The End of Many Ages

In the wake of the destruction wrought by Nuri’s powerful storm spell and the broken bodies left by the huge gorilla that was Virgil, this strange looking throne room for the Yuan-ti was suddenly quiet and still.
 
Conrad began the ritual to try and revive Varam while the rest of us began searching the room for any treasure and specifically for the white dragon mask. Both endeavors would prove to be fruitless. Apparently Varam’s spirit did not wish to be revived, and we found no sign of the mask anywhere. Rhumor did find a secret little hallway and cubby that the Yuan-ti used to hide treasures, but the mask was not there. After exploring and clearing the rest of the cave system we still had no idea where the mask was. I called upon Chitikas to help us in our quest and to confirm I had satisfied the terms of my new pact with Qotl. He was unable to provide any useful information about the mask, but did give additional direction concerning the purging of the Yuan-ti: I had to make sure the pool could never be used again, and that I should inquire with the ghostly librarian as to how to accomplish this.
 
With no new information forthcoming from my patron, Nuri used a spell scroll to speak with the dead Varam and inquire about the mask. It turns out that Varam had come to this place expressly to use the pool to divine its location, and he had done just that – only to discover his superior had already recovered the stolen mask. Before Varam had a chance to do anything else he was captured by the Yuan-ti.
 
We then made our way back to the tomb complex, having to fight the bearded devils upon reentering the dining hall we entered the last remaining area we had not yet explored. As soon as Conrad opened the door though a whole host of wrathful spirits appeared and we had another fight on our hands. I teleported in to draw the attention of several of them and called upon a Quetzalcoatl Spirit Guardian to attack while the rest of the team began sniping at them. Virgil entered the room drawing some of my assailants off, and Ardor helped me better position myself into a defense posture while we continued to swat away at the apparitions. The fight was short, but brutal, and I sensed we barely managed to escape the worst of these malevolent beings’ capabilities.
 
Now free to investigate the room we discovered what must have been Diderus’ silk robes, an odd ewer with a roiling vapor, and Conrad managed to locate the missing book behind a dilapidated bed. Returning the missing book, as well as the one I had borrowed to enact the ritual that first summoned Chitikas, the ghostly librarian was overjoyed and despite her reservations due to the wrath it would incur from the spirit of Diderus, she did tell us how to destroy the diving pool. The steps were not complex, but the real trick would be doing it in such a way that we could all escape the tomb before its destruction and without facing the wrath of Diderus himself. We discussed it for some time, and it was decided that Rhumor would be at the pool itself and Nuri would be at the top of the sluice to warp Rhumor back to the well room. This plan mostly worked. Diderus’ spirit did catch up to Nuri just before she exited the tomb and caught her with a virulent cloud of gas. She was able to escape though, just before the entire tomb began to collapse on itself, forever burying the now destroyed diving pool and the magics that held this ancient tomb together. I am most grateful to Rhumor and Nuri for helping me complete this final task – I doubt I could have done this myself. I likely would have ended up in a face off with Diderus that would have ended with either him killing me, or dying as the tomb fell around me.
 
 
Back at the strange Bridge trader’s post things were… well, it was pandemonium. Refugees fleeing every which way as the cult had apparently started a legitimate invasion of the region, including more liberal use of dragon allies. Conrad was able to scry on the invaders and confirmed that Lenithon the Blue dragon was among them, along with several smaller dragons and a host of well over 100 soldiers rampaging, pillaging, and destroying towns and villages. The Scale Breakers could not hold back this storm, and so we moved with all haste to inform our contacts in Waterdeep. The cult of the dragon is escalating things, hopefully the Council will respond in kind to defend their peoples.