Chapter Summaries

Heka’s body was reshaped by a ravenous hunger that drained his strength, forcing him to devour his supplies in the sewers. He reached the shelter but could not climb inside, and he was left waiting helplessly for Tuft of Hair.

• Heka felt his excess flesh being consumed and hurriedly ate cheese and bread to keep his body from draining away.
• A swarm of rats approached Heka, but they fled after he stared at them while devouring bread.
• Heka packed away the remaining food and headed toward the shelter, fearing the gray-clad man’s thugs would search the sewers.
• Heka reached the shelter after eating all his bread and dried fish, then knocked and waited for Tuft of Hair to lower the rope ladder.
• Heka gave up waiting and tried to climb the shaft, but his muscles had lost all strength, leaving him trapped below the shelter.

Heka escaped the well and reached the sanctuary, where he devoured the food and struggled to recover from starvation. Meanwhile, Blood Sparrow learned that Heka had killed Foucault and decided to spread his name and picture throughout the city.

• Heka built a precarious stack of buckets and waited in the well until Tuft of Hair lowered the rope ladder.
• Tuft of Hair hauled Heka into the sanctuary and helped pull up three buckets of water before Heka rushed to eat the food.
• Heka consumed the food in the crate, then collapsed inside it as his body’s hunger and exhaustion overwhelmed him.
• Tuft of Hair offered Heka water and went out to buy meat and cheese.
• Blood Sparrow’s captain told Podoli and the half-orc that Foucault had been killed by a close-range crossbow shot from above.
• The captain ordered the group to make trouble for Heka by copying and distributing his picture and name.

Heka recovered in the sewer after eating the food Tuft of Hair brought him, checked his updated status panel, and learned that the men guarding the entrance had let Tuft of Hair pass because they recognized him as Cripple Boss's man. Heka peered down the well, wary of the unexpected friendliness while gangs searched the sewers for him.

• Tuft of Hair brought Heka twenty-nine pounds of dried meat and cheese, and Heka ate before collapsing into exhausted sleep.
• Tuft of Hair watched the crowded sewers as gangs and enforcers searched for Boss and fought over the entrance.
• Heka woke, drank water, and checked his panel, which showed improved attributes and the new Sweeping Strike skill.
• Tuft of Hair explained that the entrance guards had demanded a copper coin from others but let him through after he said he was Cripple Boss's man.
• Heka rushed to the well opening and cautiously looked down after hearing that the guards had even helped Tuft of Hair carry the food.

Heka prepared to leave the shelter with Tuft of Hair before the gangs could seal off the sewers and capture them. He abandoned his plan to escape by ship and decided to seek out the Black Mountain Merchants instead.

• Heka confirmed that Tuft of Hair had entered the shelter unnoticed despite wanted posters bearing Heka's portrait appearing above.
• Heka prepared his crossbow, dagger, backpack, and supplies, then told Tuft of Hair to boil water and cook their meat.
• Heka explained that they needed to leave while the chaos continued and showed Tuft of Hair his map of the sewer route toward the port.
• Heka rejected escaping by ship because the port was heavily controlled and he could not trust anyone to help them.
• Heka burned the map and decided that they would seek out the Black Mountain Merchants.

Heka threatened a shop owner into arranging a meeting with his people at Vivian Bathhouse, then used a hidden sewer route to enter the bathhouse with Tuft of Hair. The two settled in at the cold-water pool while Heka reassured his nervous companion that they would not be caught.

• Heka dodged the shop owner's crossbow bolt, held him at dagger point, and demanded a meeting at Vivian Bathhouse that afternoon.
• Heka concluded the shop was tied to the Black Mountain Merchants and warned the owner to build a smuggling route through the sewers.
• Heka escaped into the sewers as gang members began controlling the entrances, then led Tuft of Hair through a concealed passage beneath the bathhouse.
• Heka slipped into the bathhouse through its storage room, took towels, and brought Tuft of Hair into the cold-water pool.
• Tuft of Hair worried that they would be discovered, but Heka reassured him and joked with a nearby bather.

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.