The group tries to get Abe resurrected, but his spirit does not want to return to the living. They burn his remains in the great forges. The group heads over to the "Really just come inne". While enjoying a good drink and food, they meet a new companion and his squire. He introduces himself as Balthazar Payne and his "squire of Payne" "kitten". The group does their best to make good impressions. They take on a job for the city council to clean out a cavern recently discovered in town. They fight a mud golem, a life leech, and finally a salt mummy. Gil gets cursed and screams of having to "get to the tree".
They travel to the tree and encounter a large number of druids who wish to kill themselves around the tree. After the ritual the surroundings seem to change. The tree is left to just an old stump. The forest seems strangely foreboding.
