Chapter Summaries

Ang, Dana, and Linya returned to the Purple-winged Bees’ hive, harvested valuable magical herbs, honey, and seeds, and then tried to contact the queen bee through soul force fields. They approached the hive without provoking the bees, but had not yet established communication.

• Ang waited until their honey scent faded, then led Dana and Linya back to the Purple-winged Bees’ hive.
• Ang taught Dana and Linya to harvest magical herbs, and the three collected forty-seven Demon Sealing Boxes worth an estimated five hundred thousand magic crystals.
• Dana and Ang gathered thirty bottles of honey, and Ang spent a day collecting magical herb seeds.
• Dana wished the Purple-winged Bees could come with them, and Ang proposed that Dana try communicating with the queen bee because the bees seemed unusually accepting of him.
• Ang guided Dana and Linya in unfolding their soul force fields, and the three approached the hive as the bees watched without showing hostility.

Ang, Dana, and Linya made contact with Purple-winged Bee queen Betasman and tried to persuade her to leave the World Tree. Betasman refused, but Ang's offer to take one of her offspring outside left her considering the proposal.

• Ang guided the group’s soul force field toward the hive, and Betasman eventually contacted them through it.
• Betasman introduced herself and rejected Ang’s request to leave, saying that her home beneath the World Tree suited her.
• Betasman asked whether Minotaurs still existed, and Dana told her that fewer than three hundred remained in his tribe.
• Betasman asked whether the Lizardmen still ruled the continent, then mocked Ang’s confidence that the Wilderland Empire could challenge them.
• Ang revealed that the Lizardmen believed their god lived atop the World Tree, causing Betasman’s soul force to waver.
• When Betasman still refused to leave, Ang proposed that she send one of her offspring with them, and she fell into thought.

Ang made a contract with Queen Bee Betasman, securing Purple-winged Bee honey and obtaining a Queen Bee Larva, Royal Jelly, and two more larvae. After leaving the hive, the three continued climbing the World Tree, and Ang assigned Dana to manage the bees when they returned to Amnath.

• Ang and Queen Bee Betasman signed a Magic Contract allowing Ang to collect honey while forbidding him from harming the hive or using the bees in war against the Lizardmen.
• Queen Bee Betasman gave Ang a Queen Bee Larva and Royal Jelly, then sent two more larvae after Ang asked for worker bees to help care for them.
• Queen Bee Betasman told Ang that the Minotaurs could assist in caring for the swarm, but she did not explain Dana's connection to the Purple-winged Bees.
• Ang, Dana, and Linya left the hive and continued up the World Tree; Ang explained that he had sought the larvae because the mature queen would not leave her territory.
• Ang estimated Queen Bee Betasman was at least a Level 6 Magical Beast, and he told Dana he would manage the Purple-winged Bees when they returned to Amnath.

Ang, Dana, and Linya tracked a mysterious figure through the World Tree to a tree hollow and watched it for days. After the figure briefly appeared, they debated how to approach its hiding place, leaving their next move undecided.

• Linya spotted a brown-haired, bearded man watching them, but he disappeared before Ang, Dana, and Linya reached his branch.
• Ang used Darkness Mark to follow the figure's trail to a tree hollow, where he suspected the man was hiding in a vast inner space.
• The three hid near the hollow and watched it for several days, while Linya sensed an unusual aura nearby.
• A figure briefly poked his head out of the hollow, and Ang guessed he might be a dwarf, though he could not be sure.
• Dana urged them to enter the hollow, but Ang and Linya warned that its occupant and any companions could be dangerous, leaving the group unsure how to proceed.

Ang used the aroma of rye liquor and rum to lure the dwarves out of the tree hollow, where they drank both barrels before sobering up. As the dwarves tried to slip away, Ang stopped them with a calm message through his soul field.

• Ang opened barrels of rye liquor and used Gale Technique to carry its scent into the tree hollow.
• Toman resisted the other dwarves’ attempts to tempt him into going outside, wary of Ang and Linya.
• Ang opened a barrel of rum, and the stronger aroma drew four dwarves out of the hollow.
• Ang poured rum and rye liquor into the dwarves’ mouths, and they drained both barrels before settling beside the tree trunk.
• An hour later, the dwarves sobered up and tried to return to the hollow, but Ang addressed them through his soul field and made them stop.

Ang, Linya, and Dana encountered four dwarves on the World Tree, subdued their brawl, and learned that elves and Minotaurs were believed to live there, though the dwarves had not seen either in a long time. The group decided to continue to the dwarf settlement and ask for more information.

• The four dwarves argued and fought after Ang questioned them, until Ang and Dana restrained them and Linya silenced them with her drawn bow.
• Ang introduced himself and explained that he and his companions were travelers from the Wilderland Empire looking for elves.
• The dwarves denied being lizardfolk spies and revealed that Toman had been following Ang's group, not the other way around.
• The disheveled dwarf said elves still lived on the World Tree, but he and Toman had not seen any for a long time; he also recalled Minotaurs only from the distant past.
• Ang and Dana encouraged Linya not to lose hope, and the three decided to ask around at the dwarf settlement.

Ang offered rum to persuade four dwarves to contact their clan, hoping to find the elves. Dialo and the others brought news of the travelers to the Dwarf Great Elder, who became keenly interested after sensing the liquor.

• Ang offered the dwarves a barrel of rum in exchange for calling someone from their clan, and Dialo agreed to help.
• The four dwarves hid the rum inside their dwelling and evaded Diabi's questions about its scent.
• Dialo and the others went to the Great Elder and told him that Ang, Linya, and Dana were seeking the elves.
• The Great Elder sensed the rum and fixed his attention on the four dwarves when Dialo admitted the travelers had treated them to it.

Ang, Linya, and Dana met the Dwarf Great Elder and offered rum to the gathered dwarves in exchange for goodwill. The Great Elder’s familiarity with Elvish and Minotaur language gave Linya hope that the dwarves might know something about the elves.

• The Dwarf Great Elder questioned Dialo and the other dwarves about their promise to Ang’s group, then decided to meet the outsiders and went out with a procession of dwarves.
• Dialo introduced the Great Elder to Ang, who explained in Elvish that the travelers from the Wilderland Empire were searching for traces of the elves.
• The dwarves spotted the rum barrels, and the Great Elder quieted the ensuing commotion before asking Ang to share the liquor.
• The Great Elder drank Ang’s rum and spoke with Dana in the Minotaur language, revealing that he had not expected to see a Minotaur again.
• More than two hundred dwarves lined up for rum, and Ang gave away two barrels as Linya realized the liquor might open up further possibilities.

Ang, Dana, and Linya visited the dwarven settlement, where the Dwarf Great Elder questioned them about the outside world and revealed the history of the World Tree and its races. The chapter ended with the Great Elder learning that the visitors came from other planes and reflecting that their world was broader than he had imagined.

• The Dwarf Great Elder told Ang and Linya that dwarves had once traded with elves but had lost contact with them more than a century earlier.
• Ang, Dana, and Linya accepted the Great Elder’s invitation and entered the dwarven underground city, where the dwarves grew interested in trading for their rum.
• Ang explained that the travelers used Shapeshifting to pass through lizardman territory and transformed into a Mountain Lizardman for the Great Elder.
• The Great Elder revealed that dwarves had fled to the World Tree nearly a thousand years earlier after the lizardmen nearly wiped out humans on the continent.
• The Great Elder said druids had originally guarded the World Tree and vanished in their war against the lizardmen before elves took over that role.
• Ang, Dana, and Linya told the Great Elder they came from the Main Plane and the Archipelago Plane, and he remarked that their world was broader than he had imagined.

Ang persuaded the Dwarf Great Elder to consider settling some dwarves in his territory through a Magic Teleportation Array, while promising a home where different races could coexist. After the Great Elder called a meeting of the elders, Ang began trading rum for the dwarves’ ores.

• Ang defended his belief in coexistence, and the Dwarf Great Elder said the dwarves would join Ang’s territory if he could truly make it work.
• Ang proposed using a Magic Teleportation Array to bring dwarves to his city in the Amna Region, and the Great Elder agreed to consult the other elders.
• Motot dispersed dwarves who crowded Ang for rum, and Ang gave Motot a barrel as thanks.
• Ang offered the gathered dwarves rum and rye liquor in exchange for ore, with Linya keeping them in line.
• Gelin traded a piece of ore for a cup of rum, and the other dwarves eagerly waited their turns.

Ang traded rum for the dwarves’ ores, then demonstrated how to smelt Iron Ink Ore and challenged the dwarves to test its usefulness in a weapon. The chapter ended as the dwarves inspected the results of a comparison between two warhammers.

• Ang exchanged rum for several types of ore and offered to appraise unfamiliar minerals.
• Ang identified an unknown black ore as Iron Ink Ore and smelted it in a dwarf’s furnace, producing a springy, jelly-like material.
• Ang persuaded the dwarves to forge two warhammers, one ordinary and one made with Iron Ink.
• Dirita forged both warhammers, and Ang arranged a test using two equally strong dwarf brothers striking Lapis Lazuli.
• The brothers struck the Lapis Lazuli simultaneously, and the dwarves crowded forward to inspect the marks.

Ang proved that Iron Ink protected a warhammer from a powerful impact, earning the dwarves’ trust and prompting them to bring him unfamiliar ores. His examination of Barn’s stone led to a private conversation in which Barn revealed that his clan and several others were suffering food shortages.

• Ang explained that the twin brothers had not struck hard enough, then had them test their warhammers with full strength; the Iron Ink-treated hammer showed only a faint mark while the untreated one was dented.
• The dwarves accepted Iron Ink’s value and searched for unfamiliar ores to trade, while Ang, Dana, and Linya returned to the stone house and discussed seeking the elves near the World Tree.
• Ang inspected the dwarves’ ores and recognized one as Mica Stone, which Dana traded for two cups of rum.
• Barn brought Ang a naturally smooth stone that Ang could not identify, then told him he was a Barn Dwarf from a different clan.
• Barn privately asked Ang to trade food and revealed that the Barn Dwarves and several other clans were facing food shortages.

Ang traded wheat cakes for Barn’s mysterious Stone Eye and delivered food to Barn’s impoverished tribe in the underground city. After learning the tribe had only three hundred members left, Ang asked Barn to lead him to the World Tree branch where he had found the stone, but Barn had to wait for his elder to return.

• Ang offered Barn five bags of wheat cakes for the unidentified stone, and Barn accepted after Ang showed him how to soften the cakes with hot water.
• Dana noticed that the stone resembled an eye, and Ang wondered if it had come from a magical beast.
• Ang traded liquor and other materials with Dinovich to arrange custom plate armor for Dana.
• Ang, Dana, and Linya followed Barn into a dilapidated district, where Barn distributed wheat cake porridge to about three hundred members of his tribe.
• Barn told Ang that only three hundred members of his tribe remained and that they might not survive in the future.
• Barn said he had found the Stone Eye on a branch of the World Tree but could not take Ang there until his elder returned.

Ang, Dana, and Linya shared a meal with Barn while learning about the dwarf tribes and Barn’s place among them. The chapter ended with Ang and Dana offering food for all the Barn Blacklock Dwarves, leaving Barn deeply moved.

• Ang invited Barn to eat with them, and Barn explained that he was next in line to lead the Barn Blacklock Dwarf Tribe.
• Barn described the Doolin Longbeard Dwarves as the royal family and the Flame Spirit Firebeard Dwarves as the dwarves’ best smiths.
• Barn told Ang and Dana that the secluded Hof Hardbeard Dwarves were believed to have been wiped out after the lizardmen invaded.
• Barn explained the roles of the Buman Stonefoot and Widebeam Ironfist Dwarves, and said the Barn Blacklock Dwarves had been pushed to the margins despite their ancestors’ skills in engineering and construction.
• After Barn ate Dana’s steak with tearful gratitude, Dana offered to roast meat for his tribe, and Ang provided forest python meat.

Ang traded with the dwarves living beneath the World Tree as Dana worried about their dwindling people, and he gave Linya an Elf Sword in exchange for Healing Potions. Dinovich completed Dana’s plate armor, which Dana tried on and found both protective and easy to fight in.

• Dana urged Ang to help the dwarves, but Ang and Linya explained that the dwarves had to choose their own fate and might need to leave the World Tree to survive.
• Dwarves traded ore and other goods with Ang for wine and Healing Potions, and Ang acquired an Exquisite Grade Elf Sword from one of them.
• Ang gave the Elf Sword to Linya, who accepted it after recognizing its value and suitability for an elf.
• As trade at Ang’s stone house expanded, Dinovich sent word that Dana’s plate armor was finished.
• Ang helped Dana put on the rune-covered armor, and Dana tested his movements and Combat Techniques before saying it made him feel completely safe.

Ang learned dwarven forging techniques and transformed Dana’s armor into the enchanted Minotaur’s Shield, while sparring and trade deepened the group’s respect for the dwarves. Barn brought the Blacklock tribe’s inherited knowledge and promised to guide Ang to Stone Eye after the elders’ discussion ended.

• Ang questioned Dinovich about dwarven forging, then returned with Dana and began enchanting the plate armor with defensive, durability, and weight-reduction runes.
• Ang completed the enchantment, and Dana tested the armor, named it Minotaur’s Shield, and learned how its Earth Shield Rune drew on Qi force.
• Linya watched Dana test the armor, and Ang promised to help her obtain elven battle armor or forge her an enchanted set.
• Dana sparred with the dwarves and found their strength and agility matched his own, while Ang and Linya recognized their combat ability.
• Barn traded food with Ang and provided copied records of the Barn Blacklock Dwarf Tribe’s inherited knowledge, saying he would lead Ang to Stone Eye after the elders’ discussion.
• Barn arrived openly with his tribesmen, signaling that the dwarves’ attitude toward Ang had begun to change.

Ang demonstrated the Wilderland Empire’s strength to the dwarf elders by opening a Magic Teleportation Array to Amnath City, prompting them to send Durin to verify his claims. After Durin returned, Ang arranged for a World Tree wooden spear to stabilize the connection between the two places.

• The Dwarf Great Elder told Ang that each dwarf clan would decide for itself whether to accept teleportation, and Ang described the Wilderland Empire and its conflict with the lizardmen.
• When the elders doubted Ang’s claims, he offered to prove them by opening a Magic Teleportation Array to Amnath City.
• Ang used a wooden spear from a dwarf statue to overcome the World Tree’s spatial barrier, connected to Amnath City, and welcomed Quintina through the array.
• The Dwarf Great Elder sent Durin to inspect Amnath City, and Durin returned with a report that gave the elders a preliminary understanding of it.
• Ang persuaded the Dwarf Great Elder to provide another World Tree wooden spear, which Durin carried to Amnath City so Quintina could stabilize the teleportation link.

Ang guarded the teleportation array in the Dwarf Sacred Hall, where Quintina and Aisha arrived and updated him on affairs in Amnath and beyond. After discussing development, the centaurs, and the war, Ang remained in the dwarven territory with his return to North Wind Territory still uncertain.

• Ang protected the teleportation array with a shield and arranged for dwarf warriors to guard it while he waited for Dulin.
• Quintina and Aisha arrived through the array, and Ang welcomed them after confirming they were safe to enter.
• Aisha reported that magic rice had been planted across Amnath, and Ang cooked it with stewed magical beast meat for the group and the dwarves.
• Quintina briefed Ang on exploration in Valagajudi, prompting him to support a border town and give her a map of lizardfolk tribes.
• Aisha reported that the centaurs had joined the Cavalry Regiment and increased by more than forty, while Ang ordered her to restore the strength of Black Scale Horses used for breeding.
• Quintina updated Ang on his family, Dulin's journey, the war, and his promotion to viscount; Ang learned the passage between Amnath and Fortress of Will had not yet opened.

Ang coordinated the sulfur mining operation and discussed the human-controlled territories with his companions. After Dulin returned from investigating the outside world, he told the dwarf elders about its prosperity and dangers, leaving them to decide whether their people should leave the World Tree.

• Ang told Quintina to maintain sulfur mining because magic bombs were effective against the lizardmen, and Quintina and Aisha returned to Amnath City.
• Ang told Dana that young Minotaurs had been sent to Amnath, where they could grow up in a safer environment.
• Dulin returned to the Dwarf Sacred Hall, and the elders asked Ang, Dana, and Linya to leave while they heard his report.
• Dulin told the elders that human lands were vast and prosperous, but their war against the lizardmen remained costly and unresolved.
• The Great Elder asked the elders to discuss whether the dwarves should leave the World Tree, then privately asked Dulin whether they truly needed to go.
• Dulin gave no clear answer, and the Great Elder remained alone in the silent sacred hall.

Ang, Dana, and Linya helped the dwarves decide whether to leave their home beneath the World Tree, then arranged their relocation and a trade with those who stayed. After receiving a map to the elves’ location, the three set out toward their next destination.

• Ang, Dana, and Linya discussed the dwarves’ reluctance to leave, and Linya explained that they feared their race’s extinction more than battle.
• After several days of deliberation, the Flame Spirit Firebeard and Buman Stonefoot branches each chose one hundred members to leave, while the entire Barn branch agreed to go with Ang.
• Ang signed a Magic Contract with the three dwarf elders and transported nearly six hundred dwarves to Amnath City, where the clans received living quarters and roles in the city’s defense and workshop.
• Dulin arranged an exchange of food and drink for the dwarves’ accumulated treasures and two World Tree spears, and Ang delivered supplies sufficient for twenty years.
• The Dwarf Great Elder gave Ang a map showing the elves’ location, and Ang, Dana, and Linya left the dwarf city to search for clues at the place where Barn had found Stone Eye.