Where hope dies (Afina, Surarruthru, Calleigh)

[Anastasia]

Once things are decided, Afina, Surraruthru, Calleigh, Sylvie, the Master and Tannin gather to prepare. It's in Sylvie's room, a bunch of chairs brought in and everything pushed aside. Sylvie's sitting in one, nose in a book as people come in. The Master's leaning against a wall, arms crossed and waiting. Tannin comes in and goes to a wall, leaning against it and going to put his hood up - only to glance at the Master. He scowls a bit and kicks off the wall, going to a chair instead.

"Alright, let's get to this," Sylvie says, closing her book. "In case any of you aren't familiar with Gehenna, let's get to it. It's known as the Fourfold Furnace - it has four layers of volcanic super-islands floating in an infinite void. Everything is on a sharp slope, and I do mean sharp. If you take a tumble, you'll get sliced up on top of breaking your bones. It's hot, it stinks and the yugoloths call it home. Oh, and we're going to the deepest layer, which is the worst one."

Pausing just a moment to wait for any questions, and once they're done with if there are any, "Krangath is the fourth and final layer of Gehenna. It's known as the Dead Furnace. The volcanoes have gone dead there and bleak, black obsidian blends into the void perfectly. There is silence there, for the land is dead. It's bone cold there and sometimes poisonous acid snow falls down from the previous layer in great avalanches."

"So we've established it's horribly dangerous. We'll all want to be able to fly since trying to travel the slopes is suicidal. Anyway, our greater target is Hopelorn, a city in Krangath. A cabal of liches runs it. Not much is known about them, between the location, secrecy and the fact that there's turnover in the ranks. But the city's infested with undead of every type. The yugoloths can get around if they're careful, but any other creature quickly ends up mobbed by the undead. Most of those hapless enough to end up there join the undead in short order."

Sylvie pauses to stretch, "Aaah. So to deal with that, we need to be like the wind. If they get one look at us, one sniff, one glow of our life energies, we're probably dead or making a fighting retreat out of the city. The entire city's warded. I don't know what all is in effect there, but I suspect it's a mythal. In addition the city's warded against teleport, plane shift and all of that. We'll have to go around the normal way, no shortcuts there. I don't fancy my chances of trying to subtly circumvent the accumulated wards of a city like that, so that's probably out."

Sylvie then looks around and asks, "Questions?"

Gehenna (6) - Afina, Surraruthru, Calleigh, Sylvie, Master, Tannin, Posted for reference.

[Ebiris]

"If you're seen, if you even think you're seen, then go straight for the kill," Afina says after Sylvie's explanation. "Quick, clean, and without mercy. We can't afford to get bogged down in a running fight through the city. Hopefully we won't be seen at all, but if we are don't hesitate to silence anyone too attentive before they can raise the alarm."

After making sure everyone's on board with her infiltration philosophy she asks Sylvie, "Do we know anything about the city's layout? Where Finality is and what's around it?"

[Anastasia]

"Yeah. Thing is, the town's full of the undead. If you have to put one to rest, don't think twice. Just do it." Tannin seconds, "Heard nothing good about Hopelorn."

"Not much," Sylvie admits, "The city's hard to move around in unless you're a fiend or have a devil's eyes. It's black obsidian surrounded by black void. True seeing helps as well, from what I understand. The undead seem to be able to see fine there as well."

[Ebiris]

"I can sense my way around in the dark but it's not perfect, so that'll be a disadvantage in combat." Her ethos of self-sufficiency ingrained by a year spent on Gehenna's upper slopes without any support means learning spells with rare material components goes against the grain, so true seeing never held any interest to her. "How about everyone else?"

[Iron Dragoon]

"Well, my shirt here-" Surraruthru takes a moment to show it off, after all, it's part of his meager hoard, "will let me hide from the undead. Or rather, it should. Since we have our own forges and things here, should we not look into making something similar for everyone? Even if it's just something we use until we're discovered for sure, then switch back to your regular things, it should let us get deeper into the city before that happens. Also, if it's considered pure suicide to travel the slopes, then they wouldn't expect us to do that, so we really should. Even if we're flying only a foot or two above the slopes, it might let us get closer."

[Anastasia]

"I'm fine," Sylvie says. "I can hide and use magic, if they can beat all I can do, none of us would make it anyway."

Tannin hmphs, "Well, I'm better at stopping magic, got a fancy ring that does that. Some of the trickier ways can get me, like that stuff devils do with their mind."

"I can move like the wind and be just as visible. Not even those senses are a problem for me," The Master replies.

[Ebiris]

"Likewise," Afina nods to Sylvie and the Master's sentiments. "For things like that," she then says to Tannin, "Don't underestimate the value of cover. Whether it's tremorsense or mindsense, if there's a solid barrier between you and the other creature then it can't perceive you. We'll stick you in the middle of our group so others can make sure there's nothing like that around any corners."

That considered she gets back to general planning, "Surraruthru's right about the slopes though, if we can skim around them it'll offer plenty of cover on our approach to the city. If we're caught in a bad spot and need to flee we can just fly straight up to get above their mythal so we can escape, assuming we can't dispel a section of it."

[Yuthirin]

"We can be incorporeal and largely indistinguishable from ghosts! Also we can create cover or blockades if we need to!"

[Anastasia]

"It's a good start. The only advantage we have is that you can actually gate to Krangath and fairly close to Hopelorn. If you're foolish enough to go there willingly, why stop you?" Sylvie shrugs. "So what's our plan for dealing with this?"

[Ebiris]

"I don't like the idea of blindly exploring the city to look for Finality," Afina says, "But we have a pair of necrolytes in the dungeon. If they don't know they'll know someone who does and I can planar bind them to get some up to date intelligence."

[Anastasia]

"Alright then," Sylvie says.

So what's your plan here, Afina?

[Ebiris]

We have 2 necroyltes from Castle Crumbling sitting in our dungeon. 'Ask' (ie have someone dominate them or use mind probe) them what they know about Finality. If their knowledge is lacking ask them for the names of any devils they know that have served there, then planar bind said devils and 'ask' them.

[Anastasia]

Okay.

The first necrolyte doesn't know anything about Finality.

The second does know a little something. He knows it's in the center of the city, near a 'bone mill', whatever that is. It is guarded by several powerful flesh golems, enhanced with the eyes of dragons to see anything. The current ruler there is High Necrolyte Garnor, a paeliryon cleric of Asmodeus. She serves Lixer by command of the Lord of the Ninth.

[Ebiris]

Freshly fortified with valuable intelligence and even more valuable directions, Afina is ready to head out unless anyone has any more preparations they need to do.

[Anastasia]

Sylvie would recommend planar protections or at least immunity to cold for all.