Carl, Donut, and Signet’s group move through the humid jungle while Donut complains about being dragged into what she sees as a bland revenge plot. Zev updates Donut on the show’s ratings and explains that viewers are interested in Signet’s storyline but are also watching Carl and Donut closely, with the producers hoping to get them back to a saferoom in time for Odette’s show. This conversation frames the chapter’s double pressure: surviving the hunt while also navigating how their actions are being packaged as entertainment.

Areson the ogre then arrives carrying the corpse of a dead hunter from the Dream, apologizing for failing to keep him alive. Carl examines the body and confirms the hunter is one of the pale spacefaring elves. To safely loot him, Carl uses the blast chest trick and recovers two important items: a magical arrow coated with a grotesque disease poison and a hand-drawn map on the back of a children’s menu.

The map gives Carl critical intelligence. It shows that the hunters have divided the Hunting Grounds into territories by faction and have also claimed specific crawler targets, proving the hunters already know where many crawlers are located. Carl and Donut are marked by both the Hive and the Skull Empire, while other allies such as Katia, Elle, Eva, Miriam, and Prepotente are also assigned to different hunter groups. Carl notices that Louis is obsessively singled out by the Dream, which fits Louis’s earlier stunt involving a photo of Epitome Noflex. Realizing the hunters are effectively cheating, Carl sends the information to his allies and warns Katia to watch Louis carefully.

At Signet’s hidden camp, Carl sees the scale of her coalition: were-creatures, bush elves, pixies, a tortoise named Edgar, and other forest beings. Mongo rejoins the group and settles in peacefully despite local wariness. While everyone waits, Carl receives a message from Quasar. Quasar explains that Carl’s complaints about hunters receiving outside help are causing rule changes, but he also warns that Sensation has only tentatively accepted Borant’s offer for a ninth-floor extension. Carl must make the program more exciting without overshadowing its star, or the producers may turn on him. Quasar also makes clear that the 150 million-credit payoff Carl needs is nearly impossible and legally dangerous.

Once more of Signet’s followers arrive, Signet addresses the assembled force and reveals her actual objective. A new quest begins: The Vengeance of the Daughter. Signet wants to avenge her mother’s assassination and reclaim control of her homeland by assaulting Fort Freedom, where the Naiad Confederacy’s current leaders are entrenched. Carl and Donut are no longer just temporary guests in Signet’s story; they are now formally committed to her campaign against the Confederacy.