The Fall of Maeltir: The Path Through Hell to Plan C

While the adventurers were fending off the abishai, Maeltir cast a spell. The portals around the room merged into one, and everyone was transported to Hell, atop a hill. Below them, sinister creatures were battling someone clad in armor. A giant with wings approached the group, loudly proclaiming that he was the justice Maeltir had long sought. To resolve the dispute, Maeltir had to either face him in combat or appoint a “champion” to fight on his behalf.

The adventurers offered Maeltir a chance to leave Hell, but he was adamant about sending someone to fight for him. Essu struck Maeltir, wounding him. As Maeltir fell, a devil struck him with lightning. With the wizard dead, the denizens of the infernal plane lost interest in the group, save for the winged foe, who continued to approach, laughing ominously. Sevadi mourned his father, rendered useless by his grief. The adventurers worked to dispel the magic on the stone slab, which succeeded, returning them to Lux Astra.

Back in the tower, the group attempted to console Sevadi, offering help to resurrect Maeltir. However, Sevadi explained that his father’s soul was trapped in Hell, beyond reach. Aiden dropped a mystery item onto the slab, triggering a vision.

In the vision, the heroes, alongside Sai Selan and Fregnar, weary and wounded, trudged toward a tower. A thought haunted them: Would they really have to resort to Plan B?

Inside, they found Maeltir in a magical laboratory. He handed Sai a flask of viscous red-green liquid, which Sai drank with visible discomfort. Maeltir then gave Sai a knife.

At that moment, a druid rushed into the room, his face illuminated by moonlight. “Stop, my friend!” he cried. But Sai plunged the dagger into his own stomach, saying, “Forgive me, my friend, Aelomor .”

Sai’s body began to rise above the floor, transforming from a man into a dragon. As he ascended, his body smoldered like embers. Finally, a dragon’s skull fell to the ground. In that moment, a strange sense of relief washed over everyone present.

The vision ended. The adventurers awoke to find Silarion and Fregnar waiting for them. A voice boomed from the heavens—it was Ptaris, declaring himself the god of terrans. He demanded that the adventurers be handed over or killed on the spot. Silarion and Fregnar acted strangely, prompting Brotor to strike them—and then his own companions—to snap them out of it.

For the second time, everyone awoke in Lux Astra, near the tower. The scene resembled a field hospital: wounded people everywhere, armed guards rushing about. Essu flew into the air and saw that the city was surrounded by an army bearing the banners of Stellar Tower.

Fregnar led them to Sevadi, who explained that a week had passed since the Lux Astra jubilee. Ptaris had proclaimed himself a god, and Stellar Tower, his guard, the Inquisition, MIST, and other organizations had fallen under his control. Ptaris demanded the adventurers be turned over to him.

The army of Stellar Tower began to sound war horns and beat war drums, signaling their advance to storm Lux Astra. Sevadi transported the entire club to the Astral Plane.

In the Astral Plane, Sevadi explained that his acquaintances in the Northern Mountains had been extracting magic from another plane. The description matched the Stormrider goliaths, with whom the adventurers had previously clashed, leading to the goliaths’ demise. Sevadi requested their help in retrieving the Storm Cauldron, a source of magic. The mysteries from Lux Astra’s treasury wouldn’t suffice to protect the city indefinitely.

Fregnar shared that to undo the ritual, they needed to destroy the phylactery. Doing so would rewind time by a couple of days, before the dragon cult’s ritual and battle (over 500 years ago), but Ptaris would retain all his memories—and likely his foul mood.

The adventurers decided to seek out the druid and learn about his “Plan C.” They ventured through the Astral Plane, traveling among the stars until they reached an astral portal. It brought them to a forest near the village of Green Ravine.