Storehouse

Jorgen headed for the doors and finding them unlocked peered inside.  He found a hallway extending to the west with doors on the north and south about 30-40 feet in.  The rest of the party began to enter and flanked the doors.

Fanara flung open the north door revealing a chamber filled with dusty piles of old furniture, mounds of moldering herbs, bales of cloth, barrels of fertilizer, clay pots, and trays of dried seeds. A large stone fireplace occupied the northwest corner.  In the room stood a figure in tattered red robes who looked up from searching the room at the door opening.

The humanoid figure said something in a language no one understood.

"Hello, who are you," Fanara replied in Common.

Dancing Hut Again

"I have healing available," Milos offered.

Fanara and Casia were busy picking up the pieces of their armor but said they needed healing, maybe more than the others!

After healing Santrel set about mending the armor and buckler of Fanara and Casia's armor. It appeared as good as new, or at least how it had appeared before. Then the two heroes took time to put the armor back on before the party headed anywhere.

At last they started up the stairway, winding around and around the hollow cylinder. Milos took off first as he would more than likely soon fall behind.

The Mad Nursery

"Which way should we go?" Jorgen asked impatiently.

"We could see what is beyond the hallway to the east.  Maybe it leads to something interesting." Santrel said.

"I say we try the one to the north," Fanara countered.

"Stop the fighting you two," Casia suggested. "Lets take the door to the north."

Jorgen approached and found no traps but the door was locked.  He tried the three keys that he had collected but none of them worked in this lock.  He then pulled out his tools and began to attack the lock to open it.  It took several attempts but he was ultimately successful. Opening the door he found another tunnel with stairs headed up.

Keys to the Hut

"Do we need to become older to face the Eon Pit?" Santrel wondered.

"Aging is not all it is assumed to be," Fanara answered. "Just look at Milos, he can hardly see or walk well these days."

"But I can keep all of you in good health, that is worth more than my reduced sight.  I can see other things than just with my eyes!" Milos retorted.

Fanara attempted to determine meaning from the warnings and was not happy to find that the phrase was part of a "croning ritual" performed by older witches to celebrate the symbolic and spiritual transformation from motherhood into their elderly years.

"Do we really want to get that old?" Casia asked.

A Clue is Given

"Lets try the south doorway first," Fanara suggested.

Jorgen moved to the double doors and tried the keys that he had.  The same key that worked on the other two doors in this chamber opened these doors also.  The doors opened into another passageway that led south, southwest to another arch that clearly resembled the other teleportation arches the party had used before.

"We should try the other doors before going through this arch," Casia suggested.

Again Jorgen tried the keys on the locked doors and found the same key opened these doors also.  This doorway led to another passageway that headed west and then quickly climbed to the south.

"Everyone stay back there is a trap here," Jorgen exclaimed.

The Eon Pit

Jorgen began to explore the room as the giants did not react immediately.  He moved west and east but did not see any other secret doors or hidden items.  The smashed statue was made of wood and resembled a stooped and ancient beldame, now broken into many pieces across the floor.

Amadeo began to edge into the chamber while the others basically waited in the tunnel for some action.

The giants then yelled "Intruders" in Giant which Santrel related for the group.  At this the giants began to slowly move forward to attack.

Meeting the Warden

"We should head to the west here.  We don't want to leave any enemies behind us!" Jorgen suggested.

"Then you should lead us in that direction." Casia ordered.

Jorgen headed up the passage which looked like the rest of the passages in this area with springtime scenes on the walls.

A few feet into the passage Jorgen noted tiny pieces of quartz that formed an inlay of a crescent moon in the floor of this passage, surrounded by a ring of runes. A few feet beyond the inlay a small round table stood in the middle of the tunnel. A wooden bowl filled with fresh wildflowers sat in the center of the table.