Episode 210 - Implosion

## Synopsis

After the Gamblers took a short rest at the Docks, they began to walk back towards the imp room to prepare an ambush for the Fiend of Avarice. They explained to Bou that he was now the Boublage and needed to pretend to be dead. Mira and Integrity would tell the imp they had captured him and would keep watch over him in the room. Bou lay limp on the ground, pretending to be dead while Integrity dragged them towards the room. Mira wrapped a chain around Serinepth’s wrists and pretended to have captured her as an accomplice.

They arrived back as the door, knocked, and told the imp they had captured the Boublage. From behind the door, the imp shrieked and asked why they would bring it back to the room before cracking open the door and looking out with fear in their eyes. Integrity showed them the body of Bou, to more cries of horror from the assembled imps. They then questioned what Serinepth, a human, was doing there. Mira explained that she was an accomplice to the Boublage, and they wanted to interrogate her. She also mentioned that the Boublage might be able to cone back to life, at which the imp jumped towards Bou with a dagger in hand, saying they needed to cut off his head. Integrity quickly blocked them, saying that wouldn’t do anything, with Mira saying if they cut off one head, two more would grow in its place. The imp didn’t believe them and lunged for Bou’s neck. Integrity scooped them up, shook them, and begged them not to touch the Boublage. The imp squirmed and wiggled in her grasp and eventually agreed not to do anything if she put them down.

Mira asked the imp to leave while they tortured Serinepth, though they insisted they could help with flaying the skin off her fingers. In response Serinepth kicked the knife out of their hands, it flew down the corridor and into the body of the dead chimera. The imp began trembling and stuttering, while Mira again tried to persuade it to leave the interrogation to them. The imp again refused. In one final attempt, Mira exclaimed that the Boublage was waking up. Bou took the hint and pretended to wake up, casting *Vicious Mockery* on the imp to scare it. Blood started to drip out of the imp’s nose as it collapsed onto the floor, dead. The other elemental imps in the room jumped up and began to attack.

Mira played a high pitched note on her lyre, it grew higher and higher while the imps were trying to desperately block out the sound to no avail. They exploded into clouds of magma and ash, coating the Gamblers. Everything inside the room had been destroyed, except for the front door and the marble door at the back. Serinepth waved her hands and cleaned both the room and themselves, reminding the students of when Winsler did similar things. Though the marble doors they could hear cheering, coins rattling around, and the clash of weapons. They tried to decide what to do next, with Mira suggesting they could try and get the monsters fighting in the pit to turn on the Fiend, while Serinepth suggested she could try Scrying on the other side of the door. She held onto the chains around her wrists and tried to see into the chamber. Unfortunately, her unfamiliarity to the Fiend meant she couldn’t form a connection, and the spell failed.

Integrity decided she could sneak out through the door to see what was on the other side, Serinepth cast Invisibility to help her go in unseen. They waited until their was an exceptionally loud cheer, and Integrity slipped through the doors. She found herself behind a red curtain, almost like the backstage of a theatre. To her right was a large stage, to her left was a series of ropes. She peeked round the side of the curtain, seeing what looked like a massive theatre, with rows of seats facing the stage. Near the front edge of the stage was a raised dais, on top of which sat a large throne facing the audience. Around the edges of the room were boxes full of wealthy looking patrons of Duplicity, all cheering and throwing money into a large ring that took up the centre of the bottom floor. Two grand staircases led up to the ring, bordered by columns and piped with chains and split sconces. Surrounding the pit was a moat of lava. Integrity couldn’t see the fight, but could hear the clash of weapons and armour. Standing next to the throne was another of the guards who had taken Serinepth away. There was a brief lull in the crowd’s cheering, through which Integrity heard moaning and wailing. Looking at the ceiling, she saw a chandelier with dozens of of cages hanging from it, each cage holding a creature that was crying out in agony.

Integrity crept forward as quietly as possible to get a better look at the Fiend and the pit. Sitting on the throne, legs crossed with his head resting on his hand, was an elven-looking man wearing a black tuxedo with golden embroidery, looking thoroughly bored with the whole affair. Fighting in the arena were two elementals, a magma elemental wearing dark steel armour, and an earth elemental with a massive fissure down its entire body. The crowd were shouting support for the magma elemental, while throwing fistfuls of gold and casino chips into the lava lake beneath them. All of the creatures in the cages above had a familiar chain around their necks. Looking closer, Integrity recognised one of them as the dealer from the Chock Block table. She investigated the backstage area more to try and find another doorway the fiend could leave. While she didn’t find any other way out, she did find a small alcove filled with dozens of chains made of gold, silver, and steel. She walked back to the marble doors she had come in through, just in time for the crowd to cheer again as the earth elemental collapsed to the ground. One patron started yelling about how the fight was rigged, only to be cut off very abruptly. The elven figure in the chair raised their hand and offered condolences to anyone who bet on earth. The magma elemental quickly killed the earth elemental, and in the loud roars of the crowd that followed, Integrity slipped out into the back room.

Serinepth removed the Invisibility spell from Integrity, who began to explain the layout of the room and recommended they wait until the fights were over to attack. While she didn't see any security guards, they knew they may be able to materialise wherever they were needed. She also told them about the dozens of souls, caged against the roof. Mira suggested they might be able to free them, to use as allies. Integrity also suggested that they could turn the greed of the patrons against the fiend and get them to help in return for some of their wealth. They started forming their plan, Bou and Serinepth would attack the Fiend head on, Mira would try to rally the patrons to side with them, and Integrity would climb up to the chandelier of souls to open the cages and let them out. Serinepth's eyes glowed blue for a moment as she recharged some of her magical energy, while Integrity rummaged around in her pack to find the *Potion of Flying* she had bought in the Autumn's End festival so long ago. They gathered around the marble doors, hearing the roars of the crowd as a new fight began. They pushed through into the backstage, and prepared to attack the Fiend of Avarice.