Moonbow’s Closed Door

• Characters: Dak, Hlinthi, Marlet, Trizoon, V.L.
• NPCs: Galt Pendle, Julbin Cometstrike, Aramus Moonbow, Quint the Navigator, Sol of Dweomerheart
• Synopsis: Presenting Rordic’s lost seed to Julbin Cometstrike the group prepares for the next leg of the adventure. The guild master of the Naturalists says that Alyssic heard Trizoon’s songs detailing the ancient battlefield of Geron, a hamlet she once passed in her travels. In Geron resides an angel named Aramus Moonbow who is bound to the barren field. On a previous adventure guild members defeated the evil surface guardians and spoke with the “Angel of Geron”. Moonbow had necessitated that they return with a follower of Heironeous. Because of Alyssic’s focus on Westgate, she has passed along the task of representing her god to Galt Pendle, the ex-squire of the Gold Knight and paladin of Heironeous. Wielding the long sword Holy Avenger, Galt promises to lead the group to victory and discover the mystery of Moonbow. But time is of the essence as a major war threatens to shatter the Dragon Coast. Julbin must work quickly with the reestablished Guilid of the Naturalists which has added Maralea Darkwood to its ranks. In order to expedite their travels, Julbin summons Quint the Navigator from the nearby city of Reddansyr. The trip will take most of the following day, but Julbin says that he can use Dak’s latent sorcerer skills to retrieve them once their mission is complete. The following morning finds the group gathered amidst the frozen marketplace. The winter season is worsening. Raxel the Rancher is seen distributing fresh food with the help of Kirken Trumpetnose to the beleagured citizens of Threshold. The Beast Tamers have put the portal to Delzimmer into immediate use for long needed supplies and resources. Quint arrives and has his gnome first mates escort the group, now outfitted with heavy furs for the expedition. The flight is long, taking most of the day, but the trip is revealing. Along the way, masses of troops prepare for battle, massive sections of the forest are destroyed rumored to be done at the hands of a powerful blighter, and a massive storm hovers in place over the Orsraun Mountains. Heavy snowfall is unavoidable. Another troubling sight is the construction of an ice wall on the edge of the ravine by a construction crew consisting of a frost giant protecting huge slugs excreting the icy slush shaped to form the wall. An additional crew works further away and the ice wall is estimated to be some 200 feet in height already. Quint has flown these parts many times and this is the first time he has seen this activity. Landing in the ancient battlefield, the group reconnects with the angel Aramus Moonbow. The angel has been bound to the Material Plane by devils, tortured to remain in place for almost a ten-year. He stands before the entrance to a crypt of Heironeous, long since overrun with devils and others. After his initial confinement, the crypt itself has remained silent for years. But contained within is the locked portal to the celestial plane Dweomerheart, the only of its kind. His kind has been barred from entering the Material Plane since his imprisonment. Moonbow suggests that this plan of the devils was not limited to Dweomerheart, but all of the good planes. Moonbow cannot be freed until his warden is destroyed. If the group can destroy the warden, it would shatter his binds and open the portal to Dweomerheart, allowing angels to return to the Material Plane and bring war against the devils. Galt Pendle is brazen and leads the party into the crypt below. Descending an abandoned stairwell some 80’ beneath the surface the party finds the vandalized Heironeous’ Hall of Heroes. Just beyond is the Great Hall of Heironeous, a massive chamber desecrated almost beyond recognition. Two golem sentinels stand ready for the entruders, attacking immediately by spewing foul blood-colored spray upon anyone within reach. They are quickly and resoundly defeated. Adorned on their faceless heads are runes representing the drow goddess Kiaransalee, the Lady of the Dead. A massive shaft allows the group access to the tomb below the great hall. Bypassing three sealed tomb doors, the group moves through the Arch of Heironeous, entering the Chamber of Heroes Rest, where an altar to Heironeous has been defecated upon enough to almost bury it completely. Individual burial chambers have been violated, the sarcaphogii defiled and the skeletal remains despoiled. Below the Platform of the Heroes Rest is a pool of slick liquid with a phosphorescence glow. Marlet and V.L. are first to see Moonbow’s warden, a towering devil black as night emerging from beneath the pool’s surface. The warriors charge to battle but find the creature’s power overwhelming, its fear a palpable weapon in and of itself. Hlinithi revives injured companions as Marlet blasts the devil from afar. Dak tumbles away from the warden only to wade back into the madness after receiving blessings from Garl Glittergold’s servant. V.L. tries desparately to battle the winged beast but its might is overbearing and the elven warrior dies heroically. Dak is next to fall, mortally wounded, and in a critical moment, Galt slips upon the pool’s edge, spinning to the stone tiled floor, knocking himself dazed and losing his helmet in the process. Trizoon stands alone and is battered for it. But as the party is on its last legs, so is the devil. Hlinthi calls upon his god once again reviving the almost lost Dak. And it is the avenging Dak that destroys the devil with a crushing blow, sending it crashing into the depths of the glowing pool. Massive light erupts as the beast breaks apart, revealing a hidden portal within its own body. The devil is turned inside out as it sinks to the bottom of the pool. Only seconds later does the liquid begin to spiral out of existence, leaving an open portal to a land of beauty and wonder. Vigilant angels stand guard outside, just as stunned as the party that the path to the Material Plane has been restored. The angel sentries are lead by Sol, a towering angel that praises the bravery of the group and blesses them for opening the path of angels back to the Material Plane. Moonbow appears before the group as well, as his infernal chains dissipate to floating debris and ash. The shock of events subsides and Hlinthi and Dak ask Sol if there is anything to be done for their fallen comrade. V.L. stands at the gates of a city absent of color, seeped in shades of gray. Mysteriously devoid of souls, the barren city shows almost no signs of afterlife. It is almost as if V.L.’s spirit is the first to reach the gates for some time. But a guiding hand retrieves the warrior’s soul, bringing the elf warrior back to the Heironeous’ Crypt on the Material Plane. The massive angel grants their wish, retrieving V.L. from the City of the Dead. The revived elf celebrates with his friends in their hard fought victory. Now they must return word of their accomplishments back to the Guild of Naturalists.
• Encounters: two rogue eidolons, a Malebranche devil
• Achievements: witnessed the destruction of parts of Gulthmere Forest by a blighter, discovered the secret construction of an ice wall on the outskirts of the Orsraun Mountains, through the representative of Heironeous learned of the plight of the angels of Dweomerheart and Moonbow’s imprisonment, infiltrated the desecrated tomb of Heironeous’ warriors, destroyed the guardians of the devils, and opened the pathway to the celestial plane Dweomerheart.