Following the events of The Red Mist, the group returns to Almraiven. Elros seeks the counsel of a Haluraan comrade named Xantrix. Upon arriving at the mage college he finds evidence of a break in, where a Paladin named Desmond is working the case. Elros uses his detect magic and notices the arcane locks have been dispelled in a way that removes all magical residue from a 12 inch sphere around the locks. Xantrix tells them that a book of Halruaa was stolen, and after some further questions he admits to telling a girl named Sylphie from the Gypsy Roseway about the existence of the book.
Travelling from The Villa to the Gypsy Roseway Elros, Penny, and Desmond encounter a number of animated tree branches leaping off the trees and terrorizing civilians who are enjoying the warm day. One of the people enjoying the day was a druid named Thistle who was exploring the city after a lifetime of living in the wilderness. He picked up arms to put down the abominations alongside the others.
After dealing with the blights they find that the magic from the locks had been shunted rather than dispelled and it was infused into the branches. Thistle joins the group to seek a way to prevent this from happening again.
They find Sylphie and while she is hesitant to speak of her clients as anything other than Mygas (My Guys) Desmond pulls out his manacles and threatens to arrest her for obstructing an investigation. At that point, she says the only person she spoke to about the book was a man named Elder Toalman. Satisfied they've gotten all they will from her she leaves the room as quickly as possible.
Thistle and Elros return to Xantrix to find out details about Elder Toalman and why he might want the book, as well as what he knows about the shunting of magical energy. He seems cagey about discussing the book, but is genuinely scared of the implication that the phenomena of magical shunting becoming something that can be done at will rather than simply ripples from the spellplague. He speaks of Toalman as an ignorant but resourceful man whose reach may be farther than his grasp when it comes to magical transportation.
Penny and Desmond go to Runner's End to see if there's any information about Elder Toalman there, finding their way to the Imperious Blades Mercenary College. Once inside they find that representatives from the Springwine-Jones estate have been recruiting extraction experts that are familiar with magical traps.
Desmond negotiates with a grizzled veteran, who goes by the name Orc-smasher, for information about specifics of these contracts. While he doesn't get much information, he does agree to join under Orc-smasher as a contracted Imperious Blade so that when the Estate comes seeking mercenaries again Desmond can infiltrate the estate with Penny. Opting to give the company a few drops of his blood as opposed to a fingerprint to sign the contract.
The group meets up at the Loom's Way and discusses what they've found. Elros becomes increasingly paranoid as he learns about Desmond's decision and encourages the party to recover his blood before Elder Toalman learns of their investigation, as he could easily obtain the blood from the Blades and make arcane use of it.
Desmond's decision: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1025841941