The Saviours of Salvation, accompanied by what remains of the Grey Dogs, continue on their journey back to Salvation from Kalazart. They've been trudging on for a day and a half by now, exhausted and weary, when Aliza spots a ruined cottage on a hill ahead. Desperate for safety from the elements and a place to rest, the group draws closer, only to be ambushed by undead soldiers in Cyran uniforms -- Glayder's old unit, but raised and warped by the Mournland or possibly some other force.
Elloven enters his usual focused stance as combat begins, but something is different this time: his features shift and warp, turning him into an amalgamation of orc and dragon. Jinx calls upon the Silver Flame to turn and incinerate the undead, as does Khetari, but to heal her friends instead. Isabelle appears to panic slightly, and reaches into her bag as a small puppy with a strange artificial core of some kind hops out and begins breathing fire over the undead. She refers to the dog as Argan, and he quickly proves himself as an incredibly good boy. Partway through the fight, an undead ogre in a Brelish uniform joins the fray, nearly knocking Glayder over only to be dispatched by the group's combined efforts.
After a long fight, with several zombies refusing to stay dead, the group finally gets to enter the cabin. The small single-floor cottage seems to once have been cozy, but just like everything else out here, it's now in ruins. Jinx goes to inspect the basement, and finds the fresh corpse of a woman in black robes, clutching a book. As she goes to pick up said book, the corpse suddenly sits upright and emits a horrid scream, spewing blood all over her. Still, she's able to read through the journal, finding out that this place belonged to a woman by the name of Curla Hurwinch, a necromancer from Karrnath. The journal contains instructions on how to reverse the beacon effect that's drawing the undead to this cottage: the five necromantic foci must be destroyed, and a drop of Curla's blood must be spilled from a magical blade.
Meanwhile, Elloven and Glayder use bookshelves to barricade the front door, and find a magically locked desk in the study, which they elect not to touch. Isabelle, accompanied by a shell-shocked and traumatized Khetari, dismantles the bed and uses it to add to the barricade, taking note of the undead slowly closing in on the cabin She also finds a spell scroll of ray of sickness, as well as a severed head, inside the bedroom dresser. Elloven continues to look around for a bit after finishing the barricade, noticing an undead hand in a barrel in the kitchen, and goes to throw it away. As he does, though, the hand flies up and attacks him, initiating combat. Jinx closes the cellar off in a panic upon hearing this go down.
The formerly Cyran undead continue to shamble towards the cottage, eventually smashing through the barricades the group had set up. Nella quickly works on feeding the Oracle of War information in an attempt to get a tactical edge, but instead of actual advice, it spouts out a single phrase. "When dark lanterns flicker in the light of the silver torch, the King in Green rides north on a bolt of steel. Two nations prepare for war, as all eyes turn to Sky Blue." Nella believes this is an excerpt from the Draconic Prophecy, and Jinx tries to go along with her and interpret it, but Aliza just seems too frustrated. It then switches to another phrase, repeated ad infinitum as it belches purple smoke: "Third protocol activated".
The rest of the group continues to hold the line expertly against the zombies, though they quickly find themselves tiring out due to attrition. After the Oracle's malfunction, Jinx spots Nella and Durvo heading down into the cellar to discuss something, and with Aliza's help, goes down to confront them. She discovers they're planning to pawn off the Oracle and split the profits, to help Nella's family and pay off some of Durvo's debts. She and Aliza shout down the other two, reminding them that their relationships with the other Dogs and Saviours are more important than a little extra short-term cash. Through all of this, Sprocket has been absolutely decimating wave after wave of undead, with their brain turned completely off.
Meanwhile, the "necromantic" foci for this ritual are identified: the hand Elloven threw out, a pair of detached feet pumping away at the harpsichord pedals in the study, the severed head Isabelle found, and a displacer beast head mounted in the cellar. The group methodically destroys these while fighting off the undead waves, which grow smaller and smaller. A strange undead warforged, calling himself Jagged, bursts into the cottage near the end of the fight. Jinx seems confused by the concept of an undead warforged, but Sprocket assures her that warforged have souls too, and therefore, can be reanimated just like flesh people.
After the warforged wight burns in more silver fire, Jinx takes his severed armblade -- magical enough to complete the ritual -- and runs to the cellar to stab Curla's corpse with it. The remaining undead crumble to dust, and those further away begin shambling in the opposite direction to the cottage. The group finally enjoys their well-earned rest, though as Jinx snuggles up to Elloven, she notices a strange pattern of some sort on his thigh, the same spot where he said he had the "tick". However, she can't investigate this for long, as she hears a scream from Khetari.
Hurrying over to check on the kalashtar, the group notices a strange mark of some kind -- clearly an aberrant dragonmark -- on her hand. She claims she'd been having a nightmare, which is extra strange as her people don't typically dream, and is afraid she might be a threat to the group. Jinx finally brings up the matter of Glayder's hidden aberrant mark, and voices her concern over what to do about three different aberrant marked friends to Isabelle, who seems just as scared and conflicted. A fight almost breaks out between Jinx and Glayder, but Isabelle intervenes, and everyone finally drifts off into an uneasy sleep.