STEVEN III leads Render, Jhank, Bariq, and new goblin messenger Hounddog from the Golem Workshop underneath the (now-dead) cyclops Harpilos' house in search of the control amulet to the shield guardian known as MICHAEL (Mechanical Incident Control Hazardous Area Exploration Lifeform). The amulet once belonged to Caradoc, STEVEN's creator, and he is hoping to find out what he can about it, but unfortunately it seems to be where Caradoc died, namely at the bottom of a pool in the middle of the Bullywug Village. The bullywugs, led by King Lenny and the shaman Rebel Sue, think that they recently caused major flooding in the lower Thorn River valley, leading to the collapse of the domain there. STEVEN and crew face hungry refugees, make several plans then go off script anyway, try to align with the skirmishers led by Darvin Dundragon against the Bullywug leadership, but also try to prevent a genocide, all while trying to recover the amulet. Hounddog finds a sequined glove that he interprets as an omen, Bariq executes a plan to recover the actual amulet, STEVEN assassinates the top Bullywug leadership to avoid wider bloodshed, and things mostly work out, unless you're King Lenny or fan-favorite Prince Bodean. After getting the amulet, the party and MICHAEL face off against a bloodsucking mist in the summoning chamber of the golem workshop and against an unhappy wraith that has been causing problems. That facility is now all cleared except for the persistent steam mephit problem.