Chapter Summaries

William investigated the ship’s hold during a storm, where a strange presence outside the hull terrified him. He discovered that the cargo minerals had shed their black substance, leaving behind brittle layers of ordinary stone.

• William cautiously entered the hold and felt a massive shadow move beneath the ship, freezing in terror.
• A barrel broke loose and rolled across the hold, and William wondered if the storm and shadow were part of a dream.
• William opened the barrel and found it nearly empty, with its remaining contents made of thin, brittle stone flakes.
• William recognized the marked barrel as one that had carried the peculiar black-veined minerals from the Ice Plains.
• William realized the minerals had lost their blackness and left behind only shed stone skins.

William tried to steady the Snow Rime’s crew as an eerie presence seemed to spread through the ship and the sea. The chapter ended with him staring at a newly spotted island that did not appear to be getting closer.

• William climbed out of the lower hold, reassured the sailors that the ship was safe, and returned to the deck.
• William noticed an uncanny itch and redness spreading across his hands and body, but put on his gloves and took back the wheel.
• The Snow Rime drifted southeast as the waves seemed to turn around an unseen center and the sky darkened.
• The second mate spotted an island off the port side, and the crew gathered to look at it.
• William watched the island, which remained the same size despite the ship’s movement.

Kraft dreamed of a lecture about lupus and woke after sleeping at his desk aboard the ship. He connected a line from Raymond’s poetry book to his dream, then stepped onto the deck.

• A lecturer described lupus and showed images of its varied, dangerous skin lesions while asking why the disease affected isolated people.
• Kraft remained silent as the lecture’s images and questions blurred into a flood of light.
• Kraft woke with a burning palm and realized he had slept through the night at his desk.
• Kraft read a line from Raymond’s poetry collection about hell being within oneself, closed the book, and went out onto the deck.

Kraft reflected on how his growing sensitivity let the world enter his consciousness and his words alter others’ habits. Exhausted after more than ten days of work, he recognized the bell announcing their arrival at Wenden Port.

• Kraft realized his premonitions had become a direct, unsettling influx of sensations and information.
• He noticed that people understood his explanations unusually easily and began following casual instructions without remembering them.
• Kraft concluded that his words could pass through the soul’s broken barriers and quietly change people’s habits.
• Kraft smelled the familiar sea air and heard the bell as the ship reached Wenden Port.
• Kraft admitted he was exhausted after working nonstop for more than ten days.

William’s crew spotted an island in the blizzard and began steering toward it, despite his unease. As the island suddenly grew closer and his feverish itching worsened, William and the second mate both noticed their faces had an unhealthy flush.

• William hesitated over whether to approach the island, then ordered the crew to let out part of the mainsail and steer closer.
• The sailors prepared to change course, while William noticed his skin itching and fresh flakes coming off his face.
• The second mate told William that his face looked red, and William found a deep, sickly flush in his reflection.
• William felt feverish and clammy as the island abruptly grew larger in his view.
• William saw that the second mate also had an unhealthy pale flush on his face.

Reed struggled through exhausting work aboard the ship as the crew approached an island and received signals from Iceberg. The ships agreed to move closer to the island together, while Reed experienced strange and worsening discomfort.

• Reed kept pushing the windlass under Old Thomas's watch as the ship turned toward an island.
• The second mate hurried to speak with the captain, but Reed could not make out their conversation.
• Reed spotted the strangely curved island and began suffering from dry, blurred vision, dizziness, and unusual itching and pain.
• The ship sounded a signal, and the crew learned that Iceberg had survived the blizzard and was asking them to report their position.
• The captain answered Iceberg's signal, and Old Thomas explained that Iceberg wanted the ships to approach the island together.