It all comes crashing down when Fletcher's spirit stick, a valuable gift from the "hisa" Satin (from "Downbelow Station"), is stolen. Suspicion and distrust grow on both sides. When Chad provokes another fight, Jeremy finally confesses that he was responsible. To safeguard the artifact from resentful relatives, he had hidden it in his hotel room at their last stop, only to have it stolen. The merchanter "Champlain" is a suspect; "Champlain" is also believed to be one of those secretly dealing with the Mazianni.