Vis drifts in and out of consciousness, comforted by dreams of Emissa, until he fully wakes on a small boat at sea. As his memory returns, Vis recalls the bronze blades, the strange white rotunda in the snow, and the bloodshed that followed. He discovers that his left arm has been severed at the shoulder, and the shock of the loss is sharpened by the sight of the blackened bandage wrapped around the stump.

Two tattooed, red-haired boatmen watch over Vis, but none of the languages Vis tries can bridge the gap between them. One gives him water and repeatedly forces him to stay down when Vis tries to sit or stand. As Vis surveys the boat, he notices a third man sleeping under a white cloak with a carved staff and dimly recognizes him from the mountaintop rotunda. Vis learns only one possible clue from the voyage: the word "Bhailcnoc," which seems to be their destination.

After another period of sleep, the white-cloaked man wakes Vis. Vis again tries to communicate, first in rough Vetusian and then by exchanging names, learning that the man is called Cian. While Vis eats and regains some strength, Cian casually switches languages until he finds one Vis understands, then quietly warns Vis in awkward Vetusian not to reveal that they can speak. Cian explains that the others had been meant to kill Vis on an island, but Cian has delayed that fate only briefly and is planning something for that night.

The boat reaches Bhailcnoc, a fortified coastal settlement of round, thatched huts behind wooden defenses. A female sentry is startled to see Vis, and after a tense exchange with the others, Vis is marched into the village at spearpoint. Weak, dizzy, and still adjusting to the loss of his arm and balance, Vis stumbles repeatedly before he is shut inside a windowless hut and treated like a prisoner.

Once the other men leave, Cian drops his pretense and urgently gives Vis a green sleeping draught. Cian says that the people truly seeking Vis are Ruarc and the Grove, and that they fear Vis because he is a Traveller. Cian insists that Vis must sleep and recover if he is to escape that night, and promises to take Vis afterward to someone who knows him, speaks his language, and can explain what is happening. Trusting Cian more than the alternatives, Vis drinks the potion just before the guards return and Cian leaves him locked inside the hut.