Almost spotted by Kobolds, the IRA retreats from their lookout position into the mountains surrounding the grave of Horas. Reunited with Aloy but away from the elven ranger Asha, the group hikes clockwise around the dragon infested valley - undetected. Their attempt to sneak into the skull of the fallen titan to the underground crystal caves of the dragon succeeds, and neither friend nor foe is harmed.
Down in the unnatural lair of glass and sand, the party makes an unexpected discovery on their quest to follow Leylith's cue to seek out Emba Fievadream of Dunwich - the Hand of Morlin, or at least four of the five fingers that run free. The introduction is brief, as Abraxas and Leylith teleport away, leaving Marutuk and Ezekiel behind to deal with the intruders - giving them the order to "kill the spellcasters and leave the rest to the dragon".
The battle in the entry of the big crystal chamber results in the death of Clerica, then Aloy and finally Ken. And while Ezekiel leaves, Marutuk who is unwilling to die gets captured by the survivors, held in a semi-death state. Ken is resurrected by Jeff via the enchanted dust the group found days ago in a Gnoll hideout.
While Flo destroys - once again - a teleportation circle, Ken takes a moment to rest, Jeff and Bruri find a note left by Leylith that seemingly explains the various ways of immortality the fingers of Morlin possess. The time to grief the dead comrades is short, as Marutuk alerted the dragon Arxonas, that is now on its way to deal with the intruders.
But in their short break, the group finds a giant geode in the center of the chamber that is apparently the core of the fallen titan above, somehow bound to the heart of Leylith and the various golems that take her form standing in a corner, ready to be possessed shalt her current body fall. A secret door is also discovered, yet in their attempts to open it, Bruri vanishes into a magical prison. Without any more time to look for him, the survivors turn towards a small corridor running deeper into the underground, that traps them in a dead-end while the dragon on their minions free Marutuk.
In the last second, Ken is able to channel his remaining magical reserves to teleport them away to Zeantis, safe, but with only the remaining three members of the IRA...