Kingfisher and Carrion corner Vorath Shah inside Vorath's strange merchant shop after Vorath flees from them. Carrion pressures Vorath to reveal where Eric moved Carrion's missing silver, while Kingfisher notices that Vorath is less frightened than he pretends and seems unusually interested in Kingfisher. Vorath claims he cannot simply tell them the location because Eric has hidden it behind traps, so Kingfisher reluctantly allows Vorath to lead them there.

As the three move through the Third, Kingfisher shields himself from the suns and watches both Carrion and Vorath. Carrion remains relaxed but ready to fight or run, while Vorath acts twitchy and evasive. Kingfisher sees the ward's oppressed humans traveling to claim their daily water ration and recognizes how Madra keeps them thirsty, though the people still maintain community and resilience.

Vorath leads them to a narrow passage and a concealed, handleless door in the ward wall. He says Eric used a special key, but Carrion realizes the mechanism is not magic: it opens with a magnet. Using his Fae-steel dagger, Carrion draws the hidden mechanism aside and opens the way into a dark passage leading into the bell tower.

Inside the tower, Vorath gives them glowing green vials and guides them up a spiral staircase through abandoned rooms. They pass an old skeleton that Kingfisher and Carrion recognize as Fae, and Kingfisher's sense of danger grows stronger. Near the top, Kingfisher warns Carrion not to enter the room, but Vorath forcibly pulls Carrion forward, saying he is Carrion's friend but that someone else is still hungry.

Carrion falls into the chamber and his hands become fixed to the floor. When Kingfisher removes the green light, hidden white runes flare across the room, revealing an ancient Alchimeran demon trap. Kingfisher realizes the trapped entity has manipulated the deteriorated magic into a feeding snare. Vorath reveals that his master is Joshin, Lord of the Desert and King of the Dark Dream, and Kingfisher forms a silver replica of Nimerelle as the roaring sound approaching them is revealed to be a swarm of scorpions.