Two confident mages, an adventurous Skeek and a very nervous Lapi doe gather in the hidden basement of Dr. Pike's castle, and prepare themselves to seek out Buffy the vampire Lapi – who has asked them for their help in recovering her memories.

It's hard for Olivia, who has to pole the boat down the underground canal, but eventually they reach the dock that leads to the Chalk, and with Parsley leading they pass through the ironclad door that seals it off. Once setting foot in the chalk, Natasha is nearly overwhelmed by the stored magical power within in, which she only sensed a small part of from outside.

Qing is more cautious, and experienced. He knows what it feels like to have overlapping major rituals going on, but still hasn't felt anything as powerful as the combination of Life and Spirit magic that is saturated into the area. He thinks of how bad things would have gone if Valicross had gotten ahold of it!

Buffy meets them. Qing asks a bit about Stonebarrow history, and Buffy admits that various groups have been drawn to the place for spiritual or other reasons. The vampire takes them first through the 'playground' she created for the spirits of the children that were freed from Valicross' prison.

The children swarm Qing, who is taken aback at first, since he knows the children are just echoes, but eventually gives in to them. It doesn't last long, as Buffy was only using the realm as a 'shortcut' to the beginning of her story.

The black Lapi spirit takes them through a door into a parlor of the old manor, to a time just after the Upheaval had flooded Old Stonebarrow and the vineyards. Here, Buffy works on her bridal gown with her bridesmaids, until her groom, Wulfgar Snapfish (a handsome noble Khatta) arrives and promises her he'll be back in time for the wedding. He is going to visit Lord Druagh of Silverheath to the north to see if they can lend any aid in rebuilding Stonebarrow, now that the vineyards (the town's main source of income) have been destroyed. Buffy is uncomfortable letting him go.

The scene changes to several days later, when Buffy forces her way past Igor to see Wulfgar, who has been holed up since returning and whose family is also suddenly unavailable. Wulfgar reveals that he has been turned into a vampire with the mission of converting the town into a new legion of undead for Druagh's army, and that the wedding should be called off and Buffy should flee while she can.

Buffy will have none of that, and vows to find a way they can stay together. She goes to her room, only to find her bridesmaids all turned into vampires and feeding on the remains of Wulfgar's own sister. They taunt Buffy, claiming that Wulfgar didn't find her 'worthy' of turning into a vampire, and also reveal just how it was done: he first drank their blood, and then made them drink his. Armed with this knowledge (and a letter opener), Buffy sets out to find her groom.

Finding Wulfgar, the Lapi doe hugs him and he admits that he still loves her, but that they can't possibly be together. And then Buffy stabs him in the neck and drinks his blood.

Wulfgar was to drink hers at the wedding, completing the curse and turning her into a vampire – but the Sheriff led an angry mob to storm the manor before the wedding ceremony could finish, and Buffy was taken away to be dealt with by her family.

In the present, Buffy brings everyone to the heart of the Chalk – a sort of temple carved from the chalk itself – where she thinks that she died, and where her memories have failed her. Qing sets up a defensive spell, while Natasha works her own to conjure up the memories stored in the chalk itself, while warning of the danger should things go out of control.

With everyone in place, Natasha summons up the memories. Buffy lay dying in her mother's arms, while her father brought two others with him. The newcomers send the Lapis away, and prepare a ritual. The human one is skeptical about it all, even as he inscribes the magic circles, while the Khatta claims they have the time, and he wants to try something.

Drawing a sword that must be the Light of Nala, the Khatta – called Phelix by the human – stabs Buffy through the heart, and the sword penetrates into the chalk as well. The man – Fyodr – is aghast, noting that Phelix had not only used far too much power, but pinned the girl's spirit to the chalk as well.

The Khatta picks up Buffy, and says that when she wakes after a hundred years, the corruption from the curse will be gone from her spirit – and until that time, it will serve as a guardian. Fyodr doesn't see the good of a guardian that's trapped underground, and Phelix tells him he's carrying the answer to that in his pockets.

At that point, the spell has grown wild and Natasha and Qing can't hold it. A magical storm bursts, and memories come unbidden. A shadowy figure tells Olivia to come and find her at the Bleeding Stone. Qing sees a ghostly visage of his lost daughter. Only when Natasha tries to disperse the chaos with her exorcism spell do things calm down.

In the aftermath, Buffy gives something to Qing, formed from remnants of Natasha's exorcism crystal: a tiny crystal figuring of a coiled Naga child, which glows with a contained spirit. She thanks Natasha, who asks that when the hundred years are up Buffy do her best to have a good life instead of just giving up. Buffy gives Natasha some chalk 'for her pockets'.