Doña Sofia Salvara goes to visit her friend, the elderly Doña Vorchenza, and tells her about the Midnighters who broke into her house. After Sofia leaves, Doña Vorchenza goes into her solarium, summons her adoptive son Reynart, and asks if “any of [his] boys or girls paid a recent visit to Don and Doña Salvara” (439). It becomes clear that Doña Vorchenza is the Spider, the mysterious leader of the Midnighters. They believe that they have finally found the Thorn of Camorr and devise a way to capture him: Invite the Thorn, in his persona as Lukas Fehrwight, to dine with the Duke on the Day of Changes, a holiday a week and a half away.

A young Jean is working hard at his training with Don Maranzalla. The Don shows him a variety of weapons and asks Jean to try them out. After going through a few, the Don hands Jean a pair of weighted hatchets. Jean immediately takes to them.

Jean is waiting in the river channel underneath the Echo Hole and, after overhearing some of the fight, sees the casket fall. Bug, who was hiding in the main room, jumps down after the casket. Jean instructs Bug to start attacking the top of the casket.