Chapter Summaries

Little Knife planned a midnight assault on Snake-Man-held Naxi Fortress, while Marko Vigo and the Minisian Self-Rescue Army prepared a separate attack through a hidden maintenance passage. Both forces set their plans in motion for a bloody night at the fortress.

• Little Knife studied Naxi Fortress and ordered the Mountain Tiger Warband to gather explosives and attack its gates at midnight.
• Marko Vigo learned from scouts that the Snake-Men had left the fortress’s rear cliffs nearly undefended.
• Vigo recalled a concealed maintenance passage leading from the cliffs into the fortress’s supply warehouses.
• Vigo planned to send fewer than ten veterans up the icy cliffs to enter the passage, cause chaos inside, and open a rear gate.
• The Self-Rescue Army vowed to attack that night and retake Naxi Fortress for Minisia and their dead families.

The Mountain Tiger Warband and Colonel Vigo’s Self-Rescue Army launched a coordinated assault on Naxi Fortress, but the demolition team was spotted before it could breach the gate. The players finally destroyed the southern wall, while Vigo heard the premature explosion and feared the assault team had been discovered.

• Knife-in-the-Butt rallied the Mountain Tiger Warband to attack Naxi Fortress’s gate as Vigo sent seven Self-Rescue Army veterans to climb the northern cliff and open a side gate.
• The assault team began its perilous climb while Snake-Men sentries remained unaware of the approaching attacks.
• A player stepped into a hidden animal trap, and his scream alerted the Snake-Men, forcing the demolition team to charge under arrow and gunfire.
• The Siege Spear blasted a crater into the gate but failed to break through, and Snake-Men warriors leapt from the wall to attack the players.
• The demolition team leader packed the explosive satchels into the crater and detonated them, destroying the gate and a section of Naxi Fortress’s southern wall.
• Vigo heard the unexpected explosion from the northern cliff and worried that the assault team had been discovered.

The Mountain Tiger Warband breached Naxi Fortress, but snake-man musketeers ambushed their flamethrower troops before Knife-in-the-Butt led a countercharge into the fortress. Colonel Vigo’s Self-Rescue Army entered through a rear gate and spread fire and confusion, leaving the snake-man commander scrambling to understand the attack from behind.

• The players bombarded Naxi Fortress’s walls with flintlocks and Crouching Tiger Cannons, then charged toward the blasted-open gateway.
• Snake-man musketeers fired a coordinated volley that killed and wounded the leading flamethrower troops.
• Knife-in-the-Butt rallied the players and charged through the gateway, where they overwhelmed the musketeers in close combat as fighting spread through the fortress.
• Colonel Vigo saw the players draw the defenders’ attention and ordered the Self-Rescue Army to enter through the small side gate behind the mountain.
• The Self-Rescue Army veterans set fire to a warehouse, opened the side gate, and let Colonel Vigo lead fewer than a hundred soldiers into the fortress.
• Vigo’s soldiers split into small groups, ambushed patrols, and started fires, while the snake-man commander heard the uproar and smoke from the rear.

After the players and the Self-Rescue Army annihilated the Snake-Men at Naxi Fortress, Knife-in-the-Butt surveyed the devastating casualties and learned that the blue-uniformed soldiers were Minisia rebels. Colonel Vigo formally asked to join the Kingdom of Bagnia, leaving Knife-in-the-Butt stunned by the unexpected request.

• Chris watched the Mountain Tiger Warband attack Naxi Fortress and initially mistook the Self-Rescue Army's rear assault for an attack by Minisians.
• Knife-in-the-Butt surveyed the ruined fortress at dawn and saw that the Snake-Men were dead, while the players and Minisians had suffered heavy losses.
• Players brought Colonel Vigo, the Self-Rescue Army's wounded leader, to Knife-in-the-Butt to discuss cooperation.
• Colonel Vigo explained that the Self-Rescue Army had rebelled against Minicia's rulers, whom he accused of betraying Minisia's people.
• Colonel Vigo formally requested that the Minisia Self-Rescue Army be allowed to join the Kingdom of Bagnia, shocking Knife-in-the-Butt.

After Naxi Fortress fell, Bagnia moved to recruit the Self-Rescue Army and expand its railway project, while King Charles’s failures fueled a noble conspiracy in Minicia. Baron Neharry learned of the plot and planned to manipulate it into causing further chaos, then discovered secret visitors waiting in his study.

• Chris recognized that Colonel Vigo’s Self-Rescue Army had turned against King Charles and considered investigating whether Charles had lost his country’s support.
• Diu Ni Leimu offered the Self-Rescue Army a place in the Railway Corps or the chance to settle in Bagnia, then began a railway project from Tavitsky to Suvano.
• As Minician forces fought the Snake-Men in the snow, nobles blamed Charles for the war and began plotting to replace him, encouraged by reports that Naxi Fortress had fallen.
• Baron Neharry attended a secret gathering where nobles planned an assassination, political coup, and military rebellion against Charles.
• Neharry decided to let the assassination plot proceed but make it fail in a way that would provoke Charles and deepen the nobles’ infighting.
• When Neharry returned home, his steward told him secret visitors had entered through a hidden passage and were waiting in his study.

Baron Neharry received lavish gifts from His Majesty Chris’s envoys, strengthening his resolve to undermine Minisia. He revealed a conspiracy against King Charles and asked for capable agents to help exploit it.

• Two Bagnia Intelligence Bureau envoys presented Baron Neharry with porcelain, spices, and silk sent by His Majesty Chris.
• Neharry understood the gifts as both a reward and a reminder to advance Bagnia’s interests in Minisia.
• Neharry told the envoys about the conspiracy against King Charles and explained how he planned to use it to bring down the Minicia Kingdom.
• Neharry admitted he lacked a trustworthy fighter to carry out his plan, and the envoy offered help from the Intelligence Bureau.

Home Alone received a major Intelligence Bureau mission after enduring the tedious work and deprivation of Treasure Island. He and a small team were to infiltrate the palace and protect King Charles from assassins, but ensure the king was wounded and frightened so Minicia would descend into chaos.

• Home Alone regretted his dull assignments in Treasure Island and envied the opportunities players had in Suvano.
• Home Alone ate cheap, mildly poisonous Snake-Man meat and reflected on the poverty and food shortages in Treasure Island.
• Mole told Home Alone that nobles in Minicia planned a coup, military mutiny, and assassination targeting King Charles.
• Mole ordered Home Alone and his friends to protect Charles from fatal attacks while allowing him to be wounded, so his paranoia would fuel infighting among Minicia's nobles.
• Home Alone agreed to assemble five or six players and secretly welcomed the mission as the major quest he had expected.

Home Alone ordered Carlos to eliminate three people whose knowledge could expose the Intelligence Bureau before a coming crisis, then prepared to recruit capable players. Meanwhile, King Charles ordered Gray Shadow and High Priest Gore to investigate suspected conspirators as his fear of a looming rebellion deepened.

• Home Alone warned Carlos that Old Eel, Iron-Crutch Li, and Skinny Monkey could expose Intelligence Bureau secrets, and Carlos set out to eliminate them before dawn.
• Home Alone decided to contact other players and carefully choose allies based on their fighting ability and temperament.
• King Charles ordered Gray Shadow to investigate the nobles and monitor junior and mid-ranking officers in the Royal Guard and City Defense Army for signs of conspiracy.
• Charles asked Gore to use the Sea God Church’s priests and believers to gather rumors and uncover the secrets of his suspected opponents.
• Charles returned to his room uneasy, relying on Gray Shadow and the church’s surveillance as he anticipated a coming storm.

A conspiracy formed in Treasure Island to assassinate King Charles and blame Bagnia, while Gray Shadow and High Priest Gore watched the growing unrest from their own positions. Chris learned of the impending crisis and decided to protect Bagnia’s plans while preparing for the unexpected.

• A group of nobles planned to attack Charles in the palace side hall, blame Bagnian spies, and use the chaos to seize control.
• Gray Shadow ordered surveillance of Baron Neharry, a trusted priest of High Priest Gore, and suspicious contacts with military officers.
• High Priest Gore weighed how the Sea God Church could support the eventual victor and use the crisis to strengthen its influence.
• Home Alone briefed his five teammates on their assignment to enter the palace as guards and wound Charles without killing him.
• Neharry received Palace Guard armor, weapons, a map of the palace, and a letter implicating another conspirator, and prepared his escape.
• Chris considered the unrest in Minicia and chose to keep Bagnia on its current course while preparing for unexpected developments.

Home Alone infiltrated Minisia’s palace and discovered that its lax security made it easy to approach Charles. When he unexpectedly encountered the king, Home Alone shot him, triggering a violent fight that left the players trapped in a corridor.

• Home Alone and five players entered the palace in guard uniforms and were assigned to patrol near the Royal Side Hall.
• Home Alone bribed and bluffed his way through the palace, mapping weak security and learning details about Charles’s movements.
• During the shift change, Home Alone recognized Charles being escorted through a secluded corridor by elite guards.
• Home Alone drew a concealed Flintlock Pistol and shot Charles in the head, killing him.
• The Royal Guards attacked Home Alone, who threw his pistol and killed the first guard with his sword as the players were caught in the ensuing chaos.

After King Charles was shot by the guards Neharry had arranged to bring into the palace, Neharry fled through a secret tunnel, suspecting Charles had used a double as bait. When noble forces launched their rebellion early, Neharry saw a chance to escape to Bagnia and preserve the safety of Sir Dolong.

• An officer told Neharry that King Charles had been shot and that all six assassins had been killed by palace guards.
• Neharry paid the officer to flee, ordered his household to disperse, and escaped through a hidden tunnel with loyal confidants.
• In the tunnel, Neharry suspected the dead king was a double and feared Charles had used the apparent assassination to expose conspirators.
• Neharry reassured himself that Sir Dolong, Bagnia’s agent in the city, remained outside the conspiracy and was likely safe.
• Neharry’s group emerged from the tunnel to find noble armies marching toward Treasure Island and heard that the nobles had begun their rebellion.
• Neharry welcomed the outbreak of fighting as cover for his escape to the Kingdom of Bagnia.

The conspirators mistook Baron Neharry for the mastermind behind Charles’s assassination and moved to seize power across Treasure Island. Players learned that Home Alone had killed the king and decided to join the fighting, hoping to prolong the conflict for their own advantage.

• The conspirators praised the absent Baron Neharry for Charles’s death and began dividing control of the Royal Palace, government offices, military forces, and Sea God Church.
• Players in Dorok’s house learned that Home Alone had shot Charles during a Royal Palace mission, and all six players in his group had been killed.
• Dorok and the others heard that noble armies had entered the city and that the City Defense Army had split between the rebels and the Royal Family.
• Dorok told the players to take up weapons and support the Minisia Royal Family so neither side would win quickly and the players could fight amid the chaos.

Dorok and the players launched coordinated night attacks on noble troops trying to seize strategic locations across Treasure Island. The nobles’ forces were routed or pinned down, and Sir Felton realized taking control of the city would be far bloodier than expected as the fighting continued.

• Sir Felton led a hundred soldiers toward Treasure Island’s granary, where Dorok burst out and attacked them with a small group of players.
• Players fired Flintlocks and charged the nobles’ troops, breaking their formation and forcing Felton and the survivors to retreat.
• At the bank, players ambushed a column with gunfire and a flank attack, killing soldiers and driving the rest away.
• Players attacked the Marquis’s guards at the central armory from the rooftops, alleys, and inside the building, overwhelming them and capturing the position.
• Players harassed the Viscount’s troops at St. Lawrence Church with hidden shots and ambushes, leaving them trapped and demoralized.
• Sir Felton took shelter with remnants of other noble forces and concluded that Treasure Island had become a deadly trap as gunfire and explosions continued through the night.

The surviving players suspected King Charles had been killed after the Royal Guard arrived but refused to fight the nobles, so Dorok planned to provoke the standoff. Charles was alive and trapped in the palace, unable to convince anyone that his reported death was false as the kingdom fell into chaos.

• At dawn, Dorok and the surviving players watched the Royal Guard face the nobles’ private troops without attacking, and Owl suspected the Guard’s officers had been compromised or were waiting to see who won.
• The players wondered whether Charles had really died, and Dorok ordered some of them to shoot at the Royal Guard and kill officers to force the sides into action.
• Charles paced inside the palace and raged because the city’s people believed he had been assassinated, while his messengers and orders failed to reach the Royal Guard.
• Charles feared that revealing himself would let the nobles turn the rumor into reality, and he considered whether the unknown fighters who had attacked the noble troops might create enough chaos to save him.

Players ignited a battle between the Royal Guard and the Noble Private Army, giving King Charles an unexpected chance to weaken the nobles threatening his rule. Charles ordered Gray Shadow to contact the mysterious troublemakers and offer lavish rewards for assassinating the rebel nobles.

• Dorok and other players fired on both armies and incited them to fight, turning the tense standoff into a bloody street battle.
• Gray Shadow recognized that the unknown troublemakers had started the conflict and ordered the Sardines to withdraw and survive.
• Gray Shadow reported the battle to King Charles, who welcomed the chaos despite the players' unknown loyalties.
• Charles ordered Gray Shadow to find the players and offer them rewards to assassinate Count Hawk, Viscount Leonard, and Marquis Mario.
• Gray Shadow agreed to seek contact while warning Charles that the players could not be trusted.

Oakland watched civil war spread across Treasure Island and suspected Bagnia was behind it. That night, Gray Shadow recruited Dorok and other players to assassinate the island’s powerful noble leaders in exchange for rewards.

• Oakland saw fighting in Treasure Island’s Noble District and heard that residents were being attacked, confirming his suspicion that Bagnia had a hand in the unrest.
• Dorok and several players regrouped in an abandoned shop and discussed the officers they had killed during the day’s fighting.
• Gray Shadow entered the shop and offered the players information on noble leaders’ locations and defenses so they could assassinate them.
• Gray Shadow promised generous rewards, including gold, property, and noble titles, while refusing to reveal his employer’s identity.
• Dorok accepted the job and asked Gray Shadow for the first target’s name and address.

Dorok’s players received detailed intelligence on four nobles hiding on Treasure Island, chose to ambush Duke Rapole, and sold the other targets’ locations to rival warbands. After the cannon attack likely killed Rapole, King Charles celebrated and ordered Gray Shadow to keep using the suspected Bagnians to kill the remaining nobles.

• Dorok’s group read a precise report on the locations, escorts, and escape plans of Duke Rapole, Count Hawk, Viscount Leonard, and Baron Mario.
• Dorok decided his squad would target Rapole and sell the other three nobles’ intelligence to rival player groups for currency and gunpowder.
• Dorok led an ambush with a Crouching Tiger Cannon as Rapole’s convoy passed through the east-gate route, opening fire on the escort.
• Gray Shadow reported to King Charles that the ambush had likely killed Rapole and that the attackers probably had ties to Bagnia.
• King Charles dismissed Gray Shadow’s concerns and ordered him to double the payment and obtain the deaths of Hawk, Leonard, and Mario.

After players assassinated three nobles, Baron Mario survived and the remaining nobles suspected Charles might still be alive. King Charles listened as the nobles began investigating and prepared for conflict, pleased that the chaos was escalating.

• The Little Erlang Backpack Corps killed Duke Rapole, Count Hawk, and Viscount Leonard, but Baron Mario survived by hiding in a secret chamber as Noble Private Army troops killed most of the attackers.
• The surviving nobles debated whether the Royal Guard, the Bagnians, or Charles was behind the assassinations, but each theory raised unanswered questions.
• Baron Mario suggested that Charles might still be alive or that Young Charles had taken over his father's authority, prompting the nobles to reconsider what they believed.
• The nobles agreed to verify Charles's fate and contact the Royal Guard to see Young Charles, while warning that their previous agreements would be void if they had been deceived.
• King Charles listened to Gray Shadow report that the nobles were investigating and smiled as their alarm and suspicion deepened.

Gray Shadow reported the nobles’ alliance, the Royal Guard’s blockade, and their investigation into Charles’s supposed death, but Charles dismissed the danger and predicted the nobles would turn on each other. When Rapole’s Eldest Son killed Baron Mario, Gray Shadow wondered whether Charles had secretly engineered the feud—and feared the King might be far more calculating than he appeared.

• Gray Shadow learned that the nobles had formed a Temporary Council led by Baron Mario and that the Royal Guard was blockading the Royal Palace while the nobles investigated the Crouching Tiger Cannons and Charles’s death.
• Gray Shadow reported the developments to Charles, who claimed that fear and old rivalries would destroy the nobles’ alliance and ordered Gray Shadow to wait.
• The Royal Guard sealed the approaches to the Royal Palace as Rapole’s Eldest Son attacked Baron Mario’s residence and killed him, shattering the nobles’ alliance.
• Gray Shadow watched the Noble District descend into conflict and suspected Charles had planted the evidence that provoked Rapole’s Eldest Son, leaving him afraid of the King and what might come next.

Charles watched the nobles’ alliance collapse into infighting and planned to use the turmoil to undermine the Royal Guard and restore royal power. He ordered Gray Shadow to assassinate his son, Young Charles, whose death he intended to exploit, and Gray Shadow obeyed in despair.

• Charles watched the Noble Assembly’s alliance unravel after Baron Mario and Young Rapole’s feud sparked bloody violence, leaving the nobles divided and the Royal Guard’s blockade uncertain.
• Charles returned to his underground chamber and asked Gray Shadow where Young Charles was being held.
• Gray Shadow reported that General Roderick had handed the Prince over to the Noble Assembly, which held him under house arrest at Count Hawk’s former residence.
• Charles ordered Gray Shadow to kill Young Charles, arguing that the Prince’s death would deepen the nobles’ conflict and weaken the Royal Guard’s generals.
• Gray Shadow protested the order, but Charles invoked his oath and commanded him to obey.
• Gray Shadow accepted the order and left, while Charles decided his loyal agent would need replacing after the affair.