We pick up where we left off, in the middle of a barnburner between The Green Dragon Brotherhood and The Red, specifically Rehan Mund. The Brotherhood gangs up on the surly Dwarf, who slams his warhammer on the ground with a Thunderous Invocation, knocking everyone back 30 feet and actually killing most of his remaining henchmen.

This only buys him a moment of reprieve, because everyone gets up, dusts off, and rejoins the fight! Mund flies into a barbaric rage, but it’s not enough. He’s dropped, but holds onto life just long enough for a strange, purple portal to open beneath him, and POOF, he escapes.

The Brotherhood takes stock. They loot the bodies, finding some nickel ingots (Kraz Formalhaut snags those for his artificer purposes), some gems, and a cool poisoner’s ring, complete with one dose of Whisperfog poison. Greer the Betrayer snags that, of course. William Dune helps himself to Sigrid Stormwood's grimoire.

Most interestingly, they notice that for a criminal organization known for stealing rare and wondrous items, there’s really nothing in the hideout besides some furniture and, well, dead guys. Where does The Red keep their loot? Everyone searches for hidden doors and bolt holes, but they find nothing. One of the smarter Red Henchmen quickly switches sides and tells them he doesn’t know where the stuff is kept, but on several occasions he’s seen Mund in the company of two strange men - no one ever sees them arrive or depart, and they give everyone the creeps.

The hairs on Skarrow's neck start to stand up - something magickal is afoot. And just like that, in a purple swirl, a portal opens and Rehan Mund is back, wearing strange shiny armor and carrying some weird weapon that belches green energy. Mund fires wild and catches one of his surviving henchmen, vaporizing the poor bastard in one burst. Thanks to Sooney-Crow of No Family shouldering Mund out of the way (successful rescue attempt) a second shot goes wild and blows a hole in the roof.

The Brotherhood leaps back into action. Shiv Drinkstep, thinking quickly, cleaves Mund’s hand right off his body (successful martial exploit), which nullifies his ability to use his mysterious weapon. The group gangs up on him, and the best he can do is a swift kick to Skarrow's junk (Skarrow fumbles and this is the only attack Mund has available) before falling victim to the onslaught completely.

The Blade of Graxus is thirsty, and Shiv uses it to drink in Mund’s soul, trapping it in the blade. Greer the Betrayer quickly snatches up the energy weapon for future use. The group also finds several rings (one magic, one fancy) and a bizarre metal contraption whose markings remind William Dune of The Uxul, though this is two attached discs, not a cube.

Shiv queries Mund’s soul (secondary power of the sword; Riddle of Bones) to ask (1) who the mysterious pair of men are and (2) where the loot is kept. Mund answers “They are of the Old Ones” and “In my room in the Tower” respectively. Shiv uses his third question to ask where on the map the Tower might be. The answer comes back “It cannot be found on the map,” and with that, Mund’s soul is freed.

Much debate ensues. Nobody really can figure out what that all means, so instead, the group decides to go drinking, except for Kraz, who wants to head back to his workshop and start figuring out what can be done with Mund’s strange metallic cloth-like armor and the Uxul-like metal disc apparatus. He’s in artificer heaven.

The rest of the group heads to The Rag and Blade, which is hopping. The plan is to start spreading the news that The Brotherhood runs crime in Rainwall City now. Sooney-Crow of No Family jumps on stage and sings the usual songs about the Brotherhood’s exploits, plus a few other standards. The crowd goes nuts, and a few rounds of drinks seals the deal. People love the new crew in town!

Back in his shop, Kraz decides the “metal cloth” (extremely similar to the stuff Cleansing Waters took off the strange being that fell from the sky months ago) would make excellent reinforcement on other armor, toughening up critical spots.

After a couple of hours, the strange metal disc starts to vibrate. Something is happening! Kraz grabs it and runs to find the rest of the group (a successful Luck check means whatever’s going to happen doesn’t happen between his shop and the bar). He bursts into the tavern and throws the disc the on ground, just in time for a glowing purple portal to emanate from it - and two strangely lanky humanoids holding energy weapons just like Mund’s emerge…

TOTAL ELAPSED TIME: 4 HOURS