The Cathedral of the Mind

  Morgrim, Aardgal, Edgrin and the 'cousins' rescued their friends, Bornir, Shaft and Felnar, along with a low level priest of Procan, god of the oceans, named Gorum. During the fight the mystical 'stone brain' was destroyed, freeing Felnar and the rest from it's dominating mental grip. There was no sign of Azrael and his bodyguard, Krech.

  They crew rested for a day and a half. 'Uncle Bump', the thieves guild 'fixer', introduced two fellows employed by the thieves guild, who would help destroy the mind flayer. As to why two people would 'volunteer' for such a dangerous job was unknown. One, a dark skinned southerner cleric and worshipper of Trithereon 'the Summoner', named Ajjal. The other, a large bruiser, named Samson. A simple man with a penchant for adorning his armor and weapons with gem stones.

  The two groups planned their attack, and the next morning set out for the underground lair of the Mind Flayer 'Master'. After walking through sewer tunnels, then natural caves, they reached the worked rooms belonging to the Mind Flayer and his thralls. After opening the heavy stone door the group found the way blocked by a featureless wall of iron, which was not there before!?!

  Felnar told the group he could use two spells to get the group past this obstacle. He first cast Dimension Door, taking three friends past the barrier, then cast a Regroup spell to draw the rest to him.

  As the group peered into the gloom down the stair way from the room containing the shattered remains of the Stone Brain, and towards the Mind Flayers Lab, Morgrim spotted a wall of Darkness which appeared with no notice. After alerting, then conferring with the  group, the warriors rushed down the stairs. Felnar dispelled the darkness. They entered a room to see the Master Mind Flayer, the two female drow warriors and from the briny tank several large tentacles belonging to the large aberration called a 'Octopin'.

  Before any blows could be exchanged, the foursome faded from view. Samson reported that the Mind Flayer cast a Plane Shift when they disappeared. While Ajjal cast a true seeing spell on Morgrim, lest they be lurking nearby in the border ethereal plane.

   The group ran down the stairs. They found the trophy room the same as before and headed to the large room, where the group was routed fighting with the Mind Flayer and his underlings. They found Bornir's Wall of Stone still blocking the hallway. Mornir and Borner battered the wall with mining picks until it shattered.

  The group saw the same green glowing pool, with large hemi-octagonal collumn rising to the ceiling. The collumn bore glowing purple sigils along one side all the way up to the 80' ft. ceiling far above. These cast an alien and aquatic illumination throughout the large room. No one was in sight, though a pile of bodies and bones were heaped near the left side of the pool.

  Th group advanced into the room, spreading out, lest there was an ambush. Short term spells were cast. Shaft and Morgrim saw the bodies consisted mostly of drow and dopplegangers, with several other bones, and parts of clothing, etc. heaped haphardly.

  15 seconds after they entered the room, the Mindflayer and his cohorts appeared. The Master Mind Flayer hovered 30' ft. off the floor, directly below the balcony opening. Next to him on one side was the large octopin clinging to the wall, and on the other was the now familiar vulture headed griffon, bearing the two drow warriors.
 
  Samson, Morgrim, and Bornir went aloft under air walk spells, while the rest stayed on the ground. Shaft fired arrows and found the Octopin was under a displacement effect again. The Vulture Griffon scuffled briefly with Samson, then it wheeled and dove.  The Master leveled a Mind Blast at the ground, stunning Shaft. Then Samson engaged the Master. Samson was stunned by the Master Mind Flayer before he could take a second swing at him.

   The Vulture Griffon attacked Felnar on the ground, and the drow threw tanglefoot bags at Aardgal and Shaft. Then they dismounted and attacked. Felnar cast improved invisibility to escape the vulture griffon and drow, then started pelting spells at the fight above. He found the Mind Flayer impossible to effect with his magic, and the Octopin took no damage from his scorching rays! Ajjal tried to buff the warriors around him, and then cast his most powerful summoning spell. As his griffon materialized above it instantly winked out of existance. Ajjal felt the power of the sigils flare as their magic banished his summoning. Ajjal knew that here, in this bizzare place, he would not be able to summon any help.

   The Mind Flayer tried to Plane Shift Samson away, but Samson resisted the spell. Meanwhile Bornir and Morgrim advanced on, and attacked the Octopin. Morgrim took several blows from the beast and Bornir healed him. Morgrim cast his Rhino's rush spell and charged the Octopin. Taking terrible wounds as he nearly killed it. The beast then rent Morgrim, nearly slaying him. Morgrim's last blow slew the Octopin. After the Master Mind Flayer's protector fell, he unleashed a Mind Blast stunning Morgrim.
 
  Meanwhile, Aardgal and Ajjal were attakcing the Vulture Lion, while one drow stalked Edgrin where he was singing from the concealment of the hallway. He was forced to cast his mirror image spell and try to ensorcell the drow, but he had a hard time defeating the eldritch elf's spell resistance. Aardgal found out the hard way that the other drow weilded an unholy dagger. Felnar cast a Dominate Person spell on that drow and mentally commanded her to 'drop the dagger and stand near the wall'. Aardgal finished off the Vulture-Lion and Ajjal saw something drop to the floor as it winked out of existance.

  Shaft, having recoved his wits, cast a True Strike Spell then unleashed his arrows at the Mind Flayer. One struck true, distracting him long enough to Mind Blast Shaft once more. Bornir charged the Mind Flayer, who countered with a lightning bolt which struck both dwarves. Bornir struck with a quick series of attacks, thanks to the haste spell cast be Felnar earlier, then delivered a devastating attack with his blood drenched axe. The Mind Flayer's device, which he incorporated into the gesticulations of several spells, a heated red metal alien rod, rang forth a horrible metallic wrenching sound. His levitation spell failed and he fell to the floor. His eyes, glassy and his life ebbed as blue blood spurted from his chest. Dead.

  In his secret quarters behind the octagonal unholy collumn, was the Mind Flayer's journal written in undercommon. The drow was able to read it and read aloud that the Mind Flayer - Zyrzog, had obtained something called 'the Apolstolic Scrolls' for the director of the City Arena Loris Raknian. The same Loris Raknian had paid handsomely for Zyrzog and his band of spies to slay Mayor Azrael and his band of adventurers from Diamond Lake, all of whom were described and named.

  Felnar recognized 'the Apolstolic Scrolls' from the sage Eligos' writings. Eligos had found through underworld connections that the scrolls, artifact level magic, had been sold recently in Greyhawk. Eligos described the scrolls as a more powerful form of 'Scrolls of Uncertain Provenance'. This form is strongly linked to the Flan God of death and undeath, Nerull, and his apostle Kyuss. Eligos believed from the writings describing this artifact that it would have the power to restore a vampire to life.