Heading est over the remains of Auguste (5 days), past Port Coradol (1 week) across the ocean (2 weeks) to Oceanside.

Invicta has secretly started training with Vostra.

The 12th, traveling to Coradol still, the ruins of Auguste come into view. The ground in the city appears to be writing, covered entirely in a sea of zombies. A steady trickle of undead travel south, out of the city. Dorean, Ward, and Vera catch a flash of metal traveling across the remains of rooftops above the writhing sea of dead. Ever-excitable, Vera turns into a doggogriff and pursues the movement with Dorean in tow. They locate the fleeing entity, a zombie amalgamation in pursuit. Dorean and Vera attack the amalgamation, allowing the figure to escape up into a ruined belltower. The monstrosity dealt with, they head to the bell tower to locate the individual. A 14-year-old child emerges from the bell and, once confirming that they are not doggogriff knights or undead, passes out. The two gather up the kid and return to the airship, which enters a holding pattern while they determine whether there are more people in the city that can be rescued. The kid, named Valla, says there are a couple dozen people holed up in an old smuggler's hideout underground, the only access being across a narrow ledge above a pit that the undead are too clumsy to cross. The group ultimately decides to extract the children; the adults have been acting weird, whether because of the lack of laws or because of the influence of their leader Stern, Valla is unsure. Vera is sent along with Valla back into the city. The city is overrun with zombies, far exceeding the population of the city when the living still existed there. A giant undead amalgamation passes by, towering over the rest.

The people in the den are unkempt like Valla, except Stern, who is healthy-looking and the only one at ease. He hides his anger, examining the haul of food that was given to Valla by the Fourth Act. He approves of the quality of the food, sending Valla away in tact, depite being upset by his tardiness. Valla flees back toward the kids' room, but is stopped by a sharp young man named Killian, who says that he would like to "play" with him, as he likes Valla's screams. Valla lies and says Stern wanted him, allowing him to escape. In the room with the kids, Vera and their plan is introduced, which Kiera, Valla's friend, is opposed to as she doesn't want to leave her mom behind. Failing to convince her, Vera and Valla work on a plan to get the rest of the kids out. Stern shows up while they are talking and, catching Vera attempting to call for backup, goes for a knife. A wraith kills him, ripping his heart out, before he is able to do anything; the wraith is Vostra's partner who was loaned to Val before leaving the airship.

All appparent obstacles eliminated, the group begins their journey out. As they leave, the guard at the door wishes Val and the other kids good luck, pretending to have fallen asleep and had a really strange dream about them leaving. Once they have escaped the underground, Vera takes the smallest children to the airship while the older kids make their way to the bell tower rendezvous point. Vera returns along with Dorean riding the skybike to take the last of the kids. Arriving there, they find Killian holding Kiera with a knife to her throat. He asks why they're taking his toys. Dorean, opting to be intimidating, asks if he wants to play, because she's ready to play. Killian threatens to ring the bell, attracting the zombies to their location. Between Dorean's quick reflexes and Vera's Hold Person, they stop him and free Kiera. They leave Killian behind, flying everyone else to the airship. Not willing to let his "playthings" go to someone else, he throws a knife as they leave, nearly killing Kiera. They make it to safety with enough time to heal her, though barely. Finally thinking they can relax and move on to Coradol to find somewhere safe for the kids, Cecily points out the giant dragon-like zombie flying from the castle toward them to investigate. The airship takes off at top speed, carrying them to safety.

Introduced

• Valla "Val"
• Stern
• Killian
• Kiera
• 5-yo twins
• 7-yo
• 8-yo
• 10-yo
• 11-yo
• Torrin - 13-yo
• Barnabas - Vostra's wraith/cloak

Returning

• Cecily Cardew
• Talthis Vim
• Vostra

Mentioned

• Argosia