A Monster's Kitchen

I fell unconscious, a strange turmoil engulfing my mind. I could hear Dru and Zarruk talking faintly, and was dimly aware of their presence, but they were only in the background of the other voices arguing in my mind. Eventually I awoke to Dru at my side, a different part in control. I feel fine, and actually remember more of the past few days than I ever have when I've experienced these blackouts. But my friends were concerned, noticing the change. We decided to rest after our fight with the pair of demons, and I attuned to the strange new ring I had found.
Dru took the time to study the cube we had found on the two sisters. It seems to be some sort of portal device or imbued with planar magic. One symbol was identical to the trinket Dru carries, which I discovered was a unique symbol given to his sister Dray. He took out a music box with the same symbol on it, and told me about her as the music played. She was an adventurer, a strange trait for one of Dru's race apparently, and left the box with him before disappearing some time ago. We only recognized one other symbol on the cube, that of the material plane. The symbols on the other four sides are strange, but likely associated with other planes as well.
Upon further investigation of the room we are in, the grease or oil that flows from the tunnel we entered through has a trace of blood in it. Fresh blood, as if it is still living. We could not determine a source, but the fact that the maw demons were lapping up Elodin's blood and this area is connected with Darneska, the son of a vampiric demon entity, is troubling. I shuddered to think where this blood could be coming from and what its purpose could possibly be.
The way forward split, and we had to choose between two paths. Choosing the double doors, we discovered the way just beyond the doors blocked by an immovable stone wall. I can attest to the fact that this wall was definitely not an illusion and could not be moved, and Dru could not find any sign of a mechanism for moving it. We were therefore forced to return and try the second passage, and eventually encountered another door. So far we have not encountered any of the traps that Bevil warned us about, so either he is still ahead of us and has successfully disarmed them or we are extremely lucky. The door eventually led to another room, this one brightly lit by lanterns hung from the ceiling. It appeared to be a kitchen of some sort, with broken dishes, crockery, and molding food littering the area and the smell of sulfur growing stronger. We found no signs of Bevil, but did find cages along the walls suspended by chains. The cages were empty save for bones and bits of debris, and a closer inspection revealed the bones to be those of humans, dwarves, and elves. There were doors in each wall, and Dru found another door in the center of the floor. When opened this door had a stair wrapping up underneath, apparently in some sort of weird dimensional anomaly.
We were greatly confused as to which way to go, and could find no sign or symbol to guide us. At a loss, I attempted to pray to Silvanus and ask for help. Strangely, we felt a warm breeze fill the room, and a single oak leaf fluttered down in front of me. Then I heard his voice, the first time I have ever heard him speak so clearly. He said "Remember what you have learned. There is always balance. Doors are made to be opened, and unless you test yourself you won't know if they should remain open or be shut. Enter into the unknown and accept it for what it is. Don't let the darkness take you." His last statement was strange, as he said "I have a wolf to catch". I'll have to ask Brother Beocca what that could possibly mean.
Taking his words as a sign, I walked to the door in the floor and stepped forward. I felt a strange rush as my body adjusted to a new center of gravity, but there were no ill effects so I continued forward. Suddenly ahead of myself I could see as if through a portal from the ceiling of the room we were in. I looked down on Zarruk and Dru, and could almost see myself as well. I continued, but then fell and dropped from the ceiling back into the kitchen beside Zarruk. A strange magical loop. Dru suggested that it was meant to torture prisoners with a false sense of hope if they managed to escape. At first this idea confused me. Then Zarruk tried one of the wooden doors in the wall, the one to the south of the room, and as soon as he passed the threshold he re-entered the room from the door to the east. So the loop is set once one has entered the room. Examining the wall I found a second door to the east, this one made of stone. Opening this one, a passage led down to another set of elaborate double doors below. Apparently this was the way, and we proceeded down the passage. The walls of this hallway were lined with books, and after taking a brief glance I found a few interesting titles and put them into my back.
Reaching the double doors, they apparently were not trapped either, and opened with ease. The room beyond was filled with books also, but there was a gash cut in the floor making almost a ravine-like opening. The cold was completely gone now and replaced by heat and the intensifying odor of sulfur. Down in the ravine there looked to be another passage leading out of the room, and to the far south of the room was another set of double doors, barred with a latch. I am learning to sense these creatures with the Oak Father's divine aid, and I realized that two more fiends were climbing up out of the ravine, while a third large beast lurked invisible behind us. I tried to shout a warning back to the others, just in time for the two in the ravine to rise and spread tattered wings, screeching with furry at our presence.