Chapter 19: "Keys!" (2026/09/05)
The party decides to use their boon to ask Klava Ikaia for intel about more places we might find effective weapons. She tells us about two places in Hellturel that could have what we're looking for:
- A Pair of Black Antlers (weapons left behind by paladins)
- Helm's Shield Hall (Hellrider holdouts here likely have some weapons)
The party starts traveling towards A Pair of Black Antlers, the closer lead, but are waylaid by giant shadow skulls that puke meteors from above. They are beckoned inside a nearby building by a thin hand in a doorway. The party rushes inside and encounters the strange, jingling being that offered them shelter. We quickly find out that this is Lucetto, and he is trading for and selling keys. The dude is entirely covered in all kinds of keys and is really intense about them! Honey is STOKED. Keys are connections! They have so much potential to propel stories forward! Let's get some fuckin' keys!
- Talon receives a key to a Subaru hatchback.👭
- Flea receives a back-up Teddy Ruxpin wind-up key.
- Vaantrik receives a Disney Magic Kingdom-looking key (plus he later adds a Mystery Key).
- Sima receives a Key West bottle opener.
- Honey receives: a book with a key on the cover, an obsidian spike bearing the symbol of a winged sword encircled with chains, and an embroidered leather tag with a magpie on it.
- Oz is TBD :)
We soon take our leave from jingle king Lucetto, who is still looking for the right key for him.
____
Eventually we approach the tavern we're looking for: A Pair of Black Antlers. The place is already busy, as we witness bearded devils, led by a barbed devil, doing battle with a bunch of demon minotaurs. The barbed devil sees the party and orders them in Infernal to join them in attacking the minotaurs. Honey understands and tells the party to do so - it's better for our immediate longevity. We join the fray.
After the minotaurs are beaten, the barbed devil informs the party via Honey that they have been conscripted by Zariel's 12th Legion, but not as soldiers. They are fodder, meat whose job will be to clear the tavern of all the demon trash inside. Honey quickly considers their options - If we live, does this task conclude our obligation to Zariel's 12th Legion? It does, and the devil reveals that they may keep whatever they find within. The tavern is needed for its location, and not its loot.
Honey looks back at the party and then shakes the devil's barbed hand - sealing the deal in blood and spit. The rest of the party is anxious at this point, with Vaantrik certain that she has just betrayed them and bargained away their lives. The ranger requests a quick debrief with the party and explains that everything is fine! We were going to clear the tavern anyway, and this way we don't need to call attention to ourselves and have an outright conflict with some of Zariel's devils. All we need to do is kill the demons inside, right? No biggie!
The tavern is dark when we sneak inside - We hear snoring in the darkness. Stealth only gets us so far before shit pops off. We fight a bunch more minotaurs for a couple of rounds before we end the session. To be continued!