Session 4: The Still Current, the Black Mask, and Hugo's Pact

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Session 4
Session 4: The Still Current, the Black Mask, and Hugo's Pact
Session
In-fiction datesee in_game_dates block below
Recordedunknown
Party presentTerry, Caelumn, Hugo, Vazquez, Harvo
LocationsWyrmbough Grove, Gloamhearth, Mirestrand, The Still Current Inn, Umbrafall, Black Hollow Market

Session 4 opened with a player-delivered recap of session 3 by Polar (whose character is Vazquez) and introduced Terry, a tortle bard, as Chris’s new player character replacing the briefly-played Earthwing. The party departed Wyrmbough Grove, travelled the road south through Gloamhearth to Mirestrand (defeating two sabretooth tigers en route), spent a quiet evening at The Still Current Inn under its mandatory-mask custom, and met The Black Mask — a dwarf-disguised devil offering Hugo a wager that revealed snippets of Hugo’s erased past as Project Veilbreak candidate “Corvin”. After arriving in Umbrafall, an unexplained compulsion drew Hugo to the Black Hollow Market where The Broker offered a bounty on Maelis Dirn and her giant “the Titan”. Hugo returned to the inn, summoned the The Black Mask privately, and signed a 7+3-year pact in exchange for the Onyx Ring of Barbed Hooks and a promise of intelligence on his missing family and the doctor who experimented on him [9]. The session ended with the party tailing Maelis Dirn’s collectors into the Warrens.

Session 4: The Still Current, the Black Mask, and Hugo’s Pact

Metadata

Recap heard at start of session

Vazquez’s player Polar delivered the session 3 recap (DM-prompted on a d6 of 5; [12]. Polar recapped: the bark/sap quest setup, the corruption cleansing, the rescue/dispatch of cult elves, the fight with Sunset is Nigh (jokingly upgraded to “his head was bitten off” — DM corrected to “bitten into his throat”), Cholmondeley’s death, the looting and journey home, the funeral, and the tortle who took Earthwing’s seat at dinner (Terry). Polar received an inspiration. The DM ruled five temporary HP for everyone for the leftover dragon meat (Fergus’s portions consumed in narration, [13].

Executive Summary

The party departed Wyrmbough Grove toward Eldwythe via the road south, with Terry (Chris’s new tortle PC) replacing Earthwing. They were ambushed by two sabretooth tigers en route, with Vazquez suffering heavily before Harvo’s eldritch cannon and a Caelumn twinned 3rd-level chromatic orb finished the encounter. They reached Mirestrand, a fog-choked vassal village of Velkris, and rested at The Still Current Inn under its mandatory-mask whisper protocol. The dwarf-disguised devil The Black Mask offered a wager and revealed the existence of Project Veilbreak, including a recording attributed to the Project doctor describing 140,000 candidates being injected with viscous-fluid blood replacement and forced into 1-of-100 arena combats; only seven survived. The next day in Umbrafall, Hugo was magically compelled to the Black Hollow Market where The Broker contracted the party to kill Maelis Dirn. Hugo secretly returned to a private inn room, summoned the Black Mask, and signed a pact: 7 years’ service post-quest (3-year amnesty if he dies in the last 3 of those years), in exchange for the Onyx Ring of Barbed Hooks and a promise of intel on his family and on the doctor who tortured him. The session ended with the party tailing Maelis Dirn’s collectors to a hatch leading to The Warrens.

Narrative

The session opened with the recap and a slightly nervous group discussion of the implications of Sevryn’s foresight. Vazquez’s player surfaced an idea that had been nagging him: Sevryn knew Cholmondeley would die, and had Earthwing / Terry queued to take over before the death [2]. The party agreed to head straight for Eldwythe via the road, Hugo requesting a stop in Umbrafall for personal business. Terry introduced himself as a tortle bard from the far side of the continent.

Three to four hours of walking brought them past Gloamhearth (architecture noted as a sharp shift from elven to “tilted, very old” human buildings) and onto the road to Mirestrand. As rain thickened the fog, Terry, Vazquez, and Hugo noticed six eyes and a low growl in the brush. Two sabretooth tigers ambushed: Vazquez used his new gunblade for the first time, slamming the hammer to charge a primer (bonus action) and detonating it on impact for an extra 2d6 fire (9 damage from the bonded primer at [14]. Vazquez was clawed to 6 HP across two attacks. Hugo perfect-crit one tiger for 26 damage; Caelumn’s twinned, font-of-magic-converted 3rd-level Chromatic Orb dealt 18 to one tiger and 34 to the other (the bouncing chromatic orb mechanic) and ended that tiger; Harvo deployed his Eldritch Cannon turret for the first time, dropping the second tiger with a 22-damage shot. Caelumn healed Vazquez for 11 HP. The party half-skinned the tigers (13 sleight-of-hand and 14 survival) for two crude pelts of unclear value.

Five hours of walking later, they reached Mirestrand: built on stilts in a fog-choked marsh adjacent to Velkris, with masked Velkris tax-agents collecting from local shops. Hugo’s history check (18) recovered his memory of The Still Current Inn, “where Umbrafall–Velkris liaisons stay”. The party arrived at the inn to find a sign requiring all guests to wear plain reed masks and a basket of these masks at the door. All conversation was held in murmurs, and louder voices drew scornful glances. Hugo paid 5gp for five rooms and ordered five red whispers (a clear filtered spirit) and five marsh wines.

Late in the evening, after Vazquez had retired and Terry had been telling Caelumn a long meandering story for hours, a dwarf with a special helmet sat down at their table and offered to “browse his wares” — spell scrolls (1st-level), poisons, magical items “fallen off a cart” from Umbrafall. He proposed a wager: 25gp for a 1st-level spell scroll on a coin flip, with the gold lost on a loss. Hugo declined; Caelumn declined. The dwarf then snapped his fingers, transporting Hugo, Caelumn, and Terry to a black void, where he removed his helmet to reveal a horned, winged devil in dwarf form. He proposed instead a wager that the party would succeed at Sevryn’s quest; if they failed, died, or lost the egg, one of them would return to him. He specified Caelumn’s ward — not the seal but the dragon egg — as the object of his interest. He produced an onyx ring with internal barbed hooks that “give power” but cannot be removed. He named himself “The Black Mask”. He revealed Hugo’s pre-experiment identity as “Corvin” [10] — though this is delivered later in the private signing scene), a wife and child he forgot, and offered to share intel on his family if Hugo signed.

To prove the offer wasn’t a lie, the Black Mask produced an altered sending stone that played a recording:

“Log 1. The first trial. The Arena of Calling. Project Veilbreak is underway. All 140,000 candidates from range of backgrounds collected. The first phase, which was injection of [Redacted], was brutal. with the substance eliminating 50% of the candidates within the first 24 hours, those who survived now glow with a shimmering light coming from the viscous fluid that has replaced their blood and have had their biology rewritten at a cellular level. … candidates were forced into arenas with 100 other candidates and told only one would emerge alive. This was repeated twice, leaving a mere total of 7 candidates. … Dr Flem Josenge.” — Recording, [15]

Hugo’s history check (17) summoned a flashed memory of holding the hand of a woman and a small girl in pigtails saying “daddy daddy see what I found” before pain “burrowed into his mind” and he was back in the arena, blood burning and sluggish. The Black Mask snapped his fingers and the three were back at the Still Current Inn; the dwarf-devil was nowhere to be found. As Caelumn retired to his room, a crow pecked at his window, looked at him, and flew off [7].

The party slept and travelled to Umbrafall the next morning. Mirestrand was uneventful at departure. Umbrafall opened on perpetual night: glowing purple-green-blue poisonous fungi, jacket-roof slums, broken towers, sickly bioluminescence, masked figures drifting in fog, and a warning bell tolling somewhere deep. Hugo reported in to a “decently higher” representative of his organisation off-screen.

While Hugo reported in, the party drifted toward the Black Hollow Market, drawn there by an “almost burning desire” Hugo felt without explanation [16]. At the market they met The Broker: a masked figure with green-stained gloves behind a bone ledger. He offered the party a contract on Maelis Dirn, leader of “Coven Filth”, who was running a protection racket with her giant “the Titan”. Reward: free passage through the Hollow plus coin, poisons, and “something sharper than all of it”. Non-Hugo party members would otherwise pay a 50gp passage tax. After a vote (Hugo, Caelumn, Vazquez for; Terry abstaining via reluctance), the party accepted. The Broker advised them to follow Maelis’s collectors home through the Warrens.

While the others stalked the market, Hugo retreated to a private 5gp inn room and summoned The Black Mask, this time appearing in full devil form. Hugo negotiated additions to the deal:

  • Conversion or freedom for Bella, another Project Veilbreak survivor — “Why?” — to recruit her to dismantle his organisation.
  • Help destroying the organisation if Hugo dies in the attempt.
  • Help killing the doctor.

In exchange, Hugo signed a 10-year service pact post-egg-quest (later renegotiated via Persuasion to 7 years of forced service + 3 years of “free” amnesty in which Hugo’s soul is forfeit only if he dies; if he dies in the last 3 years he is free). The pen drew a piercing damage of blood. Hugo received the Onyx Ring of Barbed Hooks, which cannot be removed [17]. The Black Mask called him “Corvin” [10] and conjured the ring into Hugo’s hand on dismissal. No time passed in the real world during the pact — Hugo returned to the table apparently moments after he’d left.

The party then stalked the market for collectors. Three cloaked figures in leather masks shook down a spice merchant — pouring the merchant’s coin pouch on the ground and threatening that “next time, Malus will come herself, and she’ll bring the giant” [18]. The party trailed them, but Terry’s 19-on-disadvantage stealth was disrupted by an audible sneeze [19] — the collectors heard, looked back, and bolted for an opening into the ground. The party tracked them to a hatch entrance to The Warrens, Hugo noting they were faster but worse-than-locals on terrain. The session ended on this beat, with Hugo proposing they descend stealthily and Terry expressing reluctance.

Dialogue Highlights

  1. Terry, on the egg quest: “Sevryn seems to be pulling people from all around the world.” [20]
  2. Vazquez, on Sevryn’s foresight: “I’m starting to think that he knew what was going to happen. He mentioned that he looks through the time streams. … If he knows, then why doesn’t he just send the best?” [21]
  3. The Black Mask, on devils’ rules: “see we devils have a rule set. once a wager is set once a deal is made we abide by the deal. we don’t change it midway and we cannot lie.” [22]
  4. The Black Mask, on names: “but that’s the thing about names. in my realm, they hold power. however, you may call me the Black Mask.” [23]
  5. The recording (Project doctor; transcript-rendered “Dr Flem Josenge”, DM-unconfirmed): “All 140,000 candidates … 50% of the candidates [eliminated] within the first 24 hours … the viscous fluid that has replaced their blood … 7 candidates [surviving].” [15]
  6. The Black Mask, naming Hugo: “Corvin, you ask too much.” [10]
  7. The Broker, contracting Maelis: “Malus Dern, Coven Filth. she’s bleeding the market with her own racket. … You deal with her, and your passage through the hollow is clean.” [24]
  8. The collector, threatening the spice merchant: “next time, she’ll come herself, and she’ll bring the giant. and you’ll pay. in more than one way.” [25]

NPCs

  1. Terry: tortle bard, Chris’s replacement PC after Earthwing; carries bagpipes; from “the far side of the continent”. 8 Intelligence; “I barely know how to use a sword”. New this session: yes.
  2. The Black Mask: a devil presenting first as a dwarf wearing a special helmet, later removing it in a black void to reveal horns and wings; full humanoid devil form on second meeting. Trades in spell scrolls, poisons, magical items, and pacts. Operates by infernal contract law: “we don’t change [the deal] midway and we cannot lie.” Disposition toward party: charming, manipulative, transactional. Status: active. New this session: yes. Last seen: s4.
  3. The Broker: masked figure of the Black Hollow Market in Umbrafall; bone ledger, green-stained gloves; runs the market and procures items; “his word is his bond” (Hugo’s character knowledge). Status: active. New this session: yes.
  4. Maelis Dirn (“Coven Filth”): protection racketeer in Umbrafall running shakedowns via leather-masked collectors and a giant minion called “the Titan”. Not seen this session; only her collectors and reputation. Status: alive (target).
  5. The Titan: giant minion of Maelis Dirn; only out when shopkeepers refuse payment; widely feared after a recent decapitation. Not seen.
  6. Three collectors: leather-masked, plain expressionless masks; voice low and sharp; trail led to Warrens hatch. Status: at least one detected the party and fled.
  7. Bella: another Project Veilbreak survivor. Mentioned by The Black Mask in Hugo’s pact negotiation; not seen. Status: unknown.
  8. The Project Veilbreak doctor: scientist who narrated the project recording. Wanted by Hugo. Status: alive, presumed; whereabouts unknown.
  9. An unnamed crow appears at Caelumn’s window after the Black Mask scene. Significance unclear; possibly a familiar of the Black Mask.
  10. A barmaid at the Still Current Inn: gave Hugo a knowing nod through the mask, suggesting she recognised him from prior visits.
  11. An innkeeper at an Umbrafall tavern: rented Hugo a private room for 15 minutes for 5gp.

Locations

  1. Mirestrand: fog-choked stilted marsh village; vassal of Velkris; main features include The Still Current Inn and Velkris tax agents. Permanent fog described as ideal for ambushes and contraband.
  2. The Still Current Inn: stilted on blackened algae-covered pilings; main room over the water; lanterns in fog; mandatory reed-mask custom; whisper-only conversation protocol; rooms 1gp/night each. Frequented by spies and liaisons.
  3. Umbrafall: perpetual night; bioluminescent poisonous fungi; broken towers; main capital of crime, assassination, and poison; primary export is poison from the post-skybreak fungal blooms.
  4. Black Hollow Market: underground bazaar inside Umbrafall; pale-light lanterns; glass vials, shackled figures, hissing fungus; venom-smoke and rot in the air; whispered transactions; the Broker’s bone-ledger stall.
  5. The Warrens (entrance only seen): an opening in the ground in Umbrafall used by Maelis Dirn’s collectors to reach her sanctum.

Items & Loot

  1. Onyx Ring of Barbed Hooks: plain-looking onyx ring with inward-facing barbed hooks; cannot be removed once worn; granted to Hugo on signing the pact [26]. Properties advertised as “power”; specific mechanics unstated.
  2. Sabretooth tiger pelts (~2 half-pelts): skinned roughly by Caelumn (13 sleight) and Vazquez (14 survival); value unknown.
  3. Altered sending stone (Project Veilbreak recording): given by The Black Mask to Hugo; first recording is “free”; future recordings presumably part of the pact’s information dispensation.
  4. The dragon meat (Fergus’s eight portions): 5 temp HP per portion (Hugo consumes one at Fergus’s grill before departure, [27].

Combat Encounters

  • Encounter 1: Two sabretooth tigers on the road south of Mirestrand (~3 rounds). Party state at start: full HP. Party state at end: Vazquez at 6 HP (down from 19), Caelumn at 5 HP after a 14-damage swing.
    • Monsters faced: 2 sabretooth tigers (CR 2 each, presumed). Both dropped during the encounter.
    • To-hit results against party: Vazquez took an 8-slash + 14-slash combo (22 across two hits); Caelumn took 14 slashing on a 17. Save throws: 0 forced.
    • Damage types thrown by party: slashing+fire (Vazquez gunblade 9 + 9 fire = 18 first hit), slashing (Hugo perfect-crit longsword 26), force (Caelumn twinned 3rd-level Chromatic Orb 18 + 34 = 52), force (Harvo Eldritch Cannon 22 + firebolt finishing).
    • Resources spent: Caelumn’s font of magic + 3rd-level Chromatic Orb + Faerie Fire (concentration); Hugo’s rage; Vazquez’s gunblade primer (1 charge); Harvo’s Eldritch Cannon and turret action; Vazquez’s Second Wind (max 19 → restored to ~19, healed 13 HP).
    • Notable rolls: Caelumn nat 20 + Faerie Fire opener; Hugo’s perfect-crit 26-damage slam; Caelumn’s 52-damage twinned-then-bouncing chromatic orb; Harvo’s eldritch-cannon turret 22 damage; Caelumn’s Shield reaction successfully blocking a 17.
    • Death save: none required.

Clues & Foreshadowing

  1. Sevryn is canon-event-aware (Vazquez’s framing): he knew Cholmondeley would die and had Terry / Earthwing queued [2]. Source: out-of-character reasoning summarised in-character by Vazquez.
  2. Hugo’s pre-experiment name is “Corvin” [10]. Source: The Black Mask. Cared for: Hugo (privately). The party does not yet know this.
  3. Hugo had a wife and a small girl in pigtails before the experiment [28], L1332). Source: Black Mask’s claim and Hugo’s flash-memory; identities unconfirmed.
  4. Project Veilbreak specifics: 140,000 candidates, redacted-substance injection killing 50% in 24 hours, viscous-fluid blood replacement, cellular biology rewrite, 1-of-100 arena combats run twice, 7 surviving candidates, run by the Project doctor [15]. Source: Black Mask’s altered sending stone.
  5. Bella is another Project Veilbreak survivor [29]. Source: Black Mask. Identity unconfirmed but Hugo recognises the name well enough to ask for her freedom.
  6. A crow watches Caelumn through his window after the Black Mask scene [7]. Plausibly Black Mask surveillance.
  7. An attempted pickpocket bumps Terry on the way upstairs [30]. Terry didn’t notice (passive 16, rolled 2). Significance unknown.
  8. Hugo has a strong magical compulsion to visit the Black Hollow Market in Umbrafall [16]. The compulsion is unexplained; may be the pact’s anticipatory pull, may be Hugo’s organisation, may be the Black Mask’s prepared trap. Hugo’s history check (8) didn’t yield insight.
  9. Umbrafall’s perpetual night is the result of the wizards there “breaking their sky” (DM lore at [31]. The fungus-blooms are the consequence.

Open Mysteries & Unanswered Questions

  1. Will Hugo’s pact actually deliver his family alive? Best evidence: Black Mask’s “we cannot lie” rule, but he’s already employed misdirection. Cares: Hugo.
  2. Who or what is Corvin’s organisation? (Hugo names it The Ascendancy in s12, but as of s4 the brand is not yet on-screen — and even after s12 the brand-name remains Hugo-only in-fiction knowledge.) Hugo refers vaguely to “the group I work for” and visits “the main hideout” off-screen. Cares: Hugo, Vazquez (suspicious).
  3. What does the Onyx Ring of Barbed Hooks actually do? Unspecified by the Black Mask; Hugo wears it from session end.
  4. Is Bella aware of the truth, capturable, or already lost? Unknown.
  5. Why was Hugo magically compelled toward the Black Hollow Market? Unanswered.
  6. What is the Titan’s nature and weakness? No information yet.
  7. What is in the Warrens beyond the entrance hatch? Maelis Dirn’s sanctum; details unknown.

Quests

  1. [Status: active] The Egg Quest — travel to Eldwythe to investigate the dragon presence. Currently sidetracked in Umbrafall.
  2. [Status: active] Hugo’s personal business in Umbrafall — partially completed (he reported in to his organisation off-screen).
  3. [Status: active] Kill Maelis Dirn for The Broker — bounty: passage through the Hollow plus coin/poisons/sharper item. 50gp passage tax for non-Hugo party members otherwise. Progress: collectors trailed to Warrens entrance.
  4. [Status: active] Hugo’s Devil Pact: 7 years post-quest service + 3-year amnesty period; help destroying his organisation if he dies pursuing it; help killing the Project doctor; intel on Bella and his family. (Private to Hugo; rest of party doesn’t know specifics.)

Faction & Relationship Changes

Table Rulings

  1. Twin Spell (2024 SRD) re-confirmed: targets two creatures with single-target spells at one slot higher; cannot double-cast on the same target. Caelumn re-routes to a 3rd-level Chromatic Orb instead [32].
  2. Sorcerer Innate Sorcery feature: grants advantage on sorcerer-spell attack rolls during the effect (multiple uses across the session).
  3. Eldritch Cannon (Artificer): requires a token; cannon’s mode (flamethrower vs. force ballista vs. protector) is a configuration on each summon. No opportunity attacks for the cannon (DM ruling, [33]; analogous to Spiritual Weapon).
  4. Restrained / Suggestion / Charm protocols continued from previous sessions.
  5. Devil pact mechanics homebrew: pacts are explicitly inviolable per Black Mask’s lore; deals can be renegotiated mid-signing; persuasion checks can shorten or amend; pen draws blood as the binding signature; magical items granted are unremovable.
  6. Time freeze in the Black Mask’s pocket realm: no time passes in the real world during a Black Mask audience [34]. Used both visits.
  7. 5e 2014 vs 2024 metaphysics OOC: discussed at session start; group running a hybrid table-rules approach.

Callbacks

  • Session 3: Cholmondeley’s death; Sevryn’s telepathic Eldwythe message; Vazquez’s gunblade (first combat use); Earthwing (briefly mentioned then phased out); Fergus’s dragon-meat travel rations; Caelumn’s vision of the burial mound is paralleled by Hugo’s fragmented vision of his family.
  • Session 2: 5gp/night Fergus accommodation continues to be the going rate.
  • Session 1 (recap): the original Sevryn briefing on the egg’s purpose remains the core directive.

Next Steps

  • Descend into the Warrens in pursuit of Maelis Dirn and the Titan.
  • After the Maelis contract: continue toward Eldwythe to investigate the dragon presence.
  • (Hugo, privately): complete the egg quest to discharge the pact’s primary clause.
Entities in this session

People (10)

Locations (6)

Things (3)

References

  1. ^ Session 4, line 30-44 — Polar recaps session 3; receives DM inspiration.
  2. ^ Session 4, line 90-100 — Vazquez's insight on Sevryn's foresight; he knew Chumley would die and sent him anyway.
  3. ^ Session 4, line 346-380 — Sabertooth tigers ambush; Vazquez first use of the gunblade primer mechanic.
  4. ^ Session 4, line 870-882 — The Still Current Inn's mask requirement and whisper protocol.
  5. ^ Session 4, line 1066-1230 — First meeting with the Black Mask; gambling wager offered then refused.
  6. ^ Session 4, line 1312-1322 — Recording from the Project doctor reveals Project Veilbreak experiments.
  7. ^ Session 4, line 1352 — A crow pecks at Caelumn's window after the Black Mask vanishes.
  8. ^ Session 4, line 1480-1510 — The Broker's bone ledger and the Maelis Dirn / Coven Filth contract.
  9. ^ Session 4, line 1658-1730 — Hugo signs the pact alone in his room; receives the Onyx Ring of Barbed Hooks.
  10. ^ Session 4, line 1670 — Black Mask names Hugo "Corvin".
  11. ^ Session 4, line 1816-1830 — Collectors made; party trails them to a Warrens entrance.
  12. ^ Session 4, line 30 — Inline citation.
  13. ^ Session 4, line 58 — Inline citation.
  14. ^ Session 4, line 394 — Inline citation.
  15. ^ Session 4, line 1312 — Inline citation.
  16. ^ Session 4, line 1446 — Inline citation.
  17. ^ Session 4, line 1690-1730 — Inline citation.
  18. ^ Session 4, line 1772 — Inline citation.
  19. ^ Session 4, line 1814-1818 — Inline citation.
  20. ^ Session 4, line 1014 — Inline citation.
  21. ^ Session 4, line 100 — Inline citation.
  22. ^ Session 4, line 1212 — Inline citation.
  23. ^ Session 4, line 1228 — Inline citation.
  24. ^ Session 4, line 1506 — Inline citation.
  25. ^ Session 4, line 1776 — Inline citation.
  26. ^ Session 4, line 1730 — Inline citation.
  27. ^ Session 4, line 292 — Inline citation.
  28. ^ Session 4, line 1256 — Inline citation.
  29. ^ Session 4, line 1664 — Inline citation.
  30. ^ Session 4, line 1380-1386 — Inline citation.
  31. ^ Session 4, line 1442 — Inline citation.
  32. ^ Session 4, line 506-528 — Inline citation.
  33. ^ Session 4, line 482-492 — Inline citation.
  34. ^ Session 4, line 1736 — Inline citation.