Goodness Gracious, Elturel’s on Fire

A beautiful Summer day hunting cultists takes a dark turn as Elturel sinks into the ground...

Early Sydenstar, the warm embrace of the Companion (The Glowing Orb acting as a second sun) and the natural sun of the morning Lord blankets Southern Faerun around the Holy Capital of Elturel on this day. The members of three factions rally together behind their patrons as they all crowd into the back private room at “A pair of Black Antlers” Tavern just within the outer walls of Elturel.

Here we meet the members of the Order of the Gauntlet, based out of Elturel and led by Onthar Frume; the head of the faction and the local chapter. This red bearded dwarf was accompanied by Maximus Leonnart, Rylorr Thornblood & A Tiefling named Raven. The second Faction in attendance is another local chapter familiar in Elturel, the Hellriders. These protectors of the city attend the meeting under the guidance of a high priest of Elturel and high-ranking member of the Hellriders, the ebony skinned Gideon Lightward. Under his guidance a fine-looking gentleman, resembling a long-lost Billy Zane, named Remses and a Drow Bard named Serana. Another feathered member of the faction was due to arrive but was delayed and redirected to Baldur’s Gate instead of Elturel due to a scheduling conflict. Finally in attendance were two members of the Flaming Fist out of Baldur’s Gate to the West. Duglas the Gnome and Cassio the Dark Elf had escorted none other than Duke Ulder Ravengard himself under the guise of merchants to this secret diplomatic meeting.

The three factions were here to discuss goings on in the woods to the North and possible increases in cult activity after Greenest to the south had been attacked and looted by the Cult of the Dragon. After a brief meeting and discussion, the members of the various factions deemed that it was necessary and could help diplomatic relations if the parties in attendance could work together to get to the bottom of things. With Elturel’s anniversary of the second sun’s rising approaching fast on the morrow, it was essential that if anything were going on that it would not interfere with tomorrow’s festivities.

A quick breakfast and a mild bump into Remses revealed that he was more than met the eye. Proper vouching for Remses kept the other factions in the tavern from going full Paladin on him. Heading North out of the city, Raven had a friend’s wedding ceremony that was happening on the way out of town in a nearby chapel. The party briefly stopped so that Raven could witness her friend’s celebration and it was a beautiful ceremony at that.

After exiting the city walls, the party encountered a small girl stuck up a tree that was being accosted by several wolves. The small girl, Grace Leonnart was recognized to be Maximus’ niece and the fierce wolves were dealt with swiftly. However, one wolf remained, a different fur color of Black that contrasted with the grey furs that had surrounded Grace moments before. It appeared to be the runt of the pack and was malnourished and quickly responded to kindness over aggression. Newly dubbed Eliott, the runty wolf began to follow the party under the promise of more food. Grace was sent safely back to Elturel after being cautioned about leaving the city walls by herself. She happily hugged her uncle’s leg before scampering back off towards the city.

As the crew approached the Elturel woods, Maximus and Raven, familiar with the territory began to track footprints that led deeper into the brush. They recalled tales of an evil druidic circle that use to operate in the woods but had been stamped out years ago. The ruins location would have been cleared out of forest growth and a very likely be an ideal place for any wrong doers to be hiding out within the area. They began to creep along a nearby creek that led to the area and discovered a Cultist of the Dead Three drowning what looked like a Dragon Cultist. Witnessing this cult on cult action the party tried to get stealthy before entering the area but their nerves got the better of them as multiple encounters and other cultists became aware of their presence. After several party members even fell to the cult’s necromantic magics, the group was able to hold onto their lives as they liberated some leftover stolen goods that were due for Baldur’s Gate. In addition they discovered a letter addressing the goods destination upon the still barely stable remains of a single remaining cultist that had been paralyzed with a dagger blade to the spinal cord. The last remaining cultist of the dead three stood proudly against the group, right up until Cassio decapitated him effectively…and Remses rose the cultist as a headless undead which she stuffed promptly into her bag of bones.

That night the group camped out under the stars of the glade and listened to tales of Hellrider knights of the old days that had stood against tyranny just as the group had today. Shedding a brief tear revisiting a tale of her now past father Serana called the group into a cheers as they celebrated their victory.

That night an axebeak was caught trying to eat the party’s rations and was chased off. In addition, however, a much more interesting occurrence took place for Cassio during Rylorr’s extended period of self-relieving in the woods nearby. A female humanoid clad in black leather with an ornate headdress approached Cassio with an offer of power to a knight that had nothing to prove. He would be given the power to help his friends and defy even death if he committed to felling the demon foes of Hell and to serving a higher power. A contract was extended for Cassio. Eager for these promises of the power to prevent his death Cassio signed the contract without even observing the contract or the entity’s name that enlisted into this contract with him. The striking female with these beautiful multicolored eyes grazed his cheek sensually as she strode past him. When Cassio turned to follow her gaze, she was gone. Returning to the campfire he barely seemed phased…just another day in Southern Faerun.

Awakening the next morning the party noticed that the sky had turned an orange hue, and the air temperature was a few degrees higher than even the heat of the month of Sydenstar usually brought. The ground beneath their feet seemed to quake as the group quickly came to and began to ride quickly for Elturel. Galloping back to the city at full speed the party began to hear the cries of horrified citizens and children filling the air as the material plane had split open before them, revealing the fiery depths of hell below. The Companion (Second Sun) and Elturel were being ripped into this hellish void, as massive flaming chains latched onto the city and quickly were dragging it into the fiery void below. The inferno was blinding and accompanied by a deafening blast that stifled the pleading screams of those still trapped in Elturel within an instant. A scorched rainbow scarf fluttered helplessly in the wind as darkness fell upon the land. In an instant, Elturel was no more, Elturel had fallen.

The party began making their way through the crowds while being assisted by a few other Hellriders that had made it out of the cities edges along with a few hundred refugees from the now sunken city. Maximus stalked the crowd in fury, in anger, in sorrow just hoping for any sight of his loved ones. Raven shed a tear for her friend and her happy day that she had just borne witness to yesterday… her home had been taken. Rylorr had undergone the destruction of a people before, this time was no different, the horror of what had been done was painted on all of the poor faces that now lay recovering on the steep hillside next to the crater where Elturel had stood moments before.

Duglas & Remses had seen despair in their times…they both knew that their path needed to follow that city as it vanished. The underworld called to them both….

Cassio got word from the passing Hellriders & refugees that they would be heading West to Baldur’s Gate next…his city. It was likely best to see this through or maybe his city would be next. The trail of the Cult of the Dead Three being nearby couldn’t have been a coincidence, uncovering within the letter that was taken off the paralyzed cultist in the woods the day before, they team thought it best to help the refugees West to Baldur’s Gate before possibly investigating this bath house in the high city where it seemed likely that both cults would be headed. The name Vanthampur came up in the letter as well…Cassio recognized this name, it was the family name of one of the council of four that oversaw Baldur’s Gate in its entirety.

The next few days the party tried to pick themselves back up after witnessing such an atrocity at Elturel. Maximus witnessed a family of Elephants in the nearby planes travelling along…together. The party even saved a poor baby who was about to be kidnapped one evening from a pair of thieving Grimlocks where they reunited a mother and her baby boy. Avoiding the sight of a stalking Wyvern another evening, the party really did have quite an eventful trip along their 5 day journey west. Hundreds more refugees seemed to be swelling the numbers of the group as they continued their travel West.

On the morning of the fifth day the group arrived along the outer roads approaching the Eastern Basilisk Gate that stood at the city’s inner edge. A blockade had seemingly been set up anticipating this mass of incoming refugees. The city was keeping anyone from travelling between the gate either inside or outside the wall on the local Council’s orders. Cassio knew that a Captain Zodge would be leading the force at this gate and he was able to pick him out of the crowd as they fought their way forward toward the gate. Once the Captain was encountered it was discovered that the city blamed the Hellriders for whatever had occurred in the city to the East and it was their orders to place any arriving Hellriders under arrest for fear of the same thing occurring in Baldur’s Gate.

Remses, Serana and even Maximus (after failing to pick an effective fight with the captain) were all placed under arrest briefly before Zodge stared out over the crowd and seemed to debate something internally. He spoke then and was willing to let the group go, especially under the escort of a veteran members of the Flaming Fist like Cassio. The Cult of the Dead Three had been increasing their attacks around the city as of late and it would be less paperwork and a significant help to the captain if the recently accomplished mercenaries were to assist him with this internal problem. He brought the group through the gates, giving them access to the city. Temporarily deputizing the group members, they were given Flaming Fist badges and told that anything went in the lower city as long as it was in the name of the objectives he had set before them. They were to wipe out the lair within the city of the Cult of the Dead Three. This would be of huge relief to the Flaming Fist who had been chasing leads trying to stamp out the murderers but now very clearly had their hands full with this swelling refugee crisis in addition the regular turmoil that constantly befell the city at large. Upon completion, 200 GP would be awarded to each of the party members and their freedom along with it within the city.

Before leaving the party to return his attention to the crowds, Zodge mentioned a contact named Tarina at the Elf Song’s Tavern that owed him a favor if the group needed a lead. Now, left without supervision and a license to kill cultists on sight within the walls of Baldur’s Gate, the party looked out over lower city before them as the morning heat brought with it the unique smells carried along the breeze of the bustling port coming off of the ocean in the distance. The party needed leads…How were the cult’s involved if at all? With their faction leaderships left without figureheads what was the next order, surely these leaders needed to be found!? Where did Elturel go and could it be saved? It was just another day put before these faction members that had been driven together in the city of blood…