In hindsight, any plan that Muldran comes up with - no matter how well thought out, planned, drawn, predicted or just muddled through - well, it was bound to fail.
At first, things started well. The Control Box was collected from the Reliquary in Rhovanion, and transported by Muldran, Cherry, Gorthyn, Bertrand and new recruit Xorthaul.
Hayt waited by the Moonglow moongate, and ushered the group through. It was then that Muldran started to complain; the box was becoming warm to the touch - and as the group moved towards the Blackrock Detector in Moonglow, Muldran announced that the Control Box knew where it was...
It seemed like the Box had also called for help - for standing in the Beergarden was Lady Flame. She wasn't entirely certain why she was there - she just knew that she had to be present. The Box had called to her - and she immediately tried to get in the way of Muldran's ritual. Cherry moved her to one side, and tried to speak with her, as Muldran placed the box into the pool of water, and started to draw power from the boxes.
He succesfully managed to drain the power from the box that Lann'al had taken - the power came sluggishly, unwillingly, as if something was holding it in place a long way away.
As he started on the second drawing, things started to get a bit more troublesome. The box starting spitting and hissing (from heat or something else?) and the water in the pool rose in great clouds. As the clouds cleared, it the Courtiers saw that Taggart and two of his Knights (Falcon and Sir Calador) had approached the Detector.
A heated battle of words begun on two fronts. Muldran successfully drew power from the box that Flame held, and she looked around in shock and horror, seeing the Blackrock infection on her hands for the first time. but understandly - instead of being relieved at the change, she realised this had been Muldran's fault all along, and shouted at it "What have you done?!"
As the boxes that Taggart held started to be affected, Taggart attempted to imobilise Muldran. The Court quickly tried to explain what had happened, and what they were doing - but Taggart would not listen - and the Knights tried to remove Muldran from his position by the Control Box.
And then, someone picked up the Control Box... And a fight broke out. Spells were flung, arrows launched, and Gorthyn moved forward with his blade. Xorthaul ducked out of the way and watched as his new guildmates tried to prise the box back from the Knights.
But to no avail - Cherry, Muldran, Gorthyn Hayt, and Bertrand became greviously injured, until a pause was called. But in the battle, Taggart had also been badly wounded.
At that moment, while people were occpied in fighting, Flame nipped forward, still feeling some compulsion, and lifted one of the two boxes that Taggart posessed from his body. It's doubtful that the Knights saw this, as they comanded their Grandmaster's body be carried back to Beaufort - with the Control Box as their victiorious prize. Of coutrse - they believed that they had stopped Muldran making a big mistake by continuing the ritual, but... Ah, such plans.
As the Court recuperated around the Detector, it was noticed that Flame was nowhere to be seen. And it seemed that Taggart now had all the boxes. The Court returned to the Reliquary where Mul tried to cast for the location of the boxes - and although he couldn't pinpoint where they were - he knew who they were with. Salazar arrived in time to give them moral support. And help dress their wounds, more importantly.
The Dark Lord's box had been destroyed sometime previously. Lann'al's box was now drained of energy and inert. Flame's box had suffered the same fate.
The Control Box was active, and so was one on Taggart's body. But the second of Taggart's boxes; that was now with Flame!
The Court were hopeful - the boxes were not all together; if they could get to Flame, and persuade her to help them (and providing this other box didn't infect her before they found her!) they still had a route to the Control Box and a way to deactivate the boxes for good - but would their second plan be successful where their first had given them a bloody nose?