Rooms of Knowledge

Stepping through the fire rimmed portal, the party was transported to one of Ariel's storage and research libraries. There were large volumes on the history of Idera, massive banks of scrolls, and a large display of maps.

Searching through everything, the books had little to offer as they were all historical. The scrolls were very delicate and difficult to examine, but searching the scroll bank led to a cryptic scroll that was tattered and burned. The heroes were able to discern that by extinguishing the flames, they will find a greater source of knowledge.

Finally, searching through the maps, the party found a map showing the first level of Asperdi prison, where Rard was being held.

Not to be denied, the party returned to the statue room and after a couple attempts, figured out the cryptic statement and doused the fire rimmed portal, shifting it to another location.

This time, the room on the far side was completely black. Having recently learned to control the hue of his arm, Alexander increased it's brightness and stuck it through the portal, hoping to light the room beyond. As his armed passed through the threshold of the portal, torches lining the room magically lit, basking the room in bright light.

There were only 4 things in the room. A desk, with a book, the portal the party came through, another portal, labeled Sigil, and a dead Brain in a Jar. Closer examination revealed it was a Sentinel that expired some time ago. Looking at the book, it was obvious Ariel was using the Sentinel to dictate and record history.

Leafing through the last few entries in the book, the scribe, whomever it was, believed the sentinel to be going insane as a result of the horrors the darkness was creating. The last entry was very disturbing to Kuppies. Otto, one of the last great mages, who left Stephen to help fight the final battles was not destroyed, but was captured by the agents of Keraptis and may still be alive, imprisoned somewhere.

Activating the portal to Sigil, the party stepped through.