Chapter Summaries

Kraft and Martin’s group searched the forest for the rotten-core jujube tree, but Kraft discovered that the unusual growth was widespread among the trees near their camp. Kraft also sensed a strange Signal affecting him and Kup.

• Martin led the group into the forest with Sean guiding them toward the area where the rotten-core jujube tree had been found.
• After more than two days of difficult travel, Sean located the general logging area using a lightning-struck tree as a landmark.
• The group camped in a clearing and searched nearby, while Martin kept the men from eating unfamiliar mushrooms.
• Kraft felt an unusual Signal near the trees and found that Kup also felt slightly dizzy and groggy.
• Kraft borrowed an axe, cut chips from more than a dozen trees, and showed Martin pale patches where the growth rings had disappeared.

Kraft, Martin, and Baro’s party discovered that a vast fungal network was infecting the forest’s trees and consuming the land’s living matter. They continued searching for the Heretics and the source of the fungus, while Kraft wondered what it needed so much nourishment for.

• Kraft burned diseased wood chips from seventeen abnormal trees, and Martin found mushrooms rooted in hollowed, rotting roots beneath the soil.
• Kraft explained that fungal filaments had spread through the trees and formed a hidden network beneath the forest, while the party noticed that insects were absent.
• A Squire worried the infection might threaten the wheat harvest, but Baro redirected the group to their mission of finding the Heretics.
• Baro confronted Martin about withholding information, and Martin and Kraft told him the Heretics practiced dangerous witchcraft that might be connected to the fungus.
• Kraft said the party needed to find where the fungal network originated, and he wondered what it needed so much nourishment for.

Martin, Kraft, and the Squires followed a human-worn path through a silent forest and found mushrooms growing from a fused human skull, confirming they were near the Heretics' stronghold. They reached a clearing with a religious village and spired building, but encountered no resistance along the way.

• The group grew increasingly uneasy as they traveled through a lifeless forest where they felt watched.
• On the third morning, Martin identified a trampled path as a human track, and the group followed it toward the Heretics' lair.
• A Squire approached colorful mushrooms growing from what Kraft pried from a tree, revealing a skull fused to the trunk.
• Martin told the Squires to stay alert and have the knights put on their full plate after they found the skull.
• The group passed more mushroom-covered skulls and reached a clearing containing a spired building and scattered houses.

Kraft and Martin’s group entered a deserted Heretic village and found its residents transformed into grotesque fungal growths. Shaken by the sight, they withdrew to camp outside, leaving the Church and its clues unexplored.

• Martin led the group cautiously toward the silent village after Kraft sensed something was wrong.
• Baro kicked in a door, and Bright Ray threw an axe at a fungus-covered corpse before Martin assigned him night watch as a mild punishment.
• Kraft examined the corpse’s suffocating pose and found a wingless Circle Cult symbol inside the house.
• Kraft and the others found fungal remains throughout the village, culminating in a road of fused bodies leading to the Church.
• Martin urged the group to leave after seeing the horrific scene, and Kraft ordered them to retreat, camp, and gather firewood.

Bright kept watch at the camp while the squires prepared to burn the village, but a trip into the woods ended with him ambushed by strange, colorful figures. He struck one with a throwing axe before another knocked him down.

• The squires unloaded their supplies, set up camp, and gathered wood to burn the village and its church.
• Bright stayed awake on night watch, troubled by the figures and trellises they had seen, and spoke with his companion about the Professor and his lamp oil.
• Bright walked into the woods to relieve himself and let his thoughts drift to knights and marriage.
• A colorful figure approached Bright, and he threw his axe into its folded, crown-like head.
• Another colorful figure emerged from the trees and knocked Bright to the ground.

Fungal Hosts attacked the camp, dragging Bright into the darkness and infecting him with an irritating, luminous powder. Baro and the others fought back and discovered that the creatures could be slowed or disabled by breaking their limbs, while Kraft doubted they were the true source of the forest’s danger.

• Bright hurled his hand axe at a figure in the woods, then fled toward camp before a Fungal Host seized him.
• The sentry raised the alarm, and Kraft and the rest of the camp woke as the fungal figures emerged from the forest.
• Baro charged into the bushes and found a half-headed Host fused to Bright by white filaments; unable to free him, Baro killed Bright to save his soul.
• The Hosts closed in, but Baro broke one’s limbs and ordered the party to spread out and target their bones.
• The party’s crossbows knocked down or pinned several Hosts, and the fighters regrouped in small units for close combat.
• Kraft judged the Hosts’ attacks less threatening than he had expected and suspected they were only a symptom of a greater danger.

Kraft and Martin fought fungus-controlled bodies attacking the camp and realized the creatures’ movements depended on an unknown controller rather than their apparent injuries. As more bodies emerged, Kraft asked about the Heretics’ remains, and Martin revealed that he had kept a few.

• Kraft told Kup to break the fungal hosts’ legs and fought them while the defenders struggled to adapt.
• One host burst into psychedelic dust, leaving several Squires coughing or unconscious and disrupting the camp’s defenses.
• Martin warned the group to spread out and cover their faces, then noticed that only a few dozen hosts were attacking at once despite the larger numbers seen earlier.
• Martin and Kraft observed that damaged hosts stopped moving when they could no longer crawl, suggesting the bodies were disposable vessels controlled by an unseen entity.
• Kraft asked Martin where the Heretics’ bodies had been taken, and Martin said he had kept a few of them.

Martin and Kraft led the defenders in pinning down the fungus-controlled bodies until the attack subsided. Kraft argued that the creatures were only symptoms of a deeper cause, leaving the group facing the need to investigate the village and worry about Westminster Castle.

• Martin and Kraft used abandoned weapons and tent poles to pin the fungus-covered bodies, reducing the attackers’ numbers and easing the battle.
• After the final host body was restrained and no more enemies emerged, the exhausted defenders collapsed or released their fear through laughter and weeping.
• Martin reassured Kraft that Westminster Castle could probably handle a few remaining creatures if they escaped their locked doors.
• Kraft explained that the fungus-covered bodies were symptoms of an underlying disease and that suppressing them would not address its cause.
• Kraft warned that the same contamination could affect different parts of the world in different ways and hoped Westminster Castle would resist it, since many of his students were there.

Yvonne finished two weeks of lessons in six days and struggled with feeling less useful than Kup while looking for ways to contribute. A professor named Brimmer visited to discuss Kraft’s place at an Academic Gathering and asked to borrow Kraft’s manuscripts.

• Yvonne finished her planned lessons early and reflected on her insecurity about being less useful than Kup.
• Yvonne spent the afternoon in the Workshop listening to gossip while a craftsman repaired her Trophy Dagger.
• Brimmer, a professor from Rivers University, visited Kraft’s residence with a gift and asked to discuss the Academic Gathering.
• Yvonne told Brimmer that Kraft had left and would not return for a week.
• Brimmer explained the urgency of arranging Kraft’s presentation and asked to borrow his manuscripts to select suitable patients for a demonstration.

Yvonne saw through Brimmer’s attempt to pressure her into lending him a manuscript and refused to make a decision before Kraft returned. She visited the Workshop, where ghost stories led to talk of unexplained noises in an empty part of Westminster Castle, and borrowed a lamp to head back as it grew dark.

• Yvonne refused to decide whether Brimmer could borrow the manuscript, then told him Kraft might return within a week.
• Brimmer tried to hurry Yvonne by warning that Kraft’s report would be delayed, but she recognized his pressure as a ploy and refused.
• Yvonne went to the Workshop to check on the craftsmen’s progress with Kraft’s requested items.
• The knights and workers told Yvonne ghost stories, then argued about strange noises heard during night patrols near an empty storage area.
• Yvonne said she was not afraid and borrowed a lamp to return as darkness fell.

Yvonne crossed Westminster Castle at night and spotted strange creatures climbing the sheer cliff beneath the walls. She fled toward a nearby tower, wishing for the power to face the danger instead of running.

• Yvonne left the Workshop and climbed through the castle as night fell, watching the patrols and startled birds along the way.
• Wilbert asked Yvonne where Professor Brimmer was, and she said Brimmer had planned to wait for Mr. Kraft to return.
• Yvonne watched the patrol lights from a high walkway and saw several lights vanish below her.
• A falling torch briefly revealed adult-sized, strange creatures moving up the cliff, and Yvonne realized that something was climbing into the castle.
• Yvonne ran toward the nearest tower, hoping to reach Wilbert and find shelter while remembering her helpless flight in the Southern Hills.

Yvonne warned Wilbert that something had attacked the night patrol, but he dismissed her concerns and sent a servant to check. As rotten creatures entered the guest quarters and attacked the people downstairs, Yvonne hid alone in a locked room, then began watching their movements and wondered whether someone else remained in the building.

• Yvonne reached the guest quarters and urged Wilbert to shut the doors, warning him that someone had attacked the patrol and knocked torches off a cliff.
• Wilbert sent Tom to check outside, but Tom returned saying there were plenty of torches, and Wilbert offered to have a knight escort Yvonne back.
• Yvonne took a room key, barricaded herself inside, and heard the creatures enter the building and attack Wilbert and the others downstairs.
• The creatures lingered outside Yvonne's room, blocking and uncovering the keyhole's light as she watched and counted their movements.
• Yvonne set aside her fear and began studying the creatures, feeling envy toward their power and wondering whether she was truly the last person in the building.

Yvonne suspected Professor Brimmer was connected to the Fungal Humanoids overrunning Westminster Castle, but believed he was unable to leave his room. She left her hiding place to reach him and steal the keys, then noticed an unexplained gap at the edge of the dust cloud.

• Yvonne watched Fungal Humanoids pass Brimmer's room and guessed that Brimmer might be controlling them but could not act against her.
• Yvonne took the key from her pocket, unlocked her door, and slipped into the corridor with her Trophy Dagger.
• Yvonne reached the first-floor exit and saw mushroom-crowned figures among the dead servants, including Wilbert.
• Yvonne decided to take the steward's ring of keys so she could enter Brimmer's locked room.
• Yvonne crawled past the servants' corpses toward the keys and noticed that the bodies did not add up, leaving a gap at the dust cloud's edge.

Yvonne crawled through the dust-covered Great Hall, evaded the Fungal Wanderers, and retrieved the key she needed. She entered Brimmer’s room expecting to find him conducting a ritual, but instead discovered a black-robed figure unconscious beneath a strange red light.

• Yvonne crawled past the bodies and the Fungal Wanderers toward the keys lying in the thick dust.
• Yvonne pried the key ring from Wilbert’s fungus-infested fingers and took the numbered key she needed.
• Yvonne waited for the Fungal Wanderers to move away, then unlocked the door and entered the room.
• Yvonne found a black-robed figure sprawled unconscious on the floor, with a crude pendant casting red light over its fungus-spotted hand.

After the Spore Powder attack, Kraft and Kup helped Martin gather the dead and discovered that four people were missing. Kraft realized the spores might connect the living to the Deep Layer, and concluded the missing people may have been pulled there while those who inhaled too much had died in the Present World.

• Kup asked Kraft to teach him medical knowledge, and Kraft agreed to add bone names to his lessons.
• Kraft found a dropped broadsword beneath a collapsed tent but no sign of the Squire who had been trapped there.
• Kraft and Kup helped Martin collect the dead, and Kraft warned that the bodies might transform through fungal colonization.
• Kraft and Martin realized that four people were missing, but no one had seen them being dragged away or leaving camp.
• Kraft noticed strange visual and tactile distortions, recognized that he and Kup had been affected by the spores, and suspected a connection to the Deep Layer.
• Kraft reasoned that the missing people may have entered the Deep Layer, while those who inhaled too much Spore Powder suffocated before they could be pulled in.

Kraft and the survivors recovered from the Fungal Husks’ attack, then returned to the village to destroy what remained. As Kraft entered the village’s Church, he found signs that its religious imagery had been altered into something unsettling.

• Kraft roused the survivors, checked their symptoms, and warned them to hide rather than shout if they became lost or separated.
• The group passed the remaining night talking while Kraft watched the Fungal Husks; as dawn approached, the husks slowed and something seemed to drain from them into the surrounding mycelium.
• After no further husks appeared, Kraft convinced the group to return to the village and destroy the creatures before nightfall.
• Kraft felt the lingering influence in his body as he walked the mushroom-covered path back to the village, while the others smashed the remaining husks.
• Kraft entered the Church and noticed a Circle above the entrance, evidence of removed symbols, and Angels whose images had been altered.

Kraft, Martin, and Kup explored a fungus-infested church, where Kraft examined its costly mural and a damaged scripture. He found an old note filled with references to angels, a kingdom, guidance, and names, ending with a faint symbol shaped like a cervical vertebra.

• Martin caught up with Kraft at the church after fighting Parasitic Husks, and Kraft reflected on how learning could deepen fear of the unknown.
• Kraft and Martin examined the church’s grotesque mural and noted that the building closely copied Orthodox Cult design.
• Kraft read a scripture passage about a saint who escaped from a locked cell after repenting for showing off his God-given ability.
• Kraft found an older, fungus-damaged note stuck to the scripture page, with repeated references to angels, a kingdom, and guidance, plus rows of names.
• Kraft spotted a faded, symmetrical symbol on the note that resembled a cervical vertebra.

Martin recognized six names on the Church’s list as matching people recorded in a gang’s transaction ledger, suggesting the missing debtors had been brought there. While searching the Church for them, Martin, Kraft, and Kup found a corpse beside an empty jeweled box, and the corpse began to rise with red light pouring from its chest.

• Martin recognized six names on the Church’s list as the same names of people bought by a gang’s largest customer, according to Diego’s ledger.
• Kraft, Kup, Martin, and the Squires searched the Church but found no trace of the missing people.
• Kraft, Kup, and Martin entered a sunlit study filled with valuable books and found a fungus-covered corpse on the desk beside an empty ornate box.
• Kraft noticed red light shining beneath the corpse, then shoved Martin and Kup aside as the body raised its head and spoke in a mixture of prayer and curses.

Martin woke in a mushroom-infested church after the group was overcome by spores, and saw that the village had become a fungal world where a red glow signaled the approach of an Angel. Kraft found him and Kup, then led them to the study, where they discovered a research manuscript about recurring dreams and a mysterious White Light.

• Kraft, Martin, and Kup were overcome by hallucinogenic spores released by a conscious Parasitic Husk.
• Martin woke in the Prayer Room and discovered that giant mushrooms had overrun the church and the village.
• Martin saw the red glow approaching and feared that the Orthodox Cult's Angel was coming, but Kraft silenced him and helped remove his armor.
• Kraft and Martin found Kup hiding upstairs, then followed Kraft's route toward the study as the red light reached the window.
• Kraft found manuscript pages describing the author's recurring dreams, his attempts to document them, and a new criterion called Brightness: the White Light.

Kraft pieced together how The Author had turned a Deep Layer creature’s dream-hunting into a dangerous way to make people disappear. When a towering fungal behemoth appeared beyond the window, Kraft sent Kup and Martin to seek the moon while he prepared to face it.

• The Author’s manuscript recounted how a creature drew him into dreams, where looking at a Celestial Body let him escape and resist its pull.
• The Author devised a way to use the creature as a kind of magic that could make people vanish, and Kraft concluded that a follower had likely been ensnared by it.
• Kraft set a fire trap and instructed Kup to take Martin somewhere high and look for the moon so they could return.
• A vast fungal creature rose outside the window, and Kraft recognized it as a Deep Layer behemoth nourished by the forest.