An ultimatum forces Tann to leave home and finally set out on her own. With only her talent for painting to rely on, she decides to head across the queendom to meet an aristocrat she's corresponded with but never met. Instead of a warm welcome, she finds no sign of the noblewoman and only a lone young man in residence—a man who warns her that nearby villagers are growing murderous and admits he's frightened of what they may do.