Following Cas’s dramatic firework explosion at the cultist lair, the party flees the compound with book in hand. The cultists give pursuit, but they’re unable to make headway into Iansa d’Lyrandar’s wind.
They discover the book is written in some corrupted version of Draconic that proves difficult to decipher and leaves readers feeling drained.
The party relocates Chateau to the attic of a House Phiarlan safe house. Cas arranges for a House bard to communicate with the creature, discovering its enthusiasm for its role as a corpse disposal system. Cas finds employment for Chateau doing exactly that.
When Cas collects her gold reward from Spyder for the guard bribery, she receives disturbing news: Daask has placed a 10,000 gold bounty on the heads of Iansa, Taarkhan, and Pallas.
Reuniting to plan their next moves, the party attempts to understand the golden book’s significance. Coravash discovers the tome resists all attempts at destruction, it won’t burn or be damaged by conventional means.
The party consults Torsten d’Lyrandar about the mysterious tome. Despite his knowledge of Draconic, even Torsten finds reading the book exhausting. He suggests taking it to two potential experts:
- Professor Cavelanleal: A learned sage who trades translations for his next magical fix—unpredictable but knowledgeable
- Lady Valarathorn: A mysterious figure who deals in the memories of the dead, selling enchanted masks that allow wearers to experience historical events through deceased eyes. She supposedly possesses a Draconic mask thousands of years old