[Athar] It's Not Paranoia...

The Athar are quite aware that their position at the base of the Spire is not secure. All their old enemies from their time in Sigil remain, and their new neighbors the rilmani haven't exactly welcomed them with open arms. What's more, the Athar's new home is one ill-suited to defense against infiltrations and raids - without magic to use as an odds-evener, any determined attack against the Deniers is almost certain to cause too much damage to the weakened faction... unless the Athar can prepare for it beforehand.

This thinking has caused the Athar to begin an elaborate process of fortifying the Outlands side of all the portals they control - guaranteeing that absolutely no one passes through without the faction's knowledge and approval. These guardposts are secured with mechanical traps, guards with special defenses and other abilities normally only easily countered with magic, and everything else the Athar can devise to insure that an enemy doesn't get anything like an easy shot at the Spire.

These security measures do come at a cost, of course. Every bit of time and energy spent on portal checkpoints is effort not available for other plots, and getting supplies and new factioneers from Sigil to the Spire is that much tougher as well. Potential allies of the Athar may also be concerned with working with a group that puts such a priority on absolute defense. The rilmani certainly have not appreciated the Deniers' fanaticism on security matters. Still, if the mania for guardposts and checkpoints is sufficient to stop attacks from the Athar's enemies, it all will have been worth it.

- Sweltergate: A Typical Guardpost (CR 10)
This is one of the smaller, less frequently used checkpoints manned by the Athar. While the faction's leaders don't expect an immediate attack through the portal by an army of proxies, a small group of guards still remains active here. They have orders to verify the credentials of anyone exiting the portal, turn back anyone not friendly to the Athar, and notify their superiors of any and all arrivals.

What makes this guardpost so unusual is its core staff. Two experienced faction members, named Jerrn Kolakash (Human M Brb4/Ftr2, AL N) and Sofiana (Fire genasi F Rog5, AL N) share command of the garrison, but their main support is not other Deniers but instead a troupe of four mercenary fire mephits. Ghodo (Fire mephit Brb1, AL N), Lhodo (Fire mephit Rog1, AL N), Thodo (Fire mephit Ftr1, AL N) and Zhodo (Fire mephit Rog1, AL N) have only recently arrived at the Spire, lured by promises from Sofiana, offers of training in the ways of stealth and combat, and the prospect of cold, hard cash. While they have proved worth their pay so far and are unexpectedly nasty combatants in a place where magic weapons can't easily pierce their hides nor spell-power negate their fast healing, the higher-ups responsible for neighboring outposts sometimes wonder how the quartet will fare in the face of a serious battle. Still, they might come through. One never knows...

The construction of Sweltergate is fairly straightforward - stone walls surrounding the portal on all sides, set with small holes from which the guards can observe visitors (and, if necessary, jab at them with shortspears kept on hand for just that purpose) and a single door, locked (DC 30) and double-barred (DC 28) from the Spire side. Beyond the checkpoint are living quarters and training area for the guards and their support staff, which includes at least a couple of torches kept lit at all times for the mephits' convenience. Bypassing or breaking through the barriers here would be simplicity itself in most parts of the multiverse, but near the Spire such things are drastically more difficult...