In the stinking, fetid waste beneath the flying swamp-like creature, the party recovered a wooden rod with iron tips matching the description of the second, missing piece of the Staff of Shards. Uso consulted with Yaeshla, the intelligent piece of the Staff the Company had obtained. Yaeshla confirmed that the rod was part of the Staff. Uso linked the two pieces together into a long-hafted dagger.
After searching the Manor for remaining items, the Company rested for the night and struck out for the tower where the many-eyed creature had fallen. The Company had earlier discovered a panel in the tower�s wall which shimmered. The Company walked through the shimmering light and emerged on the balcony atop the belfry of Heth�s church. They had returned to Bima Hara.
Exhausted from the arduous and eerie journey to the Other World of the Pactlords, the Company spends the next several days in the City of Bima Hara. During these days, Jeremi spends much time with his Verundhi disciples, teaching them that a personal connection with �ton is of paramount importance.
The Company is shocked to learn that its act of slaying the sinister tiger-man beast posing as the human leader of House Ikthiar has set off a stealthy war on the streets of Bima Hara. From what Sebastian gathers, House Ikthiar places blame for the death of its leader at the foot of House Bindhum. This has triggered a rash of assassinations, kidnappings, and maulings in the dark corners of Bima Hara.
The 19th of Darkel
One balmy afternoon, the Company also visits Ishara Jagruti, the Loremaster who has helped the party understand arcane mysteries and Verundhi legends in the past. Much to the Company�s surprise, Ishara�s assistant Vesto is present. He recalls nothing of being imprisoned in High Priest Heth�s �tonist chapel, and Ishara corroborates his ignorance, explaining that Vesto does not yet have the wisdom to understand the importance of exposure to other cultures and faiths. Ishara and Vesto both seem sincere. Ishara promises to continue trying to decipher the ancient script on the staff Jeremi wields. As yet, all she has determined is that the script affords �protection� of some sort � from what, she does not yet know.
Sebastian visits a local office of the Shagir Jewelry Guild to ask about andrecite. The jewelers know little of the mythical substance, and suggest that she speak with others more versed in the arcane arts, such as the Order of the Blue Eclipse. After leaving a message with the barkeep of the Ghostly Minstrel, the Company meets up with Sura Naraj, their contact within the mysterious Blue Eclipse organization, which has hired the Company to find a way to seal the Banevault. Sura takes particular interest in the Company�s questions about andrecite and explains that it is not native to Samoth; the Conpany reveals the location of the andrecite deposits located in the shadowy Other World. The Company also details what it has learned about the Pactlords and their goal of the destruction of all humanoids native to Samoth. Sura agrees to ask her superiors whether they would be willing to chance resorting to divination magicks in order to determine the whereabouts of Navanna Bindhum, whom the Company suspects of being an alter ego of Thanali, the Sepoy Kpeshiya who helped steal The Hand That Is The Key from the House Bindhum and then in turn stole it from the Company. Sura also agrees to ask about the Staff of Shards, about which she knows nothing.
The 20th of Darkel
With its business above ground concluded, the Company returns to the Banevault. Like before, Jeremi�s spell to melt the stone surrounding the sealed entryway to the Banevault has been undone. After sealing the door shut from the inside, the Company heads toward the more insidious depths of the Banevault. Orongorg and the others surmise that the Banevault have been visited by others since the Company left, but are unable to track their movements.
The Company returns to the room where its passage was previously halted by an anciently sealed doorway. Now, however, the seal is broken. Cirend opens the door and the Company follows, ascending upward through a flight of stairs. The ensuing passageways reveal frescoes with a distinctly religious theme that were, centuries ago, defaced and desecrated. The religious themes do not appear to be specific to any current religious faith, and Jeremi suspects that they must pre-date organized religion as it is now known on Samoth.
