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00:00:00
00:00:01
Radio Silence
6 Plays1 year ago
Jordan Daringer: Host
Nic Barnett: Nigel E. Dolarann
Brek Black: Ryan Winchester
Matt Czech: Arthur Gooseburg
Melanie Daringer: Samantha Williams
Let's Play Pretend theme by Iron Knight Recordings
https://www.drunkardsanddragons.com/
Published by arrangement with the Delta Green Partnership. The intellectual property known as Delta Green is a trademark and copyright owned by the Delta Green Partnership, who has licensed its use here. The contents of this document are ©Let's Play Pretend LLC, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.
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Transcript
Introduction & Content Warning
00:00:01
Speaker
Let's Play Pretend is an explicit podcast with subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners.
00:00:07
Speaker
Content warnings are found in the description of every episode.
00:00:10
Speaker
We here
Emphasizing Mental Health Support
00:00:11
Speaker
at Let's Play Pretend take mental health very seriously.
00:00:14
Speaker
If you or someone that you know is suffering from any mental health issues, please reach out.
00:00:20
Speaker
It's as simple as picking up your telephone and dialing 988 to reach a suicide prevention hotline.
00:00:26
Speaker
Or if you're the kind of person like me,
00:00:29
Speaker
that does not like to talk on the phone, text 988.
00:00:32
Speaker
There is somebody there 24-7.
00:00:34
Speaker
And if you don't want to reach out to a stranger, you have friends and family that are always there for you.
00:00:40
Speaker
Please, if you are suffering from any of these, reach out.
00:00:44
Speaker
You matter.
00:00:46
Speaker
Yeah, Cody's laughing, so it's good.
00:00:50
Speaker
Let's play Preachers!
00:01:00
Speaker
Let's play pretend!
00:01:06
Speaker
Let's play pretend!
00:01:08
Speaker
Yeah!
Meet the Team & Characters
00:01:17
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome back to Let's Play Pretend.
00:01:20
Speaker
My name is Jordan.
00:01:21
Speaker
I am your DMGM keeper.
00:01:24
Speaker
And I don't remember the other thing I said last week, but that's fine because with me, I have Nick Barnett.
00:01:30
Speaker
I'm Ned.
00:01:32
Speaker
And over here, I've got Breck Black.
00:01:36
Speaker
Hi, I am playing Brian.
00:01:37
Speaker
And I'm just wondering, does anyone have any extra smokes?
00:01:40
Speaker
Because I really need one.
00:01:43
Speaker
Last I checked, Ned owes you a couple.
00:01:45
Speaker
Mm-hmm.
00:01:46
Speaker
What do you say, Ned?
00:01:48
Speaker
Matt, I have bought you a couple packs this summer.
00:01:50
Speaker
I think you're going to be all right bumming me one more after this.
00:01:54
Speaker
We've got Melanie Derringer.
00:01:56
Speaker
Hello, I'm playing Samantha Williams still, and yep, that's it.
00:02:03
Speaker
And we have Matt Check.
00:02:04
Speaker
Arthur in the house.
00:02:07
Speaker
So you guys
School's End & Tragic News
00:02:08
Speaker
were in your last day of school.
00:02:09
Speaker
You got to know each other as characters, kind of went through what a last day of the school year would be.
00:02:15
Speaker
And you got to meet Ashley, had a party, went through the whole summer.
00:02:21
Speaker
And then you found out that Ashley's brother died.
00:02:23
Speaker
Died like a bitch.
00:02:29
Speaker
No, no.
00:02:30
Speaker
Jordan's a bitch for killing off Samantha's crush.
00:02:33
Speaker
I thought you were saying he died like a bitch.
00:02:37
Speaker
He was a valiant hero.
00:02:38
Speaker
Who died like a bitch.
00:02:40
Speaker
Shut up, brother.
00:02:42
Speaker
We don't know how he died yet, so it is possible.
00:02:44
Speaker
Like a bitch.
00:02:45
Speaker
It is possible.
00:02:46
Speaker
Shut up, Ryan.
00:02:49
Speaker
And that is where we ended last week's session.
00:02:53
Speaker
This week, we are going to start with Samantha.
00:02:58
Speaker
What do you want?
00:02:59
Speaker
So the scene is going to come up on Samantha riding Anubis through the woods.
00:03:09
Speaker
You are... Where is your headspace right now, Samantha?
00:03:14
Speaker
We are about two days after learning about
Samantha's Reflection on Loss
00:03:18
Speaker
Chris's death.
00:03:19
Speaker
Ryan's death, huh?
00:03:21
Speaker
Yep, Ryan.
00:03:22
Speaker
I forgot to tell you, Brack, you're done already.
00:03:24
Speaker
I killed you off off screen, so you can stay here and listen if you want.
00:03:28
Speaker
But yep, that's a wrap on Ryan.
00:03:31
Speaker
Oh, well, I'm still getting paid, right?
00:03:35
Speaker
You're getting paid?
00:03:36
Speaker
About that.
00:03:37
Speaker
You weren't supposed to tell anybody.
00:03:39
Speaker
Wait, wait.
00:03:40
Speaker
Oops.
00:03:41
Speaker
I want to get paid.
00:03:43
Speaker
So you're about two days after learning that Chris died.
00:03:46
Speaker
Where are you mentally right now?
00:03:49
Speaker
So Samantha is rather upset that Chris has passed.
00:03:54
Speaker
While it was just like a silly little crush, she actually was pretty close with Ashley's brother seeing him as like...
00:04:01
Speaker
An older brother in a sense as well, because she is an only child and he's been there for her for a lot of things.
00:04:08
Speaker
So she's just very spaced out and just very distraught over the fact that he is no longer going to be coming home.
00:04:18
Speaker
Was it really just a silly little crush or were you thinking there was actually going to be something outside of school?
00:04:23
Speaker
Oh, she definitely thought there was something outside of school.
00:04:26
Speaker
But to her, to Ashley, it was just a silly little crush.
00:04:29
Speaker
Like, explaining it to Ashley.
00:04:31
Speaker
She was like, oh, no, yes, no, it's fine.
00:04:34
Speaker
Because she would hope that her and Chris could be together so her and Ashley could actually be sisters at one point.
00:04:40
Speaker
How are you writing Anubis right now?
00:04:43
Speaker
So currently writing Anubis, Samantha is writing him...
00:04:48
Speaker
Real quick, we never got a description of what Anubis looked like, so if you could describe what your horse looks like as well.
00:04:52
Speaker
Okay.
00:04:53
Speaker
She's riding Anubis bareback with a Hackamore bridle.
00:05:00
Speaker
For those who don't know, it's a bitless bridle.
00:05:03
Speaker
Anubis is what's called... He is a Drenus.
00:05:10
Speaker
He's a big draft horse.
00:05:12
Speaker
He's what they call a blue roan in color.
00:05:16
Speaker
And on his back foot, he's got like a little bit of white patch on it.
00:05:24
Speaker
So like his legs are black with socks.
00:05:29
Speaker
He's got a black mane and a black face.
00:05:31
Speaker
And his body is like a very light gray, which in the horse world is called a blue roan.
00:05:37
Speaker
Okay.
00:05:38
Speaker
Do me a favor and roll me an alertness check.
00:05:41
Speaker
Okay, that's a 60, so I'm using these blue metal dice that a wonderful sister of mine gave me.
00:05:51
Speaker
That's an 84 out of a 60.
00:05:52
Speaker
Okay, so you're just riding.
00:05:56
Speaker
Are you riding out towards the trail, or are you riding back at this point?
00:06:00
Speaker
Out towards the trail that would lead to a field.
00:06:02
Speaker
Okay, and that's just where you're at mentally right now.
00:06:06
Speaker
You're out riding, you're thinking about...
00:06:09
Speaker
the death of Chris, you're thinking about how ruined it is, like how ruined Ashley is about this because, you know, her and her brother were best friends.
00:06:21
Speaker
And she just, you know, now that you think of it, you haven't heard from Ashley in the last couple days.
00:06:28
Speaker
Hmm.
00:06:30
Speaker
Anyway, Ned, what
Seeking Advice on Grief
00:06:31
Speaker
are you doing?
00:06:31
Speaker
So, okay.
00:06:35
Speaker
Never mind, I guess.
00:06:36
Speaker
Don't worry, Samantha, we'll get back to you.
00:06:37
Speaker
Okay.
00:06:40
Speaker
Ned is gonna walk downstairs from his room.
00:06:43
Speaker
He's been trying to think of the right way to bring this up to his dad.
00:06:48
Speaker
I want to go up to my dad and say, Hey, Dad, can I ask you a serious question, please?
00:06:56
Speaker
Yes, son, you can ask me anything you wish.
00:07:01
Speaker
You know I'm an open book, soldier.
00:07:03
Speaker
I know, but you never really like to talk much about when you were actually out on the fields.
00:07:10
Speaker
You see his back kind of stiffens a little bit at that.
00:07:13
Speaker
Yeah, I haven't brought this up because I wanted to try and find the right way to say it.
00:07:17
Speaker
And there isn't really a right way.
00:07:20
Speaker
Ashley Brooks, that girl I've been hanging out with ever since I was, you know, knee high.
00:07:27
Speaker
Her brother was he was in the army.
00:07:29
Speaker
And the poor girl lost her brother the other day.
00:07:32
Speaker
Correct.
00:07:33
Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
00:07:35
Speaker
I still don't know.
00:07:36
Speaker
I still don't know what happened, but you've lost friends in the military, Dad.
00:07:42
Speaker
What did you need?
00:07:44
Speaker
How can I be there best for her and her family?
00:07:48
Speaker
You see, for the first time in a long time...
00:07:52
Speaker
your father actually seems to, uh, to be a person, not to be the soldier, not to, not, you know, always keeping up this facade.
00:08:02
Speaker
He actually seems to be letting down some barriers.
00:08:05
Speaker
And he goes, son, um, it's, uh, death, death is hard.
00:08:13
Speaker
And unfortunately everybody has to deal with it with their own way.
00:08:18
Speaker
It have, uh,
00:08:20
Speaker
These are memories I didn't think I'd have to be bringing up today.
00:08:25
Speaker
Kids always keep you on your toes.
00:08:27
Speaker
If this is too much, I mean, we don't have to do that.
00:08:30
Speaker
No, no, no, no, no.
00:08:31
Speaker
I'm happy to have this conversation with you, son.
00:08:35
Speaker
Have you spoken to her since you heard the news?
00:08:39
Speaker
Ned looks down at his phone.
00:08:42
Speaker
I've sent her a couple messages and I've tried to call, but I haven't gotten a response.
00:08:47
Speaker
Okay.
00:08:48
Speaker
I'm guessing that is her way of telling you that as of right now, she probably needs space, but she will hopefully reach out to you if she needs anything.
00:08:58
Speaker
Otherwise, if you're that concerned, son, I can take you over there and you can try to talk to her yourself if you would wish.
00:09:06
Speaker
I don't know.
00:09:06
Speaker
I don't want to just be intrusive.
00:09:09
Speaker
And if you're right and all she needs is space, Dad, I really like this girl and I just want to be there for her.
00:09:14
Speaker
But I really don't want to be that guy, you know?
00:09:19
Speaker
Well, you see, he kind of kind of gets like the the macho man act back a little bit.
00:09:26
Speaker
If if you're not going to some other guy might.
00:09:34
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I know, Dad.
00:09:36
Speaker
I don't think I want to go over there, but look, I got my driver's permit this summer.
00:09:42
Speaker
Is there any chance you take me out and I could just get some driving time in tonight?
00:09:46
Speaker
Absolutely, son.
00:09:48
Speaker
And I can give you pointers on the way.
00:09:50
Speaker
And he, without like him thinking that you were asking him right now, just ushers you out the door to the car.
00:09:56
Speaker
All right.
00:09:59
Speaker
All right.
00:09:59
Speaker
All right.
00:10:00
Speaker
Let's go.
00:10:00
Speaker
Let's go, my boy.
00:10:02
Speaker
I'm not sure how I feel about Ned's dad.
00:10:05
Speaker
Yeah, that's how we all feel.
00:10:09
Speaker
He's a bit much.
00:10:11
Speaker
Yeah.
00:10:12
Speaker
Arthur, what are you up to?
A Mysterious Package Arrives
00:10:15
Speaker
Arthur is trying to crack the conspiracy of Chris's murder.
00:10:21
Speaker
So he's been online on his computer for at least a day.
00:10:26
Speaker
You mentioned that you have a YouTube channel, yes?
00:10:29
Speaker
Oh, yeah.
00:10:30
Speaker
And what's the name of this YouTube channel?
00:10:32
Speaker
They're out there.
00:10:33
Speaker
Rule me a D100, would you?
00:10:38
Speaker
27.
00:10:38
Speaker
270 subscribers.
00:10:39
Speaker
You're doing all right.
00:10:42
Speaker
It's a humble group.
00:10:43
Speaker
Unfortunately, not enough to be monetized by YouTube standards yet.
00:10:47
Speaker
Well, hey, I don't need the man to tell me what I can and can't get paid for.
00:10:54
Speaker
So, Arthur, you are diligently working and you hear the doorbell ring.
00:11:01
Speaker
Uh, I first ignore it.
00:11:03
Speaker
I am too busy in my work.
00:11:06
Speaker
My my brother can get it or my mom.
00:11:11
Speaker
Uh, roll me a check.
00:11:15
Speaker
Let's do.
00:11:18
Speaker
Now, you know what?
00:11:19
Speaker
I won't make you roll me a check.
00:11:20
Speaker
I can't think of what I want you to do.
00:11:22
Speaker
Your brother and your mom and all them aren't home.
00:11:25
Speaker
Ah, your mom and dad are at work and who fucking knows where your brother went.
00:11:30
Speaker
You hear a knock.
00:11:31
Speaker
Arthur, Arthur begrudgingly sighs and I'll get it.
00:11:36
Speaker
Do you, Arthur, do you live in a one story or two story?
00:11:39
Speaker
It's a one story.
00:11:41
Speaker
OK, so you go down the hallway and you see the shadow of somebody standing at the front door.
00:11:49
Speaker
It looks like they're in some kind of uniform, but you can't tell what exactly.
00:11:52
Speaker
I want to look through our people.
00:11:56
Speaker
OK, get a better look.
00:11:57
Speaker
It is a delivery person and it looks like they're holding a box.
00:12:02
Speaker
I'll open up the door.
00:12:04
Speaker
Yeah.
00:12:04
Speaker
Hello, sir.
00:12:05
Speaker
I'm I'm with the Postal Service here.
00:12:09
Speaker
I got a package here for a a Arthur Arthur.
00:12:14
Speaker
Gooseberg.
00:12:19
Speaker
Yeah, close enough.
00:12:21
Speaker
That's me.
00:12:22
Speaker
Okay.
00:12:23
Speaker
You see him take out a scanner and scan it.
00:12:25
Speaker
He hands it to you.
00:12:27
Speaker
He hands the scanner to you, and he goes, I need a signature here for you.
00:12:30
Speaker
Just go ahead and sign in the box, and it's all yours.
00:12:35
Speaker
I give him a super lazy cursive signature, like, here you go.
00:12:41
Speaker
I grab the box and close the door.
00:12:43
Speaker
All right, thank you.
00:12:44
Speaker
That's all he gets out before the door closes in his face.
00:12:47
Speaker
Immediately starts tearing into it.
00:12:49
Speaker
I was going to say, roll me a intelligence.
00:12:55
Speaker
One of your base stats up top.
00:12:57
Speaker
Okay, I was looking around.
00:12:59
Speaker
I'm like, I don't see that in percentile.
00:13:03
Speaker
63.
00:13:04
Speaker
And what's your intelligence?
00:13:05
Speaker
My intelligence is 60. 60.
00:13:09
Speaker
You know what?
00:13:09
Speaker
I'll give you a plus 10 because I want you to succeed in this one.
00:13:12
Speaker
So you rolled a 63 and a 70.
00:13:15
Speaker
You didn't order any package.
00:13:17
Speaker
Oh, yeah.
00:13:18
Speaker
Who did I look to see who it was from?
00:13:21
Speaker
There is no return address on it.
00:13:24
Speaker
Hmm.
00:13:25
Speaker
Creepy.
00:13:26
Speaker
And it has a handwritten label, not like an Amazon label.
00:13:30
Speaker
It has like an actual handwritten...
00:13:33
Speaker
label is a hand handmade package i uh i diligently open it inside the box you see tissue paper wrapped around an item almost like you know if you were to get like a shirt or something for christmas i guess i'll open it up okay are you sure you didn't order anything off the dark web
00:13:56
Speaker
I'm trying to think.
00:13:57
Speaker
I don't think it was supposed to be this week.
00:14:04
Speaker
So as you open the first the first side of the tissue paper, you see that it's a hoodie.
00:14:11
Speaker
But before you can see what's on it, you see a handwritten note that says from your biggest fan.
00:14:17
Speaker
And as you open the other side, my guy see on the hoodie.
00:14:22
Speaker
There is a giant saucer, like a flying saucer, and it says, they're out there.
00:14:30
Speaker
And on the back of the hoodie, up by the neck, is the little YouTube logo.
00:14:35
Speaker
A single tear goes down Arthur's cheek.
00:14:38
Speaker
Glorious.
00:14:39
Speaker
All right.
00:14:40
Speaker
And let's see, Ryan, what are you doing?
00:14:44
Speaker
Ryan is currently a little ways outside of town at a abandoned junkyard, kind of his little home away from home for the last like two-ish years.
00:14:55
Speaker
And he's kind of just chilling, wasting time.
00:14:58
Speaker
What are you thinking about right now?
00:15:01
Speaker
No, he's just contemplating how a really good summer just came to a really shitty end.
00:15:07
Speaker
Okay.
00:15:08
Speaker
And also wondering what happened to Chris, considering he was a, you know, military guy.
00:15:13
Speaker
He's either a freak accident or something really bad.
00:15:16
Speaker
And yet nobody has said anything.
00:15:18
Speaker
Nobody has said anything.
00:15:19
Speaker
And actually, roll me a history.
00:15:24
Speaker
I think history would be the right thing.
00:15:26
Speaker
Yes.
00:15:28
Speaker
That is not going to go well.
00:15:31
Speaker
That is a net six on a 10.
00:15:35
Speaker
Damn.
00:15:36
Speaker
Jesus.
00:15:36
Speaker
I was not expecting to get that.
00:15:39
Speaker
Well, I hate to say that you ruined such a good role on the fact that you also realize that ever since Ashley told you about her brother, she hasn't contacted you at all since either personally or in the group chat.
00:15:52
Speaker
And Ashley's the kind of person that texts every day.
00:15:55
Speaker
He's going to kind of frown to himself at that and put his cigarette out real quick.
00:15:59
Speaker
And, uh,
00:16:00
Speaker
Open up her contact and actually give her a call just to see how she is.
00:16:04
Speaker
You dial, or you, I was going to say you dial her number, but you hit the call button, and her phone goes straight to voicemail.
00:16:11
Speaker
He's going to hang up before leaving a message and dial Ned.
00:16:15
Speaker
Okay, Ned, roll an alertness for me.
00:16:18
Speaker
Okay, I can do that for you.
00:16:22
Speaker
I got a 57 on a 20.
00:16:25
Speaker
So you try to dial Ned and his rings and rings and rings and rings and he doesn't pick up.
00:16:35
Speaker
God damn it, Ned.
00:16:37
Speaker
He is going to hang up for that before it even finishes and call Samantha.
00:16:43
Speaker
Samantha, go ahead and roll me in a litness.
00:16:46
Speaker
Okay.
00:16:47
Speaker
And I'm actually going to have you do it at a negative 20.
00:16:49
Speaker
Since you are currently riding Anubis.
00:16:52
Speaker
Well,
Samantha's Stormy Ride
00:16:53
Speaker
I still passed.
00:16:55
Speaker
Okay.
00:16:56
Speaker
You feel something that it feels like something's vibrating.
00:17:01
Speaker
I don't know.
00:17:01
Speaker
It could be something that it's just maybe it's the way your jeans are rubbing up against the horse or oh shit.
00:17:08
Speaker
No, you your phone's still in your back pocket.
00:17:10
Speaker
God damn it.
00:17:11
Speaker
Who's calling you right now?
00:17:12
Speaker
So I stop Anubis and I pull out my phone and I see that it's Ryan calling.
00:17:17
Speaker
Hello?
00:17:18
Speaker
Hey, I know it's an odd hour, but quick question.
00:17:23
Speaker
You haven't heard from a
00:17:25
Speaker
Uh, Ashley.
00:17:26
Speaker
In the last, like, day or so, have you?
00:17:29
Speaker
She takes a second and kind of pulls the phone away and, like, looks at her messages.
00:17:33
Speaker
No, I haven't.
00:17:34
Speaker
Uh, she hasn't talked to you guys either?
00:17:36
Speaker
No, and I tried to call her and went straight to voicemail.
00:17:39
Speaker
Seemed kind of odd, considering she's practically glued to the thing for having to have it turned off.
00:17:44
Speaker
Right, right.
00:17:45
Speaker
Um, I'm not too far from her house, so I will head on over there and see if I can get a hold of her.
00:17:51
Speaker
And I'll get back to you guys and let you know.
00:17:53
Speaker
I'll send it to the group chat.
00:17:54
Speaker
All right.
00:17:55
Speaker
So if you need any help, just send a text.
00:18:00
Speaker
I'll be right over.
00:18:00
Speaker
Not doing anything.
00:18:02
Speaker
Yeah, sounds good.
00:18:02
Speaker
I'll send a message out if she's not answering or something.
00:18:05
Speaker
So Samantha will hang up the call.
00:18:09
Speaker
And instead of riding back to the barn, she literally just turns Anubis and takes off at a full gallop towards Ashley's house.
00:18:17
Speaker
So you're out on the trail now.
00:18:19
Speaker
You're not in the woods.
00:18:21
Speaker
Correct.
00:18:21
Speaker
Correct.
00:18:22
Speaker
That is very, very disappointing because remember that alertness I made you roll earlier?
00:18:29
Speaker
Yeah, you didn't see the storm clouds coming in.
00:18:31
Speaker
Fantastic.
00:18:34
Speaker
As you start riding towards Ashley's house, it just starts to torrential downpour on you to the point where it's hard for you to see just a couple feet in front of Anubis.
00:18:47
Speaker
Of course, of course.
00:18:49
Speaker
So she'll slow Anubis down to a trot.
00:18:53
Speaker
So this way they don't, you know, hopefully not hit any branches or anything like that.
00:18:58
Speaker
But she's still going to trek on towards Ashley's house.
00:19:01
Speaker
Okay.
00:19:02
Speaker
Give me a luck check, but give it to me at a negative 20.
00:19:07
Speaker
Okay, so I got a 25.
00:19:15
Speaker
So when I add 20 onto that, that's like, what, a 45?
00:19:18
Speaker
So the way a negative works is your, if I remember correctly, your luck is like a 95.
00:19:23
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:25
Speaker
Minus 95.
00:19:28
Speaker
So if I tell you to roll at a negative 20, you would take 20 away from that.
00:19:34
Speaker
So basically you would be rolling against a 75 instead of a 95.
00:19:37
Speaker
Oh, okay.
00:19:38
Speaker
So I still passed it.
00:19:39
Speaker
So you still passed.
00:19:40
Speaker
Yep.
00:19:41
Speaker
Yeah, you are able to...
00:19:43
Speaker
safely make the trek over to Ashley's place.
00:19:46
Speaker
Cool.
00:19:46
Speaker
You don't run into any hiccups aside from the fact that you and Anubis are soaked.
00:19:52
Speaker
Okay, so because Samantha rides over to Ashley's house a lot, Ashley's parents ended up putting a little paddock out, like building a little paddock for Anubis.
00:20:05
Speaker
So Samantha will put Anubis in that paddock and then just go over to the door and just start, like, before she knocks on it, she even just tries the handle because she's basically like family and just tries to, she basically lives there a lot.
00:20:17
Speaker
So
An Empty House & A List
00:20:18
Speaker
she tries the handle to go inside.
00:20:21
Speaker
And you're coming in from the backyard?
00:20:23
Speaker
Yes.
00:20:24
Speaker
The door is locked.
00:20:26
Speaker
And this door is never locked.
00:20:28
Speaker
She starts kind of like banging on the door and calling Ashley's name.
00:20:32
Speaker
So you sit there and you bang on the door.
00:20:34
Speaker
You're calling for Ashley.
00:20:36
Speaker
You're calling for her parents.
00:20:37
Speaker
You're calling for anyone to let you in out of the rain at this point.
00:20:40
Speaker
But it seems like nobody's home.
00:20:42
Speaker
Is there a hide-a-key that she could find?
00:20:47
Speaker
I would say roll search, but that doesn't seem...
00:20:49
Speaker
Like, or would she know of where the hide a key would be?
00:20:53
Speaker
I would feel like if they would have one, since you and her like best friends, you would know where it's at.
00:20:59
Speaker
Just roll me a 50-50.
00:21:00
Speaker
That's just the D100 still?
00:21:03
Speaker
Roll me a D100.
00:21:04
Speaker
If you roll 50 or lower, you pass.
00:21:06
Speaker
If you roll higher than 50, you fail.
00:21:09
Speaker
That's a two.
00:21:10
Speaker
Okay.
00:21:10
Speaker
Yeah, there's a hide a key.
00:21:12
Speaker
Okay.
00:21:12
Speaker
So Samantha grabs the hide a key and unlocks the door and goes inside.
00:21:17
Speaker
Okay.
00:21:18
Speaker
Before we resolve that, we're going to go back to Ned.
00:21:21
Speaker
Ned, you're driving in your car with your dad.
00:21:23
Speaker
I'm going to say while keeping both hands on the wheel, Dad, can you just go ahead and put my phone on silent?
00:21:28
Speaker
I don't want to hear it ringing while you're trying to teach me how to do this here.
00:21:31
Speaker
Oh, yeah, totally.
00:21:34
Speaker
Who?
00:21:34
Speaker
Oh, yeah.
00:21:37
Speaker
You actually missed a call.
00:21:38
Speaker
Yeah, that's what that noise was.
00:21:40
Speaker
I could hear it.
00:21:41
Speaker
Who called?
00:21:42
Speaker
It was your buddy Ryan.
00:21:45
Speaker
Oh, that's weird.
00:21:45
Speaker
He don't call very often.
00:21:47
Speaker
Do you want to pull over and give him a call back?
00:21:51
Speaker
Or do you want me to take over so you can take a call?
00:21:55
Speaker
I'll get us back home.
00:21:56
Speaker
We've been out here for about 20 more minutes to get back home.
00:22:00
Speaker
That'll be plenty of driving time.
00:22:02
Speaker
Just make sure that you sign off that we put these hours in.
00:22:06
Speaker
I'd really like to get my license as soon as possible.
00:22:09
Speaker
That way I can drive to school.
00:22:11
Speaker
I will 100% sign off.
00:22:13
Speaker
How many more hours do you need?
00:22:14
Speaker
I know you've been driving with your mother quite a bit lately.
00:22:19
Speaker
I don't know.
00:22:19
Speaker
I haven't actually looked at it.
00:22:21
Speaker
I'm just trying to get all the practice and I can.
00:22:22
Speaker
When we get home, we can ask her where she puts a little book and we can figure it out.
00:22:27
Speaker
All right.
00:22:27
Speaker
That sounds good.
00:22:29
Speaker
All right.
00:22:30
Speaker
And then we'll turn around and drive.
00:22:32
Speaker
Yep.
00:22:32
Speaker
You turn around here.
00:22:34
Speaker
Show me how to do a good three-point turn.
00:22:40
Speaker
Dad, we're on a
00:22:41
Speaker
One way road.
00:22:42
Speaker
I don't think that's a great idea.
00:22:44
Speaker
You see, he just kind of looks around like a word.
00:22:47
Speaker
Right.
00:22:48
Speaker
Yeah.
00:22:49
Speaker
Yeah.
00:22:49
Speaker
Yeah.
00:22:50
Speaker
I was testing you.
00:22:51
Speaker
Good job, kiddo.
00:22:53
Speaker
Yeah.
00:22:53
Speaker
All right.
00:22:54
Speaker
And then I just go down and I drive back home so that I can call Ryan back.
00:22:59
Speaker
Okay, so as you pull back into the driveway, your dad claps you on the shoulder and he goes, good job, son.
00:23:07
Speaker
I'm very, very proud of you.
00:23:09
Speaker
And you did great.
00:23:10
Speaker
And he gets out of the car and closes the door.
00:23:13
Speaker
Ned's going to take a minute sitting in the car after he hears his dad's door shut.
00:23:19
Speaker
What is wrong with him?
00:23:21
Speaker
He's been acting kind of funny lately.
00:23:25
Speaker
I don't know, I gotta get inside, I gotta go call Ryan back.
00:23:29
Speaker
And I go inside and I hit the call back to call Ryan.
00:23:32
Speaker
Ryan, roll me an alertness.
00:23:39
Speaker
That is a 65 on a 60.
00:23:44
Speaker
Man, you two are just playing phone tag with each other.
00:23:47
Speaker
I don't even know why I ever try to call this guy.
00:23:49
Speaker
He never has his ringer on.
00:23:51
Speaker
I'm going to shoot him a text that says, hey, you called.
00:23:54
Speaker
I was out driving.
00:23:55
Speaker
Okay.
00:23:56
Speaker
So I'm sure if you're just out at the junkyard, you're checking your phone periodically.
00:24:01
Speaker
So eventually you see that you missed a call from Ned and you see the text saying that he missed your call and asking what's up because he was out driving.
00:24:11
Speaker
Uh, Ned, Ryan, would you shoot back that, uh, yeah, I was wondering if you heard from Ashley.
00:24:17
Speaker
No, I haven't heard nothing from Ashley.
00:24:20
Speaker
Safe to assume this is all just texting back and forth.
00:24:23
Speaker
Yeah.
00:24:24
Speaker
Okay.
00:24:24
Speaker
Yeah.
00:24:25
Speaker
I said, no, I haven't heard from her.
00:24:28
Speaker
Uh, I've just been trying to give her space.
00:24:30
Speaker
I don't really know how to help her.
00:24:32
Speaker
Is this in the group chat or is with just the two of you?
00:24:36
Speaker
Uh, just between me and Ryan.
00:24:38
Speaker
Uh, Ryan will just respond.
00:24:40
Speaker
Well, if you want some advice, just send her a simple text, letting her know that, you know, you're there to talk if need be.
00:24:46
Speaker
But I tried calling her and went right to voicemail.
00:24:49
Speaker
I've sent her a couple texts.
00:24:51
Speaker
You know what?
00:24:52
Speaker
I just go ahead and call him.
00:24:53
Speaker
Now that I know he's staring at his phone, I'm going to call him.
00:24:56
Speaker
Okay.
00:24:56
Speaker
Obviously, you're staring at your phone.
00:24:58
Speaker
I'm not going to make you roll alertness for that.
00:24:59
Speaker
Roll an alertness.
00:25:01
Speaker
Sorry, man.
00:25:02
Speaker
I just missed you.
00:25:03
Speaker
All right.
00:25:04
Speaker
So, Ryan, you said you tried to call her and it went straight to voicemail?
00:25:08
Speaker
Yeah.
00:25:09
Speaker
It's kind of odd for her not to have her phone on, but Samantha said she was out heading that way.
00:25:16
Speaker
Although, with this fucking rain, I don't know.
00:25:18
Speaker
I'm hoping she was driving, not riding.
00:25:21
Speaker
All right.
00:25:22
Speaker
You know better than that.
00:25:23
Speaker
You know she wasn't driving if she ain't got to.
00:25:25
Speaker
All right.
00:25:26
Speaker
Well, I think I'm going to.
00:25:27
Speaker
Little did Ryan know.
00:25:29
Speaker
Where are you at right now?
00:25:30
Speaker
Is there any chance you can swing by and scoop me up?
00:25:32
Speaker
We'll just go over to her house and check on her.
00:25:34
Speaker
Ryan glances around the junkyard that's outside of town and goes, Yeah, it's going to be a minute, but I can try and do that.
00:25:42
Speaker
All right, man.
00:25:43
Speaker
Well, it's only about 5 o'clock right now.
00:25:46
Speaker
We got some time.
00:25:47
Speaker
So just swing on out here, scoop me up.
00:25:50
Speaker
And I'll get a hold of Arthur, too.
00:25:52
Speaker
Yeah, good luck with that.
00:25:53
Speaker
He's probably working on that channel of his, and he's probably not paying attention very much, but let me know how that goes.
00:26:00
Speaker
All right, I will.
00:26:02
Speaker
Give me a holler when you get to the driveway.
00:26:04
Speaker
Gotcha.
00:26:05
Speaker
And Ryan is going to brave the torrential downpour to go get in his car.
00:26:09
Speaker
So you're at the junkyard.
00:26:12
Speaker
Are you like at an overhang or something?
00:26:16
Speaker
What do you mean by overhang?
00:26:17
Speaker
Like, so you're sitting underneath something that is shielding you from the rain?
00:26:23
Speaker
Yes, a small, like, half-finished, like, cinder brick building.
00:26:27
Speaker
It's got a roof and kind of walls?
00:26:30
Speaker
We could assume that you parked pretty close.
00:26:33
Speaker
Yeah.
00:26:34
Speaker
Okay.
00:26:35
Speaker
Alright, so you get in your car and you start heading towards Ned's place.
00:26:41
Speaker
Um... Arthur, what are you doing now?
00:26:45
Speaker
Uh, well...
00:26:46
Speaker
After I put my new hoodie on, I continue my online research to figure out how Chris was murdered.
00:26:58
Speaker
Gotta get this conspiracy down.
00:27:00
Speaker
It's also happening in our hometown, so I have to use it for my subscribers.
00:27:05
Speaker
My YouTube channel can get good views off of this as well.
00:27:10
Speaker
So it's a win-win for everybody, really.
00:27:13
Speaker
Well, I mean, he didn't die in your hometown.
00:27:16
Speaker
See, exactly.
00:27:16
Speaker
These are more information by Arthur's researching to figure out what went down.
00:27:23
Speaker
Okay.
00:27:24
Speaker
All right.
00:27:25
Speaker
Go ahead and roll me an alertness check.
00:27:29
Speaker
But since you're so focused, I'm going to say roll it at a negative 20.
00:27:33
Speaker
Oh, God.
00:27:34
Speaker
So my alertness is 20%.
00:27:41
Speaker
If you're negative 20, it's zero.
00:27:44
Speaker
How do I?
00:27:45
Speaker
How do I beat that?
00:27:48
Speaker
You roll a one to succeed or to roll about 91.
00:27:57
Speaker
Yeah.
00:27:57
Speaker
So you just don't you don't realize that Ned is trying to get a hold of you right now.
00:28:04
Speaker
Oh, Arthur.
00:28:06
Speaker
I look out the window.
00:28:07
Speaker
I'm like, man, I'm sure glad I'm not out in that rain.
00:28:10
Speaker
And I go back to the computer.
00:28:12
Speaker
Okay.
00:28:13
Speaker
Samantha's cursing you right now.
00:28:16
Speaker
We're actually coming back to you, Samantha.
00:28:20
Speaker
Arthur's scene was a little bit shorter than we planned out at being.
00:28:23
Speaker
Okay.
00:28:24
Speaker
I didn't expect not to answer the phone either.
00:28:27
Speaker
The dice said no.
00:28:29
Speaker
Yeah.
00:28:31
Speaker
So, Samantha, you use the hide-a-key.
00:28:34
Speaker
You go into Ashley's back door to the house.
00:28:38
Speaker
And it's August in Ohio.
00:28:40
Speaker
It's, you know, 5 o'clock.
00:28:43
Speaker
So it's not getting dark yet, but it's dark in the house.
00:28:48
Speaker
All of the shades are pulled.
00:28:51
Speaker
There are no lights on.
00:28:52
Speaker
And it just seems like nobody's been here for the past couple days.
00:28:56
Speaker
Hello?
00:28:57
Speaker
Ashley?
00:28:59
Speaker
You are met with absolute silence.
00:29:02
Speaker
She starts to advance in the house.
00:29:06
Speaker
Even though she's sopping wet, she's still kind of just concerned at this point.
00:29:11
Speaker
So she doesn't really care.
00:29:13
Speaker
She knows Mr. and Mrs. Brooks will probably be pissed off at her later, but it's kind of important that she finds Ashley at the moment.
00:29:21
Speaker
So she starts to head towards Ashley's bedroom.
00:29:25
Speaker
Okay.
00:29:26
Speaker
Are you looking for anything on the way there?
00:29:28
Speaker
Um, I'm looking for either like, well, not either.
00:29:33
Speaker
Like I'm looking for signs of if they've packed anything and just left.
00:29:37
Speaker
So I'm kind of looking in their rooms to see if they're a little bit disheveled or anything like they packed up in a hurry to leave.
00:29:44
Speaker
Okay.
00:29:45
Speaker
Um, I'm not even going to make you roll for that one.
00:29:47
Speaker
Aside from the, like the blinds being drawn and all that seems like, you know, the Brooks house is, you know, it and love it.
00:29:57
Speaker
Seeing that everything is pretty much in order, she starts to head upstairs to Ashley's bedroom.
00:30:04
Speaker
Okay.
00:30:05
Speaker
So you head upstairs to Ashley's bedroom.
00:30:07
Speaker
Again, is there anything in particular you're looking for up here?
00:30:11
Speaker
Or are you just looking for signs of your friend?
00:30:14
Speaker
At this point, I'm just looking for any sign of my friend.
00:30:17
Speaker
Okay.
00:30:18
Speaker
You roll a search.
00:30:26
Speaker
Oh, boy.
00:30:27
Speaker
Where did those go?
00:30:28
Speaker
That would be a seven.
00:30:30
Speaker
A seven.
00:30:31
Speaker
Everything in this house seems like there should be people living here.
00:30:37
Speaker
What do you mean?
00:30:38
Speaker
Like, it seems like nothing is out of the ordinary.
00:30:43
Speaker
It doesn't look like there's been any kind of struggle, so like...
00:30:47
Speaker
You're not really fearing for anybody being in danger, per se.
00:30:52
Speaker
Okay.
00:30:53
Speaker
It's like Ashley just vanished.
00:30:55
Speaker
But you do notice on Ashley's bed, there is a crumpled up piece of paper.
00:31:03
Speaker
So you look at the piece of paper crumpled on the bed with a search of seven.
00:31:09
Speaker
And it looks like a list, like almost like a grocery list.
00:31:13
Speaker
Okay.
00:31:14
Speaker
Okay.
00:31:15
Speaker
But it's a list of things you've, like, in all the time you've known Ashley, why would she be writing a list like this?
00:31:24
Speaker
It's got things like dog nails and elmwood leaves.
00:31:30
Speaker
But the thing that really stands out to you is the last thing on this list that says fresh blood.
00:31:38
Speaker
In reading this list, Samantha has...
00:31:43
Speaker
like a very sinking feeling, especially after reading fresh blood at the bottom.
00:31:47
Speaker
And it looks like it's kind of like underlined.
00:31:50
Speaker
She immediately pulls out her phone and texts to the group and says, come to Ashley's immediately.
00:31:57
Speaker
Something is not right.
00:31:58
Speaker
And she goes back to looking for Ashley now and calls out again.
00:32:03
Speaker
Ashley, Ashley, where are you?
00:32:07
Speaker
This isn't funny anymore.
00:32:09
Speaker
We're worried about you.
00:32:10
Speaker
Where are you?
00:32:11
Speaker
And she goes back like frantically looking through the house for someone.
00:32:15
Speaker
If anyone's there.
00:32:16
Speaker
I'm not even going to make you roll me a search.
00:32:19
Speaker
The house is completely empty.
00:32:21
Speaker
Well, fuck.
00:32:22
Speaker
But I will have you roll me a history.
Unraveling the Mystery
00:32:27
Speaker
Roll me a history.
00:32:28
Speaker
History is my history.
00:32:29
Speaker
Okay.
00:32:30
Speaker
10%.
00:32:31
Speaker
Got it.
00:32:32
Speaker
That's a 19.
00:32:35
Speaker
Close.
00:32:37
Speaker
Close, but it is a fail.
00:32:39
Speaker
It is a fail.
00:32:40
Speaker
You are too frantic worrying about your friend to remember something.
00:32:45
Speaker
Okay.
00:32:46
Speaker
It's at this moment that Ryan pulls up to Ned's house.
00:32:53
Speaker
I go out the door and tell my dad, hey, dad, I'm going out with Ryan.
00:32:58
Speaker
We're going to head on over to Ashley's house now.
00:33:01
Speaker
Just like you said, going to go give it a shot and see how they're doing.
00:33:05
Speaker
That's my boy.
00:33:10
Speaker
You go get her, my boy.
00:33:11
Speaker
I put on my Doc Martens and I go out the door and I jump into the Lincoln.
00:33:16
Speaker
Hey, Ryan, thanks for coming to get me so quick.
00:33:19
Speaker
I know this weather ain't so great, but I really appreciate you.
00:33:23
Speaker
Yeah, it's no problem.
00:33:24
Speaker
Something doesn't feel right.
00:33:27
Speaker
No, no, it really don't.
00:33:29
Speaker
She always has her phone on.
00:33:31
Speaker
It's never out of her hand.
00:33:32
Speaker
I'm pretty sure she sleeps with it in there.
00:33:34
Speaker
Let's boogie.
00:33:37
Speaker
Let's go ahead and get on over there.
00:33:39
Speaker
Yeah, we can do that.
00:33:40
Speaker
Why don't you give Samantha a call just to see what she found if she made it there?
00:33:44
Speaker
All right, I can do that.
00:33:48
Speaker
So I pull out my phone and take a look at it and get ready to call her.
00:33:52
Speaker
Okay.
00:33:52
Speaker
Samantha, you know the drill at this point.
00:33:54
Speaker
Would he have seen the text you sent out at that point?
00:33:57
Speaker
There's what I was looking for.
00:33:59
Speaker
So I will say right as he's about to call you, your text comes through.
00:34:05
Speaker
Ryan, she just sent a message in the group chat telling us all to get on over there.
00:34:13
Speaker
I'm going to go ahead and skip calling her right now.
00:34:15
Speaker
I'm going to give Arthur a call.
00:34:17
Speaker
I think we pick him up if he's actually going to answer.
00:34:20
Speaker
Yeah.
00:34:20
Speaker
All right.
00:34:21
Speaker
Hey, GM.
00:34:23
Speaker
Yes.
00:34:23
Speaker
Question.
00:34:25
Speaker
Is it still torrential downpouring or is it let up a little bit?
00:34:28
Speaker
It's let up a little bit.
00:34:29
Speaker
Okay.
00:34:30
Speaker
It's still raining.
00:34:31
Speaker
It's still annoyingly raining, but it's not like you can only see a couple feet in front of your car.
00:34:37
Speaker
Yeah.
00:34:38
Speaker
Does Ned tell me exactly what she says?
00:34:41
Speaker
Yeah, I would.
00:34:42
Speaker
I'd read it verbatim.
00:34:44
Speaker
Brian, seeing that he can actually see a little bit, pushes down in the accelerator a little bit faster than he's probably supposed to, just to get there quicker.
00:34:52
Speaker
He's not feeling right.
00:34:53
Speaker
Arthur, I want you to roll me two alertness checks, one for the text and one for Ned's phone call.
00:35:03
Speaker
First one is eight.
00:35:06
Speaker
Second one is 11.
00:35:08
Speaker
And your alertness is 20?
00:35:09
Speaker
Yeah.
00:35:10
Speaker
Perfect.
00:35:11
Speaker
I'm really lucky.
00:35:13
Speaker
Not only do you succeed, you said you got an 11 on the second one?
00:35:18
Speaker
Yeah.
00:35:18
Speaker
Yeah.
00:35:19
Speaker
You critical succeed on that one.
00:35:21
Speaker
So you are typing up a message back to the group and you accidentally accept Ned's phone call as it pulls up.
00:35:32
Speaker
Oh, Jesus Christ.
00:35:34
Speaker
Uh, hi.
00:35:36
Speaker
Oh, holy shit.
00:35:37
Speaker
You don't ever answer your phone, man.
00:35:39
Speaker
I am impressed.
00:35:40
Speaker
Hey, yeah.
00:35:42
Speaker
Yeah.
00:35:42
Speaker
You get that text from Samantha?
00:35:43
Speaker
Yeah.
00:35:44
Speaker
Oh, yeah, like the one we just got a millisecond ago right before you called me?
00:35:48
Speaker
Good guy.
00:35:50
Speaker
Yeah, are you guys coming to pick me up?
00:35:53
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, Ryan just picked me up.
00:35:56
Speaker
He's kind of rough-footing it right now, so we ought to be there in about 10 minutes.
00:36:01
Speaker
Just be ready for us.
00:36:02
Speaker
All right, I'll be ready.
00:36:04
Speaker
All right, click.
00:36:05
Speaker
I like how you say click before you actually hang up the phone.
00:36:07
Speaker
Yeah, we're still on the phone.
00:36:10
Speaker
This is awkward, not hanging up the phone.
00:36:13
Speaker
Goddamn technology.
00:36:15
Speaker
Okay.
00:36:16
Speaker
I am going to give Ned, Arthur, and Ryan the same chance to roll history.
00:36:23
Speaker
Damn.
00:36:27
Speaker
I got a 62 out of 40%.
00:36:31
Speaker
39 out of 40.
00:36:31
Speaker
Nice.
00:36:37
Speaker
46 on a 10.
00:36:40
Speaker
Okay, so Ned will be the one to remember this when it comes up.
00:36:44
Speaker
As of right now, you guys are on your way to go pick up Arthur.
00:36:48
Speaker
And Arthur, are you ready by the time they get there?
00:36:51
Speaker
Just barely.
00:36:52
Speaker
I was eating a snack right when they showed up.
00:36:55
Speaker
I'm like, oh shit, okay, yeah, I'm here, I'm here.
00:36:59
Speaker
Okay, so you go out, you get in the car, and you guys...
00:37:04
Speaker
head over to Ashley's place with no stops, no issues, no nothing.
00:37:09
Speaker
You guys make it there without a problem.
00:37:11
Speaker
Samantha, what are you doing when they pull up?
00:37:13
Speaker
Samantha is legit standing outside on the front porch.
00:37:18
Speaker
It's under an overhang, so she's not getting wet or anything, but she's kind of pacing back and forth, waiting for them to get there.
00:37:25
Speaker
At this point, the rain's mostly let up.
00:37:27
Speaker
It's just kind of a light drizzle now.
00:37:29
Speaker
It was a very quick storm.
00:37:30
Speaker
She's pacing back and forth on the porch, kind of like trying to
00:37:35
Speaker
Like with the note and like the list in her hand, trying to figure out what the fuck fresh blood means.
00:37:40
Speaker
Okay.
00:37:41
Speaker
You guys pull up and you see Samantha pacing on the front porch, holding a piece of paper in her hand.
00:37:47
Speaker
Hey, hey, Sam, what's up?
00:37:50
Speaker
Something's not right.
00:37:52
Speaker
She left this list on her fucking bed.
00:37:54
Speaker
She's not here.
00:37:55
Speaker
Her parents aren't here.
00:37:57
Speaker
The house is fucking locked up and dark.
00:38:01
Speaker
Look at this.
00:38:01
Speaker
And she hands the list off to them.
00:38:04
Speaker
I want to take a gander at this list.
00:38:08
Speaker
When she says that they're gone, Ryan is going to look and see if their car is here.
00:38:11
Speaker
Okay.
00:38:13
Speaker
They normally park in the garage, so you would have to go in through the house to find it.
00:38:19
Speaker
Ryan would first ask Samantha, hey, did you happen to check the garage to see if their car was here?
00:38:26
Speaker
No, I haven't looked in the garage yet.
00:38:27
Speaker
I probably should have, but no.
00:38:31
Speaker
No, you're good.
00:38:33
Speaker
It's unlocked if you want to go inside.
00:38:34
Speaker
Yeah, Ryan's going to head inside.
00:38:36
Speaker
Okay.
00:38:37
Speaker
You guys have been here enough.
00:38:39
Speaker
Obviously, you know, judging by the outside of the house, roughly how to get to the garage, but you've been here enough you know where the garage is at.
00:38:46
Speaker
Their cars are gone.
00:38:48
Speaker
Do I see a note at all in the kitchen or living room or the main entrance at all?
00:38:52
Speaker
Go ahead and roll me a search.
00:38:57
Speaker
That is a 38 on a 40.
00:38:58
Speaker
Okay.
00:38:59
Speaker
Okay.
00:39:03
Speaker
So I'll say you find a few different things.
00:39:06
Speaker
You find a letter, which would have been the letter from the military informing them of what happened.
00:39:13
Speaker
You also see notes, like a notepad, that looks like they are already funeral planning.
00:39:20
Speaker
Do I see anything else of note?
00:39:23
Speaker
That's it.
00:39:25
Speaker
Is there any food out anywhere?
00:39:26
Speaker
Or does everything seem kind of cleaned up?
00:39:29
Speaker
Everything seems kind of cleaned up.
00:39:31
Speaker
It doesn't seem like they left in a hurry.
00:39:34
Speaker
Hey, Ryan, while you're looking around the house there, I'm gonna go check the mailbox.
00:39:38
Speaker
Maybe they just went on something.
00:39:40
Speaker
Maybe they had to leave for the funeral or something like that.
00:39:43
Speaker
So I'm just gonna go see if they got anyone grabbing their mail for them.
00:39:48
Speaker
Ryan is gonna grab that letter and read it.
00:39:51
Speaker
Probably when nobody's looking.
00:39:53
Speaker
What information are you trying to discern out of it?
00:39:56
Speaker
Just trying to see if it gives any sort of information on anything, or if it's like, come collect the body at this military base, or anything like that.
00:40:06
Speaker
Something that might explain why they're gone all of a sudden.
00:40:09
Speaker
Okay, so you read the letter, and basically what it says is, Dear Mr. and Mrs. Brooks, we regret to inform you.
00:40:18
Speaker
that there has been an incident involving your son and underlined, like there's an underline and handwritten in his name, Chris Brooks.
00:40:29
Speaker
And it basically says that you will be contacted with more information.
00:40:36
Speaker
Ryan is going to just curse to himself, and then he's going to go search for Ashley's phone.
00:40:44
Speaker
Because he assumes if he doesn't find it, that she took it with her and everything's probably okay.
00:40:48
Speaker
But if he finds it, he's going to be more worried.
00:40:51
Speaker
Where in the house are you searching for her phone?
00:40:54
Speaker
He would start in her room and then probably move to the living room as a second place.
00:40:58
Speaker
Okay, go ahead and roll me a search in her room.
00:41:04
Speaker
That is a 32, I believe, out of 40.
00:41:06
Speaker
Let me check.
00:41:08
Speaker
Yes, 40.
00:41:08
Speaker
Yeah, I think you said 40.
00:41:09
Speaker
Yeah.
00:41:11
Speaker
Her phone is on her nightstand, and it is plugged in, but the plug is not plugged into the wall.
00:41:17
Speaker
Brian is going to stare at that for a minute and then immediately run downstairs and just be like, guys, something's very, very wrong.
00:41:28
Speaker
Her phone is upstairs plugged in, but not plugged into the wall.
00:41:32
Speaker
See, I told you something was wrong.
00:41:35
Speaker
I've literally watched her cuddle it in her sleep.
00:41:37
Speaker
She would not leave it here.
00:41:39
Speaker
Hey, guys, I went out to the mailbox.
00:41:43
Speaker
There is a couple days mail sitting in here, and I slap it down on the table.
00:41:49
Speaker
If they left, they didn't let nobody know because nobody's grabbing their mail for them.
00:41:53
Speaker
Samantha, you said you had a list?
00:41:56
Speaker
Yeah, Arthur currently has it.
00:41:59
Speaker
Can I roll for a cult?
00:42:01
Speaker
To see if there's some dubiousness behind this list.
00:42:07
Speaker
Maybe in my research, I've learned some sort of rich witch's brew.
00:42:14
Speaker
Or something like that.
00:42:16
Speaker
Sure.
00:42:16
Speaker
Go ahead and roll a cult.
00:42:21
Speaker
25 out of 50.
00:42:21
Speaker
25 out of 50.
00:42:23
Speaker
Okay.
00:42:24
Speaker
So, looking at this list, it's got things...
00:42:29
Speaker
Dog nails, elm leaves, snake skin, the fur of a cat.
00:42:36
Speaker
And the list goes on, but the last thing says fresh blood.
00:42:41
Speaker
This... This to you looks like a list for a ritual.
00:42:46
Speaker
I, uh...
00:42:47
Speaker
I start Googling on my smartphone.
00:42:49
Speaker
Hey, this, my friends, is a list for some sort of ritual.
00:42:56
Speaker
This is bad news.
00:42:57
Speaker
Where'd you find this, Samantha?
00:43:00
Speaker
It was on her bed.
00:43:02
Speaker
What do you mean it's for ritual?
00:43:04
Speaker
Is it in her handwriting, Samantha?
00:43:06
Speaker
Does it look like she wrote it?
00:43:08
Speaker
Yes, that's 100% Ashley's handwriting.
00:43:11
Speaker
Yeah, you've all been friends with Ashley long enough.
00:43:13
Speaker
You know, without a doubt, that is her handwriting.
00:43:15
Speaker
Do I know what kind of ritual?
00:43:17
Speaker
What?
00:43:18
Speaker
While Googling?
00:43:19
Speaker
I will say that you are pretty, pretty easily able to find.
00:43:25
Speaker
It seems like it's a ritual for contacting the dead.
00:43:28
Speaker
Oh, my God.
00:43:30
Speaker
But you find it on a pretty shady website.
00:43:34
Speaker
I'm used to these.
00:43:36
Speaker
Yeah, this one's legit.
00:43:38
Speaker
Looks like Ashley's been experimenting with necromancy.
00:43:45
Speaker
Just to speak with the dead.
00:43:48
Speaker
What the hell is that?
00:43:49
Speaker
OK, not something I would expect Ashley to be doing.
00:43:56
Speaker
Well, where are they?
00:43:59
Speaker
Considering she lost her brother, I can understand her doing some weird things, but her parents as well.
00:44:05
Speaker
Yeah, something is it Mr. and Mrs. Brooks always tell at least my family where they're going so we can water the plants, bring in their mail.
00:44:16
Speaker
Samantha starts pacing again.
00:44:17
Speaker
Hey, Ned.
A Desperate Ritual Attempt
00:44:20
Speaker
Hey, Ned.
00:44:24
Speaker
I just want to say hi.
00:44:28
Speaker
We'll let Ryan resolve first.
00:44:31
Speaker
Hey, Ned.
00:44:32
Speaker
Do you want to put a call into the cops?
00:44:34
Speaker
Because this is seeming a little bit more odd than anything.
00:44:41
Speaker
It may be nothing, but better best to let him know just in case.
00:44:45
Speaker
Before you say anything, Ned, remember that history check I made you roll earlier?
00:44:50
Speaker
Yes.
00:44:52
Speaker
You guys haven't checked the usual spot yet.
00:44:55
Speaker
Oh, fuck.
00:44:55
Speaker
Y'all, we're dumb as hammers.
00:44:58
Speaker
We need to go to the treehouse.
00:45:00
Speaker
That's where we always go whenever there's some sort of problem or something going on.
00:45:03
Speaker
We need to get up to their treehouse.
00:45:05
Speaker
Would she have taken her parents there as well?
00:45:08
Speaker
And not her phone?
00:45:10
Speaker
I'm not going to lie.
00:45:11
Speaker
Her parents are cool and all, but she's one of our best friends, so...
00:45:17
Speaker
I feel like that's just as good a place as any.
00:45:19
Speaker
Let's get on up there and then we can call the cops if we don't find nothing.
00:45:23
Speaker
Samantha's already out the door.
00:45:25
Speaker
Yeah, start going out the door as well.
00:45:27
Speaker
Are you leaving Anubis here or are you going to take him back to the stable first?
00:45:32
Speaker
For now... She's going to take Anubis with to the treehouse.
00:45:37
Speaker
Okay.
00:45:38
Speaker
Yeah.
00:45:39
Speaker
Yeah, that's what's happening.
00:45:41
Speaker
You hear that, God?
00:45:42
Speaker
That's what's happening.
00:45:44
Speaker
I might regret this later.
00:45:45
Speaker
But for now...
00:45:49
Speaker
If you kill my fucking horse, I will come down there and I will stab you with my new brand new pen that a wonderful brother gave me.
00:46:00
Speaker
Oh, don't put blood in that.
00:46:02
Speaker
It's so nice.
00:46:02
Speaker
You need fresh blood on the list anyways.
00:46:05
Speaker
That's true.
00:46:06
Speaker
That's true.
00:46:08
Speaker
Who's to say my blood is fresh?
00:46:09
Speaker
What?
00:46:12
Speaker
What?
00:46:13
Speaker
What?
00:46:13
Speaker
So anyway, you guys go to the treehouse.
00:46:16
Speaker
As we're driving, I don't really have like a bad feeling check, but Ryan's not feeling great about this.
00:46:24
Speaker
And I didn't talk to you about this, GM, but Ryan is going to have Ned reach into the glove box and pull out a revolver, a 22 revolver.
00:46:36
Speaker
Okay.
00:46:37
Speaker
God damn it, Ryan.
00:46:38
Speaker
Why the hell do you have this?
00:46:40
Speaker
Um, because it's a.22?
00:46:42
Speaker
It's like just barely a gun.
00:46:45
Speaker
It's fine.
00:46:46
Speaker
I just, something's not right, and considering how late it is, just in case we run into something.
00:46:51
Speaker
I know these woods aren't dangerous, but you never know.
00:46:54
Speaker
All it takes is a couple of coyotes for them to start feeling brave.
00:46:58
Speaker
Alright, man, alright.
00:47:01
Speaker
Are you feeling brave?
00:47:03
Speaker
He's gonna, you said it's a revolver?
00:47:06
Speaker
Yes, a.22 revolver.
00:47:08
Speaker
All right.
00:47:09
Speaker
Ned's going to hit the release.
00:47:11
Speaker
He's going to pop the cylinder out and look inside and see how many bullets he has.
00:47:15
Speaker
So not a Rick Grimes type revolver?
00:47:19
Speaker
No, that's exactly... Well, not massive like Rick Grimes revolver, but... Yeah, that'll break your arm.
00:47:26
Speaker
Roll me, Ned, a...
00:47:35
Speaker
What would I have you roll me?
00:47:38
Speaker
I want to do like a handling check, but there's no handling.
00:47:40
Speaker
You know what?
00:47:41
Speaker
Just roll me a dexterity check.
00:47:43
Speaker
21 on a 65.
00:47:46
Speaker
Okay, you know your way around a revolver enough to be able to do that.
00:47:49
Speaker
How many bullets do I see?
00:47:51
Speaker
It would be fully loaded.
00:47:52
Speaker
Yeah, I was going to say I would assume they would be fully loaded.
00:47:55
Speaker
All right.
00:47:56
Speaker
All right, you got six in there.
00:47:58
Speaker
All right, I'm going to flip the cylinder back into it, and then I'm going to hit the safety on it.
00:48:05
Speaker
Ryan, you didn't have the safety on, man.
00:48:07
Speaker
Oh, there's firearms.
00:48:08
Speaker
Dumb motherfucker.
00:48:10
Speaker
Okay.
00:48:11
Speaker
Anyway.
00:48:13
Speaker
Uh...
00:48:14
Speaker
There isn't a safety on that.
00:48:16
Speaker
You just hit the cylinder release on the other side.
00:48:18
Speaker
The safety is the hammer.
00:48:20
Speaker
Look, man, I wasn't going to say nothing.
00:48:23
Speaker
What kind of hodgepodge-ass revolver is this?
00:48:27
Speaker
It's a single fire.
00:48:29
Speaker
Or not a single fire, a single action.
00:48:30
Speaker
That's what I was trying to say.
00:48:32
Speaker
It's a single action.
00:48:33
Speaker
Come on.
00:48:36
Speaker
It's like a cowboy gun, okay?
00:48:37
Speaker
That's the simplest way I can explain it.
00:48:39
Speaker
He's just going to hold out a hand for it.
00:48:41
Speaker
How about we wait until we get to where we're going and you ain't trying to pocket that while we're driving.
00:48:46
Speaker
Ryan is just going to turn and stare at him while driving, just not looking at the road, and then just slowly turn back and keep driving.
00:48:54
Speaker
Yeah, calm down, Vin Diesel.
00:48:56
Speaker
I ain't trying to keep it from you.
00:48:58
Speaker
Well, I'd hope not.
00:49:00
Speaker
Last time you saw that thing, you nearly put my eye out.
00:49:02
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:49:06
Speaker
So you guys are driving.
00:49:09
Speaker
It is Arthur, Ryan, and Ned in the car, and Samantha is on Anubis.
00:49:15
Speaker
I'm going to say, I'm guessing you're driving pretty quick.
00:49:19
Speaker
Yeah, if the rain's letting up and almost gone, he is not flooring it.
00:49:23
Speaker
He's trying not to get pulled over, but he's definitely pushing the speedometer.
00:49:28
Speaker
I would say that you and Samantha basically get there about the same time then because, you know, lucky for her, she has more of a straight shot.
00:49:36
Speaker
But with you driving a little bit fast, I'd say you guys get there about the same time.
00:49:39
Speaker
You see that there are lights on in the treehouse.
00:49:42
Speaker
Ryan is going to take the revolver and just slip it into the back of his pants.
00:49:48
Speaker
Okay.
00:49:49
Speaker
Samantha gets off Anubis and ties him to the tree and starts to climb up into the treehouse.
00:49:56
Speaker
Okay.
00:49:58
Speaker
He's also going to throw a or grab a flashlight out of the car.
00:50:02
Speaker
Yeah, it's getting to be about 6, 630 right now.
00:50:04
Speaker
Yeah.
00:50:05
Speaker
Right behind you.
00:50:06
Speaker
And then, yeah, it's going to head towards the treehouse.
00:50:08
Speaker
Are you guys trying to do this stealthily or are you trying to announce the fact that you're there?
00:50:14
Speaker
Samantha is not being stealthy.
00:50:15
Speaker
She's just going for it.
00:50:16
Speaker
I'm also not being stealthy.
00:50:18
Speaker
Not at all.
00:50:20
Speaker
Okay.
00:50:20
Speaker
Uh, Ryan would a little bit.
00:50:22
Speaker
Okay.
00:50:23
Speaker
I would have you roll me a stealth at a negative 40 then, since the rest of your team is not indeed doing that.
00:50:33
Speaker
Nope.
00:50:34
Speaker
74.
00:50:35
Speaker
So Ryan flicks on the flashlight and thinks he's being stealthy.
00:50:38
Speaker
Perfect.
00:50:39
Speaker
You guys climb up the...
00:50:41
Speaker
the ladder.
00:50:42
Speaker
You see the flames of the candles inside flickering against the wall that you can see through the window, and it doesn't feel the way that it should have felt before.
00:50:52
Speaker
It doesn't feel like the good childhood memories.
00:50:56
Speaker
Something is not right.
00:50:58
Speaker
And as Arthur pointed out, that list does look like it could have been something for a
00:51:05
Speaker
For a ritual.
00:51:06
Speaker
For a contacting the dead ritual.
00:51:09
Speaker
And as you guys get to the top of the treehouse and open the door, you see Ashley.
00:51:15
Speaker
And she has made a makeshift table in the middle of the treehouse.
00:51:25
Speaker
And on the table you see she has drawn a star.
00:51:29
Speaker
And you can't tell...
00:51:32
Speaker
what she drew the star out of it doesn't look like blood but it doesn't look like it was like pen or sharpie or anything you you really can't tell but she's standing and she has her palms down on the on the table and as you guys open the door her head snaps up and she goes i figured it out i can talk to chris again
00:51:55
Speaker
What the fuck are you talking about?
00:51:58
Speaker
What do you mean, what am I talking about?
00:52:00
Speaker
Samantha, it's my brother.
00:52:01
Speaker
I can talk to him again.
00:52:04
Speaker
Ashley, he's dead.
00:52:06
Speaker
He's gone.
00:52:07
Speaker
You can't talk to him.
00:52:08
Speaker
You don't think I know that.
00:52:10
Speaker
Then what the fuck are you doing?
00:52:13
Speaker
I figured you guys would be the ones to have my back in all of this.
00:52:17
Speaker
Ashley, you disappeared off the face of the earth these last two days.
00:52:22
Speaker
I have been researching.
00:52:24
Speaker
We could have helped with the research.
00:52:27
Speaker
He's right.
00:52:28
Speaker
I mean, I don't get into any of this witchy business.
00:52:30
Speaker
I didn't know you did, but come on now.
00:52:33
Speaker
This is looking like something out of that supernatural.
00:52:35
Speaker
I didn't.
00:52:36
Speaker
I've never thought about doing anything like this.
00:52:39
Speaker
And you're right, Arthur.
00:52:40
Speaker
I should have come to you for help.
00:52:41
Speaker
This is your cup of tea, but... I'm a little insulted.
00:52:45
Speaker
It's... How can I make you guys understand?
00:52:48
Speaker
It's my brother.
00:52:49
Speaker
I need to see my brother.
00:52:53
Speaker
Samantha is slowly walking over to Ashley to try and put her arms around her to be like, try and calm her down and convince her that this is a bunch of nonsense.
00:53:05
Speaker
Ashley, where's your parents?
00:53:08
Speaker
They, they had errands.
00:53:09
Speaker
They, uh, uh, funeral.
00:53:11
Speaker
They, they don't, it doesn't matter.
00:53:15
Speaker
It doesn't matter where they're at.
00:53:16
Speaker
It does matter.
00:53:17
Speaker
Because they, they can get rid of the body all they want, but I can talk to him.
00:53:20
Speaker
I can,
00:53:21
Speaker
I can speak to Chris again.
00:53:22
Speaker
I can ask him what happened.
00:53:24
Speaker
I can... How?
00:53:26
Speaker
I just... I miss my brother so much.
00:53:30
Speaker
Ashley, I know you miss him.
00:53:33
Speaker
But doing stuff like this isn't the answer.
00:53:37
Speaker
It's not going to bring him back.
00:53:39
Speaker
And even if you could talk to him, it's just going to make the feeling worse.
00:53:44
Speaker
Trust me.
00:53:45
Speaker
Right?
00:53:45
Speaker
And I could get closer.
00:53:47
Speaker
I could find out what happened to him.
00:53:50
Speaker
I could find out what took him from us.
00:53:53
Speaker
Ashley, he was in the military.
00:53:55
Speaker
He was overseas or somewhere.
00:53:57
Speaker
I don't know.
00:53:58
Speaker
You don't really talk much about him, but that's a risk everybody in the military takes.
00:54:04
Speaker
You know that.
00:54:07
Speaker
You just never think it's going to happen to you.
00:54:11
Speaker
No.
00:54:12
Speaker
No, you don't.
00:54:14
Speaker
Come on now, let's get out of here.
00:54:16
Speaker
Let's get you something to eat and let's get you warm.
00:54:19
Speaker
She nods and finally realizing that Samantha had put her arm around her, she turns around and just embraces Samantha in the biggest hug, kind of buries her face into the crook, like where the neck, neck and shoulder is, and just sobs.
00:54:38
Speaker
But she nods.
00:54:39
Speaker
After a minute, she composes herself and she goes,
00:54:46
Speaker
You're right.
00:54:47
Speaker
You're right.
00:54:47
Speaker
Let's, uh, let's, let's go back to the house.
00:54:51
Speaker
Um, God, I don't think I've eaten in the past two days.
00:54:54
Speaker
Yeah.
00:54:55
Speaker
Let's go get food.
00:54:56
Speaker
My treat.
00:54:56
Speaker
Let's, let's go.
00:54:57
Speaker
I'm sorry to make you guys worry.
00:54:59
Speaker
Let's, let's go.
00:55:01
Speaker
Samantha.
00:55:02
Speaker
Let's go of her.
00:55:04
Speaker
And, um,
00:55:05
Speaker
Like, kind of ushers her towards the boys, and then she kind of turns and looks at the altar that she has made and wants to investigate it a little bit.
00:55:17
Speaker
Okay, what is it that you are looking for?
00:55:21
Speaker
Well, she...
00:55:22
Speaker
Ryan has a good point as to where her parents are.
00:55:26
Speaker
And there was fresh blood on the bottom of the sheet.
00:55:29
Speaker
So she wants to look at the star she drew, the pentagram.
00:55:32
Speaker
Let's just all throw it out there.
00:55:33
Speaker
We all know what that means.
00:55:36
Speaker
To make sure it's not actually blood.
00:55:40
Speaker
So I will say this.
00:55:41
Speaker
It is drawn in black.
00:55:44
Speaker
Okay.
00:55:45
Speaker
So it is not indeed blood.
00:55:47
Speaker
Okay.
00:55:49
Speaker
I'm not even going to make you roll for that one.
00:55:50
Speaker
Okay.
00:55:50
Speaker
Okay.
00:55:51
Speaker
My brain went to she killed her parents.
00:55:56
Speaker
To be honest, that's where Ryan went to start.
00:55:58
Speaker
Oh, absolutely.
00:56:00
Speaker
She as you guys are heading back down.
00:56:04
Speaker
She she looks and sees that you guys only brought the one car and then looks over and sees Anubis and she goes, Samantha, don't.
00:56:15
Speaker
And she starts to laugh, which is crazy because it seems like she's just been on a
00:56:20
Speaker
roller coaster of emotions right now.
00:56:22
Speaker
She's goes, do not tell me that you rode the horse in this rain.
00:56:28
Speaker
Um,
Abandoning the Ritual & Eerie Aftermath
00:56:29
Speaker
I plead the fifth.
00:56:32
Speaker
He's fine.
00:56:33
Speaker
He was worried about you too.
00:56:35
Speaker
And Anubis kind of knickers seeing Ashley.
00:56:37
Speaker
She pats the horse.
00:56:39
Speaker
Uh, I want you all to roll me an alertness check.
00:56:42
Speaker
18 out of 20.
00:56:49
Speaker
It's a 15 out of 60.
00:56:51
Speaker
Mine's a 32 out of 60.
00:56:52
Speaker
Sorry, it is a 15 out of 60.
00:56:54
Speaker
76 out of 30.
00:56:57
Speaker
So Ned's the only one that didn't see this.
00:57:00
Speaker
And that's fitting because the girl that you have a crush on is okay, so you're probably way more focused on her.
00:57:07
Speaker
But as...
00:57:08
Speaker
Samantha and Ashley get on Anubis because Ashley offers to ride him back with you to get your car before going out to get food.
00:57:15
Speaker
And everybody else gets in the car.
00:57:17
Speaker
You all, except for Ned, notice that you guys didn't put the candles out in the treehouse.
00:57:25
Speaker
But when you look up, there's no light coming from the windows.
00:57:28
Speaker
And that's where we're going to end this episode.
Episode Outro & Credits
00:57:33
Speaker
Let's Play Pretend is Nick Barnett as Nigel DeLoren, also known as Ned.
00:57:38
Speaker
Breck Black as Ryan Winchester, Matt Check as Arthur Gooseberg, Melanie Derringer as Samantha Williams, and me, Jordan Derringer, as your DMGM handler and host.
00:57:50
Speaker
Keep up with us to find out what we are doing next, and I fucked it up.
00:57:55
Speaker
God damn it!