Over the long rest, Coratana is sinking into the dreamscape he shares with Tana. Waiting for him there is a figure, hooded and covered with a dark green cloak. The Traveler paralyzes Coratana, who is unable to do anything but listen as the Traveler informs him that Coratana has been difficult to find and needs something for the Traveler to help keep him in the radar. The deity gifts Coratana with a Wraith Drain Wyrmling, and the mark on the back of Coratana’s hand changes, expanding to add black wings to either side of the Traveler's archway. After a brief conversation with Tana, Coratana awakens.
Halbard awakens earlier than the rest of the party and - once Bel is awake - finds her and asks about the ring that the group found on a body in the cave. Bel recognizes the ring as belonging to a young half-elf amateur adventurer who had disappeared twenty-five or thirty years before and relates the story to Halbard. The adventurer and her brother had been local orphans, supported by the community before training with the Kingsguard to increase their skills. The two of them had taken care of small nuisances - beneath the notice of the Kingsguard - and aided the townspeople to earn whatever small coin they could. Her brother had eventually fallen in love with a merchant’s daughter they had been hired to guard, and once he and the merchant’s daughter had been married, the two settled down South, near Stillwater. Before he had left, he gave his sister this ring, engraved with “Do not go far from me.” The girl had continued in her adventuring, spending more time out in the woods by herself as time passed, until eventually she just disappeared. Bel offers to send the ring to the brother along with news of the sister’s passing, and Halbard gives Bel the ring.
The rest of the group awakens and comes to breakfast. They decide to make a brief shopping trip to the blacksmith -a half-orc named Zane - where Dorrin purchases 3 nuggets of brass ore for later work. The group then returns to the Blade and Bow, where Bel congratulates them on the completion of their first mission and shows them how to return to the Sanctum. As they prepare to leave, Halbard notices that Ryloc is not with the group. Just add he makes this realization, Bel opens the door and Coratana leads the group through.
He emerges into the communal dining area of the Sanctum just in time to see five figures- including Lyran and Tyrik - seated around a table discussing something that catches his attention. The conversation cuts off as the five figures perceive the party arrive.
Tyrik and Lyran introduce the three others: an older half-elven woman with silvered hair is Rissa, the archivist-in-residence; the slender middle-aged male halfling with dark hair is Luka, the enchanter-in-residence; and the young blonde male human is Owen, the Sanctum’s partner and overseer of the Keepers.
Bel and Owen quickly excuse themselves and leave, already deep in conversation. Luka and Rissa stick around for a short while and begin to get to know the Sanctum's newest runners.
While Dorrin and Audir speak with Luka concerning enchanting, and Rissa speaks briefly with Coratana about finding a book or two about basic alchemy, Halbard pulls Lyran aside for a discussion about animals and mind-affecting magic and Sulyex briefly speaks with Tyrik about the deity that Tyrik serves, revealed now to be Istus, the lady of fate.
Bel returns from her discussion with Owen and relays that the group is to take two days down time before their next mission. The group splits for the day, individually or in small groups, agreeing to come back together over dinner.
Sulyex requests an area from the Sanctum where he can take Gribble to teach him to swim. Gribble founders for a little bit, but eventually learns to keep his head and bob up and down in the water. From there, Sulyex goes off to clean and maintain his armor and Gribble tires to find a kitchen or butchery. The Sanctum opens a door for Gribble to a world where the Keeper is a butcher and maintains the storefront. The Keeper asks what Gribble would like to purchase, and, having no money, Gribble sadly returns to the Sanctum. He goes to the garden to practice his new swimming skills in the pond.
Halbard expresses his concerns to Lyran about magic that is able to make animals more intelligent. She knows animals may be trained to learn new skills, and has heard rumors recently of sorceries that help creatures make the jump to actual sentience. The conversation shifts to Lyran’s herbalist skills, and she offers to teach Halbard some of what she knows.
Audir walks with Luka to his enchanting workshop, trying to get a sense from a fellow halfling who has traveled to different worlds whether he has seen other members of her clan. She realizes that he doesn't seem to wear any tribal marking of his own. When she asks him about it, she notices his eyes dart to a small wooden box on his work station. When he turns his back, she tries to sneak over and see what the box contains. She shifts the box just enough to see a silver wire peek out from under it before Luka reaches out and grabs her hand; he briskly escorts her from the room and says goodbye, closing the door behind him. She spends the rest of the day reading the book Coratana gave her, slowly absorbing the blessing of Melora.
Coratana spends some time in the arena with his new dragon friend, testing its abilities and seeing what it is capable of. Together, they defeat a mimic disguised as a rubber ball.
Everyone meets back up for dinner in time to witness another -smaller- runner group return to the Sanctum. Two gnome sisters- similar enough to be twins - and a kenku come through the door, the gnomes visibly upset and complaining loudly in gnomish. The ignore the party and immediate summon up a corridor away from the room. A very short time later, Owen enters the room and announced that the party will gain a new member to take Ryloc’s place: the kenku!
The party is unhappy, by and large, with this new development, especially since the kenku is uncommunicative… He is unwilling or unable to even share his name! The group begins to call him ‘Bird-eh’ after his birdlike appearance.
While tensions are high, and everybody amped up already, Coratana chooses this moment to make his dragon companion known to the group. Everybody is instantly on edge, Halbard shooting up out of his seat. Very quickly, using Sulyex as a translator, they begin interrogating the dragon about its origins, abilities, and intentions. Halbard is extremely alarmed when the dragon claims Coratana as “Mine!” Mistrust grows between the members of the group, splintering team cohesion.
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