Mission 11 - Haruman's Hill

[!abstract] The Job
Follow the trail of the sword across the wastes: a stolen demon grinder, Haruman, and a wasp nest.

The Demon Grinder

An hour out from the fort, a big red dust cloud barrels toward us, ridden by boar-headed and rat-headed humanoids. It's an infernal machine. Baktha charges straight at it, turns into mist at the end of his movement, solidifies and shouts "HALT!" The machine screeches to a stop, catapulting three wereboars and two wererats to the ground. Only the driver stays seated, dazed.

I rush the biggest and send a lightning bolt from my sword. Thomas fireballs everything on the ground. Mike finishes the big one with three scorching rays. The wererats get to Baktha and one takes a cursed bite out of him. I score two crits on a rat and Thomas finishes it with a firebolt, reducing it to ash. Baktha finishes the driver.

The vehicle is a demon grinder: speed 100, 200 hp, AC 19. One creature carried a circlet of blasting. I pull out the map and we roar off in our newly acquired demon grinder.

Sundered Chains and Haruman's Hill

We cross a field of giant broken chains and a voice in my head says: "Sundered chains, as close to a place of pilgrimage as you'll find in this cursed place. A beacon to those seeking the missing link or looking for a way out." Three figures stand a bit ahead. We turn around and skirt wide, avoiding the devils working in the distance.

Later: Sticks Watchtower. "The Sticks is the demons' gateway into the nine hells. The devils keep a watchful eye on its shores." A huge alabaster tower just before the river Styx. We turn north with the river on our right. An hour later the grinder sputters. We feed it a soul coin.

Then Haruman's Hill. "Behold, Zariel's dog crucified those who betrayed his mistress in battle," the map announces. Wrought-iron trees line the hill. Anguished knights writhe in them while bloated stirges feast.

We follow the trees to a narrow land bridge over the river. The largest tree holds a crucified elf labeled Jander Sunstar, who was Haruman's right hand. "Please free me, please!" He's a vampire. Lulu says we can trust him, and Baktha's zone of truth backs her up.

Jander and Haruman were both part of the host that came through the portal. Jander retreated, closed the portal behind him, and threw himself at the feet of Lathander, who cursed him to an eternity of suffering in Avernus for his sins. We cut him down. As his feet touch ground, he crumbles to ash.

Haruman

Thomas spots something coming from the northern sky: Haruman, riding a nightmare. It destroys Baktha almost instantly. I run up and slash the nightmare's neck deep. Mike steps out and fires a lightning bolt. I kill the nightmare and Haruman knocks me unconscious.

When I come to, Haruman is dead on the ground in front of me. Baktha is still down, a swarm of stirges is closing in, and Lulu is gone, grappled by a hellwasp and carried west. We handle the stirges and lick our wounds. On the nightmare we find infernal tack, which looks very valuable.

The Wasp Nest

West, a giant wasp nest floats in the sky, tethered to the land by iron chains. The map warns me off, lest my flesh become wasp food. Beneath the nest hangs a congealed mass of sticky organic matter. "I'm detecting something magical in there," says Baktha, who pulls off his boots and waddles through the goop, coming back with a Storm Shortsword.

We fail to climb the chains, so Mike misty steps into the nest and keeps us updated via Lulu. A few levels up he finds her stuck in the goo-coated walls. He gets briefly distracted discovering a helm of telepathy and pockets it quietly. Then he tries to free her with a plan that was not a good plan. He tugs on her a few times and attracts hell wasps. He thunderwaves them as they come to inspect, which drops his invisibility briefly, and the blast loosens Lulu enough for her to wriggle free. The wasps recover and slash at her, nearly killing her.

She heals herself and zips out the window toward the demon grinder. Mike, still invisible, dives out the window and lands light as a feather. The wasps spill out, annoyed, but don't notice them leaving. Meanwhile the rest of us haul the grinder behind some rubble to hide from the wasps.

Lulu arrives panting. The sword, she tells us, is either in the place where demons manifest, or the place where they are destroyed.

Previous: Mission 10 - Fort Knucklebone · Next: Mission 12 - The Crypt of the Hellriders

#session #mission