You climb up the remainder of the peak and end up at an odd clearing that your horses are standing in. The clearing is next to a mountain face covered in frosted ivy, while the floor of the clearing is covered in thick broken tiles that have sprouts of grass growing through the revealed cracks. In a ring around the clearing is a circle of twelve tall stones carved with the images of winged figures and the sun, and also showing similar signs of wear to that of the tiles. The path is behind you to the south, the mountain face to the left, but to the north and east of the clearing is a drop off that you take care to avoid lest you fall down the mountain. Above you the night sky is clear, with the stars shining in astonishing clarity while the mountain to your left peaks only fifty more feet above you.
Nefius explains in his slow, dying voice how he read about references to this mountain during the conquests of Dorinthia and in the Tallione Empire's own libraries, but that he never took the tales to heart until he saw the mosaic in the chambers you had recently escaped. The tales were too sporadic and references to this mountain were by description and not name. He continues to search the rock wall, then begins to pound the stone in frustration as he fails to find an entrance. The effort seems to be too much for Nefius, and he collapses coughing up blood, his retching echoing through the clearing.
"Tsk... stop that now. You'll die before I get what I've come for," the crone says, surprising you with a start as she walks up the path you had come from. This time she holds a twisted black knife in her hands as she walks towards Nefius with a strange smile on her face. "The ancestors of your 'friends' here had a certain artifact that they placed inside a niche of the door in order to enter, but that key was lost long ago. You've come all this way for nothing, poisoner, and now your desperation falls into despair. You feel it in your heart, don't you?" The crone leans down towards Nefius and almost tenderly kisses his cheek as she whispers something you cannot hear into his ear. Nefius wails pitifully as her words reach him, and he seems a pitiful thing in his final moments as if her words are more painful than what she plans for him with the knife.