The Hunt for the Harvester Devil

[WeWhoEat]

Just a little place for information concerning who is doing what for DM Setanta's Harvester Devil event.

[WeWhoEat]

Lillith Seeks Information

In a dark and abandoned place, where few mortals tread and live to tell the tale, a single woman stands alone. Those who were familiar with Lillith might be surprised were they able to see her now. Gone is the carefree and lazy attitude, the cheerful pink-haired Reader they know so well. In this secure remote location, there is only Azrael the Black, keeper of dark secrets – and once again, the young prodigy is hard at work. There are secrets to be learned – secrets of devils, secrets involving the being known… as Urah.

The room is cold and stark, bare of any ornamentation. Faded squares on the wall show where tapestries might have once hung, but whatever they once were has long been lost. The floor is swept clean of debris, not even a speck of dust remaining. Even the slightest distraction, the smallest impurity, could prove fatal. There are many things one must do, to safely dig secrets from the Outside, and Azrael knows better than to cut corners. A careless summoner, after all, is a dead summoner.

Sitting on an old wooden table in the corner of the room are all of the tools of a diabolist’s rituals: bags of precious gem powders, tools of measuring, incenses and candles and the ritual athame and a dozen other things too odd for the uneducated mind to understand. Azrael herself is garbed in her specially prepared robes, embroidered with runes and sigils and wards against dark things.

Dominating the center of the room is the most important piece of her plans, the most critical element in any summoning: the ritual circle. Drawn in precious amethyst, opal, and quartz, the circle is perfect – it had best be: she had spent the greater part of four hours in preparing it, even starting over completely when a single mistake was made. Each line, each mark, was made with the skill and ease of a master of the craft, with much time spent perfecting her talents. It is the configuration of this summoning circle that allows for the proper precautions to be taken, the protective magics read from precious scrolls used to strengthen the binding powers soon to be in play.

Her work on the circle complete, Azrael begins the final preparations. Each of the eighty-three candles that line the circle is lit, and the censers of black lotus incense set to smoking. Azrael consults a book on the table of tools – it is a tome of her own authoring, the Liber Malus Diabolis. Contained within are the names of every devil she has managed to collect, information about any that she has met or fought. The precious tome holds many secrets, but it is those names of devils she seeks now, foul beings of the Nine Hells. Dis holds her particular focus, for it is said that the creature Urah is a servant of that dark realm and its master Dispater. She selects a number of creatures, concentrating on those that might be rivals of Urah – rivals eager to see the Harvester fail.

Finally deciding upon several possibilities, Azrael begins the rituals. If those of Candlekeep knew the extent of the powers that she was bringing to bear for this task, they might think differently of the normally pleasant youth. It is these powers that Azrael bends to her will, chanting invocations that seem to shiver the air and send tendrils of hoarfrost creeping up the stark stone walls. Each word, each gesture, causes the eighty-three candles to flare higher, the magic runes and glyphs drawn upon the floor to glow brighter. Her breath steams in the air as the temperature in the room plummets, and with a final shouted command she reaches her consciousness through the weakening fabric of reality, seeking to pull into the summoning circle the first of her contacts.

There is none more skilled in Candlekeep at this than her, at least none that she has ever met. It is important, as she will need all the skill that she can get; the Guide has spoken, seeking answers, and it is up to Azrael to find them. Hopefully, when she leaves this place, Azrael can rest once more and Lillith will have information to help the devil-hunters.


//Lillith is using all of her lore, abilities, and tricks in an effort to learn anything of Urah or Tho'Dah-Nugh that might come in useful for finding/fighting/banishing them, or in general any information at all. Perhaps this should have been a PM to the DM, but I like the image far too much for that now. >.>

[Solarina]

// I was in the event from the get go but I guess a certain player has been made some sort of leader of it and I am now out of the event in the name of so called RP. Leaders are supposed to lead those involved, not tell those involved they are no longer part of the story or event, but to lead those in said event, not write them out of it on a whim. I had some nice stuff to add but that's out the window now. This ceased being DM Setana's event as of last night its now a certain players event who calls all the shots now PC side as to if you can see the events conclusion or not regardless if you have been active in said event from the get go. Leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Would have loved to see the end of this since I been in it from the early on stage and very heavily involved and char marked, but now its turned into something else entirely, it's no longer an event for all those already involved but up to one PC as to who gets to see it through or who gets told to take a hike, exclusion in the name of RP. Again leaders lead those involved, not tell those involved to take a hike.

What was once a fun DM run event for everyone involved has turned into a 1 PC dictatorship on who gets to see it through on a whim in the name of RP. Funny to how those who elected this PC leader dictator were people new to the story line, while others like myself heavily invested from the get go get told to take a hike. I don't remember electing this PC to write me out of the plot line conclusion, but that's a dead horse whats done is done. From my end it Seems like if your part of the click you get to see the end of the plot, but if your not you get written out with the excuse of " thats how my character see's things so your now out and left behind ". It is a slap in the face to those involved from the get go.

PS and edit that image is pretty awesome.

( In Char )
* Boo after being told shes no longer basicaly valued , needed or wanted despite being marked like the others involved in the Harvester devil hunt and despite her contributions in the hunt, was last seen packing her bags in the friendly arm inn and has not been seen since *

[burbles]

//vacation's ended for me and I'm again on at my usual times in evenings if ever, so may have missed much of it. Wonder who pays the piper now

Nemna was back in Baldur's Gate, again. North, in Treil there was no apparent signs of further devil involvement at her stay, despite it housing a warlock for some time before and elves seeing a devil or two in their encounters with orcs. May be powerfull summons of their Zhentarim masters or something. North was out of her mind for now. There were still rumors of shadow cultists in Northern farmlands and the map Lillith had of some fort that was destroyed but may hold further leads. If those involved (and staying) in Candlekeep act on it, she did not know. Maybe she will ask Laitae next time she would be in Baldur's Gate on a visit for Mystra's temple. Some of her acquaintances may be about Friendly arm, all involved said to marked somehow, maybe she was too, and that Harvester being most active near FAI made her reluctant to stay near the place. Maybe a visit to Candlekeep was in order, as an alterative to idleness. If mages there could do most of the work it would be a valuable experience, since banishing all kinds of alien horrors was relevant to her interest, and travelling to different places inside and outside, namely Plane of Shadow. There is not much else she could be interested in untill those challenges were overcome, so essential to master those matters (devils are so full of themselves! shadows doing all they want!). She got good results with elementals but shadows and devils were difficult for now to handle.

[WeWhoEat]

Binding Research

Lillith's research takes her in a new direction - the Guide has expressed discontent that even slaying the Harvester devil will not really permanently end the threat, and Lillith is in agreement. After all, regardless of whether they banish the devil or slay it outright, it can still return in time seeking vengeance on those who thwarted it.

Lillith is no stranger to killing devils herself: she knows that a devil actually present on the Prime will dissolve into a puddle of foamy, stinking ooze over a period of minutes when slain. Regardless of what is done to this slime, a slain devil returns to Baator 99 years later, in its original form. This method of transport leaves behind any physical possessions the devil might have carried, even if they originated in Baator. Depending on the nature of its defeat, the devil might experience no repercussions, or it might face demotion for failure. Word has it that this Harvester would certainly face demotion if thwarted.

Nearly a hundred years might seem like a long time to a human, but Lillith knows that elves would certainly live to see the possibility of the Harvester's return. So, she has begun research on a more permanent solution. Slaying the devil is one thing, but if it could somehow be trapped and bound, perhaps in a specially prepared vessel such as a gemstone... it could be made to kept from influencing the Prime Material Plane for significantly longer, depending on how well the gemstone was guarded.

Lillith knows that the final confrontation is likely swiftly approaching, and that she might not have time to execute such a plan. However, if there is a chance of it being possible, she continues her studies nonetheless. At the very least, a bound devil would make for an interesting chance for research...



//Lillith is researching if it would be possible to bind the devil into a gem or a staff or something like that, to actually imprison it in a fashion that would prevent it from returning to the Prime in ninety-nine years.

[WeWhoEat]

The End of Binding Research

Lillith decides that soul-binding magic is likely too dangerous for her own, and so abandons that aspect of her research.

[WeWhoEat]

Devil's Fall

Lillith returns to Candlekeep once more, smokey, soot-stained, and exhausted. Before collapsing into a bed, she spends several hours writing observations, copying notes, and writing information while it is still fresh in her head. Her very last act before a long and well-deserved slumber is to tack a note to her door, stating "Urah dead, do not wake on pain of certain doom". With that, she goes to sleep.