Nenne scratches her head. "Well, I suppose that depends on the clues we have left and which investigation we feel takes precedence." 

She begins ticking off her fingers as she lists them. "There's the Heart of Ubtao, which we know from Worlo's letter that holds answers for Sthara. There's the ghouls' connection with Ras Nsi. There's the plausible connection between the Death Curse and Dendar, who might be attempting a return based on the nightmares the storyteller had and the winter we've discovered in the jungle. There's this diamond pendant, which we know is connected to Ubtao and the Heart. And we also never determined who 'V.S.' is and why they might know anything about the lady mage and her quest."

She looks up at the group. "I myself would like to see if there is anything we can learn about Ras Nsi and Dendar, since we are here in Mezro. Sthara, are there other sites in this city that may give us information about them? Archives, perhaps? Stricken monuments?"

"I agree with miss Nenne. If nothing is left of here, I say we camp here in this building for the rest of the night and then head for the Heart. That may hold answers of who is behind it and maybe the temple itself."

"Then," Funderburk said after a bit, "there is option two. What if the dragon knows what is happening? Are all dragons hostile? Maybe he may know what is going on. Then again... he is very far from here..."

As evening falls in the temple, the group decide to camp in the domed building.  "Just to be safe, I think it wise to use the hut here.  While we haven't encountered anything in the city so far, it will allow us to rest undisturbed without the pressing need to set a watch."  The gnome busies himself with casting the spell, safely away from the maze.  "We do all need to be inside the casting zone before I finish, otherwise you're sleeping in the open tonight!"

"We should spend some time investigating the rest of the city, though.  There may be other things to uncover here.  I must admit to being at a loss as to how to proceed.  Dendar the Night Serpent seems important, but I have no idea how we can link all the information we have already."  He looks at Funderburk. "The dragon is unlikely to know or care about the curse.  They seem to be more wealth motivated than anything else.  While they are evil, I don't believe they would be in league with whatever has caused this curse."  He has a thought, "Sthara, could you say a prayer on the maze asking about the soulmonger?"

Eku asks for the ruined book so that she might try to dry it out a bit and thumb through it some more. She says that she's curious if the thing could be restored.

"I am happy to attempt it," Nenne says. Gently taking the book from her, she sits cross-legged on the floor beside Boosey and casts Mending on the ruined tome.

 As Nenne casts her spell, water is pushed out of it and away from the book. It thins back down to its original size and the pages meet as one on the side you open. The spine adapts to the proper structure of the leather it is bound with and its words reappear. It is whole again. Eku smiles genuinely saying, "Clever. You certainly do have your tricks, Lady of the Seasons."

"I confess I was not expecting it to be so effective," the eladrin replies, running her fingers over the restored binding. She glances up at Eku and Sthara. "Are either of you able to read it? If not, perhaps our friend the storyteller can oblige us once more."

Eku smiles and says, "I was hoping that Boosey would read more of it if we could restore a bit more." She takes the book gingerly, running her fingers over the leather. She smells it and laughs. "It still smells like the rain."

"I would be honoured to read the book for you Eku," and he takes the book off their guide.  He also runs his fingers over the cover in wonder, before gently opening it and starting to read.

Boosey's tale from the book goes on to speak of how Dendar was eventually imprisoned until such a time when the world and sun are no more, denying her of her most valued wishes. It also mentions the god Sseth and his devoted yuan-ti followers. It says that any follower of Sseth is an enemy to Ubtao's influence in the world. It tells of how Sseth uses poison and deceit to unravel the workings of Ubtao. From there it goes on to talk about religious values and practices a follower of the faith should uphold.

After listening to Boosey and the tales in the restored book Allister says „Why do I feel like nothing of what we heard will help us in any way to find or deal with the Soulmonger? To me it sounds like some old religious text, but there is not one reference to our mission. And I don’t see how Dendar is involved in any of this. I admit, it’s possible, but nothing we have learned so far shows any evidence of this creature being interested in creating zombies, maiming souls or creating patches of winter in the jungle. He or she or it calls itself the Nightserpent, not the Souleater or Frostsnake. Following our leads regarding the Heart of Ubtao and this Ras Nsi fellow should be our top priorities. Even finding the dragon or the dwarves will probably yield more insight about what is happening in Chult than spending more time on crumbled texts about the relationship of the local deities.“

Eku looks up to Allister from her seated position near Boosey and says, "I would have to agree with you in that I do not see how the two could be related, but the book is a nice find. It speaks from time untold in a language that may not even exist in any current culture. Personally, I find the rites and ideals within dry and useless, but the stories the book tells paint a picture that is easy to run away with in your mind. I enjoy the break from this heartless jungle and its challenges, as I'm sure all of you do." She pauses for a moment reflecting to herself. "If my words sound discrediting or callous, I apologize - they were only meant to be an assessment of...this." She gestures to the world around her. "If those two things aren't related, then we still have three options: Seeking out this Ras Nsi fellow, if he even still lives, dealing with the dragon somehow, or going to visit an elf in a heart. Two of those things are a long way from here and we do not even know where to begin to look for the third, unless Sthara has more insight towards that goal."

"I am not sure if we even know where to begin for the first option. The man may not even be alive but then... he may be in some sort of way."

"The heart may be the best option. Boosey saw a vision of an elf there and yet we plan to just leave it? That place may finally be hold our best information yet. And it might not. For all we know it may be a trap." Funderburk began to stand up and pace around the room. Adjusting his cloak while doing so. "This is the first time of hearing this serpent. From a forgotten book in a forgotten city." He finally stops and looks at his companions. "We may not have very clear options. But the way I see it, Mr. Boosey was given the clearest. Who ever that elf is... it might help us find those ruins, help us figure the source, and may possibly be the writter of that letter. Or at least know who wrote it. Every option we have is on whim here. We have to discern what is important to take the risk, and what is something that can always be done later. As I've said before. I believe we should follow Boosey's vision and look for the elf. If we know not the way, we can always figure out the way he went when he... was taken from this plane."

Finally, as Funderburk finished, he sat down once more by his friends. He asked them one more question, and would let themselves take it from there. "What is the choice of everybody else? What shall we do from here?"

“I say we search for this elf. We went with the pendant, it brought us to this elf. That would be my first choice. The question is how do we get there... and how do we get on this earth mote?“

"The letter said the pendant would help Sthara find answers at the Heart of Ubtao," Nenne interjects. "Perhaps if she prayed and attempted to use it, it would bring her there. And perhaps the elf would accept our presence if she were with us."

"That may be the best option. However, someome should pray with Sthara just in case things go wrong. That way if it does, then they may be able to help out."

Funderburk raised his hand, "I am willing to go. There's not much else for me to do other than go with Sthara. Boosey could go to ask questions, but having me go, if things go wrong I can always... try some Divination spells."

"Then again," Funderburk began, "we can all attempt to pray with Sthara. That way we all help out in the goal and see what happens."

Eku cocks a skeptical eye at Funderburk and asks, "What exactly are you proposing, wizard? We all hold hands around the pendant here and pray together?"

Nenne raises an eyebrow. "Surely the concept isn't more ridiculous than a gnome rocketing through the air after praying to a god he doesn't follow," she replies. "At worst, we end up looking like fools, and we learn what does not work. Unless you or the lady mage have alternative ideas...?"

"If that's what needs to be done then so be it. Hand in hand, or hand of shoulder."

Funderburk begins to walk towards the center of the room, removes the pendant from his robes, and places it where it once was in the center of the room. He then looks at his friends. "Failure or not, it is worth a try."

"Eku, if you only you are comfortable with it, may you stay and collect the pendant so that it may not get sucked once more into the ground? We cannot afford to lose this."

Sthara follows Funderburk to the center of the room and kneels in front of the pendant. She looks back at the rest of the party.

"I am willing to try, though I'm unsure if it will work. I believe Allister may be right in that it was merely meant to direct us towards the Heart."