In the following weeks, Lobyl worked with adventurers to fight back the dregs that appeared within the tundra at each interrupted Howling. He requested weapons to help fight these nightmarish enemies, claiming that the materials used to forge in this era were too pitiful to withstand his vigorous usage. Many supplied him with an arsenal that was quickly put to use - and just as quickly dismantled - through his martial efforts. This prompted Lobyl to put forth a challenge for the realm's forgers to supply him the most durable, functional weapon they were able; Belgarion, Phoenecia, Kanivara and Toz all answered this call. He spoke with many adventurers, and ended up visiting his old home: Spinesreach, once proud capital of the Ankyrean race. Lobyl proved unimpressed by its state, claiming that the city had possessed far more grandeur in his era; he spoke of lost magics that once gave the city a far different image.

On the 10th day of Arios, the lumenite seal of Spirit that lay within the barrow finally gave way. Splintering like lightning, the tundra around the Leviathan's prison cracked as He stirred in His sleep beneath. Vents opened all across the tundra, spewing forth violet gas of Nightmare that induced sleep in all those who breathed it in. Adventurers from all cities rallied together outside the barrow, united under the banner of the freshly signed Accord, while the Twin Gods descended into the barrow to assess the next seal.

Dregs soon erupted all across the tundra, creeping forth from every vent, crevice and crack. A violent battle erupted between Sapience's adventurers and the vicious beasts. The Ankyrean Lobyl demonstrated his preternatural strength and speed, slaying scores upon scores of dregs for each one slain by another mortal. As the group attempted to stomp out the gas-spewing vents, many fell victim to its lulling effects, and some reported nightmarish visions as they fell asleep: they described a great glimmering eye, its primeval gaze staring at them with an intensity great enough to shock them back into wakefulness.

Once the last of the dreg threat had been dispatched, the mortals gathered together before the now-broken seal of Spirit, where the Twin Gods, Severn and Damariel, awaited them. Although the Two cautioned the mortals not to proceed any further, many did nevertheless: they discovered only a toxic atmosphere that seared both skin and lung. The Gods described this place as the seal of Chaos, and unlike the previous seals it was not tied to any God. It was constructed from cinnabar and thick corrosive fumes filled the room, wafting up from pools of quicksilver; rows of demonic-looking skeletons were secured to each of the walls of the chamber, their structure warped by the millennia spent in the toxic environment.

The Twins, each more haggard and tired than the Other, went on to explain that They'd spent the weeks since the seal of Spirit's reinforcement to strengthen the seal of Chaos as well as the two beyond it, by any means They could. Severn gave an estimate that Their work would hold the seal for another four weeks, and that the adventurers could help buy another three or four. He instructed the mortals to collect buckets of blood, so that the life-essence could be used to fuel the chamber's grisly skeletons.

After the mortals described the events immediately prior to their entry into the barrow, the Gods offered them caution: Jox's power would grow as the seals which bind His mind continue to break, and They speculated that the nightmarish visions witnessed by the mortals were from both Jox and the Nightmare, indistinguishable from one another. The Gods also confirmed the mortal's own observation that the dregs moved with singular purpose towards the barrow, as though being controlled by another force.

With a parting warning that the Nightmare gas would only grow in intensity as the seals continued to break, the Gods and mortals parted ways, each taking care of their own preparations.

Penned by my hand on Closday, the 11th of Arios, in the year 476 MA.
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