“The ocean?” Briggette questions.

“NO!” I yell.

At the same time that I yell my objection, another voice rings out, “Intruder!”  The wall ripples and a large flying wasp-like creature comes out of it.  Behind him comes an ant man.  A quick fight ensues, and both beasts are easily dispatched.  We do, however, have several wounded and decide to bring the horses into the main hall and camp for the night.

When we return to the downstairs room the next morning, no riddle is spoken, so we continue along our way.  The next room we come to contains the scattered remains of five humanoids, two of which are intact and armored.  As we begin to search the room, a shadowy figure forms behind Ulric, and Briggette and I both swing immediately.  We battle the wraith as well as a skeletal warrior.  Some of us don’t fare as well as in previous battles, but we do defeat the creatures.

We continue on our way, as usual always taking the right-hand turn.  We come to a large steel door with some strange writing on it.  I am able to decipher that it reads, “Cold, darkness, chaos, hatred.”  Though I do not read the words aloud, as I read them, they begin to burn with a blue flame.  I don’t find any traps, but when I attempt to unlock it, a dagger on a pole shoots forth from the wall and stabs me in the side.  Now that I’ve seen it, I’m able to disable it and, with some work, pick the lock to open the door.

This room is pitch black and filled with ice.  We are forced to assume that in some way, it also contains chaos and hatred.  Ulric enters the room and raises Law’s Claw to utilize its magical glow.  Large chunks of ice rise into the corners of the room, each containing some gnawed-on bones.  I hear the sound of something large moving about in the room, so I enter to get out of the doorway, and I yell “incoming” to Ulric.

He turns and draws, “Who goes there?”

We see a large blue creature with six legs coming toward us.  It attacks, beginning a chain reaction.  This creature seems to emanate a coldness that bites when you are in his vicinity.  After a fierce battle, we kill it, and Korvinean tells us that it is an ice salamander.  On the inside of the door, there are some wards carved into the wall.  We toss the area before continuing through the complex.

When we come to the next room, I unlock and open the door to see a large purple coiled creature that looks half human woman and half eel.  She is looking at the door.  Ulric enters, and she says, “Who are you?”

“I am Sir Ulric von Zurwald.  I’m looking for the Orb of Winter, but I understand it’s probably not in here.”

“Ulric Zurwald?  I know not this name.  Who gave you permission to be here?”  Ulric names the nature goddess, and she replies that “She does not have leave to say who can and cannot be here!  Did the high priest give you permission to be here?”

“This church hasn’t been active in over 200 years, and the high priest is long since gone,” Ulric answers.

She pulls back and looks at him while quietly beginning to chant.  Ulric looks at Briggette, who nods in a barely perceptible manner.  The creature stops chanting and a lightning bolt shoots forth from her mouth in a straight line down to the end of the hallway.

Ulric and Briggette both charge.  Brianna then runs into the room and punches the beast, ramming her fist all the way down its throat and out the back of its neck.  We search the body and the room and find a chest hidden in her coils.  It contains a large quantity of copper coins with a sunburst inscribed on them.  We also find a few other items of various value.