Having survived the attack of the renegade mages, Valkyrie and Callahan immediately report to al-Hajar. Meanwhile Colt also shares the information he gathered in the alley, relieving himself of the dog droppings he had uncovered. The cabal then goes to attend the Day of Swords, where those members of the Arrow who were not scouring the city for Hammurabi, advise the Magisterium on enemies and dangers to the Pentacle. The biggest threat as always is the Seers of the Throne, whose operations extend throughout the Great Lakes region. In Toronto, two big issues were the Wendigo spirits which keep sweeping down from the north and the Abyssal cults popping up in Toronto. For Chicago, the Ebon Cross's dealings with the Rat Hosts degrading the Gauntlet dominate conversation. There are also problems with the Seers changing the Astral reflection of Chicago, which is having an effect on the physical plane. In Gary, a mysterious cabal called the Cult of Nehjarra and frequent werewolf sightings are the main points of interest.
The Day of Scrolls began that evening. At the symposium on the Mysteries, dominated by the Mysterium, the first three talks are well attended. Dali gives a talk entitled "Tartarus and the Gates of Sleep", which focused on ghosts, their dreams, and using them to find corresponding elements in the Astral. This helps Adele learn a little bit about how her friend Hope, now a ghost, is degrading mentally. The next talk, "After the Fall, the Saharan Civilization" is given by the Ontario mages Carter and Morton. As Colt listens to tales of Atlantean temples and ruins in northern Africa, he also notices that Morton is oddly nervous about something. The final talk of the evening is given by the disturbing Moros, Ashfall. "A Personal Journey or Crossing the River" focuses on his journey through Avernian gates and into the Underworld. Adele and Colt are able to learn from this that the graveyard in the cabal's backyard is in fact a gateway to the Underworld.
Meanwhile the cabal learns from the other Arrows that the Convocation has determined that the dogs from the earlier attack are dead, having been killed with a hunting knife. They also located Humarabi's body, killed with the same knife. He was murdered sometime late the night he disappeared by three mages, two of whom match the description of Valkyrie's attackers. Mammon decides to chat with Loki, who is still unaware of what has happened. He tries to find out what Loki knows, but he is evasive and denies he was involved with the death. Mammon does get the impression the accused mage is holding back something about the summoning of the spirit. Adele in the meantime looks at the body, confirming the other reports and building up an image of the third mage's resonance. Valkyrie and Colt meanwhile join in the search for the assassins and suspected Banishers.
In the morning, the Day of Scrolls concludes with four more talks. A local mage, Fossura, begins with "The Mound Builders, Emulators of the Past", which looks at Pre-Columbian mages in the region near Chicago, concluding that they drew upon traditions of mages from shortly after the Fall. She expounds on a theory that there might be an as of yet undiscovered Atlantean temple in the region. "Signs of the Supernal" is the next talk. The presenter Mosaic discusses a listing of Fortean events and their possibility as signs from the Oracles. Mammon and other advanced members of the Silver Ladder pay close attention to this talk. Next "Raising Babel" is given by Polymath, who focuses on tracing and recreating the root tongue of humanity while at the same time comparing it to Atlantean. Adele attends but gets little out of it. Finally the Ebon Cross attends Binary's talk on "Reptoids or Memories of Dragons". This conspiracy laden presentation focuses on surviving reptilian humanoids descended from the dinosaurs. These beings were destroyed by Paradox or Ascended to the Supernal and remnants of their civilization are remembered in Sleeper and Awakened legend as the Dragons. While disliked by the Free Council orthodoxy, the cabal finds it amusing at least.
Following the talks, the cabal discusses the recent events. Who was behind them, where are the killers, and what is Loki hiding? Tommyknocker joins in on the discussion, commenting that perhaps things would be clearer if they knew what Loki was hiding. Colt mentions that Morton was agitated during his talk and he was the only other disciple of the Spirit Arcanum among the foreign mages. Plus he is a fellow member of the Free Council. The group confronts Morton at the hotel bar where they used persuasion and alcohol to convince him to come clean. He reveals that he helped Loki summon and control the trickster spirit as a prank. It was transported here in an enchanted gourde which he still has. With some support from Mammon he agrees to turn himself in to al-Hajar.
Later that day the Convocation begins the Day of Sleep. This is a discussion of Sleeper politics and their threat to Mages. After some discussion of developments in Chicago and Ontario (who have problems with mortal hunters), the talks turn to the recent attacks. Three Mages are identified. Hound and Kelt are known Banishers who have killed at least one other mage. The third, a foreigner called the Fear of Ages, leads this group, who are now called the Timori. The Timori means the Feared and suggests they may be part of a dangerous legacy of Banishers who can devour a mage's power. Mammon questions the Guardian experts about this legacy. They seem to be able to siphon off knowledge, rotes, even magical potential. Fear of Ages also appears to be warding himself and possesses at least Adept level skill with the Mind arcanum.
Following on Adele's desire to interrogate the ghost of the Banishers' earlier victim, the Ebon Cross heads to the graveyard where the victim is buried. When they arrive, they find themselves ambushed by the Timori. Fear of Ages forces them to run for cover with devastating sniper fire, while Kelt and Hound flank them. Adele makes a call to al-Hajar for backup, dodging Hound's powerful blows, while Valkyrie sneaks up invisibly and attacks from behind. Colt runs forward to distract the sniper, taking a nasty shot to the leg and finding his defensive magics dismissed. Mammon meanwhile wrestles and engages in mental combat with Kelt, holding him at bay. As the fight continues, Adele first summons a ghost to stop Kelt and then jams Fear's rifle. The ghost manages to possess Kelt driving him to climb a tree and then kill himself. After pounding on Valkyrie, Hound realizes his side is losing as the Convocation security team teleports in. He is decapitated by Lealtad as he flees. Meanwhile Fear of Ages slips away.
Finally the Day of Justice arrives, a day of grievances. The Free Council's usual complaints are pushed to the side to deal with bigger issues. Loki and Morton are tried (with Mammon aiding in Morton's defense) for the summoning of trickster spirit and the theft of the ceremonial mace. After Morton's testimony, Loki admits to the crime and takes all the blame for it. The assembled magisters punish him with a reprimand (or shunning) for the duration of a year. Then Lealtad airs a grievance against Black Dog for corruption, arguing that he is unfit for position of Sentinel. This quickly becomes a philosophical battle of duty (and pragmatic results) verses honor (and obeying the laws of Sleeper society). Ultimately the Magisters decline to rule on this, aggravating the rift in the Arrow.
As the Convocation ends, everything returns to normal. Adele heads off to college, Evan goes back to school, and life returns to normal. A few weeks pass and then Adele's roommate tells her someone left a book for her. As she look through the charred volume, she realizes this belonged to Anna...