The party takes a moment to get their bearings after Nocticula's plane shift . Nor uses his legendary fungal pod to reincarnate Xhotl and she tranforms into a shambling mound of vines. Then the heroes fly upwards, both to escape the city's poisonous spores and to ascertain their location. Confirming that they have returned to Anestral city, Malak teleports everyone to Bladechapel Manor, headquarters of the Knights of the Pale. Their reception is icier than expted. Strange knights in green armor guard the Bladechapel, and they draw their swords as soon as the heroes materialize. Fortunately, Commander Hillerchaun rushes forward to defuse the situation. "I hereby take you into custody," she exclaims, waving off the emerald knights. She then escorts the companions to Anestral palace. On the way, she explains the situation. The murderous fungus has continued to spread in the party's absence, and a beast that looks suspiciously like Xhotl's original form has been seen running through the ruins, leaving a path of corrupted mushrooms in its wake. The three sorcerer princes-- Banderak, Yakmar, and Yithdul-- have kept it from spreading to the upper level of the capital, and have increasingly served as King Rail's advisers. A few days ago, the King proclaimed that the "so-called Mythic Heroes of Anestral" were in fact the source of the epidemic, and placed a Royal Warrant on their heads. For her part, Hillerchaun does not trust the princes of Uldivai. Nor does she care for the armies of strange green knights that have been stationed across the city. She and her paladins have been focused on finding food and shelter for the growing number of refugees in the increasingly tight confines of the city, so they have not directly confronted the King or his advisers. But she is hopeful that the heroes will be able to set things right. At the palace, there are more changes. The security detail has been replaced by the strange knights, who call themselves the King's Guard but seem to answer instead to Banderak. Banderak himself stands beside the throne, his hand resting lightly upon the King's right arm, mumbling advice too low for the companions to hear. As negotiations unfold, however, the sorcerer prince seems at times to be more sympathetic to the heroes than the King himself. Or so Rail claims... the party cannot actually make out what Banderak is whispering to him. The adventurers do a fairly terrible job at defending themselves against the charges leveled at them, but offer to rid the city of its fungal scourge. Commander Hillerchaun speaks up, reminding the King that the heroes have been successful in the past, and that they were probably responsible for closing the Hellmouth. King Rain does not seem entirely convinced, but he grants them a week to prove themselves. The party seems about to argue further, when Hillerchaun hushes them and hustles them out of the palace. Back at Bladechapel Manor, the party prepares for their insurgency against the Witchbole. Using a combination of divination spells and research, they determine that the Moldering Emperor is a giant telepathic worm whose powers have been enhanced by something called the "black blood". They are aided in their efforts by Eovan, who casually walks into the room on the second day, after being missing for weeks. The heroes review their options. They could kill Treerazer-- this is the most difficult but mot permanent solution. Or they could steal his axe and destroy Witchbole, which will cause Treerazer to flee and the fungal corruption to end. Finally, they could slay the Moldering Emperor, which will temporarily end the corruption, and force Treerazer to leave to find a new heart for Witchbole (and hopefully not return, now that the Hellmouth is closed). The heroes decide to set out for the center of the city ruins and pursue whichever opportunity presents itself. As they are flying over the spore cloud, they are intercepted by a colossal spore pod which looks like Flumph, only 30 feet in diameter. They attack, and using a combination of spells and melee attacks, are fairly successful. Unfortunately, the combat draws the attention of Treerazer himself. The Lord of the Blasted Tarn swoops in, Blackaxe in hand, just as the colossal Flumph is on its last legs. The party only confronts the nascent demon lord for a few seconds before Nor counsels fleeing. Malak is opposed, for Treerazer has not particularly harmed the party, but the halfling-- having deduced that Blackaxe's attacks are particularly effective against plant creatures-- is adamant. The heroes hold hands, and Elaryan teleports them away. Everyone who played gains 30,000 XP.
