Viv awakens in a small, sparse upstairs room in a seaside inn, her wounded leg splinted and elevated. After being feverish and only half-conscious during the journey by litter, she is finally lucid, though in significant pain and ravenously hungry. Her gear—saber and crude crutch—is nearby, but her maul is missing.

Forcing herself upright, she washes at a basin and reluctantly accepts the crutch to help her descend the narrow stairs. She belts on her saber out of habit and follows the smell of bacon to the dining room of a quiet, weather-worn tavern.

Behind the bar is Brand, a tall, tattooed sea-fey who greets her warmly and jokes mildly at her expense—an unfamiliar experience for the imposing orc. Lacking her wallet, Viv promises to pay later, and Brand serves her a skillet of potatoes, bacon, and eggs, which she devours.

Brand reveals they have met before, though Viv doesn't remember due to her feverish state. He explains that Rackam's man paid for four days of lodging and that she's in Murk, a small town on the western coast. Restless rather than restful, Viv decides to hobble out to explore the town despite her pain, while Brand teases that he'll see her back soon.