Mal peaks around the corner to see what the situation looks like. Yup, bad guy is still there barely expending any effort in killing us all. Badger is still down and Silas is still trying to attack the creature on the stairs. She tries to see what is protecting the creature and if she can get some bolts through it.

Perception: 7

 But still can't see anything substantial in front of it. She looks back at Badgers lifeless body and wonders if she can make the jump to the balcony but in her weakened state she does not think she can make it. I know that little bastard has to have something that could rescue the situation from the jaws of defeat, if only he had not damaged himself going after that damn ring.

Sighing she shifts back to look staring into the hag room her eyes sliding over to see what the civilian is doing and then rests her loaded crossbow on her legs, racking her brain for some kind of plan, that does not involve herself just running away. Some of this group she is at odds with but they still saved her life when she needed it so she does feel a little bit of honor in trying to save their lives, but she just feels completely helpless in this situation.

Sickle Death save : 3 (2 success, 1 fail)

Keshma Death save :  14 (1 success)

Mal peaks around the corner. From the top of the stairs she's actually able to see precious little, the 20 foot stairway ceiling blocks her view, but she creeps back down a couple stairs to scan the room. As far as she can tell, there's nothing between herself and Acerack, but.....she couldn't see it before either, however...she notices a bit of smoke and lava steam waft in from outside the balcony to the over the balcony...as if no wall exists.  The large black sphere of nothing hovers next to Mal like a missing hole in the universe. 

Silas's action.

[Round 3: Grenk: 21, Badger: 20, Mal: 19, Sickle: 11, Keshma: 10, Silas: 8, Acerack: 8]

Silas moves a bit forward to to try and get closer to everyone then using the Ioun Stone to cast Mass Healing Word on everyone including himself he can reach as bonus action then strike with [Tooltip Not Found] at the undead wizard before move rrest of his movement to one of the nooks to along the wall, trying to take out of line of sight with the wizard.

Healing 5

Dex Save: 16

Damage: 15

Dex save : 10 

Silas moves forward, and calls forth healing magic....the energy flows instantaneously into everyone around him, including himself. Badger's eyes blink open....Keshma stirs with a groan, and Sickle makes a "uuuuuuhhhh" moaning sound.  Mal feels a bit of healing energy flow into her. 

Silas's sacred flame tears through Acerack flickering around him...he looks peevishly in Silas's direction and mutters in his raspy voice, "Curse'ed clerics...." 

A blast of cold energy lances out from his finger at Silas in reply... Attack: 19 Damage: 22.   Silas, having taken shelter in a nook, has the blast just slam into the edge of the nook instead of striking him. He sees darkness pass before his eyes, but then refocus' on the scene before him.  (Silas is still up, with 6 hps)

Acerack glances at the ghostly Grenk nearby and across where the gnome is stirring. With a word he vanishes and appears on the far balcony standing near Badger. He glances down, bends his bony knees, and reaches for the Ring of Winter....but as his hand is just about to touch it.....he stops suddenly....and reflexively pulls his hand back. "What is this thing you've brought here....it whispers to me..."

Grenk, Badger, Mal, your actions. 

[Round 4: Grenk: 21, Badger: 20, Mal: 19, Sickle: 11, Keshma: 10, Silas: 8, Acerack: 8]

"You're right to be scared you damn bag of bones," Grenk says in the ghostly world.  He turns towards him and Flys at him again.

Dash fly at acerack to get to the far right of him.

Feeling the healing wash over him Mal has a momentary glimpse of possibility as she decides to run down the stairs and turn to her left moving across the walkway firing two bolts as she goes and then finished moving using her bonus action dash into the alcove that is in front of her.

[OOC: Moves into the only alcove on the same wall as the balcony with Badger and Ass Face.]

H. Crossbow: Attack: 26 Damage: 5

H. Crossbow: Attack: 26 Damage: 7

Sneak Attack: 6 [As Ass Face is in melee range with Badger.]

That's mine! murmurs Badger as he picks himself up off the ground and sees the lich eyeing off his prize. Shove off!

Badger again summons Bigby's Hand (action) and then uses the Forceful Hand ability to push Acererak off the edge of the balcony.

Acererak makes a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the Hand's Strength check, made with advantage as the lich is a Medium creature: 14

If Acererak hits the lava and is at least partially submerged, and if Badger can do it as a free action, he will toss the ring over the balcony into the lava, hoping to trap the lich in solid stone.

Two arrows whistle across the space from Mal and strike the Lich. They seem to impact him, but do only partial damage. He swats back at Mal with a spell....a blast of cold rips through the air at her.  Attack: 17 Damage: 14

Grenk begins floating towards him, and is able to just make it to the far balcony, though is between the balcony and edge and Acerack at the moment....so tired as he struggles across the open space. 

Badger fiercely murmurs to himself...and begins casting his spell. He's seen this moment, yes...divined it, the perfect manoeuvre, the massive magical hand giving the awful Lich a huge ----Acerack attempts to counter his spell with a 5th level counterspell ---- 

?

Badger will attempt to counterspell Acererak's counterspell...

Counterspell at 3rd level: 17

The mage duel is abrupt and fierce as magic, counter-magic, and more counter-magic slash back and forth, sending sparks into the air....but Badger is victorious over the Lich and a huge hand made of magical force appears.  It's big open palm faces Acerack....and strikes him. 

Acerack Athletics check : 11

The hand slams him, sending him reeling backwards...pushing him until he slams into the balcony and goes tumbling over with a cursing growl...and plummets.

In Badgers mind, his plan is architected perfect, visions from the past months....half -dreams.....reflections in pools.....patterns in the thrown bones...all become so clear.  He grabs the icy cold ring and lunges for the edge of the balcony. 

Acerack slams into the lava... (head up: even, head down: odd.  1) .... the molten rock eating instantly setting him burning, flame and smoke roiling upwards as he burns horribly for 32 damage..... 

His descent is quickly followed by the ring...as Badger throws it down towards him.  The ring strikes the lava with a heavy thud, the molten rock freezing into hard glassy stone a moment before it strikes...rolling abruptly around on the rock.  The lava around him solidifying in an instant...leaving only his legs sticking comedically up out of the rock. 

But the comedy lasts only an instant.

As if in response to a troubled master, the orb of pure darkness descends in a straight line towards the Lich.....eating directly through the ledge on the north side, leaving a perfect hole through the stone, and dips into the solid rock around the Acerack...and begins moving. Whereever it moves through the rock...it leaves behind nothing, consuming the rock as if were a giant eraser, it begins zipping around the rock surrounding Acerack.  At one point the sphere of blackness goes through the ring of winter.....but the ring simply drops through the now missing stone it was sitting on and tumbles into the round trench left behind by the sphere as if the sphere was nothing to it. 

Keshma hovers up on the far balcony, and glances down at the situation. With sluggish, exhausted movements, she begins floating down to the quickly solidifying lava in the room, her hammer out.  "I'm going to bust both his legs off when I get there....." she manages to reach just above him, but doens't have a chance to attack yet.....

Sickle moves down the stairs. His eyes are clear, and he looks like he just woke up from a long sleep. The half-orc looks around...."What in blue blazes is going on...?" 

Silas, your action.

[Round 4: Grenk: 21, Badger: 20, Mal: 19, Sickle: 11, Keshma: 10, Silas: 8, Acerack: 8]

(minor correction to map, Sickle is at the lip of the northern ledge now.  FYI, if the lava entirely solidifies, this room will be cast into darkness.)

with the ball of darkness out of the way, Silas cast Death Ward with his last 4th spell slot before moving out of the nook, tries to direct his spiritual weapon? to strike the burning wizard but moving towards Sickle, "A lot of trouble is happening. The burning guy is bad but very strong,"

Attack: 16 Damage: 10 Force

Acerack is no longer burning, being encased in solid stone instead of lava...the ring having put him out almost immediately.  A glowing fist comes flying down from the upper alcove and slams into one of Acerack's legs with a hollow thud. 

Sickle nods to Silas, "It's all like a bit of a dream....."  he glances down and spots the ring amidst the cooling lava.  A shiver runs through his body. 

The black sphere continues to zip in circles around Acerack....until, looking a lot like a stone popsicle, it flies under his head and the encased stone tips and strike the side of the deep pit around it, cracking. Acerack seems to be breaking free of the stone. 

Grenk, Badger, Mal, your actions. 

(Grenk, you are 30 feet above on the balcony, and still in the ethereal, and still moving at half-speed.) 

[Round 5: Grenk: 21, Badger: 20, Mal: 19, Sickle: 11, Keshma: 10, Silas: 8, Acerack: 8]

Grenk focuses and returns to the world on the balcony.  The start bright colors and heat catch him off guard for a moment but then he's.  Shield and flaming sword in hand he readies himself.

"Keshma, you still with us?  Just keep him off the platform, knock him back into lava if he comes up there!" He shouts to her.

Regardless of what their eventual fate may be, Badger will never ever forget the sight of Acererak's bony legs sticking up out of the solid stone. The moment is burned indelibly in his rememberance, and even should the lich capture him and torture his soul for eternity, he will laugh all the way as long as that memory remains. Laughing audibly, Badger can barely manage to intone the words of his next spell.

Action: Magic Missile at 1st level for 9 force damage.

Bonus Action: Move Bigby's Hand down to the level of the lava and use Clenched Fist to hit Acererak's protruding legs.
Attack: 14 Damage: 21 force damage.
If his current state means he is restrained, then here is an advantage roll: 24

Mal looks on and then an idea forms, Are you stupid, do not and I mean DO not do this, she thinks as her muscles move almost on their own as the thought gains traction. She sprints out of the alcove and makes for the edge and leaps hoping to use her BA dash and movement to jump onto the stone platform in the lava landing next to Ass Face. Then as her action she is going to use the momentum and slam into him hoping to push him off the rocky surface into the lava, while trying not to land in it herself.

Acrobatics: 12 [Jumping to land next to him] or Athletics: 22 (whichever one you want to use)

Not sure what skill to use for shoving so here goes Athletics: 12 Acrobatics: 13

[OOC: S)(^%#@$)(&^(#$&(GS&G God damn disadvantage]

Keshma is most definitely "with you" as she's floating down, albeit slowly, across the space to try and begin pounding on Acerack.

Meanwhile, Mal looking exhausted....comes leaping running along the ledge and then makes a magnificent leap, like a super hero, flying 20 feet horizontally and 30 feet down, across the lava to the edge of the rock ice-berg below.  (9 falling damage)  She hits, but her magical crane spirit seems to absorb the impact and she rushes across the slams into the upside down stone Acerack sitting in the pit.  And bounces off without much effect.  

(Time for another "side view" so people know what's happening...)

Reminder, there are now 2 big "stone" icebergs in the lava. One is melting, though sorta slowly, and the other is expanding...rapidly. The one that is expanding has an upside down Acerack stuck int the stone, with only his feet sticking up out of the flat surface of the iceberg. 

His upper torso and head is stuck, upside down, in the hard rock.

His sphere of darkness is flying all around him, eating away at the stone, and making a big old hole...that this upside done stone popsicle is stuck in. When the sphere cuts the bottom of the popscile, near Aceracks head, it collapses to one side, in the stone pit, and cracks, and the stone starts to break apart a bit. Acerack is still quite trapped... (aka restrained, but IS working his way out.).  In another round or two, there will not be much lava left if the ring keeps freezing it to stone at its current rate. Also, the room will become dark.

Here is a SIDE view. The blue person is Acerack. The darker grey is the hole around him that his little sphere has been digging.

After his stone popsicle falls over: 

Getting in that these random legs are a bad guy to be slain....Sickle says, "Watch out!"  and a bright arc of lightning blasts out and rips through the legs and the energy runs up the Lich's body into the stone.....smoke pouring out. 

Dex Save vs DC 17 : 15.   38 damage from 5th level upcast lightning bolt. 

Though even in such a .....compromising...position...the lightning seems to have only partial effect against the Lich...as if he had some sort of inherent resistance to lightning. 

Keshma has arrived on scene as well, and mutters, "Your legs are mine you fiend!" 

Attack: 20 Damage: 24 Attack: 18 Damage: 20

Her non magical hammers smashes his legs, though her second blow glances off some sort of magical protection he has...so the first hit only does partial damage.....

Finally the sphere smacks directly into Acerack's face area, clearing a path, the sphere tearing at Acerack's own body... for 14 force damage...but....now he can see....and worse...he can speak.

Silas's turn.

[Round 5: Grenk: 21, Badger: 20, Mal: 19, Sickle: 11, Keshma: 10, Silas: 8, Acerack: 8]

Silas peeks out from the back room, directing his spiritual weapon to strike if possibl before moving out of sight as he cast Cure Wounds 3rd level on himself. 

Attack: 15 Damage: 6

Healing: 18

A massive fist made of force....a tiny fist made of holy energy, a genie with a massive hammer....and Mal all surround the upside down rock encased undead Lich pounding away at his legs in what must be the most embarrassing, awkward, and humiliating situation the Lich has ever been in. 

Somehow though, he's managed to use his black sphere of destructive energy to clear his mouth.  He attempts to cast Teleport with his free mouth.....

Badger? 

Sure why not?

Counterspell: 18