The party escapes a wooden creature into a hidden necromancy/construction workshop, finds a creepy doll they can no longer activate (the gem was already broken), and flees the vaults to find the Gauntlight blazing blue over Otari. They survive a brutal will-o'-wisp ambush in the swamp, race back to a town braced for an attack, and fight off a wave of scalathraxes at the fishery — saved in part by a heroic 3rd-level guardsman who dies holding the line. After the fight, clerics finally cure Cid's long-running stupefied, the party harvests flammable scalathrax oil, and they notice Carman is missing. Cid wants to check the library; the session ends before they do.
| 00:01:06 | Pregame and recap request Table banter before resuming. The party asks the GM ('Master Cid') for a recap, the GM offers extra hero points, and combat is resumed from where it left off last session. Players don't quite remember where they left off. [S18 · 00:01:58 · turn 0006 · scene 001] |
| 00:06:18 | Fleeing the wooden creature and the secret workshop Resuming combat against a wooden/construct-like creature (mindless, takes Venerus' kukri to the gut, splinters fly). The party disengages and slams a door behind them, escaping the creature. They push into a previously unentered secret room: a damp workshop with seven alcoves of magical/alchemical apparatus, a glass tank holding a goblin corpse in outdated servant clothing, a work table with a large open book of construction-and-necromancy notes (recognized via Arcana/Occultism, +2 for being a priest of Asmodeus). They find a doll with a gem-socket indent in its back; because the party previously broke 'the gem,' they cannot use the doll to talk to whatever it stores. Veve/Visiga receives a hero point and a momentary prophetic glimpse from her goddess. [S18 · 00:08:46 · turn 0028 · scene 002] |
| 00:35:50 | Leaving the vaults and the blue light in the sky The party takes the doll and leaves at max (non-hustling) speed back up the stairs and out of the building, past the boathouse area where they previously killed a foe. Outside, thick fog and pitch-black night, but a bright blue light shines in the sky above the Gauntlight, lighting the fog. The party heads around the building toward town. [S18 · 00:50:53 · turn 0214 · scene 003] |
| 00:53:48 | Will-o'-wisp ambush in the swamp Turning a corner, the party is swarmed by flickering golden lights across the swamp: will-o'-wisp-type creatures (later named 'flicker whisk'). One rushes Abbas and confuses him with no save (an energy/life suck plus a confusing flash). The creatures hide their black bodies until they attack, heal themselves when they feed, shock with electricity, and repeatedly inflict confusion via Will saves. Abbas is knocked unconscious early then revived; Cid is briefly 'left for dead' around the corner but survives. Multiple party members cycle through confusion, flinging weapons (Venerus' kukri sticks in a corpse; the party fights with improvised weapons and fists). The party eventually kills several wisps and flees, escaping the swamp (Visiga/Bizath stumbles on the broken bridge), cutting through the forest to avoid more lights. [S18 · 00:54:22 · turn 0228 · scene 004] |
| 02:35:38 | Break and table chatter The party reaches the edge of Otari; a ten-minute break is called. Extended off-topic table chatter (spilled drink, a scratched-CD bit, ordering a bed and plates on Amazon). Speakers C and D briefly appear during this stretch. [S18 · 02:36:25 · turn 0747 · scene 005] |
| 02:53:00 | Race through Otari and the head of the guard The party rushes through the forest toward Otari; more lights emerge but ignore them. They reach town to find guards patrolling, no civilians out, doors barred — the town is braced. They debate going through town vs around (fastest route to the library is through the graveyard). Veve/BB refocuses to inspire the troops. Cid's friend Lardis Longsaddle, the Head of the Guard, flags them down: the guards are prepping the graveyard but can't abandon all posts; Menhem's manor and the Gauntlight cupola are visible from the coast. The Gauntlight beam fires again over Otari, lighting the port — last time this preceded skeletal monsters (scalathraxes). Initiative is called. [S18 · 02:59:38 · turn 0850 · scene 006] |
| 03:20:18 | Battle at the fishery against the scalathraxes The Gauntlight has spawned scalathraxes at the fishery. Venerus arrives first to find guards slaughtered and a couple still spearing the monsters. The scalathraxes obliterate the city guardsmen with venom, bites (poison Benrist/Venerus must save against), and quill volleys. One heroic 3rd-level guardsman (the 'gamer'/'most gamer guardsman') holds the line and sacrifices himself, dying with his hands up; the GM notes a building is built for him in the future. The party regroups; BB/Veve snipes with a longbow from behind; Cid (in his confused-but-effective 'retard' mode) crits and 'masterfully cuts off every limb' of the last scalathrax, finishing the fight. Venerus gets coated in toxic flammable oil. [S18 · 03:27:51 · turn 1015 · scene 007] |
| 04:08:25 | Aftermath, loot, and the missing Carman The guards celebrate; head guard Arnold shakes Cid's hand. Clerics finally remove Cid's long-standing stupefied condition with a Restoration/recovery spell (no check, no charge after seeing his heroics). Venerus harvests scalathrax oil (valuable flammable alchemical component) via crafting attempts; the party nets 40 gold. The sun rises. At the tavern ('Crooks') the party notices Carman is absent — he would have been there — a worrying loose thread. Cid wants to investigate the library (the sword is stored there). The session ends with the party reluctant ('we just went through the Gauntlight'). GM notes today was a fully improvised, non-prep session, and reminds the party of hidden books and stealth/shopping options. [S18 · 04:10:59 · turn 1293 · scene 008] |