Chapter 9

Carl sends Katia, Chris, and Clayton away on a caravan for safety while he, Donut, and Bomo prepare for the hunters' release in 21 hours. After Donut and Mordecai return from an unsuccessful shopping trip, Carl examines his dangerous Carl's Doomsday Scenario bomb in his new Advanced Bomber's Studio, then takes Donut and Bomo into town at night to search for mushrooms—before suddenly ordering Bomo to teleport them to the stairwell in Zockau.

Carl says goodbye to Katia's group as they depart on a caravan. With limited gold remaining and the hunters set to release in 21 hours, Carl reflects on Donut's new bard class, which requires her to sing spells in key—a significant problem given her poor singing voice. The party needs to find a Shield spellbook and a Golden Throat enchantment to make her abilities functional. Mordecai has scheduled strict use of the new Magic Workshop for spell training. After Donut and Mordecai return from an unsuccessful shopping trip in town (they found herbs but no key items), Mordecai advises Carl to take a caravan heading south to a larger settlement to build a defensive zone and prepare for upcoming production commitments. He also requests that Carl search for special night-appearing mushrooms at the base of trees in town. Carl takes Donut and Bomo into the dark town that evening to hunt for the mushrooms. While there, Donut questions whether the hunters watching them can track their movements through outside observers. Carl confirms the hunters are likely monitoring them and that any plans must be kept secret. As they begin their herb hunt, Carl suddenly orders Bomo to cast a spell and teleport them immediately to the stairwell in Zockau, indicating an abrupt change of plans.