After catching up, the group walks around Tradeshore, starting with a visit to Roscoe, the bard. They request his help in sending a message to Sloane, providing an update on their recent job and her location. Roscoe agrees on the condition that they share their stories with him, which they find fair. They also offer him steady work at the Witty Glaive, the tavern Thorak and Ursus now own. Grateful, Roscoe accepts. Following his recommendation, they visit The Haberdashery, a shop run by Zaria, a tiefling. After introductions, Valen inquires about enchanting his bracers but struggles with the cost. Through negotiation, the group agrees to trade and make a deposit for the enchantment.

Armed with information from Roscoe, the group heads to the Citadel Farthing and stops at an herbalist shop run by Izca. While Izca is occupied, Valen scouts the shop's upper and lower levels, discovering a locked room in the basement. He and Dona investigate, uncovering unidentified alchemical concoctions linked to the Scorching Sun group. Narrowly avoiding detection, they leave but are stopped by two city guards who recognize Thorak and Ursus. Thorak cleverly enlists the guards to surveil Izca’s shop while the group takes a break to prepare for the evening's events.

Their respite is short-lived when the surveillance team reports suspicious activity at Izca’s shop. The group hurries back, devising a stealthy plan to investigate. In the basement, they find a gruesome discovery: long dead bodies that were not there earlier. The unsettling turn of events deepens their concerns about the Scorching Sun and heightens the urgency of their mission.

There's so much happening, and that's where we pick up…