There is much selling of items and discussing plans. Goldppiece announces that he would like to pursue a solo career as he isn’t sure why he is touring anymore. With that, there is an amicable split of gold and the promise of future shares once they liquidate gems and the like and Goldpiece avails himself of a helpful teleport to Urlimspyr to chat with Pearsay about fixing his loincloth. The news he receives is not terribly encouraging. It seems the mender of loincloths is only accessible through some sort of portal in the ruins of an ancient elven city positively swarming with dangerous thingies. Bleah. Anyway…
Meanwhile the rest of the group ponders and schemes, looking for a new lead to follow. They eventually visit Pearsay as well, who puts them in touch with a stalwart fellow who would be well served by some time and space between that place and anywhere else. “Welcome aboard” now where are we going next? The Mace of Faiths is brought up and shot down multiple times as the absolute ass-whupping they got still stings. Fair enough.
Eventually Malchor hits on a solution. There was a place he visited about 400 years ago, and in this place there was a tomb and in this tomb there was a coffin and in this coffin there was a body and on this body there was a fantastic amount of magical treasure! Lets go loot that! And away they gooooo. They teleport into the spot, defeat the traps and after a couple days of trying, manage to remove the protective magic. The loot is looted, catalogued and divided…and with that they are all under a fatal geas. They have a year and a day to slay the master of the temple of Orcus that lies beneath this hellscape through which they have already traveled extensively back before riding the Black Monastery 400 years into the future. Oooookay then. Hmm. I wonder if that is the Rotting Man we were chasing around back then?
Returning to the manor house on the shores of the Moonsea, the group ponders, then teleports around the known world looking for answers. Not much is forthcoming so there is a second round of head-scratching and pondering. Well…time to get the band back together! They set about locating Goldpiece and Kormier and lay out the scenario. Kormier is amused and Goldpiece is looking for a quid pro quo. In the end, Kormier and the Gal join Goldpiece and Gutboy in helping Malchor, Justicar, Elulyn, Thraw and the newly added Moonshine try to avoid grisly death under the geas. They plan an elaborate set of magical moves, contingencies and possible scenarios for their upcoming reunion with The Weeping Man. The ghost of a paladin pressed into the service of Orcus is a terrible thing indeed, and they are well aware of the lethal nature of the encounter.
In the end it is all a bit anticlimactic as Malchor’s projected image disintegrates the offending creature after about 15 seconds. The creature seemed to be speaking to the image, but the decision was made not to listen, lest there be honeyed words designed to ensnare the weak-willed. The room is investigated and traps are found on the doors leading beyond. Magical runes promise great peril to all who venture beyond. The intrepid band attempts to nullify the magic for a couple of days and eventually disintegrate the door to see what lies beyond. An arcane eye is deployed and the long hallway is an odd split between peace and war. With the exception of a narrow verdigris copper strip both left and right paths are trapped. More words on the floor seem to indicate the narrow way is best.
Goldpiece opens one door and the group is assailed by a pair of demons that materialize where large pillars once stood. Kormier dismisses one and the second is slain in a matter of seconds. The oppressive evil aura of the place seems to press closely around them as they decide what to do from here…tick tock. tick tock.
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