Ignighters of the Malicious Inferno

Thick acrid smoke billowed up the stairwell. "How are we going to get down through that?" Nimble asked.

"I've got a wind spell that might work."

"Wait, blow the smoke back in there?" Allianora asked.

Rathgar grinned. "I like this plan! Let's hurry before they finish the ritual and summon that demon."

"Elemental Lord" Feris corrected.

"What's the difference? In the end it's just another nasty thing that's gonna kill lots of people, probably starting with those stupid cultists down there."

Feris worked his magic, and a mighty gust of wind blew down from the sky, aimed right at the stairwell, pushed the smoke back down. "Quickly, follow it!"

They ran, taking multiple stairs at a time. About half way down, the smoke began to return, but with it came a rush of voices coughing and yelling from below. The companions were down the rest of the way before the cultist's were fully recovered.



Malicious Inferno
Use 16HD elemental stats.

The entity known as the Malicious Inferno has been summoned to the material world one too many times, and the experience has driving it mad. It now actively seeks to be summoned, distributing enchanted rubies (counts as a scroll) that, after a proper destructive and expensive ritual is performed, summons it. Any wizard capable of casting 5th level spells has a chance of realizing that the ritual doesn't actually provide any control over the elemental. Some of the ritual components are sent back to it's citadel on the elemental plane, and the ruby is teleported to a random spot on the prime material plane. There are 3 of these rubies known to exist.

Until the ritual is cast, the ruby also provides some minor magical powers centered around fire, including immunity to natural cold and fire, resistance to magical cold and fire, the ability to wreath the hand holding the ruby in flames, and the ability to throw those flames. In addition, the bearer will consistently have a nimbus of flame around their head.