Slagor’s arrival makes life on Skorghijl even more unpleasant for everyone. Fights break out regularly between the two crews, and Will and Evanlyn—with any hope of ransom dashed and Evanlyn’s life now in constant danger—must work twice as hard to keep up with the needs of the crews. Evanlyn struggles with the menial labor, so Will takes on the harder tasks; their relationship has mended out of a need to survive once again.

While Will washes the dishes, Erak, curious about him and needing space from the crowded living quarters, comes to the shore to talk to him. After explaining that Slagor is merely a skirl, not a jarl—and thus has no social power—Erak reluctantly explains the concept of a Vallasvow to a curious Will. The Vallas are the three gods of vengeance, and swearing a Vallasvow means that if you fail to conduct your act of vengeance, the Vallas will claim you as their own. Erak explains that Ragnak, the Oberjarl, is not mentally stable if he is making that sort of vow, and he leaves Will to finish the dishes and contemplate their need to escape.

Halt and Horace land in the bustling port city of La Rivage in Gallica. Horace is overwhelmed by the sights and sounds and quickly has several embarrassing encounters—a beggar woman curses at him in Gallican (which he cannot understand) when he has no money to give her, and then he attracts the attention of three girls not much older than him who are wearing skimpy outfits—presumably sex workers. He blushes as they mock him in Gallican; when the girls invite him to approach them, he asks Halt for a translation, but Halt refuses to provide one. Halt and Horace ride through the city, and Horace notices that the people move aside in fear as they pass.

After they leave the city, Horace asks Halt why the girls were dressed in short skirts; Halt jokingly explains that they are “couriers” who need to have short skirts to run messages. Horace doesn’t understand the sarcasm, taking this explanation at face value, and Halt decides not to tell him the truth. Horace then notices that the countryside is in rough shape, with the crops poorly tended, and Halt explains that the Gallican king is weak and that the barons are at constant war with each other over land, leaving Gallica in disarray. As they progress, Halt quietly curses at the sight of an armored knight blocking the road ahead of them.

Will wakes Evanlyn in the middle of a moonless night and has her tie rags around her feet to muffle the sound of her steps on the beach’s shingled rock. He instructs her in how to move unseen through the shadows to the small skiff that Svengal uses for fishing. After some struggle, Will manages to get the skiff out to sea, but Evanlyn panics when she sees water rising in the bottom. They struggle to get the skiff back to land and find Erak and a few sailors waiting for them. Erak, clearly angry, asks Will if he forgot something and then throws him the bung, which he had taken out of the skiff in anticipation of Will’s plans. He throws Will to the ground, warning him to never take him for a fool again, and Will accepts defeat.

Halt nocks an arrow and prepares to shoot the knight, explaining to Horace that the knight will demand a tribute to cross the bridge. The knight soon does so, speaking in Gallican and then in clumsily accented Araluen. The knight, Horace notices, has an awkwardly made coat of arms and does not hold his lance well. Halt is annoyed at the prospect of killing him with an arrow since chivalry would demand any of his allies to hunt Halt down for killing him without honor. Horace offers to fight him instead, pointing out different details about the knight to prove his incompetence, which in turn only proves Horace’s skill to Halt. Halt decides to trust him, sensing that he is actually confident without being brash, and calls to the knight; when the knight refuses to fight someone who is not a knight, Halt lies and says that Horace is part of the “Order of the Oakleaf,” upsetting Horace’s sense of honesty. Horace decides that he wants to fight the knight without killing him, which Halt reluctantly agrees to allow. The knight refuses to give up his lance, despite Horace’s lack of one, and charges; Horace gallops to meet him, promising Halt that he won’t take long.

Evanlyn and Will are punished for their escape attempt with more work and more restrictions on their activities and movement, but Erak finds himself respecting them more for it since he’d have tried to do the same thing. Tensions with Slagor continue to rise, however, and Erak continues to lose respect for the man. One evening, Slagor bumps into Evanlyn as she serves him dinner, scalding his arm; Slagor immediately blames her and pulls out a whip to punish her. Will subtly takes a knife, prepared to retaliate, but Erak steps in. Knowing that he can’t fight the man—since everyone knows that Erak would win, anyway—he warns Slagor that he can’t lose more profit by having to kill Will as punishment for killing Slagor. Slagor and the other Skandians laugh at the idea since Will is small in stature, but Erak decides to demonstrate what he means. He takes a keg and carves out two eyes, gesturing to Will to demonstrate; before any of the other men can anticipate his move, Will throws the knife between the two marked eyes, scaring Slagor so much that he screams. Slagor immediately loses any respect from the room, and Evanlyn flees after Erak concludes the event by saying, “I simply have to reprimand him for frightening someone as important as you” and knocks Will out with a punch (107). As the sailors carry Will back to his shelter, Erak steps outside and realizes that the Summer Gales are over: They can continue to Skandia.

Halt looks on as Horace seemingly effortlessly disarms the knight by flicking the lance aside with his sword, unbalancing the man. The knight is forced to drop the lance, and Horace wheels his horse around and hits him on the helmet with his sword, knocking him out of his saddle and unconscious. Halt takes over the situation after the man wakes up, dazed. He explains to the knight that Horace won honestly, and according to the rules of chivalry, the knight’s horse and armor are forfeit. Horace is doubtful about the latter rule, but Halt convinces him that it is true and beneficial to them since they can sell the armor and horse for traveling money. The knight is dismayed but accepts his fate, and Halt announces that he’s enjoying Gallica more than he expected to.

Erak’s crew sets out for Skandia, with Evanlyn and Will growing upset at the prospect of being sold and separated. Erak pities them but knows he cannot buy them himself since he has no need for them and would have to pay for their care. Erak sails his wolfship expertly into Hallasholm’s harbor, making better time than anyone expects. Will and Evanlyn observe the small, woodsy construction of the town, surrounded by beautiful mountains, but are unable to enjoy the view as they are faced with a cold, bleak future.

Halt and Horace continue to travel and dispatch at least six more knights. Horace feels guilty about defeating these knights in combat since he is not officially a knight yet. To try and keep knights from slowing them down, Halt paints an oakleaf on Horace’s buckler, which causes many of the knights they pass by to flee without even trying to fight them. Horace dislikes having a false coat of arms but is happy to avoid fighting since the previous fight badly twisted and bruised his arm.

The duo reaches a small town and quickly notices people muttering in awe at the sight of Horace with his string of claimed horses and armor. Halt is pleased that people do not view him as a threat and perceive him as Horace’s manservant, as it enables him to be more effective if necessary. They find an inn, and the elderly couple running it welcomes them, perceiving Horace as a man of wealth. Halt tends to Horace’s injured arm, but before he can make any progress, the Gallican woman running the inn enters and sees the bruising. She tends to him much more gently than Halt does and goes to get herbs; Horace thanks her with exaggerated gallantry, making Halt roll his eyes.

Erak enjoys a feast in Oberjarl Ragnak’s dining hall, where he talks with Borsa, Ragnak’s administrator. Borsa says that the Skandians’ involvement as mercenaries in Morgarath’s war was foolish since they have no strategists and are better at raiding; still, Morgarath paid them up front, so not all was lost. Borsa mentions that they could use a force like the Rangers to deal with strategy in war, and Erak, remembering Will and Evanlyn, offers them to Borsa, hoping to give them a good life working in the dining hall since he doesn’t need the money from their sale anymore. Borsa agrees gratefully to take them on. The next day, Borsa assigns Evanlyn to the dining hall but assigns Will to the yard.