The party gathered their allies and set off to bring the dwarves home...
They found Abshaloth waiting for them and struck a deal as Ariange was able to remind Abshaloth of how he has begun to struggle to reform through the engine. Abshaloth admitted the engine has been hungrier and more alive of late. The party convinced him to join with them to bring at least 2 dwarves back to Tetra as the nature of his deal with the king was vauge. He also revealed he had a scroll of ressurection to use on Lars as the ritual to open the doors required a dwarf of noble blood and was very taxing.
They used Squire, the dwarf princess losing the ability to speak, and entered the ritual room, Aldrak contacted Peter and told him the Archdevils wanted to meet with the party, Elyxtraza told Peter it was a trap, but that they should come anyways. The party agreed and used the ritual circle to travel to Sheol, using the demonic circle caused them to see visions of the outside and the outsider Og'Driada atop his throne, imprisoned in the engine. They arrived and the archdevils offered many uses for the powerful hammer, fixing Embessh, Briarland, Ecumenopolis or Niogdrassil. They also offered their opinions that the dwarves should stay, Aldrak had his own idea to free those no longer loyal to the king and keep those loyal to his follies in Sheol, the party agreed to open the portal and charge through with General Trent to save as many dwarves as they could.
Baalephelgor walked in, Azazel tried to entince him into attacking the party and revealing his demonic nature but Baalephelegor turned it around on him and pointed out Azazel's weakness and hypocracy, even accusing him of being under outsider influence, which the Archdevils did not deny and were very uncomfortable about. Baalephelgor offered Peter an upgrade to his gun, Peter could tell there was an ulterior, evil motive, but took the upgrade anyways... and mysteriously a pink bucket fell over his head right after.
The party went back to Tetra, and opened the portal. General Trent and his men bravely charged through, one last fight for a better future, one last fight to wipe away their sins and one last fight to save the lives of those they tried to kill 400 years ago. Baalephelgor came through however, revealing that the upgrade to Peter's gun was a Glabrezu demon (They were able to recapture the demon into the gun afterwards) and that demon took control of Lars and the ritual to keep the portal open for dwarves and demons to come through. Trent kept the dwarves at bay as best he could, allowing the refugees through, the battle began.
My best boss battle yet (dick-sucking noises), not perfect, but a definitive improvement. The fight was tough, Baalephelgor hit hard, the party was on the ropes, many turns were wasted as the demons failed or passed crucial saves and it all boiled down to a few key moments. When Belial stood his ground vs Baalephelegor's fury, the bearded devil withstanding terrible attacks and drawing the demons ire for as long as he could, proving his valor and that he was worthy of the honors heaped upon him. When Kaden pulled free the blade of Martius and used it to further enrage the demon to unstable levels, dealing massive damage. The whole time Adamah sang her song and urged Trent's troops on to hold the line, something they did expertly as few demons ever slipped through... And of course, when Kaden took his blade, insane with the fury of Martius, and dealt a crippling blow to the downed body of Adamah, causing her to bleed out on her next turn as she failed a final death save...
Ariange landed the final blow upon Baalephelegor, causing the demon to be banished back to the engine, his true nature revealed for all to see. As the battle died down, they were forced to close the portal, having saved roughly 2,500 dwarves, while it was less than a quarter of the total number of refugees, it also now means that 30% of dwarves on Tetra were rescued from this one act.
Adamah declined an offer from the Goddess Vonaya to reincarnate her as an elf, the party began working out a deal with Abshaloth to use the scroll of ressurection, that deal failed as there is nothing the party could offer besides a price too high to pay. The dwarves are being led by Aldrak, many of them old vetrans from the devastation, they were able to get Kramsib operational and used its bulk to simply smash open the harbor gates... the world lies before them once more, they stand ready to aid their saviors as the party thinks about what to do next. Dragons.
Eugene and Starflower Glitterflield are missing, having escaped in the carnage, the dark elf with Eugene is found dead, his collar having killed him for failing to prevent the return of the dwarves.
