Sunday, Brewfest 2, 552 CY (50 AN)

Having rested, Bezaldooz, Bosabrieln, Peren, Torinn, and Valna prepare for the next task. The two tasks given to them by Obanar involve finding the “sky metal” so that Obanar may make the Implements of Argent to help them in their journey, and researching the Divine Engine to determine what Piranoth’s cultists plan to do with it and where they might have gone. Deciding to work on crafting the Implements of Argent, they travel to the Guardian’s Tower to inquire with Obanar regarding the sky metal’s whereabouts. He does not know, but indicates that the adventurer Qwor would likely know the location of the sky metal. His ghost haunts the Necropolis in Argent; Rrowthar grants the Shields of the Sorrowfell a key to gain access. The Shields thank the pair and take their leave.

The Shields arrive before the locked gates of the walled Necropolis. Bosabrieln withdraws the key and unlocks the door. The district is shadowed with towering edifices and jumbled, ancient tombs. As the Shields walk through the crumbling streets, an armored humanoid with a glowing black sword — clearly undead by his look — confronts them. He asks what business they have in the lands of the dead. Bosabrieln, Peren, and Torinn describe their mission and their status as the new Silver Cloaks. The undead warrior is eventually suitably convinced, and allows them to pass.

They continue through the streets until they find Qwor’s tomb. Peren and Torinn bash it open, and the Shields enter. Bezaldooz and Peren help lead the party through the labyrinthine Corridor of Many Chambers, and Peren assists them in spotting the traps outside Qwor’s burial chamber. Within, the ghost manifests, and Bosabrieln explains they are the new Silver Cloaks, and require the sky metal to build the Implements of Argent so they may fight against the primordial Piranoth, currently in danger of awakening. Qwor acknowledges the severity of the situation, but notes the last set of Implements were lost in the Abyss a century ago when a group of Silver Cloaks disappeared there. However, the metal was known to exist in Bael Turath, some 600 years ago, and there is a gem hidden in his sacrophagus that will assist the Shields. Peren manages to pry open the panel and retrieve the gem, and the ghost of Qwor disappears, telling them to take it to Obanar, as he will know what to do. Some hidden mechanism in the tomb then causes the walls in the maze to fall, providing a single hallway leading to the exit. The Shields use it to return to the surface, and from there, exit the Necropolis to return to the Guardian’s Tower.

Once there, Obanar gestures to a magic circle and explains he can use the gem as a focus in a ritual to lead them to the resting place of the sky metal. The gem will lead them to the sky metal, wherever they find themselves, and if used as a focus for the teleportation circle spell, will return them to their own time. Bezaldooz says he needs to prepare the spell, so the group adjourns to wait another day so he can prepare.

The next day, the Shields reconvene at the Guardian’s Tower. Obanar prepares the ritual, reminding them they must be careful to avoid changing that which has already come to pass; the gem will lead them to the sky metal’s resting spot, and they should not range beyond where the gem takes them. He then begins casting the ritual. Towards the end, the gem glows and floats to Bosabrieln’s hand. He accepts it, Obanar completes the ritual, and the circle flares with energy. When the light fades, they are somewhere else.

They are in a grand hallway with statues of warforged wizards bearing staves. An intersection sits ahead of the Shields, with an anteroom and a door beyond that. Peren is immediately suspicious of the warforged statues, and runs up and strikes the one on the far left, despite Bosabrieln’s protestations. The warforged reacts, and the battle is joined. Valna summons a guardian of faith, an entity that appear in a blaze of light and stuns the two warforged wizards. They are quickly slain, and as Bosabrieln follows the tug of the gem to the antechamber, he is surprised as two warforged warriors, replete in plate and bearing greatswords, round the corner. He plays a melody on his viol to calm them, causing them to remain quietly on their pedestals, but is surprised by two more warforged wizards that pop out from alcoves. They shower the bard in ice, although Bezaldooz and Valna sling spells while Peren and Torinn move in for the kill. The two wizards are quickly dispatched. Peren notices that the door ahead is trapped — the floor between them and the door has some manner of magical trap.

While still concentrating on keeping the two warforged warriors subdued, Bosabrieln steps forward. The gem tugs to the left and right, and so Bosabrieln uses his wand of secrets to determine where a secret door might reside. The wand points to the right. The group moves over to investigate, but while Bosabrieln and Peren are discussing their options, the calming spell fades and the two warforged spring at the Shields. However, the two warforged warriors are no match against the sword and spell of the five Shields of the Sorrowfell.

After they are dispatched, Peren gets to work examining the wall with the secret door. He manages to find the seam and open the panel, which leads to a small room with a pedestal at the far end; the pedestal bears a chunk of silvery metal. Peren notices another trapped floor before the pedestal; Bezaldooz deactivates the floor with his magics. Peren then steps forward and obtains the metal. Bosabrieln’s blue gem begins pulling toward the other wall; another wall panel, another trapped floor, another chunk of silvery metal. Once both have been retrieved, the blue gem pulls toward the door ahead. Bezaldooz deactivates this floor, and the group presses forward.

The door leads to a spiraling staircase winding its way up and down a tower. The middle of the spiral forms a pit down into the dark. The gem pulls upward, so the Shields cut left and prepare to ascend.

The tower ascends roughly forty feet before the stairs terminate in a small room. A set of double doors sits in the far wall. Two gargoyle statues, each facing the direction of the far wall, flank the stairs. As the Shields approach, a mouth appears on the doors and proclaims, “You have invaded the home of the wizard Acererak! Proceed in this direction at your own peril!” All recognize the name of the dreaded Acererak, architect of the infamous Tomb of Horrors. Bosabrieln attempts to speak to the doors in return, but they do not respond. He steps forward and attempts to open the doors, and discovers two things: the doors and locked, and that activity activates one of the gargoyles, that belches flame at him. He is signed and injured in the blast. Peren sets to work examining the statues and manages to find the hidden panels to shut them off. He and Torinn then kick open the door.

The room opens into a laboratory; several tables hold equipment and specimens. Windows are set into the lefthand wall and the far wall, looking over a grand, spired city of exotic aspect. Another set of doors sits in the righthand wall. Two large, cloaked, skeletal figures with long, bony claws stand guard in the room, and they move forward to attack. Peren and Torinn rush into the room to engage the undead, while Bezaldooz, Bosabrieln, and Valna stay in the doorway to throw spells into the room. As Peren and Torinn engage the giant skeletons, three four-armed skeletons armed with scimitars rush out of a corridor from the back left wall. The combination of sword and spell destroys the first large, robed skeleton, and a combination of spells and Torinn’s assault takes care of the four-armed skeletons. Peren maneuvers himself, skirting around the room to outflank the last remaining skeleton, and he and Torinn move to engage. The last is quickly slain.

The Shields search the room, and over the course of about ten minutes, they find a stockpile of residuum. They deign not to examine the hallway from whence the four-armed skeletons came, instead preparing to enter the door ahead, as the gem tugs in that direction.