(With thanks to Jon) Upon being discovered, Wervin had some rather nasty things to say to the party. Despite the pleas of Idilai and Baiden to cease his misbehavior, Wervin confidently displayed his true power. Arcs of lightning shot out from his fingertips and reanimated the souls of the slain adventurers in the center of the temple. The battle raged on, and seeing the tide slowly turn against him, Wervin nearly managed to escape. However, careful tactics and strategy from Valandra prevented this and lead to his eventual demise.
After sundering his runed armor and defeating Wervin (and his minions) and looting a shiny cloak from his cold body, the group discovered a small rectory tucked away from the main temple area. Inside was a hole dug into a tunnel below. Idilai and Baiden went outside to make sure the previous tussle had gone unnoticed, and then dragged the bodies inside and shut the doors. Meanwhile, Vensil cast light on poor Anvar and he was lowered into the depths.
The man-made tunnel went on for quite some time; often weaving in and around several old buildings of the village that once stood within the Black River Vale. After some time, they ran into, and startled, a fair-skinned eladrin who – at first glance – seemed to be arming traps. It was then that Talon thought it best to grapple his face in an attempt to subdue the creature and gain information. Unfortunately, he did not know his own strength and snapped the neck of the eladrin. The efforts of the group would not be in vain; however, as they eventually dispelled a ward and picked a lock and came into possession of a chest filled with a small fortune in silver rods.
The adventurers pressed forward through the tunnel. They began to notice odd undergrowth in the caverns below the former city, and soon realized that leaves were spreading and expanding on all sides of the tunnels ahead of them. Nonetheless, they would proceed until the tunnel system opened up into a final, large room. Inside it, poor Zorella was bound to a portal. But waiting for them was an eladrin with the horns of a goat, who did not share his name.
Met with hostility, the party brought the fight to him. Within the first few seconds, the creature used his powers of the wind within the room to push Zorella through the portal. Her passage through was resulted in a bloodcurdling scream and the activation of the portal. However, this fueled the determination of the group even more. The battle would rage on, and eladrin soldiers poured out of the still-open portal. Taking notice of the odd runes inscribed in the floor, Vensil smudged one out, and informed the rest of the group that doing so would impair, and eventually close, the portal itself.
It was a hard-fought battle, but the group soon realized that the runes were arranged in a way that mirrored a pentagram; the fifth and final rune – according to Vensil’s study of magical incantations – should reside on the other side of the portal.
Eager to see what was beyond, Baiden hopped through.
He was met with an amazing sight. Emerging through the misty portal, the half-elf found himself high atop a branch of a monstrous tree miles in height. Before him, a sword lay in a stone with the fifth rune etched upon it. He lunged for it in an attempt to dislodge the blade, but was not successful. As he looked over his shoulder he noticed what seemed to be a legion of fey warriors approaching the portal. Idilai then burst through to see what had become of Baiden. Her attempts to dislodge the sword were also unsuccessful. Talon finally came through, smudged out the final rune, and then told the other two members to get out while they still can. The portal closed just as Baiden finished passing through.
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