After the strange events of the night, Bayeo went out into Goodwick to find what had become of the soldier. He discovered him one-armedly making a cairn in the rain for his dead comrades, still somewhat befuddled by what had happened.

After some discussion, they decided to leave off on the dead, and look to help the living. On the west side of the town, Bayeo discovered two harriers well enough to freak out and confront him with pitchforks. The soldier had discovered a tall, bent blacksmith’s assistant and the Blacksmith.

A short revalation of the guard’s (Gerwydd) expanding memories confirmed that they had come from Ynys Mawr after storm and other difficulties had overrun the capitol. They were beset en-route by monsters, and Belan used his accursed iron staff to draw down the lightning, which only served to anger them.

Discussing things among themselves, the group decided that the members of the community seemed to be recovering and would do for themselves, and that they didn’t need a strange group of strangers present to direct their confusion and anger onto.

Heading out of town, thy continued west along the seashore; in the afternoon, Guaer’s route took them away from the muck of the main road up through an old oak forest. Guaer and Fodaan argued over the path they were taking, and Guaer admitted he was following his instincts in picking their way. During the argument, Caerdwyn opened the Eye and saw a light off in the distance through the gnarled oaks: white, bright and sharp. On further inspection, there was a kind of accidental fall of beams here and there like a path to Guaer’s feet.

Embracing the “Disperse” word on his Scian Dearg, the Questioner cried out and plunged the blade into the heavy dirt before the P’ntri’s feet. There was a brilliant flash, and the path unraveled, and with a flash, the light faltered and went dark.

Having seen a farmhouse to their right (West), they began to cast about for a path or other way either to exit their path through the oakwood or find their way to the farm. At that point, Saar cried out, and quickly dumped his backpack, which had filled with a brilliant light (and evidently, heat). The mostly-assembled crystal Dragon’s Egg rolled out of his pack, burning brilliantly, searing Caerdwyn’s Eye.

They quickly discussed what to do and someone mentioned that stone could break the dragon’s egg.

Moments later, they were all picking themselves up off the ground, stunned, partly deafened. The Egg lay in pieces. Saar was lightly wounded from being thrown into a tree. Partway through pulling things back together, Bayeo and Guaer picked up close movement and the party circled to find a creature reeking of saltwater and kelp, made entirely of water, with a curved crescent of light in its empty head like a god’s smile.

It spoke in a language of gargling, like the drowning of seamen. Caerdwyn worked a bit of comprehension magic and spoke briefly with the creature. It told them (presumably on behalf of the Mistlord) that what it wanted was Freedom. Caerdwyn killed the thing with his Sciandearg, and the group retrieved the shard of the Dragon’s Egg, and split the suspiciously perfect-matching number of pieces among themselves.

Once they were done, they saw that outside the oak forest, across the fields and the grass, it had begun to snow, and a chill seemed to rise from the earth. They made their way across the fields to the farmhouse, where they were greeted by a recalcitrant farmer, taut and drawn, alone in what was obviously a family dwelling. His wife and son, evidently, had gone.

In the night, there were many strange sounds, and by morning, his wife had come back, powered by rats. He had evidently murdered her and buried her in their back well, by the barn that had collapsed. Spurred back to full life by the unleashed power of the Dragon’s Egg, she had returned to tell her husband how their son had died. On the way, she told Bayeo that the shadowy green men with the golden sickles had been hunting and hunting the woods for the shining mote he had found (clever boy, just like hers).

They left the farmer to the company of his dead wife and the rats (after beheading her and throwing the body out into the snow).

They walked off into the cold morning and the snow and the dark fields of Cahál.