Deciding to not interfere with the fate of the fiend serving its punishment the party moves on, crossing the bridge across the pit.  As you move past him his pleas continue and then turn into curses as the fiend realizes you will not be aiding it.  As you move out of range you are thankful the onslaught of curses no longer fill your minds.  The way back will not be enjoyable.

Ahead the thirty-foot-tall obelisk ringed by seven smaller standing stones which rises from the crest of this hill comes closer into view. You can see a tall man wearing tattered robes strides between the standing stones, gesticulating wildly and screaming curses into the wind.

As you get closer the man notices you and stops and greets you eagerly and is keen to divulge details of his studies.  His conversation often trails off on confusing tangents but eventually you glean enough from him that he does not remember his name.  When asked about the Bleeding Citadel, the wizard promises to direct you to “someone who can help,” provided they help him solve the enigma of the obelisk first.

"Please, please. The obelisk is so fascinating! You seem capable of solving the mystery for me!  Or with me, or despite me.  Does that work?  Is that the right word?  Oh no matter, the key is in the stones, the stones that circle the obelisk.  Do you see them, eight there are, so many and so few!   Each of the standing stones is keyed to one of the eight schools of magic! They are abjuration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, evocation, illusion, necromancy, and transmutation." He rattles them off quickly and continues "My theory suggests that the central obelisk grants a boost in arcane power to mages across the cosmos, help me in empowering it!  We can do it together!  When it is done I know who can help you.  Help me to help you. Yes?""

Kaelani will inspect the smaller stones encircling the obelisk, trying to determine which stone is associated with which school of magic. If he deduces a stone for Evocation magic, he will cast Fire Bolt at it and see what happens...

If nothing blows up, he will repeat this for the Conjuration stone (Mage Hand), Divination stone (Guidance), and Necromancy stone (Spare the Dying). 

Quote from Rhanloi >>

Kaelani will inspect the smaller stones encircling the obelisk, trying to determine which stone is associated with which school of magic. If he deduces a stone for Evocation magic, he will cast Fire Bolt at it and see what happens...

If nothing blows up, he will repeat this for the Conjuration stone (Mage Hand), Divination stone (Guidance), and Necromancy stone (Spare the Dying). 

 Make an Arcana check please

Arcana: 4 (here goes...mighty +1 to the roll!!)

Tibi looks at Kaelani with dismay "you never learn do you Sobpia. Don't touch magic or fiddle with magic stuff!" He turns to Drabash and says "I think we should take cover - you never know what is going to happen!" 

Drabash was not overly interested in the magic stones, to him they are just rocks. But firebolting them?  Drabash gets low to the ground and takes what shelter he can in case of reflections..

Kaelani moves up and examines the stones.  He is able to quickly discern that the arcane runes do indeed relate to the eight schools of magic.  His bolt of fire slams into the stone for Evocation magic which seems to absorb the energy.  He tries the same with the other magics of his cantrips and again the stones absorb the magic.

"See, see!  This is what I need.  Please, each of you place a hand upon a different stone.  Choose which stone you wish to touch.  This will assist in channeling the streams of magic."  the man continues. 

"Touch stones infused with magic I don't think so! I heard about a woman who did that once and found the love of her life in another time. Tymora only knows where I'd end up?"Tibi comments staying well clear of the stones.

"Does anyone have any spells from the other schools of magic at their disposal?" Kaelani asks the group. "We need abjuration, enchantment, illusion, and transmutation. I have a powerful Abjuration spell if we must use it, although I would rather preserve it for a needed time."

"I'm not going to touch the stones" states Drabash flatly. "We know nothing about you, how do we know who you are and what scam you are running?" he continues. "Are you from Nigeria?"

The man looks at you, dejected and with despair. "Fine, I admit the truth.  The pit fiend Bel imprisoned me inside this circle of standing stones. To torment me Bel revealed that the secret to escaping the prison was hidden in the arcane runes etched across the standing stones. Ever since I've tried futilely to solve the riddle and escape."

The disguise of the man drops and before you stands a Barlgura.

"I implore you, please seek out Mephistopheles and return with an answer to my puzzle.  I can then help lead you to the bleeding citadel."  He then explains how to reach the Mirror of Mephistopheles (shown on map) and it is nearly due east past Haruman's Hill.

"There is a magic mirror (the Mirror of Mephistar) that can be used to gaze into Cania and contact the archdevil, Mephistopheles. If you win over Mephistopheles, I promise to guide you to someone who can help you find the Bleeding Citadel."

"Well lads looks like we''d better go find this mirror, otherwise we'll spend a whole time down here wandering around at random!" Tibi says as he sets off in the direction of Haruman's Hill.

"Hey Tibi," calls out Drabash, "you're not fast enough, hitch a ride on the back, but cross the Styx by yourself!" Then to the others he says "All aboard, lets get this show on the road." And once everyone is in and strapped down, he takes off in the direction of Haruman's Hill. Once on the move he says, "Do you think it will be safe to use the mirror or are we heading into another trap?"

Loaded back into the war machine you race back across the landscape, cross the River Styx, past Haruman's Hill and arrive at your destination. 

Strangely it felt like this took no time at all. What took hours to finally reach The Tower of Urm and then the Obelisk has been travelled in a mere hour at most.  Time and distance work very strangely in Avernus and you are unsure how long it would take to get anywhere.

A giant slab of ice is wedged at the end of this craggy ravine. Through its surface, you glimpse a glacial landscape draped in snow.  Before you stands a  20-foot-tall mirror of ice. 

Do you dare to look at your reflection?

Although he is not afraid and in fact quite interested in seeing his reflection in the slab of ice mirror, after the last encounter and Kaelani's solo magic use, he decides to let another make the first move. 

Tibi watches Khaelani start to turn towards the mirror and then turn away as if he is having second thoughts Tibi turns to Drabash saying "you know given his love of shiny things and dare I say himself I was sure he was going to look in the mirror but it looks there is hope for him yet!"

Lulu flies nearby.

"Well, one of you is going to need to look in the mirror.  You need to contact the archdevil, Mephistopheles and convince him to help us. Too bad Gil isn't here anymore.  He would have done it."

As Lulu advises that there will be no progress until somebody looks in the mirror Tibi mutters to Drabash "talk about the elephant in the room!" before making sure his hat is on straight and the feather just right turns to the mirror saying "well I suppose this is what they pay leaders for?"

Drabash stays in the drivers seat, ready to catch Lulu and race off if needed.

Tibi steps out and looks into the mirror.  He had taken a moment to set his hat straight and his feather just right.  But as he looks at his reflection what he sees appalls him.  What he sees is a soulless, haggard reflection of himself.  His hat is torn and encrusted with rime and the feather is tattered and torn . This apparition stands in a frozen tundra, desolate save for a tower of ice far in the distance which you recognize the tower as Mephistar, lair of the archdevil Mephistopheles from your studies in Candlekeep.

A cambion becomes visible in the icy world beyond the mirror, swooping down from the direction of the tower. His skin is cadaver-blue, and his face is frozen in a scream. He holds a kettle of steaming water in one hand. Before speaking, he pours the boiling water over his face to thaw it out. After each utterance, the ice spreads over his face again, freezing into an expression of pained anguish.

"I am Rigorath emissary of my master Mephistopheles.  I offer you knowledge and power in return for your assistance  To fulfill your end of the bargain, you must dam the flow of the River Styx where it spills into a nearby slime-filled chasm called the Pit of Shummrath."

The ice spreads over his face again, freezing into an expression of pained anguish and he repeats the action of pouring the hot water on his face and continues. 

"If you fulfill your side of the bargain, I will grant you rare knowledge: a secret you desire and a permanent increase to your Intelligence or Wisdom."

His face again freezes as he awaits your answer.