* Rumour has it that a contingent of troops from Throecia, under the direction of the Eastern �tonist church there, marched west toward the encampment of the Vistibalts to avenge the murder of their missionaries to that tribe. Estac�o was unable to confirm this rumour.
* Lastly, a very disturbing piece of news is that the monastery known as La Castile de la Divina Senda is missing. The entire structure seems to have disappeared - not a trace of rubble can be found. The monks and priests living at the monastery are also missing.
Unfortunately, neither Rafe, Orongorg, nor B'gokktem are around to hear this news. The three of them have separated from the Company temporarily to follow up on some other leads. The remaining members of the Company, including Sebastian who has rejoined the group, are glad for Estac�o's help in their upcoming endeavors. They decide to contact Thanali and find out if he will be willing to help them steal the ancient key to the Banevault from the possession of House Bhindum. Although the Templehall of the Sepoy Kpeshiya in Oldtown do not know of Thanali's current whereabouts, the Company soon receive a message that Thanali heard that they were looking for him and he agrees to meet them at a tavern called The Griffon.
During their meeting, Thanali explains that the daughter of the leader of House Bhindum, a woman named Navanna, killed Thanali's family. Thanali used to work for the family, and therefore challenged the head of the family, a man named Iristul, to a duel. Iristul refused but threw Thanali into the family dungeons for awhile to "cool off". From his time working for the family and while held captive in the dungeons, Thanali gathered a lot of information on the layout and setup of the house, and believes that the ancient key would lie in the "strong room", a fortitfied vault under the house. He agrees to lead the Company on a raiding party, provided that they keep casualties to a minimum and agree not to plunder the house for other treasure.
Later that night, the Company sneak over to House Bhindum and scale the outer wall. Thanali leads them directly to the window of the library on the first floor. He notes that inside there is a secret door that will lead them to the underground vaults. Jeremi, Estac�o, Sebastian, Uso, and Thanali all climb in through a broken window after encountering no resistance from House Bhindum's guards. Once inside, Uso, Estac�o, and Sebastian are overcome by an overwhelming desire to "leave the house immediately" and they climb back outside. Thanali and Jeremi press on, find the secret door, and go into the dungeons. On the way to the strong room, Jeremi becomes the unfortunate victim of 5 poison dart traps set throughout a long hallway. Severely weakened and near-collapse, he vows to continue on. The remainder of the Company finally overcome their supernatural fear and return to the house and meet up with Jeremi and Thanali. Sebastian opens a second door which explodes in a brief burst of flame but fails to damage anyone. Apparently a firetrap was set in the door which Sebastian had failed to discover. The trap, however, inexplicably seems not to have worked.
After entering another door, the Company come upon "the strong room". Thanali confirms this. There are several works of art inside, including paintings, vases, carpets, glassware, and ancient tokens and relics from past civilizations. Keeping to their vow not to loot the house, the set out trying to look for some sort of key. Sebastian discover a bronze box and upon opening it finds a mummified hand wrapped in cloth. This fits with the prediction that the "key is a hand". Satisfied that they have achieved their goal, the Company leave the dungeons and set about leaving the grounds of the estate. On the way out, Jeremi collapses from the poison coursing through his veins and the Company are extremely dismayed to discover that the color has left his face and his body has gone cold. Jeremi is dead, clearly beyond their capacity to heal. Saddened but in a state of panic to leave the estate before they are discovered, the Company scale the wall and being the trek back toward the Temple District to find Brother Heth and see if the church leadership can revive their friend.
Shortly outisde the walls of House Bhindum, Thanali asks Sebastian if he can have a brief look at the mummified hand. Sebastian complies and the Company are astonished to see Thanali take the key and then immediately disappear in a brief flash of light. Their astonishment is short-lived, however, as their are immediately set upon by two large, wolf-like humanoids who bark at them in choppy, raspy Verundhyan, "Steal from House Bhindum, will you?" A terrible combat begins with Uso, Sebastian, and Estac�o clearly outnumbered and not possessing the proper weapons to defeat these awful beasts, and without the healing skills of their dead friend Jeremi. Things look particularly bad for the Company, but between the arcane magick of Uso and the quick thinking of Sebastian, who uses his silver short sword, the Company defeat the beasts but not after each member of the Company has been bitten and wounded several times.
The Company limp the rest of the way back to the Cathedral of Hallowed Tolnan, disheartened by the loss of their companion and upset by the loss of the ancient key. They wonder if Jeremi can be revived, and also what will become of the key. What are Thanali's plans? Will he sell the key to enemies of House Bhindum, or try to use it himself?
