Continuing to explore, WarFire bashed down the next door he came to, entering into the quarters of naked, dirty gnomes. Their "King" arrived shortly, demanding fealty, but WarFire convinced him that he was royalty. Welcoming "DwarfFire" as a guest, the party was fed heartily with fish and mushroom soup. Their dining hall had a large curtain, depicting a forest scene. The gnomes explained that they were driven away from their homelands, some of their kin had become possessed by demons and had turned on the rest. Their homeland lay "a weeks march towards the sun".
The party also learned of the presence of a Lizard Temple. The reptiles therein have been giving the gnomes trouble, and the party offered to rid them of this threat in exchange for a gem, or the tame pet giant rat. Elkin easily dispatches the lizards with his War Horn of Elfland. The temple turns out to be dedicated to Yila-Keranuz. Nearby writing states: "PRAY FOR THE BENEDICTION OF KEZEK. THE BLESSED MAY PASS THE FALL AND COME TO THE DEEP SHRINE."
Consulting Huugal-Barath, the sentient skull states that the "Lizard tomb" he reference before is supposed to be just a name, and not that there are lizards there. He also revealed that his king is named Onber, and that the black skeletons are Knights of the Sharp Rose. He also seemed confused.
Returning to the gnomes, the gnomish King tells the party they can stay if they want. He asks to show Ecix something, and the two disappear behind the green curtain. Ecix is rewarded with the sight of a stump, with a twisted face, and rotten roots branching out. Bones lay in the corners covered in red candles, and the floor lay strewn with blood. A dead dwarf lay there as well, being violated by the stump's roots.
The stump demands Ecix give fealty to it, "Pledge yourself to Nabalu!". Ecix resists, upon which the stump seems to get angry, and its voice carried down the entire hall, "Infidels! Seize them!"