A breather/town session, no combat. Back from the Gauntlight, Venris is carrying a spreading fungal "zombie-mushroom" rot caught from white fluffy moss in the dungeon — and the party rushes the afflicted (Venris, plus the priest "Avis"/Abbas and another NPC) to the Dawnflower church-library for quarantine before they spark a town plague. After a long Cleanse Affliction counteract slog, Abbas finally clears the fungus. But the real horror is underneath it: Father Thalos, the priest from the catacomb, recognizes that Venris bears the same dust-turning affliction (the lingering "empty death" / Pull-of-the-Void curse from losing his hand) that killed his apprentice in two days — and Venris doesn't even remember the nightmares he's been having. Menhames hands over Zarmavdian's journal and a stack of books (including the soul-risky Thresholds of Truth) for the party to research a cure. They spend the rest of the day reading, shopping for a translation aid (the text is half Necril, half Aklo), and doing Recall Knowledge on the monsters waiting back in the Gauntlight (mummy, Hydra, a black caustic ooze, and a named "Sugati").
At the Manhames/McLennan family catacomb, Venris touched a foul rotting cancer and lost his hand to it; a psychopomp (a Marigna) was summoned and banished/destroyed the corruption at the cost of itself. Venris was warned he'd carry a lingering "Pull of the Void" requiring future will saves. The party also picked up fungal exposure from white, fluffy, moss-like mushrooms in the Gauntlight.
| 00:00:09 | Pregame: card pulls and Foundry setup Off-topic table chatter about League of Legends trading cards, the standard meta, and people copying Chinese decklists. One player (Dan) isn't on Foundry; the table is on TaleSpire/Foundry. The GM eventually moves toward initiative. [S38 · 00:00:09 · turn 0001 · scene 001] |
| 00:02:42 | The fungal infection: diagnosing the mushroom rot Picking up from the Gauntlight, the party realizes Venris has a spreading fungal skin infection (a 'clicker'-style zombie-mushroom rot) caught from white, fluffy, moss-like mushrooms in the dungeon. Nature/Medicine checks identify it; the party worries it is contagious and possibly airborne. They resolve to quarantine the afflicted and take them to town for treatment rather than risk infecting Otari ('Remember the last time we almost caused the pandemic?'). They decide against the inn (to avoid contaminating a room) and head for the church/library where they were isolated before. [S38 · 00:05:22 · turn 0031 · scene 002] |
| 00:11:18 | Escorting the sick to the Dawnflower church/library The party walks the afflicted (Venris, plus 'Avis' the priest and Menries, all unwell) to the Dawnflower Library, which doubles as the church and has the isolation room from a previous visit. They warn the townsfolk to stay back; Veve plays up a dramatic, theatrical scene ('My boy! What have they done to my boy?') to keep onlookers at a distance. They make sure the party dog/companion does not pickpocket anyone and spread the fungus. Venris is dismissive ('it's just a little itchiness'), having rolled a 1 on his own knowledge check. [S38 · 00:14:24 · turn 0088 · scene 003] |
| 00:25:21 | Cleanse Affliction and the counteract flowchart A long mechanics interlude on curing the fungal disease. The party works through the affliction/counteract flowchart: counteract level is half the source's level rounded up, counteract check = spell modifier + proficiency, and a casting only counteracts if its rank is at least the affliction's. A first NPC-priest (Vandy/Bandy) attempt with a level-two casting fails the counteract (14 vs 18). They establish the disease level and DC and note they may need to repeat the cleanse the next day. [S38 · 00:26:11 · turn 0159 · scene 004] |
| 00:33:42 | Venris's nightmares: the empty-death curse surfaces Beyond the fungus, Cid raises a deeper worry: ever since Venris lost his hand at the Manhames family catacomb to the creature banished by the psychopomp, he has had nightmares, night-sweats and shaking that are getting worse. Venris insists he remembers no nightmares at all ('You're the one that's saying I'm having nightmares'). Meanwhile Bandy (the examining priest) becomes terrified and bolts after looking at Venris's arm/condition; Veve tries to soothe and calm her with a performance/Soothe (botching a roll and faceplanting in the sand). The party quarantines Venris and asks the priests to watch him from a distance as he sleeps. [S38 · 00:36:00 · turn 0210 · scene 005] |
| 00:57:25 | Library research and Father Thalos's grim diagnosis While the priests work, Cid asks the librarians for books on undead classification and mummies; Veve half-heartedly tags along and pulls plant/fungus books (and a quip about mushrooms being fungi, not plants). The catacomb priest, Father Thalos, examined Venris and believes Venris carries the same affliction that killed his apprentice — whose corpse turned to dust in two days. Comparing timelines (Venris is two to three days in, slower than the apprentice), the party realizes this 'turning to dust' empty-death curse is the real threat. They are pointed toward Zarmavdian's notes/journal for clues. [S38 · 01:36:36 · turn 0464 · scene 006] |
| 01:45:09 | Curing the fungus and the 'I'm going to die' confession Cleric Abbas ('Avis') retcons his prepared spells to bring Cleanse Affliction now that he knows Venris is diseased, and works through the heightening/counteract rules (the free stage-reduction is separate from the counteract roll; the table admits they earlier 'completely fucked it up' applying the minus-one). With a heightened third-rank casting plus a guidance bonus he counteracts and clears the fungal rot, reducing the slowed/sickened. Cured of the fungus, Venris then bluntly tells the cleric the worse news: Father Thalos says he has the apprentice's affliction and will turn to dust, sooner or later — 'we all will.' [S38 · 01:53:16 · turn 0539 · scene 007] |
| 02:09:21 | Shopping for clothes; Venris pesters Carman Rajani Newly cleansed and no longer contagious, Venris realizes the priests burned his fungus-contaminated clothes (and possibly disinfected his leather armor, sparking a worry about a destroyed +1 rune). With nothing to wear he heads to the blacksmith Carman Rajani ('Virgani'/'Raj Johnny'), who likes him, to beg for clothes and armor adjustments. There's banter about pickpocketing only the wealthy, a plague-doctor get-up, and Venris using his own crafting to alter the borrowed gear so it isn't disgusting. He gets dressed and runs off to find Menhames. [S38 · 02:14:57 · turn 0680 · scene 008] |
| 02:21:18 | Menhames hands over Zarmavdian's journal and books Venris (with the others) runs to Menhames's home and recounts the whole tale: the fungus (now cured by Veve/Abbas) and, more importantly, Father Thalos's verdict that he carries the same dust-turning affliction that took the apprentice — lost in Menhames's crypt. Menhames, though not an expert, hands over a journal and books, including Zarmavdian's writings, hoping the party finds something to prevent it. Venris takes the journal eager 'not to turn to dust' and the party debates whether to roll for the research or just read it out narratively. [S38 · 02:32:25 · turn 0781 · scene 009] |
| 02:45:12 | Reading the journal, the Thresholds of Truth, and the gathered books The party settles in to read. Venris insists, aggressively, on reading not just Zarmavdian's journal but the gathered books — most notably the Thresholds of Truth, a spooky tome the cleric fears could worsen the curse or threaten Venris's soul (Venris: 'I'm willing to take that risk'). Venris does the 'skip the weird pages' trick he used on Morlibint's book. They cross-reference notes for any mention of the 'empty death' and the Gauntlight. Venris's languages matter: the writings are part Necril, part Aklo; he can read the Necril parts and considers buying a translation aid. [S38 · 03:17:09 · turn 0969 · scene 010] |
| 03:13:09 | Hero points, translation shopping, and the Otari market discount Venris lobbies (successfully) for a hero point after a day of heavy roleplay — the dramatic performance, spooking the priests, the poses for the children — while Veve notes she's already maxed on hero points and gets them 'like candy.' Veve performs to make money. Cid checks the wanted posters on the way (names crossed out; one matches the 'fake guard from Absalom,' a.k.a. Songbreaker). Venris shops for a way to read the Aklo text — a Comprehend Languages potion / translate scroll / wand — and applies the party's 20% Otari market discount. [S38 · 03:27:44 · turn 1027 · scene 011] |
| 03:38:18 | Monster prep for the return to the Gauntlight Looking ahead to going back into the Gauntlight, Cid does Recall Knowledge research on the monsters they expect: the mummy, a Hydra (the snake-like things in the water — do they regenerate heads?), and a black ooze/slime seen coating a floor and walls (caustic? testable with a copper coin since most party weapons are piercing/slashing, not bludgeoning). One named monster, the Sugati/'Cora Slack' (named, therefore likely more dangerous), is left for next time at the Gauntlight library. The session ends with Cid thanking the helpful librarian/Morlibint and calling it a night. [S38 · 03:44:37 · turn 1106 · scene 012] |