Case 692.5, 22 Nightal 1491 - The Zenythri Temple

The party got the information they needed from Apanar the Thief. He told them that the drow force had been systematically searching the City of Amber and it was Apanar's opinion that they did not know exactly what they were looking for. They had been questioning citizens randomly looking for anyone who recognized the Zenythri runes they carried with them. Apanar took the party to the prison and arranged for them to have access to two drow soldiers who had been arrested. The party interrogated them using magical and non-magical means, and came up with the idea of creating a diversion. The bought an old skull at a curio shop and had Finolea engrave some meaningless Zenythri runes into it. Then they took the skull to Nilora, who collects strange bones and she bought it from them. At this point they approached some drow on the street and sold them the information that Nilora knew something about the Zenythri runes. Myrf watched as a large drow force entered Nilora's home and left with the skull (and with her tower aflame).

While the drow were on this wild goose chase, the party went with Bahera the Potter to the ancient temple ruins and watched as they materialized into an entirely flawless but spartan temple. There were engravings in the Zenythri language everywhere, and one striking bas relief showing a scene with Kezef the Chaos Hound and other gods. Both Myrf and Saphfrael recognized deities who were important to them. Sadie cast a spell to try to divine more information and her magic seemed to surpass her control and summon a strange figure into the temple. He was tall, thin, and flawless in every way. He communicated with them telepathically, seeming to be deep in a trance. He said he was a Zenythri monk named Zhinudhun, perhaps the last surviving Zenythri. He said the temple was travelling back and forth along a root of Ygdrasil, the world tree, between Nirvana (Mechanus) and the Astral Plane. He listened to the party tell him about the situation with Lolth and Asmodeus and said it was of the utmost importance that Lolth not be allowed to destroy a cube (as it would free Kezef) and the Asmodeus not be allowed to use the cubes to access Mechanus. He answered many more questions for the party before fading away.

The party decided to throw one more complication at the drow. They had their new dwarf friends craft a convincing looking stone and bone tablet with meaningless Zenythri runes on it which would look like a Rosetta stone. Then they transported the stone to the temple ruins, thinking to leave it behind as a further distraction for the drow. But along the way they were attacked. They drove off their attackers, left the stone, and took some bodies with them to create the illusion that they had been pursued.

After all this was taken care of, they traveled across the astral sea to the portal they had used previously to reach the city of Sigil. In Sigil they rested and planned. One night they heard loud voices and ran into Nife's room, only to find him being abducted by Icanus and Ipaben, who seemed to be charmed. They grabbed Nife and disappeared.