Fate of the Dam-ned

An excerpt from the journal of Emelyne Pyreweaver:

The moment Silas summoned the demons, the room became thick with the tension of battle. They hummed with necrotic energy and wasted no time before attacking us. Diablo’s flesh blistering from infernal wounds that refused to close properly. I hurled a fireball into the chaos, more interested in controlling the battlefield than preserving the governor’s furniture or any evidence of his wrongdoings. Percy scrambled to support the group while fire filled the office. The blast from my fireball clipped Silas as he activated a hidden mechanism at his desk, revealing a portal behind the bookcase before fleeing through it into some strange violet realm.

Naturally, we pursued him. Of course he tricked us, having led us here on purpose. Where we ended up being was the last place I could have guessed. Penance, also known as the Maw, or the Prison Realm. 

And Penance was extraordinary.

The moment we crossed over, I recognized fragments of old planar theory made manifest. Purple skies split by constant storms. Floating landmasses of flesh-like structures that pulsed with residual magical conductivity. Even the air felt metabolically active, as if digesting our very presence. The others saw a nightmare dimension, but I was beginning to see a system.

Penance wasn’t merely a prison plane… It was an ecosystem built around extraction. The Scavengers drained energy from anything stranded there, recycling life force through the plane itself. Elegant, in a grotesque sort of way. The others wasted time moralizing over it.

For instance, when we encountered a man being devoured alive by these maw-creepers, Sanasha immediately considered helping him. I advised against it. Penance does not collect innocents by coincidence, and more importantly, interfering with native feeding patterns while trapped in a hostile dimension seemed deeply unwise. The creatures’ mandibles were remarkable though, consisting of serrated appendages capable of complete immobilization within seconds.

Naoki attempted communion with nature spirits and found nothing truly alive. That interested me more than it unsettled me. Penance wasn’t natural. It was self-contained, self-sustaining. A plane functioning as a digestive organ.

As we explored further, the biological inconsistencies became impossible to ignore. Floating flesh-webs stretched between landmasses, regenerating almost instantly after damage. Sanasha ripped a piece free while Percy tested the tissue with his blade, causing the entire structure to convulse like a wounded nerve cluster. Useful information.

The tower that was above our resting spot was the true revelation of the Maw.

Inside was folded layers of flesh and sinew arranged like some colossal circulatory system. Columns of meat acted as weight-bearing beams. Faces protruded from the walls. This organic architecture responded to our presence. At its center hung Amoral Tamlish, suspended within the Obliette; a living stabilizer for the entire dimension.

I performed a ritual casting of detect magic to study the construct directly. The answer became clear almost immediately, seeing as how the Obliette actually communed with me, asking me questions and answering some of my own.. The Obliette consumed a living host in order to regulate the entropy of Penance. Without a prisoner acting as a core, the plane’s chaotic structure would rupture outward into neighboring dimensions. Brutal design, certainly, but undeniably effective. More importantly, the system sustained its captive indefinitely by balancing consumption with preservation.

A prison that continuously destroys and restores organic matter… The medical implications were staggering.

If the regenerative cycle could be isolated, replicated, refined even, then diseases involving tissue degeneration, necrosis, terminal decay… there were possibilities here no inferior arcanist would ever dare pursue. Which, naturally, made me want to understand it even more.

The others reacted emotionally once they realized someone would need to replace Tamlish if we freed him. Bill, the grotesque fly-like demon guard trapped there, became the obvious candidate in my eyes. He had already been altered beyond recognition by the plane and had survived there for years. From a purely logical standpoint, the exchange made perfect sense.

Unfortunately, heroism tends to complicate efficient solutions. Sanasha decided she would rather sacrifice herself than condemn Bill. Percy immediately sided with her. Both were thinking emotionally instead of structurally. If Sanasha entered the Obliette, we would lose one of our strongest allies to save a stranger already broken by Penance.

I wasn’t willing to allow that, and neither was Naoki.

While Percy attempted to interfere with charms and confusion magic, Naoki neutralized Sanasha by polymorphing her into a toad. Effective. Temporary. Minimal long-term harm. I used the opportunity to drag Bill into position (after casting hold person on him, of course. Minimal struggle.) and completed the exchange before anyone else could derail the process.

Tamlish was freed moments before Thaine arrived with a portal.

The reactions afterward were predictable. Sanasha looked at me with outright disgust. Diablo nearly attacked Naoki. Percy treated the entire situation like some moral catastrophe instead of a successful containment procedure.

But the facts remained unchanged by how they feel. Tamlish survived. Penance remained stable. The Maw did not collapse into entropic chaos. And for the first time in centuries, someone had learned something new about how the plane actually functioned.

Frankly, I still consider that a productive expedition.

Back at the safehouse, we learned Silas was preparing an infernal army while attempting to destroy the dam. The city alarms began ringing soon after. Everyone immediately shifted focus toward war preparations and alliances.

But I kept thinking about the Obliette.

About the regenerative properties of extraplanar flesh.

About whether the process could be replicated without the… suffering.

Probably not.

But “probably” has never been enough to stop progress before.

Collect notes from the journals of the Veiled Vanguard:

With the sound of panic and potential evacuation, the party sees a number of people scrambling for the lifts. People are panicking, with the crushing mass starting to push people off the edge into the maw of the city below. The High Luminary manages to calm the crowd and beggin to organize the crowd. She tells the people there are heroes here to save them, the Vanguard Poses dramatically. Lieutenant Mathias arrives with a large contingent of the Sunkeepers, revealing he was released by Thain. Sanasha requests Mathias send a runner to have Amoral Tamlish returned to the Mages College. The High Luminary uses the lifts to take people up for evacuation. The sunkeepers begin to repel down. With no other way, Sanasha suggests they all jump off the edge asking Emelyne to slow their fall. She responds flatly saying “Well, jump then” They all bound off and she catches them with featherfall landing on the floor with the dam. Sanasha watches as a sunkeeper is mauled by an imp on the shoulder, she slashes off the beast, Mathias urges them to keep going. On the way to the dam attempting to break up the structures to allow the water to flow much better. The team reacts attempting to hit them, unleashing spells, punches, and slashes to bat them away.

Eventually they make their way to the dam gate. Before them is a trio of devils of white while the Governor Silas is inscribing circles to detonate the wall. Silas turns around, predicting this tells the devils to keep the VV back at all costs, no holding back. He’ll bring them back later if he needs to. The bone devil dashes towards Sanasha attempting to sting and slash against Sanasha missing all, but one attack. Emelyne attempts to banish the beast away and succeeds sending him back to where he came being pulled within a void

Naoki invites Sanasha to hop into his body and they take the hidden path feature, sending her 30 feet from the group towards Silas, the target.Naoki then conjures his lightning elemental self attacking the devil shocking into a cloudy prison restraining the beast. Diablo dashes past the restrained beast running towards the next close one managing to stun the creature. Sanasha rages harder now her body is overgrown by ethereal wood enveloping her before launching herself at the gate. She attempts to smash the gate down, but a rune appears before her. The rune explodes using disintegrate shattering her newly made defenses dealing serious damage to it. She is taken aback before slashing at it again blood streaming down her body from the blast. It blows open and she steps to the side catching her breath after taking the hit. She winces touching the needle of mending to her clothes to remain her sanctity. Percy’s shadow stretches forward before a watery angel claws out of the ground slashing at the devil with a water covered mace. Stars from within this summon fly towards Diablo, giving him a little extra temporary health.

Silas stands up facing the party commanding the devil to attack slashing at the percy causing him to drop his summon and slashes out at Naoki too causing him to drop his spell as well. He brings him back teleporting away with his hidden paths opening a rift underneath himself to get away a bit. Emelyne attempts banish the creature, but it resists that moment. Emelyne reignites her courage slurping a haste potion becoming a blur heightening her speed greatly. Silas attempts to attack unleash a cone of cold, but is picked up by the tree plopped differently still unleashing the blast. Diablo charges up some major mojo blazing a path of gilded blue energy behind him grabbing ahold of percy bringing him along for the ride too fast to be seen. The devil roars jumping over to Sanasha slashing at her poisoning her deeply in turn. She tanks the first hit before gritting her teeth angrily managing to hang on. She recklessly attacks back with the branches covering stretching like a bendy rubber straw slamming her greataxe down with such force blasting it 10ft away. She turns around slashing away at Silas after knocking it back. Silas thoroughly pissed by this activates hellish rebuke falling prone in the process. Percy uses spider climb easily scaling the wall with his dhampere like powers and showering the party with a mass healing word his necklace of sacrifice shining with his healing word. Sanasha remains unaffected by this spell, the juice just aint flowing. He rings a bell in Silas’ ear as blood pours out of his ears. The creatures bounds toward her slashing away at her corpse. She dies from the onslaught. Her last words, “Save the city… don’t be assholes”.

Naoki calls out for Percy to see if he has a diamond, when he realizes he doesn’t he draws Sanasha’s limp body through a hidden path and moves it to safety. He strikes out using Lightning Naoki leaving one of the bone devils bloodied. He weeps looking over at her. Emelyne target the crystals, using math and a large brain. She strikes with a massive magical hand, cracking one of the crystals. Silas, now freed from the grasping roots moves back to the magic circle. He blasts Naoki and Emelyne with a flurry of magic missiles. Emelyne easily deflects using shield, protecting herself. It blasts Naoki hitting him in the gut in turn. Diablo bounds forward grappling the bone devil demolishing him as he lurches back a form of the serpent wraps around it knocking it prone ending the grapple with a stylish suplex. The bone devil slashes out missing Percy because he is skinny only. Percy counters taking an opp attack from the opp before clapping asking for Divine intervention allowing a free cast of Revivify. Sanasha watches the battle rage on watching herself fall. A lady holds her hand before gesturing to Percy telling her he saved her his eyes glowing black while a woman with starry ethereal clasps onto his shoulders. He uses a mass healing word on everyone charging the necklace of sacrifice. The bone devil gets up snarling wildly slashing wildly corrupting his body with poison in the process. Diablo attempts to deflect attacks managing to hit some of its attacking and blow some of them back. Naoki rejoiced by Sanasha living, turns to demon twirls the umbrella bringing his elemental to him charring the creature with a electrifying hug. Emelyne rears back the fist and shatters the crystal still jazzed up on the haste juice attempts to use dispel magic and is counter spelled. Angered by this, pushes his ass down. He stands up and looks up at Emelyne. She attempts to counterspell him, but he breaks through using blight on her. 

Diablo continues to suffer from the poison suffering its residual effects dashes up the wall to the blue one. Laying into the beast with punches before flexing the poison away with a satisfying pec pop. The demon counters slashing away at Diablo causing him to be poisoned again. Sanasha runs up to Silas slashing away at him multiple times hitting him quite hard. Naoki walks with his spirit up to Silas commanding it to attack at him. Emelyne begins to punch more crystals and then attempts to dispel magic, but the complex structures override her spell. Silas lifts his hands up in the air causing meteors to fall from the sky. They immediately watch as multiple fireballs crashing down to the party including Silas and the party. They attempt to kill themselves along with the party. They look up to see an extremely large demon that slices the falling meteor in half, it bears a glowing sword in one hand and a crackling whip in another. It slices Silas in half as well, effectively ending combat. A balore floats before them, a leader of great Demonic armies. It’s rage burns bright, filling the party with fear. A being appears before them, speaking of being able to save instead of bringing fear. A well dressed man in elaborate ceremonial armor, they introduce themselves as the Oriana Demon Lord of Pride They have been send by their Queen.. Oriona stands before them, a number of gates open up as a small army of fruits and nonperishable yummies in carts. Oriona offers them a deal, saying he is nothing like contras claiming Ilnerya is dear to his heart. Emelyne asks them if the fruit who is laced, he says no and then also says that the Queen. Oriona mocks the gods asking them where they are as their followers need them.

Diablo asks who the Queen is and he says that its the queen of the hells of course. He claims its NSA the food remains along with his priests staying her as well. It seems there is a divide in the kingdom of draelwyrm has a divide between some of the dragons siding with Contras. He puts on some spectacles claiming Qyradell, Turiess, and Pyremoa. Only Dyer’rantam and Fryllmyr remain and are under siege. They loot the Governor and find a headband with a platinum gem in the center and a busted but still useable wand. Matthias reveals that many lives were lost, but the day is won. The priests show up, Arc Embersmith and High Luminary show up asking if they are okay. They note that the governor that was elected was a daemon. They notice the priests of Oriona standing beside them quietly. The governor’s body dissolves into a black ichor before going away completely. The veiled vanguard are thanked by the remaining governors and Sanasha elects Matthias as one of the priests agrees in this. He notes that Ilynera will offer a home base for the Veiled Vanguard for their efforts and apparently forming in this very town. The other governor notes that there will be a celebration and mourning to be held for the lives that preserved and were lost. They are given a letter for 1000 platinum from the Jade bank by Govenor Marta. Veiled Vanguard day will be enacted post haste for this day to celebrate them. 

The party rests for the evening celebrations at their new manor on the 1st level of the city. It has 8 rooms, a meeting space, a vault room and space for a teleportation circle. Emelyne identifies the two items she finds, they are a band of intellect and a wand of paralysis. As they discuss who to give the band to, the High Luminary enters the room. She is apprehensive about the risk the Oriana’s priests remaining, about the consequences of his interference in the natural order. The party has some disagreement if they had done the right thing or not, the threat of Oriana’s priests corrupting the city. The consequences may not be seen for some time.

Emelyne leaves the room while they continue to discuss. She mentions that many of the gods were once mortals, meaning they aren’t perfect. Diablo asks to send a letter to invite his mentor to the celebration. The party tells the High Luminary that their next step is to head to the Lammuld woods, to hopefully find the power to defeat Contras. Sanasha hopes that if they can defeat Contras, that Casmir may be able to re-enact his edicts to seal away the gods. The Luminary does mention their need to seek more information about the oncoming doom, the Library of Alura. She mentions they may be able to find passage to Mysteria through a family in Myradorne who have mastered sea travel and trade. From there, they can seek the blessing of Alura to access her library.