The Hod King

*The Hod King* is the third book in Josiah Bancroft's Books of Babel series.

## Plot

Senlin, under the name of Cyril Pinfield, a Boskop accountant, watches two hods fight in the Colosseum in Pelphia. He then walks towards a section for a group that runs the operation, the Corterie and attempt to give Duke Pell his business card.

Earlier, The Sphinx walks Senlin through his mission in Pelphia, find out why butterflies are being destroyed at the Colosseum. He is not allowed to go after his wife. Voleta promises to go after his wife once she and the rest of the crew arrive at the ringdom. The Sphinx implies that she knows about him and Edith’s kiss.

Senlin has been staying the Bon Royal Hotel. The staff finds his requests of old newspapers and him not attending any events odd. He leaves a voice message in a moth for the Sphinx and releases it. He reads about Marya in the Daily Reverie. She charmed the ringdom with her piano playing at parties, the started playing shows. She disappeared for a few months, and it was revealed (falsely) to the public that Wilhelm Pell went out to find the cure for her. She continues shows and the two wed.

Another flashback shows Byron disobeying the Sphinx to help Edith say goodbye to Senlin. She kisses him goodbye. Byron drives the wall walker to drop off Senlin. He fills him in on his new identity as a Boskop accountant. Senlin asks Byron, since he is receiving his messages for the Sphinx, to send private messages to Edith on his behalf.

Senlin walks down the streets of Pelphia during their nightly parties. He goes to the theater to watch a fictionalized account of Marya’s life. He is presented as a creepy predator who preys upon Marya, and the Duke is presented as her savior. Senlin leaves the play early. Senlin notices that it’s raining out of the theater. A man explains that it’s ethanol to clean the streets, and also reveals that he is one of the authors of the Everyman’s Guide to the Tower (though he was dismayed at how the final product turned out). Senlin walks down the street and sees two men beating up a hod. Senlin decides to help the hod fight the men off. The hod takes a brick and kills the two men and says to Senlin, “Come the Hod King”. Senlin takes the book that the hod left behind and leaves the scene. Senlin returns to his hotel and reports the crime to the employees. He goes to his room, falls asleep but is awoken by General Eigengrau and Wakeman Georgine Haste who are investigating the murders. Haste accuses him of murdering the two men and fabricating the hod’s presence. Senlin tells his side of the story, while still maintaining his Boskop background. Eigengrau places him under arrest for further questioning. A hotel employee gives Eigengrau a letter for Senlin, and seeing that it’s from Wilhelm Pell seeking a meeting, he lets Senlin go.

Senlin meets Pell at the Coterie Club at the Colosseum. Senlin reveals his plan to sell Marya’s fame as stock. Pell is unsure of this idea and says that the two should go to her for approval. He invites Senlin to his next party. They watch the hod fight below and John Tarrou is one of the fighters. Senlin leaves the Colosseum. The Sphinx sends a messenger to slap him and warn him about straying from his mission. Senlin asks the concierge to order a suit and ugly mask for Pell’s party. Senlin goes to the Corterie Club to receive the party attire and runs into Eigengrau who reveals they caught the hod and “his conspirators”. Eigengrau then insinuates that the hods belong in their place of suffering and mistreatment.

Senlin goes to Pell’s party. He meets with him and Marya. Marya suggests that he tries to convince her of the stock idea on this ride called the Merry Loop (in which they use candles to keep the electrical circuits going). Senlin admits that he kissed Edith and asks if she wants to leave or if she is happy here. Marya tells Senlin to leave. The two get off of the ride and Marya says that she refused his offer. Pell says he may convince her otherwise.He goes back and leaves a moth message to Edith.

Senlin goes to the Corterie Club where Eigengrau has lined up the hod “conspirators”. Senlin knows they’re innocent and tries to stop their execution. However, Eigengrau goes through with the execution. Senlin gives Tarrou a note via the magpie kids who typically steal trinkets. He wants Tarrou to throw the match so that he can bet against Maquis de Clark (who owns Tarrou) and win him as a hod. Senlin notices the wings of the Sphinx’s butterflies around the lobby, which eliminates the hods from destroying them because they aren’t allowed there. Pell enters the club and says the Marya agreed to the deal after Pell spoke with her. Pell threatens Senlin when he worries that Marya has been coerced into his deal. He then has three women give Senlin a burlesque show, and one of the girls is the daughter of the family he robbed books from as a pirate. Senlin tries to escape the colosseum but is caught by Pell and his men. He wakes up in a loin cloth and shaved head. Pell reveals that Senlin and Marya have a daughter, Olivet, and if Senlin returns from the black trail he’ll kill her. Pell puts a blinder on Senlin’s head and sends him on the black trail with Tarrou who they found through their notes.

John Tarrou and Senlin fight against the masses to get into the black trail. Tarrou is shot. He guides Senlin through the black trail and they come across a camp of zealots. The two swear allegiance to Marat’s cause and Senlin is released from his blinder. Sodiq, the hod that he saved, recognizes Senlin and mentions to the crowd that he also tried to save 11 more hods. Senlin makes an impassioned speech which gets a welcome response that is interrupted by Finn Goll, who ousts him as Thomas Senlin.

Voleta is forced to take etiquette lessons from Byron. Edith and Iren test the new ship with Reddleman as the pilot. Byron says the reason he knows all about etiquette is that he’s not welcome anywhere. He was originally a pet for a princess and then sent to the Sphinx after nearly dying. Edith hears Senlin’s message and tells Voleta the mission is off. Voleta says that Marya wouldn’t accept help from Senlin if she’s being held hostage and convinces Edith to let her do her mission. Iren and Voleta are dressed and trained by Byron. The State of the Art enters the port to much fanfare. The Postmaster tells Voleta they need to cage Squit, which she obliges. They meet Georgine Haste who takes them to meet the King.

Voleta speaks with the King and impresses the crowd with her stories. She requests the king give Squit her freedom as a gift, which he does. He then chooses Lady Xenia de Clarke to be her guide. Ann, Xenia’s governess, reveals that her father paid the king to choose her. The Clarkes throw a party where Voleta realizes the backstory she’s been given by Byron is really the backstory of the Sphinx. The Sphinx is the Bricklayer’s Granddaughter. Ann warns Iren about the King’s nephew Prince Francis.

De Clark talks to Eigengrau about invading the State of the Art, which Eigengrau rejects the idea. An actress, Lady Fortunee tells de Clarke to shoot a parrot that was gawking at her. Voleta insults de Clarke who was about shoot the parrot, allowing the bird to escape. The party ends after that and the de Clarkes are furious with Voleta and Iren is disappointed in her. Voleta sneaks out to run on the rooftops. She meets Prince Francis who recognizes her as the Sphinx’s niece.

It turns out that Voleta’s stunt (both at the party and on the rooftops) have made her even more of a celebrity. Prince Francis invites Voleta and the de Clarkes to his party. Francis asks Voleta to dance, but knowing she can’t dance, they instead play a game listing why dancing is dumb. Voleta gets Francis to secure them an invite to Marya’s performance. Voleta puts on the Sphinx’s necklace. Iren and Ann talk about the girls they care for. Ann kisses Iren. Francis secures Voleta backstage passes. She speaks to Marya alone and is unable to convince her to leave. Voleta sees her child and realizes why. Marya returns to the show. Francis enters and tries to force himself onto Voleta. Voleta fights him and is shot in the head.

Reggie, Prince Francis’ friend, locked Iren in a closet. Francis insults Xenia saying that an older earl is the best she can do. Ann quits her job as Xenia, who doesn’t care about Voleta, kisses Reggie. and finds Iren. Iren uses a moth to locate Voleta via her necklace. She finds her and stabs the Prince with a coat rack. Iren runs Voleta back to the State of the Art, only to see it fall from the sky.

Senlin, Goll, and Tarrou travel through the vents. Goll explains how he lost everything after the destruction of his port and had to send his family to the Baths. Senlin says the two men will have to reject the reward from Marat to get in his good graces. A chimney cat attacks the three but they are able to defeat it. Senlin realizes that the Sphinx knew he would failed in Pelphia and become a hod. She gave him a tracker for her to follow.

Edith is called to see the Sphinx with Iren. Reddleman appears and Iren throws a cart at him, which he catches. The Sphinx says that he will be their pilot. Edith doesn’t trust him, but the Sphinx says that he will need them to change his batteries, so it’s in his best interest to remain loyal. Edith, Iren and Reddleman try to figure out the controls on the bridge. Three pirates board the ship, Iren takes out two of them but one gets into the bridge. He shoots Reddleman, who is unphased. Iren kicks him. They then leave him at the Windsock to have him warn anyone from boarding the State of the Art and spread word of the Sphinx.

Edith interrupts the Sphinx’s speech. The Sphinx takes her through the attic, which has her dead machines. She takes Edith to a reservoir in which she stores lightning produced by the Tower. The Tower is producing an excess of lightning and she’s running out of room to contain it. If it cannot be contained, an explosion will level the Tower. Byron stops Edith to give her Senlin’s moth. Senlin says that his wife rejected him and that he’s looking forward to seeing her again and be a man deserving of her affection. She listens to it multiple times but is interrupted by Voleta and Byron. Byron reveals that Senlin has not sent a moth in days and is concerned.

Edith is given a tour of Pelphia from the King and his inner circle, including the pyramid that houses the sun (Not sure if the pyramid houses the sun pls check). Edith reveals to them that they will need to produce the painting and that they will get the Sphinx’s technology in exchange. The King and inner circle seem hesitant but agree to give it to her tomorrow. Edith stops by the hotel Senlin stayed at to search his room. She takes the book that the hod left Senlin and deduces based on Senlins note from the Duke that the Duke might’ve learned about his real identity. She joins Haste at the bar and the two talk about their mechanic appendages and time before and during becoming a Wakeman. The fake sun becomes stuck. A hod boy sent to fix it is dangling from a balloon. Edith takes off her arm so she can take another balloon up to save him.

Edith returns to the ship and sees the Ararat coming into port. She returns to the King the next day to find out the painting is missing but the King promises to have it ready by the next day. Edith asks Haste to show her the jail, which is just a show for people who want attention, and the gatehouse where they imprison hods. One of the guards tells Edith that Duke Pell took a tall skinny man and threw him on the Black Trail. Edith returns to the ship and her and Reddleman believe that they are going to be ambushed.

The Commissioner is forced to jump from a plank to his death due to him losing the Bath’s painting and not catching the Stone Cloud. He is despondent due to the death of his daughter. Edith has Haste take her to the Colosseum. One of the guards says that Eigengrau and his men found a hole for small hods to fit through in and out of the hod cell. While Eigengrau is interrogating the hods in the cell, Edith finds a trap door. The three go down there and find a library with math and a drawing of a weapon called the Hod King. They find a hod who tries to escape and blow up the library but he is caught and dies. Edith and Haste return to the ship for dinner. Haste reveals that she is a spy for Marat and that she’s the one that helped him sneak 6 hod engineers into the library to work on the plans for the Hod King. Edith and her fight.

The Red Hand notices General Eigengrau and his men boarding the ship. He opens the hatch to let them on. Byron sees a butterfly of the King and his inner circle saying that they don’t want to be caught in a war between the Sphinx and the hods. And since they don’t have the painting and don’t want the Sphinx giving weapons to their enemy Algez, they decide to take the ship. Byron runs and releases Ferdinand on the troops. The Red Hand lobotomizes one of the troops. Edith uses her mechanical arm to rip Haste’s arm off and kill her. Eigengrau’s men are slaughtered by Reddleman. Byron goes out to fight with Ferdinand only to see him shot by a fleeing Eigengrau (Ferdinand is also revealed to be a dog). Byron shoots Eigengrau and chases him off the ship. Eigengrau orders the Crown Prince (King’s inner circle) to shoot at the ship’s envelope from the Ararat. The ship falls from the sky. The Red Hand, who realized that the alarm that had been ringing the whole time meant that the ship’s levitators were fully charged. He stops it from it’s free fall and returns to Port Virtue, and Edith orders to fire on the Ararat and the port. Eigengrau flees again and is stomped to death by Iren. Iren boards the ship with Voleta, who has been dead for 15 minutes. Reddleman works to revive her with the medium.

Byron says some words for Ferdinand. They give him a funeral pyre. Ann boards the ship. Edith and Reddleman go into the city which is deserted. The hod zealots had bombed the will-o-the-whisps and took out the power to the Ringdom. She goes to the King, tells him to not to kill the colosseum hods, give her all the photos they have of the hod king drawings, and asks for the duke’s address. Edith and Reddleman break into the Duke’s house, overpowers him and gives Marya a third chance to come with them, which she does with Olivet. The doors to the Sphinx’s lair remains closed. The ship starts its painting hunt with Algez. Iren and Ann are with Voleta when she wakes up shouting for Adam.

Senlin, Tarrou, and Goll enter Mola Ambit, where a giant machine is waiting. Marat exits, and the three prove to Marat how they have renounced their ways and have become zealots. Marat shaves Senlin’s head, welcoming him into the Hod King.