Session 24: Maiden's Leap & Westerly Report
General Summary
Having arrived in the city of Elturel after it had been dragged down into Avernus following a deal between Naja Bellandi and the archfiend Zariel, your party was quick to meet with the local survivor's enclave in Shiarra's Market. After running some errands for the faction leader, Klav Ikaia, you were tasked with securing Symbril's House as the suspicion exists that it sits upon a point of entry into the Maze, Elturel's underground network of tunnels connecting many warehouses and stockyards, all carved into the mountain upon which High Hall sits.
After a short meeting with a different faction at the Keep of the Twin Suns, planned in order to collect more diamonds for the purpose of reviving magic, you redoubled your efforts to get from the East Docks neighborhood on to the High District, where both Symbril's House and High Hall are found. Caja having bested a devil in one-on-one combat, you crossed Torm's Sword across the canyon and looked for a place to sit down and have a meal, maybe a bit of sleep.
Finding safety in Maiden's Bridge orphanage, you met a small boy called Billy; the lone occupant of the orphanage after the death of its headmistress, Mrs. Thistlewood, and the mysterious disappearance of the other children. As told by Billy, children started to leave the orphanage but his sister, Rose, bade him to stay. Whether this was before or after human-Rose fell off Maiden's Leap and into the burning river of lava to be replaced by the bird-demon that Billy now calls his sister, he wouldn't say. After exploring the orphanage and finding little of interest but a number of linen sacks containing what was either candy syrup or demon ichor, you went to sleep and kept a close watch.
As you were about to begin your rest, the Vrock called Rose arrived to meet Billy once more, and you had a strangely intriguing discussion about Elturel's current situation, calculating between the five of you that the city had about 150 days left before it would fully descend into the river Styx, destroying all of its inhabitants and allowing Zariel to pick up the pieces of their scrambled minds and souls to fuel the war machine that is her Blood War against the demons. A brief discussion about Rose's relationship with Billy ended in Fenrir assaulting the bird, leading to Rose grabbing the boy with its talons and flying off in an Eastern direction. Lulu was so appalled by this betrayal of a friendly interaction, that she flew off after the Vrock and did not come back until the next day.
With those events committed to memory, your party made for the wealthy district of Westerly and saw a completely different scene than where you had just come from: not only were the buildings and the infrastructure mostly intact; people were roaming the streets and engaging in small talk, having actual conversations. As you approached, some of the residents quickly abondoned their talks to retreat back into their homes, but a middle-aged woman named Mildred Appledore invited you into her home for some friendly conversation over lunch - she had some apples that she shared with you, as well as some stale biscuits. She told you of a faction that watches over the district of Westerly while the husbands and the able-bodied women all reported to High Hall for conscription. Her own husband, Yohann, had joined up with the Hellriders there to secure Elturel against fiendish invaders, so it was said.
Taking your leave from Mildred and Westerly, you marched up the switchback road that leads to the High District - the wealthy mountaintop neighborhood of the city that houses many essential services such as apothecaries, herbalists, arcanists, and government. Following the trail to Symbril's House, you noticed that the High District as mostly boarded up - no people roamed the streets, and there was an eerie silence about the place, only broken every so often by lightning strikes coming from the swirling purple vortex that was now The Companion. Eventually, you reached the inn where you were met by a pair of individuals clad in armor. Their leader, a clearly Calishite man who introduced himself as Edgar Dannihyr, claimed to be the protector of Westerly, having reached an agreement with them - the people of Westerly share their resources with Edgar's faction, and Edgar would protect the district from any fiendish insurrections. So far, it seemed to have worked wth Westerly still standing as it does, but the Amnian had a treacherous way of speech, and his openly wearing a symbol of Zariel didn't help. In the end, you agreed to walk away for the moment, leaving the status quo intact, and agreed to make your way first to the High Hall...
Fenrir Firecam
Ronaldus Swanstone
Caja
Report Date
12 May 2023
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