Chapter Summaries

Hobart explored the Mercenary Club’s Information Wall, gathered intelligence, and arranged to buy Emperor Rosell’s Notes and Extraordinary Materials. After lunch, he noticed club members heading into the basement for a gathering, leaving him wondering whether its location had changed.

• Hobart studied the Information Wall and learned about missions, trades, and secret intelligence, including clashes between the Fosac and Loen fleets and General Anthony’s possible Fosac backing.
• Hobart posted an offer to buy Emperor Rosell’s Notes for five pounds per page, excluding notes already in his collection.
• Hobart asked the staff member to contact a seller of Deep Sleep Flowers and Dragon Blood Grass so he could buy materials for Rituals.
• Hobart ate lunch, then waited in the hall and watched club members enter the basement without returning.
• Hobart heard people mention a gathering and wondered if it had been moved to the basement.

Hobart attended a Beyonder Gathering at the Mercenary Club, where mercenaries recruited teammates for dangerous missions and participants traded combat-related Extraordinary Items and Characteristics. He left determined to earn more money and returned home to study the cases Barton had given him.

• Hobart used Spirit Vision to identify the basement doorman’s injured shoulder and gained entry to the Beyonder Gathering.
• A powerful old man wearing a Golden Mask opened the gathering, and a mercenary recruited teammates for a mission against the Fosac Empire in the Southern Continent.
• A team sought a Corpse Collector and a Lawyer to explore Trensoost Family ruins, but Hobart decided he was too weak to join.
• Participants recruited for other missions and traded Extraordinary Items and Characteristics, most of which Hobart could not afford.
• Hobart left resolved to make money and resumed studying the three cases Barton had given him.

Hobart heard Mr. Robin’s account of a forged insurance-share scam and agreed to investigate whether Hayman was behind it. Meanwhile, Elliot’s signs of Loss of Control disappeared, allowing him to leave the Town of Nonexistence again.

• At a routine inspection in the Town of Nonexistence, Calvin found that Elliot’s signs of Loss of Control had vanished, and Elliot credited Rex’s Law.
• Calvin allowed Elliot to carry out missions outside the town again.
• Hobart met Mr. Robin outside the Law Firm and heard how Zachary had tricked him and his cousin into buying forged insurance-company shares.
• Mr. Robin said he and his cousin had traced Zachary’s work to Hayman and offered Hobart twenty percent of any money recovered.
• Hobart declined to commit before investigating and asked Mr. Robin to explain the details of their search.

Hobart investigated the curse on his family and shared Beyonder knowledge at the Tarot Club’s second meeting. He remembered that the fallen Pound Family were descendants of the Blood Emperor Tudor who had sought to excavate Tudor ruins in Backlund.

• Hobart agreed to investigate Hayman’s case privately after Barton warned him that the law firm would not cover expenses.
• Hobart received offers to trade for Dragon Blood Grass and Emperor Rosell’s Notes, then rented a hotel room to attend the Tarot Club meeting.
• Hobart thanked the members for helping him identify his family’s curse and asked them to share information about similar curses.
• Audrey asked how an Extraordinary pet could help its owner, and Hobart explained that a Spectator pet could observe and eavesdrop unnoticed.
• Audrey presented another page of Emperor Rosell’s Notes and asked about the Arbiter pathway, the Apprentice pathway, and the Abraham Family; Hobart explained their histories and connections.
• Hobart remembered that the Pound Family descended from the Blood Emperor Tudor and had lost many powerful members while searching for Tudor ruins in Backlund.

Hobart explained the Blood Emperor’s connection to the Black Emperor pathway and answered Alger’s question about Loen’s plans for retaliation, while warning Audrey about the dangers facing Spectators. The gathering ended with Hobart’s remarks on how becoming a Beyonder twisted one’s Fate, leaving Klein and Alger reflecting on their own pasts.

• Hobart explained that the Blood Emperor’s descendants sought to restore their former glory and that the Pound Family had inherited the Tudor Family’s Black Emperor pathway Potion Recipe.
• Hobart declined to explain Adjacent Pathways, telling Audrey that she should first learn more about Beyonders.
• Alger asked Audrey to investigate whether Loen planned to retaliate against the Fosac Empire, and Hobart revealed that Loen planned to retaliate on the Southern Continent instead.
• Alger agreed to pay Hobart a Sequence 8 Extraordinary Item with mild side effects for the answer and his previous debt.
• Hobart warned Audrey that low Sequence Spectators were vulnerable in battle, and she said she would avoid conflicts with other Beyonders.
• Hobart said that becoming a Beyonder twisted one’s Fate, prompting Klein and Alger to reflect on their own experiences.

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.