The Trials of Morrigan Crow

Morrigan and Jupiter follow Fen to Hotel Deucalion’s main floor, with an eye-catching chandelier. The pair take an elevator to the top floor, while Fen takes the stairs. As the elevator ascends, Jupiter gives Morrigan a brolly umbrella (a standard mode of transportation) as a birthday present, which he says she’ll need. On the top floor, all the residents and hotel staff celebrate Morningtide—the day starting a new age. Everyone participates in the Hotel Deucalion tradition of stepping off the ledge of the 13th floor and using their brolly umbrellas to land safely. Morrigan hesitates but then declares “Step boldly.” When she lands safely, she accepts she’s alive and has a place in this world.

The following day, Jupiter invites Morrigan on a tour of Hotel Deucalion. When he inquires about her room, she says it is intact. She notices a picture of a boy on his own desk, whom he says is his nephew Jack. Jupiter hopes Morrigan, whom he nicknames “Mog,” will be a “bad” influence on Jack. The first stop on their tour is the Smoking Room, a room that releases different smoke throughout the day for unique purposes such as love, inspiration, and sleep. While there, they meet Frank, a vampire dwarf, who demands fresh towels in his room every morning. Jupiter introduces Morrigan as his first candidate for the Wundrous Society, which makes her feel special. Charlie, the hotel’s concierge, informs Jupiter that the Wunderground (a train station) derailed, a seemingly impossible event which may or may not be the work of a Wundersmith. Morrigan learns little about the world before Jupiter asks an employee, Martha, to take over the tour; he leaves to handle the derailment.

Martha introduces Morrigan to Dame Chanda—a singer and the first person to step off the ledge the previous night. Dame Chanda immediately likes Morrigan and offers to have her stylists make her dress for the Wundrous Welcome. At this garden party, competitors in the Wundrous Trials get a chance to evaluate each other (as these trials must be completed to enter the Wundrous Society). After Martha and Morrigan leave Dame Chanda, they hear a crash and rush to the lobby. There, they find the chandelier shattered—another seemingly impossible event. Morrigan suspects her curse followed her to Nevermoor.

That night, sleep evades Morrigan as she worries about Jupiter’s reaction to the fallen chandelier. She investigates the wreckage to prove she isn’t at fault. She sees Mr. Jones, Ezra Squall’s assistant, in the lobby, and he informs her that Squall’s door is always open for her. Morrigan thanks him, and when he asks why she’s in the lobby, she explains she’s investigating the fallen chandelier. He restates the impossibility of such things at Hotel Deucalion. The chandelier “grew out” of the hotel, and it’s currently growing a new chandelier. Mr. Jones asks what Morrigan’s knack (unique skill) is, and when she doesn’t know, he points out it’s a little strange.

The following day, Morrigan demands Jupiter answer her questions about the Wundrous Society. He tells her that the Wundrous Society is an elite magical school in the Free State. Entry requires passing four Wundrous Trials and once admitted, a student must continually earn their place. Morrigan worries about the final trial—the Show Trial—because it requires demonstrating a knack. Jupiter then demonstrates his own knack as a Witness, seeing “everything” about anything and anyone. He assures her that she is not cursed.

Jupiter and Morrigan take the Brolly Rail (a railway that never stops, with passengers jumping on and off using their brolly umbrellas) to the Wundrous Society to attend the Wundrous Welcome. Morrigan starts to meet some of her competition. She and Jupiter encounter one of his colleagues, Mr. Baz Charlton. He has sponsored eight individuals for the Wundrous Trials and fails to see what Morrigan’s knack is; Jupiter tells him off.

The Council of Elders welcomes over 500 candidates to the Wundrous Society campus, which all but nine of them will never see again after the Wundrous Trials. Morrigan fears she will disappoint Jupiter. One of the Elders promises that Wundrous Society membership comes with belonging. Members go on to do spectacular things, even if some get called to protect the Free State from malicious Wundersmiths. After the speech, Jupiter directs Morrigan to the other candidates and tells her to make friends. As she approaches the group, she hears Noelle, one of Charlton’s candidates, making fun of another girl, Anah, for living in a convent and dressing like a nun. Morrigan steps in to defend Anah, who disappears once Noelle’s attention is off her. Noelle announces Morrigan is competing illegally because she is not from the Free State. Before the argument can escalate, a boy drops jelly on Noelle’s head, causing her to leave.

Morrigan and the boy, Hawthorne Swift, carry a barrel of frogs to a balcony. While they walk, Hawthorne asks about life in Hotel Deucalion. He then empties the barrel into the party below. The pair run, laughing, when their patrons, Jupiter and Nan, find them. After the party, Jupiter commends the prank. Morrigan asks if she’s an illegal candidate and what happens if she doesn’t get into the Wundrous Society. Jupiter says they’ll worry about rejection should it happen.

Over the next few days, Morrigan notices her room adapts to her preferences, giving the bathtub talons and making an armchair look like an octopus. One day, Inspector Flintlock of the Free State Police comes to Hotel Deucalion, following up on an anonymous tip that Morrigan is illegally in the Free State. Jupiter cites Wundrous Society laws that claim Morrigan as a citizen until she fails or passes the Wundrous Trials. He assures an uncertain Morrigan that he’ll never kick her out of the Free State.