Recaps

Audrey questioned her choice to remain in the Beyonder World but resolved to accept it, while Hobart bought materials for a ritual and searched a collection of Emperor Rosell's Diary pages. The final page revealed that most Fourth Epoch ruins around Backlund were traps.

• Audrey confided in Susie that their choice might have been wrong, then reaffirmed her determination to move forward.
• Hobart left his hotel and went to the Mercenary Club to buy ritual materials from Gael for 3 Pounds and 18 Sule.
• Hobart examined a soldier's stack of Emperor Rosell's Diary pages and selected one page, paying 6 Pounds.
• Hobart read the page and learned that most Fourth Epoch ruins appearing around Backlund were traps.

Hobart read Emperor Rosell’s warning about traps in Fourth Epoch ruins near Backlund, then performed a ritual asking the Goddess of the Night for restful sleep. The ritual worked so thoroughly that he slept on the floor until dawn and woke sore, lamenting the burned candles.

• Hobart read Rosell’s diary entries and realized the Royal Family might use ruins near Backlund to trap Beyonders and reclaim their Extraordinary Characteristics.
• Hobart decided to remove his diary-purchase notice, practiced shooting, and counted the money he had left.
• Hobart performed a ritual asking the Goddess of the Night to grant him quality sleep.
• The ritual made Hobart fall asleep on the floor before he could clean up or get into bed.
• Donna woke Hobart at dawn, and he complained that the Goddess seemed to hold a grudge against him after he woke sore and found his candles burned out.

Hobart investigated Zachary by seeking information from Veil and met Hugh, who was pursuing a similar fraud case. They agreed to share clues and concluded that Zachary deliberately targeted middle-class victims; they were headed toward the Azalea Bar to ask about him.

• Hobart bought a revolver and went to the Blue Knight Bar to ask Veil about Zachary.
• Hugh and Hobart questioned Veil, who said Zachary's territory was around the Azalea Bar, and the two decided to go there together.
• Hobart warned Veil to stop betraying his conscience before leaving the bar with Hugh.
• Hobart persuaded Hugh to exchange information, and they went to a café to discuss their cases.
• Hobart and Hugh compared their commissions and concluded that Zachary carefully targeted middle-class people whose complaints would receive little attention from the police.

Hobart and Xue investigated Zachary's disappearance at the Azalea Bar, where Hobart used his Lawyer ability to learn that Zachary had stayed in Backlund. The new bar boss, DakHorm, offered to lead them to Zachary, hoping to use them to seize control of the bar.

• Hobart warned Xue that Zachary might be a Swindler and explained that their investigation could bring them into conflict with Beyonders.
• Hobart and Xue went to the Azalea Bar, where the bartender said Zachary had left about a month earlier after swindling a large sum of money.
• Hobart used his Lawyer ability to persuade the bartender to share information without tipping him.
• DakHorm introduced himself as the Azalea Bar's new boss and tried to take Hobart to a supposed Treasure Room.
• DakHorm led Hobart and Xue outside, claiming Zachary's subordinates made it dangerous to ask about him inside the bar.
• DakHorm said Zachary was still hiding in Backlund and offered to take them to him for a price; Hobart recognized that DakHorm wanted them to help him take over the bar.

Hobart and Xue followed DakHorm into an East End courtyard, where he tried to rob them instead of leading them to Zachary. They subdued DakHorm, and Hobart’s proposed punishment made him feel his Potion loosening.

• Hobart and DakHorm bargained over Zachary’s hiding place, agreeing on a commission of 5 Pounds 10 Sols payable after they met Zachary.
• DakHorm led Hobart and Xue to a courtyard, where he and more than a dozen thugs demanded their valuables and clothes.
• Hobart drew his Revolver and fired a warning shot, scattering the thugs, while Xue knocked DakHorm to the ground with his cane.
• Hobart accused DakHorm of extortion and proposed breaking his leg, which Xue approved as the final arbitration.
• Hobart felt signs of his Potion loosening after the encounter.

Hobart and Xue punished DakHorm and watched him send a letter, hoping to uncover the person behind him. They followed the letter’s apparent recipient but were tricked by a decoy, leaving the real courier—and their lead—at large.

• Hobart realized that working with Xue’s Arbiter abilities had loosened his Lawyer Potion’s digestion, while DakHorm revealed that Zachary expected a Gift of the Gods after completing a swindle.
• Hobart judged DakHorm was lying about not knowing Hayman, and Xue broke DakHorm’s left shin as punishment.
• Hobart and Xue watched DakHorm send a letter through one of his subordinates, then followed the letter to an abandoned mailbox in the factory suburbs.
• A person in a dark trench coat collected the letter, and Hobart and Xue followed him through the Factory District.
• Xue caught a fleeing man wearing the coat, but Hobart learned that someone had paid him to serve as a decoy and realized the middle-aged worker they had passed was the real target.

Hobart and Xue discovered that Zachary had become a Beyonder and used his letter to search for him near abandoned factories along the Tasok River. They arrived at a factory that made Hobart uneasy, and he identified it as their target.

• Hobart found letters in Hayman's trench coat, including one from Zachary describing disturbing Whispers and his attempts at Rituals.
• Hobart decided to search for Zachary before pursuing Hayman, reasoning that Zachary could provide clues about him.
• Hobart learned from a carriage driver about three abandoned factories along the Tasok River and ruled out the first one.
• During the carriage ride, Xue noted that Zachary and DakHorm wrote unusually neat letters for East End gang members.
• Hobart spotted circling crows above the second factory, felt uneasy, and declared it the place they were looking for.

Hobart and Xue found Zachary at an abandoned factory as he prepared to invoke the True Creator, and Hobart killed him before the ritual could succeed. With Zachary dead, Hobart began a Spirit Communication to continue their investigation.

• Hobart and Xue entered the factory and found Zachary pacing before an altar, visibly close to Loss of Control.
• Zachary’s gaze and his words about the Kingdom of God overwhelmed Hobart and Xue, but Hobart shot him and interrupted his prayer to the True Creator.
• Hobart dismantled the altar while Xue confirmed that Zachary was dead and said their trail had gone cold.
• Hobart lit candles and began preparing Spirit Communication with Zachary’s spirit, surprising Xue.

Hobart used Spirit Communication to uncover how Hayman and Zachary had carried out the insurance fraud, where Hayman was hiding, and the Secret Supplicant Potion formula. He nearly attracted the True Creator's attention, then recovered and prepared to bring charges against Zachary on Mr. Robin's behalf.

• Hobart prayed to the Goddess of the Night and successfully established Spirit Communication with Zachary.
• Through Hayman's memories, Hobart learned that Hayman had planned the fraud while Zachary had deceived clients, and that most of the stolen money went to a True Creator bishop named Hillman.
• Hobart learned Hayman's hiding place was Room 303 at Gaspin Street No. 56 and decided not to investigate the Aurora Society further.
• Hobart obtained the Secret Supplicant Potion formula, but the note transformed into a cross associated with the True Creator, forcing him to end Spirit Communication.
• Hobart recovered from the ordeal, ended the Ritual, and told Zachary he was bringing charges against him on Mr. Robin's behalf.

Hobart and Xue killed Zachary, confiscated his belongings, and destroyed the evidence after Hobart’s Lawyer abilities helped him complete his commission. On the way to investigate Hayman’s residences, Hobart warned Xue not to attend the Beyonder Gathering hosted by Mr. A.

• Hobart used a lawsuit against the dead Zachary to confiscate his property and mutated eyeball, and felt his Lawyer Potion digest.
• Xue found only a little cash, while Hobart collected Zachary’s Extraordinary Characteristic and ritual materials; they burned the corpse and evidence.
• As they traveled to Vasek Avenue 109, Hobart told Xue what he had learned about Hayman and the possible Aurora Society connection, but kept the Potion Recipe to himself.
• Hobart proposed selling Zachary’s Extraordinary materials and splitting the proceeds with Xue, who suggested attending a Beyonder Gathering she knew.
• Hobart recognized that Xue meant Mr. A’s gathering and warned her that going there could lead to her sudden death.

Hobart and Xue raided one of Hayman’s houses and found enough valuables to exceed their mission, then split the spoils and planned to investigate another address. Xue told Fors about her new partner and the stolen valuables, and the two moved to another residence in case someone came after them.

• Hobart told Xue that Mr. A belonged to the Aurora Society and offered to sell the Mutated Eyeball for them.
• Hobart and Xue broke into Hayman’s house on Vasek Avenue, opened a safe, and found cash, jewelry, gold, and other valuables.
• Hobart proposed that they split the valuables and compensate their client, and Xue approved his plan as Miss Arbiter.
• Hobart and Xue divided the spoils, agreed to investigate Hayman’s second address the next day, and left in separate carriages.
• Xue returned home and told Fors about her investigation with Hobart, prompting Fors to warn her that they might be in danger.
• Xue and Fors changed residences overnight after discussing the risk of being targeted for the valuables.

Hayman was punished by Hillman after the ritual investigation disrupted their plans, while Elliot left the Town of Nonexistence hoping to find a way to lift his family’s curse. In Backlund, Hobart and Xue met and realized they were being followed, unaware that Fors was trailing them.

• Hayman told Hillman that he suspected Official Extraordinary had uncovered their ritual through Zachary, and Hillman blamed him for the failed plan.
• Hillman inflicted a painful punishment on Hayman, then ordered him to hide or cultivate another Secret Supplicant.
• Elliot spent time with his mad sister Moira and said he would try to break the curse afflicting the Balk Family before leaving for work.
• Hobart waited for Xue on Gasbin Street, and they set off together after she arrived late and exhausted.
• Hobart sensed that someone was watching them, while Xue recognized the exhausted Fors trailing them from a distance.

Hobart and Xue searched Hayman's hideout and confronted DakHorm at the Azalea Bar, where Hobart questioned him about Hayman's network and other hideouts. The chapter ended with Hobart threatening to use a mind-muddling potion when DakHorm claimed he knew only one location.

• Hobart realized Xue had been wary of him and hoped their investigation would build trust between them.
• Hobart and Xue found only work clothes at Gaspin Street No. 56, then went to the Azalea Bar, where Xue captured a fleeing thug who led them to DakHorm.
• DakHorm tried to flee when he saw Hobart and Xue, but Xue stopped him, and Hobart demanded that he read the letters.
• DakHorm revealed that Zachary had introduced him to Hayman, who secretly owned the Azalea Bar and used DakHorm to gather intelligence and run its Black Market.
• DakHorm named Gaspin Street No. 56 as a place where he delivered accounts and earnings, but Hobart said they had already searched it.
• When DakHorm claimed he knew no other hideouts, Hobart threatened to muddle his mind with a potion unless he answered honestly.

Hobart and Xue learned more about Hayman from DakHorm, then decided to stop investigating because of the danger and arranged to attend Mr. A’s gathering together. Fors grew suspicious of Hobart’s intentions toward Xue and confronted him when they met, leaving Hobart baffled by the two women’s whispering.

• Hobart intimidated DakHorm into revealing Hayman’s ties to Hillman and a clue to a treasure at 37 Minsk Street.
• Hobart told DakHorm how to signal them if Hayman’s companion contacted him, then warned him against destroying his conscience.
• Hobart and Xue decided not to investigate further because Hillman might be connected to the Aurora Society.
• Xue agreed to bring Hobart to Mr. A’s gathering, and Fors followed them while worrying that Hobart might deceive Xue.
• Fors met Hobart at Viscount Glynt’s residence, pulled Xue aside to speak privately, and prompted Xue to shout about a curly-haired baboon.

Hobart attended Mr. A’s gathering with Xue, Fors, Audrey, and Glaint, where he offered to help a participant seeking a way to defeat his past self. The participant revealed that he wanted redemption from the crimes of his youth, and Hobart recognized the story as possibly referring to the Giant Bishop of the Earth Mother Church.

• Hobart, Xue, and Fors met Viscount Glaint, then greeted Audrey when she arrived.
• Hobart and his companions attended Mr. A’s gathering, where Audrey and Glaint failed to find the Potion Recipes they wanted.
• Hobart offered to speak with the participant seeking a way to defeat his past self, and Audrey, Xue, Glaint, and Fors followed him into a private room.
• Hobart asked the hooded participant to explain his wish, and the man described a former criminal who became a priest but remained tormented by his past.
• Hobart suspected that the man’s story referred to the Giant Bishop of the Earth Mother Church.

Hobart negotiated with an Earth Mother God Servant seeking a way to redeem Bishop Utravsky, accepting deferred payment in hopes of obtaining the Pharmacist Potion Recipe. The gathering ended with the Bishop’s representative agreeing to the plan, though finding the needed Spectator Beyonder remained unresolved.

• Hobart identified the hooded trader as a follower of Bishop Utravsky and negotiated for the Pharmacist Potion Recipe instead of cash.
• Glaint proposed paying for both the recipe and Hobart’s services, but the God Servant explained that the church could exchange recipes only through Mysticism transactions, not sell them.
• Hobart proposed that the Bishop’s evil personality be separated and fought in the Dream World, with a combat-capable Beyonder defeating it.
• The God Servant accepted Hobart’s advice as worth 150 pounds and agreed that the Bishop could settle the debt later alongside the recipe.
• After leaving the gathering, Xue questioned whether the Bishop would pay, and Hobart said he trusted the Bishop’s desire for redemption and intended to collect the recipe.

Hobart proposed a mutual aid alliance, and he, Audrey, Glaint, Xue, and Fors established the Justice League. He then took a Mutated Eyeball to Gael's herbalist shop and began negotiating its sale, leaving the price unsettled.

• Hobart proposed that the five of them form a mutual aid alliance, and each person offered skills or services they could contribute.
• Audrey suggested naming the group the Justice League, and the five agreed to establish it.
• Audrey asked why the Earth Mother Church had the Pharmacist Potion Recipe, and Hobart explained that churches cultivated Beyonders from multiple pathways.
• After the others parted ways, Xue suggested asking Hobart about the Full Moon Murmurs, but Fors said she still did not trust him enough.
• Hobart visited Gael's herbalist shop and took Gael to the Mercenary Club to discuss selling a Mutated Eyeball.
• Gael questioned the eyeball's origins and rejected Hobart's 100-pound asking price, while Hobart cited its uses in Curses, Rituals, and poison.

Hobart sold a Mutated Eyeball, arranged to sell valuables, and learned that mercenaries had been sent to the Southern Continent by military airship. At home, he tested his connection to the Country of Disorder, successfully confirming his Honorific Name and storing a Secret Supplicant's Extraordinary Characteristic there, but Christine sensed the ritual's abnormal power.

• Hobart sold the Mutated Eyeball to Gael for 85 Pounds and kept 5 Pounds as his commission.
• Hobart left a message at the Mercenary Club offering jewelry and gold worth about 1,500 Pounds for sale.
• Hobart overheard Soldiers discussing a mercenary operation against the Fosac on the Southern Continent, carried out with help from a Military Airship.
• Hobart performed a ritual and confirmed that his designed Honorific Name reached him on the Iron Throne in the Country of Disorder.
• Hobart used the Bronze Gates to bring the Secret Supplicant's Extraordinary Characteristic into the Country of Disorder for safekeeping.
• Christine knocked on Hobart's door and asked if he was all right after sensing abnormal power in his room.

After Christine noticed Hobart’s uncontrolled power, Hobart decided to find a separate place for experiments and Tarot Club gatherings. While observing Elliot in the Southern Continent, Hobart ordered him to follow a suspicious man, leading Elliot to uncover an attack on a convoy.

• Christine checked Hobart after sensing a surge of power, then warned him to watch for signs of corruption after hearing about his encounter with the Aurora Society.
• Hobart decided to rent another place for his experiments and Tarot Club gatherings, then returned to the Country of Disorder to observe Elliot.
• Hobart recognized a middle-aged man from the Mercenary Club who had recruited Spirit Communication specialists for a mission against the Fosac Empire in General Anthony’s territory.
• Hobart projected the man’s appearance to Elliot and ordered him to follow, and Elliot left his Companions to obey.
• Elliot tracked the man through the woods and saw a group attack a convoy near Kansel City using abilities including Imprisonment, Exile, Distortion, and Weaken.

Elliot hid near a Supernatural War between Loen mercenaries and Fosac Beyonders, then seized Extraordinary Characteristics and an item from the battlefield before Hobart helped him escape. Afterward, Elliot sought Hobart’s aid by offering an Extraordinary Necklace as a sacrifice.

• Elliot watched the ambushers overwhelm the Fosac Beyonders, while Hobart observed the battle through True Sight and studied the fighters’ abilities.
• After the fighting moved away, Elliot picked up a Barbarian’s Extraordinary Characteristics and an Extraordinary Necklace, but Hobart warned him away from a strange mask that had made him greedy.
• A Sequence 7 and two Sequence 8s pursued Elliot, and Hobart appeared on the Iron Throne and scrambled space to help him escape.
• Hobart left the Country of Disorder, then returned after sensing Elliot’s call and found that Oliet wanted to sacrifice the Extraordinary Necklace to him.

Elliot thanked the great existence for helping him obtain Extraordinary Characteristics and escape his pursuers, while Hobart recovered from the night’s exertions. In the Southern Continent, Caster concluded that a new powerhouse had appeared, and Hobart rented a house before visiting a client’s farm.

• Elliot offered a Necklace as a sacrifice, and the great existence told him to prepare an altar, use the name “Creator,” and exercise restraint in the Beyonder World.
• Caster learned that an unseen powerhouse had taken Borg Calvin’s Extraordinary Characteristics and an Extraordinary Item, then ordered his mercenaries to withdraw rather than risk a conflict.
• Hobart recovered, found two rental options, and rented the terraced house at Blanca Street 192 for half a year.
• Hobart went to the outskirts to visit Mr. Barton, a farm owner who had requested legal assistance from the Law Firm.

Hobart took Mr. Baron's case and planned to speak with Penny about the divorce and the property Mr. Baron intended to give her. On the Southern Continent, Elliot completed a ritual for the Creator and saw the gates of the divine kingdom appear.

• Mr. Baron told Hobart that he wanted to divorce Penny without dividing his property equally and explained their troubled marriage.
• Hobart advised Mr. Baron to provide Penny with property or money, and Mr. Baron agreed to give her his wool-processing workshop.
• Mr. Baron hired Hobart, who planned to visit Penny at her parents' home the next morning.
• Hobart remembered that Old Neil might be showing signs of Loss of Control and resolved to alert Klein at the next gathering.
• Elliot performed a ritual in the woods, and a black vortex opened to reveal two Bronze Gates.

Hobart received a Spirit Medium Necklace through the Gate of the God Kingdom and learned its abilities and drawbacks. He then visited Penny to discuss Mr. Barton’s marriage, where she revealed that her four-year-old son was born before she married Baron.

• Elliot watched the Gate of the God Kingdom take the necklace and renewed his faith in the Creator, though he could not tell his family elders about the Creator.
• Hobart examined the necklace in the Country of Disorder, learned that it enabled Spirit Communication and Spirit Vision but risked turning its wearer into a Living Corpse, and named it the Spirit Medium Necklace.
• Hobart considered using the Country of Disorder’s power to transmit the necklace’s ability into reality, then left after exhausting his spirituality.
• Hobart traveled to Penny’s home and learned that her son Benny was over four years old and had been born before her marriage to Baron.
• Penny told Hobart that Benny’s father had disappeared after promising to marry her, and that she and her parents had hidden the child from Baron.

Hobart persuaded Penny to take Benny to Mr. Barton so he could explain the truth and help end their marriage. During the carriage ride, Hobart grew suspicious that Aputon might be a Lawyer, and they arrived at Mr. Barton's farm.

• Penny told Hobart she did not dislike Mr. Barton but feared what might happen to Benny if he learned the truth.
• Hobart persuaded Penny to let him speak to Mr. Barton, and Penny's father insisted on coming along with an axe.
• On the ride, Benny asked Hobart about being a Lawyer, prompting Penny to explain Aputon's reputation for arguing.
• Hobart suspected Aputon had taken the Lawyer Potion and learned that Aputon lived with a servant after his mother died.
• The carriage reached Mr. Barton's farm, where Hobart saw Mr. Barton bathing a large white horse.

Hobart helped Penny and Mr. Barton end their marriage peacefully, securing support for Penny and her son before arranging his next legal matter. In the Southern Continent, Elder Calvin rewarded Elliot with the chance to advance to Sequence 7 and named the potion Bribor.

• Hobart told Mr. Barton that Penny would discuss divorce if he did not harm Benny, and Barton agreed to part on good terms.
• Mr. Barton returned Benny safely, promised Penny the wool-processing workshop as a source of income, and asked her to file for divorce.
• Penny signed the Divorce Agreement, and Hobart accepted two pumpkins from her father instead of payment.
• Barton told Hobart that Mr. Barton had settled the 10-pound fee, and Hobart received a letter proposing a jewelry and gold trade for noon the next day.
• Hobart invited Mr. Robin to discuss the case, then told Christine's family how he had obtained the pumpkins.
• Elder Calvin gave Elliot permission to advance to Sequence 7 and told him the potion was called Bribor.