In his extradimensional observatory, the mad mage Mordenkainen watches with bemusement as the corridors of space and time fold around Bannor, removing him temporarily from the Forgotten Realms. Nobody else notices the seam in reality appear or disappear, leaving no trace of the vanished monk's immediate presence in the minds of his former companions. They all remember him battling the chimera with them, but assume he must have wandered off at some point thereafter, without knowing or caring exactly where and when.
Ashur, Annaliese, Dumos and Robyn are left standing around in the forge of Ninuel Hartley, as he insists that his magical collar could not have failed in containing the chimera forever. "I'll be happy to show you the old papers that I used to perform my calculations, assuming any of you is sufficiently grounded in transmutational abjurantics to understand the symbology. Qwynneth predicted that she would subdue the creature, but first I had to prove that I could build a harness that would hold it in place for 'as long as necessary, no matter how long that might be', those were her exact words. And that's what I did, I crafted an enchantment into the steel which made it adapt instantaneously to the monster's own strength, so that nothing it could do would allow it to escape. Someone else must have deliberately freed it, but who on Toril would ever do such a thing?"