<em>The Phelypsis down in the orgy pit has somehow ended up with Sydney in the library.  She stands with the Chancellor and the Illithid at her back, holding out a hand to Sydney, "No, wait-" she calls out with a look of fear coming to her face, an expression Sydney isn't used to seeing on her dear friend, her... Yes, her lover.  The Illithid and the Chancellor grab onto Phelypsis and begin to drag her back, screams coming from the barbarian as they push her to the ground, pulling out throbbing members, heedless of her cries...</em><br/><br/><hr/><br/>Roaring through the sand, Phelypsis falls upon Sydney in a moment.  Her swing is true, cutting into the wizard and sending her stumbling back.  Another hit like that and Sydney could well be dead.  The look of contorted rage on Phelypsis's face is a terrifying one, but then there's a moment of clarity.  Her footing awkward on the sand, or perhaps experiencing something other than what she can feel, she swings too far on another strike, the strike that would kill Sydney, and she is out of the way too soon.<br/><br/>The Barbarian stumbles after the swing, the biting pain from the sword-slice enough that a lesser wizard (all of those weaklings back at the Arcanum) would be sobbing on the ground.  But not Sydney.  In that moment, Sydney finds an opportunity and weaves her spell, disappearing from sight.  The sword swishes just over her head several times as she moves out of the way, leaving Phelypsis just swingingly blindly for now.<br/><br/>The runes at the bottom of the fountain are complicated, strange, twisted.  She recognizes some of the lettering in the book from the library, though here it is solid, apparently Dwarven runes and carved with precision.  Perhaps one of the Illithid had themselves a dwarf to do it, carved carefully and precisely.  Sydney searches her mind quickly, what does she know of dwarven runes.  Well, they follow the same basic requirements of all arcane scripture, they will contain energy which could release wildly.  What would happen in that case... Who can know.<br/><br/>Very well.  Time to cut them.  She scratches across the runes and immediately feels pressure coming from them, feels spirits shooting up her arms.  This is the phylactery, certainly.  If she can just maintain the mental hold, it could even end up bursting out in a helpful way.<br/><hr/><br/><em><br/>The Goddess is quick, bringing up her blade in defense with a look of scorn on her face.  "Beaten by your blade?  You know not even what I can bring to life."  She lets out a cackle and for a moment, is able to block the blade.  It hits upon something, holding back Phelypsis's strength, holding back her rage, holding back her power.  Then it slips.<br/><br/>The sword of the andra cuts true, ripping through the Goddess's flesh and leaving her slain.  A gasp goes up from the crowd.  Then the other copy of the Goddess walks slowly forward, a smile on her face, discarding her weapon.  "Phelypsis... You have proven yourself.  Lower your blade.  Come with me and ascend to rule your clan, to rule all the Andrian."<br/><br/>The crowd has hushed, they are all in ceremonial garb.  This is the moment.  The body of the felled Goddess is no more, there is only the stadium filled with all her people and the portal.  The Goddess takes her hand and begins to lead toward the portal, water flowing upward into the sky.  "We will make you Andrian."  The water calls to Phelypsis.  This is right.</em><br/><br/><hr/>As Sydney disappears from sight, Phelypsis begins to walk, slowly towards the giant wall of sea.  She seems set to walk right into it.<br/><br/>Near where this fight of demon against wizard, another battle is happening.  One where the Delver involved is rapidly losing her strength.  The pleasure and horror is just too much, the thrusting, squelching, pulsing tentacles having squirmed over Lorelei's body.  When her eyes open, tears forming in them, she is greeted with another horrible sight.  The Illithid.<br/><br/>Deep purple skin, twisted tentacles from his face, an angular body with robes flowing around him.  His face twitches, perhaps a smile behind the mass of writhing purple and a voice echoes in Lorelei's mind, "Giving up, little princess? There is a sea here as well.  Perhaps I will keep you as my own little pet."<br/><br/>The thrusting from the tentacles abruptly becomes more vigorous, the tentacle slamming into her pussy becoming almost bunched as it tries to push deeper into her, then bursts out a blast of thick semen, incredible amounts, animal otherworldly amounts.  After a moment or two, the other tentacles begin to cum as well, the one between her breasts spurting thick seeds onto her neck and chest, dribbling lewdly onto the sand below, the one in her mouth first filling her throat with seed, then pulling out to splatter white, dripping cum all over her face.  The dripping white seed is luminous in the dark space, all the more obvious for the blacks and purples around Lorelei's fair skin.  The tentacle dicks continue to pump, spraying Lorelei, dripping seed out of her sex and down her legs, covering her breasts, and leaving her face absolutely caked in cum.<br/><br/>Then a ridged hand reaches down and pinches on either side of Lorelei's jaw.  Her eyes flutter and push open to look up at the Illithid again, it's tentacles twisting in an approximation of a smile.  "Let's see how well you suck," comes the voice in her mind.  The tentacle slides against her face as the Illithid pushes aside his robes, an enormous purple dick, long and slender already dribbling cum with no visible testicles before the bard's face, the Illithid insistently pushing her mouth towards it.  Then the tentacles begin again, thrusting to slowly work the bard back up, two additional tentacles with flat, squeezing heads slapping onto her breasts, over her nipples with suction to begin pumping and squeezing at her. "Please me and live."<br/><br/><hr/><br/><em>The Illithid [('}*{')] stands at the bottom of the steps below Fire's throne.  His face, still alien and difficult to read even with the flames licking at him from all around, sickening shadows of tentacles upon the ground.  "I had no wish to come here, you know well that these lands... disagree with me," it splutters and garbles out, wet bubbles in it's throat as steam rises from it's mouth.  It isn't a creature of these lands, it is a creature of water of lies of deception.  A grimmace seems to come over it's face.  "I would not be here if it were not important for my own space, my little pocket and our accord."<br/><br/>Ah yes, the accord.  Or rather, the next step.  The Illithid had disappeared twice when she came for him, both with the Delvers and later with her holy armies.  When he left the second time, he left riches, powers, magical artifacts the like the world had never seen.  It paved the way to Fire's leadership, a gesture of good faith as he stepped off of this plane.  But he was back.  Didn't that break any accord made?<br/><br/>"There is a hitch, a hole in your defenses," it continues to purr and gurgle, "Sydney... Malorne.  She would undo it all.  Even know she tears at your control, rips at it even.  I think you know this to be true."<br/><br/>For a moment, there is a shimmer in Fire's mind.  Her seat of power.  Her artifacts.  The fountain.  The fountain that gives her all of her strength.  Once it spat water, now flame.<br/><br/>"Stop her, she wishes to remake everything.  Please, I beg of you, Goddess of the Flames."<br/><br/>Then Nuria stands in the land where she first fought the Illithid, though now things are different.  The fountain spits flames, statues of victim frozen in rock, the sea turned to towering fire and flame.  Sydney is somewhere here and she would unmake all of it.<br/><br/><strong>Delvers, things become desperate.  Lorelei takes another 1d6 damage as she is trapped in sexual congress, Phelypsis and Nuria both chase after Sydney who desperately searches for a way to stop the power of the Illithids.  Nuria and Phelypsis may both roll Defy Danger (Wis) to break the spell, Nuria with a +1. Sydney may roll Defy Danger (Int) to alter the runes without falling pray to whatever spell traps are there. What do you do?</strong></em>