Theranion finds the lever to open the gate, and the group enters the crypt area. It consists of a wide hallway, which winds around a central room. Only the center 5 feet of the hallway is safely passable, as the floor has dozens of plaques and stone markers lined up in neat rows along the length of the hallway. Along the walls are small alcoves with stone statues marking where the most important church members are buried.

The group rounds a corner, and discovers a set of metal doors with the holy symbol of Lathander embossed into each of them. They carefully open the doors, and discover a private chapel, complete with all the required items to hold a worship service. Though no one has been here in years, the chapel is pristine; no dust settles on the pews, and the gold and silver ceremonial set is completely untarnished.

Roc's first instinct is to claim the "treasure", but a disapproving glare and a "Don't even think about it" warning from Nataya stops him cold. Roc also notices that neither Theranion nor Zenril even dared go near the items (I wonder why). Nataya may not be a priest of Lathander, but she will not tolerate stealing from any good-aligned or benevolent church.

Zendril turns to leave, and as he exits the room, he steps INTO a gelatinous cube. Miraculously, he avoids the effect of the anesthetic slime, and scrambles back away from it. If it weren't for that bit of luck, he could have become the creature's next meal. The group destroys the creature with ranged weapons, and carefully proceeds back out into the hallway. (Ah, there's nothing like a silent reminder of why you don't blindly walk around a corner!)

As they reach the other end of the crypt area, they discover that someone (or something) has demolished a section of the crypt wall, revealing a natural tunnel beyond. From the debris pattern, the group can tell that the culprit broke through the wall from the tunnel side. They quickly find out who the culprit is when a hook horror comes charging at them from the darkness!

Hook horrors look like a cross between a wingless vulture and an insect, but with two large hooked claws for hands. They are large, ferocious creatures with a constant appetite for fresh meat. The group quickly guesses that this is one of the monsters described by the Lathander priests, and they find this creature not quite as easy to defeat as other brutes they've faced. It slashes madly at the group members, surprising even Theranion at how easily it is able to get by his defenses. A few minutes later, and the group is left nursing fresh wounds as the creature lies dead at their feet.

They begin down the tunnel, all the while keeping their weapons in their hands, just in case another of those creatures would appear. They are discovering that one of the major drawbacks of having a human in the party is the need for light. With it, their vision is limited to at most 30 feet, while monsters native to the dark can see them coming a minute or two in advance.

After traveling several hundred feet down the sharply winding tunnel, they come upon a natural cavern, about 60-feet in diameter, which is dominated by a ring of large, strangely glowing fungi. These fungi are in various stages of development, with the most developed among them appearing to be incubating nightshades. Nataya lets out a mild curse, just as a group of adult nightshades attack the group from all sides...