Prepare to Dine with the Devil - After camping for the night, we resume our journey towards Neverwinter - A figure travelling in the opposite direction approaches - a human man appearing to be missing an arm - Fergal jumps down from the cart and tends to the man - Steve speaks with him, learning that he had been working with a team seeking treasure. He pleads with us to save them - saying there were four others. They ventured into old ruins. - "A monster" took his arm - They were seeking gold and an artefact that holds great power - The man dies of cardiac arrest, prompting us to press onwards - We shortly arrive at the ruins - descending old steps with scorch-marked walls - The ruins appear to be extremely old and Gnomish in nature - At the bottom of the stairs, we arrive in a large tunnel that does not match the stairwell. It is a dug-out tunnel without any stonework on either side - We find a handful of skeletal corpses - The skeletons are fresh, tall humanoid - and seem to still be warm. - The skeletons are steaming and scorched - As we continue, we feel as if we are being watched - The tunnel opens into a large room - with three chests, one of which is bigger than the others - Pillars line the room with a number of statues of creatures with eyes. Some appear humanoid while others are simply a collection of eyes - The centre of the room is covered in a layer of green, sticky residue - Steve throws a stone at the green slime, having landed it just sits upon the goo - Investigating one of the chests, Graxen finds it to be covered in the same green slime as the centre of the room. - Graxen attempts to pry open the chest with a dagger, but it seems to be locked - Ellette catches a glimpse of something moving through the shadows above us - A Beholder descends from the darkness, surprising the group and using three of its eye beams against Fergal, Lyra and Graxen - Fergal is killed outright, Lyra is put to sleep and Graxen manages to shrug off the effects of an attempted paralysis - Using surprise, the Beholder attacks again - this time Steve, Graxen and Lyra - Steve resists the effects of an enervation ray, Lyra is hit by a death ray and Graxen is charmed by the creature - At this point, the beholder speaks, condemning us as fools for trespassing into its domain - Ellette's attempt to use magic is instantly negated by the beholder's anti-magical gaze. Both charm monster and magic missile fail - The beholder continues its attack, reducing both Fergal and Lyra to ash. Having attacked Graxen, he is snapped from being charmed - but in the chaotic aftermath of the intrusion into his mind, he is no longer able to contain the bestial form he has been hiding since Barovia. Transforming into a werewolf, he charges at the beholder in a feral bloodlust - Steve knocks over one of the pillars, causing it to come crashing down on top of Graxen and the beholder - Both Graxen and the beholder are crushed by the rubble - A gem falls from the beholder's central eye - which begins to glow. - Steve and Ellette clear the debris off of Graxen, digging him free from the rubble - while also scooping up the beholder's eye - Ellette brandishes the gem towards Graxen's body. His corpse absorbs it, causing purpled veins to press against his skin - before he gasps back to life - We escape from the beholder's lair with 3,000 GP and 4 diamonds - Outside, Graxen returns to his normal form. There is now a third eye in his forehead - Concentrating on a nearby stone, Graxen is able to use the eye to shoot a beholder-type eye beam and destroy it - After climbing back aboard the cart, we press on towards Neverwinter