Session 56 - Careless Whispers
General Summary
The Crystal Spire
At the center of the Metalstorm’s eye rose the Crystal Spire, a shimmering thousand-foot column of translucent stone that rose from the ocean. At its peak, Wulfram's fortress clung like an iron crown. The only proper way within lay halfway up the spire, where a narrow ledge jutted from the crystal face. There, an iron bar, bound to a succor spell, transported those who dared speak the word Chaos directly to Wulfram’s audience chamber. The Ruinlords reached the ledge and were admitted to a void-bound chamber, where Wulfram greeted them not as a sovereign, but as a host. His throne sat upon a floating platform, and his words blended charm with mockery. He offered wine to his guests, and kegs of ale to Oathgar. He mourned the fallen Paravicar Cassius Del Vago, but quickly revealed his request: his companion Thea was lost in Cocytus, and only bold champions could retrieve her. To aid them, Wulfram offered the Demonwing, a ship crafted from an Abyssal layer itself. His construct, Stu, drifted nearby, ensuring that every word and deed would be recorded for unseen audiences across the planes.The Voyage of Demonwing
The Demonwing waited at the spire’s hidden docks. The stone hull was carved into leering faces, and sails of stitched flesh were taut with abyssal enchantment. An invisible crew manned the vessel, performing their duties without question. The heroes boarded by gangplank, the only permitted path, and once the last Ruinlord stepped upon its sterncastle, the plank withdrew and the ship slipped into the River Styx. For three days, Demonwing carried them through the Lower Planes, each layer marked by fire, shadow, or ice. To either side of the Styx stretched wastelands of ruin, but the ship pressed onward, floating against the currents of memory-stealing water. The journey ended as Demonwing broke free into Cocytus - a frozen realm of glaciers and shrieking winds - where its anchor dropped at the base of Coldsteel’s iceberg fortress.A Mutiny Averted
Beneath the deck of the Demonwing, the Ruinlords came upon the heart of the ship itself. Six grotesque hearts pulsed ichor into the body of Straoth, the Overmind and former captain of the Demonwing, who rose from the altar as a mass of flesh and eyes. His voice thundered across the chamber, claiming the ship as his eternal domain and denouncing Wulfram as a thief. The Ruinlords fought desperately as the Heartlink fed Straoth strength. Eyes flared with psionic ruin, and ichor flooded the halls. Just as Straoth’s wrath threatened to overwhelm the heroes, Stu’s orb sparked to life. Wulfram’s face appeared upon its surface, his voice resonant and sharp. "Enough," he purred, a dagger wrapped in silk. "Overmind, you mistake yourself for a tyrant when you are but a player. This show is not yours to command. Defy me again, and I will tear your name from its script. And I will tear you along with it. For ratings." Straoth faltered, his many eyes quivering. At that instant, Tike Myson drove a final blow that crushed the creature into unconscious stillness. The Overmind collapsed, its tendrils limp, and the Heartlink went silent. Demonwing groaned, its course diverted once more into Cocytus.The Abyssal Dive
The fortress could only be reached below the ice, and so the Ruinlords descended in iron diving spheres crafted for the task. Black waters pressed around them with crushing cold, and the Styx itself threatened memory and sanity. There, a colossal megalodon haunted the depths, drawn to the intruders by a predatory hunger. It savagely attacked the diving spheres, almost breaching the hull of Oathgar's sphere and swallowing the one Cal piloted. Tike was able to escape the sphere and punch their way to freedom, forcing the ancient shark to cough them up.The Crimson Basilica
Once inside, the glacier’s halls opened into a cavern lit by a crimson glow, where the Basilica stood half-buried in ice. At one time a proud house of worship, its spires now leaned drunkenly, fractured by glacial growth that had pierced walls and windows alike. The great doors sagged on broken hinges, marred by claw marks and infernal runes. Within, the church lay gutted. Blackened pews slumped in ruin, splintered and scattered across frost-stained stone. Charred prayer books littered the aisles, the words of faith burned into smears and ash. The ruin was not silent. Faint pleas, bargains, and cries of anguish were carved into the very stones by the memory of suffering. Shadows clung unnaturally to the rafters, flickering as though figures yet dangled in chains of ice. There had been death, and it came far from mercifully. At the altar, the truth became painfully apparent: an infernal ledger. Each name of the two hundred souls who had gathered for the funeral was inscribed in Infernal script, beside a sigil of surrender. The list included men, women, and children, parishioners and priests alike. At its end lay the unmistakable scrawl of Lucius Blackthorn, a contract binding the congregation to Hell in exchange for infernal protection and access to Torvus, the prison-realm beyond. The Basilica had not simply fallen—it had been sold. The devils had come as collectors. The parishioners were scourged, flayed, or frozen alive until their souls broke free in agony, each scream feeding the Infernal pact. Their remnants clung to the walls: silhouettes burned into stone, husks drained of blood, faces frozen in glassy ice mid-scream. The nave had become not a sanctuary, but a receipt of damnation. Declan rolled up the contract and kept it for safekeeping. It was here that the Ruinlords found Thea, Wulfram’s companion and a tiefling rogue, hidden amid the ruin. Her eyes were hollow from what she had endured. She had survived by concealment, forced to watch as the devils came and tortured every soul present. She whispered of chains of ice that writhed with infernal purpose, of pitiless tormentors dragging the faithful away one by one, and of the children who screamed as their nightmares became reality. She told the adventurers how Blackthorn had stood at the altar, his signature sealing the bargain while the devils worked their cruelty. Bound by oath and greed, he had traded two hundred souls for access to Torvus and the power that lay within. Thea confessed she could do nothing but remain hidden. She had no power to intervene, no means to save them. Her survival felt like failure. But with the Ruinlords before her, she found a new oath to swear. She would help them kill Blackthorn.The Angel of Atrophy
Beyond the basilica, the ice shattered into floating shards adrift in the void. At their center loomed the Angel of Atrophy, a broken seraph of corpse-white flesh and twitching eyes. Its clasped hands concealed a void of teeth and hunger. Before the glowing cube at the angel’s feet stood Hrimnir Frostvein, the frost giant warlord once cast down by Alfie. Scarred by infernal brands, he raised a greataxe rimed in ice and vowed vengeance. The cube pulsed in time with the angel’s endless hearts, each beat shaking the battlefield as the warlord advanced. The heroes faced not only Hrimnir’s fury, but the looming threat of the angel itself - an atrophy that hungered for the living. Beyond that cube lay the deeper paths into Hell, and the next stage of their grim descent to stop Lucius Blackthorn.Rewards Granted
Level 12!
Character(s) interacted with
- Wulfram: Wild mage host, manipulator, showrunner.
- Stu: Orb-headed construct, records events.
- Straoth, the Overmind: Former Abyssal captain, psionic horror.
- Thea: Tiefling rogue, survivor, ally against Blackthorn.
- Hrimnir Frostvein: Frost giant warlord, vengeance-driven.
- Angel of Atrophy: Entropic cosmic hazard.
- Lucius Blackthorn: Absent this session, but contract ties him directly to 200 souls and Torvus.
Notes
- Wulfram’s Audience: Goal: Rescue Thea from Cocytus. Provides Demonwing for travel.
- Stu records everything for Wulfram’s “show.”
- Demonwing: Abyssal ship (layer-made vessel, formed by the Prince of the Abyss, Demogorgon).
- 3-day voyage on River Styx to Cocytus.
- Beneath Demonwing: Straoth, the Overmind (psionic horror bound to Heartlink).
- Climax: Wulfram (through Stu) threatens Straoth. Distracted, Tike Myson delivers the final blow and Straoth is knocked unconscious.
- Abyssal Dive: Access Coldsteel via diving spheres.
- Within Coldsteel Citadel: Frozen Sentinels and Chains of Oaths.
- Discovery of the Crimson Basilica: Desecrated church; parishioners tortured to death.
- Altar = Infernal Ledger (200 funeral souls traded).
- Lucius Blackthorn’s signature gave him access to Torvus.
- Thea (tiefling rogue, Wulfram’s companion) survived by hiding; she vows to help Ruinlords kill Blackthorn.
- Angel of Atrophy: Colossal entropy-seraph looming with abyssal maw.
- Hrimnir Frostvein: Frost giant warlord, infernal-scarred, sworn revenge.
- Cube pulses with Angel’s heartbeat, blocking the path forward.
