Here's the thing, team, we should all lay down and take a Long Rest, says VS. Does that make sense?
Literally no, says everybody else.
They want to send a note on Z13's spider to Zorn Prime saying they have a new boyfriend for him.
Hal wants to rub the note on his musk.
Quinn asks Chef Zorn who the next boss down is, since he works here: he's not authorised to come down here, though, so he doesn't know the order.
Over a Short Rest we discuss the various leverages that we have on the bosses. They don't want the other bosses to get Quinn. They don't trust each other. They don't want the Time Lock spell to be removed from Quinn.
Nobody has a good plan to turn the bosses on each other.
Z13, bored with this, casts Arcane Eye (named Whizgig) to go scout the inverse Pagoda of Death.
One floor down, a bunch of skeletons playing poker with a Dark Elf. There's five columns with lots of skulls. She's upset and punches one of the skeletons. That's Naruk.
Whizgig proceeds further down, invisible and unseen.
Floating on down, a laboratory, with various tanks...with a naked LK floating in it?! This is likely ZP's lab.
Meta: we know it isn't Kelfin, he's got a full beard, it's a clone. In-game, uncertain.
One more level down: there's a larger antsy goblin tossing firecrackers. He's so antsy and bored. Lots of half-eaten food lying around. Kind of a boring room. Probably Rizzet.
One more level down: a wooden room, lots of puppets hanging from the ceiling...lifelike hyper-detailed mannequins. He looks very young, crafting away at his work surface, with a glowing golden circle...emitting very intense radiant light.
Our reasoning is that that's where the Time Lock ritual has to take place.
"So, Zorn doesn't seem to be here." "And also Kelfin!" "Possibly a clone!"
VS looks concerned, because...she came out of a tank, so what if she's a clone?
"Was my tank a special clone tank?" "No," says Z13. "How do you know?" "That's right!" replies Z13.
We're undecided as to what to do. Yex says, "remember guys, you can hit them with a nonlethal melee attack to knock them out," gaining his player Inspiration.
For all our elaborate plans, we're just going to fight Naruk and see what happens.
All of us fail our stealth checks except VS.
Naruk is pissed off that we've interrupted a poker game that she was about to win. Thinking quickly, Quinn asks if we can buy in.
It's a thousand gold. Whatever, sure. She's the only one who can afford it, anyway. The skeletons are instructed to stay out of it.
Quinn tries to cheat a little, but sadly the active Perception check gets her: Naruk tries for a swing with the scythe she pulls out from under the table, but this doesn't fly either.
Leaping back, Quinn shrugs and says, "can't blame me for trying."
The hidden VS casts Hypnotic Pattern from her vantage point. The skeletons are...totally incapacitated.
All the skeletons, on their heart, have a glowing red crystal. Hmm.
The skeletons are incap'ed: Naruk is frustrated, especially so by how both her scythe swings miss Quinn.
Z13 casts a Grease: both Naruk and a skeleton fall over prone.
Quinn dual-wields her wakizashis against Naruk, in her black robe and skull elbow guards. She's very...pleased about all this bleeding she's doing.
Quinn ducks out of the way. VS immediately follows with a Fireball.
The skeletons are extremely on fire and wailing. They're not dead though. They're...quite irate; VS blows them a kiss and apologises, leaning forward to showcase her cleavage. They're not swayed.
Hal swings Spelleater at Naruk, and a sibilant Spelleater rejoices at the spell slot it just ate. On her second attack Naruk gets slashed from shoulder to hip and...is very happy about it?
This is very anxiety-inducing. She...wants to get hurt?
The skeletons get up and start moving to Quinn and VS.
The skeleton takes a swing, misses, and then tries to leech some health from Quinn...but happily Z13 wards off the damage.
Another skeleton swings at Z13, and regretfully makes contact.
Naruk gets up, and proceeds toward the Zorns, absorbing another spell slot along the way.
She swings for Chef Zorn, and licks the end of her blade...a mask descends over her visibly excited face.
Yex swings his warhammer at a skeleton, dealing quite a lot of damage, but the skeleton feels no pain.
Z13 Misty Steps out of engagement, and casts Steel Wind Strike. 30 damage to Naruk. Then another skeleton: this time it dies. The red gem falls off the skeleton. Then another skeleton, this one menacing Quinn: that one gets offed too. And then another skeleton: also dead.
Quinn attempts a bola, but she is not entangled. She is, however, maniacally laughing. Quinn skitters across the room, but does not successfully Hide.
Legendary Action: Naruk, with the chalk on the other end of scythe, inscribes a chalk circle on the ground...and stabs herself with the scythe!
Chef Zorn immediately takes 75 damage. Holy shit she can transfer damage from herself to whoever she's hit!
Z13 Wards some of the damage; Chef Zorn is hanging to life.
VS sprints to a gem and Firebolts it: 13 damage to the gem later, and the gem is shattered. There's no noticeable effects; Naruk is not affected by this.
Hal tries to Command Naruk to drop the scythe, but this does not work. Wisdom is kind of a Drow thing.
Looking at the pentagram, Hal is filled with righteous fury.
Yex attempts to grapple Naruk. This does not work, however. "S-stop it," she cries, attempting to shoo her away.
The second grapple works though! Yex drags her into the grease.
The remaining skeleton lunges for K and drains the 2 HP K has. No! screams Quinn.
Z13 retaliates with a Firebolt to the skeleton. "Animal cruelty will not be tolerated!"
The grappled Naruk casts Suggestion on Yex; a waiting Z13 yells "COUNTERSPELL!" Yex feels nothing.
Z13 casts Thunderwave on the gems: privately the party wonders what would happen if we actually...need these gems to kill her.
Like, what if a wall opens and there's 4 gem holes.
Quinn tries a bola; it hits her for 33 damage, but it does not grapple her. Back into hiding!
VS tries a Twinned Firebolt on the remaining gems, destroying them. In victory, she screams her victory, with her hair wreathed in flames.
Legendary Action: Naruk tries to break free of the grapple, but does not work.
Hal marches up to the grappled Naruk, casting Zone of Truth. "What's the deal with you, are you taking damage when we hit you?"
Giggling, she whispers, "I'm fucking immortal."
She's immortal. What does that mean?
Chef Zorn casts Magic Missile on the remaining gem...but glowing out of her chest is another intense red glow.
She doesn't seem worried?
It looks like she figures she can't break out of Yex, so she lays a single finger on Yex's lizard forehead...for 36 damage. What the hell spell was that?
Z13 tries a Suggestion, but this doesn't work.
Quinn stabs her right in the gem, and...she goes up in dust...then a skeleton, then more dust.
"You did a melee attack!" A stunned Quinn, Thorn still outstretched, mutters that she honestly hadn't expected that to happen.
"Remember what I said about non-lethal attacks?!" Yex demands.
Her armour and scythe remain: Yex runs up and grabs it...and is immediately transported to Hell. Demon Hell!
A Demon says "I am disappointed in your predecessor; take my gift, and do my bidding."
But only in his mind! The rest of us don't see it happening. Yex is pretty Chaotic now. "Like a problem kind of Chaotic," DM says.
Z13 is convinced that this is still pretty evil. Yex says nope, just a regular scythe.
4k gold on the table. We split it amongst ourselves five ways: Chef Zorn looks expectantly at Z13, who splits it with him.
Hal thinks "I can't wait to find someone to give this away to!" In gratitude, he gives Z3 some money too.
There's nothing else to be found in the room. No intel. Shame.