The Devil's Due - Chapter One

> "*Would you say we are... stronger... than yesterday?*"
> ― Arson Nicki
>
>

**The Devil's Due - Chapter One: "Good Luck; We're All Counting On You"** is the thirty-second episode of Queens of Adventure. In it, the queens prepare to join Belfry's contingent to a summit with the Glamazons.

## Synopsis

A throng of ghosts dance with tourists on a hillside, smiling with drinks in their hands, momentarily forgetting the storm on the horizon, and the telepathic message of impending doom they received a few hours earlier.

Fraya, Arson, and Butylene try to relax before setting out tomorrow morning with a contingent from the Golden Palace to meet the Glamazons to discuss mutual defense against the forces of the Kracken.

A rat delivered Butylene a note, from Barb the devil, who invites her to meet him at the ruins of the Three Fingers Inn. Not trusting him, she goes looking for backup in the casino and finds Ellen and Sir Throbardon.

Outside it is pitch dark except for occasional lightning. As his friends stand guard, Butylene goes around back of the tavern and smells sulfur. Staring up from a crack in the floor, he sees the face of Barb, who tells her to be subtle. Barb asks about the Kracken Priest, and is fascinated to hear that she stabbed his heart out.

Barb tries to make a better impression than last time and explains his circle of hell is ruled by an Archdevil who hates the Kracken since way back. When she learned her Old God enemy was back on this plane, she pawned off the job of defeating it to one of her Pit Fiends, who pawned it off on a Horned Devil, who pawned it off on Barb. The plan was to breed lava babies under the island, lure in the Kracken, and blow up the island, trapping the Kracken in magma. But Barb knows he could do all the work, get none of the reward. So he thought he might find a way to kill the Kracken Priest himself with an army and get acclaim for himself. Butylene's slaying of the Priest throws off Barb's plan, and just before his boss is due to arrive to inspect Operation Kracken Wafer. So he wants Butylene's help determining a new plan, rather than watch lava babies all day. It may be hard for them to communicate once the Horned Devil arrives, so as a token of good faith, Barb returns the alchemical formula book that he had found after Butylene lost it. Barb says that when he makes his move, Butylene will know and he needs her to back him up. He also implores her to keep the heart on her at all times for the next few days before he departs.

Reviewing the notebook, Butylene finds she can modify her poisonous infusions, which will make them stronger but random.

Arson had watched Butylene and the others leave as she looks for a quiet place to meditate. She finds the spa is empty and skitters into an empty hot tub. A cloud of bubbles surround her, and there is a vague look of the face of Samantha in them. She is worried that Arson is considering returning to the underdark, where Samantha had paid so much to get Arson out, and where she can't protect Arson directly should she return. Additional arcane powers fill Arson up before Samantha departs.

Fraya also has headed to the spa, and scrubs down. She sings a hymn, and suddenly she feels like her goddess is with her, as faces of Cher glimmer in soap bubbles. Fraya suddenly feels stronger. There comes a sudden knock on the door, it is Gnomi, asking her to hurry up as he wants to get back into the water.

The trio gather in the lobby, realizing they have each grown stronger. They wave to Sister Baccarat and Carmella La Mer, before returning to their suite to sleep.

In the morning, they join Karin, Patrick, and Gnomi eating breakfast in their suite. As Gnomi struggles to drink coffee with his lobster claw arm, he and Patrick review books from the Kracken Priest's. On the table sits the heart, now in a jar. Karin says there are still seaspawn about, and that she is going back out to the beach to fight more, before handing the group a letter.

The letter is from Belfry, who thinks the information they provided will help them make a deal with the Glamazons. However, on the matter of their mission to Watersport to get the treaty within three days, they failed. The Golden Palace suffered because of this failure, so they wont be getting paid the 400 gold pieces promised. She goes on to say this isn't the time to discuss their placement in the Golden Palace Loyalty Program, but to work to secure an alliance against the Kracken and Archdevil. She thanks them for bringing them Sir Throbardon, rescuing the captured tourists, and bringing them the scholar of the Great Houses, Gnomi, slaying the Kracken Priest, stabilizing morale with their ceremony, and bringing the ghost light to Augustus.

While they may not have gotten paid for their last gig, Fraya reveals she got 300 gold pieces worth of treasure from the Kracken Priest's lair.

Patrick suggests they get ready to go. Butylene packs up the heart, and Gnomi cranes his head watching it go. Downstairs, Belfry stands near the glowing blue aquarium in the center of the palace. With her are Ellen and Sir Throbardon. Arson goes to the front and says a few words as she casts *inspiring leadership*.

Arson is wearing a sensible punk outfit, but she is still just a big marshmallow inside. She has her beach umbrella ready to protect from the sun.

Butylene has her favorite weathered leather armor. The straps looks backwards but that's how it's meant to be, with plenty of spots for her potions and formulas.

Fraya is having a Versace boots moment, and her light leather armor.

The group heads outside. Some tourists attack lingering seaspawn, others scavenge for items. Overhead glama birds still fly in the bright sun, the storm at sea is still far out at sea. The ghosts are still partying on the bluff.

They make their way, over a couple hours, through the jungle. Fraya asks Butylene for an update on Barb. She thinks he will help them, but maybe not by the summit. They initially keep this to themselves, but Butylene ultimately admits contact was made. Fraya thinks they can't trust him, but it is to their advantage to work with him against bigger threats. They ask Sir Throbardon for advice on him, as he was the devil's prisoner. The aarakocra says the townspeople he experimented on were turned into oozes before he built the distillery to make large scale batches of mutagen. He was obsessed with climbing his way up the hellish heirarchy, which they might be able to exploit. Fraya feels terrible to learn the oozes they defeated were once people.

As they talk, Sir Throbardon hacks some vines and finds an old wooden sign. In one direction is the Glamazon Observatory, and in the other is the Hole of Glory. Belfry asks them to go to the Hole of Glory and notify the Glamazons of their intention to meet. The group take Ellen with them, while the others head towards the Observatory.

After a half hour walk, the queen's party finds a cave mouth in a sheer cliff, the Chiffon Cliff, covered by soft moss. They walk into the cave and the sounds of the jungle vanish. Up ahead, they hear the sounds of scuttling, and muffled laughter.

### Characters

#### Party

* Arson Nicki - drider warlock
* Butylene O'Kipple - tiefling alchemist
* Fraya Love - water genasi cleric

#### NPCs

* Ellen
* Sir Throbardon
* Barb
* Gnomi Malone
* Sister Baccarat
* Carmella La Mer
* Karin and Patrick
* Belfry
* Samantha

* Laughing creatures

## Episode Notes

### Lore

* To signal interest in meeting with Glamazons, contact must be made through the Hole of Glory.

### Memorable Quotes

* "I'm like saying no while nodding yes." - Butylene O'Kipple
* "I just love a meeting." - Butylene O'Kipple
* "Hello everyone. Follow your instincts, follow your heart. Douche even when you don't think you need to." - Arson Nicki
* "I'm having a Versace boots moment." - Fraya Love
* "Oh my god we forgot to turn the ghosts off." - Butlyene O'Kipple
* "And if we make him the king of his realm of Hell, maybe he'll cut us some slack when he tries to destroy the universe in some other option or way." - Fraya Love
* "Does he have a monthly show in Ravnica?" - Butylene O'Kipple

### References

* Brittney Spears
* AirBnB
* Versace
* Airplane, the Movie (Episode title and clip at end of episode)

### Name That Tune

* "G\*psies, Tramps, and Thieves" - Cher
* "Stronger" - Brittney Spears
* "Sleigh Ride"
* "It's Not Right (But it's Okay)" - Whitney Houston

## Behind the Queens

* This is the first level up rest of Season One. Their last level up appears to have been around The Frozen Feast.

**Greetings From Fire Island**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - **The Show Must Go On**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4
**Operation Watersport**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4 - Ch5 - Ch6 - Ch7 - **Trials**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4
**Ghosts of the Coast**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - **The Devil's Due**: **Ch1** - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4
**Special**: The Story So Far
**The Beautiful Place**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4 - Ch5 - Ch6 - **A Dance in the Dark**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4
**Drama in the Deep**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4 - Ch5 - Ch6 - **Whispers From the Heart**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4 - Ch5 - Ch6
**Danger Rangers!**: Ch1 - Ch2 - Ch3 - Ch4 - Ch5 - Ch6
**Mist Connections**: Ch1 - Ch2
**Unreleased**
Lost: Camp Crystal Light - Pax West 2018 --  vs the Lizard People
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