[Hereafter] Chapter CLI: Down in the Underground (Patreon)

So this wound up quite a bit bigger than usual. To be fair, I had a lot to cover for this, and I still didn't cover everything I wanted to cover originally, but when I think about where I intended this chapter to end when I first started writing it, I think that it's maybe a good thing I didn't. The cliffhanger I originally meant to leave everyone on would have been hanging for an extra week, because next chapter is an interlude, and that might not have felt particularly good.

I could have kept going. But it would've taken probably another 3000 words or more to get there, and at that point, the question would be, "Why isn't this just two chapters?" And it would have meant delaying the release by a day or two more, so yes, at that point, "why not just split it into two chapters?"

Anyway. Lots of setup in this chapter. Foreshadowing for several things to come. I said not too long ago that we're in the latter third of London, and now, we're close to the home stretch. London's endgame approaches. That doesn't mean we're done dropping hints.

EDIT: Moving down all the way. 7/7/2024