Session XV - 22.10.2020

General Summary

• After the fight at the chapel, the group talks to the human which turns out to be Gideon Lightward. It becomes clear that he lost his faith (was once a priest of Lathander) and now worships Zariel because of her devotion concerning destroying demons. The group figures out that Gideon indeed is now an undead creature and some power repels him so that he cannot enter the chapel actually (Darius believes that this is because of Gideon being undead and the chapel being devoted to the Morninglord Lathander). Gideon asks the group to enter the chapel and the dungeon below to defeat whatever desecrates the place (most likely demons, according to him). He also asks to retrieve the helm devoted to Torm and bring it to him. The group agrees (secretly plotting to not hand over the helm but avoid a fight with Gideon although Darius really struggles to not outright cleanse this place from Gideon's undead presence).
• Into the chapel, the group finds an altar devoted to Lathander where Darius briefly prays and retrieves some left over Holy Water which might prove useful in the battle against demons and devils. In the dungeon below, the group finds a place illuminated with blue and red light. Darius sneak peeks into the room and sees the helm on a pedestal. From there, it emits red beams of energy which seem to corrupt the pool of water next to it which results in spawning Maw Demons. There is also a tall and bulky minotaur demon. The characters don't waste time and Darrak wildshapes into a spider. He manages to sneak into the room with the helm by moving on the ceiling. From there, he shoots a net and drags the helm up. This alerts the minotaur demon and a fight erupts. During the fight, more Maw Demons spawn from the pool upon being hit by red beams. However, occasionally, blue beams fire from the helmet which strike down the demons (the group will later learn via an Identify Spell cast by Barakas, that two entities fight for the power of the helm - one being Torm and one being an unidentified Demon Prince). The group manages to destroy all of the demons and to retrieve the helm. They decide that Barakas would take the helm and turn invisible to pass by Gideon. Some minutes later the rest of the group would follow, tell Gideon that they did not manage to retrieve the helm and that Barakas was killed during the fights downstairs. Luckily, this plan works and Gideon indeed believes that Barakas was killed and that the helm (and many many demons) are still in the dungeon below the chapel. The group again discusses if they should destroy Gideon as he is an undead now. However, they just let him be to not waste precious resources. They reconvene at Piltser's house as agreed before.
• Now, the group has to decide whether they should bring the helm to the cathedral now and then go to the barracks or to immediately go to the latter. The majority vote is for the latter, so after a short rest, the group heads out to the barracks. Luckily, they manage to not run into any devil patrols. At the barracks, they figure out that the building is in a very bad shape. Nevertheless, with some "carpenter work", the group manages to secure to passage downstairs well enough to further explore the dungeons below the barracks. Here, they run into soldiers of the Flaming Fist! Luckily, Athanatos still has the insignia of the Flaming Fist that he had received from Darmin Zodge together with the others for investigating the cult activities in Baldur's Gate. So the soldiers do not act hostile and the group is brought to Ulder Ravenguard! He and his men were looking for an exit from this place and now, with the help of the group, they found one. Ulder commands the troops to gather and then to retreat to the cathedral. With summoned scouts and guards (Baraka's familiar Pepe turns into an owl to scout and Darrak summons animals to guard the flanks) the troupe can make its way to the cathedral where Ulder seeks Pharra to discuss the next steps ...

(The Minotaur Demon)

Report Date

22 Oct 2020