In the City of Outton in the badlands of Fallow, Euyn moves through the slapdash marketplace with the certainty that someone is hunting him. Once celebrated as Yusan’s best hunter, Euyn now lives as prey, dodging a twenty-thousand-gold-mun bounty and using the crowded market as cover.

Euyn watches vendors and passersby with practiced paranoia, aware that he still carries the posture and features of nobility despite dressing like everyone else. He describes the harsh lawlessness of Fallow, where shopkeepers arm themselves and justice is handled personally, and he admits he rarely leaves his inn during daylight because he has rigged his room with weapons, traps, and escape routes.

The reason Euyn ventured out is a red envelope left at his door: an invitation addressed to “Prince Euyn Hali Baejkin” to meet at the stables at one bell, promising an offer. The name makes him sick with fear because “Prince Euyn” is supposed to have died of exposure three years ago, and Euyn now survives under the alias Donal.

As Euyn heads to the stables, he considers whether the note could be an ambush or a royal execution arranged by his brother, King Joon, though Euyn reasons palace assassins do not announce themselves. Even so, Euyn chooses to go forward for answers, scanning for threats and reminding himself that unseen danger is still danger.

Near the stable entrance, Euyn spots another red envelope—and then notices the hand holding it. The sight convinces Euyn that whoever found him is already within striking distance, and that it is too late to simply walk away.