Recaps

He Xi’s adventuring party fought goblins and kobolds in the Gray Mist Forest, rescued Zander, and returned to Rose Town. As the squad’s members prepared to leave, He Xi sought a mage teacher and asked Fivik to take him as her student.

• Fivik taught He Xi Mage Hand, which he mastered before an overpowered practice sent the Ebony Staff Material crashing into her door and knocked him unconscious.
• He Xi joined Hulk, Zoya, Belt, and Laila in the Gray Mist Forest, where they defeated a goblin horde and found Silver Scales, copper nails, and a Gold Shield.
• The party helped Novell and Gold Beard defeat a Scotus Hunter, and He Xi chose Shadow Dodge for Bruce.
• Trist hired the party to hunt a kobold shaman, and He Xi’s group smoked the kobolds out, killed the shaman, and found Zander wounded among the dead inside the cave.
• Hulk and He Xi took Zander to the Church of Nephthidia, where Ms. Castien purified his wound and explained that his loss of memory sheltered him from painful memories.
• Fivik identified Trist’s parchment as Drow script, translated its title as “The Skin Peeler in the Woods—The End,” and went to find Trist and inspect the cave.
• Laila revealed that she was pregnant, and Belt apologized for her setting out without telling him, and Hulk then announced that he planned to leave Rose Town and travel south with Karin.
• After Belt and Laila departed for Woterdan, He Xi asked Fivik to become his teacher, and she examined his notebook before returning with a gigantic black head for his staff.

He Xi became Fivik’s apprentice, tested his new staff, and fought off Wilson’s squad while his animated skeleton showed strange behavior. After investigating the abandoned Shadow Split Manor, he found Jasmine’s diary and began probing the deaths and disappearances tied to the Shadow Split family.

• Fivik accepted He Xi as her student, made him the staff Pig Knuckle Peggy's Finale, and taught him about disguising equipment information and the path to becoming a mage.
• He Xi brought Bruce to Jonathan’s training ground, where Bruce discovered his fire-breathing powers and He Xi tested the staff’s amplified spells and biting attack.
• Wilson led the Shadowless Squad in an ambush, but Bruce and He Xi defeated the attackers, and He Xi forced Wilson to gather information about Lady Rose and Annis.
• He Xi’s animated skeleton escaped into Rose Town, where Loris declared it unlike a necromantic creation, leaving He Xi puzzled about its unusual behavior.
• Fivik taught He Xi Mage Armor and Magic Missile before leaving for Fernandez, and He Xi met Trist, a Drow Elf who had fled his homeland’s oppressive society.
• He Xi animated a Goblin whose skeleton gained levels and ran to an abandoned manor, where he and Zoya found a frightened vagrant who told them the Blood Axe Gang had destroyed Shadow Split Town.
• He Xi got a copy of the commission to investigate Tami’s death and learned from Clara and Fei Yangyang that the Black Stone Squad had encountered a suspected curse at Shadow Split Manor.
• Barton gave He Xi Jasmine’s diary, which described Baron Godric’s harassment and attack, and He Xi questioned Barton about Tami’s death, Helena, and Jasmine’s relationship with Tami.

He Xi uncovered how the Mirror of Whispers had driven Jasmine’s tragedy and learned that Baroness Helena had arranged the attack on Shadow Rift Manor. After surviving a gnoll ambush and raising its chieftain as a skeleton, He Xi joined Healy’s party as they prepared to investigate the frogmen in Blackwater Swamp.

• He Xi investigated Shadow Rift Manor, found Jasmine’s ghost and the Mirror of Whispers, and learned that Vio Bell had used it to control souls and kill Tami.
• Jasmine learned that Helena had hired Slag to attack the manor and that her father had died protecting her, then gave He Xi the mirror and chose to remain at the manor.
• He Xi returned to the Adventurer Guild, arranged food for Trist, and joined Healy’s party for a commission against the frogman tribe in Blackwater Swamp.
• Gnolls ambushed Healy’s caravan, and the gnoll chieftain killed Logan before He Xi and the others drove it into the woods.
• He Xi killed the wounded chieftain and raised it as a level 25 gnoll skeleton, then let Slag possess its body and follow the party unseen.
• Healy’s group reached Trout Town, learned the frogmen threat had worsened, and agreed to continue the commission despite Logan’s death.
• Hom offered to guide Healy’s group through the swamp in exchange for money to save his boat, and Healy hired him as a temporary guide.

He Xi explored Blackwater Swamp, fought frogmen, and uncovered a plot involving the town’s leaders and the Hag. After Elton’s scheme came to light, He Xi broke into Aunt Jing Shui’s cottage and escaped with the Blue Stone and a decayed book.

• He Xi identified Fletcher as a pixie whose emotional Wild Surges had injured his teammates, then advised him to seek guidance in Rose Town.
• He Xi and Healy gathered Drowning Light Water Moss and led their companions into Blackwater Swamp, where they killed frogmen and searched their caves.
• He Xi rescued Theo’s team from a frogman attack, while Rotmouth’s gang later tried to rob Slag and died in the cave.
• He Xi found Slag had captured more than a hundred Swamp Frogmen, learned from Jin Bi that their king sought a lost item, and ordered Slag to keep questioning them.
• He Xi combined forces with Healy and Kane to explore deeper into the swamp, while Elton arranged for Jeff and the River Claw gang to steer them toward Still Water Lake.
• After Jeff confessed Elton had sent him, He Xi learned Elton had exploited the frogman threat to gain political power and sent Slag to draw Aunt Jing Shui away from her cottage.
• He Xi and Bruce searched Aunt Jing Shui’s cottage, found a hidden chest, and took the Blue Stone and a decayed book before escaping through the steam-filled house.