12/21/21 Session 40: This place still sucks...

Our heroes manage to eventually make their way past a very alluring statue after a recommendation from Marc Alt to cover it with a blanket. Once their gaze is broken, each party member affected snaps back to and the adventurers continue onward.
Grinfiddeus Nobbles continues to find secret passage ways and this most recent one leads them to the room of one of the wizards who inhabited the temple. The man appears gaunt, nearly skeletal, he seems to be suffering from some sort of memory loss. After some help from Lilithus, the man remembers his name, Xathander, and that he was doing experiments in this room, but naught else. He asks the party to not touch anything.
Marc Alt picks up the wizards spell book and the man immediately becomes incensed. Through a little patient speaking, the party is able to clam him down. Grinfiddeus Nobbles takes the book from Marc Alt and gives it back to Xathander.
Once calm again, the man remembers that there is a library nearby, any questions the party has may be answered there. He reveals a secret door behind a desk and allows the party to use the hidden entrance to the large library. Inside appear a pair of barbarians taking refuge from the cold. They look shocked to see anyone else there and are convinced the adventurers are figments of their imagination, or illusions brought to them by the dark forces in the temple. After attempting to plead them with them, they eventually attack the party and are dispatched quickly.
Taking a look around the library the books can't be taken down off the shelves by normal means. Eventually Grinfiddeus Nobbles is able to remove a book using the mage hand spell, but there is nothing inside any of the books. Taking one of these books back to Xathander, he seems to rambler something about the tomes having passwords or phrases to speak to them, but does not remember any of them. Running into yet another dead end, the party continues on from the library, this time ending up behind the statue which shot lightning at Adrid earlier. Upon closer inspection of the statue, it appears as if there's some sort of secret door. Grinfiddeus Nobbles and Adrid go up the winding staircase to find a small man at the top of the head. He calls himself Heinrich Stolt. Heinrich eats rats and was hired by the mages and wizards to shoot lightning from this statue at anyone who enters the temple without permission. After a lengthy conversation where they learn very little, the man casts a spell and everything goes dark. He attacks Grinfiddeus Nobbles with some sort of spell and immediately knocks him unconscious. Adrid attempts to find and attack the man but to no avail. Others below hear and see the ruckus above and attempt to come up the stairs to assist. Eventually, they do find Heinrich and see he has transformed into some sort of fox or wolfman. He grins menacingly and teleports away. Lilithus revives Grinfiddeus Nobbles and he comes back to life screaming. He frantically searches for Heinrich, but the party us unable to locate him. He could either be long gone or lurking nearby, an idea which Grinfiddeus Nobbles finds maddening. The party searches the rest of the floor to only be attacked by 4 ghosts of some sort when examining a room. These ghosts posed little threat but kept the party on their toes as they explore. Eventually the party comes across a room filed with treasure on the sides, but a giant amber golem guards the end. They choose not to enter the room and awaken the guardian. They continue exploring and pass through a hallway where their reflections change and frantically point them back and attempt to warn them from entering the area. The adventurers regroup near one of the rooms to plan their next move. Marc Alt wanders off down the hallway past the reflections urging him to turn around.