The Vengeful Notes 2026-08-29
Arrival in Maiden’s Port
Section titled “Arrival in Maiden’s Port”- Angel used an item formerly belonging to her sister
Laudine Maidenfeld née Rannek as a teleportation anchor.
- Angel, Gwyniviere, and their companions arrived in Laudine’s cramped rented wooden apartment in Maiden’s Port rather than the larger residence Angel remembered.
- An Arcana check found distant magic but none inside the apartment.
- Laudine explained that the quarters stood near the atelier and closer to Maiden’s Field than Rannek, although the field remained about a day’s travel away; the group had followed the advice of Angel’s mother, Marchioness Maria Rannek, to use Laudine’s home while attempting to rescue Father.
- Laudine’s estate still existed, but destroyed weirs and sluice gates had flooded it and forced the household to relocate.
- Lance was believed to be with Father, although days without contact left reports of his capture
or disappearance unconfirmed.
- Barges could not approach, but Laudine thought her husband Robert at the Maiden’s Field Spice Company might secure passage.
- The family rejected teleporting directly to Father because a powerful enemy caster opposed them.
- They discussed house keys as possible teleportation anchors and explained that Angel and her sister had arrived with hired mercenaries after Father, Lance, and their forces were defeated by an enemy they did not yet understand.
- Angel presented a Purple Dragon royal seal, said she served the Crown Prince, and had Gwyniviere
attest that he gave it to her.
- Recent events made Angel’s previously dismissed stories credible.
- Maria was with Duchess Malthrek, and Angel named Master Kelthyr Kulok as her tutor and Hicklander connection.
- After Robert’s changeling warning, Laudine tested Angel with a birthday question.
- Angel explained that operational security had kept Laudine uninformed about her deputization and argued that, despite being eleven, her magic, Maria’s authorization, and her determination to save Father and Lance justified her role.
- Gwyniviere reminded Laudine that Angel had hired the mercenaries, Maria had vouched for them,
Tyrion Donmar had become marshal, and Sir Brastok assisted Angel.
- Laudine offered to ask Robert about reinforcing Angel’s roughly twenty-person force.
- Teleportation was scarce, while Maidenfeld spellcasters might possess better intelligence.
- They blamed the Maidenfeld family’s treatment of farmers and employees for creating the
Hicklander uprising and an opening for Reformist infiltration.
- Angel said the Crown Prince alone grasped the full threat and was conducting parallel work in Chantaburi with other friends.
- Angel’s group had recently captured Reformist parasites and extracted them from hosts, with Gwyniviere participating.
- To avoid alarming Maiden’s Port, they approached the Spice Company with only Bertram Dorand, who introduced himself as leader of the Lord’s Judgment, and three other mercenaries.
- Gwyniviere underwent an identity check using the remembered perfume name Angel’s Breath and a
drawing request.
- The party said Gwyniviere had been copied and that her duplicate traveled to a military base with a copy of Mark.
- The family also discussed Pallia Travertine, a literal hag captured by another hag with a
different appearance.
- They inferred that the Travertines had made a bargain when Pallia was younger and said her proposed marriage to Luke Malthrek had failed.
- Luke had instead married Katalin Helsinki (Kate), a Tanduarian. After Tiphanie killed Pallia, the Crown Prince arranged Kate’s adoption into a cadet branch of House Dragonheart so she could marry Luke.
- The party then departed with four mercenaries in noble-guard formation.
- The buildings of Maiden’s Port appeared generally newer than Port Mibram’s, though Port Mibram had newer Admiralty and harbor construction beside older slums.
The Maidenfeld Spice Company
Section titled “The Maidenfeld Spice Company”- Maiden’s Port proved to be a fashionable and wealthy chartered city where the Maidenfelds
resupplied and unloaded trade goods, although unrest had emptied the streets and frightened
residents.
- Its harbor accommodated galley-sized ships larger than ordinary Port Mibram traffic, where similar vessels were mainly military and civilian trade tended toward Port-Sera-by-Malterdale.
- The Maidenfeld fleet visibly exceeded all other trader organizations’ fleets combined in size and maintenance.
- The party reached the distinctive brick-and-stone Maidenfeld Spice Company near the harbor,
surrounded by cedarwood and thriving herbs.
- Two guards stood openly outside, while Sir Brastok detected four more concealed through the mental connection.
- Laudine whispered to a guard and gained entry.
- The broad-windowed lobby received green-tinted light from courtyard plants.
- A receptionist addressed the escort as Lady Laudine, and she led the party onward despite a man’s weak objection.
- She showed them a door or lift-like installation built into a marble-sided pillar and
commissioned from spellcasters.
- Laudine operated its crude, noisy mechanical lift, moving from L for lobby to the fourth floor.
- The device imitated more advanced technology linked to ruins and Eastonton; Minfilia had said Eastonton’s systems needed no levers.
- The group fondly remembered Minfilia and discussed skeletons associated with her that had apparently been left in the Travertines.
- Laudine guided them through Accounts, past employees who called her Lady Laudine, and into Robert
Maidenfeld’s office.
- Robert recognized Lady Gwyniviere and Lady Angel and told Angel that her elder sister was preparing an extravagant birthday present.
- Laudine intended to advertise her products at the celebration, while Lord Brandon Malterdale had offered catering and a large cake.
- Brandon was called the family’s youngest son despite contradictory statements about his birth order.
- Members of the Malterdale family had aided the party’s first investigations into the Reformist
Church.
- Those present agreed that the Reformists were evil and damaging to trade, but openly opposing them could obstruct travel.
- They therefore concealed their knowledge and resistance and accepted temporary compromise despite some desire for open defiance.
Warnings in Robert Maidenfeld’s Office
Section titled “Warnings in Robert Maidenfeld’s Office”- The office discussion began with an argument that high-seas apostates should be barred from Senera and that the Orthodox Authority or Paladinate should intervene.
- Angel rejected Laudine’s attempt at maternal authority and returned the conversation to
Father and Reformist infiltration of both Hicklanders and Maidenfelds.
- She displayed her Crown Prince’s seal, which Hilis Brastok authenticated with a loupe.
- When Robert objected that the prince’s side had sent an eleven-year-old, Angel answered that she was serving her father and the Rannek Marches, not the Maidenfelds specifically.
- The Maidenfelds claimed routine safeguards against Face-Stealers, changelings, golems, and other magical intruders, but learned that simulacrums might bypass those protections and that outside intelligence indicated the Reformists possessed them, a fact unknown to the Crown Prince and most of Senera.
- Sir Garward was identified as a Reformist in the Eastonton Paladinate.
- Eastonton had been cleared with Miya’s help and still held allied forces; Castle Malthrek had likewise been cleared and yielded senior Reformist prisoners.
- The Bishop of Surrey, rather than Rannek’s bishop, had reportedly been controlled for a long period.
- The Maidenfelds knew a marshal had vanished and had heard of mass killings in Port Surrey and Tidemont without knowing their cause.
- The visitors described the Hicklanders fighting them as victims provoked and manipulated by
Reformists.
- Infiltrators within the Maidenfeld organization might not belong to its main body, and visual markers such as piercings were unreliable.
- Henson Eastonton lacked the usual piercings but was identified as a Reformist intelligence spy.
- Minfilia had explained that Henson could remove selected knowledge from his mind and store it in a bottle with a technique resembling Encode ThoughtsCantrip · Enchantment1 action · Self · 8 hourSPutting a finger to your head, you pull a memory, an idea, or a message from your mind and transform it into a tangible string of glowing energy called a thought strand, which persists for the duration or until you cast this spell again. The thought strand appears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you as a Tiny, weightless, semisolid object that can be held and carried like a ribbon. It is otherwise stationary. If you cast this spell while concentration on a spell or an ability that allows you to read or manipulate the thoughts of others (such as detect thoughts or modify memory), you can transform the thoughts or memories you read, rather than your own, into a thought strand. Casting this spell while holding a thought strand allows you to instantly receive whatever memory, idea, or message the thought strand contains. (Casting detect thoughts on the strand has the same effect.).
- Reformist ranks were described as a vested division of the Orthodox hierarchy, and a high-ranking
member had captured Father and other Rannek household members.
- A Locate CreatureLevel 4 · Divination1 action · Self · 1 hourV, S, M (a bit of fur from a bloodhound)Describe or name a creature that is familiar to you. You sense the direction to the creature's location, as long as that creature is within 1,000 feet of you. If the creature is moving, you know the direction of its movement. The spell can locate a specific creature known to you, or the nearest creature of a specific kind (such as a human or a unicorn), so long as you have seen such a creature up close—within 30 feet—at least once. If the creature you described or named is in a different form, such as being under the effects of a polymorph spell, this spell doesn't locate the creature. This spell can't locate a creature if running water at least 10 feet wide blocks a direct path between you and the creature. inquiry showed Father imprisoned and beaten beside a court wizard and other captives by a monster.
- Castle Rannek had been assaulted, many defenders killed or converted into monstrosities, and only hired mercenaries remained to accompany the response.
- Lance had deployed in answer to a request sent by Father himself.
- Hellion Blanchimontt, an eladrin from the Feywild
associated with Minfilia, was expected near Maiden’s Field about half a day away.
- Robert doubted that travel to and from the Feywild was possible; this expressed his disbelief, not a correction of Hellion’s origin.
- Senera’s past connections with the Feywild remain restricted for reasons not yet established.
- The discussion speculated that an agreement restricted mentioning elves except when necessary, potentially explaining why Laudine had not been informed; no such agreement was established.
- Angel called the Realm Bridge the “Rainbow Connection”: the ancient crossing that brought Feywild refugees to Senera during the Draco-Giant War.
- Angel identified Sapphire as a celestial like herself, and Hellion intended to report whether outside fey were present despite objections to sharing that information with the Maidenfelds.
- The Baron asserted that aberrations should be blocked by the veil around Senera, yet they were
able to pass for reasons not established. Reformists themselves are not magically barred.
- The same veil blocks fey travel into and out of Senera.
- The discussion associated those protections with shards of the Emerald Shield of Spring sought by the enemy.
- The shield has seven shards. Angel had held two and entrusted one to Hellion for safekeeping, leaving one with each of them.
- The PCs know the Reformists possess at least two shards, including the one taken from Mark Malthrek. Their exact total and the whereabouts of the remaining shards are unknown to the PCs.
- The Ring of WinterR G| D M G · Artifact · requires attunement1 lb.Artus Cimber has kept this item in his possession for over a century. The Ring of Winter is a golden band that resizes to fit snugly on the finger of its wearer. A thin layer of frost coats the outside of the ring, which normal heat can't melt. The ring feels ice cold to the touch and initially numbs the hand that wears it, but this cold ceases to be felt by one who is attuned to this ring. The Ring of Winter is sentient and tries to take control of any creature that wears it (see "Sentient Magic Items" chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master's Guide). If it succeeds, the ring compels its wearer to cause undue harm to everyone and everything around it, in a cold-hearted attempt to incur the wrath of enemies and bring the wearer's doom. The Ring of Winter is a sentient chaotic evil item with an Intelligence of 14, a Wisdom of 14, and a Charisma of 17. The ring communicates by transmitting emotion to the creature carrying or wielding it, and it has hearing and normal vision out to a range of 60 feet. The ring craves destruction, and it likes inflicting indiscriminate harm on others. The Ring of Winter defies attempts to magically locate it. Neither the ring nor its wearer can be targeted by… was said to be in Skelwick and distinct from those shards.
The Revolt, the Spice Trade, and Crispin Mallow
Section titled “The Revolt, the Spice Trade, and Crispin Mallow”- The parties disputed the roots of the Hicklander revolt.
- One side blamed low wages and excessive Maidenfield labor demands, while the nobles argued that worker cooperatives negotiated and distributed wages according to computed values.
- The nobles believed anti-royal and anti-nobility agents were inflaming discontent, leading the group to conclude that Reformists could have infiltrated both cooperatives and Hicklanders.
- The Reformists allegedly supplied Faltir-linked explosives by transmuting salt into black
powder, an explanation supported by nonmagical destruction of weirs and sluice gates.
- A captured submarine containing black powder had been reported lost six months earlier, around the time local explosives appeared, suggesting that Maiden’s Field itself had been infiltrated.
- Crispin Mallow was identified as an enemy necromancer who posed as a gardener, had recently been
hired by the household, and carried instructions granting access before its withdrawal.
- Normal safeguards against Face-Stealers and changelings had failed to stop him.
- He mutilated people by switching legs and combining limbs, muscles, organs, and other living parts into unwilling amalgamations.
- Stacy Cartwright, identified here as the Maltreks’ court wizard, had been captured and fused with dragon anatomy.
- Forty-eight castle employees were feared missing and possibly used in Mallow’s work, although only two creatures containing parts from roughly five bodies each were confirmed.
- Angel remained focused on rescuing her increasingly thin father, Uther, seen beside a court wizard and Sandor, while Hellion was suggested as a better adviser on mature operational decisions.
- The party directly warned Robert that Mallow hated Maiden’s Field, intended to destroy the
Maidenfeld family, and still possessed access to Laudine’s home after she knowingly hired him as
guardian.
- Angel and Gwyniviere had teleported to Laudine’s residence in Maiden’s Port, while Robert and the mounted travelers were near Maiden’s Field’s opposite end, roughly two days away by horse.
- Mr. Bell’s augmentation accelerated the horses, but the riders planned an hour-long break for water, grass, and restoration.
- Robert resolved to alert the Baron and other Maidenfeld relatives.
- The group concluded that destroying Maiden’s Field would also let the Reformists seize the spice
trade.
- They were using the Fructarian Guild, whose authorized trade covered limited goods and imported exotic produce such as mangoes and pomelos but not Maiden’s Field herbs and spices.
- Fructarian produce carried parasite eggs.
- Hicklanders had discovered how to kill the eggs, but their regional groups were not unified;
known groups operated in Bramsgate, the Narrows, Port Surrey, the Maltreks, and Rannek.
- Maltrek Hicklanders had helped retake Castle Malthrek from the Reformist Church, while Reformists were infiltrating Rannek’s Hicklanders and supplying gunpowder.
- The party cited a captured Hicklander Reformist in Malterdale, questioned by the court wizard, as evidence of that manipulation.
Searching for the Leak and Calling Reinforcements
Section titled “Searching for the Leak and Calling Reinforcements”- The group judged the revolt more complicated than a simple response to mistreatment and suspected
an unknown provocation aided by Reformist spies.
- They had investigated likely leak points, including every employee at Laudine’s atelier, without finding the source.
- NondetectionLevel 3 · Abjuration1 action · Touch · 8 hourV, S, MFor the duration, you hide a target that you touch from divination magic. The target can be a willing creature or a place or an object no larger than 10 feet in any dimension. The target can't be targeted by any divination magic or perceived through magical scrying sensors. magic and an alliance with hags called children of the crones were proposed as explanations.
- Robert argued that the Children of the Crone could not enter or approach unless they had somehow taken control of the Baron; the precise person or place protected remained unclear. Asked to explain, he said he could not and believed the reason for his refusal was understood. His refusal was relayed to Hellion.
- The party proposed passing the intelligence through Sapphire to Master Kelthyr Kulok, whom
Sapphire had briefly encountered during the teleportation to Castle Malthrek.
- They hoped Mallow did not know they could teleport and that this would give them an advantage.
- Robert had taken Laudine with him, leaving Laudine safe, but her staff remained endangered.
- Sister Pira had said victims could be restored, with Stacy and Katalin Helsinki (Kate) cited as precedents and Kate now helping others.
- The immediate goals were to help Leland recover, rescue Father, and warn the Baron, who was imagined as a slimmer version of Robert, at least about twenty years older; Robert was one of his younger sons.
- During an hour-long wait, the group ordered tea, chamomile, and roughly ten plates of flan.
- A communication stone could reach Maria Rannek, who possessed its counterpart.
- Emily’s runes let non-spellcasters use specific spells: IdentifyLevel 1 · Divination1 minute · Touch · InstantaneousV, S, MYou choose one object that you must touch throughout the casting of the spell. If it is a magic item or some other magic-imbued object, you learn its properties and how to use them, whether it requires attunement to use, and how many charges it has, if any. You learn whether any spells are affecting the item and what they are. If the item was created by a spell, you learn which spell created it. If you instead touch a creature throughout the casting, you learn what spells, if any, are currently affecting it., Detect MagicLevel 1 · Divination1 action · Self · 10 minuteV, SFor the duration, you sense the presence of magic within 30 feet of you. If you sense magic in this way, you can use your action to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any. The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt., and PrestidigitationCantrip · Transmutation1 action · 10 ft. · 1 hourV, SThis spell is a minor magical trick that novice spellcasters use for practice. You create one of the following magical effects within range: You create an instantaneous, harmless sensory effect, such as a shower of sparks, a puff of wind, faint musical notes, or an odd odor. You instantaneously light or snuff out a candle, a torch, or a small campfire. You instantaneously clean or soil an object no larger than 1 cubic foot. You chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 cubic foot of nonliving material for 1 hour. You make a color, a small mark, or a symbol appear on an object or a surface for 1 hour. You create a nonmagical trinket or an illusory image that can fit in your hand and that lasts until the end of your next turn. If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have up to three of its non-instantaneous effects active at a time, and you can dismiss such an effect as an action. each had their own rune, separate from her Rune of Sending for communication.
- Her Rune of Sending allowed ongoing speech, unlike ordinary Sending StonesUncommonSending stones come in pairs, with each smooth stone carved to match the other so the pairing is easily recognized. While you touch one stone, you can use an action to cast the sending spell from it. The target is the bearer of the other stone. If no creature bears the other stone, you know that fact as soon as you use the stone and don't cast the spell. Once sending is cast through the stones, they can't be used again until the next dawn. If one of the stones in a pair is destroyed, the other one becomes nonmagical. that drained and required about an hour to recover.
- The party wanted additional runes, and Eevee suggested winning Mark’s favor first.
- Gwyniviere planned to become a full-time artist; Laudine proposed employing her for an
advertising campaign supporting Laudine’s upcoming cosmetics and perfume line.
- Gwyniviere worked for a publication and raised a possible collaboration with that employer, but the crisis deferred it.
- Laudine quietly contacted Marchioness Maria Rannek through the device.
- The players considered a short rest but continued, noting that a fourth-level spell slot had been recovered.
Tea, Family Codes, and a Stitched Infiltrator
Section titled “Tea, Family Codes, and a Stitched Infiltrator”- A servant poured tea while Laudine spoke with Maria and announced that another servant would bring the flan shortly.
- An unnamed former employee of Laudine’s Atelier greeted Angel. Her talent with numbers had led
to a recommendation for work in the Maidenfelds’ Accounts department.
- They also discussed Laudine’s forthcoming cosmetics for young faces.
- Gwyniviere relayed Hellion’s teaching that everyone could use magic, a truth supposedly
clearer in the Feywild, while an unidentified inhibition or conditioning kept people here from
using it safely or knowingly.
- Hellion was described as a handsome male eladrin who inspired powerful attraction.
- Gwyniviere said that she and Angel were relatively resistant to Hellion’s appeal, but women, servants, and even a stable boy had pursued him or arranged physical contact.
- Sapphire was offered as further proof that the Feywild stories were real.
- The visiting woman thanked Lady Angel and Lady Gwyniviere for tea, offered further aid from
outside, bowed, and departed.
- Laudine then wiped her eyes, composed herself, drank tea, and prepared to speak.
- The group said Maria Rannek was doing well and had been comforted by Sister Katalin Helsinki and the Duke and Duchess Malthrek.
- Laudine discussed the new marshal and the codes requiring revision with Gwyniviere.
- Gwyniviere did not know the codes despite being considered old enough and argued that ignorance had protected them when enemies copied her face and a parasite discombobulated Mark Malthrek.
- She refused to learn the replacement codes and said she would deliberately forget them, maintaining this was possible even when told she could not forget anything.
- Angel played a peaceful harp melody for the woman addressed as Laudine, soothing the room and supporting the short rest.
- When flan arrived, Angel made a Perception check totaling twenty-one and noticed that the
Maidenfeld servant carrying it had incorrectly switched feet or legs.
- Mallow had attached her replacement legs; their original source was unknown.
- Angel alerted Sir Brastok, who restrained her.
- The switched legs matched Mallow’s signature, and CommandLevel 1 · Enchantment1 action · 60 ft. · 1 roundVYou speak a one-word command to a creature you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or follow the command on its next turn. The spell has no effect if the target is undead, if it doesn't understand your language, or if your command is directly harmful to it. Some typical commands and their effects follow. You might issue a command other than one described here. If you do so, the DM determines how the target behaves. If the target can't follow your command, the spell ends. The target moves toward you by the shortest and most direct route, ending its turn if it moves within 5 feet of you. The target drops whatever it is holding and then ends its turn. The target spends its turn moving away from you by the fastest available means. The target falls prone and then ends its turn. The target doesn't move and takes no actions. A flying creature stays aloft, provided that it is able to do so. If it must move to stay aloft, it flies the minimum distance needed to remain in the air. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, you can affect one additional creature for each slot level above 1st. The creatures must be within 30 feet of … subdued the apparently weak-willed woman.
- No magic was initially detected on her, suggesting the alteration may have helped her bypass the building’s wards.
- During the examination with a Lantern of RevealingUncommon2 lb.While lit, this hooded lantern burns for 6 hours on 1 pint of oil, shedding bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet. Invisible creatures and objects are visible as long as they are in the lantern's bright light. You can use an action to lower the hood, reducing the light to dim light in a 5-foot radius., the Orb of Endowment dimmed without losing its glow completely, and the woman proved not to be a changeling.
- Stitches covered her switched legs, recalling the Duke’s report that Mallow altered bodies with a magical needle and ordinary thread.
Mallow’s Biomancy and the Rescue Debate
Section titled “Mallow’s Biomancy and the Rescue Debate”- The party characterized Mallow’s work as a disfavored Feywild necromancy resembling biomancy,
joining still-living parts from different creatures.
- The restrained woman remained alive despite mismatched replacement legs.
- Cure WoundsLevel 1 · Evocation1 action · Touch · InstantaneousV, SA creature you touch regains a number of hit points equal to 1d8 + your spellcasting ability modifier. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the healing increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 1st. could stop Mallow’s stitched creatures; the party had
encountered them while fighting Stacy, whose body Gwyniviere and Sister Pira later carried to
a healing pool.
- Earlier discussions distinguished victims transformed into monstrosities from ordinary Face-Stealers, who are not harmed by healing magic. The precise limits remain unresolved.
- Eevee warned that Mallow could oppose an army with constructed creatures.
- Many changelings and rare Face-Stealers under his command were coerced through captive relatives instead of serving willingly, and he did not seem to exploit their ordinary abilities.
- Hellion was reportedly near Maiden’s Field’s western edge and able to teleport to one participant.
- The group considered asking him to contact the Baron.
- Angel had only one teleportation available.
- Eevee insisted on going to the keep to rescue her father, but others urged waiting for her brother’s intelligence about the Reformists’ naval campaign.
- Mallow could track and command his puppets and notice failures to respond, although he apparently
could not share their senses or thoughts.
- Suspected agents carried information around Maiden’s Port and Castle Rannek, so the party considered secretly taking only one or two before locating Mallow.
- A previous glimpse through a puppet’s mind had shown Mallow with one speaker’s father in a cage complex containing court wizards and Sandor, though what he was doing to Father remained unclear.
- Robert wished he had inherited yellow eyes and was reassured that the Reformists manipulated
nobles through power, wealth, and family influence.
- The Reformists abducted children and spellcasters, harvested magically significant livers, and promised those organs to nobles as sources of magic.
- Viscount Travertine bought a liver for transfer after a wedding, a duchess confessed to abductions, and the Reformists also used parasites and green liquids to transform people into aberrations.
The Wider Reformist Network
Section titled “The Wider Reformist Network”- The green liquid turned victims into aberrations and was suppressed at Maidenfeld-aligned ports; Reformists reportedly used the associated process for ascension.
- Angel and Sir Brastok had met Minfilia, a wanted disciple of the Great Erected One, distinct from Emily and another woman associated with red books.
- Angel identified the three celestials in Senera as herself, Sapphire, and Jessica, and reported
that Deathengel’s final words named
Souveran Rothchild an arch-lich and every Isana
Walburton a simulacrum.
- Deathengel’s replacement was Avis Savoy, whom he had trained following earlier events.
- Isana was described as the Reformist bishop in Sanery.
- Eastonton had been their first Seneran stronghold, where parasites converted paladins before
those paladins were deployed elsewhere.
- Sir Malmann had been infected, but Sister Pira accidentally cured his parasite while treating him when he needed healing at a well.
- Garward was also accused of abusing his wife.
- Angel’s friends were associated with the Crown Princess, while Minfilia served the Crown Prince.
- A borrowed Sending Rune arranged teleportation, and Robert introduced Steven Maidenfeld, his
older, yellow-eyed, bearded, spellcasting brother.
- Steven had met Gwyniviere before, last saw Angel when she was around two, and recognized her celestial nature.
- The Maidenfelds had once used an Apgarian black-market route into Sanery but no longer knew a safe
path.
- Heavy Eastonton levies had redirected their commerce through Port Surrey and river routes.
- The brothers asked what aid Angel needed and whether Reformists were exploiting Hicklander unrest.
- Angel confirmed the Hicklanders were being used and identified the wanted Kelthyr Kulok as her friend, master, and magical tutor; she had been offered one thousand gold pieces to deliver him to a military base.
- Submarines supplied Hicklanders with black powder manufactured at Faltir by using a Gauntlet of Elemental Transmutationwondrous item · Legendary · requires attunementThis gauntlet converts matter with blunt, practical certainty, making it as valuable to miners and engineers as to alchemists or saboteurs. The gauntlet has 5 charges and regains all expended charges daily at dawn. While wearing the gauntlet, you can use an action and expend 1 charge to touch up to 5 pounds of solid material and transform it into 4 pounds of another solid material you choose. The transformed material is mundane unless the DM decides the chosen material is inherently magical or otherwise impossible for the gauntlet to create. The gauntlet can produce granular or powdered solids such as gunpowder. to change salt.
- The powder appeared intended for infrastructure attacks and endangered trade across a wider part of Senera.
- Allied teleportation circles existed in Eastonton, the Travertines, Castle Malthrek, and Maiden’s
Field Keep; the current settlement’s secret circle was not permanent.
- A local representative tried to reach Hellion through a rune.
- Steven wanted to speak with the remote riders, but they planned to move before teleporting so the magical disturbance would not expose them.
- They were about a normal day’s travel from the keep or only several hours away under Mr. Bell’s magic.
- New intelligence produced an urgent command for Oran to teleport out and a plan to go to Castle Rannek because an unidentified target had been found through Mallow.
Revised Strategy and the Hag’s Summoning
Section titled “Revised Strategy and the Hag’s Summoning”- The coalition inferred that Mallow might travel by Tree StrideLevel 5 · Conjuration1 action · Self · 1 minuteV, SYou gain the ability to enter a tree and move from inside it to inside another tree of the same kind within 500 feet. Both trees must be living and at least the same size as you. You must use 5 feet of movement to enter a tree. You instantly know the location of all other trees of the same kind within 500 feet and, as part of the move used to enter the tree, can either pass into one of those trees or step out of the tree you're in. You appear in a spot of your choice within 5 feet of the destination tree, using another 5 feet of movement. If you have no movement left, you appear within 5 feet of the tree you entered. You can use this transportation ability once per round for the duration. You must end each turn outside a tree. because he lacked teleportation without captive or employed spellcasters.
- They favored reinforcing Castle Rannek and serving as bait so Angel could find Father.
- Their larger force comprised twenty mercenaries, Angel, Hilis Brastok, Gwyniviere, Laudine, Robert, and Steven, though they considered dispatching a faster smaller party to Maidenfeld Keep with Erik Malmann because he was useful against aberrations and hags.
- The travelers believed hags could enter their current location but probably not Maiden’s Field, perhaps because of an old fey compact involving its ruling bloodline.
- After Malmann used Divine Sense, a character spilled blood into a stream, offered a bargain to a
hag, and repeated a remembered Feywild song seven times after rolling nineteen Charisma.
- Silt formed a vortex in the water, and a hag emerged.
Negotiating with the River Hag
Section titled “Negotiating with the River Hag”- An Insight result of twenty-five exposed the apparently human young woman as a hag concealed by glamour; the observer’s innate sensitivity pierced the disguise.
- An unidentified eladrin offered her a potion in exchange for answers, and she accepted it as
payment for one response.
- She explained that a nearby cave had flooded again because elementals were destroying sluice gates installed jointly by the Ranneks and Maiden’s Field.
- The eladrin then offered a Ring of ProtectionR G| D M G · Rare · requires attunementBonus AC +1You gain a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws while wearing this ring..
- She joked that local proposals usually used chokers and asked whether he was proposing marriage.
- He offered to show her the Feywild if she provided a safe meeting place for him and his companions.
- She doubted his ability, reasoning that she and her associates would already have returned if return were possible.
- After an eighteen Charisma result, he intensified his flirtation and identified himself as an
eladrin.
- The hag answered that the figure she called “Mother” had taught her none of his kind should be here.
- He demonstrated seasonal fey magic, changing from warm green, grasslike Spring traits to bright-yellow Summer, then autumnal features, and finally a solemn Winter aspect with silver-white hair, silver-blue eyes, and an aura of cold.
- He requested sanctuary and then offered his firstborn in exchange for an active alliance.
- The unfinished clause apparently required him to relinquish his firstborn to the hags.
- The bargain would endure planar travel and death, while conception was required to be consensual and uncoerced.
- A negotiating party warned that older bargains took priority and that this deal would be off if the hags were already allied with the eladrin’s enemies.
- He named the Reformist Church, its allies, and the Children of the Crone as enemies.
- He also said he had brought a hag loyal to Baba Yaga from Murkendraw who was searching for hags lost during the Draco-Giant War, although he did not know her exact origins.
The Riverside Alliance
Section titled “The Riverside Alliance”- The three local negotiators accepted an alliance against the Reformists and those of the Crone.
- The compact granted sanctuary, protection, and permission to establish a settlement within a
circle extending two hundred feet from the specified point on the riverbank.
- Protection extended to people owing allegiance to the protected party while they remained inside that area, not unconditionally to everyone entering it.
- The Reformists were tentatively compared to changelings or doppelgangers who assumed appearances, twisted words, and could replace people or their children.
- The compact granted sanctuary, protection, and permission to establish a settlement within a
circle extending two hundred feet from the specified point on the riverbank.
- The party showed the hag a fragment of the Heart of the Urdefolcin and explained that Crispin
Mallow used such material in experiments and for Tree StrideLevel 5 · Conjuration1 action · Self · 1 minuteV, SYou gain the ability to enter a tree and move from inside it to inside another tree of the same kind within 500 feet. Both trees must be living and at least the same size as you. You must use 5 feet of movement to enter a tree. You instantly know the location of all other trees of the same kind within 500 feet and, as part of the move used to enter the tree, can either pass into one of those trees or step out of the tree you're in. You appear in a spot of your choice within 5 feet of the destination tree, using another 5 feet of movement. If you have no movement left, you appear within 5 feet of the tree you entered. You can use this transportation ability once per round for the duration. You must end each turn outside a tree..
- They suspected he had bargained with one of the crones, declared their intention to kill him, and received the hag’s acceptance.
- Afterward, an unidentified character returned to Malmann, who confirmed he had sensed the hags,
and they prepared to leave together.
- Someone urged the paladin to practice Divine Sense against celestials, aberrations, hags, and other unfamiliar creatures; he admitted he had previously used it mainly against undead.
- At the table, Malygos was described as a dragon turtle associated with monks and a monastic
tradition rather than shrines or churches.
- The fey creatures who still remember Malygos think of them as the Archfey of Magic; that is their understanding, not a definitive account of Malygos’s true nature.
Open Hooks
Section titled “Open Hooks”- Maiden’s Port arrival:
- Robert’s ability to secure passage; the opposing caster; the Crown Prince’s parallel operation.
- The Merlin-like name and uncertain Tagalog phrase.
- Gwyniviere’s drawing test; the unfinished comparison between Maiden’s Port and Port Mibram.
- Maidenfeld-company discussion:
- The atelier’s name; the magical installation’s operation; the lift’s cultural inspiration; Minfilia’s skeletons.
- Brandon Malterdale’s family order; many speaker identities; the person who knew about changelings; an isolated name after Castle Malthrek’s clearance; the cut-off statement about marshals; the unidentified captive.
- Whether an agreement restricts disclosure about elves, and what its terms might be.
- Why aberrations can pass the veil around Senera despite its intended restriction.
- The Reformists’ exact shard total beyond the two known to the PCs; the source of their pre-Mark shard; the whereabouts of the remaining Emerald Shield of Spring shards.
- Mallow’s intended household residence; the fate of the remaining missing castle employees.
- The wait and infiltration:
- Whether the travelers can arrive before Mallow acts; which Hicklander groups knowingly cooperate with Reformists; the complete Malterdale prisoner’s account.
- Why the Children of the Crone cannot approach the Baron; whether Leland and Laudine’s staff can be restored; the interrupted account of the Baron.
- The unidentified publication employing Gwyniviere.
- Whether Emily will provide more runes; what Maria communicated; the nature and control of the revised codes; the inhibition on ordinary magic use; Gwyniviere’s deliberate forgetting.
- The stitched Maidenfeld servant’s means of bypassing wards; the full powers, limitations, and origin of Mallow’s needle.
- Strategy and the wider network:
- The current locations and conditions of Lance, Uther Rannek, Sandor, the court wizards, and the remaining Castle Rannek missing persons, beyond the sightings already reported.
- Mallow’s actual rank beyond his projected Candlebearer office; his relationships with Souveran Rothchild and the crones; his motives toward Angel and the Maidenfelds. The proposed motives toward Angel are player speculation.
- The stitched creatures’ exact healing weakness; the restrained woman’s original limbs; Mallow’s Face-Stealer facilities and methods; Mallow’s puppet-control and relay network.
- Hellion’s contact with the Baron; Eevee’s father and brother; missing dialogue; yellow eyes.
- The green-liquid ascension process; the identities and status of the Isana Walburton simulacra; a clandestine route into Sanery.
- Kelthyr Kulok’s wanted status; ownership of the submarine; the Robert or Steven correction; the remote riders’ destination; the target discovered through Mallow; the clipped Castle Rannek warning.
- Mallow’s heart-related travel power; the fey compact and full summoning song.
- The hag bargain:
- The hag’s identity, appearance, lineage, associates, and relationship to Baba Yaga; the false-crone or coven exchange; the identities of all negotiators.
- Whether the Feywild promise will be fulfilled; the firstborn’s ultimate fate.
- The running footsteps; several garbled closing exchanges; the rescued friend and servant associated with Malygos.
- Whether Mallow truly bargained with a crone.
Confirmations Needed
Section titled “Confirmations Needed”- Identify the remaining unresolved speakers in the hag negotiation.
- Clarify the request for aid answered with “Your presence,” including the subsequent discussion of listening to conversations. The core alliance terms are settled.
Boundaries
Section titled “Boundaries”- Katalin previously identified Mallow as the Candlebearer, the office he projects. His actual rank may be higher; Dark Archon status and direct subordination to Souveran Rothchild remain theories.
- Mallow’s magical needle uses ordinary thread to control fleshcrafted bodies. Its control over unnaturally modified Face-Stealers is not an inherent vulnerability of ordinary Face-Stealers.
- Uncertain names, speaker attributions, cut-off dialogue, acoustically damaged phrases, inferred motives, and disputed explanations remain scoped as uncertainties rather than resolved canon.
- Claims about institutional infiltration do not implicate every Hicklander, Maidenfeld, Paladinate member, admiral, or Malthrek-aligned person.
- Only two fleshcrafted creatures containing parts from roughly five bodies each are confirmed; the fate of the other missing Castle Rannek employees remains unknown.
- The gardener references in this session, including the gardener-like superior, refer to Mallow. His motives toward Angel remain player speculation, not established facts.
- Suspicions that Mallow exploited the revolt or bargained with a crone remain unconfirmed.
- The exact mechanics of the hag compact, magical devices, Mallow’s biomancy, puppet control, healing vulnerability, and travel are summarized only to the degree supported by the supplied scene claims.
