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Deciding on the Grand Bazaar, the Mothers walked Benedict and Marthus out of the Hive so that they could hail a conveyance. Once they had obtained a carriage it took little time for them to arrive at the outskirts of the Bazaar. Stalls and tents spread out haphazardly from the main body of trading, mostly these sold foodstuffs that even the Mothers found it difficult to identify. Gaspode organised the group so that the mages would be protected in the centre and that the two visitors would be protected front and rear. The first shop that they decided to enter sold Baatorian Steel, Gaspode tried the edge of a dagger and Levi tested the weight of the plate-mail. Levi was tempted to purchase but the others dissuaded him when the length of construction was mentioned. The group had a look at a number of other vendors along the way until Gaspode oriented himself by a tavern on the corner and pointed out the alley in which Bits and Pieces lay. They approached the archway and took a tooth each from the bag hanging from the pole. Gaspode led the way through and the group found themselves in a rough-hewn stone passageway, somewhere underground. A bead curtain separated the passage from the shop. At least it seemed like a bead curtain when the Mothers pushed it aside. Beyond, the group saw a number of shelves of various jars, boxes, chests, vials and others containers. Soon the proprietor arrived and asked what they were looking for. Fonesca asked for bat guano and harpy feathers and Marthus piped up nervously with a request for gorgon blood. The winged creature fluttered off into the depths of the shop but returned quickly with a jar in one hand and a large leather wallet of some kind in the other. Placing the jar gently on the counter the shop assistant then gently opened the wallet to reveal an array of feathers of differing hues and proportions. Counting through them, he came to what he was looking for and he pulled out three feathers for Fonesca's approval. Once she had nodded the creature fluttered off with the wallet and returned with a small vial containing a black viscous liquid. "Gorgon's blood," it said simply, if hoarsely. Marthus was quite excited by this, but Benedict just looked more nervous than ever. Gaspode paid the creature 350 gold pieces and they left. There was only time for a pint of ale and a stew in the Golden Bariaur Inn with Stronghoof before the tour ended. Once safely back in Waterdeep the Mothers escorted the mismatched pair home, promising to call the next day. They retired to the Alchemist's Scales to consider a career change to planar touts. Next morning when they called, Marthus opened the door to them. Apparently he had been up all night recording his experiences and testing the gorgon's blood, which he had found to be genuine. He agreed to a discount on the cost of teleporting the group to Westgate on the basis of their kindnesses of the day before. So it would only cost the Mothers 5,000 gold pieces to be transported. Soon the Mothers stood with Marthus outside the door of the Black Hand inn, which gave Guthranka a few goose-bumps even looking at the sign. Marthus took his leave and the Mothers headed for the docks in order to find transport to Cormyr. Gaspode tried not to be tempted by the cries of a painted lady on the way. After visiting several dock-side taverns searching for captains or crew, passage was obtained on the Bountiful Princess which was due to sail to Suzail on the morning tide.

The Mothers went to the Black Hand to spend the night. Fonesca seemed determined to imbibe more than the average and Guthranka handed over enough gold to make this possible. Come morning, Fonesca was feeling rather the worse for wear and the prospect of a sea journey did not overly excite her. Nevertheless, the Mothers arrived promptly at the dock and were shown to a cabin towards the rear of the ship. The four hammocks and rough crates were all the furniture that they had for the following three days running before the wind down the Neck towards Suzail. Jito and Fonesca used the time to study some spells from the various grimoires and scrolls that they had picked up over time, with limited success. Levi prayed for success in finding a colleague who would be able to restore his severed hand and recharged his wand of fear using a number of ceremony spells. Gaspode and Guthranka spent the time staring at the waves, glad that they had no arduous task to perform for those few days. Arriving in Suzail before noon on the fourth day, the Mothers decided to continue straight on towards Arabel without even pausing in the capital for the night. They headed for the north-eastern gate, but were stopped there by a unit of Purple Dragons who enquired why such heavily armed and armoured people such as the Mothers should be allowed into the peaceful interior Cormyr. When the Mothers produced their charter they were allowed to pass. The next days passed quickly as the Mothers used Phantom Steeds to carry them and Secure Shelters to house them when the sky darkened. They went through the towns of Hilp and Immersea without resting and so reached Arabel after three nights on the road. Once in Arabel, the Mothers headed straight for the palace to see the Lord High Seneschal of Arabel who had sent them on their quest to Tovag Baragu. Unfortunately he was not available at that time so the Mothers headed for the Weary Knight Inn and took two rooms. Fonesca re-acquainted herself with the local brew while the others befriended and questioned a local bard about the current news in the town. Double watches were arranged for the evening and the Mothers were ready for their appointment at eight bells with the Lord High Seneschal. When brought in to his chamber the Mothers were slightly surprised to see that the Lord was not particularly happy to see them. It transpired that word of the fall of the Iuz had come from the temples about a month ago. The Lord wondered what took the Mothers so long. After attempting to summarise their activities since they had last been there, the Mothers listened as the Seneschal described a new problem that he had in the Stonelands. After the fall of the forces of Iuz many had fled into the hills and mountains to the north and east. These areas were still dangerous, especially the Stonelands to the north. A band of hill giants had set up a new steading under a chieftain in the region and had been preying on the caravans that had just begun running again to Tilverton. If the Mothers could destroy this steading and find out how they managed to group together then they would be well rewarded. A ranger would be returning in three days to tell the Lord High Seneschal the location of the steading of this Hill Giant Chieftain. In the meantime most of the Mothers returned to the inn while Levi and Guthranka went to the temple to talk to the High Priest about restoring his hand. After a small time praying, an acolyte took the pair to see the High Priest. The priest looked abashed as he explained that the Wand of Orcus that the Mothers had left in safe keeping in the vault beneath the temple had been taken. About three weeks previously, the acolytes who were due to relieve those on duty in the vault, entered as usual in the morning, using the magical passwords and the separate keys that they carried. It was then that they discovered the two others lying unconscious on the floor inside the vault and that the Wand, and only the Wand, was gone. When brought back to their senses, the acolytes could not remember anything unusual. Levi and Fonesca didn't know what to make of this, but arranged to return the next day for the ceremony to restore Levi's hand. Much discussion was had in the Weary Knight that evening. The next day Levi returned to the temple and had his hand restored. Guthranka carefully counted out the three thousand gold pieces and five thousand gold pieces worth of gems to ensure that the temple was not short-changed. The Mothers then returned to their rooms in the Weary Knight to discuss their options. Could they leave the matter of the Wand entirely, or even for a little while, so that they could tackle the marauding giants on the borders of the realm, or take a more direct approach to the issue?