After losing his title and escaping from his house arrest, Duke Aegir fled to Ordelia territory within the Alliance, and subsequently gathers a quiet militia under his command.
Meanwhile, Krynn's Vanguard runs into Lysithea, who has learned about and grown tiresome of Duke Aegir's men running amok in her family's territory. It's made clear that Lysithea actually supports the Empire and has no intention of stopping them, even offering to help them get to Qualinost faster. After they quell the rioting militia, they discover that Duke Aegir has been slain. In return for helping run Duke Aegir's men out of her territory and saving the villagers, Lysithea fulfills her promise of showing them a passage that will lead them to Qualinost. After everything calms down, she uses some unknown magic to split the fountain in the city in half, which reveals a passage that leads underground. Taking them down, she intends to lead them to Qualinost.