With Saul's mysterious patron defeated, the group eventually made their way back to the Gold Goblin. Tess, Madia, Sarek, and Ryland were the first to return with what little they found on the strange elf and the room she made her last stand in. Belar and Keya stayed behind to recover the chest the group spotted earlier in the tunnels and came back up to the gambling hall after carrying the chest up the ladder carefully. They had sustained minor injuries from an undead pirate that was guarding the chest but it was nothing that the two couldn't handle.

The group found themselves on the casino floor, taking a moment to unwind after defeating their enemy. Belar was off to a table by the corner, taking account of how much treasure they found and which items were valuable. Madia was cleaning up the Gold Goblin with everyone having neglected that after seizing the building from Saul. Ryland kept to himself at his own table, reading a journal that they found on the strange elf. It was written in any language that Tess or her friends knew, and even though he didn't understand it, he remained focused on the journal, trying to find out what their enemy had been up to. The others left him be with Sarek thinking that if they needed to translate the journal, they could get a magical scroll to cast a spell allowing them to read the unknown language.

Tess sat at a table in the center of the room and reported what she saw at the Cyphergate to Sarek and Keya. The druid was incredibly worried over the blot's disappearance and was worried that the shadow was made by the strange elf. She couldn't get her enemy's final words out of her head and believed that she had no reason to lie in her final moments. Tess had been warned that something terrible was coming to Riddleport and believed that even though they had defeated the strange elf, her plan was still in motion. She wanted to do what she could to save the city, but after expressing her concern over the blot's disappearance, she was surprised that her friends weren't as worried as she was.

"I don't think that elf was responsible for the blot," Keya said with a shrug. "She didn't strike me as the magical type. I don't think she's connected to the blot."

"She was up to something with the Cyphergate," Tess pointed out. "Couldn't one of the runes have been used to create the blot."

"In theory, it could be possible," Sarek admitted even though he didn't sound convinced. "But Keya's right. Whoever we fought only casted a single spell. I don't think she's the mastermind behind the blot."

"Her death and the blot's disappearance are probably unrelated events," Keya nodded. "Now, let's talk business. We have the deed to the Gold Goblin so we should see what we could do for repairs and get everything up and running."

"What if she was working with someone else?" Tess asked. "She could have answered to someone who made the blot."

"That may be more likely than her using the Cyphergate to make the blot," Sarek said with a frown. "Still, we don't know who she could have been working with. Until we find that out, there's not much we can do."

Keya looked over her shoulder at Ryland. "Are you done reading that journal yet!"

Ryland didn't glance up at Keya's words, completely focused on the journal. Tess admired his dedication but also found it worrisome at times. By now, Madia had turned to look at her companions while Belar stood up and walked over to the center table as well. Keya turned back, shrugging at Ryland's indifference, with Sarek sighing.

"I'm not going to be the one to try to take that journal from him," Sarek said. "Once he's done reading, we can take the journal to the Cypher Lodge and pay to have it translated. Until then, there's not anything else we can do to determine if there's more to this conspiracy."

"I can't just sit around and wait until something happens," Tess shook her head. "Something dangerous is coming for Riddleport.

"I wish there was something I can do to help, but unfortunately, I don't think there is," Madia told Tess. "Saul and his patron are dead so there isn't anyone who can tell us what's going on."

"If you point me at someone to punch, I'll do it," Belar said, crossing his arms. "So far, you haven't really said much of a plan."

Tess paused, trying to come up with a plan when an idea came to her mind. "Kwava! He might know more about what's going on!"

"He didn't mention anything about the blot when we talked to him," Belar pointed out.

"But he didn't tell us that the elf Saul worked for would be so strange," Tess stood up from her seat. "I'll tell him what we found and bring him here to see for himself. He may know what to do."

"That's a good idea," Sarek nodded.

"Definitely a good idea," Keya said with a grin. "Ryland, do you think that you can let Tess borrow that journal for an hour or so?"

Ryland flipped over to the next page of the journal as if he didn't hear Keya's question with Belar chuckling. "He's in his own world right now."

"Go on, Tess," Madia urged the druid. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"I'll be fine on my own but I'm thankful for the offer," Tess said, her tone hopeful. "I'll be back with Kwava as soon as I can find him."

"In the meantime, the rest of us can talk about reopening the Gold Goblin," Keya said, motioning for Madia and Belar to sit with her and Sarek.

Tess left the Gold Goblin quickly, and once she was outside, she bursted into a sprint. The sun was starting to set and the sky was growing dark. She didn't care much for reopening the gambling hall and was fine sitting out on the meeting when there were more important matters to address. They could be running out of time so she had to return to Kwava at his camp and see what he had to say about the strange elf. She had to hope that he had the answers to the mystery of the blot before disaster struck Riddleport.

It took Tess half an hour before she arrived at Kwava's camp outside of Riddleport, where the ranger was quick to welcome her. She reported what she and her group had been up to since he saved her, telling him about taking over the Gold Goblin up to fighting Saul's patron in the smuggler tunnels beneath the gambling hall. Kwava nodded throughout the explanation and frowned when Tess described how the strange elf looked. At the very least, the druid thought that he was taking her concerns seriously and believed that he would do what was best. He took a seat on a log by the dying campfire and motioned for Tess to sit across from him, which she did.

"I've never heard about anything like the strange elf you described before," Kwava admitted. "I'm a low-ranking member of the Shin'Rakorth. The best I can do is send a report back to my superiors and hope that they have the answers we seek."

"That's a good plan," Tess said but she gazed down at the fire with a frown. "I only worry that by the time we hear back from them, it may be too late."

"That may very well be the case," Kwava nodded with a sigh. "With my enemy dead, I can enter Riddleport without problem. I want to see the enemy we're dealing with, but as for what the disappearance of the shadow in the sky means, that can be anyone's guess."

"I came all this way to Riddleport but I've likely failed to keep it safe from the blot threat," Tess muttered quietly. "I don't know what to do next."

"You're not alone," Kwava said in a reassuring tone. "There's a lot I don't understand but I can tell that you and your friends are good people. If anyone can stop… look up to the sky!"

Tess glanced up from the dying embers of the campfire in time to see what Kwava wanted her to. Her eyes went wide in horror at the sight of a white light soaring across the sky, traveling south towards Riddleport. She believed that what she watched was connected to the blot. The shadow in the sky served as a warning, and now, the light was racing towards Riddleport. Her gaze turned to Riddleport as she couldn't help but think of her friends back in the Gold Goblin. There was nothing she could do to save them from the coming disaster. She could only watch as the falling star neared closer to the city, threatening to wipe it out.

Although the light came close to striking Riddleport, it soared over the port and toward the Varisian Gulf. Tess sighed in relief, glad that whatever the light was didn't strike Riddleport and kill her friends, but the city was not safe yet. When the falling star struck the gulf, the ground shook violently. Tess nearly fell into the fire if it wasn't for Kwava rushing forward to catch her by the arms. She held onto the ranger, who kept his footing on the ground. The two watched as a large orange light emerged from the south of Riddleport, the mushroom-shaped light making the air look as though it was dawn.

When the tremors ended, Tess was relieved to see that Riddleport was still standing for the most part but her druidic training reminded her what was coming.

"An earthquake that large in the Varisian Gulf…" Tess muttered, still at shock at the events.

"Huh?" Kwava said, letting go of Tess. "What about it?"

"It could lead to a tsunami…" Tess quietly whispered. "We need to get to high ground."

Kwava nodded and dashed off to the trees, starting to climb one. At his call, Tess was snapped out of her shock and she rushed after a tree as well, seeing that they would be able to climb up the tree to avoid being pulled in by the tsunami. She wasn't sure that the tsunami would reach them outside of Riddleport but it was better to be prepared just in case.

Tess hoped that her friends would recognize the signs of the coming tsunami and prepare accordingly.

When the ground started to shake, Keya threw herself under the table with Sarek, Madia, and Belar following in her example. It was a tight fit underneath the table with all four of them but they were worried that the building would fall down and needed the cover. When the ground stopped shaking, they slowly crawled out from under the table to see that the Gold Goblin remained standing. Keya glanced towards Ryland and saw that he remained in his seat, still trying to read from the journal that no one could understand. She couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous Ryland was, believing that he would be surprised when she told him about the earthquake.

"If the Gold Goblin is still standing, that means the rest of Riddleport is," Belar noted, getting over the tremors quickly. "I'm heading down below to the smuggler tunnels to see what the damage is."

"Good thinking," Keya nodded. "I'll stay upstairs and see if anything else has changed. It's good that the windows are boarded up. You can't break what isn't there."

"Tess was outside," Sarek said quietly. "I need to find her. She could be hurt."

"And many other people could be injured and need help," Madia added. "I'm going to get Marlowe from the kennel so that we can do what we can to help."

Sarek ran out of the Gold Goblin, leaving the front doors ajar. Madia and Belar both made their way to the stairs for their tasks. With a shrug, Keya walked over to the bar to get herself a drink after the day she and her friends had. She was tempted to try to mess with Ryland but decided to hold off on it for now. Keya thought it would be best to give him a day, and if he was still in the same spot, she was going to take that journal from him for his own good.

Keya whistled to herself as she popped open the cork of a bottle of wine when the walls started to shake. She dropped the bottle in shock and it shattered across the ground. Riddleport wasn't suffering from more tremors but something was happening. By the time she made her way to the casino floor, she noticed a pool of water coming in from the door. After some thought, she realized that since Riddleport was a harbor town, the tremors might have led to flooding. With Sarek outside looking for Tess, the two could be in more danger if they were caught in the flood.

"Damn it!" Keya cursed!

"What's wrong?!" Madia called out, riding Marlowe into the room.

"The tremor might have led to flooding," Keya told her friend, rushing to the doors. "If the waves reached the Gold Goblin, they could have dragged Sarek out to the Varisian Gulf! Come on!"

Madia needed no further explanation and urged Marlowe to follow after Keya. They left the Gold Goblin with Ryland staying behind, oblivious to the chaos happening in Riddleport.

A/N: What better ending to leave off on than a cliffhanger? With that, Shadow in the Sky is finished. If you've made it this far, I hope that you've enjoyed the story so far.

I'm quite happy with how this story turned out. This story reached just shy of 68, 000 words over 23 chapters written over the span of three months. At the time I'm uploading this chapter, Shadow in the Sky has had 244 views, something that I'm proud to see.

I'd also like to thank BadOrk11 who favorited this story. Your support of my work means a lot to me.

Now, I'd like to discuss what's next for our heroes in Second Darkness. I hate to leave you all on a cliffhanger for too long but I am going to take a short break from Second Darkness to focus on my other fanfics. In particular, I'm going to return to writing Burnt Offerings in April, which will be my main focus of the month. Seven Days to the Grave will also continue as well since finishing that story is something I want to do as well. If you want to keep up with the stories I tell in Golarion, be sure to check those stories out (although I would recommend reading Edge of Anarchy before Seven Days to the Grave). It could even be possible that in the future, the events from Rise of the Runelords and Curse of the Crimson Throne affect the way Second Darknesss is told since all three adventure paths happen in Varisia.

I found it fun to write the adventures of Sarek, Tess, Ryland, Keya, Belar, and Madia. I find that given the nature of Riddleport and the opening of Second Darkness, I needed a more chaotic group compared to my previous cast of characters. I look forward to telling the story of their adventures in the Great Skymetal Rush that will be told in the next part of the adventure path, Children of the Void.

Until next time.