Chapter 16 - Banquet at Belbury

Part 1 - Jules gives his speech before the assembled Institute, but partway through, begins speaking gibberish. Then everyone's speech (and writing) becomes gibberish. Hardcastle, drunk amid the chaos, shoots Jules. And wild animals invade the banquet hall and begin bloodily killing.

Part 2 - We see both Mr. Bultitude & Mr. Maggs mourning their indefinite captivity. Merlin (who had inflicted the curse of Babel upon the banquet hall) releases both, as well as the other prisoners and animals. Most of the animals he directs to the banquet hall. Mr. Bultitude (one of the great bears of Logres whom he prophesied would do a great work for Logres) follows Merlin.

Part 3 - Merlin rouses Mark and sends him to St. Anne's with a warning to stay away from Edgestow.

Part 4 - Wither and Straik, having escaped the slaughter in the banquet hall, seize Filostrato and drag him to the Head. The Head demands sacrifice and they behead Filostrato. Realizing that the head would demand another sacrifice, they fall upon each other. Wither manages to kill Straik. Wither then meets with a raging bear.

Part 5 - Lord Feverstone sees disaster coming and manages to escape the institute by car. However, before he's gone anywhere, he finds himself controlled by an unseen passenger and forced to drive by the most direct (but not comfortable) route to Edgestow.

Part 6 - Frost, under an impulsion he does not understand, but unable to really reason any longer, locks himself in the objective room and sets it all ablaze.

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This has, for the most part, been a slow novel with a lot of talking. Well, that all changed in this chapter.

Next week we're wrapping up Lewis and will soon start with Centrism Games. I look forward to your thoughts.