"The Slippery Slope": on their way up the mountain, Count Olaf cuts Violet and Klaus's caravan loose and they almost die. Luckily Violet is able to stop the caravan before it can careen off the cliff. But Sunny is still with Olaf, and the two are determined to go rescue her. They find a group of kids who call themselves Snow Scouts, and one of them seems to know something about VFD. They are able to get him alone and...it's Quigley Quagmire! The triplet brother to Isadora and Duncan, who supposedly perished in the fire that consumed their home. Quigley made it out, and he helps Violet and Klaus get to the top of the mountain, where, to their dismay, they discover that the VFD headquarters has been burnt down, along with the expansive library Klaus had been looking forward to investigating for answers. They are able to rescue Sunny, but Quigley gets separated from them in their headlong rush down the waterfall.
In "The Grim Grotto" the Baudelaires end up on a submarine with Captain Widdershins and his stepdaughter, Fiona. They are searching for the sugar bowl that was thrown out the window of the VFD headquarters on the mountain. Fiona tells the orphans about her missing brother, Fernald. She also tells them about a very poisonous mushroom that grows in the underwater cave they are about to search for the sugar bowl. The three Baudelaires and Fiona don diving gear and enter the cave. They find a lot of stuff, but no sugar bowl and poor Sunny's helmet gets infected with the poisonous mushrooms. When they reach the submarine they discover Captain Widdershins is gone and Count Olaf has captured them. Violet and Klaus manage to save Sunny, but Fiona betrays them when she learns the hook handed man who's always with Olaf is her long lost brother Fernald. The kids end up escaping Olaf and end up back on Briny Beach, where all their troubles began. A mysterious woman is waiting in a taxi, and the Baudelaires get in.
"The Penultimate Peril": the woman in the taxi is none other than Kit Snicket, Jacques's (and Lemony's, although he's never mentioned by name) sister. She is able to answer some of the Baudelaires questions regarding the VFD and takes them to the Hotel Denouement, the LAST SAFE PLACE. Kit tasks the Baudelaires with disguising themselves as concierges, and keeping an eye on the two managers, Frank and Ernest. Frank is on their side, Ernest is not. Since they are identical, it's a challenging task indeed. Everyone from the earlier books shows up: Justice Strauss, Jerome Squalor, Sir from the lumber mill. Justice Strauss tells the Baudelaires that there's going to be a trial, and they will have to testify against Count Olaf so he can be punished for his wicked deeds. She has a big book Jerome has compiled, detailing Olaf's mischief. Of course the trial is a farce when the orphans discover that Justice Strauss's other two judges are both in Olaf's employ. The Baudelaires have to do some things they aren't proud of, like burn the hotel down, and help Olaf escape. ( )