Darrow and Eo walk with their township to the Common for Laureltide as the HC blares a familiar broadcast condemning the Sons of Ares. Amid music and laughter, Darrow recalls how Uncle Narol taught him the forbidden dance and feels buoyed by the belief that Lambda will win the Laurel.

In the spiral Common beneath the Pot, celebration swirls around the gallows—where Darrow fixates on the memory of his father’s hanging and the law forbidding burials. He reflects on the failed Dancer’s Rebellion and how only winning the Laurel brings better rations.

At the feast table, friends and family toast Darrow, but Eo remains tense. When Eo’s mother loudly praises Darrow for the expected Laurel, a drunken Uncle Narol lashes out. Darrow subdues him in a brief brawl, then composes himself to receive the award with restraint while rival Helldiver Dago lounges with the Gammas.

Tinpots descend with MineMagistrate Timony cu Podginus, who patronizes the Reds, announces that Mu and Chi will be punished for missing quotas, and then produces the Laurel. To Darrow’s and Lambda’s shock, Podginus awards it to Gamma. The decision deflates the clan’s hopes and deepens Darrow’s unease with the Society’s rewards.