Blibdoolpoolp rises. His movements are stiff. He turns and begins walking toward one of the cathedral's side passages. You follow. The crab is still in your hands. Nyphl drifts beside you. A soft purple glow in the dimness.

The high priest leads you through halls you know well by now. The graceful arches stretch overhead. Their Elvish carvings are worn smooth by time and water. Your footsteps echo against old stone. The kuo-toa's webbed feet make wet slapping sounds.

You pass through what was once a grand entrance hall. The ceiling is high above. Lost in shadow. Columns line the walls. Each one is carved with script you can almost read. Almost. But not quite. The letters swim before your eyes when you try to focus on them.

Then the building changes.

The elegant drow stonework gives way to rough tunnel walls. These passages are new. Crude. The kuo-toa have been busy. Very busy. You notice support beams made from old wood. Tool marks scar the stone. The air grows damper. Colder.

Leo had never actually told them to start mining. He is certain of that. He had simply mentioned once that the deep places often held treasures. And the kuo-toa had taken those words and built an entire digging operation around them. They always did this. Always took his smallest comments and made them into grand missions.

It would be funny if it were not so unsettling.

The tunnel slopes down. Water begins to pool on the floor. First just puddles. Then shallow streams. Then ankle deep. The sound of dripping echoes from everywhere.

Blibdoolpoolp does not slow. He wades through the water with ease. You follow more carefully. The stone beneath is slippery. Uneven.

[b]"Not far now, Great One,"[/b] the high priest croaks over his shoulder. [b]"Just ahead. You will see. You will see what Your wisdom has brought us."[/b]

The tunnel opens suddenly into a cavern.

You stop.

The sight before you is stunning.

The cavern is large. Perhaps thirty feet across. The ceiling is low. Barely ten feet overhead. Stalactites hang down like teeth. But you barely notice these details.

Because the [i]stones[/i] are there.

They sit in the far corner of the cavern where the water is shallowest. A dozen of them. Maybe more. Each one is perfectly round. Or nearly so. Crystal orbs that catch and hold the faint light from Nyphl's glow.

They are indeed as large as a kuo-toa's head.

The surface of each stone is smooth. Perfect. You can see no cracks. No flaws. Just pure crystal that seems to glow from within. That glow shifts as you watch. Blue. Then green. Then back to blue. Soft colors that swirl beneath the surface like oil on water.

They are beautiful.

They look [i]valuable[/i].

The crab in your hands shifts. Its legs click against your palms. The sound seems very loud in the sudden silence.

Blibdoolpoolp spreads his arms wide. [b]"Behold!"[/b] he croaks. [b]"The treasures You led us to! The gifts of the deep! The Mother of Pearl's blessing made real!"[/b]

His voice echoes off the cavern walls. The sound bounces back strange. Wrong.

You take a step closer. The water around your feet ripples.

Nyphl's glow flickers. Just once. But enough that you notice.

[b]"Are they not magnificent, Great SHOOGBIMBHALD?"[/b] Blibdoolpoolp asks. His bulging eyes gleam with pride. [b]"Shall we begin harvesting them for Your glory?"[/b]

The crab in your hands goes very still.

[hr]

[b]What does SHOOGBIMBHALD do?[/b]