While the party slept near Little Oak, something moved through camp and left behind a twisted brand with the message, “you’re too slow.” They were being watched.
The party compared what they had learned from their first trip into Loom Lurch. They had rescued children, but Zanner was still trapped in the sewing room, June’s true name was still somewhere inside, and they still needed boggle oil to get out of Thither. Gren and the others questioned the rescued children in detail and learned more about Skabatha’s routines, the hidden rooms, the prison beneath the kitchen, the boggles in the shadows, the animals in the garden, and the way the children were gradually losing their memories.
June realized that her missing name had not simply been stolen. It had been given up as the price of being forgotten and left safe, and she had lost the memory of making that bargain. Maddox was still carrying the cost of his own bargain for information about Chrundle, and Will of the Feywild was becoming harder to read, with his shadow and eyes suggesting something darker was gathering around him.
The party settled on a plan for the return to Loom Lurch. June would be the first person Skabatha saw at dawn and would use that advantage to move where the hag could not perceive her. The rest would follow the route they had pieced together from the children, move through Loom Lurch room by room, rescue Zanner, free more captives, recover June’s name, and secure the boggle oil.