The Vengeful Notes 2026-06-14

Recruitment and the Road from the Cave

The group asked after Matthew Malthrek, a university geography student whom their contact seldom saw, then recruited a self-described wild-magic sorcerer despite immediate skepticism about the recruit’s control.
Conversation ranged across Angel’s guards, a favorite Dorothy Marie Campbell doll, five rechargeable orbs, and the search for the local hags.
- One bargainer said their fourth child was promised in marriage to a hag’s child and wondered whether the hags had foreseen or engineered that future.
A Spring Court informant recalled a former ruler, a human archfey who became queen, a vast carnival at probably Grandiflora Island, and a woman left in a state neither death nor ordinary sleep.
Before departure, the sorcerer disabled exhausting cave wards. Outside, the group found many aberration corpses and heard of an experimental farm that fed aberrant remains to plants.
- A researcher shared a chibi-like beholder sketch copied from an immovable family book; it seemed to omit disintegration and death rays.
- The researcher offered notes, while another person mentioned a magical teacher with an unclear connection to Baba Yaga.
Discussion of Rebecca established little securely beyond her presence in Wonderland, knowledge of Hick, and competing offers of care or university refuge. Allegations that a proposed caretaker might experiment on her remained unconfirmed.
Near Castle Malthrek, the travelers reached hot, misty, pockmarked volcanic highlands.
- Lime confirmed she was a druid.
- The group considered Wild Shape, a flying broom, a rare flying carpet, and summoned transport.
- After learning that the apparent Gerta Moon was actually her successor among the white witches, they selected giant spiders as discreet all-terrain mounts and departed with the spiders following the carpet.
- Gerta had been the previous Spirit of the Moon, had been involved in the war, and was deceased.

The Thralmal Pools and the Feywild Faithful Hags

The travelers confirmed that frogfolk truly protected the bog and revisited suspicions that a traveler’s mother had intended to implant or deliver an aberrant parasite before Minfilia intervened.
Riding the carpet toward volcanic pools near an uncertainly named mountain, they discussed the hags’ continuing protection of the pools despite the Celestial Blood’s broken agreement.
- The operator tested the giant spiders’ speed while assuring alarmed passengers that the carpet, found in ruins, would not drop them.
Along the way, the group discussed an Orb of Absorption, Eastonton’s unusual undead, Minfilia’s spellcasting dead, a mysterious resurrection method, Fliokyshelan runecrafted prosthetics, and an exceptional bard protected by an amulet of nondetection and a .
The carpet crossed increasingly craggy mountains and geysers before reaching a soot-black volcano and interconnected springs surrounded by extraordinary vegetation.
- Peaceful blue globular sprites gathered moisture and protected the travelers from scalding geyser spray.
At the main pool, the Duchess entered the warm water and three women appeared, confronting her over celestial blood, old promises, and a broken deal.
- Lime argued that someone of celestial blood had broken the agreement, not the Duchess intentionally.
- The hags at the Thralmal Pools were descendants of the Children of the Coven, the Feywild Faithful Hags in Senera—not the Hags of Hama, also called white witches.
The visitors sought help and shared discoveries from Senera: a concealed parasite had corrupted an unnamed woman, the Reformist Church had brought it, and hags aligned with the Children of the Crone had knowingly cooperated.
- Whether mind flayers or an elder brain controlled the parasites remained unknown.

Alliance, Parasites, and the Mother’s Children

The pool hags rejected a pact or oath but offered collective alliance against the Children of the Crone. They still intended to honor an earlier blood pact inherited by a boy.
- If he chose to keep the inherited promise, they offered one of their most desirable. The exchange included an objection to glamours and the reply that desire was a glamour unto itself; neither acceptance nor fulfillment was established.
One witch revealed that she heard private moonlit appeals, including a wish involving an infant, before embracing the visitors.
- Moonlight pulled at three visitors’ true forms, but she prevented the transformations.
- The witches recognized a human visitor as touched by the Mother’s essence and clarified that Emily was an elf from the Feywild.
The witches longed to return to the Mother and mentioned Tiffany, who had bargained with hags while seeking a way for an unidentified group to return to her.
The visitors warned that piercing the veil could admit aberrations.
- Emily described parasites that spread through hosts over months or perhaps a year.
- She cited research associated with Murkendraw, naming the Awakened Library and Marshview. The exchange did not securely establish the library’s exact location or the subject of the access restriction.
- Local parasites apparently required green liquid, consumed by fanatics seeking ascension, to complete a mind-flayer transformation.
- The group recalled a Reformist woman becoming a grick after an infiltration involving a Seneran diplomat and a maddening mushroom from Moreaux Island.
- Of the two high-ranking diplomats, one had died. The survivor, Edmar Pritchett, had been returned to Senera.
Companions entered the soothing pool while one traveler watched. A hag told Lime that Lime’s guardian had visited unspecified lands.
- The pool was described as restoring energy and vitality, the suppleness of the skin, and serenity of mind; no quantified healing effect was established in this exchange.
Emily privately discussed Emma, her wild-magic duplicate, who shared her face and memories but had an opposite personality and chose a different name. Emily associated the duplication with a candy from Sentimental Island.
- Emily’s pregnancy had transferred to Emma during the earlier duplication. By this conversation, both women understood their situation well.
A doll-maker proposed a nonliving doll of Emily with functional runecrafted prosthetics.
Discussion of hexbloods established that six had existed, two remained in the Feywild, and two spirits still needed a willing keeper. The travelers declined the mantle because they hoped eventually to return to the Mother’s embrace.
After transforming, Mark covered himself and entered the pool, where he began to relax.

Crone Incursions and Fey-Court History

A private poolside exchange produced embarrassment and an unresolved roll, while John and Kelthyr separately discussed Port Surrey and the Narrows.
The sisters reported renewed attacks by an opposing Crone-aligned trio and losses on both sides.
- They asked the party to honor its pledge to aid the Malthreks.
- A teleportation circle could move part of the group, but recurring incursions left few sisters available.
- They suspected the enemy was dividing its forces and might target the Duchess’s son to break her agreement.
Most hags in Skelwick had reportedly been frozen by the Brooch of Winter.
- The brooch was originally a protection sent to help elves survive the land, not a weapon meant to freeze people.
- The idea that sacrifices empowered it remained speculation.
- The term Yielding arose during this discussion; its use did not establish that sacrifice powered the Brooch.
A young druid considered summoning a mountain spirit because the terrain was unsuitable for an ancient forest spirit.
Lime warned Mark to consider his choices carefully. The sisters said they could not restore Emily’s limbs because of the magical poisoning she had suffered in the Feywild.
Emily’s , inscribed with her name, prompted her account of magical poisoning caused by Queen Valdas, the Queen of Mirrors and Archfey of Spring at the time.
- Her father had kept her alive with the periapt, although she lost an arm and a leg.
- Holding the amulet made her wistful and emotional; this was not a magical alteration of her state.
- Her father and brothers died as a result of researching the magical poisoning. Her account described her father contacting the wrong archfey while investigating a discovery in the caves.
- Valdas was described as a former hag, a traitor to the Mother, and a tyrant even before becoming an archfey.
Emily named Lord Cals as having granted Valdas her domain, but no one was sure why he had done so. The group questioned his authority and discussed whom Valdas replaced and who might become the next Spring Queen.
- Aika Miura was discussed as a possible successor and understood by the party to be human; her accession remained a rumor, not an established outcome.
Emily said humans had repeatedly created fey crossings. The Realm Bridge widened an existing opening for mass travel, but opening it toward aberrant lands could produce a recurring Feywild threat.
- Hedwig and the white witches had reportedly charted rare crossing opportunities tied to the moon and millennia-long cycles.
- The Tree of Spirits in the bog was the only known stable crossing of that kind.
The group discussed Marlion, bearer of the Topaz Sword of Summer, and Tiphanie’s protection of him.
- The hags said that as long as he lived, the Thralmal Pools would remain protected.
- A hag tentatively mentioned a prior bargain between Tiphanie and the prince. The bargain had occurred, but its terms were unknown to outsiders; no one else had been present when it was made.
- Almost all ranks of the local Reformist hierarchy were accounted for in the Maltreks; the discussion gave a count of nine ranks, not a headcount of nine Reformist individuals.

Allies and the Duchess’s Bargain

Emily expanded on Emma, who shared her memories and runecrafting skill and once caused chaos with a Hama wand of endless illusions.
- The wand had been returned to its owner in Hama. Emily invited the others to visit Hama; she did not promise to retrieve the wand and could no longer do so.
The group revisited the Orb of Absorption, conjectures that the Kurerans were gnomes, and the living deification of Lord Boyle Eastonton as the Great Erected One.
Possible allies included Lord Boyle, Miya, Jessica, Henson, Minfilia, the Duchess, and the hags.
- Jessica was valued for speed and anti-caster ability.
- The group still needed reliable healing and restoration.
- Andrew’s insecurity made him vulnerable to a hag’s bargain, though his friends defended his loyalty.
Probably Justin discussed overcoming guilt over his cursed blindness. The curse’s suspected infernal source remained uncertain.
A Karni of Anasai doll and relics recovered from a ship’s grave prompted fragmentary histories involving Hedwig, Cotto, Raibon, and an unidentified Sister of the Light.
The group declined to recruit fearless Father Reno, judging his certainty and recklessness dangerous despite his earlier victory over an aberration.
Direct teleportation was blocked by an unusually strong veil. A cave circle required daily magic or charged orbs, so the party considered asking Minfilia for transport.
Donmar was sent to Rannek despite doubts about his readiness, and a dangerous volcanic destination was deferred because reaching it on foot would take days.
Lime asked the Duchess to allow Lime’s friends to recover using the magic of the Thralmal Pools. In exchange, Lime and her companions would help remove the Duchess’s parasite, save her husband, and protect her youngest son.
- The Duchess accepted and granted permission and access to necessary resources.
- The Duchess also promised Lime information about her parents from her journals, books, and memories, if those memories could be unlocked, on condition that Lime also protected herself.
- Lime and the Duchess sealed the agreement through a reciprocal blood exchange.
The alliance then prepared to return to the cave and reach the Malthreks, whose third boy was described as a woman’s ward.

The Mistress and the Decision to Rescue Matthew

The group received one dose of Salts of the Restful Bath. Used in a container with an internal capacity no greater than 30 cubic feet, it granted long-rest benefits after one hour in the water to bathers who could all plausibly fit fully submerged together; they did not have to remain submerged.
In a separate scene, something activated around the Crown Prince and his companions, leaving them in an altered version of their surroundings where others appeared frozen. The cause remained unknown in-game.
They treated the place as a possible sanctuary while discussing a slain shapechanger and Marlion’s unusual wound.
- Marlion feared that losing control would endanger them because fear could undermine the Topaz Sword of Summer’s protection. Tiphanie reassured him and distinguished what he could control from what he could not.
- His insistence on control may reflect a personal flaw connected to his unusual affinity with the sword, rather than uncomplicated fearlessness.
Fina, a changeling, took Marlion’s appearance and suggested splitting the party while she impersonated the Crown Prince. Tiphanie questioned the disguise’s lack of his distinctive sword; the plan remained only a suggestion.
Marlion had expected his stepbrother Kelthyr in Thrantorbury and was annoyed by his absence during the fighting. This was Marlion’s expectation, not a commitment Kelthyr had broken; Kelthyr had been investigating separately and the party had found him injured near the Thralmals.
John contacted Tiphanie, addressing her as Mistress, and relayed the pool hags’ greetings.
- Seeing through John’s eyes, Tiphanie briefly perceived the three pool hags—Eilen, Wren, and Zolin—with truesight enabled by her closer connection to Marlion. The glimpse lasted only a moment.
- John explained that the hags had made a blood deal with his mother, the Duchess, before her infestation. Forced consumption of celestial blood had broken her deal, which passed to his brother Matthew.
- Tiphanie promised to respond within an hour and warned that killing Matthew or breaking the deal could have serious consequences.
The group heard that Eastonton had been liberated. Separately, Tiphanie explained that the teleportation circle beneath the University in Thrantorbury was compromised, preventing its use as a route into or out of Thrantorbury.
Tiphanie reported that hostile nobles were preparing to challenge the Crown while believing the Duchess, Luke, and perhaps Mark and John dead.
- Once Marlion saw the situation in the Travertines, he acted intentionally against the Viscount in the hope of making the opposition more apparent. This was an adaptive strategy, not necessarily a premeditated trap.
- The mistaken reports of the family’s deaths created a greater opportunity than he had expected; they discussed keeping the survivors’ existence concealed.
The party planned to rest before fighting toward the library, where it expected a lethal confrontation with the librarian.
Matthew became the first priority because his inherited connection to the Duchess’s deal could empower the crones.
- Fina offered to copy Matthew’s appearance and scent as a decoy.
- The group considered obtaining a possession from his dormitory or the library; neither the decoy plan nor the proposed party split was settled.
- Tiphanie used to contact him. Matthew replied that he was alive, doing homework, and in dormitories near the geography department.
The group informed John and the Duchess, returned toward the first pool, and prepared the flying carpet for Matthew’s rescue.

Charging the Circle and Gathering Reinforcements

Returning by carpet, the group witnessed a distant magical battle near the volcano but remained outside the crossfire.
In the cave, they arranged conduit orbs around the teleportation circle and explained that the orbs absorb raw ambient magic rather than processed spells.
- An induced wild-magic surge successfully charged a discharged orb with raw magical energy, without absorbing or suppressing the surge’s random effect.
- That surge’s random effect turned the caster pastel blue for a day; the coloring was not an effect of charging the orb.
- The group considered wearable orb harnesses for wild-magic sorcerers.
An unnamed, unresponsive captive, apparently a Reformist or guard brought along earlier, was confirmed alive and brought back with the party. They remained unsure about his memory loss and whether he was dangerous.
After resting, the party teleported to an uncertainly identified location and contacted Minfilia, announcing its move against Malthrek and promising a signal.
Lime needed help, and possible reinforcements included Henson, Lord Boyle, Miya, Jessica, and Minfilia.
- Jessica was considered but did not accompany the reinforcements.
A broad force from bishop downward was mobilizing, though it might have intended only to petition the Prince.
At the next circle, Miya, Lord Boyle, Oscar Savoy, Minfilia, and Henson Eastonton were among those waiting. Kelthyr saw the redheaded Minfilia beside Oscar and noted Henson’s resemblance to Lord Boyle.
The group learned that dead people and those whose parasites had been removed were no longer tracked, supporting the theory that parasites enabled enemy surveillance.
Martha welcomed the arrivals to a dark sewer hideout of a local Hickland for Hicks cell.
- Hickland for Hicks is the official exonym; Hicklanders is a colloquial designation. The movement’s internal name is Erkirgral.
- The occupants were treated as possible reinforcements.
- Boyle’s survival was credited to an orb of repulsion that blocked magic, including magical arrows.
Religious debate followed over whether belief itself empowered Boyle’s paladins.
- Boyle’s mother, Natalia Eastonton, was playfully called the Great Erected One’s “venerable matron”; this was not an established religious title or office.
The Duchess arrived for a status report. Kelthyr produced doll-sized furniture that expanded to full size, and Agent Emily announced that Lady Maribel Veyne was on her way to Castle Malthrek, not the resistance hideout.
Further discussion identified a short, bald Bearer of the Sword.
- Minfilia took the illustrations from her pack, and Emily identified the depicted figures: “Those are gnomes alright.” The group took this as confirmation that the Kurerans were gnomes; their conclusion did not independently establish the Kurerans’ identity or origin.

Planning for the Palatinate

The party had gambled on finding Kelthyr and now assessed a fight against bishops, dark archons, powerful spellcasters, and minions.
- John warned that confronting their father, Duke Ellington Malthrek, might cloud his own judgment and Mark’s.
- The group compared the battle with its difficult Eastonton victory, where had helped.
- Sister Philippa’s earlier detection magic suggested that the entities inside some companions were aberrations.
A playful effort to dress goddess dolls produced a red-clad likeness of Minerva resembling Jessica, though no divine identity was confirmed.
- Minfilia and Oscar called Amarina, the veiled goddess of humility, the “cultured choice,” implying that her admirers were the sort of people who would be fans of Legally Bare. This was teasing about taste, not a collective decision to select her.
The group discussed Sir Aldric Torward as a potential opponent, comparing his wrestler-like build to Gardor, one of the allies’ kitchen staff. Gardor was not part of the Castle’s enemy roster; the comparison led to teasing about his attention to Rebecca.
Lord Fagus Malthrek, a distant cousin who had bullied Mark, was also discussed; he was only suspected—not proven—to have caused his wife’s death.
The group considered asking the Prince before intervening but retained discretion under earlier orders.
Marjean (Marie Jean), the Apgarian head chef of the kitchens, knew about events there ten years earlier and had been going to tell them. He had returned to check on the kitchens; he was a different person from Gardor.
Matthew remained politically vital: if killed, a Crone-aligned faction might gain control of local pools.
Baron Dunum Highbury appeared not entirely himself, perhaps enchanted.
- His presence involved a proposed adoption and marriage arrangement between Monique and Fagus. The Duchess reckoned Monique to be fifteen, still a year below the setting’s marriage age.
- The Duchess also recalled another younger girl, whom she estimated to be twelve or thirteen, connecting her to a tragedy and saying, “Poor Charlotte.” This was separate from her reckoning of Monique’s age.
Expected arrivals might come by teleportation within two days. The party needed the palatinate’s circle and sigil.
The mapped compound contained a keep, church, training grounds, graveyard, infirmary, smithies, armory, stables, wizard tower, and signal tower.
- Court wizards used the wizard tower and laboratory.
- Bannermen owing allegiance to an unidentified father were gathering, many apparently Reformers.
The group needed belongings, journals, or encoded recent thoughts to complete its circle.
Sister Philippa was described as an angelic devotee with her own miracle.
Rendor was cursed to become a talkative old man while he kept recounting his experiences. Stopping returned him to his original age of twenty-seven, but he could not resist telling his stories.

The Peerage Trap and the Duke

The group chose to gather information while waiting for the gathering nobles and Reformist attendees to reach Castle Malthrek, despite knowing the opposition could reinforce its defenses with additional orbs.
They reviewed Senera’s constitutional monarchy.
- Senior nobles held weighted votes in the peerage.
  - Dukes and marquesses held three votes, earls or counts two, and viscounts one.
  - Barons served a tie-breaking role.
- A complaint could remove the monarch and bypass the designated crown prince.
- The Prince had apparently anticipated the present challenge.
The group was told of Marlion’s existing plan: let the complaint be lodged before the Peerage, then reveal that the supposedly dead people were alive. Supporters of the motion would thereby come under suspicion of being Reformists; this was not a new tactic devised by the party here.
Orb-linked protective suits appeared to block magic both entering and leaving their wearers.
- The Duchess might use one to cross wards without being recognized.
- Her remark that what she could do was “technically not magic” referred to persuasion, manipulation, political influence, and intrigue.
- The remark did not establish whether her blood connection to the Thralmal Pools would also remain useful under the orb’s protection.
The group confirmed it possessed one purple orb from the Eastonton docks and suspected an absorption orb had removed magical mechanisms or trackers.
Henson offered to infiltrate the gathering, claiming that he was seeking Garward after being expelled from Eastonton following its takeover. This remained a risky proposal, not an agreed deployment; he warned that the Reformists might probe his memories.
Henson Eastonton explained that the Reformists operated in separate cells. He had seen the Duchess but did not know her goals; his assignment was to close the Port Surrey-to-Eastonton route while she was present.
The group decided to identify trustworthy nobles, cooks, maids, and servants before acting broadly.
Evidence indicated that placing an infected person in the Orb of Absorption killed the parasite.
A secret entrance might still provide access to the group’s rooms.
John relayed Tiphanie’s report of a changeling in Thrantorbury, without realizing that she meant Fina. Lime said she could recognize or deal with a changeling or similar shifter; this did not establish a hostile infiltrator or an agreed confrontation.
Minfilia gave Kelthyr a .
Reaching the heavily guarded Duke and removing his parasite became the urgent priority.

Ciphers, Twins, and the Ring of Winter

The group asked how much information the different Reformist cells associated with Sister Rislas and Father Renaldi shared. Henson said that sharing depended on necessity; the discussion concerned separate cells, not multiple selves.
They found someone able to operate the decoder for the Duchess’s ciphered journals.
- could not bypass the cipher.
- Codes could be hidden in designated letters within ordinary publications.
A copy of Legally Bare included depictions of Boyle, Angel, and an exaggerated figure attributed to Gwyniviere’s imagination.
Minfilia told Lime that she was carrying twins, having detected two heartbeats, one weaker.
- The weaker twin’s survival was uncertain.
- Lime conditionally proposed Emily and Sigrid for two girls.
Henson was assigned to remain at the hideout and decipher the Duchess’s journal while others prepared to investigate under disguise. Potential cipher material included discarded papers and a recovered letter; Lime also gave him a document she had found in the Travertine office.
Lime recounted Germaine and Adelaide Schulze’s attempt to adopt her from Gerta Moon’s boarding school two or three years earlier. She refused, sensing something wrong; Gerta had noticed a change in them since their earlier visit. The group discussed the visit as reconnaissance of the school.
The boat accounts distinguished the real Fawn Plaisir from the Face Stealer impersonating her. The real Fawn followed the Nightshift Nurses onto the Bottom Winds, which they had boarded by mistake; the impersonator accompanied Lime’s school group aboard the Autumn Winds, which sank.
Discussion turned to warforged.
- They were described as sentient artificial people built with rune-based organs, not simple constructs.
- Kelthyr asked Emily to teach him how to make a warforged. She offered practical help building one, leaving him to work out the rest, and warned about expensive or unavailable materials. This was an offer of some help, not a promise of a complete course or a committed project.
- Emily described Emil, her father’s elven-looking warforged butler in the Hazeldine household.
Merwin’s condition was connected to coven children frozen in Skelwick. Susanna and Alex were headed toward Skelwick, where Lord Boyle’s mother’s coven was also located.
The group considered using an orb of Red Repulsion against the freezing magic but feared harming survivors.
The Brooch of Winter might be the missing , though that remained speculation.
- Rumor said Titania and Oberon hid the ring from the Prince of Frost.
- The ring was described as sentient, undetectable, protective against cold, capable of halting aging, and able to create permanent cold and animated ice.
- The Orb of Absorption might suppress but not destroy it.
- Titania or perhaps a silver dragon might be able to destroy it.
- The party speculated that Marlion might also destroy it using the Summer Sword; this was not an established capability.
Minfilia raised the Shield of Oberon, also known as the Emerald Shield of Spring, with Kelthyr. Kelthyr theorized that its protection nourished vegetation and explained the otherwise surprising fertility of the western lowlands.
Likely Miriel reported receiving a golden apple from an underground grove of Oberon and saving its seeds. Lime requested two apples for the expected twins.

Reconnaissance and the Plan for the Duke

The group speculated that the Green Man was an avatar of Oberon who aided the elves, fought humans, died, and may have reincarnated locally, but none of that history was confirmed.
Competing accounts of the Emerald Shield of Spring described either an Elven Boon traded to the Hicks for land or a bargain obligating the Green Lord to protect humans.
Someone proposed allowing the gathering nobles and Reformist attendees another day to arrive; this did not establish an agreed postponement of the Duke’s rescue until tomorrow.
A later visit to an elven settlement was considered, possibly bringing Fina, who primarily presented herself as an elf.
Rescuing the Duke came first.
- The Duchess would attract and isolate him during dinner or in the spring room.
- Nymph essence might help create the opportunity.
- Kelthyr and an unnamed second caster proposed alternating afterward; the second caster was not identified in this exchange.
Other intended journeys included uncertainly named Kalasari ruins and Rannek, where Angel might resent a visitor who had disappeared.
The group discussed unverified stories of subterranean drow and driders beyond the Feydark but possessed no reliable local evidence.
Stimulant drinks were distributed to participants preparing for the operation, and Mark prepared to become a dog again for his role in the operation.
Reconnaissance became the immediate priority.
- A sending-stone chain connected Miya to Minfilia, who in turn had a connection to John.
- The outside team would search for a teleportation circle and considered using an uncertain red orb to disrupt it.
Reports placed hags on other fronts and Garward’s party moving toward Thrantorbury, possibly with hag support.
Henson reported that Madeline Eastonton was not a hag and was being sexually enslaved. Others expressed an aim of killing Garward to free her, condemning forced reproduction and trafficking; this did not establish an agreed immediate diversion from the Duke’s rescue.

Disguises and Entry into the Castle

Securing Matthew’s safety was a requirement for obtaining the Thralmal Pools hags’ help.
- A possession of Matthew’s was sought as a means of finding his location, not as a separate condition of the hags’ help.
- A dog-form infiltrator could enter his room.
- Martha searched for an old signed order or receipt.
The group again proposed stripping Garward’s magic with the Orb of Absorption and debated whether he should face his mother before his death.
Everyone agreed to rescue the Duke first, restore his memories if possible, and remove other vulnerable people before open conflict.
Minfilia and Oscar stayed at Martha’s hideout to receive Matthew’s item, making use of their wanted status as their reason not to accompany the Castle team.
After a private interruption, one shapeshifter became a dog when someone called for him.
The extraction plan called for retrieving the Duke and teleporting away.
- If castle abjuration blocked teleportation, they considered using the secret side entrance. Lime offered to enlist kitchen help and have a servant bring a trolley; this was a proposed fallback, not an already arranged escape.
- Another proposal involved using on someone’s father.
Lime was warned to protect herself and the twins, and she wanted to tell Hedwig about the pregnancy herself.
Lime and Justin returned to the kitchen, reported that Matthew was alive but could not yet come, and maintained their disguises.
Rebecca was waiting for guests at a tea party. Addressed as Your Majesty in keeping with her Wonderland identity, she greeted John and asked to be carried. Ashlyn remained outside in disguise.
The Duchess said she had come to recover her husband from evil wizards but found him absent.
- Rebecca wanted to accompany her despite warnings.
- The Duchess asked Rebecca to disguise herself as cleaning staff. Rebecca’s regal bearing as the Queen in her Wonderland identity and her distinctive red hair threatened the cover.
Gardor was introduced as a temporary servant and capable advisor. Someone pointed toward the study, where several guests had gathered.

Tea in the Duke’s Study

The infiltrators learned that the Duke was in his study awaiting tea and could not simply be summoned elsewhere.
Emily selected autumn asters for a portable display, and Rebecca magically sprouted them.
Emily coached Lime in formal tea service: prepare it visibly, conceal the holder, rotate the cup three times, remain silent, and avoid a noble’s gaze.
The party hoped asters and Earl Grey with a precise squeeze of orange would awaken the Duke’s memories or draw him toward the garden.
Lime entered with the trolley and served by rank: the Duke, the nun, Lord Highbury, and the remaining guests.
The fifth guest was Oren Bell, a merchant without noble rank.
- He appeared thin and handled berries that seemed to become fey wine.
- The party speculated that he might be an avatar of the Green Lord, but that connection remained unconfirmed.
- Lime sensed concealed fey qualities and concluded that he was an elf using glamour.
Lime ignored demeaning remarks and completed the service.
- She left the asters on the Duke’s desk.
- The Duke appeared genuinely sad and plucked their petals.
- She grated orange peel into his tea and prepared the remaining fruit.
After leaving, Lime reported that his responses suggested some part of his former self remained.
Lord Highbury repeatedly spoke of his deceased daughter Charlotte.
The allegation of murdering his wife concerned Lord Fagus Malthrek, not Highbury. It remained unproven in this discussion, and a proposal to use truth serum was not carried out.

Matthew’s Room

The infiltrators avoided servants near the sons’ chambers.
- Rebecca, accompanied by Byzantine, persuaded a maid to let her remain nearby.
- Mark stole the maid’s feather duster and fled downstairs, drawing pursuit.
The others reached Matthew’s door and used with an Arcana result of 15 to copy the key and enter.
Matthew’s large room was dusty, orderly, and apparently unused.
- A drafting table held worn rulers and spaces for pencils and brushes.
- A stylized world map showed uncertainly named lands and a deep-purple, almost black circle near Bastion and Mastroen.
- Paintings depicted monsters and the family when Matthew was about five.
Rebecca searched the room while the group sought a personal object that could help save Matthew.
- They selected a fine liner he had used for crosshatching.
- Rebecca called Liana her vassal within her Wonderland, not her vessel. Liana is a hamadryad, a subspecies of dryad.
- In Rebecca’s fantasy, Liana was meant to spread Wonderland’s seeds; this was Rebecca’s description, not an independently established purpose or ability of Liana or hamadryads.
Unable to escape through the high window, the infiltrators locked the door and watched the peephole.
They passed the wait with a card game whose playful stakes involved ice cream and temporary garment removal.
- The game and its rules remained unclear.
- Sensitive details and participant identities were not securely established.
- John asked whether they wanted to stop playing. Rebecca asked whether the maid outside was done; if she had gone, they would no longer need to remain in the room waiting.
One participant claimed victory because he still retained a necklace and another item.

A Private Interlude and the Maid’s Duster

John and Rebecca continued a private intimate encounter.
- One requested a slower pace, and the other complied.
- Afterward they checked on each other’s wellbeing; both indicated that they were all right and had enjoyed the encounter.
They agreed to keep the event private and moved to a nearby room to bathe.
- A teddy bear produced bathwater.
- warmed it.
- During the bath, one participant described leaving home young, training with a swordmaster, serving as a squire, and eventually earning the title Sir.
An unresolved discussion considered whether Rebecca came from the past or future.
Elsewhere, Emily saw Mark running from upstairs and probably apologized to the maid whose cleaning tool he had taken.
- After repeated commands, Mark as a dog dropped the object.
- Emily returned it and offered help, which the maid declined.

The Duke’s Extraction and the Relic Bearers

The sisters drew the Duke from the gathering by staging a convincing fall during a novena.
- He recognized Sister Marie, greeted Sister Rachel, and offered an escort.
- They invited him to contemplate in the gardens, and he accepted because his thoughts were confused.
On the walk, the Duke explained that he had been raised as a supportive second son rather than an heir.
- His beloved elder brother had suffered an apparent magical collapse involving shaking, golden eyes, smoke, and severe injury.
- Whether this related to the fall of Bastion remained unknown.
At sunset, Emily watched from a bench and waved to the Duchess before standing to assist.
The first ring-placement attempt fumbled and drew the Duke’s attention. Emily applied Essence of the Nymph. The Duchess kissed the Duke, and a was slipped onto his finger during the distraction.
- The ring suppressed the parasite’s control, creating a temporary window; it did not kill or sever the parasite.
- They teleported with him to a sewer circle.
Initially disoriented, the Duke recognized someone he believed dead and reunited with the Duchess.
The group explained that a parasite had manipulated his wife, drawn the family into the Reformist Church, and erased roughly ten years of her memories when removed.
- He remembered parasites being implanted in him and his sons.
- Emily used against the parasite so he could continue speaking.
The Duke explained that cupbearers carried the Divine Masochist’s body and blood: the parasite was the body, and the green liquid was the blood.
Minfilia identified Lady Maribel Veyne as a cupbearer during the source-backed discussion.
The Children of the Crone knowingly cooperated with the Reformist Church despite knowing about the parasites.
The reported relic-bearer offices included:
- Torward, Bearer of the Sword.
- Crispin Mallow, Bearer of the Candle, masquerading as a gardener; the reported office did not establish his highest rank or imply that Mark recognized him.
- Fenwick, Bearer of the Whip.
- Oriana Greymark, Bearer of Fear.
- Sir Bertram Ashwick, Bearer of Pain.
- Tamsyn Reed, Bearer of Sadness.
- Oren Bell, Bearer of Joy.
The Duke learned that his youngest son was still being recovered from the university.
Conflicting memories overwhelmed him, and the Duchess comforted him.
The party also reported that missing marshals had been killed, converted, or harvested, while John had been freed after recognizing something wrong with the Bishop of Surrey and the bishop’s mother.

Five Minutes to Move

The group remained unsure whether the Duke’s ring blocked parasite communication, whether removing the parasite would alert the enemy, and how affected either one.
The Duke demanded a full plan. The party asked for one night to prepare and urged him to continue rallying the peerage while considering the Prince’s strategy.
A detected teleportation threw the castle into confusion.
- Searchers were looking for the Duke.
- The party had about five minutes to move him.
- Emily apologized and was reassured that she had done well despite her nervous mistake.
Minfilia cast on the Duke’s ring for eight hours before the group returned toward the city.
The Duke learned that Mark had held one of the shards before it was taken from him.
- He reported that the Crones had demanded the shards after the Travertine disaster involving Adrian Reineck’s escape, saying they would deal with them.
- A companion argued that the Shield shards were not meant for the Crones and that they would not be able to hold them for long.
Mark struggled between dog and humanoid forms while another companion searched for belongings that could serve as teleportation conduits.
The Duke understood the magical explanations through both independent learning and knowledge available through the parasites. He remained curious and approached magic as a strategic resource; the Reformists had also given him access to Orbs of Endowment.
The Duke led the group by a hidden route with a carefully concealed trapdoor, avoiding the blocked sewer and normal locked passage.
- John carried the sleeping Rebecca down the ladder.
- The Duke removed the mind-shielding ring and gave it to his wife to maintain his public cover.
  - This was a calculated risk: the Duchess retained the ring as a safeguard if the parasite regained control, rather than the Duke remaining continuously shielded.
  - He explained his absence as wild-magic mischief and passed Mark off as his guard dog.
Emily maintained her Sister Rachel cover near the garden. Father Dunweather proposed introducing her to Lady Maribel Veyne; Mark suspected this might be an attempt to implant her with a parasite.
- Emily believed being an elf protected her from implantation. This was her belief, not an established protection.
- Mark used scent to investigate possible infiltrators and a suspicious gardener near the graveyard. The gardener was Crispin Mallow; Mark’s observations did not establish his nature or motives.
John arrived at Minfilia’s location carrying Rebecca. His unfamiliar knock briefly raised concern about an imitator, but the group pointed out that he had never been taught the signal.
John reported Rebecca’s earlier account of Wonderland, including her friend Liana and a whirlpool where a kraken ate ships.
- The group also discussed Liana being a giant and speculated that the whirlpool might be a northern maelstrom; Rebecca’s account did not establish that location.
The group confirmed that an orb-powered teleportation system would continue operating while charged.
Minfilia gave Kelthyr teleportation sigil information so he could take over as the main caster if she died in Thrantorbury.
John’s father still carried his parasite but had been briefed through a ring about the Prince’s situation and an anticipated trap.
Declaring the wild surge controlled, the group activated another circle and requested transport to a teenager in immediate danger.

The University Rescue and the Nothic

The party appeared in Matthew Malthrek’s room, said the Great Erected One had sent them, and reported remotely that they had secured him without revealing details to possible listeners.
They told him to pack for a return to his parents.
- A pen allegedly supplied by John helped support their story.
- They named his parents as Antoinette and Ellington after some uncertainty.
The group judged teleporting away too risky and decided to confront the location’s protector, identified in their discussion as a Baelnorn.
Outside, the university was unnaturally empty and quiet. Smoke obscured sight as a humanoid shadow approached. A voice initially seemed audible but was recognized as psionic communication.
- The exchange included “Dad, is that you?” and banter comparing the voice to George’s, without establishing whose voice the creature was using or whether it was impersonating anyone.
Minfilia cast , detecting Oscar Savoy, a revenant, beside the party and an aberration ahead.
- She handed Matthew a .
pushed aside the smoke and revealed a nonhumanoid aberration resembling creatures previously encountered or imagined in a mapmaker’s drawings.
The aberration continued the exchange, asking about a date, then attacked after receiving assent.
- It resisted but suffered other attacks.
- Its Rotting Gaze had no effect on Minfilia because she was immune to necrotic damage.
- Minfilia killed it with .
Minfilia raised it as an undead nothic and treated it as a new companion.
- The controller could communicate mentally and direct its Weird Insight, but gained no truesight.
Matthew, who was studying maritime cartography at university, showed monsters he had drawn on his maps, believing he had imagined them rather than seen real aberrations.
- The group compared this to Daniel the dreamer, but the resemblance remained unexplained.
The party contacted the Prince. Minfilia cast centered on herself, and its protective area moved with her as the group withdrew.
- The Prince and Stephanie quickly defeated four more aberrations.
- The Prince emerged injured. Minfilia attempted , but the Topaz Sword of Summer’s protection prevented the magical healing.
An unidentified conjurer and abjurer appeared to be maintaining the hostile situation at the library.
- Minfilia used her Beacon of Necromantic Energy to animate dead insects, squirrels, specimens, and a severed arm into undead service.
- Undead termites overwhelmed ants. Minfilia directed the insects against the conjurer, clarifying that the spellcaster—not the library’s books—was their target.
- Fina teleported the conjurer and abjurer outside so Cotto could use fire against them without endangering the library’s books.
Tiphanie recognized Matthew Malthrek and explained that John was under her tutelage.
- Matthew asked whether she was a martial-arts master: John lacked the usual spellcasting markers—yellow eyes and blonde hair—yet Tiphanie had taught him magic using a white Orb of Endowment.
  - By this point, John could cast without the orb. The party had not confirmed why he no longer needed it.
- Tiphanie replied that she was tired but could “show you my martial arts,” prompting a remark about asking a woman wearing a witch hat whether she was a martial artist.
Minfilia sent to Kelthyr, reporting that his brother, Crown Prince Marlion, was secured and that Matthew Malthrek was also secured.
- Kelthyr replied that he had not asked them to secure his brother and told her to pass the information to the others.
After discussion of a large figure collection, Minfilia said she was headed to Garward and asked whether the others would be heading there now too.

Open Hooks

These retained threads distinguish unresolved June 14 questions from later follow-through. Later closures are identified explicitly; a lack of further evidence in the checked sources does not establish that a thread is still unresolved in the present timeline.

Fey bargains and crossings

How the hags anticipated a fourth child in the Duchess’s marriage bargain. Augury or the risk inherent in bargaining may explain it; the mechanism remains open for play, and no control over her pregnancies is established.
Spring Court succession: whom Valdas displaced, why Lord Cals granted her domain and what authority he exercised, and whether Aika’s rumored succession occurred. The names themselves are not unresolved.
Whether and how the Faithful Hags can return to Baba Yaga. Some covens actively seek a way; others have chosen to live out their lives in Senera while remaining faithful to her and aspiring to reunion. Their shared aspiration does not establish a party commitment.
Safe fey crossings and access restrictions, including the danger of opening toward aberrant lands and whether displaced fey may return. Later revelations about the Realm Bridge’s history do not settle these conditions; the crossing chart is a clue, not proof that every route is safe.
The two hexblood spirits’ need for willing keepers. The party declined the offered mantles on June 14, and these vacancies remain open in present play; no later acceptance is established.
The Children of the Crone’s incursions and attempt to control the Thralmal Pools were still ongoing at the close of June 14. Matthew’s later safety closes the immediate rescue objective, not the raids; no later end to these local incursions is established here.
Freeing the frozen hags in Skelwick safely, the Brooch of Winter’s origin and possible relationship to the Ring of Winter, and whether sacrifice strengthened it. The hags remain frozen and the Brooch-Ring relationship unresolved in present play; the sacrifice and destruction theories are not confirmed mechanics.
Permanently ending Justin’s inherited curse, its underlying cause, and the risk of passing it to his children. Temporary sight does not establish a cure, and the suspected infernal origin remains unconfirmed; the curse and inheritance risk are unresolved in present play.

People, family, and care

Why Emily’s limbs cannot be remade despite the poisoning’s effects having been cleared, allowing her to survive. The inability is attributed to the poisoning, but its mechanism remains unexplained; do not imply that active poisoning still needs to be cured.
Whether the Duchess has supplied Lime the promised information about her parents. Her journals and restored memories are possible sources; rescuing her family does not by itself prove this information was delivered. This promise remains an open hook in present play.
The subsequent condition of Lime’s twin with the weaker heartbeat, and whether the golden-apple seeds can produce the fruit she requested. Both remain open in present play; the existence of twins is settled, and the apples are not established as a treatment for the weaker heartbeat.
Rebecca’s Wonderland history, temporal origin, and Hick knowledge, including where the kraken-haunted whirlpool belongs, remain unresolved in present play. The northern-maelstrom identification remains a theory; care offers do not establish a committed placement or an experimentation plot.
Monique’s fate and the consequences of Fagus’s proposed adoption-and-marriage arrangement remain unresolved in present play. Highbury’s rescue and his relationship to Charlotte and Dorothy are later clarified; Monique must not be conflated with the separate younger girl in the Duchess’s recollection.
Whether Fagus caused the death of his wife, Charlotte, remained an unproven allegation in this June 14 discussion. A June 20 briefing later reported his responsibility for her death; this later account does not erase the June 14 knowledge boundary.
Ellington’s remaining memory recovery after parasite removal. The July 11 account records successful extraction, and September 12 describes continued care near Sister Kate. In present play he is fully recovered physically, but his memory recovery is progressing and incomplete.
The cause of Ellington’s elder brother’s apparent magical collapse and any connection to the fall of Bastion. The later restoration of Antoinette’s memories closes the general question of whether memories can be recovered, not this family-history mystery, which remains unknown in present play.

Reformist operations and artifacts

The Orbs’ deeper purpose and undiscovered limits. Only discovered effects are known; observed charging, protection, and the Orb of Absorption’s later use in parasite extraction are settled. The adjacent Eastonton undead and resurrection discussion does not establish an Orb connection, and a proposed wearable harness is not a committed project.
The parasite network’s creators and command structure, the experimental farm and incubation process, and the wider operation behind the missing marshals. Most table discussion of the broader operation remains speculation; discovered effects and reported clues do not establish its origins, leadership, or ultimate objective.
How the Kurerans reached Thera, separately from the documented Realm Bridge diaspora. Their route and ultimate origin remain unexplained. Emily’s identification of Minfilia’s illustrations informs the party’s gnome comparison; further proof of that comparison is not a separate mission.
Marlion’s planned Peerage reveal was pending at the June 14 cutoff. In the most recent play, Marlion and his companions remain stuck in the time loop, while the Malthreks have recovered from their Reformism and did not invoke a Peerage meeting. Do not treat the proposed reveal as performed or assume that a meeting remains scheduled.
The contents and significance of the specific Travertine-office document Lime gave Henson, including whether it contributed to recovering the Duchess’s journal cipher. This was open on June 14 and remains unresolved as of this review; later decoded journals do not establish this particular document’s contents or contribution.
The original Emerald Shield bargain and its connection to the Green Lord and seasonal fertility. Shield of Oberon and Emerald Shield of Spring name the same artifact; Oren’s apparent elven nature does not prove the party’s avatar speculation. The bargain and fertility connection remain unsettled in present play.
Recovery of Mark’s confiscated shard, which was with the Reformists at the June 14 cutoff and remains with them in present play. The Duke’s report of the Crones demanding custody concerned Shield shards, not separate emerald weapons. A companion’s claim that the Crones could not hold them for long does not establish their recovery.

Castle witnesses and Thrantorbury

The unnamed captive’s subsequent disposition remains unknown. He was alive and unresponsive when the party decided to bring him back on June 14; this remains an optional loose end, not an established continuing threat or an assigned care mission.
Marjean’s knowledge of events at the site ten years earlier. His anticipated disclosure was unfinished on June 14 and has not been revisited in subsequent play; it remains an optional lead rather than an active commitment.
Garward’s continuing operation and Madeline’s safety. The established retcon identifies the reported captive as Madeline, his later ex-wife and Nandor’s mother; Maude, his first wife, remains deceased. The July 12 dialogue repeats the abuse report without establishing a rescue; its separate reference to Boyle’s “Ma” caring for his nephews is not evidence of Madeline’s return.
The Thrantorbury crisis: the altered refuge and the university’s hostile, unnaturally quiet conditions are manifestations of the same phenomenon, though conditions remain different until they are disconnected from the outside. Later accounts identify the repeating time loop and report the abjurer’s involvement; escape and the sustaining mechanism remain unresolved. The Baelnorn identification, nothic encounter, and displacement of the conjurer and abjurer are settled.
Matthew’s maps: the deep-purple circle near Bastion and Mastroen, and why his imagined monsters resembled real aberrations. These remain mysteries available for possible future exploration, not a required investigation or a promised development. Matthew was the maritime-cartography student and mapmaker; the comparison with Daniel the dreamer remains unconfirmed.

Boundaries

Yielding is a confirmed hag defensive feature: once per long rest, a hag can use her reaction to shield herself with life energy, preventing physical or magical damage being dealt to her while reducing her hit points to 1. This clarification does not establish sacrifice as the Brooch of Winter’s power source or the cause of the hags’ freezing.
Angel Rannek’s celestial blood provided a workaround to the Duchess’s hag blood-binding, without magically bound repercussions. The hags could choose their own response afterward, but took no apparent offence in this instance. Do not invent automatic magical penalties or an outstanding grievance from this breach, or generalize the workaround to every bargain.
Emily’s belief that being an elf prevents parasite implantation is not a protection: elves can be implanted with these aberrant parasites. Do not imply that the scene established her immunity or that she had recognized her mistake.
Do not expose player names, account identities, private speaker labels, or player-to-character mappings.
Keep uncertain character attribution explicit; do not convert probable or unresolved speakers into confirmed identities.
Do not turn family relationships belonging to players into character canon.
Treat uncertain names, locations, titles, creature identities, and causal explanations as unresolved until verified from canonical sources.
Preserve the game-relevant meaning of sensitive scenes without graphic sexual detail or unsupported identity attribution.
Do not treat jokes, table speculation, rumors, accusations, or proposed tactics as confirmed events.
Keep the theory that John’s apprenticeship to Tiphanie grants access to a well of magic unconfirmed in-game; his ability to cast does not mean the party has established its cause.
Do not treat the Great Erected One’s divinity, Jessica’s identity as Minerva, or Baron Highbury’s alleged crimes as established fact.
Do not assume every private bargain, inferred pregnancy outcome, suspected transformation, or disputed adoption occurred merely because it was discussed.
Do not infer a spell or item identity when the supplied evidence does not securely establish its canonical name and source.
Retain caller-owned provenance and review metadata outside this model-generated payload.