Ch42 - Contract ripped

Ch41

The first thing I did when I got out of bed was create a large ritual circle and fill it with 100oz of regular ink bottles. The only option for me to beat a devil is to create something so inherently good and holy that it burns. I use my [Missing item] to create the dead body of a Planetar.

A Planetar is the polar opposite of a powerful fiend, they act as the right hand of righteous gods and love nothing more than killing fiends. They are undeniably powerful, and that's why a planetar is the perfect material for my inky weapon.

There was no god I could chant to that would bless this, this is as unholy as it is holy. Instead, I channeled my powers for a minute straight and imagined all the possibilities.

A minute passed and the Planetar dispersed into white wisps, it covered the jars like snow and settled into it peacefully and calmly.

[Additional effect possible- choose]

"Uh, oh god I didn't think, radiant immunity bypass."

[Granted]

[Sacrilegious blood -

Ritual infused ink (100oz). A disturbing display of craftsmanship involving the sacrifice of a partially immortal being.

Planetar - Anything made from this ink is intrinsically holy, evil aligned beings take 15d10 radiant damage when seeing it. It is immune to any neutral or good aligned magic.

Additional effect - Bypassed radiant resistance or immunity.

Features: Deals 50% extra damage to fiends. Any tattoo made of this will boost any radiant or holy nature by 200%, wings of ink is automatically applied to the wearer. The ink can be applied to a good or neutral aligned being and used as a greater healing potion, per 1oz.]

Immediately afterwards I fused it into my unending bag of inks, I won't sell this one, but I will find a lot of use from it. Even when I simply fused it into the ink bag, I had the choice of activating [Additional effect]. So I made it so I can retrieve bottles of ink of any size from the bag.

I set my [Ink membrane] to be the sacrilegious blood, and used [Custom tattoo] to create sleeves of scrolls going up my arm, with quills that are animatedly adding to the writing on it. I activate [Quality tattoo] and apply a Fortress magical tattoo, a tattoo raising my AC to 20. Immediately like a chain reaction, I feel the ability to sprout wings in any of my forms, like an all encompassing ability so long as I had the blood active.

There was one more thing I've been meaning to do for the past month, but I've been saving it for the moment I get a crafting boost.

I activated [Perfect environment] and the room expanded to allow a sizeable ritual circle that was already indented into the floor. Inside I place 100oz of ink and then I emptied all the disorders and mental conditions I had collected in there. There was just so much, at least 90% alone is from the last light inn.

I set up again and chanted for a minute, I couldn't be bothered with the gods, Sune hasn't even said thank you for the gift.

[Additional effect granted - psychic bypass]

[Inky madness-

Ritual infused ink (100oz). A combination of all the worst conditions the average person can suffer from mentally is combined into a slow cooker of ink.

Hag bag content - Viewers of the ink have to make a DC19 wisdom save or become inflicted with madness. On a save take 2d8 psychic damage.

Features: Tattoos or artwork using this will have a 50% boost to psychic related abilities. Bypasses psychic resistances and immunities.]

"Not too bad" I infused it into the bag once more. I couldn't think of an extra effect for this one. I've been prepared for this moment for a while, I've made the necessary hires and I've learnt how to create my own mushroom circles just in case. I improved my own [Iron tokens] to allow them to communicate anywhere on this plane.

I pack everything up and lock up shop, but not before making my own private mushroom circle in my bedroom. Owning my own place gives me the freedom to do that after all. I go beside my shutters and leave my ink guardian here to keep my home safe.

I sprout wings, activate illusory presence and take flight back to Baldur's Gate, I didn't get too close to anyone here, Dumisa and I shared a drink as business partners every week but that's it. I flew over the large forest filled with spiders and wyverns and flew straight over the walls to the lower city, I activate [Scrying] and a cloud forms below me again. I ask it to show me my companions, but it's simply blank, showing an 'out of range' title instead.

I knew immediately what that meant, I flew straight towards the House of hope and turned into a ghost and blasted through the roof and into the portal to hell.

(Avernus - House of Hope/Raphael's home)

I flew up from the floor of the foyer, upon landing I switched to the clothes the unfortunate souls here wear. Immediately blending in, I walk forwards, I'm confident in the floor plan of this place at least. Flying through the walls, I see traces of battle, scorched earth, dead imps and environmental damage. I come across a opening in a wall, it's there that I hear voices.

"Astarion, now is not the time for bathing!" I heard Gale shout.

"But I just feel so much better! See look, my arm's fixed!" I heard Astarion respond, quickly I heard a splash and Gale was whining about Karlach pushing him in. I floated through the walls to see all this. When I was close enough, Gale snapped his head in my direction. "There's something there, be prepared everyone." He spoke with a serious tone to the rest of the group.

Apparently he cast 'see invisibility', which kind of ruins my fun, but it was going to happen eventually. I dispel my invisibility with a big smile on my face.

"Hey guys! Glad I found you, I was looking everywhere." Everyone was in stunned silence, trying to determine if I was who I say I was.

"Tell us something only he would know" Shadowheart quickly asked, everyone else seemed on edge, yet hopeful.

"Well Astarion can stab me and therefore stab Cazador, Durge had a long list of mental illnesses before I removed them and Wyll is a warlock of Mizora." I answered in quick succession.

They all visibly relaxed, "How did you get here soldier? Matter of fact, what were you doing whilst you were gone?" Karlach asked.

"I went to Candlekeep, I was a crafter there, good enough to gain permanent access to the halls I might add. I also got myself some ink, which hopefully you'll see when I kill Raphael with it."

"Oh Candlekeep? I've been there once, I got to the keep on the recommendation of Elminster. Great knowledge is kept in there, a shame I was only granted a month." Gale sighed towards the end.

"Well we can catch up later, for now let's kill Raphael. Though I do have to introduce myself to someone quickly." I jog up to the large bald man, "Nice to meet you Minsc, I'm Charles." I held out my hand.

"Aha! I have heard great many tale of you! You are a friend of Jaheira's therefore a friend of Minsc and Boo!" He showed me his pet hamster in the palm of his hand.

We did eventually go to the foyer, for Raphael, Yurgir and some servants to be waiting for us.

"The rat is caught, at long fucking last! You will know no mercy from me pest, return what you have stolen and I will only turn you into a lemure!" Immediately upon seeing me, Raphael started seething with rage, almost violently shaking.

"Yurgir, you see Raphael here, a shaking mess, clearly a man far too reliant on his father's power should be struck down, right?" I turn towards the giant lumbering pit fiend and ask.

"You will not ignore me any longer! I don't know how you hid from me for so long, but you won't escape now. I'll make sure of it! Yurgir, you may take the others, I just want him." Raphael shifted into his devil form and pointed a red scarred finger at me.

It was then that Yurgir spoke up, "The others you spoke of broke me from my torment, the torment you inflicted. They are the only reason I may enjoy the blood war, you are in my way Raphael." Yurgir pointed his great dagger at him.

"You dare poi-!" Once again Shadowheart shut him up with a sacred flame, kickstarting the battle.

I summoned the 6 band members, the electric guitar started roaring and the singing begun:

"Finished with my woman because she couldn't help me with my mind

People think I'm insane because I am frowning all the time!"

(Paranoid- Black Sabbath)

The forms shifted into the kids at the grove, the lead being Mol and the rest of the group on the instruments and backup. Then, I flew up to the sky and started throwing the sacrilegious blood everywhere, Gale was throwing spells like an old mad wizard.

Karlach was crushing the pillars of power for Raphael with the Orphic hammer, Hope used divine intervention to give herself an immensely powerful mace and charged head first into battle. Everyone was doing their role against the small army of fiends, once the room was covered in enough ink, I started using it to spike up into the enemies.

We were dealing well with the servants until Raphael suddenly shifted forms into a grandiose beast of a devil, he looked up at me and threw a great chaotic hellblast right at me. I didn't have time to dodge so I used all the ink in the room to make a holy barrier for me.

It blew up on impact, it would've sent me back if not for my [Strong foundations], but I still suffered horrific burns. The left side of my face was searing hot and I knew it would stay there for a while, I decided to empty my bag of the 150 litres of Talon's scripture. Manipulating it in the air I beamed it at Raphael at painfully high pressure, visibly slicing through him. He was screaming in unexplainable pain until I was hit in the side of the head with a stray firebolt, making me lose concentration on my aim.

Some of the fiends were now dropping dead to the song, joining in on the chorus and dealing psychic damage to Raphael:

"All day longs I think of things

But nothing seems to satisfy!"

"Enough!" A dome of hellfire begun to spread out from him, I dove down to my companions and surrounded us with the poisonous ink, hoping to mitigate some of the damages. Halsin was looking weak right now and this hellfire would finish him off, I begun dousing us all in the sacrilegious blood, embracing the healing effects of it.

The wave hit and the barrier went up in flames, we were scorched by hellfire. I felt my skin dry up and blister under the heat, my flesh charred and baked, I can't blink.

Suddenly, a wave of healing countered the morbid experience and I felt my flesh weave itself together again. I pull out a gallon of sacrilegious blood and start shaping them into liquid blades, Raphael, punished from the song and previous attacks was immediately backstabbed by Yurgir. I even saw him twist the knife, "You know why" I heard him say.

Raphael reverted to his old form now, I slashed him with the sacrilegious blood and he pointed at me and instinctively tried to charm me. Amidst a flurry of spells and strikes it was none other than [Freud Guardian] that leapt out, "Harleep turns into your mother!" And punches his jaw clean off.

His eyes go foggy and Raphael is dead, the corpse leaving a large, black, viscous pile of blood. I walk over to him and kick him, "Your poems are awful." I look at the Helldusk armour he has on, immediately [Jack of all trades] becomes active and I can't help but see it as incomplete. I take it off him and throw it towards Lae'zel, she's one of the few who can actually wear it. I take the body of Raphael for myself, I need an antithesis to my sacrilegious blood after all.

"I'll miss the pain relief I feel here, but I suppose it's just not meant to be." Karlach sighed, walking towards the portal.

"Wait a sec Karlach, come here, I'll take a look at it. I've learnt a lot in Candlekeep, I can help you with it." She turns around, face half scowling.

"If you think this is a joke then it's not funny." She marched towards me, I didn't look at her face, but instead at her heart.

"Ah, that makes sense, they missed off the cooling agents and the infernal battery. So instead of being cooled by an agent, it uses your blood instead. And a lack of infernal property makes it drain on your lineage as a tiefling. You'd be dead already if it weren't for that." I left her stood there speechless, I ran over and ripped a horn off of Raphael, I used [Perfect environment] to mould and whittle the horn into a small, thin tube.

Then I look outside to see the river of blood, Raphael is the sort to want a lakeside view after all, even if it is the river Styx. I float over and fill the tube up with the river blood, blocking the tube on either side. I go back to Karlach, "Do you mind opening up the heart valve for a moment?" She looks hopeful and afraid, but she opens up the front of her chest (literally) and makes way. I carefully slot the tube in the side and it starts pumping the Styx blood around it.

"There you go, so that should last about 265 years, if I redid the engine itself it could last a fair bit longer, but you'll make do with this right?" She closed the panel and went straight into the portal, eager to see if it worked.

Everyone followed suit, everyone but me and Wyll. "Thank you Charles, I know you made it seem impulsive to do that, but I can see past that. Thank you for saving Karlach." He smiled and rested his hand on my shoulder.

"Of course, I'm still planning on getting you fully out of that pact after all." I smile back at him, now I go to the portal and step in, the momentum carrying me to flip vertically to the normal gravity of Faerun. Just as I got my bearings, I was dove at with a hug. "Thank you! Thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me, I thought I would be dead by tomorrow!" I hugged her back in equal measure, Ao knows she needs it.

She's right though, I have no idea what it's like to be truly on death's door. I simply ran from Raphael, you can't run from your own heart. She stayed hugging, sobbing quietly all the while.

****

Camp that night was special, I brought music, drinks and new items for everyone with my return. We had a whole buffet for us, and the best part is that it was in an actual hotel room, the elfsong tavern to be specific.

They actually had an itinerary for the week, and we're on Wednesday already.

Monday - Kill Cazador ()

Tuesday - Kill the Shar worshippers ()

Wednesday - Get orphic hammer ()

Thursday - Sort out Carrion

Friday - Kill Gortash

Saturday - Kill Orin

Sunday - Kill the Netherbrain

The week looked pretty good, painful and difficult sure, but good nonetheless. Everyone even kept stuff for me to turn into items for them, which was sweet in my opinion. Even Minsc, who hadn't met me, wanted a tiny helmet for Boo.

I spent most of my night catching up and taking item requests, then I whittled with Halsin for a bit before he went to sleep. In the night I used [Perfect environment] and a ritual circle formed in the ground for me. I dropped Raphael in, formed as many Nighthag eyes as I could and grew Ichorous fungi on my back.

(The mushrooms are from the 'Fires of Hell' campaign, they have no name so I gave them one.)

With every fiendish and hellish in the circle I could imagine, I placed in a single 100oz bottle of standard ink and begun the ritual.

[Ichor -

Ritual infused ink. Ink suffused with a unholy concoction of devilish materials, a true nightmare for anything with a modicum of good in their heart.

20 nighthag eyes - The applier of the art can make the canvas, whatever that may be, a mindless hellish thrall.

30 Ichorous fungi - Can seamlessly blend in with the Avernus flora and fauna.

Raphael, son of Mephistopheles - Applies the hellfire effect (2d6) to those that touch without permission. If the canvas is a thrall, it will be reciting poetry endlessly.

Features: 200% effective against good aligned beings, boosts demonic tattoo abilities, immune to neutral and evil spells.

Additional effect: The ichor can solidify, allowing steps to be made.]

I then used the fiends and imps that I gathered around the house of hope to create:

[Bestial ink - Cambion]

[Detect ink - Fiend]

[Bestial ink - Imp]

[Bestial ink - Hellboar]

I sent 5 samples of each to Ngozi's tattoo parlour of course, but I arranged a mushroom circle to just drop it off at his shop. Coming back, I removed the mushrooms and ate them myself.