Session 18 - Cleansing

This is the 18th session of the game Ashes

Summary
The party regrouped within the Observation Deck of the Temple to the Ash Lord. They took a short rest and found an exit from this floor. They find a set of hallways that allow people within them to observe what happens in the Observation Deck, so the party was conceivably being watched for a time. They found a staircase that leads them into the Cleansing Chambers. They search the floor and find the following rooms:

Prayer Chamber: A burned up and stitched together form of the Ash Lord made from the parts of various demons. The party also found a map here.

Bleeding Room: A room where prisoners were being kept, had a very high gravity, they were able to turn it off after Acaelus used force damage from his Magic Missiles to turn the hidden switch within the room.

Carnel Pit: A place where the bodies are disposed of. They found a magic set of studded leather in there.

Soul Harvest: The party discovers 6 more prisoners having their souls extracting by 6 imprisoned Shadow Demons. They kill the shadow demons and free the prisoners.

Smoking Chamber: The party is attacked by demons and cultists. The party wipes the floor with them.

Guard Post: They find some notes indicating that the guards here are the ones who go out into Kronstrad and kidnap people. They find levers that unlock all of the doors on the floor.

Floor Chaplin: The party meets Sanar, who runs the cleansing chambers. He seems like he expected people to eventually come and kill him, and he seems to be willing to accept his death. He explains to the party that he was once a Zaolo from the city of Paldae in the Shadow Isles. There he learned about magic and the worship of fire through the faith in the Pyre. In his travels, he wound up in Kronstrad and was part of a growing community of intellectuals. This group was fascinated with the idea of what makes things inherently good or inherently evil, such as demons. The group decided to create a pocket dimension where they could go and run experiments on demons without harming the people of the city. For a time their experimentation went off without a hitch. One day a man who called himself the Face took over as ruler for the group. He seemed to have a way to modify the memory of the group since nobody can remember his face. The group followed his ideas, and gain more followers than before. The Face then kidnapped a high ranking member within the Cult of the Ash Lord, a man known as Dall Revok or "The Hands". He was taken because he could summon demons for the group, and get members from the cult of the Ash Lord to join in this experiment club. It seemed to work, and a cult of personality formed, and the Face became even more popular and powerful. Eventually, the Face declared that they would start taking humanoids and running experiments on them as well. Under threat of death at his old age, Sanar stayed with the group and helped them with his projects. The party decided to spare the life of Sanar, and have him help in getting the remaining prisoners out of this place. Sanar prayed before a wooden pole within the smoking chamber and said that in his commune he learned that it was required of him to help. The party takes many of the logs within Sanar's chamber.

Hidden Treasure Room: Sanar warned the group that there would be a trap in the room and told them how to solve it. The party found a pair of boots, some armor, and a mask.

Summoning Circle: Sanar tells the group that there were cultists trying to escape within the summoning chamber. By the time the party enters they are already gone, but Acaelus sketches down the sigil for the summoning circle, to be able to teleport there in the future.

The party discusses whether or not they should rest and decide that it is more important to try and get as much physical evidence as possible and hurry to the dungeon.

The party then begins its descent into the dungeons proper, and save 20 citizens of Kronstrad, as well as 20 demons who were also imprisoned. When they reach the base floor they enter what appears to the center to the ritual chambers. Within the party finds several more guards, cultists, the Face, and the Hands. The Face tries to parlay with the group, but the party decides to just fight. Midway through the fight, a cultist teleports himself and the Hands away. Emeran deals the killing blow to the Face, but due to the ease in which he was killed, and lack of powerful spells as was expected, Sanar concluded that it wasn't the real Face. The fight ends with the party victorious.