WitW - Session 46
The party took a brief moment to prepare before descending into the hole. Horace instinctively relied on Glitter to float him down, while Jeatz and Almyre took the more practical approach of rappelling with rope. Once at the bottom, they hid behind a large rock, concealed from the impending threat.
However, Jeatz was hit with an involuntary wild magic surge, causing him to start floating away. Fortunately, the effect wore off after a minute, sparing him from an untimely ascent.
Suddenly, Mind Flayers descended upon them, declaring that Thexalith, the Great Heretic, did not like to be kept waiting. Two others, still unseen, were performing a ritual to bring Thexalith to full power. As the battle began, the party was relentlessly assailed by intelligence-saving throws from the Mind Flayers’ oppressive mental presence. While Almyre resisted the assault with ease, the rest of the party quickly found themselves struggling as the psychic onslaught took its toll.
Jeatz, in a stroke of bad luck, wasted a 5th-level spell slot, missing his Chaos Bolt, and immediately blacked out. When he came to, his next Chaos Bolt struck the unfortunate Horace instead. Meanwhile, Almyre unleashed her signature Fireball to obliterate the swarm of fast-approaching cranium rats. Horace took down the first Mind Flayer with a well-placed trip attack before finally drawing his longbow for the first time.
After slaying half a dozen more rats, the party pushed forward, emerging from the darkness. Before them, they found two Mind Flayers engaged in a ritual to summon an Elder Brain—one that was adorned with the crown they sought. Suddenly, a surge of psionic energy erupted from the well, flinging Glitter down with its sheer force. As the massive Brain loomed before them, the party was struck with terror, each of them gripped by fear.
Almyre managed to take down the second Mind Flayer before turning her hex upon the Brain itself. Meanwhile, Glitter fell under the Brain’s influence, but Jeatz recognized the effect just in time, Counterspelling the Confusion spell before it could take hold.
Horace activated Thorn’s ability—Holy Weapon—and charged forward, cutting down another Mind Flayer in a single strike. With his momentum carrying him forward, he turned his attention to Thexalith, unleashing two devastating critical hits while action surging. As a final flourish, he dismissed Holy Weapon, dealing a staggering 103 damage in total. However, before he could celebrate his triumph, Thexalith immediately grappled him and hurled him across the room.
Seizing the moment, the Elder Brain followed up with a massive Mind Blast, hitting the entire party. Horace fell unconscious, and with the party still shaken by fear, they were unable to reach him in time.
Glitter took another devastating hit from a brain blast. Barely clinging to life, she used the last of her strength to retreat, diving into Almyre’s cloak, barely conscious. The party was in dire straits, surviving only by burning through their stockpile of potions.
Jeatz, in the midst of the chaos, used Absorb Elements to mitigate some of the damage. His wild magic surged again—this time, making him overwhelmingly happy for the next hour. Finally, he cast Fireball, delivering the final blow to Thexalith. With its master slain, the last remaining cranium rat attempted to plead for its life, but Jeatz ignored its cries and cut it down with an opportunity attack.
As the dust settled, Glitter and Horace regained consciousness, and the party approached the stage. To their surprise, the crown still housed the spirit of the long-deceased princess. When Jeatz donned it, Princess Thidia manifested as a ghost. Though her memory was fragmented, she theorized that the Mind Flayers had kept their victims’ brains alive after their failed attempt to destroy them—feeding on them in some twisted fashion. She lamented that her father never came to save her and her people. Almyre, however, told her the grim truth: her father had destroyed the elevator to ensure that whatever lurked below never reached the surface again.
Preparing to leave, the party gathered five more doses of the enchanted gems. Thidia, using her magic, activated the elevator, allowing them to ascend. As they rose, the party had time to reflect on their discoveries. They came to a crucial realization: the memory magic that Exurbia wields over her domain is merely a memory charm—just like Jordigan’s cryptic comment about King Melchior’s reign suggested. If so, then these enchanted gems might be the key to breaking her hold over them.
