Chapter Summaries

Tang Qi and Black Snake fought their way through the goblins and beastfolk, but a half-orc leader arrived with a giant-tortoise warband and surrounded them. Seeing an artificial eyeball like Melard’s, Tang Qi realized their predicament was part of a conspiracy.

• Tang Qi used a True Sight Eye Potion to resist the warlock’s Fear Spell, stabbed her, and took her hostage.
• A beastfolk charged despite Tang Qi’s threat, and Shivana hurled a great axe to stop him.
• Giant tortoises carrying towers and platforms emerged through the mist as their beastfolk followers surrounded Tang Qi, Black Snake, and Kuru.
• A half-orc leader descended from the leading tortoise and approached the group.
• Tang Qi recognized the artificial eyeball hovering beside the half-orc as a magical construct like Melard’s and concluded that their situation was no accident.

Tang Qi used Babaya as a hostage to negotiate with Shivana, who had to weigh saving the Old Prophet against the humans’ proposal. After Tang Qi’s attempt to befriend the beastfolk confused everyone, he offered to join Shivana’s tribe, leaving her considering whether the captives could be useful.

• Shivana recalled how Babaya had undermined her leadership and felt conflicted about rescuing the Old Prophet after Tang Qi captured her.
• Tang Qi threatened Babaya, and Shivana countered by presenting captured humans as hostages and demanding a life-for-a-life exchange.
• Tang Qi proposed trading Babaya for himself, Black Snake, and Kuru, then tried to calm Shivana with a song that reminded her of her father.
• Tang Qi, Black Snake, and Kuru simultaneously offered to join the beastfolk, asked which way to run, and begged for mercy.
• Tang Qi argued that his group could prove their strength and help Shivana navigate the Lord Alliance’s territory, prompting her to consider using them and Babaya’s failure to her advantage.

Shivana challenged Black Snake to a duel to reclaim Babaya and strengthen her standing with her tribe. Tang Qi told Black Snake to lose deliberately so they could negotiate, but Black Snake fought Shivana and ended the chapter aiming at her eye.

• Shivana summoned her great axe and challenged Black Snake, offering to let the captives go if she lost.
• Tang Qi instructed Black Snake to trade blows and then lose by a hair, hoping to preserve Shivana’s pride and keep Babaya as a hostage.
• Black Snake doubted Tang Qi’s plan but agreed to fight Shivana, while privately intending to return to Star Plum Town and warn its people.
• Shivana charged and attacked Black Snake with her great axe, and he dodged her blows while cutting her forearm.
• Black Snake evaded Shivana’s rising strike and aimed his blade at her right eye.

Black Snake fought Shivana in their duel, but she revealed her Barbarian Rage and summoned the Brute Bear Spirit, turning the fight into a dangerous contest of endurance. As Black Snake weakened, Tang Qi urged him to outlast her rage and strike before she could ignite it again.

• Black Snake wounded Shivana with his curved blade, but she survived his strikes and nearly fell to his final thrust.
• Shivana unleashed her Barbarian Rage and summoned the Brute Bear Spirit, forcing Black Snake away with a roar and charging him with her Great Axe.
• Black Snake evaded Shivana’s powerful attacks and cut her, but she traded wounds for wounds, leaving him bleeding and exhausted.
• Black Snake realized Shivana’s greater strength and endurance made the fight dangerous for him.
• Tang Qi told Black Snake to prolong Shivana’s Barbarian Rage, and Black Snake understood he had to finish the duel before his stamina ran out.

Black Snake deliberately lost his duel with Shivana, but Babaya’s followers attacked Tang Qi and Babaya unleashed Magic Blast. Black Snake shielded Tang Qi, and Shivana drove Babaya off before letting the humans leave; Black Snake then collapsed in the forest from his injuries.

• Black Snake dodged Shivana’s attacks, then deliberately let her wound him so she could claim victory in their duel.
• Tang Qi noticed Goblins closing in and warned Kuru to watch them, but four Goblins attacked him and Babaya.
• Kuru froze one attacker while Tang Qi tried to reach Babaya, who used her pendant to cast Magic Blast at him.
• Black Snake took the blast meant for Tang Qi, and Shivana knocked Babaya unconscious before declaring the duel unfinished and ordering the humans to leave.
• Tang Qi and Black Snake left with Kuru, but Black Snake collapsed after they had put distance between themselves and the Sky Turtles.

Tang Qi carried the gravely wounded Black Snake through the forest toward Star Plum Town, where Black Snake revealed his past and his connection to Catherine. He reached the town gate and saw her waiting, but died before he could speak to her.

• Black Snake woke on Tang Qi's back after hours of travel, and Tang Qi explained how he had tried to stop the bleeding and urged him to stay conscious.
• Tang Qi kept Black Snake talking by asking about his adventures, and Black Snake recalled leaving someone behind to climb greater mountains before returning to the golden oak tree.
• Black Snake revealed that he had returned too late to be there for the woman he loved and the child they had together, and that he had only watched Catherine grow up from afar.
• Tang Qi rushed through the thinning mist toward Star Plum Town while Black Snake asked him to take Catherine away and let her live.
• Catherine ran out to meet them at the town gate, and Black Snake clutched the ruby ring at his chest, saw her, and died after telling her he loved her.

Tang Qi buried Black Snake and urged Catherine and Father Lynn to evacuate Star Plum Town before the Beastfolk arrived. Father Lynn explained that the town was preparing defenses while waiting for aid, but Tang Qi revealed that the Beastfolk had already targeted the town and the nobles might abandon its residents.

• Tang Qi, Father Lynn, and Catherine held Black Snake’s funeral beneath the golden oak, and Father Lynn said Black Snake had loved Catherine deeply.
• Catherine asked Father Lynn to leave with her, but he refused to abandon the townspeople he had served for decades.
• Tang Qi argued that the townspeople could escape north through the forest, but Catherine explained that they might lose their way in its mist.
• Father Lynn said Steward Hus had ordered able-bodied men to build defenses while women and children remained in town, and that Lord Mel had requested troops from Dragon Gold City.
• Tang Qi revealed that the Beastfolk’s chieftain had a construct like Melard’s that could guide them through the forest, making Star Plum Town their target.
• Father Lynn warned that the nobles might leave the townspeople behind or use them to cover their own escape.

Father Lynn explained how Lord Mel had abandoned and killed his subjects to cover up his own cowardice, warning Catherine not to ask nobles to save Star Plum Town. Tang Qi decided to try to lead the town’s people to escape, hoping the feat would earn him a reward in the [Log].

• Father Lynn told Tang Qi and Catherine how Lord Mel fled a hunt, injured servants to escape, and later executed witnesses and guards to hide his disgrace.
• Father Lynn urged Catherine to seek Melard’s mercy for herself rather than ask him to evacuate the whole town.
• Catherine decided she would leave with Anbi if Melard accepted them, or stay and search for another way if he did not.
• Gravel, who had been hiding in Catherine’s tavern, proposed that he and the others apply to join Melard’s party and escape.
• Tang Qi declared that he would try to take everyone in Star Plum Town with them, partly because he expected the achievement to bring him a reward in the [Log].

Catherine warned Melard and Hus that a Beastfolk tribe was heading toward Star Plum Town, but Hus concealed the danger from the townspeople and arranged for Melard to flee to Dragon Gold City. Melard insisted Catherine go with him, while Catherine returned to the tavern and learned that Father Lynn’s meeting with Tang Qi had gone badly.

• Catherine told Melard and Hus that Black Snake had said the attackers belonged to a Beastfolk tribe heading toward Star Plum Town, but Melard accused her of making up the story.
• Hus stopped Melard from punishing Catherine and privately urged him to leave for Dragon Gold City with the Mercenary captain, while keeping the warning from the townspeople.
• Hus decided to remain behind and defend the territory, reasoning that causing a panic could cost the town people and disrupt the harvest.
• Melard persuaded Hus to let him take Catherine to Dragon Gold City, saying he needed her as a shield against pressure to marry a noblewoman.
• Catherine left to fetch wine, hurried back to the tavern, and asked Father Lynn how things had gone with Tang Qi; Father Lynn said they had gone badly.

Tang Qi planned to persuade the townspeople to flee through Twilight Forest before dawn, despite their fear and the obstacles posed by Melard and the guards. Catherine chose to stay and help, and Tang Qi asked everyone to play the villains in his plan.

• Father Lynn explained that the townspeople were too afraid of Twilight Forest to leave without understanding the danger.
• Gravel mocked Tang Qi’s plan, while Tang Qi listed the need to find a guide, stop Melard from escaping, and deal with the guards.
• Father Lynn predicted Melard would flee with Catherine in about an hour, and Catherine realized Melard had hinted that she should pack.
• Tang Qi concluded they had to move three hundred people before dawn and admitted he could not manage it alone.
• Catherine refused to leave without her family and agreed to help Tang Qi, who asked the others to play the villains in his plan.

George David’s family was robbed by Gravel as fear spread that Beastfolk were about to attack Star Plum Town. Old David went to report the crime, but the sight of two saddled horses near Lord Hus’s courtyard made him suspect the town’s leaders were preparing to flee.

• George David’s parents tried to reassure him while Old David guarded their home against a feared Beastfolk raid.
• Gravel broke into the David family’s house, beat Old David, threatened George, and stole their savings.
• Old David went out to report Gravel’s robbery and learn whether the Beastfolk were really coming.
• Two guards agreed to escort Old David to Lord Hus, but he saw two ready-to-ride horses near the official’s courtyard and grew convinced the town was doomed.
• A growing clamor rose around Old David as the wind howled.

Lord Hus arranged for Melard to flee town with Explosive Wolf as the townspeople panicked over reports of approaching Beastfolk. Melard’s horse was tripped by a rope at the palisade, leaving him sprawled in the mud and wondering who had stopped him.

• Hus ordered Explosive Wolf to escort Melard out of town, offering extra payment despite the mercenary captain’s reluctance to abandon his men.
• Melard and Explosive Wolf rode away as townspeople heard that the Beastfolk were coming and that the nobles were fleeing.
• Melard shouted for the commoners to clear the road, claiming he was going to fetch reinforcements.
• A hemp rope stretched across the palisade tripped Melard’s horse, throwing him into the mud.

Hus tried to stop Star Plum Town’s residents from leaving by claiming Melard was seeking help, but Old David and the townspeople challenged his story. Their complaints about being robbed revealed that a dwarf mercenary had been spreading rumors and stirring up trouble.

• Explosive Wolf tried to rescue Melard, but the horse collapsed under the combined weight of the two men, and Hus confronted the guards about the trip rope.
• Hus claimed the young master had barred the townspeople from leaving to protect them, then ordered guards to arrest Old David for accusing Melard of fleeing.
• Old David said Father Lynn had warned that beastfolk could navigate the fog and were heading toward town, and Hus insisted Melard had gone to seek reinforcements from Dragon Gold City.
• Old David and other residents accused a dwarf of robbing them while claiming the nobles planned to flee, and Hus realized the missing dwarf mercenary might be behind the turmoil.

Catherine arrived at Star Plum Town’s exit with Anbi and revealed that Melard planned to take her with him, exposing Hus’s lies about the town’s danger and the nobles’ plans. The townspeople turned against Hus, and Catherine recognized that their resentment needed one final spark.

• Hus tried to reassure the townspeople that Star Plum Town was not doomed, but they remained uncertain about leaving.
• Catherine arrived with Anbi and told Melard she was ready to leave with him, despite Hus’s attempt to silence her.
• The townspeople realized Catherine’s departure meant she knew the town was in danger, and they accused Hus and the nobles of abandoning them.
• Hus angrily attacked Catherine’s claims, exposing his own lies and confirming the townspeople’s suspicions.
• Catherine recalled Tang Qi’s plan to use her apparent privilege to provoke the commoners’ resentment, but knew the crowd still needed a final spark.

Tang Qi exposed Hus and Melard’s exploitation of Star Plum Town and used a song to rally the townspeople against them. As the crowd fought the guards and mercenaries, Gravel killed Explosive Wolf, and Hus’s rapier struck Tang Qi in the chest.

• Hus ordered the guards to arrest Father Lynn and the two girls, but Tang Qi stepped forward and accused Hus and Melard of exploiting the townspeople.
• Gravel blocked the guards’ arrows with his shield as Tang Qi began singing about the people’s hardship and confronted the armed men.
• Anbi, Catherine, Father Lynn, and Old David joined the song, and the townspeople rallied together against the mercenaries.
• Gravel defeated Explosive Wolf and crushed his skull with his mace while the townspeople pressed their attack.
• Tang Qi charged Hus and Melard, but Hus dodged his thrust and drove his rapier into Tang Qi’s chest.

Tang Qi killed Hus and led the townsfolk of Star Plum Town to flee toward Dragon Gold City as the Beastfolk threat loomed. After Kuru joined the migration party, Catherine drove the ox cart away from town while Tang Qi fell asleep.

• Hus's rapier thrust struck Tang Qi's protective vest, and Tang Qi killed him with a hooked saber strike to the neck.
• Tang Qi threatened Melard into stopping the fighting, then ordered the townsfolk to gather their families and belongings for the journey to Dragon Gold City.
• Father Lynn treated the wounded while Gravel helped gather the townsfolk and prepare the migration party.
• Kuru returned carrying a large stone after its Kobold tribe migrated underground, and Tang Qi persuaded it to join the group.
• Exhausted, Tang Qi rested on Catherine's lap as she drove the migration party away from Star Plum Town.

Geya Yuexi visited Moonlight Castle to check on her junior, Tang Qi Weinberg, but learned he had not returned home and was studying at Bard's Song Academy. Yenai Weinberg kept the gifts Geya brought instead of telling her father about them.

• Geya parted from Su Wen, who mistakenly took her wink as a sign she might be interested in him.
• Geya reached Moonlight Castle and asked Yenai Weinberg about Tang Qi Weinberg.
• Yenai checked her father's Child Register and found that Tang Qi was his sixty-sixth child and was supposed to be studying at Bard's Song Academy.
• Geya left expensive pens, ink, and paper as gifts before departing.
• Yenai decided to keep the gifts for herself and not tell her father they had arrived.

Geya waited in the Gray Stone Tavern while Su Wen sang a fabricated ballad about Weinberg's ancestors slaying a Black Dragon. Worried that the Stone of Oblivion had not received a new story, she decided to take the ten o’clock Arcane Train to the imperial capital.

• Su Wen performed a ballad about Weinberg's supposed history, while the villagers misheard its ornate Tyron Eloquence lyrics.
• Geya asked Su Wen whether he had seen Tang Qi Weinberg, and he said Tang Qi had not made it home.
• Geya privately worried that the Stone of Oblivion had not shown a new story for two days.
• Su Wen offered Geya a dark beer, but she refused and said she would leave for the imperial capital on the ten o’clock Arcane Train.

Su Wen followed Geya into the central garden with Bruto, who wanted to uncover her secret, while revealing his bizarre relationships with the dean’s pet snakes. Bruto crept toward Geya and saw a strange account appear in his eyes from the Stone Tablet.

• Bruto stopped Su Wen on his way to the dorm and persuaded him to follow Geya into the central garden.
• Bruto claimed he had shared passionate encounters with Judy, the dean’s toothless snake, and explained that Toothy Susie helped them slip past the Construct Guards.
• Su Wen and Bruto found Geya in the garden, where Bruto accused her of entering a forbidden area because she relied on the dean’s favor.
• As Bruto crept toward Geya and the Stone Tablet, a stream of starlight entered his eyes and displayed an account of someone leading three hundred commoners to capture a noble in Star Plum Town.

Bruto, Su Wen, and Geya read the Stone Tablet’s account of the poet’s escape from captivity and the beastfolk, revealing that he survived dangers they had never imagined. The account ended with the poet facing a Fear Spell, leaving Geya wondering whether he and Black Snake escaped their pursuers.

• Bruto and Su Wen confronted Geya in the restricted garden, and Bruto persuaded her to let them read the Stone Tablet in exchange for keeping their trespass secret.
• Geya resumed copying the tablet while Bruto and Su Wen read the poet’s account of his failed plan, his betrayal by Black Snake, and his capture by a noble.
• The poet described being taken toward Dragon Gold City and narrowly avoiding becoming a noble’s forced songwriter.
• Su Wen and Bruto were shocked to learn that beastfolk had reached the region and that the poet had survived their attacks and a Third Ring spellcaster.
• The poet recounted leading Black Snake through dangers, recovering Snake Kiss, and finding Kuru, before lamenting that the next danger was a Fear Spell.