Cults and Azathoth

The below summarize the story arc of missions involving Azathoth

Mission: #roll-2d20-kh1
Executor: Aerivandor Rhydane

The guild has commissioned its mercenaries to explore an icosahedron that may belong to the mage that banished Azathoth.

After much deliberation, the group decided to explore the room named War Research

They entered trap filled rooms which is filled with trebuches, ballistas, and puzzles, where they found a peculiar cloak, they entered a room filled with trigger wires, where triggering one will activate a huge, self-reloading trebutchet armed with flaming rocks.

After getting through, the group pushed a big red button, which unlocked another part of the closed iris of the room named Azathoth research.

Mr Deeds promptly escorted the group out of the icosahedron, their mission successful

Mission: #выпускной-нечестивая-церемония
Executor: Natalia Görlitz c/o Aerivandor Rhydane

A missive has been sent to the Mater Superiora of the Church of the Moon Monther, Natalia, about a ritual being completed at the town of Wildrivens. Talking to Aerivandor about this, she was allowed to take a group of mercenaries to disable this ritual circle.

The team went out to Wildrivens to look for clues, but they ran afoul of a group of abberations and kids. Disposing of these creatures, especially one of them who can phase through walls using the shadows, Nyx felt the pull of something to the southwest.

Entering a very familiar manor, the team disabled various fixtures on the walls of trapped rooms, hurting themselves in the process. As soon as the group disabled the last fixture, a demonic dragon attacked them almost instantly. They fight was long and arduous, but they defeated the abomination. However, the death of the dragon caused the death of Cadmus. Thinking on their feet, the group used all of their phoenix charms, along with Solaria's lifewell tattoo. They are able to successfully revive Cadmus. After an emotional reunion, the clerics and the paladins of the Order of the Moon stormed the place, being led by Natalia. After a fruitful conversation, the group was paid by Natalia, and they all headed home, tired, exhausted, and rejoicing.

Mission: #midnight-society
Executor: Zeig Fellspoke

Our mercenaries venture to the mountainous town of Midravens to assist the local church of Ilmater and their connection with the deity. Upon arriving, the town was already covered in a black atmosphere familiar to the ones we've seen before.

Our mercs entered the town to find it empty and desolate, and moved forward, but not before being baited by a girl. They helped her down, and found themselves attacked by what can only be described as teddy bears made from various animal materials. Kaladin himself had his conscience trapped within a mirror world where he found the same girl that is now outside. Managing to get him out of the mirror, but not the girl due to... complications, the group moved on to the church.

The group found cages containing children cannibalizing their own and a giant heart as well as a plant monster that they had to kill. Fortunately, thanks to the potions that they bought from Tallym previously, they were able to best the creatures and bring back light into this town. The return of Ilmater's power to the material plane showed itself in force as a giant, spectral hand slammed into the flesh of the heart, and singed it to dust.

Upon returning outside, they went back to the place containing the mirror the girl, whose name is Alice, picked it up and brought it back to the guild hall.

For all guild members, please do not be disturbed when you look into mirrors when you see a little girl standing right behind your reflection. The little one seemed to have quite a penchant for scaring people.

Mission: #moonlight-sonata
Executor: Zeig Fellspoke

Our scouts have discovered an old house in the mountains with clues that it may be the home of the wizard that has chained Azathoth. They also reported that its old arcane defenses has been breached.

We sent out our mercenaries to go in and check things out, and it seems that the minions of Azathoth has rampaged through the home.

As our adventurers go in, they tackled numerous traps and creatures. Some of them... came out different.

They were, however, able to clear out the mansion. However, they saw an illusion of this wizard talking to someone inside a ritual circle, saying that the wizard needs its help as well as another race. Something we need to look into.

Nevertheless, our mercenaries succeeded and put another piece of the puzzle into how we're going to best this elder entity.

Mission: #meia-culta
Executor: Aerivandor Rhydane

We got a request to clear out the cult of Azathoth in the town of Vienna. As per usual, the mayor does not want to speak to our mercenaries and just want to be left alone.

What's not usual is the cheeriness of the town when our mercenaries got there. It was disturbingly jovial, and accepting.

The group found a trail to follow along and found themselves in a church. Not wanting to enter yet, they gathered information, which they found in the form of a prostitute.

Following the information, they split up, one group sneaked towards the back of the chapel where they found a ritual circle, while the other went on look out. The guards fought the look outs and their blood flowed towards the circle, which completed and formed into a demonic creature they had to fight.

They finished it off, which summoned a tornado which sucked out all its followers and the entire building.

Clearing the rest out, their job done, our mercenaries went back and got their payment.

Mission: #stfu
Executor: Mejjir Ashenscale

Another request has been sent out to clear out a cult of Azathoth. This time, it comes from the Mater Superiora of the Church of Moonlight. It seems that their parish in the city of Remembrance. They are to find a certain priest named Mendez and eliminate the cult.

Danger soon presented itself as soon as the group set foot in the city. Children followed them on foot and ask to play with them. Killing off the children, the group hid and found their rendezvous point. It was here that Thulle attempted to divine information on what to do next. Instead, he came face to face with Azathoth. Thulle then challenged the old one, which caused the entity to have the group fight off a higher demon. The demon slain, the darkness was chased out of the city and the townsfolk appeared again, with no memory of the cult whatsoever.

Looking at the reports, it seems that this cult has a modus operandi. Teleporting civilians within a certain radius. The use of abberations and fiends, as well as the ability to twist certain magics to suit its purpose. Those who follow this tread will need to worry about these.

Mission: #d20 [T1]
Executor: Aervandor Rhydane

The excursion to the icosahedron that was the laboratory of as of yet unknown mage who last imprisoned the entity Azathoth.

Our mercenaries told us that upon entering the room, they were placed in a pure white room with 5 doors and an iris on the floor. On this room as well is a desk and a bell. Upon ringing the bell, a butler of sorts named Mr. Deeds came into view and gave them some information regarding the rooms. According to him, the rooms were retrofitted so as to be a challenge to persons who will try to imprison Azathoth once again. But they were retrofitted in such a way that they still resembled their original purpose.

The group then entered the room named "Bio-Weapons research", which they encountered various beasts, both dead and alive, which seemed to resembled mutated creatures that were bred specifically as weapons. After fending for themselves battling various creatures, they found themselves in a room with a brasier. After lighting it up, the flames revealed a secret room with a coiled sword. They placed the sword in the brasier, the place caught fire, and they were transported back in the main chamber with the Bio-Weapons room destroyed and a single crest lit up on the iris. They asked Mr. Deeds on how to get back, to which Mr. Deeds promptly teleported themselves back into the Material Plane.

Mission: #blue-lantern-corps
Executor: Zieg Fellspoke

A mission came in from Executor Rhydane, calling out an expedition to a ruins located just north of Joevunheim. I called upon our adventures, and explained to them the situation. We have been receiving a lot of contracts from a lot of places that has been experiencing the symptoms of Azathoth's take overs. We simply do not have the manpower to provide to all these. Thus. Aervandor researched into how to stop this phenomena, and found out about the mage who kept Azathoth in chains. He was doing research in a castle about 300 years ago, and we need to scavenge the location for anything that we can use to stop this planar being.

Our adventurers report that they were not alone in the ruins, as the place has been transformed by the take over of Azathoth. Upon entering the castle, they fought abominations that are made of whatever body parts. Defeating those, They found themselves in a caged area where a lot of creatures are being tortured. With nothing to done here, they went ahead and fought 3 cultists, along with a mound of flesh.

After defeating the mound, it started to mutate faster, gaining mass insanely quickly and started destroying the castle. The group, not having anything yet, decided to search the area where they found a secret door. Inside the door, they found an icosahedron and two scrolls, along with a letter.

The letter contains messages from the arcanist, and that he has left behind his laboratory as a challenge to who ever tries to beat Azathoth. Along are the two spells necessary to complete the ritual. I have sent these to Aervandor for study, with the hopes that they can end this soon enough.

Mission: #ghost-town
Executor: Zieg Fellspoke

A contract came in from a town called Dirranach. It seems that the townsfolk has gone missing, and is now being covered in darkness. We have sent our mercenaries to investigate, upon which they found that spirits are being called to the town. They fought one of the wolf creatures, they fought bravely, but a light from the center of the town called to their attention.

Thus, they hurried along. What they found is a ritual circle for which there are five humanoids chanting, as well as over two hundred ghosts in a congregation.

They managed to stop the humanoids from completing the ritual, and upon further investigation, one of the mercenaries had a vision. A mage, holding a scroll and muttering an encantation, while the entity described as Azathoth was bound in chains in a ritual circle which seemed to be dragging him down. After breaking the ritual, the light returned to the town, and the villagers exited from their houses, their faces torn with visible confusion.

Notes: It seems that our adventurers have found a way of stopping, or at least slowing down Azathoth. They have found part of an arcane ritual circle, which I will be passing on to Executor Rhydane for study.

Mission: #sacred-memories
Executor: Mejjir Ashenscale

Our mercenaries venture out into the town of Dinacia, as they had been corresponding with its Mayor, Rucio Dinacia. However, correspondence stopped a week ago, ending with a bag of gold and a letter which just said "Help us"

Thus,  our mercenaries were tasked to find the Mayor, and stop whatever has been happening in this town.

What our adventurers found there were nothing short of disturbing. The chapel for both Pelor and Selune were being renovated to become a chapel for an unknown deity, called the "All seer", whose symbol is an eye encased in a pyramid. Almost everyone they talked to ended the conversation with the phrase "may the all seer be with you", and the town mayor is missing. They tried to talk with the mayor's secretary, a certain Donna Dinacia, but she was currently unavailable.

Upon speaking with one of the town guard, they confirmed that all of this started about two weeks ago, and that this new religion gained a lot of followers very quickly, to the point of the renovation of the chapel.

The group decided to sneak about in the city hall during the night, but plans were ruined when evening transformed the nice, quaint town into a hellish nightmare. Tentacled wolves attached to shadows attacked them, and the townsfolk seemed to be in a trance, getting no responses from the mercenaries.

Taking quite the damage from the wolves, they rested for a bit and headed straight for the chapel, which Thulle determined was a place that is being heavily desecrated.

Upon reaching the chapel, They found two mindflayers in an attempt of sacrificing an unconscious Rucio Dinacia. They battled the abberations, which proved to be a challenge as the mindflayer's psychic abilities kept them in check. It got worse as they called upon more wolves to attack. One of them attempted to shift from this plane, but Kaiser was able to counterspell the creature. Father Thulle, with the blessing of Selune, managed to dispel the ritual circle, thus ending the conflict.

There was a lot of confusion among the townsfolk after the incident, and Donna Dinacia is nowhere to be found.

Things of note: Kaiser reported that this is a global phenomenon, as he saw this scenario happening everywhere. Pleiades reported that this has something to do with a being called Azathoth, from the astral sea. Everyone gettin to these missions should be of steel mind and will, as horrors and mysteries encoat them.

Mission: #rescue-rangers
Executor: Aerivandor Rhydane

The construction company working on rebuilding Silvergate has complained that some evil was afoot. Mercenaries reported seeing darkness envelop Silvergate. They entered the town, upon which the town itself is attacking their mind and memories. Apparitions, memory stealers, and visions so gruesome attacked them.

At the end of it all, a glabrezu and chasme carried a petrified deva into a magical circle, which Kaiser deduced to be a ritual circle used for summoning. The group attacked them, and released the angel from its petrification. Upon defeat of the glabrezu, it exploded and dispelled the darkness. Having saved the angel, our mercenaries went back home to collect their reward.

Notes: Lian and Alfhieour returned changed persons. Lian has become this cold, confident, and serious person. Alfhieour, on the other hand, seemed to have bloodlust in his eyes. Also, the team has returned with a name of who might be doing this. Azathoth.

Also, similar happenings are starting all over the world.