Outside the new stronghold, Tina greets Mongo by dancing and calling him "Papa," shocking Donut and Carl because Tina has begun speaking and because Mongo is not supposed to be her father. Kiwi, now an ursine again and heavily pregnant after her earlier time as a dinosaur with Mongo, comes outside and calls Tina back in. Mongo and Kiwi share a quiet, awkward moment of recognition before Kiwi returns inside, leaving Mongo confused and sad.

Carl, Donut, Florin, and Tipid enter the stronghold, officially named the Fortress of Unyielding Power and Authority after a naming dispute between the Sledge and the changelings. Carl realizes the AI preserved the name because its initials spell FUPA, while Donut is furious that she cannot rename it. Inside, the fortress is mostly empty because changelings and golems are working on border defenses, and the group inspects the castle-like hallways, throne room, and enchanted walls.

Through chat, Carl and Florin discuss sensitive war preparations. Florin explains that only endorsed Scouts can cross borders during peacetime without passes; discovered scouts are teleported back, but traps can still kill them. Towers staffed with observers and Ping spells are needed to catch enemy scouts, and Florin warns that enemy spies are likely already inside their territory. Carl also pushes for more traps, and Florin says their main trap expert has gone underground to work.

In the antechamber outside the flag room, the group finds Elite Herman the Fleet, an ogre strongman and Princess Posse legionnaire, apparently in agony at a desk. Herman struggles to speak, says he has been waiting for Carl, and apologizes through pain. Carl realizes Herman is not wearing magical gear but hidden explosive satchels, making him a coerced suicide bomber.

As Carl shouts a warning and Donut fires a Magic Missile, Tipid vanishes and Florin shields himself. Baroness Victory, the Princess Posse adjutant, steps from the flag room and kills Herman with an axe before the explosives can detonate. Carl quickly stores Herman's body in his inventory as the satchels destabilize. Baroness Victory explains that Herman's attack was an unlawful assassination attempt by Sensation Entertainment, now owned by the Dream, and argues with the AI about filing a grievance and crediting Donut for the kill.