The group walks through the streets of Shadowfurst – the poor side of town where their bar and its manager, Lolly reside. They soon arrive at her house. Davros stealthily sidles up around the back of the house to a window and peeks inside. This is the kitchen window. In the immediate foreground he sees various cooking implements, and most notably a large chef’s knife on a wooden cutting board. A copious pool of blood has congealed upon the board, the counter and upon the floor, trailing toward the living room. Davros can see the backs of two figures, sitting at ease in high-backed chairs. They face out toward the front door and appear to be engaged in subdued conversation. Although he cannot see their faces, he can see the horns of a tiefling protruding from the head of one of them. This tells him what he needs to know, and feels certain that these are mob enforcers they encountered early this morning. He sees no sign of Lolly in the tiny house. As his companions stay quiet and out of sight, Davros silently opens the backdoor with nary a creak. He carefully places five copper coins on the kitchen floor, in the shape of a cross. He carefully closes the door, and the four slink away from Lolly’s house before they arouse suspicion.
It is obvious to the group that Lolly is in deep trouble, and they decide to seek assistance from her community. During the insurrection of last summer, the “Four” had met several of her friends and neighbors, notably a couple named Findelis and Brit, who had put them up for the night, and helped lead the resistance which brought down Donnwald’s brief reign. They are warmly welcomed by Findelis. He invites them in and makes tea for them as they discuss the situation Lolly has found herself in. Findelis is quite disturbed by the story the guys tell him. He has seen no sign of Lolly, nor has he observed any disturbance at her house. But, he is angry and frustrated at how things have developed in the city since they got rid of Donnwald. They had hoped that things would improve… and they did, briefly. But Findelis believes that Strongbow is a weak mayor, and his city guards are no better. He has allowed Countess Velnarion’s Flaming Fist guards to assume too much control, and for the Stoneheaded Bastards to rise to prominence in the absence of Hack’s Mange Gang. The Mange Gang was a thuggish street gang, but their operations were not as blatantly evil as the Stoneheaded Bastards seem to have become. Findelis is convinced that it the Bastards who are in fact behind the random killings. “Who else can it be… surely not the so called Cult of the Dead Three?” Anyway, Findelis is distraught about Lolly and wants to immediately spring to her assistance. As much as he dislikes the Flaming Fist, he suggests that they seek their assistance. Meanwhile he will go to his neighbors and circulate the news. Surely somebody has seen something, or they can put together search parties and try to find her. He sees the adventurers to the door, and he himself scurries down the street to begin spreading the word to his friends and neighbors.
The group proceeds on their way to the Tower of Guard and the mayor’s office. They’d like to talk to him about the situation with the Stoneheaded Bastards and check the status of their weapons sale. They are greeted by the usual mayoral guards who see them up to the mayor’s office. He is in conference with professor Elchor Grafton at that moment. Grafton shows them an artifact from his historical archives. It is a dagger handle bearing the authentic mark of Durgeddin. He has carefully compared it to not just the mark, but also the workmanship of the weapons the four hand brought back from the Stone Tooth. He confirms that the weapons are authentic. He recommends that the mayor pay the four what they are due, and that they get these weapons into the hands of the Royal Guards as soon as possible. As more people come to the south gates from the south, the more stories they hear about hobgoblins advancing toward the city. He suspects that soon the soldiers will be needing any advantage they can find to fend off hobgoblin invaders.
The guys suggest to him that perhaps now is the time to reactivate the Shadowfurst Champion. Elchor agrees, however he also provides a little background on its operation. Presently, only the rightfully elected mayor and himself are privy to the knowledge to activate and operate the towering statue. Donnwald tried to force it out of him, and he might have succeeded if not for the assistance of “The Four.” The operation of the Champion also requires great physical constitution and mental toughness. He himself is becoming frail in his age and may no longer have the wherewithal to perform this duty. Perhaps one of them may be found fit to take on this role. There is a test and a trial designed to ensure that a new recruit is worthy, and thus far none of the city guards have succeeded. They agree to discuss it more later. For now, they wish to seek guidance on dealing with the mobsters, and to conclude their business with the weapons.
Mayor Strongbow turns the dial on a sturdy safe built into the stone wall of the tower. He withdraws nearly all its contents – a pile of small gold bars. There are a total of 67 gold bars, each worth 100 gold pieces, and one smaller bar worth 50 gold pieces. This amounts to 6,750 gold pieces in value, which when added to their down payment, amounts to 7,500 gold pieces. Strongbow expresses his appreciation again, thanking them for risking their lives in a dangerous journey of several weeks. He believes these weapons can help turn the tide against the hobgoblins, should war indeed come to their gates.
The mayor is angry and frustrated by the rise of The Stoneheaded Bastards as a criminal organization. They were once just common street thugs, but somehow they have become organized, ambitious, and exceedingly dangerous. Strongbow writes a letter and stamps it with his seal. He suggests that they take it to Captain Zodge. It contains instructions that, by order of the Office of the Mayor of Shadowfurst, Zodge is to provide significant resources to help the four find their bar manager.
They take their leave of the mayor, taking their letter and a leather sack filled with gold bars. It is mid-afternoon as they walk to the Church of St. Terragnis. They arrive and are warmly greeted by the acolytes, who now treat Mishok with the respect due the pastor of their church. They direct him to a rope that runs up to the bell tower. He and his acolytes heave on the rope, and bell rings three resounding tolls. Now, they need to wait until the church fills with sufficient parishioners with which to share the news of Thibalt’s departure.
Just a few congregants are present at the moment. They take note of a shabby individual sitting up front. This man has disheveled, sandy hair. A batterered helmet and a shield sit on the pew next to him. He wears battle-scarred armor and a threadbare cloak. Taking a seat next to him, Mishok learns that this individual is in fact one of the Hellriders they have heard about. He introduces himself as Akeyra Nissan. He was outside of New Elturel when it disappeared. He relates a story of the orb that had hovered above the city for months. It came to be known as “The Companion” and although it seemed uncanny, it gave off a wholesome light and it came to be embraced as a sign of good fortune. But on that fateful day, The Companion turned black. It seemed to draw all light and joy from the city, and a darkness fell over the land. Shafts of lightning struck out in all directions from the black orb, until suddenly with a resounding crack and a binding flash, The Companion, and indeed the city, disappeared. It looked as if the city had been cleanly scooped from the land. A smooth circular crater, miles across and as deep, now scarred the land instead of the beautiful city of New Elturel.
Hundreds of people who happened to be outside the city were stricken with terror. They made their way to Shadowfurst, a long journey for refugees. Nissan and others of his order traveled with them, providing guidance and protection. When they arrived at Shadowfurst, they learned that the refugees were unwelcome, especially the Hellriders. His brothers-in-arms, Ahambra Toyota, Alonzo Yamaha were taken into custody by the Flaming Fists. Nissan slipped into the city and thus far has been able to keep a low profile deep in the city. He has to admit, that he feels a sense of defeat and hopelessness at what has befallen his city and members of his order. The Hellriders follow in the tradition of brave paladins who centuries ago had literally ridden headlong into Hell to fight evil. Now, his time of fighting is past. He has borne too many injuries. But he is glad of the welcome he has received at this congregation.