Session 31

Freeday 17th Phebroar, year 1457

You are hopelessly behind! We almost have two, and my allies are already in Frostfell getting the third. Soon nothing will be able to stop the return of Tharizdun, Destroyer of the Multiverse. And now you will die.

Famous. Last. Words.

The Godsends, who had a score to settle with poor Harrk, went into the battle with spells and axes slinging, and even the fact that Harrk was joined by a beast of a Death Giant, did little to change the course of the battle. The two giants died, and the Godsends found a decent bag of residium (50k) and a magical key.

BC: Der er lagt 16.666 gp til side til dig.

The key turned out to be the one used to open the vault of the Astral Giants, bypassing the magical defenses that had taken down some of Harrk's drow companions.

Before heading into the vault (they didnt know it was a vault at this point), the Godsends decided to have a chat with one of the many Astral Giants they had found dead and tortured. Rolen broke out his Speak with Dead skills, and Eric coached him through the very difficult questions....

The Godsends learned that the Divine Engine piece was no longer on the island. Before getting captured/tortured/killed by the bad guys, they had unceremoniously sling-shotted the artifact into the Astral Sea. In order to retrieve it, one would  have to be Avandra-lucky or have the vector. Unfortunately, no one knew anymore. Except the magical entity in their vault. But that entity would be protected by off-the-chart hardcore magical protections. Unless you were an Astral Giant.

Figuring they probably couldn't rez an Astral Giant, the Godsends took a loot at the defenses in the vault. And then Calos and Eric went to town with it, finally managing to unravel the defenses, although they drained almost everyone in the party completely of energy of the process, even coming very close to sucking Grum dry.

And then the guardians awoke. The Godsends soon realized that this might be their last fight. But through teamwork and a little blind luck, they managed to beat down the guardians, and they got access to the magical entity that could answer any question, but only once for every person.

Eric asked where the divine engine was (the piece that is) and got the vector and speed.

GrobKu asked whether someone had picked it up, or found it, and was told no.

Rolen asked who the traitor in the Godsends was/would be, and was told that the future is cloudy, but it would be either Calos or Hwygar.

Calos and Grum didn't ask anything.

After letting this sink in, they quickly went outside, hailed Captain Hadokz, and flew/sailed after the divine engine piece in the Astral Sea.

Sonday 19th Phebroar, year 1457
After a couple of days of high speed case, they caught up and got a hold of the Divine Engine piece. With that acquired, it was decided to head to Hestavar and find a way to get to the Frostfell in order to race the allies of Harrk, whomever or whatever they may be (lich? blue dragon? something else?)

Hestavar

When the people of the world describe paradise, more often than not they’re imagining visions of Hestavar. At first glance this astral city is an urban paradise, as if brought forth by the furtive imagination of those who idealize the virtues of civilization. Angels and astral skiffs drift among golden clouds, and f loating islands hover over a vast island-studded lagoon of sparkling blue water. The islands, both those set in water and the ones set in air, are adorned with graceful and tapering alabaster edifices that melt into the stone with architectural perfection. Their balcony gardens and covered porticos serve as galleries where magnificentscenes abound, and they provide the occasional perches to colorful songbirds that f lutter all about and to great avian steeds. The air is like a light and refreshing perfume, alive with the ringing sounds of bells, chimes, and harps. Yes, the city is gorgeous . . . prosaic . . . seemingly f lawless. 

And it might be the closest thing in the universe to perfect, but just like the proverbial apple, worms writhe within it. As the hub of trade in the Astral Sea, the city has graft and corruption seeping into it with each trade partner who opens shop on the lagoon’s shores or atop the mercantile earthmote of Methion. A more noticeable spot of corruptionlies on the windward side of the lagoon—here the Salts blow and spit, serving as a fitting testimonial for the primordial Heur-Ket, who was defeated here during the war between gods and primordials.
 And then we have the exalted. Those damned noble exalted. Haughty, arrogant, and with no fear of death, they can be as vicious as any demon and more conniving than any devil, but they have the patience of angels.

        —Barthew Vreen, Captain of the Astral Skiff Wyrmrazor

The most cosmopolitan and accessible of the astral dominions, Hestavar is a fantastically wealthy city
of wonders.
Population: Approximately 300,000. Exalted souls and angels make up most of the population, with a
smaller number of devas and mortals.
Government: The deities Erathis and Pelor rule over Hestavar in name, but they leave the actual administration of the city to an efficient bureau-cracy headed up by the high minister, an angel named Kemuel.
Defense: Several legions of angels of battle, angels of valor, and exalted warriors.
Inns: House in the Clouds; Methion Arms; Garden of  Geras. The Methion Arms is an excellent choice for
travelers who desire a good mix of location, privacy, and reasonable rates.
Taverns: Silver Tankard; Andarman’s Taproom; Kossian Vineyard.
Temples: Cathedral of Aurosion (Erathis, Pelor, and Ioun); University Chapel in Kerith-Ald (Erathis, Pelor,
and Ioun). The palaces of Aurosion and Kerith-Ald include great halls of reverence, attended by angels and exalted clerics who served Erathis, Pelor, and Ioun in life. Smaller shrines dedicated to most other gods in the pantheon (even a few dark ones) exist elsewhere in the city, since the people of Hestavar are pious and give respect to all the deities.

Session 30

Onsday 18th Yanoar, year 1457 
Calos explained that the devil had agreed to help them, without demanding anything in return. Obviously, it must have some unknown ulterior motives. It is a devil, after all.

The Devil, called Xiaus, also confirmed a couple of things.
1) That most of Sigil was overrun by demons, with only a few pockets of La Resistance left.
2) That Orcus was in charge.
3) That Orcus himself was present in Sigil at the time.
4) That Orcus is now in control of most portals and that they are closed.
5) The only way out seems to be by Astral Skiff.

The Godsends quickly decided to find the Resistance and see if they could help them get out. On the way they encountered a few more demons, but eventually they ran into a half-elf called Réné, from La Resistance. Without further ado, Réné lead them to the hideout of La Resistance, where they were introduced to Yolanda, the halfling leader of La Resistance. 

After the usual pleasantries,  The Godsends offered to help La Resistance, and Yolanda told them that she wanted them to go to a nearby Avandra-temple, where a spider-demon had taken up house. In the temple, there is a vault full of wands and rods, that La Resistance could well use for their fight.

The Spider-demon, aka Bebilith, was a nasty character, but the Godsends managed to dispatch it without anyone killed - for once.. Breaking into the magical vault proved easy, and soon they returned to La Resistance, where a very happy Yolanda promised to put them on the first skiff out of town.

Freeday 20th Yanoar, year 1457
The Godsends left Sigil on an Astral Skiff commanded by Hadokz for Hestavar, The Bright City.



Mansday 23th Yanoar, year 1457


Arriving in Hestavar, the Godsends immediately started to find out, where the hell the Astral Giants were. A sage named Hannibal (angel) provided the info, against info about what was happening in Sigil.


Lordday 28th Yanoar, year 1457
Knowledge in hand, and on an Astral Skiff, the Godsends left for the infinite Astral Sea, in search of the island of the Astral Giants.



Freeday 17th Phebroar, year 1457
Finally arriving at the island, the skiff docked and the Godsends paid the captain to stick around for a day, before heading home.

Knocking on the door, they were greeted by a half-elf named Jordal, saying that he was the caretaker and that all the giants had left. The Godsends talked themselves inside, and it was soon clear that he was lying. They pressed on, asking question a demanding a tour. While walking around, GrobKu suddenly heard footsteps, and Jordal polymorphs into Harkk! The battle is on.

Intermezzo in Sigil

Tirsday 17th Yanoar, year 1457
Inside the building, Grum and Calos at first saw nothing. Then, out of nothing, a small devil appeared. Instinctively Grum raised his axe to kill it, but Calos stopped him:

Don't kill it yet, my simple friend. It was the devil that guided us here. 


Grum reluctantly agreed, mumbling something about not trusting it.


Fear not,  mortal man, for I come in peace (quiet chuckle). In fact, I come to help you save your dead friends, do you wish to help your friends? the devil said, looking intensely at Calos.

Of course, what kind of question is that? said Calos.


The devil then went on to explain Calos what would happen. To Grum it sounded like gibberish, but he did notice that Calos paled and balked more than a little bit during the exchange. But in the end, the tiefling said:

Okay, we will do things as you say. Grum, I need you do get into the next room and guard it, should anything break through the barriers protecting this building. And stay there. There will be magic in this room, magic that might be dangerous to us all, should you walk in the middle of it. Don't be as stupid as you sometimes are.

Grum grumbled quite a bit, but left the room all the same. He slept with one eye open, often interrupted by moans and laughter(?) from the room next door.

Onsday 18th Yanoar, year 1457
The next morning, when everything had been quiet for a while, he went back in and found all of his friends alive, sleeping on the floor, where he had left them the night before, dead. The devil was gone.

Session 29

Mansday 16th Yanoar, year 1457
It took some time, but eventually GrobKu and Rolen got rezzed. The Emperor arrived to Drahar and took charge, and started to work on getting the city back on it's feet.

The Godsends, however, had little time for rebuilding. No sooner had they been celebrated by the Emperor and the remaining Draharians for their bravery in the War Against Stone (as it is already called) and granted a spot on the Stone Hill (the new hill in Drahar) where a mansion will be built, before the Godsends were already turning their gazes away from Drahar, and up into the sky.

Of course, there was some debate as to which course to take. Some wanted to head to the Astral Sea, while others wanted to find out more about who was behind it all.

Tirsday 17th Yanoar, year 1457
During the night, Rolen wakes up, bathed in sweat. Snow is falling quietly outside. He closes his eyes, but realizes something is wrong with the light. He gets up and looks out the window, only to find a new moon, a red moon hanging up in the night-sky. He quickly wakes the others. Hwygar tells them that the red moon, or the Blood Moon, is a sign of danger, and that he is familiar with it. He then goes up to the roof to meditate.

The next morning, he comes down and says: The Blood Moon is a sign that the multiverse is in danger, and reacting. Something has happened that has upset the natural balance in the multiverse.

After having convinced the Emperor that he needs to dig out the divine engine, which is now buried under a mountain of stone, and left behind a sending stone, the Godsends head to Sigil (via a gate provided by the Emperor's wizard), only to find it in a surprising state.

Everywhere buildings are burning and demons roam the streets unchallenged. No sooner than stepped through the gate, before they are jumped by a few demon hounds and a vrock.

After dispatching the demons, they try to find someone to talk to, preferably someone who wont also eat them. Passing through Sigil, they also look for a safe haven, somewhere where they maybe can be safe or find someone alive. Unfortunately, as they are investigating a building, GrobKu misses about 10 demons sneaking up on him, and while the Carnage Demons prove to be no match for our heroes, the Goristro following them around does indeed. After a hard fight, Hwygar is laying dead on the street, killed by the Goristro's rampage as it was dying.

Unable to resurrect him in the middle of the street in Sigil, the Godsends draw their druid through the streets, still looking for what might pass for a safe spot. And then they run into a Balor.

Ignoring the sanity of running, the Godsends make a stand and fight the beast of a demon. An impossible fight, and even though the Godsends make use of _every_ trick in their vast play-book, one by one, they fall to the sword and whip of the Balor. Killed by the sword, then burnt up by the flames of its body and the whip. First Eric, then Rolen, then Grum, then GrobKu and then... Calos, at this point barely standing, mere seconds from dying, manages to get that last mindthrust through it's considerable defenses, annihilating it´s brain.

He then quickly swoops a potion into Grum, saving him, but the others are dead. Calos and Grum then drag the 4 corpses of their friends towards a nearby building, from which they had heard a voice urging them to come over during the fight.

Session 28

Tirsday 10th Yanoar, year 1457
Passing through the ancient temple, the Godsends arrived in the main chamber, where they found themselves facing King Stone, one of the first titans. A battle was fought, and aside from his minions, he was soon enough joined by the Death Knight they had spotted outside the walls several times.


It was one of the longest battles of their lives, but they prevailed. Problem was that it was King Stone's will that kept the mountain floating, and as soon as the Titan king was dead, it started to fall towards the city. Quickly everybody started to see if they could find a way to save themselves and the city. Calos and Eric tried to figure out the magical writings on the King's throne, GrobKu searched through the Death Knight, while the other 3 ran for the platform, signaling and hoping Zug-Zug would be nearby, all while the mountain seemed to be crumbling around them.

Alas, the hard work of Calos, Eric and GrobKu did not pay off. And ss Zug-Zug arrived, they had to jump from the mountain and down on the ship. Calos just barely grabbed the side as he missed his jump, but he could watch both Rolen and GrobKu miss their jump and fall far down, stranding on a ledge as the mountain was plummeting towards the Bahamut Cathedral. Hwygar tried to fly down and rescue GrobKu, but couldn't make it in time. The mountain crashed, killling thousands, amongst them Rolen and GrobKu.

King Stone Loot

Circlet of Rapid Casting

Iron Armbands of Power

War Ring

Belt of Breaching

Belt of the Witch King

50.000 gp