A great battle follows, during which all of the heroes except Jeremi are forced to flee due to an unnatural source of fear radiating from Jarryk. Jeremi holds Jarryk off with his newly-discovered sorcery skills until the rest of the Company are able to steel themselves and return to the combat. Jarryk uses his great powers to magically paralyze Mikela, then moves in to finish off the rest of the Company. They notice that he is drawing upon some unnatural dark power which fills them with a feeling of dread.
The Company combine their resources and are able to finally defeat Jarryk. Sebastian and Jeremi read some crudely carved runes written by Jarrk as a journal. He dedicated the cave to an evil dark lord of which the Company is not familiar. The runes also describe the history Tornclaw Pack's destruction at the hands of the greedy villagers who wanted access to the mountain's rich silver veins. The journal explains the magical disease's source, and the Company decide to burn all the bodies inside the mines to help cleanse the site of the Burning Plague. Strangely, during the burning of the miners and townspeople, neither Jeremi nor Rafe (both �tonists) follow the form of the �tonist Funeral Rites as explained in the Canon.
Afterwards, the Company return to the village, where villages question them incessantly. A dark-skinned elf approaches them who explains that he is Ikinya, a friend of Tennyson. He bears a message from Tennyson: she has found the bandits who stole the Sacred Chalice from Jeremi back on the Festival of Nature.
The Company travel toward the village of Colina Justa.
The 17th of Albicene
On the road to Colina Justa, the Company, accompanied by Ikinya, are ambushed by four very strong and barbaric devil-dogs. These devil-dogs are different from the ones whom the company fought in Barrid and near Paso del Karmento; they have darker fur and seem more "tribal", decorating themselves with feathers and an assortment of animal teeth and bones. The devil-dogs severely wound several members of the company, and then inexplicably they retreat. Only one of the devil-dogs makes his escape.
After tending their wounds, the Company decide to split up. Jeremi and Gur Prasaad track the fleeing devil-dog. The remainder of the Company, with Ikinya, continue to Colina Justa.
The 18th of Albicene
The Company continue toward Colina Justa.
The 19th of Albicene
The Company continue toward Colina Justa. They duck out of sight into a light forest when they notice a group of horsemen following them. The riders spy the Company, however, and call them out of hiding. The leader, Darg Tas, is a goblin (or perhaps half-goblin) with a bad temper and mean spirit. He explains that he is seeking a group of adventurers who are wanted for murder in Barrid and he has tracked their whereabouts to this area. He doesn't seem exceptionally bright. Sebastian and Rafe convince him that they haven't seen anybody, and Tas allows them to continue on their travels. Mikela and Ikinya stay hidden throughout the encounter.
The Company reach Colina Justa and meet Captain of the Guard Baran and his elf lieutenant, Lauriel. Baran directs them to stable their horses and pay their respects at the Temple of Hallowed Laessal, a Blessed Prophet of �ton who is invoked for good harvests. At the Temple, the Company meet the elf Shandril, the ranking �tonist Priestess of Colina Justa. She tells them of the Silver Crucible, the village's holy relic of Laessal. She seems very concerned that B'Gokktem and Sebastian are not �tonists, and makes plans to carry out the Ceremony of Conversion on the next morning. Both B'gokktem and Sebastian agree.
The Company procure rooms at the Drunken Cockatrice Inn and talk with the locals. Late that night, an alarm bell sounds - the Temple of Hallowed Laessal is on fire. Shandril, Baran, and Arlen (the town magistrate) explain that brigands have set fire to the Temple and stolen the Silver Crucible. They ask the adventurers to recover it for them, and the Company agrees. Lauriel and two town guards, Jerinor and Atol, accompany the heroes.
The heroes track the brigands to a forest near a ruined keep and create an ambush. During a fierce battle, Rafe and Sebastian are near-mortally wounded. Afterwards, the Company retrieve the crucible and bring their fallen comrades (and the leader of the brigand raiding
