Catch up

So. I'd like to be able to catch us all up on what's happened since Gudmund died.
DRAFT
HIGH PRIEST GUDMUND
On the evening of the 359th day, the Great Downwards Engineering Company had resolved to explore beyond the Minotaur Mazes, to where they suspected the second Temple of Orcus was located. Stumble into that temple they did, and also into what would be the longest 24 hours most members of the company had ever lived through.
High Priest Gudmund himself was not a trivial encounter. He had 30 priests and acolytes under his sway, a giant hand-shaped anima engine carrying him, a Glabrezu that was also a high priest, a babau, as well as the services of a cursed clay golem, and Ashfallen, a particularly powerful Denizen of Leng. Ashfallen frankly had no interest in stooping below his station and engaging with the Great Downward, to their fortune. Instead he stalled until two other Denizens had retrieved a coffin from within the Anima Hand.
The battle was fierce and a close match, and the Great Downward lost Gus, but the final blow was dealt out by the Chosen of Bofred and received by High Priest Gudmund’s face. The Anima Hand was dismantled to a degree, and within were found two soul gems. One contained General Estella Ackbeth, a barbarian general of Archmage Zelkor’s and a true force of Chaos. The other contained none other than Laniss. But dismantling the Anima Hand was the trigger for the Grand Cornu's most desperate plans, which involved besieging the surface of the Stoneheart Valley with his own Unrighteous March whilst he himself escaped into a small sealed demiplane. It is useful to think of this demiplane as an egg and the Grand Cornu as an embryo- and Orcus as the ghastly unholy hatchling the two would come together to create.. 
Ashfallen's motivations were not entirely clear, he mentioned that the Orcusites were renting Rappan Athuk from Ashfallen's own employer, and it was clear that Ashfallen was rather ambivilent about the current struggle, seeing it as beneath him. Ashfallen offered the heroes of the Great Downward with a choice- pursue the Grand Cornu into his demiplane before it was sealed for good, or go back to the surface to brace against the oncoming Unrighteous March and help save the communities they had spent so much time, gold, political capital and care in building.
The Great Downward Engineering Company chose the latter option. In hindsight it might not have been the best decision objectively, but it was the best morally. 
THE UNRIGHTEOUS MARCH
The Great Downward arrived back home in Dejune to find demons raining from the sky and undead boiling out of the earth. The fabric between the planes had been ripped wide open, and new entrances into Rappan Athuk had opened up to allow the undead passage. Incursions between the people of the Valley and the servants of Orcus had already occurred, but the bulk of the Unrighteous March was still on its way. General Stoneheart had gathered accurate intelligence of the situation, and had determined that the frighteningly large waves of demons and undead were to break upon Greyton's soil in three waves. Greyton was in a good strategic position, and well placed (if not well armed) to defend the rest of the Calaelen dominion against all three waves. If Greyton fell, the forces of Orcus would have an easy pass into the rest of the major cities to the north of the Valley- the Great Downward Engineering Company were most needed there. The Dejune Army had a small wave of its own it needed to fend off, but would be able to join Greyton after Dejune's safety was secured. This left the Engineers with no time to properly prepare for combat but enough to send out some Sendings to nearby allies in the Valley. Queen Illden of Skor, High Lady Teyr'ranaric of Tsar, Lady Mirrax of Mirrax Marines, Lady Mogriss (representative of Archmage Fondon), and Warchief Zikzak of the Mosswood goblins were those contacted.
The first wave of the Unrighteous March arrived barely fifteen minutes after The Great Downward had arrived, and consisted of zombies, zombie cavalry, skeleton archers and bone catapults. It was led by Luther Stoneheart. Luther was an outcast from the noble Stoneheart line who had been in charge of defending Tsar from the forces of Orcus, but had turned traitor, and over the centuries had been turned into a Grave Knight. Where regular undead are animated by negative energy, Luther had the elemental energy of the Plane of Earth powering his corpse. His dwarven battleaxe was a vicious weapon that also inflicted horrible acid damage. The Great Downward Engineering Company took most of the army on themselves, but Luther finally fell to a clever play by Agamemnon and Mortimer. Agamemnon taunted Luther into charging him, costing him his life, but this opened up Luther to a brutal set of blows from Mortimer.
The second wave arrived a scant few hours later (just before dawn), and consisted of more zombies, more zombie cavalry, more skeleton archers, more bone catapults, babau spearmen and black skeletons. It was lead by Lady Arlington, who once been a chosen paladin of the now dead goddess Muir, but now had been corrupted and warped into a Marilith. She was a terrifying creature with more arms and swords than anyone is truly allowed to have. By now the Dejune Army had arrived to support those defending Greyton. However, most of the forces were taken down by the Great Downward Engineering themselves, with Arlington finally falling to Lictor Mortimer's infamous adamantine scythe. Lady Arlington's main sword, an unholy weapon, was couriered to Dejune by Crusher. The brave and noble Lady Kingsley, also a servant of Muir, bonded with the blade in an effort to redeem the weapon. The renewed divine bond returned some of Kingsley's former vigor and health, and she traveled quickly to Greyton to join the fight against the final wave.
The forces of Greyton and Dejune would not fight alone, however. Several allies arrived to join the fight. 
* A detachment of Skor's elite Purple Ribbon knights, lead by Rosiland Weyld
* A unit of Tarren's Junction soldiers, sent to aid their neighbours, led by Boranthar the bard
* A second unit of TJ soldiers, hired and lead by a very grateful Azarthraine of Harrowfell
* A unit of Doren's Hold heavy crossbowmen lead by Jelk "Chuckles" Bronzefist
* The promised Teleporting Murder Wizards from the Dales, lead by Maya's cousin, Caranthir D’Larariel
* The Lobstoocity, Mirrax's airship
At dawn, before the third wave arrived, a tremendously terrible thing happened. A bolt of profane energy fell from the sky, and unholy fire spewed from the earth in the shape of Thyr's holy symbol. Out from the flames came a demigod- Naphiroth, the archangel (and chosen) of Thyr. Naphiroth had been driven mad and evil by centuries of torture, and had now been sent by the Grand Cornu to destroy the Great Downward Engineering Company. The armies of Dejune and Greyton were withdrawn as the battle between the mortals and the demigod unfolded. Naphiroth's very presence heralded a new powerful magical effect for each round of combat (these effects had in fact been foretold in the holy Thyrite writings), and warped magical energy in the area. The battle was rough and several died, but eventually the angel was weakened, no thanks at all to a herald of War himself that the Engineers summoned. An unholy weapon was needed to get through the angel's divine defenses and properly kill it, and the only unholy weapon available was the one wielded by Lady Kingsley. Laniss teleported Lady Kingsley in to engage with Naphiroth, along with Boranthar, Rosalind Weyld of Skor, Caranthis D'larariel, Chuckles and Barthus, but not before Azurthraine of Harrowfall (former Firehawk) sacrificed himself to lend them all more power. Together this heroic B-team felled the corrupted angel. It was around this point that Laniss revealed his newfound devotion to Thyr, and he cast a scroll of Wish to redeem the angel in Thyr's name.
The plan took, and Naphiroth was healed of his corruption. He ascended to Thyr's side, and this further revived the formerly dead old Valley god. Napharoth was ushered into Thyr's grace by Thyr's newest comrade, the angel Severin Aerim.
Summoning the herald of War, Carnage, during the fight with Naphiroth had seemed like a good idea at the time. Unfortunately the creature had been next to useless against the angel and had come at a cost. War himself removed the Great Downward Engineering Company from Greyton, so that the forces of Greyton, Dejune and the third wave of the Unrighteous March could have a proper war without heroes getting in the way. And war they did. 
The Unrighteous March was eventually defeated, but the armies of Greyton and Dejune lost [NUMBER] of their number.
And so ended the longest day.
THE AFTERMATH
Rest, recovery and dealing with the dead were the immediate priorities, once the final babau spearman and skeleton archer were felled. The brave souls who gave their lives to Greyton's defense were buried with due ceremony, and the masses of undead had their remains sanctified. Despite Mortimer wanting to decorate his castle with Marilith remains, the tasteless sod, Lady Arlington's remains were buried in respect to her former self. Luther's remains, if left to their own devices would simply regenerate back into Luther, so he was kept in a vat of lye until he could be properly destroyed.
The Stoneheart Valley is now about as safe as it used to be before the founding of the Dominion and Greyton. The previous bandit threat has been replaced with the odd roving demon or mass of undead, but civilians are able to travel and live without the escort of heroes.
The following High Council meeting was uncharacteristically productive. It had taken demons raining from the sky, undead boiling out of the earth and Lord Shades expending most of his political capital to do so, but finally the Council saw the Orcusits threat for what it was. The Council has enlisted all adventuring companies available to help clear the dark dank places in the Valley where evil likes to hide. The Grand Cornu of Orcus needed to be stopped, and the Great Downward Engineering Company is the best shot the Valley has at doing so.
As an interesting note, Aberdeen's borders reopened. Exchange of goods or persons across the border is no longer illegal. This is most likely due to Aberdeen being hit particularly hard by the undead uprising, due to its wacky custom of interring the dead with fancy gear and treasures.
* Before the Unrighteous March, the Engineers had plans to go to the Great Cavern to possibly uncover the remains of a previous Agamemnon. They went through the Lair of the Spider Queen, and met said Spider Queen.
* The Lair of the Spider Queen had been assaulted by some of Theron's goblin forces, and a troupe of wererats dear to the Spider Queen had been murdered by them, as well as some of her spider children.
* The Spider Queen gave the Great Downward a scroll and a magic-immune (living stone) sword capable of unmaking a god. She wants Hecate dead, and in return will aid the Great Downward with Theron. The sword is something the Architect of Rappan Athuk is happy to kill over, so it needs to remain hidden.
* The Great Downward did not reach the Great Cavern. They returned to the surface and explored the new opening in Rappan Athuk, where the Unrighteous March had poured out from. They found chanting zombie-flute-swarms, which seemed scarier than they actually were. Further down the hole they found the storage areas for the undead hordes, as well as where Luther, Arlington and Napharoth had been living/imprisoned. They found a Chain of Agony, a Chain of Binding and a Chain of Madness, which were the tools of torture that had been used to corrupt Napharoth.
* Further beyond these rooms was a market hawking all sorts of terrible things, from snake oil remedies for erectile dysfunction harvested from good creatures to date rape potions to counterfeit money from across the planes. A teleport pad there lead to the Anima Engine.
* Turns out the Anima Engine, or at least this one, is a huge restaurant that randomly generates more food than it knows what to do with. The Great Downward had a good time and had some delicious ribs. From the bar man, Dante, the Great Downward learned the name of the Grand Cornu, Lorvius. The same Lorvius who had betrayed Tsar and indirectly caused both the fall of Severin Aerim and the death of Thyr. 
* UPDATE
* Splat on the Bar: http://tgdec.wikia.com/wiki/Dante%27s_Anima_Engine_Bar_%26_Grill
* Laniss realised that Dante and Lorvious had met, as mentioned in this vision (The old male voice was understood to be Grand Cornu Lorvius, and the blue-skinned man was Dante): http://tgdec.wikia.com/wiki/Begging_and_borrowing
* Laniss also pieced together that the Orcusites had borrowed the banana-shaped stone from the Tsathoggans, although its purple was unclear.
* Dante confirmed that he worked for someone called The Architect, who in some way administered Rappan Athuk. Rappan Athuk was described as being a "prison", and the Orcusites had paid the Architect for the use of his space. Dante cautioned about investigating the Architect or what was contained in the prison too closely; Several people have now mentioned that the Architect's way of dealing with nosey people is to "offer them a job" in a rather permanent fashion.
* The party was also introduced to Xelo Tath of Claire (a chain kyton), who has been Mortimer's agent in the shadows. It was he who introduced Mortimer to the archangel Balthazar, as well as providing Mort with help (and well-timed resurrections) to get him this far. Xelo Tath works for the Kyton Interloculator Chattur'gah, who was hired by the Architect. Chattur'gah's role (and Xelo Tath's by extension) was to monitor the Orcusite's activities in Rappan Athuk, and make sure that their plans did not undermine the integrity of the prison. While Xelo Tath does not know the full extent of the Orcusite's plans, it was clear that no matter how destructive they may seem, they posed no threat to the prison itself.
* After the pub, the party continued to explore. The next thing they found was a grand cathedral, where High Priest Nadroj was giving a sermon. Nadroj is a powerful spectre-wizard with a slew of powers, and was joined by a few of his priests and 24 greater shadows. He was defeated, but without his body being found and destroyed he will eventually return.
* Interrogating some surviving priests revealed that there were three passageways off the cathedral: One lead to a meditation area, one to the Grand Cornu's private chambers, and one to the third and final temple. The meditation area was a small square passage that radiated powerful evil, although the party could not find its source.
* Next they went to the Grand Cornu's chambers, which was protected by two symbols of death. 
* Inside they met the Kyton Interloculator Uly'oth (along with 6 chain kytons). Uly'oth was the Grand Cornu's torturer, dealing out cruel fates to any who crossed Lorvious. Uly'oth was also working for the architect much like Chattur'gah, but Uly'oth was serving as a kind of valet/person assistant to Lorvious. The party engaged Uly'oth (and an awesome holy word from Shades dismissed the chain kytons cleanly). Uly'oth's melee strikes allowed him to read the mind of his target, and he discovered Xelo Tath's interference, and was none too pleased. Xelo Tath has overstepped his mark in aiding Mortimer, and Uly'oth was enraged, promising to not only kill Mortimer and The Great Downward, but also to then have Chattur'gah punished for their interference. Xelo Tath arrived (burning out his precious plane-shifting device in the process) and together they defeated Uly'oth. Xelo Tath attached a device to Uly'oth, preventing him from returning to his home plane upon his defeat. After the battle, Xelo Tath and other kytons under Chattur'gah's command arrived to hide the evidence of their assassination.
* Sadly, Aggy was killed and turned into a cube of meat. He was restored to life a short while later.
* The very next room held Ashfallen the librarian, in the very same room where Mort had drawn the earthquake card some months previously. With him were the quarted of Gudmund's priests who'd survived the attack on the second temple. They were wrapped in white rags, and seemed to be undergoing some bizarre transformation.
* Ashfallen allowed another draws from the deck, producing some powerful results. Mortimer was able to scry on the Grand Cornu, and confirmed that he was locked in a demi plane, and was engaged in a chant that seemed to be "mapping" an area of the Abyss to an area of the Prime Material. The location on the Prime Material was unsurprisingly somewhere in the depths of Rappan Athuk.
* Ashfallen offered the party a book in exchange for their 'help' with his Deck of Many Things.
* Ashfallen informed the party that they were "captured", and were to be taken before the Grand Cornu. Ashfallen was happy to wait while Snooks and Kruin arrived, so he could "capture" them as well.