On the move, Vis outlines a risky plan to steal a Sextii tracking plate so they can locate other teams and avoid further ambushes. Despite calling it foolish, Aequa and Callidus agree to the necessity: Aequa will rejoin Iro and Belli and later break away with Vis’s medallion; Vis and Callidus will locate a safety team and take its tracker. They set a rendezvous before noon at a cliff to the northeast. Callidus hands his medallion to Aequa to avoid giving away their approach, and Vis apologizes for doubting her earlier, reaffirming trust.

Guided by Aequa’s directions, Vis and Callidus move silently along a ravine until they find two Sextii, Borius and Darin, relaxing by a fire. The men casually monitor a circular tracking plate, mention that the “stray” has rejoined Iro’s group, and hint that nothing significant changes until “tomorrow night.” When Darin beds down and Borius takes first watch, Vis and Callidus finalize a distraction: Callidus will lure Borius to the far edge of the camp with something unthreatening and quiet, giving Vis a brief window to snatch the plate.

Callidus begins singing a crude, catchy rhyme, drawing Borius to investigate. Borius leaves the plate on a log; Vis darts in, grabs the tracker and a spare cloak, but is spotted as he retreats. Borius orders Vis to stop, then violently uproots and hurls trees through the forest in pursuit. Vis dives into thick brush, slows to mask his trail, and remains concealed as Borius hunts with a torch, nearly discovering him. Darin calls Borius back to break camp, and a final thrown tree narrowly misses Vis’s hiding place before the Sextii depart to report the theft.

After waiting to ensure the Sextii are gone, Vis examines the stolen plate. The embedded stones appear fixed and offer no visible movement or guidance in the moonlight, leaving the device seemingly inert. Pressed for time, Vis stows the plate, dons the cloak, and heads west toward the river and the dome, intending to run the Labyrinth untracked before rejoining the others at the planned rendezvous.