Combat resumes

To recap, initiative order is the Tarrasque, then Rusty, Horus, The Captain, Dennis, Louie, Raymond, Vilgax and Gary.

Round 3

The Tarrasque regenerates, but briefly freezes. While it is motionless, Dennis hears a voice, tempting him: “Why do you fight? Rejoin me and I will allow you to retain a sliver of yourself. Fight me and you will be destroyed utterly!” Having regularly been on the receiving end of shit offers like that, Dennis doesn’t give it a moments consideration and tells the voice to get nicked. Rusty and Horus have a brief telepathic discussion about what they remember about a Crown of Domination, and what its range would be - trying to figure out if there has to be someone in the cavern controlling this thing. They come to the conclusion that the controller only needed to be close during the initial brainwashing, and could be anywhere now. Rusty also notes that the voice tempting Dennis is singling him out - not as if it were targeting the group leader, but as if it were looking for Dennis personally. The voice also shares some linguistic similarities to Dennis’ mode of speech. We get it - it’s Sinned, all right?

The Tarrasque briefly tries to grab The Captain’s Tower Shield of Force, but it doesn’t move for anyone but The Captain. So he clobbers Vilgax instead. Vilgax loses concentration on Bless. The Tarrasque then moves toward Horus and stomps him, then tail spikes him. Ouch. He also tail spikes Vilgax for good measure. Apparently it is smash Vilgax and Horus day.

Rusty moves around the edge of the column and hits the Tarrasque with Shatter, then moves back behind the column.

Horus decides that magic has failed him, so he casts Fly upon himself and whips out his Flayer Slayer (I really hope that is a weapon and not a euphemism), and hits the Tarrasque a few times.

Dennis tries to fly around the right hand side of the column he is behind an smacks into a Wall of Force. Irritated, he Shadow Steps through it right next to the Tarrasque and whips it twice.

Louie and Raymond start to run around the Walls of Force, and notice that the first wall is now flickering, as if it is about to come down. We figure that the duration of the walls is 2 rounds. Louie and Raymond reverse course and move back to the first wall, and wait for it to fall - keeping a ready action for a ranged attack.

Vilgax gives Dennis and Rusty resistance to piercing damage, then heals himself.

Gary notices that there is a patch of glittering purple peeking out from the rubble below him. Then he doesn’t, then we look up data about Bat eyesight, and he does again.

Round 4

The Tarrasque bites Horus for 52 HP, and grapples and retrains him. Then it regenerates. The voice returns: “You are all but cattle. Your lives have no purpose other than to be food for your betters. Be honoured to be fuel for superior life forms.” Not the most seductive pitch, this bad guy obviously needs to go to the Villain School for Public Speaking. Rusty was ready for this, and tries to listen in on any telepathic communication going to or from the Tarrasque during these episodes. He detects a voice thinking “All this time and they haven’t made a critical hit once? What losers.”

The Tarrasque swallows Horus, then tail spikes Raymond (miss), Louie (hit), Dennis (hit), and Gary (hit and dies). Then he stomps Vilgax, The Captain and Dennis. The Captain and Dennis both make their saves and laugh it off, but Vilgax falls over.

Rusty ducks out from behind the column again, Shatter’s the Tarrasque, and ducks back behind the column again.

Horus, who is still flying, flies up the Tarrasque’s throat and punches it right in the uvula, causing a gag reflex. The Tarrasque vomits Horus out, and sprays Dennis, The Captain and Vilgax with bile. The Captain and Dennis once again laugh it off, but Vilgax cops a face full. Vilgax drops concentration on Protection from Energy and Dennis and Rusty’s piercing resistance goes away. Horus spins around and tries to hit the Tarrasque with his Flayer Slayer (really hope that isn’t a euphemism) twice, and misses both times. His anxiety over that causes him to rewind time briefly to give him another go - which also misses - but fortuitously brings Gary back to life. The Captain and Horus’ Intellect Fortress is back up!

The Captain casts Bigby’s Hand from his Bigby’s Beneficent Bracelet, throws it down the Tarrasque’s mouth and has it grab on to its uvula. Nice!

Dennis then whips the Tarrasque 5 times, but no crits.

The Tarrasque claw attacks Louie. Raymond notices Blackrazor in the corner, enticing him to come and be friends again. The illusion is slightly marred by the phallic shape of Blackrazor, though, and Raymond resists. From now on, the sword is canonically known as Dickrazor. Raymond attempts to bite the Tarrasque but misses. Louie takes a swing and hits!

Vilgax fires off a spell that grants every member of the party 120 temporary hit points. Nice!

Gary flies down from the cavern roof to the purple sparkle and moves a bit of the rubble away from around it, so we can get a good look. It appears to be the psychic crystal we came to retrieve.

Round 5

The Tarrasque bites at Horus but misses! The it stomps Louie and Raymond, who both make their saves. Then it claws Dennis and grapples him. Then it spikes Vilgax and Louie.

Rusty attempts to move around the pillars again, but is cock-blocked by a wall of force. So he goes back to hiding behind the wall.

Horus takes a swing at the Tarrasque, and misses a lot. With a significant amount of assistance from other members of the party, he manages to eke out one hit.

The Captain Bigby Punches the Tarrasque right in the uvula, doing 52HP. Then he sneak attacks it for another 30HP. Fair enough, too - anyone would be distracted by being punched in the uvula!

Dennis starts swinging his whip around again, but being grappled doesn’t help, and he only hits once.

Raymond attempts to bite the Tarrasque but misses. Then he tries again and critical misses - but The Captain leans out from behind his tower shield and says “I’m a halfling!” Raymond re-rolls, and gets the first critical hit of the entire combat! He bites the Tarrasque’s toe, and the entire monster shudders. All the wounds we had inflicted which were closing due to its regeneration stopped closing and re-opened. Better, Raymond’s hit does triple damage - 129HP!

Vilgax telepathically chats with Horus, asking what type of save it has to fail for Banishment? The answer is a DC 19 Charisma save.

Gary chills out in the corner.

Round 6

The Tarrasque attempts to swallow Dennis, but Bigby’s Hand shuts down that nonsense. Dennis still takes the bite damage, but is now free, sitting in the Tarrasque’s mouth. The Tarrasque claws Horus, and grapples him. Then it stomps Louie and Raymond, who are knocked prone.

Rusty ducks out through the gap created by the dispelling Wall of Force and Shatters the Tarrasque again, before once again ducking back into hiding.

The Captain Bigby Punches the Tarrasque in the uvula again, then hits it with another sneak attack.

Dennis whips the ever-loving shit out of the Tarrasque’s tongue from inside it’s mouth, and manages one critical in 5 hits. Nice! Then he flies out of the mouth.

Raymond hits the Tarrasque in the toe with another critical, and actually manages to knock the beast prone. Louie then hits it and smites it.

The Tarrasque is now rolling on its back, tentacles flailing around. Horus flies high above it, raises his hands into the air like he just doesn’t care, and shrilly exclaims “Begone, disgusting beast!” Then he throws his hands downward, casting Banishment. The Tarrasque fails to save with a 13, and disappears!

Loot the cavern

The Captain, Dennis and Horus cooperate to extract the psychic crystal from the wall of the cavern. It requires a strength check (The Captain), a medicine check (Dennis) and an arcana check (Horus), which all succeed.

Then we run like hell, given that Banishment only lasts for 1 minute.

Back out of the cavern, and up the tunnel to where we had a cave-in. The Captain starts digging away with his trusty shovel - Dennis remains at his shoulder, ready to shadow-step him away if the roof decides to fall back in. We get through without incident, though.

At the mine entrance, Rusty re-activates Invisibility from his Ring of Spell Storing and flies out to scout, as he is the only one who the Mind Flayers can’t sense. Except for The Captain and Horus, if the Intellect Fortress is still up from Gary - I can’t remember the duration of that spell. Anyway, there’s no Mind Flayer at the entrance, nor do we see on on our trip to Mirg’s place.

When we knock on Mirg’s door, Mirg ushers us in saying “Mirg sees you are alive! Give me the crystal!” We do, and he frantically crushes it up before shoving the entire thing up his nose. Contrary to Rusty’s expectations, it actually does give him the ability to create psychic tattoos. That’s a welcome surprise, and the party gets the following:

Character	Mark	Effect
The Captain	Thievery	Gain expertise in a skill you do not already have expertise in. Rogues get +1d6 sneak attack.
Dennis	Monkhood	Can use DEX in place of STR for weapons. Monks can increase their ki by their WIS modifier.
Rusty	Sorcery	Cantrips gain +damage equal to spellcasting modifier. Gain sorcery points equal to CHA modifier.
Horus	Wizardry	Know Prestidigitation. Wizards get any cantrip and can prepare an additional number of total spell slots equal to their INT modifier.
Louie	Devout	Gain Thaumaturgy cantrip. Clerics gain any cantrip and an extra channel divinity.
Raymond	Quick	+2 Dexterity.

Most of the party has a long rest at Mirg’s place, the exception being Dennis, who takes a short rest, and Rusty who doesn’t really need a rest at all. They both keep watch over the sleepers, keenly aware that in this place, dreams can become real. During the night, Horus’ bed builds up a mound of sand under it, with a doll-sized beach chair in it. We should give that to Orianna. Next to Horus’ head where Gary is lying, a small pile of guano forms.

The Captain’s bed is slowly sinking into the floor. When it looks as though The Captain might actually sink into the floor, Rusty lifts him up and moves him. The floor is very hot, and bubbles. Gradually it cools, and appears to solidify into a different material. Later on, Rusty digs some out (with Mirg’s permission) and gets a pile of obsidian, which he keeps for later.

Absolutely nothing happens around Louie’s bed. Twelve large, dead flies litter the area around Raymond.

Back to Mt Makab

Once again, the party looks toward Mt Makab. Frankly, by this point, Rusty has almost given up hope we’ll ever actually go there. How wrong he was! Vilgax suggests we all head to the teleportation circle. Mirg shows us his shortcut, which predictably involves standing on top of a geyser when it goes off, flinging us into the air above Bluetspur until we come to earth, quite close to the mountain. Unharmed, too! Nice. The party descends into the canyons leading toward the mountain and begins to walk. We all feel the palpable psychic hum that fills the air around Mt Makab, but now, we are not developing headaches or taking damage. Vilgax advises us:

The complex under Mt Makab is a vast, sprawling complex; carefully designed to facilitate research and scientific endeavor. It will be filled with Mind Flayers, all connected to a hive mind. We must be careful not to alert the hive to our presence. May I offer some suggestions as to how we can avoid detection?

We say yes.

First, we could try to charm them. My kind are surprisingly susceptible to such manipulation.

Second, we could modify their memories, implant false recollections of us behaving like obedient thralls.

Third, we should think on the surface level deceiving thoughts that mimic thrall behaviour.

Louie, with your faith revolving around abberations your divine smite against abberations would be crucial. Have you figured out how to manipulate their memories via your smite? When you use it, they will have to contest their will power with your casting power (WIS vs Intimidation). You’ll be able to control what they perceive. Use this advantage wisely.

We should locate my old colleague, Dr Elaris. She possesses toxins that, when combined with Dennis and The Captain’s weapons will befuddle and scramble their minds. This could give us a significant edge.

To avoid psionic detection, we should locate and acquire specific magic items inside such as a Ring of Mind Shielding to hide our thoughts, and an Amulet of Proof Against Detection and Location to block their scrying attempts.

Remember, our survival depends on our ability to deceive and outmaneuver my kind.

As we get closer to Mt Makab, the air gets colder and heavier. The walls of the ravine pulse and undulate, and the crystals embedded within them glow purple. Eventually, the passageway opens up to a giant cavern, littered with stalactites and patches of pulsing brain matter. In the centre of the space is a large archway that emits a tingling psychic energy. Horus brings out the Sibriex ink and completes the glyphs surrounding the arch. The gate activates, and Vilgax is the first through. The rest of the party follows, and we find ourselves in a cavern of impossible geometry.

Finally! Inside!

We move down a corridor, lined with a mural called “The Philosoflayer Ascendant”, which the party takes the time to decipher. It’s the usual neo-fascist stuff: a poorly constructed blend of “Atlas Shrugged” and “Mein Kampf”, with a side order of Incel. Leaving the shallow propaganda behind, we move down a passageway which appears to be a dead end. Bloody puddles leak from the walls. Dennis approaches to look in a puddle. He can see his own reflection (does Dennis actually have a reflection?) and it appears to be speaking, but too softly to hear. Dennis isn’t putting his head any closer to the blood than he needs to, but he doesn’t have to, because he can lip read. The reflection appears to be saying something, but it is impossible to understand - until we realise the reflection is saying it backward: “In order to open the door, telepathically say open to it.” Dennis relays this information to Rusty, and the door irises open.

In the room beyond there are three doors, and a crazed gnome. Not a deep gnome, oddly - a rock gnome. The gnome has wires trailing out of his ears, which look like they may be an earlier version of the hearing aid Louie obtained from Rig. His left eye twitches, and he mutters non-sensical phrases, muttering of whispers from the walls, and bolts in the bones. The Captain converses with the gnome, and tries to calm him down by singing a soothing lullaby (utilising his recently gained expertise in Performance). His song is about life on the high seas as a pirate. The gnome is suddenly interested - “You were a pirate? You have cogs?” There may have been brief confusion between a Cog and a cog, but it turns out he means a gear. The Captain asks Horus for a cog, but Horus can’t help. The Captain pulls out a pocket watch and gives it to the gnome. “Really? You give this to Twitch?” His name is Twitch. “If you can’t figure out how to get through the doors, you can always press that brain.” The Captain does press that brain, and a square pit opens up in the centre of the room.

Meanwhile, Rusty moves toward the central door, and trips over a crystal embedded in the floor. He picks it up - it is a memory crystal, which you need to use ki to activate. He gives it to Dennis to review. When Dennis activates it, he receives a vision of utter beauty, and a voice says “We were the masters of time and space, our civilisation spanned astral citadels of splendour never seen before or since. We conquered all who came before us, and our empire grew. But as our power grew, so did our hubris, and we fell into shadow and ruin.” The vision then shows civil war, citadels crumbling and lost glory fading into darkness.

Horus approaches the right hand door, which glows with a glyph, and poses a riddle: “No lock can hold me, no gate can bar. I flow through walls both near and far. What am I?” Horus makes several incorrect guesses to increasing levels of psychic damage, complaining all the while about how stupid the riddle is and how there are a myriad of possible, correct answers. He knows by now that it is not whispers, noise, shouting, or water. Eventually Dennis comes up with “Thought” and the door opens.

The party is now presented with two different ways of passing the room, but we’re in a completionist mood, so we press on.

Twitch, possibly bored, does a back flip into the pit in the centre of the room and disappears. Dennis goes over to see how deep it is - it looks to be at least 1000 feet deep. There is a speck of light at the bottom. Based on Ethan’s rules for falling damage, the gnome should have taken, on average, 350HP of damage from that fall. Maybe it was enough to cause him to spontaneously ignite?

Louie has been studying the left door. It has four crystal pillars, 5 feet apart, joined by beams of light. There is a Ruby Red pillar, representing Harmony; a Sapphire pillar representing Unity; an Emerald pillar representing Truth, and an Amethyst pillar, representing Will. There is some fumbling, and psychic damage, but eventually we figure it out - we all hold a different pillar, and the pillars flash with light, counting down. On the count of “one”, we all call out one of the representation words randomly, and we all randomly chose “Harmony”, and the door opened.

There is one door left, but we are tired, and Jim has an assignment to do.

We all level up - Level 12!