08 - 8/21/25 : Experimentum Crucis

 

"So many plans have gone up in smoke along with this city. And so many are still yet to burn... Soon..."  

Areelu Vorlesh, Betrayer of Humanity

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  Combat with the glabrezu ensued. The demon placed a sphere of darkness over the party to blind them and then began savagely attacking them, able to see through the darkness itself thanks to its ability of truesight. As the party scrambled out of the dark to take away the glabrezu's advantage, they were surprised to see Staunton Vhane arrive on the scene to defend his brother Joran's forge. With hammer in hand, Staunton helped to wound the demon, tilting the fight back into the party's favor.   However, it was none other than the young Sylvia who managed to score the killing blow against the beast, managing to strike the mortally wounded glabrezu with a magic missile that finally slew it.   After the battle concluded, Staunton rebuked attempts at thanking him and began to inspect the forge. He found it mostly intact, and also found that it was still well-stocked with arms and armor that could be used to equip the remaining crusader forces for the impending attack on the Gray Garrison.   As Staunton did his rounds, the party talked with him for a bit. Staunton was wary and did not believe that the party truly cared about his well-being, or if they did, they would not for long. He told them the tale of how he was once a proud craftsman and cleric of Barator, the dwarven god of the forge; however, after his folly and the fall of Drezen, Staunton was cast out and excommunicated by his god, and was cursed so that any tools of the forge that he touched would break and fracture on contact.   The party then told Staunton about the letter from Minagho to Faxon, and how Staunton was mentioned in it specifically. This enraged Staunton, who was furious to know that the demoness who ruined his life was out to get him once again. Due to this circumstance, Staunton begrudgingly let the party accompany him back to the tavern, instead of him walking alone.   Although the road back to the Defender's Heart was fraught with grim and gruesome sights, the party eventually arrived to a warm reception, as Ulbrig awaited them at the bar with a beer in hand. He told them that several people had corroborated that two centuries had passed since he was last conscious, and had come to accept that; however, he still did not believe that all his beloved Sarkoris could have been destroyed by the demons, and asserted that there must still be surviving communities out in the wilds.   Ulbrig asked the party about what they were planning on doing after liberating Kenabres. Elseth was incredulous at him planning for the aftermath of victory instead of focusing on the task; Ulbrig boldly proclaimed that no sane man plans to fail, and that he looked to the future with victory in his heart. To Ulbrig's question, Satomi stated that she wished to look for her sisters, or at least confirm that they had made it out of Mendev. Hilda simply still wanted to fight against the Worldwound.   Ulbrig asked the party to, if they were willing, accompany him to a Sarkorian settlement called Currantglen, where he had kin during his time. Even if no Sarkorians were still there, he knew they at least had a Calling Stone; a magical stone pillar which Sarkorian shamans used to communicate, and which he could use to reach out to other Sarkorians still living. The party agreed that if they had the time to assist him with this visit, they would do so.   Satomi invited Sylvia to join them at the bar with Gemyl. Sylvia was still a little nervous but accepted and joined the others. Satomi also showed the others the scroll she had recovered from Tacitus manor, and how it depicted a small drawing of herself and her sisters Kaiyo and Megumi.   As they spoke, Fenna Fiddlefern went up to the party, once again thanked them for saving her, and gifted them scrolls for the coming trials. Commander Irabeth came up next with Klarah Nuvelle in tow. Klarah gifted the party her grandfather's masterwork cold iron rapier and a periapt of wound closure given to her by her aunt as thanks for rescuing her in turn.   The commander asked for a favor afterwards; the crusaders had a tiefling thief named Woljif in custody. He allegedly had information on the Gray Garrison, but only wanted to tell it to Satomi & her companions. This amused Satomi, who was familiar with Woljif due to her previous associations with the Thieflings. Irabeth then took the party's report, as they talked about the many situations they had encountered and resolved. They brought up the letter from Minagho to Faxon which exposed a plot to weaponize the wardstone, much to Irabeth's shock.   Deciding that the time to act had come, Irabeth told the party that she and Prelate Hulrun, despite their frequent disagreements over the years, collaborated on a plan to attack the Grey Garrison with their gathered forces. She wanted them to take part with them on the attack with the crusaders in light of their demonstrated combat prowess and resourcefulness.   Although some of the party doubted what they would be able to bring to a frontal assault, Irabeth's summarization of their recent deeds helped to bolster their confidence, and ultimately all four of the survivors agreed to take part.  

"I'm sorry, but I find it perplexing that you'd doubt your own ability. You survived Clydwell plaza being ripped apart by a Demon Lord in the flesh, braved the underground caverns which we have next to no exploratory knowledge of, befriended a clan of people that most believed to be a myth, crawled through the demon-strewn streets of Kenabres and located our camp by your own initiative, willingly went back into these same burning streets to pursue half-a-dozen leads I would ordinarily only give to veteran scouts, talked down possibly the most stubborn man in Mendev from killing a man he had at bladepoint, and most importantly to me, saved my wife's life at least twice over. As far as I'm concerned, you stand shoulder-to-should with some of our best and brightest, and I want you with us when we attack the Gray Garrison."  

Commander Irabeth Tirabade

Satomi led the others to go talk to Woljif, whom she knew through her dealings with the local Thieflings. Woljif was delighted to see her and spoke to her in a relaxed, nonchalant tone of voice despite his current situation. He bargained with Satomi, asking for her to arrange for his release from his imprisonment in exchange for information about a secret entryway into the Gray Garrison.   Knowing Woljif was a capable rogue and spellcaster, Satomi altered the deal that the thiefling proposed, and promised to get him released in exchange for the information, as well as his cooperation in the Grey Garrison attack. Woljif tried to protest, but eventually caved and agreed.   Woljif recounted that the Grey Garrison had a forgotten entryway on one of the side walls on the street level, which the crusaders had long since forgotten about since its construction after the first crusade. The thieflings had used it as a spot to stash some of their illicit goods and contraband right under the nose of the crusaders, but Woljif knew that it could also be used to get into the garrison to get right to the central stairwell.   With this information in hand, the group relayed it to Irabeth, who was astounded that such a passageway existed, yet also acknowledged that such a passageway would line up with the physical construction of the garrison as she knew it. She agreed to release Woljif, much to his delight, in exchange for the information. With this in mind, Irabeth proposed that the group pick two companions to accompany them through the secret passageway into the garrison. She figured that the passageway wouldn't be able to accommodate the entire crusader force, but a group of five or six would likely be able to slip in.   The plan was then set; the forces led by Prelate Hulrun and Commander Irabeth would assault the front entryway of the Gray Garrison, while the party of survivors as well as Seelah and Ulbrig would accompany Woljif to the secret passageway. After unsealing the passage, Woljif would fall back and assist the frontal assault, though likely from a relatively safe distance. The six who made it through the passage would then need to reach the top of the Garrison as quickly as possible and do whatever they could to stop Minagho's plot to weaponize the wardstone.   The party turned in for the night after the planning concluded to get some rest before the assault. Before Hilda could head to bed, Sylvia pulled her aside and inquired about how her apprenticeship underneath her new master was going to work, and what kind of mage Hilda wanted her to be.   Hilda encouraged Sylvia to try many different kinds of magic for all sorts of purposes - throwing things at the metaphorical wall and seeing what stuck, so to speak. She believed that Sylvia, who was already trained in a variety of magical basics, would be able to find something that stood out to her if she did so. Sylvia took this advice to heart and promised to examine what appealed to her about magic in hopes of finding an answer. Since she was staying behind for the attack on the Gray Garrison, she had a decent opportunity to do so before HIlda's return.   Morning arrived, and the defenders of Kenabres marshaled their forces to make the advance on the Gray Garrison. Hulrun was accompanied by Commander Irabeth, and the force included figures that the party had either met, rescued or recruited: Wenduag, Haliel, Erodel, Staunton, Rekarth, Sendri, and others stood tall against the demons before them.   As Prelate Hulrun stood firm and led the attack against the garrison's demonic occupiers, the party followed Woljif to the hidden passageway's entrance. After dispelling some minor magical wards and pressing in bricks in a precise order, the passageway opened, and Woljif went to rejoin Hulrun's force. He figured that even with the conflict raging outside the garrison, anything would be better than charging right into the den of the beast.   The party made their way through the sparsely populated Gray Garrison, encountering a few of the remaining demonic defenders; they slew a deadly shoosuva and survived an ambush by an insidious alkilith on the first floor, and then encountered a succubus on the second floor. The succubus had enthralled a squad of six crusaders and impersonated the goddess Muir, bathing in their misguided adoration.   So badly enchanted by the succubus were the crusaders that one of them confessed to looking upon his 'goddess' with impure thoughts in his mind, and when prompted to punish himself, the crusader willingly blinded himself by jabbing his own eyeballs out. The party intervened to put a stop to the succubus' heretical deception, and her followers rushed to her aid as she slipped into the ethereal plane.   The party clashed with the enthralled crusaders, who were too far gone to break out of the succubus' spell. Although still strong and able crusaders, they were not able to hold their own against the party. The succubus returned to the physical world just in time to watch her minions be cut down, and Elseth put her down soon after.   Seeking a way forward to the top of the Gray Garrison where the wardstone resided, the party investigated the second floor. In one room they found a small library that had been ransacked and even partially scorched. Believing this room to be rather unimportant, the party was soon surprised as a figure began to magically arise from the deep shadows within. A woman with the features of a succubus, but the piercing gaze of a powerful spellcaster, made herself known and greeted the party. When asked for her name, the witch confirmed what some of the party already expected; she was none other than Areelu Vorlesh, the Sarkorian witch also known as the Betrayer of Humanity and the Architect of the Worldwound.   Hearing Areelu's name provoked Ulbrig, who remembered her as a dangerous witch that had been imprisoned in the Sarkorian fortress of Threshold for her crimes in his time. As he made himself ready to fight, Areelu dismissed him with a simple wave of the hand, expelling him to a pocket dimension with the slightest effort.   Areelu probed the party with questions that conveyed that she knew far more about the situation than they did, and seemed to encourage them to think introspectively. She was especially curious to know what they thought about the strange powers that were emerging within them; Elseth's transformation into an avenger of the heavens, Satomi's ability to subtly influence the fabric of reality, Alanis' acceptance of the eternity of undeath, and Hilda's rejection of her demonic heritage in favor of suffusing her body with the arcane.   All of these burgeoning 'gifts', by Areelu's appraisal, held a secret that put the four survivors of Clydwell Plaza above other mortals. She was curious to know what they would do with them as they fought against the demons.   The party was understandably distrustful of Areelu, given her legendary infamy and the crimes she had committed by opening the Worldwound two centuries ago. Elseth in particular was quite hostile, though Areelu stated that the two of them were more alike than Elseth knew or would care to admit. However, she seemed to not be concerned with the demons that she was known to be allied to, going so far as to reveal Minagho's plan with the wardstone in direct opposition to their goals.   According to Areelu, the wardstones were all connected to each other, thus forming the 'fence' of light that protected the borders of Mendev and contained the spread of the Worldwound. This function was a blessing and a curse alike, for Minagho intended to further corrupt the damaged wardstone of Kenabres then spread the corruption to the other wardstones via the links that they shared. This would cause each of the wardstones to erupt into cataclysmic explosions one after another, effectively erasing the kingdom of Mendev in mere moments and removing the only barrier keeping the Worldwound demons from pouring out into the rest of Lloegyr.   Areelu understood the party's mistrust and even welcomed it. Seelah remained quiet but kept a hand on her blade, knowing that she was no match for the witch but not wishing to accept her as an ally either. However, Satomi seemed rather intrigued by how forthright Areelu was, even with the possibility of her speaking only lies, and was interested in how much Areelu knew about the 'gifts' that had arisen within them throughout their efforts in Kenabres.   Before departing, Areelu offered the party a tool; a chisel carved out of violet crystal, appropriately sized to function as a dagger. She gently tossed the Nahyndrian Chisel over to the party, and it was caught by Satomi. As her parting words, Areelu encouraged the party to have Hilda identify the chisel, and also asked them to consider something; the wardstones were a gift from the heavens themselves, but such power does not come from nothing. What exactly made the wardstones as powerful as they were, and what did the heavens sacrifice to create them? With those questions posed, Areelu disappeared as quickly as she had appeared.   A confused Ulbrig reappeared soon after Areelu departed, and HIlda had already begun identifying the Nahyndrian Chisel. It seemed to be a powerful artifact designed to subdue magic and destroy enchanted items, and even rendered scrolls in its immediate vicinity blank and useless (much to Hilda's horror). The party considered the damaged wardstone above them, knowing just what was at stake if Minagho was able to complete her plan, and realized why Areelu had given them such a tool so freely.   With the dreaded witch's words still fresh in their minds, the party continued their search for a way up to the roof of the Gray Garrison, where the wardstone awaited, and where the destiny of Mendev would be decided.