You find yourselves today in feasting hall of Greathammer Bastion in the dwarven Sky Citadel of Kraggodan in Nirmathas, guests of Prince Gorm Greathammer. You, as great heroes of skill and renown, have been summoned urgently as there is a dire menace afoot that only your skills can prevent - or as you may think, just another day in your adventuring life. In your travels, you've heard rumors of armies of giants amassing under one banner under the rule of the Storm Tyrant and an imminent attack coming, but you've heard these same rumors for decades and the plans have never come to fruition. But this seems different, the level of concern genuine and palpable. So while you await the hear the grim news, as it is always grim, you enjoy a feast in your honor. Hopefully, it will not be your last meal....
Edlin enjoys his food and drink, toasting to the various warriors he knows and cracking jokes in dwarven.
He turns his attention to his erstwhile companion, Grymm, and raises his tankard.
"So, Grymm, its obvious there is some serious trouble afoot. If it were as simple as smacking it with an axe, I'm sure you could have worked your dwarven magic solo. Or perhaps some of these doughy warriors could have assisted. So, what sort of world-shattering evil is around to pull all of us together once more."
Wulfric tears into the offered roasted meats and fermented drinks with all the vigor of the nearby dwarves he towers over. He trades stories and laughs with those speaking in the common tongue and seems to have made fast friends with several of the locals. He takes note when the elf speaks to Grymm.
he's the one Grymm introduced me to before we started feasting... what was his name... Edwin... no, Edlin... he seems a decent enough fellow, for an elf... I'll have to ask how a dwarf and an elf came to be friends some day...
When the swordsman overhears the wizard's question his attention is suddenly fully on those two. He doesn't interrupt, but he moves closer to hear what the dwarven warrior has to say in response.
Grymm pauses at Edlin's question and closes his eyes, as if remembering a terrible memory. "I don't appreciate doughy....how about big-boned warriors? Yeah, we got plenty of those. I was leading a bunch of them actually until recently, inflicting our dwarven justice on the giants and their allies. Our search took us to the tomb of an undead frost giant witch, which held some secrets regarding the Storm Tyrant. My brothers invaded the tomb and we were confident, protected by our priest's positive energy protections against the touch of undeath. We wiped the floor with the tomb's guardians. Till the last chamber, her chamber. She attacked us with 10 spectres, but worse of all, she dispelled our magical protections, all except mine. My dwarven brothers all fell at the ghostly negative energy touch of the apparitions, which ignored their armor. I managed to cave in the undead witch's skull with my hammer." Grymm pauses to look down at his hammer, before continuing. "Without their leader, the spectres fell like flies. I gathered all the intel and documents I could fit in my pack and left that tomb...but not before my brothers rose as undead and I had to put them down as well too. So, I am the only survivor of that mission. I gave all my intel to the Prince here and his advisors. They're more skilled at deciphering the info than I ever could." Grymm pauses to take a drink from his mug. "Warriors like me in the Clan do not grow on trees. So I thought of the three of you, how we at one time or another worked well in the past. And I hoped you would travel here and at least listen to the grave situation we are in. And I am glad you trusted me and came. The Prince will be out any sec I am sure, so enjoy your meal. All they told me was something about a volcano and a fire giant military academy. I am sure they will have many more details." Grymm takes another drink from his mug and ponders the group's fate.
”Ten spectres? Are you sure you didn’t take a blow to the head and happened to see double or triple,” Uraisa teased the warrior. ”Someone should write a song about that, you know,” she said smiling toward the other two joining them at the table.
The cleric also helped herself to enjoy some of the delicacies of the feast. The goose seems particularly juicy and the wine flowed freely.
Almost on cue, a handsome dwarf surround by two dwarven advisors, two female and one male, enters the feasting hall. Everyone quickly remains quiet as a sign of respect. The dwarf quickly walks to the party's table. "May I join ye?" His advisors quickly move chairs for him to sit at the table with you.
The dwarf speaks, "I am Prince Gorm Greathammer. I, as you, was once an adventurer. I did so for the Pathfinder Society, if you can believe it. But duty called and now I am responsible for this Sky Citadel." He looks at Grymm and then at the rest of you. "Thank ye for coming, ye must be good friends of this lug. I know not how far ye traveled, but Kraggodan is close to nowhere, so it must have been quite a distance. I am sure at another point in time we could entertain each other with stories. But for now, let's get to heart of why you, all famous heroes in your own right, are needed here and now. Thramira, sis, why don't you take over?"
One of the female dwarves, she clad in plate armor, speaks. "I am the military commander of this facility and a chose one of Trudd. I don't know how aware you are of the troubles we've faced. There are plans underway to launch an invasion of giants from the Mindspin Mountains. The giant tribes have been coalesced under the Banner of the Storm Tyrant. Their forces push into Nimrithas and the fall of Skelt are concerning but not unexpected. But the swift conquest of Janderhoff in a mere three days is nearly impossible to believe. The defenders of the Sky Citadel were fully warned and had at least two months to prepare, and yet the giants and their allies easily overcame them. We believe that the Storm Tyrant has a new weapon in his arsenal, which was first deployed in Janderhoff. Yet there is even more dire news. The Storm Tyrant himself has not been seen in some time, leading us to believe he is preparing some sort of advantage which will swiftly win him the war."
She pauses to clear her throat, then continues:
"The documents gathered by Grymm at Skirgaard very much lead us to believe that the current war machine is being spearheaded by a fire giant monarch by the name of Tytarian Branderik. He has gathered several fire giant clans under the Storm Tyrant's banner and is a favored lieutenant. We believe he resides in the dormant volcano fortress of Ashpeak, west of here, which we believe they are using as a military academy to teach tactics and coordinate their attacks. We also believe Tytarian hosts the Storm Tyrant whilst he prepares whatever it is that he is working on. Eliminating Tytarian will be helpful in sowing discord and dismay in the giant ranks, but only until he is inevitably replaced. Instead, you must find and deal with whatever mechanism that has allowed the giants to so effortlessly overcome fortified positions. Then you must find the Storm Tyrant and kill him. Anything short of that is only prolonging the inevitable. The fate of Varisia hangs in the balance."
”I didn’t have that far to travel, Prince Greathammer,” Wulfric answers, “because I’ve been traveling the foothills taking out giant scouts and raiders. I’ve heard rumors someone was organizing them but I had no idea it was this bad.” The swordsman drains what drink remains in his mug and plants the cup firmly on the table before asking, “when do we leave?”
Grymm smiles, "While I share my companion's enthusiasm, any intel on our enemies would be helpful. This fire giant king, what do we know, if anything, about his allies? These normal run of the mill fire giants? I can't wait to break their kneecaps, but are we dealing with 50 giants or 300?
"Tytarian Branderik, huh? I don't immediately recognize that name, but that's not so surprising. Let's see if I can't shed some more light on the subject."
Edlin takes a beautiful silver mirror from his robes, setting it down on the table. He clears some more space around it and breathes in slowly. As he exhales, whispered words of arcane power in elvish seem to break up into sparkles of light, forming mists on the perfect surface of the mirror.
The mists quickly swirl away as the wizard peers down at his scrying focus.
”We will be sure to encounter more fire giants than we know what to do with....do any of you have a way to cast a spell that would shield us from some of the flames they wield? I can, but I’ll need to wait until tomorrow to ask for that particular blessing.”
Wulfric listens for the prince’s answer to Grymm’s clever question, but while he does he quietly informs the cleric, “I never learned any magic—usually I protect myself by trying not to get hit—but I am pretty handy with scrolls and wands if they happen to have we can bring with us.”
Uraisa she said, right, what an interesting name... and a pretty face... I hope the giants aren’t too much for her...
The other advisor, a black-haired dwarf dressed in robes wearing a circlet, speaks, as Edlin takes out the fancy silver mirror. "I am Karburtin, the citadel's resident mage. Before you waste your spell, Master Edlin, perhaps you should hear us out before you try to scry on Tytarian. We've tried many times without success. I have studied this matter at length and can postulate a theory that explains the difficulty with scrying on the academy and the giants' new offensive tactics of penetrating city defenses. I surmise that the giants' base in Ashpeak is no longer on our Plane. I believe the academy is now actually on Hyrrfellhame, in Maleboge, the sixth layer of Hell. That also happens to be the domain of Zursvaater, the father of the fire giants. It appears the Prince of Steel, as their god is known, is actively supporting the fire giants' endeavors. That's a scary thought, but it explains how the giants are taking settlements within days - they are plane shifting directly in and catching its defenders unware. True, I have no facts to support my theory, but it fits the facts."
The Prince interrupts and looks at Wulfric, raising his bushy eyebrows, "Still excited to take a trip to Hell? Oh and that's not the worse part. Tell him the other part of your theory, Karburtin." The dwarf mage shrugs, "We believe this elite academy houses no more than 50 giants training to become elite commanders. However, since the academy is in Hell, I postulate that the fire giants have adapted to the environment and how shall I say it? Become fiendish in nature, shall we say. It's brilliant if you think about it. Their most glaring weakness, their inability to see in the dark, and our greatest dwarven advantage...now gone! With a fiendish nature, they can see perfectly in the dark, as we can. And I am sure they're much tougher too with natural resistances. That makes these giants a handful. Add teleportation magic and every settlement on Varisia is in danger if these giants' plans are not stopped. We need your help now more than ever. I am sure our citadel is seen as a threat and will be next on the list to be attacked. Those are my thoughts."
"Well, that certainly puts things into perspective. Thanks for letting us know, I guess I've grown a bit soft in my ways, been too long out of the field. Do we know if there is a planar gate to this Ashpeak somewhere, or will it require a plane shift to get there, brute force style?"
Edlin stows his mirror and attentively listens to the mages, memorizing the pertinent details as he hears them.
”That sure is .. something all right. Super elite fiendish fire giants, led by a storm giant? Whew. Not asking much of us, are you guys,” Uraisa laughs, a bit intimidated by the details of the mission.
Grymm looks concerned with the news. ”Never been to hell. So we have to worry about fire protections, planar protections, and vision issues. I can see in the dark and so can our enemies. What about the rest of you?”
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Wulfric starts laughing.
"Well, maybe I should have thrown in with one of the gods," he remarks half-jokingly, "is it too late to take the vows of a paladin now? I bet those powers would come in handy!"
The swordsman pours himself another drink, with a grim chuckle, and downs half of it in a single gulp before continuing, "I wouldn't say I'm excited about going to one of the hells, Prince, no... but if your advisor is even half right then it clearly needs doing. I can see better in moonlight or torchlight than most of my kind, but if there's no light at all I'll be in trouble. And Grymm's right... if we're going into the hells we're going to need protections against the fire and whatever else the plane will throw at us. Any chance you've got a stash of wands or scrolls to help us with that?"
”My eyes are no worse or better than anyone else’s for a human. Which is to say, compared to our Elven and Dwarven friends, not great, I’m afraid.”
”Uraisa, a powerful priestess like you surely has magic that could help you see in the dark, right?”
”There are such Magics that exist, but generally the duration won’t be as long as we would like, in a perfect world. Or even in a decent world. Neither of which hell is, Id expect!”
"I can see in dim light like most elves, probably with better clarity and sharpness than most, to be honest. I also have a spell that will give me the darklands sight of a drow, but only for a couple of hours per casting. I do have the one prepared, but that would limit my time effective in the dark. Simple lights and dancing lights are easy enough to conjure, of course."
to know about fire giants (or King Tytarian specifically?)
to know about Hell.
to know about fiendish creatures.
"Well, that certainly puts things into perspective. Thanks for letting us know, I guess I've grown a bit soft in my ways, been too long out of the field. Do we know if there is a planar gate to this Ashpeak somewhere, or will it require a plane shift to get there, brute force style?"
Edlin stows his mirror and attentively listens to the mages, memorizing the pertinent details as he hears them.
Karburtin reaches into his robe and pulls out a forked metal rod. "In anticipation of your travel, we have attuned this rod to Maleboge and you should appear within 10 miles, give or take a mile, of Ashpeak. I am sorry, but that this the best approximation we could up with in such short time."
"I can see in dim light like most elves, probably with better clarity and sharpness than most, to be honest. I also have a spell that will give me the darklands sight of a drow, but only for a couple of hours per casting. I do have the one prepared, but that would limit my time effective in the dark. Simple lights and dancing lights are easy enough to conjure, of course."
[Dice=Kn(local)]1d20+24 to know about fire giants (or King Tytarian specifically?)
[Dice=Kn(planes)]1d20+24 to know about Hell.
[Dice=Kn(planes)]1d20+24 to know about fiendish creatures.
Grymm laughs sarcastically, "What's a ten-mile run? Just a hop and a skip from giant central." Grymm looks at his friends seated at the table. "I hope you're all still on board. We've got to stop the Storm Tyrant, Tytarian, and anyone else. Plane-shifting giant armies is a scary thought. Our success depends on preparation. Need darkvision and fire resistance. Another thing, we're all mortals and get tired and need to rest, especially the casters. I doubt we're going to be able to do inside their HQ and worse to do so outside in Hell itself. We may need to rest in dimensional spaces. Hopefully, Edlin, you will be able to help with that. Also, perhaps some mending spells in case our weapons or armor get sundered?"
Grymm finishes his drink, "Prince, what you propose of us is a tall task but manageable I believe. I am confident in my companions. Is there any assistance you could provide, as Wulfric stated previously? Scrolls, wands of healing to alleviate Uraisa's healing burden, etc. Any help would be appreciated."
Wulfric drains the remainder of his refilled mug as he awaits the prince’s response with Grymm.
if we die in the hells do our souls still go on to where they belong or will they be trapped there, I wonder...
"I can teleport around fairly easily, and certainly have a spell to create comfortable lodgings behind enemy lines. I do not, unfortunately, have planar shifting magic in my grimoire. I imagine our goodly priestess could pray for such a spell, though. As for resistance to the elements and protections from physical harm, yes, yes I have such spells. It would mean we set out tomorrow a the earliest, since I will need to prepare a new array of magic to handle the specific needs."
The Prince nods, "So be it. The realm thanks you accepting the mission. The stakes are high, don't let us down." He looks to his advisors and they lay down the following items before you on the table:
well, if we do fail we won’t be around for people to be disappointed with...
A brief, grim, chuckle escapes from Wulfric before he nods appreciatively at the pile of scrolls and wands and replies, “thank you for your support, Prince. I think I probably speak for all of us when I say that we wouldn’t take on a quest like this half-heartedly... we’ll do everything we can for Kraggodan and for Golarion.”
"Excellent, excellent. If we would like to sacrifice one of these plane shift scrolls and one of the make whole scrolls, I can scribe them and have them prepared going forward. That way, we could have a spare exit spell, and both Uraisa and I could have a planar travel spell prepared."
Edlin looks over the scrolls and at the prince before turning to his fellow adventurers. He nods, his smile briefly leaving his face for a more somber expression.
"If you have family or other entanglements, I would suggest making your arrangements. This is going to be a very dangerous expedition."
"I always like to make an entanglement before heading out on dangerous missions," Wulfric responds while scanning the room to evaluate the availability of human, elven, or especially tall dwarven women, "but that shouldn't require too much extra time saying goodbye in the morning."
””Probably a wise thought, Edlin. Both of us being able to have that getaway spell ready is clever. Hopefully, we won’t need it, but just in case....”
"I always like to make an entanglement before heading out on dangerous missions," Wulfric responds while scanning the room to evaluate the availability of human, elven, or especially tall dwarven women, "but that shouldn't require too much extra time saying goodbye in the morning."
The Prince's eyes narrow. "Perhaps other citadels cater to a more decadent needs, but Kraggodan. Now, if you save the day, arrangements can be made... The Prince smiles. "Please feel free to rest and prepare tonight - we have quarters set up for all of you. If you have any question, my military and arcane leaders are at your disposal." The Prince bows and departs.
”Oh, no, Prince!” Wulfric blurts out, “I wasn’t, I mean, I didn’t mean for you to provide me with a woman... I just... I was thinking I might do a little flirting and see if there were any women here who wanted to do a little entangling with me before we leave...” The swordsman’s shame quickly passes once the prince leaves, and he returns to feasting and drinking, and flirting.
"If you will excuse me, I have some work to do. I shall be resdy for exploring Hell in the morning."
Edlin takes the plane shift scroll and heads to his quarters, where he spends the next eight hours bent over a desk decoding and then scribing the spell.
"Good night, Edlin." Grymm looks at the rest of the party. "He sure must be fun at parties.." After a laugh, "Enjoy the the rest of your day. Who knows what the future holds..." Grymm spends the rest of the night chatting and playing cards with his dwarven brethren.
”Oh, no, Prince!” Wulfric blurts out, “I wasn’t, I mean, I didn’t mean for you to provide me with a woman... I just... I was thinking I might do a little flirting and see if there were any women here who wanted to do a little entangling with me before we leave...” The swordsman’s shame quickly passes once the prince leaves, and he returns to feasting and drinking, and flirting.
Wulfric's silver tongue makes sure he is never alone and he finds accompaniment for the night, if that is his goal.
In the morning, after breakfast, the Prince and his advisors greet you. "We will hold down the citadel, as we are sure that we are next on the giants' hit list. Our soldiers are prepared best they can for the teleporting giants. Our hopes lie with you four. Do not let us down." After Thramira's blessing in the name of Grudd and Torag, the dwarves bid you farewell as they await for the party to cast the magic that will send you to Hell.
"If you are all ready, I can bring us into Hell. Unless Uraisa would prefer? Either way is fine by me."
A shimmering field of force makes Edlin's outline appear just slightly off, like the heat waves coming off a mirage in the desert. A breeze also wafts under his robe and cloak, blowing the hems and fluttering the edge of his wide-brimmed hat.
Wulfric rises in the morning and untangles himself from his lovely company. He does a few stretches and a sword drill to wake up his body and prepare it for the challenges to come, then gets dressed, says goodbye, and heads to the hall for breakfast. Once his belly is full, he makes certain all of his gear is properly stowed and ready to go then informs his companions, "I suppose I'm as ready as I'm going to be."
Uraisa asked for a couple different blessings in the morning, focusing less on her summoning spells, and indeed received and cast Heroes Feast and Mass Planar adaptation as the group headed out. To Hell.
Everyone enjoys the 1-hour breakfast meal summoned by Uraisa's divine power.
Grymm gets down one one knee before his leader, "My Prince, I will not let you down. Those giants will pay for their attack on Janderhoff and our brethren. This I swear it." He stands, gives the Prince and his advisors warrior handshakes and then joins up with his companions. Warhammer in hand, he smiles and nods that he is ready.
Edlon takes out the tuning fork as provided, then directs everyone to stand in a circle.
"Okay, hold hands, and remain calm. Once the spell completes, we will be in a completely different plane of existence. Urania, if you're ready with that planar spell, Wulfric and Grymm, I would suggest being armed and ready to go. No telling just what awaits us on the other side."
Once everyone is ready, Edlin casts plane shift and sends the party to Hell.
Uraisa casts her spell and you leave the dwarves and the mountain citadel of Kraggodan behind. When you gather your senses again, you find it is dark (, even though you know it is about 9:00 am. Cries and moans, you imagine of tortured souls, fill the air. The equivalent of the sky is red and black in tone all around you, with clouds of hellfire dotting the landscape. The air is tough to breathe, were it not for the protective spell that covers you. The ground is barren and looks scorched. You find yourselves at the edge of a dark picturesque forest, with a valley before you leading to a mountain. Ash falls relentlessly upon you like snow, allegedly one flake for every violent death suffered upon the mortal plane. The scene is beautiful yet grim, the charred “snow” coating the trees of the dense forest and the mountain peak.
Scene without mountain
Thanks to Uraisa's protective spell, you suffer no ill effects from the environment, which is surprisingly cold ( and harsh. You feel no wind, thankfully. The tuning fork that served as the focus for the plane shift spell seems to point east toward the mountain. In the distance, north and south, large creatures with wings circle in the air...perhaps hunting or scouting. At this distance, you cannot make out any features to determine the nature of the creatures, other than their huge size. You quickly realize that this is not a place should delay if you wish to survive.
At Edlin's prompting, Wulfric draws his sword muttering, "strike true, Himmelsklyv."
As he regains his bearings after their entry to the hells, he grits his teeth and surveys their surroundings. "Stay close," he encourages Edlin and Uraisa while eyeing the unknown devils. He hesitates just a moment to allow others to cast additional spells if necessary and then begins to move towards the mountain at a pace that Grymm can match.
Grymm catches his bearings, amazed at the priestess' magic. When they re-appear: "Whoaaa....Definitely not on Golarion anymore. Can everyone see?" Grymm scans the surroundings with his darkvision. "We must not dally, mates. Anything around here will eat us."
"Seems reasonable. When we get closer, I have a spellnthat should make people pay us no mind. Its not quite invisibility, but similar. They just won't care that we're there, like nobles ignoring servants or rich patrons ignoring the wait staff at a restaurant."
Edlin floats just above the ground, keeping in close proximity to the rest of the team.
Uraisa did not cast any additional magic just yet, preferring to save her spells to await the group when the fighting no doubt broke out. ”I don’t think we are in Kansas Golarion anymore.”
The party rushes east toward the mountain range, passing through a valley of destroyed rubble, fortifications, and buildings. Your eyes are on alert as you know there are dangers all over the place. Uraisa's planar adaptation keeps your senses sharp despite the unforgiving environment and constant ash falling.
In your first hour of travel, you move 3 miles, as you are unfamiliar with the territory. At times, you hide, per Grymm's Survival skill, when a troop of 10 bone devils or other threat, come too close for comfort.
In your second hour of travel, you move another 1.5 miles, when you hear clattering sounds of metal coming toward you from about 100' up ahead behind some destroyed buildings. You focus to see through the light, but only Grymm with his darkvision sees details and what looks like four infernal knights wielding tridents, their lower bodies comprised of metallic spider legs, combing through the rubble. They have not noticed you yet.
"An attack is likely to slow us down, and possibly injure or kill one of us. Can we bypass them? I have some illusion spells that may create a distraction, what say you all?"