The Hunting Grounds

Story so far

The hunting grounds are the ninth floor's sprawl of jungle, forest, river and ruin in which Carl and Princess Donut are currently slogging northeast through mud a mile off The River, on the city side, past building remnants completely swallowed by foliage, harassed by red-tagged insects and unbreathable humidity.

What the chapter reveals is that the grounds have been quietly partitioned. The The Hunter Territory Map segments them into blocks: The Dark Hive in the bottom left corner, The Dream across the jungle containing Point Mongo, Skull Empire in the southeast near the elf castle, plus The Crafters, the The Nebular Sin Patrol and The Filigree, with unaffiliated hunters pushed into the areas around Zockau. Roughly thirty crawler positions are marked on it accurately. Somewhere in the northeast of it stands Signet's clearing, and somewhere on the water stands Fort Freedom, the fortress the chapter ends by pointing everyone toward.

Appearance

Dripping jungle under easing rain — mud that grips the feet, ruins buried under foliage, red-tagged insects everywhere, and clearings of actual soft grass around ancient trees.

Role

The ninth floor's contested wilderness, now known to be carved into private hunting territories.

Relationships

Earlier in this series

Also appears in books you've already read — spoiler-safe to their endings:

• Carl's Doomsday ScenarioBook 2
• The Gate of the Feral GodsBook 4