Session 44: The Assassin's Codex and the Red Holiday

S44 Recap: The Assassin's Codex and the Red Holiday

TL;DR

The party finished off the shadow assassin (Cora Fallow Glade, Belcorra's chief killer) and looted her hideout: a crumbling poison codex (four venom recipes transcribed before it turned to dust), a pouch of emeralds, and a magic red hat that turned out to be a Greater Transmogrified Masquerade Scarf. Exploring on, they met the chilling, salesman-calm host of a Coliseum — the masked, crimson-Kukri "Red Holiday" arena master, an ancient self-made mummy from the Gauntlight era — who invited them to fight in his games for treasure. The party stalled him for "an hour of prep," explored a 1000+ foot cave tunnel (the Smuggler's Refuge, which secretly reconnects to Carman's old hideout), one-shot a pair of arguing "posh British" poltergeists, and grabbed a Ring of Wizardry (useless to them, to be sold). While trying to rest, a random encounter — four cultists and a will-o-wisp — ambushed them. The session was cut short mid-combat when the GM had to leave.

Previously on

Last session the party was ambushed by a steel-shadow assassin, which got the jump on them and hit the strength character with enfeebled. The fight was still going when this session began, with Cid sitting at enfeebled 3.

What happened

The cold open finished the shadow fight. The assassin-shadow had copied a PC's own shadow as a shadow-spawn and tried to drown the room in magical darkness; the party countered by sustaining a rank-4 light spell (cue a long light-vs-darkness rules debate). Cid was healed with a crit Battle Medicine that also knocked his enfeebled down a step via Unusual Treatment. Veve debuted a new cone attack (5d4, reflex DC ~25, dazzles). Cid landed the killing "righteous blow of fury," bending his Rosargentes sword in rage. The shadows dissipated — no loot explosion.
Exploring the guard stations, archer post, and restrooms, the party found empty weapon racks holding two "bloodseeker beaks" (giant-mosquito-mouth trophies). Veve's Thorough Search (double time, every success a crit) revealed a hidden call button opening an elevator-style tunnel, and a small bedroom with a footlocker. A magical stone door shrugged off even a crit hit (not a scratch).
The bedroom's footlocker held the prize: a red feathered hat, a pouch of tiny emeralds (~25 gp), and a fragile journal belonging to Cora Fallow Glade, Belcorra's chief assassin. Abbas read it with the Strange Script feat — it's a poison/assassin's codex. Venris transcribed all four recipes (hunting spider venom, giant scorpion venom, giant wasp venom, malyas root paste) into his crafting before the book crumbled to dust on closing. The hat identified as a Greater Transmogrified Masquerade Scarf (illusory disguise on the wearer; must be invested; can't impersonate a specific person without heightening).
Through a secret lever-door, the party entered a lit Coliseum and met its host: a maniacal masked figure with an ornate jeweled crimson Kukri, weirdly relaxed and salesman-friendly, who claims to have "almost caught up to" Venris before. He invited them to his bloody games — his "Red Holiday" — promising treasure and gold to participants. The GM established he's an ancient self-made mummy from the age the Gauntlight was active. Venris stalled with Read the Air and pure schmoozing, buying "an hour of prep." The host let them go, pointing them toward the room with the portal the skull came from, then leapt down into the arena floor.
The party opened a long (~1000–1300 ft) man-made cave tunnel with distant sunlight at the end. They chose to rest off Cid's enfeebled and clear other rooms first. Behind another double door, two "posh British" voices were arguing; a Haunt Lore check ID'd them as a poltergeist pair (vulture-geist-type haunts, like the one from level four).
Venris ambushed the poltergeists: a crit stealth-in, a reveal of his disguised-arm-into-rapier, and a 40-damage crit one-shot the first; a Feint into off-guard sneak strike finished the second. The wrecked meeting room had a glyph wall that can go transparent to overlook the arena. In the rubble, Veve found a dented lead-lined box (Venris crit-forced it) holding a platinum Ring of Wizardry (type I) — arcane only, ~360 gp, useless to the party, so flagged to sell.
Another stairway led down to the next floor, with lute/violin/drum music drifting up (a band with no performer; the party passed). Venris mad-dashed the tunnel and found it caves in at a "Smuggler's Refuge" secret entrance that reconnects to Carman's old hideout cave — a known fast route, though clearing the cave-in is ~40 hours of labor.
While resting, a random encounter triggered: four hooded cultist priests plus a floating skull that turned out to be a will-o-wisp ("the light guy," level 6). Long-range fight; Veve finally used her longbow, Abbas crit Holy Light/Divine Lance for 40+ fire, the wisp crit a PC for ~50 in one turn (feeding on fear). The session ended mid-combat when the GM had to leave for a 2pm event.

Decisions made

The party chose to delay the arena and prep/rest rather than fight the masquerade host immediately.
They transcribed all four poison recipes from Cora's codex into Venris's crafting before it disintegrated.
The Ring of Wizardry will be sold (no arcane caster to use it).
They scouted but declined the music-floor stairs (no performer present) and noted the Smuggler's Refuge as a future fast route.

Open questions / reminders for next session

The Red Holiday arena fight with the masked mummy host is still pending — the party promised to return "in an hour." Resolve the arena and what its treasure actually is.
The current random encounter (cultists + will-o-wisp) is unfinished and needs to be resolved at the top of next session.
Cid's lingering enfeebled (from the shadow) wears off with rest/time — track when it clears.
Who exactly is the masquerade host, and what's his tie to the Gauntlight era and to Belcorra/Cora? He "almost caught" Venris before.
The Smuggler's Refuge cave-in needs ~40 hours of labor to fully open as a shortcut; the party may want to clear it.
The "room with the portal the skull came from" and the awakened-portal teleportation network were referenced again as a navigation hub.

Scene timeline (8)

00:00:00	Cold open: finishing the shadow fight (Cora / Siora) The session opens mid-combat with no real pregame. The party is finishing a fight against a steel-shadow assassin and a shadow-spawn it spawned from one of the PCs' shadows. The GM (Speaker A this session) recaps the cliffhanger: the party was ambushed by the shadow last time and the strength PC was hit with enfeebled. Cid is enfeebled 3 and is healed via a crit Battle Medicine (which also reduces enfeebled by one through Unusual Treatment). The shadow tries to copy/absorb light, casts magical darkness (countered by sustaining a rank-4 light spell, with a debate over the light-vs-darkness rules), and is whittled down. Veve debuts a new cone/area attack (5d4, reflex DC ~25, dazzles). Cid lands the killing 'righteous blow of fury,' bending his Rosargentes sword in anger; the shadows dissipate with no loot explosion. [S44 · 00:00:22 · turn 0004 · scene 001]
00:36:22	Looting the guard stations and the bloodseeker beaks Post-fight, the party explores adjacent rooms: guard/archer stations, restrooms, and a portcullis defensive position. The side doors are unlocked; a double door is briefly thought locked, then ruled unlocked. They find empty weapon racks holding two 'bloodseeker beaks' (long hollow proboscises harvested from a bloodseeker beast, basically giant-mosquito mouths). Veve runs a Thorough Search (taking double time but turning every success into a critical success), which reveals a hidden call button on the southern wall that opens an elevator-style tunnel to a door. Cid/Abbas tries and fails to smash a magical stone door (a crit leaves not even a scratch). A small bedroom (narrow bed, warped wardrobe, footlocker) is found and reported clear. [S44 · 00:44:13 · turn 0455 · scene 002]
00:53:52	The assassin's footlocker: Cora's poison codex, emeralds, and the magic hat Self-shutting (automated) doors trap the party in the bedroom. The footlocker holds a wide-brimmed red feathered hat (magical), a pouch of tiny emeralds (~25 gp), and an old, fragile journal that is the property of 'Cora Fallow Glade.' Abbas uses the Strange Script feat to read it: it is a poison codex / assassin's codex, with notes that Cora was Belcorra's chief assassin sent to kill people for her. With a writing kit Venris transcribes the formulas (hunting spider venom, giant scorpion venom, giant wasp venom, malyas root paste) into his crafting recipes before the book crumbles to dust on closing. The party evaluates the poisons (most are low-DC and outleveled; giant wasp venom DC 25 and malyas root paste DC 26 are the keepers). The red hat is identified as a Greater Transmogrified Masquerade Scarf (casts illusory disguise on the wearer; needs to be invested; can't impersonate a specific person without a higher-rank effect). The shadow PC (Cid/the mummy?) tries it and ends up just looking like a mummy. [S44 · 00:56:34 · turn 0560 · scene 003]
01:23:30	The masquerade host and his arena: the Red Holiday Following a secret lever-door, the party steps into a massive lit Coliseum and meets its host: a maniacal masked figure with an ornate jeweled crimson Kukri, who 'almost caught up to' Venris before. He is chillingly relaxed (a salesman, not a threat) and invites the party to participate in his bloody games, his 'Red Holiday,' promising treasure and gold to participants. He recognizes the party from the age the Gauntlight was operating; the GM notes this host made himself a mummy long ago to survive the years. Venris (Venris) stalls hard, using Read the Air and salesmanship to buy 'an hour of preparation.' The party debates whether to fight him; recall-knowledge / size-up suggests he is no chump and is utterly unafraid of the whole party. The host lets them leave to prepare, pointing them to a door back toward the room with the portal the skull came from, then leaps down into the arena floor without wings. [S44 · 01:50:39 · turn 1040 · scene 004]
02:16:18	The long cave tunnel and the choice to delay the arena Opting to prep before the arena, the party opens the first double door and finds a very long (1000+ ft, ~quarter-to-half-mile) man-made cave tunnel with a distant glimmer of sunlight/exit. Venris scouts ahead. They decide to rest to wear off Cid's lingering enfeebled (about an hour) and check other doors first. Behind a second double door (down by the bridge), Venris overhears two arguing voices with a 'posh British' accent; a Haunt Lore check identifies them as bound spirits — specifically a poltergeist (and the party recalls vulture-geist haunts from level four). The party preps ghost-touch weapons to fight. [S44 · 02:18:57 · turn 1302 · scene 005]
02:30:08	Ambushing the poltergeists; the ring of wizardry Venris sneaks in (crit stealth), reveals his illusion-disguised arm into its true rapier blade, and one-shots the first poltergeist with a crit (40 damage, sneak + deadly d8 + piercing). The second is finished a round later with a Feint into an off-guard sneak strike. The wrecked elegant meeting room has a glyph-controlled wall that can be turned transparent to look down into the arena. Among the rubble Veve finds a dented lead-lined steel box (Venris crit-forces it open) containing a platinum Ring of Wizardry (type I, arcane only, ~360 gp). With no arcane caster, the party decides to sell it. [S44 · 02:39:27 · turn 1478 · scene 006]
02:54:08	The Smuggler's Refuge and the music below Another door reveals stairs down to the next floor, from which muffled lute/violin/drum music echoes (a band, but no performer present, so the party declines to descend there). The party debates how to kill time before the arena. Venris mad-dashes the full length of the long cave tunnel and discovers it caves in near the end at a 'Smuggler's Refuge' secret side-entrance — which he recognizes connects back to the little cave where Carman hid out. Clearing the cave-in would take ~40 hours of manual labor (divisible), but it offers a known fast route in and out of the arena level. The party retreats to rest. [S44 · 02:54:43 · turn 1620 · scene 007]
03:04:54	Random encounter: cultists and a will-o-wisp (session ends mid-fight) While the party tries to rest off Cid's enfeebled, the GM rolls a random encounter (a 2, which hits): four hooded cultist 'priestly' figures (oracle/cleric types) plus a floating skull that turns out to be a will-o-wisp ('the light guy', level 6). The fight is at very long range down the hallway, so Veve finally uses her longbow. Abbas crits with Holy Light/Divine Lance for 40+ fire damage, scattering the cultists; the will-o-wisp crits a PC for ~50 damage in one turn, feeding on fear and regaining strength. The party hammers the cultists and the wisp, but the session is cut short mid-combat because the GM has to leave for a 2pm event. No clean resolution; the encounter and the arena are both left pending. [S44 · 03:05:20 · turn 1716 · scene 008]

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