Giuliano and Marco clash over masque survival

Fire bolts, burning pegs of resinous wood drawn from the catacombs, are reported as being used to immolate townsfolk outside the palace walls. Marco describes their use as a weapon of terror to force submission, revealing the Brethren's escalation from nuisance to exterminatory threat.

Thick oak planks are carried through the throne room and rushed to the west gate to reinforce the palace's crumbling defenses. Despite their strength, the timber is shown to be insufficient against the supernatural fire bolts wielded by the Brethren, symbolizing the inadequacy of traditional measures against Mandragora's power.

The throne room becomes a hub of desperate preparation and frantic decision-making, transforming from a ceremonial stage of glittering masque into a tense command post where nobles and guards move between terror and defiance. Marco reports attacks while reinforcing timber deliveries, creating a stark contrast between the room's splendor and surrounding violence.

The Brethren are executing coordinated massacres outside the palace using supernatural weapons, leveraging their cult’s fanaticism and Hieronymous’s control over Mandragora’s energy. Their invisible forces harass and terrify nobles, creating panic that Marco dismisses as mere rabble but that Giuliano cannot ignore.

The Palace Defenders, including levies and household troops, hastily reinforce the west gate with timber under Marco’s direction. Though their preparations are thorough, their conventional tactics are undermined by the Brethren’s supernatural assaults, showing the limits of institutional convention against arcane forces.