Travelling north away from Axeholm and the Icespire Peaks, the group made their way towards Phandalin, hoping to find more information about the green dragon that had been found there.  However on the way, they met with a half ogre by the name of Tokk, who appeared to be a glory hunter looking to kill the white dragon.  

He was quite friendly after Idris went to speak to him, and while intent on killing the white dragon for its hoard and the prestige, the group realized that alone he would likely not survive.  As the group was not interested in monetary gain for the most part, they agreed that if Tokk joined them in the hunt to kill the dragon, that he could take the majority of the hoard himself as well as most of the credit for the kill.  Not willing to give out the location of Axeholm, they instead directed him to the Mountain Toe goldmine where they would meet up with him at a later point in order to go and deal with the dragon, none of them terribly bothered that he would likely spend the time mining the resource himself while waiting. With that agreement sorted, the group headed north to Phandalin, intent on finding out more about a sort of ritual style kill that Tokk had warned them had been left in the town.

Entering the south of the city, Siax searched for any sign of where the green dragon had fallen after the fight with the white, and soon spotted a tree that a glint of green seemed abnormal.  There in the branches was some dried blood and a large green scale.  Pine, interested in the fact that they might be utilised in some way to find the dragon if need be, even if he could not do so himself, scraped the blood into a vial he carried, with the help of Siax, and then gathered the scale in some clean clothing in his backpack.

Between Siax, Zenari, and Koraliki Verque, they managed to figure out that not only had the dragon not perished, but had been able to transform themselves into a humanoid and take refuge in the house owned by Linene, and then use a potion that not only healed them somewhat, but also made them look close to death.  The dragon, the group agreed, was indeed likely to be somewhere in Axeholm hiding amongst the people there and possibly had been in Phandalin for a very long time.

As they made their way towards the town square, the buildings around them had been damaged further since they were last here, claw marks and tail swipes seemed to have destroyed several buildings in what might have been considered a temper tantrum.  Considering the white dragon's words back in Axeholm, it seemed that it had likely been looking, unsuccessfully, for its green counterpart. However the group's attention was soon fixed on something else, for in the town square they found a huge pole on which the wizard's Zatharius's head was driven, what looked to be his arms and legs scattered around, and indecipherable writing on the ground, drawn in blood.  Indecipherable except for Zenari.

'ZENARI, STOP RUNNING'

the words stated, clear in their declaration, and she told the group that the quari must be trying to find her some other way, because after the altercation with the dragon during their time at Phandalin when the ring had been destroyed, she'd managed to block the quari from her mind permanently.

After taking a look at the area to detect magic, it became clear to Idris that the markings around the base of the pole were not only active, but strong, one that Eefendruphunka agreed was a gate of some kind.  If the group were to get Zatharius's head down in order to speak to his corpse they would have to dispel that magic circle.  After flying around the city to check for other signs of magic, Idris found that there were areas where tendrils of abjuration were on entry ways to the town, ones that were not visible to the south where they had entered, it was decided that they should avoid staying in the town overnight, in case the spells had been an alarm system.  Siax also found bloody tracks, ones that did not match Grannoc, that led north out of the town.

Instead they headed back south towards Umbridge Hill in order to stay in Adabra Gwynn's windmill there.  On the way they paused to check on the location where they had met the Winter Wolf, but found it gone, having left quite some time ago. However the group were not unharried in their search for a safe haven for the night, for just as they got within sight of the windmill, a chill wind filled the air.  The dragon was on its way.

Deciding after their encounter at Axeholm that they were not in any state to take on the dragon, they rushed up to the windmill, using its bulk to block where otherwise the dragon would see them moving.  Together they managed to get into the windmill via a window, and crouched there as the dragon flew over, not noticing them. The next day they returned to Phandalin and to the remains there.  Pine was able to dispel the magic circle, and the head of Zatharius was taken down, and Pine allowed the group to ask their questions of him.

[Q] How did you die?
[A] Stabbed with a dagger made of dreams

[Q] Who did this to you?
[A] Iradin the Inspired ((The name is familiar to idris. Iradin was a mercenary that the Doryo had dealings with. An assassin, he was hired to protect one of your caravans. He was let go because he did protect them, but with more brutal methods. No magic or rituals in the history. )

[Q] What was their reasoning?
[A] First to find zenari when i would not say where. To use my death to lure her out. I tried to explain the importance of my work, but…

[Q] How can we defeat a quari in this realm?
[A] Normal ways of ending a possession such as magical or physical would suffice to expel an quari from a victim, but in terms of a willing host, the separation can only be done with the host's demise.

[Q] Do you know a way to continue your work that we could help with?
[A] I do.

Pine casts gentle repose on the head, and then buries the other limbs nearby in case they are required for something later.  He then packs the head in his backpack covered in his other clean clothing so they can ask more questions in 10 days. Heading north out of the city, the group follow the tracks that Siax had found the evening before, only to note that they headed east along the Triboar trail.  Zenari was not of a mind to go after an assassin that seemed to have given himself to the quari and was after her, one who had some way of stopping magic from being cast, and so instead the group headed west towards the location where the white dragon was supposed to have landed.

When they got there, they found a storm raging along the coast, the beach totally invisible under the waves, and a pulsing green light that shone from the lighthouse, one that seemed to cause the storm to rage more with each pulse of light, dragging ships in and wrecking them.  Considering the fact that the agents of Talos were hoping to summon Gorthoc the Thunder Boar, the group decided that they had best investigate, but on their way towards the lighthouse, they were met by a very strange sight indeed.

A huge crab drew itself up from the waves and stood in front of them, clutching a corpse in its claws, a corpse that then spoke.  It seemed that the crab was using necromancy to speak through the corpse, seeking help in retrieving the possession of his former mistress from those that had killed her, a conch.  It told of evil in the lighthouse, and seemed delighted that the group would help it. The group made it along the path and up the path unseen, and Pine, distrusting going through the front door, climbed up, intending on helping the others climb with a rope.  However when he got there, a half orc stood, an agent of Talos, and she questioned why he was there.  Pine, not one for clever words, nonetheless managed to convey that he was there because of a flyer, one that Siax had found caught on the rocks on their way over, and she took him for a potential acolyte.  He gave his name as Arctic Wind.  She seemed pleased with him, having braved the storm and was not scared of it, and told him that she was there with the others to crash the ships for their treasure, to fuel their organisation's work.  

But all was not plain sailing, for beside her was a lightning rod, one that had been struck at fairly regular intervals during their journey up the path.  She bid him to touch it in order to prove himself worthy.  Instead he brought out a shining moonstone from his pocket, and with the magic behind the action, she became fixated on it, uncaring of anything else, as the others climbed up to reach them.  For greed they had come, and because of greed she would fall.