Following the adventures at Pythoness House, the party takes some much needed rest. Lor in particular has been affected, both by the mysterious loss of parts of his memory and by his sudden immersion into a modern, bustling city. His only consolation is that Xhotl has been found wandering Aranthas's estate. The halfling and dino enjoy a tearful reunion, then camp out in Elaryan's quarters so that the sorcerer can catch them up. Soon, however, the heroes are approached again by Jevicca Nor. The city's anti-magic field will be up in a matter of days, and there is still one crucial piece missing from the Pyramid's drive engine: Nevan's Adamantine Cog. Her research has suggested that, like Nevan's All-Key, the Cog may have once been in the possession of a chaos cult. This time, the cult in question is one of the more shadowy ones, the Brothers of Venom. There are many rumors as to where the Cog now resides, but one of the more promising ones points to an abandoned townhouse in Oldtown, not far from Pythoness House. Brothers of Venom have supposedly been seen entering the house with members of the Cult of the Ebon Hand, even though the two groups have not traditionally cooperated. Worse, there have recently been a rash of disappearances of in the area. Lor, Eovan, and Elaryan agree to investigate the house. At the very least, they may be able to solve the mystery of the disappearing townsfolk. At best, they may find some clue to the Adamantine Cog's location, thus preventing the fall of the Inverted Pyramid. They consider tracking down the rest of the party, who are scattered throughout Anestral City, but decide that there is no time to waste. The lives of thousands hang in the balance! Jevicca teleports the party to the townhouse, which lies shuttered and abandoned. Within, the heroes find huge, glistening cocoons that vomit forth noxious slime and swarms of spiders. Worse, they determine that the cocoons are being used to transform local residents into venomous thralls, hideous monsters that serve the cultists. After fighting several thralls, though, they are so winded that they take a two-day vacation. When they return to the house, they find that several more townsfolk have been abducted. They burn every cocoon they can find, and rescue several victims that have not yet been transformed. They also try to save several that are midway through the transformation, but their healing skills are nit up to the task. Having cleared the ground floor of the house, they step tentatively towards the stairs... Everyone who played gains 2,000 XP ⇚ Escape from Pythoness ... Serpent, Spiral, Hand and Bell ⇛