1.13 Of Devils and Demons

General Summary

Jacob is in hell waiting to see mistress Melanthia and can hear the tortured screams of the demon as they extract information from him. She soon reappears before him and thanks him for his good work. They have learned that the demon lord Galathrax has claimed an ancient dwarven fortress in the sword mountains and is using it as his many base of operations. He is assembling a large host to him from demons and other denizens of the material plane, and she suspects that he intends to move on the city of Neverwinter to reap the souls that dwell there for his realm in the abyss. She sends him back with the task of learning more about Galathrax's plans and how to destroy him.   After the battle with the bandits, Jacob reappears in a sprout of flames which the others barely react to. During their search of the camp, they find the dead men carrying patches of the flag of Neverwinter. They surmise that these men belong to the city in some official capacity, though they cannot determine what. They gather up the bodies of the dead and set them on fire and then go to bed.   The smoke from the burning bodies carries for miles and attracts orcs from Phandalin to their camp. They fight the orcs and kill them. Jorn spends what seems hours analyzing every ax and weapon left behind and determines four of them are of value to him and takes those. They discuss their next move and it is decided that they will attempt to cross over the mountains back towards Sorrowhold to try and fulfill the promise they made to the people there to help them against Grujell's army.   It takes the day to traverse the mountains to the other side, but they manage it without issue and soon catch site of Kryptgarden Forest. They discover a ruined obelisk nearby covered in ancient draconic writings. Jorn is able to read some of it, which talks about the birthplace of the 'winged children' and their return. Much of the writings have worn off or been damaged. They do see signs that kobolds have visited the obelisk recently and likely treat it as a holy place.   Jorn is able to spot a Chimaera right before it pounces and attacks them.

Notes

Day 4