The opening doors herald the arrival of a Kua-Toa monk and a ring-wearing troll. The monk deals some wicked blows before being KO’d and the troll – although battering Bud Feaster near to death – swiftly follows suit. The party begins exploring – uncovering a storeroom, a bunch of bedchambers and a bathing pool. One remaining door leads to a room with a double locked door on the other side. The magics of Dalliance are brought to bear and the door is opened. Nil presses into the room and is assassinated. While his body slumps to the floor, the rest of the party dispatches the elf that slew him and is startled by the illusion of a mind flayer observing them. The rod of resurrection is used to restore the fallen one – welcome to death Mr. Nils – and the group presses on.
They search and descend a set of trapped stairs, finally arriving at an apparently well-stocked wizard’s lab. T’is all a sham, however – the books moldy, the spell components old or missing. A wave of paranoia descends upon the party and they make haste to leave the area, fearing some trap is afoot. They explore sections of corridor, using the fork to guide them. At one point, they return to the temple to discover the secret passage that leads to the lair of the ‘mind flayer’, but the occupant is long gone, as is whatever swag he may have had.
The group adventures further before asking the fork for guidance. The fork leads them to an observation point that overlooks the river and the Shadowdale castle. Hmmm. The group returns to the ‘Dale and plots some more. Eventually, the lure of distant lands is very alluring indeed. They use their contacts in the Shadowdale druid community to open a waygate to this distant land. The bard is given instructions on how to play the party back home on the return leg of the journey.

The druids chant, the air shimmers…the waygate opens and the party steps in…

In Shadowdale, the party shops and dithers, recruiting a new fighter to help the party with the muscle to spellcaster ratio. Various political intrigues are discussed and the researching of magic items if investigated further. Barada bargains with the church of Lathander to get his wand recharged…hehhehe…and Dalliance investigates the dragon orb/claw/stand combination item looted long ago. The oldest party members discuss their ‘life-after-death’ options since there is a dark and vengeful god that has laid claim to their souls many years ago. Dalliance opts for litchdom as the lesser of two evils and offers to have Barada infected with vampirism so he need not die either – so they could continue to ‘hang out’. What a pal!

When the fighter has filled out he requisite paperwork to join the group Nil is added to the front rank – and off they go. Deciding that the local lore might be easier to acquire, they float downriver on a barge asking questions each night of the locals until they deem themselves close. With druids in bird form, they spot the cleft in the rocks and eventually gain entrance. From there – a wander through a series of converging tunnels brings them to a major intersection. There 4 halls and a plaza combine. The plaze is the closest thing that has a doorway with doors to open – so it is chosen. The doors are eventually forced open and the party gains entrance to an old vestibule – a temple of some sort.

There they are set upon by a pair of Intellect Devourers – who stun the front rank into insensibility! Doom is certain, but the fearsome creatures are dispatched by Dalliance and her missiles. Beyond lies the temple rotunda – complete with statuary (now defaced) and defenders – the elusive Kua-Toa are finally revealed! Fireball and Co. help hide them again. The statuary is examined and discovered to be defaced – decapitated, in fact – and stone heads replaced with actual humanoid ones. Barada examines one of the more recent ones and discovers tentacle marks on the front and a round hole in the back where the brain used to be. Mind Flayers! – announces Barada.

Just then, a door swings open…

Returning to the maze of the mad wizard seems like a good idea, especially in light of the coins which they plundered last time. They hazard a guess as to the location of the rest of the stash and make their way back into the maze – into the teleportation stairs (protected from fire this time, thanks) and emerge in front of the door – now no longer protected by an illusion, but protected by a tripwire trap involving a falling potion of explosions – that nearly slays Ron’j!. This leads to rapid deployment of much healing, then a decision to try and circle around and approach the room from the entertainment district direction – and by the way – maybe we can stop and plunder some magic from the depths of the specter pit.

A quick flyover reveals only specters and no magic. A return to the priestly quarters reveals trapped chests and black puddings. Many fire spells later – the pudding is cooked, but the loot is no more. Apparently in the intervening 24-48 hours, the gold has been moved. Curses, curses and more curses. Ok – so the primary mission was a bust – maybe it is time to explore new vistas. Such exploration leads them down a hallway and across a trap – that Ti’Karu triggers. 90% of Ti’Karu goes missing – along with any desire on the part of the party to remain in the Halasterian hospitality suite.
They bail the scene, carrying out Ti’Karu’s foot. Dalliance plans to have it bronzed and used as a doorstop.

They return to Waterdeep, briefly stop over to try and recruit Thad of Thudheim to the cause of the meat-shield. Deciding that a double down on fighting power might well be in order, they journey to Shadowdale and start interviewing for another fighting man to help deal (and soak up) damage.

It seems like the lair of the undying sphinx queen – or whatever that is about – might be a place where mettle and luck might be tested in a manner that seems less malevolent than wandering the grudge maze of the grudge wizard. Still, the sphinx _has_ been there for a long time – so maybe a quick look to see what else might be interesting would be a good idea…

Rested and refreshed, the group re-emerges from behind (another) wall of stone and plans the assault upon the giant stronghold. Ti’Karu creates an illusionary army of kobolds and the group trails behind them invisibly, relying on his ability to detect illusions to prevent their swift descent into the pit. WHen the group is close, Demming releases a bombardment of boulders to smash into the tower and the rest of the group ‘charges’. Ti’Karu and Bud and Ron’j! form one trio while Dalliance and Barada trail a bit further behind.
Group one plunges through a pit and would die an untimely death but for Dalliance’s swift Feather Fall spell – which saves them from the ground, but plants them amidst the spectres. The spectres drain 6 levels before they are vanquished and the members are hauled out again. It turns out that the gatehouse is left unmanned. Indeed the entire area seems uninhabited.
The group explores and find a hallway guarded by a pair of animated stone carvings. One is disintegrated and the other reduced to mud but the plucky hobbit is bruised. Beyond the guardians is an incredibly deceiving illusion of a gateway – so convincing that Barada is ensnared in the enchantment and thinks he has passed through. Freed from the trap by the rest of the party Barada regains his senses and the group investigates what lies beyond the gatehouse in another direction. There, they discover what could be a temple to Llolth, the goddess of the Drow, as well as a couple of rooms that could belong to priestly types. The lure of loot is outweighed by dread of Drow and the group bypasses the entire series of chambers.
They retrace their steps to home base, then set out along a different path. They travel a long hallway and trigger various traps before arriving at an intersection that promises to lead into an ever widening warren of passages and chambers. They turn to Bud’s Fork of Travel and it determines they should head the way they came. Spiraling around, they re-encounter the door to nowhere. IN the face of a dwindling array of options, they decide to open it. A shimmering curtain of grey faces them, and with a minimum of discussion they plunge through it on the basis of ‘once you are lost, you can’t get any more lost’. Miraculously – they emerge upon a set of stairs that they quickly find n the map fragments they have produced along the way. A quick jog back to the entrance – a call for the elevator – and the group is back up top and ready for a night on the town in Waterdeep. Then – the inevitable question…where to next?

Pausing to dump a few healing spells into the recumbent Ti’Karu, the group discuss options. Dalliance takes off her pantaloons and puts them on the unconscious illusionist. This makes him light enough for Demming to carry and the group retreats to the lair of the stoned basilisk.
While they try to rest, they are disturbed – first be a dry chuckle that seems to emanate from the stone walls – but is eventually traced to another speaking tube located in the ceiling near one of the pillars. The second disturbance is in the form of an insistent rapping at the chamber door. Paranoia levels spike as the group nervously awaits further intruders…but none come.
Tunneling out through the Wall of Stone they used to seal off entrance to the room, the group wanders through a sort of entertainment district for travelers. Demming immediately summons an earth elemental to lead the way. There are lounges filled with comfortable furniture, a pair of bars, a washbasin and privy as well as a storeroom full of goods all marked with the signs of one or more of the Drow trade guilds. There are also a few traps, including one that summons a dozen disembodied arms to beat on the trapped person with spectral clubs. Luckily they vanish from sight before any serious damage is inflicted.
This exploration is boring, right up until the part where they discover a small reinforced gatehouse, stocked with ballistas and armored hill giants. When the elemental is sent forth to lead the way, it promptly falls through a section of illusionary flooring. The group decides to put off the assault on the keep and backtracks, exploring the rest of the area and finding an apparent door to nowhere as well as a temple filled with ink-black water and sporting columns depicting flayed humans that support the ceiling. An undead summoned to explore falls into a giant sinkhole beneath the water’s surface and the group seems none too inclined to explore the area.
After hours of meandering, the group retreats to the boudoir, although Dalliance expresses some reservations about returning to a place which is so central – given that the teleport that led them here will likely funnel further funseekers to the group’s front door…