Session 20: Black Lily’s Last Night
At a glance
- Starting location: Northern Martira Bay
- Ending location: The River Dancer, docked in Martira Bay
- Characters present: Ignatius, Rage, and Carver, with Hyskosa, Lafing, Fling, Ooru, Slippery Siv, and Voss.
Summary
Martira Bay was bustling when the company returned, though pairs of guards patrolled more heavily than before. Siv scarcely recognized how much the city had grown during his lost years. Ignatius sent him to renew his old contacts and meet the party at Black Lily’s Manor later that day, while Voss struggled to orient himself and Lafing stayed close.
Carver offered Lafing a chance to restore the werefox’s slain wife. He used a raise dead scroll, and the body jolted back to life. Lafing’s joy was immediate; his wife gave her name as Fling.
Carver’s spell returned Fling to life as Lafing watched in disbelief. View image record.
At the city entrance, Rage charmed a guard. The man warned that the watch was hunting someone called Jack after further killings and the removal of victims’ legs, then waved the party through. On the way to Black Lily’s, the company bought magical gear and supplies from a dockside oddities dealer and a potion seller. Their gains included unusual armor and performance gear for Rage, Walloping Ammunition for Carver, an Insignia of Claws for Ignatius, and an Ersatz Eye for Hyskosa. As night fell, frightened streets emptied and rats moved through the city in groups of three. Rage’s new instrument created a spectacle that attracted guards; the party escaped through the alleys.
At Black Lily’s darkened manor, the party confronted its owner over Vermoth’s attempted roadside murder. Lily claimed he had arranged only a demonstration of Vermoth’s skill, then broke under Rage’s violence and Ignatius’s restraint when Carver produced the phylactery letter. He said that passages beneath the Cosmopolis Club offered a route into the city’s underground. Ignatius declared the party’s business with the Kargatane finished, and the company killed Black Lily.
The letter ended Black Lily’s pretense of control. View image record.
In the attic, they found two enclosed wooden coffins and a third coffin standing upright. Siv opened one. A tentacled, vampiric-looking aberration rose from it, and a second emerged from the other coffin. The party destroyed both creatures; the notes do not establish what became of the upright coffin. Dark-magic tomes waited in Black Lily’s room below.
Two opened coffins gave up their occupants; the upright third coffin remained a mystery. View image record.
The company spent the night in the manor, then went to the docks for Snowmane. A worker directed them to the River Dancer, a gambling and entertainment ship commanded by Captain Snowmane. They arranged a meeting; as the session ended, the captain approached.
Snowmane made her entrance in the River Dancer’s hushed gaming lounge. View image record.
Key events
- Carver used a raise dead scroll to restore Lafing’s wife, Fling.
- Rage charmed a city guard and learned of a leg-taking killer called Jack.
- The party acquired magical equipment and supplies in Martira Bay.
- Black Lily admitted only that Vermoth’s ambush was meant as a demonstration, then the party killed him.
- The party destroyed two tentacled vampiric aberrations released from attic coffins.
- Siv renewed contacts and brought reports of Jack’s killings.
- The party located Captain Snowmane aboard the River Dancer.
Decisions and consequences
- Carver restored Fling. Lafing’s wife is alive again and has rejoined him.
- The party killed Black Lily. Its former Kargatane sponsor and potential source of answers is dead.
- The party accepted Snowmane’s meeting. Their route toward Barovia now depends on the captain’s response.
People
- Fling: Lafing’s wife, restored from death by Carver’s raise dead scroll.
- Black Lily: Former Kargatane intermediary; killed after the confrontation at his manor.
- Jack: Rumored leg-taking killer sought by Martira Bay’s guards.
- Captain Snowmane: Captain of the River Dancer; approached the party at the end of the session.
Places
- Black Lily’s Manor: Site of Lily’s death, the coffin aberrations, and dark-magic tomes.
- River Dancer: Gambling and entertainment ship commanded by Snowmane.
Rewards, losses, and character changes
- Fling — restored from death
- Raise dead scroll — consumed by Carver
- Black Lily — killed
- Gleaming armor, Instrument of Illusions, Shield of Expression, potion of climbing — acquired by Rage
- Walloping Ammunition, a potion of greater healing, and reagents for a healing wand — acquired by Carver or the party; exact custody varies
- Insignia of Claws — acquired by Ignatius
- Ersatz Eye — given to Hyskosa
Open questions
- Who is Jack, and why are victims’ legs being taken?
- What was Black Lily creating with the coffins and the two aberrations?
- What is inside the unopened upright coffin?
- Can Snowmane carry the party through the Mists toward Barovia, and at what price?
Next session
- Immediate situation: The party is aboard the River Dancer in Martira Bay, about to meet Captain Snowmane.
- Likely goals: Negotiate passage toward Barovia, investigate the city’s new killings, or follow Black Lily’s lead beneath the Cosmopolis Club.