Chapter Summaries

Xia Nan watched Alton gamble at Full Money Bag Tavern, where the halfling won repeatedly before losing his entire fortune in one final all-in round. Outside in the rain, Alton explained that luck and misfortune were two sides of the same force, and Xia Nan realized the gambling had been a ritual honoring Tymora.

• Xia Nan followed Alton through the crowded Full Money Bag Tavern and found him betting all his coins at a card table.
• Alton went all in every round, winning or drawing each time while Xia Nan watched the pile of coins grow.
• Alton lost everything in one final round and cheerfully refused the tavern manager's invitation to speak privately.
• Outside in the rain, Xia Nan asked whether Alton had deliberately lost the last round.
• Alton explained that luck was conserved and that fortune and misfortune were part of the same force.
• Xia Nan realized Alton's gambling had served as a ritual aligned with the teachings of Tymora.

Xia Nan and Alton encountered a pickpocket on their rain-soaked walk back to the inn, and Alton stopped the attempted theft. As the thief fled, a sheriff caught him and identified him as Joey.

• Xia Nan asked Alton about Beshaba, and Alton warned him not to speak of the goddess too much.
• Xia Nan noticed a silver-white robin flying through the rain as they walked.
• A skinny hooded figure collided with Alton and reached for the money pouch at his waist.
• Alton tripped and shoved the thief into the mud, but the thief rolled free and ran.
• Xia Nan started after the thief, but a blond sheriff grabbed Joey by the collar and demanded to know what he had done.

Xia Nan noticed that Sheriff Ingram bore the symbol of Amaunator, while Ingram left to investigate another body found with a limb missing. Alton identified the sun emblem as Amaunator’s, and the two looked toward the golden spire on the east side of town.

• Ingram apologized to Alton and Xia Nan after catching Joey, but Alton declined compensation because the thief had taken nothing.
• Xia Nan noticed a Golden Sun embroidered on Ingram’s cuff as Alton dismissed the incident and left with him.
• Ingram confronted Joey about stealing, learned that Old Harvey had not paid him for two months of work, and gave him money before promising to speak with Harvey.
• Two guards told Ingram that a prostitute’s body had been found with its right leg missing, matching an earlier killing; Ingram ordered them to take him to the scene.
• Xia Nan asked Alton about the sun emblem, and Alton identified it as Amaunator’s while looking toward a golden spire east of town.

Joey returned to his tent during a storm and reflected on his failed attempt to trick an Adventurer, but an unidentified figure approached his shelter. Meanwhile, Xia Nan and Alton heard Adventurers discuss a gruesome death in Kalanfu'er before a sudden knock silenced the tavern.

• Joey made his way through the rain to his patched tent and pushed accumulated water off its roof.
• Joey warmed himself by a stove, hid Ingram’s money pouch, and planned to seek out travelers during the Midsummer Festival.
• Joey recalled that he had approached two Adventurers expecting Ingram to protect him, but had been caught trying to trick a gambler.
• Joey drew his rusty Short Dagger when footsteps approached his tent, and a tall, burly figure stopped outside.
• Xia Nan and Alton listened as an Adventurer described a dead man whose arm bones had all been pulled out without leaving visible wounds.
• A rapid knock at the tavern door silenced the room.

Sheriff Ingram questioned Xia Nan and Alton about Joey’s murder, then revealed that the thief’s death matched a series of killings in Kalanfu'er. Alton suspected cultists were responsible, and Xia Nan noticed the reverse side of Alton’s Lucky Coin for the first time.

• Ingram told Xia Nan and Alton that Joey had been found dead and questioned them about their connection to the thief.
• Xia Nan and Alton explained their alibis, and Ingram confirmed the murders involved victims whose limb bones had been removed.
• Alton asked whether Joey’s death matched the other killings, and Ingram confirmed that it did before leaving with his guards.
• Jeff asked whether the Sheriff had caused trouble, while several drunken adventurers complained about Ingram and speculated about Joey’s killer.
• Xia Nan asked Alton what he knew, and Alton said cultists were likely behind the murders before tossing his Lucky Coin.
• Xia Nan saw the reverse side of Alton’s Lucky Coin for the first time.

Xia Nan’s Wooden Sword [Green Pine] grew hot and warned him of danger in the inn during the darkest hour before dawn. He armed himself and alerted the other Adventurers, then rushed out with Alton to investigate.

• Jeff carefully wrote a letter to his family before going to bed.
• Xia Nan woke early and sensed heat coming from [Green Pine].
• Xia Nan drew [Green Pine] and realized its unusual reaction might be related to the danger the Sheriff had mentioned.
• Xia Nan put on his Chainmail shirt and loudly warned the Adventurers in nearby rooms to get up.
• Alton armed himself and rushed into Xia Nan’s room, then followed him out without waiting for an explanation.

Xia Nan discovered a thin undead-tainted man stealing Jeff’s bones and attacked him with Wooden Sword [Green Pine]. The man escaped through a window as the other adventurers arrived, leaving Jeff injured and his fate unclear.

• Xia Nan sensed danger in the corridor and kicked open Jeff’s room door.
• Xia Nan found a thin, corpse-like man cutting bones from the sleeping Jeff’s leg.
• Xia Nan struck the man with Wooden Sword [Green Pine], breaking his rusty sword and burning through his armor.
• The man sent a cloud of gray-white fog at Xia Nan, but Xia Nan destroyed it with his sword.
• The wounded man escaped through the window before Xia Nan and the arriving adventurers could catch him.

Xia Nan drove off the gaunt attacker, whom the adventurers identified as Tim, and Alton treated Jeff’s severed leg. After learning the wound still needed a priest’s attention, Xia Nan and Alton asked Sheriff Ingram to take them to the church.

• The gaunt man fled through the window after Xia Nan defeated him, and Alton treated Jeff’s bleeding leg.
• An adventurer recognized the attacker as Tim, a retired adventurer whose wife and daughter had moved outside the city.
• Xia Nan suspected Tim had become an undead creature after noticing his lifeless appearance and the effect of the Wooden Sword [Green Pine].
• Alton said something remained embedded in Jeff’s wound and that a priest could treat it.
• Ingram arrived, thanked Xia Nan for saving Jeff, and sent two Guards to search for Tim.
• Alton pointed out Ingram’s Golden Sun symbol, and Ingram agreed to take them to the church.

Xia Nan and his companions brought the injured Jeff to Kalanfu'er’s Church of Amaunator, where the priest used holy magic to heal his severed leg. Xia Nan watched the powerful healing and wondered whether the priest was a Professional.

• Xia Nan and the others arrived at the grand church in Kalanfu'er and saw its stained-glass image of Amaunator.
• Ingram told the priest that Jeff had been injured by negative energy during an attack on the town’s inn and asked for holy healing.
• The priest agreed to help Jeff and learned that Xia Nan and his companion were adventurers who had helped prevent a tragedy.
• Ingram unwrapped Jeff’s wound, and the priest used his scepter to heal the severed leg with a bright light.
• Xia Nan was astonished by the healing and wondered if the priest was a Professional.

A priest healed Jeff’s wounds but could not restore his lost leg or fully remove the dark energy within him. After Jeff recovered consciousness, the priest and Ingram discussed an approaching ritual and Ingram’s future journey to Mengzhong City.

• The priest healed Jeff’s severed leg wound with holy light and discovered darker energy parasitizing him alongside undead power.
• The priest told Ingram that finding the culprit behind Jeff’s possession might remove its influence, and Xia Nan suspected Tim was responsible.
• Jeff woke, learned that he had lost his leg, and calmed down with Ingram’s support before describing his experience as a nightmare.
• Xia Nan and the Halfling helped move Jeff to a nearby side hall after the priest arranged further care for him.
• Ingram told the priest that the ritual should be completed before the next full moon, and the priest instructed him to go to Mengzhong City afterward.

Xia Nan and Alton learned that Jeff’s condition resisted the church’s powerful holy light, while Sheriff Ingram investigated a report of shadowy figures in the graveyard. Xia Nan suspected the strange graveyard activity might involve undead and wondered whether it was connected to Tim.

• Xia Nan and Alton left Jeff in the church, where its power could suppress the negative energy in his body.
• Alton explained that the priest’s inability to cure Jeff suggested either unusually powerful negative energy or another problem he hesitated to mention.
• Ingram arrived, confirmed Jeff was stable, and took responsibility for failing to catch the murderer in time.
• A guard brought Ingram a bald man’s report that he had seen shadowy figures and heard strange sounds in the Graveyard Forest.
• Xia Nan suspected the figures were undead and wondered if they were connected to Tim.

Xia Nan and Ingram investigated a report of something unclean in the graveyard and confronted its evasive gravekeeper, who attacked them. After Xia Nan severed the old man's hand, he blew a Bone Whistle that summoned a Scaled Bone Palm from the earth.

• Ingram led Xia Nan and the Halfling through the neglected graveyard to question its longtime gravekeeper.
• The gravekeeper turned pale and denied knowing anything about the previous night's events, then shoved Ingram aside and tried to flee.
• The gravekeeper stabbed Xia Nan with a dagger, and Xia Nan blocked the attack with Green Pine.
• Xia Nan used Block Upward Slash to sever the gravekeeper's hand and part of his forearm.
• The injured gravekeeper blew a Bone Whistle and threw it to the ground as a Scaled Bone Palm burst from the earth and seized it.

Xia Nan, Alton, and Sheriff Ingram fought the skeletons that rose around the gravekeeper’s hut. Xia Nan quickly defeated an elite Adventurer Skeleton, while Alton and Ingram cut through the surrounding undead.

• Nearly thirty skeletons emerged from the graves as Xia Nan, Alton, and Ingram prepared to fight.
• Xia Nan cautiously faced a large Adventurer Skeleton, but it swung too slowly and struck the ground instead.
• Xia Nan used Whirlwind Slash to cut the Adventurer Skeleton in half, then destroyed its skull and severed its sword arm.
• Alton dropped his lute and used twin curved sabers to swiftly cut down the skeletons around him.
• Ingram smashed skeletons with his holy-light One-handed Hammer, while his Light Plate Armor shrugged off their attacks.

Xia Nan and his companions defeated the graveyard skeletons and captured the fleeing gravedigger. The gravedigger presented a strange leather book bearing a skull, claiming it was a gift from his lord.

• Xia Nan and his companions destroyed the skeletons, and Xia Nan found a Bone Whistle fused with the elite skeleton's palm.
• Alton told Xia Nan the palm bone could be sold for a good price but warned him not to keep it long because buyers who needed it were dangerous.
• Ingram praised Xia Nan's strength, and Alton's question about whether Ingram was a Paladin made the Sheriff briefly stiffen.
• Ingram revealed that guards had been waiting at the graveyard exits and had captured the wounded gravedigger.
• The gravedigger begged Ingram for mercy and brought out a leather book with a human skull on its cover, calling it a gift from his lord.

Ingram examined a strange book linked to Myrkul and found a poem that matched the recent victims and the objects taken from them. The poem suggested the killer would target gamblers, heretics, and a maimed old man, though Ingram said he had someone else in mind for the final target.

• The gravedigger revealed that he had found a book and a divine Bone Whistle, while Alton dismissed him as an unimportant cultist.
• Ingram questioned the gravedigger about the book's missing pages, and the gravedigger insisted it had already been damaged when he found it.
• Ingram read a poem describing a woman whose ornaments were taken, and recognized its victims and stolen body parts as matching the recent attacks.
• Ingram concluded that the killer might next target a gambler and a heretic, and assigned men to watch the Full Money Bag Tavern.
• Xia Nan pointed out that the gravedigger matched the poem's description of a maimed old man cloaked in twilight aura, but Ingram said he had someone else in mind.

Xia Nan and Alton visited Old Blind-Eye, but Xia Nan lost two hours inside the old man's house and sensed something was wrong. When they rushed outside, they found Tim had killed several guards, and Xia Nan and Alton pursued him.

• Xia Nan and Alton went to Old Blind-Eye's house while Ingram took the gravekeeper to the Church.
• Old Blind-Eye opened the door, and Xia Nan felt an eerie sensation before realizing he had somehow spent two hours inside the house.
• Xia Nan urged Alton to leave and go check on Ingram, but Old Blind-Eye tried to keep them talking.
• Xia Nan and Alton rushed outside after hearing the guards' cries and found Tim standing over several dead guards.
• Xia Nan charged at Tim, who turned and fled, and Xia Nan and Alton pursued him.

Xia Nan pursued the undead Tim through the woods and found bones arranged in a human shape, linking them to the recent disappearances and clues. Sheriff Ingram appeared holding the gravedigger’s head and used a stored spell to paralyze Xia Nan, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Xia Nan and the Halfling chased the slowed undead Tim through the woods as the silver-feathered Robin appeared nearby.
• Tim stopped beside human bones arranged on the ground, and Xia Nan connected them to the missing bones, the dead pickpocket, Jeff’s severed leg, and the leather book’s poem.
• Ingram emerged from the underbrush carrying the gravedigger’s severed head, while Xia Nan suspected the Sheriff had killed him.
• Ingram activated a one-use spell stored in his sleeve, and pink light struck Xia Nan with Second circle Enchantment School [Hold Person], immobilizing him.

Ingram completed most of a necromantic ritual using Tim’s remains, intending to summon a creature and become an Evil-Attached Knight. As he moved to sacrifice a devout Halfling, he noticed the black-haired youth held by [Hold Person] trembling.

• Ingram smashed Tim’s head and placed his spine in the assembled skeleton.
• Ingram recalled that Joey had been the final victim he needed for the ritual and expressed regret over killing him.
• Ingram identified the Halfling as a devoted follower of Tymora and prepared to cut his throat to finish the ritual.
• Ingram explained that completing the ritual would let him become an Evil-Attached Knight and earn a post in Mengzhong City.
• Ingram noticed the black-haired youth beside the trembling Halfling.

Xia Nan broke free of Ingram’s [Hold Person] and fought the Sheriff, using his Magic Item and swordsmanship to survive their clash. As fire spread through the ritual site, Alton escaped his restraint and tossed his Lucky Coin, while Xia Nan and Ingram’s charge ended in a blade piercing flesh.

• Ingram killed Tim and prepared to strike Xia Nan, but Xia Nan’s "Dead Line" ring deflected the hammer, giving him time to break free and counterattack.
• Xia Nan and Ingram exchanged blows, and Xia Nan wounded Ingram’s thigh before Ingram charged again and burned Xia Nan’s waist with Holy Light.
• Ingram summoned swarms of insects, and Xia Nan threw a jar of fire oil that ignited the insects and spread flames through the woods toward the ritual array.
• Alton broke free of [Hold Person] when the flames seared him, and his Lute’s strings snapped as he tossed his Lucky Coin.
• The Robin flew past as the coin landed in Alton’s palm, and a blade pierced flesh when the advancing figures abruptly stopped.

Xia Nan killed Ingram after Alton’s prayer to Tymora helped trigger Xia Nan’s rare damage-immunity Feat, though the Sheriff’s Holy Light still burned him. After the battle, Alton gave Xia Nan a coin bearing Tymora’s image, and Xia Nan saw that it was an Epic-grade item.

• Xia Nan’s [Bronze Sinew, Iron Bone] effect triggered as Ingram struck him, letting Xia Nan survive the hammer blow and pin Ingram to a tree with his Beheading Longsword.
• Alton confirmed he had prayed to Tymora, then treated Xia Nan’s burns with Burn Ointment and bandaged him.
• Xia Nan destroyed the undead formation, searched Ingram’s corpse, and took his Light Plate Armor and money pouch.
• Alton gave Xia Nan a brass coin engraved with Tymora’s face before they parted ways.
• Xia Nan inspected the coin and saw that it was an Epic (Pink) item.