Justin's eyes suddenly widen, and he almost grins with childish glee.
"Yes. That's not only probably the best, if not only, way to deal with him. But it would be SUCH poetic justice too boot!"
Justin smiles.
"We need to convince Acererak that we have something that he wants, or needs, or fears, or whatever. And then we let him 'discover' where it is hidden. In a place few, if any, can get to. So he has to retrieve it himself. When he goes to retrieve said 'MacGuffin', we do to HIM what he has done to so many others over the centuries. We bury him beneath so many traps and monsters that even the great Acererak can't survive them all. And if he somehow manages to get to the end, we'll be there, waiting to finish the job."Justin shrugs.
"I mean, it's a bare-bones plan. Needs a LOT of work. But,... yeah. Worth it to avoid traipsing into the proverbial Meat-Grinder that is Moil."
Alessia stares blankly at Justin, unsure of how to react. She seems to sit in her chair even more stiffly than before.
Justin blinks.
(He has NO intention of getting into a staring contest with Alessia!)
"Um,... I mean, I know it needs a lot of work,..." The wizard repeats slowly.
"And if you don't like it that's fine. It is literally the first idea that popped into my head that didn't involve throwing armies and such at Moil in a head-on collision. I'm sure I can come up with something,...else. Might take a bit."
Justin blinks again, the unwavering visage of Alessia's mask is somewhat unnerving.
"And, to be honest, now that I think about it, I'm not sure which would be more work to set up. Finding and gathering the armies to attack Moil, or creating our own demiplane of traps and monsters to wear down and destroy the Demi-lich. Either way, gonna take a lot of time and work. Unless,..."
The wizard stops, takes a deep breath, and let sit out slowly. He stares at the tabletop for a few moments.
"We need to focus on research first. Discover his weaknesses. Make sure that whatever happens, we are ready for him. We need to know how to defeat him. Permanently. After THAT,... we can decide how to actually get at him."
Justin ventures a small, cautious, smile.
"Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky and the Planescape itself will provide an opportunity. I mean, Karma IS a thing. This guy is SO bad, maybe the universe itself is setting up an opening for him to get his payback."
"I mean, I've heard of stranger things. Look at,.. um,... what we're dealing with right now."
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The DM twitches his prehensile tail and blinks the 4th wall back into opaqueness
The DM twitches his prehensile tail and blinks the 4th wall back into opaqueness
"We need to focus on research first. Discover his weaknesses. Make sure that whatever happens, we are ready for him. We need to know how to defeat him. Permanently. After THAT,... we can decide how to actually get at him."
Justin ventures a small, cautious, smile.
"Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky and the Planescape itself will provide an opportunity. I mean, Karma IS a thing. This guy is SO bad, maybe the universe itself is setting up an opening for him to get his payback. I mean, I've heard of stranger things. Look at,.. um,... what we're dealing with right now."
"Re...search."
Justin can almost see the gears turning slowly in Alessia's head. This is clearly not how she typically approaches problems. Finally, she leans forward slightly in her chair.
"You believe that he has a weakness?"
Justin nods slowly.
"Yes. EVERYONE has a weakness. I'm not saying it will be as easy to find and exploit as an opening in a suit of armor, but he has one. We find that, we CAN beat him. Into the ground." The wizard assures her.
Justin nods slowly.
"Yes. EVERYONE has a weakness. I'm not saying it will be as easy to find and exploit as an opening in a suit of armor, but he has one. We find that, we CAN beat him. Into the ground." The wizard assures her.
Quietly, hesitatingly, Alessia replies.
"Then you have my sword. Where do we start?"
"And you have my magic." Justin replies without hesitation. And without thinking. Almost if it was meant to be.
The wizard gives his head a very slight shake. Barely more than a twitch.
"We begin at the beginning. Research. I'll check into anything and everything I can find out about Acererak. No matter how unlikely or vague. And if you wouldn't mind, please write down anything and everything that you can recall about your,... encounter,... with him. I'm sorry to ask you to go through that again. But you are one of the few in all the planes who have had a personal encounter with Acererak and,... Um,... are still in a position to be able to tell the tale. Any, And I Mean ANY detail, no matter haw small, might be a clue we can use."
"After that? Well. Once we have a clue, it will be far easier to come up with a plan."
Justin actually dares to lean over the tabletop, closer to Alessia. His usual smirk BARELY visible.
"And I LOVE a good plan!"
"Write... down," Alessia says slowly.
One gets the impression that she hasn't had occasion to write anything down in a very long time.
"Write... down," Alessia says slowly.
One gets the impression that she hasn't had occasion to write anything down in a very long time.