The party rested in the chamber above the wandering thaluud, and Tobias was able to study it. He knew everything about the construct, and determined that malnutrition had reduced this one's blindsense; with planning, quickness, and a degree of luck, he believed they would be able to maneuver around it. The tomb tapper had a Dragon Slayer longsword wrapped to its leg with black silk, and Marcus was adamant that they collect it, claiming it to be an heirloom of his people. Without much further questioning, the party agreed to explore the hideout before stealing the sword.
Beside the entrance was a plaque demonstrating the Order's devil-killing vows: "By the light reflecting from our sacred silver, we vow to rid the world of the devil's touch. In the face of darkness, we stand unyielding, for we are the shield that guards the innocent. Our souls bound by frost and our blades forged in truth, we are the Order of the Silver Dragon. Submit your true nature before these steps, and enter."
A magical trap read the minds of the party, and a voice informed them that one amongst them had a "Devil" in their heart, who would look to betray their group. Eyeing Mormeros, they stealthily moved into the hideout, requiring the human blood of Marcus and Ajuni to open the abjurative doors. Hiding around pillars and in rooms hidden from the thaluud's magical senses, they abandoned their magic items in the Captains Room, relying on pure mundane ability to get them through the dungeon.
By breaking into two important rooms, they found a bit of information on how the order was structured and where they were disappeared to. Captain Horngaard's Journal and his steward Godfrey's Journal hinted at some romance between the two, before they departed to investigate the Azure Paragon in the Balinok Mountains. Marcus found an Insignia on a long-dead Dark Gnome, Irsel Rill Lakerun Gembop Geoheart, which Tobias believed could open a "master switch" that would remove all abjuration from the hideout. The gnome also found a chest sealed by magical wax, but the First Ranger Irsel's Journal told that there was a "code" to unlock it further in the hideout.
They dashed through the fort, occasionally catching the notice of the tomb tapper but never long enough to face its wrath head-on. They picked apart lockboxes amongst skeletons in their barracks, narrowly avoided poisonous gas from dead Barrelstalk in the kitchens, and found that the tomb tapper had stolen the sword from a monument in the dining hall. In the jail, Mormeros found a pile of bones scattered amidst silver coins; to the tiefling's dismay, Tobias went in to collect them. The coins had held the bones in suspended animation, and when disturbed, they brought to life a Minotaur Skeleton. After a short skirmish in which Marcus was again gored by a minotaur, Mormeros forbade the party from interacting with any silver in the hideout, including an incredible amount of loose silver ore scattered right in the hallway.
They found a snowy room filled with half-made dragon-themed traps and alchemical experiments. Reaching for a Potion of Ancient Silver Dragon's Breath, Tobias activated a pressure plate that caused their environment to form into six Snow Golems, who downed Marcus and nearly Mormeros before the party melted them with fire magic. Opposite this was the stock room, which contained many mundane materials as well as a gnomish riddle to open Irsel's chest. Sneaking back to the First Rangers room, they held a candle to the wax which slowly burned and opened. Inside was Argynvost's gift to Irsel: a set of Silver Dragon Scale Mail in small size, which Tobias quickly nicked.
To get the Dragon Slayer longsword, the party enacted a genius plan. Using Marcus and Ajuni to open and close a series of magical gates, they employed Queez and a Mormeros-made illusion as bait. The tomb tapper charged as Tobias burned off the black silk around his leg, and they trapped the thaluud in a small square next to the materials room. Marcus was happy to be reunited with his sword, but there was a new problem: only by flicking the "master switch" could they enter, which would put the construct right behind them. In an act of heroism and depression, Queez volunteered to lead the tomb tapper away, and Mormeros conjured an illusion of Ploom alongside their mate as they hovered off to certain doom.
Having cleared the dungeon, they descended a set of massive stairs deep into the mountainside. Awaiting them was a giant chamber filled with silvery mist, containing two portals and an absolute hoard of silver coins. As they approached, the mist condensed into the form of an ancient Dragon: Argynvost stood above them in glory and majesty, but was not completely there. The dragon was seemingly confused at his own existence, and was puzzled why Tobias was wearing his friend's armor, as well as why a tiefling stood unaccosted in his keep.
The dragon explained that he had spent his adulthood searching for the Azure Paragon, who's fate he believed related to his ancestors demise. The Hideout had been built by the Paragon, who's wizards conjured innate magic to block both physical assaults and faerzress pollution, but the fort was an empty shell with no leads. He took over the base and, while assembling an order dedicated to him, learned of a place called the Amber Temple. Argynvost believed it was built by the Paragon to control great powers beyond mortal ken, and went to investigate. However, he found that the valley below the temple was under siege by a warlord, and so began to construct a fortified mansion to combat the warlord called Argynvostholt.
Beyond that, he had no memory, and believed that his current form was only a vestige of his arcane intellect. He offered the party his hoard to find out what happened to him, which Mormeros was put off by as the reward was "only silver". They didn't have much time to consider the offer, however, as the rumbling steps of the tomb tapper approached behind them. With one circle leading south and the other to potential danger, they jumped into the portal to Argynvostholt as the silver dragon surged forward to combat the giant!
The teleport spell clearly failed, however. The party was trapped in a white, liminal space, filled with mist that began choking the life out of everyone besides Marcus. After a half-minute, a figure of darkness in the form of a man appeared. As it approached, Marcus' voice and demeanor changed, and he broke down in front of the figure. Vampyr stood before him, telling the fighter that though Strahd von Zarovich had forgotten him, the Dark Power never had. He referred to Marcus as "Zandros", and beckoned him home to Barovia. With Zandros bearing the Dragon Slayer he had left his home to find and three worthy souls, Vampyr commanded him to go to Castle Ravenloft.
Finally released from the choking mist, his friends had no words as "Marcus" departed. Ajuni went to launch a fireball at the both of them, but found her magic eaten by the fog. With a laugh, Vampyr allowed these "juicy souls" into his domain. Mormeros, Ajuni, Tobias, and Geronimo were left on a cold mountain ridge buffeted by cold winds, broken and betrayed.
