As Carl, Princess Donut, and Mongo travel through the Over City, Donut keeps training Mongo to obey commands. Zev contacts them to report that Odette’s show was a success and that viewers generally approve of Carl and Donut’s unusual race and class choices. Zev also says no nearby VIP crawlers are present and that their next interview will likely happen on the fourth night, which reinforces that the audience is watching their progress closely.

The group is then attacked without warning by knife-throwing Former Circus Lemurs hiding in a ruined building. Carl’s protective gear saves him from the first knife, and when more lemurs appear, Carl and Donut take cover in an alley. During the fight, Carl receives his first quest, The Show Must Go On, which reveals that they have discovered the remains of a cursed circus and offers a Gold Quest Box for ending its threat. Carl tries to contact Mordecai for advice, but Mordecai is too drunk to help, leaving Carl and Donut to handle the situation alone.

To escape, Carl throws a boom jug into the lemurs’ building, setting it on fire and killing many of them, but the attack escalates when more lemurs pursue the group, including a pack riding a giraffe. Carl, Donut, and Mongo run toward a nearby saferoom while Donut fires magic missiles and Carl uses smoke bombs that work poorly. On the last street before safety, they encounter Terror the Clown, a towering circus monster immune to Carl’s Fear spell. Donut knocks Terror down with a well-placed missile, and Carl and Mongo rush in to finish the creature off in close combat before the pursuing lemurs can catch them.

After killing Terror, Carl loots gold, clown meat, a Big Top Ticket, and several pieces of gear, and he notices that Mongo seems to have grown larger during the fight. The trio reaches a tavern saferoom called The Belly-Rubbed Pug, where Carl learns that rooms and food now cost gold, though both are cheap. Mordecai finally teleports in, visibly drunk, half-dressed, and incoherent, then vomits and passes out in front of the innkeeper Gordo. The scene confirms that Carl and Donut cannot rely on Mordecai for guidance just as floor three’s dangers begin to reveal themselves.