Episode 63: The Brain & the Boss

The Crew of the Blackjack fights their way through the Elder Brain's defenders, including hobgoblins, devils, and far realm aberrations. Before they can destroy it, the mechanical avatar of Malfador, MekkaXeno arrives, seizes the Elder Brain, and flies off leaving the ship heavily damaged. The Crew takes the Blue Goblin's Skull, adding the dreadnought to the Blackjack Trading Troupes growing fleet.

Elder Brains and Aberrations Revealed

The battle with the Elder Brain begins as the crew of the Blackjack battles through the bowels of the Blue Goblin's Skull. The Brain is surrounded by hobgoblin and devil protectors, but many of them reveal themselves as Far Realm aberrations, brain breakers and illithids, set on protecting the Elder Brain. One of the breakers, an armored brain on stout legs, opens with a devastating mind blast that stuns Aymer, Elenwe, and Thunderfox.

Erinyes and chain devils take advantage, tying up the incapacitated El. In her stunned state, El starts gyrating instinctively, convinced that she's in some kind of drug-fueled sex dream. Meanwhile, Lance casts magical defenses on himself and Niamhi, the only crew members still standing. The sorcerers wards come just in time to protect them from another brain breakers mind blast.

The chaos escalates as the admiral mentally dominates yet another brain breaker, turning it into an impenetrable wall of defense. As they look on in horror, El is dragged into a side room by the devils. They close the door behind them to give the elven paladin some individual attention.

Things Get Better

Thunderfox and Aymer manage to shrug off the stunning effects and leap into action. They force their way into the room where El is. The foxy first mate swings to one side and backstabs a squid-headed illithid before it can eat El's brain. Meanwhile Aymer moves to the other side, cutting down a chain devil weakend by a smite from El's weapon Bedlam.

El has recovered her senses, but continues with her gyrations. Unfortunately her movements keep Aymer from cutting the final rope binding her. It doesn't matter though, El bursts her bonds with sheer force and cuts through the devils and illithids, pushing closer to the Elder Brain.

Unfortunately, while she was stunned the brain monsters formed a psychic link with her, allowing them direct access to whisper into her mind and psychically attack.

The hobgoblins attempted to freeze the Crew with a barage of ice spells. Lance retaliated with a massive lightning strike, frying the hobgoblins and wounding the brain and it's illithid minions. Lance realizes something critical, the Elder Brain is using an illusion to mask its real position.

Nia's Intuition

Nia senses a new threat. As an experienced skyship captain, her instincts warn her that something enormous is approaching the ship. She shouts a warning while knocking illithids away from El with her eldritch blasts. She directs her familiar Tiik to heal Aymer, who has been taking a serious beating. Aymer remarks that she would like to have a golden mammoth angel as a mount as well. Aymer summons the spirits of the First Armada to battle alongside her.

Thunderfox tries to aid El, but gets tangled in the tentacles of another illithid. Nia changes her target from the Elder Brain to the illithid trying to eat the First Mate. She blasts the brain eater off of the fox before he becomes dinner. Meanwhile, Tiik and Aymer wreck foes with their divine and spiritual powers.

MekkaXeno Arrives

Acting on Nia's warning, Lance looks out a window to investigate. He spots MekkaXeno, an avatar of the god Malfador built to resemble their old crewmember Xeno. The juggernaut is flying directly towards the Blue Goblin's Skull. Lance warns, "Uh, guys, this is a problem," and the Elder Brain telepathically chortles in response.

As the crew scrambles, MekkaXeno reaces into the ship's bay doors, grabbing the Elder Brain. Before flying off, the soulforged monstrosity ignites his beam cannon, aiming to blast through the ship and eliminate its foes. Luckily the Elder Brain panics at the weapon being discharged right next to it and telepathically screams, "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE POINTING THAT THING!".

Malfador's construct misses the mark and flies off, leaving the Skull damaged but intact. The brain and the mechanical avatar fly off to the Hidden Moon.

Not Quite the End

With the Elder Brain gone and the remaining minion surrendering, one last illithid makes a break for the engine room. It rushes towards the ship's self-destruct button, reaching a tentacle towards it. But at the last minute, the mind flayer is beheaded by Bedlam as El catches it before it can destroy the Blue Goblin's Skull.

El suggests that the remaining bosun surrender, and with no leadership left, the crew complies. The piracy is successful and the Blue Goblin's Skull is now part of "Admiral" Silversang's growing armada.