- Nipp attempted to push her hot-tempered tenderpaw out of the common room at Solomon's Inn, but Clove was both stronger and more agile than her mentor.  The drunk mouse Dranden engaged in something of a shouting match with the young mouse about the flaws of the guard wherein it came to light that he held them responsible for the death of his daughter.  As Dranden ran out of energy and Solomon intervened to convince him to go home, the situation dissolved - but there seemed to be a significant number present who shared his thoughts.

- The following morning, the local mouse Kole arrived to take the Guardmice to the shop where he'd done his work and not been paid.  They examined the worksite and spoke with the shopkeeper who told them he had to get his brother Vessmer in to "fix" Kole's poor work.  As they made their way to Vessmer's house to ask him some question, they found that a large wolf spider had emerged in the center of town where preparations for Vernalstar were taking place...