Easthies moves in to erase Coco’s memory, claiming even her fear of forgetting magic will disappear with it. Before he can finish, Richeh jumps onto his arm and stops him. At the same time, someone burns the knights’ pennants, freeing Coco and Agott. As they fall, Tetia catches them.
Qifrey arrives and immediately confronts Easthies, making it clear the girls are his students. Easthies doesn’t back down and brings up the Brimmed Caps, which briefly shakes Qifrey. Olruggio cuts in, telling them to stop fighting and help the citizens. Both Qifrey and the Knights Moralis shift focus and begin evacuating people.
Luluci takes Custas to Kalhn to get treatment. Meanwhile, the Knights Moralis continue investigating and determine that Coco only used a basic, low-level spell. Easthies still isn’t convinced and inspects her hands, but only finds ink stains and calluses, showing how much effort she’s put into learning magic.
Blood in the vial
After the knights leave, Olruggio uses a special pen to draw a bridge, restoring the flow of water. The river returns, though weaker than before. Before heading out, Qifrey recovers Coco’s hat and ink vial and gives them back. When Coco realizes the vial is still full, Qifrey freezes, visibly shaken, and suddenly decides to take her to Kalhn.
Meanwhile, somewhere far away, the Brimmed Caps cuts his own hand and fills a vial with his blood. It looks identical to the one Coco has.
At Kalhn, they meet Tartha, who lets them into his grandfather’s shop even though it’s supposed to be closed. Coco stays downstairs with Tartha so he can treat her leg, while Qifrey goes upstairs to speak with Nolnoa.
Tartha explains that there are different types of magical dyes that affect spells in different ways. As he goes through each one, Coco listens excitedly. Upstairs, Qifrey shows Nolnoa the vial. Nolnoa recognizes it as his, but notices the ink matches the stones found earlier in the street.
Qifrey crosses a line
Eager for answers about the Brimmed Caps, Qifrey tests the ink. Even with a small seal, the spell produces a blinding light that temporarily takes his vision. The light reaches downstairs as well, hitting Coco and Tartha. Standing near the dye jars, they end up knocking all of them over.
Tartha panics, saying he can’t tell which dye is which anymore, and lashes out in anger. He tells Coco to leave and says he could never become a witch like her because he has Silverwash eyes. At the same time, Nolnoa tells Qifrey he can’t keep this secret and plans to report him to the Knights Moralis. Qifrey’s expression makes it clear he’s willing to do whatever it takes to protect his lead on the Brimmed Caps.
Later, Qifrey lies to Coco, claiming the shop accidentally gave her an expensive ink. He replaces it with a new vial and gives her extra supplies. He also explains Silverwash eyes—people with the condition see everything in silver and can’t distinguish colors, which makes spellcasting difficult since witches rely heavily on precise color use.
Back at the shop, Tartha finds his grandfather reorganizing the jars and apologizes for knocking them over after the flash of light. Nolnoa says he doesn’t know anything about any light, which unsettles Tartha.
