The next evening, Patrick receives two handwritten letters in the mail, one signed Aurem and the other signed Khumeia. After reading them, Patrick calls Dorothy and Stephen, asking them to call Danny and Surya and meet at his penthouse for dinner. The five discuss the letters at great length, expressing suspicion and ridicule for what they see as the absurd traditions and conflicts of these mages. Dorothy recognizes the name "Special Media Group" as a group of students at MIT who are into card-counting and ripping off casinos, while Stephen recognizes "the Brotherhood of the Ineffable Truth" as a supposedly small-time occult group that secretly pulls the strings of more well-known and larger Sleeper occult organizations. They eventually choose Shadow names: Stephen chooses Volchik, Dorothy chooses Sequela, Patrick chooses Saint, Surya points out that Surya is a Shadow name for Sariel in itself, and Danny grudgingly accepts Tommy as a Shadow name. Unconvinced that Danny is not, in fact, a mage, Stephen draws upon the realm of Fate to see the interconnections between things in the tapestry of Fate. He learns that the five of them have met four times before, that Surya is very difficult to read clearly, and Danny has a powerful destiny before him, though its nature is unclear.

A few days pass, and they go to the Emerald Scroll to meet Khumeia. The Emerald Scroll is remarkably out of place, an exclusive members-only club in the midst of a slum. Surya arrives first to get a feel for the place and try to blend in. Though there are people waiting outside the Emerald Scroll, he is allowed to walk right in. The inside of the bar is large enough for many more people than it currently holds. It is elaborately decorated with backlit stained-glass images of the Major Arcana of the Tarot.

Over the next hour, the rest of the group shows up, along with a few more patrons. Shortly thereafter, a stunningly gorgeous woman in a very formal dress joins the five of them at the bar. She introduces herself as Khumeia, and the group introduces themselves by their new Shadow names. Sequela buys her a drink, and a very long Q&A session begins. They discuss Awakened society, Orders, local cabals, political conflicts within the Consilium, Awakened etiquette, and a few details about the ways of magic, such as the transformation of Mana into a solid state, called tass. Her commentary on politics elicits considerable disbelief from the group, but on the whole they listen politely and ask questions where appropriate. Adjustment to Awakened life is difficult, both for the ways in which it is similar to and different from their lives before. Concluding their conversation, Khumeia says that the best way to reach her is to leave a letter for her at the Emerald Scroll.

Returning to Saint's penthouse, they discuss all that they have learned, and debate possible courses of action. Sequela uses the realm of Matter to make more detailed observations about the Hallow, determining that there is an unnatural turbulence and power in the part of the room that seems to glow. She intuits that a symbolic practice of some sort will allow her to extract that power from the air in the form of Mana.

The group makes plans to go to the Consilium meeting the following Saturday.