## Descent into Avernus: Sessions 1-5 ### The Last Light of Elturel It began with a diplomatic summit. For decades, [[Elturel]] and [[Baldur's Gate]] had nursed bitter wounds from economic rivalry and old grievances—bitterness so deep that [[Elturgard]] left the [[Lords' Alliance]] entirely. Grand Duke [[Ulder Ravengard]] had arrived with [[Flaming Fist]] soldiers for the first serious diplomatic mission between the cities in years. Tensions crackled through the [[High Hall]]'s corridors. An unlikely group of heroes found themselves drawn together when a traumatized druid named [[Naeris Talandar]] reported that [[Dead Three]] cultists had kidnapped his conclave in the [[Woods of Sharp Teeth]]. The diplomatic mission became a rescue mission: [[Mon]], the communist elf of the [[Flaming Fist]]; [[Cassian]], the [[Lords' Alliance]] diplomat with [[Waterdeep]] connections; [[Kial]], a cupbearer with aspirations far beyond serving drinks; [[Docktor]], a cleric sworn to the [[Hellriders]]; [[Rowan]], a goliath of the [[Emerald Enclave]]; and young [[Reya Mantlemorn]] alongside her strange companion—a flying golden elephant named [[Lulu]]. They rode into the [[Woods of Sharp Teeth]], rescued the [[Stoutfoot]] family from ritual sacrifice, and stopped [[Iron Consul]] servants from resurrecting [[Malachar Bloodfist]] as a Death Knight. Heroes, triumphant, rode home expecting celebration. They found nightmare instead. The [[Companion]]—that eternal second sun that had burned for fifty years—flickered and corrupted into sickly purples and greens. Massive chains erupted from the earth. Reality tore open beneath the holy city. And [[Elturel]] fell, dragged into an abyss that bled darkness and despair, taking forty thousand souls with it. [[Reya Mantlemorn]] fell to her knees, screaming at a sky that no longer held any answers. ### Witnesses to the Fall Meanwhile, [[Char]] and [[Rick]]—two [[Lords' Alliance]] agents—had been lured outside [[Elturel]]'s walls by a cryptic message from their friend [[Jace Farrow]]: _"I worry that this summit is not what it seems."_ They were 500 feet from the western gate when the world ended. They watched it all happen. The survivors organized. Refugees gathered. Disturbing rumors circulated: High Observer [[Thavius Kreeg]] had mysteriously left the city before dawn. A knight named [[Tarquin Belmont]] had ridden away with seven men just before the fall. [[Lulu]] ventured into the crater and returned speaking of ash and fire, picking at half-remembered fragments she couldn't quite grasp. The journey to [[Baldur's Gate]] began. At the gnome village of [[Anga Vled]], the heroes defended refugees from bandits and earned a [[Decanter of Endless Water]] for their trouble. Then Sir [[Tarquin Belmont]] arrived with six knights, offering to escort them to safety. [[Docktor]] found the timing awfully convenient. ### The List The caravan grew. The heroes encountered pilgrims traveling to a wedding in [[Elturel]]—and had to break the devastating news that there was no [[Elturel]] to travel to anymore. [[Tarquin Belmont]] and his knights began systematically vetting refugees, asking about family connections and military service. [[Rick]] enthusiastically helped, charmed by the knight's seeming heroism. [[Char]] noticed the vetting seemed oddly specific. A gnoll attack struck at night. [[Lulu]] experienced vivid visions of [[Yeenoghu]] leading demons across a burning battlefield. [[Tarquin Belmont]] lost control during the battle, pursuing fleeing gnolls with savage fury, muttering about demons. Then [[Jorik Thornwick]]—a sixteen-year-old boy who dreamed of becoming a warrior like his [[Hellriders|Hellrider]] father—was found murdered. His throat slit. The scene staged to look like gnolls. [[Char]] found a list that had fallen from [[Tarquin Belmont]]'s pocket. [[Docktor]]. [[Reya Mantlemorn]]. [[Jorik Thornwick]]. The implications were clear to everyone—except [[Rick]], who remained convinced [[Tarquin Belmont]] was a hero. ### The Mask Slips The investigation unfolded. [[Lulu]] consoled [[Mira Thornwick]], the boy's grieving mother, her celestial nature radiating such goodness that the woman trusted her completely. [[Reya Mantlemorn]] struggled to comprehend how any [[Hellrider]] could violate the [[Creed Resolute]]. [[Rick]] confronted [[Tarquin Belmont]] directly, accusing him of murder. [[Cassian]] diplomatically intervened before it became a duel. [[Tarquin Belmont]] took [[Docktor]] for a walk and shared his tragic backstory—demons destroyed his home at Millhaven during the Oblivion War, killed his family, broke something inside him. [[Docktor]] concluded the knight was a self-righteous prick. That night, [[Char]]'s Unseen Servant stole a note from [[Tarquin Belmont]]'s tent while [[Rick]] brawled with [[Hellriders]]. [[Lulu]]'s voice boomed with divine authority, declaring [[Tarquin Belmont]] a murderer and oath-breaker. [[Mira Thornwick]] emerged and, trusting [[Lulu]], publicly accused him of killing her son. The stolen note was orders from [[Aetan Morrow]]: _"The day that was promised has arrived... We must have the strength to do what is necessary. For Her glory."_ ### Justice and Ashes [[Cassian]] demanded [[Tarquin Belmont]] face justice from the [[Lords' Alliance]]. The knight refused. His priestess began to cast—and the Spirit Guardians that materialized were not celestial beings, but tiny infernal creatures. The refugees fought alongside the heroes, throwing stones and grappling with knights. [[Tarquin Belmont]] cut straight through the chaos and knocked [[Docktor]] unconscious. [[Lulu]] threw herself over the cleric's body. [[Rowan]] fell defending them. [[Docktor]] rolled a natural 1 on a death save. Something terrible and hot reached for his soul—something claiming its due. He cashed in inspiration. Rerolled. A 16. [[Char]]'s Tasha's Hideous Laughter brought down the priestess, then [[Tarquin Belmont]] himself. The heroes captured the laughing, broken knight. Under interrogation, [[Tarquin Belmont]] revealed that [[Aetan Morrow]] had ordered him to kill surviving [[Hellriders]] and their descendants—though he hadn't known [[Elturel]] would fall. He served [[Zariel]], Archduchess of [[Avernus]], because she had the strength to do what was necessary against demons. When pressed, he taunted [[Rick]] about killing [[Jorik Thornwick]] until the barbarian snapped and delivered the killing blow. [[Tarquin Belmont]]'s body erupted in infernal flames. "For her glory," he promised. "I'll see you again." [[Char]] rolled a natural 20 and understood: the knight's soul hadn't simply died. It had gone directly to [[Zariel]] to be remade as a devil in her legions. The threat wasn't empty bravado. It was a promise. ### Into the Gate The refugees arrived at [[Rivington]] to suspicious stares and cold shoulders. At [[Wyrm's Rock]], [[Gardak Horn]]—the fortress's Mage Defender—questioned them about [[Elturel]]'s fall. [[Cassian]] rolled a natural 20 on his knowledge of [[Baldur's Gate]] and remembered his connections to Duke [[Thalamra Vanthampur]]—the cunning matriarch who had clawed her way from poverty to the Council of Four through decades of political dealing and strategic maneuvering. Duke [[Thalamra Vanthampur|Vanthampur]] wanted to meet with [[Cassian]] immediately. Just [[Cassian]]. The heroes objected until [[Gardak Horn]] reluctantly agreed to bring them all. The refugees remained at [[Rivington]] while the heroes entered [[Baldur's Gate]], bound for [[Vanthampur Manor]] in the [[Upper City]].