The bubber continues his tale unhindered by anyone nearby, the bartender complains, ”Ghuntomas, please,” before leaving. You’re relatively alone with this obviously down on his luck Guvner. ”Ever-Changing Order,” he pronounces the title carefully, starting to sober up and speaking more clearly.
”What amazes me is that even those people who believe that Chaos can be ordered cannot admit that Order can be chaotic. How can people who study the Multiverse so closely be so terribly blind? My book was a treatise on how these forces are not opposed but work together. The alchemy verified it! My faction urged me to keep my findings quiet, but I published anyway without their help. I should have known they would bob me in the end. I had to flee Sigil and then the publisher declared that I was in breach of contract. As if I would be in breach.”
He continues, "Here in Blurophil, I have to remain, with no prospects my jink is gone. I had to pawn off what little equipment I was able to recover, I have nothing now. Nothing but this empty cup."
Tandyn and Cecily attack the demon with practiced righteousness and fury, ending its existence on this plane. Cecily can take a move action if she likes since she killed after first attack.
Dorek cuts through the final demon threatening the party on this tower, leaving a growing pool of burning blood to gather and drip from the parapet. He leaps from the parapet and begins to examine the catapult. He believes he can disable it without destroying the structure, so that it can be easily repaired later rather than rebuilt. Botting Dorek to move things along.
The cultists on Ahmose’s tower begin cutting through the sticky substance the kobold has covered them with. They will be free after another round of action.
Dorek plunges his gladius at the demon, cutting a minor wound in its furry hide. Hit and full damage.
The remaining brimorak facing Tandyn spits blood at the paladin, confident that he has dispelled his protections, the demon is correct. Tandyn takes 20 fire damage from boiling blood, he can make a reflex DC 17 to half the damage. The demon brays in triumph, perhaps unaware or uncaring for the baroness behind it.
Abyssal:
”Dispel their protections!”
The demon facing Dorek wisely steps back and stares at his opponent confident that the rogue’s weak sword thrusts are no threat.
Tandyn stares at the brimorak, never breaking his gaze as he throws Radiance again into the demon drawing scalding rivulets of blood again. It blinks first. Hit and 12 damage.
Nearby with a flurry of blows Cecily sees fear finally enter the demons eyes, but only for a short moment as she pummels them into a bloody pulp.
The unassuming and boring bartender brings over the requested ale and tea, imported from Sigil. They apologize for not having anything suitable for Jek to eat or sit on. He provides drinks to Xibalba and her companions for free as she plays a melody or sorrow and loss not heard here in ages. She’s surprised to hear one patron exclaim, ”The City of Brass right? It’s been a while since I’ve gone fire-wards.”You wanted to take 10 on that check, right?
As Rinika prowls the bar she finds a bubber with his head looking down into a cup filled with the cheap stuff. His sandy brown hair is long and unkempt as are his fingernails. He looks tired and he smells of alcohol and aged sweat. Rinika also notices a faded patch, a spiral handled dagger that’s being engulfed by streams of water, or something more abstract. She recognizes the symbol, it belongs to the Fraternity of Order, or derisively the Guvners. The faction is not subtle about their stated goals, though they state them dryly, the study of laws of the multiverse to gain power.
The man speaks in the slurred speech of someone who should be cut off, ”Sheeess intha dead-book. Aaan good riddance. Juss more trash. She even tried to bob old Deirdarth, Deirdarth Three-eye is the common name of the oracle you’ve heard about. Not thatit matteerss, he’s gone missin too.”
The bubber chuckles, ”Thass aight. He wass only good fer borrowin jink.”
When asked about the Twilight wall and the Iron Shadow he says, ”Dunno, sstoped carin about that sstuff afer those crossss-traderss took my book from me.”
The bartender looks at Rinika pleading, she gets the sense he’s about to tell a story that he’s repeated a million times to any sod who will listen to him.
The cultists don't see Ahmose coming, when he informs them that they were in fact already falling orders they default to, "Who the f#%& is that? What the f*#~ is that?"
Ahmose tries the door and finds that its been barred from the other side by someone on the inside. One of the cultist tries to find Ahmose and runs right into him, yelling, "Its right here!"
The four cultists abandon their posts to chase after the blurry blue blob attacking him.
Tandyn throws his weapon away and directly into the fire demon’s shoulder, the sword happily returns from its jaunt a moment later. Dorek slides his blade into his opponent’s gut, approximately where its kidney should be, and steam rises into the air just as blazing hot blood splatters onto Dorek and the ground.
Cecily, sensing that Dorek had things well in hand, bounds through the catapult with alarming alacrity. She leads with her fist in a devastating superwoman punch to the goat’s head. Magic flows through her fist, expecting the demon to be chilled and draining its energy away, but her magic is overwhelmed by the intense heat radiating off the demon. The fearsome display seems to have no effect on the brimorak as it squares up against her. Tandyn and Dorek hit with one attack and did full damage. Cecily hit, beat SR for frostbite but after resistance did no damage (including vulnerability). Demoralize failed.
The brimorak facing Ceciy wastes no time, quickly slashing its blade across her arm. Dorek has more luck and manages to avoid all the violence directed at him. Tandyn feels the hair on his neck and arms stand on end as the demon stares back at him.
Round 5 Brimorak(Red 13, Black 34, Blue 22) Ahmose <-------------
Thawm <-------------
Aroden <-------------
Cultists Dorek Tandyn Cecily
The party makes their way to the Twilight Wall district, a relatively easy walk for several blocks. When they round it they see, as advertised, the wall casts a long shadow over the district, except that the shadow extends beyond the wall in a straight line until it hits the edge of the metal disc this city is improbably built on. The effect is similar to that of dusk or dawn with the promise of light but no apparent source.
Once you enter the district you can tell this is the seedier part of town, where the lower class resides and where the cony catchers ply their trade. However, no one tries to bob you, either due to your own auras or the Iron Shadow’s.
You also notice that the wind still blows air across your face, refreshing as it was on the other side, but the direction is different.
While searching for the scene of Mearall’s death, you come across a tavern called The Looking Glass.
As Dorek disengages with the cultist it gets “lucky” as they trip while adjusting their footing on a loose stone. This simultaneously sends their scythe flying into Doreks back, cutting him and landing their face directly into Cecily’s incoming fist, the other one, knocking them down for the count. Hit and 9 damage. Cecily hit with 2nd attack.
The brimorak is ready for Dorek as he clambors up to the parapet and brings its flaming sword down on his head, causing blood to drain down his face and shoulders. Crit and confirmed for 10 damage
The brimoraks see the uselessness of their only remaining catapult crew and send a bead of fire off without regard for collateral damage, with the exception of the catapult. The tower explodes in overlapping spheres of fire, incinerating the cultists to ash, slightly singing Tandyn and not harming Cecily or Dorek at all. Tandyn needs to give me two reflex saves DC 15, success on them is no fire damage, failure on the first is 1 fire, 2nd is 6.
Ahmose, Aroden, and Thawm arrive at their destinations. Ahmose notes that the catapult he’s next to is nearly ready to fire. Looking behind him, Ahmose sees in the distance a melee at Southbank where your crusader army is engaging one of the armies there. The crusaders appear to have the advantage but the other army nearby is moving to flank.
Cecily nearly freezes one cultist to death and Dorek puts an end to their misery as he stab them with his sword, they collapse on the ground unconscious from hypothermia and bloodloss.
With the other towers secured the brimorak demons teleport onto the tower Tandyn, Cecily, and Dorek are fighting for. All of the cultists abandon their posts for the more immediate concern of getting stabbed in the face. Two fire on Tandyn but the bolts bounce off harmlessly. The third remaining comes within an inch of Cecily’s shoulder swinging their scythe downwards.
Map of the city is up, had to turn it sideways and censor some information which I will remove when relevant. You found out where the oracle lives during your investigations and you could visit them if you like.
Jek and Skee notice a ball of crumpled newspaper blow through the streets as you walk.
Gasping Strangler Chokes their Next Victim!" reads the headline.
The latest victim in the string of seven murders has been discovered in the Twilight district. Mearell, a local thug suspected in several muggings, has been found dead with heavy bruising on her throat. The Royal Guard has found no leads on the perpetrator but suspect the Gasping Strangler. Sorry I don't have the juice for a full newspaper article tonight.
The demon only bray's at Tandyn's complimentary comments before it falls dead as the paladin makes short work of the demon, proving what decent swordsmanship is worth. Hit twice after mythic and full damage, killing it.
In the distance and to the east, you hear the sounds of war drums.
One half of the team surrounds the bloody goat demon, cutting its flesh and spilling even more boiling blood on the party as its wounds spray. Tandyn and Dorek hit and both dealt full damage. No damage from boiling blood due to fire resistance.
The creature breathing becomes heavy and a churning cloud of smoke surrounds it, displacing the fresh air and stinging your nostrils. Dorek, Cecily, and Tandyn need to make DC 17 fort saves or become sickened by the smoke.This is a poison effect.
The demon brandishes its flaming sword against Tandyn smashing the business end into his armor, but the blade is deflected off harmlessly. At the same time the creature kicks back at Dorek with a hot hoof, but the rogue is far too quick and easily jumps back in time.
Aroden and Thawm will arrive at the tower base in 4 rounds. Ahmose will arrive at the top of the west tower in 4 rounds. I’m going to assume they are full moving until then.
Arriving at their destination almost instantly the trio of crusaders are momentarily disoriented at the change. A cultist catapult crew, managing to get to their stations in a short time, and the Brimorak are also surprised at their sudden arrival but they recover quicker.
The demon opens its mouth and along with a baleful bray, sprays steaming blood over Cecily and Tandyn but their magical protections stop any damage.
The four cultists draw and load crossbows, aiming them at the party.
There is a gather information check here but Rinika will accomplish it easily.
Rinika (and the party?) creep around the strange domed city and see that it is not abandoned, what inhabitants, universally humans, they observe are either in a stupor, clearly suffering from the Iron Shadow, or disgruntled at the failure of the festival. No one seems to know why. Some speculate that it's an illness while others think it's a curse. All the information is largely useless until she hears a woman complaining, ”I just don’t understand why the Oracle of Forgotten Night didn’t predict this!”
In addition to the normal gossip one finds, Rinika also overhears rumors about a serial killer nicknamed the Gasping Strangler. While it is a problem this development is seemingly unrelated to the Iron Shadow. The juicer bits of information:
The killer is called the Gasping Strangler because those that have got away say, the Strangler is always gasping as if out of breath.
The killer got their name because they steal the breath from his victims.
All the murdered victims were strangled.
The Gasping Strangler is a woman who preys exclusively on men.
The Strangler is a fiend from the Abyss.
All the victims of the Strangler have been human.
The authorities believe the killer to be a spellcaster, based on their ability to escape and hide themselves so well.
The victims’ possessions were not disturbed, proving that the slayings were not motivated by greed.
The Gasping Strangler is actually a group of killers, rather than one individual.
All the victims were killed in the Twilight’s Wall district.
All the victims were from the Twilight’s Wall district.
Aroden creates a magical sensor above the platform. He sees a brimorak demon, its goat head looks directly at him and brays in protest. Map updated for the tower tops.
A second later above that tower a fireball explodes and a frenzy of activity stirs as the armies inside the walls begin to stir and ready themselves for a fight. Another moment later the sensor sputters and fails, Aroden’s magic canceled by the demon as it intensely concentrates.
Rinika flies high and gets a view of the entire city, it is twenty blocks by ten with the wall bisecting it so that five blocks are on each side. On the far side of the 20ft high wall is a long shadow cast over half of the city. Looking back she can see no specific light source that causes the wall to cast such a shadow. Flying a bit higher Rinika bumps her head on something invisible, feeling around above her she’s able to determine that it is some kind of invisible dome. She’s unsure how far it extends without following it for a while.
The watchtowers are 60 feet tall built from stone and are joined by walls 40 feet tall. Each tower has a catapult capping it with a single figure guarding it; there are four intact towers.
The pair nods grimly and Azure answers before leaving, ”Not everyone is affected equally. And we don’t have an idea where it came from.”
When you pass through the doorway you’re deposited into an aviary or kennel, or some mix of the two. Within twenty or so cages is a strange mix of dog and bird, they possess a bird-like head with multifaceted eyes, and have feathery wings that sprout from their backs. When you enter they make a high-pitched sort of squawking and try to snap at you with their beaks, but the animals have no way to get to you through their cages.
When you exit the first thing you notice is the air is fresh, noticeably fresher than any plane or world you’ve visited, especially Sigil. The is ground made of some kind of dull metal. There are houses primarily made from stone and clay but scattered bits of wood exist. In the distance there is a 20 ft high wall obscuring your view further and in the other direction the city blocks suddenly end at a line of large windmills which churn lazily in a constant wind. Past the windmills and above is a boundless blue sky. The only thing marring the azure view is a single speck of some distant rock high above, levitating.
The city itself is or rather was set up for some sort of celebration, temporary outside dance floors go unused. Stalls set up for food or other goods are empty. All over are enclosed lanterns, unlit and some laying loose in the street. A few sullen people go about their business in a depressed fashion.
Ahmose spies a chimera in the distance goring its three heads on the aurochs Cecily was leading away. Cecily, invisibly, and giving the chimera a wide berth, sneaks away. Luckily for her it gives no indication of noticing her. She successfully retreats.
After a few moments of frenzied eating the beast takes to the air again and flies off to alight on one of the ruined towers of Drezen. A
The party has successfully prevented the demons plan to destroy the bridge. What do yo intend to do now? If you head back to your army it will be late morning.
After Aroden knocks the sorcerer down with a spell Ahmose and Tandyn savage the prone sorcerer, killing him quickly. With the last threat dealt with you have taken the bridge.
Loot:
potion of cure moderate wounds, 125gp, wand of dimension door (3 charges), 2000gp in diamond dust.
Ahmose tosses his bomb at what he thinks is the real sorcerer and it sails through the last image disrupting it. The bomb bounces off of the left wall and strikes directly at Tandyn’s feet bumping his shoe before exploding. The sorcerer jumps back a little and looks unharmed. Tandyn and Phoenix need to save vs Ahmose’s bombs. Ahmose did 0 damage after a successful save and resistances to the sorcerer.
Dorek slaughters the hapless tiefling confronting him with ease, ending their life.
The sorcerer rubbernecks between Tandyn and Ahmose and judges Ahmose the easier of the two. He closes the gap between him and the kobold, he pulls out a small speck of something dark and flings it past Tandyn and Phoenix. As it travels it bursts into fire and then explodes into a raging ball of fire once it reaches a spot between Aroden and everyone else. DC 17 reflex or 22 damage, save for half. Aroden, Phoenix, and Tandyn affected.
Cecily hears the flap of large wings behind her too late. A chimera with the heads of a white dragon, leopard, and black goat swoops in close to her and the aurochs. Two of its heads roar, while the third shrieks, Cecily can feel it in her chest. Turning around she’s just in time to see one auroch become frozen solid as the monstrosity swoops in close, breathing icicles into the poor cows. One only catches part of the blast and begins limping away. A half second later the chimera clamps on with the leopard and dragon head and rips the remaining auroch in half gobbling down chunks of auroch flesh greedily. Cecily could technically attack it if she wanted.
The winged cat begins vocalizing in a series of prangs, yowls, and vibrating purrs,
Tressym:
”Of course! I would not have taken her under my wing were she not pure of heart and intention.”
The cat rubs up against the woman affectionately and she returns the gesture by rubbing the side of his face with her hand. She relaxes a little at the assurances provided by Rinika and Jek and says softly, ”I apologize, I won’t provide you our names. You can never be too careful with names spoken from your own lips, call me Azure and this is Stink-butt. Sugar water? Arms?”
The cat hisses at the woman before snorting,
Tressym:
”A%#~~*!, you can disregard my prior statement. I’m obviously a bad judge of character.”
The elf chuckles and pets the winged cat. She motions behind her ”Blurophil, the city beyond, yes it has fallen ill. It has no life, no breath, no energy. I would stay away if I were you. If you were coming for the Festival of Lights, I’m sorry, even the greatest artisan of the city has lost all their spark and vitality. The greater the creator, the greater the loss. And thank you for the concern, but we will be fine.”
Aroden tries to dispel magic while Tandyn tries to charge the wicked sorcerer. Ahmose successfully taunts him. Cecily is blissfully unaware but still invisible.
Dorek finds himself face to face with a startled tiefling; meanwhile Ahmose completely obliterates another with a bomb. Door was already open. Thawm knocks another unconscious with a pair of magical missiles as she exits onto the bridge.
Stuck in a pincer, the sorcerer pulls out a thin metal rod with an emerald tip. He speaks the word, ”Artichoke,” and disappears to reappear down the hall only to find an insane kobold bomber waiting for him.
Would I pay for a GM service? No. Do I sometimes wish my players would throw me some money for the extra overhead I incur from having to purchase extra materials? Yes. Does it hurt me to have other people try to make money from it? No.
I have no issues with the linked post or others like it. Just so long as it doesn't overcrowd the non-professional recruitments.
Watch as a leaf falls from the tree outside your window. Watch as it flutters and flits, given temporary life and grace until it reaches the ground. What bestows this final blessing on the dying leaf?
The wind.
Nothing touched by the wind, by its tender caresses or its buffeting gales, ever remains the same. The wind brings change. It gives the birds the power of flight and washes the water back from the beach. The wind spreads the life-giving seeds of flowers and trees and gives motion to the tall grasses of the hill. At the heart of the wind, the realm of endless air stretches into infinity, a storehouse of potential that can give life and movement to all things.
If something exists that can take that power away from the wind itself, than that something is pure evil.
The party climbs up and down stairs, narrow steep stairs, wide and deep stairs seemingly made for giants, strange spirals that curl in weird seemingly impossible directions.
Then you come near to your goal, what the lillend described as the Place of Wind. The platforms and stairs surrounding it are seemingly made of colored glass. Though it is darkened you can clearly see below you, making you feel as though you could fall through at any moment.
The door on the platform appears to also be made of glass but is completely black on the other side causing a dark reflection of yourself to appear on its surface.
When you approach the door it opens before you can touch it. You hear a high pitched sort of squawking, like a number of large birds lay beyond. Through the door steps a elven woman with a blue tint to her skin and deep green hair, she wears a simple brown robe, and carries a staff with runes burned into the wood. A white cat with a pair of feathered wings sits perched on her shoulders.
Startled at your presence she assesses you warily.
The eagle, whose name is Phoenix, assaults the sorcerer causing three false images to be destroyed. Thawm is ready while Aroden and Dorek maneuver more. Cecily and her auroch friends go on an adventure.
Teala sounds like she’s tasting the words as she slowly pronounces them, ”Jangling Hiter.”
”Darling, the place, what the locals are like, maybe how’s their tea? It’s what the Planewalker’s Guild does, explore. While the Iron Shadow is a concern y’all are taking care of that, I’m sure it will be resolved sooner than later.”
Ahmose tosses a bag of sticky goo through the window putting spin on it and curving it expertly around a corner. A barely visible tiefling is struck despite her best attempts to dodge out of the way and is glued to the floor of the watchtower. The other tieflings continue their escape.
The sorcerer who Tandyn now realizes has a prominent hunch takes a tentative step backwards through the now open door. Having successfully done so, splays their hand outwards joined at the thumbs and sheets of fire roll into the watchtower. 13 fire damage reflex DC 15 for half for Tandyn and the Celestial eagle. I did not include any resistances.
Teala smiles at the pair warmly, ”Oh darling I’m from a little burg called Free From Want, it’s not too far from Release From Care, if you’ve ever been to that little corner of Amoria.”
She laughs and winks at Nik, ”Guess I just wanted a little more spice to life so here I am. The chant is that you need a spell key for some shadow magic.” she holds up what looks like a quartz crystal with a black cloud whirling on the inside.
”This right here is a shadow fiend that got trapped in a gem, poor little thing, something something the Demise. When you sling your spell, hold this and concentrate on hurting it, that will draw a little bit of its essence out and will fuel your spell. It should work anywhere on the planes.”
She begins to hand the shadow crystal over to the party and says, ”You can have it honey, just promise to tell me first what you find behind all those doors you’re visiting first. ”
This is a bit of a unique spell key, it has 27 charges. If you use it on a plane where shadow magic is not normally allowed you can cast the spell normally. Some magical conditions will bar it from working even there, probably like the quasi-elemental plane of radiance or the realm of a power that dislikes you. If you use it on a plane that shadow magic is normally allowed you don’t spend the spell slot instead. Now that you have the item, if you have the craft wondrous item feat you can make your own vessels to trap your own shadow fiends in if you like. I’ll determine cost if we ever get to that particular bridge.
Finally she says, ”I think Oriam has the rod you want.”He’ll sell it to you for the standard price, you’re also able to sell all your treasures and magic items normally.
A sudden eagle dispels one of the images on the sorcerer while Aroden and Dorek maneuver around the battlefield. The aurochs smell the air and follow Cecily, snapping at the air searching for their prey. While Cecily accomplished her goal of luring them away she feels that these particular animals are too clever and too mean to be influenced by her. Cecily can leave the combat at this point and lead them away, easily out pacing them with haste if she likes.
Ahmose flies high and finds that he cannot access the tower from this direction, at least he’s safe from crossbow bolts, perhaps. You’ll have to go around to one of the doors on either side of the bridge, or move to one of the open windows.
Tandyn advances further inward, foiled by a door.
Tandyn opens the door:
Tandyn sees a look of surprise on the Sorcerer’s face as the door opens with no one behind it.
Thawm sees one of the tieflings abandon their post as the bridge is nearly destroyed.
Cecily tries to woo the aurochs away from the bridge, they seem to be looking in her direction with interest.
Aroden’s spell flies unerringly towards the far auroch and puts the beast out of its misery. Meanwhile Cecily snaps a chain holding another Auroch back, the angry dragon monk is heartened that the potion did not immediately end. Dorek hacks the head off a third with three quick slices of his blade. In moments two of the animals are dead and a third is no longer attached to the bridge.
The remaining attached auroch pulls against its chain, perhaps motivated by the smells wafting through the air or startled by the sound of Ahmose’s bombs. It pulls its chains through the already weakened supports collapsing it. The bridge groans in protest but settles without collapsing.
The auroch near Cecily tastes the air with its nose and having located her bites down hard on her hand and tears a chunk of flesh before swallowing it. Hit and 11 damage to Cecily. All the aurochs are either free or dead.
The party finds someone in a nearly transparent tent surrounded by crystals that have been strung up by cords, chains, and thin leather strips. The aroma of the tent is slightly piney, and almost a mint tang, clearly coming from a number of potted shrubs bearing colorful flowers and green leaves. A woman sits with legs crossed in a lotus position, her skin is not one color but a multitude of bright stripes, almost like a repeating rainbow.
She opens her eyes, smiling warmly, and she bades you to enter in a light breathy voice, ”Welcome. I am Teala, Oriam has spoken of you at great length. It’s really nice to meet you all finally.”
Judicating Ahmose’s action. He moves twice and attacks once. That allows him to be where he is (just under the bridge) and attack with the actions he has.
Most of the party maneuvers around the battlefield for the most part unseen. Ahmose jealously targets the blueish chained beast, giving the creature third degree burns, as masses of flesh are charred and fill the area with a meaty tang. Somehow it still lives but only barely. All of the aurochs rouse from their positions startled at the sudden sound.
Ahmose feels like these are aurochs, cows and oxen can trace their lineage to these wild animals. These particular aurochs have been tainted by the worldwound and he feels like they wouldn’t mind eating him as retribution for all bovine kind. He academically notes the tough hide on the creatures might make some kind of cutting weapon to be most effective. DR 5/slahing
From the windows in the watchtowers Thawm can see confused tiefling faces. Three of them draw and load light crossbows, pointing them in the general direction of Ahmose. The fourth however, the one Tandyn is desperately opening doors to, casts a defensive spell and suddenly 7 exact copies of the sorcerer appear near him weaving in and out of his position as he moves.
The party ventures forward into Drezen’s ruins, trying to bypass the two armies stationed nearby. While the party is easily able to destroy any patrol that finds and confronts them directly they may have been spotted as they made their progress to the sole bridge spanning the Ahari riverbed.
Please tell me how you are avoiding notice and a relevant skill check or ability use, (stealth, disguise, invisibility, polymorph etc.) not going to run you against level 1 and 2 encounters but the result may have other implications if you are discovered.
Four watchtowers stand above bridge supports which are chained to feral aurochs, mutated by their time spent in the worldwound. Within one of the watchtowers are bored tiefling guards.
It's a DC 15 climb check to descend into the riverbed and it’s 20 feet down.
Oriam says, "Of course! Of course. Please rest, I'm sure I have extra blankets around here somewhere. And I'll need to get some cheese I think for dinner." The wizard begins to move about his tent making preparations for your stay.
Feel free to pursue any other preparations you think useful.
After your scouts return, 4 hours
Luckily neither Aron nor Anevia were harmed on their mission, their report is summarized below, with threats and objectives closest to your army presented first.
Paradise hill: A large amount of schir demons, about 100 strong, hold Paradise Hill, once a district of warehouses and food stores that sat atop the high ground east of the citadel. It appears the demons are now using the area as a prison for captured crusaders. Doing so will be difficult, the enemy is dug in and a number of former guildhouses have been converted to fortifications. The enemy here is led by a vulture-like demon. Mass combat
Planes 24:
This might be a Vrock demon. Standing at 8ft tall and weighing over 400 pounds these terrors of the Abyss embody rage and hatred common to that infinite realm with physical prowess to match. Unlike most demons these creatures are not vulnerable to cold iron weapons and their screech is able to stun even hardy warriors.
Southbank: A large number of tieflings and human cultists alike, approximately 400 people, are camped in Drezen’s southern district, and they’re guarding a large amount of what appears to be captured crusader gear. Mass combat
Ahari Bridge: While the rivers of Drezen are dry, their beds and the steep angled gulches still present a difficulty for mounted paladins to navigate. The only remaining bridge is guarded by feral looking beasts, which are chained to weakened supports. A marching army would cause the enemy to destroy the bridge but a sneak attack by a small strike force could kill the beasts before they are able to do so. Skirmish
Drezen Watchtowers: Citadel Drezen is surrounded by a wall and seven watchtowers; only four are functional currently. Each watchtower seems to be guarded by a few figures, and each is armed with a large catapult. Skirmish
Drezen Cemetery: There were sightings of large numbers of undead lurking in Drezen’s cemetery, particularly ghouls. The demons avoid this place but ghouls aren’t friendly to paladins either. Mass combat
Haunted Vault: The largest vault in the cemetery seems to be surrounded by eerie shadows, as if some vile magic were at work within. Skirmish
Paradise Hill, Southbank, and Drezen Cemetery are mass combats, while Ahari Bridge, Watch Towers, and Haunted Vault are PC level encounters. You technically can attempt these in any order but there may be unintended consequences if you don’t consider the layout of the city and the threats nearby when attempting one. An obvious example, marching your army to deal with the ghoul army in the Cemetery before dealing with the army in Southbank, likely means you’re marching right into the Southbank army first anyway.
Derm pats Rinika on her head with a massive hand, ”Derm find better foods, then go krumpin’. Can smell half-man's blood.”
His head swivels taking in all of the stairs and platforms before him, ”Thankies fur-ball.”
With a stomp of heavy feet the hill giant leaves you, he dimly considers which stairs to take, finally resolving to take the largest set, and in the opposite direction of the Planewalker’s Guild.
Planewalker’s Guild
When you return to the guild Oriam greets you kindly, his pallor is much healthier, ”Hello! How did your trip out of touch go? Sorry about that incident before Nik. The clueless wander through here every now and then.”
He winks, ”Hopefully your minders weren’t too expensive.”
Oriam idly fidgets with an obsidian statue, looking for a place on his shelves. The statue is of a four-legged beast, almost oxen-like except for noticeable scales on its back, it has a simian face, and its forelegs don’t end in hooves but knotted fingers. Its back is low as it rears up in a pose you’d expect from a wolf howling at the moon.
