hugh beringar takes half of his armed men to join forces with owain gwynedd to deal with raids by ranulf of chester in the northern part of the county. in his absence, men from powys gather for another raid. cadfael takes the news to tregeiriog, where owain gwynedd and hugh beringar will meet. there, cristina tells cadfael that her father has freed her to marry whom she loves. cadfael realises his earlier mistake. cristina and eliud are in love with each other, but eliud never spoke of his love from loyalty to elis.