Chapter Summaries

The Wolf Girl arranged the northern legions’ withdrawal from Cadman City and reassigned General Baldwin to the northern frontier while putting Marshal Heraclius in charge of Kafuhoka’s defenses. At the God of the North Wind’s frozen retreat, Eris showed off his new werewolf forms and explained that he would lead a pack working under contract in Transia, prompting Old Su to lose his temper.

• The Wolf Girl and Murphy agreed that the Winter Wolf Church would build a sanctuary and memorial at the frozen site, and the northern legions departed through Cadman City under her escort.
• The Wolf Girl promoted General Baldwin to marshal, ordered him to return north with the legions, and assigned Marshal Heraclius to oversee Kafuhoka’s defenses.
• General Baldwin inferred that the Wolf Girl was protecting him from political turmoil and pledged his loyalty when she asked whether he believed she could stand alongside the Hero King.
• Eris arrived at the God of the North Wind’s retreat in werewolf, human, and intermediate forms, then proposed forming a pack to protect the werewolves in the material world.
• Eris told Old Su that his pack had signed a mercenary contract with Governor Murphy and would work in Transia under Magistrate Mirian’s terms.
• Old Su bound Eris with ice chains and erupted in anger when Eris insisted he would serve as the pack’s muscle rather than lead it himself.

The Azure Wolf Army found that a strange blood-red crystal had revived Dahei as a conscious, immortal War Spirit, while Triss began studying the crystals and preparing a new raid illusion. Murphy arranged for Silverkeep to forge a holy sword called Ceasefire for Biqi, another secret faith-bound weapon for the vampires, and a pendant for Triss, all before her birthday in a month and a half.

• Furry Great Immortal and Boss Lion Beast uncovered a blood-red crystal fragment, and the gnolls discovered that it had revived Dahei.
• Triss identified Dahei as an uncorrupted War Spirit and ordered the players to collect the remaining crystals for study.
• Murphy and Triss discussed the Cloudland Illusion, which Triss planned to build on the Creation Plains as a hundred-player raid.
• Murphy selected a two-handed sword design for Biqi and named the holy blade Ceasefire.
• Murphy asked Lord Oufuge to forge a second faith-bound weapon for the vampires and a pendant for Triss from the purified divine fragments.
• After Lord Paine confirmed the vampires' request, Lord Oufuge agreed that Silverkeep would forge the Mother of Midnight's original shrine before Triss's birthday.

Murphy and the others discussed how to restrain or redeem the Mother of Midnight, and Crow explained how organized action and clear obligations could shape faith and transform a god. They chose atonement for vampires’ original sin as their shared goal, with Murphy set to lead the effort and wield the weapon once it was finished.

• Lord Paine warned Murphy that the crisis on the Genoa Peninsula had worsened and Transia might soon be asked to help.
• Murphy proposed using a primordial shrine to restrain the Mother of Midnight and described a last-resort plan to lure her godspawn into the material world and kill it with the Scepter of God.
• Lord Paine said the Mother of Midnight had a benevolent side and might be changed, and Crow explained how clear goals, organized action, and reciprocal obligations could shape faith and gods.
• Crow argued that vampires should unite around a clear goal and establish a divine contract defining the Mother of Midnight’s duties and their own obligations.
• Lord Paine proposed purifying vampires’ original sin as the foundation of their faith and named Murphy the vanguard of the Great Atonement.
• Murphy accepted the role, and Triss said the Mother of Midnight seemed calm and might not have noticed their plans—or their path might be right.

Raven accepted Dutena Goldflame’s offer to test his theories about faith and gods, then enlisted Boss Huo for a plan to topple hostile nations. Meanwhile, Murphy ordered an expedition to the Genoa Peninsula after gnolls empowered by Dusk attacked a town near Chardo Port.

• Raven advised Boss Huo that Dutena Goldflame might make him a chosen one if he demonstrated his business talent, and Boss Huo proposed opening an exchange and trading stocks.
• Dutena Goldflame contacted Raven and offered to become the subject of his research, and Raven agreed to show the continent the power of wealth and trade.
• Raven contacted Boss Huo and asked him to join an effort big enough to topple one or two hostile nations.
• Murphy reassured Triss that Raven’s outsider perspective had revealed new ways to understand faith, and Triss acknowledged that his ideas could help the Temple of the Berserkers.
• Adele told Murphy that gnolls of the Bonechewer Clan had breached a satellite town of Chardo Port, and Murphy identified Dusk’s influence in a battlefield photograph.
• Murphy ordered an expeditionary force and player quest notices, prepared to travel to the Genoa Peninsula, and invited the Helmsmen to hunt Dusk there.

Marshal Loren planned to reinforce the besieged towns on the Genoa Peninsula and lead the Pioneer Legion against the gnolls. After Fraser reported on Transia’s growing power and looming regional conflicts, Loren appointed him his second adjutant for the expedition.

• Marshal Loren learned that gnolls had overrun eight of the seventeen towns in northern Genoa and discussed an airship operation to reinforce the besieged defenders with General Soros.
• Loren decided to lead the Pioneer Legion to the Genoa Peninsula as the Plantagenet Kingdom’s Black Calamity began, while Fraser arrived at Dorod Fortress and received his promotion to brigadier general.
• Fraser warned Loren that Transia would send an expeditionary force led by Murphy and might soon clash with Nordtov over the Kakhovka region.
• Fraser explained that Transia’s alliance with the Blood Dread pirates gave it a powerful navy and urged Loren to propose returning the Sachs region to ease tensions.
• Loren rejected Fraser’s proposal to give up Sachs until after the war, then named Fraser his second adjutant for the Genoa expedition.

The Transian expeditionary force prepared to break the gnoll siege of Chardo Port, while Murphy arranged to secure passage for the Creation Guard and met with Helms Rangers commander Effie Moxon Doolittle. Murphy and Effie discussed joining forces against the Xilanese Sun King as the fleet prepared to depart.

• Old Qin told the players that Chardo Port was under siege and explained the rewards and missions available for defending the halfling capital.
• Meow Brother ordered Old Qu to bring Major Mia and her vampire hunter platoon into the Big Bird Squad as long-range support.
• Captain Paula deployed Perfect Shipping Company's eighteen airships to transport nearly four thousand people and supplies, including fifteen dragon walkers, to Chardo Port.
• Murphy told Paula he wanted the Steam Lords to allow the Creation Guard gnolls to enter the city, and Paula worried the halflings would reject their help.
• Murphy met Colonel Effie Moxon Doolittle, who explained the Helms Rangers' opposition to the Xilanese and her plans to reclaim her ancestors' remains.
• Murphy proposed that Transia and the Helms Rangers cooperate against the Xilanese Sun King and protect their homelands.

Lord Qin’s airship formation flew to Chardo Port while its commanders discussed player schedules, future recruitment, and the Brass Fortress ruins. As the formation entered the Genoa Peninsula, Gnoll-held air defenses struck the rear airship Flashgold, forcing its crew and passengers to prepare for a crash and escape.

• Lord Qin, Five-Pair Wheels, and Old Soldier of the Qing Dynasty discussed coordinating players’ schedules and training local soldiers to supplement them.
• Lord Qin and Five-Pair Wheels considered letting new players explore the Brass Fortress ruins and nearby Wanderer headquarters.
• Lord Qin observed that Gnolls had occupied and devastated Halfling towns, while enslaved workers kept some factories running.
• Lord Qin warned the airships to climb after Gnolls fired captured ground-based air defenses at the formation.
• Captain Paula and Governor Murphy ordered the damaged Flashgold crew and passengers to steer toward Delir Lake, parachute if possible, and seek refuge near the Shield Dwarves.

The Gilded Dawn was struck by anti-aircraft fire and crash-landed near Lake Delir, scattering its passengers into territory held by dangerous Bonechewer gnolls. After the survivors regrouped and the Dragoons massacred the attackers, Old Qu told Mia that Lord Qin had given them a new mission that was practically a death sentence.

• Captain Yara ordered the Gilded Dawn’s crew to prepare for an emergency landing, while the 150 Pride of the Undying players parachuted out and Major Mia’s soldiers descended with the vampires’ help.
• Old Qu used his exoskeleton to fly down and shot a gnoll from the air after realizing the landing area was occupied by gnolls; Mia fired a flare to rally the survivors.
• Xu Dog and Mao Rabbit joined Big Slap and the jaegers to fight the unusually powerful Bonechewer gnolls, and the battle cost the players a quarter of their number.
• Old Qu and Mia led the survivors to Lake Delir, where they found the grounded Gilded Dawn, its shaken halfling crew, and three Dragoons that had slaughtered nearly a hundred attackers.
• Captain Yara said the ship could no longer fly but that its cargo was intact, and Old Qu informed Mia that Lord Qin had ordered them onto a nearly suicidal mission.

Qu Ge, Major Mia, and their allies prepared to attack a gnoll slave factory, then learned it held a strategic subway station and sought Shield Dwarf support. Captain Yara revealed her Thieves' Guild identity and the factory’s hidden route, while the group faced the consequences of halfling technology entering the war.

• Qu Ge told Major Mia that Old Qin had ordered them to destroy a gnoll-run factory and free its enslaved workers, and Mia agreed to join the mission.
• Qu Ge apologized for failing to train Mia and for being absent when her friends died, while Mia explained that she still suffered from trauma.
• Shield Dwarf griffin riders arrived, and Qu Ge told them Heather was alive and offered them the salvaged military supplies.
• Mao Tu, Xu Gou, and Major Mia urged the Shield Dwarves to support the attack, promising them the factory’s explosives and weapons.
• Captain Yara revealed that a hidden subway station beneath the factory connected to a hub near Chardo Port and admitted she was a Thieves' Guild agent with an access card.
• Yara explained that halflings had avoided developing technology for warfare, while a Shield Dwarf urged them to change as the gnoll war threatened their people.

Brother Qu and Captain Mia led a joint assault by players, hunters, Dragon Cavalry machines, and Shield Dwarf griffin riders against the gnoll-held explosives factory. The attackers captured the town, and Brother Qu and Mia killed a tainted gnoll warlord after it ambushed him inside the factory.

• Xu Dog encouraged the new players as the force marched toward the factory, and Brother Qu scouted the town before dividing the ground troops into two groups.
• Brother Qu gave Captain Mia special Dragon's Breath ammunition, then the Dragon Cavalry machines charged as Tucker Hoffman led the Shield Dwarf air cavalry in a bombing run.
• The players and hunters advanced through town while the griffin riders bombed the gnolls, and the combined force pushed toward the factory.
• A wyvern knocked Brother Qu through the factory's glass canopy, where a tainted gnoll warlord attacked him.
• Captain Mia shot the warlord and helped Brother Qu defeat it with coordinated attacks, after which she checked on him and he posed coolly amid the flames.

Old Qu and the players defeated the mutated Bonechewer Hyena warlord, then discovered that its cursed relic could tempt people with the power of Original Sin. Goji Berry tested the relic, became a Chaosborn, and was killed by Brother Qu before he could harm anyone, leaving the players facing a dangerous new threat.

• Old Qu and Captain Mia brought down the factory platform, and the players destroyed the mutated warlord with ranged attacks and Avalon purification magic.
• Old Qu appraised the warlord’s cursed battleaxe and Shattered Stone of Original Sin, then warned Lord Murphy about the corruption and its power to tempt people.
• Goji Berry volunteered to test the stone and received the Madness to the Bone status, turning into an Original Sin Supplicant and changing his faction alignment to Chaosborn.
• The players attacked the newly hostile Goji Berry, and Brother Qu shot him dead before he could kill anyone.

After the players rescued factory prisoners and discovered the gnolls had forced halfling engineers to make weapons, Brother Qu offered them a chance to produce rifles for Transia instead. Meanwhile, Murphy prepared to reinforce Chardo Port and unexpectedly discovered that Old Edward remembered his ancient past.

• The players burned the corrupted gnoll corpses, then found the factory's weapons and learned from a halfling engineer that the gnolls had coerced prisoners into designing them.
• Captain Mia and Sister Mao urged the halflings to fight for themselves, while Brother Qu offered them refuge or the option to make weapons for Transia; the engineers agreed to discuss producing PPSh-style rifles.
• Brother Qu learned that Transia was preparing to mass-produce new rifles and aircraft, then joined the players as they opened the underground subway to Chardo Port.
• Maxim told Murphy that the Golden Shimmer's castaways were heading to Chardo Port and that Captain Yara was a Thieves' Guild operative; Murphy sent Maxim and Old Qin to command the front while he went to negotiate with the Steam Lords.
• Murphy flew toward the Steam Lords' location and spotted Old Edward on the city wall, but a sudden memory resonance made him fall and revealed that Edward remembered his past.

Murphy hid in the sewers with Paula and explored Salokdar’s memories, uncovering Edward and Constance’s secret relationship and the disaster that destroyed the Eden District. Constance’s final warning revealed that the Department of Mysteries and its forbidden research had caused the catastrophe, leaving Murphy with a clearer view of the danger behind the Ancient Ones’ past.

• Paula helped Murphy evade Edward by hiding with him in Chardo Port’s sewers, while Edward searched the street and returned home without finding the intruder.
• Murphy watched a memory of Edward and Constance’s intimate relationship, in which Constance confided that her experiment to study divinity had failed again.
• Murphy saw Constance and Farto oversee the perfect-life experiment using seven biological pods, then watched Constance secretly give Edward a capsule and teleport the others away.
• A blast of corrupt violet energy tore open the material world and devastated the Eden District after the experiment used its test subjects as anchors.
• Constance warned Edward to beware the Department of Mysteries and Councilor Steiner, confessed that she too deserved to die, and asked him to find her in another life.

Murphy’s memory resonance revealed that Edward had retained his memories and that Constance’s Department of Mysteries had pursued dangerous research, prompting Lord Paine to confront Edward. Edward showed Paine his record of hunting the people responsible for Constance’s death, then left to keep searching for her.

• Murphy told Lord Paine that Constance’s research had crossed forbidden boundaries and that Edward might have preserved his memories for a thousand years.
• Lord Paine said Senator Steiner had been erased from his memories and vowed to make Edward answer for the ancients’ deaths.
• Murphy suffered another memory resonance, witnessed Edward’s past encounter with Salokdar and Oksana, and heard Shani confirm that Oksana had discovered Edward’s secret.
• Edward showed Lord Paine his diary of more than fifty names and said he had hunted Constance’s killers for a thousand years.
• Edward insisted that Constance might still be alive and left to search for her, warning Paine that they would all meet their ends in blood.

Murphy learned that Edward remained obsessed with Constance and that the Secret Department’s legacy still survived, then flew to the expeditionary army as gnolls attacked. His Midnight Echo aura drove vampires from both the Blood Eagle and Wolfsbane Clans into a united counterattack, and he considered bringing the Blood Covenant Clan into the fight as well.

• The Steam Lords quickly granted Murphy’s request for permits and reinforcements after hearing that gnolls from the Creator's Guardians faction would help defend Chardo Port.
• The Venerable Lord gave Murphy Edward’s diary, warned him not to provoke Edward, and said the Secret Department’s surviving members might be connected to Dusk.
• The Venerable Lord told Murphy that Wydia’s prison was likely beneath the Gray Desert and warned him not to speak to Wydia until they could investigate.
• Murphy decided Constance might still be alive, then arrived at the expeditionary army’s position as gnolls attacked and used Midnight Echo to send the vampires into Black Rage.
• Murphy’s aura helped Maxim and the Blood Eagle vampires rout the gnolls, while Murphy took command and ordered Old Qin to lead the players in reclaiming the outer-city district.
• Murphy spread Midnight Echo to the Wolfsbane Clan, drove its commander and troops into battle alongside the Blood Eagle Clan, and considered summoning the Blood Covenant Clan too.

After the Transian forces retook the city wall, Niu Niu and other players searched for the missing Palien sisters, Delia and Mia. The search uncovered their belongings with a group of thieves, and the players headed for the outer-city shelter to investigate.

• Murphy rallied the shaken vampires by directing their guilt and sorrow toward hatred of the Outer Space cultists.
• The Transian expedition received free military supplies and a bounty from the Steam Lords for retaking the position.
• Niu Niu and Shrimp Catcher learned that the Palien sisters had gone missing from Chardo Craftsman University and gathered players to help search for them.
• Sister Pomegranate reported that the sisters had been missing for ten days, while Madam Water ruled out the Wolfsbane Clan as responsible.
• Loyal Brother announced that the Wanderer had found the sisters' belongings among thieves, and Niu Niu urged the players to go after them.

Wanderer of the Borderlands, the Mild-Mannered Bookworm, and Mr. Ziwei tracked the missing Palen sisters to a gang in Chardo Port’s outer city, only to learn that the Machine Church might have taken them into the sewers. The players gathered to pursue the lead and turned to Sir Minx, the Machine Church’s former contact, for help.

• Wanderer of the Borderlands, the Mild-Mannered Bookworm, and Mr. Ziwei found a Transian pendant at a stall and used a staged argument to lure the stall owner’s gang into an alley.
• Brother Wanderer confronted the gang about the Palen sisters, and the players surrounded the gang before its leader admitted the sisters had vanished after being held on their turf.
• A halfling gang member claimed the Machine Church, a group of machine-worshipping rebels living in the sewers, might have abducted the sisters.
• Loyal Brother and the veteran players arrived, and the Ashman tried to attack the gang before Niu Niu stopped him.
• Xiao Ruyi identified the Machine Church, and Xiao Weiming suggested asking Sir Minx, Chardo Port University’s headmaster and Old Flywheel’s junior fellow disciple, for help.

Murphy responded to the Palian sisters’ disappearance by going to meet Chancellor Minx Steamvalve, while Triss gave him the finished Cloudmist Illusion Realm and revealed she knew about his encounter with the Spider Lady. At Minx’s office, Murphy returned the stolen calculation orb and asked the engineering master to upgrade it in exchange for Transia’s military support.

• After Professor Malcolm informed him that the Palian sisters had disappeared, Murphy decided to meet Lord Minx, while Triss left to help Lord Paine refine the Mother of Midnight’s doctrine and rituals.
• Triss gave Murphy the Cloudmist Key, explained that it controlled replayable scenarios in the Cloudmist Illusion Realm, and told him the Spider Lady had shown her a divine dream of his night with her.
• Murphy and Malcolm traveled to Chardo University Town, where Murphy proposed sending Malcolm to serve as ambassador to the Gnoll Kingdom and invited him to join the outsiders’ development team.
• Malcolm agreed to join the development team, then left to negotiate reinforcements and compensation while Murphy went on to meet Minx.
• Minx recognized the calculation orb hanging from Murphy’s chest as his stolen prototype, and Murphy returned it and asked Minx to upgrade it in exchange for Transia’s help defending Chardo Port.

Murphy visited Master Minx to discuss engineering and find the Mechanical Church faction that had kidnapped two Transian women. Minx revealed the history of the ruins beneath Chardo Port, and Murphy realized the Mechanical Church was trying to open a seal containing Eden’s corrupted data; he ordered preparations to stop them and call for backup.

• Murphy examined Master Minx’s unmanned walking-tank design and suggested stronger weapons, defenses, and a self-destruct system.
• Murphy told Minx that the Mechanical Church had kidnapped two of his subjects, and Minx explained that the faction likely wanted to contact or test Murphy.
• Murphy ordered Eden to shut down the office’s surveillance devices and revealed that Eden was an incomplete core AI from the Creator’s era.
• Master Minx explained that Professor Old Bach Waslamp discovered the ruins beneath Chardo Port, founded the early Mechanical Church, and died trying to decipher the Creators’ technology.
• Minx revealed that the Mechanical Church still occupied the ruins, and Murphy deduced that Eden’s corrupted data had been separated and sealed there.
• Murphy ordered Minx to gather the city’s mechanical masters and his Otherworldly Warriors to stop the Mechanical Church, and he called for the Sentinel as backup.

An elite player squad fought through the Mechanical Church’s sewer defenses and found the missing Palian sisters in an underground workshop. Madam Water discovered that the sisters’ minds had been influenced by the church’s leader, “Rebirth,” leaving the players to bring them to safety and investigate the hidden danger.

• Murphy contacted Mosna to prepare for danger in Chardo Port and summoned Old Flywheel back as players descended into the sewers to search for the missing Palian sisters.
• The players defeated waves of mechanical beasts and explosive spiders, then continued through the sewers after discovering that the beasts were powered by wetware.
• The Ashen Builder identified a concealed room, and the players broke through its defenses to find the Palian sisters alive in a Mechanical Church workshop.
• Madam Water questioned Delia and Mia after noticing they had built a mechanical squirrel despite having no engineering experience.
• Madam Water detected suggestion magic in the sisters’ minds, learned they had been taught by the Mechanical Church’s leader “Rebirth,” and put them to sleep so they could be taken away for treatment.