The Vengeful Notes 2026-05-15

The Travertines

• The Malthrek party, Angel’s party, and the Crown Prince’s party are all at the Travertines for the wedding of Luke Malthrek and Pallia Travertine.
• The keep is already compromised by Reformists.
  • Duchess Antoinette Malthrek is confirmed to be aligned with the Reformists.
  • Pallia Travertine is also exposed as a hag and Reformist.
  • Several servants and staff also register as Reformists or Reformist agents.
• Tiphanie accompanies Crown Prince Marlion Dragonheart under the guise of one of his court wizards.
  • She uses the name Lady Vanessa.
  • The Crown Prince reinforces this cover by stating that her word is his word, and his word is the king’s word.
• The Crown Prince creates an opening to speak with Luke Malthrek by offering him a liege lord’s boon for the wedding.
  • The boons include Essence of Nymph and a temporary hag token made with star quartz and Tiphanie’s hair.
  • The token lets Tiphanie probe Luke’s mind and look for Reformist influence.
• Tiphanie determines that Luke has not yet become a Reformist, but has been groomed toward Reformist belief.
  • Duchess Malthrek has been planting ideas in his mind.
  • A second voice, probably Pallia Travertine’s, also echoes in his mind.
• A Reformist watching Luke attempts to cast a spell during the audience.
  • Crown Prince Marlion kills her with the Topaz Sword of Summer.
  • Angel uses speak with dead on the severed head.
  • The dead Reformist confirms that she herself was Reformist, but does not know whether Pallia is Reformist.

Lime’s Infiltration

• While the crisis around Luke unfolds, Duchess Malthrek takes Lime to meet Germaine and Adelaide Schulze at a chapel in the outer city.
  • Lime is still pretending to be Elizabeth Schulze.
  • The chapel is associated with the Angel of Humility.
• Germaine opens a pocket dimension from the chapel using a powder and a brazier-like device.
  • Adelaide Schulze and Father Charles Renaldi are inside.
  • Father Charles Renaldi identifies Adelaide as a high-ranking local Reformist.
• Lime convinces Germaine and Adelaide to continue pretending that she is their daughter, even though they know she is not.
  • They recognize that she is a Schulze relative.
  • Lime uses this to keep access to the Reformist meeting.
• The Reformists discuss the shards of the Emerald Shield of Spring.
  • Angel has two shards.
  • The Reformists can sense the shards, but have difficulty locating them directly.
  • Lime encourages them to let Angel collect more shards so they can later ambush her.
• Lime learns that Duchess Malthrek has no formal title in the Reformist hierarchy.
  • Her influence in the Reformist operation comes from her access to the Thralmal pools and her Malthrek sons.
• Duchess Malthrek has made arrangements meant to keep Luke and his brothers from being harmed.
• Lime is offered a Candle Bearer test.
  • She intends to take the test to learn more about the Reformists and the fate of her parents, Abraham and Juliette Schulze.
  • She reports that Germaine and Adelaide had tried to recruit her years ago, likely before she understood their Reformist connection.

Pallia and the Aberration Threat

• Pallia Travertine survives the fight in her hag lair but is unconscious.
  • Angel, Gwyniviere Rannek, Maria Rannek, and Sir Brastok guard her in the infirmary.
  • Jessica retrieves Pallia and brings her to Luke’s room for questioning.
• Pallia is identified as a dangerous hag rather than merely a hexblood.
  • Tiphanie notes that killing and raising a Feywild hag could create something worse, such as a bone hag.
  • Tiphanie eventually consumes Pallia into her hat to make a potion from her.
• Oscar captures another low-level Reformist from the keep.
  • When exposed to the Reformists’ green liquid, the captive begins transforming into an aberration.
  • This reveals that Reformist “ascension” is connected to mind flayers and aberrant parasites.
• Jessica and Tiphanie explain that an Elder Brain may be behind the larger conspiracy.
  • Intellect devourers previously encountered in Raibon and related incidents now appear connected to the same threat.
  • The party suspects that the Reformists, certain hags, and possibly other factions may be acting under aberrant influence.
• Tiphanie says that once the parasite enters a host, the host is effectively lost unless the soul can be moved or reincarnated.
  • Greater restoration may help only after the parasite is removed.
  • This raises concern that King Stenyr Dragonheart’s madness could be related to a similar parasite or mind influence.

Intelligence Shared With Marlion

• Minfilia and the others brief Crown Prince Marlion on the Reformists.
  • The Reformists have infiltrated multiple regions, including Sanery, Calamutz, Poasah, and areas around Bastion.
  • The legal and open Reformist presence in some places is distinct from their covert infiltration elsewhere.
• The party explains the difference between Reformists and Revivalists.
  • Revivalists split from Reformists and oppose some Reformist practices.
  • Trajan, the face stealer, is described as a Revivalist source who revealed information about face stealers and breeding pits.
• Face stealers are not simply doppelgangers or changelings.
  • They are made through deliberate Reformist practices involving cornups, orsines, magical bloodlines, and breeding pits.
• The Reformists use magical children and magical organs as resources.
  • Children’s livers are harvested and sold or used in magical procedures.
  • This connects to the broader trade and kidnapping operations in Raibon, Shagnaery, Poasah, and Sanery.
• Souveran Rothchild is identified as an arch-lich and possible high-ranking Reformist power.
  • He may be responsible for simulacra such as Isana Walburton.
  • The party speculates that his magic may come from Kalassarian sources, Bastion, or older preservation magic.
• Raibon intelligence suggests Isana Walburton had a teleportation door linking Raibon Island to an estate in Alsace.
  • The estate was built over Kalassarian ruins.
  • Syringes and necromantic drug materials were found there.
• Trajan reportedly saw a huge, growing orb around Bastion after being banished.
  • The orb may now cover an entire region.
  • Marlion is warned to prepare Senera for a threat larger than local Reformist infiltration.

Thralmals, Elven Boons, and the Veil

• The group discusses the four Elven Boons.
  • The Crown Prince bears the Topaz Sword of Summer.
  • Angel has two shards of the Emerald Shield of Spring.
  • The Reformists may have at least one shard and are seeking Angel’s.
• John, Lime, and the others discuss Duchess Malthrek’s connection to the Thralmals.
  • Duchess Malthrek is a Thralmal by birth.
  • The Thralmal pools are healing pools, but may also be connected to the veil that keeps fey forces in the world.
• Marlion reads from the story of Magarisok and the Giant of Inespell.
  • The story connects ancient humans, the Eldrim, iron, glamour, and the creation of the Giant of Inespell.
  • Tiphanie recognizes iron as a known weakness of fey folk.
• The group discusses Iron Elves and witch hunters.
  • Sebastian Browning is named as a witch hunter known to the Hags of Senera and the Hags of Surrey.
• Lime argues that confronting Duchess Malthrek immediately may be premature.
  • She believes she can keep working with the Duchess long enough to learn more.
  • The others agree to delay direct confrontation until Lime can follow the Thralmal pool lead.

Immediate Plans

• The Crown Prince postpones the wedding instead of dissolving it outright.
  • The public explanation can be that Pallia is ill or that a proper minister is unavailable.
  • The political union between the Malthreks and Travertines remains unresolved.
• The Crown Prince and Tiphanie hold a staff meeting to stabilize the keep.
  • Tiphanie uses calm emotions to keep the staff from panicking.
  • Staff are told they will keep their jobs and receive compensation for the emotional distress caused by the incident.
  • The staff are split into alternating work and vacation groups.
• The group decides to rest briefly.
  • Tiphanie needs several hours to recover spells.
  • Minfilia and Jessica continue handling security and Reformist threats.
• Father Charles Renaldi and Rislas remain targets.
  • Renaldi appears to be hiding in a pocket dimension or protected by non-detection.
  • The plan is to force them out of the chapel pocket dimension during Lime’s Candle Bearer test, possibly with hallow.
  • Lime wants them alive long enough to answer questions about her parents.
• The group wants to find the Travertine Keep teleportation circle.
  • Travertine Keep may become a base of operations.
  • They discuss changing the circle’s sigil so Reformists cannot use it freely.
  • A later book club meeting may bring in Hedwig, Rosie Posey, and other knowledgeable allies to discuss aberrations.
• Mark Malthrek is suspiciously away from the Travertines.
  • Luke and John both use sending to contact him.
  • Mark gives nearly identical responses to both, saying their father asked him to handle something and that he will return in a day or so.
  • Tiphanie suspects a mind-altering spell or command is causing Mark to give a prepared answer.
  • Minfilia raises an undead cambion and sends it after Mark with a remove curse glyph.
• Lime returns to Duchess Malthrek.
  • Andrew will act as a visible possible leak or smokescreen.
  • Lime will continue the daughter/Candle Bearer facade and watch for the next chance to learn about the Duchess, the Thralmal pools, Renaldi, Rislas, and her parents.