Ancient Discoveries

3rd Amerysday of Autumns Edge, Second Age 1853: Just when the workers were sure they will make a breach on the next day, an assault of strange spiderlike beings woke us in the middle of the night. They struck fast, but despite many of our number being roused from slumber with minimum gear on hand, we were able to fend them off quite efficiently. Their venom spurred my curiosity and with Lady Aria's assistance I was able to obtain a sample for later research. It appears to be a muscle relaxant of some kind, not lethal but quite debilitating in combat.
 
The very next morning we rappelled down into the ruins, with more and more signs indicating that they actually predated the elven kingdoms that used to occupy these lands. the Cataclysm must have caused an upheaval in the land, bringing to the surface what once was beneath it. We've had to deal with some strange creatures, not quite living and yet not quite dead and deeper in the ruins we came upon a ritual circle, definitely used for blood magic fueled ritual of some kind. Before we were able to discern its purpose we were assaulted by a mass of flesh that had no right moving. It looked like molten candle wax, except it had faces and limbs protruding in all directions and somehow it was moving towards us! It was a hard battle, especially for those who had to get close to the aberration, but we prevailed again.
 
With some respite in sight, we were able to put some pieces together and identify that the ritual had some form of resurrection magic imbued in it, and yet it appeared to not need a body to bring back to life, or a soul to fuel it, almost as if it was meant to create a living vessel from scratch to be filled by... something? The rest of the ruins were no less fascinating. We found signs of passage, and evidence of habitation, with someone leaving behind an empty container of red hair dye, and a chest full of magic items used for subterfuge and infiltration. All signs pointed to Luthais, or someone like him. We found multiple secret rooms, filled to the brim with hidden magic and equipment that showed signs of being made in another age despite its excellent condition.
 
Two discoveries stood out. First, a dormant gate that we were able to discern led to the spirit realm of Shadow, a place where all things wither and die. It appeared to be fully functional and possible to be opened from either side so Lady Aria made the decision to bury it in rubble to prevent anyone, or anything from crossing over this way. Second, a set of scrolls marked with symbolism of a tree and sacred geometry. We were unable to read it at first, but when I put the magnifying glass that we found in one of the hidden stashes to it, the text translated to something I was able to read the shifting text. It spoke of Araneth and the creation of the world, but not quite in a way that seemed familiar to most.
 
4th Judicsday of Autumns Edge, Second Age 1853: We've returned to Hithfaer and a meeting was called as the infiltrators I sent to Nyxthranis have also returned with news. They brought back some useful information, but nothing especially ground breaking. According to their report, the Moon Elf slaves seem to have better life there than the Snow Elf ones, with the former seeing their lives as having a purpose towards survival in this harsh land, while the latter are seen as traitors and treated as such. Celandor, who was also in the meeting, was far more interested in the scrolls, and after some reservation, Lady Aria allowed him to read them, which to everyone's surprise he did without help of the magnifying glass. He explained it is a language that belongs to a tribe of people living far north and requested to study the scrolls, share the knowledge contained within, and return them to that tribe. Lady Nytraven agreed, but I think her decision may change depending on what information Celandor uncovers.