The area beyond the door still shows signs of blood from a recent battle, but the bodies of the fallen have been removed. The situation is changing and in flux with each passing day. They follow one of Baiga’s clues, leading away from the building and towards the sewer pipes. In that direction they find traps, gelatinous pseudopods, and traces of a passageway. The shaft has a ladder leading to another, smaller pipe. They eventually decide to return to the original entrance and follow the stairs that lead deeper underground.
Going through these leads to a large underground cavern, a remnant of an earlier civilization on which this city was built. There, a tower stretches from floor to ceiling, with curtain walls on either side. There is an observation box attached to the ceiling of the cavern. Not much seems to be going on, so while the bard and cleric remain at the top of the stairs, the rest of the party head up to the curtain wall to see if they can climb it. At the bottom of the stairs, they find a cultist, killed with a single knife in his back. Hmm. Infighting? No, stay on the objective. Climb the wall. That’s the plan, and it will remain the plan until it’s not the plan.
Colorful light patterns distract and fascinate some of the party. Then lightning strikes the three on the stairs. Lightning? Yes, lightning! No one knows where it came from except Zaal, but he can only hurt it. More colorful light slows the party, and a second lightning bolt does more damage. In the confusion, what appear to be dwarven cultists appear and begin attacking from behind, aided by creatures made of air and fire. Fun!
The signal to retreat is sounded, and the group leaves the location as quickly as possible. They retreat past a swarm of gelatinous pseudopods and set up camp in a partially flooded section of the sewer. They rest, recuperate, and examine the loot they have collected before returning to the descent staircase. In preparation, they are all made invisible by the Zaar; they won’t be able to fool everyone, but maybe they can fool enough of them.
A new tripwire has been fixed at the top of the stairs, but the agile Mr. Finger eliminates the danger. The plan is to run up the stairs, cross to the tower door and have Zaar use his magic to open it. That’s the plan, and it will remain the plan until there are no more plans.
The plan works; the door opens and the group encounters a figure dozing on a straw mattress, which Krusty finishes off by stabbing him in the aorta. Zaar shoots at an unseen familiar as it tries to escape to the upper floors, but is killed with a magic missile. There is some looting and searching; Krusty opens a door to the outside of the tower and is hit by a missile. The group discusses most of this, but then they notice a spy, a colorful centipede that escapes up the stairs. The group follows it into a room that appears to be a web of lightning-shooting spider-men. The group eventually leaves, unable to find a practical way to deal with the large, spider-web-filled room that is difficult to light.
Anyway, they find another door, which they know leads into a larger cavern, so they head out into the cavern, where they find themselves in a fight with the transformed apartment dwellers they encountered all that time ago. After defeating the bomb-throwing creatures and entering the building, they are attacked by two Rat Kings, who do their best to kill Sniffles with their swords and pistols and escape. One dies inside the building, and the other runs for the exit, only to be shot by Zaar’s arrow. Phew… there’s never a dull moment!
