Jynx, still in disguise as Prince Shiahd bu-Ahlmarahat, travels to the castle at Falcon's Watch, only to find that Master Gnauh's party has gotten there ahead of him. Gnauh's party faces off against a lone old man standing in the road … or so it seems, until an ambush is sprung! Jynx, alas, has moved his caravan in too close, and he is caught up in the battle as well. His mane catches a bolt which secretes an acrid-smelling fluid, so Jynx is forced to abandon his mane … and bolt to the carriage in order to stick on a kadiban in hopes of maintaining his disguise. He flees, with the tabby family he picked up as "slaves", and heads for the walls of Falcon's Watch. There, he abandons his disguise, then moves on in, and encounters Lady Martinette – his grandmother.

Jynx confronts Martinette with his questions, starting with asking why she married Lord Calderas. The answers are not pleasant. The Artifact of Calderas is not here, but instead somewhere in the Savan. And Shikouju met his fate not just by some slip-up on his part, but because of the treachery of the rest of the Compass Rose – Martinette included.

Overwhelmed and then disgusted by these revelations about his grandfather's fate, Jynx leaves, throwing down the silver dagger as he does so. Outside, the battle is over, and the surviving villagers are looting the remnants of the caravan. Jynx catches two loose drokars, and uses one for himself and one for the tabby mother and her two kittens … setting off for Half Valley again … and then to go on a quest to destroy the Artifact of Calderas once and for all.