Kill it in One Hit!

The group is approached by Cardinal Aldritch, who has convinced a number of Order soldiers that they were misled by Elymas. More of them stop fighting in his presence. Meanwhile the cult is retreating in large numbers as word of the deaths of Gog and Magog spreads. Aldritch creates a shielding spell with the aid of Kiyoshi around the area, to prevent the debris from the Tower from causing any more damage. 

With the Tower crumbling away, Elymas leaps from inside of it in the form of a bolt of lightning. He arcs across several buildings, destroying them as he goes. Aldritch’s spell disintegrates the remains of the Tower as it falls. The players attempt to chase after Elymas, but he is going too fast. Aradel uses a spell to allow them to jump back to their vehicle’s location.

The party jumps in and Aesir drives after the arcing lighting, which leaves Lesh behind and heads west towards Sarmahl. In the outer reaches of the town, Elymas stops, and turns to confront the group. He says that while he was unable to fully purge Lesh, he feels that he dealt the sin of the world a serious blow. He mocks the group, saying he may continue his work on Kamigawa or Kaladesh next, revealing that he is a planeswalker. He takes off the top layer of his robes, revealing the symbol of the Church of Avacyn.

Elymas attacks with powerful lightning magic, forcing the party to react quickly to his spells. After a fierce battle he is pushed back, and gravely injured. His magic seems to fire off uncontrollably, and a runed stone spike bursts from within his chest. Elymas falls to the ground, and his body incinerates in violet flames. 

Zuleika makes her presence known, and claims that the revival of Xathrid required the sacrifices of five evil men. The party realizes that Elymas was the final sacrifice that she needed, and that the spike must have been implanted back in the ruins of An-Karras. Magical leylines trace across the sky, netting the sacrifice sites together. The magic in the air converges and fires off toward the Eloren Wilds. Flint and Occula realize that the obelisk in the Eloren Wilds was the lock, while the one under Sadal Suud was the key. 

Zuleika glows with demonic magic, and a pair of long curved horns burst from under the skin of her forehead. She says that she finally has enough time to deal with the party, and attacks them with life draining magic. Though weakened by her assault, the party manages to gain the upper hand against her. She attempts to flee, but her teleportation spell is countered by the arrival of Damia.

Damia paralyzes Zuleika, forcing her to keep her eyes open. She the petrifies her, and slowly appraises the statue before pushing it over. The statue shatters, putting an end to Zuleika. 

The land and sky darken in the direction of the Eloren Wilds. Damia theorizes that while Xathrid cannot truly die, significant force can stop him from breaking his seal, and keep him contained. Damia announces her intention to fight Xathrid, and tells the party that they can help her or not. The entire group agrees, and sets out to stop Xathrid from freeing himself for good. 

While battling their way up the tower, the group contends with soldiers and numerous spirits that guard each floor. Along the way, multiple soldiers declare them enemies by the word of Cardinal Aldritch. Upon reaching the council chamber, they find that the way is barred by a large avatar, surrounded by protective enchantments. 

The defensive avatar takes a long time to defeat, but is eventually destroyed by the group. Once again, Flint destroys the enchantment barring the door. Inside the council chambers are only two people. Aldritch, and Elymas. Aldritch in in his seat, bound by several magical rings. Elymas turns to face the party when they enter. 

Occula confronts Elymas over what he has done. He says that despite some of the Order losing faith in the Great Absolution, he is still ensuring that it will happen. Aldritch remains silent.

Flint and Kiyoshi accuse him of destroying Naos, which Elymas admits to. He says that the village not throwing out the cultists immediately meant that they deserved it. And that Naos was merely a small part of a much larger problem. Elymas says that Lesh must be cleansed, and that the main force of the Order is already on it’s way there. 

At that moment, Aldritch breaks free, and makes a run for his staff. Elymas turns to stop him, but his spell is countered by Occula. Aesir and Yabolax attack Elymas, who fends them off.  He releases a powerful spell targeting everyone, that almost severely harms Flint, but is mitigated by Kiyoshi. 

Aldritch reaches his staff as Elymas prepares to release the spell again. Aldritch warps himself and the party out of the Tower of Guidance. They all appear again outside of the courtyard. Aldritch is regarded poorly by the party for letting Elymas gain this much influence.

Kiyoshi decides to call Damia, but as he prepares to, the Tower glows, seems to rise, and vanishes from the city. Aldritch declares that Elymas’ plan is coming to a head. 

Kiyoshi calls Damia, and the gorgon demands to know where they are. Kiyoshi and Flint relay the attack on the Tower, and tell her that Elymas and the Order are planning to purge Lesh. Damia reveals that she, Aradel, Traq, and the amphin Aviturus are all in Lesh already, as they believe the cult is in the final preparations to summon Xathrid.

Following Saul, the party enters the room, and take the soldier’s weapons. Once inside, Kiyoshi disenchants the room, for his own precaution. Flint and Occula begin to question Saul as to why he left the Order.

Saul explains that the Order of Admonition started as a small movement, and that he and Aldritch are some of the original members. Their message is of personal improvement and the removal of negativity from oneself, a process they called the Road to Absolution. As their message spread and more people joined, the Order grew larger and unweildy. The soldiers began as a simple security force for the Tower of Guidance, but became larger and more battalion-like as the Order continued to grow. The formed council of Cardinals found themselves running a bloated organization with a runaway budget. 

Then Elymas appeared. He predicted that the Cult of Xathrid would attack one of the travelling Cardinals. When the attack did in fact occur, the preparations allowed by Elymas’ prediction saw that the Cardinal survived. He predicted several other events and produced sound advice, including the destruction of Naos. Elymas was promoted to High Priest. 

Saul accuses Elymas of being a “vicious liar,” which Kiyoshi and Occula ask him to elaborate on. Saul says that Elymas knew that the events were going to happen, or rather saw to them himself. In particular, Saul reveals that while Elymas did warn the village Naos from harboring cultists, he also destroyed the village himself when they did not oust them. Saul witnessed this, and tells the party that Elymas also killed the soldiers Saul had with him, as part of the cover.

He believes that Elymas left him alive as a lesson, but also that he somehow arranged for the cult to capture him in Lesh as a way to get rid of him. Saul claims that he has no idea what Elymas’ end goal is, but that he wants no further part in the Order. Kiyoshi recommends that he seek shelter in a large city far away, such as Sunari, but it would be a long journey. Instead, Kiyoshi then says that he will arrange something with their contact. 

Occula, Aesir, and Flint sit with Saul while Kiyoshi and Yabolax step out. Kiyoshi calls Damia and explains the situation. Damia agrees to find a safe location for Saul to stay in for a while, and that an agent will be dispatched to Nevassa soon. As Kiyoshi makes the call, Yabolax sees four Order soldiers enter the inn. The two return to the room with the news. Instead of trying to escape, Aesir opts to fight through the soldiers directly. 

With some assistance from Saul, the party fights out of the inn and makes their way back to their vehicle. Shortly after they arrive, an amphin illusion mage appears, activating the sending stone to prove his allegiance to Damia. He takes Saul and his retainers away, just as the party is attacked by a battalion of Order soldiers. The party defeats them, and escapes from Nevassa before any more can arrive. 

The next day, they arrive at the Eloren Wilds, and retrace their path to finding the black obelisk. When they do, they notice that the area has changed. The radius of dead vegetation has increased, and the ground surrounding the obelisk has sunken in. Red glyphs are now revealed at the obelisk’s base. Flint traces one with his hand, and is burned. Just as before, no magic seems to affect the obelisk, and no enchantments are found in the area. 

While the group is there, they receive a call from Aradel. In the caverns underneath Sadal Suud, she has found another obelisk. However, the entire surface is covered by the red glyphs. Just like the one in the Eloren Wilds, nothing seems to affect it. 

The back door leads into alleyways, where the party comes into conflict with cultists again. After a few quick battles, they find themselves at the end of the alley. In the ground is a hatch, with petrified legs coming out of it. Yabolax runs to it and opens the hatch, seeing that the petrified man fell onto the stairs, breaking his upper half away. Kiyoshi removes the debris, and the party descends.

In the tunnels, they soon see Savyna, killing several Order soldiers. She then follows the panicking other soldiers out of a door on the other side of the room. The party follows, and soon find the remaining soldiers running back towards them, who then attack out of fear. With them not listening to reason, the party is forced to fight them. 

In the next chamber, they find Savyna. A dark aura surrounds her eyes, and she does not speak to the party when they try to talk to her. She instead begins to gather her magic, and the group is forced to battle her. 

The gorgon is eventually knocked down. On all fours, she looks up, and the dark aura fades. She begins to speak, but is unable to say anything before a bolt of lighting shoots through her. Savyna falls to the ground, dead. 

From another chamber emerges Elymas, with a group of soldiers following him. With the party in shock, Flint asks “What have you done?” only for Elymas to reply that “Those so easily corrupted cannot be saved.” He once again demands to know who they party is working for. Kiyoshi and Aesir reiterate the lie that they are only working for themselves. Unconvinced, Elymas directs his soldiers to block the exits, and intends to kill the group. 

The battle is difficult, with Aesir knocked unconscious, and Flint and Occula heavily injured. However, before they can continue, waves of darkness pass through the room, reminiscent of Zuleika’s ritual back in Lesh. Realizing what has happened, Elymas retreats to find the witch. Flint and Occula berate him on his way out, stating that they could have stopped her if he hadn’t attacked them. 

The party arrives at the city without incident, in a journey that takes a little over a day. At the gates of the city, they discover large tent bearing Order insignia, showing that they arrived first. Occula investigates the tent, and finds that the majority of the Order soldiers are not there. Up at the entrance to the city, a large group of soldiers waits, let by Elymas. 

The party approaches him, and when Aesir tries to speak to him, he merely points into the city. Along the main road and up a large staircase stands Zuleika, along with several other cultists. Elymas asks Kiyoshi, Occula, and Flint if they are ready to proceed, and they say yes. Elymas orders a charge, commanding the soldiers into the city as he fires lightning from his staff.

In response, Zuleika signals cultists to pour out of buildings and alleyways, meeting the soldiers in the middle. As they clash, she and a small number of higher ranking cultists head deeper into the city. 

The party enters with the soldiers, and heads up the main road before fighting and debris force them into the alleys. They battle through the cramped back roads, until finally emerging near the large staircase. They head up, while the Order and cult still fight below. 

Once in the upper city, they witness an Order templar tossed out of a nearby building. Bursting out of the same building is the faerie Ena, clashing with a cultist. She, several other templars, and the cultists engage in an all out brawl, with the cultists being killed first. Ena turns her attention to the Order soldiers, but Aesir and Kiyoshi put a stop to the fight. Kiyoshi convinces the soldiers to move on.

Ena and the others talk, and she accuses them of following her. Through their conversation, the party convinces her that they did not, and are here opposing the cult and looking for Savyna. Ena tells them that she saw the direction Zuleika was headed, and offers to show them the way. The party agrees and follows her through a series of buildings and back alleys.

Along the way, the group of six battles more cultists, before they stop in a large library. At this point Ena breaks off, and searches on her own. Occula and Kiyoshi stop to take note, while the others seem disinterested. Ena reappears, holding a large, ominous looking tome. The party realizes that she was using them to help her fight her way to the library, which housed the book she had been looking for. Revealing it as the Grimoire of the Dead, Ena opens the book with intent to test its magic on the party.

The group fends off hordes of plant-zombie hybrids produced by the faerie, all enhanced by the enchantments weaved by the book. All the while, Ena seems to be greatly enjoying herself. As the fight continues though, several cult members break into the building. Ena decides that the party has had enough, and sets her zombies on the cultists instead. Before the confusion ends, Ena bids the group farewell, and planeswalks away with the Grimoire. 

As the party runs and deflects incoming attacks, more cultists arrive in the streets to impede them. The party splits their efforts between surviving the continuing attacks from the demons and clearing the way ahead. Gradually, the group begins to lose stamina and deplete their mana. 

In addition to the cultists in their way, wraith-like spirits begin to appear on all sides. The party finds Zuleika commanding them, and suddenly they are surrounded by the spirits, Zuleika, and the twin demons. Zuleika casts a spell to even further weaken the party. As the enemies all move in to strike, the area goes dark. 

Savyna appears in the middle of the party, and gives Aesir her veil, saying that she won’t be needing it right now, and to return it when they meet again. She ushers the group off to the side for them to escape. When they leave the blackened area, they can see flashes of light emanating from Savyna’s eyes. 

Traq is waiting outside of the darkness, and tells the party to keep running. He tells them that he will misinform any cultists he sees about their direction. Occula uses a quick jolt of mental magic to confirm that he is not lying, and the group exits the city.

Back at their vehicle, Ena approaches, seeing the party from afar. She comments that they “look like shit.” Their conversation reveals that she found the information she needed, and is headed away from Lesh now. Yabolax remains hostile towards her, but she heals both him and Occula since they are in the worst shape. Her healing magic causes a nearby bush to wither. 

When Ena leaves, the party heads back to Damia’s lair.  On the ride, Kiyoshi falls asleep, and Aesir gives Yabolax Savyna’s veil, since he is most fond of her. 

Damia’s golems allow the party in, though Damia is not in her throne room at first. When she enters, she seals the door to her cave after seeing the state that the group is in. The story is told by Kiyoshi and Flint, specifically calling attention to Magog’s twin, the presence of Zuleika, and Savyna serving as a distraction for them to escape.

Damia grows agitated, as she did not order Savyna to intervene. She tries to contact the other gorgon using the sending stone, but cannot reach her. She grows more upset, and the objects and treasures in the room begin to rattle. Eventually, Zuleika’s voice comes through the stone, saying, “Too late.” Damia throws the stone at the wall, where it shatters. She leaves the chamber, sealing the wall behind her. 

After several minutes of silence, Aradel appears from a side door. She has recovered some from the encounter with Gog, but is still bandaged. She says that she overheard, and beckons the group to come with her. In the sitting area down the hallway, she offers the party food and drink. She apologizes for Damia’s reaction, saying that she is concerned about Savyna, and far more angry with the cult than with the party.

Aradel further reveals that Damia is the last of her family, who were all more typically monstrous gorgons in behavior compared to her. Though she did not have good relations with her sisters, one of them was still corrupted and eventually used as a sacrifice by the cult. In addition to the cult encroaching on her markets, Damia harbors a grudge for their abuse of her people. Kiyoshi and Occula realize that they likely plan to do the same with Savyna, unless she is already dead. 

Aradel shows the party to chambers for them to sleep in, with a separate one for Occula, and she herself leaves for the chambers on Damia’s side of the cavern. 

In the middle of the night, the party’s sending stone begins to glow and crackle, waking up Kiyoshi, Yabolax, and Occula. Savyna’s voice comes through faintly, only saying “An-Karras” before the stone falls silent again. The three awake party members go back into Damia’s throne room, and send for her with one of the golems. 

Damia reappears, in a plain night dress with her tendrils pulled back, in contrast to her normally regal front. She grumpily asks what they want, while Aradel looks on from the hallway. Kiyoshi explains what he heard, and Damia recognizes the name An-Karras as a ruined city along the coast. Kiyoshi, Occula, and Flint resolve to go there, possibly to save Savyna, and get revenge on the cult. Damia says that she will send no support, as one of her agents is already in danger. She does however give them an address to a merchant on Ravnica who can provide them with powerful spells. 

The next morning, Flint and Aesir are informed of the plan. The party planeswalks to Ravnica, where they enter the shop The Gathering. There, Rhyt, the elven shopkeeper, shows them her wares while drinking copious amounts of wine. Occula and Aesir the most curious about the place, but Rhyt dodges most of their questions, as does a woman in the shop with dark curly hair. 

On the way in, Kiyoshi attempts to gain information from a city guard. The guard only reveals that he knows the execution is happening, but not when or where. 

Once in the city, the group decides to make their way into the markets. They happen upon a group of Xathrid cultists, who recognize the party by their descriptions. After a battle in the city streets, the party defeats the cultists. One of the survivors attempts to run, and is apprehended by Yabolax and Occula. He refuses to talk, and is swiftly killed by the arrival of an imp.

The imp, dressed in Xathrid insignia, chastises the group for their loud entrance into the city. He reveals that he is Damia’s agent within the cult, and that his name is Traq. Traq tells the group that the Order hostages are being executed in the center of the market at sundown, in an event led by Magog. He says that he will be there himself, and that the group should take care to not kill him.

Kiyoshi arranges a place for the party to wait until sundown using his merchant contacts. In the same vein, he plans to wait inside one of their storefronts to observe the marketplace without being seen. The rest of the party plans to scatter themselves among the crowd.

At sundown, a group of cultists emerge from another building, using magic to transport four cages. In each cage is a member of the Order: Two soldiers, a cleric, and a Cardinal. Cultists gather on a presentation platform, including humans, vampires, and even a gorgon and a giant. Magog flies down from a rooftop, and addresses the crowd.

He intends the execution of the Order members as a warning sign to those who attack the cult. He also demands that Elymas be brought to him, and the cult will be occupying the city until he is. As he prepares to kill the nearest prisoner, Occula counters his spell from afar. 

The party takes their opportunity. Yabolax and Kiyoshi destroy the cages, while Aesir, Flint, and Occula fend off the cultists themselves. The freed Cardinal encases himself in a magical barrier. Magog orders the other cultists to hold back, and plans to kill the party himself. He attacks Aesir suddenly, who is saved by a quick spell from Kiyoshi.

As the party battles Magog, the fight begins to tilt in their favor. However, before they can defeat the demon, a powerful spell rains down on them. Each member of the group is heavily damaged, with Flint being knocked unconscious completely. 

The source of the spell is Gog, a demon identical to Magog. He is Magog’s twin, and a Minister of Xathrid like him. Gog reveals that he was the one that the party fought in Cebalrai, not Magog. The demons prepare to attack, and tell the group that if they want to live, they should run now. 

Not long after entering, the group is assailed by the spirits of the villagers. The party gradually defeats more and more of the spirits, while clearing paths blocked by piles of zombies. 

When cutting through a ruined building, Flint and Occula noticed a runed spike in the ground, surrounded by an arcane symbol. They recognize it as the same kind of spike used by Zuleika in her ritual back in Lesh. The spike is glowing from magic the same color as the light in the middle of the village. 

As they party moves closer to the center, zombies of more twisted and contorted forms attack them, until they finally break into the village square.

There, a large pile of bodies made up of all the village’s women and children rests. On top of it is a large demon, though very different looking than Magog. Also there is Zuleika, the source of the glow. Dark purple magic is being pulled from the pile of bodies to her, then directed to the demon. Upon seeing this, Aesir immediately shoots a lightning bolt at Zuleika.

She is struck in the back, and her spell stops. Turning around, she sneers at the party and asks what they want with her. Yabolax shouts a crude insult, which is reiterated by Kiyoshi in a more refined way. Flint attempts to strike her with a spell, but it has no effect. 

The demon leaps down, and puts itself between the party and Zuleika. The witch takes the orb of souls from the demon, and says that she once again has no time for the party. She teleports away, leaving the demon to fight. 

After a long battle, the party manages to destroy the demon, whose body disintegrates. With him gone, the haze surrounding the village lifts. The group makes the decision to call Savyna, and to burn the pile of bodies. Yabolax takes care of the burning, while Flint makes the call. He tells her what happened, hoping that Damia hearing it from her will soften the blow of Zuleika escaping again. Before the party leaves, Flint and Yabolax create a bomb to level the area, as if the fire wasn’t enough. Occula, Aesir, and Kiyoshi keep their distance. 

Back at their vehicle, the party is called by Damia. She tells them to head back to her lair. The following morning, she calls again, saying that they should not stop anywhere on the way, particularly Lesh.

Once back at Damia’s lair, she tells them that after they left Cebalrai, Elymas arrived with a group of Order soldiers. They rounded up and killed every cult member that they could find. As retaliation the cult captured a group of Order members and took them to Lesh. According to an inside source of Damia’s the cult plans on publicly executing the members of the Order. This means that the cult’s presence there is even greater. 

As the market closes, the merchant takes his cart to a series of storage lockers, and locks it, along with Yabolax, inside. Flint stays back to remove the protective enchantments from the locker and rescue Yabolax. Meanwhile, the others all continue pursuing the merchant. He heads toward the edge of town, and along the way casts a spell to change his clothing into robes bearing the cult’s sigil.

On the edge of town, the merchant meets with several hooded figures, all wearing similar robes as him. Among them is a being who is much larger than the rest. 

The main group calls Flint and Yabolax to tell them what they see. The duo decide to disguise themselves by snatching a cloak from a nearby tavern, and approach the cultists with Yabolax on Flint’s shoulders. Aradel is disturbed by this sight, and demands that Kiyoshi explain what they are doing. 

The large cultist sees Yabolax and Flint, and casts a deadly spell in their direction. In a panic, each member of the party attempts to react or save the pair from the spell, with it ultimately being countered by Aradel. 

The rest of the party swarms the area, facing off against the cultists. The large member commands the rest to attack. After the party kills several cultists, the large cultist uses necromancy to revive them. He tosses his cloak aside, revealing the demon Magog. 

The party continues to fight, with the demon reviving the fallen cultists quickly. Eventually, he stops doing this, and faces down the group. They attempt to speak to him, but he is short in his responses. The demon says that he does not remember them from their confrontation in Ardestan, and that he had no personal involvement in the fate of Naos. Tensions rise, and everyone in the area readies spells to use. 

Magog strikes first, causing the ground beneath Aradel to erupt. In the wake of his spell, the demon runs away. Aradel is gravely injured in the blast, though she is quickly stabilized by some of Kiyoshi’s healing magic. He carries her back to a safe house within Cebalrai, with the rest of the group following. 

The group, save Flint and Yabolax, contacts Damia. The gorgon wishes for Aradel to return to her mountain until she recovers fully. She arranges for some of her other agents to meet them in Cebalrai. They will bring the party their vehicle, and then they will hand over Aradel to them. 

Flint and Yabolax meanwhile call Cardinal Aldritch to inform him about the cult activity in Cebalrai. The cardinal says that he will have soldiers present in the town in the morning. 

The next day, The party attempts to investigate further before the Order soldiers arrive. They make their way to the storage locker used by the cultist, only to find that it has been overgrown with plant matter. After not reacting to a few probing spells by Flint, Aesir tosses a lightning bolt into the vegetation. It stirs and transforms into a plant-zombie amalgam, and attacks. Thoroughly outnumbered, it is quickly defeated.

Ena appears, and berates the party for ruining her trap. Occula asks her if she found the book that she was looking for yet. The faerie explains that she believes that the cult may know where it is, and she intended to trap the same merchant that the party had been following. Aesir again asks what the book is, only to illicit a hostile response from Ena. 

They attempt to have Ena join up with them again, but she declines, not wanting to work in a group. Kiyoshi tells her that Lesh is a hotbed of cult activity, and she departs for the city. 

Later in the day, three agents of Damia arrive on a floating mass of earth, bearing the party’s vehicle. They hand over Aradel, and the four agents depart back to Damia’s lair. The party decides to finally investigate Naos.

Aesir drives down to the ruined village, and the group happens upon an outpost run by the Order. A soldier there explains that Naos is not worth the manpower of purging, but if anything leaves the area, the numerous outposts will be ready to attack.

The party is stopped at the gate by a pair of soldiers, who demand to know what they want here. Kiyoshi requests that they see Cardinal Aldritch again. One of the guards calls another guard inside using a communication enchantment. The party is cleared to enter, though they are warned that they will be watched very closely. Flint is not happy to hear this, as the tower gives him a bad feeling. 

Inside the main chamber, Aldritch is giving directions to various members of the Order. He thanks the group once again for the part in driving Magog away. Kiyoshi and Occula field several questions to Aldritch. According to him, Magog is one of three known Ministers within the Cult of Xathrid. Another is Zuleika, and the third is only known to exist, with no other details about them known. Aldritch also states that there could potentially be more Ministers beyond the known three. 

Occula diverts the conversation to the topic of Elymas. Aldritch says that he has not returned yet from chasing Magog out of Ardestan, and that he was last known to be headed south. Kiyoshi and Flint take this to mean that the demon was heading towards the destroyed village Naos. They then ask what Elymas’ next stop was going to be, and Aldritch says that he was going to go to the village Cebalrai to warn them of avoiding the same fate as Naos. 

Naos was a small fishing village that allowed a small number of cultists to stop there for a night. Elymas warned them against this, saying that inviting in the cult would only lead to their end. The villagers decided to not antagonize the cult, and let them stay. According to Aldritch, the village was destroyed the following night, and no living thing resides there anymore. 

Having been told before that Elymas’ predictions have all been true, the party decides that Cebalrai is worth investigating. Even more so now that Elymas has been drawn away from his intention to go there. The party leaves the tower quickly, after Aldritch teaches Kiyoshi the communicator spell they use so that he can be contacted. Flint and Aesir are not amused by the use of magic over technology for this purpose. 

Once away from the tower, the group decides to contact Savyna. Yabolax snatches the sending stone, and uses it to call her. The gorgon is as cheerful as last time, even with the sounds of her murdering someone in the background. The group tells her of their decision to go to Cebalrai  to investigate. She agrees with the idea, and tells them that they can arrange another agent to meet them there. She says she will be sending Aradel, since the party has worked with her before.

The group joins with a small caravan of merchants who are on their way to Cebalrai. Flint, Aesir, and Yabolax ride in the cart, while discussing how slow it is compared to their usual transportation. Kiyoshi opts to walk since he does not tire as easily, and Occula flies overhead.

On the road at dusk, Occula is shot out of the sky by a magical arrow. A net surrounds her, and she falls to the ground. The party dismounts the caravan, and finds themselves facing a group of trolls. Though not intelligent, they announce their satisfaction at having trapped a meal. 

Flint attempts to reason with the trolls, only to find that they now plan on eating him as well. He and Occula, from her net, manage to use a few basic spells to trip the trolls up a bit as a distraction. Aesir and Yabolax begin to attack, while Kiyoshi uses a spell to make the net on Occula rot away. With her free, the entire group attacks the trolls, defeating them. 

Returning to the caravan, the party continues on their way, and arrives in Cebalrai late at night. They find a place to stay, and intend on beginning their investigating the next morning.

On that morning, Yabolax once again snatches the sending stone and uses it to call Aradel. Kiyoshi takes the opportunity to leave, and begins asking around the markets for any information that he can find. Aradel says that she has also arrived, but expresses her desire to speak to someone like Occula instead. 

The group minus Kiyoshi meet with Aradel in a bar, and tell her what they know about Magog, and their reasons for coming to Cebalrai. She instructs them to call her with any relevant information. 

The party meets back up with Kiyoshi in the markets. He has learned of a newly arrived merchant from another continent, who has a number of unusual items in stock. Upon looking at his wares, Aesir notices a box of rings, one of which is a Ring of Xathrid. He casually asks the merchant about the different rings, until he gets to the Ring of Xathrid. The merchant says that he bought it from another traveler along the route he took into town. Yabolax immediately accuses him of lying, only to be pulled away by Aesir for his lack of control. Occula uses a touch of mental magic to confirm that the merchant is in fact lying to them about the ring.