The princess and her grateful husband to-be, Prince Harith, invite the party to their wedding, but they respectfully decline, as Firouz is anxious to get back to his palace and find his beloved. The party and sultan-turned-Beholder set out for the palace. Rolonda, however, is not feeling well and decides to stay in Marsember for the time being. Along the way Firouz realizes he is starting to remember how to use his Beholder abilities again, this knowledge having been ripped from his mind when the curse was reversed.
Some time later, the party arrives at the palace, its grounds still cursed by the evil Nazir. The statue of the water elemental in the courtyard's fountain stands arid, the water that used to flow forth quelled by the curse. Tiron casts Remove Curse at the statue. Suddenly pure water bursts forth from the statue's mouth, along with a black gem, which Tiron takes. The party enters the palace itself and makes its way to the Mirror of Desire.
"This is how I originally traveled to and brought Aurelia back with me," the Beholder related. "It will show me my truest desire." The reflection in the mirror coalesces into a forbidding desert vista with a large obsidian rock jutting out of the sands.
"Can't you pinpoint her location any more than that?" Delf asks.
"No," replies the Beholder. "All I can tell you is she's somewhere in that rock, probably either in Nazir's observatory or laboratory. An important note: Aurelia is wearing a ring of three wishes. We must get that ring before Nazir realizes what it is! Are you ready?"
The party steadies themselves and one by one steps through the mirror, little realizing that three of them will die at the hands of the evil that is Nazir.
The party appears in a blisteringly hot landscape with the rock face some distance away. Lucklily Tiron is able to cast Endure Heat on each of the party members, and they are able to make it to the rock face without incident.
The mile-wide rock face offers no visible signs of ingress. The Beholder seems to remember a hidden opening and leads the party there. Delf places his hand on, and then through, the spot to which the Beholder led them. It turns out the passage is too narrow for the Beholder to fit through, however. He tells the party he will look for another opening above and flies up toward the top of the rock face.
The party inches its way along the narrow corridor until about forty feet in their way is blocked by a fifteen-foot deep pit. They eventually manage to cross the twenty-five-foot long chasm, and find the corridor on its other side has now widened to a much more comfortable five feet. The party starts up the wider corridor, coming to a door after about a half a mile of steady upslope.
Raven unlocks the door and steps into a thirty- by forty-foot room, its walls smooth and unadorned, and its floor covered with random red and yellow geometric patterns. Raven's eyes widen as a Chimera forms from mid-air, directly in front of her! The Chimera has three heads. Glowing amber eyes from the black goat's head are set just below ochre horns. The brown lion's head's green eyes narrow menacingly. The fierce dragon's head is covered in orange scales, its black eyes focussed on the startled Elf. The Chimera's huge black dragon wings flutter and its lion's forequarters and goat's hindquarters tense up as the dragon's head breathes fire on poor Raven! Raven falls back, temporarily stunned by the vicious assault, giving Cel time to jump in the room and swing at and hit the goat's head with her long sword. The goat's head retaliates, its teeth sinking into Cel's arm. Raphael, third in line, bursts into room, four Magic Missiles from his fingertips striking the Chimera. The Chimera, focusing on Cel, attacks and hits her again, just as Fugnus rushes into the room and hits the dragon's head with his battle axe. The Chimera, outraged and in pain, screams. Its screams are cut short as volleys of Magic Missiles from both Raphael and Raven finally kill the creature.
Finding nothing else of interest, the party crosses the room and opens the copper door at its other side. A stairwell leads up to natural light. At the top of the stairwell is a beautiful garden, 150 feet wide. At its center is a peach tree, under which reclines a beautiful woman. Three doors are set in the garden's stone walls, ninety degrees apart from each other. Paths connect each of the doors and the opening where the party is now to the tree and the beautiful woman, who sits up as she sees the party approach.
As they draw closer to the tree, the party notices several gardeners lethargically tending to the grounds and several snakes slithering through the foliage. ("Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?!")
"Welcome, visitors!" the woman greets the party. "What brings you to my beautiful garden?"
"Beautiful?" Cel thinks. While the rest of the party sees a flourishing garden, Cel sees a dilapidated garden, overgrown with weeds. "I guess beauty really is in the eye of the beholder..."
"Greetings!" Raven replies. "We are looking for a woman, encased in crystal. Do you know of her?"
"No," the woman furrows her brow. "I can't say as I do. By the way, my name's Melody," she says, batting her eyelashes at the party. Brau'ni, Fugnus, and Tiron are able to resist her charms, but Delf and Raphael fall prey and are immediately enraptured with the beautiful woman.
"Well, if you can't help us, we'll be moving on," says Raven, unaware of what has happened to Delf and Raphael.
"Leave? So soon? Why, we've hardly had a chance to talk!" Delf says.
"I agree!" Raphael chimes in. "We don't want to appear rude to our gracious host!"
"Here, have a peach!" Melody offers a peach to Delf, who takes a bite. He immediately becomes as lethargic as the gardeners. Tiron offers Delf a drink. Delf gulps it down and perks back up, but, before anyone can react, takes another bite of the peach! Tiron again gives a him a drink of his Elixir of Health, then slaps the peach of of his hand.
Meanwhile, Cel has finally gotten a good look at the woman and has learned she is not a woman at all! She is a woman from the waist up, but where her legs should be is a slithering snake! She quickly whispers this information to Tiron, who utters Command Word: Sleep at Melody, who immediately falls fast asleep. The party ties and gags the "woman" and is able to break the charms on Delf and Raphael and proceed out of the "garden", though one of the doors in its rock wall.
As soon as Raven enters the room on the other side of the door, four crystalline statues of fierce warriors animate and attack the party! Two of the warriors attack Raven, one hitting her with its scimitar. Brau'ni comes to her aid, striking one with his battle axe. Raphael carefully lines up two of the warriors and lightning bolts them, killing them both. Raven eliminates one of the two remaining warriors with three Magic Missiles, just as the other slashes Delf with his scimitar. Delf's long sword makes short work of his attacker.
Just as the party catches its breath, six more warriors appear from the eerily-lit chamber visible just beyond the room! A well-placed lightning bolt from Raphael dwindles their number to just two, and Brau'ni and Delf are able to quickly dispatch the other two.
The party enters an octagonal room, one hundred feet across. A ramp along its perimeter spirals upward one hundred feet and down into a pit, from which emanates a huge white flame. Along the room's walls are crystalline pods, the majority of which contain people, unmoving. Delf peers down into the pit and sees four men there. Three are wearing white robes and are watching a badly injured man approach the crystalline flame. The man steps into the flame and emerges a moment later, his wounds completely healed! The four men start up the ramp, towards the party. Delf places an arrow in his bow, draws it back, and shoots it at the man who was just healed, hitting him full in the chest. The man looks up at Delf, and with an evil smile, pulls the arrow out of his chest!
"You can't hurt me! Not after what the white flame..." The man's face turns ashen and he falls to the ground, the poison from the arrow coursing through his system.
Brau'ni grimaces as an arrow from one of the robed men embeds itself in his shoulder. He suddenly feels woozy but manages to shake off the effects of the poison. Raven retaliates, striking the man with an arrow from her bow. Tiron casts Hold Person on the three of them, holding two. Magic Missiles from Raphael and a long sword from Cel fell the last enemy.
Tiron and Raven put on the robes and rings of the two held prisoners, then the party ties them up. Making sure they are secure, the party starts up the ramp, past hundreds of the crystalline pods. At its top, the ramp opens up into a corridor with two doors set in each wall and set of stairs rising upwards at its end. Delf starts to climb the stairs and suddenly notices that he seems to be shrinking! The stairs are becoming larger and larger, the last step before the huge door as tall as he is! He then realizes that this is an optical illusion, designed to fool the stairs' climber into believing he was shrinking! Delf finally reaches the door, and helps Raven, Brau'ni, Fugnus, and Raphael up. Cel and Tiron wait below. The double doors are made entirely of stone and are thirty feet high, augmenting the illusion. Delf tries to open the doors, but cannot, as the doors are either stuck or held somehow. Raven motions to everyone but Delf to get out of sight, and then casts Knock on the doors, opening them.
Seven identical men, dressed in black robes with golden sashes, holding crystal-headed staffs, stand behind a large marble table in the circular room. The room is 60 feet in diameter and appears to be Nazir's observatory. Its ceiling consists of crystal panels which offer a view of the clear blue sky above. A telescope points up at one of the panels. Opposite the room from the telescope is a glass bookcase, holding a crystal ball and many books. Delf's and Raven's attention is immediately drawn to the object behind the seven mirror images. It is a crystalline statue of a beautiful woman. Within her chest beats a heart-shaped red light. The woman is obviously Aurelia.
"Welcome to my abode. Please, come in!" Nazir smiles. Delf and Raven cautiously enter the room. "And you might as well tell your other friends to come in, as well." Brau'ni, Fugnus, and Raphael appear in the doorway. The five party members take up defensive positions along the wall centered on the door, each about ten feet from the other.
Gathering his courage, Delf addresses Nazir. "We have come on behalf of Firouz to free Aurelia from her crystalline prison."
"You? Free her?" Nazir gestures at the princess. "From me? I think not. After all, she is my daughter. Why should I give her up to you?"
"You've imprisoned her against her will," Raven chimes in.
"So? She is my daughter! I give you two choices: join me... or die. Choose wisely! I do not think you would last long in a fight against me! My crystal ball warned and prepared me for your coming."
"It must be hard to walk with a crystal ball..." Delf sneers.
"Enough! That insult will be your last!" Nazir roars. Delf dives for the relative cover of the telescope, but it is too late. He sees seven wizards gesture at him and suddenly feels himself changing. The world around him grows larger as he feels himself grow smaller. He know immediately that this is no optical illusion! When the transformation is complete Delf tries to speak. "Ribbit!" is all that comes out. Nazir has turned him into a frog! His mind still intact, Delf keeps the telescope between him and Nazir.
"Mmm... I'm in the mood for some frog legs," Nazir says as he licks his mouth.
"Delf!" Raven yells. Three Magic Missiles hit three of the images, eliminating two of them.
Nazir jerks away from the Delf Frog and gestures at Fugnus, who was just starting to advance on the wizard. Fugnus also turns into a frog but, unlike Delf, does not retain his mind. He is a frog in both mind and body!
Nazir then points his staff at Raven, who suddenly becomes six Ravens, momentarily confusing him, allowing time for her and Raphael to fling seven more Magic Missiles his way, eliminating all of his mirror images.
Cel charges into the room, leaps over the table, and hits Nazir with her long sword. Just as she is about to swing again, Nazir floats up out of her reach! Raphael and Raven unleash another volley of Magic Missiles at Nazir. Cel drops her long sword and shoots an arrow at the flying figure of Nazir, hitting him. Raphael hits Nazir with four more Magic Missiles.
"That's enough of out you!" Nazir bellows. He points the staff at Raphael, and a purple glittering cone projects from it, catching Raphael, the Fugnus Frog, and one of Raven's mirror images in its area of effect. The mirror image winks out, the Fugnus Frog is paralyzed, and Raphael shakes off the effects of the paralysis cone. Cel manages to hit Nazir with two more arrows. Tiron charges across the room, gets behind the statue and casts Darkness, concealing him, the statue, and the table. He tries to get to the statue, but is unable to, a force field blocking his way. Raven shoots an arrow at Nazir, hitting him, and just after that, Raphael lightning bolts him. Nazir has now sustained massive damage, but is still on his feet!
Suddenly a web appears by the door, catching Raphael, the Fugnus Frog, and one more of Raven's mirror images, which winks out. Nazir then swoops down to the telescope and scoops up the Delf Frog, placing him in one of his cloak's pockets. Raphael quickly goes wraith form and escapes the web.
Raven webs the telescope, catching Nazir, but only for a moment. Brau'ni is able to hit Nazir twice with his battle axe, and Raphael and Raven Magic Missile him again, but still the evil wizard does not go down!
Nazir points his staff at Brau'ni, striking the Dwarf with a Cone of Cold. Cel, seeing how weapons and spells are having little effect on Nazir, tries to wrestle him to the ground but fails. Brau'ni, following her lead, manages to tackle Nazir, but Nazir suddenly disappears out from under him just as he was trying to wrestle the wizard's staff away from him!
In the eye of the hurricane, Cel happens to glance up at the crystal-paned ceiling and spies the Beholder, floating above, oblivious to her. "This must be like a one-way mirror... he can't see us!" She rushes over to the telescope to try to find a way to open one of the panes of crystal.
Just as she reaches the telescope, a fireball erupts in the center of the web, vaporizing it. The Fugnus Frog is instantly killed, as it was entangled in the web. As it dies, it transforms into the body of a very charred Dwarf. All of Raven's remaining mirror images wink out and Raven herself is caught in its area of effect. Nazir appears in the doorway, now without a scratch on him. Raven manages to Magic Missile him yet again before another fireball detonates, this time in the room's center, burning everyone in it. Cel and Raven fall to the floor, but not before Cel had found a control to open one of the ceiling's crystal panes. In the confusion, the Delf Frog escapes from Nazir's pocket and hops out of the room.
The Beholder, floating above a strange domed structure, suddenly sees one its panes open and flames shoot out of the opening! He swoops down for a closer look, peers inside, and sees his beloved in her crystalline prison. "Aurelia!" he shouts, his voice somehow mixed with both joy and anger. He speeds in through the opening... and is repelled backwards by the force field guarding the dome. "Aurelia!" His huge central eye flashes once, dispelling the force field, and he swoops into the observatory.
"Firouz! Nice to see you!" Nazir sarcastically greets the Beholder. "I'll be with you in a minute!"
Brau'ni, now directly in front of Nazir, is once again engaged in combat with the evil wizard. Tiron casts Silence directly behind Brau'ni, hoping to at least stop Nazir from casting any spells requiring verbal components. Nazir, momentarily taken aback, falls prey to two more Magic Missile volleys from Raphael. Nazir casts levitate on Brau'ni, who immediately floats up to the ceiling. Raphael casts Light on Nazir's eyes, blinding him.
"Now you're making me angry!" Nazir snarls. With that, another fireball erupts in the room, once again catching everyone in its area of effect. Raphael falls to the ground. Brau'ni, helpless, is still conscious as Nazir nullifies Raphael's Light spell.
Tiron, the Shard of Midnight protecting him from most of the fire damage, rushes over to Cel, the only one he can see is still breathing, and revives her.
"Firouz! It has come down to this, a showdown between you and me. And do know what's ironic? If you kill me, Aurelia dies. If I you, she lives!" Firouz hesitates. What if he's telling the truth?
Tiron seizes the opportunity and quickly carries Cel out of the room, his destination the crystalline flame at the bottom of the ramp.
The Beholder, breaking through his doubt and hesitation, levitates Nazir up into the air, and telekineses the startled wizard roughly into the wall. Shaken, Nazir regains his feet, scowling at the smiling Beholder in front of him.
Tiron, having reached the bottom of the ramp, stands Cel up and asks her to walk into the flame. She does and is instantly rejuvenated back to full health. Tiron follows her. They decide to search the rest of the complex to look for something they can use against Nazir.
"All right, Firouz. That does it!" Nazir exclaims and points his staff at the Beholder. The spell has no effect, however, as the Beholder's giant eye cancels out the magic. "Let's see how long you can keep that up!" He points his staff again and once again it has no effect, except to cancel the Levitate on Brau'ni, who crashes to the floor. Brau'ni, in desperate need of healing, leaves the room.
Cel and Tiron enter the garden and approach Melody along the path to avoid the snakes in the foliage. She is much less hospitable this time, refusing to let them pass. She quickly coils herself around Tiron and starts to squeeze the life out of him. Cel hits Melody with her long sword and Tiron is able break free with a burst of super-human strength. Suddenly the snakes in the garden start to converge on them! The cobras spit at them, but they manage to make it to one of doors and slam it shut behind them.
The door has opened into dark corridor, a single door at its opposite end. Walking down the corridor, they sense something hovering around them, but can't quite make out what it is. Cel takes a swing with her long sword and hits something. The something hits back, striking Cel with a rush a air. Tiron casts Darkness to even the odds a bit, but even so, Cel and Tiron are no match for the Invisible Stalkers and after a few minutes drop to the ground, hoping to sneak out of the corridor under the cover of darkness. Tiron hears Cel gasp, feels around for her, and manages to pull her out of the corridor (frying pan) and into the garden beyond (fire). He quickly chants a scroll of Cure Serious Wounds and revives her, then drinks a potion of Invisibility. He runs across the garden to the door leading to the crystalline flame. He somehow makes it across without being bitten or spat upon, then descends the ramp to the pit, where he runs into Brau'ni. The three adventurers walk into the flame, restoring them back to full health. Just as they're ready to start up the ramp, the Invisible Stalkers attack! They are quickly dispatched, each one's life ending with a loud rush of air. Steeling themselves, Brau'ni, Cel, and Tiron head up the ramp to the observatory.
They pause at the observatory door. They hear a muted conversation between the two, then a loud crash and Nazir's triumphant voice. "Now I've got you!" They rush into the room. A large piece of the dome has crashed down upon the stunned Beholder. Nazir points his staff at his enemy, his magic-nullifying eye no longer pointed at the staff, and blasts the Beholder with a Cone of Cold.
Brau'ni, Cel, and Tiron rush Nazir, but he just manages to dodge their assault. Cel swings her long sword and strikes the wizard just as he is pointing his staff at her. Tiron takes advantage of this and jumps him, pinning him to the floor. Brau'ni quickly grabs the staff from the helpless wizard's hands. Suddenly a string of words flood his mind, command words for the staff! Cel quickly gags and ties Nazir up, then knocks him out for good measure. A ring, bracers, and scimitar are taken from the unconscious wizard. The Delf Frog hops back into the room.
Looking for a way to free Aurelia, Cel goes over to the glass bookcase but finds it locked. The Beholder floats over to it and uses his disintegration beam on its door. Cel takes a book containing a bookmark and opens it. The Beholder reads the text there. "Amazing! This explains what Nazir did. He transferred his own heart to the statue. That's why he seemed unaffected by all of the damage we inflicted on him. He couldn't be harmed while his heart wasn't in his body." Cel feels Nazir's chest and, sure enough, does not feel a heartbeat!
The Beholder reads some more text. "That's what he meant by 'kill me and you kill Aurelia.' The only way to kill him is to destroy his heart. If we would have done that, we would have killed Aurelia. If I take down the force field surrounding Aurelia, his heart should transfer back to his body." As the Beholder focuses his giant eye on his beloved, the force field winks out, Aurelia turns from crystal to flesh as the red heart fades out, then back to crystal as Nazir suddenly shudders. Cel feels his chest again and detects a thready heartbeat.
Cel gets up, walks over to Aurelia and retrieves the ring of wishes.
"Gather everything you want to take back with you. When you restore Aurelia, we will be instantly teleported back to my palace." Brau'ni and Tiron sadly gather their dead comrades while Cel pockets the Delf Frog.
Choosing her words carefully, Cel speaks. "I wish to revoke the curse of Nazir upon Firouz and Aurelia."
Wisps of pure energy swirl around them, and Firouz and Aurelia are transformed back to their human selves. With a bright flash of light, everyone is teleported back to the palace.
"Thank you! Oh, thank you!" Aurelia hugs each of them. "Here, I insist you take this ring to revive your fallen comrades."
There are choices in life, but this one falls into a category of its own. The party has two wishes, but three dead friends. They choose to revive Raphael and Raven.
Firouz then tells the party that he cannot reverse Delf's transformation. Only the caster of the spell can do that.
Saddened by their losses, but happy for Firouz and Aurelia, our heroes settle down for a well-deserved long night's sleep.