12.10.2024 - Scribe-5 - Reading up on Hell

• The magic stream outside Veilhearth has been disguised as a tank of strawberry plants
• When we get back to Veilhearth, the path of sage elf Eldarion Valandil outside the gate flags us down
  • An invitation has arrived for us. It blew up his papers when it arrived. It consists of a metal plaque
  • "Dearest esteemed artist _ _ _ _ _ Heroes of the Awarth. You are courtely invited to join us at Easel and Embers"
  • It is tomorrow at 12, at the Gloomwood Glade
  • It is signed by the headmaster, Master Sabazios
  • Valandil explains that the Gloomwood Glade in Falinaar. It is creepy and scary
• Coty and Void investigate devil weaknesses
  • It's true name gives you a lot of power over them
  • But they will try to kill you because you have so much power over them
  • Void has heard that devils doesn't truly die, they're just reborn with a new name
• We go to The Academy to investigate further
  • The architecture is very mathematical
  • There's a lot more loud and volatile action around here now. Mostly because magic is now allowed to be used in the open
  • We are greeted by a grey-scaled Yuan-Ti. They direct us to the office of Selmyn
    • There are explosions going on inside
    • We knock twice before entering, seeing Selmyn bickering with her mechanical brother
    • When they notice our presence she stops Test 512
    • Selmyn runs over and hugs Scribes
    • We ask if she has any information about devils
    • She will help us research
    • We need to get a library card. To do so we need to give the Library Police some blood (or other bodily essence for those of us without blood)
    • Selmyn accompanies us, but tries to hide how scared she is of going to the library
    • Her brother stays behind to repurpose the heater they were working on so it can read faster for us
    • Void and Coty are noticed, and are scolded by the librarian for not being quiet enough
    • Scribes goes up to her and uses message to talk without sound
    • The librarian respects Scribes for being quiet
    • We are given 7 forms, each with a knife and a jar
    • The contract states that we agree for eternity to not steal books from here, and to return it within the given timeframe. If we break the contract, they will hunt us down for eternity
    • Only one drop of blood is required
    • We all sign
    • She gives us directions
    • Coty goes to research devil weaknesses
      • She finds a diary from a biologist that accidentially walked into hell
      • It describes the aspects of the climate etc. and also adds, as a side note, who the current rulers are etc.
      • The first level almost doesn't seem like hell. It could be somewhere in the material plane
      • One of the rulers of the nine hells is Mammon
      • He finds an art gallery in the first circle, and writes a glowing review. And he suddenly gets back out
      • Coty takes the book to Bucket (the one who knows the most about books), but he has trouble reading it, since it has so much text
      • It shows a hallway of paint. It looks like the artist drew it and erased it several times, since he wasn't able to depict it properly
    • Scribes researches the dimensional footprint of The Nine Hells
      • The book she really wants isn't in it's place, but it is being copied by a researcher
      • He agrees to let her have it for 92 minutes
      • The book is about travelling to hell. you need something from there.
      • The closer to the place you want to go the item is from, the better
      • However, planar travel is always imprecise, unless you have the sigils of a teleportation circle
      • You could use a being of hell to go there, but you will teleport to the place where it was spawned (90.5% certainty)
      • She finishes with the book in 46 minutes. the researcher is very impressed and they both spend the rest of the research time discussing their researching topics
  • • Bucket finds a children's picture book about recognicing devils
      • He finds a really cute history book about bunnies. He doesn't want to read that one, and switches to another
      • This one in the teenage section. It is about myths and legends about devils
      • It also mentions art galleries
      • He calls Scribes over to tell her about his findings
      • The writer is a fantasy author
      • The tale is about an art gallery that appears in random locations in the material plane every hundred years. It is about a devil supporting and funding artists
      • Scribes goes to fact check with more reliable sources, while her quill makes Bucket a copy
      • She failed terribly when trying to teach Bucket about looking for reliable sources
  • Void looks into physical fiendish curses
    • He finds a lot about cursed items
    • Something about which curses can be removed by Remove Curse
    • Something about how to tackle difficult curses
    • A commonality is that you need something from the one who cast the curse, but which part depends on the curse
    • There are also some tips about how to go forward when you have been cursed
    • E seems to be painting and creating art with his skin. It is almost done
• Selmyn has to sit on a stool by the wall labelled "The naughty spot"
• Everyone except Void meet up again to compare notes
  • We conclude that there is a gallery in the first level of hell, by a devil that likes art
  • There is also a gallery that spawns in the material plane, potentially connected to the one in hell. It is sometimes a studio, sometimes something else. It is always art related
  • Some describe it as an infernal mansion.
  • The devil artist is probably E, meaning she is on the first level of hell
  • We probably have an invitation to her gallery tomorrow
  • The gallery that spawns in the material plane is probably not E's actual domain, but something she sends to collect souls
• We go to the devil trapped in the Harry Potter hideout to attempt to make a tuning fork
  • Void asks the devil where he is from, he is avoiding the question
  • "Art is war. All these souls that just really wants to be the best"
  • Void tells him his current name, and the devil understands that he is a tiefling
  • He was spawned in Hell
  • He keeps asking Void questions, until Void threathens him. He says that he is from the first circle
  • Coty, Bucket and Scribes work together to cut off a piece of the devil's horn, to use for a tuning fork
  • He warns us to be careful with it
  • When Bucket releases his horns, there are scorch marks where his holy armor touched them
• We head back to Selmyn to make the tuning fork
  • The decide to make the tuning fork out of Songsteel
  • Selmyn is not that confident
  • She will reporpose the heater
• While Selmyn is working on the tuning fork, the rest of us rests for tomorrow, and prepares
  • Coty looks for some holy water
  • Scribes spends 6 minutes and 150 gp (almost broke :/) to learn Nondetection
  • Void works on Coty's enchantments some more

Plan

• Pick up the tuning fork from Selmyn (we can get back using our teleportation circle with plane shift, or Word of Recall)
• Buy 25 gp worth of diamond dust for Nondetection?