The Danger Gang Auxiliary Get Out Of The Shadows
Shortly after midnight, there is a knock at the door of the Danger Gang Auxiliary's Secure Shelter. It is The Phantom Blot. He tells them that he doesn't hold that much of a grudge, and if they're interested, the local shadow Dragon has Mirella. He explains that he thinks the we're jerks and that the shadow dragon is a jerk, so, either way, he wins. It's the old servant of two masters. They thank him and apologize for all the fightings. He goes off to live his life.
They take this opportunity to examine Xenon's glowing cloak a bit closer. It seems to have fastened itself with pincers to the back of his neck. The darn thing never stops glowing. Cyril glooms the area, and it doesn't seem to much like that, as it drains a couple of hit points from Xenon. They decide to leave it be and rest for a few more hours.
At dawn, they head outside. They find a few scraps of string on the ground, two feet from the door. They pocket them for further investigation later. They realize that they forgot to do something, so, unfortunately, they have to exume Luanna's corpse. Wirshin casts speak with dead. They ask where Ilyana is, and all she knows is the Zombur doesn't have her. They ask what they need to know if they should have to fight a shadow dragon, it tells her that its breath temporarily drains levels and the thing has a low AC. They ask what she has learned since her undeath that might be of use to them, she tells them that it's hopeless to try to fight the Kalalalt. Ah, well.
They ask the shadows for directions to the cave of the shadow dragon. They lead them to a creepy looking mountain, atop which sits a cave. They approach the mouth of the cave and call out to the beast. Soon, six shadow dragons appear at the mouth. This is clearly mirror images. The dragon is clearly relatively young, and is therefor not as full of himself as many of the dragons one might meet. Arben explains that they have done away with Luanna, setting him up as the most likely candidate to become the new lord of the realm. Now, they could start fighting, and odds are good that they could take some of them, but odds are equally good that they could take him, and why bother with that when they can be friends. The gang is willing to trade for their guide, and offer up Luanna's bejeweled armor. He says he wants the Rod; much more practical. They grumble amongst themselves and agree. They head to the border of the realm and make the trade, then dash off into the mists before the shadows can call them out for bullshitting them.
Once in the relative safety of the mists, they ask Mirella if she knows anything about the bits of string. She tells them it's the Odrodek, but all she really knows about it is that it is unpleasant. She then leads them on to Arthropodia.
This place is the worst. Bugs get in your mouth, in your ears, up your nose. It is terrible. They're especially all over Xenon's stupid glowy cloak. They all really wish they had an Anti-Animal shell right now. And they can see no signs of civilization. They walk along the misty border for a little while, and the sun begins to set. Arben sets up another secure shelter, making sure that it's sealed up tight except for the chimney, where they build a nice, smokey fire to keep out these damn bugs.
