Wrath of the Righteous - full playthrough summary

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Now that we've completed my Wrath of the Righteous campaign I can say this is by far my favorite campaign I've ever run or been a part of, but it took some work. I'll post the campaign summary in this thread, along with some observations:

I would:

1. Make Vorlesh the key antagonist of the campaign. More relatable than a demon lord, and you can weave her in and out of the plot. I don't like what they did with her in the WOTR video game, but they did a good job making her an important part of the story.

2. Make the Herald a major character early on so his rescue in book V is purposeful

3. Have the crusade lose heroically so that the closing of the WW is more of a last stand. Adds poignancy

4. Make galfrey, Irabeth, and even Iomeade major characters to give the crusade character

5.Kill off extra NPCs in book II. There are more than you need. Either collapse Waxberry and Sosiel into one character or kill Sosiel and elevate waxberry (again, makes book V better)\

6. Use the enhanced statblocks found elsewhere in this forum. This is essential! Even with reduced mythic rules (see below) I regularly had to maximize and sometimes double or triple hit points (though I had a very talented and experienced group of PCs)

7. Save the mythic rules for the enemies. It makes them terrifying and the campaign feel truly epic. I only gave the players the base mythic rules, one mythic spell per level, and reduced mythic power (1 per level and 3 at level one). No feats, no paths. I did let them use most of the expanded 1.0 ruleset, which has some system bloat

8. Don't allow particulate form. It makes the enemies far less scary

9. Use mass combat in book 3 a few times to let the players defend drezen. I found 3-4 was enough. After that there was no need. I had some slightly modified rules

10. I created some alternate rules for building up Drezen I'll post in this thread 9 and 10 gave the first part of Book III more focus

11. I really played up the battlebliss. I turned it into a 30 man royal rumble event for the right for the top 3 survivors to fight champion Gelderfang (who I made a son of Baphomet and reused in Book V - he wanted revenge). This took us two days to complete and was amazing. I had separate rules for this I'll post.

12. At the start of book VI I made the battle for Drezen a narrative event. But to challenge the PCs there were ten separate encounters/waves (some of which themselves had as many as ten parts) that lasted the course of several in world hours (so buff management became a challenge) culminating in aponovicus. I set up the aponovicus fight for them to lose (narrative reasons) but you don't need to do this. It took us 4 12 hour play sessions to complete from start to finish, and was an incredible send off to the crusade (see the narrative cut scene thread) a unique endurance challenge, and maybe the most memorable sequence we've had as players playing together for twenty years. It certainly was for me as a DM

13. Make Staunton Vhane a recurring villain. The PCs fought him 4 times - in Drezen, as a grave knight in the Ivory Sanctum, during the Battlebliss, and leading the assault on Drezen in Book VI - this was the real final encounter in the design since Apon was a story encounter.

I had a lot of lore variations that the players loved and helped us tell a really tight and compelling story together, but mileage may vary and I have all that laid out in the narrative thread on this forum.

thread with some alternate rules I used
thread with extensive cutscenes, prologues, and other extended box text

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The History of the Fifth Crusade Against the Worldwound

What Came Before

It began at the ending, as Iomedae looked on in powerless despair while Areelu Vorlesh threw open the Worldwound and the abyssal armies of Baphomet and Deskari devoured Golarion. It was then that the Hand of the Inheritor, Herald of Iomedae, made the choice to travel back in time and alter a pivotal moment, creating the slimmest of chances that history might take a different path. In doing so he broke one of the two iron laws underpinning the cosmos and condemned his immortal soul. But so great was his love and loyalty for his God that he willingly paid this price.

Or perhaps it began hundreds of years ago, in 4406, when Deskari first noticed the thinness of the planer boundary between northern Golarion and his abyssal realm, the Rasping Rifts. His followers posed as Sarkorian God Callers, spreading his faith, and further weakening the boundary between the planes. In 4433, Deskari launched his invasion, and it required an avatar of Aroden, God of Humanity, to stop him. Aroden forced Deskari back to his realm, but an echo of the demon lord lay imprisoned at the bottom of the Lake of Mists and Veils.

Yet it was not Deskari who created the Worldwound, the reality consuming gateway between the planes, but the Sarkorian witch Areelu Vorlesh, who had made a study of the hidden secrets of the universe. Persecuted as a practitioner of the arcane arts, in 4598 Vorlesh was imprisoned in the Tower of Threshold, an inescapable holding cell for all manner of wizards, sorcerers, arcanists, and witches. It was in Threshold that she accelerated her study of souls, and the power that can be channeled through their annihilation. It was in Threshold that she pledged herself to Deskari in exchange for knowledge and power. And it was in Threshold that Vorlesh finally tore asunder the barrier between their worlds, transforming herself into a demon and paving the way for the conquest of Golarion.

Vorlesh led a quiet revolution within Threshold, eliminating enemies and cultivating allies, until she commanded the loyalty of all who dwelled within. And while her work spawned a dozen small rifts throughout the Sarkorian countryside, her final goal eluded her. That is until Aroden voluntarily manifested upon Golarion one time too many. Actions have consequences, and some rules bind even the gods.

And so, it could be argued that it began with the death of Aroden, which provided Vorlesh the generative power needed to create the Worldwound, a scar upon the face of Golarion, a planer violation that, if left unchecked, would see Deskari’s Rasping Rifts consume Vorlesh’s mortal home. The wound was stable, and massive enough to power a permanent series of abyssal portals that vomited forth an endless stream of Deskari’s demons — enough to overrun Sarkoris and infect Golarion with an abyssal rot. But while Vorlesh anticipated the death of Aroden upon his prophesized return, and prepared her ritual accordingly, she did not yet possess the power and knowledge needed to fully harness the divine quintessence that flooded Golarion. The opening was incomplete, and so Vorlesh began the long, grueling process of expanding the Worldwound, of finding a way to throw open the gate so wide it could never be closed — inflicting a wound capable of transforming the soul of a planet. And Vorlesh, with her infinite ambition, began searching for new ways to expand her power, so that if the opportunity should present itself, she could usurp the place of her master. Over time, drawing upon her implacable will, expansive mind, singular focus, and the vast wealth of a fallen nation, she unlocked the hidden secrets of quintessence, the life force of the planes, and became the most powerful spellcaster in the known history of Golarion, rivaled only by a mortal Aroden.

The death of Aroden and the opening of the Worldwound changed all Golarion, but perhaps nowhere more than the lands of Sarkoris, overrun by demons, and the sleepy provincial nation of Mendev, ruled by a young, unproven paladin of Aroden named Galfrey. She converted to Iomedae and transformed her home into a mighty military dictatorship built with one end in mind – to lead a holy crusade that would drive the demons back to the abyss. For as long as it takes.

The First Crusade was called in 4622, and saw the remnants of the church of Aroden, the ascendent church of Iomedae, and representatives of all the goodly gods join forces with the people of Mendev and survivors of Sarkoris to contain Deskari’s advance. They were joined by powerful allies, such as the great silver dragon Terendelev, the great phoenix Pyralisia, and even Iomedae’s Herald. They fought the demons for eight years, driving them from Mendev and the Sarkorian lowlands and into the Wounded Lands that were once the heart of Sarkoris. The indomitable crusader fortress of Drezen was constructed within these contested lands, a symbol of the crusade’s might, purpose, audacity, and ambition. But these victories came at the cost of countless lives, and its scars cut across generations as the children of crusaders were born infected with an abyssal taint. Twisted and deformed, these offspring were persecuted by the frightened, demon scarred populace of Mendev and Sarkoris. To keep them safe, their parents fled underground with their children, disappearing and into the safety of half remembered legend.

But Deskari was not defeated – he simply was biding his time, allowing his enemies to think of his forces as mindless and disorganized, the threat contained. He would wait to feast, knowing the flavor of despair would be all the sweeter seasoned with the false hope he fostered. While he waited, he gathered powerful new allies, like the legendary marilith Aponavicius. And under her banner the demons rallied and drove the crusaders back.

But Aponavicius did not just rely on brute force. Through crafty lieutenants like the glabrezu Jerribeth, Deskari’s forces found ways to exploit the anger, frustration, impatience, and jealousy that even paladins cannot suppress forever. And in 4638, when the dwarven paladin Staunton Vhane is deceived by Jerribeth, the great crusader fortress of Drezen falls to the Abyss. Iomedae’s banner, The Sword of Valor, is lost with the citadel, and a Second Crusade is called to resist the resurgent demons.

This time the crusaders could not match the organized might of the demons and are driven from Sarkoris. But before the demons could advance into Mendev, the Herald of Iomedae completed a mighty ritual that created the great Wardstones – a field of obelisks that channeled Iomedae’s power into Golarion, penning the demons in. Many crusaders, and the great phoenix Pyralisia, died to give the Herald time to complete his ritual. The phoenix’s rebirth was corrupted by abyssal magics, and Pyralisia retreated into the Worldwound where he became the Rain of Embers. Sarkoris was lost, but Mendev survived, and in 4645 the Second Crusade came to an end.

It was at this time that Deskari made his pact with Baphomet, offering him rule over portions of Golarion in exchange for his servants, the cunning Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth. Baphomet’s agents infiltrated and undermined not only the integrity of the crusades, but the people of Mendev. Terrible events, such as lilitu demon Minagho’s Red Morning Massacre, led to the calling of the Third Crusade in 4665, where overzealous and paranoid inquisitors like Hulrun of Kenebras burn the innocent alongside the guilty. The discovery of traitors like the wizard Xanthir Vang, a disciple of Vorlesh, helped fan the flames. And while Vang was driven into the wastes of the Worldwound by a group of Riftwardens who gave their lives in the attempt, it would be three long years until the fires of the Third Crusade burn out.

Deskari is not idle in this time, and he recruits the mighty Balor Lord Khorramzadeh, the Storm King. In 4692 he attacks Kenabres and manages to crack the obelisk housed there, the first wardstone and heart of the network. Terendelev barely drives him off, and the Fourth Crusade is called. The resurgent demon threat inspires a scale of recruitment not seen since the First Crusade, but mercenaries, opportunists and other ‘low’ templars outweigh the true believers, and many feel the character of the crusaders change.

The crusade is a long, grueling stalemate, but it is not without its share of heroes, like the paladin Yaniel, though she and her sword Radiance, will not survive. After fifteen years, the crusade exhausts itself, and Mendev settles into an uneasy stalemate with the Worldwound. In 4722, a young half-orc paladin named Irabeth Tirabade, member of the crusader order Eagle’s Watch, uncovers the treachery of Staunton Vhane, and prevents him from poisoning the wardstone and further undermining its defenses . There is an uneasy quiet, and a weary and demoralized Crusade is barely held together by the ageless, tireless, indefatigable leadership of Galfrey, whose exhaustion and doubt is her darkest secret.

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The Worldwound Incursion

But this is prologue. The story truly begins in 4723 on the 16th of Arodus, in Kenebras – the festival of Armasse. The wizard Queso Blanco, arcanist Zograthy, Bastion Wick the rogue, Kiryn the Desnan ranger, and Rischa the Iomedaen inquisitor each make their separate way to Kenebras to join the crusades. The ceremony is interrupted by a devastating surprise assault by the Storm King, who finally destroys the wardstone and slays Terendelev. As the Storm King’s forces overrun Kenebras, the earth cracks from the strain and swallows our heroes. They would have fallen to their deaths if not for the last dying act of Terendelev, whose magic slowed their descent into the lightless caverns below.

But they are not alone in the darkness. There are three survivors – the elven Riftwarden Aravashinal, blinded by the Storm King during his attack, a human woman named Anevia, whose leg was shattered in her fall, and Horgus Gwerm, a wealthy aristocrat who clearly should not be here and needs everyone to know it.

They discover five silver scales, remnants of the great dragon, which they claim both as powerful magical artifacts and symbols of what was lost. The group makes its way through the caverns below Kenabres, where they make a startling discovery. The children of those original crusaders, now mongrel hybrids of man and beast, have built a community in the underground. But they had not forsaken their noble history and wait for a sign it was time to rejoin the surface and take up the ancient war of their ancestors. Their chief, Sul, believed these surface refugees were that sign, and pledged the support of the mongrels he could rally. However, he warned some of his people had forsaken their past and allied themselves with their ancestral abyssal enemies.

Guided by the mongrel druid Cyrus, the group left the subterranean village of Neatholm behind and fought their way through an outpost of demonic cultists. Within the outpost, they discovered the famed sword Radiance, which had been on display in Kenebras’ museum fortress the Gray Garrison since the sword was found floating down the Sarkora River, without its wielder Yaniel. Though once a powerful artifact, the sword appeared inert. They also uncovered evidence of the depth of the Templar of the Ivory Labyrinth’s infiltration of the crusader elements operating out of Kenebras, and how they helped lay the groundwork for the Storm King’s surprise assault. The party made their way to the surface to find Kenebras in ruins. They learned from scattered survivors that a small resistance remained, operating from the inn Defender’s Heart, under the leadership of Irabeth Tirabade, and a priest of Shelyn named Sosiel.

As the party fought its way out of the subterranean ruins, the combined forces of Deskari and Baphomet massed along the border of the wardstones under their generals, preparing for a full-scale invasion of the free nations bordering the Worldwound. And in the Mendevian capital of Nerosyan, Queen Galfrey learns that with the destruction of the key wardstone at Kenebras, the entire wardstone field is beginning to fail. After receiving the council of Waxberry, a priest of Iomedae and one of her closest friends, and that of Nurah Dendiwhar, a gnomish scholar of the Worldwound who had survived and escaped demonic captivity, Galfrey mobilizes the might of the Crusade to meet the demons in open combat, before the Wardstones collapses completely.

From Defender’s Heart, they engaged in guerrilla acts of resistance against the demons. They discovered rumors of something called a Nahyndrian Crystal, which Vorlesh was harvesting from the Abyss, and that she planned to use their power to fully corrupt the wardstones, turning them towards a dire purpose. She would be ready soon.

Realizing time was running out, the surviving crusaders led a series of raids on targets throughout Kenebras, drawing the demons’ focus towards Defenders Heart, away from the remaining wardstone fragment secured in the Gray Garrison. And on the 26th or Arodus, in the year 4723, as the demons moved to crush the city’s final surviving defenders, the party joined Irabeth in a daring raid on the Gray Garrison. They fought their way to the wardstone fragment, where they were nearly defeated by the Deskarite oracle Jeslyn. But as all seemed lost, Queso activated the crusaders secret weapon, a rod of cancellation, and used it to destroy the wardstone fragment.

Time stops, and Iomedae’s Herald emerges through a rent in reality, acting outside the frozen stream of time. Before it can dissipate, the Herald channels the wardstone’s energy into the party before he violently implodes, and as they party are swept away by a river of eldritch energy, they witness scenes from Wardstone’s past, and futures that do not yet exist. They witness their deaths at the hands of a seemingly indestructible manticore in an assault on Drezen, and see the wardstones corrupted, their energy weaponized, transforming the massed armies of the crusades into demons. And then the party returns to the present, somehow transformed. They are confronted by a physical projection of Vorlesh, who moves to destroy the mortal interlopers. But the wardstone’s power repels her magic. She summons demons to rip the party to pieces, but as she opens the gate the wardstone’s energy rises within the heroes. They surrender to it, and the power erupts, destroying Vorlesh’s projection, the backlash nearly killing her. The surge of power cleanses the city of its demons before burning out. And all along the border of the Worldwound, the wardstones destroy themselves, wiping out the massive demonic army preparing to invade, and gravely wounding Deskari and Baphomet’s most powerful demons and chief lieutenants.

While sin persists, the armies of the abyss are infinite. They will return, hungry for vengeance. And there are no more wardstones to keep them at bay. But they will need time to regroup, and in that time, perhaps there is space for a miracle. On the 26th of Arodus, in the year 4723, amidst the destruction of Kenebras and the greater ruin of the wardstones, the Fifth and final Crusade begins.

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Sword of Valor

Queen Galfrey marches on Kenebras with a crusader army to secure the ruins of the city, begin the process of rebuilding, and meet the people responsible for both the destruction of the wardstones and the temporary salvation of the Crusade. The party, now calling themselves the Silver Scale in honor of Terendelev, are honored by Galfrey along with Irabeth at an investiture ceremony where they finally complete their oaths, pledge to “go forward in light to combat the darkness,” and formally join the crusades.

Later that day, they are called into an audience with Galfrey. The destruction of the demonic armies, and the disruption of their command hierarchies, have created a singular opportunity. A small force could make its way through the Worldwound relatively undetected, and retake Drezen. This would not only give the Fifth Crusade a needed base of operations in the Worldwound, and a powerful symbolic victory to reframe the destruction of the wardstones, but it could also restore the Sword of Valor, the Crusade’s most powerful weapon now that the wardstones are no more. Under Irabeth’s leadership, supported by the Silver Scale, the cleric Sosiel, Nurah Dendiwhar, Aravashinal, Anevia, and newly recruited quartermaster Horgus Gwerm, the Knights of Kenebras begin their march towards Drezen.

The journey takes a week, and the army is tested at Vilareth Ford and Keeper’s Canyon, where they drive off the incubus commander Exorius, who vows revenge. Exploring the vescavor infested canyon, the Silver Scale discovers, for the first time, one of the countless satellite abyssal gates fed by the Worldwound. Inspired by Irabeth’s example, Kiryn begins to adopt a paladin code for herself, one aligned with Desna’s values. And as she does, Radiance begins to awaken, gradually reattuning itself to its new wielder. A lost temple of Desna is liberated less than a day's march from Drezen, and then the city itself is assaulted, its defenses led by the fallen paladin Staunton Vhane. There are several days of fierce fighting, including an attempt by the tiefling sorcerer Barrid Isen to destroy the Ahari bridge and bar access to the citadel. But perhaps the most significant encounter is with Soltengrebbe, the chimera who defeated them in the Silver Scale’s vision of alternate futures during their mythic ascension. The beast was infused with some kind of new abyssal power, rendering it invulnerable to the attacks of the paladins. Only the Silver Scale were able to defeat it, as the wardstone energy they had begun to channel was able to match this new abyssal strength. Ultimately the Knights of Kenebras drive Drezen’s defenders back to the keep itself and invest a siege.

That evening, the Silver Scale is beset by strange dreams, real and vivid. They reawaken repressed memories for some, and for others feel like reforged links in a broken historical chain. Kiryn recalls a traumatic incident from her childhood, where she was captured by demons and was to be sacrificed in a ritual known as the Azverindus Rites. Presided over by Minagho, the rites would force an involuntary transformation of a person’s soul into a demon, their new power a direct inversion of their soul’s purity. But before the ritual could be completed, Kiryn receives a sign from Desna, as a butterfly lands on her forearm and melds into her skin. And then, just as she was about to be sacrificed, the succubus wielding the blade turned it on her incubus companion, teleports them both away, and a detachment of crusaders arrives to save Kiryn.

Cyrus witnesses the final moments of one of his ancestors, a courageous last stand during the First Crusade. And Zograthy dreams of the Riftwardens who hunted down and killed the traitor Xanthir Vang with the aid of the staff of the Riftwarden, a powerful artifact. That victory would be short lived, as a defeated Vang would arise as a Worm that Walks and take his revenge. Somehow, those Riftwardens were distantly familiar to Zograthy.

Wick relives his capture by demons who raided his home in Numeria. As he was marched towards the Worldwound, and a dire fate, the slavers are attacked by a party of crusaders. Yet it was not the Crusaders who rescued Wick, but instead a sad, distant woman who slew his captor and set him free. This was years ago, but only now did Wick understand that it was a succubus, at war with her own kind, and seemingly herself.

And Queso recalls the capture of his brother and himself by the glabrezu Jerribeth. He is being held as bait, and sure enough, their trap is sprung. Arrows pierce Jerribeth, and Queso accidentally swallows blood from her wound, which upon reflection he identifies as the source of his uncanny durability. He has a distant vision of an archer, who Jerribeth names as Arueshalae, before he blacks out. When Queso comes to, he and his brother are alone, and a strange barbarian calls to him, hinting at a shared lineage.

While the Knights of Kenebras lay siege to Drezen, they are plagued by small but significant acts of sabotage, the culprit unknown. And Sosiel’s partner, the recovering demon blood addict Aaron Kir, has gone missing. Knowing it is only a matter of time before Staunton Vhane calls for help, the Silver Scale fights its way into Citadel Drezen. They discover a fake Sword of Valor, and a succubus named Kiranda masquerading as a crusader of some renown - Maranse, who was lost to the Worldwound some years ago. Her treachery is not revealed until she is taken back to camp, where she murders Sosiel and escapes. Within the fortress Rischa claims a powerful suit of armor. Eventually they confront and defeat Staunton Vhane and his brother Joran, but it is a costly victory, made bitter by the revelation that Nurah Dendiwhar was an agent of the Worldwound. They capture Staunton Vhane’s journal and learn a great many things: the true story behind the fall of Drezen and his corruption at the hands of Jerribeth; his many years of deep cover sabotage, including the thwarted attempt to poison the wardstones with a powerful corrupting agent created by Vorlesh; and his subsequent obsession with taking his revenge on Irabeth.

But perhaps the most intriguing information is the revelation of a demonic heretic named Arueshalae, captured by Jerribeth and held at Drezen until a more suitable prison could be prepared. Her presence is kept secret from the other demons, as the idea of a demon abandoning its nature would be deeply disquieting. Somehow, she escaped, and Vhane contracted with Jarunnicka, a hag worshiper of Sifkesh to find and return Arueshalae. But there is also the revelation that a powerful shadow demon named Eustoyriax arrived bearing elixirs made from something called a Nahyndrian crystal. To imbibe the elixir brings with it the possibility of death, but those who survived find their power greatly enhanced, elevating them above their peers. Vhane himself took one and survived.

The Silver Scale discovers an entrance into the dungeons of Drezen and are afflicted by the concentrated evil of the place. They do battle with Theruk Nul, Arueshalae’s captor and torturer, and the tiefling cleric Chorussina, who led a ritual that, if completed, would destroy Drezen rather than see it fall back into the hands of the crusade. The real Maranse is found, only to be revealed once again to be Kiranda, who once again escapes. They discover, curiously, that one of the prison cells had been sanctified to Desna, with a prayer for redemption carved into the walls. They uncover an inactive planar gate and the forge of corruption referenced by Vhane in his journals. And deep in the dungeons of Drezen, the shadow demon Eustoyriax, who had possessed Aaron Kir, is driven off, and the Sword of Valor reclaimed, though Kir does not survive.

On the 22nd of Rova, 4723, Irabeth addresses the surviving Knights of Kenebras, and for the first time in eighty-five years the Sword of Valor is unfurled over Drezen. The unveiling of the banner creates a ten-mile zone of purity around Drezen, driving out the Abyss. The Crusade has its victory, its base of operations, and most importantly, a definitive symbol of its renewal. Throughout Golarion new volunteers make their way north to Mendev, and the crusade swells in size and power.

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Demon’s Heresy

The task of rebuilding the ruined Drezen, and securing the surrounding territory, falls to Irabeth and the Silver Scale. Galfrey sends much-needed troops and craftsmen to help defend and support the region, accompanied by Waxberry. She will serve as Galfrey’s direct representative in Drezen. The top priority is the establishment of an outlying early warning and scouting network, led by Anevia. It requires rooting out nests of demons in strategic locations, and the Silver Scale has its first encounter with the curious Bureaucracy of Swarms, ultimately led by the balor Diurgez Broodlord. The network built by the crusaders proves invaluable, as Drezen is assaulted often, by armies of increasing power (and one colossal dretch) as the forces of the Worldwound slowly regroup and respond. This intelligence gathering is supplemented by the Silver Scale’s own work, and Queso learns that Terendelev has been resurrected as an undead ravener.

Having been deceived by Nurah, Rischa sets about interrogating the command structure of Drezen, but finds no spies. Around this time, Jesker Helton, a priest of Erastil goes missing, his temple desecrated. The Silver Scale tracks him to the ruined tomb of Delamere, a prominent leader of Erastil’s faith before the fall of Sarkoris. In the tomb, Helton is revealed to be possessed by the Eustoyriax, who is finally defeated, though Helton could not be saved.

It is during their search for Helton that the Silver Scale spends a night in the Worldwound for the first time since the recovery of the Sword of Valor. As they make camp, they are forcibly summoned by Areelu Vorlesh to her manor in Undarin. Vorlesh had prepared a feast, its menu featuring the Silver Scale’s favorite dishes, they are served by terrified prisoners, including Queso’s mother. Vorlesh shows no signs of having been wounded by the Wardstones and is interested in taking the measure of the Silver Scale. Throughout their conversation she talks freely, indicating that she serves Deskari for her own ends, and that her need for revenge ended with the death of Sarkoris. She confirms for the Silver Scale that the power within them is drawn directly from Iomedae, now channeled through the Silver Scale instead of the wardstones. While Vorlesh strives towards greater ends she will not reveal, she shares with the Silver Scale that she will not oppose them, as every rival they manage to destroy means one less obstacle she must remove herself. She seems supremely confident that the Silver Scale will never be powerful enough to truly threaten her, noting that the full force of the destruction of the Wardstones could not destroy her. As a parting incitement, she imprisons the soul of Queso’s mother into a soul gem before returning them to their camp.

A surviving tribe of Sarkorian barbarians, the Wintersun clan, began raiding caravans bound for Drezen. The Silver Scale journey to Wintersun Hall, and defeat their chief Marhevok Grunhuld-Wintersun, who, like Queso, had once ingested the blood of Jerribeth, willingly in his case. But the supply lines to Drezen would not ultimately be secure until the Silver Scale tracks the woundwyrm Scorizscar to its lair and vanquish it.

As Aravashinal’ s research uncovers that Zograthy’s parents were the Crusaders who defeated Xanthir Vang, Anevia’s network makes several important discoveries. The ruined town of Sesker’s Gully located to the northeast of Drezen, is identified as a base of operations for kalavakus slaver demons operating in the region. Upon investigating, Cyrus discovers the ruined family crypt that appeared to him in his strange dream. He is confronted by the crotchy ghost of Alrys Harnaste, who tasks Cyrus with cleansing his ancestral crypt and laying him to rest, lest he haunt Cyrus for the rest of his days. The Silver Scale drives out the powerful nabasu demon Skulgrym and discovers Harnaste’s sword Lifegiver’s Edge. As Harnaste learns of the fate of Sarkoris he vows to put off his eternal rest, and instead binds his soul to his sword so that he might guide his descendent Cyrus.

More significantly, a profaned Temple of Iomedae is discovered further east. The Silver Scale drive out the Templars inhabiting it, led by the Baphomite god-caller Zanedra and her eidolon Svennarobeth. Among the intelligence gathered from the temple, they learn that somewhere further east is the Ivory Sanctum, Baphomet’s primary base of operations in the Worldwound, and the source of the Templars’ regional power. They learn that the glabrezu Jerribeth, a loyal Baphomite and his original emissary to the Worldwound, and Xanthir Vang vie for control over the Templars, with Vang serving the nominal leader due to the support of Areelu Vorlesh.

Rischa feels an urge to cleanse the temple, and with the support of consecrate scrolls provided by Waxberry, Rischa leads the ritual to purity and restore it. Upon its conclusion, they are visited by the Herald of Iomedae. He reveals that the armor Rischa wears belonged to him as a mortal Dwarven inquisitor of Ragathiel, and that Rischa is a distant descendent. He awakens the true potential of the armor and shares the story of how he came to serve Iomedae. He speaks with bottomless admiration of her humility, empathy, resolve, and the way she embodied humanity’s capacity for greatness when they set aside their own interests.

He also shared that Iomedae cannot intervene directly in the fight to protect Golarion, revealing that there are two strictures which bind all gods, punishable not only by death, but by the twisting of outcomes. They must not interfere with the flow of time to change the past or alter the future. And they must not voluntarily walk the prime material plane in their full power, as it weakens the fabric of reality. Even manifesting as an avatar is risky, and Aroden often flaunted these strictures. Jingh, the first iophanite angel and an ancient servitor of Heaven, believes that Aroden’s death was a cosmic punishment for violating these strictures. Prior to Aroden, the last time gods voluntarily manifested onto Golarion it was to minimize the destruction of the Earthfall, at the cost of their lives. The Herald also reveals the terrible cost being a bystander has taken on Iomedae, who has preserved a sizable portion of her mortal consciousness to inform her work as a god.

During one assault on Drezen, abyssal retrievers kidnapped Horgus Gwerm. Kiryn was suddenly struck down by a vision of Horgus receiving the same Azverindus Rites that were performed on her as a child. The Silver Scale tracked him down to the Molten Scar and destroyed a Nahyndrian infused vrock named Vorimeraak before she could complete the ritual.

Despite their best efforts to secure the lands around Drezen, the location of the Ivory Sanctum remained a mystery. At least until Kiryn and Wick had an intense dream of the succubus who saved each of them as children, over twenty years ago. After reliving those childhood experiences, they had a vision of the succubus trapped in a ruined temple of Desna. In the dream, the succubus calls to them for help.

The Silver Scale were able to locate the temple, where the hag Jarunnicka and her allies had trapped their prey in the old temple. Some powerful force kept them from entering the temple, and the hunters had settled into a siege. After defeating Jarunnicka, the Silver Scale encountered the succubus Arueshalae for the first time.

Arueshalae shared her story – how she had been active in the Worldwound since shortly after it opened. Her loyalty was to Nocticula, the demon lord of succubi, and Arueshalae was in the Worldwound to scout and play, owing no allegiance to Deskari. In 4795, about twenty years ago, she deceived and killed a worshiper of Desna. She had many victims over the years, including several high- profile crusaders, like the paladin Yaniel, had corrupted many of the inquisitors that led the witch hunts of the Third Crusade and built a reputation as one of the most insidious succubi operating in the Worldwound. As the Desnan lay dying, Arueshalae experimented by entering his dreams. She set about altering his memories during those final moments, looking to make her violation of his life absolute before he died. But Desna visited her in that dream, trapping Arueshalae, who barely made it out before the crusader breathed his last. When she escaped, she found that Desna had awakened some previously dormant and hidden part of her pre-demonic soul, which began to reject her demonic nature.

She struggled to suppress this alien part of herself, until she received a new sign from Desna moments before a young Kiryn was to be sacrificed to the Azverindus rites. Arueshalae betrayed her demonic allies, interrupting the rites, and fled into the Worldwound. For twenty years she struggled with this irreconcilable internal tension, wracked by constant pain and existential nausea as her abyssal essence sought to quash this reawakened soul.

Over time, she began actively opposing Deskari and Baphomet, leading a resistance of one, using her skills to gather intelligence she fed to the Crusade, approaching via intermediaries given her well-founded fear that no one would listen to a demon. She was eventually captured by Jerribeth, and imprisoned in Drezen, where she was tortured while a more permanent prison was constructed. While in that prison, she pleaded to Desna for salvation, and Desna suppressed the wards of her cell, enabling her to escape. She also gifted Arueshalae with a vision of this ruined temple, where Arueshalae fled to hide.

She hoped the Silver Scale would believe her, though it was clear Arueshalae was resigned to their suspicion. But the presence of the Bell of Mercy, a powerful Desnan artifact lost to the opening of the Worldwound, convinced Kiryn, Zograthy, and Wick that perhaps Arueshalae could be trusted. The Bell created a protective field that would have been deadly to any demons trying to enter it.

Arueshalae shares the location of the Ivory Sanctum and reveals it as the site where Nahyndrian elixirs are distributed throughout the Worldwound. She offers to help the Silver Scale assault the Ivory Sanctum, in exchange for passage outside of the Worldwound where she can focus on her own pathway to redemption.

The Silver Scale returns to Drezen, though Arueshalae disguises herself as a human and spends much of her time at the Desnan temple on the road between Drezen and Mendev. While they make their preparations to assault the Ivory Sanctum, there a massive assault on Drezen led by Exorius and Kiranda, full of powerful demons the Drezen crusaders lacked the weapons to harm. During the fighting, when all seemed lost, Irabeth further awakens the Sword of Valor, enchanting the weapons of Drezen’s defenders and summoning Iomedae’s Herald to fight alongside them. And though the cost is high, Exorius and his armies are defeated.

With Arueshalae at their side, the Silver Scale assaults the Ivory Sanctum, gradually whittling down its defenses. They are first met by Jerribeth’s All-Stars, a company of powerful adventurers corrupted by Jerribeth. They encounter a coloxus demon named Grillixbee, who offers to ally with the Silver Scale if they destroy Jerribeth. Unsurprisingly, combat ensues, and most of the Templars of Baphomet serving Jerribeth and Blackfire Adepts serving Vang are killed, along with many of the remaining demons.

Eventually Jerribeth is defeated, along with her bodyguard Staunton Vhane, who had risen as a graveknight. The Silver Scale takes his armor, with the eventual intent of utilizing the redeemed forge of purity in the dungeons of Drezen to purge and cleanse it.

Within a hidden treasure vault a thanadaemon guards the Staff of the Riftwarden, which Zograthy claims as his birthright. The staff had been corrupted by the decades it spent in possession of the demons, but once purified it becomes a powerful weapon in the arcanist’s capable hands.

Finally, Xanthir Vang is vanquished, and among the information recovered are detailed records of all the Templars embedded within the Crusades. There is a great purge, and for the first time in decades the Crusades are free of hidden corruption. With the fall of the Ivory Sanctum, the distribution mechanisms for the crystals have been disrupted, slowing the creation of empowered demons.

There is a wealth of additional information recovered among Vang’s journals. Regular references are made to the Midnight Fane, where the elixirs enter Golarion from the Abyss. The crystals in turn are mined in the Midnight Isles of Nocticula, under the watchful eye of Hepzamirah, a daughter of Baphomet. The crystals are the blood of dead demon lords, which exist only in the Midnight Isles as Nocticula alone has learned how to prevent a demon lord’s quintessence from being reabsorbed into the Abyss. A cambion alchemist named Mutasafen, along with Hepzamirah, and Vorlesh, created the distillation process that purified the elixirs. Minagho, a powerful lieutenant of Baphomet and the architect of the Red Morning massacre that trigged the disastrous Third Crusade, had fallen out of favor with Baphomet due to her failure to guard the wardstone fragment in Kenebras, a duty she passed over to her minion Jeslyn so that she could join with the demon hordes gathering at the wardstones. The Silver Scale learns that Vang worked with Vorlesh to create the poison and nahyndrian dagger used to weaken and eventually shatter the Kenebras wardstone. There are early notes for the development of a Nahyndrian golem of incredible power, as well as obscure references to a powerful demonic engine Vang was constructing alongside his mentor Vorlesh. There is also intelligence about an attempt to bring Nocticula into formal alliance with Baphomet and Deskari. Finally, Queso discovers an ancient text that he can use to unlock the power of the Orb of the Alghollthu, which had been in his possession since before he set out for Mendev.

Drezen is secure, the forces of the Abyss have suffered another major defeat, and intelligence brought to light by the Bothan Brothers network of spies offers a longshot opportunity to close the Worldwound. After so many poisoned years of stalemate and decline, momentum was decisively back with the crusades

[Stip]

Midnight Isles

As the Fifth Crusade planned its next steps, the Silver Scale prepared to use the now converted Forge of Purity to redeem Staunton Vhane’s armor. Rischa guarded the armor in an instant fortress, seemingly impregnable. And yet two assassins, a red skinned dwarf, and a pickled punk, were able to break in, kill Rischa, and steal the armor. A minor setback, given recent victories, but disturbing, nonetheless.

The Silver Scale and Drezen leadership were summoned by Queen Galfrey on the 17 of Calistril, 4724. She revealed the Bothan network had discovered, on a secret scouting mission in Iz, the Lexicon of Paradox. This ancient text dates to the time shortly after Earthfall, and it was Vorlesh’s possession of this text that saw her imprisoned within Threshold. Within it, Galfrey believed, are the foundations of the ritual used to open the Worldwound. The text is held securely in Lastwall, where it is studied by some of the top minds of Golarion. The Lexicon reveals the Worldwound is not a gate between planes. Rather, it is an attempt to conjoin planes, whereby Golarion would be swallowed by the Rasping Rifts.

While she opened the Worldwound using the surge of power caused by the death of Aroden, Vorlesh likely lacks the strength to complete her work. At least not yet. It is also believed within its pages there are rituals that could be modified to close the Worldwound.

Time is running out. Despite the success at Drezen, the demons are always rebuilding their armies, and without the Wardstones it is not clear how long the Crusades can match them, especially when faced with Nahyndrian empowered demons.

To that end, Galfrey tasks the Silver Scale with journeying to the Midnight Fane, which the Bothan network had discovered. There they are to destroy the Nahyndrian refinery. And within the Fane is a gate to the Abyss used to transport the freshly mined crystals. The Silver Scale is to test a ritual that might close this lesser gate. If successful, the Crusade will try to adapt it to close the Worldwound, though where the power to accomplish such a feat might come from is unknown.

The Silver Scale must journey into the Abyss and close the gate from that side. Once there they are to track down and eliminate Deskari and Baphomet’s nahyndrian mining and disrupt any attempts at an alliance with Nocticula. But the ritual requires participants on both sides of the gate. While Irabeth volunteers to close the gate on the Golarion side, Galfrey reminds her that her place is at Drezen, protecting the Sword of Valor. Galfrey, eager for a field engagement, and unsure of who she can trust, will go herself. They plan to depart within the week.

There is still the uncomfortable matter of Arueshalae, who is not trusted by Galfrey, and who will not set her free. Kiryn offers to take custody over Arueshalae, but Galfrey observes that even if she can be trusted now, if she accompanies the Silver Scale into the Abyss, she runs the risk of being corrupted. But recognizing the possibility of Desna’s intervention, it is decided that the Gods should determine Arueshalae’s fate.

On the 22nd of Calistril the Silver Scale gathers at the rebuilt Temple of Desna, where the Bell of Mercy has been installed. There Arueshalae will be judged by representatives of all the Gods of the Crusades. Arueshalae’s crimes are presented, too innumerable to mention. She acknowledges her guilt, refusing to defend herself, exhausted from decades of struggle and resigned to her fate. But the Silver Scale, particularly Kiryn, speaks passionately on her behalf. Each of the clerics offers an atonement and a geas aspected to their god, binding her to a life of service as a form of punishment. Throughout this process, the clerics hold out the possibility that her crimes might one day be forgiven. Arueshalae voluntarily submits, though the tenor of the ritual changes at the end, when Sarenrae offers not just forgiveness but redemption, Waxberry, speaking for the church of Iomedae, offers justice, and the Desnan cleric, the possibility she might one day earn dreams of her own. Arueshalae, Kiryn, and the priest offer a prayer to Desna, the Bell of Mercy rung, and Arueshalae falls to her knees in shock, rising as something singular and new - a redeemed demon.

The assault on the Midnight Fane is fierce, and the alchemist Mutasafen, who worked with Vorlesh to create the Nahyndrian elixirs, is slain. They are confronted by the lost paladin Yaniel, who has accepted Baphomet as her lord and encourages the Silver Scale to join the forces of the Worldwound. The Silver Scale defeat Yaniel, who manages to flee to the Abyss. But as they explore further, they discover a husk, the desiccated shell of a victim whose identity a lilitu can then assume. They restore the husk, and discover the true Yaniel, prior wielder of Radiance. She was captured by Minagho decades prior, with Arueshalae’s help. But there is no malice in Yaniel, just exhaustion and relief. She blesses Radiance, and the sword is now entirely bonded to Kiryn.

The ritual to close the gate is successful, though the Silver Scale is ambushed by the nalfeshnee demon Ibahaniel, who guarded the gate between the planes. On Golarion Galfrey returns to Nerosyan with Yaniel, while the Silver Scale find themselves in an abyssal cavern system, which opens into a steaming jungle. They are on the island of Vazglar, a realm forged from the body of the demon lord of jealousy, ruined cities, and loss. They are in the Midnight Isles, realm of Nocticula, where every land mass is composed of the essence of a dead demon lord whose quintessence she prevented from returning to the Abyss – a secret only she possesses. The capital of Alushinyrra is six hundred miles away on the island of Alinythia. The Silver Scale reactivates an old gate complex and steps through, into Alushinyrra.

The city is unusually cosmopolitan and comparatively peaceful for the Abyss, massive in size, roughly ten times larger than Golarion’s greatest cities. Yet its population has swelled further, for in a few short days the MMCDXXXVII Battlebliss tournament will take place, a gladiatorial contest with thirty entrants, fighting for the right to challenge the Nahyndrian League Champion Gelderfang. The ultimate winner receives an audience with Nocticula.

This seems like the quickest way to gain access to the Demon Lord, and Arueshalae arranges a meeting with the cambion Irmangaleth, who runs the tournament to secure entry in the tournament. But the real power behind Irmangaleth is Velexxia, the succubus who owns the league, and a major power broker in Alushinyrra. Her permission would be required to enter. Arueshalae knows Velexxia and warns the Silver Scale that while she can arrange a meeting at the Rapture of Rupture, Velexxia will only treat with people she finds exceptional. That night the Silver Scale is ambushed in their inn, and it appears there is no safety to be had within the city.

They journey to the Rapture of Rupture, though Rischa notes they are being shadowed by a red eyed demon, who they try and fail to ambush. They meet and impress Velexxia with a display of their various talents, and she will let them enter the Battlebliss if they can eliminate one of her rivals, a seraptis demon named Sister Perversion, whose brothel The Yearning House is a competitor to her Silken Embrace.

They journey to The Yearning House, where Velexxia had arranged for them to be on the guest list. In the common room Rischa is accosted by a glabrezu demon, who slips a note into her hand. The note instructs her to make a space safe, listen for the oath, and that he will find her in the morning. They meet Shag Solomon, gentleman quaggoth, here to try his hand at the Battlebliss tournament. Also in the Yearning House, unsurprised to see them, are Areelu Vorlesh and Hepzamirah, daughter of Baphomet, and the yellow eyed assassin who had stalked the Silver Scale throughout the day.

The assassin identifies himself as Nezirrius, a half shadow/half ankou demon hired by Minagho to kill the Silver Scale. He offers to break the contract and help the Silver Scale eliminate Minagho if they can meet his price of fifty thousand
gold. But as all their resources will be needed to buy their way into Battlebliss, the Silver Scale refuses. Nezirrius will not spill blood in the Yearning House and leaves.

They are charmed by Shag Solomon, who educates the aspiring gladiators on the roster of this year’s tournament. Hepzamirah storms out, and seems particularly infuriated by Arueshalae, whose transformation she can sense. She threatens to bring Arueshalae to Plorig-Stagul, her father’s chief torturer, but hints she is not allowed to touch her.

Vorlesh invites the Silver Scale to have a drink with her, where she toasts her ‘reluctant proteges.’ She is still the most powerful being the Silver Scale has ever encountered, despite the increase in their own might and the increasingly impressive roster of their vanquished foes. But Queso and Zograthy can sense that her power is of a different nature than theirs. She masters hers, fully, while the wardstone energy seems to ride them, independently – almost like a separate entity with a symbiotic host. She informs the Silver Scale that they live because they serve her ends, but they cannot hope to challenge her and opines that the key to dominance is not to stay ahead of your opponent but to instead subsume their game within your own. And if the Silver Scale does not know the game she plays they will never be able to stop her. She goads Queso in particular, letting him know that a difficult road lies before him, but there is nothing waiting for him in Chitterhome. She admits to a grudging respect for what Arueshalae has accomplished, and then wishes the Silver Scale luck in the tournament.

The Silver Scale confronts and defeats Sister Perversion, and retreat to Velexxia, who offers them a place in the Battlebliss and lodgings in one of the city’s finest inns, personally guaranteeing their safety. The next morning, they meet a gnome who identifies himself as James Bothan, head of the Bothan network, masquerading as the glabrezu who slipped the note to Rischa the night before. The Silver scale learn from James that the Bothans were a clan of Sarkorian gnomes who pledged themselves to the Crusades after demons destroyed their home.

Bothan is here to deliver intelligence from Galfrey. The crusade is preparing a major assault on Raliscrad as prisoners are being moved there in massive numbers. It will be the largest mobilization of crusader might since the First Crusade. There are rumors of a demonic vessel roaming the skies above the Worldwound carrying something Vorlesh doesn’t want found, and that the Storm King was able to destroy the Wardstone using a nahyndrian dagger of incredible power designed to disrupt powerful magics. Finally, Anemora, high priestess of Deskari has been buying huge amounts of ambrosia to keep something docile and unconscious. They call it the Suture, and its fate is somehow tied to the Worldwound.

And then it is time for Battlebliss. Each member of the Silver Scale pays the ten thousand gold piece entry fee, which guarantees their resurrection. They meet the gibrileth demon JR, who will be calling the tournament and interviewing contestants. They meet Dondarj the Fang, a half orc sorcerer and one of the most hated contestants in the entire contest. He agrees to ally with the Silver Scale against the demonic contestants. They also meet a band of paladins led by Hellin Tallhallow, who seek an audience with Nocticula to secure an artifact in her possession needed to avert the destruction of their home world. The paladins also ally with the Silver Scale, and of course, they agree to cooperate with Shag. With their mortal allies secured, the Silver Scale prepares for battle. They receive a sending from Irabeth before the games begin. “The odds have always been against us, but we are still here. Endure. Resist. Hope. The gods will answer in their own time.”

It is a Battlebliss for the ages, full of surprises, betrayal, and a prime vs planes rivalry that will be talked about for generations to come. Both of Hellin’s companions are killed before entering the tournament, a shocking turn given the safeguards in place to ensure the integrity of Battlebliss. One is replaced by Santiago Rodriguez, a ratfolk from Chitterhome and childhood rival of Queso. Santiago is hopelessly outclassed, and Queso cannot save him despite his modest efforts to do so. The other paladin is replaced by Staunton Vhane, who is far more interested in taking his revenge on the Silver Scale than winning the tournament. Vorlesh watches from a luxury box, amused, but does not stay for the entire Battlebliss. There are betrayals by Dondarj, feints by Dondarj, extensive color commentary by Dondarj, but ultimately there can just be three survivors. Queso, as the Bookeyman, whose peerless knowledge of Battlebliss stats proved invaluable, probably. Wick, as Optimus Prime, who led the crowd on an emotional journey unlike any other, and Dondarj, who always finds a way to win. The winners, all representing the prime material plane, will face off in a force cage death match against Gelderfang, champion of the Battlebliss and a favored son of Baphomet.

The tournament concludes the next day. Rischa, Kiryn, and Zograthy enjoy the view from Shag’s luxury box, though they are attacked during the match by Nezirrius, who they manage to defeat. In the main event Dondarj, and his simulacrum are dispatched, and Queso and Wick defeat the four-armed half incubus half minotaur Gelderfang with a mythic baleful polymorph. By agreement, Wick dispatches Queso, and is declared the Battlebliss champion. The belt will make him the subject of much notoriety among denizens of the Abyss.

The Silver Scale are scheduled to meet with Nocticula in two days, though they are told to attend her at the Vault of Graves, her private library, rather than her palace. The Silver Scale agrees to take Hellin with them, and lobby on her behalf for Nocticula’s help. On the morning of their meeting, they are visited by the Herald of Iomedae for the third time. He brings news of the impending assault on Raliscrad, which he will lead, but wanted Queso to know that all the citizens of Chitterhome had been captured by Vorlesh and are held prisoner in Raliscrad. While the Silver Scale offers to help, he asks them to meet with Nocticula and stay with their mission, and to trust him to rescue Queso’s people along with the rest of the prisoners.

Only the Silver Scale and Arueshalae are granted access to Nocticula, and Hellin is forced to wait outside. Nocticula receives them in her library, which contains the biography of everyone she has killed over the countless millennia of her life. Her aura is overpowering, and Queso alone manages to resist. She informs the Silver Scale she has no intention of allying with Deskari or Baphomet, but nor does she wish to openly confront them, hinting that such a conflict might disrupt her own agendas. She reveals that their mining operation is now on the Midnight Isle of Colyphyr, and she will allow them to travel there if Arueshalae spends a night with her. Kiryn refuses, but Arueshalae agrees, promising Kiryn she can endure the temptation. Nocticula reveals a respect for Vorlesh, gives Wick the dagger Grave Warden, which once belonged to a powerful priest of Pharasma, and offers Zograthy the chance to spend a night with her, once she has finished with Arueshalae. He readily agrees.

The Silver Scale steps through a gate and find themselves on Colyphyr. The entrance to the mines lies at the top of a boiling and corrupted waterfall, but to gain entrance they must first defeat its guards, including the Defiled One, an angel hideously tortured and maimed into a corrupted, fallen state by Plorig-Stagul and now a slave to Baphomet. Arueshalae returns, unharmed, and everyone is surprised to learn that they spent the evening talking, Nocticula interrogating her about her transformation and redemption. Zograthy is then summoned away, and returns bearing the profane mark of Nocticula.

At the entrance to the mines they meet the Fulsome Queen, an omox demon they fought during Battlebliss. She is hoping to rid her mines of both the cultists and a powerful shadow dragon who has taken up residence, and she offers the Silver Scale her treasure and her patronage if they vanquish both. They defeat the dragon Melazmera and assault the mines. They fight through its protectors and discover the magic mirror Vorlesh used to partially appear before them at the time of their ascension. Eventually they draw out and defeat both Hepzamirah and Minagho. As Hepzamirah is defeated a furious Baphomet erupts from her corpse, manifesting in the flesh. The Silver Scale are paralyzed by his aura, before the wardstone energy within them rises to the surface, protecting them, and they overcome their fear. Baphomet prepares to destroy the Silver Scale but takes a moment to taunt that he has captured Iomedae’s Herald. It is then Nocticula manifests and destroys Baphomet for trespassing uninvited in her realm. Baphomet is reborn in his abyssal realm, the Ivory Labyrinth. Nocticula in turn creates a portal to return the Silver Scale to Golarion.

While the Silver Scale assault the mines in Colyphyr, the Exalted Army of the Fifth Crusade launches its assault on Raliscrad. Drezen is represented by the Knights of Kenebras plus Aravashinal and Waxberry. The Crusade drives deep into the city, until Baphomet’s forces spring their trap. The Crusade fights an organized retreat, the Knights of Kenebras sacrificing themselves to hold a bottleneck so their allies could retreat from the city. The Herald single handedly draws Baphomet’s generals to him, and fights off Svendack, Baphomet’s High Priestess, Ylleshka, the conjoined marilith, and Inger-Maggor, Baphomet’s Ivory Hunter. But then Deskari’s forces arrive, and the Crusaders are destroyed, a bare handful escaping. This included Aravashinal, but not Waxberry, who was knocked unconscious trying to aid the Herald. The Herald moves to flee when it was clear the Crusade was lost, but Vorlesh took to the field, and captured the Herald. He was taken to Threshold, where Baphomet ripped out his heart and Vorlesh replaced it with a Nahyndrian crystal that began the slow but inevitable process of corrupting the Herald.

[Stip]

Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth

It was a sobering return to Drezen, despite the Silver Scale’s successes in the Midnight Isles. While they discovered that Hellin and Tharakstrana, a possessed gold dragon freed by the Silver Scale during Battlebliss, had made it to Drezen, they learned of the disaster at Raliscrad, the loss of old friends, including Waxberry, and the utter destruction of about half the military strength of the Fifth Crusade. But most devastating of all was the loss of the Herald. Irabeth summons Galfrey, who arrives with James Bothan. Galfrey orders the Herald’s loss to be kept a secret for the time being. Crusader morale is at a breaking point after Raliscrad, and only the achievements of the Silver Scale have held it together. Vorlesh’s ambush is especially disquieting, both for its logistical and strategic sophistication and that it happened at all. The forces of the Abyss could not have organized this quickly, and the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth were broken on Golarion. Galfrey is tired, and for the first time seems lost. She confesses that with the disaster at Raliscrad there is no longer a hope that the Crusade can match the demons in the field. All their hopes now lie with closing the Worldwound.

The death of Baphomet at Nocticula’s hand may have created a window. Though Demon Lords are regenerated by their realms, the energy involved is so great it takes a year for the realm to recover. During that time Baphomet is vulnerable and will likely spend the next year in hiding. Bothan intelligence reports that many of his forces in the Worldwound have retreated to the Ivory Labyrinth to protect their Lord during this uncertain time. Deskari’s troops, on the other hand, have withdrawn, forming a defensive perimeter around Threshold and Undarin. Something is happening, though the Crusaders are not sure what. And it is confirmed that a great roaring cloud of insects has appeared thousands of feet in the sky above the Worldwound appearing to circle the land. Its purpose is unknown.

Galfrey acknowledges that there is perhaps one last opportunity before them. The team studying the Lexicon has almost reverse engineered a ritual that might be able to close the Worldwound. Galfrey will gather and rally the remaining Crusader strength at Nerosyan. When the time is right, the Crusade will march to Threshold under the Sword of Valor and deliver the Silver Scale to the heart of the Worldwound, where they will use the ritual to close the Worldwound. Drezen will be prepared as a final fallback point should the assault fail. The civilians in Nerosyan and Kenebras are ready to evacuate to the coastal city of Egede, where a fleet of ships will take them across the Lake of Mists and Veils and into Verdant, which promises at least temporary refuge. Zograthy and Queso are to report to Lastwall to support the Lexicon team, while the rest of the Silver Scale is to help prepare the defenses at Drezen.

As the council adjourns, the world turns white, and the chamber fades out of existence. It is a similar sensation to the forced summons of Areelu Vorlesh, but without the same sense of violation. The Silver Scale, plus Irabeth, Galfrey, and Arueshalae, find themselves in a vast cathedral, whose stained-glass windows seem to stretch off into infinity. The images within the glass shift and change, showing the opening of the Worldwound and the history of the Crusades. The group is drawn to the center of the cathedral, and as they travel the images tell the history of the Fifth Crusade before reaching the center knave, where the windows reveal the story of the Herald of Iomedae and his service in her name. There is a blinding pressure, but just as the Silver Scale feels like their heads will burst it fades, and an avatar of Iomedae appears before them.

It is hard to look directly at her, as if this form is doing all it can to shield the mortals from the full force of her power. But the Silver Scale nevertheless feels a sense of peace and certainty they have never experienced before. She greets the crusaders, and as she speaks the windows tell the stories of the eleven Acts of Iomedae. She asks questions that test the character and resolve of the Silver Scale, before revealing they have been brought here for a purpose. But before she tells them, she reveals something of her own hidden history, as if to explain her motivations, sharing the story of how, as a mortal, her actions led to the capture and corruption of Aroden’s Herald Arazni. This story, which she bitterly refers to as the Twelfth Act of Iomedae, was suppressed by the churches of Iomedae and Aroden upon her ascension.

She confirms that the Herald was captured by the forces of the Worldwound during Raliscrad. His location is unknown, but she confirms that he still lives, as she can feel him through their bond. She knows he is enduring a great torture aimed at the corruption of his soul, a battle he is losing. If she severs her connection to him, he will be lost forever, but as long as she maintains it she can preserve part of his soul. But time is of the essence, as something is parasitically feeding off that connection, drawing upon her divine power. She bears the weight of guilt over his capture and condition, knowing that the Herald intervened because Iomedae cannot violate the cosmic strictures that prevent the intercession of Gods in mortal affairs. She cannot even send an avatar, as invading the Abyss would trigger a planar war, as Desna almost did countless millennia ago avenging her own friend and ally.

Instead, she tasks the Silver Scale with infiltrating Baphomet’s labyrinth plane, where they are to find her Herald, and return him. The Silver Scale are given boons to carry out this quest. First, the ability to cast an atonement that might restore the Herald to his true self. Second, the Chalice of Ozem, an Iomedaen artifact that can hold any substance – including potentially the blood of the Father of Worms, a great beast that lairs somewhere in the Ivory Labyrinth whose caustic blood can melt any lock. Finally, she gives them the Stole of the Inheritor, a cloak that will return them to Iomedae’s side once they complete their mission.

But this task is for the Silver Scale. Galfrey and Irabeth, who she names as her mortal sword and shield, are to return to Golarion. Irabeth must protect the Sword of Valor, and Galfrey must prepare not for victory, as Iomedae confirms the Crusade cannot triumph through force of arms, but to fight – for as long as she can, to save who she can – and give spiritual answer to the crimes of the Abyss. You can sense that Iomedae sees within Galfrey a kindred spirit, and Galfrey’s spirit is renewed.

Finally, Iomedae offers Rischa the opportunity to temporarily assume the role of her Herald. Rischa agrees, and Iomedae opens a connection between them. Rischa is struck by a vision of a vast golden wall sitting upon a featureless plane, and a golden tether emerges from that wall, binding Rischa to Iomedae. Rischa begins to swell with power, though she recognizes that it will take years to learn how to safely control it. She also finds her mind opens to Iomedae, granting the God access to her innermost thoughts. But this connection flows both ways, and Rischa can sense how much of her humanity and empathy Iomedae has held onto, so that she might deliver justice in a form comprehensible to mortals. Yet this lack of detachment tortures Iomedae – she feels every injustice deeply and feels caged and unable to act because of the strictures that bind her.

Iomedae returns her champions to Drezen, moments after their departure, and plans change, as the Silver Scale prepares to make their way into the Ivory Labyrinth, where they must find and rescue the Herald before it is too late.

The Ivory Labyrinth is a massive, ever shifting and unmappable maze the size of Avistan and Garund combined. The Silver Scale begins what will become a month-long exploration of the plane, their journey eventually taking them to the capital of Blackburgh. Fortunately, Wick’s notoriety as the champion of Battlebliss smooths their journey in places. In Blackburgh they are met by James Bothan, who helps them secure magical equipment. The Silver Scale is also sent a gift from Nocticula, a black sapphire that can help fund their journey. In Blackburgh they encounter Verbovexxor, a sentient vescavor swarm, who reveals a powerful prisoner has been taken to the Ineluctable Prison, arguably the most secured vault in all the planes.

The Ineluctable Prison is the original maze in which Asmodeus first imprisoned a then mortal Baphomet. In the act of his escape and ascension to Demon Lord Baphomet stole the maze from Hell and brought it with him to the Abyss. The prison, while not the capital, is the heart of his realm. It is found somewhere in the Breathless Mountains, its entrance secured by an unpickable lock requiring five keys.

James Bothan brings word of a powerful nalfeshnee demon named Orengofta, who wishes to meet with the Silver Scale. They agree and learn that Orengofta is concerned about the stability of the Ivory Labyrinth and wants the Herald out before Iomedae gets desperate and sends a force of angels to he brings into the Ineluctable Prison. It is, he argues, the only way past the prison’s impassable gate. The Silver Scale refuses, and violence ensues. Orengofta is defeated and in exchange for his life reveals a secret way to the prison that takes them past the Father of Worms.

As the Silver Scale searches the Ivory Labyrinth, Deskari’s forces launch as massive assault upon Northern Golarion, each of Deskari’s primary generals leading a force of demons who teleport in formation, covering vast distances at incredible speeds and descending upon their enemies with no warning. Diurgez Broodlord effortlessly conquers the major population centers of Numeria, while Ustalav melts before the Storm King. Curiously, the demons seem primarily interested in prisoners, herding vast populations of mortals north towards Undarin, though most die along the journey. It is Aponavicius who descends upon Mendev. Galfrey is ready but does not engage. Instead, she evacuates the country and sends the bulk of her remaining forces north to Drezen, escorting the remaining civilians who were unable to flee. She stays in Nerosyan with ten thousand volunteers, who are there to draw in Aponavicius and buy time for the bulk of the army and civilians to escape. It is a suicide mission, but the lives are given willfully. Galfrey is the last person to leave, teleported out by Aravashinal as the city falls, and with it the nation of Mendev.

Iomedae watches, grieving for her home and doubtful that victory is possible. As she contemplates Golarion’s fate, she senses a great evil stirring at the heart of the Lake of Mists and Veils and feels the infection caused by her link to a corrupted Herald. And she realizes that all her hopes rest with the Silver Scale. Gods cannot pray for miracles, but as long as there is resistance, there is an ember of hope.

The Silver Scale journeys into a deep, dark maze and ultimately finds and destroys the Father of Worms, securing its blood in the Chalice of Ozem. They follow a pinprick of light out into the peaks of the Breathless Mountains, and gaze upon the Ineluctable Prison. It is a massive, spiked sphere over half a mile wide, secured by chains between the mountains. The chains are wide enough to serve as a road to the prison. As they approach the entrance, the prison comes alive, shooting its spikes at the Silver Scale. There is a battle against vrolikai demons and cyclopean guards at the entrance, and then they confront the famed Groaning Gate of the Ineluctable Prison. Investigating the door, Wick discovers that each of the five locks must be opened in sequence, and each is heavily trapped. Should any lock fail to open, the system and traps will reset. They are the most complicated locks Wick has ever seen, some of the most complicated throughout the planes, but Wick manages to bypass them and open the unopenable door.

As the Silver Scale enters the prison demiplane, Rischa feels her connection to Iomedae weaken, her God suddenly a distant, hazy presence rather than something that envelops her. They fight their way across the Prisoner’s Bridge, which hovers above the Pool of Ultimate Endings, guarded by a mythic crystal ooze. Curiously, they do not encounter demons. Instead, Baphomet appears to have looked to demodand’s to secure his prison.

As the Silver Scale explores the constantly shifting prison, whose walls are made of the bones of Baphomet’s enemies, they pass prison cells populated primarily by demons and devils. To their surprise, they encounter an image of a spectral hand, which beckons them to a cellblock, where they discover, to their shock, that Waxberry is being held prisoner. Although skeptical at first, they confirm this is Waxberry, who is gaunt but does not show signs of torture, at least not physically. Waxberry weeps with relief. She tells the story of the Herald’s capture and reveals that she was brought in to watch his torture. He was chained to pillars on a great disc floating above a lake of tar. There was a smoking hole in his chest, where his heart had been ripped out and replaced with something vile and corrupt. But her captors lost interest in her as another angel named Malaika, who single handedly assaulted the Ineluctable Prison, was captured, and brought in. The angel passed Waxberry on his way to be tortured, and surreptitiously passed the former thief a holy symbol, which she smuggled into her cell and used to create the spectral hand. Waxberry is ready to aid the heroes as best she can and recommends the Silver Scale find and rescue the angel Malaika.

Before they leave, an imprisoned immolation Devil named Surrlahetas offers to trade information about the prison in exchange for his release. Holding most of the cards, the Silver Scale agrees to do so if he stays and fights with them until they leave the labyrinth. The devil agrees and shares the names of the wardens of the prison. Plorig-Stagul, the head torturer, Svendack, Inger Magor, and Ylleshka.

The Silver Scale searches for the torture chamber, assuming this is where they might find Malakia. He is there, and while Plorig-Stagul is defeated, they are too late. The angel is dead. Wick uses Grave Warden to speak with the spirit of the Astral Deva. Malakia reveals he assaulted the prison, affecting a mad and mindless grief, with the intent of being captured. Knowing full well that he would be tortured horribly before an inevitable death, his sole purpose was to find and deliver a message to the Silver Scale, from Jingh, one of Iomedae’s chief advisors, and among the most ancient beings in all the planes. It had to be given in the Ineluctable Prison, as it blocks all divination not aspected to Baphomet. In this space, Iomedae is deaf and blind, even to her Herald. Once he shares his message, Malakia warns, they cannot leave until their work is done. Iomedae must not know and will be able to sense Rischa’s thoughts the second she leaves.

He warns that the Herald must die corrupted and be reborn as a servant of the Abyss, his soul damned for all eternity. He must be killed to break the parasitic drain on Iomedae but cannot be redeemed. The small part of his consciousness Iomedae has preserved will remain and sense the eternal violation of his soul. This would consign the Herald to a tortured existence, for eternity. They must violate the express wishes of Iomedae and ensure this happens.

The Silver Scale is horrified, especially Arueshalae, as a similar experience nearly broke her, and that was simply the awakening of the shred of conscience possessed by a soul wicked enough to be reborn in the Abyss. The Silver Scale asks Malakia for proof, and he has none. Just the word of Jingh. But he says that there is an ancient being who resides against his will in the Ineluctable Prison. If they seek out Alderpash, they may learn more. The deva wishes them luck, and hopes they make the right choice before he allows his soul to return to the Heavens to be reborn.

The Silver Scale begins their search for Alderpash, and eventually discover his spacious and well-appointed prison. There they meet the ancient lich, the original Runelord of Wrath, who helped lead the Thassalonian empire in the age before Earthfall. A worshipper of Baphomet, he was imprisoned for a failure to appease the demon lord. Alderpash offers to share what he knows if the Silver Scale helps him escape. The wards that keep him here are unbreakable, but when Nocticula killed Baphomet, they temporarily weakened. If Baphomet is defeated again, he believes they will snap. If the Silver Scale draws Baphomet to prison, Alderpash will help them defeat him. He believes freeing or killing the Herald, depriving Baphomet of his trophy, would enrage the Demon Lord enough to leave the security of his palace in Blackburgh and seek his vengeance here. The Silver Scale agrees.

Alderpash reveals that Queso’s sphere was an alghollthu artifact from before the Earthfall, and that the one in Queso’s possession had been stolen by Xin, the founder of Thassilon. The orbs are repositories of the knowledge of the alghollthu Veiled Masters, architects of the Earthfall. They caused the Earthfall because the Azlanti were close to unlocking time magic, and it is forbidden to disrupt the flow of time. Doing so weakens the fabric of reality, and empowers the Dark Tapestry, the cosmic force of entropy at war with creation.

This why the Gods cannot directly manifest in the world, as doing so also weakens these boundaries. There are exceptions – the Gods entered the prime material plan in the fullness of their power to imprison Rovagug, for instance, and throughout all known and unknown history they have, in a few rare moments, been summoned, into reality – a loophole in the laws of the universe that requires access to power on a scale so cosmically vast as to be functionally impossible.

To ensure that no one is tempted to break these strictures, there are rules deeply embedded in the structure of reality that ensure any entity who does so is annihilated, and their purpose corrupted. Should they escape their punishment the debt is transferred to another. He notes that Aroden repeatedly violated these rules, which led to his eventual destruction.

Alderpash reveals that Vorlesh has replaced the Herald’s heart with a Nahyndrian crystal, and he has been corrupted, transformed into a creature of Lord Baphomet. He tells Queso that if he uses the orb to view the Herald, he will sense arcane colors he had never seen before. It is the stain of time magic, marking him for judgement and punishment. Alderpash does not know what the Herald did, just that he is marked.

He also tells the Silver Scale that Vorlesh has approached him and offered to kill Baphomet in exchange for his knowledge. He agreed, having little to lose, but he is not sure she will keep her bargain. He reveals that he was humbled by her power and ambition.

Finally, Alderpash offers to describe the prison of the Herald, which has no entrance and can only be reached through teleportation circles that litter the prison. But before the Silver Scale tries kill or free him, the lich recommends they destroy Baphomet’s lieutenants, so they do not interfere in the confrontation.

The Silver Scale is torn over how to proceed. Queso and Wick argue that they should heed Alderpash and Jingh and kill the Herald without redeeming him. Kiryn, Zograthy, Arueshalae, and Rischa disagree, and carry the day. The Silver Scale then set off to hunt down the various guardians of the Ivory Sanctum. High Priest Svendack is killed in her temple, where they disrupt the aura of heroism projected throughout the prison, a victory which costs them Surrlahetas. The great tarn linnorm Uffrandir is killed in his lake of acid, which draws out Inger Maggor and the powerful labyrinth minotaurs accompanying him. Among the linnorm’s treasure is a torc of the heavens, a powerful divination artifact that can even pierce the veil of silence locking the Gods’ senses out of the Ineluctable Prison.

Igramalash, the original rune giant and a creation of Alderpash intended to appease Baphomet’s anger, is released from his cell. This summons the warden Ylleshka, the conjoined twelve-armed marilith. As she fights Igramalash the Silver Scale prepares an ambush in her chamber, which enables them to successfully defeat the wounded demon. Finally, they travel to Baphomet’s museum, guarded by Gelderfang, where they secure the Herald’s heart and his sword Valor’s Wrath. The Silver Scale prepares to free and redeem the Herald. As they do, Wick discreetly uses the Torc to commune with Pharasma and learns that Pharasma does not want the Herald freed and redeemed.

Back in Golarion it is the 4th of Gozran, and Deskari has betrayed the weakened Baphomet, taking total control of the Worldwound. In Undarin all Deskari’s prisoners, including what remains of Baphomet’s followers, have been massed in a vast plaza, well over a hundred thousand strong. High above, witnessed by Deskari’s inner circle, Vorlesh is finalizing a great ritual. Orbiting her are over a hundred thousand black gems like the ones that held the soul of Queso’s mother. In her hand was a similar black gem of immense size, glowing with corrupted power Vorlesh had stolen from the Herald. At the completion of her ritual, she crushes the gem, and the souls of all the mortal prisoners below, including mortal followers of Deskari, are drawn into the cloud of gems. At this point the gems shatter, their quintessence annihilated to create the energy needed to supercharge the Worldwound.

The Rasping Rifts begin to fuse with the planet, and Golarion changes. True North shifts to Threshold, and all sentient beings find their gaze unconsciously drifting towards it, seeking this new pole. Across the planet every new child is born infected with abyssal energy, creating a new generation of mongrelfolk. Uncounted billions of insects swarm through the portal and flood the sky of the Worldwound. Only the area surrounding Drezen, protected by the Sword of Valor, resists the transformation.

The Silver Scale confronts the corrupted Herald, who identifies himself as the Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth. As he fights his former allies, there are moments where glimpses of his prior self struggle for control. The Herald taunts the Silver Scale, reveling in descriptions of the horrors the soul of the Herald has been subjected to. With great difficulty, they manage to defeat the Herald and begin to prepare for his redemption. This process would require removing the crystal in his chest and restoring his heart, before utilizing the atonements gifted by Iomedae. But before this can happen Wick stabs the Herald, ending his life. There is a last-ditch effort to try and secure the tiny fragment of his tortured, fearful soul that contains his former essence, but it is absorbed by the Abyss and Iomedae is forced to let go. The Herald is gone, to be reborn as a demon, tortured for eternity and lost forever.

The Ineluctable Prison groans and buckles as Baphomet approaches, his rage overriding his caution. A battle-weary Silver Scale returns to Alderpash’s prison, but when Baphomet arrives, they take Waxberry and flee – abandoning their erstwhile new ally.

They find themselves once again in the central Knave of Iomedae’s cathedral. Waxberry is gone. Iomedae is cold and stern, but Rischa can sense her infinite grief, her guilt, and her crushing disappointment. She immediately senses what happened from Rischa. She says it is one thing to try and fail, but to openly defy her is hubris of the worst kind. It falls to Iomedae to dispense cosmic justice, and the Herald must now pay the price of the Silver Scale’s arrogance. She reveals she was aware of Jingh’s concerns and will deal with him when the time is right.

But the Silver Scale’s work is not done. Despite her misgivings, they remain her best weapon against the Worldwound, and Golarion has entered its final moments. Vorlesh’s planer transformation will be made permanent within a matter of days, and she cannot interfere. She tells them “You are my avatars in the battle for Golarion. Protect the Sword. Secure the knife. Find the Suture. Close the Wound.’ The Silver Scale are transported to a timeless demiplane so they can prepare. Her final words to them are “To close one door, you will have to open another. Go forward in light to combat the darkness.” And they understand that if they open the one closed door within the demiplane they will be transported back to Golarion, and the end of the world.

[Stip]

City of Locusts

The Silver Scale emerges from the demiplane on the 5th of Gozran, about a mile from Drezen. Waxberry is there, having appeared moments ago. They return to find Drezen a bustling fortress city, held by fifty thousand crusaders. There is a surge of relief and confidence when the Silver Scale is sighted. It has been almost two months since their departure. They are reunited with Hellin, Tharakstrana, and Cyrus before being summoned by Anevia to a council with Galfrey and their closest allies – Anevia, Aravashinal, Horgus, Irabeth, Waxberry, and a rejuvenated Yaniel. After reporting on the events of the last two months, Galfrey shares that at the moment of the Herald’s death all divine followers of Iomedae felt a surge of inconsolable sadness, resolve, and anticipation. The Silver Scale is updated on the fall of the North, the evacuation of Mendev, and their exceedingly grim circumstances. Gwerm warns there is only enough food for one more day for all the civilians hiding in the caves above Drezen, protected by a small force of Crusaders and a relocated Bell of Mercy.

Outside the field of protection offered by the Sword of Valor the Worldwound has become unpassable, due to the cataclysmic weather and concentrated evil generated by the planner transformation. In fact, every remaining Bothan died to bring them what remaining intelligence the Crusade has. The armies of the Broodlord and Storm King have disbanded and are running amok throughout north central Avistan, causing chaos and preventing the nearby nations from organizing or even forming a clear picture of what is happening. No relief force is coming, and most of Golarion’s cold iron had already made its way north to support the Crusades. The fifty thousand soldiers at Drezen are the only army left on Golarion capable of meeting the demons in the field.

Aponavicius is marching on Drezen with an army three times the size of the Crusade. They are massing at the edge of the Sword of Valor’s protective field and are expected to begin their attack shortly after dawn. Their plan is to destroy Drezen, wipe out the Crusade, and reclaim the Sword of Valor. Galfrey refuses to move it, recalling Iomedae’s words to her “I simply ask that you fight to save your people, as many as you can.” Without the Sword the demons will swarm over the last army of the Crusade and the thirty thousand civilians taking refuge in the hills.

Based on what was learned from the Bothan network, they believe Vorlesh did not have enough power to instantaneously stabilize the gate, and that it will take about seven more days before it is irreversible. During that window it may still be possible to close the Worldwound, and based on the research into the Lexicon, still secure in Lastwall, they may have found a way. It will require a massive surge of energy, but the hope is the combined power of the Silver Scale plus Irabeth, those touched by the wardstones, may be able to provide it. The ritual has been modified so that it will fuse the consciousness of the participants so that that energy can be focused with one singular will.

But to permanently seal the Worldwound the ritual is not enough. A portion of the Worldwound’s energy resides in the deformed and tortured body of Suture, a dretch who was once a powerful derakni and the first demon through the gate when Vorlesh opened it. It was not yet stable, and as he crossed over part of its energy was absorbed into him. It has made him immortal, and if he possesses that piece of the Worldwound within him it cannot be closed. It is believed Suture is being held in the mile wide cloud of vermin circumnavigating the Worldwound at speeds of one hundred and fifty miles per hour.

It is believed that the immortal Suture can be killed by a particular artifact – the Nahyndrian dagger created by Vorlesh. The one the Storm King used to crack and destroy the Kenebras wardstone. But it is protected by Aponavicius. There is an opportunity to kill her and secure it, but only if the cautious demon can be forced to take the field.

The crusaders cannot win. They can merely fight long enough to draw out Aponavicius and give the Silver Scale one shot to take her down. The city has been prepared to maximize the benefit of channeled healing and break up the flight advantage of the demons. The Sword of Valor will weaken the demons and prevent them from teleporting and summoning. Yaniel will defend the Sword of Valor in the courtyard. Irabeth and Galfrey will lead the troops in battle. The Silver Scale will lead surgical strikes against Aponavicius’ leadership to force her into the open. If they win, the Silver Scale will bring Suture, the dagger, and the Sword of Valor to Threshold, where they will confront Vorlesh and try to close the Worldwound. One way or another, Galfrey’s crusade has come to its end.

The demons will be here at dawn, and the Silver Scale are given one last peaceful night. They spend much of it drinking with Yaniel, sharing stories. Yaniel is particularly interested in Arueshalae’s journey and tells her that she will never be able to balance out the evil she has done. Good acts cannot undo the harm or horror of the atrocities that proceeded them. But she can wake up every day and be worthy of the opportunity to be better than she was before.

The Crusade musters at dawn. The Silver Scale addresses the assembled troops. Yaniel’s words are designed to inspire victory. Irabeth’s to foster endurance. But Galfrey speaks last, and she is honest, letting them know that they are here today to die, not to win. But if they honor their gods, they will be rewarded in the life to come, and this message steels the resolve of the Crusades.

It is a long and grueling day of battle, as the Crusade slowly but continuously gives ground in a war of attrition it cannot win despite the incredible valor on display. Fighting alongside their allies, the Silver Scale systematically eliminates Aponavicius’ lieutenants, help Yaniel defend the Sword of Valor, and assist Horgus with the defense of the civilians. They confront Staunton Vhane one final time, only to be betrayed by Hellin, who kills Aravashinal. The Silver Scale would eventually learn that Vorlesh promised to save Hellin’s home if she turned on her allies, and that Hellin lacked faith the Silver Scale would survive to intervene with Nocticula. Her soul, she argued, was a price she was willing to pay if it offered the possibility of saving her world.

Eventually the Crusade is reduced to a small group of defenders in Drezen’s courtyard. Cyrus and Tharakstrana are dead. Anevia brings word that demons have somehow made it into the keep. The Silver Scale rushes to investigate, and in the basement of Drezen they discover the defunct planar gate has reopened. The Silver Scale enters and finds it leads to Aponavicius’ lair, where she waits for them with powerful allies of her own. Strange pillars powered by the consumption of soul lead fuel Aponavicius’ power, and she handily defeats an exhausted Silver Scale.

Aponavicius emerges from her demiplane to claim the Sword of Valor, only to find it defended by Galfrey, Irabeth, and Yaniel. They fight bravely, but cannot defeat Aponavicius, who eviscerates Irabeth and Galfrey and tosses their bodies aside. This leaves only Yaniel, who falls before Aponavicius, her blood coating the Sword of Valor, which she refuses to relinquish even as she dies. But before Aponavicius can claim the Sword, she is distracted by Irabeth, who finds the strength to stand and resist one last time. Aponavicius taunts the paladin, but Irabeth remains at peace with her fate, her calm acceptance infuriating Aponavicius. The marilith moves in for the kill, but Irabeth stands her ground as Galfrey rises behind Aponavicius and smites her with the Sword of Valor. Coated in the blood of a twice martyred paladin and used by a holy champion to smite a nascent demon lord, the Sword of Valor immolates itself, releasing all Iomedae’s power that was contained within. The demon army is consumed, and the marilith’s demiplane destroyed. As the light fades, and the Abyss begins to consume the now unprotected lands surrounding Drezen, Galfrey and Irabeth claim the Nahyndrian dagger. The Silver Scale in turn is revived by the surge of divine power that so closely resembles the wardstone energy within them and can sense this energy will eventually regenerate even the deadliest wounds.

Fewer than one thousand Crusaders survived, most of whom were in the caves above Drezen protecting civilians. While the survivors seek shelter from the abyssal storms ravaging the landscape, the Silver Scale, Galfrey, Irabeth, Anevia, and Waxberry plan to teleport to Lastwall in the morning and determine how to secure the Suture.

The Silver Scale receives visitors that evening. No longer barred by the Sword of Valor, Nocticula visits Drezen and speaks with Wick and Zograthy. She shares she is impressed that Wick, her Battlebliss champion, had the courage to act and do what is necessary in the matter of the Herald. She reveals that while Vorlesh has hidden this very carefully, the Rasping Rifts are not actually absorbing Golarion. Instead, when the process is finished, a new abyssal realm will be created, with Vorlesh as its master. She is impressed with Vorlesh, who managed to use the Silver Scale to eliminate almost all Deskari’s allies, so when the time comes for their confrontation Deskari will be alone. Nocticula confirms their intelligence about the Suture but warns them to think carefully about what they know and how they know it.

Rischa, Arueshalae, and Kiryn wander the ruins of Citadel Drezen and try to clean up the chapel of Iomedae as a gesture of thanks and gratitude. When they restore the altar, Iomedae speaks to them. She reminds them of her own life as a mortal, and that while so many of her victories were canonized as miracles, at the time they were just desperate struggles she stumbled through with no certainty of victory. She encourages them not to lose hope and tells Rischa that one last great choice lies before her. She will know what to do when the time comes, and when it does, she should trust her mortal heart, and the instincts of her Desnan allies, and not try to guess the will of her God.

Queso stressed over how much there was to do, how much only he could do, and how time robbed him of the opportunity to do it. He eventually falls asleep, exhausted. In his dream he is haunted by the memory of the people of Chitterhome he could not save in time. Vorlesh is there and lectures Queso that true power requires sacrifice and suffering. His power was a gift from a God, and one that can be taken away. He has yet to learn what it means to truly seize power for himself. She recognizes his potential but as long he allows himself to be defined by others he will never come into his own, evidenced by his willingness to let himself be guided by the will of allies he knew to be wrong when deciding what to do about the Herald. Vorlesh offers to help him unlock his true promise if he joins her. Queso refuses, arguing that his allies are a source of strength, not weakness. Vorlesh warns that he can either serve her or die in the service of Iomedae. When the time comes, she trusts he will make the right decision.

The Silver Scale decides to take a day to recover and prepare for the next phase of their journey. On the 8th of Gozran, accompanied by Irabeth, who no longer needs to guard the Sword of Valor, they teleport into the heart of the giant cloud of vermin. Within they find an infernal iron engine, powered by souls, churning across the sky. It is guarded by the remnants of the Board of Directors of Swarms. The Silver Scale realizes that the iron beast houses a demiplane within it, one they cannot get access without a key. Wick manages to bypass the locks, and they leave the Directors behind them. Inside they confront a series of demiplanes, each leading into another, and defeat the Broodlord before reaching the engine room.

Inside they find Anemora the drider, Deskari’s High Priestess, guards Suture. But she has allies of her own. Sister Perversion, who traveled from Alushinyrra to take her vengeance, and Lord Stillborn and the Filleted Man - the assassins who killed Rischa and stole Staunton Vhane’s armor from Drezen. During the fight James Bothan appears and stabs Wick before disappearing, revealing himself to be a traitor.

Despite this betrayal, the Silver Scale defeats the Suture’s guardians. He is held within a series of heavily trapped force cages, and as the Silver Scale works out how to free him, they set off one of the traps. Their demiplane drops into the Prime, careening towards the earth, and the unbreakable chains that hold the Suture start to crush him. Time is running out. If the Suture dies, he will rematerialize elsewhere, and he will need to be found and secured again. At the last moment, the Silver Scale uses the acid from the Father of Worms to destroy the chains and teleport to safety, before the demon train crashes into the ground at Iz.

They arrive in Lastwall, only to be followed by the Storm King, who is magically linked to Suture in a way that allows for instant teleportation. The impact of his landing destroys much of the fortress, as does his death throes after the Silver Scale defeat him. Finally, the Silver Scale has the dagger and the Suture. They were counting on the Sword of Valor to help weaken the connection between the Abyss and Golarion, but Zograthy believes he may be able to draw enough power from the Staff of the Riftwarden to accomplish this.

Galfrey convenes a final war council. Devastated by the betrayal of James Bothan, and the revelation that Vorlesh controlled a spy network outside the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth, she will speak only to the Silver Scale and Irabeth. Not even Arueshalae is allowed to take part. They no longer know what information is trustworthy as so much of what they know came from the Bothans, and Galfrey cannot say for certain which ones supported Vorlesh. Some of the most powerful truth detection magics were extensively used to test their loyalty, and while James Bothan defeated them, Galfrey doubts most Bothans were strong enough to do the same. To make matters worse, an echo of Deskari, imprisoned by Aroden at the heart of the Lake of Mists and Veils hundreds of years ago, seems to have broken free of its bonds.

Galfrey has no armies she can send into the field. Even if she did, the abyssal energies around Threshold are so potent no one can withstand them for long. But the Silver Scale and Irabeth possess the power of the wardstones, and Arueshalae seems to have some divine protections received from Desna. It will have to be them, and only them. If they can gain access to Threshold there should be places where the arcane ley lines emerging from the Worldwound to knit the planes together are clustered. The Staff of the Riftwarden can be used to lay down dimensional locks in those places to weaken the Worldwound.

Once they gain access to the heart of the Worldwound itself, and defeat its guardians, including, they presume, Areelu Vorlesh, they can begin the ritual. They will need to simultaneously disarm incredibly powerful wards, more psychic emanations than traditional traps. At this point they can use the dagger to kill Suture, who will need to be kept subdued throughout the process. This close to the Worldwound’s heart Suture’s energy should be reabsorbed. At that point they can begin the ritual to close it. It will take obscene amounts of power to sever the connection between the Rasping Rifts and Golarion, more than any one individual member of the Silver Scale can manifest. But together, perhaps, they will be strong enough. The ritual was modified to enable them to combine their consciousness and through that wield the energy as a unified whole.

They will be vulnerable while this occurs. Arueshalae can guard them, as she cannot participate in the ritual since her power comes from Desna, not Iomedae. Galfrey reminds them that they are placing the fate of all Golarion in the hands of a risen succubus, and they will be doing so in a place of overpowering abyssal corruption. She asks if they are sure they trust her with that responsibility, and the Silver Scale affirms that they do.

It is the morning of the 9th of Gozran. In four days the Worldwound and Golarion will have been fused into a new plane, ruled by Vorlesh. The fate of Golarion, the security of Rovagug’ s prison, possession of the Starstone, the stability of the planes – everything will depend on the Silver Scale pulling off one final miracle.

The Silver Scale gathers in a small chapel of Iomedae, deep within the fortress of Vigil. There Ren Kinney, Dr. Arcadius, Odayama, and Christian Heavenly perform a ritual that will partially combine the consciousness of the Silver Scale and Irabeth, enabling them to share the mythic strength they receive from Iomedae. When the time comes to perform the final ritual, the hope is their shared power, wielded with one will, will be enough to close the Worldwound. The crusaders make their preparations, and then teleport to Threshold.

They find themselves on a cliff overlooking a vast canyon, the landscape transformed into the same vermin infested abyssal chasms of the Rasping Rifts. At this point, it is not clear where Deskari’s realm ends and Golarion begins. And off in the distance, in the center of a vast lake of fire and larvae, is the tower of Threshold. Through their magic sight Zograthy and Queso can see corrupted energy flowing out of the tower and attaching itself onto the magical ley lines crisscrossing Golarion, pumping the abyssal poison directly into the heart of the planet, corrupting and seemingly transforming it into an extension of Deskari’s realm. A storm of vengeance rends the sky, and the mere proximity of the Worldwound begins to wear down the souls of the Silver Scale. The wizards recognize that the magic emanating from the tower will prevent any teleportation. They will have to approach under their own power. Off in the distance four flying forms circle the Threshold.

The Silver Scale approaches, and quickly dispatches the apocalypse locusts, but before they can enter, two nightmares erupt from the lake of vermin. One is Pyralisia, the Reign of Embers, a mighty phoenix who had fallen protecting the Herald of Iomedae while he created the Wardstones at the start of the Second Crusade. The other is the undead form of Terendelev, the ancient silver dragon whose act of mercy during the Storm King’s assault on Kenebras saved the lives of the heroes who would go on to become the Silver Scale.

The battle was long and difficult, but in the end the Silver Scale not only defeated the guardians of Threshold but also used the divine atonements gifted to them by Iomedae, and intended for her Herald, to restore the phoenix and dragon to their former selves. Terendelev’s soul found its way to Heaven, and Iomedae’s side, while Pyralisia fled south, away from the abyssal corruption that immediately began clawing its way into her redeemed soul.

The Silver Scale landed on the rooftop spire of Threshold, and found a portal leading in. Wick was able to disarm the traps, but the portal was devised in such a way that only demons could enter. But the crusaders were able to fool the trap and force their way through.

They crossed into Threshold, and Zograthy used the Staff of the Riftwardens to seal the way behind them, the dimensional lock reducing the influence of the Worldwound. Inside Threshold they saw Vorlesh had transformed the entire tower into a magical amplifier, enhancing the corrupting power of the Worldwound. They also realize that they are neither in Golarion nor the Rasping Rifts, but someplace new. A hybrid plane of the two. There are no demonic defenders, but a portal beckons them, hundreds of feet below, at the base of the tower.

As the Silver Scale approaches, two defenders emerge from the portal. One is recognized as the Favored of Deskari, a demonic eurypterid that has served for millennia as one of Deskari’s enforcers. The other is an Echo of Deskari, a remnant of the manifestation of Deskari Aroden banished to the Lake of Mists and Veils all those centuries ago. The Silver Scale defeat the guardians, and step through the portal, using the Staff of the Riftwardens to seal the way behind them.

They find themselves in the heart of the Worldwound, staring down the portal itself. The corruption is almost overwhelming. They wonder if they should turn back, to rest and prepare. But they now know the information received from the Bothans can’t be trusted, and there is no longer any way to tell how long Golarion has left. Exhausted, but out of time, they decide to push forward. There is no sign of Vorlesh, but the Silver Scale can sense some source of power feeds the Worldwound from the other side of the portal. With a final prayer to their gods, they step in.

Each member of the Silver Scale finds themselves elsewhere in time, a dissociative moment that distantly reminds them of their experience absorbing the memories of the Wardstone – not only simultaneously living past, present, and future, but recognizing that here, in this moment, lies the power to alter time – to change the past or embrace a different future. Every member of the Silver Scale finds themselves tempted, and all but Queso manages to resist, as he finds his essence drifting towards the darkness of the abyss.

The Silver Scale find themselves in a vast chamber, where they can see the essence of the Rasping Rifts being funneled into the Worldwound. Queso and Zograthy are awed by the magic on display, an entirely new form that appears to be grounded in the soul of the planes. And this magic is fusing Golarion and the Rasping Rifts into an entirely new plane – one that Vorlesh can claim as her own.

Vorlesh is here, waiting for the Silver Scale, surrounded by servitors loyal to her. There is an enhanced devastator, and a fallen solar subjected to an earlier version of the rites that would corrupt the Herald of Iomedae. There is a golem made entirely of nahyndrian crystal, and the Storm King reborn as a nightwalker under Vorlesh’s control. The full scope of her plane is laid bare before you. The way she has used you, as promised, from nearly the beginning, to systematically eliminate her rivals. You were her weapon, always her weapon, aimed precisely where she wished. And with the death of the Echo and Favored, all that remain within the heart of the Worldwound were loyal to her. Dimensional barriers have not only locked you in – they have kept Deskari out, and blind to the slow and subtle transformation that will enable Vorlesh to usurp him as the demonic master of a far greater plane.

Vorlesh offers you an opportunity to serve her in her new order. And while she would not expect the faithful of Desna or Iomedae to agree, Zograthy has already opened his soul up to demonic temptation, and the crushing pressure of the abyss had broken through Queso’s resolve. But all refuse and the battle for the soul of Golarion begins.

The Silver Scale manages to grind through Vorlesh’s minions, to her rising frustration. It is clear, initially, that she is holding herself back, in preparation for her final fight against Deskari, but she is forced to invest more and more of her own power. She eventually takes control of Queso’s mind and kills the rest of the Silver Scale. Queso observes a triumphant Vorlesh add a final component to the impossibly complex sequence of runes and sigils adorning the chamber and begin her final transformation into a full-fledged demon lord.

As Vorlesh begins to exult in her power, Wick’s hand, possessed by the spirit of his brother Phineas, reaches for Gravewarden, the Pharasman dagger gifted to Wick by Nocticula. There is a moment of bargaining, and then Phineas destroys the dagger, offers his soul to Nocticula, and summons the Demon Lord to the heart of the Worldwound. This Vorlesh did not expect, and before she can react Nocticula unleashes an unspeakable amount of power, stopping time and resurrecting the Silver Scale. This has left Nocticula vulnerable and weakened. She focuses her remaining power on shielding Queso from Vorlesh’s mind control, as the Silver Scale finally faces Vorlesh on a field not of her own design, and triumph over their hated foe.

Feeling exposed, and not wishing to draw the eye of Deskari, Nocticula departs, and the Silver Scale begin the ritual to close the Worldwound. They confront and overpower the wards protecting it. The Suture is sacrificed, and his death in proximity to the Worldwound restores the piece of its essence he had been carrying. The Wound is whole, exposed, and finally vulnerable.

The time has come to complete the ritual combining their consciousness, truly fusing into one collective mind – an element not found in the Lexicon of Paradox. Zograthy begin the final incantations to close the rift. The river of power rises and flows into one stream as it begins to close the Wound. But the Silver Scale are so focused on the ritual, and resisting the corrupting presence of the Abyss, they fail to notice the Worldwound itself, infused with part of Vorlesh’s soul, burrow into the ritual and seize control from the inside. Vorlesh’s final failsafe, or perhaps her plan all along, the author of the Lexicon of Paradox.

The Worldwound begins to feed off the divine power of Iomedae, expanding its growth on an exponential level as it begins to swallow the rest of Golarion. Vorlesh is restored by her new realm, a Demon Lord in truth. The Silver Scale begins to despair. Desperate to flee, their shared consciousness feels a compulsion to follow the river of power to its source. And there, in the space between and underneath reality, they find themselves before a vast golden wall stretched across an infinite horizon. They see that their power flows through a tiny hole in barrier, and they witness millions of even smaller holes releasing divine energy from the other side of the barrier to flow across the planes. And they know what they must do.

With one final act of supreme will, the Silver Scale assert their own authority, and for a fraction of a moment usurp control over Vorlesh’s plane, driving her out. Before she can reassert her mastery, they throw the full cosmic force of her abyssal realm against the barrier. The barrier shatters, and Iomedae is summoned to Golarion by the Silver Scale, not as an avatar, but as a god in full.

Her power is present for only a few moments, but it completely transforms Golarion, purging its abyssal infection, healing the lands it had corrupted, closing the Worldwound, sealing off the abyss, and strengthening the fabric of reality between the planes. As the Worldwound closes so too does the power that sustained her manifestation, and she vanishes, gravely wounded by the manifestation, but alive.

The Silver Scale are sucked through the imploding Worldwound and find themselves in the Rasping Rifts. A portion of Iomedae’s power had flown into the abyssal realm, killing Deskari. The crusaders watch as the realm resurrects the demon lord, who, blind with rage, moves to take his revenge on the heroes. They assess the situation. Iomedae’s power had restored them, but she had to sever their connection to her so they would not be incinerated by the unveiled power of her manifestation. And the overcharged power they absorbed is rapidly fading. If they wish to free Golarion of Deskari and avenge all the souls who had fallen in the century long struggle to close the Worldwound, this was their moment. The Silver Scale stands their ground and engages their foe.

Deskari is not alone, and a seemingly infinite supply of demons are ready to reinforce him. As the Silver Scale struggles for advantage, they are stunned to see Baphomet teleport into the Rasping Rifts, eager to take his own revenge on both Deskari and the Silver Scale - the chaotic hunger of his demonic essence overriding any sense of caution. Alderpash is with him, along with an honor guard of Ivory Minotaurs. Deskari locks down the plane so that there can be no escape.

The Silver Scale fight bravely as their power drains, but it is only a matter of time before they are overwhelmed. As an endless wave of Deskari’s minions overwhelm them, Desna possesses her servant Arueshalae. Taunting her demonic adversaries, she reminds them that their grand plans were defeated by the mortal champions of Desna and Iomedae. And using her divine power to override Deskari’s dimension lock, the Silver Scale find themselves in an abandoned Clydewell Plaza, in the ruins of Kenebras. Home alive, their incredible journey finally at an end.