Mustering your courage, you swam across the lake, intrigued by a sign warning of a place called Zynth Hole. There, you came to a hideout overflowing with duergar. You killed many, and retreated. One of the acolytes of the Faceless Ones came to parley with you, warning you to turn back. He looked alarmed upon seeing Miguel, speaking of “the beast who wears the symbol of . . .”. He did not finish his thought, and you did not allow him to return to his comrades when he tried to leave, killing him.
You turned away from Zynth Hole, searching elsewhere for Xruesgrim. Eventually, you found it. The snirfnebli seemed to be expecting you, and took you to their leader, Sebo, Lord of Illusions.
Sebo spoke of an ancient book, the Tome of Ages. When he went to show it to you, he was dismayed to learn that it was gone. He suspected that it had been stolen by the duergar, who had captured a deep gnome scouting party, and threatened to kill them if Sebo did not turn over the Tome.
Sebo told you that the tome was given to the deep gnomes in ages past, in the hopes that they might decipher it. They did decipher it enough to learn that it was written even before the time of Karom, when an ancient deity walked the earth. This deity, one who took the faces of others for his own, was said to be the father, the one who spawned the other evil deities. He was eventually destroyed or perhaps just disappeared, but the story of his demise was lost to the annals of time. The tome was written by the deity himself, and foresaw his own potential destruction. It spoke in part of ways to return him to this world. The spoke of information ancillary to that purpose. Specifically, it revealed the locations of some of his hidden temples, and wrote of a way to raise his temples from destruction so that he would have a residence when he returned.
After hearing this, you overcame your distrust of Sebo, at least enough to watch him suspiciously while he worked on Alantha Chath in the Forge of Fate. After a few minutes of work, he returned the dagger to you. It was glowing white, and he told you that only the tip of its power had been revealed. He gave you one piece of advice, telling you that in times of great peril, you should raise the dagger above your head and speak the words “Melinkur Skiwirn,” and you would be taken to safety. He warned you to use it wisely, though, for, if it was used in a time that was not most peril, you could be taken to more danger instead. He also said this special power could only be called upon once every full moon.
You now stand with Sebo, deciding how you will proceed to recover the Tome of Ages, and perhaps save the captured deep gnomes, if they still live.