Chapter 33

Amiel drinks Fulvir’s foul invisibility draught, endures a slow, unsettling fade to transparency, and receives a reed that swallows any sounds while inhaling. Warned the effect will last six to eight hours, Amiel slips from Fulvir’s rooms and heads barefoot for Goltay’s walls, careful to move and breathe as instructed.

After passing weary gate guards, Amiel navigates the royal camp at sunset, evading soldiers, hunting dogs, and close calls in narrow tent lanes. Torn between shame and purpose, Amiel begins peeking into tents to learn whether Migaéd is outside King Luvain’s pavilion.

Drawn by music and laughter, Amiel enters Luvain’s vast, opulent tent where nobles play Towers. The king presides amiably while a dwarf, Hanz, mocks Migaéd’s terrible luck. Amiel confirms the shield is not present and watches Migaéd lose steadily until Luvain good‑naturedly urges him to stop; Migaéd instead leaves to fetch more money.

Amiel follows Migaéd to his loaned red tent, observes the capable servant Pedru manage the money chest, and at last spots the Mouth of the Storm leaning by the bed. Despite Amiel’s silent plea, Migaéd lifts the ancestral shield.

Migaéd, intent on returning to the game, carries the Mouth of the Storm back toward Luvain’s pavilion. Amiel, invisible and unheard, follows, recognizing the danger that Migaéd’s recklessness now poses to the family’s most powerful relic—and to Galva’s rightful claim.