Chapter Summaries

Klein passed the Holy Cathedral’s assessment and received approval to advance, while his suspicion that Lorne was spying on Melissa deepened. Lorne followed an old man to a house, and Lucky opened its door, leaving Lorne poised to enter.

• Dunn reassured Klein before the Holy Cathedral’s assessment, and Crestet Cecimir announced that Klein had passed and could advance to Sequence 8.
• Klein wondered why Lorne had watched his home and concluded that Lorne might be pursuing Melissa.
• Lorne learned that Klein Moretti worked for a security company and considered reporting him as a possible member of an illegal Beyonder group.
• Lucky slipped from Lorne’s bag and secretly followed an elderly man to an old house, prompting Lorne to follow them.
• After the man left, Lucky squeezed through a small window and opened the door’s security chain, and Lorne carefully began entering the house.

Lorne discovered what appeared to be a cultist’s room filled with black-magic notes and a strange bloodlike liquid, giving him a lead for his report. Meanwhile, Klein searched for Lorne at the Azure Hotel but found him gone, then rushed toward a nearby cry for help; the Magician also prepared the Circus to act against Sharon.

• Lorne found Hermes Script notebooks, resurrection-ritual notes, and a strange dark red liquid in a room, then quietly left with Lucky.
• Klein used his police badge and a bribe to learn that Lorne Dysenk had stayed in the Azure Hotel but had not returned for several days.
• Klein searched Lorne’s empty room and recognized a red chimney from his divination about Elliott’s kidnapping.
• Klein heard someone cry for help and rushed toward the commotion in the crowd.
• The Magician told the Clown that Sharon was a Demoness, then ordered him to prepare for their move.

Klein and the Tingen Nighthawks prepared to capture Madam Sharon after confirming she was a Demoness, while Magician’s team also set out for the same target. Lorne arrived on Olsna Street, where the Nighthawks were heading to confront Madam Sharon.

• Frye told Klein that an informant had seen Madam Sharon use Beyonder powers, and the team planned to capture her with Sealed Artifact 3-0217.
• Frye assembled Klein, Old Neil, Leonard, and Kenley, then led them toward Madam Sharon’s residence.
• Magician told his team that their mission to eliminate the Demoness was also an assessment of their potion digestion and teamwork.
• A writer in a house with the Red Chimney decided to speed up his work and wrote something on paper.
• Lorne arrived on Olsna Street and walked farther into the area to find a place to stay.

The Magician’s Circus squad launched a raid on a Demoness’s house, but their attack struck a mirror and left them in trouble. The Nighthawks arrived as an injured Clown and two Circus members came face-to-face with them.

• The Magician split the Circus squad into an assault team and a support team, then led a Clown over the garden wall and up to the second-floor bedroom.
• The Magician and the Clown kicked open the bedroom door, fired at the bed, and threw an explosive charm inside.
• The smoke revealed a shattered mirror instead of the Demoness, and the Magician realized something was wrong.
• The two Circus members waiting by the back door heard the explosion and feared the Magician and his companion were in trouble.
• Klein noticed a figure falling from the second floor as the Nighthawks arrived at the house.
• The injured Clown spotted the Nighthawks just as his Potion finished digesting, and he and two arriving Circus members stared at the squad.

The Magician fought the wounded Demoness Sharon, while a chance meeting between the Nighthawks and Circus teams at her house escalated into a gunshot. Sharon fled and encountered Lorne, who recognized her alluring presence but discovered she had trapped his ankle with a black thread.

• The Magician failed to stop Sharon from escaping and waited for his teammates, but grew alarmed when they did not arrive.
• Klein and the Nighthawks faced the Circus team outside Madam Sharon's house, and a nervous Seer fired a gunshot.
• Sharon fled through Tingen while badly wounded and heard a Beyonder approaching nearby.
• Lorne sensed danger as Lucky sprang from his satchel and ran off, then saw the injured Sharon approaching.
• Lorne recognized Sharon's alluring presence and tried to back away, but found a black thread wrapped around his ankle.

Lorne survived Sharon’s ambush when his revolver accidentally fired and Lucky finished her off. Lucky appeared to have gained the Assassin Potion’s power, and Lorne waited to see what Beyonder substance Sharon’s corpse would produce.

• Sharon used threads and a black flame to attack Lorne, but slipped on the wet ground and only set his coat alight.
• As Lorne threw off his burning coat, his revolver fell and discharged, striking Sharon in the chest.
• Sharon survived the gunshot and lunged at Lorne, but Lucky ambushed her and cut her throat.
• Lucky showed signs of having gained the Assassin Potion’s power, while Lorne fired five more shots into Sharon’s body to confirm she was dead.
• Lorne watched Sharon’s corpse, expecting it to produce a transparent Beyonder substance, and wondered why the women he encountered on the Pathway were all alluring.

Lorne’s revolver absorbed the slime left by the fleeing woman and gained silvery-white patterns, while he hurried away with Lucky. Elsewhere, Magician rescued the Circus squad from the Nighthawks, and a frustrated writer tried to revise the fate that had kept the confrontation from claiming any lives.

• Lucky lunged for the slime, and Lorne accidentally dropped his revolver into it when she kicked his wrist.
• The slime vanished and left silvery-white patterns on the revolver, which Lorne wrapped in his coat before leaving the alley with Lucky.
• Clown struggled against the Nighthawks until Magician arrived and rescued the Circus squad with flames, a talisman, and a retreat.
• A self-writing quill recorded that fate had strayed from its original script and that the confrontation ended without deaths.
• A hack writer cursed and forcibly picked up the quill to write something new.

Lorne used divination to confirm that the night’s strange events were coincidental and discovered the powers and dangers of his transformed revolver. At the Blackthorn Security Company, Klein recognized the Beyonder group involved in the operation and the Nighthawks prepared to report the threat, while Klein wondered whether Dunn Smith’s trip and his relationship with Miss Daly were truly coincidences.

• Lorne divined that the night’s events had been accidents, then used Dream Divination to learn that his revolver fired spiritual bullets with varied effects but could curse, enthrall, and misfire.
• At the Blackthorn Security Company, Royale asked about Kenley, and acting captain Frye explained that Kenley’s injuries would leave him bedridden for a while.
• Leonard and Old Neil tried to reassure the team, while Klein said the group they had encountered seemed familiar.
• Klein recalled that the Magician and Circus Clown had appeared during the earlier battle over the Antigonus Family Marionette and had sought the Secret Order’s notebook.
• Klein identified the group as likely the same Beyonders who had stolen the Antigonus Notebook, and Frye decided to report the matter to their superiors and consult the other organizations.
• Walking home, Klein wondered why Dunn Smith had gone to Backlund and whether Dunn’s relationship with Miss Daly was progressing too quickly to be mere coincidence.

Klein received the Clown potion ingredients, confirmed through divination that he could advance, and successfully became a Clown. He then learned that Old Neil had been arrested by the Mandated Punishers for allegedly researching black magic, and Frye’s visit to Old Neil’s home suggested the accusation was not a simple mistake.

• The Magician told the Clown to keep a low profile and reassured him that they could leave once their assignment ended.
• Frye told Klein the Clown potion ingredients had arrived but shared the captain’s concern about Klein advancing before his return.
• Klein performed a divination, accepted the potion ingredients from Frye, and successfully advanced to Clown.
• Rozanne told Frye that the Mandated Punishers had arrested Old Neil for researching black magic.
• Klein learned of Old Neil’s arrest and wondered whether it was connected to the ritual Old Neil had used to repay his debts.
• Frye accompanied Old Neil and the Mandated Punishers to Old Neil’s home, where Old Neil’s pained expression convinced Frye the evidence was more than a misunderstanding.

Old Neil admitted that the Hidden Sage had influenced him to prepare a resurrection ritual for his late fiancée, and the Nighthawks protected him from the Mandated Punishers while promising to report the matter. After Frye kept Klein and Leonard behind, Leonard asked Klein whether he worshipped an evil god.

• The Mandated Punishers found Old Neil's ritual materials and urn, and Old Neil broke down, admitting he wanted to see his late fiancée again.
• Klein and the other Nighthawks arrived, shielded Old Neil, and Frye persuaded the Mandated Punishers to withdraw while the Nighthawks handled the case themselves.
• Old Neil told the Nighthawks that he had learned a resurrection ritual from the Hidden Sage's murmurs and was willing to accept punishment.
• Frye decided to report Old Neil's actions to their superiors and reassured the team that Old Neil had not completed the ritual or lost control.
• Frye kept Klein and Leonard behind and revealed that there had been another accusation; Leonard asked Klein whether he worshipped an evil god.

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.