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Previously on War for the Lost Plane
Starring:
Kaelan, level 18 tiefling Monster Slayer Ranger/Fiend Warlock
Scarlet, level 18 human Oath of Devotion Paladin
Gillian, level 18 triton Champion Fighter, College of Lore Bard
Kethra, level 18 half-elf Assassin Rogue
TIM, level 18 warforged War Domain Cleric
The portal lies in ruins, the hulking demon dead at our feet. Whatever demons remain in the fortress, their numbers were limited. We cut off the source.
Now it’s simply a matter of killing the leaders and preventing the destruction of this entire world.
Easier said than done. As we follow Kethra out a hidden escape path, images of the demon and angel leaders, Irathon and Rahmael, appear, taunting us with our fruitless victory. They wish to be gods of this world, heedless of its violent destruction.
We ran as the fortress walls began crumbling around us from the destruction of the portal. We held the scroll Rycresh had given us, and within moments the cat appears.
“Is it done?” Rycresh asked anxiously.
“What kind of question is that,” Kethra screamed. “Get us out of here!”
“Good, we got places to be!” Black smoke surrounds us. When it dissipates, it is not the Verdant Spire that greets us, but a vast desert.
“Sorry for not taking you back to safety, but we have to move quickly,” says Rycresh. “I have some bad news: I found the book.”
“Let me guess,” says Scarlet, noting our surroundings. “It’s inside the World-Ender?”
“It’s inside the World-Ender.”
After the painfully draining battle with the erinyes guards, we quickly short rested, sending Styx back through the previous lavafall to watch for any returning demons. Scarlet rolled almost all of her 17 hit dice to get back in fighting shape!
When we finished, the doors were closing as the demons were returning to the fortress. We needed to move fast. Once again Kaelan sent Styx through a lavaflow, this one to the north – the room the demons were guarding.
On the other side was a massive chamber dominated in the center by a large, 25-ft obsidian archway with a shimmering portal. Ah-ha! The room also held a man-size demon covered in spikes and scrolls, and a hulking, brutish demon with wings and claws, wielding a magic sword and shield.
None of them saw Styx, who hastily retreated back. We had the opportunity to prepare and map out a plan of attack, beginning with Scarlet lashing the bodies of the fire-immune guards to form a lava-shield, and usher through the other side.
We didn’t know exactly how to shut down a giant portal to hell, but Scarlet suggested using Dispel Magic. Kethra thought of the magic teleporting arrows she had looted off the bodies of the erinyes, which they had used to send the poor werebears into the lava (only two remained from that battle, including the leader).
Our plan was for Scarlet to cast Dispel Magic on the portal, which would hopefully open a clear shot for Kethra to shoot the demon that looked like a spellcaster, and the magic of the arrow would teleport him 30-ft closer. Kaelan would then follow up with another teleporting arrow (or bolt, as the DM explained they were simply ammunition we could use interchangeably – thanks DM!).
The plan worked, though with a few hiccups. Scarlet’s Dispel Magic worked, but only temporarily, as the archway began to crack. It would take several more uses to fully shut down the portal. But it was enough for Kethra to fire an assassin-powered death strike at the man-demon, dealing over 150 damage! Kaelan followed up with three attacks averaging 20-30 damage each, and that’s how we killed the nasty spellcaster during our surprise round. Roll for initiative!
We were left with the armed pit fiend and a pair of hell hounds. Kaelan tried to cast Banishment, but the hulking demon shrugged it off with a mocking tone. Kethra killed one of the hounds with a single arrow, while the werebears engaged the other.
The cocky pit fiend swooped right on top of us, unleashing its powerful sword and shield slam abilities, the latter of which was never able to connect – then promptly fell on his ass after a critical fumble using his tail attack. Oops!
The party (and bears) went to town with the prone demon, firing arrows, slashing with swords and axes and divine smites. Gillian would use Animate Objects to bring a bunch of ball bearings (or rocks) to life, which translated to casting Magic Missile every turn as a bonus action. Scarlet and TIM took turns casting Dispel Magic on the archway, further weakening the gateway, until Gillian destroyed it using her Phase Axe.
Every round the lava pools bubbled over, spewing lava over us and forcing DEX saves, whittling down our health. At the end of each round, the portal shimmered and a demon popped out. The DM had one of us roll a d12 to determine what kind of demon appeared. We ended up with two demons we had faced before, a white abishai and a shoosuva. We ignored them and focused all our might on the pit fiend, with Gillian’s pile of rocks getting the kill.
With the pit fiend dead and the portal destroyed, it was a quick matter of cleaning up the two summoned demons. Behind us we could hear the remaining horde of demons approaching, but thankfully this room featured a hidden escape back outside. We looted the magic sword and shield from the demon, ran outside, and summoned Rycresh using the scroll had had given us.
Instead of teleporting us somewhere safe, he deposited us in the desert – the Desert of the World Ender! He explained that he had found the Creator’s spellbook. Bad news: it’s inside the World Ender. From the fire to the frying pan! But also good news: we’ll level up to 19 next week.
MVPC – Kethra
Post-session live discussion:
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