Episode 24

Feb 7

Session Summary

The B-Team (Voscheck, Nedra, Dirk, Aubrey, and HJ) reconvenes at the top of Malignius' Tower, having successfully:

Defeated the spirits and undead presence within the tower.
Installed an arcano-mechanical shell phone repeater, establishing communication with both their ride (Oddball) and the original party (who are now confirmed prisoners in a POW camp).

State of the Tower & Remaining Tasks

The group has full control of the tower, having seized the control rod, but several important concerns remain:

Cloudkill spell in the arboretum level has dissipated, making exploration safe.
Large portions of the tower remain unexplored, including the gardens, conservatory, and living quarters.
Discussion begins about the future of the tower.
- Voscheck argues they should claim it as their own, noting its library, alchemical research potential, and magical infrastructure.
- Others emphasize the need to return to town to resupply and plan a rescue mission for the original party POWs.
- The soul cage in the tower is still active, and Davia Malignius’ spirit is still lingering below.

Key Discussions & Decisions

The Debate Over the Tower’s Purpose

Voscheck: Views the tower as a long-term asset and wants to ensure they can return and use it as a base.
Dirk & HJ: Emphasize the need to return to town to prepare for the POW rescue mission.
Aubrey: Initially hesitant and enamored with the tower, does not want to be left behind alone.

Concerns About Davia Malignius & The Trapped Souls

The soul cage remains a key issue. If released, the spirits trapped inside will either move on to the afterlife or remain bound to the tower.
Davia Malignius is still in the tower, and the group worries she may reclaim power if left unchecked.
The group debates whether to use Davos’ soul to fuel the tower, destroy it outright, or contain it for study.

Davos' Research & Soul Manipulation

The group speculates Davos was attempting to fractionate his own soul—experimenting with how much he could remove before it impacted his abilities.
They assume Davos had control over the spinejacker parasites, that they were his creations, not the result of Ringspore.
The group speculates on whether Davos placed part of his soul elsewhere in the tower as a failsafe.

The Phylactery Deception & Aubrey’s Revelation

At one point, Nedra attempts to keep the phylactery hidden from Aubrey, tucking it away as if to avoid her scrutiny. Aubrey notices after detecting the phylactery with detect magic, and calls her out on it.

Nedra defends herself with an unexpected argument:

She accuses Aubrey of having a heart in a box earlier in the game and questions Aubrey's motives and reliability with such a thing as a phylactery.
This is particularly ironic, given that Nedra is a devout worshipper of a god of death and destruction, and should, in theory, be the least disturbed by such an item as a human heart used as a spell component.

Aubrey doesn’t take the bait and instead calmly asks, "What do you want to know about the heart?" This leads to a revealing conversation about Aubrey’s backstory:

Aubrey explains that the heart belonged to an innocent girl, was taken by a vampire dread lord, and given to Aubrey in an act of unrequited love and that her reason for keeping it was to stay alive while traversing his cursed land with QueeQueg and another friend named Umbra.

She clarifies that she isn’t squeamish about necromantic artifacts, but she is deeply concerned about Nedra's motivations and the dangers of keeping Davos’ soul.
The group listens as Aubrey shares more about her past, shedding light on her knowledge of undead and necromancy.

Ultimately, the conversation shifts the party’s perception of Aubrey—her pragmatic approach to undead lore contrasts with Nedra’s almost hypocritical unease given the deity she worships. The exchange also deepens the group’s understanding of Aubrey’s past and how it informs her decisions.

Lore Dump: Soul Cycle in Pawella

Dirk and others provide in-depth knowledge on how souls function in Pawella:

Souls cycle through divine energy, fueling magic and reincarnation.
When divine power is used, the energy is returned to the world, leading to new life.
The fate of "evil" souls remains uncertain without consulting a cleric.
The group agrees to seek out Gilly, a cleric in town, for further insight.

Investigating the Tower

The Undead Are Released

Voscheck summons the remaining necromantic constructs using the control rod.
Three large "loadlifter" gnomes and around 40 skeletal "necronomes" arrive in the lobby.
Voscheck declares that he will not keep them as slaves and that they are free to leave if they choose.

What happens next stuns the party:

Most of the undead immediately collapse into lifeless piles of bones.
Only two necronomes remain, holding hands.
Voscheck senses that they are different—still bound to necrotic energy but seemingly connected in a unique way.

Voscheck assigns them to tend the gardens, and they obey without question.

Exploring the Gardens

The Day Garden – A lush greenhouse filled with plants. The humanoid plant creatures they spied within earlier are now withered husks.
The Moon Garden – An enclosed area with plants that only grow in moonlight, utilizing a system of mirrors to reflect lunar light.
The Sporarium – A fungal nursery, but no evidence of Ringspore contamination.

Interrogating the Apprentice of "Q"

While exploring the lower levels of the tower, the party discovers a dead apprentice lying on a "plinth of resurrection."

Aubrey examines the altar and identifies it as part of a ritual known as "The Flow of Lineage."
Davos used this magic to cheaply and efficiently resurrect his own bloodline over and over without traditional necromantic costs.
The apprentice, however, is not part of Davos’ lineage, and his presence in the tower remains a mystery.

Speaking With The Dead

The group uses a charged amulet of Speak with Dead to question the apprentice.
They are allowed five questions, and they decide on the following:

What is the name of the person referred to as "Q" in your letter?
- Answer: "Quiran Ilka"
How specifically do you open the book you were carrying?
- Answer: "Turn the cover with your fingers."
How do you release the lock holding it closed?
- Answer: "Speak the pass phrase."
What is the pass phrase, the exact pass phrase?
- Answer: "Garbled - Group talks over the answer."
WHAT??
- Answer: "Mellons" - and that was the fifth question

Unlocking The Book & Key Discoveries

With the password revealed, They speak the word "Mellons," and the book unlocks.
Inside, they find the apprentice’s journal, which reveals:

His name was Marcus Cederic, an apprentice of Quiran Ilka sent to investigate Davos.
His master was originally focused on combating Ringspore infestations but later shifted to necromancy.
Q became obsessed with extending his own life, searching for ways to resist death.
They traveled extensively, looking for a secure base, and identified a site in one of the "Free Cities."
The apprentice was sent to Longmorn ahead of time, where he learned about Davos’ tower.
Q recognized the name "Malignius" and ordered the apprentice to investigate.
He was ultimately captured and killed in the tower.

Additionally, the book contains teleportation coordinates for a mirror in Longmorn, which may provide a fast travel route.

Final Outcomes & Next Steps

✅ Davos Malignius is permanently destroyed.
✅ The tower is secured and powered for future use.
✅ The group prepares to return to town and begin the POW rescue mission.

Unresolved Threads for Future Sessions:

🏰 The tower’s future—should it be permanently claimed and secured? What will the townspeople want with it?
🛡️ The POW rescue mission—now a priority upon returning to town.
🔮 The fate of the remaining trapped souls—what will they do with them?

Petr Klapka