The party continues investigating the items displayed on the shelves of Ekso’s private quarters. They discover a rather strange rod which remains motionless and immovable when a button on the end is depressed, only becoming movable again when the button is depressed a second time. There is also a pair of flat stones, approximately 2-inches in diameter and decorated with the stylized profile of a face, one being the negative image of its counterpart on the other stone. There is a lacquered wedge of cheese with several names carved into it. They drag Ekso’s heavy bed to the east door to keep it closed.

Rethinking the “walnut” approach to blocking up the hole, they instead decide to employ the magical leg trap purchased days ago from the Gnome merchant on the road to Duskhaven. Having set the trap, the team decides to carefully proceed down the spiral staircase. They see a faint light from below and hear the deep voice of Ekso chanting an incantation away in the depths. Quietly observing the distracted wizard, the see him standing upon a metal platform across a long metal catwalk. A large gloomy cavern opens around them, faintly illuminated by candles burning at the corners of an elaborate circular platform adorned with a large 8-pointed star. As the wizard continues concentrating on his mysterious ritual, the party notices faintly glowing, grotesque, wormlike creatures writhing on the cavern floor. They send one of the captured clockwork spiders to cross the catwalk and attack him. They soon learn that bugbears are no good at whispering, as Eve speaks a little too loudly, alerting Ekso to their presence. An angry Cycek fires an arrow at Ekso, striking him, breaking his concentration and ruining his ritual spell. nevertheless, he responds with a magic missile, dividing its damage between three of the party members.

Soon, Davros hears a “snap” and runs up the stairs to find the lizard creature caught in the trap. However, he also finds that a hobgoblin guard is pushing its way through the east door. The hobgoblin accompanies Wendella who clearly has found a way to either persuade or force her impromptu captors to release her. Coriander joins Davros back in Ekso’s room. She goes to deal with the captured lizard, placing a bag over it, while leaving it ensnared in the leg trap. Davros tries to intimidate the hobgoblin, while standing ready with his bow. He also has words with Wendella, trying to persuade her to reconsider what she is doing and return with them to her parents. The hobgoblin is unfazed, while Wendella seems to pause to consider what Davros has said.

Cycek, acting boldly, runs up the stairs, hastening through the library and into the passageway that had earlier been coated in magical grease. He sees the goblin guard they had stationed at the end of the pasageway lying dead, and a large hobgoblin coming toward him. Cycek bum-rushes the hobgoblins, slides on the grease, and takes the hobgoblin out at the legs. He proceeds into the lab where he takes the remaining empty glass globe and begins pouring a random concoction into it.

Back in the cavern, Sartan, affixes the light-orb onto the Gooey Grabber and whirls it around his head, revealing more of the cave. Ekso, in his anger and arrogance launches into a monologue, revealing his past connection to Sartan. He was once known as Xodar and had once adventured with Sartan, Ahura-Mazda, Lefto and Krago. Sartan is shocked! What has wrought such a change in his former colleague!? Eve, not one for talking, and stung by insulting words from her former employer, charges out onto the catwalk. Ekso pulls a chain, and the end of the catwalk plummets, dumping the bugbear chief into the river. She tries to climb out onto the slippery rocks, only to fall back in as the water begins to writhe around her, and the bizzare worm-creatures draw near.

Upstairs, Cycek takes his improvised alchemical device and throws it down the central shaft. It smashes onto the circular platform 30 feet below Ekso and erupts into multiple magical missiles. Five glowing arrows of pure arcane energy, each a different color, take flight and double back upon the robed figure. Ekso is bathed in intensely bright light and the missiles pierce him, and he collapses to the floor in a heap. All who see the sight are shocked, but none more so than Sartan who moments ago had learned such an unexpected truth about their foe.