Session 2-5-13 Elminsters Warning - Szass Tam Unleashed

Hammer 1, 1480
From afternoon to sunset.

It was during the celebration of a great victory in battle when Gridlock heard another voice vying for his attention. A voice that was not in the circle of elves around him listening intently to tales of THOT and being the son of one who became Tyr. No, this voice was from afar. A voice in peril. An unexpected cry of warning and for help. This voice was Elminster!

"Gridlock I pray you can hear me...I am captive by Szass Tam and have been immobilized and made unconscious. I send this to you via a blood link that I created in you when you were a child. I can only do this once. Szass Tam is prepared to do great harm to Cormyr for the sake of his failing mind. You must go to the Earth node north of Arabel and plunge a fireball into its center. This will delay him if you succeed. There is no way to stop him. Go now and Tyr be with you"

In a moment Gridlock was aware of the reality changing around him. Elminster captive? But how? The celebration was over. THOT would now race to action.

THOT teleports to Arabel with Aramis' help. As they emerge to the streets they see deep to the south rising up to the clouds a dark pillar  of cloudy magic.

In the distance a great pillar of magic rises high

Aramis knows this is a carrier for a Mythal. It will rise and to a certain height and then release the magic that would complete the dome. This is NOT good.

THOT with Vos travel into the area where Szass Tam had raised the ruined elven prison for his lair. to get to the Rasilith. Once there, with the help of Vos and some handy magic use from Aramis, THOT recovered The Manascope in a few hours(including the 2 hours or so travel). It was off the The Earth Node and a well positioned fireball. They hope.

In the dungeon where the Earth node is located THOT encounters creatures of the dead impeding their progress. In the distance THOT can hear the usually silent node whining and churning. Aramis knows this is not good and that he must act fast. Time is short. If Aramis can get a fireball in to the center of the Earth Node it will diminish for a while. For days or perhaps more. It depends on timing and a careful placement of the attack. If it goes very wrong the Earth Node can be cracked and the  release of the raw power could devastate mile and miles of Cormyr and the after effects make it uninhabitable for decades. You just can't miss. The attack on the node will go much better with the Manascope now in hand. 

NEW INFO not from session...

The battle rages on. THOT. Will Aramis go forward without THOT and attempt to the fireball attack? Will he remain in the battle. Time is so important here; the most deadly of all THOTS enemies. Aramis knows this now. He knows what this is. This is on of the spell he read about in Szass Tams library. One Szt was eager to put in to action. This is the spell - Szass Tams Infinite Mind!!

It all makes sense now to Aramis! Szass Tam will surround Cormyr with a massive mythal and use it to steal the minds of all within that can not resist. Turning them into slumped masses just barely alive but alive not dead. They must be alive for it to work and continue to work. Those captured can remain like this indefinitely as long as Szass Tam can retain the Mythal. This may not effect THOT but all common people are his to take when this mythal is fully cast! This will extend Szass Tams mind a hundred fold! Anyone entering the Mythal after it is complete will risk being enslaved. Elminster said it can not be stopped but it can be delayed.

If the mythal is delayed what will the delay allow.? How can a delay help?
Perks here...