The Council is very pleased when the party returns with the blue dragon mask and their report of all that transpired at Xonthal's Tower. The death of Iskander is unfortunate, but it's clear that the adventurers could not have saved him. Meanwhile, events are proceeding - the Council Lords have started their armies marching to the Well of Dragons, and the Harpers have been approached by an agent of the Red Wizards of Thay named Ilmicch. She has brought an invitation, specifically addressed to the adventurers, to come to Thay and discuss a possible alliance. If the Red Wizards can be convinced to help, perhaps they can help to disrupt the ritual of Tiamat's return. Ilmicch teleports the party to Nethwatch Keep in Thay, a stronghold ruled by the vampire Tharchion Eseldra Yech. They are brought to an audience with the Tharchion, and after verifying their identities, she proposes that Ilmicch be assigned as liaison to the Council. The Red Wizards wish to find traitors, exiled wizards who have abandoned their fellows to work with the Cult. When the Council finds word of these traitor wizards, particularly their leader Rath Modar, Ilmicch will report it to Thay and action will be taken. The Tharchion asks some additional questions of the party, and they answer as truthfully as they are able. They also are able to ask a few questions of their own, and learn that even with as few as two dragon masks, the cult will be able to perform the ritual to bring Tiamat back into this world. The Thay proposal seems a bit one-sided to the adventurers, so they request that more substantial help in the form of military aid also be provided. The Tharchion is willing to consider this, but needs to consult with her superiors. The party is given rooms for the night, and she will have an answer in the morning. They investigate the rooms and determine them to be safe, but decide to take no chances - they also post Malkior's familiar as a guard and give Lariat the first watch. Sleep is difficult, but eventually Ulrik and Malkior are able to drop off - only to be wracked with nightmares! Each dreams of being put to the question by Red Wizard torturers, pushed to reveal everything they know about the Cult's plans, their own pasts, and their motives in coming to Thay. By the time Lariat wakes Ulrik for the next watch, they are exhausted, feeling the aftereffects of the nightmare as painful headaches. No one dares return to sleep for the rest of the night. Breakfast is served in the morning, after which Ilmicch comes to retrieve them. Tharchion Yech has consulted with the leaders of Thay, and they have agreed - Thay will battle the traitor Red Wizards whenever they are found, and a contingent of Red Wizards will fight alongside the Council's forces at the Well of Dragons. Then one of the wizards casts a teleportation circle, sending Ilmicch and the party back to Waterdeep... ...but something goes awry! They appear in an abandoned farmhouse and are immediately under attack! Cultists, red-robed mages, and even a red dragon surround them, clearly having been waiting in ambush. They shout support for the Cult, Tiamat, and the traitor Red Wizard Rath Modar. The initial attack fells Malkior, but the rest of the party is able to regroup, revive him, and defeat the ambush. During the battle, Ilmicch is also under attack, clearly a target of the traitorous wizards. She gives good account of herself, killing a cultist and then dealing with him in Red Wizard fashion - stripping secrets from his dying mind, then raising the corpse as a servant wight. From this she learns that these cultists were forewarned that the party would be appearing here. Clearly, they were betrayed! Ulrik is suspicious of this story and warns the other adventurers. Lariat confronts Ilmicch, demanding the full truth, and the mage is cowed into obedience. She tells them that Tharchion Yech knew that she might have traitors in her midst, and planned to use the party's visit to smoke them out. But they did not realize how dangerous this would be! Unsettled by this breach of trust, the adventurers take the Red Wizard's spell components and watch her carefully. Ulrik also lays the undead cultist to rest, ending his existence as a wight. The party returns to Waterdeep, which is only a short distance away once they find a nearby road. Those of the Council not yet in the field are happy to see the adventurers returned safely with Ilmicch as liaison, though the Red Wizard alliance is strained. After a day of rest, the time will have come to join the armies in the field at the Well of Dragons!