As the horde of Terrors continue their charge north towards the party, our heroes decide what to do. After debating for a few moments, they plan to descend the ridge and have Galandil use his Arc-miner spells to cut a hidden trench in the sand in front of their position in order to trap the oncoming Terrors.

Following Galandil’s lead the party climbs down the ridge and readies their weapons. Galandil creates a fissure in the sand and quickly climbs into it, using his amulet to dig a 100 foot long and 40 foot wide tunnel. As before the sand at the sides of the tunnel fuses to glass, holding it open. However he figures that the weight of the huge Terrors will crack the roof of the tunnel and send them plummeting down 40 feet.

The party stands ready as the Terrors come closer. As they near it is seen that in addition to the 22 huge spider-like Terrors, two Red Tower cultists are among them on horseback. Lionel and his Tymirr knights are in hot pursuit only a few hundred yards behind.

When they are within range of Meran’s longbow he fires and scores an impressive hit on one of the Terrors. Galandil fires an elemental bolt at one of the cultists and hits her in the chest. She topples off of her horse and is trampled by the rampaging Terrors behind her. One of the archers in Lionel’s party finishes the job a second later when he buries an arrow in her back. The second cultist is skewered by Meran’s arrows moments later.

The battle commences as the Terrors come within melee range, however the first ones break through the thin dome of earth over the trench and fall down into the dark. Only a few manage to make their way across to attack the party as the dome continues to shatter and swallow more of them. As the remaining Terrors slow down to avoid the others’ fates, Lionel’s band reach them from behind and dismount their horses to begin attacking in close combat. Also, Atentir summons two dogs to his side to assist in the attack.

The party and Lionel’s group make short work of the remaining Terrors, using their superior position to rain arrows and magical projectiles into the pit. A few Terrors manage to scale or jump the slick walls of the cavern, only to be cut down seconds later by the party’s blades.

After the battle is concluded, Lionel rushes to see his sister. He hugs Neith and says that he’s very glad she is okay. When he heard that the Terrors were coming to attack them he assembled the team of riders and took off in pursuit after them for more than two days. Many members of his party we killed during the trip but they also managed to thin the numbers of the Terrors slightly.

Lionel tells the party that he and his guard will protect them as they return to Tymirr so they may get some well-deserved rest. After a while everyone packs up their gear and they start off on their return journey.

As they leave, Elowisyl and Atentir notice that their brother is looking unwell. His skin is looking a bit greenish and his eyes appear sunken, not unlike the appearance of Alexander Drem from whom they acquired the silver circlet. It is decided that they will immediately take him to see Yeador and Orunn once they reach the city.

A few miles into their journey, Elowisyl receives a message on his magical scroll from Erillas. It reads: “The Ch’zak crossed the river into the town and were assaulting the castle. The great beasts were thrashing against the citadel walls and attempting to gain entry; the east wall partially buckled from the assault. We lost many men. During the conflict we saw a bright flash of light to the South. Almost immediately we noticed a change in the behavior of the Ch’zak. They became disorganized and many of them fled. I don’t profess to understand magics, but whatever you did, it worked. Our soldiers are fighting off the ones that managed to get into the city and the groups of stragglers outside. All of you have done us proud. Come home safely and we will celebrate.”

Heartened by this news, the party continues on their long journey. There are no further Terror sightings during their three-day trek, and the land seems to already be healing. As they approach the mountainous and grassy areas of Tymirr they see that winter is in full swing. There is already two inches of snow on the ground and the air is brisk but clean and refreshing.

A day into their journey the party members notice that Galandil looks even more sickly than the day before. He is starting to feel the effects and can sense his willpower waning to the might of the circlet’s dark magic.

Finally two days later they reach the city, and can see the destruction ahead of them. The earth for miles around the city has been almost completely scorched. It can be estimated that it will take a year or more for the foliage to return here. The castle itself has sustained heavy damage and the city is now completely leveled. The east wall of the castle has smashed and buckled, and a huge 200-foot millipede lies dead in the midst of the rubble. Around the castle are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Terror corpses. It appears that most of the human casualties are inside the castle or have been removed from the battlefield.

Near the city is a huge encampment of Tall Ones. Their warriors and scouts are patrolling the area along with members of the Tymirr guard. They pay little attention to the party as they come in as they seem very busy.

As they approach the city there is activity on the ramparts. The drawbridge is lowered and they are welcomed into the city. As they come in they see all of the wounded and dead soldiers being cared for and moved to triage areas. However a huge cheer comes over the crowd and hundreds of people of all races come in to swarm the newcomers. It is difficult to move as they pour adulation and praise upon the party for their actions.

They are asked to come to the steps of the castle, where a crowd has gathered. First they visit the tent of the Elves, where the Elf brothers are greeted warmly by their mother and sister. Elowisyl asks where Orunn is, and his mother says that he is with the others at the steps of the castle.

The proceed to the citadel where Erillas (wearing the purple clothing of a Tymirr elder), Combellon, Yeador, the King’s advisors Peratus & Verak; a young dark-haired man in a blue waistcoat, Duke Rontus of East Tymirr; a balding overweight man in blue robes is Biran, the Duke of North Tymirr are all present. It seems that the priestess Eleiana and King Arayen are absent.

The four Nomads and the members of the group that went to Calese (a Tall one, a Human and a Savage) are there as well, although the party remembers that they seemed to have more members the last time they saw them. Erag and the other Kaern seem to be missing as well. The party members are given purple tabards with a stylized “T” (similar to a cross) upon them to wear. Galandil refuses to put his on despite pleads from the servants.

From the doors comes the King’s son, Prince Cortus, wearing the crown of Tymirr. He says to them in turn, “You must repeat after me: I swear to defend Honor, uphold Truth, and fight for Justice.” Each of the party members comply except for Galandil, who takes a step back.
“I am not asking for your fealty,” Cortus says. “This is merely to honor your service to our great city.” Galandil shakes his head, and Cortus continues with the others.

After the party members speak the words, Cortus gives them each a shiny master-crafted longsword. Yeador also approaches and pours a thick, sweet smelling liquid over their heads, just enough to begin dripping down their faces. They feel the effects of this oil giving them vitality. “Now rise as Knights of Tymirr!” Cortus says. He congratulates the party and the crowd cheers. The other nobles also congratulate the party, but Peratus & Verak’s greetings sound forced.

After the excitement dies down, Erillas and Combellon come to the party and usher them into an adjascent room, asking the guard to close the door. They congratulate everyone and Erillas is positively beaming. Combellon seems regretful having seen none of the action, but is happy nonetheless. Erillas names the Men (and Woman) in the party as eternal Elf-friends, welcome into their homes and into their tribe forever. He says that this honor will carry on to their children and their children’s children.

Elowisyl says that they must see Orunn immediately to assist with Galandil’s condition, but Erillas says that he wishes to speak with them for a moment first. He explains that after the King fled, Combellon searched him for several days using the best scouts of the Elves and Men, along with two of Yeador’s apprentice magicians. They came up with no trace of the King except his crown which was lying on the bed in his chambers. For all intents and purposes he completely vanished from his chambers. No trail or secret door was found.

The people of Tymirr were confused as to why the King would flee at such a dire moment, and assumed that he left in a cowardly fashion as the legions of Terrors were soon to bear down on Tymirr with their full force. They ultimately lost faith in him so it was decided that his son, Prince Cortus, due to his strong leadership during the crisis, would be named as successor and King. The coronation occurred two days ago.

Because of the bond created between Erillas and Cortus during the battle and the absence of his father, Cortus has asked Erillas to stay with him as his chief advisor until he can finish rebuilding the city and come into his own. Erillas says that he has agreed and will stay as long as necessary. Combellon seems uncomfortable with this.

Erillas charges Combellon and the rest of the party with scouting and establishing a new home for the Western Elf Guild, so the survivors of their tribe could begin anew. He then excuses Combellon so he may speak with the party in private.

Combellon, Erillas says, has matured greatly in the past months during this crisis. He will one day succeed Erillas so choosing the new site for their home is a trial that he must do. He will be under the care of the party and his combat skills as well as his leadership will be tested. Erillas asks the party to watch over him during all of this. The Humans of the party are asked to accompany them as well if they so wish.

Erillas says to think about everything he’s said, and refers them to Orunn to help with Galandil’s curse. Orunn says that they must see Yeador, and take the party to his laboratory in the citadel. Yeador examines the circlet and asks Galandil about the effects that it is having on him. Yeador studies it through a glass orb about the size of an apple, and he and his apprentices search through large volumes of magical reference for clues as to its origin or source of its powers.

After several hours Yeador says that it obviously is powerful and has a link to the magical plane, but he does not have the means to remove or de-power it. He suggests that the party seek the help of a Thaumaturgist, a master of magical items, who lives near Calese. Yeador says that he has met this man and trusts him, but he does not know where to find him now. According to his measurements Galandil has less than a month until he falls completely under the control of the circlet. The party thanks him and returns to the Elf tent.

Elowisyl retuns to the man who had promised to carve him the symbol of his clerical order, and retrieves the piece. It is of exquisite quality and helps Elowisyl focus his magical powers.

Later that day they visit the smith that was making the armor for the party out of monster hide. He has all of their pieces completed, and has made several soft and rigid leather armor sets out of the hide. The sets include helms, aventails (the piece which goes over the shoulders), bracers, gauntlets, greaves, boots and cuirasses (chestplates). The man says that there is quite a lot left over and if he can use the rest of the hide for making armor for the soldiers and townsfolk, he will refund their money since the party saved the city from the Terrors. The party agrees and he refunds their money, fitting them for their armor and sending them on their way.

Galandil begins searching for Erag and is directed to the triage tent. The Priestess Eleiana and her clerics are there working overtime to assist all of the wounded soldiers and refugees. Elowisyl quickly begins to help with the wounded as well. The priestess stops only for a moment to congratulate the party and says that she must be on her way. She shows them to where Erag is and returns to her duties.

As they enter his room, Erag looks very somber. Apparently he has not allowed anyone to heal him since he returned from his journey and his arm is at his side, broken. He still carries many bruises and other hastily patched wounds, and is standing over the bed of Gorn Rockfist. He explains to the party that the Red Tower Cult had many of their powerful necromancers working to assemble the Gate in the north mountains, and their resistance was fiercer than the cult’s group in the mines near South Tymirr.

They were ultimately successful, but Bogder Shale, the Kaern warrior that the party initially met, was mind-controlled by one of the necromancers and Erag and Gorn were forced to kill him. Erag and Gorn traveled all the way back together, but as they arrived at Tymirr Gorn finally succumbed to his wounds and died. He is currently watching over Gorn’s body before he has to bury him. Elowisyl heals Erag and tells him that he must take care of himself and honor the memories of his friends by continuing on.

Erag thanks Elowisyl for his supporting words and for healing him. He congratulates the party on their success. Galandil tells him of the cursed circlet and that he will not be able to accompany him back to Tymirr to take the trials of the Arc-miner. Erag tells Galandil that he will be waiting for him at Kaern and he believes that he will definitely one day pass the trials. Erag says that before Galandil leaves the town he must visit the Kaern tent to speak with the elders. He then asks to be left alone to mourn his friends.

Later that day, after Elowisyl assists Eleiana in the triage tent for a while, the party visits the Kaern tent. There the elder who lent Galandil his amulet asks for him to return it. Galandil complies, and as the amulet changes hands the elemental emerges from the amulet’s crystal just as it had done in the first conferring ritual. The elemental nods at Galandil before returning to the amulet.

The other Kaern recognize Elowisyl and ask him if he needs more lichen beer. Elowisyl says that he does and one of the brewmasters bring him a quarter barrel of the foul-smelling drink.

The party stays in the city for another few days to rest and tie up any loose ends before they leave. Meran visits the tent of the Nomads, trading stories and sharing a meal. During their conversation they ask that Meran accompany them back to the Erstland Wastes. There is much work to be done, and a man of his skill would certainly be useful.

Neith is approached by Lionel, who says that he is returning to Merrill and asks her to come with him. She declines and says that she would rather stay with the party for the time being. He honors her wish and says that he will not tell their parents that she is alive; rather he will lie and say that his search was unsuccessful. However he says that they are very worried about her and have almost lost hope. Neith gives her a piece of her clothing and says to show it to her parents, giving them some hope that she may someday return home alive. He agrees and says his farewells to her.

A week or so later, Combellon comes to them and says that it is time that they must leave on their quest to search for a new home for the Western Elf Guild. The other party members (except Meran) agree to come along. Meran tells the party that he will be leaving with the Nomads, but perhaps he will rejoin them at a later date. Elowisyl says that they say that a detour must be made to Calese to see the Thaumaturgist about removing Galandil’s circlet, and Combellon agrees.

Just before they leave Yeador visits the party and gives Galandil a handful of 15 peanut-like Isre nuts, which will help keep his stamina up as he fights against the influence of the circlet.

The party says their good-byes to their family and Meran, and ride off with Combellon towards Calese.

After gathering their gear, the party moves to the next cavern in the northern portion of the mine. This room is seemingly empty except for a pair of inert miner skeletons. The party takes no chances and destroys the skeletons in case they might arise.

The next room to the north has two zombies in it, but they quickly fall to the party’s attacks. However, with the recent pulse of mana the spellcasters are almost exhausted of power.

Moving on to the final room, the party finds amongst piles of rubble a group of eight ghouls and the ethereal form of Christopher Drem. Christopher appears as an translucent emaciated floating form with long dark robe on. His face is sunken and greenish, however his most striking feature is the brilliant silver circlet worn on his head.

The ghouls seem eager to attack, but he holds them back with a gesture. His voice is an ethereal whisper as nebulous as his form, and he says “Do not attack them, my children. We have not had visitors for many years.” He then turns to the party and says “Who are you? Why do you tresspass in my father’s house? Why do you kill my children?”

Galandil explains to him that they are here to research the wonders and mystery of Selena. Christopher does not seem to believe him. Galandil then asks why he is here. Christopher replies, “I am here to safeguard all that we have built here, along with my grandmother. Years ago I was a member of the Red Tower Cult, but during my training I was killed. Later I was resurrected by the cult and became as you see me now.” Galandil asks him who his father is, and he replies “You have not heard of the great Alexander Drem?”

During this time Meran moves to attack one of the ghouls, but Alexander tells him to stop or he will have his ghouls kill them. Soon after Elowisyl casts an invisibility spell on himself and begins charging straight towards Alexander. The specter seems to still be able to see Elowisyl and tells him to stop. When he does not, he sighs and tells his ghouls to kill the party.

Elowisyl continues to rush Alexander, but he and his sword pass right through him without causing damage. Galandil fires a magical earthen bolt at him and it does seem to cause him some pain.

A battle ensues and the party kills the several of the ghouls in the room. One of them is swallowed by a chasm opened by Galandil, and Meran tosses a flask of oil down upon him and lights it with a torch. Christopher flees from the flames and passes through Elowisyl’s body to get to the other side of the room.

Meran is struck savagely by one of the remaining ghouls and falls down, bleeding from his neck. Elowisyl rushes to heal him and uses the last of his magical power to do so. The rest of the ghouls are killed by melee attacks, but Christopher continues to pelt the party with cold spells, causing some damage. Melee attacks on Christopher continually pass through him, so the party decides that their attempts are futile. Elowisyl pulls out the magic scroll and begins to scrawl a message to Erillas.

Finally Meran runs for the door, telling the others that they must follow him or they will all be killed. At that moment Galandil has the idea to try and strike the circlet from his head. After several attempts from three party members and arrows from Meran, Galandil finally knocks it off and it clatters to the ground.

Christopher yells “No!” He seems to have become more corporeal without the circlet, and rushes to retrieve it. Before he can do so, Neith slashes him through the waist with her rapier. Christopher fades into mist and dissipates, the only remainder being his ragged robes which fall to the ground.

Immediately Galandil rushes for the circlet and puts it on his head. It seems to bond itself to him immediately and he can’t seem to move or remove it. Elowisyl searches Christopher’s robes and finds nothing there.

Galandil looks around the room and sees that his awareness has changed. All around them he sees a blue glow, which appears to be the magical leyline coming from the north to the south. Also when looking at his companions he sees that they along with their magical items are also glowing. Granted also to him by the circlet are two spells, both of which are related to cold magic. In wonder and awe by the new world he is seeing, he looks around the room as if he is drunk. The others are not sure what to make of his behavior.

A few minutes later, Galandil hears a low, booming voice speaking into his mind: “Ah, I recognize you now. You were one of the men I saw through the gate — one of the ones who murdered Duke Perius. Very interesting that you’ve made it this far.” The voice then fades away.

After only two hours of rest with Neith standing watch, the party decides to continue on and try to find the Gate. Remembering that Corrina Drem told them the Gate was above the Red Tower Cult’s lair, they journey back into the mansion and go to the third floor. As they pass through the tunnels they seem much less dreary now, more like a mine and less like a tomb.

Upon reaching the third floor they search the ceiling for clues, but are unable to find any. They decide to exit the mines and approach from the top of the slab at the peak of the ridge. Traveling to the north end of the mine where they entered, they again use the unbroken amulet to pass through the door, and find that Galandil’s tunnel is still intact.

Climbing up using the ropes they had tied, they ascend to the top of the ridge and survey their surroundings. Several of the party members see a dust cloud to the east, and Elowisyl is able to see that it is a group of Terrors coming towards them at incredible speed. Pursuing behind the Terrors he sees a group of riders on horses.

Finally reaching the slab, the party clears the accumulated sand off of it and begins searching for any clues. As Galandil approaches it he sees the two local ley lines, brilliantly blue, intersecting inside the slab. The whole area is aglow with ethereal light. In the center of the slab he sees a small area that is glowing orange rather than blue, and discovers a tiny slot. He places the ring that Corrina gave them into the slot, and the marble cube begins to quickly melt away.

The party members scramble to get off of the slab and on to the rock ridge, and they turn around to see a giant orb of orange light ascend out of the hole where the slab previously was. Within the light they see a landscape of pitted gray rocks and a purple night sky. This image fades and flickers, and sometimes they are able to see the normal landscape of the Erstland Wastes through it.

Galandil sees the ley lines feeding into the orb, but also a clear bubble around the orb itself. The source of this bubble is unknown.

Underneath the orb a platform raises up to ground level, with curled claws of reddish metal protruding from the edges. Around the platform are carved intricate runes which Elowisyl translates as “SELENA’S GRACE CAPTIVATES AND PURIFIES THE WICKED.” He speaks this aloud, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect.

At this moment Galandil again hears the voice in his head, which says: “You know what must be done. Kill your friends, for they are about to betray you!” For a moment Galandil resists the urge to act, but then succumbs. He turns and opens a fissure in the rock under Elowisyl’s feet. The elf falls and hits the bottom ten feet below with a thud.

The others swarm to attack Galandil and manage to restrain him. Meran hits him with the flat of his axe and sits down upon Galandil, holding him down and binding his hands. He also stuffs a piece of cloth into his mouth so he cannot speak.

Elowisyl climbs out of the fissure and decides that the spikes of the platform must be destroyed. He breaks them one by one, and the orange orb grows larger and larger. Galandil sees the clear bubble fade away as Elowisyl is doing this. Soon all that can be seen around them is the rocky landscape of the Ch’zak plane, and the tear seems to be continuing to grow in size.

Many feet below them they see spider-like Ch’zak crawling over the rocks. Some of them seem to be able to see the party through the tear, and start coming towards it.

Finally able to resist the spell that was cast on him, Galandil stops struggling and Meran removes the gag from his mouth. “I think I know how to fix it,” he says. Meran lets him up and he focuses his will through the circlet, attempting to close the tear in the nexus point.

At first it is very difficult, and he is only able to close it a few feet at a time. After several minutes of concentration, the tear is reduced to its original size. Neith turns and sees that the Terrors coming across the desert are only a few minutes away.

Using all of his willpower, Galandil shrinks the tear and it finally disappears with a flash of light. He sees the nexus point glow fully blue again, and the alien landscape is gone. Also gone are the pulses of magical energy, so the ambient mana is now stable. The voice in Galandil’s head subsides, and he yells in elation.

However, their attention turns to the matter at hand, with Meran suggesting that they flee into the caves. Elowisyl says that they must stand and fight alongside the pursuing riders. As they are coming closer they see that there are twenty-two Terrors, and eight riders. At the head of the riders is Neith’s brother Lionel.

After defeating the undead in the first chamber, the party decides to rest. Setting up watch to allow the magic users to sleep, they stay for six hours and are not disturbed during that time. As they awake there is a fluctuation in the ambient mana, causing the magic users to feel as if their power has increased dramatically. Not wanting to waste this opportunity, they quickly move on.

In the second chamber of the south portion of the mines, they find two huge zombie trolls and two skeletons. Meran rushes forward quickly to attack the trolls, and is knocked flat (perhaps killed) by one of them as he counter-attacks. The rest of the group rushes into the room and they also attack the trolls with little success.

Meanwhile Galandil uses his magic to create a chasm in the ground underneath the skeletons, and they fall helplessly in. After a protracted combat the trolls are finally slain and Elowisyl rushes to assist Meran.

Just in time he is able to heal Meran’s wounds and saves his life. Atentir helps heal the also wounded Elowisyl as the others turn their attention to the skeletons. During the attack Galandil botches his spell attempt and knocks himself out cold. Meran and the others finish off the skeletons and start searching through the bodies of the trolls.

Atentir finds a large piece of gray cloth tied to one of the trolls’ loincloths, and sees that it is a cloak of some sort. Unable to find out what it does, Galandil takes it and finds that it is a Cloak of Shadows, able to shroud an individual in darkness.

Further searching the room, Elowisyl spies a large pond on the north side of the room. He senses magic here, and probes his sword around in the muck to try and discover what it is. He finds a small silver bracelet. Putting it on, he sees that it creates grants protective magic to the wearer.

Elowisyl also sees a hole, or tunnel, in the bottom of the pond, which disappears to an unknown depth. Neith volunteers to swim through and disrobes down to her knickers. A rope is tied around her ankle to pull her back if there is trouble, and magic is cast upon her by Elowisyl to give her the ability to hold her breath for a longer period of time.

The water is frigid, but Neith makes it through the opening and swims through for about 100 feet. She emerges in another room which not only smells terrible, but seems to have the contents of some kind of nest. It is currently uninhabited so she peeks around for any items that may be laying around. She finds two swords and an armored shirt, although it appears that there is a torso still in the shirt. She ties these items to the rope and is preparing to swim back when she hears footsteps shuffling up the cavern’s only entrance.

Neith jumps back into the water and pulls on the rope, signaling the others to pull her back through. A few seconds later she emerges sopping wet but heavier the swords and armor. They do not appear magical, however, and are discarded.

It is decided that the room is probably not on the map, or it could be one of the rooms further to the south. The group gathers their belongings and they move to the south area, somewhat weary from their battle with the trolls.

In the first cave they see six ghouls, and immediately attack them. The battle is swift and the ghouls fall, but two more come in through an adjascent cave. These are also killed. This cave does not seem to have any items of interest except a few silver pieces.

The group moves into the adjascent cavern and Neith identifies it as the one she ended up in after her swim. Indeed there is a large pool at the back of it. Two more ghouls assault them here but they manage to destroy them as well. The corpses are dragged down into the main room and burned.

It is decided that they must rest, especially the magic users, so they bed down for the night. It is quiet for the first four hours, but suddenly Elowisyl feels the magical parchment emerge from his bag and open to a letter from Erillas. The message reads:

“This will be my last writing for a while. With the King gone, things here are in turmoil. The King’s fool advisors, Peratus and Verak, are of little help and I have assumed many duties. The people here are uneasy as the army of Ch’zak are nearly on our doorstep, having broken through our first line of defenses. They will likely be here within the hour. Reports from the front lines say that some of these Ch’zak beasts are more than 100 feet tall. Orunn and Yeador are attempting to construct a magical barrier to hold them off for as long as possible. Our friends the Tall Ones have arrived in time to help, but this threat may be more than all of us can handle. It appears that you are our last hope, if sealing the gate will remove the cult’s influence on the Ch’zak. May the gods be with you.”

The party decides that they have no time to waste, so they prepare to leave for the other chambers to find Corrina’s undead grandson and relieve him of the circlet. Just as they go, however, the magic users feel a fluctuation in the local mana that reduces their spellcasting abilities.

Continuing their conversation with Corrina Drem, the party asks her repeatedly what her grudge is against King Arayen, but she refuses to answer. She says that she made a promise to her son to keep the secret, and if they want to know they should ask him or Arayen themselves.

Atentir makes a comment about Corrina being responsible for bringing her son, and this evil, into the world. She responds cryptically that she never said she was his natural mother. Galandil asks if Arayen is his father, and she responds “No.”

Elowisyl once again challenges her, saying that her deity could not possibly be asking them to kill so many people. He and Galandil finally cow her and she begins to cry.

Finally giving in, she agrees to help them if they will promise not to harm her son. She takes from her finger a silver ring with the crescent moons symbol on it. She gives it to Elowisyl, saying that it is one of the keys to gain access to the Gate. She does not know how to use it, however. Elowisyl asks her where the gate is, and she points upward. “It is right above us,” she says.

She explains that there is another item, held by her grandson, that is needed to gain access to the Gate. Several years ago he was killed while active as a member of the Red Tower Cult, and he was resurrected using the cult’s dark magic. He has since existed as an undead, and currently haunts the caverns of the salt mines. He is the other “gatekeeper,” and wears a silver circlet that will help them access the gate in conjunction with the ring.

Corrina breaks down in heavy sobs, and the party decides to leave her. As they exit the room they examine the bodies of the fallen troll zombies to see if they carry any interesting items, and talk amongst themselves to decide their next action. Meran reiterates that he wishes to kill Corrina, but after a moment a terrifying scream is heard from the room. Upon checking the party sees that Corrina has killed herself with a shard of the shattered mirror. The party decides to move on.

They quickly check the rest of the rooms on this floor before descending, and find that the one closest to the stairwell was some kind of laboratory. On a shelf they spy several vials of different colors. They take them all and distribute them amongst the party members.

The party goes down to the next floor and finds a kitchen, and several ghouls inside, but nothing else of interest. On the lowest floor they find several items in the guard quarters, of which is a magical axe in the false bottom of a foot locker. The axe is given to Meran. They also find a map that appears to be of the salt mines. With these items, they proceed down to the salt mines.

As they reach the salt mines, Elowisyl receives a message from Erillas. It reads:

“The King is missing — he has been nowhere to be found for the past several hours. My son has taken it upon himself to organize some of the Elf rangers and search for him in (and outside of) the city.

“I have spoken to Yeador concerning the information you related from Corrina Drem. He says that though he does not recognize the name, this is the key to the mystery of the Terrors.

“It was known that the Ch’zak (as Corrina called them) are obviously not from this dimension, but from another plane of existence. So far no sorcerer, no matter how powerful, has been able to open a gate between this plane and another for long enough to bring this many beings through, enough to create an army. The “event” that occurred in Jerech, most likely when this “Red Tower Cult” was attempting to control the nexus point in Jerech, must have caused a “tear” in dimensional space that created a permanent link.

“Most likely that tear is still there and is providing foot soldiers for the cult; it must somehow be sealed off. As far as the magic that is controlling them, Yeador is unsure how they are able to do it over such long distances. It may have something to do with the nexus points.”

He also mentions that no word has been received from the party pursuing the Terrors that broke off from the main group towards Jerech, but to assume that they are not far from the city. The army of Terrors advancing towards Tymirr has destroyed their outer defenses and is encroaching on the citadel; they must move with all haste to discover the secret of the Gate and if there is a tear in the nexus point.

The party ventures quickly towards the first cavern, and finds several ghouls and mummies. They defeat them but sustain some injuries, and rest before moving on.

Before moving on, it is decided that the spellcasters require rest before they can continue because their mana has been exhausted (due to the fluctuations in the ambient magic here, as well as the recent battles). Meran listens intently at the nearby cave exits to see if there is a safer place to hide. He hears moaning and scratching at all of the caves except the one they came from and the one to the south. It is decided that they will stay in the main area for the night.

A few hours into their rest, as Meran is standing watch, Neith wakes to find two ghouls shambling towards Meran to attack him. Meran is obviously unaware, so Neith yells that they are being attacked and jumps into the fray. The ghouls are defeated after a few moments, and everyone goes back to sleep.

In the morning Elowisyl’s magic scroll opens up and a message from Erillas is seen. He says that Yeador is still researching the ley-line magic and does not know anything further as of yet. However, they received word that the mission to Calese was successful; agents of the cult were attempting to build a Gate in a forest near the city, but the party that was sent killed all those involved and destroyed the gate before it could be activated. They were also able to convince the Council in Calese that it is in their best interest to help Tymirr fight the Terrors, and they are supposedly sending an army of Tall Ones to Tymirr to assist.

Erillas also relates that the large force of Terrors amassed at South Tymirr is beginning to move towards the city. There have already been several small skirmishes outside the city but they are continuing to push towards the river. However, several large groups of Terrors were seen breaking off to the north and east. It can be assumed that the cult knows of the plans to disable their network of gates and are sending Terrors to kill any interlopers at the nexus sites. King Arayen has dispatched 10 riders to pursue and kill each group of Terrors, but they hold little hope that the riders will be able to reach them before they get to Jerech.

Erillas’ final note emphasizes that speed is of the essence. “You must discover the secrets of Jerech and return to the city as soon as possible,” he writes.

Armed with this disturbing news, the party readies for their journey and decides which way they should go. Meran is able to discern that the roughly hewn passage (which does not appear to have been dug by miners) has the most traffic, though it looks like great care has been taken to cover their tracks. The party chooses this route, and they pack to leave. They taking nothing of the supplies in the room, as they are planning on returning for it.

The party notices that the passage does not contain part of the rail system they noticed in the rest of the caves, and since it was cut quickly into the rock and with little skill, pieces have broken from the ceiling and it is difficult to maneuver. After nearly a half mile, the passage ascends quickly and they find their way up a set of roughly hewn stairs.

They emerge into a room that looks like a sub-basement of a building. There is a large steel door in front of them with a circular hole 6 inches in diameter on either side. Galandil remarks that these are probably “murderholes” designed to help defend this area from attack. They wait and listen and hear no one on the other side, so they decide to proceed.

Atentir turns himself into a bat and flies through one of the murderholes. Searching around on the other side, he sees nothing save a bunch of tables, four rooms to the left with closed doors, and a large steel door ahead. There is also no latch on the door; only a keyhole from either side. Returning, he tells the others what he saw.

Celeb attempts to pick the lock and though it is very difficult, he is successful. However when the door opens Elowisyl and the other spellcasters sense that a powerful magic has been deactivated. They continue through the door and begin to search the floor.

Finding little in the open area, which appears to be a guard station, they move towards the large steel door. Meran feels that the door is very cold, and sees what seems to be mist coming from underneath it. Celeb picks this lock as well, and everyone moves cautiously in.

It is even colder in here. It appears to be a holding area, and the main area splits off into six cells. The party looks into each of the cells, and sees skeletons of dead prisoners as well as some rags in the cells. The second-to-last cell has two zombies in it, and they move towards the bars when they see the light. The last door is made of wood and seems to be the source of the cold; the portion cut out of the door for viewing is completely frozen over.

Galandil senses magic in the last cell, as well as the one with the zombies. The party decides to try and gain access to the last cell first. Meran uses his axe to smash away the ice from the door, and they see inside that there is ice piled up several feet high, the highest point being in the corner. On top of the ice Meran can see something protruding, and it looks like the hilt of a sword.

Elowisyl uses the Tree Knife to cut through the wooden door, and pushes it open. He and Meran venture into the room, and see a dead man’s skeleton wearing leather armor sprawled out to the left on the floor. Very carefully, Meran climbs up to the top of the ice and attempts to pull out the sword. He pulls mightily, but it does not budge.

Elowisyl uses his Beast Belt to increase his strength, and yanks with all of his might. The sword comes loose, and he sees that it is a gigantic two-hander. It is made of the whitest silver, and the air around it crackles from the cold it creates. He has found the fabled Frost Blade!

On the poor dead fellow, besides the leather armor the party finds a large scabbard. The designs on the scabbard seem to match the sword, and it indeed fits. Elowisyl decides that he should carry it, since he has skill in wielding large blades.

Elowisyl decides to try out the frost blade on the nearby zombies, since they cannot attack through the cell bars. He stabs them with it and they are frozen from the insides as the blades pierce them. While searching the zombies, they find that one of them wears a pair of brown leather boots. Upon removing them, Galandil certifies that they are indeed magical.

Meran tries the boots on warily, hoping that they are not somehow cursed. However after attuning himself to these new items, he finds that they are very useful. Called the Boots of Featherfall, they allow him to fall from any height and they will slow his descent. Also, if he has fallen headfirst the boots will right him. Pleased with their new finds, the group decides to move on.

As they are leaving the holding area, the party hears a great cracking from behind them in the last room. A few moments later a huge troll, covered in ice and frost, angrily attacks them. He seems intent on killing Elowisyl, since he is currently holding the Frost Blade (which the unlucky hero in the leather armor had stabbed him with and undetermined amount of time ago).

The troll swipes at Elowisyl and does massive damage to him, and Atentir attempts to grab him out of harm’s way. The others stab at the troll and Galandil fires an Elemental Bolt at him, and finally he falls. The party healers attend to everyone and then they move on.

Skipping the rooms to the left, they ascend the staircase and find themselves on another sub-level. There is a dining area here, and a large room straight ahead. The place looks hastily evacuated, with chairs thrown about and papers laying around. Galandil finds a couple of books that pique his interest: “Creatures of the Deep Desert” and “Mysteries of the Brain and Thinking Organs.” Another smaller room is to the left.

They walk into the smaller room and find that this was a practice area. Empty weapon and armor racks line the walls, and there are two sparring circles on the floor. The party searches around and Galandil uses his ability to sense magic to scan the room. He finds a magical source behind one of the bookshelves, and looks behind it to find a small dagger in a scabbard.

The dagger looks ornate but normal enough, though when it is drawn Galandil is very surprised: it immediately grows to the size of a short sword. Atentir has skill with a short sword, so he takes the blade. After studying it further, he finds that it will also block any melee attacks directed at him.

The party moves on and finds another staircase at the end of the hall. They ascend it and find themselves on what appears to be on the top level, because above them is a thick layer of white marble, the same as they saw on the top of the ridge. Meran checks the map and determines that they are most likely directly beneath the slab they saw.

This floor has a hallway to the left, and one straight ahead that goes all the way to the end of the floor. The party listens intently and hears grunting sounds coming from the hallway ahead of them. They make their way to the end of the hall and go into the first door. This is a library, and it is ransacked just as the other areas on the floor below were. Galandil finds a few other useful books, entitled “Performing Surgeries on the Dead,” “Planes of Eternity” and “The Collected Wisdom of Our Lady Selena.” He puts these into his backpack.

The next room they enter is the last one on this floor. They listen and hear the deep grunting sounds again, but decide to head into the door anyway. In front of them they see two huge beasts that were once trolls, but are now undead ghoulish versions. Behind them is seen a set of bars and behind them is what once was a lavishly styled bedroom. It is now horrible and filthy, and the stench is nearly unbearable. There is a large bureau with a cracked mirror, and several other pieces of furniture. A filthy feather bed is occupied by the emaciated form of a woman in her 70’s or 80’s. She has a crazed expression and is as filthy as her surroundings. As the party enters the room she cries “Thieves! Murderers! Kill them all!”

The undead trolls bound out of the room and attack the party, except for Galandil who is still in the library. Atentir changes into a dog and begins to attack them, and the other party members follow with blade and arrow strikes. One of the trolls lands a heavy fist on Atentir, smashing him to the ground and knocking him out completely. Blood pours from his canine snout and he looks like he might be dead.

Powerful sword strikes take down the trolls, but as Galandil rushes from the library to assist, he hears two more trolls smashing their way out of the room by the stairs to attack. The party is able to take them down in record time, however, and they step over the corpses to the room with the cell.

The woman inside is now completely hysterical, screaming that the party is a group of thieves and murderers and that they must be killed. Galandil attempts to calm her down, and explains that they are not there to kill her, but to rescue her. She calms down a bit but it is apparent that her surroundings and long tenure here have driven her somewhat mad.

While still glaring angrily, she calmly explains to Galandil that she does not need rescuing because this is her home. She asks why they have come, and Galandil explains that there is an evil here that is a plague upon the land.

The woman asks what this plague is, and Galandil explains about the Terrors. She scoffs and says “The Ch’zak are not evil. They are mindless vessels for Selena’s will. They were sent here to help us in our crusade.”

Galandil asks us who she is referring to as “we,” and what their crusade is about. She reveals that she is a member of a group called The Order of the Red Tower which follows the Goddess of Purity, Selena. She refers several times to their goal of cleansing the Colored Lands of those who are impure. She explains that this was their lair, but they had to move on to a different location. She was left here to “guard” the lair, she says, and that her son Alexander led the rest of the group to the deep desert.

Meran states his opinion several times throughout the conversation that the party should just kill the woman and be done with it. The other party members ignore him.

Galandil says that the Terrors are mindless, and that they will kill her and those in her Order as well. She says that her Order has very powerful members, and they have found ways of magically controlling the Terrors to do their bidding.

After conversing for a few minutes she exclaims that they have revealed themselves, and that she knows who sent them. “You were sent by that fool Arayen, were you not?” The party asks her what her relationship with Arayen is, and she replies “Arayen’s relationship to my son and I? Betrayer.”

Elowisyl opens his scroll and writes to Erillas, telling him to ask the King about this woman. Erillas replies that the king has no idea who this woman is, and to ask her her name.

The woman realizes what the scroll can do, and she says “You can use this thing to communicate with Arayen?” Elowisyl nods and asks her to tell them her name. At first she refuses, but then seemingly a realization comes to her, and she says “This is perfect. Almost poetic. My name is Corrina Drem.”

Erillas writes back a few moments later that after he spoke the name to the King, he seemed somewhat overcome and left the room. The party asks him to find out more, but Erillas responds that the King has locked himself in his room and will not answer his knocks.

Elowisyl asks the woman again what her relationship with Arayen is, and she says to ask him. Erillas reports that he smashed through King Arayen’s door with his sword, Steelslayer, and that the King is nowhere to be found — he must have escaped through a hidden passage.

Attempting to reason with the woman, Elowisyl tells her that “Look around you, this town is dead, as is everyone in it.” She replies that “But we survived the event that brought the Ch’zak to us. We were chosen by Selena to carry out her will.”

Elowisyl tells her that the god he follows has very similar tenets to Selena, and that she must search inside herself and understand that the destruction of the Colored Lands and its peoples cannot be Selena’s will. The woman appears at first that she is going to falter, but she looks suspiciously at all of them and says “You are trying to trick me into betraying my Order! Selena’s Grace will purify the Colored Lands! You will never discover our secrets.”

Since it seems that though they have gleaned much information from her, their attempts to reach her have failed. The party discusses what to do next.

After defeating the six undead, the party burns the corpses and Atentir and Celeb return from their panicked flight. They sweep off the rest of the white marble slab, looking for any other clues. The magic users in the group feel a great magical presence in the area; after a few moments another fluctuation occurs and they feel their spellcasting abilities decrease. Finding nothing of interest, they attempt to dig down under the sides of the slab, and see that it extends underneath the ridge’s rock face an undetermined distance.

Our heroes decide to descend the ridge face to the west and set up camp for the night, since many of them are hurt and exhausted. They have dinner and then go to sleep, setting up watches through the night so the spellcasters may sleep and regain their magical power. The night is quiet, and the next morning they wake, water the horses, and continue exploring.

Meran crawls to the top of the ridge, scouting the area for signs of Terrors and the openings to the salt mines, which are supposed to be in this area. He sees small (2-3 foot) humps in the sand at the bottom of the ridge, which are most likely the larvae-like Terrors burrowed in the ground, but cannot see a sign of the salt mines. He surmises that he is in the right spot, but the mine entrances have been buried by the sand.

He returns to the group, and they decide to accompany him back to the top of the ridge to see if they can help find the entrance to the mines. After a while they find several large cracks extending down the rock face and beneath the sand at the bottom of the ridge, and assume that they are from the mine entrance. Since the Terror larvae are blocking their path to attempt any digging, the group asks Galandil to use his amulet and dig straight down through the rock into the mine.

Galandil agrees and activates his amulet, sending the earth elemental to dig through the rock. The elemental emerges, but after a moment turns back and disappears into the amulet once again. Galandil attempts to use his tunneling spell to dig through the rock, but this is also ineffective. The party notices, however, that some of the sand was removed when he cast the spell.

They ask Galandil to try and dig through the sand to the entrance, and he obliges. This time the elemental is successfully able to excavate; the sides of the tunnel are fused into glass so the sand cannot collapse in. They peer below and see the entrance to the mines 20 feet down.

Since the sides of the tunnel are slippery due to the fused sand, Atentir ties a rope to a rock at the top of the ridge and everyone is lowered down. Meran goes first, but his hand slips on the rope and he lands on his rump. Everyone else climbs down without difficulty, and they light torches before advancing down the tunnel.

The place smells damp and musty, more like a tomb than a desert mine. There are many cobwebs in here, and the overall sense is that this is a foul place. Underfoot there is quite a lot of rubble, and what looks to be the remnants of a metal track. After 50 feet or so, the party comes upon a door made of white marble, very similar to the slab at the top of the ridge. It appears very solid, and also has an inscription on it.

Atentir ascertains that it is the same inscription as the one on top of the ridge, but below it instead of the two crescent moons is a circular impression shaped like the “tower” amulets worn by the cult members they previously encountered. Elowisyl produces one of the broken ones they found, and places it into the impression. Nothing happens.

Atentir is told to read the inscription aloud, and he obliges, saying “SELENA GUIDES OUR HAND” in a loud voice. Almost immediately two skeletons wearing dark robes emerge from behind them in the tunnel and begin to attack. They are easily beaten, but after they fall Atentir notices a glint of metal around one of their necks. He sees that it is one of the amulets, and it is unbroken.

Elowisyl grabs it from the pile of bones and goes to place it in the similarly shaped impression on the door. As it leaves the pile of bones, however, it breaks apart and becomes useless. Elowisyl turns and begins to search the other skeleton for an amulet. Finding one, he wraps the chain around a few of its bones and carries the amulet over to the door. This one does not break. He places the amulet into the impression, and the door melts away.

They continue through the cavern for quite a distance, they estimate about a quarter of a mile. They come upon a large open cavern with several exit tunnels. The metal tracks all converge in this room, and are fed out the other exits as well. Five mining carts are in here, and piles of mining gear and supplies are stacked in every corner. They see picks, shovels, gloves, helmets, rope and quite a lot of other items here, and several barrels. Two very small barrels say “OIL” on them, and Meran opens them to find that they are indeed filled with oil. He refills his oil flasks quickly.

There seems to be no life in here, and they decide not to take any of the gear with them save some rope. The party discusses which way to go, and eventually decides on the leftmost path. They ascend through the tunnel and walk another quarter-mile or so.

They soon come upon a room similarly as large as the one they were previously at, this one also with several exits. They move slowly into the room, with Meran at the head. Meran hears the groaning and wheezing of several creatures in the room, and runs straight to the center to hopefully take them off guard.

There are eight ghouls in this room, three in a corner on the left and five in a corner on the right. As he runs into the room they shriek at the light of the torch, but move to attack. The rest of the party joins in the fight, although the ghouls’ frightening appearance gives them all the chills.

Atentir transforms himself into a dog, biting savagely into several of the ghouls but also himself becoming hurt badly. All of the ghouls are finally put down, and everyone gets patched up by Elowisyl’s spells.

The room is searched, and they find similar items to those found in the previous cavern. It is noticed that the tunnel ahead of them (to the south, according to Meran) is more roughly hewn out of the rock, and was most likely not dug out by miners. They rest a few moments before exploring further.

While the group continues to travel towards Jerech, Meran (using the map and his Ring of Direction) decides that they are still too far south, and must travel to the northwest.

Camping another night before they reach the city, the party decides to take shelter on the side of a dune. They build no fire, and therefore are very chilly during the night. While Elowisyl is on watch, he sees some movement a few feet away as sand from the dune appears to be sliding down. He takes up arms and wakes the rest of the group in time to see a humanoid being with ghost-white skin, black eyes, and huge claws and teeth emerge from a tunnel in the side of the dune. It is quickly joined by three others, who move to attack the party.

As the ghouls approach, their presence terrifies some members of the party causing them to react more slowly. The ghouls are soon defeated, however, and the party searches them for any useful items. While they are doing this the disembodied torso of one of the ghouls attacks Meran, biting savagely into his leg. As it does so, Meran feels the life force being sucked out of him and into the ghoul. Galandil reacts quickly and sends an elemental bolt towards the beast, exploding its head into many pieces.

Searching the nearby area, the group finds a small tunnel and a “nest” inside the dune where the ghouls were apparently living. They see some rags and destroyed armor, but little else. It is decided that they should move the camp to the other side of the dune in case there are more of the undead in the area.

In the morning they pack up their gear and move on towards the city. On their way they encounter an area entirely of rock, with small and large holes honeycombed into the ground. They skirt the edge of this and continue to the west, but two large Terrors stir and emerge from the holes, moving to attack. They are soon defeated, and the party decides to move further to the south to avoid the rocky areas.

Later in the day they finally see the ridge to the west of the city, and soon come upon the Salt Oasis. The Oasis, and indeed the entire area, has almost completely covered with sand; the ridge itself only is 50 feet high, and the only visible structure is the top of the city’s colosieum. Any animal or plant life that once existed here no longer remains, and the Oasis itself is only a foot or two of water at its deepest.

Meran sees ahead of them, apparently covering the whole area to the north, rows and rows of small bumps in the sand. Remembering from the warnings about the city that these are likely small (cat-sized) larvae of Terrors that will leap and attack if disturbed.

Atentir transforms himself into a crow and circles the area, looking for any threats or entry points. He is unable to see anything except that the small bumps cover the entire area of the city except for the ridge. He flies over the ridge and sees nothing of note.

The party decides to circle around to the west and ascend the ridge. As they reach the midpoint, they see part of a structure protruding from the sand and rock at the top of the ridge. It looks to be a slab of pure white marble, unharmed by the elements but covered in several inches of sand. They begin to sweep the sand off of it, and see that it is a rectangle of about 100×150 feet. In the center there are a number of runes encompassed in a large circle. The runes translate to “SELINA GUIDES OUR HAND.” Below the inscription is a symbol of two crescent moons facing each other.

As the inscription is read, immediately six mummies ascend from around the slab and begin to attack. Their faces are wrapped, but they are clothed in full armor and carry longswords and shields. As they approach both Atentir and Celeb are terrified, Celeb taking flight to the south and Atentir to the north. The others are similarly scared, but manage to stand their ground.

After a protracted battle, Galandil is beaten into unconsciousness as well as Meran. Elowisyl and Neith continue attacking and Elowisyl manages to heal Meran, who helps them defeat the last of the mummies. After the battle Galandil is healed and the others return. They search the pile of destroyed mummies and find that they carry nothing but their weapons and armor.

Late the next morning, after our heroes have rested well from their busy night, a servant awakens them and announces that the the king once again called all of the refugees to the gates of the castle. Bleary-eyed they get dressed and emerge from their tent.

This time King Arayen has a great smile upon his face as he says, “Truly we are blessed with heroes in our midst! Last evening these brave souls single-handedly saved our city from the snake-like terrors that attacked through the sewers.” He makes a broad gesture towards the party. “I have sent many soldiers and a group of Kaern Arc-miners to seal the sewers off so they may never be breached like this again. So, these brave souls, who will leave us soon to complete an urgent mission, must be thanked by us all.”

The crowd cheers as the King retreats back into the castle. Elowisyl seeks out any maidens that are cheering for them, and gives many hugs and squeezes. They throw their hankerchiefs after him, and he catches a few. After the crowd calms, a servant approaches the party and asks them once again to come into the castle.

The King, Erillas and Combellon greet them, and the King says “You are true heroes, and since you are our last and best hope, our prayers go with you. Here is a little thing for you,” he gestures to Atentir, and hands him a tiny bottle with a leaf inside. “Yeador tells me that this is an Aska leaf, and has great healing powers. Use it well.”

Erillas approaches Elowisyl and gives him a very old looking parchment. “This is an enchanted parchment. I carry its twin — when you write upon one, the words appear on the other. We will use this to keep in contact on your travels.” Elowisyl is excited to receive this gift, but his brother Galandil scoffs in jealousy for having received nothing.

“Now,” the King says, “We have arranged for you to speak with a man who lived in Jerech. He is very old, so you must not excite him too much. This is a very delicate subject for him.” The party is taken to an adjascent room where an old man named Grees lies. He has scraggly white hair and a long beard, and is covered with liverspots. His sightless eyes are white with cataracts.

“They told me you would be coming to ask me questions,” he croaks in a weak voice. “What do you wish to know?”

“What can you tell us of Jerech?” Elowisyl says.

“I grew up there, working in the salt mines. When I turned fifteen, I started working in the salt processing beds, where we harvested the purified salt so it could be exported.”

“How old were you when you started?” Meran says, a bit surprised.

“Eight years old. I had a large family and we had to feed everyone, you know.”

“Were there any landmarks in the city that you could tell us about?”

“Oh, yes, there is the great ridge on the west, where the salt mines are located. On the south side is the Salt Oasis. We called it that because of the high salt content — not enough to make it impossible to drink, but our water was saltier than that of the Blue River.”

“Anything else?”

“The city had a grand colosieum, I saw many battles there as a young man. It was in the northwest part of the city. Also there was the temple of Selena, the Goddess of Purity, in the southeast portion. The market was near the center of the city, and Queen Helen II’s manor was in the south-east portion.”

“Can you tell us about what happened there?”

“Things started getting strange about 10 years ago, after my wife died of Tuberculosis. A local man named Drem, the son of a miner, built a large mansion at the top of the ridge. Everyone thought he was crazy for living up there, and no one knew how he got the money to build it, but there it was. We heard of strange things going on there; everyone had their suspicions. But it wasn’t until kids started disappearing that I knew something was going on.

“The city guard told us that it was wild animals, or some Nomad bandits that did it, but I didn’t believe it. I wanted to get my son’s young daughter out of the city, but he of course refused. I went to his wife and I was able to convince her, and my granddaughter and I left secretly one night, bound for Tymirr.

“Once a few miles out of town, we looked back to see a flash of light, like a bolt of lightning coming up from the ridge. Then there was the worst sandstorm I’d ever seen; we barely made it to Tymirr alive. I later found out that no one in the city survived. No one has been back there since. All those families…women and children. But I’ve said enough now, I must rest.”

The party thanks Grees for his help, and returns to their tent. A few hours later, one of the scholars from the library visits and speaks with Galandil. He gives him a map of Jerech and the surrounding area; the only one that they can find so far. The map seems consistent with Grees’ memory.

That evening it is announced that the sewers have been sealed and no other Terrors may get through. Both the party and the Kaern are set to leave for the next morning. The party does some last-minute shopping, purchasing several large waterskins for their horses and themselves.

At the break of dawn, the party prepares to leave. Lionel tells Neith that he is planning on staying in the city, since Neith has proved that she can take care of herself. He wishes her good luck on her journey.

After a tearful goodbye from family and a somewhat large send-off from the city’s refugees, the party leaves and travels north along the Blue River with the four Kaern. Things seem quiet for the first two days of travel, although they do notice that the life here is fading quickly. There is almost no plant life and they come across few animals.

On the second night, while Meran is on watch, he sees several shapes approaching from the west. Watching them for a few moments, he sees that they are a group of four zombies. He awakens everyone else and they begin an offensive. The zombies are killed and their bodies burned. From their remains the group finds some old armor, rusted weapons and a dirt-caked buckler.

Galandil senses that the buckler is indeed magical, and Neith takes it. The next morning she washes it off in the river and finds that it is highly polished and very well made. Galandil sees that it is made of a very high-grade steel. They also find that it is unnaturally bright — Neith finds that this is its special property, to shine so brightly that it blinds one’s opponent.

They continue through the next day, and when they believe they are close enough, they turn west. The Kaern bid them farewell, and Erag tells Galandil that he hopes to see him in Kaern after this whole thing is over. He also thanks the party one last time for saving them in the mines.

The party begins traveling into the deeper desert, and the plant life here is even more sparse. After walking for a few hours, they come upon a large depression. They decide to walk around it instead of going down into it. As they are going past, they see movement in the center of the depression. The party attempts to move quietly, but a few party members slip and send sand tumbling down into the depression.

Further movement can be seen under the sand moving towards them, and they ready themselves for battle. Two large worm-like creatures emerge and begin attacking them. They whip their heads about like huge clubs, and spit acid. The party manages to defeat them, though a few of the party members are injured.

After healing and having a midday meal, they move on towards Jerech.