The party rests after their climb at the top of the peg anchoring the huge chain to the ground
- From this vantage point they can make out Fort Knucklebone in the distance
- All around them rages a huge battle between the Devils and invading Demons
- With the River Styx behind them, the disciplined ranks of the Devil army with their battlefield fortifications stand between them and their destination
- They will have to make their way through this army to get to the fort
Looking out from the peg Eliseo identifies a route, using ravines and canyon edges to avoid the most heavily fortified positions
- They climb down the peg and set off stealthily with Marco working to keep the group quiet and using prestidigitation to reduce the dust being kicked up by their passage
- Successfully entering the Devil lines they head towards the rear
- Forced to pass by a group of devils, Strum attempts to distract them with a softly played tune but attracts too much attention
- A bearded devil spots them but Hayate reacts quickly, abjuring the friend and forcing them to flee
Getting well behind enemy lines the party finds themselves blocked by a large group of devils
- The only way is through
Having successfully kept themselves undetected the party is able to ambush the group
- An invisible Eliseo opens up, decapitating a spined devil with the boomerang and is followed by Satomi blowing away a large group of blubbery … with a blast of ice
- Hayate blesses the group as the other melee fighters advance
- The fight spreads out across the rough terrain as bearded devils, spined devils and a large bone devil advance across a wide front, engaging the party in separate groups
- Several of the smaller devils are cut down but the bone devil drops Hayate before being finished off
- Strum knocks three devils out with sleep and the party makes short work of the remainder
Beneath the mask of a Merregon, Marco finds a blank face, devoid of features and sketches it into his book
- Eliseo makes efforts to hide the bodies and cover our tracks before the party moves on
- Now past the devil’s lines the party treks across the plain of Avernus
- The wind is scorching hot even though there’s no sun, and the ground is warm, but imperceptibly all of a sudden the wind turns cold and freezing, it’s really tough to maintain homeostasis
- Even the rain seems acidic
- Scavenging is tough and the fauna is lizards, birds, and all potentially poisonous
- After hours of travel they decide to settle down for the night, Marco creates a camouflaged tiny hut for them to rest in