# 📘 Session 24 – Rot and Ruin in Cathrys

<details id="bkmrk-%F0%9F%8E%B5-music-%5Bplaceholder"><summary>🎵 Music</summary>

[![image.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/1i3image.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/1i3image.png)<video class=" align-center" controls="controls" height="50" poster="" width="100%"><source src="https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/attachments/211"></source></video>**Red Sky Over Cathrys**

```
[Intro]
Red sky.
Dead air.
No birds in the trees.
Cathrys waits
Where nothing breathes.

[Verse 1]
Mist on the river, black boat drifting slow,
Ferryman silent where the cold waters flow.
Rigg asks why we free what should never be freed,
Old god chained underneath all the red and the reeds.

Step from the boat,
Into the rot.
Sweet in the air like the whole world forgot.
High Jinks rising, eyes in the trees—
Something moves where nobody sees.

[Pre-Hook]
Then the ground breaks open,
Dead bloom, corpse-filled spine.
Leydrick keeps talking:
“We’re gonna be fine.”

[Hook]
Red sky over Cathrys,
Rot beneath our feet.
Kill the bloody thing,
Then get out clean.

Through the corpse and acid,
Through the claws and screams,
Five walked into Cathrys—
Five leave the scene.

[Verse 2]
Valen throws Fear and the nightmare recoils,
Rod goes up—now the horror changes sides.
Flower spits bodies, dead hit the ground,
Farastu closing while the roots lash around.

Steel Defender shattered,
Parts in the mud.
Dino throws a field—
Takes the edge off the blood.

Then R drops still.

High Jinks turns cold.
Eldritch force hits hard—
No mercy left to hold.

[Break]
One fiend vanishes.
One stays to fight.

Rigg steps forward.

Big wrench.

Good night.

[Drop]
Fifty-seven damage.

Peppermint tea.

[Hook]
Red sky over Cathrys,
Rot beneath our feet.
Kill the bloody thing,
Then get out clean.

Through the corpse and acid,
Through the claws and screams,
Five walked into Cathrys—
Five leave the scene.

[Bridge]
Valen Thunder Steps,
Gets out alive.
Leydrick takes the claws,
Still refuses to die.

One prayer.
One save.
One flash of light.

Farastu gone—

But not for good.

[Final Hook]
Red sky over Cathrys,
Silence in the trees.
One fiend is hiding,
One waits somewhere unseen.

R is gone.
Steel is broken.
Still we follow through.

Mind Flayers deeper.

Resident waiting.

What the hell are we about to do?

[Outro]
No birds.
No flies.
Red sky overhead.

And somewhere in Cathrys—

Something isn’t dead.
```

</details><details id="bkmrk-session24-images"><summary>🖼️ Images</summary>

[![image.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/8ckimage.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/8ckimage.png)

[![image.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/vVPimage.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/vVPimage.png)

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[![image.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/fsQimage.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/fsQimage.png)

[![image.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/bBeimage.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/bBeimage.png)

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[![image.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/Fcrimage.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/Fcrimage.png)

[![image.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/2iBimage.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/2iBimage.png)

[![image.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/7bOimage.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/7bOimage.png)

[![image.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/ocHimage.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/ocHimage.png)

</details>## <iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class=" align-center" height="461" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6LBnB0kIhsg" style="width: 824px; height: 461px;" width="824"></iframe>



## 🪐 Campaign Arc

- **Campaign:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> Spelljammer</span>
- **Session:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> 24 – </span>**Rot and Ruin in Cathrys**
- **Date:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> 8 August 2026</span>
- **Dungeon Master:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> James / Jamie / Sicareus</span>
- **Setting:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> The Ferryman’s silvery river and boat → Cathrys, the second layer of Carceri</span>
- **Next Session:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> 29 August 2026</span>

## 🎬 Previously On...

<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Session 23 ended with the party standing over the body of the corrupted Frost Giant on Othrys. The creature had been killing the ferryman’s kind, and Dino had personally sealed a bargain: kill it, and the ferryman would carry the group deeper into Carceri. With the giant slain, the debt was paid and passage toward </span>**Cathrys**, Carceri’s second layer, was now owed.

<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Behind them remained the red portal, the damaged Illithid nautiloid and at least one escaped Mind Flayer. Ahead, the surviving Illithid expedition had already travelled deeper into Carceri. Primus’ command still hung over almost everyone in the party: stop the Mind Flayers, find the Red Prison, and ultimately release </span>**Tharizdun**. The closer they came to that final instruction, however, the less anyone liked the sound of it.

## 🧭 Overview

Session 24 began in the immediate aftermath of the Frost Giant battle. The party returned to the ferryman, boarded his mist-shrouded vessel and finally took the long rest they had been craving. During the journey the entire party advanced to<span style="color: rgb(45, 194, 107); white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>**level 9**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">, with new spells and abilities selected before the next leg of the descent. High Jinks chose </span>**Ascendant Step**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">, granting her the ability to levitate at will, while Leydrick prepared </span>**Motivational Speech**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> for whatever inevitable disaster waited on the far shore.</span>![7da87a22-5f94-4172-a64d-37d417192719.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/7da87a22-5f94-4172-a64d-37d417192719.png)<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The quiet voyage also gave the party time to confront the increasingly uncomfortable truth behind their mission. Rigg openly questioned why they were being compelled to release “the resident” when everything they had learned suggested doing so was an appalling idea. When the ferryman was questioned directly about </span>**Tharizdun**, even he recoiled from the name and warned against speaking it freely. He described Tharizdun as an ancient god chained by newer powers after attempting to tear a hole through the planes. The party was also reminded that another group was already moving toward the same objective; whatever decision they eventually made, they were no longer the only pieces on the board.

<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The ferryman finally delivered them to </span>**Cathrys**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">. What awaited them was a rotting jungle beneath another crimson sky: swampy ground, collapsing vegetation, the sickly-sweet smell of overripe decay and, most disturbingly, almost complete silence. There were no birds or insects. While Rigg and High Jinks searched for signs of movement, something invisible stalked them between the trees. Before they could identify it, a vast bone-filled plant monstrosity pushed its way out of the jungle. The ensuing battle drew out zombies and two </span>**Farastu Demodands**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">, cost High Jinks her newly summoned pseudodragon </span>**R**, destroyed Dino’s Steel Defender, and ended with one Farastu fleeing invisibly and the other being banished somewhere else on Cathrys.

## 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Party Members

<p class="callout success">Party Level up to level 9</p>

<table id="bkmrk-characterplayerclass" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><colgroup><col style="width: 187px;"></col><col style="width: 122px;"></col><col style="width: 118px;"></col><col style="width: 86px;"></col><col></col></colgroup><tbody><tr><th>Character

</th><th>Player

</th><th>Class/Subclass

</th><th>Race

</th><th>Notable Actions

</th></tr><tr><td>Garrick “Rigg” Dalhart

[![image.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/otMimage.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/otMimage.png)

</td><td>Moose / Ben / Elemunk

</td><td>Rogue (Swashbuckler)

</td><td>Human

</td><td><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Questioned the wisdom of releasing Tharizdun; stealthily investigated the unseen creature stalking the party; used Bag O’ Nutz, Sneak Attack and Fire Strike during the opening fight; later landed the infamous </span>

**57-damage “peppermint tea” critical**

<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> with the Big Ol’ Wrench against a Farastu Demodand.</span>

</td></tr><tr><td>Leydrick Gefinhal

[![image.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/7YZimage.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/7YZimage.png)

</td><td>Jared / Galindis

</td><td>Cleric (Life Domain)

</td><td>Dwarf

</td><td><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Completed </span>

**Motivational Speech**

<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the middle of the Corpse Flower fight; battered enemies with the Dwarven Thrower; kept allies alive with healing; survived a savage Farastu assault that removed most of his remaining health; then successfully cast </span>

**Banishment**

<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> on the fiend and removed it from the battlefield.</span>

</td></tr><tr><td>High Jinks

[![image.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/f6limage.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/f6limage.png)

</td><td>Kate / Keitachan

</td><td>Warlock (Great Old One)

</td><td>Tabaxi

</td><td><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Chose </span>

**Ascendant Step**

<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> during the level-up and immediately made use of at-will Levitate to scout Cathrys; her Robe of Eyes helped expose movement that would otherwise have remained unseen; maintained ranged pressure with Eldritch Blast and protected herself with Armor of Agathys. Her pseudodragon </span>

**R**

<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> was killed by a Corpse Flower Zombie, which High Jinks immediately destroyed.</span>

</td></tr><tr><td>Dynoth “Dino Roar” Rokos

[![image.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/liSimage.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/liSimage.png)

</td><td>Robb / Baconbuff

</td><td>Artificer (Battle Smith) / Fighter (Psi Warrior)

</td><td>Githyanki

</td><td><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Held the frontline with the Moon-Touched Longsword, Dancing Longsword and Psionic Strike; continued fighting despite the Corpse Flower’s poisonous stench; redirected onto the newly arrived Farastu as soon as they revealed themselves; used </span>

**Protective Field**

<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> to reduce a heavy hit against Leydrick by 11 damage. His </span>

**Steel Defender was destroyed**

<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> by a Farastu.</span>

</td></tr><tr><td>Valen Pyre

[![image.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/3fLimage.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/3fLimage.png)

</td><td>Justin / Slitzer

</td><td>Wizard (Evoker)

</td><td>Human

</td><td><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Successfully frightened the Sovereign Corpse Flower with </span>

**Cause Fear**

<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">; later used the </span>

**Rod of Rulership**

, failing to dominate either Farastu but successfully turning the Corpse Flower and one of its zombies against them. Used Thunder Step to escape close engagement and later placed a Fireball onto the remaining Farastu without catching the party.

</td></tr></tbody></table>

## 📍 Key Locations

- **The Ferryman’s Boat:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> The party’s protected transport through Carceri. Mist swallowed the vessel during the journey, providing enough time for a long rest and the party’s level-up to 9.</span>
- **The Silvery River:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> The dangerous waterway previously encountered on Othrys. The ferryman remained the party’s only safe means of travelling it. When asked about returning later, his answer remained transactional: without the required coin, there was no guarantee of another crossing.</span>
- **Cathrys Shore:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> The party’s landing point on Carceri’s second layer. From here the ferryman pointed them onward and left them to continue their descent.</span>
- **The Rotting Jungle of Cathrys:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> A dead and decomposing jungle beneath a red sky. The air carried a disturbingly sweet smell of decay, while the complete absence of birds and insects made the silence itself feel threatening.</span>
- **The Jungle Bridge:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> A crossing used as the group pushed farther into Cathrys before signs of nearby movement became obvious.</span>
- **The Corpse Flower Battlefield:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> A swampy clearing among dead trees where the Sovereign Corpse Flower emerged and the two Farastu Demodands finally revealed themselves.</span>

## 📑 Session Highlights

- The ferryman honoured his bargain from Session 23 and carried the party toward Cathrys.
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The party completed a long rest aboard the boat and advanced to </span>**level 9**.
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">High Jinks selected </span>**Ascendant Step**, gaining at-will Levitate.
- Rigg openly questioned whether releasing Tharizdun was becoming an obviously terrible idea despite the compulsion driving most of the party.
- The ferryman warned the party not to speak Tharizdun’s name lightly and described him as an ancient imprisoned god who had attempted to tear a hole through the planes.
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The party was reminded that </span>**another group is already travelling toward the same objective**.
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The ferryman delivered the party to </span>**Cathrys, Carceri’s second layer**.
- The party discovered a silent, rotting jungle filled with swamp, dead vegetation and a sickly-sweet smell of decay.
- High Jinks’ Robe of Eyes and Rigg’s perception revealed signs of something unseen moving through the trees.
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">A </span>**Sovereign Corpse Flower**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> emerged from the jungle carrying corpses within its body and began throwing or releasing them as zombies.</span>
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Leydrick completed </span>**Motivational Speech**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> while combat continued around him, granting the party temporary protection and a badly needed morale boost.</span>

> ***“All right, team, we’ve come a long way. We’ve just got off a bloody boat, and we’re gonna venture through this forest. We’re gonna find the Resident, but first we may have to make it through this shithole.There’s some bloody things stalking us, and there’s a bloody giant plant-looking thing with bloody bones coming out of it.So we’re gonna kill this bloody thing, and we’re gonna pass this place, and we’re gonna be fine, right?”***

- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Valen successfully used </span>**Cause Fear**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> on the Corpse Flower, forcing the enormous plant horror to recoil and retreat.</span>
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">High Jinks’ pseudodragon </span>**R**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> attacked one of the zombies but was killed. High Jinks immediately destroyed the zombie responsible.</span>
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Two previously hidden creatures revealed themselves as </span>**Farastu Demodands**, powerful fiends capable of grappling prey and delivering devastating acidic bites.
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Valen activated the </span>**Rod of Rulership**. Both Farastu resisted its magic, but the Corpse Flower and one zombie fell under his control and were ordered to attack the fiends.
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">One Farastu destroyed Dino’s </span>**Steel Defender**, reducing it to component parts.
- The charmed Corpse Flower attacked a Farastu but was eventually struck down by one of the fiends while attempting to move away. The Sovereign Corpse Flower died with a final shriek.
- Roll20 began failing and delaying rolls badly enough that several attacks had to be resolved manually with physical dice and increasingly questionable arithmetic.
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Rigg delivered the session’s largest single hit: a </span>**57-damage critical**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> with the Big Ol’ Wrench against a Farastu, immediately christened “peppermint tea.”</span>
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Valen used </span>**Thunder Step**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> to escape a Farastu at close range while damaging it in the process.</span>
- One wounded Farastu turned invisible and fled into the jungle. High Jinks’ Robe of Eyes allowed the party to continue tracking its movement briefly, but it escaped.
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The remaining Farastu savaged Leydrick with a claw-and-bite combination for roughly </span>**50 damage**, leaving him standing but barely.
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Leydrick retaliated with </span>**Banishment**. Because the Farastu was a fiend already on its native plane, it did not return to the battlefield after one minute; instead it was displaced somewhere else on Carceri.
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The battle ended with </span>**no player-character deaths**, but High Jinks had lost R and Dino had lost his Steel Defender.
- After combat, Leydrick smashed the Corpse Flower’s remains to prevent any unpleasant reuse of the bodies while High Jinks sat with R and repeatedly blasted the remains of the zombie that had killed him.
- <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The party searched the immediate area, but </span>**no specific new treasure was confirmed**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> before the session ended.</span>

<details id="bkmrk-session24-encounter-status"><summary>⚔️ Encounter Resolution</summary>

<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><colgroup><col></col><col></col><col></col></colgroup><tbody><tr><th>Creature / Companion

</th><th>Final Status

</th><th>Notes

</th></tr><tr><td>Sovereign Corpse Flower

</td><td><span style="color: rgb(224, 62, 45);">Dead</span>

</td><td>Initially fought the party, was frightened by Valen, then charmed through the Rod of Rulership and turned against the Farastu. It was finally killed by a Farastu while attempting to withdraw.

</td></tr><tr><td>Corpse Flower Zombies

</td><td><span style="color: rgb(224, 62, 45);">Destroyed</span>

</td><td>The flower released corpses as zombies during the encounter. One killed High Jinks’ pseudodragon R before High Jinks destroyed it.

</td></tr><tr><td>Farastu Demodand – Invisible Escapee

</td><td>Alive / Escaped

</td><td>Badly wounded, turned invisible and fled farther into Cathrys. High Jinks could briefly follow its movement through the Robe of Eyes, but it escaped.

</td></tr><tr><td>Farastu Demodand – Banished

</td><td>Alive / Displaced

</td><td>Nearly killed Leydrick before failing against Banishment. As a native fiend of the plane, it was displaced somewhere else in Carceri rather than being permanently sent to another plane.

</td></tr><tr><td>Pseudodragon R

</td><td><span style="color: rgb(224, 62, 45);">Dead</span>

</td><td>High Jinks’ newly summoned familiar from Session 23. Killed by a Corpse Flower Zombie.

</td></tr><tr><td>Dino’s Steel Defender

</td><td><span style="color: rgb(224, 62, 45);">Destroyed</span>

</td><td>Torn apart by a Farastu Demodand. Dino indicated that repairs or rebuilding would be needed afterward, but no completed rebuild occurred before the end of the session.

</td></tr></tbody></table>

</details>## 🎭 Key Scenes

---

### The Ferryman Refuses the Name

![7da87a22-5f94-4172-a64d-37d417192719.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/zXI7da87a22-5f94-4172-a64d-37d417192719.png)**With the boat moving silently through the mist,* **Rigg** *pushed the ferryman for answers about the being everyone else called “the resident.” When Tharizdun’s name was finally spoken, the* **Ferryman** *reacted immediately. He did not want the name repeated aboard his vessel. What little he offered was hardly reassuring: Tharizdun was an old god, chained by newer gods after attempting to tear open the structure of the planes. Asked why anyone would free such a being, the ferryman had no comforting answer.**

---

### Valen Turns the Flower

![grok-cf085232-f707-41e2-80b6-a1502b2123e1.jpg](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/grok-cf085232-f707-41e2-80b6-a1502b2123e1.jpg)**The enormous* **Sovereign Corpse Flower** *had already filled the clearing with poison, corpses and zombies when* **Valen** *broke its momentum with Cause Fear. Later, as the Farastu emerged, he raised the Rod of Rulership. The fiends resisted—but the flower did not. Moments later the same monster that had been trying to kill the party twisted around under Valen’s command and lashed out at the new arrivals instead.**

---

### Peppermint Tea

![grok-95b0a608-06ea-4f6d-aa60-10c9e72fedbc.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/grok-95b0a608-06ea-4f6d-aa60-10c9e72fedbc.png)**With Roll20 barely functioning and the fight reduced to physical dice and increasingly hostile arithmetic,* **Rigg** *closed on a wounded* **Farastu Demodand***. The Big Ol’ Wrench came around in a brutal critical strike for* **57 damage***. The blow smashed into the fiend before Rigg slipped back out of its immediate reach. The attack was promptly—and inexplicably—named “peppermint tea.”**

---

### Leydrick Sends It Away

![grok-c349941c-da42-4c8f-a769-7a172c44a642.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/grok-c349941c-da42-4c8f-a769-7a172c44a642.png)**The remaining* **Farastu Demodand** *finally reached* **Leydrick** *and demonstrated why the earlier caution had been justified. Claw and acidic bite tore through most of the cleric’s remaining health in a single sequence. Still standing, Leydrick answered with Banishment. The fiend failed. It vanished from the clearing—not destroyed, but hurled somewhere else across the prison plane. The immediate problem disappeared. The future problem became considerably angrier.**

## 🧵 Ongoing Threads &amp; Plot Hooks

- **Primus’ Mandate:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> The party remains compelled to stop the Mind Flayers and ultimately release Tharizdun. The group is now openly questioning whether completing that order could be catastrophic.</span>
- **Tharizdun:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> The ferryman’s reaction reinforced everything previously learned: the “resident” is not simply another prisoner. He is an ancient god imprisoned after attempting to tear open the multiverse or planes.</span>
- **The Other Group:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> Another group is already travelling toward the same broader objective. Their identity, motives and current distance ahead of the party remain unknown.</span>
- **The Illithid Expedition:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> Mind Flayers who survived the earlier journey through Othrys are still somewhere deeper in Carceri. One Illithid also escaped the nautiloid battle before the party entered the red portal.</span>
- **The Invisible Farastu:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> One Farastu Demodand escaped alive and invisible into Cathrys. It now knows exactly who the party is.</span>
- **The Banished Farastu:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> Leydrick’s Banishment removed the second Farastu from the fight, but did not destroy it. It remains alive somewhere else on the same plane.</span>
- **Two Angry Fiends:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> By the DM’s own assessment, the party now has two very angry Farastu somewhere on Carceri.</span>
- **High Jinks’ Familiar:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> Pseudodragon R was killed only one session after being summoned. High Jinks ended the encounter holding the body.</span>
- **Dino’s Steel Defender:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> The construct was destroyed by a Farastu. Dino intends to repair or rebuild it, but that work had not been completed when the session ended.</span>
- **The Alhoon Crystals:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> Session 23 recorded two mind-trapping crystals recovered from the destroyed Alhoons. During Session 24’s recap the DM confirmed that the party had not given them to the ferryman and that at least one remained. The exact current count should be reconciled against character inventory.</span>
- **The Ferryman’s Return:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> The ferryman delivered the party as promised, but a future crossing appears to require the traditional payment. The party still does not possess a convenient supply of soul coins.</span>
- **Safe Rest:**<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> The group survived the battle and Leydrick restored himself, but no secure campsite or resting location in Cathrys had been established by the end of the session.</span>

## 💰 Loot &amp; Discoveries

<table id="bkmrk-item-%2F-discoveryfind" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;"><colgroup><col></col><col></col><col></col></colgroup><tbody><tr><th>Item / Discovery

</th><th>Finder

</th><th>Description / Status

</th></tr><tr><td>Cathrys

</td><td>Party

</td><td><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The group has successfully reached the </span>

**second layer of Carceri**

. The local environment is a silent, rotting jungle beneath a red sky, with swampy terrain, unnatural decay and powerful fiends moving unseen among the trees.

</td></tr><tr><td>No confirmed new material loot

</td><td>Party

</td><td>Dino proposed searching the Corpse Flower and surrounding battlefield after combat, but no specific treasure or item was confirmed before the session closed.

</td></tr></tbody></table>

## ⏳ Cliffhanger

<table class="align-center" id="bkmrk--5" style="border-style: hidden;"><colgroup><col style="width: 681px;"></col><col style="width: 685px;"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 10px;"><td>[![grok-9afcb472-cab6-4ab9-9568-3e0cd1067861.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/grok-9afcb472-cab6-4ab9-9568-3e0cd1067861.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/grok-9afcb472-cab6-4ab9-9568-3e0cd1067861.png)

</td><td>[![grok-cc3fff78-b623-4957-8919-ce8c128d34b1.png](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/scaled-1680-/grok-cc3fff78-b623-4957-8919-ce8c128d34b1.png)](https://bookstack.thecartwrights.nz/uploads/images/gallery/2026-08/grok-cc3fff78-b623-4957-8919-ce8c128d34b1.png)

</td></tr></tbody></table>

- The Sovereign Corpse Flower is dead and its remaining corpses have been deliberately smashed or destroyed.
- High Jinks’ pseudodragon R is dead.
- Dino’s Steel Defender has been destroyed.
- One Farastu escaped invisibly into Cathrys.
- The second Farastu was banished elsewhere on Carceri and remains alive.
- No secure resting place has yet been confirmed in the dead jungle.
- The surviving Illithids and the unidentified rival group remain somewhere ahead.
- The party must continue deeper toward a prisoner they increasingly believe should probably remain imprisoned.

<p class="callout info">**Next Session: 29 August 2026.**</p>