Descent into Avernus

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

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).

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