Nightscale, under the influence of the “Love Potion” and at the behest of Krago, has left her lair, to perch atop the pinnacle of the Stone Tooth. The group, realizing that they have about ten minutes to take advantage of her absence, rush to loot her hoard before she returns. Before they go their separate ways, Krago slaps an odd-shaped piece of metal into Mishok’s hand. He explains that there is a lever in one of the side caverns beyond the dragon’s island. Throwing that lever will drop a portcullis, closing off the inlet to the subterranean river. This is the passage through which Nightscale accesses her lair. If they can close the gate, they can keep her from coming back in that way. There is a locking mechanism which keeps the lever in place. Working from memory, he forged this rough key on the sly while building components for the ballista. It may not work, but it gives them a chance of unlocking the lever and denying Nightscale access to that underwater passageway.

Mishok takes the key and prepares to run down to the Black Lake with the rest of his team. But first, wondering how they are going to get across the lake with the loot, Mishok looks around for something they can use. He spots a wooden wheelbarrow and pitches it down the waterfall, hoping that it will both survive the fall, and prove reasonably seaworthy. That done, the rest of the group hustles back though the late Goerth’s chambers and clamber down the chain ladder, alongside the thundering waterfall. 

Sartan and Krago run through the main hall and down the stone stairway back to the Glitterhame. Their goal is to reach the outside and keep an eye on the dragon. On their way through the immense, fungus-filled cavern, they encounter the wormlike, tentacled cave-monster they had battled several hours earlier. It is feasting on the remains of its deceased brethren, but it cannot resist the instinct to attack fresh prey. Sartan swings his sword at it as he runs past, but fails to make contact. The creature strikes at Krago and delivers a serious wound to the already frail dwarf. Sartan puts himself between the creature and his companion, and turns to fight the assailant. Inspired by Cycek’s athleticism, Sartan springs off the stone wall, does a flip, and slashes at the monster. It lets out a shuddering squeal and dies. The two run down the tunnel with renewed vigor… they have wasted valuable time! They hasten down the passageway where they had released the captive bear the previous day, and soon find themselves blinking in the mid-day sun on the wooded north flank of the Stone Tooth. Peering up through the tree tops they can see Nightscale basking contentedly in the sun, her serpentine body curled around the fang-like pinnacle for which this geological feature is named.

While they run, they hear Greasy Rag pipe up from the depth of Cycek’s bag, in his usual breathless exuberance.

“Wow! I never met a dragon before. That was so cool.  But, she wasn’t what I expected. She seems tough and mean, but she’s really afraid of a bigger, scarier dragon that kicked her out of the mountains in the northwest. Killby the Blue. She’s always afraid that he’ll come after her and take her hoard. I asked her what she’d do if he came after her, and she said she’s got a gate she can shut, like underwater, so nothing can get into her lair that way. Some super-strong thing the dwarves made way back in the old days. She says she simply has to burn away the chain with her acid, and the gate will slam shut. But she has other secret ways in and out. But anyway, she’s weird… she thinks she’s some kind of queen or boss or something. Always being so benevolent to her subjects…. But it sure seems like she changed her mind about Durgeddin, huh? She let him go and then came after him again. So, yeah… she’s kinda flaky, but she ain’t stupid. I mean, she’s a good story teller. You know how I like stories! She told me her story about where she came from, the mountains, the big scary dragon, and I told her where I came from… the city, the Yur Inn back in Shadowfurst, and about you guys, and the great big gem that Hack had… she seemed interested in that, she really likes gems apparently… and then she got kinda sick of me I guess and gave me back to you guys, and demanded a gem instead.”

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the chasm, Mishok and Davros find the wheelbarrow bobbing in an eddy. It looks like it may actually float, if somewhat awkwardly. They manage to pull it to shore, costing more time than they wanted to spend. They take it and run down the passage, over the acid-pocked bridges, and to the stony shore of the Black Lake. Cycek, Davros, and Mishok peer out across the water, seeking a sign of the island in the distant gloom. Deciding that Davros with his lock-picking expertise is the best candidate for opening the lock, they send him paddling the makeshift vessel toward the island. He disembarks and takes a quick look around. He sees a split-open wooden chest spilling coins onto the slippery, craggy rocks where Nightscale made her home. Peering into the gloom of his flickering torchlight, he sees another small cavern on the far side of the lake. He boards the cumbersome craft again and paddles across to a shelf of stone alongside the river’s source. He leaps ashore and begins searching for the lever.

Meanwhile, Mishok doffs his armor and leaps into the cold, dark water. Cycek follows suit and the two swim to the north end of the cavern, seeking other possible sites for the lever, should Davros’ search prove fruitless. Davros does, however, locate the lever and attempts to open it. It is a difficult task, and he repeatedly fails, devouring precious time before finally unlocking the mechanism. He attempts to throw the lever, but it is rusted in place and will not budge. Cycek and Mishok swim over to him and lend their muscle to the task. The three of them working together finally slam the lever open, and a length of chain suddenly rattles upward, disappearing into a hole in the rock some thirty feet up the cavern wall. It clinks to a sudden stop, as the rusty chain kinks and jams in the hole. Time is running short.

Outside, Sartan and Krago keep a low profile in the woods, and keep a close eye on Nightscale. They notice her looking restless, and then shaking her head as if groggily waking from a deep sleep. Fearing that the potion may be wearing off, Sartan uses his sending stone to warn Cycek. He speaks into the rock in low tones, telling Cycek that Nightscale seems to be coming to her senses, so they had better hurry. 

Cycek climbs the stone wall and tries to wrench the kinked chain free. Having poor leverage, clinging to the rock wall while heaving against the ponderous weight borne by the chain, Cycek tries and fails to free the chain. Thinking fast, he pulls out the immovable rod, snaps it into place, and hooks his legs over it. Now hanging upside down, but with two hands free, he yanks the chain with all his might. It budges enough to unkink. It tears out of his grasp and goes rattling up into the hole, and then stops and goes slack. There is a muffled clank. He disengages the rod, and drops to the ground. A moment later there is a another “clang” and then another. The water flowing into the chamber begins to roil with waves and foam. The three realize that Nightscale must have just come home and found her front gate shut.

Indeed this is the case. Sartan and Krago had just moments before witnessed the dragon snapping out of her charmed state. She unfurled her wings and leaped into the sky with a roar. Krago trembled with terror and threw himself to the ground. The scaly, black terror arched far overhead and then plummeted like a falling star into the lake just to the east of the Stone Tooth. The water there seethed for a few moments and then became still. Sartan was hoping that Cycek would report back via sending stone… that is, if he and the rest of the team were still alive. They intend to stay put and watch for the dragon should she re-emerge from the lake.

Back in the cavern, Mishok has put his armor back on. He, Cycek and Davros try to work out how they can transport this structurally unsound chest of coins in a makeshift boat, to the far shore, without losing the whole thing to the untold depths of the dark lake. While Cycek and Mishok load in as much as they think the wheelbarrow can safely carry, Davros discovers a fissure in the stone. He squeezes his way in and finds a small cave. Inside is a sizeable cache of fine weapons. He examines the pommel of a sword and sees, to his delight, Durgeddin’s Mark. He begins passing weapons out to Cycek, while Mishok continues loading the boat. They intend to make several trips, floating the wheelbarrow across the lake with Cycek and Mishok swimming alongside to stabilize it.

The cache includes:
12 longswords
2  greataxes
6 halberds
2  war hammers
1 morning star

The treasure chest, including recoverable scattered coins includes:

6,200 sp
1,430 gp
2 garnets worth 20 gp each
1 black pearl worth 50 gp
1 wand of ???,
1 potion of ???
a +1 shield