Carl wakes in the saferoom after an uneasy night with Donut and Mongo and finds Mordecai and Gordo passed out in the common room. Through private party chat, Mordecai reveals that he drugged Gordo so he could sneak into the kitchen, read the shopkeepers’ printed newsletter, and steal potion ingredients. The newsletter warns of a major battle event in the region, likely tied to Tsarina Signet, so Mordecai urges Carl and Donut to leave immediately. While brushing Donut and preparing to go, Carl reads a message from Brandon, learns that the nursing-home survivors are still choosing races and classes, and advises Brandon to make sure someone takes the manager ability.

Carl, Donut, and Mongo leave the inn and head across the Over City toward the skyfowl settlement, intending to avoid Signet and the circus storyline. Carl reflects that Mordecai had been right to warn them away from the elite quest. Before they get far, an unseen attack hits Carl with stun, paralysis, and unconsciousness.

Carl wakes fifteen hours later in a dark room, alone and terrified because Donut is missing from his minimap. Mordecai confirms Donut is still alive, and Carl discovers he also survived a high-level offensive spell, earning a Lucky Bastard Box. Signet then reveals herself: she followed Carl, saw that he was trying to flee, and kidnapped him instead of killing him. She explains that Donut is under her heirloom spell, Water Lily, which keeps Donut asleep until Signet releases it and will kill Donut if Signet dies.

Signet leads Carl downstairs, where Donut lies unconscious on a chair and Mongo is trapped in a cage. Carl frees Mongo and tries to carry Donut away, but her health immediately drops, proving Signet’s threat is real. Unable to move Donut, Carl hastily builds a crude shelter around her from inventory materials and tells Mongo to stay and guard her. As Carl follows Signet, he keeps Mordecai updated, contacts Zev, and begins trying to set an improvised plan in motion.

On the way, Signet explains her connection to the circus. She says she loved Grimaldi, who rescued her as a child, but Scolopendra’s poison cloud transformed him into the controlling vine at the circus’s center and twisted the rest of the troupe into mold-bound servants that resurrect each day. Because she cannot directly interfere in the ritual battle, Signet has kidnapped Heather, a grotesquely transformed bear clown, and now forces Carl to kill Heather so Signet can use the blood to summon her allies for another assault on the circus. The chapter ends as the system warns Carl that this concurrent quest battle is effectively a boss fight.