The Mothers decided to rest from their labours in the chambers of Snurre痴 daughter to the south of the throne room. The doughty warriors kept watch while the magical practitioners prayed or studied and nothing interrupted them. So refreshed, the party moved east along the corridor to where they had seen the blazing skull symbol on the huge doors at the end. Gaspode went through his usual precautions while the others checked the walls of the corridor for hidden egresses. No one found anything of note, so they proceeded into a grand corridor, which was laid out in some opulence. Tapestries hung on the walls, interspersed with weaponry and trophies. A pillar of red stone marked the end of the angled passage and the beginning of Snurre痴 bedchamber. Not much of the stone wall could be seen, as the tapestries, weaponry and other trophies continued in this room. A high shelf on the southern wall held tens of skulls from human, elf, dwarf, giant and even some monstrous victims of the King. A huge wardrobe and desk stood against the western wall, while a suitably king-sized bed dominated the eastern half of the chamber.
Jito was called upon to see if any of the items on display were magical and despite his careful scrutiny, all of the objects seemed mundane. Meanwhile, the others checked the walls. In the northeastern corner these efforts paid off in the form of a thick door that Hunnath had to open due to the mechanism being a protruding stone some twelve feet off the ground. She stepped back and allowed Gaspode to scour the first chamber beyond which was rough hewn and circular. After he had pronounced it safe, Gaspode led the Mothers down the corridor beyond which went north then west, ending in a blank wall. It did not take long to find the hidden portal here and when they had opened it they saw that they had returned to the throne room, this time through its eastern wall.
After a quick study of the room from this vantage point the Mothers moved out of the throne room along the northerly passage (down which most of the giants had come to fight them earlier), following the map drawn by the gnoll. When they reached the triangular alcove at the T junction at the end, they found a guard post which was abandoned, but still had its huge metal warning chime hanging from the ceiling with an iron hammer resting against the wall. To the east they entered a series of chambers which served as an armoury for the giants. To the west were the weapon stores and to the east all manner of giant armour stood ready. In between was a locked door. Gaspode got past its defences easily, but could hear nothing from the room beyond. When he opened it, those in the vanguard were engulfed in flames from one of the three heads of a chimera. Undaunted, they stepped forward and quickly felled the beast after it had been weakened by magic missiles from Fonesca. There was nothing of interest in the beast痴 lair. Further east and northern a giant dormitory was also not very interesting.
Moving back beyond the guard alcove, the Mothers ignored the northern passage marked 滴ell Hounds� on their map and made their way to the western end of the corridor. Near the sloping passage which lead downwards to the next level they found a door which was barred on the outside. Thinking that this was too suspicious, the Mothers moved on. At the bottom of the passage they exited at a crossroads. Immediately opposite them to the west was a short passage ending in a set of double doors. To the north, the corridor shortly descended further down a flight of steep stairs. The party went south. After a short distance it turned to the east. Off this corridor were three rooms, each containing nothing that the Mothers wanted to bring with them. Returning to the crossroads the Mothers went west and opened the large double doors. The collection of sarcophagi either standing against the walls or lined up in the centre of the chamber did not fill the group with enthusiasm, so they turned around and went down the stairs to the north. After fifty feet a corridor stretched off to the east. Small doors were evenly spaced along its length which Gaspode thought looked like cells, and the other passages and stairs leading off were too much for the Mothers to tackle without a little more thought.