Lief, Barda, and Jasmine are captured, but Doom and Dain saved them and took them to a secret hiding place. However, they do not trust each other and Jasmine and Doom have a strong barrier between them. The companions refused to go to the resistance stronghold, instead setting out to the Shifting Sands. They find a strange inscription and figure out, 'the end lies within the rocky walls,' means the cliff faces. They climb to the top and Lief hears a mysterious buzzing sound that no one else seemed to be able to hear.