Early the next day, after their morning preparations, the party follows Gurmilius to the office of Section Chief Burtelix. Burtelix speaks telepathically, and seems capable of scanning the adventurer's surface thoughts-- though he is inexplicably unable to read Asteris. The chief relates the story of his people, explaining that the Scintillians have been trapped in the dungeon for years, ever since their ship crashed on an island named Asteroid. The Scintillians have been raided time and time again by a local band of goblins. The goblins do not respond to diplomacy, and the Scintillians are not a warlike race, so they are now trying to reach out to the dungeon's other denizens for help. Their chief explorer, Nimirlan, has made several forays out, so far without success. The closest to allies he has encountered are the Moktar, the shira-like lion-people that live nearby. The Scintillians negotiated a truce with the Moktar, but received no aid... for the Moktar are engaged in their own war with a fourth race, the gillmen. At this point in the story, Lor steps forward, and relates a cryptic message that he recieved from Daimu: The chief with three hands can point the way to the door you seek-- Stone ring, bronze chains, pillars like tusks-- Though he knows not where to find its golden key. Burtelix responds that he is the "chief with three hands"-- he removes his helmet to reveal a large hand where one would expect his head to be-- and that he recognizes the portal's description from one of Nimirlan's expeditions. If the party helps the Scintillians with their goblin problem, Burtelix will share what information that he has. The party is glad to help, as they thoroughly enjoy killing goblins, anyway. Burtelix loans them four neanderthal slaves, and Gurmilius leads them to the edge of Scintillian terrirory. The heroes proceed alone down a long hall toward goblin territory, using their neanderthals as a trap-triggering, early-detection system. After a while, they stumble across a pair of goblins, including one mounted on a giant spider. Once engaged, the neanderthals immediately flee in the opposite direction, leaving the companions alone to face the enemy. They seem more powerful than the typical goblin, but the party still easily defeats them. After the battle, the party looks around for their neanderthals. Asteris, emerging from the shadows, explains that they ran back down the hall, where they succumbed to their wounds and died. The one uninjured neanderthal ran into a wall, breaking his own neck. This is bad luck, but the party soldiers on. They encounter several goblin traps as they make their way down the hall, before descending into an area where the dungeon is flooded waist-high with filthy water. The companions wade deeper into goblin territory, until they are suddenly ambushed by a small band of goblins hiding behind secret doors! Another battle ensues, in which Malak is grievously wounded, after one of the goblins deploys a smoke bomb that blocks the party's sight. Lor summons a bralani to disperse the smoke. As the smoke clears, Asteris is uncovered, holding a goblin in a tight embrace. Blood flows from the goblin's neck as her fangs sink into it... but, when she realizes that she is uncovered, she drops him, and his body slips beneath the surface of the dark water. The heroes dispatch the remaining goblins, and heal Malak back to fighting shape. Arthas and Lor are quite impressed with Asteris's new ability. They discuss calling an entire harem of blood-sucking allies, but decide that it will have to wait for tomorrow. For now, they decide to press deeper into the goblin camp. Through the next door, they find another group of goblins. The tight space, deep water, and the fact that the goblins can step back into their nearby base to heal and replenish their numbers, all factor against the party, and this battle does not go as well as the previous ones. Still, they manage to fight the goblins to a retreat, at which point they have a decision to make: should they pursue their enemies, or retreat themselves? Everyone who played gains 6,000 XP