Session 46: Basilisk Blood, the Arena, and the Eyeless Screamer

S46 Recap: Basilisk Blood, the Arena, and the Eyeless Screamer

TL;DR

The party un-petrified two Urdefhan statues with fresh basilisk blood and instantly cut them down for loot (a Tamchal chakram, a +1 striking composite shortbow, steel shields) — but not before one shouted that "War Chieftain Gerfell, Belcorra needs the eye." They then took the promised full-party arena fight at fair odds and beat round one: a three-headed chimeric manticore and two flying manticore-pugilists, though Veve was crit-dropped to dying once. Learning the arena was actually best-of-three with no healing between rounds, they cashed in their prize (a Greater Folding Boat) and withdrew to town to rest and shop. Venris paid off half his clockwork arm and the party kitted out Veve. Returning to the dungeon, they pushed into a lower side-arena and fought a brutal eyeless sonic horror (a sester chan) that broke Venris's weapon-arm before they smashed it. A large worm-shaped shadow was spotted slithering in the gallery above as the session ended.

Previously on

The party found a new exit leading to Rajani's old hideout, dispatched ambushing cultists (one escaped off a cliff), and Venris handled a near-deadly 1v1 in the gladiator arena. They were then ambushed by basilisks (handled cleanly, no petrification) and discovered petrified statues of unusual creatures along with an intriguing chakram. They resolved to revive the statues with fresh basilisk blood before attempting a full-party arena fight, now that everyone had recovered.

What happened

Reviving the statues: the party coated each petrified Urdefhan in fresh basilisk blood and readied actions to barrage it the instant it animated. Both creatures were cut down before they could really act — Divine Lance crits, sneak attacks, and blade strikes. One slurred in Undercommon/"Sarcoth"; the other, dying, shouted "War Chieftain Gerfell, Belcorra needs the eye." Carman later identified the chakram as an Urdefhan weapon and warned that these "Earth-and-Huns" are violent warmongers.
Loot from the statues: a Tamchal chakram (gets a free +1 striking in the bag, but it's an advanced weapon Venris isn't trained in yet), a +1 striking composite shortbow, two steel shields, and a bag of disgusting saved fingernails.
Abbas cast Augury about the coming arena fight and got "nothing" — a vision of empty, foreboding darkness.
Arena, round one (fair odds): a large three-headed chimeric manticore (dragon head with a blue arcane breath weapon, lion head, goat head, spiked tail) plus two smaller flying manticore "pugilists" (Paradar) wearing hand wraps of mighty blows — agile clawed brawlers with imprecise scent and ranged tail spikes.
The party dropped the first flyer fast (Cid sliced its wings and beheaded it). Veve was crit-dropped to dying one by a pugilist flurry, then healed for 43 by Abbas. She dazzled the chimera with her Overload Vision reaction, later cast Shared Invisibility (sparking a long rules debate about "targets" vs everyone inside an emanation), and finished the chimera with a 40+ acid Chromatic Ray. Venris poisoned his blade (black adder venom) and worked it with the bloodseeker beak and rapier; Cid landed feared crits with Rosargentis.
Prize and twist: after the win, the host offered a pick of three magic items (Greater Rhinoceros Mask, an ethereal-sighted crossbow, a Greater Folding Boat) — they took the boat. Then he revealed the arena was BEST OF THREE with no healing between rounds. The party declined to continue and withdrew to rest.
The mummy NPC's area: he's half-packed and leaving, needs only a couple more days, and wants "Jeffy" (leader of the Segabe/Sagati) dead — they've taken over a lower laboratory floor. Cid said "not yet, but soon." The party portaled back to town.
Town downtime: sold junk and unusable loot, paid the first 167.5gp of Venris's 335gp clockwork arm, bought Veve a +1 armor potency rune and an instrument harness (so she stops dropping her instrument when she goes down), picked up a Marvelous Mini Chest, and kept the folding boat for future water levels. Overnight Venris's Whispering Reeds nightmares worsened — no condition yet, but the symptoms are becoming hard to ignore.
The lower side-arena: the next day they heard a piercing sonic cry behind a door, made improvised earplugs, and entered a blood-stained chamber ringed by a transparent observation gallery. Inside, an eyeless three-eared reptilian horror (a sester chan of the Darklands Deathron) was shattering crystal with an amplified Sonic Cry. Venris charged in alone and the fight was savage — repeated 30+ sonic bursts and a string of bad rolls burned through the party's hero points. Venris's weapon-arm was reduced to broken on a crit fumble. They tripped it prone and ground it down with Telekinetic Projectile, a Chromatic Ray, Cid's flurry, and divine lances, finally crushing its skull.
Aftermath: Abbas handed Venris a scroll of mending, which (with his repair kit) fixed the broken arm. The GM clarified the room is a side "testing grounds" mini-arena for grudge matches between gladiators, fed by a portal (which does NOT funnel into the main arena as assumed). Abbas spotted a large worm-shaped shadow slithering in the gallery above. Session wrapped mid-exploration.

Decisions made

Revived the petrified statues one at a time with basilisk blood and pre-buffed to barrage them on animation.
Took the full-party arena fight at fair odds (over dead odds).
Took the Greater Folding Boat as the round-one prize (over the Rhinoceros Mask and the ethereal crossbow).
Declined to continue the best-of-three arena and withdrew to rest.
Returned to town to heal and shop rather than press deeper while hurt.
Spent party gold to pay off half of Venris's clockwork arm and to upgrade Veve (armor rune, instrument harness).
Kept the folding boat instead of selling it, betting on future water levels.

Open questions / reminders for next session

"Belcorra needs the eye" — what is "the eye," and why does War Chieftain Gerfell / the Urdefhan serve Belcorra? A fresh hook tying the Urdefhan to the campaign's big bad.
Abbas's Augury returned "nothing" / foreboding darkness about the arena — unresolved bad omen.
The arena is best-of-three; the party can return to finish rounds two and three for more loot whenever they choose.
The mummy NPC's deadline: he leaves in a couple of days and wants "Jeffy," leader of the Segabe/Sagati, killed in the lower laboratories.
A large worm-shaped creature lurks in the lower-arena observation gallery — unfought.
Venris still needs his hand/arm fully restored, and his Whispering Reeds corruption is worsening (future will saves looming).
Abbas told Venris a secret "just in case" — its contents are still hidden from the rest of the party.
The party plans to descend to the laboratories next.

Scene timeline (9)

00:00:00	Pregame chatter and recap Players settle in and joke around (some private/offensive bits), then the GM (Speaker B) calls for a recap. The recap: the party found a new exit leading to Rajani's old hideout, dispatched ambushing cultists, and Venris handled a near-deadly 1v1 in the gladiator arena. They were then ambushed by basilisks (handled with no petrification) and found petrified statues of unusual creatures plus an interesting chakram. They decided to try reviving the petrified statues with fresh basilisk blood before tackling a full-party arena fight. Abbas (Abbas/VisaGock) and the party debate whether basilisk blood can un-petrify the statues partially, establishing that you must coat the whole statue and the blood must be under an hour old. [S46 · 00:01:21 · turn 0017 · scene 001]
00:09:52	Reviving the petrified statues with basilisk blood The party coats the first petrified statue (the one holding a chakram) in fresh basilisk blood to un-petrify it, with the rest of the party readying actions to strike the moment it animates. As each creature reawakens it is immediately barraged down (Divine Lance crits, sneak attacks, blade strikes) before it can act. The first creature slurs out something in 'Sarcoth' / Undercommon and dies; the second, before dying, shouts 'War Chieftain Gerfell, Belcorra needs the eye.' The creatures are identified (via Abbas's knowledge) as Urdefhan ('Uthul-han / Utehan'), Undercommon-speaking Darklands warmongers. Loot from the two: a Tamchal chakram (auto +1 striking), a steel shield, and a +1 striking composite shortbow; plus disgusting saved fingernails in one's bag. Abbas then casts Augury about the upcoming arena fight and gets 'nothing' — a glimpse of empty, foreboding darkness. [S46 · 00:39:43 · turn 0419 · scene 002]
00:46:11	Choosing the odds: fair vs dead The party heals and preps (10-minute treat-wounds, talismans, poisons), then goes up to the arena host ('Cheeryman') to set up the promised full-party fight. They debate the betting odds — fair odds vs dead odds — weighing better loot against survivability, noting Venris nearly died in his earlier 1v1. After a vote they settle on fair odds. Abbas/VisaGock pulls Venris aside and tells him a secret meant for no one else (a 'just-in-case' contingency, kept off-screen). [S46 · 00:52:30 · turn 0547 · scene 003]
00:55:09	Arena fight, round 1: the chimera and two manticore-pugilists The full-party arena fight begins. The opposition: a large three-headed chimeric manticore (dragon head with a blue fire/arcane breath weapon, lion head, goat head; tail spike attacks) plus two smaller flying manticore-type 'pugilists' (Paradar) wearing hand wraps of mighty blows — agile, fast, clawed unarmed hitters with imprecise scent and ranged tail spikes. The party drops the first flying mook quickly (Cid beheads it after slicing its wings). Veve (V V/BB) is crit-dropped to dying one by a pugilist's flurry, then healed for 43 by Abbas. Veve uses her Oracular Overload / Overload Vision reaction to dazzle the chimera, and later Shared Invisibility (with a big rules debate over 'targets' vs 'targets within an emanation'). The chimera's breath is shut down by stupefy from a fumbled goat-horn ram. Venris chips the chimera with poisoned blade, bloodseeker beak, and rapier; Cid fears it with Rosargentis crits; Veve finishes with a 40+ acid Chromatic Ray. The party wins round one. [S46 · 01:10:19 · turn 0720 · scene 004]
02:58:10	Prize loot and the 'best of three' surprise After the win the illusion crowd fades and a few real monstrous spectators (dwarf-types, a lizard person, a halfling, a rat-creature) head down. The host offers a prize pick from three magic items: a Greater Rhinoceros Mask, a spirit-sighted (ethereal) crossbow, and a Greater Folding Boat. The party takes the boat. The host then reveals the arena fight is a BEST OF THREE — they've only completed round one and must continue with no healing between rounds. The party decides not to push their luck and to withdraw to rest. [S46 · 03:02:32 · turn 1778 · scene 005]
03:14:00	The mummy's deadline, and back to town Heading for the teleporter the party passes the mummy NPC's area; he's half-packed and leaving, says he only needs a couple more days and urges them to be quick. He wants 'Jeffy/Jafucky', leader of the Segabe (the Sagati creatures), dead — they've taken over a lower laboratory floor. Cid tells him 'not yet, but soon.' The party takes the portal back to town to rest, heal, and shop, planning to descend to the laboratories next. [S46 · 03:33:37 · turn 1966 · scene 006]
03:35:14	Town downtime: selling, shopping, and Venris's arm Extended town downtime. The party sells junk and unusable loot (steel shields at 50gp each, mutagens, the bloodseeker beak, a ring of wizardry, the +1 striking composite shortbow's runes, healer kits, gems/reagents). Venris pays the first half (167.5gp) of his clockwork arm's 335gp cost. They buy Veve a +1 armor potency rune (and discuss the pricier 'locus leather'), a Marvelous Mini Chest, an instrument harness for the bard (so she won't drop her instrument when she dies), and look at a greater staff of healing (deferred — too expensive). They keep the folding boat for likely future water levels. Venris shows the Tamchal chakram to Carman, who warns the Urdefhan ('Earth-and-Huns') are violent warmongers. Overnight, Venris suffers worsening nightmares from the Whispering Reeds book corruption — no condition yet, but the symptoms are becoming noticeable. [S46 · 04:15:54 · turn 2349 · scene 007]
04:27:03	The eyeless sonic horror (sester chan) in the lower arena Next day the party descends and hears a piercing sonic cry behind a door. They make improvised earplugs from a sack and enter a blood-stained 20-foot chamber ringed by a transparent-stone observation gallery — a side mini-arena. Inside an eyeless, three-eared reptilian horror (a 'sester chan' of the Deathron Darklands) is destroying crystal chunks with an amplified Sonic Cry. Venris rushes in alone (riding the arena high) and the fight proves brutal — repeated 30+ sonic-burst damage, a near-TPK feel, lots of spent hero points and missed rolls. Venris's blade/kukri is reduced to broken on a crit fumble. The party grinds it down (trips it prone, Veve's Telekinetic Projectile and a Chromatic Ray, Cid's flurry, divine lances) and finally smashes its head in. Abbas spots a large WORM-shaped shadow slithering in the gallery above. [S46 · 05:13:34 · turn 2860 · scene 008]
05:33:09	Aftermath: mending the arm and the room's purpose With the sester chan dead and no loot on it, Abbas hands Venris a scroll of mending; combined with Venris's repair kit it fixes his broken weapon-arm (one point past the broken threshold). The GM clarifies the room: a 'testing grounds' / side mini-arena with a transparent (two-way, here) observation gallery, used for grudge matches between gladiators, fed by a portal like the one upstairs (the portal does NOT funnel into the main arena as the party assumed). The party notes the worm above and a portal exit, and the session wraps mid-exploration to be picked up next time. [S46 · 05:29:21 · turn 3020 · scene 009]

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