As Aelwen calls upon her inner reserves, a bright healing light shoots out and envelopes the shadow.  It emits a soul-piercing scream as its form is violently ripped apart.<br/><br/>And then all is quiet, again.<br/><br/>Aelwen feels slightly weakened by the touch, but she can still shoulder on.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">Aelwen's Strength is now at 11, but given that she won't suffer any penalties until she drops to 8 Strength, it's not something to worry about right now.  She is at 5 out of 6 hit points, though.<br/><br/>For dispersing the shadow, Aelwen gets 120 experience points; 15% bonus makes it 138, for a total of 173 (plus potentially more soon from that 570 gp!).</div></div><br/>The walls, ceilings, and floors of the room the shadow came from (room 11) was cloaked in a shimmering black wet substance.  Which in fact seems to be slowly receding over time; perhaps the death of the shadow cleansed the room of its taint!<br/><br/>As the substance clears away, Aelwen spots a half-circle fountain in the back of the room, now long-dry.  The statue of a woman holding an overturned jug stands on a podium right by the wall.<br/><br/><br/><strong>Room 4:</strong>This chamber is a circular gallery of portraits.  They portray scenes of primordial beauty, from a proud antlered deer overlooking a grand view on a rocky outcropping; a satyr playing pan-pipes as woodland creatures frolic about; an elven shrine of marble columns with grass and vines overrunning the complex; and a spider weaving a night-time web illuminated by the light of a full moon.  Unfortunately the paintings have been dented and marred in parts, severely reducing their value (30 gold pieces for the whole set).<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Treasure Count so far</div><div class="spoiler_body">Aelwen can remove the paintings from their frames and roll them up.  Combined with the jewelry from earlier, she has 600 gp worth of treasure so far.</div></div><br/><strong>Room 12:</strong>This room's ceiling looks not unlike a starry night.  The "stars" shine down and provide faint illumination in the room.  An inscription on a stone tablet in the center reads in the Common tongue:<br/><br/><em>"Welcome to the Spring of Wisdom.  The goddess Amaluth watches this place, willing to share her insight with those deemed worthy enough.  Proceed forth, and if your offerings are true, then the oracles will share their visions with you.</em><br/><br/>Aelwen recognizes Amaluth as one of the Norns, fatespinners who weave the destiny of the world in a vast web.  It is said that by tugging on the strings they can get a reading on individual portents, and peer into what has already happened in the annals of history.<br/><br/><strong>Room 13:</strong>This central area is home to a concentric circular arrangement of chairs surrounding a crystal ball.  Overhead on the south wall is a magnificent fresco of the Norns, women of varying age (from the features of a young maiden to the wizened form of an elderly crone) casting out threads to form the sun, the sky, the stars, and the earth.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">Aelwen is unable to find the secret door here.  If she wants to proceed further into the dungeon, she must find an external mechanism in one of the other rooms. (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=65966)</div></div><br/><strong>Room 14:</strong>This small room contains a small assortment of robes, all blue and marked with a gold four-pointed star on the left breast.  Aelwen recognizes them as priestly garments traditionally worn by those who sought to please the gods and spirits.<br/><br/><strong>Room 20:</strong>This room is lined with rows of bunk beds, clearly a living space for the springs' former inhabitants.  A meticulous search here finds a lever behind one of the bunk beds.  When pulled, the sound of something moving can be heard in Room 13.  Going back to check Aelwen finds that the fresco now depicts a hole in the earth which is actually the hallway of Room 17.  There's a painting at the south end which blends with the fresco of Room 13 to make it look like an underground cave.<br/><br/><em>Where does Aelwen go next?</em>