He accompanies Teidez, Iselle and Betriz to the capital, where he encounters his betrayer Dondo, whose brother Martou is chancellor to the ailing monarch Orico. Orico spends much time in his menagerie, run by the exile Umegat. The corrupt Dondo spends time with Teidez, exposing the boy to various vices, and arranges a marriage to Iselle. In desperation, Cazaril calls on the Bastard (one of the five gods) for a miracle of death magic, accepting that if it succeeds in killing Dondo, his life will be claimed as well. Dondo dies, but Cazaril does not, finding himself gifted with second sight by the experience. With Umegat's help, he learns that the royal family of Chalion is under a generation-old curse, and that Orico is only sustained through the cleansing magic of the menagerie. He also finds that Dondo's soul and the Bastard's death demon are bound to his body in the form of a tumor, with the demon trying to bring about his death so it can return to the gods with the required two souls.