Chapter 12 - Asylum

The adventure begins as the PCs travel to Orthrys, the first layer of Carceri. To prevent the Cagewright menace from returning, the characters must destroy Adimarchus, the inspiring force behind the organisation. Traveling to Carceri, the PCs confront Adimarchus in the howling halls of Skullrot, hoping to rid the multiverse of his deranged designs forever.

Chapter 11 - Strike on Shatterhorn

The heroes have thwarted the Cagewright's machinations, and all seems well again in the Cauldron region. Even if Cauldron was partially destroyed by a volcanic explosion, the characters helped save the lives of most of its citizens. Until the town can be rebuilt, the Cauldronite refugees are able to find food, water, and temporary shelter near the villages of Redgorge and Kingfisher Hollow. Various churches and organizations join forces to help the refugees, including the churches of Kord and St. Cuthbert, the Striders of Fharlanghn, and the Chisel (a secret alliance of wealthy merchants). Agents from the neighboring city of Sasserine have started to arrive to ascertain the damage, gather information, and distribute additional provisions as needed. The characters may choose to help with the relief efforts, but before long they are approached by Jenya Urikas, the high priestess of the Churh of St. Cuthbert.

 Justice must be served to those responsible for the chaos in Cauldron. Using divination spells, Jenya determines that the surviving Cagewrights have withdrawn to their hidden stronghold under the ruins of Shatterhorn. She asks the heroes to serve Cauldron once more by disposing of the remaining Cagewrights before they can do more harm. The characters should have no trouble reaching Shatterhorn, where they find the ruins overrun with half-mad creatures and Cagewrights. By the time the heroes find Embril Aloustinai, she has abandoned her faith in Wee Jas and pledged her eternal devotion to Nerull. Consumed by a mad desire to free Adimarchus, the converted cleric hopes that an appropriate sacrifice can persuade Nerull to permit Adimarchus's escape from Carceri (for Nerull, it seems, has the power to come and go from Carceri as he pleases).

Chapter 10 - Thirteen Cages

After having evacuated the town, the PCS meet with Jenya on the outskirts of Cauldron. She tells them how to reach the Cagewrights (her divinations proved moderately successful), and that they have mere hours before a terrible event is completed that endangers them all.

The characters then travel into the heart of the volcano beneath Cauldron. They battle demands and eight members of the Thirteen before meeting the mastermind behind the Cagewright's plot, a sinister, malformed demodand named Dyr'ryd. After defeating him, they must deactivate or destroy the Tree of Shackled Souls, which could have dire consequences of its own if not handled delicately.

Chapter 9 - Foundation of Flame

After recovering from previous adventures, the PCs receive a message from Jenya Urikas, the high priestess of St. Cuthbert. The message is an invitation to meet with the most influential nobles of Cauldron to determine the fate of the city and set a new course for its leadership.

During this meeting, a raving derro sorcerer and his berserker minions attack, seeking to further strike a blow against the city's leadership. After defeating the ferro, the PCs conclude their bussiness and see to the wounded.

Shortly thereafter, the earthquakes begin. More tremors follow, growing worse and worse as time passes. The PCs must assist in the evacuation of all of Cauldron's citizens. This harrowing process must proceed despite the PCs' knowledge that the Cagewrights are likely behind the earthquakes. As they nearly complete their task, a terrible visitor arrives in Cauldron to add to the chaos... the fearsome red dragon Hookface, angry after being awakened from a 50-year sleep!

Chapter 8 - Lords of Oblivion

Dark clouds fill the sky, reflecting the somber mood of the troubled townsfolk. Severen Navalant, the lord mayor, is missing and presumed dead. Contingents of mercenaries help the local militia patrol the streets, quelling riots and keeping order in the name of Navalant's self-appointed successor, Lord Orbius Vhalanthru. However, not everyone is pleased with the change in leadership. Raised taxes and a sharp increase in criminal activity have fueled rumors that Cauldron's leaders are corrupt or simply incompetent.

Cauldron's woes notwithstanding, the heroes might have good cause to suspect Lord Vhalanthru of evildoing. He has so far remained an enigma, sequestering himself within his estate and rarely venturing into the public eye. The Striders of Fharlanghn, who seek to locate and eradicate the Cagewrights, suspect that Vhalanthru knows something about the Cagewrights' activities. The Striders have been spying on Vhalanthru ever since the lord mayor disappeared, but they have learned precious little.

The adventure begins when members of the Last Laugh thieves' guild capture one of the Striders of Fharlanghn, a half-elf named Skiriol Slyblade, who was watching the estates of Lord Vhalanthru and Lady Rhiavadi. Unknown to the Last Laugh, Skiriol is linked telepathically by a Rary's telepathic bond spell to Meerthan Eliothlorn, leader of the Striders in Cauldron. Meerthan asks the heroes to rescue Skiriol from the Last Laugh safe house, where he is being interrogated. The heroes must overcome the safe house's traps and rogues to reach Skiriol. They must also contend with a villain from their past - a rogue named Jil. In exchange for her freedom, Jil provides the heroes with information about a secret gathering at Lady Rhiavadi's estate - a meeting where the Cagewrights' plans for Cauldron will be fully revealed.

The heroes might infiltrate House Rhiavadi or find some other means of entry. Once inside the estate, they must contend with Lady Thifirane Rhiavadi and her guests, including the Last Laugh guildmaster, a notorious tiefling slaver, a cleric of Nerull from the nearby city of Sasserine, an unscrupulous  dwarven merchant, and a vampire from the Unerdark. If things go horribly awry, Thifirane flees to Oblivion, a subterranean sanctuary where Vhalanthru is making final preparations for the ritual that will transform him into a Tarterian beholder.

Chapter 7 - Secrets of the Soul Pillars

The PCs arrive in Cauldron to find it greatly changed. Powerful contingents of mercenaries patrol the streets, keeping order in the name of Lord Orbius Vhalanthru, the acting ruler of the city since the mayor's sudden absence. These mercenaries have succeeded at keeping order, but fear and suspicion grows with each passing week as the citizens gain no relief from the increased taxes. Rumor and speculation run wild through the city even as the mercenaries crack down viciously on any signs of trouble, ostensibly to prevent further riots.

Before the characters have a chance to react to these changes, they find themselves beset by the growing malignancy within the city. Three well-trained and well)equipped assassins, enhanced by powerful magic, strike at the PCs. Should the heroes survive, some quick detective work and divinatory magic leads them to the Cathedral of Wee Jas. After dealing with its defenders, the characters discover a strange artefact. This is a soulcage, built by the Cathedral's leaders in alliance with the Cagewrights, and it yields clear clues that some dangerous and powerful conspiracy is at work within the city. Further research leads the group deep beneath the city to an ancient ruin made by spell weavers, an ancient race that made this region their home before disappearing forever several centuries ago. The enigmatic creatures built a horrific underground complex dedicated to researching a strange combination of necromancy and cold magic.

The complex is a great repository of powerful lore, but it is filled with horrors of its own. A powerful Cagewright loremaster still resides in the complex along with his undead servants, continuing the research that first led the Cagewrights to the soulcages and the gate ritual that their construction enables. Worse, the final chamber is guarded by a dracolich named Vittriss Bale. Once the characters have defeated these deadly guardians, they can study the strange lore preserved by the spell weaver's magic and learn of the Cagewrights' terrible plans.

Chapter 6 - Test of the Smoking Eye

The dying paladin Alek Tercival demands that the players "seek the sign of the Smoking Eye". Kaurophon arrives on the scene within moments and takes the PCs to Occipitus, promising answers that may save Cauldron's residents from foretold doom.

Kaurophon convinces the characters to undertake the Test of the Smoking Eye, which takes them first to the ruins of a celestial cathedral. From there the test takes them to strange, organic tubes that lead inside the half-skull that is Occipitus's most prominent feature. There they meet Saureya, who tells them more about the nature of the test Kaurophon has urged them to undertake. Finally, the characters confront the final test at the center of Occipitus, deal with Kaurophon's hidden agenda, and decide the future fate of the layer.