The cabal begins to notice the strange dreams that have occured since they fixed up the sanctum. Both Colt and Adele have been having dreams of an endless staircase leading from the darkness beyond the stars and dark depths of the earth filled with the remains of the dead. Even Valkyrie has had a short dream of this sort and she's learned from the neophyte Arrow One that others have had this dream as well. Another eerie aspect of the dream is that they are not alone, a shadowy figure also is present, sometimes below them and sometimes above. Their investigations also turn up that the ladder does end if you go far enough up, broken, like the ladder to the Supernal.
Meanwhile the cabal led by Mammon and aided by Nomos work to get both the Chthonic Road and the Dreamcatchers to agree to a meeting where they intend to reveal the trouble beneath the city and the need for cooperation between the two groups. Mammon manages to get the Dreamcatchers to come while Nomos works on the Chthonic Road.
Deciding to get to the bottom of the dream the cabal decides to watch over Adele, who has the most dreams, while she sleeps. As they watch they can see the spell over the sanctum link to her mind. Mammon and Colt immediately trace the source of the spell to somewhere in the Demense of the sanctum. Meanwhile Adele encounters the shadowy figure which appears as a skeletal man with tattered wings, a grim reaper. Surrounded with a strange peaceful aura it explains it is the spirit of the mage, Rota, whose sanctum this once was. Rota is seeking to ascend to the supernal which requires a student of his particular branch of the Scions of God. He is willing to teach all his secrets to a someone who would help him in this. Adele declines his offer but is warned he is seeking other students including one, a Guardian, who is survielling the house. Meanwhile in the Fallen world, the others have found with extensive effort the source, Rota's soulstone, hidden by Mind magic and invisible. With that Adele awakens, still feeling the cold grasp of Rota.
Eventually the cabal and Nomos get the rival cabals to meet. There they reveal the truth of the Rat Hosts beneath the city and argue that a division of labor is needed to keep the peace and ensure both groups get what they want. Swayed by the danger the cabals agree to a peace. The Dreamcatchers will keep the people from the underground and the Chthonic Road will fight the dangers down there. After the meeting, the Dreamcatchers approach the cabal with questions about a strange being they met in the astral called Rota. The group remains quiet on the issue but now know that Rota's reach is long.