New protagonists Elara and Torvin are introduced in the Municipal Greenhouse where they discover the Crystal Mistletoe shoots are physically leaning toward the location of the Old Boiler Room, mirroring the gingerbread lean. Elara determines that standard non-conductive polymers are failing against this new form of resonance drain. Torvin retrieves a piece of heavy, antique Tannery Linen woven with an unknown dry fiber, which successfully stabilizes a transplanted shoot. They observe that their attempt to summon maintenance using the manual bell resulted only in a dull thunk, indicating that the resonance is also dampening pure acoustic tones, similar to the clockwork carolers failure. Realizing the Boiler Room's Stabilization Anchor is the epicenter, they decide to seek access to the tunnels.