The morning brings with it a blizzard of epic proportions, but by the afternoon, the temperature has spiked well into the 90s. The group takes the time to analyze, propose, repropose, reanalyze and finally abandon all manner of plan. Eventually they cobble together a workable solution and set off on a 18 mile row to the next island. This one is ringed with mountains and statuary appears everywhere. Fearing basilisks or medusae the group proceeds with caution to the main structure on the island, the ruins of the merchant prince’s mansion.
There, they spend hours searching through the ruins.

As a category 5 hurricane starts to make landfall and some of the statuary becomes airborne, they discover a trapdoor that leads below ground...

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...

Deciding that the least plausible course of action for the Lords of Waterdeep is to go help out a bunch of scruffy pipeweed farmers living in some backwoods hollow, that is exactly what they decide to do. Who would expect it? Even if they were discovered…who would believe it?
So, wrapped in a shroud of implausibility they venture to the Laughing Hollow. There they encounter a trio of hobbit families who are singularly unimpressed by their titles and finery, and infinitely more concerned with whether or not they can assist in unraveling the mysterious disappearance of Boffo Cosgrove.

They gain entrance to the hobbit hole and spend a lengthy period of time investigating the disheveled interior...

The shafty descent proves to be a hot thing in deed as the downward progress made by the party members is accompanied by the intense heating of all things metallic. After repackaging the hot items, the group reconvenes in an area bordered by (apparently) windows into the elemental planes. A secret door or two is found and explored, and the first one is a death trap, as is the second. Luckily, there are no deaths as a result, and the group proceeds on with due caution.
They enter rooms of crypts and plunder them, gaining very little. A secret door is explored and a group of adventurers is found in a cold and gas-filled room. Two are dead and the third is near death, having been placed in a state of suspended animation by the combination of temperature and gas...

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...