Chapter Summaries

Renato and the Nightwind soldiers entered the Fryce Family’s secret chamber, where they found priestesses sacrificed to Lolth and confronted Matron Mother Jinafi. The soldiers attacked her but were stopped by a warding barrier left by Gromph Baenre, while Jinafi remained eerily calm as it began to crack.

• The Nightwind soldiers entered the chamber and discovered the gruesome remains of priestesses sacrificed before Lolth’s statue.
• Aknath killed two noble priestesses, and Renato identified them as daughters of Matron Mother Jinafi.
• The soldiers recognized Jinafi and rushed to claim Quelyn’s bounty, but a warding barrier threw them back.
• Aknath explained that Gromph Baenre had placed the barrier and withdrawn his spider mages after the Fryce Family lost Lolth’s favor.
• The soldiers struck the barrier until it neared breaking, while Jinafi knelt beside the statue and giggled.

Matron Mother Jinafi triggered a magical explosion that destroyed the Fryce Fortress, and Aknath saved Renato by teleporting them away. After the blast, a violent earthquake shook Sammoriel City before an unseen force stopped it, and strange white mist appeared near the West Wall.

• As the Nightwind soldiers broke the warding barrier, Aknath realized the chamber was dangerous and shouted for them to stop, but they continued striking it.
• Jinafi offered the destruction of the Fryce Family as a sacrifice to Lolth, and the barrier's collapse activated the chamber's runes, causing a massive explosion.
• Aknath pulled Renato through a Dimension Door, and they sheltered behind a stone statue while the blast devastated the fortress and surrounding Drow forces.
• Renato and Aknath surveyed the ruins, and Aknath said the Fryce Family had been destroyed but Quelyn's plans to strengthen the Nightwind Family had failed.
• A powerful earthquake struck Sammoriel City, but an invisible force abruptly stilled the ground.
• Renato saw dense white mist descend near the West Wall and glimpsed unfamiliar ruined buildings within it.

After the Nightwind Family’s costly victory, a mysterious white fog swallowed part of Sammoril, and the ruling families failed to discover what lay inside. Klauthsura proposed that Renato enter the demiplane with it and use its spatial nodes to escape the drow city, and Renato agreed.

• The Nightwind Family became the Fifth Family, but Quelyn grew increasingly unstable as the family suffered heavy losses and the other ruling families seized former Fryce territory.
• A vast white fog engulfed Sammoril’s West Wall district, and exploration teams vanished inside it, prompting the Ruling Council to ban unauthorized entry.
• Renato told Klauthsura that drow mages believed the fog concealed a habitable demiplane, while Klauthsura confirmed that its psionic probes had detected life there.
• Klauthsura revealed that the Psionics Beacon Eye could locate spatial nodes in the demiplane and offer a strong chance of teleporting them to an upper stratum.
• Renato weighed the risks of entering the fog against remaining under Tristana’s control and facing danger in Sammoril, then clasped Klauthsura’s hand and agreed to escape with it.

Renato and Klauthsura prepared to escape Samoriel City through the West Wall’s white mist during the Holy Day Festival, gathering supplies, scrolls, and potions for the journey. As they waited for Dark Time, Renato found another cryptic note in his Griffon Coin Purse and resolved to survive whatever lay ahead.

• Renato decided to use the Holy Day Festival’s reduced security to enter the mysterious demiplane with Klauthsura.
• Renato stocked his Space Ring with food and water, while Klauthsura bought brain fungi for emergency food.
• Renato equipped himself with Magic Scrolls suited to his abilities, including Fly and Stinking Cloud.
• Klauthsura gave Renato thirty magic potions that had been intended for the Nightwind Family, explaining that Quelyn had broken their contract.
• Renato found a folded Draconic note in his Griffon Coin Purse and stored it beside the earlier note.

Renato and Klauthsura escaped the Nightwind Fortress in disguise and approached the sealed mist at Sammoril’s West Wall. A High Priestess and Ruling Council soldiers confronted them, threatening death for trespassing.

• Quelyn went to Lolth’s Holy Day ceremony with Tristana and ordered Renato to attend.
• Klauthsura devoured a Nightwind Guard messenger and transformed into her likeness.
• Renato and Klauthsura passed through the fortress’s side gate and headed toward the West Wall.
• Renato considered how the vast mist might have formed as he and Klauthsura approached it.
• Ruling Council soldiers surrounded Renato and Klauthsura, and a High Priestess declared that trespassers would be executed.

Renato and Klauthsura faced a Drow Inquisitor and the Ruling Council’s forces while disguised as Nightwind Guards, and prepared to strike before her detection magic exposed them. Weapon Master Nightwind, Aknath, arrived and confronted the Inquisitor, leaving the standoff unresolved.

• The chapter described how commoner Priestesses became fanatical Inquisitors who enforced Lolth’s doctrine under the Ruling Council’s authority.
• The Inquisitor began judging Klauthsura while Renato assessed the soldiers, crossbowmen, and High Priestess surrounding them.
• Renato and Klauthsura used psionics to plan a surprise attack against the Inquisitor and her forces.
• The Inquisitor noticed the Nightwind crests and demanded to know why Klauthsura was there and whether she carried orders from Matron Mother Quelyn.
• A sword rang nearby, prompting the Inquisitor to leap back and shield herself with divine spells.
• Aknath approached with his Silver Sword and suggested that there had been a misunderstanding about the deployment.

Aknath revealed that he knew Renato was human and understood his plan to escape Sammoril with Klauthsura, but helped them reach the white mist and warned Renato about trusting the Mind Flayer. Renato invited Aknath to the Surface, but Aknath refused to leave because he had promised Brichidi and intended to protect his family.

• Aknath led Renato and Klauthsura to a secluded stretch of Lake Tonnigat after convincing the Inquisitor that their escape was a mistake in Nightwind Family assignments.
• Aknath told Renato he suspected he was human and had recognized Klauthsura as a Mind Flayer, then explained that his Gith Silver Sword helped him evade psionic scans.
• Aknath warned Renato that relying on Klauthsura to teleport them out of the demiplane was dangerous, but Renato said he trusted their partnership.
• Aknath showed Renato a route through the ruins to the white mist and promised to cover for him and delay the discovery of his disappearance.
• Renato invited Aknath to join him on the Surface, but Aknath refused because he had promised Brichidi and would not abandon his responsibilities.
• Aknath told Renato to leave quickly and said he would kill the Inquisitor and the Ruling Council soldiers if necessary to keep his role in their escape secret.

Renato and Klauthsura entered the white mist leading into the demiplane after Klauthsura confirmed their arrival point would be solid ground, though they warned that it might be high above the surface. They found themselves in freezing, dense fog that swallowed Renato as they continued over damp soil.

• Renato and Klauthsura found a narrow fissure behind a collapsed tower that led to the Mist Wall.
• Klauthsura used a Crystal Ball to scan the demiplane and confirmed they would arrive over solid ground, but could not determine the arrival point’s height.
• Renato drank a Greater Healing Potion and Oil of Speed before preparing to enter the mist.
• Klauthsura took Renato’s hand and warned that they might fall upon arrival, offering to use psionics to lessen the impact.
• Renato and Klauthsura stepped through the mist and found themselves in bitter cold, where the flagstones gave way to soft, muddy soil.
• The fog thickened until Renato could see less than five feet ahead and then swallowed him completely.

During a sacrifice in Sammoril, Lolth’s ritual engulfed the altar in purple witchfire before the goddess summoned a yochlol through the Grand Inquisitor’s death. Sinnaphyx declared herself Lolth’s apostle and ordered the city’s priestesses to march on the Misty Domain for an artifact.

• Tristana watched nearly a thousand priestesses sacrifice slaves and offer their blood to Lolth in Sammoril.
• Purple witchfire engulfed the altar, but the noble Matron Mothers survived unharmed while several mid-ranking priestesses who resisted were burned to death.
• Lolth’s statue seized the Grand Inquisitor, tortured her to death, and used her soul to open a rift to the Abyss.
• A white-haired female drow emerged from the rift, took the Grand Inquisitor’s robe and whip, and introduced herself as Sinnaphyx, Lolth’s handmaiden and apostle.
• Sinnaphyx flooded the priestesses with the goddess’s will and commanded Samoriel City to march on the Misty Domain and reclaim Lolth’s artifact.

Renato woke in a wheat field near a human city and realized he had somehow reached the surface instead of the planned demiplane. As he searched for Klauthsura, he found Drow corpses displayed on wooden frames and was confronted by an armed stranger.

• Renato woke in a sunlit wheat field with the Silent Lady in his hand and recalled entering the mist with Klauthsura.
• Renato saw farmland and a nearby city bearing a noble banner, and realized he was on the surface.
• Renato used Gorogoroth's Form-Twisting to restore his human appearance and decided to search for Klauthsura.
• Renato found Drow warriors from Sammoril nailed to wooden frames, their bodies stripped and marked with battle wounds.
• A voice with a southern accent shouted at Renato from behind, warning him not to move.

Renato learned that plague and Drow attacks had troubled the Niter Kingdom as he tried to keep Sir Novak and his squires from searching the wheat field, where Klauthsura might still be hiding. The chapter ended with Renato blocking the soldiers’ path, ready to fight if necessary.

• Renato introduced himself to three frightened farmers, who told him that plague had struck the city and Drow had been killing people in the countryside.
• Sir Novak arrived with his squires and announced that he was carrying out a mission for the Niter Kingdom.
• Renato recognized the kingdom’s name as belonging to one lost a thousand years earlier and questioned Novak about the nearby threat.
• Novak said mages had predicted another band of Drow nearby and advised Renato to go to the city while the knights dealt with them.
• Renato blocked Novak and his squires from entering the wheat field because Klauthsura might still be inside.

Renato faced suspicion from Novak and his armed attendants while worrying they would find the unconscious Klauthsura and kill her. The confrontation eased when Klauthsura emerged from the wheat and addressed Renato as her master.

• Novak and his attendants cautiously closed ranks around Renato as he tried to think of a way to avoid a fight.
• Renato decided he would risk becoming a fugitive again rather than abandon Klauthsura, who might be unconscious in the wheat.
• Movement in the wheat made Novak and his attendants draw their swords and raise their shields.
• Klauthsura rose from the wheat, brushed off the grains, and asked Renato what had happened and why so many people were there.

Renato disguised Klauthsura as his servant and spoke with Sir Novak, whose comments about human purity led Renato to suspect he had arrived in Ereel a thousand years in the past. After questioning Renato and learning he was a northern noble, Novak gave him a Knight's Badge to enter the Royal City.

• Novak apologized to Renato for searching the wheat field and mistaking Klauthsura for a drow.
• Novak advised Renato not to take Klauthsura as a partner, believing she was a nonhuman slave whose offspring would harm his family’s status.
• Renato recalled the Southern Principalities’ history of human supremacy and suspected he had traveled a thousand years into the past.
• Renato used his knowledge of southern geography to answer Novak’s questions and learned that the northern and southern realms then shared an alliance against other races.
• Novak’s squires found no drow, and Novak gave Renato his Knight’s Badge so he could enter the Royal City.

Renato and Klauthsura investigated the strange landscape and determined that they had entered an artificially constructed demiplane, not returned to the Surface. Klauthsura confirmed that its sunlit scenery was real rather than an illusion, leaving them uncertain who had built the place and what awaited them there.

• After the cavalry rode away, Klauthsura inspected the knight's badge and found no magical effects or hidden mechanical components.
• Klauthsura used a spatial survey to determine that Renato and she were in a demiplane with an artificially altered, unstable structure.
• Renato checked his Gish Cloak and concluded that the sun overhead had to be false because it had not damaged the cloak as the Adventurer's Guide predicted.
• Renato asked whether the demiplane could be making everyone hallucinate, and Klauthsura connected herself to an unfinished Golem to test the environment.
• Using the Golem's readings, Klauthsura confirmed that they were still in a demiplane and that the surrounding scenery was real.

Renato and Klauthsura investigated the demiplane and its connection to the vanished Niter Kingdom, then found its invisible boundary. Klauthsura concluded that the realm was likely an abandoned experiment and reassured Renato that their escape plan remained on track.

• Klauthsura used psionics to map Renato's account and confirmed that the Niter Kingdom had vanished a thousand years earlier.
• Renato suspected that someone had arranged the disasters surrounding the demiplane and wondered how the ancient forest had become the Phantom Forest.
• Klauthsura reasoned that the demiplane's creator had likely failed long ago because the realm was collapsing and had reconnected with the Material Plane.
• Klauthsura led Renato away from Niter's Royal City and stopped at an invisible boundary where the forest was unnaturally silent.
• Renato touched the boundary and drew out gray-white mist, while Klauthsura warned that crossing it could strand or kill them.
• Klauthsura explained that the demiplane was within the size expected of a human legendary mage's creation and told Renato their plan was still going according to plan.

Renato and Klauthsura traveled to Niter’s Royal City to locate the spatial node and learned that a mysterious plague had devastated the Southern Kingdoms. After Renato showed a Knight’s Badge from Sir Novak, the guards let them enter the sealed city, but warned that it was dangerous.

• Renato and Klauthsura confirmed that the spatial node lay in the center of Niter’s Royal City and headed there before dusk.
• Renato questioned villagers and learned that soul-loss disease had spread across the south, killing commoners and livestock while resisting known cures.
• Klauthsura said she knew little about the disease and warned Renato to avoid possible infection.
• At the closed city gate, Renato learned that the new king, Pure White, had sealed the city because of the plague.
• Renato showed the sergeant a Knight’s Badge given to him by Sir Novak, and the guards opened the small door for him and Klauthsura.

Renato and Klauthsura entered Nittel's Royal City, where a magically concealed white Mage Tower and the sergeant's stories revealed the power and reputation of King Pure White. The sergeant led them to an inn reserved for visitors because the city was under plague quarantine.

• Renato and Klauthsura passed through the gate and saw the enormous white Mage Tower, which the Dragonborn suspected had been concealed by powerful magic.
• The sergeant told Renato that Pure White had created the tower and driven off foreign mages who had asked him to help found the Mage Association.
• The sergeant said the former king, Nittel III, had handed the crown to his brother before leaving on a tour to recuperate, but avoided discussing the succession further.
• Renato studied the quiet, nearly empty streets and tried to choose a nearby inn, but the sergeant said plague orders required citizens to stay indoors.
• The sergeant explained that Pure White had reserved a staffed inn for travelers, where Renato and Klauthsura could stay free for a week.

Renato and Klauthsura arrived at the deteriorating Burning Wood Inn, where Renato paid Matt to explain Nittel’s history. Matt described how the mage known as “Pure White” gave up his claim to the throne so his elder brother Nittel III could rule, leaving Renato with a clearer account of their relationship and the concealed succession dispute.

• Matt gave Renato and Klauthsura a room at the inn after the sergeant departed.
• Klauthsura requested that she and Renato share one room so she could attend to him at night.
• Renato paid Matt five Silver Crowns and asked him to explain Nittel to a newcomer.
• Matt said Nittel III had fled the city because of the plague and that “Pure White” had taken over the throne.
• Matt recounted how Nittel II chose his magically gifted younger son as heir, prompting nobles and knights to threaten rebellion.
• Matt explained that the brothers reached an agreement: Nittel III would rule, while “Pure White” served as chancellor and concealed his identity.

Renato and Klauthsura confirmed that the demiplane’s inhabitants were living humans and located the spatial node inside the Royal City’s white tower. Their preparations were interrupted when Matt appeared at their door and the inn rapidly decayed, revealing a zombie lunging at Renato.

• Klauthsura told Renato that the humans they had encountered were real, living people with souls, despite the demiplane’s apparent age and limitations.
• Klauthsura located the spatial node near their inn, inside the towering white tower, and planned to act after four natural hours.
• Matt came to invite Renato and Klauthsura downstairs for meat soup, apologizing for his earlier behavior.
• The inn’s door, walls, ceiling, and floor rapidly crumbled as a heavy object struck outside.
• Renato saw a zombie standing beyond the ruined doorway, and it lunged at him.

Renato and Klauthsura discovered that the innkeeper had become a zombie and that the Royal City of Nittel had transformed into a silent city of undead. The chapter ended with skeleton soldiers patrolling the ruined streets beneath a shadow of death.

• Renato recognized the attacking zombie as Matt, the innkeeper who had spoken to him moments earlier.
• Klauthsura used telekinetic force to crush Matt’s head, but she became bewildered after sensing negative energy everywhere.
• Renato opened the inn window and saw that the surrounding buildings and streets had crumbled into ruin.
• Renato saw that the city’s soldiers had become skeleton warriors marching through the streets, and the once-bustling Royal City of Nittel had become a Domain of the Dead.