Chapter 4 - Adherent and Demon... omicon

**Chapter 4** of Greetings Adventurers begins the second half of the Fennekin arc. It is notable for introducing the final main cast member, Nika Howard, playing Jaela. We also begin the main quest of stopping the newly created Demon Apocalypse. We meet Zird the Arcane and Steve the Gnoll. It is widely considered to be the point when the show cements itself into what it is today.

Having just been killed by Fennekin (and Ros), Aludra Wyrmsbane, Thom Vidalis, and Titus Harper are brought before Erathis, the goddess of civilization and organization. She reprimands them on dying, and gives them a new mission: Return to the Prime Material Plane and stop the Demon Apocalypse they inadvertantly helped to create. She returns them to their world, alive, and with tattoos on their chests, signifying that she is protecting them. She tells them that they must find the Adherent of Erathis, who will help them stop Fennekin.

Waking up in a bar in Pelor's Hope, Harper's home town, and one of the last bastions of humanity left in the world, the gang is pointed to Old Man Weck, an... old man... who knows basically everything. He fetches the Adherant, a Deva Avenger from a far off land. Her name is Jaela, and she is beautiful and purple. Everyone is instantly enamored with her. She tells them that they need to find a book called the Demonomicon, which has a bunch of spells relating to demonry and portalry.

Harper learns that, while Fennekin did kill most of his family after him, his sister Adira was left alive, and has been taken somewhere. He is given an amulet that will ostensibly lead him to her. Old Man Weck begins to establish himself as an almost paranormal entity who can randomly appear places he very clearly shouldn't, and ask questions to the party that they may not be considering. Jaela fits in well with the group, and a spark is lit between her and Aludra. The next morning, a meeting occurs led by the Council of Eight, formerly Nine, who is the ruling Eight families of Pelor's Hope. The Harpers used to be members, but they were all recently killed. Anyway, the Council tells the party of the many terrors in the world, and appoint a Representative of the Arcane named Zird to accompany them on their adventures. Zird is a bit of a bumbling fool, making frequent mistakes, and offering information the rest of them know to be false. They are able to escape the city and meet some of the scary demons that are ravaging the world. They escape and make camp for the night. While they sleep, they all experience something quite strange...

Jaela begins to experience a vision from her past life (as a Deva, she has lived many lives, and is reincarnated when she dies). She grabs everyone's hands (except Zird, because he ran off), and pulls them into her vision/memory. Somehow, the others inhabit the minds of Jaela's past life's companions. Jaela is in the mind of herself at the time, now she is Rhavar the Cleric, Aludra is in the mind of a warlock named Temerity, Harper is Telir the monk, and Thom, who famously hates Gnolls, is in the mind of the most amicable Gnoll you'll ever meet, Steve Meloncamp. This ragtag group is summoned to a White Spire in Jaela's homeland of Yangahr. As they approach, they see it destroyed, and a great wizard named Mordenkainen tells them that the world is being invaded by demons. She gives them the Demonomicon, and tells them to keep it out of the hands of the demons. She tells them to take it to Fennekin, a proclaimed Cleric of Erathis... She gives them a vial and tells them that smashing it will open a portal to a safe place, and they should only use it as a last resort. She tells them to head to a ship from the West, called the Chum Guzzler, which they go to, after fighting some demons. The ships casts off and heads toward the lands we are familiar with. It is once again attacked by demons, and the party is unsure of their own safety, or how they will escape, so they break the vial, and open a portal. Steve grabs the Demonomicon and jumps through the portal, only to find it open to the bottom of the ocean. He is crushed to death under the thousands of pounds of pressure.

Aludra, Jaela, Harper, and Thom wake up and Thom is horrified that he was in the mind of a Gnoll. Zird returns, and tells them he can make a submarine if they get him honey. Harper is more than a little distrustful of Zird and his magic, but they go along with it anyway, and a magical submarine is created, which they use to navigate to the Demonomicon. Harper's amulet seems to be leading them to that instead of Adira for some reason, so they are able to find the skeleton of Steve the Gnoll. Thom ventures out into the water and retrieves the cursed book, deliberately breaking some of the bones of Steve. When he returns to the submarine, he seems to be acting, rather strange. It seems that Steve's soul has been transferred to Thom's mind, held intact by the Demonomicon! They now share one body!

**Chapter 4**