Glokta and his Practical, Severard, poke around an abandoned mansion with an eye for adapting it to be used as a prison. Severard opens a secret door leading to underground tunnels. In an old wine cellar, Practical Frost guards Salem Rews, who was recently recaptured and is still of some use. They want Rews to name names before the Open Council. Another cell holds the alleged assassin. When the assassin refuses to talk, Glokta sets to work chiseling away his teeth.

Having been scattered by the Shanka attack, Logen’s fellow clanmates and barbarians (Dogman, Tul Duru, Grim, and Black Dow) regroup and sit around a fire, making new plans. They believe that Logen is dead, and with the woods crawling with Shanka, Black Dow vows to head south. Threetrees and Forley the Weakest now join the group and are happy to see everyone still alive. Without Logen to act as their leader, Black Dow vies for control, but Threetrees argues that he is in charge. The rest align with Threetrees, so Dow relents. Eventually, Threetrees decides to head south, but first, they must deal with a Shanka patrol. Threetrees lays out a plan of attack, but Dow charges in early.