The gifts from Antace are divided among the consortes. Sir Hamral and Renton are each given a sword; St. James, Dirk, and Valerius each get a dagger. Hamral takes the enchanted shield, St. James the magical arrows, and the apples are split among the Friar, Valerius, and Dirk. The chess set and the tapestry are set aside for later use.

After some discussion Valerius, St. James, Friar Sidrach, Ruik, Dirk, and Mot leave Upchurch, bound for Utterbol on a scouting mission. They sneak into the occupied lands and evade several ruckish patrols before reaching the castle now controlled by Prince Briareus. Our heroes discover that Briareus has undertaken an ambitious expansion program: any cover taller than a sapling within a mile of the castle has been hacked to the ground, and the fortifications are growing at a rapid pace. The rucks are erecting an elaborate wooden outer works, while the stone castle itself is also being reinforced and expanded. The scouts estimate that several hundred Black-blades are stationed at Utterbol, and they are clearly well organized and efficient: the rucks dispatch regular patrols and keep vigilant watch on the surrounding areas.

As the consortes watch, many ruckish supply trains enter and leave the castle. A curious sight is noted: Forty heavily armed rucks arrive in Utterbol, guarding only a horse and cart that bears but a single barrel. The scouts speculate that the cart may have something to do with the lottery held by Briareus. Friar Sidrach argues passionately for slipping into Utterbol in disguise and investigating the place first hand, but Valerius and St. James join forces to convince the friar to let this plan wait for another day. The group decides to turn toward the ogre cave at Wimm Copse.

While on the way to Wimm Copse, the consortes choose to make a side trek into Heremac, to perhaps glean some new information there. Once within the city walls, the band breaks up. Valerius and Mot visit the Vavasor, and are repulsed by what they find. The Vavasor's house has become a moldering, run-down ruin, and even the nearby houses appear to be in decline, as well. Inside the house is filthy, cluttered, and dark. The Vavasor himself is unwashed, confused, and dressed only in a blanket when he receives his visitors. Although he has not left his house in many months, he talks of speaking with many different visitors. He is ravenous and greedily devours the food that Valerius gives him. In return, the Vavasor freely hands over the same book that, only last fall, had almost brought the Vavasor and his pupil to blows. When Valerius ask why he is giving up the book now, the Vavasor can only reply that he doesn't need it anymore.

Valerius posts Mot on guard and then retires to scan the contents of the book, which is the detailed record of an interrogation carried out by the Bergenian monks at the Abbey of Abbermark over a hundred years earlier. It would seem that back then Abbermark had been briefly plagued by many ominous portends: horrific miscarriages, misshapen animals, strange lights in the night, walking dead, and even a series of gruesome murders. In response, Bergenians launched an intensive investigation into the roots of this maleficium, and discovered to their horror that one of their own brethren had been secretly practicing the black arts. The cursed brother, who was never named in the account, described under torture numerous specifics of his practice, including how to summon spirits of fire, water, earth, and air. The brother also spoke of learning the deepest secrets of the "Grand Magus." After the brother's confession, the hapless monk was burnt at the stake. Although the investigators suspected that other monks were involved—the Abbot was convinced that another, far more powerful sorcerer must be at work—no other such individual was ever identified.

While Valerius examines the book, St. James visits Roger, who appears to be doing quite well for himself. After being escorted in by a new servant, Roger fills St. James in on recent doings in Heremac. It appears that Maggie has consolidated her power in town, and now controls most criminal interests—although Roger ekes out a profitable living selling contraband such as ruckish fire to the Seekers. Roger saves the greatest revelation for last: Maggie's newest employee is none other than Tim. Roger also asks if St. James knows what is going on with the Vavasor, who has acquired an extremely unsavory reputation. Small children now avoid his house, where strange lights have been seen at night. And a couple of people from that part of town were reported missing over the winter.

Friar Sidrach returns to the Bristling Boar, where he is welcomed warmly by Ellen Golding, who takes particular interest in learning what has befallen Sir Will Garnfellow over the last few months. Mot and Dirk bond over a game of dice. Friar Sidrach then pays his respects to the Shrine of St. Marius, and while there he learns that Dame Catherine, Vandoren's tutor and a member of the Bergenian nunnery, requires some assistance. Friar Sidrach promptly visits Catherine, who is a bit reluctant to reveal the nature of her need. It appears that Valerius owes her a service, and she is calling it in.

Dame Catherine reveals that there are mysterious problems at the Bergenian Priory of St. Auratien, located near Mattin on the old Tynan road that runs from Heremac to Canglen. The small priory is a popular resting place for pilgrims and other weary travelers; servants from St. Auratien regularly travel between there and the Abbey in Heremac. However, in the last month travelers coming from Canglen have carried strange, unsettling reports—reports of lecherous, drunken monks who have accosted women in a most shameful manner. Some stories even maintain that a couple of women from a local village have been raped. There has been no new recent communications from St. Auratien, and two weeks ago Abbot Peter dispatched one of his best monks, Brother Paul, to investigate. And though long overdue, no word has yet come back from Brother Paul.

Dame Catherine relates that Abbot Peter suspects that the Shaithim are behind the troubles at St. Auratien—the Abbot fears some outbreak of demonic possession. Knowing that the consortes have already dealt with such matters at Vesay, he had hoped that they would agree to assist the Bergenian Order and investigate the Priory of St. Auratien.

Later, Friar Sidrach assembles with his fellows and relates everything about the priory.

Valerius and Friar Sidrach arrange for an audience with Abbot Peter, wherein they offer to help deliver the Priory of St. Auratien from any infernal elements. However, Valerius asks the Abbot for an important favor in exchange for this service. A Bergenian monk from Abbermark, Brother Hugh, had quietly conducted an investigation after last year's spectacular confrontation in Maggie's gambling den. Valerius asks Abbot Peter to dissuade Brother Hugh from further snooping. The Abbot, albeit with considerable reluctance, concedes to this request.

Meanwhile, St. James pays his respects to Maggie. Unfortunately, Maggie has not forgotten the incident that cost her much of a night's business. Nevertheless, she invites St. James into her home to discuss the matter further. But before the clever thief can respond, he senses that someone is sneaking up behind him. Without missing a beat, St. James tumbles out of harm's way and turns to face—Tim. St. James then proceeds to mock both Maggie and Tim in front of their own lackeys. St. James takes great pains to note Tim's loss of status in Heremac, describing the fall as "coming home to the honey pot."

St. James then rushes to alert his friends, and the entire group departs Heremac without further delay. Once on the road the group speculates as to what has befallen the Priory. Some men chalk it up to demonic influences, while the Friar suspects that it may all be the work of bandits disguised as monks.

While traveling to St. Auratien, the group stops in Mattin at the Shannon's Cup, where St. James dodges questions about Dale. Rather than reveal the truth, St. James claims that his friend has found gainful employment as a clerk. Pat Keating reiterates some of the stories heard in Heremac about the monks' strange behavior, and notes that the nearby village of Grenton has had some recent trouble with some of its girls. Pat also relates that Prior Valen, the spiritual leader of the Bergenians, is renown as a capable and honest man who normally keeps a tight reign on his charges.

The group leaves Mattin and continues on to St. Auratien. As they draw nearer to the priory, St. James notices that many of the Bergenians' fine fields are still fallow, even though they should have been planted weeks ago. Closer examination reveals that a few fields have been partially tilled, but it looks like the work was hastily abandoned nearly a month ago. Before the group reaches the priory, some brothers spy them and send out Brother Sedric the porter, to meet the new arrivals.

On the surface, nothing appears amiss at St. Auratien. Brother Sedric seems genuinely pleased to have visitors, and gives no indication of any problems. Friar Sidrach claims that he and his friends are traveling to Canglen, and Brother Sedric welcomes everyone to the priory with open arms, inviting them to stay the night. The Bergenian deflects a request from St. James to visit Prior Valen, explaining that the Prior is extremely busy, but will receive the visitors that night . . . at dinner.

After this reception, the group splits up to investigate further. Friar Sidrach asks the porter about the curiously fallow fields, and Brother Sedric blames excessively wet ground for the delay. The Bergenian does not realize that Friar Sidrach, knowing much about such matters, immediately realizes that this excuse does not ring true. The friar also discovers that the monks' smithy has a large backlog of work, as if little had been done there for quite a while.

St. James and Dirk attempt to nose around the Prior's personal quarters, but vigilant brothers intercede long before our heroes can discover anything of note. Meanwhile, Valerius visits to the priory's small library, where a few brothers toil away in the adjacent scriptorium. Valerius notes that the work area is dusty, as if unused for several weeks. The library has only a modest collection of books, mostly hymnals and collections of scripture. Valerius notes that the only books that seem to have been handled recently are disreputable works of certain classical authors, including the scandalously bawdy Tynan poet Lycetus.

The consortes regroup shortly before dinner to compare notes. Valerius remarks that while the monks appear to be going through the motions of everyday life, it seems clear that they are only keeping up appearances for the sake of their visitors. Valerius argues that these men are actual monks and not imposters, since they seem to know the routine intimately. But what has happened to them? Several party members worry about the ominous detail that Prior Valen has not yet been seen by daylight.

That night the consortes join the Bergenians in the communal dining hall, where they are seated at the Prior's own table. Younger brothers bring forth delicious loaves of hot bread slathered with sweet butter, and plenty of sweet wine flows freely into the cup of every man and monk. During dinner, one of the brothers has been assigned, as is custom, to read edifying passages from scripture. But Valerius notes the peculiar choice for tonight's reading: King Balem's Song, a long, sensual lyric composed to honor a nubile young wife.

The dinner, it turns out, is a sumptuous affair, such as would normally be reserved only for a major religious holiday, and begins with a rich eel stew. After the first course Prior Valen himself arrives, begging the forgiveness of his visitors for his lateness. The Prior is a tall, pale man and sits with our heroes, urging his visitors to drink deeply of the wine and eat heartily of the fine fare. When pressed by Valerius, the Prior explains that his monks are simply trying to provide a decent meal for the visitors. Throughout the night the Prior acts the perfect host, clinging to a facade of normalcy. Dirk, Ruik, and Mot drink lustily through the entire meal. And even though Friar Sidrach and St. James try to refrain, the wine proves so sweet and tempting that only Valerius is able to resist partaking of the debauch.

The meal consummated, the monks and their visitors retire to separate quarters. Soon after, Valerius discovers that all of his companions have fallen into a profound slumber from which they cannot be roused. As midnight approaches, Valerius hears strange sounds in the distance. Frustrated, he leaves his snoring friends behind to investigate. Valerius finds that the entire priory is faintly permeated with magic, but he cannot identify a single point of origin. Valerius approaches the dormitory, and while standing below a window, Valerius hears wild cries of revelry. Cautiously, he peers over the sill, and sees an astounding sight.

The dormitory is the scene of a mad saturnalia, with many unclothed monks and even several women engaged in shameful acts of license that best remain not described. A shocked Valerius turns from this tumult to explore the Prior's own chambers in relative peace. Valerius find little of interest there, except a large ledger recording the accounts of the priory—but no entries have been logged in almost a month. Valerius then returns to the visitors' chambers to await cockcrow and the awakening of his friends.

Valerius's companions rise from their sleep with splitting headaches and fleeting senses of shame. Valerius relates the events of the previous night, and the woozy group debates how best to proceed. The lads speculate as to the nature of the women Valerius saw in the dormitory—were they female demons, vanishing at dawn? Or are they simply peasant girls, hidden somewhere within the priory until nightfall? It seems clear that the monks will hinder any thorough investigation conducted by daylight. And it is unclear what might happen if the consortes spend another night at St. Auratien like the last. The best course of action, then, appears to be to leave the priory now—and then sneak back at night.

The consortes say their farewells and head toward the village of Grenton. After a few hours of travel, a band of furious peasants ambushes our heroes. These enraged locals manage to knock a few of the consortes about, but the party quickly recovers and goes on the offensive. The friar and Valerius use magic spells to effectively neutralize several peasants, while an irritated St. James hacks one man down with his short sword. Fortunately, Friar Sidrach heals the hapless man before he dies, and Valerius then proceeds to question the immobilized peasants.

It turns out that the peasants are from Grenton, which for the last month has labored under a curious plague: every night a few of the adult women of the village appear to disappear into the darkness, only to reappear the next morning exhausted and unable to accomplish much work. The women deny any knowledge of what happens when they disappear, despite repeated attempts by their suspicious husbands and fathers to extract the truth. The frustrated men believe that either some powerful witchcraft is involved, or else a band of lecherous sneaks are somehow making cuckolds out of all the husbands of Grenton. When the villagers saw strangers approaching their town, they naturally assumed that the consortes were somehow behind this mystery.

Valerius explains to the villagers that he believes that the troubles at the Priory of St. Auratien are somehow connected to the problems at Grenton. Hearing this, the angry villagers vow to march on St. Auratien at once and burn the priory to the ground. Valerius and Friar Sidrach are able to convince the men to wait three days before taking any rash actions.

Our heroes accompany the villagers back to Grenton, and there they wait for nightfall. Shortly after dark, a strange mist slinks into town, and in its wake every last man falls fast asleep—every man, that is, except Mot and Valerius. While the men slumber, Valerius and Mot secretly watch as, one by one, doors in the village begin to open, and women of Grenton emerge into the night. Soon more than a dozen women, laughing and tittering, are bound for St. Auratien, and Valerius and Mot follow a discrete distance behind. They watch as the women enter the monks' dormitory, where the riotous events of the previous night are soon repeated.

While this transpires, Valerius and Mot examine the interior of the St. Auratien's chapel. They spot a light coming from the sacristy, where the priory's holy relics and treasures are kept. During the day the room was closed off to access by a great iron door, which was kept under lock and key.

Valerius and Mot steal up to the doorway of the sacristy. Warily, Valerius peeks into the room, which is lit by many flickering candles. All of the Pentian relics and treasures have been removed, and the only thing of note is a great statue made of pale white marble: a life sized rendering of a beautiful woman. Valerius recognizes the image as the pagan Tynan goddess, Cythenus, the goddess of love and sexual desire. The statue clearly seems to have something to do with the troubles here at the priory. Fighting off a formidable compulsion to enter the room, Valerius and Mot leave the chapel and return to the Prior's quarters, where Valerius again examines the ledger. One of the last entries describes how the monks were beginning the planting of their fields and gardens.

After finding nothing notable in the brothers' fields, Valerius and Mot turn to the garden, and there discover that a great pit, almost ten feet deep, had been excavated in the garden soil. Valerius quickly deduces that the priory was built on Tynan ruins—and that the marvelous statue had laid buried underground for centuries, waiting. Waiting for a month ago, when the unsuspecting monks accidentally uncovered her, and fell under her powerful spell.

Mot and Valerius return to Grenton, and the next morning report their findings to the rest of the group. Clearly, this pagan statue must be destroyed, but how? Our heroes cannot wait for the authorities to arrive, because the men of Grenton are ready to burn the priory to the ground in only two days. Also, Valerius notes, while the monks of St. Auratien are probably innocent, the Church may treat the brothers as blasphemers and deal most harshly with them all. Best then, argues Valerius, to handle this matter quickly and quietly.

The consortes steal upon the priory in broad daylight. Luckily, most of the monks appear to be sleeping off the exertions of the night before, allowing our heroes to sneak into the chapel without being discovered. Once inside, a couple of sharp-eyed monks attempt to intervene, but Friar Sidrach uses a prayer to hold the brothers fast where they stand. Ruik and St. James then rush forward to the sacristy door and quickly pick the lock.

Once the sacristy door is open, Friar Sidrach attempts to call upon the Five to repudiate the pagan magic of the statue. However, the prayer appears to be in vain, and what's worse, Friar Sidrach himself succumbs to the charms of Cythenus. He tries to push his fellows away from the sacristy and the beautiful statue within, but St. James and Ruik rush past the friar. St. James throws himself at the statue, which topples over. And as the statue falls, a woman's scream pierces the silence of the chapel. Bergenian monks come running from all quarters at this sound, but they are too late: the statue crashes upon the floor of the sacristy, nearly crushing St. James and shattering into pieces. At once the chapel begins to buckle and shake, and everyone runs outside just as the ceiling of the sacristy collapses, burying the broken statue under tons of masonry.

Dazed Bergenian brothers wander around the priory, as if just awakening from a bad dream. The monks have only vague memories of the last month, and Valerius is careful not to divulge too many details. The consortes soon identify Brother Paul from Heremac, and deduce that he must have fallen under the statue's spell after arriving at the priory. Cythenus's reign apparently at an end, the consortes turn again toward Upchurch. But a few of his friends cannot help but wonder if, somehow, St. James will pay a price for his heroics in the sacristy.