Wit leads Shallan to a quiet, crem-caked tavern in Kholinar and secures a private room. He immediately sees through her disguise, noting her broken persona. As they settle, their banter establishes an uneasy rapport, with Wit deflecting and needling while Shallan tries to understand him.

Over drinks and meager food, Shallan bluntly asks if Wit is a Herald. He denies it, instead implying immense age and experience, then undercuts the moment with humor. Their conversation ranges to stupidity, sincerity, and Sadeas’s death, with Wit offering sardonic observations that both amuse and frustrate Shallan.

Shallan admits her goal: open the Oathgate and save the city. Wit cautions her about ambition, describing types who confront or claim to guide history and are crushed or harmful, contrasting them with rare people who nudge events. He frames power as a dangerous knife and urges wisdom and self-care, while Shallan insists power is for changing others’ lives.

Turning to the city’s crisis, Shallan asks about the Cult of Moments. Wit warns against trusting those who claim foresight, then explains the cult’s revels atop the Oathgate platform and their connection to the Unmade called the Heart of the Revel. He says the gate’s spren won’t obey him, but as a Radiant Shallan has the key. He outlines a plan: infiltrate by supplying enticing food beyond simple Soulcast grain; he can arrange access through the revel leaders.

Shallan asks Wit to join the effort, but he refuses, saying she is not why he is there. He slips away with a prank on the innkeeper, leaving Shallan to act. Pattern notes that Wit feels like “one of us.” Shallan tips the innkeeper and returns to her base, planning to obtain the food needed to enter the cult’s revel and reach the Oathgate.