Recaps

Hobart fought John and Alex in the abandoned workshop, using Corrosion, the Stone of Loss of Control, and his abilities to weaken his opponents. After the battle shifted against him, he used a classical Pocket Watch to make John’s Dawn Sword vanish and appear in his own hand.

• Hobart used Corrosion and the Stone of Loss of Control on John, Alex, and two Sequence 8s, then weakened John with his bribery ability.
• Hobart killed one Sequence 8 and tried to press his advantage, but John parried a Stone of Loss of Control and attacked him with a Dawn Sword.
• Hobart twisted John’s attack and used Frenzy, but Alex summoned an Undead and three Golden Skeletons that immobilized and attacked Hobart.
• Kelly and Jessica killed the Sequence 8 who was nearing loss of control while Alex and Kelly fought, and Hobart freed himself and destroyed the Golden Skeletons.
• John recovered from Frenzy and charged Hobart, who used a classical Pocket Watch to take the Dawn Sword from John’s hand.

Hobart used his abilities and the Teleport Stone Statue to keep John from escaping while he weakened him with Corrosion. After killing Alex and John, Hobart reflected on how difficult a Sequence 6 was to defeat.

• Hobart exploited the limits of John's abilities, cut through his Dawn Armor, and forced him to retreat with Alex.
• Hobart used the Teleport Stone Statue to return John and Alex to the Abandoned Workshop after they fled through separate windows.
• Kelly helped Hobart fight the two men, and Hobart killed Alex with his blade.
• John charged Hobart with his fists while Hobart evaded his attacks and continued using Corrosion.
• Hobart's Corrosion overwhelmed John's damaged spirit body, allowing Hobart to pierce John's chest and cut off half his head.
• John collapsed and died, and Hobart remarked that Sequence 6 was hard to kill.

After the fight, Hobart used Spirit Communication on John to learn about the Judgement Group and trace John’s rise through the Beyonder sequences. He obtained several Potion Recipes, including the Sequence 5 Guardian recipe, and wondered whether the Giant Bishop had already found it.

• Hobart checked the area for hidden enemies, then asked Kelly and Jessica to search the bodies while he questioned John’s spirit.
• Hobart learned that John belonged to the Judgement Group, which had a Leader and five Vice Leaders; John’s superior was the scar-faced Gale.
• Hobart saw the Judgement Group’s obscured Leader and concluded that a powerful Sealed Artifact might be hiding the man’s appearance.
• Hobart learned John’s Sequence 9 Warrior and Sequence 8 Pugilist recipes, then saw how John obtained recipes for higher sequences.
• Hobart obtained the Sequence 5 Guardian Potion Recipe and wondered whether the Giant Bishop had already acquired it.

Hobart questioned the Dawn Knight, John, through Spirit Communication and learned where he had hidden a Mutated Fire Rose Spider and how his superior Gale made contact. After John’s spirit dissipated, Hobart and his companions disposed of the bodies and divided the spoils, including several Extraordinary Characteristics.

• Hobart used Spirit Communication to learn that John had hidden a Mutated Fire Rose Spider in a grave at Bostan Cemetery and that only John knew its location.
• Hobart learned that Gale would contact John when needed, then John’s spirit body dissipated.
• Kelly and Jessica searched the bodies, dissolved the corpses, and left the Abandoned Workshop with Hobart.
• Kelly told Hobart that Alex had commissioned a Beyonder Weapon, which might have been intended for someone else or for the Judgment Group.
• Hobart and his companions divided the spoils, and Hobart accepted the Provoker’s Extraordinary Characteristics from Kelly.

After reviewing the mistakes and lessons from his battle, Hobart prepared for Fors’s Blood Moon crisis and watched as she resisted losing control by reciting The Fool’s Honorific Name. He healed Fors afterward, and she thanked him for his earlier advice.

• Hobart reviewed his battle, recognizing that he had misused the Stone of Loss of Control and had been overconfident, while noting what he had learned about Corrosion, Distortion, and the limits of the Teleport Stone Statue.
• Hobart returned to Blanca Street and found Fors awake; she told him she had quit her job as an Apprentice.
• Hobart realized the Blood Moon had arrived and used True Sight to observe Fors as she grew agitated and began showing signs of losing control.
• Fors opened a book and haltingly recited The Fool’s Honorific Name, and Hobart sensed that her loss of control had not continued.
• Hobart gave Fors a Healing Art, and she thanked him for his advice.

Fors celebrated her newfound freedom with Hobart and Xue, while Raft Pond recovered his memories of the Roselle Memorial Exhibition and prayed to the Creator for help restoring his family’s glory. Hobart heard Raft’s prayer in the Country of Disorder but chose not to answer, leaving Raft’s plea unresolved.

• Fors celebrated with Hobart, who brought out aged white wine, and Xue admitted she had been stuffing her shoes to seem taller.
• Under the Blood Moon, Raft Pond used a Sealed Artifact to confirm that no one was secretly watching him.
• Raft used a crystal ball to recover details of the Roselle Memorial Exhibition, including the Creator’s Honorific Name.
• Raft prayed to the Creator in the Shadow of Order for guidance and help restoring the Pond family’s glory.
• Hobart received Raft’s prayer in the Country of Disorder, confirmed Raft was acting on his own, and decided not to respond.

Hobart and Klein searched for Hayman, using Klein’s divination to track the pipe’s owner to an enamel factory in Backlund. They found a likely underground hiding place and Hobart thrust his sheathed blade into the ground above it, calling out an order.

• Hobart mailed Byron the message that the goods had arrived, then met Klein and sold him Hurricane Axe for 510 Pounds.
• Klein divined that Hayman’s pipe owner was still in Backlund and guided their carriage to an enamel factory in the Factory District.
• Hobart and Klein investigated the factory, shared the carriage fare, and returned at night wearing anti-divination masks.
• Hobart hypnotized the factory workers into believing he was their manager while Klein’s divination led them to abandoned equipment and a suspected underground entrance.
• Hobart hypnotized two men guarding the equipment to ignore them, then thrust his sheathed Tang Sword into the ground and called out, “Order!”

Hobart and Klein ambushed the people beneath the abandoned workshop, but Hobart discovered the target was not Hayman and that two Rose Bishops were involved. He turned the fight to his advantage by exploiting Hillman’s injuries and loss of control, then stole the other Rose Bishop’s ability to transform into flesh.

• Hobart sensed two people underground with the Teleport Stone Statue and found that one was a weakened Rose Bishop who was already close to losing control.
• Hobart used the Order Wood, the Stone of Loss of Control, and the Psychological Spoon to push the first Rose Bishop toward a complete loss of control.
• A second Rose Bishop attacked, and Hobart realized the pipe that had led him there belonged to Hillman rather than Hayman.
• Hillman lost control, and Hobart redirected the monster’s attacks toward the second Rose Bishop while weakening him.
• Hobart stole the second Rose Bishop’s ability to transform into flesh, leaving him vulnerable as the monster pounced.
• The Rose Bishop detonated the guard’s head inside the monster, blasting it apart.

Hobart defeated the Rose Bishop by weakening the battlefield’s flesh with Distortion and exploiting the Rose Bishop’s loss of control over it. After collecting the spoils, Hobart and Klein left, while Mr. A arrived and decided to bring in replacements for the Aurora Society’s losses in Backlund.

• Hobart used Frenzy and a Stone of Loss of Control against the Rose Bishop, who feigned weakness to lure him closer.
• Hobart turned into flesh, cut off the Rose Bishop’s leg with his spirit-damaging blade, and weakened the surrounding flesh by distorting its spirituality.
• Hobart used Corrosion to fill the Rose Bishop with greed, then split him in half and fatally wounded his spirit body.
• Hobart and Klein retrieved the Stone of Loss of Control, found Hillman’s pulsing heart inside the writhing monster, and collected the Rose Bishop’s Extraordinary Characteristics.
• Hobart and Klein left the battlefield, and Mr. A arrived and decided to transfer people from other cities to Backlund.

Klein and Hobart divided the rewards from killing Hillman and the Rose Bishop, then Hobart negotiated with Captain Thomas to sell Hillman’s Sealed Artifact to the Nighthawks. Hobart left with payment approved for the following morning as thick fog covered Backlund.

• Klein and Hobart agreed to split Hillman’s 1,500-Pound bounty, share the Sealed Artifact’s value, and give Hobart the Rose Bishop’s Extraordinary Characteristic in exchange for 300 Pounds.
• Klein gave Hobart the Krag Club as a contact address, and Hobart went to the Blackthorn Security Company to claim the bounty.
• Hobart told Captain Thomas that he had killed Hillman with a companion’s help and offered Hillman’s Sealed Artifact to the Nighthawks.
• Hobart asked for one-fifth of a Judge Extraordinary Characteristic and 2,000 Pounds for the Sealed Artifact, and Thomas agreed to arrange the payment.
• Hobart left the security company and walked into the thick fog spreading across Backlund.

Hobart collected his Judge Extraordinary Characteristics and sold two Rose School characteristics to Byron while trading intelligence about the Judgment Group. He learned that two of its Vice Leaders were tied to organizations secretly supported by the Fosac Empire and Feneport Kingdom.

• Hobart collected the Judge Extraordinary Characteristics and his reward from Thomas at Blackthorn Security Company.
• Hobart sold the Madman and Werewolf Extraordinary Characteristics to Byron for 1,800 pounds.
• Hobart gave Byron portraits of three Judgment Group Vice Leaders in exchange for 600 pounds and one answer to a question.
• Byron identified Gale as a high-ranking member of the Intersea Mutual Aid Society, an Extraordinary Organization secretly supported by the Fosac Empire.
• Byron revealed that Steven, the Spirituality Cult's Guild Leader, was also a Vice Leader of the Judgment Group.
• Hobart connected the Judgment Group to the Feneport Kingdom and concluded that Gale likely served as a liaison between the Judgment Group and the Intersea Mutual Aid Society.

Hobart completed several profitable deals, paid Klein his share, and told him that his family would be visiting Backlund. After reviewing his battle and the requirements for acting as a Corrupted Baron, Hobart considered leaving Backlund to build his influence in the Southern Continent.

• Hobart collected money from Byron, gathered more than 13,000 pounds, and sent 11,000 pounds and the Judge's Extraordinary Characteristics to the Country of Disorder.
• Hobart arranged for Aputon to collect two finished water pumps and prepare them for sacrifice the next morning.
• Hobart paid Klein 2,200 pounds for his share of the bounty, the Sealed Artifact sale, and the Rose Bishop's Extraordinary Characteristics, then offered him 300 pounds for his divination.
• Hobart told Klein that his siblings would visit Backlund and that he could see them at the Roselle Memorial Exhibition on Sunday, but Klein declined.
• Hobart reviewed his battle and concluded that acting as a Corrupted Baron required influencing those around him and controlling a territory or industry, leading him to consider developing in the Southern Continent.

Aputon sacrificed two Water Pumps to the Creator, who accepted them, while Elliot prayed for two pumps at Hodges Copper Mine. The Creator granted Elliot’s request, and a terrifying power descended upon the altar.

• Aputon performed a ritual in his Warehouse and the Creator took both Water Pumps through the Bronze Gate.
• After the Creator praised his offering, Aputon decided to ask the Masked Man about the proper gesture of worship.
• At Hodges Copper Mine, Zachary and other Balk family members mocked Elliot’s plan to ask a god for Water Pumps.
• Elliot prepared an altar, offered gold and a bloodstained sleeve, and prayed to the Creator for two pumps.
• The Creator appeared in Elliot’s mind and granted his request, while Zachary and the others sensed a terrifying power descending.

After the Creator delivered two Water Pumps and ordered Elliot to treat the slaves as human beings, Elliot changed conditions at the mine and assigned people to install the pumps. In the Country of Disorder, Hobart examined the gold and learned that the wooden box contained a powerful but dangerous Sealed Artifact.

• The Bronze Gates appeared, and their pressure forced Zachary, the foremen, and the slaves to kneel as two Water Pumps descended; the Creator then commanded Elliot to treat the slaves as human beings.
• Elliot accepted the Creator’s command, gave the two Water Pumps to Zachary’s family, and assigned them to read the Loen manuals, operate one pump, and deliver the other to another Copper Mine.
• Elliot ordered houses built for the slaves, commanded that the slaves being punished on poles be taken down, and banned casual killings while raising their food standards.
• Zachary warned Elliot that better food would increase costs, but he accepted Elliot’s cold rebuke and agreed to carry out the orders.
• Hobart examined the gold in the Country of Disorder and used its authority to identify the wooden box as a Sealed Artifact left by a Sequence 6 Living Corpse of the Prisoner pathway.
• Hobart learned that the artifact granted steel-hard defense, resistance to some magic, swift movement, and frost spells, but also had severe negative effects.

Hobart examined a Sealed Artifact tied to the Desire Mother Tree, extracted a dangerous jade from it, and prepared to use its Extraordinary Characteristics. He then attended a Justice League gathering where Colatti joined the group.

• Hobart used the Country of Disorder to weaken the artifact’s werewolf curse, but could not alter its effect that made its wearer believe in the Desire Mother Tree.
• Hobart extracted a hard fragment from the artifact’s blood, attached it to granite, and created Cursed Jade, which could make an enemy sincerely believe in the Desire Mother Tree twice.
• Hobart gathered the artifact’s Prisoner pathway Extraordinary Characteristics together so they could form a Mystical Item, then planned to have the Balk Family receive one of his Blessed through Elliot.
• Hobart cleaned his Tang Sword, disguised it as a cane, picked up Jessica, and went with her to Viscount Glynt’s residence for the Justice League gathering.
• Audrey introduced Colatti, Earl Wolf’s youngest daughter, as a new member, and Hobart used the Psychological Spoon to make her and Jessica keep the group’s secrets.
• After the joining Ritual, Colatti sat behind Audrey and Jessica sat behind Hobart; Hobart looked at Carl’s swollen cheek and began the meeting.

Audrey observed the Justice League gathering and became convinced that Hobart was Emperor, while Hobart explained the consequences and limits of revealing the League’s secrets. The gathering continued with its members learning how they could refer to it without breaking its confidentiality rules.

• Audrey read the members’ expressions and mannerisms, then concluded that Hobart and Emperor were the same person.
• Hobart warned the members to keep the Justice League secret and used Carl’s injuries as an example of the punishment for trying to reveal it.
• Carl explained that she had slapped herself when she tried to tell her father about the Potion Recipe and main ingredient, then injured her face again when her brother questioned her.
• Jessica asked how members could discuss the League without being punished, and Hobart said they could call it “that organization” or “that gathering” without revealing members or confidential details.
• Hobart clarified that members could mention people they already knew in their ordinary lives as long as they did not intend to reveal their Justice League identities.

Hobart offered several initial Potion Recipes at the gathering, and Colatti chose the Apprentice pathway with help from Fors and Hobart. Xue sought the Interrogator recipe, while Fors asked Hobart for the Astrologer recipe or clues.

• Hobart listed the initial Potion Recipes he could trade, and Xue, Carl, Fors, and Glaint each described additional pathways available through the gathering.
• Colatti asked Hobart for a recommendation, and he suggested Fors's Apprentice pathway or Glaint's medicine-making pathway based on her desire to feel safe.
• Fors demonstrated her ability to pass through a wall, while Glaint displayed medicines and poisons he had concocted.
• Colatti chose the Apprentice pathway and bought its Potion Recipe from Fors for 280 pounds, then agreed to buy Hobart's main ingredient for 300 pounds.
• Xue asked for the Interrogator Potion Recipe, and Hobart offered the recipe and main ingredient while advising her to check other channels first.
• Fors asked Hobart for the Astrologer Potion Recipe or related clues, and Hobart said he had the recipe.

Hobart used a Justice League gathering to arrange trades and discover a new outlet for Extraordinary Characteristics and other goods. The meeting ended with Glaint accepting orders for potions and asking for help silencing the whispers in his ears.

• Hobart offered Fors the Astrologer Potion Recipe and main ingredient, and told Audrey that Psychological Alchemy Society members attended gatherings at the medical academy.
• Jessica bought the Barbarian Potion Recipe from Hobart for 500 Pounds and sold a Slow Whip to Carl and a speed-enhancing ring to Xue.
• Jessica ordered Corpse Dissolving Water from Glaint, while Hobart ordered poison and Jessica ordered spirituality-restoring potions for delivery to Hobart.
• Glaint asked the Justice League members if anyone could eliminate the whispers by his ears.

At a Justice League gathering, Hobart taught Glaint and Carl how to manage the Whispers caused by their potions, while Xue advised Carl on his role as a judge. Audrey then proposed defending Hobart’s reputation and asked Xue to accompany her to the East End.

• Hobart explained that Glaint could quiet the Whispers by truly acting as a Pharmacist, and Glaint decided to open a clinic and register with the Goddess of the Night Church.
• Hobart directed Carl to consult Xue, who advised him to make fair judgments, avoid disputes involving powerful people, and keep Justice League secrets from his family.
• Audrey proposed that the founders use their connections to counter newspaper smears against Hobart, and the other Noble children agreed to help.
• Audrey asked for advice about her trip to the East End, and Xue agreed to guide and protect her for 30 Pounds.

Hobart bought Alger’s dangerous travel Sealed Artifact, shattered it in the Country of Disorder, and recovered its Extraordinary Characteristics. At dinner, Christine invited him to travel with his mother, Donna, and Tyrone to the Rosed Islands, reminding him to choose carefully.

• Hobart agreed to buy Alger’s Sealed Artifact for 9,200 Pounds and arranged payment through Mr. Fool.
• Klein received the Gold Pounds and suspected Hobart could use a Level 0 Sealed Artifact to restore Extraordinary Characteristics.
• Alger prepared an altar and received the payment, while Hobart brought the bracelet into the Country of Disorder and shattered it.
• Donna and Tyrone visited Hobart at Fors’s apartment and told him Christine had invited him home for dinner.
• Christine told Hobart that his mother was taking Donna and Tyrone to the Rosed Islands and asked whether he wanted to join them.

Hobart chose to stay with Christine rather than travel with Monlisa, accepting the risks of tying his future to his father’s plans. He also asked Christine to arrange Mystical Items and discovered Christine might have the Storm Blessed Potion Recipe.

• Hobart invited Donna and Tyrone to welcome Elizabeth and the others and visit the Emperor Rosell exhibition before they traveled.
• Monlisa warned Hobart against getting involved in adult matters, but let him go speak with Christine.
• Christine explained that staying in Backlund would bring risks and tie Hobart’s future to his, while traveling with Monlisa would keep him safer but under hidden surveillance; Hobart chose to stay.
• Hobart told Christine he was Sequence 6 and planned to travel alone to the Southern Continent to digest his Potion.
• Hobart asked Christine to arrange Mystical Items from his Gatekeeper, Traveler, and Living Corpse Extraordinary Characteristics, and Christine agreed to contact an Artisan.
• Christine said he had once seized the Storm Blessed Potion Recipe and offered it to Hobart, along with his Folk of Rage Recipe.

Hobart reflected on Christine’s vast resources and prepared to leave Backlund, arranging his affairs and bringing several Extraordinary Characteristics to sell or hand over. At the train station, he met Elizabeth, Selena, Melissa, and Benson, and revealed to Benson that he knew Klein.

• Hobart realized Christine’s safe held extensive resources, including Extraordinary Materials, Characteristics, Sealed Artifacts, Mystical Items, gold, and documents.
• Hobart planned to leave Backlund, secretly return someday, and make arrangements for his Law Firm and finances.
• Hobart brought several Extraordinary Characteristics into the real world, sold the Barbarian and Apprentice Characteristics to Jessica and Colatti for 900 Pounds, and gave the others to Christine.
• Hobart took Donna and Tyrone to the train station, where he met Elizabeth, Selena, Melissa, and Benson.
• Benson asked Hobart why he had invited him and Melissa, and Hobart replied that he knew Klein.

Hobart took Benson and the others sightseeing and to dinner in Backlund, where he encountered Bernadette again. Their conversation ended with Bernadette revealing that she had sensed Hobart’s mysterious connection to the Creator, but she had not discovered his true identity.

• Hobart offered Benson help in Backlund and gave him Jessica’s Law Firm address.
• Hobart showed Benson, Elizabeth, Donna, and Tyrone Order Square and the Loen Kingdom Museum before taking them to the Intis Restaurant.
• Hobart spotted Bernadette at the restaurant, approached her, and exchanged teasing remarks with her.
• Bernadette said she had heard that the hidden existence called the Creator was awakening and admitted she had sensed Hobart’s connection to it.
• Hobart feared his identity had been exposed, then realized Bernadette had only interpreted a mysterious connection in his fate.

Hobart and Bernadette discussed the Creator and exchanged greetings before he returned to his companions. After dinner in Tingen City, Hobart began a private Mysticism ritual to investigate Elizabeth’s increasingly frequent nightmare, with Selena watching closely.

• Hobart reasoned that Bernadette may have learned about the Creator through the Hidden Sage or the Knowledge Wilderness, then admitted that he knew the Hidden Sage.
• Bernadette asked Hobart to pass her greetings to the Creator, and Hobart agreed before leaving their table.
• Hobart returned to his table, deflected Donna’s questions about Bernadette, and joked with the others about Backlund’s smog.
• After dinner, Hobart arranged for the group to stay at the hotel and asked Elizabeth about her recurring nightmare while Benson waited outside the reception room.
• Hobart erected a Wall of Spirituality, lit a candle, and added Amanda hydrosol, leaving Elizabeth and Selena dazed.

Hobart helped Elizabeth recover from her nightmares, then introduced Selena to the dangers of the Beyonder World and gave her an enchanted Key Ring. After Elizabeth and her family departed, Hobart returned to Queen's Avenue and remembered he could attend a gathering.

• Hobart used the Psychological Spoon and Amanda hydrosol to hypnotize Elizabeth and make her forget the Wumo Golden Horn Evil Monster.
• Hobart explained to Selena that the Beyonder World was dangerous, warned her about leaving her family if she chose to become a Beyonder, and gave her a Key Ring that deterred ordinary Wraiths.
• Hobart took Elizabeth, Selena, Melissa, Benson, Donna, and Tyrone to the Roselle Memorial Exhibition, where he spotted the disguised Klein.
• Hobart saw Elizabeth and the others board their train, noting that Elizabeth, Selena, and Melissa seemed changed while Benson's grief remained.
• Hobart returned with Donna and Tyrone to Queen's Avenue and remembered that he could attend a gathering.