Football shaped? Or football player shaped?

Session 68

Whether or not we wanted to, we know we need to follow her through the gate to the other side. Though the floor feels solid, it doesn't feel stable. Everything is made from dark stone and tile, and seems to be floating and disconnected in some way, much of it covered in spider webs and the like. It's not difficult to navigate, but certainly isn't welcoming. There's a pond of milky, silvery white liquid with black swirls moving around within it. Toward the back of the room there's a second level configured in an oval. Similar to what we saw in Volantim, but not the same deities or historical influence. But it's certainly Elven in design, and would have been used for worship.

There are two platforms on each side that could have served as pulpits of some sort. But this entire space has been repurposed for darker, malevolent purposes. Certainly memories of people being tortured are present, even though no one is physically here. At the end of this broken and defiled temple, sitting on a chair, is Joriel Kryn, Priestess of Lolth.

“Welcome, welcome. It's so good to finally see my newest reincarnation. Here, in a temple, that belongs to us. Where you, you, could rejoin the great web.”

Prophet looks around in awe and says that he loves what she's done with the place. "I take it you're Juriel?"

“I mean, we are all Juriel here. Isn't that what's wonderful?”

From the shadows steps out another of Juriel's past lives. Male presenting monk, wearing harem pants, with a shaved head, and a tattoo of a spider on his chest. He's also got long metal chains dangling from his arms. Standing on the right platform is another, smaller and svelte. An Elven ranger, but not Drow with dark skin and black hair. Armed with a short-sword dripping with shadow in one hand, and in the other a small crossbow.

They regard us as the Priestess steps forward, and says, "Unfortunately, it seems you didn't come here to join the web willingly. It seems it'll be by force..."

Prophet tries to say he's brought more followers for her, but his deceit doesn't work. At the same time, Cass feels something digging into her mind, and needs a WIS saving throw. Seems to make it, but Juriel is still able to discern that we're here to stop her in some way, and that we’re psychically linked.

Initiative!

Yahnist hits, and detects that she has no vulnerabilities, is resistant to psychic damage, but not immune to any conditions. Resistance to being charmed or frightened. He goes for the monk with his second attack, but in a quick motion the enemy grabs the crossbow bolt and redirects toward Prophet, and hits. He's Drow and has the same resistance to being frightened or charmed, and is immune to sleep.

The monk goes next and uses Step of the Wind to start running across the water and goes straight for Prophet. He's hit right into the stomach. Briya mentally broadcasts: "If he goes down, do we all go down?" And Prohpet is hit again, then the monk runs away back across the water.

Briya gives herself a fire shield, and wildshapes into a Large Minotaur. Maltheo attacks the monk and successfully stuns it, but misses his second attack, then moves into melee range of Juriel. Cass’s Echo performs the help action and a big white spider arrives out of the floor and attacks Cass, who takes poison damage and is also poisoned.

Juriel looks at the ranger, and gives them a wink. Then sings a version of the song of creation and creates a swirl of incense smoke around her in 15 feet acting as spirit guardians. Maltheo tries to use his reaction to attack, but just… disappears. The ranger moves in and attacks Æsheryn for damage, and shadow-steps away, but he retaliates by Banishing her.

A red spider appears in response and attacks Æsheryn, but he maintains concentration, while Cass uses contingency to blink away and then casts Haste on Yahnist.

Prophet gives extra fire damage to himself, Briya, and Yahnist. But at the end of his turn there's a WIS save. He is to describe one of his cherished memories. He describes his mother singing lullabies to him; and suddenly it's gone from his memory. He now has disadvantage on CHA checks.

An orange spider arrives and attacks the Echo. Yahnist attacks the stunned monk twice and then kills the white spider. Briya as a Minotaur charges and gores the stunned monk. Maltheo attacks multiple times on Juriel, and causes her to use a legendary resistance to stop from being stunned. Finally a flurry of blows on the orange spider kills it. These attacks make Juriel drop her concentration on her spirit guardians and the Echo prepares to help again.

Juriel makes an animating performance, and as she's singing, Prophet hears a part of the song he's never heard before. Maltheo hears the sound of metal on the floor as the iron maiden begins to animate, in addition to 4 other items. She then healing words herself, and Maltheo reacts to this by hitting with an attack. Then her items begin. The iron maiden misses Maltheo; Stone misses too. Pouch and Trap move up to Cass. Rune misses Æsheryn.

Æsehryn tries to heal himself, but it counterspelled. So he then Word of Radiances the monk, red spider, and Rune. Two of them take damage. Cass uses the magic staff and dispels magic on the iron maiden, Rune, and Stone. Pouch and Trap remain.

Prophet runs and then misty steps to the area with Juriel, in a purple and red flash of flames and gives fire damage to her. Then he makes an animating performance while leaning on the iron maiden, and the throne behind her comes alive. Prophet tries to make it grapple Juriel, but it fails. Prophet fails another CON save and this time takes psychic damage and a level of exhaustion.

Yahnist hastily runs into the middle of the room and arc-attacks Juriel three times for 38 damage with Hunter's mark. The monk stands up and tries to attack Æsheryn but misses everything. Briya gets a huge hit on the red spider, and backs away, which gives the monk an opportunity attack which hits, but fails the stunning strike. It then takes fire damage from Briya's shield.

Maltheo goes for Juriel and hits, then tries to stunning strike but she uses another legendary resistance. He misses the second attack, tries a final time, and hits with another stunning strike. This triggers Juriel to use her final legendary resistance. She hits back with a Power Word: Stun, which Cass tries to temporal shunt, but Juriel then counterspells that.

"Do you think locking me away will work? Do you think it will be easy? You'll lock away all those secrets; all that power. Are you really ready to lose it all, and just have the other two?” (Implying Vesh and the Phoenix).

"Unbeknownst to me, I've been fighting your deceitfulness and treachery my entire life. Knowing I can get rid of you brings me the greatest joy."

Trap and Pouch try to attack Cass but they both miss. Æsheryn heals himself and Tolls the Dead on the red spider, but it still lives. Cass tries to momentary stasis the monk and succeeds, then misty steps away. Prophet melee attacks Juriel, but misses, and then gives bardic inspiration to Maltheo. Then he tells the throne to attack her, but it misses.

Prophet makes an INT saving throw. Fails, and forgets the spell Suggestion.

Yahnist walks over and kills the red spider with a stomp, then continues to attack. Misses one shot but hits Juriel with his final one.Briya charges in and tries to gore attack, but misses. Maltheo tries to escape his stun and fails, but is Silvery Barbed. His second attempt works and he’s ready for the next round. Echo prepares the help action.

Juriel casts Power Word: Kill on Æsheryn, which Maltheo tries to stop but can’t, who then immediately disappears and wakes back in his body in Rosohna in the material plane. This removes the Banishment on the ranger. Juriel then has her Pouch and Trap attack Cass, and they both hit for a total of 22 force damage. The ranger mid-air teleports and tries to shoot at Yahnist, while Cass tries to Temporal Shunt her. It works and the ranger disappears.

Æsheryn wakes up wet in the pool of tears, covered with the water lily vines. In fact, it feels like they'd all been covered more. The two guards that were in the pool with us are unconscious. Niminion is holding the Homunculus and talking to it.

Cass tries to Momentary Stasis the monk, fails, and steps away. Prophet tries to shove Juriel into the Iron maiden. He fails at first, but Cass silvery barbs it into a success and tells the throne to block her in there, then gives Cass bardic inspiration.

Prophet fails a WIS save, and takes psychic damage. He also forgets a key fact or figure in his life: Axon. We get the feeling there's only moments remaining to finish this without obliterating Prophet.

Yahnist holds the Maiden closed, with Juriel inside, and brings it toward the lake. Then he ties the cage shut. The monk tries to attack Yahnist and misses once, then hits, and then stuns him. Then he moves and jump-attacks Cass with Flurry of blows which hits for 15 and then pulls Cass to the ground when she fails a DEX save. Cass cannot take reactions for a round.

Briya moves Prophet toward the Maiden, and drops her wildshape. Then casts Hold Person on the Maiden. Maltheo reappears and moves toward the cage. He gets there and is able to realize that two parts of it can be brought together to make a lock. He uses his thieve's tools to try and bring it together to make a lockable space.

Echo helps Prophet. Juriel is held within the Maiden where she fails an escape save. Then the ranger reappears, and begins panicking. Jumps over next to Prophet and tries two attacks, which both hit for a total of 38 piercing necrotic damage. Cass investigates the pool with a nat 20 arcana check. The substance is pure dunamantic power and is nearly certain that pushing her into a pool of possibility will be a great way of making her not come back. She holds her action to cast Vortex Warp.

Prophet's brain isn't doing well, but he then realizes that this whole time he's got something with him that he's forgotten about. The ranger tries to attack but gets a nat 1. Prophet pulls the blue key out of his pocket and tries to lock the maiden with a click. It seems to have done the trick.

This triggers Cass's reaction to unleash Vortex Warp on the cage to fling it into the water. But Jurial gets a chance at a CON save. She fails. The Iron maiden is pushed into the middle of the water. As it begins to sink into the pool of dunamantic magic, Prophet needs to make one final CHA save, and gets a 12.

The entire world starts fading away. Juriel the monk and Juriel the ranger both vanish. Prophet falls to the floor. We all fade away, and wake in the pool of tears with Æsheryn.

All of us except Prophet...