Vasco recognizes this as a shadow plane walking spider and they all briefly consider what to do. Then he reappears, this time in front of the blue metal doors. He announced himself as Flycatcher, and offers “their friends” as for a ransom of 20,000gp and the party defeating someone who he alternately calls the Marquis of the River, and Moreto. A long, scattered, negotiation between Adnan and Flycatcher follows, revealing something of the shadow spider's madness, he referring to himself by a number of odd titles and names. He does promise that he has not eaten their friends yet, and reveals that Moreto is a nasty ghoul who, with his undead minions, has stolen artifacts of the Wind Dukes. He projects another cartoon-like image showing the group what the Marquis of the River looks like. Flycatcher want to protect these artifacts and does not want them removed from the tomb. In his negotiations, Flycatcher drops the 20,000gp ransom and just says to restore the Wind Dukes treasures and their friends will be returned. Adnan thinks that Flycatcher appears slightly insane, but sincere. The shadow spider disappears into the shadow again and the party takes on the quest, following Moreto who has gone down the river.
Following the shadow spider's direction to the river, they leave Allustan's trail and head through doors to the north and into a cavern with river, red as blood, smelling of iron ore, over which a badly eroded stone bridge crosses into an iron gatehouse. Adnan drinks a fly potion and whisks over the river to the gatehouse side.
Vasco stands at the doors, and Yldar deftly crosses the slippery, sloping bridge, but at the other side is suddenly flanked by two Xorn, who attack. Adnan helps with a bludgening shield, as Yldar feels ineffective trying to pierce and slash at these stone creatures with his rapier Vasco casts a wall of acid around his friends, helping by etching and eroding the Xorn, but the whole party is quickly surrounded byfour more creatures, fluidly moving between earth and surface. After the battle drags on, with Xorn trying to bullrush the quick-footed Yldar off the bridge into the water, Adnan tries to broker some peace. The Xorn spokes-creature responds that they are defending their territory and insists that the party leave the way they came. Vasco doesn't hear the conversation and lets powerful magic missiles fly and the battle rages again. Finally the party manage to crush the relentless Xorn and move on to the gatehouse.Yldar spends several hours trying to pick locks and open doors and find that the entire gatehouse appears to be built as some kind of ancient facade to waste time. Yldar thinks to head back and ask more of the shadow spider, but Vasco slips in the river, though is saved by quickly thrown ropes. The shadow spider is nowhere to be found, so the party decides to carry on down the river.
Enlarged by Vasco's spell, they are able to wade and bob through a few dead end branches of the river. On the second dead end, they find part of the river has frozen solid and Adnan spots on the ceiling frozen ice that leads to another chamber. His mithral sword cuts through the ice and Adnan pulls himself through the ceiling into a very long freezing cold room covered in a red icy floor. Adnan's magic golem charm alerts him to the presence of golems just as two large statues at either end of the room burst with blasts of ice shards and move in to flank and attack. Empowered by the charm, aided by Yldar and hastened by Vasco, Adnan destroys the golems. They are left exhausted and wondering what lies beyond the doors in this freezing room.
Nabiros, meanwhile, trapped on the plane of shadow and in the company of another, is having a most unpleasant time. Though Spitgob kept his word; he has not eaten them yet!
