The Festival of Songs

Rova 2, 4711

The arrival of the fall merchants' caravan heralds the start of the Festival of Songs and the beginning of the harvest season. New Hellknights recruits relieve guards from Fort Inevitable, while seasoned soldiers take a few days of rest before heading north to the Mendev crusades.

The Festival of Songs celebrates both the musical talent (good and bad) of the inhabitants of Fort Inevitable and their drunken propensities. This is the one festival where the taps flow freely and public drunkenness is allowed, and it ranks as the most preferred holiday by the residents of the area.

Having spend a few days resting, the Coopers are looking forward to this festival, of which they have heard much praise. Along with the vast numbers of stands serving everything from foods to spices, clothes, weapons, and other exotic services, there are ale stations at just about every street corner, and four main events highlight this day: Hell's Race, which takes place around the training fields and on Juliver Way; the Dueling Song Blades, where opponents fight with musical reed swords and attempt to make the best song while delivering blows on each other; the Drunken Daggers feat, where opponents throw daggers at a target; and the main event, the Songs of Fools, where participants are encouraged to pen and perform an original bawdy song in as bad a manner as possible. The worst performance, as judged by the crowd, wins the grand prize.

The quarterly mustering of the Hellknights takes place in the morning, along with the usual execution of criminals. One of the executed individuals was caught smuggling, and he forfeited both his life and his house, which will be used as tonight's prize for the Songs of Fools.

Darelle decides she will participates in Hell's Race. Starting on the mustering field, participants will first drink a tankard, then run down the road to the corner, where they must clear a ditch. After the ditch they drink a tankard, then head to a wall made up of odd wagons and furniture. They must climb the wall, then drink a tankard before coming down. At the second corner they must spin around six times, before drinking another tankard. A mad dash to the statue in the main square, where participants must jump the ledge, land on the status, kiss it, and then make the other ledge and spring to the third corner, where they drink another tankard. Participants must then walk on a thirty feet beam to the fourth corner, have one more tankard, and make a mad dash to the finish line. The winner of this event receives a golden tankard worth about 150 crowns. The field of participants is large, but Darelle manages to sprint ahead of the crowd. After a few fumbles along the way and much drinking. Thankfully, however, she is not as inebriated as the rest of the field by the end and manages to cross the finish line first.

Later on in the afternoon, both Thorne and Darelle decide to enter the Dueling Song Blades event, taking place on the mustering field. Armed with reed swords shaped like flutes, participants in this event attempt to hit each other by swinging the sword, creating music. The harder the hit, the better the music. Participants play against an opponent, and winners advance to the next round. For every three consecutive misses, a participant must drink a tankard. Thorne wins his first bout but must drink a few tankards. Darelle wins her first bout as well. Eventually both Coopers meet in the final round, and Darelle wins against Thorne. She receives a golden flute about 150 crowns.

Before the evening meal, the crowd gathers back on the field for the Drunken Daggers. In this event, one participant stands in front of a target while another throws daggers at the target. If the target is hit, the thrower moves back, increasing the difficulty. If the person standing in front of the target is hit, the thrower is eliminated. If the target is missed the thrower must drink a tankard. If the person standing in front of the target moves out of the way of the knife, he must also drink a tankard. Daryle decides to enter this event, and though she is hit once she eventually triumphs over a crowded field, and she wins a golden dagger worth about 150 crowns.

Finally, the main event takes place after a communal meal on the mustering field. Everyone can participate in The Songs of Fools, either individually or as a group. This is the event that is most appreciated by the crowd, and the music and lyrics are so bad but the free ale makes it all better. Gerald decides to participate in this event, and he pens and sings Hooray, it was inevitable! at the Songs of Fools, to much applause. At the end of the night it is deemed the worst performance, and this earns him the top prize, a house formerly owned by a smuggler who was executed in the morning. Gerald can pick up the keys the following day.

It's been so lonesome since my horse died

Hooray, it was inevitable!

The goblins killed my favorite ride

Hooray, it was inevitable!

And I barely got away with my hide

Hooray, it was inevitable!

I almost never got back home today.

Hooray, it was inevitable!

Because my horse being slightly smarter

Hooray, it was inevitable!

Than me in every way.

Hooray, it was inevitable!

For he was the only one who knew the way

Hooray, it was inevitable!

Back home

After the festivities, the Coopers head out to see their new house. On the way there Gerald notices movement in the back of the house. The Coopers capture a teenage girl, who professes to being chased by thugs. A nearby Hellknight patrol is alerted, and the captain announces he will take the girl in custody and question her. At that exact moment, a drunken group of men comes through and assaults the patrol. In the fray the girl manages to escape, but Gerald catches up with her. She tells Gerald that she has a tuning key, and the Black Circle must not get their hands on the key. She entrusts the key to Gerald, and then disappears in the night. Meanwhile, Daryle and Darelle assist the patrol and manage to slay all of the assailants. Darelle uses her healing skills to save the life of the Hellknight captain

The Key of Micharmus is wrapped in a green silk pouch. When revealed, the tuning key appears to have been made of the purest silver, and shines brightly even in darkness. When struck, a single pure C note spreads and can be heard up to a mile away. As the sound fades, a silvery image begins to glow above the key. A set of stairs being to unfurl downwards, leading to a ghostly library. Large wooden bookcases are heavy with books and maps

Gerald wraps the tuning key snuggly into a black pouch, and will go talk to the silversmith to find out how much it would cost to make a tuning key and then place it in the original pouch.


Rova 3, 4711

In the morning, Gerald visits Goldfoot's Mercantile, where he purchases a silver tuning key of roughly the same shape as the Key of Micharmus. He takes the new tuning key to Abernard Royst and asks him about putting some enchantments on the tuning key. Abernard tells him that it will not be a problem, and by the time all is done the fake tuning key looks fairly close to the original.

How Quickly a Two-Headed Serpent Becomes Jealous of Sartoss

Arodus 26, 4711, continued

The Coopers spend a few moments gathering themselves and banding their wounds. Finally regrouped, they leave the temple and enter through the next room. They discover two ogres guarding a barred gate, and, strangely, the bars are on the inside of the room. Clearly, Sartoss was worried about something on the other side of this door.

Combat ensues, and the Coopers quickly dispatch the two rather clumsy ogres. Roscoe searches the dead bodies and discovers a large bronze key. The room's door is barred with four heavy rods locked in place by four bronze locks. Roscoe then unlocks and removes the bars. Behind the door, the Coopers discover a staircase heading down into the depths. Deciding against exploring the remaining of the 7th level, they head down the stairs.

After a hundred steps, they arrive on the 8th level. The last step leads to a small room with a large serpent statue against one of the walls, surrounded by a five-feet radius of water. There does not appear to be a door anywhere. Atop the statue is a large green emerald.

The Coopers begin to discuss what to do next. Thorne jumps the small distance between the ledge of the pool and the statue and tries to pry the emerald out of the serpent's mouth. He immediately disappears. Eventually, every Cooper touches the emerald and is transported away to be reunited with the thief.

The Coopers find themselves in a small hallway. A shaking and the rattling sound of a snake can be heard, and suddenly a large snake head, looking like the serpent statue and occupying the entire hallway, begins to push against the Coopers. Daryle gets pushed twice, and then begins to fight back, along with Darelle. Their attacks strike true, but do not stop the serpent's head. Thorne abandons the party and follows the path, reaching a small room. Slowly herded towards the room, the remaining Coopers end up in the same room. The serpent's head reaches the edge of the room and stops, followed by another head in the exiting hallway. The Coopers are caught! A gas comes out of the serpents' heads, and they all fall asleep.

Arodus 27, 4711

Gerald is the first one to awaken. He is shackled to a low wall, with his brothers and sisters shackled in similar positions. Their gear has been piled along wall next to a large stone platform twenty feet away. With them is another person also shackled to the wall. Gerald questions the woman and discover that she is Tiavask, a missing wizard from the Goldenfire Order of Thornkeep. The remaining Coopers regain consciousness. While discussing among themselves how to escape from their predicament, a large double-headed serpent similar to Sartoss walks in on the platform, accompanied by more serpentfolk.

The leader introduces himself as Uzar-Kus, leader of this level and true high priest of Kro'akoth, unlike that pretender Sartoss. He advises the Coopers that they will be sacrificed to release the demon into the prime material plane, which will lead Uzar-Kus to dominate both the 8th and the 7th level of the Emerald Spire. Thorne bluffs Uzar-Kus and tells him that Sartoss has already succeeded in summoning Kro'akoth. Uzar-Kus is unable to maintain his facade of power and storms out of the room with his sycophants.

This allows the Coopers to escape their shackles. After a short conversation, they decide to free Tiavask as well. The wizard tells them where the exit is. The Coopers maneuver down the many hallways, when they discover a large set of golden double doors with a serpent head similar to the moving walls. Opposite the door is a large serpent statue. Roscoe takes this opportunity to detects evil on Tiavask and he discovers that she has a faint aura of evil. Thorne defeats the trap on the large  serpent door and he opens it.

Beyond is the Temple of the Serpent, a large shrine dedicated to Ydersius. A large stone path bridges a greenish pool, with two flights of stairs ascending towards a gigantic serpent statue. Uzar-Kus stands at the top of the stairs. Upon Thorne's entrance, he berates them, asking why they seek him while he wallows in despair at Satross' supposed success in summoning their demon. Gerald immediately unleashes a fireball at Uzar-Kus, and battle ensues...

The demon lord Kro'akoth - NOT DONE

Arodus 24, 4711

After spending a night in Karklosh's quarters, the Coopers decide to return home to restock supplies, especially for healing potions. Following their beating at the gate of the 7th level, this seems like a reasonable decision. They climb back to the third level through using a transport token and exit through the tunnel about a mile away from the Emerald Spire.

Roscoe obtains his free potions of cure medium wounds from the Hellknights while Daryle purchases them from the Temple of the Golden Keys. They all spend the night back in their own quarters, happy to have returned aboveground.


Arodus 25, 4711


After a good night's rest, the Coopers trek back to the Spire and return to the entrance of the 7th level, encountering no enemies along the way.

Darelle carefully walks through the trellises of candles, while Roscoe decides to walk with his back against the wall. Daryle is not so lucky, and triggers the candles of penitence trap. An explosion detonates and hurts all three members of the party. The candles immediately turn off. Carefully, Darelle opens the heavily fortified but unlocked door, revealing a short corridor leading to another similar door.

When she opens the second door, she sees a large room filled with a barricade made up of rubble and wood poles. Six fiendish troglodytes stand behind the barricade, weapons at the ready. Darelle attempts to jump the barricade but misses and impales herself on a pole sticking out. She pulls herself free but she has lost valuable time. Roscoe attempts the same. He clears the barricade but unfortunately drops his weapon. Meanwhile, Daryle fires two arrows at the same time and hits one of the troglodytes through the rubble. The combat continues for a while, but eventually the Coopers are triumphant. 

After drinking a few potions of cure medium wounds, the Coopers loot the bodies. All of the troglodytes are armed with mastercraft falchions inscribed with the symbol of a flaming serpent. Each weapon radiates a faint evil signature. The dead monsters also all have an amulet bearing the same symbol. Roscoe identifies the symbol as that of the demon lord Kro'akoth. Alarmed at the presence of supporters of Kro'akoth, the Coopers decide they must return to Fort Inevitable to alert the Hellknights.

They trek back to town, where they meet the Lady Commander Audara Drovust and report to her what they discovered. The Lady Commander is obviously concerned and disconcerted at the news, and she decides to upgrade the Coopers' equipment so they can fight the followers of Kro'akoth on the Hellknights' behalf. To her trusted soldier Roscoe she gives a falchion of fury +2, following the rebranding of the very weapon he brought back as a warning. She also gives him a Rod of the Python to help him fight the Serpents. To Darelle she gives a short sword of defiance +2, which will help her remain alive when most would have surrended to death. She also receives a pair of Acrobat Slippers to help her fight on difficult terrain. Finally, Daryle is entrusted with a bow of impact +2, along with a Vanishing Sheath to keep a weapon hidden. Thus equipped, the Coopers should be better able to face the threat of Kro'akoth's worshippers.


Arodus 26, 4711

In the morning the Coopers return to the Emerald Spire. This time, they bring Gerald along since he returned from studying at the College of Magic. He has been working on an enchanted weapon. It is a short bow that when you fire an arrow the bow also fires a magic missile spell. The missile hits the target even if the arrow misses. Damage will be 1d6 + 3d4+1 if both attacks hit.

They descend back to the 7th level, and they carefully cross the fire trap. Back in the ambush room they discover that there has been an attempt at reinforcing the barricades, and the bodies have been removed. Roscoe listens to the south door, while Daryle places her ear to the west door. Roscoe hears sounds of bones snapping and loud chewing, while Daryle hears snoring. The group decides to open the south door. They will hide against the wall, while Thorne stands in view of the door and acts as bait. The plan works too well. Two fiendish troglodytes who were eating come rushing out and land blows that drop Thorne down. Roscoe and Daryle successfully attack and slay the fiends. 

In the troglodytes' dining room they find barrels, one filled with javelins, and the others with rotten food. The last barrel, however, contains a strange dark blue crystal powder. Darelle collects a vial full of the powder.

In the other room they stumble upon two sleeping troglodytes that are quickly dispatched. However, Gerald decides to use a javelin from the dining room so he returns to the room to grab one. He is immediately attacked by a necrophedius which emerges from the fire pit. During the battle Thorne is incapacitated again. The construct, however, is quickly dispatched. Thorne is healed again.

The party continues their exploration, and finds a long corridor with two iron doors. The first one is hot to the touch, while the second is at room temperature. Thorne opens the door. Inside, the Coopers discover Sartoss' jail.  

The jail with  

Gerald summons a wolf that kills the troglodytes 

Thorne takes six scales.

Statue with heads chopped off.

Battle with Sartoss



Thorne takes the two fangs of Kro'akoth, and the pearl of power. Gerald finds six funeral masks used in Sartoss' evil rituals.

Finally, Klarkosh!

Arodus 23, 4711

After descending to the 6th level, the Coopers arrive in a room dimly lit. In the room are two levers, a red handled one and a black handled one. Thorne pulls the red lever, and a grinding sound can be heard in the distance. He then pulls the black lever, to a similar effect. The Coopers quickly realize that these levers activate switching plates that rotate hallways, providing access to other sections of the dungeon.

They begin to explore the rooms next to the staircase. In one, they discover Klarkosh's trophies, artifacts he collected from all of his victims.They find several mementos displayed by the wizard, including a tapestry that depicts a strange royal court, what looks like melted metal, placed on a pedestal, and two weapons, a heavy mace and a broken staff. Roscoe touches the melted metal, triggering an electric trap that zaps both himself and his sister Daryle. They take both weapons with them.

Opening another door, they come upon Klarkosh's private bathroom. The bath is already drawn and the water is warm, as if the wizard was about to use it.

Continuing on, the Coopers stumble upon Klarkosh's jail and its jailer. After a short combat they triumph over the jailer, and they explore the cells. In several of them they discover strange and hostile animals, but in one of them Darelle discovers a nude man in one of the cells. He is severely dehydrated and he has wounds all over his body. After Darelle heals him, he tells them his name is
Jharun, a wizard in the service of the Goldenfire Order. Roscoe recalls that Jharun is one of the two wizards sought by Iliara Starcloak. She had mentioned to him that Jharun and Tiawask sent her a note a few weeks back saying that they were ready to explore the Emerald Spire, but since then, they hadn't been seen. She had entrusted Roscoe with the mission to find the missing wizards and bring them back alive, or at least bring their bodies back, to the Order. 

Jharun tells the Coopers that he and Tiawask were captured by Klarkosh, but that Tiawask managed to escape. He's been here all these months, a prisoner without hope. The Coopers tell Jharun how to escape the Emerald Spire, but he decides he wants to stay with them a while longer, since it seems to be safer.

In Klarkosh's throne room stands a throne and two emerald automatons. The Coopers briefly fight them before taking flight. Thorne comes up with a plan to hide his face under a heavy cloak and pretend to be the evil wizard. The youngest Cooper manages to pull it off and convinces the emerald automatons to disactivate.

The hallway from there leads to what appears to be a large training room. Two more emerald automatons stand at the end of the hall, and rows of weapons line each wall. Two sets of heavy iron bars divide the room into three sections. With the bars down, the party decides to backtrack and heads back to the throne room. There they stand next a door they had left unexplored. Thorne tries to open the door and after much effort he manages to pick the lock. Inside, they discover Klarkosh's bedroom. The room is well furnished with a large bed, a desk, chairs, and a fireplace.

Daryle finds the red and yellow silk embroidered with a K sheets attractive, and takes the bedding off the bed, including the pillow cases. Thorne is strangely attracted to the chairs, and he sits in one of them, finding it very comfortable. Unfortunately, the chair he selects is infested with a small worm-like parasite, and one of them bites him and burrows itself in his back.

Roscoe will close the flue and hope that enough smoke comes in to attract Klarkosh. He instead discovers that the stove itself is a secret door that leads to Klarkosh's laboratory. As the group debates who should go first, Gerald jumps at the chance and heads through the secret door.

In the large room he discovers a machine belching steam and creating a deafening sound. Hundreds of cogs and gears spin about, causing the ground to vibrate slightly. At the other end of the room, sitting at a workbench is a man bend over a broken automaton. Wearing a mask covering half of his face and with an artificial arm and leg, Gerald recognizes Klarkosh by the descriptions provided by various enemies on the upper levels.

Gerald considers his options, and decides that the best thing to do is to slowly maneuver towards Klarkosh and attempt to attack him from the back. Despite the noises and the vibrations, however, Klarkosh has a good view of Gerald's path, and Gerald is not all that good at sneaking anyway. Halfway to the ruler of the 6th level, Klarkosh raises his head and looks directly at Gerald, greeting him. As Gerald and Klarkosh engage in discussions about automatons, Daryle enters the room and moves towards one of the alcoves, hoping to get a good shot at the wizard. Meanwhile, Roscoe senses evil in the room, and he comes to the startling conclusion that the Klarkosh that stands before Gerald is nothing but an illusion, and the real one is hiding in an alcove. Daryle bumps into an invisible emerald automaton, and as the invisibility spell is broken, combat begins.

Darelle wedges a dagger in the steamworks mechanism, and gears stop spinning. Slowly the pressure beings to built, and soon the steamworks will explode. The Coopers engage the various automatons, while Roscoe charges the spot where Klarkosh is hiding. Thorne is injured twice, while Gerald falls to the ground after summoning various monsters. Darelle and Daryle were also severely injured, but in the end Roscoe slays the wizard, Darelle removes the dagger, and the steamworks do not explode. The master of the first 6 levels has been killed by the Coopers.





Injured and bloodied, Gerald and Thorne decide to head back to Fort Inevitable. They agree to accompany Jharun back to his order.

Roscoe, Daryle and Darelle decide to press on. The next room they enter reveals an armory guarded by a bronze minotaur. After a viscious fight in which Roscoe is grievously wounded, the Coopers slay the monster. They find Klarkosh's scrapyard which contains a multitude of spare parts, before returning to the training hall. After opening the hall's gates, they enter the Hall of Steam, where they meet a strange bioluminescent humanoid standing next to the fountain. Two emerald automatons are also in the room, recently decapitated. The Coopers cautiously approach the outsider. He tells them he rather finds the automatons fascinating, and he makes no hostile move. The Coopers leave him be and proceed to the next room, where they discover the staircase heading down to the 7th level.

Going down, they emerge in a room light by large trellises of candles, with a door in the west wall. Roscoe approaches the door but triggers a trap that incinerates the Coopers, causing them wounds that would have fell weaker people. They decide to retreat back to the 6th level and Klarkosh's quarters to recuperate.

Troglodytes and their God Box - NOT DONE

Arodus 20, 4711

In the last month,  Darelle worked with Dr. Mordel. She has realized that the good doctor has not left his house in the 35 years he's lived in Fort Inevitable. She first suspects he might be a vampire, but he's up and about his house during the day. She finally decides to ask him why, but he's very evasive about it. Meanwhile, she acquires more healing skills. Strangely, four people came through Dr. Mordel's clinic with slash and gash wounds, and one of them even had to remain hidden in the basement.

Roscoe was occupied with several patrols that took him all the way to Mosswater. Over the last few months, tax monies have disappeared from the Hellknights' Chancellery, and several empty chests were discovered in the ruins of the abandoned town, and they believe that more have been buried in the swamp.

Daryle has been busy hunting goblins and training her wolf to hunt with her.


Arodus 21, 4711

Business has kept the Coopers away from the Emerald Spire for the last month, but now that all siblings are back in Fort Inevitable with some downtime, they decide to head back and finally deal with Tarrin Dars. After an uneventful trip through the underground tunnels, the Coopers carefully enter the Splinterden. They make their way towards the temple, and Thorne takes a peak inside. Tarrin is gone. Inside, all that remains is her dessicated corpse lying atop a pile of finely grained black sand. The large fake book Words Behind the Mask by the god Norgurber, god of thieves and murder still lays open on the table. Daryle takes a quick look and determines that it is opened to a summoning ritual.

Darelle decides they must destroy the book, even if it is fake. They burn it on the altar along with the candles and the remaining tools, then they decide to proceed down to the next level.

What happens when your water gets poisoned?

Erastus 12, 4711

Having poisoned the Splinter Cutthroat gang well the previous day, the Coopers head out to the Emerald Spire early in the morning, and arrive through the tunnel into the 3rd level of the Spire. The stench that floats throughout the level is foul, and there are piles of feces everywhere.

Thorne peaks in the temple room, and notices that Tarrin Dars is still at the altar, poring through
Words Behind the Mask by the god Norgurber. However, there are now three silver chalices on each corner of the altar. A strange dark liquid fills each chalice. Thorne carefully closes the door, and the Coopers move on.

In the first room they discover five sepulchers. Four of the tombs have portraits sculpted on their lids, while the fifth is bound by large iron chains. After opening each tomb, Gerald brags the skull of the skeleton laying in it. In the fourth tomb, that of an Azlant lady, Gerald discovers a small rosewood box which smells very nice. Inside he discovers one intact bottle of perfume, with another bottle that shattered a long time ago. On both the box and bottles is a crest of a dog sitting with a muffin on its nose. Gerald vaguely remembers reading somewhere that this crest was that of the Tyral family, a rebellious family who was part of a plot to assassinate the Azlant king 10,000 years ago. The Coopers decide at this time not to open the fifth tomb, especially since they can hear nails scratching the inside of the lid. Daryle discovers something intriguing, however.  On both 2nd and 3rd levels, the Coopers have found ancient Azlant tombs from eons ago, in a place so removed from Azlant it might as well have been at the end of the world. Why would there be so many Azlant nobles buried here?

The Coopers move through the various room, killing the disabled thieves they find along the way. Darelle's poison was very effective and debilitated the entire gang. In the main corridor they come upon the thieves' stash of stolen goods. All in all, there are about 900 crowns' worth of textiles, spirits, fine tools, crafting woods, and iron ore. They plan on selling this cargo to the merchants when they return to Fort Inevitable at the end of the season.

In the thieves' dining room the Coopers fight and slay Dars' lieutenant. Darelle discovers 11 pieces of dishes belonging to eight prominent families in Fort Inevitable. The Coopers take the dishes and carefully pack them away. Gerald, continuing his creepy trend of collecting heads, also remove the lieutenant's head.

In a large cell block they attack and kill a human who was busy whipping a small hafling before being rudely interrupted. That hafling turns out to be Shim Longbranch, a ranger from Dimsdale the Coopers encountered a few months ago. Shim had been out on a hunt when he was captured by the thieves and brought back to the Spire, where he had been experimented upon by Dars' alchemist. But now that evil man laid dead on the floor. The Coopers invite Shim to follow them, which he does after freeing all of the animals inside the other cells.

In the lieutenant's room they discover two journals he had been keeping about his evil deeds around Fort Inevitable. They also discover the armory, so armed with blunt weapon they return to the tomb with the iron chains and, after opening it, they kill the wight that was prisoner. Only Tarrin Dars remains...

Upon returning to Fort Inevitable the Coopers return the stolen plates and the head of Dars' lieutenant to Maralictor Wirt, who thanks them for their dedication and award them 75 crowns for the lieutenant's head.

Kids and magic don't mix

Erastus 11, 4711

After being sedated for three days following the events with the Splinter Cutthroats gang, Gerald awakens in Dr. Mordel's house, confused as to what happened to him. All he remembers is going in to the brigands' lair and walking through the fortified door with a supposedly magical cat's skull. He was promptly dragged inside and a hood was placed on his head. After meandering throughout the level, he was eventually hit on the head and fell unconscious. He awoke to find himself tied and hooded. 

Later on in the day (or was it night) a couple of guards came in, punched him in the face, and dragged him out. It seems like his brother Thorne was there, but that's can be right. At any rate, when he finally awakes Gerald steps out of the room with bandaged hands and a black eye.

He slowly gets out of bed, and wanders out of the small bedroom. He encounters Erynna, Dr. Mordel's assistant, coming up the stairs. She tells him to go lay down, she will get the good doctor. 

Dr. Mordel tells Gerald that there was a terrible battle during the Coopers' rescue attempt, and Gerald's hands were cut off and severely crushed. Fortunately, Mordel was able to save them, but they needed to be healed through a process only known to Mordel. In the meantime, he had sewed two small goblin right hands that worked. Gerald was crestfallen.

Soon Darelle and Daryle arrived, and were rejoiced to see Gerald finally back to his former self. While Gerald had been unconscious, they had caught up on Fort Inevitable news, including the fact that no goblins have been turned in for a bounty in the last ten days. The Coopers suspect that Greenhide may be mustering his forces and gathering to himself all the goblins from the area. For what purpose, they are not sure.

They also devised a plot to deal with the Splinters who dwell on the 3rd level of the Spire. Darelle has already created a poison based on a mix of plants saps, and Thorne has delivered it into the water supply. In the next 24 hours, all of the brigands will be violently affected and will be in no shape to fight. Thorne also reports that Tarrin, leader of the Splinters, is still reading the fake copy of Words Behind the Mask. And the brigands themselves report hearing a lot of goblin noises coming from the 2nd level.

Having some time to themselves, the Coopers decide to escort Gerald to visit Abernard Royst so he can turn in his map of the 2nd level and collect some much needed gold. On the way there, they stop at the Temple to pick up more scrolls of cure medium wounds. Coming out, Gerald bumps into a small child and sends her sprawling to the ground. Getting up and dusting herself off, she accuses Gerald of being mean spirited. That's when he notices that his newly purchased scrolls are gone. The girl immediately takes off, moving surprisingly quickly. Gerald begins chasing after her, but he is soon stopped by a Hellknight patrol that claims the girls accused him of attacking her. Meanwhile, Daryle sprints down the next alley and comes out. But the girl is gone. The only house on this block in which she could have taken refuge is Abernard's cottage.

After much discussion, Hellknight officers enter the cottage using the spare key (whose location Thorne reveals), but they do not find the girl. They advise Gerald to file a report of theft at the fortress. With the patrol gone, the Coopers enter the house. 

The first thing they notice is that Abernard's house does not look any different than the last time they were here, but somehow the Hellknights did not notice that it is so much bigger on the inside than on the outside. On one of the walls in the hall Darelle notices a series of family portraits, and the girl can be clearly seen in one of them alongside Abernard. At first, the Coopers suspect that she is some sort of spirit, and they attempt to discover whether she's taken refuge in the painting. After a few minutes of examinations, however, they decide that it really is a painting, and they begin searching the house.

The downstairs looks like it has not been cleaned for a few weeks. There are dirty plates everywhere, and the food pantry has been raided. The Coopers head upstairs. In the first bedroom they enter they discover a sleeping ogre in what is obviously Abernard's bedroom. Daryle carefully locks the door and they move down the hall. They come across what appears to be a guess room that has been completely thorn apart. It looks like a girl is currently living in this room. In it they discover a small spellbook with the name Nissa on it.  

After an encounter with a few deadly plants, the Coopers finally ascend the stairs to the third floor. There they discover Abernard's workshop and his library. Gerald uses magic and discovers that many of the books in this room have magical auras. A corner of the room also feels particularly evil. On the large working table is a big book. Gerald notices that this book is the actual grimoire called Words Behind the Mask by the god Norgurber, god of thieves and murder, that Abernard had created a copy of to fool the Splinters. The book itself was turned to a summoning ritual.

Behind large doors they hear Nissa yelling at something. After several heated exchanges, they are able to open the doors and enter into Abernard's alchemy lab. Nissa was busy trying to conjure Abernard back from his two dimensional state inside a pentagram drawn on the floor of the lab. After a battle during which Thorne is covered with leaves and Daryle takes a lot of damage, Nissa is tackled to the floor, and her rod of wonder falls to the ground.

After some research Gerald discovers how to undo the ritual cast by Abernard, and the old sage is brought back from his limbo. Abernard reveals that following the creation of the fake grimoire he became very interested in one of the rituals that could summon a devil that would do his bidding and rescue Gerald.

Unfortunately, his niece Nissa, an apprentice wizard, disrupted the ritual and Abernard became caught in a two-dimensional gate. Left to his own devices, Nissa did her best to rescue her uncle, but was unable to do so. She discovered Abernard's stash of magical items, including several cursed items, which changed her personality and magnified her egotistical tendencies.

Abernard thanks the Coopers profusely and reward them with the rod of wonder.