Retrieving the Amulet would complete the Horadric Staff, and I sought out the Lost City in search of it. As I entered the Lost City, the sun was blackened out by an untimely eclipse. This concerned both Rozene and I, and so we consulted the towns scholar, Drognan. He informed us that the eclipse was likely the work of Claw Vipers, and that if we could successfully find their altar, we could put an end to their magic.

The Claw Viper eclipse was meant to hinder our efforts by erasing the benefit of daylight. More nuisance than actual deterrence, the eclipse did not stop me from pursuing the Amulet and finding the Claw Viper altar in the Valley of the Snakes. I admit that the cleverness of the Claw Vipers impressed me, as even their altar was a marvel to see. It was not only humanity whose stonework was impressive.

After retrieving the Viper Amulet, I could not help but notice that remains of humans that the Claw Vipers had captured and tortured. I knew not if their lives were used in the ritual to cause the eclipse, but it pained me to see their remains so disregarded. Although not a proper burial, I used my fire arrows on their remains in the hopes that it would purify them of this evil and free them from this altar.

Returning to town, Cain was pleased at my finding of all the pieces of the Horadric Staff. Instructed to combine the pieces using the Horadric Cube, I was dazzled by the brightest light I had ever seen when the Horadric Cube formed the Horadric Staff. It would be the key to grant me access to Tal-Rasha's Tomb.

There was uncertainty of where Tal-Rasha's Tomb exactly was, given that it was a protected secret among the Horadrim. The wisdom of the townspeople, largely Drognan and Lord Jerhyn, at least afforded some direction.

The palace marked the great wealth that Lord Jerhyn had, and stood in stark contrast to the living conditions of the general people of Lut Gohlein. I marveled at the decadence of its design, but then this marvel quickly dissolved as I went deeper into the palace and encountered the stench of death and demons.

We had made it to the portal, and slayed the demons tasked with guarding it. Entering the portal took Rozene and I to a strange place, and it felt like being in the very cosmos themselves.

In this Sanctuary, the path diverged in four directions. One of them would lead to the Summoner and provide me the answer to which tomb to seek. Athalua was not a deity of luck, and so I took my chances, only to be wrong every time.

The fourth path led me to The Summoner, who had been corrupted by demons. I freed him from this Sanctuary-turned-prison, and was able to learn the location of the true Tomb of Tal-Rasha.