Come, he says, lets work together. Vasco is reluctant to bargain for anything. Moretto tries his charms of Maeron, unwelcomely trying to prestidigitate her unkempt state, but she evades the spell and rejects Morettos false charms. Yldar, as an act of good faith, agrees to draw Moretto a map of how to get out of the tomb (a map that does not reveal the Elder Ooze who awaits). This brings Moretto and Zeek eventually agree to have Moretto and the Seal of Law accompany them to the giant adamantium doors beyond which they believe lies the true tomb of Icosiol. After that, they will go with Moretto out of the tomb. Vasco decides to see what Moretto is made of and starts to cast detect magic. Moretto, clearly on his guard, counter-spells and wonders aloud about the state of their good company. Finally the tension is broken by a quick exchange between Zeek and Yldar, the later whom takes several precise and definitive shots with his bow. The battle ensues, the Morg quickly grappling both Zeek and Nabiros and Vasco letting loose an impressive but largely ineffective Yvard's black tentacles. Bursts of energy from Maeron disrupt the unlife, and the party manages to make effective and swift attacks before Moretto can himself effectively retreat or make an offence. Moretto is again slain, but his writhing soul turns into an incorporeal spectre of himself. Vasco contains the now made spectre of Moretto in a magic sphere, which allows them enough time to defeat the Morg and equip themselves with Moretto's excellent arsenal. They all ready for a final battle to Moretto, who when finally let out of Vasco's sphere savagely attacks Tout, bringing him into unlife. Finally the undead are all dispatched, and disgusted, Nabiros throws the ghouls' chillingly green lantern into the river of blood, Vasco pushing it along with a mage hand. Hungry for treasure, Zeek protests and tries to go retrieve the lantern, but not before it is swept away into the underdark below.
The party, newly outfitted with Tout's unique amulet of feather falling and Moretto's substantial magic aids, ascends again to the true tomb, resting for another night before entering.. Yldar studies the Seal that night and finds that the words of entry come clearly to his mind. Eight hours later, he holds the Seal up to the door, speaking the words Aaqa, Icosiol, Pesh, aloud and the mammoth doors swing open. The room beyond appears bottomless. Eight huge pillars seemingly float in place. Clouds of stormy weather crackle and howl below. Yldar ties a rope to himself and designs to leap from one pillar to the next. Zeek and Nabiros holding the other end of the rope, the follow Yldar along all the way to the final pillar which, upon landing, ignites a hurricane of wind and lightning upon himself. Knocked down, Yldar swings like a pendulum, crashing back into the other side. Dusting himself off, Yldar decides to fly across the room. The flight attracts the chamber's guardians, two hurricane-force air elementals. The party is thoroughly buffeted by these powerful elementals, but Yldar manages to speak the Seals words again, sealing himself and his friends in the entrance way to the wind elemental's hall. The rest again, waiting to see if the elementals will be there on their return. Opening the doors, the elementals have subsided to the storm below, and Yldar resumes his leaps across the pillars to discover how to enter the tomb. After numerous failed searches, he finally discovers a subtle area of one pillar that the Seal of Law fits perfectly in. That pillar raises taking Yldar beyond an illusionary ceiling into Icosiol's mausoleum above. There, three rays burst instantly out of the corner of one room, draining energy, sickening and panicking Yldar, who manages to remove the Seal and letting the pillar down out of the room, where he again is attended to by his friends and recoveres.
Chilled from the fight with the demon, but buoyed with the sight of the tomb, Yldar places the Seal of Law into the hands of an engraving of Icosiol on a floating sarcophagus. The sarcophagus descends gently to the ground and reveals it's treasures, including a Ring of the Wind Dukes, two crossed sword a lighting Sword and a Sword of Aaqa, and the infamous Rod of Seven Parts. Icosiol's blessings fall over the party, for his spirit percieves the importance of their position in history, with the struggle to prevent the coming of the Age of Worms. The blessing is felt perhaps nowhere more than with Vasco, who still carrying the Talisman of the Sphere and Zosiel's silver diadem. These major artifacts, he knows, are restored to their full capacity.
Knowing that they have the Wind Duke's blessing to acquire these treasures to aid them in preventing the Age of Worms, the party sets about the rest of the tomb to secure anything else that may help them. They find all of the Tomb's traps to not affect them, and all of its guardians, including the Ooze lord, and a a Noble Salamander, the Earl of Coalchester, to be friendly and respectful towards them. There is not much treasure remaining, however. Back at the Word of Law trap, the great statue (which weighs over 3 tonnes) is holding a masterwork mithral greatsword, which can be removed with ease. The statue in the relief golem chamber also weighs over 2,500 lbs, but would be worth 9,500gp to a collector of ancient art. Back in the ooze lord’s chambre, the four levetating lanterns carved with intricate iconography of Icosiol’s battles weigh 100 lbs each, and worth 800 gp each.
In another small antichamber, they find a crumbled wall with the remains of a Wind Duke talbard, some chain and and what looks like some form of legs sticking out. Uncovering some of the rubble and the party finds while looks like a kind of machine man, wrapped in chain and clutching a wand. Zeek recognizes this as an ancient warforged minion, one no doubt created during the ancient battle with the Queen of Chaos. With uncharactistic curiosity, Nabiros urges Maeron to activate the wand and restore the ancient machine, convinced that like the other tomb's guardians, that this one will recognize Icosiol's blessing. The ancient creature lurches and finally rises, dusting himself off and presenting himself humbly but nobally to them as Nadroc, an ancient Vaati name that Yldar recognzies as the great Wind Duke architect that is said to have brought these tombs into being. Nadroc denies being the architect himself, but was indeed one of his amazing creations, given to Icosiol during the final battle. He came to the tomb on Icosiol's death and lived here for centuries along with the other guardians before getting ambushed by an intruder from the Underdark who collapsed the wall upon him before he could heal himself with his wand. The intruder, it appears, did not survive the other guardians, and Nadroc doubts his utility here in the tomb. He asks to accompany the party to the surface world, and unlike the evil Moretto, this request seems genuine. If the Wind Duke's blessing has been given to the party, the Nadroc wants to aid them in any way possible in their quest.
The party finally takes leave of the tomb through the black seal portal. Back at the entrance to the Whispering Cairn, they survey the damage left by the battle with the dragon in the landscape around the tomb. First Zeek and Maeron want to check up on the followers that they had left there some indeterminant time ago. Tney find them outside of town, near one of the mine operations. It has been three seaons (nearly a year) since Zeek and Maeron became trapped in the tomb, and all but the two most loyal of Zeek's men have left Diamond Lake. The two men remaining have been making a small business of Zeek's assets, having set up a business relationship with one of the new mine managers who had taken up where Balabar Smenk left off. They seem only slightly pleased to see you and feel that there are prospects here, particularly in rebuilding the town, providing fortification and defence service. They seem to have been doing quite well without you in your absence.
The party enters Diamond Lake itself to discuss the next moves with Allustan, who has been home attempting to recover from the Ilthane's savage attack. Allustan is understandably morose and depressed about the turn of events. The recovery of the Rod of Seven Parts fragment and the other Wind Duke treasures brightens his mood a bit, but even these mighty treasures can’t fix his ruined home, the lives lost to llthane’s attack, or the seemingly unstoppable advance of the Age of Worms. There is only one more thing he can do to aid the party. He can show them the way to his one-time mentor, the archmage Manzorian, as Eligos had suggested in his final note. Allustan encourages to take what they know to Manzorian’s home to the north in the coastal village of Magepoint. Allustan himselfretreats into his studies, in search of further information, and begins to strengthen his home with wardings and magical fortifications. A great darkness is close at hand, and the wizard fears what is to come.
