With little time to find this mysterious item, the group began their investigation by visiting one of the most dangerous places in Sharn, Malleon’s Gate. Starting off, Thorn led the group to the fight pit, where he once fought as a gladiator, and the location where he believed Shurat to be at most likely. Still trying to stay in low profile, Thorn waited outside the arena and Ashkhad kept him company, while Ratchet and Rae proceeded to get Ratchet signed up, hopping to get noticed by Shurat if he did well enough in a match. With Ratchet’s match set for tomorrow, Thorn led them to one other place to gain a bit more info on the Hobgoblin. He leads everyone to one more location, a run down and dank bar called the Blue Eye’s where an information broker and well known accomplice he hadn’t seen in a while ran. The owner was a bugbear named Seto and he immediately recognized Thorn.
Once introductions had been made, Thorn brought up the fact that Seto still had favors he owed Thorn, and went right out to ask about Shurat. In the instance the name was said, the room grew quiet and Seto claimed he was treading on dangerous grounds and was reluctant to speak more of it. At the mention of the name Shurat, Ashkhad noticed a half-elf leave the room and one thing that stood out about him was his purple cloak that reminded him almost immediately of Andres. Unable to view it as a coincidence and determined to get some answers, Ashkhad excuses himself and asks for Ratchet to follow along. Once outside though, they lose track of the man and Ashkahd hears a voice in his head calling his name but it sounds like it’s his own voice. The two of them decide to head over to see their friends to make sure nothing too suspicious was going on. As they reached the Jorasco clinic where their friends were being cared for, they talk to the nurse in the room. She tells them that they were the only visitors to stop by this room and that they’re friends still didn’t seem close to waking up. Puzzled, Ashkhad and Ratchet headed back down to meet back up with the others.
Back at the bar, Thorn decided to leave the heavy talk for a bit and challenged Seto to a game of cards. After a few rounds, Thorn ups the stakes, waging a bag of gold for information about Shurat. Seto, unable to say no to the tempting wager, agrees and loses quiet easily to Thorn’s card skills. Seto unfortunately didn’t know much other than Shurat having a secret warehouse by the docks where he conducted most of his illegal trades and smuggling business. Once Ashkhad and Ratchet had returned, they headed back home and planned out their next course of action.
A note is left by the door of their house just as they about to leave. Ashkhad reads it aloud and the group are taken back by the words “someone is watching you.” The letters disappear though, and a new sentence appears describing a deal that the sender wished to make followed by an address. The paper bursts into flames and the group decides to see what this individual has to say. The location is conveniently down in Malleon’s Gate, and nearby the arena. After making a stop at the coliseum to confirm the time of Ratchet’s match, they head to and arrive at the letter’s location. Inside they discover the Goblin who ran the signups for the coliseum. He carries some grudge with Shurat and was hoping to get them to embarrass him in some way in exchange for the information of his warehouse as well as a means to get the character who is following them off of their back. The group agrees to his seemingly one sided deal, and gain the information to find out where Shurat’s warehouse stood. The Goblin also stress the importance of a vault with a high security arcane lock. The group makes the decision to have Ashkhad and Thorn head to the warehouse and scope out and see what information they could find, while Ratchet and Rae watch for Shurat at the arena in hopes of getting noticed and getting the chance to meet with him.
Ratchet’s match begins and he is pitted against a Minotaur. Rae spots Shurat in the stands but her gaze becomes distracted as she saw notices a woman in clothes too elegant not to notice in the crowd that reminds her of Neya. Her own voice speaks her name in her head and she decides to leave Shurat alone, and chase after who she assumed to be her friend.
Ashkhad and Thorn made their way down to the docks and easily find the warehouse thanks to the goblin’s instructions. Knocking out one the guards, Ashkhad puts on the guard’s clothes and proceeds to make his way into the warehouse while sneaking Thorn inside a covered cart. Once inside, they began their search for the vault, testing the walls for any sort of hidden doors. After some time of searching, they find a suspicious wall as well as a crate with a hidden lever that gave them access. The alarm unfortunately goes off and they find themselves pushed for time. Luckily, the room is small and mostly empty. The one thing that seemed the most suspicious is a wooden box with a lock. After breaking it open, they find to their surprise the Keyblade within. Ashkhad picks up the key and suddenly the room grows dark around them.
The group found themselves back in the field they had seen when they first arrived into Dal Quor. The image of the man who hired them, Gilian, dissolved and was replaced by Zoratash, kneeling on the ground as if extremely exhausted. He described the entire event they were in was his one last chance to get the key back, but he had to play by a different set of rules he had little control over. Accepting defeat, and knowing that there was no hope left for him, he dismissed the group, telling them to leave him and the plane to fate. Ashkhad asked one last question before they left, about why the Quori had invaded Eberron so long ago. Zoratash simply said they had wished for the paradise Dal Quor was to last, and regardless of the consequences he wanted to return it to that some day.
A ghostly voice rings through the air, and immediately everyone recognizes it as Jaharath, their companion who had left them some time ago. The feeling of every molecule in their body being stretched overwhelms them and in an instant they find themselves in an unfamiliar area, Jaharath’s hands placed upon a large glowing spherical object emitting power psionic energies. He turns to them with a solemn yet joyful expression but it’s not hard to also see he looks completely drained.
Jaharath explains that there was a disturbance at the border that helped keep Adar safe from Riedra. The energies that were overflowing from the portal were causing a disturbance to the border that remained stable for many years and Jaharath along with many other Kalashtar used their power to retain the barriers stability. The result of so many Kalashtar channeling their energies allowed them to mentally connect with Dal Quor and caused them to see everything that was happening within. Jaharath noticed something was wrong with Neya, Elaydren, Skye, and Andres and they used the power of all the linked psions and teleport them to Adar. He told the other Kalashtar to watch and see what happens in Dal Quor and when the group had succeeded against their battle with Zoratash, they were teleported out to the location they presently were. Jaharath was glad that they were safe but many Kalashtar lost their lives defending the barrier. After briefly explaining all of this, Jaharath collapses from exhaustion.
A glow appears from outside the handy haversack and Ratchet retrieves the spellbook. A familiar voice is heard, and the words of the prophecy are repeated once more.
The force of fallen light
Descent and flame too bright
A lost and fallen race
The scions turned from grace
The war precedes the rend
The song of the dancing dead
Unties the air to land
And forgets what time began
The worlds must come to an end
The dark of space will bend
Tired from the long struggle, everyone decided to take a much needed and deserved rest.