Chapter 18: Please Do Not Feed the Dragon

  After recovering from the shock, the party determined that the staff had become tainted with Chaos when it was sundered as it was used to destroy Miska the Wolf-Spider. The segments would need to be cleansed of Chaos before they could be reassembled, though researching a method for cleansing the staff would require an extensive wizard's library. The tug of the first segment now pointed directly south, roughly in the direction of Dyvers, a free city and democratic meritocracy.

Commune

Is the second segment of the staff more than 50 miles away?	yes
Is the second segment of the staff more than 100 miles away?	yes
Is the second segment of the staff more than 150 miles away?	yes
... switching to binary search...
Is the second segment of the staff more than 900 miles away?	no
Is the second segment of the staff more than 500 miles away?	no
Is the second segment of the staff more than 350 miles away?	no
Is the second segment of the staff more than 250 miles away?	yes
Is the second segment of the staff more than 300 miles away?	no
Is the second segment of the staff more than 275 miles away?	yes
Is the second segment of the staff more than 285 miles away?	no
Is the second segment of the staff below ground?	yes
Is the second segment of the staff in the possession of a creature?	yes
Do the wolf-spiders have any hidden weaknesses?	unclear
Does Miska the Wolf-Spider have any hidden weaknesses?	unclear

  "We're going to commune with the gnomish deities, Karl and Marx."

The Narrator
    The second segment of the staff was already in the possession of another creature. Edwin believed that only intelligent artifacts would seek a protector, implying that the staff contained a certain sentience. The party healed damage sustained in the battle with demons, then Edwin cast Shadow Walk to travel 280 miles due south in a few hours by skirting the edge of the Plane of Shadow. The group emerged in a swamp, but one which did not exist on the map. Chaden recognized it as the Vastest Bog, a huge swamp near Greyhawk connecting to the Mist Marsh. The rest of the party had never heard of the place... it seemed to be another incursion of chaos. The group walked for half an hour following the tug of the first segment, coming at last to a sandy hillock surrounded by water. Katriana wildshaped into an Eagle to scout the terrain, finding nothing of note. Chaden threw a knife into it, to verify it wasn't some enormous creature. Edwin cast Prying Eyes, with the following instructions:

  The instructions contained a serious flaw: if no entrances were found, the Prying Eyes would keep searching until the spell expired fourteen hours later. After two hours of waiting the party retired to a Leomund's Secure Shelter. Expecting attack at any time Edwin enchanted a Restful Crystal to allow Grapthar to sleep in his plate armor, but the night passed uneventfully. The next morning the group circled the island to triangulate the position of the second segment, noting that the pull of the wand was always toward the center of the island. Edwin created a Dark Way of shadowstuff to allow passage across the water to the island. That is when the dragon swept down out of the sky.

The Narrator
  The dragon was gargantuan. From its size and the coloring of its scales, it was clearly an ancient wyrm. It projected a palpable aura of fear: everyone was shaken by it except Edwin, who rolled particularly well for the Will save. The Dragon swooped in, grabbed Edwin in its claws, and flew away in the blink of an eye. There was no time to react; Chaden fired several arrows as the dragon soared away, but they simply bounced from its scales. "Tighten, tighten, tighten, your sphinc-ters!" -- Kaerick's bardic song

Dragon:	(raising Edwin to its face) Why have you come here?
Edwin:	(responds in Draconic) We're attempting to recover a magic item that teleported away this morning.
Dragon:	Describe the item.
Edwin:	It is a wand roughly the length of a gnomish forearm.
Dragon:	You are welcome to it! (drops Edwin)

The Narrator
  The dragon dropped Edwin near the highest point of the island, in thick brambles. Chaden and Katriana saw the dragon circle around, disappearing into the thick vegetation on one side of the island. The party began casting defensive magic and trudging up the island toward Edwin, while Katriana flew up to the top to look for him.
  The tug from the first segment of the staff now pointed straight down. Edwin cast Message to inform the rest of the party of what he was about to do, then cast Xorn Movement to travel through the earth, emerging at the top of a large cavern in the middle of the island. An acrid spell permeated the place, and the rock was pitted and worn. Directly below was a large, flat black stone, with the second segment of the staff upon it. The rest of the cavern was filled with treasure: coins, gems, weapons and suits of armor, everything one would expect in an ancient dragon hoard. All of the coins and treasures had been neatly stacked, and much recently disturbed dust was floating through the chamber. The second segment of the staff had apparently been inflicting its cleanliness compulsion, turning the normally Chaotic Evil dragon toward Lawful. Presumably this was the reason the dragon wished to be rid of it.
  The dragon spotted Edwin immediately. "Take that accursed thing and go!" Suddenly Edwin heard a skittering from the cave entrance. Three wolf-spiders scurried into the cave, accompanied by one of the larger spiders. The dragon hissed in anger and breathed a torrent of potent acid, destroying the three lesser demons. The larger demon spoke out loud: "Servant of chaos, cease! You threaten the will of one who is mistress to us all!"

  Edwin could not tarry long before the Xorn Movement would expire, and decided to use the distraction to his advantage. Casting Mage Hand to retrieve the segment, he immediately headed for the top of the island. Several rounds later the dragon could be heard roaring in rage. Once reunited the party used Dimension Door to retrieve the horses and immediately cast Shadow Walk to get out of the area.

Greyhawk "We need to come up with the most obscure and complicated way possible to obtain some Lawful Evil hair." -- The Players
 
"I think the nefarious barber shop is a good start." -- The GMs
  With the second segment recovered, the next task would be to determine how the segments could be cleansed of the taint of Miska's blood in order to be reassembled. The closest suitable library would be in the Free City of Greyhawk, so that is where the party turned. Edwin went immediately to the Wizard's Tower, presenting his letter of introduction from Garmoth, the master of the Wizard's Tower in Leukesh. After a total of 36 hours of searching Edwin had pieced together the answer: by inscribing glyphs onto both pieces and conducting an arcane ritual, the segments could be rejoined. Painting the glyphs would require a brush containing at least one hair from a Lawful Good and a Lawful Evil creature, and the hair must be freely given.

  The various party members also did a little shopping. It is Greyhawk, after all.