Chapter Summaries

Soren ordered a sick Slave thrown overboard and his caregiver isolated, fearing a fast-spreading disease. Vivian intervened and used Divine Magic to cure the young man, leaving the Slaves grateful and the ship’s crew to clean the hold.

• Soren suspected the Slave’s severe illness resembled a dangerous pox and ordered him thrown into the sea, with his caregiver isolated and the area disinfected.
• The Slave’s older brother resisted the sailors and begged Soren to spare the sick young man.
• Vivian arrived in the hold and offered to cure the Slave, while Lillian objected to spending Divine Power.
• Vivian cast [Remove Disease], healing the young Slave’s illness and restoring him to consciousness.
• The brothers thanked Vivian, who left with Soren as the sailors began cleaning the hold.

Soren taught Vivian how spellcasters should adapt their tactics to their surroundings, then used his accumulated Slaughter Experience to advance his Shadow Dancer abilities and improve his two-weapon fighting. The chapter left him with a summoned shadow companion and a new combat feat, while Vivian went to sleep unusually exhausted.

• Soren explained to Vivian that effective combat depended on adapting to the enemy and environment, and the girl listened and memorized his advice.
• Adele Isabella brought sea bass soup, and after lunch Vivian yawned and went to take a nap.
• Soren raised his Shadow Dancer class to level 3, gaining the Summon Shadow ability, one attribute point, and one feat point.
• Soren assigned his attribute point to Dexterity and invested his skill points in Knowledge.
• Soren used his feat point to learn Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, advancing toward stronger off-hand attacks.

Soren spent his Slaughter Experience and skill points to strengthen his Wizard levels, gain Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, and unlock Loremaster, then trained Blind Fight during the voyage. After the fleet passed several harmless Ocean Monsters, it reached the scattered islands near its destination.

• Soren raised his Wizard Class Level to 9, increased his Dexterity, and gained Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, demonstrating his dual-blade attacks on a plank.
• Soren invested skill points until he reached 250 Lore and automatically gained the Loremaster feat, triggering prerequisites for Master Loremaster, Astral Traveler, and Planar Explorer.
• Soren trained blindfolded against Adele-Isabella and began analyzing her attacks, improving rapidly at Blind Fight before gaining partial information about Naval Combat.
• The fleet encountered abundant sea life, and Soren prepared grilled lobster for Vivian.
• A giant squid Ocean Monster passed the fleet without attacking, and two more Ocean Monsters also left them alone over the following days.
• On the fifth day of the voyage, Soren and the fleet neared the Overseas Islands.

Soren explored an island in the Overseas Islands and found valuable guano, red clay, and a suitable site for a town. Satisfied with its harbor, resources, and position, he ordered his crew to bring supplies ashore and establish a camp.

• Soren led Adele, Isabella, Hulk, and several others to inspect an island with a natural harbor while the rest stayed behind.
• Soren identified the island's accumulated guano as valuable fertilizer and discovered deposits of red clay suitable for making bricks.
• Soren surveyed the flat ground and determined it could support a medium-sized city.
• The Half-Elf first mate sensed something beneath the seawater but could not identify what he had seen.
• Soren chose the island over his two backup sites and ordered the crew to unload supplies and set up camp.

Soren established a camp on the Overseas Islands, where native slaves and dangerous wildlife threatened his plans. After a pirate was devoured by a strange plant, Soren recognized the jungle as a Mutated Area and identified the Rift Flower, leaving the danger unresolved.

• Soren ordered Adele-Isabella to watch the native slaves and prevent them from escaping.
• Soren's pirates began building a camp, felling trees and moving supplies into tents.
• A pirate reported that a man nicknamed Frog had been eaten by a huge-mouthed plant, leaving only half a leg.
• Soren ordered the others to return and stay on guard, then went with Adele-Isabella to investigate the jungle.
• Soren found the blood trail and identified the man-eating plant as a Tier 4 Rift Flower in a Mutated Area.

Soren and his companions encountered a mutated Rift Flower in the jungle, and he discovered that its vulnerable parts lay underground. After cutting off its feeding organ, Soren found that the creature had survived and warned the others to stay away.

• Adele-Isabella suggested burning the Rift Flower with lamp oil, but Soren said fire would not reach its underground roots.
• Soren attacked the Rift Flower, which retaliated with tough, blood-filled vines and a tooth-lined feeding organ.
• Soren dodged the flower's bite and repeatedly struck its roots until he severed the aboveground feeding organ.
• The severed organ withered while the rest of the Rift Flower burrowed deeper underground, and Soren received no Slaughter Experience.
• Soren ordered his companions to retreat and warned them that the jungle plants were dangerous and something terrifying might be underground.

Soren discovered ruins in the strange jungle, including a stabilized rift to the Shadow Plane, and decided to return later with better preparations. The next morning, after three Slaves attempted to escape, he ordered two captured escapees nailed to crosses as a warning.

• Adele-Isabella spotted a buried piece of Obsidian, and Soren recognized it as evidence that the area might contain an ancient Wizard Tower.
• Soren, Adele-Isabella, and the Red-Haired Female Pirate cautiously explored the jungle and found ruined buildings they could not enter.
• The Red-Haired Female Pirate spotted a fissure in the ruins, and Soren identified it as a stabilized Spatial Rift connected to the Shadow Plane.
• Soren decided to retreat and return later, then found the camp nearly complete and the Slaves fed after a day of work.
• The Half-Elf first mate reported that three Slaves had tried to escape; the pirates caught two, while the third fled into the jungle.
• Soren ordered the two captured Slaves nailed to crosses and displayed where the other Slaves worked.

Soren ordered two escaped native slaves nailed to crosses to deter the other slaves from fleeing. Vivian approved of the punishment and encouraged two slaves she had healed to work hard, promising that some would eventually earn their freedom.

• The Half-Elf first mate had two captured runaway slaves nailed to crude crosses in front of the gathered slaves.
• Soren watched the punishment and used it to frighten the slaves into obeying and working.
• Vivian woke, heard what had happened, and declared that the runaway slaves deserved their punishment.
• Vivian recognized two slaves she had healed, told them to work hard, and said Big Brother would keep his promise to grant some slaves freedom.

Soren began establishing a camp on the Overseas Islands, ordering construction supplies and taking precautions against the dangerous environment. After clearing and burning the land around camp, he left the settlement exposed and ready for its first fence and buildings.

• Soren abandoned the search for the last escaped slave and sent the Half-Elf first mate to recruit Dwarf craftsmen and other skilled builders from the City of Wealth.
• Soren gave Adele Isabella guano samples to deliver to the Wizard Union’s Alchemy Guild and a list of supplies to purchase in Port Tyler.
• After pirates reported venomous bites and a slave died from a snake bite, Soren ordered the camp’s surroundings cleared, burned, and treated with Medicinal Powder.
• Soren had the pirates and slaves clear all vegetation within three hundred meters, leaving open ground and stacking logs for the camp’s planned fence and houses.

Soren focused on building a defensible camp in the Overseas Islands, personally leading the logging and construction work. By the end, part of the wooden fence was complete, and he prepared to expand the settlement further.

• Soren sent half his men to transport supplies through Port Tyler while others assumed he planned to make the Overseas Islands his pirate lair.
• Soren prioritized establishing the camp before exploring, so it could withstand attacks and protect the slaves.
• Soren checked on Vivian as she studied spell knowledge and practiced Wizard spellcasting.
• Soren used Bull's Strength and Icetail to fell trees while pirate lackeys processed and hauled the timber.
• Soren felled several hundred trees in a few hours, helping the workers complete part of the camp's wooden fence.

Vivian studied how Transmute Mud to Rock could help build the camp, while Soren felled trees and mastered a new Sword Momentum technique. The chapter ended with a wandering former Paladin declaring that justice required great strength.

• Vivian read a Wizard Tower construction guide and learned that Transmute Mud to Rock could create durable building stone, but the instructions for strengthening it had been damaged.
• Vivian considered using the Spell to help Soren build the camp, but she lacked enough Spell Slots and decided to test its limits later.
• Soren finished felling trees and mastered Sword Momentum: Horizontal Slash while training with his Scimitar.
• A battered former Paladin walked across the desert and knelt before an older man, who asked what he had learned on the journey.
• The former Paladin answered that justice required great strength.

Soren oversaw the camp’s construction and planned for supplies to arrive from Port Tyler while Vivian struggled to master a fifth-circle spell. Vivian discovered that a pirate sentry had been poisoned by a blowgun dart and rushed to warn Soren that hostile natives were nearby.

• Soren established latrines, organized the camp, and ensured the slaves had enough food while maintaining strict punishments for escape attempts.
• Soren calculated that his ships would take about half a month to return from Port Tyler with supplies and expected the next stage of his plan to begin the following year.
• Vivian failed to master the fifth-circle spell Transmute Mud to Rock and spoke with Lillian about the difficulty of learning it.
• Vivian found a pirate sentry struck by a blowgun dart and heard him identify natives before he fainted.
• Vivian checked that the sentry was alive and ran toward camp to warn Soren that natives had appeared.

Soren assessed the dangers between his camp and a nearby native tribe and decided to delay attacking until he understood the area and could strike decisively. He let the pirates celebrate the New Year, while planning to defeat the natives next year and use them as a source of slaves and labor.

• Soren's physician examined the unconscious scout and concluded that he had not been poisoned and would likely wake by morning.
• Soren reviewed the island's explored regions and warned that the native tribe and dangerous creatures made a reckless attack too risky.
• Soren ordered the pirates to avoid traveling far from camp, prepare food and alcohol, and celebrate the approaching New Year.
• The pirates celebrated with food and drink, and their mood improved as they eased up on the slaves.
• Soren watched the celebration and resolved to eliminate the natives next year, seeing their population as a source of the labor he needed.

Soren prepared to leave alone, but Vivian insisted on marking him so she could reach him if he was in danger. She summoned a Djinni with Limited Wish and bargained away some of her Divine Power in exchange for abilities that linked her and Soren.

• Soren dressed for his journey and refused to let Vivian accompany him, explaining that she needed to keep the camp secure.
• Vivian agreed to stay only after Soren accepted her offer to place a Spell Mark on him.
• Vivian cast Limited Wish and summoned a powerful Djinni, then negotiated with it in Abyssal.
• Vivian signed a contract trading some of her Divine Power for abilities granted to her and Soren.
• The Djinni touched them both, giving Soren a mental connection that let him sense Vivian's location and direction.

Soren tracked the natives who had attacked his pirate scouts to a cave where they were interrogating a survivor. He killed their leader and several fighters in a surprise assault, leaving one enemy still standing.

• Soren followed the scouts’ trail through the jungle and found signs that the natives had captured survivors.
• Soren discovered a trapped cave where five natives and an escaped Slave were interrogating a pirate scout.
• Soren used Shadow Hide and Backstab to kill the native leader, then attacked the other fighters with his twin Scimitars.
• The natives fired anesthetic darts at Soren, but his Stoneskin stopped them from harming him.
• Soren killed several more natives with his blades and summoned shadow, leaving one enemy alive.

Soren killed the native scouts, discovered that their Blowguns carried powerful anesthetic toxin, and put a mortally wounded pirate scout out of his misery. He then traveled through the jungle and infiltrated a native village, where he began investigating the settlement.

• Soren killed the last native scout and gained 21,500 points of Slaughter Experience from the five enemies.
• Soren identified the scouts’ Blowguns as Tier 3 Transcendent Items whose poisoned darts could quickly render targets unconscious, then collected the weapons, needles, and toxin.
• Soren ended the suffering of the dying pirate scout and killed the native Slave whose escape had likely exposed their location.
• Soren crossed the jungle at night, avoided predators and Piranhas, and followed signs of farming toward human habitation.
• Soren scouted a crude village of roughly fifteen hundred natives and quietly infiltrated it.

Soren infiltrated a native tribe to assess its defenses and discovered that its Shaman Priest was a dangerous poison expert who cultivated Upas Trees. He left determined to plan a surprise attack with Vivian and eliminate the Shaman Priest first.

• Soren surveyed the tribe and saw that its lower-class natives lived in primitive, unsanitary conditions while its Warriors enjoyed better food and shelter.
• Soren approached the tribe's center and sensed danger near the Shaman Priest's courtyard, where he found magical signs and a strong medicinal odor.
• Soren identified the courtyard's trees as poisonous Antiaris Toxicaria and realized their venom could kill his pirates.
• Soren left the tribe, deciding that he and Vivian would need to strike by surprise and kill the Shaman Priest before attacking the natives.

The Half-Elf first mate planned to steal Eastern slaves for Lord Throat Cutter, unaware that an Amazon Woman had fed him the information to provoke a war between Pirate Kings. Meanwhile, Soren prepared to deal with the native tribes, and the Drow Warrior he had freed finally arrived with a squad of Drow.

• The Half-Elf first mate learned that Eastern slaves skilled in making Porcelain were being transported and ordered men to prepare ships to steal them.
• The Amazon Woman revealed that the shipment belonged to Pirate King Asroder and that she had used it to set Throat Cutter and Asroder against each other.
• Soren returned to camp at daybreak, strengthened its defenses, and considered the dangers posed by native Spirits and poisons.
• Soren's pirates prepared for New Year celebrations and set out to gather seafood as an unflagged ship approached the camp.
• The pirate minor leader recognized the Drow Warrior Soren had released, and let him and his squad come ashore.

City of Wealth continued to decline as trade shifted to Port Tyler and Shipwreck Bay, where Throat Cutter’s Command Flags offered merchants protection from pirates. After a formidable fighter killed twelve people in an alley, a young man with a legendary Lucky Coin planned to kill Throat Cutter.

• Two shop owners discussed rising prices, disrupted southern trade, and merchants moving to Port Tyler and Shipwreck Bay.
• The shop owners heard a scream and called the guards, who found twelve corpses in an alley.
• A guard captain concluded that a powerful expert had killed the victims in rapid succession and reported the deaths to his superiors.
• A young man admired a legendary Lucky Coin and said he had taken a lucrative job and intended to kill Throat Cutter.

A former Paladin began training under a legendary Inquisitor, while a Ghost-Masked woman sought the stolen Lucky Coin. On the Overseas Islands, Soren received a contingent of Drow Warriors and prepared to discuss a job for them.

• The burly Inquisitor welcomed a former Paladin who had passed his trials and gave him a Codex, beginning his lessons in law and justice.
• The Ghost-Masked woman learned that a Lucky Coin had been stolen and gave her subordinates six months to recover it before they faced the Avatar.
• Soren assessed the thirty-one Drow Warriors who arrived at his camp and noted their discipline and combat skill.
• Soren invited the Drow leader inside, saying he had something to discuss and needed hired muscle.