After spending a week nursing the fallen cleric back to health and generally recuperating from the tussle with the milk demons, our group ponders their situation. The cleric reports that during his coma, he was visited by a minion of Belial and berated for his actions. As a result he is denied spells above 4th level until the situation is remedied and a temple is constructed. The newly found fighter comrade lies a-moldering near the edge of the demon pool and there is still no idea about how to enter the tomb.

Some scouting reveals an entrance even further up the side of the mountain – trapped – of a vampire-fanged woman of cruel mien. Further below is a tomb entrance with a inscription dedicating it to the Lady Gasping. Entering, they note that the doors are incapable of being barred, having had the brackets removed. Beyond lies a mausoleum, filled with burial plaques mounted into the floor. A large central plaque dominates the chamber and immediately beyond are a pair of immense doors.

As Thud tugs one open, the nervous Greenleaf opens a door to the elemental plane of fire and begins to summon forth a huge fire elemental. While he continues to chant, Orthan creeps into the hallway – intent on investigating the sounds of combat that can be heard from beyond the intersection. When he approaches, he notes a trio of weary fighters being engaged by a pair of milk demons. They appear to be on the verge of defeat, but the party stalls for a few more minutes until the elemental appears. With Thud in the lead and the elemental close behind the group ventures forth to lend assistance – and walks into a trap.

The ceiling collapses, and seven vampire-spawn drop into the midst of the party. Simultaneously, the trio of adventurers reveal themselves to be vampires in disguise and attack! While Thud and the elemental do battle, the rest of the group bravely runs away. When they regroup and return, they find Thud under a vampire’s control and intent on killing them as he did the elemental. A volley of magical missiles and a fireball that includes Thud (sorry Thud!) drives off enough of the vampires for him to fall under a charm spell cast by the cleric. This reprieve allows them to beat a hasty retreat across the now pacified bridge. Now, there they sit and listen to the mournful piping of the tomb gate and plan the next steps. Retreat or return?

Fleeing the ‘unprovoked’ slaying of one of the group, out party finds themselves near Mirabar, in the Spine of the World. The tough descendant of some of the original mining families that helped settle the frozen northern reaches populates this hash region sparely. The group arrives in one such small village and meets with a half-orc fighter. This tongue less individual bears a scrap of parchment identifying himself as Korghn Yellaw. The cleric Belial immediately casts a charm person upon him and presses him into service, which the dim-witted fighter gleefully accepts.

Inquiries about town lead the characters to the home of a wizened individual with apparent knowledge of the location of the tomb of lady gasping. He warns the group that fierce monsters guard it and that they must use a magical amulet of his devising in order to overcome the magic of the innermost guardian. In return, he requires a wooden wand and about 1000 coins from the mounds of treasure said to lie within. The group agrees and follows his directions to a small crater lake. In the middle, surrounded by mists and accessible by a stone bridge lies a snow-capped hill.

Traveling around the lake, the group encounters a strange doorman guarding the bridge. When the initial exchange proves inconclusive, the group slays the creature and presses out onto the bridge. As they near the mists, a strong wind sweeps the fighters into the water. Thud uses his gauntlets of swimming to avoid death, but Korghn is not so lucky. Only the swift actions of the rest of the party allows him to temporarily avoid his fate.

The group reconvenes and sets off across the bridge again, this time roped together for additional safety. Reaching the mists brings them into contact with the band of air elementals that guar the island and they begin to land telling blows on the front rank fighters, forcing a retreat.

The group camps near the gate to the bridge and plot a strategy. Using water breathing spells, they traverse the bottom of the lake and emerge onto the island. Immediately on arrival, Greenleaf summons a huge fire elemental to help protect the party. Not a moment too soon, it seems for the pack of air elementals is upon the group. The resulting melee sees the Helm of Brilliance used several times until finally all the guardians are dead or driven away.

Emboldened, the group explores the hill, eventually uncovering a concealed cave entrance. Further investigation yields a water-filled passageway, which is traversed and emerges into a room with a door. The door is removed and reveals a sloping, water-filled passageway that ends in a door. Opening the door shoots the party into a large cavern and after a 50’ fall, into a pool of slimy water. The pool is also visited by a pack of demons. In the ensuing battle Korghn is eviscerated and impaled, Thud is struck senseless, Skilver has a deadly encounter with hailstones and it is only the repeated usage of the big magic of the water-treading mages that saves the day. This appears to have been an elaborate trap, so the group decides to double back, rest and see if they can locate a real entrance to the tomb.

Upon the return to the CotIO, the group meets with K.Rus-T’s silent disapproval for the mission failure. The merchant group is more vocal in their dismay, though they do concede that the information was dated. The minimum is paid and the group reconvenes to address the pesky golem damage. Tis an odd time in the city. Catastrophic fires swept through much of the city – but only in areas where the inhabitants were either a) poor, b) not politically in favor or c) on particularly strategic parcels of real estate. The sudden drop in housing, storage, goods and services has set off a round of inflation that sees prices increasing by as much as 50% in as little as a tenday. The group’s funds are under pressure…

Skilver sets off to try and enlist the support of the Church of Belial to aid him in his quest for healing. While the Belialians are eager to help the stalwart clergyman, they are not in possession of a 17th+ level cleric and so are unable to assist the stricken party members.

Meanwhile, Raineer makes arrangements to train by visiting the Black Mage of Orlbar, and is subsequently sent to apprentice under Butterkrak the Sorcerer – currently on assignment in the Dawn Pass, providing magical support to the Beholders, if needed. With Greenleaf still gone, the remaining party members are Thud, Max and Orthan

Thud takes his last emerald and sets off to enjoy the time he has left, before he can’t afford to drink and whore the night away. Max and Orthan sit in the common room at the tavern and survey their options when K.Rus-T approaches, indicating that someone wishes to speak with them about employment.

The someone is an outrageously flamboyant individual dressed in silks and wearing a starched white collar. On the steps outside, a grubby man holds the reins of a fine steed. Clearly, this fellow has money.

The foppishly dressed nancy-boy with his bespectacled young personal assistant in tow begins to explain what is desired of the group and the vast sums of treasure they might acquire were he only to be able to decipher a section of a map. When Orthan leans in to examine the document he is slain by a dagger thrust while a silence spell is cast on the stunned Max. The grubby stable hand engages the troll bartender in single combat while K.Rus-T grabs a cleaver and comes charging out of the kitchen. The rest of the patrons try to make themselves scarce, exiting by the windows. Deciding that prudence is the best option, Max joins the exodus in animal form, and then spies on the attackers, tracing the stable hand back to a slave guild before returning to the scene of the crime.

The tavern is smoking from the fire, and the crowds are thick while the city’s mages are mumbling spells of precipitation and fire dousing. Max enters to find the bartending troll’s forearm scrabbling away from the flame in the common room. He locates Orthan, now turned face up, stripped of same valuables, and missing his pinky finger from his left hand.

One thing leads to another; the group members assemble and decide to beat a hasty retreat from the hostile environs. They decide to pursue a lead from a while back; in the hopes it has not yet been investigated and set off to the Spine of the World.