Synopsis

The chapter opens with the protagonist encountering a group performing a ritual and being completely ignored. He confronts one of them, an undertaker, who reveals that the corpses used in their ritual are supplied by the trading post, disguised as those of refugees who died from illness. The protagonist connects the undertaker's words to earlier suspicious events, deducing that the trading post is the enemy's base. He realizes something is draining his strength, while also understanding someone he knows is in danger.