Last time, Aibghalien died. Horribly. And there was much rejoicing. Meanwhile, Devlyn spills salsa on his character sheet, wipes it off, then bemusedly begins rewriting.

Devlyn: Ah, salsa: nature's eraser.
DM: From the crater in the ground where he landed, you see Aibghalien stand up, apparently unharmed!
Devlyn: "DOPPELGANGER!"
Wes: "What? Doppelganger?" (Both make motions as of drawing weapons)
Aibghalien: "Uh? W-wait, I -- I had a vision! I know what we have to do!"
Rhuann: "A vision? What kind of vision?"
Aibghalien: "The gods themselves appeared to me. I know how to stop the Gorgon!"

The party, curious, returns to Aibghalien's castle, where he reveals his plan: Saikon, Rhuann, and Devlyn are to go a safe distance from the castle, and begin casting as many divine spells as they can into his largest and most powerful crystal. Devlyn, suspicious thanks to overt note-passing between Aibghalien and the DM, reaches for a die to roll a Sense Motive check.

Wes: (observing which die he selected) Ah, the white one, betrayer.
Devlyn: And a 1.

The heroes proceed as planned. Within a couple of days, they have created a crystal of such pure holy power that bathing in its presence is bliss. Another couple of days and the crystal is drawing power into itself, glowing with a magnificently holy light as hundreds of innocent forest animals stare at in creepy, passive silence.

Aibghalien: That crystal has the power of forty Disney princesses!

The party members nearby, now concerned about their creation, attempt to leave to interrogate Aibghalien -- only to find themselves mentally unable to leave the presence of the crystal...

Wes: You guys made a big crack rock!

... but valiantly and with many a Will save, the three escape -- often by sheer virture of bear-Rhuann dragging them out bodily. They emerge from the distortion field to discover that rather than days, weeks have passed -- without food, sleep, or proper care of themselves. Hunger assaults them, weariness threatens to cripple them, but they press on, gamely intent to see Aibghalien destroyed for his blasphemy. As they pass through the city, they see the dire effects of the holy-magic drain on the town -- temples are ruined and priests out of work.

Wes: For just 42 coppers a day you can feed one of these priests.

Unaware of his approaching comrades, Aibghalien tells Wes to put on the blood-enhancing crown -- which promptly proceeds to suck the energy into him, slowly but surely.

Aibghalien: "This will make you an avatar of the gods themselves, equal to the Gorgon!"
Wes: (stares in blank awe as the power pours into him)
Aibghalien: I cast Feeblemind on Wes.
Wes: WHAT?
Other players: (stare in horror)
Aibghalien: I don't want you too smart for this.
Wes: How long does that last?!
Aibghalien: Um... (having the decency to sound a little sheepish) permanent, unless you receive a heal spell.
Wes: Saikon!
Saikon: I cast a couple of my sixth level spells and never had a chance to regain them, so I only have Destruction... sorry.

The party bursts in to the room to confront Aibghalien. Aibghalien attempts to convince Wes to attack them, but fails utterly; in the melee, someone breaks the crown, and Wes ends up neither insane nor stupid any longer. Sensing the failure of his plans, Aibghalien casts Eladrin Form and retreats through the floor. Saikon flies out the window after him as the other PCs barrel down the stairs.

Aibghalien: I find the captain of the guard. "My comrades have gone mad and are trying to kill me! They must be stopped!"
DM: Roll a bluff check.
Aibghalien: (scores somewhere in the mid-20s, despite being untrained) Ha!
DM: (stares at a roll with absolutely no poker face, before hastily redonning a neutral expression) The guards go up the stairs.
Aibghalien: I cast Wall of Fire behind them. That'll slow them down!
DM: As you head down the stairs, you run into the captain of the guard. "Sirs! Our lord has gone mad! We're here to help you!"
Aibghalien: Oh come on.
DM: He rolled REALLY well!
Aibghalien: Well, while they roast themselves on the wall of fire, I'm flying for the main doors.
Devlyn: Hey, wait -- I put out the wall with my Frostbrand!
Aibghalien: What? When the hell did you get a --
DM: Saikon, you burst through the window in time to see him heading for the door.
Saikon: I cast Greater Dispelling
DM: He hits the floor. The rest of you barrel down the stairs.
Aibghalien: Fine! I cast Wall of Stone, meld it with all four walls and the ceiling, and use the extra area to make it extra-thick.
Rhuann: I cast Transmute Rock to Mud.

Silence.

Aibghalien: WHAT THE FUCK.
Rhuann: Look, I have it memorized, right here-
Aibghalien: Why is it the second you guys are fighting ME, you become hyper-competent?!

The heroes promptly manage to Baleful Polymorph Aibghalien into a pooch, then promptly collapse from fatigue and hunger.

Devlyn: I could fucking destroy a donkey.

Then the REAL Aibghalien arrives! It turns out he'd been mind-raped (and actually raped, given the lack of consent!) by his longstanding nemesis, but the death of the doppelganger triggered his awakening. With his sense returned, he leaves the enemy base and returns to rejoin his companions, the player grumbling all the while.

Aibghalien: I was worried when you guessed it immediately.
Devlyn: Man, I was just joking around.
Rhuann: So what do we do with the fake?
Saikon: I get him a leash and a bowl of kibble, what else can I do?