Chapter Summaries

Hall encountered a powerful owlbear and a two-meter-tall skeleton on Sea Breeze Street, where the skeleton seized him and fled before Griffin riders arrived. Harvey stayed behind to guard He Xi’s house from a suspected lurking threat, while Trist watched the street from a tavern and waited for He Xi’s return.

• Hall recognized the owlbear as a level-30-or-higher threat and raised his hands in surrender as the skeleton approached.
• The skeleton grabbed Hall and sprinted away, and the owlbear vanished before Alvin could explain the scene to Ulysses and the Griffin riders.
• Ulysses examined the impact marks, called for help intercepting the skeleton, and led the Griffin riders after Hall.
• Harvey, disguised as an owl, stayed near house number 46, believing the incident was meant to draw guards away while an enemy targeted the house.
• Trist ate crab at the Drunken Sailor Tavern, recalled his surveillance of He Xi’s house, and trusted the Gnoll skeleton he had assigned to watch it.

Huo'er was thrown onto Dragon Throat Avenue by Trist’s skeleton and was ordered to serve as bait when the Griffin riders went after it. Trist rushed toward He Xi’s residence, where a sudden flash and two Dire Wolves confronted him, and he vanished into silver mist as they attacked.

• Trist’s skeleton carried Huo’er down Sea Breeze Street and threw him onto the road, where Huo’er identified himself as a Watcher and alerted the passing crowd.
• A Griffin rider arrived, declared the street hazardous, and learned that a skeleton had abducted and then discarded Huo’er.
• After hearing that the skeleton had fled into an alley, the rider forced Huo’er onto the Griffin to act as bait for the pursuit.
• Trist noticed Griffin riders near He Xi’s residence, found no response from his Gnoll skeleton, and feared someone had tried to break into the house.
• A sudden burst of brilliant light blinded Trist and the riders as two Dire Wolves appeared in the street.
• The Dire Wolves lunged at the hooded Trist, who was swallowed by silver mist; Captain Ulysses saw the mist scatter but could not find him.

Harvey’s fight with Trist ended when Harvey fled, but Trist’s undead ally captured Huo'er and escaped with him. Later, He Xi returned to Sea Breeze Street and found the road home sealed off by guards amid extensive damage.

• Harvey attacked Trist in owlbear form, but Trist evaded his blows and cut him with twin blades.
• Huo'er identified Harvey as a suspected thief allied with the undead, and the mounted guards prepared to help Trist.
• Harvey fled rather than continue fighting, while Trist remained behind with the guards.
• A Gnoll skeleton seized Huo'er, and Trist teleported to it before taking Huo'er away; Ulysses ordered his guards not to pursue and contacted the commander.
• He Xi traveled with Grot, Kazmir, Ulag, Zoya, and Bruce toward Sea Breeze Street after seeing the ruined clock tower near Kazmir’s residence.
• He Xi reached the street corner and found guards blocking the road, where deep pits and cracks had damaged the way home.

Ulysses investigated the destruction and kept Huo'er as bait while He Xi, Zoya, and Bruce returned to their home and learned that an owl-like bear and a strange skeleton had attacked. When a dread wolf drew the guards away, Huo'er begged to shelter with them, and He Xi questioned Tata about whether a dark-skinned elf had visited.

• Ulysses ordered Huo'er to remain outside Number 46 as bait and promised him rewards for helping lure out the undead.
• Ulysses learned that He Xi and Zoya had returned to Number 46 and ordered the Adventurer Guild's records checked.
• He Xi and Zoya reached their home, where Tata described an owl-like bear appearing alongside a skeleton with black bones and a large head.
• A dread wolf appeared, drawing the patrol guards away, and Huo'er asked He Xi to let him shelter inside.
• He Xi shut the door on Huo'er and asked Tata whether a tall, thin, dark-skinned elf had visited; a small creature squeaked from the corner.

Tata tried to capture a rat that transformed into the druid Harvey Gilbert, who came seeking the dragon egg He Xi had taken from Velsadorn’s lair. The egg reacted fiercely to Harvey but treated He Xi gently, and Harvey began explaining its fate before a knock interrupted them.

• Tata pounced on a small rat, which suddenly grew enormous and knocked her unconscious; Harvey Gilbert revealed himself and revived her with natural magic.
• He Xi introduced himself and learned that Harvey had infiltrated the house to find the dragon egg from Velsadorn’s lair.
• He Xi recalled finding the egg beside an ogre and picking it up after killing the ogre with [Lightning Bolt], then showed it to Harvey.
• The dragon egg recoiled from Harvey’s touch and burned his palms, but it remained cool and calm in He Xi’s hands.
• Harvey concluded that Kozmioko had chosen He Xi and began explaining the dragon egg’s fate, but someone knocked hurriedly at the front door.

He Xi tried to conceal Harvey and Trist from the guards investigating the disturbances on Sea Breeze Street, but a sudden show of overwhelming magic interrupted the standoff. A figure revealed herself as the academy teacher accused of being a third-rate Undead Mage, leaving He Xi stunned.

• Harvey hid with the dragon egg after He Xi calmed it and opened the door to the guards, while Bruce's fire breath distracted them from searching the house.
• He Xi refused entry, but a noise from the stairs and residual natural magic outside led the guards to summon Captain Ulysses.
• Harvey and Trist met on the second floor, and He Xi urged them to escape as guards surrounded the house.
• Trist offered to take the blame and said his Drow skin was explanation enough, while Harvey questioned how that would protect He Xi.
• A huge magical blast knocked down the guards and Griffins outside, and a woman hovered before a blazing fireball, challenging them to prove she was a third-rate Undead Mage.
• He Xi recognized the woman as his teacher.

Ulysses ended the lockdown after He Xi and Fivik persuaded him they were harmless, and Fivik reunited with He Xi, Zoya, Harvey, and a drow at the house. Harvey explained that the ancient dragon Kozmioko’s egg needed the power of different dragon nests to awaken, leaving Fivik skeptical of the dangerous plan.

• Fivik appeared above Sea Breeze Street and used a powerful fire spell to bring down the Griffins, convincing Ulysses to hear her out.
• He Xi explained that he had registered with the Adventurer Guild as Galen, and Fivik introduced herself as Lux, his adventuring friend.
• Ulysses lifted the lockdown, ordered his guards back to normal patrols, and left Huo'er behind as bait.
• Fivik entered the house and learned that the druid Harvey, the drow, and the dragon egg were not the threats the guards had been searching for.
• Harvey explained that Kozmioko, an ancient brass dragon and guardian of Emerald Grove, had entrusted her egg to his teacher and said fate would lead it to the right person.
• Harvey said his teacher had learned that the egg needed to absorb power from different dragon nests to awaken, and Fivik challenged the idea.

Fivik explained the dangers of dragon lairs as Harvey revealed that awakening the ancient dragon egg required power from nine different dragon lairs, including chromatic dragons. He Xi considered helping, tempted by the chance to extract a valuable entry, while Harvey planned to search for a gold dragon’s lair and await his answer.

• Fivik described dragon lairs as magical domains filled with altered terrain, dangerous creatures, and the dragon’s followers, while Bruce joked about wanting a lair of his own.
• Harvey explained that Velsadorn’s valley was only a temporary refuge and that his teacher had tested the egg at a bronze dragon’s lair, where it absorbed only one-tenth of the power needed to hatch.
• Fivik realized the egg needed power from different dragon species, meaning the group would have to risk entering chromatic dragons’ lairs, and challenged Harvey over why He Xi should take that danger on.
• Harvey revealed that the egg was a rebirth cocoon containing Lord Kozmioko, and Fivik left the decision to He Xi after warning him of the risks.
• He Xi considered joining because the egg’s growth might let him extract a valuable entry, while Harvey said he would search for a suspected gold dragon’s lair and return for He Xi’s answer within two weeks.
• Harvey asked about other spellcasters in the ogre valley, then pulled out a shriveled head that He Xi recognized as Pig Knuckle Peggy.

He Xi received the damaged Hag-head staff back, while Harvey grew suspicious of Trist and secretly followed him. Harvey discovered Trist and his undead companion repairing a chimney, then joined in using magic to fix the street, leaving Huo'er stunned by the strange nighttime work.

• Fivik examined He Xi's Hag-head staff and found its core circuitry too badly damaged to repair.
• Harvey questioned Trist about his Sect Master and his reasons for befriending He Xi, but Trist refused to answer.
• Harvey followed Trist and saw him use magic to lift a sack onto a roof while an undead skeleton mixed mortar below.
• Harvey realized Trist and the skeleton were rebuilding a broken chimney, then secretly took mortar to cast [Stone Shape Spell] and repair the damaged street.
• Huo'er woke and stared in disbelief at the undead skeleton working as a mason before he hurried away.

He Xi discussed the damaged [Leomund's Tiny Hut] spell with Fivik, who planned to seek help from Flora at the Observer's Tower. After delivering Pooji to Mirabelle, He Xi learned about the upcoming Alser's Steps trial and left to investigate its rules and find a team.

• Fivik examined Weijia's notes and said the spell could only be reconstructed with other magical models by Leomund, so she arranged for He Xi to visit Flora at the Observer's Tower.
• Fivik noticed Zoya's interest in He Xi's interactions with other women and decided Flora should talk some sense into him.
• He Xi visited Mirabelle at the Tower of Strength and gave her two Pooji, asking her to pass one on to Lidona.
• Mirabelle told He Xi that Alser's Steps would open in two days and explained its credit costs, monthly rankings, and scoring factors.
• Mirabelle explained that she had hoped Lidona would team up with He Xi, but Lidona had already joined another team, and advised him to look for recruits at the Tower of Illusions.
• He Xi recognized Cyril as the unusually successful apprentice Mirabelle mentioned and left to learn more about Alser's Steps.

He Xi visited the Tower of Illusions to learn about Alser’s Steps, but found he could not afford to register for a solo trial. As he left, he ran into Ferdinand and Otto, who were negotiating with Reese to help him improve his ranking.

• He Xi learned that solo registration cost as much as a three-person trial and took a rulebook to study later.
• Reese argued with Ferdinand and Otto over their increased fee for helping him earn enough points to reach the top fifty.
• Reese snapped at He Xi for listening in, but Ferdinand and Otto recognized him and greeted him excitedly.
• He Xi greeted Ferdinand and Otto by name.

He Xi reunited with Ferdinand and Otto, agreed to join Cyril for Alser’s Steps, and learned how the two had been raising money. At the Observer’s Tower, Fivik and Flora made a bet to test He Xi in a dream, leaving Fivik wary of Flora’s plan.

• He Xi met Ferdinand and Otto at the Tower of Illusions, and they explained Cyril’s insect obsession and their plan to charge students for his help with Alser’s Steps.
• Ferdinand and Otto raised their price for Reese from fifty to eighty Gold Shields, and Reese reluctantly agreed to pay.
• He Xi agreed to join Cyril’s Alser’s Steps challenge and promised to treat Cyril, Ferdinand, and Otto to a meal afterward.
• At the Observer’s Tower, Fivik reconstructed a spell model while discussing He Xi’s relationships with Flora.
• Flora proposed a dream-based bet with Fivik over how He Xi would respond, with the Frost Lizard Cooling Mat and another item as stakes.
• Fivik accepted the bet, and Flora whispered her plan to her, leaving Fivik visibly uneasy.

He Xi examined forbidden records in the Observer's Tower and was drawn into a dream that tested his desires and romantic choices. He resisted giving Flora a direct answer, but she teased one out of him before knocking him unconscious.

• He Xi arrived late and joined Fivik and Flora in examining books about Leomund and Eight Leaves on the sixth floor.
• He Xi read Leomund's travel notes before discovering a strange book titled "Door of the Unawakened" that pulled him into a dream.
• In the dream, He Xi imagined returning to the Blue Planet and taking either Isla or Zoya with him, but he realized Fivik and Flora were testing him and refused to choose.
• Flora questioned He Xi in a second dream, and He Xi kissed and touched her before she knocked him unconscious.
• After sending He Xi away, Flora laughed as she realized she had gotten her answer without him saying it aloud.

He Xi returned from Flora’s dream test with his memories supposedly blurred, while Flora concealed what had happened from Fivik. Outside 46 Sea Breeze Street, Trist resisted a voice urging him to sacrifice the dragon egg, just as Ulysses arrived to investigate the mysteriously repaired streets.

• He Xi woke in the Observer's Tower corridor, remembered his dream with Flora, and suspected she had intervened before telling Fivik that he could not remember it.
• Flora told Fivik that He Xi would keep stirring up trouble, won their bet, and concealed the intimate details of the dream by describing its subject as a Moon Pupil Elf knight.
• Trist waited outside 46 Sea Breeze Street and resisted a voice that urged him to sacrifice the ancient dragon egg and frame others for its loss.
• Ulysses arrived on a Griffin and learned that the night guard Huo'er claimed a skeleton had repaired the ruined streets.

He Xi and Bruce discovered that Trist’s alarming scorpion-and-mushroom soup was delicious, while Trist’s hidden inner voice revealed that a contract gave him only two days before it could claim his soul. Trist asked He Xi for help, leaving the danger to their friendship unresolved.

• He Xi learned that the druid had repaired the clock tower, while Trist kept quiet about the owl’s hostile challenge.
• Trist prepared scorpion, slime, and Walking Mushroom soup, and Tata panicked when she saw the scorpion.
• He Xi tasted the soup, praised it, and refused to share it with Bruce, while Trist’s favorability toward him increased.
• A voice inside Trist demanded a better sacrifice and threatened to devour He Xi and take his dragon egg.
• The voice revealed Trist’s contract would expire in two days, and Trist asked He Xi for help.

Trist failed to offer Duga to the Lord of Rifts and Dimensions, who demanded that he kill Sahuagin instead, while He Xi sought a way to find fishmen. He Xi and Trist joined the Blood Sea Wolf to pursue Sahuagin commissions and learned the gang kept the fishmen around to preserve its lucrative work, ending with Trist silently reacting to the squad leader’s claim that Drow Elves were fishmen who had fled underground.

• Trist attempted to sacrifice Duga, but the Lord of Rifts and Dimensions rejected the Goblin and demanded Sahuagin souls; Trist let Duga live and left it gagged in the room.
• He Xi asked Kazmir about commissions involving Mermen and learned the Blood Sea Wolf intercepted them to control cargo-ship work at Dragon Roar Dock.
• Trist joined the Blood Sea Wolf as an apprentice ranger, with He Xi posing as his servant, and the squad leader assigned them to work against Sahuagin that night.
• He Xi questioned why the gang only drove Sahuagin away, and the squad leader admitted he preserved them because their attacks brought the gang a steady stream of commissions.
• The squad leader claimed Drow Elves were fishmen who had fled underground, and Trist’s face darkened as He Xi looked at him.

He Xi and Trist encountered blood-maddened Sahuagin at the docks, where Trist killed several and captured one for a sacrifice. Trist revealed the dangerous contract sustaining her, and after He Xi helped her feed the Sect Master a mushroom-covered Sahuagin, the entity granted her more power and fell asleep again.

• Slark and another Sahuagin prepared to defend their cargo from the Sea Wolf Gang, but Trist swiftly killed one and seized another.
• The blood from the corpse drove nearby Sahuagin into a frenzy, and the Sea Wolf Gang captain was nearly killed before Trist used beams of light to defeat the attackers.
• He Xi extracted the Sahuagin Language trait and learned that Trist’s Sect Master demanded intelligent souls; he agreed to help her sacrifice a Sahuagin and invited her to stay on Sea Breeze Street.
• He Xi wrapped the captured Sahuagin in basement mushrooms and Trist offered it to the Sect Master, who devoured the sacrifice, praised her, and granted her power.
• He Xi saw that Trist had gained new power, while Bruce noticed the fishy smell coming from the sack.

He Xi disposed of the Fishman, gained Superior Dark Vision, and worried about facing his teacher after she learned what he had done. As Alser’s Steps began, Lidona prepared with her team and Anya teased her about a first-year junior.

• He Xi dragged the Fishman sack to the docks and sank it in the sea so he could conceal the Goblin’s fate from Trist and the Sect Master.
• He Xi spent 40 Drow Elf Parsing Points on Superior Dark Vision and tested his new ability during a walk with Bruce.
• He Xi spent a restless night worrying about what Flora would tell his teacher, then decided to sleep before the next day’s Alser’s Steps.
• On May 9th, students gathered in the Tower of Illusions for Alser’s Steps, where rankings and June Steps Assembly eligibility were at stake.
• Lidona reviewed her team’s plans for the Red Fang War Camp while Anya and Lexi teased her about Alex and a first-year junior.

Lidona and her friends discussed unfair ways students might boost their Alser’s Steps rankings, then spotted Reese paying a first-year who seemed to be selling help. Lidona was astonished when the first-year who arrived beside the boy was He Xi.

• Anya and Lexi teased Lidona about challenging He Xi, but Lidona said she might bring him to Alser’s Steps instead of dueling him.
• Margot, Reese, and Ravenwood taunted Lidona and her friends, who mocked Reese for his earlier defeat before the three nobles left.
• Lexi explained that students could exploit loopholes in Alser’s Steps to help others earn rankings, and described a first-year in a dark blue robe with two chubby attendants who sold routes and assistance.
• The friends saw Reese hand a pouch to the dark-blue-robed first-year while one attendant checked its contents, apparently making a deal.
• He Xi approached the group, and Lidona recognized him with astonishment.

He Xi reunited with Cyril before entering Alser’s Steps, where the pair chose a dangerous route through Emberwing Mosquito territory. Reese woke late and recalled how he had once been eliminated in three minutes and forty-two seconds after encountering Red Fang General Groot.

• He Xi reunited with Cyril, who told him Isla planned to attend the next joint-tier meet.
• Reese resented paying Cyril for help and privately threatened He Xi, while Lidona watched He Xi without returning his greeting.
• He Xi and Cyril entered the illusion realm and woke in a battlefield tent as Reese remained unconscious.
• Amon briefed them on escape routes from Ashpine Valley, and Cyril chose the perilous southern route near Blood Banner Slope to distract the Red Fang Tribe and earn more points.
• Reese woke and bragged about the tent as a favorable starting point before recalling that Groot had killed him at an outpost in three minutes and forty-two seconds.