The companions invite their new friend Boris to a feast at the Keep in honor of the group’s return from abroad. The mood mostly jovial, save for some small tension between On’ogg and the former bandit lord Willem the Whistler.
The companions then make their way up to the tower in which Xandrilla has occupied. Though arcane signals abound, they fail to locate the orcish witch. Through intense searching, they find a passageway leading into the depths of the island.
Continuing down, the companions face several trials and traps before they locate Xandrilla. She had located a tunnel system of raw gemstones, surely the wealth of the now defunct Vayne family.
A sudden lurching of the ground interrupts any deliberation on how to proceed; something seemed to be tunneling it’s way through the ground nearby. They search throughout and encounter a pair of monstrous insect creatures. They not only lashed out with deadly claws, but seemed to sear away the strands of fate enthralling the companions.
Through some effort the companions eventually defeated the monsters. Fleeing the mines to the Keep above, they find things in a state of panic. The denizens of the Keep seemed struck by absolute madness, lashing out at one another with profound violence.
Finding disorder throughout the place, they moved steadily to uncover the source. Outside they found Elbanor fighting for his life and quickly brought order to the situation.
They then continued towards the greathall, where the feast had taken places only hours before. They found a strange daemon dining pleasantly at the main table while complete violent chaos tore through the area around him.
He showed a strange mastery of the situation, only baring his teeth when prodded by Kiranek. The companions dove into combat, attempting to end this creature.
At that very moment all of the mad denizens stopped and turned to confront the companions. So ensued a bloody conflict, not yet coming to it’s terminus before On’ogg and Maldahr grappled together, the daemon stealing his identity.
Seeing the conflict drawing to a close, both Oggs made to stop hostilities until things could be investigated. At that moment Kiranek banished both of the paladins. After several moments, only one reemerged.
The victory was bittersweet, with the companions knowing that somewhere this deceitful creature still moved in opposition to their purpose.