Adventurers
- Harlin Winklevos (Fighter 1)
- Henry (Cleric 1)
- Koko (Fighter 5) and Umphred (Cleric 1)
- Mandras (Dwarf 5)
- Rarder (Fighter 6)
- Simon (Elf 2)
To Kanadius' surprise, the party volte-faced and departed the room the way they'd come with an arch "We'll find our own way down." The masked, robed figure shrugged and bade them farewell.
The adventurers worked their way down the temple levels, pausing only to fight off some more large hairless apes attacking the rear. The rest of the way was clear, though they noted with increasing unease the greater quantities of sand piling up on the floor through cracks in the stonework. They slowed down a touch to let the dwarves assess the structural integrity of the paths ahead, but fortunately all seemed sturdy enough for now.
When they finally reached the lowest level, they found themselves accosted by peculiar bird-masked figures some peculiar jig and flapping their arms. Simon mirrored their movements, and the party warily followed them through several corridors. When they made to turn off and head towards Malachie's lair, the masked figures hurled insults at them and disappeared into the darkness.
Clambering over sand dunes in the great hall, they neared the point where they'd slain Malachie a few weeks ago, and they were greeted by a human voice. Rarder declared they had a gift to present in tribute to the monster, and he was beckoned forward alone. With his magic-absorbing ioun stone out, Rarder warily approached the grand corridor in which they'd fought the mono-eyed beast. A sound of chanting began, and an octarine burst flew out of the darkness; the ioun stone lapped the arcane missile up, and Rarder charged in, the rest of the party hastening forwards.
They clashed with several ranks of hooded figures, each one bearing a mask with a single eye slot, though some were evidently better armed and armoured than their fellows. Mandras activated the magic sword the party had earned for taking Malachie's head, and he flew over the hooded ranks and into the startled caster, cutting him down. The rest of the figures were cut down in swathes, though they did not falter in their responses; Sidebottomham, the dwarven retainer rescued from giant crocodiles, fell beneath their blades.
However, other than a few minor injuries, the adventurers dominated the cultists and dispatched them all. Stepping forward, they found before them a pile of thousands of platinum pieces, as well as a few choice weapons and armour which Conciencia confirmed to be magical. Now it was a question of how to get it all back up top.
The party discarded all non-essential pieces of equipment; they'd have more than enough coin to replace their gear thousands of times over. It took two trips, but eventually they hauled all 9000 platinum pieces out of the dungeon, hacking their way through giant centipedes, snakes, bats, lizards and ferrets. A few taps with the Staff of Healing and they were off back to Ximes, depositing their new immense wealth as surreptitiously as possible. Surely it went unnoticed...