Now is probably a good time to explain what Kan Ze (Medalric to his friends) has been doing on his visits to his monastery. He has been meditating on the properties of the green stone that he found in the basement of the Thieves' Guild mainly because he had previously possessed such a stone which had been taken
from him by the Geogoths in
Retford. He has found that for a short time each day he can project his spirit from one stone to the other and explore the
surroundings of the further stone in incorporeal form. He tells the party this to explain why he recognises the corridor that now stretches in front of the party.
Half way down the corridor are two orc guards but these are swiftly overcome before they can raise the alarm. Fingers and Medalric then combine to open the
door the orcs were guarding and discover a room full of magical treasure including the items confiscated by the Geogoths in Retford.
In order to not reveal the location of the secret door the party leave a trail of blood in the other direction and at the end of the corridor climb some steps to
another door. Opening the door silently they notice another pair of orc guards but these are surprised and dispatched before they realise what is going on. To
avoid alerting any other orcs the party create a temporary illusion that the guards are still there. On this level, which mainly seems to be storerooms (for
a large number of beings) there are two more orcs. Firmon is given the guise of an orc and one is left alive so he believes he has been attacked by one of his compatriots.
Somewhere almost directly above the treasure room Medalric in his incorporeal form found two gnomes held prisoner in a dungeon who Rumpkin believes have been
kidnapped from his village so the party try to head upwards.
They find some more stairs and come to a landing. Two other flights of stairs head downward and there is a short corridor ahead. The flights of stairs both
lead to barracks, one empty and one full of sleeping orcs. At the end of one of these corridors is a large metal door which Fingers cannot open and Medalric becomes incorporeal in order to see what's on the other side. He discovers a twenty foot wide which slowly spirals downwards. Down the short corridor ahead the party discover a great hall lined with the same green stone as
Medalric's pebbles. With so much of the stone to which he has an affinity so close Medalric starts to feel giddy. There are many people in the room, mostly
human, so the party consider retreating for the day. Before they go they note an ornate stairway at one end of the room and a large pit at the other end.
The party consider their options. Not many think that they can penetrate further on their current path. Fingers, however, has been consulting old
Thieves' Guild maps. He has already discovered a route into the Nobles Quarter sewers from the passages the
party have already explored. Now he has another map with details of a secret door from the sewers into the lower levels of the Palace. The only catch is
that various unpleasant creatures are rumoured to dwell in the Nobles Quarter sewers.
The party, however, feel they are stronger than ever with growing powers, more potent spells and new equipment. Gale has been shapeshifting into spider form for scouting purposes and Dwain has been using spells to enhance the party's combat ability.
They dare the Nobles Quarter sewers and meet and slay the unpleasant
creatures they come across. Opening the secret door they find themselves in some cellars and slightly later in corridors containing store rooms and the odd
servant. At the end of one of these corridors they find a secret door behind which is a narrow passage which leads to the palace dungeons. The level they
enter, however, is mostly deserted. Medalric leads them down the corridor to the far end and the cell belonging to the gnomes. Fingers has no trouble opening
the cell door but the party are then confronted by the inner green-tinged force wall. After much debate as to how to overcome this the party decide to use
the lever on the wall which switches it off. They then free the gnomes from their magic-inhibiting shackles and importantly free the shackles from the wall
when someone calculates their likely price on the black market.
The gnomes are in a bad way physically so after scouting out the next level (more dungeons this time with more prisoners and guards) the party retreat
the way they came, pausing only to reduce the wildlife population of the Nobles Quarter sewers.
The party wait for a further five days before Fingers is again available and various sponsors of the party make known their wishes (and generously upgrade the party's equipment). It is suggested that the party seek a lower level of the tunnels under the City with a view to penetrating Xarn's lair and from there seeking
a way into the spiralling passage to the Underdeeps. The party consider the well is their best chance of finding deeper passages and after some skilled climbing
down its slippery sides do indeed find some promising tunnels. While navigating these passages, however, and travelling through a chamber filled with statues, the statues come to life and attack the party. The battle is fierce so the party retreat for the day and recover from their wounds.
The party return to the deep passages and after encountering some cloakers and an undead beholder discover a secret door into Xarn's lair. Resisting the temptation to explore it they head in the direction of the spiral passage to the Underdeeps and do indeed discover the hoped for secret door to that passage.
Travelling downwards, however, they encounter an orc patrol which they annihilate leaving a sole survivor who they take prisoner. Surveying the wreckage which includes several orc bodies trampled to death by summoned creatures the party are not sure if the scene looks sufficiently like the sort of everyday accident that happens in the Underdeeps.
Unsure of their next move they send their scouts downwards while the rest of the party retreat with the prisoner. When the scouts return they report a large
cavern filled with orcs who are building a fortification around what appears to be a large portal.
The party retreat to the surface and report what they have found. Their sponsors are pleased with the information but are cautious about their next
move as they are not sure if Xarn will realise that the spiral passage has been penetrated from the surface. Meanwhile the Dwarven Embassy would like to
question the prisoner but he is spirited away to the monastery of the Order of the Golden Light. Rather grumpily the Dwarves agree to question him there.
The party rest for a day but in the early hours of the following morning they are woken by the ringing of the city's bells. 'Fear! Fire! Foes! Awake!' the bells
seem to be saying and indeed most of these things appear to be happening on the streets. Elwin Sandheaver is organising the defence of the Slums as Orcs appear to
be rampaging round the streets. The party split into pairs to man hastily erected barricades. They are helped by the pikemen of the new militia that Elwin appears
to have founded in the slums. Various Orc patrols eventually appear and attack the barricades but even split up the party are too strong for the Orcs. However,
a cry goes up that the Orcs have broken into the main square in the slums and things being otherwise quiet the party converge to successfully deal with this latest
menace. Convinced that the Slums area is now safe the party then venture out into the main concourses of the City. A party of twenty Orcs comes running down the
street towards them pursued by a similar number of Dwarves. The party string out across the street to block the Orcs escape and proceed to rain down magic and missile
fire upon the unhappy Orcs. Few even make it to the party's line and by the time the Dwarves reach them the Orcs are all dead. Dwain's sister who is amongst the Dwarves considers it bad sportsmanship by her little brother.
In the morning the party are asked by the gnome priests to return to the Undercity where they believe (having received a vision) some gnome prisoners of
Xarn are wandering having escaped from their cells. The party return to the Undercity passages and discover that the gnomes have been recaptured and are being driven back to Xarn's lair by an ogre-like figure. The party ambush the ogre mage and release the gnomes. They then decide to re-investigate Xarn's lair. A cautious partial exploration reveals it to be mostly deserted apart from some undead beholders
and gas spores. They discover a gladitorial arena and a prisoner (a female Drow Elf) who was due to fight in it. After some negotiations the party agree to release
her and after some more negotiations to let her return to the Underdark.
Returning to the surface the party discover that King Burdred and his court favourite were killed in the Orc attack along with two of the other Lords. Count Draku is now Regent and a third Lord died by taking poison when accused by the Red Asps of involvement in the plot. The City is in turmoil but what their sponsors
next sent the party to do is something of a surprise. They are asked to undertake a long journey.