Saddened by this loss, the Company trudges forward, intent on entering the hallway they uncovered when they forced their way through the secret door. The long hallway reveals another set of three vault doors to the West, which again the Company avoid. A large room opens up at the end of the hallway, and Sebastian and Orongorg enter the room. Immediately, a powerful gust of wind rushes into the room and a massive swirl of air and wind coalesces and attacks them. Strange, oddly colored shapes in the gust of air appear to indicate the presence of eyes and a mouth, although it could just be a trick of their tired, weary eyes.
The gust of wind slams into them, doing some significant damage. It appears to be intent upon only attacking Orongorg and Sebastian. The other members of the Company brace themselves for attack, but the air creature never attacks them directly, focusing its efforts on the goblin and half-elf. The Company lure the massive air creature into the confines of the hallway, where they anticipate it will be at a disadvantage due to its size. Their strategy appears to work and the members of the Company slowly begin the process of beating the creature down. They note that their weapons do not have quite the full effect that they would expect from the power of the blows they are landing, but clearly they can see that they are wounding the creature. Uso unveils another arcane spell, fascinating the creature with a collection of brightly glowing lights. The air creature ceases its movements and attacks, and Jeremi rushes to the aid of Orongorg and Sebastian. Having regained much of his strength, Sebastian sneaks behind the creature and proceeds to enter the room at the end of the hallway. There is yet another powerful gust of wind, and Sebastian realizes that he has inadvertently caused another air creature to be summoned. Quickly hiding in the shadows of the room, Sebastian sneaks back out of the room and the Company run away, realizing that two of these powerful elemental masters of air are beyond their ability to fight. After racing out of the hallway and around a few corners, the Company stop and listen, realizing that the air creatures are not chasing them any longer. Feeling that the creatures are magically contained to just that one area of the Banevault, the Company decide to rest and recover their strength before figuring out their plans for moving forward through this section of the Banevault.
Morning: The Company awake and prepare to continue investigating the Banevault. During the night of rest, several members of the Company worked together to reproduce a crude copy of a map of their explorations, hoping that by studying the map, they may find a way to infiltrate into the next section of the Banevault.
After a bit of exploring, Jeremi and Cirend come up with a plan to drain the water out of the upper room down into the "pool room" on the lower level so that they may cross through the room on the upper level. Utilizing a combination of cleverness and magic items, the Company successfully drain the water out of the upper room while avoiding direct contact with the monstrous octopi guardians. A strangely quiet Orongorg is ordered by the Company to shoot and kill the defenseless octopi guardians from the safety of a corridor on the lower level.
Returning to the upper level, the Company find the room drained and the passage safe. They make their way across and find a secret tunnel that returns them to an area near the shrine room. While this would have proved a useful shortcut earlier, it does not help them now. The Company is at a loss, as they know of only two possible exits from this section of the Outer Vaults: the room with the powerful air and wind guardians, or the vault door which they found ajar, where Orongorg discovered a set of tracks leading into the room but not returning.
The Company decide to investigate the area where the vault door has been opened. Inside, Cirend trips a trap on an electrified floor, and another trap with blades that slice at his ankles, causing him to fall backwards onto the floor again. Seeing the trap in action helps Sebastian to disarm it, and the rest of the Company safely traverse the distance.
At the far end of a long room, the Company find the upper half of a suit of plate mail suspend by a thick chain over a deep pit. As Sebastian gets close to the pit, a wrathful spectral-like face appears in the armor and challenges the adventurers. Cirend attempts to converse with the spirit of the armor's previous owner, but his Diplomacy skills are somewhat lacking. The spirit frightens most of the Company, who flee from the room. Later, they return and Jeremi attempts to parlay with the spirit. The spirit gives them some information about the Banevault, and in return, Jeremi participates in a very non-�tonist ritual in order to banish the
