After the Slain is shot, Odymn and an Argenop elder work together to try and return him to good health. As they journey towards the Themble, survival is a challenge. Odymn must add to her foraging skills and survive an attack by the vicious kotildi and an encounter with a poisonous dangle-web. Little by little Wen-le-gone and Odymn begin to know something of the Slain and his background. When Wen-le-gone decides to leave for his home, Odymn decides to stay with the Slain. Gradually, they learn more about one-another and work together to survive the elements, the dangers of hunting and the perils of Odymn's history of abuse and tragedy.