Well, we're all glad that's over!
Syrr Kogag, Death Lord Fire-Eater and the five other Uz come to you, standing tall, hooting deep Uz sounds of celebration, and making trollish gestures of deep significance. Syrr Kogag greets you with a calm smile, “So here we are again. We cannot tarry long. Uz go to the Empty Mountain to break some bones, and Uz see you're off to the Hellmouth. At the Plateau beyond it, know this, Arkati and friends: there are higher beings present that you must not disturb, even though their evil is the worst. That's not your quest, or ours. Find your enemies. Uz have ours. To stray off the path is certain death for any of us.” A deep shadow comes across his face and his smile vanishes, and he turns away with the others and leaves; you thank him back.
Crossing the desolate plain toward the highlands and easily finding a worn path upwards, you make your way to an enormous fortress, ringed with tall, jagged walls of iron and pools of angry red magma. A high stairway leads to a short road to the only gate: the ravening maw of a great iron-fanged monstrously fiendish beast-woman, easily twelve metres across. Its jaws open and shut with a deafening clamour like the crack of a whip. Entire armies could be devoured by the demonic structure without sating its hunger. It is the face of Valkalta; and it is Her, forming a barrier between Deshkorgos's realm you've passed through and the realm of Chaos beyond-her fortress is as much her prison. Demonic horned skulls of ancient demons flank the gate, and past the gate the fortress has two main tower complexes rising on either side of the middle of the keep.
Ahappi steps in and vanishes into hell-darkness as the jaw-gates close. You follow him in a row. As you each pass the gate, its jaws close with horrible chewing sounds, causing terrible pain and disorientation as the Hellmouth chews up then spits you out on its other side, reformed but mauled. Without such a quest's mythic protection, anyone passing would die miserably, you instantly realise. Your armour has been shredded and you are bloodied with wounds head to toes.
Just inside the gates, you now hear a sussuration of droning, like many conversations blended into one cacophonous buzz. There's no time to contemplate. There are flutters of wings, and shifting shadows, and demon-flies bearing nasty bronze torturer's tools like pliers and scissors come around you from different parts of the fortress. They have somewhat human-like heads but long centipede-like biting probosces, and oddly small rune-bearing wings of pure shadow. These are the Demon Flies of Valkalta; Talokans (demons) of Chaos of great cruelty.
The fight may have been your hardest ever, as the flies outnumber you 9-to-5 and their droning confuses and slows you. Their terrible tools strip off your armour, exposing your flesh to their venomous bites, which gradually cause confusion that renders the victim barely able to speak. It goes very poorly for Shrett; he has terrible luck and is soon facing two of the demons inside the courtyard, and they knock him senseless; he barely survives the wounds. Ahappi and Bog face off with two demons on the right side of the fortress, and Fraud charges into the centre-left, killing one demon but then facing two; he does his best to fend them off but finally succumbs to multiple wounds (after some poor luck of his own) and they begin carrying him off. Boamund ascends to the upper left side and soon is engaged with two demons; he disarms them of their tools but their bites take their toll and soon he is unconscious. But by now Bog and Ahappi have killed off the demons they faced, barely, and rush to help Fraud and Boamund, so they engage the remaining demons and, through luck and skill and cleverness, victory is achieved! But it is a bloody victory; your blood is mixed with the demons' ichor across the front of the fortress floors. With three of you unconscious, you ponder how to proceed…
Somehow Ahappi's Stinging Spear did nothing special against the Chaotic demons. Was it his curse of Valkalta, or the demons themselves (they were very durable; they had lots of immunities), or something more sinister going on?
One note: I am ruling that everyone presumably knows of Boamund's finding of the elvish Truestone. He wouldn't keep such a hugely important finding (especially an item with a Heal Body miracle, which is so useful) secret; he has had several days now in which he could and would (I think; Tim could object!) have communicated this info. And you know (through prior experience, e.g. with draconic Truestone you have/had) that anyone can use such a thing if they have it. So that is one solution, to heal Fraud so he can use his Healing skill on others. Maybe there is another, though.
Next up, if you can get everyone on their feet: the Demon Pit?
-John
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