(ooc)ACK! holiday weekend then HoMM V ate my brain.... So sorry guys.
Someone, I mentally parsed the action as Nodis taking an action to complete the fire lighting then moving away, but obviously you had a different mechanical idea in mind, which would not have provoked the AoO. I'm going to leave it as I adjucated it because it makes Nodis's fire lighting that much more heroic and besides....(ooc)
As Nodis collapses to the ground and Artax belatedly rushes forward, Rurik's final blow scatters the shadow yet again. This time though, the wisps of shadow seems to disapear entirely like mist before the rising sun as the flames on the altar completely consume the body and writing. The feeling of unease finally lifts entirely, and the tunnel becomes merely a mine shaft again and not a dark place of clinging evil.
A bit of examination shows that this is indeed the continuation of the blocked shaft and not a breakthrough into any foul underground lair.
Rurik: [sblock]looking at it from this side you are convinced that there was no natural cave-in. It looks like the tunnel was deliberately collapsed, possibly during one of the "ownership transfers" that folks had alluded to.[/sblock]
Artax quickly uses the wand to heal nodis up to his current maximum hp (which is a bit low due to the con damage.) then heals the other mightly warriors.
....
I'm not sure if you want a long wrapup and journey back to the red dragon visiting your mortalist friends on the way, or if you want XP and some loot and run for greener pastures. In either case thank you all for your patience and great fun.
I'll get the final rewards sorted soon, though the exact ownership of the mine is currently up for grabs.