Recap
Deep in a cult’s abandoned underground complex, the party finds evidence of a heart-stealing ritual tied to an incoming “new lord,” Brother Felhorn. A living Sphinx Painting demands three riddles be answered to pass, zapping failed guesses with lightning before the party gets all three right. Beyond it, a Nexus-portal device lets Alexander scout a frozen plane with ice golems and a frost giant. After resting, having their aging curses lifted, and gearing up, the party (minus Donnie and Ozan, who stay behind with the now-sentient Sphinx) steps through the one-way portal — arriving face-to-face with the frost giant on a cliffhanger.
Key events
- The party finds cultist quarters, desiccated heart-removed bodies, and a note naming a ritual gathering to welcome “Brother Felhorn” @ 00:07:22–00:18:33.
- A living Sphinx Painting demands three riddles to pass a secret door, lightning-zapping wrong guesses @ 00:27:24–00:58:56.
- All three riddles are answered correctly (the letter N; sawdust; time), with heavy damage taken along the way @ 00:41:50–00:58:02.
- The floor teleports the party into a new sealed complex with a Nexus-portal device @ 00:58:56–01:08:00.
- Alexander scouts the portal’s destination remotely via his Psycrystal: a frozen plane with ice golems, a frost giant, and treasure @ 01:08:00–01:17:35.
- The party rests in town, has aging curses lifted for free by a church of Abadar, and gears up for cold weather @ 02:34:30–02:55:44.
- The party (minus Donnie and Ozan, who remain with the Sphinx) steps through the one-way portal and arrives on the frozen plane facing the frost giant and ice golems @ 03:08:00.
Entities referenced
- NPCs: Sphinx Painting, Brother Felhorn (unseen), the church priest/janitor
- Factions: Grimson Knights
- Items: the ship’s… — see Locate Portal Sextant, Psycrystal, Ember (sword)
- Quests: discover what’s through the Nexus portal network (progressed); complete the seven-jewel locate-portal sextant (started)
Unresolved
Whether the painting is “the Sphinx” or “the Phoenix” is used inconsistently in the transcript; treated here as one entity, the Sphinx.