Unfortunately, the red ship proves elusive, and you are unable to set up a trap to catch it. You'll have to find another way to deal with your mysterious pursuer...
In the meantime, you delve into the books research the green stone idol: Festival of the Snake, The Forgotten Servants, and The Illusion of the Weeping Ones. The water lizard referenced is no mere animal—it is a representation of Bokrug, one of the unimaginably powerful Great Old Ones. A horrid treatise collating rumors of the Great Old Ones asserts that Bokrug lives in a vast, unnamed lake in the Dreamlands. A race of alien creatures founded the city of Ib on the shores of the lake and worshiped Bokrug there. An idol of green stone was central to their rites. A quasi-historical dissertation relates how Ib was destroyed by proud and warlike humans disgusted by the aliens’ bizarre rites and unusual physiognomy. The victorious humans were from a city called Sarnath. After destroying Ib, the folk of Sarnath carried away a strange green idol and housed it in one of their temples. The idol disappeared from the temple soon thereafter.
You perform the ritual that night and descend the stairs of sleep emerging into an opulent hall. Resplendent with golden filigree, high arched windows, and sumptuous tapestries, this opulent feasting hall is packed with thousands of people enjoying a grand feast. Golden torches affixed to the walls illuminate the festive throng, crowded balconies, and staircases looking over the vast hall. The attendees are draped in garments sewn from gorgeous silks, satins, and velvets; their arms and necks are hung with gold bands and their headdresses are studded with jewels and bright feathers. Tables of rich and exotic foods and intoxicating beverages line the walls, drawing partygoers who gorge themselves on the offerings and huddle closely in small groups or intimate embraces. Many guests dance to the otherworldly tones of an orchestra composed primarily of flutes, pipes, and drums. The north and northwest walls of the ballroom bear no windows and are constructed of thick slabs of stone. A plain stone staircase carved into the solid stone wall is partly concealed by thin screens.
This party is dramatically different from the viscount's ball. While that ball was a proper and courtly affair, this festival is an unrestrained bacchanal.
The revelers are welcoming to you, their reactions ranging from politely jovial to surprisingly intimate. The food includes delicacies from distant cities as well as large trout captured in the local lake. The drink is potent and plentiful.
As you mingle, it becomes clear that the west and north walls of the massive feasting hall is actually part of a sea wall 20 feet wide protecting the palace grounds from the water of the lake which the palace abuts. Every year when Sarnath celebrates Ib’s destruction, the lake water rises several feet and then lowers again the next day. As the sea wall is 50 feet high, the revelers assure you that the partygoers are wholly safe behind the thick stone wall...
As expected, it isn't long before shouts of terror from the higher levels of the palace shatter the revelry. The music stops as panicked, screaming people push and shove each other down the fanciful staircases and along the balconies from the palace’s upper levels, further crowding the room. A rivulet of clear water runs down the staircase in the sea wall, evidence that the lake has crested the sea wall and is beginning to pour into the palace!
Surging into the feasting hall along with the lake water are four spectral creatures. The curious ears and flabby lips of these sickly green human-shaped ghostly creatures frame their froglike faces, yet only empty sockets stare from where their eyes should be. They swoop among the panicked crowd, touching them and wracking their bodies with burns and deep bruises!
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Ghosts, oddly enough, are not something Tyrek worries about over-much. Being able to manipulate pure aether makes attacking such creatures relatively simple, as does creating shields of the same material.
Stepping in front of Winter he focuses on the nearest one and sets to work tearing its spectral form apart with ropes of aether. The spirit resists, letting out an odd moaning scream.
Winter lends her divine powers to the fight, blasting the undead creatures with holy energy. They turn towards you, but your force wards keep them at bay as you dismantle them.
Once the shades are destroyed, the revelers from the upper palace calm down sufficiently to explain the source of their fear to everyone in the feasting hall: the lake waters have risen to the top of the sea wall, threatening the entire city! They announce that ghostly forms are atop the sea wall, one of which holds aloft an ominous green lizard statue. The revelers from the upper palace fear these ghostly apparitions and worry that the entire city will be inundated by the surging waters of the lake!