Recaps

Anbi spoke with Marian in prison, who helped her question whether she was a burden and told her how choosing to become Beastkin had given her father acceptance. Meanwhile, Stella offered Tang Qi a way to flee with Eve, but after waking from the dream at the academy, Tang Qi encountered a lion who wanted to talk.

• Anbi met Marian in prison and learned that Marian had raised twenty-three children, including Jasmine.
• Anbi told Marian she feared her family would be better off without her, and Marian urged her to ask what her sister truly thought.
• Marian recounted how she chose to become Beastkin so her aging father would not face his final days alone.
• Stella told Tang Qi that Leon had arrested Dragon Gold City's Beastkin and offered to help him leave with Eve, while warning that Anbi faced execution.
• Tang Qi woke beside Dawn on the lawn outside the academy and was approached by a lion who asked to speak with him.

Tang Qi negotiated with Leon over the little dragon while learning why Dragon Gold City had sealed the dungeon and how Leon ruled the city. Leon gave Tang Qi seven days to surrender the dragon, and Marian reassured Anbi that mutual dependence made her a bond rather than a burden.

• Leon explained that he had used the dungeon and the Red Scarf Gang to maintain Dragon Gold City's prosperity, and said the dungeon was now sealed because spores had animated corpses and threatened the city.
• Tang Qi worried that his companions, including the Silver Shield Family's young lady, would die in the dungeon, but Leon refused to reopen it because he would not risk the city's safety.
• Leon offered Tang Qi wealth, status, and help in exchange for the little dragon, then warned that he would take her if Tang Qi did not decide before the Double Moon Feast in seven days.
• Dawn prepared to help Tang Qi escape, but Tang Qi left the Dragon Political Hall after Leon reiterated his ultimatum.
• Marian told Anbi that she and her sister needed each other, and that being needed made Anbi a source of strength rather than a burden.

Tang Qi and Catherine shared drinks and prepared for his departure from the Golden Oak, though Tang Qi revealed he had not decided to leave. The chapter ended with Tang Qi drawing Catherine close and imagining a cocktail named after her, whose most important ingredient was love.

• Tang Qi used his enchanted Lute to clear the Golden Oak and give Catherine the night off.
• Catherine made Tang Qi a cocktail called [Tang Qi Weinberg], and he praised its lingering flavor.
• Catherine gave Tang Qi travel supplies and a chest of gold coins, believing he was about to leave.
• Tang Qi told Catherine he had not said he was leaving, and she admitted she had prepared for his eventual departure.
• Catherine teased Tang Qi about other women, and he asked to create a drink called [Catherine Nova].
• Tang Qi pulled Catherine close and imagined a cocktail inspired by her, concluding that it needed a little love.

Tang Qi chose to return to the sealed dungeon rather than leave Dragon Gold City, hoping to rescue Anbi, Wendy, and his trapped companions. After failing to persuade Orion to open Deepwell, he swam toward the dungeon as the deadline for Anbi’s execution drew close.

• Tang Qi learned that Anbi had been taken away as leverage against him, imagined a peaceful future elsewhere, and decided to act after remembering Stella’s letter.
• Tang Qi asked Merlin to prepare a hot-air-balloon painting and print The Dragon Gold City Guide, then borrowed money from Melard to fund the plan.
• Tang Qi disguised Dawn in Wendy’s armor and tried to convince Orion Silver Shield to open the sealed dungeon, but Orion refused because of the spores threatening the city.
• Tang Qi gave Orion his birthday letter for Wendy and promised to bring her back before leaving with Dawn and Yiwu to reach the dungeon by sea.
• Tang Qi used the Ring of Glory to push through the darkness and spores, realizing that only four days remained before Anbi’s deadline.

Gravel and the Silver Medal struggled through the spreading darkness of Deepwell, starving and convinced no rescue was coming, until a Vine Monster attacked them. Gravel used his last strength to save his companions, but after their escape he stopped breathing.

• Gravel recalled the Silver Medal’s days of hunger and exhaustion in the darkness and learned Deepwell had been sealed off, leaving them without rescue.
• Rumi discovered that the tree beside their shelter was a Vine Monster, and the group fled by following the trail of corpses Kuru had left behind.
• Gravel stayed behind to protect Wendy and used [Shield Charge] to break the Vine Monster’s grasp, then Wendy, Rumi, and Kuru dragged him to safety.
• Wendy gave Gravel their last Healing Potion, but Rumi warned that Gravel needed food and recovery after exhausting his body with the combat technique.
• Gravel drifted into a peaceful, fading state as Rumi tried to keep him awake, and Rumi finally said that Gravel had stopped breathing.

As Gravel relived his life and death in a tavern vision, Black Snake urged him to leave the past behind and start a new life. Tang Qi pulled Gravel back from death, and the dwarf woke beneath the Ring of Glory as they welcomed each other home.

• Gravel told Black Snake that, after dying in his vision, he could not think of anything in his life worth cherishing and feared returning to Ironforge.
• Black Snake urged Gravel to start over, explaining that people lived on through those who remembered them and through their descendants.
• Gravel realized that his final cherished memory was drinking and talking with the Minions of the Ebony Forest, then learned Black Snake had died before him.
• Tang Qi burst into the tavern vision and demanded that Gravel wake up because he still owed him a favor.
• Black Snake said goodbye as Tang Qi dragged Gravel from the deep-sea sensation, and Gravel opened his eyes beneath the Ring of Glory.

Tang Qi reunited with Gravel, Wendy, Rumi, and the others in Deepwell, then led them through the dark forest toward a shortcut to the First Floor. They encountered Bovine and his exhausted adventuring party, who asked to follow them, and Tang Qi hesitated over whether to help.

• Tang Qi used the corpses marked with teeth to find his companions, then explained that Kuru had left the trail for him to follow.
• Tang Qi warned Wendy against expecting a particular kind of adventure and urged her to find her own path.
• Tang Qi said a shortcut between the Second and Third Floors could get them to the First Floor quickly, and Rumi guided the group toward the Third Floor entrance.
• The group traveled through the dark forest, where animals gathered around Tang Qi’s light and helped clear the way through spore-covered undead.
• Bovine arrived with his injured adventuring party and two civilian porters, offering their loot in exchange for joining Tang Qi’s group.
• Tang Qi asked his companions whether they should help Bovine and his party.

Tang Qi led a growing group of adventurers toward the Tower of Sunrise, where Black Panther offered to guide them through a shortcut. When spore-controlled Dawn attacked, Tang Qi used his music and the Blade of the Mind to calm the spores, leaving the group able to rest and approach them without fighting.

• Black Panther revealed he had followed Tang Qi since the Fifth Floor and offered to show him a teleportation gate in the Tower of Sunrise.
• Tang Qi allowed Bovine and the other adventurers to follow him without promising their safety, and the group continued through the forest.
• Undead attacked the group near the tower, and spores took control of Dawn, forcing her to attack her companions.
• Tang Qi had the group restrain Dawn and wounded her with the Blade of the Mind until the spores’ fury subsided into tranquility.
• Tang Qi used [Resting Melody] to heal and restore the adventurers, animals, and spores as the group rested together.

Tang Qi negotiated with the spores, offering to help them secure a home in exchange for cooperation and safe passage. After the spores agreed to trust him provisionally, he noticed the Tower of Sunrise was taller than the forest oaks and began considering a new idea involving Gravel’s wanted-poster joke.

• Tang Qi learned that the spores wanted a place to live and explained that a contract could trade their mushrooms for underground housing.
• Tang Qi warned the spores that continued resistance could lead Dragon Gold City to exterminate them, and argued that cooperation would benefit both sides.
• Tang Qi used familiar songs to show the spores he understood their longing for home, and they agreed to trust him while reserving the right to resist if nothing changed.
• The spores explained that Spore Servants gathered near the Tower of Sunrise because dead life forms there fed them, and they agreed to stop blocking Tang Qi’s party if the adventurers stopped harming them.
• Tang Qi confirmed the tower was taller than the forest oaks, then told Gravel that his idea about a wanted poster on Dragon Gold City’s walls was a good one.

Exhausted in Deepwell’s darkness, Linbuge and a fellow adventurer found a distant light and followed it toward the Tower of Sunrise, drawing strength from the people gathering along the way. As the light recalled Linbuge’s childhood lesson that a lighthouse meant hope, Tang Qi Weinberg announced that he had come to lead them out of the darkness.

• After surviving an attack, Linbuge and the other man rested and spoke about their hardships, including Linbuge being abandoned by his former teammates.
• Linbuge revealed that he was a sea goblin and proposed a wager to give them a reason to keep holding on.
• The two spotted a light atop the Tower of Sunrise and set off toward it, supporting each other despite their exhaustion.
• They encountered other adventurers heading for the tower, including the rival groups Orcs Must Die and Glory of the Half-Orcs, as the crowd’s noise helped ease their fear.
• Linbuge remembered his Tiefling father teaching him that a lighthouse represented hope, and Tang Qi Weinberg called out that he had come to lead them from the darkness.

Orion waited at the Deep Well for news of Wendy when a mysterious roar and a breach in the sealed entrance signaled danger. Tang Qi led Wendy and the surviving adventurers out of the darkness, and he agreed to go with Leon Lionheart to negotiate a deal.

• Orion burned Wendy’s birthday letter and rejected a Doppelganger’s claim that his daughter was dead.
• The Doppelganger warned Orion that someone had entered the Deepwell bunker, and the cavalry prepared as roars cracked a sealed entrance.
• Yiwu emerged from the passage, followed by Wendy, who reunited with Orion and told him the darkness underground remained but they had found a guiding light.
• Tang Qi emerged with Wendy and the surviving adventurers, whose song and support made Orion realize Tang Qi had given them hope.
• Leon Lionheart confronted Tang Qi over breaking the ban, and Tang Qi agreed to go with him in exchange for a deal.

Tang Qi negotiated a generous contract with Leon, surrendering Yiwu and the Star Plum Town territory in exchange for rewards for himself and his companions. After Tang Qi signed and handed Yiwu over, the little dragon realized he was leaving and tried desperately to escape its cage.

• Tang Qi asked Leon to bring Gravel, Kuru, and Dawn into the Dragon Political Hall so they could share in the negotiations.
• Tang Qi and Leon added benefits for Tang Qi's companions to the contract, including permanent residency, books, beer, a statue, and a mentor for Anbi Nova.
• Leon revealed that he had imprisoned Shivana Roaring and intended to use her to help beastkin control their nature.
• Leon had guards bind and gag Tang Qi and his companions before Tang Qi signed the contract and surrendered Yiwu as Leon's property.
• Tang Qi left the hall with Gravel and the others, while Yiwu struggled in its cage and Leon concluded that Tang Qi had truly given it up.

Tang Qi reached Dragon Prison to take Anbi Nova home before the twin moons could overwhelm her, while Leon discovered that the dragon he had killed was an illusion. Tang Qi arrived at Anbi’s cell and offered to take her home.

• Anbi Nova woke from a nightmare as Marian comforted her and warned that the twin moons could make her lose control of her beast nature.
• Leon killed the apparent Yiwu with a disintegration spell, but found no soul inside the ring and realized he had been tricked.
• Tang Qi explained that Kuru had used an invisible, silent Mage Hand to forge an Illusionary Manuscript before the Fair Contract took effect.
• Tang Qi entered Dragon Prison with the captain of the guard, leaving Gravel and the others outside, and passed Shivana’s cell on the way to the beastkin prisoners.
• Tang Qi reached Anbi Nova’s cell and told her he had come to take her home, leaving her struggling to hide her tears.

Tang Qi freed Anbi and Shivana from Dragon Prison, then used a prison riot and the guards’ captain’s reluctant cooperation to escape. After reuniting with Dawn and the others, he ordered the carriage to flee as a hot-air balloon launched toward the Deep Well District.

• Tang Qi took Anbi from Marian, then persuaded Shivana to sign a binding contract so he could free her too.
• When a guard returned empty-handed, Tang Qi held the captain at swordpoint and ordered Anbi and Shivana to unlock the prisoners’ cells.
• Anbi freed the beastkin and told Marian she wanted to know whether Marian had cursed the orphanage children with her blood.
• Tang Qi persuaded the captain to help contain the riot while the group escaped, and Shivana and Houke cleared a path through the prison.
• Dawn and Gravel helped Tang Qi’s group board the carriage, while Kuru fired a signal flare that coincided with a hot-air balloon launching toward the Deep Well District.
• Tang Qi took the carriage’s reins and told Dawn to activate Swift Aura so they could escape.

Tang Qi and his companions escaped Dragon Gold City by distracting the citizens and guards with a rain of coins and scandalous pamphlets, then rallying adventurers to help them break through the city gate. They left Dragon Tail Pass behind them with the guards fighting the adventurers.

• Leon learned that the prisoners had escaped and ordered the guards to intercept their carriage, but a coin-filled hot-air balloon and crowds blocked their advance.
• Tang Qi revealed that he had financed the spectacle with The Guide’s future royalties and scattered pamphlets exposing Dragon Gold City’s scandals.
• Leon discovered that Commander Orion had delayed the Dragon Rider Corps, apparently to repay Tang Qi for saving his daughter.
• Hundreds of guards formed up at Dragon Tail Pass, but Kuru’s illusion and Tang Qi’s song brought adventurers out to fight them.
• Dawn and Gravel combined their abilities to break the city gate, and Tang Qi’s group drove their carriage through the opening and escaped.

Tang Qi and his companions escaped Dragon Gold City, but Leon Lionheart intercepted them at Dragon Tail Pass and attacked to seize Yiwu. Stella rescued them with a Force Wall and teleportation array, while Tang Qi left Leon a defaced Fair Contract before they vanished.

• Leon ordered his deputy to restore the streets and keep the Double Moon Feast on schedule, then his doppelganger revealed that the real Leon had gone to intercept Tang Qi.
• Tang Qi refused to let Anbi reunite with her sister and friends, explaining that she would be safer fleeing with him.
• Leon confronted the carriage at Dragon Tail Pass, overwhelmed Dawn and the others, and demanded that Tang Qi hand over Yiwu.
• Tang Qi used Guardian Sword Dance to block one strike, and Yiwu's appearance made Leon hesitate long enough for Tang Qi to escape the next attack.
• Stella raised a Force Wall around Tang Qi and his companions and prepared a teleportation array while Leon opened the box Tang Qi had left him.
• Tang Qi and the others teleported away, and Leon discovered that Tang Qi had drawn a raised middle finger after Meow Meow's name on the Fair Contract.

Tang Qi and Stella escaped Dragon Gold City through a permanent teleportation circle, and Stella entrusted him with protecting the young dragon Yiwu until her memories returned. Stella repaired Dawn’s armor and infused it with Arcane Power, leaving Tang Qi and his companions to prepare for the journey ahead.

• Stella teleported Tang Qi and the others to the Twilight Forest, then put Shivana and Houke to sleep when they attacked her.
• Stella explained that Yiwu needed to consume magical substances to grow faster and gave Tang Qi a Dimensional Bag of crystal coins to feed her.
• Tang Qi asked Stella about the Golden Country and the Princess’s plans, but Stella said she did not know the answers and had lived for only thirty years.
• Tang Qi negotiated for compensation, and Stella repaired Dawn’s armor and gave Tang Qi two bottles of Restoration Gel to help restore her body.
• Stella infused Dawn’s armor with Arcane Power, and Tang Qi read its new abilities in his Journal before turning toward the waking Beastfolk.

After Shivana discovered Tang Qi had allowed Stella to leave, she attacked him and Anbi, but Tang Qi used their Pact to convince her she was bound to obey him. He asked Shivana to teach Anbi to control her anger, and Shivana agreed only if he would hear her request in return.

• Shivana confronted Tang Qi over Stella's departure, then attacked Anbi, who bit her arm.
• Tang Qi used the Pact to stop Shivana from harming Anbi and claimed its terms compelled Shivana to obey his requests.
• Shivana tried to attack Tang Qi and refuse his demands, but found she could not voice a refusal; Tang Qi secretly relied on the Pact's limited effects to deceive her.
• Tang Qi revealed that the Pact prevented Shivana from moving more than one kilometer away from him, and Shivana suspected destroying it might restore her freedom.
• Tang Qi asked Shivana to teach Anbi to master her anger, and Shivana agreed on the condition that he hear her request.

Tang Qi forced Shivana to recognize his authority under the [Unfair Contract] while the group camped in the forest and prepared for the twin moons. As Anbi confided her fears about becoming a monster, the moons descended and triggered her transformation.

• Shivana insisted on returning to her tribe, and Tang Qi decided to go with her to confront Babaya.
• Tang Qi used Dawn to restrain Shivana and cut her with the fear-infused broken sword, making her doubt whether the contract prevented her from resisting.
• Tang Qi explained to Dawn that he had frightened Shivana to establish his authority, then camped in the clearing rather than setting out for the tribe.
• Anbi told Tang Qi she feared turning into a beast and questioned whether her birth had been a mistake.
• The twin moons' blue and crimson light struck Anbi, and she roared as she began to struggle.

During the double-moon night, Tang Qi helped Anbi resist her transformation by showing her how her existence had changed the lives of people she loved. After the group escaped a Beastkin pack, he told her that her parents had wanted her and that she deserved to exist.

• Under the twin moons, Anbi transformed and broke free of Tang Qi’s restraints, but his Dwarf-friendly Laughing Spell stopped her from fleeing.
• Tang Qi used the Blade of the Sage to help Anbi recall how she had mattered to her sister, while he drew on memories of leading survivors through Deepwell to give the blade the emotion of fulfillment.
• A silver arrow struck at Tang Qi, and Dawn launched her powered gauntlet into the trees, knocking down the hidden attacker as a boarkin, a tiger, and a pack of Beastkin attacked the camp.
• Tang Qi, Dawn, Gravel, Houke, Shivana, and Yiwu fought their way through the attackers, then fled under Kuru’s Fog Spell and Dawn’s Swift Aura until the twin moons vanished.
• After Anbi woke, Tang Qi teased her about sleeping through the escape and explained that she was needed by others, telling her that her parents had chosen to bring her into the world and that she deserved to exist.

Tang Qi reached Star Plum Town and sent Shivana back to the Beastfolk tribe to scout its condition while he watched through the Hag's Eye. Shivana discovered Babaya had empowered the brutal Great Slug and turned the tribe against her for returning without food, leaving her to confront the old Goblin's intentions.

• Tang Qi reached the outskirts of Star Plum Town, gave Shivana a pendant containing the Hag's Eye, and sent her toward the tribe while he and his companions searched the Manor for supplies.
• Shivana entered the tribe and saw a Goblin kill a young Beastfolk who had tried to surrender, prompting her to challenge the Goblin.
• Babaya revealed that she had made the Great Slug the tribe's temporary leader while Shivana was gone.
• Babaya accused Shivana of failing to bring food and blamed her for the tribe's hunger, while Shivana admitted she had returned empty-handed.
• Shivana realized Babaya had deliberately sent her on a hopeless mission and used her absence to install the Great Slug, then demanded to know what the old Goblin was planning.

Shivana fought Slug for the chieftainship but was overwhelmed by his newly acquired fire attacks, and Houke was badly struck while protecting her. Tang Qi and his companions intervened just in time, then faced Babaya and the Beastfolk army as Dawn prepared to fight.

• Babaya challenged Shivana's leadership and sent Slug to fight her for the chieftainship.
• Shivana gained the upper hand briefly, but Slug used fireballs and a flaming club to defeat her.
• Houke broke the duel rules to protect Shivana, and Slug struck him down before Babaya used repulsive force to stop Shivana from intervening.
• Tang Qi arrived with his companions and knocked Slug's club aside, saving Houke from a fatal blow.
• Babaya declared Shivana disqualified and ordered Slug to mobilize the Beastfolk, while Tang Qi's group prepared to fight nearly a hundred gathered warriors.

Tang Qi and his companions fought Babaya and the [Fierce Roar] tribe, using Yiwu’s breath and Babaya’s own Fireball to turn the battle against her. Tang Qi killed Babaya after Dawn defeated Slug, leaving Shivana to confront the tribe’s losses and question its pursuit of power.

• Babaya ordered the Beastfolk to attack Tang Qi’s party, but Shivana tried to stop them while Yiwu and Kuru disrupted their charge.
• Dawn held off the Beastfolk as Tang Qi’s taunts threw off Babaya’s attacks and provoked her into casting Fireball.
• Tang Qi’s party survived the blast with the Flail Snail’s shell, then advanced toward Babaya’s tower while the explosion scattered the Beastfolk.
• Dawn defeated Slug with Supreme Holy Slash, while Kuru brought down Babaya’s fleeing mount with Magic Missile.
• Tang Qi struck Babaya with Stella’s Lute until she died, and Shivana surveyed the fallen Beastfolk and questioned what power the tribe had pursued.

Geya met Bruto at Lingering City's harbor to give him supplies, a new identity, and letters from his club before he fled to the Lord Alliance. Bruto learned Tang Qi Weinberg's Journal had been updated and read its latest entry, which said Tang Qi had returned to where his story began.

• Geya turned down Su Wen's invitation, confirmed he had reported Bruto, and told him not to interfere in her life again.
• Geya told Su Wen that Bruto had been confined for insulting nobility and that their mentor had arranged his escape from prison.
• At Lingering City's harbor, Geya gave Bruto supplies, travel papers under the name Mundo, and letters from his club members.
• Geya relayed the dean's instructions for Bruto to reach Dragon Gold City, find Tang Qi Weinberg, and avoid bringing trouble to the academy.
• Bruto asked Geya to retrieve a hidden item from his dorm and check Tang Qi's Journal, but she revealed she had already copied its latest entry.
• Bruto read Tang Qi's entry dated September 15, year 1000 of the lost era, which said he had returned to where the story began.

Tang Qi and Gravel said goodbye at Gawain Monte Carlo’s grave before parting ways, while Geya recited Tang Qi’s Journal to a secret gathering of bards. Catherine understood Tang Qi’s gift as an expression of freedom, and Tang Qi ended his Journal by naming freedom as the heart of their journey.

• Tang Qi and Gravel visited Gawain Monte Carlo’s grave, then Gravel revealed he planned to return north and try building a new life at home.
• Geya followed Bruto’s directions to the bards’ hideout and recited Tang Qi’s Journal, inspiring them with his choices and escape from Dragon Gold City.
• Tang Qi used his owed request to ask Gravel to find his own happiness before they met again, and Gravel agreed to part as a friend.
• Chuck delivered Tang Qi’s gift to Catherine: a caged Qi Bi Bird and a message that Anbi would be safe with him.
• Catherine opened the cage and freed the bird, while Tang Qi wrote the final word of his Journal: freedom.