The Ashen Company follow one another up a staircase but find themselves separated across a graveyard. Null and Flynn on one side start exploring whilst Berrick and Lotty are a little more cautious on the other.
As they start to take in their surroundings - oddly feeling like it's inside and outside at the same time - a spectral Alistair appears in the sky. It's the younger version of him that the Ashen Company saw in Ezra's tower. Alistair does his best to taunt the Ashen Company "I see you are making your way up the tower you have experience in such environments learned at the hands of my slave". There's a little back and forth but our heroes have just been taunted by bad guys one too many times to bite too hard and continue to look for a way out.
Whilst The Marionettist continues to watch on, four spectral images of Ezra's mother, Eleanor, appear. The elven-human women are covered in green rune scars, now banshees under Alistair's command. They attack the Ashen Company and a tough fight ensures; after our heroes defeat the banshees the way out is still not obvious. They realise they are going to be facing a slog similar to Ezra's tower but no way out has appeared after defeating the threat.
Eleanor appears again, this time less threatening and speaking softly in elvish. With nobody able to understand the words Flynn hands a potion of tongues to Lotty; she hesitates wondering if she's the best person for a compassionate conversation right now but when Flynn goes to drink it instead she downs the potion and hears Eleanor ask "why do you linger?". Lotty explains they know who she is, they've seen her image from Ezra's locket; she tells Eleanor that Ezra has become a great man, respected across Ios and very powerful, she can be proud of her son; in fact, The Ashen Company are here on Ezra's guidance. Eleanor says she is bound to Alistair and under his control until his death, it won't be long until she returns again in banshee form. Happy to help the Ashen Company defeat the one who shackles her, she tells Lotty they must all find an empty coffin and lay completely inside it and pull the lid back over themselves to move on. She asks Lotty to tell Ezra she loves him and she's proud.
Lotty barks out to jump in a coffin and they all manage to find an empty coffin - or in Null's case make a coffin empty - and pull the lid before the fight started again.
They found themselves at various places on a cliffside, they can see what looks like a doorway across a chasm filled with lava. Those who can begin to fly but find themselves stuck on solid ground; Berrick tries to teleport but also find that futile. Somehow (bowtie? maybe?) Flynn finds more purchase and manages to teleport across the chasm, he tries to take Lotty with him but she remains in place.
About this time a giant, fiery, rune scarred Balor emerges from the lava. Our heroes are in perfect step with one another on the plan - run. Whilst the Balor lashes out serious damage, Flynn manages to create a wall of force to create an invisible bridge across the lava lake. Our heroes manage to run across the bridge as Flynn is almost dragged to his death in to the lava by the Balor's whip. Thankfully some quick thinking and a strange twist of fate sees the Ashen Company through the door whilst the Balor is preoccupied in a mighty battle with Lotty's summoned construct (RIP construct, it fought bravely to be completely ineffectual).
In stark contract to the fiery lava environment the Ashen Company are now stood on ice, not just ice though - this is like the dread tundra, and it hurts! They all fly in to the air as Berrick casts Oasis to give them a moment to hatch a plan. They see another door under the ice and Flynn ponders using True Polymorph to turn in to something big enough to scoop up the group in his mouth and take them through. Lotty prattles on with some facts Cade told her about walruses and blubber before settling on an adult white dragon being the best option. After taking the new form Flynn realises an adult dragon's mouth isn't as big as they thought it was. He casts Lady L's double enlarge special, scoops up the group and dives through the ice unceremoniously spitting them through the door before gathering speed and going full force towards the door to change back at the last second still taking some damage from the icy water but getting everyone safely through the door.