Just when violence with the burrow shark and his four henchmen seems inevitable, the deception that the disheveled party of “earth cultists” is escorting recaptured prisoners of Helldorm back to his abode of torture gains a little traction. Only when Theren, mostly covered in mostly not his own blood, can’t quickly answer the shark burrow’s gruff query of his name does the situation degrade. Theren, not displaying stoicism sufficiently for an earth cultist, takes some whip lashing while the guards hold him down. This provides some covering distraction for Haerelben and Meega, known to the burrow shark as Lentz with a head cold, to shove Gervor and Wulgreda into the torture chamber. Lefty follows, carrying catatonic “prisoner” Bromsby whom she will throw into the chasm herself, thanks. The mortal remains of Helldorm and the other vanquished cultists have fortunately not been discovered. Theren finally recalls his own name, Gustav, and the burrow shark’s henchmen release him.
As soon as the burrow shark’s dressed-right-dress detachment of guards turns the corner, the party silently slips away from the torture chamber toward the kitchen. Meega piles rubble against the back door so that both doors are barricaded. Theren directs the standard watch order so the party can rally to fight Marlos Urnrayle. Bromsby cannot be revived.
On watch, Theren hears someone trying to open the door. Theren wakes charismatic Lefty to help with impersonation of the deceased ettin. She gives her best sleepy performance, Broog’s room! We’re busy! Whispered voices seem to buy the bluff, but then Theren doubles down with an unconvincing supporting role as Nurg and it seems the situation will deteriorate. Unnerved Theren discusses the matter with catatonic Bromsby until his shift ends. Heavy knocking breaks the peace of the final watch. Haerelben manages to buy another hour or two with a passable Broog and Nurg encore while the others wake up.
Theren gets the idea to rest the silver hammer, Iron Oath, on Bromsby’s catatonic dome. Bromsby, or something like Bromsby, switches on and relates how he went for a perilous unannounced walkabout in the middle of the previous night, because that’s what he does. Bromsby found himself captured in Urnrayle’s private chambers and doesn’t recall anything after that. All his magical items got pinched and he’s definitely not himself. He just doesn’t feel good. Grammarian Theren presses Bromsby for this unexpected change in alignment. Pseudo Bromsby loses consciousness whenever Iron Oath loses contact, so he wields Iron Oath despite his druidic misgivings regarding its metallic allergen content. Haerelben keeps to himself the suspicion that Bromsby is provisionally undead.
Time is up and guards are at the doors demanding entrance. Bromsby slams Iron Oath into a crumbling part of the kitchen wall to make a nice big egress. Haerelben and Theren perform a final Nurg and Broog skit to assure the guards the ettin is doing all he can to open the door but is encountering unreasonable difficulty getting to the door. Once everyone is safely out, Bromsby backfills with a magnificent eruption of earth, aided by the earthy Iron Oath.
Cult disguised Lentz-Meega and Gustav-Theren lead the way toward Urnrayle’s chambers. Gustav-Theren crosses a hallway crammed with a stack of cultists ready to breach into the kitchen. He adopts a proactive one-of-us infiltration tactic: Hey guys what’s going on? The cultists swarm the hallway ready to attack Theren, but their disciplined military formation is their undoing as Bromsby fills their well-ordered hallway with erupting earth.
The party hastens to Urnrayle’s north chambers. Shouts from the chasm to the east suggest the alerted cultists are attempting a flanking maneuver. Bromsby fills side hallways along the way with earth to buy them time. Meega rolls up on the last corner and peeks around. Two guards flank the door to Urnrayle’s chambers. Stone masked Lentz-Meega pokes her head around to yell a warning to the guards: The air cultists, I mean, airbags, I mean, windbags are in the dorm! Help us cut them off on the other side! Wentz stays on guard while Prentz takes off. Or the other way around. Who can tell in these masks? Lentz, your voice sounds funny.
Theren’s chaotic confidence is shaken after so many cultic confrontations. Haerelben councils him with some Sehaninic wisdom: Ewe be ewe. Theren grasps his heavy crossbow and slides around the corner. Crossbow bolts and a hearty Yan-C-Bin! pierce the guard. Lefty’s darts join in. Panicked Prentz summons Wentz to return, but an eruption of earth makes that considerably more difficult. Prentz quits his post and retreats into the chamber, leaving the door open behind him. The party follows.
Statues are scattered around the room, but it’s a prominently centered crystalline orange turtle in a rearing two legged pose that seems to capture Bromsby’s interest. Prentz yells a warning to his master that the air cultists have infiltrated. Haerelben yells a warning to Prentz’s master that Prentz is an air cultist trying to trick him. It’s all fun and games until Haerelben finds himself accidentally face-to-face with medusa Marlos Urnrayle lurking unseen in a corner of rock. Haerelben casts banishment. Urnrayle resists. Urnrayle gazes petrification at Haerelben. Haerelben resists. They puzzle at each other while Urnrayle’s hairsnakes bite Haerelben’s unsnaked forehead.
Bromsby and Lefty team up on Prentz with rays of frost and darts and claws. Meega closes her eyes and smashes her axe into Urnrayle, but the axe flies out of her hands to the far side of the room. Theren dances by, sending a couple of heavy crossbow bolts and enticing a missed reaction out of Urnrayle’s Ironfang. Haerelben fails at many attempts to blind Urnrayle. A shadow demon appears behind Meega. Urnrayle’s Ironfang and hairsnakes strike at Meega. Urnrayle backs into the rock wall and reemerges safely away Meega.
Meega pulls her handaxes from her belt and chops at the incorporeal demon as she runs for her battleaxe. Theren gets another bolt into Urnrayle, but pops the bowstring and catches Urnrayle’s gaze. Restrained Theren begins to collapse from an Ironfang attack and petrifies slowly bending forward in a classic unpowered golem pose. He goes on a locked-in journey of the mind, passing the timelessness by shredding mad riffs on his mind lute.
Bromsby slays Prentz with a frosty ray and uses Iron Oath to stun the shadow demon. He touches the crystalline tortoise lightly with Iron Oath and they reunite into Bromsby version 1.0, just in time for Bromsby to catch Urnrayle’s gaze and begin petrifying. Lefty draws her new wand of magic missiles and shares them with the shadow demon three at a time until the demon dissipates.
Urnrayle pursues Meega. Meega, weary of hiding behind closed eyelids, goes after Urnrayle in earnest. She trips him with her warrior superiority. Haerelben, unlucky at spellcasting, tries a different tactic of jamming his mirrored shield in Urnrayle’s face. Can Urnrayle gaze a petrification so stony that even Urnrayle can’t resist it? No. No, he can’t. Urnrayle slams Ironfang into the shattering ground again knocking the turtle right out of Bromsby.
Urnrayle flees the scene into a back room. Meega pursues and is completely petrified when she catches his gaze. Bromsby shakes off petrification and returtles himself with Iron Oath. Lefty closes her eyes and goes scratching for Urnrayle. Urnrayle attacks Lefty with everything he’s got and Lefty crumples. Urnrayle escapes through a crack in the rocky wall.
Bromsby discovers he can free Theren and Meega from their rocky embraces with a slight touch of Iron Oath. Haerelben uses the moonbow to get the unconscious lightly cured of their worst wounds. Bromsby knocks out the wall where Urnrayle slipped through, but peering Meega can’t see him any more.
Defeated for the day, the adventurers toss Urnrayle’s quarters. Theren finds all of Bromsby’s possessions in a chest along with 80 gp, four gemstones [40 gp each] and a scroll of greater restoration.