2/22/2023 Fireday of Harmony Week, Sea Season, Year of the Overlord 2164. After some discussion, the party decided that the corporeal forms of the succubae had been destroyed, and if they now destroyed the pyramid binding them, the succubae might never return. So, with a great swing of his sword, Kekax, Igny destroyed the pyramid. Also, that morning, Xaris and Dethjak returned, apparently successful in killing a hobgoblin king and eliminating the threat around the nearby woods. The party decided to place some orders for armor with the Issaries Guild blacksmith to be completed once they had constructed a forge in Eleva. First, for Mobec, the party placed an order costing 750 wheels for half-plate armor, which was expected to be completed on Clayday of Stasis Week. Then, for Helegan, the party spent 1,500 wheels on a set of plate armor, which was expected to be completed on Clayday of Movement Week. Finally, for an additional 1,500 wheels, the party placed an order for a second set of plate armor for Dethjak, which was expected to be completed on Clayday of Illusion Week. After placing these orders, the party returned to Baron Markowitz’s manor. There, they were informed that one of the guards, John, had been attacked by a lycanthrope, who then ran away. Fearing that John might be infected, Mobec suggested he search the nearby forest for wolfsbane to use to drive out the infection. Chance, impatient to search the rest of the underground corridors below the manor, grudgingly gave in to Igny and Mobec’s urging to first heal the guard. As the party searched the woods, John admitted that the incident with the lycanthrope was not random: he believed he was targeted because he had been having an ongoing affair with the lycanthrope’s wife. Meanwhile, Chance realized that he recognized where they were from his time under the influence of the succubae. He led the party to the grotto, where they examined the fresco’s depicting the Gods’ victory over the Old Ones, the locations of the some of the buried Old Ones, and – in the final images – an Old One being reawakened using some items collected from an island in the disk of worlds. After examining the murals, Mobec found some wolfsbane, and used it to drive out the infection from John. Finally, the party returned to the manor. There, Ragin Bunce informed the party that he had learned that the giant green monster was in fact some sort of slime. The party thanked him for this valuable information and promptly used the hatch in the library to go back to the underground tunnels. There, the party entered a room with 2 hobgoblins and a creature with one big eye and four eye stalks – apparently a spectator! The spectator was cooking something in a large pot and beckoned  the party in to try his cooking. Mobec, fancying himself something of a gourmet, approached first only to notice a human face floating at the top of the pot. Mobec was suddenly not very hungry, but the chef was rather pushy. Eventually, using some sleight of hand, Mobec pretended to drink the soup. Next, the pushy spectator insisted Chance try the soup as well. Meanwhile, Igny surreptitiously circled around behind the spectator. Chance tried to follow Mobec’s lead, but the spectator noticed his sleight of hand. The gig was up! Fortunately, the battle was over quickly as Igny smite the spectator twice, killing it before it had a chance to attack them. The party searched the room and discovered a corn cob doll belonging to the missing girl from Eleva, 122 wheels, and a box of exotic spices. Next, the party ventured down the final hallway they had not yet explored. A bird in a cage loudly announced their arrival: “alert! Intruders!” Gunther used his spell to construct a clay wall at the end of the corridor so that nothing could come attack them before Chance was ready to cast his fireball. At Gunther’s signal, he lowered the wall and Chance unleashed a fireball into the middle of the room at the end of the hallway. Then Igny rushed forward, but didn’t see any enemies in the smoke-filled room. Igny cast detect enemies and realized they were above him, waiting to pounce on him! His realization came too late to respond other than to shout a warning to the rest of the party. Soon, four giant spiders fell upon him, one of them biting him and poisoning him with a paralyzing poison. Helegan rushed forward to try to help Igny, only to be paralyzed himself. When Chance entered the room, a giant hobgoblin leapt down from above and blocked his path. The uber hobgoblin cast some sort of spell on Chance, but curiously there didn’t seem to be any noticeable effect. It probably meant nothing. Shortly thereafter, the hobgoblin said something to the spiders, and they all fled. Later, Kekax told Igny that the hobgoblin had said “our work here is done.” Igny recovered from the poison and used “Lay on Hands” to cure Helegan. The party searched the room and discovered 452 wheels and two cure poison potions. At one end of the room there was a very curious door. It looked inky and dark and radiated a lot of magic. And with that the session ended. TL;DR: The party killed a spectator and encountered more giant spiders.