As the spores drift out in a rapidly expanding cloud, Malak rolls to the ground and breathes fire into the air. Most of the spores are consumed, though Lor and Nor inhale some of them. There is a tense moment as the halflings rebuke Malak for breathing fire on them, but Elaryan points out that the party has larger concerns. The sorcerer can tell that tonight is the night of the full moon, and sunset is only a few hours away. Soon he will transform into a demonic ape, endangering his friends. Malak points out another problem: once it is dark, a vampire demon is probably going to follow them through the portal. "Vampire demon?!" exclaims Arthas. "What vampire demon?" Malak reveals that Birgitte, the vampire that Lor freed, has been following them all along. Worse, she has the ability to change her shape, taking the form of others. "But... that means anyone could have been her in disguise," says Arthas. "Anyone that we met in the Under-Miami. Perhaps Burtelix, or a necromantic midget, or one of the painted men. Who knows?" The other heroes agree that it is quite the mystery, but they do not have time to explore it now. Lor expands his portable keep, so they have a place to rest, to contain Elaryan, and perhaps to entrap Birgitte. The keep itself is another surprise. The walls and floor are lined with mushrooms, and mushroom servants walk the halls. Small rings of fungus begin to spread from its foundation into the forest; Malak carefully burns away every toadstool that touches the forest floor. The party (except Elaryan, who is locked in a cell) spends the night waiting in the keep for Birgitte to appear, so that they can surprise and perhaps destroy her. Malak even cleverly hides behind a barrel. But it appears that the vampire demoness is a patient creature, for the night passes with no sign of her. In the morning, the companions let Elaryan out of his cell, collapse the keep, and travel towards Anestral City. They are joined in their quest by a mysterious, floating fungus named Flumph. The trip to Anestral City takes the better part of a day. Once there, they discover that most of the town is a smoldering ruin, centered on something the locals call a Hellmouth. Exploring the largely abandoned streets, they stumble across a furious battle between a paladin and a towering Ulkreth demon. They join the melee (siding with the paladin) and are victorious! The paladin, whose name is Sir Hulrun, fills them in on some of what has transpired since they were last in the city. First, something large and invisible crashed into the center of Oldtown. The next day, the Hellmouth opened, ruining much of the city. Demons now walk the streets, looting and killing at will. The Knights of the Pale have been working to evacuate the townspeople from a base in South Market known as the Inn of the Defender’s Heart. Sir Hulrun and two of his companions were on such a sortie when they ran across two cultists of Baphomet. The knights had gained the upper hand when the Ulkreth demon appeared out of nowhere, shifting the odds. One of the knights, a paladin named Anevia, was slain by the Ulkreth. The other, an elf named Aravashnial, was dragged into a nearby rift by the cultists. The party agrees to rescue Aravashnial while Hulrun returns Anevia's body to the Inn of the Defender’s Heart. The heroes proceed down a twisting passageway, and are soon ambushed by a pair of mongrelman archers. They make short work of the archers, and rest for a moment, standing before a large stone door that apparently leads into a subterranean complex. Everyone who played gains 5,000 XP.