The Rectifiers were escorted to one of the towers of Lord Efreet’s castle where mages awaited with a portal. As they walked, they took note of the research rooms, armories, and barracks. It seemed this group did not lack for resources. The awaiting portal would lead the Rectifiers just outside the lair of the demon. Before departing, they were given a blue ring that had limited enchantment charges, but it would protect the group from lethal flames should they encounter any. The group stepped through, bringing Selina with them on this adventure.
They arrived in a tunnel far below, heated by scant flames still burning on what must have been a battlefield. There were bodies of Mataran races, notably dragonborn, scattered across the rocks. They wore scorched armor with a flame logo etched on the plate. What seemed to be their opponents almost seemed to be wearing Mageron armor. It was a sleek black plate that was very lightweight. These soldiers also wore black furs and pointed gauntlets. The strange thing that was noted was that all the bodies were just bone and ash. It appeared this scuffle had happened long ago. In front of them stood a scarlet red fortress. Before approaching the fortress, they noticed movement in a pile of bodies.
With Duma Van’s help, the Rectifiers were able to clear away some bodies to reveal a still living figure. He sat leaned against more of his fallen allies and enemies. He had windswept brown hair on his left side, but the right side of his face and neck were severely burned. Though he once had two green eyes, one now sat white, likely blinded. He spoke a language unfamiliar to the Rectifiers and tried reaching for a sword in a panic. Gale pushed the blade away with her magic and tried to offer the man some water, but he refused, still in panic. At last, he sliced his wrist and performed a spell with his spilled blood to translate his language. He was indeed Mageron.
They learned this man was a mage from a time before the Dooms named Calathan. He recalled bits and pieces of his past, but it was becoming fragmented due to being kept alive for so long. He wore a necklace that seemed to have been enchanted by his wife to extend his life before he left for Matar. They learned that during his time, the Magerony ruled over Matarans. He and his allies were sent to this keep to quell a sort of rebellion that was forming. This rebellion was being led by what the Matarns saw as “gods”, but they were truly beings of supreme magical talent that unlocked the potential of natural magic rather than the humanity-based magic of the Magerony. Calathan still held some of his prejudices from being from the Magerony, such as some races not being superior due to their synthetic nature and Mataran magic being much weaker than Mageron. The Rectifiers did their best to re-situate Calathan in the world in which he now found himself. He seemed sad at the idea of the Founders allegedly awakening the Doom. Finally, he wished to strike out into this new world at the side of the Rectifiers, at least while he could piece together what truly happened with his country, for it seemed quite a shock that the Magerony no longer ruled Matar.
Inside the fortress, the group found winding hallways, destroyed labs, and scorched study areas. They used their enchanted ring a few times to pass through burning doorways but ceased using its limited charges after wasting one on an empty room. Cave goblins were lurking about, a result of Lord Efreet’s men cracking open the fortress as Calathan said his men did not even breach the door in the old days. At last, the heroes found a larger tunnel at the end of the fort that held their bounty.
In this final room, they found the fiery red demon, a near 10-foot tall creature that was basically a floating torso. Instead of legs, it seemed to hover with the assistance of a permanent fiery vortex. Its head was nearly triangular, with dark red horns sprouting from it. It was chained to the back wall with enchanted manacles, and it seemed to be dormant. They took a moment to investigate the other things in this room: prototypes and unfinished projects of the “god of fire” Greth, though the way Calathan spoke, it did not seem that these figures were actual gods, but more paragons with intense magical powers. One of the prototype projects seemed to be an early version of the cocoons that toyed with blood that purified Vint in Haven. Though all this existing would imply that Greth lived through the Dooms, Selina reported that he had never spoken of them. In fact, he seemed to be mostly unfamiliar entirely.
The Rectifiers decided to approach the demon and speak to it. It introduced itself as the Grand Agony of Lord Greth, a creation of Greth’s that appeared to be the essence of fire materialized into a physical being. It added that he was created in an effort to fight against the Magerony, but Greth decided to not unleash the Agony upon them out of fear of the potential destruction. When asked if he would fight back if they chose to fulfill their task, he replied that he indeed would incinerate them where they stood, but he offered an alternative. Should the heroes bind him to a relic, he would agree to release his power onto a target, as the Agony saw this as a more fitting end. He would serve a purpose, a purpose he was initially created to fulfill. The Rectifiers decided to agree to this alternative, going back on their deal with Efreet. With Selina’s help, they bound the Agony to a cloak. Once the ritual was complete, the Agony dispelled some of the intense heat to allow the heroes to use the ring to return to Efreet’s castle.
Upon their return, Efreet’s allies at once knew that the deal had not been honored at the sight of the Agony. They escorted them back to Efreet’s office. Lord Efreet appeared displeased but not entirely angry. He demanded recompense for the enchanted ring, since he would not be receiving what he sought. The Rectifiers agreed to pay the sum. They prepared to leave, assuming Efreet would no longer offer his second deal, but he stopped them to begin negotiations. He asked The Rectifiers only step into his back room to see the details of the offer.
The door shut behind them as they entered. Two mages stood in spell trances, keeping some spell active. Whatever was giving off the pale blue light was covered in curtains on the far side of the room. Efreet stepped over with the help of his cane and ripped the curtains down. Revealed was a glass tube with a woman suspended in a spell. The woman had long dark hair and blue-scaled horns, wings, and a tail. Lord Efreet had Sariel, sister of Selina, captured in his castle. He claimed he pulled her forth from the realm she hid in himself. This explained the fiery spells The Rectifiers saw when they last spoke to Sariel. For her return, Efreet wanted Selina herself.
Expanding on his deal, Efreet stated he and his associates would leave Matar with Selina, likely to never see The Rectifiers again. She would not be harmed, far from it apparently. The Rectifiers decided to pull Selina in to see what her thoughts were. At first mention of her sister, she barged through the doors to immediately put one of her swords to Efreet’s throat. In response, Efreet threatened that if he died, so would Sariel. Selina begrudgingly lowered her blade to also hear the details.
Eventually, Selina agreed to effectively trade herself to save her sister. She seemed sad, but also mostly resolved in the decision. After all, she had saved whom she saw as her son from certain death, and would now save her sister. She told The Rectifiers her jealousy and scorn for her sister is what caused her to do all the terrible things she had done in the past. It was only fair for her to pay the price to right the wrongs. She gave her farewells and said that she did indeed have one last loose end she would have liked to see through, but there was no longer enough time. She bid The Rectifiers a final farewell as Efreet transported Sariel back to Amanta’s throne room. The Rectifiers somberly left Efreet’s castle with two new allies, but one lost.
Back at the new capital’s castle, the nobles were already in a clamor outside the throne room’s portal. They spotted a few additional councilors that had arrived to Amanta, likely to help with the war effort. Deciding against mingling, The Rectifiers rushed through to the throne room. There, they found Sariel supported by her nephew Aurum, trying to recover her strength. The Rectifiers shared the sad news when asked about her sister. Both her and Aurum were devastated by the news, but they also seemed to understand her choice, having both been saved by her efforts to right her wrongs. Sariel got fully to her feet and told The Rectifiers she had much news to share and many foes to fight alongside them. The various heroes and representatives of Matar prepared themselves to plan for the final assault on Saren’s forces…