Chapter Summaries

Murphy examined the time-sealed demigod Li Ji and learned that Mannis had used his gifts of creation to prepare a divine body. Li Ji sought Murphy’s support as a partner, and he asked her for a drop of her blood to help the people of Callum.

• Triss identified the amber lock on Li Ji’s tail as a time seal that reduced her power and left Murphy to watch over her.
• Li Ji woke and confronted Murphy about giving Mannis the power of creation, which Mannis had used to strengthen itself and pursue godhood.
• Murphy and Li Ji argued over their histories with Mannis, then Li Ji explained that she wanted to prove herself to her father and help the gods face the coming chaos.
• Li Ji proposed becoming Murphy’s partner, and Murphy said he would consider it if she showed sincerity.
• Murphy asked Li Ji to give him one drop of her blood so he could reach the pureblood dragonkin of Callum.

Murphy arranged for Liji to awaken Liwen’s dragonkin powers and establish her as the first Rain Princess Dragonkin. After Mannis warned that the Father of Fish was directing Dagon’s cult and sent demigod-grade materials, Liji invited Murphy for a drink, leaving him wary of her charm.

• On the airship, Liwen told Peach that Murphy had ordered an assessment of her dragonkin abilities, and Peach guessed it was connected to suppressing the Dagon fishfolk’s storms.
• Peach described the Holy Light Church’s plans to spread into Marlowe Town and East Prussia, while Liwen worried about the risks to Peach and the Seville family.
• At the front line, Liji assessed Liwen’s bloodline, gave her a drop of dragon blood, and named her the first Rain Princess Dragonkin and leader of the lineage.
• Murphy received a notification unlocking the Rain Princess Dragonkin template, while Mannis sent him a shed scale from Vicanos and a Sunworm Eye from Parom.
• Mannis warned Murphy that the Father of Fish was manipulating Dagon’s cult and advised him to let Liji handle the coming questline.
• After Liwen left to prepare for an assault on the fishfolk, Liji invited Murphy for a drink and complained about Mannis, making Murphy suspect she was manipulating him.

The players and the Colossal Rock Temple launched an assault on the Dagon fishmen, while a druid-led demolition squad tried to destroy their eggs. The squad found the unguarded nest, but Dagon appeared through a swarm of black fish and offered Brother Fu an Abyssal Blessing that could change his race.

• The players, pirate ships, mermaids, and temple priests prepared to attack the fishmen, whose clan had been weakened and divided.
• Old Qu, Three-Five-Dou, and Meow Brother bickered about their romantic lives before the players plunged into battle and began killing fishmen.
• Fire Bro led a demolition squad toward the fishmen's egg nest, and Madam Water protected the group against mental corruption.
• Brother Fu planted a deep-sea bomb among the eggs, but a swarm of strange black fish surrounded the squad.
• Dagon spoke to Brother Fu and offered him an Abyssal Blessing, unlocking a prompt to become a Dagon Fishman/Abysswalker.

Dagon’s Abyssal Blessing began transforming the players into Deep Ones despite their refusals, prompting Water Madam and Brother Huo to escape by triggering explosives and the others to disconnect. After Little Rich suffered lingering nightmares, Brother Crow explained the danger of accepting unknown powers and urged the players to prepare for further supernatural influence.

• Little Rich and Water Madam resisted Dagon’s Abyssal Blessing, but its divine power transformed their bodies despite their refusal.
• Water Madam and Brother Huo detonated the explosives in the trench, then disconnected before the transformation could continue.
• Little Rich woke safely at home, but nightmares and an unsettling comfort in water made him fear that the experience had left a lasting effect.
• Brother Huo told Little Rich that Belly had accepted the blessing, fully transformed in-game, and faced a week-long delay before he could return.
• Brother Crow explained that Belly might suffer recurring nightmares and nervous exhaustion, so Little Rich set out to visit him and alert Brother Loyal.
• Brother Crow returned to Transia and wondered whether Lady Dutna was trying to extend her influence through the players.

Murphy discovered that the Dagon Apostles were created by a dangerous symbiote tied to Project 27, suggesting Dagon itself might be an artificial evil god. Lord Paine revealed that Project 27 was an astral observation post authorized by him, and Murphy was left to investigate its connection to the merfolk and the Bloodfear clan’s greatest treasure.

• Murphy received an alert that Dagon’s influence had contaminated players and the Administrator System, so he ordered Triss to gather information about Dagon and rescued the trapped players from the trench.
• Murphy recovered Big Black and a fragment of Dagon’s power, which the Omega Program purified into a crystal identified as a Project 27 symbiote capable of modifying hosts and sharing inherited abilities.
• Murphy concluded that the symbiote explained the Dagon Apostles’ growth and suspected Dagon was an artificial evil god created in an Eden District biological laboratory.
• Babbro retreated with the Bloodfear pirates as the Amastacia fleet approached, and he promised Murphy a share of his treasure if Murphy helped settle his history with the elves.
• Murphy showed Triss and Lady Dena the purified symbiote crystal and warned them to keep the discovery secret; Lord Paine then revealed that Project 27 was an astral observation post authorized by him and asked Murphy to investigate its link to the merfolk.

Murphy investigated how Dagon became connected to the fishmen and learned that the Third Observation Area was hidden beneath Cape's End, while Mannis warned that it was protected by Dagon's power. After considering how the biological symbiote crystal might enable enhanced soldiers, Murphy decided to pursue the Life Greenhouse Project and prepare for a future struggle against the Scholars.

• Murphy told Triss and Dena that Project 27 was an Astral Realm outpost founded by Grand Duke Charlemagne and speculated that Dagon had manipulated the Bloodfear Clan's destruction.
• Triss connected Dagon's arrival to the fishmen's failed Eden observation project, and she began explaining the world's history to an eager Dena.
• Mannis refused to observe Dagon through time but located the Third Observation Area beneath the strait at Cape's End and warned that Dagon's corruption made it nearly inaccessible.
• Murphy asked Mosna about the biological symbiote crystal, and Mosna advised rewriting its damaged controls before using it for organ enhancement.
• Murphy imagined using symbiotes from the Sons of Dagon to produce enhanced soldiers, then identified the Life Greenhouse Project as the key to mastering Creator biology.
• Murphy resolved to find the Third Observation Area during his trip to the Origin Land and to defeat the Scholars to take control of the Life Greenhouse Project.

Five-Wheel watched the Amastacia Fleet use seed-based weapons to drive back the Dagon fishmen, while Murphy's Hammer scattered the rest with incendiary bombs. After the sea elf prince Ivirios ordered his fleet to pursue the fishmen and visited Murphy, the two acknowledged their earlier meeting while fishing and prepared to discuss the conflict involving Bablou.

• Five-Wheel saw the elves use seeds that grew into blood-draining sea mines, and the halfling first mate explained the Amastacia Fleet's weapons and the Misty Sea's powerful factions.
• Old Qin ordered the players to pursue the retreating fishmen, and Soymilk White used Murphy's Hammer to bombard the sea with incendiary bombs.
• Ivirios and his captains judged that the elves needed to develop new warships to counter Transian air power, and Ivirios left them to finish the battle.
• Ivirios rode to Murphy's airship, where Murphy welcomed him with Triss and Lady Dena.
• Murphy recognized Ivirios as the elf angler his warriors had encountered near Chardo Port and proposed friendship between their fleets before offering to mediate with Bablou.

Murphy built rapport with sea elf prince Iverios Amastacia and negotiated for the Castia Kingdom’s living ship seeds, offering technology and help with the kingdom’s divine and political challenges. Iverios agreed to report Murphy’s proposals to King Quirion, leaving the kingdom’s response unresolved.

• Murphy and Iverios bonded over fishing and discussed the Castia Kingdom’s gratitude for Transia’s role in recovering the power of the Star of Adel.
• Murphy explained the Blood Dread Fleet’s situation, and Iverios promised the Amastacia Fleet would not actively hunt Pablo as long as the Plunderer stayed out of its waters.
• Murphy joined Iverios aboard the living flagship Stormfang, where he learned the Amastacia ships grew from seeds and were treated as family members.
• Murphy asked whether the shipbuilding seeds could be used for other constructions, and Iverios explained that the great druids could lift their restrictions but the seeds could not be given to outsiders.
• Murphy offered the elves aircraft designs and help against the Witch Cult in exchange for construction seeds, and described Avalon’s coming transformation into the Father of the Oak.
• Iverios said he would report Murphy’s proposals to King Quirion, while Murphy offered to help reconcile the Castia elves with the shadow elves.

Count Leon learned that the coastal murloc attack might be a staged attempt to stir unrest among Cato’s refugees, while Murphy received three divine artifacts from the Silver Dwarves aboard the Stormfang. The chapter ended with Murphy inspecting a blood-red sword named Night’s Sentinel.

• Huguenot warned Count Leon that a large group of tide murlocs was attacking Cato’s coast and urged him to evacuate to Dorod Fortress.
• Juna argued that the murlocs’ retreat from the sea was likely staged to cause panic among Cato’s refugees and locals.
• Count Leon suspected the Transians wanted manpower and decided to let events unfold, despite the risk of King Louis’s displeasure.
• Three Earth Priests delivered the completed divine artifacts to Murphy and passed along Lord Oufge’s request to protect Loren until his granddaughter’s wedding.
• Murphy agreed to help and opened a box containing the red sword Night’s Sentinel.

Murphy received the Longnight Guardian, a vampire divine artifact meant to help bind the Midnight Mother, and gave Triss a pendant that shielded her from the Mother’s influence. He then delivered the Peacemaker to Biji, who accepted her calling as the continent’s first Holy Radiance Knight.

• Prince Iverios forgave the Silver Dwarves after they delivered three artifacts of faith to Murphy, then the dwarves departed to support Marshal Loren.
• Murphy examined the Longnight Guardian, whose powers would grow through the vampire faith and whose divine blessing risked turning its wielder into the Midnight Mother’s vessel.
• Murphy gave Triss a pendant containing Omega energy that calmed her mind and shielded her from the Midnight Mother, then invited her to join him at the Origin.
• Triss admitted that Murphy had become essential to her and accepted their bond, while Murphy asked her to prepare a complete Midnight Scripture.
• Murphy brought Biji the Peacemaker, a Holy Light artifact tied to her future and his agreement with her grandfather.
• Biji accepted the sword, bound it to the Holy Light faith, and began her legend as the continent’s first Holy Radiance Knight.

Players from Transia, the merfolk, and the elves attacked the murlocs along the Genoa Peninsula to reopen the besieged Pioneer Legion’s supply route. With reinforcements approaching, Marshal Loren prepared a counterattack against the gnolls while worrying about finding Fraser and facing Murphy over Xico City.

• Judy’s guild prepared to land on the murloc-infested coast, and Dad Potato resolved to fight for his daughter’s future, inspiring the players with a powerful battle song.
• General Soros told Marshal Loren that allied reinforcements had cleared a coastal murloc force and were advancing to restore the terrain.
• Soros warned that German Gnawbones might retreat, and he and Loren agreed to counterattack the gnolls the next day despite their damp gunpowder and losses.
• Soros reported that Fraser was out of contact but likely fighting a guerrilla campaign with the Blackflame mercenaries, and Loren ordered that he be found and brought back safely.
• Loren accepted responsibility for the crisis and said he would face Murphy’s reckoning over Xico City after helping his king achieve his ambitions.

Colonel Ron struggled to keep Brigadier General Fraser alive after gnoll corruption infected his wounds, amputating his arm and sending Captain Ironhand to seek help from Governor Murphy. Fraser survived the surgery for now, but remained tainted as he reflected on the Warp as their true enemy and insisted he would finish his last battle.

• Ron discovered that Fraser's arm had become infected and arranged for the mercenary medic to amputate it, despite the medic warning that Fraser's corruption could not be purged.
• The medic revealed that Fraser had become an infection source, so Ron ordered Captain Ironhand to cross the gnoll lines in the Swift Eagle exoskeleton and contact Governor Murphy.
• Ron held Fraser down during the amputation, then injected an alchemical substance into his heart when his breathing and heartbeat weakened.
• Fraser woke after the operation, gave Ron a letter for Scarlet Keep to deliver only if he died, and spoke of his feelings for Mirian and the soldiers who had died protecting him.
• Fraser recognized the Warp's corruption as the true enemy, and told Ron he was not dead yet and intended to finish his last battle.

Colonel Ron and the Blackflame mercenaries fought Chaos-mutated gnolls until the storm was dispelled and a rescue team arrived. Murphy received the gravely contaminated Fraser and began preparations for a risky symbiote transplant trial.

• Colonel Ron and the Blackflame mercenaries killed the attacking gnoll abominations while protecting the wounded Fraser.
• Green-jade lightning cleansed the storm, and Penny and Bertie arrived as a search-and-rescue team sent by Governor Murphy.
• Penny scanned Fraser and estimated that he would become a Chaos creature within 27 hours, but Bertie said Murphy had a way to save him.
• Bertie stayed behind to treat other contaminated soldiers while Ron explained that the gnolls had sacrificed the local population and ruined the northern peninsula.
• Penny carried Fraser to Murphy's airship, where Murphy used the Omega program to briefly restore Fraser's reason and told him he could try to save him.
• Murphy ordered Mosna to prepare a symbiote transplant trial and said they would figure out how to make a Captain Carpe.

Trapped in a Chaos-ravaged camp, Gellman Bonegnaw seized the chance to escape when civilization’s forces broke the storm and attacked. As players cornered him, he drank the suspicious immortality potion given to him by the Dusk, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Gellman Bonegnaw realized the Chaos abominations had made his camp a prison and decided to escape with his loyal guards rather than join them.
• When the storm weakened and civilization’s forces attacked, Gellman roused his guards and led them toward a breakout, telling them to surrender if they reached the ruins of Brass Fortress.
• Gellman and his guards fought off his mutated dire wolves, and he vowed revenge on the Dusk if he survived.
• Meow Brother and other players diverted from the battle to pursue Gellman after Smoke-san identified him as the enemy faction’s leader.
• As players killed his guards and cornered him, Gellman drank the amber-colored immortality potion he had received from the Dusk.

Murphy and the players fought Germann Bonegnawer as Chaos power pushed him toward a final transformation. Penny and Murphy intervened after the players struck him down, but Germann remained alive.

• The players cornered Germann Bonegnawer and battered him with coordinated attacks while Murphy flew toward their position with Penny.
• Penny warned Murphy that Chaos energy would transform Germann into a powerful champion, and Murphy told her to wait until the players needed help.
• Germann’s power surged as his health fell, and he ignored the players’ attempts to draw his attention, killing Lion Beast and chasing other warriors.
• The players rushed Germann before his berserk timer expired, and Moonlit Mad Wolf drove a blade into his brain as the others struck him.
• Germann’s death released a dark storm, but Penny tore through it with a flashy attack and Murphy struck Germann with Hugsun’s warhammer.
• Murphy told the still-living, Chaos-covered Germann that he had gnoll friends and called Germann a piece of shit.

Murphy confronted Original Sin through Gherman Bonechewer, learned why the Warp entity opposed the Creator, and killed Gherman after the Chaos shadow withdrew. After the battle, Lord Payn urged Marshal Loren to meet Murphy about the Brass Fortress ruins, while warning that new Deep One threats awaited the dwarves.

• Original Sin took control of Gherman Bonechewer, revealed its origins and plans to restore the world, and attacked the battlefield with its psychic presence.
• Murphy rejected Original Sin's claims, destroyed Gherman's body, and watched the Chaos abominations disappear as the Warp rift closed.
• Murphy granted Gherman's plea for death by purifying the Chaos energy that kept him alive, then teased Penny and flew off to the cheering players.
• Lord Payn thanked Marshal Loren for the dwarves' survival, warned him about Deep One fishmen infiltrating nearby waters, and urged him to discuss the Brass Fortress ruins with Murphy.
• Marshal Loren agreed to meet Governor Murphy, then shot a tentacle emerging from a corpse before setting out with Soros.

Murphy persuaded Marshal Loren to let Transian adventurers help reclaim the Brass Fortress ruins, while Fraser recovered from a Chaos infection aboard Murphy's Hammer. After Loren agreed to grant the Transians supporter status, Silver Dwarf Earth Priests seized him and took him away to attend his delayed wedding.

• Marshal Loren visited Fraser in the medical bay, where Heru explained that a symbiote had halted the Chaos infection and Fraser was recovering.
• Loren thanked Murphy for saving Fraser, and Murphy said the Transians would eventually kill Loren for his past actions but preferred to discuss practical matters.
• Murphy proposed that Transian adventurers reclaim half of the Brass Fortress ruins within three months, and Loren agreed to grant them official supporter status after learning the Sin Dwarves had entered the underground city.
• Murphy offered Loren a wedding gift containing fertility and pleasure-enhancing items, prompting Loren to lose his temper.
• Six Silver Dwarf Earth Priests bound Loren by order of Lord Oufuge and took him to the Bont Mountains for his delayed wedding.

Murphy arranged to exploit Marshal Loren’s absence to draw immigrants into Transia and recruited Granny Little Bach into his anti-Dusk group. After learning that the Explorers’ Guild might be aiding the Dusk’s New World operations, Murphy also planned to use a Creator remnant at Whitecliff as bait for the Dusk.

• Murphy sent Adele to accelerate immigration from the Kato region while Marshal Loren was away, and planned to rely on Count Lyon and the Capet family’s cooperation.
• Murphy assigned Adele to accompany him to the Pharaoh’s birthday banquet and expand the Shadow Intelligence Bureau’s influence in the Land of Origin.
• Bonnie reported merfolk activity near the Bloodclaw smugglers, the Andmar Hills, and Rapidsburg, while Granny Little Bach arrived to discuss her father’s return and madness.
• Granny Little Bach joined Murphy’s anti-Dusk group and warned him that the Explorers’ Guild might be connected to the Dusk’s infiltration of the New World.
• Murphy accepted Granny Little Bach’s offer to introduce his warriors to the Explorers’ Guild and asked her to tell Lord Sim to leave the Creator remnants at Whitecliff untouched.
• Murphy proposed using the remnant at Whitecliff as bait to lure the Dusk into a trap.

Count Leon addressed rising hostility between local workers and Genoan refugees in the Cato region, ordering an investigation into corrupt officials while refusing to solve the conflict through violence. After learning Fraser was recovering from Chaos contamination, he heard Sir Palien propose moving the refugees to Transia and warned that the Capet family would eventually face a choice between submission and rebellion.

• Count Leon rejected a factory owner's suggestion to let fishmen kill the refugees and ordered Huguenot to investigate corruption and have the military police punish offenders.
• Juna told Count Leon that Fraser had been contaminated by Chaos, and Sir Palien showed him a recording confirming that Fraser was recovering.
• Sir Palien asked the Capet family to expand its business in Transia and help relocate the skilled refugees from Cato.
• Sir Palien revealed that Murphy and Grand Duke Wolfsbane had agreed to make the Cato region an independent trading territory, and she urged Count Leon to conceal the plan or risk war.
• Count Leon protested that the Capet family was loyal to King Louis, but Sir Palien warned that a future king would eventually move against the powerful family.

Sir Parlen met Laura, who offered to help move Transian refugees and sought to recruit Meliya and Winnie into her faction. Meanwhile, Wolfsbane recruiters persuaded refugees to leave for Transia as unrest and danger grew in the Cato region.

• Sir Parlen told the Ghost Shadow Intelligence Bureau that Count Leon had accepted her letter and learned that her daughters were recovering and applying to become mechanics.
• Laura arrived in Sir Parlen’s carriage, introduced herself as the Wolfsbane Clan’s Blackmane Countess, and offered to arrange routes for transferring refugees to Transia.
• Laura asked Sir Parlen to arrange a meeting with Meliya and Winnie so she could recruit them, but Sir Parlen said they had moved on with their lives.
• At the trading post, Marcus introduced himself as head of security for the Batasin Chamber of Commerce and warned Laura to send away her nearby vampires.
• Wolfsbane recruiters handed out flyers at a refugee camp and urged people to relocate to Transia, while one recruiter warned a former foreman that local factory owners wanted the refugees driven out.
• After a fire broke out at the camp, the former foreman negotiated a cut of the recruitment payments in exchange for bringing at least fifty people to the smuggling-route entrance.