📘 Session 22 - The Silent Nautiloid at the Red Portal

🪐 Campaign Arc

• Campaign: Spelljammer
• Session: 22 – The Silent Nautiloid at the Red Portal
• Date: 13/06/2026
• Dungeon Master: James / Jamie / Sicareus
• Setting: The party’s spelljammer, the Astral Sea, an asteroid field around a red portal, and an enemy Illithid nautiloid

🎬 Previously On...

After placing the silver crown on the Choir Master in Arvandor, the party fled through Valen’s Teleportation Circle, escaped Fizzwick’s island, fought and killed the returning Morkoth, and returned to their spelljammer. Their brief safety ended when the Marut returned and dragged most of the party back before Primus, leaving Rigg hidden aboard the ship.

Primus confirmed that Corellon had been angered, that rival Illithids were hunting the party over the stolen letters, and that another group was already moving within the wider task. The party’s new command was clear in wording and horrible in content: travel to Carceri, find the Red Prison, stop the Mind Flayers, and release Tharizdun.

🧭 Overview

Session 22 began with the party reunited aboard their spelljammer, though not in equal states of dignity. Everyone except Rigg had returned from Primus’ metallic domain covered in strange clockwork residue, while Rigg had missed the divine briefing entirely and needed to be caught up. The group confirmed their next destination: a red portal somewhere in the Astral Sea, tied to Carceri and the Red Prison. Before they could travel, the party had to pay the now-familiar magical toll, sacrificing the Cloak of Protection, the Immovable Rod, and Leydrick’s one-use wound-closure amulet to gain enough planar “juice” for the journey.

After a long but uneventful trip, the red portal came into sight within a dense asteroid field. The portal was only humanoid-sized, making it useless for ship travel, but the more immediate problem was the silent nautiloid waiting nearby. The enemy ship showed no visible movement from a distance, so Rigg volunteered for a stealth infiltration. High Jinks sent her newly named imp familiar, Q, with him, using the familiar’s invisibility and scouting ability to help search the ship. Rigg disabled one of the nautiloid’s weapons and found several Illithid living spaces full of psionic devices he could not properly identify.

The stealth mission went bad in the traditional party style: almost successful, then immediately everyone chose violence. Q slipped into a chamber with three figures and helped steal a strange Illithid tome, but was caught or destroyed before escaping. Rigg got the book back to the party and handed it to Valen, while High Jinks, furious over Q’s loss, flew toward the enemy ship in Mind Flayer disguise. Dino drove the party’s nautiloid into position, used its tentacles to retrieve Rigg, then launched himself into the enemy ship. What followed was a brutal corridor battle against Mind Flayers and Alhoons, ending when Dino shook off his stun and carved the final foe apart with two critical strikes. The session ended before the ship could be searched or the red portal entered.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Party Members

📍 Key Locations

• The party’s spelljammer: Starting point after Primus’ summons; Rigg had remained aboard while the others returned coated in metallic residue.
• Astral Sea route: The long travel path toward the red portal, powered by sacrificed magic items.
• Asteroid field: A dense field around the destination portal, giving cover and making the approach cautious.
• Red portal: The vision-guided destination toward Carceri and the Red Prison. It was only humanoid-sized, so neither nautiloid could pass through it.
• Enemy nautiloid exterior: The silent Illithid vessel waiting near the portal, initially showing no visible movement from a distance.
• Enemy nautiloid living quarters: Rooms searched by Rigg, filled with beds, tables, small artifacts, and psionic devices he could not meaningfully operate.
• Enemy nautiloid weapon room: Rigg disabled one rope-and-gear weapon system by cutting part of it and pulling out a component.
• Enemy nautiloid corridor: The main battlefield, where Mind Flayers, Alhoons, party members, spells, steel, and bad spatial awareness all collided.

🎭 Key Scenes

Rigg and Q: The Book Heist

Inside the silent Illithid nautiloid, Rigg moved room by room, listening for footsteps and slipping through doors while Q crept ahead unseen. The living quarters were full of strange psionic tools, useless to a non-psionic thief but clearly part of a Mind Flayer vessel. When Q found crystals, a wand, and a suspicious tome guarded by three figures, the pair pushed their luck. The imp created a distraction, the book was stolen, and Rigg escaped with the prize — but Q did not make it back.

High Jinks and Q: The Familiar Lost

When High Jinks realized Q had been caught or destroyed, caution lost the argument. Wearing her Mind Flayer disguise, she launched herself toward the enemy ship across the void. It was not the safest move, but it was exactly the move High Jinks would make: angry, grieving, and suddenly much less interested in leaving the Illithids alone.

Valen and Dino: Fire in the Corridor

The battle compressed into a brutal nautiloid corridor, with Dino trapped near the front and enemies packed around him. Valen stepped into position and chose the wizard’s oldest answer to clustered problems: Fireball. The explosion tore through Mind Flayers and Alhoons, but the cramped space gave mercy to no one. Dino took the blast along with the enemy, turning the tactic into both a breakthrough and a reminder that friendly fire is still fire.

Leydrick’s Healing Word Through Smoke

As the corridor burns and minds break, Leydrick drags the party back from the edge.

Dino and the Alhoon: Two Critical Cuts

Near the end, the last Alhoon still stood despite spellfire, thrown weapons, freezing backlash, and a corridor full of violence. Dino, fresh from being stunned and absolutely finished with the creature’s existence, surged forward. He leapt over his Steel Defender, struck twice with brutal precision, and cut the enemy down in a final burst of Githyanki fury.

📑 Session Highlights

• The session opened with Rigg seeing the others return from Primus covered in strange metallic residue.
• The party reviewed Primus’ command and clarified that the next major destination was Carceri, specifically the Red Prison tied to Tharizdun.
• Valen and the others confirmed that the small chest from the Morkoth had already been opened previously.
• Everyone who had gone to Mechanus felt a directional pull and received a brief vision of a distant red portal.
• The party needed three more magical items to fuel the next long journey.
• The chosen sacrifices were the Cloak of Protection, the Immovable Rod, and Leydrick’s one-use wound-closure amulet.
• The anti-scrying rings from Arborea were confirmed to have burned up or snapped after leaving that situation.
• High Jinks confirmed she now wears the Robe of Eyes, and specifically wanted future images to show it.
• During the long travel, Rigg asked Dino for lessons in “shooty-shooty-bang-bang,” mostly involving how to hold a firearm sideways with confidence and questionable practicality.
• Near the red portal, the party found a silent enemy nautiloid waiting among asteroids.
• The portal itself was only humanoid-sized, meaning neither ship could simply fly through it.
• Rigg and Q infiltrated the enemy ship while the rest of the party waited aboard their own vessel.
• Rigg found Illithid devices and artifacts throughout the living quarters, but most appeared to rely on psionics and were not useful to him.
• Rigg disabled one enemy ship weapon by cutting its workings and removing a gear or component.
• Q entered a guarded chamber, located crystals, a wand, and a tome, and helped steal the tome.
• Q was caught or destroyed during the escape, which pushed High Jinks into a furious, direct boarding attempt.
• Dino used the party nautiloid’s tentacle system to retrieve Rigg, teleporting him into one of the unlocked cells aboard their ship.
• High Jinks flew toward the enemy vessel in Mind Flayer disguise, driven more by grief and anger over Q than by tactical sanity.
• Dino launched himself into the enemy ship and began the fight at close range.
• The enemy force included regular Mind Flayers and Alhoons, the latter appearing as dried, pale, lich-like Illithid spellcasters.
• Valen’s Cause Fear drove one enemy away through the corridor.

• Dino was repeatedly targeted by tentacles, psychic pressure, and Mind Blast, spending a painful portion of the battle stunned or grappled.
• Valen cast a fourth-level Fireball in the tight corridor, badly burning multiple enemies and also catching Dino in the blast.
• Leydrick patched Dino back up afterward and later used Mass Healing Word to restore 21 HP to everyone in range.
• High Jinks’ Armor of Agathys punished melee attackers with cold damage, and her later retaliation added more punishment through fire.
• Rigg scored a heavy Bag O’ Nutz Sneak Attack that caused an enemy’s head to burst apart, spraying gore through the corridor.

• One heavily wounded Mind Flayer chose to Plane Shift away rather than stay and try to eat Dino’s brain.
• An Alhoon used Negate Spell against Valen’s Cause Fear, but the spell slot or charge was not wasted.
• The final enemy survived a ridiculous amount of punishment before Dino, freshly free from stun and furious, landed two critical hits and carved it into pieces.
• The session ended before the party could loot the bodies, search the nautiloid properly, study the stolen tome, or enter the red portal.

🧵 Ongoing Threads & Plot Hooks

• The red portal: The party has reached it, but has not yet gone through. It is humanoid-sized and appears tied to the route toward Carceri and the Red Prison.
• The Red Prison: The main task remains unresolved: reach Carceri, find the prison, stop the Mind Flayers, and release Tharizdun.
• The stolen Illithid tome: Rigg recovered a book written in Illithid script and carrying a nasty aura. Valen needs about an hour to study it properly.
• Q’s fate: High Jinks’ imp familiar was lost during the theft. Whether Q was captured, destroyed, or recoverable was not resolved during the session.
• The escaped Mind Flayer: One badly wounded Mind Flayer Plane Shifted away instead of dying. That is almost never free of consequences.
• The enemy nautiloid: The ship has not yet been searched after the fight. It may contain clues, supplies, psionic devices, letters, maps, or additional trouble.
• The other group: Another group appears to be advancing the wider Primus-linked task network. Their motives, route, and current progress remain unclear.
• Corellon’s wrath: The consequences of crowning the Choir Master and silencing heaven’s music remain unresolved.
• Magical fuel cost: The party keeps sacrificing useful magic items to move between major planar targets. This is now officially a pattern, not a quirk.

💰 Loot & Discoveries

⏳ Cliffhanger

• The final enemy aboard the visible battle area was killed by Dino’s double-critical strike.
• At least one wounded Mind Flayer escaped by Plane Shift.
• Q is missing after the failed familiar escape.
• The stolen Illithid tome is in Valen’s hands but has not yet been deciphered.
• The enemy nautiloid has not yet been looted, searched, or fully secured.
• The red portal still waits outside among the asteroids, and the party has not yet stepped through toward Carceri.