The Vengeful Recap 2026-09-26

Previously, in The Vengeful…

The inquiry paused. Oren followed someone toward the castle exterior, and Angel took Crispin Mallow inside for pudding.

For the boy, the immediate mystery was not the Maidenfeld fleet. It was why he was in a castle, what had happened to his family, and whether someone had sold him.

Back in the garden, Angel tried to explain the years he could no longer remember. He had become an officer of the Reformist Church. He had hurt people and imprisoned a dragon within himself. She had freed the dragon, accepted its boon, and chosen to return him to childhood. Her spellbook and the date offered evidence for a story that sounded impossible.

Crispin had a terrible story of his own. He remembered his mother strangling him and calling him a monster. He had killed her while defending himself; his father blamed him for her madness. Angel told him that surviving did not make him deserving of death. Whatever his older self had done, she intended to protect the child before her and give him a different future.

He wanted to garden. He was afraid of unfamiliar adults. Angel agreed that he could travel with her, while the others helped keep his identity concealed.

His childhood nevertheless offered clues. He distrusted the Maidenfelds, vaguely connected Tristan with an uncle or relative, and recognized the crown prince’s emblem from a dress his mother had treasured. None of that yet supplied a family tree.

The conference was supposed to resume. Instead, Baron Maidenfeld arrived with another missing person to explain.

Steven had answered his adjutant’s summons to a fleet emergency and teleported away. Now Steven, his adjutant, and the ship he had gone to had vanished. Ordinary searches, magical detection, and the fleet’s own navigation instruments had found nothing.

Hellion supplied a potion that would let Angel breathe and swim beneath the sea, instructing her to drink it before attempting teleportation. Rather than teleport into an unknown danger, she cast Legend LoreLegend LoreLevel 5 · Divination10 minute · Self · InstantaneousV, S, MName or describe a person, place, or object. The spell brings to your mind a brief summary of the significant lore about the thing you named. The lore might consist of current tales, forgotten stories, or even secret lore that has never been widely known. If the thing you named isn't of legendary importance, you gain no information. The more information you already have about the thing, the more precise and detailed the information you receive is. The information you learn is accurate but might be couched in figurative language. For example, if you have a mysterious magic axe on hand, the spell might yield this information: "Woe to the evildoer whose hand touches the axe, for even the haft slices the hand of the evil ones. Only a true Child of Stone, lover and beloved of Moradin, may awaken the true powers of the axe, and only with the sacred word Rudnogg on the lips.".

Warmth, light, and ethereal wings surrounded her. Steven was alive. He was endangered and under coercion, in a place of obscure legend hidden for centuries.

Pressed for answers, the Maidenfelds disclosed what their ships and submarines had helped conceal.

The Haven was a dragon sanctuary.

It lay within Senera, yet occupied a stable realm of its own. Reaching it required a particular underwater approach; teleportation could not simply bypass the route. Its protections followed Maidenfeld blood and name; shared Dragonheart ancestry alone would not preserve them if another house took ownership. A hidden magical source had sustained spellcasting there even during the magicless era.

Inside were unhatched chromatic dragon eggs. There were no living dragons to tend them. Their caretakers feared what might hatch, and feared destroying them as well.

The companions argued over whether the hatchlings’ futures were already determined by their nature. They also had a more immediate concern: what the Reformists might do with such a clutch. An Orb of DragonkindOrb of DragonkindArtifact · requires attunement3 lb.Ages past, on the world of Krynn, elves and humans waged a terrible war against evil dragons. When the world seemed doomed, the wizards of the Towers of High Sorcery came together and worked their greatest magic, forging five Orbs of Dragonkind (or Dragon Orbs) to help them defeat the dragons. One orb was taken to each of the five towers, and there they were used to speed the war toward a victorious end. The wizards used the orbs to lure dragons to them, then destroyed the dragons with powerful magic. As the Towers of High Sorcery fell in later ages, the orbs were destroyed or faded into legend, and only three are thought to survive. Their magic has been warped and twisted over the centuries, so although their primary purpose of calling dragons still functions, they also allow some measure of control over dragons. Each orb contains the essence of an evil dragon, a presence that resents any attempt to coax magic from it. Those lacking in force of personality might find themselves enslaved to an orb. An orb is an etched crystal globe about 10 inches in diameter. When used, it grows to about 20 inches in diameter, and mist swirls inside it. While attuned to an orb, you can use an act… might let an evil spellcaster hatch and command dragons, but whether the Reformists possessed it remained unknown.

To learn how much Mallow had known, they needed something less guarded than the Baron’s answers. Uther remembered his captor’s journal.

Hellion used a TeleportTeleportLevel 7 · Conjuration1 action · 10 ft. · InstantaneousVThis spell instantly transports you and up to eight willing creatures of your choice that you can see within range, or a single object that you can see within range, to a destination you select. If you target an object, it must be able to fit entirely inside a 10-foot cube, and it can't be held or carried by an unwilling creature. The destination you choose must be known to you, and it must be on the same plane of existence as you. Your familiarity with the destination determines whether you arrive there successfully. The DM rolls d100 and consults the table. "Permanent circle" means a permanent teleportation circle whose sigil sequence you know. "Associated object" means that you possess an object taken from the desired destination within the last six months, such as a book from a wizard's library, bed linen from a royal suite, or a chunk of marble from a lich's secret tomb. "Very familiar" is a place you have been very often, a place you have carefully studied, or a place you can see when you cast the spell. "Seen casually" is someplace you have seen more than once but with which you aren't very familiar. "Viewed once" is a place you have seen once, possibly using magic. "Descri… scroll, with Crispin’s memory of home as the conduit, to bring the group to Green Barrel, the burned settlement in Maiden’s Field where Uther had been held. Mud, broken dikes, and ash-covered ruins surrounded the surviving dilapidated house. Hellion carried the party across the quagmire. Angel questioned a squirrel with Speak with AnimalsSpeak with AnimalsLevel 1 · Divination1 action · Self · 10 minuteV, SYou gain the ability to comprehend and verbally communicate with beasts for the duration. The knowledge and awareness of many beasts is limited by their intelligence, but at minimum, beasts can give you information about nearby locations and monsters, including whatever they can perceive or have perceived within the past day. You might be able to persuade a beast to perform a small favor for you, at the DM's discretion. and an offering of bread.

The squirrel proved useful. A large stone concealed an entrance beneath deliberately arranged rubble.

Crispin began to shake. Angel stayed outside with him while the others descended.

Below lay rough passages, a laboratory, and a chemically preserved body the explorers suspected was Crispin’s father. A dragon coin had been stitched inside its mouth, supposedly to purchase the soul’s silence. Uther recognized the place of his captivity. He remembered repeated contact between the Reformists and Mallow, which he interpreted as coordination. He believed he himself had been bait. Angel was the person his captor had repeatedly said he needed.

True sight revealed concealed specimens among the laboratory’s preserved remains. A stuffed squirrel held something magical—and an evocation trap. A Dispel MagicDispel MagicLevel 3 · Abjuration1 action · 120 ft. · InstantaneousV, SChoose one creature, object, or magical effect within range. Any spell of 3rd level or lower on the target ends. For each spell of 4th level or higher on the target, make an ability check using your spellcasting ability. The DC equals 10 + the spell's level. On a successful check, the spell ends. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, you automatically end the effects of a spell on the target if the spell's level is equal to or less than the level of the spell slot you used. rune made it safe to open, revealing a decoder-like device that the party believed the Duchess could operate.

Another illusion hid a many-colored box. Forcing its magic apart risked destroying whatever lay inside, so the explorers carried it out. They also recovered an elaborate Dragonheart dress, which Angel carefully folded away.

The box recognized Crispin. Its recess reshaped itself around the purple Dragonheart coin. His hand satisfied another condition. Something still had to be spoken or sung.

They tried words, family references, humming, and songs. Dancing was suggested, but Crispin said he did not dance. As he repeated his mother’s lullaby, the familiar sounds became Draconic snarls and roars. His mother had taught him the language without his knowing its name. Hellion recognized the song as Flight of Dragons, also known in the Feywild; Crispin understood and answered his Draconic speech.

The right song alone was not enough. It needed Crispin’s own imperfect pronunciation.

With the coin held against the box, he sang again.

Inside was a leather-bound book.

Its hidden writing appeared when Crispin touched it. A hand worked. So did a foot. Once the words were visible, someone else could read them.

The journal described a life spent taking pieces of other people to remake its writer. Elven longevity, stolen organs, altered shapeshifters, and obedient puppets appeared alongside plans for a throne. Mallow wrote of a curse in his blood and a final sacrifice that would purge it. The party understood why Angel’s celestial blood had mattered—and what he had intended to do after obtaining it.

The journal revealed that Mallow had burned Green Barrel, overturning the official attribution to bandits. He claimed his mother came from an expelled Maidenfeld cadet branch with Dragonheart ties, and blamed the recognized family for his branch’s loss of property and standing. The journal offered a grievance and a claim to a birthright, not independent proof that either justified his ambitions.

It also offered an account of the stolen submarine: a Maidenfeld captain made into a puppet, a prototype redirected, and the vessel retained after the puppet’s discovery. Other entries described years of raids by puppets dressed as Maidenfeld forces, intended to provoke anger in the Hicklands.

The Reformists appeared in his writing as tools. Whether they had regarded him any differently was another question.

Even his own record could not capture everything. Attempts to write the terms of a bargain produced only the admission that he had made a deal. In entries Hellion read privately, Mallow suspected the Maidenfelds concealed dragon eggs, but still intended to discover exactly what was there. What he had passed to the Church remained unclear.

Hellion acknowledged the patience behind the planning. He also observed what the planner had become: someone like the people he hated.

Before returning, Hellion gave Crispin a history of the Draco-Giant War and a rune that let him understand its Elvish text, taking the journal in exchange. The history supplied another account to examine, not a settled explanation of the dragons’ past.

Angel used Hellion’s TeleportTeleportLevel 7 · Conjuration1 action · 10 ft. · InstantaneousVThis spell instantly transports you and up to eight willing creatures of your choice that you can see within range, or a single object that you can see within range, to a destination you select. If you target an object, it must be able to fit entirely inside a 10-foot cube, and it can't be held or carried by an unwilling creature. The destination you choose must be known to you, and it must be on the same plane of existence as you. Your familiarity with the destination determines whether you arrive there successfully. The DM rolls d100 and consults the table. "Permanent circle" means a permanent teleportation circle whose sigil sequence you know. "Associated object" means that you possess an object taken from the desired destination within the last six months, such as a book from a wizard's library, bed linen from a royal suite, or a chunk of marble from a lich's secret tomb. "Very familiar" is a place you have been very often, a place you have carefully studied, or a place you can see when you cast the spell. "Seen casually" is someplace you have seen more than once but with which you aren't very familiar. "Viewed once" is a place you have seen once, possibly using magic. "Descri… scroll to return the group safely, with her mother as the conduit. Back at the castle, the Baron reported that Steven was not in the Haven. They suspected someone had anticipated Angel’s divination and used the search to force the Maidenfelds to reveal their secret. The missing man’s actual location and captor were still unknown.

Nor did the recovered journal become a straightforward piece of evidence to pass around. Hellion retained it but lied to the Baron that it had burned when forced open. At the Baron’s request, Tristan used Encode ThoughtsEncode 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.) to inspect Hellion’s recollection. Hellion consented while attempting to control what was extracted. The selected memories showed the moth-like page finder and the words “Claim the throne.” The phrase was genuine, but the extraction did not provide the full account the Baron demanded.

The danger to the fleet could not wait for that dispute to end.

After Hellion reported the puppeted captain and the enemy’s knowledge of the Haven, the Baron announced that the fleet would be ordered back to port for inspection. Missing ships would be treated as AWOL; their beacons would allow them to be located. Hellion proposed sending Jessica to Maiden’s Port as a spy whose affiliation with the companions the Maidenfelds would not recognize. Sapphire and Andrew would continue their assignment at the settlement.

A submarine might still provide a way along the hidden approach. Hellion knew the sigil of the Maidenfeld teleportation circle at Maiden’s Port. Uther proposed commandeering it or requiring continued access, though they worried the Baron might change its sigil on grounds of a leak. Whether to proceed with the Baron or without his knowledge remained undecided.

Beyond the ships and dragon eggs, the rescued captives needed homes to return to. The marshal’s people would investigate the human captives’ identities. An elven settlement might receive the displaced elves; Angel hoped to find Maerwen. Kelthyr was ruled out as a guide. Oren might lead an escort there if willing, remaining outside because of his ban from elven settlements.

Rannek also needed food. The flooded fields could not feed it, Malthrek depended on its supply, and the reported stores would last only about three days. Nobles had been summoned to account for their lands and provisions. Druidic assistance was still needed, not yet secured.

The discussion widened to alliances and the possibility of another struggle for the throne. The crown prince would need support beyond assurances from a few noble houses. Minfilia, Tiphanie, Lime, local peoples, and other regional powers all entered the reckoning. Uther reminded the company that his adult children would choose their own parts in what came next.

Steven had not been rescued. The Haven had not been reached. A fleet recall had been announced, a spy’s assignment proposed, and Mallow’s ambitions partly exposed.

For now, there were people to bring home, a delta to feed, and another war to prevent.

At the Table: Where We Left Off

• Steven is still missing: divination established that he was alive, endangered, and coerced. The Baron reports he is not in the Haven. His captor and location remain unresolved; deliberate manipulation of the divination’s clues is their theory.
• The Haven is disclosed, not reached: the sanctuary contains unhatched chromatic dragon eggs. Its underwater approach cannot be bypassed by teleportation. Its full history, power source, and the right course for the eggs remain open.
• A fleet recall is announced: ships are to return for inspection for puppets. Hellion proposed sending Jessica to Maiden’s Port; Sapphire and Andrew would continue their settlement assignment. These plans were not shown completed. The next route and whether to act with the Baron’s cooperation have not been settled.
• The journal was found and read: it describes fleshcraft, a stolen submarine, staged raids, dynastic ambitions, and a planned sacrifice involving Angel. Its lineage and bargain claims need corroboration. Hellion retained it after giving Crispin a history book and comprehension rune in exchange. His claim that it burned was a lie, and the selected memories extracted by Tristan did not supply a full record.
• Crispin remains in Angel’s care: his childhood memories and lullaby helped open the box. His possible ancestry is unresolved, and his former self’s deeds do not settle the boy’s future.
• Recovery continues: rescued captives remain under care while arrangements for their return are pursued. Food and druidic aid are urgent; Rannek’s shortage also threatens Malthrek. Political alliances are being sought, not yet secured across all the proposed factions.

Source Note

This recap draws from the maintained September 20 notes, including their boundaries and open hooks. It condenses side discussions and preserves disputed testimony as testimony. This recap is for pregame use, not a replacement for the fuller notes and their evidence trail.