Session 15: The Death of Ruin and Althea Joins

Session 15 opened with the introduction of Althea Stormsoro (Maliwana’s new character — a white-scaled kobold cleric/paladin of the All Hammer), who fled into the party’s clearing pursued by an Aurelian patrol. The patrol arrived; Mharos whispered to Vazquez to “blame the arcane on her” — Vazquez refused and took the blame himself, and within seconds Ruin was decapitated by an Aurelian chain-snare in a scripted execution ^[43], the campaign’s second-named-PC death (after Cholmondeley in s3 and Harvo in s9). Combat with the patrol followed, with Terry debuting his new Bladesinger subclass to lethal effect. Phil Flowerforge arrived in cover with a smoke bomb and led the survivors into the Eldwythe sewers ^[8], but during the smoke an unseen Aurelian elite stripped Caelumn of his backpack — including The Egg. In the sewers, the party fought a Kuatoa fish-folk patrol with bone-whip lightning weapons. Phil parted ways at the sewer mid-point, naming his contact Hett Varn at the White Lantern Shrine south of Aurelia. The session ended with the party finishing off a needle-blight + rat-swarm + flame-skull encounter and the DM closing initiative.

Session 15: The Death of Ruin and Althea Joins

Metadata

• In-game date: Continuation of the night of session 14. Party had just laid out bedrolls in the clearing when the snap of a branch announced the arrival.
• Locations visited: Forest clearing outside Eldwythe (Aurelian patrol arrives, Phil rescues), Eldwythe sewers (multi-tunnel sewer system, Phil’s stash, Kuatoa channel, rat-swarm hall, dead-end mossy room).
• Major NPCs present: Phil Flowerforge (rescues with smoke bomb, leads through sewers, parts at sewer mid-point), Aurelian patrol (knight, archer, recruit, anti-magic / chain-master elite), Kuatoa x4 (combat, all dispatched), needle-blight + rat-swarm + needle-blight elite (combat resolved at session end).
• Factions involved: Aurelian forces / Pure Light (active, hunting), Mharos (the entity inside Vazquez, attempted manipulation).
• Sessions referenced (callbacks): s14 (Aurelian arrival, wanted posters); s9 (Ruin’s introduction, Mharos’s origin in Vazquez); s12 (Phil Flowerforge bakery, Brioche).

Executive Summary

Althea Stormsoro (Maliwana’s new PC, a white-scaled kobold cleric/paladin of the All Hammer) fled into the party’s clearing pursued by an Aurelian patrol. The patrol arrived demanding the fugitive. Mharos (the demon-elf entity inside Vazquez) whispered telepathically: “Blame the arcane on her” ^[5]. Vazquez refused and took the blame himself; the Aurelian elite responded by firing a chain that snapped around Ruin’s neck and yanked his head off — a scripted execution, not a save ^[6]. Combat ensued. Terry debuted Bladesong and instantly killed an Aurelian recruit on a natural-20 scimitar attack ^[7]. Phil Flowerforge arrived in cover with a smoke bomb, shouting “Follow me if you want to live!” ^[8]. The smoke hit. During the chaos, an unseen chain pulled Caelumn’s backpack — including The Egg — into the smoke ^[9]. The party fled with Phil into the Eldwythe sewers via a cellar door near the wall.

In the sewers, Phil revealed his backstory (former brigand, picked up Brioche in his old career), explained that he’d been the brigand the party encountered, and shared his contact: Hett Varn, a red-headed dwarf with forehead goggles, met at the White Lantern Shrine — a half-ruined waystation roughly half a day’s travel from Aurelia (direction not explicitly named on-screen — likely a coastal waystation on the freight road approaching the city) ^[10]. Phil parted ways at the sewer mid-point. The party found his old stash with two healing potions, a 50-foot silk rope, a hooded lantern, a flask of oil, and 12gp / 8sp.

A four-Kuatoa combat in a sewer side channel followed. The Kuatoa carried bone-whip weapons that dealt slashing + lightning damage (10-foot reach), used wet ambushes from sewer water, and had true sight. One Kuatoa landed a 20-damage hit on Vazquez and another knocked Terry’s HP into the danger zone before Terry’s Shadow Blade (used for the first time mid-cantrip-economy) instant-killed two on hits. After the fight, Vazquez attempted (and was permitted by Rule of Cool) to electrify the sewer water; Terry stood between two pipes, Caelumn was deemed to be on a walkway, and only Caelumn took the 7 lightning damage from the conducting water — friendly fire ^[11].

After a short rest (Caelumn used the Bloodwell Vial to recover sorcery points), the party heard “Get these motherfuckers” echoing through the sewer water from below ^[12], suggesting Kuatoa reinforcements would follow.

A second combat with a needle-blight, two rat-swarms, and two flame-skull-style needle-blight casters broke out in a junction room. The fight ran long (~12 rounds tracked, both groups of monsters with paralysing spore clouds). Caelumn managed only firebolts and was knocked out at one point. Althea finished off the last creature with a thrown-cowbell-from-onyx improvisation. With the rats and needle-blights dead, the DM closed initiative and ended the session.

Narrative

The session opened with Terry’s recap of session 14 (Gummy Mummy, Nibblecheek bluff, Brioche revealed as wrong dragon, Aurelian arrival, level 4) and the introduction of Althea Stormsoro. Maluana / Maliwana’s player introduced the character: 3-foot white-scaled kobold with deep blue eyes, a simple full-on dress and jacket, an oversized pointed hat with a skull emblem, and a silver-and-golden gorget with a burning gem (“smashed in like a runic symbol”). Athea fled into the clearing pursued by armoured Aurelians who wanted to inspect her gorget; she had refused and been pursued.

The Aurelian patrol arrived. The lead voice cut through the trees: “Clearing ahead! Show yourselves!” ^[13]. The party spread to a 5-foot radius. Mharos whispered telepathically into Vazquez’s head: “This is your chance. Blame the arcane on her” ^[5]. Vazquez refused. He stood, walked ten feet, raised his hand, and declared: “You can blame the arcane on me. That was right here” ^[14].

The Aurelian elite (described as wearing armour with “anti-magic capability” the party would later infer) responded by firing a chain that snapped around Ruin’s neck and pulled with such force that his neck snapped and pulled his head off ^[15]. This was a scripted execution. No save was offered. The death served as the in-fiction send-off for the player Mordane, who had been removed from the table between sessions 14 and 15; Maliwana joined this session as his replacement, bringing Althea Stormsoro. Mordane had previously played Harvo (died s9) and Ruin (died s15) — the campaign’s third PC death.

Combat. Caelumn fired a Held-Action Chromatic Orb at the first Aurelian recruit to come into vision, dealing 18 damage and setting his hair on fire ^[16]. The recruit’s archer ally responded with a natural-20 arrow shot piercing Asker (a flock-bird? — Brioche was offscreen in this fight, sleeping nearby; Asker was an unrelated NPC bystander). Terry activated Bladesong for the first time ^[17] — a fluffy retcon, the bagpipes-shaped Wizard’s musical-magical defensive form. Terry rolled a natural-20 scimitar attack and beheaded the lead recruit ^[7], with the Bladesong’s flat AC bonus and Con-save bonus revealed to be lethal-tier. Althea cast a 2nd-level Bless on Terry, Vazquez, Hugo, and Caelumn ^[18] and opened her Draconic Cry bonus action (“Fuck you, kill those guys,” ^[19].

The Aurelian elite cast a chest-thump field that broke concentration on Althea, then fired off a chain attack with multi-strike at Terry. The chain wrapped around Hugo as well. The chain-master had an aura that on Con save dealt force damage and made the party realize this was the anti-magic dispel artillery. Brioche flew in as a friendly NPC and breathed fire on Nibblecheek-style on the elite — except the elite was the chain-master and Brioche’s breath weapon’s bypassing dragon-fear didn’t faze him (recharge fail).

Phil’s smoke bomb arrived from the woods. Phil shouted “Down!” and a thick black smoke bomb landed between the party and the Aurelians, decimating sound, smell, and sight ^[20]. Phil shouted: “Follow me if you want to live!” ^[8]. The party fled. As they moved through the smoke, Vazquez was confronted by a smoke-figure of Mharos (“No, coward. Face them,” ^[21] — Vazquez told Mharos to shut up, and as the party emerged, Mharos reappeared 5 centimetres from Vazquez’s face: “I have tried to be patient. I have tried letting you see your grand purpose, which is bringing this world to its knees. Fine.” Mharos targeted Caelumn: “Remember. You did this.” A wisdom save was forced — Vazquez used Mage Slayer’s once-a-day fail-to-succeed to defeat the manipulation ^[22]. Vazquez headbutted the smoke-figure: “Yeah, you’re trapped in my mind. I make the fucking rules for right now… feed on me and me alone and you’ll have what you’ll want” ^[23].

Caelumn’s backpack vanished. A chain shot out from the smoke and yanked Caelumn’s backpack — including the Egg — into the cloud ^[9]. Phil shouted to keep moving. The party fled.

Phil led them across an hour of wet-earth running, with the sound of dogs in the distance. They reached Eldwythe sewers via a small cellar door in the wall (not the main gate). Phil revealed his backstory: former brigand, “all kinds of unsavory business all over Eldray,” picked up Brioche in his old career, settled down to bake ^[24]. He named his contact: Hett Varn, red-headed dwarf with forehead goggles, residing in a safe house in Ashward of Aurelia, with a meeting place at the White Lantern Shrine — a half-ruined way shrine roughly half a day’s travel from Aurelia (direction not explicitly named on-screen — likely a coastal waystation on the freight road approaching the city). Code phrase: “Phil sent us.” Phil parted ways at the mid-point of the sewer with a small note for Hett.

The sewer’s main hall opened up. Vazquez kicked a stone into a side pool and triggered a Kuatoa ambush ^[25]. Four Kuatoa fish-folk surged from the water, holding bone-whip weapons that dealt slashing + lightning damage at 10-foot reach. They had true sight ^[26]. Combat ran 6+ rounds. Brioche was offscreen for this fight (returned to Phil and Brioche). Notable rolls: Hugo’s natural-20 longsword on the first hit ^[27] retcon-fix); Vazquez landing 8 slashing + 6 lightning charge-strike ^[26]; a stretch with all party members rolling poorly. Vazquez attempted (Rule of Cool) to electrify the sewer water with his lightning-charged hammer — Caelumn was deemed in the water, Terry was deemed standing on a walkway (Caelumn’s player ruled in his favour mid-debate), and only Caelumn took 7 lightning damage from the conducting water ^[11]. Terry’s Shadow Blade (cast for the first time, used at advantage from Bless) instant-killed Kuatoa #2 on a hit by piercing through soul-stuff ^[28]. After the last Kuatoa fell, Phil’s parting words echoed up — and the party heard from below: “Get these motherfuckers” — implying Kuatoa reinforcements ^[12].

A short rest. Caelumn cashed in his Bloodwell Vial charge to fully restore his sorcery points. Hugo’s player Dylan stepped away briefly. Terry’s Bladesong ended.

The party explored deeper. They found a sewer grate blocking the path and a side room with a dead body and a backpack pouch containing two healing potions, a crowbar, 15 feet of rope, and 7gp.

A second combat broke out in the next chamber: a needle-blight (Ent-style spore-tree-creature), two rat-swarms, and two flame-skull-shaped casters. The fight ran ~12 rounds. The needle-blight could shake itself to fire poisoning spores in a cone (Con save DC 12); failures meant being stunned for 1 minute or until taking damage. Caelumn was paralysed once for several rounds (saved on the third). Hugo and Vazquez took repeated stuns. Althea managed a Turn Undead via the All Hammer (failed once on a natural 12, succeeded later on a 12 — DC 14, lucky save). The needle-blight’s blade-shake dealt 5+5 cone damage to anyone standing in radius. The fight ended with the needle-blight, the rat-swarms, and the flame-skulls all destroyed.

With the last creature down, the DM closed initiative and ended the session.

Dialogue Highlights

1. Mharos, whispering inside Vazquez’s head: “This is your chance. Blame the arcane on her.” ^[5]
2. Vazquez, standing and refusing the demon: “You can blame the arcane on me. That was right here. Wait. These them!” ^[29]
3. The DM’s narration of Ruin’s death: “A chain shoots out and hits Ruin around the neck as he pulls with such force that his neck snaps and pulls his head off.” ^[15]
4. Phil Flowerforge, appearing through the smoke: “Follow me if you want to live!” ^[8]
5. Mharos, emerging from smoke: “I have tried to be patient. I have tried letting you see your grand purpose, which is bringing this world to its knees. Fine. If you won’t bring me others’ misery, I’ll settle for yours.” ^[30]
6. Vazquez to Mharos, internally: “Yeah, you’re trapped in my mind. I make the fucking rules for right now. I don’t think you’re going to be doing any goddamn thing. Remember that I’m the victim here, not them. Feed on me and me alone and you’ll have what you’ll want.” ^[23]
7. Phil Flowerforge on his backstory: “As you know, I used to be a brigand and I had all kinds of unsavory business all over Eldray… that’s where I came upon Brioche and decided to settle down in this nice little village.” ^[24]
8. Phil Flowerforge on the contact: “His name is Het Varn… He has a small safe house in what can only be described as the side of Aurelia, where the normal dock workers and the tanners live… I think your friend with the horns is going to have a bad time.” ^[31]
9. Phil Flowerforge on the rendezvous: “Give him this note and tell him that Phil sent you.” ^[32]

NPCs

1. Althea Stormsoro (Maluan / Maluana per player intro): white-scaled kobold cleric/paladin of the All Hammer. 3 feet tall, deep blue eyes, simple dress and jacket, oversized pointed hat with a skull emblem, silver-and-golden gorget with a burning gem. Has a runesmith past (apprentice but did not finish), former friends parted ways. Bless, Bonus-action Draconic Cry, Sacred Flame, Toll the Dead, Cure Wounds, Channel Divinity (Turn Undead). Player: Maliwana / Mally. New this session: yes. Status: alive, joined the party.
2. Phil Flowerforge (Phil): dwarf baker, formerly brigand. Confirmed as having cultivated Brioche during his criminal career. Carries a smoke-bomb stash. Has a contact in Aurelia (Hett Varn). Currently with Brioche, heading to “Arcanvis or Belkris… or maybe Wurmbow” ^[33]. Faction: friendly-civilian, formerly criminal. New this session in current role: yes (rescued the party). Last seen: s15.
3. Aurelian patrol (collective, ~5-6 figures): Knight (great-sword, multi-attack); archer (natural-20 head-shot kills); recruit (frost shield, takes 18 dmg from chromatic orb but survives); the elite chain-master (anti-magic aura, chain attacks at multi-strike, scripted-execute on Ruin); the standard-bearer who fired the flare-gun (signal). All but one were eventually killed or smoke-fled. New this session: yes.
4. The Aurelian elite chain-master: described as the chain-fired anti-magic specialist. Fired the chain that decapitated Ruin. Anti-magic aura broke concentration on Althea. Implied to be more powerful than the rest of the patrol. Identity / faction-rank unknown. The party did not kill him. New this session: yes.
5. Mharos (the demon-elf parasite inside Vazquez): manifested in smoke as a near-physical figure. Tried to manipulate Vazquez into framing Althea for the arcane use. Vazquez refused. Mharos’s escalation: targeting Caelumn directly with a Wisdom save (defeated by Mage Slayer once-a-day). Status: still inside Vazquez. New this session as on-screen voice: yes.
6. Kuatoa fish-folk (x4): pale-skinned aquatic humanoids with bone-whip lightning weapons. True sight. Slashing + lightning damage at 10-foot reach. All killed. New this session: yes.
7. Hett Varn (Het Warn): named contact. Red-headed dwarf with forehead goggles. Lives in Ashward of Aurelia. Tinkerer. Code phrase: “Phil sent us.” Not encountered yet — to be met at the White Lantern Shrine. New this session as a name: yes.
8. The injured man (in the side room): wounded at session middle. Story moved to s16 with this NPC.
9. The needle-blight (Ent-shaped fungal creature): spore-cone shake, paralysing spores, slow heavy melee. Killed.
10. Two flame-skulls / needle-blight casters: small caster-types with magic missile and possibly fire/poison. Killed.
11. Two rat-swarms: low-HP nibble-damage. Killed.

Locations

1. Forest clearing outside Eldwythe: same clearing as in s14 (and the s12 owlbear ambush). Site of the Aurelian execution and the smoke-bomb rescue. Now strewn with bodies and smoke residue.
2. Eldwythe sewers: multi-tunnel system, accessed via cellar door near the wall (not the main gate). Brick walls, biogloom in places, sewage water. Phil had a stash here from his brigand days.
3. Eldwythe sewers — Phil’s stash chest: small wedged-in-wall crate with healing potions, an antitoxin, and a hat-of-disguise (revealed in s16). New this session: yes.
4. Eldwythe sewers — junction with Kuatoa channel: rusted wheel valves, water pouring through broken gates “like glowing ribbons,” stone platform half-collapsed into churning blue sludge. Combat site.
5. Eldwythe sewers — moss-floor side room: dead body with potion-pouch (2 healing, 50ft rope, oil flask, 12gp/8sp), small chest (in s16).
6. Eldwythe sewers — needle-blight chamber: low storage pocket, shelving, floating crates, blue glow gathered in wet strings, biogloom feeding on darkness. Combat site.
7. White Lantern Shrine: half-ruined waystation roughly half a day’s travel from Aurelia (direction not explicitly named on-screen — likely a coastal waystation on the freight road approaching the city). Code phrase: “Phil sent us.” Sometimes used by labour-weapons and supply carts. New this session as named location: yes.

Items & Loot

1. The Egg (Sevryn’s egg-carrier with the Egg inside): stolen by the Aurelian elite via chain-snare during the smoke flight ^[9]. Last seen pulled into the smoke. Now in unknown Aurelian custody.
2. Phil’s stash, recovered en route: 2 healing potions, 1 greater healing potion, smoke bomb, 50-foot silk rope, hooded lantern, flask of oil, 12gp / 8sp.
3. Side-room corpse pouch: 2 healing potions, 15-foot rope, crowbar, 7gp.
4. Phil’s note to Hett Varn: written and handed to the party. Code phrase included. Carried by Caelumn or another party member (not specified).
5. Hat of Disguise: discovered in Phil’s stash (referenced this session for s16 — “I had a hat of disguise that I had somewhere in one of the crates,” ^[10]. Not yet found in this session’s chest interactions; party heads toward the next room expecting it.
6. Caelumn’s lost backpack: gone. Egg, crooked broom, his healing potions, his coin pouch — all in the backpack. Per the DM, the candied dentures had already been returned to Uncle Nibblecheek before the s15 backpack snare and were not in the pack at the time of the theft (an earlier reading of this recap incorrectly listed the dentures among the stolen items).

Combat Encounters

• Aurelian patrol ambush (~5 rounds, ended by Phil’s smoke bomb): Party started at long-rest full HP; ended with Ruin decapitated, Althea taking 9 slashing + 3 radiant from the knight, Hugo at -12 HP from the archer’s barrage. Fled into the woods.

  • Monsters faced: knight, archer, recruit, elite chain-master, anti-magic-shouter, standard-bearer (signal flare).
  • To-hit results against party: ~6 hits in 5 rounds (high quality of attacks).
  • Saving throws: Althea Concentration (failed via the 9-radiant force damage, lost Bless mid-fight); Vazquez Wisdom (succeeded vs Mharos); Terry’s Bladesong-protected Con saves all succeeded.
  • Damage types: arrows (piercing + radiant), great-sword (slashing + radiant), chain (force damage in aura), spear (piercing + cold). Ruin’s death was by chain — pure mechanical decapitation, not damage rolls.
  • Resources spent: Caelumn — Held-Action Chromatic Orb (force/fire), Innate Sorcery, Shield x2, Misty Step, Bonus-action sorcery-points-to-spell-slot conversion. Hugo — Rage charge, Reckless Attack, longsword melee strikes; killed an Aurelian with 11 damage. Vazquez — Action Surge, Second Wind, gunblade strike (missed), Mage Slayer once-a-day fail-to-succeed (used vs Mharos). Terry — Bladesong (debut), Shield x2, scimitar melee (natural 20 + crit), Silvery Barbs. Althea — Bless (level 2), Draconic Cry, Sacred Flame, Cure Wounds, Channel Divinity (Turn Undead, missed early). Brioche — flyby breath weapon (target made save, half damage).
  • Notable rolls: Terry’s natural-20 scimitar; Hugo’s natural-20 longsword ^[27] retcon-fix); Mharos’ Mage Slayer save.

• Kuatoa ambush (~6 rounds): Party started post-fight HP; ended with all four Kuatoa dead, Caelumn reduced to ~50% HP, Vazquez to ~50%, Terry full health.

  • Monsters faced: Kuatoa x4 (CR 3 with true sight per DM tabletop).
  • To-hit results against party: ~5 hits in 6 rounds.
  • Saving throws: Caelumn Con save vs lightning-conducting water (failed natural 1, took 7 lightning); Terry Con save vs same (succeeded, declared on walkway); Caelumn proficiency-fix moment (DM realising Caelumn had been clicking save-buttons that rolled as checks for the entire campaign, ^[34].
  • Damage types: bone whip slashing + lightning, fish-fin slashing.
  • Resources spent: Caelumn — Cure Wounds (free once-a-day from previous session), 2 sorcery points to recover spell slot, multiple firebolts. Hugo — Rage, Reckless Attack longsword strikes. Vazquez — gunblade strikes, Action Surge held. Terry — Bladesong (re-cast), Shadow Blade (level 2 spell, first use ever — instant-killed via “soul cut”), Silvery Barbs, Second Wind x2, scimitar attacks, hand-crossbow attack. Althea — Bless (level 2), Sacred Flame, Toll the Dead (multiple wisdom-failed), Channel Divinity charge. Hugo — Reckless Attack on the wounded Kuatoa, finishing-strike.
  • Notable rolls: Terry’s Shadow Blade soul-cut for instant kill (DM ruling, ^[28]; Hugo’s natural-20 longsword on the wounded Kuatoa.

• Needle-blight + rat-swarm + flame-skulls (~12 rounds, ongoing at session end, finished): Party started post-rest. Multiple stuns and downs over the fight; needle-blight spore-cone forced Con saves repeatedly.

  • Monsters faced: needle-blight x2 (the bigger one, the smaller “weak” one), rat-swarm x2, flame-skull/needle-blight caster x2.
  • To-hit results against party: ~10 hits in 12 rounds.
  • Saving throws: Con saves vs spores (DC ~12-14), repeated; Caelumn was stunned for 3 rounds; Hugo and Vazquez each stunned at least once. Althea was downed once and revived by Vazquez with the greater healing potion (recovered for 17).
  • Damage types: bludgeoning + poison (needle-blight spore claws), needle (piercing), fire (flame-skull), magic missile (force, level 2 cast targeted Althea for 20 damage, ^[35].
  • Resources spent: Caelumn — Innate Sorcery x2, multiple chromatic orbs, Burning Hands, Shield x4, Cure Wounds (free), Misty Step, sorcery points → spell slot conversion. Hugo — Rage charge, Reckless Attack, longsword strikes (Cleave attempt with great-axe noted but not in hand), inspiration. Vazquez — gunblade strikes, Second Wind, healing potion administered to Althea, intimidation check (advantage from horns). Terry — Bladesong, Shadow Blade x2 (re-cast and yeeted as a thrown improvised weapon, returns at next turn), Silvery Barbs, Second Wind. Althea — Bless x2 (the second cast on a downed Vazquez/Terry), Sacred Flame, Toll the Dead, Channel Divinity Turn Undead (failed once, succeeded once on a 17), Cure Wounds (used on Caelumn).
  • Notable rolls: Caelumn’s natural-1 con save; Caelumn’s natural-20 fire bolt that did 11 damage; Althea’s Turn Undead 17 save; Brioche absent for this fight.

Clues & Foreshadowing

1. Sevryn’s egg is now in Aurelian hands: stolen during the smoke flight ^[9]. The Egg’s exact current location is unknown. The party will need to track it down.
2. Mharos’s escalation: from whispering (“blame the arcane on her,” ^[5] to manifesting in smoke and trying to harm Caelumn directly via mind-spell ^[36]. The demon-elf is escalating its manipulation campaign and explicitly stated its aim: “your grand purpose, which is bringing this world to its knees” ^[37].
3. The Aurelian elite’s chain-execution: not a save, not damage — Ruin’s neck just snapped on hit. This is unusual; the chain may have a special mechanic (anti-magic dispel, scripted-execution against arcane casters or specific markers). The party does not yet know.
4. Phil’s brigand past: Phil is an admitted criminal, and “all kinds of unsavoury business” is open-ended. Phil has contacts in Aurelia; the smoke bomb suggests he kept up his old ties.
5. Hett Varn at the White Lantern Shrine: code phrase “Phil sent us” is the gateway to a safehouse-style Aurelian-side ally. 3 days’ sailing from Eldwythe to reach the shrine.
6. Tieflings exterminated on sight in Aurelia ^[38], carried over): Vazquez’s horned form is a problem. The Hat of Disguise (foreshadowed in s15, found in s16) will be the solution.
7. Caelumn’s proficiency mistake: revealed in this session that Caelumn had been clicking the wrong button in Foundry/Roll20 the entire campaign — rolling Con as a check, not a save ^[34]. Future saves will roll correctly, with the proficiency bonus.

Open Mysteries & Unanswered Questions

1. Where is the Egg now? The Egg was stolen by Aurelian forces in s15. Its exact current location is unknown. The party plans to retrieve it. Players invested: all.
2. Who is the chain-master? Faction-rank, identity, abilities mostly unknown. The chain mechanic may be tied to a specific class or item. Players invested: all.
3. Why did the Aurelians arrive so fast and so well-equipped? Less than 24 hours from the s12 fire-magic to the s14 occupation. The Aurelian magic-detection method is opaque. Possibly Phil was witnessed sheltering the dragon. Players invested: Hugo.
4. What is on the wanted poster description? Unknown, but it includes Vazquez (no magic in s12), so the description may be visual/witness-based rather than detection-based.
5. The Order of the Veil (Velkris faction, world-brief canon) — not yet encountered in transcripts. May become relevant.
6. Brioche’s connection to the dragon-eggs: Brioche is gold-with-red, not chromatic. But the egg may still be of use; Sevryn may have a different plan for Brioche.
7. What is in the side rooms of the sewer the party hasn’t entered? Multiple unexplored corridors. Phil mentioned an “ambush waiting” in one direction ^[39] — to be picked up in s16.

Quests

1. [Status: completed] Brioche Retrieval (Phil): Brioche recovered, but reward (100gp + 12 cinnamon rolls + Ruin’s +20gp extortion in s12) cannot be claimed; Phil himself rescued the party in this session, which the party considered “reward enough.”
2. [Status: critically active] The Egg Quest: The Egg is now stolen by an Aurelian elite. The party must travel into Aurelia (or send Brioche / others) to recover it.
3. [Status: active, new] Phil’s Contact at White Lantern Shrine: meeting Hett Varn — a red-headed dwarf with forehead goggles — at the half-ruined White Lantern Shrine. Code phrase “Phil sent us.”
4. [Status: active] Aurelian forces hunting the party: wanted posters of all 5 PCs in Eldwythe. Aurelian patrols with dogs in the woods.
5. [Status: active] Risa’s Sister Conspiracy (per s10 commitment): the party intended to investigate during Aurelia transit.
6. [Status: dormant] Hugo’s Devil Pact, The Duskwatch Shipping Ledger: not progressed.

Faction & Relationship Changes

• Aurelian forces: confirmed-hostile, executed Ruin in front of the party. Now actively hunting in the sewers with dogs. Stole the Egg.
• Mharos: escalated from passive whispers to active manipulation and direct attacks on Caelumn. Vazquez’s relationship with the parasite is now openly adversarial.
• Phil Flowerforge: friendly-allied. Saved the party. Travelling separately with Brioche.
• Briochebane: returned to Phil for the journey. Not currently with the party.
• Althea Stormsoro: joined the party. Trusts the party who saved her.
• Ruin: deceased. The party did not attempt to recover the body or perform any ritual.

Table Rulings

• Scripted execution / Aurelian chain: the chain attack on Ruin had no save. The DM noted out-of-character that this was a scripted death because Mordane (Ruin’s player) had been removed from the table between sessions 14 and 15, and Maliwana was joining session 15 as his replacement bringing a new character (Althea). The previous character was being retired in-fiction. Future Aurelian chain attacks will likely follow the regular rules.
• Bladesong AC + Con saves: Terry’s Bladesong adds Intelligence modifier (+5) to Concentration / Con saves and gives flat AC bonus. Per Terry’s player: “It’s why Bladesinging is the best wizard. You don’t need to actually be a melee, it just gives you a good con save” ^[40].
• Lightning conducting through sewer water (Rule of Cool): the DM allowed Vazquez’s lightning charge to electrify the water with consequences for anyone standing in it. The party then debated who was in the water vs on the walkway, and the DM allowed Caelumn to be “on the walkway” via player negotiation.
• Held action vs reaction-cast Shield: Caelumn’s Held Action Chromatic Orb was triggered by the first enemy in vision; reaction-cast Shield happened the same round.
• Mage Slayer feat (Vazquez): the once-per-day fail-to-succeed on a Wisdom or Charisma save was used vs Mharos ^[41]. Confirmed mechanic.
• Heroic Inspiration on Con saves: confirmed. Caelumn used it once.
• Caelumn’s proficiency mistake: confirmed RAW that Caelumn has Con-save proficiency as a Sorcerer; he had been clicking the “check” button in the VTT instead of the “save” button for the entire campaign. Future saves will use the proficiency bonus.
• Shadow Blade as a thrown weapon: Terry’s Shadow Blade has the Throne (thrown) property. The DM was surprised at this RAW reading and allowed it; the blade respawns at the next turn ^[42].

Callbacks

• Vazquez’s reluctance to take blame from Mharos is a callback to s9-s14 character development; Vazquez has been resisting Mharos’s manipulation throughout that arc.
• Phil’s character (s12) is reframed: the DM’s “I used to be a brigand” reveal explains Phil’s smoke-bomb skill and his Aurelia-side contacts.
• The Egg from s3 is now stolen, mirroring the s2-s3 introduction of the Egg as quest item but with the McGuffin lost rather than gained.
• Aurelians from s14: confirmed-hostile, with at least one elite type that the party cannot stop directly.
• Death-at-Sunset’s egg-essence absorption (s3) is the reason the Egg is valuable; recovering it is now an active quest.

Next Steps

The party last stated:

1. Continue through the Eldwythe sewers to find the exit, possibly toward the cellar Phil mentioned.
2. Travel to the White Lantern Shrine to meet Hett Varn (3 days sailing).
3. Attempt to recover the Egg from Aurelian custody.
4. Consider whether to pivot to Velkris (Maelis Dirn’s shipping leads) or Umbrafall (allied territory) before tackling Aurelia.

References

1. ^ Session 15, line 14-119 — Althea joins, Aurelian arrival, Mharos whispers, Vazquez refuses, Ruin executed.
2. ^ Session 15, line 446-510 — Phil's smoke bomb, Egg stolen by an unseen chain.
3. ^ Session 15, line 573-700 — Sewers entry, Phil's contact at the White Lantern Shrine.
4. ^ Session 15, line 826-1313 — Kuatoa combat with bone-whip lightning weapons.
5. ^ Session 15, line 111 — Inline citation.
6. ^ Session 15, line 117-119 — Inline citation.
7. ^ Session 15, line 196-199 — Inline citation.
8. ^ Session 15, line 448 — Inline citation.
9. ^ Session 15, line 500-504 — Inline citation.
10. ^ Session 15, line 693 — Inline citation.
11. ^ Session 15, line 1163-1175 — Inline citation.
12. ^ Session 15, line 1313 — Inline citation.
13. ^ Session 15, line 94 — Inline citation.
14. ^ Session 15, line 116 — Inline citation.
15. ^ Session 15, line 119 — Inline citation.
16. ^ Session 15, line 154-157 — Inline citation.
17. ^ Session 15, line 173 — Inline citation.
18. ^ Session 15, line 260 — Inline citation.
19. ^ Session 15, line 853 — Inline citation.
20. ^ Session 15, line 446 — Inline citation.
21. ^ Session 15, line 479 — Inline citation.
22. ^ Session 15, line 487-488 — Inline citation.
23. ^ Session 15, line 490 — Inline citation.
24. ^ Session 15, line 590 — Inline citation.
25. ^ Session 15, line 827 — Inline citation.
26. ^ Session 15, line 911 — Inline citation.
27. ^ Session 15, line 195 — Inline citation.
28. ^ Session 15, line 1141 — Inline citation.
29. ^ Session 15, line 116-117 — Inline citation.
30. ^ Session 15, line 481-483 — Inline citation.
31. ^ Session 15, line 655 — Inline citation.
32. ^ Session 15, line 695 — Inline citation.
33. ^ Session 15, line 611 — Inline citation.
34. ^ Session 15, line 562-572 — Inline citation.
35. ^ Session 15, line 1437 — Inline citation.
36. ^ Session 15, line 483 — Inline citation.
37. ^ Session 15, line 482 — Inline citation.
38. ^ Session 15, line 1619 — Inline citation.
39. ^ Session 15, line 1146 — Inline citation.
40. ^ Session 15, line 555 — Inline citation.
41. ^ Session 15, line 488 — Inline citation.
42. ^ Session 15, line 1245 — Inline citation.
43. ^ Session 15, line 100-119 — Inline citation.