Elijah is treated to supper by the Champion of Ice, and his "daughter", Isetia – a construct fashioned of ice, isetis, and potent magic. Elijah expresses some discomfort at this, and the Champion's usage of magic in general, while the Champion explains his experiments at the Sanctuary. Isetia excuses herself early, and the Champion explains that she fills up rather quickly.

When Elijah leaves, he overhears Isetia crying, and he investigates. She claims that, though the Champion claimed that his Lancers were out on "maneuvers", in actuality they were dead, but that he refused to acknowledge it. She tells Elijah of a room where she discovered their bodies – a room, she says, she was forbidden to enter, but did so out of curiosity, and never told the Champion about her transgression.

Elijah investigates the room, and indeed finds the Lancers and some monks frozen in ice. Rather than venturing in carelessly, he takes one of his own feathers, attaches it to a chunk of ice, and tosses it in. Sure enough, there is a magical trap, as the feather becomes encased in ice. Elijah then hides nearby, trying to see if Isetia or someone else comes to check on him. A monk comes, and vainly tries to reseal the door, then leaves. Later, Isetia comes, and, without looking into the room, skillfully seals the ice back over the door (which Elijah had broken to open it), making it appear that it had not been disturbed at all.

Elijah feels sick to his stomach, and, sensing something amiss, forces himself to regurgitate. Suspiciously, he finds traces of frost in the resultant mess. Determined to get to the bottom of this, he heads off, elsewhere into the complex, evading notice by the monks.