Returning from the collapsed monastery, the party is battered and weary. They retreat to their mushroom airship for a long rest, but the night brings no peace. Kil'mori is plagued by prophetic dreams of his best friend Archie, who was transformed into a raven by a curse. The dreams show Archie begging to be found, then a vision of leaping from a tower together. Tara Zellphera, meanwhile, suspects that Archie and Kil'mori's lives are mysteriously linked.
In the morning, Archie stops breathing, and Kil'mori reaches into Tara Zellphera's pocket, grabs the Soul Gem, and stabs the bird—trapping Archie's human soul inside the gem. Tara Zellphera is horrified, knowing the truth, but takes the Soul Gem back from Kil'mori and agrees to hide it and find a way to free Archie later. The mushroom crew builds a funeral pyre, and Kil'mori cremates the bird's body, burning his hand as he retrieves the skull, keeping it as a memento.
Zahara gives the party a new mission: investigate raiders near the Linkardy Desert on the mountain's far side. Olad Freeye acquires a mushroom pirate flag and an eyepatch from the tailor, giving them to Bellow, the mushroom captain, who embraces a new pirate aesthetic. As The Market Circle flies toward their destination, they spot a massive columned entrance and are suddenly attacked by a cult of W, who harpoon the ship and begin dragging them down to be sacrificed.

The party faces the aftermath of Olad Freeye handing a soul gem to the Suspended Humanoid, triggering a terrifying metamorphosis into an adult vampire goddess. A brutal battle erupts in the Monastery Ruins as the party struggles to contain the vampire and her massive automaton guardian, Daddy. The vampire's life drain deals 17 damage to Kil'mori and Olad Freeye (Tara Zellphera and Echo Wren are immune), and Daddy smashes Olad Freeye into the ground for 32 points of damage. Echo Wren is bitten for 23 damage.

Olad Freeye claims a Bastard Sword and a Curved Dagger from the vault chamber, while Tara Zellphera picks up an electrium soul-stealing whip from the vault wall and claims an Obsidian Scythe from the vault chamber, which she later attunes to, manifesting angelic wings. The party, led by Kil'mori, pushes an unnamed young lady into the vault where she slides into the frozen protector and dies. The vampire shrinks to a little girl and freezes, defeated. Tara Zellphera and Echo Wren each gain 1 stress from the traumatic events.

The party explores the hidden chambers beneath the monastery, discovering a laboratory filled with dormant avatar bodies for various gods. After accidentally killing two avatars by removing them from their tanks, they make telepathic contact with a mysterious blue-skinned entity who reveals he is from another planet and offers little hope for their world. Their exploration leads them to a demiplane prison containing Veronica, a powerful, ancient vampire child, and her guardian automaton, 'Dad.' After negotiating a tense bargain to free her, the party splits up.

Tara Zellphera and Olad Freeye find a control room. Olad Freeye touches a frigid metal door, losing the first layer of skin on his fingertips and palm, and later Kil'mori closes the same door, shattering his right boot and nearly losing a toe. They disable the wards on a massive vault, and loot it for powerful artifacts. Tara Zellphera claims a crucial purple dodecahedron lacrima crystal. Olad Freeye claims a bastard sword, a curved dagger, a massive obsidian scythe, and the soul gem. Meanwhile, Echo Wren stays behind, sewing Veronica's doll and dancing with the vampire to keep her pacified, while Archie suffers a mental break, taking significant stress. The session ends as Olad Freeye presents the soul gem to the Suspended Humanoid, triggering a terrifying transformation as the vampire absorbs its power and grows into a formidable adult form.