The party has breakfast with the Governor the next day and heads off to explore Gladomain Keep. They find that many of the passages they previously explored have been magically sealed off and collapsed, and one of Mistmeadow's guards accompanies them into the dungeon, advising that they haven't heard from the rest of the watch that explored the lower levels the night before.
When they explore the lower keep they find signs that a great battle took place between unknown forces, presumably the Drow, and Mistmeadow's guards. The corpses of city guards lie all around the corridors.
Several levels below the ruins they find a portcullis and Whosis Kid, the thief, sneaks through to find a lever to open the gate. On the other side he sees the Barghest they encountered the other day along with a carrion crawler, a centipede, and a ghoul feasting on the corpses lying about in a large adjacent cavern. Whosis open the portcullis, but the loud sound of it opening attracts the carrion crawler who advances towards the rest of the part. Whosis kid slams the portcullis shut on the carrion crawler, pinning it to floor where the rest of the party can focus on slaying it. The barghest retreats to an adjacent passageway.
The centipede is destroyed by a Drow named Doomspider, who says he was trapped in this part of the dungeon when a passage collapsed and he has no quarrel with the party. Against the protest of the city guard accompanying them, the party chooses to leave the Drow be. They slay the ghoul who is still eating corpses and move on to pursue the barghest.
They find the barghest trapped in a small antechamber where rubble has sealed the only route of escape. The barghest warns them not to approach, and when they party moves forward he draws a magical golden dagger and draws his own blood, summoning the slimy black, acid drenched demon called a babau, that they saw with the barghest the other day. The barghest orders the demon to defend him.
The party focuses their attacks on the barghest, and when he's slain, the babau picks up the dagger and holds it out to them as an offering. Kodrus, the Minotaur accepts the blade and become the new master of the item, which is called the dagger of Tanar'ri, and will allow the user to summon a Tanar'ri to do their bidding. They also find a golden idol of Tanar'ri which will allow them to open a gate to the Tanar'ri's homeworld if they so wish.
The party moves on down the corridor. Doomspider is too afraid to enter the lower level of the dungeon because of a beast in a pit that he won't speak further about. They leave him behind and move on into the lower level where they find a room with a giant well. The passageway leading to it and the columned room beyond the well area all have heavy metallic webs everywhere.
As they move past the well they see some humanlike figures trapped in the webbing. When they cut them free the awaken the Kruthik Hive Lord, a great metallic insectoid beast that rises from the well and belches acid all over half of the adventurers. They drive the Kruthik back into the pit badly injuring it after a furious battle.
When all of the webbed prisoners have been freed they find among them two more missing guards and Ambassador Tul, a diplomat from Blackshore who was on her way to a regional defense conference at Blackshore. She says that the party will be handsomely rewarded and enjoy the Duke of Blackshore's hospitality for as long as they wish to stay the next time they are in the area. The party has the city guards watch the ambassador and they all proceed into a larger area ahead of their current location.
They move past the columned area and webbing to find a large subterranean throne room with a stairs, huge burning urns along each side, and a giant dragon skeleton lies on the floor. Sitting on the throne is the skeletal King Quotumal Gladomain and his also dead Queen. Two skeletal guards stand motionless on either side of them.
The party approaches and Ilmak the swordmage offers a greeting and says they peacefully wish to remove the crown for Mistmeadow and depart. The court remains silent until he grasps the crown, at which point the King comes to life and attacks him.
Kodrus the Minotaur uses the blade of Tanar'ri to draw his own blood and summons the Babau. He orders the Babau to attack one of King Gladomain's wight champions. King Gladomain takes on a shadowy form and shadows dance around his form causing damage to any who stand near him during the fight. Garret the cleric defeats Queen Gladomain, a zombie, then turns to help his friends. Garrick the mad uses his spells to take out one of the wight guards. Ilmak, Kadrus, and Whosis battle King Gladomain until he is banished and his armor and weapons clatter to the floor - his shadowy form retreating along the walls and then disappearing forever.
The wight champion and the babau fight a long drawn out battle until the Tanar'ri is finally victorious. Kodrus tells the Tanar'ri he is free to leave at which point the babau says that for his service he must be granted something and he requests they allow him to eat ambassador Tul. Kodrus refuses, breaking the pact forged by his blade. The babau attacks him and the entire party surrounds and eventually defeats the foul creature after a long exhausting fight.
When the babu is defeated, a figure emerges from the shadows and introduces herself as Lady Xyrlynn, a mercenary and adventurer. She says she wishes to purchase the Hand of Glory, an artifact worn around the neck of King Gladomain, now possessed by the party. She offers a significant reward. They say that they will think about her proposal and set a meeting time and place with her one week from the day. She departs and they return to Mistmeadow to collect their reward.
Now that they have the crown, the Governor asks them to journey to the Sybarite Isle of the coast of Lighthedge Point to the north, on a quest to find his Daughter Juliana who disappeared with her lover Orlando two years ago. The Governor has sworn an oath never to accept a crown, but his daughter is next in the line to receive the crown now that they party has recovered it.
The party accepts the offer and celebrates their good fortune. Whosis kid picks up the Teifling barmaid from their favorite drinking establishment The Singing Maid.
Garret the Cleric of Ioun sets up a museum to study the mysteries of death and undeath and recruits an Aasimar to guard it. He invites acolytes from the nearby temple in SummerSpring to come and study at his new sanctuary.
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