The Forgotten God (Table 5)

Game Master Rednal

As your healing energies reached out, they abruptly fizzled, unable to reach the Wizard. He winced again. "Side-effect... of the wards." he explained. "It'll take me... a bit to... undo. I'll be fine, though. Always plan your... contingencies. While you were waiting, I spoke to a... comrade who lives... on Axis about the gems. She confirmed... what you said — she told me they... are dangerous and need to be returned... as quickly as... possible, and I was slowly taking down my wards when those thieves arrived. I’m hurt, but I’m still... strong enough to help you somewhat."

He propped himself on an elbow, pulled a crystal device from a pocket, and used it to create a portal, showing a blurry cityscape beyond.

"You wanted those... gems returned, but now they’re gone and I’m not sure where. If you want them back, step... through this and speak... to Torleinn in Axis. If she says this is important, it is. Hurry... the trail gets fainter the longer you wait."

Life Sphere Recharge Time: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

"Very well. Your assistance is appreciated." Khandescus either didn't know or didn't want to reveal the identities of his attackers, and time was of the essence right now, so Astoroth simply stepped through the portal.

Going by his tone, he simply didn't know - and seemed more than slightly offended that they'd been able to jump him as they had.

Stepping through the portal, your senses are assaulted by the sounds of a bustling city even larger than Sothis - although up above, the 'sky' is no more than a rough-hewn alleyway. The alleyway you're in is dark, but that does little to explain the sudden crawling of your skin, as if the very world itself is reflexively trying to pull away from you. As the portal closed, a woman came up, lowering her hood as she did so to reveal distinctly Chelish features. Her hands were out in front of her a moment later, empty, in what looked like a gesture of goodwill.

"That was one of Khandescus' portals." she said - no question in her words. "I'm his contact here in the city, Torleinn - what's going on here?"

Ah, Axis. It had been quite some time since he was last here, but he still remembered the stifling sense of pure Lawfulness. There was nothing wrong with laws; in moderation, they were wonderful things that had many benefits. But when taken to extremes (like here), they became shackles that stifled innovation and creativity.

"Soul gems," he replied briefly. "Khandescus was attacked while he was removing the wards he'd put up, and the resulting explosion scattered them. He told me to find you."

"Oh. Well, @#$%." she said. "The Keepers are frantic to recover those - seriously, I've never seen them act on anything so quickly before. It's a little scary. I'm not going to get directly involved with that myself, but I can let you use my house as a base of operations. This is the home of the Reaper of Reputations, but it's not so bad if you stay on the main streets and don't call attention to yourself. That might be good for a favor or two from the Keepers later. I can show you the way topside, too."

...Well, that explained the crawling feeling on your skin. Norgorber was only one step away from you in alignment, but his emphasis on secrets made him a natural foe of yours, a shadow that hid (and hid very well indeed) whenever you tried to find out more. As a god in his own right, he'd actually been able to enforce that, and others had cautioned you against directly pitting your powers of knowledge-seeking against his powers of secrets. Bad Things tended to happen when two outright opposing powers clashed, requiring you to resort to more... mundane... techniques. Unsurprisingly, those hadn't borne any fruit.

Incidentally, since you are indeed in Axis, you take a –2 circumstance penalty on all Intelligence-, Wisdom-, and Charisma-based checks as long as you're here. o wo/ Note that and include it with your rolls.

Astoroth nodded in thanks. "That would be appreciated. Can you give me any information about what's going on? I was only told to retrieve some stolen soul gems and had no idea that something like this could happen."

"Honestly, I wish I knew." Torleinn said, shaking her head in bemusement. "I know the gems came from Pharasma's Spire somewhere, and they're more than just rocks with souls in them. I mean, Her Psychopomps would still go get them back, but they wouldn't have freaked the way they did if it was that simple. I mean, they've seen every personality, heard every story a thousand times over. Surprise... isn't really their thing. Whatever those gems are, they're a lot more important than Khandescus and I thought. One of the Keepers is up top right now - if anybody can help you retrieve them, they can."

"Then, it seems that speaking to this Keeper should be my first course of action."

Torleinn nodded and gave you directions, heading up one of the main roads and through a tunnel.

Emerging from the dark tunnel into the light, the omnipresent golden shimmer and white marble are momentarily blinding. High above looms the Great Spire of Pharasma, and beyond that is the ominous moon Groetus. The crowded boulevard is straighter than an arrow, and its buildings exude an aura of whitewashed perfection. Marring this perfection is a polluted and oily river coiling around the base of the Spire, in which disturbing shapes twist and form before being sucked back under by strange eddies. A hovering, intricately carved bridge of gold and lead wire spans the river, and at the base of it stands a female figure in ebony-black robes chased with blood-red trim, her face marked with the symbol of Pharasma. The woman’s eyes are intense and ageless, and with a single gesture, she beckoned you forward.

Astoroth's current proximity to Pharasma's Spire gave him a moment's pause, but he knew that following the instruction was in his best interest at the moment. The sooner he could leave this place, the better.

Approaching as instructed but will remain silent until she speaks.

"Taibhill sent you." the black-robed woman said calmly, clearly not bothering to explain how she knew. Her hand glowed, and she reached into a space behind the air and removed a scroll, which she extended outward towards you. Unrolling it, you noted that it looked like a map of sorts (although with reference points that weren't at all clear to you) - two locations were crisply marked with gem symbols, while a third was blurry and indistinct. "I am one of the Keepers. This map is part of our security methods - touch one of the gems on it and concentrate, and it will open a portal close to the gem. It may not be instant - sometimes the magic takes a little time to search the planes. Touch the gem to its place on the map and another portal will return you here to Axis. I am aware of Inebni Andebar's offer to you, and rest assured that it will be honored. The retrieval must be swift - the longer each Gem is outside of the Vault, the more dangerous it becomes. Someone is using magic to obscure the location third, so you will have to retrieve it last - when you have the other two, the map will no longer need to track them and can focus all its energy. Mortal magic will not be able to stand against it." She paused for a few moments. "...Do you have any other questions?"

"What is the purpose of the gems, and are there anything I should be aware of when dealing with them? They're clearly of great importance."

"All you need to know is that they must be returned safely, and soon. The rest has no relevance to your task - nor the payment you were offered." the Keeper answered. Her voice was calm, but you could tell she was deliberately refusing to answer your question. That said, you couldn't sense any maliciousness from her - rather, it seemed likely that she had a reason to keep things secret and had no intention of discussing the subject.

"Very well." While Astoroth felt the almost-palpable NEED to know what was being omitted, he also very strongly believed in an individual's freedom to keep secrets if they truly believed it necessary. Plus, from a more pragmatic standpoint, it would be unwise to push one of Pharasma's servants too hard - especially this close to her domain.

All things being equal, I'll select the leftmost gem first.

The teleportation from the Keeper’s map is momentarily disorienting. Reality twists itself back to normal, revealing a whirling, crazy sky, a shifting kaleidoscope of nauseating, viscous colors that exude malice. The scene is a dusty, barren plain dotted here and there with thorny trees shaped from the groaning souls of petitioners. A light breeze moans by, kicking up some of the dust, revealing for a moment a buried head, eyes still open, before the dirt covers it over again. Across the plain this repeats—small puffs of dust and the barest glint of skin, revealing suffering souls bound into the very earth. An oily black bend of a river passes nearby.

Up ahead is a palisaded town on a hill, its outer wall made of thorn-covered logs. The buildings within are covered in thorns and spikes, built from the same wood and covered with a thick layer of dried mud. At the center of town, cresting the hill, is a small stone keep with a huge, gnarled tree. Demons fly to and fro over the town, sometimes alighting on the walls or the tree’s outer branches. The map seems clearer here, and seems to indicate that the gem you're looking for is in - or possibly just near - the big tree.

The Abyss is only mildly aligned - to both chaos and evil - and so it only imposes penalties on opposite alignments. You're neither, so you don't take any penalties here.

Demons universally reveled in destruction, but they weren't mindless beasts. They respected power. As such, it was in Astoroth's best interest to BE powerful. Here in the Abyss, doing to would be difficult, but attempting to skulk and sneak his way into this town would be disastrous if he was caught.

I'm going to openly head toward the town. My breeze-kissed trait is currently active in order to both keep dust off me and make my robes swirl dramatically.

Approaching the edge of the city, it wasn't long before you found a path heading inwards. Larger patrols flew past the walls every few minutes, with smaller patrols (mainly made up of quasits) at intermittent intervals. Standing by the gates was a large, bird-like demon - clearly a Vrock, and it eyed you for a moment. Then its voice - greasy and foul - seeped into your mind.

What's your business here, breeze-sucker?

"The acquisition of a particular item."

The Vrock stared at you for a few moments, then snorted slightly and waved you through. (Reputations for backstabbing and cruelty aside, it wasn't like they were incapable of behaving in a way most of reality would think was normal.)

The inside of the town was... not as endlessly violent as the Abyss tended to be portrayed everywhere else, actually. Doubtless there were actually places where endless bloodshed was the norm, but the first thing you saw here was a large market consisting of a crowded mess of tents, temporary shelters, and occasionally a tall wooden tower that creaked in the wind. Traders hawked wares that probably would have been illegal anywhere else - drugs, dangerous-looking weapons, and a surprising amount of what looked like day-to-day living supplies. A platform on the right was clearly a slave market, and the slaves didn't look terribly enthusiastic about their location. One seemed to be quietly reciting something under their breath (although given the lack of flashy effects, it didn't seem to be magic of any kind), while a bulky minotaur strained uselessly at his chains and occasionally endured some piece of trash being tossed his way. One of the owners beckoned to you, clearly inviting you to take a closer look.

The tree was a bit closer now, although the center of the town looked rather more fortified than the rest - you weren't likely to be able to get in there without some actual business, a good bluff, or an excellent way of sneaking around.

Ignoring the traders and slaves, Astoroth continued purposefully toward the center of town.

Moving forward, it's not long before you come to an area of denser buildings - there look to be inns, brothels, gambling houses, even gladiatorial pits where slaves (or guards, likely as not) are forced to fight it out. Every now and then, a pained cry comes from one of them. Several parts of this area have been torched and thoroughly destroyed, although the occasional flicker of movement suggests there are still squatters here. Ahead, you can see an area of solid, sturdy buildings - likely the homes of merchants and the like - and past that seems to be an open field before the tree in the center of town.

Astoroth had no interest in mundane vices and continued toward the central tree.

As you moved through the area, a rotund demon none-too-subtly bumped into you. Well, maybe 'rammed' was a more appropriate word - it wasn't hard enough to be an actual attack, but the shove was harder than strictly necessary, and you saw two other demons behind it looking rather amused.

"Haven't seen you around here before." the demon said bluntly. "And visitors don't usually come this way. What, do you think you're something special?"

Depending on how this scene plays out, I should probably remind you that I'm forewarned. Just in case things get violent. XD

The answer to the demon's question would surprise him, no doubt. Well, either that or cause it to attack the clearly-delusional Sylph. As neither of these outcomes were desired at the moment, Astoroth chose to ignore the question. "I'm running an errand for someone. Is that going to be a problem?"

"Depends on who that someone is." the demon said, clearly aiming to exert its authority. Like most of its kind, it clearly believed that might made right - which actually made them fairly easy to deal with if you were working with an authority they recognized. Of course, if you weren't... well, chaos and evil mixed together tended to like screwing people over just because it could.

"Yes, I suppose it does. A psychopomp. Unless you're in charge of this town, that's all the information you're getting. Now, do you wish to continue delaying me, or can I leave?" Astoroth's tone made it clear that he wasn't asking.

The demon just sneered. "The f***ing birds have no authority here. You're in our territory now, so you play by our rules - and I say you learn to recognize that instead of struttin' around like you own the place. Our Master doesn't like that kind of thing, see." In the distance, you could see a few other demons - including some guards - paying attention to your conversation.

"Then take me to your master. I'm sure the two of us can come to an understanding."

"And what's in it for me, huh?" the demon countered, not looking impressed by your offer. "You think he's got time to spend on every uppity little mortal that comes waltzing in? You obviously don't understand how things work around here, so here's a piece of advice - if you aren't making things worth people's time, you aren't welcome here. Now show me you deserve to be here or bugger off and don't come back."

I should have done this earlier, but what kind of Demon is he?
Know(planes): 1d20 + 20 + 1d6 ⇒ (11) + 20 + (3) = 34

It's a Balban, sometimes referred to as a 'Brute Demon'. They're fairly tough - damage reduction, spell resistance, and energy resistances - and are known to hit like freight trains. Demon Lords favor them as shock units for crushing heavily armored foes so the weaker demons behind them can swarm regular troops, and they're also used for breaking fortifications and other structures thanks to a particular affinity for breaking objects.

That's just rather more challenging than I'd thought. XD Didn't realize I was dealing with multiple Large creatures. Time for a strategy change.

Astoroth lets out a quiet sigh. Creatures this size weren't simply going to be intimidated away by a lone Sylph standing his ground. "As you wish. Let me level with you: my employer isn't paying me enough to start a fight in the middle of this place, and I'd rather not stay in the Abyss longer than necessary. I need to get to the tree in the center of town. What's it going to take for that to happen without unpleasantness? As you can clearly see, I'm not the best at subtlety."

Inspired Diplomacy: 1d20 + 20 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 20 + (1) = 23

...Neither were the demons, when you thought about it. One of the others spoke up a moment later. "You wanna get to the tree, you gotta go through the Keep. You wanna go through the Keep... you show up with business. Real business, not bulls***, unless you're looking for a beating. Don't try flying, either. They've got orders 'bout that."

"There's an item at the tree that I've been sent to acquire. Once I have it, I get to return to the Material Plane. I don't know exactly what said item looks like, but I've been informed that I'll know it when I see it. That, unfortunately, is all I was told. Psychopomps aren't particularly talkative."

"Really. And what does it look like?" The leader of the demons inquired, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.

"As I just stated, I don't know exactly."

Sharp intellects weren't a strong suit among certain types of demons - these included, apparently. "So you want us to let you past the Keep, to take an unknown item you don't understand away, without even compensating us." the demon mused slowly - although you got the sense that he may have known more than he was letting on. "I'm just going to call that one a 'No'. Why don't you just run back to the birds and apologize for your failure? Shame for you, but you're not gettin' in."

"Or I could provide you adequate compensation so that I can stop wasting time and go about my business. That way we both win."

The demon just raised an eyebrow - clearly, it wasn't above being bribed, but the lack of actually making an offer didn't seem to be impressing it. Demons tended to have minimal amounts of patience to begin with, and even less when they considered themselves to be in a position of strength.

Sense Motive?: 1d20 + 22 + 1d6 ⇒ (13) + 22 + (5) = 40
What would be a reasonable amount to bribe them?

~330 GP. For future reference, and this'll hold true for other bribe-susceptible beings on the planes, I'm calculating it as 1% of what the Wealth By Level would be at a given creature's CR. Stronger beings tend to want more than lesser ones. XD

Pulling a few gems out of his pocket, he continues, "Unusual though it may sound, I do have a valid reason for being here, but I'd not been informed about the entrance fee. I believe this should be sufficient to cover the cost."

I'm offering gems worth a total of 350gp

The demon eyed you suspiciously for a moment, but snatched the gems from you and squinted at them for a moment, clearly appraising them. "...Good that you remembered the fee. Don't linger too long." the demon said gruffly. It nodded to its friends and they shuffled off, apparently quite satisfied with their extortion. That, or maybe they just liked glittery things. With demons, who really knew?

His obstacle bypassed, Astoroth continued toward the central tree.

Past the open grounds was one last issue - the base of the massive tree was surrounded by a fortified keep on all sides. You'd have to go through or around it somehow in order to reach the tree, and the frequent patrols suggested it would be no easy matter. Were this a human city, a little flight and invisibility probably would have done the job... but this was the Abyss, and those kinds of powers were among the least the demons were obviously prepared for. Regular patrols could be seen flying by, keeping watch over much of the area, and the entrances of the fortress were heavily guarded all on their own.

How likely are they to be prepared for burrowing opponents? My current plan is to turn into an earth elemental, but I don't want to be stranded while it's on cooldown, as it's my main escape option.

Moderately prepared. Also, via your map, you can tell that your goal is up in the tree somewhere - I believe burrowing goes through earth and stone, not wood, so that alone won't let you reach it. So it could get you closer... but won't get you all the way.

One more question: since Sylphs are Outsider (native), will my hat of disguise let me appear as a Demon?

Well, Disguise Self does say you can appear as another subtype... and both Native and Demon are Outsider subtypes. XD Seems legit to me.

Just making sure. :-)

Ducking into a shadowy alcove for a brief moment, Astoroth reemerges in the form of a Babau Demon. After making sure his transformation hadn't been observed, he casually walks to the closest fortress entrance.