Underworld

This session used an adaption of the adventure "One Last Thing" from Frog God Games written by Casey Christofferson. The adventure was written for Swords & Wizardry rules but I still needed to make a lot of changes to fit my campaign. I also created 12 VTT maps for the adventure (and only used 7 of them). The adventure involves the players looking for the lost soul of an NPC friend in the underworld. The adventure allows his soul to be held in three locations. I figured it should at least give me a few sessions of searching through the Underworld City of the Dead. My players just do not like having to figure out mysteries. I decided to let them meet an NPC who gave them a vital clue. This was a very different type of adventure for this campaign. Most of the adventures have been dungeon delves but this was a series of roleplaying encounters.

Session 151: The Underworld

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Aldus (human cavalier), Grasshopper (human monk), Domago (human cleric NPC), Aelshara (half-elven fighter/magic-user NPC).

The members of the Company of the Black Dragon (and Aelshara) have returned to the chamber of Golden Pillars in the Tomb of Horrors. They have learned that the portal they found there is the entrance to the Underworld, but they do not know how to activate it.

“Last time when Lakima stepped through, he ended up in the prison?” Aldus asks.

Lakima nods.

“Then this is not the right portal” Aldus states.

“It could be we just need to find the right trigger,” Grasshopper says.

Lakima tries pressing the yellow glowing stone and the red one at the same time but nothing happens. He then spends some time examining the stones but does not find anything interesting. He then moves off to explore the rest of the chamber.

“Does anyone see a place where the keys might fit?” Lakima asks.

Aelshara and Eathwund look about a little but do not find anything. Grasshopper continues to study the stone arch and Aldus watches Grasshopper. Domago kneels in silent prayer hoping for guidance.

Musing to himself that it might be a sequence of stones that needs to be touched, Grasshopper touches the stones in different order repeatedly. On the first few tries nothing happens then as he touches the stone that is glowing green the mists vanish revealing a stair descending deep into the earth. A cold breeze drifts up out of the stairs.

“Hey!” Aldus shouts as Grasshopper steps through the portal.

“It’s safe,” Grasshopper says.

Lakima, Eathwund, and Aelshara rush over to join them. Domago stands up as well. Cautiously, each adventurer steps through the archway into the tunnel beyond. Aelshara is the last to leave the chamber.

Portal to the Underworld

“Come on!” Lakima says to Aelshara.

“I am not even sure I can enter the Underworld,” she says, “Elves do not go there after death.”

Aelshara finally steps through with no untoward effects.

The adventurers descend hundreds of steps deep into the earth. Finally, they enter a cave on the shore of an underground river. The river is dark and muddy and smells of death. On the rocky shore, there is a stone dock with two stone pillars holding it up. From one pillar hangs a lit lantern, and from the other hangs a brass bell. Lakima steps up onto the dock to investigate.

“You’re hurt,” Domago says to Grasshopper.

“I think we may have passed into the underworld and this is the river Styx,” Lakima says.

Unsure whether his healing prayers will be answered Domago tries healing Grasshopper. He finds that his prayers are answered. He also takes the time to heal the wounds Aldus has suffered.

Lakima rings the brass bell and waits expectantly. After a few moments, he hears the sound of a paddle in the water. Then a dark, wooden boat appears out of the fog poled by a robed figure standing in the stern. A lit lantern hangs from the forepost. The hooded figure poles the boat up to the dock and then stops. The boat stands immobile ignoring the push of the current of the river.

Without saying a word Lakima hands two gold coins to the figure's outstretched hand. Looking down Lakima sees that the hands are bone. Looking up he sees a skull peering back at him from inside the hooded robe. The boatman hands the gold coins back to Lakima shaking its head.

“It has to be silver!” Grasshopper says.

Lakima hands the boatman two silver and it accepts the coins which seem to vanish. In the coin's place is a small leaden-colored bracelet in the shape of coils of rope. The boatman silently hands it to Lakima and allows him to board the boat. Each of the adventurers hands the boatman two silvers and each is handed a leaden bracelet. Even Aelshara is accepted on the boat. Once everyone is on board, the boatman pushes off from the dock and poles out into the stream. The boat heads rapidly downriver.

“We wish to journey to the city of the Dead,” Lakima says to the boatman. The boatman ignores him and continues to guide the boat downriver. The journey seems to take a few hours though it is hard to tell time in the dark underground river lit only by the boatman’s lantern and their own lights. Strange shapes can be seen moving about in the filthy-looking water. Reptilian shapes and rotting humanoid shapes. The boat seems to phase in and out of existence passing from river to river but always downriver. The adventurers realize that without the boatman they would be hopelessly lost.

The journey ends when the boat pulls up to another stone dock. This one is more ancient and missing the bell and lantern. The boatman simply stops poling the boat and waits for everyone to step off onto the dock. Then the boatman and his craft leave disappearing upriver.

The adventurers find themselves in a narrow gorge. At one end there is an enormous wall made of bones. Human skulls decorate the wall but the rest of the bones are far too large to be human. The wall does not appear to have a gate. Overhead they see a grey “sky” of rolling clouds. Though the clouds do not appear to move. Flocks of large, black birds fly high above them. Huddled against a rock wall, Lakima spots an emaciated, unmoving, human figure stripped of any clothes. It looks dead so they move past and approach the wall of bone.

“Stop! No further, for this is the city of the Dead!” one of the skulls cries out at them.

“We wish to pass – for we have a mission inside,” Lakima says.

He is almost immediately drowned out by other skulls all shouting insults and threats at the party.

“This is the land of the dead,” one shouts, “The living are not welcome here!”

Lakima reaches into the bag of holding and pulls out the Crown of Tarx. A magical artifact once worn by a Mummy Lord. Placing it on his head Lakima again calls out.

“I am not to be trifled with. Let us pass.”

An argument breaks out amongst the many skulls. Some agree he should be allowed to pass others think they should be sent away and others argue that Lord Amien will want to meet these living souls. Finally, they agree that Lakima can enter.

“My servants also need to come with me,” Lakima says pointing at his companions. This causes another argument between the skulls.

A few moments later a section of the bone wall swings open allowing the group passage. They pass under the wall and into a canyon.

“The ghouls will eat you,” one of the skulls taunts as they leave.

Before the adventurers is a canyon a quarter mile long and about 250 feet across. Down the length of the canyon, they see clouds of green smog billowing from crevices in the ground, the ruins of old charnel houses, mausoleums, and many tombstones and graves some of them open. Grasshopper points up and notes that the flocks of dark birds seem to be following them.

The adventurers pass down the canyon, and at one point they are attacked by a swarm of seven large rats which appear to be undead. The rats do not prove to be much of a threat. Eathwund and Grasshopper kill most of them with arrows and the two which get closer are killed by Lakima using darts. As they near the end of the canyon it narrows and they see two choices. To their right is a box canyon with a three-story ruined stone building in it. The building is surrounded by a stone wall and lit torches can be seen on the wall. To their left is a large field of grey waste dotted with mausoleums and tombstones. The remnants of a stone wall mark its boundary with the canyon. In the distance, they can see that a city of sorts rises up beyond these slums each ward a step higher than the previous.

“Let’s head toward this city, that is where we will find Fenris,” Lakima says.

“Shouldn’t we check that building first?” Grasshopper asks pointing at the ruined building to their right.

Ankev, City of the Dead

Lakima argues that the building is surrounded by a wall so it means it is probably guarded they want to stick to the mission and avoid trouble if possible. Everyone agrees. They pass through the wall ruins and survey the slums before them. Undead move freely about the area, skeletons, zombies, and wights. They also see lost souls, figures that look human at first but as they get closer, they see open wounds, drawn pale faces, and emaciated bodies. The adventurers seem to attract attention and several of the undead begin to converge on their position. Lakima takes a potion of wight control out of the bag of holding and drinks it. He then commands a nearby wight to come to them.

“You obey me now,” Lakima says to the rotting corpse.

“Yes Master,” the wight whispers in a rasping voice.

Lakima explains to the wight that they are looking for a thief named Fenris. The wight professes not to know anyone named Fenris. While they talk the other undead come closer and become more threatening. Lakima stares down the undead and threatens them with the Crown of Tarx. The threat works and the undead all stumble away.

“I do not know how we are going to find him here,” Lakima says.

“I might be able to help,” says a lost soul.

The group finds they have encountered a lost soul who tells them his name was once Cadthorn. Cadthorn asks if they can spare him any life. They learn that the coin of this realm is days and years of life. The lost souls need to bargain for it to remain in control of their souls. Once they bargain away all of their life, they have to begin trading bits of themselves until there is nothing left of them except an unthinking zombie.

“When that happens, we are tossed into the pit at the temple of Orcus,” Cadthorn tells them. “Sadly, that will be my fate soon.”

Cadthorn tells them that they should wear the Leaden bracelets of the underworld that they were given by the boatman. It will disguise them as undead to the weaker undead of the city.

“Have you heard of a thief named Fenris?” Aldus asks Cadthorn.

“Fenris the sly,” Cadthorn says, “I met him. Several months ago, I think. It is hard for me to track time in this twilight land of the dead. He was a clever one, striking deals for life and stealing life when he could not bargain for it. He will be found up in the city I think.”

Lakima asks Cadthorn to guide them up in the city but the lost soul shakes his head and tells them that he does not have the toll to pay to enter the city.

The wight Lakima has under his control however agrees to take them into the city. Grasshopper suggests that they should rest and recover their spells. The wight tells them that it knows a place in the city. The wight leads them to an open gate in an iron fence that marks the boundary of the slums to the city. There is no gatekeeper or toll that they can see. The wight leads them down a narrow street between rickety brick buildings and mausoleums to a two-story building. A sign over the door says, “The Inn of the Mouldering Corpse.” Lakima dismissed the wight.

“I guess we should go in and see what it looks like,” Aldus says.

The adventurers all enter the Inn. Inside they find a small common room. A few guests sit at tables. An armored knight with a closed helm attended by three corpses which appear to be wights, a dark-robed necromancer studying a scroll, and a grey-haired lost soul who is wearing blue robes.

“You!” the lost soul jumps to his feet and shouts at Lakima.

Lakima studies the mage for a second and realizes it is the mage he killed with a fireball in Icewind Pass in the ice caves. A follower of the White Worm.

“Your disguise does not fool me, I can see through it,” the mage says, “You’re still alive!”

The black robes necromancer turns and studies the group with interest.

“One of the twelve I see,” Lakima says, “Or was it thirty, I can never remember I killed so many of you.”

“The TWELVE!” the mage yells, “I am Vermis the viper!”

The mage starts to cast a spell but at that moment the innkeeper, a grey-haired ghost appears through a wall and admonishes the mage that no spells or fighting are allowed in the Inn. The ghost turns to the adventurers and asks if they wish to see the bill of fare or need a room. Lakima asks for a room.

“That will be one day of life per night in the Inn,” the ghostly innkeeper rasps.

“I am not giving up any of my life,” Lakima argues, “How about if I give you someone else’s life?”

“It must be given freely,” the innkeeper says. Lakima has already pulled the Book of Monsters (where he has trapped the souls of several thieves) from his bag of holding. Disappointed he puts the book back. Eventually, the group agrees to part with a day of life each. The ghost hands them a glass vial and bids each of them to breathe into it. They each see a tiny spark of life leave their mouth and enter the vial. Satisfied, the innkeeper gives them an iron key and tells them where their room is located upstairs.

“Why are you here?” Vermis demands from Lakima.

Lakima tells him that it is little of Vermis’ business but they are looking for a friend. Vermis immediately laughs and tells them he has seen their friend Fenris. He was staying at this very Inn up until a few weeks ago.

“Where is he,” Lakima demands.

“You are too late,” Vermis chortles, “His time ran out. The priests of Orcus took him and threw him into the pit of the abyss!” He continued laughing and then scurried away upstairs.

“I don’t believe him,” Lakima says to Eathwund. Eathwund nods.

Aldus at this point has made his way over to the knight. He asks the knight his name.

“I am Sir Ulatuan,” the knight says, “And these are my retainers.” He points at the wights that attend him.

“What did you do before you died,” Aldus asks.

“I am still alive you fool,” the knight says, “I am a bounty hunter for the Temple of Orcus.

Aldus asks if the knight could find someone for them. He says he can find anyone for a price. When Aldus asks about the price, he is told it is five years of life.

“I am not paying that much,” says an indignant Aldus.

Aldus challenges Ulatuan to a duel. He says that they should fight until one of them yields. If he wins the knight will find Fenris at a reduced price.

“And if I win, I kill you and take all of your life,” Sir Ulatuan says.

Aldus argues that the fight will end when one of them yields but the knight laughs at that.

“When I pass, I will become a death knight.” He growls at Aldus as if he expects him to cower at that statement.

Aldus is not impressed and proceeds to tell the knight that he challenged and fought a death knight. Sir Ulatuan dismisses these statements as lies.

“No death knight would accept such a challenge,” he says, “It would fight to the death!”

Aldus shows the knight the mark on his wrist from the death knight but Sir Ulatuan still does not believe him. Seeing that Aldus is headed for a fight Lakima comes over and diffuses things suggesting Aldus step away.

“How about I give you a living human instead of life?” Lakima whispers careful to be sure none of his companions can hear him.

“Which life?” the knight asks looking over his companions.

“Not them,” Lakima says and pulls out the Book again. He opens the book and points at the drawing of a thief he caught in the cellars beneath the manor.

“Him”

The knight agrees. Lakima gives him a description of Fenris. Sir Ulatuan tells him it will take 3 or 4 days. But he will return with Fenris or with knowledge of his current whereabouts. The knight leaves the inn with his retainers.

 “I have convinced the bounty hunter to work for us,” Lakima tells his companions. They are all a little surprised. Aldus suspiciously asks how Lakima will pay the bounty but Lakima is vague with the details.

As everyone is exhausted, they head up to their tiny chamber. The door has a sturdy lock but that is the only sturdy thing about the room. There are two beds covered in filthy rags, a pair of stools, and a broken window looking out at the building next door and the street. They decide to toss everything out of the room and sleep on the floor. They discover that night never falls in the city of the dead. It is always twilight. Two of them stay alert on watch at all times as the others sleep. Out the window they see the dead and lost souls coming and going. Even the buildings that look abandoned are full of the undead.

The bill of fare they were given for the inn listed only offal, corpses, and bonemeal. All for the price of days of their lives. Instead, Domago casts create food when they have all rested. The food is a bland porridge but nourishing and much better fare than the inn provides.

Downstairs that day they speak to the necromancer and learn his name is Hukeesh. He is another living visitor to the city of the dead. Something he tells them is not all that uncommon. He has come to try and gain entry to the Mortis Arcanum, a school for necromancers.

Lakima asks Hukeesh if he has heard of Fenris. He admits that he has. He stayed at the inn for a time. Hukeesh says he does not know what became of Fenris.

“Perhaps Adroculus, the high priest of Orcus sacrificed him. Maybe Nacht the vampire lord has him acting on his stage at the Ruby chalice, or maybe dread Laminae the lich queen has taken an interest in him.”

“Laminae is here, is she,” Lakima muses.

Hukeesh nods and tells him that Laminae rules the city. On behalf of Orcus of course. Androculus the high priest of Orcus thinks he rules the city but the real power lies with the lich.

“I know two bits of knowledge that you will want to know,” he teases.

Lakima asks what he knows. Hukeesh tells them his price is 2 days of life. When Lakima refuses, he instead suggests he would tell them his secrets for some spells. Lakima pulls a spell book he looted from a desert tomb. Hukeesh examines it and agrees to the trade.

“The bounty hunter has betrayed you,” he says. Hukeesh tells them that the bounty hunter plans to trick them into entering the temple or Orcus where they will be ambushed and then sacrificed to Orcus.

Secondly, he tells them that he does not know where Fenris is now, but he knows someone who might know.

“Seek out a waif-like lost soul named Eris,” he says. He explains that Fenris seemed to adopt Eris for some reason. “He kept her close when he was staying here at the inn.”

Now that Fenris is missing Eris had to go back to the slums. Hukeesh advises that they hurry as someone weak like Eris will not last long in the slums.

“Okay we have a new mission,” Lakima tells the group in their room.

Lakima tells everyone to pack up and he explains what he has learned. They quickly head back into through the city and out into the slums. They try asking some of the undead if they have seen a young woman named Eris but have no luck. Lakima has to threaten some of the undead to get them to back away.

They decide to just wander the paths through the slums. Grasshopper is the first to spot something. He sees a thin, lost soul being harassed by a group of wights. They hurry to the rescue and Domago turns the undead with his holy symbol. The undead flee.

“That might not be a good idea,” Lakima says, “It draws attention to us.”

Hurrying over to the thin figure they find it is a drawn, fearful waif. She nods when they ask her if she is Eris. She is clearly scared of them until they tell her they are friends of Fenris.

“You are the adventurers of whom he spoke,” she says in awe.

Lakima assures her that they are. They speak to Eris and learn she met Fenris on her first day in the city. She was being harassed by undead who were drawing her life away. Fenris intervened and chased off the undead. At first, she assumed he planned to take her life himself but instead, he protected her and let her stay in his room in the inn.

“Do you know where we can find Fenris,” Lakima asks.

Eris tells them that she is not certain. But she thinks that the Lich Queen Laminae took him to her mausoleum. That is what other lost souls have told her.

“Can you guide us there?” Lakima asks.

Eris nods but says that she is terrified of entering the city again. Lakima assures her that they can protect her. With Eris hiding in Lakima’s shadow the group re-enters the city. They take the main street through the lower ward and up into the upper ward. Here there are large buildings, more mausoleums, and a few shops selling unsavory goods. Lastly, they climb stone steps up to the upper ward.

“What is that place?” Lakima asks pointing at a walled building. The sounds of music and laughter can be heard.

Eris whispers that it is the Ruby Chalice, the lair of the vampires. She says that Fenris went there on occasion to trade. She was always afraid for him. Eris leads them to the largest stone building in the city. An enormous black stone mausoleum with a red-tiled roof. A single door of stone marks the entrance. There are no guards or any souls or undead anywhere near the building.

Lakima tells Grasshopper to check the door and they are surprised to find it unlocked and untrapped. Inside they find a short hall leading to another door. Lit torches light the chamber. Outside only Eris remains fearful to enter.

“Come with us that is the only way you will be safe,” Lakima says and turns and enters the hallway.

“Will you protect me,” Eris asks Aldus clutching at his hand. “Knights are in the thick of the fight I have no time to watch you,” he says.

Eris turns to Eathwund, “Will you protect me?” Eathwund nods.

Assured of Eathwund’s protection, Eris joins the others in the hallway as the outer door opens.

Grasshopper opens the door and they see a five-foot-wide hallway. This leads to another hallway, an intersection, and still more hallways.

“It is a maze,” Grasshopper says.

Eris tells them that they say that Laminae can control the maze with her mind. Moving the walls and setting off traps. Only those she wants to meet can find her.

Lakima is less impressed, “We will find her, and force her to give up Fenris.”

Grasshopper asks about the arrow of direction but Lakima tells him he has exhausted the charges. Domago also says he has no way of locating a person. They continue down hallways. Grasshopper detects and disarms several traps. He also sets off two traps. One is a lightning bolt trap that strikes him and one is a trapped hall where spears fire from the walls hitting Grasshopper, Eathwund, and Aldus.

Entering a slightly larger chamber Grasshopper stops when he sees a magic circle painted on the floor. As Lakima moves to examine it a monster is summoned into the circle. An enormous armored four-legged beast with a shark-like head.

“A bulette!” Grasshopper yells. He tries striking the beast but its skin is too hard to be damaged by his bare fists. Eathwund and Aldus attack with their swords and soon blood is being sprayed everywhere. Aelshara casts a magic missile and fires two missiles into the creature’s side. After a brief battle, the creature is killed, and moments later it vanishes.

“That’s odd”, Aldus says.

“It is a summoned creature,” Lakima says, “That is what happens to them.”

It takes another hour of searching but they finally spot a stone door at the end of a hallway. Grasshopper finds one more trap leading to the door and he disables it. He then moves up to examine the door.

“The door is open, come in my guests,” says an ethereal female voice.

“I guess we step into the parlor,” says Grasshopper.

He is the first to enter the chamber followed by the others. Eris hides at the doorway afraid to enter. They see a chamber that is a tomb but also a decorated sitting room. A beautiful woman sits on a wooden throne at the far end of the room, her hand resting on a crystal ball. Nearby is an open coffin resting on a stone dais. Tapestries of dark violet line the walls.

“Step closer adventurers I do not want to shout,” the woman says, “I am Laminae, ruler of this city.”

The group steps forward and they catch the scent of rot under the smell of perfume. Up close they see that Laminae has grey, sallow skin and is clearly dead.

“We have come for our friend Fenris,” Lakima says, “Is he here.”

“I have him in a safe place.”

“Why did you take him” Lakima demands.

“I felt him reaching out to the land of the living,” she says, “I wondered what kind of fish I might catch if I used him as bait.” She smiles at the adventurers.

“You had better let him go; we have killed more powerful creatures than you,” Lakima says.

Laminae seems amused by this statement.

“In this city, I am like a god, you cannot harm me.”

“Don’t be so certain of that!”

Laminae suggests to them that she might be willing to part with Fenris for a favor. When asked about the favor she says it is something well within their abilities.

“Why don’t you do it yourself then if you are so powerful,” Aldus says.

Laminae does not answer. Lakima asks about the favor and is told that there is a beast in her city she wishes to be removed. If they destroy the beast and bring proof back to her, she will give them Fenris. She explains that anyone in the city can direct them to the lair of the beast.

“If she is so powerful, why does she need us to fight this beast,” Aldus asks Lakima.

“Because I do not wish to dirty my hands young Aldus,” Laminae says.

Lakima agrees to her proposal and Laminae asks them to sign a contract. Lakima absolutely refuses to do this telling her that he has had issues in the past with the fine print on contracts. Grasshopper asks to see the contract and Laminae hands it to him. As she steps closer Lakima’s light spell on the staff of power goes out. Grasshopper reads the contract and shrugs telling Lakima it looks okay.

“No contracts!” Lakima says.

Laminae does agree to this eventually. On her word, she says she will return Fenris if they kill the beast. She then waves her hand and all of them find themselves standing outside the mausoleum.

“Let’s find someone who knows where this beast lives,” Aldus says.

“I know,” Eris whispers to Eathwund.

As the others walk off, Eathwund turns to listen to Eris. She explains that everyone knows of the beast. Laminae has sent many demons and champions to kill it and all have failed. It lives in a red-brick mausoleum in the middle ward near the ledge that marks the border. Hurriedly, Eathwund catches up to the rest of the group with Eris and explains what she told him. Lakima asks if she knows what manner of beast, they will be facing but she shakes her head.

Eris leads them to a red-brick mausoleum in an empty field at the base of the wall leading up to the upper ward. The ground before the mausoleum is littered with the bones of dragons, giants, and demons. As they near the door of the mausoleum they see a collection of skulls lying on the ground. Some of the skulls have the tell-tale horns of demons.

“I’ll kick in the door,” Aldus says and steps toward the door.

“Wait, it is made of iron,” Grasshopper says. He moves up to check the door for traps. He sees a circle of protection on the ground before the door.

“It is a protection from creatures of law,” Domago says puzzled.

Grasshopper knocks on the door and they hear a deep and powerful voice.

“WHO DARES CHALLENGE ME!”

They decide to draw the beast out so they can encircle it. Grasshopper opens the door and they see a hallway leading to an open archway. White mist swirls in the doorway blocking their sight. Pillars hold up the roof and demon skull trophies hang from the pillars with lit candles atop them.

Aldus and Lakima try yelling challenges into the room. Aldus calls the beast a coward and Lakima clucks like a chicken. There is no response to any of their antics.

“I guess we go in after it,” Aldus says and enters the hall.

All of the adventurers enter and Eris clings to Eathwund’s shadow. Grasshopper advances to the swirling mists but he cannot see through it. He feels a deep cold from the mist.

“This is like the mist from that death knight I fought,” Aldus says.

He tells everyone to be ready and then he plunges through the mist arriving in another chamber unharmed. A painted wooden screen blocks off a portion of the chamber. The paint long since faded. A small table holds a blue crystal in a jar and a mirror. Before him, seated on a white chair is a grey figure of a woman with grey-feathered wings springing from her back. Her eye sockets are deeply sunken and only pin-points of light reside within.

“Are you assassins sent by the Lich Queen?” she asks in a tired voice.

“Are you the beast?” Lakima says.

The woman looks at him and says, “Come champions, let us get this over with.” She rises up from her chair slowly in some pain.

Aldus takes a step forward sword drawn.

“Wait!” Lakima says.

He suggests to the woman that they might be able to work out a non-violent solution. He explains that the lich has their friend and they need to kill her to get him back. The woman asks why they are wasting her time. She grows weary of all of the killing.

Lakima asks her if she is a fallen angel.

She nods, “I am Sotira,” when no one responds she says, “Has the world already forgotten me?”

Lakima admits he has never heard of her. He looks to Domago who also shakes his head. Sotira tells them that she was once the mightiest and most beautiful of the celestials. That was the reason for her fall. She grew full of pride in her abilities and her appearance.

“Now my beauty has been taken from me until I can recover the shards of my soul.”

Lakima asks about this and learns that to learn piety her soul was shattered and flung in the river Styx. To regain her place in the heavens, she must recover the shards of her soul. She came to the abyss searching for the shards. She is drawn to them and the first few were easy to find. Later shards had gained new owners, demonic owners and she had to defeat them. It took years and meanwhile residing in the abyss was slowly draining her strength.

“Now only three shards remain, but they are guarded by demon lords and I no longer have the strength to defeat them. I tried a dozen times but each time I was driven away. Now I wait here until I fade to nothing and am tossed into the pit.”

“Perhaps we could help you if you could help us,” Lakima asks.

Lakima asks if she could help regain their friend. She explains that in her current state, she could not face Laminae. But if they could regain her soul, she could do it with ease. When Lakima asks if she can transport them back to the material plane, she tells them that there is no need. The boatman will know where they need to go. They need only pay him.

Lakima turns to the rest of the group and they all agree. Sotira tells them that the three soul shards are held in the Caves of Avarice. She warns them to be wary of the temptations found there. She tells them to make their way to the river Styx and the boatman will know where to take them.

Sotira also suggests that Eris remain with her where she will be safe. Lakima is concerned that Laminae may be spying on them and asks Sotira if she can help since she is warded from Laminae. She agrees and tells them that she will use up a lot of strength but she will magically hide them from scrying. The adventurers leave Eris behind and make their way back to the canyon and the bone gate. From this side, the gate opens easily. They make their way through the gate and see the river Styx in the distance.

Fallen Angel