Twenty-Two

A violent raid by Night Drinkers attacks the laboratory, forcing Tonner and his team to defend themselves. After the creatures flee, the team discovers the attackers used acid-filled berry sacs as weapons—the same fruit Tonner has been using to create Jessyn's medicine—revealing a crucial parallel in their research capabilities.

Tonner begins the chapter emotionally withdrawn following Else's shift of affection to Dafyd Alkhor, attempting to lose himself in work on Jessyn's medicine. He successfully isolates a purified compound and prepares a three-day dose while struggling with insomnia and jealousy. Campar confronts him gently about his emotional state, and Tonner acknowledges the irrationality of uncontrolled feelings when the wide laboratory door suddenly bursts open. Night Drinkers flood in, small feathered creatures wielding round, balloon-like sacs of acid that they hurl at the team. During the chaotic fight, Tonner is bitten and splashed with the caustic gel multiple times, and several team members are struck before Jessyn, Rickar, Else, and Dafyd arrive to help drive the attackers back into the corridor. The team immediately showers to remove the chemical, finding it causes only minor burns—less severe than feared. Tonner continues his work despite pain and exhaustion, preparing Jessyn's medicine dose. While the team dissects one of the slain creatures, examining its unusual physiology, Campar makes a critical observation: the gel sacs are actually the same berries Tonner has been studying, simply weaponized by the Night Drinkers. This realization galvanizes Tonner, who quickly pivots the lab's focus to simultaneously pursue three projects: Jessyn's continued pharmaceutical treatment, weapons analysis, and testing the Night Drinkers' chemical compound. Despite severe fatigue, Tonner refuses to rest and directs his team to begin immediate work.