Faced with a portcullis, and unwilling to touch it or expend magic to open it, they turn back to explore more of the crypts they previously encountered, in the hopes that other avenues of exploration may be discovered. They do find a secret door with a keyhole, warded by a spell-engine that prevents magic from affecting the door. With no key in sight, they return to exploring.
A previously discovered hidden doorway is opened and explored. A hallway lies beyond as well as a couple of rooms, the last of which is some sort of warped menagerie. All manner of twisted mutations in cages are placed in the room. There are monkeys with spider legs and spiders with monkey heads. A human torso is topped by a tiger’s head and the abomination has given birth to a litter of young. Several less identifiable creatures inhabit the remaining cages. An attendant in the room is feeding the misshapen creatures. The group questions the young woman who reveals that this is the laboratory of The Transmuter, so they decide to go have a chat with this entity.
Their path is blocked by a trapped door, but a dispel magic brings down the ward and the group enters, leaving the mage and cleric outside. When they enter the room they are confronted by The Transmuter, who promptly turns the Lad into a white mouse. Alarmed, the group redoubles their efforts to slay him, but he is a stubborn foe. When the mage and cleric enter the room, the door slams shut and gas starts pouring in through vents near the ceiling. The Transmuter assumes gaseous form and drifts under the tables.
Alarmed, the group pockets the lad and uses a passwall spell to try and escape the death trap. The passage puts them in a secret hallway which they follow to the secret bedroom lair of the shapeshifter. They arrive at just about the same instant that their foe wafts in through another hidden entrance. They slay him and go about restoring the Lad to human form. They rest a bit and then go about exploring this new area.
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