Din reports to Ana in her quarters while Ana devours an enormous, grotesque feast of rare vegetables, eggs, and preserved meats supplied by the Apoths. During the meal, Ana reviews Pyktis's records and says the official account of his death on the Shroud is suspicious: contaminated pollen supposedly triggered a catastrophic transmutation that killed three augurs, yet Pyktis somehow escaped and used the disaster to disappear. From the missing augury doses and the convenient nature of the accident, Ana concludes that Pyktis likely planned his escape years in advance rather than improvising after the fact.

Ana then pushes the theory further. Because Pyktis paid smugglers lavishly, Ana argues that he must have financial backing from an unknown supporter. She also notes odd details about his hidden face and says too much about him remains unexplained. When Din asks about Thelenai's guilt, Ana says Thelenai's real failing was pride: she cast herself as a heroic exception and justified deception that helped create the present disaster.

Turning to practical questions, Ana asks Malo about the burning of the warped clearing and reasons that Pyktis is likely watching for the smoke. She becomes fixated on another mystery: Pyktis always knew exactly when Apoth shipments would move, yet Malo insists shipment orders are issued too late for Apoths to be the leak. Ana next has Malo explain the Yarrow oathcoin found in Pyktis's camp. Malo says oathcoins are rare tokens of favor that circulate through Yarrow's hierarchy and usually remain close to the High City, making Pyktis's possession of one highly significant.

Din also identifies the plant in Pyktis's cauldron as kerel nut, and Ana explains that the toxic drape boiled from it can produce flakes that cause suffocation or, if introduced into the blood, kill beyond remedy. Yet Ana warns Din and Malo not to trust the obvious evidence too quickly. Because Pyktis is meticulous and left behind a conspicuous cairn, the poison and oathcoin may have been planted deliberately to steer their investigation, just as his earlier note was. She says they may be moving through a trap without knowing whether they are chasing Pyktis or being positioned by him.

At last, Ana shares a pattern she found in the records: Pyktis and his smugglers never robbed shipments during the first week of any month. Din realizes this matches Prificto Kardas's remark that he had regularly met the king of Yarrow in the High City during the first week of each month for the past two years. Combined with the oathcoin, the pattern suggests Pyktis may have had access to the High City and perhaps to someone at court. Though Ana insists this is only correlation, she urgently sends a warning to Kardas by scribe-hawk and orders Din and Malo to prepare their dress uniforms and rest, implying that a dangerous confrontation is approaching.