The Bridgeburners' Seventh Squad, led by Sergeant Antsy, is waiting on the steppes for the return of Quick Ben while the remainder of the Bridgeburners go on to meet the White Face Barghast. They are not coping well with the boredom with Spindle's hair shirt catching fire, Detoran breaking Hedge's jaw, Mallet suffering debilitating sunburns, and Picker having to keep the peace while Antsy frets over small details. At one point, Mallet tells Picker that he is having a hard time using his Warren, and that the sunburn might actually be a physical manifestation of the foulness infecting it. Blend talks with Picker about how Onearm's Host might not be outlawed, pointing out that the standard bearer, Artanthos showed up immediately after the outlawry was announced.