Session 56: Tower Library

Date: 2026-09-02

Summary

The chaos of battle raged on within the vast, lightning-crackling library of the Amethyst Academy tower as Oiroa was expelled from the extraplanar gullet of a monstrous creature, drenched in digestive fluids and barely on her feet. Wasting no time, she called out a word of healing to Yazzy, who had taken the form of a massive Tyrannosaurus Rex, and the great beast responded by snapping its enormous jaws shut on one of the hulking extraplanar entities with bone-crushing force. Oiroa followed up by channeling a wave of necrotic energy that rang like a death knell through the creature, further tearing at its life force. Ned, ever precise and ever cautious, finished the grappled beast off with a precise bolt of fire before promptly ducking behind a bookshelf, as was his custom.

Eldritch lightning crackled through the air and two new interlopers materialized from the dimensional chaos, their arrival heralded by a surge of otherworldly energy. Tark closed the distance with terrifying speed, delivering a series of devastating blows that left one of the newcomers crumpled and still. Syndle experienced a wild surge of magical energy that sent a bolt of radiant light bursting from his chest, and though one interloper shrugged off the blinding effect, another critically failed to resist and was destroyed outright by the searing radiance. Meanwhile, the interlopers fought back viciously, unleashing waves of necrotic and psychic energy that battered the party, ultimately driving Xakarium to his knees and leaving him unconscious on the floating walkway. Oiroa, pushing through the pain, rushed to his side and breathed life back into him with a desperate invocation, then turned and struck the nearest interloper with another toll of necrotic force. Yazzy delivered the killing blow to the last of the interlopers with a thunderous bite, and for the first time all night, the library fell quiet.

The party barely had a moment to breathe before Oiroa channeled the full depth of her divine power into Xakarium, flooding his body with restorative energy and purging every trace of lingering illness from his blood — including, as the party noted with barely concealed amusement, a particularly unspeakable ailment that no one would name aloud. The group began to assess their situation, noting they had climbed as high as the tower's elevator would carry them, with only staircases and open air above. Then, through a massive breach in the tower wall where the eldritch storm howled and churned, a shadow fell across them — enormous, ancient, and descending fast. A dragon, vast and terrible, came spiraling down through the storm, landing its burning gaze on the battered adventurers below and letting out a roar that shook the very bones of the tower and sent waves of thunderous force crashing through the air, leaving several of the party frozen in supernatural dread.

The dragon spoke directly into the minds of Xakarium and Ned, its voice dismissive and contemptuous, mocking the decay of the Academy and musing aloud about tearing the whole structure down. Yazzy, still wearing the body of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, responded in Draconic with a casual shrug — she was only there for the magic items, she said. The dragon paused, then erupted into a genuine, booming belly laugh, seemingly delighted by the audacity. The party pressed their attack regardless, with Xakarium hurling a maximized bolt of lightning that struck the dragon with full force, and Syndle hurling his enchanted axe through the air in a wild, raging throw that somehow found its mark. Tark loosed arrows from across the battlefield, and the dragon bled, but it was far from finished.

The dragon retaliated with a catastrophic breath of psychic energy, a sweeping cone of mental devastation that tore through the party's defenses. Xakarium and Oiroa were both knocked unconscious by the assault, left hovering in the tower's broken gravity, while Syndle was left dazed and unable to act. Tark alone remained standing and functional, but the dragon continued its assault, burning through the party's resolve with targeted psychic strikes that scorched even the walnut-sized brain of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. With the situation growing desperate, Ned made a decision. He reached into his supplies and drew out a delirium geode — a priceless crystal worth thousands of gold — and poured its raw, amplified power into a bolt of lightning. What erupted from his hands was something no one in the room had ever witnessed: a colossal, blinding arc of electricity that struck the dragon with ten times the force of any normal spell. The dragon, wounded and visibly shaken, cackled one final taunt — that every second they wasted in its presence fed the rift and poured eons of power into its bones — and then vanished into the space between worlds.

The party moved quickly to stabilize their fallen companions, using what healing supplies remained to revive Xakarium and Oiroa. Battered, nearly out of magical reserves, and with the dragon's parting words still ringing in their ears, the group made the only sensible choice available to them: they retreated into the extra-dimensional pantry they had discovered earlier, sealing themselves away from the crackling storm and the growing darkness of the rift above. The warmth of that strange, slurpy pocket dimension closed around them as they settled in for a long rest, knowing full well that the dragon was out there somewhere, growing stronger with every passing moment.

Memorable Moments

"I'm just here for the magic items, man."
— Yazzy

Responding in Draconic to a massive, terrifying delirium dragon's telepathic monologue about the decay of the Amethyst Academy

Ned burns a priceless delirium geode to amplify his lightning bolt tenfold, unleashing the most devastating magical strike of the campaign and driving the dragon from the tower.

A last-ditch effort with most of the party unconscious or incapacitated, Ned alone standing between the dragon and a total party wipe

Oiroa's powerful Heal spell is celebrated by the party as having cured Xakarium's 'gonosyphilades,' a disease no one will speak of directly.

After Oiroa restores Xakarium to near-full health, the party erupts in jokes about the mysterious ailment that was also cured

The dragon unleashes a 120-foot cone of psychic energy, knocking Xakarium and Oiroa unconscious and leaving Syndle incapacitated, nearly wiping the entire party in a single breath.

The dragon retaliates after being struck by a maximized lightning bolt, demonstrating its overwhelming power

"Every second you waste in my presence feeds the rift, pouring eons of time into my bones until my wings span the entire sky once more."
— Delirium Dragon

The dragon's parting taunt as it vanishes into the space between worlds after being wounded by Ned's amplified lightning bolt

Syndle, unable to move toward the dragon due to magical fear, seriously considers asking a party member to physically throw him at it as a valid combat strategy.

Brainstorming options while frightened and out of range, leading to a brief but earnest discussion of the 'meatball attack'

Yazzy, in Tyrannosaurus Rex form, delivers the killing bite to the last interloper, bringing silence to the chaotic battlefield for the first time all session.

After a prolonged and brutal fight against multiple extraplanar entities, the T-Rex ends it with a 38-point chomp

Scenes

Escape from the Extraplanar Gullet

The party continues their battle against strange entities after Oiroa is expelled from an extraplanar stomach.

Clearing the Tower Floor

The party rallies to finish off the remaining interlopers, with Oiroa reviving Xakarium and Yazzy delivering the killing blow.

Recovery and the Dragon's Arrival

The party regroups and heals their wounds before a massive dragon descends through a breach in the tower walls.

The Dragon's Psychic Onslaught

The party struggles against the terrifying dragon as it uses psychic attacks and a devastating breath weapon to incapacitate the adventurers.

Ned's Desperate Gambit

With the party on the brink of defeat, Ned uses a powerful delirium geode to amplify his magic and drive the dragon away.

NPCs

Interlopers

Extraplanar entities that manifest from surges of eldritch lightning within the tower. They attack with waves of necrotic and psychic energy delivered through a double-save mechanic, capable of knocking adventurers unconscious and incapacitating them.

The Agog

A large extraplanar creature with a cavernous gullet capable of swallowing adventurers into an extraplanar dimension. It was grappled by the T-Rex and ultimately incinerated by Ned's firebolt.

Delirium Dragon

A massive, huge-sized dragon that descends through a breach in the tower walls from the eldritch storm outside. It speaks telepathically with a dismissive, arrogant tone, mocking the party's predictable nature and the state of the Amethyst Academy. It possesses a terrifying roar that deals thunder damage and causes fear, a 120-foot cone psychic breath weapon that can incapacitate victims, and the ability to act between the turns of its enemies. It was driven off after Ned's amplified lightning bolt, but not before taunting the party that every moment they waste feeds the rift and makes it stronger.

Locations

Amethyst Academy Tower Library

A vast library within the Amethyst Academy tower, filled with bookshelves and crackling with eldritch lightning. The area features floating walkways, stairwells, and broken gravity, and served as the battlefield where extraplanar interlopers manifested throughout the session.

Extra-dimensional Pantry

A magical storage space that exists outside normal dimensions, described as warm and slurpy inside. The party previously sheltered within a creature's extraplanar gullet nearby, and the group retreats here at the session's end to take a long rest.

Items

Potion of Heroism

A magical concoction consumed by Syndle during the confrontation with the dragon. It granted him a blessed state, adding a small bonus to his attack rolls that proved just enough to land a hit on the dragon with his thrown axe.

Syndle's Axe

Syndle's signature weapon, which magically returns to his hand after being thrown. When infused by his wild rage, it crackled with force energy and dealt force damage rather than its normal type.

Delirium Geode

A highly valuable and potent meteorite crystal worth thousands of gold pieces, used by Ned to amplify the power of his lightning bolt tenfold. The resulting discharge was the most powerful magical attack seen in the session, severely wounding the dragon and driving it from the field.

Superior Healing Potions

Potent alchemical draughts from the party's supplies, used after the dragon's retreat to stabilize and revive Xakarium and Oiroa, who had been knocked unconscious by the dragon's psychic breath weapon.

Spells

Healing Word

A quick invocation of divine energy used repeatedly by Oiroa throughout the session. She used it to grant Yazzy's T-Rex form an immediate bonus attack, and later to revive Xakarium from unconsciousness during the interloper battle.

Toll the Dead

A necrotic cantrip used repeatedly by Oiroa against the interlopers and the dragon. It rings a discordant bell of necrotic energy that deals greater damage to already-injured targets. It proved particularly effective against the dragon, which failed its wisdom save and took significant damage.

Firebolt

A precise mote of fire cast by Ned to finish off the heavily wounded and grappled Agog, incinerating it entirely.

Fly

Cast by Xakarium to navigate the broken gravity of the tower, allowing him to reach a walkway near the stairs and continue engaging enemies.

Heal

A high-level restorative spell cast by Oiroa on Xakarium, restoring the vast majority of his hit points and curing him of any lingering diseases, described humorously by the party as curing his 'gonosyphilades.'

Lightning Bolt

Used by both Xakarium and Ned during the dragon encounter. Xakarium maximized the spell to deal full damage against the dragon. Ned later amplified his version tenfold using a delirium geode, creating a colossal discharge that severely wounded the dragon and drove it from the tower.

Calm Emotions

An enchantment cast by Oiroa as a bonus action to suppress the frightened condition affecting herself and Xakarium after the dragon's terrifying roar. The spell required concentration and was noted to only temporarily suppress the fear rather than remove it permanently.

Wild Surge Radiant Bolt

A wild magic surge effect triggered through Syndle, causing a bolt of radiant light to shoot from his chest at a nearby interloper. The interloper was required to make a constitution saving throw or take radiant damage and be blinded. One interloper critically failed the save, was blinded, and died from the damage.