Deciding that the deserted desert city seems like a splendid thing to visit, the group uses Lubbitch’s influence (and 1000gp) to weasel more information out of the village elders. After some to and fro and fro and to, the group sets off on the carpet of flying for a tour of the blasted landscape of the Sea of Dust. Riding on the carpet is some fun, with the group druids using control wind and weather to reduce the amount of sandblasting and baking that goes on during the flight.
They arrive on site about three weeks before the ruins are scheduled to rise from the sands and spend time with scouting and divine divination to decide on a likely location. They spend time hovering above the desert sands, living on the carpet in order to avoid encounters with scorpions and snakes and other less happy critters.
When the time is right and the monument starts to rise from the sands, the group saddles up and leaps into action. They spend time reading the hieroglyphs on the monument and start to explore and look for an entrance. Eventually they find a hidden entrance and descend into the monument. They spend time in exploration and eventually explore a set of storage rooms wherein they are attacked by a hulk-sponge that causes panic and catatonia in the ranks. Lubbitch and Humbar scatter and run pell-mell in various directions. The group spends a bit of time in exploration and eventually they are reunited.
They resume their quest and battle a clay golem before discovering another shaft they must descend. Oh the shafts…the shafts of shaftiness! What awaits our intrepid adventurers as they deal with the shaft?
That shaft is a bad mutherfu#%er!
Barada will descend the shaft if Dalliance will…