Fearlessly (for the most part) approaching the figures, the group was surprised as the three figures stepped from the path and let them pass. The robed figures made no comment and indeed appeared to be nothing but robes! Their hooded faces had form, but the inside backs of the hoods could be seen distinctly where their faces and heads should have been. Asking them no questions, the group, led by Patrice and Reynaldo, bravely made their way to the house. The door opened as they approached and a rough voice told them to enter. An old woman stood stirring a foul-smelling pot centered over an open pit of flame. She turned to them as they entered and they could see that she was hideous beyond description.

She spoke with them at some length, especially Reynaldo. She told him that she was the woman they had seen with Fellhand when they had inadvertently traveled back in time. She now hated Fellhand. Apparently she had asked him for the gift of eternal life (something his apparently possessed) and he had given it to her. The problem was that she would continue to age and would become more and more hideous as the years passed. She tempted Reynaldo, saying that all she needed to complete a spell that would allow Fellhand to be harmed were some drops of Reynaldo's blood. She claimed to be a follower of Legion just as Fellhand was. She stated that the only way to fight Legion successfully was through the power of Legion.

She also told them they she had three of their companions and that they were in the barrows, soon to take the place of the "fades" they encountered outside. Apparently, the hooded figures were the remnants of three Unseelie that she had captured long before. She stated that the only way to get their friends back was to succumb to her will and allow her to complete the spell. Reynaldo became enraged and stabbed her through the heart with the fey sword that the Lady of the Forest had given him. It had no effect and she laughed at him stating, "Don't you think I have already tried that?"

Reynaldo went outside and discussed the situation with the others. Coming to no better solution, he went back inside, sliced his hand and (following the crone's directions) dripped the blood on his fey sword. As she finished the last few incantations, the sword began to smoke and hiss. As she placed a symbol drawn in his blood upon Reynaldo's forehead, the sword's blue glow abruptly went out and it suddenly burst into cold, black flame. The crone said a few words of Power and told them that their friends would now be released from the spells they were under. She then told them to go and that they would encounter Fellhand soon enough. Reynaldo now had a sword that would kill him... But he also carried a curse and was apparently in league with Legion...

William, Pierto, and Jenner awoke from the deep sleep they had been placed in. Each was inside a dark barrow, piled with weapons and other barely seen items. Battering their way out, they climbed from their tombs to be greeted by their friends. The only traces of the "fades" were the robes and gloves they had worn, empty and crumpled on the ground outside the gates. Recovering their personal items from the barrows, the three joined their comrades as they set out toward the village. There was no trace of Vallierre and they could only hope that he had somehow survived the night.

Making their way through the forest toward the village, they were quickly passed by the old crone who cackled at them merrily and told them that she had three barrows to fill... She passed out of sight into the deep woods ahead of them.

When they came back to the village they discovered that Vallierre had come there before them. He was sitting outside the smithy with his feet propped up drinking from a wine goblet. Laurent was giving him a manicure and his newly shined boots were standing nearby. "Ah!" he said, catching notice of his companions. "I was beginning to wonder what took you so long!" Laurent gave them an apologetic look...

It turns out that he awoke late in the night, battered and sore on the banks of the river. He spent some time wandering about calling for his comrades. Not finding any sign of them, he made his way along the banks of the ravine upstream until he entered the foothills that he presumed (correctly) were the same ones that were near the village. Climbing a steep hill, he located the lights of the village and made his way there by early in the morning. After eating and washing off, he went to bed. During the night he had another dream or vision about the evil-seeming man and the compass. The mad was standing in a jungle with tumbled stones all around. He was holding the stolen compass and looking at a large box. The box had symbols and inscriptions all over it and an indentation that seemed to fit the back of the compass. Valliere had one desperate thought while he observed this: He's going to open the box! He must not or terrible things will happen! He then fell into a fitful and exhausted sleep. He had only been awake a short while when the rest of the party came back, which was about mid-day.

Despite his injuries, Pierto took advantage of his great constitution by ignoring his weariness and finding a local village girl to take his mind off the more important matters. Enrique failed to fan the flames of lust in the same girl and therefore lost her to Pierto. This caused no ill will however as Enrique's attempt was only half-hearted. He was tired as well. Patrice, Reynaldo, Jenner, and Liah all went off to bed after breakfasting on some broth that Laurent provided. William set off to do so as well but was delayed when Laurent asked to speak with him in private.

It seems that Laurent is very ill with some lung disorder and was medicating himself fairly heavily. He asked William to keep this a secret, as he didn't want Valliere to think he couldn't do his duty. He did however ask if William could find some way to return to Montainge with out it seeming his fault so that he could go home and make arrangements to have himself replaced by his son. Laurent didn't seem hopeful that he would recover. William took the news especially hard and vowed to do his best by him and keep his confidence.

After everyone rested, they all had a meeting about Reynaldo and his sword. Pierto drew the sword to see if it still burst into black flames even if Reynaldo isn't the one wielding it. It did, but the flames diminished when he left the room and walked down the street. Having been told it would flame in the presence of evil, they were not comforted. Meanwhile, in spite of important matters, the fate witch Patrice and Enrique argued and jibed with each other. Patrice was furious and it seemed as though she would curse him for his 'insolence'. Enrique and Patrice agreed to stop bickering for now. Valliere and William had discussed Reynaldo privately but didn't tell the rest of their comrades what they had discussed or what conclusions they came to.

When Reynaldo returned, Patrice noticed a black fate strand tied to him and going off into the distance towards the west. There were several others that were coming off of him and approaching several members of the group and then snapping back. She told him and the rest of the group what she saw and then blessed Reynaldo with a fate blessing. They discussed what this black strand entails; either Reynaldo will die or whomever it is attached to at the other end will die. The other small strands indicate that some of the others in the group may share a similar fate.

Reynaldo made a speech about going after Fellhand alone without anyone's help. He was trying to make sure that no one else would get hurt because of him. One by one, they all refused this idea and said they would go with him whether he wanted them to or not. They decided that, in light of Valliere's continuing visions, they should continue on their journey to find Coleson and consult him on the compasses. Coleson had told them he was in Heilgrund if they needed to find him, staying with the Eisenfurst there, his patron.

After resting the night, they left the next morning for Insel, an Eisen city on the coast. Getting there will little incident, they spent the day there buying supplies and gaining the assistance of an Avalon merchant ship captain. The captain's name is Andrews and he agreed to take them aboard the Queen's Profit as it was sailing upstream as far as Freiburg. After that, it was just a few short days ride to their destination.

They left the next morning taking only their supplies and 4 of the horses. The other horses had been sold to help cover the price of their passage. They settled in and took up tasks on the ship as they were to also work aboard the ship to offset the price of their journey. As many of them were experienced sailors, this was undertaken with very little grumbling.

The weather is fine and the ship is making good time. The group should be in Freiburg within the week.