Chapter Summaries

Angel and Dominic brought the Difference Engine manuscript to Mr. A, who offered them a Mystical Item instead of the agreed 2,000 pounds or an extra 200 pounds if they waited a week. They chose the Mystical Item, leaving Angel to realize she might not have enough money to pay Dominic his share.

• Angel bought 30 grams of Star Crystal for 80 pounds at Mr. A's gathering.
• Dominic and Angel met Mr. A in a private room and showed him the Difference Engine manuscript for verification.
• Mr. A offered to pay with a Mystical Item immediately or buy the manuscript for 2,200 pounds in about a week.
• Angel favored the immediate deal because she feared the dangers of keeping the manuscript, and Dominic agreed to take the Mystical Item and receive 600 pounds from her.
• Angel realized she had only 530 pounds left as Dominic returned to tell Mr. A they had chosen the first option.

Angel traded the Difference Engine Manuscript to Mr. A for the Madness Ring and 200 pounds, then settled her debt with Dominic and learned how to find future gatherings. The chapter ended with Xio and Fors leaving the meeting and planning to collect Audrey’s reward the next day.

• Mr. A demonstrated the Madness Ring’s ability to make its wearer seem unfamiliar and to drive targets into madness, then explained that it amplified the wearer’s desires.
• Angel asked Mr. A for an extra 200 pounds because she and Dominic lacked enough cash, and he exchanged the money and ring for the Difference Engine Manuscript.
• Angel gave Dominic 600 pounds, cleared her debt, and learned to find gathering details in the Backlund Morning News.
• Angel noticed Xio and Fors reacting to her kitten mask at the gathering.
• Xio and Fors left beneath the crimson moon, planning to visit Audrey the next day to collect their commission reward.

Audrey paid Xio and Fors for their dangerous investigation of Qilangos and arranged for Xio to find a hidden page that could bring her before Mr. Fool. After learning that Miss Empress’s account had received money in Backlund, Audrey asked Xio and Fors to help find her.

• Audrey gave Xio and Fors eight hundred pounds as their reward and compensation for investigating Qilangos.
• Fors told Viscount Glaint that no one had offered the requested Apothecary formula, but the Psychology Alchemists might provide clues about the Spectator formula.
• Audrey guided Xio and Fors toward books in Glaint’s study, where Xio found a book containing a page with Mr. Fool’s Honorific Name.
• Howard told Audrey that three hundred and fifty pounds had been deposited into her Tarot Club account in Hillston Borough two days earlier.
• Audrey realized that Miss Empress had appeared in Backlund and asked Xio and Fors to help her find the young woman from Tingen City.

At a Backlund gathering, Angel failed to attract interest in her Witch Potion formula but sold her special bullets and accepted a request to locate a woman. After spotting a tracker on her way home, she vanished with Fish Scale Powder and ambushed him in an alley.

• Angel posted a Witch Potion formula and special bullets for sale, then agreed to consider a long-term request to find a tall, female Assassin-pathway Beyonder who had arrived from Tingen.
• A masked trader bought Angel’s twenty special bullets and asked whether she could supply more in a week.
• Angel noticed a hired carriage following her, changed directions to confirm the tail, and jumped out in the East Borough to lose it.
• Angel entered an alley and used Fish Scale Powder to disappear; when the tracker searched for her, she held a weapon to his neck and ordered him to take his hand out slowly.

Angel fought off a Demoness Sect follower who had tracked her after Mr. A's gathering, then concealed the evidence and hid in her East Borough safe house. She planned to approach the sect and advance as a Witch, but her Magic Mirror divinations failed against Anti-Divination measures.

• Angel questioned a man who had followed her about the Witch Potion, but he broke free and escaped through an adjoining passage after dodging her Black Flames.
• Angel suspected the man was an Instigator connected to the Demoness Sect, cursed him through his blood, and burned away the traces of their fight.
• Angel left for her East Borough safe house, removed the Madness Ring, and failed to use the Magic Mirror to locate the man.
• Angel considered using mystery and deception to act as a Witch and decided to try a Magic Mirror Search commission for the woman from Mr. A's gathering.
• Angel's second Magic Mirror divination was blocked by the woman's Anti-Divination measures, and she abandoned the prospect of earning the 200 Gold Pound reward.

Angel restocked ammunition at Bravehearts Bar and found a lead to a secret gathering, then spotted a curious detective advertisement while searching for opportunities to act as a Witch. In Oravi Harbor, Alger received a telegram from Tingen containing the secret he had requested.

• Angel stored the Madness Ring, planned to limit its use, and decided to visit Bravehearts Bar for ammunition and an introduction to another gathering.
• Angel bought fifty large-caliber pistol rounds from Kaspars Kanin, who told her to return the next night and pay two pounds to attend the gathering.
• Angel resisted the Madness Ring’s urge to gamble and searched the Backlund Post for acting opportunities, noticing Sherlock Moriarty’s advertisement and considering but rejecting placing her own ad.
• Alger received a telegram from Tingen through a trusted Sailor and prepared to read the envelope containing Empress’s secret.

Alger discovered that Miss Empress’s forged identity, Angel Granger, was listed among the dead after the Tingen battle, while Angel began working under the name Seer Witch at a Backlund divination club. Her first customer arrived, and Angel waited to learn what divination she wanted.

• Alger read telegrams linking Angel Granger to the Tingen battle and learned she had died alongside Dunn Smith and Klein Moretti.
• Alger realized Angel had been only eighteen and recalled that Mr. Fool had said she was taking a long leave.
• Angel used persuasion to convince a Divination Club waitress that she was an adult and registered as Seer Witch.
• Angel waited through a quiet afternoon at the club, wondering whether another way of acting would digest her Potion faster.
• A veiled woman entered Angel’s room, introduced herself as a fellow Seer, and became Angel’s first customer.

Angel served two clients seeking love readings at the Divination Club, then went with Kaspars and another man to a secret Beyonder gathering. They reached an unlit house after eight, where Kaspars supplied masks and knocked at the door.

• Lola asked Angel to compare Baron Fanes and Captain Stuart, and Angel’s pendulum readings suggested neither was a good match; Lola considered giving her bodyguard a chance and paid two soli.
• A troubled young man asked whether he should pursue a new woman despite his ex-girlfriend, and Angel’s Tarot reading encouraged him to move on; he paid two soli and left to confront his ex.
• Angel arrived at Bravehearts Bar at eight, apologized to Kaspars for not coming early, and paid him the two-pound introduction fee.
• Kaspars led Angel and a black-haired man through the bar’s kitchen and an alley to a dark house, where he gave the man an iron mask as Angel put on her puppy mask.
• Kaspars knocked on the house’s door while Angel realized she had not been given a mask of her own.

Angel attended Eye of Wisdom's gathering in disguise and accepted a commission to clear beasts from the sewers beneath Backlund Bridge Borough. The gathering continued as members traded items, and Angel recognized a dark crimson object offered for sale as a Beyonder Characteristic.

• Kaspars brought Angel and a black-haired man into the gathering, where the members wore robes and iron masks and Eye of Wisdom served as organizer and witness.
• A chubby-faced Apothecary offered medicine and thirty pounds for help removing beasts that had eaten his herbs in the sewers beneath Backlund Bridge Borough.
• Angel accepted the commission, received fifteen pounds and two bottles of medicine in advance, and agreed to leave with the Apothecary after the gathering.
• A member sold a gemstone necklace called the Get Rich Accessory, and someone bought it for one thousand pounds.
• The black-haired man presented a dark crimson object found on a corpse, and Angel used Spirit Vision to identify it as a Beyonder Characteristic.

Angel attended Eye of Wisdom’s gathering, where a man sold a Beyonder Characteristic and bought a dangerous Mystical Item while seeking protection from a powerful enemy. After the gathering ended, Angel left with the Apothecary to help resolve his troubles, unsettled by her unexpectedly bold behavior.

• Eye of Wisdom offered 400 pounds for the black-haired man’s Beyonder Characteristic and explained that no one present could safely protect him from a Sequence 5.
• The black-haired man used the 400 pounds to buy Black Snake’s Mystical Item, which supposedly let its user hear a Great Existence.
• A Rune Steel Sword was sold for 500 pounds, and Angel chose not to ask about the Demoness of Pleasure Potion formula.
• Angel and the Apothecary left the gathering together, and she agreed to help him with his troubles that night.
• Angel startled the Apothecary with a suggestive remark, then hurriedly explained that nighttime was safer for Beyonders.

Angel and Darkwill searched the Backlund sewers for the creatures destroying Darkwill’s herbs, and Angel killed several groups of giant mutant rats. Her Magic Mirror revealed that the rats had mutated after drinking sewage tinged with dark red.

• Darkwill hired a carriage and told Irene Watson that sewer animals had been eating the herbs he planted in Backlund.
• Angel and Darkwill entered the sewer, where Angel found three giant rats feeding on herbs and several more blocking their way out.
• Angel killed the rats with Ice Spikes and learned from Darkwill that he had two other growing spots in the sewers beneath Bridge District.
• Angel and Darkwill visited the other growing spots, where Angel killed more mutant rats.
• Angel used her Magic Mirror to divine the rats’ origins and saw them mutate after drinking sewage tinged with dark red.

Angel investigated Darkwill’s final sewer herb plot, killed a mutated giant crocodile, and used a magic mirror to seek the source of the mutant animals. The divination drew the attention of a hostile presence, and Angel recognized the True Creator’s breath as she struggled to resist losing control.

• Darkwill explained that Angel’s abilities were associated with the Demoness Pathway, and she reassured him that she was not yet part of the Demoness Sect.
• Angel told Darkwill her divination suggested the mutant animals had been changed by a red liquid, and he agreed to move his herb-growing elsewhere after collecting the last crop.
• Angel found a mutated giant crocodile wrecking Darkwill’s final planting spot and killed it with a Frost Spear and black flame.
• Angel completed the commission, collected her payment, and asked Darkwill how to attend future Eye of Wisdom gatherings.
• At her East Borough safe house, Angel used the magic mirror to investigate who was creating the mutant animals, but the mirror cracked as a wounded hand dripping blood appeared in it.
• Angel transformed into a short black cane to escape the mirror’s attack, then emerged from a streetlamp flame and meditated against losing control as she recognized the True Creator’s breath.

After surviving a near-loss of control caused by divining the True Creator, Angel reported the mutated sewer animals to the authorities and moved to a new safe house. The chapter ended when Dominic appeared at her door in Backlund.

• Angel escaped the True Creator’s aura, endured the Magician Pocket Watch’s negative effects, and made it home after a long night.
• After recovering, Angel concluded that the mutated sewer animals were connected to the Aurora Order and decided to alert official Beyonders.
• Angel wrote a report, protected it against divination with Black Flame, and left it in the mailbox outside Cherwood Borough Police Station.
• Angel avoided returning to her contaminated safe house and rented a new apartment near the Docklands.
• Dominic arrived at Angel’s new safe house, looking haggard, despite supposedly having reached Bayam long ago.

Dominic told Angel that Sonia had been kidnapped, possibly by MI9 agents seeking the Third Generation Difference Engine manuscript, and asked her to help find and rescue her. Angel used a Magic Mirror to locate Sonia in an East Borough warehouse, which Dominic identified as belonging to the Zimang Party on Red Brick Lane.

• Dominic told Angel that Sonia disappeared after their apartment was searched and suspected someone connected to MI9 had leaked their movements.
• Dominic asked Angel to use divination to find Sonia, and Angel agreed to help.
• Angel returned home, made a new Magic Mirror, and divined that Dominic was preparing weapons in the East Borough without signs of interference.
• Dominic gave Angel Sonia's cat mask, but the divination failed, so Angel used Sonia's dress instead.
• Angel's divination showed Sonia bound in a warehouse near the Tussock River, and Dominic recognized it as a Zimang Party warehouse on Red Brick Lane.

Angel and Dominic traced Sonia’s kidnapping to the Zimang Party and went to Red Brick Lane to rescue her. Angel freed a captive named Ian and broke into the room where Sonia was being held, but the chapter ended before she reached her.

• Dominic explained that the Zimang Party worked for Intis intelligence and had likely kidnapped Sonia over the Difference Engine manuscript.
• Angel and Dominic armed themselves and headed to Red Brick Lane, where a Zimang Party youth was being tortured for information.
• Angel rescued the youth, Ian, by knocking out his two captors and learned that a woman was being held in the next room.
• Angel left Ian behind, broke through the locked iron door, and found Sonia bound on the floor.

Angel rescued Sonia and escaped with her, Dominic, and Ian amid a battle between the Zimang Party and MI9. After the group split up, Dominic gave Angel an envelope containing three Potion formulas as her reward.

• Angel freed Sonia and led her and Ian toward the back exit, where Dominic rejoined them after escaping through the chaos at the front entrance.
• Dominic explained that MI9 had attacked the Zimang Party over the manuscript, and the four escaped through alleys to the Tussock River.
• Ian thanked Angel, warned her to avoid official help, and left after offering to be contacted through Bravehearts Bar and Old Man.
• Dominic and Sonia planned to flee Backlund for Pritz Harbor, while Angel said she would stay and rely on Anti-Divination to avoid pursuit.
• Dominic gave Angel an envelope before leaving with Sonia, and Angel found Potion formulas for Trickmaster, Barbarian, and Seer inside.

Angel memorized Dominic’s Potion formulas, secured two objects corrupted by the True Creator, and continued working as a Seer while considering which Beyonder gathering to attend. Ms. Lola returned with praise for Angel’s earlier divination and asked her to investigate a new suitor using Magic Mirror Divination.

• Angel memorized Dominic’s Sequence 8 and Sequence 7 formulas, destroyed the letter, and planned to strengthen the anti-divination protections at her safe house.
• Angel hid a corrupted wand and a shattered Magic Mirror, both tainted by the True Creator’s aura, in a sealed basement compartment.
• Angel’s prediction helped a woman searching for her son, but the slight Potion digestion left Angel thinking that a dramatic public incident might attract more attention.
• Angel read about a gang battle in Red Brick Lane and found notices for two Beyonder gatherings scheduled for the same Friday evening, leaving her unsure which one to attend.
• Ms. Lola thanked Angel for accurately predicting Baron Fanes’s downfall and requested a divination about another suitor, suggesting that Angel use Magic Mirror Divination.

Angel met Lola Swann, a Sequence 6 Demoness of Pleasure who claimed to have left the Demoness Sect, and questioned her about the sect and its members. Lola warned Angel about the sect’s methods and left for a viscount’s salon, revealing that she had recognized Angel’s slow Acting as unlike the sect’s approach.

• Lola recognized Angel as a Mid Sequence Beyonder through her divination habits and failed divination, then introduced herself as the Pleasure Lady.
• Angel admitted she had been male before becoming a Beyonder and asked whether many women became Assassins.
• Lola said she had belonged to the Demoness Sect, but left after its assignments conflicted with her heart and threatened her control.
• Angel claimed she wanted to join the sect, and Lola warned that it would use her to approach and control important people.
• Lola advised Angel that revealing Assassin Pathway formulas could attract the sect, then explained that its Witches advanced by causing disasters rather than Acting slowly at the Divination Club.

Angel finished preparing ammunition and attended Eye of Wisdom’s gathering, where Darkwill revealed that the sewer creatures had been killed and that he had found a new place to grow herbs. The gathering began with Angel keeping her identity hidden while Black Snake asked where the Dog Mask Lady was.

• Chuck Hopper and another Nighthawk searched the sewers beneath Backlund Bridge Borough, found no mutated animals, and left without noticing the blood-red eyes watching them.
• Angel packed twenty specially made bullets and potion formulas, then politely avoided accepting Mrs. Wallis’s tea party invitation.
• Angel arrived at Eye of Wisdom’s gathering wearing an iron mask and noticed the man who had previously sought protection watching her.
• Darkwill told Black Snake that the rats and crocodiles had been killed and that he had found a new, secluded place to grow his herbs.
• Black Snake joked that he could have cleared the sewers himself and asked why the Dog Mask Lady was absent, while Angel restrained herself and watched him.

Angel attended a Beyonder gathering, discussed commissioning a weapon, and learned about Sealed Artifacts while speaking with Eye of Wisdom and Darkwill. Later, Klein learned that Eye of Wisdom and Angel may have sensed his hidden bodyguard, who noticed Angel’s eyes matched Klein’s pendant.

• Darkwill sold potions, and a masked woman offered a Sunflame Dagger that no one bought.
• Angel asked the dagger’s seller whether she could commission a weapon and promised to look for the Barbarian formula.
• After the gathering ended, Eye of Wisdom recognized Angel, and she explained that she had reported the sewer creatures to the authorities.
• A lucky newcomer said he had won a gamble and found a powerful helper, then asked about Mystical Items as Eye of Wisdom explained the Sealed Artifact grades.
• Klein’s bodyguard said Eye of Wisdom had probably noticed her and that Angel seemed to sense her presence.
• The bodyguard told Klein that Angel’s eyes matched the color of his pendant.