Stopping by the Cathedral, Jeremi inquired about the status of the slain guard whom he had asked to be raised from the dead. Mara said he would be raised in the coming days. However, she again put pressure on Jeremi to recover the sword of truth, and provided more information about the sword's purpose: it protects against and attacks evil arcane spellcasters. Jeremi worried about this, noting that, to �tonists, all arcane spellcasters are considered "evil".
Returning to the Banevault, the Company again used magick to ascend the shaft, and, returning to the area with the metallic statue, they discovered a room full of eight swords hanging in mid-air. Jeremi believed one of the swords to be the sword of truth. In their attempts to recover the sword, however, the Company triggered the alarm placed upon an ancient metal construct, who attacked them on site and caused much damage to the already depleted resources of the adventurers. The construct was eventually brought down, and the Company prepared to rest and ponder whether recovering the sword of truth was such a good idea.
However, the apparent recovery of the magical sword was but a minor occurrence to the main event that transpired during this trip to the Banevault � the discovery of yet another legendary dragon! Stumbling a magical pendant, the Company, with the exception of Uso, were pulled, against their will, into a magical pocket dimension. Although the experience made them woozy, Jeremi was able to determine that they were no longer on Samoth. Somehow they were in another realm of existence. Strangely, the feeling was actually similar to the way he felt while in the Banevault. While Jeremi, Cirend, Sebastian, and Si�lara stood on the alien landscape and tried to get their bearings, they heard a loud flapping of wings, and looking up, saw a massive blue winged reptile circling above them. The creature taunted them, claiming them to now be the property of �Darkstar�, the name by which the creature referred to itself. Suddenly, the Company were whisked back to the Banevault, with Darkstar along with them. Uso had successfully manipulated the pendant to call his friends back to him. Darkstar seemed flustered. Clearly it wished to return to its own �realm�. Cirend tried to reason with it. Based on his conversation with the only other dragon he had encountered (the great Silver King, also locked away here in the Banevault), Cirend assumed that the magnificent Darkstar would also be open to conversation. However, this dragon was different; it seemed to have an evil selfishness in its heart, and it demanded that the Company return with it to its realm, where they would be servants. Cirend and the Company refused, and were forced to battle the dragon and eventually slay it. The Company wondered about the actions of this dragon, so different from the Silver King they had encountered. The silver dragon had spoken to them of other dragons, sent away long ago to guard the world against an ancient and powerful evil. Was this so-called �Darkstar� part of that group? Had it always been selfish and evil? Or was it somehow corrupted? Uso also secretly wondered about the growing occurrence of pocket-dimensions. Why had none of his superiors ever mentioned their existence before?
As they pondered the many questions they had, the Company had a more immediate concern to consider � would they give the magical sword to the �tonist Church, as Jeremi had been instructed, would they keep it for themselves, or would they decide ultimately to leave it in the Banevault? It appeared that a confrontation between the various members of the Company was coming, sooner rather than later.
However, putting that aside, after resting, the Company decided to continue on, searching for the missing piece of the Staff of Shards, and looking for a way to seal the Banevault for once and all. Si�lara, having become depressed and deeply disturbed from her constant presence in the enclosed evil of the Banevault, desired to hold counsel with her woodland companion, Logan. Although she knew of special incantations that would allow her to read the surface thoughts of Logan and to speak to him in a rudimentary way, she wanted more. Cirend, Jeremi, Uso, and Sebastian were all of the civilized, modern world, and they did not always understand her goal of preserving nature and the wilderness. Only Logan could truly understand her and her druidic lifestyle. Using an ancient ritual, Si�lara called upon the powers of nature to awaken Logan, giving him supernatural intelligence beyond that of normal animals. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Logan was able to speak with the other members of the Company, and to learn and adapt to situations. He truly was a full member of the Company, able to make his own decisions and no longer merely a trained animal executing Si�lara�s commands. The Company marveled to see this transformation in Logan, but knew that he would become a valued friend and ally.
