Elaryan and Malak awake refreshed, having spent a starnight at the shrine of Nocticula. Malak is happy to discover that he has regained his golden scales, deciding that whatever ill effect caused him to be green has passed. As the two sorcerers are leaving the shrine, they encounter Arthas, Nor, and Lor, who have returned to Alushinyrra after being banished to the Prime Material for a day. The two groups exchange stories, and the party decides to return to Colyphyr in order to shut down Hepzamirah's Nahyndrian crystal mine. Together, Malak and Elaryan are able to teleport the entire party back to the beach with the Qlippoth runestone. The flayed angel is nowhere to be seen, do the companions decide to fly upriver. They keep low against the water, in order to avoid the teeming masses of vrock demons which fill the sky. Even so, a few miles later, they are attacked by four vrocks. The vulture-like demons wing down from the sky and perform a dance of ruin, injuring the heroes, then attack with stunning screeches that disorient them. Malak is knocked into the river below, whose Stygian waters rob him of his memories. Nonetheless, the heroes are able to slay the vrock demons, and Nor restores the draconic disiple's mind. Wary of the river's dangers, the party decides to keep closer to the shoreline. Another few miles pass without incident, then the companions discover a barge beached upon a mussy shoal, its crew laboring to free it. Elaryan strides forward to offer the deckhands his help, but when then turn to answer, he realizes his mistake. For the crewman are bodak, whose very gaze robs mortals of their life energies. Their eyes closed or averted, the heroes battle desperately against the undead fiends. Soon, the bodak are joined by their captain, a gravenight named Kestoglyr Mantiel. Sir Mantiel was once a valiant paladin, but he succumbed to Baphomet's offers of power, and led his order to heir doom. He is none too pleased to encounter the forces of good, and rides into battle on a phantom nightmare. One antipaladin is no match for four mythic heroes, however, particularly after Arthas uses his clarion call ability to imbue them with Erastil's power. Soon, both Mantiel and his bodak minions have been destroyed. The heroes decide that the barge itself would be a useful resource. Nor uses animal growth to enlarge Xhotl, and the harnesses her to the large chain which extends from the barge's bow. With a mighty heave, the velociraptor frees the craft from the shore, and then begins to pull it upriver. Everyone who played gains 15,000 XP.