In the aftermath of Whitecap’s attack, the settlers look to rebuild while the heroes turn to uncovering the truth. Clues point from the town’s corrupted supplies to a trail of white-clad figures vanishing into the woods, and toward secrets buried beneath the vault’s orderly past.

• While Fhino scans the skies for Koret Ash, Winston investigates the source of the black sludge. Shattered barrels mark each blast site.

• Examining the fragments, Winston realizes the material is no natural wood. Hobb Rusk, the Fungril quartermaster, identifies it as an artificial vault composite: pressed cellulose and fungal fiber made underground. None of it appears in his meticulous inventory.

• Rusk consults with Marshall Garlo Zant, yet their talk feels evasive, as if each speaks past the other.

• Overhead, Fhino spots a white speck disappearing into distant trees. Shepherd transforms into a spider and hitches a ride to investigate.

• They find Koret Ash and several Pale Offering cultists breaking camp and loading supplies onto a donkey cart. Among them stands a tall, bearded man - clearly their leader.

• The cultists head east, mentioning a distant temple. Shepherd, hidden in the cart, sees Koret hand the leader a small pouch; later it is locked away with the clink of coin.

• Rejoined when the cultists make camp for the night, the party decides to confront the group at dawn. A tense parley follows. The cultists claim they were paid only to deliver a speech at the dedication and deny knowledge of the sludge or creatures.

• A verbal feint from Shepherd provokes Koret to blurt, “I swear no one saw her give it to me!” - a slip that sets suspicion on former Overseer Mira and possibly Marshall Garlo.

• Leaving the cultists in uneasy truce, the heroes return to Whitecap to confront Mira.

• Faced with their detailed account, Mira confesses. She arranged for a harmless display meant to frighten the settlers into caution, using leftover sludge from the vault - never expecting it to become deadly. She suspects the arcane shards used to trigger the blasts warped the material into monsters.

• The party collects samples of the sludge and prepares to travel to Dawnspire to trace the shards’ origin.

The truth behind the attack is murky, and no one in Whitecap feels safe. With samples in hand and more questions than answers, the party sets out for Dawnspire to find out what caused the sludge to turn.