Chapter 3: The Blade in Acorghas
The general plot is that Ains Wind, the Swordswoman Wind is in Acorghas looking to get Abbadon’s true blade in any way she can. The party were sent by Sraqtat to retrieve the blade themselves, in an effort to delay Naru.
Statistics
Base Budget: 300 gp Remaining Treasure Budget: 222 gp
Flaming True Blade of Abbadon: Priceless Necklace of Fireballs: 44 gp Golden Symbol of Abbadon: 2 gp Loose Coin: 32 gp
The Yeth Hound Incident
While nearing the city, the party is stalked by 2 Yeth hounds, one with a blue collar and one with a red collar. They are starving, and follow the party in hopes for food. The Red collar has the name Fuzzy in Abyssal, and the blue collar has the name Wuzzy. On the morning of the sixth day, Lampart should notice Sraqtat’s “P.S.” on the scroll.
On the night of the sixth day, the Yeth hounds should approach while the party is eating, coming from above and walking on the air, looking at the party’s food.
Entering the City
When the party approaches, there is a short queue of various demons wanting to enter the city:
A few Zebub- Human like in appearance, with claws on their fingers, a sharp tail, and mandibles.
2 Munagola
4 Barbazu
At the gate, two guards stand:
A female zebub named Meyar
A male Pitfiend named Desper. Note: Pitfiends will be medium sized, and will be about 2.5 meters (and not 5 like in the book).
Both wearing chainmail and a tabard with the redeemed horns. Armed with a Longsword each. Desper remarks that Rok’ta’s thunder mace is a very barbaric weapon, and that he should consider replacing it he want to mingle with well-put people.
The Demon Child Looking For Her Dogs
In the city there is a young female Pitfiend child named Cheka. Cheka is visibly much smaller than Desper from the gate- she’s exactly 1.52m, and her apparent age is 5 in human years. Unlike adult pit lords, she is a light shade of pink #af6c88, and her horns just poke out of her hair [1].
Cheka is looking for her two pet Yeth Hounds, Fuzzy and Wuzzy, that ran away last week (The Yeth Hound Incident). She asked everywhere and even painted signs, but she could not find them. She is worried they ran out of the city, because they’re domesticated and don’t really know how to hunt in nature (though those are big words for her, she would say she is worried that they aren’t getting snacks).
Her mother is named Nakti, and she is a normal (i.e. tall and red) pit fiend. Her father is Desper from the gate- he volunteered to take gate duty, so he could look for the dogs outside the city. They live with Cheka in their house in the Red Quarter, near the boundary with the Exiles Quarter.
She met with Ains in the Tower Quarter, and Ains promised her that if she found Cheka’s dogs she would return them. This is a clue to the whereabouts for the Order’s base of operations in Acorghas.
The Ring of a Smithy Calls Home
In the city there is a blacksmith named Astrog’s Armory, which creates magical protective equipment. He is quite famous, since he is one of the founders of Acroghas. His shop is also located in the Tower Quarter, and might be passed by people coming from the gate. He can be seen by the party making equipment when they pass by.
The True Flame Monument
Bell Trueflame is present in the city, and upon visiting the Tower, he is guided by one of the priests to The True Flame Monument. Elas should recognize him, and PCs should be given the opportunity to follow. A hint can be dropped that he helped The Demon Child Looking For Her Dogs find her dogs.
At a middle floor of The Temple Tower, there is a small dark room branching off the main balcony encircling the hollow center. This small room contains a life-sized marble statue of a smiling woman (Lilina Trueflame) in a simple dress, with an outstretched hand. The only thing fighting against the darkness in the room is a small orange flame, floating above her raised hand.
On the pedestal the statue stand on, there is a inscription in Celestial:
In the heart of every person burns the need to do good- to give mercy to the poor, justice to the weak, fellowship to the lonely. For some this fire is dampened to a spark by the cruelty of life; for others, it rises to consume their entire existence. In every person, this desire rings true- and mortals are made divine by this Trueflame.
—In Memory of Lilina Trueflame
At this monument, Bell reads the inscription and ponders the statue bearing his family name. Abbadon is waiting in the room, his halo dimmer than the flame, saying in common: “You greatly resemble her.” Abbadon will apologize for arranging this, saying he couldn’t help but want to meet her remaining blood. Points of discussion between him and Bell:
He asks Bell to pass the message that he doesn’t rely on his sword any longer, and Naru can take it back if he wants.
He will finish by saying “I can see why Naru picked you”.
The Heist
Ains Wind, the Swordswoman is in the city with her party (see also The Order).
Her party is compromised of herself, and two others:
Dwarf Magic Items Specialist - Gyrd Shieldshout. Gyrd is primarly not a combatant- his job was extracting the sword with as little fanfare as possible, he’s the magical engineer.
Charming Goblin Bard - Bonk the Bard
The priesthood are planning a celebration- two options:
retcon that there is a festival marking the date Abbadon was Redeemed.
A priest is choosen to lead the temple Enam Nala, a human male in his 40s which the party met in The True Flame Monument, has been chosen by Abbadon to lead the Temple of the Sword, after the previous Head Priest resigned.
The priesthood organized a surprise celebration, and asked Lamart and Bonk to entertain- so now both PCs and Ains are planning to use their bard as a distraction while the rest of their respective parties heist the sword.
The Manhunt
Grust feels enjoyment and approval from Bertha for the bar fight. Next fight Bertha upgrades to a +1 weapon. Refer to The Vindication Stockade.
Grust and Th’el are hunted by the guard (by Kazor specifically), and while they’re hunted / in jail Ains Wind, the Swordswoman steals the sword, turning off the halo protecting Acorghas from the demons and flooding the city with fiends.
Remember that the sword is stolen tommorow evening.
The Demon Attack
After the sword is stolen, Abbadon’s protection is disrupted.
The guard prepares a defence they know cannot hold, while the city itself is in a panic. Kagi Starbreaker is heading the defence towards the inner crate, while Desper is commanding the gate towards the outer city.
Note
After stealing the sword, it is very late- PCs need sleep
The PCs sleep through out almost all of the night before the shouts start.
The Desperate Chase
Ains and co are trying to escape the city, and are chased by Kagi, Annor (which won’t raise a hand), and the party. Fighting through a crowd of people escaping the demons, the charade quickly reaches the edge of the fighting, where Desper is in command, fighting desperately.
Possible resolutions:
Ains cannot break through with the sword, and the party grabs it
The whole encounter is pushed back to the tower by the fighting, where Bell confronts her
Ains realises she can’t get the sword out and agrees to help the party resolve this situation
The Ultimate Redemption or The Great Escape
People in the Scene
Party
Bell
Cheka
Ains
Bonk
Annor
Enam Nala (later)
Scene
The tower is packed with people, its many floors flooded- while Abbadon’s True Blade is sitting uselessly in the slot in ground from which once a great halo radiated out and over the city. The people are packed wall to wall, scared faces looking towards the still sword. Enam Nala, leader of the Priesthood, rushes to join the party.
“Well”, Bonk says, “I’m screwed. I haven’t a verse for the occasion.”
Ains instruct Bonk and Bell to stick close- Bell says they can’t leave these people while holding Cheka close. Wuzzy is limping behind them both, baring its teeth.
“Cheka is scared”, a faint whisper is heard- “Where’s dad and mom?”
Ains is out of ideas, her mission is clearly failed.
Wounded soldiers stream from the entrance, approaching the wounded Morfir and Kagi. The demons can be heared outside, as the very last remnant of the line is pushed step by step down the corridor.
Annor: “We work to undo our mistake- for we will never be free from them. In the end, all must pay the price for what they did.”
Bell, Cheka and Bonk should react by arguing that Abbadon should intervene- to save the innocent.
The Ultimate Redemption
At the behest of Cheka, a figure descends from the sky- grey winged, with three horns and a radiant halo, Abbadon slowly falls from the top of the tower down to the bottom, holding a single long metal spike in his left hand.
The demons stop advancing and cower before their god. In a single beat of his wings, Abbadon reaches the demons, tearing through them with his spike- his halo blindingly light as its light burns at the demons. If a flash of white fire, Abbadon disintegrates everything standing in the corridor.
The priests are horrified at the sight of their god, covered in the blood of those he seeks to reedeem.
Outside, the demons can be heared regrouping.
Abbadon monologue:
“My existance has always been defined by obsession. At first it was with fixing broken mortals- later my revenge, and finally with fixing the results of my previous mistakes. Yet here we are, another obsession, another mistake. I can see it so clearly now, the path that lead me here- but for the first time, I can see where I am going, where I need to go.”
Abbadon addresses Enam Nala and Annor:
“Teach them of Redemption and leniency. Teach them of fixing the mistakes of their past.” As Abbadon grabs His True Blade, he adds- “But also teach them of not going too far.”
As Abbadon stabs the swords through his chest, he and the swords explode to a million gray sparks, flying out through the walls and the skylight, forming above the city a new gray halo- flanked by three curved horns, floating above the walls of the city.
In his place, Abbadon leaves a single scroll, in modern celestial, asking for Lilina’s Grave to be transported to Naru’s Monument to the Gods- so “we can finally rest together.”
The Great Escape
Ains’s Greatsword can teleport its holder, and anything she is carrying, to an avatar of Naru (which will be conveniently located at the Monument to the Gods). It cannot transport anything resistent to magic, like True Blades, and she can’t transport anything she can’t physically lift. She might also be able to return to where she came from.
The party can use this to escape by convincing her to let Annor ferry people over by carrying them.