Recaps

Hobart showed Azik South Colson’s development plans and discussed how engaging with ordinary life could help Beyonders retain their humanity. After confiding his fears about growing colder to Fors and promising to support her growth, Hobart prepared for their Blood Moon experiment in the Country of Disorder.

• Hobart toured South Colson with Azik, describing plans for industry, entertainment, roads, bridges, railways, and land reform.
• Hobart and Azik discussed public investment, the Acting Method, and how integrating into ordinary life could help resist spiritual coldness.
• At dinner, Azik met Fors, then departed through the Spirit World; afterward, Fors told Hobart about the Life Toxin Bottle, and Hobart disguised his knowledge by claiming Christine was his adoptive father and Rex Trensoost his biological father.
• Hobart told Fors that his empathy had declined since reaching Sequence 4 and asked her to help him stay connected to the real world; Fors vowed to grow stronger and protect him.
• Hobart checked the laboratory’s progress, learned that a tungsten filament light bulb was nearly ready, and considered asking the Tarot Club for help with plastic research.
• On Sunday night, Hobart saw the Blood Moon, remembered his agreement with Fors to conduct an experiment, and entered the Country of Disorder.

Hobart used Distortion and Chaos to shield Fors from the Blood Moon’s whispers, then rewarded her with the Teleport Stone Statue and invited her to help take over Longtail Island. At the Tarot Club, Cattleya sought a way to contact Mr. Door, while Hobart warned her against pursuing the dangerous connection, and the meeting ended with Hobart offering three Time Worms for a way to gain temporary good luck.

• Fors prayed to the Creator during the Blood Moon, and Hobart distorted the connection between her and the Moon until the whispers stopped.
• Hobart gave Fors the Teleport Stone Statue and asked her to accompany him to Longtail Island and hold the fort there.
• Georgina told Hobart he would have a protection mission at the beginning of the next month, and he inferred it would involve members of the Royal Family meeting the Feneport Royal Family in Masi.
• Audrey realized Fors knew Hobart was Emperor and felt upset that their secret was no longer hers alone.
• Cattleya asked about Rosell and the Blasphemy Slate, then sought Abraham Family descendants who could help her contact Mr. Door; Hobart warned her that contact could bring corruption.
• Audrey asked for leads on Psychedelic Wind Chime Tree fruits, and Hobart asked about the School of Life and offered three Time Worms for a way to gain temporary good luck.

At the Tarot Club, Hobart explained the tangled history of the Moon pathway, revealing that the Original Moon and the Desire Mother Tree were connected to its conflicts and that the latter had obtained a Sequence 1 characteristic. He then warned the members that Gods Above the Gods dwelled in the starry sky, leaving them with a new precaution against corruption.

• Hobart revealed that the Time Worms he offered as payment came from Amon's avatars and warned Derrick to flee and pray to Mr. Fool if he encountered one.
• Derrick asked for advice on choosing a Sealed Artifact as a Notary, and Emlyn showed the members a dangerous Moon Envoy puppet from an Original Moon Believer.
• Hobart described the Moon pathway's divided influences, saying Lilith had apparently survived in some way, the Original Moon occupied the Crimson Moon, and the Desire Mother Tree interfered with the Original Moon.
• Hobart explained that the Desire Mother Tree had obtained a Moon pathway Sequence 1 characteristic from Torzna, who sacrificed it after Lilith fell, and said this helped explain the Original Moon Believers' conflicts and ties to the Rose School.
• Alger reported that a mountain near Bayam had been cut in half during the recent battle, and Hobart confirmed it was an aftermath of that fight.
• Hobart charged the members 1000 Pounds for precautions against Gods Above the Gods and warned them not to gaze casually at the starry sky.

Hobart warned the Tarot Club about dangers from the starry sky and shared intelligence about the Antigonus Family, Mr. Door, and the Original Moon. After the gathering, Klein asked Will Auceptin about a temporary good-luck deal, and Will named two Time Worms as the offered price.

• Hobart warned the members not to gaze at the stars, answer unknown calls, trust violent organizations, or underestimate abilities bestowed by Gods Above the Gods.
• Five Tarot Club members paid Hobart for intelligence about the Antigonus Family, Mr. Door, and the Original Moon.
• Hobart recounted how Spike Antigonus followed a call into the starry sky, encountered the Original Moon, and returned as its corrupted believer.
• Klein ended the gathering, performed the members’ sacrifices and Bestowal Rituals, then sent Will Auceptin questions on a fragile paper crane.
• Will Auceptin asked what Klein’s friend had offered for temporary good luck, and Klein said two Time Worms.

Hobart secured the churches’ approval for an Earth Mother Church presence on Longtail Island, then arrived to take control of the island and replace its administration. Yanis lost his position as governor as Hobart’s officials and soldiers began the handover and prepared to reorganize the territory.

• Hobart donated a Gravedigger Extraordinary Characteristic to the Goddess of the Night Church and received Archbishop Anthony’s permission to establish an Earth Mother Church cathedral on Longtail Island.
• Hobart donated a Storm Blessed Extraordinary Characteristic to the Church of Storms, which agreed to allow one Earth Mother Church cathedral under restrictions on its size, clergy, and preaching.
• Hobart attended an earl’s ball in informal clothes after his work at Military Intelligence Section 9 delayed him.
• Angus arrived at the Governor’s Office and told Yanis that Hobart and his officials would soon take over Longtail Island.
• Hobart’s soldiers dismissed the existing Governor’s Office staff, while Conrad and Angus organized the handover of civilian and confidential records.
• Hobart told Yanis that all industries on Longtail Island would pay taxes under Loen Kingdom law, while Yanis accepted that he was leaving his post.

Hobart used a banquet on Longtail Island to secure rubber and ore supplies while preparing factories and reshaping the island’s administration, then unveiled electric lighting at his Backlund ball. The chapter ended with Fors returning to South Colson and meeting a tourist named Spike, whose name she recognized.

• Fors used Hobart’s documents to expose wanted criminals among the Governor’s Office staff, and most of them fled.
• Hobart inspected Longtail Island, outlined plans for factories and new governance, and invited its plantation and mine owners to a banquet.
• Hobart arranged advances for rubber and ore, hired Bishop Jody to improve rubber yields, and assigned Freya responsibility for port security.
• At his Backlund ball, Hobart switched on the Earl’s Light, astonishing the guests with bright, steady electric bulbs.
• Hobart discussed Elizabeth’s university application with Lord Atwood, while the nobles recognized the business potential of electric lighting.
• Fors returned to South Colson the next morning and met a tourist named Spike, whose name seemed familiar to her.

April revealed to Hobart that she was his birth mother and warned him that she might face Loss of Control, while Hobart gave her an Order Crystal pendant to help protect her. Later, Hobart negotiated the Gnostic Society’s allegiance to the Creator and secretly took Audrey out for a night at the Night Market and a rented villa.

• Fors encountered Spike, whom she suspected was the contaminated angel Spike Antigonus, but Lady April took her away and warned her that he was dangerous.
• April told Hobart that she was his birth mother, gave him a bracelet containing her research into reviving his father, and said she might suffer Loss of Control during an approaching trial.
• Hobart gave April an Order Crystal pendant for protection, called her “Mother,” and saw her leave with her condition apparently improved.
• Hobart agreed with Jonathan on terms for the Gnostic Society to serve the Creator and prepare to act against the Demoness Church during the next Blood Moon.
• Hobart secretly joined Audrey after her mother left, and they traveled from the Night Market to a rented suburban villa to prepare a late-night meal.

Hobart shared a barbecue with Audrey, discussed their futures, and later traveled to Longtail Island, where he defeated a pirate attack and gained the residents’ support. He then returned to Backlund and departed for Masi with the royal delegation, discovering that Princess Alice was traveling with them.

• Hobart grilled meat for Audrey, told her about his plans to establish a country in the Southern Continent, and agreed to let her observe future Beyonder battles.
• Audrey admitted to Susie that Hobart had made her realize how little she had considered her future.
• Hobart received orders to join Loen’s royal delegation to Masi, where a demigod from the Fosac Empire might try to sabotage the exchange.
• Hobart visited Longtail Island, arranged to buy rubber, inspected its development, and toured the island with Fors and Donna.
• Pirates bombarded Longtail Island, but Hobart killed their leaders and forced the remaining pirates to surrender; he promised compensation for the damage and casualties.
• Hobart returned to Backlund and boarded the train to Masi, where he found Princess Alice among the delegation.

Hobart protected the Loen royal delegation during its exchange visit to Masi, survived a probing attack, and met Princess Aishe, who sought his help with the Castile Family’s interest in the Creator. As the delegations competed and discussed dividing Lenburg, Hobart sensed danger from an actor portraying Rosell during a performance.

• Hobart protected the train from an ambush by Bolunov’s forces as it crossed into Masi, while Leikemengte drove off the attacking demigod.
• Hobart received a secret note from Aishe, danced with her and Alice at the ball, and met Aishe at Teboni Square that night.
• Aishe asked Hobart to convey that members of the Castile Family wanted to believe in the Creator, and warned him that the Intis Republic and Fosac Empire planned to disrupt the exchange.
• Hobart learned that Loen and Feneport were negotiating how to divide Lenburg, while their royal members competed in activities during the visit.
• At a masquerade performance, Hobart sensed danger coming from an actor dressed as Rosell.

Hobart and Alice escaped the theater and evaded their pursuers while disguising themselves and traveling toward Masi. After the Ancient Scholar caught up with them aboard a train, Hobart broke through the marionettes pursuing them and fled with Alice.

• Hobart recognized that the actor playing Rosell was dangerous, escaped the theater with Alice, and learned that the actor had trapped them in a game while releasing the others.
• Hobart and Alice left the theater in Ludehi Town, disguised themselves as drunkards, and escaped the pursuers by running through the wilderness and boarding trains in the opposite direction from Backlund.
• Alice chose to continue toward Masi rather than return to Backlund, and Hobart and Alice traveled in disguises while evading the pursuing demigods.
• Hobart and Alice boarded a train bound for Masi, where the Ancient Scholar confronted them after disguising the other passengers as himself.
• Hobart stabbed a Historical Projection, then carried Alice through the train window and fought off pursuing marionettes with his sword and a rift to the Underworld.
• The Ancient Scholar arrived after Hobart escaped and noted that Hobart had several powerful items.

Hobart fought Bolunov and Connell while protecting Alice, defeated Bolunov, and learned that Brandon was a friend of his father Rex who intended to give him his inheritance. After Hobart and Alice returned to Backlund and the diplomatic exchange concluded, Hobart received public praise for a supposed act of bravery that he did not remember.

• Hobart used the Order Wood and a carefully prepared counterattack to severely wound Bolunov and drive Connell back, while Brandon watched from the sidelines.
• Brandon saved Connell, killed the wounded Bolunov, and offered Bolunov's spoils to Hobart before revealing that he was Rex's Seer friend and had information about Hobart's inheritance.
• Hobart Grazed Bolunov's spirit body, choosing Slaughter, Lethal Attack, and Fire Crow Art, then rested and recovered with Alice.
• Alice returned to Masi in time to sign the agreement, and she and Hobart later traveled back to Backlund with the Loen delegation.
• Georgina questioned Hobart after his return, while the King, Queen, and Military Intelligence Section 9 sent him rewards and a commendation.
• Audrey and Viscount Glynt congratulated Hobart on Alice's claim that he had blocked a bullet for her, leaving him confused about the story.

Hobart expanded rubber production on Longtail Island and oversaw harvest and land reforms in South Colson, while a mysterious attack killed everyone in Mike’s village. He joined Klein and Alger on a nighttime expedition, where they encountered a Feathered Serpent, and Hobart prepared to fight it for its Extraordinary Characteristics.

• Hobart corrected the Backlund Morning Post’s account of his diplomatic mission and discussed recruiting more noble children with Glaint.
• Hobart paid Longtail Island’s manor owners premium prices for rubber, offered loans for planting Rubber Trees, and watched rubber cultivation spread across the island.
• Farmers in South Colson harvested their crops as land distribution advanced, and Mike discovered that his village had been killed by a black fog before Raymond revealed Mike was dead too.
• Hobart met Klein and Alger near Bayam, and the three entered the Spirit World to explore an island and hunt Extraordinary creatures.
• The group encountered corpses building a palace and a winged Feathered Serpent emerging from a cave, and Hobart asked it to surrender its Extraordinary Characteristics.

Hobart, Klein, and Alger fought their way through a dangerous island, defeating several extraordinary creatures before reaching ancient ruins. There, Klein recognized a Blasphemy Slate in a mural.

• Hobart killed a demigod-level Feathered Serpent while Klein and Alger collected five Extraordinary Characteristics from the corpses it had controlled.
• Alger harvested a Psychedelic Wind Chime Tree's fruit and the group packed the tree into Hobart's spatial leather bag.
• Klein killed a Sequence 5 Curly-Haired Baboon, then Hobart defeated a demigod-level Curly-Haired Baboon as another creature petrified Klein and Alger.
• Hobart drove off the petrifying creature and brought Klein and Alger into the ruins, where they recovered and learned it was likely an Ageless Witch.
• Alger led the group through a church in the ruins and explained its Fourth Epoch style and mural area.
• Klein recognized the stone slab depicted in a mural as the Blasphemy Slate.

Klein, Alger, and Hobart explored a ruined church and mausoleum connected to the Ancient Sun God, where they encountered a blasphemous mural and a mysterious voice before the island vanished. Back in safety, they divided their spoils, and Hobart examined the Tyrant Blasphemy Slate and a dangerous Sealed Artifact tied to the Artificial Death.

• Hobart inferred that the abandoned church had once been elsewhere and that its believers had suffered persecution, then led Klein and Alger underground.
• Hobart killed a Six-Winged Gargoyle, and the trio found a mural depicting three angels mutilating a figure Klein suspected was the Ancient Sun God.
• The dead rose from the mausoleum coffins, but Hobart defeated the tentacled corpse and found the Tyrant card before a mysterious voice demanded answers from him.
• Hobart told the unseen speaker that the Creator would stand on its side, answered questions about the Creator, and escaped with Klein and Alger as the island disappeared.
• The trio divided their spoils, and Hobart agreed to help Alger explore another ruin while Klein discussed the Tyrant card and a plan to infiltrate Saint Samuel Cathedral.
• Hobart sacrificed the gains to the Country of Disorder, examined the Tyrant Blasphemy Slate, and discovered that the jade Sealed Artifact was marked by the Artificial Death and could be used safely for only three minutes.

Hobart examined the spoils from the expedition, checked Longtail Island’s rubber-tree plantations, and attended the Tarot Club with Fors. The meeting featured major sales and purchases of Sequence 5 materials, and ended with Hobart identifying a mural as an abstract depiction of the Ancient Sun God’s death.

• Hobart named the Feathered Serpent’s Sealed Artifact 1-110, assessed the expedition’s other loot, and decided which materials to keep or sell.
• Hobart inspected the expanding rubber-tree plantations on Longtail Island and anticipated slaughtering the plantation owners once the trees had been planted.
• At the Tarot Club, Klein explained that the Chinese characters in Rosell’s diary meant “home, the resting place of one’s heart and spirit.”
• Hobart bought several Extraordinary Characteristics, while Alger sold materials from the expedition and Audrey bought the Psychedelic Wind Chime Tree fruit.
• Klein arranged for Cattleya to help him meet the Mysterious Queen, and Hobart offered to finance Derrick’s purchase of a Priest of Light recipe and its Extraordinary Characteristics.
• Alger shared the mural of the Ancient Sun God’s death, and Hobart identified what it depicted.

Hobart explained to the Tarot Club how the Ancient Sun God fell, became the True Creator, and caused the Great Cataclysm, then described the significance of the two Blasphemy Slates. The chapter ended with Hobart revealing that the second Blasphemy Slate contained the method for becoming an Ancient One.

• Hobart privately assured Mr. Fool that he and Fors had not leaked Tarot Club secrets and explained how they had learned each other's identities.
• Hobart traded the club information about Sasrir, Redemption Rose, the betrayal of the Ancient Sun God, and the creation of the Land Abandoned by God.
• Hobart revealed that Sasrir became the True Creator after the Ancient Sun God's revival was interrupted, shocking Derrick and the other members.
• Hobart explained that the first Blasphemy Slate provided a path to godhood that helped humanity rise, while the second held significance for the gods.
• Hobart identified God Above the Gods as an Ancient One and said the second Blasphemy Slate contained the method for becoming one.

At the Tarot Club, Hobart explained the Blasphemy Slates and revealed that Adam had watched and released his exploration party, while the members discussed a rental deal and Silver City’s former chief. After the gathering, Hobart returned to South Colson and was called to investigate a village of the dead, where he suspected a God of Death pathway Beyonder was responsible.

• Hobart explained that the second Blasphemy Slate contained the Ancient Sun God’s corpse fused with part of His will, and that Adam possessed it.
• Hobart revealed that Adam had observed the exploration party and let them escape, while Fors arranged to rent Emlyn Leimanno’s Magic Book for his hunt.
• Derrick shared that Silver City’s former chief had sealed himself in a mausoleum, and Hobart suggested his advancement to a God of Death Sequence 3 had gone wrong.
• Hobart calculated his expenses, sacrificed money and traded items, then returned to the Lord’s Manor in South Colson.
• Helen reported that an entire village had died, and Hobart traveled with her to the West Bank to investigate with Dunn and the local team.
• Raymond reported that the villagers had unknowingly lived as corpses until a ghastly bone crumbled, and Dunn’s map pointed to the bone as the center of the incidents.

Dunn and Hobart led the hunt for the Skeleton Lord, and Hobart discovered its Scarlet Eyes could possess different skeletons before capturing them. He gave the demigod ingredients to Doffis, helped him become Undying, and then launched a public electric-light demonstration in Backlund that drew widespread attention.

• Dunn organized an ambush after the black fog revived the village corpses, and Helen and the others pursued the fleeing Extraordinary, whose powers seemed demigod-level.
• Hobart recognized clues pointing to the Skeleton Lord and led the search to a ghost town, where his rapier caused most of its Living Corpses to collapse.
• Hobart found that the Skeleton Lord’s Scarlet Eyes could transfer between skeletons, burned its bone piles, and trapped the eyes in a box.
• Hobart gave Doffis the Skeleton Lord materials, and Doffis drank his advancement Potion before Hobart killed him and watched him resurrect as Undying with lost memories.
• Hobart helped Doffis begin recovering his memories, then arranged for a huge electric light to illuminate Order Square and publicized its two-month test through an apology in the newspaper.

Hobart’s publicity campaign turned Earl’s Light bulbs into a sensation in Backlund, and their June 15 launch drew tens of thousands of orders. Meanwhile, Emlyn hunted down Galis and Argos, and the chapter ended with news that Longtail Island had undergone a major upheaval.

• Hobart used staged complaints, a professor’s wager, and a series of newspaper stories to build public interest in Earl’s Light bulbs; after the bulb stayed lit beyond ten days, the professor apologized and the factory announced its June 15 sale.
• Emlyn used Leimanno’s Magic Book to kill Galis, then used demigod-level Distortion to force the fleeing Argos back and killed him as well.
• On June 9, crowds watched the Order Square bulb remain lit past the wager’s deadline, and Hobart applauded with them.
• Earl’s Light announced prices, free installation, and battery services, while Hobart’s publicity and the promise of limited early supply encouraged customers to place orders.
• On June 15, Earl’s Light stores received tens of thousands of orders, while Hobart managed installations to avoid overloading the available power supply.
• As nobles sought cooperation with Hobart and some considered sabotaging his business, news arrived that Longtail Island had undergone a tremendous upheaval.

Hobart used debt collection, new labor protections, and tax laws to take control of Longtail Island, then secured royal support against the nobles criticizing him. Back in Backlund, he began investigating Duke Bowen’s curse and offered military figures a share in his rapidly growing lightbulb business.

• Hobart’s Governor’s Office used loan defaults and contract violations to seize plantations, rubber, and other assets from Longtail Island’s indebted owners.
• Hobart introduced resident status and wages for Longtail Island’s natives, imposed taxes, and bought out the remaining private properties, including Anolin’s plantation.
• Hobart and Fors calculated the costs and returns of the takeover, and Hobart celebrated how much the Longtail Island operation had advanced his Potion digestion.
• The Queen and Princess Alice publicly supported Hobart at a court ball, ending the nobles’ campaign against him; Alice also considered Hobart’s suggestion that someone in the Royal Family might have killed Prince Edessak.
• Hobart reviewed the records of Duke Bowen’s curse and arranged a private meeting with the Duke through Princess Alice.
• At the Eastern Baylam Veterans Club, Hobart offered twenty percent of the Earl’s Light lightbulb factory for 600,000 Pounds, explaining its value with the 36,000 first-day orders and their deposits.

Hobart identified Duke Bowen’s supposed Curse as contamination from a cane blessed by Artificial Death and removed it through the Underworld. The next day, after arranging Earl’s Light share purchases and receiving a letter from Klein, Hobart prepared to meet him by the river.

• Hobart told the club officers that Earl’s Light needed to spend its funds on power plants and electric wires, and they eagerly agreed to buy shares.
• Hobart found that Duke Bowen’s cane had contaminated his spirit body with Artificial Death, then used the Underworld to remove the contamination.
• Duke Bowen asked Hobart to keep the cane’s role secret and thanked him after his condition improved.
• The club officers signed contracts to buy Earl’s Light shares, and the Queen’s envoy delivered further rewards to Hobart.
• Klein’s messenger delivered a letter demanding one gold coin; Hobart paid it and learned that Klein wanted to meet that evening by the riverside.

Hobart expanded Earl's Light and Longtail Island while preparing with Klein for an operation, then infiltrated an Aurora Society gathering and killed Mr. X and a powerful Black Knight. He escaped before the Church's demigods arrived, leaving the Aurora Society's forces and the consequences of the attack behind.

• Hobart sold 20% of Earl's Light's shares to nobles, expanded its electrical infrastructure plans, and arranged separate funding for Longtail Island's development.
• Hobart obtained the Beast Tamer potion recipe for Glaint and learned that Xue had found Louis, the Abraham Family traitor hosting Aurora Society gatherings as Mr. X.
• Hobart entered Mr. X's gathering in the East End, killed Mr. X before he could escape, and killed three Aurora Society members who attacked from the shadows.
• Hobart fought the Aurora Society's Black Knight, overcame his Shepherded demigod souls and escape attempts, and killed him with a rapier strike and a final slash.
• As a fierce wind approached from Saint Wind Cathedral, Hobart collected the Black Knight's corpse, sealed the Underworld Rift, and traveled away.

Hobart dealt with the Black Knight, and Fors met with Dorian to tell him Louis Wien had been killed and to receive his thanks. Hobart and Klein then infiltrated Saint Samuel Cathedral to take the Antigonus Family Notebook, but Klein vanished before Hobart and Hobart was sent to Mist Town, where he woke in a watching cornfield.

• Radar Valentine, Anthony Stevenson, and Holamik Haydn examined the alley where a demigod had killed an Aurora Society Black Knight, but they could not identify the victor.
• Hobart collected Louis Wien’s head and the corpses’ Extraordinary Characteristics, healed his wound, and decided how to use or sell the spoils.
• Fors showed Dorian Louis’s head, and Dorian rewarded her with an Astrologer crystal ball, a Grade 2 Sealed Artifact, and deeds to two Backlund properties.
• Hobart misdirected Military Intelligence Section 9’s investigation and later joined Klein, who gave him amulets for their planned operation in Mist Town.
• Klein disguised himself as a cathedral servant, entered Chanis Gate, and reached the Antigonus Family Notebook, but a hooded figure appeared before he could take it.
• Klein disappeared, and the hooded figure pointed at Hobart, who was erased and awoke in a mist-covered cornfield where the corn stalks turned toward him.

Hobart rescued Klein in Mist Town, and the two entered its dangerous church, where they met a dead historical image of an elderly Seer. The old man offered to explain how they could escape, but the chapter ended before he revealed the way out.

• Hobart fought Ryan Solomon in a monstrous cornfield, stole several of his abilities with a Deprivation Amulet, and escaped while Ryan stopped to lick Hobart’s blood from the corn.
• Hobart found Klein being attacked by Panatiya, rescued him, and treated their injuries after the Red Moon rose and the town filled with whispering residents.
• Hobart and Klein discussed Mist Town’s links to Concealment, the Country of Night, and the ancient ruins, then identified their enemies and planned to investigate the church.
• Hobart and Klein evaded Mr. A and the pursuing Panatiya before entering the church, where they resisted the Madness Magician’s Frenzy and discovered that hanging corpses were suspended by their Spirituality Threads.
• Hobart and Klein met a hooded old man beside a statue resembling the woman who had sent them to Mist Town; he claimed to be a historical image and offered to tell them how to escape if they scattered his ashes in the Serenzo River.

Hobart and Klein negotiated with Ryan, Panatiya, and Mr. A to retrieve the obsidian and escape Mist Town, then used mushrooms and the Black Hound Spirit Beast to turn the group against each other. Hobart killed Panatiya, but Ryan lost control and transformed into a monster, leaving Hobart to confront him with a Deprivation Amulet.

• Zaratul restored Klein’s Wraith marionette, treated his injuries, and promised the Trick Sorcerer Potion Recipe and the symbol for the Escape Gate in exchange for the obsidian.
• Hobart and Klein lured Ryan, Panatiya, and Mr. A into cooperating by claiming the church offered a way out, then secretly fed them mushrooms that reacted with fish meat.
• The group reached the mill, where Ryan removed the bracelet sealing the Black Hound Spirit Beast, and Hobart ordered the freed creature to attack Ryan.
• The mushrooms spread through Mist Town as the Black Hound Spirit Beast fought Ryan, while Hobart used his abilities to kill Panatiya.
• Ryan succumbed to madness and transformed into an armored monster, so Hobart took a Deprivation Amulet from Klein and charged into the fight.