Thinking it best to try and rest before any further exploration we sat down in a quiet corner but after a short while a strange grating music began to be heard along with a repeated announcement. "What are you doing? Don't make me wait. I am a very busy person." Was this another trap? We would find out sooner rather than later. A passageway leads out to the south ending in large stone doors. The doors were carved with an elaborate pattern and labeled with a warning sign. This door is trapped and any who enter will be burned. Nickolai recognised vents in the carving which looked like acid could spray from and Eldon used his tools to disarm the trap. "All ready to go. Shall I open the door?" "Go for it my little friend." said Wrendell prompting Eldon to push the doors in. GaaLOOsshhh... A blast of acidic spray showered those in the front of the group leaving Eldon with more than just egg on his face. Through the door we entered another large cavern split by a chasm. Across the gap was Orda the Witch Queen and her personal guard. "Heh heh heh. Such fun to watch your exploits, quite a performance, heh heh , yessss." "Your majesty, we come for more than just your entertainment. We have a task to fulfill." "Majesty. Yes I like that, hmmm. Majesty.. A task you say. What is this task?" "We are here on behalf of our patron, The Last King, Nerrasin. We have come to reclaim his ring. A ring that was entrusted to you for safe keeping until such time as it would be needed once again." "The ring of Nerrasin ya say. He hee he. Yes, the ring. I suppose I might trust you if you had my prizes. The instructions were quite clear." "I have the prizes right here." I stepped forward with the dancing shoes and hat and presented them with reverence. "What!" she screeched. "They're not the prizes." "Oh then maybe you were looking for these..." and I took out the sword and shield that were found in the ponds. "Oh yes. Now that's more like it. He heee. Is there something else.." Wrendell stepped up with the staff in hand. "Is this it?" "He hee he, yess. Excellent. Now what is this all about again? I seem to have forgotten. "The ring of King Nerrasin." "He hee, that's right. The ring. Now if someone would be so kind as to come over here and get it from me." Wrendell climbed around to where Orda was sitting and as she gave him the ring she grasped him by the wrist. "You'll also need to find him." She pulled Wrendell closer with an unexpected strength. "Let me tell you where to go." Her foul breath almost made Wrendell gag as she whispered the directions in his ear. A shudder rocked the cavern and an ominous groaning sound rose up from the chasm. "I think it's time for you to go now. Send my love to the King would you. Hee he he." Heading out from the caverns of the Cult we reached a twisting labyrinth of caves. As Wrendell had been listening closely to Orda's directions we had no trouble finding our way through the maze into The last Kings inner lair. After presenting the ring and a formal introduction and general sizing each other up we get down to business. Lord Nerrasin can see that we are here because of recent ghoulish incursions on the surface world and has assumed that we aim to try and stop the emperor and his generals. He agrees to help us but needs a favor first. "You have given me my signet ring but there is something else." He has lost his Staff of Office and needs it to be returned. It seems his staff was lost to a young dragon in another cavern called the Dragon's Graveyard. "This Dragon will not part from the staff easily but might be open to negotiation. He has an intense hatred for ghouls that you may be able to use to your advantage." We agreed to try and retrieve the staff and left without delay. The way he licked his lips and sniffed us was very unsettling and although we were quite tired we didn't want to stay. We spent the rest of the day trekking through the caves until we got to a nearby waterfront settlement on the Sulphur Sea. We found a quiet corner to keep out of trouble and rest. The next morning we got up late. No one wanted to get too close to the docks on Sulphur Sea so we kept to the fringes heading up a passage towards the Dragon's Graveyard. We had been told there would be a river crossing and that the bridge was patrolled. We managed to get over the bridge without incident and eventually made it to the Graveyard. Upon entering we were soon victims to the graveyards denizens, a hoard of kobold trap-smiths.
