He is further from his goal than ever, and now mired in a lawsuit over fulfillment of the contract to boot. Disenchanted with magical shortcuts, Jorian seeks advice from the holy man Shenderu atop Mount Aravia; the sage practically counsels bribery. The return from the mountain is complicated by an encounter with a party of Xylarian guardsmen seeking to recapture the ex-king. Jorian - warned in time by the arrival of Margalit, who heard of the Xylarians' pursuit - staves off the attempt by capturing and holding hostage their leader, the Xylarian judge Grallon. Grallon - having a deserved reputation for complete honesty and integrity - afterwards proves useful by settling the legal dispute between Jorian and Abacarus. Jorian then contacts his family in Kortoli and commissions his younger brother Kerin to reconnoiter Xylar.