fixing plotholes, streamlining

location/main-hall.md

@@ -18,7 +18,11 @@ A massive slab of darkwood, scarred by decades of knife marks, spilled drinks, a
 
 ### The Fireplace
 
-Large stone hearth, fire burning low. The mantle holds a single iron bell that has never been rung — a relic left from the tavern's summoner days. **Mags knows the trick to ring it** (never what it truly does): the toll wakes the old foundation sigils. It was the summoners' last resort, meant to seal the building against ethereal intrusion. The sigils are half-dormant and being siphoned now, so the effect is partial at best (disadvantage on Xarrul's Ethereal Jaunt saves rather than preventing it outright).
+Large stone hearth, fire burning low. The mantle holds a single iron bell that has never been rung — a relic left from the tavern's summoner days. **Mags knows the trick to ring it** (never what it truly does): turn it mouth-down, strike the rim with bare iron, then let it toll without touching the clapper.
+
+The bell wakes the old foundation sigils for **1 minute**. During that minute, anyone inside the Inn sees Xarrul as a blurred outline even while it is Ethereal. This removes concealment, but not the planar boundary: seeing Xarrul does not allow a Material creature to affect it. Veilhook Salt cannot cross the boundary, but can anchor Xarrul if applied when it manifests.
+
+The bell alone does **not** trap or banish Xarrul. If the cellar sigils have been restored, its toll also prevents Xarrul from using Ethereal Jaunt while it is inside the binding circle. Bell, restored sigils and the circle together can seal it consciously between planes; see [The Reckoning](../storylines/the-reckoning.md#the-bell-and-sigils-seal).
 
 ### Assassin Table (North-West)
 
@@ -32,9 +36,9 @@ Two other unnamed blades fill the rest of the table. They defer to Sevra complet
 
 A round table covered in papers, open books, and half-empty inkwells—maintaining the scholar facade. It is not merely the cultists' chosen seat: Haddon and Vyre used it as their worktable during the original cleanup fifteen years ago. Tiny catalogue numbers cut by Haddon remain along one edge, and regulars know not to take his chair. **Haddon** sits at the center, composed. **Dalla** is on his left, distracted and pale. **Rennt** is on his right, leaning forward with intense energy. **Essek** sits slightly apart, saying nothing.
 
-Beside it stands a narrow bookshelf containing the original summoners' volumes Haddon and Vyre classified as safe enough to keep upstairs. Early pages carry cautious notes in Haddon's left hand and responsible annotations from Vyre before doctrine consumed her. Later volumes contain Bren Aldara's precise corrections. Haddon now writes right-handed because the containment circle that saved Orenn ruined his left arm.
+Beside it stands a narrow bookshelf containing the original summoners' volumes Haddon and Vyre classified as safe enough to keep upstairs. Early pages carry cautious notes in Haddon's left hand and responsible annotations from Vyre before doctrine consumed her. Later volumes contain Bren Aldara's precise corrections. Three equally substantial bookmarked entries could plausibly explain his ordered "madness": **[On Ethereal Skeins](../prints/o-eterickem-predivu.md)**, **[On Mist Leeches](../prints/o-mlznych-pijavicich.md)** and **[On the Return Echo](../prints/o-navratove-ozvene.md)**. Bren annotated all three as **B. A.**, but only the first matches the selective silencing, stolen movement and six tendrils. Haddon now writes right-handed because the containment circle that saved Orenn ruined his left arm.
 
-**After the murder:** Haddon immediately begins constructing an alibi — "we were all engaged in discussion, none of us left the table." This is technically true but irrelevant (the fiend killed from the Ethereal Plane). Rennt is agitated and defensive. Dalla doesn't seem to care about the investigation at all — she's thinking about her child.
+**After the murder:** Haddon immediately begins constructing an alibi — "we were all engaged in discussion, none of us left the table." This is technically true but irrelevant: Xarrul briefly manifested behind the bar, killed Orenn and withdrew to the Ethereal Plane; no cultist had to leave the table. Rennt is agitated and defensive. Dalla doesn't seem to care about the investigation at all — she's thinking about her child.
 
 **On the table (DC 12 Investigation):** Among the scholarly papers, one diagram shows planar boundaries with annotations about "thinning points." Haddon will claim it's theoretical research. It's actually a map of potential Opening sites, and the Nether Inn is marked.
 
@@ -44,19 +48,13 @@ Beside it stands a narrow bookshelf containing the original summoners' volumes H
 
 ### Curtained Booth (South, near wall)
 
-A small booth with high-backed wooden seats and a moth-eaten curtain. It has a clear sightline to the bar, the entrance, and both faction tables while giving anyone seated inside a little privacy. Nobody claimed it before the brawl. During the investigation it is the obvious place to isolate Essek, question a witness, hide a frightened Vetch, or stage a conversation someone else wants to overhear.
+A small booth with high-backed wooden seats and a moth-eaten curtain. It has a clear sightline to the bar, the entrance, and both faction tables while giving anyone seated inside a little privacy. Nobody claimed it before the brawl. During the investigation it is the obvious place to isolate Essek, question a witness, protect a lucid Bren, or stage a conversation someone else wants to overhear.
 
 ### Bren's Corner (North-East, near bar)
 
 Not a seat — a spot on the floor between the bar and the wall. **Bren** sits here with his knees drawn up, rocking slightly, muttering to the air beside him. A wooden bowl with a few copper coins sits in front of him — the regulars toss him change out of habit or superstition.
 
-The space beside him where he talks to is **occupied** in the Ethereal Plane by **Skein**, a translucent, spider-like entity made of knotted threads. It's visible only via Veil Dust, See Invisibility, or similar effects.
-
-### Vetch's Spot (South-East, near cellar stairs)
-
-**Vetch** sits on a stool near the stairs that lead down to the cellar. He's not here by accident: two nights ago Orenn confiscated his last packet of Veil Dust and carried it below. Vetch followed far enough to find the cold seam behind the northern barrel racks, but not far enough to open it.
-
-He's jittery, sweating, picking at the skin on his forearms. He flinches when spoken to but warms up quickly if shown even basic kindness.
+The space beside him where he talks to is **occupied** in the Ethereal Plane by **Skein**, a translucent, spider-like entity made of knotted threads. *See Invisibility* reveals it directly; Orenn's silver mirror provides the same sight only within its reflection. Neither makes Skein Material or allows an ordinary attack to cross the planar boundary.
 
 ### Center Floor (Post-Brawl)
 
@@ -80,7 +78,7 @@ After the brawl, the center of the room is a mess:
 >
 > *Klapnutí závory na hlavních dveřích zní jako rozsudek.*
 
-*(DM: this is only her entrance. The full set-piece that follows — the forced heal, the failed* Revivify *with the diamond from her necklace, the shattered ward-crystal that seals the tavern until midnight, and the ultimatum — is scripted in [Mags — Act 2: The Reveal](../npc/mags.md#act-2--the-reveal-dm). The "bolt" the players hear is the ward-crystal discharging into every exit, not a simple latch.)*
+*(DM: this is only her entrance. The full set-piece that follows—the forced heal, the failed* Revivify *with the diamond from her necklace, the shattered ward-crystal that seals the tavern until midnight, and the ultimatum—is scripted in [Mags — Act 2: The Reveal](../npc/mags.md#act-2--the-reveal-dm). The "bolt" the players hear is the ward-crystal discharging into every exterior opening, not a simple latch; the cellar remains reachable from inside.)*
 
 ## Lighting & Atmosphere