Return to The Paragon Protocol
Overview: The party travel into the Astral Sea to the origin point of the River Styx in hopes or remaking its waters in order to restore balance to the planes, and rebind the rampaging goddess, Othea, the Shattered Mountain. Along the way, they will be forced to confront their greatest foes yet, including Gabriel the archangel of truth, Barroth the Unredeemable, the demon lord Ratatrosk, and the true mastermind behind the Infernal Insurrection.
Journey into the Ruby Headwaters
Now with all the runes of the shattered mountain in hand, the party had all the tools they needed to recreate the oar of the River Styx. But they still needed divine blood on which to use the oar to restart the Styx itself. The party conjured a plan to forcibly pull Gabriel into a realm where they could battle him away from his armies and use his blood to remake the River Styx. Currently the angel general was continueing his assault on the Hells and was now locked in heated battle against the forces of the red dragon Barroth on the sixth layer of the Hells, Malbolge.
Using the Book of the Dead as their guide, the party traveled into the Astral plane, and to the former origin point of the River Styx, the corpse of Sardior, the Ruby Dragon. Now known as the Ruby Headwaters, this was the secret source of the River Styx's waters before it was forcibly dried up. The primordial dragon's corpse was nearly the size of a continent floating deep in Astral space. Traveling through its shattered chest cavity, the party saw that after the River Styx dried up, monstrous aberrant parasites had begun to feed on the dragon god's corpse. The party traveled into the formerly beating heart of Sardior where the Styx's waters once flowed, only to find it overrun with parasites.
After slaying the parasites within Sardior's heart, the party cast Gate and pulled the archangel Gabriel from the planes of Malbolge. Now retched away from his angelic armies, Gabriel was alone, save for his two lieutenants, Aariel Sword of the Solar, and Melody, who were able to travel through the gate to aid their general before the gate closed. But before the gate closed, a fourth creature forced its way in. Angry at the interruption of their battle, the red dragon Barroth forced their way into the Gate, eager to slay Gabriel along with those that sought to steal his prized kill.
Fighting the Truth
The battle was long and brutal. the party could barely compete with the sheer celestial might of the archangel Gabriel, yet they managed to persevere, even as Barroth bathed the Ruby Headwaters in flame. One by one Gabriel's allies were slain until he was the last angel remaining. Seeing no other option, Gabriel revealed his true divine form in an attempt to destroy the party with his radiant light. Resisting the purest light in the universe, the party fought back and at long last managed to defeat and bind Gabriel using the Book of the Damned, his angel body suspended in the air within Sardior's heart.
But that still left the monstrous Barroth. After fighting Gabriel, the party's resources were tapped out and they were at the dragon's mercy. After attempting a valiant but meager resistance, and with the party's cleric Nyrgoth getting transported to Minarous by his patron Mammon, the party agreed to make a deal with Barroth. In exchange for Barroth sparring the party's lives and letting them finish their ritual, the party agreed to send Barroth back to Malbolge and assist in in gaining power within the Hells. In addition, the clockwork sorcerer Aivan was contracted into giving Barroth a free use of the Wish spell in the future.