After packing his supplies and discouraging Gunther from following him, Zahn heads to the plum orchards of the Blacktail clan. Arriving at the shed were Amelia was staying before, he finds it empty and runs into her older brother, Duncan.

Duncan comments about how unusual it is for Amy to have any visitors, and takes Zahn to her actual cabin in the central compound. There, he finds a modest little cabin with a weapons rack over the bed. Amelia finishes packing – including a few 'special' items probably related to witchcraft – and the pair head to the fallen tree that hides the entrance to the underground ruins.

At the ruins, Zahnrad takes various measurements and the pair do some tests in the 'heliostat' tower, and even estimate that there could be another one at Witch's Rock. Then they reach the sunken amphitheater, collect the bucket of rubber they left out previously and have lunch. The idea of using an 'underwater latern' to investigate the sunken tunnels comes up, and Zahn quickly devises a way to make one using the rubber and available material.

The lamp works, and lights up the tunnels enough to show that one is collapsed and the other leads to a lighted chamber, but dips below the waterline along the way, so they don't try to swim through to it.