The Rescue

In the Seventh Ruby, Tingle tries to acquaint himself with Taigus. Meanwhile, Lau buys Kojo a hovel in the Mutant District, after convincing its previous owner that it was haunted. The gnome, given enough liquor to pass out, is freed from the bonds of slavery as Lau leaves him.

The party later convenes at Lieutenant Nimrya's barracks and immediately senses that something is amiss. They are informed that Nimrya vanished with a cohort of troops while searching the sewers for infernal activity. Nobody has been able to find clues to their whereabouts. Ryzok, the acting Lieutenant of the Precinct, offers to pay the party if they find Nimrya and her crew. Without hesitation, the party takes on the job.

Desiring a healer for this mission, Taigus recruits a twitchy cleric named Zoltan in the Grand Temple of Pelor. After meeting up, the party heads into the sewers, discovering a strange wall that seems to be a concealed portal. One by one, they hesitantly pass through the wall and find themselves in a dark, frigid stone corridor. It becomes apparent that they cannot leave. As they continue forward, Taigus spots Zoltan nervously snorting riverdust and stops him in the act. The rest of the party fails to notice this.

The party comes to a small room with the outline of a doorway at the other end. In the middle of the room is a roaring blue pyre atop an elegant pedestal. Roach realizes that this is a Celestial prisonpyre and that something or someone is being trapped deep within here. He translates a Celestial engraving along the pedestal, reading "*what was taken must be given"*. Lau throws the heart of a Fatesworn into the pyre, causing a blue light to half-trace the outline of the doorway. Surmising that another taken item must be given, Hachiman throws the black heart of a green hag into the pyre.

The doors slide open to reveal a misty room beyond. Stepping into it, the party sees that it is actually the beginning of an enormous circular maze. Hachiman, an expert at tracking, is selected to lead the party through it. After briefly fighting a ghostly reflection of Roach as well as a deranged city guard, the party eventually reaches the maze's center, where they find two figures: a disheveled man lying against the wall and an armored guard lying on the ground. Taigus cautiously approaches the man lying against the wall.

He faces Taigus, looking at him and the rest of the party with red eyes. Introducing himself as Xauld, the Archdevil of Greed, he mocks the death of the guard, who Taigus identifies as Lieutenant Nimrya. Infuriated, Taigus shoots Xauld in the head, but it doesn't appear to have any lasting effect. The archdevil claims that the prison's "security" killed Nimrya and that she was also pregnant with Taigus's child. The party urges Taigus to not make a deal with a devil, but the gunslinger ignores their pleas and does so anyway. In exchange for having Nimrya revived, Taigus agrees to murder Xauld and free him from the prison. He shakes hands with the archdevil and begins butchering him. Roach hesitantly helps his friend, using Valfigor to brutally mutilate Xauld as the archdevil cackles maniacally.

As Xauld dissolves into ash, Nimrya returns to life. She opens her eyes long enough to see Taigus's face, before passing out. Taigus carries her as Valfigor morphs into the weapon it once looked like many centuries ago. The Blood King, more present than ever before within Roach's mind, warns him that the archdevil's blood will soon shatter Valfigor if his power is not quickly expended. Roach returns to the first corridor the party appeared in and slashes open the fabric of reality, creating a portal that allows him and his allies to escape. They safely arrive near the Diamond River, with the nearby city of Riverdrown shining in the night.