Chapter 24

After a disastrous interview where Carl insults King Rust, Prince Stalwart's orbital strike kills the singer Manasa instead of them. The Valtay retaliate by destroying the royal yacht, killing the queen consort and Maestro. Carl theorizes they were set up by a third party benefiting from the conflict. Back in town, Carl and Donut confront the 201st Security Group militia at their temple headquarters, where the elves mistake Donut's magical anklet for a forbidden oak artifact and view her as an antichrist figure. A pregnant dwarf named Eunice intervenes to protect her children, but the situation escalates when the town guards attack her. Carl punches a guard to defend Eunice, becoming branded a troublemaker, and uses a boom jug explosion to escape with Donut, Mongo, and an armless dwarf child named Ricky Joe.

The chapter opens with footage of Manasa's final performance before the team learns that during their interview, Prince Stalwart fired from orbit on their trailer. They had switched trailers with Manasa moments before, resulting in her death along with the Valtay's retaliation killing the queen consort and Maestro. Mordecai reveals he wanted them to provoke the king as long-term strategy but is alarmed by the escalation. Carl theorizes to Donut that they were pawns in a larger game orchestrated by a third party—possibly Borant—benefiting from weakening the Valtay-Skull Empire alliance, though Donut suggests they may have simply gotten lucky.

With daylight remaining, Carl and Donut move against the 201st Security Group militia. After testing hobgoblin dynamite sticks (which prove devastatingly powerful), they approach the Apito Education Center, a corrupt temple being used as militia headquarters. Three city elf Wand Bearers greet them, and one, Salvatore, reveals they tortured GumGum to extract information about Carl and Donut. The elves view Donut as the "Oak Fell," an antichrist figure prophesied in their religion, particularly because she wears an enchanted anklet made from forbidden oak wood. When the elves eat acorns to activate Magical Fervor buffs, a pregnant dwarf woman named Eunice suddenly emerges from a nearby house and beats Salvatore with a rolling pin after he threw a rock-hurling elf had hit her son. The situation destabilizes when Mongo vomits up the salamander he swallowed earlier, and Ricky Joe, a young dwarf, identifies it as his pet Benjamin. The town guards move to attack the frozen Eunice, forcing Carl to punch one of them in defense, which brands him a troublemaker. Carl grabs the now-armless Ricky Joe and uses Donut's Puddle Jumper to escape via a boom jug explosion that incinerates the eight remaining elves, leaving him, Donut, Mongo, and the injured dwarf child as fugitives.