AW016

## AW016 - The Gang Smashes the Organ

### Kreeg's Chamber - Night

As the episode opens, Puffin recalls a time when he was standing on a bleak scrubby cliff on a bleak grey day overlooking a bleak choppy ocean thinking bleak thoughts about something especially bleak, and notes how that was the bleakest moment in his life right up until this fight.

Kreeg fireballs danger close, knowing that he and his allies are much less flammable than the gang who now have considerably fewer eyebrows between them. Fisk and Kalo, based on the fairly reasonable theory that Kreeg's power somehow comes from his organ, set about smashing it. This does let out some magic goo which perks up the gang a little, but Kreeg seems broadly unperterbed.

Puffin charms an Orthon, swinging the numbers game to slightly less ridiculously unbalanced, Jaden does some stabbing and Ploddy follows up the theory that Kreeg's power comes from some physical object by yoinking his sceptre. This has exactly zero effect on Kreeg.

With Puffin taunting devils in the background (apparently "your mother was a nice lady, we had a lovely morning tea" is a terrible insult to infernals) and Kalo desperately keeping up his Spirit Guardian lawnmower, Ravenguard urges Jaden and the gang to "find the Heffalump". Much discussion ensues about how best to summon Lulu, with no good ideas and one incredibly stupid idea emerging. Out of hope and facing a TPK, Puffin uses Performance of Creation to summon a bag of peanuts which he hurls at Ravenguard while singing Wind Beneath My Wings. I told you it was stupid.

Jaden, wondering what sort of moron party he's fallen in with, drops to his knees to pray. Ravenguard, brushing peanuts off his jerkin, whispers "yessss, that is the way" which makes everyone wonder why he didn't suggest that in the first place. Bloody enigmatic Dukes.

What was a bad fight turns positively embarrassing as Kreeg dominates the elemental, turning it against the gang. It almost smashes Ploddy but misses due to Silvery Barbs from Puffin. Oozing an aura of "ok smartass" it stomps Puffin instead, who loses concentration on the Orthon, losing the gang another temporary ally. Ploddy gets bit, Kalo and Jaden start to go down with Jaden hearing voices in his head, Fisk freaks out and yeets himself out the window, and everyone starts thinking about those backup character sheets when Lulu appears in a flash of celestial light. In an impromptu group performance of "Pascal's Wager - the Musical", the gang raises their hands in supplication figuring they're dead anyway and may as well put themselves in the hands of Torm. There is a blinding flash, and all is black.

### Kreeg's Chamber - Later

The gang awaken groggily in the chamber, which is empty of foes. Lulu lies unconscious and Ravenguard has been freed of the helm. Jaden, lacking the hard-won self-preservation instincts of the gang, pokes it with his sword, getting a fair whack of damage in the process. It's sort of an initiation rite at this point.

Ravenguard reveals that Elturel is now fully in, and suspended 500 feet over, Avernus - the first layer of Hell. Thalmara Vanthampur was killed by Kreeg for her failure to deal with the gang, and the helm (The Helmet of Torm's Sight) has become corrupted by Bahomet, who will manifest through it in time and must be stopped.

Ravenguard also speaks of a vision - a flaming fist driving a sword into the ground and raising an alabaster palace, swarming with birdlike humanoids with unusual tools, fixing strange machines. Lulu, stirring, recalls this as "Fort Knucklebone" and urges the gang to seek it out and contact Chuka and Klok there once they have dealt with the helm, and speculates that the flaming sword is the key to saving Elturel.

Conducting a quick recon out the window, Lulu reveals that Fort Knucklebone is quite close - being only ten miles away as the scabby demon imp flies. There is of course the minor matter of the city being suspended in the air over a vast plain on which the Blood War - the eternal war between Devils and Demons - is raging. She also notes that Eliya has been captured, and Kreeg escaped the celestial explosion.

Traxigor and Reya appear up the stairs, pleased that all the "good guys" upstairs and down have survived. Traxigor notes that a colleague, Welbi Highbarrow the Artificer, has been building gliders in her workshop down in the city which could be used to glide to Fort Knucklebone. They will make the High Hall a safe haven for refugees as long as they can.

Ploddy is obviously looting while all this is going on, finding a Bag of Holding (aren't all bags technically bags of holding?) and giving his Ring of Protection to Jaden. Puffin has a deep conversation with Duke Ravenguard, who tries to bribe Puffin into helping rescue Elturel by promising the gang titles of Lords of Baldur's Gate. Puffin, who was going to help anyway but isn't dumb enough to refuse rewards, counteroffers with a ship of his own and a pub by the docks, on which they shake.

Pherria offers to perform a ritual to cleanse the helm. As the gang bicker over who gets to be the willing subject of the ritual, the curtain falls.