*The Final Enemy

Beyond the gate is a long, quite narrow room of plain-dressed stone. Four pillars are equally spaced north-south. To your right, along the foot of the east wall, there appears to be a shallow trough cut into the stone floor. This is slightly stained in various places and traces of a brownish liquid shine wetly in the light you are casting. The trough appears to run the full length of this wall.

To your left, along the west wall, a large number of lengths of chain are attached to the wall at waist height, each length with a manacle at its other end. These chains occur in pairs, and again there seem to be chains along the entire length of the west wall.

In the corner huddles a bearded, disheveled, and emaciated figure; a human male.

The man is so weak as to be unable to stand under his own power. He collapses as soon as his legs are under him. "Water..." he says pleadingly.

"My name? My... name is... Elmo. Thank you," he says, drinking gratefully.

The keys do free the old man, but he seems too weak to eat.

A brief examination of the old man proves that he would likely not survive the trip of extraction. He grips Blind Monkey's arm weakly. "Please... listen. No time. Sent by Prince... strange things here. We came in... saw monsters. Captured... others killed... put to work."

"Monsters..." the man continues. "Not fish-things," he says, pointing at the lizard men. "Sent by Prince... Prince... Monmurg. Came in... through... sea cave. Where... others? Killed by monsters."

Alas, it would seem that the man is too far gone for the cure disease alone to be effective.

Elmo's eyes begin to lose their luster and his lips move though no sound comes from them. With surprising strength, he grips Blind Monkey's arm and whispers something to the monk.

With that, his limbs grow slack and the light fades from his eyes. His body goes limp and a deep gurgling comes from somewhere within his throat.