April 13, 2003 – IV, Tim, Lisa, Rick, Ray, & Fred

Finally out of the dark caverns beneath the Bonewood, the group begins the long journey back to Malwander. The already lengthy trip is made even more so by the party's lack of horses. As they near the capital of Ahlissa, Kalstrand, the group notices a group of people coming up behind them. The figures are too far off in the distance to make out much detail, but they can easily see that there are four travelers, all on horseback. Instantly the group thinks of the bounty hunters they ran into at Rel Deven. Knowing that they cannot outrun them on foot, the group hurries toward the city, hoping to purchase some horses to complete their trek back home.

As they approach the northern gate of the city, the group gets the impression that something isn't quite right. As they finally reach the guards posted at the gates, they find out that their hunch was correct. Apparently an assassination attempt of the king was attempted last night, and the city has been locked down. The group is turned away at the gate at first. However, Sione tells the guard that the boy with them is her son, and he is gravely ill. They allow the group to head into town to look for a healer to help. Once inside the group is greeted by empty streets and locked up store fronts. Only guards can be seen walking the cobblestone roadways.

Finally able to track down a stable, they find that it, like every other business they've seen, is closed. They knock on the door and search around the perimeter of the building. However, they are unable to see anything inside, but can hear movement, which they assume is the horses in their stalls. Not sure where to go from here, the party makes their way to the local temple of Corellon. They are greeted by the temple's acolytes, but the higher ranking priests have all been called to the palace by the king. If someone did attempt to kill the king, all personages of relevance would be called upon to help track down the assassin, including most of the higher ranking priests from the city's major temples.

The acolytes tell the group where to find the stablemaster's home, so they head over to talk to him about getting some horses. He informs the group that he has been ordered not to sell any horse to anyone until further notice. If they want horses, they'll have to talk to the guards and have one of them accompany them back to confirm that he's allowed to sell them horses. So they group head back to the city gate and speaks with the guard who let them into the city. He calls over another of the guards stationed at the gate and tells him to accompany the group to the stable so they can purchase their horses.

The stablemaster obviously tries to take advantage of the situation, asking 300 GP each for the horses with tack, bridle, and saddle. After some negotiating the group asks the guard with them to show them to another of the city's stables, where they finally purchase some horses at 250 GP each. The stable is located near the southern gate so the group decides to leave via that route. There is some concern that the bounty hunters will be waiting for them as they emerge from the city, but they have little choice.

The party exits the city and continues on their way to Malwander. Once again, they notice a group of four mounted people following them in the distance. Making sure to keep an eye on their pursuers, the group heads home as quickly as possible. The remainder of the journey takes almost 2 days, but those following the group never make any moves to bridge the distance between them.

Finally back in Malwander the group heads for the safety of the temple. Nori, Marlos, and Carstos are there to greet them. When told of their adventures, Nori and Marlos begin looking over the boy to see if them can do anything to help him. While they work on that, the group catches up with an old friend. Panjur Mogue has returned and tells them the story of his disappearance. He explains that on the way back from following Kasera's carriage to Pitchfield, he spotted on of the orcs from his slave camp. He followed the humanoid to a central camp, which he recognized as bearing the Bonesnappers standard. Apparently, humanoids bands and tribes from all over are flocking to the standard, including those who killed Latherias, the elf who introduced Panjur to the faith of Corellon.

He relays an amazing story of infiltrating the camp and slaying as many of the savages as he could. After too long, he ran into a man wielding a large scimitar, who gravely wounded Panjur. The camp packed up and left him for dead as they moved north toward some unknown destination. Luckily for Panjur, a druid was drawn to the camp by all the noise and found him. The druid healed Panjur's wounds and helped him find his way back to Malwander, where he waited for the rest of the group to return from their current exploits. The group then takes the time to bring him up to speed on what they have found so far. Soon enough, everyone is briefed on what is going on, and ready to move on to the next quest.

After some debate about what to do next the group decides to travel with Xif to New Keep to talk with his uncle about the monk's attack on their delivery for him. They will then travel back to Rook's Roost to try and find the bandit's treasure to help fund their next expedition, and possibly a new base of operations since Carstos is under increasing pressure from Pitchfield to capture and turn over the group for the murder of Quarion.

Wary of any signs of the bounty hunters the group strikes out for New Keep. The trip is relatively quiet until they reach a bend in the hilly road. As they approach, Xif notices someone ducking out of sight up ahead. Fearing an ambush, the party waits as he sneaks up to investigate. One thing leads to another and soon the party is engaged in a heated battle with the four women they first encountered in Rel Deven.

The pitched battle continues on for some time, with the group finally being able to drive off the bounty hunters. However, it is apparent to the party members that this attack was nothing more than a way for the bounty hunters to gauge their capabilities. And if what little they saw from the hunters is any indication, they will have a very hard fought battle ahead of them.

Not knowing where the bounty hunters may attempt to strike next, the group decides that it is in their best interest to make haste to New Keep. Hopefully once there, Bel will be able to help them obtain some better arms and armor, as well as some information, and possibly most important of all, a safe place to stay. With that, the party continues the short journey to the estate of Xifias' uncle.

April 26, 2003 – IV, Tim, Lisa, Rick, Ray, & Fred

Finally settled in for the night, Xifias returns the box containing the crystal spiders to Bel and each of the group members receives 250GP for their work in the delivery. As they speak, Bel confirms that the delivery was used to determine if he had a spy within his house. Upon hearing of the attack by the monk of the Scarlet Brotherhood, he nods his head. "I suspected a spy, but this was the only way I could be sure," he tells them. For now he must review the information he has to try and determine who the spy is.

The group also talks to him about getting some items for them, including some scrolls of spells Lirrim and Isach wish to learn. He can deliver some of these items immediately and tells the party that the reminder of them will be waiting for them when they return from Rook's Roost. With that, the group rests for the night and readies themselves to leave first thing in the morning.

The group gathers up their belongings and packs up their saddle bags while Xifias prepares his new wagon for the journey to the Hestmark Highlands. As they travel the group is careful to keep an eye out for anyone following them, especially the "bounty hunters" they fought on their way to New Keep. Luckily, the three day long trip is quiet and uneventful, and soon the group can see the large rock out cropping off in the distance.

As they near the outer rim of the large bowl-like valley, the group can clearly see the former entrance to the city of the black caverns they collapsed to help the dwarves reclaim their mines from Kasera and the Bonesnappers. They try to find the spot where they first encountered the dwarves, and Sione even manages to find the large boulder that hides the entrance to their underground kingdom. However, the most recent tracks are from at least three days ago, and the dwarves do nothing to make themselves known to the group.

Deciding that the caved-in entrance may be their best bet, the group heads down into the valley, crossing it to reach the entrance at the foot of the large out cropping the place is named for. They search the interior of the cave, finding only a large wall of rubble sealing off any further exploration.

With still no sign of the dwarves, or anyone else for that matter, the group decides to use the mouth of the cavern as shelter for the night. As they begin to make camp, Sione notices movement in the darkness further in the cavern. As they investigate, she realizes that it's a rat. It avoids the light as they draw near, so she decides to use her magic to speak with the creature. Who knows, maybe it will be able to help them?

The conversation goes on for quite some time, revealing that the creature is in service to someone else. It was sent to spy on the group and to let it's master know when they have left. Sione attempts to get further information about the rat's mysterious "master", but the creature is of little help in this regard, only able to give very general details. They do find that he doesn't appear to carry any weapons or wear any armor. As they debate on how much of this information they can trust provided the limited intelligence of it's source, they suddenly hear more movement from the pile of rubble. It sounds as if more rats are coming their way through various small passages through the debris.

As they back out of the cave and prepare to face whatever is coming their way, Sione loses her magical control of the rat. Suddenly rats are swarming out of the nooks and crannies of the rubble and engage the group. At first glance, the creatures appear normal, but as the group looks closer, they realize that the tops of the rats' heads appears to be missing, exposing their brains. The brains are glowing faintly, giving the swarm an unsettling, eerie glow.

The swarm surges forward and stuns Dricas. The others feel a strange sensation in the backs of their minds, but are able to fight it off enough to continue fighting. The battle rages on with the tide ebbing and flowing from one side to the other. Finally, the group is able to retreat out of the cave. Fully expecting the rats to continue the melee outside the cave, the party is surprised to see that the creatures have not pursued them.

Finally able to rest the party re-groups and prepares to look for entrances to the bandit's lair that's supposedly hidden somewhere nearby. Isach suggests that they begin the search at the base of the rock out cropping. As they search, Lirrim uses a fly scroll so he can search higher up on the large formation for possible entrances. After a short time, he notices what appears to be a secret door on the under side of the Rook's "beak".

He inspects the area around the entrance but does not immediately find any way to open it. He returns to the ground and grabs Xif, who manages to find a release mechanism for the door. He climbs into the darkened passageway and waits for Lirrim to bring up the rest of the party. With the last member safely into the passageway, the group moves on, searching for clues. The small room they are in only has one exit besides the way they came in, so the group begins investigating the shaft that leads down into the darkness.

The shaft heads down approximately 40 feet and appears to end at a trapdoor. Strangely enough, the door opens up, so that it could not be opened by someone standing on it. Lirrim lowers Xif down closer to the metal ring set into the door and he reaches out and grabs it, trying to pull the door open. As soon as his fingers clasp the ring, the shaft fills with flame. Xif inspects the trap door more closely and recognizes a simple trigger wire attached to the ring. He cuts the wire and pulls open the door, revealing a small room below. He jumps down into the room and begins searching it while Lirrim flies back up to bring the others down.

Searching the room reveals a small section of the stone floor that can be pushed in, releasing a secret door. However, since the group cannot find the secret door, they decide to have Xif push the release while the rest of them suspend themselves from a rope above. Xif pushes the release, expecting the floor to fall out from under his feet, when a door on the north wall of the room springs open, revealing a short passageway beyond. The corridor only travels about five feet before ending in another dark shaft heading downward.

Once again, Lirrim and Xifias head down the shaft to find another trapdoor just like the first. Not wanting to repeat the same mistake, they hook the ring with a grappling hook from above and pull. Nothing happens. The door appears to be locked somehow, so Lirrim takes Xif back up and brings Dricas down to try and pull the door open. As he does Xif suddenly finds the slab of rock he's standing on tilting forward and into the shaft. Before he can jump out of the way, he begins falling down the shaft with the slab close behind.

Lirrim realizes what's going on and cast Rope Trick, opening a extra dimensional pocket for he and Dricas to hide in. However, Xifias is trapped, and despite his attempts, the slab continues down the shaft after him. Realizing that he has no time to do anything else, he braces himself so that the slab will crash into him and the door simultaneously. While he takes a fair amount of damage from both the door and the slab, his plan works and the slab crashes through the door, allowing access to the small room below.

The room is almost identical to the one they found above, so they begin searching for a release to a secret door. No one finds anything until Xif decides to search the rubble from the slab. He finds another pressure release, and the group once again dangles from the rope above just in case the entire floor gives way when the release is pushed. While the entire floor does not give way, the section of floor Xifias is standing on does. He barely manages to leap out of harm's way as the slab of floor and all the rubble on top of it vanish into the darkness.

As the group begins to climb down into the room they can hear a loud splash as the slab hits water far below. Having avoided yet another deadly trap, the group now decides to head down farther to investigate further. They are now getting into an area of this complex that is below ground level. Lirrim and Xif once again fly ahead and discover a large, moist cavern below. The majority of the cavern is filled with dark, murky water of unknown depth. A small piece of sandy floor rises out of the water and ends in a corridor leading down under the bowl-like valley of Rook's Roost.

Realizing that his fly spell will end soon, Lirrim hurries to get the rest of his companions down to the sandy beach as fast as possible. Once everyone has gathered together, they determine a marching order and begin heading down the corridor. Only about five feet in width forces the group into a single file line, with Dricas at the front. They move into the corridor about twenty feet when the passageway is suddenly lit up by a flash of lightning. Several of the party members go down from the blast.

Sione begins healing those she can while Xifias inspects the area Dricas was just standing on. He finds a pressure plate that apparently triggered the electrical onslaught. Sione finishes the work healing the others, but now the group is running dangerously low on spells, so they decide to head back to the sandy area and rest the night. They make camp and settle in for the night, wondering what the next day will bring.

May 10, 2003 – IV, Tim, Lisa, Rick, & Ray

The party rests for the night with no interruption. Packing up camp and making their way cautiously back down the long corridor, the group readies themselves for whatever other tricks the previous owners of this place have in store for them. Xif decides to scout ahead a little and check for more traps. He finds the pressure plate that Dricas stepped on, setting off the lightning bolt that charged through the party the previous day. A step ahead of the plate lies another, which Xif points out to the rest of the party so they may avoid another jolt of lightning.

Soon, the corridor appears to end at a large wooden door. The door is quite sturdy, having been reinforced with large iron bands. Xif searches the door to see if he can find any traps, but it appears to to free of any such devices. Panjur and Isach try to open the door but it appears to be locked from the inside. "Since the door swings outward, it must be barred, so hacking it down may be our only option," says Panjur as he readies his battle axe to take a swing. As his weapon connects with the door, as strange sounds, almost like that of rattling chains can be heard from the other side of the door.

Suddenly a large slab of stone descends from the ceiling and blocks the doorway. Realizing that it may take them a long time to hack through both the rock and the door, the group relies upon Sione's magic to get them past this new obstacle. Sione's uses her Soften Earth and Stone spell to make the job easier. Soon enough the group has managed to bypass the door and find themselves in a small bed chamber.

A cot dominates one wall, while a small desk and chair are found upon another. Next to the desk, a large, mirror hangs upon the wall. Only a small table with a washbasin upon remains, so the group starts searching the room for clues. The desk contains an old, dried out, ink well and some parchment that crumbles to dust when touched. It is obvious that the room has not been used in quite some time. Lirrim happens to spot a piece of parchment that stands out from the others. It has writing on describing the use of the mirror as a transport. It details a short list of destinations that can be reached through the mirror, but the group does not recognize any of them. Deciding that the tower listed is more than likely the best place for the bandit's treasure to be, they use the mirror to transport themselves. What lies ahead is unknown for the group does not even know where it is going outside of the short description listed on the piece of parchment.

Stepping through the mirrow, the group now finds themselves in another small bed chamber. The room is dominated by a crude bed covered by a threadbare, yellowing sheet. A small chair with a gray, wool cloak carefully folded upon sits nearby. A ceramic pot and a wooden bucket sit along the east wall. A closed window sits opposite the mirror on the wall, with an iron sconce holding an oil lamp providing a little light from over the bed. Two stairways are also within view, one that leads up, another leading down.

The sudden sound of hammering can be heard from the floor above, and the group decides to investigate. As they creep up with stairs they see an older man using various scrap pieces of wood to repair holes in the makeshift roof. It is obvious that the tower once held several more floors, but now most of them have collapsed, leaving only a few standing. The group tries to talk with the man who wheels around at the sound of voices. His face suddenly takes on a feral look as he bares a set of nasty pointed fangs. His hands appear to be slightly webbed between the fingers, which end in sharp looking claws. Without a word, he lunges forward to attack.

Having no choice but to defend themselves, the group quickly dispatches the strange man. Looking about this floor of the tower, the group finds very little of interest outside of a whet stone and several tools sitting in a basket. Deciding to continue looking around the group heads back down the stairs, past the bed chamber and to what appears to be the ground floor.

A blue ceramic stove sits in one corner, with a large lead pipe leading up from it and through the upper floors. A wooden cupboard sits against the south wall. Near the door a wooden lever juts out from a brass box fixed on the wall. A brass tube emerges from the top of the box and disappears in the wall directly above the door. A large, glass bottle, apparently filled with water sits on the floor below the box. A trapdoor in the floor provides another means of exit from the room in addition to the door and the stairs that lead back up to the small bed chamber.

As they search around, Isach opens with small barred window in the door and notices a large courtyard. He opens the door and they proceed outside to take a look around. As they do, they notice that the courtyard is littered with six inch grates at regular intervals. Staring down through one of the grates, they can barely make out some sort of large underground room directly below them. Just as they are about to move on, a woman's hand suddenly emerges from one of the grates, "Help me, they've got me trapped down here," she says frantically. The group begins questioning the woman about how she came to be here, but before they can get any real answers she scurries out of view. As she does the group begins to hear the sound of movement nearby.

Suddenly a small group of bugbears emerge from the woods at the far end of the courtyard. The group retreats back into the tower and bars the door as the beasts close in. Isach now notices that the brass box has a small funnel attached to it. Deciding to pour some of the water from the bottle into the funnel and pulling the lever produces an unexpected result. The group hears a loud hiss from the other side of the door. Looking through the barred window, the group now sees that a cone of cold appears to have emerged from the wolf head figurine above the door and has frozen several of the bugbears. The other humanoids retreat away from the door to avoid further damage.

Since the bugbears are no longer an immediate threat, the group decides that to investigate the lower levels so they can attempt to help the woman trapped there. Xif checks out the trapdoor to make sure it's safe to open. Once he's done, the group climbs down the ladder revealed into the basement of the tower. The room is dark and musty, apparently an under-used storeroom. The south wall is covered in crude shelves containing a large array of items. Three green glass demijohns are lined up along the north wall. Further investigation shows that they contain vinegar, lantern oil, and turpentine respectively.

The east wall holds a hastily walled up passageway. This appears to be the only entrance to the underground complex the woman is trapped in. While searching through the room, the group also finds a secret door in the northwest corner. The corridor revealed there leads ahead for about 80 feet before ending at a ladder leading up. Carefully climbing to the surface, the group finds themselves in the middle of a stand of trees. The opening is cleverly hidden by brush and foliage to prevent casual observation. The party assumes that the bugbears may know of this entrance and decide to hurry to help the woman before they decide to try and enter the tower this way.

Back in the basement, Isach and Panjur hack the rough wall down, revealing a smooth stone corridor beyond. As they enter the passageway, the party notices it opens into a large chamber with a vaulted ceiling. A grid of massive stone pillars supports the courtyard above, while the small grates the group found previously allow light into the cellar. A network of grooves carefully carved into the floor appears to lead down a large corridor leading out of the chamber on the opposite wall. About 20 feet to the left stands another, smaller corridor on the same wall, while on the northern wall, yet another corridor leads off in that direction.

Just as they begin to take a look around, the group sees the woman peering around the corner at them from the larger of the corridors. As they call out to her, she turns and runs down the corridor, disappearing in the darkness. Following her down the passage, the group finds that it widens into a large cistern which appears to capture the run off water from the network of grooves cut into the floor. However, the woman seems to have disappeared. Just as they inch closer to investigate, the water in the cistern errupts upward, forming a vaguely humanoid shape, and attacks.

Moving away from the cistern in the hopes that the creature cannot stray from the water source, the group continues to defend themselves from it's attacks. Suddenly the creature is joined in it's attack on the party by a strange creature that appears to be the torso, arms, and head of a woman, with the lower body of a lion. Forced to contend with attacks from both sides the group continues their defense. However, the water beast has now grabbed Panjur and heads back toward the cistern, dragging him beneath the water in an attempt to drown him. Just as he's about to go under again, the group manages to land the decisive blow, killing the creature and freeing Panjur from his potentially watery grave.

Now the party can concentrate their attacks on the lioness creature. While she combats them with impressive magical skills, they eventually overwhelm her and claim victory. Now realizing that the creature lured them down here under the guise of a maiden in distress, the group turns their attentions back to searching the complex. They start with the corridor on the north wall, which leads to a door. Once again, Xif inspects the door to ensure it's safe to open, and the group enters a small chamber. The floor is dominated by a pile of straw covered in poorly tanned deer skins. A partially opened wooden crate in the east part of the room contains a heap of bare humanoid skulls. Searching through the straw reveals a leather sack containing a pair of silver statues dedicated to the god Heironeous, a platinum cup, a silvered punching dagger, the hilt of a broken, golden longsword, a pouch containing 75 gold pieces, and a scroll which Isach and Lirrim identify as containing a number of arcane spells.

Finding little else of interest in the chamber, and wishing to escape the smell of the savage beast that lived within, the group heads back out into the large cellar and check the smaller of the two corridors leading off of the eastern wall. This passageway leads to the east 10 feet before abruptly ending at a heavy, reinforced door with a small barred window in it. The door is tightly locked. Peering through the small window reveals what appears to be a small cell. A rough, wooden pallet partially covered by the remains of a wool blanket lie in one corner while a clay jar sits in the other. Nothing else of interest can be seen here, and the door is far too stout to batter down in a reasonable amount of time, so the group moves back into the main cellar.

Deciding that the battle with the lioness and the elemental took quiet a toll on them, the party decides to camp for the night here in the cellar. They will continue their quest for the treasure of Rook's Roost bandits again tomorrow.

May 24, 2003 – Tim, Lisa, Rick, & Ray

After a relatively quiet night, the group once again begins their search of the underground complex. They now notice a third corridor leading off of the east way to the south of their position, while another large corridor is to be seen on the south wall. Following the eastern passage first, the party travels down it's length for approximately 40 feet before it ends at a heavy iron door with a small barred window in it. The door has seen better days, and appears to have rusted shut over the years, making getting it open nearly impossible without the aid of magic. Looking through the barred window, the group sees an old armory filled with racks of crumbling and rusting weapons. It does not appear to get much use with the exception of a few pieces of leather armor that have been torn into strips lying on the floor. A large firepit and anvil dominate the southwest corner.

Not willing to waste valuable magical resources on getting through the door, the group decides to have Sione shapeshift into a bird and fly through the window. She scouts the area beyond the room, which appears to consist of a series of natural caverns. The first cavern is arranged as a rough sleeping area, while the next is dominated by a large firepit. Above the firepit a series of chains and rods has been erected to allow for cooking large game above the fire. Circling the firepit stands a ring of stone, obviously from the tower, with a rough throne made of the same stones facing the firepit from the south. The ceiling is covered in soot and the whole room smells of rotting meat.

Following a passage that leads away from the cavern to the north, Sione finds a series of rough steps leading up to the surface. Near the opening, a bugbear sitting on a large block of stone stands guard. Luckily he does not appear to notice Sione fluttering about. Turning back and heading down the second passage leading away from the firepit, she find two caverns, one that appears to be another sleeping area, possibly for the females and children of the tribe, while the other cavern has been arranged as a makeshift storeroom. Despite a little searching, Sione cannot find anything of any interest here, so she travels back to rejoin her companions and describes to them what she saw. Obviously the caverns form the lair of the bugbears, but do not contain the treasure they are looking for.

The group now heads down the large southern corridor, traveling about 30 feet before the corridor widens into a chamber. The corridor continues south on the other side of the room, while another large corridor leads out of the room to the west. Against the west wall stands an old wardrobe that contains several faded green robes. Against the east wall two wooden benches flank a niche, which contains a round marble table carved in the likeness of squatting demon. The top of the table shows the signs of ancient blood stains, still visible after all these years. Looking around the group notices a small shaft of light emitting from the northwestern corner of the room. It appears to be coming from a small peephole in the wall, about 5 feet off of the ground. The search for secret doors near the peephole comes up empty, so the group decides to move on.

The group decides to check the southern passage first. About 50 feet down the corridor the passage comes to a shoddy green curtain stretched. To the right of this stands another corridor leading off to the west. Further investigation reveals that the corridor is nothing more than another exit out into the forest. The entrance, just like the other the party found, it cleverly hidden by strategically placed foliage. Moving on to the curtain covering the passage, Sione now notices that Stacia is sniffing the air and baring her teeth as if she smells something. Carefully, the group readies themselves to pull back the curtain.

As Panjur pulls back the curtain, the group sees a room that has been torn to shreds. A toppled table sits in one corner, while pieces of broken chairs littler the floor near four fallen warriors. The dead humans wear rusty scale mail and are armed with longswords, still in their scabbards. The bodies show signs of age as well as visible lacerations. As they warily enter, the group suddenly hears a rustling from behind the table. Just as they move to investigate, they suddenly are overcome by a powerful odor, causing a couple of them to become nauseated. At that moment, an undead abomination leaps out and attacks. Despite the creature's best efforts, it is quickly dispatched by the group, who start searching the room more carefully once they have determined that no other threats exist.

An examination of the corpses reveals that they appear to have died once before, been brought back as some form of undead creature, and then killed again, most likely by the beast the group just destroyed. The only item of any value that the group finds among the clutter is a bronze disk about 4 inches in diameter, with a picture of a strange creature engraved upon it's surface. Lirrim thinks that the creature pictured is a marilith, a formidable type of demon. With nothing else of value to be found in the room, the group heads back to the large western corridor and makes their way down it's 50 foot length.

At the end of the corridor is a 30 foot wide room, shaped like an octagon. A bas-relief matching that on the bronze disk dominates the west wall, while the remaining six walls have brass levers protruding from the middle of them. In the center of the room stands a slim, 3 foot tall, pewter post. The top of the post has an indented circle on the top. The indentation is the same size and shape as the bronze disk the group now holds. Surveying the vaulted ceiling, the group notices that it is covered in a dense network of geometric carvings and mystical inscriptions.

After searching for any secret doors and the like, the group turns their attention to the pewter pillar in the center of the room. Placing the bronze disk in the indentation, it begins to glow eerily and turns itself so it matches the bas-relief on the west wall. As the two pictures align, the entire ceiling emits a bright light that fills the room with wavy orange shafts of brilliance. With a loud click, the six brass levers spring up and a menacing electrical discharge flashes around the central post. After a few moments the discharge dissipates and the pewter post issues a low hum. Just as they are about to start pulling levers, one of the group notices a figure watching them from down the corridor. As they call out to the figure, it turns and begins running. Following close behind the group turns the corner and finds the figure has disappeared.

Searching for any possible secret passages the figure may have used to escape, the group notices that the peephole in the corner of the room is no longer emitting the small shaft of light it was when they passed through the room originally. After some more careful searching, Lirrim finds a secret door in cellar that leads west. The group carefully navigates the passage as it turns toward the south and leads to a small room. In the room, a man is standing, beginning to cast a spell. The group charges in and disrupts his casting, surrounding the man. Lirrim recognizes the spell he was attempting to cast as Dimension Door, a powerful transportation spell. The room is dimly lit by an oil lamp sitting on a stool in the northeast corner. A bedroom and ruck sack are on the floor near the man. A diagonal passage leads out of the room, ending in the far end of the peephole the group found previously.

Confronted with the group's superior numbers, the man begs the group not to harm him. When asked who he is and how he came to be here, he explains that he was asked by his father on his deathbed to retrieve a family heir loom which the bandit's had stolen from his grandfather many, many years ago. He researched the bandit's and their lair, including the mage who supposedly lead them, an evil man named Ygig, who's tower the group has now invaded. He explains that the item taken from his family all those years ago is a ring and that if they allow him to accompany them, he will gladly give up his share of the loot in return for the ring. "My name is Jainos, and I'll gladly help in any way I can if you help me find the ring," he tells the group. He goes on to explain that he has been trapped in the complex, unable to escape the lioness and the bugbears, and being forced to live in the small room they now find him in as protection since no one else knew of it.

The group reluctantly allows Jainos to join them. They now head back into the octagonal room and once again place the bronze disk atop the pewter pillar. They then try to decide which order the levers should be pulled in. After a painful electrical shock from the first failure, the group finally comes upon an idea as Panjur notices that the bas-relief depict certain items in the marilith's hands, that correspond to the proper levers to pull. Jainos explains that once the final lever is pulled, they will be magically transported to the vault where the bandit's treasure is kept. He does not know the location of the vault, but he does know it is rumored to be filled with a wide variety of deadly traps, so they must be particularly careful once they reach it.

As the final lever is pulled, the orange energy crackling around them produces a bright flash of light. As their eyes attempt to adjust, they hear the bronze disk fall to the floor. As they look around, they see a room identical to the one they were in. However, the pewter pillar in the middle of the room is now gone. The air also feels considerably more moist, and they can hear running water off in the distance. As they look around, they see that the large corridor leading away from the room appears to be different as well. Deciding to investigate further, they travel about 20 feet down the corridor before it widens into a small room approximately 15 feet by 20 feet. In the center of the room stands a low pedestal, that apparently held a large statue, which now lies in pieces on the floor in front of them. After a quick search of the room which reveals nothing of interest, the group continues down the corridor toward the sounds of water beyond.

The corridor continues for only another 15 feet before it opens up to a platform which appears to be a landing for a now crumbled bridge. The bridge spans a small river of water that nearly fills the bottom of the large natural cavern the group now finds themselves in. Another similar landing can be seen on the far side, with a large marble portal directly in front of it. It appears the only way to get across will be to climb to the cavern floor below and then climb back up the the landing on the other side. The party notices the walls of cavern on each side of the landing them stand upon are rough, and should make for easy climbing down to the cavern floor. As they begin to cross the cavern, a long tendril lashes out at them from an unseen foe. They scatter and draw their weapons attempting to get a fix on their attacker. Unable to see anything, the tendril continues to lash out and strike the party members without them being able to do much to avoid it. Finally, Lirrim uses a spell to allow him to see the strange beast attacking them, and direct their attacks toward it. After a long struggle, they finally manage to kill the beast, which seems to appear out of thin air as the body falls to the floor. Not wanting to wait for any more of the beasts to attack the group hurries to the other side and scales up to the landing above.

The group now stands upon the landing, faced with a large, circular piece of marble filling the portal in front of them. It does not appear to have any handles or levers to release it like a door would, so the group decides that perhaps the disk will allow them entrance. As they touch the bronze disk to the marble it instantly shimmers into nothingness, replaced by a series of colorful curtains of light. Lirrim and Isach recognize the effect as that of a Prismatic Wall spell. However, the means of defeating the spell are well beyond them, so they must figure out another way through. After several failed attempts, they come to the realization that whoever is holding the disk can freely pass through the magical barrier. They take turns walking through the curtains of colored light and then tossing the disk back to one of their companions until they have all reached with other side. Turning to survey the scene, the group wonders what new obstacles they will have to face as they make their way further and further into the vault.

June 7, 2003 – Tim, Lisa, Rick, IV, & Ray

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Main - Back to main page/menu.

Chapters - Find out what's happened so far.

Chapter One – Shapeshifters in Our Midst

Chapter Two – A Prophecy Fulfilled?

Chapter Three – The City of Black Crystal

Chapter Four – Poachers? No, Murderers!

Chapter Five – The Vast Swamp

Chapter Six – Delivery for Quarion

Chapter Seven – Evil Afoot in the Menowood

Chapter Eight – An Item in Naerie

Chapter Nine – Back in Malwander…

Chapter Ten – A Journey Into Madness

Chapter Eleven - Serpent Isle

Chapter Twelve – The Return of Maj

Chapter Thirteen – The Hestmark Highlands

Chapter Fourteen – A Spy Among Us?

Chapter Fifteen – The Bonewood

Chapter Sixteen – Return to Rook's Roost