This is a recap of my ongoing solo game of D&D. You don’t need to bury thine nose in the previous sessions to enjoy this one – but it’ll probably help, as this adventure’s been going on for a while now. Luckily there’s a convenient index in the sidebar. This session has some content from Baldur’s Gate: Deschahaha. Nah, I can’t say that with a straight face. We’re so far off the book we’re in a different library: you’re spoiler free.

The party:

<< Elion, a SEIA agent and arcane mechanic with a major survivor’s complex.

Melody, the newly named Tsethem of ice and a refugee from the infinite city. >>

<< Larissa Lightstep, a melancholic heiress and fiend slayer extraordinaire.

Jevak, a Mirling bringing word of a coming invasion. >>

Fire shoots thousands of feet into the air from the colossal volcano fortress before them. The clink of a hundred devils’ weapons on the stone is the only sound aside from the far off thunder of battle. Their weapons trained on the prisoner, the one being who could tip the balance in their favour.

And the Lady of Scars stands before them. In her eyes, there is only insane hunger.

Jay: Hallo there! Don’t mean to be a bother, but we’re kinda gonna kill this chap if you don’t hear us out.

The Archdevil turns her head towards him but keeps her gaze fixed on the prisoner. When she speaks, blood spills from her lips.

Lady of Scars: Where did you find him?

Jay: *glances at Larissa* …That’s not important. What’s important is that he’s here – And that he won’t be, if you don’t play nice.

Lady of Scars: Why did you not seek me? Were you afraid? Of what I’ve become?

Prisoner: *stares back at her, pure hatred on his face* I couldn’t seek you. I was bound. You did not know of-

Jay: Shut it, you! Else I’ll take your fezzing head off.

Larissa: (telepathy) Jay, what does this mean? Was the Amber Rider keeping him secret from her?

Lady of Scars: There is no need for violence. I shall entertain you as long as he stands before me. *extends a pierced hand, smiling* You wish for me to release Rahm Oru, yes? That can be arranged.

Jay: Good. That’s exactly what we want. We just wanna get out, and go home. *nods at the fiends behind her* Tell your lackeys to scram. This is between you and us, I don’t want anyone convincing you otherwise.

The Archdevil complies (surprisingly), dismissing her troops with a point of her finger. She takes a step forward as they clatter off into the keep, her gaze wandering across the group for the first time.

Lady of Scars: To think, all it took was to drag a Tsethem into this realm. I must admit, I did not picture victory in this manner.

Elion: Yeah, wow, big victory. Losing an entire town just to win back something you already had.

Lady of Scars: *gives a gurgling laugh* Silly boy. You cannot comprehend how much this means to me. I pity you. *steps closer, within sixty feet now* You will never know love like this. Our bond is eternal, as is our future. Truly, I have found paradise in hell.

There’s a short silence while everyone’s minds race. The prisoner finally parts his chapped lips to speak.

Prisoner: What is this madness?

The fiend formerly known as Sterling halts her approach, now thirty feet away. For the first time, she appears uncertain.

Lady of Scars: Madness? There is no madness, my sweet. Passion, yes. But my thoughts are clear.

Prisoner: You… You call this, heinous obsession love? *almost shakes with rage* You tricked us! You… You KILLED THEM! RUKEL! YEGOR! MOREL! NENETI! All gone, by YOUR HAND!

Lady of Scars: *shakes her head slowly* My love, how could you say such a thing?! They were my brothers and sisters in arms, just as they were yours! What has the Amber Rider filled your head with?

For a moment the prisoner rears his head back, doubt clouding his expression – but Larissa steps forward, turning her blade to the Archdevil.

Larissa: Leave the mind games to the psions, fiend. Your crimes are no fabrication.

Prisoner: The mortal is right! They know of your treachery, as do I! *grabs Larissa’s blade from her, snarling with fury* You may have forgotten the past, Marianne – but I haven’t. Let me help you remember!

Crunch

This is a terrible idea and they’re all gonna die.



The prisoner charges the Archdevil… who promptly teleports back behind the lines of bearded devils, as they spill out along the walkway. Hundreds of arrows shoot from the walls, peppering the prisoner and striking him down. Panic sets into the hearts of the group, but a rallying cry from Jay steels them to fight.

Melody uses her Tsethem mask for crowd control, freezing the walkway to slow the charging fiends. Jay blows all his major spells just to stop them from being annihilated by arrows, turning the archers on themselves while the rest of the team deals with the waves of devils on the ground.

The Lady of Scars watches them struggle for several moments, occasionally sending up a sheet of flame to surround them – although the fire is quickly dispelled by the prisoner, who keeps getting cut down and revived by Elion. When her ground troops are reduced to half their numbers, the Archdevil takes to the skies to rain down death upon the archers still under Jay’s enchantments.

Terrified by how quickly she slices through the powerful fiends, the team pushes extra hard to take down the final few bearded devils. Jay grants Larissa the aid of the wind, allowing her to soar up to the Lady of Scars and psionically shut off her wings. She takes a hard fall onto the walkway below, where the team launch a brutal volley of attacks against her. Jevak stabs and slashes, Melody swings her axe with brutal accuracy, Jaysen insults her (“how do you even know when it’s that time of the month?”), and the prisoner drives his sword through her heart while Elion unleashes crackling lightning from his suit.

All that, and the scarred devil simply laughs it off.

She falls upon the heroes with a terrible ferocity, skewering Jay immediately – which drops Larissa out of the sky, only to be caught at the last second by Mel’s gravity decelerator. A fireball knocks the prisoner and Elion down, who barely stays conscious via his suit. They’ve thrown everything against their opponent, but she doesn’t even show signs of injury. It’s time to do something drastic.

Mel: *disengages and holds her axe up over the unconscious prisoner* Back off, or he dies!

Elion: *scrambles away from the flames* Yeah, what she said! You don’t wanna lose him, do you? Sure, he hates your guts, but what couple doesn’t fight now and again?

There’s a pause from the Lady of Scars. Larissa presses the advantage.

Larissa: We care not for your quarrels – release Rahm Oru, and you will never hear from us again!

Jevak: Or no sssee melon-head ever!

Lady of Scars: Lies! I would find him again. Why do you think I drew your town into my realm to begin with?

Elion: …Uh, what?

Lady of Scars: *sneers at him* Imbecile. You cannot hope to comprehend..

Mel: Wait! Okay, the town was the key to finding him, correct? *slowly shakes her head* But you don’t need it now. You’ve got him. You don’t need us. Let us all go… home.

A tear trickles unseen among the sweat. Their time in hell seems like weeks when it’s only been days. The constant heat is almost like being back on the Infinite City – and it’s made her realise that Tirkosu, for all its craziness, has filled a place in her heart that was missing since birth. She can finally call somewhere home.

The Archdevil’s hungry eyes look from Mel to the prisoner – and she nods.

Lady of Scars: Severing the chains that bind Rahm Oru will release it back to your plane. Now get out of my sight!

The team hurriedly complies, Elion jump-starting Jay’s heart with his suit’s lifeforce. They stagger over to their twin-EPEs and start them up.

A thunderous sound of anguish explodes from behind them, half guttural bellow and half piercing shriek. They whirl around to see the remains of the prisoner’s body melting into ichor, cradled in the Archdevil’s claws. His form hadn’t been able to hold on, or hadn’t been willing to. Somewhere, in one of the layers of hell, a new one is being created for him – and the Lady of Scars has no idea where.

They flee as fast as possible, and the enraged devil gives chase! Being too far away from his vehicle, Jay calls the air to fly him away form the murderous fiend – unfortunately splitting from the main group. Fireballs scorch their twins, the sheer speed of the pursuer threatening to outpace them before Larissa sends her crashing with a final blast of psionics.

Crunch

Wow. What a battle! Five hours to finish it entirely. The entire encounter’s adjusted XP was 14 times their daily budget!! They should have died.



Elion panics when he sees Jay not with them, but Larissa assures him that he’ll find his way back to the town.

Larissa: Jay is a Longstrider. They have a penchant for finding the right path.

* * *

They journey back across the hellscape, passing the Amber Rider’s flying fortress on its way to the Archdevil’s lair. They discuss the new information gleaned from the battle, and theorise on how to destroy the chains – that is, if they’re not already too late.

They arrive at the megavolcano only two hours later, thanks to some spectacular navigating by Jevak. Rahm Oru is much closer to the bubbling lava now, only a few hundred feet from the underside to the blistering inferno. The eight massive chains are still dug deep into the town’s underside, retreating beneath the surface of the volcano.

Jevak: Ifff lava not cut mmmetal, how can we?

None of the others have an answer. Above the crater rages a rather intensive battle between devils and demons, so they decide to wait until it quietens down before attempting a flight to the town. They find a rocky crag to hide beneath – which is just as well, as a swarm of Quasits buzzes by not long after. Larissa overhears their chatter: apparently once they couldn’t get to the civilians, the fiends turned on their Uvahtun worshipers. It seems irony is still appreciated in the nine hells.

Elion: Guys… I’ve got a really, really bad idea. But this one might work. *sees their faces* What? It’s not like anyone else has a good idea.

He reminds them of the Valkeesh they’d encountered in the catacombs – how it had implied there was an elder brain residing beneath the city. If anything could destroy the chains, it would be the alien hivemind hub.

Mel: *shakes her head in disbelief* That’s insane. If that thing got out into the open, it’d be swarmed by fiends. We should try crashing some twins into the chains, instead. The explosion from the engine might just be enough.

Finally there’s a break in the heated combat, allowing them to speed over to the town. From what they can see, most of the structures still standing are aflame. Elion tries crashing his twin into a chain link while the others fend off a lone demon, escaping the blast at the last second with the help of Larissa’s telekinesis: but the explosion hardly dents it.

Elion: Looks like Floaty McBrain is our last option.

Mel: Wait! There has to be some other way.. What about… I-.. Wouldn’t they have some powerful weapons in the BAT tower?

Elion thinks the Brotherhod’s HQ has most likely been raided by now, but on Melody’s urging he decides to give it a shot – after they’ve healed up at the temple, that is.

Much more of Zenia Tharth’s roof has collapsed since they were last here, but the alter is thankfully still intact. A few devils still watch the alter, but they’re quickly dispatched. On a whim, Jevak reaches out to touch the alter – and just like last time, a wave of healing energy floods the Mirling. He grins and gives a quick thanks to the Supreme One in his thoughts: praying for the first time.

They open the alter passage… and thick smoke billows out. Elion panics, charging into the fumes before his suit seals itself. The crypt is full of smoke, and empty of survivors.

Elion: They gotta have retreated further into the tunnels! If the fiends can smoke the place, they can reach them too! Let’s move it!

It looks like the BAT tower will have to wait. The smoke clears as they run further into the catacombs, eventually winding up at the mausoleum they’d encountered the Valkeesh at: Where they high cleric Nina and the other survivors greet them with hopeful cheers. The alien warrior is still present in the crowd, glaring balefully at the civilians.

Larissa explains the situation and begs the Valkeesh for help. It seems to be positively disposed towards the idea – until Elion suggests the people might be more lenient on them if they lend a hand. That sets the Valkeesh’s back up, and Melody chiming in doesn’t help.

Mel: This is a waste of time. We should kill it and go search the tower.

The alien turns its thoughts towards her, wrenching control away from her mind. Trapped in her own body, she watches herself suggest that she stay behind to guard against the devils while the others search the surface. The others see through the charade immediately, sending force blasts, mental attacks, and brutal stabs to obliterate the creature. Even Nina chips in with a radiant fire to the face.

Jevak: Jevak thinking they not helping after thisss.

Mel: *wipes Valkeesh fluids off her mask* We don’t need their help. You should NEVER trust a Valkeesh. Come on – let’s go raid the BAT.

* * *

Alas, the toppled tower once belonging to the Brotherhood of Arcane Tinkerers is devoid of powerful artefacts or superweapons. Only a handful of potions and some indecipherable spellcards are all they can scavenge from the rubble. Their last hope dwindles as they realise they may be doomed to the nine hells forever.

Mel: No, we can’t give up now! *thuds her axe handle into the ground* There has to be something we can do! Elion, the twin damaged the chain a little, right? Let’s gather up all the EPEs we can find, attach them to the chains, and bomb the spit out of them.

Without a better course of action, they wearily agree. They pick themselves up and start searching the rubble once more.

Crunch

Okay, this is a pretty bad spot. It IS possible to destroy the chains… given time and enough engines. They don’t have much of either – only twelve hours left, and roughly a hundred EPEs in the town total. It takes two minutes to search a 100ft square area for intact engines, and another minute to get one set up on the remaining twin. Elion’s suit allows him to carry the heavy weight, but he’ll need to solder the EPEs onto the chains before blowing them up: which takes a whole 10 minutes each time! And of course, they have to contend with fiend attacks too. They’re so doomed.

The plan is simple, but time consuming: Scavenge the engines off the burnt-up airships, weld them to the massive chains, then force blast them until they explode. It’s slow going, but it works – Elion can see the dents and scratches forming after the first blast.

While picking through the rubble, the others discover a Dwarven family still cowering beneath the debris. They free them and send them off to the Tharth with Jevak providing protection – completely voluntary, this time. He’s quite self conscious about it.

Mel: *shoots him a mildly annoyed look* Yeah, okay, we get it. You’re a hero now.

Jevak: Jevak never wasss nottt.

Jev guides them safely to the temple, despite getting lost twice. One of the Dwarves is a Piranai, and thanks him with a healing blessing from nature (that somehow still functions in the nine hells).

Boom. The massive coil splashes down into the lava lake, sending spouts of molten rock up in its wake. One chain down – and it only took 3 EPEs! That’s just over half an hour. If they’re lucky, and no more distractions get in the way, this might just work!

A second chain shatters. Elion shakes his head in disbelief as he helps Mel hack an EPE off the hull of an airship.

Elion: This is working too well. I can’t believe we haven’t been noticed yet.

Larissa: Be wary of jinxing our safety..

Indeed, their good luck takes a dive: over the course of the next five chains they face squabbling fiends, angry demons, and a patrol of devils still hunting for stragglers. As the final chain crashes into the lava Elion guns his twin engines, meeting up with the others just in time to help shoot down a squad of bearded devils.

Mel is bleeding out and poisoned, so he expends the last of his suit’s energy to revive her. They just sit there in the rubble for a short while, catching their breath as the waves of relief flood over them: The town is safe.

Larissa: Are we moving? I cannot tell…

Elion: Couldn’t see. Maybe it just takes its sweet time?

Crunch

MUNE Intervention: Plot Advancement Yay, maybe the Lady of Scars wasn’t lying after all! *rolls for plot* >The Archdevil’s revenge … : D

Screams from above. Demons and devils alike scatter as the colossal flying fortress looms through the smoke. The heroes gaze up in despair, Jevak summing up their feeling with a harsh Mirling curse.

Whatever reprise they’d bought Rahm Oru had just run out.