Justice in Val Zara

Kesra stays up all night, carving two small wooden for Gareth's kids. In the morning, Aureo seems a lot better, though still tired, and Kesra says affectionate goodbyes to the tribe. The group of them heads off for Quan'Mal.

As they approach Quan'Mal, a rider comes up to them. He calls out to Kesra by name, and she recognizes him as an old mercenary friend. He hands her a parchment, which glows briefly when she takes it. They look at the scroll, which contains a summons for Kesra to appear in court in Val Zara within a week to answer for a long list of crimes, including murder.

They wonder if they should skip out on the summons, but eventually decide that they had better go deal with it. Val Zara is known to be a very lawful city, but very corrupt as well. Kesra tells them that she did many of the things listed there, but always under orders, not on her own. Deirdre remembers having read about the Thyrbin family, which run the mafia in the city, and wonders if they could get Kesra out of her situation.

During their trip to Val Zara, Leona sends a message to Soren, asking if he has any update on Zanelor, but he tells here he has no news yet. Deirdre tries to convince Kesra that everything will work out, that they are all there for her, and that Pelor wouldn't have picked Kesra if he didn't believe in her. That night, Kesra hears from Alexander, just checking in, and tells him that she might be going to jail.

Leona also exchanges a few Sendings with Xytharia, trying to figure out what ideas she might have to help Kesra, but the best she can come up with is to find out what somebody wants and bribe them. Aureo encourages Kesra to pray about it, but she brushes him off.

In the morning, they arrive in Val Zara. They find their way to a tavern called The Leaky Barrel. They get a room there, and Kesra stays while the other 3 head to the courthouse. They learn the name of the prosecutor working on Kesra's case. Aureo and Deirdre stay there and look into the prosecutor's case history, while Leona finds a nearby tavern and begins asking around about him.

Leona learns that the prosecutor has a fancy for a particular addictive plant. She hears about an elf named Kendell Evertree, who was able to acquire some of this plant, and was able to get the charges dropped against someone that way. Meanwhile, Aureo and Deirdre go through a huge assortment of records. They find that he's been going after a lot of mercenaries, and charging many with having burned down a Sun Tree, and tacking on many other charges to each of them. None of them have been found guilty of burning the Sun Tree, though. Leona also learns where the prosecutor lives, then meets back up with Kesra, Aureo, and Deirdre, back at the Leaky Barrel.

Deirdre and Aureo tell Leona what they learned, but Leona only tells them that she might have a way to get the charges dropped. Deirdre asks Kesra about the burning of the Sun Tree, and she says that that happened while her mercenary group was in Ilverness, but she's not exactly sure who did it. Kesra also tells her that, if they can't get the charges dropped, she's going to run.

Kesra hears back from Alexander, who offers to help if there's anything he can do. Leona goes looking for Kendell Evertree, running into a female wood elf, who is currently surrounded by four thugs. She quickly steps up and pretends to know the woman, getting her out of danger. The woman introduces herself as Salix Evertree, and Leona asks her about Kendell. Salix says that he's her brother. Salix tells her that she can get Leona some of the plant she wants, if Leona will help her find her brother, and they head back to the tavern.

Leona introduces Salix to the others, and she asks them if they'll help her find Kendell. She says that he looks a lot like her, but without the tattoos that she has running up and down her arms. Salix recognizes Aureo as the crown prince. As they settle in for the night, Salix tells them that her tattoos are from having bonded to a tree in her home grove. Deirdre asks to braid Salix hair, and they get to know each other a little.

Salix drifts off to sleep, dreaming of falling into void, her tree withering into ash. She sees a pit, with a pair of eyes looking up out of it at her. She sees the temple of Kord flash past her vision. She wakes up from the dream and looks around the room for a few moments, before slowly falling back to sleep.