Session #24 - The Sword
Katla’s wounds were serious. “This requires something stronger than the normal healing,” Almont said. “The rituals will take some time to complete.”
The sorceress leaned against a wall, breathing heavily as Donyxn and Kent kept their eyes on the two exits to the room. “How much time, priest?” Kent asked. “I don’t like the idea of staying in one place in this cesspool.”
The dwarf had a point, but their options were limited.
“I can help,” sang Lola in her lilting fashion. Everyone turned to the hollyphant, who fluttered her wings even faster and smiled. She moved to where Katla stood. “Don’t move, Katla. This won’t hurt.” With that, a rainbow-colored, sparkly mist emerged from Lola’s trunk and enveloped the elf in a glowing film. It began to fade almost immediately, and when it cleared Katla emerged with all her wounds completely healed.
Kent cocked an eyebrow. “Handy, that.”
“I probably can’t do it again for a while,” Lola sang. “But it seemed like the right time.”
“So what about this one,” Kent said, jerking his thumb up toward the ceiling where the barbed devil hung.
“Release me!” it shouted.
“I don’t know,” replied Kent. “I think my friend with the hammer would just assume kill you.”
The devil turned its gaze to Almont, who stared and noticeably tightened his grip on his warhammer. A panicked look came over its face as it turned back to the others, eventually locking eyes with Donynx. “Tiefling! I have information! Just let me down and I’ll share it with you!”
Donyxn sauntered to where the devil hung, never taking his eyes off of it. He looked at the festering wounds on its body caused by the fly bites. “You won’t survive long here by yourself, devil.” The ranger held his bow aloft and poked at the wound on the devil’s leg, causing it to howl in pain. “The deal we offer you is this. We will get you down, but you will tell us all you know about this place. You will also accompany us and fight with us until we reach the gates of this temple. After that you may do as you please.”
The devil squinted at Donyxn, considering his offer. “I agree, except I will not fight with you. I will tell you what I know and go with you, but I fight for none other than my master.”
Donyxn stared at the devil, the silence dragging on. Then he chuckled, look down, and shook his head. The tiefling turned to Almont. “He’s all yours, my friend.” Almont smiled, something that people always found disconcerting. The devil did as well. The cleric strode towards it, his warhammer casually over his shoulder.
“No! Wait! I agree! I agree to your terms!”
After they released the devil it told them its tale. It was part of a mixed group of eight bearded and barbed devils sent by their overlord Jebel to investigate the structure. The others were all killed in battles with the demons and other creatures that had also been attracted to this place. Some of the demons spoke of having found the entrance, and that it wasn’t far from here.
“They’ll never get inside,” Lola sang smugly. The group, including the devil, turned to her. She smiled. “Only those who are good can open the gates. No demon can get inside. No devil, either.” She seemed very pleased by this.
“Alright, enough chit-chat,” said Kent, inspecting his scimitar’s blade. “Let’s get on with it.”
The devil took the lead as they continued downward. They hadn’t traveled more than a few dozen feet when they began to hear the sound of chanting in abyssal, which grew louder with each step. The devil quietly walked forward a few more paces, stopped, then came back to the group.
“There is a room just ahead. About forty feet from the entrance are three vrocks and six gnolls. That’s certainly too much for us to face. I suggest we go back and try to find another way down.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Donyxn asked from the rear of the group. The tiefling grinned, pulled a fistful of arrows from his quiver and dashed forward. A few steps past the startled devil, the ranger went into a slide, the smooth sides of the downward slope carrying him the rest of the way into the room, a bold and reckless move that caught their adversaries completely by surprise. Katla shook her head.
The ranger fired impossibly fast, his hands a blur as he unleashed five arrows before the demons were even aware of him. He struck two gnolls and planted a pair of arrows into one of the vrocks, though his fifth shot sailed wide of its mark. A fraction of a second later a sliding Kent arrived alongside Donyxn, a bolt from his pistol crossbow finishing off one of the wounded gnolls.
The demons turned to face the intruders, their surprise quickly giving way to rage as they charged forward. Unfortunately for most of them they didn’t react fast enough.
Katla entered the chamber, her eyes glowing bright green as she uttered a foul-sounding incantation, her mouth opening impossibly wide as she finished. The far half of the room was bathed in a sickening green mist. A pair of gnolls had advanced just far enough to escape the spell’s effect, but the other demons were smothered in a cloud of miasma that left them gagging and vomiting even as they continued to advance.
One of the other two vrocks ran forward at Donyxn, spewing forth a stream of poisonous spores in complete disregard of the gnolls in the path of the attack. Donyxn, Kent and Lola found themselves dotted by the contaminants as they too began to gag. The third vrock let out a deafening screech, which stunned both Donyxn and Lola, causing the hollyphant to fall to the ground with a wet thud.
Almont found himself the last of the party to enter the room and was surprised at the sheer amount of mayhem that had already taken place. He knew from their prior battles that the vrocks represented the greatest danger and could see that both Donyxn and Lola were stupefied and unmoving, making them easy targets for the demons. But he could only help one of them, since one was to his left and the other his right. The tiefling was his biggest concern, not only because Donyxn was his friend, but also because he could bring much more to the fight if he broke out of his mental fog. The decision made, the cleric veered left and surprised the vrock, grabbing its arm just as it was about to rake the ranger with its claws. A wave of necrotizing energy flowed through the cleric and into the demon, it’s arm shriveling as it turned and shrieked in a mixture of shock, terror, and pain.
Almont smiled grimly.
Off to the right Kent dispatched the last of the gnolls with a graceful stroke of his blade, the others having expired from the cloud of poisonous spores unleashed by the vrock. The dwarf then pivoted left and dashed forward, delivering a backhand strike across the vrock’s wings and spine, a rivulet of ichor spraying from its arched back as it expired.
There was no time for celebrating, and a pair of thundercracks from the other side of the room meant that Katla was doing her best with the two remaining vrocks. The sorceress could certainly hold her own in a fight, but now the numbers were in their favor and the demons were quickly overwhelmed, falling under an onslaught of blows and arrows, but not before Kent suffered a deep bite wound and the stunned Lola had been gashed by talons.
Almont worked his healing magic on everyone, and while he kept some of his power in reserve his spells were enough to reverse the worst of their injuries. On the other side of the room Katla stood regarding a nine-foot statue that had been the focal point of the chanting they heard before entering the room.
“It’s Yeenoghu,” she said, matter-of-factly.
Kent walked over to where she stood and looked at the abomination. It appeared to be carved out of the same material that made up the carapice enveloping the temple. The work was crude, but the resemblance between the demon lord and the gnolls they just slew was unmistakable.
“Looks like we’re not the only ones looking for the sword,” he said.
Lola flew up alongside the pair. “We’re almost there!” Her excitement was palpable. She could barely contain herself. “C’mon!” She flew to the opening at the far end of the room and turned back to the party. “It’s just down this way! I can feel it!”
Donyxn clapped Kent on the shoulder as he walked by, heading toward the passage. “Well, let’s see what all the fuss is about, shall we?”
The passage sloped downward, and almost immediately they heard shouting in abyssal echoing through it. Less than a minute later they found themselves on a wide ledge that opened up into a black chamber. Their vantage point was about thirty feet above floor level, the walls below them sheer verticals. The room itself was a forty-foot cube. The flatness of the surfaces implied this wasn’t as space dug out by creatures, but something created by more powerful means.
Below and to the left was a pair of ten-foot tall brass doors. Even in the low light they glowed with a sort of inner radiance that emphasized a bas-relief of a blindfolded female angel wielding a sword and striking down the devils around her.
“Those are the doors,” Lola whispered with barley-contained excitement. She was practically vibrating with anticipation.
Four creatures faced the doors. Three formed a semi-circle, their lean, eight-foot tall bodies covered with sores that crawled with maggots, their heads those of deranged goats. Standing in front of them and shouting at the door was a fourth monster, its bloat contrasting the lithe frames of its companions. A pair of thick, boar-like tusks emerged from the side of its face.
Katla watched for a few moments. “He’s shouting different commands at the door. Things like ‘open’, and ‘part’, and ‘obey me’.” They continued to listen to the barrage of guttural sounds. “What an idiot,” she said quietly, to no one in particular.
“He’ll never get in,” Lola said quietly, a never-before-heard smug satisfaction in her voice. She sung it in a way that almost sounded like a playground taunt.
The group stepped back into the passage to prepare. Almont uttered a blessing upon all of them, and even those who at times joked about his devotion to Kiri-Jolith had to admit they felt a little stronger, quicker, and more confident after his ministrations. He then prayed over his warhammer, infusing it with magical energy for the upcoming battle. He could feel righteous power flowing through the weapon and wanted nothing more than to unleash it on the demon-spawn below. Katla used her spider staff to give them all the ability to walk on vertical surfaces, as the only safe way to reach the ground was to down the wall.
Their preparations done, they looked at one another. How long had they been on Avernus? It felt like years, but was probably only weeks. They’d quested for the sword since first learning of it in Elturel but still didn’t understand precisely how they might use it, assuming one of them could even wield it. Even so, it appeared to be an integral part in what they were trying to accomplish. And now it was just a few dozen feet away.
Katla broke the silence. “Gentlemen, if you don’t mind, I’ll go and get this party started.” The elf grinned, relishing the opportunity to call forth her wild magic. The others smiled grimly and nodded.
The sorceress stepped back out onto the ledge, her arms extended. The others stood just behind her and felt a sensation they’d never encountered before, as if the air around Katla were charged with tiny crackling particulates. Her arms traced a circle, starting above her head and finishing at her waist. When her hands came together to finish the gesture, a sphere of crackling energy appeared, enveloping the four demons below. The three goat-headed creatures reached for their heads and screamed in agony, their expressions a blend of pain and bewilderment. The tusk-faced monstrosity roared in anger and turned to look up at their location. Which was just in time to see the half dozen arrows and crossbow bolts fired by Donyxn and Kent, and the flash of radiant energy cast down by Almont.
Kent and Almont both began to run down the wall at angles, the dwarf to the left and the human to the right. Below, the demon leader pointed directly at Donyxn. “You!” it shouted. “I will split the treasure inside with you and your companions if you assist me!” It then disappeared, reappearing on the ledge directly in front of Donyxn and Katla and raking the surprised tiefling with one of its clawed hands.
The two remaining goat-headed beasts also teleported, one reappearing on the wall in front of Almont and the other materializing on the ground just below Kent. Almont reacted quickly, crushing the skull of the one before him, the extra energy infused into his warhammer turning the demon’s head to pulp. He then turned to run back up to the wall toward Donyxn and Katla. On the other side, Kent leapt off the wall, his scimitar gleaming as he brought it down with the full force of his ten foot fall and cleaving through the top of the demon’s head, the blade not stopping until it reached the center of its chest.
On the ledge the battle raged, the demon’s claws and bite against Donyxn’s arrows and Katla’s magic. The fight was close quarters and savage. Kent and Almont both made their ways back onto the ledge, leaving the tusk-faced demon surrounded, blows and magic raining down upon it from all quarters as it quickly succumbed.
Their foes defeated, Katla cast a thick web across the opening behind the ledge to slow anyone or anything that tried to come in behind them. They then all stepped over the edge and walked down the wall to ground level.
As they approached the doors Lola entered a trance-like state. Runes written in celestial glowed across their surfaces. Almont translated for the group. “Against evil we stand united. Only the pure of heart can pass through these gates.”
“Well, I guess that means you’ll have to wait outside Kent,” said Donyxn, his expression inscrutable but his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“You’re the one with the horns, boy,” Kent replied.
“I wouldn’t let either one of you in,” Katla said slyly.
Lola was oblivious to their conversation. The hollyphant slowly approached the doors, which grew brighter as she got closer. She stopped about a foot away, hovering for a few moments before extending her trunk and touching the brass surface.
The doors disappeared with a flash of light, its whiteness blinding and overwhelming, but not painful. Shapes began to form around them, coalescing into a room made of white marble. In the middle was a stone the size of a barrel, its surface black and smooth. Protruding from the top of the rock was a sword, half the blade and the handle jutting out. A turquoise aura surrounded the weapon and a buzzing sound seemed to emit from it.
The group felt the positive energy of the place flowing through them. Looking down at themselves they saw that all their wounds, from the deepest cuts to the smallest scratches, were completely healed, not even a hint of a scar left behind. Katla and Almont felt magic flowing through them, and both knew their energy reserves had been refreshed. Frankly they all felt better than they had in a very, very long time.
A translucent image of a woman emerged. She wore plate armor and had an angry-looking scar on her cheek. The woman and Lola approached one another as the party looked on, mesmerized. With the woman and hollyphant touched there was another bright flash of light, and the white marble room disappeared.
A second later the party found themselves in the middle of a burning village. Townspeople screamed and ran past in every direction, demons and gnolls in pursuit. Bodies were strewn about. It appeared the town had fallen and the slaughter was just getting underway.
A broken and burning wood sign lay on the ground. It read “IDYLLGLEN”. Lola and the woman were nowhere to be seen.
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