C2 E4 in brief

The Trostenwald arc closes. Molly tells Toya that Kylre “got sick” — a lie that shields a child from the truth that her protector was feeding on her. She falls asleep against his chest on the boat back. At the docks, Caleb tells Nott the words that kill the exit plan: “It has been you and me, now it is you and me and them.”

The trial is brief and tired. Caleb presents the nergaliid head, shields Nott’s goblin identity in open court, and the Cobalt Soul archivist confirms the lore. Gustav takes the fall again — 2,645 gold in debt, staying in Trostenwald. Everyone else walks free, including the goblin. Yasha reappears in chains, caught after fleeing.

After the trial, everything happens at once. Gustav says goodbye and the carnival dissolves — Ornna, Bosun, and Toya head for the Menagerie Coast. Desmond leaves alone. The group agrees to travel together to Zadash: a test run, free to leave. Caleb tells Fjord “you seem clever, let’s make this work.” Fjord answers: “You’re safe here.”

Then the episode belongs to Beau. Archivist Zeenoth reveals her father paid the Cobalt Soul to take her in. She didn’t agree. A hooded figure named Expositor Dairon — bald elf, fast, brutal — dismisses Zeenoth and recruits Beau through a sparring match that ends with Beau stunned by pressure points. “I was a wayward girl once. Someone did this for me.” Beau accepts the path.

Caleb buys a bath and a destroyed spellbook. Nott steals a doorknob. Jester rearranges the general store. Molly buys drugs. The group leaves Trostenwald on a wagon after Nott’s screech sends the horse bolting north.

Unresolved: the road to Zadash, what the Soltryce Academy connection means for Fjord, what Beau’s Cobalt Soul path requires, Yasha’s mysterious obligations, and whether six people who agreed to a two-week test run will make it past the first campfire.