Iridia, the tapenti Gatewarden captain, arrives at the scene of the gray man's corpse with a brace of Gatewardens and Luca the dwarven nightwatchman. Viv expects to be blamed, but Iridia surprises her by ruling out both her and Gallina based on the body's wound and the magestone still on the corpse. Viv directs Iridia to the brand under the man's shirt, identifying it as Varine's mark, and warns that the necromancer may be moving toward Murk.

Iridia takes the threat seriously, contradicting Viv's expectations of dismissal, but orders Viv and Gallina to stay out of the matter. When Iridia asks about the satchel the man had carried, Viv lies and denies seeing one. Iridia orders Luca to search the dunes for it as a storm rolls in.

Viv and Gallina wait on a boardwalk in the worsening rain, watching Luca search fruitlessly. Once he retreats toward the fortress, Gallina dashes out to retrieve the hidden satchel and returns triumphant. They bring it back to the bookshop, where an anxious Fern greets them. Gallina opens the satchel expecting something significant, only to pull out a handful of bones, leaving them all puzzled.