Richard and Spaulding have both survived the disaster that befell Ayrtain without knowing what has become of the other party. Richard embattles with the overwhelming news that with the exception for his sister and a distant cousin named Leilandy, his entire family is deceased for unknown reasons while Spaulding is enduring a grueling ordeal of his own. Encountered by a group of rangers in the western fringes of his nation just a few days after the incident, Salman and Froylan have him indefinitely imprisoned in an abandoned castle under the constant watch of Lord Eufurel in the hopes he confesses what he knows what happened to the Ayrtainian royal family. After realizing escape is futile, Spaulding must now ponder whether he must accept Salman's offer to liberate him with the condition that he joins the guard he detests so much without knowing that Nelida is capable of annihilating both nations for good.