Pax, seemingly distracted despite the chaos going on around her, bends down and picks up the strange wand thing. Then she glances at Kirin. "I doubt it exploding could be worse than it turning everyone to bronze. We need to get out of here..."   Pax moves as quickly as she can towards an exit, following Kaylyn.  As she moves, she'll likewise fling bolts of magic across at the slaad thing, while yelling to Sekkar, "We need to get out of here, forget the thing!" 

Attack: 11 Damage: 7

Attack: 9 Damage: 8

Attack: 19 Damage: 12

She glances at Buppido, and scratches here head, "Do I know you from someplace?!"

Unable to shorten the distance, Sekkar shot again:

Attack: 21 Damage: 8 + 3

Attack: 18 Damage: 9 + 3

Buppido's appearance startled him but just a bit. "And now dead are rising." Nothing he'd never seen before, though when risen one is someone you knew well, it is always unnerving. "If it's the same one, that was a crazy derro from the slave-pen. Tried to kill us in the tunnels we found you," shouted he to Pax, on the move to the exit. "We killed him there." Sekkar tried to keep at least shooting distance to the demon - others were still stuck in the cave pulling the machine up and down, Sekkar did not plan to run alone.

"Something this powerful, magma isn't going to do much beyond making access impossible without certain precautions," Kirin counters as he looks down at the engine. 

If Kirin can get Guidance or not from Rhayna, he'll cast Dispel Magic on the machine once again while ignoring the new distraction.

Int Ability Check: 15 + 3 if can get Gudiance (ffs, i have a +5 for this)

(@Shodai. Guidance is touch. I don't think Rhayna is close to cast that. My understanding that is everyone is by the cave floor, and Rhayna is down in the crevasse, on top of the Maze Engine.)

Assuming he failed, "What does everyone else think? Let it drop into the magma and hope it stops or try to shut it down?" Kirin shouts out at the party while keeping an eye on the machine.

"I don't know how to stop this thing!!" Cries Rhayna.

(Maybe get the Cleric out of there, and just let it drop?)

The machine is exceeding complex, and Rhayna is trying hard to figure out if it can be deactivated. There are some mechanisms there that might do the trick, but it would take a very swift hand to reach in amongst the spinning armatures to reach it... and it might not even work...

My apologies, I kinda overlooked Rhayna's attempts and didn't offer any solutions. She's had about three rounds now, so...
- Rhayna can use an action to make a combined Sleight of Hand and Investigation check. If the combined total is 50 or more, she succeeds in deactivating the machine. Not impossible, but exceedingly difficult.
- If desired, Rhayna can spend an action from one of the previous rounds to activate Knowledge of the Ages to give herself proficiency in Sleight of Hand, which would help a bit.
- She can also use a previous round to cast Guidance on herself to add another 1d4 to the total.

(Can I say that Rhayna Used Knowledge of the Ages on round 1, then cast Guidance on herself on Round 2, then did the checks?)

Sleight of Hand: 7 + 4 (Proficiency) + 1 (Guidance)

Investigation: 19 (Rolled with advantage bc of the Stonespeaker Crystal)

(Unfortunately not even close 😞)

Kaylyn will give Kirin her inspiration to give him advantage on a dispel magic roll.

"You can do it Kirin!  I have faith in you!" 

47

Sekkar and Pax continue to attack the slaad, hitting the foul fiend with their blasts and bolts. The creature backs off further, and begins drawing on magic that makes its form begin to turn invisible, but Vizeran quickly counters it. Then using the same spell that he used against the mighty balor, the drow mage extends one finger and commands the now-weakened slaad to die, and it promptly falls lifeless to the ground.

Rhayna reaches for the spindle that she thinks will power down the machine, but can't grab at it with just the right timing.

At the other end of the cavern there is a loud cackle from Buppido. Ha ha haa! Now is the great day of my power!

With a voice of urgency Vizeran calls out: I can teleport us all to my tower if thou wishes. Unless thou desires to first deactivate the device...

Rhayna considers making another attempt. She just needs to time it right...

Buppido continues: I shall reign from the rivers to the ends of the earth! 

Vizeran urges Sekkar: Gather your allies.

There is a flash of bright white light...

There is none who dares to...

We must act quickly if...

The cavern vanishes. There is a gut-wrenching pull in the fourth dimension. Faces and images blur into a kaleidoscope pattern as they spin and collapse on themselves in a temporal vortex...

-----------------------

...because they don't have any of yer surface-dwellers' tongue, tho Buppido there does be talkin' a lot, to be sure. Derendil has it, and Shuushar and Ront just a mite, but th'rest of 'em only have th'Undercommon.

Jimjar turns to Stool and says: Stool! How about sharing your spores with us so we can talk together?

A puff is heard from the corner of the cell, followed by a slight musty, mouldy spell. Then each of you hears Jimjar's voice in your head.
That'll do it. Now we understand each other a mite better. I be Jimjar, from Bligdenstone. I bet ye 10 gold none o' ye have been there, am I right?

....................

Vizeran looks around bewildered and disoriented. Pax and Kirin look around and find themselves in an unfamiliar prison cell formed of three stone walls and a steel caged barrier, and ten other occupants, some of whom they recognise. Sekkar, Rhayna, and Kaylyn know this cell and all its occupants. It is the jail at Velkynvelve, the drow outpost.

The other occupants are:
- Derendil the erudite quaggoth
- Jimjar the gambling svirfneblin
- Topsy and Turvy the svirfneblin wererats
- Stool the myconid sprout
- Shuushar the pacifist kuo-toa
- Sarith the infected drow
- Ront the belligerent orc
- Eldath the shield dwarf
- Buppido the power-crazy derro

No-one seems surprised by the group's sudden arrival. They act as if you have all been there all the time...

"....Can someone explains what's going on and where are we?" Kirin question as he looked around at the unfamiliar location and people.

Is Kirin still able to concentrate on the wall of Force?

Kirin's connection with the Wall of Force spell is lost. It's not that he failed to concentrate on it, but he seems to be too far removed from the spell in space and time to maintain it.

Kirin notes that other than his location in time and space, nothing else has changed. He still has all his equipment as well as all his memories of his time in the Underdark.

(Everyone is in the Velkynvelve prison, but unshackled and unbound, with all of their experience points, abilities, equipment, and memories.)

(Oh... and everyone advances to Level 12)

(WOOT!) 

Pax looks around at everyone in the room. She quickly ignores the creatures, and walks to the nearest wall. She touches it, running her hand across it, while closing her eyes and listening with her eyes closed. If anyone speaks she loudly goes "SHHHH!".  She stomps her metal heel on the ground with a clank. She walks up to the bars and gives them a shake. She looks back at the group, "What is going on? Where are we?" 

She then takes a double glance back at Buppido, and suddenly steps aggressively forward, ramming into him with both hands, attempting to shove him to the ground with force!

Athletics to push him prone : 12   Growling down at his now prone body she says in a fierce voice, "FOOL! What did you do? What is this?!?"

It took some time for Sekkar to realize what is going on. Even then he could not fully comprehend, or, better say, believe the obvious explanation - travelling in time was not an everyday event one can simply accept. Familiarity of the surrounding (unfortunate familiarity!) helped in a way, that it woke up all the right feelings, the rest had to wait, Sekkar preferred to deal with the threat at hand.

He did not stop Pax from assaulting the gnome (Buppido deserved it on a good day), just added his observations. "That was the machine. I think." (Was not he right about machines? If he had the slightest shadow of doubts, now it would be gone completely! And anyone with a brain would think the same.) "Buppido is... was... just crazy. And don't you recognize  Derendil? We are back to drow slave-pen. But this time we will see who would have to run! We can burn that place to the ground."

Dawnbringer could get very excited now - soon there will be plenty of the most vicious Underdark creatures to cut down! Strangely, Sekkar did not worry much, that the whole journey had to be repeated again. Should it even? They knew so much more now. And... "Do you think the demons are still around? Or did the machine send them back too?" 

"As I was not involved in this particular location from the scraps of information I've heard, I doubt the demons were sent but rather this particular situation is unique due to some of you. Prepares Rhayana due to her proximity to the machine at the time? Its hard to formulate a conclusion at the moment," Kirin replies as he looks around, "This was a Drow prison correct? If this is some advance illusion or a temporal distortion, I do not like being imprison and I do not see anything keep us here," Kirin tests the waters casting Mage Hand to see if his abilities are still there.

Kaylyn looks around and tried to gather her thoughts. Pensive is still gone or is he here?  If we went back in time would Pensive be here with the others who are now dead?  Things fall into place as she looks around and sees the opportunity.

"We have bought ourselves time, somehow.  If we went back in time then the acceleration of demonic activity in the world is now at a lower point and a better chance for us to succeed in our work."  

Seeing Vizeran

"Can you Teleport us to your tower?" she asks him.  "Get us out of here.  I have no desire to relive this part of my life.  We still have the things we need to end the threat, let us act." 

Pax glares at the gnome, but then looks back at the group, and holds up a hand. “Just a moment. If this is all real, then…. we must be careful not to upset any of the good you must eventually do, and to ruin the fates of those you helped.  And maybe there is time to do more good.  You were all sad regarding Derendils fate.   Is this a chance to fix it?  We slew the cultists and turned the dragons fate in this city. Do we want to ensure we accomplish that….once again?”

It was all too philosophical for Sekkar. "I am all for killing more drows and roasting some spiders. I bet Rhayna here would love to cut that b***-priestess down too one more time. But... There are no our old selves here. Look. One me, one Kaylyn, one Rhayna. Not others too. We stop those demons - if they still exist - we do more good. Then we can return here if needed and clean up that mess too. Or..." Sekkar gave Vizeran another heavy look, "maybe we can all teleport from here? Then no one will die during the escape."

Upon seeing Stool. "Ohhh Stool!!" Rhayna knells to the ground next to it. She remembers his state when they first met, and she tries to calm him by telepathically communicating with him. "Hello little one. Don't be afraid, know that you will return to your people one day." Rhayna then uses her previous connection with the Myconid to ask it questions. She only checks for the information that would be pertinent to the time when they first arrived at Velkynvelve, so she can ascertain that they have indeed gone back in time. (Or perhaps, they may gone into a different reality...)

Pax forces Buppido to the ground, and the derro reacts with a very convincing charade of fear. Help! Help! I'm being repressed! He turns to the larger, stronger and more compassionate of the inmates, and continues his appeal, his voice trembling pathetically and his hands shaking as if traumatised. Now we see the violence inherent in the system, the derro continues. Did you see her repressing me? You saw it didn't you? Eldeth the female dwarf and Derendil the quaggoth move in sympathetically to intervene. But Derendil pauses when Sekkar suggests that Pax knows the elf prince. With a regal air, the hairy beast looks down at Pax and asks: Dost thou know me? Mayhap we have met in the court at Nelrindenvane.

Kirin finds that Mage Hand works fine. The other prisoners are shackled, but he and all his companions are free and fully armed. Pensive is not present, but Kaylyn innately knows she can recall the pseudodragon with the proper ritual. However, Kaylyn also recalls that last time she was here, Pensive was brand new to her, a fresh gift from the celestial realm. Would they still retain the bond formed over the past days and weeks, or would Pensive be a stranger to her?

Stool recoils from Rhayna. Through the telepathy of the spores, Rhayna discovers that Stool is afraid of this human who 'smells funny', which seems to refer to Rhayna's own cloud of spores. The little sprout thinks that Rhayna has a similar taint as the drow in the corner that captured it and brought it here. This is new information to Rhayna, that Sarith was in fact the one responsible for capturing Stool. The myconid is also cowed by the violence that is happening in the cage between Pax and Buppido, who it thinks has always been kind and nice to it.

Several figures in the cage don't make much of a move. The large orc remains in the corner, watching with a scheming eye. The drow remains crouched and seated with his head bowed. The three svirfneblin look on in surprise, although Jimjar is heard to murmur: Blimey, I wouldn't have bet on that, now would I? The kuo-toa is squatting in another corner but watching the proceedings and seemingly listening with a curious fishy stare - it is the only creature that seems to have any idea that anything is unusual about the group's sudden (from their own perspective) appearance.

Vizeran is slowly taking stock of the situation. He quietly murmurs to Kaylyn that he can cast a teleportation spell, but can only take eight others. He sees no reason why they should concern themselves with the other prisoners, and suggests they simply depart, unless Kaylyn wishes to employ her own teleportation helm. The only component remaining to acquire is the beholder eye... oh, and Gromph's grimoire of course.

Drow voices from outside the cage are heard as two guards approach, accompanied by four quaggoth slaves. Quiet down prisoners! What is the cause of the disturbance in there? they demand as they draw nearer...