Sir Hamral, Friar Sidrach Landry, Vandoren, Mendelor, Valerius, and Mot prepare for the wizard’s upcoming embassy to the Corbiestone. In the interim, they decide to travel the site of the Ebon Quill’s last great battle, and to bear the remains of Luke and Mark back to the Hagges’ Cave, where they may lay in a place of honor. On the way to the battlefield, the group chances upon some pilgrims bound for Heremac. Vandoren and the friar work effectively together to help spread the legend of the Pentian rucks.
The second day out the group meets six ruck-men, dressed in sackcloth and bearing staves. The rucks claim to be former soldiers in the employ of Prince Nestor; they had converted to the Five after having seen visions of Mark and Luke. The converts join with our heroes, and the enlarged band at last reaches the battlefield, which is overgrown and littered with bones, rusted armor, and broken weapons. There the Friar is unable to locate any physical remains of either Luke or Mark. Noxumbra interviews a nearby carrion crow, which reports that the nearby scavenger birds had enjoyed a great feast after the battle, although they were forbidden to touch the corpses of all Rucks of the Quill, which were somehow drawn down into the very ground—explaining why the Friar could not locate the bones of Luke or Mark.
That night the party is awakened by a vision of Luke and Mark, who appear arrayed in shining armor and bathed in radiant white light. This vision relates a message before disappearing into the night: “The storm is still coming. You must be strong.” The next morning Friar Sidrach prays to the Five and fashions a great stone pentifix in the center of the field. The six converted rucks declare that they will remain in this hallowed place and devote the rest of their lives as guardians of the shrine.
The group debates their next course of action, and decides to send a message to Brandon Frey that calls on him to travel north to Kirke’s army, to beseech his lord to retake Utterbol as soon as possible, before the Seekers claim it for their own. The group then heads for Antace, where Sir Hamral and his retinue are welcomed into the castle as heroes. The fortress is much changed since the last visit, as King Weremach is now in residence, with a sizable army encamped around. Sir Charles, it seems, has not yet recovered from his maiming, and now acts only as an advisor to his liege. A great and disastrous battle with King Tereus, who is camped on the other side of Lorn Pond, seems imminent—many soldiers within Antace seem despondent or resigned to doom, as a new army is rumored to have recently come from the Yron Citie, led by yet another son of Tereus. Vandoren attempts—unsuccessfully—to arrange an audience with the king.
That night, Vandoren dreams of flying over the ruins of Lorn Abbey, sensing that a wondrous treasure is buried somewhere below. Valerius, meanwhile, is menaced by a familiar dream of wandering in an endless maze. In the morning the group confers. Vandoren’s curiosity is piqued by his dream, but Valerius—remembering all-too-well the black power of the ruins—councils strongly against a return. The wizard speculates that Lorn Abbey has somehow grown in malevolent power, if its reach now extends all the way across the pond to Antace itself. Friar Sidrach worries about what effect the ruins may be exerting on the people of Antace, for he had noticed that doubt and despair seem to grip many within the castle walls.
The band seeks out Father Theodore, the parish priest of Antace, in hopes of learning more about the Abbey’s growing influence, and to perhaps recruit Tom Tuck for an expedition. Father Theodore confirms the worst suspicions of all: in the last few months, a spiritual pallor has fallen over Antace, marked by several murders and other wanton acts of violence. Many parishioners have confessed newfound desire to commit sinful deeds, while others report a queer calling to the ruins. Several folk have actually disappeared. The ruck-men have fared even worse—stories tell of entire companies disappearing into the ruins. And with each person swallowed up by the ruins, Valerius suspects that the malevolence waxes stronger in power. That day all members of the group, even Valerius, are shriven by Father Theodore.
The next morning Valerius performs a crow augury, and learns that temptations await the adventurers. The group borrows a boat and rows across to the ruins, through heavy fog. The Friar immediately senses that the Abbey has indeed grown in strength. And after a closer examination it appears that the Abbey was probably not actually destroyed by the rucks—Valerius suggests that the story might have just been an invention of the Bergenian Order, to explain the corruption and subsequent ruination of an entire monastery.
The search begins in the blasted chapel, which has again been desecrated—a foul scarecrow with a goat’s skull has been erected upon the altar; the foul totem is knocked down and burned. Friar Sidrach attempts to re-consecrate the chapel, but his prayers cause the floor to buckle and shake, and the very foundation begins to ooze dark liquid that pools at the feet of the priest. The Friar is forced to abandon both the ritual and the corrupted chapel.
Further searches of the dormitory, the infirmary, the chapter house, and the library, proceed along similar lines: The doors to these buildings have been broken down, sometimes from within. The furniture has been smashed and all books or writings have been removed. Several party members catch glimpses of disturbing visions, which only last for a moment. Hamral thinks he spies his murdered brother; in the infirmary Valerius is overcome by a vision of beds filled with sick and dying monks.
The group tries to remember all details from the first expedition to the ruins. In the tunnels beneath the infirmary the group had encountered a horror that claimed to have once been the Prior of the Abbey. After defeating this creature they found a fell black book that later, disappeared mysteriously. Valerius reveals what little he had learnt of the book: it had been composed by a Brother Bened, a Bergenian who had discovered books of sorcery in the Abbey’s library. Bened used these books to teach himself something of the dark arts, and this knowledge had seriously unhinged the monk. Valerius now learns that the book had actually been stolen by Ruik, who gave it to Friar Sidrach, who in turn burned the tome.
Upon returning to the landing, the group finds—not surprisingly—that the boat has been set adrift, and now lies floating a hundred yards out from shore. No one desires to swim for it, so the group begins heading on foot back to Antace. Mot, however, puts up a fight, insisting on staying behind and retrieving the boat—even disobeying Valerius’s direct commands. The wizard’s henchman is subdued and forcibly carried out from the ruins.
As the day grows long and night creeps near, Antace remains distant. Ghostly ruck-horns and other cries sound in darkness. Soon after sunset, some party members begin to report seeing a pale white figure, floating through the woods, and drifting ever closer. At one point the figure comes quite close indeed. Friar Sidrach presents his pentifix, which drives the creature off with a shriek.
Soon another pale figure appears and descends upon the party. It is a tall, gaunt, and partly incorporeal, its horrid features difficult to distinguish. Our heroes attack with spells and enchanted weapons, but the thing is incredibly resilient—absorbing a great deal of punishment. The figure strikes out with icy claws; its touch causes weakness in its victims. The figure also breathes out gouts of black mist, which incapacitate both Mendelor and Hamral. Just when things look the worst, one more fiery bolt hurled from Valerius is enough to dissipate the pale figure.
The party revives the fallen warriors and continues on to Antace.