The Descent into Carceri
Date: Apr 1st, 2026
Summary
The party descended the infinite staircase with Wilbur the unicorn leading the way, the steps growing darker and redder with every passing moment. Their goal was clear — find Loki, uncover his plans, retrieve the Golden Apple, and survive long enough to see it through. As the atmosphere thickened and the air grew heavy, Wilbur suggested they take a ferry rather than walk the remaining distance through the lower plains, and the group agreed without much argument.
They emerged from the staircase into the bleak expanse of the Gray Wastes, a barren, gray-tinted land where even the trees were made of enormous bones jutting from the earth. A single lit lamppost stood at the edge of a dark river, and the party waited there in uneasy silence until a ferryman appeared — a skeletal figure draped in a coarse, sack-like brown cloak, poling his flat-bottomed ferry across the water without a word. Wilbur whispered their destination into the ferryman’s ear, and the party paid handsomely in gold, hearing only the faintest wheeze from beneath the hood in response. The boat pushed off, and the Gray Wastes slid past them on either side.
As they drifted along the River Styx, the party passed the city of Pluton — a place of judgment where petitioners waited for the afterlife. Silent figures stood motionless on the shore, watching the ferry with tilted heads, some of them Goliaths who seemed to recognize Papa Jan, though he could not place their faces. A spectral Goliath warrior rose from the water itself, dripping and familiar, but the name refused to come. The ferryman paid none of it any mind and continued poling forward, indifferent as stone.
The river eventually narrowed into a series of caves, and it was there that the rapids struck without warning. The boat lurched and bucked through the white water, and in the chaos, Wilbur lost his footing and tumbled into the River Styx. The party erupted into frantic action — a rope was looped around the unicorn’s neck, and the group fought to keep the boat from tipping as Wilbur drifted behind them in the fog. Glint used magic to make the rope glow so they could track their companion through the mist, and the ferryman, unmoved by the crisis, refused every offer of gold to help. They held on until the boat reached the far shore, dragging Wilbur onto the obsidian dock with desperate hands.
What they found when they pulled him free was heartbreaking. The waters of the Styx had done their work — Wilbur stood on the dock chasing his own tail, his eyes empty of recognition, his portal magic gone, his memories stripped away entirely. The unicorn who had guided them through the planes was now little more than a large, confused horse with a horn. The party mourned quietly and pressed on, entering the mouth of a red-walled cave that jutted from the dark shore.
The cave’s walls were a deep, natural red from iron-rich soil, and at its far end stood a pair of massive iron doors — forty feet tall, with enormous rings set twenty feet off the ground, far beyond any mortal’s reach. Glint performed a ritual to seek divine guidance on whether to proceed, and instead of a simple omen, a voice answered him directly. It identified itself as a Titan — the king of Titans — and promised the party favor if they chose to enter, warning that adversity lay beyond but that his blessing would see them through. The party debated whether the voice could be trusted, or whether it might be Loki in disguise, but ultimately agreed that they had no other path forward.
Urrilon and Glint climbed a nearby cliff to scout the surroundings and were met with a sight that defied description. An infinite series of planets floated impossibly close to one another, stretching off into the dark vault of stars forever. Two mountains — one rising from their world, one descending from the planet above — nearly touched in the sky between them, as though heaven and earth were reaching for each other. The two men stood in silence for a long moment before climbing back down to rejoin the others.
The doors opened to reveal Kronos — a fifty-foot Titan with a wild beard and ancient, weary eyes, chained at the wrists to two colossal pillars. He sat at rest with a cage of small, struggling figures beside him, and as the party watched, he reached in, plucked a woman out by her hair, and bit her in half without pausing the conversation. The caged figures, they learned, were gods — captured and consumed one by one. Kronos offered the party safe passage and a guide in exchange for being freed through a ritual involving fruit, and though the party declined to commit immediately, they tentatively promised to consider releasing the good-natured gods from the cage on their return journey. They moved deeper into the cave, shaken and unsettled, debating quietly what it meant for the world when gods simply disappeared.
At the end of the tunnel stood a pedestal of glowing lavender stone, topped by an archway carved with the image of Justice — sword in one hand, scales in the other — and inscribed with words none of them could read. Glint copied the inscription carefully and stepped into the center of the arch, where a voice spoke only to him: speak your deepest secret, and you may pass. He reached up and pulled the anchor amulet from beneath his shirt, stared at it for a long moment, and then spoke. He was not who he appeared to be. He had been created by a wizard — a simulacrum built to house the consciousness of the wizard’s dying son — but when the spell gave him life, it also gave him free will, and he had fled rather than cease to exist. The amulet was the only thing keeping him free. The moment he finished speaking, he vanished.
One by one, the others stepped forward and spoke their truths into the silence of the arch. Umbra confessed that she had followed a dark voice into a cave during a storm, opened a chest filled with shadow, and inadvertently unleashed that darkness upon her monastery — killing everyone she had ever known. Corneleus admitted that sixty years ago, he had chosen to chase a fleeing enemy commander rather than stay at his brother’s side, and his brother had not survived the battle. Papa Jan revealed that he had killed his own twin brother in a fight over their father’s warhammer, and had spent a night on a mountainside in grief before being found by a messenger of Lathander who offered him forgiveness and purpose. Each confession was swallowed by the arch, and each speaker disappeared in turn.
Urrillon being the last stood in the arch and no one heard as he spoke about the following, he was once a respected Battle Master and instructor at the Citadel of Strategic Militancy, where he trained paladins and clerics of the Red Knight in the art of war, strategy, and discipline. While his son was a student there, Urrillon made a single mistake—one night of drunken weakness that left him waking in the bed of a fellow cleric. Neither of them spoke of it, but when rumors later spread that a cleric had become pregnant, Urrillon was consumed by shame and uncertainty. Rather than confront the truth, he chose to leave it behind. He quietly resigned from the Citadel, abandoning his post and the life he had built, carrying with him not the certainty of guilt—but the unbearable weight of not knowing whether he had already done something he could never undo.
The party found themselves on a smaller, alien world — a place of vibrant but deeply hostile plant life, where the grass was made of razor blades and the ground was saturated with corrosive acid that ate through metal and cloth alike. Red jungles loomed in the distance, and eyes watched from the tree line. Glint conjured a floating disc to hover above the ground, while others improvised stepping stones from trinkets and bone. Before they could orient themselves, an yugoloth burst from the jungle calling out a warning in Common — something was beneath their feet.
Black puddings erupted from the acid pools, amorphous and hungry, wrapping themselves around the party members and burning through armor with every touch. Corneleus was enveloped almost immediately, the creature sizzling against his skin. Urrilon was struck hard, the acid pouring inside his half-plate and beginning to dissolve it from within. The party fought back with everything they had — Glint launched bolts of magical force, Papa Jan called down bursts of holy radiance, and Umbra slashed at the creatures with her daggers, only to watch the blades corrode with each strike.
The battle was brutal and chaotic. Umbra’s daggers were eaten away one by one. Urrilon’s armor fell apart around him, becoming more hazard than protection. Both Corneleus and Urrilon were knocked unconscious at different points, the acid and the relentless attacks overwhelming them. Papa Jan, seeing Corneleus about to be consumed, invoked Lathander and launched himself in a heroic front-flip across a pool of acid — a ray of divine light catching his shield’s holy symbol as he landed — and poured healing energy into his fallen companion. Corneleus recovered and unleashed a thunderous wave of force that scattered the oozes, though it also caught Urrilon in the blast and sent him tumbling into the razor grass.
Glint channeled a sustained arc of crackling green lightning into the largest pudding, splitting it apart. Papa Jan struck the remaining creature with a bolt of radiant energy that left it boiling and fizzling. Umbra finished it with a single well-aimed dart, and the battlefield finally went still. The party tended to their wounds in exhausted silence, Urrilon discarding the ruined husk of his great axe into a pool of acid as a final farewell to the fight.
The yugoloth who had warned them — a Mezzoloth named Abby — approached once the danger had passed. He explained, with a kind of weary matter-of-factness, that they were in Carceri, the prison plane also known as Tartarus, and that leaving was nearly impossible. He had not seen Loki or Iðunn, but he offered to guide the party to a deeper layer of the plane. With no other options and a world of razor grass and acid beneath their feet, the party agreed to follow him, hoping that somewhere deeper in this prison of a world, the answers they had come so far to find were still waiting.
Short
The party descended into the Gray Wastes alongside Wilbur the unicorn, crossing the River Styx by ferry toward their goal of finding Loki, recovering the Golden Apple, and rescuing Iðunn. Along the way, they passed the city of Pluton and witnessed ghostly Goliath figures that unsettled Papa Jan, before the journey took a devastating turn when rapids sent Wilbur tumbling into the Styx. Though the party managed to drag him to safety, the river’s magic had stripped him of his memories, portal abilities, and identity, leaving behind only a confused, hollow creature. Pressing on through iron doors guarded by a mysterious Titan voice, they encountered Kronos himself — a chained, fifty-foot giant casually consuming caged gods — who offered safe passage in exchange for his freedom, a bargain the party left unresolved. At a glowing archway inscribed with the image of Justice, each member was compelled to speak their deepest secret to pass: Glint revealed he was a simulacrum granted free will who had fled his creator; Umbra confessed to accidentally unleashing a shadow that destroyed her monastery; Corneleus admitted abandoning his brother to his death in battle; and Papa Jan disclosed that he had killed his own twin over their father’s warhammer before finding redemption through Lathander.
The arch transported the party to Carceri — a hostile alien world of razor-blade grass and acid-filled pools — where they were immediately set upon by black puddings that burned through armor and weapons with every strike. The battle was brutal: Umbra’s daggers corroded away, Urrilon’s half-plate dissolved from within, and both he and Corneleus were knocked unconscious at different points. Papa Jan performed a dramatic divine leap across an acid pool to revive Corneleus, who responded with a thunderous shockwave, while Glint’s sustained lightning and Umbra’s final dart finished off the remaining oozes. In the aftermath, a Mezzoloth named Abby introduced himself as the one who had warned them of the danger and informed the exhausted group that they were trapped in Tartarus, with escape being nearly impossible. With no better options, the party agreed to follow Abby deeper into the plane, hoping that Loki and the answers they sought still lay somewhere ahead.
Classic
Last we left off, our intrepid band of adventurers descended the infinite staircase alongside Wilbur the unicorn, their guide through the planes, into the bleak and bone-riddled expanse of the Gray Wastes. Boarding a ferry piloted by a silent, skeletal ferryman, they drifted along the River Styx — past the city of Pluton, past the silent, watching dead, past spectral warriors rising from the depths — until the river narrowed into churning rapids and disaster struck. Wilbur lost his footing and tumbled into the Styx, and though the party fought desperately to drag him free, the river had already done its terrible work. The unicorn who had guided them faithfully across the planes emerged from the water hollow-eyed and empty, his memories and magic stripped away entirely, chasing his own tail on an obsidian dock at the edge of the underworld.
Pressing on through grief and uncertainty, the party faced a pair of iron doors forty feet tall, received a cryptic blessing from a voice claiming to be the king of Titans, and came face to face with Kronos himself — ancient, chained, and calmly consuming gods from a cage beside him as though it were nothing at all. Beyond him stood an archway of lavender stone, carved with the image of Justice, and it demanded a price of passage that no blade or spell could pay: the truth. One by one, each member of the party stepped forward and surrendered their deepest secret to the silence — confessions of creation and flight, of darkness unleashed, of brothers lost and brothers killed — and one by one, they vanished through to the other side.
They arrived on a hostile alien world — a prison plane known as Carceri, or Tartarus — where the grass is made of razor blades and the ground runs with acid that eats through steel and flesh alike. No sooner had they found their footing than black puddings erupted from the pools beneath them, relentless and corrosive, dissolving armor and daggers and nearly consuming their companions whole. The battle was brutal, desperate, and hard-won — Corneleus and Urrilon both fell before the party clawed their way to victory, Papa Jan hurling himself across a pool of acid in a moment of radiant, heroic glory. Now, battered and stripped of gear, they find themselves in the company of a weary Mezzoloth named Abby, who has offered to guide them deeper into this prison of a world — toward Loki, toward Iðunn, and toward answers that may cost them far more than they have already paid…
Middle English
Lythe and listin, gentilmen, Of brave souls bold and true, Who walked the stair of endless dark, Where steps turned red as blood’s own hue! With Wilbur, horn’d and white as snow, They sought both Loki’s gold and guile, The Golden Apple, Iðunn’s gift, Across each cursed and wretched mile.
They came upon the Gray Wastes bleak, Where bone-trees scraped the ashen sky, A lamppost lit the river’s edge, Where silent, hooded death drew nigh. The ferryman, a skeletal shade, Did pole them through the Styx’s flow, Past Pluton’s shore of watching dead, Where ghostly Goliaths rose below.
Through caverns dark the rapids came, And Wilbur tumbled, lost in foam! A rope was cast, a spell did glow, To drag the unicorn safely home. Yet Styx had claimed what none could mend, His memories washed and swept away, The guide who knew the planes entire, Now chased his tail in blank dismay.
Great iron doors, forty feet tall, Were opened by a Titan’s grace, And Kronos, chained ‘twixt pillars vast, Did bid them enter that dread place. Then came the arch of lavender stone, Where Justice carved in silence stood, Each soul confessed their deepest shame, And vanished as the arch thought good.
In Carceri, that prison plane, Where razor grass and acid lay, Black puddings rose from corr’sive pools, And armor melted, blades gave way! Papa Jan leapt o’er the acid flood, And Glint’s green lightning split the night, Till Umbra’s dart did end the fray, And Abby led them toward the light!
Snarky
Our intrepid band of deeply traumatized adventurers descended into the literal underworld, rode a silent skeleton’s ferry service across the River Styx, and promptly lost their only guide — Wilbur the unicorn — to the amnesiac waters, reducing him from a magical interdimensional navigator to a very large, very confused horse with a pointy hat. They then walked straight into a fifty-foot Titan’s living room, watched him eat a god like a snack, and somehow left the conversation with a tentative “we’ll think about it” rather than a full-blown existential breakdown. Points for composure, truly.
Then came the confessional arch — a magical doorway that demanded each party member’s deepest secret before granting passage, which is either the most elegant security system ever devised or the cruelest therapy session in any plane of existence. Glint revealed he’s a simulacrum who chose himself over his purpose, Umbra confessed she accidentally destroyed her entire monastery, Corneleus admitted he let his brother die for a battlefield promotion that history forgot, and Papa Jan dropped the bombshell that he killed his own twin brother over a hammer — a HAMMER — before Lathander personally showed up to offer him a hug and a job. Having emotionally detonated themselves one by one, the party was deposited onto a planet made of razor grass and acid pools, where they were immediately attacked by sentient slime, Urrilon’s armor dissolved off his body, and a bird named Abby calmly informed them they were in a prison dimension with no known exit. Perfectly normal Tuesday.
Limerick
Down the staircase to darkness they went, With Wilbur the unicorn, heaven-sent. They paid gold for the ride, With the ferryman’s guide, Through the Gray Wastes on Styx’s descent.
The rapids struck hard, Wilbur fell in the flow, They roped him and tracked him through Glint’s magic glow. But the Styx took its toll, Stripped his memories whole, Now he chases his tail with nowhere to go.
Great Kronos sat chained, fifty feet, wild of beard, He snacked on a goddess — the party was feared. They made no deal that day, But agreed on their way Back to free the caged gods, if the path was cleared.
At the arch carved with Justice, each secret was told, Of shadow unleashed, brothers lost, and lies bold. Each truth broke the seal, Each confession was real, And one by one, into the unknown they were scrolled.
In Carceri’s acid and razor-blade grass, Black puddings attacked with corrosive harass. Papa Jan flipped with grace, Glint lit lightning’s embrace, And Umbra’s last dart put the oozes to pass!
Memorable Moments
Glint reveals at the Arch of Justice that he is a simulacrum — a magical construct created by a wizard to house his dying son’s consciousness — and that his amulet is the only thing keeping him free and alive.
Each party member must speak their deepest secret aloud to pass through the arch, and Glint’s revelation reframes his entire identity.
Wilbur the unicorn falls into the River Styx during the rapids and, despite the party’s frantic efforts to save him, emerges on the far shore as a mindless husk — all his memories and magical abilities gone forever.
The party’s beloved guide is effectively destroyed by the river, leaving them stranded without his portal magic.
Papa Jan invokes Lathander and performs a heroic front-flip leap across a pool of acid, a ray of divine light illuminating his shield’s holy symbol as he lands to save the fallen Corneleus.
Startled and inspired after burning through his last inspiration die, Papa Jan makes an improbable athletics check to cross the acid.
The party watches in horror as the fifty-foot Titan Kronos casually reaches into a cage of captured gods, plucks out a struggling deity by the hair, and bites her in half mid-conversation.
The party had just entered the cave and was attempting to negotiate passage, making the display of power deeply unsettling.
Corneleus unleashes a thunderwave to push back the oozes, successfully clearing the field — but also blasting his own ally Urrilon off his feet and into the razor-sharp grass.
The party had been struggling to coordinate in the chaotic acid-filled battlefield, and Corneleus’s friendly fire was the chaotic cherry on top.
Scenes
Descent of the Infinite Staircase
The party begins their long journey down a seemingly endless staircase guided by Wilbur the unicorn.
- The party re-introduces themselves to establish their presence for the journey ahead.
- Wilbur leads the group down the infinite staircase as the atmosphere grows darker and the stairs turn red.
- The group discusses their main goal of finding Loki and retrieving a Golden Apple.
- Wilbur suggests taking a boat to reach their destination in the lower plains faster.
The Banks of the River Styx
The party exits the staircase and arrives at a dark, gray plain where they wait for a ferry.
- The party discovers a single lit lamppost by a river identified by Wilbur as the River Styx.
- Wilbur warns the party not to touch the water, noting that it contains floating white wisps.
- A ferryman in a coarse brown cloak approaches the group in a large ferry boat.
- The party boards the ferry and pays the ferryman with gold coins to secure passage.
- The ferryman begins pulling the boat along the river using a long pole.
The Ferry Ride on the River Styx
The party travels across the Gray Wastes on a ferry, passing the city of Pluton and encountering spectral figures in the water.
- The party observes the shore of the Gray Wastes, noting trees made of giant bones and the silent city of Pluton.
- Papa Jan shouts a greeting in Giant to the motionless figures on the shore, who watch the boat curiously.
- A spectral Goliath warrior rises from the water, dripping and familiar-looking but unrecognizable to Papa Jan.
- The ferry passes another boat carrying a group of adventurers, including a warrior, a girl named Jezebel, and a young wizard named Ezekiel.
- The ferry enters a series of caves where the ferryman navigates through forks in the river.
Chaos in the Rapids
The ferry hits rough water, leading to a near-disaster when Wilbur the unicorn falls overboard.
- The ferry enters white-water rapids, jarring the passengers and forcing them to maintain their balance.
- Wilbur the unicorn loses his footing and falls into the dangerous waters of the River Styx.
- The party scrambles to save Wilbur, with one member successfully looping a rope around the unicorn’s neck.
- The weight of the drifting unicorn begins to tip the ferry, causing a frantic redistribution of weight to the front of the boat.
- The ferryman remains indifferent to the crisis, refusing to help or turn the boat around despite offers of gold.
- Glint uses magic to make the rope glow so they can keep track of Wilbur in the thick fog.
The Whispering Secrets and Arrival at the Dock
As the party travels the River Styx, each member hears their deepest secret whispered in their ear, and they arrive at a blackstone dock.
- As they travel, each party member hears their deepest, darkest secret whispered into their ears, leading to a tense and quiet atmosphere on the boat.
- The party members react with unease, exchanging guarded glances and deflecting questions about what they heard.
- The ferry arrives at a blackstone dock made of obsidian near the mouth of a cave.
- The party drags Wilbur onto the shore and discovers that the water of the Styx has stripped him of his memories and knowledge, leaving him a mindless husk.
Arrival at the Red Cave and the Iron Doors
The party enters a cave with red walls and encounters a massive, sealed iron door.
- The party enters a cave where the walls and soil are a deep, natural red color.
- They discover a gigantic iron door, approximately 40 feet tall, sealed shut with massive rings set 20 feet up — far beyond mortal reach.
- The party debates whether to knock, use the rings as handles, or find another way in.
The Titan’s Voice and the Cosmic Horizon
The party attempts to divine the best way to proceed at the iron doors and witnesses a cosmic phenomenon from a nearby cliff.
- Glint casts a ritual spell to seek guidance on whether to open the doors, and a voice identifying itself as a Titan — the king of Titans — responds.
- The party debates the identity of the voice, discussing names like Kronos and Ouranos.
- The Titan offers the party favor and free passage if they enter the cave, despite the adversity within.
- The party expresses concern that helping a Titan might earn them the enmity of gods like Zeus or Hades, and worries the voice could be Loki in disguise.
- Corneleus casts his own ritual to seek an omen, and Urrilon climbs a nearby cliff to scout the environment.
- Glint follows Urrilon up the cliff and the two observe an infinite series of planets floating incredibly close to their current world, with two mountains from different worlds nearly touching in the sky.
The Titan Kronos
The party encounters the chained Titan Kronos within the massive cave and witnesses his gruesome habit of consuming lesser deities.
- The doors open to reveal Kronos, a fifty-foot-tall Titan chained to massive pillars, who is seen eating small humanoid figures from a cage.
- The caged figures are revealed to be captured gods, one of whom is consumed whole before the party’s eyes.
- The party questions Kronos about Loki and Iðunn, learning they passed through about a week prior in mortal time.
- Kronos offers the party safe passage and a guide in exchange for being released via a ritual involving fruit.
- The party declines the immediate offer but promises to reconsider the trade on their return journey, tentatively agreeing to release the good-natured gods from the cage.
- As they move deeper into the cave, the party debates the nature of divinity and what happens when a god is consumed.
The Arch of Justice
The party discovers a mysterious pedestal and archway at the end of the tunnel that demands each traveler speak their deepest secret to pass.
- The party reaches a pedestal with an archway featuring an inscription in an unknown language and the image of Justice holding a sword and scales.
- Glint copies down the mysterious language for later study.
- The party realizes the archway is the only way forward as the tunnel ends here.
- Glint investigates the arch by standing in its center and hears a voice demanding he speak his deepest secret.
- Glint reveals he is a simulacrum created by a wizard to replace a dying son, and that his consciousness and free will are tied to his anchor amulet — removing it would place him under the wizard’s control.
- Upon speaking his secret, Glint vanishes through the archway.
- Umbra steps forward and confesses that she inadvertently led a dark shadow to her monastery, resulting in the destruction of the monastery and the deaths of everyone there, before vanishing.
- Corneleus admits that 60 years ago he chose to pursue an enemy commander instead of saving his brother during a battle, and his brother did not survive, before vanishing.
- Papa Jan reveals that he killed his twin brother in a fight over their father’s warhammer and sought redemption from Lathander, before vanishing.
- Corneleus’s secret — shared only with the players — is that he was a combat instructor at the Citadel of Strategic Militancy who had a shameful encounter with a cleric, leading to a rumored pregnancy and his quiet resignation.
Arrival in the Red Jungle of Carceri
The party finds themselves on a hostile, alien world characterized by acidic ground and razor-sharp grass.
- The party arrives on a smaller planet featuring vibrant but dangerous plant life and red jungles.
- They discover the grass is made of razor blades and the ground is saturated with corrosive acid that eats through metal and cloth alike.
- Glint uses a floating disc to stay above the ground, while others attempt to protect their gear from the acid.
- Corneleus uses a bedroll as a temporary path, but it is quickly dissolved by the environment.
- The party spots eyes watching them from the red jungle as they attempt to navigate the hazardous terrain.
- An Yugoloth emerges from the forest calling out warnings in Common, telling the party to watch out for what is under their feet.
Ambush of the Black Puddings
The party is ambushed by black puddings emerging from the acid pools, leading to a desperate and damaging battle.
- Black puddings emerge from the acid pools and attack the party, attempting to envelop them.
- Corneleus is targeted by an ooze that wraps around him and burns his skin with acid.
- Urrilon is struck by an ooze, taking significant acid damage as the creature pours inside his armor, causing it to begin melting.
- Glint uses magical darts of force to strike the ooze attacking Corneleus, causing it to sizzle and tear.
- Papa Jan invokes a burst of radiant energy that blisters the nearby oozes, then heroically leaps across the acid to reach his allies.
- Umbra launches a flurry of dagger strikes against a pudding, successfully splitting the creature into two smaller oozes, though the acid splashes back and corrodes her daggers.
- Urrilon rages and swings his great axe at the puddings, dealing slashing and radiant damage, but his armor continues to melt from the acid.
- One of the smaller oozes relentlessly attacks Urrilon, eventually knocking him unconscious as his armor falls apart.
- Corneleus falls unconscious as well after being overwhelmed by the oozes.
- Papa Jan performs a heroic leap over a pool of acid, landing within range to provide healing and revive Corneleus.
- Corneleus recovers and unleashes a wave of thunderous force that pushes back the oozes but accidentally catches Urrilon in the blast, knocking him prone into the razor grass.
- Glint fires a bolt of lightning that causes one of the larger puddings to split apart.
- Papa Jan strikes the remaining large ooze with a bolt of radiant energy, nearly destroying it.
- Umbra delivers the finishing blow to the final ooze with a well-aimed dart.
- The party tends to their wounds using healer’s kits and magic after the battle.
Meeting Abby and Learning of Carceri
After the combat, the party speaks with the Mezzoloth named Abby who explains the nature of their current location.
- The party introduces themselves to the Mezzoloth named Abby who had been watching and warning them during the fight.
- Abby reveals that they are in Carceri, a prison plane also known as Tartarus, and warns them that it is nearly impossible to leave.
- The party asks Abby about the whereabouts of Loki and Iðunn, but Abby claims not to have seen them.
- Urrilon discards his ruined, acid-melted great axe into a pool of acid.
- Corneleus uses magic to mold the earth and create a safe path through the razor-sharp grass.
- The party decides to follow Abby to a deeper layer of the plane in hopes of finding a way forward.
NPCs
Wilbur
A unicorn and celestial being who serves as the party’s guide through the planes. After falling into the River Styx during the rapids, he loses all his memories and magical abilities, becoming a simple, mindless creature who chases his own tail.
The Ferryman
A silent, skeletal figure draped in a coarse, sack-like brown cloak who poles the ferry across the River Styx. He accepts coins for passage, communicates only through gestures, and remains completely indifferent to the party’s struggles.
Jezebel
An energetic adventurer in green with a bow staff and wild, frilly hair, encountered on a passing ferry going the opposite direction. She enthusiastically greeted the party.
Ezekiel
A young, cautious wizard of about 14 years old traveling with Jezebel, who warned his companion not to talk to strangers.
Kronos
A fifty-foot-tall Titan with a scruffy beard and hair, chained to massive pillars inside the red cave. He consumes captured gods from a magical iron cage and seeks to be released from his imprisonment through a ritual involving fruit. He offered the party safe passage in exchange for their help.
Abby
A Mezzoloth encountered in the razor-grass fields of Carceri. He warned the party about the dangers lurking beneath their feet during the black pudding ambush and afterward revealed that the party is trapped in Carceri, offering to guide them to a deeper layer of the plane.
Black Puddings
Amorphous, acidic oozes that dwell in the bogs of Carceri. They envelop their prey, corrode metal on contact, and split into smaller versions of themselves when struck by slashing or lightning attacks.
Locations
Infinite Staircase
An almost infinite spiral of stairs that leads down into the lower plains, growing darker and turning red as it descends.
River Styx
A dark, foggy river flowing through the lower planes. Its waters are filled with spectral white wisps and are dangerous to touch, causing those who fall in to lose all memories and knowledge.
The Gray Wastes
A bleak, gray-tinted plane of existence featuring barren land, a river, and trees made of giant bones protruding from the ground.
Pluton
A city of judgment in the Gray Wastes, once ruled by gods of death, where petitioners wait for the afterlife. The party sailed past it on the ferry, observing silent figures watching from the shore.
Blackstone Dock
A dock made of obsidian located at the edge of the Gray Wastes, serving as the arrival point for the party and the entrance to a mysterious red cave.
The Red Cave
A cave with naturally red-tinted walls due to iron-rich soil, housing a massive 40-foot iron door and ultimately leading to the imprisoned Titan Kronos.
The Cliffside Overlook
A high vantage point near the cave where Urrilon and Glint observed an infinite series of planets floating incredibly close together, with two mountains from different worlds nearly touching in the sky.
The Arch of Justice
A solid, glowing lavender marble archway situated on a dais at the end of a tunnel, featuring a symbol of Justice with a sword and scales and an inscription in an unknown language. It requires travelers to speak their deepest secret to pass through.
Carceri
A prison plane also known as Tartarus, characterized by fields of razor-sharp grass, pools of corrosive acid, and red jungles. It is described as nearly impossible to escape once entered.
Items
Rope
Used by the party in a desperate attempt to lash onto Wilbur after he fell into the River Styx, looped around the unicorn’s neck to keep him tethered to the ferry. Glint later used magic to make it glow so Wilbur could be tracked in the fog.
The God Cage
A magical iron cage inside Kronos’s cave containing small, naked humanoid figures who are actually captured gods. Kronos reaches into it to consume them one by one. The party tentatively agreed to release the good-natured gods from it on their return.
The Anchor Amulet
A magical amulet worn by Glint that grants him consciousness and free will as a simulacrum. Removing it would place him back under the control of the wizard who created him. He revealed its significance when speaking his secret at the Arch of Justice.
Corneleus’s Bedroll
A cloth bedroll used by Corneleus as a stepping stone to avoid the acid in Carceri, which was quickly eaten away and filled with holes by the corrosive ground.
Glint’s Floating Disc
A magical platform created by Glint that floats three feet off the ground, used by Glint and Umbra to traverse the acid pools and razor grass safely throughout the encounter in Carceri.
Urrilon’s Half-Plate Armor
Metal armor that was systematically dissolved and rendered useless by the black puddings’ acidic touch during combat, eventually degrading to the point of being a hazard rather than a protection.
Umbra’s Daggers
Multiple blades used in a rapid series of strikes against the black puddings. The acidic nature of the creatures corroded and degraded the daggers with each hit, rendering several of them useless.
Urrilon’s Great Axe
A heavy weapon used to cleave through the oozes during combat. It suffered structural damage and corrosion from the acidic contact and was ultimately discarded by Urrilon into a pool of acid after the battle.
Healer’s Kit
A collection of bandages and remedies used by Papa Jan to stabilize and treat the party’s wounds after their brutal encounter with the black puddings.
Healing Stone
A magical object used by Papa Jan to channel restorative energy into his companions during and after the battle with the black puddings.
Spells
Light
Used to illuminate the rope attached to Wilbur so the party could track the unicorn drifting in the fog of the River Styx.
Augury
Cast as a ritual by Glint at the iron doors to seek divine guidance on whether to proceed. Instead of a simple omen, it resulted in direct communication with the Titan Kronos, who offered the party favor for entering. Corneleus also cast it separately, receiving a similar response.
Guidance
Used by Papa Jan to assist with a check regarding the disappearance of gods from the pantheon.
Prestidigitation
Used by Glint to create small non-magical trinkets like coasters or plates to use as stepping stones across the acid-saturated ground of Carceri.
Mold Earth
Used by Corneleus after the battle to manipulate the terrain, creating a safe walkway through the hazardous razor-sharp grass.
Minor Illusion
Used by Glint and Umbra to create illusory plant life matching the surroundings to obscure their positions from the emerging threats during combat.
Bless
Cast by Papa Jan to bolster the accuracy and resilience of three companions during the black pudding ambush, granting them a bonus die on attack rolls and saving throws.
Misty Step
A short-range teleportation used by Papa Jan to quickly reposition himself across the dangerous acidic terrain during combat.
Magic Missile
Glint fired darts of pure magical force that unerringly struck the oozes, tearing into their amorphous forms and causing them to sizzle and struggle to reform.
Radiance of the Dawn
A holy power used by Papa Jan that emitted a burst of sunlight, searing the black puddings with radiant energy and causing blisters to form on their surfaces.
Protection from Good and Evil
Cast by Corneleus on himself to shield against the malevolent influences of the plane’s denizens during the black pudding encounter.
Darkness
Umbra conjured a 20-foot sphere of magical shadow to obscure her position and that of her allies from the oozes, though she could see within it.
Healing Word
A quick prayer used by Papa Jan to restore vitality to fallen allies from a distance during the heat of battle, reviving Corneleus and Urrilon.
Burning Hands
A fan of flames erupted from Papa Jan’s hands, scorching the black puddings with fire damage.
True Strike
Used by Glint to guide a crossbow bolt with magical precision, dealing radiant damage to a small black pudding and destroying it.
Guiding Bolt
Cast by Papa Jan, striking large oozes with powerful flashes of radiant energy that caused them to boil and fizzle.
Warding Flare
Papa Jan emitted a burst of divine light to dazzle an approaching ooze, imposing disadvantage on its attack roll and causing it to miss.
Thunderwave
Employed by Corneleus to create a burst of sonic force, pushing back the surrounding oozes — but also accidentally catching Urrilon in the blast and knocking him prone into the razor grass.
Witch Bolt
Glint channeled a continuous arc of crackling green lightning into a large black pudding, dealing sustained lightning damage and ultimately causing the creature to split apart.
Cure Wounds
A restorative spell cast by Papa Jan to mend the physical injuries of his allies after the battle.