Chapter 23

After defeating the feral goose, Carl secures the house in the sand dune and discovers Bonnie possesses a soul crystal that controls the balloon. The group loots the house for supplies, and Carl learns that Bonnie has been emotionally sedated by a potion her father gave her before his death. The team prepares to move to the land quadrant while Carl and Donut prepare for a product infomercial broadcast.

The house lands safely on the edge of the bowl after the goose battle. Carl finds that the magical balloon will reinflate itself, but Bonnie reveals a soul crystal necklace her father gave her that controls the balloon's power. Carl adjusts the crystal to keep the house grounded. He gains one level (now 44), while Donut gains one level (37) and Mongo gains three (33). Carl discovers Bonnie is emotionally numb due to a potion her father administered after telling her Denise would kill him—she simply cleans the kitchen next to her father's corpse without distress. Carl and Donut spend hours looting the house, securing windows against sand, and collecting tools, electronics, furniture, and decorations from the suburban home. In the garage, Carl finds the electrical panel disconnected from any visible power source and takes it despite not understanding the magic involved. The Nightmare II plane descends and Carl sends Louis and Firas to retrieve it. Bonnie is handed over to Juice Box, a changeling in gnome form, to care for in Hump Town. Zev messages that she is leaving her position as social media manager since Carl purchased the social media board, though Carl requests she attend the upcoming infomercial—Loita refuses. Carl and Donut receive a new robot toy version that is sturdier than previous iterations. Mordecai explains the toy requires licensed enhancement zones to function fully, unlike most modern toys, and speculates the expensive campaign is a money-laundering scheme for corporations. Carl experiments with Henrik's pocket watch, discovering it contains a mirror that shows Henrik as an underwater creature in the necropolis—setting the alarm alerts him. Before the infomercial broadcast, Carl visits Bonnie at Skarn's house to find her traumatized and grieving. He furnishes her room with her original bed and places her parents' photo on the nightstand. Witnessing her breakdown with Juice Box comforting her, Carl reconsiders a risky plan he had previously dismissed.