Chapter Summaries

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.

After winning fifty pounds from Danitz at cards, Lorne was followed through the alleys and challenged to a coin toss. Danitz then recruited him into a pirate crew, leaving Lorne wary as Lucky watched from the shadows.

• Lorne left the casino with his winnings and hurried toward the docks, suspecting someone might target him.
• Lucky sprang from Lorne's bag, and Lorne noticed Danitz following him through several alleys.
• Danitz challenged Lorne to another wager, and Lorne proposed a coin toss with their previous meeting at stake.
• Danitz tossed the coin, Lorne correctly called tails, and Lorne tried to leave after winning.
• Danitz offered Lorne a place among his companions and revealed that they were pirates.
• Lorne reacted warily to Danitz's revelation while Lucky concealed her killing intent nearby.

Danitz tried to recruit Lorne into the Golden Dream, but Lorne recognized him as a wanted pirate and weighed the risks of turning him in. When Lucky knocked Danitz down, Lorne drew his pistol and asked whether a corpse could be exchanged for a bounty.

• Danitz described the Golden Dream's principles, pay, and promise of access to Beyonder powers as he tried to recruit Lorne.
• Danitz introduced himself as Flame Danitz, but Lorne said he had never heard of him.
• Lorne remembered Danitz's wanted poster and his three-thousand-pound bounty, then pretended to admire Danitz while weighing what to do.
• Lucky pounced on Danitz and knocked him onto the pavement, then leaped onto the eaves as he struggled.
• Lorne aimed his Phantom pistol at Danitz and asked whether a corpse could be exchanged for the bounty.

Lorne held Danitz at gunpoint after Lucky knocked him down, then bluffed his way out of the confrontation and escaped. Back aboard the Vilan, Lorne reflected on the encounter and settled down, expecting to leave for Bayam soon.

• Lorne threatened Danitz at gunpoint and fired a shot beside him to make him surrender.
• Danitz refused to reveal the Golden Dream's location, but Lorne distracted him by hinting that he knew about Danitz's feelings for Vice Admiral Iceberg.
• Lorne backed away and escaped while Danitz waited, leaving him alone in the alley to realize he had been fooled.
• Lorne returned to the Vilan, confirmed that he had not been followed, and thanked Lucky for helping him escape.
• Lorne considered publicizing Danitz's embarrassment and secret but decided against provoking the pirate, then went to rest before his planned trip to Bayam.

Fors worried that her pen pal had not answered after she sent him money, while Five of Clubs brought a corrupted infant and Megose to his Society’s base. In Backlund, Klein worked as the private detective Sherlock Moriarty until a hostile man confronted him about operating on their turf.

• Fors told Xio she had sent her pen pal a hundred pounds but had received no reply for over two weeks, and Xio urged her to find him in person.
• Five of Clubs brought a corrupted infant and Megose to the Society’s base, where Six of Spades agreed to study the infant and make arrangements for Megose.
• Six of Spades read an Internal Wanted Notice identifying Klein Moretti as a suspected Nighthawk defector, and Five of Clubs speculated that he had worked with another traitor in Tingen.
• Klein, living in Backlund as Sherlock Moriarty and working as a private detective, answered his door to a burly man who accused him of setting up on their turf without permission.

Charles Hoorn and Bart pressured Klein to join the Truth Society, a detective guild that offered steady pay, a joining allowance, and free meals in exchange for restricting his work. After divining that joining would not harm him, Klein considered accepting because the society could provide useful information and help him pursue Ince Zangwill.

• Bart confronted Klein about working as a private detective on the Truth Society's turf, while Charles Hoorn introduced himself and explained the society's offer.
• Charles offered Klein at least two pounds a week for assignments, shared intelligence, and restrictions on taking large bounties or interfering in members' cases.
• Charles added a five-pound joining allowance and free meals, and Klein agreed to consider joining and visit the headquarters the next morning.
• After Charles and Bart left, Klein questioned whether the society was a useful source of information and performed a divination about joining.
• The pendulum indicated that joining would not harm Klein, and he considered joining to gain information and pursue Ince Zangwill.