Episode 65: The Soul Cannon

The Crew of the Blackjack invades the Hidden Moon with help from their slaad allies. They have discovered Malfador's apocalyptic plan to shatter the Crystal Sphere of Kirinal by turning the Moon into a colossal cannon aimed at the Divine Gate. They battle their way through fiends, a colossus, and an array of traps. They use cunning tactics, dominate a Pit Fiend, and exploit chaos to clear their path to the moon's core andrest in an abandoned assembly room for MalXeno's constructs.

Alarum on the Hidden Moon

The crew learn from their slaad allies, the LaChugas, about a safe resting spot deeper within the Moon. The access port is blocked by a wall of force that Thunderfox can open withe about a minute of work with Xeno's Spigot.

Spark asseses the situation, noting that the colossus guarding the area is more golem than soulforged. The MalXeno core has been removed and is elsewhere.

While debating a stealthy approach, an alarm begins to blare out.

The Blackjack's presence has been detected and the Shattered Sphere Protocol has gone into effect. Chaos ensues as everyone tries to piece together what's happening.

Spark realizes that the Hidden Moon is actually a gargantuan cannon. Nia points out that it is aligning itself with the wreckage of The First Armada and the Kirinal Pit. Lance notes that it's turning towards the Divine Gate, and El receives a message from Ashaya warning that punching a hole in the Crystal Sphere will unleash the Elder Evils of the Far Realm.

They realize that the only way to stop the apocalyptic threat is to reach the cannon's core, through the wall of force. And that the station they are on above the Moon is actually the end of the moon cannon's barrel. They must prevent MalXeno from using the moon soul, an unborn god, at the core as a "bullet". Complicating matters further, the moon is transforming into a humanoid mecha shape resembling a gigantic MalXeno.

Nia declares that they must summon a Moon-Eater and calls on the aid of here divine sister Jenevieve. The Silversong Moon eclipses Erathia and a roar erupts from the Kirinal Pit. Nia smashes her statue to summon Arimoanga, the celestial lion. The moon eater leaps into the heaven to battlee the moon-mecha.

Assault on the Moon Gate

The Moon-vaders launche their assault on the Moon Gate, with the LaChugas aiding by infecting the chain devils who suppor the MalXeno colossus. Nia dominates the Pit Fiend in charge of the defenses, commanding it to leap onto the colossus and attack. El flies in and smites the colossus, drawing forth a spume of golem fluids. The robot retaliates with a devastating disintegration ray, tearing through the crew and destroying a nearby building. Spark, envious of the heavy artillery, takes mental notes on the ray's mechanisms.

A death slaad ally conjures an illusion of a froghemoth, which draws the attention of many devils and allows the Moon Crew to focus their attacks on the metal behemoth. Lance summons a Blade of Disaster, Nia unleashes precise eldritch bolts, and togehter they bring the colossus to the brink of destruction. Finally, the Pit Fiend finishes off the golem with a flurry of blows and a tail swipe.

The slaad infect some of the devils, encasing them in mucus to begin their transformation into infernal LaChugas. El sweeps through the remaining enemies, spinning Bedlam like a fan of death. Spark immediately goes over the wreckage of colossus, looking for parts to scavenge.

As more fiends arrive, they fall for the froghemoth illusion, putting them in range of Nia’s blasts and Lance’s magic. A strange automata devil enters, ranting about worker revolts and attempting to devour the slaad, but the Pit Fiend demonstrates the proper method of destruction with teeth, claws, and tail. The automata devil, the last enemy standing, is pinned down and infected by the slaad before being encased in mucus.

Through the Moon Gate

The LaChugas thank the Crew and retrieve the mucus uncased devils who will soon become their bretheren. They leave to "prepare the way." Thunderfox announces that he has successfully opened the Gate using the Spigot.

Nia makes everyone invisible except for her dominated Pit Fiend, and they follow the devil into the Moon. Inside, they find the cannon's power conduits preparing to fire as well as an army of devils and floating mines. Nia's possessed Fiend commands the devils to leave and deactivate the mines. Managing to avoid that fight, the Moon-Vaders continue down to the hiding place that the LaChugas have prepared for them.

The Assembly Room

The Crew reaches the slaad's hiding place and realize that its the Assembly Room where MalXeno's bodies and the colossus were constructed. Lance orders the Pit Fiend to leave and bring a message to General the Baron Aginnad, but the Fiend must fly directly without using plane-shifting. A journey that will take six months.

Investigating the room, the crew uncovers critical details about MalXeno's final construct form:

• Resistant to radiant damage, vulnerable to lightning
• Continuous aura of fire
• Force-damage beam cannon
• Upon defeat, the core will split, separating Xeno's soul from Malfador. Xeno would probably die and Malfador's true avatar will manifest.

With this knowledge, the crew settles into gather their resources and prepare for the final battle against MalXeno on the Hidden Moon.