11 Wealsun, 592 CY
The Silver Phoenixes traveled for a little more than a week, following the map that Ashton had acquired in Cauldron. Once they left the road that linked Cauldron and Sasserine, they found the trip through the jungle to be blessedly eventless. After the second day, they found themselves on the northeastern rim of the Demonskar, where another large pipe jutted from the ground, similar to the one leading down to Vaprak’s Voice farther south. Bransen then cast find the path targeting the entrance to Karran-Kural, and the spell directed him down the pipe. The group then traveled maybe a few hundred feet before they discovered that the pipe was completely filled with water.
They discussed how to proceed, and Greyjek asserted that he could make it down without the need for air. However, due to his incredibly short gait, he wouldn’t be able to make it very far very quickly. Bransen provided him with a freedom of movement spell, and the erudite set off with his psicrystal. The pair had traveled perhaps another twenty minutes before their exploration revealed a break in the pipe, which opened up into a couple of different lava tubes. These tunnels were home to an underground river with a relatively strong current. He could see multiple paths, but without the benefit of Bransen’s find the path, he couldn’t be sure which one might be correct. He returned and told them what he’d found, and the party decided to rest the night and try to sort it all out in the morning.
12 Wealsun, 592 CY
As fortune would have it, Bransen awoke with the necessary spells to get everyone to the entrance of Karran-Kural. The ancient flooded lava tubes opened into a pair of smaller, air-filled tubes that led to the east. The temperature dropped alarmingly in that direction, and the two passageways merge just before they were partially blocked by an enormous wall of ice. A narrow tunnel had been hacked through the ice near its southern edge, allowing access into a larger area beyond. Past the wall of ice, a second barrier once existed. Someone, has left the heavy iron portcullis in a twisted heap on the floor of the passageway. Beyond the ruined portcullis a large set of frost-rimed iron doors was all that remained of the once formidable barriers that protected the ruins.