Recap
After the house confrontation, the party identified the interrupted ritual as “Portrait of Spite,” though the intended portrait target was unknown. Continued house exploration produced a hag journal and additional evidence clarifying Shadow Ash’s role in a broader poison-undead control plan.
Major Events
- Identified the interrupted ritual as “Portrait of Spite.”
- Confirmed the ritual target identity remained unknown (unclear who the portrait depicted).
- Found a journal from the hag, Nathnelma.
- Found no journal details that undermined the party’s prior story about Lixl.
- Confirmed Shadow Ash was the missing ingredient in Nathnelma’s poison plan.
- Journal notes described efforts to create a poison that would kill victims and make them easier to raise as obedient undead under the poison creator’s control.
- Journal notes said Nathnelma never acquired Shadow Ash, the final ingredient needed to complete that plan.
- Journal notes said Iron Taviah and Sahni Bride-of-the-Sea made their ingredients skillfully but too slowly.
- Journal notes said Decrosia‘s mass-produced toxin components were often not worth shipping, though some were still passed along.
- Most recent journal entries noted someone was killing fellow Graveclaw Coven members and described Nathnelma’s attempts to identify those responsible.
- Continued exploring and looting the rest of the house.
- Found a room of mirrors used by Nathnelma to scry on people.
NPCs and Factions Mentioned
- Nathnelma - Journal author; linked to Shadow Ash dependency, poison/undead-control objective, and mirror-scrying setup.
- Graveclaw Coven - Journal entries reported active killings of fellow members.
- Iron Taviah - Cited in journal as a skillful but slow ingredient producer.
- Sahni Bride-of-the-Sea - Cited in journal as a skillful but slow ingredient producer.
- Decrosia - Cited in journal as provider of mass-produced toxin components with mixed shipping value.
- Lixl - Named only in relation to journal review not contradicting the party’s prior story.
Important Context
- The journal provided direct internal process details for the poison project and clarified that Shadow Ash remained a blocking requirement.
- Evidence now includes both written journal context and observed scrying infrastructure in Nathnelma’s residence.
Unresolved Threads
- Determine who the “Portrait of Spite” ritual was targeting.
- Identify who is killing fellow Graveclaw Coven members.
- Determine how Nathnelma’s mirror room was being used operationally and who was being watched.
- Decide disposition/interrogation priorities given the journal’s poison and undead-control details.