Murtagh and Thorn land in a secluded hollow near Gil’ead, where Thorn is uneasy in the cramped cover but accepts the need to hide. The next morning, Murtagh prepares to enter the city alone under the false identity of Tornac, leaving Zar’roc behind to avoid attention and taking only a dagger and a makeshift staff. Thorn urges Murtagh to find a less recognizable sword, and their conversation turns briefly to Ilenna, intimacy, and Murtagh’s fear of ever having children he could not properly care for.

On the road to Gil’ead, Murtagh blends in with travelers by feigning a limp and rehearsing his cover story. The battlefield scars outside the city revive memories of the war, especially when Murtagh learns that a nearby oak marks where Glaedr’s body was burned and buried. Murtagh and Thorn acknowledge their guilt over being used by Galbatorix to kill Oromis and Glaedr, and Murtagh reflects bitterly on the chances Eragon and Saphira had to learn from them. The memory leads Murtagh into thoughts of trauma, Thorn’s youth, and a fragment of tenderness from Murtagh’s mother.

Murtagh enters Gil’ead without being inspected and finds a city still rebuilding from war, crowded with soldiers, merchants, dwarves, elves, and nobles. He quietly learns that Ilenna’s family is still trading and that Ilenna advises Lord Relgin at court. To reach Ilenna without entering the fortress openly, Murtagh buys a finch as a respectful gift, waits near the fortress gate, and bribes a red-haired page to deliver a sealed note and the bird to Ilenna.

While waiting, Murtagh observes Gil’ead’s social bustle, remembers court life and dancing, and nearly encounters Lyreth, the son of one of Galbatorix’s former naval commanders, who might recognize him. Soon afterward, Murtagh’s gedwëy ignasia tingles in warning. He spots soldiers and a pale-haired magician of Du Vrangr Gata gathering near the fortress, realizes the page may have betrayed him, and shields his mind against a probing mental touch.

As Murtagh tries to escape through an alley, a muscular servant intercepts him and asks if he is Tornac. The servant says the werecat Carabel has sent for him, creating a sudden alternative to capture by the soldiers and magician. With little time and no safe way to contact Thorn, Murtagh follows the servant through a hidden entrance beneath the fortress wall, knowing he may be walking into a trap but choosing the risk over immediate pursuit.