As the party descended into the darkness the air grew colder; the whispers turned into screams, and phantoms of their deepest fears materialized in the shadows.

“What they hell?” Rory asked.

“It appears The Eye is twisting our minds.” Kainith said. “We have to focus ahead or we will fail.”

“The moonwater must not be working.” Rance said. “This is awful.”

“Do you remember the man in The Rusty Flagon? This must be what he saw everywhere he went. As long as this doesn’t leave the cave with us I think it's going to be a win.” Lucian said.

Kainith muttered a few magic words while strumming his golden stringed lute and a large, almost blinding, light shot from the neck of the lute and hovered backwards and stayed behind the group.

“There this should at least help banish the visual oddities.” Kainith said with a flourish. “We need to continue and push on.”

The party descended down a chipped limestone staircase that was being strangled by plantlife and veins. The further from the entrance they got the narrower the staircase got as if it was trying to strangle them.

Finally, they reached the heart of the cave, where a single black diamond with what seemed to be a red translucent floating circle, pulsating with an unnatural darkness, lay nestled on a bed of ancient moss.

“This must be the Eye of Thanatos. How is the red circle moving?” Lucian questioned.

As they approached, the whispers reached a fever pitch, threatening to overwhelm their senses.

“Arrghh.” Rory gasped as he fell to one knee.

“What the hell is happening?” Rance said as he grasped his head with both hands.

Kainith silently gasped and staggered backwards. “Lucian use the Tears! Gahh. Now!”

Lucian grabbed the gem around his neck and said some magic words. With an explosion of blue-green light, erupting from his chest around the gem, the Eye of Thanatos fell silent and the red circle faded. The wave of horror that was trying to knock the group over and push them over the cliff of insanity was now suddenly gone. The orb that had erupted from The Tears and Lucian now coalesced around the black diamond on the pedestal. Right as it seemed over the Eye erupted a black wave into the orb as the red eye became visible again. It seemed the orb Lucian had casted struggled against the stunning power that was erupting from the eye. After a tense few moments the orb from Lucian seemed to overcome the power of the Eye. The orb stabilized just off of the edges of the diamond.

“What did you do to Lucian? Is it still active? I don’t feel the same as I did when I came down here.” Rory questioned, astonished.

“I just used a protective sphere spell imbued with the power of the Tears. I wasn’t sure if it would work but I knew there was no way I could disenchant it. So I guessed it would work so I went for it.” Lucian said.

“You guessed?” Rance asked, annoyed. “You just guessed?

“Any other suggestions? We had no idea what we were dealing with.” Lucian reminded him.

“I guess you’re right. No point in arguing about it. It seemed to work.” Rance said.

“Let’s get out of here and get this gem back and out of these woods.” Kainith cautioned.

As the group worked their way up the stairs they noticed that the whispers were gone and the shadows were their own now. Kainith now dismissed the orb that was following them because as they approached the entrance the party noticed that there was sunlight that they hadn't seen since they got to the woods shining in from the sky. The party left the tree from the entrance they had entered; they noticed the whispers had completely faded, replaced by the rustling of leaves and the chirping of birds.

The forest was healing. Air grew warmer, the mist dissipated, and the sunlight filtered through the branches of the trees.

“We need to get back to Elara.” Kainith said.

“Why do we need to go back to Elara?” Rance questioned. “We have seen four gems now. We just need to give these two up and get information on the fifth gem. I just want to get this over with so we can all go on a good old fashioned heist. Or maybe even just a regular quest.”

“I mean she’s helped us with everything up until this point. I can’t imagine that she will be any less helpful going forward.” Kainith reminded Rance.

“Fine. Let’s just get back to Riven, we can tell Elara about the gems but we cannot give them to her.” Rance cautioned. “Remember Vornath is not exactly the nicest ‘thing’ we’ve ever met.”

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“Agreed then.” Kainith agreed.

The party left the forest to the south using the sun through the leaves to navigate back out. By the time they emerged from the no longer whispering woods it was starting to get dark. The party decided that they would be better off settling down for the night and getting some rest before returning. It was more than a day of walking to Riven because this time they didn't have a wagon to ride. They ate and rested without much incident. After almost two full days of walking they reached the familiar streets of their by proxy base of operations.

The party noticed how much less busy the streets were now that all of the traveling merchants had gone back to where they came from. As the party approached The Rusty Flagon the door to the tavern swung open welcoming them in. This time Lucian approached the barkeep to get a table and a couple of rooms. But as he approached the barkeep it wasn’t the same man that had helped them over the last week. His eyes held a faint glimmer of malice, and his posture radiated a sense of power that felt unnatural. Although he wore the simple garb of a tavern worker.

“Ahh little devil. I’ve been waiting for you.” Vornath said as the skin of his disguise melted away like putty revealing Vornath’s horrifying visage.

Lucian, stunned, looked around himself and there were patrons passed out at all the tables.

“What did you do!” Lucian demanded. “Kainith, Rance, Rory can you go check on them?”

“Don’t worry.” Vornath said with a sly grin. “They are just dreaming. Mortals are just too easy to manipulate. Now.” Vornath leaned forward towards Lucian holding out one of his skeletal claws. “You have something for me.”

“Lucian took the Eye of Thanatos, still shrouded in blue-green light, out of his pack. “Here. Be care…”

Vornath momentarily interrupted Lucian with a few magic words. As the words left his mouth a small blackish purple swirling smoke appeared and Vornath snapped the fingers on his other hand and the protective aura disappeared. Just like before a wave of terror and oppression erupted out of the gem. A huge smile spread across Vornaths face and he then shoved the gem into the smoke. The effect of the gem disappeared again as quickly as it had started.

“And that one.” Vornath said as he pointed at Lucians chest. The gem started tugging on its chain and pulling towards Vornath.

“Wait!” Lucian shouted. “Let me hold on to it for just a bit longer. It will help us find more gems for you.”

“With these three gems what makes you think I even need you anymore.” Vornath sneered.

This time Rance spoke up. “The theatrics.You have proven time and time again it would be easy for you to just wipe us out. If you didn’t need us anymore you could just kill us and take the gems. But you’re not.”

As Rance spoke the invisible hand tugging on the gem around Lucians neck let go and the gem fell back to Lucians chest. The demon lord now glared at Rance.

“You’re right. But not because I care what happens to you but because I’m not sure what lies in wait so it’s easier to just throw my servants at it.” Vornath now shifted his focus back to Lucian. “Fine. Keep the gem. You will bring me the final gem and give it to me along with this gem. Then I’ll go deal with the supposed cosmic god and take the purple and final gem.” Vornath’s lips curled into a malicious smile. “Then I really don’t care what happens to you.”

“You said the last gem? What can you tell us about it?” Kainith asked.

Vornath chuckled, a sound that sent shivers down Kainith’s spine. "Seek it in the heart of the Frozen Wastes," he said, his words dripping with cryptic meaning. "Where the ice never melts and the tail of the dragon ends. That’s all I know. Good luck!"

With a final, chilling grin, Vornath snapped his bony claws one more time creating an opalescent portal and vanished. As he left the patrons in the tavern started waking up. They continued whatever they were doing before they passed out as if nothing had happened. The barkeep the party recognized walked out of the kitchen behind the bar and asked the party how he could help them. The party got the two rooms that at this point were becoming their regular rooms. The party also requested a booth with food and drinks. The party agreed they needed to ask Elara where they might be able to find the final gem. After a night of restful sleep the party made their way to the young mages storefront.

As Lucian opened the door Elara excitedly greeted the party. “Hello! Welcome back, how did the hunt for the Eye of Thanatos go?”

“Good we secured it and made sure it can’t hurt anyone in this town anymore.” Kainith said, hoping he wasn’t lying.

The party told Elara about the whole trip to the whispering woods and then securing the eye. They left out the demon lord part. Lucian then repeated what Vornath had told them to see if she had any ideas.

“Hmm. I’m not 100% sure but I'm sure the grand library of Riven might have some of that information.” Elara said, giving the party a place to look. “That’s where I would start. Also this is a town where a lot of adventurers come through so maybe try to eavesdrop or talk to people.”

The party having direction thanked Elara and left the mages store. Their first stop was the Grand Library of Riven, a towering structure with ancient knowledge housed within its walls. Elara and Lucian spent days poring over dusty tomes and faded maps, searching for any mention of the Frozen Wastes and the location of the remaining gem.

Kainith weaved his way into the taverns and inns, gathering whispers and rumors from weathered travelers and seasoned adventurers while the others looked at the books. He learned of hidden expeditions that never returned, of mythical creatures guarding ancient treasures, and of a lost city buried beneath the ice, rumored to hold secrets of unimaginable power.

Rory, the warrior, not wanting to spend all day reading random books and scrolls sought the training grounds of Riven's elite guard, honing his skills and gaining specialized gear for traversing treacherous ice and battling the dangers of the frozen landscape. He practiced with enchanted axes that could cleave through the thickest ice and learned survival techniques from grizzled veterans who had braved the north. Because of all of the party’s help the veteran guards gifted Rory the axe he used to train with them.

As days turned into weeks, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. They learned of hidden ruins frozen into the ice that held a sapphire that amplified the effect of the cold. These ruins laid at the beginning of the dragon's spine mountain range to the far north of riven. With their knowledge replenished and their resolve strengthened, the party prepared to embark on their next journey. They gathered supplies specifically for navigating the treacherous terrain, including ice picks, crampons, and enchanted lanterns to ward off the darkness.

Finally, with their packs laden and their hearts filled with a mixture of trepidation and determination, they set off once more, leaving the familiar warmth of Riven behind. On their way out of the northern gates Elara and the veteran’s that trained Rory wished them luck on the journey.