The fever finally broke and I awoke from strange, dream-like visions. A dark evil, a serpent’s kiss, all is blurred. As I awaken, I’m not sure what was real and what was fantasy. All my companions are safe with me, and I live to tell another tale. Of this, I am thankful.

Five days I’ve been slipping into and out of lucidness. Are we really in Myth Drannor? It seems so familiar, and yet, I cannot be sure. Something is very strange here. My magical powers seem to have been robbed from me! But no magic now appears to work in this place. Have the ancient stories of the one-time powerful mythal that protected this place become this?

I attempt to communicate with some forest creatures in these woods, but they do not seem to help. What can I expect from satyrs, who have little care in this world except to enjoy themselves? I envy them. Sometimes I too would like nothing more than to be carefree. Someday, but for now, we have to find out where we are or find our way back.

We make our way further from camp as we explore this strange place and find a dryad in a fairy circle. I call out to her yet she only smiles, seeming to beckon me to come to her. A group of centaurs comes closer. Though not menacing, they too seem to think that we do not belong here. A fey flirts with me and flies back to the circle. And again. Does she want me to follow her into the circle? I do, and I am no longer in the forest.

Momentarily the rest of the band appears. Are we back in the Haunted Halls? It looks similar, but we’ve not seen this section before. We attempt to get our bearings and figure out where we are. Where ever we are, we press on. There is evil to vanquish, treasure to be had, and a way out to be found.

We come to a room with several chests. Stonebreaker can hardly contain himself! We slowly start to investigate them. As always, not all is as it seems. Stonebreaker certainly has a knack for finding creatures that can change their appearance. Unfortunately, he does this the hard way. Repeatedly.

Further along, we come to a summoning circle and a glowing demonic face. Fearful, I cast a charm of protection from evils. Against my warnings, someone is foolhardy enough to tempt the gods and dance with the devils. A creature of darkness appears in the circle. He peers around the room leers at us, and suddenly two more minions of evil appear. Somehow, we manage to send the beasts back to where they came.

For some reason, the group decides to spit in the face of evil yet again. This time the demon that arrives is even more ominous than the last. Most of the group flees in terror, but I steady my steal and attack. Of course, my attacks do nothing. I am overcome by a fearful, unnatural urge to flee despite my protection and I attempt to escape. We all run for our lives, however short they may now be with a demon in pursuit. All except Rochendir.

Suddenly, the fear is gone. We stop running for our lives, only to find Rochendir has single-handedly slain the beast. Maybe he does have a vampire in him…

We continue to push forward through the passages and come to a deceased dragon. A great battle must have been fought here, and all that is left is the beast’s skeleton and the signs of conflict. As we move to leave the room, I catch something from the corner of my eye. A secret door!

Maybe this was the cache of the fallen dragon, but it’s amazing! I know that the great wealth of my people is immense, both in precious metals and magic, but this is more than I have seen before. We decide to hold up and try to figure out what we may use to help us on our adventures. We spend the next few days examining the objects and deciding who should get what. We have an amazing amount of mystical treasures, and Stonebreaker can barely contain his excitement. I suggest that we secure the treasure we cannot take, but he’ll have none of it.

Above all, there are two items that seem special. The first is a ring that Stonebreaker had claimed some time ago. I can tell it’s very powerful, but anything else is beyond my comprehension. Undaunted, Stonebreaker continues to attempt to learn the secret of the ring. Muttering to himself, he rubs the ring and a creature appears! The genie, faithful servant to the bearer of the ring, is seemingly the answer to all of Stonebreakers prayers. In particular, the fact that he can carry nearly all of the treasure makes Stonebreaker snort in satisfaction.

The other object is much easier to identify, as it actually speaks to me. Not in a whimsical or emotional way, but as in IT ACTUALLY SPEAKS TO ME! The blade introduces itself to me as Lorson, the Drow Bane, and says that it would travel well with me. This elf needs no more urging than that, and I accept the blade as my ally.

With our new items and treasure, we press on. We decide that it’s time to seek out the murderous little band that slew our friends. Now it’s off to the kobold’s lair.

Soon we find our way back to their lair, but they seem to have abandoned it. We’ve had our fill for the Haunted Halls for now. Someday we’ll return and finish what we started here. It’s back to Eveningstar and then on to Arabel.