Jakob wakes in extreme pain in a corpse cart, half-delirious and at first unsure which past disaster has nearly killed him this time. As he sorts through old memories of battles, wounds, and failures, Jakob slowly understands that he has survived the recent fight at sea, though only barely.

Baron Rikard is waiting beside the cart and cheerfully confirms what happened. Rikard explains that Jakob fought Constans, one of Princess Alexia's cousins, in a duel on the burning aftcastle during the ship battle. Jakob remembers enough to admit that Constans was the better swordsman in a fair fight, which underlines both how close Jakob came to death and how chaotic the escape has become.

Jakob then learns that the cart has arrived at a field hospital belonging to Count Radosav and Mother Vincenza, a senior church official from Ragusa. Rikard has already told them that Jakob is the famous Jakob of Thorn, praising his military reputation and his papal mission. Their excitement at finding him alive quickly turns practical: they know Jakob is looking for a missing princess, but they also want something in return for any assistance.

Count Radosav and Mother Vincenza reveal that they are fighting Countess Jovanka of Pec in a border war backed by the rival Eastern Church. The offer is simple: if Jakob helps them defeat the countess, they will help him track down Princess Alexia. Jakob immediately recognizes the situation as exactly the kind of Western-versus-Eastern church proxy conflict that his mission to Troy was supposed to prevent, but despite his desire to avoid battlefields, he sees that he is being drawn into another one.