Recaps

Klein was reported to the Mandated Punishers for strange rituals and suspected power from an unknown entity, prompting Frye to arrange further formalities while promising to prove his innocence. Klein was left to spend the night with Old Neil, and the stress unexpectedly accelerated his Clown potion digestion.

• Frye and Leonard told Klein that a letter had reported his strange rituals and alleged connection to an unknown entity.
• Klein denied worshiping an evil god and cited the Holy Cathedral's recent assessment, but Frye suggested a more thorough examination.
• Klein worried that an investigation might expose his secrets and suspected the Hanged Man could have reported him.
• Frye said there was no concrete evidence against Klein but required him to stay at the company overnight with Old Neil.
• Klein joined Old Neil in his cell, and the shock of the report accelerated his Clown potion digestion.

Lanevus sensed that authorities were closing in on his mining-company scam and escaped through a hidden passage with his money. Lorne’s planned investment meeting fell through when he learned Gracis was hospitalized, leaving Lorne uneasy about the strange coincidences since arriving in the city.

• Lanevus prepared to deceive another investor, but his spiritual intuition warned him that suspicious people, including possible Mandated Punishers, had surrounded his company.
• Lanevus sent his secretary away, opened a concealed passage, and fled with the money from his safe.
• Lorne divined that going out would bring him no danger and went to the Divination Club to meet Gracis about investing in Lanevus’s mining company.
• The receptionist told Lorne that Gracis had fallen seriously ill and was receiving hospital treatment, so their meeting was canceled.
• Lorne left disappointed and, during his carriage ride back to the inn, wondered why strange events kept happening since he arrived in the city.

Klein was confined to guarding the Chanis Gate while the Nighthawks waited for Captain Dunn Smith to return and judge the suspicions against him. Above the Gray Fog, Klein suspected Lorne Dysenk had written the Report Letter, but his divination could not confirm it.

• After Old Neil was taken away for questioning, Frye assigned Klein to guard the Chanis Gate, and the Nighthawks agreed to wait for Captain Dunn Smith before deciding what to do about him.
• Klein worried that the Report Letter could expose his secret, but feared that fleeing would endanger his teammates, Benson, and Melissa.
• Alone behind the Chanis Gate, Klein went Above the Gray Fog and recalled Lorne Dysenk spying on his house with a telescope.
• Klein divined that the report against him was deliberate and that Old Neil had been included to make it seem credible.
• Klein repeatedly asked whether Lorne Dysenk had reported him, but the Pendulum swayed irregularly, leaving the divination inconclusive.

Lorne realized Leonard was following him and tried to escape through the alleys. After losing sight of Lorne in a dead-end alley, Leonard searched below while Lorne hid overhead and aimed his pistol at him.

• Klein's direct divinations about Lorne failed, leading him to suspect Lorne had more to him than he let on.
• Leonard investigated Klein's visit to the Azure Hotel and learned he had asked about Lorne Dysenk; after spotting Lorne nearby, he decided to follow him.
• Lorne recognized Leonard and suspected the pursuit was connected to his report letter, but a warning from his intuition made him flee.
• Leonard chased Lorne through the streets and alleys until Lorne reached a dead end and climbed into a gap between the buildings.
• Leonard entered the empty dead-end alley as Lorne, concealed above him, drew his pistol and aimed it at him.

Lorne’s attempt to ambush Leonard failed when his revolver misfired twice, and both men left the encounter alive. Back at the hotel with Lucky, Lorne wondered whether the meeting had been a coincidence before realizing he had forgotten to buy food.

• Lorne tried to shoot Leonard, but his revolver misfired twice, so he hid while Leonard searched the alley.
• Leonard left without finding Lorne, and Pallez told him that either Leonard or Lorne had been lucky.
• Lorne cautiously escaped the alley and hurried away in case Leonard returned with reinforcements.
• At the Red Chimney House, the quill-wielding narrator lamented that neither Leonard nor Lorne had killed the other.
• Lorne returned to the hotel, told Lucky about the encounter, and wondered if it had been arranged before realizing he had forgotten to buy food.

The Clown became frustrated when the Magician said the Demoness assessment had not earned him an advancement, then grew interested in the black-covered notebook. Lorne trained with his pistol and named it Phantom, while Leonard visited Klein at the Blackthorn Security Company and asked whether he knew Lorne Dysenk.

• The Magician told the Clown that the assessment had neither succeeded nor failed, and that the Clown would have to wait before advancing.
• After the Magician left to answer a telegram, the Clown reached for the notebook, wondering whether it contained Seer pathway potion formulas.
• Lorne worried about the dangers in the city and practiced shooting with his special revolver, discovering it could fire elemental shots but needed a pause after six rounds.
• Lorne named the pistol Phantom and reminded himself to beware of its tempting fragrance.
• Leonard visited Klein behind the Chanis Gate and asked whether he knew Lorne Dysenk.

Lorne bought a Door Opening charm at the underground market, learned the Potion principles of acting and digestion from Roselle's Diary, and considered forging and compiling diary pages for profit. Meanwhile, Leonard asked Klein about Lorne Dysenk, leaving Klein wary and Leonard struggling to explain how he knew the name.

• Lorne attended a Beyonder gathering beneath the Evil Dragon Bar and bought a Door Opening charm for thirty pounds.
• Lorne read Roselle's Diary and learned that Potion advancement relied on acting and digestion, though most of the entries he saw were scandalous gossip.
• Lorne considered fabricating diary entries and compiling valuable information from the diary, but worried that he lacked the knowledge to judge which secrets were important.
• Klein became alarmed when Leonard asked whether he knew Lorne Dysenk and gave a guarded explanation that he had investigated Lorne as a suspicious Beyonder.
• Klein asked Leonard how he had learned Lorne's name, and Leonard hesitated because he had not prepared an excuse.

Klein kept Leonard from pursuing Lorne Dysenk, while Lorne worked on forging a convincing entry for Roselle’s Diary. Meanwhile, Clown secretly photographed his boss Magician’s notebook and left the room feeling guilty.

• Leonard told Klein he had investigated possible connections to Lorne Dysenk, but Klein withheld useful information, and Pallez advised Leonard not to pursue Lorne.
• Lorne planned a forged diary entry, considered how to make its dates believable, and chose Miss Sauron as its heroine.
• Lorne rewrote the entry with his other hand because his handwriting looked too neat, but still could not make it appear clumsy enough.
• Clown slipped into Magician’s room while his boss was away and used a concealed Camera to photograph information in the notebook.
• Clown noticed damp marks left on the carpet, then convinced himself the theft would help him advance and perform his missions before sneaking out.

Lanevus escaped the Mandated Punishers and decided to use a bomb against them and the city. Lorne coped with his anxiety by sketching a Winchester-style shotgun, but the chapter ended with him sensing that something bad was about to happen.

• Lanevus evaded the Mandated Punishers by hiding beneath crates behind a tavern.
• After the pursuers left, Lanevus remembered the bomb he had left behind and vowed to destroy them and the city.
• Lorne considered his recent troubles and the Wish-Granting Box, then decided to distract himself by designing a better weapon.
• Lorne sketched a rough Winchester Model 1887 design and considered producing it through the arms factory he had inherited.
• Lorne looked out at the crimson moonlight and felt that something bad was going to happen.

As Dunn Smith’s return approached, Klein suspected that Lorne Dysenk had reported him after noticing his connection to the Fool, and realized his own attempts to draw Lorne above the Gray Fog may have caused the problem. Klein tried to summon Lorne anyway, but the Gray Fog violently shook and damaged the palace, leaving the source of the disturbance unclear.

• Klein worried that the investigation into him would expose his secrets and concluded he needed to learn why Lorne Dysenk had reported him.
• Klein reasoned that Lorne might believe him to be a believer or blessed follower of the Fool and might have reported him to enlist the Church’s help.
• Klein realized that his earlier attempts to draw Lorne above the Gray Fog may have frightened him and caused the report.
• Klein put on sunglasses and tried to forcibly pull Lorne above the Gray Fog while Lorne struggled under an invisible force in the inn.
• The Gray Fog erupted in enormous patches of light, shaking the mysterious space and damaging the palace and long table as Klein watched in alarm.

After a terrifying encounter with a Hidden Being, Lorne decided to flee the city with Lucky, but a gas pipeline explosion blocked his route to the train station. Meanwhile, Klein remained trapped behind the Chanis Gate, and an unseen writer declared that the story was nearing its end.

• Lorne woke exhausted after the Hidden Being’s attack, realized his location had been exposed, and decided to leave the city with Lucky.
• Klein worried about the disturbance Above the Gray Fog and held a Blazing Sun charm as his last fallback.
• A gas pipeline explosion blocked Lorne’s way to the train station, forcing him to follow the fleeing crowd away from it.
• Lorne suspected that something had been influencing him since he obtained the notebook.
• An unseen writer noted that the plan had weakened the Nighthawks despite no deaths, observed that Klein had been locked up, and wrote that the story was coming to an end.

The Magician spent a restless night and prepared for the circus’s final performance, but his suspicions led him to attempt a divination. Meanwhile, Lanevus fled the Mandated Punishers into the circus, where Leonard also arrived to investigate the Seer-pathway Beyonders he had encountered before.

• The Magician failed to sleep, dressed for the day’s performance, and sensed something was wrong when he found the grounds quiet at dawn.
• The Magician checked the time, wrote on paper, and prepared to divine whether the authorities had discovered them.
• Lanevus escaped the Mandated Punishers and spotted the circus, slipping into its crowd to hide.
• Leonard considered whether the report against Klein was meant to turn the Nighthawks against one another and investigated the circus instead.
• Leonard followed the crowd into the circus after Pallez confirmed it could provide cover for Seer-pathway Beyonders.

The Magician found the Clown transformed into a monster after he secretly performed a ritual from a mysterious notebook. Meanwhile, Lanevus was cornered in a crowd when Megose recognized him, drawing the attention of nearby Mandated Punishers.

• The Magician's pendulum suddenly spun after his divination had appeared lifeless.
• The Magician and a Seer went to check on the Clown, who had shut himself in his room and claimed he was unwell.
• The Clown confessed that he had used a ritual from a notebook after failing to advance, then revealed he had become a monster.
• Megose recognized Lanevus in the crowd and clung to him, refusing to let him leave.
• Lanevus tried to placate Megose, but the crowd gathered and the Mandated Punishers approached, so he seized her and shouted for everyone to stay back.

Lorne found himself drawn back to the Circus and suspected that someone was controlling his movements, while Leonard investigated a trace of the Antigonus Family's Notebook. Elsewhere, Lanevus held Megose hostage against the Mandated Punishers, and Five of Clubs sensed unusual Spirituality around the Circus.

• Lorne reached the Circus, where Lucky alerted him to something and he spotted Leonard among the crowd.
• Lorne retreated into an alley and decided that running would not help, so he would wait to learn what his pursuers wanted.
• Leonard asked Pallez about the trace of the Antigonus Family's Notebook, then prepared to search the Circus grounds.
• Pallez warned Leonard that something felt wrong before he could go far.
• Lanevus threatened the Mandated Punishers with Megose and the child she carried, while Megose pleaded for help.
• Five of Clubs noticed that the Circus was unusually lively and sensed abnormal Spirituality nearby.

The Magician used his Golden Charm to restore the transformed Clown, then discovered the Antigonus Family's notebook had mutated and was influencing him. As the circus evacuated and the Mandated Punishers surrounded it, the notebook fell on Lanevus and Megose went into labor.

• The Magician broke his Golden Charm to reverse the Clown's transformation and ordered the Fortune Teller to carry him away.
• The Magician realized the notebook had corrupted him, resisted its summons with pain, and entered his room with an Explosive Charm.
• The Fortune Teller began evacuating the circus workers and visitors, then learned that the Mandated Punishers had surrounded the circus.
• Lanevus used the panic caused by the reported fire to shove Megose aside and flee into the crowd.
• A notebook fell from the sky and struck Lanevus, spreading an ominous aura that caused Megose's baby to begin seeking birth.

Magician and the Mandated Punishers confronted the growing supernatural crisis at the Circus, prompting the city’s Beyonder teams to mobilize. Ince Zangwill used the emergency to leave Klein alone at Blackthorn Security Company, preparing to strike.

• Magician arrived at the Circus and found the Mandated Punishers, Megose, Lanevus, and the Antigonus Family Notebook in a tense standoff.
• Megose and the notebook reacted violently, and the Mandated Punishers sent for Nighthawk and Machinery Hivemind reinforcements.
• Leonard sensed that something had happened, while Lorne lost Lucky and his suitcase as the fleeing crowd swept him toward the Circus.
• Frye learned of the Circus crisis and dispatched the Nighthawks, leaving Klein behind at Blackthorn Security Company.
• Ince Zangwill revealed that the emergency had drawn away the official Beyonders and left Klein exposed to his attack.

Megose and the Antigonus Family Notebook turned on each other, but Lanevus died and Megose became a three-headed monster as an Evil God's Offspring neared birth. Five of Clubs arrived to confront her while Lorne was enveloped in white light, and Ince Zangwill moved to seize Saint Selena's Ashes.

• The Magician's team attacked Megose with Explosive charms, enraging her, but the Notebook-controlled Lanevus stopped her and fought her.
• Lanevus was killed as the Notebook's power faded, leaving Megose transformed into a three-headed monster that hurled the Mandated Punishers and Circus members away.
• Pallez stopped Leonard from approaching the catastrophe and sent him away, while Lorne felt a spiritual warning and saw the Three of Diamonds flash before a shrill cry and white light enveloped him.
• Five of Clubs arrived, took away Megose's ability to speak her Blasphemous Words, and prepared to use the Society's method as the Evil God's Offspring began crying to be born.
• Ince Zangwill approached the Blackthorn Security Company, believing only a Sequence 8 remained inside, and moved to seize Saint Selena's Ashes.

After surviving a mysterious disaster, Lorne fled with Lucky and his suitcase while Klein fought Ince Zangwill behind Chanis Gate. As Lorne entered a strangely deserted, darkening street, 0-08 abandoned its plan involving him and rewrote the story so Ince could escape with Saint Selena’s Ashes.

• Lorne woke after the disaster, found Lucky retrieving his suitcase, and hurried away with her.
• Ince Zangwill ambushed Klein behind Chanis Gate, but Klein countered with a burst of light and left both of them badly injured.
• 0-08 began writing a plot in which Lorne would find the Blackthorn Security Company and take it away.
• Lorne reached an empty Zouteland Street, where the afternoon sky darkened and he sensed another danger.
• 0-08 noticed the gaze of powerful entities, crossed out its original plot, and wrote that Ince would recover Saint Selena’s Ashes and escape.

Lorne’s uneventful encounter gave way to Klein discovering that the Chanis Gate had been breached and its seals’ core stolen, though the Sealed Artifacts remained quiet and Rozanne and Mrs. Orianna survived. Fearing the Holy Cathedral would uncover his secrets, Klein fled Tingen to seek help from Mr. Azik, while Frye realized the Nighthawks might have been deliberately weakened and rushed to warn headquarters.

• Lorne checked with Lucky after the silence around him ended, but the cat detected nothing unusual.
• Klein woke behind the destroyed Chanis Gate, found Saint Selena’s Ashes missing, and confirmed that the Sealed Artifacts remained stable and Rozanne and Mrs. Orianna were only unconscious.
• At the Circus, Frye and the Machinery Hivemind captain found the Mandated Punishers alive and concluded that a High Sequence Beyonder had intervened after the evil god incident.
• Frye suspected that someone had deliberately weakened the Nighthawks and hurried to return to headquarters with Seeka and Royale.
• Klein fled the Blackthorn Security Company because he could not explain the Sun Flame charm or risk a Holy Cathedral investigation, and set out for the Outskirts of Tingen City to find Mr. Azik.

Klein met Azik in a cemetery and explained the events that had forced him to flee Tingen. Azik helped him identify Ince Zangwill’s scheme, and Klein chose to pursue the culprit in Backlund, where Azik began transporting him.

• Klein told Azik about his recent troubles, including Lorne Dysenk, while withholding the gray fog and Tarot Club.
• Azik reasoned that Ince Zangwill had used the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact 0-08 to engineer the Nighthawks’ misfortunes and steal Saint Selena’s Ashes.
• Klein learned that the Nighthawks had suffered no deaths and decided to pursue Ince Zangwill in Backlund.
• Azik offered help and promised to remain Klein’s teacher, then offered to take him to Backlund.
• Azik placed a hand on Klein’s shoulder and used an unfamiliar ability, surrounding Klein with vivid colors.

After discovering that the Playing Card contained a spiritual storage space, Lorne used the Wish-Granting Box and Dream Divination to seek Beyonder knowledge and was directed toward the sea. He decided to leave Tingen and explore the coast, considering smuggling goods to fund his advancement.

• Lorne found the Antigonus Notebook in his suitcase, where Lucky had placed it, and suspected it was behind the strange events surrounding him.
• Lorne touched the Notebook with the Playing Card, causing the Notebook to vanish, then discovered he could open a storage space inside the card by pouring spirituality into it.
• Lorne asked the Wish-Granting Box how to obtain Beyonder knowledge, and it produced a slip bearing the word “sea.”
• Lorne's Dream Divination showed him a sunny coastal city with ships and the flag of the Loen Kingdom, leading him to suspect it was a colony or archipelago.
• Lorne decided to go to the sea, where he hoped to find mysticism knowledge and make money by smuggling goods.

Lorne bought a second-class ticket to Bayam and boarded the Vilan with Lucky, hoping to find opportunities and lie low. Unable to sleep on the ship, he went onto the deck, where the brightening crimson moon filled him with apprehension.

• Lorne learned from a guard that Wolf Fish Canned Food was so foul that opening it had once emptied rival ticket halls, and he wondered whether it could affect Lucky or monsters with keen noses.
• Lorne found that first-class passage to Bayam cost over thirty pounds, then bought the last second-class ticket on the Vilan for nine pounds.
• The next evening, Lorne boarded the armed steam-powered ship and settled into his small second-class cabin with Lucky.
• Unable to sleep because of the ship's rocking, Lorne went onto the quiet deck and admired the crimson moon.
• The moonlight suddenly grew brighter, and Lorne felt an inexplicable wave of apprehension.

Lorne explored a port while the Vilan took on supplies, encountering extortion, wanted posters, and a casino. After winning several rounds of cards, he refused a ten-pound wager and left the story with his winnings intact.

• Lorne entered the Swordfish Bar and saw sailors extort a young man from Loen for cured meat.
• Lorne found wanted posters bearing bounties ranging from dozens to thousands of pounds.
• Lorne wandered into a casino and sat down to play cards against a smiling stranger.
• Lorne won the first round after closely watching the dealer shuffle and draw the cards.
• Lorne won five rounds in a row, prompting the stranger to accuse him of cheating and demand a ten-pound final wager.
• Lorne refused the wager, admitted he was scared, and pushed back his chair.

Lorne played Fight Evil with Danitz and Alger Wilson, whose unexpected card plays left Lorne and Danitz struggling to respond. Lorne realized Danitz had only a three left, and the round ended on that revelation.

• Lorne agreed to another card game with Danitz and met Alger Wilson, who joined to fill the third seat.
• The three chose Fight Evil, and Lorne started with a three.
• Alger took control of the game by playing the big joker, consecutive pairs, and then a straight that left him with one card.
• Danitz played a bomb to double the stakes, then led with a three while signaling Alger to continue.
• Alger passed, and Lorne inferred that Danitz had only a three left.

After returning to Tingen, Dunn learned that Klein had vanished during Ince Zangwill’s attack on Chanis Gate, and the Nighthawks debated whether Klein had died, worked with Ince, or defected. Leonard and Frye told Klein’s family he had gone missing on an expedition, while the investigation left the Nighthawks with no answers and Leonard preparing to join the Red Gloves.

• Dunn returned to Tingen, learned about the recent deaths and injuries, and asked the Nighthawks what had happened to Klein.
• The Nighthawks linked the damage behind Chanis Gate to Ince Zangwill and 0-08, then speculated that Klein might have been an accomplice or a Sun believer who had defected.
• Frye and Leonard visited Benson and claimed Klein had gone missing in an accident while escorting artifacts on the Southern Continent.
• The Nighthawks questioned Benson, but Dunn examined his thoughts in a dream and found no sign that he knew anything about Klein’s work.
• Seeka asked Leonard about joining the Red Gloves, and Leonard said he had applied so he could advance and help uncover the truth about Klein’s disappearance.