The party stands on the top of the staircase, in front of the entrance, staring back at the massive brain lingering on the throne, surrounded by its minions. Legion asks the party if they have finally come to join them, or if they’re here to try to stop them. Quill and Gaia spread out, walking down on opposite sides of the staircase, while Raenerys and Miryks remain on the top.
Quill calmly says that they have seen a glimpse of the “perfect” world Legion claims they want to make, and they didn’t like what they saw, referencing the vision Gaia got when she asked if Legion’s vision would be the best thing for the world. Tensions are high, as everyone is clutching their weapons, but they’re holding back. Raenerys continues to say that they have come here to stop Legion once and for all. Legion replies that they think it’s a shame that it has to come to this, but understands.
Suddenly, a cloud of tadpoles flies through the air from the brain, heading straight for everyone in the party. They all managed to cover their mouths, preventing Legion from infecting them. The mind flayer standing next to Legion immediately moves over to Gaia, and attempts to subjugate her mind with its psionic powers, but Gaia manages to resist it.
Quill brings words of encouragement to her party, then slides down the railing of the stairs, summoning a wall of flames, cutting Legion off from the rest of their minions, as well as the party. Miryks emerges from her rat-form, and flies down with her new elemental powers to restrain the mind-flayer. Raenerys has moved down near Gaia to help, but this causes the mind-flayer to lash out at the both of them.
Legion starts to climb the walls using its fleshy appendages, and jumps over the wall of flame. Several more of Legion’s minions come bursting through the door the party entered from, so Quill runs back up while Gaia handles them. With a simple runic lock, the door is shut and barred, preventing more from emerging.
Raenerys runs into the middle of the chamber, so that Legion stands between her and the flames, forcing them back into the fire using her terrifying powers granted by Athreos. To the party's horror however, Legion takes a stroll through the flames, and immediately grabs two of its minions, absorbing them into their form, regaining some of their vitality.
Gaia flies over the wall of flames to keep the mind-flayer in check, but the beast is too powerful for her to take down alone. As banging can be heard from the door leading out from Legion’s minions trying to enter, there is suddenly a large screech as a wyvern comes bursting through one of the exterior windows, which immediately starts attacking Gaia.
Quill, thinking fast, decides to summon yet another wall of flame as Legion has moved closer to them, cutting it off from its minions, and by extension, food. Gaia is now trapped behind two walls of flame, separating her from the rest of the party, while Miryks is being accosted by several of the minions who are trying to drag her down to the ground to kill her. Legion sends out several waves of tadpoles, some of which makes it through, infecting both Raenerys and Quill.
Raenerys siphons some power from Legion, healing herself as she drains their vitality. Quill jumps out in front of Raenerys, standing in front of the elder brain.
“Come to surrender?” it asks her.
Her response comes quickly. “Our story does not end here. This is merely the beginning.”
She summons a runic circle in front of Legion, throwing it back through the flames, causing it to fall down hard onto the floor. A burst of psionic energy emanates from the brain as it lies still on the ground, extinguishing the fires, and causes every minion in the room to collapse. For a moment, it seems like the fight is over, but the sinuous, fleshy appendages attached to the brain start moving, shifting, before taking on a crude form of a terrifying beast.
Raenerys, who has been infected, feels the presence of Legion in her mind, which attempts to force her down onto her knees in subjugation. She thinks back on her family, and how she resisted them, so she can resist this force as well. In anger, Legion slithers forward, striking Raenerys with its appendages, wounding her greatly.
The party now comes together to strike the true form of Legion, who lashes out like a wounded beast, hitting everyone around it. Gaia fires a bolt beacon at it, giving the others an opening to strike, then forces it back, throwing the form into the staircase.
“I want you to feel this. These consequences. Now. Die.”
Legion slithers forward, and strikes Gaia with two of their tendrils, penetrating her stomach and shoulder. She slumps over, lifeless. It manages to hit some of the poison vials Gaia was carrying, amplifying its lethalness. Quill and Miryks are both struck by Legion, which hurts them greatly. In desperation, Quill summons yet another wall of flame, giving Raenerys a final opening. With black eyes and a terrifying presence, Raenerys forces the withering Legion into the fire. Their last words as it is burned away, echoes in their minds.
“I was merely trying to help all of you.”
The last remnants of Legion are burned to ash, until nothing remains.
𐡸
Quill quickly runs over to Gaia as the fire still burns, and gives her some words of encouragement, bringing her back from the brink of death. The wounds Legion left behind has caused her flesh to become withered and frayed, with a grey colour surrounding it, giving her a permanent scar to remember the fight, but she lives.
As the room quiets down, and the flames are extinguished, some of the fallen minions are coming to. Gaia and Raenerys quickly move over to the mind flayer to give it a coup de grace, preventing it from hurting anyone else. The wyvern also comes to, but Miryks manages to convince it to just run away, as they don’t want to hurt it any more than it already has been. It escapes through the open window, flying away into the night.
The guards that were under Legion’s control come to, looking around, confused. The party explains what has happened, and that the threat has now been stopped. The head of the guard, Bram, introduces himself, and begins to organize the rest of the guards to search the tower to bring it under control, letting the party rest for a bit. They hear the city fight back against the remnants of the mind-flayers that were left behind, bringing a final end to the threat.
Gaia looks at the remnants of the elder brain, then reaches out to Elara with her speaking orb, asking if she would like to keep it in order for research. She is quick to accept, telling them to store it in alcohol to preserve it, prompting the guards to put it in the bathtub of the chancellor's personal quarters. Elara tells the party that she noticed something was happening with Legion as Finneas claimed that the presence that had been in his mind suddenly disappeared. She will keep him around for a few more days to observe him, just in case, but he should be all right to go home now.
Hurt, exhausted and in desperate need of some sleep, the party asks if the guards can set them up in a room at the local tavern, but they instead offer to have the party sleep in the ambassador's quarters if they wish. The party is more than happy to accept, being led down to a very nice looking apartment with several beds, a good view of the harbor, as well as a cozy hearth. Several tired looking cooks bring in a wide array of food and drinks for them, thanking the party for their service, leaving them to recuperate.
They spend the next few hours eating, drinking and relaxing. As the others go to bed, Raenerys sits in the windowsill looking out at the city which is beginning to heal. She has never wanted to be a hero, and is conflicted at this new direction in her life. Athreos emerges, saying that he is extremely pleased with her progress, being surprised to get Legion’s final word into his archives. She continues to lie about her willingness to do his bidding, but he is none the wiser, and retreats, leaving Raenerys to contemplate her thoughts in peace.
The next morning, as the guards were worried about Kato Loy being nowhere to be found, Gaia reaches out to the divines to see if he is still alive. She gets a vision of the elder brain, along with its troops, bursting through the windows of the throne room, consuming the chancellor, confirming his death.