Session B19 — Bad Eggs

Summary

A session defined by the long rest between Day 1 and Day 2 — and what Haldak chose to do in the hours before dawn. With Othorion's player arriving late, the session opened mid-evening on Day 1: Kavu visited the infirmary to pass along a food-illness cover scheme to Othorion, Lireal offered dry commentary on Kavu's personality from her infirmary bed, and Kefkas reported locating the two "red-banded" Axebreaker contacts in the Panopticon (their day-shift assignment). After the party's long rest, the session pivoted entirely to Haldak's pre-dawn kitchen mission: using the Chronurgy cantrip to expire the top two layers of the prison's egg supply. A catastrophic attempt to make coffee ended in a column of flame and burned grounds. Haldak served the party cold milk instead. The session closed with the eggs going into breakfast service — and a mystery hatchling in Haldak's breast pocket, whose species Haldak could not identify.

Key Events

Pre-Session Context — Panopticon Coverage Closed

Before game started, the DM confirmed a significant tactical change: after the warden recovered from her possession state at the end of B18, the Panopticon blind spot Kavu had used to reach Lireal is no longer accessible. Guards now patrol the outer Panopticon corridors. The DM attributed this to the possessing spirit (Vlax Brawnanvil) having left the warden a note expressing suspicion of the party before departing — and the warden having acquiesced. Casual access to Lireal and Nezznar's area is no longer possible without a distraction or elimination of the patrol.

"So that blind spot's gone now, too." — DM

Evening — Kavu Visits the Infirmary

With the party in its late-evening dispersal after B18's events, Kavu wandered back to the infirmary — greeting the guard at the door warmly — and let himself in without knocking. Othorion immediately grabbed him by the cloak: "Thank the gods. Somebody sane, and I'm saying that about you."

Kavu laid out the plan he had developed: use a rumor of food illness attributable to the new kitchen staff as medical cover for Othorion to call prisoners to the infirmary for checkups. The key is to not request Prisoner 13 alone — mix her in among other prisoners Othorion is checking for food symptoms. One human (susceptible to food illness) plus one dwarf (resistant) makes a reasonable medical survey. The party agreed this was their best route to approach P13 without raising direct suspicion.

Lireal, still in the infirmary under the POTS diagnosis from B18, stepped off her bed and observed drily:

"He told me about his deity of choice, Kossuth, if I recall correctly. Said something about the inner flame... Quite a shining star, if I can describe it."

She also confirmed — when Othorion asked — that she worships the Seldarine. "No room in your life for the Spider Queen, I take it?" — "Not particularly."

The two discussed the schedule from the prior day's review: capping the claws of a feral, sentient catwoman (Prisoner 191); handling the fire genasi (Prisoner 48); the therapy session with "the furball" (Prisoner 66). Othorion noted he is a reasonably good listener. Lireal: "Keep surprising me, Goldfeather. Keep surprising me."

Before leaving, Lireal straightened Othorion's collar and reminded him to have his infirmary visitor log in order. "Until next time." She stepped out. Othorion noted he is fire resistant, and he has fire resistance gloves in the infirmary.

Evening — Kavu Briefs Haldak (Corridor)

Kavu intercepted Haldak in the corridor and passed along the food-illness plan. He suggested actually contaminating food to ensure the pretense of illness was real — and proposed that making some food genuinely unsafe would help Othorion's cover, so long as the party themselves knew not to eat it.

Haldak agreed. He was already thinking about Chronomancy.

Long Rest — End of Day 1

The DM called the long rest. Robert Hidswell (Kefkas) was confirmed as sleeping off his drunkenness on a mess hall table. All other party members retired. Kavu and Selene shared a room — with Kavu acting as what the DM described as a small, extremely warm kobold security blanket.

Pre-Dawn — Kefkas's Intelligence

At 4:48am, Roland woke (the only party member up at this hour) and found Robert Hidswell still hunched over the mess hall table. Hidswell lifted his head from a puddle of drool, looked at Roland, and reported the night's intelligence:

"Make sure you let the others know that I found where our two red-banded friends are. During the day, they have duty in the Panopticon. That's where you'll find them."

The "two red-banded friends" — Axebreaker clan contacts identified earlier in the mission — are active Panopticon guards during daylight hours. They can now be approached during their shift, provided a suitable pretext.

Pre-Dawn — Haldak's Kitchen Operation

Haldak snuck into the kitchen in the small hours and found Leon Goldmane passed out over a parchment note — the next day's menu, already drafted:

Revel's End Prison Menu — Hammer 4th

• Breakfast: Rehydrated eggs, hardtack toast, bitterroot tea
• Lunch: Barley stew, salted root chips, cabbage slaw
• Dinner: Grayfish loaf, turnip mash, mold-check bread, water

No other kitchen staff were present. Haldak spotted a key ring on Leon's apron. Sleight of hand DC 4 — succeeded. The key unlocked the frozen pantry. Inside: frost-covered meats and perishables, including a crate of eggs.

Haldak subtle-cast Chronurgy (cantrip, no visible effect) to expire the top two layers of eggs — just enough to cause food illness, not death. One cubic foot of eggs, carefully targeted to the stock that would be used for breakfast service that morning.

He replaced the key on Leon's apron (who did not wake — a sleeping dwarf), re-locked the door, and considered making coffee for Roland and Kefkas.

Pre-Dawn — The Coffee Incident

The prison kitchen uses a three-component coffee system: a repurposed grain mill bolted to a bench (loud, cranky, DC 15 Athletics to operate), a rusted rune-insulated boiler barrel with a steam vent plugged by a dirty sock, and a sock-based filter apparatus.

• Grinding: Athletics DC 15 — succeeded. Grounds prepared.
• Boiler operation: Arcana DC 14 — failed. The enchantments were overdone. The boiler vent began whistling, then shooting a column of flame (yellow → red → blue → white). Haldak shut the enchantments down, but it took 15 minutes for the flames to die. All coffee grounds were destroyed.

Haldak served Roland and Kefkas cold glasses of milk. Kefkas: "Is this just milk?" Roland: "This is perfect." Kefkas went to the infirmary to ask Othorion if there was anything in the medicine cabinet for his hangover. There was not. He left.

The clean sock previously used to plug the boiler vent was the only clean one in the kitchen. Haldak did not use it.

Pre-Dawn — Infirmary Cabinet — Additional Identification

During Kefkas's visit, Othorion identified more items in the medicine cabinet:

Breakfast Service — The Hatch

Morning came. Leon's cooks woke at Haldak's knock, panicked at the time (5:45am, breakfast at 6am), and rushed the kitchen service without checking the egg quality. The kitchen briefly filled with a sulfurous smell as the bad eggs cooked. The mess hall noticed the smell but dismissed it as burnt food.

Then: a baby creature ran across the kitchen floor. One of the eggs Haldak had targeted with Chronurgy was not an egg in the ordinary sense — it was incubating. The creature hatched, emerged from the shell on the cooking floor, and began chirping madly.

Haldak caught it (Acrobatics DC 8 — succeeded) and tucked it into his breast pocket. It poked its head up and chirped.

Kavu, while in the frozen pantry earlier, had eaten an egg from the same crate. He heard a chirp on the way down. He did not comment on this until later.

Haldak rolled DC 20 Nature — failed. He does not know what this animal is. He knows it is not a chicken (eggs were slightly larger than standard), but cannot identify the species.

Morning — Mess Hall Gathering

At 6am, the mess hall filled: Roland, Kefkas/Robert Hidswell, Kavu, Haldak, Kriv Norixius (reading a scroll at the far end of the table), and several guards. The party kept conversation carefully vague. Kavu leaned in to brief Roland and Kefkas on the day's plan:

"Today, a good friend is going to initiate some one-on-one with some other special people. After a certain rumor-not-rumor gets out about how the food is. Hint, hint, don't eat the eggs."

Kefkas acknowledged the intel. The plan was in motion. The session closed at breakfast service on Day 2 of the party's stay inside Revel's End.

NPCs Encountered

Loot / Discoveries

Threads Opened / Advanced

• Expired Egg Operation: Haldak used Chronurgy to expire the top two layers of the prison's egg supply. The eggs entered breakfast service on Hammer 4th. Prisoners and staff who ate eggs should begin showing symptoms. This creates Othorion's cover for calling prisoners to the infirmary.
• Prisoner 13 Contact — Day 2: Othorion's plan is to call multiple prisoners for food-illness checks — mixing P13 among them. The expired eggs provide the medical pretext. Timing unclear (morning or afternoon).
• Axebreaker Contacts Located: Kefkas confirmed two Axebreaker clan members have Panopticon duty during the day. A pretext for approach needed.
• Panopticon Blind Spot — Closed: The surveillance dead zone Kavu used to reach Lireal (B17) is no longer viable. Guards patrol the outer Panopticon. Direct cell access via wandering is no longer possible.
• Unknown Hatchling: An unidentified creature — not a chicken — hatched from the prison kitchen's egg supply while Haldak expired the batch. It is now in his pocket. Its species is unidentified. Kavu also consumed a specimen in the pantry.
• Lireal — Infirmary Access: Lireal is still in the infirmary under Othorion's POTS diagnosis. She has become a quiet intelligence asset and sounding board. She is aware of the plan's general shape.
• Coffee Machine: Destroyed by Haldak's failed Arcana check. The prison's coffee supply is gone for the foreseeable future. This is not a crisis but it is noted.