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Elementals!     Golem

Clearly armed with many options, there is some discussion as to what to do next. Face the spider? Try the north door in this room? Go back to the other garden? Try the large doors in the central corridor? Test the liquids left in this room?

However, once battle-fever has abated, it seems clear that the sunlight direction is preferred as something seems to have been genuinely accomplished there, even if nobody is quite sure what. The spider demon will have to wait it's turn, it seems.

Once Dalrylshana is checked to be OK and some healing salve has been applied where needed, the party head towards the garden. In the hope that the lizardmen had previously acted our of fear or desperation rather than true malice, Kin and Morin set off alone through the northern archway into the vast outer reaches to try to make safe contact.

As Darius and Balin wait purposefully visible by the other archway, to draw attention from the quiet approach, the rest of the party wait. And wait – it’s an agonising 20 minutes but then Kin and Morin reappear unharmed. It transpires that they managed to make non-violent contact with the lizard folk via a very old half-elf translator by the name of Fendriar. Little was given away as to the party’s purpose here but it was indicated that what can be said should be said ‘properly’. To that end, the party have been invited to an audience with the chieftain, Dh'Grazzi.

Further preparing the party, Morin also warns that the lizard folk are a bit jumpy and actually expecting some sort of evil that has been augured. They may not be especially capable but there are a lot of them. Also, the name they refer to Morriaga Philantiri by is Morg’Za – she is practically a goddess to these simple folk and the finale of her legend is that she went west to the hills to escape her shadow.

Thus is it, with a mixture of curiosity, caution and bemusement, the party walk through the archway into the landscape beyond. Walls with a sunless bright sky was one thing, but this is an entirely different league: the walls are still visible to the south and east but disappear so far that no north or western wall is visible. The whole idea that this is underground is practically unimaginable. It's certainly warm here and tropical greenery, once away from the relatively clear area near the archway, is all about.

There are small ruined stone buildings arcing around the walls to the outer garden and lizard men can be seen, manning stations nervously there. More of them are nearby, forming a very crude guard of honour of sorts to lead the party on and Fendriar waves the way forwards whilst clearly placating some of the more nervy lizardfolk with soothing words.

Westwards there are some larger buildings beyond the ruined ones, some in partial ruins. Beyond them the landscape soon becomes a jungle with numerous hills jutting out from the verdant canopy at various points. It would be quite a beautiful place if it wasn't for the very disconcerting oddness of its entire existence.

Fendriar leads past the ruins, 'guard' to either side, and on towards a larger building, some 600 yards west. It's a partial ziggurat with the central section hollow a few steps up so that the steps of the ziggurat become large columns at the corners as they get higher. Vines drape all about and a large stone chair has been hastily placed between the two nearest columns. A huge lizard (overweight, not overbuilt) sits upon the chair eating some messy yellow fruit, his rough hide clothing speckled with purple seed and yellow pulp. To his sides are a couple of larger than average lizard men - their swords are still quite crude but these don't look nervous.

"This is my lord Dh'Grazzi," Fendriar says, "He bids you welcome and offers you to sit and make your requests, and he will judge your worth and aid if he deems it right."

Fendriar then says something in the guttural, crude language of these folk, to the gathered and growing throng who raise a light cheer. It is evident that the party are being asked to sit on the dusty floor, where grass has been worn away, and thus be in a supplicant position to the sat-on-high chieftain. They agree without argument, not prepared to give lose cool or give ground to such crass intimidation.

Kin speaks directly to the chief, humbly and elequently requesting permission to continue the party’s search for “a dangerous item”who watches him calmly as he does; when he has finished, Fendriar barks a few guttural sentences as the chief listens, still with his eyes on the party. The swag-bellied lizard shifts in his seat and pauses a little while, then remarks something to the half-elf, who considers and then turns to the party:

"Lord Dh'Grazzi would like to know what the item is and does.

"And whether it is something of the Lady's - Morriaga Philantiri - or not."

Kin loosely explains that the item is only one part of an artefact and Morin adds that the party are not the only group interested in it but are the only group whose motives are neither selfish nor destructivr, pointing out that no harm is meant to the lizard folk nor the lady Morg’Za.

The invocation of that name brings a rumble from the crowd. An exchange occurs again between translator and chieftain and then Fendriar speaks again to the party:

"Lord Dh'Grazzi feels you have truth in your words; you are granted freedom to roam and safe passage within the bounds of the Gh'rrud Dhath tribe. He has no knowledge of the item you describe, but will allow your search for it.

"But there are conditions: firstly, if you find anything of the Lady, you must bring the news to the chief and remove no holy artefacts. Secondly, to mark you as a friend of the tribe, you must carry this holy spear as a mark..."

Fendriar gestures at a couple of lizard men off to one side and they bring, on a stone platter, a fairly ordinary stone-headed spear that has been ornately and brightly emblazoned with lots of bits of coloured fur. Fendriar is about to give the floor, as it were, back to the party, when the chief interrupts him and he adds another comment.

"There is a third stipulation: you must rest here a while so that the chief's children may dance for you and you can eat and prepare for your further adventures." He leans a little closer and almost whispers, "It should only take about an hour and I think he wants to request something else..."

Morin manages to add an additional question regarding the noises in the garden as the party are overcome with a mild dread as to what the festivities might hold. An answer will be given but the spear is handed over and the party ushered to what is essentailly a large room - there is a low wall, about three feet high surrounding a stone base 100 by 40 feet, with a break in the centre of each wall for entrance. Large stone pillars support a roof some 25 feet high and there is a stone table at the centre; it is pleasant to be out of the never-ending brightness into a little shade for a change.

Food is brought, mostly fruit and small roasted mammals of some type and a heady liquor, which does not seem to be alcohol but is so strongly perfumed to nose and tongue that it makes the senses reel. As the party, guarded chief and Fendriar sit, the half-elf explains that the chief, now that he is away from his devoted tribesmen and can show concern, is worried about the augured evil that had been mentioned earlier.

It transpires, as best as Fendriar can translate that there is a young lizard woman in the tribe who has been cursed with visions. She has had a number which have come to pass as accurate after a fashion - once they had been forcibly reinterpreted to fit events. However, she has been having a recurring vision of late and it seems to be that evil will come to the garden and will be, in its nature, "akin to Morg'Za's shadow".

This has got a number of the lizards quite worked up and the chief's request is simply that, should any evil come, that the party aid his tribe in defending the Lady's realm. Before this can be properly answered, the table is interrupted by a lizard arriving practically on one knee and speaking to the chief with his head bowed.

Fendriar passes on the message that is brought in reference to Morin’s earlier question: the guards at the archways heard
nothing that was in the realm as was described, but after bravely chucking spears at Suva - for which they, er, apologise - a couple near the western exit from the outer garden did hear something a little later. But it was south of them - south of the south wall in the realm, that is.

And before any of this can sink in, 30 young lizards (the chief has prolific loins, it would seem) arrive and began wildly dancing to a strident drummed rhythm around the table as the chief smiles and eats with pride. The accompanying singing is a combination of guttural, cacophonous screeches and the non-lizard audience is quite thankful for the bliss of perfumed liquor.

After the finale, Morin manages to thank the chief for the entertainment without smiling and promises to aid battle against any evil if the party can – limited only by the time that they are here. The chief seems heartened but when also asked about the great spider, he can unfortunately give no aid or information. Fendriar indicates (quietly, as if it may cause offence if discussed too openly) that none of the lizard folk go any further than the outer garden.

The chief seems sated and retires and the party are subtly persuaded out of having elders of the tribe recount folkore by Fendriar,as the tales are long and he would have to translate. Instead they take the chance to seek any useful information from the helf-elf, asking how he has come to be here.

"Morg'Za, as Morin says, is the lizard folk name for she whom you call Morriaga Philantiri. Curiously enough, it is partially because of her that I came here,” he begins, “I was searching for my brother Grae, who had years before disappeared in search of the great Lady. He was entirely obsessed with her and had searched for years when I finally received no further word from him.

"Having access to a scant few of his notes, I found the name of this place and after a year or so, I and four companions found a route to a great mystical city, I forget if it even had a name. But stepping though a doorway from the central building there, we found ourselves in the inner garden.” One or two of the party realise that he is talking about the City-Between-Places.

"This was a long time ago, although I am not sure that time even passes the same here - it's difficult to tell when the sun never sets - or at least the light never ceases.

"In truth, I was never a great adventurer, I just missed my brother and wanted to know what had become of him. My friends and I searched the darker areas of this place only barely as we realised we had overstepped both our abilities and our courage and moved back to the seeming tranquillity of the garden.

"We were trapped, we thought, for our route here was one-way only and we could find no way out that we could master.

"The boat was our first hope for freedom but a massive portcullis blocks that route. And so we searched about the garden and Ra....Ralli....

"Hmmm, you know, I've forgotten their names.

"Anyway, we discovered that one part of the walls was actually fairly new and was really a bricked-up entrance. We feared for what might lay beyond but had not dared to scale the walls (it seemed too obvious to be unprotected, to our minds!) so we felt there was no choice. And even that Grae may lay beyond the walls, having found the Lady - what dreams!

"What we discovered was the place you have seen. We were attacked initially by a surprised and superstitious lizardfolk but I am a better diplomat than a warrior and managed to communicate and bring calm. They had been watching the arches since they were bricked up by somebody in the garden, had watched the open arches before, and watch them still.

"After that, it is simply the fact that I came to enjoy it here and worked on the language. I have been an advisor and aide to three chiefs now and will live out my years here, more content than I ever was beyond these walls. Sadly my brother remains lost to me and my erstwhile companions long-since disappeared into the jungles in search of the Lady or treasure or just adventure. But time does heal, as they say and I have a fulfilling life, believe it or not.

"These lizard men have been here a long time as far as I can tell. A very long time. It would seem that Morriaga Philantiri must have been here at some point, too, for them to revere her so but the tale about her fleeing to the mountains to escape her shadow could mean anything.

"I'm sure my brother would know!"

It would transpire later that these words were quite prophetic but for now the party picks up on the mention of the boat and realise that the noise that folowed the aligning of the statues in the garden could well have been the raising of the portcullis. Jarek, though, is more concerned about the augury and wants to know if it was augured at allacuurately as to ‘when’.

Fendriar can only indicate that it was soon as the garbeld information from the young girl is quite cryptic. "There was some impenetrable comment about it happening the same time as the arrival of the new faced - it's a little difficult to translate the
rantings - which we have taken to mean the time around now, which is when certain flowers, important to these people bloom, the first three days ago. [but then Suva has arrive ‘new-faced’!].

"And the visions have never come more than a couple of months before coming to pass. They started a month ago.".

Suddenly Jirki, who has latched onto something else in Fendriar’s tale, pipe’s up, “Fendriar, your brother, did you say his name is Grae? Not wanting to bring you down but on the "outside" this place is called Dhûnok Grael”.

Fendriar wrinkles his brow and considers Jiriki's comment, clearly searching hard for words he has probably not used in a long while and then, eyes widening and face growing pale as he grasps his staff for balance, he merely says "Oh my...."

A couple of lizard men, previously unnoticed, come to his aid and begin to half carry, half lead him away, cooing gently in a manner previously unheard in their harsh tongue. Suva leaps to his aid quickly and the status afforded the party, having just been sat with the chief, means that he is allowed to approach. Fendriar is pale and weak and looks to have suffered a mild heart attack – he will be alright but needs rest.

Meanwhile an argument has broken out between Morin and Jarek regarding motives; Darius stands between them as it threatens to spill over into combat but Suva, still tending to Fendriar, points out in no uncertain terms how little help this is and proposes the next actions to tkae. A calm of sorts is re-established but Morin is becoming increaingly antsy about a his personal mission to track down ghurzak the werewolf, and wants to move on with the party’s own mission more quickly.

Following the cleric’s suggestions, the party agree to split again – Jarek keen to stay to defend the lizard folk, Suva wanting to keep an eye on Fendriar. Dalrylshana will stay with them whilst the rest of the party will take the boat in the garden and see if the portcullis is opened indeed. They will stay in contact via the Hawker bags, which fortunately (as they had not tested them before) transfer an object from one to the other in 5 minutes.