Beneath the warded city of Gnoble, the inner sanctum cracks open — and a friend climbs willingly into the throne of a fallen tyrant.
The party's ongoing assault on the elder brain in Gnoble's inner sanctum reaches its climax. Picking up from last session's aftermath — Reginald dead, his brain extracted by a mind flayer — Varric drains Grover's expiring monkey form via sap, redistributes HP, and teleports out with Reginald's body and the mind flayer head. He leaves Fenwick a Counterspell scroll: 'In case of emergencies, don't let it get away.' At the sanctum entrance, mind flayers swarm the corridor, but Reginald's spectral self at the city barrier intervenes — drops a wall on the swarm and buys the party 10 minutes. Initiative. The elder brain lairs inside a giant skull suspended above a vat of red-orange liquid, draining Ronald (a fire elemental) via an obsidian collar. Fari's nat 20 + Divine Smite shatters the collar in one strike, freeing Ronald. The brain retaliates with a Wall of Force dome lair action, locking itself in a force-field bubble. Grover gas-forms inside via the skull cavity. Fari realizes Moonbeam can be placed inside the dome (origin point trick). Vadis is stunned for three turns until his artifact axe wakes up and breaks him out with a hum and golden flash. At ~25% HP, the brain attempts Plane Shift; Fenwick's Counterspell scroll rolls 16 — needed 17 — misses by exactly one. The brain escapes. Wall of Force drops. Squidward casually strips, climbs into the brain's vacated pool, and begins mutating into the new elder brain. Vadis casts Greater Restoration on Ronald and reverses the elemental transformation — Ronald is back to dwarf form at 1 HP, still cured of the maids from the prior elemental arc. Squidward proposes reinstating the old Gnoble pact: knowledge sharing for non-aggression. Vadis mind-reads him: surface thoughts read 'get rid of these imbeciles, want peace' — not violent, but Squidward catches the deeper read attempt. Fenwick brokers the bargain. Investigation 26 reveals the city's gemstone barrier is soul-powered, and Reginald's spirit is one of the powering souls. Fenwick sends to Zesium for airship pickup. As the session winds down, the elemental energy from the amulet hardens in Fenwick's hand into the FIRE GEM — second of eight collected. Level up to 9.
Boss: Elder Brain. Mind blast DC 18, 60ft. Wall of Force 10ft³ dome lair action. Vadis stunned 3 turns; axe broke it. Counterspell rolled 16/17 — missed by exactly one. Brain plane-shifted away with one 5th-level slot lost (Modify Memory).
"Fucking touch him, man."— Vadis (to Squidward)
"I don't swing that way."— Reginald (in the gem)
"Easier kill now than ever."— DM