Commander-Prificto Desmi Vashta confronts Ana Dolabra, asking whether Ana expected or predicted the wall breach. Ana denies foreknowledge, then explains her deduction: Vashta’s visit implied a new dappleglass killing in Talagray, but Vashta described something breaking the walls from within, suggesting multiple victims “sprouting” trees at once.

Vashta and Legionnaire Strovi report that the collapse was triggered when two senior Engineers working on a critical support strut transformed, and the resulting growth damaged the load-bearing structure—already stressed by quakes. They confirm the incident was broader: eight other people across the canton suffered the same transformation at nearly the same time, totaling ten deaths, including victims on the sea walls and in Talagray proper.

Ana presses for commonalities, but Vashta says investigators have found no shared bathing facilities, steam exposure, or single event linking the victims. The only clear connection is that all ten were part of the Engineering Iyalet, raising fears of targeted assassination and sabotage.

Vashta and Strovi acknowledge the terrifying implication: destabilizing the sea walls during wet season could be an attempt to unleash titans into Khanum. With hundreds or thousands dead or maimed and the canton at risk, Vashta insists the breach cannot be addressed safely until the poisoning threat is understood and stopped.

Vashta asks for Ana’s help because Ana has encountered and correctly identified this phenomenon before. Ana says she cannot investigate from afar and relies on Din Kol, but Vashta has already ordered a carriage for them. Under an Outer Rim state of emergency, jurisdictional rules are suspended, and Ana agrees to go to Talagray—leaving Din to silently dread what awaits.