Gaping Maw of Sound #22

The group left the meeting of the Sacred Flame and returned to the basement of the Church of Tyr and the Gods of Multiverse to seek out the fabled Sword of Tyr

Upon arriving, they found the divine presence they'd detected the previous day had gone, and instead they found the remnants of a ritual

They found a cauldron, which they later identified as belonging to someone worshipping the god of creation Shapeless. Within they discovered a squishy, burned substance, which Mr. Smith took in a bag

• Next to the cauldron, they found a large glass lens over 10 ft in diameter

  • The lens was inscribed with arcane runes the group identified as similar in shape and pattern to the runes carved into a device they'd seen in the dream tether -- the magic device Bogul's Bruisers had seen in the Phantom Plains

• Neya moved the cauldron, which caused it to attack her, attempting to overtake her being, but she resisted

• Beneath the cauldron, the group found a recess for the lens and an inscription around it, "The sword of Tyr, used against the gods of creation and their hordes," leading the group to believe the glass lens was the sword they were looking for

  • They replaced the lens into the recess, but it had been burned in whatever ritual had happen in the basement here, warped and blackened on one edge

    • The group realized it would not fit into the recess completely unless the magical artifact were somehow repaired

Mr. Smith heard the voice of Neverending inquiring as to how the search for the Sword of Tyr was going. He changed into Ser Balen in front of everyone in order to respond as a "follower of Bane." 

• Neverending encouraged Ser Balen to acquire the Sword of Tyr before Bane's return, an act Neverending claimed he was getting closer to.

Neya continued to feel a pull from the cauldron and decided to give into it

• Neya's body became like the squishy, burned substance they'd found earlier, and her consciousness was transported to a small red, room with crimson curtains, in which she found the being Shapeless

  • Shapeless offered to sever the ties Thrax and Bane had over Neya in exchange for Neya spreading the gospel of Shapeless, gaining them followers, and giving them the power to get out of the room.

  • Neya agreed, and was returned to her new body, newly formed and devoid of divine interference.