Hellturel

20 Eleint, The Year of Twelve Warnings (1494 DR)
City of Elturel, Avernus (1st layer of Hell)

Gorm Huntley, Dragonborn paladin of Torm, survived devastating quakes that rocked the city of Elturel late one afternoon.
While on patrol with Darren Trueblood and Jazmin Dannerhill, two other paladins and fellow members of the Order of the Gauntlet, Gorm was trapped under debris when a building he was in collapsed as he was saving a family from certain death.
After waking up hours later, Gorm found himself and the city he had lived in for three years somewhere other than the world of Toril. Hot stinging air assaulted his senses.
In the red, smoky sky, where The Companion should be floated a 400-foot-diameter sphere of darkness discharging strokes of bluish-while lightning that struck the city at irregular intervals. The Companion was a shining golden orb, which hung directly over the High Hall in the center of the city of Elturel through night and day, never setting or moving through the sky as the natural sun did. In the city itself, it was as bright as the natural sun in the daytime. Also known as Amaunator's Gift, The Companion could be seen from nearly anywhere within the region of Elturgard, making it a land of unending daylight, though its brightness faded with distance. Some 50 miles away from Elturel, it cast a pale dawn light. Further away, it was a bright beacon in the sky, and from as far away as Berdusk and Boareskyr Bridge, it was an unmoving star hanging low over the horizon. It was known that creatures and things vulnerable to daylight in some way, or even destroyed by it, were just as vulnerable to the Companion's light. Therefore it prevented darkling races and monsters from assailing the city. Undead of all kinds found it painful or were even burned by it, while creatures of darkness could not even bear to look at the city. But now The Companion seemed to be helping destroy the city, rather than protecting it.
Gorm picked his way through the rubble and into a narrow street when he saw someone moving down one of the streets littered with debris. The humanoid creature had pointed ears, scaly skin, a long tail, and claws. Snakelike growth adorned its chin. The creature carried a blood-stained glaive it was using to poke into piles of debris seemingly searching for something.
After moving down a side street away from the fiendish-looking creature, he caught sight of a second creature that resembled the first. It too was busy searching through the rubble of a collapsed house.
As stealthily as his suit of chainmail would allow, Gorm made his way down a cobblestone street away from the two creatures. Catching his breath while hiding behind a building, a sudden violent quake knocked the dragonborn off his feet. A large corner of the building began to crumble and fall towards Gorm. Fortunately, he was able to roll away in time to avoid being crushed to death!
Having survived nearly being crushed, Gorm quietly made his way towards A Pair of Black Antlers, a tavern known in Elturel as the headquarters of the Order of the Gauntlet.
On the way, Gorm managed to avoid groups of creatures similar to or resembling the two creatures he encountered earlier. At one point, he was forced to hide for nearly an hour inside a burned-down merchant's shop after spotting a dozen ghasts wandering down a rubble-filled street in search of prey. Later, he spotted several ghouls feasting upon the remains of a citizen half-buried under rubble.
Gorm found it strange that the only dead bodies he saw where those killed by collapsed buildings. With the amount of creatures Gorm had seen wandering the streets, he expected to find more bodies littering the streets of Elturel.
Continuing on, Gorm found his way to a part of the city shrouded in near darkness from the vast amount of smoke billowing up from the charred remains of entire blocks of home and ruined merchant shops. After finding a vacant home, Gorm took off his suit of chainmail and settled down to try and get some sleep.

**

The sound of a wooden floorboard creaking startled the paladin and woke him.
Gorm grabbed his shield and longsword. Knowing it would take some time to don his chainmail, he knew he would have to deal with any threat without his armor's protection.
Quietly making his way down a dark hallway, he spotted a human man dressed in dark-colored splint mail. The man held a heavy crossbow in both hands. A longsword and a shortsword were sheathed at the man's waist, where a quiver full of bolts also hung. A lantern sat on the floor in front of an old dresser the man was searching through.
"Who might you be?" Gorm asked the man who quickly turned around and aimed the heavy crossbow at him. "Easy there, friend. That crossbow might hurt someone."
The man, who appeared to be in his forties judging by his head full of grey hair, was seemingly surprised to run into Gorm or anyone for that matter. "I'm what you might call a mercenary."
"I don't recall Elturel being in the business of hiring mercenaries," Gorm said. "The city has plenty of people protecting it."
The truth was Elturel's main defense was the Hellriders, a 2000-strong elite unit of well-equipped, loyal, and close-knit mounted troops. They were not only the guards and police of the city, but they also patrolled the River Chionthar and surrounding roads and escorted caravans from Waterdeep to Iriaebor. Backing up the Hellriders was the Order of the Companion, a well-armored mounted knighthood of paladins who defended the city and wider Elturgard, swore oaths to the realm and shared its goals, even if the members did not all share faith in Torm. Courageous, righteous, and zealous, they were proud of their dedication to the cause of good, their clear morals, even their intolerance. Gorm's own order, The Order of the Gauntlet, was founded and based in Elturel and helped Elturel in times of need. The order was formed to destroy evil in the world at large. Its core members were clerics and paladins. These religious paragons were united in ideals from the faiths of Tyr, Helm, Torm, and Hoar.
"I wasn't hired by Elturel," the mercenary said. "I was hired by Victuusa, a white abishai, to capture and bring back anyone who is resisting the devils in Elturel."
"What devils?" Gorm asked.
"You don't know?" the mercenary asked, surprised. "Elturel is not on Toril anymore. It's been dragged down to the Nine Hells, literally. We're in Avernus to be exact. The devils are capturing citizens to be used as slaves. I'm just doing my part to help."
"You would turn against your own kind to help devils?" Gorm asked, fury building in his tone.
The mercenary aimed his crossbow at Gorm's leg. "It's nothing personal. It's simply financial."
The mercenary fired his crossbow, the bolt lodging itself in Gorm's leg. The dragonborn's leg almost gave way, but he managed to remain standing.
Gorm swung his longsword at the mercenary. The blade struck the man's arm, causing him to drop the crossbow.
Despite the obvious pain in the man's arm, he drew his longsword and attacked Gorm. The blade cut a deep gash across the dragonborn's chest. Before Gorm could react, the man swung the longsword in a downward arc that cut struck the dragonborn in the shoulder.
Ignoring the pain, Gorm pressed the attack. His effort paid off as his own longsword cut deep into the man's side.
But the mercenary was skilled in fighting with two weapons! He drew his shortsword and, together with his longsword struck Gorm twice, further injuring the dragonborn. Gorm knew that without his chainmail, the mercenary's continued attacks could kill him. The shield offered some protection but he wasn't certain it would be enough.
To the mercenary's surprise, Gorm dropped his shield. With one hand free, Gorm placed his hand on his chest and prayed to Torm for healing. His prayer was answered as some of his wounds were healed.
The mercenary, seeing Gorm heal himself, swung down with his longsword with all his might. With blood from his own wounded arm covering the grip of his blade, the mercenary's longsword slipped out of his grasp. Left with only his shortsword, he tried to stab Gorm who sidestepped the attack.
Gorm, thankful for the healing Torm afforded him, grabbed his longsword with both hands. He then brought the blade down straight for the man's head. The man managed to avoid having his head cleaved in half but took the force of the attack at the shoulder.
Stumbling back in pain, the mercenary realized the dragonborn had gained the upper hand. Despite not wanting to back down, he had no choice.
Better to live and fight another day, the mercenary thought.
Gorm took a swing at the fleeing mercenary. His swing was wild and made in haste causing him to miss. But at least he was alive. Gorm thanked Torm for that.
Gorm picked up the heavy crossbow and the lit lantern the mercenary left behind. He then went back to the bed he had found. He doused the lantern and tried to recover what sleep he had lost.

**

The next day Gorm made his way to the tavern avoiding any encounters along the way.
When he arrived he saw a battle taking place. On one side, a devil resembling a tall humanoid covered in sharp barbs, spines, and hooks was commanding three devils that resembled the first ones he encountered after regaining consciousness. The four devils were fighting against four large minotaurs armed with greataxes. The minotaurs were fighting with their backs to the tavern.
Are the minotaurs defending the tavern? Gorm wondered.
However, the battle was hardly matched. Perched atop the two-story tavern were ten devils, each the size of a halfling. Each devil had a body and tail bristling with spines. Three of the small devils, perched above the tavern's entrance, were flinging their tail spines at the minotaurs below. The spines burst into flame on impact, preventing the minotaurs from retreating into the safety of the tavern.
As Gorm considered his next move, he suddenly heard a female voice whisper into his ear as if she stood next to him.
"Help me dragonborn," the voice whispered. "I'm Lephit Ezim, a wizard. I'm trapped inside one of the rooms upstairs. Help me and I'll help you. Be wary. There are more minotaurs inside the tavern."
The voice faded.
Gorm wanted to help the trapped wizard. Just as important, he wanted to know what minotaurs were doing at the headquarters of the Order of the Gauntlet.

Played on Jan 7, 2020

Plot type

Chapter