Off with their heads!

After purchasing passage on a vessel, the party is given a longboat and a map of the vicinity. When the ship draws within three miles of the easternmost island (The Isle of Lonely Shoulders), they disembark and begin rowing. Birds of various sorts (Barada, Bud and the
globefalcon) are sent to investigate the island. They report back…standard jungle island, plus a 30 foot tall statue of a jackal headed man, and a cave entrance into one of the volcano peaks. There is a beach on the far side of the island, and so the group rows on.
While the rest row, Bud in bird form goes to get a closer look at the cave. He is nearly zapped out of the sky by some sort of ray.
Alarmed, the group frets while they row. Finally nearing shore, Humbar’s steady hand on the tiller saves them from the reefs and shoals and the execute a perfect Iwo Jima style beach assault…only to find the beach (and surrounding jungle) littered with headless corpses, skeletons and skeletal remains.
Deciding that stealth is useless, they unfurl the carpet and take a second look at the cave. Dalliance lobs in a fireball, then the rest of the group disembarks and assaults the cave. They find some ashes…and one remaining ogre-mage guard…who does his vanishing act. The group pursues through caverns of wind and severed singing heads. Finally they reach a richly appointed room with headless corpses leaking blood into a large bowl and three chained prisoners.
As they take it all in, an ogre-mage decloaks overhead and tries to freeze the party. Simultaneously, the ‘prisoners’ polymorph into their true forms (more ogre-magii). Dalliance is the only one not caught by surprise, so she fireballs and uses a wand of fireballs to destroy the room’s decorations and occupants. There is a debate about whether to retreat or press on, to stop and rest or not.
Eventually they reach the final chamber, complete with naked old man with standard hermit beard, and hundreds and hundreds of skulls…on tables, on shelves, piled in heaps, etc.
As the group attacks, spells cast at the old-timer fail, the skulls begin to animate and fly around, biting and fanging the party members.
Finally, Reza uses his boots of striding and springing to leap the final 30 feet and lands a massive blow with his electrified two handed great axe, cleaving the old hermit in two. they search he corpse and find a piece of the black ring woven into his beard. They rest and then retrace their steps and prepare to take on the next island of mystery – though whether by air or by sea remains to be seen.