Grisgol, The Mummy King...

As the last of the air elementals dissipated, and an eerie silence descended, though Dandelion was quick to dispel it.
“Alright! What’s next?” he shouted with exuberance. Ayas shot him a look as if he’d gone made.
“You notice the door is barred on our side?” Terik asked emphasizing the “our”.
“I’ll open it,” Nine volunteered, taking a step forward.
 

A resounding “No!” erupted from the group , except for Dandelion. Nine stared back blankly, clearly mystified by the reaction. “It’s okay Nine,” Kai soothed him. “We’ll open it soon enough. Just want to think this through is all.”
 

“Oh come on,” Dandelion started again. “Tis better to kiss the lass than be troubled by ‘er.”
“What does that mean?” asked Terik, irritated. Nonplused, Dandelion slapped him on the back. “Look my savage friend. The only thing certain here is we can’t quit now. I mean, what kind of story would that make, huh?” “Nope. Just won’t do.”
Kai interjected at this point, “It’s a trap.” 

The Inverted Ziggurat...

After parting with Valanus and his dragonborn soldiers, the members of Fate’s Hammer made their way further into the mountain, confident their quest for Elatus would soon be complete.

And they were right.  Mostly…

Meeting Valanus...

Having survived the harpy's charms, spiked pits, and infuriating slipperiness of her lair, the companions steeled their minds, determined to find the elusive sword, Elatus.

They hadn't traveled far before Kai raised a clenched fist, signaling a halt. "What is it?" Terik asked, alert and ready for action. "Shh!" Kai reprimanded. "Hear that?" he asked in a coarse whisper.  "Sounds like water," he answered himself.

At this point Wotan interjected, "It’s a river."

“A river?” Dandelion asked quizzically.

“The sphinx's riddle,” Wotan answered, as if that would clear it up.

It didn’t...

The Frictionless Room...

Rested, the companions journeyed forth. Leaving the putrid stench of rotting ghouls behind, they ascended a short flight of steps and cautiously made their way along the hall, wondering what manner of terror the mountain would unleash upon them next.

They wouldn't have to wonder long...

The Hall of Wretched Heat

We spent a fitful night in that apartment. It was comfortable, but some us had been exposed to things that lingered much longer than a battle wound. The dirty water that Kai and I had been swimming around in contained more than just enemies, as we found that it was becoming harder to see. “Blinding Sickness” said Kai. “It’s often spread by tainted water. If we can’t shake this, we could go blind.” Terik was also not feeling well, but his illness seemed different – and much more dangerous. When he was exposed to the spores from the slain hag, he must have inhaled some of them. Kai looked him over, and his prognosis wasn’t good. “Mummy Rot, I would say. It doesn’t always come from mummies. If we don’t get you some help, you will have a harder time breathing, getting progressively worse if not treated. It could kill you.” Fate seems to have turned against us, but there was little we could do about it now. We were still miles below the surface and a long way from home. All we could do was press on and finish what we came here for.