Descent

26 November, 595
Part I

In the morning, Shensen stops by and states that her sponsor offers his thanks in coming to her aid, and she gives the party a pair of Boots of Striding and Leaping. The remainder of the morning is spent splitting the treasure and acquiring supplies (i.e. potions) to continue the search. Asking around at the Slippery Eel reveals a rumor that the Cathedral of Wee Jas may be behind the theft of the wands.

A visit is paid to the largest cathedral in the town, and the party's inquiries is met with cold resistance. Salla starts to cause a disruption by heading toward a place where he is not allowed and this seems to work, as a more senior cleric is brought out. A lady named Selivia answers some of the party's questions, which doesn't appear to help much in the search.

A visit to the Captain does not uncover any additional information, but the captain pays the group for their service during the final ceremony, and tells them that he will try to find soldiers who had served with Triel when she was in the guard.

Back to the bars - Kyladrian, Alastriel, and Serro try to get some information out of the residents at Minuta's Board, a flophouse for those who can't afford a room at a regular inn. Kyladrian's questions, however, raise the ire of a man who suggests that the trio leave. Kyladrian does so, but not before spitting on the ground. This was clearly a mistake, as two larger men grab hold of him and wipe up the floor with his face, and afterward throw him out the door. Serro and Alastriel just stand and watch, then quickly leave before things get even uglier.

Next is the Tipped Tankard, where the group asks to speak with the cook. A man named Artus is brought out, and offers to provide the needed information at midnight at the Lakeside Pavilion, for 300gp. After the group leaves the pub, Kyladrian attempts to tail Artus to see where he goes off to. Unfortunately, he loses him in the alleys of the city. When Kyladrian returns to the front of the tavern, a group of kids brushes past him, and he finds a note deposited in his pocket. The note scolds him for following him, and that the price is now 400gp. Additionally, Kyladrian must now come alone to the meeting.

That night, the group decides to hide and wait in ambush during the meeting, just in case his information is suspect. When Artus comes to meet Kyladrian, he points out that he has seen the hiding places of his associates, but he continues with the deal anyway. He does make it clear that the group will come to regret any action they take against him. Artus says that Triel is associated with a cult called the Ebon Triad, and that they have plans to ransom the wands to the city. They are hiding out in some old ruins in an underground cave. He points out the entrance to the lava tubes on a map. He leaves with the gold but Alastriel brings him down with a sleep spell. Sonja runs over to tie him up, and he is brought to Orak's Bathhouse, where he knocked unconscious and gagged. The group feels some remorse, and leaves an apologetic note with him, explaining that they will rectify matters if his information checks out.

That night, a search is made on the slopes of the volcano for the lava tube entrance. A long winding tunnel opens up onto the ledge of a huge underground tavern, with a lake nearly 100 feet below. A cable car spans the gap between the ledge and a beach at the far side of the cavern. They enter a small building built into the ledge and dispatch of the two inhabitants, but Alastriel inadvertantly sets off an alarm, which sounds around the cavern for a few excrutiating seconds.

The group is ferried down to the beach in three trips. Salla enters the cable operation room on the other end, but sets off a trap that sends the roof down on him. In the side of the cavern a large series of buildings has been carved, with several doors, and the ruins appear to have an alien look to them, several sides showing ancient carvings of a race of fish-like creatures enslaving and tormenting other races, including humans, goblins, and dwarves.

The party enters one of the doors, and proceeds past a large meeting room into a smaller room, which triggers a poison spike trap that gets everyone. Vowing to be more careful, Kyladrian then leads the way, checking for traps. This turns out to be a good idea, because 3 more traps are found, including 2 false floors, and a strange room which brings a large web with bells down in the center. After this trap is intentionally sprung, the group waits for some guards to show up. A quick battle, and the group continues.

They find a barracks where 3 more thugs are resting. After the fight is started, another group of thugs show up, and the battle intensifies. But the outnumbered party eventually succeeds in killing their assailants. Unfortunately, the group is now badly wounded and most of their spells have been depleted.

The Journey Back

25 November, 595
Part III

On the way back, the party finds their path blocked by a trio of lions, who have taken to rest on the road. Shensen dismounts and approaches the lions. After speaking with the animals, they trot off and away from the road. Shensen comes back and explains that they had just finished feeding and were resting after the kill.

After returning to Cauldron, the group pays a visit to Jenya. She thanks the Lords of Chaos for recovering the body of Sarcem, and appears to show some emotion before she seems to accept the position of the High Priestess of the Temple of St. Cuthbert. The group is taken to the attending clerics to be healed, and when Jenya returns she is carrying the holy mace that was found on the body of Sarcem. She offers the magic armor, necklace, and ring to the party as a token of thanks. But she does explain that they must still recover the missing wands to claim the original reward.

The group decides to consult the Star of Justice for some clue on how to find Triel. The answer they are given is: "Find the cook where the cup spills forth ale, and information is bought." Before pursuing this lead, the group decides to retire for the night.

Coldfinger

25 November, 595

Part II

After the battle and looting of the body, the group investigates some noises coming from upstairs. They encounter some bandits looting a large room. Baxtor asks them to surrendor, but curiously, they refuse. The 3 looters are drawn out and beset upon and killed.

At the end of another corridor, a large group of bandits are busy ransacking a trio of rooms. The party hides among the hallway and waits for them to come out. Two emerge, and Alastriel throws one of the fireball beads, burning the thugs and bursting the hallway into flames. A long battle ensues with the 8 bandits trapped between the a dead end and the Lords of Chaos waiting at the end of a fire-filled hallway.

Sonja gets impatient and crawls out the window and alongside the edge of the building, bursting into one of the bedrooms further down the hallway. Meanwhile, the rest of the group cuts down most of the invaders, but not before Alastriel is struck down. After the skirmish, Alastriel is revived. Trapped in a fire-filled room, Sonja and Kyladrian easily climb out the window and down two stories, but Baxtor is not so lucky, falling to the ground and knocking himself out.

Another healing potion later, Baxtor is back on his feet, and 4 members of the party plans on rushing into the building to check out the basement before the whole place burns down. In fact, there are 5 bandits found down here; 3 of them are hoving over the body of a headless corpse, whilst the other two are at the end of the far hallway, next to an iron-reinforced door. Sonja tosses one of Alastriel's fire beads into the room, while the wizardess runs back outside to bring in the other two of the party.

The reinforcements arrive too late to prevent Sonja from going down, but 3 of the enemies are eventually slain, and the remaining 2 give up. The door at the end of the hall is found to have a curious brown frost radiating an intense cold; in fact it has warped the door, and 3 additional bodies lay frozen on the floor in front of it. Salla gets the prisoners to break down the door with his axe, and they find inside a cold Shensen, the female drow who resides at the Lucky Monkey as caretaker of the shrine of Farlahngn. Shensen is happy to be rescued and reunited with her friend Alastriel, but is disturbed to hear that the inn is on fire. She notes that the fire can be a deadly combination with the brown mold she splashed on the door.

The group scoops up Sonja and the headless corpse (who is determined to be Sarcem, the high priest of St. Cuthbert), and leaves the building in a rush, stopping only to pick up the bags of loot left by Tongueater. They bring the prisoners out of the building and release them, (including the 2 naked ones tied up in the common room) then ride away on their horses toward Cauldron. As they leave, the 4 bandits are seen entering back into the complex. About 20 minutes later, they here a loud explosion from the direction of the inn. Presumably the fire had reached the basement.