Having just tumbled out of the portal and back into the material world, the adventurers clamber back to their feet and gaze around them to regain their bearings. It is difficult to understand the shifting of time between worlds, but whatever time has passed has brought a change in the weather. What was once a sunny early spring morning has become overcast, foggy and cold. As near as they can tell, they are in the vicinity of the glade where they had battled the giant spiders and thereafter entered the portal to the Abyss. Rocks and barren trees are reduced to indistinct dark shapes in the heavy mist. They debate their next move. Wendella reasserts the imperative to find the spell books containing the rituals which will enable them to close the portals. They decide to circumnavigate the bluff which extends to the northeast like the prow of a ship. The travel is slow as visibility is poor and the rugged terrain is strewn with rocks, roots, and brambles. Occasionally they detect a flickering flash like distant lightning. They cannot pinpoint its source in the gloom, but they also hear the distant muffled sound of cackling and guttural roaring. After a couple hours of traveling, they find their way back to the ancient staircase, and the path they had followed a couple days before.
They pass beneath the arches where they had first encountered the late Stringbean and subsequently battled Eve Viscerator and her hobgoblin guards. Not far beyond that point, they come upon blackened deposits of solidified volcanic rock. Once-molten lava had solidified into razor-sharp black crystalline structures. Mishok recognizes this as the same material as the fire arrors they had found days before in Avita’s barn. He collects a dozen shards that will make good arrowheads once they have been shaped and balanced. He also fastens one to his spear. They recognize this as the place where they had done battle with emergent demons the previous day, and realize that they must be close to the place where they had buried the books they had taken from Ekso’s library.
It takes them nearly an hour, but they are finally able to retrieve the books. They go through them with Wendella, hoping that the one they need will be among the random selections they had made. She is both eager and anxious, and searches through book after book only to be disappointed, finding that none are the one that she seeks. She says that they must get to the library, and that it must still be there on one of the shelves. Mishok then realizes that he had taken a spell book, not from the library, but from Ekso’s private quarters. He still has that one in his possession. He pulls it out of his bag and Wendella gasps with recognition. That’s it! She reaches out for it, but Mishok is reluctant. Should they trust her? Sartan reminds him that she seemed to have the approval of Adara. So, he hands it do her. She flips page after page, growing increasingly excited, as she gain confirmation that this book holds the knowledge required to cast the ritual. “This is what we need,” she says, “But we also need the material components. I have them in my study.” The adventurers look at each other sheepishly, and Mishok nudges Cycek, “Isn’t that where Sartan set that fire?”
They set off toward the back entrance to the compound. Before long, they find another strange sight. They have come upon a pile of bodies. It includes hobgoblins, goblins, demons, and even the mauled remains of a body clad in the torn and bloody garb of a Shadowfurst town guard. Davros realizes that this must be the grenade-wielding guard he had fought in the lookout room. These corpses have apparently been dragged there from the places where they had fallen, presumably to be disposed of.
Before they can even speculate about who had moved these bodies, a gravelly voices challenges them, “Who goes there?! Begone intruders!” They look up to see a squat armored figure with a pale, bald head, and a coarse white beard brandishing a pick axe. Mishok recognizes this as no ordinary dwarf, but rather a Duergar – a race of dark, fallen dwarves with an evil reputation. Sartan moves to get a better look and notices another Duergar wielding a spear in the lookout window above the main cave entrance. The angry Duergar continues to order them to leave. Wendella steps forward and addresses the wicked dwarf. “It is I, Lady Wendella, apprentice of Xodar, returned home to continue the important work of my mentor.” To which the guard replies, “Lady Wendella, this place no longer belongs to the wizard. Your plans have failed and Goerth is not pleased. We need no more of your meddling with magic you don’t understand. Ever since your experiment, we are plagued with demons!” Wendella replies, “Let me speak to someone with real authority. Send for Blackvein. I will speak with him.” The guard replies “Foreman Blackvein is busy. If you’ll not leave then you will accompany me to Goerth himself.” Wendella agrees to this and she steps forward, along with the rest of the group. The guard raises his weapon and says, “Not them! They can be on their way! And,” he glowers at Mishok with an expression of contempt, “That dwarf of yours! If he wants to keep his eyes, he will stay far away from this place.”
Some haggling occurs and the guard finally agrees to bring the entire party to an audience with Goerth, with the exception of Mishok. He must stay outside. However, the guards are both foolish and short-staffed, so as they march their “guests” down into the lower tunnel, they leave the cave entrance and upper tunnel unguarded. Mishok waits for them to move out of sight, and then sneaks into the upper tunnel and into the storeroom and kitchen. He waits to make sure he is alone and undetected, then moves on to Wendella’s study. He gets in without incident. In one corner is the burnt wreckage of the fire Sartan had built. There are wood and paper ashes, and the smell of old smoke in the air. But it appears that the fire did not damage any more than the items that were heaped on the pyre. The shelves in the opposite corners of the room still contain a variety of strange items such as a gilded skull, vials of bone dust, and more. Mishok, stuffs the lot into a sack, and prepares to move on to the safe room until he can decide what to do.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party stumbles down a long, rough hewn tunnel, steered through the darkness none-too-gently by the pair of Duergar guards. The emerge into a large cavern, vaguely illuminated by diffuse light beaming down from an opening in the high ceiling. They realize that this is the large cavern in which Ekso had performed his failed attempt to summon a powerful demon. They can see light flickering on ripples in the moat, and shining on the metal structures the wizard had erected in this area. They are led past an area littered with broken rocks, metal buckets, carts, pickaxes, chains, and other mining implements. They proceed down another steeply descending tunnel and up to a broad set of heavy oaken double doors. The lead guard swings them open.
The large room before them houses some kind of stone processing operation. Beams of candlelight are focused through glass lenses and refracted by mounted specimens of gemstones. Three surprised Duergar faces look up from their work. Colored spots of lights shine on their otherwise grey, craggy faces. Piles of stones rest on work stations, and sparkling gems shine from ceramic vessels. A fifteen-foot tall vertical drum rotates with a clunking, banging rhythm, and twin conveyor belts carry rubble to piles at opposite ends of the room.
One of the stone-processing Duergar speaks out, “What are you doing here?! You dare interrupt our important work!? Get back to your guard station!” The lead guard retorts, “Hold your tongue! I have emissaries from the wizard’s clan here for an audience with Chieftain Goerth.” More angry words are exchanged, and the clanging drum stops turning. A huge ogre peers from around the drum, and seeing the party, lunges forward like a hostile dog seeing a stranger. The ogre, however, is chained in place. One of the Duergar scolds the hulking creature and it reluctantly recedes back behind the drum and resumes turning a huge crank, setting the drum and conveyor belts back into motion.
The party proceeds through a side door and into a dimly-lit and vacant dining hall. They walk past stone tables set with red tablecloths, metal flatware and cutlery. The lead guard stops before the far wall, and pulls aside a large red tapestry than hangs there. This reveals a hidden door which he pushes open. The corridor ahead reaches a point where the finished stonework gives way to rough hewn unfinished stone. There is a well dug into an alcove, and a bend in the corridor that brings the party to another solid, blank wall. The lead guard pulls a rope and the muffled clang of a bell sounds. A deep voice calls out, “Who disturbs the mighty Goerth?” The guard replies, “It is Sentinel Slate. I have brought Wendella and her entourage for an audience. She offers a solution to the demon problem.” The seams of another hidden door are revealed. Sentinel Slate opens the door, bows deeply, and steps aside. The other guard takes up a position to the opposite side of the door. Wendella steps forward.
A Duergar of enormous girth peers at them from a stone throne atop a dais. He is easily as wide as he is tall. Before him is a large, luxurious bed, around which are arranged 6 chairs. It is as if he regularly holds audiences from his bed. He wears a silver-studded leather helmet with flaps that cover his eyes. What they can see of his face is a deep frown and a white beard. One meaty fist clutches a heavy spiked mace. The walls and celing of the room are covered with a disturbing mural of eyes of different sizes and colors. Even in the dark, they glow with an eerie, disorienting light. The colors seem to swirl and the eyes appear to shift, almost as if they are pushing forward into space and then receding into nothingness. The effect is unsettling enough to keep Sartan from entering the room. The others withstand the frightening effect and move forward to stand alongside Wendella.
Wendella and Goerth exchange words. He is angry at the outcome of Xodar’s failed conjuration, particularly since there is now the problem of demons running rampant through the compound. Wendella explains that she may be the best chance at closing these portals. She is the only one with the expertise. Goerth condemns the presence of her companions. Why has she brought them here? She persuades him that these are her personal guards and she will require their assistance to perform the ritual that will close the portals. She reports that she will need to retrieve material components from her study. Goerth sends them away with the guards to retrieve what she needs.
The party takes their leave of the chieftain, and proceeds back through the passageways and into the cavern. They climb the metal spiral staircase that they know will bring them to Xodar’s private chamber. The top of the stairway has been blocked with a hinged metal grate. They throw it open, and it hits the stone floor with a loud clang.
Meanwhile, Mishok has moved into the safe room. He sees that it remains unchanged from their last visit. It was here that they broke the wizard’s staff, sending Wendella into the Abyss and Eve into the Celestial Realm. That explosion of arcane energy also blasted shelves, chairs, and beds outward toward the walls. Canned goods, broken jars, and splintered wood are strewn about. But now, all is quiet. Mishok bides his time in prayer. The guidance of Divoc comes to him, giving him strength and the realization that he has an important role to play in the salvation of the world. He must remain open to recognizing the right time to act. Shortly, he hears a clang echo through the stone corridors. This he takes as his cue to move. He quietly heads down to the Xodar’s gem armature lab. He finds that many of the wires they had left dangling have been clipped and removed. He also sees a pile of bodies. There are hobgoblins, ghouls, demons, and a couple of individuals whom he recognizes. Here lies the body of Hack’s henchwoman known as Skinny Minnie, and also the body of their brief companion, Coriander. Hearing voices, Mishok quickly decides to disguise himself. He finds the body of a town guard and quickly dons the ill-fitting armor, cape, helmet, and shield. Rather than lurk amid the wreckage of this room, he moves forward into the hallway from whence the voices come. He soon finds his companions approaching in the company of the Duergar guards. Naturally, they challenge him. Mishok entreats them to stay their hand, for he is merely a town guard. He admits to trying to loot the remains but asserts that he is no threat. The Duergar guard is unconvinced, but Sartan speaks up on his behalf, as does Wendella. An argument ensues, threats are made, and it nearly comes to blows, but, the Duergar, not fully convinced of the identity of this “guard” at least recognize that they might be outmatched at this time. They decide to accept to story that this individual is one of Wendella’s entourage, and for the time being, conflict is averted.