A plan is hatchedto test Lord Larry. Mendelor, St. James, Valerius, and Shakerly leave thestill-unconscious Clement at the apartment and walk to the Thistle andBriar, where they confront Larry with an arm-wrestling contest. The spoils:Shakerly's hefty sack of coin. Larry, after taking a good look at Shakerly,decides that fisticuffs might go better for him. After Shakerly is beatendown, a rattled party revives Shak with some of the miraculous blood ofSt. Marius. A subdued Shakerly hands his coin over to Larry.

Valerius, irritated at this unexpected reversal, decides to not letbygones by bygones. He, Mendelor, and St. James break into Larry's houseand, finding a large cache of silver, are overcome with senseless greed.They steal as much coin as they dare to carry. Realizing that they havereally stepped in it, the three momentarily panic, hatching wild schemesof hiring carts in the middle of the night and fleeing Heremac altogether.They soon realize that Shakerly is nowhere to be found—and his ruckbladeis missing. Fearing for their lives, they abandon the apartment, hastilygrabbing everything of import, including a limp Clement. They take refugewith St. James' friend Roger, who is only too willing to accommodate thesePentian souls in need—for a modest stipend, of course.

The next day St. James is sentinto town in disguise to evaluate the situation. However, he is so reluctantto encounter Larry that he skirts the apartment, and in fact, avoids anyarea where Larry might possibly be found. In this manner, St. James isunable to get much useful information. Roger is hired to find some information,but he discovers little else.

The party soon finds that Shakerly is staying at the apartment, andthey seek him out. It is soon deduced where Shakerly had disappeared to:he had sought out his good friend Tim. However, Shakerly is less than forthcomingabout what he learned from the gaunt little man.

Although the restof the party would like to lay low, Shakerly decides to stalk Larry. Shakwaits outside the Thistle and Briar while Larry, Fred, and Don drink. Thenext morning, Shakerly confronts a hung-over Larry. Valerius, Mendelor,and St. James reluctantly tail Shak, hoping to keep the big guy out ofserious trouble. This hope is soon proved futile. Shakerly bursts directlyinto the widow's home, cold-cocking her when she screams. An alarum isimmediately raised in town.

Shakerly continues on. He surprises Larry and his men, and cuts downboth Don and Fred. Shakerly offers to call it even, but Larry will havenone of it. Shakerly and Larry have a fierce fight: Shakerly falls beforeLarry's holy water sprinkler. Meanwhile, the other party members wait anxiouslyoutside, fearing that something truly awful has gone down. A large crowdbegins to form, waiting for the town guard to arrive. Valerius eventuallybreaks down and runs into the widow's house, screaming like a girl. Insidehe sees the ruined form of Shakerly, with an exhausted Larry kneeling besidehim. The guard arrives, and begins to disperse the crowd.

The next day Shakerly is laidto rest in hallowed ground, among fallen Seekers. Valerius pays the gravediggersto leave off their work, and the party members bury their dead friend themselves-- after placing his treasured ruckblade upon his breast.

Clement later recoversconsciousness—only to hear the awful news. Saddened by the death ofShakerly, Clement relates his own dreadful encounter with Larry: evidently,Lord Larry had caught Clement trying to climb to Cynthia's window. Wordgets back to the party that Larry is taking a vacation from Heremac --evidently the recent events had drawn much too much attention for the Lord'scomfort. St. James finds a job helping Tom Golding with his brewing.

After a few more days the party meets ajolly Gerardian friar in the Bristling Boar—Friar Sidrach Landry, orSid as he prefers to be called. The party "generously" allows Brother Sidto "watch" the apartment for a few days. There is a brief and uncomfortablequestion of a bar bill. St. James makes a misinterpreted gesture towardsSir Garnfellow.

The party stays withRoger for a few more days, trying to recoup some of their recent expenses.After it seems clear that Larry has left Heremac, everyone moves back intothe apartment. There it is found that Friar Sid was not killed by a revengefulLarry, and in fact, the Black Friar has made himself quite at home.