A good sleep and the idea to interrogate the corpses returns. The father is absolutely tight-lipped, saying only that he will not speak with assassins. Further inquiries yield nothing. In that case, it is off to survey the courtyard. Malchor spawns a flying head and goes to investigate the well shaft. Flying past the two black puddings lurking behind the crumbling wall, he goes about exploring everything that he can – finding xorn moving through passages, strange crystalline formations and odd machines.
A plundered treasure chamber and more xorn are all that can be found, so he returns to the party. They fire up the puddings and launch into a whirlwind tour of the remaining portions of the castle left unexplored. Well – that is the plan at least – but they find an interesting staircase with a trapped door at the bottom, so that overrides everything else.
The door is defeated and the room beyond is given a once-over. Then the head flies as far as possible through sarcophagus-strewn passages – culminating in a crumbling crypt in which rests a sarcophagus and a brutish figure dressed in once-fine clothes, drinking from a wine bottle. He seems to have very pointy teeth. Malchor’s magnificent head retreats and there is a brief parley. A plan is devised to stop either light or noise from announcing their arrival and they set off. Their plan seems to work, for they catch the occupant in mid-swig. In the next 20 seconds some long-held magic items are deployed to resounding success! The whatever-it-is is dead!
A bit more exploration and a return to the ghost-child. When informed that they have slain the fangy man, he is very pleased and tells them how to find his father’s treasure stash. They find a bit or heraldry that they associate with Melkerech, the lich that has an apparent They speak with the slain wife who recounts the tale of the powerful wizard gripped by paranoia until he uprooted family and castle and took to the skies. Eventually she tried to poison him, but ended up having to kill herself in order to accomplish her goal. Their son remains tethered to the castle, trapped by the trauma. Hmm. That is sad.
Anyway…the thought of looting is appealing so off they go, looking for an invisibly flying rock island. They were told that the loot is guarded by an immense ancient wyvern, so they are prepared for battle. Once spotted, the group attacks. The battle with the wyvern is short and decisively won. The loot phase is a bit more mixed. They trigger a deadly trap that slays Cosmic, Mr. T and Elulyn.
Not to worry, not to worry. Justicar has them fixed up in no time. As it turns out, being laid up in an invisible floating rock is a really good way to avoid visitors. The recovery process is accompanied by a week’s long survey of every single floating fragment and although most are uneventful, one in particular seems to bear a portal.
The portal provokes a prolonged parliamentary session. Arguments for and against investigating it are raised. Options abound. Shall they try and find a way to open the portal? Shall they investigate the strange machines that might lead to wizard loot? Shall they try to find a way to sink the floating rocks? Shall they pack it up and go home to soak in the amazing bathtub?
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