Recaps

He Xi learned that Barton had received food from skeletons at Shadow Rift Manor and believed Tami’s spirit remained there, strengthening He Xi’s suspicion that a self-aware undead controlled the manor. He hurried there ahead of Loris, only to find the cleric battered and facing a horde led by a giant skeleton.

• Barton told He Xi that Jasmine had been kind to Tami but grew increasingly withdrawn and seemed afraid of Baron Godric.
• Barton confessed that skeletons had secretly left him food for years and said he feared Tami’s soul was trapped in the manor.
• He Xi agreed to investigate and headed for Shadow Rift Manor, suspecting a powerful undead was controlling the skeletons.
• He Xi found that someone had smashed open the manor entrance and realized Loris had forced his way inside.
• A giant skeleton and a horde of undead burst from the manor, while the battered Loris struggled up from the rubble.

Loris invited He Xi and his companions to fight the undead, then admitted he could not hold out when the giant skeleton attacked. He Xi and Zoya helped turn the battle, and He Xi noticed that the giant skeleton fought with skill unlike the other undead.

• Loris formally invited He Xi and his companions to join him in destroying the undead, but He Xi pointed out that Loris needed their help.
• The giant skeleton attacked Loris, and He Xi raised a stone pillar to block its axe long enough for Loris to evade.
• Zoya appeared behind several skeletons and destroyed them while Loris struck the giant skeleton with his holy War Hammer, weakening it.
• Loris charged the giant skeleton again as He Xi observed that its precise combat skills differed from the other skeletons' instinctive attacks.
• He Xi recognized his missing skeleton in the horde and halted it with a command, while he and Zoya helped eliminate the remaining minions.

He Xi and his companions discovered Jasmine’s hidden basement and found a strange hand mirror that seemed tied to her diary. When Jasmine’s resentful ghost appeared, Solace of Home helped He Xi resist her attack, and he reached for his Personal Monster Quick Reference Manual.

• He Xi sent his skeleton deeper into the manor and persuaded Loris to let the group investigate while he fought the giant skeleton.
• He Xi, Zoya, and Bruce followed the skeleton into a hidden basement filled with Jasmine’s belongings.
• He Xi found his missing Goblin skeleton chained and tortured, and realized he could no longer command it.
• Bruce reacted to a black-mist hand mirror, which He Xi recognized as the mirror Jasmine had received from her teacher.
• Bruce’s fireball vanished into the mirror, and Jasmine’s ghost appeared and struck the group with a wave of negative energy.
• Solace of Home helped He Xi resist the fear, and he reached for his Personal Monster Quick Reference Manual.

He Xi identified Jasmine as a ghost and tried to earn her trust so he could resolve her obsession before Loris arrived. After Jasmine warned him to protect a strange mirror, a second spirit resembling Jonathan appeared at the basement stairs.

• He Xi prepared Mage Armor and Magic Missile after recognizing Jasmine as a ghost, but chose to speak with her rather than attack.
• He Xi showed Jasmine her diary and explained that Tami had found peace, easing some of Jasmine’s suspicion.
• Jasmine began to explain what had happened, but Loris shouted from the stairwell as he approached.
• He Xi urged Jasmine to retreat and went to block the entrance; Jasmine warned him that the mirror must not fall into anyone else’s hands.
• Zoya moved toward the mirror, but Jasmine told her not to touch it and asked for the dog to retrieve it.
• A greedy, savage spirit resembling Jonathan appeared at the top of the basement stairs.

He Xi stopped Loris from attacking Jasmine and showed him evidence that Vio Bell, not Jasmine’s father, had assaulted her. Jasmine revealed that the hand mirror controlled her, Vio Bell, Tami, and the skeletons, and Loris recognized it as Elysium’s Mirror of Whispers.

• Bruce snatched the hand mirror as a phantom rushed toward it, and Loris arrived, mistaking He Xi and the others for allies controlled by Jasmine.
• Loris charged at Jasmine, but He Xi used a Grease Spell and Earth Spike Technique to stop him.
• He Xi showed Loris Barton’s diary and explained that he had found the person who commissioned the investigation into Tami’s death.
• Jasmine said Vio Bell had used the mirror to hypnotize her into believing her father had assaulted her, and Loris reacted with shock and outrage.
• Jasmine confirmed that the mirror controlled Vio Bell, Tami, and the skeletons, prompting Loris to identify it as Elysium’s Mirror of Whispers.

He Xi and the others learned that the Mirror of Whispers of Elysium could control its owner and preserve hollowed-out souls, including four souls currently inside it. Bruce revealed that the mirror had tried to tempt him into attacking He Xi, but he had resisted after imagining the food inside it chasing him.

• Loris identified the mirror as a magical item once used by the legendary necromancer Bedaline Quake.
• He Xi's appraisal revealed the fragmentary label [Mirror of Whispers of Elysium (4/7)], and Jasmine warned that the mirror bewitched anyone who tried to understand it.
• Jasmine explained that Vio Bell had been controlled by the mirror and that its imprisoned souls gradually lost their thoughts, becoming puppets that only retained memories.
• He Xi guessed that the mirror could store and deploy souls, and Jasmine confirmed that four souls were inside it.
• Bruce said the mirror had urged him to breathe fire at He Xi in exchange for food, but visions of giant meat pies frightened him into resisting.

Jasmine explained how Vio Bell and Blood Axe Slag died, then revealed that someone had warned her about the attack on the estate. He Xi used Bruce to question Slag’s spirit, who confirmed that Helena had contacted him.

• Jasmine told He Xi that Vio Bell had killed Tami, and that she had used the mirror to kill Slag and bind both spirits to skeletons.
• Loris realized that he had fought Slag’s animated skeleton and boasted that he had defeated the infamous mercenary.
• Jasmine said she wanted revenge for her father and revealed that someone had left a note warning her of the Blood Axe Gang’s attack.
• He Xi suspected Baroness Helena, and Bruce agreed to summon Slag after He Xi promised him meat pies.
• Loris and He Xi failed to get Slag’s spirit to answer until Bruce ordered him to respond to He Xi, whom he called his master’s master.
• Slag told He Xi that Helena had contacted him.

He Xi learned that Helena had hired Slag to kill Vio Bell and Jasmine, but the baron died protecting Jasmine. After Jasmine agreed to question Vio Bell, his spirit revealed his past with Helena and provoked Jasmine's fury.

• Slag said Helena paid him to kill Vio Bell and Jasmine and promised to draw the manor guards away.
• Slag revealed that the baron stopped the attackers and died, allowing Jasmine to disappear; Jasmine learned her father had died protecting her.
• He Xi persuaded Jasmine to let Vio Bell's spirit out so they could learn about Helena and her motives.
• Bruce summoned Vio Bell, who said Helena had been one of his former partners and had later invited him to Shadow Split Town.
• Vio Bell claimed Helena wanted him dead because he had been friendly with Jasmine, and Jasmine's grief and fury erupted.

He Xi stopped Jasmine from becoming consumed by revenge and received the blackwood hand mirror, while Jasmine chose to remain at Shadow Manor. Loris gave He Xi the commission parchment, and He Xi left under the name Galen.

• Jasmine's grief and resentment over her father's death and Helena's betrayal threatened to transform her into an evil spirit.
• He Xi helped Jasmine understand that Helena's betrayal was not her fault, and her hatred began to fade.
• Jasmine gave He Xi the mirror, asked him to punish Helena if he encountered her, and chose to stay at the manor near her father's presence.
• Loris handed He Xi the commission parchment and agreed to explain the case to the Adventurer Guild.
• He Xi left with Zoya and Bruce, telling Loris his name was Galen, while Loris decided he would be the Second Partner of Justice.

He Xi freed Tami and another murdered child, learned more about the soul-stealing mirror, and advanced to Bronze IV after turning in the Shadow Manor commission. He then searched the guild board for a Goblin-related job and found several Bronze-level commissions.

• He Xi extracted the Fear Aura trait from a ghost, learned he could now extract unique skills or knowledge, and left copper nails for Barton after Tami said goodbye to her father.
• He Xi questioned Vio Bell about the mirror, learned Vio Bell had acquired it at an auction and used it to steal souls, then had Bruce return a murdered boy's spirit to freedom.
• He Xi went to the Adventurer Guild, turned in the Shadow Manor commission, and received a Bronze IV badge and his reward.
• He Xi looked for commissions involving Goblins and found postings to drive arrow-spined hedgehogs from an orchard, investigate singing at an old mine, and retrieve a missing millstone.

He Xi joined Healy Mero’s party to clear the aggressive frogman tribe in Blackwater Swamp, attracted by the chance to earn a share of the reward and fight many monsters. He prepared for the journey and planned to leave with the party the day after tomorrow.

• He Xi met Healy Mero, who invited him to join a team commission against the frogman tribe in Blackwater Swamp.
• He Xi agreed to join Healy’s temporary party, which included two priests, a warrior, and a rogue, and arranged to meet at the east gate the day after tomorrow.
• He Xi planned to leave food for Trist before departing and bought waterproof boots, a backpack, insect repellent, and antidotes for the swamp trip.
• He Xi kept his last two Silver Scales to buy fresh meat for Trist, intending to purchase his own travel rations after collecting payment.

He Xi and Bruce captured eight goblins using Bruce as bait and brought them to Trist, along with meat, vegetables, special sauce, and a book of cooking methods. Trist was stunned by the goblins’ arrival, and He Xi left him with supplies and a cookbook to help him prepare a meal.

• Gula and Glick tried to ambush Bruce, but He Xi knocked them out and added them to his goblin haul.
• He Xi and Bruce headed to Rose Town with eight goblins, discussing their payment and Bruce’s practice at insulting opponents.
• Trist waited in the basement, hungry and expecting He Xi to bring goblins for his meal.
• He Xi delivered the goblins to Trist, then supplied Cracked Hoof Bull meat, chickens, vegetables, Special Sauce, and a cookbook.

He Xi left Trist after warning him about his goblin offerings, and Trist performed a ritual to feed a goblin’s soul to his Sect Master. Later, as He Xi traveled with a caravan toward Rose Town, Greck and Logan disparaged him, unaware that he was secretly training Mage Hand.

• He Xi warned Trist to seek better food and received a Gold Shield from him.
• Trist sacrificed a bound goblin’s soul to the Lord of Rifts and Dimensions, briefly easing his hunger before his Sect Master complained about the offering.
• He Xi rode in a caravan with Healy, Hughes, Bruce, Greck, and Logan while traveling toward Rose Town.
• Greck repeatedly tried to speak with Healy, then resented her attention to He Xi and criticized him for staying inside the wagon.
• Logan joined Greck in mocking He Xi, while He Xi silently practiced controlling a floating cargo crate and advanced Mage Hand to Lv.3.

At the Gilded Horseshoe Inn, Logan encouraged Greck to distrust Galen and focus on Healy, while Healy prayed beside Hughes in the next room. He Xi spent the night alone in a secluded corner of the inn’s backyard.

• Greck asked Logan where he had found their party, and Logan said he had recruited them from the Oak Tavern notice board.
• Greck admitted he had taken the job after losing thirty Silver Scales and praised Healy’s appearance.
• Logan stoked Greck’s suspicions of Galen by comparing him to Hai En and mocking his dog.
• Healy prayed with an unfamiliar holy symbol while Hughes watched her with concern.
• He Xi paid to use a secluded corner of the inn’s backyard and sat alone under the moonlight.

He Xi practiced Magic Missile while a caravan traveling through the Gray Mist Forest was ambushed by six Gnolls. Greck and Healy fought to defend the caravan, but a Gnoll’s spear pierced Healy beneath her arm guard.

• He Xi practiced Magic Missile on falling firewood and continued focusing on improving his strength.
• Six Gnolls surrounded the caravan, terrifying its boss and guards.
• Greck charged a Gnoll while Healy ordered the caravan guards to hold formation and followed him into battle.
• A second Gnoll attacked Greck, but Healy broke its spear with her enchanted war hammer.
• The first Gnoll thrust at Healy while she was unable to defend herself, and its spear pierced her beneath her arm guard.

He Xi and the others joined the caravan’s defense as Healy proved herself a formidable fighter. The gnoll chieftain launched a sudden attack that nearly killed Greck, but Healy knocked its blade aside, and the gnolls surged forward, shouting for blood.

• Greck was wounded by a gnoll, while Healy broke another gnoll’s forearm with her glowing War Hammer.
• He Xi, Hughes, and Logan reached the front; Logan noticed He Xi’s wand topped with a shriveled hag’s head.
• The Level 22 gnoll chieftain charged and used an Earth Spike as a pivot to accelerate toward Greck.
• The chieftain knocked Greck’s greatsword away and slashed through his armor, but Healy struck its blade aside before it could kill him.
• The chieftain laughed as the gnolls shouted about eating fresh blood and invoked Yeenoghu.

He Xi and the others turned the fight against the gnolls, using magic, healing, and ambushes to protect the wounded Greck. Bruce joined the assault, while Greck reached Hughes for treatment as the battle continued.

• He Xi's precise Magic Missiles struck down a gnoll and gave Greck an opening to ask Healy for healing, but she said she had not learned the prayer.
• Hughes stabilized Greck's wound, then blessed Healy as she faced the gnoll leader and its surrounding fighters.
• The gnoll leader cut Healy's arm, but the wound quickly healed, while Logan ambushed and killed another gnoll.
• He Xi asked Hughes to bless Bruce, transferred Shadow Dodge to him, and sent him to attack the ordinary gnolls from the flanks.
• Bruce crippled a gnoll with a flaming paw strike and vanished into the shadows, while Greck hobbled over to Hughes for further treatment.

The Gnoll leader targeted Hughes, but He Xi struck it with an Earth Spike and forced it to alter its leap. The leader still killed a caravan guard with a brutal aerial slash, leaving the battle in progress.

• Hughes healed Greck while the fighters faced the Gnoll leader and the surviving Gnolls.
• The Gnoll leader cut Healy’s neck, but her wound quickly healed, and it ordered the other Gnolls to pin her down.
• The Gnoll leader leapt over the fighters toward Hughes, and He Xi warned him and cast an Earth Spike.
• The Gnoll leader twisted past the spike but took a gash across its back, then redirected its fall toward a caravan guard.
• The Gnoll leader split the guard’s shield and body with a sweeping strike, killing him.

He Xi and Greck worked together to keep the berserk gnoll chieftain away from the spellcasters while Logan hid in the mist. When Greck prepared to block its apparent finishing blow, the gnoll chieftain feinted and decapitated Logan as he attacked from behind.

• He Xi raised earth spikes to hinder the gnoll chieftain, while Greck charged in to draw its attacks away from Mr. Hughes.
• Mr. Hughes healed and strengthened Greck as He Xi's spikes slowed the chieftain, and Greck taunted it into pursuing him.
• He Xi impaled the chieftain's right hind leg when it leapt toward Greck, and Greck led it away while the others killed the remaining gnolls.
• Greck spotted Logan hiding in the mist and stopped to draw the chieftain's attention, giving Logan a chance to strike.
• The gnoll chieftain feinted past Greck's guard, spun around, and decapitated Logan with its polearm.

After Gork killed Logan and nearly defeated Greck, Healy, He Xi, Bruce, and a flaming creature drove the wounded gnoll chieftain into the forest. He Xi chased Gork, hoping to capture it as a controlled undead, while Greck was left stunned by his party’s strange abilities.

• Gork revealed that it had killed Logan, then overwhelmed Greck and knocked his greatsword away.
• Healy blocked Gork’s attack and coordinated with He Xi, whose Magic Missiles helped her strike the chieftain.
• Bruce and the flaming creature attacked Gork, forcing it to flee toward the forest as Greck tried to stop it.
• Gork disarmed Greck again and threw his greatsword aside before running deeper into the woods.
• He Xi charged after Gork with Bruce following, intending to capture the wounded chieftain as a controlled undead.

He Xi defeated the gnoll chieftain Gork and used necromancy to raise him as a level 25 skeleton. He Xi then told Bruce to have Slag possess the skeleton so Bruce could command it.

• He Xi struck Gork with his staff, then impaled him with Earth Spikes and finished him with a Magic Missile.
• He Xi chose to turn Gork into a skeleton, despite the risk of attempting the transformation on a level 22 target.
• He Xi used his mana potion to complete the transformation, raising Gork as a level 25 gnoll skeleton.
• He Xi tested the skeleton’s polearm skill by ordering it to pick up its weapon.
• Bruce asked for a turn controlling the skeleton, and He Xi set down a hand mirror so Slag could possess it.

He Xi returned to the caravan after defeating the monster, with Slag secretly following in the gnoll skeleton’s body. The survivors prepared to continue toward Trout Town, mourning their dead while acknowledging He Xi’s help.

• Slag’s soul entered the gnoll skeleton, and He Xi let Bruce help it adjust to its new body.
• He Xi used Shadow Dodge to hide Slag and instructed it to follow the group unseen.
• The surviving guards buried the dead while Priest Hughes finished healing Healy and Greck brooded over his earlier failure.
• He Xi returned and told the group the monster was dead, earning their relief and gratitude.
• The merchant promised the full contract payment, and Healy accepted while planning to pass Logan’s share to his family.

Trout Town struggled with the frogmen disrupting its busy fishing season, while local guide Hom and his companions discussed the dangerous bounty and rumors of a powerful swamp tribe. Old Nick stopped their conversation and warned that the trouble could drive away traders and adventurers, leaving the town’s future uncertain.

• Trout Town’s fishermen and merchants prepared for the seasonal redfish migration while frogmen trouble disrupted the harvest.
• Hom lost a card game and complained that the merchants’ guild had offered one hundred and fifty Gold Shields to deal with the frogmen.
• Hack described how the Giant Lizard Squad had lost three members after being ambushed in the swamp.
• Hom suspected the disturbance was connected to a large tribe at the swamp’s center, but Hack dismissed the idea and mentioned other adventurers’ failures.
• Old Nick cut off their discussion and warned that falling drink sales could drive away the caravans and adventurers the town depended on.

Healy and her adventuring party arrived in town to investigate the frogmen’s rampage and learned the commission had grown more dangerous. They decided to continue into the swamp and went to question an injured party about what lay deeper inside.

• Hom and Hack mocked the arriving adventurers, but the party’s dog set their hair on fire with two sparks.
• Healy presented the Rose Town commission to Old Nick and asked about the frogmen’s movements.
• Old Nick explained that the frogmen were more numerous than expected, raised the reward to 150 Gold Shields, and offered a bounty for their webbed feet.
• He Xi, Greck, and Hughes agreed with Healy to continue the commission despite Logan’s death and the increased danger.
• Old Nick warned the party about the swamp and told them that an adventurer from Stone Raven Town had returned seriously injured after investigating its depths.
• Healy and her companions decided to question the Stone Raven Town party, and Hom hurried after them.

Healy’s group met Hom Mudfoot, a local guide who offered to lead them through the dangerous eastern swamp. They hired him on a temporary basis, leaving their expedition’s departure undecided and with Hom warning them about the adventurers from Stone Raven Town.

• Hom caught up with Healy’s group and offered to guide them through the swamp in exchange for enough money to pay his debt.
• He Xi assessed Hom as level 10 and noted his apparent experience with boats and the swamp.
• Hom explained that he needed the money to save his boat from River Claw Loans and promised to help them find frogfolk activity.
• Healy consulted the group, then hired Hom as a temporary guide, with payment contingent on their safe return and Hom required to follow their instructions.
• Hom warned Healy’s group to avoid conflict with the adventurers from Stone Raven Town, and they headed to the Flipping Trout Inn.