Carl and Donut watch Fort Freedom from outside while Samantha reports from inside the castle after slipping past the guards and into the vent system. The alarm she helped trigger keeps blaring through the fortress, and Donut jokes about Samantha being a goddess of unrequited love and a dangerous ex. Carl reflects that Samantha is more powerful than she admits and should be handled carefully.

Carl reviews the assault plan. Samantha's job was to draw the guards to the main gate so the castle's outdated alarm system would pull defenders forward and leave the rear water entrance exposed. Signet then leads her amphibious force toward the castle, using summoned paper creatures and aquatic allies to infiltrate through the river while Carl and Donut remain behind, expecting only to intervene if necessary.

As the assault force enters, Areson explains more of Signet's past. He says a high elf helped naiad dissenters kill the tsar and the royal family, that Signet's mother died that night, and that the same high elf cursed Signet so she floats and struggles with depth. Carl realizes this coup left the naiads politically dependent on the elves, which helps explain the broken state of Fort Freedom and the broader unrest.

For several minutes, nothing visible happens. Then the castle alarm abruptly stops, letting Samantha's looping song trap echo more clearly through the fortress. Samantha reports fighting and blood in the water. A bolt of lightning erupts from the river, the ground shakes, and Carl spots defenders on the far shore. Soon bodies begin surfacing: dead naiads, dissolved paper summons, and what appears to be a mutilated bush elf, suggesting Signet's strike team has met heavier resistance than expected.

Samantha warns that the assault may have run into a trap, but insists she is trying to help after wriggling free. Carl decides he can no longer wait and puts on his water-breathing ring despite Donut's objections and Signet's earlier instructions. Another explosion sends bloody water out through the castle windows, Miss Nadine panics and charges toward the river, and Carl prepares to teleport Samantha back and dive into the fight.