Chapter Summaries

Alice confronted Sylvia over Cassandra and offered her a choice between a dagger and candy, but Sylvia chose the candy before stabbing herself. Alice performed Spirit Channeling to question Sylvia about Cassandra, learning how Cassandra first won Sylvia’s trust and beginning to investigate whether she had influenced Sylvia’s fortune-telling scams.

• Alice questioned Sylvia about why Amon had left her alive, and Sylvia offered to reveal secrets about Cassandra in exchange for her life.
• Alice told Sylvia to choose between a dagger and candy, and Sylvia ate the candy before taking the dagger and stabbing herself.
• Alice began a Spirit Channeling ritual and asked how Sylvia had first met Cassandra.
• Sylvia recalled that Cassandra had claimed Fate chose her and had made prophecies that later came true.
• Alice asked why Sylvia had pretended to be a Soothsayer, and Sylvia said it was to act as a Swindler and that Cassandra had not suggested it.
• Alice asked whether Cassandra had ever told Sylvia a story about posing as a fortune-teller to swindle people.

Alice disposed of Sylvia’s corpse, encountered Amon in crow form, and returned to Backlund to begin writing a story about Amon and Leonard. She published under the pen name Rita Skeeter, while Klein offered her a surprise gift at the Tarot Club meeting.

• Alice put Sylvia’s corpse in the coffin, then carved a mark around her right eye with a dagger.
• Alice teleported into a forest, where she met Amon in the form of a crow and asked him for a fluffy avatar to raise.
• Alice returned to Backlund and drafted a story about Amon and Leonard’s first meeting, also weaving in Amon and Pallez.
• Alice finished the first part of her manuscript and signed a contract with a magazine publisher under the pen name Rita Skeeter.
• At the Tarot Club meeting, Klein offered Alice a gift if she stayed quiet, and she eagerly asked what it was.

Klein met Alice in the Gargas Archipelago, where she turned a pirate and gang fight into chaos with her Chaos Domain. The chapter left Klein shouting as Alice picked up one of the Wolf Fish Cans thrown into the road.

• Klein arranged to meet Alice in Nas through a crystal ball and wore a wizard robe at her request.
• Alice saw Klein's outfit and joked that it was time to return Amon's Monocle to its rightful owner.
• Klein took Alice to watch a fight between pirates and a local gang, and Alice used her Chaos Domain to confuse everyone in the area.
• Alice withdrew the domain when the fighters continued brawling, and Klein tried to explain why violence would not end violence.
• A local threw Wolf Fish Cans into the road, and Alice picked one up as Klein shouted for her not to put it in her mouth.

Klein and Alice traveled to Nas, where Alice tried to watch a protest against white whale hunting and confronted an inn receptionist who tried to give them only one room. After eating at a whale restaurant, they reached Cattleya's contact shop, where the owner offered Klein a drink and Alice asked whether Feynak men shared mistresses.

• Alice rescued Klein from the Wolf Fish Cans' attack range and gave him lemonade after he retched.
• Klein translated the anti-whaling protesters' banners for Alice, then pulled her away when police confronted the demonstrators.
• Alice challenged the inn receptionist for falsely claiming only one room was available, and Klein led her upstairs after they got two rooms.
• Klein soothed Alice with a feast of white whale dishes before they visited the Frenzy Whale Dance shop on Gray Amber Street.
• The shopkeeper offered Klein a bottle of Nibos, prompting Alice to ask whether Feynak men shared mistresses.

Klein met a drunken warehouse boss to arrange a meeting with Cattleya, while Alice’s curiosity about liquor and her attempt to impersonate Amon caused awkward interruptions. Cattleya confirmed that they would leave at eight that night from Dock 6, and the crystal-ball call ended with her deciding not to ask about the strange rumor linking Alice and Gehrman Sparrow.

• The Boss choked on his liquor when Alice misunderstood his drinking metaphor and asked about his mistress.
• After the Boss led them away, Alice tasted his liquor, spat it out, and put on Amon’s Monocle to understand its effects.
• The Boss used a crystal ball to contact Cattleya, who recognized Gehrman Sparrow and noticed Alice beside him.
• Alice greeted Cattleya as Lady Daly Hermit, and Klein told her to use names so others would not overhear.
• Alice tried to imitate Amon with her Monocle, but Klein smacked her head and promised to give her a Monocle later.
• Cattleya told Klein to meet her at Dock 6 at eight that night, then ended the call without asking about the rumor concerning Alice and Gehrman Sparrow.

Klein took Alice to the Lodal bar in Gargas, where they overheard an adventurer describe a mysterious seabed discovery east of the city. The report of a deep, alluring underwater well left Klein wondering whether the ruins predated the Fourth Epoch.

• Klein transformed his appearance to escape Alice’s grasp, then took her by carriage to the Lodal bar.
• Alice warned Klein that he had overpaid the coachman, and Klein collected the change.
• At the bar, Alice demanded the strongest liquor, but the newly opened bottle returned to its unopened state and she pushed it toward Klein.
• Klein listened to the adventurers while Alice focused on her food.
• An adventurer said Gales had found human-built steel wreckage and an immense submerged well east of Gargas, whose depths seemed to call to him.
• Klein considered that the underwater ruins might date from an epoch earlier than the Fourth.

Klein and Alice encountered Kircheis at the Lodal bar, where he fled after Alice recognized his 9,500-pound bounty. That evening, they boarded Cattleya’s ship, the Future, via a spectacular starlight bridge, and Klein wondered why she had arranged such a conspicuous welcome.

• Alice and Klein discussed lunch at the Lodal bar before a young man asked whether members of the Adventurers Mutual Aid Society were present.
• Kircheis, Agalito’s second mate, entered the bar, and Alice recognized him as the Butcher with a 9,500-pound bounty; he fled after seeing her.
• Bar patrons whispered that Alice was a Demigod who was keeping Gehrman Sparrow, and Klein and Alice left the bar.
• Klein and Alice waited at Dock 6 until Cattleya’s ship, the Future, arrived at eight o’clock.
• Lady Daly conjured a transparent bridge of starlight from the Future to Dock 6, and Alice and Klein crossed it aboard the ship.
• Klein asked whether Alice had arranged the conspicuous welcome, and Alice denied it, so he concluded Cattleya had acted on her own.

Klein and Alice boarded the Future and met its captain, Cattleya, as the ship resumed its dangerous eastward voyage. They encountered the first mate, Frank Lee, whose unusual agricultural experiments prompted Alice to suggest even stranger ideas before Klein stopped her.

• Alice accidentally drenched Cattleya in liquor when the bottle exploded in her hand, then Klein introduced himself and Alice to her.
• Cattleya led Klein and Alice aboard the Future and explained that few sailors traveled east along the Whaling Route because it was extremely dangerous.
• Alice hid behind Cattleya as sailors watched her, and Klein threatened to throw her into the sea if the crew all died.
• At the cabin entrance, Alice asked Frank Lee if she could pull out one of his arm hairs, and he introduced himself as the Future's First Mate.
• Frank Lee explained that the Mother God church had nearly taken him to court over his attempt to grow calves from the ground like wheat.
• Alice proposed chicken-leg, steak, and ice cream trees, but Klein covered her mouth and introduced himself to Frank Lee.

Alice and Klein boarded the Future, where they met the ship’s second mate, Heath Doyle, and learned how he had become a Rose Bishop. Cattleya showed Alice to her room, and Alice asked whether the Starlight Bridge had been her Extraordinary Ability.

• Alice urged Klein to make a money tree, and he reminded her not to forget her promise to wait until the return trip before acting.
• Alice met Heath Doyle, the Future’s pale second mate, and recognized him as the Bloodless from a wanted poster.
• Frank Lee explained that Heath had become a Rose Bishop after potion materials accidentally seeped into him, without passing through the Listener stage.
• Alice questioned Heath about whether he had encountered anything connected to a Soothsayer, and warned that such attention could be dangerous.
• Cattleya showed Alice her childlike room aboard the Future, and Alice asked whether Cattleya had created the Starlight Bridge.

Alice explored the Future, sampled Frank Lee’s bizarre cultivated food, and watched two whaling ships prepare to defend themselves from the ship. She resisted the urge to appear aboard the whalers and joined Cattleya in the captain’s cabin, leaving her reason for visiting unexplained.

• Alice asked Cattleya for a late-night snack and went with her to the dining hall, where she cautiously tried a potato that tasted like beef.
• Alice recommended chili sauce on ice cream, and Cattleya tried it before throwing the dish away.
• The next morning, Alice told Klein that the fish on his plate was actually a potato, then gave him the fish from her own plate.
• Alice saw two whaling ships turn their weapons toward the Future but abandoned the idea of appearing aboard them.
• Alice entered Cattleya’s cabin and silently stood beside her to watch outside until Cattleya asked what she was doing.

Alice waited with Cattleya aboard the Future, then joined her and Klein in investigating a nearby Fourth Epoch ruin called the Deep Sea Giant Well. Frank Lee showed them a fish whose blood had become red wine, and Alice tasted it before suggesting other drinks he could try.

• Alice reflected on the Key of Light and decided its unpredictable game might give her a chance to make it lose.
• Cattleya spotted pirate ships, which scattered as the Future approached, and explained that she was slowing the ship to investigate the Deep Sea Giant Well.
• Klein joined Alice and Cattleya on deck, where Frank Lee greeted them and Alice healed Klein with a pat.
• Frank Lee demonstrated his fish with red wine for blood, and Alice took a sip before proposing that he try making fish with tea or grape juice.

Frank Lee showed Alice his experiments aboard Cattleya’s ship, while Nina prepared to dive into the sea. Alice sensed that Bernadette might be approaching, and Nina later returned with strange artifacts, prompting Alice to ask if she could touch her chest.

• Frank Lee described plans for drinks made from plants and fruit infused with medicine, and Cattleya interrupted to ask whether Nina was ready.
• Nina emerged from the shadows, exchanged questions with Alice about her relationship with Gehrman Sparrow, and Alice called him her Blessed.
• Nina dove into the sea with several sailors, and Alice sensed that a guest might soon arrive through a forest of pea vines.
• Alice asked how long it would take to reach the sea, and Cattleya said her secret route would get them there in two or three days.
• Nina returned with a corroded metal bar and a piece of porous black mud, complained that there was no Deep Sea Giant Well, and Alice asked if she could touch Nina’s chest.

Gehrman Sparrow introduced Alice to Nina as one of his Sealed Artifacts, and Alice awkwardly abandoned her request to touch Nina’s chest after noticing Bernadette watching. Nina then described the ruins she found on the seabed, while Klein tried to stop Alice from asking about her suggestive remarks by telling her fate would reveal the answer later.

• Alice asked whether a man could have breasts as large as Nina’s, and Gehrman Sparrow introduced her as one of his Sealed Artifacts.
• Alice decided not to touch Nina after sensing Bernadette watching, then manually restarted herself and returned to her previous position as if nothing had happened.
• Cattleya asked Nina to explain what she had found, and Nina described a deep-sea well surrounded by collapsed steel structures.
• Alice asked Klein what Nina meant by saying the structures had shrunk, and Klein explained it with a sponge analogy.
• Klein told Alice that fate would reveal the answer when the Wheel of Fortune turned to the right position, leaving her confused.

Alice examined a rusted metal bar from the ruins and learned that a deep well had called to Nina, while something in the Western Continent seemed to call to Alice. After Alice frightened Nina by warning that she might have melted in the well, Nina recovered with alcohol, and the crew decided not to investigate the well.

• Alice traced the metal bar to collapsed steel buildings and a deep well, then heard whispers that no one else seemed to notice.
• Nina described finding the well and feeling an eerie call from its dark interior.
• Alice sensed something calling to her from the direction of the Western Continent and warned Nina that she might have melted if she had stayed in the well longer.
• Nina fell silent in fear, and Klein told Cattleya that entering the well was a bad idea.
• Nina recovered with alcohol and invited Alice to drink, while Alice left to calm herself with ice cream.

Audrey suspected Michel Dyett's war notebook had a hidden connection to a Dragon and decided to use Magic Mirror Divination to investigate it. When she prayed for help, Alice eagerly agreed, leaving Audrey dismayed that she could no longer ask Mr. Fool instead.

• Audrey reviewed Michel Dyett's Twenty-Year War Notes and suspected the notebook's significance lay in its connection to a knight and possibly a Mind Dragon.
• Audrey considered how to divine the notebook's origins and decided to ask Mr. Fool to serve as the third-party power for Magic Mirror Divination.
• Audrey asked Susie to guard the door and performed a ritual after receiving permission from Mr. Fool.
• Klein answered Audrey's request by telling her to ask Miss Fortune instead.
• Audrey reluctantly prayed to Alice, who happily agreed to help with the Magic Mirror Divination.
• Audrey heard Alice's cheerful reply and realized she could not turn to Mr. Fool after all.

Audrey performed Magic Mirror Divination to learn where the notebook’s owner was, and Alice briefly possessed her through the mirror before withdrawing. The divination showed a village church and cemetery, ending on a grave marked with the name Lindrila.

• Audrey prepared for Magic Mirror Divination and prayed to the Forever Pure Child.
• Alice followed Audrey’s prayer through the mirror and briefly possessed Audrey’s body, realizing she could read or destroy Audrey’s soul.
• Alice returned through the mirror, leaving Audrey frightened, but Audrey continued with the divination.
• Audrey asked the mirror for the notebook owner’s whereabouts, and Alice showed her a village church and cemetery.
• Alice focused the vision on a tombstone bearing the faint name Lindrila.

Alice ended her divination with Audrey, then encountered Frank Lee aboard the Future and tried to cheer him up after his fish experiment failed. Her suggestion that he advance left Cattleya facing Frank’s request for a Druid Beyonder Characteristic.

• Audrey told Alice that she had already explored Hedrak under Mr. Fool’s protection and offered to recount what happened.
• Alice noticed a room that made her think of Bernadette, but Cattleya said no one was inside and admitted she had discovered nothing.
• Alice found Frank Lee grieving over fish that could not reproduce and bit into one after he handed it to her.
• Cattleya arrived to see Alice and Klein eating fish with blood-red liquid on their faces.
• Alice urged Frank Lee to advance and suggested he ask Cattleya for a potion or commission Klein to find a Beyonder Characteristic.
• Frank Lee asked Cattleya whether she had a Druid Beyonder Characteristic.

Alice’s vision revealed the Death Knell approaching the Future, but the Undying King’s ship turned away before anyone could respond. Afterward, Alice questioned Frank Lee’s reckless research and wondered whether she seemed more even-tempered than the Undying King.

• Cattleya denied having a Druid Beyonder Characteristic, and Frank Lee asked Gehrman Sparrow what it would cost to find one.
• Klein told Frank Lee to beat up Alice, but Alice stopped attacking Klein when she saw a vision of the Death Knell approaching the Future.
• The Death Knell sounded its horn and then sailed away, and Alice said its crew might have recognized her from their encounter in Nas.
• Alice asked Frank whether he could grow complete corpses from parts to collect bounties repeatedly, then explained that she lacked the support and resources other powerful Beyonders often had.
• Frank asked Alice for flesh and blood to research Mythical Creatures, and Cattleya agreed to keep him from advancing.
• Frank wondered whether the Undying King could extend his fish’s lifespans through crossbreeding, and Alice asked whether she seemed more even-tempered than Agality.

On the Future, Alice stopped a supernatural attack from the Death Announcer and ordered Frank Lee to restore a corpse. The ship reached the nearby sea region sooner than expected, and Alice watched Heath Doyle consume a fish before asking Klein about feeding Creeping Hunger other things.

• The Death Announcer's malicious laughter hurt the sailors and caused some Beyonders to grow scales, but Alice silenced it and restored everyone to normal.
• Alice asked Frank Lee whether he could make part of a corpse grow into a complete corpse, and he said he could.
• Alice asked Cattleya when the Future would reach the sea region, and Cattleya said they would arrive the next day.
• The next morning, Cattleya told Alice they would reach the sea region shortly, while Alice and Klein discussed their imminent arrival over breakfast.
• Alice watched Heath Doyle absorb a large fish into his body and asked Klein whether he had tried feeding Creeping Hunger anything besides people.

The Future was thrown across a dangerous fissure in the sea, and Alice and Klein spotted ancient ruins under a golden sky. Cattleya recognized the area and recalled visiting it long ago with the Queen of Mystery.

• Cattleya explained that Rose Bishops needed flesh and blood and could use substitutes, while Alice pondered whether humanlike fish counted as people or food.
• Alice foresaw the sea splitting open and moved away from the dining table before the Future lurched violently and its crew and dinnerware flew through the room.
• Alice used wings of light to catch food as the ship was lifted across the fissure, while Klein steadied himself and Cattleya remained unaffected.
• Klein asked about Alice's wings, and she explained that they were illusory but could help her fly.
• Klein and Alice saw a golden sky and immense submerged ruins, and Cattleya said she had visited the dangerous sea long ago.
• Alice realized that Cattleya had been with the Queen of Mystery during those visits.