Finding the Way to Deadhold
Finding our way to Deadhold brings us in to the middle of a desert, with no landmarks or clues as to the direction we need to head. Not being entirely sure what our task is here doesn't help either, but talking to The Keeper, a minion of Orcus, helps clarifiy our path. We need to find a key, which of course has been split in to three parts, and then use it to gain entrance to some fortress and close a portal and, well, we can think about the rest of it as we get closer. Finding the key is a good start.
The Keeper, befriended by our good-natured small-talk, offers us his staff to use. He thinks he'll get my weapon with the Nightbringer relic attached to it in gratitude, but he only asked for my weapon in return so I'll take Nightbringer off first with a clear conscience. ...as clear as my conscience can be whilst wielding the relic, anyway. His staff appears quite useful, having a finger that points the way. We're not quite sure why it is pointing one straight up, though. 'We also need to make a blood pact', The Keeper insists, asking us all to spill blood on a coin to keep with us, 'or curses will suck your souls'.
Adoni is the first to enter the blood pact, 'I don't want our souls being sucked'. Maybe her words have greater effect in the Deva accent, but not having our souls sucked sounds like a good reason for the rest of us to enter the pact as well. So with blood spilt and the ritual complete, we head across the desert.
The heat is overbearing, but Lughar has cast his own ritual, granting us endurance against the elements. Even when insects bite or a Sarlaac appears we keep plodding along. Only Adran looks to be weakening slightly. 'If he falls, do we just leave him?'
'Don't be silly. We'll take his loot first.'