Paragon Arc 6: An Inevitable Confrontation

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Overview: With Mammon captured and Glasya allying herself with the Ordained, the whole world seems to be set against the party. But the party has no time to worry, as a new threat has presented itself in the Hells, the Inevitable, backed by the ordered will of Mechanus. If the party does not stop the Inevitable in time, any hopes of restoring the River Styx will be lost. But what parts of themselves are they willing to sacrifice to accomplish such a goal?

Returning to the Iron City

After speaking with Grandmother Theresa and Mackrea of the Cloven Coven, the party has decided that before pursuing the Ordained and Glasya into Hellmar, they must first eliminate the threat posed by the Inevitable, a powerful construct of law sent by the Plane of Mechanus with orders to perform an audit of the Hells and to arrest the Ordained. If the Inevitable were to succeed on its mission, the remaining runes of the ordained would be lost along with any hope of restoring the River Styx. For this mission the party has allied with the one devil they know can get them access to Mechanus' inner workings, the infernal engineer Belphegor, creator of their fellow party member Aivan Factorovich. For years Belphegor had infiltrated Mechanus in secret in an elven disguise to learn the knowledge of their construct creation, knowledge he put to use in the creation of the Iron Devils.

With a quick teleportation spell, the party is transported to the Iron City of Dis. This layer of the Hells had changed a lot since they were last there. The entire city had been placed on lockdown and the production of new Iron Devils was in full swing. The layer was under martial law as the realm's ruler, Dispater, hoped to maintain his iron grip on his kingdom all the while angelic armies sieged his city's walls.

The party arrive in the domain of Belphegor, the Blisterworks, a massive foundry specializing in the construction of infernal constructs and war machines. The party witness the aftermath of an angelic raid on the Blisterworks, as the angels sought to bring an end to the production of more Iron Devils. Belphegor tells the party that he would only help them if they in turn promised to assist hi with a task of his own, overthrowing the Iron Duke Dispater. Belphegor had long desired Dispater's thrown, and had more on one occasion attempted to claim it. But these attempts left his demoted, tortured, and prevented from ever again forming an Infernal contract. The party agree to Belphegor's terms, but Belphegor in return demands collateral to make sure they follow through on their deal. To this end, Sylphine Nightfall gives Belphagor the soul coin tied to her soul, along with all of the other soul coins on her person.

With the deal struck, Belphegor shares with the party all he knew about Mechanus, and informs the party on how they can stop the Inevitable. The construct was to powerful to take down head on, but it could be delayed long enough for the party to defeat the Ordained. He shares that the Inevitables hail from a place know as the Tower of Thought in Mechanus, which itself housed the Cognition Engine. Inside the Cognition Engine was the Writ of Order issued by Mechanus that commanded the Inevitable. If this writ were to be destroyed, the Inevitable would be forced to return to Mechanus and wait for a new Writ of Order to be written. The party formulate a plan to steal the Writ of Order and destroy it, and with Belphegor's help, travel through a portal into Mechanus.

The Plane of Law

The party arrive in the city of Regulus at the heart of Mechanus. They manage to successfully navigate the city's streets without being noticed and arrive at the Labyrinth of Numbers, which held the Tower of Thought at its center. For many days the party navigated the maze, piecing together its riddles of order, balance, chaos, and truth. Eventually, they manage to solve the equation at the heart of Mechanus and are permitted access to the Tower of Thought, the home and forge of the Inevitables. Climbing the towers many floors, the party reaches its peak and behold the Cognition Engine, a thinking machine capable of solving any mystery presented in the realm. Approaching the engine awakens the towers defenses and the party is forced to do battle against waves and waves of construct defenders all the while unlocking the many seals on the Cognition Engine.

With each seal unlocked, Aivan Factorovich learns more about the true history of Mechanus, including the arrival of the Architect, the creation of Primus, the attack of the Nine-Fingered Worm, the birth of the Modrahead, and the transformation of Mechanus into a realm of cold calculating metal. Shocked by these revelations, Aivan almost hesitates opening the engine, learning that one of the Nine-Fingered Worm's spawn lay within as well, trapped forever. As the engine transformed into a massive clockwork dragon as a last line of defense. Aivan manages to steal the Writ of Order, but not before catching a terrifying glimpse at whatever eldritch horror lay within it. With the writ acquired, the party teleport back to the Blisterworks.

But this victory had not come without a cost. As while they were navigating the Labyrinth of Numbers, souls unable to pass into their destined afterlives without the River Styx continued to become trapped in the Ethereal Plane, with more added every day from the casualties of the war between angels and devils spreading across Quelmar. The burden placed by these thousands of lost souls upon the ethereal plane became to much, and the veil between the realms of spirit and the rest of Quelmar broke, causing these lost souls to flood all across the planes.

Attack on the Blisterworks

The party is not given a moment to rest however, as when they arrive at the Blisterworks, they find it is being attacked by angels led by Aariel, Sword of the Solar. Once again the angels are attempting to destroy the Blisterworks to halt the production of Iron Devils in Dis, but their efforts are thwarted by the party who manage to fend of the angels and activate the Blisterwork's defenses. During the battle, Sylphine manages to pickpocket Belphegor and steal back her soul coin.

Belphegor thanks the party for helping to beat back the angels. Oblivious to the fact that his leverage was stolen, Belphegor requests that the party fulfil their end of the deal, help him overthrow Dispater. The party discuss this among themselves. Even though they are no longer bound to Belphegor's demands, the party still concludes it would be most beneficial to them to take Dispater off the board, knowing that Dispater was the main force behind the devils invading the Material Plane. Belphegor leads the party into the deepest chambers of the Blisterworks and reveals his plan. Dispater was able to control anything made of iron, including all the legions of Iron Devils. Making these constructs out of other materials proved difficult, as Iron was the most efficient at channeling infernal energies. But after years of experimentation, Belphegor synthesized his own alloy, Belphecite, a dark goldish metal able to conduct infernal energies just like iron without being able to be bent to Dispater's will. Belphegor then shows the party the fruits of his labor, a secret legion of Iron Devils made of Belphecite, and six towering Belphecite constructs called Blister Hulks. A combination of clockwork construction and infernal flesh magic, these towering constructs could each be controlled by a mortal pilot, allowing the pilot to channel their magic and strength into the Blister Hulk and control it as if it were their own body.

Before heading out, the party also sends messages requesting aid to their former allies in Dis, Sariel the fallen angel, and Dalia Embervale, host of the Garden of Pleasures.

The Day the Iron Tower Fell

Taking control of the Blister Hulks and with a legion of Belphecite Devils at their back, the party charge out of the Blisterworks and carve a path of destruction towards the Iron Tower of Dis. Arriving at the tower, the find it guarded by Dispater's son, Balgoor, who grows in size to combat the Blister Hulks. As the battle continues, Dispater reveals themselves on the tower's balcony, overlooking the battle. Using the power strength of the Blister Hulks, the party cut the tower down, causing it to come crumbling down in a massive heap of iron and scrap.

For a moment the party rejoices, only to watch in horror as the metal of the tower reforms piece by piece, no longer in the shape of the tower, but instead in the shape of Dispater, his shadow now cast across the entire city, his true strength revealed. It is only by the sheer fact that the party are in the Blister Hulks that the party survives the colossal attacks of Dispater, now a literal symbol of Dis' tyranny and indusrty. But after many closes calls and a long fought battle, Balgoor is slain and Dispater is brought low. The party find Dispater's true body, and without mercy, destroy him and claim the Iron Staff of Dispater for their own.

But little rejoicing is to be had. As right after Dispater is destroyed, a divine arrow strikes and kills Aivan Factorivich. An arrow shot by the archangel Gabriel himself.

The Celestial Siege

With Dispater dead, the city's defenses fell, leaving the way wide open for Gabriel and his angelic armies to descend upon the city, reigning down blasts of celestial light. The party attempts to flee and are forced to abandon their Blister Hulks in order to hide in the city's lower levels, all except Balaam. Balaam remaining in the Blister Hulk draws the angels to him, giving his allies time to escape. While he fights valiantly, after his battle with Dispater, Balaam was already on their last legs, meaning that when Gabriel began to cut him down, their was little he could do to fight back. Gabriel chastised Balaam for throwing away his chance at a miracle and for siding with the filth of the world. Balaam stood strong in his actions, right up until the end when Gabriel ended his life.