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Previously on War for the Lost Plane

Starring:
Kaelan, level 16 tiefling Monster Slayer Ranger/Fiend Warlock
Scarlet, level 16 human Oath of Devotion Paladin
Gillian, level 16 triton Champion Fighter, College of Lore Bard
Kethra, level 16 half-elf Assassin Rogue
TIM, level 16 warforged War Domain Cleric

Pain courses through my body, the demon’s cursed bolt still protruding from my chest. I can do nothing but convulse, and watch as the rest of my party strides forth to deal with the ambushing demons.

Steel. Spells. Explosions. Fire. I hear cries of pain and feel heat, but my body does not respond. 

Scarlet forcibly drags me toward the hulking demons. She wants to attack our enemy while keeping me close within her holy aura.

It’s a solid plan, but too late do I realize the mistake. My eyes begin to water as she plunges Tellurai into the nearest beast. It grunts, then begins to laugh.

“For Irathon!”

I know that laugh. I’ve seen these creatures before. It clutches a device on its chest that begins to beep, rapidly, then explodes.

Soon after arriving on the beach at Summit Island we were ambushed by demon commandos, aka Orthons. Kaelan was paralyzed and near death from a single arrow from a demon’s Brass Crossbow.

The demons were invisible and hiding in bushes. Gillian brazenly strode forward and used the Heart of Idol magic item we’d pilfered off our last boss fight to charm the invisible demons.

It worked, causing the Orthons to mindlessly walk towards her… triggering the mines they had laid mere feet around her. A chain reaction of explosions set off, thankfully only damaging Gillian and the other Orthons.

The rest of the party charged the enemy, trying to keep them from using their hit and run tactics. Scarlet grabbed the paralyzed Kaelan to keep him in her Aura of Protection, and delivered the killing blow to the first Orthon. We found out the hard way that they have a Predator-like death-explosion. Paralyzed Kaelen was not happy.

Kethra stealthily (and accidentally) found another one hiding in the bushes, viciously stabbing it when it tried to regroup. Scarlet used Command to force it to kneel, and Kethra stripped it of its weapons and explosives.

Kaelan finally recovered from the paralyzing bolt, and began tracking the third Orthon, firing bolts until its footprints began leaving a blood trail. While the others interrogated the kneeling Orthon, Kaelan and Gillian followed the fleeing demon about a quarter mile to the east, across a bridge spanning a waterfall.

Thanks to Kaelan’s superior tracking skills, he witnessed the demon place a mine on the middle of the bridge, then set up an ambush spot on the other side. Gillian used Dimension Door to teleport the duo safely across the bridge and ambush the injured ambusher – though Kaelan would embarrass himself with a critical fail that lodged a bolt in his own foot. They were able to finish off the Orthon, and Gillian used Gust of Wind to safely remove the explosive device.

d&d

Back at the beach, TIM cast Tongues on the demon, and Scarlet asked it about their numbers and plans. The demon confirmed that they’d already been here awhile. He referred to the island’s sole village as the ruins and that Irathorn herself was here, and “dealt with those who lived there” (ruh-roh).

The unarmed demon grunted and charged forward, shaking off TIM’s hold, only to run right into Scarlet’s sword. The demon slumped forward, dead, and Scarlet kicked its body off the cliff.

The party reunited, and worked to heal Kaelan while he used Primeval Awareness to make sure they weren’t ambushed by any more demons. He can track both fiends and humanoids, and sensed a single humanoid to the east. Thinking it might be a survivor of the demon attack, the party headed east, across the waterfall bridge, and followed the humanoid to a tiny island just off the coast of Summit Island.

The island was a bare rock – until they got close, revealing a large-scale illusion that hid an entire village full of satyr, centaur, and fauns.

The denizens were wary of intruders, but we explained we were certainly not on the demons’ side, and that we were searching for the Creator. They allowed us entry, explaining that the demons had razed their village, but some of them were able to flee here. An elder minotaur kept up an illusion to hide them from the demons.

They confirmed that the demons were holed up in the temple to the north, but to gain entry, we’d need to solve the code. The code was presented as a riddles denoting areas around the island:

Count down the code,
The code obscured behind living curtains,
The code held close by elder keeper,
The code engraved on flowing stone,
The code held below by the lord of the pond.

The stewards, as they called themselves, helped identify areas around the small island that we’d need to visit – the volcano, the pond, the waterfall, and their village, now a smoking ruin. They warned that ghosts and undead of their friends and family now haunted the site.

They also wanted our help recovering a magic whistle from their slain village elder, a whistle which summons a giant turtle that can help them (and us) leave this island.

Thus we have our quest, visit each of these sites and find a code, recover the whistle, and gain entry to the temple to confront the demons, and hopefully the Creator – or at least more answers.

MVPC – Kaelan & Gillian

Post-session live discussion:

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