As the dust settles from the battle with The Old Ones on the strange platform rising from the wilds of the enclosed world, The Green Dragon Brotherhood quietly plans to double-cross their newfound Toad Men allies because they want The Uxul around the chieftain's neck.
Only...surprise! The Toad Men do the double-crossing, because they want The Blade of Graxus!
The chieftain leaps high onto the Slothshrooms launcher and uses his spear to call down lightning, while the rest of the Toad Men gang up on Shiv Drinkstep. The Brotherhood takes some shots, but with a couple of fancy exploits and some well-timed rescues, as well as another Graxian decapitation, they emerge victorious. Kraz Formalhaut and Sooney-Crow of No Family make plans to integrate the magic spear into her halberd back in Kraz's workshop.
After looting the bodies of both the Toad Men and the Old Ones (shoring up the distribution of the shiny, flame-resistant suits and the energy weapons), they turn their attention to the strange apparatus used to launch Slothshooms...somewhere.
After some knob turning and dial fiddling, they discover that the Old Ones can (and presumably were) send the crystal pods of shrooms to any number of worlds, including Argosa (home of The Midlands). One of the dials moves the presumed target around the map - they recognize the location of the Mysterious Crater they encountered many adventures ago.
They briefly consider shooting themselves home, but instead use the strange dial they took off Rehan Mund (and taught to use by The Old Ones). With a spooky purple swirl...
POOF! They are home! Back in Rainwall City.
Only...Rainwall City has been destroyed - at least partially. Smoldering, blackened ruins and collapsed buildings abound, including The Rag and Blade. A scruffy urchin spies the Brotherhood, who offers him a couple of coins to keep their arrival on the down low. They make their way to The Red hideout, only to discover Skarrow with a beard and an eyepatch - and a year older.
Time seems to pass differently where they were. It's been a year here, and Ur-Balat got tired of waiting. He came looking for the Brotherhood and attacked Rainwall City in the process. He let it be known that if anyone harbors them, he'll finish the job. Skarrow offers to hide them out, but there are a lot of angry citizens who would drop a dime in a heartbeat...
TIME ELAPSED: A year!