Draft recap — generated by the session shard worker. Citations reference S30 timestamps.
The party receives the Rosa Argentis relic from Mayor Osef Menhemis, then descends into the Menhemis family mausoleum in Otari's graveyard to find out why a young cleric's fingers rotted away and the dead are vanishing. They fight a wall-bound entombed haunt, uncover buried family secrets (Tarnak, the Unguent of Timelessness, and the lie that A Sephna killed Bulrajani), discover bodies dissolved by corrosive moss that tunneled between sarcophagi, and push to the second level where a ghost possesses Veve. The session cuts off mid-exorcism.
After speaking with Otari's ghost, the party learned which relics break a barrier. Back in town they treated a plague at the Downflower library — Cid recovered on his own, Veve did not, and a sick child was cured just in time. Cid found the Zarmavian spellbook relic gone from Morblin's, probably now in Absalom. (00:03:21–00:05:33)
| 00:00:02 | Pregame setup and recap of Sessions 28-29 Table sorts out Foundry/audio, then recaps where Sessions 28-29 left off: the party finished speaking with Otari's ghost and learned which relics are needed to break a barrier. They returned to town with Cid sick, spoke to the mayor at a distance, treated the plague at the Downflower library; Cid recovered from the disease on his own while Veve did not, and a child nearly died but was cured in time. Cid investigated Morblin's bookstore for the Zarmavian spellbook (one of the relics) and found it gone, likely now in Absalom. They decide to skip the nighttime regroup and pick up the next morning. [S30 · 00:03:21 · turn 0024 · scene 001] |
| 00:07:14 | Morning regroup at the Crooked Nook The next morning the party reconvenes at the Crooked Nook tavern (Venris's lodging). Cid sleeps at the Downflower library; Veve/V V at the Rowdy Rockfish; Beast may be retraining via the cozy/cabin spell. The party shares coffee (a major Otari export), with running banter about Otari's coffee obsession and an espresso 'machine' (joked to be a wizard). They discuss next steps: Cid knows all relic locations, the others know three (from the mayor's earlier info). They agree to visit the mayor first about the Rosa Argentis and the graveyard, then split: Cid goes to find Beast / check Morblin's, the rest head to the manor. [S30 · 00:07:41 · turn 0060 · scene 002] |
| 00:29:16 | The mayor's manor: the Rosa Argentis and the crypt problem At the manor, Mayor Osef Menhemis and the cleric Vandy are stressed by bad news. The mayor formally hands over the Rosa Argentis (a relic the party needs), described as a long-sword-shaped silver/pink rapier; mechanically a +1 striking longsword granting a +2 bonus to aid allies and a 'Flurry of Flowers' ability. Vandy reports that strange sounds were heard at the family crypt in the graveyard; clerics Father Thalos and young Aren were sent to investigate, and Aren returned with rotted fingers, raving, repeating 'the end is here.' Father Thalos and Aren are at the church/library. The party agrees to investigate the crypt. [S30 · 00:33:27 · turn 0292 · scene 003] |
| 00:42:56 | Cid's errands: Morblin's and Carman Cid splits off, visits Morblin's bookstore (Beast not there), then runs into Carman/Carman in the street. Carman admires the Rosa Argentis, asks to hold it and swings it once (Flurry effect), vowing to one day earn the sword back for his family. Carman mentions he is back working/worshipping but is on probation and being heavily taxed by the mayor's office, hinting he may raise his prices. [S30 · 00:44:26 · turn 0395 · scene 004] |
| 00:48:31 | Interviewing Father Thalos and Aren at the library At the Downflower library, the party (Cid first, then the rest) questions Father Thalos about what happened in the crypt. Aren keeps mumbling 'the end is here' / 'it's empty' / 'it's going to consume it all.' His fingers rotted like dead wood, unhealable by any cure or cleansing; his mind is drifting and he denounced his god. Thalos recounts: they descended to the first chamber, Aren heard crying, opened a coffin (Mithra/Mithras) and found a fish-sized hole; his hand decomposed almost instantly; Thalos sealed the crypt. Party rolls recall knowledge trying to link the affliction to Belcorra/Nimbaloth and to the 'empty death' epithet from Cid's book; results are ambiguous gut-feelings, not a clean match. Group hero points refreshed to a full party fix. [S30 · 00:51:23 · turn 0457 · scene 005] |
| 01:19:33 | Crypt lore: Sephna, Bulrajani, and the missing tomb Vandy walks the party to the mausoleum, sharing lore on the way. The crypt is the Menhemis family tomb; Mayor Osef descends from A Sephna. Two levels: five sarcophagi for recent dead on the first, the rest of the family below. A long-suppressed family rumor: A Sephna and Bul/Rajani decomposed days after their deaths and, contrary to the heroic 'happily ever after' Rose Guard tales, A Sephna actually killed Bulrajani (the fighter who carried the sword) because Rajani went crazy. Sephna has no real tomb, only a statue and belongings (including a cloak) at the far end of the second level. Venris is shocked and gains a personal quest to learn the truth. Vandy is estimated to be roughly level 5. The party debates marching order; only one way in/out, so a rear guard is moot. GM gives a meta speech that homebrew encounters are built for the environment, not scaled to party level. [S30 · 01:27:24 · turn 0757 · scene 006] |
| 01:47:00 | Descent: ghost footsteps and the magically sealed door The party descends with Vandy, Menhemis, and frightened priests. They hear distant moaning, then phantom footsteps of an entire group running up past them; will saves push several priests, Abbas (Cid), and Vandy to frightened. They reach the first-level chamber: five sarcophagi (the open one is Mithra's), wall tombs with name plaques, infinite-feeling magic, a small fish-sized hole in each sarcophagus, and a caving-in section of ceiling with a softball-sized hole to the surface. As the party enters, the stone door slams shut and is magically locked. After many failed athletics attempts, Venris uses the Kalen/Kaline key (Loosen Lock/knock) and thievery to unlock it; a clutch hero-pointed roll succeeds and the door is reopened. [S30 · 01:59:56 · turn 0997 · scene 007] |
| 02:18:18 | Haunt combat: the entombed spirit and the cobold child Investigating an altar/embalming workstation triggers a hazard: a powerful force trips and pushes the party toward the wall; Venris is knocked into a sarcophagus for ~20 damage. A howling humanoid face bulges from the wall over the sarcophagus, growing tendrils, and initiative is rolled. A frightened cobold-child ghost manifests cowering ('get away from me'); Cid exorcises it. The wall-spirit grapples and constricts Venris; his ghost-touch kukri does little (the tendrils feel unreal). Cid recall-knowledges the haunt: such haunts form when a murder victim is entombed in a wall, yet no Menhemis is a known murder victim, and the corpses here are under ~10 years old (Sephna's events were ~500 years ago / forty-seven-something on the calendar). Cid pushes open the grandpa Sarah's sarcophagus; the spirit screams and flees the mausoleum. Combat ends. [S30 · 02:53:25 · turn 1506 · scene 008] |
| 03:27:41 | Tarnak's secret: the Unguent of Timelessness and corrosive moss The party finds the sarcophagi nearly empty (bodies and most cloth gone), connected by fist-sized holes following a path between coffins, with chalk-like film and corrosive dead moss. Menhemis reveals a secret family history at the embalming station: Tarnak, secret son of A Sephna and Otari and distant father of Maklani (creator of the flume), became obsessed with a particular bul late in life; when he and his wife died their bodies vanished, terrifying him into seeking a remedy: the Unguent of Timelessness, an old family tonic preventing decomposition of bodies or wood, used for generations until Tarnak's death. He offers the formula. Below lie preserved bodies of Tarnak, his wife Sarah Lynch (Mithra), daughter Maklani, husband Bayland, and others. Venris touches the rotted-wet clothing and finds seven evenly-spaced divots carved into the stone (recall knowledge yields nothing). Corrosive wilted moss deals 20 damage on a touch despite a passed save; the party debates whether to retreat for an alchemist but decides to press on. [S30 · 03:40:21 · turn 1960 · scene 009] |
| 04:33:05 | Second level and Veve's possession (cliffhanger) The party forces open the decayed second-level gate into a room with golden double doors, four paired sarcophagi, moss, fungi, and water, plus a hole in the ceiling. As they get their bearings, a will save is called and an ethereal blurred figure rushes Veve and vanishes into her. Veve loses bodily control and speaks Dwarven, then Tengu, then Common in a Tengu-type voice demanding 'Release me if you ever wanna see this bitch live.' Cid recognizes the language is linked to a Tengu he once cured but believes them unrelated. Cid restrains and grapples the possessed Veve (immobilized/off-guard, no manipulate actions); the spirit makes her bite her own tongue for damage. Cid lodges a sack/object to stop the biting and calls Vandy to help exorcise. The session ends mid-exorcism on a cliffhanger as Cid begins the rite ('go to the river of souls and accept Farazma'). [S30 · 04:52:45 · turn 2628 · scene 010] |
| 05:17:13 | Wrap-up and scheduling Out-of-character wrap-up. The GM notes he is prepped to finish this whole dungeon and proposes a midweek session (possibly Wednesday). He mentions being broke and needing to job-hunt, which may force a schedule change, but prepping remains his priority. Players discuss availability; next session is to be Age of Ashes (AOA) or this Abomination Vaults thread, TBD. [S30 · 05:17:55 · turn 2876 · scene 011] |