Viv reads Ten Links in the Chain deep into the stormy night, falling asleep with the book on her chest as scenes from the novel bleed into vivid dreams. The next morning, with the storm reduced to drizzle, she descends to the common room of The Perch, having padded her crutch and left her saber behind. She orders breakfast from Brand and continues reading, eager to follow Madger's infiltration of General Dammerlight's fortress.

Brand teases Viv about her run-in with Iridia, the head Gatewarden, framing the encounter as a respectful standoff and noting that Viv showed sense by backing down. Though Viv struggles to let his comments roll off, the hot food and the book ease her, even as she feels the pull of her absent company, Rackam and the Ravens, traveling north without her.

Viv finishes the novel at a downstairs table, savoring its conclusion. Her plans to revisit Thistleburr are interrupted when an elf, Highlark, storms in soaked and irritated. Viv recognizes him as the healer she apparently throttled while delirious, evidenced by the bruises on his neck. She missed their appointment, and he insists on examining her leg upstairs.

In her room, Highlark inspects her wounds using magnifying spectacles, scolds her for too much movement, and confirms there's no rot. Wanting to regain mobility quickly, Viv accepts his offer of callis oil, a battlefield remedy that knits flesh rapidly but causes excruciating, hours-long burning pain. He warns that any misbehavior could cost her the leg, then applies the salve.

The pain becomes overwhelming, far worse than her original wound. Viv spends the entire day and night on the mattress, sweating and shuddering, skipping meals. She clings to fragments of the novel's imagery to endure the agony. Only as predawn arrives does the burn finally subside alongside the storm, and she collapses into deep sleep, waking ravenous.