After Ransom left, Samuel Hay invited Odessa inside for tea and recounted his past: born to Quentis traders, he fell in love with Emsley, the daughter of a rival merchant family. They eloped while Emsley was pregnant with Jonas and traveled Calandra, funding their journeys by selling stories. They returned to Quentis when Emsley’s mother fell ill, but Emsley was murdered in Roslo a year later, and Samuel wrote his book in the ensuing grief.

Samuel regretted writing the book, admitting he exploited a drunk nobleman’s rumor, falsely accusing Odessa’s father of killing her mother and vilifying the Quentis people for coin. He acknowledged the book paid for passage to Turah, their house, and a used Turan press, allowing him to start over. Odessa chose not to pursue the rumor and shifted the conversation to reports about King Ramsey’s militia.

Samuel explained his suspicions: families never receive letters from men who join the militia, and no one returns home on visits, which former soldiers find strange. He had not been to Allesaria but described Turah’s secrecy—outsiders are distrusted, and even as the Sparrow, Odessa might not be welcomed. He shared a local account from a woman who had been to Allesaria: the road is treacherous, guarded by a stone wall, and entry requires a blood oath to keep the capital’s location secret.

Samuel warned Odessa that maps are forbidden in Turah under penalty of death, and that Turah’s governance operates from Perris for trade and public decrees, distributed by pony riders and the army. He added that knowledge and expertise—scholars, alchemists, and healers—are concentrated behind Allesaria’s walls and not shared, breeding resentment among those living in the wilds who fuel the kingdom’s industry. Odessa privately connected this concentration of alchemy to the possibility of Lyssa’s origin.

Ransom returned, and Odessa left with him, retrieving Faze from Jonas. On their walk to the inn, Ransom confirmed the lionwick was infected with Lyssa and reported other recent attacks—a grizzur killing two hunters and bariwolves killing a merchant and his daughter—though their Lyssa status was unknown. Odessa suggested Allesaria might be the source of Lyssa, but Ransom rejected the idea without explanation, telling Odessa she knew nothing about the city and to drop the subject.

At the crowded inn, where news of Odessa’s identity had spread, Ransom arranged for an early departure to an outpost at dawn and informed Odessa that King Ramsey was rumored to arrive in Ravalli the next day. He stated they would not be present when Ramsey arrived. At their adjacent rooms, Odessa pressed lightly about his issue with Ramsey; Ransom offered no detail, addressed her as “my queen,” and retreated, locking his door, leaving Odessa to wonder if he regretted sharing his true name.