# Bazgoth, the Crimson Blade — Session 52: The Devil's Table, Part Two **Picking up mid-combat.** [[Cub]] lay unconscious on the platform floor, one death save to his name, grappled at the foot of [[Valdrathar]]'s infernal champion. The lava river below churned red-orange in every direction, and [[Valdrathar]] himself sat back in his throne watching with quiet, unhurried pleasure. --- ## Phase Two Opens — Inferno Dive and the Lair The champion made an intelligent play. Rather than press its advantage over the downed [[Cub]], it released him — infernal law prevents teleporting an unwilling, living creature — and activated its legendary action: **Inferno Dive**. The massive devil hurled itself skyward, plunged into the lava river, and vanished. [[Volza Redhand|Volza]], who had been searching for darkness that didn't exist in this helllit chamber, looked around at the rest of the party and said flatly: "What the fuck? What are we supposed to do now?" The platform vibrated. Initiative count 20 hit, and the lair responded on its own: chains erupted from the floor in three locations, rings of fire bursting outward from each anchor point. Anyone caught in the radius needed a DC 22 Dexterity save. The fire was real — 11 damage for those who failed, half for those who made it. Narzag's eagle, caught in the blast, dropped to 4 hit points. The party scattered. **Two rounds.** That was how long the champion had to regenerate beneath the lava. Narzag dismounted from Shiv, stabilized [[Cub]] with _Spare the Dying_, and climbed back into the saddle. [[Grom]] moved to [[Cub]]'s side, leaned down, and cast _Cure Wounds_ at fourth level — [[Cub]] took 42 points back and woke up, gasping, to fire and chains on all sides. "This is not consensual," [[Cub]] announced immediately. "I do not approve of this, sir." He scrambled clear of the flame rings. As a bonus action, [[Grom]] granted [[Tarnik]] a Bardic Inspiration die. **[[Grumthar]]** spent his turn in a different way. Closing his eyes at the railing, he quieted his mind and prayed through the heat. _Gonosh, father of bone and storm. Strong is your name spoken in blood and soil._ He asked for insight on how to break the enemy. A religion roll of 18 gave him something muddied but usable — a sense of divine presence, a push that told him: the chains can be hurt, the spheres can be hurt, and it would take significant damage to shatter either. He had the feeling that perhaps two members of the party could put out that kind of damage. One of them might be him. --- ## The Force Spheres The second lair action arrived before the champion resurfaced. Four crimson spheres materialized over four party members — [[Cub]], [[Tarnik]], Narzag, and [[Saszotah Sseth'kaar (Sasz)|Sasz]]. All four needed DC 20 Dexterity saves. Two passed. Two did not. [[Saszotah Sseth'kaar (Sasz)|Sasz]] and [[Cub]] found themselves sealed inside glowing force cages — silent, impenetrable, a five-foot cube of infernal magic hovering just above the ground. [[Valdrathar]] looked over from his throne. _"I like this one. I will choose [[Grumthar]] for the decider. Let's see what kind of leader he is."_ Only [[Grumthar]] could decide who swapped in or out of the spheres. [[Saszotah Sseth'kaar (Sasz)|Sasz]], recognizing the magic as similar to _Forcecage_, attempted _Dimension Door_ to blink free. He blinked into the same space. [[Cub]], trapped and muted inside his cube, did what he could — he poked upward at the sphere above him with his Staff of Defense, trying to signal the party through the barrier. [[Grumthar]] received the message. He leaped onto the top of [[Cub]]'s cube, and with six hasted attacks — crits and full strikes — dealt **108 points of damage** to the sphere. It cracked, vibrated, then shattered, releasing [[Cub]] in a shower of spent infernal energy. [[Grumthar]] landed in a heroic stance directly on top of him. --- ## The Champion Returns The champion crawled out of the lava at the end of round two, sturdier than before, its wounds partially closed. Darkness swirled as [[Saszotah Sseth'kaar (Sasz)|Sasz]] dropped _Polymorph_ and reverted to his true form, then spent two sorcery points to cast _Darkness_ — covering the corner near [[Volza Redhand|Volza]] and the devil in a sphere of impenetrable shadow. [[Volza Redhand|Volza]] slid into it with a smile, finally in her element. Combat churned. [[Tarnik]] rode Shiv in fast, striking hard with his polearm and burning a level-three _Divine Smite_ — 88 total damage in one turn, the devil roaring and wavering on its feet. [[Volza Redhand|Volza]], hidden in the darkness and immune to its effects, drove her dagger in and kept driving it. Narzag landed two magical arrows, and [[Saszotah Sseth'kaar (Sasz)|Sasz]] hit the champion with _Tasha's Mind Whip_ — it failed the Intelligence save, meaning on its next turn it could only move, take an action, _or_ use a bonus action. Not all three. [[Grom]], still outside the darkness, couldn't target creatures he couldn't see. He kept the party running with _Healing Word_ — a fifth-level cast sending 33 points of restoration to [[Grumthar]] at range — and spent his action firing at the remaining chain with his crossbow. He missed. Then the champion hit back. It chose to cast _Banishment_ on Shiv. Shiv's Charisma save was 23. The nightmare held. --- ## The Cocoon The devil used its most powerful lair action: it pulled the ambient fire of Phlegethos into itself, forming an infernal cocoon. Tendrils of burning energy snaked inward as it began healing rapidly. [[Valdrathar]] rose from his throne and addressed [[Grumthar]] directly. _"My champion is healing, and he's healing very rapidly. You could choose to destroy the cocoon — but for however much health he recovers, you will all take that much damage should you stop it. Give and take. It is up to you."_ The party debated. The math was brutal — the potential damage ranged from 25 to 150 points, spread to every member simultaneously. Several were already below half health. [[Grom]] and [[Cub]] kept the party functional with healing spirits and ongoing restoration while the discussion ran. In the end, [[Grumthar]] called it: let him heal. The devil was bloodied before the cocoon; better a healthy devil than three members of the party simultaneously downed. --- ## The Champion Falls The champion emerged from the cocoon reinvigorated, and went straight for [[Grumthar]] in the darkness — three attacks, claws and stinger. [[Tarnik]] used his reaction to activate Interception, reducing 6 damage. [[Grumthar]] still absorbed over 70 cold damage in a single sequence and was knocked to zero. [[Grom]], still outside, reached out and cast _Healing Word_ at range. The next round, [[Tarnik]] leaned down from Shiv and pressed a single point of _Lay on Hands_ into [[Grom]]'s chest to bring him back. Then rode for the devil himself. Narzag spent his last Luck point on his final arrow salvo. [[Saszotah Sseth'kaar (Sasz)|Sasz]] summoned his **Hound of Ill Omen**, designating the devil as its quarry — the hound could see through the darkness regardless. Another legendary _Infernal Body Explosion_ went out: 80 fire damage to everyone in range. [[Grumthar]] went down again. [[Grom]] went down. Then [[Volza Redhand|Volza]] moved. She had been waiting in the dark, dagger already moving. One strike, plunging into the champion's chest. The devil screamed — and its massive body began to dissolve into black smoke, the infernal form unmade. Killed in the hells, it was gone permanently. Not banished. Gone. --- ## The Aftermath The party healed in the silence that followed. [[Grom]] cast a sixth-level _Mass Cure Wounds_ — 36 points to everyone in range. [[Cub]] layered his Healing Spirit on top. Bodies got back to their feet. [[Saszotah Sseth'kaar (Sasz)|Sasz]]'s Hound of Ill Omen paced the perimeter. Then [[Valdrathar]] moved. He opened the cages lining the walls, flooding them with souls he called _virgin souls_ — barely tormented, almost untouched. Among the images flickering in the cages: Bakorda's image for [[Grom]] to see, and [[Sela]]'s for [[Grumthar]]. _"I told them a little thing,"_ [[Valdrathar]] said pleasantly. _"I said: 'Your friends could have saved you. But they decided to leave you in hell.' Isn't that right, [[Grom]]?"_ [[Grumthar]] walked to the cage where [[Sela]]'s image flickered. He put his hands on the iron and looked at her — that confused, terrified, pleading look — and held her gaze until the cage passed beyond reach. Then he turned around. He walked to [[Grom]]. And with something quiet and broken in his voice, [[Grumthar]] said: _"What gives you the right — in your pompous certainty that this girl matters more — to put her above [[Sela]]? To put her above what she meant to me?"_ He turned and walked through the portal. The session ended there.