==Roll Call==
Childe Raymonde, Githyanki Paladin (Doty)
Bell, Kenku Cleric (CJ)
Blynce, Human-hybrid Fighter (Eric)
Vaal, Eladrin Rogue (Tim)
Bumi, Goblin Wizard (Matt)
Sheeza, Aasimir Wizard (Joanna)
Senzei, Human Monk (Frank)
To the Sanctuary of Albahith, Jigow Township
Greetings to the Masters of the Pilgrims, and hail to The Luxon:
Mission Report from Childe Raymonde (Part 19)
In Bazzoxan, we had just defeated an excursion by infernal forces, and made our way back to the Inn. Rested, we went to the common room for breakfast.
Aloysia Telfan (a red-robed Elf) began to speak with us. She had an expedition she was setting up into the evil temple. Sheeza noticed that the elf had a badge - Consortium of the Vermillion Dream. We did not give a definite answer and basically put her off until later. We wanted to see a few other people in town first.
We decided to visit the Barracks, the Temple, and the Mansion. The Barracks first: we wanted to check in with the Taskhand, the military leader of the city - Baron Theelis. The Baron told us about some of the others that were on similar quests as ours, including Prolix, an archaeologist -- the same one we met at the mausoleum. He warned us that Betrayer's Rise was unmappable and extremely dangerous. “The Betrayers’ Rise is… challenging to navigate. Its passages shift to confuse mapmakers and search parties. I think the power of the Abyss flows through it, warping the environment so no two groups follow the same path through it. Whether it’s demon magic or not doesn’t really matter; all I know is that if you get lost down there, my soldiers won’t be able to find you.”
The soldiers at the barracks invited us to some training-sparring and we eagerly agreed. Blynce entered a competition with the bow and won. I entered a wrestling match and felled my opponent. Our cleric, Bell, engaged in a sparring match -- the duel was hard-fought and Bell went down.
We decided to seek out Tenaryn, who was part of the expedition that originally opened the portal to the Abyss, and now spent all his time trying to close the portals. The people of Bazzoxan sort of shun the poor fellow.
Before us rose a large, two story manor with stone walls and dark slate roofs, nicer than most any building we'd seen so far in town, though some scars of the constant struggles that Bazzoxan faces do mark the house. Red rock dust has blown up against the walls and windows, some of which are cracked and missing panes. We didn't see any lights on in the building, and knocking on the door gives no response. The few residents in the streets shuffled away with nervous glances.
We entered the mansion -- it seemed in reasonably good shape, although it also seemed abandoned. We began to explore, not seeing any immediate signs of habitation. We found a dead body! An Aurora Watch soldier lay disemboweled on the floor, ripped open most violently. The corpse had been there for days, at least. The dead soldier was in a study -- there was much research material strewn about, all about the city and the portals and the reasons thereof.
Exploring some more, we found a hallway suffused with a magical darkness. Bell, exploring, encountered a slimy substance -- it attacked! Vaal's servant threw a lantern and started the room on fire. We recognized the slime-thing as a demon: an Alkilith! The thing had a confusion effect that made things difficult, but in the end it went down before our combined attacks.
