encharma will look around, as if making sure that no one is watching
"i saw a hairy well musculared arm carrying a wooden stick that was burning at one end, but the starnge part was that the arm was free floating, and not bleeding, but the flame that was at the end of the stick was also cut in half, and not moving, you know like how sometimes fire will flicker or i dont know wave around a little."
hmm i dont know wether or not i can actually trust this cutter
"An arm, cut but not bleeding ... much like the creature I saw. Anything else?"
"yeah i also saw a green slaad, but i avoided it and it's summon slaad ways"
"Hmm. Well, these various chopped up and time-frozen creatures are probably signs of a problem that is pandemic, deadly, unstoppable by anyone in our pitiful band, and likely to be the inevitable death of us all. Therefore we won't waste time worrring about it. This slaad thou mentioned may be a problem, and it's summon slaad ways may multiply the problem considerably, but if thou avioded it once, we may just do so again. At least we can tell the others the good news that we saw no sign of Xanarox ... right?"
double post, sorry.
Encharma still not quite trusting this funny talking person will not answer the xanarox question
"well i figure that that fog is in all possibilities might have something to do with me being here, well anyway i am headed back to your "pitiful band" to see if anything has happened since i have left"
Encharma walks in to the fog towards where he thinks the group is
Azure will accompany Encharma back to the rest of the group, keeping watch on the fog as well as his companion.
[Edit: OOC - Frakk! I wanted 1d20+12 not 1d20 times 12)
[OOC: Azure and Encharma reach the rest of the group again. Saath can make one more attempt for controlling the psionic ability during the waiting time.]
OOC: Alright then, here goes:
Concentration: 17+17=34
Knowledge: 17+4=21
Yay! Made it. Making that third concentration check doesn't need a roll since his concentration skill is higher than the DC.
Saath was attempting to peek in on Azure 
Oh, does this mean I won't have to make the above two rolls again in any future attempts?
[OOC: Right!
Please make a roll anyway, because a natural 1 would still mean failure...]
OOC: That usually isn't the case with skill checks. Would you be able to climb a vertical, oily, flat surface if you had no ranks in climb, but rolled a 20 on your check? Still, here's the roll:
Concentration: 12+17=29
[OOC: Okay, sorry - probably messed it up with 2nd edition rules 
Still happens occasionally...]
Within Saath's mind, a sparkling yellow light appears... the entrance to a silvery tunnel. He floats into this tunnel, and within the fragment of a second, travels through it so fast he loses orientation for a moment.
He sees fog, fog everywhere... and a companion at his side. Encharma walks to his left.
Suddenly, Saath is pulled back. It feels like his body pulled back his mind, calling for it, fearfully. As he opens his eyes, everything is silver for a split second - then he sees his companions again. He is back at the group.
Short after, Azure and Encharma come back to the rest of the group.
"Possibly." Ian says in response to Saath.
When he sees the scouting duo approach Ian looks up with his traditional smirk. "So, how was your trip? No trouble, I hope?"
Encharma looks around at every member of the group then looks at ian,
"nothing that major happened a green slaad here, a floating arm there like i said nothing to major"
encharma looks around and walks closer to ian and whispers
"i really need to talk to you in private"
Azure slips over to Blackthornes, Saath, or Naruk (whoever is further away from Encharma and Ian) and quickly whispers.
"I have reason to suspect that Encharma cannot be trusted. He mentioned not a word of his meeting with our 'Xanarox' though I saw the whole thing. That means he either saw right through the ploy, he is our enemy, or he is a fool. Possibly a combination of more than one."
Then, in a more normal volume voice, he tells of their finding of the palace and that the Tower should be visible from the upper levels.
Saath gasps softly as he returns to himself, but quickly regains his composure.
'A floating arm? How is that not major?' Saath says out loud, then mutters to himself: 'How has he survived this long on the planes?'
When Azure whispers to him, Saath replies: 'He attacked, though. With some kind of eye beam. That he didn't mention it is barmy. If he were our enemy and saw right through it, he'd be addled not to tell you about it. It would've created trust, which is what an infiltrator needs.'
'I'd say he's a berk, at least. He doesn't strike me as the cautious type. What's with the floating arm, did he tell you that?'
Ian raises an eyebrow. "I don't think thats neccessary, or advisable under current circumstances. If there's something you saw that I need to know about, its important to all of us. So lets cut out a step of the process. What did you need to tell me?"
"Well honestly i figured you may be the only thing in this group of explorers that seems to look at me with with a thought other than that of non trust, dismay and hate, so i wanted to tell you personnally."
encharma looks around
"i saw a young man in plain leather armor, the kind of leather armor that i could see anybody wearing, i thought it was xanarox so i said who are you, this young man then walked towards me with a smile on his face, at which point i attacked, but before my attack could hit he flew up in the air and disappeared, then your friend (points to azure's character) appeared out of nowhere. that is what happened to me in the fog"
"I wished he would have killed you!" Naruk suddenly shouts at Encharma.
A second later, he looks at the new companion bedazzled and confused. "I... that wasn't me... what in the Nine Hells was that?"
His face is as pale as the fog that surrounds the group.
Ian raises an eyebrow at Naruk.
Lomax, this looks like your territory. What was that?
I feel darkness... that is all I can tell. Naruk was right, it was not him speaking.
"uhh he wished who had killed who?"
i think attempting to join this group may have been a bad idea
Naruk shakes his head. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to say that, something... took control of me. I think we should hurry to get out of the Abyss. Not that this would ever be a bad idea."
'I second that. Any more talk can be done on the way to the tower, let's go!' And Saath starts walking the way Encharma and Azure came.
"if i have ever heard a good idea that is it"
and begins walking the way that myself and azure just were
The group moves towards the tower, until they reach the spot where Encharma found the arm floating in mid-air.
The hairy, strong arm carries a wooden stick that's burning at the high end. Both arm and flame appear to be cut in half and then frozen in time.
"hmmm see i told you floating arm that has been severed, no big deal"
'Right. You don't think the possibility of time traps that stop time for part of your body while the rest keeps going is no big deal? Or the reverse, parts of your body aging extremely fast.' While Saath says this, he grabs a grassy clump of earth out of the soil and throws it at the arm.
The soil hits the arm, part of it falling down on the ground, some of the soil landing on the arm. Nothing special happens.
Naruk comes closer to the arm and inspects it. After a short while, he says: "I'm developing a theory here... but it's really just a theory. This arm here, its bone structure and so on, reminds me very much of that of faeries. There's details that, when you know what to look for, make it obviously distinct from that of humans, elves or somesuch. Going back to what we experienced in the... safe room, and my theory that Faeraan and Faeries are connected, this arm could be a remnant of the war of tanar'ri against Faeraans. I think it's entirely possible the fiends tried to make the Faeraans' world slide to the Abyss... and maybe they succeeded. Or at least, partially succeeded."
He takes a step back and looks at the arm again. "Partially, yes."
"like i said no big deal lets continue"
Encharma walks off, but if no one follows him then not to far
Encharma walks off, but if no one follows him then not to far
"Thou knowst my mind in this matter, Encharma. And whilst I diametricly oppose thy view of the situation, I agree that there's nothing we can do to alter this 'time dismemberment' now, so we'll deal with the problem when it manifests."
Azure leads on into the fog towards the palace.
Soon after, the group arrives at the marble stairs. A strange, howling sound can be heard from the top of the castle, hidden in the ever-present mist.
"Blackthornes?" Naruk takes a look around, slightly confused. "Say, where's the puppy? I've seen it around only minutes ago..."
The puppy can't be seen anywhere within line of sight - which is, due to the fog, not very far.
"It probably wandered off to pee or something. Either way, its not likely to last long once we make it to the Tower anyway. It's probably best for all involved if we just leave it now."
Ian looks over at Encharma. "Didn't you say something about a slaad?"
OOC: My internet is getting a bit spotty. Posting may be few and far between for the next few days.
"The top floors of this structure should break out above the fog, giving us a view of the tower we seek. That howling wasn't here last time, though."
Naruk nods. "So, we move up this palace, then?" He looks at Blackthornes. "What about your puppy?" he asks with a side glance to the Masked Gnoll - a known friend of all animals.
"yes, yes i did and it's sumon slaad ways"
"oh and everyone be on guard for this nasty slaad"
[OOC: Hello? What are your characters going to do? ]
'Let's just forget about the dog and keep going. It was a bad idea to bring it along to begin with.' Saath just stands there until the rest agrees to move on.
Ian glances over at Encharma. "You know, you can stop mentioning their ability to summon more of themselves any time now."
Without bothering to wait for a response, Ian looks over at Saath gleefully. "Finally, some one talking sense! I agree."
Naruk looks at Ian, then at Saath. "So, up the tower then? Or which way?"
"I didn't trust that innocent-looking pup when it showed up and I trust it even less now that it's gone. Nothing is innocent in demonholme. Well, if a horde of mosters with a pup-dog at it's head shows up, we'll deal with it. In the meantime, we have our landmark. I've been here before, and have seen the tower we seek from the upper levels of this structure. That howling has me concerned, however. It was not here the last time, not even when Encharma and I were here a little while ago. Perhaps we should all go in together."
Encharma looks at ian,
"well i would stop mentioning it except that i do not have to listen to you because you are not in charge of me and i do not need you for anything"
"so yeah we should get going in to that tower"
As Encharma begins to speak Ian simply rolls his eyes and starts walking toward the stairs.
"Blackthornes, Azure and I should go ahead first. If this howling is going to cause a problem, its best if we see it before it sees us."
Ian uses his rapier to draw a few figure eights in the air to loosen his wrist.
"Any objections?"
*Blackthornes looks down at his side, then glances around quickly from side to side.*
"huh? oh, drat. Were did that little fellow run off to? MG, do you have anyway of detecting animals or something? If so, we should atleast know were the little fellow went. Wait, I know. Noise."
*Blackthornes will wait a bit to see if there is any reaction.*
"Powers above, are we still talking about the dog? Forget the dog! It will probably just wander into one of the towers traps that implodes its insides anyway."
"Best make sure we don't step on one of these selfsame traps. Have you any way of detecting magic, Ian?"
Azure will go in carefully, spying out the interior and looking for anything amiss or changed from the last time he was here.
Azure walks up the stairs, entering the massive front gate that has lost its doors long, long ago. The main hall, crafted from the same marble as the stairs, hasn't changed much. There is still a giant stump in the middle of the hall, reaching a yard high where it was cut off, with a diameter of six yards. The entire hall is about fifty yards high, although only little can be seen of it at once due to the fog.
Straight ahead there's a large, wooden spiral stair that reaches up straight into the highest tower - the group's target location.
Encharma follows azure into the tower
"hmmm, perhaps we should wait for the whole group to join us?"
[OOC: I'll push the story a bit to get things going again...]
The group enters the palace, and walks up the stairs to the highest tower. A few yards up the stairs, they find the bloody, flayed corpse of a fiend - a rutterkin, to those who know these low-ranking tanar'ri. A close inspection of the dead body, if anyone cares to search, reveals nothing extraordinary.
A bit up the stairs, an open door leads into a large wooden room, which seems to have burned long ago - the darkened wood on the walls and some piles of ash is all there is that could be called "interior". But here, again, the group finds a corpse - this time the body of a vrock, ripped apart. The fiend seems to have died the same way as the rutterkin, probably in a bloody battle against some other monster.
Finally, the group reaches the highest point of the stairs, leading to a square door three yards high, and made entirely of marble. A single wooden ring set into the door's exact center is the only way to open it.
"yes, but it was really nothing i couldn't handle"
"so i guess we should get back then"
"Wait ... what meanest thou?" Azure backs up and eyes Encharma suspiciously. "What did thou see? In my own sweep I encountered a strange tree and an odd, but dead, being. What did thee encounter? Tell me, for we still have to return to fetch the others, and I greatly dislike being unprepared. Knowledge is life and death."