Lady Vestang held a large masquerade ball at her manor in a desert oasis. At the party it was revealed that she had strange people on display in a large cage. They were pale, with abnormally large eyes and appeared human otherwise. Drinks were served and the bard, Olivia, was drugged. A group of goblins, lead by a large hobgoblin, invaded the party. Many guests, including the Marchioness herself, were kidnapped and taken off towards the desert. The adventure party fought hard to survive, but were unable to entirely prevent the kidnapping from occurring. They went to find transportation and found camels in the courtyard and a monk hanging around nearby. They all decided to band together and cross the desert in an attempt to bring back the marchioness and her guests.

The party traveled across the desert where they met a (mostly) friendly young dragon, fought hyenas and snakes, and were caught by surprise by an oasis haunted by a desicator. Upon finally reaching the ruins of the Lost City they discovered a goblin encampment where the Marchioness’s guests were being rushed into a ziggurat. The hobgoblin leader notices the group atop a rise and orders his goblins to loose a volley of arrows that all miss. He hollers something and a woman dressed entirely in gold raiment steps out of a large tent and beckons the hobgoblin and another soldier to join her as she strides out to defeat the party. The woman is named Neheshru, and she is a priestess of Zargon. Her and her group fight the adventuring party. It’s a close fight but Neheshru falls and the goblins scatter to the winds. The party is successful at rescuing the Marchioness and what remains of her masquerade guests. They all make it safely back to the oasis and are treated to food, unpoisoned drinks, and a well deserved rest.

In the morning, the Marchioness propositions the group to complete and archaeological expedition to the ziggurat to discover what happened to the civilization that built it. After much negotiating, the party accepts the job and head back out into the desert with supplies and a guide. Upon their first night of rest they realize the ‘guide’ is actually an archeologist who doesn’t know anything and he discovers they are not guards, and not much better than untried mercenaries. They travel much of the next day before a stand storm rolls in and they have to seek shelter. The storm passes and they exit their tent to discover that most of their supplies are lost. They struggle to the ziggurat and find their way inside.

The party discovers the place appears mostly empty except for strange monsters, booby traps, and fake gods. The archaeologist doesn’t make it far before being devoured by a giant gecko in one of the chambers. They continue their way along the inner dungeon and run into strange people who belong to various cults and seem slightly delusional about their surroundings. They claim their city is below the pyramid but can offer no help to the adventurers and barely can communicate either way. The adventurers manage to maneuver through on their own, in-fighting abounds at every turn, but somehow are currently on the fourth tier which appears to contain mosaics detailing specific scenes in history as well as various tombs of people whose importance are now lost. They run into the ghosts who warn them of danger, and even fight a banshee in Queen Zenobia’s tomb who screams at them to save her people. What will our band of adventurers-turned-archaeologists discover next?