It was a cold, rainy morning when the delegation from Suzail arrived in Tilverton. Not wanting to waste any time, the council was convened and the adventurers who had brought the Wyrmfang dagger to the city were called forth to relate their story. The Aes Saidarr ambassador seemed eager to implicate the party on charges of conspiracy against the city, but the evidence of Ishram's guilt provided by Leif and Brandon convinced the council that their deeds were noble, and all suspicion and charges were dismissed.

During the proceedings, however, a strange visitor had arrived, and was no called forward by Trevin. The newcomer was a dwarf named Ghrym Darkforge, and he bore a great black hammer. Before the council and the party, Ghrym revealed that he was one of the last descendants of Rolm, the dwarven smith who had created the Wyrmfang dagger. He had traveled from his homeland in the West upon receiving word that the Dagger had been recovered. When asked if he had the knowledge to to destroy the Dagger, he admitted that he had, but the means were beyond him, for the Darkforge -- the magical forge wherein Rolm had worked his magic -- was long cold and dormant, it's fire lost. The only way to rekindle the Darkforge, and thus destroy the Wyrmfang, would be to recover the lost Ba'alstones -- three black geodes that had long ago been infused with the same black dragonfire that Rolm had used to forge the Wyrmfang. The Darkforge clan had long protected the three gems, but they had been stolen over a hundred years ago by a wizard leading an army of undead warriors. Ghrym had been searching for nearly the whole time to recover the stones, but had only managed to discover the the stones where held in a "prison of mists" in a "land of nightmares." He had little else to go on, or to share.

One attending the council that day did know of the reference -- the Seeker Ekel. With a pale expression on his face, he told all assembled that he knew of a way to reach this land of mists, but that it would be a terrible journey. He offered himself as a guide, should any wish to follow. Ghrym did, as did the rest of the party, who sought to continue their quest to protect the land from the Wyrmfang's evil influence.

Setting out the next morning, the party -- Thomasin, Ash, Leif, Brandon, Ekel, and Ghrym -- headed east into the foothills of the mountain. Their destination was an isolated castle known as Greymoor Keep. As they traveled, Ekel shared his part in its history. Long ago, Ekel had been pledged to a young Seeker girl named Magda. A terrible robber Baron named Lord Greymoor had kidnapped Magda, however, and had her removed to his Keep as his personal slave. Forsaking his Seeker vow of non-violence and to never wield a weapon, Ekel tracked the baron back to his stronghold, and slipped inside. There, Lord Greymoor was engaged in a marriage ceremony with Magda before his small court. As the baron spoke his vows, Ekel leapt from the shadows, enraged, and slew the baron with the baron's own sword. As blood spilled upon the marriage altar, a strange thing had happened -- mist began to roll into the open courtyard. Ekel, horrified by what had happened, turned to Magda to take her away. But she recoiled, fearful of Ekel's unthinkable act, and before the Seeker could act, she was swallowed by the mist. Screams rang out all around him as the mists enshrouded the baron's guests and soldiers, and Ekel turned and ran. Feeling the mists claw at him, he threw himself from the high wall and into the icy river far below. Several days later he awoke, far downstream. Wracked by grief for his sin and the loss of Magda, Ekel returned to the Seekers, and never told anyone of his actions...until now.

Sobered by their friend's tragic story, the party continued traveling into the mountains, soon locating the mountain river where Ekel had emerged from long ago. There, they followed it upstream, coming at last to the rocky base of Greymoor Keep, the castle above them still shrouded in mists. Climbing into the castle through an open window, they found the stone keep abandoned, housing only crumbling skeletons. Eventually, they came to the courtyard, where a shrine to an unknown goddess stood. There was no sign of occupation at all, nor any visible means by which to enter the land of mists. Ekel was no help, for he stood silently, staring at the spot where he had last seen Magda.

The party, not finding anything, started to leave, but then night fell early in the mountains. The mist seemed to grow thicker and close in around them. Suddenly, a screech erupted from the ground, and the party found themselves under attack from a host of undead skeletons, rising up from the courtyard to bear down on them. The party fought hard, with Brandon developing some unusual tactics involving fashioning a large lasso out of rope and trying to heard the skeletons. But one by one the party began to fall, and as they did, the skeletons dragged them into the soft earth. Brandon sought refuge behind the statue of the goddess, where he found a small secret compartment containing a small statue. Brandon grabbed the statue, but was pulled down into the earth immediately after. Thomasin fought hard, but his sword was wrenched from his hand and he, too, was pulled down. At the last minute, though, Ash managed to grab the bard's hand, and with his great strength pull him from the grave. As they collapsed back onto the stone, their last sight was of Thoamsin's heron-bladed sword slipping below the ground, lost along with all of their friends. In shock, the two fled the Keep and it's dark vengeance.

As for the others... They all awoke on the shoes of a rocky beach. Mist was rolling away from them, revealing a jagged shoreline and a gray, heavy sky. Looking around, they saw a squat village a mile or so off, and so they set off in that direction. Turning a bend, they found Ekel, sitting in the surf and staring down at his hands. When they roused him, he stood, and they saw that he had claimed Thomasin's lost sword as his own. In that moment, he renounced the Way of the Leaf forever. With heavy hearts, the party stumbled along the shore of the unknown sea in that unknown land, seeking answers...