Date: 05/15/11

XP Awarded: None

Start: An ancient road cut into the face of a sheer cliff overlooking a bay on the Isle of Dread, early Marpenoth 1369 DR.

After a restful night's sleep, the adventurers break camp and return to the weathered stone road. Throughout the morning it continues to wind up and down sheer cliff faces fully exposed to the baking sun. Every now and then the group pass the darkened mouth of a narrow crevice that leads into the rock face, promising relief from the merciless heat, but none are large enough to fit more than a single person. All the while, dark shapes circle far overhead. In the afternoon the party is following the curving road high above a line of rocky shoals when Taark points out a humanoid figure on the far side of an inlet that the road curves around. He is wearing a simple loincloth that reveals painted swathes of skin and stands on the edge of the road where the cliffside drops away into frothy surf far below. The party shout and wave at him, but he merely stands watching the adventurers. As the party follow the road around the inlet and approach his position, Taark's keen eye notices a slight flicker and he realizes it's merely an illusion. Before the group nears the figure, he stabs himself in the chest with a dagger and flings himself from the cliff, disappearing into the surf far below. When the party reaches the site from which he leapt, there is no sign he was ever there. Though their fellow travellers are a little shaken by the dramatic turn of events, they are somewhat comforted by Taark's assurance that it was merely an illusion.

The group continue on, passing through another afternoon thunderstorm, and make an encampment on a wide ledge not far above the ocean. Azaad again uses a rope to create a ladder into a magical resting space, and everyone apart from the watch climb inside. The next morning the sun rises through thick fogs that cover the surface of the bay, but by early morning they've burned off and temperatures are sweltering. A light seabreeze keeps things from becoming too miserable as the party travels across a dry, flat scrubland at the top of the cliffs. Again, a solitary winged figure seems to follow the group high above - so far off that the party can't really make out its size or shape. Around noon the scrubland comes to an end as the plateau narrows and then disappears, and the road returns to wind along the cliffs, high above the ocean. An hour later the road comes to an abrupt end looking out over the bay. Nearly 20 meters above, it continues along its western route. A bamboo platform hangs near the upper path's edge, suspended by several vines draped over a log driven into the cliff face above. The other ends of the vines hang down the cliff face and are attached to a second log at waist height on the lower edge. Down below, a dozen or so abandoned huts line a wide but rocky beach.

Memnon scrambles up the rough rock face to the upper path, where he learns that the primitive mechanism will require much greater strength to operate than he can bring to bear. He calls down to the rest of the group and secures the hanging vines, and Gaerxon scrambles up to join him. Laurrens, Tilan, and Lirith join him, and together they help haul Taark up via the vines. Before they can loose the lift to lower it, they notice a lone figure walking up the road behind their friends below. As it approaches and resolves into a bloodied and filthy Nather, everyone gives a shout of excitement to see that their companion has survived the deadly shipwreck, and against all odds made it across the island to rejoin them. While Nather fills in Azaad on his trials and tribulations, the others lower the lift in shakey, jerky motions to the lower path. Azaad leads Thunderstrike into the wooden contraption and ties him securely to the frame before putting a hood over his eyes. At his signal, the group above strain and begin to pull the lift upward.

There is a shuddering start and then the lift sways erratically as it lifts off the ground. The sound of straining vines is immediately followed by a loud snap and then another, as the vines holding up one side of the lift are broken. The wooden frame rotates sharply, and there is a terrified whinny as Thunderstrike's bridle tears away from the frame and the horse plunges to the rocks lining the beach below. Avner gives a great cry of rage and rushes to the cliff's edge, where he turns away in resigned disgust. Azaad comforts the crying Tavey Nesk, and the group above discuss how to get the others to the upper ledge safely without a lift.

With the lift having shorn much of the lift's vines away, Memnon is forced to climb down the rock face to join the others who are being railed at by Avner for their 'carelessness' and 'foolishness' in allowing his best horse to be destroyed. Peering down at the mess on the rocks below, it's decided that it's not worth climbing down to retrieve any of the goods carried on the horse, though some of them will be sorely missed. Memnon carries Tavey Nesk up the cliff on his back while Nather climbs up with him and Azaad levitates effortlessly alongside, leaving Avner below to shout at the rest of the group. When he realizes that he might be left behind, he tones it down. Azaad uses a magic spell to trade positions with him, and again levitates up to join the rest.

The newly reunited group continue along the road, with Nather relating his adventures since he washed up with a fellow colonist named Robelin. Fighting their way through the jungle, they managed to reach the beach where the rest of the group had washed up, and set out to follow the group's trail. They also encountered Lithira in the stone ruins at the edge of the jungle, but were unable to communicate with her beyond basic pantomiming. She seemed to indicate that others had recently passed through, which rekindled hope in Nather's heart, and soon the pair had passed through the dark mountain pass to the cliffside road. Just a few days ago the pair had been ambushed by gargoyles, and Robelin carried off screaming. Since then Nather, had been travelling slowly and cautiously, but every day seeing more signs of the group's recent passage.

As he talks, there is a clatter of falling stone and suddenly a small rockslide careens into the center of the group. Nobody is knocked off the path, though several receive cuts and bruises from the sharp stones. Once the dust settles, everyone sees a number of human skulls mixed into the pile of rocks that cover the road. Laurrens investigates and finds that many are recent, and some even seem to have been polished. Curious to find the source of the landslide, and to see if they are in danger of another, Memnon and Nather climb up the rock face to investigate. They don't find any explanation for the source of the skulls, but they do find the rock face from which the landslide originated - it almost looks as if the stone was weakened purposefully, though the site is on the open, exposed side of a cliff with no shelter or path in sight. Mystified, they return to the group and continue on. A few hours later the expedition sets up camp on the seashore, though it's a poor one with many of the group's bedrolls and other equipment fallen off the cliff with Thunderstrike.

The next morning the group again sets off, and by late afternoon the road has again ascended the cliff faces to a point almost 50 meters above the ocean. The sky darkens ominously as thunder reverberates across the bay, and the wind rises and begins to tug on everyone's clothing and equipment. Within a few minutes the first, fat drops of rain spatter onto the road. Ahead Memnon spies an opening in the rock face that looks like it might be shelter, but before he can reach it there is a deep, gravelly shriek as another, larger group of gargoyles dives at the party from their ledges high overhead. Led by a larger, powerfully built gargoyle that appears to be wearing a crown of some sort, the gargoyles split into smaller groups to attack. One group land at the front of the expedition while two others land at the rear to surround Lirith. Two more lands in the center of the column next to Tilan and Ulrimm, and the leader drops heavily to the ground in front of Taark and Nather.

Surrounded, Gaerxon and Memnon instinctively press their backs together to face down their foes. Behind them, the leader spreads his wings widely to cut off Gaerxon and Memnon from the rest of the group, green arcane fire flickering over large geometric shapes seemingly inscribed upon his rocky flesh. With a powerful blow, he smites Taark heavily and howls in rage. Azaad uses a spell to transform into a smaller gargoyle himself, leaping from the road to take flight. Behind Lirith, Avner spins and flees back down the road, disappearing into the cloaking sheets of rain. The gargoyles flanking Lirith attack her viciously, while one near Tilan snatches Ulrimm and leaps from the cliff with his small victim. Azaad chases after it and casts a spell that momentarily stuns the creature - it drops Ulrimm and they both plummet into the wind-driven waves far below. Stopping to toss his magical rapier to Lirith first, Azaad dives after them.

Above on the road, one of the gargoyles rushes at Laurrens seeking to drive him off the edge of the cliff, but the mighty priest plants his feet and resists the charge. Finding himself in a dangerously surrounded position, Nather takes a diving somersault toward the back of the group, reaching the gargoyles surrounding Lirith. Taark hammers the gargoyle leader, but discovers that it is largely resistant to damage from his steel warhammer. Worryingly, the adventurers can see a few more gargoyles winging their way toward the battle through the heavy rain. Lirith is now badly hurt and in an even more desperate position, so Nather scoops up the rapier and attacks to draw the gargoyle's attention. Below, Azaad can see just enough of the battle to target the other flanking Lirith, and his spell sends it into a deep magical slumber. He dives to the oceans surface and skims across it, searching through the wind-whipped wave crests for the small gnome. Once he's spotted, he swoops in to pluck Ulrimm from the water and struggles to stay airborne under the additional weight.

The additional gargoyles reach the battle, one diving to attack Laurrens while the other moves to replace the gargoyle fighting Gaerxon and Memnon that was just dropped by a thrust from Memnon's doru. The gargoyle fighting Lirith and Nather takes a vicious swipe at the lightly armored Lirith, dropping her to the ground. Nather fears the worst, seeing a large amount of blood rushing from her deep wound. He rushes to her side and pours a healing potion into her open mouth, and is gratified to see her eyelids flicker in response. The enraged gargoyle charges at Nather and rams his horned head into his midsection - the Tharsultan's feet scrabble on the rain-slicked pavement seeking purchase, but the force of the blow drives him over the edge of the cliff and he disappears into the deluge. The gargoyle fighting Tilan attempts the same maneuver, but the paladin holds his ground and counter-attacks with a flurry of thrusts from his longsword.

Meanwhile Azaad continues to wing his way back up to the road, very slowly due to the additional weight of the badly wounded Ulrimm. He sees where Nather dropped into the ocean, but before the curtains of rain block his view, he sees his friend disappearing under the rough waves. Gaerxon and Memnon finish off the last of the gargoyles attacking them and move to help Taark and Laurrens battle the leader. Great blows from Errant Fang seem to cut through the creature's resistance, and the flames wreathing Taark's warhammer likewise burn the gargoyle. Its powerful claws have rent deep wounds in both combatants, but with aid from the two new arrivals, it is steadily weakened by blow after blow. By the time Tilan finishes off the gargoyle he's been fighting and joins the others, the gargoyle king is finally laid low by a blow from Memnon. Azaad reaches the road and delivers Ulrimm to safety, just before collapsing from exhaustion. He warns the others that Nather is drowning in the sea far below, and Laurrens uses his magic to heal the worst of Memnon's heavy wounds while the doughty warrior peels off his bloodstained breastplate.

Memnon takes a deep breath and a running start before hurtling off the cliff into the storm-tossed waves 50 meters below. He quickly locates the struggling Nather and hauls him to safety, steering clear of the crushing rocks on which the surf is pounding. Once out of the water, Nather chokes up water for a minute before recovering enough to climb up the sheer cliff with the aid of his magical slippers. The wind buffets the two as they ascend, but gradually drops off as the storm blows over. Azaad has recovered enough to fly down the road in search of Avner, who gives a cry of surprise when he thinks he's being hunted down by another gargoyle. Eventually Azaad gets him corralled back to the rest of the party, just as Nather and Memnon clamber over the edge of the road.

The party waits out the rest of the rainstorm, which gradually tapers off, while healing and cleaning their weapons. By the time everyone is ready to travel, the sun has started to reappear from behind the clouds. The path hugs the cliffs high above the bay, eventually reaching a split. The wide, stone road continues to meander along the steep slopes ahead, following a curve out of sight to the right. A smaller stone road turns sharply to the right and climbs toward a V-shaped knuckle between two peaks. Ulrimm seems unsure of which way to proceed, while Avner Merevanchi is quite certain that the party should be detouring away from the coastline to get away from 'those wretched gargoyles'. As darkness is falling across the bay, the party set watches while Azaad uses his magic to create the extradimensional hiding space for the others.

The next morning it's decided to follow Ulrimm's advice and continue along the road. A little after noon, the group reach a point where the road vanishes in a sudden drop-off. It's unclear whether the elements have eroded the ledge away completely or the ancients never completed its construction, but the sheer drop of 50 meters to a jagged pile of rocks below effectively prevents further progress. The expedition reluctantly turns around to backtrack to where the road splits, with Avner triumphantly telling everyone that they should have listened to him. The sun sets before the group reach the split, but Memnon leads the way with light from his flaming shield, and everyone collapses exhaustedly into their bedrolls once camp has been set up.

While the dawn is hidden from the party behind the looming peaks, streaks of silver clouds above reflect the morning light down to the party's encampment. Starting up the steep stone road - here not much wider than a cart path - the stone walls on either side close in and before long the group is travelling through narrow stone canyons. The air grows cooler and wetter as the group ascends, and vegetation becomes greener and more common. Ulrimm is excited to have more plants to take samples of and sketch, and the party has to stop several times along the way while someone runs back to grab the disappeared gnome. Before midday the canyon opens up to a sunny meadow surrounded by vine-draped cliff faces where the expedition rests for an hour after the arduous climb. Ahead the canyons begin to wind downward, and after another two hours of walking, the ravine opens up to reveal a gorgeous vista of a mist-cloaked valley below. A great and dark fog-shrouded jungle covers the land and far off in the distance, barely visible through the gloom, a lake glitters.

As the expedition continues to descend, the path runs alongside a ravine filled with a lush, water-filled river. As the river falls away to the left, the stone road turns into a dirt path that enters a deep, mysterious jungle. The canopy drips with condensation and echoes with strange bird calls. An inordinate number of small serpents slither across the jungle floor, but they rush for cover at the party's approach. The thick undergrowth lightens as the canopy grows heavier, and the ground becomes wetter and muddier. The sunlight dims as it is swallowed up by the billowing banks of fog, and Memnon is forced to detour around stretches of marshy swampland. The plantlife grows more deformed and off-colour, and Ulrimm keeps muttering to himself 'none of this is right...' When Memnon detours the group around a bloated, listless, white-coloured crocodile covered with twitching growths, everyone realizes that something is very wrong. The trees are barren, off-colour and stunted, and soon the group has entered a barren section of swamp marked only by rotting stumps illuminated by a diffuse, dying sunlight. Memnon realizes that he's lost his way in the disorienting fogs and tries to double-back, but the very landscape seems to be twisted in some strange way that prevents him from retracing his steps. The group ask Ulrimm to send his crow Miss Crazzle to fly above the fog to get a bearing, and the large crow flaps off into the mist. After 10 minutes, she finally returns squawking loudly to Ulrimm, who informs the party that she got lost in the fog, and couldn't find a way to fly out.

Wondering if some evil magic is at work to misguide the party's progress, Taark tunes his inquisitorial senses to search for signs of evil. He's stunned to realize that a low-level background aura of evil pervades the entire landscape. As the already dim sunlight fades further, Memnon finds the highest piece of land he can locate and informs the party that they will need to camp in the swamp overnight. The members of the expedition branch out to find materials for creating a campfire, and Ulrimm calls out to the rest of the party to come investigate what he's found on a small hillock. Crumbling, moss-covered walls built from unadorned stone blocks frame a long-gone structure - Taark notes that the style of construction and decoration is very different from the ancient ruins encountered previously. Piles of rubble litter the ruins, and an empty fire pit sits in the center. In a nearby corner of the ruins Laurrens encounters a crude wooden frame of timbers tied together in the shape of an 'X'. Bound upside-down to the frame is the corpse of a native, legs high in the air, and it's easy to see the gaping wound in his chest that killed him. When Laurrens moves closer to investigate, it suddenly begins to speak in broken common. "Welcome to my home, travelers. You come a long way only to stay here forever. At least you live. That is good for now. My home is your home, now and forever."

Alarmed, the other adventurers surround the zombie and interrogate it, but the ropes that bind it to the wooden frame are secure and it poses no harm. It speaks in dour tones and doesn't seem to know how long it has been there, only that it was killed by the master of Fogmire though it refuses to describe him. It asks what it is like to be alive, and often comments that soon the adventurers will know what it is like to be dead. After realizing that the zombie hasn't got any useful information, Tilan beheads the undead with one stroke of his longsword. Azaad creates an extra-dimensional resting space for Ulrimm, Avner, Lirith and Tavey while the others gather enough materials for a small fire. It's difficult to get it started because of the dampness, but Memnon's skills soon kindle a small flame that blossoms into a campfire. The party sets a watch, then retire for the evening. Taark volunteers to stay awake all night on watch, since he tires less easily than the others and his darkvision is very useful in the dark.

The night is pitch-black and suffused with writhing tendrils of fog, and the surrounding mire is filled with the sound of nightbirds, mysterious splashes and slithering sounds, and biting insects. As each of the adventurers awakens for their turn on watch, they feel a sense of dread and exhaustion from half-remembered nightmares of being trapped in a terrible jungle. By the time it comes to Nather and Lirith's watch, Taark has become accustomed to the background noises of the swamp. Even so, he doesn't notice the swamp falling silent in an ominous manner. Suddenly, at the edge of the light from the campfire behind Lirith appears a hulking monster that at first looks like a powerfully muscled orangutan, yet the cruelty that burns in its rheumy red eyes signals a hateful intelligence. Its visage is dominated by a pair of oversized fangs that jut from its lower jaw, and its fur is rusty red and matted with filth. On the far side of the campfire, two more similar but smaller creatures appear out of the darkness, surrounding Nather. The first grabs at Lirith with a powerful swipe, but the nimble warrior dodges aside at the last minute. Taark casts a spell that surrounds the group in a tight circle of flames that radiate heat outward, hoping to keep the ape-like creatures at bay. Nather yells for help up into the opening of the extra-dimensional space where the others are resting, and inside several of the others bolt out of their bedrolls.

Below, the ape-like creatures move right through the wall of fire, though their fur is only slightly singed by the roaring flames. Nather is badly hurt by the combined attacks of the pair flanking him, but he's reinforced by Memnon and Gaerxon that leap out of the mid-air portal to land next to him, weapons at the ready. Behind them, the apparent leader again grabs at Lirith, and this time she is pulled screaming into his arms. The others barely have a chance to attack the brute before he vanishes into the misty darkness, and a moment later the other disappear from sight as well. The last of Lirith's screams echo in everyone's ears as the rest of the group tumble out of Azaad's resting space, and Taark dismisses the wall of fire so that everyone can fan out to search for any trace of where the attackers may have gone. As Azaad emerges from the portal, he listens to the group's description of the attacking beasts and thinks they sound similar to the bar-lgura, a simian type of demon that often act as scouts for abyssal armies.

It's too dark to effectively search for tracks, and Azaad is too exhausted to be able to concentrate on his spellbook, so the party reluctantly return to their bedrolls to get a few more hours of rest until daylight returns. Dawn doesn't come in Fogmire, though the surrounding gloom does lighten. When the adventurers arise, they find it difficult to shrug off the unease from their nightmares of demon-haunted jungles and ocean. Nather seems to have been particularly affected by these dreams, and awakens with a momentary urge to seek out some unknown demonic shrine and sacrifice himself upon its altar. It passes quickly enough, but he does feel a persistent force tugging on his mind. While Azaad studies his spellbook and the others carry out their morning prayers, Memnon searches the surrounding swamp for signs of the creatures' passage. He's frustrated to find that they left no tracks apart from their assault on the camp, which have already been trampled by the party's previous search efforts.

The adventurers are stumped on how to proceed when Tilan notices that when he focuses on detecting evil, the constant background aura that pervades the mire seems to have writhing 'currents' that flow in one direction. Azaad creates another extra-dimensional resting place for Avner, Ulrimm, and Tavey to hide within, and the adventurers wade into the murky waters to follow Tilan's guidance. As the group splashes through filthy marsh, Tilan notes that the strength of the evil presence is becoming stronger, and eventually reaches a point where the 'currents' he's been following are overwhelmed by the background aura. Memnon realizes that nearby is a larger section of dry land than he's seen, and upon investigation it rises into a low hill. Atop the hill is a 15-meter spire of twisted black rock and at the hill's base gape two huge carvings of baboon heads, their open maws leading into darkened caverns. After some debate, the group enter the mouth of the right head.

Inside, the passage forks to the left and right and a dripping sound can be heard in the distance. Nather's keen eyes spot a bloody handprint on the rough rock wall, and the party enter the fork to the right in an attempt to follow the sign. The passage curls around to the left, culminating in a dead-end where the skeletal corpse of a human is attached to the cavern wall by a pair of rusted manacles, bones yellow with age. Nather finds some type of words scrawled onto the wall by a piece of loose rock, but they are unintelligible other than a few words such as 'cannibals', 'hungry', and 'out'. After a thorough search, the party backtrack to the fork and follow the other branch - it leads a short distance before forking again. The passage to the left is dimly lit by reflected daylight, so the group choose the right and come across a pile of Lirith's torn and bloodied gear. Discarded into a corner are her boots, chainmail shirt, scimitar, and buckler. Fearing the worst, the adventurers press on.

The natural cavern winds deeper into the hill, giving way to worked stone and a short hallway that end in a pair of tarnished bronze doors. The doors are engraved scenes of all manner of demonic reptiles and simians tormenting human slaves, and the handles are made from barbed tongues of fiends. A pair of stone statues flank the door in niches carved into the walls, each depicting leering monkey demons their tongues dripping an oily red liquid that evaporates before it hits the floor below. Nather's investigation reveals a tiny inscription written below each - Azaad notes that the language is Abyssal, the language of demons, and reads 'give of your left' and 'give of your right' on the left and right statues, respectively. Nather also tells the party that the doors are tightly locked, probably with some type of magic since he cannot find a locking mechanism anywhere. Understanding the statues' inscriptions to mean that a blood sacrifice may be required, Memnon grasps the barbed demonic tongues that serve as door handles and grips them tightly enough to draw beads of blood. He feels the doors give just a tiny amount of movement and grips harder, inflicting painful wounds upon his palms. As the blood runs freely from his hands and down the barbed handles, the bronze doors swing smoothly open.

Beyond the doorway is a chamber stained with blood. Two stone thrones sit on either side, set into alcoves. At the rear of the chamber is a blood-caked altar of greasy green stone topped by a pair of black tallow candles. Iron-framed mirrors flank the altar, their reflections warped and indistinct. Nather cautiously moves forward, expecting a deadly trap at any moment. After searching the blood-stained thrones, he moves up to investigate the altar. Though he doesn't find any triggers, scorch marks on the walls and floor cause him to suspect some type of flame trap. Warning the rest of the party to remain safely outside the room, he uses his flint and steel to light one of the black candles. Though the candle doesn't seem to give off any light to illuminate the shrine, Nather does notice fresh blood pooling in the seat of one of the thrones. He proceeds to light the second candle, but some instinct tells him to drop and roll a fraction of a second before the candle flames explode into a huge fireball with a low roar. Miraculously he's unscathed, and from his position on the floor next to one of the thrones he notices that the pool of blood on the throne's seat is gone. He returns to relight the candle, and when the pool of blood reappears on the throne seat, he goes to sit in it. As the warm liquid seeps into his armor, he notices that the previously indistinct reflections in one of the mirrors has been replaced by a view of a stone wall illuminated by a diffuse red light. Without hesitating Tilan moves forward to touch the mirror, and everyone is surprised to see him drawn forward into the flat surface, which then returns to the previous indistinct reflections.

Realizing that some type of portal magic is at work, Azaad uses his magic to relight the candle. With Nather remaining seated in the throne, the mirror immediately resolves to the same image of a stone wall. Memnon rushes through the activated portal, which then returns to an inactive state. Working in order, Laurrens, Gaerxon, and then Azaad travel through the portal. Finally, Taark uses the power of Moradin's holy flame to relight the candle and travel through the portal, and Nather is left alone in the room. It takes him a bit longer to relight the candle, return to the seat, and back to the mirror portal.

Elsewhere, Tilan finds himself in a huge chamber hewn from rock, bathed in a strange red light from above. Thorny vines grow across the walls and toward the ceiling some 13 meters above. A natural stone bridge crosses through the upper reaches of the room, directly above a large pool of crimson liquid. Next to Tilan, against a wall, stands a large mirror framed in iron. The warm scent of wet fur is overpowering, and he can hear furtive shuffling sounds from above. As he ponders his next move, Memnon suddenly appears next to him, and Tilan gestures for silence while pointing at the stone bridge above. As the others appear next to the mirror's warped surface, the sounds of movement from above cease. The party spread out, ready for a confrontation, and a moment later their fears prove well-founded as a trio of bar-lgura demons appear from the darkness to attack. Two leap down from the overhead stone bridge to attack, while one charges through the pool of crimson liquid, spraying it all over the party. It tackles Azaad, badly wounding him, and a second later the two disappear. A moment after that, the party can hear his surprised yells coming from the natural bridge above. The other two likewise disappear after pounding Tilan and Memnon with their powerful fists.

Gaerxon and Memnon immediately start climbing the rock wall toward the arching stone bridge above, in an effort to reach Azaad and aid him. Below, Taark uses a powerful prayer to Moradin to enhance the group's combat prowess and Laurrens races across the room to investigate a dark nook where he thinks the demons may be hiding. Memnon reaches the edge of the natural arch and peers over just in time to see a bar-lgura drop Azaad with a solid blow to the head. While its attention is focused on the fallen mage, Memnon and Gaerxon scramble over the edge and prepare to flank the demon. Its keen senses detect their approach, and a fierce battle follows. On the ground behind the demon, Azaad is still alive though barely conscious, and drags himself to the wall where he plays dead.

In the room below, Taark has joined Laurrens to verify the rear of the chamber is free of additional threats when they are suddenly plunged into a globe of magical darkness. Though they can hear something moving about nearby, they aren't able to find it with their weapons for fear of hitting an ally. Instead, Taark starts feeling his way along a wall to emerge from the darkness, leading Laurrens by the hand. On the other side of the room, Tilan faces one of the demons with support of Nather who is hiding behind him. Muttering a prayer, Tilan invokes Anachtyr's name to smite the demon with holy power, wounding it badly. Almost immediately there is a shriek as another of the demons appears in mid-leap. It lands next to Tilan, surrounding him, and pounds him with its oversized fists.

Memnon and Gaerxon's teamwork badly wound the demon they've been fighting on the stone arch above, and it vanishes in a swirl of noxious smoke. Spying Tilan's trouble below, the duo leap down for a 'death from above' attack, slaying it. The beast crumples as its skin sizzles and spits, filling the room with the eye-wateringly powerful stench of brimstone. The other reaches past Tilan in an attempt to grab Nather, but Nather sees the attack coming and slices his daggers across the beast's forearms, inflicting critical wounds. Behind him, Taark and Laurrens emerge from globe of darkness just in time to see the other demon reappear and immediately engage it in furious melee.

Memnon and Gaerxon are forced to split their attacks among the advancing bar-lgura demons, but their defense holds. When Nather is threatened by another snatch attempt he opens another set of deep gashes on the demon's arms with a flourishing sweep. Tilan follows up with a mighty uppercut that opens the demon wide - its body collapses to the floor, smoking and withering into a pile of greasy ashes before his eyes. The third demon disappears into midair, and Nather takes the opportunity to rush across the red-lit room to one of the locked doors. While Tilan, Gaerxon and Memnon stand guard, he jimmies the lock open to reveal a stone staircase that ascends to the room's upper level. Memnon and Gaerxon rush up to search for the last demon, leaving Tilan and Nather below. Across the room, Taark and Laurrens stay near each other while carrying out a search of their own. There is a rushing sound just before the lurking demon reappears in the middle of a charge against Tilan. After being pounced upon, Tilan barely has enough time to get in a counter-strike before the bar-lgura again vanishes into a small cloud of smoke.

A vicious game of cat and mouse ensues, where the demon stalks the party and strikes just when one of the adventurers is separates from the others. It seems to be focusing its attentions on Tilan and Nather, allowing Laurrens to position himself for a strike at just the right moment. After another leaping attack from hiding, Laurrens springs into action before it can again vanish. Swinging Errant Fang in a wide overhead circle, he brings the blade crashing down upon the simian demon who is unable to block the power of the blow. As the greatsword cleaves through the demonic skull, the creature's flesh blackens and tightens, splitting to reveal an unholy red light that grows to consume the bar-lgura. Memnon and Gaerxon rush to Azaad's side as the last sounds of battle echo through the chamber.