The party has slain most of the wolves, but find themselves being lured deeper into the woods, to an ancient ruin which may hold the key to the shadowy curse placed upon the area. They have thus ventured down into the depths of the ruin, searching for a way out or perhaps a way to end the curse. At the bottom of the stairs, they come to a long hallway which curves slightly to the left. The hallway ends in a wall of pure shadow some fifty feet down, with an archway just before it on the right wall.

They enter the archway into what appears to have once been a shrine where family members and friends would come to honor their dead. Here, they discover a small group of wolves ripping a mummified body to pieces. The wolves turn their possessed gazes toward the party, and another battle erupts. When the party defeats the last wolf, they examine what remains of the mummified body, but can find nothing significant about it at the moment.

They press on past the room into another hallway, and are beset by what Theranion identifies as an Invisible Stalker. Having slain it, they find a strange key on it, which goes to no known lock they can think of. A slight murmur draws their attention to one of the doors along the hallway, and peeking through a hole in the door, they spy a human female shackled to the wall by shadowy chains.

Thinking she may be the missing ranger, they enter the room and free her, using the strange key they found on the stalker's corpse. She is beaten badly, and shows signs of dehydration. After a healthy drink of water and having her wounds bound, she hesitantly identifies herself as Mazilyn, a member of the first adventuring party hired by the townsfolk of Umar Hills. Her party made their way to the darkened woods, only to be overwhelmed by the creatures lurking within. Most of her party was killed or transformed into shadow creatures, but she was captured and brought here, with only a brief mention that 'The Master' had plans to use her body as its next host. Though she is still weak, she offers to lend whatever aid she can to the party in exchange for her rescue, assuming they can escape from the ruins. She also informs them that she has discovered an ironic piece of information regarding the ruins at the heart of this mystery. This was once the holy temple of the ancient sun god Amaunator, but has now been infested with all manner of shadow creatures. She fears that the master these creatures serve is using the ruins as a base of power, and is quickly spreading its influence to the surrounding lands. Unless the evil infesting this place is stopped, there is no telling how far the corruption of these shadow creatures and their master will spread.

After a bit of rest, the party continues down the side hallway, heading toward a faint light in a room at the other end. The room at the end of the hallway is lit by the glowing gems imbedded into a large statue in the center of the room. Zendril approaches the statue to examine the gems (being the treasure-hunting rogue he is), and a voice suddenly echoes through the room.

"Know, my children, that when the holy rays strike the earth and dawn flows across the land like music, thou must offer the Morn Ritual that is pleasing to mine eyes and ears. Malign the Ritual at thy peril. Perform it only as I have written. Speak only when you are ready to take the test." Zendril quickly steps back from the statue, startled by it's sudden outburst. Not knowing what else to do, he consults with Theranion for insight on ancient lore and Nataya for any knowledge of current or old rituals of the god Lathander (the Morninglord). After a few minutes, Zendril steps cautiously toward the statue, and announces he is ready for the test.

The statue responds with its first question: "As the sun first rises over the horizon, and its light strikes the earth, name that which you must do first."

After about a minute, Zendril calls out his answer. He is met with, "You have failed the test, and must suffer to become worthy." Immediately, a column of fire rains down on Zendril from the ceiling, burning him badly despite the fire protection his magical ring provides. If he had not been wearing his protective ring, he would surely have been left near death by the flames.

It has become clear the statue protects something of great importance to the long-forgotten sun god, perhaps even the key to destroying the evil infesting the temple. However, guessing the answers will only get the party killed. They must find the answers to pass the statue's test, or they may never leave this place alive...