Bleh. I do not love this section. I knew where I wanted it to end, I knew the bits I wanted to get in there, and I even started laying hints for the greater mythology. That stuff I really liked. But this section never quite gelled together. Ah well.
In fact, I am taking this section, removing it from this post, and saving it for later. I see the problems now, and many of them are timing related. This was not the right spot for this section.