Gregory hides from soldiers in a hat shop, buys a hat, gets caught by the Captain, is dragged to an alley and beaten for information, then stabbed and left for dead
Gregory, Abigail, Mina, and Captain Thorne infiltrate the palace to rescue Bryce. Mina reveals the queen's wards are severing Bryce's network connection, prompting Gregory to observe Abigail's grief at the queen's maternal betrayal. They bypass magical defenses and enter the North Tower.
Gregory arrives in Marisburg, endures the heat, and overhears tavern talk about magic purges, void walkers sealed beneath the mountains, and the prince's disappearance. He recalls a stonemason in another town who showed him a humming crack in a cellar wall that ran deeper than bedrock.