The Silver Man might be defeated, but the party is still in imminent danger. Without knowing the frequency of the green fog, it’s possible that it could return at any minute.
Fyn has a way to heal the mental faculties of Krask and Fobias, but it requires rest. The party loots Ordikon’s body, and makes their way out of the Vault.
Before Barnaby can leave the chamber, however, he is covered in the greenish fog. His eyes push painfully out to the sides of his head and he begins to suffocate before the fog suddenly retracts.
As they pass Zuvuzeg, the demon reminds them of their contract. Even though he is bound to this place, it doesn’t mean that he can’t bring the weight of the Hells down upon them. For a moment, the party contemplates breaking their deal and leaving the demon to wallow here forever.
After a quick eight, Fyn uses two castings of Limited Wish to end the insanity of his companions. It’s a hefty price to pay, but the Runeforge is deadly. they can’t afford to be at anything less than their most competent.
Return to the Vault
As the party ventures back into the Vault of Greed, they notice that there are corpses floating in the fountains. The gray, pallid flesh stretches over hunched bodies that seem to have been consumed of all strength back in life. Once again, the water mephits return, wailing about the goldfish being returned to their former state.
They take some time to investigate the rooms they ignored on their first visit. Piles of raw materials – bone, metal, wood, cloth, honey, and meat – occupy each room. As Barnaby steps in, however, he realizes that he can fabricate at will as a spell-like ability.
The party spends some time creating some truly inventive items, like pseudo-feathers and kobold dolls. Unfortunately, if they try to remove these crafted items from the rooms, they revert back to their material components.
At long last, they return to Zuvuzeg and fulfill their promise. The demon begins to walk away, stretching his legs after countless years of confinement. He is stopped; did he forget about the second bit of information he promised?
The demon tells the party that each of the wings hold specific items that are used as components in the Runeforge. Although vague, that information serves as a huge boon, and the party begins thinking of what items they may have encountered already.
Is ethillion the item from Envy? What about the Staff of Mithral Might, or the water from the second runewell?
Revelations
Having fully explored the Vault of Greed, the party realizes that they have a pile of questions that require answers. That’s when it hits them: they can use the Revelation Quill to call on the wisdom of the Great Peacock Spirit!
Conducting themselves with wildly varying levels of reverence, the party asks questions of the floating quill. Here is a summation of what they learn:
- They have encountered the ‘artifact’ from the Vault of Greed
- Vraxeris is unlikely to be in the Festering Maze of Sloth
- It’s possible that Vraxeris resides in the Halls of Wrath
- Justice Ironbriar has certainly killed again, since the party released him
- Longtooth is shimmering, meaning that he may be enhanced or infected by magics similar to Ordikon’s.
What are the Runeforge components used for? Is Vraxeris normally in the Halls of Wrath? Will the party’s track record of making deals with evildoers come back to haunt them?