A short rest turns to a long rest when no kobolds foray into the peaceful chamber of columns. Simon wanders off only if the party doesn’t seek him so, to invite the paradox, they don’t.
Theren, Allana, and Haerelben return to the kobold’s hostile hostel room where mounds of refuse might obscure desireable treasures, like a decayed apple or several enormous bear traps. Besides these delights, Allana also identifies a Decanter of Endless Water found by Theren, which she confiscates when he won’t stop saying, “Geyser,” and she finds a deck of cards she later identifies as a 27 card Deck of Illusions.
Theridan explores other doors, listening for more kobolds and related unpleasantries. He finds a room with three round fountain-like basins, each a distinct shade of darkvision grey that might be, from left to right, blue, green, red. Farther down the hallway he finds a narrow room with elven statues at either end, one seemingly a flying elf and the other an atypically broad and rugged elf, perhaps representative of bygone species. Between the statues a table displays a symbol he does not recognize.
Meega lingers to inspect the fountains, mostly because the room is halfway between Allana walking through bear traps and Theridan poking around doors. She suspects the liquid in the pools may not be water at all.
Theren interrupts Meega’s investigations by opening a needle-trapped door into the fountain room from another direction. Undeterred by the poison, he walks over to the right-most fountain and scoops out a red globe that releases a spreading gas. From Haerelben’s perspective, the gas appears to emit from the globe so he attempts to knock it away from Theren. Theridan throws a clay pot over the gas, slowing it down, while everyone evacuates the room, closing the doors behind them.
Theren attempts to pick the locked door of a small central room and gets dosed by another needle trap. Triggering the trap again, he makes a second attempt and this time opens the door successfully. Poison coursing through his brain, Theren finds a rotting flesh heap that he’s certain is a putrid zombie beholder about to un-die. Allana steps in to rebut the whole zombie beholder theory but flees the room when three larvae drop an attack on her from above. She gathers herself together, holds her breath, steps in again to eldritch blast a maggot, and hurries back out. Theren takes a second look and decides maybe Allana is right, this seems like a dead roper and its brood instead of a zombie beholder. With Theren’s interest waning, Haerelben exchanges shrugs with Allana and carefully closes the door leaving the needle trap armed for the next guy, which incidentally will be Theren again.
Theridan prepares the next room, disarming the trapped door before Theren picks open the lock and throws wide the door revealing the kobolds’ loot room of semi-precious statuettes, coins, and sundry other less interesting treasures. As Theridan inspects the statuettes of ancient, possibly mythical, elves, something back in the gas room begins slamming loudly into the doors. Unflappable Theren approaches one of two treasure chests, declares that if it is a mimic it has to tell him, reaches to open it, and is singed by a fireball trap. He disables the trap using a conductive bolt, picks the lock, and finds four stoppered bottles inside. Meanwhile, the persistent battering of the gas room encourages everyone else to get some distance from the presumed monster trying to escape the gas-filled room, not to mention the gas that will flood out when it eventually succeeds.
Down the hallway, Theridan and Allana work on the next door. Nothing can be heard from the other side and no trap is detected, but the door has no conventional means to open it. Allana reckons access may have to do with two little alcoves on the opposite side of the hallway where little tables, possibly for the placement of the statuettes found earlier, are suspended above braziers. One alcove features moon symbology, the other sun symbology, so it’s back to the loot room to collect up the statuette “keys”, now that whatever was trapped in the gas room has stopping beating against the doors.
Haerelben re-enters the loot room just in time to see Theren attempt to loot the second treasure chest, in fact a mimic that grapples him. Theren, Meega, and Theridan eventually subdue the mimic and Haerelben cures the wounds of Sehanine’s imperiled servant Theren once more. Four potions and about ten statuettes are collected.
Eventually the correct permutation of statuette placement and fires below them in the alcoves opens the mystery doors, a feat apparently unaccomplished for a long, long time based on the deterioration of what must have been a fantastic terrarium, complete with a large statue of Sehanine holding aloft an ancient symbol of her temple, the same one Theridan and Allana recognize from the table and statue room, as they now discuss. Haerelben, excited by the revelation that they have discovered an ancient Sehanine temple, dashes off to examine the first statue room.
Theren boldly walks into the temple room, triggering a spore puff from a mushroom levitating him uncontrollably. Theridan, staying clear of the mushrooms, shoves Theren toward the statue as Meega brushes near another mushroom and begins to float. Four mushroom men take that opportunity to emerge from the darkness, and the largest, most-in-chargest, inquires “Who … are … you?”
Theren may not be the most diplomatic of the group, but he knows how to charm. “Greetings fungus people of the realm of fungus.”
Somehow, over time, these myconids, the last of the temple guardians, have become custodians of the ancient hidden temple of the Daughter of the Night Skies. Haerelben answers the sovereign’s inquiries of the party’s purpose, not in context of eradicating kobolds or even the imminent war on elemental evil, but as a previously unrevealed personal mission to recover an ancient relic for the Daughter of the Night Skies, a.k.a. Sehanine. Instead, the sovereign indicates the DotNS already has the gift, if Haerelben is worthy.
Haerelben takes a head-scratching while to demonstrate his worthiness, but eventually the sovereign levitates him so he can investigate the groove along the top of the statue’s moonbow that caught his eye. He can see a strip of wood fitted into the groove and realizes it’s the stringless bow depicted in Binrus’s mural.
Haerelben loots the Moonbow from his deity [casting focus, +1 healing, spells with range touch have range 30’, reveals glamours]. Farewells are exchanged with the myconids. Haerelben pockets the statuette keys, resealing the hidden temple.
With unanimous encouragement, Bear Theridan opens the gas room doors to learn the mystery of the earlier ruckus. Inside they discover the kill cloud has dissipated, leaving only an acrid odor and a deceased gelatinous cube that had been lying in wait within the left fountain.
Before returning to Binrus’s green zone, Theren pokes his head into the roper room one last time to bid farewell and the needle trap pokes Theren’s hand one last time.
Haerelben casts a sending to his temple presbyter informing her of the discovery of an ancient Sehanine temple.