Chapter 17

Carl and his companions discover that a hunter has been shot down near their town, but it's revealed to be a trap—not by other hunters, but by Tsarina Signet and her elite army, who have ambushed the area. Signet reveals she's deliberately positioned her forces and captured the wounded hunter, offering Carl the choice of what to do with him. Meanwhile, Carl anxiously awaits word from his lawyer Quasar about whether Sensation Entertainment has agreed to a deal that would incentivize keeping him alive.

Carl, Donut, and Mordecai respond to reports of a hunter near the northern gate during heavy rain. Using Ping, Carl discovers the hunter is trapped in a tree, but the spell also reveals seven white dots and two elite-marked dots nearby—a trap. The narrative shifts to a negotiation scene where Quasar, Carl's lawyer, secures a deal with Borant administrators for four bodyguards and two spells, then pushes for a secondary program license extension for Vengeance of the Daughter. Orren, a liaison, initially resists but concedes when Quasar cites an obscure subsection. Quasar bluffs that Sensation Entertainment has already agreed, though he hasn't heard back from them. Back in the present, Carl tries to contact Quasar but reaches only an automated message. He and Donut leave town to confront the threat, with Donut instructing the mushroom guards to protect Mordecai. At the bridge, Tsarina Signet emerges from hiding with her elite army: Areson the Wise (level-45 ogre), six Were-Kin warriors led by Clint Smashgrab (level 50), and a massive segmented caterpillar carrying the captured yenk hunter Bravvo, whose left side is badly burned and health nearly depleted. Signet offers Carl the choice of what to do with the prisoner. Carl decides to heal the hunter, then puts on a ring from his inventory, suggesting a transformation or significant change.