Once in the dorm, Sirona tries to rest again, but first, the group pressures Adrian for information regarding the two captives from Dombuton. The Monster hunter admits that he was presented with a contract for Sirona's and Labrat's extraction. He was tasked to bring them to the school, but he swears that nothing terrible will happen to them here and that they are free to leave whenever they so wish.
In the middle of the group trying to process this withheld information, Nicodemus returns after having dawned a new stainless coat. He asks to take blood samples from the group, but everyone declines. Irdien even declines on Sirona's behalf after the Aasamar starts asking questions about a cure for nightmares. Finally, deciding that Nicodemus seems shifty, Jak summons a ghost of a dead monster hunter, asking him to tell his tale and vaguely hinting that he wants a character witness of Nicodemus, which clearly Adrian can't provide after he breach of trust.
The ghost named Oswin tells the tale of how he died, and after sharing a couple of words with Nicodemus, it seems like they respected each other in life. Then, Sirona gets mad and accuses Jak of summoning the dead as if he were a clown pulling a colourful handkerchief from his sleeves for pure entertainment and shock value and not for sacred reasons. Then she leaves in a huff. Adrian goes to keep an eye on her, and Nicodemus leaves because this is a hella uncomfortable room.
Irdien decides to lighten the mood by suggesting a card game that she uses to gently probe Jak's feelings, but the bard is unreadable. So instead, it evolves into a 3-hour long musical performance in which Jak plays the prologue of a 14 volume ballad.
Meanwhile, Adrian has caught up to Sirona in the hallway, cold, tired and sad. He apologises for not telling her the truth sooner and offers to take her to an inner garden. Sirona, being her usual self-destructive individual, says that she understands and that she deserves it. They discuss the usefulness of enrolling in the school, and Sirona almost agrees to the idea of fighting the cult as long as she doesn't need to fight Ilgron and only if it's Labrat's will.
Sirona shakes and complains about her fatigue, and Adrian offers his more private journeyman room for her to rest. After taking her there, they freshen up and make themselves ready for a night's rest, disregarding the still relatively early hour. After an unknown amount of time, Sirona wakes up experiencing full-on withdrawal and can't stop herself from seeking out her vial of demon infused drugs. Adrian wakes and cautiously tries to make her talk to him, but Sirona won't see reason, and Adrian, a little hurt, leaves her be. While Sirona takes her drugs in the bathroom, Adrian sends a telepathic message to Jak asking him to investigate the herbs Nicodrames left in the dorm.
In the morning, there is a knock on the dorm door. Irdien answers and finds the Steward that introduces himself as Thunda Brickbrow and explains briefly how the school works. Irdien, L, Jak and Capper, who has slept in here, decide to go down to the mess hall for breakfast.
Meanwhile, Adrian has already gotten up to join the daily morning workout being held in the courtyard. Before he left, he made sure to make a cup of coffee for Sirona to enjoy when she woke up and left a note about the breakfast being served in the mess hall.
The group gather at a table and starts enjoying their breakfast. During their meal, Adrian ensures that Capper and Irdien both get enlisted in the school with one year worth of training already paid. While Mr Thunda is there to receive the payment, Sirona asks how the postal delivery works and if any letter has arrived for her. Unfortunately, there has not, and neither is there any for Adrian. After a while, Lucas, the tall adept from the other group, came over to talk a bit. He tells them he's been training for six months. Irdien asks if he knew her brother, but he says he might have seen him around but never spoken.
Lastly, when the meal is over and the mess hall empties from students and teachers, the Grandmaster and Professor Nidocemus walk over to Adrian. The Grandmaster asks if Adrian is ready for his journeyman trial. Adrian says he wants the magic blocking shard out of his body first. The Grandmaster mentioned that they have a divine healer, but Adrian would rather have Sirona there with him during the performance. Since this sounds like a hazardous procedure, he tells everyone what they shall get if he dies. Irdien can have his magical ring, L would get the portal key and his sword. Sirona may look in his drawer in the journeyman room, and Jak may have his enchanted candle and jar of mischief, but he may not summon him as a spirit to fight.
Adrian, Sirona, and the divine healer Zach are all led to Nidocemus lab by the professor. First, he shows them a dead creature on a table with natural protection from magic; then, he finally gets to take a blood sample from Adrian. After studying it, he takes them up to the infirmary.
The surgeon is a stern, angry-looking man named Bertram. He questions Sirona about her competence, but her answers are satisfying, and he tells Zack that he can leave. Nicodemus administrates anesthetic to Adrian while Bertram and Sirona prepare for the surgery.
The operation takes an hour with gruesome sights and blood spatter, but thanks a lot to Sirona's healing magic, it's a success. The shards are removed, and Adrian is left to recover under Sironas watchful care.
As she follows the servants taking Adrian back to his room on a stretcher, Irdien finds them. Taking a break from her lesson, she runs up to see how it's gone. On the way back to Adrian's journeyman room Irdien joins to see how the operation has gone. Then, she starts making some remarks on Sirona's sudden evident recovery. They talk a bit before Irdien returns to class after one last comment about trust and dependability between the friends.
Sirona starts her afternoon of watching over Adrian. At one point, she opens the drawer Adrian told her about earlier and finds a diamond necklace. She puts it back, but when Adrian finally wakes up, he presents her with the necklace as a gift. Sirona admits to having already found it and apologies. Adrian puts the ornament on her, and they talk about bringing Sironas things to the room. Instead, Sirona says she'd worry about L, and Adrian suggests they buy a house in Tarkett so they could all live close together but still have private rooms. Adrian gets dressed, and the duo leaves for supper, meeting with the others in the Mess hall. Jak is writing a letter and experiencing a very sore throat. Sirona examines him, and when she says he should avoid spicy food, Adrian pulls a prank testing out his luck with magic and makes the water he offers Jak appear spicy. Jak has a dramatic reaction, falling off his chair and throwing up his lunch. Sirona takes care of him while scolding Adrian. She heals Jak's throat, and the meal carries on whit Adrian demonstrating his healed gift with some minor tricks. Meanwhile, Irdien is upset that the group are acting as if nothing significant has happened. When Sirona reminds Adrian that he should be resting, he agrees to celebrate his magic tomorrow instead after the journeyman trial, and the group scatter again before going to bed. Sometime before nightfall, Sirona's determination fails her again, and she takes another dosage of her drugs.
The next day Adrian has fully recovered and is ready to take his trial. He is told to pick four people to aid him as he needs to prove that he can lead. He asks the group, but Jak declines, so instead, Adrian asks Capper. The boy tells him that he would love to, but it's probably better to get someone else. In the end, Zack from yesterday accepts.
The chosen four gather by the fountain while Adrian gets told to drink a paralyzing potion to ensure he can't fight with them. After asking some questions, he takes it, and Pearl summons four elementals to attack the group. It is now Adrian's job to shout out orders and lead them to victory.