Viv wakes Gallina before dawn to discover the gray-cloaked stranger has vanished from his cell. They shout until Luca, the dwarven nightwatchman, staggers into view, dazed and unable to recall how he was knocked out. Viv tells him to fetch Iridia.

Iridia arrives, coldly demanding answers. Viv recounts the encounter at Thistleburr, including the man striking Potroast, and reveals she suspects he is connected to the necromancer Varine the Pale. Viv explains that he carried the distinctive smell of wights, an icy, copper-tinged scent she recognizes from her hunts with Rackam. Gallina is stunned to learn they were tracking the White Lady Varine.

Iridia presses Viv on how the prisoner escaped, but neither Viv nor Gallina heard anything. Iridia notes that the man could have killed them in their sleep but didn't, suggesting vengeance was not his goal. Gallina argues there's no reason to keep them imprisoned now. Iridia leaves without committing to a decision.

After making them wait another hour, Iridia has Luca release them with their belongings and a warning. Outside, Gatewardens patrol the city visibly on alert, searching for the escapee. Viv and Gallina see no sign of him at the docks or streets. Limping back toward The Perch, the two banter about Thistleburr and the unfinished reading of Sea of Passion, tacitly agreeing to continue their arrangement, and head to bed unsettled but alive.