You stagger to your feet and turn to face the Arch Druid. The shock of what he has witnessed has left him open-mouthed and drained of colour. He is mumbling incoherently and trembling with fear. You take up your weapon and advance towards him, determined to rid Magnamund of this vile druid once and for all, but the sight of you drawing closer snaps him out of his trauma and galvanizes him into action. He weaves his hands before his face and, in an instant, he is shrouded in a cocoon of light. You strike out at the light but your weapon passes clean through it, meeting with no resistance. Then the light fades and you are left standing alone in the druid's empty throne room.
The overpowering aura of evil that filled this room has now vanished. You close your eyes and, for a few seconds, you allow your Magnakai sense of Divination to analyze the psychic residues lingering at the place where Exterminus disappeared. Shapes take form in your mind and, in a moment of chilling discovery, you fathom the secret of the crystal sphere.
The sphere was not of this world. It was fashioned in the Plain of Darkness, the domain of Naar, King of all that is Evil. Through the sphere the Dark God maintained contact with Arch Druid Cadak, directing him to fulfil his schemes of vengeance. The destruction of the sphere has rid your world of a terrible device, a channel through which the concentrated Evil of Naar had been allowed to pour unchecked.
You open your eyes once more and a feeling of well-being envelops your senses, as if you have just awoken after a deep and refreshing sleep (restore 8 ENDURANCE points). A rustling sound draws your keen eyes towards the tapestry from where Exterminus appeared; it is crumbling to pieces. As the rotting scraps of material fall away, a portal is revealed through which you glimpse a scene that revives your hopes for your quest's success.
Through the wide opening in the chamber wall there is a gallery which overlooks a vast windowless hall. You approach the gallery's railed parapet and stare down at a score of druids who are working at tiled tables positioned in rows across the floor. Upon some tables rest porcelain troughs filled with oily fluids which seethe beneath a constant shower of electrical sparks. Other tables support dozens of glass boxes of differing sizes. The smallest contain rats; the largest contain horses. Hundreds of pipes and tubes run around the walls, feeding a supply of fluids and gasses to the experiment tables. The fumes rising from this diabolical laboratory sting your eyes, but you ignore the discomfort and continue your observations, eager to take in every detail of the evil work which is taking place below. It is not long before you recognize that this hall is where the deadly plague virus, and its vaccine, are being produced.
You know that you must act with all haste for Arch Druid Cadak is still alive and, wherever he is at present, you can be sure he is plotting to capture or kill you, probably both. Below lies that which you have come here to destroy. But how will you accomplish your task? Relentlessly the seconds tick by as you try to formulate a plan. Then you see something which sparks an idea. The pipes that feed fluids to the laboratory's disposal tanks are connected to a massive cauldron suspended from the ceiling by a winch and chains. You focus upon a plaque fixed to the side of this great vat and magnify your vision until you can read what has been engraved upon it. With grim satisfaction you read the words: 'Danger--Concentrated Acid'.