The Mothers investigated the pool chamber by dropping copper coins into it that Fonesca had enchanted with light spells from her wand of illumination. They revealed an underwater passage that was about four feet high in the north-eastern segment of the pool. Thinking that new spells might be required the Mothers retreated to the armoury area. There, Levi and Fonesca prayed and memorised spells respectively. Six hours later Levi had a water breathing prayer that he could use. Firstly he cured Gaspode, Jito and Guthranka of some more of their injuries. When they reached the pool, these three discarded the equipment that they thought they would not need (or what might be damaged) and Levi cast his spell upon them. Guthranka led the way as she could move easily in the watery environment due to her ring. The followed the tunnel upwards until it flattened out and then opened into a natural cavern, through which an underground stream ran. Since they found nothing of interest there, the three of them returned to the others and re-equipped themselves.
The group then set off for the caverns which the orcs had barricaded. They went northwest through some natural caverns, encountering and defeating some huge lizards in a dead end cavern with a sinkhole. Moving around to the northeast they found a stream running through a cavern that may well have been the same that they had seen earlier. Troglodytes occupied the eastern caverns. Guthranka negotiated with them using the Helm of Tongues. She agreed not to attack them and not to enter their caverns. The next few passageways leading east were blocked by spear wielding troglodyte warriors, so the Mothers moved into the southerly area, which had obviously, recently been the domain of the orcs. Here, too, they found a sinkhole, which was larger than the previous one. The exit from these caverns lead back northwest in a straight carved and stone clad passageway. This was returning the Mothers to the blockade point of the orcs, but on the way they saw that a similar pile of boulders had been placed on the left hand wall.
Curious as to what this could be, the Mothers dismantled the blockage, revealing an old brass bound wooden door that had seen better days. It was bolted shut from this side with a corroded brass bolt. After Gaspode checked it for traps the Mothers entered a straight passage leading south west. The air in the passage was oppressive and stale and it led to a disturbing temple. One end led to a room with a stairway leading further down which had been blocked off by a rock fall which now completely engulfed it. The other side was the temple itself. Four pillars of purplish glowing stone that even the dwarf, Tettet, did not recognise, held up an arched roof of the same material. Bas-reliefs and other strange carvings covered the walls hinting at dark practises and evil rites. At the end of the room an altar, carved from one huge piece of yellow rock stood before a raised alcove. Moving to examine this, both the priest and the paladin became distinctly uneasy. Levi decided that the place should be cleansed of it's evil and he quickly tried a simple ceremony of prayer and holy water libations over the altar in the hope that this would suffice. But it seemed to have no effect. Levi, frustrated by this went around behind the altar, looking for some clue as to how it might be purified. Stepping up the low stairs into the alcove he must have looked too long at the purplish-black, glossy curved wall of the alcove, for his face showed a momentary flash of horror before he screamed and drew his blades and began hacking at his own legs manically. He shouted and screamed incoherently all the while. The rest of the Mothers quickly stepped in, restraining him and removing his weapons. Tettet and Siosiann looked on in horror. They manhandled Levi out of the temple as quickly as they could and brought him, still gibbering, to the armoury where they hoped that the dwarves would look after him. They thought better of leaving the mad prisoner they had found earlier in his cell too, bringing the two madmen together.
Realising that, since Siosann's spellbooks and Tettet's axe had not been found, more chambers must have been unfound, the Mothers set about searching for more secret passages than what they had already discovered. Soon they had found one beside the stairway that led to this level. It opened into a room which contained three levers on the far wall. When they went to investigate these, the elf, Siosiann noticed another door to the right of the levers leading northwards. They then noticed that both of these secret doors contained spy holes at heights of five and fifteen feet that gave someone standing in the lever room a view through each secret door. The second door led into a large room with a corridor off it which whose closely fitting bars restrained four manticores and another narrower passage, leading ultimately to more stairs upwards. Guthranka suggested looking for more secret doors along the narrow passage and this search was rewarded with finding another opening. Guthranka led the way inside after Gaspode had checked the door for traps. A pit trap opened beneath the paladin and although three of the poisoned spikes hit her, she was able to clamber out of the hole with the help of the others.
After casting some more healing magic on Guthranka, the Mothers proceeded into the chamber beyond the pit. At first glance the chests and coffers were just what they were looking for, being filled with coins, gems and jewellery, but after some checking of the broken barrels and yellow mould that also appeared to be present, Gaspode used his gem of true seeing to reveal Tettet's axe, Siosann's backpack and sword as well as another sword, a quiver of arrows and a spear. The broken barrel proved to be a water-tight cask containing a map on some parchment, a strange set of instructions and diagrams on human skin and a long chain of a dark metal that none of them knew. Taking all of this for further perusal the Mothers went up the stairs outside into a room with no visible exit. A quick search revealed a concealed doorway, which led into a charred dining room that looked as though it had been used as a planning area from the scraps of burnt maps on the floor. After finding a cloakroom for the giants and an entry into passageways that they had already seen on the surface, the Mothers decided to retrieve the dwarves and the others in order to return to Arabel to search for a cure for them. Guthranka was discussing how to mock up some carrying contraption from the giant cloaks and spears that they had found with the dwarves, so that they could carry the lunatics more easily.