Chapter 8

Carl and his companions exit the college and enter the funnel city of Larracos, touring its levels and recruiting NPCs to their faction army. They discuss the city's history, the previous seasons of faction wars, and the challenges posed by each enemy faction—particularly the mysterious naga leadership. They eventually reach the Desperado Club on the fourth level, where they discover a changeling bartender and meet Hunger Hammy, an old gnoll manager who enthusiastically greets Louis.

The group departs the college courtyard with Arief leading them into Larracos proper. Donut plans wedding details while Carl instructs her to wear sunglasses to detect changelings by body temperature. Upon seeing the funnel city for the first time, Carl is struck by its authentic, lived-in beauty—gothic architecture arranged in descending rings around a central pit, with a waterfall cascading down the levels. The sight troubles him given the impact previous crawlers have had on this place. They begin descending through the levels, recruiting crawlers to their cause. Arief explains the city's layout: Level 50 (where they started) is the cultural district; level 49 is residential. He discusses how the water from the recent flood reached level 39 and was deliberately kept clogged by Juice Box. He mentions the presence of explosives on alternate down-ramps and reveals there have been previous seasons where crawlers have attempted various tactics—all ultimately unsuccessful. When Carl expresses shock at this revelation, Arief explains that most NPCs have awakened memories of past seasons, though Juice Box has made them with varying levels of awareness. Arief draws his sword and declares vengeance against Architect Houston of the Madness faction, whose forces tortured and killed Arief's brother. As they descend through level 35 and beyond, they continue recruiting. Arief explains the faction sabotage efforts: they've bloodied all enemy encampments and infiltrated most, but failed to penetrate the naga's inner sanctum. He describes the nagas as an assassination-focused faction rather than a military one, and notes no one has ever seen the Sultana, their leader. Carl reflects on his knowledge of the nagas from Drakea's notes and Mordecai's information—understanding them as members of a galactic naga civilization where they're now a lower-class workforce, and that the Sultana is actually the real-life crown princess of their species role-playing as a historical figure. Despite repeated defeats, she has never been killed in-game. By the ninth floor, they reach the recently-flooded areas where NPCs are actively rebuilding the Piccadilly Theater. They descend further through ruined, flooded lower levels filled with destroyed shops and flooded guilds. Arief mentions that Juice Box awaits them at the Desperado Club on the fourth level. The group reaches the modernist Desperado Club building, which stands on pillars above the water-filled center pit, bearing a