Chapter Summaries

Arthur rejected Hels's request to visit Ymir Manor, then asked Malinda to investigate it while he waited in South Los for Haywood's haunted-house research. As Arthur prepared to look at a few houses, a woman arrived pleading for him to save her son.

• Arthur decided not to travel to Ymir Manor, citing the distance, the vague letter, and his need to remain in South Los.
• Arthur watched Harris return to the Shire District and stay there, apparently waiting for Hite to contact a Blood Scion.
• Malinda brought Arthur breakfast, searched the room for Miss Qiu, and left after Arthur asked her to investigate Ymir Manor.
• Haywood arrived with information about haunted houses, and Arthur planned to inspect some of them.
• A woman rang the doorbell at 2 Kirk Street and urgently asked Arthur to save her son.

Mr. and Mrs. Bernice asked Arthur to find their missing son, Clay, who had vanished after going storm-chasing at the docks. Arthur began a theatrical reading for them, leaving the mystery unresolved.

• Arthur welcomed Mr. and Mrs. Bernice into the Medium's Hall and noticed Haywood recognized Mr. Bernice.
• Arthur recalled that Bernice owned the prominent Bernice Trading Company and extensive dockside warehouses.
• Mrs. Bernice explained that Clay had been missing for three days and showed Arthur his portrait.
• Mrs. Bernice said Clay had acted secretively since returning from storm-chasing at the docks four days earlier.
• Arthur delivered an ominous-sounding reading while his Bluff skill flashed.

Arthur refused payment from the Bernices and planned to find their missing son, Clay, hoping to build a connection with his father. While inspecting cheap haunted houses with Haywood, Arthur discovered a fresh corpse at 17 Xilin Street, and Haywood recognized it as Clay.

• Mrs. Bernice pleaded with Arthur to save Clay, but Arthur refused her check and sent the Bernices away with an ambiguous remark.
• Arthur considered asking Wiggins or Malinda to help find Clay and resumed reviewing haunted-house listings with Haywood.
• Haywood recommended several properties, and Arthur chose to inspect 17 Xilin Street.
• Arthur smelled blood as Haywood and the landlord opened the house and found a corpse in the main hall.
• Haywood recognized the corpse as Clay.

Arthur and Maltz investigated Clay's murder, finding signs of multiple attackers and a makeshift, ineffective occult ritual. After the Bernices arrived, Mr. Bernice offered Arthur twenty thousand Gold Tickets to find the killer, and Arthur was astonished by a woman stepping out of their carriage.

• Haywood found Clay dead at 17 Xilin Street and believed Arthur had foreseen the murder while trying to help him.
• Maltz examined Clay's wounds and the pentagram beneath the blood, while Arthur identified the powders as salt and red brick mixed incorrectly.
• Arthur told Maltz that the Bernices had asked him to find Clay, and the police began investigating the building and questioning neighbors.
• The Bernices arrived, Mrs. Bernice wept over her son's body, and Mr. Bernice offered Arthur twenty thousand Gold Tickets to find the killer.
• Arthur noticed a woman stepping out of the Bernices' carriage and wondered why she had come.

Arthur accepted Bernice’s offer to find Clay’s killer for twenty thousand gold coins, then learned that Linda had awakened her Medium bloodline and could see fragments of the future. He reassured Linda that her ability was normal for the Creados family and asked what she had seen when she looked at Clay’s body.

• Arthur identified the salt-and-chalk lines beneath Clay’s blood as a ritual circle, and Bernice raised his offer to twenty thousand gold coins for finding the killer.
• Arthur agreed to investigate through the Medium’s Hall at 2 Kirk Street, while Bernice comforted his wife.
• Linda told Arthur that she had seen disjointed visions, including Edith lying in blood and Arthur transforming into a monstrous snake.
• Arthur concluded that Linda had awakened a Medium bloodline that let her glimpse the future, and assured her that the Creados family were born extraordinary.
• Arthur asked Linda what she had seen when she looked at Clay’s body.

Arthur learned that Linda sensed mockery, showing off, and ease at Clay's murder scene, then sent her to investigate while he joined the police at 17 Xilin Street. As officers began questioning Clay’s acquaintances, news arrived that Jody was dead.

• Linda told Arthur she sensed mockery, showing off, and ease at the murder scene, and Arthur praised her ability.
• Arthur learned Edith’s childhood fall had permanently damaged her legs, and Linda showed him the Medium’s Case Old Charlie had given her.
• Arthur agreed to let Mrs. Bernice take Clay’s body home after she offered to donate three carriages to the Police Station.
• Dico reported that Clay had alienated many wealthy young acquaintances, and Simon had gone to question the Jody Family.
• A patrol officer told Maltz, Dico, and Arthur that Jody was dead.

Arthur and Maltz investigated the slit-throat murders and discovered that four young people connected to Clay had been killed, apparently to silence them. As Arthur led Maltz toward a new clue, Muninn caught a white pigeon overhead.

• Arthur ordered Maltz to question the young people and check who was still alive, while Muninn searched for something important to her.
• Maltz told Arthur about his war hero friend Bob and recalled Bob's warning that they would meet again when the gears of fate began to turn.
• Maltz admitted that he wanted to see a miracle, and Arthur reassured him that his time had come.
• Officers reported that White, Sharp, and Bacon had been murdered, bringing the number of dead young people to four with Jody.
• Arthur questioned Maltz about the victims' similarities, then Muninn swooped down and seized a white pigeon.

Arthur confronted Tallit with the truth about his revenge, revealing how he had manipulated the four horsemen into killing a man and then targeted them one by one. The story left Arthur holding Tallit’s pipe and asking him to hear the rest.

• Tallit released his pigeons despite the lord’s order to kill them, intending to send them to the countryside before repaying his debt.
• Arthur arrived at Tallit’s home with Anna, a Horror Doll, and a cat cage, and asked Tallit about his past and 17 Xilin Street.
• Tallit described his daughter’s death beneath the horses and said he had become a pigeon keeper to arrange revenge on the four young men.
• Arthur recounted how Tallit used carrier pigeons and the Secret Society to draw the four men into a scheme that led to a man’s death and then threatened the four in turn.
• Arthur noticed the bitter-almond scent in Tallit’s pipe, took it from him, and asked him to keep listening to the rest of the story.

Arthur revealed that the fool in Tallit’s story had willingly endured humiliation and death out of guilt and love for his little sister, then urged Tallit to target the powerful families protecting the dead men. At the Bernice manor, Mr. Bernice sought the Lady of the Long Night’s help, while Edith attacked Linda with pigeons before a raven’s cry interrupted them.

• Arthur told Tallit that the fool had cooperated with his sister’s plan and accepted his death because he felt guilty toward her.
• Arthur urged Tallit to uproot the families of Jody, White, Sharp, and Bacon, admitting that he wanted their wealth and had a friend who could help.
• Mr. Bernice brought Clay’s body to the family manor and decided to contact the Lady of the Long Night for help avenging him.
• Linda went to check on Edith and realized that the Creados family weapons her mother had given her were meant for situations like this.
• Edith asked Linda to die and sent pigeons flying at her, but a raven’s cry was followed by darting black shadows and a burst of crimson.

Linda fought Edith, Bernice's daughter, after Edith tried to kill her and blamed Clay for her own injuries. Linda uncovered Edith's lies and knocked her down, but before Linda could decide how to handle the situation, someone kicked open the door.

• Muninn killed Edith's pigeons, and Linda pretended the raven and her cats were her trump cards.
• Edith charged Linda with a Flexible Sword, but Linda shot both of Edith's shoulders with anesthetic bolts.
• Edith claimed Clay had caused her injury, but Linda saw the truth: Edith had fallen into the tree pit herself and had framed Clay.
• Linda punched Edith to the floor and threatened her with a Hidden Blade when she continued blaming Clay.
• Someone kicked open the door to Edith's room while Linda worried about what to do next.

Arthur stopped Mr. Bernice from killing Edith and negotiated with him over the Bernice family’s warehouses and money. When Mr. Bernice offered Edith and her inheritance as a bargaining chip, Arthur left the study and sent him to face Malinda Julius Caesar.

• Mr. Bernice tried to punish Edith, but Arthur stopped him and persuaded him to discuss the situation privately.
• Arthur reasoned that Edith should be killed by the Death Poetry Society rather than by Mr. Bernice, and that the society could serve as a scapegoat.
• In the study, Mr. Bernice offered Arthur the agreed 20,000 gold coins plus another 20,000, but Arthur declined the extra payment.
• Mr. Bernice asked Arthur what he thought of Edith and Malinda Julius Caesar, then offered Edith and her inheritance as a match.
• Arthur opened the study door and told Mr. Bernice to speak to Malinda himself, revealing her waiting outside with a pipe.

Arthur and Malinda negotiated with Bernice, securing business concessions and a promised cat Mystic Art for Arthur. After Malinda left, Arthur read a report about the supposedly cursed Ymir Manor, and Linda warned him to be careful there.

• Malinda confronted Bernice and negotiated access to warehouses, public support, and other terms while Arthur let her handle the talks.
• Malinda secured Arthur a 3% stake in the Bernice Trading Company, half of the warehouse access rights she won, and help finding a cat Mystic Art.
• Malinda gave Arthur paperwork for the Miss Qiu Security Company and an investigation report on Ymir Manor, then left to pursue other business.
• Arthur learned that Ymir Manor had changed owners after a series of accidents and that its latest buyer had asked 2 Kirk Street for help.
• Linda Camille climbed into Arthur's carriage and warned him to be careful of Ymir Manor.

Arthur discussed Linda’s frightening prophecy and encouraged her to treat her ability as a friend, while he and Edwin investigated the suspiciously quiet Hite. Linda realized her ability needed a humanoid form, and Arthur worked out how Hite was sending signals.

• Linda told Arthur her vision showed a figure burning a Creados scarecrow in a brazier with a charred skull among the others, and Arthur warned that prophecy could be deceptive.
• Arthur asked Linda whether she knew Hite Furniture Store, then took the Police Station carriage to Amanda’s Cat Friends’ Home.
• Arthur reassured Linda that she should communicate with her ability as if it were a friend, and Linda named that friend the World.
• Edwin told Arthur that Hite had remained unusually calm under surveillance and had only tended his wounds and ordered ordinary food.
• After touching Arthur’s [Hand of the Void], Linda realized her ability needed to be humanoid and rushed into Amanda’s Cat Friends’ Home.
• Arthur noticed Mrs. Amanda’s steaming tea and realized how Hite was sending signals.

Arthur figured out that Hite Furniture Store used cooking smoke to send signals and identified the Earta Square bell ringers as possible contacts for the Blood Scion. He then advised Linda to find a Pigeon Keeper, saying the surviving members of Edith’s Secret Gathering could become both her shield and her weapon.

• Arthur realized that cooking smoke from Hite Furniture Store could carry messages past the watchers on Garden Street.
• Arthur told Edwin to have someone watch the two Earta Square bell ringers, whom he suspected were connected to the Blood Scion.
• Arthur visited Amanda’s Cat Friends’ Home, checked on Pendragon, and went to speak with Linda.
• Arthur told Linda she needed a Pigeon Keeper, and she left with him in the carriage.
• Arthur explained that the surviving members of Edith’s Secret Gathering could unite into a powerful force that would protect Linda and serve as her weapon.

Arthur prepared Linda to organize the heirs of powerful trading families and used the distraction to help Fuginn and prepare for the operation against the Blood Scion. As night fell, the Blood Scion summoned a huge Blood Bat and flew out to begin the plan.

• Arthur encouraged Linda to gather the trading-company heirs, establish her authority, and draw them in with secrets about the Blood Scion.
• Arthur and Linda arrived at 99 Garden Street, where he introduced her to Tallit and arranged for Muninn to carry the [Athos Box] to Fuginn.
• Fuginn scouted the area, and the Blood Scion used the [Devoted Blood] and [Blood Bat Ring] to summon a massive Blood Bat with the gold coins in the [Athos Box].
• The Blood Scion stored the remaining gold, mounted the Blood Bat, and flew into the night, proclaiming, "Let blood! Grant us! A sacred baptism!"

Arthur used [Bluff] to persuade the Pigeon Keeper to help Linda and protect her, then left with Malinda after she confirmed the Bell Ringers were blood descendants of a Blood Scion. The chapter ended with Arthur guessing where the Blood Scion was.

• Arthur coaxed the Pigeon Keeper into helping Linda by reminding him of his dead daughter and redirecting his guilt toward protecting the girl.
• The Pigeon Keeper confronted Ussak for overcharging Linda, then offered to show her messages exchanged by people he could use to help protect Arthur.
• Arthur left with Malinda in the Lada Carriage after asking a Patrol Officer to escort Linda home safely.
• Malinda confirmed that both Bell Ringers were blood descendants of a Blood Scion and challenged Arthur to guess where the Blood Scion was.
• Arthur quickly arrived at an answer about the Blood Scion's location.

Arthur and Malinda discussed the Blood Clan's hiding place and Harris's plan, each concealing their suspicions from the other. Harris entered the secret passage beneath the Clock Tower and found a figure bathing in a pool of blood, whom he approached to seek cooperation.

• Arthur identified the Blood Clan's refuge as the underground space beneath the Clock Tower and told Malinda that Linda Camille was his aunt.
• Malinda told Arthur that Harris wanted to act against her watchers, but that his men opposed him and had already informed her.
• Arthur and Malinda spent the rest of their carriage ride silently weighing each other's motives.
• Harris entered the Clock Tower, uncovered a hidden passage beneath a pile of junk, and descended toward the smell of blood.
• Harris found a figure beside a pool of blood and announced that he had come to seek cooperation.

Harris offered the Blood Clan member a supply of victims in exchange for cooperation, while Arthur and Malinda realized the member had prepared explosives beneath Earta Square. They arranged to turn the planned destruction into a performance and planted bait to draw another target in, leaving spies convinced they had heard news of a Herke laboratory.

• Harris offered the Blood Clan member blood from infants, virgins, and nobles, but the figure demanded more before Harris agreed to discuss the details.
• Arthur and Malinda suspected the Blood Clan member was using the secret passage’s smell of blood to conceal explosives beneath Earta Square.
• Malinda confirmed the Count would not blame her if the square was destroyed, and Arthur proposed rolling oil barrels into the passage and staging a performance.
• Arthur and Malinda prepared a convincing disguise and used Edwin’s message about a supposedly discovered Herke laboratory to tempt spies into passing on the news.
• Most people returned to No. 6 Whitebird District, while the remaining spies believed the Herke laboratory was real and searched for a chance to spread the news.

Harris arranged with a member of the Blood Clan to destroy Arthur and Malinda in an oil-barrel explosion, but Arthur survived and accused the Blood Clan member of ruining his twenty-year plan. Harris realized he might have become entangled in a much larger conspiracy.

• Malinda and the young Medium argued over who would go to the Herke Laboratory, and the spies mistook their exchange for a lovers’ quarrel.
• The spies secretly relayed their information, rolled oil barrels into the Clock Tower passage, and set them alight.
• The oil ignited in a massive explosion that devastated Earta Square.
• Harris emerged from the ruins and celebrated with the Blood Clan member, believing Arthur and Malinda had been killed.
• Arthur crawled from the rubble beside Malinda’s corpse and accused the Blood Clan member of destroying his twenty-year plan.
• Harris grew alarmed when the Blood Clan member stiffened at Arthur’s words and began to suspect a vast conspiracy.

Arthur manipulated Harris into mistaking a Blood Descendant for the Blood Clan member behind the break-in, provoking a fight that ended with the disguised attacker exploding and engulfing the square in blood poison. Arthur watched the outcome from cover, pleased that his plan had worked.

• Harris's secret hideout alarms alerted him to an intruder, and he suspected the hooded figure beside him was a disguised Blood Descendant.
• Harris ordered the figure to remove its hood, but it fled, confirming his suspicion and prompting him to attack.
• Harris's shadow power exposed the figure as a high-ranking Blood Descendant, and they wounded each other in their exchange.
• The Blood Descendant exploded, spreading blood poison across the square and leaving Harris screaming in disbelief.
• Arthur watched from a safe distance and reflected that he had used [Bluff] and the gap in knowledge between Harris and the Blood Descendant to shape the confrontation.