, but as you are recoiling with your major flop, it is going to attack you. So why don't we save those saving roles?
Russell (Blades)
Oh, 'cause I slide into alive one.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Exactly.
Russell (Blades)
Perfect!
Timothy (DM)
And this time, you are going to get hit with the club of its claw for 5 piercing damage.
Kendrick (Yonce)
[upset] How's everyone else getting these small damages and I get 23?
Russell (Blades)
Maybe something to do with setting them on fire.
Timothy (DM)
All right, Yonce. What are you doing? I see you... [laughs]
Kendrick (Yonce)
Yonce is kind of going in and out of consciousness at this point... like, they are close to being fully unconscious, but they're trying to keep with it, and... how close is the final one next to me?
Timothy (DM)
So it went after Blades so probably 10 to 15 feet.
Kendrick (Yonce)
All right, so I am going to throw my dagger at it. Does a 11 hit? [Tim: "11 does not hit."] All right, I do have Two-Weapon fighting. So can I hit?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, you have an offhand punch unarmed attack.
Russell (Blades)
Oh, wow, I see it that I don't deserve a fucking Eldritch Blast while I'm on the ground being attacked!
Kendrick (Yonce)
Well, I am... Yonce is in and out of consciousness at this point, so with Yonce's off-hand, they're going to try to, like, punch through the Skeletor gnoll. [all laugh] Is that what it's called? Sorrrrrry. I'm calling that that now. [laughs at their poor roll] A 6 does not hit. Tim echoes] So Yonce hits up and then just flops back down.
Russell (Blades)
Into the goop?
Timothy (DM)
As you recoil in pain, you miss your attack, slipping on the goop? Sorelli, would you like to do the honors?
Russell (Blades)
[pointing at Sorelli accusingly from the ground] YOU DID THIS!
Nicole (Sorelli)
Well, I'll give it my best shot. I'm gonna cast ray of sickness again.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Do it.
Russell (Blades)
P-please no! [all laugh] First off, that's a d12. Try again.
Timothy (DM)
That's a d12! [laughs]
Nicole (Sorelli)
Thank you, thank you. Well, better; not great. That'll be a 13 to hit?
Timothy (DM)
A 13 will actually hit. [all rejoice] Is this going to be, uh... necrotic damage?
Russell (Blades)
3d8.
Nicole (Sorelli)
It will be poison damage.
Timothy (DM)
Okay. Do your damage roll.
Nicole (Sorelli)
16.
Timothy (DM)
All right. So you hit it with a Ray of Sickness. So that green energy bursts from your hand, hits the skeletal gnoll, and it barely even flinches. [all gasp] It acknowledges your attack, attracted by the burst of light, but it has no effect. [Nicole: "Oh, great..."] Blades. What are you doing? [all laugh]
Nicole (Sorelli)
Oops.
Russell (Blades)
I would like to try to stand up, please.
Timothy (DM)
Yes, you can stand up. You were not knocked prone. You did that to yourself! [laughs]
Russell (Blades)
I know, I know. I use my movement to stand up, uh, and then I swipe two blows.
Timothy (DM)
You're standing right next to it. [laughs]
Russell (Blades)
That is 21 to hit? [Tim: "Yes, that will do it." 8 piercing.
Timothy (DM)
Alright finish it, that is exactly enough.
Russell (Blades)
And as it falls to the ground, I swing at it with my other sword and miss. [Tim: "Of course.", all laugh] And then I accidentally fall on top of it because I slipped on the goop again, and then it's just bone, so it just collapses into a pile of bones and goop.
Timothy (DM)
Yep, you *crash* into this thing. You hear the bones crack beneath you, and you're out of combat.
Russell (Blades)
How far back was that river. *oof*.
Timothy (DM)
You look up. It's just like right on over there, maybe 20 yards at most; you really did not get far pass this river.
Russell (Blades)
I run and jump in the river.
Timothy (DM)
You splash into the waters, and you start wiping the goop off of you. It quickly dissolves into the water and trickles down the stream away from you.
Russell (Blades)
*happily sighs* Better. Sister darling, that is quite a nasty spell.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Almost as nasty as the goop in the vision.
Russell (Blades)
Is this one and the same? I thought that was purple. This is more like sludge and blood.
Nicole (Sorelli)
There's a lot of goop!
Timothy (DM)
[laughs] They're not the same! Sorelli does not *cause* the goop in the vision. [all laugh] Let's just clear that up right now. Sorelli is not the cause of this; this is not an Vanya situation. [Editor's Note: not sure which Vanya property Tim is referrring to. Possibly Vanya/Victor from the Umbrella Academy]
Russell (Blades)
S-sorelli... a-are you the VILLAIN? Are you the BBEG? [Editor's Note: This stands for Big Bad Evil Guy.]
Kendrick (Yonce)
So as they're kind of going back and forth, Yonce's gonna just, like, start coughing cuz they're *really* damaged. Like really really damaged, so...
Russell (Blades)
Perhaps we should rest.
Kendrick (Yonce)
"G-guys, I-I need help." and I'm coughing, I'm bleeding.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Oh my gosh.
Russell (Blades)
I mean, best I could do is slap some leaves on you. It'll at least numb the pain a little.
Kendrick (Yonce)
At this point, I'll take anything just [grunts] it just hurts.
Russell (Blades)
Can I try to gather any, like, herbal medicine-y type stuff?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah. Do you have any Medicine skill proficiency?
Russell (Blades)
I do. I'm proficient in Medicine.
Timothy (DM)
Ok, cool. Alright, so give me (1) a Nature check to *find* what you need.
Russell (Blades)
That's an 8 to find what I need.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, now give me a Medicine check.
Russell (Blades)
That's a 14.
Timothy (DM)
All right, so you scour the forest looking for the plants that you're familiar with with medicinal properties, and you're struggling to find most of them. You do gather a couple things, including bark from a willow tree nearby that has, like, aspirin type effects. So you can at least relieve some of the pain.
Russell (Blades)
Here chew this.
Kendrick (Yonce)
'I'm allergic to aspirin' The character-- the actual actor, not the character, um...
Timothy (DM)
Uh, we'll say that [laughs] taking aspirin [all laugh] can replenish 4 hit point.
Russell (Blades)
Oh, you're being WAY to generous. [Kendrick: "Well..."] But also let's take a rest.
Timothy (DM)
I mean, hit points is not just like blood loss, it is endurance and energy and battering, and like everything that happens during combat is folded into hitpoints as a mechanic.
Kendrick (Yonce)
I'm doing a tiny bit better. Like, I can move my toes.
Timothy (DM)
That's why a short rest is so effective. [laughs]
Russell (Blades)
Which... all in favor?
Timothy (DM)
You'll get slashed with a sword and then just like, 'Oh, I'm all better now. Because I rested for an hour!'
Russell (Blades)
Let's rest for an hour, shall we?
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, you can take a short rest
Russell (Blades)
By the river. Relax. Lie down, Yonce.
Timothy (DM)
Which for the warlock in the party means they get all of their warlock spell slots back.
Kendrick (Yonce)
I didn't even use any.
Timothy (DM)
All right. No, you should use the spell slots for Hellish Rebuke.
Kendrick (Yonce)
As I was... I can use it without having to use a spell slot.
Russell (Blades)
Not for 3d10, I don't think.
Timothy (DM)
No, you use spell slot. You just get it... [Kendrick: "Oh."] Yeah, yeah.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Okay. Well, I didn't read this properly. But that's okay *ding*
Timothy (DM)
Unless there's a feature that I did not see, you have... Yeah, no, you don't have any feature that would make you cast it at-will.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Alright, well, I know that. Okay. So I got all my spell slots back.
Timothy (DM)
What you do have at-will is Fiendish Vigor, where you can cast False Life at-will, which means that you can always have that running outside of combat, and you can recast it anytime you lose your temporary hit points. [Kendrick: "Alright."] So I would cast that and add those temporary hit points, just in general.
Wow, meta gamer much. [Editor's Note: a meta gamer is a player who thinks of TTRPG as a game, focusing on mechanics/rules and optimization of the game aspect outside of how the PC would think]
What?? No...
Well, I'm gonna do that.
It's a blessing from your patron; it's just like a little bit of a blanket. [all laugh]
Kendrick (Yonce)
Well, for the short rest, how much... how many hit points do we get back?
Timothy (DM)
So, you can roll up to half of your hit dice and regain that.
Russell (Blades)
[to Kendrick using the DnDBeyond app] Hit the little campfire. Kendrick: "Alright."]
Timothy (DM)
So you take a short rest. You set yourself down near the riverbank and tend to your wounds a bit, catch your breath, mechanically regain some of your hit point.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Yes, yes, yes.
Timothy (DM)
You all notice as this, like, wave of energy washes over Yonce, who has cast False Life.
Kendrick (Yonce)
[voice-over voice] 'Yonce has casted False Life.'
Russell (Blades)
What?!? What was that!?!
Kendrick (Yonce)
I was doing it as the character.
Timothy (DM)
And you all start to look around your surroundings, and you start to notice that, uh, whatever path you were following does not seem to carry over on this side of the river. Yonce, as you're kind of sitting with your thoughts, you're just realizing that you didn't cross the river to get there. You're fairly certain you're lost.
Kendrick (Yonce)
So, I have to be honest with you, with you all. I don't remember where we are right now. I thought we crossed the river all those years ago, and if we would have crossed the river those years ago, we would have faced those meanies and...
Timothy (DM)
Sure 'cause five years ago they lived here. [all laugh]
Kendrick (Yonce)
I don't know! Just... regardless, we're lost, and I don't think I should be leading us right now.
Russell (Blades)
Right? Okay, I can lead us south, but I've otherwise no idea where we're going. [laughs]
Kendrick (Yonce)
I think that'll be good until I collect my bearings. [Russell: "All right."] Then I can take the lead once again.
Russell (Blades)
South it is.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, you realize that, like, Yonce was leading the way, and they kind of started going south, but, like, eventually you kind of veered off a little bit. You're actually kind of heading northeast right now if you would have continued on this trajectory. So...
Kendrick (Yonce)
Damn, I suck.
Timothy (DM)
After, like, all of this has passed, and you've kind of started to regain your bearings, the total time that's passed has been about four hours, so it's been a good portion of the day since you've sat off from the tree house. You'd left at first flight. We'll say that was about 5-ish. So it's about 9am. Four hours into this trip.
Russell (Blades)
Time for breakfast. That was a joke. We don't have to eat second breakfast. [all laugh]
Timothy (DM)
So now that Blades is kind of taking a lead, can he give me a Survival check.
Russell (Blades)
Come on. No Whammies. No Whammies. It's a 9.
Timothy (DM)
Do we need to, like, burn *everybody's* dice?
Nicole (Sorelli)
Yeah, what's happening?
Timothy (DM)
Melt them all down into d20s.
Russell (Blades)
Oh, but Yonce is helping me so I'm gonna roll with advantage.
Timothy (DM)
Sure, sure. Pull my arm.
Russell (Blades)
Oh my gosh, it's a 10.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Can we find this village?
Russell (Blades)
We're gonna die out here.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Never gonna find Upri. That is actually the real meaning of the story.
Russell (Blades)
The purple goop is our decomposing bodies when we STARVE to death.
Timothy (DM)
Oh gosh. Okay, so [giggles] I'm gonna roll more dice, I guess. [Russel: "Fuck."] So you start heading south...
Russell (Blades)
We think...
Timothy (DM)
You think... I mean, like, you know, you're going south.
Russell (Blades)
Cool cool. 'Is that... is that a treehou--' I'm just kidding. 'Meredith, what are you doing here!' [all laugh]
Timothy (DM)
So you start heading south, and you are catching, like, little bits of little pathways that allow your trip to speed up, I mean, cutting through the brush is just a tedious process of traveling through the thick of this forest... and so you catch some little pathways that make that activity just ever so slightly easier, until you start to realize the ground has become quite sandy, and the trees have kind of started opening up and are more sparsely placed in this area of the forest. You look around you, and I want everybody to give me a Perception check.
Russell (Blades)
13.
Kendrick (Yonce)
7.
Nicole (Sorelli)
18.
Timothy (DM)
All right. So, Sorelli, you're the one who notices it [Russell: "Thank goodness."] As the ground becomes sandy and the trees thin out, you notice that the detritus that normally covers the floor of the forest is gone. The ground is quite cleanly sand stretched out in front of you.
Russell (Blades)
Like a beach.
Timothy (DM)
Without any water.
Russell (Blades)
A waterless beach, fantastic.
Nicole (Sorelli)
There seems to be less life here. I wonder if that means we're getting closer.
Timothy (DM)
There's patches of grass throughout this area. There are trees kind of scattered about and as you inspect them, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary with the trees themselves. They seem to be alive well enough.
Nicole (Sorelli)
I would like to reach down and touch the sand then and investigate the sand.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, give me Investigation check.
Nicole (Sorelli)
It's gonna be a 10.
Timothy (DM)
All right.
Kendrick (Yonce)
It's sand. [all laugh]
Nicole (Sorelli)
Can confirm that this is sand.
Timothy (DM)
You confirm it is sand. You pick up the sand and you run it through your fingers, and it has kind of a clay-y consistency to it, so not like beach sand but like more of a loamy soil. [whispers] I think that means sandy soil *shh*.
Kendrick (Yonce)
We won't judge you even if you're wrong.
Timothy (DM)
So it has like a moisture content to it... kind of crumbles in your fingers.
Kendrick (Yonce)
I don't remember coming this way. It was all forest when we went the first time; I do remember that much.
Russell (Blades)
I guess we turn around and try again?
Kendrick (Yonce)
I guess we do. I guess we have to turn around.
You wanna turn around or...?
Russell (Blades)
I mean, it's just... I, uh... how sure are that you don't remember sand, Yonce. I mean, but it's also been five years. So like, what if the sand is relatively new?
Kendrick (Yonce)
I just don't remember any sand and where would the sand come from?
Russell (Blades)
I dunno, global warming perhaps? [laughs] Right, that's how that works?
Kendrick (Yonce)
I don't know, I... but to be on the safe side, we should just turn around; there must be something wrong, or we're just goin' the wrong direction.
Timothy (DM)
As you continue to, like, move the sand around your fingers, you notice the particles are super fine like silt.
Russell (Blades)
Like a dried riverbed? Is that what silt is?
Nicole (Sorelli)
There's something peculiar about the sand.
Timothy (DM)
It is peculiar; you can't quite place *why* it's peculiar. It does seem like this soil here is different. Can't say why or what that means, uh... but it's different.
Russell (Blades)
Being dumb is so exhausting! [all laugh]
Timothy (DM)
You don't *have* to solve the puzzle.
Russell (Blades)
Alright, we'll keep heading south and hope for the best.
Timothy (DM)
You don't have to figure out everything you interact with. So you can kind of make your way... you see that this is a patchy but broad expanse of area. So while you can make your way around it, it just will kind of take some time to kind of travel, make sure that you're not going through it. You can also just cut right on through... it would be the faster route south. You know you're going south and that's about it.
Nicole (Sorelli)
We *do* need to go south and we are in a hurry... [Tim laughs maniacally] but I don't like the feel of this sand.
Russell (Blades)
I mean me as a player is like 'Wow, this is a trap.' but Blades as a character is like 'It's sand: who gives a fuck?'
Kendrick (Yonce)
If you are okay with crossing through it, I am okay.
Russell (Blades)
"Beautiful!" Blades takes the lead and starts walking through the sand.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, so Blades starts walking across the sands and--
Russell (Blades)
Is it nice? Should I take my shoes off?
Timothy (DM)
--as you go, you start to notice that your feet... every time you pick your feet up, you're, like, finding your shoe just sticking slightly.
Russell (Blades)
Oh no, it's quicksand. [Tim laughs] I turn around. "Don't follow! Mistakes were made." [all laugh] Can I turn around fast enough?
Timothy (DM)
So you begin to struggle [Russell: "Oh shit."]. And you start freaking out, uh, you turn quickly on point and within just seconds, you've sunk two feet into the ground. [Russell laughs]
Kendrick (Yonce)
DAMN.
Russell (Blades)
Squeak, grab-grab a stick!
Nicole (Sorelli)
*VERY* quicksand.
Kendrick (Yonce)
How far away is...?
Timothy (DM)
I need everybody to roll initiative for this. [all groan]
Kendrick (Yonce)
That didn't answer my question. [all laugh] I got a 5.
Russell (Blades)
21.
Nicole (Sorelli)
7.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Are we gonna be fighting quicksand?
Russell (Blades)
I struggle more while you two watch me sink further into...
Kendrick (Yonce)
While sippping drinks.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, so Blades, what do you do? So you look down, you realize that you are stuck in the sand. It has gotten up to, like, your mid-shin at this point.
Russell (Blades)
Well, being a smart survivalist orphan, I'm going to flop over on my back and try to make myself as flat as possible to increase the surface area touching the sand and hope that I float and don't sink quicker!
Timothy (DM)
All right. So Blades flops on over--
Russell (Blades)
Get a stick! GET A STICK!
Timothy (DM)
Sorelli, what are you doing?
Nicole (Sorelli)
I... [laughs] I see my brother.
Russell (Blades)
SURVIVE. SOMEDAY PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE; I'M TOO BEAUTIFUL.
Nicole (Sorelli)
--and hear his cries, and so I'm gonna look around and try to find a stick!
Timothy (DM)
[laughing] There are plenty of sticks here in the forest.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Okay, I'm gonna I'm just going to quickly break a branch off of a tree and extend it out to Blades.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, so Sorelli breaks off a stick, hands it over to you, Blades, and you can grab onto it. Yonce, what are you doing?
Kendrick (Yonce)
Yonce is going to help Sorelli bring her brother back up (additional strength) but Yonce is also kind of, like... is a little panicked. So "Blades, we're gonna get you... I forgot your name for a second." [laughs]
Russell (Blades)
"Wow. I feel appreciated." I imagined Blades was walking forward and then sunk to his knees and then bent his knees and just flopped over backwards, and is, like, holding the stick, like, behind his head. "Pull! Pull me out!"
Timothy (DM)
Alright, so mechanically at the start of the next round, Blades has sunk four feet. This is just mechanics [Russell squeals] as he has flopped on over, and is thinking slightly slower now into the sand [Russell: "Perfect."]. I need the two of you to make Strength checks and we'll take the higher of the two.
Russell (Blades)
"Goodbye, sweet world." Oh shit.
Kendrick (Yonce)
I got a 12.
Nicole (Sorelli)
1.
Timothy (DM)
Oh no.
Nicole (Sorelli)
I'm not terribly strong.
Timothy (DM)
Oh no-no-no.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Oh no, no, no, no, noooo.
Timothy (DM)
Alright, so you start pulling, and you feel the, like, tension of the branch as you are trying to pull Blades who's still slightly struggling in the sand out, and he's stuck. You feel like it's slightly inching him out, but we'll have to try again.
Russell (Blades)
I have an idea but it's bad one.
Timothy (DM)
What is your idea? [Russell hesitates]
Kendrick (Yonce)
Just say it
Russell (Blades)
I undo my belt and start to slide off my pants [all laugh] hoping that I'll slide out of my pants that are stuck in the sand!
Kendrick (Yonce)
I mean Yonce would love to see that.
Russell (Blades)
And I totally have backup pants in my...
Timothy (DM)
I mean, so you are holding onto this branch by the way, or are you letting go of the branch?
Russell (Blades)
I keep my pants on! Nevermind, I take it back! I take it back!
Timothy (DM)
Can you both make me another Strength check as he continues to sink?
Kendrick (Yonce)
14.
Russell (Blades)
That's fair.
Nicole (Sorelli)
4.
Timothy (DM)
Again, you pull with all of your might on on this branch. You feel the branch begins to bow--
Kendrick (Yonce)
OH NO NO NO NO NO NO
Nicole (Sorelli)
Maybe I picked a bad branch.
Timothy (DM)
--as he continues to sink. Make another Strength check.
Russell (Blades)
Shit. Shit!
Kendrick (Yonce)
15.
Nicole (Sorelli)
8.
Russell (Blades)
Use a different dice, please! Please!
Nicole (Sorelli)
Okay, here's a new one.
Timothy (DM)
Oh my god!
Russell (Blades)
[in a shrill tone] I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die in fucking QUICKsand! I take my pants off, I don't care anymore. He's like "Can I help? I don't wanna die... I can't die in Episode 2. Phew... ok."
Timothy (DM)
He's still sinking. You feel the branch is bowing. You hear a crack. Make another Strength save.
Blades, we got you, we got you!
Russell (Blades)
Can I... [Nicole laughs, looks at Nicole's dice] OH NO, THAT'S A NAT 1!
Nicole (Sorelli)
And I have -1 Strength so it's a 0! [Tim laughs]
Kendrick (Yonce)
[sadly] I got a 12.
Russell (Blades)
I struggle and I pull Sorelli in with me-- no, I'm just kiddign.
Timothy (DM)
Is there anything else that y'all could do?
Nicole (Sorelli)
I was desperately looking and...
Timothy (DM)
As you start racking your brain for some other solution, realizing that this battle is... NOT on your side. [Russell hyperventilates]
Kendrick (Yonce)
So here's my plan. So, Sorelli, you hold my feet. I'm going to jump for it and grab...
Russell (Blades)
[giggling] No! Such a bad idea. You're just gonna weigh us down more! And you'll go in face first!
Nicole (Sorelli)
We gotta do something.
Kendrick (Yonce)
"Oh, I mean, I mean, I'm going to, like, scoot so you're... I'm feet first, so you can grab onto my feet and then you just start pulling me back." [to Tim] What are you doing with your tongue?
Timothy (DM)
I don't know. [laughs]
Russell (Blades)
Watching the buffoonery. [laughs] 'So you're gonna flop... you're gonna flop... flop onto the...'
Timothy (DM)
I'm WORRIED! I am *genuinely* worried right now! Oh, God!
Nicole (Sorelli)
I know.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Alright, I'm gonna... Yonce's gonna look for a stronger branch.
Russell (Blades)
Divine intervention!
Timothy (DM)
Alright, you quickly scour the area around you. You grab another branch. What do you do with that branch?
Kendrick (Yonce)
I'm going to... "Here, hold this. Two branches are better than one."
Russell (Blades)
THE OTHER ONE'S BROKEN!
Timothy (DM)
You put out another branch, and at this point, Blades is, like, sunken to their chin.
Russell (Blades)
Does it reach? Just give it to me so I can free please!
Timothy (DM)
They're flailing hands and a voice that is quickly going to disappear.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Can we flank for advantage?
Russell (Blades)
THAT'S NOT WHAT THAT MEANS! THE OTHER SIDE...
Timothy (DM)
That is not how it works. Give me another roll. [Russell wails] Who has...? Okay, who has higher strength between the two of you?
Russell (Blades)
JUST LET ME DIE. LET ME DIE!
Nicole (Sorelli)
It's got to be Yonce.
Kendrick (Yonce)
I think it's me; I have a Strength of... oh, I have a -1 for Strength.
Russell (Blades)
[phrenetically giggling] They both have -1. [laughs] It's my time, just let me have it. I'll make a new character, I guess.
Timothy (DM)
And you can't... you can't Misty Step with another person, can you? [Russell: "Nooo."]
Nicole (Sorelli)
Nothing that will help you?
Russell (Blades)
Can you cast Friends on the sand to make it like me?
Kendrick (Yonce)
I can cast False Life. Like a blanket!
Timothy (DM)
All right, so what was that Strength check, you two?
Kendrick (Yonce)
I don't remember so I'm gonna have to reroll.
Russell (Blades)
It was a single digit; I remember that.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Well, I'll reroll.
Russell (Blades)
Oh thank god!
Nicole (Sorelli)
Oh, a nat 20! So, it'd be 18. [Editor's Note: it'd be 19]
Kendrick (Yonce)
14.
Russell (Blades)
Sibling!
Timothy (DM)
So as this tension is building, Blades is JUST about to dip below the surface, where all you would be able to see are their arms clambering at those branches. Sorelli takes a deep breath, gathers ALL of her strength, looks Yonce in the eye, and the two of you PULL with all of your might. You feel the branch bowing, you hear some cracking of the wood, and slowly you start to see Blades reemerge from the sand. You pull him stuck in the soil. You hear the, like, slurping of the quicksand settling below him in the vacuum of his form, and you get him into solid ground.
Kendrick (Yonce)
"Are you okay?" I just... I just check on Blades.
Russell (Blades)
[weakly] Physically, yeah. Emotionally? I need... just gonna lie here for the moment, and then... does anyone have any whiskey please?
Nicole (Sorelli)
Sorelli whips out a small bottle of whiskey that she always keeps handy for Blades.
Russell (Blades)
"Oh, thank you, sister darling." I take a big gulp [sighs] "I... oh, I almost went... I almost went back and apologized for all the things I stole, but didn't have to so... good job, sister. Thank you. Phew!"
Nicole (Sorelli)
I guess we should've gone around. We almost lost you.
Russell (Blades)
Yes. I'm probably never gonna walk on sand ever again. Honestly. We're gonna add that to my list of phobias: sand [all laugh]
Timothy (DM)
You have a list of phobias?
Russell (Blades)
I'm gonna start after that shit! [all laugh] That was so stressful!
Timothy (DM)
The three of us... the four of us because I'm including myself now with this whole situtation--
Russell (Blades)
I ALMOST DIED!
Nicole (Sorelli)
Can you imagine?
Timothy (DM)
--have some time to catch our breaths.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Can we have another short rest?
Timothy (DM)
--and rally with the just humbling and harrowing moment that just came to pass and make a resolution NOT to cross the sand but instead to go around. [Russell: "Yes."]
Kendrick (Yonce)
I think that's best after this point.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Yes. No-no more sand please.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Do you need... no more sand. Do you need another moment?
Russell (Blades)
No, I'm fine. It's just...
Nicole (Sorelli)
Sorelli casts a Minor Illusion and just surrounds you with calming imagery.
Russell (Blades)
That's lovely, sister, but actually could you use Prestidigitation to tidy me up a bit? I'm covered in silt.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Sure. Oh that's... Yeah, well we'll get rid of the silt for you.
Russell (Blades)
I don't want to chafe, you know. [all laugh] Thank you.
Nicole (Sorelli)
We clean you up and calm you down and I'm sure the whiskey doesn't hurt either.
Russell (Blades)
I'm like SHOOK as a player. [Tim laughs] That's the closest I've almost died in D&D EVER. It was to fucking quicksand! I just... feel like I'm taking psychic damage.
Kendrick (Yonce)
And you can blame the DM for... DM for including quicksand.
Russell (Blades)
But I understand that's like "this is a minor trap" and then you're like "Oh no. OH NO!"
Timothy (DM)
Oh, no, it quickly can go.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Yeah, that was a series of very bad rolls.
Timothy (DM)
Just every round that's a d4 that you sink. [Nicole: "Ooh."] which is a lot. It's six seconds. Sink... you can think up to four feet in six seconds. It's a GNARLY trap in D&D. So the three of you recollect yourselves, take a couple of deep breaths, potentially give the landscape of sand a bit of a glare and continue walking around...
Russell (Blades)
I spit on it as we walk around. Fuck you, sand! Fuck you and your whole family!"
Timothy (DM)
...having to take a bit of a detour. You spend maybe another four hours [Russell: "Oh my god."] before you make it the other side [Russell: "We are so fucking bad at this."] of this expanse of quicksand. Blades, can you give me another off to Survival roll, and it has been 8 hours since you set out this morning.
Russell (Blades)
C'mon, new dice. Pull it together. Can we still see the top of the tree house? [Tim nods] Ok good. [Russell wheezes]
Timothy (DM)
It's about two o'clock in the afternoon. From the laughs that roll does not sound good.
Russell (Blades)
[gasps] I got an 8 for Survival.
Timothy (DM)
Yonce, would you like to give an assist?
Kendrick (Yonce)
I can give an assist.
Russell (Blades)
Okay, better better. That's a 16.
Kendrick (Yonce)
[to Tim] Don't you dare.
Timothy (DM)
I rolled again. You're welcome.
Russell (Blades)
Stop that. No more... no more rolls please!
Timothy (DM)
When you reach the other side, you pause for a moment, just to listen to the birds chirp in the trees around you. You look around, and you see two trees growing from same trunk and that's when you notice a path has opened up to you. It seems to be heading south; there's no sand in sight. [all laugh]
Nicole (Sorelli)
That's good news.
Timothy (DM)
This is *great* news. Maybe you might be well on your way. [Tim rolls]
Russell (Blades)
Please no more! Stop rolling!
Timothy (DM)
As you begin to walk forward, you all get this, like, wave of dizziness. Just kind of waves over you and then dissipates.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Do you all feel that?
Russell (Blades)
Yeah, I feel a bit woozy.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Yeah, I feel a little not all the way here.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Same.
Timothy (DM)
Like a little lightheaded aftermath.
Russell (Blades)
Maybe it's because of our close brush with death we just all have a bit of a... it's the adrenaline wearing off. You know?
Kendrick (Yonce)
Maybe we should just sit down and take a moment of rest.
Timothy (DM)
Would you like to sit down and take another short rest?
Russell (Blades)
I feel like we've wasted... lost enough time not really getting very far. At this point, Upri is gonna die of old age before we find her.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Oh no! Yeah, no, we... I think we have to press on. Sorelli's gonna look around at the tree or trees to see if she notices anything.
Timothy (DM)
All right, give me an Investigation check. [Nicole: "12."] So, you start examining your surroundings and not much of it is seemingly out of place. But again, you're hit with another wave of dizziness, you become a little lightheaded again, and the sounds of the forest start to warble.
Kendrick (Yonce)
For all of us? [Kendrick: "Noooo."]
Timothy (DM)
Oh, you know that like Doppler effect, where, like, as something passes you, it kind of the pitch kinda deepens? That warbling effect starts to have that kind of sound to it. You hear the birds chirping in the trees, the rustling of leaves and everything kind of starts to feel very wishy-wash. As the three of you start rocking as you walk forward down this path, like, waves of energy and motion and cognizance are kind of wafting over you.
Kendrick (Yonce)
*phew* I never had this much death on the way to Ilrune the first time.
Timothy (DM)
You were with Panret. [laughs]
Kendrick (Yonce)
That was true.
Timothy (DM)
They knew the way. [laughs]
Kendrick (Yonce)
All those bushes. Oh, I miss Pan Pan.
Russell (Blades)
Yonce, you've lived in this forest a while; is it normally this DANGEROUS?
Timothy (DM)
Certain sections can be. It's a... mysterious forest.
Kendrick (Yonce)
We live in the nice area. [all laugh] No quicksand, no gnolls. Just trees and mosquitoes.
Russell (Blades)
Sounds lovely.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Charming.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Quite charming.
Timothy (DM)
As you're now kind of, like, sea-leggedly walking down this path, Sorelli, you start to notice off to the side of the path kind of tucked away in the shrubbery are circles of mushrooms, colorful mushrooms, pinks, turquoises. Very distinct, and as you look closer at them, mind, you're already tipping back and forth yourself, you notice that the area around each of the circles like a column above each one is, like, distorted. The colors are kind of blending and syncing. The space around it is kind of warbling, and you hear a slight hum.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Is the coloration above the mushrooms. Is this... like, does it look like spores? Or is it energy?
Timothy (DM)
It kind of looks like if someone took a watercolor of the forest just freshly painted and tilted it on its side, where everything started just kind of drip and mush together and muddle.
Nicole (Sorelli)
Oh my, is this a mushroom trip or an acid trip?
Russell (Blades)
Porque no los dos? [Editor's note: this is a reference to the famous taco meme, which means "Why not both?" when given two great options]
Nicole (Sorelli)
I guess I want to see if I can look closer at the mushrooms to see if I have maybe seen them before or understand these effects at all.
Timothy (DM)
Yeah, can you give me a Wisdom save as you start to approach these mushroom circles.
Nicole (Sorelli)
These rolls today...
Russell (Blades)
These dice are going in the trash. So 4. [all laugh]
Timothy (DM)
So, I am actually going to tell this from everybody else's perspective of what they see. [Russell: "Perfect."] We're gonna start there. So the two of you, Yonce and Blades, you watch as Sorelli starts veering off the path, and she's just kind of, like, stumbling back and forth as she does so, and she kind of stumbles off into the bushes a little bit, comes back on the path and then starts walking into the underbrush.
Russell (Blades)
Sister, w-where are you going?
Timothy (DM)
And the closer she gets to these mushrooms circles, the more lethargic and, like, fluid her movements become until she's maybe a foot away from the mushrooms, her hand extended towards the column.
Kendrick (Yonce)
Can I throw the butt-end of my dagger at her so it doesn't do it... like, the butt-end so it doesn't hurt.
Russell (Blades)
Knock her out into the mushrooms?
Timothy (DM)
Uh, hold on one moment, because she never quite gets there before she's fully able to extend her arm, her movement has slowed so much that she seems frozen. And that's where we'll end this episode. [party cries in fear]
Kendrick (Yonce)
[sing-songy] 'Do you want to build a snowman?' Also, Disney, sorry, don't sue us.
Timothy (DM)
And that is where we will put a pause on today's story! Thank you all for joining us in this vile vignette as we plunge into the abyss. I hope you enjoyed this episode of Shadows of Prophecy. Join us next time to find out what becomes of Sorelli and Blades as they travel deep into the enchanted forest, and who they will come across.
I want to give a special thanks to JayCeeAitch (JCH) and Chris B, our fabulous patrons keeping the candles lit here at Goblin Forge. Your support has meant the world to us, and we are so greateful for your absolute generosity.
I would like to thank Scrubcast for some incredible sound mastering, music and effects. They have been so easy to work with and I highly recommend checking them out if you’re ever in need of audio editing, especially for their epic music and effects design.
I would like to thank Syrinscape for some outstanding atmosphere and music. Make sure you check them out at syrinscape.com. I use Syrinscape all the time at my game table and for our Twitch streams, and it adds that little something special to bring your players and audience into the story.
I would like to thank our players this evening. Kendrick, Russell, and Nicole. I'm so happy to have you in our cast and can't wait to hear what perverse adventures we'll find ourselves in next time.
Our Theme song was written by my brother, the chill electronic vapour soul artist Lusq. You should check out their most recent single, Gus.
This has been a Goblin Forge production. Please follow us on Instagram , join our Discord, and if you really love us, show us some support by becoming one of our fabulous patrons at Patreon.com/Goblin_Forge, where you can find FREE bonus content like handouts, encounter maps, and even adventure guides to run your own horrific campaigns or one-shots. Shadows of Prophecy is a fully personally financed project and our first foray into the TTRPG arena. Any and all support is greatly appreciated! And at the very least, give us a 5 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 a trek into the belly of the beast, lead by none other than the tormented Sorelli.