Recaps

After returning from Tingen City, Hobart reported his casework, shared gifts with his colleagues and family, and recovered at home. On Tuesday, Xue revealed that she had found two heretics hiding in a Wharf Area factory and asked Hobart and Fors to help capture them.

• Hobart returned to Blanca Street, gave Fors and Xue gifts, then reported Mr. Dominic's case to Barton and received a 100-pound commission.
• Hobart calculated his travel expenses and income at the law firm, then went home and gave Christine the box from Ulysses.
• Hobart recounted his trip to his family over dinner and handed out the rest of his gifts.
• On Tuesday, Xue gave Hobart the addresses of Niccolo Shipyard and Tuma Hotel on Nicklow Street, and Hobart noticed that Dix's company was nearby.
• Xue said she had located two heretics in a Wharf Area factory and asked Hobart and Fors to help capture them.

Hobart received his police identification and rewards from Thomas, then advised Elliot not to join the Balk Family’s Council of Elders yet. Calvin explained that Elliot’s Bribor Potion digested slowly because he was bribing family members, and told him there was another method: “Bribe God!”

• Xue and Fors continued planning how to capture the two heretics while Hobart went to Blackthorn Security Company for his identification.
• Thomas gave Hobart a Bribor’s Extraordinary Characteristics, made him an Official Member, and awarded him three-fifths of a Judge’s Extraordinary Characteristics at Hobart’s request.
• Hobart placed the Bribor’s Characteristics in the Country of Disorder and shattered his Sheriff’s Characteristics to produce Extraordinary materials.
• Elliot asked Hobart whether he should join the Balk Family’s Council of Elders, and Hobart told him to wait for the time being.
• Elliot declined Calvin’s offer to join the council, then asked why his Bribor Potion was digesting slowly.
• Calvin said Elliot’s family members had little need for bribes and recommended that he “Bribe God.”

Hobart, Xue, and Fors carried out a surprise raid on the Textile Factory dormitory to arrest two heretics, but found a third man there as well. After killing all three, Hobart prepared to use Spirit Communication to discover the identity of the stranger.

• Xue explained the plan to ambush the two heretics, and Hobart added that his Inspector's identification could help them escape if workers interfered.
• Someone left a box containing a dead pigeon and a letter at Hobart's door, prompting Hobart to warn Xue and Fors that their enemies knew he had returned.
• Hobart, Xue, and Fors infiltrated the Textile Factory dormitory and discovered three men in the room instead of the expected two.
• The trio killed the Prisoner, the Cultivator, and an unidentified man in a brief fight.
• Fors examined the bodies, and Hobart prepared to perform Spirit Communication on the unidentified man.

Hobart used Spirit Communication to learn that the dead man was a Feneport Embassy spy and that Ambassador Tim had ordered two heretics sent away. Hobart and his companions escaped, then agreed to act as if they knew nothing while Hobart privately connected the embassy to Earl Vincent and George III’s plans.

• Hobart used the Spirit Medium Necklace to identify the dead man as Wayne, a Feneport Embassy staff member, and learned that Ambassador Tim had ordered two troublemaking men sent to the Southern Continent.
• Hobart, Xue, and Fors carried the body away before the security personnel reached the scene.
• Hobart told Xue and Fors that Wayne had been a spy, and they considered whether the Feneport Embassy had supported the heretical organization.
• Hobart persuaded Xue and Fors to treat the mission as an ordinary heretic operation and avoid drawing attention to what they had learned.
• Hobart privately suspected Ambassador Tim had tested Earl Vincent, who might be helping George III build a mausoleum, and wondered whether the Feneport Royal Family wanted to prevent George III from becoming the Black Emperor.

Hobart, Xue, and Fors collected the bounty for two heretics and sold their Extraordinary Characteristics, then agreed to stay together because the Feneport Embassy might be monitoring them. After returning to Blanca Street, Hobart went to the Law Firm and learned that a trial date had been moved up.

• Hobart sold the Prisoner and Cultivator Extraordinary Characteristics for 290 Pounds and 330 Pounds after the bounty officials confirmed the corpses.
• Hobart divided the 1,020 Pounds in earnings, taking a 51-Pound commission and splitting the rest equally between Xue, Fors, and himself according to their agreed shares.
• Hobart told Fors he had already obtained the main ingredient for a Trick Master potion, and the group agreed to stay together until they knew whether the Feneport Embassy was watching them.
• Xue stayed awake to keep watch while Hobart and Fors rested, then made lunch after Hobart woke.
• Hobart went to the Law Firm and received an official letter saying the trial date had been moved up.

Hobart responded to Arnold’s efforts to pressure him by arranging witnesses for Bob’s trial and asking allies to protect Bob. He learned that Ms. Daly had joined the Red Gloves and that his missing Ebony Staff had never been recovered, leaving him to suspect someone had deliberately taken it.

• Hobart learned that Bob’s trial had been moved forward and accepted an invitation to dinner from Arnold’s butler.
• Hobart asked Xue to find former workers from Arnold’s factory to testify and told Fors to summon Audrey and Viscount Glynt to an emergency Justice League gathering.
• Hobart injured the two men following him, then went to Obsidian Bar and met LuoLuota, his new contact after Ms. Daly joined the Red Gloves.
• Hobart asked LuoLuota to arrange protection for Bob, and she said the Church would likely send someone once the captain received his message.
• Hobart learned that his Ebony Staff had not been found at the scene where he left it and suspected someone had deliberately taken it.

Hobart secured Ikanse’s support for publicizing Bob’s trial before confronting Backlund’s merchant elite at a banquet. He refuted their arguments for social hierarchy and racial superiority, leaving the debate unresolved.

• Hobart told Bob that his trial date had been moved up and asked him to prepare.
• Hobart asked Captain Ikanse to have the church publicize Bob’s case truthfully, and Ikanse agreed to consult the Archbishop.
• Hobart attended a banquet at the Loen Kingdom Hotel, where Arnold and more than twenty others had seated him alone.
• Gusata argued that society should eliminate the weak and favor the strong, but Hobart countered that civilization depended on human care and cooperation.
• A gaunt middle-aged man cited alleged anatomical differences to justify racial hierarchy, and Hobart accused him of disguising an argument for enslavement as science.

Hobart defended the workers against Gusata and his associates, then discovered that the confrontation had fully digested his Barbarian Potion. He returned home and postponed taking the next Potion until after settling Bob’s lawsuit, while Xue reported that news from the assignments might arrive tomorrow.

• Hobart argued that racial theories justified oppression and that workers and the poor were driven by their conditions to seek change.
• Gusata threatened Hobart, but Hobart said the workers stood behind him and predicted that a country would one day protect equality and the weak.
• Hobart rejected Arnold’s invitation, called out the diners’ fear of the workers, and left; Gusata then told Arnold to deal with him that night.
• In a rental carriage, Hobart realized the confrontation had completely digested his Barbarian Potion and decided to settle Bob’s lawsuit before taking the next Potion.
• Hobart returned to No. 192, where Xue said the assignments had been sent out and Fors served fried Yellow Croakers for dinner.

After two would-be killers died in a scuffle at Hobart’s home, Hobart hid their bodies before Sheriff Rotor and the Loen Police could find them. He used his Inspector identification to stop their search and made Rotor pay 100 Pounds for the broken door, though Rotor had to leave a promissory note for the remaining 12 Pounds.

• Fors, Hobart, and Xue agreed on night watch shifts, but Fors sounded her whistle when two Villains attacked, and the three quickly knocked them down.
• Hobart discovered both Villains had died from their injuries, then realized the Loen Police had arrived suspiciously fast and hid the bodies in his room.
• Fors and Xue challenged the officers’ entry as Sheriff Rotor arrived and ordered a search without a warrant.
• Hobart showed Rotor his Inspector identification and allowed the search, which failed to uncover the bodies.
• Hobart demanded 100 Pounds for his custom-made doors, and Rotor paid what he could before writing a promissory note for the remaining 12 Pounds.

After a break-in, Hobart took Xue and Fors to the Blackthorn Security Company for protection, explaining how their enemies might exploit the investigation to keep him detained. The next day, he joined an emergency Justice League gathering and met its new member, Karl Vincent.

• Hobart, Xue, and Fors left their home after Hobart realized investigators could delay ruling that he had acted in self-defense, and he revealed that he had hidden the corpses with Mysticism.
• The three reached the Blackthorn Security Company, where LuoLuota told them that an attack on Bob had been stopped and arranged for them to stay the night.
• Hobart spent the night under the Nighthawks' protection, then left with Xue, Fors, and Borgia, who accompanied them as a show of support from the Church of the Goddess of the Night.
• Hobart, Xue, and Fors attended an emergency Justice League gathering at Viscount Glynt's residence, where Viscount Glynt introduced Karl Vincent as Earl Vincent's youngest son.

Arnold’s group abandoned plans to seize Hobart after learning that Blackthorn Security Company was protected by the Goddess of the Night Church, and decided to challenge him in court instead. Meanwhile, Hobart initiated Karl Vincent into the Justice League with a Mysticism ritual and used a Psychological Suggestion to protect the group’s secrets.

• Arnold’s subordinate reported that Hobart had gone to Viscount Glynt’s estate, and Gusata questioned Arnold about Hobart’s noble connections.
• Kenneth warned Arnold’s group that breaking into Blackthorn Security Company would be like entering the Goddess of the Night Church, so they agreed to oppose Hobart openly in court with Great Lawyer Hugo.
• Karl Vincent met Hobart, Fors, Xue, and Glaint, then confirmed that he wanted to join the Justice League.
• Hobart performed a ritual for Karl and used the Psychological Spoon to make him punish himself if he tried to reveal the Justice League’s secrets.
• Karl emerged convinced that Hobart was a master of Mysticism, while Hobart suspected Karl had seen her Mind Island.

At a Justice League gathering, Carl obtained a chance to buy an Arbiter Potion Recipe and its main ingredient, while Hobart recruited the members to support his lawsuit against Arnold. The group agreed to spread word about Arnold’s personal conduct ahead of the next day’s hearing.

• Carl introduced himself and said he wanted to become an Arbiter, so Hobart arranged for him to buy Xue’s Potion Recipe for 300 pounds and Hobart’s main ingredient for 320 pounds.
• Carl eagerly agreed to the purchase and planned to return with the money the morning after tomorrow.
• Hobart told Audrey, Glaint, and the others how he had been threatened and nearly framed, then asked the Justice League to help him win his lawsuit.
• Audrey and Glaint described their unsuccessful efforts to gain support, and Hobart advised them to present the case as Arnold’s personal misconduct rather than a class conflict.
• Hobart asked the members to spread word about Arnold among noble circles before and after the hearing scheduled for the next day.

Hobart and the Justice League members coordinated efforts to influence public opinion about the Work Injury Compensation Case while trading ingredients and pursuing new clues. Audrey’s strategy succeeded at the ball, and Earl Hall wondered who had inspired her.

• Audrey and Glaint agreed to help Hobart investigate the Work Injury Compensation Case, and Hobart called it the Justice League’s first joint operation.
• Audrey rewarded Xue and Fors for their role in exposing Qilingesi, and they agreed to trade with Hobart for the main ingredients of Sheriff and Trick Master.
• Fors offered to take Audrey to a Mysticism gathering where she might learn more about the Psychological Alchemy Society, and Audrey gave Hobart a painting he named “Shadow of the Court.”
• At the ball, Audrey and Glaint helped nobles learn that Arnold had misled them about the Work Injury Compensation Case, while Glaint spread details of Arnold’s misconduct.
• Earl Hall praised Audrey’s handling of the ball, and Audrey hinted that someone else had inspired her approach.

Hobart prepared to represent Bob in the work injury compensation trial against Arnold, while Thomas and Ikanse discussed the case’s potential to prompt legal reform. At Backlund Court, Hobart rallied public support and challenged the factory’s safety claims, leaving the trial underway after the Judge overruled Hugo’s objection.

• Hobart prepared for the trial as Thomas and Ikanse discussed his chances and Bishop Horamick’s proposal to press Parliament for worker-protection laws.
• Hobart and Bob arrived at Backlund Court to find a packed gallery, where supporters cheered them and jeered Arnold.
• Hobart opened the case by accusing Arnold of using the law to shield immoral conduct, drawing applause from the gallery.
• Hugo argued that Arnold was not responsible for factory management and called three workers to testify that the workshop was safe.
• Hobart questioned a worker about the Employee Handbook and showed that it contained no safety instructions, prompting Hugo to object before the Judge overruled him.

Hobart challenged Hugo’s defense in Bob’s work injury case, first exposing the witnesses’ attention to the factory’s lack of safety notices and then countering Hugo’s appeals to freedom and democracy. The hearing ended with Hobart accusing Arnold of inflaming public conflict to avoid paying compensation.

• Hobart presented five witnesses who testified that Arnold’s factory had no Safe Production reminders, and Hugo tested their ability to recognize or write the phrase.
• The witnesses said they could recognize the phrase, and Hugo’s questioning failed to undermine their testimony.
• Hugo argued that Arnold and Bob had freely agreed to their employment and that holding Arnold responsible would violate his rights and damage Backlund’s economic rules.
• Hobart countered that freedom had limits and that Arnold was responsible for Bob’s work injury; he also questioned whether Loen’s democracy represented workers and farmers.
• Hobart recognized Hugo’s attempt to turn the case into a class conflict and accused Arnold of publicizing the dispute to evade compensation, persuading the gallery.

Hobart won Bob’s work injury compensation case, securing compensation and workplace safety measures while keeping Arnold from criminal liability. After celebrating the victory and arranging protection and a new identity for Bob, Hobart prepared the Bribor Potion and returned home, where he needed to speak with Christine before drinking it.

• Hobart changed his defense strategy during the debate, and the judge ordered Arnold to pay Bob 860 pounds plus Hobart’s legal fees while requiring safety slogans and training at the factory.
• A law professor praised Hobart’s defense, and reporters recorded Bob’s emotional thanks to Hobart after the verdict.
• Hobart arranged for Ikanse to protect Bob and help him begin a new life under a new identity.
• Hobart gave interviews at the law firm, then returned home and found a note saying Xue and Fors had gone out to celebrate.
• Hobart obtained the reassembled Bribor Extraordinary Characteristics, bought the auxiliary ingredients, and returned to Queens to speak with Christine before drinking the Potion.

After winning his court case, Hobart chose to advance to the 'Bribor' Sequence and investigate his family’s Curse. Christine revealed that the Heller Family was actually the Trensoost family, descended from the Night Emperor, and ended by disclosing that he himself was a Tudor.

• Hobart told Christine that he had fully Digested the 'Barbarian' potion and believed he was ready to drink the 'Bribor' potion.
• Christine offered Hobart the choice of remaining at Sequence 8 with a Sealed Artifact or advancing and investigating the family Curse, and Hobart chose to advance.
• Christine revealed that the family’s true surname was Trensoost and that the Curse had appeared around the time the Night Emperor fell.
• Christine explained that surviving Trensoost family members had fled to the Southern Continent and changed their surname to Balk.
• Christine said Rex had suspected the Curse was connected to the Night Emperor’s fall and believed reaching Sequence 2 on the 'Lawyer' pathway could lift it, but he had failed to become an angel.
• When Hobart asked about Christine’s surname, Christine revealed that he was a Tudor.

Hobart learned more about the Tudor family’s mysterious Curse before drinking the Bribor potion and advancing to Sequence 7. He successfully became a Bribor and discovered the abilities granted by the new Sequence.

• Christine told Hobart that the Tudor family and the Trensoost family had set aside their old rivalry to survive, and that the Extraordinary Characteristics of past Sequence 3s who tried to resolve the Curse had always disappeared.
• Hobart chose to advance despite the unresolved mysteries surrounding the Curse and asked Christine for red wine to prepare the Bribor potion.
• Hobart drank the potion and resisted its effects, using his preparation and compatible spiritual and astral bodies to regain control of himself.
• Christine confirmed that Hobart’s advancement had succeeded and urged him to test his new abilities.
• Hobart discovered that Bribery let him weaken, charm, or make targets arrogant, and establish a connection with them.

After advancing to Sequence 7, Hobart explored his new abilities and considered how to act as a Bribor. In the Country of Disorder, he investigated the Night Emperor’s possible fate and discovered that his territory had expanded and contained rocks capable of powerful Distortion.

• Hobart found that his spirituality and physical abilities had improved, and concluded that a Bribor should actively create loopholes in rules that benefit his side.
• Hobart entered the Country of Disorder and strengthened the seal holding a blurry young man in its pool.
• Hobart considered whether the figure was connected to the Night Emperor and pondered how the Night Emperor’s attempt to become an Ancient One might have led to his fall.
• Hobart discovered he could use high-level Distortion within the Country of Disorder, including temporarily altering natural laws with lasting consequences.
• Hobart found that his controlled territory had expanded to include the lake, woods, and grasslands, where he discovered black rocks that could distort natural laws and Extraordinary Characteristics within three meters.

Hobart refined the Stones of Loss of Control, prepared to protect his memories of Adam, and finished building a grand hall in the Country of Disorder. The next day, Christine gave him a healing fork left by his biological mother and told him that his father had also left something, but his will prevented her from giving it to Hobart yet.

• Hobart decided to shape the Stones of Loss of Control as palm-sized disks engraved with the Emperor tarot image and considered using the Psychological Spoon to restrict memories of Adam to the Country of Disorder.
• Hobart completed the grand hall in the Country of Disorder, returned to the real world, and slept after meditating.
• Hobart sensed that Order Wood had grown stronger after his advancement to Sequence 7 as he prepared to leave for work with Christine.
• Christine gave Hobart the fork his biological mother had left him, and he discovered it could use Healing Art and suturing, though it made his hair and fingernails grow quickly.
• Hobart asked whether his biological father had left him anything, and Christine said she could not give it to him yet because of his father's will.

Hobart sold the Sheriff, Trick Master, and Arbiter characteristics to Xue and Fors, then traveled to Tingen City to help Mr. Fool. After visiting Ulysses, he found Klein’s grave and waited there for nightfall.

• Hobart settled Sheriff Rotor’s debt, sold the Trick Master and Arbiter characteristics to Fors and Xue, and warned them that acting according to their Potion names helped prevent Loss of Control.
• Hobart completed the final Justice League transaction with Carl, deposited most of his savings, and took a train to Tingen City.
• Leonard read about Hobart’s victory in the Work Injury Compensation Case while traveling to Winter County for training.
• Hobart visited Ulysses, who asked him to write to Elizabeth and comfort her, then went to the cemetery and waited beside Klein’s grave for nightfall.

Hobart waited at Klein’s grave until Klein resurrected, then helped him leave the cemetery and offered support. Klein mourned Dunn before the two went to a hotel, where Hobart gave him the address of his law firm in case he needed help.

• Hobart waited at Klein’s grave, where he met Azzik, who left flowers and said he was leaving Tingen City.
• After ten at night, Klein’s hand emerged from the soil, and Hobart pulled him from the coffin.
• Klein realized he had resurrected and grieved at Dunn’s tombstone before Hobart encouraged him to move on.
• Hobart and Klein left the cemetery and went to a nearby hotel.
• Hobart offered Klein money, which Klein declined, and gave him his law firm’s address.

Hobart returned to Backlund and spent the day with Fors and Xue before welcoming his siblings, Donna and Tyrone, for a visit. After Donna mistakenly assumed Xue was Hobart’s girlfriend, the group shared a meal, and Donna and Tyrone left noting how happy Hobart seemed.

• Hobart returned to Backlund, where Fors and Xue welcomed him home and Fors cooked fried squid for lunch.
• Donna and Tyrone arrived to visit Hobart, and Donna mistook Xue for his girlfriend after hearing he had been tired the previous night.
• Hobart came downstairs and corrected Donna’s misunderstanding, then introduced everyone properly and took Tyrone to help make flatbread.
• Donna chatted with Xue and Fors while Hobart and Tyrone prepared scallion pancakes, which everyone praised at dinner.
• Hobart saw Donna and Tyrone off in their family carriage, and they agreed that he seemed happier than before.

Hobart answered Elliot’s prayer about the Night Emperor and agreed to help cure Elliot’s sister, while considering whether bribery could speed Potion digestion. He also observed Lafite trying to recruit Jessica, and news of Hobart’s courtroom victory reached Daly, Elizabeth, and Selena.

• Elliot prayed to Hobart about the family’s Trensoost lineage, the Night Emperor, and his sister’s curse, and asked for her sanity to be restored.
• Hobart explained that the Night Emperor was one of the Four Emperors of the Fourth Epoch and told Elliot to prepare an altar, sacrifices, and Lawyer Potion materials for the next morning.
• Hobart observed Lafite offer Jessica the Barbarian Potion Recipe in exchange for help restoring the Pound Family, but Jessica refused after her silver-haired companion warned her.
• Elliot excitedly considered the Creator’s answer and went to ask Calvin what sacrifices to prepare.
• Daly read about Hobart’s court victory and remarked that he did have a sense of Justice.
• Selena showed Elizabeth the report about Hobart’s victory and wondered whether he would teach her Mysticism.

Klein read about Hobart defending disadvantaged workers, which made him trust Hobart and the Creator more, though he chose not to make contact yet. Hobart used the Psychological Spoon and Fork of Healing to restore Elliot’s sister Moira’s sanity long enough for her to drink the Lawyer Potion, and the Creator allowed Elliot to spread His name within the Balk Family.

• Klein read a newspaper report about Hobart winning a case for disadvantaged workers and reconsidered the Creator’s nature.
• Hobart answered Elliot’s prayer and brought the Psychological Spoon and Fork of Healing into the Country of Disorder.
• Hobart eased Moira’s madness with a Psychological Suggestion, Hypnosis, and Healing Arts, then gave Elliot time to prepare the Lawyer Potion.
• Moira recognized Elliot, drank the Lawyer Potion, and controlled its power while lucid.
• Elliot and Moira thanked the Creator, who permitted Elliot to spread His name within the Balk Family.