Istavan, Suni, and the twins take their chance to escape from the Garm's Head and end up on a mysterious desert island at night. However, the ship's crew follow them the next morning and things look bleak until Guin appears in order to defend his comrades. In Argos, Duke Scaal and his forces head to Ruan Oasis to join up with Duke Bek in preparation for the coming battle against Kualos. In Crystal, Lunan begins to question Norisse's motives for marrying Amnelis.