Mugul took the orb and crossed the River Plith where he confronted Lord Toronaga, the boss of the northeast quadrant. Mugul was unstoppable, hearing a phantom voice in his head that directed him to leave his friends. Mugul killed Toronaga and Clarys, Guyu, and Ephraim again tried to stop him. Eventually, Clarys drew her own blade and cut Mugul's index and middle fingers on his left hand, freeing the orb from his grasp. The orb did attack her–but her own sword absorbed the energy and she was able to secure the orb in her cloak. Clarys and Guy took the orb back across the river and to the temple.
Free from its seductive grip, Mugul and Ephraim, crossed the river back tot he southern part of the city and concocted a plan to retrieve the orb once more. While Guy and Clarys were spelunking in the secret tunnels under the temple and to east and west of the city, Ephraim successfully stole the orb and crossed the river once more to the north. Mugul was arrested and plaxced on watch inside the temple until Guy and Clarys returned, only to find out of the orb's theft.
Mugul returned to the Widow's End to sleep; Clarys went to her room in the temple to sleep; and Guy, unable to sleep due to wanting to break into Par Aurelia's safe, finally opened the latch and discovered the true nature of the orb. Inside a secret compartment of the Par's safe a scroll spoke of the orb's true identity: it is known as the Orb of Arioch and is the physical manifestation of a demon who serves the dark god. In this form, it seduces and grants power. But placed in another plane of existence, the demon could be freed to wreak havoc.
Ephraim wanted to keep the orb safe and put it inside the Bag of Holding. The Bag of Holding is actually a doorway into the Astral Plane and….the orb is now unrecoverable, both from Ephraim's attempts and from Mugul's! Ephraim, in search of his sister Orianna, trashed The Black Moon casino and hotel. Orianna finally made her presence known and brother and sister exchanged brief histories. Ephraim warned Orianna that his friend Mugul may soon be visiting Lord Asahni, the boss of the northwest. Orianna, now the leader of the Black Moon ninja clan, told her brother that she served Asahni and would protect her master if Mugul attacked him.
Mugul further consolidated his power by going to Toronaga's funeral with the grieving son, Yoshi, the heir to the Toronaga Clan. Yoshi never made it to his father's funeral. He was so distraught form the loss of his dear old dad, that Mugul reported the young man took his own life and jumped into the River Plith, along with some arrowed samurai that were with him on the barge headed north. Mugul was now the undisputed boss of all the districts, save the northwest under Asahni.
Clarys and Guy effectively forced acquiescence from the sniveling Baron Adlar, who pledged his loyalty to Clarys and offered her his army to the south. Robert Winthrop, the earl of Easthaven, seeing Clary's abuse of power, decided then and there to run against her. He is the richest, most powerful nobleman after the duke himself.
Guy spoke with DeRozen, the spymaster, wherein he learned that if the duke did not appear back in Allentia by the 100th day, DeRozen was to make copies of the secret scrolls from the Great Library, and distribute one copy each to:
DeRozen explained to Guy that, if the duke did not return, he was most likely killed or imprisoned by the emperor. Therefore, the duke instructed his most loyal vassal to set into motion the warnings to the other leaders on the continent. DeRozen believes that the knowledge contained in the scrolls would set the other leaders against the emperor himself. It would be a world war and all forces sent to Mystvale, to the very doorsteps of the immortal emperor.
Mugul and Ephraim met with Lord Asahni, where the boss of the northwest assured Mugul of his loyalty and partnership. In fact, Asahni offered to manage Toronaga's holdings and give tribute of 50% to Mugul, making him potentially wealthier than the duke himself.
Meanwhile, word reached Clarys that the Pars from Glantri City, Darokin, and Specularum were scheduled to arrive that night, at the western gate. As the political forces move against her to remove her from the duke's seat of power, the Pars would arrive to hopefully declare Clarys's ascendancy. But, a herald arrived ahead of the delegation of Pars and informed Clarys and Guy that a “massive orc army marches upon the city!”
Simultaneously, the militia and concerned townfolk report to Clarys that “a very large force of…alien things are headed to the south of the city. They look like large ants!”
The war has come to Allentia now…