Now that the companions have control of the city and a long lasting supply of food, they decide to slowly explore the rest of the city. Nes expresses a desire to explore the arena and the others join him, leaving Kell behind who is becoming worryingly obsessed with the operation of the city. They pass into the entertainment area of the city, bypassing the Wirexal homes and avoiding the food market. However as they approach the city, all the lights in the entertainment district go out. Kell reports no issues from his end. They continue onwards. Valheese spots some strange lizard like humanoid hunting through the district. He leaves the group to follow it and promises to report back to them. They find that the entertainment district is sonically isolated from the rest of the city and the accoustics in the space are magnificent. They find two corpses that were obviously locked in combat lying on the stage. Nes takes one of their weapons, but it is booby trapped. Nes manages to leap away from the explosion, remaining unharmed, but the others are in the audience area and are damaged by the accoustic properties of the arena. For them, the noise of the explosion is so loud that they are completely deafened. They decide to explore backstage, where they find an area that has been set up as a human living quarters. They find a control panel beside the bed which they hack and it opens a large sliding door - underneath Nes's feet. He falls into a slimy eggchamber, filled with large green eggs, crushing two in the process. Nagaina defenders slither out of the egg and start to attack him. One latches onto his back as he grabs a rope lowered by the others. Buddy attempts to reach over with his sword and kill the defender, but overstretches and falls into the pit himself, crushing more eggs and releasing more defenders. He manages to get up the rope before any defenders can get to him, but by this time the defender on Nes has fused with his spine. However this symbiotic relationship makes Nes feels faster and heals his wounds so he is not keen to get rid of his new attachment. The others insist, but the defender has merged the two nervous systems and any damage done to the defender causes agony to Nes. They decide to leave it for now. The group decide that these eggs need to be destroyed, so they go back to some of the utility rooms they had found and find fast burning fuel. Nes objects to this strongly, but is unable to make a cogent argument as to why not to destroy these beasts, so the others pour the fuel over all the eggs and burn them alive. After the fire goes out they return to the egg chamber and find that the destruction of the eggs has revealed a hidden passage that leads underneath the arena. They follow it, and find series of abandoned passageways and chambers, going deeper and deeper into the bowels of the city. They explore a long way before realising that they have become lost, but as they do they find themselves in a very large chamber with a causeway over a lake leading to a massive synthsteel door. Beside the door is a red button and a green button. They press the red button and the door irises open, revealing a massive laboratory. In the middle of the laboratory, a massive metal cylinder sits, having obviously smashed its way through from below. The group enter to investigate, but as they do a gigantic wormlike creature comes into view from behind the cylinder. As they stand enthralled it starts to speak telepathically. It appears to try a number of languages until it speaks Truth. "I am Devola. Why have you entered my lair?" it asks. Nes shows the symbiote in his spine and asks if it is possible to remove it. "Yes," it answers, "but you would not survive the process. I have no interest in you dying. At the moment you provide food for my progeny and have several months left. Make the most of your time. As for now, I have no use for you. Leave my laboratory immediately. I have important work to attend to." "But how do you know our language?" asks Nes "I have met one of your kind before. His name was Tichronus, and he agreed to seed your world with treasure maps leading people to my lair. This has provided me plenty of subjects for my experiments over time. Now I no longer require living subjects, I am very close to entering phase 3 of my research. Now leave, I have no more interest in you" Buddy has had enough of this exchange as well, and at the thought of Devola using living subjects draws his dark matter projecter and shoots Devola in the face. Devola roars in pain and immediately lashes forward, catching Chips in it jaws. At one bite, Buddy is severely injured and the group realise that they have taken on an enemy that they cannot win against. They run, with the giant worm chasing behind. Buddy and Nes run out of the causeway and flee towards the small passages on the other side of the lake. Chips runs out of the laboratory, and as the worm comes out slams the door button and the massive steel door crashes shut on the worm, with an awful crunching sound from Devola's body and a high pitched squeal from her mouth. She pulls herself free of the door as it reopens and dexterously flips her direction. With one bite she shatters the body of Chips and throws his mangled body against the wall, where he lies bleeding to death. Then she returns her attention to the two other escapees and slithers towards them with massive speed. Nes manages to leap into a small entrance way where he is safe from Devola, but Buddy is forced to drop to the ground as Devola tries to bite him. He avoids her bite and scrambles into the safe space with Nes. Realising that she is unable to get them, Devola telepathically tells Nes, "never return to this place or you will die, make the most of your final months". Then she turns back towards her laboratory, scooping up the dying body of Chips as she goes. Realising that if they do not stop her they will never be able to save her, Buddy attempts a shot-in-a-million. Over a massive lake, he takes aim with his crossbow at the small button that operates the door to the laboratory. As Devola enters, he takes the impossible shot - and hits! The door slams shut again, crushing and killing Devola and releasing Chips. Buddy and Nes scramble into the laboratory and find Chips. He has moments left to live, but Buddy had previously aquired a nano-infused medicine, designed to repair injuries. He injects it into Chips and within moments Chips is no longer at deaths door. He is still injured, but will survive. After more medicine, bandages and some rest, Chips is able to explore the complex with the other two where they find a storehouse of powerful numenera, a horrible weapon of mass destruction, and hundreds of perfectly preserved corpses. But what now - they are deep in the bowels of the flying city, with a massive storehouse of numenera, but are lost....
