Marcus scoops up the woman, just as Skin cuts the ogre's bonds free. The giant pulls himself to his feet and makes a mad dash for the portal, making an obscene gesture at the hag as he runs past her. Soon, everyone piles in as you hear the hag cursing you from all heavens to all hells.<br/><br/>Crossing the threshold of the portal is like plunging into ice water and into boiling iron at once. Energy crackles around you for a moment that seems to stretch on… but instantly you are in another place.<br/><br/>It is a street of marble gilded with gold, in a calm ordinary neighbourhood. The obvious wealth of this place doesn’t catch your attention though. What draws your eye is the fact that everything is one a slight concave curve that continues straight over your heads! The street reaches over your heads to form a hollowed out torus.<br/><br/>“By the Lady’s blades!,” sighs Malik heavily, which sounds odd coming from a construct, “I never thought I’d be so happy to see this place again. Welcome, cutters, to Sigil, the City of Doors!”<br/><br/>The ogre, and occultist by the name of Thok, and Marcus help cut the bonds on the female captive, who introduces herself as Suavita Mal.<br/><br/>“We better get under the cover of the Barracks,” she says, pointing to the building ahead of them, “before anyone gets any stupid ideas about trying to bob us.”<br/><br/>Even though most of the buildings around you have spikes, blades, and towers jutting of them at strange angles, it is the building you now approach that dominates the block. It is two stories high and made of completely unadorned black granite. The main gate is covered by an arch depicting two clasped hands together, etched in bright orange and blue.<br/><br/>Upon entering, you are greeted by a stench of brimstone so strong that for a second you think you have returned to Baator. An impossibly corpulent being floats in an iron throne of skulls a few feet off the ground.<br/><br/>(http://paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderChronicles/PZO9213-HeresyDevil.jpg)<br/><br/>“Unscheduled check-in!” spits the creature as it scrawls in the tomes floating around it, “why aren't you at your posts soldiers?”<br/><br/>Before anyone can answer, another being enters the antechamber. “At ease Voud.”<br/><br/>Where the first being is bloated and foul, this creature is sculpted and beneficent. Indeed, its very presence is heavenly, and acts to counter the foul brimstone assaulting your senses.<br/><br/>(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1L9KOKcqFpQ/ToUY8M8RIEI/AAAAAAAAAbg/TUGAfRO-rKk/s1600/archonshield.png)<br/>The floating creature glares at the odd collection, then relents with an “Aye Conductor.”<br/><br/>The armoured celestial approached Malik and greets him.<br/><br/>“It is good to see you again Khan. We thought you lost. I praise the Seven Heavens that you have returned to us.”<br/><br/>“You’ll have to thank Bao too,” replies Malik, “The rich may have his strange magics and tools, but he surely can make things happen. As you can see, Suavita has returned, as has Thok, but of our Athar guide, we have seen neither sight nor sound.”<br/><br/>The celestial’s nose flairs for a second, “The half-orc was a righteous soul, and I will mourn her for that, but I will not miss her anarchy or blasphemy. May her soul find its way back to the River, and may she make more pious choices in her next life.”<br/><br/>“And it is not Bao I owe the greatest thanks, for he stayed safe in the Nine Hells,” he continues, turning to you. “But is is your rescuers themselves. I Gabriel Aquinas, Shield Archon of Damerrich, and Factor of the Harmonium. You have our thanks for braving the winds of Pandemonium, and leave us indebted to you.” Gabriel bows deeply to one knee, as his armour does not permit him to bow just at the waist.<br/><br/>He next addresses the female Harmonium member, “Now to business, Suavita, did you recover what you set our for?”<br/><br/>“Indeed Sir,” she replies. “It was exactly where we predicted it would be, lodged in the trunk of the tree. Thok had just enough time to hid it in his extradimensional moleskin pouch before we were ambushed by a hag also seeking it. Fortunately, the illusions on the pouch ensured it remained concealed initially, and we were rescued before they could search us more thoroughly.” She nods towards you in acknowledgement at this.<br/><br/>The ogre produces a orb of unmelting ice from somewhere in his belly.  you can see that there is a hollow space within it, carved in the shape of some strange script that none of you recognize. The only thing you can determine is that it represents a single word.<br/><br/>“A course, we don’t know which word it is yet, but now that we have it, its certainly something we can work on,” says the Ogre sagely.<br/><br/>“It will take time,” Gabriel nods in agreement, “There are better things to do at this juncture.”<br/><br/>“My friends,” he asks you, “how can we be of service in settling you in our grand city? You have the look of those who have only recently step onto the planes.”