Session Summary

• The party negotiated with Zala, a cursed wizard on the 3rd floor, learning critical intel about the mansion, the entity "Old Crow," and Markos Delphi's vulnerability without his magical Codex.
• Zala granted the party her spellbook, healing, protective dust, and a permanent-flame lantern in exchange for retrieving the Great Snake Constellation Map from the basement.
• The party encountered the ghost butler Winston and settled in the eastern guest room, a magical space that manifests what occupants desire.
• A violent allergic reaction from Jeremy, a Gibbering Mouther, nearly incapacitated the party when they opened the guest room door—the mouther's suffering was triggered by pollen the room manifested.
• Through clever thinking and concentration, the party calmed Jeremy by mentally banishing the allergen, learning he is erratic but not inherently hostile.
• The party discovered a secret room hidden behind a mimic disguised as a deer head on the dining room wall.
• Anar subdued the Mimic with an improvised curtain rod weapon while Penelope, Orimene, and Puck explored the secret chamber and discovered three interlocking magic circles on the floor—part of a powerful summoning or banishment spell.
• Session ended with the party on the three circles, candles blazing to life, and the mimic still impaled on the curtain rod in the doorway.

• Trusted Zala's information about safe zones and the entity's nature rather than pursuing Markos immediately.
• Chose to explore the mansion further before confronting Markos Delphi, seeking items and additional intel.
• Focused on calming Jeremy through empathy and healing rather than combat, discovering his allergic condition.
• Used the guest room's door mechanism to enter the secret chamber by shifting the deer head plaque.
• Methodically stepped onto the three magic circles despite not fully understanding their purpose.

1. Markos Delphi is not truly a wizard—he is a hemophilic with magical blood, vulnerable without his Codex. With it, he is extremely dangerous.
2. The entity causing the wild surges was nicknamed "Old Crow" (a fragment of "Krokulmar"), and speaking its true name triggers surges and shadow creatures.
3. Zala has been using ritual magic (immune to wild surges) to slow the mansion's warping and has prevented most surges from manifesting.
4. The eastern guest room on floor 1 is safe by design; the westernmost room on floor 1 contains a nether eldritch rift and must be avoided.
5. The basement contains a Great Snake Constellation Map essential to breaking Zala's curse.
6. The magic word "Hralfrak" opens the secret door in the cellar basement level.
7. Jeremy is a Gibbering Mouther with severe allergies, not a malicious creature. Pollen manifested in the room because someone thought about allergies.
8. Some of the mansion's rooms are semi-sentient and manifest content based on the mental focus of inhabitants.
9. Three magic circles exist in the secret room, potentially forming a summoning or banishment spell tied to the entity itself.

The party stands on three activated magic circles in the secret chamber, the candles blazing with renewed light. The nature of these circles—whether summoning ritual, banishment, or binding spell—remains unknown. Anar still holds the subdued Mimic impaled on a curtain rod in the dining room doorway. The secret room contains jars with mysterious specimens and notes in Deep Speech, waiting to be deciphered. With the magic circles now active and glowing, the party must decide: investigate the circles further, examine the jars and books, or retreat to safety. Meanwhile, Zala meditates on the 3rd floor, and Markos Delphi remains somewhere in the mansion—aware of the party's presence and movements. The basement still awaits exploration, and the Great Snake Constellation Map calls from the depths.