While fairly complex, the ritual to evoke and identify the spirits trapped in the necromancer's staff should have been straightforward, but the trio instead get sucked into a spirit realm within the staff, where the binding spell is a zombie that sorts out the spirits.

To confuse things further, once Morgan enters the staff, Buffy appears to find out what's going on – and she's a bit peeved that Morgan is dealing with such things.

A deal is eventually struck with the binding spell, once it's clear that Valicross is gone. It summons a guide to take Qing and Olivia to see the remaining captives – the spirit of Kadin, the soldier who overcame Valicross' control decades before and sent him over the cliff before he could kill Natasha.

Morgan is left to deal with the host, who fails to tempt him into learning the secrets of necromancy. Instead, it starts instructing him on how to undo the spell itself and dismantle the staff.