The second episode opens again on the curator Aaron Duscalla as he finishes his breakfast and dumps his dishes into a sink already overflowing with them—just one of many signs that things aren’t going well for him.
He steps into his office and picks up a stack of papers, but accidentally sends them scattering. The page that comes to rest atop the pile depicts an idol with a humanoid body, but its head resembles the sun, and bears ruby eyes.
The camera focuses on the eyes before zooming back to the adventuring party, still locked in combat with the crocodilian creature that just killed one of the archaeologists. Rooney aims his arrows and downs the two cultists holding the remaining archaeologists hostage.
As the others race downstairs to help the ranger, the crocodile tries to lull him to sleep. It fails, but manages to put the small demon in the corner to sleep. Attacking again, Rooney wounds it but doesn’t kill it. Chonnnk arrives at the bottom of the stairwell, where he goes into a rage and downs the crocodile with an acid attack.
Kyuri and Domus make it down the stairs right as the fight ends. Domus finds the tiny maw demon and attempts to tame it with food rations and keep it as a pet (much to Kyuri’s horror.) He succeeds, sort of, and names it Devon.
The group speaks to the remaining archaeologists, who mention finding a stone idol with a sun for a face, bearing ruby eyes. One walks over to a brazier and pulls it out as they speak.
Rooney asks them if they know Syr Lokord, the Tabaxi who hired the party to find them. They respond affirmatively and the group prepares to exit the temple, but the archaeologists admit they can’t leave “without it.” The pair briefly explain how they had originally finished their excavation at the temple and returned home, only to be kidnapped by the crocodilian creature and dragged back to the temple and begin digging for an artifact.
As they talk, one of them clears away debris from an indentation in the wall and inserts the stone idol. The floor beneath Chonnnk open up and swallows him. Rooney attempts to dive in after him, but the same floor then reverses position, sending Chonnnk flying back upwards. The Aarakocra barely manages to duck out of the way as Chonnnk lands in the same position he’d been in before, still holding his book. The only thing that seemed to have changed was the pedestal in the center of the floor, holding an oddly shaped stick. The archaeologists are confused, claiming the stick should, in fact, be an axe—only it’s missing the axe head.
They go on to describe a weapon called karavox, rumored to be located in the temple ruins—a weapon that can not only wound someone connected to a powerful entity, but is powerful enough to send ripples from the blow reverberating throughout that connection to wound the entity itself.
The axe haft bears runes the archaeologists believe could provide clues, but no one amongst the party is able to read them. They all head out of the temple, as the haft is placed into the bag of holding.
They make the trek back to town. Along the way, Domus and Rooney discuss the strange cultist that had been carving into its arm. The paladin warns they’ll probably be back.
Chonnnk trips while walking, and tucks into a roll. He expects to feel rocks or earth, as one does when traversing natural terrain, but instead encounters something cold. He feels the world “shifting”, but unnaturally so. The sensation is brief as he regains his balance and begins walking again.
Arriving in the outskirts of Jewelspar, the group enters The Nested Tiger, the bar where Syr Lokord is located. They greet the party, who then informs them of the death of one of the archaeologists. Domus tells them the body is in the cart outside, and asks if the man’s family has enough money to resurrect him. Syr responds that death is expected, and too expensive for all but the richest people.
Syr offers the party the amount of gold agreed upon beforehand, as well as a diamond that, in their own words, may prove useful should a resurrection be necessary in the future. Turning their attention to the remaining archaeologists, they ask why the pair seems nervous. In response the two of them produce the haft, explaining they have no idea why the axe head wasn’t attached.
Examining the runes, Syr says they may know of someone who can help decipher it, but firmly declares the role of the other two archaeologists in this endeavor to be over. They ask if the adventuring group would be up to the task, and the party agrees. Syr says to seek out someone called Artagan, who lives in a hovel on the edge of Jewelspar. They inform the group Artagan may ask a favor in payment, although gifts of gold or food may mitigate the cost.
The maw demon “Devon” eats a chair in the bar, to Syr’s chagrin. Chonnnk tries to introduce himself to Devon, who promptly eats half the book he was holding. Unfazed, Chonnnk pulls out another copy of the same book from his pack. The party gathers itself and sets off in search of Artagan.
Back in Aaron’s home, he begins picking up the papers that fell, not giving any care to their order. He puts the stack down on his desk, then leans against it, trying to pull himself together. After a moment he shuffles over to the TV and turns it on at low volume as he returns to work.
