Expedition 116: The Final Chain

### Summary

We prepare to fight a draco lich and undo the last great stain of Gilgameshs rule by breaking the final chain. We have to fight Gilgamesh himself.

### Detailed Account

The party awaits at the fungal cavern for wind home to send a Draco lich slaying weapon. Al'zakkanna the matralrc of brass dragons high priestess of Bahamut and the only person in wind home to ever slay a draco lich joins the party instead, inoder to free her people and her god by shattering the final chain. Gonerton Ark and Clarity create phantom steeds for the party and we head off with minor hemming and hawing from the Dciplomancer for his plans being disrupted by the addition of an extra member. We ride across the Frost stone with little issues as the region was pacified. Bea cuts through the web at the border of the silent forest and we travel easily until we reach a massive strip in the forest that gives clear line of sight to fort grey wall and a huge ballista on top. With a brief agreement in hand signs Clarity casts darkness on the path so the ballista can not target us. Al'zakkanna dashes out ahead of us on the phantom steed into the darkness while we wait for the Bastia to hit and reload. The bolt hits and a wave of fire pushes out from the darkness and the boom echos around the silent woods. The slamming of coffins filled the forest as the dormant undead begin to awaken. Al'zakkanna horse died it the blast and Bea quickly tried to pick her up as we dashed away from the coming wave of undead. Al'zakkanna triggers her boots of flying and speeds ahead.

We managed to get to the stone doors of Neurals shrine and Uzmir starts to unlock the puzzle as the rest of the party works to hold back the coming swarm. Gonerton Ark and uzmir retreat as the door opens a crack while the rest of the party holds. Once we are all inside the doors slammed shut leaving us in the dark shrine. we see the great massive forms of the draco lich and the manufacture hulk laying on the tiles inactive. At this point the entire party drunk their potions of necrotic resistance. We started examining the necrotic tiles and gonerton moved Rockefeller over one with mage hand. the trap triggers but Rockefeller is immune to the damage. Arks shade then moves on to the tile and we determine that the trap will not reset while a creature is above the tiles. Gonerton summons a flock of mud mephitis to keep the traps disarmed and we vote on wether or not to attack the draco lich while its dormant. Gonerton Nexrin and Al'zakkanna vote to strike while its vulnerable. Clarity Uzmir Ark and Bea vote to save our strength and avoid fights when we can. We safely navigate through the tiles and both monsters remain inactive.

The next puzzle was a long trench filled with needle blights and two walk ways on ether side dotted with broken statues. Gonerton released a cloud kill and we wait as the gas slowly but effectively kills every blight in the trench. Uzmir and Nezrin fly up to examine the walkways as soon as they touch them the platform collapse. It was just a death trap no puzzle.

As Bea enters the chamber with Nerullas statue and the two doors leading deeper in the shrine she notices there was no air. Bea quickly rushes back to stop the party from entering. Uzmir walks ahead to examine the puzzle chamber while Gonerton worked on creating a tiny hut so people could breath in the room. From research Uzmir learned that this was a hang man puzzle.

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The clues seemed to have been scratched out but uzmir and clarity can make out some intact letters

Go--g ------- a-- far--er, exi--ance bec---ng dis-----

De--its mult--lied -o yo-- undo--g, -r used to p---erve --ur m--d.

-n ab--nc- a----s y--.

the party begins filling in the blanks

going farther and farther, existence is becoming distance

Deceits multiplied to your undoing, or used to preserve your mind.

in absence awaits you

Gonerton foolishly guesses hope for the middle one and takes one failed death saving throw as none of the letters match.

Ark gusses nothing lies beyond and clarity slowly fills in each word as she is the heartiest among us. with the right answer the doors open.

the door beyond the statue is Is pitch black the other door has an arcane device that receives spell slots. Ark and clarity sends their familiars inside the chamber but they cant find anything. We decide this is the shrine room and we should not mess with it.

we all hold our breath and rush to the room with the arcane device. Once we all enter the door slams shut and sand starts filling two chambers. Ark puts a spell slot in and the sand pulls back. Three invisible creatures enter and clarity destroys them all with one fire ball. we then wait for all the sand to run out. The door opens and we all make wisdom saving throw. Only gonerton Uzmir and Al’zakan succeed the rest of the party is charmed and compelled to approach a massive painting of Gilgamesh unable to do anything on there turn. 8 glass statues start singing the song of blade singers and begin to move. Uzmir trys to cast shatter on the painting to no effect as its a magic item. Gonerton casts dispel magic at 10th lvl and destroys the painting freeing the part members from the charm. Al’zakan will cast spirit guardians and will start destroying the glass blade singers. Freed from the charm the party engages the blade singers, but their AC is impossibly high. Gonerton Al’zakan  and Uzmir will all start casting toll of the dead targeting their relatively low wis save. When we get to the last glass blade singer Ark attempts to dispel the true polymorph but fails. Al’zakan will cast payer of healing twice while gonerton has unseen servant collect all the glass shards in hopes the blade singers can be revived.

once healed we look at the two doors in the room uzmir cats detect magic and finds one door has a large amount of evocation magic on its lock the other door is unlocked as two plinths that receive spells and an urn. Bea casts locate object and finds that the chain is past the door with the lock. Clarity sent sorin to try to pulling the lid off the Urn. The urn turns into a chain monster and tries pulling Uzmir Nexrin and clarity into the room. Ark teleports into the room and gets stuck into the floor and start sinking towards spinning blades. Nexrin gets pulled into the room but pulls himself out. Ark summons a feather token weapon and teleports out. we close the door and wait for arks item to murder the chain golem.

Ark tries to use knock in the other door but the lock resets Gonerton has sangie eat the though the door valiantly sacrificing itself for our advancement. we look around see a giant statue of Gilgamesh we see no magic on it with detect magic and a fake final chain on the wall. Al’zakan casts true seeing and looks around and sees two invisible golems hanging on the sealing and dozens of invisible runes covering the statue. Gonerton gives wall of force to the revived blade singer and asks her to trap the inactive golems before hiding in the other room. Gonerton then casts toll of the dead on the Gilgemesh statue to confirm its not a creature.

Ark sends the shadow in to poke the Gilgamesh statue and the statue turns in to a full breathing Gilgamesh. With a subtle spell arks shadow turns to ink. Al’zakan laments are doom but the compact fought on. As planed we each in turn cast brain drain weakening the titans mind but Gilgamesh pushed through and cast Gilgamesh Greater Erasure removing the brain drain existence. Nexrin uses auldrox breath wounding the titan, Gonerton panics and starts buffing Uzmir. Uzmir and Ark both cast synaptic static on Gilgamesh muddling his thoughts while Bea clarity and Nexrin chip at his health. GIlgmesh attempts to polymorph Bea but she is immune. As bea gets to low health clarity polymorphs her into a giant ape. Al’zakan casts bless on the party before hiding again. Gilgamesh trys casting mass suggestion but Ark and clarity counter spell it. Uzmir attempts mental prison but Gilgmesh uses his final legendary resistance. Gilgamesh cast finger of death at Gonerton but he is resistant to necrotic damage and copies the spell. Ark than casts Ottos irresistible dance. Gilgamesh casts mass suggestion again forcing most the party to kneel to him but gonerton success the save and dispels the charm. Ark than uses their spell scroll of disintegrate on Gilgamesh but the Titan succeeds. Than with a 12lvl disintegrate clarity carves much of Gilgamesh HP away. Not willing to let any mortal slay him Gilgamesh casts a 13lvl circle of death but the entire party had drunk potions of necrotic resistance so none of us go down.

The party finds the real chain and shatters it. Bahamut appears before us and offers each of us a boon for completing a shrine and freeing him. To Bea he forges a Tyrant's End from the shattered remains of Gilgamesh. To Uzmir he crafts Panoply of the Platinum Dragon from the armor calliope made. To Nexrin he promised the aid of his children. To Gonerton he granted the knowledge of each dragon den in the east. To clarity he granted a dragon tattoo to mark her as friend. For Ark he restored the glass blade singers we shattered. To Al’zakan he let her join as one of his canaries. Auldrox then gives us a ride home as we do a victory loop for are accomplishment.