Pathfinder AP: Hell's Rebels & Vengeance

With an upgrade to Lieutenant Colonel and a new mission, Freya gathers her team and departs.  They have been commanded by their queen to assemble the rare ingredients to create a tathlum, a weapon of unknown destructive power. Unknown because the Queen’s list includes far more powerful variants of the items historically used by the Kellid Barbarians who are believed to be the originators of this darkest of rituals.

They strike North. Passing within sight of Citadel Gheistano but daring not to trespass, they head into Nidal. They easily avoid the Nidalese patrols for even though they are allies, they wish for no delays. 

Visiting a town in search of the Cave-Giants lair, Draymus murders a man, and animates him. He forces his new thrall to show the party where the Cave-Giants latest attacks took place. With Reese tracking and scouting, they easily locate the creatures lair and use their new thrall as bait. Taken by surprise, the giants are no match for them. Freya defeats several in single combat, unlocking new runes on her dwarven-champion’s belt.

Turning back South into Cheliax and then East towards Isger, they follow a thin history of clues that there are Frost Giants living in the mountains between Isger and Molthune. Unfortunately between them and their goal lies a massive undead army, assembled by the Wight Mother who is a true Chosen of Urgathoa. Draymus explains that she was such a powerful and inspiring necromancer when alive, the Goddess Urgathoa rewarded her with unimaginable power in unlife. She has been steadily amassing troops in these mountains for almost a century.

Draymus is able to cut a deal with the Wight Mother that allows the group passage through, as the Wight Mother is very interested in the Frost Giants utter removal from even the least desirable parts of her land. To this they agree and they travel farther up the snowy peak. They have never felt cold such as this, and they struggle to endure it until Reese alone slays a Dire Polar Bear and crafts winter clothing out of its thick hide.

Traveling on, they ask themselves why a demigod with a massive army of undead would have any trouble dispensing with a small community of Frost Giants and they soon have their answer.

The skull of a truly great dragon lies before them. Well beyond the size of any known dragons that roam the world now, Draymus theorizes it is a fallen god from an age passed 10,000 years ago. Standing before it, they find several greater undead frozen harmlessly in place. One is an animated skeleton of a Storm Giant, and the others are greater winter-wights.

Draymus feels a tinge of the oppressive aura that has trapped these undead. He surmises that as he is still technically a living being, he is not directly affected but the dragon’s bones emit a powerful magical aura not unlike the spell “halt undead.” He guesses then that this must have been an ancestor of Gold or Silver dragons, being of such pure good that even in death it wards against evil.

They pass through the skull and successfully locate the Frost Giants home and thoroughly scout their defenses. Rather than fight them, the team opts to try to cut a deal. Draymus uses his extensive library of illusion and deception magics to momentarily amuse the Wight Mother, who they believe is watching them.

Freya, Jamal, and Reese travel forward and ask to speak with the chief of the Frost Giants. They meet “Skadi,” a tall and slender female Frost Giant who is their leader. She carries a long steel chain that appears to be made of glowing blue ice, and she demands they leave. Freya stands firm and offers her terms of their passage, and on a whim, requests a formal meeting. Skadi accepts.

The team eats and drinks, while Freya and Skadi enter an ever escalating legal argument about property, trespassing, hereditary rights, international borders, and old feuds between the Frost Giants and various other entities. This argument rages back and forth for some time, with the Giants and Jamal becoming intoxicated while Freya remains strong. Eventually she gains the upper hand in the argument and not only wins passage through the area, but earns several cultural items the Giants have recovered but have no use for.

The only thing Skadi required of them was to remove a nuisance. On the North side of the mountain range, down a long slope leading into the country of Molthune, there lives a remorhaz so large and fierce, it’s like has never been seen or documented. It has claimed the lives of three of Skadi’s tribe, but still they would keep the monster in tact. It does not come farther up the mountain, and acts as an impassable barrier to any would-be trespassers from the North, while the dragon bones & undead army protect the only other path.

What she wants removed is a box. She alludes to it’s contents and after some near-fatal scouting by Reese, they learn it is an ornately carved and magically reinforced coffin. Draymus quickly surmises that it is the travel coffin of a Nidalese vampire of some import, a Noble or other VIP.

Using the rotting bear carcass as a zombified distraction, they lure the Remorhaz away from the coffin and fly it down the slope. There is a further danger however, as they leave the suppression zone created by the dragon skeleton, the Wight Mother perceives their location and their betrayal. Portals open up before them and massively powerful undead lumber through. In the moment of surprise caused by this, they drop the coffin.

It opens slightly and quickly closes again, but Freya sees a shape dart out of it and hide behind a nearby building. It appears to be a young woman, totally normal in appearance. 

She quickly assesses the battlefield and says to Freya “we should go.” The party takes this queue and flies quickly out of reach of the powerful undead, resolving to not return to the pass of Dark Rain until they are much better equipped to deal with such powers.

Stopping to breathe, the girl introduces herself as Lady Violetta Pavel of Nidal. She is a Noblewoman, appointed diplomat sent to represent Nidal to Queen Abrogail II herself, and yes, a vampire. She has been trapped in her coffin for nearly a year and as such is very thirsty for blood. Freya obliges her with a cup of her own.

She quickly surmises that after having been stuck in the ice for a year, she will have been replaced. Her responsibility is still to report what intelligence she has to Queen Abrogail II and to her masters back in Nidal. Given her rank and authorization papers she shows them, she could command them to escort her safely to either location except that Freya is on a mission ordered by the Queen herself and nothing may interfere. Violetta recognizes this, and wishes to assist.

Even with time pressing down on them, the party splits up to teleport Draymus to Nidal to seek a doctor skilled enough to put his brain in a jar. Meanwhile, Freya, Jamal, Reese, and Jason head to Citadel Dinyar to recon the situation. The Glorious Reclamation took this fortress nearly a year ago and has held it ever since. 

Built fairly recently, Citadel Dinyar is nearly unassailable. It is built as two separate keeps joined by a bridge between them over a deep chasm in a very rocky area. A visit from Corrine earlier revealed to them that there was one survivor of the Glorious Reclamation’s initial assault: a young hellknight-signifier commanded by his superiors to flee and inform the capital of what transpared. He did so and also spent several hours with Corrine revealing all he knows of the secret door.

Jamal and Reese find it with relative ease and the party begins plans to assault the rebels from the bowels of their stolen fortress. They hope that some Hellknights of the Godclaw may still be alive in it’s dungeons.

Player-Written Backstory: Boudicca / Freya Kusanagi Boudicca: Half-Elf Magus Freya: Half-Elf Samurai / Hell Knight Author: E.Williams There was a cool breeze blowing into the nursery from the open window that looked out over the Chellaxian countryside as Noyuda and Solei gazed down with awe into the ornately carved rosewood crib.  Asleep on the crib, face to face, hands intertwined, were two identical babies; both with a shock of thick black hair and the faintest curved tip to their ear which gave away their half-elf ancestry. 

Solei stirred from her proud reverie and moved to the window to close it.  She paused after shutting the window to gaze at her handsome Tian husband as he reached down to stroke the cheek of first one twin, and then the other.  Glancing up he caught her gaze and smiled with unconstrained pride.

“Double the blessings you have bestowed upon our home this day, my bride.”  He said, pulling her over to admire the babies once more. “Choi said that twins are cursed and that we should kill one to save the other.” 

Solei replied, anxiously adjusting the light blanket that covered the babies.  One, the baby on the right, stirred and opened her eyes to look at her mother. In the same instant, the baby on the left opened her eyes.“Choi is a superstitious fool. If i say they are blessings, then so it shall be.” Noyuda grumbled, adding under his breath, “and I will speak to him about spreading such nonsense in front of MY family.”

Solei reached into the crib and lifted one of the babies, murmuring, “My Freya, my sweet, shhhh, back to sleep with you.”  Before she could reach for the other baby, Noyuda lifted her and cradled her lovingly to his chest. 

It was not Tian tradition for the father to take such an active role in the care of the children and Solei felt a strong surge of love and admiration for her husband.  “Still,” she continued, “I have only given you two daughters.  

It is not the son that you had so wished for to carry on the Kusanagi name.” Noyuda lifted the baby he held into the air so that the moonlight illuminated her face.  

She was a beautiful child with strong Tian features and dark brown alert eyes. Most babies would have cried if taken from the warmth of their father’s embrace into the chilly night air but not this baby. She kicked her legs, hard, angry, puckered her face angrily and glared down at her father as if she could command him simply through her glare.  

He laughed with absolute joy.  “Freya and Boudicca are strong. Stronger than any sons I have ever seen born into this family. Look at how my Boudicca kicks. She would fight me now, were she able. We have given them warrior names. They will make the Kusanagi name proud.” 

Solei laughed as well as Freya, in her arms, also began to angrily kick.  She felt contentment wash over her and for once felt an easement of her fear about their future and her anxiety about leaving her people to join this Tian man, this outsider, in Cheliax. 

4 years later

“Is the little princess angry?  The little princess is ALWAYS angry. But anger WILL NOT win battles. Logic will. Get up. Try again.”

The students held their breath in a collective gasp as the sword master barked his disdain at the child in the dirt of the courtyard before him.  Freya, now covered in dust, with a red welp rising on the front of her arm, glared up at him.  

Her hair was cut as short as the boys in the group and she wore traditional Tian garb reserved for young boys.  Her sparring sword was clenched into one of her tiny fists.  For several long moments, she looked as if she would throw the sword or strike out at the sword master from her position on the ground.

Boudicca, watching from the crowd, called out, “Do not let him win, sister. Show him what a Kusanagi is made of.” Freya, upon hearing her sister’s words, took several deep breaths, closed her eyes for a second, and when she opened them again it was as if a veil had fallen across her features. 

She rose, calmly, bowed to the sword master, and resumed the proper starting position.  He nodded with approval but cut a silencing glance in Boudicca’s direction. In the balcony overlooking the courtyard, Solei leaned over the railing and watched her daughter’s lessons intently.  

Although her expression was blank, there was something to the set of her shoulders and the tenseness of her mouth that belied her calm posture. She was both watching the children and listening intently to the conversation her husband was engaged in behind her.  “.....if they will not comply, we will MAKE them comply. 

There is one true religion. One true God. None shall defy Asmodeus.” He thundered. Solei waited until his generals walked away to turn and face Noyuda.

She allowed her concern to show, finally, as she went to the table where he was hunched, studying maps of the regions surrounding Cheliax.  There were several areas that he had circled as potential targets.  Solei felt ill when she saw that her home was one of the areas circled in bold red.  

She placed a hand gently on Noyuda’s shoulder but he jerked away and strode to the railing to watch Freya spar with the teacher.  “Not again, Solei.” He grumbled.

“Please, my love, hear me.  There is no reason to go to war. We do not need to force our will upon others. Can we not all live in happiness, worshiping any or all of the gods? Can we not all live side by side?  Must you join this … this … farce? It’s a money and land grab!”  

She gestured at the map, her hand hovering momentarily over her homeland. He turned in time to see this momentary hesitation on her part and his scowl became a smirk.

“Oh yes, I see. Still defending that elven trash.  Do you not remember their ideas of ‘justice’, of ‘equality’ when you committed the grave sin of falling in love with a foreigner? A TIAN foreigner at that?!” 

Solei flinched and dropped her hands. “Yes, I remember. I will always remember. Yet, I wish only for happiness and harmony even for those that have wronged me.”  She reached a hand out pleadingly to him and it appeared that he would ignore it.  

Finally, something softened in him and he took her slim hand in his and bowed his forehead to touch their joined hands.  They stood this way until Freya and Boudicca joined them, scrambling and shouting and joyous after their lessons, on the balcony.  

Then, and only then, did Noyuda release Solei’s hand so that he could pick up Freya and toss her into the air and kiss the top of her head with pride as she recounted her afternoon of swordplay. It wasn’t until several hours, as they were finishing their dinner, that Solei heard him give the order to his men to march on their designated targets as they had discussed earlier in the day.  

He refused to meet her eyes as he talked to her and Solei felt the floor drop out from beneath her feet. Solei tucked the girls into bed side by side and told them their favorite story, the story of how her mother Rychell, had once met a wounded dragon and saved him from death by sneaking him into her town under cover of nightfall and healing him over several long days.  

“When the dragon was almost fully healed, he rose up over her and breathing acrid smoke into her face, bellowed-” Solei said. “HOW DO YOU KNOW I WILL NOT EAT YOU, LITTLE GIRL?!” screamed Boudicca excitedly, cutting her mother off.  

“Hush. You always ruin the best part.” Freya complained.  Solei hushed both of the girls and continued, “My mother rose up to all of her 20-year old height (a full 5’11”) and replied, ‘you will not eat me because I would give you terrible heartburn.’” 

The girls squealed with laughter, despite having heard the story many times. Solei gave a husky giggle and then, her expression turning serious, she added, “And this is the part that I have not shared with you before, my loves. What else my mother said to the dragon that night in the caves outside of her village.  

She looked that dragon right in the eye and she said to him, ‘you will not eat me because I believe that you have good in your heart, and light within you.’  And you know what that dragon said to THAT?”  

Solei paused and nodded for the girls to guess.Freya made a dismissive noise, “If I was that dragon, I’d have et her right up for sayin’ something so silly.” Boudicca looked at her sister aghast and protested, “No no no, the dragon DID have good in his heart. 

He woulda never ‘et Grandmama.”“That’s right, my little warrior.  He did have good in his heart. As does every creature, big and small, in this wide universe.  All creatures must choose to embrace the good and reject the evil.” Solei replied.  

Solei kissed both of her daughters, tucked them in, and put out the lamp.  She knew that she had a choice to make and dread sat heavy in her stomach that night.Boudicca never woke as Solei lifted her from her bed in the first early light of dawn.  Freya, however, reached her hand out into the empty space that her twin sister had once occupied and Solei felt frozen to her very blood as Freya’s small hand searched for her sister.  

Freya, however, did not wake. Solei knew that she should be relieved as Freya would undoubtedly have caused a ruckus had she waken and found her mother sneaking her sister away.  

Some part of Solei’s heart was so gripped in despair that her entire body ached for Freya to awaken so that she could justify taking her along as well.  But she knew the truth, that her own heart wasn’t ready to accept yet: she could not take both of her daughters.  Noyuda was too proud of his family line to allow BOTH of his daughters to disappear with their mother. 

He would search to the ends of the earth if it meant continuing the Kusanagi line. Noyuda would sooner see Solei dead then allow his family name to end with him. No, this was the only way.  She had to take only one child, to escape with what little she could, to flee back to her homeland to warn them of the war that was soon to come.  

She had never felt such deep grief in her entire life as she did in that moment, watching Freya’s hand seek the hand of Boudicca. The twins had never so much as spent an hour apart in their entire lives. She could only hope that Noyuda kept the memory of Freya’s mother and sister alive for her so that Freya could seek them when she was older. 

Excerpts from “Ravounel: A History” by author-unknown 4719, Ravounel.

“The truth is, revolution is an ugly affair.  The short-short version goes like this: citizens of Kintargo had enough. They rose up, killed their Lord Mayor that the capital had sent to bully them, and seceded from Cheliax. 

This was a struggle 100 years in the making. Starting the moment Abbie 1 swore allegiance to Asmodeus, people in the North didn’t take to it. They grumbled and they swore ‘better not try to bring that devil-talk up here...’ Well, they did just that. 

The Silver Ravens were like the city’s elite defense force. They had chased off or killed many great threats to their home that came from Nidal, or the Sea, or the mountains. Now they faced a threat from within.

They fought the new order laid down by Thrune and they did well at first, but they faltered. They went too far and turned on each other. Kintargo’s celebrity defenders all turned up dead or disappeared, and things were quieter for about three quarters of a century.

One thing tumbles into another though. A hell-knight raids the mansion of a nobleman found in violation of some this or that. There he finds a sword Iomedae used to carry. So he takes it and proudly hangs it up in Citadel Dinyar. When the Iomedaeans get wind of it, they feel they should have it instead. The hell-knights, never much for words, just say ‘No.’

The paladins take this harder than anyone expects, and raise a force. They storm the hell-knight’s fortress, lock them up or kill them and they take the sword. Seeming surprised at their own success, they figure they’ll just press on and see what else they can trash in Cheliax, Iomedae’s old stomping grounds. Fools from afar flock to their banner and soon they’re not just a band of upstarts, they’re downright “Glorious” in their own words.

This sends Cheliax into a panic. You know when you’re real scared and all the blood rushes into your body, your limbs go numb, and your head and heart start going fast as they can? That’s what Cheliax does. They pull back the army. The Navy blockades the Inner Sea. They close all the passes and so Kintargo is left to its own devices and a crazy Thrune-cousin named Barzillai is put in charge.

This ‘Barzillai’ is a cruel sort but he loves Kintargo. He moves into the Opera house, sees shows every week, has big expensive dinners and buys up art from all over. He also publicly humiliates anyone who goes against him and puts the city on a curfew. Imagine that? He’s loving and enjoying the Kintargo night-life but he tells the common-folk they’ve got a bedtime. Nope.

So the Silver Ravens emerge again. Different people, same anger. They start picking old Barzillai apart. They make a fool of him so he squeezes harder but they don’t bend. He gets really mean and they leave his Dottari dead in the streets. Then the city’s at war with itself and the rest of the world goes dark to us. Nidal closes it’s borders. No more ships come up the coast. Menador pass is shut.

So we Kintargans hash this out ourselves. Barzillai lays trap after trap and does some damage, but the Ravens keep escaping. Finally it’s just fighting in the streets, only Barzillai don’t step in the street, he flies over us all on his blue dragon breathing hellfire. He’s had enough. He’s fallen out of love with Kintargo and just wants to watch it burn.

That’s when the Ravens crawl out of the river, the dark alleys, even the taverns and just take him on. He tries to burn the library and they put it out. He tries to hold Bleakbridge and they cover the stones in Dottari blood. Barzillai even sneaks in some Thrune warships from Pezzack but mother nature herself rises up and beaches a couple of them before the last one stands out to sea.

Now B.Thrune is hopping mad. He sends the dragon to Aroden Plaza where the Ravens & Dottari are mixing it up, and breathes fire on the lot of them. Killing his friends and enemies alike. The Ravens survive it and a local boy, Lothario, lands a lucky shot wounding the drake and she retreats back to the Temple of Asmodeus - highest building in the city.

The Ravens clean up the streets with the help of the Hellknights of the Torrent. No one knew who’s side they’d come in on until Barzillai hedged his bets and banned them, took their holdings, and locked them up. That pissed them right off and they are Blue as the ocean now, not a spot of red on them.

The Ravens and Knights of the Torrent siege the temple, pinning the Asmodeans in there, but Barzillai has his dragon fixed up. He rides out to destroy. Throwing punches in the air, we call it, only these fists are 200 foot pillars-of-flame. He kills some good people and destroys some parts of Kintargo we still don’t have back.

He even goes for the orphanage but old Clenchjaw draws him off. Nobody rightly heard what Clench said to Barzillai  as he sailed past on his dragon, but it must have been something. Thrune turned, spared the orphanage and dropped a building on old Clenchjaw. Took us a week to dig him out, dead with a smile on his face and his hands clenched in fists.

The Ravens work up the nerve to go into the devil’s home, and this flushes the dragon out. That’s when we learnt that the Ravens fight devils with angels. A huge man made of pure silver wielding a green-glass sword fought that dragon and knocked old Barzillai clean off it and into the streets. Most will say the Angel killed him, but I saw it with my own eyes. 

Gabriel, the Angel Raven did knock him off of Rivizair, the great blue drake, but Barzillai wasn’t done. He took them all on toe to toe and killed Elia Nones of the Scourge of Belial and Chuko the priest / weapon-trader from the Northside. The Captain of the Scourge was also present. And as the dragon had burned his ship to the waterline two days prior, and Barzillai had just killed his first mate, he’d had enough. He stepped to the Lord Mayor and ran him clean through.

But he didn’t die. Friends of devils are the Thrunes. It took a bit of help from Gabriel but they got him properly chopped up and moved onto his next life. We all thought that’d just be the end of him.

Freya & company are warned by their contact within the Chelish Intelligence apparatus that they will in one weeks time be promoted to “Trusted Agents of Thrune.” They resolve to spend this week of vacation on researching & advancing their artifacts by way of a journey up the Southwestern coast. 

Some friends are made, enemies dispatched, and the defensive stability of the city of Pezzack is severely weakened before they return home.

Immediately upon promotion, the team is given a job they desperately don’t want to do. They are asked to befriend and gain the trust of two nobles vying for the queens favor here in Egorian, the capital of Cheliax.

Archcountess Levisvia Vasvion is a multiple-widow who owns a few hospitality businesses in the city, some of which are formerly owned by the other concerned party: Paracount Thalgano Sethic. 

Several extremely odd jobs are performed with mixed results. Some money but little trust is earned. Word reaches the team that the queen is no longer amused by these two nobles squabbling what with the Glorious Reclamation marching on Westcrown and all. The team accelerates their plans.

They side with Vasvion and immediately begin squeezing Sethic’s businesses. They destroy his devil-hog farm, expose and indict several judges Sethic has on his payroll, attempt but fail to steal a large sum Sethic has borrowed from a foreign bank, and they even prevent an assassination attempt on Vasvion’s fiance, Nicolo Alazario (aka Michelob Ultra) - son of Egorian’s Lord Mayor Alazario.  Nicolo impresses the team with his combat prowess against very dangerous gray men of Norgorber.

Sethic feels the heat and goes underground, so the team moves on to other objectives. Corrine has requested that they crush the Bellflower Network’s operations in the capital, which have escalated in the chaos of the times.

They plan an elaborate trap by way of renting a river-barge and decorating it for a large “all-nighter” party.  They invite the worst people they can think of from across the city and surrounding countryside, advertise that they will have a halfling fighting ring present at the event and wait.

With Draymus posing as the host, their ambush goes awry. A crack-team of halfling combatants indeed shows up to liberate the “participants” at the barge. Nearly destroying Draymus upon arrival, the group is forced to repel the boarders before they are fully prepared. After an explosive battle where they are constantly on their backfeet, Jason utters their word of recall “Kendrick Lamar” and they escape to their Migos St hideaway. Many halflings are liberated.

Continuing the investigation, they are lead to a safehouse for the Bellflowers and pulling no punches, they summon gigantic earth elementals and level the entire building and surrounding structures. Calling that done, they prepare for their next objective.

The nobles are calmed and her enemies are on the run, the queen is pleased. She rewards her agents with more important work, and the authority to make an important choice. One “friend of the queen” must be sacrificed to Asmodeus as part of the 100 year old bond between the Thrune family and their god. A pilgrimage must be undertaken in a form exactly like Abrogail I’s initial deal.

They must travel by land to a set of 14 standing stones that are in the Barrowood, West of Egorian.  At each stone they must shed a drop of blood of their would-be sacrifice and at the final stone the subject must be given to Asmodeus. 

They choose Sethic, as they have strong intelligence that indicates he has gone to ground at his best-defended mansion. The team infiltrates his home, secures the guards and discovers a grisly secret. More than a week prior, Sethic kidnapped Bob Applewood and tortured him for days and days. Bob is alive but unresponsive. A seething team of killers waits for Sethic’s inevitable return home.

Showing more skill than they expect, upon Sethic’s return a desperate battle erupts. It seems the old man is an Arcane Trickster of considerable skill and he nearly kills all of them before being laid low by Freya and Reese. Jason promptly stabilizes the old man and Draymus feebleminds him, for their own safety.

They fashion a sort of backpack to carry him in, and set off on the pilgrimage. Along the way they are accosted by the Glorious Reclamation’s advanced scouts, who are much farther past the Chelish Army lines than is generally known. They are nearly halted by a team-up of the paladins and a powerful druid who protects the Barrrowood.

Surviving this, at the final stone they are confronted by a rogue faction of the Church of Asmodeus. This radical cell of clerics grows weary of Thrune rule and would see Cheliax in absolute control of the church. Jason must make a heavy choice, but one that he finds easy. He sides with his Queen because he knows Asmodeus also sides with her. 

An explosive and deadly battle ensues and the leader of the Asmodeans, Archmage Luthon Malix alone escapes after killing Jason. A decimated crew drags Sethic’s still-feebleminded self to the stone and freya slits his throat on the altar.

A portal opens, and Gorthoklekk himself appears in his human guise at first, but quickly assumes his true form of a giant pit fiend, towering over them. He casts “heal” on Sethic’s dying form to remove his feeblemind, even returning him to consciousness long enough to see his “friends” staring at him. Bob makes finger-guns at him just before the pit fiend eats him alive. 

The devil chews but does not swallow Sethic’s flesh and bone, instead turning to vomit his remains and eternal-soul into the portal to Hell.

Shortly after, another portal opens and Contessa steps out, surveying the area for danger just before Abrogail II, Queen of Cheliax herself appears. She thanks the team and asks Gorthoklekk to resurrect Jason, which he does (he uses raise-dead instead but the queen does not appear to notice).

Freya & co are promoted to Bound Agents of Thrune. Above the law in all matters while serving the queen in Cheliax. They are also rewarded with some new equipment including a ring from the queen’s own finger she gives to Jason.

Corrine later informs the team that while they have renewed Thrune’s pact with Hell, the Glorious Reclamation has taken Westcrown and a group called the Silver Ravens has killed the Lord Mayor, Barzillai Thrune in Kintargo and taken control of the city. They are expected to declare their independence from Cheliax any day. The queen has demanded that a letter be sent declaring this action unlawful and requiring all involved parties to be turned over to her agents. The team prepares to meet the Silver Ravens.

The city rose in anger the morning after the Ruby Massacre. A hundred and one citizens dead at the hands of Barzillai Thrune. Two hundred saved by the timely intervention of the Silver Ravens whom Thrune called terrorists.

Leaflets of the Poison Pen’s latest works flutter through empty streets. Every block silent, save when the tripled Dottari patrols rumble past. The Kintargans watch through their window shutters, passing word as they dare.

They know the Dottari have mobilized against the Silver Ravens and any who would aid them. They know all bridges and public offices are closed. They know the Chelish Navy is sailing up the Yolubilis River all the way to Bleakbridge to put down any serious threats.

And yet, they hope. They speak of marching to the grand Plaza of the dead god Aroden, the oldest and greatest landmark of their city. They will gather just after the midday Sun has passed and be heard as one.

The morning’s silence is broken by the Chelish Navy warships signaling to the Scourge of Belial, but she does not answer.

Undermanned for their apparent plan to arrest half the city, the Dottari send Chelish Citizens Group soldiers to arrest Captain Hank Marlow of the Silver Star for suspicion of treason. Old Captain Hank fights them off with the help of strange elves that burst forth from the Sea and come to his aid.

The Tooth and Nail Tavern also sees a visit from the Chelish Thugs but they are turned away by stink bombs and sick spells. Witnesses describe seeing Setrona & a dozen patrons dash out a back window while the thugs and their Dottari Sergeant stumbled out the front steps to cough up their breakfast in the gutters.

Things begin to get serious when the Dottari send an entire squad to arrest poor old Laria Longroads. As the soldiers approached her front door, they were attacked by a seven foot tall wolf-man wielding a shining gold and silver blade. He left them all dead in the street before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The greatest part of the Chelish Citizens Group was seen with their commander heading South into Old Kintargo. They were not seen again that day or any day since.

The Dottari march down the pier to arrest Captain Sargaeta of the Scourge of Belial. Those that live near the docks report the sounds of gunfire and swordplay, until the unmistakable roar of a dragon is heard and the most famous pirate hunter to ever sail the Arcadian Sea is burnt to the waterline.

With that, the Silver Ravens attack in force. Clearly they have not been idle, as they storm Bleakbridge with spell, sword, and arrow. Commander Vanassus Trex, the greatest archer ever produced by the Dottari, shoots the wanted “criminal” Gabriel dead, but is herself killed by Lothario. The Dottari ranks are broken and they scatter, yielding the bridge for now.

The Hellknights of the Torrent, long thought to be killed or captured by Thrune, reveal themselves and stride boldly down the street to the Holding House. With the aid of a strange old gnome who throws firebombs, they blast down every door and open every cell to free their allies before marching East.

With Bleakbridge undefended, the Ravens strike to the North side of the city to protect the history of Kintargo at the Alabaster Academy and Records Hall. A huge column of black smoke is seen rising from the Academy, but Silver Ravens are seen running through the streets at impossible speed to bring water, and so the fire is quenched.

“The Navy will have it’s say” as the expression goes, and it is not wrong as the HMS Everwar and HMS Abrogail II turn and broadside Bleakbridge. Their first volley knocks loose brick and beam, threatening to destroy the bridge with the Silver Ravens on it. Their second volley, however, bounces off some unseen wall like tumbleweeds, and the sea creatures of Nisroch Bay come alive in anger at the Thrune ships.

Witnesses report that a great grey whale slammed into the side of the HMS Prince Haliad, striking it upon the North docks. Old Kintargan legend came to life when an Orca was also seen swimming through the river at great speed towards the HMS Abrogail II.

Even curiouser, the HMS Everwar was repeatedly struck by lightning and a great voice was heard on the wind calling “BOOOO HAAAAAAAAN” as the ship burned. The HMS Darellus ran aground so violently it skidded up the shore and through the wall of Castle Kintargo. Some say the Darellus was fleeing rough seas, blackened with great clouds of ink.  The HMS Diabloic retreated and is said to be anchored a half mile out to sea. Close enough to watch, but afraid to enter the city.

Lord Mayor Jilia Bainilus reveals herself at the protests, but they have already turned violent. A famous Skald known only has “Burns” has magically urged the protesters to violence against the Dottari and the gutters flow with blood. Jilia, Morfak, and Jiao arrive just in time to cool things down and send many civilians home to safety.

The Dottari are forced to retreat from the North side of the city to the South where they regroup at Aroden Plaza, holding the bridge. Silver Ravens trickle in from all points across Kintargo and face them head on.

The Duxotar herself organizes the city’s guard, bolstered by Asmodean Enchanters, Questioners, and Redactors. The great blue dragon Rivozair circles the city in slow gliding circles, searching for targets to burn with her hellfire breath.

The Silver Ravens stand shoulder to shoulder with the rightful Lord Mayor. With the Hellknights of the Torrent. With Shensen. Even Vyre has come to their aid in the form of the Queen of Delights, flanked by Bujon: Storm of Cheliax.

The Queen takes Gabriel’s greatsword from Azwraith. She looks skyward and whispers into the blade. None could hear what she said, but the clouds immediately parted and with a crack of Thunder, a huge silver-skinned and winged man fell out of the sky to land before her. He took up his sword and in a flash he changed into Gabriel, mortal man again. She pulled Commander Trex’s well-placed arrows from his body and restored him.

Azwraith and Gabriel grew to twice the size of normal men and charged straight into the vanguard of the Dottari. A hail of arrows struck the Ravens as they flanked far West and East. The Asmodeans rained fire, fear, and death on them from behind the Dottari lines but the Ravens charged through it. Rivozair strafed them with hellfire but they endured and even wounded the drake thanks to the incredible aim of Elia Nonez, first mate of the Scourge of Belial.

The bricks of the plaza were soaked with blood as the Ravens steadily pressed the Dottari, forcing their lines to fall back and eventually buckle. Again the angry Seas rose to the Ravens aid, as the strange water elves again emerged and harassed the Asmodean wizards and priests. A great shark was seen to burst forth out of the river and change into an even larger elephant with great hooked tusks. It angrily strode through the Asmodean ranks, scattering their spellcasters.

The dragon separated them with walls of hellfire and tore their elephant down. Morfak dispelled a domination effect on the Duxotar, causing the remaining Dottari to split into two factions. One loyal to Thrune, the other to the Duxotar and Kintargo itself. The asmodeans fled but were cut down by the Storm of Cheliax.

But still the dragon came on. Rivozair forced many Silver Ravens into retreat, but not all that should have fled would go. Frisky Jim of the Scourge ran only forward, and died to dragonfire by the edge of the canal. Even more heartbreaking was the loss of Zea. The Headmistress of the Devil’s Nursery Orphanage ran through hellfire to bring healing to the Ravens and perished in the flame even as she saved others.

Spurred on by her noble sacrifice, the Ravens fired shot after shot into Rivozair, forcing the great drake to flee back to the safety of the Temple of Asmodeus along with all other Thrune forces.

The city of Kintargo belongs now to its citizens again, and to the Silver Ravens. They know they must finish the fight and remove the Asmodean threat from the Temple right away, but they have won the day and triumphed in the Battle for Kintargo.

Chief Scout's Log, Kintargo, 4716. Excerpts from 11.24 to 11.25. Korva Fushi.

4716.11.24 Ruby Massacre. Lord Mayor Barzillai Thrune directs the dottari to seal Kintargo Opera House during a performance. 101 Civilians killed by Thrune Devils & Agents.  Shensen discovered turned to stone in the basement and is released. Lord Mayor Jilia Bainilus discovered magically enslaved in a cavern under the basement and released, thus negating Thrune’s Mayoral authority.

4716.11.25

DAWN: Kintargo Bay:

5 Chelish Warships convene naval squadron and enter Kintargo Harbor and the Yolubilis as far as bleakbridge. These ships are HMS Everwar, HMS Prince Haliad, HMS Abrogail II, HMS Diabolic, and HMS Darellus. Each ship carries 190 sailors, soldiers, 12 officers and a captain while the HMS Abrogail II also carries a vice admiral’s flag.

Flag signals the Scourge of Belial. Scourge fails to reply. HMS Darellus fires a signal cannon. Scourge again fails to reply.

Kintargo Castle

Hellknights of the Order of the Rack abandon defensive duties in Kintargo and redeploy to Kintargo Keep. The Dottari abandon Kintargo Keep and redeploy to Aroden Plaza.

EARLY MORNING:

Kintargo general:

Dottari Patrols are tripled on the city streets, all citizens are commanded to stay in their homes and the city is placed on total lockdown. Bleakbridge is closed and defended by a platoon of Dottari including Commander Trex.

Old Kintargo (SW):

Dottari Scouts are seen on two rooftops adjacent to the Lucky Bones. Two SRS are reassigned and the Dottari Scouts are quietly removed without incident.

Squad of Chelish Citizens Group seen in an alley outside the Tooth and Nail. Raven sent. Investigator Tiora relocates from Opera House to Tooth & Nail.

Holding House does not open at regularly scheduled visitation hours. All doors shut.

Reports of a Dottari Squad approaching Laria Longroads private residence. Dottari squad later confirmed 100% dead in the street. Laria escaped to Lucky Bones.

MID MORNING:

Kintargo Harbor:

Dottari deploy two squads to Scourge of Belial to arrest Captain Sargaeta and seize the ship. Scourge crew fights Dottari. Dragon attack. Scourge of Belial burns to the waterline. Crew escapes to the Lucky Bones.

Chelish Citizens Group enters Tooth and Nail but no arrests are made. Tooth and Nail staff flees with Tayacet to Opera House and are allowed entry.

Lucky Bones attacked by two squads of Dottari and Chelish Citizens Group. Silver Guard defense with Laria Longroads. Two Silver Guard casualties Corporal Antyr Hostedder, Corporal Monzel Eastman. All Dottari & Citizens Group killed. Lucky Bones is secured.

Squad of Dottari with Chelish Citizens Group attempts to arrest Captain Marlow aboard Fortune Star. Ship’s crew severely wounded. Enemies eliminated with assistance from Acizasi.

Holding House assaulted by Hellknights of the Order of the Torrent, with “gnome” alchemist Doc Slumweg. Dottari eliminated, Warden Sabo kia. Prisoners freed and escorted to Opera House.

MIDDAY:

Bleakbridge: Three Dottari Squads eliminated or scattered. Commander Trex killed. Gabriel killed, his body taken “into the sky” by unknown entity - winged humanoid, 8’ tall, shirtless. Academy & Records Hall teams cross Bleakbridge.

Unknown Class 4 spellcaster appears where Gabriel fell demanding to see him. HMS Everwar fires upon Bleakbridge, weakening structure. Unknown Class 4 engages Chelish Navy with two unknown associates.  Azwraith describe associates as “Old Friends.”

HMS Everwar burned to the waterline. HMS Abrogail II largely abandoned, ran aground on North docks. HMS Prince Haliad capsized by a whale and ran aground by the Northern Sea Wall.

Kintargo Harbor: HMS Darellus ran aground and through the Western Bastion of Kintargo Castle.

HMS Diabolic stands off to sea.

North Kintargo: Alabaster Academy fire in lower levels. Two Dottari squads including casters eliminated. Multiple wounded, no casualties.

Records Hall: Redactor squad encountered. High ranking enemy caster killed while attempting to escape. “Tiarise Izoni,” Asmodean, Witch or Wizard. Possessed notes pertaining to magical rituals delivered to Celeb.

AFTERNOON:

Aroden Plaza: Protests escalate into riots. Dottari regroup around Aroden Plaza Bridge. Lord Mayor Jilia Bainilus arrives with Morfak and Jiao. Crowd begins to disperse when magical incident occurs. Scout on site reports “waves of music and anger” affect civilians and Dottari. Many are killed. Mayor Bainilus orders all civilians to return home. Dragon attacks.

Dottari form ranks along Aroden Plaza Canal facing North. Silver Ravens form up across North side of plaza facing South.

“Back through the glen, I rode again And my heart with grief was sore. For I parted then with valiant men Whom I never shall see more.

Excerpt from Finagle's Artifact Almanac: **Femmik Embersword, wore the Admiral's Jacket during the Battle for Kintargo in Ravounel, 4716. Lord Embersword would later detail in his famous epic about the Ravounel Revolution that the jacket had been stained by blood and grit throughout the day such that Femmik initially thought nothing of the color shift it undertook. But as he sought to clean it up in the days after, it was apparent that it's green had darkened to be blue as the waters of Kintargo Bay, and the light jacket had somehow lengthened to a full Admiral's Coat. Only then did he see that two new buttons had appeared on the artifact. Since then, successive owners have noted that the cufflinks bear the symbol of the Dawnflower where as before they were a simpler design of crossed swords, and the jacket is now accompanied by a matching Admiral's Bicorn Hat.  Artifact experts contend that while the hat was likely an addition to the ensemble by Femmik's widely known appreciation for the famous Calvin Carpenter Leatherworks, the faithful will always believe that the cufflink sigils were changed by the Dawnflower herself in recognition of Embersword's heroism and faith during those dark times.

“Right proudly high over Kintargo-town They hung out the flag of war' Twas better to die 'neath a Rouvanel sky Than in Holding House on Hell’s killing floor

Gabriel, Son of Kintargo. Kintargo Opera House, Dawn, 25th of Neth 4716.

The Ruby Masquerade is in full swing. Nigel, dressed as a Dottari guard, is bluffing and sneaking his way through the opera house to gain intelligence about the coming ambush by Barzillai’s forces. Jiao, Clenchjaw, and Boudicca are mingling with the crowd, gathering information and building trust. Lothario is making-out with a noblewoman he just met in the art gallery.

While the Silver Ravens maneuver, the orchestra performs and the guests eat and drink. Nigel finds a side-room with three Cockatrices in cages, with a hidden quick-release switch. He disables this device and jams the cage doors so the beasts cannot be freed.

At 10pm, the Dance of the Damned begins in grand Chelaxian tradition. Guests take the stage and dance together, being tapped on the shoulder by their gracious host, Barzillai Thrune, and “damned” off the stage if their dancing does not please the crowd.

Jiao, with the grace and stamina, outlasts and outperforms the hall to wins the Dance of the Damned, which appears to irritate Barzillai. But the night continues unimpeded, and the stage is cleared for the next performance. 

A powerful singer takes the stage and fills the hall with her voice. Her song carries through the orchestra pit into the basement, where more Silver Ravens lie in wait. Boudicca begins her prep spells while resting a hand on the Edge of the Sea.

As midnight approaches the singer concludes and Barzillai takes the stage. He gives a short speech describing the Silver Ravens as murderous criminals whose reign of terror ends tonight. While confusion spreads amongst the crowd, he seals the exits to the Opera House, and dozens of thugs dressed as Silver Ravens flood into the crowd. 

What appear to be angels accompany these false Ravens, and they immediately attack. Dozens are killed within the first few moments as sword blades, axes, and flaming arrows fall amongst the civilians. Jiao, Clenchjaw, Femmik, Lothario, and Boudicca fly into action to combat them. Streya assassinates the loading bay guard and works her way into the backstage area.

The orchestra, apparently a detailed illusion, vanishes just as a huge creature appears in the middle of the first floor crowd. She has the upper body of a beautiful woman, and the lower body of a huge snake. She terrifies all around her and summons a cloud of toxic gas.  

Nigel joins the fight on the second floor, as Caleb, Gabriel, Morfak, and Azwraith fly up through the empty orchestra pit. A chaotic battle ensues on every floor and staircase, in every room, and in the center of the great hall. Civilians are dying by the dozen even as the Silver Ravens fight to save them.

Eventually the Thrune forces are all engaged and must pause their wholesale slaughter to contend with the Ravens. Barzillai and a heavily augmented Nox join the fight and square off against Azwraith and Gabriel. By now the Ravens have assessed the fake-angels are in fact Erinyes Devils and a Bone Devil.

Octavio and the Hellknights of the Torrent storm the front doors of the Opera House with Hetamon and Rexus following them. They find the outer door guards dead with Lore standing over them, but she cannot breach the doors.

Rexus releases the heavy lock with a ‘Knock’ spell but the Dottari have barricaded the entrance from the inside. Kasston and Octavio chop and bash through with remarkable speed and ferociously fight their way into the lobby.

Gabriel hammers Barzillai but is brought down by the Erinyes arrows. The huge man falls onto the edge of the stage and slips over the side, plummeting into the basement. Boudicca dives from the balcony to the stage to fell Nox, and then dives again down into the basement to save Gabriel. 

She finds him laying very still in the orchestra pit, about to be devoured by half a dozen hellhounds Barzillai has as guards there. She casts ‘Slow’ on the hounds and stands over Gabriels unconscious form with her gleaming blue sword held out in front of her as long-dormant runes light up along its blade.

With Nigel blasting from above, Caleb dispelling their magical attacks, and Morfak channeling positive energy, Barzillai’s forces are brought to heel and he is knocked to the ground. But the soldiers of Thrune fight on, and the snake-devil is still killing civilians with abandon. 

Clenchjaw and Jiao have been stuck in the thick of the fight throughout all of this. While she has held her own against several Thrune agents, Clenchjaw has not faired so well. The bartender and bouncer has been knocked unconscious five separate times and raised back into the fight by Morfak and Hetamon’s positive energy channels. 

Ilsani the Hellknight Monk would later recount how Clenchjaw was grabbed by the bone devil, held four feet off the ground by his neck and with a positive channel, awoke and punched the devil square in the face before being flung to the ground again.

The second Erinyes is defeated, and Streya murders her way to the front of the stage along with Benjen and Hortense. Civilians are rushing out of the opened back doors and breached front as the Hellknights usher them with shouts and shoves. 

The bone devil teleports out, and the remaining Thrune forces are defeated or captured. Nearly 100 civilians are down but the Silver Ravens employ their clerics and medics in every possible capacity to save those that can be saved. People are traumatized, but thankful. Many of those invited to the Masquerade were Thrune loyalists, a stance they now question given what they have seen tonight. 

The Silver Ravens and Hellknights of the Torrent secure every room in the Opera House, but Shensen finds a trap door that was not there before Barzillai made this his home. Gabriel and Azwraith descend through the door down a narrow vertical passage with only stone handholds.

There they find underneath the Opera House basement is a natural cavern, magically shaped to connect to this trap door. They are given no time to contemplate this before they are engulfed in a swarm of bats and attacked by a powerful vampire who is none other than Lord Mayor Jilia Bainilus!

Jilia attacks immediately, attempting to mind control Azwraith who hurries down the ladder but he resists. Caleb and Lothario join the fight but are mind controlled by the vampire. The wizard begins to cast protective spells on the vampire as Lothario sinks arrows into Azwraith and Gabriel. Morfak saves the day with a ‘Protection from Evil: Communal’ he’s been saving up and they defeat the vampire.

They take her body upstairs and Shensen instantly identifies, as she puts it, “the rightful ruler of Kintargo.” The Silver Ravens utilize their only scroll of ‘Resurrection’ on Jilia who apologizes for being forced to attack them, and thanks the Ravens for their heroism and generosity.

The Ravens prepare to return to the Lucky Bones but Shensen stops them, saying that they must hold the Opera House. When they ask why, she informs them that it is the only place that the Song of Silver can be activated, and they will need it to win the battle for Kintargo that will surely follow the Ruby Massacre.

“As down the glen one early morn to a city fair rode I. There armed lines of marching men in squadrons passed me by.

No pipe did hum, no battle drum did sound its dread tattoo. But the Devil’s own bells o’er the Yolubilis’ swell rang out through the foggy dew.” The Poison Pen of Kintargo - adapted from The Foggy Dew (Irish Rising Ballad).

Freya Kusanagi, stripped of her hard earned rank in the Army, and her even higher title of Hellknight, travels to Remesianna to work for a criminal organization. She and her team engage in blackmail, extortion, racketeering, arson, and murder as they rise through the ranks of Visperthul’s interests in Cheliax.

From Remesianna they travel to Hinji they tamper with the promotion chain of Admirals at the shipyard. Next they visit Westcrown where they further the business interests of a corrupt nobleman. Finally they return to the capital, where they are told they will assassinate high value targets within the Thrune family.

Here they turn the tables on their corrupt employers and attempt to arrest Efisio, Visperthul’s chief spy in Egorian. The betrayal is detected however and a fight breaks out on the upper floors of Efisio’s apartment building. Visperthul himself intervenes and turns Reese against them via his soul-contract, but the party survives/disables him long enough to defeat Efisio’s guards.

The crime boss dives out a 5th floor window into the street to escape, but Freya follows him, surviving the fall and defeating him in the street with hundreds of onlookers.

Corrine orchestrates a multi-city series of arrests and the Visperthul crime organization is destroyed in a day. Freya’s military rank is restored and she is promoted to Commander. Her status as a Hellknight is reinstated. Jason’s stature within the Church of Asmodeus is recognized. 

A major threat to Cheliax has been removed by the Queens trusted agents. Their reward, aside from promotion, is an invite to numerous social functions and a new mission from the Queen via Corrine: settle an old feud between two nobles.

They soon meet both sides of the issue, in Paracount Sethic and Duchess Vasvion. 

After attending several parties, eating many free meals, and accepting large bribes from both sides, Freya’s team sides with Vasvion and cripples the financial interests of Sethic. They rescue Vasvion’s fiance, the son of the Lord Mayor of Egorian, Nicolo Alazario from an assassination attempt where Nicolo himself impresses them with his abilities.

The highpoint of their social excursions is their invite to the Night of the Pale Party, a yearly Chelaxian tradition. This event will be held at a local graveyard, and only the upper crust of the capital will be invited. Some even dare to speculate that the Queen might stop by the affair.

Freya and Jason were formally invited, and they bring along their +1s in Bruce and Jamal. Draymus secures an invite as the evenings entertainment: “The Great Mysterio, Illusionist Extraordinaire.” 

“Mysterio’s Illusory Cabin of Personal Doom™” is a big hit with the guests. The food and wine are excellent as expected, and the Queen herself does make an appearance with a very scary man in white accompanying her. 

Things are going very well for the team when a carriage stops just outside the gates of the event and a large, heavily armored man approaches.

He introduces himself as Hellknight Vokadus Fex, cousin to Archbaron Darellus Fex of Longacre. He accuses Freya of slaying  her liege lord and has come to restore his family’s honor. 

The Hellknight turns to the Queen for approval of his deed, and she nods her consent. Drawing his heavy mace, he stalks towards Freya’s table as the party wonders how to respond. 

Commander Freya calmly steps around her table, draws her sword, and stands still has her Hellknight Plate is summoned onto her body from across the city. She engages and quickly defeats Fex, leaving him dying on the floor. Jamal, who has had far too much to drink, instantly pounces on the fallen knight and there are gasps at this garish behavior but they are put to rest when the Queen turns to regard the hobgoblin rogue as he rifles Fex’s pockets and she simply jokes: “Goblins Be Lootin!”

After the laughter dies down, the party eventually comes to an end and the team embarks on a short vacation. They stop by Belde and have a historical trivia contest with an Ogre Mage named Yunero. 

They visit a bar in Hinji where El Guapo disguises himself as Titus Vel before being arrested for public drunkenness. They visit Corentyn and take ship up the coast, bringing an end to the recent pirate campaigns in that area before stopping in at Pezzack for a drink.  The Pezzack Governor’s Mansion is burned to the ground by a dragon attack (Bruce) and the Strix assault the city that night as they teleport home, ready for their next mission.

The Silver Ravens return home after closing the Menador Gap. This decisive blow to Thrune interests in Kintargo will prevent any reinforcements by land, and so the Silver Ravens set about planning how to defeat Barzillai’s current compliment of Dottari and Devils.

Before they get very far in that planning process, they realize that someone is missing from their Silver Council meetings: Hetamon. He has not been seen for several days. The Ravens rest briefly, and suit up to find him. Searching all of the city with Location spells, tracking skills, and questioning any/all who know him, they learn some details of his tiefling heritage.

Hetamon was raised by his human father. He has never known his mother, but has learned enough about her through is father to know she is to be feared. A powerful demon called a Succubus, she possesses dangerous mind-control powers among a host of other spells and abilities. 

When the Silver Ravens catch up with her, she is in hiding in the ruins of the old Silver Star, Shensen’s instrument shop that burned to the ground on the Night of Ashes. The demon has defiled the former temple of Saranrae to her own purposes, and holds captive several clerics including her son.

They free Streya Vestori, a skilled rogue who fell victim to the Succubus’s powerful domination. She tells them that Natsiel is in the next room, performing a complicated ritual to turn the life force of the captured clerics into energies forming a powerful undead version of her hag servants. 

Gabriel, Caleb, Nigel, and Streya storm the former temple and slay the hags and Natsiel, freeing the clerics. Hetamon is overjoyed to see his rescuers, and introduces them to his fellow prisoners, Morfak, dwarven cleric of Torag, and Chucko, Tengu cleric of Erastil.

Morfak is a talented craftsman and Chuko runs a magic item shop and sparring arena in Northern Kintargo. Streya is a deadly rogue. All three gladly join the Silver Ravens. Rumor has spread through Kintargo of an upcoming event with a very exclusive guest list. The “Ruby Masquerade” will be the first ball held at the Kintargo Opera House since Barzillai Thrune took it as his home when he arrived in the city. It will feature many musical & dramatic performances, as well as a dance contest and of course a lavish spread of food and drink.

Invites are difficult to secure, and quickly a pattern emerges. Only Thrune supporters are invited, from Noble to Commoner alike. No Silver Ravens or those sympathetic to their cause have received invites to the event.

Through further investigation, the Silver Ravens learn that dozens of suits of armor have been commissioned, constructed, and purchased with a very similar look and style to theirs. 

They employ the greatest stealth and powerful magic to steal several invites and Caleb scouts the Opera House himself. There he sees fortifications on every exit, cages for Barzillai’s three pet Cockatrices with a release switch to turn them loose on the crowd in an instant, and most of the office and storage space has been converted to temporary barracks. 

The Silver Ravens theorize that Barzillai will impersonate them and murder civilians, even those loyal to him, to frame the Ravens for a heinous attack on the city. They gather all of their allies and hatch a plan to thwart the Lord Mayor.

They split into teams. Teams will communicate via the message spell, castable by Rexus, Caleb, and Nigel. One team will infiltrate the Opera house as guests, stashing or concealing whatever gear they need. Another will pose as Dottari. The Hellknights and other armor wearers will use waterbreathing spells to hide in the bottom of the pond in Aria Park, directly across the street from the Opera House.

Their ultimate plan is to breach the Opera House while Thrune forces are attempting their purge and rescue as many civilians as possible, but the Pond Team discovers something that alters their trajectory. 

Azwraith, trudging through pond-muck, trips over a wide, circular, metal panel. They examine it further and discern that it is a door to a secret, submerged tunnel into the Opera House basement. They message this to the rest of the team and open the door.

Through Morfak the dwarf’s stonecutting expertise and Caleb’s “locate secret opening” spell, they find more secret doors within, guarded by a large hellhound they quickly dispatch. 

They soon realize they are in an area of Kintargo that Barzillai himself has not found, the Silver Vault. A tomb and treasure trove of the original Ravens. They find tens of thousands of coin, several magic items, and a piece of their own history. They dub this area: the tunnel of wizard porn.

Once this area has been thoroughly searched and salvaged, they move on to the secret doors that exit into the Opera House basement. It is here that they stumble on Barzillai’s torture room. What once was a room full of finely made musical instruments is now filled with cages, shackles, and racks. Among the horrors they find a statue that seems a bit too lifelike. 

Remembering Femmik’s dream where he saw through Shensen’s eyes as she fought was captured by Barzillai Thrune, the Silver Ravens use a scroll of “Stone to Flesh” they found in the Silver Vault and Shensen is restored. She is weakened so that she can barely stand, but she urgently whispers a word over and over: “Suriel!”

Slowly she realizes she is free again, and she thanks them for saving her. She hungrily takes in recent events and their present situation, resolving to help in whatever ways she can.

Lictor Octavio Sabinus, Hellknight of the Torrent.  18th of Neth, 4716