Dramatis Personae
Alizander Carmelizzia - Human (Varisian) sorcerer
Carlos Santiago - Half-orc (Alkenstarian) wizard
Slavé/Jencen – Tiefling (in guise as a human) rogue
Tavo Dechirent - Human cleric of Pharasma
Vaeden Corleone - Human rogue
Wealday, 28 Neth, 4708 A.R.
Vaeden empties a bag of marbles on the stairs, sending one of the lacedons tumbling back down to the first landing. It doesn’t take long, however, for the rotten, bloated undead to reach the prison cells, where battle begins in earnest. Alizander and Vaeden fall prey to the lacedons’ diseased maws, and are stricken numb by the sickly poison oozing from their black, rotten fangs. Jencen begins reading from the book recovered earlier in the Knot, and succeeds in distracting the leader, whom the group assume to be the Drowned Jabe referred to in the book.
In the heat of battle, no one notices the exchange between Jencen and Alizander, and are not there to intervene when Jencen shoves Alizander into one of the empty cells with Drowned Jabe, barring the door closed behind the stunned sorcerer. Jencen mutters a curse to Alizander through the door, damning him for passing the runecurse on to him, before turning away. Alizander manages to escape and, for the present, puts the episode out of his mind.
The lacedons’ paralyzing attacks begin to take their toll on the party, and Tavo brokers a verbal deal with Szasmir in a risky, last ditch attempt to save his companions. Szasmir agrees to the hastily-worded terms, and gives Tavo his word that he will assist the group to navigate through the Asmodean Knot, with the understanding that they will help him to destroy his former master, Dargentu Vheed. In the event that Vheed is no longer present, the party and Szasmir will agree to part ways, never to see each other again. The deal signed with a word, Tavo releases Szasmir from his prison. The mad devil destroys the remaining lacedons with glee, and the strange red crystal glaive he weilds seems to absorb the creatures’ thick, black blood.
With the drowned ghouls defeated, the party decides to shore up defenses in the prison cell area and recuperate for a time. Szasmir paces and mutters to himself throughout the night, setting most of the party members on edge. The bearded devil frequently slips in and out of lucidity, speaking to himself or his red crystal glaive at one moment, and calmly asking Tavo and other party members if they have had enough rest the next. The party discerns several names from Szasmir’s mutterings, including that of Molikandus, who they determine may have been an associate of Szasmir’s at one time, and Elandriu, an elfin thief that the party decides must have been the dead elf they discovered in the Knot’s entrance. Szasmir also refers in spits and curses to a silent, slight woman with blood-red hair, skin the colour of brushed steel, and a mouth and eyes that glow as red as the pit of Hell. The woman apparently set Elandriu free, deciding that the elf might be a useful carrier (whatever that implies), but dismissed Szasmir outright.
Oathday, 29 Neth, 4708 A.R.
Upon waking, the adventurers continue deeper into the Asmodean Knot with Szasmir at their side. They move quickly through the damp, rank room with the pool that hid Drowned Jabe and his brethren, and thence down a rough hewn, steep tunnel. There, the party comes to a doorway leading to a series of steps – one leading up in the centre and two leading down to either side. Vaeden briefly explores a side passage leading to a deep, red-glowing pit with a mass of iron chains writhing above it, seemingly attached to shadowy stalactites thirty feet above. Within the tangle of chains appears to be a mutilated humanoid body. Bits of flesh, torn muscle, and splinters of bone seep through the links in the centre of the sphere of chains.
Experience Awards
· Drowned Jabe (lacedon ghast) – 600 xp
· Lacedons (3) – 1200 xp
· Deal with Szasmir – 1600 xp
· Total – 3400 xp
· Per PC (5) – 680 xp
Current XP Totals per PC
· Alizander, Carlos, Slavé, Vaeden – 11,135 xp each
· Tavo – 10,480 xp
· Nagiphax – 9135 xp
· Croso, Orem – 2875 xp
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