In a memory from roughly one year earlier, Normandy Borthal wanders into a Scarsden tavern after the book he carries has unnaturally aged him. Mathias Ephelthine, the unseen figure bound to Normandy, warns him as a frantic recorder named Slip arrives and recognizes both the book and the invisible presence. Horatio then manifests through an Apocryphalian mask and offers to reclaim the book, reverse its effects, and restore Normandy. Normandy refuses to surrender the knowledge it contains. Horatio instead extends his life in exchange for a binding charge: Normandy must find and protect a little girl in the woods, and if she dies, so will he. In the present, the wounded companions recover after the destruction of northern Gavra. Bjorn remembers a mysterious rescuer wielding a sword of golden light, while Whisper awakens beside Lily at the Blooming Petal. The Dread Stalkers, led in negotiations by Zandra, have bought out most of the establishment and rescued the group. Once everyone is reunited and their equipment is returned, the companions and pirates form a tense alliance around their shared need to reach the mainland.

The group crosses the shaken city toward the granary marked by Jonas Lowery's warning. Along the way, Vyr collects a second-tier bat from Bathlamule in exchange for the customers she sent to his shop and names the creature Nana. Inside the apparently abandoned granary, the companions overpower three guards and find a concealed structure filled with black-glint barrels, along with Jonas's decomposing body. Normandy confronts another intruder and reveals that Normandy is actually Francis Felrick and the man is his estranged elder brother, George. George admits that he works with Yore and Gander and that the barrels are intended to create controlled panic, topple House Cassiandros, and elevate powerful trading interests. He also reveals another storehouse on Gavra's western side, connects the black glints to the Shattered Isles, and offers information about the Maelstrodomus, a Velpan prototype at Galwan Harbor supposedly capable of crossing the vortex near Tyve. The party keeps George alive as a captive and possible route to the ship, while Ernan takes him back toward the Blooming Petal.

At Gavra Castle, Olgo Binesword helps the companions bypass a long line of witnesses, and the earnest Philgo records their account of the attack before securing a total reward of 125 gold. The party asks to speak with someone of greater authority and is brought before Marquis Selendra Cassiandros. They reveal the plague-stricken farm near Calgary, the black glints, the granary, and the involvement of Yore and Gander and the Velpa Trading Company. Selendra dispatches a knight to investigate, although a player plot point establishes that the granary will be cleared before the authorities arrive. In exchange for their information, the companions ask for passage to the mainland. Selendra explains that her advisors already suspect the attack came from Tyve and that Gavra is assembling a naval expedition, but crossing the vortex and the Gate of Cephas is believed to be nearly impossible. She then turns to her newly trusted advisor: Silas Palligref. Silas recognizes the companions, falsely claims that the green light traveled toward the mainland, and urges Selendra to send the ships directly into the danger.