Inquisitor Ciar meets with Dean Malthus, a Naga Mind Mage, with questions concerning the ritual that took Mage Isstan's life, and Envoy's involvement in the matter. Dean Malthus suggests that there is evidence an outsider may have interferred with the ritual, and that it might be possible to recreate the conditions of the ritual – This would require, however, Mage Isstan's body and the services of a Mage of the Sphere of Spirit … and thus entail a trip to the Nagai Empire.