Still sore from the battle the evening before, our heroes awaken early and (after morning prayers) start towards the small town to the north. On the way, Galandil approaches and greets a farmer tilling his field. The farmer seems friendly enough, and explains that he saw the caravan of Elves move into the city the morning prior. He says that they seemed rather somber.

Continuing into the town, called Ransburgh, they are greeted by a number of passers-by. The people here seem to be cheerful, and many of them appear to be miners due to their clothes and their head-to-toe grime. They appear to be getting off of third shift, and are filtering into the nearby inns and taverns.

Moving into the center of the city they see a large and lively market, with vendors selling all sorts of things and minstrels singing and playing instruments. Nearby the Elves spot some of their kinsmen, who tell them that the wounded from the caravan are being taken care of at the Shrine of Our Lady Irina, which is in the north part of town.

The Elves go to the shrine and are told that the caravan was attacked while it was moving through the Gray Forest by several Gorgers and the giant millipede, and barely escaped while the Elf soldiers fought them off. They find that their sister and grandmother were killed in the battle, and their grandfather is still in grave condition. Elowisyl and Atentir work quickly to begin healing their grandfather and other wounded Elves, while Galandil comforts their mother.

Meanwhile, Meran visits the local blacksmith and leather-working shops in the town, and is fitted for a suit of armor. Neith visits the market square, speaking briefly to one of the minstrels. The minstrel says that he is confident that Duke Perius, lord of the South Tymirr fiefdom (in which Ransburgh lies) will protect them all from the Terrors.

A short while later, Meran visits the nearby Inn and sees several miners having breakfast. He recognizes four of them as being from a similar tribe to his own, and strikes up a conversation. They explain that they were traveling just west of the river when a huge group of undead beasts started coming from the west. They fled across the river and came upon this town. They got work as miners and have been here for almost a month. The men say that they receive a good wage working in the mines, but they confide to Meran that there is something strange going on — it seems that the miners are not actually excavating any ore or gems, but are digging a tunnel through the nearby mountain. They have asked the foreman why, but he would not answer them. The men also mention that the townspeople here believe that Duke Perius has some means of protecting them from the Terrors.

After expending all of their magical energy on healing their kinsmen, the Elves take a well-deserved breather. Combellon approaches them and says that his father is at the castle just to the north, speaking with Duke Perius. They are to tend to the wounded and stay in the village until he returns.

Elowisyl suggests to Combellon that they take their dead, over 50 people, to a nearby forest to bury them. He agrees and it is decided that they will leave at dawn for the forest.

The Elves leave the temple and go to the market to get some food for dinner. They purchase a large amount of fruit and vegetables and have them delivered to the chapel. They then go to the nearby Inn to purchase some wine.

Upon entering the Inn, Atentir suddenly notices a missing poster hanging on the wall near the entrance. The penciled drawing looks strikingly like Neith, and it reads: “MISSING: Lady Esp