Welcome back to the fourth day of our book club readalong for OwlCrate's August book, The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones!
Just a reminder that this will be a SPOILER discussion for Chapters 11-15 of The Drowned Woods, so make sure you read are finished this section before continuing.
Discussion questions are listed below, and anyone who participates in the comments will be entered to win a free OwlCrate box! Don't forget, you can also post about the readalong on Instagram with the hashtag #OCTheDrownedWoods for another chance to win!
The story continues...
Chapter 11:
Fane carries Ifanna to the bath house where she awakes. The bathhouse is neutral territory where weapons are not allowed, and therefore a good place to discuss dealings. Once Mer explains what they are doing, Ifanna agrees to help, and says she’ll be in touch with them on Spicer’s Row in a day. After Ifanna leaves Mer tells Fane that she trusts Ifanna in matters of business, but certainly not personally.
Chapter 12:
Ifanna betrayed Mer on a day that Ifanna’s mothers told her to act as a diplomat and go to see why someone was late with their taxes. Taking Mer with her to keep watch outside, Mer emerged from the house saying that there was a job she needed to do without Mer, and to meet her in the chapel courtyard after. Hours later, palace guards appeared, trapping her. Mer has been the job.
Ifanna returns, saying she has the key, but will not turn it over until an hour before they leave. And she is to go with them. She also lets them know that if she doesn’t return, the guild will have their likenesses to hunt. They are to embark in two days.
Chapter 13:
Sometime in the night Fane senses iron surrounding the house - soldiers, at least twenty. Renfrew tells them to flee and Mer and Fane escape through the cellar. In the courtyard Mer takes down a guard, and using her magic casts a thick fog cover over the area, hopefully aiding in the other’s escape.
Chapter 14:
Mer and Fane head to The Crooked Goat, an eatery that is a front for the guild. There they find Ifanna, who has the key and swears it wasn’t her that alerted the guards. Together they head to the sewers.
They meet the others at the gate, who are all for the most part in one piece. There is a tense moment when they enter the key into the locked gate, but it opens. Mer and Emrick are to take the lead.
The journey through the caves is uneventful until they come upon what appears to be dozens of bodies, clearly people who were also searching for the well. Mer dropped a lantern in shock, breaking it and giving herself a small cut. When a drop falls into the water both she and Fane become alarmed, but before they can warn anyone a giant horse-like creature emerges, made of seawater and magic.
Questions:
- Who do you think alerted the prince to the party’s presence?
- What do you think made the horse creature appear? Do you think it was Mer’s blood?
- Do you think Mer will have some sort of power over the creature as she also has water magic?
- How do you think all of the bodies they discovered died?
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