Session 24: The Realm of the Horsemen

General Summary

Waking up by a large thud and the rattling of his bag, within he had taken a relaxing nap, Nakor took a peek outside. He found himself hanging around the spire of an old watchtower. Irritated that Kazagal hadn't warned him that they were approaching the ground, he had a look around at the dark hellscape before him. In front of him, he saw a large dark forest covering the ground from the mountains down to the tower, being cut off by a silvery river running down to a large whirlpool with a rickety town built on top of it. On his right, he was a large open field that seemed devoid of life. Down by the river he then noticed a hooded figure who pointed at him and then three little froglike monsters emerged from the silvery waters and approached the tower.    Meanwhile, Kazagal had woken up inside the forest and from a hill, he could see the tower, the blue-clad man on top of it, and the creatures approaching it. He was then interrupted by a woman dressed in white and blue who walked out and told him in a commanding voice that he, Kazagal, was late. She then asked where Nakor was. The goliath was baffled but eventually pointed to the tower and the annoyed woman marched towards it. When they reached the edge of the forest they heard the sorcerer's feeble attempts to converse with the monsters. As they crossed the forest edge, Nakor's yelling was drowned out by a dull thundering sound.   Looking towards the open field the group saw a dark chariot being drawn by two nightmares. Riding it was a man dressed in little to no armour and with a dark helmet covering his face in shadows, only leaving a pair of glowing red eyes. As this figure rapidly approached the froglike beings seemed hesitant and fell back into the river. The hooded figure also left the area. The chariot came to a stop in front of the tower, and the rider introduced himself as Alex Tesla, the shining charioteer. The woman in turn introduced Nakor and Kazagal to the man, despite the goliath and prince not recalling ever meeting this woman before. Not introducing herself properly, she merely said that she was there to make sure that Kazagal and Nakor stayed alive as they tried to escape. After some arguing in between the aforementioned pair, Nakor made his way down to the rest. The new faces confirmed for the two that they had indeed reached Abaddon.    Looking over at the large silvery river, Kazagal realised that this was the river Styx. The river of souls. He tried to send his draconic creation Tor into the waters but it seemed to age the construct hundreds of years in mere seconds. Not being able to see the bottom they seemed lost as to how they were to get a soulstone out of the river. The woman who was actually named Danae knelt down and prayed for an answer. Suddenly a large branch fell from a nearby tree. She picked it up and gave it to Kazagal who managed to find the bottom filled with oval soulstones, who were nearly invisible unless moved. He made Tor reach down to grab one, but the construct was grabbed by one of the froglike Hydroloth which had hidden amongst the stones. A fight broke out as two other invisible hydroloths had snuck around and surrounded the party and attacked.     During the fight, Tor was yanked free by Alex, before the hydroloths began to suck the memories from his brain. Luckily he managed to resist. Kazagal took the opportunity and made a run for it along with Tor. Danae called upon the powers of her god to try and save them, creating a time distorting damaging field around her, whilst Nakor grabbed her teleported the both of them away from the fight. In the meantime, two additional skeletal ferrymen called Merrenoloths arrived. These began to telepathically communicate and threaten Kazagal to hand back the soulstone. As he refused, both him and Nakor could feel their memories being drained from them. Kazagal managed to resist, but Nakor was left with no memory of himself, his surroundings, or even a language. Danae pointed him into the forest and he wandered away as the rest of the party fought on. As more Yugoloths arrived, the group made a break for the woods. Kazagal took the stone from Tor and sent him to distract the Hydroloths, who quickly dismantled the construct. Meanwhile, Alex, with his magical mace, managed to actually kill one of the Hydroloths before escaping.    When they had entered the forest, they noticed that no Yugoloth followed them. None stepped a foot into the woods. Danae made a prayer to ask her god whether this path would lead to their doom, and received an omen with a mixed message. A beautiful crow that landed nearby before aging to a husk and dying. This still seemed the better option compared to the wall of Yugoloths behind them. In clearing up ahead they found the confused and grunting Nakor. As they rested under a tree, the black mist that encompassed the forest got to Alex who nodded off for a minute during his watch and when he looked up the forest and changed. Still set on reaching the mountains the party continued after their rest. No night had passed, but the sky was ever slightly lit by a faint eclipsed sun. This time was also used to get to know each other better. Alex told them his story of how he had been stuck in Abaddon for over two months. Danae told them her story and how she was sent here by Kronos to stop them from dying down here and stop Gorick from getting the golden rod. After their rest Danae used her magic to restore Nakor's memories and boost the party's strength, leaving her a bit winded. That's when she rewinded herself to just before she cast the spells, restoring her own strength.    The group continued out of the forest, ignoring the smell of fresh-baked cookies and crows trying to show them the way. When they had reached the mountains and walked up among the jagged cliffs, they were met by a foxlike humanoid being, an arcanaloth. He introduced himself as Gehemnon, scribe, record-keeper, and diplomat for the Horseman of Death Charon. He asked them to return the soulstone to his master. If they complied, the silver-tongued daemon promised to help them out of Abaddon. The party didn't trust him and asked for some time to think it over. Danae who had asked her god for some directions on where they might go to escape had been given an omen pointing in three directions. The Arcanaloth, the forest, and a cave further up the mountain. They decided to continue to the mountain to investigate.    Whilst they were walking Kazagal used a gadget that allowed him to see the invisible. This revealed that they were being watched by five armed Nycoloths. After the death of one of their own, they seemed hesitant to engage. Upon reaching the cave it seemed like it was covered in magical darkness. After making it through this barrier of darkness, they found a tent. Inside Nakor was met by a familiar face. Gorick, who was enjoying dinner. He welcomed them and offered them something to drink. Nakor immediately turned tail and left after he made the devil's food smell like poop. Kazagal was hesitant, especially when the devil offered to let him see his son. But in the end, they left the devil alone. Going back to reconvene with the Arcanoloth.    When they met with Gehemnon again he told them that a force of Nycoloths, led by one of Charon's generals was on its way to kill them. He offered them one last time, to return the soulstone and he could send two of them back to the material plane. Refusing to leave anyone behind and part with the soulstone, Danae became furious with the being as it didn't seem to take her threats of the complete collapse of the timeline seriously. This onslaught of insults angered the scribe and he gave them five seconds before he would attack them with magic. Alex had had enough and jumped Kazagal to take the stone, Nakor prepared to unleash his angelic form, but as Gehemnon lifted his finger, Danae managed to counter the magic. Seemingly having calmed a bit, the Arcanoloth teleported away.   The group ran back down into the forest to hide from the army of Nycoloths that soon swirled above the treetops. In here they decided to look for the hag that Gehemnon had mentioned lived in this forest, and was keeping the Yugoloths out, as she seemed to be their only hope. After a long rest by the trees, Danae had the last watch. She too dozed off for a few seconds and that's when they found themselves in front of a large cabin with a roof made of muffin. The area smelled strongly of baked goods as they approached the cabin. They knocked and the open opened up to reveal a long narrow room, which was contrary to the cabin's wide shape. At the end of this long room was a large foul woman dressed in a simple black and white dress covered by an apron. Her soot-black skin was leathery and her long crooked limbs seemed strangely elongated. She was working a dough as they entered. She welcomed them to her cabin and introduced herself as Granny Gertrude Grinkledinkle.    They explained their situation and asked for her help. She agreed and asked what they could offer her. She refused the offer of gold and asked for something more creative and dear. For example Kazagal's imagination, Nakor's voice, or the rest of Danae's time. This last offer rang true and after asking for guidance from her god one last time, she agreed to that term. After saying their goodbye's the hag opened her oven door to reveal a gate leading to just outside Starstone Cathedral. They stepped through and looked back at Danae and as the hag put her hands on her shoulders she the cleric said:

You two fuck-ups are only alive because of me! Don't fuck this up! Earn this.

She then started to age in front of their eyes, until her dried-out corpse fell to the ground, leaving the hag with a white and blue cupcake in her hands. Then the gate closed leaving the three of them alone by the ancient temple.