Three years later, Stephen wakes in his room at the Temple of the White Rat. He probes the empty space where his god once was before forcing himself up out of duty. The Temple took in the seven surviving paladins of the Saint of Steel after the carnage following their god’s death, although the Dreaming God and Forge God had also offered them refuge. Stephen feels like a dog in a hen yard among the Rat’s peaceful servants—law clerks, healers, and diplomats. In the dining hall, István joins him for their daily ritual of confirming they are both still alive. They reflect on the brothers and sisters lost to suicide, stupor, and darker things. After joking about the cook’s terrible gravy, they check the day’s schedule: István will guard a woman at trial, and Stephen will escort a healer through Weaver’s Nest, where a serial killer is decapitating victims. Stephen practices sword work in the training salle, which provides the only meditation he can manage. He passes a small shrine to the Saint where a Rat servant lights a single candle each day. Stephen reflects that he can no longer pray, as it only reminds him of his emptiness. After washing, he prepares to meet the healer.

Stephen meets Brother Francis, a middle-aged healer with long-fingered hands. Francis notes Stephen’s cloak and identifies him as a berserker paladin but is unconcerned, saying that is the point of having a guard. Stephen carries the satchel as they walk through poor neighborhoods making house calls. At one stop, Stephen watches children jump rope to a rhyme he remembers from childhood. At another, Francis asks Stephen to visit an elderly patient, Miss Abernathy, to cheer her. Later, while waiting outside a longer visit, Stephen knits dusty pink socks. Francis emerges grim from one visit where he diagnosed a fatal growth. He asks why Stephen still wears the cloak of his dead god. Stephen explains it serves as a warning that they are still dangerous. In flashback, the Bishop of the Temple of the White Rat asked if he was dangerous and if he would stop his fellows from harming innocents; when he promised he would, she ordered him unbound. Stephen tells Francis the battle tide can still take him, manifesting as dark, uncontrolled rage. It has happened twice in three years. Once István stopped him by strangling him unconscious; the second time, he and another paladin, Galen, battered each other insensible in the training salle. He warns Francis that if it happens, he should run and fetch another paladin.

Stephen and Francis arrive at their last stop in Weaver’s Nest, a slum named for the birds nesting there. Stephen nods to a gnole, a small badger-like creature, and it nods back as it scurries past. Francis says he will stay overnight with a critically ill patient. Stephen makes him promise not to leave until daylight because of the killer who has been decapitating people in the area. Francis asks Stephen to pray for the patient and that he not make things worse. On his way back through streets near the Scarlet District, Stephen hears running footsteps. A woman rushes from an alley and throws herself into his arms, begging him to hide her.

The woman pleads with Stephen to hide her from pursuers. Two Servants of the Hanged Mother approach. Stephen conceals her against a wall with his cloak, pretending they are engaged in a lewd act. The woman plays along enthusiastically but awkwardly, moaning while grinding against his sword belt and causing his chain mail to pinch his skin painfully. The Motherhood priests leave in disgust, one calling Stephen a heretic. The insult briefly triggers the battle tide, but Stephen controls it, mindful of the innocent woman in his arms. After the priests leave, she explains she is a perfumer who was gathering startleflower in a cemetery when the Motherhood accused her of scavenging mandragora from graves. Stephen offers to escort her to her shop in the Glover’s Quarter. During the walk, he finds himself laughing with her, which surprises him. When she smiles, he notices her crooked grin. She asks to be left before reaching her shop to avoid a gossipy neighbor who would shout about sins of the flesh. After she departs, Stephen realizes he never learned her name.

A week later, Grace, the perfumer, cannot stop thinking about the paladin, particularly his scent of leather, metal, and gingerbread. She consults her ancient alchemical journal for guidance but lands on an absurd homunculus-making passage. Marguerite, her landlady and friend, arrives wearing an elaborate hat plumed with two egrets. Marguerite is revealed to be a spy for Anuket City. Grace pays her rent in perfumes, which Marguerite then sells to her contacts. Grace asks Marguerite about the Saint of Steel and his paladins. Marguerite explains that the Saint of Steel’s death caused panic among the temples, as no one knew gods could die. Many of the god’s followers ran “mad” or died by suicide. The worst incident was near Anuket, where the high priest went berserk and burned down his temple as a pyre for the dead god. The surviving paladins, known as holy berserkers, were taken in by the Temple of the Rat.

Marguerite notices Grace’s interest in the paladin and offers to help find him. She notes there cannot be many paladins of the Saint of Steel left in the city, and Grace’s details should help narrow it down. At the Temple of the Rat, István notices Stephen has been in a good mood for the past week. Over bad tea, they reminisce about an old campaign involving a chicory substitute that caused unfortunate gastrointestinal effects during battle. Stephen confesses his good mood stems from his encounter with the perfumer and recounts the story. István is delighted and teases Stephen for being craven-hearted and not getting her name. Stephen protests that he cannot pursue any relationship because of the danger of losing control to the battle tide. István dismisses his concerns, joking that they would have the perfumer’s husband killed if she has one, and declares they will make inquiries to find her.

Grace discovers her essential oil supplier has been cheating her with diluted product. Her civette, Tab, is in disgrace for tearing open a bolster pillow and climbing inside it. Marguerite informs Grace she must create a special perfume for the visiting Crown Prince of Charlock and present it at a formal reception, explaining it is politically useful to be in the Archon’s good graces. Meanwhile, Bishop Beartongue assigns Stephen, István, and Shane, another paladin, to be her honor guard at the reception because they all have beards, which Charlock culture considers a sign of trustworthiness. At the Archon’s palace, they encounter Motherhood guards, including one very young, nervous-looking man. In the reception hall, the bishop is presented to the Archon and the Crown Prince. While standing guard, Stephen and István quietly joke about weaponizing the decor, including an ice swan and candelabras, until Beartongue threatens to excommunicate them. The Motherhood priests arrive and are warmly greeted by the Archon, far more warmly than he greeted any other temple’s representatives. Representatives of other gods, including the Forge God and Dreaming God, are also present.

Grace struggles with Marguerite’s borrowed dress, which does not initially fit her, until Marguerite rips and pins it into place. Grace worries about being recognized by nobles from Anuket City who knew her abusive ex-husband, Phillip. Marguerite outfits her as an eccentric genius with a dramatic silver cloak, hood, and handkerchief scented with charbeans to cover her face. In the carriage, Marguerite tells Grace she has narrowed the paladin down to three possibilities: Stephen, István, or Galen, explaining she eliminated the other four surviving Saint’s paladins based on gender and hair color. Grace reflects on creating the Prince’s scent. She spent the week struggling with the formulation before late-night research in her alchemical journal led her to add saffron, inspired by a constellation entry. She also added other ingredients to achieve the right balance, though she believes she could still improve it. They arrive at the Archon’s palace for the reception.

Stephen is bored standing guard behind Bishop Beartongue. He muses about the impracticality of knitting on duty, considering but dismissing his bone needles as weapons because untangling yarn during combat would be absurd. Beartongue exchanges polite but pointed remarks about heresy with a high-ranking Motherhood priest. The Crown Prince of Charlock responds briefly to the priest’s question about the land by remarking that it is damp. The Archon signals the beginning of gift presentations from the city’s craftsmen. Grace and Marguerite are announced. Grace, feeling like an impostor for being called a master perfumer, curtsies. The Crown Prince asks why her servant speaks for her. Grace stammers that Marguerite speaks better than she does. The Prince asks about the scent. Grace nervously explains it has head notes of ginger and clove, with heart notes of amber, resin, and a touch of saffron, meant to evoke strength and warmth. The Prince extends his wrist, and Grace applies the perfume to it. After smelling the scent, he addresses her as “Master Perfumer.” Marguerite steers Grace into the shadowed edge of the hall to recover. Grace confesses the scent was based on the paladin, who smelled like gingerbread. Marguerite leaves to get her a drink.