The group spends the rest of the day traveling on the road leading east to Dol’karak, meeting nobody else on the road to or from it, indicating that it is not a journey many people take. Raenerys decides to disguise herself as an elf in order to not draw too much attention, in case there are any more assassins at their destination. Eventually, over the hill, they see their destination; a massive walled town at the foot of the mountain, with a big gate leading inside. Next to the gate there is a small stable, and as soon as they get close, a halfling approaches to offer their services in stabling their horses.
Happy with the cheap stables, the party asks the halfling who they should speak to if they wish to head into the mountain, having been told that there are some guides around willing to lead them through, The halfling says they’re unsure about who to speak to if they want to go through it to the other side, as most people just want to explore and then return, but recommends Philip, who should be sitting in the tavern.
Heading inside, they immediately see how dilapidated the town is. It’s clear that they are in the middle of reclaiming the abandoned city, as people are living in buildings that are missing roofs or have had the top floors caved in. The town reaches into the mountain, being partially built into it, with a few freestanding structures occupied by people. A tavern sits near the middle of the square, clearly built by spare parts that have been found around. By a table in front of it sits a tall human with a smaller man next to him, both of them having a beer.
The party approaches the man, and has their suspicions that this is Philip confirmed, when he warmly beckons for them to join him and his assistant Alden for a drink, when he realizes that they are potential customers. The party sits down to drink with them, and tells Philip that they wish to travel through the mountain to reach the other side, claiming that they wish to see the Huntsman, and also mentions the “monastery”, but Philip quickly tells them that heading to the “Monastery of Silence” is forbidden.
Philip convinces the party that he is the most knowledgeable and experienced guide that can be found around, and that Alden is his assistant in training, who will take over when he moves on to other ventures, claiming this is just a temporary gig he is doing. He offers to take them through the ruins under the mountain for four chests of gold, after Quill tries to haggle him down. Unsatisfied, but not completely declining his offer, they ask if anyone else can help them, with Philip mentioning Norin, if they want to go with someone cheaper, albeit more dangerous, as he supposedly has lost people passing through the mine. Philip assures them that he has lost people too, but only after bringing them to their destination, promising a safe passage through the mountain, unharmed, if they go with him and follow his instructions, although it will take a week to do so.
The party thanks Philip and Alden for their time, saying they will consider it, taking their drinks with them as they head into the mountain to see if they can find Norin, who supposedly lives alone near the entrance to the ruins. After a short walk, far beyond where people normally live, they see a light from a building up ahead. Getting close, they see smoke coming out of a chimney, so they realize that this must be his house. They knock on the door, which opens, revealing a pale and skinny man with a hunched back looking back at them.
Norin asks nervously what they want, and perks up when they ask if he can help guide them through the mountain to the other side. Norin says that he can do so, having gone through a couple of times when he’s been exploring, as he likes the darkness beneath the mountain, and is not that big a fan of people, but he does think the party seems nice enough. The party tells him that they spoke with Philip who said it would take at least a week to go through it, but Norin promises that they can do so in as little as four days, as he can lead them through the ruins, not around it like Philip. He’s also willing to do it for much cheaper, only asking for a chest and a half for the whole party.
The party says that they would like to hire him, so he lets them inside so they can talk some more. The inside is sparsely furnished, with just what Norin needs to live. A couple of stuffed animals are scattered around, an owlbear cub he calls Magister, and a goblin named James. They sit down around the hearth where Norin tells them about the journey, which will take them straight through the old city. He says there is a beholder roaming around, but last he heard he was holed up in the forge to the northwest, so they should avoid him. There is also a significant undead and ghostly presence, but he has some tricks to avoid them.
Quill offers to teleport them back to Dol’karak when they’re through, as she has the ability to teleport, demonstrating it for Norin by teleporting them both to the other side of the room, but because of the short distance, the experience is quite unpleasant, causing Norin to throw up, but Quill promises that the long journey will be better. With all involved being happy, the party pays Norin up front, so he takes the gold to a side room, where the party can hear him clearly pull a painting aside, open a safe, and deposit it within.
Norin suggests the party go to sleep as they will start the journey at first light, heading into a small room himself that can best be described as a cupboard, taking the owlbear doll with him. The party heads into the other room, where they see a single painting hiding what they assume is a safe behind it. A key is poking out from the side, so Gaia gently pushes it behind the painting to hide it, not wanting anyone to find it.
Raenerys, helped by Quill, continues to work on Gaia’s wound, but they realize that they have done what they can, they now need to find someone who can help finish the healing, hoping that the forest beyond the mountain can give them answers. They all talk about choosing Norin over Philip, wondering if they’re making the right choice, but Quill says that “the best stories don’t get told by taking the safest routes”, which oddly inspires them all.
The next morning, Norin knocks on the door to wake them, and after packing their belongings, they follow him to the entrance of the old city ruins; a collapsed doorway, 10 meters tall, filled with rubble. Norin and the others gently squeeze themselves through the opening. From there, Norin leads them through the old city, passing by room after room that has been looted by whoever came before them. Raenerys doesn't trust Norin entirely, suspecting him of being a vampire, but he assures them that he is not.
After the first day of travel, Norin leads them to an old teleportation chamber with a cracked circle, telling them that the easy part of the journey is done as he passes around some food, dried meat and the like. Quill shows him the cookbook they bought, and he is more than happy to write down some of the recipes into his own journal. Quill gets a glimpse at his map that he is following, where he has written down directions through the city to the other side.
The next day they continue their journey, eventually traveling through a makeshift burial chamber, with bodies and urns scattered about, untouched treasures people have not reached. The party all yearn to take some of it, but decides against it as Norin doesn’t give it a second glimpse, following his lead. He claims that there are ghosts abound that might be unhappy if they begin rummaging through their belongings.
After a while they come to an opening where the floor just disappears into a massive cavern that has collapsed over the years. There is a narrow passageway around the walls that Norin leads them to, but just to be sure, Quill levitates herself, as Gaia flies around, pulling Quill along with a rope. Raenerys and Norin follow the path, and everything seems to be going okay until a shake loosens some rocks from above. Raenerys only barely manages to jump out of the way, avoiding being pulled down with it, but is hit by some debris. They decide to walk extra carefully, avoiding any more falling debris. In the distance, a large rock loosens from the roof, splashing down into an underwater lake, far below them. They ask Norin if this is normal, but he says that this is the first time he’s experienced the mountain shaking like this.
They eventually reach the end of the ledge, stepping onto a large room with six pillars holding up the roof, way up into the darkness. There is a massive door that is closed, with a few smaller openings around that leads further ahead to their destination. Hanging from the pillars are massive unlit braziers that Norin tells them not to light, as they don’t know what it might attract. Quill decides to take a moment to draw the room and the door instead, giving the arcane flashlight to Gaia so that she can fly up to light up the pillars at least to let her see.
Against their better judgement, Gaia points the flashlight to the roof, and sees dozens of pairs of pale eyes staring back at her. A screech is heard, and before they know it, Norin is running for one of the hallways, telling the party to follow him. Gaia attempts to fly down to get away, but a couple of ekoko’s manage to cut her off. She flings one of the ekokos into the wall, which causes another part of the roof to loosen, falling down towards Norin, Quill and Raenerys, who are running towards the door. Raenerys just barely manages to push Norin out of the way, but his foot is struck by the loose rock, causing him to lose his footing. Quill makes a wall of fire that surrounds the entrance of the hallway Norin pointed towards, and Raenerys uses her terrifying spells to hold back the ekoko, allowing the party to escape, with Gaia flying down under the fire to join the others.
Satisfied that they are out of harm's way as the ekoko retreats, Raenerys asks Norin if he knew about the beasts, but he did not, as he has made his best effort to pass through the area without drawing attention to himself, but at least now he knows to avoid them. Gaia takes out some water, healing his foot, much to his astonishment. After taking a short breather, they decide to continue, following Norin.
After a while however, Quill spots a red glow coming from a nearby staircase leading down, so she points it out, but the others see no light. Curious, and against her better judgement, Quill decides to check it out, with the others reluctantly following her. Raenerys uses a spell to see through Quill’s eyes, but she still sees nothing of interest. Quill hurries down the stairs, stepping onto a trap, which she just barely avoids, as several tubes shoot projectiles at where she stood a moment before. They decide to be careful, with Quill levitating Raenerys held by a rope, with Norin using his sword to poke the staircase for traps.
Eventually, they reach the bottom, where they find four doors, two of them broken down, and a wall at the end of the hallway. Quill however, sees another door at the end of the hall instead. She points it out, casting a spell to reveal it, letting the others see the door beyond the illusory wall, but still no red glow. As another consequence of the spell, Raenerys’ disguise falls away, but Norin doesn’t comment on it.
After Gaia confirms with a divination that whatever is beyond the door won’t be harmful for them, Quill puts her hand on the door handle, expecting something to happen, but when nothing does, she pushes it down and opens the door. Inside the party sees a small circular chamber, with a crystal formation, containing a looking glass in it. At first they think they see Quill reflected in it, but they quickly notice that it is someone that looks like her, with long, straight hair in a ponytail, wearing glasses, surrounded by what seems to be antiquities. The woman in the mirror looks back at them, then suddenly speaks, looking completely surprised.
“Halandria?”
Quill freezes up, staring at the mirror which is surrounded by the red glow of the crystals that only she sees. Quill asks the person in the mirror where the hells she is, but the woman asks where Quill is in return. Quill says that she is trying to find and rescue her, and that they’re currently under the Ghal’dum Mountain, but the woman just looks at the others with her, asking her why she is with them. She then turns around, as if someone approaches, saying that she has to go, and throws a sheet supposedly over the mirror on her end. The connection is broken, and the red glow disappears for Quill.
Norin, who has been watching their rear flank, hurriedly closes the door as he sees a faint blueish glow coming from the top of the stairs, as Gaia and Raenerys question who that woman was, saying it looked exactly like her. Through some odd phrasing, Quill reveals that she is unable to say her name, but confirms that it is her sister. Norin tries to shush them, so Quill snaps out of her moment, dropping the reveal spell. They see the faint glow of whatever is beyond the door get close, then retreats.
Satisfied that they are safe, they decide to press on, carefully making their way up the stairs, avoiding any blue glow of nearby spectres. They eventually reach a staircase leading down, where they finally get some good use of their gill-salve which the box have helpfully provided them, as they have to cross a flooded common area. Norin has gone through it several times before, so he knows the way, and with the ability to breathe underwater, the swim is a cakewalk.
They emerge on the other side, where Norin quickly leads them to a side room in a hallway that appears to be warded, as the spirits have been unable to follow him within when he has used the room in the past. Quill decides to lock it with magic. The ward resists her, but she manages to push through it, securing their space for the night. Norin quickly makes a small fire in the hearth, as this appears to have been a sleeping chamber, but the beds are all but rotted away, only the stone frame remains.
Norin decides to go to sleep, as he is exhausted, and recommends the others do as well, since they have two more days of travel before they are through, and the “labyrinth” is not far from here. He lies down on his bedroll, clutching his owlbear doll, and drifts off to sleep, snoring lightly. Meanwhile, Gaia and Raenerys both question Quill about the woman in the mirror, since it’s clear they’re related somehow.
Quill confirms that her real name is Halandria Honeypot, after her grandfather, but Quill is what she prefers that they call her. Through some intricate guesswork, because while Quill knows her sister's name, she cannot say it out loud, they learn that her name is Berandria, and that she is looking for her as she went missing while traveling. One day, their parents seemed to have forgotten about her entirely, so Quill set out to find her and fix whatever was happening. She suspects that she’s the only one who can remember her as they are twins.
Quill is worried that her sister is working with Malgus, considering that she reacted so strongly by seeing Quill with the other two. They theorize what caused the mirror to connect with whatever was where Berandria was, with Gaia figuring that it has something to do with blood magic, seeing as they are twins. Quill worries about the fact that she told her sister where they were, hoping that this doesn’t lead to more assassins being sent their way.
Eventually, the trio follows Norin’s advice, drifting off to sleep, safe from the undead that roams the hallways outside the door.