Session C02 — The Red Dot

Summary

A shorter, largely planning-oriented session that serves as the immediate aftermath of C01's tattoo-key success. The session opened with a DM recap confirming all of C01's events. Most of the session's weight fell on two revelations: Othorion's confirmed acceptance of Graz'zt's deal (discussed openly between players and in-character), and a deepening mystery around Roland's M.A.P. device — a red dot on its surface appears to follow Othorion wherever he goes and react to the name Archie Carmelton. Selene had an emotional scene confronting Othorion about her fears of traveling with a drow, then rallied and went to the infirmary to investigate the party's employment contracts, finding all identifying names blacked out with heavy ink. The session closed on unresolved questions: who is Archie Carmelton, what do the contracts actually say, and how does the party leave a prison when they're posing as staff.

Key Events

DM Recap — C01 Confirmed

The DM opened with a recap of C01 events:

• Selene learned things are dire in the Ten Towns — Maer Dualdon is completely frozen over from Termalaine to Lonelywood, which is not normal; it never freezes completely. This is connected to an accelerating environmental deterioration in Icewind Dale.
• Selene wants the party to address her as "Aura" in Ten Towns territory, particularly in Lonelywood, where she holds a political identity as New Speaker.
• Kavu made tea for the warden and reassured her that the food poisoning wasn't entirely the kitchen's fault. She appeared to be recovering.
• Othorion stole the ledger, hid it in the yard, and failed to inform Prisoner 13 where to find it.
• The dead drop was a failure — the ledger was retrieved via an alternate method (direct contact in the infirmary under sheet cover).
• Graz'zt appeared to Othorion in the courtyard and offered a deal: in exchange for ensuring a ritual involving a priestess is completed, Othorion will step into a lake and have his lost memories restored.
• Kavu told Sienna that Kefkas's room was four doors down.
• Prisoner 48 (fire genasi) was cured of her fire pox.
• The tattoo key was copied perfectly by Roland with help from Imbarion — a 100% accurate copy is now in Roland's possession.

The Hatchling — Axe Beak Identified

Early in the session, the table turned to the mystery creature that hatched in the Revel's End kitchen in B19 — the one Haldak has been keeping in his breast pocket and Kavu consumed a specimen of. A Nature check (either this session or confirmed from prior rolls) placed the animal: the creature is a baby Axe Beak — referred to at the table as "Axby."

Axe Beaks are large, flightless arctic birds native to northern terrain. The eggs at Revel's End were slightly larger than normal chicken eggs (noted in B19) — consistent with Axe Beak eggs. Haldak has been keeping his specimen alive; some of the unhatched eggs were cooked and served to the prison population as planned, which prompted the table to observe drily that Haldak had been making omelets out of potentially valuable northern wildlife.

"Axe Peak could be so practical like for terrain and you're just using it as an omelet."

Othorion's Deal — Confirmed Accepted

During a mostly out-of-character discussion, Ariston (Othorion's player) confirmed that Othorion accepted Graz'zt's deal:

"I think he may have accepted."
"Oh, OK. Good."

The table debated the wisdom of this. The DM and other players noted the classical rule:

"If there's two things you never do, it's you never give the figure a name and you don't make deals with demons and devils. Everybody knows that."

The justification: memories. Roland pushed back — "No, I agree, it's stupid, but it's just memories" — though acknowledged the personal cost was comprehensible. One voice offered a more generous reading: "Memories are important, and it makes you who you are. Perhaps he's willing to pay for it."

The terms were reviewed: Graz'zt is described as the more orderly demon prince — lawful deals, enemies that include Lolth and the witch-queen Iggwilv. Othorion must ensure the completion of a priestess's ritual in the Underdark, then step into a lake to receive his restored memories.

Selene's Confession — The Drow Problem

Selene had an unscheduled emotional moment: she got up abruptly, stepped out of the room, then returned to speak to Othorion directly.

"I'm sorry I got up like that. It's just... I grew up in Lonelywood. There are not very much drow that are there. And the drow that are there are good people. They just are there to escape their past. So they don't have particularly good stories about the families.

And I knew you were a drow, and it's stupid, but I don't know. It just hit me that I don't know any of you people. I don't know any of your stories and families and history, and I could be going with people that, quite frankly, could actually scare me."

She asked Othorion directly whether the party was a cult. He reassured her: he follows the Seldarine, not Lolth.

"So you serve the Seldarine, not... okay, that's, that comforts me a bit."

Selene asked whether Othorion had decided about the Graz'zt deal, expressed concern about the Underdark — she has never ventured far into it — and offered her honest assessment:

"Sometimes not knowing your past is better than knowing it. Maybe there's a reason why his memory got erased. And I just wish that whatever his memories have, that it gives him some comfort."

She closed with: "Just okay, just Othorion — be careful. And I hope this works out for you."

Sienna and Kefkas — The Barn Situation

Selene discovered that Kefkas (Robert Hidswell) is currently in a barn, asleep — and Sienna is watching over him. It emerged that Kavu told Sienna where Kefkas's room was when she came looking for him. Sienna took it upon herself to find and guard him.

Selene went to check on Kefkas:

"I was just coming to check on Kefkas."

Sienna was not welcoming. Selene returned to the mess hall and reported:

"That Sienna girl is kind of crazy, huh. I think she's being too overprotective of Kefkas and we should maybe sneak him into her room somewhere."

She added, explaining her motivation: "When you pretended to be all obnoxious with me, he stood up for me — and made it right. I want to return the favor."

The table's consensus: Kefkas will not be happy when he wakes up. No one could extract him from the barn without a confrontation.

Exit Planning — "It's a Prison"

The group turned to the practical problem of leaving Revel's End. The tattoo key is copied; the main objective is complete. But the question of how to depart without arrest or exposure remained unresolved.

"So what's the plan to get out of here? Can the chef and the cook just leave when they want?"

The DM's reply was unambiguous:

"It's a prison. That's all they do is keep people against their will."

Party assets discussed:

• The party must recover seized weapons before departure — noted as a must-do.
• Someone suggested another Kavu tea run to the warden's floor while the warden is still recovering in the infirmary.
• The warden's continued incapacitation was noted as a window: "Maybe we should use this time that she's still in the infirmary to check that room."
• The party's formal mission orders — the documents that got them inside the prison — were raised as a possible legal lever.

Selene Reviews the Contracts

Selene went to the infirmary to examine the party's employment contracts, which Othorion has been holding. She framed it as a practical skill:

"I used to look at the contracts over with my dad when he was official, like the fishing contracts that he had. I have a pretty good memory once I see or read something — that way, in case we ever lose these contracts."

She ran an Investigation check on the documents. The result:

"It seems pretty solid — and the names that are redacted is like completely black ink. There's no way to see what was written in."

The names of whoever commissioned the party's mission are entirely obscured. The contracts appear binding but the identities of the contracting parties are invisible.

Selene's conclusion: "The key to get out of here is in those contracts, but I can't make out anything from it."

Two exit proposals were floated at session's end:

"If we destroy the contracts, there's nothing binding them and they can just walk out."

"Or have them quit while the warden is still super out of it so she doesn't think about doing repercussions."

Neither was resolved.

The M.A.P. Red Dot — Archie Carmelton

A significant discovery emerged from the contracts scene. Selene noticed that Roland's M.A.P. device showed a red dot that seemed to track Othorion's movements:

"Before it was blinking when you were on top [the warden's floor]. And now it's blinking when you're here [in the infirmary]. You're the only one that came in here."

She asked Othorion whether he had picked up any additional items from the warden's office that might explain the tracking. She theorized: "I wonder if it's actually on you? Or if it's something that's tied to you?"

Selene returned to the party and asked Roland to recheck the M.A.P.:

"Roland, it's important, goddammit!"

The red dot confirmed: it follows Othorion. Then came the key moment. When a name was mentioned — Archie Carmelton — the dot stopped:

"It stopped regarding Archie Carmelton."

The significance of this name is unknown. It may be connected to Othorion's redacted identity in the contracts, to whoever is monitoring his movements through the M.A.P., or to something else entirely. The session ended before any further investigation could occur.

NPCs Encountered

Loot / Discoveries

Threads Opened / Advanced

• Graz'zt Deal — Sealed: Othorion accepted Graz'zt's terms. He must ensure a priestess's Underdark ritual is completed; in return, he steps into a lake and has his memories restored. The table has noted aloud that this is a bad idea.
• Archie Carmelton: The M.A.P.'s red dot stopped when this name was spoken in connection with Othorion. The name is unidentified — possibly a real name tied to Othorion's past, possibly the name of whoever commissioned his surveillance. This is an outstanding mystery.
• M.A.P. Red Dot: The device is tracking someone or something near Othorion specifically — it was active on the warden's floor and again in the infirmary. The tracking appears tied to Othorion's person, not a location.
• Contracts — Redacted: The party's employment documents have their contracting parties' names blacked out entirely. The key to legal departure from the prison may be in these documents. Two strategies: destroy them (no binding paperwork = free to walk) or use the warden's incapacitation as cover to slip away before she can respond.
• Weapons Recovery: The party's confiscated weapons are stored somewhere in Revel's End. Retrieval before departure is required.
• Selene's Underdark Concern: Selene has never ventured far into the Underdark. She is guiding the party there but acknowledged the limits of her knowledge. She is committed but not confident.
• Sienna / Kefkas: Sienna has inserted herself as Kefkas's protector and is in a barn with him. This is Kavu's doing — he told her where Kefkas was. Resolution unclear.
• Baby Axe Beak (Axby): Haldak is carrying a live baby Axe Beak. The party now knows what it is. No plan for the creature has been formed. Kavu consumed an egg in B19 that may have also been a specimen — no mechanical consequence has been assigned.