Reluctant Rites: Confronting the Madness Within

Discovery, Exploration

The Path of Nightshade enter the Ivy Keep and gain access to Reginard secret study located underneath Gillys Bedroom. They learn more about the nature of the ritual that brought the City to Shavarath - The Battleground. They also discover a way to potentally bring the city back to the Material Plane and stop the plans of Reginard and The Deep Father.

The Path of Nightshade finally back together amidst the chaos around them move into the Ivy Keep to see if they can find more about what is happing. Inside it seems everyone to be hiding the house staff is gone and the hall empty. Thuniel looks around for signs of invasion. Bobushio darts into the waiting room and grabs some liquor.   They can hear distant commotion in the gardens. The party heads upstairs and meet no resistance on the way, which is unsettling in itself. They manage to get to the Gilly's room without problem and open the passageway under Gilly's Bed.   As they descend into the darkness, carefully, after closing the upper door and eventually reach a large study. There’s a metal door with a grilled metal window, almost like a prison door. Past the study, the hallway ends in an abrupt dead end. Gilly checks out the door, which is not trapped, but is locked.   Bobushio sends ISAC through the window with a lit rock to investigate the inside. ISAC oks around the desk and Bobushio realizes the information they are seeking in the office. There’s information on how the ascension of Rockshire was achieved, with stacks of notes and information. There’s notes scrawled everywhere in Abyssal, Halfling, and Common etched by a madman. A unmade bed sits tattered in the corner. On the desk a lit candle that is nearly burnt out. Caia uses the wand of secrets and it pulses in the direction of a wardrobe at the far end of the room.   After picking the lock the party starts to look through everything and try to find what is required for the ceremony and if it is reversible.   Gilly finds a journal written by Reginard. Much of it was written during her lifetime. He talks about gaining power and using newfound power to help Ivy Hill grow. As time passes the writing gets more disjointed and crazier until nothing is intelligible and he’s completely mad. She notices the biggest change happens right around the time she left. The Deep Father (they) was pushing him to find Gilly. Reginard records talking to Aamuel and Hathradiah often. They also asked him for favors. As Gilly studies for hours she see the pattern that Aamuel asked for methodical things and Hathradiah was more chaotic in its requests. He also writes about the place Abysm.   Alcath is keeping an eye out for threats, while also looking under the bed, in cupboards, for stuff left around. He doesn’t find threats, but he does find a cabinet full of different kinds of blood in large flasks. They are different textures and colors, but all clearly blood.   Caia discovers that the obelisks are what tether the city to the plane of Shavarath. If an obelisk were destroyed, the city would return to the mortal plane.   Thuniel finds out that the Deep Father is the strongest of The Demon Lords. Known as the Prince of Demons and Master of Spiraling Depths. Chaos, madness and destruction. Seeks to corrupt all good and undermine order in all of the planes. Somehow the Deep Father and Aamuel and Hathradiah are intersected. Reginard says they are sometimes “He” sometimes similar to an unholy trinity.   Bobushio finds items and notes that have been hidden away. He uncovers how the ritual is performed. The city was brought here and what has to happen from here to make the ritual complete. In order for the city to ascend, there could only be one remaining heir and the others had to be sacrificed at the obelisks. The blood of the bastard children were used to awaken the obelisk. When all were consecrated with there blood the city was transported into Shavarath - The Battleground. The remaining heir (Gilly) will be used for the final phase of the plan. There must be good and a bad, the Deep Father needs both of the hosts to be bathed in the blood of The Demon Prince. One must be pure of heart and a corrupted soul. The hosts both must be in Shavarath with the Deep Father, the ritual will be preformed in the center point of the obelisks in the center of the city of Rockshire.   Moz tries to find any way to disentangle Reginard from the Deep Father, but makes no headway. She does figure out that if one host dies, the Deep Father will not ascend.   To destroy an obelisk, the two types of blood of the demon prince is needed. It seems like Reginard was trying to create a way to destroy an obelisk. He was trying to combine bloods to see if he could make something synthetic combined with other creatures blood.   All of this comes together for Alcath, who recognizes that entities made up of three parts are common in Theology. He doesn’t immediately know who the Deep Father is, but he suspects that by the time anyone gets to the point of worshiping this deity, they are far too mad to be able to write about it. The Deep Father’s palace, Abysm resides is called the Gaping Maw. The palace is partially submerged, both above water and below.   The obelisk must be anointed by the Deep Father blood, then the obelisk can be destroyed. The wardrobe will take the party straight to the center of the pentacle. It seems whoever lit the candle went that way.   Thuniel exclaims out that they need to find the demons, keep Gilly out of the center, and break an obelisk. Gilly demands to go as she is not going to be left out.   During the hours of investigation, there is no indication of anyone coming to the Study, and the party decides to take a rest.   Rested the party goes down the tunnel, and it’s clearly been dug by hand. As they approach the center of town, a light flickers up ahead in an opening. They hear someone and Bobushio is able to hear heavy, bigger than halfling steps and with the smaller steps. Alcath casts Pass without a Trace and all advance. During the accent Thuniel knocks a rock loose and Caia encourages her with flash of genius and Thuniel catches the rock inches above the ground stopping if from making a ruckus.   Inside there is a giant circular dome shaped chamber, a 10 ft tall obese demon creature called a Solamith that looks sickly and gross as if flesh has been ripped away from its torso stands waiting guarding the space. In the center with instrumentation littering the floor is Reginard Boulderhill. His appearance Half is grotesque and monstrous, and the other half is Reginard. Seems like the demon is guarding Reginard.   A statue of a horned figure stands at the head of two ritual tables. Bobushio casts prismatic orb between the demon and Regi. They are momentarily stunned.   Thuniel rushes to the table. It seems to be a continuation of Reginard’s work on creating the blood. The altars have been anointed with the blood. She also looks up and sees through an illusion that looks like the ceiling, but really it’s a tunnel headed straight up.   Caia casts See Invisibility and sees a scrying orb behind us, in the tunnel. She sends Ebony around to alert everyone. Alcath positions himself to attack the demon and casts Hunter’s Mark on him, then prepares his action for the end of the prismatic orb spell.   Moz rolls up to the other table, where non-animal meat and numerous vials of blood stand in a state of recent use. Gilly goes to an altar and tries to destroy it, but fails. Bobushio looks around the room for the most important thing, but he doesn’t see much that isn’t already being examined. As Bobushio steps up next to Reginard, he realizes his ability to do magic goes away when next to him, so he steps back his magic returns.   As the prismatic orb spell ends, Alcath springs his temp healing spell. Gilly tries to gain insight on the demon and fails, so she hides. Reginard looks around a moment in confusion, then the madness takes over, yelling, “They’re here to destroy us!” Reginard casts divine word and deafens Bob, Moz, but Thuniel shakes it off. Then Reginard looks at Bobushio with his weird half of his face with a maddening gaze. Bob feels madness invade him and is confused.   Moz summons her raptors and also discovers the summoned creatures disappear the anti-magic field around Reginard. They return after they come out of the field. Bobushio babbles incoherently on his turn, then saves against the confusion.   Solamith the Demon attacks both Alcath and green raptor. Solamith rips off part of his flesh and throws it toward Moz and Bob. It turns into soulfire midair, the act seems to hurt him. Caia tries to send fire toward Reginard, but it dissipates in the anti-magic field. Also, Lardo is immune to fire.   Alcath does a great attack on the Solamith Lardo, but the heat from the demon hurts Alcath. Thuniel attacks Reginard and breaks his concentration and his anti-magic field falls. The raptors attack, but the heat hurts them too. Gilly moves and attacks her father with Curvey for a sneak attack. Reginard whirls around, but Gilly ducks back behind the table. He does not see her.   Reginard whirls around and stuns and poisons Thuniel with a dagger. Moz moves to heal the most people. Bobushio runs up and punches Reginard in the face, then calls ISAC. Lardo attacks both the raptor and Alcath again and hurts the raptor, then he throws another soul fire blob at Caia, for lots of fire damage. Caia retaliates with Toll the Dead, then moves to get more HP.   Alcath uses Planar Warrior again to attack. Meera feels Thuniel go limp as Reginard uses his poisoned dagger on her and tries to get him away. Moz also falls victim to the gaze and ends up incapacitated as Reginard attacks. Reginard then sees Gilly and starts making a portal under Gilly’s feet, but Bobushio vortex-warps her away from the portal out of Reginard’s sight. Then Bobushio has ISAC force attack Reginard, but it doesn’t break his concentration on the portal.   Lardo tries to attack Alcath again and throws a huge chunk of soulfire at his feet. Caia casts Lesser Restoration on Thuniel to remove the poisoning. Alcath attacks back, but is shaken from all the damage he took and now takes fire damage for the effort. Thuniel makes two empowered strikes against Reginard then repositions.   Gilly gets up on the barrels to get line of sight to fire at her father again. Reginard whirls and spots Gilly again, trying to madden her, and stuns her. Then he stabs and poisons Bobushio. Moz heals up everyone a bit with her totem, giving Bobushio the energy to attack Reginard, then ISAC runs into Reginard, knocking him down. Reginard says, “Protect her,” as he goes incapacitated, and ISAC is the only one who hears him.   Lardo attacks Alcath again and again tries to blow him up. Lardo is not looking very good either.   Caia casts shatter so that it catches the altars, statue, and Lardo. The chests by the altars take damage and the altars themselves take a bit. Noticing that the statue doesn’t take damage, Caia has her cannon fire at it, scorching it a bit. Alcath and Thuniel finish off Lardo. Caia keeps scorching the statue until it falls (it was a guardian of faith).   Reginard is still coughing up blood. He’s still clinging to life. We hear a presence in the room say, “The Chosen Has Fallen. Will Anyone Take Up the Mantle?” The voices overlap. Louie HaHa appears into the room, and says she will take the mantle because she loved Reginard and will finished his great plan. She reappears from invisibility, breaks a vial over her head and disappears. Reginard then dies at the base of the alter. Energy pulsates all around the party, and we’re all transported upward through the hole in the ceiling.   The Shades find themselves in the middle of the city where there are even more of the Demon Lords fighting each other. Louie HaHa starts speaking of how Gilly ruined everything. It was her fault the family had become weak and disjointed. She will make Ivy Hill great again with her leadership and now found power. Gilly gets insightful fighting on her as she is monologuing. Gilly sees black ichor draining from the eyes of Louie HaHa. Gilly takes aim and shoots her right in the mouth as she is laughing at her victory. The Bitch says as she dies, “He has come. They will get their own vengeance.”   The battle continues on around around the city all The Demon Lords are battered broken and on the verge of falling to be will be sent back to there realms to recuperate. The Deep Father is waiting until they are all sufficiently weakened that he can destroy them all.   The towering entity of The Deep Father of scaly flesh and bristling fur defies belief. A fiendish and maddening mingling of reptile and ape, the beast’s tendril limbs and barbed tail writhe and coil as it shifts its immense weight. A pair of demonic heads—each with a sloping, brutish forehead and elongated, toothy maw—gaze in all directions with eyes glowing like hot embers. A stench, like rotting meat and smoldering brimstone, wafts from the beast’s steaming mouths. The sounds of battle finally die away, the ground before you stained black and red with demonic blood and ichor. In the terrible grip of Demogorgon, even the mighty Orcus looks almost small. Tentacles hold the Demon Prince of Undeath in a crushing grip, slithering across the maggot-riddled flesh of the horned demon, as they tighten inexorably. A strangled gasp issues from the demon lord's throat as a horrific crunching sound echoes throughout the cavern. The Demogorgon casts aside the limp form, which melts away as Orcus returns to the plane that spawned him. The Prince of Demons throws back his two heads and roars his triumph. As he does, his nearer head turns, burning eyes raking across the battlefield. Filled with bloodlust and battle rage, the demon lord searches for the mortal who stopped his accension and ruined the ritual.