The party members ascend to the second floor and witness a repeating scene of depravity. Spectral diners feast on slain elves that are carved into bit sized chunks while still alive. Clearly this place is evil with a capital EVIL. Some scouting reveals a secret door in the corner of the room and it is opened. The illusionary red dragon crouched within is scoffed at by the party as cheap theatrics and they ascend the stairs, coming at last to a blank wall. The wall is scryed with the Gem of Seeing and it is revealed to be an illusion. As the (mostly invisible) party prepares to deal with the illusion and the door it conceals, BeLushI becomes aware of a figure standing about 20 feet below him on the stairs. He just has enough time to register the phrase “Melkerech sends his regards” before a bolt of chain lightning arcs through the party, slaying everyone except the mage and the elf.
Thinking quickly, the mage seals the corridor with a wall of stone and stuffs as many of the fallen party members into bags of holding as he can, then activates the staff of security and drags the unconscious elf into the paradise beyond. There they recuperate for a day while the elf heals. Time is of the essence so they escape the next day by casting passwall spells and flying into the wastelands outside. One more overnight and they teleport back to Arabel.
Favors are called in and the clerics of Tyr raise Kormier from the dead. He sets about raising the rest of the party members and within a few days everyone is hale and hearty again – though a bit scarred from the experience – both mentally and physically. They put out a word that a meeting with the bard is requested and after a few days the bard and the party meet in the tavern. Ge is surprised that they are back so soon – and is even more surprised to learn that they are backing out of the contract, returning the magic gauntlet and the single item they managed to retrieve from the place.
They swiftly take their leave of Arabel, heading south towards the capitol city. They take their time, riding at a leisurely pace and stopping to take advantage of every inn and tavern that they can find before darkness falls. The cleric is scouting for a location in which to raise a church to Torm as the rest of the group starts to become acquainted with this strange new land in which they have arrived. Places of note include the towns of Immersea (where the reach of law seems a bit strained), Hilp and Jester’s Green
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