The Shadow Prophets slide down into the underdark in their search of Nil Aternox, the imposter vampire that is masquerading as Sky Ancunin. They meet a displaced myconid sovereign named Letinus who lost his domain to a rival myconid. The only thing he has left is his “dog” Betsy, who they doubt is actually a dog. Sky taunts Letinus, calling him “Lettuce” for several minutes as he continuously, but patiently corrects her. While she does this, J.J. and Stabby venture off, and J.J. finds a massive belt-sized dog collar and spots the “dog,” which is actually a large frost salamander. He pretends to be Letinus and leads the dog back to the myconid, who is overjoyed to be reunited. He gifts them a fungal crown and warns them of the dangerous red mist that has begun creeping up from nearby tunnels.
After a bit more goofing around with a prank on a sleeping fire giant, J.J. polymorphs into a spider and infiltrates a camp occupied by drow. The camp has a letter to Nil from her brother that requests she gives up this wild search for the Astral Planes vessel since he doesn’t believe it exists. J.J. also discovers a prayer book to the Bloodmother, and a nearly complete list of items for a powerful spell that Nil appears to be planning to cast. After this dark discovery, the group traverses the correct path towards The Crimson Sanctuary. There, they decide to split up.
Stabby and Dreamer eagerly ditch Sky to go look for loot, and Nero follows in hopes of preventing them from creating problems. Sky and J.J. locate Sky’s husband, Astarion, and ask to speak with him privately to warn him of the treachery in the Sanctuary. Meanwhile, Seraphim asks the vampiric mage, Miraak, to help him locate the bar. Miraak escorts him to the kitchen, where Seraphim immediately gets white girl wasted and attempts to fight all the vampires for trying to take his booze away.
Stabby and Dreamer find the room that was once occupied by Calliope Aberdeen during her stay with Sky, and loot numerous valuables from her hoarder’s den. Nero notices crying coming from behind one of the rooms, and assures the occupant that she isn’t Sky after doing something that no one has ever tried to in D&D: knock on the fucking door. She finds Oreli Ren, Captain Octavian Ren‘s daughter, who is injured after “Sky” stole her protective amulet and one of the vampires attacked her. Dreamer heals her, and they tell her to stay in her room until it’s safe to come out. They continue on their quest for loot, opening the next door and finding an unpleasant surprise – the guest room they opened is being occupied by Queen Abzu, the ruler of the Everheir Empire. She gives them an ultimatum: tell her where the shadowtouched Dreamer has been traveling with resides, or die.
Downstairs, Sky and J.J. bring Astarion to a secluded room. She warns him of imminent danger, so he attempts to get her to stay put by telling her that him and J.J. can go confront the imposter alone. Suspicious of his motive, J.J. suggests that Astartion may also be an imposter, so Sky asks him how they met. He tells her that he doesn’t quite remember but that he is sure it was sweet, and she takes his hand in what appears to be a gesture of affection. Suddenly, her expression turns from loving to harsh, and electricity channels through her hands and into what she now knows is a fake Astarion. The imposter reveals themselves as Slate, a changeling with a love for theatrics, and questions where their performance fell flat. They demand answers from Slate, but they scoff and charm both Sky and J.J. telling them that they can all go talk to Nil and get their answers together.
After stumbling over tables and missing punches, Seraphim takes a brief nap. He now wakes to find his party missing- with no idea of the dangers they are in.