After a much needed long rest in Binrus’s refuge, Haerelben sends to Ardak to learn the status of Quastarte after the earlier claims by the Spellguard imposter cultists of a catastrophe. Ardak does not deny, confirm, nor elaborate but warns that Quastarte, which he has left, is unsafe. He directs the party to not return until summoned.
Welby makes his farewells until they meet again at the next air elemental cookout.
The party, with Binrus’s permission, elect to make a quick tour of his facility before continuing to Scarlet Moon Hall. Simon attempts to reconnoiter with Tina, his feline familiar, but can’t see in the darkness of the cave so the party explores the traditional way. Perilously.
Meega pushes against the first of many closed doors but it’s well stuck and she gives up on it after scraping some charisma off her head in the attempt. Allana has charisma to spare so she pushes and pushes until the pressurized door pops open crashing into her, Theren, and Theridan. To take their minds off that pain, the billowing gas cloud formerly pressurizing the room envelopes them. Within the small gas room that caused so much trouble Theridan finds and opens a chest containing a small vial of flying, a bottle of giant strength, an ampule of speed, and a canteen of clairvoyance.
Having explored a scant fifty feet of perilous dungeon, the party returns to Binrus’s mural room for a short rest. The sight of Binrus noshing a whole cow upsets Meega and Allana so the resters relocate to the adjacent chamber where Theren deliberately activates a bolt trap Haerelben ineffectively disarmed earlier.
The explorers descend a flight of stairs into a continuation of the constructed stone dungeon. Around a nearby corner a deep pit across the entire width of the passage halts progress. Haerelben ties himself to Theren with fifty feet of rope and jumps the twenty foot gap where two hiding kobolds meet him on the other side. Simon ties one end of a rope to himself then jumps into the pit, casting featherfall as he does. Theridan snatches the other end but realizes Simon is falling gently and releases the rope when the fifty feet play out. Simon finds spikes and skeletons at the bottom. Theridan misses his jump but transforms into a bear on his way down. The impaled bear reverts back to a mostly unharmed Theridan and enough left over matter to spray Simon with bear guts. Theren ties himself to Meega and jumps over to negotiate with the the kobolds, the ones not just slain by Allana’s eldritch blast. He closes negotiations with a flurry of crossbows and two more kobolds are gone. Meega jumps over the pit throwing two hand axes midair to eliminate the final two kobolds. Theridan transforms back into a bear, Simon gets atop him, and Bear Theridan clambers up the pit. Just as he reaches the top, Meega yanks Allana’s rope while Allana jumps, pushing off Bear Theridan’s emerging head midway. Everyone lands safely on the other side.
While the ropes are sorted out, Theren scouts ahead and prods at a clay pot. Haerelben searches through the personal wealth of the dead kobolds but finds little. As the explorers press forward, Allana and Haerelben can hear a mechanical sound as a triple kobolded ballista swings around the corner ahead. Simon and Haerelben duck to the opposite sides of the tree trunk bolt that careens past and smashes into the other end of the passage. Simon and Allana snap off spells at the kobold ballistarii while Bear Theridan charges up a parallel hallway. More kobolds reinforce the ballista just when Theridan intercepts it and tilts it off the floor. Meega runs up Theridan’s back into the ballista, axes two kobolds, then rolls off the side as Simon’s firebolt ends the last ballistarius and Theridan shoves the upended ballista into the wall. Theren runs up to negotiate terms with the last kobold who has just jammed his dagger into Meega. The kobold never studied primordial, doesn’t understand the offer, and is slain by Theren’s crossbow.
Theridan, half of him in elf form and the other half in human form, spots an oddity about a wall. Meega pushes on the oddity and forces open a hidden door into a grand colonnaded chamber lined with statues. Theridan notes a possible trap in the corridor on the opposite side of the chamber. Allana and Theren examine the humanoid statues, worn by age.
Kobolds appear on the left and toss a couple of glue pots in, sticking Allana to the ground, and a couple more kobolds pop into the opposite hall to sling bullets at Theren. Theridan pursues to the left entangling a few kobolds while Theren works on them with crossbow action. Simon firebolts the glue holding Allana but she starts to catch fire. A wave of kobolds arrive from both directions so Theridan casts a tidal wave right back at them drowning four of them and dousing Allana’s feet. Simon assures her it’s not a problem; he can cast firebolt again.
The last of the kobolds are mopped up and an intense search of the dead ensues. Several pots of glue, alchemical acid, and stink are acquired. Theren disables a whisker trap and finds a room of trash where many kobolds evidently reside. Searching this room will take a while and Meega and Theridan have found more doors to open so the party retreats for a short rest before continuing.