Chapter 15

Carl and Donut reach a large Ursine settlement and encounter strict town rules that ban Mongo the dinosaur. After a confrontation with Mayor Elmer, Donut uses magic to push him down a slope to his death, and a naiad claims the body from the river. The guards turn hostile, and Carl learns from a note left by Vrah that hunters are now protected from explosives and the guards have been ordered to worship Emberus. The hunters are released, forcing Carl to abandon his bombing plan and prepare for immediate defense.

Carl and Donut travel south through a destroyed bugbear town where they briefly speak with Goiter, a bugbear council member, warning him of incoming hunters. They drive through jungle and cross a large wooden bridge spanning a river into a well-maintained Ursine settlement. At the town entrance, funeral bell guards block their entry due to town rules that specifically prohibit dinosaurs like Mongo. When Donut insists on speaking to the mayor, Elmer arrives in a foul mood, mistaking Donut for a monkey and offering to execute both her and Mongo. Carl appears to accept this offer, drawing gold coins. As Elmer approaches, Donut casts Astral Paw, pushing the mayor down the steep slope beside the bridge. Elmer dies from impact with rocks. A creature—later identified as a naiad—explosively emerges from the river, grabs Elmer's corpse, and disappears. The guards turn hostile, and Carl and Donut flee into a saferoom (a Spanish restaurant). Carl prepares to use Bomo and a clockwork duplicate to deliver a bomb to seize control of the town, but discovers a knife-pinned note on the saferoom door from Vrah. The note warns Carl that all hunters are now protected from explosives and that the town guards have been ordered to worship Emberus, making them immune to Carl's plans. Vrah threatens Carl with prolonged torture and death. As Carl writes a defiant response, a system message announces the hunters have been released and are loose.