AEHU/Plot/Plot Sketch Chapter 30

"Black Dreams"

Wittel & co. and Dream Schala return to their ship. They speak with Magus in recovery, who reveals that while they were fighting Raqh, Dalton visited him and reminded him that, with Levantine recovered, Magus would have all the keys to opening a DBT gate. Magus repeats what he told Dalton: that he has no need of the blade now, because his dream has been fulfilled -- Schala is at his side, and he will serve as her Seneschal until the end of their days.

Dream Schala, acting on her weird sort of one-dimensional, character-less programming, wants to solve all the world's problems. Together with Magus and Dream Schala, the party takes care of various dilemmas in Truce, San Dorino, Choras, Porre and finally Medina. Each main character's situation is further developed.

In Medina, Wittel & co. encounter Raqh and sense growing frustration within his congregation at Raqh's failure to produce the salvation they've been waiting for. Magus confronts Raqh and his Medina sect and delivers an ideological assassination by explaining that the Power Raqh once sought has been dissolved, Dream Schala being proof. Raqh insists that he can still feel the Power but his Medina following collapses. Dream Schala observes that the time seems ripe for Magus to reveal himself in Medina and officially proclaim Slash his successor. Slash insists on finding Ozzie so that he can be present to swear fealty in public, and Artemis convinces Glenn (he's the keeper of Levantine) to help her assassinate Raqh. However, neither Ozzie nor Raqh can be found. Kabal, apparently having abandoned Raqh as well, informs Wittel & crew that Raqh is hatching a scheme and they need to finish him off before it's too late.

Kabal leads the party into the the Black Omen's sunken ruins. Inside they find not Raqh, but Abel and Ozzie completing a necromancy ritual with the clones of the Heroes of Time left in the Ocean Palace, all under Dalton's direction. Raqh enters and summons some vehement spirits to inhabit the Heroes of Time, tasking them with an attack on Magus and Dream Schala, who were left behind on the ship. Dalton and Ozzie keep the team busy while the Heroes of Time complete their task, Dalton using his knowledge of the Ocean Palace infrastructure to slow the team down with bizarre puzzles.

Wittel & co. finally make it out of the Ocean Palace and witness Magus trying to take on all six of the Heroes of Time and losing. Raqh seizes Dream Schala and threatens to kill her, goading Magus into opening a time gate leading to 2400AG. Raqh takes Dream Schala with him and the Heroes of Time scatter.

There's a discussion between Robo and Magus in which Robo determines that Magus is attached to Dream Schala irrationally, unable to see that she's just a dream creature because her appearance has allowed him to live out his childhood dream of being Schala's Seneschal. Still bewitched by Dream Schala, Magus remains in place to keep the time gate open, keeping up his end of the bargain he made with Raqh. Dalton arrives to suggest that Wittel & crew check up on the Magic Guild members.

Even though they know that everything Dalton does is a ploy now, they do so and discover the Heroes of Time (now in dark garb, so they're really the Antiheroes of Time) converging on the Magic Guild in cooperation with Raqh's cult lieutenants. There's a showdown with the Antiheroes of Time, and when Wittel's party is about to bite the dust, Dalton thanks them for the opportunity to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of the Heroes of Time. He attempts to get Glenn to hand over Levantine by threatening to kill Leene, but Robo overrides the spirit inhabiting Antihero Robo, sending him instructions to turn on Dalton. In the ensuing chaos, Dalton is somehow forced to reveal that the Magic Guild members have to survive for now, to prevent the Antiheroes of Time from killing them accidently while they trash Antihero Robo. Wittel & co. escape with Leene and Levantine, but without the Magic Guild. They have learned where Raqh's cult are taking the Magic Guild, but they don't know why yet. Ozzie expresses discontent at the fact that they failed to acquire Levantine (this is supposed to be Ozzie's payment for his services now), and Dalton assures him that there will be future opportunities.