Chapter Summaries

Cyric grieved the destruction of his forces in Amn and turned back to completing the Cyrinishad, while Aegir led Salian forces through the transformed Rocklands and discovered Bahamut’s paladins. Aaron and his party reached the Abyss by way of the River Styx, where Aaron felt unexpectedly at home and alerted the demon lord Azzagrat to his presence.

• Cyric learned that Eleanor had killed Halken, that his other Amn agents had fallen, and that Amn had outlawed the Church of the Dark Sun, so he resumed sacrificing clerics to finish the Cyrinishad.
• Aegir, Maximian, and Robert led Salian troops against the last goblin band in the Rocklands, but found the goblins already dead and learned that Bahamut’s paladins occupied a nearby church.
• Aegir recognized the paladins as Platinum Knights serving Bahamut and decided to speak with them instead of attacking.
• Aaron’s party traveled down the River Styx with the yugoloth Morgan and hired the ogre Xinlan to guide them through the Abyss.
• After six days, Aaron’s party arrived at a bustling port in Azzagrat, where Aaron found the Abyss’s air sweet and felt at home.
• Azzagrat sensed Aaron entering his domain and rose from his throne, alarmed by Aaron’s powerful affinity with the Abyss.

Aaron and his companions entered Samora, where Annomyn bought an injured halfling thief named Bree despite warnings about the Abyss. As the party traveled through the city, demons ambushed them, and Bree revealed he had lured them there to rob Annomyn before declaring he would kill him to avoid slavery.

• Morgan presented Graz'zt's trading permit to a goristro, and the party was allowed into Samora after being warned to pay taxes.
• Aaron felt welcomed by the Abyss, while Annomyn bought Bree from a merchant after guards mutilated the halfling for theft.
• Annomyn learned Bree's name and tended to his wounds as Xinlan guided the party through Samora's labyrinthine streets.
• Ape demons and vrocks surrounded the party in an alley, and Bree stole Annomyn's purse and joined the attackers.
• Bree admitted he had lured the demons to rob the party, then said he would kill Annomyn because he did not want to be a slave.

Aaron and his companions defeated Bree and his demon allies in Samora, then visited the slave market to seek a way into the Silver Palace. Morgan revealed that Astarion and Daiyan were meant to be gifts for Six-Fingers, leaving Astarion horrified as the group prepared to meet Marietta.

• Aaron and his companions slaughtered Bree's ambush, and Aaron killed Bree after Annomyn questioned him about his betrayal.
• Aaron's group reached Samora's slave market, where an Amazon warrior tried to entice Aaron into a fight and a tryst.
• Morgan pointed out Daiyan, a human woman being held as premium merchandise and intended as a gift for Six-Fingers.
• Morgan told Astarion that he and Daiyan would be gifts for Six-Fingers to help the group enter the Silver Palace.
• Astarion protested that Morgan had promised to take him back to Baldur's Gate, but Morgan said they needed to meet Samora's ruler, Marietta.

Aaron's party entered Samora to seek Six-Fingers Graz'zt's permission to trade and rescue someone, but their gift of Astarion caught the Demon Lord's attention. After Graz'zt approved their visit to the Silver Palace, Aaron secretly charmed Marietta and learned that a special guest was staying there.

• Xinlan explained that Marietta ruled Samora with Graz'zt's backing and protected its Demons from the Blood War.
• Marietta's Tiefling attendant led Aaron's party and Yuzhong to meet her, while Astarion was presented as a gift.
• At Marietta's door, Aaron and Morgan encountered an illusion of Six-Fingers Graz'zt, who became fascinated by Astarion and granted the merchants permission to trade.
• Marietta welcomed the group into her office, where Aaron saw the horrific captives and living furniture, and she permitted them to visit the Silver Palace.
• Aaron cast Slaanesh Charm on Marietta while pretending to fear Graz'zt, and she ordered a Glabrezu to escort the party to the palace, warning them about its special guest.

Aaron and his companions crossed Azzagrat toward the Silver Palace under Six-Fingers’ escort, but the escort was ambushed after a succubus was killed on a battlefield. A Shining Sister arrived to punish the attackers and turned her attention to Aaron’s group.

• Marietta accepted Aaron’s gems and directed him to seek Tarathia, Six-Fingers’ daughter, for help avoiding the special guest.
• Aaron and his companions left Samora with Six-Fingers’ escort and traveled through the dangerous wilderness of Azzagrat toward the Silver Palace.
• The escort found and killed a newly born succubus, triggering a trap that scattered its forces across the battlefield.
• Malcanthet sent a Shining Sister and other succubi to attack the caravan in retaliation for the succubus’s death.
• The Shining Sister killed a Ladies’ Guns soldier, approached the prison wagon, and noticed Aaron and his companions.

Aaron lured Shining Sister Misranda into pursuing him, then revealed his resistance to her charms and defeated her with his powers. He drained nearly all her energy and learned the secrets of Shining Sisters and succubi before her death alerted Malcanthet.

• Misranda singled out Aaron, who disguised himself as a frightened merchant and led her into a gloomy forest.
• Misranda kissed Aaron and branded him with her name, but Aaron erased the mark, resisted her charm, and bound her with Word of Truth.
• Aaron incapacitated Misranda and used the Kiss of Slaanesh to drain her energy and absorb her knowledge.
• Aaron learned that Shining Sisters were incubi elevated by Malcanthet and discovered how she created them and succubi.
• Misranda died, and news of her death reached the 570th Layer of the Abyss, where Malcanthet cried out, "Six-Fingers!!!"

After Daiyan’s self-destruction wiped out the escort, Aaron’s group continued toward the Silver Palace with Morgan forcing them onward through the threat of Astarion’s Hell Contract. They reached Graz’zt’s palace, where Six-Fingers learned that the unannounced gift had arrived.

• Astarion explained that Daiyan had freed herself and exploded, destroying the Balor Yuzhong, the Legendary Glabrezu, and the rest of the escort.
• Morgan threatened to bind Astarion with his Hell Contract unless the party continued, and Xinlan agreed to guide them to the Silver Palace entrance for a higher fee.
• Aaron’s group traveled through the Abyss to a Furnace Portal, where Xinlan used his records of its changing destinations to identify the route to the Silver Palace.
• Aaron and his companions entered the portal and reached Graz’zt’s Silver Palace, while Xinlan stayed behind and hoped they would return.
• A Glabrezu reported to Graz’zt that the gift he had selected had entered the Silver Palace without permission.

Aaron’s party invoked Six-Fingers’ trading law to force the Silver Palace guards to let them seek an audience, while Aaron’s power convinced the demons to stand down. As Graz’zt’s children arrived and began fighting, Six-Fingers ordered them to bring the vampire Astarion to him.

• Aaron displayed Lady Marietta’s token and invoked the Law of Azzagrat, but the guards attacked because they pretended not to understand him.
• Aaron and his companions fought off the guards until the marilith recognized that Aaron had spoken Abyssal and agreed to announce their visit.
• Aaron demanded an audience with Six-Fingers and told the guards to leave his party alone while they waited in the mirrored hall.
• Morgan reminded the group that they had come to rescue Waukeen and told Astarion to buy them time by agreeing to Six-Fingers’ demands.
• Asas and Tarathia argued over whether to seize the guests, then attacked each other before Six-Fingers ordered them to stop and bring Astarion to him.

Aaron persuaded Graz'zt that his party had earned their reward, and Graz'zt sent them to choose treasures while taking Astarion to his bedroom. Astarion broke free of Graz'zt's restraints and summoned Slaanesh, who enthralled the Abyssal Lord.

• Aaron described how Malcanthet's Shining Sisters attacked the escort and claimed his party had defeated them.
• Aaron asked Graz'zt for wealth and power, and Graz'zt accepted his account and offered the party treasures from his Hoard.
• Graz'zt sent Astarion away with him and ordered Tarathia to lead Aaron and the others to the Hoard, warning them that any misstep would mean eternal punishment.
• In Graz'zt's bedroom, Astarion broke free of his restraints and revealed Slaanesh's sacred image.
• Slaanesh manifested through Astarion and enchanted Graz'zt, who eagerly accepted the encounter.

Aaron used Waukeen’s bloodstained coin and the Law of Return to locate the Lady of Wealth, but the golden thread led him to Tarathia in Graz’zt’s Hoard. He chose Tarathia as his prize and used his true appearance to overcome her, while Waukeen’s allies arrived at her cell to free her.

• Aaron transformed into a Lord of Change and used Waukeen’s coin to trace a golden thread through the Silver Palace’s Hoard.
• Aaron followed the thread to Tarathia, who was retrieving Dagon’s Divine Power, and realized the thread connected to her rather than pointing directly to Waukeen.
• Aaron told Tarathia he had chosen her as the Hoard’s most precious treasure, and she laughed before attacking him.
• Aaron transformed into a Keeper of Secrets and revealed his true appearance, arousing Tarathia’s inherited lust and persuading her to accept his choice.
• Waukeen’s allies reached her private cell, and Waukeen told them to take her out immediately.

Aaron uncovered how Six-Fingers had imprisoned Waukeen and planned to make Tarathia the goddess of wealth, then led a party into the Silver Palace to free Waukeen. They escaped her cell, but the alarm sounded and a horde of demons began pursuing them through the palace.

• Aaron learned from Tarathia's memories that Waukeen had entrusted her divine power to Lliira before an astral merchant smuggled her out of Realmspace, and that Six-Fingers later tried to pass Waukeen's authority and portfolio to Tarathia.
• Aaron subdued Tarathia, used an illusion of her to pass the Glabrezu guard, and led his companions to Waukeen's cell.
• Waukeen agreed to help the party escape the Abyss and promised payment and the resurrection of their fallen companions if they brought her to the Eternal Marketplace.
• Aaron killed the Glabrezu guard as Waukeen emerged from her cell, and the party fled through the Silver Palace.
• Morgan, Samir, and Aaron's magic delayed the pursuing guards, but Vine found Waukeen's cell empty and sounded the alarm, starting the chase.

Aaron and his companions fought through Six-Fingers' Silver Palace to escape with Waukeen, using magic and force to get past the pursuing demons. They broke through the palace wall, and Six-Fingers finally learned of Waukeen's escape and ordered Azzagrat sealed while he went after her.

• Aaron's party split up on Tzeentch's Discs as Vine and the Silver Palace guards pursued them, and Aaron used ravens and Golden Hounds to slow the chase.
• A goristro blocked their route and beholders attacked, forcing Aaron to use the Tzeentch's Destiny Tome to deflect their rays while Nastya and Morgan fought to keep the group moving.
• Aaron carried Waukeen over his shoulder, reunited with Morgan and Nastya, and used High Alchemy and his Great Unclean One transformation to smash through the palace wall with her.
• Vine gave up the immediate pursuit and ordered guards to follow the fugitives, while Asas refused to let messengers disturb Six-Fingers in his bedchamber.
• After Astarion's remark made Graz'zt rush from the room, Six-Fingers learned Waukeen had escaped and ordered Azzagrat sealed before setting out to pursue her.

Aaron, Waukeen, Nastya, and Morgan were trapped in Alagathoo as Graz'zt's army surrounded the ruins and blocked their escape. Just as Graz'zt arrived to attack, Slaanesh's forces poured through portals, giving Aaron's group powerful reinforcements.

• Aaron explained that Graz'zt had sealed the Styx and every route out of Azzagrat while a vast Daemon Army gathered outside Alagathoo.
• Nastya revealed that Aaron's deal with Bael had been a trick to distract the devils, and Six-Fingers arrived with his legendary bodyguards and army.
• Graz'zt ordered his forces to attack and demanded that Waukeen stop running.
• Aaron and Waukeen heard a hymn to Slaanesh as portals opened across Azzagrat.
• Prince Sigvald the Magnificent and Slaanesh's daemon legions arrived, and Slaanesh promised Aaron that her people were there to help.

Slaanesh and Khorne’s armies attacked Graz'zt’s forces in Azzagrat while Aaron tried to rescue Waukeen from Alagathoo. Graz'zt ambushed Aaron, but Aaron escaped his binding and struck back; as he and Waukeen fled, a balor blocked their path and Graz'zt closed in behind them.

• Prince Sigvald led Slaanesh’s forces into Azzagrat, throwing Six-Fingers’ rear ranks into chaos as Khorne’s Valkyrie and berserkers attacked from the east.
• Aaron welcomed the Chaos armies, while Graz'zt focused on capturing Waukeen inside Alagathoo and sent guards to attack the city.
• Graz'zt stabbed Aaron with the Acid-Blast Greatsword, bound him with Soul Bind, and prepared to kill him as Waukeen watched.
• Aaron escaped using Slaanesh's Skin-Shedding and smashed Graz'zt’s jaw with Dorn's Fist, then took Waukeen’s hand and fled toward the River Styx.
• A Fire Storm forced Aaron and Waukeen to tumble clear, but a balor landed in front of them as Graz'zt approached from behind.

Aaron fought Six-Fingers Graz'zt in the Abyss after Waukeen chose to trust him, but Tzeentch's reinforcements failed to defeat the Abyssal Lord. Aaron trapped Graz'zt with the Seal of the Four Gods, then summoned a mysterious being from purple smoke to confront him.

• Waukeen overcame her hesitation and took Aaron's hand, choosing to stay with him as he faced Graz'zt.
• Aaron lured Graz'zt toward the far side of the docks, where Sergei and the Pale Fate Legion attacked, but Graz'zt killed Sergei in a mage duel.
• Waukeen shared her hidden spell model with Aaron, who transformed with the Golden Law and fought Graz'zt in a fierce duel.
• Graz'zt knocked Aaron down and prepared to kill him, but Aaron used Thousand Illusions and the Seal of the Four Gods to bind him.
• Aaron summoned a mysterious being from purple smoke, who told Graz'zt they had once loved each other.

Aaron and his allies captured Graz’zt and Slaanesh began draining the Abyssal Lord’s power, but Aaron fled Azzagrat with Waukeen, Morgan, and Nastya as the realm fell to Chaos. Graz’zt broke free with help from his mother, bringing a new battle to Slaanesh and the Three Gods.

• Aaron’s four avatars sealed Graz’zt, and Slaanesh drained the Abyssal Lord’s source power while Aaron revealed that rescuing Waukeen had been part of a plan to capture Six-Fingers.
• As Slaanesh corrupted Azzagrat, Aaron and Waukeen helped Morgan escape two Balors, then reunited with Nastya after she defeated demons with Shar’s artifact.
• Aaron led Waukeen, Morgan, and Nastya to a submarine on the River Styx, where they boarded with Samir, Annomyn, and Eleanora.
• Graz’zt broke free of the Four Gods Seal after discovering that the Great Unclean One was not fully exerting his power, and he called for help from his mother.
• Graz’zt’s mother arrived with hundreds of thousands of demons and restored some of his strength, while Slaanesh prepared to fight her as well.

Pale Night, the Mother of Demons, entered the battle in Azzagrat, healed and resurrected Graz'zt’s forces, and crushed Prince Sigvald and Valkyrie. As she prepared to finish them, Slaanesh appeared to face her in a clash empowered by the will of the Abyss.

• Prince Sigvald was trapped by Six-Fingers’ bodyguards and knocked unconscious by Soul Bind and psychic lightning, while Valkyrie was wounded fighting Khorne’s eastern front.
• Pale Night arrived, freed Sigvald from Soul Bind, healed Valkyrie, and resurrected fallen demons and Six-Fingers’ children.
• Sigvald attacked Pale Night, but she blasted him into the ground; Valkyrie rushed in to save him and was defeated after seeing Pale Night’s true face.
• Pale Night’s arrival rallied the Abyssal forces as the Chaos army began to flee, but Slaanesh appeared and kept Sigvald alive.
• Slaanesh rose to confront Pale Night, setting the stage for a battle between the deity and the Mother of Demons.

Slaanesh battled Pale Night for control of Azzagrat, nearly defeating her before seeing her true face left him helpless with nausea. Pale Night drove him off as more Abyssal Lords arrived, and Slaanesh vowed to return.

• Pale Night attacked Slaanesh, but he blocked her magic and overwhelmed her in close combat.
• Graz'zt escaped toward the Silver Palace with the help of his Thirteen Bodyguards while Pale Night continued fighting Slaanesh.
• Slaanesh disguised himself as Graz'zt to surprise Pale Night, then battered her with Wheels of Torment and appeared to defeat her.
• Slaanesh lifted Pale Night's torn shroud, saw her face, and became so nauseated that Pale Night counterattacked and beat him.
• More Abyssal Lords arrived, and Slaanesh withdrew with his Chaos army, promising to return to the Abyss.

Aaron’s party escaped the Abyss aboard the River Styx submarine after Slaanesh defeated Graz’zt and returned to them. Waukeen brought them to her Divine Realm, the Eternal Marketplace, where her power began to return and she announced her homecoming.

• Aaron told Waukeen that the expedition had targeted Graz’zt from the start and explained how the party had weakened him for Slaanesh to defeat.
• Slaanesh returned with an unconscious Astarion, described fighting Pale Night, and taught Aaron the Endless Magic spells Wheel of Torment and Slaanesh Crusher.
• Aaron ordered the submarine to withdraw as rival Abyssal Lords arrived and prepared to fight after the Abyss’s compulsion vanished.
• The submarine carried Aaron’s party and Waukeen out of the Abyss, and the Abyss’s will brushed Aaron as they departed.
• Waukeen transported everyone to the Eternal Marketplace, where her power returned and she proclaimed that the Golden Lady had come back.

Waukeen returned to the Eternal Marketplace, reunited with Kilian, and rewarded Aaron, Morgan, and their companions for rescuing her. As Lliira arrived to return something Waukeen had entrusted to her, she recognized Aaron and whispered a story to Waukeen that made them laugh.

• Waukeen returned to the Eternal Marketplace, where her divine power recovered and Kilian welcomed her before announcing her return to the crowd.
• Waukeen thanked Morgan and Aaron for helping rescue her and presented them and the rest of the party as heroes of the Eternal Marketplace.
• Waukeen inspected her Golden Temple, sent Kilian to retrieve something from Lliira, and promised the party gold, expenses, a divine-level Wish, sanctuary in her temples, and a small amount of her divinity.
• Waukeen changed clothes and joined Aaron and the others for a feast while they celebrated Six-Fingers' defeat.
• Kilian returned with Lliira, who embraced Waukeen, recognized Aaron, and whispered something to Waukeen that made them laugh.