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| Conversations with Syra-Zhull and Lanlyn |
Session 231- A Return to Barovia Part 81; Borca 8
8/2/2026
Watches are set and Team Rams settles into their guest rooms
for the night at Ocrotire Manor.
Fecus takes the first watch and it is uneventful as he sorts through
his inventory and reflects on the recent events. He is required
to make a Save Vs. Magic and is successful.
Gugula takes the second watch and uses the time to sharpen her
sword and maintain her armor. She is required to make a
Save Vs. Magic and fails. She hears a voice in her head asking
her to come talk face to face. She has enough presence of mind
to wake Fecus up and they go downstairs to the Exhibit Gallery of
the Menagerie. The Yuan-Ti woman talks to Gugula and Fecus
about the Ocrotire’s dark history. She claims Lord Amthor
sacrificed his wife and child to the monster in Lake Balaur. The
official story is that it was a boating accident on the lake, but
Syra-Zhull is emphatic that it was a sacrifice and the lake monster
controls Amthor. She attempts to cast Suggestion on Gugula and
Fecus. Gugula makes her Save Vs. Magic and Fecus fails his Save.
Syra-Zhull focuses on Fecus and tells him she won’t hurt him or his
friends if he releases her from her captivity. Gugula watches the
Yuan-Ti woman suspiciously as Fecus is charmed by the intelligent
creature. Syra-Zhull realizes Gugula and Fecus don’t have the
requisite skills to remove the magic wards on her enclosure. She
suggests Fecus go gather the Magic-Users of the party to release
her.
Gugula is relieved to put some distance between the affected
Fecus and Syra-Zhull as they return to the guest rooms upstairs.
They wake up Tim, Shelby, and Victor and explain the interaction
with the Yuan-Ti. Gugula pulls Tim aside to tell him she suspects
that Fecus was affected by a spell cast by Syra-Zhull. Tim casts
Dispel Magic on Fecus, and Fecus is restored to his own faculties.
The butler comes and knocks on the guest room door and asks if
the party are ok or if they need anything because he has heard
noises.
They group allows Dmitri to sit the third watch as they go downstairs
to carefully approach Syra-Zhull and try to learn more information.
They enter the gallery with a Wall of Force cast by Tim to repel any
of Syra-Zhull’s mental attacks. Syra-Zhull explains that she learned
of Lord Amthor’s hideous lie about his wife and child from the Triton
woman, Lanlyn. Lanlyn learned the terrible truth from the lake
monster, who talks and sings to the Triton woman telepathically.
Syra-Zhull tells Team Rams that they can talk to Lanlyn themselves
if they repair the conch shell pendant that Amthor broke to keep her
from continuing to talk to Syra-Zhull.
Tim casts Mend on Lanlyn’s conch shell pendant and it floats over to
Lanlyn’s grasp. Lanlyn tells Team Rams that the song of the lake
monster, Vireliith, has nearly driven her insane. The monster itself
might be mad. Lanlyn relates the monster’s desire to eat the gods
transformed into an intense worship of Ezra after Vireliith ate
Lord Amthor’s wife and child. Both wife and child had a strong belief
in Ezra, and the consumption of them transferred onto Vireliith into a
believer.
Syra-Zhull tries to bargain with Team Rams, claiming she knows
where part of the Vorpal Sword is located. If they release her, she
offers to assist them in recovering the piece that is in the possession
of Lord Tatenna.
Dmitri comes down to the gallery to tell Team Rams that the house
seems to be waking up and that the butler came around to knock on
the guest room, again.
The party leave the gallery and make their way into the dining room.
The maid greets them and serves coffee, tea, and breakfast items.
Mimsy bounces in, more energetic than the day before. She’s excited
that Team Rams will be guests at the Summer Garden Party to be
held at the Ritter Estate, her home. This is the summer of her debut,
and having guests that are new faces in the domain is exciting and
she’s hoping that it will add to her prestige as a debutante.
Lord Amthor joins the breakfast table and opines that he is sad he
didn’t get a chance to take Mimsy out on the lake in his boat. This
alarms Tim and Fecus, after the knowledge they gained from
Lord Amthor’s captives.
Mimsy is all packed and ready to go, but Tim and Shelby sneak off to
talk to Syra-Zhull and Lanlyn one last time before leaving
Ocrotire Manor. They each cast ESP on Syra-Zhull to gain more
information about Tatenna Estate and how they should go about trying
to recover the Vorpal Sword piece that is in Lord Tatenna’s
possession. The most opportune time would be during the
Summer Garden Party to be held there this summer.
Tim and Shelby remember that Dmitri’s oldest sister, Vera, is married
to a Tatenna and that Vera would like them to attend the party at
her in-laws’ estate.
Team Rams, Dmitri, and Mimsy Ritter leave Ocrotire Manor and travel
back to Ritter Estate uneventfully.
