The segment of creatures writhes as it dies. Other creatures seem to have been brought along, as well as an energy reminiscent of a dragon's breath weapon proving potentially the immediate dangers. The party works to begin moving the crowd further along, as well as fighting off the creatures who join the fray. Talthis also joins, calling for ladders to be dropped for civilians to potentially escape on the ship. After a long battle, they are able to overcome the various enemies.

Once the immediate threats are taken care of, Hobbs attacks Talthis, angry about his Purifier past. Talthis agrees that his rage is warranted, but that he is no longer one of the Purifiers and there are other things they need to deal with right now. While speaking, one of the enemies turns out to not be dead, and Talthis saves Vinter from it. Hobbs goes off to pout; Vinter joins them.

Invicta is afraid of Talthis because he's a Purifier. Talthis in particular renounced the Gathering Light around the time of the Shattering, and it one of the few who kept their powers when the gods left. The crowd is terrified of him, as he was personally responsible for the deaths of a lot of people in the Beastlands. Eck and Vera explain that he is a good guy, a formed Purifier of sorts, but because of the very real crimes that some might argue he needs to see justice for. Talthis addresses the crowd, offering to provide a ride to the edge of town on the airship if they would like, but it would be understood if they would rather disembark. Invicta requests that Dorean walks her home.

Ward follows Talthis to the bridge of the ship. He asks if Talthis is alright, and after some evasion of the question, he admits that he's not. He doesn't understand why he still has his powers, but does his best to help people with them. Talthis also commends Ward on his work to protect the people during the fight.

Dorean and Invicta walk in silence, both lost in thought. At her doorstep, Invicta remarks that the evening was more adventurous than she had expected. She questions Dorean's nature as an adventurer, recalling that working for the Fourth Act was mostly just a gig and observing that Talthis Vim joining a simple theatre troupe is unusual. Invicta requests that Dorean stay the night; Dorean agrees.

As the townspeople are leaving, Cecily comes sprinting in, mildly panicked. The party assures her that everyone is okay and the only damage was to the airship (minor) and security (minor). She reports that all objectives were accomplished on her end, but she had a meeting to get to. She says that Vera isn't allowed to go, so she requests Eck go with her as a guard. Ward requests Mira and Luna have a private conversation as well. Ward tells Luna and Mira about his meeting with Elliard Methuss. They ponder the possibility of the secret organization coming for the newly formed shard, and whether there is anything they can do about it. They resolve to tell Cecily, as she is aware of their connection with the Shard Research League and their encounter with the secret organization and might have the knowledge and resources to do something about it. Luna and Mira go to bed, with Ward waiting for Cecily to return from her meeting.

As they walk, Cecily asks how Eck is liking the Fourth Act and their party. They think everyone is very nice and is enjoying themself. Eck asks why Vera couldn't come. Cecily asks how much of Vera's "cursed by a witch" situation Eck knows about, which astounds them entirely as they had no idea. They are going to meet one of the witches who cursed her. A tall woman steps through wielding a dragon staff. Eck notices that her staff is looking at them, as is her shadow. They were warned not to speak, so holds that duty seriously. Cecily tosses over the thing they retrieved, a small, magic, stone cube. The woman fumbles the catch, and a man of similar appearance melts out of her shadow to catch it for her. The pair leaves, the woman telling someone, "No, you can't eat it." Eck asks about the Incredible Power, as the staff was looking at them. Cecily asks how much they know about Ascendant Dragons.

Introduced

• Kiono
• Kitano

Returning

• Hobbs
• Vinter
• Invicta
• Talthis Vim
• Cecily Cardew
• Alibi

Mentioned

• Elliard Methuss

• Antidote (taken by Luna)