The Djinn Gate, Guardians and Dream Palace
Gedoz returns
Crulon summoned the Hero to the Djinn Gate. He said the realm’s guardians had sacrificed their weapons to stop an ancient evil. The creature they had put away had returned, and the guardians had lost the means to stop it.
Long ago, a sorcerer had raised Gedoz the Malignant to destroy the Sandsea and seize the Djinn Realm. The guardians drew power from their weapons to summon Zular, the ancient warden. The weapons shattered as Zular answered the summons. He imprisoned Gedoz for centuries, until someone broke the seal.
The scattered Guardian Weapons
The Hero searched Chiral Valley for the Fangs of the Lion and Arcangrove for the Claws of the Daeva. They recovered the Light of the Serpent in Mythsong, the Pike of the Shimmering Sands in the Neverglades, and the Reavers of the Gilded Sun in Yokai.
Once the Hero had brought Crulon all the fragments, he sent them to gather the mana needed to reforge the weapons. The life forces of Doomkitten, the Ultra Blood Titan, Trigoras, Cinderclaw, and the Reaper supplied the power. Once the weapons were whole, the Hero used them to activate the five matching symbols and open the door.
The Armor of Zular
Zular was gone, but Crulon still had his armor. He used essence gathered from the Harpies and Lamias inside the gate to imbue it with the warden’s power. With the armor, the Hero could pass the barrier into Gedoz’s lair.
The Hero defeated Gedoz so he could be imprisoned again. Crulon thanked them for saving his home and offered them access to equipment he normally kept for other Djinn.
The four trials
When the Hero reached the Djinn Guardians, Crulon said some parts of the realm were open only to Guardians. The way to join them was through the trials of the Jaans, the guardian spirits of water, air, earth, and fire.
The Hero took the paths in order, fighting through each set of guardians and earning blessings from Jaan al Bahar, Jaan al Hawa, Jaan al Ard, and Jaan al Nair.
Crulon’s own test
Crulon had saved one more test. The spirits had given their blessing, and the Hero still needed the Guardians’ approval. He made an image of himself out of hard light. The Hero defeated it and earned his blessing.
Bido had heard from Crulon how the Hero helped defeat Gedoz. He told the Hero to return after finishing Crulon’s tasks. He had promised an Etherstorm merchant essence from the spirits and offered to share his spoils if the Hero helped collect it.
The elemental keys
At the Gate, Crulon also had a locked chest. He sensed that the locks took keys attuned to different elements, but he could not leave his post to look for them. He sent the Hero to follow his clues and promised to share the treasure.
The Hero followed the riddles from smoke and flame through water, ice and sand, then recovered the last keys of metal, shadow and light. Crulon confirmed that they had found them all.
A palace out of a dream
A palace appeared overnight in the Djinn Realm. Crulon said places like it seldom lasted, and he wanted to explore it with the Hero before its architect awoke.
The first floor yielded a ruby carved with the sign for power. A sapphire on the second bore the sign for magic. The Hero kept climbing and found an emerald for life and a diamond for spirit.
The four marks on the door
A door had four recesses marked with the same signs. The Hero fitted the gems into it and opened the way. Crulon wanted the gems back afterward to try out some ideas.
They fought their way upward and overcame Zahad near the top. Crulon marveled at what they had found and offered to improve pieces of the treasure with gems from the palace.