Session 33

Zariel

PCs (lvl 13): Lothair, Morazur, Narash, Ozzie, Theridhas

The PCs face Zariel, not with violence, but with words of reconciliation and peace.

The arch-devil batters them with her maul and her hellish powers, but the PCs take all the punishment without attacking in return.

Each of them tries to remind to Zariel what she was. When her sword is offered to her as a final prayer for salvation, Zariel holds the holy artifact in her hand, and accepts goodness in her heart.

With an explosion of light that sends both demons and devils on the run, she sheds the skin of Zariel the devil, and she becomes once more Zariel the Solar. With a sweep of her sword, she destroys the chains that bind Elturel to Hell, allowing Nascius the Planetar to lift the city out of Avernus, and back to Faerun.

Zariel has been redeemed, and Elturel is safe. The PCs are hailed as Heroes, and can finally enjoy a well deserved rest.

Session 32

The Blood War

PCs (lvl 13): Lothair, Morazur, Narash, Ozzie, Theridhas

The party makes its way back to Elturel, which they find besieged by hordes of demons and devils. They fight their way through a few horned devils, and reach the city.

There they talk with Nascius the planetar, who is helping Duke Ravenguard to defend the city. Noticing that Theridhas wields the Sword of Zariel, he suggests that the monk tries to break the chains that hold Elturel, in order to allow Nascius to lift the city out of Hell.

Theridhas flies to the nearest chain, and with a single blow from the angelic sword he cuts one of the colossal chains. While this brings new hope to Elturel, it also attracts the attention of Zariel herself. The arch-devil spots the PCs, and shouts her challenge. As she flies at great speed in their direction, the final battle for the fate of Elturel is about to begin!

Session 31

Zariel vs Yeenoghu

PCs (lvl 12): Lothair, Morazur, Narash, Ozzie, Theridhas

The PCs fight against the demon lord Yeenoghu and its demons. Even though they succeed in defeating its minions, the demon lord itself is way too strong for them, and they start to fall one by one.

By before all is lost, a ray of shining light pierces the clouds, and Zariel the Angel comes flying down, together with her loyal mount, the winged mammoth Lulu. The two angelic figures smite Yeenoghu, and push him back through a portal to Hell.

Zariel thanks the party for their efforts, and blesses them. She listens to what they have to say, carefully considering their words. Then the dreamscape disappears, and the party is once gain in the mausoleum, the Sword of Zariel waiting for them.

The ghost of Yael appears once again, telling them one last sacrifice will be necessary: whomever claims the Sword will forever "lose himself". Theridhas does not hesitate, and moves to touch the sword. Morazur calls for the divine power of Moradin to protect his friend, and it seems the dwarven gods has listened to his prayers.

As Theridhas touches the sword, he's transformed into an angelic version of himself, his eyes shining bright, and pure white feather wings coming out of his shoulders. With the Sword of Zariel in their possession, the party gets ready for the final step of their journey.

Session 30

The Sword of Zariel

PCs (lvl 12): Lothair, Morazur, Narash, Ozzie, Theridhas + special guest Ruthinn

The party enters the mausoleum, where they finally lay their eyes on the Sword of Zariel. Inside the vast chamber, the dwarven cleric Ruthinn awaits them. He was sent by the goddess Sune to lend what aid he could.

When the PCs move to take the sword, a ghost appears. This is Yael, a loyal general in Zariel's army when she was stil lan angel. With the appearance of the ghost, everything changes around the party, and they're transported to some sort of dreamscape.

They find themselves in the town of Idyllglen, under attack by an army of gnolls and demonic creatures. The party defends the town, slaughtering the attackers and their fiendish allies. While they take a short breather, they pray for a blessing at a colossal statue of Zariel. Clearly they're in the past, when Zariel had not yet fallen to darkness. But the fight ins not yet over, as a terrifying howl echoes in the distance: the demon lord Yeenoghu is on its way!

Session 29

The Bleeding Citadel

PCs (lvl 11): Lothair, Ozzie, Theridhas

The party travels to the Bleeding Citadel, led by Lulu, who has recovered most of her lost memories.

They arrive at the alabaster fortress surrounded by a bleeding scab of infernal congealed blood. They find an opening in the disgusting substance, and explore the tunnels surrounding the citadel.

Inside the tunnels they fight several demonic creatures led by a powerful nalfeshnee. The fiends are also looking for a way inside the citadel, but they have been frustrated by a gigantic bronze door that simply won't open for them.

The party kills the demons, and face the bronze door. When the door is touched by a creature of pure heart like Theridhas, it opens and it allows the party to proceed inside the citadel.

Session 28

The Companion unlocked

PCs (lvl 11): Lothair, Narash, Ozzie, Theridhas

The party is at Fort Knucklebone to work on their Infernal machine; they create a a "rocket" that should be able to propel them from the ground to Elturel.

Having completed this project, they travel to Elturel, still under siege from demonic armies. They manage to break through the chaotic legions, and with a carfeul use of magic they create a ramp to direct their jump. The infernal machine flies through the red sky of Avernus, reaching Elturel and destroying itself in the process.

The PCs make their way to the Companion. The sphere is surrounded by an impenetrable curtain of darkness. With the help of his shield, who has the ability to see through any darkness, Narash flies up to the infernal prison, and uses the nine adamantine rods to unlock it. A planetar angel reveals itself, finally free from his metal cage.

Together with the angel, the party returns to the High Hall, where Duke Ravenguard is directing the defense of the city. The situation is deteriorating, as Elturel keeps sinking toward the river Styx. The planetar believes he can "lift" Elturel back to its home plane, but not before the iron chains that keeps it anchored to Avernus are destroyed.

At the same time, probably awakened by the presence of the angel, Lulu recovers all her memories. More and more she believes it is time to retrieve the Sword of Zariel, a blade that will certainly be able to cut the massive chains holding Elturel.

[Twitch]

Session 27

PCs (lvl 10): Lothair, Morazur, Ozzie, Theridhas

The PCs defeat the vrocks, and proceed to explore the fortress. They investigate a few rooms filled with wrecked machinery, until they find a confused gnoll. Realising he's under the influence of some sort of mind-numbing spell, Ozzie dispels whatever enchantment afflicts the gnoll. Unfortunately, when the gnoll regains his senses, he immediately polymorphs to its true form... a Death Slaad! The aberration attacks the party, but it is eventually defeated.

Moving on, the party finds a safe. They manage to unlock it, and inside they find the nine adamantine rods they were looking for. They also find some infirmation about the rods: apparently, the rods are "keys" to open the Companion, the magical source of holy light shining above Elturel.

The party has a long discussion about what to do next. Believing a solar is kept prisoner inside the Companion, they decide to go to Elturel, and use the rods, even before reporting to Bel. When they leave the fortress, they encounter the warlord Feonor, but they manage to avoid a violent confrontation with some careful deception.

Before going to Elturel, the PCs go to visit Fort Knucklebone.  They believe their best chance to reach Elturel, and avoid the legions of devils and demons surrounding the city, is to fly there. For this reason, Ozzie and Morazur are planning to use Mad Maggie's workshop and mechanics to create a flying Infernal Machine.

[Twitch]

Session 26

Sibriex

PCs (lvl 10): Lothair, Morazur, Narash, Ozzie, Theridhas

The party bargains with the sibriex, but in order to reveal the location of the nine rods, the demon wants his freedom. As a show of goodwill, the PCs kill the sibriex's guardians, and the fiend reveals to them that the rods can be found in a wrecked flying citadel. He does not tell them where to find the citadel, demanding once again to be freed first.

Unfortunately for the demon, Balakros, the imp spy accompanying the party, knows the location of the wrecked fortress. Unwilling to free the sibriex, the PCs leave the place with the curses of the fiend echoing in the distance.

The PCs travel through a fiery wasteland, eventually reaching the site of the fallen fortress. They climb up the wreckage until they reach one of the open decks. There they attract the attention of a flock of vrock demons, and are forced to fight them.

[Twitch]

Session 25

Stygian Dock

PCs (lvl 10): Lothair, Morazur, Narash, Ozzie, Theridhas

The party leaves Bel's forge together with Balakros, an imp at the service of the pit fiend. Balakros guides them to the River Styx, where they embark on an iron barge captained steered by a Bone Devil and its crew of Merregons.

After a few hours of travel on the Styx, the barge is stopped at a stygian dock by the presence of Zariel's Flying Fortress, docked for refueling. While they wait for the fortress to complete, they explore the docks.

There they're approached by the dockmaster, Bazelsteen, a horned devil with a passion for mechanical experiments. Bazesteen has created a bathysphere to dredge the bottom of the River Styx for silted souls. He makes a deal with the party: if they "test" his machine, he will make a few improvements to their infernal machines, and will also give them a Soul Coin. 

Ozzie and Narash eagerly agree, and julp into the bathysphere. While they're dredging the bottom, a horde of demons attacks the docks. The devils repel the brunt of the invasion, but the party is still forced to fight a glabrezu. When the demons are defeated, and the party has completed the dredging operations, Bazelsteen rewards them as agreed. Not long after the flying fortress leaves the dock, and the iron barge can proceed its voyage.

Eventually the party disembarks, and after a few more hours they arrive at the site where the sybriex s kept. The demon is tortured by an arcanaloth and a couple of chain devils. The PCs have a short discussion with the fiends, and then they try to address the sybriex directly.

[Twitch]

Session 24

PCs (lvl 9): Lothair, Morazur, Narash, Ozzie, Theridhas

The PCs deliver Tiamat's reliquiary to Uldrak. The spined devil uses the unholy item to return to his original form, that of a mighty Empyrean. The titan keeps his word, giving the PCs a gallon of his blood, and then he uses his magic to plane shift away from Hell.

The party returns to the Demon Zapper, and deliver the titan's blood to Ralzala the Dao. now freed from her service to Zariel, the Dao suggests to the PCs to visit Bel, the former ruler of Avernus. Surely he will be interested in speeding up Zariel's downfall. Before they leave, the PCs free the unicorn from the Demon Zapper. then Morazur uses his magic to send the celestial back home.

The PCs begin their travels to Bel's Forge. On the way they visit a lonely tower, the temporary abode of the mad wizard Mordenkainen. They speak with the mage, and help him avoid an assassination attempt from a band of yugoloths. The wizard rewards them with some magical knowledge.

The party eventually arrive at Bel's Forge. Thanks to Ralzala's letter of introduction they are let through the infernal legions guarding the forge, and they're brought in Bel's presence. The archdevil is willing to reveal the location of Zariel's sword, but first he wants the PCs to find 9 adamantine rods that were stolen from his forge by Zariel's spies. In order to find the rods, they will have to speak with a maddening creature called the Sibiriex, some sort of monstrosity recently captured by Bel's minions.

Session 23

Arkhan the Cruel

PCs (lvl 9): Lothair, Narash, Ozzie, Theridhas

The party approaches the tower, but are met with resistance when a horde of zombies attacks them. They destroy the undead, earning the grudging respect of the tower's guardian, a fearsome white dragon.

The dragon calls for Krull, the tortle priest charged with the creation of the undead. The party explains to Krull that they need to speak with Arkhan, in order to obtain a drop of Tiamat's blood.

Krull does not seem keen in helping the PCs, but when Narash decides to become a follower of Tiamat the tortle agress to accompany them to Arkhan.

He guides them to the Mausoleum of Tiamat, where Arkhan and a few more companions are looking for guidance. The PCs bargain with Arkhan to obtain the relic contaning Tiamat's blood. They eventually agree on an exchange: they will give Arkhan the Orb of Dragonkind iin their posession, in exchange for the relic. Having obtained what they needed, the party gets ready to travel back to Uldrak's Grave.

Session 22

PCs (lvl 9): Lothair, Morazur, Narash, Ozzie, Theridhas

The party arrives at the Wandering Emporium, where they buy a few diamonds in order to raise Ozzy from the dead. Martin remains dead, since his soul is unwilling to return.

There they also meet Lothair, a tabaxi mercenary looking to earn some soul coins. Always open for some additional help, the party accepts Lothair as a new member of their happy crew.

The PCs proceed to Uldrak's Grave, where they meet the titan Uldrak, or at least what is left of him. Uldrak is now a lowly spined devil, due to a curse put on him by the deity Tiamat. Only by drinking the blood of Tiamat will he be able to return to his true form.

He asks the PCs to recover some of Tiamat's blood for him; he knows of a dragonborn follower of Tiamat, Arkhan the Cruel, and how to find him. He believes he carries an amulet containing a drop of Tiamat's blood. In order to bargain for it, Uldrak gives the party an Orb of Dragonkind, a powerful artefact related to dragons.

The PCs leave Uldrak, and travel to Arkhan's Tower. On their way, they're assaulted by a band of hobgoblin marauders led by the devil Bitter Breath. The party makes short work of the marauders, and continue on their travels.

When they reach Arkhan's Tower, they find it surrounded by an army of undead, and guarded by a mighty white dragon. The party lays low, taking time to formulate a plan.

Session 21

Vengeful Spirits

PCs (lvl 8): Martin, Morazur, Narash, Ozzie, Theridhas

Ozzie and Narash sell their souls to Mahadi. The dragonborn changes shape, becoming more devilish and growing a pair of wings, while the gnome receives a powerful magic staff. They also obtain a reservation for the spa on behalf of Red Ruth.

They return to the hag, who welcomes the news of her appointment with Mahadi. She tells the PCs she will leave for a few hours to enjoy her bath, while they will have to stay in her lair and make sure nothing happens to it.

As expected, something happens during the hag's absence. A pair of vengeful driad spirits attack the lair with the help of an undead tree. The party faces a challenging battle, a fight that Ozzie and Martin do not survive.

When Red Ruth comes back, she hold up her end of the bargain. The PCs had sought her out to free Dao at the Demon Zapper from her deal with Zariel. The hag tells them than in order to end the curse, the Dao will have to drink titan's blood. Conveniently, she also tells them where they can find a titan, though she mentions that "he's not what he was before". Having concluded their bussiness with Red Ruth, the party leaves the Bone Brambles with the corpses of their dead companions.

Session 20

The Wandering Emporium

PCs (lvl 8): Martin, Narash, Ozzie, Theridhas

The PCs rest inside the nest, and then resume their journey through Hell. Lulu seems to be more confident about where to go next, and guides the party through the desolate landscape.

They reach the Demon Zapper, a rusted metal monument with the power to "zap" nearby demons with a ray of radiant force. Unfortunately this feature is powered by a unicorn trapped inside the monument. The PCs wish to help the unicorn escape, but ar e stopped by the protector of the Demon Zapper, a Dao genie bound to Zariel. The Dao proposes a deal: if the party frees her from her deal with Zariel, she will let them free the unicorn. To achieve this, she sends them to look for Red Ruth, an oracle living in the Bone Brambles.

The party accepts, and they travel to the Bone Brambles. They best the hag's labyrinth, eventually meeting Red Ruth. The night hag is willing to help the party, but asks for a favour in return. She hans't bathed in two centuries, and she feels the time is right to get a good spa treatement. She wants the party to arrange for such a treatment for her at the Wandering Emporium, in a place called the Infernal Rapture. If they succeed, she will tell them what they need to know.

The PCs then travel to the Wandering Emporium, where they meet with Mahadi. While discussing Red Ruth's wishes, Mahadi manages to introduce the concept od "infernal deal" to the party. Ozzie and Narash look interested, and get ready to sell their souls to the mysterious man.

Session 19

Hellwasps Nest

PCs (lvl 7): Martin, Morazur, Narash, Ozzie, Theridhas

The party reaches the top of the hill, where Jander Sunstar is suffering his eternal torture, impaled on an iron tree. Jander was the Hellrider that betrayed Zariel during her final assault on Avernus. Upon death, his soul was doomed to Hell.

The PCs take pity on Jander, and release him from his suffering. When they do this, a flock of stirges attack them, while all the other souls impaled on the trees begin to wail.

Their screams attract the attention of Haruman, a Narzugon devil riding a Nightmare. Haruman descends upon the PCs, delivering fearsome blows with his flaming lance.

While the PCs are fighting againt the Narzugon, a hellwasp flies in, and kidnaps Lulu. The fiendish bug abscond with the hollyphant and flies back to its floating nest.

The party defeats Haruman but are badly beaten. They take some time to rest, and then they climb up into the Hellwasp Nest. Inside they battle several Hellwasps, until they find the room where Lulu is kept prisoner and save her.

Session 18

Haruman's Hill

PCs (lvl 7): Martin, Morazur, Ozzie, Theridhas

Inside Lulu's dreams, the party must face several different dream-scenarios in order to unlock the hollyphant missing memories. During the ordeal, they also manage to look upon Zariel's form before she fell from grace.

When the dream ends, Lulu looks confident enough to guide the party on the next leg of their journey. Mad Maggie, satisfied with the PCs' conduct so far, gives them two infernal vehicles and a few soul coins to get them going. 

The party leaves Fort Knucklebone, guided by Lulu's newfound memories. Not far from the fort they're attacked by a band of marauders led by Raggadragga the wereboar. The marauders ride a fearsome Demon Grinder! The PCs face the villains head-on, defeating the creatures and stealing their vehicle.

After a few more hours of travel, the party reaches Haruman's Hill, a desolate place filled with iron trees, upon which the souls of former Hellriders are impaled. The souls are constantly tortured by a flock of stirges sucking their blood, only to deliver it to another lost soul at the top of the hill.

Session 17

Avernus

PCs (lvl 7): Martin, Morazur, Narash, Ozzie, Theridhas

The PCs face the extreme environment of Avernus, not only the hellish heat, but also the aura of evil surrounding them and slowly eroding at their sanity.

After a few hours of travel they reach Fort Knucklebone, the domain of Mad Maggie, a night hag with an obsessed with knowning more about Zariel. The redcap minions of Mad Maggie serve as both guards and "mechanics" to repair the Infernal Vehicles parked in the compound.

In the fort the PCs meet with Chukka and Clank, two kenku with a connection with Lulu. Unfortunately Lulu's amnesia and the inabiltiy of the kenku to communicate clearly makes it difficult to acquire useful information.

The party wanders the fort, interacting with several of Mad Maggie's minions, amond them Mickey the flesh golem, Barnabas the flameskull, and Pins & Needles, a couple of mischievious imps. The PCs make themselves useful, and earn the gratitude of the hag. 

When she finds out more about the connection between Zariel and Lulu, she proposes to perform a mgical ritual to "connect" with with Lulu's mind, so that she may access her memories. Noticing the party's concern, she reassures them they will be able to "travel" with her in Lulu's psyche to keep an eye on things. 

In great need of more information, the PCs agree. As they all join hands with the hag, the old crone begins the ritual. After a few minutes of chanting, they find themselves in Lulu's dreams.

Session 16

Escaping the Siege!

PCs (lvl 6): Martin, Morazur, Narash, Ozzy, Theridhas

The party leaves the Cemetery to return to the High Hall Cathedral; on their way they must face more of the undead plaguing the city.

When they arrive at destination, the acolyte Pherria suggests to perform a ritual to remove the magical helmet that is vexing Duke Ravenguard. While the ritual is performed, a pair of will-o-wisps suddenly appear to harrass the PCs. The party manages to destroy these creatures and successfully complete the ritual.

When the duke comes to his senses, he shares the visions he received during his contact with the Helm. He saw a Hellrider, Yael, planting an angelic sword in the ground of Avernus, and then Lulu the hollyphant summoning an alabaster tower around it.

Lulu suddenly recalls the event, and also remembers a couple of "bird-men" that helped her while she was in Avernus. She also remembers where to find them, at a fort more or less 10 miles from Elturel's current location.

Realizing the importance of retrieving the sword, Duke Ravenguard charges the party to travel to Avernus, and find the weapon. The party readily accepts, and they begin to make plans to leave the floating city of Elturel.

They resolve to build a number of "gliders", they gather what materials they can, build the contraptions, and jump off the doomed city. They manage to avoid a few flying devils, and safely land on the ground of Avernus. Their travels across Hell have only just begun.

Session 15

Ulder Ravengard

PCs (lvl 6): Martin, Morazur, Narash, Ozzy, Theridhas

Outside of the chapel, the PCs activate the holy power of the columns holding the patio. They begin to emanate radiant energy, but this also has the effect of releasing the shadowy undead hiding in the columns. the PCs destroy these undead, and enter the chapel.

Inside they are confronted by another group of minotaur skeletons. Having defeated these monsters, they do what they can to restore the holyness of the chapel, and they're rewarded with a magical warhammer that takes form from thin air.

They reach a room guarded by two mercenary yugoloth. While they're trying to persuade the fiends to let them pass, a group of demons comes charging from the stairs bringing to the catacombs. The yugoloths fight the demons and destroy them. Then the party takes advantage of the situation, killing the remaining yugoloth, and proceeding downstairs.

They explore the ossuaries, eventually reaching the Vault of Ascendance, where they find Duke Ulder Ravenguard clutching at a golden helm on his head as if trying to claw it off. The PCs realize that is the Helm of Torm's Sight, the magical artifact the duke was looking for.

The PCs try to help the duke remove the helm, without success. The duke remains locked in some sort of internal struggle between Abyssal and Celestial voices trying to take control of him. While this happens, from a nearby portal three minotaurs, servants of the demon lord Baphomet, come charging in. The PCs defeat these creatures, and then they decide to leave the chapel together with the duke. Maybe back at the High Hall they will be able to find assistance.

Session 14

PCs (lvl 6): Martin, Morazur, Narash, Theridhas

Before leaving the High Hall, the party destroys one last group of devils that had desecrated a holy altar. They also find a few more remaining survivors, and finally, with the belssing of the priesthood of Torm, they leave the Cathedral. Their next destination is the Cemetery, where they hope to find Duke Ravengard.

Back on the streets, they witness once again the destruction taking place in the city. As devils and demons fight for the souls of Elturel, the party must contend with hordes of undead infesting the buildings.

When they finally reach the Cemetery, they notice more undead roaming the grounds. Hulking minotaur skeletons block their passage to the Chapel. The PCs fight and destroy these monsters.