With combat already engaged and with the wall of force blocking their escape from the throne room, the Coopers have no choice but to pursue their attack against Thurl Merosska and cultists of the Howling Hatred. Ruddy fires an arrow from his crossbow, and Thurl is blinded. Earl strikes one of the Feathergale Knights down to the ground, while Thorne lands several blows on the other Knight. Struck by a cold ice strike, Naga uses his vampiric touch ability to heal himself.
Now blinded, Thurl teleports away from the battle. As the knights fight back and the priests casts spells, Earl crushes one of the knights' skull in. Naga casts fireball, blasting all of the enemies along with Thorne. Whalerider and Daryle attack the other wall of force that blocks the staircase and manage to break through. At the same time, Thurl's delayed blast fireballs explode, killing the remaining Howling Hatred members and severely injuring Thorne.
With the battle now over, Earl picks up the great horn hung on the wall behind the marble throne. He blows in it, which calls forth the djinni Daryle and her sister Darelle had previously encountered. The djinni is clearly unimpressed with a new master summoning him, and he inquires as to which favor his master would like to see accomplished. Earl looks at the djinni, and immediately wishes that the djinni would grant him the ability to free him. The djinni tells him what words should be said to free him, and Earl utters them. The djinni, visibly relieved, bows low to the monk, then departs the Material Plane in a puff of blue smoke.
The party takes a breath before discussing what to do next. Should they return to Red Larch to check on the threat of releasing an orb of destruction Aerisi's minions had made? Should they pursue their exploration of the tunnels leading either towards the Black Earth or the Crushing Wave? Should they continue investigating how Thorne and Dhukhean were transported away from Tyar-Besil?
Coopers decide to head towards the section of Tyar-Besil controlled by the Crushing Wave, the only of the four cults they have yet to overtly confront.
Once again they pass through the heavy iron door, and enter a residential section of Tyar-Besil.After about two miles of travel through endless ruins of houses that have been thoroughly looted over the ages, the party finds itself in front of a similar iron door. This one is covered in graffiti left by Howling Hatred cultists. Thorne takes a quick look at the heavy lock, grabs his tools, and picks the lock opened. Carefully pushing the door, they come into a short tunnel leading to another commercial area of Tyar-Besil.
This area is well traveled here, and Daryle easily finds footsteps on the floor leading away from this room. Thorne enters one of the rooms, and is ambushed by bugbears wearing uniforms of the Crushing Wave. He attempts to convince them he's from the Crushing Wave, but he accidentally insults them, and they slash at the rogue. He runs away back to his party, closely followed by two of the bugbears. Seeing the large group, the lead bugbear yells to the others behind him to get reinforcements.
As the battle rages, a large bearded man with lightning shooting out of a missing eye joins the fray with six other cultists. Earl yells that it's all a misunderstanding, that he and the party are agents of the Crushing Wave who have infiltrated the Black Earth and were reporting back. The fighting subsides, and Thorne is eventually able to convince Morbeoth to take them to the Crushing Wave leadership.
Accompanied by heavily armed guards, the Coopers cross two bridges and enter a large room currently converted into the Temple of Elemental Water, where a religious service is taking place. Darelle, Naga, Ruddy and Daryle recognize one of the men at the front of the room as Joliver Grimsaw, the man in charge of Rivergard Keep.
When the service concludes, the party is escorted to the altar, where they are confronted by Gar Shatterkeel, prophet of the Crushing Wave. Grimsaw recognizes them as agents he sent to attack the Eternal Flame earlier in the year. They report their exploits and how they destroyed the tower, only to find themselves underground in an epic struggle with the Howling Hatred. Thorne mentions that the cultists of the Howling Hatred have captured a dwarf and are bleeding him in their ultimate redoubt.
After a lengthy conversation, Gar Shatterkeel agrees to outfit the Coopers and provide them with shock troops and directions to infiltrate the Howling Hatred once again, free the dwarf, and bring him to the Crushing Wave. The Coopers begin their preparations...
