Chapter 18

Carl and Donut loot the dead hunter Bravvo while Signet and her companions reveal themselves. As they travel through the jungle toward Zockau to escape the rising river and confederate threats, Signet explains the origins of her diverse team—including Nadine, a transformed Chee teacher now a caterpillar, and six were-castors who were cursed as children—and discloses her ultimate goal: to destroy both the Confederacy and the High Elves.

After defeating the hunter Bravvo, Carl and Donut loot his corpse methodically, obtaining enchanted boots, potions of levitation, Good Mana Refills, and a magical longsword. Signet appears with her team, urging them to leave the riverbank as rain intensifies and confederate creatures threaten to emerge from the water. They mount the Bearded Sage Caterpillar named Nadine—revealed to be a transformed Chee teacher—and travel into the jungle, moving toward Zockau. During the journey, Signet discusses her tragic family history: her mother was a naiad princess who died in a revolution, and her father King Finian is deceased; her half-sister Imogen now rules the high elves. She explains that Grimaldi freed the circus performers from parasitic control, and that her gathered team includes Areson the strongman and six were-castors—rodent-like creatures who were magically transformed as children by the young Princess Imogen when she and the high elves attacked the Chee people. Signet reveals her dual objective: to destroy both the Confederacy and the High Elves, framing it as cutting out cancers from the land. The Ring of Divine Suffering on Carl's finger grows warmer, indicating he is close to earning increased stat point rewards.