CHAPTER 18

Scriber Jaqueramaphan, demoralized after Johanna’s scorn, revisits his ambitions and accompanies Peregrine into Woodcarvers’ bustling market. Observing outsiders, he reasons that Flenserists likely seek Johanna alive to exploit Dataset and the “flying house,” urging vigilance against spies. Peregrine then reveals a grave secret: Vendacious controls sources close to Lord Steel, enabling Woodcarver to anticipate and mislead Flenser’s inner council.

Inspired, Scriber pivots from invention to counterespionage. He relocates into the castle curtain, stalking the walls and ramparts for days with a telescope, charting movements and routines to detect infiltrators. Confident, he arranges a private approach at Vendacious’s secluded turret to offer his methods and notes.

Vendacious feigns interest, asking who else knows. When Scriber claims total secrecy, assassins scale the parapet through fog. Arrows and blades tear Scriber's pack apart as Vendacious stands aside. With members dying, Scriber leaps from the wall to escape, survives the fall crippled, and drags himself toward a hidden trail, fixated on warning Johanna of Vendacious’s treachery.

Elsewhere, the OOB flees the ruined Relay into the Middle Beyond, slowing but unpursued. Ravna learns Pham’s implants rotted when Old One died, yet ship medics think he can be resuscitated soon. The crew taps trunk lines for News: the Blight’s human mouthpiece Øvn Nilsndot boasts of “Helping,” promising vast restructurings and symbiosis.

Debate rages across the Net—accusations of fraud, counters citing the murder of a Power, odd alien misreadings, and a cautious voice (“Hanse”) arguing the Blight masks total enslavement while dangling cultural survival. Blueshell and Greenstalk suspect the video may also signal embedded agents. Ravna recognizes the deadness in Nilsndot’s eyes and resolves to press on, hoping Pham can clarify what they face.