Chapter Summaries

Stanford and the Exploration Team traveled with Eugene’s orc caravan to the Blood Ox Tribe, hoping to find help crossing the Rocky Mountains. At Asoye’s feast, Stanford shared stories of the far north and presented the chieftain with a porcelain bottle, leaving the orcs astonished.

• Stanford’s Exploration Team chose to cross the Rocky Mountains and joined Finn and Eugene’s caravan for the journey south.
• The caravan passed through forest tribes and arrived at the Blood Ox Tribe, where Asoye welcomed Eugene and invited Stanford to the feast.
• At the feast, Gunther mocked Stanford’s account of a giant whale, but Stanford calmly described the Land of Eternal Night and its people and wildlife.
• Stanford presented Asoye with a porcelain bottle, and the chieftain and the gathered orcs marveled at its beauty.

At a banquet, Captain Stanford learned that the Dwarves might help his party cross the Rocky Mountains, while the Blood Ox Tribe traded goods with Eugene’s caravan. Later, Eugene urged Asoye to swear loyalty to Abaal Great Chieftain, arguing that a unified orcish authority would end tribal conflicts and lead the prairie’s conquest.

• Asoye showed the porcelain bottle to the banquet guests, and his son Gunther examined it before asking Stanford about his plan to cross the Rocky Mountains.
• Asoye advised Stanford to wait for the Dwarves to make contact, and Stanford agreed that he would seek their help.
• Eugene announced the caravan’s goods, and the Blood Ox chieftains bargained and traded pelts, herbs, livestock, and currency for them.
• Asoye admired the porcelain bottle while Eugene argued that orcs could match human military strength with armor, iron weapons, and stirrups.
• Eugene pressed Asoye to pledge loyalty to Abaal Great Chieftain and defended his rules as a way to end tribal disputes and unite the orcs.
• Eugene declared that Abaal’s descent from ancient heroes made him the leader of the prairie’s coming conquest.

Eugene tried to recruit Asoye and the forest tribes to join Abaal Great Chieftain’s campaign for more territory, but Asoye refused to abandon his ancestors’ ways. Eugene revealed that he had come for a supposedly impossible route into Aldo, then sought permission to recruit tribes without using the Blood Bull’s name.

• Eugene described the long history of conflict between humans and orcs and urged Asoye to unite the forest warriors under Abaal Great Chieftain.
• Eugene cited Aldo’s weakness, Gabella’s succession struggle, and the Holy See’s religious conflict as an opportunity for the orcs to conquer more land.
• Asoye rejected Eugene’s appeal, warned him to be cautious about war, and argued that Nerodan Valley’s fortifications made an invasion of Aldo impossible.
• Eugene hinted that he knew another route into Aldo and asked Asoye not to prevent him from recruiting the forest tribes.
• Asoye allowed Eugene to recruit willing warriors but forbade him from doing so under the Blood Bull’s name, and Eugene asked about the Dwarves’ upcoming trade visit.
• Eugene fell asleep while Asoye lay awake, troubled.

Imar Stonemason was ordered by Balash to receive the chieftain’s son, but Stanford approached Balash instead to seek a dwarf guide across the Rocky Mountains. After Balash refused and Stanford failed to find another dwarf willing to help, he returned to his companions to discuss their backup plan.

• Imar Stonemason braided his beard until Balash interrupted him and ordered him to receive the chieftain’s son.
• Balash met Stanford, who offered a gift and reward in exchange for a guide across the Rocky Mountains, but Balash refused.
• Finn offered to guide Stanford through the mountains and back to Aldo through Nerodan Valley, but Stanford declined.
• Stanford searched the dwarves’ temporary market for another guide and found no one willing to help.
• Stanford returned to his lodgings to tell his companions they would need to use their backup plan.

Eugene provoked Imaer by recounting his exile and loss of his inheritance, then offered him the Great Prairie’s support. Imaer’s response to the offer remained unknown.

• Imaer went to the cabin expecting to find Gunther but encountered Eugene and two young orc guards.
• Eugene revealed that Imaer had been banished from the Stonemason Clan and stripped of his succession rights.
• Eugene taunted Imaer about his family’s failure to help him reclaim his place, and Imaer lunged at him in anger.
• Eugene stopped his guards from attacking Imaer and said Abaal Great Chieftain could give him what the Iron Hammer Tribe could not.

Imaer agreed to guide Stanford and his group through the Rocky Mountains after Gunther recruited him into a scheme to rob and kill the humans. Imaer planned to leave with them once his tribesmen began their return journey, while Stanford promised him porcelain and silver.

• Gunther told Imaer that Stanford’s group carried valuable porcelain and proposed ambushing them in the Rocky Mountains, and Imaer agreed to help after negotiating for a share of the loot.
• Imaer approached Stanford, offered to serve as the humans’ guide, and asked him to keep the arrangement secret.
• Stanford showed Imaer the porcelain vessels and promised him a bag of silver coins as additional payment.
• Imaer told Stanford to wait a few days while he arranged an excuse to leave his tribe and travel with the humans.

Stanford led his expedition south with the dwarf Imaer as their guide, taking a remote route through the forest. After Imaer discussed the dwarves’ distrust of humans and denied knowing about orc raids in the eastern mountains, a flock of birds rose behind the group, warning of a possible predator nearby.

• Stanford prepared his team and supplies, said goodbye to Finn, and left the Blood Ox Tribe with thirty team members and ten reindeer.
• At the three pines where they had agreed to meet, Stanford waited over an hour before Imaer emerged from the bushes and demanded extra pay for being late.
• Imaer asked Stanford for his pocket watch, then led the expedition along remote paths while dressed in chainmail and carrying a spiked mace.
• Stanford questioned Imaer about dwarves and orc raids, but Imaer said dwarves avoided humans and claimed he knew nothing about orcs in the eastern mountains.
• Stanford spotted a flock of birds rising from the northern forest and warned the team that a large predator might be nearby.

Stanford's exploration team detected Gunther and fifty orcs approaching through the forest, then took cover on a mountain slope. When the orcs charged after Stanford refused to surrender, the humans fired their matchlocks and dropped two attackers, leaving Imaer stunned by the weapons.

• Imaer warned the team that dangerous animals might be nearby as they approached the Rocky Mountains.
• Stanford spotted orcs following them and led the team, including Imaer, behind a dirt ridge to prepare for an attack.
• Gunther led fifty orcs out of the forest and demanded the humans surrender their valuables and weapons.
• Stanford refused, and Gunther charged the team up the slope.
• The humans fired their matchlocks, knocking down two orcs and shocking Imaer.

The Exploration Team used matchlock guns to repel Gunther’s orc ambush, but an orc archer killed one of their members. Gunther then led a renewed charge, and Stanford’s team met it with grenades, bows, and crossbows.

• Matthew’s firearms unit fired in practiced volleys, killing several orcs and forcing the attackers to take cover.
• Gunther ordered an orc archer to shoot at the humans, but Matthew shot the archer dead as the archer killed an Exploration Team member with an arrow.
• Gunther rallied the hidden orcs with a roar, while Stanford steadied his team with a horn blast.
• Gunther led the orcs in a charge up the slope, and Stanford ordered the grenadiers to throw their grenades.
• The explosions disrupted the charge, and the Exploration Team used firearms, bows, and crossbows to shoot down the advancing orcs.

Matthew and the Exploration Team repelled Gunther’s orc attack, but the apparent victory gave way to a new danger as more lights approached. Imaer persuaded Stanford to claim that the humans had rescued him, and Balash agreed to seek the Clan Chief’s approval to guide them across the Rocky Mountains.

• Matthew shot Gunther in the shield arm, and the wounded orc chief’s fighters retreated with their surviving companions.
• The Exploration Team found eighteen orc corpses and celebrated their victory while treating their wounded and making camp.
• Imaer advised Stanford to change routes because orcs might be ambushing travelers along the mountain road.
• Stanford spotted approaching lights, and Imaer recognized the newcomers as dwarves from the Iron Hammer Clan and coached Stanford on what to tell them.
• Balash questioned Stanford, inspected the battlefield, and agreed to ask the Clan Chief for permission to guide the humans home.

Stanford and his men traveled through the dwarves’ mountain tunnels to Fireplace Fortress, where the Iron Hammer Clan’s chieftain agreed to let them cross the Rocky Mountains. After granting permission, the chieftain summoned Balash and the clan elders to discuss the growing orc threat.

• Balash led Stanford and his men through the dwarves’ tunnels and brought them to Fireplace Fortress.
• Balash welcomed the humans into the mountain city and led them to meet his father, the Iron Hammer Clan’s chieftain.
• Imaer recounted how the humans had rescued him from orc bandits, and Stanford asked permission to cross the Rocky Mountains.
• The chieftain accepted Stanford’s gifts and allowed the group to cross his territory, provided they swore to keep their route secret.
• The chieftain told Balash to summon the elders because the orcs had become bold enough to threaten the dwarves.

Asoye Chieftain learned that lead pellets from an enemy weapon had caused his injured warriors’ wounds to worsen, and the shamans said Gunther’s arm had to be amputated to save him. As Gunther was bound for the operation, Asoye waited outside the Long House and heard his son’s anguished moan.

• Gunther and several Blood Ox Tribe warriors returned badly wounded, and two warriors later died as their injuries worsened into fevers.
• Yerye showed Asoye metal pellets taken from the injured, explaining that they were lead ammunition from a slingshot-like weapon and had caused severe internal damage.
• The shamans told Asoye that Gunther’s fever was temporarily controlled but that his injured arm had to be amputated if he was to survive.
• Asoye agreed to the amputation, and the shamans bound Gunther and put a wooden stick in his mouth before preparing to operate.
• Asoye waited outside the Long House as Gunther struggled against his restraints, then heard his long, miserable moan.

Lieutenant Boris Makarov traveled toward Northern Hope Town, where he was assigned to become principal of the Town Public School. He spoke with local farmers about the region’s paid public works and reforms, then received a warm welcome as their future neighbor.

• Boris Makarov stopped his carriage to relieve himself and admired the new road and surrounding farmland.
• Makarov approached farmers digging roadside drainage ditches and introduced himself as Lieutenant Makarov.
• The farmers explained that corvée labor had been abolished and that workers now received payment for public works.
• Makarov learned that the road led to Northern Hope Town and said he was moving there after transferring to the reserves.
• Makarov told the farmers he would serve as principal of the Town Public School, and they welcomed him.

After Arda reduced its land forces and transferred many soldiers to the reserves, Boris Makarov chose to become a school headmaster and serve as a reserve officer. He arrived with his wife in North Hope Town, where he reunited with Gernot and met the local mayor and militia captain.

• Paul Greiman approved a reduction of the army, transferring soldiers from seven infantry battalions into the reserves and reorganizing Arda's armed forces.
• Boris Makarov chose a reserve commission and a headmaster post over studying at Greiman Military Academy after his family urged him to stay with them.
• Makarov and his wife traveled to North Hope Town, a frontier settlement built through the Government Affairs Council's land reclamation plan.
• Mayor Rossellini welcomed Makarov and introduced Gernot, his former comrade, who had left active service after losing a leg and was resigning from the local Military Service Station.
• Makarov reunited with Gernot, discussed their former company and Josse's admission to the military academy, then met militia captain Kajit.

Makarov began his new role as principal of Northern Hope Academy, where he introduced political thought lessons centered on loyalty to Paul Greiman. After militia captain Kajit reported armed savages in the forest north of town, Makarov assembled the militia and led a search party out from the school.

• Makarov arrived at the school, met teachers Flano Deco, Curry Holly, and Phyllis Abdullah, and offered to teach mathematics and political thought.
• Makarov installed portraits of Lord Greiman in the classrooms and began his first political thought lesson by teaching students about loyalty.
• Kajit told Makarov that two lumberjacks had seen at least ten armed savages in the forest north of town.
• Makarov ordered one militia platoon to guard the town entrances and led another platoon north to search the forest.

Makarov and Kajit found the Northern Exploration Fleet’s overland party in the forest north of North Hope Town instead of the reported wildmen. Stanford introduced Imar Stonemason, a dwarf who had returned with the explorers, and Makarov took the exhausted group toward town so Stanford could meet Lord Greiman.

• Makarov and Kajit led two militia squads to investigate a reported sighting in a forest clearing.
• Stanford identified his hidden group as members of the Northern Exploration Fleet and explained that an epidemic, a shipwreck, and frozen waters had forced them to travel south overland.
• Makarov met Stanford and learned the explorers had encountered a Dwarf Tribe in the Rocky Mountains and brought Imar Stonemason with them.
• Imar charged at Makarov after he mistook him for a captured pet, but Stanford and Matthew restrained him until Makarov apologized.
• Makarov invited Stanford and the explorers to rest in North Hope Town, and Stanford said he needed to meet Lord Greiman as soon as possible.

Stanford reported on the Northern Exploration Fleet’s expedition, and Paul promised to rescue the crew still in the north and honor the fallen. Stanford also warned that the Grassland Orcs might be connected to the dwarves in the Rocky Mountains, raising the possibility that Arda’s mountain barrier could fail.

• Stanford told Paul that most of the expedition remained with northern tribes and asked him to fund a fleet to bring them home.
• Paul promised to send a fully equipped rescue fleet and to commemorate the dead in the Hall of Heroes and support their families.
• Stanford described the northern region’s resources and recommended establishing coastal trade stations, while Paul considered expanding Arda’s influence there through trade.
• Stanford warned Paul that the Grassland Orcs might have ties to the dwarves who controlled the Rocky Mountains.
• Paul realized that if the dwarves were letting orcs cross the mountains, Arda could be vulnerable to attack.

Paul met Imar Stonemason, a dwarf guide who revealed that he was a prince cast out by his clan. Imar asked Paul to fund and arm him so he could reclaim the clan chief’s position, promising repayment through the Rocky Mountains’ mineral wealth and dwarven smiths.

• Paul and Stanford discussed the exploration fleets, noting that the southern fleet planned to sail east while the western fleet had sent no messages.
• Paul asked to meet Imar Stonemason, whom Stanford had brought back as a guide from the Rocky Mountains.
• Paul was astonished to meet a living dwarf and greeted Imar in the manor hall.
• Imar asked Paul to speak privately and revealed that he was the son of a dwarf clan chief who had been expelled after being framed.
• Imar asked Paul for an army and money to help him seize the clan chief’s position, promising to repay him with access to mineral deposits and dwarven smiths.

Paul refused Irma Stone Mason’s request for military aid, then focused on Arda’s plan to industrialize chemical production. The Lead Chamber Process succeeded in preliminary trials, and preparations began for a safe Chemical Factory.

• Paul explained that he lacked authority to send troops beyond Aldo and offered Irma Stone Mason travel expenses and lodging instead.
• Paul asked Stanford about the meeting, and Stanford agreed that Irma seemed difficult to befriend and that Arda knew too little about the dwarves to support his cause.
• Paul and the Ves Institute’s chemistry leaders pursued large-scale sulfuric acid production using the Lead Chamber Process.
• The alchemists achieved preliminary success with the process and began preparing a Chemical Factory plan.
• Hoffman and Wells proposed training chemistry students as the factory’s first workers, and Paul approved the plan after emphasizing safety.

Paul met with three clergymen about a book attacking the Horn Bay Church that was being printed at his factory, then advised Anderson on how to study plant heredity. The clergy left with the book dispute to be handled by Paul, while Anderson hurried back to begin experimenting with peas.

• Father Violet told Paul that he had been transferred to the Lakeheart Town Church, while Anderson and Morrison brought him a book titled "Records of Injustices."
• Anderson urged Paul to ban the book as heresy, and Morrison explained that the Horn Bay Church had traced its printing to Paul's Printing Factory and demanded that its Aldo Language edition be stopped.
• Paul agreed to speak with the factory manager but objected to the Horn Bay Church's demand, prompting Morrison to ask at least that the Aldo Language edition be halted.
• Paul asked Anderson about his research into how traits passed between generations, then suggested using peas for controlled hybridization experiments.
• Anderson eagerly accepted Paul's advice and left with Morrison and Father Violet, ready to begin planting peas.