Thorn's stumbling into the Ghost Circle), thus making Fone her new target as he is deemed a weaker partner for another ritual. Briar is about to kill Thorn, who is no longer necessary to her plans when Smiley and Bartleby come to the rescue. Snap! Crackle! Pop! Pursued by the Rat Creatures, the protagonists lure them into a massive field of Ghost Circles. At Old Man's Cave, Wendell hears the report that the villagers found Lucius Down alive. Wendell tells Lucius that his protégé Jonathan Oaks is alive, but Lucius deduces by the look on Wendell's face that Jonathan has died of his injuries. The Headmaster of the Veni Yan then asks Lucius where Gran'ma Ben and Thorn are, and Lucius believes them en route to Atheia, but the Headmaster distrusts him. The Root Cellar Bartleby warns Thorn's party that Smiley Bone has collapsed in hunger; Phoney Bone asks Thorn for food but hears that all outside the Ghost Circles is destroyed. She and Fone Bone, therefore, enter a Ghost Circle, and thence the root cellar of a farmer's family, where they obtain apples. Here, they hear voices of the farmer's family pleading for help and telling her there is a message from her mother, to "seek out the Crown of Horns" and to take the piece of the Locust from Fone Bone. Thorn does so, and withdraws herself, Fone, and the apples from the Circle. At Old Man's Cave, Wendell hears from Lucius that the latter was Briar and Rose's bodyguard in his youth but mistakenly became enamored of Briar. Wendell tells him that Euclid has been missing since the volcano erupted, and Lucius decides that they all go to Atheia together. Prayer Stones With the piece of the Locust inside her, Thorn grows rapidly weaker. With Phoney and Gran'ma Ben carrying Thorn, the party continues through the Dragons' burial grounds of Tanen Gard, and Thorn is revived by the sacrality thereof. They soon reach the ridge and find the valley beyond clear of the devastation of the Ghost Circles. The presence of Prayer Stones (idols left by Athenians for the Dragons) shows that the Old Kingdom is still alive. As they continue towards the city of Atheia, a lone Locust is seen on one of the prayer stones. At Old Man's Cave the villagers demand of the Veni Yan that they release Lucius and allow an exodus to