Infernal Sky Pirates One-Shot

This adventure is intended for a mid level party

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There have been a number of kidnappings in recent times. Nobles, soldiers, merchants, farmhands, anyone traveling the main road is liable to disappear. No one knows how this is even possible, and the lord of the land is not happy to have even lost a significant portion of his elite guard. Rumors run rampant among the people, talks of demonic schemes, ghost pirates, and even giant birds hunting wagons and livestock. Everyone is confused, and public order is rapidly declining.
Even Lord Showa's daughter was taken on her way out of the country for marriage talks, and he's put out a call to the greatest adventurers in the land to rescue his precious daughter, Tsubaki Showa. Payment as promised is 10,000gp total after the mission.
Tsubaki's personal guard is a pregnant Iai Samurai woman named Nanako Akai, but insisted on coming out of maternal retirement for this. (Note: Nanako always has 1 level of exhaustion)
Princess Tsubaki is a Noble(MM pg.348) and a curious soul, and Nanako is like an older sister to her. Nanako would always comfort and advise Tsubaki when she had misgivings and doubts, and she feels incredible guilt because Tsubaki was immediately kidnapped after Nanako was released from her duties.

The Infernal Pirates

The Infernal Sky Pirates ride on the back of an enslaved and mind controlled Roc. The deck of a Sailing Ship(AC 15, Hp 300, Damage Threshold 15) named Garasu Yon has been harnessed to the back of the Roc, and the helm is imbedded with a giant, rune-carved pearl to control the Great Bird. The Roc only defends itself when not following commands.
There are two open entrances to the lower deck. There is one set of stairs at the front end of the ship, and another behind the mast.
The below deck holds a group of captured Shadows, hooked into a device at the front that hides the bird and the ship in darkness(Can become invisible in dim light or darkness using an action at the helm). Freeing the Shadows(DC 19 Athletics check, DC 15 Arcana check) disables the stealth capabilities of the ship, but they are bloodthirsty and will attack anything that moves. Other captives below deck may include: 1d4 Commoners, a Priest, a Four Tailed Kitsune, and even a Green Hag. They all have half hit points, and will negotiate for their freedom. Will Scarlet has the Cage Key, and the cages can be opened with a DC 20 athletics check using a crowbar, or DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves tools.
Hidden below a false floor is a second lower level containing the Pirate's treasure hoard(DC 15 Investigation, DC 20 Perception). The hoard contains: 1000cp, 4000sp, 2100gp, and 100pp; six 250gp art objects(three gold rings set with bloodstones, two silk robes with gold embroidery, and one box of turquoise animal figurines), and one 3rd level spell scroll(Elemental Weapon)
Captain Crook is a scarred, broken-horned Oni with these changes:

• 169hp
• Parry(+3 AC as a reaction vs a single attack roll the Oni can see)
• Splint Armor(AC 17)
• 4 Attacks, using Dual Giants' Whips(+7 to hit, 3d4+4 slashing, heavy, finesse, reach 20ft; and Two-Handed for medium and smaller creatures)
• CR 8(3,900xp)

The First Mate and the Quarter Master are twin Succubi/Incubi, Will Scarlet(66hp) and Mary Scarlet(99hp).
Will(1,100xp) is an Incubus and wields a Heavy Crossbow of Speed(+5 to hit, 100/400ft range, 1d10+3 piercing. Ignore the loading property, additional attack as a bonus action). His bolts are dosed with a paralysis poison, (A struck creature must succeed a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or become paralyzed for 1 minute, an affected creature can reroll their saving throw at the beginning of their turn)
Mary(1,800xp) is a Succubus and a 6th level Spellcaster(Charisma, DC 15, +7 spell attacks) with these spells memorized:

• Cantrips(At will): Chill Touch(3d8 necrotic, no healing), Mage Hand
• 1st level(4 Slots): Hellish Rebuke, Hex
• 2nd level(3 slots): Misty Step, Suggestion
• 3rd Level(3 slots): Hunger of Hadar, Major Image

The crew is made up of Specters, kept obedient by a magic circle imbedded within the the ship's mast. The specters can only move up to 100ft away from the ship's mast, and a number of them lie dormant below deck. The Specters move at the command of Will Scarlet, and obey no one else.
The deck of the Harnessed Ship is 20ft wide and 40ft long, with 2 loaded Ballista on each side(AC 15, HP 50, Takes one action to load, one action to aim, and one action to fire. Bolt: +6 to hit, range 120/480ft, 3d10 piercing).
The Harnessed Ship has a quick release function in case something happens to the Roc. In such cases, the ship can make an emergency landing using it's unfolding sail wings to ride the winds to safety(40 speed).

The Pirate's Layer

The pirates have been kidnapping people and sacrificing them to the dark prince in a strange summoning ritual. This mountain cave is where the pirates make their final stand if they were defeated, and where the party has the opportunity to escape capture and interrupt the ritual if they failed earlier.
The pirates haven't had success in their summoning ritual, no matter how many bodies they've sacrificed. Captain Crook is getting to the end of his patience with Mary, as his master was very specific with his instructions, 'Summon the Horned Devil to distract the powers that be from what's really going on'. Will is frustrated because his and Mary's master made them work with such an uncouth mongrel. If properly approached, they can be tricked into attacking each other.
The Roc sleeps outside of the cave, where Will Scarlet and the Specters move about performing routine maintenance on the Garasu Yon. The area is forested enough to provide decent cover, and the cave entrance is naturally hidden(DC 13 Investigation, DC 15 Perception check).
The Cave itself is a 40ft wide prison with an offshoot to the east where the devil summoning ritual is conducted. 10ftx10ft Iron Cages line the side walls(DC 13 Athletics to move an empty cage 5ft), and barrels of supplies line the back wall(the barrels contain DC 13 paralysis poison, hard alcohol, preserved foods, and a recently opened vat of Nondetection potion. The smell of blood and rot fills the place. Captain Crook drinks at a table in the center of the room, reading a map of the area.
Princess Tsubaki can be found in one of the cages among the other captives, and warns of the Pirates plan to Sacrifice Nanako to summon a Devil. She insists the Pirates must be stopped at all costs, and refuses to leave if it means the adventurers will leave the pirates alone. She also knows that Mary is the only one who knows how to perform the ritual.

The Summoning Ritual

Mary can be found in the summoning room conferring with her imp familiar. The summoning room is a 20ft hexagon, with a 10ft magic circle carved into the center of the stone floor, surrounding by burning sconces(1d4 bludgeoning and 1d4 fire damage if thrown in someone's face, counts as improvised weapon).
Mary suspects that the lives of mere people are not enough to fuel the ritual, and aims to sacrifice the pregnant Nanako. How did she know? Their master has spies everywhere. They specifically targeted Princess Tsubaki to lure Nanako into a vulnerable position.
Mary Scarlet has an Imp familiar who has been making preparations for the ritual. If the Imp's concentration is broken, or Mary is defeated while the ritual is in progress, the unstable magic will cause an avalanche(DC 20 skill challenge to escape, 15 for partial success. Failure means death). The magic can be stabilized with a DC 25 arcana check. The Ritual can also be secretly sabotaged if a character can manage to sneak in.
While the Devil Summoning Ritual is being performed, the sacrifice is kept sedated with poisons and is only killed in the final moments of the ritual. If Nanako was captured, she will be used for the ritual, otherwise a commoner will be sacrificed instead. The ritual lasts 10 minutes, and is 1d10 minutes along by the time the adventurers arrive(or wake up if they were captured). The party will probably die if the Horned Devil is summoned.
If the sacrifice is killed at an improper time, the ritual ends immediately and an Arcanaloth(Yugoloth, MM pg.313) answers the call. He introduces himself as "Manfred", casts Finger of Death against Mary Scarlet(Potentially turning her into his Zombie Minion), and thanks everyone for "Opening the door" for him before he leaves. Manfred doesn't care about the adventurers and will reciprocate any attitude taken toward himself.

Afterword

If the adventurers manage to rescue Princess Tsubaki, they can safely escort her back to her father. If Nanako didn't make it, Tsubaki will cry all the way home. Even if Nanako survives, Tsubaki is devastated because her capture has irreparably damaged her reputation as a noble woman. She will be seen as damaged goods(even though she was not touched) and predicts her engagement talks will be cut short. While she isn't in love, the engagement would have strengthened the position of her territory.
The party is publicly rewarded and if Lord Showa may offer them a township on the edge of his territory(On the border of an enemy faction's territory), especially if he thinks a relationship is possible between one of them and his daughter.
If the Arcanaloth Manfred is Summoned, the party can engage in a follow up adventure to track him down and stop his plot to drag the world into chaos and free the Yugoloths from their shackles in the Hells.