We weren’t there for the real battle, happening over in Hell with all the Demon Lords and her Grandfather. But what we did in that hellish mansion tipped the balance and saved my dearest friend, and her family.

We could see the ritual through the door, but when we tried to enter, an invisible force held us at bay. The wizard boys do what they do, and figured out that it was something called a forbiddance, and only Pumbleby blood was allowed to enter or give permission to enter. Okay, Porter, who about you invite us all in? I asked and the others agreed. So, he and Gerhardt set to work figuring out how to get us all inside. Without the two, not actually Maribeth nor Grandfathers on the other end just kicking us back out again.

While they pull together a ritual, two minotaurish demons took up position on either side of the door. The claw demon on the far end started pulling up darkness throughout the room. The cultists danced around an altar containing my brother and a succubus. Klyce, Remy, and Nat took a look at the ritual in progress, deciding that killing the cultists would only slow it down at this point, not stop it. They noted my brother magically chained to the altar, it would be more complicated than teleporting him out of there. I had my bands of balero to Klyce, in case he got close to one of the Maribeths, and Philomena cast protection spells on him. We’re going to have Gerhardt do some walls of force again. The two Maribeths stood laughing. Right up until the point where we walked through the door.

Someone put a globe of force around the cultists and the altar, Gerhardt put a globe around one of the minotaur demons. Remy slips into the center globe, and I take Klyce in after him. The succubus almost immediately surrenders, offering to help save Gerald. Klyce says she can come with us, and then turns Gerald into a cat and picks him up off the altar. I toss up my storm, careful to exclude everyone in the bubble, including the succubus. Spells, bullets, and swords start flying. Remy calls my name, but it sounds odd. I look up and he shoots me down. Again.

I wake up to Julian standing over me with an empty potion bottle. I start throwing shocking grasps, and the succubus teleports out with Gerald. Before I can start cursing, Klyce says he’ll explain after we’re through. I look up in time to see Philomena disintigrate the claw demon. Remy dimension doors out of the bubble with me, and we start attacking the Maribeths. They shoot out some black awfulness at Philomena and Nat, but I still have my Healing Word to get them back up. Porter banishes one of the Maribeths and Remy shoots the other one down. But Porter gets knocked unconscious and the first one comes back. Nat puts down the minotaur demon. Unfortunately, the Maribeth lets the other one free, and now have to put them both down. Which we manage with some more magic, bullets, and swords.

The ritual seemed to have gotten far enough, though. There was a big dark shadow growing more solid by the moment. Porter circles us all up to put it back. It’s slippery and strange. We can hear him, too. Trying to convince us that he’s the least of our worries. That we wouldn’t even know he was in our world. Then he tried bribery, offering us anything we could ever want. It would be so easy for us to just let him in and then deal with him. Wouldn’t it? Nat pushes us all harder, and we manage to focus down and seal him back in his Tower.

Time never ends. I am patient.

The mansion starts shaking and we take off, running out and up into the street. Time to head home and tell everyone that the demon threat is over. Maribeth and Dalish meet up with us just a little while later and we have a happy reunion. But Where Is My Brother???