The party had entered the Hall of Seven Pillars. We paid our “tax” to security. We were free to move about the cabin/cavern. We were also filthy, stinking, exhausted, bloody, and wounded.

The green snake was, apparently, alive and well where we left it, atop the dais in the carved out bowl where a statue of Khamsa once resided.

Hoping to get a bead on the snake from an upper level, Arkadios climbed the stairs to a higher level. Lycovyne, armed with ranged weapons, handed off the staff with continual light to Kyril and followed Arkadios. Unfortunately, through the gloom and dust, they were unable to see the snake from above. Gonchar attempted to throw a large piece of statue rubble at the snake and missed entertainingly.

Having earned some serious gold (and the experience points that go with it) it was time for some training and levelling up.

“Arkadios is heading to Byrny to shoot up a congressional baseball game – 31 HP, 6k cost - spending 6k to level up and get a Restore.” Needs clarification.

Double doors at the end of the hallway, bronze with a single stone step. The step glowed with some glowing, green translucent light. A human skull was embedded in each door, with a very large pull ring below each (A, below). Kyril was, of course, absent.

We all agreed that, if Kyril had indeed survived, he could get to us much more quickly than we could get to him, so we decided to press onward. The wizards were beginning to feel the presence of excessive amounts of mana in the surroundings as we moved more deeply into the earth.

We started out at the crypt entrance marked in yellow. We have something like 33 hours left until the underground river gate opens and are trying to decide what to do with the two very evil swords we found. Cathal wants nothing to do with them and tells us that anyone who picks up either one is in trouble, right away.

There were actually 2 separate sets of stairs down, separated by a wall. While the party formulated a plan, Randolph Carter rang us up. He called to tell us that he had to depart. The large brutes at the surface had departed. They were set upon by bees and a giant owl. They attempted to set the monastery on fire and the fire was immediately put out by a rain storm. (There seemed to be some “positive” forces at work pushing them out, couldn’t keep up with the spoken detail).

Abecoste backed away, apparently not inclined to follow us, though she did not attempt to impede us. The small chain from the vampire’s neck indeed was very powerful. The party voted to cast Legend Lore ivory strips formed into a rectangle and an item to sacrifice. We decided to sacrifice Kyril’s +1 Staff. We sliced some ivory with the Sword of Sharpness from tusks found in one of the mountain giant’s treasure chests.

Menka spoke with Aesil about gaining access to the mirror she kept somewhere in the tower. She was far less than interested in providing access and was neither concerned with events far to the the south nor with the visions provided to the priest by the messenger of Thoth.

The party stood in a room with doors in the north and south walls and another on the northern end of the east wall, the same door we entered through. Charred ice ogre corpses lay strewn about, reeking of burnt hair and flesh. Kyril’s control temperature was still in effect, fending off the cold for those within its 10’ compass. Outside of that 10’ range it was bitterly cold. Seamus didn’t seem to mind the chill. Antifreeze and all that.

The session began with the party traveling, with Harald Markgaard, Agnar, Arndt, Ninax, Scarlett and the wayward rangeress Largatha, daughter of Harald, as well as a host of mounted men-at-arms from Markheim, traveling through the thawing, ice, snow, mud and debris-strewn melting mountain passes. Winter-like weather still clung to the area, though a hint of Spring was in the air.