TL;DR Episode 12 - Return to the House of Lament Part 2

**Short Summary:**

While most of the party sleeps in the House of Lament, Uriah wakes Nahara to warn her that Strahd is looking for her. After the rest of the party is awake, Desmond and Uriah tell them that the toe they found in the muffin is an exact duplicate of Uriah’s big toe, only undead. Everyone wants to know where the plate of barbecue on the table came from, but after tasting it, Tatyana eats it anyway. Desmond tells everyone they have to go up in order to be allowed into the basement, where they can escape the house. When Tatyana’s shadow acts up again, she asks Valentine for help. Valentine admits there is a part of Tatyana’s mind that she can’t reach anymore. Tatyana is comforted to know that Valentine has been reading her thoughts but keeping her secrets.

In the tower, they battle the leaper, a ghostly foe that throws Nahara off the top of the tower. While the others battle it, Tatyana is compelled to kick open a blood-framed alcove in the wall, releasing the warlord. As he pursues her to get his axe back, Uriah destroys the leaper and Nahara manages to fly back inside the tower. Now they have to battle the warlord and his boneless minions, who knock out Valentine as Tatyana stands paralyzed. The warlord takes back his axe and fights all of them. When Uriah does a large amount of damage to him, the warlord grabs him and steps off the top of the tower. The party rushes outside to find both of their broken bodies. They bring back Uriah but the warlord rises also, pursuing them relentlessly. The party runs to the basement, hoping to get help from the knight and find the Weathermay-Foxgrove sisters.

After Uriah distracts a swarm of gremishka with smoked fish, the party descends into a den of evil where the knight offers an entity encased in amber the party in exchange for her freedom. The amber obelisk grows tentacles which attack the party, draining their strength. Valentine convinces the knight to fight the warlord so they can all escape the house. Finding the sisters frozen, Uriah wakes up Jennifer, who tells everyone to cover their ears. The knight releases a banshee scream that kills the boneless and knocks out Valentine. In between consciousness and unconsciousness, Valentine and Tregrum negotiate with the entity for the party’s release; it is like them. It works, and the party is allowed to leave the house with the Weathermay-Foxgroves. They all flee back to the Carnival with Valentine keeping to herself what bargain she made with the entity. Once they arrive back, Hermos tells them something is wrong with Fen. Later that night, Nahara and Uriah take comfort in one another and share theories about why the party was brought together and what the darklords have planned for them.

**Notables this episode:**

The BDS Adventure Journal #3 takes place between this episode and the previous one.

Desmond is being very secretive about who it was who came to visit them in the night and brought barbecue.

The mystery of the undead toe begins…

Tatyana doesn’t seem particularly concerned whether the barbecue is made from people or not–it’s delicious!

We find out Valentine trusts and cares about Tatyana enough not to read her mind very often.

Saige's cat makes a visual guest appearance and both Deejay's dog and Noura's cat make audio appearances this episode.

Uriah and Nahara have several emotionally intimate moments in this episode, which begins with him waking her and ends with her waking him. They are both very distressed when the other is harmed in front of them.

Desmond casts Cure Wounds more times than the healers of the party in this episode.

We get the iconic scene where a blushing Nahara princess-carries Uriah down into the pit, flying.

The entity that rules the House of Lament is more like Valentine and Tregrum than it is like anyone else in its domain.

Certainly this will be the last we hear of the bargain Valentine made with it.

**Firsts:**

The first time Desmond casts Protection from Evil (though he did it in the Adventure Journal episode, it’s still in effect).

The first time Nahara sings a song to give Bardic Inspiration.

The first time Tatyana’s shadow does physical damage to her.

**Crit Count:** 4 successes, 4 failures

**Memorable Lines:**

Nahara: Do we know specifically where that food came from? What animal it’s from?

Desmond: Yes, we do. The person is a friend. And–

Nahara: It came from a *person*?

Desmond: …yup.

Nahara: (looks horrified)

Valentine: (whispering) I think he’s saying something else. I don’t–

Saige: (frustrated that charm spells don't work on the warlord) Then I’ll use a bonus action to flip him off while he’s on fire!