TG607

Paving the Road to Hell

Episode Number: (TG607)
Original Airdate: 5/2002

The battle with the Penumbral Lord's army rages on. Tierney manages to undo the effects of the artifact on Timus, then commandeers the Penumbral Lord's giant ship and sets it on a collision course with the Penumbral Lord. Meanwhile, the Penumbral Lord slays Kazek, turns Sendant into a weakend gibbering idiot, paralyzes Gryff, and turns Arly into a duck. Timus teleports into the midst of the nightwalkers and the Device of Ecklips and attempts to disrupt their ritual -- attracting the full attention of the Penumbral Lord. Arly, having been returned to undead form, requests help from Fayel, who transports the entire party to the Device of Ecklips. In a last desperate attempt, Tierney dives atop the device and smites it -- starting a horrible and confusing sequence of events.

Watch For:

• Mordenkainen's Disjunction, which is really really nasty.
• The elves undoing Mordenkainen's Disjunction with little more than a thought, which is arguably nastier.
• Gryffid trying to get the Penumbral Lord to do that big villain speech that all villains must do before they are about to kill the hero (or get killed in a freak accident that saves the hero).

Plot Points

• Nyralla appeared to be under some sort of enchantment or compulsion, and after being freed from it activated the artifact pillars and restored strength to the dragons.
• Arlemis was prophesied to bring about the fall of the Penumbral Lord. The Penumbral Lord has watched his soul be reborn over the centuries and has killed him repeatedly.
• The Penumbral Lord claimed to have orchestrated Arly's becoming undead.
• Tierney freed a beholder that was held captive in the Penumbral Lord's ship.
• Em-shil-vish tricked the party into fully activating the Device of Ecklips in the hopes of gaining the full power of the Ta'bar'pur. However, his plan backfired and ended up destroying him.
• The dark energies released by the artifact traveled to the Fayel's elves and transformed them into true Ta'bar'pur, who took the crashed ship and vanished.

Unanswered Questions

• What was the device?
• Now that the Ta'bar'pur are finally in the world, how is the party (or anyone else for that matter) going to stop them?
• Why the Sky Elves and Midnight Elves?
• Was this the Elves' true purpose for being at this battle?
• If there are three factions of Ta'bar'pur, which faction is this?
• If Simon (rumored to be "Em-shil-vish II" in "When the Lights Go Down in the City") was serving the Penumbral Lord, why would he have given Tierney a (wise) warning not to destroy the Device of Ecklips?

Analysis

• The Ta'bar'pur are here. The world has officially Gone to Shit.

Quotable Notes

Mike (as Sendant is Feebleminded): I think I'm going to urinate.

Tierney: My friends are paralyzed, dead, stupid, and a duck.

Colin: I was planning on diving on top of the device, stabbing the bastard sword into it, and sacrifice myself, thereby demonstrating my moral purity. But instead I think I'll make a Use Magic Device check.

Tony Speaks

Snippets from TooMUSH, as seen from my (Stephen's) window. Miho is a bot which I have had no small hand in programming.

Kousei says "Disjunctions suck."
Stephen boggles at Kousei. "NO, REALLY?!?!?!?"

You say "Miho, 8ball will the Penumbral Lord manage to pull off his caper now that the elves have intervened?"
Miho shakes the psychic purple sphere...
Miho says "It says 'You've got to be kidding.'"
You say "Fuck you, Miho."
Miho says "Stephen: Sorry..."
You say "Damn right you're sorry!"
Fuse laughs.

Gryffid Speaks

The Penumbral Lord was almost pleasant conversation. Until he did that spectre thing to Kazek. Then, with none of my axes working, I figured it was time to run. Especially since there was a huge incoming flying ship about to squish me.

All elves must die.

I might give Arlemis a break if he adequately explains what the hell we just did.

I get this distinct impression that we were hosed either way, but I'll be damned if I just bend over and take it quietly like a good little dwarf.

All elves must die.

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