In Town

Meanwhile, with Orias:
Orias has found his brother Claudius! (the folks at the temple of Calistria helped) He's a knight in the Army of Exploration and is in the city at the docks to guard something. Orias also learns that the rest of the party is in town. Claudius is leaving early the next morning, so Orias goes to the docks. He learns Claudius is in charge of a group guarding a crate designed to hold animals, but you can't see inside to figure out what kind of animals. Their armor seems relatively new and the lion isn't deformed to look like a pig. So maybe he's with a legit Army of Exploration instead of the evil one?

Orias watches for an hour, people from the evil Army of Exploration show up and give his brother a roster and some other stuff. Orias waits for those guys to leave, puts on a look of feigned surprise  and goes to greet him. Claudius isn't sure if Orias is serious or trolling. The conversation goes hilariously.

Meanwhile at the inn!
The innkeeper comes to Zelara to tell her a nice looking gentleman is looking for our group. Zelara wakes everyone up and we go downstairs. The gentleman looks like he's trying to look like he's from Ustalaav, but the cloths are just slightly off. He is handsome and looks around Zelara's age. He speaks Virisian with a western Ustalaavian accent. He tells us there is trouble back in Ustalaav - rumor that the Whispering Tyrant may be returning.

Tar-baphon: Vile litch king known as the Whispering Tyrant. He raised orc hordes and undead and ruled Ustalaav with an iron fist. He took control of all the warring nobles. The Shining Crusade finally managed to imprison him in 3828 (923 years ago). They found the Whispering Tyrant's mark in Carrion Hill on the corpse of the last of the keepers. The senotoph is making noise. They found a scroll from the evil Army of Exploration - the symbol at the end of the message is the symbol of the Whispering Tyrant. The animals the WT is asking for are natural, can be interbred, and can be raised as undead to make new horrifying things.

There are two warring orc tribes in Belksen. One is led by a half orc and doesn't mind humans. They want Belksent to be taken seriously as a nation. The other side wants to ally with Tar-baphon because he promised to blot out the sun (so orcs could rule like last time that happened).

Davor (the Ustalaav guy) wants us to go with him and help fight and inspire the troops. They're willing to pay us. The Whispering Tyrant has learned to communicate from instead his prison and is trying to get living armies to go against Lastwall.

Back with Orias!
Claudius is trying to get Orias to go away. Orias agrees to come back on Claudius' break. He finds the rest of the party, and Illythan fills him in on the situation with Eorin. The two of them laugh about it like  jerks.

Zelara and Eorin go to the Geb district to find Prince Zuri. Eorin speaks to a golem who shoos them out the gate. Eorin pleads with the golem and eventually Prince Zuri comes out, but stays 10ft away on teh other side of the fence. Zuri says Eorin never actually me the gods (Eorin doesn't have the aura of being in their presence), but rather encountered outsiders called Asura who hate the gods. He then tells Eorin he's unlikely to come back as undead when he dies since he hasn't done anything evil, and tells them to leave.

Eorin decides to go to the library. Kyle, Zelara, Orias, and Illythan go to the arena. Kyle and Zelara choose to fight. Orias and Illythan decide to bet on outcomes. Kyle wins the first fight verus a dire lion and goes immediately into a fight with 10 hyenas. Kyle wins against the hyenas. Kyle decides to take a break and does not go immediately into the next fight (versus a brachiosaurus).

Zelara goes next versus two ogres. She wins! She decides to take a break and not go up against three fire giants. Illythan and Orias win some bets and all of them win awesome prises.

Eorin researches the Asura. They are a lawful evil outsider. They try to destroy peoples' faith. So Eorin decides this whole thing was a test of his faith, and that Pharasma clearly hasn't abandoned him, and that he will continue to do good works and fight the undead in her name.

Orias goes back and meet with his brother about secret things.