The group briefly regroups at the library with Cloud and Skull. Horns experiments with their new incorporeal abilities, while Ruse—the apprentice magician—begins forming a tentative friendship with Cloud. Meanwhile the party debates their next move: relocating the library to a safer location, exploring Rust Bucket for rumored artifacts, or heading north to resolve the mystery of Tooth the Clown, a job that still hangs over Naas.

While resting in Yanni’s Plaza, a band of sellswords arrives to investigate the ruins below. Initially the encounter is tense but peaceful. Naas speaks with the group’s leader, Truth, and shares information about the dangerous elevator and the ruins below. The sellswords begin exploring the underground complex to salvage machinery.

Everything unravels when Nagi secretly tries to poison the sellswords. The attempt fails, exposing the betrayal. Suspicion erupts, weapons are drawn, and the fragile peace collapses. The party negotiates a temporary truce but is forced to abandon the plaza. During the retreat, Skull and Cloud slip away into the city unnoticed.

Later, scavenging the nearby battlefield, the party discovers the corpse of Sleepy Renault, leader of the Cloudling expedition. Rook uses his strange organ-granted ability to crack open the corpse and consume the brain, gaining memories of the expedition’s downfall. The expedition had attempted to destroy the Imago breeding grounds and capture the missing Empress, but the assault turned into a massacre after Prince Bug arrived. Renault was ultimately murdered by his own squire.

Naas accidentally witnesses Rook’s grisly ability, leading to a tense confrontation. Rook explains that the organ allows him to absorb memories from the dead. The two reach an uneasy understanding and agree that the others should eventually know the truth.

While scavenging, Horns and Nagi bond over their unusual circumstances—Horns as a Wanderling discovering newfound freedom and Nagi as a body-hopper who barely remembers past lives.

Continuing north in search of Tooth the Clown, the party enters the Thickwood, an ancient forest filled with Imago and strange magic. There they encounter Dove, a brood-monk caretaker sheltering a group of elderly magicians who have succumbed to chalk addiction and magical decay. After sharing food and conversation, the party receives healing and rest.

Original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHAKgAi5qTo ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★