Ashes to Ashes

• The posse frees the prisoners in Black’s hideout, the four missing men from a previous search party. Black and his cohorts were experimenting on them in order to discover how to harness the powers that gave the previous civilization in the tunnels dominion over the dragons.
• The posse and the former Lost Angels priest have a conversation. Among other things, Roger Monroe explains that the altar at the Cathedral at Lost Angels and fragments of that altar work to disguise dark magic as heavenly signs. However, the posse continues the ruse of Will’s disguise as Anafiel and lie to Monroe, telling him they do not know what happened to Grimme.
• Searching Black’s hideout, the posse finds an incomplete gatling gun and a detailed map of the caverns. Max finds an intricate medallion that also appears to be some kind of puzzle. The posse leaves and takes Black’s body with them.
• As they navigate the eerie tunnels Abigale sees Black’s head appear to move independent of the motion of the cart. She flips her Winchester off her shoulder and levels the sight point blank on Black’s covered face. A scream is uttered a second before Black’s head explodes. For the rest of the journey the body is still.
• When the posse and their companions return to the surface it is early morning; no one is active. Max leaves to get Lacy O’Malley and together they break into a church to retrieve some holy water while the other members of the posse return to town hall to prepare to burn the body.
• After sprinkling the body with holy water the posse build a fire near the docks and burn Black’s body. When the flesh and bone are consumed they shovel the ashes into the ocean surf. A picture of the body taken with the spirit camera shows a faint pair of severed and broken wings. Whatever the posse did, it worked. The Angel of Death has finally been laid to rest.
• By noon news of the serial killer brought to justice reaches most of the town and our heroes, lead by the mayor Abigale, publically recount the events. Suddenly the sun breaks out of the fog of what had been, up to that moment, a very gloomy, cloudy day.

A Bright Reunion

• The town has overwhelming gratitude for the heroes, but they soon leave the crowds to make an appointment to resolve a conflict between a group of Indians and the miners.
• The Indians claim that they are Maze Indians who trace their ancestral home to Quarrytown, but none of the posse is familiar with their tribal name and their attire. When the heroes refuse to accept their claims the Indians leave in disgust.
• The next day Abigale, Jo, and Max wake up early to gather the sonic earmuffs. Along with Lacy O’Malley they journey down to the caverns to rescue Eli and reach the second glyph. After navigating through several flooded tunnels they reach an overhanging from which they look down and see the glyph on an island. Curled around the island is an enormous maze dragon, smaller then the one summoned by Kang in Shan Fan, but larger than any others they have encountered and fought in Quarrytown.
• Abigale aims at its eye, fires, and the dragon roars in pain. It sprays the posse with water pushing them backwards. After several attacks that simply bounce off the dragon’s armor and close calls with the dragon’s jaws, Jo stabs the dragon in the head through its other eye and it falls over dead.

Lacy O’Malley tentatively steps forward, holding out his cut and bleeding hand palm in the hopes that he can join you in playing a part in the ritual to destroy the Elders and their abomination that stole the face of Grimme. He gives you a glance and with a nod of encouragement he places the palm of his hand on the surface of the rock.

For a brief moment you see his bloody handprint before the blood seeps into the stone. Then the glyph begins to glow, at first faintly, then subsequently brighter and brighter.

You take a few steps back. This is not what happened last time.

Jo notes your confusion and hastily cuts his own hand open and touches the glyph. He instantly draws it back, however, and you see that the skin not concealed by blood is bright red.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning arcs from above and strikes the glyph. At this you all move quickly off the island and splash through the water to the opposite ladder. More bolts of light fills the enormous cavern and the sounds of lightning and moving rock echo all around. You can’t imagine hearing the person right next to you, even if anyone could find words to say.

By the time you climb to the top of the opposite rocky outcropping the glyph glows so brightly that you can no longer see it. The next moment the blaze shoots upward in the form of a column of blue light.

The very next moment you are blinded; columns of bright white light shine from the stone corridor opposite. Once you catch your bearing you see the path behind you also shining brightly and the chamber now looks as though it is bathed in uniform daylight, save for the vertical column of blue light. You look down and the glyph, along with the rocky island, has vanished.

• The heroes continue down the tunnels a short distance until they reach a wide, open chamber containing another one of the ancient villages. The cooking fire at the center does not go unnoticed and Abigale Lewis calls out for her brother. He emerges from one of the huts and the two of them embrace.