Recaps

Tracy captured Danitz and blamed him for separating her from Brando, while Azik investigated unrest in Balam and Bernadette heard reports of strange incidents at sea. Lorne reached Stoen City and learned that the remote village he sought was rumored to be haunted by monsters and dragons.

• Tracy bound Danitz, questioned him about Brando, and accused him of causing their separation before silencing him with spider silk.
• Azik gave money to a beggar in Balam and reflected on the region’s poverty, colonial rule, and the memories stirred by his visit.
• Xize thanked Queen Mystic Bernadette for her aid and told her that ships had experienced displacements, confused identities, and false memories.
• Lorne arrived in Stoen City, followed his spiritual intuition to a tavern, and gathered directions to a remote village.
• An old drunk warned Lorne that monsters and dragons near the village entered people’s dreams and could kill them in the waking world.

Lorne investigated a village legend about dream monsters and dragons, while Audrey reached a secluded manor in Stoen City and Charles prepared to exploit the Hall Family’s financial crisis. Aboard the Black Death, Tracy captured Danitz and ordered him hung upside down after he tried to save himself by invoking Brando.

• Lorne questioned a drunk villager about the monsters and dragons said to haunt dreams near a remote wilderness, then learned the man had grown up in the village.
• Audrey arrived in Stoen City with Madam Caitlyn, Hibbert, and Susie, and decided to go riding outside their secluded manor.
• Charles ordered his subordinates to gather precious metals and prepare to sell and short assets when the Hall Family’s cash flow failed, then wrote to his superiors about his concerns over the military’s silence.
• Tracy returned to the Black Death with Danitz after escaping Bayam, and Kayson greeted her on deck.
• Danitz pleaded that Brando would hate Tracy if she killed him, then flattered her by calling Brando her lover.
• Tracy grew jealous at the thought that Danitz mattered more to Brando than she did and ordered Kayson to strip him and hang him upside down from the mast.

Tracy abducted Danitz and demanded that Klein bring Monkey Brando to meet her, while Klein discovered Danitz was missing after obtaining the Sea God's Scepter. The chapter ended with Klein realizing Brando’s romantic history had put Danitz in danger and that he had little time to find him.

• Tracy blamed Danitz for separating her from Brando and had him stripped and hung upside down from the Black Death’s mast.
• After taking the Sea God's Scepter and issuing new commandments to the Resistance Army, Klein returned to the inn and found Danitz’s room ransacked and empty.
• Klein discovered a shard of mirror that showed Tracy, who confirmed she had captured Danitz and displayed him hanging from the Black Death’s mast.
• Tracy demanded that Klein bring Monkey Brando to meet her and said Edwina could come too, threatening Danitz if Klein sought help from the authorities.
• Klein realized Brando was in Backlund and worried that his romantic history would get Danitz killed.

Klein paid to send Scott an urgent letter about Danitz’s abduction, while Lorne searched for treasure in East Chester County and nearly crossed paths with Audrey. After Audrey entered the Sea of Collective Subconscious in a lucid dream, she found a familiar figure in pain just as an ancient dragon appeared above the sea.

• Klein decided he could not contact Vice Admiral Iceberg and sent Scott an expensive express letter asking for help with Danitz.
• Lorne followed the Fortune-Seeking Treasure Map to a ruined tower in East Chester County but found no treasure.
• Audrey visited the ruins with her entourage, heard a local song about dreams and dragons, and resolved to investigate the Sea of Collective Subconscious.
• Lorne emerged after Audrey’s party had left and wondered why the map had concealed them from his senses.
• Audrey entered the Sea of Collective Subconscious in a lucid dream and explored its lights, memories, and peaks of consciousness.
• Audrey heard a cry, recognized a familiar figure kneeling in pain beneath a peak, and saw an ancient dragon sweep across the sky.

While searching the wilderness, Lorne was drawn into a dream and forced to confront disturbing visions of history and a distorted projection of his James Scott identity. He escaped into the Sea of Collective Subconscious, where his mind and appearance continued to shift, before a familiar voice called to him.

• Lorne camped in the wilderness, grew unnaturally sleepy, and realized he had been pulled into a dream.
• Lorne explored memories that took physical form and encountered a monstrous projection of James Scott, recognizing it as a distortion of his identity.
• Lorne followed a path to a white void and was overwhelmed by visions of ancient history, powerful figures, and a terrifying image that he could not understand.
• Lorne fled the white light, shattered the dream, and emerged in the Sea of Collective Subconscious as his appearance shifted between himself and James Scott.
• A familiar voice in the mist asked Lorne whether he was Viscount Scott.

Audrey found Lorne suffering from cognitive corruption in the Sea of Collective Subconscious and used Soothing to stabilize him, discovering that he had been disguised as Viscount Scott. After they spoke about why they had entered the sea, a Mind Dragon returned and began summoning a powerful silvery-white presence, leaving Lorne urging Audrey to flee without looking back.

• Audrey approached the suffering man despite his warnings and used Soothing to calm Lorne’s mind and suppress his approaching loss of control.
• Lorne thanked Audrey, and she recognized him as Mr. Dysenk after his Scott disguise had vanished; he asked her to keep his secret.
• Lorne and Audrey discussed their arrival in the Sea of Collective Subconscious, and Lorne said an attacker had dragged him there while he searched for treasure.
• A Mind Dragon appeared overhead and dove toward Lorne and Audrey, but stopped when it saw Lorne.
• The sea began to surge as an enormous silvery-white shadow took shape, and Lorne told Audrey to close her eyes and run.

Lorne faced the Mind Dragon in the Sea of Collective Subconscious, where a vision of Jowes appeared and the dragon offered him cooperation. Meanwhile, Earl Hall prepared for the possibility that his family would have to flee Loen, and Audrey awoke to find Lorne safe and a small dragon serving as his messenger.

• Lorne sent Audrey away and confronted the Mind Dragon, which manifested a silver-white serpent he recognized as Jowes.
• The serpent’s appearance nearly caused Lorne to lose control, but the Mind Dragon calmed him and offered to cooperate because he carried arrangements left by a Paranoiac.
• Earl Hall learned that his secret transfers to Intis were underway and worried that the royal family and the Negan Family would abandon the Hall Family amid the scandal over Alfred.
• Dan rushed back into Earl Hall’s study to report that a major event had occurred.
• Audrey woke exhausted from the real Sea of Collective Subconscious and found a tiny white dragon in her bedroom carrying Lorne’s voice.
• Lorne reassured Audrey that he was safe and offered to appear in person, but she protested that he could not enter her bedroom before she was ready.

Lorne secretly met Audrey at night and took her flying beyond the manor, where he refreshed her and explained his encounter with the Mind Dragon. The chapter ended with Klein anxiously waiting in Bayam for news from Scott.

• Audrey emerged from her bedroom dressed for the night, and she and Lorne decided to leave the manor to talk away from its guards.
• Lorne turned ghostlike, took Audrey flying through the manor wall, and carried her to a grassy hill several kilometers away.
• Lorne summoned Spike, which restored Audrey’s energy, and Audrey asked what had happened after she left the mind world.
• Lorne told Audrey that the Mind Dragon had spared him and driven him away, while concealing its offer and the truth about the tampering in his mind.
• In Bayam, Klein paced anxiously and wondered why Scott had not sent him any news.

Lorne checked that Audrey had fully recovered from the dream, revealed his true identity as Lorne Dysenk, and secured her promise to keep his false identity secret. In Bayam, Klein learned that Scott was away and began considering impersonating James Scott to persuade Tracy to release Danitz.

• Lorne examined Audrey and confirmed that her spirit body and mental state had no lingering problems, then changed from James Scott back into Lorne Dysenk.
• Lorne explained that Audrey’s investigation had prompted him to adopt the identity of James Scott, and Audrey promised to keep the secret while Lorne offered her a personal favor.
• Lorne took Audrey back to her manor by flying, explained his Wraith-like ability, and offered to make her similar charms before awkwardly denying that he had watched her in her bedroom.
• Klein learned that his letter had reached its address in Backlund but remained unread, so he concluded Scott was away and complained that he lacked help rescuing Danitz from Tracy.
• Klein considered using his Faceless ability to impersonate James Scott and contact Tracy remotely, reasoning that she knew Scott was Monkey Brando while Danitz did not.

Audrey and Lorne reflected on their adventure and the Mind Dragon’s offer, while the Hall family faced a worsening counterfeit-currency crisis in Backlund. Aboard the Black Death, Tracy spared Danitz for Lorne’s sake but planned to punish him further.

• Audrey returned to her bedroom after her adventure, where Susie woke and questioned her about being out at night and smelling of something unpleasant.
• Lorne entered his Portable Space, checked himself for signs of the Mind Dragon’s influence, and considered Spike as a future messenger before thinking about the next location on his treasure map.
• Audrey hid her exhaustion from her mother, while Hibbert announced he wanted to return to Backlund and concealed the severity of the crisis there.
• Hibbert learned that counterfeit notes had triggered panic and threatened Bavart Bank, while Earl Hall ordered him to remain at the family estate to protect his mother and sister.
• Tracy had Danitz lowered from the mast and treated after two days, but she still planned to punish him for taking Lorne away from her.

Danitz was held captive by Tracy, who interrogated him about Brando and became increasingly jealous as he described Brando’s time aboard the Golden Dream with Edwina. After Tracy received a message that Brando had arrived, she prepared to meet him, while Danitz suspected someone was in for trouble.

• Danitz recovered in his cell after being tortured and worried that Tracy had kidnapped him to lure Brando out.
• Tracy questioned Danitz about Brando, and he carefully recounted their history while hiding how close they were.
• Tracy grew jealous when Danitz described Edwina teaching Brando aboard the Golden Dream, especially their private lessons.
• Tracy received a Mirror Magic contact and announced that Brando had arrived, believing he had come to see her.
• Danitz felt relieved that Brando might resolve the situation but grew uneasy about what would happen next.

Klein disguised himself as Scott and then Lorne to persuade Tracy to release Danitz, whom she blamed for separating her from Brando. Tracy agreed to free Danitz only if Klein met her in person, and Klein reluctantly accepted as her jealousy and possessiveness intensified.

• Klein dressed in Scott's formalwear and prepared to imitate his manner before contacting Tracy through the mirror.
• Klein changed his face into Lorne's, and Tracy joyfully recognized him, though she sensed something was different.
• Klein asked Tracy to release Danitz, but she grew jealous and accused Danitz of keeping Brando away from her.
• Klein soothed Tracy by saying he had missed her and explaining Danitz's role in bringing him to sea, eventually persuading her to release the captive.
• Tracy insisted that Klein meet her personally to receive Danitz, and Klein agreed after her jealousy flared at his hesitation.

Lorne arrived in Viller as a counterfeit banknote crisis triggered panic and bank runs in Backlund, while the Truth Society’s scheme and Earl Hall’s withdrawals came under scrutiny. In the Southern Continent, Azik was caught sneaking aboard a ship carrying relics connected to the God of Death and faced a demigod.

• Lorne read news of counterfeit banknotes in Backlund and worried that the crisis would disrupt commerce.
• Charles refused the Truth Society’s offer to transfer him out of Backlund, then learned police Chief Mivi had arrived to investigate.
• A Bavart Bank branch ran out of cash, and a customer claimed the bank had given him a counterfeit note.
• Earl Hall defended his irregular withdrawals to Bavart Bank shareholders as the bank faced a cash-flow crisis and possible bank run.
• Azik tried to board a ship in East Balam to investigate relics tied to the God of Death, but the Fallen Earl intercepted him and the crew surrounded him.

Lorne connected the counterfeit-banknote crisis in Backlund to Antigonus's warning and wondered whether the society was behind it. In Bayam, Klein disguised himself as Brando to meet Tracy, but when she saw him, her overwhelming longing unexpectedly faded, leaving her confused.

• Lorne discussed Viller's future development and the banknote crisis with Benson, then recalled Antigonus's warning and suspected the society might be involved.
• Klein prepared to meet Tracy in Bayam, planning escape routes in case she discovered his disguise, and took a charm he had found where Danitz was abducted.
• Klein waited at a secluded harbor as Tracy arrived alone by boat, dressed in Brando's coat and eager to reunite with him.
• Tracy hesitated when she faced Klein and realized that her longing for Brando had inexplicably diminished.

Klein, disguised as Brando, met Tracy, but her instinctive disgust and his mistaken promises exposed him as an impostor. As Tracy turned murderous, Lorne and Benson in Viller sensed that someone was about to suffer and prepared to return to Backlund.

• Klein greeted Tracy as Brando, but Tracy felt no affection for him and could not bring herself to embrace him.
• Tracy asked Klein to change his face to Brando's familiar appearance, but her feelings remained absent and she grew suspicious.
• Tracy invited Klein aboard the Black Death and accused him of refusing to take her back to Backlund; Klein stalled by promising he would bring her later.
• Tracy recognized that Klein was not Brando and threatened to carve off his face for impersonating him.
• In Viller, Lorne and Benson both sensed that someone was in trouble, and Lorne told everyone to prepare to return to Backlund.

Klein disguised himself as Brando to meet Tracy, but her rage and jealousy turned the encounter into a fight. After Tracy revealed her demigod power, she recognized Klein as Sherlock Moriarty and decided to keep him prisoner aboard the Black Death until Brando came to Bayam.

• Tracy accused Klein of harming Brando, and Klein tried to reassure her that Brando was safe in Loen.
• Klein fled Tracy’s ailment with a hurricane charm and struck her with lightning charms, but she survived and revealed an incomplete mythical creature form.
• Tracy shot Klein down with an ice spear, and he used Wound Transfer to move the injury before trying to escape toward the rainforest.
• Klein changed back into Sherlock Moriarty and reminded Tracy that he was Brando’s friend, causing her to recognize him from the Descent Site.
• Tracy grew jealous when Klein claimed he was close to Brando and ordered him taken to the Black Death’s mast until Brando came to collect him.

Danitz and Klein were captured by Tracy and hanged from the Black Death’s mast, while Lorne decided to return to Backlund after sensing that something was wrong. On the train, he met Hibbert, who was secretly returning to the capital, and asked him about the counterfeit banknotes troubling the Hall family.

• Danitz waited aboard the Black Death for Brando, worrying that Tracy might not release him even if Brando came to rescue him.
• Tracy returned with an unconscious Klein, had him hanged from the mast, and ordered her sailors to hang Danitz beside him.
• Tracy wondered why punishing Klein and Danitz gave her an inexplicable flicker of pleasure.
• Lorne sensed a foreboding and left Viller with Benson and three secretaries to return to Backlund.
• At Stoen, Lorne encountered Hibbert, who had secretly traveled back to investigate his family’s affairs, and invited him into his compartment.
• Lorne asked Hibbert for inside information about the counterfeit banknotes, and Hibbert reacted with visible bitterness.

Lorne divined that Hibbert’s family might find a turnaround through his sister, while Charles worked to keep conservative nobles invested in the campaign against the Hall Family. Charles believed the Hall Family was close to collapse, but his spiritual intuition warned him of danger as police searched Backlund.

• Hibbert asked Lorne to divine the Hall Family’s future, and Lorne’s coin toss suggested bad fortune before a dream divination led him to ask about Hibbert’s sister.
• Charles persuaded Earl Levin that the banking crisis would soon break the Hall Family and convinced him to keep the conservative nobles’ campaign going.
• Charles reflected that the Society’s plan would strip the nobles of their mortgaged assets as well as bring down the Hall Family, and he hoped to earn a demigod advancement before leaving Backlund.
• Charles examined documents about the Hall Family secretly transferring assets to Intis and obtaining a letter to the Florent Family.
• Charles sensed that someone was targeting him, then saw police officers pass and wondered whether he had mistaken them for a threat.

Klein woke up captured beside Danitz on Tracy’s ship and waited for a chance to escape, while Lorne returned to Backlund and investigated the counterfeit-banknote crisis. Lorne received a sea-borne letter from Sherlock and learned that Tracy was involved, leaving him shocked and uncertain about what had happened.

• Klein regained consciousness hanging upside down beside Danitz, explained that Tracy was a demigod, and planned to recover his strength while waiting for rescue.
• Lorne returned to Backlund with Benson, reviewed the Rosen Trading Company’s accounts, and allocated more money to Hazel’s foundation.
• Lorne sent Hazel a letter containing the Cryptologist potion formula and information about underground Beyonder gatherings.
• At the Bravehearts Bar, Ian told Lorne that convincing counterfeit notes were causing bank runs and that suspicious people had appeared around his territory; Sharron suspected officials or their hired bounty hunters were watching them.
• Sharron gave Lorne a letter from Sherlock, and Lorne reacted with shock upon reading that Tracy was involved.

Lorne learned that Sherlock had become entangled with Tracy and Danitz in Bayam, so he prepared to leave at once and faced Sharron’s uneasy request to go with him. Meanwhile, Tracy held two men captive aboard the Black Death, Danitz tried to stay unnoticed, and Azik arrived in Bayam to find Klein already gone.

• Lorne read a letter about Sherlock, Tracy, and Danitz and realized Sherlock might learn embarrassing details about his past at sea.
• Lorne told Sharron he had to leave for Bayam, and Sharron asked to accompany him so she could help.
• Danitz, hanging upside down on the Black Death, saw that the other captive beside him was only a paper figure.
• Tracy grieved over Brando, kept the two impostors captive, and sensed someone approaching while she was in her cabin.
• Azik reached the inn in Bayam, found Klein absent, and concluded that his student had likely gone to rescue the captive.

Lorne set out for Bayam with Sharron to confront Tracy and rescue Danitz, but passenger routes were suspended because of martial law. Meanwhile, Klein used a storm to help Danitz escape the Black Death, only to be confronted by Tracy.

• Sharron insisted on accompanying Lorne to Bayam, saying she wanted to help him as a friend despite the danger and her knowledge of rumors about Tracy.
• Lorne found that no tickets to Bayam were available because the passenger routes had not fully resumed, then realized he could use his shipping company to arrange travel.
• Aboard the Black Death, a storm snapped Danitz's restraints, but Klein caught him and told him to reach the stern and launch a tender.
• Klein used the Sea God's Scepter above the gray fog to unleash a storm and planned to make his and Danitz's escape look like an accident.
• Tracy noticed Danitz had vanished and confronted Klein, accusing him of being the detective's accomplice.

Klein fled Tracy through the Black Death, but she caught him, Danitz, and his physical body in the ammunition depot. Azik arrived with a horde of undead to confront Tracy, while Lorne and Sharron shared a cramped cabin aboard a cargo ship bound for Damir Port.

• Klein escaped Tracy’s attacks by diving through the deck, then ordered Danitz to board a tender while he tried to draw the pirates away.
• Klein headed for the ammunition depot to cause an explosion, but Tracy trapped him there using a mirror and brought in the bound Danitz and Klein’s physical body.
• An enormous skeleton and a horde of undead broke into the depot, and Azik arrived, his expression darkening when he saw Klein and Danitz bound.
• Lorne boarded his company’s cargo ship with Sharron, and the two shared the first mate’s cabin as they traveled toward Damir Port.
• Sharron said she did not need sleep and urged Lorne to rest, but he awkwardly replied that demigods did not need much sleep either.

Azik rescued Klein and Danitz from Tracy, who was left aboard the damaged Black Death and froze its breach to keep it from sinking. After Azik took Klein and Danitz to a nearby island and returned Creeping Hunger to Klein, they spotted Cattleya’s ship, the Future, and decided to seek medical help despite Klein’s suspicion that Cattleya might also be involved with Brando.

• Klein returned to his body and asked Azik to stop attacking Tracy, so Azik freed Klein and Danitz and carried them away.
• Tracy recovered enough to freeze the Black Death’s breached hull, while resenting that another of her intended captures had been taken from her.
• Azik brought Klein and Danitz out of the Spirit World onto an island, explained his exhaustion, and gave Klein Creeping Hunger.
• Klein introduced Azik as his teacher and warned Danitz to keep Azik’s identity confidential.
• Danitz recognized Cattleya’s ship, the Future, and suggested asking her for a ride and medical help.
• Azik agreed that the Future could treat their injuries, while Klein anxiously questioned whether Cattleya’s connection to Brando meant danger.

Cattleya welcomed Klein, Danitz, and Azik aboard the Future after Danitz asked for help, while Charles’s schemes against the Hall Family continued amid Backlund’s financial turmoil. The chapter ended with Charles trapped by a group of Beyonders who had sealed his spirituality and destroyed his signal flare.

• Cattleya worried about Brando’s silence and the rumors linking him to Tracy before her intuition alerted her that someone had intruded on the Future.
• Klein arrived aboard the Future with Danitz and Azik, and Cattleya welcomed them after Danitz explained that they needed help.
• Hibbert returned to the Hall Family residence despite Earl Hall’s orders, but Earl Hall sent him to remain at home for his safety.
• Charles sent evidence of the Hall Family’s alleged dealings with the Florent Family to Earl Levin and planned to move his gold.
• Charles sensed a trap in Backlund, escaped into an alley, and discovered that Beyonders had sealed his spirituality and shot down his distress flare.

Charles tried to escape an official-force crackdown but was cornered by Qonas Kilgor, whose demigod presence overwhelmed him. Aboard the Future, Klein and Danitz recovered with Frank’s garlic-based medicine, while Frank revealed his bizarre crossbreeding experiments.

• Charles suspected the official forces had targeted him, armed himself with spells and an illusory armor, and fled toward the edge of the suppression barrier.
• On the Future, Cattleya questioned Danitz about the failed attempt against Tracy, then introduced Frank to Klein and Danitz.
• Frank gave Klein and Danitz garlic crossbred with medicine, which eased their plague symptoms and injuries.
• Frank explained that Brando had funded his crop research and revealed that he had tried to breed calves that would grow from the ground like wheat.
• Charles blasted through a low wall and ran toward an alley exit, but Qonas Kilgor appeared and overwhelmed him with demigod-level suppression.
• As Charles trembled before Qonas, another set of footsteps approached.