As they are walking back through the hall of murals, Arthas and Elaryan spy Nor and his companions huddled in an alcove. The halflings have been trying to find a place to sleep, but the incessant whispering prevents rest. Reunited, the party decides to explore further into the dungeon of Citadel Drezen. Our heroes descend into a large chamber with a a five-foot ledge running the length of a circular pit. A giant statue of a six-armed woman with a serpentine body rises out of the pit. It looms over each ledge with outstretched arms bearing an intimidating array of exotic weapons. The adventurers negotiate a gauntlet of pressure-plate traps along the ledge, and reach a large set of doors near the end. On the other side of the doors is a wall of deeper darkness . Shadowy claws reach forth from the inky black and claw at the companions, draining their strength. Nor is almost killed as his tiny body is drained to point of exhaustion. Elaryan casts spells into the darkness, and Eovan fires arrows blindly, but it is difficult to tell if these tactics have any result. Finally, Nor uses a daylight spell to banish the darkness, revealing a large chamber. The walls are lined with large crystals, statues of demonic stare down from pedestals, and two dark banners-- similar to the Sword of Valor , but bearing the mark of the Demon Lord Deskari-- hang upon the far wall. In the center of the chamber stands the shadow demon Eustoyriax. Eustoyriax immediately casts mythic darkness , extinguishing the effects of Nor's daylight spell. New shadow creatures pop into existence around the blinded heroes and attack as himself flies around the darkened room, casting shadow fireballs . Worse, he then uses a fear spell to cause Xhotl and Lor to flee the battle entirely. Overpowered, the heroes decide to focus on their primary goal: rescuing the Sword of Valor . Nor and Arthas stumble through the darkness to opposite ends of the chamber. Each grabs a banner from the wall (correctly assuming that one must be a corrupted version of the Sword ) and then the entire party flees. As they burst forth from the darkness, they realize that their divination abilities have returned! Removing the Sword of Vileness from the chamber has suppressed its effects. Elaryan grabs his companions, including the cowering Lor and Xhotl, and dimension doors them out of the Citadel entirely. On the roof of the keep, the party discovers another welcome suprise. The Citadel has been returned to the Prime Material Plane, and they are just a few miles from Anestral City! The heroes fly back to the city, bearing the corrupted Sword of Valor with them. Everyone who played gains 5,000 XP. Furthermore, rescuing the Sword of Valor is considered a mythic trial.
