As the rumbling sound grows louder, the aura around the pool in the back of the great hall starts to change colors. The new dark blue and red hue set the atmospheric tone to a cold feeling. Jjaxx and Vice bow to the arrival of their god, Malazter. Mathayus readies himself, preparing for whatever may come. Estraban zips up his pants and concentrates on the pool. Talilia and Salem both look at the pool, poised with anticipation for a fight. Rishi readies his weapons and stares at both Jjaxx and Vice as they bow. Suddenly, the sound erupts from the pool, splaying at least eight watery tentacles in a throne-like display. A reddish orb starts to form at the stairs leading up to the pool. The adventurers can feel a cold feeling of being watched by a hundred eyes or more, looming somewhere in the corners of the long forgotten temple.
Rishi moves closer to Talila, diverting his dagger-like stare from Jjaxx and Vice towards the door they came from. Mathayus shifts sideways, making sure to have a better view on both ends of the great hall. Estraban sees what Mathayus does and reciprocates the movement, keeping a firm grip on his weapon in case shit hits the fan. Talila holds her breath, preparing herself mentally for what may happen next, while Salem casts Stone Skin upon himself.
Sarena forms where the reddish orb was, smiling as she looks upon the adventurers before her. She raises an arm, beckoning Jjaxx and Vice to come closer to the group, to help them feel welcome. "Welcome to the temple of our great god, Malazter. Who is ready to be touched by the hand of our god?" Jjaxx raises his voice "My Lady Sarena, I believe that Estraban, the dwarf, would make a great first candidate." Vice quickly speaks up "I think the gnome should be first." Mathayus moves closer to Sarena, eyeballing her. Estraban yells to Jjaxx "You still got your instrument?" Jjaxx turns and looks to Estraban and says yes. Estraban responds with "Great. Play me a song" while he grips his axe in his fists. Jjaxx doesn't know what to make of this request, but as if without delay, Estraban starts to sing a holy dwarf song, one about winning back something dear to a dwarf's heart. Jjaxx snaps his fingers, ushering in the villagers from before. The villagers emerge from the doorways off to the sides of the great hall, staring at Estraban with baited breath, as if waiting for the next command anxiously. Jjaxx asks for the villagers to seize Estraban, but before enough can respond, Estraban starts to wade through the group as the mournful tune follows. When Estraban makes his final stance between Sarena and Jjaxx, the line to the song finishes as he hurls his great dwarven axe directly to Sarena.
As if on cue, Talila summons entanglement, entwining everything nearby. Rishi makes his move on Vice, hitting him with his sword and dealing some damage. Salem casts Stone Skin on Estraban and Mathayus, giving them a bit of a boost for the fight coming. Sarena smiles at Estraban and says "It's okay. You can choose to be scared but it's okay. Step forward and you'll see." Jjaxx speaks to Estraban "I can play you a song if it makes you feel any better." Estraban says sure and accepts Jjaxx's hand as he places it upon Estraban's shoulder. "It's okay, we're friends, right?" Jjaxx says in a comforting tone. Jjaxx convinces Estraban to follow his guidance to the pool, getting closer to the edge and near Sarena.
With the duel between Rishi and Vice, Vice manages to summon a Bebilith for support. Rishi attacks Vice during the casting of the summoning spell, but fails at interrupting the process. Once the Bebilith finishes formation, Rishi goes for the attack once again towards Vice, dealing more damage to him. Mathayus grapples Sarena, dealing some damage to her. While he does this, Talila shapeshifts into a Shambling Mound and moves towards Sarena. She manages to grapple Sarena and slam her into the stairs. Sarena utters a painful moan. Salem continues to cast Stone Skin on other party members, this time being Talila. Seeing the commotion going on with Mathayus, Talila, and Sarena, Estraban breaks away from Jjaxx, runs past Sarena and picks up his axe. Sarena starts to waiver a little in her stance, showing a pained look for a second, but a smile returns. She still insists on everyone joining Malazter's cause. Jjaxx sees that Sarena is badly wounded and attempts to heal her. Mathayus, quickly reacting to this, goes for an attack of opportunity towards Jjaxx. He manages to snap Jjaxx back to reality, to which Jjaxx responds with a panicked "Ah fuck, not again." He excuses himself to the side, healing his own wounds. Estraban, hearing his old buddy back to normal, proudly shouts that he's glad he's back. Vice manages to hit Rishi with his punch dagger, followed up with the Bebilith biting Rishi and inflicting poison. The adventurers continue to attack Sarena until she bends over, falling to her knees and moans out in pain. Talila takes Sarena's body and slams it one more time into the stairs, killing her. As if on cue, the watery tentacles become limp and crawl back into the pool, the villagers all collapse, dead. The aura from Sarena's eyes fade, to which Vice suffers the same, collapsing onto the floor. The Bebilith disappears and the lights go out in the temple. The adventurers have won this round.
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