Shallan travels the Frostlands with Tvlakv’s caravan, riding beside the taciturn mercenary Bluth and studying the hardy local flora. During a midday halt, noting an unused slave wagon, she demands the sides be affixed to create a private carriage and secures the key from Tvlakv. She obtains water and crawls inside with Jasnah’s trunk, determined to preserve privacy and rest her injured feet.

Alone with Pattern, Shallan declares her intent to continue Jasnah’s work: reach the Shattered Plains, locate Urithiru, and warn the Alethi about the imminent return of the Voidbringers. As she cleans and wraps her feet, Pattern reveals he was specifically sent because of the danger and because Shallan’s lies drew him. He hints at her past trauma, noting her mind “cracked” but did not break, and that her lies protect her.

Sorting Jasnah’s trunk, Shallan finds meticulous notes and a preserved sketch she had once drawn of Jasnah, which triggers long-suppressed grief. She mourns both Jasnah and the loss of her own sketchpads and the broken Soulcaster, now sunk with the ship. Pattern comforts her, insisting she will draw again.

Considering the assassins likely tied to Kabsal and her father’s associates, Shallan questions why they would kill the person closest to understanding the Voidbringers’ return. She concludes they aim to control knowledge for profit, even amid apocalypse. She reaffirms her resolve to thwart them, protect the knowledge, and press on to the Shattered Plains.