Company Log, 10th of Breeze, 802

As we prepared for our trial in the chaos dimension, we spent some time exploring the garden. We found that it was much larger than we originally thought, acres and acres of well tended grass and trees, with statuary, tombstones, benches and columns and a huge reflecting pool at the center. Stephen was surprised to note that his eyes have become iridescent. I suppose I noticed, but I can't say when, or why I felt that it was not noteworthy enough to comment on. Stephen has always seemed rather iridescent to me I suppose.

Blackhawk noted that the garden is exactly the same as it was when we visited last, but for one thing, the tombstone that had the partial name "brion" on it, is nowhere to be seen.

The hill is a goddess mons like mound that must be a stone structure, covered through many years with earth and grass. The center looked dangerous, so we determined that we should enter from the sides. We tied our ropes together and to a dark column near the opening of the bell-like chamber, and made our way down. In the center of the chamber is an angel, wings spread, looking skyward. In her hands she holds a reflective oval platter. She was rotating slowly in a clockwise direction. Around the room, a circle of twelve large oval mirrors rotated in the opposite direction. There were places to step and braces to grasp, and it became apparent that these were not mirrors, but the portals Hieronymous spoke of. The surface was a sparkling blend of grey and black, and the surface seemed to be moving all over. The room was carved with many magickal symbols and diagrams, Summoning magick and protective barriers. In the dim light, Stephen's eyes glowed more obviously, which dismayed Blackhawk. Elensul said not to worry, that many Noldor had eyes such as these. I noticed then that Elensul's eyes shimmered a bit too. We spent some time watching the action of the clockworks so we would know how to reach the proper portal when the time came, and then went back up into the garden for a while. Stephen played some relaxing music, and just before sunset, we reentered the abyss. The clockwork resembled gnomish constructs, though there was no clear driving force. We climbed onto the catwalk, about 60 degrees apart, and waited. Soon the moon showed through one edge of the slit, becoming brighter and brighter. As the moon made her way higher, a beam of light reflected into the angels platter onto one of the portals. It glowed with the lambent green that had been described for us, and as we climbed up, we noted that the clockwork had locked in place. One by one, we entered the portal, and found ourselves in a stone chamber, a huge metal door in front of us. The door was covered with glowing wards and there was a large wheel in the center, giving it the appearance of a vault. It was difficult to turn, but we were finally able to open it. As it swung outward, we saw another garden, very pretty and well kept, with low brick walls, manicured lawns and hills in the distance. The sky was remarkable as it was a cloudy purple. The building we came out of was quite small, only about 8 feet tall. Before us was a marble building. From it's look, we determined that it must be the mausoleum. We saw figures in the distance, and after our confrontation with our doubles, felt that discretion was the better part of valour. We hurried on to the mausoleum, across a small stream that was equipped with stepping stones. Halfway across the stream, I felt as though I had passed through something, almost like a curtain.

The mausoleum was lovely, carved ornately and there were a number of vases with fresh cut lilies in them. The stone door, carved with a giant figure 8, was immensely heavy, but we managed to open it and filed slowly in. Stephen said, "Pardon our intrusion." But there was no reply. The door swings shut behind us as we enter a room with a stone slab in the center. From the signs of wear, it has obviously been moved many times. A cold breeze seeps around it's edges and we move it aside. A staircase, it's steps worn by the passage of many feet, descends to another metal door, carved with symbols of law. Elensul opens it and enters a chamber. As we enter this new door, an oppressive sense of pure law envelops us. Elensul seems to find it invigorating. I can tell the chamber is charged with magickal energy, and every surface is covered with runes of law. On the other side of the room, a square door covered with writing, a pull ring in the center, looms. Elensul pulls on the ring, and the angel necklaces Fara gave us seem to vibrate. Beyond the door is a brightly lit hallway. The light is intense, almost like looking at the sun. To the right is a corridor, to the left, a pair of doors with symbols that seem to represent a man and a woman. Blackhawk and Raven open the doors and find the first examples of flush plumbing we've seen since we left Ardania. It is very shiny. Down the hall is some kind of armoire, with an odd keyhole and a hanging door at the bottom. We opt to leave this item alone as it could be some kind of a trap. About 30 feet away is a tapestry, hung with many messages. I made an attempt to read one that was written in undercommon, but e although I read the language quite well, the message made little sense to us. One phrase in particular, puzzled me. It said, "Underwear. Protecting your nether regions." The more I see of the world, the less I understand.

We came to some doors, metal, but with glass inset into the tops. The glass had some strange kind of metal webbing running through it, and the doors had no knobs, but instead a lever to push. They looked like gnomish make to me. There was a staircase going down, and we decided that since the undercommon had said something about a dungeon, that we shouldn't go down. Another time, it might be and interesting place to investigate, but we had a mission to complete. We passed a metal column with a basin in the center. I wondered what use it might be, but didn't have time to investigate. The corridor bent to the right and there was another door with the same strange kind of lever mechanism, but this one did not have a window. Stephen said he could hear what sounded like a crowd outside, but I heard nothing. We opened the door and saw a patch of dirt and many people milling about. It really was quite noisy, as Stephen had said. As we stepped through, Fara's necklaces began to throb again. It was dark, and there wee torches lit, boxes and things that made it look like a faire. This surely must be the bazaar. We looked back at the door, meaning to engrave on our memories it's location, and were amazed to see that the door, glowing slightly, hung alone in midair. After some attempts by Blackhawk and DeVal to mark it, we entered the fray.

The first thing we noticed were the torc and bracers, which were not only visible, but glowed. The next thing we noticed was that the bazaar was full of beings wrapped in cloaks, everyone was shouting, milling about, busy. The sky seemed very low, and was filled with multicolored clouds, punctuated now and then by sheets of purple lightning. The storm enclosed the bazaar and eroded to nothing at the edges. When I thought about it, it made me question everything I had ever believed about the nature of the universe. So I didn't think about it.

Raven assessed the situation quickly and used her periapt of wisdom to look for something that stood out that might lead us to Lord Shi of the Mihalli. Every kind of chaotic being was present, but somehow, in the chaos, Raven smelled pipe smoke. We followed her through what felt like a circular maze to a walrus-like creature with tiny arms and legs. He was smoking an enormous meerschaum pipe, and was surrounded by wooden barrels. After several abortive attempts to communicate, Raven and Stephen bought pipeweed and asked about Lord Shi. He told us to go to the fountain in the middle of the grounds and to look for a man selling leather clothing. We passed a group of tieflings, looking to get tattoos, (not the strangest thing we saw, either!) and finally found the fountain. It was set in a cobblestoned courtyard. In the center was a statue holding a glowing staff. The statue was rather indistinct, whether by design or due to wear, I could not say. A vague sensation of law emanated from it, and I got the sense that this spot might be what held the whole place together. There were three exits from the courtyard. The one to the left took us to stalls of fruits and vegetables, some of them moving of their own accord. We quickly retraced our steps and went through the exit to the right. There we saw boots and hats, and reaching a T intersection, saw a man selling all sorts of leather garb. Strange garb it is, and when I speak to the man in undercommon, he says he might assist us if we buy something. Stephen ends up with a jacket that closes with a snake of metal teeth. Curiouser and curiouser. He tells us to go two shops down to a place that sells collars. We should go through the narrow space beside the booth and there we would find Lord Shi. We did as he said and ended up in an open space with low tables, boxes, and a handsome elvish noble atop a large stack of books. Stephen asked him if he was Lord Shi, and he answered that some called him that. He looked around him at the groups of people and suggested that we talk somewhere more private, and we found ourselves in a study with a blue, many armed creature with glowing red eyes. In one hand, he held a glowing blue sphere, and in the other, a crossbow pistol. Stephen quickly explained our quest and we showed the being the wealth that we had brought for exchange. His eyes glowed even redder when he saw the staff of the Magi. A sealskin bundle materialized in his hand and he said, "This is the agreed upon payment." He gestured then and as Stephen picked up the bundle, everything else faded to black and we were back at the fountain. As our time was limited, we decided to make our way back to the tobacco shop. As we passed by, a tiny little old woman pulled on Elensul's sleeve. She attempted to sell us flowers, but we were wary. She showed Elensul a beautiful bouquet of white roses and he bought one for each of usElensul told the old woman that he had been told to look for her, and asked her for any wisdom she might impart. She said' "All the wisdom you need comes form selling flowers." He asked her if she ever saw the stars here and she replied that the stars shine whether you see them or not. She also said she wished he had come when she was younger. As we walked away, Elensul gave us each a rose. I took one from him because I trust him and his judgment. He turned back to speak once more to the old woman, but she was gone, and a young man with a white rose in the lapel of his jacket was in her place. Elensul went back to speak with him, and greeted him in elvish, but then there was no booth, no flowers, no old woman, and no man either. Elensul looked a bit unnerved for a moment, and we moved through the faire, looking for the door, which had moved about 70 feet. We retraced our steps, finally coming out of the mausoleum onto the grounds and we saw some soldiers marching by, clad in ancient armour and quite transparent. We went back to the small building and gently through the portal, where the light indicated that the sun was about to rise. We came out into the garden, very pleased that we had accomplished our goal, and that we had not been trapped for a year in the chaos dimension. We realized all at once that the roses Elensul gave to us had vanished, and that on each of our fingers was a silver ring with a white rose, trimmed in red.

Respectfully submitted by Maxfield Jaden Fox