Chapter 6: Bring Me To Life

## New Day, New Tower

### Day 7-8

The party found themselves upon the plane of Avernus, at the foot of another massive tower with neither windows nor doors. In the distance, three of the creatures that tried to make off with Ascot within the Dulinquire Manor. Verrick greeted them with his usual civility, and as the Devils died the mysterious voice returned to say.

> *"You are powerful, but still not worthy."*
>
>

Any further curiosity about the voice was interrupted by a strange squeak, revealed to be the hiding form of Gog's long lost companion, Giuseppe the Impressive. The strange, orange eyed Lizardman was not entirely sure how he had gotten there, but was delighted to see his old friend. They set off in the direction of Fort Knucklebones, across the endless plane lit by the wane red light. Eventually, they found a strange rock, where the even stranger voice again made another appearance.

> *"Prove yourself worthy of being my chosen."*
>
>

Again ignoring the voice, the party was much more concerned with the small man in the spectacles sitting on top of the rock, who introduced himself as "the Magnificent Meteorologist," warned them of an impending storm, made a bad pun, and then disappeared. Verrick put up the dome, and sure enough a horrible miasma soon descended upon them, blocking out all sight. The storm lasted a full 20 hours, with little the pass the time save Bard's strumming, and Giuseppe using his impressive lung capacity to pay the Meteorologist a visit. Writing the man a song, Giuseppe earned himself a Soul Coin.

## Fort Knucklebones

### Day 9

Finally, the party made it to Fort Knucklebones, encountering the asshole Red Caps who guard the place. They talk their way through the gates, discovering that the place is full of the little pricks, as well as a handful of Kenku who guarded the War Machines. They did not find Chucka and Klonk, but they did find Smasher and Klonker, with the former remembering Lulu and the later being Klonk's grandchild.

Klonker took them to Natasha's bar, to find Chucka's grandchild Chuckles talking to Mad Maggie, Warlord of Avernus, and the boss of Fort Knucklebones. Giuseppe managed to be quite convincing, which was good, as Maggie was a big fan of murder, and instead convinced her to tell her story. Originally part of a Coven of Night Hags, Maggie had come to Avernus to experience the taste of absolute misery. While there, she had found pieces of a tapestry that recalled the Hellrider's betrayal of Zariel, and her eventualfall to Asmodeus. Maggie knew that Lulu possessed the memories of the location of the Sword of Zariel. She prepared to set her Red Caps on them, but relented when she learned that Lulu was not able to recall much of what she had known.

Instead, Verrick and Mad Maggie negotiated a deal. The Hg could construct a device that would extract the memories from Lulu's mind, but there were a number of components she needed first.

* Nirvanan Cogbox. Used in a variety of infernal machines, these cogboxes come from Mechanus.
* Heartstone. Used by night hags to infiltrate the dreams of their victims. It’s used as a prism or beam-splitter in the dream machine.
* Phlegethosian Sand. Obsidian sand pounded from the jagged, rocky plains of Phlegethos, the fourth layer of Hell. The Archmage Mordenkainen might have some as well, residing in a tower in the middle of a boiling lake on this plane.
* Astral pistons. Another component used in various pieces of infernal machinery. The pistons are actually extruded into the astral plane, maximizing their mechanical output. It’s an outdated technology and rarely used these days.

Natasha asked the bards to make her laugh, and they used their magic on her to make it so.

### Day 10

The party spent the next two days preparing for the next leg of their journey, with Gog performing feats of strength in the bar and learning some juicy tidbits through idle chatter.

* The imprisoned demon lord Kostchtchie is chained in a great pit Abyss-ward of Bel’s Forge. He cannot die, and the infernal elite would pay handsomely if his elusive phylactery could be found.
* The Pit of Shummrath is a huge canyon more than a mile deep filled with a lake of green slime that undulates as though breathing. It’s said that drinking the slime will give devils/mortals hallucinogenic visions which may have some power of foretelling the future.
* Gog: When you travel the Ashlands be careful: The ash can hide huge holes that you can fall down. I lost my Devil’s Ride in one and barely got out alive myself.

Sirius engaging in some "creative" gambling that got him kicked out of the bar, but not before learning that.

* Avernus was once a glorious paradise envied throughout the Many Planes. Known now as Avernus That Was, there are supposedly still pockets of this paradise which remain embedded within the hellscape of modern Avernus. There are cult societies within the Blood Legions who supposedly still idolize Avernus That Was and seek to restore its lost glories.

Ascot had a bad day trying to make the War Machines work, and didn't learn anything.

### Day 11

Ascot had more success the next day, getting the War Machines up and running, and modifying the Machine that the party would be taking out on loan from Mad Maggie. Gog takes a round in the fighting pit, winning a Soul Coin for taking down two of the Red Caps. Verrick realized it was a good way to fuel up their rides, challenging five of the Red Caps to a fight to earn some coins and annihilating them with his newest bit of fancy swordplay.

Taking the Tormentor and the Devil's Ride on loan, the party headed South, not even leaving sight of Fort Knucklebones before getting attacked by a band of Wereboars ridding in a Demon Grinder. They quickly took all but their leader down. They took the much larger Demon Grinder, renamed it the Evanescence, and returned Mad Maggie's loaners to her. Verrick struggled on the Devil's Ride, crashing it twice, much to the delight of the watching Red Caps. Eventually, they head out, traveling South along the River Styx until they reached a massive set of docking claws.

Ascot spent some time attuning themselves to the silver amulet retrieved from the floating tower, discovering it to be the Tear of Torm.

## The Planes of Avernus

### Day 12

Continuing South, the party spotted some flying things in the distance, and Lulu flew up to harass them. Out on the River Styx, they spotted the wreck of a ship split in half and stuck on a sand bar. Assuming it to be the wreck of the Mechanus Ship bearing a Nirvanan Cogbox, Elerra, Verrick, Gog, Ascot, and Lulu flew out to investigate, leaving Sirius and Giuseppe behind. They found more of the Insect-like Fiends on board, and though Ascot was quickly knocked out in a cloud of poison gas, managed to overcome both them and their summoned allies. The helm of the ship was covered in Abjuration Magic, so they ignored it and headed below decks. They found more of the fiends sleeping, and Gog hacked up a Golem made of blood to destroy them.

Deep below decks, they found a jackal headed figure in purple robes holding a bruised Half-Elf captive with a large tattoo-like birthmark on her face.

> *"You will kill this half elf if you attack"*
>
>

A threat which relied on Verrick and Elerra not being capable of exactly the sort of tactical decisions they had been making for most of the venture, and thus a threat which quickly led to a dead Half-Elf and a dead Fiend. Verrick found the dead Half-Elf's spellbook, along with a journal that detailed the nature of the vessel upon which they found themselves. The dead Captain had been named Buriel Toeck, and the vessel was named The Mirror’s Edge. It was powered by a special kind of water elemental formed from the waters of the River Styx, and the helm was attuned to a tattoo on her forearm. By touching her tattoo to the helm, she could control the vessel. Elerra, learning this, promptly skinned Buriel's tattoo. After finding the Stygian elemental hiding in a bucket, she and Ascot used it to get the Mirror's Edge off the rocks. After a substantial amount of fiddling with the Tear of Torm, Ascot was able to get the Evanescence on board.

While working on the ship, the party was inspected by a trio of Fiendish Drake Riders. Sirius pointed out that the party was just scavenging, a claim which was met with no opposition. The rest of the party discovered the sleeping infant that Gog had found in the Gideon Lightward's desecrated temple, and had a lengthy conversation about the meaning of the sigil of the Demonic Alliance.

### Day 13

Giuseppe wove a seeming, making the party look like Bearded Devils, though Elerra resisted the magic. Ascot and Elerra try and get the ship repaired, having a bonding moment over some mushy brains she'd been keeping. They manage get the ship moving, and only beach it a mile later. The beached vessel was inspected by a pack of hellhounds. Sirius unleashed a blast of psychic energy, allowing Verrick to mop up most of them with one of his sword techniques. A few hours later an entire platoon of Bearded Devils flew by, and utterly ignored the party due to Giuseppe's glamour.

Ascot got the Mirror's Edge repaired, and more importantly flying, and so they did their best to avoid another acid rain. They attempted to get over it, but found the ship wasn't capable of such heights, and instead fled West. They spotted a creepy looking tower, but decided to avoid it, moving back towards the river.

Hours later, a small band of flying creatures attempted to intercept the Mirror's Edge. Ascot introduced one of them to the ship, but the others managed to attack with darkness and fire. A pitched battle erupted, with the ship burning, but eventually the last raider fell to Giuseppe's fireworks. In the aftermath of the fight, the mysterious voice again sounded, stating...

> *"You are powerful, but you're still not worthy. Your companion sends her regards."*
>
>

The message ended with a child's scream, which the party believed was perhaps Esmerelda's. They landed the heavily damaged vessel, and took shelter from the acid rain. When the rain ceased, Ascot began making repair. Standing watch, Verrick saw a host of ghosts falling into the river in the distance, along with a great something pulling itself out, but nothing came near.

### Day 14

Ascot conducted some leatherwork with the dead Half-Elf's tattoo, making a portable key for the Mirror's Edge. With the vessel repaired, they continued their journey, stopping quickly when they encountered a mortal alchemist conducting experiments with the water of the River Styx. Talking to the man revealed he was a Thayan Alchemist, searching for his companion Beau Gentle. Verrick traded for some information, specifically learning that the 2nd spellbook Elerra had stolen from the Cassalanter's during their masquerade ball (a spellbook which he had totally forgotten about) was in fact the infamous Beau's. Realizing that he couldn't investigate it without risking discovery, he quickly ushered them on their way.

Their search for the crashed Mechanus ship continued in vain, but they did discover a 3-story tower that Elerra recognized as being Drow architecture. Guiseppe wove another veil to make the party appear as Drow themselves. After bullying their way past an Imp receptionist, they met Respen Shadowswimmer, foremost scholar of the waters of the Styx. Elerra traded Respen a geas for knowledge of the missing ship, pledging to either rescue or kill Respen's missing apprentice Viltharn. The apprentice was last seen in Plagueshield Point, and Respen wished them rescued if there was anything worth saving, or eliminated if they had succumbed to Zariel's corruption.

To reach the fortress, Respen gave the party a strange bowl that, when filled with water from the River Styx, summoned an elemental of that water. The summoned entity wrapped them in a protective bubble, allowing them to pass through the waters without being lost to their memory erasing effects. Deep in the depths, they spotted an enormous stalagmite, and pushed through a shimmering barrier and a tiny crack near the base of the hulking structure that led to an entrance. Inside, they found vaulted ceilings and intricate (but mostly smashed) murals that suggested the fortress had belonged to House Vandree, one of the minor houses of **the** Drow city of Menzoberranzan.

Eventually, the party was discovered and attacked by Imps in service to a Devil named Ljubomir. Quickly dispatching them, they moved on to encounter a series of pressure plates that triggered gouts of flame in a room full of pillars. They found a teleportation circle, but without a keystone it was useless. Gog utilized the tried and true method of poking the floor with a big axe, allowing them to navigate the traps without further harm, eventually finding a room with a massive crevice in the floor. From below, bickering voices could be heard, yelling threats at one another in Infernal and supported by the cracking of whips. Elerra crept down on a rope, and spotted lines of winged White Fiends tending to shackled Drow prisoners. However, she was spotted, and a voice shouted out in Drow

> *"The intruders we were warned about, fight to the death!"*
>
>

Elerra was quickly pin-cushioned, but was pulled up to safety before she was finished off, but between a flying Gog, Sirius turning Ascot into a rampaging dinosaur, and a few well placed backstabs the White Fiends who flew out of the crevice were defeated. After a brief respite, nothing further flew up, so the party bestowed the gifts of flight and invisibility on Ascot and Elerra to go do a scouting mission. The stealth mission lasted perhaps five minutes, with Elerra striking a Chime of Opening that she'd been hiding and simultaneously freeing six the Drow prisoners. A massive fight ensued, with the Mysterious Voice making an appearance and speaking through one of the Drow to Ascot.

> *"Prove yourself, kill them, destroy them all, kill their bones"*
>
>

Of course, the otter neglected to ever inform anyone of this occurrence, so the Voice went on getting ignored by everyone else. Despite being invisible, Elerra got pin-cushioned again by a number of the fiends, but with Gog going to town on the foe decided instead to open a large set of doors she'd found, and instead of friends found a Drow fiend made of animated spiked chains. Ascot released the Earth Elemental Gem retrieved from the Crypts beneath the High Hall to add to the mess. The full party joined the fray, with Gog passing the failsafe baby to Giuseppe after the little thing got knocked unconscious. Sirius unleashed a devastating sonic attack, and Elerra used the chaos to start releasing more Drow, only to watch them all die when the Chain Devil triggered the magic in the bracelets they were shackled in. Elerra grabbed a bundle of letters revealed to be written Velspar to Respen, and Ascot took the chained Fiend up the crevice with some well timed magic. Elerra made a daring escape with the help of Verrick's spell of flight, confronting the captured Chained Drow, revealing that it was what was left of Velspar's soul, and then knifed him with a whispered.

> *"Respin sends his regards"*
>
>

Ascot, furious and devastated that Elerra killed the Drow she was trying to get through to, was dragged kicking and biting into the dome that Giuseppe formed. Within the corpse's belongings, she found a keystone to access the Teleportation Circle. Half dead from the fight, the party tried to rest, with Sirius' gentle song reviving their heart and souls.

> *"In the dark, there is light.*
>
>
> *Through watery eyes, you're still in sight. Now is not our time to fold.*
>
>
> *Take my (non-metal) hand, it's yours to hold.*
>
>
> *Your heart is true, hold true, hold true: humanity lives on in there;*
>
>
>
> *remember love, kindness, care."*
>
>

### Day 15

Waking within the dome, the party tried to find a way downstairs that wouldn't result in them getting turned into pincushions. Elerra was again granted the gift of flight and a glamour of invisibility, and scouting ahead found six haggard looking Drow in a pile. When she tried to speak with them, instead the Strange Voice emerged.

> *"Your group has almost proved themselves, but I've yet to see you kill the Devil of Bones. I no longer wear the chains, and there is no way out of this cursed place."*
>
>

Upon learning the information Gog had Emmy issue a challenge to the Devil of Bones, utilizing a Sending. Elerra freed the Drow, and brought them back up to the party. Realizing that Velspar already had a Glyphstone, and that the only thing they needed was the Circle of Teleportation, they headed back towards the trapped room that contained it. Heading that way, they were instead ambushed by a female Drow, a large creature made of bones, and a handful of Devils. In the middle of the room was another Drow woman, trapped in a circle of glyphs desecrated in Infernal. Choosing to fight, the heroes unleashed a handful of new tricks, eventually cutting through impaling chains and entangling webs and defeating the Devil and their allies. Elerra approached the sigil bound Drow woman, and communing with her psychically learned that it was an Avatar of Lolth herself. Immediately freeing this aspect of her literal Goddess, Elerra was granted Abyssal knowledge of valuable tactical information in the Blood War.

Story Award: A Savior of My Enemy's Enemy.

Using the Glyphstone, the party traveled back to Respen's tower, with Ascot bullying their way past the Imp secretary to inform the Archmage of the news. Respen informed the party that there was no "ship," leading Verrick to realize that it must have been the square tower they had passed days before. Respen told them another Cogbox could be located on a train that ran across the plane, run by Demons, and wanted the heroes to steal a long green spear that was also on board. After trading for some general supplies, Respen informed them that there was an ambush waiting for them on the Mirror's Edge.

Elerra scouted ahead to find the vessel covered in tar, with goopy and spikey Fiends covering it. Worse, Lulu was in the hold, being tortured by the fiends. Another fierce battle ensued, with Ascot destroying their leader before it could do so much as raise a claw. Elerra encountered a Pig Demon, and recognizing it as an example of Demonkind attempted to share some of the lore she'd learned from Lolth. The Demon was uninterested, and Gog ended up needing to wrestle it down into the muck so that she could gut it. The ship had been looted, but the foe had been loaded with Soul Coins, so they found themselves almost richer than when they had left. Lulu needed to be revived with healing magic, but when she was she mentioned that she had a friend at a place called the Wandering Emporium who might be able to help.

### Day 16

The next morning, the party awoke to discover Giuseppe's fey steed prowling majestically upon the deck of the Mirror's Edge. Heading West, they spotted a strange shape below, a human looking merchant on a sled pulled by two Hellhounds. The merchant announced himself to be Xalgoni, Merchant Extraordinaire, who himself hailed from the Wandering Emporium that Lulu had mentioned before. He traded a number of items with the party, including a golden heart. Thinking it might be the Hag's Heart that Mad Maggie needed for her machine, Ascot purchased it. The moment she touched it, she found herself possessed, and promptly shot Gog in the knee. Emmy and Elerra were similarly possessed, despite not touching the heart, each seeking to destroy the most dangerous thing they knew. Emmy attacked Sirius with withering magic, while Elerra promptly stabbed herself repeatedly. Verrick attempted to murder the merchant, but the party was assailed by more psychic magic, causing most of them to drop what they were holding and run away in fear. When he finally recovered, he heard the Strange Voice speak from Xalgoni's, saying:

> *"You must be stronger still"*
>
>

Before disappearing. The possessed heroes needed to be slain and then revived, a task the remaining party members were able to accomplish. When the dust finally settled, the party was beaten ragged, but they had all survived. In a panic, Verrick realized that his ancestral blade was also missing. In desperation he searched, but the voice made it clear that it had been stolen, stating:

> *"You have both great strength and sufficient guile but you must grow stronger still before we will reveal our secrets to you"*
>
>

Deciding that they lack the power to pursue it, they continued on their quest for the items Mad Maggie required for her machine, spending the rest of the day breaking down the Merchant's abandoned sled and repairing the Mirror's Edge. Verrick spent the afternoon studying what he now understood to be Beau Gentle's Spellbook, which Elerra had stolen from the Cassalanter's Estate back on the material plane, and which Verrick had promptly forgotten about amid all the other fiery revelations the party had made that day.