Chapter Summaries

Leonard was assigned to investigate a strange letter linked to deaths among East Borough gangsters, while Lorne secretly eliminated Marcus and learned about the Hall Family’s political troubles and the Rose School’s plans. The chapter ended with Theodore arriving in Backlund and eyeing the Hall Family’s wealth as a possible source of funds for restoring his nation.

• Soest tasked Leonard with tracing the bad-luck letter after dozens of copies reached Earl Hall’s estate, and Pallez suspected its style recalled someone from long ago.
• Marcus hid in a sealed iron safe house, but leaking gas ignited and trapped him inside as the room became a deadly oven.
• Lorne confirmed Marcus’s death and planned to stop the letter’s spread, then read a newspaper report that used financial data to cast suspicion on the Hall Family’s wealth and charity.
• Lorne met Johnny, collected news that Rose School officers and possibly a demigod were heading to Backlund, and learned the Society wanted to locate surviving members of the Temperance faction.
• Theodore arrived in Backlund disguised as a merchant and, after reading about the Hall Family’s fortune, began considering it a source of money to restore his nation.

Lorne suspected the Truth Society wanted to cooperate with the Temperance Faction over the Southern Continent and planned to warn Sharron about an approaching Indulgence Faction demigod. In Backlund, Hibbert prepared to spread Calamity Letters while Audrey connected the curse to Mr. Fool, and Earl Hall received a threatening visitor who might know Alfred’s whereabouts.

• Lorne reasoned that the Society might need the Temperance Faction’s help against the Indulgence Faction in the Southern Continent and decided to investigate the proposed cooperation and warn Sharron.
• Theodore reviewed reports about Earl Hall, worried that extorting him might fail, and prepared to negotiate quickly before rival Numinous Episcopate factions learned about Alfred’s capture.
• Hibbert copied a hundred Calamity Letters and planned to send them to his political enemies, but Audrey found one and grew concerned that the Hall Family might be cursed.
• Audrey wondered whether her secret devotion to Mr. Fool had brought misfortune upon her family, then resolved to seek his help.
• Earl Hall learned that a threatening merchant from the Southern Continent wanted to see him, suspected the visitor knew about Alfred, and ordered the household bodyguards to assemble.

Hibbert was nearly killed by a wounded Werewolf after mailing copies of Lorne’s mysterious letters, but Lorne rescued him and discovered the letters at the scene. Recognizing Hibbert’s connection to the copies, Lorne hinted that he could expose the embarrassing secret to the press.

• Hibbert mailed a copy of the mysterious letter in Bridge Borough and encountered a postman who recognized the prank letters and eyed his paper bag.
• Lorne sensed trouble, followed a group of Nighthawks toward an alley, and found Hibbert fleeing a wounded Werewolf.
• The Werewolf caught Hibbert, but Lorne shot it, then killed it with his bare hands when it attacked again.
• Lorne noticed scattered letters bearing the same words as his own Potion-digestion letters and realized Hibbert had been copying them.
• Lorne teased Hibbert that the papers might expose his unusual hobby and harm the Hall family's reputation.

Lorne saved Hibbert from a Sequence 7 Werewolf, then discovered that Hibbert’s spirit body and fortune had been tampered with. Suspecting someone had exploited the letters Hibbert mailed, Lorne left to investigate while Hibbert waited for the Nighthawks.

• Lorne showed Hibbert the letters and warned that their discovery could damage the Hall Family, then helped him collect them after killing the Werewolf.
• Hibbert explained that he had copied the letters and gone out alone to mail them, and Lorne identified the attacker as a likely member of the Rose School’s Indulgence Faction.
• Hibbert asked Lorne to help the Hall Family through its troubles, but Lorne declined to intervene in the political crisis.
• Lorne examined Hibbert and found that his spirit body had been disturbed and that someone seemed to have taken a large amount of his fortune.
• After Hibbert pointed out the mailbox, Lorne went to inspect the area while Hibbert stayed behind to await the Nighthawks.

Lorne investigated the mailbox connected to the Werewolf incident, then cooperated with the Nighthawks after learning Hibbert was safe. Meanwhile, Earl Hall paid the Numinous Episcopate’s demand for Alfred’s upkeep and prepared to seek the Church’s help, grateful that James Scott had saved Hibbert.

• Lorne found the mailbox empty, sensed he was being watched, and saw a raven fly away.
• Lorne met the Nighthawks at the Werewolf’s corpse and agreed to give them a formal account of what happened.
• Theodore threatened Earl Hall with the consequences of Alfred’s death and demanded three hundred thousand pounds for the hostage’s upkeep.
• Earl Hall paid Theodore with bearer bonds and cash, then prepared to ask the Church of Evernight for help rescuing Alfred.
• Earl Hall learned that Hibbert had been frightened but was unharmed, and credited James Scott with saving him.

Lorne gave the Church a statement about saving Hibbert and suggested that Hibbert receive an examination and purification. After hearing Hibbert’s full account, Earl Hall ordered him to stay home, discussed the Hall Family’s threats and Lorne’s strength, and began considering whether Lorne might become a suitable match for Audrey.

• Lorne described rescuing Hibbert to a Nighthawk, asked about the Rose School and the Indulgence Faction, and recommended examining and purifying Hibbert.
• After leaving the cathedral, Hibbert told Earl Hall everything about the day, and Earl Hall scolded him for taking such a reckless risk.
• Earl Hall told Hibbert that the Numinous Episcopate had extorted the family and that he had paid to protect Alfred, then ordered Hibbert to remain at home.
• Hibbert described Lorne’s strength and goodwill toward the Hall Family, and Earl Hall considered Lorne’s influence and potential as a match for Audrey.
• Earl Hall decided to prepare Lorne a generous thank-you gift.

Lorne asked Maric to investigate the Calamity Letter and prepared to seek help from the Society while questioning why the letter had not sped up his potion digestion. Separately, Leonard gathered information from Johnny and realized he should investigate the postmen who delivered the letters.

• Lorne checked Maric's recovery and asked him to trace how the Calamity Letter was being circulated, starting with the postal system.
• Lorne told Maric about the East Borough gangs' chaos and instructed him to prepare Umbrella's moves to take control of the underworld.
• Lorne considered the Hall Family's silence, then wrote to Antigonus seeking intelligence about the Rose School and help obtaining Mystical Items.
• Lorne realized that the Calamity Letter's widespread impact had not noticeably accelerated his potion digestion and recalled having a similar experience before.
• Leonard paid Johnny for information about the Calamity Letter, including the deaths of gang leaders such as Marcus.
• Pallez advised Leonard to investigate how the letters were delivered, and Leonard decided to look for a postman familiar with the neighborhoods.

Charles ordered the Truth Society to intensify its campaign against the Hall Family and stage a protest outside their villa, while Audrey grew disillusioned with her brother’s political calculations. Lorne received a mysterious Black Silver Ring from Antigonus and sensed living flesh inside its gemstone.

• Charles ordered the Truth Society to spread accusations against the Hall Family across Loen and arrange a provocative protest outside their villa.
• Audrey questioned Hibbert about his attack, and he revealed his growing desire to become a Beyonder after being hunted by a Werewolf.
• A crowd gathered outside the Hall Family villa, and Hibbert initially wanted to drive them away before Audrey stopped him from using violence.
• Hibbert recognized that the protest was meant to provoke the Hall Family, and Audrey became disillusioned by his focus on political advantage rather than the protesters’ suffering.
• Lorne received a black package from Antigonus containing an archaic Black Silver Ring with a blood-red gemstone that seemed to hold writhing flesh.

Lorne read Antigonus's letter and learned that the Society wanted to work with the Temperance Faction against the Indulgence Faction on the Southern Continent. He accepted the powerful ring Shepherd's Resentment, tested its Grazing ability on Finkel's characteristic, and considered using it on the evil spirit living beneath his villa.

• Lorne read Antigonus's explanation of the Society's plans and its offer of aid to the Temperance Faction.
• Lorne learned that Shepherd's Resentment contained Mr. A's corrupted Beyonder characteristic and could graze Demigod-level souls, though it carried serious risks.
• Lorne put on the ring and used it to graze Finkel's Disciplinary Paladin characteristic, choosing Punishment and Prohibition and receiving Death and Secret-Keeping at random.
• Lorne considered grazing the restless evil spirit living beneath his villa.

Lorne tested the Disciplinary Paladin’s abilities and then intervened in a protest outside the Hall villa, calming the crowd and preventing arrests. As he left, Audrey watched with mixed gratitude and self-doubt, while a young postman sensed that an interesting visitor would soon come to see him.

• Lorne tested the ring’s four abilities, noticed its dangerous influence, and decided to wear it for an hour each day.
• Audrey tried to calm protesters accusing the Hall Family of exploiting the poor, but their anger intensified and overwhelmed her efforts.
• Lorne used a faint Mental Storm and promised aid through his Charitable Fund, persuading the protesters to disperse safely.
• Lorne turned away the police squad’s attempt to arrest protesters, then left without speaking to Audrey.
• A young postman sensed that an interesting visitor would soon come to see him.

Lorne tracked down the postman delivering the Calamity Letters and knocked him unconscious, but Leonard arrived and confronted him. Before Lorne could decide how to handle Leonard, an unseen force made his hand raise an object toward his eye as a mysterious voice spoke behind him.

• Lorne praised Ian for identifying likely postmen and gave him law textbooks to study for his Lawyer pathway.
• Leonard discussed the letters’ possible purpose with Pallez, who grew concerned when Leonard suggested they might be a prank.
• Lorne watched a young postman collect discarded Calamity Letters and followed him through Bridge Borough.
• Lorne confronted the postman and knocked him unconscious with Mental Storm.
• Leonard entered the alley and ordered Lorne to surrender, but Lorne’s hand suddenly moved on its own toward his eye as a teasing voice sounded behind him.

Amon confronted Lorne, revealed that he knew about Lorne’s ties to the Society and claimed Antigonus had stolen his rightful inheritance. As Amon questioned him about the Society’s history, Leonard escaped and Pallez wondered what the encounter meant.

• Amon controlled Lorne and forced him to resist putting on a Monocle, while Pallez urged Leonard to flee the alley.
• Lorne broke Amon’s control, threw away the Monocle, and retreated after briefly manifesting his Mercury Body.
• Amon questioned Lorne about the Calamity Letters and White Cliff Town, then revealed that he was Amon and disabled Lorne’s disguise before returning the stolen power.
• Amon asked about Lorne’s family and Society membership, then claimed he was the Society’s rightful heir and accused Antigonus and his sister of stealing his inheritance.
• Amon asked whether Antigonus had explained the Society’s history or what he wanted from Lorne, while Lorne considered whether Amon might know answers he needed.
• Leonard stopped running several streets away, and Pallez concluded that this Amon was probably not the original and had not come for him.

Amon told Lorne stories about the Truth Society’s founder, Jowes, while probing whether Lorne knew the Society’s hidden history and demanding his Three of Clubs card. When Amon began a serious attack, Leonard returned to the alley and Lorne discovered that Amon was rapidly gathering power and interfering with his abilities.

• Amon explained that he and Antigonus had served the Blood Emperor and revealed that Jowes, codename Ace, had founded the Truth Society.
• Amon recalled his complicated friendship with Jowes and described Jowes’s death, romantic scandals, and influence on the Society, while Lorne wondered if Antigonus thought he was Jowes’s descendant.
• Amon asked Lorne for the Three of Clubs card, then put on black Sunglasses and began an operation; Lorne activated his Blood Ring’s Grazed Disciplinary Paladin ability to forbid theft and fraud.
• Pallez told Leonard that he had identified the writer of the letters, then sent him back toward the alley as a terrifying aura erupted there.
• Lorne saw countless tiny things converge on Amon as the Postman’s level surged, while Amon identified abnormalities in Lorne’s mental body as Paranoiac’s work and began trying to steal them.

Amon’s attempt to decrypt Lorne’s sealed memories backfired when he accidentally stole corruption from Lorne’s Blood Ring, leaving his avatar overwhelmed by two hostile forces. Lorne escaped as Pallez intervened, and Postman Amon disintegrated in the alley.

• Amon forced open fragments of Lorne’s memories, while Lorne fought back with his pocket watch, Blood Ring, and Mental Storm.
• Amon accidentally stole the Blood Ring’s ability along with corruption, causing his Worms of Time to die as rival forces ravaged his mind.
• Amon’s corruption triggered a frenzied convergence of his avatars across Backlund, while Hazel sensed a strange pull and hurried to her window.
• Lorne recovered enough to curse Amon with bad luck and hide in the Portable Space attached to Three of Clubs.
• Pallez sealed the area and siphoned away the converging avatars, while Amon’s true body severed its connections to Backlund.
• Postman Amon disintegrated into lifeless Worms of Time after the corruption, Lorne’s curse, and Pallez’s intervention overwhelmed him.

After surviving Amon’s collapse, Lorne collected Worm of Time remains and an ancient scroll before encountering Leonard and Pallez at the scene. Lorne escaped with his loot, while Pallez concealed the evidence and prepared to claim the worms, only to notice some had vanished; elsewhere, Will reacted to the Wheel of Fortune aura, and Lorne hid at an inn to examine his gains.

• Lorne left the Portable Space after the alley grew quiet and found Amon gone, with shriveled Worms of Time and an ancient scroll left behind.
• Lorne picked up several worms and the scroll, then encountered Leonard, who had returned with Pallez and was collecting a Worm of Time.
• Lorne and Leonard exchanged assurances that they had seen nothing and backed away from each other; Lorne then fled the alley.
• Pallez told Leonard to report the scene as an investigation, concealed the remaining evidence, and gathered the Worms of Time, but noticed that some of the richest worms were missing.
• Mrs. Allen felt Will move violently in her womb after sensing the Wheel of Fortune aura, while Will inwardly regretted being in Backlund.
• Lorne took detours to evade Amon and the Church, hid in a cheap inn, and began studying the items he had collected.

Lorne recovered from Amon’s attack, examined the spoils and uncovered a treasure map, while the ordeal worsened his mental state. Above the Gray Fog, Klein traced the cursed letters to Lorne and realized he was not wearing sunglasses.

• Lorne preserved the Worm of Time characteristics and decided against using the Blood Ring’s Grazing ability on them.
• Lorne opened the mysterious scroll and discovered a Fortune-Seeking Treasure Map marking three locations.
• Lorne recorded the pathway formulas and information he had learned from Amon’s avatar, then sensed a gaze from above.
• Klein investigated the prank letters for Miss Justice and divined an image of Lorne.
• Klein recognized Lorne and suddenly remembered he was not wearing sunglasses.

Klein investigated Scott’s connection to the gray fog and learned that Scott might be able to help Miss Justice’s family, while Lorne considered turning to the Fool for protection. In Bayam, Corson bought information about Danitz’s return and began pursuing him.

• Klein divined Scott again, wondered whether he shared a connection to the gray fog, and concluded that Scott had written the prank letter Miss Justice received.
• Klein suspected Miss Justice belonged to the Hall family and divined that Scott could help resolve her family’s predicament, so he planned to give her a hint.
• Lorne noticed that the Fool’s second inspection had eased the pressure of his unstable divinity and considered borrowing the Fool’s power against Antigonus and Amon.
• In Bayam, an informant told Corson that Danitz had returned with an unfamiliar companion, and Corson agreed to pay 400 pounds for the information.

After surviving Amon’s Avatar, Lorne returned to his villa, sought information and help from Queen Mystic, and attended a donation event at Backlund Technical University. The visit brought him together with Benson and Melissa, and he ended by asking Melissa whether she wanted a part-time job.

• Lorne returned to his villa, resumed drawing mechanical designs, and sent Queen Mystic a letter asking about Jowes, the Fourth Epoch, and Amon while offering Marauder pathway characteristics for sale or exchange.
• Lorne and Benson attended Backlund Technical University’s donation event, where Lorne met Archbishop Horamick Haydn and Deacon Ikanser Bernard.
• Ikanser told Lorne that authorities had investigated a strange Beyonder incident in Bridge Borough and found several identical letters, prompting Lorne to hide his embarrassment.
• Lorne donated several thousand pounds to the university’s research fund and proposed a partnership that would connect its mechanical engineering graduates with his factory.
• Melissa arrived to guide Lorne and Benson around the campus, and Lorne asked her whether she would be interested in a part-time job.

Lorne offered Melissa a part-time job as his mechanical-design assistant, and she accepted while asking after the absent Lorne without realizing that Mr. Scott was Lorne in another identity. On the Southern Continent, Xize continued trying to recruit captive Alfred as Loen and Church forces prepared to intervene in Balam.

• Lorne offered Melissa basic assistant work and explained that he trusted her ability and reliability; Melissa accepted, and he proposed opportunities for her and Benson through university-industry cooperation.
• At the university gates, Melissa shyly asked Mr. Scott how Lorne was doing and when he would return, leaving Lorne awkwardly claiming that Lorne was far away on business.
• Benson worried that Melissa had accepted the job to protect his prospects, but Melissa did not understand his concern.
• Xize tried to recruit Alfred to the Numinous Episcopate by promising him a title in an independent Balam, but Alfred refused to speak and Xize left his Marionette monitoring the cell.
• Theodore returned with two hundred thousand pounds from the Hall Family and received half in bonds, while Xize silently recognized that Theodore had kept an extra hundred thousand pounds.
• Xize considered reports of an Evernight archbishop and Loen troop movements heading to Balam, as rumors suggested an Augustus Family High Sequence Beyonder might also arrive.

Lorne planned to broaden his arms business, heard from Sharron about Indulgence Faction members in Backlund, and agreed to help her and Maric confront them. Lucky then asked him to meet a dog seeking help for its noblewoman owner, and Lorne gave Lucky the Witch potion, which she survived before becoming frightened by Sharron.

• Lorne considered making lighters and researching fuel with the Church of Steam and Machinery to reduce his business’s dependence on the Negan Family.
• Sharron told Lorne that two sequence 5 members of the Indulgence Faction had entered Backlund to raise funds, and she and Maric planned to attack them when they handed over the money.
• Lorne offered to help Sharron and Maric, but concealed the details of his recent encounter with Amon; he also told Sharron that the Society wanted to cooperate with the Temperance Faction.
• Lucky asked Lorne to meet a dog whose young noblewoman owner was in trouble, and Lorne agreed to hear the request while warning that he might not help.
• Lorne gave Lucky the sequence 7 Witch potion, and she endured the transformation with his blessing before leaping away in fright when Sharron appeared.