Descent into Avernus

74

UIDED BY LULU THE HOLLYPHANT AND

discoveries made in Elturel, the characters

trek across Avernus, the first layer of the

Nine Hells, to recover the Sword ofZariel

and free Elturel from its chains. Navigating

the was telands of Avernus might seem

like a difficult proposition, but thankfully

the characte rs have the map given to them

by Sylvira Savikas in chapter l. For more

information on how to use the Avernus

poster map, see "Using the Poster Map" (page 79).

Elturel and Fort Knuckle bone aren't marked on the

poster map, as Elturel was not present when the map

was drawn, and the cartographer who drew th e map

never encountered Fort Knucklebone. You can situ-

ate Elturel anywhere along the River Styx, and Fort

Knucklebone anywhere within ten miles ofElturel.

RUNNING THIS CHAPTER

This chapter ope ns with information about Avernus that

you need to run the encounters and adventure locations

that follow.

The story picks up where it left off in chapter 2, with

the characters embarking on a quest to save Elturel

while Ulder Rave ngard and Reya Mantlemorn stay

behind to organize survivors and defend the city. Lulu

guides the characters to Fort Knucklebone, home to

a pair of kenku junk scavenge rs named Chukka and

Clonk, whom Lulu thinks can provide assistance. Mad

Maggie, the night hag who runs the fort, oversees the

CHAPTER 3 I AVERNUS

construction and repair of infernal war machines. If

the characters agree to make a deal with the night hag,

they can acquire one or more of these vehicles. Mad

Maggie can also help Lulu unlock some of her forgot-

ten memories.

From Fort Knucklebone, Lulu guides the characters

to the place whe re she thinks the Sword ofZariel is hid-

den: Haruman's Hill. The re, th ey meetjander Sunstar, a

vampire with some information. They also meetJander's

torturer, Haruma n-a falle n Hellrider and one ofZariel's

infernal gene rals. Lulu eve ntually realizes she's made

a grave mistake and led the characters to the wrong

place. She s uggests two possible paths going forward:

the Path of Demons and the Path of Devils. Each path

features a number of locations across Avernus that the

characters must visit in sequence to learn where Zariel's

sword is hidden.

At any time during their exploration of Avernus, the

characters and Lulu might e ncounter the Wandering

Emporium, a marketplace that wanders Avernus on the

backs of giant infernal war machines. The Wandering

Emporium provides a good place for the characters to

rest and gather supplies that are otherwise hard to find

in Avernus.

At t he conclusion of this c hapte r, the characters learn

that the Sword ofZariel is hidden in a place called the

Bleeding Citadel. If she's still alive, Lulu helps them

get there. See chapter 4 for details about the Bleed-

ing Citadel.