Three days after Varine's defeat, Thistleburr Booksellers hosts its first book club meeting. The shop bears visible scars from the attack, and Viv feels lingering guilt for her role in drawing the necromancer there, even though Satchel assured her Varine would have come regardless. Viv waits for Rackam's imminent arrival, knowing her departure is approaching, which lends a bittersweet weight to the gathering.

Viv and Maylee sit together at the counter, their casual closeness charged with unspoken feelings about the looming parting. Both adopt a deliberate, gentle pretense to avoid the pain of grand goodbyes.

Attendees fill the borrowed mismatched chairs, including Highlark, Luca, Pitts, and unfamiliar faces. Fern emerges with books and Potroast in tow, nervous about the turnout. To everyone's surprise, Gallina arrives with Berk and Zelia Greatstrider herself, the author of Thirst for Vengeance, who graciously offers to join the discussion of her own book.

Fern, fumbling but determined, opens the meeting by introducing a new permanent resident: Satchel, the horned homunculus, who no longer requires bonedust now that Varine is gone. He emerges from his bag and politely greets Zelia as a fan of her work, leaving the elf astonished. Gallina breaks the awkward silence by asking about food, and the group settles into easy conversation.

Viv watches the warm scene as a ghostly observer, recognizing it as the end of a story—but one that belongs to someone else. Her own chapter in Murk is closing.