A Friend In Need

It was our worst fight yet. The two creatures that emerged from the ravine we later learned were called Screaming Devilkin, tormented beings of fey-kind that continuously bombarded our senses with hideous cries and wails. The third beast we could not identify, as it only appeared briefly for a few moments to attack us before disappearing, but it seemed to be some large wolf-like entity. Mirielle attacked with unmatched ferocity at the outset of the fight, but the howls of the wolf left her disoriented and frightened. I wonder if she has encountered a beast like this before and it left some trauma or impression on her, as I have never seen her afraid of any creature we have yet fought. The devilkin fought from the air, lashing out with their tails and making it difficult to land a hit, and Zarruk took a nasty bite from the wolf. Eventually we managed to down the two fey and were about to turn our attention to the wolf, but it taunted us and then fled into the shadows. As it left we caught a glimpse of the imp that had escaped us when we first entered the well, laughing from a small tunnel in the ravine below before disappearing around a corner.
I examined the devilkin, but found little of value on them other than a few copper pieces. I pity the creatures, as they appear to have been tormented and tortured, left in constant agony and pain. As I examined them, something prompted me to remove one of their ears. I don't normally take trophies or tokens of triumph, and I can't say why I did it. I felt compelled by some thought or feeling that it would be important though, and placed it carefully within my pack.
Looking around the room I discovered a book whose title was written in Abyssal, "The Spider King", but after opening it I realized that inside it was written in Infernal. Fortunately Mirielle learned Infernal and gave it a look. It appeared to be about an adventurer who traveled to the Underdark to find a giant spider. As she turned the pages, the words and writing began to shift grotesquely, as the note that we found on the goblin had done. I must learn to read this language as it seems to be how many of the creatures we've encountered communicate; I may be able to find ways of dealing with them more effectively. Dru meanwhile had discovered a coin with the sigil for Acquisitions Inc. on one side. The other side appeared blank, then a single word appeared. We passed the coin around and it seems that the word appears randomly, sometimes "Lucrative", or "Ruinous", or even "Brand Appeal". AI was apparently some sort of organization similar to a thieves guild, somewhat shady in their dealing with adventurers.
The ravine that split this room was deep, but not wide. After deliberating we decided to cross and explore past the door to the south rather than trying to reach the tunnel where the imp disappeared. Opening the door, we entered a long room full of rubble. The walls were of steel lattice, the roof supported by rotting wood posts. In the darkness ahead we saw two sets of eyes twinkling; investigating we discovered they were statues, one on either side of the hall. They were carved in the likeness of ilithid, with eyes that appeared to be made of the same obsidian material that always appears when the Blue Flame cult attacks (also the same material as the ring I found). Further ahead the hall narrowed and there in the center of the passage was a pedestal holding a glass orb. Examining the statues there appeared to be writing of some sort on the base, but it was so old and worn I could not make it out. Dru discovered that the back of the statues' heads were hollow, as if something could be placed inside them. He asked for the ilithid skull we had found on Eladin's body, and proceeded to place it inside the skull. There was a click as it locked into place, and suddenly the room started shaking. The pedestal tottered and the ord began to fall. Dru and Zarruk attempted to catch it, but it shattered on the floor. Instantly webs shot out from the walls. The others managed to dodge out of the way, but I was caught in them. They seemed to be endowed with some magical fire, and burned me as I was held in place. I managed to cut myself free, and we slashed our way through the webs and out of the room. I sometimes forget that as wise and kind as Dru is, he can be a bit naïve about this sort of adventuring and bears reminding of the dangers of traps. I must try to keep him from foolishly setting one off like that again in the future.
The next room we found ourselves in seemed to be a catacomb or burial chamber. There were several large pillars with crypts built into them. All of the crypts had already been broken into and ransacked long ago, and I did not detect the presence of any fiends or undead in the room, although there had definitely been some there in the past. We were able to scavenge some small coins that had been left behind, all in all 2100 copper, 1000 silver, and 30 gold (totalling 151 gold in value). We were going to take a rest, then Zarruk discovered a small alcove with a door. Opening the door, we could hear a sound like someone crying or wailing further down a dark passage. Water trickled down a set of stairs, and faintly in the distance we heard again the sound of an organ playing. While I was wounded more than I have been since the start of this adventure, we decided to press forward for fear that those cries might be from one of our friends. Dru used a healing spell to help patch me up in case we had to fight, and I cast a spell covering my armor in frost (a spell I don't even remember learning, but it came to me as easily as breathing).
We crept down the passage and entered a large room. The water that was running down the passage emptied into a pool, and on the far side of the pool we saw three monstrous creatures huddled around the body of Egert. He appeared to still be alive, so we crept forward as Dru cast a spell to hide our appearance and deaden any sounds we might make. We managed to sneak up and make it to Egert, quickly giving him a potion to get him back on his feet. Dru then launched a thunderwave spell at the three creatures, hurling them backwards to the ground. Two of the beasts appeared to have leathery skin and wings, tear shaped bodies atop chicken-like legs, and large mouths. The third was a fat creature with lanky arms and a mouth that had been sown shut. Each seem to have been created from a different creature at some point in the past, and still bore elements of that past life in their body, though now it appeared grotesquely mutated. We quickly dispatched the monsters, although again seeing their state I did feel pity for them. What horrible evil has contrived to mangle and mutilate creatures into these abominations?
We helped Egert up, and though he was injured none of the wounds were fatal. After telling him of what we had discovered up to that point, particularly Bevil's note and Eladin's fate, we decided to retreat back to the catacombs and rest before continuing forward.