Chaos erupts on the deck of the ferry bound for Admund Fort as thirty winged demons surround the party and close in for the kill. Dismet suddenly gets the urge to summon help and a name springs instantly to mind. She shouts ‘Ashavia’ at full volume and strange events ensue. A circle of flame surrounds the party, who stare bewildered as the fire seems to make the shape of a pentacle. When the flames meet the deck collapses and they fall....

They are not expecting the fall to be so long, however, and it soon becomes clear that they are travelling down to the lower planes. The name Ashavia was the name of the surrogate demonic mother who carried Dismet as a foetus throughout her gestation.

The party find themselves sat around a strange oval table of great antiquity. It portrays the corridors and gates of the Abyss and behind each of ten mighty chairs is a liquid mirror - the portals that enable quick travel throughout the Abyss. Ashavia appears. She is a lithe young woman with demonic wings and tells them that the table belongs to Gorren, a lord of the Oval Table and a demonic Arbiter of great renown. Eventually Gorren appears to them and tells them that his castle is situated on the Plane of Storms and it is a sanctuary for any creature who wishes to stay and observe his few rules.

Gorren appears as a pleasant old man and introduces them to a few of his more choice guests. They include:- 1) Eracles - a first millennium sorcerer who was a student of the White Council and fled when Kiruk’s barbarian hordes invaded. 2) Hornak - A four-armed demonic dwarf refugee from one of the Abyss’ many wars. 3) Amrilan - A winged devil who takes the form of a young innocent man. Is being hunted by several powerful archdevils. 4) Gwendar the Betrayer - A rare evil elf who sold the blood of his kinsmen to sorcerers for profit and allegedly killed the queen of the elves. 5) Miyamoto - Ancient Darkland Lord who served at the court of Ishtar, the old goddess of combat. A frail, yet wise, old man. 6) Balorn - The last of the fearsome Balrogs. Thirteen foot tall monster. 7) Cerecebos An ex Skarvikian Highpriest who defected from the religion because of his deity’s recent obsession with Dismet.

Salamander, the swordsman the party met whilst travelling through the Bandit Kingdoms, decides to take up Gorren’s offer of hospitality and remains. Dismet, Hyuga, Anstran and Luther say their goodbyes and thank Gorren for his help and advice. The Arbiter sends them back to Greyhawk through one of his many gates.

There is, naturally, a random time distortion between the chaos of the Abyss and Greyhawk and when the party finally arrive back they are not only transposed in terms of location but also in terms of time past. Ten months have elapsed on Greyhawk in the short hours they were at Gorren’s castle and they have been deposited just outside Woodwych, the former capital of Nyrond.

To their horror the four companions find themselves in the middle of a massive exclusion zone set up by the Imperials of the Great Kingdom. It appears that the Emperor of Greyhawk’s largest kingdom has unleashed a plague upon Woodwych and the surrounding area and the dead line the streets of the once great citadel. They decide to leave and head west, easily slipping past the Imperial regiments assigned to prevent anyone getting in or out of Woodwych....

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