The survivors clashed with the bulezau demon and its wretched minions, and for the first time in her life Elseth took part in deadly combat. Empowered by her own fury and the righteous power granted by her goddess, she was able to wield her spear Radiance to devastating effect.
During the battle, Alanis was stung by the bulezau, but managed to resist the terrible effects of the demon's venom - a lucky break, for bulezau venom was known to cause those stricken to shed rotting skin, develop boils and even cough up flies.
With the way ahead clear, the group reached the Hellknight Safehouse, but found it to be the site of a massacre. As they investigated, they found the chapter's Maralictor bleeding out. The Maralictor, named Enthus, spoke to Haliel with the last of his strength, stating that she would be the last remaining Hellknight for miles around after his death; if she was to act in his stead, she needed to earn her full knighthood.
Enthus gave his final order to her, instructing Haliel to find a "Paralictor Derenge" out in the Worldwound and report to him about what happened in Kenabres, and then urged her to prepare for her initiation before summoning a devil for her to fight in single combat - the maralictor succumbed to his injuries not long after.
Haliel fought a bearded devil to the death in the traditional Hellknight initiation rite and won after a difficult battle, becoming a full Hellknight of the Godclaw in the process. The party then searched the safehouse and found some equipment, including an enchanted badge, a magic lantern, a few potions, and a suit of Hellknight Plate for Haliel.
Intending to push on, the group sent Haliel back to the Defender's Heart to recover from her injuries, and to fetch Wenduag. Haliel briefly protested Wenduag's inclusion after she betrayed her former masters, but was persuaded to trust the party's decision.
After Wenduag rejoined the group, party encountered a group of crusaders preparing to slay a young noblewoman who looked no older than sixteen. When confronted, the crusaders stated that they were following an old legend in which dousing a blade in the blood of a virgin was said to render it deadly to demons. The group realized that the crusaders were heavily traumatized and desperate following their recent ordeals, and together convinced them to stand down and let the young woman go.
The young and frightened noblewoman introduced herself as Klarah, and begged the party to get her to safety. The group did not want to slow down their trek through the Kenabres ruins, and so entrusted Wenduag to escort Klarah to the Defender's Heart. Wenduag begrudgingly agreed and ushered the girl back to safety.
While Wenduag returned to the Heart, the party made it to Tacitus Manor, but found signs of conflict as they approached. Upon entering, they found dead crusaders and inquisitors inside, and then encountered cultists and demons even further in.
The group defeated the Baphomet cultists, as well as an enraged barlgura, and encountered a succubus who managed to escape by stepping into the ethereal plane after being injured. Exploring a mostly vacant manor, the group eventually proceeded upstairs where Satomi made a beeline to her old room.
As Satomi checked a secret compartment in her room to find a hidden scroll of apparent deep personal significance to her, the others noted that her room was sparsely decorated and furnished, and Alanis realized that the door only locked from the outside, hinting at the degree of captivity Satomi suffered at the hands of Lord Tacitus.
After exiting Satomi's room, the group entered Lord Tacitus' study, where they found the nobleman in the midst of a conversation with a most dreadful demon; Minagho, a powerful and infamous lilitu and one of Baphomet's chief servants, as well as the architect behind the fall of Drezen.
Minagho continued their conversation as if the party was not there, chiding Tacitus for demanding more power for services he had rendered. Although the specifics were not touched upon, it appeared that Tacitus had served the Cult of Baphomet, perhaps even helping them enter the city, in exchange for his life and for power over the ruins following the fall of Kenabres.
The lilitu then decided to take her leave, addressing both Tacitus and the group to set them against each other before departing. She informed Tacitus that he might earn her forgiveness for slaying the new interlopers, and encouraged the party to help 'clean up her mess' by slaying Tacitus. She then teleported away, leaving the party alone with Tacitus and a pair of Baphomet templars.
Satomi confronted Tacitus, taunting him for being caught cavorting with the demons. Tacitus angrily retorted, commanding her to fall in line and obey him, claiming that he "owned" her. Satomi instead bade him defend himself, for she had waited to get her revenge upon the Tacitus family for a long time. Combat soon ensued.
As the two groups clashed, Minagho spoke telepathically to them, bestowing upon them a 'parting gift' by setting Tacitus Manor ablaze. Both sides of the battle choked on ash as they engaged in deadly combat, but to the party's luck, Wenduag crashed through the window of Tacitus' study to aid them after finishing her escorting task.
Tacitus fought with powerful enchantment magic, but could not overcome Satomi's determination and the might of her allies. She commanded him to grovel while the others slew his templar bodyguards. After he was badly injured, Tacitus used dimension door to escape, shouting 'downstairs' as his destination in a panic.
The party rushed through the blaze to make it downstairs, finding Tacitus limping out into the porch of the mansion before collapsing, too injured to continue.
Satomi grabbed Tacitus and held him over the edge of a deep nearby ravine and commanded him to beg for his life. At first, Tacitus refused, but repeated beatings from Satomi pushed him to promise power and wealth in exchange for his survival. He justified his actions by insisting that the battle against the demons was unwinnable and that Mendev was doomed to fail, and that it would be better for him to secure power for the winning side. Satomi continued to berate Tacitus for what he and his father had done to her over the past decades, and demanded to know where her sisters were; a question he was unable to answer. Satomi then commanded Tacitus once more to beg for his life. He tearfully pleaded for mercy, to which Satomi merely whispered 'no' before dropping her former master into the ravine.
As Satomi basked in her newfound freedom, the group recovered a bag of holding that Tacitus had dropped, and then decided to return to the Defender's Heart to nurse their wounds.
The party made it back to the Heart without major incident and convened at the bar for a well-earned drink. Satomi told the group of her history, speaking of her arrival in Kenabres decades ago, and how she and her kitsune sisters were mistaken for monsters and captured to be sold as slaves. She had been separated from her siblings ever since.
Exhausted, the group rested for the night. As Satomi winded down for bed, she looked at her old puzzle cube, and an unfamiliar feeling rising in her heart made her consider; she had tried so hard to solve the puzzle logically, but the laws of physics seemed to prevent the cube from being solved. Why then, could she not simply disregard these constricting laws?
Through sheer force of will and an unknown power rising from within, Satomi began to force the cube to open through thought alone, though she stopped just short of completely solving it. She chose to keep that in mind for later before returning to bed for her first night as a free woman in decades.
Portraits
CLYDWELL PLAZA SURVIVORS
Player Characters
Satomi Sanada - A vivid kitsune dancer hailing from the far-off nation of Xha'en, bound in service to the noble family Tacitus of Kenabres. She is lithe, cunning, alluring, and possesses deadly talents beyond mere dance. After murdering her former master Lord Tacitus, she has taken back her freedom, and now seems to foster a budding ability to force the whims of fate to obey her demands.
Elseth Atlasia - A cleric of the goddess Muir turned into a wrathful warrior of the heavens. Having abandoned her oath of pacifism sworn long ago, Elseth's clerical powers have left her, but her goddesses' might has remained, transforming her into a bloodied avenger seeking to put an end to the demonic invaders infesting Kenabres.
Alanis Fenrora - An elusive high elven mage who chose to investigate the Armasse festival on the date of the terrible demonic assault. She is a capable warlock whose powers court dark and oft forbidden magics, those that whisper to those beyond the grave and drain the life from those still living. These skills have proven handy as the party strives to escape from the Kenabres underground.
Hilda Grimm - A high elven evoker and an apprentice of Halaster, the Mad Mage of the Undermountain. Hilda has lead multiple tumultuous lives, as her soul was torn from her body as a child and was made a sentient being, while her original body accompanied the witch Tasha on her interplanar schemes. With her two halves being made whole by Halaster, Hilda has come to the lands of the Worldwound to prove herself as a wizard worthy of his tutelage.
Companions
Haliel Dosan - A half-emerald-dragonborn fighter and armiger of the Order of the Godclaw, who fell into the Kenabres Underground with the other survivors. As a hopeful Hellknight, she is concerned with maintaining order and discipline during their search for an egress to the surface.
Wenduag - A mongrel ranger and the best huntress in Neathholm. Wenduag sports blue skin, glowing catlike eyes, and four pairs of spiderlike legs sprouting from her spine. Wenduag is a prideful warrior who values the strength her people have found in the underground, and hopes to see them join the fight against the demons without bending a knee to the crusaders. It was revealed that she secretly served the demon cultist Hosilla, but betrayed her in favor of the party, whom she now serves faithfully.
NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS
Maralictor Enthus - The Hellknight maralictor presiding over the Order of the Godclaw's safehouse in Kenabres. He was fatally wounded in a demon attack that claimed the lives of all the other hellknights based out of the safehouse save for Haliel, whom he aided in completing her initiation before succumbing to his injuries.
Klarah Nubelle - A teenaged Kenabrian noblewoman whose family was slaughtered by the demons and cultists invading the city. She was nearly killed by misguided, traumatized crusaders who wished to douse their blades in her blood, but was saved by the party.
Vergil Tacitus III - The lord of the Kenabrian House Tacitus, a capable enchanter, and slavemaster of Satomi. He had sold out to the cult of Baphomet in an attempt to secure a position of power after the fall of Kenabres, but was eventually caught up to and slain by Satomi, thus earning her freedom after decades of indentured servitude.
Minagho - A deadly lilitu, who is one of the demon lord Baphomet most powerful and loyal servants. Almost a century ago, she seduced the crusader Staunton Vhane, and through him orchestrated the fall of the city of Drezen - thus making her the only demon to ever conquer a city of Mendev.
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