Envoy visits Mage Barabbas at Abu Dhabi. Barabbas has been appointed caretaker of one of the underground gardens of the Emir, where he has built another "earth tower" from a magical seed pod, and where his strange animal hybrids roam about freely. He is grateful to Envoy for her help, and questions her about her plans. He suggests that he would like to recommend her as a replacement for himself in such time as he may pass on, but he realizes that she still has many adventures to go on and places to see. He offers as a token of his gratitude a magical seed pod, though, realizing that she cannot easily take it with her on her journey, he offers to keep it there until such time as she has use for it. Envoy is moved to tears.

Envoy travels on to the Gateway Town, where she questions a Zerda porter about the Abaddonians, and then she visits an Abaddonian embassy – for the "Expedition" – and gets some paperwork to grant her access to libraries in the city of New Zion on Abaddon.