Eck is woken by Cecily with news of a visitor for them. Taking Mira with them, Eck finds a winged kobold waiting for them. The top half of her head and spine is pure white with a deep blue underbelly, wearing ornate silver jewelry and deep blue tunic and pants. They recognize her as Snowcap and greets her accordingly. She has decided to be unavailable for a time, and decided to visit. Eck tells her about the show and promises to introduce her to their friends afterwards. In the meantime, Eck shows Snowcap around Kitheroc. Snowcaps observes that the Roc is strange. Snowcap is clearly incredibly uncomfortable in the crowds and has maintained her density while in this form. They take Snowcap to Life is Pain, which she delights in. She buys all of the special muffins, providing one to Eck and storing the rest for later. Mira, not offered a muffin, notes that Snowcap does not like her, in addition to speaking in Draconic whenever possible rather than defaulting to Common.

While learning her tasks for the show, [name] requests that Dorean procure a replacement for a crystal that he overloaded during rehearsals. She heads out immediately for Meander's. Meander repairs it with Mending, observing that the mage must be an idiot, returning the mended crystal along with a scroll of Mending. They offer to read Dorean's fortune. The card chosen is of a cavern of vast riches, a figure falling in from above; Meander says that Dorean's day will be filled with surprises, not all of which will be unpleasant. As Dorean leaves, she feels a tap on her shoulder, but there is nobody there. When she turns back, Invicta is there. She is in town investigating odd shipments of mithril, not on official manifests but all going to the same place. She observes that one of her stops took her to a warehouse that had been seemingly blown up, worrying Dorean that Invicta is looking into this particular matter.

Ward studies his lines and acquires Enhance Ability from the library on the airship. Luna spends her day studying her lines in her room.

While on a raven-mandated study break, Vera overhears Alibi shout, "Yes, I suppose I am just an imposter. You should be able to do without me, right?" and a door slamming. Also hearing this, Ward heads out to find Alibi in one direction while Vera heads off in another direction. Vera locates Sapphire, who was somewhat bewildered by what just happened. Sapphire explains that she has been trying to be as good as Ruby was, but that she feels like an imposter at times. She had been talking to Alibi about this, and told Alibi that she was impressed with how well Alibi is able to 'become' her characters, which upset Alibi. Vera assures Sapphire that she is a good actress, that Ruby's acting ability had become more of a legend than anyone could hope to live up to, and that Sapphire should strive simply to be the best she can rather than living up to someone else's skills. They go off in search of Alibi. Ward, meanwhile, happens upon Alibi in the library. Alibi expresses that she's tired of having to pretend that she isn't a changeling. Ward assures her that she is quite skilled and that Sapphire meant well, which Alibi accepts. The conversation shifts, and Alibi reveals that there is an invisible book in the library that can't have any spells cast on it. As Alibi leaves, she encounters Vera and Sapphire. The two talk about their conversation and feelings, restoring their friendship.

Eck, Mira, and Snowcap come across a street gambling person. Snowcap wages a large amount of money, losing her first round. She offers a much larger second wager, offering 20 platinum pieces and requesting the game itself if she wins. She cheats in return, freezing the ball in the cup so he cannot flick it into his lap. When he refuses to hand over the cups, she flash-freezes him. When Eck requests she unfreeze the man so they and the others don't get in trouble, she agrees to unfreeze him. They continue their exploration of the city, encountering Edwin along the way. He gives them a way to get into a higher spot so they can attempt to view the Roc. Eck asks where and how long she's staying; she is staying with Eck.

Invicta gives Dorean a tour of the city, explaining the history of various buildings as they travel. Invicta realizes that they are near a place she liked to go, leading Dorean to an unkempt and forgotten park that had not been in such disrepair when she had been a child. They ponder cleaning the space up before noticing an imposing figure appears in the entry of the alley they had come through, a large axe ready at their feet. Two more individuals emerge from other places. The man is Vythix Bandersquall's uncle, upset that they beat up his nephew. He insists on a one-on-one duel, which she has no real option to refuse. His armor provides magical shielding, protecting him from Dorean's blows, allowing him to eventually defeat her. As she passes out, the man sends Invicta to retrieve Dorean's friends for their own reckoning.

Introduced

• Uncle of Vythix Bandersquall

Returning

• Snowcap
• Orville Polaro - special effects mage
• Invicta
• Alibi
• Sapphire
• Edwin - the Red Prince

Mentioned

• Ruby

• The special muffin from Life is Pain increased Eck's charisma by one and decreased their strength by one. Snowcap was able to use Remove Curse to remove the strength decrease.
• Dorean's hair turned bright pink during her fight with Vythix's uncle as a result of her roll on the wild surge table.