Combat ensued, with the
Saviors of Sandpoint facing off against
Mokmurian's headless
Undead Lord and its zombie minions. The minions had the annoying habit of exploding when slain, putting a wrinkle in combat strategy. To make matters worse, two
Lamia Clerics of Lamashtu decided to join the battle. One of them charmed
Kilgor, and the other inflicted an
aura of madness on the rest of the group.
When the dust settled, and healing wands were distributed, the party continued their trek to the library and the inevitable confrontation with Mokmurian. However,
Arcaan and
Dagourn continued to argue with each other. Dagourn teased Arcaan for succumbing to the undead lord's fear effect. He sniffed the air, warning that their enemies may be able to smell the strong scent of piss. Undaunted, Arcaan fired back and accused him of being untrustworthy. Why didn't he warn the party about the undead? "They never attacked me," Dagourn claimed. "I assumed they were some sick display piece for Mokmurian."
What about the lamia clerics? "I've never seen them down here. When they weren't at their altar, I assumed they were topside with the giants, or they had fled." His answers were accepted for the moment.
Further down the hallway, the party discovered the library doors. Dagourn admitted that he'd never seen them closed before and wasn't sure how to open them. There was no visible handle and only a star-shaped indentation in the brass doors. There were other, less ominous doors to check, so the heroes set to work on those. They were underwhelming, leading to (magically formed?) dead ends or hallways that had collapsed and filled with debris.
One door at the far end of the hallway opened up to a new opportunity. The large room was smoothed even more significantly than the other chambers in the complex.
Mite began to stealth through the room when he was spotted by four bizarre creatures from the depths of time - the hounds of Tindalos. They had watched him invisibly before he snuck into the room and followed him until they were ready to strike. The rest of the party charged in to help.
Kumiko trapped two of them using her Ice Tomb hex. The others fought the remaining elusive creatures, killing the final two. Sadly, they could not do so before one of them killed Arcaan.
After the battle ended, the heroes assembled around Arcaan's body. Dagourn had already removed the gauntlet Arcaan wore and claimed it as his own. He said he had more claim to it than anyone. He had initially found the suit the gauntlets came from. When he put on one of the gauntlets, some magical explosion scarred his right side and blinded his right eye. The gauntlet fused into his flesh, and he could not remove it without removing his entire hand. Dagourn said he didn't know how Arcaan could wear it without consequence but wanted to use his gauntlet to get some answers.
Jayvielle told Dagourn that the gauntlet belonged to Arcaan. Dagourn pointed out that the party had no problem looting gear and weapons from other dead creatures they came across. How was this different? Ultimately, Dagourn grudgingly gave his word to Jayvielle that if Arcaan were brought back to life, Dagourn would return the gauntlet to him.
The heroes returned to the library and the odd doors. Quilith tried magically slipping between the door cracks, but an arcane lock stopped him. This interaction released a celestial creature of light and flame, a
Shining Child. Kumiko, Jayvielle and Dagourn suffered permanent blindness upon the beast emerging from the door. Kumiko used her hex magic to transfer her blindness back to the shining child, who was immune to its blindness. Quilith removed the blindness from Jayvielle and Dagourn and magically suppressed the shining child's flaming touch from consuming Kilgor from the inside.
With the creature dispatched in a flash of light and heat, the party addressed the door more cautiously. Mite set to work and disarmed the magical lock. Once inside the library, they were approached by a very old clockwork librarian who spoke to them in Thassalonian. They asked if Mokmurian had been there recently and what he was looking for. The librarian told them he had been reading about
Xin-Shalast, home of
Karzoug the Runelord of Greed. Legend said the streets were paved with gold, and towers were inlaid with gems, befitting a Runelord of Greed.
The party returned to a doorway they believed led to Mokmurian's quarters. Dagourn stopped them before they could enter. He said he wanted to be free and wanted Mokmurian dead. Through the Dark Lady's blessed magic, he could let them rest for two hours, giving them eight hours of sleep. They could prepare, recover, and be at their best to face the wizard. However, that was two hours that Mokmurian could use to prepare if he didn't know they were nearby already.
The heroes were torn with indecision. Kick down the door and take their chances? Wait two more hours? Did they even trust Dagourn to give them those two hours?
