Viv visits Fern's bookshop without her staff, bringing Maylee's gnomish pastries and returned books. Fern teases Viv about Maylee, then presents her with The Lens and the Dapplegrim, a mystery novel featuring a one-legged mercenary investigator and his chemist companion. Viv learns the surgeon Highlark is grudgingly impressed by her healing leg.

Viv broaches a serious topic: she feels useless lounging in the shop and asks how Fern is really doing. Fern admits the shop is doing slightly better, but more importantly, Viv's presence has reconnected her to her love of bookselling. Viv insists on contributing more tangibly before she leaves in a couple of weeks.

Gallina bursts in, urging Viv to come quickly. They find the man in gray dead behind a storage building, stabbed and abandoned. Pitts the orc discovered the body and ran to fetch the Gatewardens. Viv inspects the corpse, noting his magestone and money pouch were left behind.

Pulling up his shirt, Viv finds Varine the Pale's symbol—a horned diamond—etched into his skin, confirming he served the necromancer. Viv and Gallina search for the man's satchel, suspecting his death isn't the end of the threat. Viv finds the battered leather satchel hidden in the leaning outbuilding just as the Gatewardens approach. She conceals it again, agreeing with Gallina to retrieve it later, distrusting Iridia to handle the situation properly.