Venli, struggling to attune confidence and haunted by guilt over her past with Ulim, moves through Urithiru projecting authority while Rlain follows carrying a crate. The tower simmers under the Pursuer’s brutal forces and clumsy propaganda about Kaladin. Venli’s goal is to prepare an escape for her people should violence erupt.

In the Radiant infirmary, Lirin and Hesina tend the comatose. Rlain reveals the crate holds upper-floor maps stolen from the queen’s vault during the chaos, explaining how he bluffed past checkpoints before eventually being caught. Lirin doubts the maps’ utility, but Venli fixates on a tunnel map that could guide an evacuation.

Venli considers using her Willshaper abilities to carve a bypass to the caverns, while recognizing they must avoid Fused pursuit for any escape to matter. Lirin proposes turning the maps in to curry favor, but Venli notes only Leshwi’s protection stays the Pursuer’s hand. Lirin insists survival means cooperation, even as he orders tasks with quiet authority.

As Venli prepares to practice her powers, she hands the tunnel map to her loyalist Jial. Water carriers arrive, and Lirin spots shash glyphs painted on their foreheads—a mark associated with Kaladin. To Lirin, this new symbol of hope invites massacre given the Regals’ brutality. Venli counters that a trustworthy symbol may be exactly what the people need.

Pressed for time before translating for Raboniel, Venli leaves resolved: the maps and her powers might open a path to freedom, but the tower’s mood is shifting. The spreading shash brand galvanizes spirits even as it sharpens the danger, crystallizing the choice between quiet survival and active resistance.