Recaps

Dorothy told Shade that Jack the Thief had stolen two letters about Professor Drake, and Shade used her notes to infer that an unknown phenomenon had once made the professor unnaturally healthy. After arranging for further investigation in Huntington, Shade went to the Seer Association and asked Luvia to divine something.

• Shade received a week with no task and put away the wool scarf that came with God's Gift Box.
• Dorothy told Shade that Jack the Thief had taken two letters from Professor Manning, and she recalled their contents from her notes.
• Shade concluded that Professor Drake's unusual claims of good health suggested an unknown influence before his journey to Lake of Cherub, and he planned to compare the clues with reports from Huntington.
• Shade left home with Little Mia, registered his interest in the Seer Association's Rhodes Cards tournament, and asked Luvia to divine using the Coin of Wisdom and the Dandelion Coin.

Shade learned that Jack the Thief would strike again in Tobesk on Wednesday night and planned to help the Church catch it. He then traveled to Huntington to investigate Professor Drake’s matter and met Father Nobel, the powerful Arcanist he had encountered before.

• Luvia told Shade that Jack the Thief would target something connected to King Larus III in central Tobesk, and that it would strike on Wednesday night during the Great Fog.
• Shade planned to watch for the thief from the Seer Association and arranged for Dorothy to look after Mia while he might be fighting.
• Shade left Mia at Miss Galina’s estate, took Night Watchman, and traveled to Huntington to pursue Professor Drake’s matter.
• At the White King Club, Mr. Bernhardt introduced Shade to Father Nobel, whom Shade recognized from the battle before Princess Margaret left Huntington.

Shade learned that a missing Sage Level Relic, the Knowledge Arrow of Akenola, caused a deadly outbreak in Huntington in 1842 and may have altered Professor Drake. He left the White King Club intending to investigate Drake’s past and find more evidence linking him to the relic and the Goddess in the Lake.

• Mr. Bernhardt introduced Shade to Father Nobel, who agreed to share records about strange events from 1842.
• Father Nobel explained that the Knowledge Arrow of Akenola could awaken Gifted people, drive others mad, and let Ring Arcanists learn bizarre knowledge when wounded by it.
• Father Nobel recounted how a Pantanal Voodoo Society member used the arrow in an attempt to create Ring Arcanists, causing illness and murders before Church forces killed him.
• Father Nobel said the arrow was never recovered and might have been taken by the Voodoo Society or left hidden in Huntington.
• Shade suspected the arrow’s effects explained Professor Drake’s condition and resolved to investigate the professor’s past, the price he paid, and the wish he made.

Shade searched Rust Alley for clues to the missing Knowledge Arrow of Akenola, but found that the site of Halder Ondiba’s death had been rebuilt and its old traces were gone. He discovered that strangers had recently questioned the shopkeeper and altered his memories, so he prepared to use the Fish Training Ring on the shopkeeper’s White Mouse to investigate further.

• Shade went to Rust Alley, where the Church had killed Halder Ondiba, hoping to find clues about the Knowledge Arrow of Akenola.
• Shade learned from the Swine Shop owner that the former owner of Rust Alley No. 15 had fled after going bankrupt, and that the building’s old furnishings were long gone.
• The shop owner revealed that two strangers had asked similar questions the previous week, but he could not remember their faces or what they had asked.
• Shade realized the shopkeeper’s memory had likely been altered, hypnotized him with Spiritual Power and a talisman, and concluded the strangers were probably Ring Arcanists.
• Shade took the shopkeeper’s White Mouse and prepared to use his Fish Training Ring to investigate the mouse’s memories.

Shade questioned a White Mouse with the Fish Training Ring and learned that two outsiders had mentioned 39 Matilda Street and the Voodoo Society. When the street had no such address, he found a concealed entrance across the river and began breaking through its cursed barrier.

• Shade used the Fish Training Ring to question the White Mouse, which told him that two strangers had asked similar questions and mentioned 39 Matilda Street.
• The White Mouse recalled hearing the words Voodoo Society, relic, sacrifice, and a once-in-a-century opportunity, then chose to return to its cage.
• Shade confirmed that Matilda Street had no Number 39 and searched the riverbank opposite its odd-numbered side.
• Shade found a concealed entrance marked with a message about the Great Pantanal reclaiming its territory and concluded it was connected to the Voodoo Society.
• Shade used Feliana's Witch Light to reach through the stone wall, endured several curses, and discovered a dark space beyond it.

Shade investigated Halder Ondiba’s apparent Safe House in Rust Alley and realized it was only a decoy. He found a hidden entrance to a second site, survived its defenses, and prepared to investigate what lay beyond.

• Shade entered the concealed space behind the stone wall and found that two earlier visitors had removed its supplies and searched its walls for other hidden spaces.
• Shade concluded that the nearly empty room was a false Safe House meant to mislead Halder Ondiba’s enemies and companions.
• Shade searched along the riverbank wall and detected a faint trace of elements 129 steps to the right.
• Shade triggered a curse, poisoned vines, and a vision of the Evil of Pantanal while opening the hidden entrance, but Night Watchman and Primordial Fire protected him.
• Shade collected a poisoned vine fragment in a bottle for Sister Devlin before entering the newly uncovered opening.

Shade explored Halder Ondiba’s abandoned riverside Safe House and found a fortune, occult books, and evidence that Professor Kansas Drake had once been Ondiba’s friend. He left with the photograph and other discoveries, planning to ask Drake about their erased connection while shifting his focus back to Tobesk.

• Shade entered Halder Ondiba’s Safe House and found more than 300 Gold Pounds, over 50 Crowns, and several books and potion formulas.
• Shade discovered a photograph of Halder Ondiba with a younger Professor Kansas Drake, along with inscriptions suggesting they had been close friends.
• Shade found jewelry, a Relic coin, a pistol with rune-carved bullets, and a parchment learning ritual for Swamp Chameleon in hidden compartments.
• Shade concluded that the Goddess in the Lake had erased Drake’s connection to Ondiba and decided to show the professor the photograph the next morning.
• Shade gathered the books, money, and parchment, restored the stone wall, and planned to return his attention to Tobesk after his remaining Huntington appointments.

Shade returned from Huntington with jewelry, cash, a mysterious coin, and a flying stone slab, then spent the evening with Luvia. Luvia identified the coin as a demon-made relic, and Shade woke Tuesday morning regretting that he had neglected his year-end exam review.

• Shade returned home and showed Luvia the jewelry he had found in a dead Ring Arcanist’s hideout.
• Luvia examined Shade’s belongings and helped him get dressed before they went out to dinner.
• Luvia identified the coin as the Poet Level Cat and Dog Coin, a relic that bound an accepting cat or dog into lifelong loyalty and risked one party’s soul after both died.
• Shade donated half the money he had found to Dawn Church’s winter relief effort.
• Shade showed Luvia the flying stone slab, which she guessed might be a key, then spent the night with her instead of reading his books.
• Shade woke on Tuesday and scolded himself for neglecting his year-end exam review plan.

Shade met with Apna Library to trade for one of the Gray-Robed Sage’s stone slabs, offering a rare Spirit Rune book as part of the payment. Mr. Lebert confirmed the slab was in their possession but said Shade would need to pay more, leaving the terms unresolved.

• Luvia chose a purple gemstone from Shade’s box and declined his offer to bring her to meet the Goddess in the Lake, then agreed to care for Mia at the Seer Association.
• Shade met Mr. Lebert at Number 21 Ikem Street to negotiate for Apna Library’s stone slab, which matched the one he already owned.
• Mr. Lebert confirmed Apna Library possessed the slab and explained that the library wanted books granting Spirit Runes as well as additional payment.
• Shade offered Apna Library a rare copy of The Wriggler in the Darkness, and Mr. Lebert recognized it as a valuable 1795 Pantanar translation.
• Mr. Lebert said the book was worth far less than the ancient slab and asked Shade to provide further payment or do something else for the library.

Shade secured a deal with Apna Library to translate ancient writing in exchange for a stone slab, then discovered that Professor Drake owned the Sage Level Relic Aiken Ola Knowledge Arrow. The chapter ended with Shade identifying the arrow as the relic he had been seeking.

• Shade used Library Retrieval to fetch Lost Melika and translated its dangerous ancient passage for Mr. Lebert, agreeing to finish more translations in exchange for a stone slab.
• Shade read that Snake Heart Hospital was preparing to open locally before traveling to meet Professor Drake.
• Shade showed Professor Drake a photograph of Halder Ondiba and suggested that Drake may have voluntarily abandoned memories of their past adventure.
• Shade asked whether Drake owned an arrow, and the professor remembered that he had one despite forgetting its origin.
• Shade gave Drake tea mixed with No. 4 Holy Water, helping him recover enough to retrieve a mahogany case from his desk.
• Shade opened the case and found the golden Aiken Ola Knowledge Arrow, whose arrowhead bore the words “Knowledge is Power.”

Shade discovered that Professor Drake had briefly become Gifted through his connection to Halder Ondiba, then used the Aiken Ola Knowledge Arrow to recover clues about the professor’s forgotten past. Professor Drake asked Shade to take him to the Goddess in the Lake so he could learn the truth, and they planned to leave after lunch.

• Shade learned that the Aiken Ola Knowledge Arrow contained the power of the Ancient God Keeper of Secrets Mentor and noticed that Professor Drake felt none of its influence.
• Shade used the arrow to cut Professor Drake and himself, confirming that Drake gained fragmented knowledge despite now being an ordinary person.
• Shade recognized the ancient writing in Drake’s book as the professor’s handwriting and inferred that Drake had once briefly awakened as a Ring Arcanist.
• Shade suggested that Drake had abandoned a lifelong pursuit after achieving it and had wished to forget, likely with the Goddess in the Lake’s help.
• Professor Drake asked Shade to take him to the Goddess in the Lake to learn his past, and Shade agreed to leave after lunch.

Shade brought Professor Drake to the Goddess in the Lake and completed her Second Trial by uncovering why Drake had come to her and what he had sacrificed. The Goddess then revealed that the Third Trial was for Shade to defeat her.

• Shade and Professor Drake traveled to Loch Ness, where Shade defeated a giant water frog with Thunder Spear and opened a water gate to Lake of Cherub.
• Shade pushed Professor Drake across the hidden path and brought him to the White Robed Lady on Lake Heart Island.
• Shade explained that Drake had become a Ring Arcanist after being struck by Akenola's Knowledge Arrow, then asked the Goddess to erase his knowledge and power out of fear.
• Drake admitted that he had paid with his legs, memories, and Gift, and Shade presented Halder Ondiba's arrow as proof of the case.
• The White Robed Lady confirmed that Shade had passed the Second Trial and announced that the Third Trial was to defeat her.

Shade accepted the Goddess in the Lake’s Third Trial, a combat duel in which she would suppress her power. Professor Kansas Drake refused to erase his memories and instead wished for Shade to receive help, leaving Shade able to control the lake water before the fight began.

• The White Robed Lady told Shade that he had to prove his strength by defeating her in combat, and Shade agreed to the trial.
• Shade offered Professor Drake the chance to make a wish, including restoring his legs or erasing his memories of the journey.
• Professor Drake chose to keep what he had learned and asked the White Robed Lady to help Shade before the duel.
• The White Robed Lady granted Shade control of the water beneath his feet, though Shade doubted it would give him an advantage against her.

Shade faced the White Robed Lady in the Third Trial, learning that she was a Fourth Ring angel who had once governed water. After she acknowledged the Deathbringer Angel’s recognition and eased the terms, Shade fought her across the lake and gained a brief advantage with the Moonbeam Greatsword before she blocked his strike and invoked three Spirit Runes.

• Shade received the thaumaturgy Control Water Flow and learned that the White Robed Lady was a Fourth Ring angel associated with water.
• Shade showed her Priest Augustus’s charred feather, and she recognized the Deathbringer Angel’s acknowledgment and agreed to admit defeat if he remained standing after five minutes.
• The White Robed Lady drew a sword from the lake and pressed Shade into a disadvantage with her skillful swordsmanship.
• Shade escaped her wave with Red Butterflies and Thunder Spear, then summoned the Moonbeam Greatsword through the Night Watchman.
• Shade attacked with Laguerre’s Leap and drove the White Robed Lady back, but she blocked his strike with her wings and activated Whisper Phantom, Miracle Reality, and Enlightenment Seal.

Shade fought the White Robed Lady across Lake of Cherub, struggling against her control of the water and superior combat skill. He fashioned a bow from the lake and drew the Aiken Ola Knowledge Arrow, awakening God's Radiance for the first time without touching a god.

• Shade dodged the White Robed Lady's water attacks and clashed with her, but their impact cracked his Impure Dragon Blood relic and her wooden staff tangled with the Night Watchman.
• Shade lost the Night Watchman and found that his swords and Thaumaturgies could not seriously harm the White Robed Lady.
• Shade used the Little Match Girl to briefly calm the lake, then asked “her” to help him aim a final attack.
• Shade shaped lake water into a supernatural bow and nocked the Aiken Ola Knowledge Arrow.
• Shade drew the bow as “she” guided his aim, and the arrow's power awakened God's Radiance, spreading golden cracks across his body.

Shade completed the Third Trial by drawing on the power of civilization, gaining the Whisper Spirit Rune Power and glimpsing Enlightenment, but the Goddess in the Lake conceded before he could fire his arrow. She then began to explain the final trial.

• Dark clouds gathered over Huntington and Lake of Cherub as Shade’s power awakened.
• Shade drew the Knowledge Arrow of Akenola with help from silver-white arms, declaring that his strength came from civilization.
• The arrow’s power inscribed the Whisper Spirit Rune Power on Shade’s Destiny Ring and brought him close to grasping Enlightenment.
• Shade realized that firing the arrow at the Goddess in the Lake might create his fourth-ring Mystic Lock, but she stopped him and conceded the duel.
• Shade released the bowstring, the clouds cleared, and the Goddess in the Lake announced that the Third Trial was complete.
• Shade consoled himself over not firing the arrow, and the Goddess in the Lake began describing the final trial.

Shade completed the third trial at Lake of Cherub and received the Deathbringer Angel's remains, but the White Robed Lady set him an unanswerable question for his final trial: why she remained in the Material World. After returning to Loch Ness with Professor Drake, Shade learned that the professor planned to move to Weilun Dai'er and offered Shade the forgotten objects in his study.

• The White Robed Lady told Shade that his final trial was to answer why she had remained in the Material World, and Shade agreed to search for the answer.
• The White Robed Lady gave Shade the Deathbringer Angel's ribs as his reward, and Shade returned the remains to their intended destination.
• Shade regained Night Watchman by invoking Silver Moon and his oath to justice, then filled his waterskin with lake water.
• Shade reappeared beside Professor Drake at Loch Ness, and the two left the lake together.
• Professor Drake told Shade he planned to move to Weilun Dai'er to live near his children, reconnect with old friends, and get a cat.
• Professor Drake asked Shade to check his study before he left and take the forgotten or unknown objects there.

Shade told Priest Augustus about his encounter with the Goddess in the Lake, whom Augustus identified as the Intellect Angel Cherub-Kerub, and gave him angelic remains for his research. Augustus left with the remains, and Dorothy arrived at Shade’s home as they saw him off.

• Shade recounted his meeting and fight with the Goddess in the Lake and gave Priest Augustus the primitive statue Professor Kansas Drake had owned.
• Priest Augustus identified the Goddess in the Lake as Cherub-Kerub, an Intellect Angel created by Keeper of Secrets Mentor, and explained that she was likely incomplete.
• Shade showed Priest Augustus the First Angel’s remains that the Goddess in the Lake had given him.
• Priest Augustus accepted the remains and promised to make Shade a gift after using them to improve his alchemy and holy water.
• As Priest Augustus prepared to leave with the stone casket, Dorothy arrived at Shade’s home and teased them about welcoming her.

After defeating an Angel, Shade celebrated with Dorothy and then prepared to learn the Sun Church’s defensive Thaumaturgy, the Heaton Seal. With Miss Sylvia’s help, he completed the ritual and tested the bright golden shield in his basement.

• Shade told Dorothy about defeating an Angel and keeping the Aiken Ola Knowledge Arrow and special waterskin out of the Pantanal Voodoo Society’s hands.
• Dorothy invited Shade to visit Luvia, and Shade realized it was the right night; Luvia was away collecting supplies for a potion.
• Shade returned home with an ancient Cannibal Aken Tribe Language document and prepared the Heaton Seal ritual in his basement.
• Miss Sylvia arrived, helped Shade improve the Golden Sun Potion, and waited while he completed the ritual.
• Shade learned the Heaton Seal and summoned a brilliant golden shield, then prepared to test it with Miss Sylvia as his sparring partner.

Shade tested the expanded Heaton Seal with Miss Sylvia, who also advised him on his studies and heard about his adventures in Huntington. On a snowy day in Middlesburg, Shade visited the Cassandra Auction House and refused the Red Butterfly Twins’ offer to help defend his home from Jack the Thief.

• Shade and Miss Sylvia tested the Heaton Seal against attacks, finding it resisted most physical and magical threats but not Space Cutting.
• Miss Sylvia advised Shade on his Ring Arcanist studies and Laguerre’s Leap, and Shade told her about finding the Goddess in the Lake and acquiring the Knowledge Arrow of Akenola.
• After snow covered Sikar Mountain and Middlesburg, Shade delivered a letter to Sister Devlin and went to the Cassandra Auction House.
• Shade learned that Sister Devlin was expanding Snake Heart Hospitals across cities around the Pantanal Great Swamp with the auction house’s help.
• Helen and Grace offered to help guard Shade’s home from Jack the Thief, but Shade declined because they had not fully recovered and the Relic grew stronger against powerful opponents.

Shade gave the Nun a vine containing spiritual toxins and returned to Tobesk, where he prepared for Jack the Thief’s predicted attack and set out for Leisha’s Reading Salon at the Seer Association. The salon began gathering guests in a room overlooking Yodel Palace as the city increased its security.

• Shade gave the Nun the vine containing spiritual toxins, then Miss Swift threw him a Disguise Rune Stone as he left Middlesburg.
• Shade warned Dorothy to protect herself and Mia at home, and Dorothy promised to stay by the Cat and keep the Night Watchman near the fireplace.
• Dorothy saw Shade off with the Detective Hamilton Story Collection as he left for the salon on the twenty-seventh day of the Month of Frost's Descent.
• Shade noticed extra patrols and Ring Arcanists on Silver Cross Avenue as The Church prepared for Jack the Thief’s possible attack on Yodel Palace.
• Shade arrived at the Seer Association, where Leisha welcomed guests in a second-floor room overlooking Yodel Palace.

Shade attended a Reading Salon at the Seer Association, where Princess Margaret arranged a private meeting to thank him for his help during the Great Fog. He slipped away from the gathering and met her at the eastern stairway, leaving their conversation just beginning.

• Shade confirmed that seven Ring Arcanists disguised as Seer Association employees were guarding Princess Margaret at the salon.
• Margaret sent Shade a note asking him to meet her at 6:55 on the empty eastern stairway, and Sir Prisha delivered it while discussing books and mathematics with Shade.
• Shade learned more about Sir Prisha’s scholarly background and continued talking with him until Margaret left the room.
• Shade spilled juice on his shoes as an excuse to leave, then went to the eastern stairway where Margaret was waiting.
• Shade greeted Margaret and called her by her name before correcting himself to address her as Miss Mary.

Shade accepted Princess Margaret Anjou’s commission to find a Sorceress near Saint Derain Square, in exchange for information about Sir Prisha. At Leisha’s Reading Salon, Margaret mentioned a rumor about the ancient Prisha family, and Shade joined Sir Prisha and Princess Angelina in conversation.

• Margaret asked Shade to find a mathematically skilled Sorceress near Saint Derain Square, and Shade accepted the commission without payment.
• Shade asked Margaret for information about Sir Prisha; she agreed to visit Shade on Sunday and mentioned a rumor that the Prisha family had once been an ancient Ring Arcanist family.
• Margaret asked who had taught Shade mathematics, and Shade said he had taught himself after becoming a Ring Arcanist.
• Leisha opened the Reading Salon, where Margaret shared Poems of Dreams, Baron Lalaire shared Lightning on the Summit, and Sir Prisha discussed Song of the Moon.
• Princess Angelina and Lisa Eisberg joined Shade and Sir Prisha, and Shade suggested the name Jenkins Williamte for a fictional detective.

Shade and Luvia assessed the growing dangers surrounding the Reading Salon, and Luvia’s divination suggested that a powerful game-related relic might appear. Meanwhile, Iluna kept watch on Silver Cross Avenue, unaware of what the night would bring.

• Shade slipped away from the Reading Salon to meet Luvia, who warned him that the Church and several factions were watching for Jack the Thief.
• Luvia divined that a game-related relic might appear, then kissed Shade before he returned to the salon.
• Iluna took up her post at an important intersection and watched the street as part of the operation.
• Iluna spotted two black cats, thought about Shade and her detective novels, and continued keeping watch.

Iluna discovered Miss Pawo and the Truth Society agents on Silver Cross Avenue, then fought a false body of Pawo while Church reinforcements arrived. As the agents fled, Iluna and the others pursued them to the Seer Association, where the chase continued inside the building.

• Iluna used her divine eye to spot Miss Pawo, a professor-like man, and a die-tossing young man, then alerted Church Ring Arcanists and attacked them.
• Miss Pawo used the Smallville Codex to block Iluna’s Sunlight Guns and escaped toward the rooftops with the two men as Church forces closed in.
• Iluna slowed Miss Pawo with Balance and trapped her false body in silver thorns before Church Arcanists struck it with their spells.
• Miss Green warned Iluna that trouble had broken out elsewhere in Tobesk, while the group discovered two wounded Nature Church Arcanists on the rooftop.
• Iluna, Miss Green, and Mr. Modrow pursued the professor and the cultist to the Seer Association, where a playing card wounded the professor before the pair crashed through a window into a lit room.