Return to The Paragon Protocol
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[edit | edit source]
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 knowladge 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[edit | edit source]
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.
Attack on the Blisterworks[edit | edit source]
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