While serving night watch on the crannog, Vis reflects on his parents, sisters, and old friends in Caten, feeling both the distance from his old life and his growing attachment to the people around him. In the fog, the strange mental pulse he has felt before returns. When Vis investigates, he overhears hidden intruders discussing whether they have seen enough to report back to Gallchobhar. Realizing they are scouts, Vis abandons the chase and runs back to warn the others.

Tara, Conor, Fearghus, Seanna, and Miach arm themselves immediately. Vis suggests taking prisoners, but Tara argues that if Gallchobhar is working with Fiachra, letting any scouts escape will bring greater bloodshed. Using tracks in the wet ground, Miach leads the group after them. During the pursuit, the trail shows that the original scouts have joined a larger band, and Vis notices that the pulse in his mind remains present but seems to come from somewhere beyond the group they are hunting.

After hearing their quarry ahead, Tara arranges a flanking ambush. The attack is sudden and brutal: Tara and the others kill several enemies before the band fully understands it is under assault. The remaining warriors rally, and the fight becomes a close, chaotic struggle in the fog. Fearghus is wounded, Seanna and Miach fight in perfect coordination, and Tara is locked in a fast duel with a black-eyed opponent using Will. Vis steps in to protect Tara's flank, struggles at first with his one-armed fighting style, then experiences a sudden clarity that sharpens his movements enough for him to hold his ground and finally drive his spear into his red-haired opponent's stomach.

When the battle ends, only one enemy is still alive. Tara urges Vis not to prolong the man's suffering. Vis tries to question him about Gallchobhar, but the captive refuses to cooperate, so Vis kills him cleanly. The act leaves Vis shaken because it is the first life he has knowingly taken with his own hand. As the others strip torcs from the dead and begin removing the bodies' heads to prevent them from walking again if the boundary to the Otherworld thins, Vis explains that he has been sensing another presence in his mind and believes someone else is still nearby.

Tara sends Vis alone to investigate while the others finish their work. Following the pulse through thinning fog, Vis reaches a rise overlooking a valley and sees a lone man beside a dying campfire. Before Vis can get close, the stranger mounts a horse and rides away, and the pulse quickly fades beyond pursuit. Though the distance prevents certainty, the rider's dark hair, dark skin, height, and movements strike Vis with painful recognition: the man looks exactly like Vis's father.