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After a short discussion it was clear that the Mothers needed more information. As such, they decided to go where the 'chant' was 'deep'. It was not long before they found themselves deep in the alleys of the Docks ward with a burning torch in Guthranka's hand. She snuffed it out and the Mothers stepped through a portal into Sigil. As usual they headed straight for the Golden Bariaur Inn, Stronghoof greeted them warmly and set them up in a comfortable stall. After a chat with Stronghoof it seemed as if the strange mountains they had seen in the scrying pool could only have been on Bytopia or the Twin Paradises. So the Mothers decided that they better figure out how to get there. First stop was the Hall of Information next to the Hall of Records in the Lady's Ward. Though it hardly took them any time at all to get there the Mothers were put off by the appointment that they were given with what was thought to be the relevant sage. They did not want to wait a week. They jumped back into another carriage which took them to the hive ward and the Anarchist Library in the Hive ward where they had done some previous research. The seemly random books provided by one of the librarians gave them enough clues to point them at a triple portal in the Hive. Since it was so close, the Mothers went straight to the location mentioned. Fonesca warped her senses with the spell and determined that one of the routes this portal took was to Bytopia, in fact to the layer of Dothrian. The key to the portal was a piece of quartz floating in a dish of water. While the spell lasted she discovered that another of the portal's destinations was Bytopia as well, but she discovered nothing else. Now that they had a route the Mothers decided to go back to the Inn to get ready for their journey. Gaspode and Guthranka had a more leisurely chat with Stronghoof while the other two prepared spells and prayed. Stronghoof asked them whether they had heard about recent events in the Cage where some Powers actually managed to enter against the Lady of Pain's rules. Vecna was the name of the Power that arrived; managing to do so through his absorption of the essence of another Power called Iuz and Vecna's subsequent ascension to a full Greater Power. For days there was a standoff around the Armoury, with a shimmering field of force destroying all who had the intention of harming Iuz, but letting devotees of the new Power through. Several Bloods tried to pierce the barrier while the Lady looked on surrounded by an honour guard of dabus, but they all perished. Finally a group of Cutters from a prime world who had grafted artifacts to their own bodies including a hand reputedly from Vecna's mortal form managed to pass through the barrier and either slay him or drive him off. Whatever had happened, the Lady was pleased. Stronghoof didn't know much more than this, except that Sigil was just getting back to normal and settling into it's old routines, so as soon as Fonesca and Levi were finished they travelled back to the portal in the hive to see if Fonesca's discoveries were accurate. A portal did indeed open when Fonesca floated one of her spell components in an up-turned helmet and they all stepped through. The Mothers found themselves in a wooded glade at night with what certainly looked like mountains and perhaps campfires, overhead.

The Mothers made camp in the glade and during the second watch Guthranka first heard and then saw a number of gnomes approaching. She woke Levi and Gaspode and they conversed using the Helm of Comprehending Languages. When asked about Jito, they could not help, but they brought the Mothers back to their village and shared their beer, conversation and song. The Mothers were enlightened on the matter of the various stages of existence on the Great Ring, including the gnomes own stage of petitioner. Jito not being present, Levi determined to make himself a font so that he could try scrying again. The local gnome craftsmen were amenable to all of his suggestions, but not Gaspode and the others, so he had to settle for a silver font. As it took a few weeks for the gnomes to craft the wooden base and the silver bowl the Mothers learnt something of the gnomish petitioner life. They had to hunt for their own food as the gnomes did not eat, though they liked to drink and smoke pipes. Nevertheless, the Mothers were glad when the day came for Levi to perform his rituals and make holy water in the font that he could then use as a scrying device. They found that Jito was also on a hunt, but as they were observing him he seemed to notice their gaze from wherever he was and he ran back towards a settlement in an attempt to hide. The gnomes with them got just enough of a view of the settlement to name it Glitterhome, a town about four weeks travel away from their current location. Soon the Mothers were off again, with directions and landmarks given by the gnomes and phantom steeds conjured by Fonesca. She herself travelled mostly in the form of a bird. In ten days they had reached Glitterhome but the gnomes there said that Jito had moved on, finding the place uninteresting. The Mothers must have made a good impression on the gnomes for soon after they were settled in the mead hall, after a strangely circuitous route through the town, Jito himself appeared and hugged his companions forcefully, confessing to spying on them as they approached because he had felt magical observation a couple of weeks previously and was nervous. The Mothers had some catching up to do as some were unconscious, dead or on other planes at differing parts of the story, but eventually they started discussing what they should do next.

Using phantom steeds, the Mothers returned to where the tri-portal had deposited them. Fonesca first use of her warp sense spells determined that the portal did indeed exist on this side and that it did go to Sigil but she had to regain more spells to determine that the key for the gate was the same for the return journey. So it was a few hours later that they stepped through to Sigil. There they decided to visit Hercanon again, whom they had not seen in a while, in order to get the three other wands from Tcian Sumere identified. The other one having been left with the dark elf once they had discovered it's curse. He was very helpful and without taking the wands off Fonesca or Guthranka, identified them as wands of Magic Missiles, Illumination and, for Guthranka, Fear. Leaving Hercanon, the Mothers decided to head back to Cormyr to report their discoveries on Iuz so they went back to Waterdeep using Jito's portal. They had not even made it out of the alleyway in the Trade's ward when they turned around and went back to Sigil. Maybe they could find a more direct route to Cormyr? Sigil was the City of Doors after all. Nine hours fruitless search in the Anarchist Library called to mind the other name for Sigil - the Cage. Two books had been found by the Xasiotect, but neither concerned portals. Feeling somewhat depressed by this turn of events the Mothers decided that their other plan would just have to do. So it was that they were soon standing near the Spires of the Morning, the temple to Lathander in Waterdeep, trying to remember which was the house of Marthus the Red. When they found it, they were greeted at the door Benedict, who remembered them, even though the Mothers seemed to have no recollection of Marthus' partner. After more condescention and obfuscation, Marthus appeared, dismissed Benedict, and brought the Mothers in for a glass of wine. He explained that he would not feel very comfortable with the Mothers suggestion of his viewing Arabel through Levi's scrying device as it would take him weeks of this activity for him to become familiar with the location, whereas Westgate was very familiar to him already. As such any teleportation would be much safer to the latter city. The Mothers noted Marthus' interest in things planar and invited him to come with them on a small tour of Sigil, before he would need to undertake the task of teleporting them to Westgate. The next morning the Mothers brought Marthus and Benedict (now clad in plate mail and bearing a two-handed sword on his back) to the Trade's ward and on to Sigil through the portal. Gaspode explained the portal mechanism to Marthus in case they were separated. The tour started with a walk from the Lady's Ward to the Hive where they visited the Anarchist Library again. On the way both Waterdhavians were shocked and impressed by the strangeness of the city and it's denizens. The black abishai were a potential target of Benedict's sword until he was calmed by Levi. At the library the Mothers were presented with four more books vaguely connected to the Cormyr region, but again with no concrete results. As the two primes stared around at the unorganised chaos of the library the Mothers debated as to the next stop on the tour. Perhaps the Great Gymnasium or Bits and Pieces in the Grand Bazaar?

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?