You knew as much of Asmodeus as anyone in your line of work. He was a powerful deity, a conniving master of many schemes, and the Lord of the Nine Hells. You knew that he often plotted to corrupt and win the souls of the influential and the powerful through the use of infernal contracts, damning those unfortunates to the torments of his realm. You never thought that you would be one of his targets.
Now, you live with the loss. A hollowness exists where your soul should be, or else the fierce grief-ache of a stolen friend or family member. If Asmodeus could not convince you yourself to sign a contract, he went after those closest to you. If you made a pact with the Lord of the Nine, you did it with the assumption that you would have enough time to fulfill your end of the bargain. Likely the others who fell prey to him thought the same. It was not to be. Asmodeus’s hired murderers ensured it.
Since then, you have been searching desperately for a way to recover what you lost, without success. Every lead has turned up nothing. Every promise of a gateway into the infernal realm has been false. It has begun to seem truly hopeless ... But that is about to change.
As the four of you traverse the many market stalls of the central plaza of Halarahh, you see the shadowed pavilion described to you by your employer. Inside, Zythan of the Conclave of Halruaa beckons you over. He is a tall and slender man, wearing black robeswith a large gray eye serving as the clasp on the front of his cowl. His hood is pulled up, mostly obscuring his bright green hair save for the few locks you can see slicked back around his ears. He is flanked by two faces you haven't seen in some time: those of your fallen compatriots, Cas'ali and Izek.
He waves you into the pavilion and over to a clouded crystal ball standing on a pedestal. With the wave of a hand the clouds melt away to reveal billowing flames and strange figures moving over a blackened landscape. With a soft, high pitched voice, he starts:
Through Divination magic, I have discovered that the Lord of the Nine Hells, Asmodeus, will soon unleash a terrible evil, a soul we call the Unmaker.
A pitch-black void overtakes the crystal ball, with cold eyes staring out at you.
To prevent this disaster, you must travel to the Nine Hells, track down the Unmaker, and perform a ritual the Conclave has prepared to destroy him. To aid you in this task, our sorcerers have found a way to restore the bodies of your fallen allies. However, their souls have been damned to the Hells by Asmodeus's schemes, so they will be travelling with you in the hopes of recovering that which can once again make them whole. Additionally, we will reveal to you the locations of powerful magic items hidden throughout the Nine Hells.
Zythan waves his hand over the ball again and a series of objects appear, wreathed in fire: a harp, a staff, a cloak, and a sword, among others.
I will remain in contact with you through this Sending Stone, and should you require additional supplies...
He snaps his fingers and a box, 3 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet, appears on the ground between you and him.
... we can use this to transfer the payment and supplies between Halruaa and the Hells. It will require one of you to attune to it along with me. Which of you shall I be in contact with?
As he says this, he reaches out the Sending Stone and looks at you all, anticipating one of you to step forward and grab it. What do you all do?