The Far Side of the Attic
- The new plan is to return home, get equipment, and go after Grandpa and Lena pronto.
- On the walk back, they fill each other in on what's happened, and Grandma is surprised that the kids managed to milk Viola (the giant cow)—normally Hugo does it.
- Viola is what's called a milch cow, an ancient and magical breed of animal that nourishes magical creatures. Every preserve has one.
- Another thing: Grandma asks if the kids have seen Warren around (they don't even know who he is). Turns out his mind was ruined in Fablehaven, and normally Hugo would watch him… but where's Hugo?
- Grandma leads them to the attic, which is full of boxes and such—apparently a lot of it's magic.
- While they rummage through stuff, Grandma gives some backstory: long ago a demon named Bahumat controlled this land. A group of European immigrants offered to overthrow him in exchange for the land, and the natives agreed to it.
- The Europeans founded Fablehaven, and when Bahumat almost escaped his imprisonment once, they bound him again and left him in the basement of a church that became known as the Forgotten Chapel.
- Grandma's worried that Muriel might be trying to release Bahumat. This would lead to the fall of the preserve, making it like Midsummer Eve 24/7 and only safe for dark and chaotic creatures.
- Somehow the Society of the Evening Star is connected to all this—Grandma doesn't know their exact goals, but preserves have been falling rapidly (a few in the last couple years, whereas this used to happen only once a century).
- Grandma also reveals that Fablehaven is a secret preserve: it's not on the map that shows where all the preserves in the world are located because there are special, powerful artifacts hidden on the land. That's all she'll say on the topic.
- Now she gets out a special dart that has the potential to kill Muriel if Hugo isn't able to neutralize her. The problem with this plan, though, is that by initiating an act of violence, Grandma will break the rules of the preserve and open herself up to punishment.
- On the plus side, these rules mean that Grandpa is still probably alive (since in not breaking the rules, the magic creatures can't justify killing him, though they might be torturing or maiming him at the moment).
- Grandma intends to go after Muriel and Bahumat on her own since it's too dangerous for the kids, but they talk her into letting them come too—they were helpful in negotiations with the troll, after all.
- And they're off.