While Rohit scouted ahead, Tierak and her drow busied themselves tearing down the tapestries and other ornaments that adorned the makeshift temple of Kiaransalee. Garyn used spider climb to get close to the driders' webs and douse them in lamp oil. Clicker used his wand of cure serious wounds to heal himself and the drow, who had all been injured in the fight with the vampires. Martok scanned the area for magical auras and Elsa waited impatiently for the next fight to start.
When Rohit opened the door to the guard post, he could tell from the sound of rushing water that he was getting closer to the chasm. He also heard a faint whisper, "Help me." Ignoring the emaciated drow chained to the wall, as well as the three coffins that he could see in the barracks next door, he peeked around the corner and found the entrance to this level of Szith Morcane. The cavern was dominated by a huge beast, like a six-legged panther with tentacles. There were also two Quth-Maren and about a dozen drow, all headed in his direction.
He crept stealthily back to the doorway and relayed the news to Garyn via message. From his vantage point, he watched as four footsoldiers headed up a side corridor, followed by a female drow in full-plate armor and the Quth-Maren. The other four footsoldiers entered the guard post by the southern entrance and headed towards the barracks. A drow in black, full-plate armor approached the prisoner, at which point Rohit took the opportunity for a sneak attack and then ducked back through the door to rehide.
Tierak and her drow headed through the double doors to the north, intercepting Velasta T'sarran's footsoldiers and incapacitating one of them with a poisoned crossbow bolt. The Kiaransalean drow returned fire and the Lolthites retreated towards one of the ascents to the Fane of Lolth, shouting, "Lolth will have her revenge against you unbelievers!" Velasta replied, "You spider-kissers are pathetic. Your god is dead. When are you going to realise that your cause is hopeless?" She cast flame strike, but most of the Lolthites resisted the spell.
"At least she knows when to back a winner," Garyn replied. "If I was you, I'd go back to wherever you came from before my friends and I send you on a trip to meet Kiaransalee face to face." Martok vitriolic chained Velasta and two of her drow, then Garyn followed up with another fireball, killing one. The Quth-Maren took only a little damage from the fireball, which healed quickly. Velasta cast cure critical wounds on herself. Both of the driders' webs caught fire and their corpses hit the floor with a thud. All of the tapestries that had been piled in the doorway caught fire as well.
One of the drow charged Garyn, wounding him slightly, while the other one charged Elsa. She decapitated the drow with one neat stroke, then cleaved to the officer and killed him as well. The shadowcaster wove dancing shadows over Zedarr, the drow in black full-plate. The blackguard took a 5ft step through the doorway and bashed Elsa with his dire flail, doing 84hp damage with three hits. Clicker rushed over with his wand of cure serious wounds to help her out. Elsa activated her ring of avoidance, covering herself with a force shield.
Having cast arrow mind, Garyn killed the drow who attacked him and then fired an undead bane arrow at one of the Quth-Maren. In the distance, Rohit heard the shadowcaster calling for reinforcements. His voice echoed, as though he was back in the cavern that opened out onto the chasm. With Elsa's magical protection, Zedarr was unable to hit her. However, neither Rohit nor Elsa were able to hit Zedarr either, due to his total concealment. Clicker continued to use his wand to restore Elsa's hit points. Both of the Quth-Maren charged Elsa but missed. She killed one and then cleaved to the other, killing it as well.
Although she had healed herself, Velasta continued to take residual damage from Martok's acid attack. Garyn finished her off with a well-placed orb of acid. After many attempts, Martok finally scored a hit on Zedarr, then Garyn managed to shoot him as well, and Elsa hit him with her sword. The blackguard retreated, using his wand of cure critical wounds on himself. Just then, more reinforcements showed up. Rohit killed three of the footsoldiers with his attacks of opportunity, but eight more moved into the corridor to defend Zedarr. However, they weren't able to prevent Martok from killing the blackguard with another vitriolic blast.
Rohit went looking for the shadowcaster, but found one of the other Inverted Tower students instead. Rohit poisoned him with carrion crawler brain juice, leaving him paralyzed. The shadowcaster used his magic to scry within the temple and see that Velasta was dead, so he signalled to the other spellguards to withdraw. Meanwhile, Elsa killed two footsoldiers with a cleave and Garyn killed another two with his wand of lightning bolt.
At about this point, Tierak and the other Lolthites return. She asks whether all of the Kiaranaslean drow are dead, which Garyn confirms, then requests that the party calls off their attack. However, Rohit has no intention of allowing any of the Inverted Tower magic users to survive. He blinds them all with an eggshell grenade, then kills the shadowcaster, Susztam Mar-Shinn. The spellguards cut off one of the corridors with a pair of walls of fire, incinerating the prisoner chained to the wall of the guard post. Martok, Clicker and Garyn follow Tierak around through the northern corridor, but Rohit continues to kill the spellguards. It soon becomes obvious that her attempt at diplomacy is pointless.
Having disposed of Dorina T'sarran's body by exposing it to the sunlight, Lukwind and Helena return to Szith Morcane. Helena had been observing the battle via a chain of eyes spell that she had cast on Rohit, so she was aware of the situation. Lukwind altered his form into an avariel and Helena dimension doored them both into the chasm. Lukwind uses his bardic music to inspire courage, singing about the time that they fought the orcs at Auldhame. However, his song contained a hidden message: "all of the drow must die."
The spellguards blocked off the other passageway with another wall of fire. Giving up, Tierak and her drow climbed back up the web ladder to the Fane of Lolth. Clicker tried to follow, but became stuck in the web trap. Martok flew through the wall of fire, but was met by a creature from his nightmares: a phantasmal killer. He failed both of his saving throws and dropped to the ground, dead. Realizing that something was up, Garyn told his familiar to stay put and then ran through the flames after Martok. He called to Clicker for help, but the thri-kreen baulked at the wall of fire. Coming from the other direction, Elsa ran through the double wall of fire, taking 60hp damage from the flames.
Lukwind the winged elf flew inside the cavern, provoking attacks of opportunity from the huge displacer beast. However, the beast only hit his mirror images. Helena flew in behind him, using Lukwind for cover, and reached Martok's body. Too late to cast revivify, but for one thing: she could cast revenance, which would bring Martok back to life for 9 minutes, then cast revivify when Martok died the second time.Garyn stepped into the cavern with Ripper the displacer beast, but it dropped him to 2hp and he was forced to retreat.
Rohit was occupied by the last surviving apprentice of the Inverted Tower, Filzaur the soulknife. She was able to spot Rohit most of the time, preventing him from making a sneak attack, but she wasn't able to hit him with her psionic blade. Eventually, Rohit managed to kill her, and was able to turn his attention to the displacer beast.
Elsa had taken a lot of damage from Ripper and was having trouble hitting it due to its displacement. Lukwind used inspire greatness to give Elsa some temporary hit points, but she was losing them faster than they were being replenished. She asked that Rohit come out of hiding, since he was better able to dodge the displacer beast's attacks, and move into a flanking position. The newly revived Martok used one of his magic items to heal Garyn, then moved into a position where he was able to shoot at Ripper. Having drank several of his healing potions, Garyn returned to the fray and fired the kill shot that ended the displacer beast's life.
While they waited 9 minutes for Martok to die again, Lukwind explained what he had found in Dorina's coffin. Exhibit A was a letter, written in Undercommon:
Daughter:
Our Dark Lady favors my efforts, and my research proceeds well. Within five tendays, perhaps six, all will be ready for the Day of Great Vengeance. The Spider Queen is dead; we have already brought low the Spider-kissers and seized our rightful place in the realms of the dark. Now the Day draws near when we shall avenge ourselves upon those of the day-blasted lands, too, and achieve that ultimate triumph denied us so long ago.
While I prepare my Great Revenance, it falls to you to make ready the way. Harry the surface-dwellers, hunt them in their woods and fields, and take the measure of their strength. Do not concern yourself with putting them on their guard; our Lady desires their blood, their fear, and their dreadful anticipation of our ultimate act of revenge.
With each slaying we grow in her favor and sow the seeds of our coming victory.
If they come against you in Szith Morcane in irresistible strength, slay as many as you can. Withdraw from the fight if you must, and bring Zedarr with you, but as for the rest—they are to stand and die for the glory of the White Banshee.
The battle for Szith Morcane will come to nothing when our Great Revenance comes to pass. If anything, our final vengeance is made ever sweeter by each fleeting, false hope our enemies entertain before it falls upon them.
Work great slaughter for our Lady’s dark glory, my daughter.
Soon I will come to you from Maerimydra with such dark and terrible might that all Eastrealm will tremble before us.
Mother
Exhibit B was a map that showed how to get to Maerimydra. Bolias said that it seemed to be somewhere beneath the Shamutanti Hills. He could drive the stronghold there, then Lukwind could use "find the path" to zero in on the exact location.
While they discussed their plans, the adventurers gathered together all of the treasure that they could salvage from the corpses of the dead drow.