Chapter Summaries

Klein searched Capim’s villa after killing the criminals but found the abducted girls already gone, then encountered Lorne and left him a Tarot Card before fleeing. Lorne escaped the ruins, only to be surrounded by police officers who were secretly Mandated Punishers.

• Klein searched the villa’s dungeon and grounds but found no abducted girls, concluding that someone had rescued them before he arrived.
• Klein placed Tarot Cards on Capim’s corpse and discovered Lorne emerging from the rubble.
• Klein recognized Lorne, sent him a Tarot Card, and flew away; Lorne identified it as The World.
• Ace Snake and a suited middle-aged man investigated the ruins and discussed the Wraith-like figure and the Tarot Cards.
• Lorne fled the villa toward East Borough, but more than a dozen armed officers surrounded him and demanded that he cooperate with their investigation.
• Lorne recognized the officers’ spiritual reactions as those of Mandated Punishers.

Lorne was detained after being found near a crime scene and tried to avoid the Church of the Lord of Storms discovering his identity. After three days in custody, he learned that his factory had gone bankrupt while he was away.

• Lorne claimed he had been walking near Iris Street because he wanted to visit the Golden Rose, hoping the story would deflect suspicion.
• Lorne refused to go to the Holy Wind Church, fearing the authorities would discover his identity as Monkey Brando and learn he was a Beyonder.
• A Mandated Punisher and another Beyonder argued over jurisdiction while Lorne remained in the interrogation room.
• Lorne spent three days in a police holding cell without further questioning and complained about the food and his detention.
• Ted and Old Kohler visited Lorne, and he asked Ted to hire a lawyer to secure his release on bail.
• Ted told Lorne that his factory had gone bankrupt.

After the stock market crash crippled the firearms industry's supply chain, Ted proposed that Lorne buy up the struggling businesses, but the plan required two hundred thousand pounds. As Lorne faced losing his factory, Queen Mystic appeared in his cell and offered to lend him the money, holding a Winner Potion.

• Lorne learned from Ted that the stock market crash had devastated the factories and suppliers his business depended on, leaving the factory near bankruptcy.
• Ted offered two choices: close the factory or use the crash to acquire its upstream and downstream businesses for about two hundred thousand pounds.
• Fors discovered that she had lost her three hundred pounds in the crash, and she and Xio worried that Scott's factory might be in trouble.
• Lorne despaired over how to raise the money to save the factory, while Fors and Xio realized they had not seen Scott in several days.
• Queen Mystic appeared in Lorne's holding cell, offered to lend him two hundred thousand pounds, and displayed a Winner Potion.

Bernadette visited Lorne in his detention cell to exchange Roselle’s Diary pages for a Sequence 5 Winner potion and its formula. After learning that his month of bad luck may have fulfilled the advancement ritual, Lorne accepted the potion and considered advancing despite the risks of his situation.

• Lorne dropped his act after Bernadette revealed she had found him through Cattleya’s reply letter.
• Lorne and Bernadette discussed Roselle, and Bernadette remarked that he had once said something similar about fate.
• Bernadette offered Lorne a Winner potion and formula as payment for interpreting pages of Roselle’s Diary.
• Lorne learned that the Winner ritual required a month of uninterrupted bad luck, which matched his recent misfortune, and that he might already possess the needed luck from another person.
• Bernadette created a barrier around the cell and urged Lorne to advance, arguing that becoming a Sequence 5 Winner could help him face his predicament.
• After weighing the risks and Bernadette’s inability to intervene directly, Lorne took the potion.

Lorne drank the potion and advanced to Sequence 5, gaining the ability to sense and influence luck. Bernadette collapsed after using her Eyes of Mystery Prying on him, and Lorne ended the chapter suspecting that someone might soon suffer bad luck.

• Lorne drank the golden potion and began advancing, but its digestion abruptly halted as Bernadette used her Eyes of Mystery Prying.
• A dazzling silver light overwhelmed Bernadette, and she and Lorne both lost consciousness.
• Bernadette woke about two hours later and realized that Lorne concealed a power comparable to the Hidden Sage's.
• Lorne confirmed that his advancement succeeded and described his new ability to sense, accumulate, and influence good and bad luck.
• Lorne recalled the strange presence he had felt during his advancement and concluded that certain people might be in for bad luck.

Lorne sold two demigod-level potion formulas to Bernadette and learned how to contact her messenger before she vanished. Meanwhile, Xio discovered that Scott had been arrested, visited him, and decided to seek Miss Audrey’s help.

• Lorne learned that the Bard, Sailor, Reader, Secrets Suppliant, and Spectator pathways were adjacent, then declined Bernadette’s offer of a loan.
• Lorne sold Bernadette the Storm pathway’s Sequence 4 Cataclysmic Interrer and Sequence 3 Sea King formulas for one hundred thousand pounds.
• Bernadette taught Lorne the incantation for summoning her messenger before her magic ended and she disappeared.
• Old Kohler told Xio that Scott had been arrested, and she hurried to visit him at the prison.
• Lorne told Xio not to investigate and asked her to protect the factory, leaving her worried about his innocence and safety.
• Xio decided to ask Miss Audrey for help with Scott’s arrest.

Xio and Fors learned that Scott had been detained over a complicated case and decided to seek Audrey’s help, while Klein set out to check on Scott. In custody, Lorne realized the authorities and churches were contesting his fate, then watched as the girls he had rescued were brought in as witnesses.

• Xio told Fors that Scott was in trouble after visiting his factory and speaking with him at the police station.
• Fors agreed to go with Xio to ask Audrey for help.
• Klein found no report about the rescued girls in the newspaper and decided to visit Scott’s factory.
• Lorne reflected on his advancement and his predicament as a possible witness caught between the authorities and the churches.
• Police brought the rescued girls into the interrogation room where Lorne was being questioned.

Lorne was interrogated by the Mandated Punishers about rescuing the missing girls, and he used a mixture of truth and lies to convince them he was telling the truth. Back in his cell, he sensed someone arriving and greeted his former teacher, Sharron.

• The girls identified Lorne as the person who had freed them from the dungeon, while he denied knowing them.
• The Interrogator used a mental Beyonder ability on Lorne, who recognized it and pretended to be affected.
• Lorne claimed he and Sherlock Moriarty had investigated the missing girls and described rescuing them, leaving out his own supernatural abilities and blaming strange events on a ghostly figure.
• Lorne explained that fear of Capim's powerful connections had made him hide his involvement, and the Interrogator concluded that he was telling the truth.
• After returning to his detention cell, Lorne sensed someone approach and saw Sharron appear.

Sharron visited Lorne in detention and offered to help, while Fors and Xio asked Audrey to free Scott. Klein learned Scott was imprisoned and planned to seek help through the Tarot Club, as Hazel arrived at the factory to find him about her investment.

• Sharron told Lorne she had come to save him, and he urged her to leave and protect his factory instead of asking Macht for help.
• Sharron questioned whether Lorne wanted her to leave, then disappeared before he could answer.
• Fors and Xio told Audrey that Scott had been unjustly arrested, and Audrey agreed to find a way to help him.
• Klein visited the Logot Firearms Factory, learned Scott was at the police station, and decided to ask Miss Justice for help through the Tarot Club.
• Hazel arrived at the factory looking for Scott so she could discuss getting back the money she had invested.

Danitz lost his money in the financial crisis and wrote to Lorne for help, while Klein and Hazel discussed James Scott’s arrest and learned how much the factory workers respected him. An Augustus demigod chose not to target Scott, considering that the minor player could be useful as a public hero.

• Danitz discovered that the stock market crash and falling Bayam property prices had left him unable to pay for the houses he had contracted to buy.
• Danitz decided not to ask his captain for help and wrote to Lorne, hoping to borrow money.
• Hazel learned that James Scott had been arrested, while Old Kohler praised Scott for protecting his workers and Klein felt guilty about Scott’s predicament.
• Harras reported to an Augustus demigod that Scott and the mysterious Ghost were the only people left who had been at Capim Villa.
• The Augustus demigod forbade Harras from acting against Scott and considered using him as a hero to divert public attention.

Klein prepared the World dummy for the Tarot Club and endured the members’ discussion of the financial crisis and his own wanted status before asking Audrey to help save James Scott. Four days later, James was released from detention after his bail application was approved.

• Klein let the World dummy air out before the Tarot Club meeting to suppress its uncontrollable praise of the Sun.
• Audrey described Backlund’s stock-market crash and the mining-company fraud, including a thirty-thousand-pound reward for Rustig, while Klein and Fors reacted uneasily.
• Klein, speaking through the World, asked Audrey to save James Scott, and she agreed to help.
• After spending four more days in detention and seeing a solicitor fail to secure his release, James was told his bail application had been approved.

After his release from police custody, Lorne read letters from Edwina and Danitz, then proposed an arms-selling partnership to them. When he returned to his factory, reporters crowded the entrance and hailed him as a hero for rescuing abducted girls, leaving him facing another unexpected problem.

• Lorne paid bail, collected letters from Edwina and Danitz, and removed a waterproof playing card from a wound before reading them.
• Edwina shared information about the Worm of Time and offered to ask about Full Moon Muttering, while Danitz reported that Tracy had attacked the captain’s fleet and asked Lorne to lend him four thousand pounds after losing money in the stock market crash.
• Lorne offered Danitz a share of the profits from selling his firearms and wrote to Edwina proposing their cooperation, with the Cataclysmic Interrer potion formula as a gift.
• After waiting two days, Lorne mailed the letters and went to his firearms factory, where he found reporters gathered outside.
• The reporters swarmed Lorne, calling him the hero who had rescued abducted girls from Capim Villa and questioning him about the police investigation and his factory.

Lorne returned to his factory after being released on bail and discovered that the authorities had made him a celebrated hero for rescuing the abducted girls at Capim Villa. Meanwhile, Klein accepted being left out of the headlines, collected his bonus, and realized he had missed a chance to profit from his foreknowledge of the stock market.

• Lorne found reporters crowding his factory and learned from Ted that the Backlund Daily had named him the hero of the East Borough.
• Lorne concluded that the authorities' public endorsement offered protection but also exposed him to risks, and he decided to use the attention to advertise his Ripper gun.
• Old Kohler praised Lorne for risking himself to help the factory workers' missing children, but Lorne insisted it had been a coincidence and asked him to help prepare for the reporters.
• Klein read that James Scott had received the headlines while his own role was reduced to a brief, dubious account of the Black Emperor ghost.
• Klein accepted that the girls' safe return mattered more than fame, pocketed Charles's four-thousand-pound bonus, and regretted not investing in the stocks he knew would rise and fall.

Xio and Fors learned that Scott had been released and celebrated as a hero, then decided to visit him and thank Miss Audrey. Lorne translated Roselle’s diary entry about Mr. Door and considered the benefits of freeing him, while preparing to attend a police press conference.

• Xio and Fors read the news about Scott, and Fors complained that he had hidden his role in raiding Capim’s villa.
• Xio and Fors agreed to visit Scott first, ask him about the armored ghost, and seek his help with a gift for Miss Audrey.
• Xio asked Fors to investigate a job seeking information about an organization connected to tarot cards, and Fors reacted with alarm.
• Lorne translated Roselle’s account of Mr. Door, learning about his ties to the Abraham Family and the methods that could release him.
• Lorne set aside the idea of freeing Mr. Door because he lacked the power and information, then planned to attend the police press conference and discuss equipment contracts.

After winning public praise for his role in rescuing Capim’s victims, Lorne accepted an invitation to manage a government relief fund for them. The fund would partner with the Church of Evernight, bringing Lorne closer to high society while leaving him worried about maintaining his supposed faith.

• At the press conference, Lorne praised Backlund’s police and denied rumors that they had detained him as a suspect, claiming he had been treated as an injured witness.
• Police Chief Huntington thanked Lorne and offered to buy weapons from his factory and promote it through official channels.
• Huntington invited Lorne to a charity reception for a Relief Fund financed by Capim’s confiscated assets and proposed that Lorne manage it.
• Lorne accepted the position, recognizing that it could help victims and raise his social standing.
• Huntington explained that the fund would partner with the Church of Evernight, and Lorne agreed while privately worrying about being exposed as unfamiliar with its doctrines.

Lorne expanded his manufacturing business by buying struggling factories and asked Lawyer Cooper for advice on high-society etiquette. Meanwhile, the Truth Society worried about the investigation into the financial crisis, and Charles settled on Earl Hall as a scapegoat.

• Lorne used Queen Mystic’s payment to buy several factories and a major stake in Larivie Steel, though he still lacked the funds to complete his industrial chain.
• Lorne asked Lawyer Cooper about Backlund party etiquette and learned he would need to master formal dress, aristocratic manners, and dancing.
• Charles invited Klein to a Truth Society gathering, but Klein declined because he wanted to avoid attention while the authorities investigated the financial crisis.
• After Klein left, Charles considered how to divert the investigation and ruled out Baron Syndras as a target.
• Charles identified Earl Hall as a suitable scapegoat for the Truth Society’s financial troubles.

Mori Macht regretted losing his savings in a mining-company scam, then saw political opportunity in James Scott’s new fame as the East Borough Hero. Meanwhile, Lorne met with Sharron and Maric at the firearms factory, where their conversation was interrupted by Xio and an unidentified woman arriving to see him.

• Mori Macht realized the Southern Continent Mining Company had swindled him after he invested his savings in its supposedly lucrative gold mine.
• Mori read about James Scott rescuing abducted girls and recognized him as Hazel’s boyfriend, whose factory had received her investment.
• Mori learned the authorities and Church might put James in charge of a charitable foundation, accepted an invitation to its reception, and went upstairs to speak with Hazel.
• At the firearms factory, Lorne offered Maric a shotgun and asked Sharron to postpone his lessons, but Sharron insisted they begin.
• Old Kohler announced that Xio and an unfamiliar woman had arrived to see Lorne, and Maric sensed Sharron’s mood turn cold.

Lorne welcomed Xio and Fors, recounted his release, and discussed their questions about the Black Emperor Ghost and Audrey Hall. While he sought a companion for an upcoming charity gala, Hazel Macht arrived and offered to be his dance partner, leaving everyone staring at her.

• Lorne greeted Xio and Fors, then explained that he had lied to protect Xio and briefly described how he had become a Hero.
• Xio asked Lorne about the Black Emperor Ghost and a possible Tarot Card connection, but he shared only what he had seen and denied knowing of any organization.
• Xio and Fors told Lorne that Audrey Hall might have helped secure his release, and he asked what gift would suit her interest in mysticism.
• Lorne asked Xio for help with dancing at a charity gala, then invited Fors to accompany him after Fors warned that Xio could not appear publicly with him.
• Hazel Macht arrived and offered to be Lorne’s dance partner, drawing the attention of Xio, Fors, and Lorne.

Hazel visited Lorne to discuss the charity fund and the gala, and he proposed that she manage the fund’s daily affairs. After sending Hazel, Xio, and Fors away, Lorne discovered that Sharron had stayed behind and refused to teach him dancing or etiquette.

• Hazel arrived at Lorne’s office, and Xio and Fors eyed her warily as he introduced them.
• Hazel asked to speak privately with Lorne about the gala, then offered to be his dance partner despite her father’s interest in the fund.
• Lorne proposed that Hazel work for him by managing the fund, and suggested she discuss the idea with Councilman Macht before deciding.
• Lorne caught Xio and Fors eavesdropping outside the office door and sent all three young women away.
• Sharron appeared after Lorne said he might attend the gala alone, told him she knew dancing and etiquette, and refused to teach him.

Lucky and Susie tracked down a new friend, while Fors worried about Scott’s interest in Hazel and prepared to visit Mrs. Anlisa’s grave. At the Bravehearts Bar, Lorne won another card game and treated the room to beer.

• Lucky led Susie to an out-of-the-way shop, where they found a rural wizard chasing a talkative owl with a broom.
• Fors complained to Xio that Scott had asked Hazel to work at his charitable foundation, then reassured herself that Hazel was no match for Audrey.
• Xio asked Fors why she had become so concerned about Scott, and Fors said she hoped he could help them find a way to lift the Full Moon Muttering curse.
• As rain began, Fors said she would visit Mrs. Anlisa’s grave the next day.
• At the Bravehearts Bar, Lorne won a third card game, collected his winnings, and bought beer for everyone.