Heading up the stairs to the cathedral balcony the party finds a huge organ, choir pews and a lectern with a hand sculpture
- Strum makes a beeline for the organ and finds sheet music for a common hymn
- He sits down and decides to play the organ
- As the song ends the party is washed in a wave of contentment and the warped frescos and statues revert back to their original forms
Travelling around the organ they find two sets of spiral stairs leading up to a pair of towers and a set of doors that lead out onto a roof top area overlooking the plaza
- Eliseo opens the doors and has a look outside
- The rooftop is empty but looking up at the western tower he spots a large woman sitting on the battlements, her legs hanging off the side
- She has goat legs with cloven hooves and a pair of bat wings
- Behind her he can see a huge glaive resting on the wall
- She seems to be talking
- Strum comes up and starts to lip read, relaying the word back to Eliseo via message
- She’s speaking Infernal and seems to be talking to herself
Vigil decides to head up the tower to investigate followed by the rest of the party, she doesn't seem to notice their presence
- At the top he walks up beside her and announces that, “The view’s changed a bit, hasn’t it”
- She finally notices him and turns to look, she has long canines and devilish features
- Far in the distance on the plains below the city Vigil can see a huge battle taking place
- Organised legions marching against a ravening horde
- She exchanges some banter in infernal
- Seems amused that they have come to Avernus and declares that they will fail
- An officer of some sort in the devilish army
- Quite apathetic/depressed about an eternity fighting in battle
- Doesn’t seem to be in the mood to fight
- When asked for advice she suggests visiting the Wandering Emporium but notes that it is more likely to find them
- She also suggest that they would be better off killing themselves than engaging in the futile struggles of hell
- Vigil proposes a wager in response that they will be successful
- She seems interested and pulls out a glowing coin of light
- Apparently this is a soul coin and is the currency of hell
- They bet a coin that he’ll see her again
- She gives her name as Izerael
- While they talk, Hayate and Strum discuss killing her, Hayate is questioning why they are not attacking this devil on sight like the others
- Strum tries to keep him distracted, arguing that she looks very powerful
- The devil flies off
- The party has a perhaps poorly timed conversation about linguistics
Looking out over the city they can see the great chains that are attached to the walls and pulling the city down
- Sections of the city have been destroyed but others are more intact and may contain survivors
- The Hellrider barracks is mostly destroyed and there are signs of a battle there
- On the far side of the city a lightning bolt is frozen in the act of striking a watchtower on the walls
Heading back down the stairs the party investigates the lectern
- Made of stone
- Has an exact copy of the hand on the altar
- There is a prayer to Heol engraved on the side:
Oh Heol, great light-giver, from the immense flame of the sun to the smallest ember of ash.
You point us in the right direction with your light, your just and righteous light.
The glorious sun, holy ring of the heavens, shine down upon us your grace.
Let a thousand scholars work for a thousand years, thumbing through the annals of history.
They would only ever say you, the most just and righteous, there at the middle of all things, the glory.
I will take your hand, we will take your hand and find the light within. - No one recognises the prayer
- Vigil reads it out
- Marco tries to put light in the hand
- Nothing seems to affect the altar below
- Putting his hand in it, Marco has a vague sense that the hand is moving
- Re-reading the prayer Marco and Hayate notice that a sequence of fingers is mentioned
- Little, Index, Ring, Thumb, Middle, hand
- He touches the parts in this order and the hand animates, holding his hand
- The hand on the altar closes into a fist and then reopens revealing a hole in the palm
As they head back to the altar Faran notes that there are monsters down there and that they attacked the survivors a few days ago
- Once inside they find a lever and close the entrance behind them
Faran leads them down into the crypt and along several corridors, past a number of open portcullises including an open one that has been pried open
- Reach a closed portcullis with a young man behind it
- He recognises Faran and lets them in
Inside is a large well lit area
- Refugee camp full of people (about 3,000)
- Once the party is inside there is an exclamation of “Tente’s bells” in Draconic and a grinning silver dragonborn rushes over to embrace Hayate – Itsuki
- Hayate introduces Itsuki to the party, he is one of Hayate’s lost companions, and asks him about the other members of their group
- Asuka died in battle
- Haruto went with Alfieri on a mission
- Kiku is missing
- Satomi left to investigate the frozen lightning bolt
- Hayate compliments Marco as being “Most adept with his very small weapons”
- He tells them that Cpt Frieda of the Hellriders and a priest called Marcello are in charge and offer to lead them to them
- Parts of the room have been partitioned of with tarps
- Itsuki leads the party into one of them – an office/war room
Inside are two people
- Marcello, an elvish priest/governmental figure
- Frieda
- Vigil recognises the captain
- She looks very unwell and is missing her left leg
- Frieda is shocked to see Vigil and questions him about where he came from
- Whilst talking she spots Reya, who has been trying to hide herself at the back of the group
- Shouts at her, “What are you doing here?!”
- Asks her where she got the Hellrider colours from
- Apparently she was a trainee who failed her tests and was expelled
- The party stands up for Reya, praising her actions so far
- Frieda tells them that after the city was pulled into hell it was swarmed with devils
- They attacked the hall and stormed the gates
- She is the only Hellrider captain remaining
- After the battle portals sprung up over the city and an army of demons poured out to attack the devils
- The group here is running out of supplies
- There is food and water in the city but they can’t get to it
- A couple of days ago they were attacked down here by demons and she lost her leg
- Clearly another way in apart from the hand
- Marcello used the last of some holy water to protect the portcullis
A group lead by Alfieri headed to the cemetery, including Haruto, some Almogavars and some Hell Riders
- They are looking for relics/magic items that might help
The party heads back outside and collects their survivors, bringing them to the safety of the catacombs
Frieda wants to speak to Vigil in private
- She tells him that despite being healed she is getting weaker and weaker every day
- Vigil thinks she might have contracted a disease and tries to clear it with Lay on Hands
- She seems better afterwards
- She wants him to visit the barracks chapel and retrieve some things
- Behind a fresco of a charging horse there is a hidden compartment
- “Recite our words” to open it
- Within is the Chronicle – A book detailing the history of the Hellriders and containing a list of every member
- Also there is the last of the “Angel’s Blessing” – holy water blessed by the founder of the order that was used to bless the original members and is now used to bless the captains
- She wants it to promote Vigil so that she can tell him a secret about the order
Vigil suggests clearing the catacombs before resting
- Marco is against the idea but the rest of the party agree to go
- They take a short rest
- Marco finds that a small smithy has been set up
- Gets some used studded leather
- They have been silvering weapons
- Eliseo and Strum get some silvered ammunition
They head out into the dark of the crypts, Eliseo leading the way wearing Strum’s Goggles of Night
- They find many side rooms containing shelves of old bones
- In a couple there are fresh corpses
- Some have been hacked up and gnawed on
- Closer to where they came in they find a larger room containing upright sarcophagi
- They have been opened and the bones scattered
- Also find piles of maggot white, boneless flesh
- Suspect these might be the remains of dead demons
- In this room there is bloody graffiti on the walls and a severed arm that has clearly been used as a brush
Strum hears a wheezing, moaning sound coming from a side room and a decaying, cloth wrapped corpse shuffles around the corner
- The party quickly cut it down
- Eliseo finds some bracers on it, taking them off and handing them to Marco for later identification
Past the far exit to the sarcophagus room they find a hole in the ceiling, possible entry point?
- Travelling along the corridor a portcullis suddenly drops, isolating Marco and Strum at the rear
- There are growling goat-like noises from both ahead and behind
- A goat headed demon with a barbed tail dripping ichor crawls down from the hole in the ceiling and launches itself at Marco and Strum
- Two more emerge from the darkness in front near Eliseo
- Vigil and Eliseo move to engage those at the front whilst Hayate and Reya try to lift the portcullis