Session C15 — Escape from the Tarrasque

Summary

The party escapes from inside the Tarrasque's digestive tract and discovers powerful magical artifacts. A crisis erupts when Othorion acquires the cursed soul-devouring sword Blackrazor, which immediately possesses him and turns him violent. The party subdues Othorion without lethal force while managing multiple cursed and powerful magical items. After exiting the creature, Roland attempts to invoke the Titan's Tooth command words but fails catastrophically, suffering 8 levels of exhaustion. Haldak successfully commands the Tarrasque to sleep, allowing the party's escape into the Underdark.

Key Events

The Ascending Colon — A Chamber of Waste and Stench

The party pressed deeper into the Tarrasque's digestive tract, moving through a passage into an enormous second ascending colon chamber. The air became suddenly thick — not with danger, but with something far worse: putrefaction. The entire chamber lay covered in feces like thick mud, and the methane hazard was choking. The stench was beyond description, and the constitution checks came swiftly. Haldak, Roland, Othorion, and Blup Blup all succumbed to poison exposure that would last the full day. Selene, Kefkas, and Kavu pushed on unaffected, but the chamber had made its point: they were inside something alive and dying around them.

Artifacts of Power — The Infernal Hammer Discovered

As the party navigated the malodorous landscape, they began to discover items that had no business being inside a Tarrasque's digestive system. Multiple magical artifacts lay scattered — a Tortoiseshell Shield requiring attunement, a Magical Quiver of unknown origin. Then Roland found the hammer.

It lay partially buried, its red metal glowing faintly with hellfire tracery. Three inscriptions ran across its surface in Infernal, their meaning dark and personal. Selene translated them slowly:

"Forged in the fire of Avernus, let the unworthy burn" — in the handwriting of Bel.

"In the darkness by them... when you are ready to stop running from what you are" — Asmodeus himself.

"She still loves you. That is why she fell." — Bel's handwriting again.

Roland's eyes flashed hellish red the moment she touched it. She became entranced, drawn to the weapon as if it were calling her personally. The party saw the reaction and understood immediately: this hammer was connected to something vast — Zariel, Asmodeus, Bel — and somehow it knew Roland. The question of why would have to wait.

The Black Razor — Possession and Violence

Among the wreckage, Othorion discovered a sword of obsidian darkness: Blackrazor, the legendary soul-devouring weapon. The moment his fingers closed around the hilt, attunement took hold despite his resistance. The blade possessed him — or rather, convinced him that the possession was his own will. Its voice filled his mind: his allies were enemies. Everyone around him was a threat.

Kefkas moved to stop him, attempting non-lethal subdual. The riposte came with terrible speed. Blackrazor struck not just at Kefkas — it drove through his body entirely and pierced Selene in the chest, a wound that entered left of her heart and exited her back through one lung. The sword had learned to kill through allies to reach its designated target.

Selene would discover later that the wound carried a curse: non-magical healing would no longer work for her. Short rests and long rests could not mend what Blackrazor had done.

Subduing the Possessed — Combat Against a Friend

The party had to act fast. Lireal cast Hold Person, but in the chaos and stench of the chamber, she targeted the wrong ally — Haldak dropped to the ground, helpless. Kavu attempted Command on Othorion, but the sword's Will proved stronger than any spell.

Haldak, still conscious enough to think despite the hold, cast something desperate: Novice — a powerful time magic that forced a Wisdom save (DC 15) and stripped proficiency from attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws. Sustained too long, it could burn away proficiency permanently. But it was working; Othorion was wavering.

Roland struck with her greatsword, non-lethally. Selene, bleeding and determined, hit twice with her bow. The combined assault brought Othorion down, unconscious but alive.

The party bound him immediately, but the sword refused to leave his hand. Blackrazor hovered there, defiant, as if waiting for its wielder to wake and strike again.

The Management of Cursed Power — Items, Restraints, and Responsibility

With Othorion subdued and restrained, the party had to make hard decisions. The Infernal Hammer was secured in Kavu's bag despite its apparent intent to reach Roland. The Shard of the Astral Sea — a solidified piece of the Astral Plane wrapped in silver mist — required a sorcerer's attunement. Selene, though wounded, completed the attunement process: one short rest and a DC 12 Arcana check. The shard would serve as a spellcasting focus and grant her the ability to teleport 30 feet after casting a metamagic spell.

Blackrazor remained where it lay on the ground, though the party observed it drifting back toward Othorion's proximity as time passed. Guard duty was assigned. Debates erupted: should they keep the restraints while Othorion recovered? What if the sword had taken permanent root in his mind? The questions hung unanswered as the party pushed on toward the exit.

The Wall of Waste — Breaking Free from the Beast

The party reached the final chamber: the Wall of Waste, the Tarrasque's exit point. Stool broke free and granted passage, and the creature reacted with violent convulsion. A Greater Stool Elemental manifested — a manifestation of the Tarrasque's desperate immune system. The party defeated it, but the victory came at a cost: Stool leaped directly into the elemental's form and fused with it, growing enormous and powerful. The fused entity tore the Tarrasque's exit open with its new strength, ripping flesh and creating a passage large enough for the party to escape.

The Failed Invocation — A Terrible Price

As the party made their exit, Roland seized the opportunity to take control. She had the Titan's Tooth, the infernal artifact from sessions past. If she could invoke it now, she could command the Tarrasque directly — stop it, control it, command it to release them fully.

She began the invocation. Her voice called out the command words: "BECKONALOTH!"

Nothing.

She tried again: "ZUMGALOTH!"

Her Arcana check failed. The artifact reacted violently. Thunder erupted through her body, coursing through every nerve and muscle. The consequences were catastrophic: eight levels of exhaustion slammed into her all at once. She collapsed, barely conscious, her body screaming in agony. She had pushed an infernal artifact beyond her knowledge and paid the price in vulnerability.

The Successful Command — Sleep and Escape

Haldak saw Roland fall and understood immediately what had to be done. He took the artifact from her weakened hands and made the attempt himself. His Arcana check succeeded. The command words rang out, true and clear, and the Tarrasque — this massive, ancient, terrifying creature that had consumed them and held them captive — fell into a profound sleep.

The party escaped into a vast Underdark cavern, leaving the creature breathing slowly and deeply behind them. They were alive. They were out.

But they carried their wounds and curses with them.

NPCs Encountered

Loot / Discoveries

Party Notes

• Roland: 8 levels of exhaustion (critical vulnerability); infernal hammer connection ongoing; eyes flash red when in contact
• Othorion: Unconscious, restrained, attuned to Blackrazor against will; possessed by sword; will require significant recovery
• Selene: Gravely injured by Blackrazor; piercing chest-to-back wound through lung (left of heart); cannot heal via non-magical means; curse from Blackrazor; attuned to Shard of the Astral Sea
• Kefkas: Grazed by Blackrazor (13 damage); attempted to restrain Othorion; made non-lethal combat work
• Kavu: Managing bag of holding with multiple dangerous magical items; concerned about party management
• Haldak: Successfully commanded Tarrasque to sleep; cast Novice spell during combat; found Shard of the Astral Sea
• Lireal: Cast Hold Person (misdirected to Haldak); objected to unidentified magic during combat
• Stool: Fused with Greater Stool Elemental; grew enormous and tore open Tarrasque's exit; party notes attempt to protect innocence

Threads Opened / Advanced

• The Infernal Hammer's Nature: What is its true purpose? Why does it affect Roland specifically? What does Asmodeus's inscription mean about wielder being "his blood"? Is Roland connected to Avernus or infernal lineage?
• Black Razor's Origin and Binding: How can it be removed from Othorion? Is it a known artifact? What is its ultimate purpose? Will it force Othorion to attack allies when he wakes? How can the curse be lifted?
• Selene's Magical Wound: Lung wound cannot heal through normal means; must find magical healing; permanent until resolved
• Roland's Exhaustion Crisis: 8 levels of exhaustion is critical vulnerability; need recovery strategy and possible magical solutions
• Exit Strategy: Successfully escaped Tarrasque; now in Underdark cavern; need to assess location and plan onward journey
• Zariel Connection: Hammer explicitly mentions Zariel's sacrifice and continued love; implications for infernal politics and Roland's connection
• Party Dynamics & Trust: Trust questioned when possessed companions turn hostile; need protocols for possessed party members
• Magical Item Accumulation: Acquiring multiple powerful items with unclear or dangerous purposes; need storage and containment strategy