Chapter Summaries

Duanmu Huai bought a Royal Ultimate Collector's Edition Servant Card Set from Stifal using his divine power after questioning her about his identity and the nature of the world. Back in Faerûn, he prepared to open the card box to see which servants he had obtained.

• Duanmu Huai asked Stifal for human Soul Cards suited to managing his territory, and she recommended a ten-card Servant Card Set.
• Duanmu Huai chose the Royal Ultimate Collector's Edition, then threatened Stifal with his warhammer when she suggested he pay with divine power and revealed she knew his identity.
• Stifal described herself as a traveling planar merchant and said whether the world was reality, fantasy, or a game made little difference to living in it.
• Duanmu Huai accepted Stifal's answer, paid with his divine power, collected the cards, and returned to Faerûn through a Teleportation Gate.
• Duanmu Huai learned that the set's royal Soul Cards would serve under contracts lasting one hundred years, then opened the card box.

Duanmu Huai opened a Royal Ultimate Collector's Edition card pack and summoned several new and familiar figures, then assigned them roles in the Inquisition's territory. The group ended with their duties set and orders to develop the territory without letting other factions look down on the Inquisition.

• Duanmu Huai opened the card pack and summoned five new figures alongside five cards he already owned, including Banbi, Felin, Gureiya, Ann, and Mistrina.
• Duanmu Huai learned that the newcomers had signed contracts with Stifal to enter a new world and could summon their subordinates to help govern.
• Duanmu Huai appointed Mistrina regent, Gureiya councilor, Tione general, Ayrnesta treasurer, Limoniem High Priest, and Amarilis Grand Diplomat, while Ann remained Magic Advisor.
• Duanmu Huai assigned Felin as Guard Captain, Magnolia as chairperson of the council, and Banbi as intelligence officer, with Jia Wei and Fia assisting her.
• Duanmu Huai told the group to develop the territory according to plan and ensure other factions would not look down on the Inquisition.

Duanmu Huai left the Inquisition’s territory plans to the Night Watch and learned that Aurelia had been ordered to investigate a Sea Monster attacking ships in the Silent Sea. He urged her to confront the man manipulating her ailing father and decide whether she would put her father or Luminas first.

• Duanmu Huai bought Stifal’s Gothic Irithyll city blueprint and handed it to the Night Watch to develop the Inquisition’s territory.
• Duanmu Huai returned to Luminas, where a black-haired maid told him Aurelia had been ordered to investigate a Sea Monster attacking Revion Duchy merchant ships.
• Duanmu Huai suspected the King was sending Aurelia into danger and told the maid to propose that he take over the investigation.
• Aurelia arrived the next morning and said Chris had manipulated her father into giving her the assignment.
• Duanmu Huai urged Aurelia to kill Chris and argued that the senile King was harming Luminas, then asked her to choose between her father and her country.

Aurelia agreed to confront the King over the investigation into the sea monsters and had Chris arrested after Duanmu Huai accused him of threatening the royal family. Duanmu Huai took Chris away for interrogation, where he used his tentacles to extract the eunuch’s memories.

• Aurelia agreed to go with Duanmu Huai to the palace, and the guards let them pass without obstruction.
• Aurelia entered the hall, knelt before the King, and asked to discuss the sea monster investigation while Chris tried to interrupt her.
• Duanmu Huai accused Chris of threatening the King’s life and possibly poisoning him, turning the guards against the eunuch.
• Aurelia ordered the guards to arrest Chris and gave Duanmu Huai permission to interrogate him.
• Duanmu Huai took Chris to an interrogation room and drove tentacles into his ears to extract his memories.

Duanmu Huai discovered that the black-robed eunuch was Orlilia Christopher, the hero who had made a pact with the Demon King and secretly founded Luminas through conquest. Orlilia revealed how his descendants overthrew him and left him buried, and he realized that the Demon King’s pact had trapped him from the start.

• Duanmu Huai searched the black-robed eunuch’s memories and identified him as Aurelia’s ancestor, the hero who had supposedly sealed the Demon King.
• Orlilia admitted that he had never sealed the Demon King and instead exchanged five hundred years of exile for immortality and its power.
• Orlilia showed Aurelia the inherited mark and explained that the royal family had planned to murder him after he defeated the Demon King, prompting him to betray them and seize the throne.
• Orlilia recounted killing the King and Princess, crushing the nobles, and expanding Luminas through war.
• Orlilia explained that he tried to prevent the Demon King from enslaving his descendants by killing pregnant partners, but a woman escaped and raised a child with the Resistance.
• Orlilia’s descendant led the Resistance, overthrew him, and stabbed him with the Holy Sword; after surviving and being buried, Orlilia realized the Demon King’s pact had been a trap.

Duanmu Huai killed the weakened hero, whose blood broke the seal on the Holy Sword, and explained why the Demon King had not returned. Aurelia revealed that she had relived the Northern Fortress battle through countless cycles, then asked Duanmu Huai what reward he wanted.

• The hero explained that the Holy Sword had drained his power after he revived, and he claimed the country as his inheritance.
• Duanmu Huai questioned Aurelia, then used the Holy Sword to crush the hero; the weapon’s stone casing broke and revealed its blade.
• Duanmu Huai concluded that the Demon King had not returned because this world was only a Soul Fragment and the Demon King had been driven out of it.
• Aurelia told Duanmu Huai that she had repeatedly returned to the day before the Northern Fortress battle, despite trying many ways to change its outcome.
• Duanmu Huai promised Aurelia that her soul would go to the Inquisition instead of restarting the cycle, and she asked what reward he wanted.

Duanmu Hu obtained the Legendary Blade Commander title and surveyed the nearly completed city he had built in the restored Lost Land. As the territory prepared to open, Mary accepted the task of naming the city and territory.

• Duanmu Hu learned that the Legendary Blade Commander title let him use the Legendary Sword to become immune to damage while charging, and decided to save it for dangerous enemies.
• Duanmu Hu reflected that Queen Aurelia was suppressing the former hero’s followers in Luminas while he focused on developing his own territory.
• Duanmu Hu showed Okegis, Ann, and Mary the city rising from the restored Lost Land, with waterworks, forests, and Gothic buildings surrounding the warship.
• Mary asked why the fully equipped city had no residents, and Duanmu Hu explained that he would attract immigrants only after planning and controlling the city’s land and housing.
• After Ann reported that construction was nearly eighty percent complete, Duanmu Hu ordered the territory opened and asked Mary to choose its name.

Kaelion and Brook arrived at the Lost Land, where the Inquisition’s imposing gate and strict rules shocked them. After the Night Watch killed a Lizardman and a Green Dragon for being Xenomorphs, Kaelion realized the territory was far more dangerous than he had expected.

• Kaelion and Brook traveled from Waterdeep toward the Lost Land, hoping to establish their merchant business there.
• Kaelion and Brook reached the enormous gate marked “Arkham” and saw religious delegations gathering to enter.
• A Night Watch questioned Kaelion and Brook, while another Night Watch killed a Lizardman who tried to enter despite the ban on Xenomorph races.
• A priest girl challenged the Night Watch’s killing, and a nobleman transformed into a Green Dragon to confront the Inquisition.
• The Night Watch attacked and killed the Green Dragon, leaving Kaelion collapsed and Brook unconscious.

Emilia arrived at the Inquisition’s city with other representatives and was astonished by its grand architecture and powerful guards. At the Metal Church, Duanmu Huai summoned the temple representatives and called for hidden figures to reveal themselves, and radiant beings appeared before him.

• Emilia watched the Night Watch drag away a Green Dragon and entered the city with her young attendant and the Guardians of Tyr.
• Emilia and the other arrivals were awed by the city’s monumental buildings, then followed an Angel toward the Inquisition.
• The Angel escorted temple representatives to the Metal Church while directing everyone else to City Hall.
• Emilia waited outside the meeting hall as Duanmu Huai gathered representatives from the temples inside.
• Duanmu Huai told the gathered representatives to show themselves, and radiant figures appeared before him.

Duanmu Huai briefed the Faerûn Gods on four ancient Chaos Gods and warned them that the Inquisition would defend the Lost Land and humanity from their influence. He left the gods free to choose how to respond, then dismissed them after warning them not to interfere with the Inquisition.

• Duanmu Huai told the divine avatars that four ancient Evil Gods had discovered the world and that the Lost Land was the Inquisition’s forward fortress against them.
• Duanmu Huai explained how the Chaos Gods embodied opposing aspects of living beings and warned that their influence could corrupt even the gods’ believers.
• Duanmu Huai urged the gods to expand their influence so more souls would reach their realms, and said the Inquisition would address the Wall of the Faithless with Kelemvor.
• Duanmu Huai rejected Lathander’s idea of purifying the Evil Gods, warned the gods not to interfere with Inquisition operations, and dismissed them.
• After the gods disappeared, Duanmu Huai noticed their priests and clerics sprawled on the floor and ordered them removed.

Duanmu Huai reviewed Arkham City’s religious, commercial, and security policies while considering requests from several factions. When Echote reported that the Reconnaissance Fleet had locked onto its target, Duanmu Huai set out to investigate.

• Duanmu Huai discussed merchants seeking land in Arkham City and reaffirmed that the Inquisition leased land rather than selling it.
• Duanmu Huai allowed Shar’s church to operate underground, rejected the Helm Church’s application, and denied requests from the Zhentarim and Thay Red Wizards Council to establish bases or trading posts.
• Duanmu Huai approved a magical exchange with the Red Wizard Society, expecting Ann to participate.
• Mistrina reported complaints about Arkham City barring Xenomorphs and said investigators had found no signs of a Chaos God invasion; Duanmu Huai insisted the Inquisition’s rules would stand.
• Echote told Duanmu Huai that the Reconnaissance Fleet had locked onto the target, and Duanmu Huai hurried to go there.

Duanmu Huai launched a surprise assault on Mortarion’s Plague Fleet, using the Webway to bring the Inquisition’s ships into the enemy formation while he boarded the Endurance. He confronted Mortarion on the bridge, and the chapter ended as reinforcements joined the fight.

• Duanmu Huai decided to attack Mortarion’s fleet before its forces discovered Typhus was dead.
• Duanmu Huai ordered Echote to lead the fleet through the Webway while he and five hundred Night Watch boarded the Endurance.
• Echote committed to the plan and ordered all forces to attack.
• Mortarion learned an Imperial fleet had appeared inside his fleet, and its ships opened fire on the Endurance.
• Duanmu Huai and the Night Watch burst onto Mortarion’s bridge, where Duanmu Huai clashed with him and summoned Ann, Gureiya, Felin, Okegis, Jia Wei, and others to join the fight.

Duanmu Huai and his companions fought Mortarion and the Death Shroud aboard a corrupted warship, protected from Chaos by their powers. Duanmu Huai smashed Mortarion’s mask and weakened him, then rejected Mortarion’s claim that the dead Empire made resistance pointless as the battle resumed.

• Ann summoned the girls, and Duanmu Huai shielded them with Black Flame Protection before charging Mortarion.
• Gureiya and Ann attacked Mortarion while Okegis, Lorena, and the Night Watch fought the Death Shroud and Death Guard.
• Duanmu Huai struck Mortarion in the face with his Thunder Warhammer, shattering his mask and causing his daemon body and power to diminish.
• Mortarion argued that the Empire and Emperor were gone, but Duanmu Huai said he fought to protect humanity and himself, not to defend the Emperor.
• Duanmu Huai and Mortarion clashed again.

Duanmu Huai fought Mortarion aboard the Death Guard flagship and used the Whispers of the Old Ones to drive him mad. He destroyed Mortarion and the flagship, then told Echote to prepare to clean up the battlefield and withdraw.

• Duanmu Huai and Mortarion exchanged powerful blows as Mortarion weakened and began hearing strange whispers.
• Duanmu Huai invoked the Whispers of the Old Ones, causing Mortarion to lose his sanity and become consumed by tentacles.
• Duanmu Huai struck Mortarion with the Thunder Warhammer, destroying his body and soul with Black Flame.
• Mortarion's flagship exploded, and Echote spotted Duanmu Huai alive nearby.
• Duanmu Huai told Echote to clean up the battlefield before they withdrew.

After killing Mortarion, Duanmu Huai reviewed the battle and considered how to strengthen his Old God Willpower for future fights against Daemon Princes. He spoke with Ann about the uncertain future, then decided to return to Arkham.

• Duanmu Huai reviewed the battle records and saw that Mortarion’s critical failure against Whispers of the Old Ones had let him expose and kill the Daemon Prince.
• Duanmu Huai gained experience and a new Ancient Summoning ability, and concluded that raising Old God Willpower could help him defeat other daemon primarchs.
• Duanmu Huai considered seeking a way to improve Old God Willpower in Barto Hell and was relieved that Mortarion had dropped no dangerous loot.
• Ann told Duanmu Huai that Gureiya had fainted in the bath after their time together, and Duanmu Huai teased her about taking advantage of her.
• Duanmu Huai asked Ann about the distant future, and she said mortals could hope and work toward making their hopes come true.
• Duanmu Huai agreed that they could consider the future when it arrived and said they would return to Arkham.

Duanmu Huai enjoyed a quiet autumn in Arkham City while the Inquisition monitored threats and rebuilt its forces. When the Blade of Judgement reported a strange mountain cult that might involve a true god, Duanmu Huai decided to investigate personally.

• Rumiere, Eclair, and Tong monitored the Systems Alliance and the Warp for signs of Chaos activity as the Inquisition prepared for another attack.
• Duanmu Huai ordered the Inquisition to rebuild its warships and equip destroyers with Fold Reactors.
• Mary practiced becoming a bard and asked Duanmu Huai if she could invite Shirley and Ashelika to visit the Inquisition.
• Mistrina reported that the Blade of Judgement Fifteenth Squad had found a strange cult in the nearby mountains and requested support.
• Duanmu Huai heard that the cult might involve a true god and decided to investigate himself.

Blade of Judgement Squad investigated a goblin attack and found a ruined fortress occupied by a large monster army. After a dragon arrived, Gray chose to sneak closer for information while Ben withdrew.

• Gray and Ben watched the fortress, where goblins, hill giants, and half-orcs had gathered, and Ben revealed he had already reported the situation to the Inquisition.
• Ben persuaded Gray that their mission was to investigate and report, not risk their lives fighting an overwhelming enemy.
• A dragon flew into the fortress, terrifying Gray and Ben as the gathered monsters knelt before it.
• Gray decided to investigate the dragon and fortress, while Ben refused to follow and left through the bushes.
• Gray stealthily made his way toward the fortress.

Gray infiltrated the fortress and discovered that a Githyanki was using dark magic to control the monsters and compel their leader to attack Baldur’s Gate. After the Githyanki’s red dragon nearly killed Gray, Ben and the squad helped him escape, and a fiery figure arrived to confront the dragon.

• Gray overheard the Githyanki demand that the Hill Giant leader provide more sacrifices and order an attack on Baldur’s Gate.
• Dark tentacles emerged from the shadows and left the monsters motionless and seemingly under the Githyanki’s control.
• The tower collapsed beneath Gray, and the Githyanki’s red dragon attacked him until Ben blocked its breath with a golden shield.
• Gray escaped into the forest with Ben and the squad as the dragon and controlled monsters pursued them.
• The squad launched a signal flare, and a figure wreathed in crimson flames struck the red dragon from the sky.

Duanmu Huai and his companions saved the Blade of Judgement Squad from a Githyanki-led force, but the battle yielded no Experience Points, so he ordered an investigation into the mysterious Supreme True God. After deciding the Githyanki were a target for both the Inquisition and his transformation quest, he prepared to travel to the Astral Plane and exterminate them.

• Duanmu Huai, Mary, and Okegis wiped out the Red Dragon, Goblins, Hill Giants, Half-Orks, and Githyanki attacking Gray’s squad.
• Duanmu Huai questioned Gray about the Githyanki’s magic and noticed that the battle had awarded no Experience Points.
• Duanmu Huai ordered Okegis to have Jia Wei search the region for clues about the Supreme True God, and he praised Gray’s squad for its work.
• Duanmu Huai explained that he used squads like players to uncover questlines, then identified the Githyanki as a target for his transformation quest.
• Duanmu Huai told Mary they would go to the Astral Plane and demanded the Githyanki answer for sacrificing humans, threatening to exterminate them.

Mary brought her friends Shirley and Ashelika to Mr. Duanmu’s house to show them where she had been working. After leading them through a strange door beside a bedroom, she left them stunned by what they saw beyond it.

• Ashelika and Shirley asked Mary about her secret work after Howard noticed her unusual air of authority.
• Mary explained that Mr. Duanmu had agreed to let them visit, and Shirley and Ashelika insisted on going with her immediately.
• The three girls traveled to Queens and entered Mr. Duanmu’s house, where a maid greeted Mary as though she lived there.
• Shirley and Ashelika mistook Mary’s key and the maid’s greeting as signs she was living with Mr. Duanmu, while Shirley privately imagined increasingly scandalous possibilities.
• Mary led her friends to a bedroom, unlocked a door that appeared to open onto a balcony, and ushered them through it.
• Shirley and Ashelika passed through the door and were left dumbfounded by what they saw.