The Infernal Trial
After a night of chaos, the Veiled Vanguard stands before the Lord of the Realm, only to be thrust into a meeting with the long-absent Queen of the Hells, Queen Amornzael. As primordial terror grips them, their fate shifts toward a gladiatorial trial. With a cursed boon from the Prince of Hell, Contras, and new gear in hand, they enter the arena—where death means servitude in the Hells. As the first battle ends, Valerie claims a dark power, and the next challenge emerges from the shadows—Thalia’s own parents.
Standing before the Dao Lord, Valerie accused the ruler of orchestrating the sandstorm to force the party into his caverns. Before the enraged Lord could react, a dwarven courtier whispered a message that prompted him to silence the Veiled Vanguard. A primordial terror gripped the room as Queen Amornzael, the long-absent Queen of the Hells, manifested into the hall. Shifting the stone to form a table and chairs, she seated the party, demanded their names, and made it clear she expected entertainment. Sensing the Dao Lord's hesitation, Emelyne proposed a gladiatorial match to entertain the Queen—a suggestion that drew telepathic screams of horror from Ro'Zaad. After Valerie made a bad pun, she received a cursed "gift" and a message regarding the upcoming arena fight from Contras, the Prince of Hell and Lord of Deception. The Dao Lord postponed his original decision and presented the Vanguard with 1,000 platinum pieces, naming them Champions of the Realm to fight in his name.
Armed with their new wealth, the party frequented the local shops to prepare for the arena. At an enchantment shop run by a silver kobold, they spent 3,000 gold pieces to purchase a mystery case of ten potions—containing five Greater Healing Potions and five poisons—alongside two non-concentration Potions of Growth and a non-concentration Potion of Speed. Moving on to an elemental smithy, they spent their remaining platinum and 300 party gold to upgrade Ro’Zaad to studded leather armor and purchase a +2 ruby sword for Thalia—a blade capable of becoming a legendary +3 weapon if blessed by a dragon lord's fire breath. Before departing, the smith accepted a ten-platinum tip from Renatus to share a secret: a set of legendary armor crafted by death zealots existed that granted the wearer the ability to shift across planes of existence.
Meanwhile, Emelyne and Craum visited a library to research the Hells and the Dark Gods. Emelyne discovered that Contras was the only mortal entity to ever ascend to a Prince of the Hells, achieving supreme ruler status through sheer betrayal and deception. Moments later, Contras himself stepped from behind a bookcase, offering to mentor Emelyne in exchange for power. When she politely declined and offered him a book from the ruins instead, Contras snatched a black leather volume regarding the Dark Courts of the Fey and vanished. Distressed by the theft, Emelyne asked Bitty to retrieve it, prompting the automaton to ominously ponder concepts of robot mortality until Craum deleted his override failsafe. Craum then cast a protective blessing on himself, Naoki, and Emelyne.
Entering the arena surrounded by cheering spectators—and a boiling tar pit at its center—the Vanguard met Contras, who warned that any party member slain in combat would have their soul bound to the armies of the Hells. As the Queen introduced her champions—two infernal chain-wielding entities—combat commenced. Craum was immediately bound in chains while Ro’Zaad downed his Potion of Speed. Though Naoki’s spiked trap briefly backfired, the Vanguard obliterated both infernal creatures, with Valerie landing the final blow on the second champion—drawing its soul into herself as a dark mark flickered across her forehead. As the party healed and prepared for the next wave, thick darkness enveloped the arena, and the illusionary forms of Thalia’s murdered parents materialized before them to initiate the second round.