Chapter Summaries

Francois paid City Guard Officer Spencer to keep his identity secret, then began using Spencer’s corruption to fund the Blade of Freedom. By the tenth day, Francois’s group had grown stronger, but Spencer had run out of enemies for him to eliminate.

• Spencer discovered Francois’s recruitment efforts, extorted fifty Gold Coins a day to keep quiet, and threatened to destroy Saltfish Street if Francois refused.
• Nur tried to secure work with Spencer, accepted two Silver Coins, and left; Spencer ordered a subordinate to kill him.
• Francois expanded the Saltfish Gang to three hundred members across three streets, spent his remaining money on supplies, and received Spencer’s offer to settle his debt with a job.
• Francois learned that German was a City Guard captain involved in human trafficking, killed him and several accomplices, and used their wealth to buy supplies.
• Spencer blamed German’s death on bandits and arrested scapegoats, while Francois and Spencer settled into an arrangement of supplies in exchange for dirty work.
• As the weather turned colder, the Blade of Freedom grew stronger, and Spencer ran out of enemies for Francois to eliminate.

Francois forced Spencer to cooperate with the Blade of Freedom by threatening to expose his dealings with Free City, while the Saltfish Gang expanded across Starer City. As the Deputy City Lord investigated the gang and suspected Spencer of contact with Free City, Spencer denied having any ideals.

• Francois paid Spencer for five days of protection, then used the City Guard's inaction to expand the Blade of Freedom and recruit civilians into the Saltfish Gang.
• When Spencer cut the protection period to two and a half days, Francois threatened to expose his dealings with Free City and persuaded him to keep cooperating.
• Spencer assured the Deputy City Lord that rioters had killed wealthy Outer City residents, offered him stolen treasures, and pledged loyalty to the Kingdom.
• After half a month, Dahl announced that the Saltfish Gang had grown to more than a thousand members, while Francois and Spencer extended their cooperation into the City Guard.
• The Deputy City Lord questioned Spencer about the Saltfish Gang and asked whether he had been in contact with Free City People; Spencer denied it, claiming he had never had a conviction or an ideal.

Francois secured Spencer’s cooperation with a Letter of Recommendation and a loan, then learned Rat Plague had reached nearby towns and discovered that Free City had sent Cavalrymen into the Rikaner Kingdom. The captured Cavalryman confirmed that Free City was accelerating its offensive, while the Rikaner Kingdom avoided attacking and protested the filming of a Magic Film.

• The Deputy City Lord hinted that he wanted to defect, but Spencer warned Francois that the politician might be testing or betraying them.
• Francois persuaded Spencer to stay involved by giving him a Letter of Recommendation, and Spencer lent him money in exchange for an IOU.
• Francois brought the families of Spencer’s men to Saltfish Street and later learned from Lame Bob that Refugees had spread Rat Plague to nearby towns.
• Spencer assured Francois that the Plague would soon be wiped out, and Francois ordered his people to watch for newcomers and their contacts.
• Spencer told Francois that his men had captured a Free City Cavalryman, who explained that Free City had sent Cavalrymen separately into the Rikaner Kingdom to speed up the offensive.
• The Cavalryman told Francois that the Rikaner Kingdom was avoiding an attack and making a fuss about the filming of a Magic Film.

Rikaner Kingdom’s council diverted most of the King’s film budget through a chain of officials before a subordinate hired the Bard Bena to make a Magic Film. Bena accepted the assignment, believing he was serving the King, while the money provided was supposedly for production costs.

• Cavalry announced victories over the Ratfolk, but Councilors privately recognized that the Kingdom’s front line was still retreating.
• Irwin Augusta told the Council that the King wanted a Rikaner version of 300 Warriors of Free City made before Deepwinter, with one hundred thousand Gold Coins allocated.
• Ottema won the assignment and distributed most of the budget among officials, relatives, and himself, leaving only ten thousand Gold Coins for the film.
• Ottema’s aide passed more chests of Gold Coins to the City Lord’s Mansion and the Knights’ Order before entrusting the remaining chest to a subordinate.
• Bena’s mother celebrated the reported victories, though Bena had heard a different account at the Tavern.
• The subordinate hired Bena to make the Magic Film and gave him one hundred Kinnars for production costs.

Lame Bob told the bonfire crowd the story of Mort, whose honesty earned him a job and a reward in Free City, then Francois learned from Spencer about unrest in the New Royal Capital and a costly Magic Film. Spencer left him wondering how the Royal Family had squandered so much money.

• Lame Bob recounted how Madeline lent Mort a Gold Narl, and Mort returned most of it and found work with help from guards.
• The Voice of Freedom published Mort’s story, prompting readers to offer help and Reis to reward Mort and give him a job as an assistant manager.
• Francois explained that the newspaper stories were adapted from real events, while Annan had invented the stories on the leaflets.
• Spencer brought Francois and Lame Bob into a house and asked Francois what he was really seeking in the Kingdom.
• Spencer told Francois that families of Warriors at Snow Mountain Fortress had rioted in the New Royal Capital and that the Royal Family had paid a hundred thousand gold coins for a Magic Film that cost only a hundred.

Annan responded to the Rikaner Kingdom’s crackdown on the Forgotten Ones and its campaign of deception by publicizing the truth, expanding Free City’s undercover network, and building a postal system. After the Kingdom premiered its film Rikaner Never Falls, Annan watched it and mocked its dullness in the Voice of Freedom.

• Annan tasked Evelyn with writing “Families of the Heroes” to publicize the plight of the Forgotten Ones and help their surviving relatives learn they were alive.
• Annan approved a second group of undercover agents and allowed them to recommend nobles for recruitment into the Blade of Freedom.
• Annan and his allies learned that Rikaner agents had provoked the protestors, then impersonated Free City people to commit crimes and blame Free City.
• Annan established a Post Office connecting Free City’s scattered Commercial Streets, though limited Portals meant each location could contact the city only once every three days.
• The Rikaner Kingdom premiered Rikaner Never Falls, and Annan watched it before ridiculing its tedious story in the Voice of Freedom.

Francois disciplined Little Smo for torturing a Noble and, seeing the Blade of Freedom’s rapid expansion becoming impossible to hide, sought Deputy City Lord Daler’s cooperation. Daler accepted an Invitation Letter and agreed to stay out of the Blade’s operations, leaving Francois to watch its territory spread across southern Outer City as the Rikaner Kingdom appeared close to collapse.

• Francois removed Little Smo from his Centurion position and ordered him to reflect on Saltfish Street after he tortured a Noble who had killed a Farmer’s daughter.
• Francois told Spencer he would meet Deputy City Lord Daler and ask him to cooperate with the Blade of Freedom.
• Francois confronted Daler at the City Lord’s Mansion, offered him an Invitation Letter, and persuaded him to remain silent in exchange for a safe escape with his family and wealth.
• Daler accepted the deal, and Spencer and Francois left the mansion.
• The Saltfish Gang seized more territory while Daler ignored complaints from the Nobles behind the other gangs.
• Francois marked the Blade of Freedom’s expanding holdings on a map and reflected that the Rikaner Kingdom seemed ready to fall.

Francois and the Blade of Freedom moved to make Starer City part of Free City without a war, but City Lord Ilaixiu revealed that he had called for the Kingdom’s Knights' Order. Francois arrested Ilaixiu and ordered the purge of his faction as the takeover of the Inner City began.

• Francois gathered Starer City's nobles and officials who had joined the Blade of Freedom and told them to prepare the city as a rear base for Free City.
• The Blade of Freedom spread through the Outer City, recruited supporters, and took control of the city's defenses while Spencer sold Invitation Letters to nobles and merchants.
• City Lord Ilaixiu confronted the officials who had sided with Free City and announced that the Knights' Order would soon arrive.
• Francois arrested Ilaixiu and ordered Deputy City Lord Daler to purge his faction and raise Free City's flag over the Inner City before dawn.
• Cavalry appeared across the Inner City as a falcon carrying a message tube flew into the night.

Francois secured Starer City as a Free City, with the Hellfire Legion driving off the Green Rose Knights' Order and suppressing a sabotage attempt. As the Teleportation Portal connected Starer City to Free City, Francois sent Little Smo and Lame Bob to investigate disappearances and unrest at Ize Bay.

• Francois organized Starer City’s supplies and defenses while concealing the Hellfire Legion in warehouses.
• The Hellfire Legion deployed on the northern City Wall, and Francois warned the approaching Green Rose Knights' Order that Starer City belonged to Free City.
• The Green Rose Knights' Order recognized the Hellfire Legion and withdrew without attacking.
• Little Smo killed captured saboteurs after they tried to escape, and Francois covered for him while ordering him to continue searching for Kingdom spies.
• Francois learned that an elder, an undercover agent, and civilians had disappeared or been suppressed at Ize Bay, so Little Smo and Lame Bob agreed to investigate.

Annan arrived in Starer City, planned to turn it into a fortress and evacuate civilians to Free City, then hurried away from a banquet he feared would bring trouble. Meanwhile, Lame Bob and Little Smo neared Ize Bay but were seized by thugs and dragged into the mountains.

• Annan arrived in Starer City, greeted its officials, and learned that the Blade of Freedom had recruited twenty-three hundred members.
• Annan told Francois to contact the Green Rose Knights' Order and prepare to move local civilians to Free City while Starer City became a fortress.
• Black Widow shot down a falcon watching Annan, and Annan left the City Lord's Mansion banquet as soon as it ended.
• Little Smo pulled Lame Bob's cart toward Ize Bay, but thugs overturned it, searched them, and dragged them into the mountains with their cart.

After being sold into a coal mine, Little Smo learned that Babu had been sent to another tunnel and met the miners Jeremy and Rabbit. He shared his food and the Blade of Freedom’s story, then began organizing the fifty-three miners in his tunnel, leaving them gathered for introductions.

• The Foreman bought Little Smo and Babu from the thugs, then sent them to separate caves after a guard knocked Little Smo unconscious.
• Little Smo woke in Peter's Cave and learned from Rabbit and Jeremy that miners earned food by digging coal.
• Jeremy told Little Smo that Rabbit had entered the mine hoping to earn money for his sick mother.
• Little Smo shared his food with Jeremy and Rabbit, told them about the Blade of Freedom, and said he would unite the miners.
• Little Smo invited the fifty-three miners in his tunnel to meet, and they gathered in his cave to introduce themselves.

Little Smo organized the miners into the Blade of Freedom, winning their trust as their numbers grew until every miner had joined. He announced plans to lead them out within ten days, then caught a suspected informant and ordered the miners to kill him.

• Little Smo told the miners about Free City and persuaded Rabbit, Jeremy, and a few others to join the Blade of Freedom.
• Nov heard Little Smo's words while mining, joined the group, and helped its membership grow through shared food, stories, and cooperation.
• As the miners produced more Coal, the guards tolerated the growing group, and eventually every miner joined the Blade of Freedom.
• Little Smo announced that he would lead the miners out within ten days and divided them between two sleeping caves.
• Little Smo caught a miner trying to sneak out and accused him of planning to inform on the group; the man admitted the guards would beat him if he stayed silent.
• Little Smo struck the suspected informant with a stone and ordered Jeremy to take a turn, but Rabbit seized the stone and began beating the man, followed by other miners.

Smo united the slave miners in the Blade of Freedom and tried to find Babu, but learned that he had died and found his body in the Graveyard. After the guards forced the starving miners to produce more coal, Smo rallied them to fight for freedom.

• Smo led the miners to pool their coal and share it equally, then went outside with Rabbit and others to inspect the basin.
• Smo learned that an old man had been dumped in the Graveyard, found Lame Bob's battered body, and fell gravely ill after returning to the mine.
• The miners kept working under the guards' increased coal demands while Smo lay feverish, and they used their bedding and hidden fuel to keep him alive.
• Smo asked the guard for food so the exhausted miners could regain their strength, but the guard refused and the Meal Cart brought only half rations.
• Smo urged the miners to unite against their oppressors, and they declared that freedom belonged to the Blade of Freedom and to them.

Little Smo led the miners in an uprising, overcame the guards, and rallied hundreds of workers to storm the basin. After Lame Bob revealed the Foreman’s hiding place, Smo confronted him and rejected his offer to buy his freedom.

• Little Smo and Jeremy led the miners in an attack that killed the guards, though Rabbit and another miner were mortally wounded.
• Little Smo urged the miners in nearby tunnels to join the escape, and hundreds followed him toward the basin.
• A Mage and the basin guards tried to stop the miners, but Little Smo charged and they fled.
• Little Smo recognized Lame Bob, who led the miners to the cellar where the Foreman was hiding.
• Jeremy saved Little Smo from the Foreman’s sudden attack, and Smo refused to spare the Foreman in exchange for money or the mine.

Little Smo led the miners in overthrowing the Foreman, then prepared to flee the mine before the guards and the Mage could return. He left the remaining miners to choose whether to stay or join the dangerous journey into the Mountain.

• Little Smo hanged the Foreman, declared the miners free, and sent some of them after the fleeing guards while others freed the enslaved miners.
• Little Smo burned the dead, stopped the miners from beating the captured workers, and ordered the captives held while Jeremy kept watch.
• Little Smo and Lame Bob found the Foreman's hidden gold, gathered supplies, and arranged a meal for the hungry miners.
• The miners who pursued the guards returned with only a few captives and reported that the Mage had escaped, so Little Smo decided they must leave.
• Lame Bob warned the miners that the Noble would come after them, but dozens chose to stay; Little Smo gave the Cook gold to arrange treatment for Rabbit's sick relative and set out with the others.

Annan learned that Rikaner forces were falsifying victories and might be hunting Little Smo, while a Greyfur Rat delivered Ymir’s warning that the McKennan Clan had unleashed a plague across the Northern Frontier. The plague was worsening in Starer City and had already delayed the Empire’s attack.

• Rikaner cavalry killed the miners and workers at Ize Bay, then claimed them as Free City soldiers in a report for General Weiss.
• Annan and Olmedo doubted reports that General Weiss had defeated nearly a thousand Free City soldiers and decided Little Smo needed help before loyalists found him.
• A Greyfur Rat brought Annan a letter Ymir had sent before her death, warning that the McKennan Clan’s assault was a diversion and its real weapon was plague.
• Annan confirmed that the rat plague was spreading across the Northern Frontier when Starer City reported that it was worsening and had forced the Empire to postpone its attack.

Annan hosted Gale, a Ratfolk who admired him and had helped Free City, while Leila and Idelia warned that Gale might have approached him for a purpose. The conversation turned to Annan’s love life before he redirected the family’s attention to investigating the Plague.

• Annan asked Gale why she was helping humans, and she said she admired humans, loved Magic Films, and worshipped him.
• Annan invited Gale to stay in Free City and learn how he had met Ymir; she asked for fried potatoes and shared her human name, Gale.
• Gale hinted that she envied Broken Fang for spending time with Annan, and their conversation grew flirtatious until Leila interrupted them.
• Annan asked Gale about Ratfolk friends Jerry and Miller, but she did not know Jerry and said Ratfolk did not associate with Blackfur Rats.
• Idelia warned Annan that Gale seemed to have approached him with a purpose, while Leila questioned whether he had been charmed.
• Idelia asked whether Annan liked anyone, but he denied having anyone in mind and changed the subject to investigating the Plague.

Annan took Gale to a gladiator match in Free City while the plague and political unrest strained the Rikaner Kingdom and Duchy of Keating. In Keating, Fronning proposed distracting worried citizens with a staged story about helping migratory birds rather than addressing the plague.

• The Rikaner Kingdom concealed the plague and imposed trade sanctions on Free City, but nobles continued trading in secret as the restrictions angered their own people.
• Annan showed Gale around Free City and took him to the Gladiator Arena, where a Jana woman warrior faced a succubus.
• The succubus danced out of the Jana warrior’s charge as the crowd cheered.
• Brink asked Fronning how Keating would respond to public fears about the plague.
• Fronning proposed claiming that the government had helped a flock of migratory birds reach the south, dismissing the plague as a natural disaster.

Annan showed Gale around Free City, visited the orphanage, and brought her to the Pantheon, where a statue of the Great Horned Rat left her stunned. The statues also made Annan realize that Little Spider and Silly Cat might be the gods Lolth and Cat and Midnight Maiden.

• Annan watched a gladiatorial match with Gale, spotted Martin in the crowd, and accidentally told Lucy where Martin had gone.
• Annan brought a Magic Mirror to the orphanage and gave it to Cathy for Ivana, then let Cathy and Lily join the outing.
• Annan took Gale and Cathy through the Pantheon and wondered whether Little Spider and Silly Cat were goddesses whose statues stood there.
• Annan showed Gale the Great Horned Rat's statue, and Gale stared at it in disbelief.

Smo and the miners reached a concealed riverside camp near Ize Bay, where they gathered food and built shelter while caring for the sick. Just as their situation improved, they learned an Orc tribe might be upstream, and Little Smo set out to investigate.

• Smo led the miners across the Mountain toward the river, while Lame Bob convinced them not to abandon their sick companions and Little Smo promised they could become Free City People.
• The group reached the upper river near Ize Bay and chose a wooded hill beside the water for their camp.
• Smo divided the miners into groups to build shelters and gather food, while Lame Bob taught them to forage and cooked their first hot meal.
• The miners built wooden cabins and improved their food supply, though three sick people died and thirty-six others recovered considerably.
• Miners reported finding an Orc totem upstream, and Little Smo decided to scout the area.