Chapter Summaries

Soren and his group explored the upper floors of the Wizard Tower, finding its defenses weakened and its rooms largely abandoned. They reached the seventh floor, where a dead High Dryad and signs of the Arcanist’s private quarters left Soren wary of what might await above.

• Soren’s group crossed the Energy Laser Tunnel after Goria used the ninth-circle spell Ethereal Jaunt to turn them into spiritual bodies.
• Soren searched the sixth floor for a way to disable the tunnel while Goria and the Fallen Witch found an unfinished Magical Powered Armor prototype.
• Soren’s group advanced to the seventh floor without encountering enemies or Tower Spirits, and Soren warned everyone to stay alert.
• Soren’s group found a lavish lounge containing a withered High Dryad, which the High Priest identified as material for certain legendary-tier spells.
• Goria and the Fallen Witch glanced at Soren with flushed cheeks after seeing the room’s intimate furnishings.

Soren and his companions explored the Arcanist’s living quarters and climbed to the top floor of the Wizard Tower, where five Tower Spirits offered to surrender the tower in exchange for freedom and a chance to extend their lives.

• Soren, the High Priest, and Alice explored the Arcanist’s quarters, discovering enchanted spellbooks and sealed dimensional spaces.
• Soren secretly stored a pink book, then left the sealed spaces for Goria and the Fallen Witch to examine later.
• Soren prepared his companions for a likely battle and sent the Adamantite Golem ahead, but no fight broke out on the top floor.
• Tower Spirit 1 and four other Tower Spirits greeted Soren as a True God and proposed an agreement instead of fighting.
• Tower Spirit 1 asked Soren to free them from the tower’s restraints and let them travel to Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus, offering the tower’s permissions, secrets, Mythal, and War Chess Demiplane in return.

Soren agreed to free five tower spirits in exchange for their future help, then took control of the arcane tower and granted its highest authority to himself. The freed spirits departed for the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus, leaving Soren with a way to contact them.

• Soren agreed to release the tower spirits if they would help him after reaching the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus, and both sides swore oaths.
• Tower Spirit 1 showed Soren the arcane tower’s operational core and explained how he could claim its highest authority.
• Goria declined control of the tower, so Soren took its authority and assigned access levels to Goria, Corinna, the high priest, Alice, and Saruman.
• Soren lifted the restrictions on Tower Spirit 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7.
• Tower Spirit 1 opened a portal, left a spell beacon for Soren, and led the freed spirits to the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus.

Soren activated the Arcane Tower’s mythal and discovered that the tower could teleport to a location near Port Nyanzaru, potentially making it the city’s defensive and energy core. He left the plan in the hands of Goria and the Fallen Witch, who needed mithril and more than a million Gold Dalers to complete the Floating Ring.

• The tower spirits left through a portal after Soren granted them freedom, and he activated the Arcane Tower’s mythal and ordered Goria to connect it to the Elemental Furnace.
• The High Priest warned Soren that the tower lacked a finished Floating Ring and ley line network, and Soren asked her to build a psychic network while delaying removal of her Spider Queen’s curse.
• Goria and the Fallen Witch activated the Large Floating Ring, and the Arcane Tower revealed a Spatial Beacon linked to a site near Port Nyanzaru.
• Soren and the witches realized that the airborne Arcane Tower could teleport to the Material Plane and serve as Port Nyanzaru’s energy core and mythal-protected fortress.
• Goria told Soren that completing the Floating Ring would take about half a month and require at least one pound of mithril and over a million Gold Dalers.

Soren prepared to obtain mithril for the Floating Island while his Abyssal forces readied a surprise attack against a weakened demon lord. On the South Coast, a young paladin witnessed the Goddess of the Sea’s followers feeding refugees and struggled with whether tolerating an evil faith could serve justice.

• Soren gave Goria mithril to keep construction going and promised to obtain more within three days.
• Soren planned to raid the duergar city controlled by Graybeard for its mithril vein and nearly finished Mithril Chain Mail.
• Soran assembled Gurumba Arena’s forces to attack a weakened nalfeshnee lord, planning a surprise assault at nightfall.
• A priestess of the Goddess of the Sea preached to starving Narod refugees and offered them food and protection.
• A young paladin wanted to report the sea-faith followers, but a middle-aged clergyman argued that the church could not feed the refugees and should prioritize fighting demonized cultists.
• The young paladin wrestled with compromising his beliefs to let the refugees accept help from an evil deity.

Soren found the surface elves and drow preparing for another major war, then explored the drow army and considered how Port Nyanzaru could build its own strength. He decided to seek out the stone-skinned duergar and reached Sigil, where he transformed himself into a duergar.

• Soren saw the surface elves fortifying Spider Forest and entered the Underdark, where he found drow scouts and signs of a united war effort.
• Soren discovered a drow encampment with thousands of troops and hundreds of basilisks, and concluded that he would need high-level forces and alchemy technology to challenge the Spider Queen.
• Soren remembered the abandoned stone-skinned duergar and decided to bring them to Port Nyanzaru as smiths for the city's arsenal and future construction.
• Soren reached the fortified city of Sigil and used Alter Form to take the shape of a burly duergar.

Soren infiltrated Gracklstugh to steal Graybeard’s nearly completed artifact-grade Mithril Chain Mail, then used rogue levels and a major Stealth breakthrough to bypass the city’s defenses. He reached the furnace, where spell traps remained his main obstacle.

• Soren learned that Graybeard had secretly used Gracklstugh’s mithril vein to forge armor enchanted with ancient psionic knowledge.
• Soren raised his rogue class to level 10, increased his Dexterity, and chose the Legendary Reflexes feat.
• Soren spent his skill points on Stealth, which reached 500 and made him almost impossible to sense, even for deities.
• Soren vanished into stealth and passed the guards around Graybeard’s residence unnoticed.
• Soren approached the furnace and prepared to deal with the spell traps protecting it.

Soren infiltrated Graybeard's mansion, stole his mithril and much of his treasure, then escaped Gracklstugh with the nearly completed Mithril Chain Mail artifact. Graybeard discovered both thefts and ordered the city searched, but Soren was already gone.

• Soren used Mind Control on a duergar servant to learn Graybeard was at the Furnace of Flame and locate the treasury in the mansion's southwestern basement.
• Soren bypassed the basement's traps and alarm mechanisms, then opened Graybeard's treasury and found gold, weapons, mithril, adamantine, and Soul Gems.
• Soren emptied the treasury into his Otherworldly Dimensional Space and deliberately triggered an alarm before fleeing toward the Furnace of Flame.
• Graybeard found the treasury empty and raced to the Furnace of Flame after recognizing the theft was a diversion.
• Soren escaped Gracklstugh with the nearly completed Mithril Chain Mail artifact, while Graybeard ordered the city sealed and searched.

Soren recovered the artifact chainmail after surviving Graybeard’s traps, then considered his path toward becoming an Archmage. In the Abyss, Soran led an assault on a rival demon lord’s fortress and confronted its wounded Lesser Demon Lord.

• Soren used divine magic to heal himself and examined the unfinished artifact chainmail, deciding to take it to the High Priest for assessment.
• Soren reviewed his growing power and headed toward the stone-skinned duergar in the Underdark.
• Soran sent the glabrezu, vrocks, and barlguras into the siege while allowing two high-tier succubi to join the fighting with fiend mercenary support.
• The enemy’s Lesser Demon Lord appeared atop the walls, and Soran teleported there to attack with his Vorpal Sword and Flame Whip of Balor.
• The wounded Lesser Demon Lord used Greater Teleport to retreat, and Soran mocked the attempt as he pursued the enemy.

Ugly Monkey and Soren learned that the Shadow Thieves had emerged in Shipwreck Bay, prompting Soren to prepare for a conflict with the Lord of Shadows. Soren returned to Port Nyanzaru, delegated the stone-skinned duergar to the High Priest, and ordered surveillance of drow who might follow the Maiden of Pain.

• A scout told Ugly Monkey that his people had vanished, rival fighters were contesting Shipwreck Bay, and vampires bearing a Shadow Thieves crest had joined the attacks.
• Ugly Monkey ordered forces assembled and headed to report the threat, while the High Priest received the news and left to consult Goria.
• Soren received the High Priest's message while confronting stone-skinned duergar in the Underdark, then set up a Teleportation Beacon and tasked her with subduing them.
• Soren returned to the Grand Temple, reviewed the Shadow Thieves report, and ordered the High Priest to send word to Arendelle for the Princess's help.
• The High Priest reported drow who were not followers of the Spider Queen, and Soren ordered them watched until he could act against the Maiden of Pain and the Winter Maiden.

Necromancer twins sent by Goria reached a newly discovered continent to establish a base and Teleportation Beacon, while Soren focused on threats gathering around the South Coast. He identified Glasya as the power behind the Red Dragon Duchess and arranged to alert the Church of the Lord of Radiance, leaving Dagon’s expanding influence and the Lord of Shadows unresolved.

• Two necromancer sisters arrived at a new continent with Old Sea Dog and began establishing a base and Teleportation Beacon under Goria’s orders, protected by Soren’s Mutated Killer Whale.
• Soren rejected Goria’s offer to use divination to locate the Shadow Thieves, warning that prophecy was dangerous during the Time of Troubles.
• Goria reported signs of Dagon’s followers, aquatic demons, Bog Giants, and the Goddess of the Sea’s activity along the South Coast, and Soren ordered the Mutated Killer Whale to return after the new base was established.
• Soren connected the devils around the Red Dragon Duchess to Glasya, daughter of Asmodeus and Queen of Succubi.
• Soren ordered someone to secretly tell the Church of the Lord of Radiance about the devils without directly revealing Glasya’s connection to the Red Dragon Duchess.

The Lord of Radiance visited the Goddess of Agriculture, healed injuries left by the Lady of Poisons, and warned her against associating with Soren, whom he saw as a dangerous force linked to the Arcane Empire. The Goddess of Agriculture refused to abandon her own hope in Soren and Port Nyanzaru, leaving her at odds with her father.

• The Lord of Radiance descended into the Goddess of Agriculture’s demiplane and removed the Lady of Poisons’ lingering injuries from her.
• The Lord of Radiance asked whether the Goddess of Agriculture had dealt with the newly ascended God of Half-Elves and Rogues, and she confirmed that she had.
• The Lord of Radiance warned that Soren stood outside destiny, might influence the gods’ struggles, and was tied to dangers from the Arcane Empire.
• The Goddess of Agriculture recalled how Port Nyanzaru’s use of ancient knowledge had improved its natural environment rather than harming it.
• The Goddess of Agriculture met the Lord of Radiance’s gaze and firmly refused to give up her own ideals.

Soren launched a coordinated assault on the Shadow Thieves and vampires in Shipwreck Bay, overwhelming their forces with Port Nyanzaru’s allies and magical reinforcements. He killed an Ancient Vampire, whose death produced strange vampire true blood, while the battle continued across the city.

• Ugly Monkey reported that Port Nyanzaru had located the Shadow Thieves’ base and the vampires’ lair, and Soren ordered the operation to begin.
• Drow instructors and Half-Elf Church forces attacked the Shadow Thieves and vampires, with Lulumiao, Ugly Monkey, Milan, and the Archbishop of the Half-Elf Church joining the fighting.
• After Shadow Wizards and shadow creatures appeared, Soren sent in the Witches’ Coven and a shadow dragon, while wizard Baladi established a beacon for reinforcements.
• Goria’s laboratory teleported three Adamantite Golems into Shipwreck Bay, convincing local gray-zone bosses to turn against the Shadow Thieves and support Port Nyanzaru.
• Soren confronted and killed an Ancient Vampire, who had tried to flee after recognizing him as a god, and stored the strange dark-red blood produced from the vampire’s remains.

Soren defeated the Lord of Shadows' avatar and absorbed its divine power and divine rank, then marked the deity's lingering traces to help locate him. In Port Nyanzaru, the Fallen Witch showed Goria a spell that created a temporary duplicate, though she said its control and duration still needed improvement.

• Soren fought the Lord of Shadows' avatar, broke the Shadow Plane's seal, and used Melf's Minute Meteors and Hand of Death to destroy it.
• Soren absorbed 12 points of divine rank and 6 points of divine rank value from the avatar, permanently weakening the Lord of Shadows.
• Soren used his Tracking portfolio to mark the Lord of Shadows' lingering presence and divine power.
• The Fallen Witch told Goria that she had researched the spell Soren brought back from the Arcane Empire's era.
• The Fallen Witch demonstrated the spell by creating a duplicate of herself, then explained that the spell was difficult to control and did not last long enough.

Goria and the Fallen Witch completed their analysis of Simulacrum, and Soren learned that Adele-Isabella had reached the threshold of the legendary realm. The chapter left Monica-Isabella poised to manage Wind Spear Hills while Adele trained, with Soren agreeing to notify the Church of the Sea about her joining Port Nyanzaru.

• Goria examined the Simulacrum spell and planned to share it with Alice after the Fallen Witch described the duplicate's spellcasting abilities.
• Soren visited Wind Spear Hills, recognized Monica-Isabella, and strengthened the settlement's defenses against the Shadow Thieves.
• Adele-Isabella brought Monica-Isabella to Soren's quarters and later explained that she wanted to train for a legendary breakthrough while Monica managed Wind Spear Hills.
• Soren agreed to let Monica-Isabella handle affairs during Adele-Isabella's training, provided Adele stayed nearby to keep the pirates in line.
• Soren decided to inform the Church of the Sea that Monica-Isabella intended to join Port Nyanzaru's faction.

Soren returned to Port Nyanzaru as the city settled the newly arrived duergar and prepared for the coming conflict with Dagon. After learning Goria had created a powerful Simulacrum, he received word that the Stalkers had found a lead on the Shadow Thieves and called allies to prepare for battle.

• A drow instructor assigned the newly arrived duergar to housing near the Barracks, while the High Priest instructed the clergy to monitor them and prevent conflicts.
• Goria asked Corinna when the duergar could begin forging metal for the Floating Tower and Golem Factory.
• Soren considered Dagon’s coming assault on the Ocean Domain and the threat it posed to overseas trade and the Naga Race.
• Ugly Monkey learned that his subordinates had found Shadow Thieves in the City of Wealth and ordered them to notify the temple.
• Soren discovered that Goria’s Simulacrum had a physical body and retained the ability to cast spells up to the Eighth Circle before the avatar vanished.
• An archbishop told Soren that the Stalkers had found traces of the Shadow Thieves, and Soren sent messages to the Princess and Yugin to prepare for battle against the Lord of Shadows.

Soran defeated a rival Demon Lord, took over the enemy’s territory, and advanced to Fire Demon [Elite]. He left the battlefield planning to strengthen his forces and stage a death-combat event against invited devils.

• Soran defeated the enemy Demon Lord, captured territory, and gained more than a hundred mid-tier demons for his forces.
• Soran ordered the captured succubi recruited into the legion under the succubus proprietress’s command.
• Soran ordered the spoils counted, accepted surrendered demons, and kept the mercenary fiends away from the treasury.
• Soran advanced to Fire Demon [Elite], reached CR 24, gained 12 divine-rank points, and acquired the epic ability Summon Demon Legion.
• Soran decided to build his strength through a Leader form before advancing to Balor and ordered prisoners sent to Gurumba Arena to fight invited devils for freedom and status.

Victor discovered signs of a Shadow Thieves base in a secluded valley and withdrew to report it. In the Shadow Plane, Soren, Goria, and the Fallen Witch successfully raised and tested Port Nyanzaru’s Floating Tower, then activated its Mythal.

• Victor spotted Shadow Thieves and a Shadow Wizard near the valley, marked the area, and retreated to report his discovery.
• Goria and the Fallen Witch used the Elemental Furnace to raise the Arcane Tower and its surrounding land into a Floating Tower.
• The Experimental Tower Spirit activated the tower’s protective shield and propulsion device, and the tower flew at roughly a wyvern’s speed.
• The Fallen Witch said the tower needed further stability tests and a redesigned foundation before it could return to the Material Plane.
• Soren asked about the Magical Energy Superconducting Pulse Cannon, and Goria said the research lacked enough legendary spellcasters.
• The Fallen Witch activated the Mythal, creating an energy field that weakened enemy spellcasting within its range.

After stabilizing the Floating Tower’s mythal, Soren explored the War Chess Demiplane and concluded that its deadly trials could train Port Nyanzaru’s most gifted professionals, though their risks and side effects required careful testing. He returned to the Grand Temple, where the High Priest reported that studying the Mithril Chain Mail’s psionic imprints would take time.

• Soren entered the War Chess Demiplane and examined its layered magic circles, which simulated realistic combat trials.
• Soren suspected the War Chess Demiplane had been created to train exceptionally talented spellcasters and other professionals without exposing them to ordinary real-world death.
• Soren considered testing the trials on promising Port Nyanzaru professionals, but warned that soul loss and mental side effects made them unsuitable for ordinary people and low-ranking professionals.
• Soren returned to the Grand Temple, where the High Priest said he needed more time to study the psionic imprints on the Mithril Chain Mail.
• Soren agreed to let the High Priest continue his research and noted that Yugin would serve as his tank against the Lord of Shadows.

Soren learned that the Lady of Night was watching the Lord of Shadows and planned to wait for the Orc Pantheon’s return before striking. As the Orc Kingdom prepared a massive portal and the coming war threatened to distract the other deities, Soren saw an opportunity to attack the Lord of Shadows, though the approaching clash between the Goddesses of Fortune and Misfortune could affect him personally.

• Soren received news that the Shadow Thieves’ hideout had been found and that followers of the Lady of Night were watching the Lord of Shadows.
• Soren sent a magical message to Arendelle and decided to wait for greater turmoil before attacking the Lord of Shadows, avoiding attention from other deities.
• Reports arrived that orcs had clashed with dwarves and grassland elves, while the Northern Witches Council informed Soren that the orcs had built an enormous portal to their ancestral plane.
• Soren concluded that Gruumsh was preparing to bring the Orc Pantheon back into the conflict and that the resulting war could reshape the balance of power.
• Soren anticipated the April battle between the Goddess of Fortune and the Goddess of Misfortune and worried that his blessing from the latter could put him at odds with the former.
• Soren identified the coming war between the Orc and Elven Pantheons as a chance to attack the Lord of Shadows while other deities were occupied.