Session #11 - A Revelation, Of Sorts

The party emerged from their makeshift barracks and into the workspace where they were greeted by the sound of clanging metal and voices.  They walked over to what was soon to be their vehicle and found Cucka and Kronk seemingly hard at work.  Lola reached out to them telepathically and they stopped for a few moments before resuming again.

 

“They’re making progress, but it will be another day before it is ready,” the hollyphant reported.

 

“Cucka and Kronk will have it working in no time.  A deal’s a deal,” said Maggie from behind them.  

 

They turned to watch her approach.  Mickey’s limp was even more pronounced and a number of red caps trailed and mocked its gait with exaggerated limps of their own.  

 

“What’s wrong with its foot?” Almont asked.

 

“I don’t know,” Maggie replied.  “I’m a builder, not a healer.  It’s been getting worse.  I’ve tried using parts of red caps to make him a new one, but I haven’t been able to make something that works.”

 

“Parts of red caps?” Kent murmured as he stroked his beard thoughtfully.  His eyes got wide.  “So the legs on the platter last night…?”

 

“Yes, I needed feet to use for my experiments, so I figured since I was taking the feet I’d take the legs as well for the feast.”

 

“How thoughtful,” Katla replied with a grace that masked her revulsion.

 

“Wasn’t it though?  That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.  Well, that and two other things.”

 

“Make your requests, witch,” Almont said.  He hated dealing with Maggie, but one had to make concessions in time of dire need.  And Elturel continued to be dragged down to the surface of Avernus.  

 

“Mickey needs a new left foot.  Get me one.”

 

“Get you one.  Get you a left foot,” replied Kent in disbelief.

 

“Yes.  Something of roughly the right size.  Don’t worry, you don’t have to attach it.  I can do that.”

 

“What else?” asked Almont.

 

She looked at the cleric and smiled, her rotted and missing teeth disgusting him.  “Barnabus is broken.  Fix him.”

 

“Who or what is Barnabus?” asked Katla sweetly, trying to keep her friends from becoming too distracted.

 

“Barnabus is my flameskull.  His magic is useful in our work.  Recently he’s developed an odd whistling sound.  I can’t have it.”

 

“You can’t have what?”  Even Katla’s patience was beginning to fray.

 

“The whistling sound.  I can’t have it.  If it continues I’ll just have to destroy him.”

 

“Destroy him.  Because he makes a whistling sound.”  

 

Maggie nodded and smiled.  

 

“And the third thing?”  The tension in Almont’s voice gave the impression that he was considering just pulling out his warhammer and crushing Maggie.

 

“I want to go inside Lola’s mind.”

 

The temperature to Almont’s left, where Katla was standing, dropped precipitously.  

 

“Why?” the sorceress asked through gritted teeth, her breath escaping as a frozen mist.

 

“Information, of course.  I want to know what happened after I sold her to Medhi and how she came to be back in Avernus.  Perhaps I can also find some answers that will help her.”

 

“This bargain is not ours to make, hag.”  Almont said levelly.

 

If Lola was bothered by everyone speaking about her as if she wasn’t in the room she gave no indication and continued to hover next to Katla.

 

“The ritual won’t hurt her, and I can take up to three of you with me.  But be warned, if you die in Lola’s mind, your soul will be trapped in Avernus forever.”

 

“This just keeps getting better,” muttered Kent.

 

Almont turned to Lola.  “Lola, what do you think?”

 

“You don’t have to do this,” Katla said to her quietly.

 

“Maybe my memories can help save Elturel.”  She looked at Katla.  “Will you come?”

 

“Of course.  I’ll be there with you the entire time.”

 

Lola smiled.  “Then I agree.”

 

“Get a new foot for Mickey and fix Barnabus.  Once you do those things we can do the ritual and explore Lola’s mind.  If you do it’s worth five soul coins and that two-wheeled vehicle over there.”

 

They turned to look at the vehicle.  It was similar to a horse in a way, except with a wheel in the front and one in the back.  There was a seat and two handles in the front that looked like they’d be used to steer.  Donyxn walked over to it and rubbed his hand across it.  He turned back and grinned, his sharp, perfectly white teeth showing his approval.

 

“It’s a deal,” Almont said.  “But if you betray us, we will destroy you.”

 

“Beings more powerful than you have made the same threat.  And I’m still here.”  With that, Maggie nodded and walked back the way she came, a limping Mickey in tow.

 

Maggie had told them that Barnabus lived in a little hovel in the northeast corner of the compound, so they figured they’d start there first.  After all, they had no idea where they were going to find a foot for Mickey.  

 

Their discussion was interrupted by a shout from one of the building’s openings. 

 

“That’s them.  They’re the ones who stole my wrench.  Kill them!”

 

They turned to see four red hats walking determinedly toward them, sickles in hand.  The one in front was larger than the three who trailed.

 

Kent stepped forward and smiled.  “Now friends, we don’t have your…” His smile faded.  It was obvious the red caps were not here to talk.  They were here to kill.  With that he drew his scimitar as the others readied themselves behind him.

 

The red caps broke into a run, and Kent ran forward to meet the leader.  He was surprised that it did not attempt to engage but simply ran right past him, completely focused on Almont.  In fact it didn’t even make an attempt to avoid Kent’s scimitar, which opened up a pair of gashes as the creature raced by with surprising speed.

 

Almont failed to anticipate how fast the little beings would close with them and was even more surprised when the bleeding red cap launched itself into the air and swung a roundhouse kick at his head with it’s metal boot.  He moved his head at the last second as the foot barley missed his temple.  But that left him vulnerable to its sickle, which caught him in the arm as the red cap flew past.

 

Meanwhile Kent was caught off guard, having turned to slash at the onrushing leader.  As he turned back to the other three he took a massive kick to the center of his chest.  The blow was so powerful it knocked him back ten feet and put the sure-footed rogue on his back.  Another ran up and landed a glancing blow with its sickle while the third continued toward Almont. 

 

Katla had a hard decision to make, with both Almont and Kent now facing two opponents.  She opted to help Almont, knowing that Donyxn would take care of Kent.  A blast of Eldritch energy leapt from each of her hands striking both of Almont’s attackers and momentarily stopping their momentum.

 

That was the opening Almont needed.  The cleric brought his warhammer down on top of the leader’s head, crushing its skull and breaking its neck.  He went after the other with a swing from his mace, but the little red cap slipped under Lightbringer.

 

Behind them, Cucka and Kronk cheered the demise of the first red cap.

 

Donyxn placed two arrows into one of Kent’s attackers as the magic-boot-shod dwarf leapt straight to his feet, his scimitar flashing silver as it delivered a pair of blows to the already injured red cap.  It attempted to return the favor with its sickle, but Kent deftly dodged the clumsy swipes.  Its partner broke with Kent and charged at Almont.  “He killed Kranus, and he has the wrench!” it yelled, landing a blow on the cleric who was busy fighting off another red cap.  

 

Katla threw two balls of lightning at Almont’s adversaries, hitting both of them with a loud crack and the smell of burning hair.  

 

Almont bellowed in rage, calling on Kiri-Jolith to grant him speed.  His hammer struck the more injured of the two red caps facing him, but once again it dodged Lightbringer.  What it didn’t realize, however, was that Almont set it up by using the mace the same way he had previously.  It anticipated the attack and ducked it, but unfortunately for the red cap Almont guessed what it would do, and as it crouched below the mace strike Almont let the force of the swing spin in a full circle.  With the speed granted by his god he was just a blur as the hammer came around in his right hand, its spiked side obliterating the red cap’s skull.

 

Donyxn put another pair of arrows into the creature engaged with Kent, felling it.  Kent then turned and with the speed of his magic boots reached the other that was involved with Almont, ramming his scimitar through its spine and killing it.

 

The battle was over in less than 30 seconds.  Almont and Kent were a little battered, but no one was significantly hurt. Cucka and Kronk were brining their winged arms together in a clapping motion and bouncing up and down, obviously entertained by what occurred.

 

A quick search of the bodies revealed nothing of value, just little trinkets and odd pieces of metal.  Or, more precisely, almost nothing.

 

“Look at this,” Donyxn said.  

 

Everyone turned.  The tiefling was holding up a wooden duck decoy.  It was a little worse for wear, but most of the paint was still intact.  The body was black and white, the neck white, the head was turquoise on top and bright yellow on the face, with a pinkish bill.

 

“That’s beautiful,” Kent said, walking toward Donyxn.

 

“It’s an eider.  They usually live in cold climates.  Odd to find it here, of all places.”

 

He handed it to Kent who flipped it over.  “Hey, there’s an inscription on the bottom.  ‘To Mildred…’”  The duck quacked when he said the word Mildred, causing him to almost drop it in his surprise.

 

“Um… ‘To Mildred’…”

 

“Quack”, went the duck.

 

Kent smiled.  “To Mildred, (quack) My Plucky Duckling”.

 

“Looks like you have a new friend, Kent.”  Katla smiled.  Almont and Donyxn nodded.  Kent grinned as hit put it into his pack, patting its head as he did so.

 

Almont stowed his weapons and drew one of his silvered daggers as he walked toward the largest of the red caps.

 

“What are you… oh no, oh that’s gross,” Katla said as she turned away.

 

Almont cut the left and right feet from the red cap.

 

They heard Maggie approaching.  “I told the red caps not to fight you.  But they’re headstrong.  And not very smart.”

 

Almont held up the feet.  “Will these do?”

 

“No, no, I’ve already tried that.”  She waved him away and Almont tossed the feet to the side.

 

“Well, it was worth a try.”  Almont thought for a moment.  “Maggie, would Mickey let me look at his foot?”

 

Mickey looked at Maggie and she nodded.  Mickey turned back to Almont and nodded as well.

 

The cleric took a knee and examined the foot.  It was hard to tell what kind of creature it originated from, but it was definitely from something bipedal.  As he looked closer there was an oozing wound.  Almont probed it with his fingers.

 

He looked up at Maggie.  “There’s something stuck in there.”

 

Maggie shrugged.

 

Almont did a ritual prayer to try to determine if there was anything magical about the object.  The sense he got in return was that it wasn’t magic per se, but definitely infused with evil.  

 

“It’s a piece of bone from a devil or a demon,” he said.

 

Maggie shrugged again.

 

“If I can get it out, I can cast a healing spell and that should take care of it.  Will Mickey let me remove it?”  He held his dagger in his hand as he asked.

 

Maggie shrugged once more.  “Will it hurt?”

 

“Definitely.”

 

She smiled.  “Good, good.”  She turned to Mickey who met her gaze.  She patted its thigh and nodded.  Mickey turned back to Almont and nodded.

 

“He’s not going to kick my head off, is he?”

 

Another shrug.  Maggie whispered to herself, though everyone could hear.  “I hope it hurts.”

 

Kent appeared over Almont’s shoulder.  “Maybe this will help.”  With that he placed the immovable rod directly over Mickey’s infected foot.  “At least that’ll keep the leg from moving forward.”

 

Almont looked up at Mickey one last time.  “You ready?”

 

Mickey nodded.  Maggie whispered again.  “I hope it hurts.”

 

Almont’s healing skills were not limited to casting spells.  The cleric had seen many battlefields and treated many injuries in his time as a novitiate.  Even so, Kent was impressed with the deftness of the motion as the priest’s blade was in and out in a flash, the six inch piece of bone flicked out and onto the floor.  Mickey didn’t even flinch.  

 

It took a few minutes to complete the healing prayer.  When it was finished the wound on Mickey’s foot rapidly closed and disappeared.  Almont included himself and Kent in the prayer’s radius as well, healing the light wounds they suffered in the fracas with the red caps.

 

Mickey looked at its foot uncomprehendingly for a few seconds then began walking in circles, the limp gone.  It looked at Almont and smiled.  Next to it Maggie was frowning.  “That didn’t look like it hurt at all,” she sighed.  

 

Their first objective complete, it was time to seek out Barnabus.  As they walked toward the section of the compound where it worked they noticed the red caps, and even the mad caps, gave them a wide berth.  News of the quick work they did of the four in the shop had already made the rounds.

 

The situation with Barnabus was, to be frank, a bit of a farce.  The once mighty wizard, now flaming skull, had been waylaid by a pack of red caps that hit it with a hammer and knocked out two of its teeth, which they then ran off with.  Teeth were a bit like currency to the red caps, so the bloody pouch containing Barnabus’ had been traded multiple times.  The wizard could never seem to track down who held it at any given time.

 

Fortunately avarice was the norm as far as the red caps were concerned, and all it took was making it known that they party had a bottle of fine elvish wine to trade for the teeth.  A deranged mad cap made the trade with them and once again Almont used his medical skills, this time to reset the teeth into Barnabus’ maxilla.  

 

They returned to the shop building with Barnabus in tow.  Maggie saw them coming – it’s hard to be subtle when you’re accompanied by a golden hollyphant and a flying skull surrounded by green flame.  

 

“No more whistling sound, Maggie.  I’m ready to get back to my work.”  

 

Maggie stared hard at Barnabus, making everyone a bit uncomfortable.

 

“Did it hurt?”

 

“No, no it didn’t,” Barnabus replied.

 

Maggie couldn’t mask the disappointment on her face.  She then turned to Lola.  “Let’s see what’s inside that little head of yours, shall we?”

 

They were led back to Maggie’s personal chambers, which were as surreal and disorganized as the rest of the compound.  The room the entered reeked of unwashed flesh and rotted meat, with just a hint of decaying metal thrown in for good measure.  A table in the middle of the room held plates of partially consumed meals, at least one of which was still moving.  Shelves along one wall were packed to overflowing with various books, papers, and scrolls, and looked to be in danger of immanent collapse.  Along another wall was a bed, and the less said about that the better.

 

There were two doors within the room.  The one to the right side looked to be a fairly standard if sturdy wooden door with rusting iron accents.  The second was smaller, only four feet high, the entire thing made of some kind of indeterminate metal.  Crude designs of skulls and devils dotted its surface, some engraved and others bulging from it.  A series of runes that pained the eyes to look at lined the outer edges.  There was no obvious handle or locking mechanism.

 

Maggie muttered a few words and waived her hand as she approached the door, and it opened silently.  The blackness that emerged from the doorway was not natural.  It wasn’t simply the absence of light, but more like the presence of dark.  Another few words from the witch caused candles in various parts of the room to ignite, dispersing the darkness though it still lingered in the corners with an almost physical presence.   The all ducked and entered, Mickey following.  Once everyone was inside a few words from Maggie shut the door behind them.

 

The room was twenty feet square and windowless, the ceiling appearing to be a dozen or so feet above their heads but seeming to flow like curtains in a strong breeze as the shadows cast by the candlelight danced across its surface.  In one corner was a small altar made out of the bones of a wide range of creatures.  It was large enough for one worshiper, a shelf jutting from the middle that appeared to be made out of a shoulder blade and upon which sat various trinkets and oddities.  An elongated human-like skull was set into the wall above the shelf.

 

A circle was drawn upon the floor in the center of the room, ten feet in diameter and with runes following the inside of the line.  Four larger runes were drawn just inside, with a fifth in the center.

 

“So who will be joining me inside Lola’s mind?” Maggie asked greedily.

 

The party had already discussed this.  Katla was a given as she had the closest relationship to the hollyphant, and Donyxn’s ability to speak infernal made him a natural choice.  While a third person could also accompany them, it was decided that both Kent and Almont would remain behind.  The cleric’s healing skills and ability to dispel magical effects could come in hand if they needed to be pulled out of whatever this was in a hurry, and Kent’s scimitar would ensure that no one prevented Almont from doing what needed to be done.

 

“Select a rune and sit,” Maggie said, entering the circle herself and sitting cross-legged with more grace than anyone thought her capable of.  Katla and Donyxn chose places as well.  Almont walked to the far wall, removed his warhammer, and placed it on the floor head down, his hands crossed and resting over the handle.  Kent leaned up against the wall on the other side of the altar from Almont, his scimitar in his right hand gleaming as it reflected the candlelight.  Lola flew into the circle and landed in the middle, looking far less concerned than everyone else felt.

 

“We will likely have to go deep into her mind to recover meaningful memories,” Maggie began.  “We may encounter traps or even the dream-images of other creatures.  Don’t take these lightly!  If you die while in her mind, you will die here too and your soul will be forever trapped in Avernus.”  She looked at Almont.  “You may see your friends’ bodies in distress, priest.  I warn you, do not disrupt my magic without good reason.”

 

Almont simply stared at Maggie with a hard look.  

 

“I’d be more worried about my blade than his magic, witch,” said Kent.

 

She turned and looked at the dwarf.  “I can see why David enjoys tormenting you so, dwarf.  Hopefully the elf here doesn’t suffer the same fate as your beloved Dothana.”

 

The shock at hearing Dothana’s name appeared in Kent’s eyes for a moment before they grew hard as stone and he began to step forward.

 

“Enough words,” Almont said firmly, looking at Kent.  “There will be time enough for David.”  Kent nodded and begrudgingly stepped back to the wall.

 

Maggie grinned.  “Close your eyes.”

 

Immediately every creature in the circle went limp.

 

When Katla and Donyxn opened their eyes they found themselves on a wind-swept barren wasteland.  It was similar to Avernus, but whereas the hell plain was always in daylight this place was twilight, the blackness of the Companion hanging overhead and discharging bolts of energy.  Maggie was about fifty feet distant and looking away from them. 

 

“We’re not deep enough,” she said.  Maggie turned and pointed behind them.  

 

Katla and Donyxn turned to see four spined devils diving through the dark sky towards them.  Katla reacted immediately, a pair of chromatic orbs launching from her hands.  One spined devil was engulfed in a cage of cracking energy leaving its body criss-crossed with blackened burns as it fell from the sky, parts of it still on fire.  The second also found its mark and this devil emerged from the lightning cage looking worse for wear.

 

The injured devil only flew a few more feet before one of Donyxn’s arrows slammed into its left eye, and it limply fell from the sky.  With one fluid motion the ranger let a second arrow fly, hitting another of the creatures.

 

Instead of continuing with their attack runs, the two spined devils landed and took a knee.  “If you let us live, we will serve you,” one said in raspy infernal.

 

“I think not,” Kalta replied, a pair of Eldritch bolts lashing out from her hands.  The devil that Donyxn struck previously turned to ash and dissipated in the wind, while the second was knocked onto its back.  As it began to rise it caught a pair of Donyxn’s arrows in its chest and expired.

 

Maggie cackled.  “If you’re done playing, we must go deeper.”

 

Back in the chamber, Almont and Kent saw their friends twitch but nothing more.  Everyone, including Lola, appeared fairly calm.  Mickey dozed quietly in a corner.  How it managed to get through the door, Almont had no idea.

 

Blinking, Donyxn and Katla found themselves in an entirely new landscape.  There was pure blackness in every direction, and the ground felt thick and sticky.  Both felt an almost overwhelming sense of loss just by being there.  Katla moved lightly across the sludgy surface, but Donyxn felt one of his feet being pulled down.  As he looked to it he saw tendrils of the ooze wrapping around his ankle and shin.  As sense of hopelessness washed over him and he wanted nothing more than to allow the blackness to engulf him, to take away his existential pain.

 

“Donyxn, take my hand.”  

 

He looked up to see Katla with her arm extended, her palm up.  A radiant light surrounded her like a beacon of hope.  He hesitated for a moment before taking his friend’s hand.  Her light surrounded him as well, and the black sludge released its grasp.

 

“Deeper.  We must go deeper.”

 

Kent stepped forward as he saw Donyxn’s jaw clench, the muscles on his neck bulging with effort as his entire body tensed up.  Katla remained serene.  

 

“No!”  Almont shouted.  “It’s not time.”

 

They blinked again, this time emerging in pure blackness, any sense of direction completely absorbed and lost.  From the blackness began to emerge a vision.  It was Lola, lying on pillow covered in purple velvet with gold trim, a yellow light shining down upon her from the direction that they now oriented themselves to think of as up.  The light grew brighter, and radiating outward from Lola emerged a large hall made of perfectly smooth gray stone.  To one side an ornate brass spyglass sat on a delicate wood tripod.  

 

There was a man in an ornate white headdress standing next to Lola as if presenting her to someone as a gift.  Following the direction of his vision another figure emerged from the gloom perched upon a throne made of skulls.  Her skin had a plaster-like quality to it that made the blackness of her lips and the circles around her eyes stand out that much more.  A thin halo of flame hovered over her head just above her pointed ears.

 

Then the image shifted, the man in the headdress gone.  Zariel was still upon her throne, Lola laying next to her.  A large black sword rested across Zariel’s lap as she considered slaying the hollyphant.  She began to raise the sword, but her hand started to shake and she lowered it again.  Instead she reached out with her sword hand and touched Lola on the head, at which point the hollyphant vanished.

 

“She couldn’t kill Lola,” Maggie whispered.  This would be useful information indeed.

 

Everyone awoke at once.

 

“We have much to discuss,” Katla said.