Lan, Hilo, and a convoy of No Peak fighters arrive at the Factory, a Mountain-controlled training hall in Spearpoint, after reports that Gam Oben and Chon Daal fled there following the ambush on Hilo. Lan sends an unarmed messenger inside with No Peak’s demand: surrender the attackers’ heads and cede the Armpit, or No Peak will declare open war.

As the Factory remains silent, Lan reflects that his careful attempts to avoid war have only encouraged Ayt Mada and made him seem weak. Hilo’s fury draws cheers from the No Peak fighters, and Lan realizes the Mountain targeted Hilo rather than Lan because Hilo is the clan’s feared warrior. This deepens Lan’s shame and anger, convincing him that No Peak must answer the insult directly.

The messenger returns alive with Gam and Chon. Gam says Ayt agrees to withdraw from most of the Armpit and offers Gam’s and Chon’s lives as punishment, but Gam asks Lan for a clean blade, a formal duel with no retaliation afterward. Hilo warns that Gam deserves execution and may be dangerous, but Lan accepts because refusing would weaken his authority in front of both clans.

Lan chooses moon blades and duels Gam. Gam attacks with skill, Strength, Deflection, and Channeling, nearly killing Lan with a blow to the sternum, but Lan’s Steel holds at the critical moment. When Gam exhausts himself, Lan cuts him down, honors him as a worthy opponent, and declares his blade clean.

At Hilo’s signal, Maik Kehn executes Chon Daal. No Peak’s fighters hail Lan as Pillar, and Lan claims Gam’s jade before warning that No Peak will avenge any wrong against its own. The clan leaves with control of most of the Armpit and no losses, but Lan privately feels the cost of the near-fatal duel; Hilo quietly recognizes his pain and tells him to lie down once they are alone in the car.