Yet another terrifying cliffhanger has left our hero Dan dangling from a precipice. Will Cory and Jess get to him in time? Or is he destined to suffer the same fate as his beloved Nara? Hang on! Please don't fall! Shit! The rocks! We're covering a big hole! And it looks...
Pretty deep down there. How do we get you out? Let's see. Okay, I'm going to need you guys to get the pulley out of the bag. I think I got it. Great. Now take the rope and hang the pulley over the highest strong branch you can find. I'll do it. I'm a good climber. What about me? What can I do? Cory, I want you to very carefully throw me the other end of the rope. Just toss it over the edge of the hole. Okay. Ready? Ready. The pulley is in place. One...
Two... Three! I missed! It's okay, kiddo. You got this. Just one more time. One... Two... I got it! Nice throw. Okay, now, both of you, use all of your weight to pull me up. A little more. I'm out. Oh, you did it! We did it, Jess! Thank goodness. Don't mean to be a hater, but if that cloud covers the moon, we'll lose the light. Yeah, yeah, good point. Uh, I see an opening carved out of the rock. Let's see what happens if I can fit the compass in there. Just need to line this up.
Would you look at that? Look! It worked! The moonlight is reflecting colors in different directions! The red is shining out that way. That must be the path of blood the clue's talking about. The red light is kind of creepy. Where do you think it leads? I don't know. But I can't wait to find out. Reminds me of what got me and your mom into this in the first place. The thrill of discovery and...
Call the unknown. Hey, guys. Thank you. That's what partners do, right? That's what Mom would have done. This way, to the path of blood. The red light ends on this massive rock. We could never move this. We must have figured out the clue wrong. There's no door here. It's just a stupid dead end. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I think it's time for a refresher on our family motto. Because it's a stupid dead end, just doesn't have the same ring to it. Come on, say it with me.
It's a new day full of possibilities. Yeah, full of possibilities. That means you can't just give up after the first thing you try doesn't work. You've got to imagine all the possibilities, so let's just listen to the clue again. Jess? The sacred bird will unlock the door. He need only sing the ancient score. Maybe it means the bird flute!
Well, there you go. I think you're starting to get the hang of this ancient clue business. But that doesn't change the fact that there's no door here to unlock. Maybe it's not the kind of door we're used to. Okay, but there's still no music notes on the map. So what's the ancient score supposed to be? I don't know. I do? It's Mom's song. What? Gray showed me. It was in Swift's journal. He made me play it for him. Can you remember the notes? I... I think so.
Wait, hand me that flute. Don't tell us you became an expert flautist on some crazy adventure in Vienna or something. No, but sandstone doesn't naturally have pores this large, so I wonder... If I just slide the flute into this opening... Voila! What is it? Some kind of amplifier. Play here, Cor. As loudly and clearly as you can. Okay. Let me just loosen up my mouth. Play. Okay, okay. Keep playing. Something is happening. Yes, I can hear...
You're dorky after all, huh? You'll always be a dork, but you're my dork. Your mom would be so proud of you, both of you. You know, it's kind of like she's here too. She gave us the clue we needed. That's true. It's almost like she wanted us to take this journey together. I wouldn't put it past her. She seemed to know pretty much everything. Except what a bad idea it was.
to throw away her life for you. Oh, Gray. And friends. You can't escape, Dan. Our recent history says otherwise. How's your head, Cage? Shut up, kid. Yeah, shut up. Silence! I'm in charge now. I think it's time to retest that theory. I wouldn't if I were you. You see this? Are we supposed to be scared of a pole? Cory, don't say another word. Ah, so you recognize this nifty little gadget. That's no gadget. That is a weapon of war.
I think you know the hackletick blowgun has been illegal since 1930. Why? Most countries frown on poison darts. But Cage is more than excited to give it a try. You knock me out, I paralyze you. Seems fair to me. Stop. There's no need for that. I'll do whatever you want. Just leave the kids out of this. Let them go. Into the scary woods, I wouldn't dream of it.
All right. Let's go see what's behind curtain number one. Lead me to my treasure and no one gets hurt. No, Dad! It's okay. We'll do what he says. Look at those ropes! And wheels! The notes you played must have been designed to shatter those huge crystals and release the weights on the ends of those cables. I've never seen crystals that large before.
It is quite a remarkable system. A discovery like this is the true treasure. Yeah, yes, an engineering marvel. But I prefer my treasures of the golden variety. Keep moving. Are you okay? Yeah, I'm fine, honey. I just slipped. Oh, you're slipping, all right. Pathetic. Yeah, ah, my ankle. I think I twisted it. Hey! Drop that crystal shine. What do you think? You're going to stab us with that thing? Maybe I'll just throw it. You missed by a mile, did I?
Dad, you did miss. You got that rope holding up that giant stone. Duck! Looks like you've lost your muscle, Gray. And I've lost my patience. Oh, are you crazy? That support is holding up those rocks. We'll all be trapped. Actually... There's a passageway behind me. But I hope you enjoy your family time. What little time you have left. No! Kids! Under the ledge! I've got you! Trapped by a cave-in deep below the surface. Any ideas for how to get out of this one?
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That's what trap means. Okay, okay, possibilities. Remember? We just need to be calm. Come on, let's all just breathe. Better? Not really. No, well, then take another breath. We don't want to waste our air. Who knows how long it'll last. We really are cursed. And now we're all going to die. No one is going to die. We'll find a way out of here. I promise. And this is not your fault, son. It's mine. When we lost your mother, something in me changed. I was afraid.
Of what? Of losing you guys too. So I tried to put you in a bubble, became obsessed with keeping you safe and protected. What was it you called me, Jess? A Dementor. Yeah, I became a dementor, sucking the life out of everything. You know the trouble with holding onto something too tightly? You get tired and you lose your grip.
Before I knew it, the thing I was most afraid of had happened. I lost you both. And in the process, I lost myself. But I'm never going to let that happen again. We're a team now. The three of us. And Mom's here too. Always. So let's go get that treasure and end this thing as a family. Are you with me? Yeah! Jess, are you with me? I'm with you, Dad. She called you Dad. I know. Okay, then. I need you both to scour the floor, gather up any old charred pieces of wood you could find.
Native Americans used to find shelter in these caves, and there's bound to be old fire pits. What are you gonna do? I'm gonna round up some guano. What? Bat poop. Ew! Yeah, no time for ew. Let's do this! We've been at this forever. Are we almost done? This pile of charcoal and bat poo is pretty big now. Did you know that back in the Civil War, these caves were used as saltpeter mines? What's that?
Someone wasn't paying attention in my class. Sorry, Dad, but you were sort of boring back then. Yeah, well... This lesson should be a little more exciting. Saltpeter is the main component of gunpowder. And what are we supposed to do with it? Make a gun? No, of course not. We're going to make a bomb. bomb to blast through this wall how's a bunch of old bat poop and sticks going to blow through solid rock they're not just sticks they're charcoal and the poop is rich in nitrogen which will help
With combustion, the saltpeter will make the explosion. And the wall is not solid rock. At this spot, the limestone is very porous and a small blast should do it. Should? We need a spark. Hey, Dad, do you still have that pack of lifesavers you stole from me in class? I didn't steal them. You knew the rule. How can you think about candy at a time like this? I'm not. I just... There's a thing I saw on YouTube.
If you bite a Winto Green Lifesaver, it makes a spark. That's just an urban legend that's been around forever. It's been around forever because it's true. I saw an experiment on TikTok. I mean, it just makes a tiny spark. But maybe if we used the whole pack? And rigged something heavy to smash them. You really think it'll work? One way to find out. on YouTube yeah no one is going to believe any of this I barely believe it I can see some kind of a corridor through that hole follow me hey kids
Look! What is that? A birdbath? Why would there be a birdbath underground? Maybe it's a... bat bath? It's not a bat... Then why are you taking off your shirt? I have a t-shirt on underneath. Jess, hand me that stick. You're making a torch! Now, I just need a little help from that ember and... Is that gasoline in the bathroom? Kerosene. Which means, even if we're off the map, we must still be on the right track. Woohoo! Go Dad! Yay! Woohoo! Okay.
So what now? You know how I always told you that life is all about the choices you make? Yeah. Well, archaeology is a lot like life. See those three different cave entrances before us? We need to choose which one we're going into. So let's look around for clues. What are we looking for? I'll know it when I see it. Wait. See those dots and slashes carved above each entrance? I feel like I recognize that pattern. Whoa! Is it some kind of... language? Numbers. They're Mayan.
But I never learned the system. Math was your mom's thing. So what do we choose? Mom's thing. No way. No way, no way, no way, no way! What? What is it? In my locker. Look. It's the same pattern carved on the back. I've run my fingers over it a thousand times. She said they were for luck. Looks like she was right. As usual. She must have known we'd make it this far.
I mean, she must have really believed in us. We're going to find the treasure! I can feel it! We're not if we stand around here all night! Come on! Come on, Dad! Let's go! Let's go get it! What's that noise? A river. Wow, look. The water is like glowing. How does it do that? It's called... Bioluminescence, a chemical reaction that originates in an organism like algae or fungi and makes it, in essence, glow. The churning of the water stirs it up. I have to say...
I've never seen the phenomenon in this part of the country before. You mean actual scientific discovery? I believe we have. Wow! Yeah, super cool, but how do we get across? We don't have to swim in that stuff, do we? There's a bridge just over there. Wow. It's like the bridge of Eldon. The what? Who? It's a video game thing, right? Last one over has to stick their toe in the water.
Wait, I told you this isn't a video game. Cory, slow down. We have to make sure it's structured. My foot! Cory, don't move. I'm coming. Hold on tight to the planks. The whole thing is gonna break. A bumpy ride indeed. As we head into our grand finale, one has to wonder, where is the river taking our heroes? And what will they find when they get there?
I'm Banks Pierce, and I play Cory in Discovering Dad. For more great shows, visit GZMShows.com. Shh. It's starting. GZM Shows. Imagination Amplified.