Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus Fully Narrated Story (Dungeons & Dragons)

welcome back for my narration of the entire story of the dungeons and dragons adventure baldur's gate descent into avernus this series has taken me over 75 hours up to this point so i really appreciate those of you that have been watching if you've already been following this series and you want to skip right away to a certain part i'll make sure to leave timestamps below in the description as well as in the comments as many of you know descent into avernus is in many ways a prequel of events to baldur's gate 3. but keep in mind with dungeons and dragons these stories can go in many different directions but the cool thing is that larian studios has hinted to us which ending they had in mind for descendant to avernus which leads right into baldur's gate three at the end of the video we'll talk more about that before i get started i'll say thank you to all channel members and patrons and give a special shout out to photar forest walker mike guyer and jay without you guys i honestly don't think i would have started or continued this series it's just been a hell of a lot of work i feel like i'm at a university once again so if you guys end up enjoying this video please subscribe there'll be much more balder's gate 3 content on the way links to my twitter and my discord server will be below let's talk the story of descent into a furnace [Music] it's the year 1494 dal reckoning over a century after the events of baldur's gate 1 and 2 have occurred the holy city of altarel has disappeared from the forgotten realms and descended into a vernis the first layer of the nine hells a vernis was a charred wasteland of vast ashen plains with occasional foothills and mountains heaped with broken rocks and it was ruled by arch devils eltarel was a city-state lying on the river chianthar which is the same river baldur's gate is located on it was a city of great prosperity a center for agriculture and trade and therefore a competitor of baldur's gate what el torell was currently undergoing would soon become the fate of baldur's gate as well if something is not done 142 years before the start of descent into a verness in 1352 dal reckoning an angel named zeriel had led an army out of el torell to go fight in the blood war in avernus which was the main site of the majority of the war's conflicts the blood war was an ongoing chaotic war between devils and demons demons were chaotic evil and they wanted the destruction of everything living while devils were of a lawful evil alignment and wanted to preserve the worlds of the living for without them they would have no one to enact their own evil schemes on no one to dominate a war of two evils however if the demons were to succeed it would be the end of everyone the celestial zeriel watched as this war raged on destroying vast swathes of the multiverse in the process she chastised her peers for not getting involved with the blood war for she felt it was an angel's responsibility to destroy evil rather than stand back and watch one day she had had enough and she left mount celestia and went to the city of el torell where she was able to rally an army of warriors to fight in the blood war and help put an end to the great evil that was affecting everyone zariel and her army descended into the first layer of the nine hells avernus and an epic charge known as the ride they took their fight to the archdevil bell in his infernal legions and while many did fight bravely the horrors of the nine hells proved far too great for some the ones that fled back through the portal sealed it behind themselves betraying their own people elterrel's army was known as the hell riders and they were well renowned and respected but this shameful betrayal would be a badge of dishonor they would carry to their graves zariel's army would ultimately be defeated and she was captured and sent to the lowest lair of the nine hells nessus to be brought before the lord of the nine hells the ruler of all devils asmodeus to her surprise asmodeus welcomed her with open arms and commended her for her battle prowess and strength of her convictions asmodeus would offer zeriel rulership over avernus herself if she were to swear fealty to him in the nine hells in this position of power she could let out her rage on the demons with her own legions of devils although both sides of the blood war are evil the demons certainly possess more of a threat of complete chaotic destruction zariel once an honorable heroic celestial accepts asmodeus's terms and ultimately becomes an archdevil of avernus in her newly acquired position of power zarielle has not forgotten the hell riders that betrayed her and she kept her eye on the city of el torel waiting for the day where she could enact her revenge that day came in 1444 del reckoning when the city of el torell was conquered by a vampire lord zariel saw this as an opportunity for the city was in panic and desperation she would emerge from a pillar of fire and speak to a priest of torm named thavius creed who was desperate for any and all help to save himself in the holy city they would make a deal but zarielle was not in the business of saving the city that betrayed her devious signed a contract with zariel that would bring him great personal gain and power over the city but in the long run cause its destruction as it will be taken over by zeriel herself the details of this infernal contract would be kept in an infernal puzzle box and you will eventually seek this out to aid in your knowledge for saving not only el terel but baldur's gate as well after this deal was made a radiant sphere created by zeriel called the companion appeared in the sky over the city of el toro the companion was a blazing like second sun powered by a planetary improvised within it and it bathed eltarel and the surrounding countryside in a holy light the light laid waste to the undead army in the city and has sent the vampire lord scrambling for the shadows the city was saved and thavius would take credit for summoning the companion he was held as the savior of the city and rose to become its higher overseer but then the day finally came when it was zariel's turn to reap the benefits of the contract fabius aware of what was soon to come urged the grand duke of baldur's gate alder ravenguard to visit his city of el torell to help solve some standing disputes between the two cities alder ravenguard was also a lifelong soldier and current marshal of the flaming fist which were a mercenary band that served as the city guard for baldur's gate ravenguard was highly disciplined and possessed a great sense of duty to his city but he was reluctant to go on this diplomatic mission for he knew that it was unlikely that thavius truly had good intentions for both cities eventually he was convinced to make the journey to el torell by the other dukes of baldur's gate but mainly by a woman by the name of falamra vanthampur the companion in the sky once a savior of the city then began to transform from a radiant sun into a black orb emitting cackling powerful energy the city of el torell was then ripped from the material plane and the city and all of its inhabitants were transported to avernus thavius krieg however had left the city knowing what was to transpire but alder ravenguard was unfortunately present to attend the diplomatic meeting that he didn't want to attend in the first place el torell was teleported to avernus and is now anchored by the chains of avernus and the city is doomed to drown in the river sticks if nothing is done to save it the river styx was also known as the blood river as a river that's linked to the topmost layers of the lower plains and offered a way to travel between these planes styx was the backbone of the blood war and demons would attempt to use it to enter a vernis from the abyss those who touched or drank from the river would completely forget their past and their souls would be easy prey for denizens of the lower plains thavius krieg has arrived at baldur's gate with news of el torell's destruction he was able to slip through the city's gates and take refuge with none other than falamra vanthampur the duke who was set on convincing alder ravenguard to go to el torell this is where your story begins for descent into a vernis you find yourself at the basilis gate which was an entrance into baldur's gate located on the northeast side of the city there's an influx of refugees from el torel and with the disappearance of alder ravenguard the city is beginning to enter a state of chaos at the gate is a flaming fist captain named captain zodge who is attempting to hold the peace through less than decent measures for he wants to impress commander porter a flaming fist commander of a different stronghold she has been summoned to take control of the flaming fist in baldur's gate without the leadership of alder ravenguard the flaming fist is starting to lose control captain zog spots your party and says the refugee crisis has stoked fears that baldur's gate might suffer the same fate as elterel of which nothing remains but a hole in the ground apparently our grand duke alder ravenguard was visiting el torrel on a diplomatic mission when the city was destroyed coincidence i think not the knights of altergard call themselves the hell riders a few of them escape the destruction and think we're somehow to blame for el torell's downfall what a bunch of self-righteous rabble-rousers we're arresting them on site but that's left us short-handed to deal with another problem and for that i need your help [Music] refugees from elder guard gather at the basilis gate hoping to gain entrance into baldur's gate you and your party watch as a flaming fist baldur's gate city guard attempts to control angry mobs oftentimes using less than decent methods furthering the chaos the city of el torrel has been ripped from faerun and transported to the top layer of the nine hells avernus so those who have escaped are seeking help from baldur's gate a captain of the flaming fist named darmin zodge tells you and your party that you must help for the flaming fist is too tied up with the refugees and cannot deal with other problems within the city in times of emergency the flaming fist is empowered to draft adventurers and if they refuse the adventures can actually be legally executed captain zaj goes on to tell you that followers of the dead three baneball and merkel are taking advantage of the current crisis in the city to commit murder sprees and he wants you to help take care of that problem and is willing to pay captain zaj says a few blocks from the basilis gate is elfsong tavern a spy named tarina hangs out there gathering rumors for the guild she owes me a favor so tell her that you work for me ask her what she knows about the dead three and for the love of baldrin be nice tarina has dangerous friends arriving at the elfsong tavern you witness pirates attempt to seek vengeance on torina for she used to be a pirate herself and was known for cheating in a game called baldur's bones if you aid tirina she survives the encounter and gives you the information you seek she shares with you that followers of the dead 3 have been spotted going to and from a public bathhouse northwest of elf song tavern that there should be a secret door there that leads to a dungeon that they are operating out of you and your party find and enter the dungeon of the dead 3 where you fight your way through the secret base of operations until you near a flooded chamber and hear the sounds of battle within the chamber are floating corpses and you see a man with a giant club standing there who goes by the name mortlock of anthempur instead of attacking you he tries to forge an alliance although he was sent here to help the dead three cultists his brothers have turned against him and hired some of the cultists to assassinate him mortlock reveals to you that his mother duke vanthampur is paying the dead 3 cultists to murder people in the city to prove that the flaming fists cannot do its job if the city stops paying the flaming fist the flaming fist may leave the city and no one can stand in the way of his mother no longer seeing mortlock as a threat you and your party move on and find the treasure that is being used to finance the dead three the treasure has been somehow stolen from the evil dragon goddess tiamat who is trapped in avernus duke vanthampur must be working with some higher powers to acquire treasure like this and zeriel is likely this higher power if duke vanthampur is working with zeriel and takes over the city it's almost certain that baldur's gate will suffer a similar fate to that of their previous neighboring city elterrel a city chained to a vernis hovering over the river's styx mortlock has revealed to you where his two other brothers are likely to be so you and your party head to the docks to the low lantern a tavern located inside an old merchant ship there one of martlock's brothers amrick is conducting some shady business and when you approach him he recognizes your attempts to deceive him and gain information so battle ensues mortlock surrenders not wanting to be killed and you and your party take him as your captive also in the tavern you meet a lawful good female human hell rider named rhea mantlemorn who has been watching mortlock and your party you learn that she came to baldur's gate when her city was transported to avernus but is laying low for the flaming fist or arresting hell riders on site rhea is investigating a rumor that thavius krieg elterrell's higher overseer is actually in baldur's gate and not with his city that was transported to avernus and although she does not know of his treachery she wants answers as to why her city has suffered such a horrendous fate reya joins your party for your goals overlap for she's watching the vanthampur family closely to see if she can decipher thavius's whereabouts it is clear now that the vanthampur family is a tremendous danger to baldur's gate so you and your party head to the upper city of baldur's gate where the family's villa is located having amrick as your prisoner allows you to gain entrance into the wealthy upper city for america fears for his life and helps out your party for that reason alone the vantham per villa is a stately stone edifice with a detached stable house having amrick with you has proved to make navigating this villa much easier eventually you find thirstwell's bedroom a third of the brothers and thirstwell himself is within he attempts to defend himself with his invisible imp but you and your party subdue him and begin interrogating thirstwall reveals some important information he tells you that his mother the duke is in the dungeon below the villa with thavius krieg and they are both plotting to overthrow baldur's gate he reveals that he and his brothers have stolen the shield of the hidden lord from a crypt underneath the city when the dead three cultists were stirring up chaos and it's currently below in the vantham per dungeon the shield of the hidden lord is a powerful artifact and serves as a prison for a powerful devil named gargoth this devil has vowed to help the vanthampers and thavius and thavius is confident that he has devised a way to release gargoth from the shield you also learned that favius arrived with the infernal puzzle box which is the magic item that contains the infernal contract between zeriel and himself and after successfully picking a lock to a chest in thirst wall's room you acquire this puzzle box you and your party head to the dungeon underneath the villa and find the duke the lomra vanthampur kneeling before an altar she greets your party with hostility and battle ensues palmera possesses some magical powers bestowed upon her by zeriel her infernal patron but you and your party preval and take her life just before hearing her last words i'll see you in hell within the dungeon are prisoners one of which goes by the name phallister fisk he urges your party to go to candlekeep the renowned library fortress to meet with silvira savikas a tiefling sage who has been monitoring the activity in baldur's gate in el torell she may be able to open the infernal puzzle box fallister had previously memorized the floor plan of the villa and aids your party in searching the rest of the dungeon when you get to the vantham per vault you use a key obtained from thalamra's body and opened the door to find thavius krieg along with the shield of the hidden lord hanging on the wall behind phabius attempts to plead his innocence to your party and rhea in particular for she serves el torell but his stories don't hold up if your party kills thavius you may encounter him again in hell as a devil in the back of the room the trapped devil gargoth telepathically reaches out to you referring to himself as the hidden lord claiming to be a celestial being who will help you and your party rescue eltarel if you take the shield with you to the nine hells not ready to make any drastic decisions your party takes the shield and heads back to captain zodge during your meeting with zod commander porter arrives and thanks your party for your help and urges you to pursue on your quest she even gives your party horses to expedite your journey to candle keep at candle keep you meet silvira who was able to open the infernal puzzle box and you find out that fabius has forfeited eltarell and all of those bound by oath to defend el torell which includes rhea to zeriel in exchange for the 50 years of light the companion offered which initially saved eltarel from the vampire lord and ultimately gave thavius rulership for that period of time well that time is obviously up for thavius left eltarel just before the companion turned into a black orb and ripped eltarel from the material plane and into avernus zeriel is now starting to reap her benefits of the infernal contract silvira then tells the party to be cautious of the shield of the hidden lord it is a symbol of good's triumph over evil but with the powerful devil inside has the power to corrupt everything around it and that it should be locked away from any corruptable souls it's your party's decision with what to do with it your party must now head to avernus for you are now altarel's primary hope for salvation learning of the infernal contract leads you to believe that the only way to possibly save elterel and have it be returned from avernus is by heading to avernus yourself and finding a way there's more on the line than just eltarell's fate however for zeriel has turned her eye to baldur's gate for she wants as many corruptable souls in a vernis as she can get to fight the demons in the blood war alder ravenguard the duke of baldur's gate should be trapped in el torell so it might be a good idea to find him silvira then sends you off on some griffins to traxxagore's tower traxxagor is able to cast the plane shift spell to get you and your party to avernus when you arrive you find an otter for traxxagore has polymorphed into an otter and prefers his new form with traxxagore is a holly font named lulu who will accompany you to avernus holly fonts were gold-furred elephant-like creatures from the upper plains who acted as servants of the powers of good lulu used to serve zeriel before zeriel became an archdevil and she accompanied zariel and the hell riders 50 years prior when they attacked avernus but were defeated this was when zarielle was an angel when zariel knew she was going to be defeated she entrusted lulu and her most loyal general yal to help find a way to hide her powerful celestial sword so could not be taken by anyone from the nine hells yal plunged zariel's holy blade into a stone in a vernis and lulu poured every ounce of her celestial being into it a fortress sprung up around the sword hedging out all evil lulu and yao were then separated and lulu found herself wandering averness for months until she came upon a merchant that ended up splashing her with water from the river styx this caused lulu to lose most of her memories as well as her spell casting powers zariel now an archdevil of avernus after asmodeus summoned her found out about lulu but could not bring herself to harm her former friend but nor could she abide lulu's presence so zeriel sent lulu to faerun with some mental faculties restored when your party is ready to go traxxagor has you all stand in a circle taps a tuning fork on the floor and casts his plane shift spell welcome to avernus [Music] elterel once a prosperous city of agriculture and trade is now a city of doom and despair tethered by great chains that bind the city to jagged posts of infernal iron it would have already been completely overrun by devils if it was not for a massive surge of demons attacking the devils on the ground below loud horrific sounds can still be heard hundreds of feet below as demons crawl forth from the murky waters of the river styx to be met by the ordered forces of avernus attempting to drive them back traxxagor's plane shift spell has brought you and your party to the city or what's left of the city for much of it is in shambles although the city is not completely overrun yet denizens of the nine hells can be seen causing havoc in every direction upon arrival lulu your halifant companion has regained her innate spell casting ability light and is starting to also regain some of her memories that she lost in the past when a devious merchant splashed water from the river sticks on her just the mere presence of averness is triggering some of these memories to come back and they may prove useful to your party raya mantelmourne the hell rider who had sworn an oath to protect the city and is currently assisting your party advises that heading to the high hall cathedral might be the best plan for finding some sort of leadership in the city on your way to the cathedral you see three bearded devils going after a woman and her two sons you and your party interfere just in time and capture the devils yourself after interrogating them you learn that the spiked posts that bind eltarel to avernus are slowly being drawn into the ground if this is to happen eltarel will end up being pulled into the river sticks and all will be lost time is of essence the woman you saved also reveals to your dismay that many of el torell's citizens had died when the city was transported to a vernes the city is now currently split into two with two bridges that once spanned a ravine in the city being all that connects the east and west sections of el torel high hall is on the west side and you and your party are on the east so you must head to one of these bridges as you venture through the streets of horror earthquakes rumble the foundation and buildings crumble spine devils batisus zombies ghouls ghasts and even some types of demons such as boulezhouse have made their way up to the city to wreak havoc you are forced to fight your way through some of these unavoidable encounters your party even spots a narzugan which is also known as a hell rider and this powerful devil is riding a nightmare which is a hell horse lulu warns you and your party that this creature should be avoided at all costs rhea guides your party through the streets until you reach the southern bridge on the bridge you spot some bearded and spine devils standing guard with the orders to cut off any assistance attempting to cross the bridge this looks to be a risky fight but you notice that on the bridge are runes etched into the stone work this bridge must have been consecrated in the name of torm the god of courage you speak a prayer to torm and the runes activate dealing intense radiant damage to the fiends on the bridge making this not nearly as much of a challenge as before you and your party cross the bridge as the sounds of the blood war going on hundreds of feet beneath the river are amplified eventually you make it to high hall but unfortunately it seems to be a point of focus for many of the devils as you witness as an assault on the cathedral is well underway sneaking your way through the rubble in the courtyard of the cathedral your party narrowly escapes the senses of the hellhounds roaming about looking for any survivors once you enter the cathedral the time for stealth is over and you and your party fight bravely against all sorts of horrors until you find and enter into the main crypt of the cathedral which is now the home and hiding spot for over 100 frightened altarel citizens an acolyte in the crypt named ferria tells you that alder ravenguard the duke of baldur's gate is in fact leading the resistance of the city that he once had no respect for ravenguard had gone out with a group of guards to the city's grand cemetery to investigate the proliferation of undead in that area but he should have returned by now your mission is clear and you and your party take a tunnel under the cathedral's catacombs that leads to the outside of high hall and you head to the grand cemetery in search of alder ravenguard approaching the cemetery you notice that the 10-foot high brass fence that once surrounded it has fallen in numerous places and on top of some of the fence spikes are severed humanoid body parts several graves have been dug up and a number of stone molecules stand vacant with their doors hanging open you and your party head to the chapel of light in the cemetery and out of nowhere a group of minotaur skeletons charge at your party knocking many of you through the stained glass windows of the chapel fighting for your life one of your party members a devout follower of the god lathander notices runes of the fander on the windows glass and speaking a quick prayer reveals a glowing powerful weapon with this weapon your party defeats the minotaurs and decides to head deeper into the chapel to investigate arriving in the vestment chamber you see a priest formerly known as gideon lightward standing there with two mezzoliths which were low-ranking yugoloths instead of attacking you he turns his attention to a staircase where a fiendish giant scorpion followed by five dredges rushes up there must be a demon portal nearby after killing the scorpion and the small demons gideon does not attack you for his current focus is on killing demons in the name of the one who has corrupted him zariel your party's skilled in persuasion and you convince gideon that you're only here to slay demons gideon then reveals to your party that an armed group of humans entered the ossuary earlier it must have been alder ravenguard leaving the chamber behind thankful that gideon seemed to be in a good mood you and your party moved on to find the vault of ascendance you immediately notice a man with armor emblazoned with the emblem of the flaming fist and a shield slung over his back crouching among the many bodies scattered throughout the room it must be alder ravenguard his eyes are closed and his hands are clutching at a gold helm on his head as if he is trying to in vain clawed off a mixture of saintly words and cruel hissing spills from his lips after fighting off some wild eyed minotaurs that have came from the portal nearby reya notices that alder ravenguard is wearing the helm of torm's sight this helm is supposed to allow its wearer to establish a connection with the god of courage himself torm but it seems like that connection has been compromised somehow this likely has to do with the portal nearby that demons are using to enter the city alder seems to be battling a demonic presence that is attempting to take over his connection with torm you then remember that the acolyte faria you talked to back in the main crypts of high hall specialized in exorcism and possession and that might be the best bet for helping alder ravenguard escape this fragile mental state that the helm locked on his head seems to be causing returning to the cathedral faria says that the demonic essence intertwined with torm's presence by the way of the helm can be cast out with a proper ritual spell as the ritual takes place demonic spirits loyal to befamet emerge from the helm as two willow wisps but your party resists their attempts to disrupt the ritual and alder ravenguard ultimately regains his faculties and he has much to reveal to you the god of courage torm has shown him a path forward and although his vision was clouded and warped by the demonic essence alder is able to recall his spiritual journey he remembers seeing a bloodied woman in armor carrying a long sword fit for an angel and she is accompanied by a golden elephant with fluttering wings an enormous loping demon threatened to devour the woman but she plunged the sword into the ground while the winged elephant made a trumpet sound with its trunk the demon was hurled back as an alabaster palace rose up around the sword the winged elephant took to the sky of a furnace where it watched as a bloody scab grew up from the ground to engulf the palace and the demon then the winged elephant fled and wandered in delirium until it came upon two odd bird-like humanoids standing next to a strange infernal vehicle as ravenguard recounts his vision lulu starts to regain back some of her memories for she is the winged elephant that he is referring to she specifically remembers helping a hell rider plant zariel's sword in the ground and raised an impenetrable fortress around it after this realization both alder ravenguard and lulu are convinced that the sword of zeriel is the key to saving eltarel then unexpectedly lulu excitedly begins flapping her wings for she now remembers the two bird light creatures names chuka and klonk she recalls them taking her to an infernal junkyard called fort knucklebone where they built in repaired infernal vehicles designed to move quickly across the wastelands of avernus lulu quickly flies up to the top of the broken cathedral and overlooks the blasted landscape of averness below el torell returning back down she tells you and your party that she can see fort knucklebone in the distance your mission is as clear as it's going to get help lulu find zuriel's holy sword for it may possess the power you need to free altarel from avernus heading to fort knucklebone and speaking with the kenku might be a good first step alder ravenguard and reya decide to stay back to help the citizens of el torell fend off the horrors of the nine hells that have infested the city as you and your party devise a way to escape the city and reach the blasted wastelands below climbing down the massive infernal chains will prove difficult and it's extremely dangerous even if one was to survive the fall and land in the river styx the hordes of clashing devils and demons below would surely brutally kill you without the ability for all party members to fly your party decides to create their own flying devices someone in your party just happens to have familiarity with creating gliders but you don't currently have the resources your party then stealthily heads back into town and acquires the raw materials needed to create these gliders and then gets to work all of the methods of getting down off eltarel carry their own weight in risk but gliders ought to give you a bit of speed and also keep you high enough over the demons and devils to hopefully reach land safely behind them once the gliders have been constructed your party gains some high ground and jumps soaring off the edge of el toral lulu follows behind the worst thing that could happen right now will be for winged devils or demons to attempt to interfere with your flight but it seems they are far too busy trying to win in the war below some glider complications that you and your party experience almost bring this group flight to an abrupt end but your party's intelligence and wisdom allow them to quickly correct the complications and everyone safely lands to the ground past where the battle is going on now on the ground you and your party look up towards where fort knucklebone should be located there's no time to waste so lulu begins heading out and your party follows into the shattered hellish wasteland [Music] your quest to find the sword of zarial and save altarel continues as you and your party trek across the blasted wastelands of avernus and head towards fort knucklebone acquiring the holy sword might be a way to redeem or destroy zeriel who is now the archdevil of avernus but was once a powerful angel earlier lulu recalled from her memories to kanku by the names of chuka and klonk that reside in fort knucklebone and they may be able to provide some information as to the location of the holy sword scattered across the wasteland are pieces of cities stolen from other planes evidence of destroyed celestial armies tombs of ancient travelers shattered war machines the hideous clouds above obscure the vault of the sky and the atmosphere reeks of brimstone and burning tar long ago avernus was a plane of lush gardens and countryside beauty created by asmodeus the lord of the nine hells to tempt mortals to come the intrusion of the river styx brought with it endless waves of demons destroying the luring paradise and creating the hell that you see today [Music] feeling strange waves of exhaustion in moments of irritation your party finally spots a jagged wall of rock bones and metal debris surrounding a hand-shaped hill at the gatehouse there stands a couple red cap guards that give you a hard time but end up allowing you into the fort inside the fort there's trash and mechanical parts littered everywhere and you see half-built mechanical structures that resemble vehicles almost right away upon entering the fort you spot a pair of kenku this must be chuka and klonk for they seem to recognize lulu in your party one of the kenku waves and yells what a deal patience is a virtue i can't keep the boss waiting the kenku then runs off into one of the trash structures and moments after reappears leading a tall creature wearing a long tattered shift covered in mud blood and mold this is mad maggie a night hag in a warlord who runs for knucklebone mad maggie is driven by her lust for misery and her delight in the corruption of the valiant such as zeriel and she seeks artifacts tied to zeriel's fall from grace your party explains your predicament to her and she offers to help unlock more of lulu's memories through a ritual spell for these memories may help her find more artifacts he then watch as mad maggie creates a fiendish circle on the ground and arranges several black pillows in the middle ordering lulu to sit in the middle the rest of you sit around the circle and you start to feel a telepathic bond forming eyes closed a tingling sensation sweeps over your body and you begin to see lulu's first dream unfold although just a dream your party finds that they can experience psychic damage in this dreamscape and you find yourself defending lulu and an angel from a group of six spine devils the battle erupts and then the dream shifts through two more landscapes until you find yourself wandering a vast barren land where black sludges rise from the ground attempting to consume you your party members to their horror find themselves stuck but you are able to escape the grip of the black sludge and you enter into another dream in this dream there is a large bleeming brass spyglass resting atop an ornately carved tripod you see lulu at first with her eyes closed and then you watch as she awakens in the dream and presses one eye up against the spyglass her mouth drops open and her eyes widen as she cries out the sword the sword i know where it is the dream then ends and everyone awakens lulu has recovered the memory of what she believes to be the location of the bleeding citadel where zeriel's sword currently resides mad maggie pleased with the knowledge she has now gained decides to provide your party with an infernal war machine to traverse avernus and find the citadel if the dream did not go as planned this trip to fort knucklebone could have turned out disastrous you and your party board the giant infernal war machine and head out back into the wasteland only about a half mile out you notice a plume of red dust billowing in the distance a large infernal war machine is headed right in your direction this gore splattered vehicle appears to have gnashing metal teeth at the front and a wrecking ball swinging behind it unable to outrun this giant machine your party braces for impact as the metal teeth of the war machine clips into the back of your party's vehicle spinning you around to a complete stop the enemy's war machine quickly turns around and pulls up beside you you watch as three weir bores and a couple weird rats jump to your vehicle like pirates would out at sea underestimating the power of your party they all meet a grave end your current infernal war machine does not seem to be reliable anymore so you and your party transfer over to the giant war machine the leader of this war machine ragadraga had on him three soul coins which are used as fuel for these vehicles and you and your party continue on with your quest as you cross the vast wasteland you run into other warlords scavenging for soul coins but your mission is clear and your war machine prevails lulu's dreams have led you to a place known as haruman's hill and you head to the summit to get a good look haruman was a human paladin of helm and one of zeriel's most devoted hell riders haruman now pins the souls of deserters of zeriel's cause onto barbed metal trees along the way to the summit you see various bodies impaled to these metal trees writhing in torment as bloated sturgis feast on their blood on the largest tree of them all you notice an impaled vampire who goes by the name jander sunstar the sturgis that are feeding on the other bodies seem to be bringing blood back to this vampire lulu remembers jander for he helped zariel in her initial assault on avernus but she also remembers that he betrayed zariel and is responsible for the portals being sealed that trapped zariel and the hell riders in avernus he pleads for help but your party does not give in seeing jander has sparked some more memories for lulu and she realizes she had made a mistake in leading the party to the hill after some deep thought lulu realizes her memories are hazier than she expected but she does faintly remember two sites in avernus that may be of importance in finding the bleeding citadel the first being that of a place where demons manifest the spawning trees and the second being a place where demons are destroyed the demon zapper lulu seems to remember the demon zapper a bit more than the spawning trees so you and your party decide to head there for lulu has pointed it out on the map where she believes it to be your journey across the wasteland continues once again eventually you come across the demon zapper which is a large metal monument that shoots out beams of radiance that destroys most fiends that attempt to come within 100 feet and then a dao appears a dao is another version of a genie and this dao goes by the name of ralzala razala approaches your party in a non-hostile way and reveals that she is actually bound to protect the demon zapper and she cannot leave the premises she had made a pact with zeriel in the past that has bound her to this place but she no longer wishes to carry out this arrangement you and your party go on to ask her for information about zariel in the bleeding citadel ralzala does not seem to have any information to offer but she states that she could in fact write a letter of introduction for your party to meet the archdevil bell whom was the previous archdevil of avernus until zeriel took over rausala's only condition is that you first seek out a night hag oracle by the name of red ruth and ask the oracle how ralzella can free herself from her pact with zeriel committing to this plan you head out to find red ruth and make your way through a maze of warped trees and bone-like vines after finding the oracle and completing a few tasks for her she finally tells you how rosella can break the pact razala must drink the blood of a titan which were the largest of the giant race and that she just happens to know a titan by the name of aldrak whom is in avernus red ruth gives you directions to his grave but warns you that he is not what he used to be arriving at aldrock's grave aldreck proves to not be hostile and reveals his sorry tell to you long ago he quested into the nine hells to slay tiamat the evil goddess of dragons to earn glory for his deity but he fouled in his quest and was cursed and turned into a spine devil by tiamat herself in his current fiendish form his blood will not suffice in freeing razala from her pact with zeriel aldrach tells you that if he is to regain his true titan form he must spill some of tiamat's blood on the ground of avernus but that fighting tiamat in his current form is madness aldrac wants to return to his titan form more than anything and if you can help him do this he says he will give you some of his blood aldrock has an idea for how to go about this without actually having to fight the evil goddess dragon herself a dragonborn oathbreaker paladin by the name of arkhan the cruel has a reliquary around his neck that carries some of tiamat's blood acquiring this reliquary would serve as one way for aldrac to spill tiamat's blood on the ground and return to titan form aldrak then shows you a gem glowing on the pommel of his old sword and tells you that this may be of value to arkhan for it's an orb of dragonkind maybe arkhan will be willing to make a trade your next mission is clear head to arkhan's tower you and your party members are quickly realizing that making deals in a vernis seems to be a never-ending life-risking process but you have come this far and there's no turning back readying the war machine you head back out to find arkhan's tower eventually along the horizon you notice a dark tower looming with a black spire rising hundreds of feet the tower's apex splits into five narrower spires that jab at the sky like clawed fingers along the ramparts you see undead guards and various forms of decay arkhan the cruel has claimed this tower as his base and he conducts research in hopes of asserting his will over an artifact known as the hand of vecna he believes the hand of vecna contains secrets that can be used to free his queen tiamat from the nine hells for she was banished here by other gods in the past approaching the tower your party freezes as you hear a loud roar looking up you see an adult white dragon flying above thankfully it's not attacking but instead seems to be alerting the tower of your presence emerging from the tower and heading right towards you you see a turtle by the name of crawl whose shell is carved with draconic runes that spell out prayers to tiamat you end up convincing the total death priest that you have something of extreme value that arkhan might like to have and crawl leads you to a monument of tiamat where arkhan currently is this monument is a place where arkhan can commune with his queen and report his progress with the hand of vecna artifact you arrive at the tent where arkhan is standing accompanied by his manticore companion chango and torogar steelfest his savage minotaur bodyguard the camp is also filled with white abishai it's probably for the best that this encounter goes peacefully with a bit of luck great charisma and the orb of dragonkind which proves to be extremely valuable to archon arkhan gives you the vile of tiamat's blood and you and your party head back to aldreck's grave aldrock excitedly splashes the blood of tiamat onto the ground and the air fills with the sounds of hissing moments later his fiendish skin sheds and he grows back into his true form that of a lawful evil empyrion then in a gleeful state aldrich grabs his sword and cuts himself providing you with a gallon of his titan blood he then casts plane shift and returns to the realm of his deity this long mission to free ralzala from her pact might finally be coming to an end and you head back to the demon zapper ralzala gulps down the blood and is free of her pact she goes on to honor her word by writing up a letter of introduction to the archdevil bell on a basalt tablet and then she directs your party in the direction of bell's volcanic lair bell's hatred for zeriel runs deep and he is eager to reclaim his throne brokering a deal with this powerful archdevil will be extremely risky but he is certain to know the location of the bleeding citadel and possibly even provide assistance what other hope does your party have with a couple nods and looks of unease on everyone's face you and your party once again head out into the wastelands of avernus eventually in the far distance you notice a gargantuan volcano dominating the horizon you are getting close to bell's forge your party has acquired a letter of introduction from razala to meet with the archdevil bell you have now arrived at his multi-layered fortress that's built into a giant volcano's rocky slopes although bell and zeriel loathe each other asmodeus the lord of the nine hells knew that bell was one of the greatest military minds so he made belle zariel's second in command bell currently oversees the forges that furnish weapons and armor for the blood war but it's obvious that he would much rather return to his former position as lord of avernus which zariel currently holds approaching the lower levels of bell's fortress you encounter strike teams composed of horned and bearded devils your letter of introduction from rosala proves its worth and ultimately saves your party's lives heading into the forge you feel intense heat and wonder how long you'll be able to survive in this environment open rivers of lava run through the forge and are used to smelt ore and soften metal you notice fire giants and chains using enormous hammers and anvils to craft infernal weapons and armor eventually you come across bell himself sitting on a throne-like chair he seems to already have known of your presence as expected bell tells you and your party that you must complete a task for him before he reveals the location of the bleeding citadel he wants you to retrieve nine adamantine rods for him that were stolen from his forge by zeriel spies he suggests that you should speak to a sybriax that was recently captured by one of his spies to learn of the location of these adamantine rods for cybriexes are hoarders of forbidden lore you bravely decide to ask bell what these adamantine rods are for but he responds that's not really any of your business this is the best deal you'll get in avernus i suggest you take it bell then teleports you and your party to the surface where an imp named bulacrose is waiting to help guide you to the captured sybriax when you arrive at the location of the sybriax you see a floating blob of quivering flesh with chains wrapped all over it holding it to the ground two chain devils and an archanaloth are torturing this creature seeking more information to give to bell but they seem unable to get anything more out of it you and your party happen to know some powerful magic that eventually gets the sybriacs to reveal where at last saw the adamantine rods they were last seen on a wreck of a crashed flying fortress the sybriax does not reveal where the rex location is but black roast the imp that's accompanying you who's eager to please bell seems to know where to go from here to find the crashed flying fortress your party's infernal war machine is not far and you take the vehicle across a hot windswept plane infested with magical fire storms eventually the imp points at what seems to be a towering wreck rising from the scorched hellscape zariel had abandoned this flying fortress after demons crippled it in battle the fortress is 150 feet tall but the lower third of it is buried underground the command deck at the top seems to still be intact and not completely destroyed and you decide it's best to search there first you and your party move through the ruins of the lower decks and are forced to fend off five bone welks seeking any and all organic matter to feed on your party is powerful though and quickly dispatches the welks and begins descending upwards once again once you reach the open sky area not far from the command deck a group of giant vultures swoops down the first couple of rocks are struck out of the air by your powerful cleric companion and the remaining vultures quickly turn to flee you then set to searching the command deck but hear the sound of several infernal war machines approaching below looking over the deck you see chuka and klonk with a group of mad caps they seem to be aware of your presence but are much more concerned with salvaging parts from the wrecked fortress you ask one of your party members to stay outside and keep an eye on your war machine for even though you left on good terms from fort knucklebone you can't trust a mad cap to not steal an unoccupied infernal war vehicle eventually you find a safe in a chamber at the lowest point of the command deck after three unsuccessful attempts to open it an alarm sounds off in a slight panic one of your party members goes on to cast three knock spells and the safe thankfully opens the alarm shuts off shortly after but you and your party do not want to waste any time inside the safe are the nine adamantine rods engraved with runes that spell out the words solar insidiator lock the cleric in your party then remembers thavius krieg's infernal contract with zeriel and recalls that solar incitiator is another name for the companion the companion is the large dark orb that teleported eltarel to avernus and is currently hovering over the city these rods must be designed to unlock the companion and they must contain something very valuable inside heading out of the command deck with the adamantine rods you see a warband now approaching the wrecked fortress they must have heard the alarm or are here to scavenge the wreck not expecting these warlords to be as friendly as tuka and klonk you and your party sneak down the wrecked fortress slip back onto your war machine and quickly head back towards belle's fortress bell seems to be frustrated and even slightly annoyed that you have returned and you realize his plan all along was for you and your party to discover these rods and take them right to the companion to ruin zariel's plans however bell still makes good on his promise and reveals the location of the bleeding citadel and he also tells your party to stick the rods and locks along the companion's equator and see what happens bell very much wants zeriel's plans to fail with el torel for he may be then returned to the position of lord of avernus lulu advises your party to find the sword before returning to el torel and you head out once again to find the bleeding citadel as your war machine nears the location that bell pointed out you see a large disgusting scab close to completely engulfing in alabaster palace and absorbing it into the nine hells forever you have found the bleeding citadel lulu warns you that time is of essence and that unfortunately the only entrance to the citadel is covered by the lower portion of the scab you and your party head to the top of the scab and drop down through a hole into a vast network of tunnels which were carved out by demons lulu can sense the distance and direction of the entrance to the citadel for she helped create it and she leads the way within the tunnels you come across boulez owls barguras and hostile swarms of insects your party is very powerful though and successfully fights through these horror tunnels and ultimately reaches the entrance to the citadel when arriving you see brass double doors standing exposed to the wall of the scab it's obvious that many creatures have attempted to break through these doors but only may the doors be open if a creature of pure heart is in the immediate area after casting a detect magic spell an aura of abduration is revealed around the double doors and lulu's presence allows you to open the doors when the doors are open outpours a bright white light entering the citadel you feel the holy power as it revitalizes you and your party the interior of the citadel is one large alabaster chamber brightly lit by magically created sunlight shining through the windows you see the holy sword atop the deus and move in to take it just before you're able to a translucent image of a woman in her 30s wearing plate armor appears before you lulu's eyes turn pure white and she whispers i remember then a wave of radiant energy erupts from lulu's body and you and your party find yourselves in what appears to be another one of lulu's dreamscapes you're now in a town called idolglenn which is on the continent of faerun and is where zeriel and her hell riders fought the demon ninogu before they headed into a vernis idol glen was a town that was experiencing major side effects from the blood war in one day no tribes came to raid the town but with demons among their ranks the prince of the knolls a demon by the name of hinogu was leading this war band the town is under attack and you see townsfolk fleeing for their lives you and your party decide to help for you do not know exactly what is happening entering the town you are forced to fight knolls stretches and hezros you notice guards of the town with armor covered in icker of demons and they seem to have now gone mad and are seeking to murder not wanting to kill the guard someone in your party casts dispel evil and the guards are returned to normal then a wild hideous laugh pierces the air and you see what looks to be a giant knoll covered in matted bloody stained fur swinging a three-headed flal charging at your party the battle ensues but the demon lord holds strong the cleric in your party is struck to the ground and you watch as hinogu lifts his flall to perform the final blow out of nowhere radiant light bursts from the sky and the demon lord shuts his maw and narrows his eyes gazing upward a powerful angel comes streaking down followed by a gold-furred mammoth with feathered wings the angel slashes her sword across the demon's chest and utters a spell that creates a portal behind him the giant mammoth then charges right into enogu hurling him through the portal which quickly closes behind him this is zeriel and lulu in her magical giant form they introduce themselves to you and your party and heal everyone back to good health a hell rider who is fighting nearby now approaches and it looks to be the same woman as the ghost you saw back in the citadel she introduces herself as yell and thanks you all for your help then you see a bright flash of light and you find yourselves back within the bleeding citadel you once again see the ghost of yale standing before the sword yal was the one who plunged the holy sword into the ground before lulu created the holy citadel around it yal says you have faced many trials to claim the sword of zeriel i'm sorry to say you face one more the hero who becomes one with this blade exists no longer which of you is brave enough to draw the blade and be gone forever the journey to get the sword has been long tiring and extremely difficult and you decide you are willing to sacrifice your former identity and become a servant of good just as you reach for the sword the cleric in your group whom almost died in the dream pulls you back and grabs the sword sacrificing herself to the cause the citadel and the scab around it explode in outward blinding rays of light and you and your party find yourself standing under the red skies of a vernis once again in the area surrounding where the citadel once stood you notice demons have been hurled away many completely destroyed while others limp off to lick their wounds your cleric companion is now being transformed into a heavenly idealized version of herself her beauty takes you all back she has been touched by the upper plains now and shall serve the heavens for eternity this may be a curse to many for you're no longer free to live the life you choose and your past life is no longer of significance your cleric however stands proud and ready to finish the task with the sword now in your party's hands lulu urges you to find zariel and attempt to redeem her this sounds risky though for you wonder if there's even a chance that zeriel can be redeemed or if the attempt itself will turn into a deadly battle consulting with your party you ask if you should instead attempt to make a deal with bell once again or possibly even go back to arkhan the cruel and see if something can be worked out with his queen the evil goddess dragon tiamat defeating zeriel on your own seems impossible but with the sword and the help of a powerful supernatural power it just may be possible lulu barges into your conversation and reminds your party of how making deals with these powerful evil entities rarely works in your favor and it instead could make the situation far worse if zeriel were to be the one to prevail you notice a look of uncertainty on lulu's face but she quickly looks away not wanting to show her true emotions realizing that none of your options seem to really have any sort of certainty tied to them you glance back over at lulu and remember that none of this would have been possible without her help looking over at your angelic cleric holding the holy sword in her hands you feel a wave of holy energy passed through your body your decision has been made you and your party will attempt to redeem zariel with the sword [Music] heading back to your war machine you notice that it has taken damage from the explosion of the citadel but it still seems to work somewhat lulu points towards the horizon underneath where you can see eltarell hanging above the river sticks eltarel seems closer to the river than ever you must act fast in the shadow of el torel is where the fighting is the most fierce and zeriel should be there on the front lines facing off against the hordes of demons once you near the ongoing battle you decide to abandon the war machine and head out on foot the war machine is moving too slowly and it will attract far too much attention from the flying hordes of demons above using the geography to your advantage to stay unnoticed seems like your best bet for getting to where zarriel should be fighting you navigate the battlefield using rocks mounds and wreckage to help conceal your movement luckily the demons and devils are so preoccupied with each other that it seems like at some areas you could just walk by unnoticed reaching an elevated area you look over at the vast battlefield and see a figure wreathed in flames striking down demons with tireless fury this must be zeriel unable to conceal your movement any longer your party heads out as a solidified unit towards where zeriel is fighting battling off demons from all directions your cleric with the sword of zeriel strikes them down as you get closer you notice the area where zeriel is is open and unoccupied for demons and devils alike dare not interfere with the current ongoing battle between zeriel and a hyena-faced bailor as you get closer you see zeriel strike down on the baler's face with her warhammer crushing it completely after the demon is destroyed chaos erupts again and your party once again fights for survival your group is powerful and your angelic cleric companion is putting on quite the spectacle looking around you you notice that lulu is no longer with your party but before you have time to contemplate you see the battlefield beginning to clear the area around you zeriel approaches she must have taken notice of the sword now standing about 20 feet away you see zeriel with her eyes fixated right on the sword your cleric holds it up as it glows brighter zarielle's face quickly turns fierce as she charges at you and your party battle begins and you know that you face certain death just minutes into the battle zarielle strikes your cleric to the ground with a pommel of her hammer unable to close the distance in time you watch in horror as zeriel lifts her hammer high over your cleric's head this can't be happening just as the hammer begins as descent you see lulu out of the corner of your eye flying straight at zeriel you watch as she flies and hovers directly over your downed cleric and zeriel's hammer strike stops just inches away from her body zariel completely taken by surprise steps back and hurt and lulu make eye contact your cleric begins sitting up as the holy sword rises from her hands and hovers in the air glowing even brighter you can see an internal struggle going on within zeriel lulu then urges zariel to take the sword and rejoin the celestial host to everyone's surprise zariel's trembling hand reaches towards the gleaming hilt of her old sword her fingers brush against it and she grimaces as radiant light sears her flesh as her grip tightens she grasps in pain and then speaks an oath through tears of confusion sorrow and joy i zeriel supplicate myself before the holy light of justice if it should accept me i vow to take up this blade once more in its service after a couple daunting moments of silence you watch as zeriel is then bathed in a brilliant wash of radiant light and her angelic form is restored all of lulu's former memories and powers have been returned and lulu gasps in delight then lulu transforms into a celestial mammoth with golden fur the one that you saw in the dream through magical means and the help of zeriel and lulu your party returns back to altarel above zeriel now on her new holy mission quickly departs and destroys the chains holding the city down she then soars high above altarel to within reach of the corrupted companion and brings her holy blade down upon it the companion explodes in a flash of light and the people of el torel are freed from their infernal bondage from the shattered companion the planetary imprisoned within raises the city out of the nine hells and returns it to faerun not wishing to be involved in anything else in the nine hells your party returns to faerun with the city to help rebuild from the destruction it experienced in avernus your cleric says her farewells and leaves to the upper plains to mount celestia where she will serve for eternity you watch as alder ravenguard now regarded as a hero heads back to a city of baldur's gate to restore order you and your party have done it you've saved altarel from being completely destroyed and you've thwarted the plans that zeriel had for baldur's gate as well you are true heroes [Music] and wow we are done any of you guys that have actually watched this entire series let me know below in the comments there's a special place in my heart for you guys i really do appreciate it so let's talk about alternate endings and why i went with the ending that i did so larian studios did tell us that at the start of baldur's gate three you're going to be in a vernis and then you're going to crash land on faerun in between el torrel and baldur's gate so that means that el toro was saved from a vernis it is in a very destroyed apocalyptic state but it was saved so that's why i went with that type of ending for this story however zarielle is the real question here so now actually in one of the earlier gameplay trailers they showed a quick clip and i'll have it pop up right now and what it seems to be is maybe a harpy but it also looks like zeriel in her archdevil form with the talons and the wings but we really don't know so if this is actually zeriel that would mean that zeriel was not redeemed but i didn't want to go with that ending because there's so many different possibilities so instead i just went with zarial being redeemed so keep that in mind when we start baldur's gate three zarielle might not actually be a good angel she might still be an archdevil down there or there could be complete chaos in a vernis which larian studios did say was happening and everybody's fighting over who's going to be the lord of averness because you got belle who wants it arkhan the cruel wants it and of course zeriel doesn't want to give it up but asmodeus might not be too happy with her when el terrell was ultimately saved because that was a lot of souls that could have been used in the blood war so yeah that's why i went with the ending that i did we know for a fact that l tyrell has been saved the real question is zeriel if any of you guys actually understand all this and been following let me know your opinions on what you think is going to be at the start of baldur's gate 3 regardless all the information in the story a lot of it is going to be very important and nice to know for your baldur's gate 3 journey even if some of the story elements don't specifically line up thank you guys so much for watching if you enjoyed the video please like comment and subscribe i really appreciate it i do all sorts of content on this channel ranging from live streams to game reviews to game tutorials and much more there's definitely going to be many more lore series to come until next time [Music] [Music] you

Channel: WolfheartFPS

Views: 214,598

Keywords: Baldur's Gate 3, Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeons and Dragons, Baldurs Gate Descent Into Avernus, Descent Into Avernus, Baldurs, Gate, Descent, Into, Avernus, story, bg3, baldur's gate 3 history, lore, prequel, descent into avernus story, d&d, baldurs gate 3 history, history, avernus, zariel, asmodeus, elturel, wolfheartfps, larian studios

Id: 8K6fvufmKUo

Length: 69min 17sec (4157 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 06 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/Spideyknight2k]

Wolf makes good videos. Particularly when a brother needs to sleep, it's like a audio book.

[u/enkae7317]

Definitely a MUST read/watch because Zariel is going to be very prominent in BG3 it feels like.

[u/Praxistor]

It helped with the lore, so I thought I would pass it along. Hope you enjoy it

[u/t_showbiz]

Ran this module and wrapped it up about a year ago to this day.

It's got so many fun ideas, but it is maybe the worst written adventure module I've ever run. I do hope Reya Mantlemorn and Lulu show up at some point though.

[u/lefthandofpower]

Brilliant. Thanks for posting this!