29: Lost Children found, and the Bronze Door of Zagyg.

The 7 heroes gathered the children, Edgrin and Bornir’s body and traveled the tunnels and halls of Droskar’s Crag. They reached the ruined monestary above and found their two remaining horses missing. “Werewolf got ‘em, or were rat.” Mused Aardgal.
Morgrim was glum, for he had failed to protect Bornir. Lath swore an oath that he would do whatever necessary to raise his fallen friend. The group hushed as an elf called a dwarf ‘friend’. Even Edgrin was sobered by the exchange.
They walked back to Ery Crossing, camped at the loggers camp overnight, then hade their way down from the foot hills. On the way they encountered a search party for the missing children, and when the children were seen there was much rejoicing. The band travelled with the group and a few searchers fanned out to spread the news. After a while another search party joined the heroes. By the time they reached Eiren’s Falls they had a quarter of the town out of doors or following them. The heroes met with Sister Holmes, the curate of the temple to Ulaa (goddess of mining, mountains and gemstones), who seemed very nice and helpful. She is unable to not capable of raising the dead. She did say there is a scroll of raise dead owned by the town land baron, Thuldrin Kreed, recently bought from a travelling priestess of Abbathor. He may be willing to part with it, seeing as you did just rescue his son – Jurin Kreed.
The locals suggested they go to the low market to meet with Burgermeister Harg. By this time many of the worried parents had re-united with their lost children.
In the town square assembled a larger gathering of commoners. They greeted the heroes with resounding cheers. “The Heroes of Blackwall Keep have rescue our children! Hooray!” “The killers of the vicious bugbears! Hooray!” The town land baron Thuldrin Kreed and Malchor Vade, the local theurgist arrived from ‘the Perch’ – a walled section of the town for the upper crust. They seemed pleased to have their children back and receptive to the groups offer to meet privately. Thuldrin gave the group 2 sacks of gold coins (500 gp) as a reward for the return of his son.
During the revelries later at the Goose ‘n’ Gander Inn and Tavern several members of the heroes band, or ‘goblin slayers’ as they were being hailed, met with Thuldrin Kreed. When asked is he would be willing to part with the scroll he obliged in return for the cost requeried to create the newly penned scroll. During this period the group learned that Ulla Ironmettle and the Coalbrow clan of dwarves had firm business partners in town and with the curate Holmes of Ulaa. They had sold various items of Dwarven craftsmanship from the Dwarven Kingdom of Karkast, and had cast various spells and even penned the scroll of raise dead for use in emergency by Thuldrin Kreed. The group decided to not mention their troubles with the Priestess of Abbathor.
The group decided they would have to spend a few days in town despite the urgency of the quest to shut off the Yawning Portal of Ogremoch, Bornir was successfully raised from the dead by Lath despite the danger of miscasting a scroll penned by a more powerful cleric. Bornir, pale and shaken, had a far away look and he was healed and trundled off into a private room where Morgrim stood vigil. Within he was eating plates of food and tankards of ale. He seemed sobered by his experience in the afterlife.
Azrael traded away what goods could be sold in town, while Felnar arranged to buy all the pearls locally available for sale for use in his identify spells. Edgrin handled several of the captured items found in the forsaken monastery and a few he could place name to. The rest were identified and split by the band of hereoes.
Bornir won an evil dagger during the treasure split and he went to the curate of Ulaa and with her guidance they destroyed the evil blade, heating it in a forge and pounding it into a lump of worthless metal, while singing prayers to Clanggedin. Both clerics cast consecrate on the evil blade while had taken the life of Edgrin’s friend and fellow adventurer and probably countess others.

The 9 heroes, restocked and ready, left the town 3 days later in search of the door of Zagyg. Edgrin asked “Where are we going next?” Aardgal suggested Edgrin go to Diamond Lake to keep the officials there apprised of the groups actions. Edgrin suggested Lath use his new Silver Raven Figurine of Wonderous Power which would get there faster and more efficiently. It was impossible to deter the little Halfling bard, so he was allowed to join the group as they headed back to Droskar’s Crag.
Within the bowels of the Crag the fellowship returned to the area near the Jade Sister’s room. There they found a bronze door. Above the keystone to the door was a stone carving of a face, Zagyg presumably, a laughing overweight man with wispy hair. In the center of the door was a circular indentation with an indented rune of madness in the center. This rune held both mystical and religious connotations, since it was the holy symbol for the mad wizard/demi-god Zagyg and the arcane rune denoting madness. When no traps were found on the door the group opened it.
Inside was a room with 16 identical doors, each with a stone face carving above it identical to the last of Zagyg. Each bronze door held a rune of madness in it’s center, and in 8 of the 16 there was a triangular indentation below the rune. The doors with the triangular indentation could not be opened. The group opened a door 4th from the end and found the door magically led 500 feet above an ocean, a very distant land mass could be seen on the horizon.
Then Lath noticed chalk next to the doors, each was chalked with numbers in dwarvish from 1-8. The group had emerged from door #1, so the door #4 was opened. It led into a dungeon room. The room was long and in the center lay a pentacle engraved with silver in the floor. Inside the pentacle was a small blood red humanoid with bat wings, barbed tail, fangs and claws. Aardgal approached it and it hissed “Intruders! I will warn my master.” Then it disappeared in a puff of brimstone.

Exploring further the group found a set of stone stairs up at the far end of the chamber. It led to a tunnel which emerged onto the side of a cliff. The cliff overlooked a vast plain, directly ahead was a great mountain. Every few minutes a great plume of steam would vent from it’s snow covered peak – The fabled White Plume Mountain. A yellow river wound around the mountain, and into a brackish swamp to the left of it. Plains lay to the right, and barely visible in the distance past the great mountain were wooden hills. The dwarves knew a single mountain is a strange sight indeed.
A stone walkway led from the cliff side past a pair of Dwarven statues with axes upraised up to a rock with several stone columns and plinths. In the center of the columns was a stone pedestal with writing in dwarvish “Ascend to Castle Murkos” the walkway led further out and the group could see a stone ledge projecting out from the Cliffside 100’ feet above them. At the end of the walkway was a stone carving, this was on a boulder with two crossed Dwarven axes, heads half buried in the stone. Dwarven script on the axe handles read “Descend.” Morgrim grasped the axe handles and spoke the word “Descend” in dwarvish and those nearest to him felt lighter all of a sudden. Felnar recognized the effect as a feather fall spell having been cast on the four nearest. The jumped from the platform to the hillside some 150’ below. Near the landing was a trail leading from the cliff. This trail eventually came to a T intersection. The group went to the right towards White Plume Mountain. They crossed a stream which was yellow and smelled slightly sulfurous, and when the path led away from the mountain they found a foot path leading towards the mountain’s southern slope.
The path led up the mountain side and then led away towards the forested eastern slope of the mountain. At this point the sharp eyed elves spotted a path which led up towards a cave where steam was venting every 5 minutes. After some steep inclines and a bit of climbing the group reached the tunnel mouth. Timing their entrance they entered a very wet cavern, and at the back found a set of ancient circular steps leading down and away from the source of the steam. The group descended at least a hundred feet before the stairs led to a tunnel. Down the dark tunnel they could feel the oppressive weight of the mountain above and around them. A foot of black water lay on the floor, and the walls were formed of massive stone blocks, weathered over the centuries, if any carving had been on the stones, they were gone now.
The tunnel went deep into the mountain then turned and opened into a diamond shaped room with 3 exits. In the center of the room was a tiered pedestal, and atop a bone strewn pedestal sat a winged leonine creature with the face and upper torso resembling a woman, but the paws and claws of a lioness. It spoke aloud in common “West, North or East, answer my riddle to safely pass.”
The group sought the way east and answered the creatures riddle. They were told to speak the answer in turn as they passed. Heading west the group walked down an ancient, wet tunnel when Morgrim cried out. His shoulder was burning and covered in green slime! A dagger was used to scrape the slime off his armor, it damaged the armor, and ruined the dagger. Morgrim had taken a grievous injury. The group retreated and Felnar fireballed the mass of green slime covering the ceiling. Lath cast a spell which restored Morgrim’s damaged shoulder and arm where the slime had eaten the flesh to the bone.
Shaken the group probed forward cautiously.
The branching passageways contained a room with suspended metallic spheres suspended from wires, and a locked door with a key hole and the personal rune of the wizard Keraptis inlaid into the door. The rune was a K with 3 serpents entwined within it. Aardgal was unable to pick the lock. The symbol jogged Edgrin's memory, for he recalled a verse about a Wizard Keraptis who lived 1,300 years ago. Hungry for immortality, he abandoned his evil domain and delved below White Plume Mountain with his followers never to return.
At this point Morgrim suggested they cast locate object to determine the location of the Trident ‘Wave’. Bornir cast the spell and determined a trident was located somewhere to the west of the group.
They decided to go back to the sphinx room. When they back tracked the locate object directed them north. After answering a riddle the group headed north, down another wet and humid corridor.
They entered a large room. At the opposite end rose a horrible warty green woman, her awful gaze was enough to sicken all who looked upon her. Bornir charged her and fell into a deeper portion of water in the middle of the room. Weakened as he was he had no chance of swimming out of the murky water. Felnar unleashed scorching rays which struck the hag and shaft unloosed arrows which downed her. Aardgal dove into the water after Bornir, while Morgrim started probing the water with a staff for the edge of the ledge.
Some horrible creature attacked Bornir and had him in it’s pincer, Aardgal struck at the large monstrosity with his short sword. Felnar then cast his Regroup spell which dimension doored Aardgal and Bornir to his side. The creature next attacked Morgrim on the surface, but the heroes dispatched it with spell, axe and arrow. It sunk beneath the water, dead or beaten.
Across the room lay stairs up, a doorway and an open archway. Many choices, and the locate object spell pointed north towards the stairs.