4B. The Demon Ball
The demon lord Tarvel has made you an offer you can't refuse.
This is a continuation of 3A. The Missing Hunter
Structure
Exposition
The party has decoded The Demon Traveler's Journal.
Olin will come to the party's house with Trerazad & Gollmaroch and an invitation that isn't actually an invitation. Demon Lord Tarvel has requested the party's presence to explain why they have Tarvel's proprietary code-breaking ink and whether that has any connection to the disappearance of Tarvel's employee. Olin will raise his hand and summon the ink bottle to him from wherever it is in the house.
Olin will not take any explanation himself, but say that they need to tell Tarvel because they have been summoned. If the party resists, Olin may threaten whoever happens to be in the lobby (though he will patiently wait his turn if the party asks him to).
When they arrive in the Seven Hells (through the section that Marco created), they will be escorted to Tarvel's castle and into his office.
Speaking with Tarvel
The first thing the players will notice when they step into the room is that a zone of truth spell has activated around the chairs where they are expected to sit. The players can decide whether they want to resist or not. They can choose not to try. If they resist and are successful, then the player will have to make a deception roll with every statement they make to Tarvel (contested by Tarvel's insight or wisdom saving throw). This is regardless of whether they are telling the truth or not, because they must act like they are under the zone of truth spell or Tarvel will automatically be suspicious of them since they resisted the spell. Tarvel will act aloof and dangerous at first, while asking why the players have his code breaking ink in their possession. He'll ask if they know what happened to Dizgon and whether they have Dizgon's notebook. If they say they do, he'll ask if they can show him or, if they can't, if they will tell him truthfully what was in it. He will want them to return the notebook and the ink to him before the next steps.Conflict
If Tarvel is convinced that they are telling the truth that they were not involved in Dizgon's death, he will change his method of talking, sounding more like he's holding back tears, and then ask if they think that Dizgon died quickly (no, don't tell me. If it was a grun, then it was probably too terrible to contemplate. *sniff sob sniff*).
Tarvel will explain that Eg'drith was definitely behind Dizgon's murder and is also plotting against Tarvel. Tarvel doesn't want Dizgon's efforts to be in vain, but Eg'drith will almost certainly be on his guard after discovered Dizgon. They need to find that secret room so they can find out who all is involved in the conspiracy and what they are planning. Tarvel can't send any of his own men because Eg'drith will likely recognize them and be suspicious of anyone "conveniently" changing sides.
What Tarvel proposes is that the players disguise themselves as demons (or other celestial creature) and get invitations to Eg'drith's upcoming party at his house. The party is celebrating Eg'drith's fourth championship win in the expert grun fighting tournament. While there, they can try to find the secret room and the evidence Tarvel needs. They will be able to find Eg'drith at the grun arena since he's competing in the novice fighting competition being held in a few hours.
If they agree to do this, Tarvel will offer to protect the portal that connects to the Material Realm (it would be bad if Eg'drith knew about it and had control). Tarvel can give them some demon clothes and some aura disguising devices, but their physical appearance will be up to them. They might also want to come up with some cover stories.
Rising Action
The party will have to disguise themselves as a celestial being (Zinyra can probably just drop her disguise. Liches sometimes choose to live in the celestial realm considering their long lives, and many celestials use undead as helpers) and then they can meet Eg'drith at the grun fighting pit, where Eg'drith is competing his new gruns in the novice fight categories. Eg'drith is watching from a special owner box that they'll have to talk their way into. Otherwise, they'll have to try to meet him either in the grun pens after the fight.
Eg'drith (snidely whiplash voice) is susceptible to flattery and has a very high opinion of himself. It won't be hard to convince him to give them invites, just make him believe that you're a fan.
Once you get an invite, the party is the next evening, so they can do a downtime activity (if it's not too long), or something else to prepare. Once at the party, they will meet the following people who can give them information (see final footer)
First Floor Contents
Grun Area Contents
Climax
They will find the entrance to the secret room in the practice arena, but it will be hard to get in there because:
A) there are currently two grun in there fighting that will immediately turn on anyone who comes inside
B) the arena is open to viewing by the party-goers in the house who will immediately shout they notice anyone going in there
If they can figure out how to do it, though, they will go to the back of the arena and lift a hidden hatch in the floor. That hatch leads to a large stone room and inside they will find:
- Two mind flayer tentacles
- 10 demon hedgehog spike
- Two silver bells
- A map of Tarvel's castle with security breaches circled
- A list of the demons who are helping Eg'drith in his conspiracy and things to use as blackmail for each of them (these are only useful for Tarvel, who knows the context)
Falling Action
Read this next session:
Latrans and Ulo: When you teleport away, you expect to reappear in a (relatively) peaceful forest. Instead, you find yourself hovering in a black void. The air around you feels thick and you find it almost impossible to move. In front of you are six tiny points of white light spaced out in a line. Behind you is one light slightly larger than the ones in front of you. ((What do you want to do?)) You try this for a few minutes ((if they're going towards any of the lights, you seem to be moving very slowly, but it's so slow that even after a few minutes you still can't tell if the lights are getting closer or not)). Then, suddenly, you're not alone. Out of the corner of your eye, you see movement and when you turn to look, you see a humanoid alligator in a space suit with a tiny cowboy hat on her helmet. She's smiling at you with a quizzical look on her face as she says, "Now, you folks are really lost aren't ya?"IF THEY ASK TO DO A PERCEPTION CHECK SAY THAT SHE LOOKS FRIENDLY AND ON A DC 18, SAY THEY NOTICE A SCAR OVER HER LEFT EYE.
She'll say her name is Rosie and she's out here inspecting the locked plane boundary to make sure it stays locked, especially with all the planar weirdness happening. Latrans and Ulo seem to have slipped through the small hole she made to do her inspection and then got caught in the interior of the barrier. No worries, though, she can help them out and just give them a big ole shove towards wherever they need to go. All she needs is for them to tell her where they want to go and give her consent to touch them, of course. If they are suspicious of her she'll laugh and ask what possible motive she would have to trick them. Really, she's just doing her job and having people stuck in the barrier is bad. They can spend the next probably 12 hours swimming slowly towards the planes and hope they land on the one they want, or she can give them a shove. If they agree to her helping them, she'll get behind them (moving much faster than they can) and give them both a firm shove on the back. Read this: First, you feel yourself moving very fast toward the lights. They rapidly get bigger until the light surrounds you and suddenly you are standing exactly where you asked to go. [[Have them roll a perception check. If they pass a DC 18]] You also notice a a lingering warmth on your back where Rosie pushed you that fades so quickly, you wonder if you imagined it.Resolution
- Zinyra made a contract with the Autumn Queen to bring her information about which of Eg'drith's grun are strongest and most likely to win in future fights
- Zinyra got the information from Thozrik the demon Grun trainer who was really worried about giving the information to Zinyra and wanted to her to promise no to tell anyone else. Zinyra did not promise that and told Phrixia, but had no indication of what she was going to do that information.
- Marco kissed the eye in a jar and took it. He is now attuned to it and has the following effects:
- Ulo and Marco wanted to rescue the Rodensa and managed to get 15 out of 20 using transport via plant before Eg'drith reached them. Ulo got away quickly, but Eg'drith got his hands on Marco before he turned into a snake and escaped.
- Ulo used "banishment" on herself and Latrans, but something went wrong. They ended up in the middle of the lock of The Locked Plane and there they met Rosie, an alligator person in a spacesuit with a tiny cowboy hat. Rosie claimed that she was there inspecting the lock to make sure there weren't holes and she could get them back to wherever they wanted by pushing them in the right direction. Ulo gave her a hug and felt a strange warmth on her back. When Rosie pushed Latrans and Ulo back to the Material Realm, they arrived directly in front of their house though they hadn't specified where to go.
- By casting detect magic, they found that Latrans had magic on his back in the shape of a hand
- Zinyra got out of the mansion easily and both her and Marco are heading back to Tarvel's cathedral with the requested information about the location of the secret room in Eg'drith's manor. Tarvel was happy that they had caused chaos at Eg'drith's party and found where the secret door was. He said that he now owed them a favor and they could come to him if they need anything.
- Ulo did not tell Tarvel who the traitor was in his organization.
- Once everyone returned home, the party talked to Vyzzyg and found out the following information:
- The magic that is on Latrans and Ulo's backs, Zinyra's patron mark, and Marco's eyeball in a bottle is the same as the magic on the purple liquid that turned the rutabaga alive in 3C. Workers Unite!.
- The working theory is that it is dream magic because of Latrans and Ulo's experience in the planar lock, which locked away the Dreamscape plane, but Vyzzyg doesn't know how that magic can bring physical items into other planes. They also don't know who the person who did this is, though they speculate that it's probably someone from the Dreamscape/Locked Plane.
That night
Each of the party members were visited in their dreams by a person appearing in the guise of a person from their past (except Zinyra, who was visited by the Benefactor again). They each had a brief conversation with the person starting with her asking a question, but the party didn't get much information about her and she didn't answer many questions before she faded away. However, a few things she did say:- She's not targeting the party; she doesn't view them as special
- At least in her mind, she doesn't think she's cursing the party. She sees the magic she put on the party as a neutral thing (except for Zinyra, who she thinks she's helping by releasing her from the control of her patron).
- The dream person said that Ulo was her favorite and they had a lot in common, but when Ulo asked if she was just messing with the party, the dream person just laughed and faded away
- The Benefactor in Zinyra's dream gave Zinyra more information about the former contractor that is near her, saying that she doesn't think the contractor is all that strong and Zinyra seems to have good judgment and probably won't kill her immediately.
Relations
Adversaries
Eg'drith is the main adversary for this adventure. He is arrogant, dishonest, and cruel, but he can be charming and lies very well. He has made his fortune (in soul contracts) by breeding and fighting grun and he is very very proud of that. However, he's no longer content with the trappings of wealth and fame from his grun business. Now he wants control of the entire domain and he plans to overthrow Tarvel to do it.
Use waluigi voice.
Comments