Descent into Avernus

TOME OF THE CREED RESOLUTE

These crypts house the remains of numerous worship·

ers and servants of Torm interred over the past century.

Currently, more than one hundred frightened survivors

of the attack on the High Hall are in hiding here, waiting

for their doom. Standing between them and death is

a lone acolyte, Pherriajynks. With alJ the cathedral's

priests dead and no one of higher authority to help her,

she does her best to keep people calm and quiet. A sim-

ple sage and an expert on possession and exorcism, she

is only just starting her career as a servant of Torm.

Tome of the Creed Resolute. The book in Pherria's

possession is titled Tome of the Creed Resolute. Written

on the first page of this book is the oath that all citizens

of Elturgard take when they're old enough to read,

swearing to defend Elturel body and soul. The rest of

book is filled with signatures, all of which look like they

were written by the same hand. When a citizen of Eltur-

gard places a hand on the book and recites the oath, its

name magically appears in the book as a signature. The

book can magically gain new pages as needed to accom-

modate new signatures.

Pherria took the Tome of the Creed Resolute from the

cathedral to safeguard it. The book is merely a record

of everyone who has taken the Creed Resolute oath. Its

destruction doesn't break the agreements that bind the

souls of Elturel's people to Avernus.

Holy Water Fonts. The two wide fonts here contain

water that has been blessed by priests, enough to fill

fifty flasks with holy water.

A successful DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check

notices odd details in the stonework around one of the

fonts, which covers a secret tunnel (area H17).

Development. Pherria tells the characters that Grand

Duke Ravengard took a group of guards to the city's

grand cemetery to investigate the proliferation of uodead

in that area. As well, Ravengard was hoping that a holy

relic in the cemetery chapel called the Helm ofTorm's

Sight might provide some awareness into Elturel's dire

circumstances and possible salvation.

CHAPTER 2 I ELTUREL HAS FALLEN

Pherria and the others expected Ravengard back

hours ago. Pherria is now worried that some terrible

fate bas befallen the duke. If the characters are in rough

shape from their trials so far, Pherria suggests that they

get a good rest, then go as quickly as possible to the

cemetery to search for Ravengard and his retinue.

H17. E SCAPE TuNNEL

This tunnel, accessible from beneath one of the holy

water fonts in area Hl6, leads from under the cathedral

catacombs and away from the High Hall. The tunnel

now ends at a gaping hole in the floating earthmote to

which Elturel clings, some five hundred feet above the

River Styx.

GRAND CEMETERY

Before the characters search for Grand Duke Ravengard

in Elturel's cemetery, they should advance to 6th level.

As the characters approach the cemetery, read the

boxed text below to describe its current state:

The ten-foot-high brass fence that once surrounded

Elturel's cemetery has fallen in numerous places, and a

wide gate allowing access to the grounds has been torn

from its hinges. Severed humanoid body parts adorn the

spikes atop the fence posts. Some of the body parts wrig-

gle and writhe as if undead, twitching in concert with the

lightning flashes of the Companion.

Cracked gravestones and crumbling monuments are

scattered across the cemetery grounds, whose center

is occupied by a chapel dedicated to Lathander, Torm,

Helm, and Tyr. That once-holy structure now glows with

a fetid purple radiance.

Elturel's grand cemetery was once a beautiful memorial

to those who had passed into the realms beyond. Pic-

turesque flowers and grass framed the graves, statues,

and mausoleums that were once respectful reminders

of the dead.

When Elturel was pulled into Avernus, the cemetery's

flowers wilted and its stone monuments cracked. Then

Gideon Lightward, a priest loyal to Zariel, used the dark

energy of the Companion to raise the city's dead as his

minions. At the same time, a magical effect in the OS·

suary level beneath the cemetery's chapel gave demons

access to an intermittently operational portal they could

use to enter the city. So far, only a few demons have ar-

rived, but more will come if it's not closed soon.

Grand Duke Ravengard is one of many people who

know of a relic of Torm kept beneath the cemetery

chapel. The Helm of Torm's Sight is said to give a wor-

thy soul the ability to commune directly with that noble

god. The duke and his guards came to the cemetery

to assess the threat of its undead and to search for

the relic, but were waylaid by both demons and devils.

When the characters find him, Ravengard is locked in a

life-and-death struggle with a demonic force in the vault

of ascendance (area Gl2).