Recaps

Arthur returned to South Los, uncovered the truth behind Cotton and Nicole’s deaths, and helped them reunite before they passed on. As the Swordsmanship Tournament approached, he advanced his bloodline and learned Cat’s Claw.

• Arthur won Jimte and Carral’s tea contest, gaining coastal-port tax exemptions and an invitation to the South County Swordsmanship Finals.
• Arthur learned that Cassandra’s appearance at St. Joan’s Girls’ Academy was a front, while Fask was murdered and his office set on fire.
• Maltz and Scott investigated the murders of Patrick Bookshop’s owner and The Horn Newspaper’s Commons after finding gold coins and notes that led them to 44 Whitebird Street.
• Arthur revealed that Mrs. Andor had killed the men responsible for Cotton’s death, then summoned Cotton so he could reunite with Nicole and marry her before they passed on.
• Arthur obtained permission from Malinda to read and copy Master Herke’s Diary, and she warned him about the formidable competitors awaiting him in the Swordsmanship Tournament.
• Arthur buried Nicole and performed a ritual at her grave, then drank the Perfect Glory Potion and advanced his bloodline into a diluted, incomplete death serpent.
• Arthur tested the Rat King’s Crown on the rats of Kirk Street, learned Cat’s Claw, and named his new technique Snake-Style Claw Hand.

Arthur built up his power and influence, staged the Bandaged Swordsman’s appearance, and arrived at the Swordsmanship Tournament amid a trail of deaths. As he negotiated with Malinda over South Town, Kang Si'ang offered him a pact to protect Whale Island from pirates.

• Arthur discovered that Cook’s recipes came from lost Sacred Empire techniques, then consulted William about extracting and controlling souls to fuel Evil-Breaking Slash.
• Arthur sent the Bandaged Swordsman to the Sunk Family ruins, where the undead swordsman killed watchers and spared Eli, helping Arthur spread rumors about his supposed work guiding souls.
• Arthur planted a Banyan Heart that his blood transformed into a Death Snake Banyan, then recruited Bob to build a force of thirty Death Warriors.
• Arthur used the Bandaged Swordsman and the banyan to draw and kill watchers, while Julie warned him that reversing death was taboo.
• At the Swordsmanship Tournament, Arthur killed the Higgins brothers and froze Young Lissop’s covert guard before registering, shocking the gathered competitors.
• Arthur and Malinda discussed taking over the Bounty Tavern and securing South Town, then decided to involve Lady Julie because the mines were too valuable for the Count to ignore.
• Kang Si'ang asked Arthur for a Step-Entry diagram, then offered his savings and thirty percent of Whale Island’s future income in exchange for help deterring pirates.
• Kang swore the Sea's Gift to defend Arthur’s reputation, interests, and lands, then proposed that they pull off something big.

Arthur exposed Young Lissop’s false accusation, bargained with Lord Lissop for a share of South Town’s mines, and intervened in Young Lissop’s family tragedy. When a Death Poetry Society attack revealed a threat to South Town, Arthur and Malinda hurried there and found Lord Lissop dead.

• Arthur accepted the Swiftbird Mystic Arts from Todd Gilly and prepared to face the Swordsmanship Tournament as Lord Lissop’s plans began to surface.
• At the tournament, Young Lissop accused Arthur of stealing his family’s Mystic Arts, but Arthur presented their contract and turned the crowd against him.
• Arthur negotiated with Lord Lissop, securing twenty percent of his coal and iron mining business in exchange for information and Young Lissop.
• Lord Lissop revealed that Young Lissop was his son and forced him into a bloody confrontation that ended with Young Lissop killing both Steward Hill and Lord Lissop.
• Arthur comforted Young Lissop, who chose to live and took responsibility for handling the deaths, while Arthur returned to 2 Kirk Street.
• A disguised Death Poetry Society member attacked Julie, but Arthur destroyed him with a silent mystic art and realized the attack had been a distraction.
• Arthur and Malinda set out for South Town after learning it had gone silent, and Arthur told her that Lord Lissop was dead.

Arthur stopped Horton’s ritual, defeated him, and claimed his puppets before consuming the ritual’s deathly aura to strengthen his Death Serpent bloodline. As the Death Poetry Society’s Left Cantor approached South Los, Arthur prepared for the coming confrontation and spent his XP on new arts.

• Malinda uncovered the Death Poetry Society’s attack on South Los, while Maltz and the others fought off its forces at the Worry-Relief Grocery and Maltz gained a new power by destroying an Evil Entity.
• Arthur’s sword energy killed Greta, and he learned the Death Poetry Society had targeted his general store while Malinda offered to help him investigate the group’s plans.
• Young Lissop confronted Gold after discovering the Death Poetry Society had arranged his father’s assassination, then used the Loving Father’s warmth to reconcile Gold and Leshid before Gold led the cavalry against the rioters.
• Arthur followed a Human Puppet to Horton, recognized the former adversary, and accepted a card-game contest while Horton prepared a hidden ritual and stirred up unrest in South Town.
• Arthur tricked Horton into exposing his plans, defeated him with a Deathly Aura Slash, and claimed the Exquisite Puppet and Mask of Concealment before killing Horton with Deathfire.
• Malinda pursued the Byrne brothers while Gale Sword De'erqiao’s team searched for the Tower of Mist ruins, where Valerie destroyed Potteriman’s pirate fleet and drove Bloody John away.
• Arthur found the victims in Horton’s mine and consumed the Malice Ritual’s deathly aura, advancing his Death Serpent bloodline and learning the Death Poetry Society’s Left Cantor was coming to South Los.
• Arthur returned home, received 800 XP, and allocated it to Swiftbird Swordsmanship and Illusory True Shadow Art in preparation for the coming confrontation.