Recaps

Heka took Tuft of Hair to a bathhouse, bought him an extravagant meal, and promised him a better life if they survived. After the meal, Heka led the boy toward a guarded door, leaving their immediate fate uncertain.

• Heka bought pastries and scrubbed layers of grime from Tuft of Hair in the bathhouse.
• Heka paid an attendant for food and ordered an extravagant feast while watching the guarded door.
• Tuft of Hair ate until he was full, and Heka cleaned his hands and pulled him from the pool.
• Heka took Tuft of Hair toward the guarded door and promised him a home where he could see the morning sun if they survived.

Heka entered the Black Mountain Merchants’ bathhouse and negotiated with its boss, arguing that his knowledge of the sewers could help the merchant business. The boss pressed him for the money pouch and weighed whether to protect him from Blood Sparrow, while Heka warned that killing him would leave the merchants exposed to the gangs.

• Heka evaded the guards and entered the private room with Tuft of Hair after the person inside ordered them to be let in.
• Heka surrendered his money pouch and short sword, introduced himself to the Black Mountain Merchants’ boss, and entered the pool.
• The boss questioned Heka about killing a Blood Sparrow member and demanded to hear about the money pouch.
• The boss had two enforcers restrain Heka as he tried to make him hand over the gold and reveal the sewer route.
• Heka calmly warned that if the boss killed him, the gangs would return to targeting the merchants’ business once their men left the sewer entrances.

Heka convinced the Black Mountain Gang’s leader that his proposed sewer smuggling route was valuable, passing a test of whether he would surrender the gold in his bag. The gang accepted his proposal but kept him under guard at its headquarters, where Heka asked for a Valin teacher and a wooden sword.

• Heka argued that the sewers could let the gang bypass the people blocking its business, and the scarred man explained why local gangs had not claimed the underground route.
• Heka described how he and Tuft of Hair had stolen a money pouch and used the silver coins to hide in the sewers, then revealed that the pouch contained exactly fifteen silver coins.
• The Black Mountain Merchants’ leader tested Heka with a wet towel over his face, but Heka refused to give up his gold, and the leader accepted his proposal.
• The leader sent Deko to handle arrangements, and Tuft of Hair returned Heka’s four silver coins, which Heka told him to keep.
• Deko confiscated Heka’s short sword, returned his money pouch, and confined him at the Black Mountain Merchants’ headquarters while the sewers remained inaccessible.
• Heka asked Deko for a small wooden sword and a teacher who understood Valin so he could study the sewer system and learn to read.

Heka continued practicing with a wooden sword while living under close watch at the Black Mountain Merchants' headquarters. Scarface summoned him to have breakfast with the boss, and Heka focused on improving his skills and avoiding the merchants' suspicion over the rumored gold coins.

• Scarface woke and saw Heka practicing with a wooden sword in the courtyard below.
• Scarface told Heka that the boss wanted breakfast with him and ordered him to bathe, change, and come along.
• Heka handed his wooden sword to an enforcer and checked his status panel as he went upstairs.
• Heka reviewed his skill progress and inventory, noting that the merchants watched him closely because they believed he had taken thirty gold coins.
• Heka recalled that the merchants had monitored his meals and suspected he might have hidden the coins in his stool.

Heka presented a midterm report to the Black Mountain Merchants and proposed finding an undiscovered route into Seapeak Port’s sewer system through the Dungeon. The leader warned that the Blood Sparrow knew Heka was with them and demanded he be handed over, leaving Heka under pressure to prove his value.

• Heka brought Scarface a midterm report, but Scarface said he could not read it.
• The leader told Heka that work could resume the day after tomorrow and asked what he needed.
• Heka explained that groundwater flooding made the known sewer route unsuitable and proposed using old Dungeon records to find a hidden entrance near the port.
• Heka said the sturdy, elevated Dungeon locations might contain warehouses belonging to local Lineages, and Scarface questioned whether anything remained there.
• The leader said the Blood Sparrow knew Heka was with the merchants and had threatened their people, warning that Heka would be sold off if he could not prove profitable.

Heka searched Seapeak Port's library archives for historical records while pretending to work for the Black Mountain Merchants. He left at night to find that his supposed protectors had abandoned him, while Kaso returned to headquarters drunk and forgot what he had been assigned to do.

• Heka paid the library youth to direct him to the archive, where he began searching through historical documents.
• Heka sorted records by date and found that older documents were organized, while newer papers had been dumped in piles.
• Heka left the library after nightfall and discovered that the Black Mountain Merchants' members had left him unprotected.
• Heka decided not to flee because doing so could endanger Tuft of Hair and attract a manhunt.
• Kaso staggered back to the headquarters drunk and fell asleep without remembering what he had forgotten.

Heka waited out the rain in an old baker’s shop, where he played chess until Deko and the others arrived to get him. The next morning, Heka trained his sword and turned Kaso toward the wall while he remained bound in the punishment frame.

• Heka sheltered from the rain in an old man’s bakery and refused the tea because his mother would not let him eat outside food.
• Deko followed Heka’s trail through the rainy streets, guided by Heka’s Tuft of Hair, and found the lamplight beside the bookstore.
• Heka finished a chess game with the old man, then stood to meet the figures approaching from the darkness.
• The next morning, Heka practiced with his wooden sword while Kaso hung bound nearby and demanded food and hot water.
• Heka adjusted the punishment frame’s mechanism, rotating Kaso toward the moss-covered wall without releasing his restraints.

Heka defeated Kaso in a duel after Kaso attacked him, and Deko agreed to replace the men assigned to protect Heka and his little brother. The Black Mountain elders awarded Heka Kaso’s silver wolf-fang pendant and told him Kaso could challenge him once more.

• Kaso charged at Heka after being let down, but Heka dodged his attacks and struck him until he fell.
• Heka explained that Kaso had started the fight, and Deko agreed to send Kaso away and assign new guards to Heka and his little brother.
• An elder invoked the Black Mountain rule that duel winners could claim one piece of spoils and gave Heka Kaso’s silver wolf-fang pendant.
• The elder told Heka that Kaso could challenge him once more, after which the Black Mountain Merchants would pay to redeem him.

Heka drew a map of the Graytooth Gang's district to buy time and secured a doctor for his younger brother. The next morning, he found armed Black Mountain Merchants confronting a coachman beside a carriage full of bloodied goods.

• Heka refined a map of Seapeak Port and showed Deko the Graytooth Gang's district, including a hidden corridor.
• The Black Mountain Merchants' leader asked Heka to map the other districts, and Heka requested more time and a doctor for his little brother.
• The leader agreed to have Deko bring a doctor the next day.
• Heka reflected that his limited practice time meant Sweeping Strike would take nearly fifty more days to max out.
• The next morning, Heka smelled blood and saw armed warriors pinning down a coachman beside a carriage loaded with goods wrapped in white cloth.
• Deko arrived as Heka considered avoiding the disturbance and returning to his room.

Heka observed the aftermath of an attack on the Black Mountain Merchants and learned that their leader still considered him important. When Deko came to tell him a guest would arrive that night, Heka deduced that the merchants were under pressure and questioned which faction had invited them to Seapeak Port.

• Heka watched the Black Mountain Merchants carry away their dead after a rival attack, while their leader rejected calls to hand him over.
• The leader spotted Heka at the window, and Heka stayed in his room as the grounds below reeked of blood.
• Deko told Heka that the promised doctor visit might be delayed and that he should prepare to meet a guest that night.
• Heka inferred that the Black Mountain Merchants were struggling after losing seven people and asked whether Deko was going to meet partners in Seapeak Port.
• Heka connected the merchants' arrival with the Wealth Church and asked whether the church or a local lineage had invited them.

Heka assessed the danger facing him and Tuft of Hair, then mapped possible Lineage warehouses while staying at the Black Mountain Merchants' compound. He discovered that his new Investigation skill had appeared just as the Deya Lineage guest was about to arrive.

• Heka told Scarface Deko he wanted to see the boss before meeting the Deya Lineage guest, and Deko left to relay his request.
• Tuft of Hair asked Heka if they were in danger, and Heka explained they had to make the Black Mountain Merchants reluctant to give them up.
• Heka went to Carpenter's workshop, cleaned a bloody table, and compared his maps with library records to mark possible warehouse locations.
• Heka matched part of a Dungeon sketch to an aboveground location near the main city district and discovered the Investigation skill on his panel.
• Heka marked two final possible locations and hurried out of Carpenter's workshop as preparations for the guest's arrival began.

Heka met with Riel, leader of the Black Mountain Merchants, and presented a map identifying a likely underground warehouse in the Dungeon. He narrowed the search to a former Marnie Lineage supply hub near the Golden Horseshoe Carriage Company.

• Deko found Heka in the crowded reception venue and took him to a guest room beside the banquet hall.
• Heka lounged on the chaise longue while a soldier stood guard, then Riel entered and examined him.
• Heka gave Riel a hot pot of meat soup and showed him a map of the Dungeon with possible warehouse sites marked.
• Heka explained that a dry, abandoned transshipment point on the Dungeon’s second level had been overlooked because the Golden Horseshoe Carriage Company stood above its entrance.
• Riel recognized the carriage company’s name, and Heka confirmed it.

Riel negotiated with the Deya Lineage’s representative for help raiding underground warehouses in Seapeak Port, while arranging the terms to avoid an open war. Afterward, Heka asked Riel for time off and a swordsmanship instructor.

• Riel told the Deya Lineage’s representative that he planned to strike at the enemy’s rear and asked for two ships and fifty discreet laborers.
• Riel showed the representative a map of Seapeak Port and negotiated access to three marked warehouses, while testing him with another ambush location.
• The representative agreed to act as a middleman and proposed a thirty-seventy split of the goods, with Riel taking the larger share.
• Riel returned to Heka with pastries, and Heka asked for five days off and a swordsmanship instructor.
• Riel refused to provide an instructor but offered to discuss the leave, proposing three days instead.

Heka accompanied Tuft of Hair to a church of the Wealth Church, where Father Alwin removed the lump on his head with divine art. Alwin recognized Heka and cryptically blessed him before leaving, and Heka prepared to take the sleeping Tuft of Hair away.

• The Black Mountain Merchants brought Tuft of Hair to a Wealth Church after their hired doctor could not treat the lump on his head.
• Father Alwin applied an anesthetic, cut away the lump, and used divine art to stop the bleeding and close the wound.
• Heka noticed that Alwin kept watching him and learned that the priest had seen his portrait.
• Alwin told Heka that he had changed a great deal, then said, “May God bless you,” and left.
• Heka picked up the sleeping Tuft of Hair and prepared to leave the church.

Heka spotted Podoli of Blood Sparrow watching him across the street and warned his escort that an enemy was nearby. When Marnie Lineage guards appeared and began herding them toward a trap, Thirl ordered the carriage to take Route Three while the group behind waited by the bakery.

• Heka recognized the gray-shawled dwarf across the street as Podoli, a member of the Blood Sparrow squad seeking his life.
• Heka placed the unconscious Tuft of Hair on the carriage and warned the driver and armored warriors that the enemy was across the street.
• Podoli grinned and retreated into the crowd as Thirl explained how the escort could signal Deko for help.
• Thirl raised red-and-white flags to alert the trailing group, then spotted guards from the Marnie Lineage approaching from an alley.
• Thirl ordered the carriage to take Route Three and told the group behind to wait by the bakery.

Riel confronted Black Tea and fought him over Heka, while Kami attacked the carriage carrying Heka and his companions. Kami killed the coachman Carpenter, leaving the other Carpenter struggling to control the speeding carriage.

• Riel asked Black Tea to hand over Heka, but Black Tea refused and said he did not trust him.
• Riel offered to cripple Heka and deliver him to Black Tea a year later, but Black Tea drew his greatsword and fought him.
• Kami watched Riel and Black Tea clash, then shot an arrow at the carriage carrying Heka.
• The arrow pierced and killed the coachman Carpenter, and the other Carpenter grabbed the reins as the carriage hurtled onward.

Heka survived the carriage’s crash and an ambush by the Blood Sparrow Squad, then was forced to face an armored dwarf while an archer covered the street. The chapter ended as Heka charged beneath the dwarf’s warhammer, which the dwarf redirected toward his shoulder.

• The carriage crashed into a building, leaving Heka and Tuft of Hair alive among the wreckage while the horse dragged an injured Black Mountain warrior away.
• Heka and Carpenter Who Isn't Called Carpenter took cover from arrows fired by Kami, who wounded another survivor and demanded that Heka surrender.
• A dwarf and a half-orc appeared, and the dwarf threw Heka a shortsword while challenging him to fight.
• Heka asked if they could reconcile, picked up the shortsword, and maneuvered toward the dwarf while avoiding the archer’s line of fire.
• Heka charged beneath the dwarf’s warhammer, and the dwarf redirected the blow toward Heka’s shoulder.

Heka killed the dwarf with a dagger and fled from the half-orc Al as Mr. Carpenter warned him to run. As an arrow narrowly missed Heka, he revealed a loaded crossbow while Mr. Carpenter passed him, leaving the source of Heka’s hidden weapon unexplained.

• Heka used a dagger to cut the dwarf’s throat, then bound his wounded arm to keep it from moving during the fight.
• Mr. Carpenter shouted for Heka to run, and Heka rushed around a corner as Al charged after him with a club.
• Heka realized an enemy ranger had arrived and fell to evade an arrow that struck the wall beside him.
• Mr. Carpenter limped past Heka with an arrow wound in his thigh while throwing a knife at the ranger.
• Heka dropped his damaged iron scrap and produced a loaded crossbow from beneath his cloak, astonishing Mr. Carpenter.

Heka and Thirl tried to survive a ranger’s attack by taking an orc hostage, but Thirl was badly wounded and the ranger used their companions as leverage. Heka proposed an exchange, leaving the standoff unresolved.

• Heka wounded the orc with a crossbow bolt, and Thirl attacked him with throwing knives while Heka warned Thirl to keep him alive.
• The ranger shot Thirl through the upper arm as he drove the orc back into the lane, and Heka pulled Thirl into cover and bandaged his wound.
• The ranger threw Thirl’s comrade into the lane and offered to trade him for the orc, but Thirl refused, saying the exchange would leave all five of them dead.
• The ranger threw Tuft of Hair into the lane and shot him in the thigh after Heka threatened the orc if Tuft of Hair was killed.
• Heka explained that Tuft of Hair could survive if treated within five minutes and offered to let the ranger’s teammate go so everyone could live.

Heka and Thirl fought over the wounded half-orc until the ranger surrendered his bow and rescued him, leaving Thirl and Heka to face each other. Heka killed Thirl, spent his reward point on Strength, and passed out as his injured arm healed.

• Thirl and Heka negotiated with the ranger, who shot a wounded Black Mountain warrior, surrendered his bow, and dragged the half-orc away.
• Thirl realized Heka still had a hidden spatial magic item and attacked him with a concealed throwing knife.
• Heka made a bucket appear to block the knife, then stabbed Thirl in the throat with his damaged dagger.
• Heka checked the challenge rewards and spent his point to raise his Strength from 0.472 to 1.472.
• Heka's injured arm returned to normal as his muscles reshaped, and he passed out.

Heka woke after the battle and learned that Martin’s head growth had been treated, then negotiated with Riel about recovering before setting out. Left alone, Heka considered how the fight had exposed his role in killing Podoli and what evidence might reveal him.

• Heka woke weak and asked Martin for water while the doctor and the others let him rest.
• Heka asked Tuft of Hair to introduce himself, learned that his name was Martin, and told him he could stop using the old nickname.
• Deko told Heka that the doctor said Martin was not going to die for the time being.
• Riel told Heka they would set out the next day, but agreed to give him two days to recover and offered a shortsword instead of chainmail.
• Heka reflected that Podoli’s body and the wounds on the half-orc could expose that he had killed the dwarf.

After eating enough to quiet his hunger, Heka checked his status and went to the Carpenter's workshop to investigate, but Deko stopped him from using a light during a Black Mountain memorial ceremony. Deko then led Heka toward the armory to collect his short sword.

• Heka stopped eating after several tables of meat and left the kitchen with Deko following him.
• Heka checked his panel and held off on claiming his challenge reward because he wanted to save it to heal his injuries before returning to the sewers.
• Heka went to the Carpenter's workshop, but Deko forbade him from opening the window or lighting a lamp while the memorial candle burned.
• Deko led Heka down a guarded path toward the armory, and Heka realized it was where his short sword was being kept.

Heka practiced swordsmanship in the square while Deko tried to keep him from learning advanced techniques. Deko decided to teach him demanding basic skills instead, leaving Heka to keep pretending to trust him while seeking an opening to gain more instruction.

• Heka took back his wooden sword from the groom and asked where Martin was, learning that Martin had been sent elsewhere because the square would be unsafe that night.
• Heka began practicing with his short sword as Deko counted his swings and noticed the boy’s unusual skill despite his flawed technique.
• Deko corrected Heka’s stance, and Heka quickly applied the advice to make his movements smoother.
• Two warriors offered to teach Heka, but Deko sent them away and insisted that Heka focus on basic movements rather than advanced techniques.
• Heka acted as if he trusted Deko while glancing toward the departing warriors, and Deko resolved to teach him slow-developing basics to occupy him.

Heka practiced Deko’s Sword Sense exercises while Deko explained the plan to reach a hidden warehouse through the sewers. At dinner, Heka turned the Black Mountain crew’s crude prank into an inadvertent dirty joke, leaving them awkwardly speechless.

• Deko taught Heka a figure-eight sword exercise and explained that he needed Heka to guide the crew through the last stretch of the sewers to the warehouse.
• Heka practiced until Sword Sense appeared on his skill panel at 1/10000.
• The Black Mountain crew served Heka brain-like soup and rare steak as a prank, expecting him to react badly.
• Heka ate the food and asked for more, then remarked that Black Mountain culture was vast and profound, unintentionally turning his words into a vulgar joke in Black Mountain language.
• Deko apologized for the crew’s behavior as the Black Mountain people struggled to explain themselves.

Heka and Deko led their team through the sewers toward the northeast corner of the Dungeon’s main tower, where they encountered an abnormal rat swarm and discussed Ratfolk and the Realm Forger. They reached a massive boulder blocking their route.

• Heka spotted a rat swarm climbing the sewer walls and drove it back with a torch.
• Deko suspected the strange rats indicated a Ratfolk outpost, and the team blocked the holes with rat-repellent powder.
• Heka asked Deko about the Realm Forger’s challenge ratings and learned how the Adventurers’ Guild used them to assess monsters and adventurers.
• Deko described escaping a Ghoul by jumping into the sewage, then led the team onward.
• Heka and the others crossed a relatively intact section of the sewers and arrived at a massive boulder.