Arrival, Betrayal and without Holy Water?

Leaving Emberholde was an adventure. The Skaven Attack, the whirley copters, the expeditious exit. The travel time in this hefty dirigible is quite fast comparable to land travel. The peaceful tranquility of the sky can be mesmerizing, except for one thing. We are headed into the heart of the Chaos Wastes.
 
This area has been corrupted by the presence of Warp Stone, so much so, it is even in the air. Malakai, the engineer who built this ship and Maximilian, the mage who enchanted the ship with protection magics, have done their homework well. You can see how the protective magics, and the speed of the ship create a wake of warp dust behind the ship. I hope these then necklaces that Maximilian created are equally as efficient, or we will become minions of the Chaos Gods.
 
Looking out over the bow, one can see the barren waterless land before us. Dry, cracked, broken. Surviving here for anything greater then an insect is an achievement. The horizon looks like the sky is on fire, red, burnt, smokey. It has a ominous beauty, much like some of the Planes of the Nine Hells. Further travel in shows cities that have been razed, Statues of Demons hundreds of feet high. This is work that did not happen over night. This is cooperation of the Chaos Gods hitherto never seen before. Are we too late?
 
Dispater, Asmodeus, Moloch and Sutekh cannot be happy. This could sway the power balance in the Hells. If I can be a tool in the failure of the Chaos Gods, Dispaters favor could be a reward. Peoples simplistic philosophies of Good vs Evil should work in my favor here.
 
This land is a tornado of change. The cities are deserted, winds blowing, and then a storm of great magnitude hits. It rocks the Spirit of Grunye and forces us into an emergency landing. Malakai sites a spot within a deserted city and steers the Spirit of Grunye to a safe spot. We are asked to protect the ship as it goes under repair. Malakai expected this so the supplies for repair are plentiful, what isn't plentiful is time.
 
We are lowered with spy glasses to the four points of the ship. The protective pendants Maximilian made for us start glowing. You can see the energy absorption working. Rory detects a laugh, a cackle from what seems to be an old man. The fact Rory detected anything is a miracle unto itself frankly. He is as dimwitted as a stone, but we will take any luck we can get here in the Chaos Wastes.
 
An old man shimmies around a corner. He is withered, corrupted by chaos, mad as any mad man I have met, carrying a staff made out of human femurs with skulls on top. Kemurial asks who he is. I am a mage of time and space, and I have overshot my transport a little. I approach him while Kemurial stands ready, continuing to talk with him as a distraction. He speaks senselessly repeating, "They need to feed". His staff begins to glow. Kemurial orders him to grovel and he falls to the ground, dropping his staff, but it has been activated. The light gets brighter and brighter until it crescendos. In a flash, we find ourselves in a room with 1 exit. On the floor is a pentagram pointed with 5 glowing skulls. Rory attempts to leave the circle and is forcibly knocked back. As I said before, as dense as a stone.
 
I have some working knowledge of these circles. They are meant as containment fields for those summoned. We must break the circle to get out. Rory attempts to move a skull, but to no avail. Any interaction physically with them results in opposite force. Discussion erupts on what to do. I suggest using holy water to break the circle, after all, we have a Paladin AND!!!! a Cleric. Surely one of them has a flask of two, but Noooooooo. Really!?!?! Like that is Holy Job 101. Both can even make the stuff. Just another example of how this party is so woefully prepared. Freya gets and idea and uses her Eldritch Blast and shatters one of the skulls. The circle broken, and the containment magics are gone.
 
There is a hallway we begin to follow. I take the lead. It's probably the only way we will survive this. Pretty soon, a floor falls. I was able to jump back and avoid the pit. I hop across, only to fall into another pit. After falling on my ass 60 feet down, I cast Fly so I can escape. Then, using fly I test the stability of the hallway all the way down to a huge room.
 
This room is square, it has a fountain in the middle. The walls ride to a point where, I cannot see the roof. Balconys surround the room, as if this is a theater of sorts. As I enter the room, we are descended upon by flying demons. Vroks, Chasmes attack. These demons are intelligent and use their screams to screw with your mind. Their strategy is to incapacitate to allow for easy dominance. The Vrock screeches, but to no affect. The Chasme's drone, and again not effective. They attack Friar Karl and he takes significant injuries and has to retreat. He summons a Guardian of Faith for protection.
 
The demons deal significant damage, but we can as well. During the initial onslaught, I am able to cast Fly again. Kemurial takes a wound from the proboscis the Chasme. Their poison is virulent. of the With Rorys flying ability, the demons can no longer use a skirmish strategy, and as a team, we are able to defeat them. For once, we acted as a strategic team, using sound battle practices. We are able to heal our wounds. While we are licking our wounds, Kemurial seems to be in pain. He tries to hide it, but his writhing is unmistakable. That poison must be affecting him. I keep an eye on his status, and I notice something happening. It's like he is metamorphosing. A halo seems to be forming around his head, his skin tinting bluish. A light befalls him. So this was his secret, this is why I have been uneasy around him from the start. He has Celestial blood!!!! He is an Aasimar!!!!!!!! No wonder he was so reserved around me. This subterfuge has not gone unnoticed!!!!! But I will have to deal with this betrayal of confidence later.... Rory, using his genius intellect (Sarcasm intended), decides to play at the fountain, awakening of all things an ABOLETH!!!!!! These creatures are legendary, powerful, mind affecting mammoths. We get a smite in and it grabs Rory and descends into the depths of the fountain. Luckily, the necklace of adaptation allows us to breath water so holding our breath isn't an issue.
 
The Aboleth continues to drain Rorys memories. I have to wonder, is it starving? Living on Rorys intellect is like empty calories. We do defeat the beast. Freya and I once again, pull the party out of the depths of death, and save their asses.
 
The Aboleth's loot is moderate, and we must rest again because Rory's mind is flayed a bit. Frankly, not a disadvantage to the party but healing is healing. We must heal up quickly and find a way out of this dungeon, the Spirit of Grunye is currently unprotected, and without it, the others are doomed to be corrupted by the Chaos Magic. These necklaces Maximillian made can only absorb so much. Luckily, planning ahead, as I do often, I purchased one that is not limited. Once this one is used up, I can switch to my other one.
 
I may have to kill the others if they end up corrupted. Who knows, that might be a bonus killing the Celestial, although I wouldn't enjoy dealing with Freya, she is the one among us who is the greatest threat......
 
We shall see.