Elijah receives a dream vision from the Champion of Amber, and witnesses a possible future unfold – a possible future of the day ahead. Things start out mildly enough, as Elijah and his companions have breakfast, prepare for their journey, then have dinner with the Lady of Shadows. Things get strange on board the Ark of Shadows, as Elijah observes a bit of magic play between the Lady of Shadows and the High Priestess of Ariel … who later reveals that she also happens to be Ariel … and that the Lady of Shadows is Kasaris, a goddess from the Olympian Pantheon. Inri realizes that these are two members of Lady Willow Dack's "family", and helps defuse the situation, though Elijah is understandably shocked.

The vision progresses to that evening, as Elijah and the others are preparing to leave. Watches-Quietly heads off to bid farewell to Bhuz, when a wave of "pleasure" washes out over the festivities, and people start behaving as if mad, acting on impulse without inhibitions. Elijah rushes in to retrieve Watches-Quietly, finding her wrestling with Bhuz … and then there is another pulse of magic as people start dropping dead around Watches-Quietly. Elijah picks her and Bhuz up, but Bhuz is dead … though he starts moving again when one of several shadow-creatures inhabits his shell, animating his corpse. Elijah dispatches the undead creature, and tries to organize survivors from the village to get down to the docks to escape by river.

The "observer" Elijah decides that he has seen enough in this vision, and wills it to end. He gets up, finding himself at the point when the vision first began, and rushes downstairs, interrupting breakfast and getting the others to follow him to the Ark of Shadows. There, he drops all formalities and introduces himself as the former Champion of Shadows, and states that he knows Kasaris' true identity … and that if they don't do something now, all but a handful of the people in the town will die.