Collecting themselves after the fall of the final enemy within the Stonewall Manor cellar, the companions searched the room. Gemma found a blue leather-bound book of arcane spells, an object long thought to be nonexistent within the empire. The group crossed the hallway, and Anton kicked open the final door, cracking the wood around its handle to reveal the inside.

They found a horrifying sight – a macabre laboratory and torture chamber – with piles of bodies, anatomical drawings and vials of red liquid, as well as three elves, one of which was the missing elf child Kymil, chained to the stone wall and drained of their blood. A bestial humanoid guarding the room (later revealed to be a wereboar) turned. Anton drew his shortswords and approached slowly. "Come on, pig, let's do this," he said, and they launched into combat.

As the adventurers began to surround the beast, the wereboar slammed his maul against Raz'sik and Willa, managing to hold them off for a time. Using his tusks, he slashed against Anton's arm. Even Gemma bravely moved in to attack with her handaxe, but the wereboar continued to deflect attacks. As Raz'sik began to bleed from his wounds, Sovemil used his last two healing spells on the Pangenan, giving him the final boost needed to finish off the creature with his psychic blades. As the wereboar collapsed to the stone floor, his body shrank and morphed into that of an ordinary human.

Willa, seeing the transformation from monster to man, let out a cry, feeling she'd partaken in an evil act. The others reassured her they'd saved the elves, as Gemma used two of her healing potions on the female adult elf and on the elf child, Kymil. It was at this time that Malkyn Stonewall returned to her cellar with a handful of Domaarian guards, hoping to remove the adventurers before they reached her laboratory.

The guards, horrified at the sight within, shackled Malkyn, and when they moved to put the companions in cuffs, Anton spoke, "You're not locking any of us up. I don't care what authority you have." Intimated by the fighter's demeanor, they agreed not to cuff them as long as they came peacefully. Agreeing to the terms, the guards led everyone to Town Hall to meet with Lady Gilkass.

Beside Lady Gilkass and her assistant Amara, two other figures turned upon the group's entrance: A helmed Domaarian Knight and a veteran from the Domaarian Army, the man they'd left tied and unconscious beside the Imperial Road after escaping the prisoner caravan. The man, named Derek Moss, recognized the companions and told the Lady of what occurred. The guards also explained what they'd witnessed with Malkyn in the Stonewall Manor cellar. While an intense exchange of conversation unfolded, Lady Gilkass decided to reward the heroes for solving the case of the missing elves with a sack of gold, and she dismissed Derek's claims due to lack of evidence. Malkyn was sentenced to serve time in jail and to await trial. The helmed knight whispered to Lady Gilkass and convinced her to let the companions go and speak with the knight outside.

The knight revealed herself to be Gemma's sister, Daena, urging them to leave town with her immediately. Willa quickly returned to Gilkass to speak with her in private before they left, and she revealed to her a mysterious amethyst gem. Hoping for answers from a fellow dragonborn, Gilkass couldn't give any insight, not knowing what the gem represented. With a farewell, Willa returned to the group, and they all followed Daena a few miles northwest from the Maple Crossroads.

Daena revealed she was one of the knights tasked with hunting down the deserter Anton Darghost, but she allowed him to escape due to his protection of Gemma and also promised to look closer at his situation. Daena suggested they head north to Procyon to get further away from the prying eyes of the Empire while staying within its borders. After an emotional goodbye with Gemma, she headed back to town.

After a night of rest beneath the stars, the companions awoke, and Sovemil claimed he needed to part ways to pursue his quest to the west in the Kingdom of Khorir. Anton, Gemma, Willa, and Raz'sik then contemplated their next steps.