Session 60: The Glue, the Tiefling, and the Devils' Forge Door

S60 Recap: The Glue, the Tiefling, and the Devils' Forge Door

TL;DR

Now level 8, the party pushed deeper into the prison level of the vault. They cleverly disabled a blood-red light alarm by gluing a chakram over the emitter crystal, then fought through a barracks of lightning Dreshkins and exploding Movitok healers, a ghostly "GET OUT" suggestion-haunt, and a pair of will-o'-wisps (one escaped). In a locked cell they rescued Sinemi, a horned tiefling bounty hunter, who spilled the floor's secrets: a devil named Irvane has a big bounty out on Carman Rajani and lairs behind a sigiled five-pointed-star door near a Hellfire Forge, the giant armored Kalido (the "Dead Knight") roams as a higher-up, and an elevator leads down to a drow city/necropolis. The party then cleared the upstairs torture chamber against a wave of devils (a Zebub, Barbazus, and a comedic monkey troop), looting a bloodletting kukri and a cold iron shield. They ended at the sigil door, deciding to breach the devil's forge next session.

Previously on

After hanging around Otari and doing some minor (mostly fruitless) investigation into Vollok and the lenses, the party dove deeper into the Gauntlight and defeated a bearded devil and his exploding minions. They connected Vollok's torn-up workshop to a "create undead" operating table beneath the lens workshop. Venris looted a Drover's Band (~600 gp) off the captain/devil and got briefly sickened doing so; he is cleared of the sickness but not yet at full HP.

What happened

The party reached a large octagonal pyramid chamber where a blood-red light coned down from a tiny crystal at the apex. Recall knowledge and detect magic showed it to be an alarm/trap that reacts to organic matter or life energy (not vision), tough enough that only a master could disable it by hand.
After a long, very silly engineering session (sliding chakrams, testing the metal arm, a wooden boat, leather, glue bombs), Venris floated a chakram up with Hand of the Mage's telekinetic hand to block the crystal, then permanently glued a leather scrap over the centimeter-wide emitter hole using a defused glue bomb — disabling the alarm and earning a hero point.
Behind a door buzzing with lightning and creaking metal, the party breached a prison-block barracks full of Dreshkins and the bigger Movitoks. Venris crit-opened (57 damage) and the party tore through them, but the Movitoks raised shields on command and EXPLODED on death (void/vitality damage), dropping Abbas to 6 HP. Veve/BB resorted to chucking food and furniture — a jug for 42, a stool for 46. Loot: two steel shields and two +1 tamchal chakrams.
After a break and ~30 minutes of channeled healing, opening a filthy office door triggered a ghostly "GET OUT" suggestion-haunt dealing auditory damage (~19) and urging everyone to flee. Veve's Counter Performance protected the party and her "screeching annoying voice" broke the compulsion. They identified it as a ghost-powered suggestion trap and found a hidden manacle-and-chain button revealing a familiar hallway.
At the next door they spotted two will-o'-wisps (invisible, terror-feeding, magic-immune) in a blood-crusted portcullis hall. Venris used his wand of See the Unseen; the party killed one (Veve's bow finishing it), but the second went invisible, shocked them for electricity, and fled up a staircase back to the tavern level, escaping.
In a locked cell they knock-picked their way to Sinemi, a starving horned tiefling bounty hunter with a 30 gp wanted bounty. After a running gag about cashing her in, they freed, watered, and fed her. She revealed she was working a contract from a devil named Irvane/Erevian, who has put a large "captured alive" bounty on Carman Rajani — apparently for Rajani's Rose Guard / artifact connection (the Rosa Argentis). She named Kalido, the giant armored creature (the party's "Dead Knight"), as a creepy higher-up she always avoided, and described a deeper drow city/necropolis reached by elevator.
The party gave Sinemi a light hammer and a steel shield and let her leave. They concluded the council knowing Irvane's office sits behind a sigiled five-pointed-star door (a magical lock) with a blacksmith/Hellfire Forge to its right, and decided to finish exploring before confronting either the devil or the Dead Knight.
Returning to the skipped upstairs torture chamber (iron maiden, nail table, bloodstained walls), they found fresh hoof-marks — devils now roam freely — and ambushed a Zebub and two Barbazus whose glaives inflict nasty, hard-to-remove infernal bleed. The devil reinforced with a monkey troop and another Zebub/Barbazu ("the devil has a sense of humor"), but the party ground them all down, then spent several actions clearing the persistent bleeds with first aid.

Aftermath and loot

From the torture chamber: a bent bloodletting kukri (+1 striking crimson blade; on a crit deals/extends persistent bleed and grants temporary HP). Venris recognized its owner and absorbed it into his clockwork arm.
Also recovered: a standard-grade cold iron shield, two glaives (first read as +1, ultimately judged basic), and a couple of moderate acid flasks. The iron maiden held only a scallop (table gag). Everyone healed to full.
The party resolved to go left next session toward the sigiled five-pointed-star door and the blacksmith/Hellfire Forge room — Irvane's lair — rather than the city elevator. The session ended as they approached the sigil.

Decisions made

Disabled the blood-light alarm permanently by gluing a chakram/leather scrap over the emitter crystal rather than fighting through or going around.
Cleared the barracks, the haunt office, and (eventually) the upstairs torture chamber.
Chose NOT to cash in Sinemi; freed her, equipped her with a light hammer and steel shield, and sent her on her way.
Venris claimed the bloodletting kukri (absorbed into the prosthetic arm).
Agreed to head for the sigiled forge door / Irvane's lair next session before the city elevator.

Open questions / reminders for next session

What lies behind the sigiled five-pointed-star door — the blacksmith room, the Hellfire Forge, and Irvane's office? (Next session's first target.)
The devil Irvane/Erevian wants Carman Rajani captured alive for a big bounty — why, and will he try to use the party's Rajani connection against them?
Kalido the "Dead Knight" / giant armor is actively hunting the party and is a higher-up for whoever Irvane is contracted with — still unconfronted.
An elevator leads down to a drow city / necropolis full of drow and bioluminescent fungus — a future destination.
The escaped will-o'-wisp may resurface near the tavern level.
The party still wants to learn what Vollok's "create undead" table and the lenses were for, and how it ties to Belcorra.

Scene timeline (11)

00:00:20	Pregame: tech setup and the missing bot Players load up Foundry and TalSpire, deal with a streaming/bot host being blocked by port-security issues (no bot today, promised for next week), and settle in before the GM calls for the recap. [S60 · 00:02:36 · turn 0014 · scene 001]
00:03:45	Recap: the bearded devil, Vollok's lenses, and the Drover's Band The party recaps last session: after hanging around Otari and doing minor investigation into Vollok and the lenses (turning up little), they dove deeper into the Gauntlight/Abomination Vaults and killed a bearded devil and his exploding minions. They tie Vollok's torn-up workshop to a 'create undead' operating table beneath the lens workshop. Venris looted a Drover's Band (~600 gp) from the captain/devil and shows it off; the party leaves it unclaimed for now. Venris is cleared of his sickness but not at full HP. [S60 · 00:04:36 · turn 0029 · scene 002]
00:11:45	The blood-red light alarm in the octagonal pyramid chamber The party reaches a large octagonal pyramid chamber where a blood-red light cones down from a tiny crystal embedded at the apex of the ceiling. Recall knowledge and detect magic determine it is an alarm/trap reactive to organic matter or life energy (not vision/light), with a thievery option requiring a master to disable. After many experiments (sliding chakrams, the metal arm, a wooden boat, glue bombs), Venris floats a chakram up with Hand of the Mage's telekinetic hand to block the crystal, then permanently glues a leather scrap over the centimeter-wide hole with a defused glue bomb, neutralizing the alarm and earning a hero point. [S60 · 00:16:33 · turn 0115 · scene 003]
01:03:24	Barracks ambush: Dreshkins and the Movitok healers Behind a door the party hears lightning and creaking metal and recognizes more Dreshkins. They breach a prison-block-turned-barracks and roll initiative on a surprise round. Venris crit-opens by gutting a small Dreshkin (57 damage) and finishes it; Cid/Abbas and the party drop the rest. The larger Movitoks raise shields on command, brawl, and explode on death (void/vitality damage), nearly dropping Abbas (down to 6 HP). Veve/BB throws food and furniture (a jug for 42, a stool for 46) at them. Vitality Lash and Sonic Blows fly. The room is cleared but messy; loot includes two steel shields and two +1 tamchal chakrams. [S60 · 01:04:42 · turn 0518 · scene 004]
01:52:30	Looting, healing, and the suggestion-haunt office After a break the party loots footlockers (steel shields, +1 tamchal chakrams, some silver) and spends ~30 minutes healing back to near-full with repeated channeled heals. Opening a filthy prison-office door triggers a ghostly 'GET OUT' suggestion-haunt that deals auditory damage (~19) and urges them to flee; Veve's Counter Performance protects allies and her annoying voice breaks the compulsion. Recall knowledge identifies it as a suggestion trap powered by a ghost, with hidden runes/buttons. The party disables/searches it out, finds a manacle-and-chain secret button opening to a familiar hallway, and reads worthless prisoner logs. [S60 · 02:15:43 · turn 1070 · scene 005]
02:26:31	The will-o'-wisps that got away Listening at a new door, the party spots two will-o'-wisps (invisible, terror-feeding skull-flames immune to magic) in a portcullis hallway whose metal is crusted with dried blood. Venris uses his wand of See the Unseen and the party engages. The wisps go invisible, shock the party for electricity, and trade blows; one is killed (Veve's bow finishes it) but the second flees, books it up a staircase that connects back to the tavern level, and escapes despite Venris's pursuit. The party declines to chase it solo and presses on. [S60 · 02:33:02 · turn 1243 · scene 006]
03:08:40	Rescuing Sinemi the tiefling bounty hunter Behind locked cell doors (one empty, the ant's former cage) the party knock-picks a cell and finds Sinemi, a horned tiefling bounty hunter (a wanted criminal, 30 gp bounty) chained and starving. After a joking debate about cashing her in, they free, water and feed her. She explains she was hunting on a contract from a devil named Irvane/Erevian who has put a big bounty on Carman Rajani (wants him captured alive), tied to Rajani's Rose Guard connection and the Rosa Argentis sword. She names Kalido, the big armored creature (the 'Dead Knight') as a creepy higher-up she always avoided, and describes the deeper drow city/necropolis reachable by elevator. The party gives her a light hammer and steel shield and lets her go. [S60 · 03:12:01 · turn 1599 · scene 007]
03:46:51	Party council: the devil, the Dead Knight, and where to go With Sinemi gone, the party debates strategy. They now know Irvane/Rebian holds an office behind a sigiled five-pointed-star door (a magical lock), with a blacksmith forge / Hellfire Forge to its right and an elevator to the drow city straight ahead. They worry more about the actively-hostile Dead Knight (Kalido) than the cunning devil, weigh whether to bait the devil with their Rajani connection, and decide to finish exploring the floor first — starting by clearing the upstairs torture chamber they'd skipped. [S60 · 03:49:35 · turn 1915 · scene 008]
03:56:04	Torture chamber: the devil ambush The party returns to the upstairs torture chamber (iron maiden, nail table, bloodstained walls) and finds fresh hoof-marks — devils now roam this floor freely. They ambush a Zebub and two Barbazus; the bearded devils' glaives inflict hard-to-remove infernal bleed. Venris one-shots the Zebub and disarms a Barbazu; Cid's Rose Argentis (silver + peachwood) crit-decapitates devils; Abbas's champion Retributive Strike and Veve's anthems support. The devil reinforces with a monkey troop and another Zebub/Barbazu wave ('the devil has a sense of humor'), but the party grinds them all down and then spends actions clearing the stubborn infernal bleeds with first aid. [S60 · 04:03:12 · turn 2003 · scene 009]
04:50:01	Torture-chamber loot and the sigil-door decision Searching the torture chamber the party finds a bent bloodletting kukri (a +1 striking crimson-blade kukri that grants temp HP / persistent bleed on crit) — Venris recognizes the owner and absorbs it into his clockwork arm; a standard-grade cold iron shield; two +1 glaives (later judged just basic glaives) and a couple moderate acid flasks. They heal to full. The iron maiden holds only a scallop (a gross gag). For next time the party resolves to head left to the sigiled five-pointed-star door / Hellfire-forge blacksmith room (Irvane's place) rather than the city elevator, ending the session at the sigil. [S60 · 04:51:11 · turn 2464 · scene 010]
05:02:24	Postgame: scheduling and unrelated stream bleed-through After the in-fiction wrap-up the table schedules a midweek (Wednesday) make-up session. The remainder of the recording (from ~05:18 onward) is unrelated audio: a Riftbound trading-card-game tournament broadcast/commentary that bleeds into the transcript and is NOT part of the campaign. Excluded from the recap. [S60 · 05:02:33 · turn 2550 · scene 011]

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