Hunt for Yuel: Session 26

The party pulled themselves together outside the temple.   They discussed Yuel’s power and what may happen to Lorelei with Yuel’s blood in her. Yuel’s blood or the Blood of Selictar, would transform her if she fell unconscious and fully take her over if she died. They considered trying to burn the curse out with radiant energy but that would kill Lorelei before the curse. They considered a cleric could help but that they didn’t have immediate access to one. They considered returning to Granway but Vazulo was shot down.   Vazulo used his sending stone to give Sixsix an update. He had returned to the astral sea with the Celestial, but had no real idea how to help with any of his other questions.   Percy sent to Feeloe asking him to send a cleric and that they’d found Yuel, and Lorelei was infected.   Feeloe told them he was deep in something on Valnar, helping the people who had killed Log, but he was with several people who could help but they were working on something else currently.   They took an hour to patch themselves up and catch their breath.   With no clear guidance they investigated the temple in peace.   Vazulo still couldn’t contact Spearadear or Petonia.   Lorelei and Kinoko investigated the door and searched for any other rooms and found this space was built for ritual not a functional gathering place. They called Percy over to investigate if the door was magical.   Eventually Percy knocked on the door and all four, gathered at the gate, felt a light pressure on their minds. Vazulo and Percy let it in.   A demonic Warforged appeared in their vision and began speaking with them. He introduced himself as Hagrath. Vazulo tried to get information from him on the ritual, offering to tell him about Petonia.   What ensued was an honest but dark conversation around how the party would approach the impending ritual and Yuel.   Hagrath would not tell them anything about the ritual or do anything to hinder, harm, or betray his guest Yuel.   They learnt Yuel was a “unique and willing undead”. They confirmed whatever the ritual was, it would not lock them into the plane; all the ritual would do was protect the plane from the Celestials. They learnt the Blood of Hagrath effects reflected people: sad, weak, and broken peole saw negative effects. Those with ambition and strength gained power. He would not detail the bloods purpose till after the ritual, which concerned the infected Vazulo, though Hagrath assured him if he avoided consuming anymore it wouldn’t be an issue.   They learnt the condensed history of Danandra. Danandra was one of the oldest planes, the Gods that created it made it before the first Shadowfel or Feywild. Instead, this material plane was reflected by a Demonic Realm, and a Celestial Realm. It could be called an experiment, with two planes of immortal souls with a material plane with all mortal souls sandwiched in between them. These mortal souls became desirable to the immortals who eventually began to fight over them. Hagrath and Petonia’s predecessors had waged war for eons, one side only holding the material for less then a mortal generation, until Hagrath won. In response, the celestials, unable to take the plane, used their power to keep the souls stuck on the material. This lead to the plethora of undead the party had just discovered.   They asked about what they did with the souls, and Hagrath explained his predecessors did all sorts of things, but he used the mortal souls to make Demons.   They learnt Yuel had similarly to them, approached the door, had a conversation, and proved to be trustworthy so she was allowed to observe. Hagrath assumed her interest was in his blood since she was a creature of blood.   Vazulo informed Hagrath the blood was created by a lich. He noted this as an impressive experiment and seeing as the creature was living blood, Hagrath was incapable of discerning the goals of such a life, but learning about what it could be based on other bloods made logical sense to Hagrath.   As they discussed more details of the blood, he theorized the similarities to vampires were intentional, as a defence mechanism. People would fight it considering vampire weaknesses that would not affect the blood. Also it being made of blood it would need to consume more blood or it would have to cannibalize the hosts blood. When asked about freeing Yuel, he suggested appealing to the host trying to get them to fight for control, or removing the entirety of the foreign body.   Lorelei offered worldly insight, on the Domains of Dread in exchange for information. Hagrath showed interest but had grown tired of communicating through vazulo and Percy to get to Lorelei. Lorelei had to connect if he was to answer or hear from her. Lorelei did when she confirmed that the effect was akin to the first stage of detect thoughts.   Hagrath had heard of the Domains of Dread. They had be derived from the first Shadowfel. Lorelei tried to negotiate some sort of neutral ground. Hagrath couldn't gove them thdt but assured no interference after the ritual in there interaction with Yuel. Lorelai, after hearing that any attempt to interfere would leave his entire retinue to crash upon them, agreed not to interfere since it would clearly result in her death. Lorelei offered insights on the Domains for the signifigsnce of snakes on the Celestial's armor. Petonia predecesor, Dia, was fond of snakes. She has a fondness for things that killed and was an incredibly violent Celestial, one Hagrath’s own predecessor’s would of admired, even prefered over him.   For a moment Lorelei thought Hagrath might be a "good" Demon before taking the moment and realizing the state of Danandra was a choice. While Hagrath predecessors would of been worse, Hagraths rule was still a dictatorship just as Strahd ruled Barovia doing nothing to help or protect his people and leaving them in a constant state of fear and often being the source or cause of that fear.   Percy tried to reach out to Petonia asking about the souls. Hagrath interecepted insulted by the lack of trust. Percy asked what the Celestials would use the souls for and Hagrath explained Dia had the same idea as him, to use the souls to make more celestials.   They learnt Demons are born from energy given off by Demons intermingling and a new Demon is born from that.   The party started to consider returning to the refuse when it began to dawn on them the potential out come of this ritual, they asked more clarifying questions to Hagrath learning the souls of mortals that were connected to demons happened in the demon realm and no mortal had been turned into a demon in over 400 years. Hagrath did not have a preference in who he ruled over or a real desire to rule, he had simply inherited the rank. There was a clarification that the Glory was primarily mortals with primarily only the beautiful/pure allowed to resided there. Hagrath departed from their minds and the party started to head back to the Refuse.