Chaol and Aedion carry the badly wounded, half-conscious Ren through Rifthold’s crowded slums while pretending to be drunken revelers. As soldiers begin searching nearby establishments, the three reach the opium den Ren named before losing consciousness.

The den’s madam recognizes the danger and quickly hides them in a veiled alcove. She gives Ren clean clothes, helps conceal his bloodied condition, and disguises Chaol and Aedion as drugged patrons so the armed men searching for Ren will overlook them. When the men in unfamiliar dark uniforms bearing the royal sigil inspect the room, Aedion convincingly plays the part of an intoxicated customer, and the soldiers leave without discovering Ren.

An hour later, Murtaugh arrives at the den, which appears to be one of his and Ren’s meeting places. The madam treats Ren’s abdominal wound and says he will survive, though the injury and blood loss will leave him incapacitated for some time. Aedion questions Murtaugh about the attack, but Murtaugh only knows that someone must have betrayed their location through Ren’s informant network.

Murtaugh reveals that he and Ren have no safe home in Rifthold and have been surviving in abandoned buildings and cheap lodgings when work allows. Aedion presses the issue, then tells Murtaugh to explain his theory about magic to Chaol.

While waiting until Ren can be moved, Murtaugh tells Chaol and Aedion what he and Ren have discovered. They believe the disappearance of magic came from a spell cast through three points forming a rough triangle across the continent: Rifthold, the Frozen Wastes, and the edge of the Deserted Peninsula. The likely origin points are occupied by the king’s forces, so Murtaugh and Ren have been waiting for a way to confirm their theory.

Chaol offers Murtaugh and Ren a secure hidden apartment in a warehouse in the slums. When Murtaugh hesitates to accept what he assumes is Chaol’s property, Chaol clarifies that it belongs to someone else who would not object.