In this chapter, we learn that the old man in the village has been transformed into a black gas. The smell of the gas is so strong that it makes the villagers suspicious. The old man tells the villagers to rustle up some fresh mushrooms and eat them with him. The sound of the mushroom rustles the villagers' ears and they begin to suspect something is amiss. The young man tells his master to surrender immediately and return with him to stand trial for his part in the plague. He tells the young man that he is the "god of plague" and that he has no control over his master. The two young men begin to argue about whether or not the plague is real and whether the villagers and the young men are safe from it. When the young master realizes that the smell is the black gas, he tells the boy to get out of the way. The boy tells his father that the battle is lost and that staying in the