The Consortes arrive back in Antace following the divinely delivered winter storm and the crushing defeat of Prince Busirane’s army. While Sir Hamral consults with Lord Charles, Mendelor and Friar Sidrach seek out the Seeker Brother Coston, who was transformed into a large rabbit by the dastardly evil master wizard, Hecatesseus. Upon his return to human form, courtesy of the barefooted Friar, Brother Coston informs the consortes that Derwich is the next target of the Seekers wrath and that the ruck-prince Argus has called off his troops for the winter.

Meanwhile, Valerius departs for the Tower of the Lady to seek out her counsel and to meet with the mysterious ruck-wizard, Nod. He questions the Lady at length about Hecatesseus and Tim of Heremac, both of whom were past associates of the Lady. Valerius then meets with Nod, attempting to enlist his aid in dealing with the problematic Hecatessius. Nod resists Valerius’ coaxing, but does show interest in Valerius’ idea of forming some sort of wizarding association. As proof of their commitment to closer cooperation, Valerius and Nod agree to an even exchange of magic, with Valerius trading the Flame Arrow spell for Nod’s Coniuration of a Fantosme Stede. Having accomplished part of what he had wished, Valerius takes his leave of both the Lady and Nod, riding upon his conjured steed.

In the meantime St. James has been busy in Heremac, gathering intelligence concerning his arch-nemesis, Tim, and his former lady love, Maggie. After a few weeks of sneaking around, St. James opts for the direct approach and seeks out Tim in the Thistle and Briar. The two rivals taunt each other mercilessly, and Tim displays a worrisome amount of knowledge pertaining to the recent events experienced by the Consortes. During the duel of words, St. James is forced to choke back his anger as Tim mocks several recently deceased friends. On his way out of the bar, St. James manages to salvage some of his pride by punching out one of Tim’s patrons.

As St. James continues to gather information, Owen arrives unannounced to aid him as a spy on the inside of Tim’s organization. One night, some bruisers who want to teach him a lesson follow Owen, and quickly learn just how excellent a marksman the young man can be. Then, in a very bold move, Owen goes directly to Tim to ask why he was bothered. Owen is then assigned by Tim to watch the comings and goings of the consortes, which he does for several weeks. Tim then advises Owen to finish the job he started on the bruisers, which Owen is only too willing to do, save for the timely intervention of the city guardsmen.

During this time, Marcus and the Friar arrive in town, and visit Ellen Golding, who is wracked with worry about that "Lion of a man," Will Garnfellow. The two men reassure her that Garnfellow is in good health, and that he fought bravely against the rucks. They then question her about the newest drink in Heremac, ruck-nog, Ellen tells them about how the ruck-nog has been bad for business and for the well being of the town. The Friar and Marcus lodge with the Gerardians while they investigate the potent brew.

On the night that Owen warns the consortes of an impending attack on Roger’s apartment, Owen mysteriously disappears. St. James, Marcus, and the newly arrived Sir Hamral go to the Thistle and Briar to investigate. This foray proves very unsuccessful as well as embarrassing for the trio, as Tim continues to taunt them. The consortes all gather at the Bristling Boar to regroup and decide how to save their friend. The Friar blames St. James and Owen for the current predicament, and decides to go see Tim himself. Marcus accompanies him, and the two arrange a meeting. While arranging for a release of Owen, the Friar gets a bad feeling about Tim’s true intentions and attempts to magically cause Tim to fall asleep.

Tim manages to avoid falling asleep and becomes openly hostile and rude towards the Friar. Marcus steps in at this point and shoves Tim back, warning him to use a more civil tongue. After tensions ease somewhat, the Friar secures the release of a badly beaten Owen, and takes him to the Gerardians for some much-needed healing.

With Owen back and recuperating, the consortes debate their next course of action. Valerius pays a visit to the ruined remains of the Vavasor’s house, leaving his wizard’s mark at the four cardinal directions and claiming it for his own. St. James considers burning Tim’s home, and Owen openly declares his desire to kill the men who beat him and the man who broke his leg. The Consortes decide to leave Heremac and travel to Upchurch, but only after paying Tim’s bar one final visit.

Sir Hamral and Marcus accompany St. James and Owen to the Thistle and Briar in an attempt to retrieve Owen’s stolen goods. The patrons openly laugh at St. James and Owen, who then start betting on one on one fights between Owen and patrons of the bar. After Owen brutally beats the first contender, no others step forward to make good on the challenge, so St. James begins pulling random patrons out of their seats and throwing them at Owen. Sir Hamral and Marcus guard the door, keeping an eye out for the city guard and making sure that the fighting stays fair. As the fighting starts to get out of control, Noxumbra flies in and warns Sir Hamral of an approaching patrol of city guardsmen. The fight breaks up and Sir Hamral talks to the guardsmen.

With that, the consortes take their leave of Heremac, bound for Upchurch. As they prepare to leave, the Friar surprises everyone by handing Owen his stolen jeweled dagger, claiming it to be the work of the Five. Valerius conjures Fantosme Stedes for everyone except the Friar—who rides upon Bear—and Sir Hamral, who rides Fiasco. Marcus remains behind in Heremac to take care of some important business.

The Roleplaying Award (RP) includes PBM responses as well as participation in the live session. The Other bonus for Marcus was given because Tom was good enough to write up the session synopsis.