The Age of Worms / The Champion's Belt pt. 9 / Von the 16th, 3593 CE / 4-17-22

As Hush's mournful song ends, The Leatherworks return triumphant to the Coenoby, thus ending the day's matches. Exhausted from helping the medic Palemon with the injured, Nari and Idra decide to turn in. River decides to investigate one of the streams leading into the Coenoby. Lulu keeps a lookout while Hush tries to construct some non-lethal bullets from the bullette hide he recovered. As River disappears into the darkness of the underground stream, Lulu spots something unsettling; The Leatherworks manager, who turns out to be none other than Telakin, leader of the Mask, in disguise. Meanwhile, River has made her way through darkened waterways to circumvent the guards and discover the Titan's House, an ancient temple area long buried. She also finds the plug said to seal away a ghoul warren. Crawling through more underground waterways reveals a cave and passage to the actual entrance to the ghoul warren, alerting its undead guardians. As she fights her way through the ghouls and flees up the passageway, River is suprised to discover that something prevents the ghouls from entering the cave she has just fled to. She also overhears them mention a name: "Bozal." Injured and deciding to curtail her investigation for the time being, River returns to the Coenoby while Hush provides a distraction. Back in Not by Choice's quarters, she relays what she discovered, and the team begins concocting a plan to return to the ghoul warrens.