And so, the group heads around the base and camps for the night. They head toward Cimbar. About a day or so away from the city, they notice a watch tower of some sort. Rurik overhears two drow saying that the armies are retreating. As the party hides, several battalions of drow march past them.

When the coast is clear, the party searches the tower, finding that everything of interest has been taken or ruined. Wan takes a tactical map just in case, even though the enemies plans have apparently been removed from it.

In Cimbar, the group talks to Roet, who tells them to come back later for a meeting. Wan shows him the map. The group splits up to scout around town. Wan is attacked with poison arrows. He chases the attacker into a dead-end alley, but Wan gets hurt badly (he is also stabbed with a posion dagger) and turns himself invisible to run away.

Later, at the meeting, when Roet asks to see the map again, Wan realizes it is missing! Roet doesn't know why the army retreated, but he is sure they will return. He proposes that the party and five of his men set up an ambush. They agree, but that night the five men are taken violently ill, three of them dead. Cecil cures disease on the other two, which seems to work. Further halting the plan is the fact that the mages who were sent to prepare the ambush didn't return, and scouts report that the drow are returning.