The party spent the morning in Otari sorting out Doriana's cursed ruby (it keeps teleporting back to her dolls) and finally dispelled it for the night, while the town reeled from more sabotage — another fire at the flume and crops rotted overnight. Then they returned to the vaults to finish their bargain with the mummy Jav Cam: behead a Sagathi for him before he leaves at midnight for Osirion. Pushing toward the laboratories, they cut down a Dreshkin patrol (electrified flesh-warped Morlocks) led by Noth, a flesh-warped bandmate from Shadowmallet's troupe, then a confusion-aura Sagathi researcher and more Dreshkins. Loot included a wand of illusory creature and a tarnished silver key (F20). That key opened the lab of the Sagathi alchemist, a Common-speaking boss backed by a drider, surrounded by dissected specimens and a screaming morlock head kept alive on tubes. The boss spammed confusion, bombs, a phantasmal-killer, and levitated out of reach while chugging healing potions; a confused Cid clobbered Veve. Out of time and unable to pin him, the party went invisible and retreated, closing the door on a cliffhanger.
The party has been in town (Otari) sheltering a child, Doriana, whose cursed ruby keeps reappearing inside whatever doll she holds — hourly through the night, stopping near daybreak — apparently tied to a marking on her arm. Venris had been resting; Veve (V/BB) stayed up watching the child and unlocked an 8-hour occultism activity to investigate the affliction. They had also been weighing whether to finish a quest for a mummy in the vaults before he leaves.
| 00:00:04 | Recap and the manor night: Doriana's ruby curse Picking up in the manor in Otari, the party recaps the prior night: they are sheltering and protecting a child, Doriana, whose cursed ruby keeps teleporting back to whatever doll she is holding (hourly through the night, stopping around daybreak), seemingly linked to a marking/scar on her arm. Veve (V/BB) stayed up watching the child and has unlocked an 8-hour occultism exploration activity to investigate Doriana's affliction; she failed an earlier Locate-based occultism check. The party debates burning Veve's spell slots to dispel the curse versus saving them for a fight; eventually a counteract dispel succeeds on the last casting and the curse object is dispelled for now. [S52 · 00:00:16 · turn 0002 · scene 001] |
| 00:36:55 | Daytime downtime in Otari: retraining, shopping, and grim news While Veve sleeps off her all-nighter (the party reschedules the day so she can be at full strength by ~2 PM), the rest take downtime in town. Venris finishes retraining out of Trapfinder into Quick Draw (later flavored as becoming a 'haunted fighter'/ghost hunter), buys a Snap Leaf talisman (feather fall + invisibility on a fall), and learns the town is suffering: another fire at the plume/flume, and crops at the farms rotted overnight (~two nights ago). Players debate earning income; Cid/Abbas largely chill and do a recall-knowledge on the invisible-paged book. [S52 · 00:43:46 · turn 0319 · scene 002] |
| 01:00:53 | Planning the move on the mummy and descending into the vaults The reassembled party debates how to handle the mummy NPC they owe a quest to (retrieve a Sagathi/Zagathi head in exchange for a floor map that turned out to be a spell page). They are torn between completing his bargain and Bryn/Ryn's wish to stop him from leaving. They plan an opening: Abbas will cast Silence (an aura around himself), Venris may go invisible, and they will talk first and only attack if he insists on leaving. The party travels to the beach, enters the cave, and steps through the paralysis-aura portal into the vaults. [S52 · 01:04:27 · turn 0519 · scene 003] |
| 01:14:17 | Parley with the mummy Jav Cam Inside, they find the mummy (Jav Cam / 'Jafucker') wrapping up his own work. Speaking through the party's spokesman, they tell him they have come to finish retrieving the Sagathi's head and ask him to hold off leaving for a couple of hours; a Diplomacy check lands. The mummy reveals (via a time-telling spell) he plans to leave at midnight to return to his native Osirion, giving the party roughly nine-plus hours. They agree, regroup, and head deeper toward the laboratories, settling marching order before initiative. [S52 · 01:14:55 · turn 0612 · scene 004] |
| 01:24:17 | Combat: Dreshkin patrol and Noth, the flesh-warped bandmate Initiative breaks out against a patrol. The enemies are Dreshkins (Morlocks flesh-warped with electricity, who fire needle-cone sprays and electrified 'loot'/lute blasts) and, in the back, Noth — one of the Luthi performers from Shadowmallet's band at the arena competition, now flesh-warped, in purple armor, and very hostile to Venris. A long argument plays out over whether Venris can use Stealth/Surprise Attack when the foes were clearly waiting for the party (the GM rules no this time). Venris slings chakrams (quick draw), Cid does a leaping Sudden Charge crit to behead a Dreshkin, and the flesh-warped foes burst with white-hot flame and electricity on death. The party kills them, finds only garbage loot (a hand crossbow, a basic musical instrument), then climbs a secret stair to a portal room to heal and refocus. [S52 · 01:30:54 · turn 0772 · scene 005] |
| 02:30:25 | Tracking the drag marks to the secret passages After healing in the safe portal room, the party investigates the bloody tracks: Dreshkins cleaned up and dragged bodies, and a set of three-toed, four-clawed-per-foot scratch/drag marks (a victim dragged still struggling) lead from under a wall to a hidden button. They open secret doors and stairs, weighing several routes toward the laboratories and the arena viewing area, looking for the Sagathi they were hired to behead. [S52 · 02:22:38 · turn 1262 · scene 006] |
| 02:47:01 | Combat: Sagathi researcher and Dreshkins in the mine-fog Opening a secret door, they ambush a Sagathi researcher (worm-like, longsword and reach) flanked by Dreshkins. The Sagathi emanates a mind-fog/confusion aura: anyone starting their turn near it must save or be confused, perceiving allies as Sagathi. Venris fails his will save and, confused, slashes Cid in the back twice; the confusion ping-pongs around the party while the Dreshkins megamorph into a 'Giga Dreshkin' and spray needle cones. The party grinds them down — Cid repositions/slams a Sagathi, Abbas Divine Lances, Venris crits with his transforming arm-blade — and clears the room. Loot from the bodies includes research notes (F20) on flesh-warping the arena combatants. [S52 · 02:47:54 · turn 1468 · scene 007] |
| 03:31:48 | Loot and door-by-door search for the Sagathi leader The party reads more flesh-warping research notes (battles staged in a transparent-walled arena), heals fully, and searches the corpses. From a Dreshkin's satchel they recover a wand of illusory creature (2nd-level) and a tarnished silver key (filed as F20, alongside earlier keys E5 and F10). Venris listens at doors and lockpicks; a 'very complicated lock' barely succeeds but needs more, so he switches to the new F20 silver key, which fits. They prep formation — Abbas and Cid hanging back, ready for confusion — and push the fancy double doors open. [S52 · 03:39:36 · turn 1981 · scene 008] |
| 04:01:08 | Boss fight: the Sagathi alchemist and his drider Behind the doors is the leader's chamber — books, smoking bottles, dissected specimens pinned to the walls, and a morlock head kept alive by tubes and wiring, screaming. The Sagathi alchemist speaks Common ('You finally found me') and is backed by a drider that casts fireballs and acid arrow. The boss spams 4th-level confusion, throws assorted bombs (a green poison/'enfeeble' arrow, acid flasks with persistent damage), creates a phantasmal-killer image of the most fearsome creature imaginable (nearly forcing a death save), and uses hypercognition to recall-knowledge the party. Abbas lands a Calm on him, briefly stopping his hostility while the party repositions and heals, but he resumes, levitates ~50 feet up, drinks healing potions, and keeps confusing the party (a confused Cid hits Veve for 44). The party can't pin the levitating boss down (Venris's grapple/jump and telekinetic pulls mostly fail). [S52 · 04:02:00 · turn 2175 · scene 009] |
| 05:30:00 | Retreat and cliffhanger With players running low on real-world time and the boss un-pinnable in the air, the party decides to disengage. Venris casts shared invisibility, and the group falls back out of the chamber; Cid (Cidolfus Memolund) closes the door behind them as the session is called mid-fight on a cliffhanger, the Sagathi alchemist and his drider still alive inside. [S52 · 05:23:59 · turn 2946 · scene 010] |