Scene 1 — Introductions & The Standoff (00:00–00:10)
Player introductions: Sam plays Penelope, Allison plays Orimene, Chris plays Anar, Marc plays Puck.
DM recaps: the spell cast last session failed; Markos laughed and continued the ritual; guards led the party to the circle; wooden doors shut behind them.
Party stands roughly 5 feet from the circle. Markos continues chanting. Large tentacles emerge from the body in the circle, forming a writhing approximation of a head.
Anar speaks only in Gnomish to keep the conversation private; tells Puck he has a plan involving something glass in his pack.
Puck attempts to persuade Markos: "your daughter will perish." Markos wavers but the ritual pulls him back.
A slam is heard from up the stairs — doors above closing.
Initiative rolled. Combat begins.
00:10
Scene 2 — Combat Begins (00:10–00:24)
Initiative order established. Party engages guards and the ritual caster.
Anar attempts a move that slows him down — likely repositioning to address the ritual or the Codex.
Puck uses Mirror Image for defense.
Orimene notes that Markos appears to be another sacrifice, not a willing participant.
A guard hits Anar for 34 damage. Anar drops to 0 HP.
Penelope shifts to bear form. Orimene and Puck continue the fight.
00:24
Scene 3 — Anar Downed — Spirit Plane (00:24–00:47)
Anar enters an unconscious/spirit-plane state. He finds himself looking at his own body from outside it.
Spirits of the previous adventuring party are present — one identifies as Elra, along with a barbarian, a halfling, and a rogue.
The spirits point Anar toward four Far Realm crystals. Anar smashes all four in the spirit plane.
Death saving throws: 1 failure, 2 successes. Anar stabilizes.
Puck casts Healing Word on Anar, bringing him back into the material plane.
Combat in the material plane continues during this sequence.
00:47
Scene 4 — The Ritual Breaks (~00:47–B 00:15)
The party disrupts the ritual. Markos is freed. His hands are injured from the demonic book.
The Codex disappears into the circle. The immediate entity threat retreats.
Puck has been running Disguise Self as Gertie (Markos's daughter) during the fight.
Zala arrives from her room — now in human form, her curse lifted.
Room described by DM; guards neutralized.
B 00:15
Scene 5 — Post-Combat Looting & Zala (B 00:15–01:00)
Party searches the chamber. Items found: smudge sticks (spirit-cleansing herbs), leather-bound tome, 4 summoning crystal fragments.
Coins noted as missing from expected location.
Zala present and interacting with the party. Zala offers a meal and drink to help the party recover. Party declines — Anar wants to leave. Later, Gertie refills Anar's wineskins at the guest house.
The entity whispers directly to Anar: "I won't forget you, Anor. I'll always be here." — Anar alone hears this.
Anar warns Zala. Zala says she will follow up on the active entity threat.
B 00:53
Scene 6 — Zala Takes the Codex (B 00:53–01:08)
Zala wants the Codex. The party has it.
A strength contest occurs — Zala wins.
Zala commits to locking the Codex away. Party accepts this without confrontation.
B 01:00
Scene 7 — Exiting the Manor (B 01:00–01:15)
Party navigates out of the manor.
Nature has returned in their absence: birds, sunlight, the Seelie Market visible from the grounds.
Hit points and long rest discussed.
B 01:15
Scene 8 — Rewards, Wagon & Seelie Market (B 01:15–01:36)
Gertie awards 250 gold pieces each.
Penelope inspects the wagon near the gatehouse in Greyhawk City: contents include cotton, three bundles of human skin, and a 5-pound bag of thumbnail-sized pearls. She covers these before the others arrive; only Penelope knows.
Party arrives at the Seelie Market. A gnome bard is encountered — a valedictorian from the same bardic college Puck attended.
Orimene references Riley and something "undone."
B 01:36
Scene 9 — The Missing Mentor (B 01:36–01:42)
Conversation turns to Puck's mentor. Puck deflects: "Let's just say Fred." — a placeholder name.
The gnome bard's response implies Puck's mentor has gone missing from the bardic college at Rift Canyon — weeks away by boat.