The next morning, the party returns to the circular chamber, determined to solve the puzzle there. Vangkor casts fly, resist sonic elements, and darkvision on Lex so that he can experiment with the various positions of the rotating room. After much trial and error, the party figures out that they must rotate the floor and ceiling in correct sequence (SW, NE, SE, and NW), pulling the lever in the ceiling chambers at each stop. As the last lever clicks into place, the party hears a rumbling from the corridor outside, and rushes out to see the false wall to the south rising. The invisible barrier still remains, however.

The party works its way around north and then southeast, past the disabled freezing trap to the door leading to the trapped gas chamber. Lex manages to disable the trap, and the party decides to investigate the west door. It is unlocked, and appears to be an old storeroom. Before the party can search, a deadly spectre materializes from behind the stacks of material. It is driven off, but not before Vangkor and Richter have been drained by the creature. With their spellcasters in shaky condition, the group decides to retreat to the Church of St. Cuthbert, where they can prepare Endurance spells to help fend off the deadly effect of the spectre's draining.

Brewfest 4

Vangkor and Richter manage to overcome the evil draining power of the spectre. After briefly re-equipping themselves, the group returns to the Banewarrens, resuming their explorations where they left off. Not wishing to explore the storeroom further (fearing the spectre might still be present), the group instead tries the door to the east. They open it to find a very odd-looking creature: a humanoid figure apparently made of corroded brass, lying trapped under a pile of barrels. Its left leg is mangled and it is missing one eye (the other is made of some sort of gemstone). It raises its head and greets the party: "Hello. Can you please help me? I appear to be trapped."

After a lengthy conversation, the party determines that the construct is non-hostile, though apparently not completely right in the head. He says that his name is Geristranomous, a magical construct that Danar created to help tend the Banewarrens. Through bits and pieces of conversation, he reveals that he was trapped here centuries ago when Danar turned to evil and was transformed into Eslathagos Malkith. Examining the damage to "Geri"'s leg, Ian determines that he might be able to use his familiarity with metalworking to try and repair it. He is mostly successful, for which Geri is extremely grateful. He gives the party a wealth of information, albeit in a slow and not-quite-sane fashion:

- When they were created, the Warren's Sealed Doors could be opened only by Danar's own touch (lending credence to the idea that the key is in fact Danar's mummified hand).

- The Banewarrens are divided into three sections: the Outer Vaults (where the party is now), the Inner Vaults, and the Baneheart. The Inner Vaults and the Baneheart were corrupted when Danar fell. Now they are evil places. The only evil in the Outer Vaults comes from the long-term residual effects of being near so many banes.

- The only means to reseal a Sealed Door is by using an artifact called the Sealing Rod. Danar used to carry the rod with him at all times; now it lies within the Baneheart.

- The large, draconic-looking contraptions spotted by the party are the warding generators; they provide arcane power to the Sealed Doors, and are used to seal off the major sections of the vaults. No amount of magic or damage can breach or bypass the doors or walls of an area enclosed by the Sealed Doors. According to the party's story, the warding generator for the Outer Vaults is still functional, but the one in front of the entrance to the Banewarrens is not. Geri remarks that the warding generators were made by Saggarintys, a silver dragon, and that only he knows how to repair them. However, Geri has been trapped here for ages, and has no idea where Saggarintys might be, or if he even still lives.

After a while, Geri becomes restless, and says that he must attend to his many duties repairing centuries of neglect to the Banewarrens. He warns the party not to open any of the vault doors they might come across. The party quickly reassures him that they have been avoiding them, although there are "other interested parties" that have broken into some of them (Geri is aghast at this).

He follows the party up the steps to the south, to the room with the two squat metallic figures. He speaks some strange, mechanical-sounding words, and the figures slowly stand upright (with a squeal of unlubricated metal like a nail being pulled out of a board). The party instinctively reaches for their weapons, but Geri assures them that they are in no danger; the creatures are Warrenbuilders, constructs that built much of the Banewarrens. They only follow the commands of Geri (or the holder of the Banewarrens key), and they cannot fight; even if ordered to do so, they take no action. Geri bids the party farewell, and departs with the constructs to begin the long process of repairs.

In the south end of the room is a mural of tall, winged humans with flaming swords, flanking a door. With trepidation, the party opens the door. Beyond is a large, irregularly shaped room whose floor lies three feet below the level of the door. Blue tile covers the floor and ceiling to about the door's level, with multiple rectangular grate-covered holes found here and there. Near the room's center are two tall columns of glass, rising from the floor to the ceiling; each is filled with water, and each contains what appears to be a giant, monstrous octopus! Between the two columns is a metal pipe hanging down from the ceiling with a valve on the bottom.

Giving the columns a wide berth, the party explores the room and soon finds a secret door on the south end of the room. Beyond is a short hallway with a another secret door. This second door opens into the hall with the southern wall that was raised by the puzzle in the rotating cylinder room. They have found their way past the wall of force!

Feeling confident now about their progress, the group continues exploring the corridor which turns and stretches a long distance west. Their enthusiasm is short-lived, however, as they bypass no fewer than three vaults that have been opened and plundered. Beyond the vaults the passage opens into a room with two levels, joined by a rickety-looking stairs. A door is on the north wall of the upper level. Ian bravely charges into the room, but suddenly a small, glowing orb appears floating in mid-air; without warning it hurls a bolt of electricity at the fighter. The others move to attack, but are dismayed to realize that most of their spells and weapons are ineffectual, while the entity continues hurling bolts at the group. The best they can manage is to run past the creature, enduring its attacks until they manage to get through the door to the north. The creature does not follow them.

The passage takes a few turns, then continues north. They encounter a side-alcove with a relief of three warriors bearing gems aloft. It bears a striking resemblance to the one to the north of the chamber where the party first encountered the Pactlords, except that the gems were missing from that relief. This one proves to be a troublesome barrier, as each time someone moves in front of the alcove, three magical spears shoot forth from the gems every few seconds. The party gets some nasty wounds before they all manage to run past it. On the far side is a stairway leading up.

The stairs turn east, and lead into an old, faded shrine with a statue of a winged horse on a pedestal. There are exits to the east and to the north. The party moves east, entering a room with a statue of a gentle-looking man with long robes and a wooden staff. The south wall of this room is damp, and the eastern wall is covered in a large, flowing script etched into the stone. Try as they might, the party cannot make out the ancient but majestic-looking runes. They double-back and head north from the room with the statue, coming to an intersection with passages running north and east. The passage east leads into a simple, empty thirty-foot square room with a vault door (still closed) leading north-east. Doubling back once more, they return to the intersection and head north. The passage goes on for a bit then turns east. Past a side passage again leading north, they find a room containing nothing but a few bits of wood and old, pitted tools. Taking the north side-passage leads to a locked door. Lex manages to pick the lock; luckily he does so quietly, for opening the door reveals a room with four nest-like beds of cloth, straw, and white fur. Lying snoring on the beds are four huge, gorilla-like creatures with white fur and four arms. The party hurriedly (and quietly) closes the door again, not wishing a confrontation with these savage-looking creatures.

After some debate, the party returns to the intersection to the south, and again to the empty-looking room with the vault door. By chance, Richter looks at the ceiling and notices that it is actually concealed by magical darkness. Vangkor makes short work of the darkness with a dispel magic, and reveals that the ceiling is actually fifteen feet above where the darkness was. An iron ladder hangs from the ceiling. Lex uses a rope of climbing to get to the ladder, and discovers a small switch at the top. Throwing caution to the wind, he throws the switch... and a secret door opens in the south wall of the room.

The party follows this new passage south; after a bit it opens into a room that looks like a water shrine of some sort. Mosaics of aquatic creatures are revealed in a slowly pulsing blue-green light, giving the impression of being underwater. A statue of a beautiful woman stands in the south end of the room, atop a pedestal of coral bearing a corroded bronze plaque that reads: "Estalada." To the west is a door... beyond which the party hears a sudden clank, and then the sound of running water!

Minaret deduces that the area beyond the west door must lie nearly above the room below with the glass cylinders containing the octopi. The group cautiously opens the door, revealing a strange ten-foot by ten-foot room. The room's west wall is made entirely of glass; two levers are on the wall. Beyond the glass is a large chamber with three holes in the floor; two of the holes are filled with water, and the rest of the floor is wet. Dozens of tiny fish flop about the floor, and even more lie dead, giving the impression that the room beyond was until recently filled with water. Ian experiments a bit with the levers, and the party deduces that the large chamber must be some sort of huge aquarium, with the smaller 10x10 chamber serving as an "airlock" of sorts: one lever closes the chamber's outer door and fills the airlock with water, while the other lever lowers the glass wall to the west into the floor once the airlock is full. However, something has recently emptied the large chamber of all its water, and now the airlock is unnecessary. The party surmises that something (or somebody) must have opened the valve in the chamber below this one, draining the chamber of water.

Vangkor spots an odd sparkling cube about six inches across sitting on the floor in the north end of the chamber beyond, and decides to investigate. He opens the glass wall, and uses a mage-hand spell to bring the box to himself. A brief examination reveals nothing about its purpose, so he then decides to step into the room and search further. Then all hell breaks loose.

Abruptly, multiple figures become visible and attack the party: a withered but tough-looking hag wielding a wand of lightning bolts; a monstrous, beaked creature with massive, rending hooks at the ends of its arms; a small, insect-like creature with many legs but no obvious armaments or weapons; and a familiar-looking Illithid. The Pactlords have returned, and laid an ambush for the party here. A deadly battle engages.

The mind-flayer opens with a devastating mind-blast, immediately stunning Vangkor. Ian hears a buzzing, insectile voice in his head as the many-legged creature dominates him utterly. Completely under control of the creature, he turns and abruptly launches a destructive flurry of blows on Lex. Poor Lex doesn't stand a chance, and goes down quickly. Minaret and Richter attempt to attack, but are ineffectual. The party realizes that in their previous battle with the mind-flayer, something in the room they were in must have been muting the spell-resistance of the illithid, for now no spells seem to touch him. The hook horror then brings down the stunned Vangkor, who falls unconscious. For a brief moment, things look up as he hook-horror then stupidly moves forward and attacks Ian, despite him being dominated. Unfortunately, the creature is as deadly as it is stupid, and manages to rip the mighty fighter to shreds with a series of rending attacks from its claws. The mind flayer is briefly distracted by this, yelling at the hook-horror to get the hell out of the way. Minaret dances back, trying to avoid the illithid and the hook horror as best as she can. Richter quickly heals Lex, then decides that enough is enough, and retreats. Lex staggers to his feet, and gives a healing potion to Vangkor, then bravely turns to face the approaching hook horror, sacrificing himself so that the party might escape. Vangkor gets to his feet and flees, sparing a backwards glance to see the hook-horror rip the doomed rogue to pieces. The Pactlords, apparently satisfied with their overwhelming victory, do not pursue. The party doesn't stop, retreating out of the Outer Vaults; they avoid the electrical attacks from floating orb of light, and sloshes their way through the chamber with the glass cylinders (now filled with waist-high water... fortunately the octopi are nowhere to be seen), and stagger their way out of the Banewarrens entirely. They return to the surface, and remain at the Church for five full days, resting and recovering. The Pactlords have had their revenge...

Brewfest 7

While the rest of the city celebrates the last day of Brewfest, the party spends it recruiting some new members to replace their fallen comrades. They contact the Koor-Ma-Lao Legion to report the death of Ian. The Legion, having learned of Ian's involvement, sends a man named Laraeloth Albion ("Larry") to join the party and help investigate who these creatures were that brought about Ian's death. Larry, like Ian, is extremely skilled with the greataxe, and looks to be a promising asset to the party's front lines. He normally travels with a companion, a Dwarf named Gemloch; however, the dwarf is currently out on Legion business, so he hires a female fighter named Scelle to accompany him on this mission. The party also encounters a man named Tell, whose adventuring party was wiped out by the "blue terror", the creature who is still at large in the city. Tell is good with both stealth and tracking, and is very interested in finding another group of adventurers to travel with. Their numbers bolstered, the party decides to return to the Banewarrens and continue their explorations.

The group makes its way down into the Outer Vaults, to the chamber with the glass columns. It is still filled with water about three feet deep. Nothing can be heard but the dripping of water, but the party sees that the octopi are still missing from the glass columns. Vangkor casts fly and scouts the chamber out, while the rest of the party waits at the entrance. Soon enough he finds them, lurking in an alcove to the northeast. He begins furiously pelting them with spells. Although they thrash wildly about, flailing with their many tentacles, they cannot reach the flying wizard to retaliate, and decide to move for easier prey. With frightening speed, they jet their way over to the entrance and attack the party members there. Before anyone can react to the sudden assault, one of the creatures gets a hold of Scelle with a tentacle. The poor woman doesn't stand a chance; the party watches in absolute horror as the other tentacles of the creature rip her apart before she can do more than scream. Galvanized into action, the party retaliates as best it can. It is a difficult battle; the octopi can attack with all eight of their tentacles simultaneously, and each tentacle has a long reach, making hand-to-hand combat difficult. There are a few close calls, as both Minaret and Richter are briefly ensared by the creatures, but eventually they are brought down. However, the group is in such a weakened state that they are forced to retreat once more to the surface.

The funeral expenses of the unfortunate Scelle are arranged, and Larry, hoping that Gemloch has returned from his errand, invites the group to stay the night at the Legion headquarters. The party, glad for a change from the somewhat cold chambers of the Church of St. Cuthbert, thankfully accept the invitation. There they find that Gemloch has indeed returned, and introductions are made all around. The party spends the night reminiscing with the Legionaires about Ian, and discuss their next move.

Brewfest 8

The following morning the group, much refreshed by the hospitality of the Legion, return to the manor. After spending some time removing one of the interior doors of the manor, they descend into the Banewarrens. They make their way past the stone barrier and the vault doors. This time they know to expect the electrical sphere-creature, and run (or fly) as quickly as they can past it, minimizing the damage. They pass the spear-trap, using the door that they dragged with them as an effective shield against the spears. They leave it at the foot of the steps for when (if?) they must return this way again.

The party continues their explorations, retracing some of their steps to see if anything has changed. Sure enough, when they return to the room with the runes and the ladder on the ceiling, the vault door to the north has been opened. They peer inside, but can only see a medium-sized room wih an archway in the north wall. Against his better judgement, Tell cautiously enterss. His cautioun is in vain, however, as he inadvertently sets off an electrical floor trap. Minaret voices her extreme lack of awe at Tell's trap-detection skills, to which Tell angrily invites her to do better. Not missing a beat, Minaret steps forward into the next room, which has a set of stairs at the northwest end. She carefully checks the floor. She carefully checks the ceiling, and carefully checks the walls. Satisfied that the way ahead is indeed safe, she steps ahead, and promptly several blades pop out horizontally from the walls, slicing at her feet. She is struck, and tumbles backwards down the stairs. Tell says nothing, perhaps not daring to brave her burning look.

Beyond the steps the party finds an odd sight: the upper half of a suit of plate mail with a tattered red surcoat hangs suspeded from a black chain over a 20-foot-wide pit in the north end of the room. As the party draws closer, the armor shakes, and a ghostly face appears in it's helm. The expression on the face is old, despairing, and arrogant all at the same time. They engage it in conversation, and learn that the apparition is the spirit of one Tirranth the Warlord. He was hanged for many evil crimes, but his spirit was so attached to his armor that it could not be banished; thus Danar stored the armor here. It has been centuries since his imprisonment. He attempts to make a deal with the party: if they will free him, he can give them valuable information about the Banewarrens. The party is interested, but dicover that they do not presently have the necessary ingredients (specifically, holy water). When Tirranth learns that, he quickly becomes dismissive and rude to the party, telling them not to waste his time. The party is inclined to feel likewise, and they leave the bitter soul to his eternal prison.

The party cautiously returns to the room above the water tanks, where they were last defeated so soundly. There are no sign of the Pactlords, but they do find the bodies of their comrades, stripped of all gear and possessions. Vowing to return and lay them peacefully to rest, the party continues into the room itself. Apart from the interesting "water-lock" mechanisms on each entrance, the room itself is rather unremarkable. Beyond it is a small chamber that is empty except for an iron chain hanging from a hole in the ceiling. Feeling resigned that they shall eternally tempt fate, the party pulls the chain. They hear what sounds like a muted "clank" from another, distant part of the Outer Vaults. Nothing further happens, so the group doubles back to the room with the pegasus statue.

They head down the passage leading to the room where the multi-armed ape-like creatures were sleeping. Here there are several new things. For one, a secret door has been opened in the wall, revealing a wide hallway with several vault doors. More distressing are the bloody corpses of the ape-creatures. Even in death the creatures look formiddable; whatever took these creatures down must have been powerful. The door to their chamber is open. Inside they find the creature's beds and, oddly, a shrine apparently dedicated to Ehlonna. Unfortunately, when the party attempts to examine the shrine further, it crumbles into dust. Mystified, the party moves on to the new hallway with the vault doors.

Again, all three of the vaults have been opened. The first has a bare marble pedestal, but the second still contains something interesting: a 10-foot diameter sphere floating in the center of the vault. Within the sphere a pale-green mist roils. Deciding that something too evil for their enemies is probably no good for them, the party moves on. The third vault is empty.

Beyond the vaults is a room with an elaborate but faded mural depicting blue skies and clouds. At the north end is a folding screen depicting a whirlwind that obscures the far wall. The motif is appropriate, for as the party steps into the room, a huge, whirling figure of air emerges from the screen and attacks: an air elemental!

This creature proves a far tougher opponent than anything the party has fought so far. Most of the party's weapons do little if any damage to it, and its long reach and devastating slams quickly start beating the party to a pulp. It doesn't take them long to realize that they must retreat. As quickly as they can, they dash back towards the secret door. However, beyond they are horrified to see a tall, robed figure with a bulbous, tentacled head: a mind flayer. The Pactlords have returned, apparently ready to take the party out.

What follows is a desperate battle, as the party is trapped between the powerful air elemental and the equally deadly Pactlords. However, it is apparent that the Pactlords are more cautious, advancing one by one rather than en-masse: apparently their battle with the ape-creatures has taught them to be more cautious. Joining the creatures from the last encounter is an old crone, who must be the hag described by Kalerecent. She uses a wand of lightning to deadly effect. However, the party's luck turns when they discover that the elemental does not pursue them beyond the wide hallway with the vault doors. There is a deadly firefight, with the party firing missile weapons and the Pactlords using lightning bolts and mind blasts. Then the party rushes up to engage in melee. Once closer, they can see that the Pactlords were bearing wounds, possibly from their battle with the ape-creatures. The party is heartened, and redoubles their attacks. Through perseverence and luck, they manage to defeat their foes, one after the other. However, instead of remaining on the ground, the bodies of each of the fallen Pactlords fades away, leaving not a trace of their presence.