letting the Kat out of the bag

It had been a successful day of hunting and now I had a boar roasting on a spit with some mushrooms and root vegetables stewing in the pot. The sky was clear and the stars were bright, and the firewood was dry so there was little smoke from the fire.

In the back of my mind was the peaceful knowledge that this was my island—nobody had been here before me and with any luck I would be long dead of old age before anyone else ruined my paradise.

In the distance I heard some shouting and my immediate thought was whether I could kill the interlopers since I was unlikely to find myself another paradise such as this, or whether there was some other way to discourage them from staying that wouldn’t just result in others coming to look for them.

I doused the fire immediately, and prayed that they hadn’t seen it. The shouting was growing louder faster than should have been possible but I still couldn’t make out the words. Whoever it was seemed to be in trouble because there was a sense of frantic urgency to whatever they were saying.

And then I recognised one of the voices. It was Stimpy and he was calling my name. As I puzzled over how he had found me other thoughts began to stir in my mind—travelling to the first plane of Hell, losing Kat, searching the mansion for her, and being struck by several chains.

I opened my eyes as Stimpy was telling the others that I was okay. It was a relative term, evidently, because I hurt all over and was covered in blood which had to be mine. I was pulled to my feet and we hustled down the stairs and back outside, sheltering under the walkway so that if the chain devils wanted to come for us they would at least have to fight on their own without all the chains around.

Stimpy said he was going to fly around the building to look in the windows on the second floor so he wouldn’t have to blindly stumble from room to room and we waited, listening for any indication that he’d run afoul of the chain devils.

We heard movement on the walkway above us which had to be the chain devils and we kept as quiet as we could. The sounds died away which probably meant they’d moved further away to look for us. After a minute or so Stimpy suddenly swooped down past the walkway and landed in front of us. Immediately after a female devil with wings appeared in front of us. By the pallor of Valkor’s face I guessed that this wasn’t someone we wanted to try fighting.

It was surprisingly easy to strike a deal with this devil. All we had to do was explain to her that we intended to embarrass her boss which would create an opportunity for her to move up the ladder, and she agreed that she hadn’t seen us but warned that she’d better not “not see” us again.

With Stimpy’s scouting information we moved back indoors and up the main staircase. The landing at the top of the stairs led off on either side to corridors and in the two back corners were weird statues with open mouths full of teeth. I don’t know—maybe these things are considered pretty in Hell.

We checked the doors directly off the landing but didn't find anything interesting. The two doors led into a training room with a couple of weapon racks. Only about half the glaives were missing so we figured the rest of them belonged to devils that were currently away from the mansion. I happily broke the hafts in case their owners returned before we were ready to leave.

We then made to move down the corridor but as soon as left the confines of the landing both the ugly little statues started emitting a loud alarm sound. Moving back into the landing didn’t shut them up so instead of standing around in the open we ducked into another room.

From this room there was a door into the master bedroom where Stimpy had said he’d seen a small pouch on the night stand. We waited for the alarm to die down and nobody had come looking for us so we opened the door to the bedroom and looked in. There was some sort of netting surrounding the bed and draping over the night stands. It was difficult to see through to the bed and would be impossible to search anything without moving them. Glyn poked at them with his rpaier and nothing bad happened so we cautiously moved around the outside of the room to the night stand where the pouch was and I moved into the room behind him.

Suddenly the room was filled with flame and I ran out of the room slapping the flames out and Glyn followed soon after saying that the netting had burst into flame as soon as he touched it. As we watched the flames continued to burn but appeared to leave the netting unaffected.

A couple of the others slashed away at the netting from the door and cut a door-shaped patch out of it. Glyn stepped carefully over the pile of fabric on the floor and into the space where the bed was but as he moved over towards the night stand it became clear he would still be unable to get to the pouch so he backed out again.

We suspected that the trap might be triggered by alignment, so I tried reaching in from the doorway and sure enough nothing happened when I touched the fabric so I quickly moved in and collected the pouch. I searched the rest of the room and there was nothing else of interest so I returned with the pouch and we confirmed that this pouch was strongly magical.

We still had no idea where Kat was, and after checking a couple more rooms (setting off the alarm again as well) we were left with either the locked and trapped room at the end of the corridor of statues, or the tower. Not surprisingly we decided that we’d prefer to try to get into the trapped room.

Valkor managed to use some spell to move himself into the room and then appeared again a minute later with a small bundle containing three golden daggers. They weren’t magical but we figured there must be something special about them but we now had only one place left to look so it was back upstairs again, set off the alarm again (which we no longer cared about since nobody had responded to the other alarms), and then up the stairs to the tower.

There was a trapdoor at the top that had a latch on this side so we released that and then there was a ladder leading to another trap door. That one appeared to have a latch mechanism from the other side but it wasn’t latched and we pushed it open carefully only to be greeted by Kat’s strident voice asking what had taken us so long.

We moved in and found Kat chained to the wall and also Miranda who was chained to the floor. We tried to keep somewhat quiet as we didn’t want to annoy the devil upstairs. We worked out a plan to get out of there as quickly as possible and were soon well away.

We looked more closely at the daggers and saw that there was a tiny inscription along the blades. Valkor looked at it and was able to read some sort of celestial psalm. That was definitely odd—if these had been trophies taken from some defeated celestial foe then surely these daggers would have out on display instead of hidden away in a carefully trapped room.

After we got back through the portal we camped for a day to to make contact with our “friendly” devil. He sent an agent and we gave him one of the daggers to take back to his master, and then waited another day for them to honour their end of the bargain. Sure enough they returned with the inscribed cube and told us they were satisfied.

We made a small trip to Mota to sell our spoils, stock up on some additional equipment, and try to get some additional information on the pouch and cube, and the remaining two golden daggers.

We didn’t get much information on the pouch and cube, and as far as anyone could tell us the daggers had no particular value so we sold the daggers and prepared to return to Red, who I’m sure will be so happy to have his device back that he’ll once more tell us something we already know. Or perhaps the device truly is something of great power and he’ll just destroy us.

Valkor

Valkor:

"We quickly realized that something had happened. We set forth to rescue her. We tried to approach the Devil's abode without being seen, but weren't entirely successful. A Bearded Devil appeared just as we reached a window. He quickly escaped as he realized that he was outnumbered, but not before Glyn managed to shatter his glaive."

"We tried to work our way around the house and enter through the back, but just then, a fresh Bearded Devil teleported, again Glyn shattered the beast's glaive, but the thing's claws were almost as dangerous. Just then, two more of them appeared, one missing a glaive. It looked as if they brought friends with them, as we saw a swarm of imps also descend upon us. Fortunately, Mervil was able to keep that group at bay as we took care of the rest of the Bearded Devils. We saved the imps for last, though three of them managed to sting me several times with their poisonous stinger. I felt a bit weak, but somehow I managed to shrug it off."

"After this, we stepped into the house, first into what appeared to be a kitchen. Several humanoids were working inside, though they seemed to ignore us. We searched several rooms quickly, not finding much except food, though I did notice a storeroom stocked with bottles of exotic wine. I grabbed a bottle that looked like it was from Minourous. I don't know how you'd make wine from in a fetid, rotting swamp. A humanoid in the room seemed distressed that I had grabbed a bottle, and though I tried to communicate with it, he evaded me and ran out the door. I tried talking with several of the kitchen workers, but they seemed very absent-minded, talking only about some celebration that was happening that night. I knew we had to hurry."

"We explored the house, encountering a few more Bearded Devils, and coming upon a heavily trapped door. Without Kat, we had no way of disarming the trap. We also found a room filled with magic, though Glyn reported that after putting several items into a bag, he thought that he felt something try to grab and bite him. I cautioned the others as I suspected that the goods in this room might be cursed. After all, why would devils leave such a "treasure" room unguarded? We also found a room filled with potions, though again, the potions were suspiciously unguarded. Nonetheless, we grabbed several of the items for examination later."

"We continued upstairs, into what appeared to be a torture room, though we didn't see Kat anywhere. There was one door out of the room, though as soon as we opened it, I had a sense of dread. The room was filled with dozens of chains hanging from the ceiling. Before we could react, two Chain Devils took control of the chains in the room, lashing out at Edmund, striking him down..."

here Kitty

We waited a few hours for Kat to return but there was no sign of her. Glyn suggested I look for tracks but it was a lost cause with her special abilities.

Instead we moved within spying distance of the building. It all looked quiet—the only movement was the irregular passing of guards on the walkway that surrounded the upper floor. We kept our distance but moved around to view the building from each side but there was nothing else to see from this distance.

We moved in closer. Close enough to see better, but far enough to not be seen. Still nothing to see so we waited until both guards passed in close succession and then ran in under the overhanging walkway. Glyn looked in the nearest window and couldn’t see anything and asked me to look as well. I saw something—a devil looking straight at me. I’d seen this type before—I think Valkor said it was called a bearded devil.

It teleported out to attack us and Valkor put a grease patch under it. To avoid it teleporting away I prepared to attack it should it try to teleport while the others attacked. We knew their glaives leave nasty bleeding wounds so Glyn cast a spell to shatter it.

I could see that it was going to teleport so I attacked it but failed to hit and it blinked out.

We smashed the window but didn’t enter, hoping to throw them off by making them think we were in the mansion. Instead we circled around to the back of the building and were most of the way along the wall to the door we were planning to use to get inside when it sprang open and the bearded devil came out with two friends.

Glyn cast his spell a couple more times and successfully deprived the devils of their weapons. Of course then they had their claws which were almost as nasty and they attacked with those. Valkor cast a sticky web that caught two of them and we were doing a good job of smacking them around when one of them blinked out again.

We continued to pound on the two that were still there and then the other returned with a swarm of imps. It could have been nasty but Valkor cast a spell which created a noxious cloud that incapacitated most of the imps before they could descend on us, and then Mervyl cast some spell that caused most of them to be enthralled. Three of them were coughing and spluttering from Valkor’s spell but apparently not affected by Mervyl’s spell and they made a run for it. We were too busy with the bearded devils to worry about them.

I can’t say it was easy as the bearded devils managed to claw their way free of the web but both Valkor and Stimpy summoned creatures to join the fight and we slowly gained the upper hand.

Mervyl kept the imps in thrall and we were trying to work out how to get rid of them when the three that had fled returned, having recovered from Valkor’s spell. They took us by surprise but we had cleared the other “distractions” and they didn’t last long.

A couple of spells cleared up the other imps and we were ready to begin exploring the mansion. The room we entered was a grand kitchen occupied by a bunch of strange humanoid creatures. Valkor settled down to master a new spell when we found we couldn’t communicate with them while we explored the side rooms, which turned out to be storerooms. Most of them were uninteresting but one of them contained racks of bottles and when Glyn entered he narrowly avoided a trap. As he looked around he saw there was some sort of humanoid or something hiding in the back corner that became quite agitated when he began fiddling with the bottles in the racks.

We waited for Valkor to finish preparing his spell and I don’t mind saying I wasn’t very happy just sitting around in enemy territory like that. It seemed like a very long time but eventually he said he was ready and cast a spell he said would allow him to communicate in any language.

First he questioned the creatures in the kitchen but they seemed focused on preparing food to the exclusion of anything else. He then tried to talk to the thing in the storeroom but it seemed uninterested in talking and ran out the back door and fled. It seems the bottles were infernal wine and I suspect this thing was from one of his rivals and was poisoning the wine. I told Valkor my theory and he said devils are immune to poison, but I was sure I was right—just because they aren’t affected by the same toxins as us doesn’t mean there isn’t something that could be insinuated into the wine to discomfort them.

We moved from room to room, and as we made our way down a statue-lined corridor a couple of traps triggered giving Glyn a couple of nasty surprises. There was a door at the end that he tried to open and he felt some sort of spell try to trigger on him but fail, so then he tried to force it open and the spell affected him this time, jolting him with a massive electrical charge. Perhapps there was something valuable behind here, but we weren’t going to get in without some help.

We backed up to a side door and found a couple more bearded devils in a gaming room. We were fighting them in the corridor and it wasn’t working to our advantage but Valkor cast another web, and both he and Stimpy summoned creatures to help. Glyn tried to shatter their glaives but failed this time. We were really struggling in the cramped space but we knew what we were doing and we took one of them out and the other blinked away.

We found a cashbox in the gaming room and pushed on. We moved across the main entry foyer and started down the rooms on the other side of the building. Dormitories and sleeping quarters, but they were empty now. In one of the rooms was a corpse and as I searched it I pricked myself on a small needle as I pulled a note from a hidden pocket. I cast a spell to block the effects of poison and handed the note across to Valkor. He read it and it seemed to be a warning about other agents in the mansion, and it sounded like there were many schemes at work here.

The next set of rooms were crafting areas. Some we could identify, some we couldn’t. One of these rooms was the one we’d broken the window in, one had a staircase going down, and one had a staircase going up. I was a bit surprised at the latter as I’d assumed the stairs up would be in one of the main rooms (which we’d avoided).

Valkor cast a spell to check for magic and found some magic in the alchemy lab and one of the other rooms was filled with apparently magical items of all descriptions—capes, boots, gloves, cut stones, ... Glyn grabbed a bag and shoved a cape in it because we figured we should loot as much of this as we could, but when he tried to put something else in there he jumped from surprise and said something had tried to grab his hand in the bag. Valkor told us to be very careful and suggested all these things might be cursed. Who would want to collect so many cursed items???

We made our way down the stairs expecting that would be the most likely place to look for Kat. The only thing down there was a forge and it was manned by some other strange creature we couldn’t identify. It grabbed red hot brand from the forge to defend itself and backed into a corner. We left Valkor alone to see if he could calm it enough to touch it and activate his communication spell but it wouldn’t let him get close. We decided it was harmless and left it there, instead taking the stairs to the upper level.

The room we entered here was some sort of unpleasant ritualistic site, with chains, altars, blood, and a generally unpleasant feel about it. There was nothing of immediate interest so I headed for the next door. I threw it open and saw a familiar sight—two of those chain devils we’d faced near the portal. Only this time they were in a room full of hanging chains.

The last thing I recall is being whipped repeatedly by the chains in the room as they sprang to life while I tried to close the door.

Glyn

Imps. It is known throughout the multi-verse that they can not be trusted. Yet my companions tried to bribe a pair that was guarding the other side of the portal to hell. I was surprised that it was Valkor who tried to bribe them. I would have expected this from Edmund but for someone learned in the Art to try, troubles me. I guess this just yet again proves that they would be lost without me, their Captain.

Although I must admit I've felt I've been negligent in my leadership in our latest endeavor. On our first venture through the portal we were ill prepared for the devils that awaited us. This could not have been made more clear than when two chain devils tried to ambush us. If I had not taken the initiative and attacked the devils when I did, we surely would have perished. After seeing how poorly equipped we were I suggested that we ventured back through the portal to better equip ourselves. It was clear that Mota was the only city where we could find the weapons and supplies we needed. Edmund was reluctant to go there for some reason. Normally I would have pried further into the matter, for secrets should not be kept from one's Captain, but that mystery will have to wait for later since saving our plane is a more pressing matter. He finally agreed to go since Mervil would teleport us there.

We decided to camp the night by the portal to make sure no devils came through. I can't recall why I thought this was a good plan, but I should have known better. Of course, two devils came through the portal while we were sleeping. They managed to enthrall both Valkor and Miranda. We were able to break the enchantment on Valkor but could not help Miranda. Seeing that we could do little against the devils, Mervil teleported us to Mota, leaving Miranda to fend for herself. It is unlikely that she survived. After we save this plane I will find out if she has truly perished.

After resupplying we made our way back through the portal. This is when I had to make the call to dispatch the imps before they could inform what ever devil that had enslaved them that we had come through the portal. Unfortunately imps do not make for good trophies. What a waste of my spells...

Valkor

Valkor:

"They didn't seem to be in a mood to talk, and we immediately broke out into a fight. At this point, we realized that we were poorly equipped for facing off against these devils -- we had no silver weapons with which to hurt them. Fortunately for us, these chain devils weren't too powerful, and after felling one of them and driving the other off, I dug through my pack and found a potion of bless weapon, with which we used to kill the unconscious devil. I didn't know this at the time, but apparently, devils killed on their home plane of Baator were killed for good, so with that fell stroke, we rid the multi-verse of a speck of evil."

"We quickly retreated back to the portal and were going rest an evening before heading off to gather supplies. However, that evening, a pair devils came through the portal, and put me under there dire charm. Fortunately for me, my friends knocked some sense into me, and we teleported away to Mota, but we had left Miranda behind."

"At Mota, everyone was able to gather the supplies they needed, and I took the opportunity to join the local Conjurer's Guild. I had to say that I wasn't too impressed with my performance at the interview, but it was good enough such that I was allowed to join. They felt that my first-hand experiences with the planes warranted the membership."

"With everyone prepared and ready to go, we headed back to Baator. Right outside of the portal where we landed, we found two Imps. I wasn't sure why they were there, but they were no doubt the agents of some more powerful Devil. I knew that however, most likely, that some gold (and the promise of more gold when we returned), would likely be enough to have them 'forget' that we came through the portal, or at least, have them delay their report long enough that we'd finish our business here. However, Glyn, again putting the "war" in warmage, thought that he'd just attack them for good measure. He managed to kill one with an electrified touch. I was able to prevent the other one from escaping, and it did not take long before the rest of the party finished it off."

"We walked toward the the Bronze Citadel for several days and several nights without incident, following along the foul smelling banks of the Styx river. We finally came across the manor that the Ice Devil described to us. It was quite large, so we sent our scout out to scout. She said that she'd return within an hour, but after waiting for an hour and a half, I sensed that something was wrong..."

a devil of a time

We were face-to-face with two of these chain-covered things. I could only assume they were devils because Valkor said everything on this plane was a devil. I don’t understand the difference between devils and demons but Valkor seems to know and I don’t really care so I’ll trust him on this.

It was an awful slog of a fight. Our weapons seemed to have little effect and I can’t say I was overly impressed by the spell-casting either. In the end we were victorious but it wasn’t my idea of fun.

When it was over Valkor mentioned that we probably should have had some weapons of silver. And cold iron. And adamantine. Because apparently all these things are resistant to damage from normal weapons. I wish he’d said something before we’d got here, but it did encourage everyone to pull their crap together to get back through the portal. Oh, except for Glyn who had to cut one of the chains off one of these guys for his “collection”. I don’t know what he’s going to do with all these trophies he collects but one day soon he’s going to need something to carry it all around for him.

Back in the real world we tried to work out where we would be able to buy all these fancy weapons Valkor had suggested and the obvious choice was Mota. I wasn’t happy going there but at least with a teleport I wouldn’t be noticed arriving on the docks, if they’re still keeping an eye out for those that were on the Blessed Wind so long ago.

I suspect Valkor had other reasons for suggesting Mota as he slipped away in the afternoon and came back looking very pleased with himself. Meanwhile we all stocked up on weird and wonderful weapons until we looked like porcupines. For my own part I tried to get different styles of weapons to help me remember which one was made of what based on what Valkor said we’d need at the time.

It was a pretty odd collection as we joined hands to return to the island, but before long we were stepping through the portal again. This time there were a couple of imps on the other side. The didn’t seem that concerned in reporting us and Valkor suggested just bribing them to keep quiet but that was too easy for Glynn and he started a fight so we finished up killing the critters.

We trekked across the largely featureless plain trying to pick a path that would lead us reasonably directly to our destination without going through occupied areas. Of course we had no idea where the occupied areas are, but we figured the river near the bronze citadel was likely to be reasonably well traversed and thus worth avoiding.

We had to cast about to find our target but eventually we spied it. It was a pretty big place and looked like it was built to defend. We decided to send Kat in to scout the place out and we settled back out of sight of the place.

She’s been gone for a while now and the others are starting to worry that something might have happened to her. Maybe we should send Glyn to find out. Perhaps then I can get some peace and quiet.