Session 19: A Penitent Priest, an Unmade Leash, and the Pixie in the Dark

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Session 19
Session 19: A Penitent Priest, an Unmade Leash, and the Pixie in the Dark
Session
In-fiction date31 March to 1 April 843 A.I.
Recorded2026-06-27
Party presentTerry, Hugo, Caelumn, Steven, Father Thomas
AbsentVasquez, Althea
LocationsAurelian farmland, Aurelian inland road, Velkris, Gloamhearth, Eldwythe

Session 19 is a low-combat, high-planning session that opens the evening after Mike’s s18 roadside burial. Camped in Aurelian farmland on the outskirts of Aurelia, the party (Terry, Hugo, Caelumn, Steven) takes stock: humbled by a single patrol, they vote to abandon the Egg raid on Aurelia for now [27][36] and set a new route, sail or march to Velkris to redeem the forged Duskwatch ledger (“the shipping order”), then on to Gloamhearth to update Sevryn [5]. On the first night’s watch, two things happen that only Hugo witnesses: the Ascendancy handler the Wraith appears to him for the first time since the s7 night-time meeting, takes Hugo’s debrief, and re-applies his conditioning with the trigger words “Teddy Bear. Lamp.” [47]; then the Black Mask freezes time and undoes the conditioning, the first concrete payoff of her s17 promise, while pressing Hugo towards a “second deal” [9]. On Steven’s watch, a destitute goblin, Gristleback, wanders into camp begging for food and drops the session’s biggest lore: Seraphine, the ruler of Aurelia, single-handedly destroyed five Archmages in the “Arcanvian War” [13]. The next morning a figure from the patrol that killed Mike catches up to the party, not to arrest them, but to atone. He introduces himself as Father Thomas, a Priest of the Pure Light (Brian’s new PC, a Human Twilight Cleric) who has “taken a leave from my order in order to pursue good works” [67], and the wary party folds him in. The session closes on a night-camp fey ambush, a Pixie (“Pixie Wonderbringer”) and a pack of will-o’-wisps, that drove Caelumn to roughly 3 HP but killed no one; the pixie and every wisp were destroyed or driven off by session’s end [31]. The DM also hardened Aurelian doctrine: all magical equipment (healing potions included) is restricted in Aurelia and requires a permit [4]. Mike is buried, the Egg is deferred, and the party is one day’s walk back towards the Eldwythe bridge with a new priest, an unmade leash, and a long road to Velkris ahead.

Session 19: A Penitent Priest, an Unmade Leash, and the Pixie in the Dark

Metadata

  • In-game date: 843-03-31 → 843-04-01 (continuous from s18; no date is spoken on-screen, so these are approximate; see open question Q8). The session opens the evening of the burial day and runs through two nights.
  • Locations visited: a roadside camp in Aurelian farmland on the outskirts of Aurelia (the opening camp, near Mike’s s18 grave); the Aurelian inland road back towards the Eldwythe bridge; and a defensible cliffside/hilltop camp roughly one day short of that bridge (the fey-ambush site). Velkris, Gloamhearth, Eldwythe, Umbrafall, Mirestrand, Khaldun, Sablemar and Arcanthys are referenced as route nodes but not visited.
  • Major NPCs: The Wraith (Hugo-only), The Black Mask (Hugo-only), Gristleback (a goblin cameo), and the off-screen reveal of Seraphine (ruler of Aurelia). Father Thomas joins as a new PC.
  • Factions involved: The Ascendancy (re-leashing Hugo, off-leash assassination op in Arcanthys), The Black Mask (undoing the leash; pressing the “second deal”), Aurelian forces / Pure Light (a serving priest defects), Platinum Order (Caelumn keeps his faith covert).
  • Sessions referenced (callbacks): s18 (Mike’s execution and burial; the Bladesong/arcane-detection regime; the red-dragon overflight); s17 (the Black Mask’s renegotiated pact and her promise to remove Hugo’s mind-control); s15 (the lost sewer backpack; the Egg taken by Aurelians); s6-s7 (the forged Duskwatch ledger from Maelis Dirn’s desk, to be redeemed with Silent Intake in Velkris); and a meta-callback to the DM’s previous campaign (the goblin Gristleback).

Recap heard at start of session

The DM drew Ash for the recap [23], who summed up session 18 from Steven’s side: the end of the reef-line fight and Steven’s dagger finishing the Brinemaw Wyrm, the red dragon flying north towards Arcanthys, the winged catfish that destroyed the boat, the swim with Steven on Hugo’s back, the beach camp and Caelumn’s Bahamut faith, and the patrol that beheaded Mike for casting Message through his apparatus [24]. Ash corrected himself on the swim, and his recap gave Hugo’s opening kill to Caelumn; the DM corrected nothing, called it a very good recap and gave inspiration [25].

Executive Summary

With Mike in a roadside grave, the party did the unglamorous thing: they quit while behind. Caelumn argued that a single Aurelian patrol had already humbled them and that storming Aurelia for the Egg would only get more of them killed, and the table agreed to abandon the raid for now and route instead to Velkris to cash in the forged Duskwatch ledger, then on to Gloamhearth to brief Sevryn [26][27][5]. The session’s pivotal beats were Hugo-only: on his watch the Ascendancy’s Wraith appeared in person, took a full debrief, and re-applied his conditioning with the trigger phrase “Teddy Bear. Lamp.”, only for the Black Mask to freeze time, undo the conditioning as the first payoff of her s17 promise, and immediately lean on Hugo to close a “second deal” [28]. A begging goblin named Gristleback then wandered into camp and, between rations, named Aurelia’s ruler: Seraphine, who reportedly destroyed five Archmages by herself in the Arcanvian War [13]. The next morning brought the session’s hook: a Pure Light priest from the very patrol that killed Mike caught up to the party not to arrest them but to atone. Father Thomas (Brian’s new character, a Human Twilight Cleric who has taken leave from his order) joined, casting Shillelagh to argue that “not all magic is bad” while letting slip that he’d merely have taken “a finger” rather than Mike’s head [29][30]. The party travelled a day back inland and made camp on high ground, where a Pixie and a swarm of will-o’-wisps ambushed them in the dark. Nobody died: Caelumn was driven to about 3 HP and saved by Cure Wounds, Father Thomas’s Twilight Sanctuary, and Terry’s Silvery Barbs, and the fey were destroyed or driven off as the session ended on a cloud of glitter [31].

Narrative

The morning after, and the case for retreat. Session 19 opens with the party on the road, “having just had your ally brutally murdered” and buried him [1]. Steven set the tone, processing the execution as a lesson in Aurelian zeal: “I guess that was a good demonstration of what can happen if you… if you were to slip up in front of any of these guards. They don’t hesitate one bit” [32]. Over the evening fire the party debated whether pressing into Aurelia for the Egg was resolve or sunk-cost folly. Caelumn made the case for retreat plainly: “Are we ready to lose six more just to try and sort this out? […] we might have bit off something more than we could chew for now” [26]. Hugo, the one PC not personally in danger inside the city, played devil’s advocate (“we’re already at the gates”), but even Terry admitted he agreed [33]. The two open objectives in Aurelia (recover the Egg and “try and find the sister”) were both deferred [34]; Hugo noted that the Broker’s assassination contract in Aurelia had likely lapsed (“the time that has expired for it”, [35]). The DM confirmed the decision: “you guys have decided to abandon your quest in Aurelia for now” [27], and again, “you have chosen not to do the quest” [36]. Caelumn re-explained the Egg’s purpose for the table’s benefit: a dragonkin tasked the party with restoring magical essence to a dragon egg by slaying evil dragons and feeding their hoards and life-essence to the good ones [37]. Asked who had taken it, the DM clarified the Egg-thief’s standing without naming him: “he was the ranking officer […] more powerful […] than the person that killed Mike. […] None of you know his official title” [38].

The hardening of Aurelian doctrine. The retreat was reinforced by a grim clarification of Aurelian law. Caelumn realised aloud that the magic restriction the party had learned about in s18 was broader than they thought: “it’s actually all magical equipment is restricted […] the healing potions, all that kind of stuff […] they still work”, and the DM finished the rule: “but you need to have a permit to have that” [4]. Magic items are not contraband because they fail inside Aurelia; they work fine, but carrying them without a sanction is itself the crime.

Plotting the long way round. With Aurelia off the table, Hugo set the new heading: “we’ll be going to Velkris probably to redeem the shipping order stuff and maybe after that we might go to Gloamhearth just to update Sevryn on what happened and they got the dragon wrong” [5], the “shipping order” being the forged Duskwatch ledger Hugo has carried since s6, destined for Silent Intake in Velkris. The DM laid out the geography: by land the quickest route is Eldwythe → Umbrafall → Mirestrand → Velkris, or a skiff at roughly half a hex per day [39][40]; alternatively the party could “completely avoid Aurelia and just go through Khaldun and all the way through Sablemar” (the desert trading city), a desert-and-volcano detour through Dragonborn country [7]. Caelumn reclaimed an empty, mouldy backpack the party had picked up in the Eldwythe sewers to replace his lost one [41], and the party made camp for the night with a four-person watch order: Caelumn, Hugo, Steven, Terry [42].

Hugo’s watch: the leash re-tied and cut. What happened next, only Hugo saw. A pebble struck him from the dark; his nat-20 perception revealed “a familiar face […] standing against a tree. It seems to be Rafe” [43]: the Wraith, Hugo’s Ascendancy handler, appearing for the first time since the s7 night-time meeting. She told him the Ascendancy was “curious why you’ve strayed so far from your hunting grounds and into Aurelian territory” [44] and that she herself had “orders to assassinate a higher noble in Arcanthys, someone that’s been bothering the Ascendancy” [45]. She took Hugo’s full debrief: the kill on Maelis Dirn, the broker’s quests, the Umbrafall mining job, the Eldwythe ambush and sewer escape, the sea voyage, the red dragon over Arcanthys, and “another party member then died later to Aurelian forces” [46], and then re-applied his conditioning and ordered him back to Umbrafall:

“Very well. Teddy Bear. Lamp. And as she starts saying those words, you feel your body starts to go limp as your mind goes blank. […] Complete your mission, return to Umbrafall. Good luck.” — Nick (DM), as the Wraith, [47]

As the Wraith turned to leave, time froze. “You see a dwarf with a black mask kind of poke out in front of her” [47]: the Black Mask, the holder of Hugo’s pact, listening as ever through the ring. She needled him about his motives, shapeshifting into the Wraith’s own face: “is this why you want me to remove her mind control, you got a thing for Rafe? […] Would you do as I say if I looked like this? Would I even need your soul?” [48]. Then she made good on her s17 promise. She “grabs both of your shoulders and almost pulls you through the earth,” into an out-of-body scene where Hugo watched the conditioning being applied, and there “gives you a command” to undo the conditioning [49], privately messaged to Hugo along with the full set of trigger words [50]. Her parting line tied the favour to the still-open substitution clause of his pact: “You should probably get on that second deal. Wouldn’t want history to repeat itself. Ta-ta” [51]. The DM confirmed the practical scope of what remained: Hugo is “conditioned to achieve your goal at any means necessary within reason”, not compelled to “forcibly drag the team into Aurelia overnight” [52]. All of this is Hugo’s knowledge alone.

Steven’s watch: a goblin out of the brush. Later, on Steven’s watch, and just after Steven’s pact dagger ran “more warm than the small fire” and breathed “a small whisper” [53], prompting Terry’s deadpan “oh god we’ve got another sentient contract” [54], Steven spotted “a small goblin in what looks to be a potato sack coming out of the brush. […] Can I get some food?” [55]. This was Gristleback, a destitute goblin and self-described thief, and, the table acknowledged out-of-character, a returning character from the DM’s previous campaign rather than a native of this one [56]. Steven fed him; the goblin recounted a bleak backstory (a master who “murders my family, puts me in slavery, puts me in charge of his death cult, and then fucks off”, [57]), recommended a place worth robbing, with magic powder to get high on (“They have some real good shit to steal”, [58]), and, recognising the party’s plight, described a contact who could get them into Aurelia: a red-haired dwarf with goggles, whom the party recognised as Hett Varn [59]. His most valuable contribution was a warning about Aurelia’s ruler:

“She flew through the sky in the Arcanvian War and fucking destroyed five Archmages by herself. […] Oh yeah, she’s the leader of Aurelia.” — Nick (DM), as Gristleback, [60]

That is the session’s largest piece of new lore: Aurelia is ruled by Seraphine. Hugo, half-asleep on passive perception, had overheard Steven’s looser talk and warned him: “I know I heard what you said. Perhaps talk a bit quieter next time” [12]. Gristleback wandered off down the road at dawn, never recruited [61].

Dawn: the penitent priest. The next morning, Steven spotted “one of the guardsmen that killed Mike slowly approaching on the road” [62]. But the figure who walked up was no longer in plate and greatsword: “a human dressed in dressed in white robes with a white wooden kite shield and no armor that you can see”, “using a quarterstaff to walk” [63]. He apologised for “that unpleasant business with your friend”, adding “he really should have known better” [64]. Caelumn shrewdly disowned Mike on the spot (“no, it wasn’t our friend. It’s just somebody we met”, [65]) to avoid confirming the party’s heretic ties. Then the stranger named himself:

“I am Father Thomas. Priest of the pure light. And I have come to you in order to atone for the actions of my comrades. […] for such a harsh punishment for such a simple harmless spell, I am not confident it was warranted.” — Thomas, [66]

This is Father Thomas, Brian’s new character, a Human Twilight Cleric of the Aurelian Pure Light who has “taken a leave from my order in order to pursue good works” after watching “the brutality in the name of what should be goodness” [67]. Steven’s insight read him as honest but guarded: the DM said “he seems honest, but he is being extremely you know on” [68], and Steven put it as “holding back a little bit” [69]. Thomas argued that the Pure Light itself had “bestowed magic upon me,” demonstrating with a flourish of Shillelagh: “Nature magic. Not all magic is bad” [29][70], and offered the party his god’s protection “from the heretics in this world” [71]. The party, casters all, kept him at arm’s length while inviting him along (“we bring him along just to see what happens”), and steered him off the subject whenever the conversation drifted towards magic. His most revealing line was meant as reassurance and landed as a chill: he would not have taken Mike’s head for so small a spell, “perhaps only a finger” [30].

The road back, and the fire that wouldn’t stay lit. The party turned its back on the city (“one last look towards the rising white towers of Aurelia”) and travelled a day inland through “the humble villages that you’ve crossed before” [16]. Low on rations (Caelumn admitted to “stealing rations from the others these past few nights”, [72]), they planned to resupply in the next town. As night fell they made a defensible camp on a cliffside hilltop, far enough from Aurelia that magic-detection was a reduced worry [73]. Finding anything that would burn was a running struggle, which ended when Hugo felled a whole tree and Caelumn finally sustained a Create Bonfire [74]. On Caelumn’s watch the bonfire kept dying the instant he relit it; something cold moved in the dark.

The fey ambush. Two “motes of light” and “a small winged humanoid” came out of the dark and threw dust at Caelumn, whose Shield turned it, and the DM called initiative [75]. The attackers were a pixie, Pixie Wonderbringer, and will-o’-wisps [76]. The pixie’s magic blunted Caelumn’s chromatic orbs, “not as effective as you thought” [77], turned Terry into a chicken with Polymorph until Hugo’s blow knocked him out of it, and later tried to make Father Thomas laugh helplessly [78][79][80]. The wisps slipped in and out of invisibility to shock the party with lightning, and Caelumn’s later Witch Bolt did nothing to them [81][82]. It was Father Thomas’s first fight: 300-foot Twilight Cleric darkvision, advantage on initiative, Bless, Shield, a War Caster Booming Blade at the pixie as she flew off, and Twilight Sanctuary, a 30-foot dome of dim light whose temporary hit points the DM ruled at 1d6+4 [83][84][85][86][20]. The wisps focused Caelumn and drove him to about 3 HP; he stayed up on his own Cure Wounds, the dome, and Terry’s Silvery Barbs, which forced a wisp’s natural 20 to be rerolled: the reroll still hit, but for 8 lightning instead of 27 [87][88][89]. Caelumn ended the pixie with a Chromatic Orb, “Melt the bitch”, and “she dissolves into a fine puddle” [90], and the surviving wisps “split into two” [91]. Hugo cut two wisps apart from the air on his Winged Boots, Terry killed a third while it was invisible by attacking “on sound alone”, and Father Thomas Commanded another to flee [92]. Hugo destroyed the last, and “you are now covered in glitter” as “combat comes to an end and so does the session” [22]. No PC was downed; no loot dropped but glitter.

Dialogue Highlights

  1. Steven, the morning after the execution: “I guess that was a good demonstration of what can happen if you… if you were to slip up in front of any of these guards. They don’t hesitate one bit.” [32]
  2. Caelumn, the case for retreat: “Are we ready to lose six more just to try and sort this out?” [26]
  3. Hugo, setting the new route: “we’ll be going to Velkris probably to redeem the shipping order stuff and maybe after that we might go to Gloamhearth just to update Sevryn on what happened.” [5]
  4. Hugo, debriefing the Wraith (Hugo-only): “I followed the orders, I stayed with the group […] But I think we’re turning back. […] Aurelia might be too difficult to survive in for these people who are more magical focused than myself.” [93]
  5. The Wraith (Nick, DM), re-applying the leash: “Very well. Teddy Bear. Lamp. […] Complete your mission, return to Umbrafall. Good luck.” [47]
  6. The Black Mask (Nick, DM), wearing the Wraith’s face: “Would you do as I say if I looked like this? Would I even need your soul? Oh, we could be so happy together.” [48]
  7. The Black Mask (Nick, DM), undoing the leash and dangling the next hook: “You should probably get on that second deal. Wouldn’t want history to repeat itself. Ta-ta.” [51]
  8. Gristleback (Nick, DM), the lore drop: “She flew through the sky in the Arcanvian War and fucking destroyed five Archmages by herself. […] Oh yeah, she’s the leader of Aurelia.” [60]
  9. Father Thomas, the atonement: “I am Father Thomas. Priest of the pure light. And I have come to you in order to atone for the actions of my comrades.” [66]
  10. Father Thomas, the doctrine of mercy: “There is no, there is no justice in using, in using your faith as a cudgel instead of to help the needy” [94]
  11. Father Thomas, the tell that gives him away: “I would not have taken his head for such a simple spell, you know. Perhaps only a finger.” [30]
  12. Father Thomas, the holy-warrior flourish: “the power of my God shall protect us all from the heretics in this world.” [71]
  13. Caelumn, the killing blow on the Pixie: “Melt the bitch.” [95]
  14. Terry, throwing off restraint mid-ambush: “we’re already running away from the anti-magic zone. I fucking bring it, I don’t give a shit.” [96]

NPCs

  1. The Wraith: Hugo’s Ascendancy handler. First appearance since the s7 night-time meeting. Carries an order to assassinate a noble in Arcanthys [45]; re-applies Hugo’s conditioning and orders him to “return to Umbrafall” [47]. Hugo-only. Status: alive, active.
  2. The Black Mask (Hugo-only): holder of Hugo’s pact; freezes time, undoes the conditioning the Wraith just applied (the first payoff of her s17 promise), and presses Hugo towards a “second deal” [9]. Status: alive (as devils are).
  3. Gristleback (new; cross-campaign cameo): a destitute goblin thief and ex-death-cult enforcer who begs a meal off the party, drops the Seraphine lore, and corroborates Hett Varn as the Aurelia smuggler [97]. Explicitly a returning character from the DM’s previous campaign [56], present in-fiction but not woven into Eldurae’s history. Wanders off, un-recruited [61]. Status: alive, departed.
  4. Seraphine (referenced; first mention): the ruler of Aurelia, who reportedly destroyed five Archmages single-handed in the “Arcanvian War” [13]. Status: alive, off-screen. Apex antagonist.
  5. Pixie Wonderbringer (new): the fey ambusher; a pixie whose magic blunted Caelumn’s orbs, who turned Terry into a chicken with Polymorph and tried to make Father Thomas laugh helplessly [77][78][80]. Killed by Caelumn [98]. Status: dead.
  6. Will-o’-wisps (new): the “motes of light”; lightning-shocking, lightning-immune fey that turn invisible, and that “split” on the pixie’s death (witnessed this once, not a trait of every will-o’-wisp). All killed or driven off by session’s end [99]; one DM-voiced “Tarion” [100], a name that needs the DM’s confirmation. Status: destroyed / one fled.
  7. Sevryn (referenced only): the party’s quest-giver, treated as a living contact in Gloamhearth to be updated after Velkris [5]. No new content. He is alive as far as the party knows, but the plan to return and update him does not guarantee his location or availability (the DM’s post-s21 clarifications, 2026-09-27).

Locations

  1. Aurelian farmland: the inland farmland on Aurelia’s approach; the party camps here at session start (near Mike’s grave) and re-treads it heading back out. “Nothing’s really changed […] back in the humble villages that you’ve crossed before” [16]. New this session: no.
  2. Roadside camp (opening): an improvised camp off the road near Mike’s grave; the planning debate and the first night’s watches (the Wraith/Black Mask scene; the Gristleback visit) happen here [101][42]. Unnamed; folded into this recap.
  3. Cliffside hilltop camp (ambush site): a defensible high camp roughly a day short of the Eldwythe bridge, far enough out that magic-detection is reduced [102]; site of the fey ambush. Unnamed; folded into this recap.
  4. Velkris (referenced): the agreed next destination, where the party will redeem the forged Duskwatch ledger with Silent Intake [5]. DM colour: humans are a minority there; reputed “capital of sodomy and sin” [103][104].
  5. Gloamhearth (referenced): the campaign’s starting village, where the party means to update Sevryn [5]. Distinct from the rejected s18 cover-story “Glomhurst”.
  6. Eldwythe, Umbrafall, Mirestrand (referenced): the stated land route to Velkris [39]. Eldwythe’s Aurelian-occupation status is an open worry (“hopefully it’s still not under Aurelia control”, [105]).
  7. Khaldun + Sablemar (referenced): an Aurelia-avoiding desert/volcano detour through Dragonborn country [7]. Sablemar is the desert trading city.
  8. Arcanthys (referenced): the northern city the red dragon flew towards (s18 callback) and the Wraith’s assassination destination [45]; also Terry’s home city in his watch-time reverie [106][107].

Items & Loot

  1. Maelis’s Research Notes and Forged Duskwatch Ledger (“the shipping order”): carried by Hugo since s6; elevated this session from a dormant lever to the party’s active objective, to be redeemed with Silent Intake in Velkris [108][5][109]. Not yet delivered.
  2. Steven’s pact blade: a new development; the dagger runs warm and emits a whisper on Steven’s watch, hinting at sentience or patron contact [53]. Unresolved.
  3. Bloodwell Vial (Caelumn): confirmed carried and attuned, since the DM put his +7 to hit down to it [110], which resolves the long-standing “lost in the s15 backpack” question in favour of kept.
  4. Caelumn’s mouldy sewer backpack (returning, mundane): reclaimed empty to replace his lost pack; “a familiar smell of fungus” [111]. It does not restore the s15-lost contents.
  5. Caelumn’s unidentified black potion: brandished mid-fight but not drunk: “I have this random black potion in my pocket, but I don’t know what it does.” [112]. Possibly the black potion Alston gave him to test in s11, which he put in his backpack [113]; the empty-looking potion from s16 does not fit the description. Unconfirmed.
  6. Winged Boots (Hugo): routine combat use to fly up at the fey [114].
  7. Father Thomas’s starting gear (new): white robes, a white wooden shield bearing his holy symbol, a quarterstaff and club, and jeweller’s tools; he intends to craft platinum rings worth 50 gp each as spell components (none made on-screen) [63][115].
  8. The Egg (referenced): still lost, in Aurelian hands; chase formally deferred [27][36]. No custody change.
  • Currency: no party gold, gems, or diamond gained. The fey ambush dropped no loot, only glitter [99]. (The “20 bucks” handed to the goblin and a “five gold” trivia bet are both jokey/OOC, not ledger transactions.)

Combat Encounters

  • Fey night-camp ambush ([31]; the session’s only combat). Party state at start: full after the previous night’s long rest, on the first watch of the night [116][117]. Party state at end: alive, no downs; Caelumn driven to ~3 HP [89]. Enemies: 1× Pixie (“Pixie Wonderbringer”, [76]), whose magic blunted Caelumn’s orbs and who cast Polymorph and a laughing spell [77][78][80], + a pack of will-o’-wisps (“motes of light”), which shocked for 12 to 15 lightning, went invisible between attacks and shrugged off lightning [118][81][119][82], and which “split” on the pixie’s death (as witnessed here, not a trait of every will-o’-wisp; exact count uncertain, [91]). Notable rolls: Caelumn nat-20 crit Chromatic Orb on the pixie (resisted to a fraction, [120]); a wisp nat-20 on Caelumn for 27 lightning, which Terry’s Silvery Barbs forced to a reroll that still hit, for 8 [121]; Terry Polymorphed into a chicken by the pixie, until Hugo’s blow broke the spell [78][79]. Resolution: pixie killed by Caelumn [98]; wisps: three killed (Hugo ×2, Terry ×1) and one driven off by Father Thomas’s Command [122][99]. Resources spent: Caelumn: Innate Sorcery, several Chromatic Orbs, Quickened and Seeking Spell, two Cure Wounds, a dud Witch Bolt [123][124][125][126]; Terry: Bladesong, Elminster’s Elusion, a missed hand-crossbow True Strike, Silvery Barbs once [127][128][96]; Father Thomas: Bless, Shillelagh, Shield (repeatedly), Booming Blade, Twilight Sanctuary, Command [129][130][131][132][133]; Hugo: Rage, Reckless Attack, Winged Boots [134][114][135]. Steven took no part: Ash had left at the break [136].

Clues & Foreshadowing

  1. Hugo’s leash is (at least partly) cut, and a “second deal” looms. The Black Mask undid the conditioning the Wraith re-applied, but framed it as leverage: she wants Hugo to recruit a second pact-bearer (“get on that second deal […] wouldn’t want history to repeat itself”, [51]). The exact scope of the undo was sent to Hugo’s player privately and not said at the table [137].
  2. The Wraith’s return order (answered): the Wraith’s stated return destination [47] is Umbrafall, Hugo’s home city, and it reveals no Ascendancy headquarters (the DM’s post-s21 clarifications, 2026-09-27).
  3. An Ascendancy assassination is underway in Arcanthys: the Wraith is dispatched to kill “a higher noble in Arcanthys, someone that’s been bothering the Ascendancy” [45]. New live thread (Hugo-only).
  4. Seraphine, the ruler of Aurelia, is a god-tier individual combatant: five Archmages in the “Arcanvian War” [138]. The “Arcanvian War” is possibly the War of Fractured Heavens, the Aurelia-Arcanthys conflict of 582 to 589 A.I., but the DM says the connection needs confirming (the DM’s post-s21 clarifications, 2026-09-27).
  5. Steven’s pact dagger is becoming communicative (warmth + whisper, [53]): a possible Fiend-patron contact thread.
  6. Father Thomas is hiding something. Honest on insight but “holding back” [139]; a Pure Light cleric on a redemption arc who still measures punishment in fingers [30].
  7. Caelumn’s casting hands cramp. As he lay down for the night, the hands he had cast with for so long cramped as if the blood had drained from them, then recovered as though nothing had happened; a Perception check found no cause [140][141].

Open Mysteries & Unanswered Questions

  1. What exactly did the Black Mask undo, and at what price? [49][51]: the conditioning’s full removal vs. partial removal is unconfirmed; the “second deal” is now her active lever.
  2. Who is the noble the Wraith is sent to kill in Arcanthys, and why does it matter to the Ascendancy? [45].
  3. Is Father Thomas’s atonement genuine, or is he still an Aurelian asset? Insight says honest-but-guarded [68]. A serving Pure Light cleric now travels with wanted heretics.
  4. What is whispering to Steven through his pact dagger? [53].
  5. Is Sevryn still alive and at Gloamhearth? The party assumes so [5]; for the DM’s answer see Sevryn under NPCs.
  6. Is the red dragon from s18 a different dragon from the one Sevryn warned about? Hugo’s working theory is “they got the dragon wrong” [5]; DM-unconfirmed. The s18 “nuke-scale flash” was not mentioned this session.

Quests

  1. [Status: deferred] The Egg Quest: the party formally chose not to assault Aurelia for now [27][36]. The Egg remains in Aurelian hands; recovery is postponed, not abandoned.
  2. [Status: active] Redeem the forged Duskwatch ledger at Velkris, now the party’s primary objective: hand Maelis’s Research Notes and Forged Duskwatch Ledger to Silent Intake [5]. Travel underway.
  3. [Status: active] Update Sevryn at Gloamhearth: the second leg of the new plan [5].
  4. [Status: active] Hugo’s Devil Pact: first payoff delivered (conditioning undone, [49]); the substitution-clause “second deal” is now actively pressed by the Black Mask [51].
  5. [Status: active] Aurelian Persecution: doctrine hardened: all magical equipment requires a permit [4]. A Pure Light priest, Father Thomas, has defected to the party.
  6. [Status: lapsed] The Broker’s assassination contract ([142]; the target is in Aurelia, [143]): Hugo believes its window has expired [35]; treat as closed pending DM confirmation.
  7. [Status: deferred] Find “the sister” in Aurelia: shelved with the Egg raid [34].
  8. [Status: deferred] Hett Varn / White Lantern Shrine safehouse: the party skipped the shrine visit; Hett “doesn’t know we’re coming” [144][145]. Gristleback independently corroborated Hett as the Aurelia smuggler [59].

Faction & Relationship Changes

  • The Ascendancy: actively monitoring Hugo off-leash; re-applied his conditioning and issued a fresh debrief and an Arcanthys assassination order [146]. The Wraith’s order to return to Umbrafall names no Ascendancy base (the DM’s post-s21 clarifications, 2026-09-27).
  • The Black Mask: acted on her s17 promise, undoing Hugo’s conditioning, but converted it into leverage for a “second deal” [147]. Her relationship with Hugo is now openly transactional and slightly possessive.
  • Pure Light / Aurelian forces: a serving priest, Father Thomas, has taken leave from the order and joined the party to atone for Mike’s execution [66][67], a defection/leave-of-absence, not (yet) excommunication. Doctrine clarified: all magical equipment is permit-restricted [4]; even a cleric’s Shield reads as detectable arcane magic [148].
  • Seraphine: established as Aurelia’s ruler and a singular threat [13].
  • The party: gains a fifth member (Father Thomas) but holds him at arm’s length; intra-party friction surfaces when Hugo catches Steven talking too freely to the goblin [12].

Table Rulings

  • All magical equipment is restricted in Aurelia, not just spellcasting: healing potions and other items still work but require a permit (Nick, [4]).
  • Aurelian magic-detection is range-bound, attenuating with distance from Aurelian centres (Nick, [73]).
  • A cleric’s Shield is still an arcane spell for Aurelian-detection purposes, regardless of divine flavour (Nick, [148]).
  • Twilight Sanctuary temp HP ruled at 1d6+4, re-rolled when a creature ends its turn in the dome; the table agreed to roll once per round for pace (Nick, [149][150]).
  • Invisible-but-not-hidden creatures can still be targeted (at disadvantage); only the Hide action removes knowledge of their position (Nick, agreeing with Father Thomas’s RAW reading, [151]).

Callbacks

  • The Black Mask’s s17 promise to remove Hugo’s mind-control: paid off this session [49].
  • Hugo’s Ascendancy leash and the “Comply”/conditioning thread: the trigger words are now on the record as “Teddy Bear. Lamp.” [47].
  • The forged Duskwatch ledger from Maelis Dirn’s desk (s6) and the Silent Intake hand-off (s7): revived as the active objective [5].
  • The s18 red-dragon overflight towards Arcanthys: recapped and folded into Hugo’s plan to update Sevryn [5].
  • The s15 lost sewer backpack: Caelumn replaces the pack [41]; the Bloodwell Vial is confirmed never to have been in it [152].
  • Cholmondeley: Terry floats using “that Cholmondeley guy you used to know” as a model for an Aurelian-aligned insider [153], a nod to Chris’s deceased s2-s3 PC.

Retcons / continuity notes applied this session

  • Father Thomas and the s18 patrol. The DM frames Father Thomas as “one of the guardsmen that killed Mike” [62], the party recognise him “from yesterday” [154], and he says himself that he “was part of a group that murdered” their companion [155]. His description (white robes, wooden shield, quarterstaff, Twilight Cleric) does not match the s18 executioner Glenn (full plate, greatsword, paladin-flavoured) or the female s18 confessor. This recap treats Father Thomas as a Pure Light clergyman who was among the patrol present at Mike’s execution and now defects, not as Glenn under a new name. Answered by the DM’s post-s21 clarifications (2026-09-27): Father Thomas’s membership of the patrol is established, but his exact role in it needs clarification, and he is not to be identified as the executioner, Glenn.

Meta notes

  • Player Brian returns to the table on a new character, Father Thomas, a Human Twilight Cleric, after trying several builds [156][83]. The DM reads out “Aldrich” on two of his rolls and Caelumn once calls him “Sir Aldrich” [157][158][72]; in session 20 he is Father Thomas Aquinas [159][160]. Brian’s previous character, Mike, died in s18; this is the second character he has introduced in three sessions.
  • Break: the first session in over a month [161].
  • Late arrival, early exit: Toby arrived about 15 minutes late [162][163], and Ash left at the mid-session break, so Steven takes no part in the fey fight and Father Thomas takes his watch [164][136][72].
  • Cast going into s20: Terry (Chris), Hugo (Dylan), Caelumn (Toby), Steven (Ash), Father Thomas (Brian). Vasquez and Althea remain departed, captured in the s17 retcon, and did not appear.

Next Steps

Entities in this session

People (18)

Locations (14)

Things (7)

References

  1. ^ Session 19, line 126: DM sets the scene: the party is on the road having just buried Mike; "this is where our adventure begins today".
  2. ^ Session 19, line 155-182: Planning debate; Caelumn argues to abandon the Aurelia/Egg push ("Are we ready to lose six more"); the Egg-taker was the ranking officer, title unknown.
  3. ^ Session 19, line 229-235: DM confirms the party has chosen not to do the Aurelia quest for now.
  4. ^ Session 19, line 242-243: DM canon: ALL magical equipment (incl. healing potions) is restricted in Aurelia; a permit is required.
  5. ^ Session 19, line 271: Hugo lays out the new route: Velkris to redeem the shipping-order ledger, then Gloamhearth to update Sevryn.
  6. ^ Session 19, line 290-296: DM land route to Velkris: Eldwythe -> Umbrafall -> Mirestrand -> Velkris; skiff = half a hex per day.
  7. ^ Session 19, line 345-354: DM offers a desert detour avoiding Aurelia: Khaldun -> Sablemar, through Dragonborn volcano country.
  8. ^ Session 19, line 441-449: The Wraith appears to Hugo, debriefs him, and re-applies the conditioning ("Teddy Bear. Lamp."; "return to Umbrafall").
  9. ^ Session 19, line 451-464: The Black Mask freezes time, shapeshifts, undoes Hugo's conditioning, and presses him towards a "second deal".
  10. ^ Session 19, line 477-478: Steven's pact dagger runs warm and emits a whisper on his watch (new sentience/patron hint).
  11. ^ Session 19, line 481-665: Gristleback the goblin visits the camp; a cross-campaign cameo; delivers Seraphine lore and corroborates Hett Varn.
  12. ^ Session 19, line 604: Hugo (passive perception) calls Steven out for loose talk in front of the goblin.
  13. ^ Session 19, line 654-660: DM (as Gristleback): Seraphine destroyed five Archmages single-handed in the Arcanvian War and is the leader of Aurelia.
  14. ^ Session 19, line 668-695: A figure from the Mike-execution patrol approaches at dawn; introduces himself as Father Thomas, Priest of the Pure Light, come to atone.
  15. ^ Session 19, line 708-726: Father Thomas has taken leave from his order; casts Shillelagh to show "not all magic is bad"; the "perhaps only a finger" tell.
  16. ^ Session 19, line 1045: The party turns its back on Aurelia's white towers and travels a day back inland through the humble villages.
  17. ^ Session 19, line 1063-1071: Second camp on a defensible cliffside, far enough out that magic-detection is reduced.
  18. ^ Session 19, line 1196-1230: Father Thomas's Twilight Cleric kit: 300-ft darkvision, advantage on initiative; the fey ambush begins.
  19. ^ Session 19, line 1320-1334: The Pixie casts Polymorph and turns Terry into a chicken.
  20. ^ Session 19, line 1420-1435: Father Thomas activates Twilight Sanctuary; DM rules the dome's temp HP at 1d6+4.
  21. ^ Session 19, line 1576-1588: Caelumn kills the Pixie with a Chromatic Orb ("Melt the bitch"); the surviving wisps split on her death (witnessed, not a trait of every will-o'-wisp).
  22. ^ Session 19, line 1810-1813: Hugo destroys the last wisp; combat and the session end together.
  23. ^ Session 19, line 115-117: Inline citation.
  24. ^ Session 19, line 125: Inline citation.
  25. ^ Session 19, line 125-126: Inline citation.
  26. ^ Session 19, line 157: Inline citation.
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  28. ^ Session 19, line 449-464: Inline citation.
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