Chapter 9

Carl and Donut open their reward boxes and acquire new items and abilities. They practice Donut's new spellbook spell, then venture outside the saferoom to investigate dead crawlers near the circus, where they discover a trap set by skull-headed lemurs and engage in combat.

After returning to the saferoom following their encounter with lemurs, Carl and Donut open their Silver Earth boxes. Donut receives a cat tree, scented candle, and an Earth Hobby Potion; she drinks the potion and gains a Level 3 skill in Scutelliphily, though neither understands what it means. She also receives a magical collar for Mongo from a gold pet box. Carl receives a small cactus plant, a set of Louis L'Amour western novels, and his own Earth Hobby Potion, which grants him a Level 3 skill in Cesta Punta. They receive an achievement for discovering their first quest, which involves puzzles and mysteries beyond simple combat. Donut applies her new spellbook and learns Clockwork Triplicate, a spell that creates two temporary clockwork duplicates of her pet that last one minute. They practice the spell repeatedly while Mordecai remains unconscious in a corner. Carl attempts to work with explosives but finds himself limited without proper supplies. They decide to explore the edges of the circus before nightfall rather than heading to the larger settlement as planned. Upon exiting the saferoom, they discover three dead crawlers marked on the map near where they encountered lemurs previously. Mongo alerts them to a skull-headed lemur on a nearby roof—a trap. Donut impulsively leaps onto the building and kills the lemur in combat, with Mongo finishing it off. They loot a poor lemur skin and six throwing knives from the corpse. From the roof, Donut spots another sleeping lemur across the street, large circus tents with giraffes in a nearby park, but no clowns yet. They plan to kill the second lemur, examine the dead crawlers, and investigate the circus.