The morning collapses into confusion after the bells toll for hours and no one can get clear information from the High City. Malo reports that Prificto Kardas and all the Treasury officials went up to court the previous day and never returned, then gives Ana a strange sealed reply to Ana's warning letter. Ana reads it by touch and discovers it is not from Kardas but from Prince Camak di Lalaca, who says the king has died, Kardas has been arrested as the suspected killer, and many at court want him executed.

Din reads the prince's note aloud. Camak explains that he is now acting regent, that Ana's warning has made him doubt Kardas's guilt, and that he fears his own life may also be in danger. He secretly asks the imperial investigators to come at once, warns them not to reveal that he contacted them, and says court riders will arrive by midday to escort them.

The riders arrive as promised, and Ana, Din, and Malo leave immediately with them. During the journey, Din asks what Ana wrote to Kardas, and Ana explains that she warned him a dangerous smuggler with an advanced poison might be in the High City and told him to avoid food and drink. Ana says she did not tell Din and Malo the night before because it was already too late to stop an augur like Pyktis, and because any rushed imperial intervention at the moment of the king's death would likely have made the Yarrow court turn on them.

Ana then lays out their task. They must quietly investigate why Pyktis chose to kill the king, look for signs of Pyktis himself and the six crates of reagents needed to attack the leviathan marrow, and also try to keep Kardas and the Treasury delegation alive. As they approach the High City through the jungle, Ana reminds Din and Malo to pretend they know nothing beyond the public news. Malo adds that in Pithian the place is called Prachina da Sahira, "the city of ancients," and the chapter ends as they reach the heavily guarded gates and enter the city in tense uncertainty.