xarrul rework

npc/cultists.md

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# The Lambent Order — Cultists
+# The Order of Mending — Cultists
 
 *"We are not what they call us. We are scholars of the boundary, seekers of the wholeness that was stolen from this world. If they understood what we understand, they would not fear us. They would beg to help."*
 — Haddon, reciting Mother Vyre's words
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
 ## The Cult
 
-The Lambent Order presents itself as a small, independent mage guild focused on planar theory and boundary research. This is a lie stretched thin over a truth: they *are* studying planar boundaries, but with the intent of destroying them.
+The Order of Mending presents itself as a small, independent mage guild focused on planar theory and boundary research. This is a lie stretched thin over a truth: they *are* studying planar boundaries, but with the intent of destroying them.
 
 Their leader, **Mother Vyre**, is not present. She never comes to the tavern. She communicates through dead drops, coded messages, and — for the inner circle — through dreams. She is the architect of **The Opening**: the dissolution of all planar boundaries, merging the Material Plane with the Ethereal, the Shadowfell, the Feywild, and whatever else lies beyond. She frames this as healing — the planes were once one, and their separation was a wound.
 
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ Not present but referenced constantly. Players never meet her, but her shadow is
 
 ### Appearance & Personality
 
-Mid-fifties, neat grey beard, spectacles, ink-stained fingers. Looks exactly like what he claims to be — a fussy academic. Wears a scholar's robe with the Lambent Order's symbol (an open eye wreathed in flame) pinned to his lapel. Carries books, quills, and a leather journal filled with notes in a cipher.
+Mid-fifties, neat grey beard, spectacles, ink-stained fingers. Looks exactly like what he claims to be — a fussy academic. Wears a scholar's robe with the Order of Mending's symbol (an open eye wreathed in flame) pinned to his lapel. Carries books, quills, and a leather journal filled with notes in a cipher.
 
 Haddon is the most dangerous person at the cultist table because he's the best liar. He's reframed everything he's done as research — the summoning was an "experiment," the fiend was a "test subject," and The Opening is a "theoretical framework." He's lying to himself as much as to anyone else.
 
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ Haddon is the most dangerous person at the cultist table because he's the best l
 **Will share as "scholarly cooperation":**
 - Planar theory — the basics of how boundaries work, what a thin point is, why the tavern feels strange. All accurate, all framed to normalize The Opening's goals.
 - That the death mark on Orenn is fiendish in nature. "Clearly extraplanar damage. Necrotic, with a fiendish signature. Someone — certainly not us — has been dealing in dark pacts." He'll diagnose the Brand of Spite accurately while deflecting blame.
-- The Lambent Order's "research" into boundary integrity. He'll show the planar diagram on the table if asked, presenting it as theoretical cartography.
+- The Order of Mending's "research" into boundary integrity. He'll show the planar diagram on the table if asked, presenting it as theoretical cartography.
 
 **Will not willingly share:**
 - That they summoned a fiend. Specifically, that they summoned **Xarrul** using binding components from Tallow, blood from Dalla, and a name from Mother Vyre's research.
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ When Dalla breaks, it's not gentle. The realization that she bled for eight mont
 Haddon's plan — and Dalla's hope while she's loyal — is to **recapture and rebind Xarrul**. This is presented as the "safe" option within the cult:
 - Requires new binding components (Tallow sold them before, he can supply again — for a price)
 - Requires Dalla's blood again (she'll give it without hesitation)
-- Requires the binding circle in the cellar (Orenn's circle could be repurposed — DC 16 Arcana to adapt it)
+- Requires the binding circle in the cellar (the summoners' circle could be repurposed — DC 16 Arcana to adapt it)
 - Haddon leads the ritual. Rennt assists.
 
 **If the rebinding succeeds:** Xarrul is bound again. The cult has its weapon back. Dalla's connection to the binding is restored — which means Lístek's condition might stabilize (stop getting worse) but won't improve. The child stays frozen. Dalla tells herself this is progress. The cult continues toward Phase Two.
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ But the method requires thinning the veil between planes — a micro-Opening. An
 
 **Spellcasting.** Rennt is a 2nd-level spellcaster (CHA, DC 13, +5 to hit):
 - Cantrips: *eldritch blast, thaumaturgy*
-- 1st (2 slots): *hellish rebuke, armor of agathys*
+- 1st (2 slots): *hellish rebuke, armor of agathys, thunderwave*
 
 His magic comes from the pact — he made a minor warlock bargain as part of his initiation. He doesn't fully understand what he gave up.
 
@@ -229,6 +229,10 @@ Rennt is the most dangerous kind of extremist: one who's right about the problem
 - What The Opening actually means at scale
 - Mother Vyre's Phase Two plans
 
+### The Blackout (Act 2, DM)
+
+A few rounds into the brawl, pressed by the assassins piling onto him, **Rennt casts *Thunderwave*** — a legitimate defensive knockback. It also snuffs every candle in the hall at once, and in that sudden dark [Xarrul](xarrul.md) kills Orenn behind the bar. Rennt has no idea he provided the cover; he'll deny the cult had anything to do with the murder, and he's *telling the truth* — which makes the cult look damning and be innocent. See **[Murder Mystery — Act 2](../storylines/murder-mystery.md#act-2--the-spark)**. If a PC later accuses him of blacking the room out on purpose, his baffled fury is genuine.
+
 ### If the Dual-Plane Kill Is Proposed
 
 Rennt is **ecstatic**. "Do you see? Do you *see*? The planes *want* to touch. You're doing what Mother Vyre always said was possible — proving that the boundary is artificial!" His enthusiasm is genuine and deeply unsettling. He'll actively help with the ritual, which should make players very uncomfortable about what they're doing.
@@ -267,7 +271,7 @@ Mid-twenties, thin, unremarkable. The kind of face you forget as soon as you loo
 Essek is the closest thing the cultist table has to a conscience, and he's terrified.
 
 **Key traits:**
-- Joined the Lambent Order two years ago because the planar research was genuinely fascinating. He was a student, not a zealot.
+- Joined the Order of Mending two years ago because the planar research was genuinely fascinating. He was a student, not a zealot.
 - Six months ago, he found Mother Vyre's private correspondence in Haddon's study (he was looking for a reference text). He read enough to understand that The Opening isn't theoretical. It's a plan with a timeline.
 - The initiation brand burns when he considers betrayal — not enough to stop him, but enough to remind him he's watched.
 - He wants out. He's looking for anyone he can trust. Players who approach him gently, privately, and without judgment are his best chance.