Leaving the stinky door for the time being the scouts reported that down another passage they could hear a group of creatures trying – badly – to remain silent. Adopting stealth mode themselves they tried to sneak up on the unknown creatures whilst covering their rear. Spinder Stablehand was so focused on covering the front with his bow that he did not notice a tied-up figure dangling by its feet from a beam in the corner. Another party member cut the body down and found it to be an unconscious man that he recognised from Birchstead, fully armed and armoured despite his predicament. When he came round, after a cautious introduction he agreed to join the party.

The hiding creatures turned out to be more insane pale elf warriors led by a tough-looking champion with a sword in one hand and a glowing dagger in the other. These jumped to the attack but behind them cowered a group of elven children who did not seem to be as pale of skin or as mad of countenance. Despite the low numbers of attackers the fight was a tense one and Adjib was brought to the ground. Magic from Quarion got him on his feet again and as the last mad elf warrior was killed the monk was able to rush forward and grab the last of the elven children who was trying to flee with the others.

When he had calmed down and been reassured that no harm was meant the child pleaded with the party to save the other children from the insane adults, claiming that due to a terrible curse a madness descended on them when they reached maturity. Most of the adults and children lived in some sort of village to the south but the party did not want to leave possible foes behind them so they decided to make sure that the areas north of them were clear first.

They approached a door and recognised the foul stench coming from the other side. The door was kicked open to reveal a ghastly kitchen with half a dozen children cowering behind four mis-shapen cooks, who taunted the intruders by throwing mouldy bread at them. They did not put up any significant resistance; the greatest hazard was the abominable reek emanating from the cauldrons, which caused not a few people to weaken and flee the room clutching their guts. Once the cooks had been dealt with the fires were doused and the smell began to subside, but the children had fled the room.

The party set off to find them but instead they discovered a strange room with three pale elf monks sitting in a trance with humming metal bowls before them, surrounded by hundreds of black candles. Covering the walls was a list of names in ancient Elvish but the last few names were those of the party! The monks were all knocked unconscious without resistance and their hands and feet bound. Attempts to scratch out the names didn’t work – they magically reappeared. Dousing the candles just made the remaining ones brighter until there was only one left that wouldn’t go out at all.

Leaving the enigma the group quickly found the children hiding in another room. They took some convincing but with the help of the party’s ‘captive’ child they were eventually convinced that they were safe. Spinder led them to the surface while the party pressed on.

Another room contained pale elf civilians tending giant mushrooms, obviously a source of food. They were dealt with swiftly but then someone noticed a secret door. This led to a room with a trapped chest: Knocker was poisoned while opening it, but the effects did not last for too long and the chest contained what was obviously the pale elves’ treasure.

Further into the maze of chambers was a room filled with termites that seemed to be crawling all over what looked like a very unhealthy-looking tree. The party would have left this if it hadn’t been for the weak telepathic message that appeared to be coming from the tree: “the adults are lost, but please save the children!”

At last the party reached the area where the elves seemed to live. Crude huts and lean-tos lined a massive hallway in which pale elf adults shambled about doing various tasks. The party charged in to the attack and despite the spear-throwing warriors at the far end of the hallway and some elves emerging from side-tunnels to ambush them in the rear, the fight was won fairly easily. The side tunnels led only to a huge chamber containing a bottomless crevasse but some stout doors in the main passageway led to small prison cells. In one of these was found the missing ranger, Immin, but no trace was found of his son Hast. Immin had been hit over the head while camping in the ruins of the asylum and could recall little except the pale elves’ insane behaviour towards him.

The large corridor ended in a few more chambers and here were found the rest of the pale elf children. Some gentle words of reassurance won them over and they were very grateful for their rescue from their madness-afflicted parents. They wished to leave these cursed underground passageways and establish a new village in the woods, and asked the PCs if they would obtain a cutting from the withered tree so that they could plant it in their new home – the tree was the elves’ original village tree that had been brought here by the adults when the curse first took hold, and had somehow survived the years underground. They also claimed that the treasure from the trapped chest was rightfully theirs, although they were happy for the party to keep any other plunder that they had found.

The PCs agreed and a cutting was obtained by driving the termites back with smoke. The tree imparted a last mysterious telepathic message: “thank you for saving the children, I will always be your sanctuary”.

Having led all the children to the surface the party tried the last unopened door at the end of the great hallway, a massive one made of iron. Knocker was able to pick the lock and they entered the chamber. Upon a throne sat a grey-haired, long-bearded yet grizzled and tough-looking warrior with a huge battle axe upon his lap. “There is no turning back now. Enter the portal” he intoned flatly, gesturing to a shimmering rectangle of light behind him. This phrase was repeated for every person that entered the room.

One by one the party members gave in to their curiosity and stepped through into the unknown…