Quest 6: Into the Jaws of Hell

[Dungeon Master]

Encounter 1

Our tale starts with Andargo and his month long disappearance. Despite being regarded as a hero among Glorairine’s working class, Andargo fell into a deep depression aboard the ship. For the better part of a year he searched for the thief that insulted his family’s honor, only to find all of that time - and much of his family’s wealth - spent in vain. The next six days at sea were drowned in rum. When the Salty Lass made port at Cevedes, Andargo wandered to the nearest dive he could find and continued drowning his sorrows. Deep into the evening and the bottle, a particularly enchanting woman approached him. When the lady of the night propositioned Andargo, he thought his worst problem might be a hangover or perhaps an unfortunate itch. When she took him to her room above the seedy tavern, one kiss was all it took to put Andargo under her spell. He awoke alone in a dungeon, chained to the wall. The woman revealed herself to be a Succubus. Andargo literally spent weeks locked in a dungeon. Time passed slowly for him as he was tortured purely for entertainment, and in ways only a Succubus would devise. It remains to be seen what kind of toll this will take on Andargo’s psyche.

Andargo is strung up in the middle of a dungeon room by chains cutting deep into his wrists. This torture prevents him from from sleeping. Every time he falls asleep from the exhaustion of being awake for several days, the chains go taut and cut into him. The pleasure demon comes into his cell, “Did you haven’t a pleasant night? I know I certainly did. I’m well rested for a full day of exertion.” She has a barbed leather rod. She holds it up to Andargo’s face so he can anticipate the pain it will cause. The succubus, twirling the rod, casually strolls behind him. in the dungeon with the pleasure demon.

The rest of the heroes awake to a grey dawn amongst the dead of the slaughtered suburban village. Down the hill a hellish cityscape sprawls before them. The skyline is marred by blood spattered and crumbling buildings. A spiral minaret, tallest amongst the skyline, looks like it is crawling with ants. Dagfinn’s keen eyesight perceives them for what they are, manes constructing the grand project at a distance. An eerie purple glow emanates from inside the spire. It must be some kind of palace. Incessant screams float on the wind. High overhead a trio of winged humanoids fly by. Even at this distance the heroes can tell the body shapes of the winged creatures indicate voluptuous females. Down the road, a small caravan of what looks like demonic workmen can be seen heading their way. A pair of demonic axemen guard the workgroup carrying pickaxes and towing an empty wagon. Still they are an hour’s trek away.

Quimby’s suspicions of all things infernal bleeds through his attempts to convince his companions that they ought to assault the caravan. Vorn and Dagfinn maintain that they should observe the demons stealthily, to see if it merits them to risk life and limb on something that may not be important. Journey did not voice an opinion one way or the other. After six hours of following the demonic workmen surreptitiously, they see the manes stop at an abandoned quarry and start digging for quality stone. Realizing they are just gathering resources for the project in the center of Ciriail, they moved onwards to the city gates.

[Dungeon Master]

Encounter 2

Upon approaching the entrance they saw a grisly sight. Flayed corpses were strung up along the walls, the skin used as rope. They headed undaunted towards the unguarded remains of the gates, little more than twisted metal. It looked to have been apart by magic, from the inside. The heroes thought it suspicious and spent a couple of hours walking further south to another city gate, finding the same scene. They approached with caution, and found further disturbing things that will haunt their dreams in the days to come. Demons wearing masks of human faces danced about to the alluring song of a harpy. Each of the demons held a human dance partner, waltzing to the harpy’s melody. As the demons danced, their partners loll about like ragdolls, held up only by their demonic dance partners.

Two demons closest to the heroes could be seen pulling back and forth on a human. The man looked to be alive. The first demon said, “It’s my turn! You’ve had him long enough!” The other, “This human is mine I claimed him!” “Give it here!” “Watch it, you’re gonna break this one, too. It’s the last one still moving on its own.” The demons yanked the poor soul back and forth, until another came forward and snapped the man’s neck. A deep voice growled, “I’m trying to hear the music.” The other demons look sad.

Then the shorter spoke up, “His soul smells rotten. Sounds like we have a dance partner after all.” The demon reached into the corpse and pulled out of it a glowing soul. It resembles the man as he looked in life, somewhat. He seemed meaner, and darker than he did before. The soul tried to fly away but the demon had a firm grip on it. “Quick! Anchor it here before it sinks to hell!” The other demon did a quick incantation and the soul materialized into physical form, a demonic version of its former self. Even less of the former soul resembled its human form. Now he was a demonic mane - and a new addition to the ranks of the Infernal. The mane tried to run but the short demon still had a tight grip, and dragged him away. The other demon called after them, “I never got a turn!” It turned to look down at the corpse, shrugged, and picked it up for the next tune.

As the other pair of demons walked along, the older demon said to the newest recruit, “First stop the dungeon. You’re going to like it here, after you go through training. That part you’re not going to like.” The heroes thought if Govannon was alive and in Ciriail, the dungeon was a good place to start their search. They traveled with stealth to the best of their ability, but Dagfinn and Quimby's heavy armor made it nearly impossible to be quiet. The demons they followed amazingly didn't notice. The new mane asked, “Why are we here instead of ravaging the countryside.” The elder replied, “We need to wait for hell to spread further.” The mane, “Why didn’t I go to hell?”

“I kept you here. We need all the souls we can get. When hell spreads far enough we are going to have bigger parties in other cities.”

“What training do I need? Demons just cause pain and chaos, right?”

“Normally we have the great machine of hell to transform new souls into powerful demons. Up here new demons are usually used for construction work. If you have any useful skills they may give you a different position. I’m tired of talking.” The dretch punched the mane in the face, knocking him out cold. At this point, they had reached the dungeon. The heroes ambushed the lone dretch before he made it inside. Quimby ran out of an alley hurling his spear into the dretch's back. Vorn sprinted to it, closing the distance and thrusting his rapier right where its heart would have been had the demon been a living creature. Dagfinn charged not quite able to reach the fiendish creature. It cried out, and luckily none of its cohorts were around to hear it. Vorn finished the creature off, removing his sword and cutting its throat with a flourish. Quimby dragged the bodies into the alley and the heroes entered the dungeon.

Inside they found a secretary's office, the chairs smashed, the table cleaved in two, and the body of the secretary dismembered. Further exploration yielded similar finds. The cries of pleasure coming from a female voice could be heard echoing in the dungeon, and a man's cries of torment followed. The heroes came to the prison area of the city dungeon, finding a barred door. Quimby used brute force to destroy the lock. A woman strolled down the hall from the other side, stopping at another barred gate separating them. The woman was clearly a Succubus. "That's not very nice. I am Damdella, and this is my domain. For trespassing you will all be made my slaves." With an alluring gaze she charmed the captain, and ordered him to protect her. Vorn shattered the gate with a blast of magic. The Succubus retreated down the hall around a corner. Quimby charged after her, flaming sword in hand. Dagfinn ran after him to protect the Succubus. Vorn tried to bar the captain's way but he was no match for Dagfinn. The succubus looked like she was trying to kill her prisoners before escaping. Seeing she was trapped and outnumbered, Damdella fled, turning ethereal and flying through the wall. In the cells they found the missing Andargo, who had apparently been captured, languishing in the succubus clutches of torment. Also, the heroes rescued another prisoner, Avery, who claimed to be Govannon's apprentice.

[Dungeon Master]

Encounter 3

Quimby and Avery climbed to the top of a watchtower in the prison courtyard. Avery explained he and his master were going to survey the temples surviving the demon invasion in the hopes of finding a god whose sphere could turn back the spread of hell. The Amurites, not being a pious folk, had only three temples in the city prior to its fall. The greatest and closest to the city center was a Temple of Oghma, god of knowledge, which also doubled as a library. The second and further away was a Temple of Kilmorph, whose religion had apparently garnered a loyal following. The last, newest, and furthest temple of that of the Empyrean, a religion devoted to Lugus, god of light.

The heroes disguised themselves as prisoners, having plenty of manacles on hand. Avery said he had an illusion to make himself look like a demon. His skin turned deep red, eyes burned bright gold, and his cloak split into demonic, leathery wings. Avery lead the rest of the heroes through the streets of demon infested Ciriail. At one point a Balor stopped them, curious to see living souls in the hell city. Avery said he had just finished having fun torturing the prisoners, and was delivering them to the palace for further entertainment. He even pointed out the wounds and scars Andargo beared from his extensive time with Damdella. The Balor had a good laugh at the state Andargo was in and sent them on their way. A few more blocks and they had reached the Temple of Oghma. In their path were a cluster of imps throwing deadly spells at each other for sport. Avery walked into their midst and barked orders at them to disperse. The imps immediately flew away. With the path cleared, the heroes entered the temple.

Inside they could see the usual dismemberment and desecration of human remains. A new sight was the charred remains a large pile of books burning itself down to cinders. No danger was apparent. Andargo, exhausted, having gone weeks without proper sleep, crept next to the fire and passed out. The rest headed deeper exploring the temple library. They found all the books on the shelves missing, likely in the fire pit of the previous room. However, there were six pedestals circling a seventh. The outer pedestals each held an open book, while the seventh held a tablet. Journey went to pick up one of the books. His hand passed nothing but air. It was an illusion which triggered a life draining trap. Journey immediately applied magic to heal the necrosis about his hand. More cautiously the others tried to read the books without touching them. No matter who tried to read the books, they always appeared in a language foreign to the reader. Vorn went to the pedestal in the center, recognizing its significance immediately. The tablet had several stones lying next to it. It read: The knowledge within belongs only to those who know the way of the fallen. Beneath it had the symbol of each of the gods first to fall, and the names of their former and current precepts. After much deliberation, since none were experts on religion, the heroes were able to determine the proper sequence for the tablet:

Peace became War
Strength became Rage
Stars became Magic
Foresight became Greed
Trust became Deception
Ice became Winter
Hope became Despair

When Vorn put the last stone into the tablet, the illusions surrounding them disappeared. A hidden slot in the pedestal in front of them opened. Vorn pulled out an ancient tome written in Ancient Patrian and bound in human skin. The title on the cover read, "The Necronomicon".

[Dungeon Master]

Encounter 4

With the book in hand, a duo of imps attacked the heroes. Journey chased one into the shelves of the library, going toe to toe with the demon with Avery shooting crossbow bolts at it. Andargo awoke and ran in to help his friends. Quimby and Dagfinn cornered the other imp while Vorn slinging spells in support. Journey sprayed the imp he was fighting with poision, and learned poison has no effect on demons. In turn the imp stung the tiefling and poisoned him. Avery fired a bolt, narrowly missing Journey and hit the imp dead on. Meanwhile, the other imp attacked Quimby, finding itself unable to pierce his heavy plate armor and turned invisible. Dagfinn and Quimby spent the next minute playing Marco Polo. Eventually the imps were cut down after a long drawn out fight.

It was at this point the heroes decided they could afford a short respite. Vorn happened to have a set of Dragonchess, and played Andargo who narrowly won the match. Quimby guarded the room's entrance, while everyone else focused on healing their wounds. Having just finished his game, Vorn heard a whisper from behind, "Liar." There was no one behind him. A few minutes later Journey heard someone call him a coward, and behind him appeared a fiendish creature with one giant green eye. It's corrosive gaze burned Journey's skin like acid. The thing danced over to Quimby said in a sing song voice, "You're a fool. I know you're secrets!" Vorn threw a magic missile at it, while Quimby, Dagfinn, and Andargo swiftly hacked it to pieces, but not before it did some damage of its own. While unsettling, the thing set the heroes back enough that they decided to spend the night in the temple library, posting guard in four hour shifts so everyone could benefit from a long night's rest.

The next morning, after gearing up, they assumed their group charade as prisoners chained to Avery in a demon glamor. They reached the Temple of Kilmorph without any hassle. As one they trudged inside and saw a red gem the size of a fist. The marble wall behind it had a carved inscription, "Nothing is more sacred than the earth that gave us birth." Below it, written in the infernal tongue with blood, " It is a bottomless pit, to exhaust those without wit. Indeed, endless effort to satisfy greed." It was then that Quimby fell victim to a magical trap, compelling him to seize the jewel. Before he could go more then ten steps Dagfinn tackled him to the ground, and dragged him outside. Avery used the manacles on Quimby, and locked them this time. Andargo, Vorn, and Journey stayed inside the temple contemplating how to get a hold of the treasure. Avery made sure to voice his opinion that they had no right to take the temple's treasure. No one else agreed.

Vorn, having had training disarming traps, approached the area cautiously examining the immediate area for traps and found no signs of it. He walked his up the center aisle, not five feet from the jewel sitting atop a stone altar when he stopped, and pulled his foot back. He thought to check that area for traps and found the whole of the altar surrounded by pressure plates. He disabled them and determined the machinery led underground towards a room behind the marble wall. Journey and Vorn went and explored the rooms, finding a living quarters for the priests and supply rooms. The furthest room contained enourmous gears and machinery to operate some giant trap, what it triggered they did not determine, nor did they want to find out. While they were thus preoccupied, Andargo was overcome with greed and seized the gem. There was one last magical trap Vorn had not discovered and it triggered, creating a sonic boom that reverberated throughout the city and deafening Andargo. All the while Quimby was doing his best to break his chains and upon seeing Andargo holding the gem he succeeded in breaking free. Quimby ran down Andargo and seized the gem, finally coming to his senses. Ashamed that he succumbed to such witchcraft he gave the gem back to Andargo. The heroes gathered together in their group disguise and put as much distance between them and temple as they could. A horde of demon guards ran past them to see the source of the trouble and found nothing.

[Dungeon Master]

Encounter 5


A couple hours later they reached the Temple of the Empyrean near the city's southern edge. It was defaced with demonic symbols. Vorn determined they were wards against celestial beings and sigils to desecrate the area. The doors to the temple were closed. The group took pause to formulate a plan. Andargo, doing his best to read lips, said, "Attack? Let's go!" He burst through the doors and with a mighty shout cried, "ANDARRRRGO!" The former altar of light was defaced and being used for human sacrifice. All the demons in the room paused to look at the near mad man charging into their midst. There were a few dretches standing round the altar holding drugged victims awaiting sacrifice, with a shadow demon about to tear a woman's throat, herself tied down to the altar. Andargo threw himself at the closest minion of hell. The other heroes, left with no choice charged in after them. The shadow demon floated through the floor to hide. Avery closed the doors to the temple and locked them. In a deep yet booming voice, more sure of himself than he had ever shown himself to be, Avery said, “Everyone? I need your attention. Please stop what you’re doing, you can get back to work in a few minutes. I’ve brought some special customers with me that Duke Sallos will want to be processed immediately. They are some very precious souls, and the rituals need to be done properly. Try to take them alive.” With that, he dropped the illusion of himself as a weak human and revealed his true demon form. Avery's stretched his large leathery wings, and turned his gaze to Vorn, who fell under his spell. Avery gave Vorn a command, "Do your worst to your former friends." He turned his attention to the others and went on, "You should know who is the one to best you today. My true name is Averax. You may recognize me. You fools interrupted my time with that red head up in the hills. I was forced to teleport into hell to get away. I had to spend a whole day there. It wasn’t pleasant, and I owe you for that. "

Vorn rolled up his sleeves and summoned the most destructive arcane energies he could muster. Just as he was about to speak the verbal components and release the spell, instead of words pink bubbles escaped from his lips. The spell fizzled. Vorn's chaotic magic had failed him at the most opportune moment. Meanwhile the rest fought the dretches. The shadow demon ambushed Journey and the two dueled. While the rest held the dretches at bay. Averax took the opportunity to confront Andargo and said, "I really wish you had killed Damdella. It is such a chore to be under my mother's thumb. She was such a fool to use your seed to create me." Andargo replied, "What?! I CAN"T HEAR YOU."

Quimby and Dagfinn were able to overcome the dretches, and Quimby rushed to the shadow demon. He channeled holy power into his flaming sword and smote the demon, destroying it in a flash of light. Seeing he was now outnumbered Averax muttered, "Not again," and plane shifted to hell.