In Sev-a-kalam, the party was warned that the southernmost reaches of the desert were plagued by bandits, so they joined a Auhaami caravan leaving for the next oasis, ten days away. Five days out, they were attacked by maniacs, and several people on the caravan, including Tekhadun and one other character,^[18] were captured, and several loaded camels are also stolen. The caravan master, Djavh, identified the attackers by the eight-pointed cross tattooed on one of them as Arakanisi, worshipers of the demon Arakan, King of Chaos, who requires human sacrifices.

Following the Arakanisi, the party and the warriors from the caravan found a series of caves in the Salt Sea, but alas! only guards remained: the captives had already been taken elsewhere. Investigating, they killed the guards and found several corpses. In one room, apparently formed from the ribs of a huge skeleton, they found an altar in front of a statue of beautiful artistry but unsettling aspect. Behind the altar was a huge red vertical stone block across the room, in the center of which was a vertical whirlpool of flame. Tracks in the blood and dust of the room showed that this was where the Arakanisi and the remaining captives had gone.

The party and several Auhaami crossed through the flames, and found themselves in a strange place: the sky was green, the grass blue, and a river was red; a miniature sun, moon, and stars circled in the sky, and the clouds were white, blue, red, brown, and black, and in constant rapid motion. This was Makad-al-Arakan, the world of Arakan. Cormac drank from the red river and began to praise Arakan. (Cormac experienced these fits intermittently thereafter for a long time, until cured by Mordraug.)

Following the tracks the party came to an amphitheater, in the center of which was a throne. Basgoot sat on the throne and was blasted by lightning, but survived. The party then went back along the road and took the other fork, which led them to a steep-walled valley containing a heavily guarded prison-like structure, which turned out to be where those abducted from the caravan were being held.

While attempting to bypass the guards along the road to where the prisoners were held, Basgoot called upon Narung, his cursed magic sword. A huge demonic figure burst forth from the sword, breaking it into pieces, and grew until his head touched the sky. Basgoot fell into a coma and his body became rigid, but he lost some of his more demonic exterior characteristics. He shrank to six foot four and a mere three hundred pounds, his skin returned to the color of yellowed ivory, and he lost most of the scaled areas on his skin and completely lost his talons. The sky cracked open and another huge demonic figure stepped in and the two figures began to fight.

In the confusion and destruction of the ensuing battle the party rescued the prisoners, who included many not from the caravan. They all then fled through the rapidly disintegrating world back towards the entrance, carrying their wounded and unconscious, with Basgoot still clinging to the shards of Narung. Alas, upon reaching the entrance they found it closed. An ancient man, one of the prisoners, said that it could only be opened by sacrifice, and offered himself: Gim Torson, one of the few still conscious and capable of making decisions, instantly, without the slightest hesitation or remorse, accepted the old man's sacrifice and chopped his head off, leaving the corpse spouting blood over the altar. The entrance opened and they all passed through to the caves in the desert.

There was not enough water with the caravan for all the prisoners, so some were left in the caves while the caravan headed for Akhisar, the closest city, to report the actions of the Arakanisi and arrange transportation for the other prisoners. Alas, by the time they had returned to the cave with transport and Akhisar's warriors, those they had left behind had been smashed against the sides and ceilings of the caves. Basgoot remained mind-burnt, and Cormac still had fits frequently.