Chapter 5 - Distractions, Death and a Demon God

**Chapter 5** of Greetings Adventurers sees the relationship between Aludra Wyrmsbane and Jaela flourish, reintroduces the ship, the Chum Guzzler, introduces Avery T'léas and the White Dome, and lays out the rules for how to end the Demon Apocalypse. It is also the final Chapter to take place in Fourth Edition.

Thom the Dragonborn has just inadvertently gotten Steve Meloncamp stuck in his head, aboard Zird's submarine. Not sure what to do about this, the party surfaces and meet up with their old ship, the Chum Guzzler! This is the first time Lord Titus Harper has seen Ros ever since she killed him. They argue, and decide not to fight and kill each other... yet. They are not on good terms, however. Ros tells them that Fennekin had kidnapped her sister, Pirta, as well, compelling her to kill Harper. She is sent to go find Aludra and Thom's adopted son, Bucky. They think about their next mission, to get the Demonomicon deciphered. Zird points them toward a wizard named Avery T'léas, in the White Dome of Fairmire, but first, they stop at the nearby Drunkeros Madagascar to resupply the ship. There they supply the locals with a substance know as Silverweed Oil, and take some for themselves. They return to the boat and make their way to Fairmire.

Fairmire has been completely destroyed by the Demon Apocalypse, but the White Dome still stands, thanks to a Warding Circle put in place by Avery T'léas. It lets no evil pass, so Thom must leave his evil sentient sword Blood Drinker in a cage outside. Avery tells them all that there is a way to destroy the machine made from The Brazier of Worlds, The Orb of Endless Power, and The Whip of Binding, and that is to use a weapon called the Hammer of Sundering, which she gives to the party. The Hammer will destroy whatever it strikes, but at the cost of the body and soul of the person wielding it. Zird offers to do it, as he is very old, and the rest of the party accepts his offer warily. He takes them to a necromancer named Riekert Svenson who, after some tomfoolery, gives the party some options besides one of them just dying. Things like trapping the sould of the user to maybe put in a mechanical golem later on, stuff like that *(I wouldn't worry too much about this, it doesn't really come up later. Spoilers.)*.

The party has another flashback to their adventures as the crew from Yangahr: Rhavar, Telir, and Temerity. They fight some demons aboard the Chum Guzzler, and then Fennekin himself shows up! They fight briefly, before he runs off and leaves a giant demon for them to fight. It deals a large amount of damage to Rhavar, who is presumably killed. The party wakes up before they know what happens.

They head out to find Bucky, who they know, thanks to Ros, is nearby. He has been kidnnapped by Gnolls or demons or Gnoll demons, to Thom's horror. Eventually, they are able to find the Gnoll encampment, a city that is being picked up and carried by thousands of Gnolls. They sneak in and make their way to the fortress of the Gnoll demon-god, Yeenoghu, whom they've heard has returned to lead the Gnolls. Inside, they do find Bucky, but he is not so much a captive of Yeenoghu as much as he *is* Yeenoghu. Or at least, he is wearing the magically imbued skin of Yeenoghu that corrupts his body and mind, along with those around him. Ros and Daisy, and also Thom for a minute, are all under his control, and have grown various demonic physical traits. The party is able to hold their own against these horrors, and eventually, Aludra is able to remove Yeenoghu's skin from Bucky, returning him and the others to normal. But not Daisy. For some reason, she retains certain parts of her demon-ness. Most notable, she now has insect-like retractable wings. Bucky tells them that Fennekin killed Yeenoghu, took his skin, and forced Bucky to wear it, causing all the demonry and horror. They forgive him.

Hearing that Fennekin killed the demon-god Yeenoghu, Zird tells them that he is too powerful to stop as the world currently is. But, he has a way to tap into the essence of magic in the universe itself, and bring about the next edition of magic. He enlists them all to help perform a powerful and acient spell the **Twist'ar**, which taps into the well of magic. Unfortunately, they are unable to complete the ritual, and Zird announces that to bring about the Fifth Edition, they will have to destroy the Twist'ar with the Hammer of Sundering. Zird picks up the Hammer, says a teary goodbye to his friends, and destroys the Twist'ar, sacrificing himself, and bringing about the Fifth Edition of Magic.

**Chapter 5**