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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 1504340" data-attributes="member: 1210">The lucidaphen tastes awful, like eating Lester’s shoes after he’s been on the road for a year or two and never taken them off.  But several of out heroes sink into an easy sleep before too long, thanks to Angelfire’s nap spell, and several of them are plunged into vivid dreams.Horbin dreams of their last encounter with Felenga.  He dreams of the group retrieving the familiar and then leaving, but his dream’s eye stays focused on the ice tower.  It wanders up, up... and somehow Horbin knows that time has passed, a full day by now... and Felenga returns to the area, entering an icy cave.  He lays a symbol of death almost casually within the passage, then blasts something free from the ice.  Slowly it stands.  Set in its chest is a great glaring gem.  It is stitched together like a flesh golem, made of pieces of different creatures joined in an unholy fusion.  Somehow, Horbin realizes that this is Felenga’s phylactery.  And he realizes just how close they were to the phylactery when last they encountered Felenga himself.  We were within a hundred feet, maybe even more like forty, Horbin the Holy realizes sickly.  We could have done it- finished him right there!He wakes up, blinking, and sits up.  “Rargh!” he cries, “We almost had him!!”  Quickly, he relates what he has learned to the others, and they all shake their heads in disgust at how near they came to ending this and destroying their foe.  “Well, I found out that the hourglass flipping only deactivates the bars for an hour,” Sybele tells the group.  “So we have to bring down the last set before we flip the glass a second time.”“I don’t feel well,” Angelfire mumbles.  “I didn’t learn anything, but I think I got a bad dose.”  “Hah!” cries the Mask of the Devourer.  “Of course you didn’t learn anything!  You’re a fool!”  Horbin and Patyn exchange a glance.Clearly, it’s time for some divinations.***Orbius sends his mind out to a far plane, trying to glean information from an immense consciousness of unbearable power.Where is Felenga’s phylacter? Uncertain, probably near him.Where does Felenga spend the majority of his time these days? The Negative Energy Plane.Is Felenga’s base of operations on a planar border? No.What is Felenga’s most like course of action? He must wait.What is he waiting for? Freedom.Freedom from what? Acererak the demilich.What the hell? thinks the Eye.How many days until Felenga gains his freedom? Impossible to predict.Are the Elemental Princes of Evil still in the Temple of Elemental Evil? Yes and no.Are they in the nodes? No.Where can we find Ogremoch? The Walking Mountain.Orbius relates what he’s learned, and boy oh boy but our heroes are puzzled.  They chew the situation over at length.  Acererak’s imprisoned Felenga?  How?  For that matter, why?  At least, points out Patyn, they aren’t working together.  Finally, Thrush asks, “Can we do more stuff to find out more stuff?” and Lester grins and casts commune.If we kill Acererak will Felenga be eternally imprisoned? Possibly.Will we set Felenga free if we kill Acererak? Possibly.Will Acererak seek to free Felenga if we attack him? Very unlikely.Is there a tower left in Moil that we haven’t explored with some good action and treasure in it? Yes.Is Acererak pleased with our progress through his gauntlet? Yes.Is Felenga beyond our reach right now? No.Do we have the power to set Felenga free? Yes.Is the ride to the Fortress of Conclusion on the phantom flyer more than a day long? Yes.More than two days long? Yes.Three days? Yes.Four? Yes.Five? Yes.Is it more than a week? No.Is Felenga imprisoned within Acererak’s Fortress of Conclusion? Yes.Envisioning the layout of the towers of Moil that he’s seen, Lester asks, Is the ‘action’ within the red tower to the south of our initial arrival point here? Yes.Is the Devourer’s Mask likely to take over Angelfire within a day? No.Will the Mask turn on us if we fight Acererak? Yes.Is it within our means to remove the mask without killing Angelfire? Yes.Will we be able to remove the Mask easily by conventional means if she’s subdued? No.“Hmm, sounds like a long ride!” Lester exclaims, and gives the party a summary of what he learned- leaving out all questions regarding the mask until he can speak to those not wearing it without Angelfire overhearing.  Maybe Londo could help, he thinks hopefully.  He’s the one who got the Deleter off her, which reminds me- where the hell is it?  For now, he puts the question out of mind; he’s still got a divination to cast.  A moment later, Lester declares, “Next we must overcome the darkweaver!  But I thought we just did.”“It must be a different creature, in a different tower,” nods Horbin.“Of course it is, you fools!” the Mask cries.“Well, you’re very helpful,” snaps Horbin.“Maybe you could help us out,” Sybele suggests.  “Can you do anything to help?  Do you know your way around this place.  Surely a great and powerful item such as yourself has seen much.””Oh, I have indeed!  It’s good that you recognize my powers, perhaps I’ll spare you!  But trifle with me and I shall devour you all!”“Right, very helpful,” Horbin grumbles.“Well, what next?” asks Thrush.  “Where’s the darkweaver?”“Hum, that’s a good question!  Shoulda thought to ask that.”  Lester ponders for a minute, then brightens.  “Hey, but we know where the action is!”“Well, then, sounds like a good place to go,” Thrush smiles.  “And tomorrow- when we have more divinations- we can track down the darkweaver- and free the phantom flyer,” Patyn says dramatically.Next Time: Our heroes find some action- though probably not exactly what they were looking for!</blockquote>

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