As our heroes descended once more into the dark corridors, they couldn’t help but notice that all the doors they had opened previously were now shut tight. Careful examination revealed nothing out of the ordinary.
Determined to unravel the mystery, they revisited the room with the poltergeist and confirmed that the sealed entrance led back to the small pond they had encountered earlier. They then ventured through the south door and found themselves face-to-face with a peculiar humanoid made entirely of leeches. This unsettling creature introduced himself as Volluk and demanded their identities. Claiming to be “new servants of Belcorra,” they sparked the creature’s suspicion, leading it to launch a ferocious attack.
Despite being infested by swarming leeches, our heroes persevered and managed to incinerate the parasitic menace. As the creature’s form disintegrated into countless leeches, they set the leeches ablaze, targeting the whole room with f, to cleanse it entirely.
Amidst their investigation, they were startled by distant screams. Their search yielded valuable items: ancient scrolls, a mysterious key, a lantern, blueprints of the upper three floors, and a secret door concealed behind a painting. The door led to a chamber where they found a familiar blue ribbon seemingly tied to a dwarf.
As they approached, a sinister, wispy skull launched an attack, turning invisible to evade their strikes. Dividing their efforts between combat and freeing the dwarf, Torren eventually used the key to unlock their captive, causing the blue ribbon to cease to exist. With the skull vanquished, the dwarf introduced himself as Lasda Venkervale, the tormented owner of the Rowdy Rockfish. He recounted his harrowing ordeal of endless torture by a strange person before being eventually being brought to the location where the heroes found him.
Returning to Otari, Lasda’s mother, Brelda, greeted them with overwhelming joy and gratitude. As a token of her thanks, she presented our heroes with a sturdy shield.