The party has a little fireside chat with Daphne and Cyril about the days to come before decompressing at a local Underkeep favorite tapas bar, Penny's. Unfortunately, their dreams that night are more troubling than they anticipated.
CREDITS
Theme song by LUSQ
Editing by Scrubcast
Music and Sound by Syrinscape
A Special thanks to our fabulous patrons, JayCeeAitch (JCH), Maggie Z., and Chris B.
Transcripts available at: https://shadowsofprophecy.buzzsprout.com/
The party has a little fireside chat with Daphne and Cyril about the days to come before decompressing at a local Underkeep favorite tapas bar, Penny's. Unfortunately, their dreams that night are more troubling than they anticipated.
CREDITS
Theme song by LUSQ
Editing by Scrubcast
Music and Sound by Syrinscape
A Special thanks to our fabulous patrons, JayCeeAitch (JCH), Maggie Z., and Chris B.
Transcripts available at: https://shadowsofprophecy.buzzsprout.com/
Education, science and the rest of CANTER language.
Timothy (DM):Welcome back, dear listeners. We are delighted to have you joining us once again on another thrilling episode of Shadows of Prophecy. Please yourself for a journey full of magic, adventure and spine-tingling horror as our heroes delve deeper into the truth of their reality and begin to unravel the mysteries surrounding the void. So grab your favorite snack, get cozy and prepare yourselves as we embark on this exciting journey together. As we immerse ourselves in the shadows of prophecy, be warned, for the tale explores the darkest corners of the human soul and psyche, where the line between good and evil is blurred and unspeakable horrors linger in every shadow. Our story is not for the faint of heart, for it will not only bring us to mysterious lands, but have us walk down treacherous paths with unforeseen dangers, as our heroes, who are not always virtuous, confront villains who are not always wicked. As the prophecy unfolds and the fate of the world hangs in the balance, only one thing is for certain Nothing is as it seems. So stay sharp, ready yourselves, and we just may make it through this together. As our heroes continue to pull back the veil as a prophecy is a Dungeons and Dragons actual playcast with violent themes and adult language. Listener discretion is advised.
Timothy (DM):I will begin the top of the show with a short statement. I've come to strongly believe that sustained, united opposition is necessary to prevent the Israeli and US governments from perpetuating violence against the Palestinian people, only leading to a perilous path of ethnic cleansing. Such actions must be unequivocally condemned, irrespective of any politicized justifications. The people of Palestine deserve genuine peace and liberation from the oppressive structures of the current apartheid state, which often dismisses dissent. As anti-Semitic, I am committed to ardently defending the rights of all Jewish individuals, advocating for their freedom, safety and pride. Simultaneously, I extend this commitment to the rights of both Palestinian and Israeli people.
Timothy (DM):It is our collective conviction at this table that the ongoing violence against the Palestinian population is an inexcusable transgression warranting an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. Violence against civilians shall never be tolerated, as it is in the words collateral damage that we lose our own humanity as we attempt to erase the humanity of others. The global community deserves a future marked by compassion and justice. What we are witnessing today is a gross corruption of both. Join us today as we enter the shadows of prophecy. Speaking of with us. Today we have Dan.
Dan (Wren):Hi, well, thanks. Hi, I'm Dan. I will be playing Ren the scholar oh, human scholar and rogue and returning member of the upper middle class club, because I don't have all my money anymore because we ran out Ren did.
Kai (Yonce):I say that already. Yeah, I fucked it up again. Oh good, acting like such a.
Dan (Wren):I just had to lean back to get it in Gotcha.
Chris (Salvador):I'm Chris. I'm playing the tiefling cleric who can make combat encounters disappear in the blink of an eye, salad or salt.
Timothy (DM):Don't sound so excited. Hi, I'm Russell.
Russel (Upri):I'm playing the half-worked barbarian Upperie, and her rode poem is Upperie. She's an emo girly, you're welcome, Amazing, oh fuck. Oftentimes I wish there were more words in my native tongue to describe, to capture, to translate how I feel, this overwhelming desire to collapse into the arms of someone I love and let myself completely fall apart While they hold space for me, protect me in a moment of complete, absolute vulnerability. But instead I must keep these patchwork walls standing tall, for it is I, then I'm incapable of falling apart.
Kai (Yonce):That was really deep Thanks. That was really about smashing things.
Dan (Wren):Wow Ares here how I cope.
Chris (Salvador):Are we two Gemini and two Ares?
Russel (Upri):Yeah, we're all Ares. Whoa. Do you know what we also are? Hi, I'm Kai and I am playing the half-worked barbarian.
Dan (Wren):I'm playing the half-worked barbarian.
Russel (Upri):Hi, I'm Kai.
Kai (Yonce):And I am playing the half-warlock. Half-elf-warlock who should have not stayed up until 3 am partying and is very tired when they have to save the world today. Wait, I'm talking about myself, Just kidding, I'm playing Yonsei Yay.
Timothy (DM):Act three the brink of nothingness. Chapter 15.
Kai (Yonce):Wait, they are mean. Wait, we're in a new act.
Timothy (DM):Behind closed doors.
Kai (Yonce):Come on, Senate room.
Timothy (DM):Previously on Shadows of Prophecy. Last time we watched our heroes they found themselves in a cavernous auditorium preparing for some stage combat with Uppry and Yonsei's petrfamilias. Yep. Chris wrote this. I definitely know what that word is.
Chris (Salvador):It's potrfamilias, it's the father figure of any family, perfect.
Timothy (DM):Thank you, nim. The Gnomish wizard Got him. But even before Daddy Nim could land a blow on the adventurer's, salvador cast banishment on him, removing him from the scene and severing his metallic tethers. To the puppet master and fortunately for the group, since Nim isn't native to that plane, he permanently left the realm of the director and returned to the tree house in the material plane, as was the plan all along. Now, with a moment's respite, ren helped to remove Meredith from her rigging and confirmed that not only was she merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead. While cold upon his god, tau to cast raised dead on Meredith. But the prayer went unanswered.
Timothy (DM):The director, who was still bitter that Salvador went off script, mocked the group and attempted to salvage the production by bargaining with Uppry. If Uppry could break the mental and physical barriers preventing the Titans from entering the material plane, the director would restore Meredith to life and keep a protective eye on the strays. Uppry, drawing upon the legal counsel of Ren, defiantly ripped up the contract In a fade to black. The heroes and all of the strays awoke back in the tree house, except one, meredith, who remained missing. After reconsidering her options, uppry signed on the dotted line and Meredith was restored to life Unharmed. Following a dinner and long overdue family reunion, the heroes left the tree house with some fancy gifts in tow A magic ring, a dancing sword, an accessory for Fern and a blurry cloak. Yonsei chit-chatted with some squirrel mailman.
Kai (Yonce):Big, big fairy eye. Oh that good roll.
Timothy (DM):And the party eventually arrived at the underkeep, A subterranean yet floating city made of blue crystal with magical gardens. The resident professor, Cyril, met them after the group's brief hat shopping montage and ushered them to the home of Daphne, the oracle, who has been monitoring and drunk, dialing them periodically. She informed them that the order had overtaken Entropolis and that they may wish to ally themselves with the order to confront the void enemy together or otherwise. Seek out one of the factions in the underkeep, the Council of Mages and or the Source Conclave comprised of the Ascension and the Obscura. But before we get into today's session, I have a word from our sponsor.
Kai (Yonce):Can I say the name?
Timothy (DM):No, because it's not who you think it is. In the heart of the malevolent realm the silence reigns supreme, a suffocating presence that drowns out even the faintest whispers of hope. It is a silence that envelops the soul, where the absence of sound is more terrifying than any cacophony of whores. In this relentless silence, the darkness listens and the void waits with baited breath for the inevitable descent into madness. And now we will start our session.
Kai (Yonce):I honestly forget where we were. Oh, were we? Wait, where is my Zasparella? That's how we ended last week's episode.
Timothy (DM):I'm going to need you all to roll initiative. What?
Dan (Wren):I was busy drawing my hat. It's a very bad drawing of mine.
Russel (Upri):Oh my gosh, you're getting an actual toy. If I'm high, does that mean it's with disadvantage?
Kai (Yonce):No, no, you're fine.
Chris (Salvador):That's a really good hat though I got a 13.
Kai (Yonce):I got a 13.
Timothy (DM):All right, oh shit Also 13. All right what are your modifiers Of what Plus what Dexterity Plus?
Kai (Yonce):three Plus three okay.
Timothy (DM):So Yance will be ahead of Uppery. And what was that Three? You run 11. 11, okay, Cool, cool, cool.
Dan (Wren):Finally, it's so shitty that I'm an assassin, so I literally get bonuses for going first.
Timothy (DM):So I'm going to quickly set up our initiative and by quickly. I'm going to very slowly place all of these cards on the top of my DM board.
Dan (Wren):Excuse me.
Chris (Salvador):Interesting.
Kai (Yonce):As that's happening, I'm just going to say this oh, you're done, Never mind.
Russel (Upri):Why ran up there?
Dan (Wren):It's backwards. I think. Oh yeah, it's so, tim reads it, it's from my perspective.
Timothy (DM):Got it, because I will be the one running initiative. Fair enough, because you all, in pitch blackness, almost hazy, warbly tone. You hear a voice echo through your mind. The director lets you off so easily, oh gosh, but I really want to see how it would turn out. The scene is set Nim Sam's center stage, meredith limp body hanging above him, blood drip, trip trip Splashing upon his forehead. Shavadour what do you do? What do I?
Russel (Upri):see, is it still darkness?
Kai (Yonce):Is it a army fan voice? I'm so confused.
Chris (Salvador):I'm thinking this is so. I am standing in the auditorium again.
Timothy (DM):Yes. So, as these words are echoing through your head, the scene starts to reemerge out of the darkness. The stage lit, red curtains framing it, and Nim begins to raise his head towards you all.
Dan (Wren):So we like black out and wake up here, essentially because we were in Daphne's living room, right.
Russel (Upri):I don't know Is this one of them flashbacks.
Chris (Salvador):I hear so much about.
Kai (Yonce):Oh my God, we're having a flashback episode.
Dan (Wren):Is it also the musical episode. I'm just kidding. Question do I still look?
Russel (Upri):Does Uppery still have a beautiful oversized sun hat and her joint?
Timothy (DM):You are wearing exactly what you wore in the scene the first time around.
Dan (Wren):My beautiful hat.
Kai (Yonce):Maybe just one level more though.
Dan (Wren):Oh yeah, did we keep our level.
Russel (Upri):Yes everything is the same.
Timothy (DM):So, salvador, what do you do?
Chris (Salvador):I'm gonna shout it to Nim I've seen you again and I'm gonna cast a spell on him. I need him to do that'd be so funny. It's a repeat performance Now I'm gonna do something different this time. They need to do a constitution saving throw as I stride up to the front of the stage.
Timothy (DM):Okay. So just as this scene played out before, a thick fog unfurls around the bottom of the curtains on stage left and stage right and begins to pour out onto the stage.
Chris (Salvador):as you're running up onto the stage, I'm running up to like where the front row seats would be.
Timothy (DM):Alright, and I will do a constitution saving throw.
Chris (Salvador):As I heckled them from the crowd.
Timothy (DM):That'll be a 15.
Chris (Salvador):My spell save is 17. So I'm gonna have to do some damage for you. Alright, what are you casting? I'm casting destructive wave oh.
Timothy (DM):Destructive wave. So I'm I'm so sorry I am going to cast my thing that I totally remembered exists counterspell.
Chris (Salvador):So do you have to do a roll for that because it's above level 5?
Timothy (DM):I'm gonna do, or it's a level 3. He has level. He has a lot of spell slots. So, I'm gonna cast it at the fourth level. What level were you casting at?
Chris (Salvador):It's a level 5 spell.
Timothy (DM):Alright, so then he will have to do a, he will have to do a roll in order to do it, so let me do that.
Dan (Wren):Insert Baldur's Gate that is going to fail.
Timothy (DM):So he tries to counterspell. You see, he waves his hand, he jerks his hand jerks up as the cord pulls his wrists and you see, like a spark of magic go. But unfortunately for him it's unaffective. Your spell breaks through.
Dan (Wren):We love burning a fourth level spell slot.
Chris (Salvador):Yeah, to no effect.
Dan (Wren):Oh yeah.
Chris (Salvador):So he's going to see something. I'm just gonna roll for damage first. So 7 plus 9, 16. Multiple rolls for the spell 16 is 22. So from stage right through the fog, 22 points of lightning damage pierces Nim's body. As from stage the other stage. That's 9 plus that's 19. I'm so confused 24 points of rating. Damage. Like a spotlight shines on from stage left or the other stage that I said before and he's knocked prone.
Dan (Wren):What is destructive wave 2?
Chris (Salvador):So it's divine burst of energy. So it's 2 bursts. So you get one that is thunder damage and then one that's either radiant or necrotic, so it's like double damage cannon.
Timothy (DM):Okay, so you just pummel him with this force. He cannot be knocked prone because he is currently hanging from this.
Kai (Yonce):I have lots of sails.
Timothy (DM):But you do see that from the cords, he swings back into the back curtain of the stage, the black curtain and you hear that thunderous roar of the curtain shaking as he smacks into it. And then he swings back, re-grips the ground with his feet and stops himself from continuing to sway. With that, it's Nim's turn.
Dan (Wren):Oh no.
Timothy (DM):Oh, my children, this will be fun. And as he says that, you see a thunder strike or a lightning strike behind him, the room illuminates in this purple glow and the mist rises off the ground, creating a veil With a purple hue shrouding him behind it. And then you start to see shadows shifting in the dark corners of this fog. Oh fuck, it's a bit of nonsense. You see a female figure with long hair bangles dangling from their wrists. You see the maw of a cobalt, the cape billow of a short halfling.
Timothy (DM):Oh no, several other figures shifting in the fog.
Kai (Yonce):It's the straits.
Dan (Wren):Yeah, we had to fight them again, but they're shadows.
Chris (Salvador):Yeah, shadows.
Kai (Yonce):A prophecies. Never mind, you don't know my aimer.
Timothy (DM):Yanfe, what would you like to do?
Kai (Yonce):I am going to cast something different Eldrash Blast, and since I'm now level 11, I get three of them.
Timothy (DM):And what would you like to target? You can do a perception check.
Kai (Yonce):I'll do a perception check. I'll keep these rolls I already rolled, but I'll keep them over here. Okay, my perception waswait, it was seven.
Timothy (DM):Alright, mim is nowhere in sight. All you see are the shadows shifting through the clouds. I feel there's stray that you would like to target.
Kai (Yonce):I'm going to go forwell. There's three you mentioned, right.
Timothy (DM):There are others, there are all of them. They are just shifting in and out of visibility.
Kai (Yonce):I'm going to just focus it all on the one with the cape.
Russel (Upri):Alton.
Kai (Yonce):Yes, I already rolled.
Dan (Wren):But not Sassly. Get that stabby motherfucker off the stage.
Kai (Yonce):So one is a dirty 20. Another is a 23. And then the other is an 11.
Timothy (DM):You hear again that thunderous roar of the back curtain flapping. Can you give me an intelligence check? And we're going to go intelligence in sight.
Dan (Wren):Do we all roll this, seeing that?
Timothy (DM):That's not intelligence, silly me. Investigation.
Dan (Wren):Do we all do this or is it justlike do we all do this because we see it happen?
Timothy (DM):Just yancing.
Kai (Yonce):I have a 13. A 13.
Timothy (DM):Yes, what you see in the shadows of this fog is a flurry of cape, as you see Alton's figure spin around, evading the Eldritch Blasts.
Kai (Yonce):All three of them.
Timothy (DM):Yes.
Kai (Yonce):Wow, damn. Well, I guess there's nothing else I can do, so I'm done.
Timothy (DM):Upra, I just love everybody's confused as shit faces.
Kai (Yonce):I just want my Zapsporella. Is this real?
Russel (Upri):What is happening?
Russel (Upri):Hello, hello.
Timothy (DM):You call out, you know what to do.
Dan (Wren):Do we go find out? But do we just go into the fog and find out? Fuck around and find out what's happening in there?
Russel (Upri):I have no idea. I'm very confused.
Chris (Salvador):I think the director is upset, or whoever, the Liszt lady who gave the over deal.
Russel (Upri):Director, I signed your contract, we had a deal. What the fuck is this?
Chris (Salvador):You're adding shows on us now that we had to do a Sunday matinee too.
Timothy (DM):Hello, you call out waiting for a response, but get nothing.
Russel (Upri):I'll try the Daphne.
Timothy (DM):You spend your turn waiting for response.
Russel (Upri):I mean I'll just walk into the fog.
Timothy (DM):Hello. And you wander into the fog as you start to see the shadowy figures shift around you. As you spin around on the stage, you see them surrounding you.
Russel (Upri):Hey how y'all doing Maintaining a distance what?
Timothy (DM):Maintaining a distance so not to reveal their faces to you.
Russel (Upri):I'll use my bonus action to pinch myself the shadowy shape obscured by the fog. I think Upperie's just going to waste her turn wandering around confused. No weapons drawn.
Dan (Wren):I mean, you have Fern with you, right, Leave her Fern's with me right. Fern is with you.
Russel (Upri):Yeah, all right, that's my turn.
Timothy (DM):All right.
Dan (Wren):Can I, as part of my movement, put my hand on Upperie's shoulder before she goes into the fog and follow her into the fog?
Russel (Upri):Make sure we're together in the fog. You can follow Upperie in.
Dan (Wren):I will invoke the memory of Forest Daddy. To become bark-like and have a root that can slash out at things Also increases my AC, which is the main thing I'm looking to get. Heck, can I. I would like to hold my action should any of the shadowy figures get close enough, but I'm going to stick with Upperie, okay. Oh, and do I have my fancy new sword, or does that go away because it's not in the same?
Timothy (DM):It goes away.
Dan (Wren):Damn it.
Timothy (DM):You're holding everything about. The scene is the same as before.
Dan (Wren):Except our levels, except your level.
Timothy (DM):Which is not a physical thing, it's not physically manifested, but everything else about what you're holding, the weapons you have, any gear, you have what you're wearing, the theater itself, as the two of you are now on the stage, walking through this fog, you feel the wet drop of blood and as you look up, you see Meredith's feet dangling.
Kai (Yonce):You don't have to re-trigger us. This is like way too much.
Dan (Wren):Sorry, forrest Daddy, is an action, so I use my action to do that.
Timothy (DM):All right.
Dan (Wren):Can I hold a bonus action? Is that weird?
Timothy (DM):I don't actually know the answer to that. Well, I would like to, if I can.
Dan (Wren):Just to analyze whoever comes close, Like if somebody attacks me. I want to analyze them as they're attacking.
Timothy (DM):So you start to hear footsteps creaking on the wooden stage as the strays encircle. The two of you, salvador, what would you like to do?
Chris (Salvador):I'm going to hop up on stage and I'm going to cast Gust of Wind. Yes, got him.
Timothy (DM):You cast Gust of Wind.
Chris (Salvador):And it's a 60 foot by 10 foot wide blast. All right.
Timothy (DM):So you blast this Gust of Wind across the stage and you see the fog fly out into the wings of the stage and, as you do, you see the shadows of the strays whisper away, leaving the three of you standing on stage alone.
Kai (Yonce):No, I don't like this because this is where the black person gets murdered in the horror movie.
Timothy (DM):I don't fuck with that.
Kai (Yonce):Hold on All three of them on stage, and I'm still there. I've seen screen too. You know what happens to Elise Neal when she stays in the back. Yonsei looks behind.
Chris (Salvador):Who there? Who there? There's a dragon.
Timothy (DM):You hear a whisper?
Kai (Yonce):Oh, that actually kind of stuff Carried on the wind.
Timothy (DM):Yonsei.
Kai (Yonce):Yes, saddy A breeze, it's a group thing.
Timothy (DM):And then the stage falls away. The sun begins to shine overhead and you hear the tweeting of birds, the rustle of leaves and the smell of flowers besides a nearby creek.
Russel (Upri):What was in that weed?
Dan (Wren):Did we all drink something weird? Do you remember what I had? Was it just tea? Was it in the tea?
Timothy (DM):In the distance. You see Vaarn begin to approach and then Upper. You see yourself just behind them. You see the bow thrown over their shoulder and you see them dragging the deer. You feel the dread in the pit of your stomach that you felt when you heard it. Let out that yelp, the arrow plunging into its throat. Oh gosh.
Russel (Upri):This was Vaarn's first kill.
Timothy (DM):Except you're about 20 feet behind them. You look sad, you look crumpled in on yourself, vaarn trails on forward, not looking back.
Russel (Upri):That's not how it happened. Go after him. Oh, like whisper yells to myself.
Timothy (DM):And you see the two of them trail across into the woods and they disappear as the sun sets and you find yourself back on stage. Yonsei, what would you like to do?
Kai (Yonce):I would like to wake up now. I am going to cast banishment on myself.
Chris (Salvador):Perfect, I love it All right.
Timothy (DM):You cast banishment on yourself and for a moment everything fades to black. You let out a sigh of relief and blink your eyes open, fully expecting, anticipating to be back on the material plane. But instead you see the stage framed in red curtains, upry Salvador and Ren Standing confused, circling around frantically looking for your family.
Kai (Yonce):I don't like this. I don't like this.
Chris (Salvador):I feel that, similar to when we got reprimanded by the Nono zone, the anti-fun police, when we got abducted into the Nono land.
Timothy (DM):The Nono land, yes, the anti-fun police.
Russel (Upri):We're going to have to play along and perform in the sun and bleach.
Dan (Wren):But there's nobody else there but us.
Chris (Salvador):Right, there's nobody to fight.
Dan (Wren):But we can see Invisible people.
Russel (Upri):Oh, I thought we were going to have to hit each other, but yeah we could go with that, Upry give me
Dan (Wren):a perception check.
Timothy (DM):Give me.
Russel (Upri):That's nine.
Timothy (DM):You look around and you cannot find Nim or any of the other strays. Their shadows whispered away in the gust of wind.
Russel (Upri):Upry's going to like scream out we already beat you. What's the point of this? We already saved him. Go fuck yourself, you piece of shit.
Timothy (DM):Yonsei.
Kai (Yonce):Yes.
Timothy (DM):Is that what you're wearing? Echoes through your mind.
Kai (Yonce):Wait, hold up now.
Timothy (DM):Senin's voice begins to ricochet through your brain. Wow, as the scene begins to shift, on your way out to a gathering in the forest, a party, senin, stands in front of the door looking you up and down.
Kai (Yonce):I thought this would look good. It would show off my new tattoo.
Timothy (DM):It is crying too hard.
Kai (Yonce):Can you hear, yonsei? Let out this little whimper.
Timothy (DM):But it is your choice to display yourself.
Russel (Upri):Can we see this happening? Yes, Upry's going to run over and punch Senin right across the jaw.
Timothy (DM):You run up and you punch, dispelling the illusion they whisper away.
Russel (Upri):It's not real. Y'all Don't listen. You look beautiful.
Kai (Yonce):I was going to, I was, I was, I was. Tears actually about to fall out of my eye.
Russel (Upri):Dang it, you broke me out of it.
Kai (Yonce):No, no, that's good, that's good. Are you just going to see Yonsei, just like still looking where Senin was just like kind of frozen?
Russel (Upri):Did he really say that? Yeah, yeah.
Kai (Yonce):I'm going to have to have a talk with him and I just say and that's all I, that's all I do, I'm just Ren.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, make a perception check.
Dan (Wren):Let's see what is that nowadays? That is a 26.
Timothy (DM):You have been watching the scenes materialize on stage and you start to notice a slight glimmer across them, the illusions, and you notice that same glimmer on the back curtain of the stage and you realize it seems closer than it was before.
Dan (Wren):How close?
Timothy (DM):A couple feet.
Dan (Wren):How close to me.
Timothy (DM):You're in the middle of the stage.
Dan (Wren):Maybe that's 15 feet Yonsei and Uprait Nim. What kind of wizard was Nim?
Kai (Yonce):A drunk one, the one that's not problematic like in Harry Potter.
Russel (Upri):I rolled a zero.
Kai (Yonce):Wait, did you actually roll a zero?
Timothy (DM):Nim was a gnome trained in the ways of illusion. It is how he kept the strays protected.
Russel (Upri):He was the tricky kind.
Kai (Yonce):He can cast.
Dan (Wren):I thought, maybe so Can I analyze the glimmer.
Kai (Yonce):I did that last night.
Dan (Wren):I'm going to analyze the glimmer and then I'm going to throw a dagger at it, the one on stage. Can I do that?
Timothy (DM):Sorry. So what you can do is do an investigation check.
Dan (Wren):Minimum 14. That's holy shit. That is a 32?.
Timothy (DM):With your investigation, check as you examine the glimmer. You see Nim's outline Just very slightly behind the curtain, the illusory curtain Standing in front of the true back curtain.
Dan (Wren):I'm going to go for a shoulder shot with a dagger. Can I use my critical analysis to make that attack Excellent? Do I have inspiration by chance? I don't like it. It's a 12.
Timothy (DM):A 12 does not hit, unfortunately. You see that dome of blue appear in front of them. Everyone does. The dome just dips outside of the illusion enough as your dagger hits it.
Dan (Wren):Like it just bounces off or just like disappear into it and bounces off. Found him. Found who Nim Tricky right. See that sparkle on stage.
Timothy (DM):Can I point it out to everybody? Yeah, you point it out and, as you all look, do an investigation, check with advantage, because you have it pointed out to you.
Dan (Wren):He's like doing this. He's like over there he's doing this.
Russel (Upri):Seven.
Timothy (DM):I got a 15. His spell save DC is 18. Oh geez, so no one sees him.
Kai (Yonce):To add some flavor. I'm just going to look up. Actually, that's not flavor. That's why I do Flavor.
Russel (Upri):Flavor.
Dan (Wren):You see how my dagger bounced off of something.
Timothy (DM):You saw the dagger clatter to the ground, but you can't make out his outline Point.
Dan (Wren):I point directly at it. I'm going to. I have movement, I'm going to run at it and then do it. Just going to try and run straight through it.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, you do, and you find yourself face to face with Nim him hanging there with a little smirk.
Dan (Wren):So I'm going to get close enough to see him all of a sudden.
Timothy (DM):Oh yeah, if you run through the illusion, he's like right behind the illusion, you'll run face to face. And yeah, you run through the illusion.
Dan (Wren):He's going to run. Great, I'm going to stand in the illusion then. So you were on the other side of the illusion.
Timothy (DM):Salvador, what would you like to do?
Chris (Salvador):I saw a run disappear.
Dan (Wren):I'm going to run after him.
Timothy (DM):You again run through the illusion.
Dan (Wren):You just knocking me over.
Timothy (DM):That's not a mechanical thing, but I do love that imagery. So you run through the curtain as well and you find yourself on the other side of the illusion. Nim standing there with that giant smirk on his face, ren standing like face to face. You're right behind them. I'm going to try to grapple him Alright. And you tackle, make an unarmed attack strike.
Chris (Salvador):Come on, baby. Nope, I got six, or no? Do I add my proficiency to unarmed attacks? No, it's just a six.
Timothy (DM):Unfortunately, he is going to lift up over you. I was going to say he ducks but the cords, so he lifts up over you and just hops on to the other side of you and then he is going to. Is that your turn?
Chris (Salvador):Yeah, I'm going to use my bonus action to move the gust of wind to be with me behind the curtain Gorgeous so as I think there's also something around that as well.
Timothy (DM):Wait. So you use the bonus action to do what?
Chris (Salvador):I can move gust of wind, I can change his trajectory and I think that has some effect on whoever is in the sight of it. Any creature in line must spend. It's like they have to spend additional movement. Each creature that starts to turn in line with it has to do a strength saving throw or push 15 feet away.
Timothy (DM):Gorgeous. Okay, so he's going to do a strength saving throw. Does a 15. I think it's just a 15, but let me check 15.
Chris (Salvador):14. Ooh, not strong, so he gets pushed away On to the back to center stage, back to center stage.
Timothy (DM):Okay, so you see now the two of you see Nym shoot through the illusion blown across and as he does that, he is going to continue on that direction and grab up-re by the arm and cast Shocking Grasp on you.
Timothy (DM):That's so mean it is so mean, isn't it? He does, and this 12 does not hit, does it? Nope, alright. So he casts Shocking Grasp. You feel this like tingling sensation travel up your arm and then you see he turns into a mist and blips away. Then you hear footsteps running across the catwalk of you. As you look up, yance, you see Nym running across the catwalk. What?
Kai (Yonce):do, you do.
Russel (Upri):What is that?
Russel (Upri):It's just like oh gosh, just a little fee. This is a nightmare.
Dan (Wren):It's truly, truly a nightmare.
Kai (Yonce):I'm over this. I'm going to cast Banishment. I actually know. Well, let's have fun.
Timothy (DM):Nope, you can cast Banishment. Go for it.
Kai (Yonce):Alright, I'm going to cast Banishment.
Timothy (DM):He's going to counter I'm kidding, I'm not going to cast Banishment.
Kai (Yonce):I'm going to cast Fifth level Whoa.
Dan (Wren):What level do you cast at nowadays?
Timothy (DM):It's still at the fifth level, Okay so he's going to cast the fifth level and counters it, it's just done.
Russel (Upri):Ooh, I'm going to get you, I know Counter spell is very edgy climactic.
Timothy (DM):It's just like oh done Counter spell, oh Guess you got to try harder. What a meme.
Kai (Yonce):You're going to see.
Timothy (DM):Uprate, it's your turn.
Russel (Upri):How far away is Nym?
Timothy (DM):So he's catwalks. That's 20 feet up into the air.
Russel (Upri):Perfect. You know what? This can't be real. I'm going to rage. Ooh, it happens. I roll twice and I pick which one I want.
Dan (Wren):Oh, is that a new.
Russel (Upri):No, this I've had. Cool, cool, cool Fern becomes infused with magical energy and now has the thrown property and just comes back to me after I throw her. So then I just take both arms and I just throw Fern.
Timothy (DM):Alright, I'm going to attack roll, yeah, oh, that's exciting. Oh my gosh, that's just a giant hammer.
Russel (Upri):Just like overhead.
Timothy (DM):Spinning.
Russel (Upri):Nat 20. Nat 20?.
Timothy (DM):Oh yeah, okay, that'll hit.
Chris (Salvador):Rain, that damn.
Timothy (DM):He's out of reactions. Roll that crit damage.
Kai (Yonce):I can just hear the thud what.
Russel (Upri):Yeah, you just go whoa 22 bludgeoning damage as Fern slams into him and then just winks back into my hands.
Dan (Wren):Wow, is that from your surge?
Kai (Yonce):Right, nice, come on, malinor. Whatever the name of that Thor's Hammer is so you are.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, yeah, gonna. I'm gonna just say he gets knocked off the catwalk, falls 20 feet onto the stage, so I am gonna roll that damage as well.
Russel (Upri):Yeah, I don't know how high his chances are it's like a black box theater with that. Yeah, yeah.
Chris (Salvador):With a very short catwalk.
Timothy (DM):I don't know he is gonna take an additional six points of damage as he falls, not prone cause. He's immune to prone down onto the stage. And that brings us to Ren.
Dan (Wren):Ren will run out of the illusion back onto stage and Ren's gonna kneel down and put his hand on the ground and those who can see I don't know if you can see backwards through the illusion, I'm not sure.
Timothy (DM):At this point, everybody's run through the illusion and it's dropped Gotcha okay.
Dan (Wren):You. Everybody sees the bark, cause I've got bark skin now cause I have forest daddied up Like starts to pull away from my skin and onto the ground and the root or vine that was on, attached to me like attaches to the floor. Instead, I have to make a constitution, save as I dismember this thing from me 19, er, what is that?
Kai (Yonce):37.
Dan (Wren):No 25. Close. Cause it could do damage to me as I do that, but I'm going to release it from me. So now it's just its own entity on the ground, and then I'm going to meld form with him.
Timothy (DM):Ooh Alright, what do we gotta do for meld form?
Dan (Wren):You gotta tell me what I get.
Timothy (DM):Um. So how? What is the flavor language for meld form?
Dan (Wren):Let's see. Um, here we are. You gain an attribute of the target creature, resulting in a temporary feature per the DM's discretion. If the attribute results in a manifestation of an extra appendage based on, like, a creature's attack, this appendage operates on its own. I doubt that'll be the case here. Um, it shares initiative. Um, yeah, the rest is about to be appendage.
Timothy (DM):Alright, so this is going to be an innate feature of Nim? Oh, yes.
Kai (Yonce):So he carries a purse. So now you have a purse.
Chris (Salvador):The purse just shows up on my side. It's a fanny pack. It's a known purse.
Timothy (DM):A fanny pack of whole things I'm currently looking at racial traits um, because that's going to be innate to his abilities.
Russel (Upri):You get darkfishing. You're fully darkfishing now.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, that's actually going to be a really bad um pull of abilities to gain.
Chris (Salvador):You could be like a tinker, because gnomes are tinkers.
Russel (Upri):And then depending on which gnome you can get proficiency in tinker's tools.
Timothy (DM):You're just like aww, I'm crafty, now Wait.
Dan (Wren):But also, but also he's puppet.
Russel (Upri):He's puppet-nim so and forest gnome can speak with animals once per day right, that's fun Is that, I don't know.
Timothy (DM):Or is it only Builders Gate?
Russel (Upri):It can fuse the fuck out of me now it's ruined everything, but like essentially you're not getting anything that's useful in this moment.
Dan (Wren):Could it be like one of the? I'm thinking like illusion spells or something.
Timothy (DM):I am looking, I'm looking, I'm looking Um I can't turn invisible, maybe Advantage on intelligence, wisdom and saving charisma.
Chris (Salvador):Saving throws against magic. Okay this is what it's going to be.
Timothy (DM):Okay. So as you do that, you are going to gain his illusory self ability. So once per short rest you can create an illusory duplicate of yourself. That's not a once per short rest you have to use your ability to pull it back out but is an illusory duplicate. When a creature makes an attack roll against you, you can use your reaction to interpose the duplicate between the attacker and yourself. The attack automatically misses you. Then the illusion dissipates.
Dan (Wren):Gotcha, so that's like a one-time thing.
Timothy (DM):Any time. Well, yeah, it does it one time. If you use your ability again, you can do it multiple times per day, but that could hurt me a lot Because you're doing what is it called recall form or something like that Um what is it called Molded memory?
Timothy (DM):Molded memory. So if you use your molded memory, you can pull any of your like any of your melded form abilities back out at any point. You just have to use that ability to do it, and then it is a one-time illusion that pulls up and causes a failure of an attack. Gotcha, um, alright, so yeah, that is what you get, and so it is going to man us fast as self right now, as an illusory duplicate that the next time somebody makes an attack roll on you, that becomes is going to automatically fail.
Dan (Wren):Gotcha Cool, excellent, fine, that's fine. I like that.
Timothy (DM):Alright, that brings us to Salvador.
Chris (Salvador):So I'm going to pop out from the curtain, or step beyond the illusory curtain. I'm going to go center stage, where Nim is on near the ground. Right, he's not proud, but he's not, yeah, he's basically center stage now. So I'm going to speak out to the audience. I'm going to say you say that my God doesn't answer me, but would a fake God do this? And I'm going to cast Guarding of the Faith and I say Tau, send out the Bruisers. And a large spectral windmill with legs, but it has two blades, so it's just like two opposite veins and it's going to. I need Nim to do a dexterity saving throw.
Kai (Yonce):I was really hoping it was going to be like legally blonde until a bunch of like chihuahuas bring out the Bruisers.
Chris (Salvador):Just a swarm of chihuahuas, Exactly. Which is honestly worse Dexterity, say you said.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, okay, dexterity is going to be 16 plus one for 17.
Chris (Salvador):So he meets it. So he's going to take half damage. He takes 10 points of radiant damage.
Timothy (DM):All right. So this windmill starts like chopping into the air around him and you can hear it slicing at the cords. The metal starts to twing as strands are starting to break. All right, that is time for Nim. It's going to attack us. Huh, it's going to attack us. As you again see the stage fade away, you find yourself in a prison Rose of bars. Each one of you can find in your own space.
Kai (Yonce):This is a musical episode. This is giving Chicago Come on, sell pop tango.
Timothy (DM):Besides you, you see again another form of yourself, curled up into a ball in the corner of her cell, sobbing to herself. She has a small blanket too small for her, something sized for a human, just slightly wrapped over her shoulder. She tries to pull it down to cover her middrift, as you see her shivering in the cold.
Russel (Upri):And I'm the only one that can see this.
Timothy (DM):Everybody can see this. Oh, but it is placed right next to you in the cell besides you.
Russel (Upri):So I can see through bars another me, yeah.
Chris (Salvador):Uppery, were you ever in jail?
Russel (Upri):Yeah, but that's not what this is. This was where the director kept me Five full years in there. I don't know what else to say about this.
Timothy (DM):It's not out it did. The memory is odd to you because you see Alton's face press up against the bar. You see the cage the director kept you in was so oddly reminiscent of that prison you spent the night in years ago.
Russel (Upri):Regular jail.
Timothy (DM):This is a regular jail. You're remembering now that there were almost a replica of that prison that you spent when you were younger, and you remember why you were there as a child. All right, so we're going to remind.
Dan (Wren):We love forgetting backstory.
Russel (Upri):Just like backstory.
Timothy (DM):So this is the time you spent the night in jail after getting caught stealing with Alton. Alton slipped away, but you were caught. You remember Alton getting you out the next morning. But as you look through a sliver of a window near the cells, you see the sun rising on Alton's face, pressed up against the bar. I'm going to leave you here up pre. You failed, maybe next time you'll be better. And then you see their face press away from the bar. They throw up their cape, spin on point and walk down the long hallway out of the prison, leaving up pre curled up in a ball in the corner of the prison, shivering and sobbing.
Dan (Wren):Did Alton actually?
Russel (Upri):do that to you. No, no, they got me out. I think they're probably some drinking of all. That's why there's memory little. But like I don't know what the redirector is trying to do, this is really weird.
Chris (Salvador):They're trying to rewrite the story to manipulate you. Was that the director, though I?
Dan (Wren):thought, maybe it was Nim. I mean Nim is casting it. But who brought us here?
Russel (Upri):I mean like the person that we all heard in our head was not the director right?
Dan (Wren):It's a different voice than the director used before.
Timothy (DM):No, Salvador recognizes this voice.
Russel (Upri):Do the yes.
Dan (Wren):I had a theory, and that theory was just confirmed.
Kai (Yonce):I don't know what it is still, but I want to play along Continue.
Dan (Wren):Who's turn is it?
Timothy (DM):Oh, Nancy, what would you like to do?
Kai (Yonce):I am going to. Am I behind bars or I'm just?
Timothy (DM):Oh yes, Each of you is in a cell of your own.
Kai (Yonce):I'm going to grab the bar and say he had it coming.
Timothy (DM):He had it coming. He had it coming all along.
Kai (Yonce):I am actually going to. Can I see something? What do I see outside the bars?
Timothy (DM):Other cells along hallway to a sturdy iron reinforced wooden door.
Kai (Yonce):All right, I'm going to do this, I'm going to look at everything like this is in real. This is just an illusion. This is just an illusion and I'm going to shoot three Eldris Blast.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, if you would like to do an investigation, check to see through the illusion. Yes, I would like to do that At this point you all can do that at any time you're suspecting of an illusion.
Dan (Wren):Oh no, I rolled a five, which is constantly, that's an 18.
Timothy (DM):Yes, on your turn. Sorry, I was like wow, don't colonize my turn, please.
Kai (Yonce):That is a 16.
Timothy (DM):He has a DC of 18.
Kai (Yonce):Wait, hold up. But I have a bonus thing. Yeah, it's called pack of the Dallas talisman, so I can add a D four.
Timothy (DM):Oh roll that D four.
Kai (Yonce):And it's a two so technically that's enough, all right?
Timothy (DM):So the illusion starts to fade away and you see the true world around you. You're still on the stage and Nim is just smiling, right where you saw the curled up uppery.
Kai (Yonce):Perfect. With that I'm going to use raw Lulithim psychic lance All right. I'm going to, and that requires an intelligence intelligence of 16, intelligence, save of 16.
Timothy (DM):All right, oh my gosh what they have a plus 10. I'm going to start out by saying that I rolled a 15. Well, so they are going to fail that intelligence. Save on your psychic lance, Wait.
Kai (Yonce):Oh, they're not using an attack roll against me. They may not get full damage if this is half the damage. No, they failed.
Timothy (DM):They failed your say they failed, so you do full damage.
Chris (Salvador):Wait, you got 15 total.
Timothy (DM):You got 15 total.
Kai (Yonce):Oh yeah, I thought you said they have 15, so it was like 20. No, nope, nope.
Dan (Wren):Good, because this is 86. Yeah.
Kai (Yonce):And I'm going to hold on, I'm going to roll. Do you want a dish? Yes, I want a dish. Oh, per 86.
Timothy (DM):Okay Per.
Kai (Yonce):I got to do math.
Timothy (DM):Okay, okay. I have a number in my head of what you got to hit to one shot.
Kai (Yonce):I got 30 psychic damage or whatever damage it is, and I'm going to add, as I'm doing that, as I see them, I'm going to do like a, you know, like one of those flips, that, but not with my hand and I, because the, the lance comes out of your forehead and I just I do a flip, I land perfectly and I just shoot it at him. Wow, I'm sick of these games.
Timothy (DM):So as the illusion of the prison cell drops and you see his snickering self hovering next to a pre, you do your flip, you fling your psychic lance. It shoots at him, hit some square in the third eye and you see all the cords snap. The illusion drops for everyone and the twang of the metal snapping cords ricochets through the auditorium as his body is thrown to the ground. Did I?
Kai (Yonce):just want to throw it.
Timothy (DM):You wake up in a cold sweat. Huh, huh, and that is where we're going to go on a little break. Where is your old brain today? All right, we will be back in five minutes, listeners and I am going to put on our little break, and then we'll be back in a minute.
Russel (Upri):I mean real quick. Okay, there we are. That was close.
Russel (Upri):Okay.
Timothy (DM):All right. So before our break we had a interesting encounter that kind of came out of nowhere, and then we woke up in a cold sweat. Each of you is in a bed in their own room and you see a crocheted blanket, a pillow under your head and the smell of lavender.
Kai (Yonce):Wait on our head or behind?
Timothy (DM):our head Okay.
Kai (Yonce):I'm trying to kill us.
Timothy (DM):And as you catch your breath, wait for your heart to slow down.
Dan (Wren):I'm going to draw my weapons. I don't know where I am.
Timothy (DM):You remember the day that you just had, which brings us back to several hours before as you get into the room, in Daphne's living room, discussing the Titans, the upcoming war, the colt, asking her many, many questions. And then we had where is my Saspirilla? As the door opens and Sarah emerges holding two bottles of two glass bottles of Saspirilla and a bottle of white wine. He glides in, he goes oh Daphne, you haven't skipped a head again, have you? Here's your Saspirilla, darling.
Kai (Yonce):I'm going to walk and be like, oh, I like the enchanted forest kind, but this is, this will do when I walk away.
Dan (Wren):Wait so out of character where are we in the timeline? What happened?
Timothy (DM):No, I just skipped forward and then came backwards.
Russel (Upri):So at this point in time, our characters haven't had the dream yet. That's happening later.
Timothy (DM):Yes, okay.
Russel (Upri):Sorry, that's what I thought.
Russel (Upri):But then Sarah made a time travel joke.
Timothy (DM):I'm really scared Thematically, it just felt better. That's pretty par for the course around here, I, you all seem like you've been. You seem a little out of it. Has Daphne been explaining everything? Just fine?
Kai (Yonce):No.
Russel (Upri):Hold on to my son.
Timothy (DM):Why don't you show them? It's usually better that way, anyways, oh, you're right, if you all don't mind, would you like to go on a little journey so I can show you what I have been trying to explain? I might need a little help getting up, but yeah, I think I can walk. Oh, no, no, no, no, not physical, Not a physical journey, Transcendental. And honestly it might help a little bit if you all put hook, but only if you would like to. It just helps the experience.
Russel (Upri):I know the times where the roach, having smoked, the whole.
Dan (Wren):Thing.
Timothy (DM):Naturally.
Dan (Wren):Take the rest of it, you got another.
Timothy (DM):And Ceryl opens the box, pulls out another joint, lights it with his finger and holds it out to whoever would like to take it. I'll be reached as far as Wait, wait, it's like your hand.
Dan (Wren):That's someone else for us.
Timothy (DM):He offers it to Ceryl.
Chris (Salvador):I take it, I have a white wine on the other hand, yeah.
Dan (Wren):So just yeah, don't. Oh, you're just gonna, that's a Good luck.
Kai (Yonce):I will also partake Like where I used telekinesis, because now I have that.
Dan (Wren):Oh, you just float.
Russel (Upri):I'm about to go to sleep, so either way it doesn't matter.
Kai (Yonce):So I mean, sorry, I'm in character, Sure, and I just move it. I'm like, well, that's new.
Dan (Wren):And I'm just like Wait, did that just happen, or am I seeing things now? Really strong stuff.
Kai (Yonce):Wait, pass that back over here, and I use magic.
Dan (Wren):Oh yes.
Russel (Upri):Wow, it's working already.
Chris (Salvador):It takes a couple of lives to grab it.
Dan (Wren):There we go.
Timothy (DM):All right. When do I exhale? It's nail now nail. All right. Find yourself a comfortable position.
Dan (Wren):The grins asleep on the floor. Does she have a cat?
Timothy (DM):There's like five cats.
Dan (Wren):Oh, great you start.
Timothy (DM):You've seen them slinking around the corners of the room as you've been having this conversation and then this gray one with short hair, a little white, tough under its chin, rubs up against your ankle.
Dan (Wren):I'm just going to lay down on the floor with this cat.
Timothy (DM):And it starts to purr as it nuzzles up against your cheek and then curls up into a ball in the crevice of your neck.
Kai (Yonce):Perfect, I'm going to lay on this. It's a sleep, sorry. I'm going to lay on the sheath's lounge. I'm going to look sexy while doing it.
Dan (Wren):It's curled up in the fetal position with the cat.
Russel (Upri):Also on the floor on a pillow. I feel like I'm on a couch, but I'm cuddling firm and we both have our sun hats. There's just two sun hats like clipping each other. I'm listening.
Timothy (DM):All right, we will proceed. And then you hear the ringing of a bell Ding Ding Ding.
Kai (Yonce):Come on inside timer, that's good to highlight.
Timothy (DM):As you all start to fade away and Daphne's voice begins to ring throughout your head. Now Keep yourselves open to this experience and I will guide you. It is perfectly safe. These are but mere visions. They can do you no harm. You may find some of the images and sounds to be jarring, but remember to stay tethered to my voice and nothing can hurt you.
Timothy (DM):And with a rush of wind, you feel your body falling down, down, down the rush of air blasting past you as you see a mountain approaching. You're falling down to the ground and you see a tower, crooked, disheveled, the stones chipped and broken, spiraling up into the sky to reach the peak of this mountain. And at the base of this is a valley. You see little dots like ants in the droves, in little blocks, so orderly and nice. And as you fall, faster and faster and faster, you start to hear the murmur of noises echoing out of this valley. And then you come to a halt.
Timothy (DM):You're close enough now to see the hoods, the black hoods, their shadowed faces, people wearing cloaks in rows, as someone stands on a podium in front of them. You can't quite make out the words from this distance, but you hear the voice booming across the valley, reverberating off the stone of the mountains and echoing up into the sky. And then you see a bolt of light shoot up above this figure and you see, in a glowing purple light, the sigil of the silence, an eyeball set atop a set of lips with a line through them. This is the sunken tower today, these forces have grown beyond what I had originally fathomed to be possible. The numbers that have been recruited are in the thousands, if not the tens of thousands, sprinkled all over Averfear and the lands beyond. This is where I believe the final stand will take place. The cult mounts its defenses.
Russel (Upri):Who's leading?
Chris (Salvador):them.
Timothy (DM):There are many figureheads, but I believe them only to be avatars of the void. Their pyre forms disfigured and displaced. And then you see the image of a tentacled face flash before you, the black, viscous ooze dripping off the tendrils around what should be a mouth. It seems we are too late to skirt this force, and we must be prepared to take it head on lest the titans make their way through.
Chris (Salvador):They're going to pop up here at the sunken tower.
Timothy (DM):That is where, I believe, the rift will open.
Kai (Yonce):Why is, whenever there's the end of the world, something there's always next to a damn tower?
Dan (Wren):Towers are dramatic like that.
Kai (Yonce):That's me being high, by the way.
Timothy (DM):Feel this epicenter of energy centred on this place, the image of a star, seven points, and then you see it flash before you, this seven pointed star Lit up at each of the intersections of the lines, the center glowing tower. Now we will travel 50 miles east of here and then you whip through the sky.
Kai (Yonce):Wind is blowing past you.
Timothy (DM):As you see the port of Entropolis start to draw into sight and you fly beyond it into the city of Entropolis. It's sturdy, stone, windowless towers, a wall and large, heavy structures, and you see and hear the soldiers marching through the streets in blocks. You see the inhabitants of Entropolis closing their doors as they flee from sight, and you see the banners of Preah and Pudicham hung from every structure. The gold beam of light. This is only the beginning for the order. In many situations inversions of my visions they do eventually direct their energies towards the silence, but it is only with your guidance that this comes to pass. And then you feel yourself ripped up back into the sky as your stomach plummets.
Timothy (DM):And now you float in the darkness of a shattered planet torn asunder, floating in the dark abyss of the void. And then the visions fade. You feel the warmth of the fireplace, the crackling of the embers and the smell of petruly as your eyes begin to open.
Chris (Salvador):Do you do this all the time, Daphne? Is this what?
Russel (Upri):it's always like yeah is this why you ramble when you talk?
Russel (Upri):to us.
Timothy (DM):I wish they were always that calm. I did my best to keep you at a higher level, to give you an overview, not to mess yourselves in the details. It can all be a bit overwhelming the first time, but again, this is why I have asked you to come here. I believe that these visions will become more and more fruitful as we work together to unveil them, but it will be a process.
Russel (Upri):So, in layman's terms, we're going to get one to find the other.
Timothy (DM):There are many forces at play in the days to come. Those are merely two of the most prominent.
Russel (Upri):Because I don't know much about stuff outside being changed for us. But isn't the order like not great.
Dan (Wren):They're not great, yeah they're bad people.
Russel (Upri):I could just be high. But we somehow get the order to find the silence and then whoever's left after one kills the other. We kill them, and then the world is better off.
Kai (Yonce):But also the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Russel (Upri):Until they kill that enemy, and then we betray them.
Kai (Yonce):Drink some water Upper.
Chris (Salvador):This is the art of war.
Russel (Upri):She just starts reaching out.
Russel (Upri):I'll just drink this water and I'll grab the wine from sale. Oh wow, this is spicy. So what Daphne is?
Timothy (DM):trying to say is that she foresees there being many options with the many players that are to take part in the days to come.
Kai (Yonce):Excuse me, sirro, can you not mansplain?
Chris (Salvador):Demsplain.
Timothy (DM):I apologize, it's okay, jan.
Russel (Upri):I don't need the mansplain in round nine.
Kai (Yonce):As you are, and I lay back on the couch.
Russel (Upri):Can you be a deer and go get a chalkboard? Start round nine.
Dan (Wren):Oh sorry, I guess Daphne or Cyril, since you seem to know a lot. Is there a situation where we don't ally ourselves with the order and things turn out okay, oh plenty.
Timothy (DM):It's less so that you must ally with the order and more that, without your direction, they will instead take this opportunity to wage war on all of the magic in world.
Russel (Upri):Yeah, so we don't just have to save the world, we also have to make sure the world ain't fucked after we save it.
Timothy (DM):Precisely, and that is why I have gotten you all tickets to an upcoming masquerade. We have a charity bar happening here in the underkeep and I think it would be a great opportunity for you to solicit regional resources beyond your time spent here in the underkeep soliciting the conclave and the council. There are many allies or enemies to be gained.
Russel (Upri):It's a good thing. I'm so charming and you got that new hat. Oh yeah, can I wear this? I don't think this would work with a masquerade, don't you worry.
Timothy (DM):I have. A stylist Taking some time and energy to collect some funds to assist in your endeavors here Shopping. I would like you each to take this as a small portion of what I am able to assist with and use it to equip yourselves however you see fit. And he unlatches a satin pouch from his belt and hands it over to Yonsei.
Russel (Upri):Oh.
Timothy (DM):In it you will find 5, sorry 4,000 gold that I have managed to raise for or cause in the days preceding your arrival. We have some allies already that have been able to provide. We will need much more in order to combat the forces that you have just witnessed and make your way to the sunken tower to prevent a cataclysm.
Kai (Yonce):So you're saying shopping will save the world?
Timothy (DM):In this instance, it really will. It will be one of many steps on the venture to saving the world.
Chris (Salvador):It's the domino effect of go shopping, save the world.
Timothy (DM):So please use it wisely. We have a masquerade in three weeks.
Dan (Wren):Three weeks. Three weeks, so many Christmas.
Timothy (DM):That you will have to prepare yourself for. I have been doing extensive research on the participants of the party and will be able to point you in the direction of people I believe most fruitful should we convince them to align with us. In the meantime, we will be working with Daphne to pull apart the layers of her visions in the evenings and on the day. I impart on you the importance of seeking out the obscurator, the ascension and the council of majors to see if we can solicit their support. The wizards and source users of the underkeep are very strictly aligned with one of those three organizations.
Chris (Salvador):How would you say that the city is broken down in terms of their alliances? Council of majors is the biggest.
Timothy (DM):Well, the council oversees the workings of the underkeep itself. So there is much overlap between well, everybody supports the council in one way or another, their elected officials. Their approval ratings might not be 100% all of the time, but the vast majority of source weavers support their existence and we all financially support their endeavours. When it comes to the conclave, on the other hand, most source users are strontially aligned with one or the other, as they are in direct opposition, dogmatically.
Kai (Yonce):Dogma. I don't know why I said it like that.
Timothy (DM):You may find both to be a little abrasive in their endeavours. That is all I wanted to say but they are very powerful and they have many numbers behind them, as well as money, resources, sorcerers, and I believe them to be the true guiding force beyond this conflict, and it is their successes that will also determine where we land on the other side of this.
Dan (Wren):Sounds like side quest time.
Chris (Salvador):Who do you prefer to deal with in your day to day?
Timothy (DM):I would rather not impart my opinion, as to avoid dissuading you from potential options.
Chris (Salvador):Okay, teacher, all right.
Timothy (DM):Now it could be incredibly tricky, but there is a potential that both of them will be sympathetic to our cause. This is the fate of the world that we are talking about.
Dan (Wren):You want to die.
Timothy (DM):Join our team. Just be prepared for a game of chicken.
Kai (Yonce):I love chicken. Me too, and we fade to black.
Russel (Upri):Or we black out. Yeah, we black out.
Timothy (DM):All right. Well, daphne is going to have to take a rest now. I can see her fading already, but if you don't mind, I can show you your rooms for the evening, where you will find, hopefully, a comfortable space to spend the night and the next three weeks plus, as you are here in the city.
Dan (Wren):What time is it?
Timothy (DM):It's about mid to late afternoon.
Dan (Wren):Drinking time.
Kai (Yonce):Is there a bar or a club that?
Dan (Wren):we can go to. Are we going for like a ntsvive?
Kai (Yonce):or I'm going for a shh, not a blop, blop. I have the faintest idea what you're talking about there.
Timothy (DM):But if you would like, there is actually a speakeasy in the arcane garden. It's a little. It's a little bit more of a queer. No, everywhere here is queer, but there are a little more on the pretentious side. So you might need to change it close to get past the guard at the front door. But if you are here for a more casual evening, you can find yourselves in the center of the common quarters. There is a bar called pennies.
Kai (Yonce):Let's go. I want to see you. Salvador hooks up with another bartender.
Dan (Wren):I love this game.
Timothy (DM):Now if you would also like to talk to Alice, or oh right, they're here too, your friends.
Dan (Wren):Are conjoined boyfriends.
Timothy (DM):They are staying at the university, which you are also welcome to check out. The university is a wonderful place, fought with knowledge and energetic spirits.
Chris (Salvador):Lots of choices.
Timothy (DM):Truly, the city is your oyster. You find a pearl.
Kai (Yonce):Oh gosh.
Timothy (DM):With that, I am going to have to bid you farewell for the evening as well. I will check in periodically and I will see you tomorrow evening. I will be working at the university during the day.
Dan (Wren):I have a nice evening. Daphne good rest, have a good rest.
Chris (Salvador):So should we do some planning? Where do you, if we're prepping for the masquerade ball, is this like a city-wide event or is this like upper crust only?
Timothy (DM):Oh, purely upper crust. I don't like the crust.
Russel (Upri):Do we need tickets zero or can you?
Timothy (DM):I've already gotten your invitations.
Kai (Yonce):Do we need fake names?
Timothy (DM):No, absolutely not. Are you on the run?
Kai (Yonce):Well, you didn't have to say like that but no, we're not.
Timothy (DM):Nope, I have gotten your invitations. Share your names with a substantial donation. That is how one does get invitation to these types of events.
Chris (Salvador):Indeed, maybe should we scope out that snooty bar first. I guess we can work our way up.
Dan (Wren):You want a fancy boyfriend. This time what I had.
Chris (Salvador):Keeping. We'll see how things roll. I would vote for panties.
Russel (Upri):Yeah, let's start with panties. I don't know if my sun hats can get me into the other one.
Dan (Wren):Probably not. We're going to go shopping tomorrow for some nicer clothing, though. It seems like we're going to need it for the masquerade anyways.
Russel (Upri):Let's go. Do I get to wear the race?
Chris (Salvador):Yeah, yeah if you would. We just have to carry a steamer trunk behind us with all our various disguises.
Kai (Yonce):We'll make sure that the paneling on your chest is sheer, so you can still see the six pack.
Russel (Upri):Oh yeah, oh, something lacy maybe.
Kai (Yonce):All right the panties, we go.
Timothy (DM):All right, have a wonderful time.
Kai (Yonce):You're not going to show, okay, well, bye, no.
Timothy (DM):I am unfortunately exhausted from today, so I will see you tomorrow.
Dan (Wren):So drop our bags off in our rooms.
Kai (Yonce):Exactly. All right, well, let's go.
Chris (Salvador):All right, hey so after dropping your bags.
Timothy (DM):For those of you who have them in your rooms, you do recognize the beds as the beds that you woke up in in your dream.
Dan (Wren):Oh, wait what.
Chris (Salvador):Is it a what to opera or what to?
Dan (Wren):No, I'm so confused on the timeline of when our dream battle with name happened.
Chris (Salvador):It happens at the end of the day, but we did it beforehand.
Dan (Wren):But how do we remember it? I don't know If it happened yet.
Russel (Upri):Oh, we're not there yet. We're still at the bar.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, but you do remember it, the bed you have this like weird deja vu moment, when you see the beds.
Russel (Upri):Oh, the reversity, yeah.
Dan (Wren):The reversity, the drive-in moment, where you see something that you've seen before, but it's like the future.
Russel (Upri):Yeah, that word I understand, but no, I'm thinking of something else.
Chris (Salvador):The other thing I'm thinking is that you've seen something that you've never seen before, which we have seen it before, but we have seen it before. So it is exactly deja vu If we all just walk into it, huh.
Dan (Wren):Put our stuff down, walk away.
Russel (Upri):Oh we recognize the rooms.
Dan (Wren):From a future memory that hasn't happened yet. I'm dreaming nonsense over here, yeah.
Russel (Upri):I just open the door of my room and that looks nice and then I walk out because I don't have belongings Sal's searching through this is my room right, oh wait.
Chris (Salvador):This is the first time we've all had individual rooms.
Russel (Upri):Yeah.
Chris (Salvador):Sal searches through his books and he goes back to the journals that he found in the malaria that Alice had made and he finds a seven-pointed star from one of those pages and this is what it looks like and that's very curious because that was a glowing symbol in the sky at the-.
Russel (Upri):Yeah.
Timothy (DM):I don't have any information-.
Chris (Salvador):What does the text say on the points? So it has different elements. So there's force, spirit, earth, water, body, mind and air. And then there's text underneath that says imbue the seven-white candles, which is reminiscent of some other weird cult-y practices that happened in that town to lock the town, Sort of like a mini-cosm of the time cycle that the Titans have, and then another one to make a giant brain.
Dan (Wren):Which we I don't know sent into the void. I don't remember exactly what happened to it.
Chris (Salvador):Yeah, remi, ate that brain.
Dan (Wren):Yeah, remi ate the brain, Don't worry about it, okay.
Chris (Salvador):But did you tell us about when you saw Alice on the cliff overlooking the destruction?
Russel (Upri):Or is that just uprees? I can't remember. I don't think so.
Chris (Salvador):Okay, so-.
Dan (Wren):To the bar or yeah, are we so Daphne's asleep, so we have a little bit of private time. I hope Can't she listen to us in her sleep, maybe.
Dan (Wren):So we want to do a bit of a problem, because if we side with the as we're walking this is the conversation I'll have as we're walking If we side with the order and use the order to defeat the silence and then figure out the order business after that you know full destruction. Let's stop that from happening first and then figure out how to you know geopolitical nonsense, then we aren't releasing the Titans, which puts Uppery in a bit of a pickle, because you did sign a contract.
Russel (Upri):Oh yeah, but like, if they release, they can't do nothing right.
Dan (Wren):It seems like the director does have the power to take Meredith back. That is the-, that is the will be the case.
Chris (Salvador):it seems like, if we do not, I wonder if we are able to make friends with a high level wizard we could make ah Monculous or some sort of other way of keeping a copy of Meredith.
Russel (Upri):What if? And I don't know nothing about magic, so she just comes out of me sometimes. Yeah, yeah, but like I don't really do nothing that just happens. We, like the Titans come out, but then we so then that then fulfills that line of the claws and then we trap them somewhere else Like a bag of holding.
Dan (Wren):We have the void on top of the wall where they come out. So you break the wall and they are just like, ooh, I'm here. And then into the void they go.
Russel (Upri):Oh, so they're not in the void? No, I don't think so. That's not where the wall is.
Dan (Wren):They're in like their own pocket universe. As far as I understand, is that right?
Russel (Upri):So what if we what if we I mean, you don't know.
Dan (Wren):It hasn't been explained. Oh yeah, it's not we don't know.
Russel (Upri):It's like you know, like when you see some gestures do this at bars, where, like, they take a bottle of water that's full of those plastic beads and they put the bar, the bottle of water on top and then the beads that flow up, or we do that, but the beads of the Titans.
Dan (Wren):In up into the void.
Russel (Upri):Or whatever like a pocket dimension.
Dan (Wren):What bar have?
Russel (Upri):you been to, you know it's one called.
Timothy (DM):Tiktok in the oh.
Dan (Wren):It's where all the mailman squirrels gather after hours speaking cockney to each other.
Kai (Yonce):Yeah yeah, I do love the Tiktok, very short hours.
Dan (Wren):That is a potential. We would need a very powerful wizard to do that. I imagine trapping pseudo gods I would call them demi gods and tricking them into another plane.
Russel (Upri):Well, do we have to trick them? Are there any that like aren't assholes? Are they all kind of like-?
Dan (Wren):Not that we've met. Mine is a I'm sure they can hear me Mine's an asshole. You a god, a demigod. Yeah, we're all connected to our own Titan Mine doesn't socialize.
Russel (Upri):Oh, but like that's what those y'all do. Non-titan demigod is what I was.
Dan (Wren):Oh no, I'm talking. I am assuming I associate demigodness with the Titans.
Russel (Upri):Like.
Dan (Wren):Titans are a level of god.
Russel (Upri):Well, if they are demigods, shouldn't they have a mom on data? That we can call and like, tell on them it feels like a I guess in the classical sense. Yes, they had to have made enemies. If they're real, so are the other ones, right?
Dan (Wren):I mean, but if yeah, yeah, I guess-.
Kai (Yonce):Well, that's the gospel truth.
Dan (Wren):Yeah, so we have to find a way to break the cycle, but keep your contract. So contract requires us to release them, but we don't want them to destroy and flatten the world.
Russel (Upri):Didn't specify where right.
Dan (Wren):Yes, there's an actual physical wall that, I think, keeps them out of our universe.
Russel (Upri):As far, as we can turn. Oh, we'll break down that wall, and then my own. I remember that.
Dan (Wren):Your own internal wall which I think you just means you have to use the director's power more.
Russel (Upri):Right.
Dan (Wren):So that's my interpretation of what happened, but then we have to actually release them into the world, and that is the weird caveat that we have to handle around?
Russel (Upri):Is it the world, not this world? It's specified world name.
Dan (Wren):I don't know. What did the contract say? How was the contract worded?
Timothy (DM):They have to break there is a wall, a magical barrier that they cannot pass into this world. They want you to break down.
Dan (Wren):So the-.
Timothy (DM):They want Alice to break down and you to get Alice to do it.
Dan (Wren):Oh, right, right. It says that this wall has to be broken. We have to get Alice to break the wall. That is what the contract says. It says nothing about us being responsible for releasing them into this world.
Russel (Upri):Right.
Timothy (DM):But you need to break that wall, that wall.
Russel (Upri):So what if we build another?
Timothy (DM):wall.
Russel (Upri):A shape wall yes, and we break down the old wall, but then there's the new, stronger wall right behind it and we're like have fun.
Dan (Wren):It's like we're going to the library to see what we can find on magical walls between dimensions.
Russel (Upri):I'd help, but reading is not my strong suit.
Dan (Wren):That's fine, that's fine, I read very quickly, unlike Daniel, who reads very slowly.
Russel (Upri):I can go be chummy with the locals at the pennies.
Dan (Wren):I mean, I'm not going to go to the library. It's light, the library is very closed. Like a tomorrow Feels like a tomorrow, ah. I'm not sure I could use a drink. We've been traveling for a while now. It feels like the first rest night that we've had in a long time. It's going to be so restful.
Russel (Upri):Whoa, where did that come from?
Kai (Yonce):So I guess we're already. I think we were walking and talking, so when do we reach the bore? Yeah?
Timothy (DM):So, as you are walking, you are going to be making your way through the common quarter tours towards pennies. We'll just say that, like Sarah was able to direct you there before you parted ways. The one thing I do want to bring your attention to along the walk is these posters that are pasted along the road. So there's a couple of different posters that you see, so one of them is it's a call for aid for Cyag, the capital, that they are accepting donations for the rebuild of the city once an army can be mounted to retake it and fight back the monsters that are pouring out of the rift. There are also some posters calling for recruits to sign up for that endeavor. And then the last posters that you see are for something called the stadium days. This is something that will happen a week from today. It is an underkeep festival, from what you can make out from the posters, where people, or source users, put on shows of strength, magical strength, in order to win trophies like medals.
Timothy (DM):Like is it like combat? It's basically the Olympics for wizards. So no, it is not combat.
Kai (Yonce):The tripe was a tournament.
Timothy (DM):The arena is where they do combat tournaments, but the stadium days is coming up a week from today.
Kai (Yonce):We don't really do well in stadiums. Usually, when we enter stadiums, bad things happen.
Russel (Upri):But also if we make a name for ourselves here, it can help with the recruitment process.
Dan (Wren):And it seems like we don't have to be hush-hush about who we are here. We might in the upper realms.
Kai (Yonce):Only two of us have magical powers. Can we go into the tournament?
Timothy (DM):There is information on signing up if you would like to swing on over to the stadium at any point during the next week.
Dan (Wren):Is there? Oh, we can ask those questions once we're actually here at the stadium. Let's go to the bar.
Kai (Yonce):And I grabbed the sign up sheet or the sign up information, as we're walking. Yeah, all right, but I'm a warlock.
Dan (Wren):Oh, speaking of, do we know that Yonsei is a warlock and has a patron? Is this something that's been established amongst the group? I'll leave that up to Yonsei.
Kai (Yonce):So the long answer is yes.
Dan (Wren):You have talked about it.
Timothy (DM):That's a long answer. It was a short answer so.
Russel (Upri):Yonsei, I don't know if you remember, but a few minutes ago I was saying do we know any gods that aren't assholes? And I can't help but notice that you didn't say nothing.
Dan (Wren):Yeah, I know we've talked about it in the past where you draw your strength from?
Kai (Yonce):I mean, our communication style is very much like hands off, in the sense where they give me the power and I leave them alone, and that's why it's such a good symbiotic relationship. But I could figure out if we can somehow reach out to them. They usually just reach out to me. It's very booty cally.
Dan (Wren):What are they? A particular type of being.
Kai (Yonce):They are the great old one.
Russel (Upri):Well, if they're real old, they might have knowledge on how that wall was built and how to build another one.
Kai (Yonce):Right, Most likely. Yeah, I mean now that I'm remembering the conversation that happened a few minutes ago.
Russel (Upri):You were totally listening to you. That's like disassociated.
Kai (Yonce):Just came back. The funny thing is Kai dissociates so much. I can figure out a way to reach out to my patron or my god to see if they can help somehow. I just don't know if it will be fruitful.
Dan (Wren):Well, let's chat later, after tomorrow or something, and we can see if I imagine that the libraries here have texts older than what we might find out in the outside world, and so I might be able to find information on who supplies you with power. But some more details from you later on might be good, like, what do you remember? Is it tentacle? Is it a tent? A contentically old one?
Timothy (DM):You've never seen them. They like to leave you messages and.
Russel (Upri):Wait so they slide to your DM.
Dan (Wren):Your patron never talks to you. Actually, it's just like a messaging machine. This is kind of what we talked about.
Timothy (DM):This is the relationship with their patron. It's usually like a message will be left or a gift will be given with a very heavily assumed cost.
Kai (Yonce):Oh, interesting, I'm a sugar baby, oh, but with magic.
Timothy (DM):So gifts will come at specific times that are directly related to the cost. It's very obvious what the cost is going to be.
Russel (Upri):People here knows because I fuck through.
Russel (Upri):Luke, I don't know that.
Timothy (DM):They're very.
Chris (Salvador):Christy.
Timothy (DM):Which is why we've not role played any of their stuff, because it's very just subtle things that only Yance is going to see.
Russel (Upri):That is for the group we could draw that power into our.
Dan (Wren):That would be really good.
Kai (Yonce):I guess I can do my jaw exercises or something.
Russel (Upri):What Do they need? A?
Chris (Salvador):Do you call your God? That's a somatic, exactly.
Dan (Wren):Let's get to the bar already.
Timothy (DM):You're a fun, god, oh my goodness. Yeah, so you eventually do make your way to Pennies. Pennies is a pretty standard wizards bar. That is where we're going to take a little bit of a break as you make your way into this space, which is a standard bar for the underkeep. So we'll describe that after the break.
Dan (Wren):I hope there's a hot bar tender for sound, I mean it's going to be a bunch of drunk nerds.
Chris (Salvador):You know that, right, right, oh, my gosh, my specialty.
Timothy (DM):Got it.
Timothy (DM):We'll be back in five or ten minutes, all right. So we have made it to Pennies right before the break and we are entering into Pennies, which is a tavern in the underkeep. As you enter the space it is lively to an extent. There are people here, there are lots of people here, not particularly loud or raucous crowd, but a pretty just like standard. You go to a bar on a weeknight and there's people there eating a small bite, having some drinks. The space is pretty like streamlined, looking not like mod but like not super busy visually. So there's there's like a marble stone wall. We're in the underkeep, so it's still pretty good for the standards of bars and taverns that you've been to. This is really upscale, like windows, Damn. So there is like a whole front wall is glass.
Timothy (DM):It's like a marble accent wall. And then is this like turquoise and gold wallpaper, like pattern wallpaper along the other sides, like a reddish toned wood bar that is like carved along the trim of it Barstools there are some people at. There's like a wall of liquors behind the bar that are lit up with these like crystals behind them, these like glowing crystals. And then there are like a couple like smaller tables for like two to four people, and then there are some booze along the right side in a kind of like gold satin. Yeah, that's it. You see a sign that says order at the bar or seat yourself.
Kai (Yonce):But which one do we do?
Timothy (DM):Yeah or yeah.
Dan (Wren):What's the bartender situation?
Timothy (DM):There's a couple bartenders, so you can tell they're all wizards of sorts, or or magic users of sorts.
Dan (Wren):Everything's on a page. Yeah, you just see me hand floating around.
Timothy (DM):So they're like me chance floating around doing things. They're like mixing drinks. They have some cocktail shakers going.
Dan (Wren):I'll say that there.
Kai (Yonce):I'm unimpressed.
Timothy (DM):You see, like this woman with like long braided red hair and a completely white suit jacket, like blazer pantsuit situation Just like shoot her finger at one of the drinks that's currently floating, being lifted up by made hand and like she's a fire underneath it to heat it up. And then you see this like other man who is also a ginger, very lanky, like, very, very like visible freckles, part side parted here, short crew cut, also wearing a white like suit with like a white button up underneath. And then there is a tiefling, red tiefling, with curled horns, wearing a black suit with a black button up, and they're just like making drinks. There's a couple like people at the bar at the stools and then there's like a couple tables that are already been taken. You see lots of like robes, shawls, lots of hats. Again, hats are very popular in the city. You've seen a lot of people wearing them since you've been here.
Chris (Salvador):Is there a particular feel for this bar, like looking at the patrons?
Timothy (DM):They seem to be like well dressed but not like bedruled out Gotcha, but like everybody you pass on the streets. Here is kind of the same situation where they're just like everybody's, really well dressed. It's a pretty casual thing to just like put on nice clothes and when you can like prestigiate and like magic, your clothing and like everything kind of already is like enchanted to be clean and nice and protected from the mud and dirt.
Chris (Salvador):So there's no excuse to be messy here. There's no excuse to be messy.
Timothy (DM):It's really easy for most people in the underkeep to be pretty pulled together. So again, you do stand out slightly.
Dan (Wren):Even at this. We couldn't ask Cyril of preceditation us really quick before?
Timothy (DM):Well, preceditation doesn't just make clothes, it just cleans it, right.
Dan (Wren):So we're not like dirty we will, oh yeah, from the road yeah.
Timothy (DM):We'll say that like he did that, like kind of casually throughout conversation, he just kind of like waved away the dirt as y'all were talking slowly, just like give you a little spit shine.
Chris (Salvador):Using some elbow grease.
Kai (Yonce):Oh gosh.
Chris (Salvador):I stroll up to the bar.
Dan (Wren):We all watch that intently.
Timothy (DM):What section of the bar do you go to? So like the three bartenders are kind of like at each section, so it's the Tiefling, the woman with the braided hair, and then the man, the, ginger man, the slight part.
Chris (Salvador):I'm going to go to the Tiefling. The Tiefling, it's interesting. I'm going to say it's very interesting that you're wearing a black suit. What's the story behind?
Timothy (DM):that, oh, I felt that it complimented my complex a little bit better, oh your complex, than the white.
Dan (Wren):Are we just like standing by?
Kai (Yonce):Since I wasn't there last time, I'm like is this how they got the other one?
Dan (Wren):Yeah, Wow, I don't understand that. Can I get you a drink oh?
Chris (Salvador):of course. Well, yeah, I'm new to town. What do you recommend from your selection?
Timothy (DM):Is there a liquor that you tend to favor?
Chris (Salvador):Oh, there is a very fiery liquor back from where I'm from. Do you have any?
Timothy (DM):fire bearing. Yeah, I think I do something. Might be on the back shelf over there. Oh yeah, yeah, it looks like we have a little bit left in that bottle.
Chris (Salvador):Oh, would you be able to set up a few shots?
Timothy (DM):Shots Whoa.
Russel (Upri):Well.
Timothy (DM):I would be happy to. So you just see him point over to the bottle. This mage hand goes and grabs it, pulls it down as he goes to grab the shot glasses down from under the bar, lays them out, and then the mage hand just kind of floats over and pours. How many is that? How many do you want?
Kai (Yonce):Oh, hold up, I'm going to be like I didn't know so much swag.
Dan (Wren):Oh my God, we just like sitting at a high table nearby.
Timothy (DM):So there are five shot glasses that are poured, oh nice. And then he kind of pushes the four of them out towards you, picks one up for himself and I cheers him, cheers you, throws it back.
Dan (Wren):What you going to do with the other three shots.
Chris (Salvador):Sal.
Kai (Yonce):Well, good thing, twitch changed their policies.
Dan (Wren):Oh yeah, Mind you, Sal's also been drinking wine.
Chris (Salvador):Oh yeah, this is the end of smoking.
Kai (Yonce):Come on, crossfaded.
Chris (Salvador):Yeah, he's got enough constitution. He's going to go for another one.
Timothy (DM):As you take another shot, he kind of like cocks his head a little bit. He goes oh all right, what can I get for your friend?
Chris (Salvador):I'll get three more for my friends as well.
Kai (Yonce):I'm going to yell I don't take shots, I'll do a genin tonic. Yeah, I'll have a Negroni.
Russel (Upri):Spinaliana.
Dan (Wren):I'll take the shots.
Kai (Yonce):Do you also have bread and water here? We do.
Timothy (DM):We actually do have some breadsticks and butter and I can get you a carafe of water.
Kai (Yonce):Yes, around for the table and Sal will be paying for it all.
Chris (Salvador):Indeed I will.
Dan (Wren):I like how Bartender called us out for being creeps.
Timothy (DM):He's like huddling behind me, and so he gets three more shots. So now we're up to a total of eight shots ordered by this party One that he drank, and then Negroni Spagliato.
Russel (Upri):Yeah, Negroni Spinaliana.
Kai (Yonce):Did you just do a spell?
Timothy (DM):You know what he goes out, goes into the back room, comes out with a breadstick basket and a carafe of water and goes. Where are you going to be sitting?
Dan (Wren):We'll take the corner of the bar so we can sit like a little L and stay at the bar.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, so he like shifts you down to the end of the bar, places down the bread basket and the carafe, goes back into the back room and then comes back with a dish of butter and places that down.
Dan (Wren):I slide one shot over to upbringing.
Kai (Yonce):I slide it back.
Russel (Upri):I'm the fucking way to you. I'll grab it. I'll grab another one Single hand.
Dan (Wren):I'll grab one of Sal's and also do a double.
Chris (Salvador):Nice. What do you think of it?
Dan (Wren):Oh, it burns.
Chris (Salvador):That's the fun part.
Dan (Wren):It's very weird.
Kai (Yonce):I'm going to eat a breast. What do they?
Chris (Salvador):call this Squarchberry.
Russel (Upri):I don't get much of the berry.
Dan (Wren):It reminds me of a cinnamon liqueur we have back in Andropoulos.
Chris (Salvador):Oh yeah, it's called a fireball, oh, interesting name?
Russel (Upri):What is your own cooth name for a liqueur?
Dan (Wren):It's reminiscent of the way a fireball feels when you get hit by it.
Russel (Upri):Average just grabs two breadsticks and just double hits them in the butter.
Timothy (DM):We have some in stock if you'd like Fireball yeah.
Dan (Wren):No, that's okay.
Timothy (DM):All right, I've had some bad nights.
Dan (Wren):I've had some bad, bad nights on fireball.
Timothy (DM):I'm sure you have. Well, let me know if you need anything else, I'll be right here.
Kai (Yonce):I still have not got it in my gin and tonic.
Timothy (DM):Oh, yes, oh, thank you for the reminder. Yes, I will get a gin tonic Come right on up. Any particular flavor of tonic water you would like.
Kai (Yonce):The good one.
Timothy (DM):We got cucumber plum Plum.
Russel (Upri):All right.
Timothy (DM):Perfect, and so he gets to making that drink. It's a pretty quick mix Pours it over ice, hands it to you with a sprig of thyme.
Kai (Yonce):I throw out the thyme. I don't like herbs in my drinks.
Russel (Upri):Can I also get some enriched vitamin mineral water?
Timothy (DM):I can pop on over to the corner store and get you some oh thank you, can we smoke in here? It depends on what kind of smoke in you're doing.
Russel (Upri):The fun kind.
Timothy (DM):Oh, absolutely, oh okay, yes, unfortunately we outlawed smoking the nicotine indoors about 20 years ago.
Kai (Yonce):I was like what's ban cocaine? Sorry, nope, it's like smoking cured meat but.
Dan (Wren):I might have snagged one from Cyril.
Kai (Yonce):You stole it.
Dan (Wren):I mean, I grabbed two when he offered, so he probably hopefully noticed. No, maybe not. Anyways, you want more?
Timothy (DM):We will say that there is a courtyard. It's not outdoors because we're under the cave.
Dan (Wren):Right. Outdoors Outside in the cave. Outdoors in cave.
Timothy (DM):A nice little garden area if you'd like to partake out there, just in case there are patrons who are not here to get stoned at 5 o'clock on a Tuesday.
Kai (Yonce):Well, you know, that was shade. We're on vacation, I guess.
Dan (Wren):But, uppery and Yonsei, do you want to go to the courtyard and smoke a little bit? I give a salary I only smoked for the vision.
Kai (Yonce):And then I'm like oh, oh, we're trying to leave, we're trying to leave Sal alone with their thoughts. Okay, yes, I would like to smoke a bit of the reefer. I'm going to get up now and I just walk out.
Dan (Wren):Is that okay, Sal? Yeah, it's fine Okay.
Russel (Upri):We just got very high.
Chris (Salvador):All right, do you take your drinks and breadsticks with you?
Russel (Upri):I take the breadsticks and then when I get the mineral water, I just pour it on for her.
Dan (Wren):Oh fair, not for you.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, so he does pop out to go get your mineral water.
Russel (Upri):Oh, I do it inside. Then Fern's next to me on the floor.
Timothy (DM):But he has to go get the mineral water.
Chris (Salvador):He has to go to the store to buy it.
Dan (Wren):He pops around comes back.
Timothy (DM):you do that, Okay, and then you all leave.
Chris (Salvador):This is such great service that they will just leave their place of work.
Timothy (DM):You are their bartender.
Chris (Salvador):I never caught your name.
Kai (Yonce):Bet you haven't.
Timothy (DM):Oh, it's Malroy.
Chris (Salvador):Malroy, I'm Salvador. He'll be catching something else. Is there a window?
Russel (Upri):near the bar there's an old the front wall. Yeah, but like is there a window?
Chris (Salvador):From the courtyard, from the courtyard. We just opened the window as I leave.
Timothy (DM):The courtyard is like literally just an archway and then it goes. There's like a little garden with an open roof so you can see through the archway into the bar.
Dan (Wren):Yeah, we post up at a bench that is.
Timothy (DM):Nothing needs to necessarily be like climate controlled down. Here, everything is the same climate. What do you guess?
Dan (Wren):I have the feet observant, which gives me the ability to read lips.
Russel (Upri):Oh, so you're just reading it. I'm over here.
Dan (Wren):So I'd be like okay. Now he's saying he's asking for his name, malroy Strange name. It's like I'm just narrating what's happening.
Russel (Upri):Oh, are we playing a game? And then I pretend I know what the other one's saying.
Chris (Salvador):Oh, it's like you're narrating over. It's like hey, hey hey there, salmon boy.
Russel (Upri):You want to come home and meet me tonight.
Dan (Wren):I don't think that was salmon boy, but we'll go with it.
Russel (Upri):Oh here, do you want some? Oh yeah.
Timothy (DM):Well, nice to meet you, Salvador. Nice to meet you Did.
Chris (Salvador):you want another basket of breadsticks, oh yeah, oh, where did my friends go to? Well? Yeah, maybe we can send it out.
Russel (Upri):Yeah, but I think you just said do you want to see my bridge? Dude, I think.
Chris (Salvador):I am pretty hungry for a breadstick right now.
Timothy (DM):Anything else that can get you off the menu. We do have small bites here.
Chris (Salvador):Yeah, there's a tapas Interesting to have those small plates. I'll take the ceviche you know yeah, absolutely Well that's a weird name for it.
Timothy (DM):I'll put that order in and then you just see this piece of paper appears and he just signs it and then off and you see it float out through the back door into the kitchen.
Chris (Salvador):So, Mauro, have you been working here very long.
Timothy (DM):Oh gosh, I've been here about five years.
Dan (Wren):Have you been working here for very long?
Timothy (DM):I started over at the local tower in my neighborhood but been here for about five years.
Dan (Wren):Oh, very nice. I think I said something about fisting. I don't know. My sight's getting a little hazy here.
Kai (Yonce):And as we black out on us three so we can hear the conversation.
Timothy (DM):So what brings you into town?
Chris (Salvador):Well, actually the group of friends that I came in with, we're sort of putting together a coalition of sorts.
Timothy (DM):A coalition? Yeah, what is that? Prey Town?
Chris (Salvador):Well, it's a group of magic users and other associated friends to try to combat a terrible force of devastation that's headed our way.
Timothy (DM):Sounds like a lot of people that come through here. Oh, what force are we talking about this time?
Dan (Wren):The void. The void.
Timothy (DM):Yeah.
Chris (Salvador):What do you mean by that? The otherworldly plane? Yes, you're on the same.
Kai (Yonce):Oh, as this is happening, I walk back in, I grab my drink and was like I forgot this, as I was smoking my reefer and I walk back out.
Chris (Salvador):Do you grab a fretstick on your way out? Yeah, another one.
Timothy (DM):I just take the breast if that you do, no, I take the ceviche that you just ordered. Ooh, ceviche.
Kai (Yonce):And I just take it and I'm walking.
Timothy (DM):We got reefer and ceviche and then black out again, and then friends need me to send food out there.
Chris (Salvador):Yeah, they think they need to put an order in. They've been smoking a lot today.
Timothy (DM):So I imagine I smelled it on them.
Chris (Salvador):Is there sort of like a sampler plate, like with all the different types, like small bits of all the tapas that I can get them?
Timothy (DM):We do Party of four. We have one literally set up for that.
Chris (Salvador):Oh, perfect, if you could have somebody send it out to them, I think that they'd appreciate it Perfect.
Timothy (DM):He snaps his fingers, he's paper. You see him scroll with his finger and then through the back as he's distracted.
Chris (Salvador):doing that, I look toward the arch and I give two thumbs up.
Dan (Wren):Give thumbs up back and I just I see the food I'm like.
Kai (Yonce):thank you for the food as we smoke our reefer.
Chris (Salvador):But I get back to saying, yeah, it's a another universe where these gods are attempting.
Dan (Wren):I'm just vomiting.
Chris (Salvador):I'm doing the Lord jump on this poor bartender, Mal Roy.
Timothy (DM):All right, he's just like uh-huh and he starts like wiping the counter and he's like listening. Give me a charisma.
Chris (Salvador):Oh God, Is this a persuasion check?
Timothy (DM):There's just charisma. Just give me like, yeah, charisma roll. We're not trying to persuade him, we're just kind of we want to see how enthralled in your conversation he is.
Chris (Salvador):I am honey-tongued because I got 17. All right.
Timothy (DM):So yeah, so like, as you keep telling your story, you notice that he's like kind of cleaning the end of the counter a lot and like he does have to like go make drinks for other patrons and he doesn't want, like the other two bartenders, to be doing everything, but he does keep coming back. He's like wiping it down, listening, uh-huh yeah.
Chris (Salvador):So it's a pretty weighty endeavor that we're trying to pull together teams of powerful wizards, powerful fighters Know anybody along those lines?
Timothy (DM):Well, it seems like you've come to the right place. I don't know if I'm quite your clientele for said conversation, but we have some people come in from time to time. I mean, I'm sure you know about the conclave, right.
Chris (Salvador):Yeah.
Timothy (DM):They're usually the ones who make those types of worldly decisions. Around here, everybody seems to have an opinion one way or the other.
Chris (Salvador):Yeah, that's how life goes.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, other than that, yeah, I really don't know if I can help you that much. I am just a bartender here.
Chris (Salvador):Not just a bartender.
Timothy (DM):Thank you for that.
Dan (Wren):What other skills do you have?
Timothy (DM):I have been known to juggle. It's a good part of trick.
Chris (Salvador):Gotcha, I imagine it. It uh woos a lot of folks that come in here.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, not so much with these, these types and the types of tricks they can pull out their sleeves. Nobody wants to see physical things being thrown dexterously. Kind of pales in comparison to a well placed uh Spell yeah.
Chris (Salvador):Well, are you a spell user? Oh, because you cast Mage Hand.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, I can do little trinkets here and there, but Nothing much. Unfortunately, dropped out of the University freshman year.
Chris (Salvador):Too much to. Was there a reason or?
Timothy (DM):My mom was sick and figured the studying was taking too much of my time. I wanted to make sure that I was with her.
Chris (Salvador):That's more important than university. You got to make time for your family members.
Russel (Upri):Randomly both trauma dumping on each other. I see very rigorous studies here.
Timothy (DM):I see you're a cleric of Tao.
Chris (Salvador):Yeah, exactly, you got a keen eye.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, yeah, it's uh.
Dan (Wren):You seem to be going well though.
Russel (Upri):Is the quicker experience.
Kai (Yonce):Let's just turn off my camera.
Timothy (DM):Well, that is, you probably have some similar experiences, right, you got to study and stuff, right.
Chris (Salvador):Yeah, there was a crash course. I was sort of brought into the fold rather quickly as the war against Galadia was ramping up. They gave you the two-day training and then they put you on a boat and you crash on a shoreline after getting attacked by a giant squid and you climb up a giant tower. Really, oh, textbook, textbook, indoctrination, I guess.
Timothy (DM):Oh, so you said a lot, well, maybe just a little bit different than going to university, but that is good on you, Well, yeah?
Chris (Salvador):I don't mean to take up any more of your time. Maybe we can find our cross paths again, I'm sure.
Timothy (DM):I'm here Monday through Sunday. Just say every day Just say every day, but I do take off on Wednesday. Oh, gotcha A loophole We'll keep in touch. Yeah, that was a weird way for me to say that I'm here Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. It's kind of a mouthful to say it that way.
Chris (Salvador):It's easier to say it the way that you said it.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, I'm here every day, but actually I'm here every day, but Wednesday is probably the way I should say it.
Chris (Salvador):So you're free tomorrow, because today is Tuesday.
Timothy (DM):I do have off tomorrow, that is true.
Chris (Salvador):I pull out a business card and I slide it across the bar. Where did you get?
Russel (Upri):the business cards.
Chris (Salvador):I used to work in a household, oh fair enough.
Timothy (DM):You know what I do, think I have some time in the afternoon.
Kai (Yonce):Oh my gosh, I can't do this.
Chris (Salvador):Let's connect later.
Dan (Wren):Shadow's a prophecy Dating. It'll be like that.
Kai (Yonce):Yonsei uses banishment on themselves again.
Chris (Salvador):But I stand up from the bar and I give him a glance as I take the remaining two shots.
Dan (Wren):Ren shows up next to you and passes you the probably what's very little left of the joint.
Chris (Salvador):Oh, yeah, oh, and I take it and I give him a wink and I walk away.
Timothy (DM):He will wink back and go back to attending to other patrons at the bar as you all go back out to the courtyard.
Kai (Yonce):I'm going to go back in and be like I think we haven't paid our bill yet, so I stole some money.
Chris (Salvador):So here you go and I walk out. Oh, I was going back to the courtyard.
Russel (Upri):Oh.
Chris (Salvador):OK, never mind, then I come back in. I come back in me and like never mind, I'm going to keep this and I walk away.
Kai (Yonce):Oh my gosh.
Chris (Salvador):Yeah, I informed the group while I talked to. His name is Malroy and he's not a wizard and he doesn't seem to know any wizards. But he definitely said, hey, check out the enclave, which we kind of do. But maybe he went to the university, maybe he knows some people professors that may be helpful.
Dan (Wren):Hold on, you were talking business in there.
Chris (Salvador):It was mixed in with other informational. I learned a bit about his back story. I shared some of my back story. I told about the whole mission that we're on.
Dan (Wren):Yeah, I saw her, I heard. Well, I read something.
Chris (Salvador):I saw you were snooping on our conversation, no.
Dan (Wren):But you said something about a squid.
Chris (Salvador):Yeah, there was a giant squid. Remember whenever you and me and Mark, you were talking about giant animals that we've encountered. Oh man, oh, that might have been when you lost your memory. I'm sorry.
Dan (Wren):Because I was right. There was that. I still have that gap in my memory. Don't worry about it, you do. It is from long ago.
Kai (Yonce):I am not even paying attention. Yonsei has dissociated and is just looking at a gem on the wall, being like shiny.
Timothy (DM):So as you're having this conversation, all of a sudden the ground begins to shake. You hear the like clinking of glass inside, as there's like a quake.
Russel (Upri):Oh, oh, oh Wait. How did that work? We're floating.
Dan (Wren):Do people inside seem concerned?
Timothy (DM):You see inside that everybody kind of like grabs onto something and just like, oh and because you have observant that we just do that, you just go. Those wards better be picked up soon. I don't know what the wizards are working on.
Dan (Wren):There's spells that make the city float Wards are failing.
Russel (Upri):All right.
Dan (Wren):Maybe we talk to Cyril about that later and see what's going on with that. We also have some pressure issues.
Russel (Upri):Civil servants take care of ward.
Dan (Wren):I would like to think so. Does it stop?
Timothy (DM):Yeah, it's just like a sudden little quake and then it stops. And then that's what you you see Malroy, say to one of the other bartenders.
Dan (Wren):I roughly translate that to something about wards and the wizards not.
Kai (Yonce):Yeah.
Dan (Wren):All right.
Kai (Yonce):It's gone, so should we check it out.
Chris (Salvador):The words.
Russel (Upri):Maybe something's up and we can make not just some money but some friends by helping what's the words.
Dan (Wren):I'm not going to lie, it's maybe a tomorrow issue.
Russel (Upri):Yeah. I don't think I should try to save a city at this level, we might have it plummet.
Russel (Upri):The two of us went through like two.
Dan (Wren):Whatever it is we were smoking, I never even got the name of it.
Kai (Yonce):Reef her.
Dan (Wren):Oh, is that what Cyril called it?
Russel (Upri):From a coral reef.
Kai (Yonce):Yeah.
Dan (Wren):It's smashed up reef.
Russel (Upri):Like a white powder yeah.
Dan (Wren):Oh no, that is then pressed into leaves like you would press paper, and then wrapped up in a rolling paper, rolling paper, yeah.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, and it has effects similar to marijuana.
Russel (Upri):Oh yeah.
Dan (Wren):I just feel like I'm walking through water.
Russel (Upri):Oh, is that what I'd call it? Reef her, that makes it a lot bigger.
Timothy (DM):It's a bit of a head high, not as much of a body high. You're not getting the intense mungies that you might be familiar with, but you do have this elation and this kind of detachment from reality.
Dan (Wren):Since you're already trauma dumped. I've been thinking about this a lot and I feel like I have to say it. I don't think I feel the same way about Wesley that I did before he died.
Kai (Yonce):Oh, we're going there.
Dan (Wren):I mean, don't get me wrong, it's nice to have him back, but yeah, I mean he is twice the man now. Yes, or half the man. It's like a weird division of labor.
Russel (Upri):I mean, how long ago did he die?
Dan (Wren):It's like six years.
Russel (Upri):You're different people. Now it makes sense.
Dan (Wren):I fear he's the same person, probably.
Chris (Salvador):I mean that's the worst.
Russel (Upri):Whenever you were trying to Breadsticks.
Dan (Wren):You just floating that thought out there and letting it go, I let that thought go and I'm eating a breadstick, yeah, so I was not going to press the point. You can I mean go ahead?
Chris (Salvador):I was going to say whenever you went to Valeria to figure out, because you had the photo of Wesley with the image on the symbol what were you hoping to find there?
Dan (Wren):That's a great question. I don't know back some backstory. He was just kind of this enigma that existed outside. He didn't talk about his home life. He didn't talk about any of that, and so I just wanted to know more. I don't know Now that he's here again.
Chris (Salvador):The mystery's gone yeah.
Kai (Yonce):At least your partner is still alive.
Dan (Wren):That's true, Half of him at least.
Chris (Salvador):Maybe there's help for blades.
Kai (Yonce):Oh, this wasn't. I was, this isn't about me, and I just continued to look at a crystal.
Russel (Upri):A breadstick. You're pushing the situation around.
Kai (Yonce):I grabbed the breadstick and I just my inner saboteur and I just pressed the breadstick on the crystal.
Chris (Salvador):On the wall.
Dan (Wren):Yes, just slapping a crystal on the wall with the breadstick.
Kai (Yonce):I've only had one puff and I guess I'm still high.
Dan (Wren):It's okay. It takes a while to build up that tolerance to people. Get past the first one.
Kai (Yonce):I think this will be my first and last time smoking the reefer.
Russel (Upri):What's your good call? We should move on to some hallucinogenesis.
Chris (Salvador):What was the name of your elf from the ministries?
Russel (Upri):Oh Mayoren.
Chris (Salvador):Mayoren. Yeah, oh my gosh.
Russel (Upri):Oh, because she was also a shit story.
Timothy (DM):Do you play on the characters?
Russel (Upri):Listen, I recently realized that I'm a dumpster cat boyfriend and all of my D&D characters may also be that.
Chris (Salvador):Can I walk back up to Malroy and ask who's in charge of the wards around here? Is that the council?
Timothy (DM):Oh well, that would be the construction guild.
Chris (Salvador):Oh gotcha.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, they are kind of instructed by the council. That's where the funding comes from.
Chris (Salvador):Well, good to know. Maybe they need to have a talking to, because I've never been in a floating city but I feel a little unsettled that it shakes.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, it's been happening for about two months now. There's been a lot of it in the news lately here in the underkeep probably not from where you're from but yeah, a lot of hearsay, theories being thrown around, but not a lot of luck Transparency coming out of the council around it.
Chris (Salvador):That's the government.
Timothy (DM):Ain't that the truth?
Kai (Yonce):Not flirting.
Chris (Salvador):part two oh, no, yeah, I did. This is a drive-by, all right.
Timothy (DM):Anything else that you would like to do while you are here at Pennies?
Russel (Upri):Keep eating, keep drinking, yeah, probably just enjoy the night and then go home when we're tired.
Dan (Wren):Does anybody else have any sad things to say?
Chris (Salvador):Our best years are behind us.
Russel (Upri):Damn.
Dan (Wren):You mean the war?
Chris (Salvador):Because I hope not. I was talking more about childhood.
Dan (Wren):That's just a joke. You had a nice childhood.
Russel (Upri):I had a pretty nice childhood. I mean same.
Kai (Yonce):Oh yeah, me too.
Dan (Wren):Oh, we won't. No, it's fine.
Russel (Upri):We're going to need a lot more reefer, aren't we?
Chris (Salvador):Do we want to talk to any?
Russel (Upri):more of the patrons. Are there any? I just want to stop by the stadium in the arena and look at those.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, that's good to do. Yeah, so if you don't want to do anything else, here in the tavern you've had plenty of interesting conversations, put a lot of things out into the world that might I don't know.
Russel (Upri):Oh yeah, the bartender might spread the word.
Timothy (DM):Resonate things. These strangers that are just looking for an army or whatever Not what I was talking about. But oh, this is why I'm not hoping.
Russel (Upri):I like where your head's at.
Timothy (DM):So eventually you like clear up, you pay your bill. Let's just say that it comes out to like three gold.
Russel (Upri):OK.
Timothy (DM):The food and drink is not a lot, but it is more expensive than other nights that you've gone out. Three gold is a lot For food and drink, but normally you're going to a tavern where, like, the drink option is mead or ale, maybe something else, and then the food options are like us do, yeah Mash.
Dan (Wren):Not tapas, not tapas.
Kai (Yonce):Not so VCI.
Timothy (DM):You went out for drinks and tapas and had eight shots.
Chris (Salvador):Yeah, I mean it was split. I had to ran head to the bartender at one upgrade one and then there were two left.
Dan (Wren):I thought you took the two left. Did I take the two left? I thought you did.
Chris (Salvador):OK.
Dan (Wren):Yeah, we'll say that, so you said so.
Timothy (DM):I took four, but you can make your way over to the stadium on your way back to Daphne's and you can sign up if you would like. So Stadium Days is just a series of various activities that are shows of performance. So there's like light shows, there are evocation, archery shows, any fighting evocation, that's evocation is all the like elements.
Dan (Wren):Right, what archery shows, or is it evocation, Evocation oh so like hitting targets with evocation, yes, yes, yes, got it.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, it's just like spell aiming. There's all sorts of things. If there's anything that you would like to sign up for that you think, I mean we can say that you sign up and you can think between now and the next session what type of activities that you would have signed up for, we can have that discussion.
Dan (Wren):It's two of you. I'm like the two of us could play Literally arena. I said we might do best in the arena.
Russel (Upri):Yeah, maybe we can kill some people and impress.
Kai (Yonce):That's what I was thinking. To use my magic to impress other people? Yeah, like fighting.
Dan (Wren):The Circus Act, part two.
Russel (Upri):Yeah.
Dan (Wren):A light show with whatever everything the Eldritch.
Chris (Salvador):Blases, you'll sing all the great Steven Sondheim water ditties.
Timothy (DM):There's like obstacle courses. There's like very like there's, like certain. There's this one thing where, basically, you have to create a surface of any kind with your magic and then you have to get this cylindrical stone from one side of the field to the other with like a single push of momentum with your again spell, but you can only have one force spell to push it.
Timothy (DM):So there's like precision based stuff, there's like explosive type things, there's more theatrical or like artistic competitions, like a whole thing and this is stadium days is going on for two weeks, starting next week, so it will be like a continuous thing. There is a kind of like entry exam for whatever challenge that you're. Basically, they don't want to put you in the stadium if you're going to suck at it and boring, because that's not entertaining.
Timothy (DM):So they do have everybody like show that they can like demonstrate the skill first and then you're able to compete. So you stop by the stadium. You could do that. You can also ask around about the arena. The arena is something that happens every Saturday. It's exactly what it sounds like. It is just a fighting pit where you get to use your skills to fight each other, and that happens every Saturday. And Dan is raising his hand. What would you like to know?
Dan (Wren):Do it is a have to be magical for the fighting pits.
Timothy (DM):Not necessarily. However, it's strongly encouraged that there's a magic, at least some sort of magical display, mostly because they you will be facing magic, so, like you, should probably be able to at least work with it in some form.
Kai (Yonce):I definitely want to sign up for that.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, so we'll sign up for we've got two for stadium. Yes, and we can talk about the actual challenges in between this and the next session. Yeah, all right. Anything else you would like to do before you make your way back to Daphne?
Dan (Wren):You can have a terrorizing dream. That's still at arm, I'm good. I think it could be tomorrow, yeah.
Timothy (DM):It is starting like the artificial sun has set the like. Lamp posts are starting to glow.
Dan (Wren):It is a Tuesday.
Timothy (DM):So, yeah, it's starting to get quieter on the streets.
Kai (Yonce):All right, I think I'm ready. I start to yawn.
Chris (Salvador):I'm like I think I'm ready to go home.
Russel (Upri):I start walking. Sorry, the onyx contagious.
Kai (Yonce):It was a fake on and became a real yawn. So I start walking the way back to homegirls house, whose name I always forget Mallory.
Dan (Wren):Daphne. Daphne.
Chris (Salvador):That's what it was, mallory.
Russel (Upri):Mallory's, our other prophetic friend.
Kai (Yonce):I walk back to Daphne's house without even consulting.
Chris (Salvador):Yeah, I'll follow yes.
Kai (Yonce):I am.
Timothy (DM):All right, so you make your way back to Daphne's. Her house is quiet when you arrive, but you can let yourselves in. As you pass her bedroom, which is the first door down the hallway on the left, you do hear her snoring. She's pretty loud snore, to be completely honest, all these words are in the kind of the fantasy page.
Chris (Salvador):Sleep apnea. Sleep Daphne no.
Kai (Yonce):And that's where we'll end this episode.
Timothy (DM):And you can make your way to your bedrooms. Is there anything else you would like to do before we send you off to your nightmare?
Dan (Wren):I will crack Sorry go ahead.
Kai (Yonce):I'm going to drink the Zasperla. I don't actually think I actually drank it during that whole time, so I'm going to go into the ice box I don't think they call it fridges if they have one.
Timothy (DM):Sure yeah.
Kai (Yonce):I'm going to go into the ice box, crack open a fresh Zasperla and be like gluck, gluck, gluck. It tastes like Zappos.
Timothy (DM):I don't know.
Russel (Upri):And I just walk. I'm like goodnight y'all. Oh wow, y'all are zooted.
Dan (Wren):Ren has grabbed some cat treats from the kitchen, I'm assuming.
Kai (Yonce):Start eating them.
Dan (Wren):No, no, no, no, no, like trying to cook the cat.
Timothy (DM):She has a little screaming charm.
Dan (Wren):I'll leave my door cracked open because cats Sal's going to start weaving.
Chris (Salvador):He has the Skynes from the Castle Valeria, from the Queen's Chambers. I'm going to start weaving a bracelet.
Russel (Upri):I forgot about that.
Dan (Wren):Is it fancy fabrics?
Chris (Salvador):Yes, I'm fancy thread.
Dan (Wren):Oh yeah.
Timothy (DM):Fancy thread that he stole from the fucking King and Queen of Valeria. All right, that's fun, all right. And then, eventually, you all find yourselves setting off into a slumber, only to be interrupted by the nightmare the one we've already recounted, so we won't go over it too much. But to remind everybody, you found yourself back in the theater with Nim and Meredith, and you fought Nim this time around after being introduced by the dreamer. The fight included a onslaught of illusions and twisted memories of your family Before you were awoken in a cold sweat you can hear each other in unison across the hall, awakened with racing heartbeats and heavy breathing.
Kai (Yonce):Yonfa's going to run outside the bedroom and be like guys. Did you all just have the same dream that I had?
Dan (Wren):You hear from Ren's bedroom.
Chris (Salvador):And.
Dan (Wren):Ren runs out in his boxers with a floating sword behind him. Oh wow.
Timothy (DM):Balenciaga.
Kai (Yonce):That's the magical word for my dancing sword. In last week's episode.
Timothy (DM):Right. So as you shout Balenciaga, your sword zips out of the bag that you have it in or wherever you keep it, and it starts spinning. So you see Ren step out of the hallway this sword just whizzing around, Stop, stop.
Dan (Wren):I just put my hand on it and push it to the ground.
Chris (Salvador):It's possible. And then was there.
Dan (Wren):Yeah, we were all there.
Chris (Salvador):Yeah.
Kai (Yonce):Upper area. Did you leave the bedroom yet?
Russel (Upri):Yes, upper East Stubble's into the hallway Y'all. I can't find Fern.
Kai (Yonce):Did you leave it at the bar?
Dan (Wren):We check Upper East Room for Fern.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, Russell. Would you like to describe what is happening in your room?
Russel (Upri):I mean you open the door and there's nothing like you can't see Fern nowhere. I check under the bed.
Dan (Wren):Is the room intact?
Russel (Upri):Yeah, but it's to him. Maybe it's too dark.
Dan (Wren):What do you mean? Is there a window to open?
Chris (Salvador):Can I cast Sacred Flame? We also have dark vision.
Kai (Yonce):Oh, that's true, Well.
Dan (Wren):I'm one of us. Oh, here's Squinton.
Chris (Salvador):I hold Sacred Flame.
Russel (Upri):Yeah you hold Sacred Flame up and you light up the room you don't see Fern, but Upper East looks a little different. Her skin is still green but has a kind of a different texture to it. How? Are we Almost leafy.
Chris (Salvador):Oh, plant-like. Oh, are you a tree now?
Dan (Wren):I'm going to hold a mirror up to upper.
Kai (Yonce):Did you melt form with Upper East?
Russel (Upri):I mean with Fern. I mean I think we should figure that out next session.
Russel (Upri):What.
Timothy (DM):And that's where we're going to end the session.
Dan (Wren):Oh, that's so cool. Oh, yay, that's very cool. Do you punch things now?
Timothy (DM):You just have rock fists, we'll see and with that I will do our little outro.
Kai (Yonce):Wait before that? Can I quickly grab my Zasperela and drink and be like stay tuned next week?
Dan (Wren):And decide to the non-existent one.
Timothy (DM):You turn to the hallway where the camera is standing.
Kai (Yonce):For Alice. I'm like Alice, wake up, wait, daphne.
Timothy (DM):Yeah, Daphne's just standing in the hall now and she's like what.
Timothy (DM):And then we're going to end the session. So, dear intrepid listeners, as we close the curtain on this latest chapter of Shout as a Prophecy, we bid you farewell from the mysterious tapestry of our cosmic tale. Remember, the darkness never sleeps, but our doors are always open to those brave enough to explore. We couldn't do it without your support. A special thank you to our generous patrons, jch Crispy and Maggie Z, whose unwavering support keeps the candles burning bright here at Goblin Forge. Before we bid you farewell, remember to like, follow and subscribe to stay updated on our future journeys into the unknown.
Timothy (DM):This playcast is a Goblin Forge production. If you enjoyed what you experienced today, follow us on Instagram at goblin underscore forge, underscore TTRPG at goblin underscore forge on TikTok, or join our Discord community. The link is in our bio. And if you haven't already, be sure to share the mysteries of Shout as a Prophecy with your friends and fellow seekers of the supernatural. Until we meet again, may the mysteries of this world continue to intrigue your mind and awaken your sense of wonder. Stay curious, stay daring and always embrace the darkness.
Russel (Upri):Send help.
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Russel (Upri):Thank you for watching.