01/11 The fighting continues, Ash, Karrut and VV at the front with Ellette and Zara supporting from behind. Goblin pieces flying everywhere. Steve now awake stayed quiet staring at the mind flares who paid her no attention. Qwimby had split from the group, sneaking around the fighting and unseen by the two mind flares. He shushed Steve as he approached, cutting the ties from her hand. She retrieved the hammer that had been left beside her on the ground. Without hesitating she ran up to the mind flares and swung wide knocking the pair to the side as Qwimby and her ran to rejoin the others. As they approached they saw Zara hitting a large ball with her Frying pan, "Ellettes inside!". Downing a health potion Steve squares her small shoulders and approaches the ball. Qwimby joins Karrut, Ash and VV fighting the goblin hoard. Steve manages to shatter the ball trapping Ellette finally seeing it had been made entirely of goblin skeletons. Ellette, covered in goblin pieces, seems to loose her temper, her hair now a blazing fire her skin changing to a yellow tone. Spells are hurled at the remaining goblins as she quickly dispatches them. The group turns their sights on the mind flares who are back standing at their previous post. VV notes the, what they refer to as, "Far realm goo" covering nearly every surface. The group panics and chase after Ellette who in her blind rage is just walking up to the mind flares, preparing a fireball. The battle is merciless, intellect devourers joining the fray, trying to protect their masters. The party come out victorious, the mind flares lying dead. As the group gathers their barings examining the area, the brief peace is short. "Here what's the story with these?" The group hear Qwimby shouting ahead of everyone. They look up to see him a bit ahead pointing to two statues and they watch in horror as he turns to stone. 08/11 Zara is the first to act, throwing her Frying pan at the statue but is amazed as it arcs and is fired back at her, knocking her to the ground. Ash attempts to approach the statues and is petrified halfway up. Ellette fey steps to behind Qwimby, dispelling the petrification before quickly teleporting them to safety. VV stands back putting together a spell hoping to shatter one statue. A loud crash is heard as a large crab-like creature appears by the group. Karrut, ever himself, screams "Friend!" And runs up to the crab that grabs him in both pinchers "I've got this you all handle the statues!" He announces from the beasts grasp. The rest of the group focus their attention to the statues. Steve hurls her hammer at one statue causing a large crack to appear. Qwimby sees his opportunity and shoots the centre of the crack causing the first statue to crumble. Ash's top half is freed from petrification but his legs remain stuck, He calls lightning down on top of the statue just as VV casts his shatter spell. The second statue shatters as Ash is freed completely. "Ah very good you've dealt with the statues, CAN YOU HELP ME NOW!?" Karrut roars, the group turns to see he has been covered in a spider like web the monstrosity looking like it was about to devour him. Ash, VV and Steve rush towards him. Ellette hears a scream, she turns to see Qwimby has Zara by the throat, he looks confused. Ellette sees he's using the same hand with the weird finger she had been telling the party about. Zara kicks at Qwimbys shins trying to break free "Let me go!", "I can't!" He roars back. Ellette runs to their side, Qwimby looks at Ellette, "I can't stop it! I can see it!" Ellette looks to see the sharp teeth have returned to his hand. With barely a second though Ellette grabs his hand pumping cold magic into it, the cold seems to shock whatever it is and Qwimbys hand lets go. Zara slaps Qwimby on the head and grabs him by the collar dragging him over to the nearest wall. "So Ellette isn't fucking crazy good to know now CUT THE DAMN THING OFF!" She grabs Qwimbys arm forcing him to hold his hand flat on the top of the wall. Ellette walks over looking at Qwimby for permission. He nods and looks away. Ellette pulls out her sword and with a quick swing she relieves Qwimby of his finger, now a shade of purple. To the trios horror it wriggles and an eye forms on the tip, they stare in horror as it tumbles off the far side of the wall into the river below before any of them think to stop it. There's a loud crash as they turn to see the rest of the group has freed Karrut and killed the other creature. They barely passed a nod to one another before they hear a clap coming from up the path across the bridge. A skeletal figure is standing their looking amused as he regards the group, "Now that was a show!" They regroup and approach the figure, Ash introduces himself much to the party's dismay. The bone man laughs and nods "I know, I've been watching you all. And you in particular, you have something I want." Ash looked at him confused as the creature teleported VV in front of him. "You're weird, you're not like the others." The creature asks if VV can hear "The family" but VV just looks at him confused. HE drops VV and looks at the rest of the group, "An elf, half elf, water genasi, a firbolg, a child and...a peculiar Tiefling" "IM AN ADULT!" Steve squeaked The creature ignores Steve approaching Karrut, "your blood seems weird" Karrut, looking proud informs the bone man, "You can have a sample!" Causing ellette to slap herself in the face and sigh exasperated. As she looks up she spots a familiar skeleton in a cage, his fancy suit, top hat and wardobe on his back. "Scab?" "Ah hello friends! Don't worry about me just in a little pickle here I should be fine though!" They ask the creature to free Scab. He says he will if he gets what he wants. "Which is what?" Ash asks. As quickly as the word leave his lips the creature appears beside him now holding the jar containing the pearl Ash had collected earlier in their journey. "If that's all you can have it" Ash stated squaring his shoulders "No wait-!" Qwimby called out but it was too late "We have a deal" They could almost see a smile on the bone man's features as popped the cork tilting the pearl into his hands. Watching in horror as the creature raised the pearl to the left eye socket pushing it in. With a shudder skin seemed to reform on his face with gold tendrils outlining the newly attained eye. Qwimby, Karrut and Ellette all took a sharp breath as they recognise the face of Zargathax. He laughs tilting his head towards the three. He rattles off, "Now I need my books, the three books of Vile and Darkness. I have one and you have delivered me the eye. For that I'll change my gift so you can have your lives in return" Ellette, Qwimby and Karrut took a step forward but the group as a whole were pushed back as Zargathax waved his hand at them causing them to fall into the now open hole behind them. The team tumbled down the dark hole landing in a small room. There was one door on a wall not far from them with torches either side. The group looked up to only see darkness, the way back up now sealed off. They agreed to take a moment to gather themselves before pushing forward. Theres a door a head of us. The door has four stones embedded in it. Red, green, blue and yellow. After failing a few times failing to put in the correct combo the team manage to finaly crack it and get through. The entrance has a trapped floor, qwinby notices it and manages to disarm it. They come to a split in the path, to the right seems a deep green hue. To the left there's the sound of scuttling. Zara head down the right path and comes face to face with an undead beholder. After a brief panic she runs away. The team decide tto go down the left path. Its quiet at first but then we see the small frame of intellect devourers. The team take a hit but managed to get past them. Following the path they see a path with lowered ground surrounding it. There's a green mist hanging around the bottom. IT gives the party an uneasy feeling. Qwinby spots another hallway, it looks empty. The path is oddly clean but a pile of dirt at the end. Steve picks up a rock throwing at the end of the hallway. The dirt shifts before a clay golem forms . A fight ensues. The team dispatch of the golum before heading down. Theres a right turn leading to a dead end. Against the wall is two chests. Qwimby cracks open the first, theres a cloth covering something. Steve picks it up undoing the blanket. Theres a stone slab inside showing some sort of ritual. IT seems to be summoning something. They put the slab back into the chest and then open the chest beside it. The team hear a purring inside the chest. Theres a creature wrapped up in the blanket. It has white fur, it's adorable Steve picks it up. We put together a makeshift bed for the creature in VV's chest and give it some food. The creature seems happy enough and falls asleep. We head back down the hallway to the path. As Qwimby looks into the mists he sees the ghosts of the past. The people of Alexandria, his old friends and morgar. He falls into the pit. Theres a sentient mushroom on a platform names Elizabeth, she talks to the team about the mist. The danger inside. Her spores cause an area of anti magic. VV kills the mushroom. No one likes that. Ellette pulls qwimby out of the mist. The mist becomes semi solid and the party attack. The creature screams using the voices of the ghosts. We almost kill it and it runs away. We cross the path and come into a room with three statues. Ellette and Steve are examining the statues when out of nowhere Ash and Qwimby think they have a great idea and destroy two of them. The team is trapped. Ellette looses he temper Theres a roar from the previous room and the path collapses. A giant creature rises up and begins speaking to the team thinking no one can understand it until Ellette notices the creature is speaking Deep Speech. They have a conversation, it shares a foreboding prophecy and speaks of the books. From the other room the roof caves in caused by a dracolich. Zargathax is on the back. He mocks the party and Steve before gliding over to the creature and pulls the book out of its mouth. HE mocks the party yet again and thanks them before leaving. Zagathax now has the second book.