Descent into Avernus

LULU'S BACKGROUND
While studying a portal to the Nine Hells located in
the Fields of the Dead west of Elturel, Sylvira found
Lulu and befriended her. Lulu stayed with Sylvira at
Candlekeep for a while but didn't get along with the
tiefiing's quasit familiar, Jezebel. Sylvira decided Lulu
would make a better companion for Traxigor, given

his eccentricity and good nature. Lulu is integral to

the characters' future success, though they shouldn't

know that yet.

Lulu can speak Celestial but prefers to use telepathy,

which allows her to talk to one creature at a time. If a

character asks Lulu about her history battling devils in

the Nine Hells, she shares the following information:

"I was with the angel Zariel when she assembled her

army of Hell riders to attack Avernus. Through the gate

we went, tearing through devils like a song through air.

Victory was within our grasp until some of the Hellriders

betrayed us. They retreated through the gate and sealed

it behind them.

"Before she was captured, Zariel told me to hide her

sword so that it wouldn't fall into evil hands. Someone

helped me hide the sword, but I don't remember who.

We found a place to hide it, but I don't remember where.

I escaped Avernus, but I don't remember how. Most of

my memory is gone, and I don't remember why."

Lulu's memory was badly damaged by events she can't

remember, but a summary of those events is presented

here for your benefit.

Lulu was more than Zariel's traveling companion. She

was the angel's friend and war mount, with the power to

shapechange into a golden-furred mammoth with wings.

Their friendship stretches back centuries.

When defeat on Avernus appeared inevitable, Zariel

entrusted her sword to Yael, her most loyal general, and

ordered Lulu to help Yael find a way to hide the weapon.

Lulu and Yael blundered into a mob of demons led by

the demon lord Yeenoghu, but narrowly escaped. Yeeno-

ghu's pet-an enormous demon named Crokek'toeck-

chased Yael and Lulu across Avernus. Before it could

devour them, Yael plunged Zariel's holy blade into a

stone as Lulu poured every ounce of her celestial being

into it. A fortress sprang up around the sword, hedging

out all evil. The effort so taxed Lulu that she became dis-

oriented and flew away, leaving Yael behind.

Lulu wandered Avernus for months until she came

upon a traveling market called the Wandering Em-

porium. A rakshasa named Mahadi tricked her into

thinking he was her friend. only to splash her with a

tiny bit of water from the River Styx, leaving her in a

feeble mental state and stripping away her spellcasting

powers. Mahadi then gave Lulu to a group of devils as a

gift for the archdevil Zariel. Zariel could not abide Lulu's

presence-but nor could she bring herself to harm her

former friend. Zariel had Lulu sent back to FaerOn with

her mental faculties restored. Unfortunately, the damage

to Lulu's memory was not so easy to repair.

LULU'S MEMORIES

d6 Memory

"I used to be able to shapechange into a golden mam-

moth. In this form, I served as Zariel's war mount."

2 "Zariel's most loyal Hellrider, Yael, took the sword

and plunged it into a rock. I called on every ounce of

goodness in my heart to raise a shield around it-a

fortress against evil."

3 "The demon lord Yeenoghu wants to destroy Zarie l's

sword. He hates it as much as he hates her. We

fought him once, but I don't remember where."

4 "I wandered Avernus for a while, then hid in a place

called the Wandering Emporium. I made a fr iend

there. His name was Mahadi. Maybe he can help us."

5 "The Zariel I knew is gone, replaced by a devil with a

halo of fire and vengeance. 'This is who I am,' she told

me. 'When demons die, they cry out my name inter-

ror.' Those were Zariel's last words to me."

6 "It was Zariel who sent me back here. I don't know

why. Maybe-just maybe- there's a tiny little spark of

goodness deep down inside her still."

RESTORED MEMORIES

Friendship is important to Lulu in ways both physical

and spiritual. Her growing friendship with the char-

acters causes the hollyphant to remember things long

forgotten. For the remainder of the adventure, Lulu can

regain lost memories whenever you wish. Ideally, these

memories come back to her one at a time at moments

when her friendship with the characters feels important.

Any remaining memories return at once when Lulu re-

gains all her spellcasting abilities.

When the time comes for Lulu to recall a lost memory,

roll a d6 and consult the Lulu's Memories table to see

which memory comes back to her, or just pick one. If you

roll for a memory that has come up before, roll again or

choose a different memory.

ROLEPLAYING LULU

Lulu doesn't have a mean bone in her little body. She

believes in the power of friendship and looks forward to

kicking evil's butt with the characters by her side.

If Lulu becomes too much of a burden for you to run

as an NPC, see if one of the players wants to run the

hollyphant as a secondary character. Provide the con-

senting player with a copy of Lulu's stat block (page

237), noting that Lulu has presently lost her Innate

Spellcasting trait. As she regains memories and the use

of certain spells, notify the player of these changes to

her character.

PLANE SHIFT

The characters should advance to 5th level before leav-

ing Traxigor's tower. When they're ready to be sent to

Avernus, read the following boxed text aloud:

I

As you stand together in a circle, Traxigor taps the tuning I

fork on the Aoor and casts his plane shift spell.

CHAPTER 1 I A TALE OF TWO ClTJES

51