We don’t bother entering the city gates yet again, instead just set up camp a short distance away from the gates, where the road is still fine and paving slabs unbroken. A small forge is created - more for appearances than anything, as after retrieving metal sheeting from within the house, I work on a new suit of armour with the Fabricate spell, using the hand built forge to just add a few personal finishing touches.

The rest of the day is spent preparing once more, checking the very rough and largely uncharted map that we point over and grumble about when anyone chooses a place of interest. With most of the places reading as variations on a theme of ‘Death here’, ‘Oh my God its really scary and you will probably die’ or ‘Danger of Death, don’t come here, honest, we really mean it..’ we decide to head for the pleasantly named ‘beach’ instead, and there is much excitement and frantic nods of the head as we pack our buckets and spades.

The new day starts pretty much as other weeks that we have had in this massive cavern, spells being prepared, before finally Wind Walking to a designated spot. Without the aid of Wind Walk, I doubt we would have got very far, so once more I say a prayer to Gorm for his speedy blessing.

Arriving at the previous spot that we had run away from the previous day, we return to our normal form, and start to walk and explore once more. There seem to be no more boiling hot pools, but everyone still treads warily as we walk on for the better part of the day. The air begins to get colder as we move away from the fiery rift and the terrain changes from dense high rocks to a thankfully flatter terrain, allowing far greater visibility and less strain on the knees.

It is not long before the Elves call out that they can see a dark shape silhouetted against the blackness of the sea, which appears to be a natural pillar rising to the ceiling. With something of interest to aim for, rather than wandering around looking for crabs - which admittedly did keep up amused for a good few hours, we head for the pillar.

Within a short time we have reachar and begin to examine the base. It appears to have carved figures of humanoid shapes, but is heavily eroded, and neither Dwarf nor Elf can determine the craftsmanship of the work. As we circle the base, Hordex moves slightly off to one side as he peers out into the darkness for possible ambushers, when suddenly he stumbles and drops through the floor!

Illusionary terrain seems to be yet another obstacle for this area, as earlier we had to put up with rocks disappearing as we go to climb over them, and hills turned into slopes for us to tumble down. Rushing over to the now visible hole, it appears that he has fallen down a steep crevice, which is handily littered with enough rocks so that he can make the difficult climb back up. More interestingly though, he calls out to say that he has found a small opening not far from where he landed, which appears to lead underneath the pillar.

The crevice we decide to explore later. Moving back to the pillar, we estimate it to be 160 feet wide, and I eagerly get my brass rubbing items ready as we walk the perimeter, looking for more prominent carvings. Robbie and Beard fly to the top to see if there is anything to be seen, and only report that the carvings stop at a certain point. With nothing but darkness to be seen, and nothing to be found around or on top of the pillar, we return to the opening in the crevice.

Robbie flies down ahead of us, and starts rubbing himself on the ‘natural crack’ as Hordex pushes past and enters the small cave. I am following behind, but just before I cross the threshold of the cave, the ground swallows Hordex, the rock turning into liquid mud beneath him.

Agador gets his Elemental ready to chase Hordex within the rock, while Robbie casts a spell to grow gills, becoming a Kua-toan and leaping head first into the floor before looking confused as he bounces from its surface, then suddenly sinking into the stone. Robbie breaks free of the surface briefly, and I chuck him a rope, before he ducks underneath once more to try and find the little one.

Agador’s lumbering Elemental finally arrives, and sinks into the molten rock at a flourish of Agador’s hand. Within moments it re-emerge’s triumphant with the soggy duo at arms length, looking as heroic as you can when your face is a mass of featureless stone.

Agador peers into the hole, and says that he will take point. I cast Shield Other on him as a precaution, and he enters inside. Agador reports that the mud covers only the entrance, and not the tunnel itself, and soon we are all following the wizard into the crevice. And then we run out again as Agador is ‘chunked’ by stone spikes that circle and spear into him in the tight corridor, causing not slight discomfort to me as well, as I share the wizards stony puncturing through my previously cast spell.

Plan B involves Wind walking back in, and once more Agador takes point. We all stop after the corridor opens into a large cave, with a ceiling 30 feet high, and the room itself measuring some 70 feet across. A large Dias or Altar, surrounded by 9 pillars, and a few stalactites carved into statues feature in the centre of the room, and returning to our normal form, we approach carefully.

The Altar looks divine, and I move in to get a closer look at the pillars to see if I can see if they radiate evil or good. The altar has runes and carvings, and consulting my Divine knowledge briefly, noting that silver is melted into a symbol on the Dias, I deduct that the symbols are associated with ‘Opening, and Access’. Tracing the words with a gauntleted hand, I slowly read “Kneel and give prayer to those that are dead. Blessed are those that give of themselves”.

Agador suddenly calls out a warning, and indicates a body on the other side of the altar that he has found, wrapped in a ragged cloak. It’s a human female, a quarterstaff laid across one outstretched hand, and armed with a bandolier of daggers across her chest. Agador bends down to touch the body, but she awakens just as he is about to shake her shoulder, and starts to scream loudly. Instantly to her feet, her eyes are wide as she looks to make an escape. A quick feint and she breaks for it, darting between myself and Beard. Without thinking, I call out Jilenth and she responds!

She stops in her tracks and looks at me, while the rest of us back away to allow her room. I speak slowly and softly, and soon she has stopped looking at the door and sits back down once more, with her back against the Dias. Hordex gives her food, and she starts to tell us her tale.

She is incredulous that we have come for her as she has been lost for many years - captured by the Flame haired warrior, taken to the city in a sack and kept for an unknown time before being taken to the shoreline of the large cave by Humans, Kua-toan, and Illithid’s ready to be put on a boat. She has no idea where the boat was headed, as when they were going to go out on the lake, the camp was attacked by Giants and Illithid’s, and in the confusion she escaped. She then wandered around and finding that the only path lead back to the city where she had been a captive, wandered for a lengthy time before ending up here.

Robbie quickly takes charge, and is instantly full of concern in getting Jilenth back safely – totally out of character for him. Later when questioned, he reveals he will only do it if he can claim the Mill in Milbourne as a reward – otherwise she can stay where she is for all he cares.

Robbie gets Jilenth to mark the place where the boat was on his map, while I pray at the altar, when the Sigel appears in my mind. On a hunch, I start to ‘expend’ spells into the Sigel, which moves further and further away in my minds eye. It’s very hard to explain the sensation, and I am only aware that anything had happened when the Dias begins to shake and move, the heavy stone scrapping to the right, until it finally shudders to a stop revealing a square hole in the floor.

Beard goes into Wind walk to investigate, and we all follow, except Jilenth, who says she will stay put. Robbie jibes Beard as he cautiously peers into the hole with taunts such as “Go on hero, you thought it was a corridor full of gems…”, to which he can only shrug and nod agreement to. Moving in, it is not long before Beard suddenly stops, allowing Hordex following behind to unwittingly take the lead. He stops short at a 6 foot square door with a ring pull of iron positioned in its centre, and looks upon the words chiselled into the door ‘Disturb’, ‘Noble’ and ‘Dead’.

Everyone bar Hordex re-appears from wind form to look at the majestic entrance, and Robbie takes his clipboard out, assumes an important looking pose and knocks the door. When no-one answers him, he looks decidedly put out, and pulls the door open by the single ring pull. We all move in, and hidden runes quickly flare as a blast of cold air envelopes us all. Hordex comes off the worst from this frosty trap, as in Wind form the cold air freezes him, and he drops like a icy popsicle to the floor.

I stop to heal him, and we then cautiously move onwards until we hit a T – Junction. Peering round the corner, we can see 6 side turnings, and confirm another 6 on the other side. From our vantage point, we can see that the first has a stone sarcophagus, and it appears that the others are all the same.

Beard is straight into the first room, quickly followed by the others. In true archaeologist fashion, he carefully heaves the stone lid off so that it crashes noisily to the floor, where a single skeletons remains are found within. The skeleton has a few items which have escaped the ravages of the long years, and they are quickly scoped up by the bearded Tomb Raider.

I do not want a part of this, and tell the others that I believe we should let things lie as they are. When the rest of the party are humming the Temple of Doom theme tune while stuffing things into sacks to the rumble of sarcophagus lids crashing to the floor, I sadly shake my head and head back to Jilenth.

Agador and Robbie keep watch on the corridor while the rest of the raiders clear all the sarcophagi, and head off further into the corridor. The soon come across a large room containing a huge statue of a 15 foot high Gnome, and another Dias with a casket on it. The raiders don’t cross the threshold of the room, but peer within. Seeing no creatures, they wait while Agador scans the casket for Magic, and he tells the others that there is Magic, but it’s not of Arcane origin.

The move into the room, and can now see two wooden doors either side of the statue, and also that the statue is cupping something – a large red ruby. Carvings of crossed battleaxes, and a symbolized star adorn the walls and casket, and Beard deduces that the statues is of Caladeran, the Deity of the Sniverberlin Deep Gnomes.

Robbie comes back to get me, trying numerous variations on a rousing speech, which all fail to get his point across, but I go anyway to try and stop them from harming themselves. Things don’t start well though, as I arrive at the room to see Agador lifting the lid off the casket, which immediately causes the room to shudder as a wave of pain ripples through the room.

Hordex drops to his knees coughing up a large amount of blood, and as I move to help him, the statue springs into life and clubs Agador. I react by casting Repulsion, but end up edging out Beard, and Robbie’s first attack spell of sonic has no effect.

Agador’s Finslayer knocks a chunk off the statues shoulder as it dips low to club him, and the wizard is struck by a Inflict Critical Spell, which luckily heals him as he is in vampire mode. Hasted, I aspect of the Deity, and attack with Searing Light, but to no effect. Beard, now giant size steps up and whacks the beast. Robbie takes a weedy shot with his bow, and the backlash from the statue has a massive effect of the archer, as he drops to the floor massively haemorrhaging all over his body. I cast Bears heart on all, and then Heal Robbie to full.

Beard continues to smash at the statue, being hit in return, while I move up to Beard and take up a position behind him and start to heal him as he gets hurt. Beard has been smashing it greatly, and it looks likely to fall, and with his last strike topples the statue.

Hordex joins the fight at this point, helping to see the statue fall, and all of the party bar me due to Aspect of the Deity, get hit by a final inflict spell.