Chapter Summaries

Charlotte attended an underground gathering, earned money from selling mystical knowledge, and bought ingredients for her Sheriff advancement. The gathering ended with a cloaked member seeking Crowned Falcons, an ingredient Charlotte needed for the Arbiter potion.

• Charlotte reflected on Roselle’s interest in her and resolved to be more careful about the boundaries of their relationship.
• At an underground gathering, Charlotte considered her profits from selling mystical handbooks and the growing success of the Sushit Weekly.
• Charlotte ordered Sunflower Hydrosol, monkeyflower essential oil, and Red Chestnut Flower Essential Oil, bringing her closer to advancing to Sequence 8 Sheriff.
• Charlotte noticed that the suspected seller of a fake Knight potion formula was still absent from the gathering.
• A cloaked member asked where to find Crowned Falcons or their tail feathers and blood, prompting Charlotte to recognize the requested ingredient as part of the Arbiter potion.

Charlotte suspected that someone at an underground gathering had probed her interest in the Arbiter potion and might be following her, so she sought help from the Machinery Hivemind at the Ruler Church. She agreed to act as bait for their investigation, but a cloaked figure blocked her path near the bridge to Saint-Roc District.

• Charlotte suspected the silent cloaked member at the gathering had tested her reaction to the Crowned Falcon and might have identified her interest in advancing to Sheriff.
• After leaving the gathering, Charlotte checked for a pursuer, then went to the Ruler Church and asked the Machinery Hivemind for protection.
• Pierce Dante introduced himself as captain of the Machinery Hivemind team and listened as Charlotte explained her suspicions.
• Pierce offered to identify any pursuer by having Charlotte leave through the church's rear entrance and return toward Saint-Roc District as bait.
• Charlotte followed the plan, changed routes several times, and stopped when a cloaked figure appeared in the road by the bridge.

Charlotte met a powerful Arbiter who was hunting followers of the Bridge of Light and Darkness, and he revealed that their powers came from boons with sequence-like abilities. After disabling the Machinery Hivemind’s guns with an authoritative command, he escaped and gave his name as Tamara.

• Charlotte realized the black-haired man had followed her and was likely a stronger Arbiter, but she held back from attacking.
• Pierce Dante and the Machinery Hivemind revealed that they had surrounded the man, while Charlotte recognized Pierce’s multibarreled pistol as a design Roselle had shown her.
• The man explained that he was hunting cultists whose Lawyer or Arbiter abilities were supplemented by boons, and Charlotte identified them as followers of the Bridge of Light and Darkness.
• The man named their boon-granted sequences Broker, Shadow Merchant, and Prosecutor, and Charlotte connected Prosecutor to Julian’s powers.
• The man said the cult still had members in Sushit and asked Charlotte to thank the official Beyonder who had killed a Prosecutor.
• When Pierce and the other Machinery Hivemind members tried to stop him, the man invoked a prohibition on gunpowder weapons and escaped, leaving the name Tamara behind.

Charlotte recorded what she had learned about the Tamara Family and several Beyonder pathways, then discovered that Raoul had illustrated the Sushit Weekly’s front page. After Raoul teased her about Roselle and announced another ball, Charlotte learned the Gustav family would attend and worried he might try to marry her off.

• Charlotte wrote that the Tamara Beyonder had likely come to Sushit to hunt the cult’s “Betrayers,” and memorized Miss Viève’s information about additional pathways.
• Charlotte hid her diary beneath empty notebooks and coins in her dressing-table drawer.
• Charlotte saw Raoul reading the Sushit Weekly and learned that he had drawn its illustration of the Clock Tower under construction.
• Raoul asked whether Charlotte had been getting close to Roselle, and she denied it before guiltily considering their many meetings and collaborations.
• Raoul told Charlotte that another ball would include the city’s nobles, wealthy merchants, and the Gustav family, and joked that he might marry her off.

Charlotte attended Earl Foulis's ball, where Roselle secretly showed her a handmade revolver with a working mechanism but no ammunition. As they discussed the weapon, a young nobleman interrupted to ask Charlotte to dance.

• Charlotte arrived at Earl Foulis's castle with her father and greeted the earl and countess.
• After Raoul went upstairs, Charlotte watched Green Randall fail to secure a dance and then followed Roselle to a secluded seating area.
• Roselle showed Charlotte a handmade six-shot revolver that could not yet fire because he had not made its ammunition.
• Charlotte examined the revolver and tested its double-action mechanism, noting its rough finish and heavy trigger.
• A young nobleman approached and asked Charlotte to dance while she hid the revolver from his view.

At Earl Foulis's ball, Charlotte challenged Derrick after he provoked Roselle and tried to treat her as a prize in their duel. She defeated Derrick with a practice sword, then warned him that Roselle's restraint did not mean weakness.

• A tipsy young noble named Derrick interrupted Charlotte and Roselle, insulted Roselle, and proposed a duel with Charlotte as the prize.
• Roselle challenged Derrick, but Charlotte stepped in and agreed to fight him herself.
• At the side hall, Charlotte fought Derrick with practice swords and disarmed him, winning the duel.
• Charlotte pointed Roselle's revolver at Derrick and warned him not to mistake restraint for weakness or treat a lady as an object.

Charlotte realized a Beyonder had secretly incited the nobles into a duel to create a distraction and warned Earl Foulis that the culprit might be targeting a secret location in the castle. Returning to the hall, she sensed someone watching her in the corridor and confronted a woman who appeared from hiding.

• Charlotte recognized that the nobles’ frenzy and Derrick’s later fear suggested their emotions had been influenced by a Beyonder.
• Roselle recalled that an unmemorable guest had directed him toward Charlotte, though he could not remember the guest’s appearance or even gender.
• Charlotte told Earl Foulis that the duel might have been engineered to distract the guests while someone entered an important part of the castle, and he went to investigate.
• As Charlotte returned to the hall, she sensed an unseen presence, threw holy water toward it, and saw a woman in a pale yellow dress catch the bottle in midair.

Charlotte confronted the Spectator who had manipulated the nobles and stolen something from Foulis Castle, but the woman escaped through a window after warning Charlotte that she would forget their meeting. Charlotte remembered the conversation but not the woman’s face, then reported the escape to Earl Foulis; Roselle later reflected on his duel and wondered whether his feelings for Charlotte were genuine.

• Charlotte realized the brown-haired woman could be the Beyonder who had influenced Roselle and the young nobles, and questioned her about the incident.
• The woman explained that she had planted suggestions in several nobles, described Charlotte as a detached observer, and admitted that Charlotte’s decision to duel had surprised her.
• The Spectator said she had stolen something and was waiting for Earl Foulis to draw guards toward the Tower before making her escape.
• The woman covered herself in scales, climbed through a narrow window, and disappeared; Charlotte remembered their conversation but could not recall the woman’s features.
• Earl Foulis arrived with two formally dressed men, and Charlotte told him the intruder had jumped from the window and escaped.
• Roselle recovered from the influence that had driven him to challenge Derrick and wondered whether his desire to defend Charlotte had been real.

Charlotte reflected on the previous night's duel and the Spectator's theft, then waited to see whether the Fool's gathering would summon her again without the Tudor candlestick. The mark on her hand drew her into the gray fog, where the members greeted Mr. Fool and heard him respond in a more natural voice.

• Charlotte reported the Spectator's intrusion at Earl Foulis's castle to the Purificationers and concealed the duel from her father.
• Charlotte practiced handling the unloaded Roselle Revolver and wondered whether a hidden Beyonder was watching her.
• Charlotte waited for the gathering and was swept into the gray fog despite not touching the candlestick.
• Charlotte returned to Judgment's seat as Miss Temperance, Mr. Magician, Mr. Tower, and Mr. Hermit appeared around the table.
• Charlotte and the others bowed to Mr. Fool, who tapped the table and invited them to sit.

At the gathering, Magician and Temperance confirmed that Mr. Fool’s rituals enabled them to exchange goods across continents, and they negotiated a deal for an Ancient Wraith. Hermit proposed sharing useful knowledge among members, but Tower objected, leaving the proposal unresolved.

• Magician reported that he and Temperance had successfully exchanged items through Mr. Fool’s offering and bestowal rituals.
• Tower asked whether all members could use the rituals, and Mr. Fool said they could use them freely and pray to convey information, though he would not always respond.
• Hermit asked whether outsiders could use the rituals, but Mr. Fool stayed silent and Magician advised against spreading his honorific name without permission.
• Temperance offered to hunt an Ancient Wraith with help, and Magician agreed to buy all of it, with payment based on its difficulty and gold weight, within three months.
• Hermit suggested members share useful information at gatherings, but Tower said he did not think it was a good idea.

The gathering voted to make members’ general-use information freely shareable while allowing valuable knowledge to be traded. Hermit introduced the potion acting method, and Temperance challenged the idea that a potion’s name alone determined how to act, leaving the members considering opposing approaches.

• Tower argued that knowledge should have a price, while Hermit proposed freely sharing useful information and negotiating over valuable secrets.
• Magician called for a vote, and Charlotte, Hermit, Temperance, and Magician supported Hermit’s proposal; Tower accepted the decision.
• Magician summarized the new sharing rules and suggested using votes to settle future matters among members.
• Hermit revealed that acting according to a potion’s name could speed digestion, and the others admitted they already knew the method.
• Temperance said that a pathway could have two completely opposite ways of acting, offering restraint and indulgence as an example.

At the gathering above the gray fog, Temperance explained how opposing approaches to desire could both digest a potion, then agreed to trade Fourth Epoch records for information about Trier. Charlotte also sought leads on Fear Worms and Silver-White Battle Bears, while Ambro recognized the creatures as related to Sheriff; afterward, Charlotte realized she lacked the spiritual materials needed for the bestowal ritual in three days.

• Temperance explained that suppressing desires and indulging them could both digest potions, though they shaped Beyonders differently, and said she had chosen temperance.
• Charlotte asked Temperance to compile Southern Continent records about the Fourth Epoch, the War of the Four Emperors, and the Tudor Dynasty in exchange for information about the Northern Continent.
• Temperance requested detailed information about Trier, and Charlotte agreed to provide it by the next gathering in exchange for the records.
• Charlotte asked the members for leads on Fear Worms and Silver-White Battle Bears, and Tower said he might be able to help.
• After the gathering ended, Ambro identified the creatures Charlotte sought as related to Sheriff, while Charlotte realized she lacked the spiritual materials required for the ritual in three days.

Charlotte gathered ritual supplies from the Church and wondered why it concealed the acting method from its Beyonders. She successfully received Miss Temperance’s offering through Mr. Fool’s ritual and discovered a booklet bearing a portrait of the Blood Emperor, Alista Tudor.

• Charlotte visited the Inquisition for ritual supplies, and Viève sent her to Joel while she and Jellen went to Earl Foulis’s castle to investigate the previous night’s intruder.
• Charlotte noticed Viève’s unfinished letter requesting Arbiter pathway potion materials and learned from Joel that spiritual ingredients required permission to collect in quantity.
• Joel warned Charlotte about spiritual exhaustion and losing control, and she chose not to reveal the acting method after realizing the Church restricted it.
• Charlotte gathered candles, oils, and spiritual powder, then performed a ritual to receive Miss Temperance’s offering through Mr. Fool.
• Charlotte received a handwritten booklet and found a portrait labeled “Blood Emperor, Alista Tudor.”

Klein recorded his inventions, ambitions, and concerns about his advancement and the Gray Fog in his diary. When a sudden Blood Moon overwhelmed him with ravings, he escaped to the Gray Fog and discovered that the voices were a cry for help.

• Klein wrote about his stalled efforts to produce reliable ammunition and his concern that a new textile machine could disrupt Sushit's industry.
• He reflected on his Sequence 8 advancement, his hopes of obtaining the next potion, and his unease about the Gray Fog's security.
• Klein put away his diary and considered whether anyone else could enter the Gray Fog independently.
• A sudden Blood Moon brought unbearable ravings and pain, so Klein recited an incantation and returned to the Fool's Palace in the Gray Fog.
• Klein listened closely to the weakened ravings and realized they were a cry for help.

Klein realized the Abraham family’s full-moon curse might be caused by an ancient relative pleading for help, and planned to investigate cautiously through the family’s records. Meanwhile, Charlotte visited Morvan with an ancient manuscript, hoping he could help identify its script.

• Klein heard a plea for help in an unfamiliar language during the blood moon and connected it to the Abraham family’s curse.
• Klein reasoned that the murmurs might come from an ancient Abraham using their blood connection, but warned himself that the plea could be bait.
• Klein decided he needed the Abraham family’s records and Theodore’s support, while concealing his connection to the gray fog and his other secrets.
• Klein planned to advance as a Trickmaster and cautiously listen longer during the next full moon before returning to reality.
• Charlotte arrived at Morvan’s workroom and considered expanding the Sushit Weekly as its readership grew.
• Charlotte presented Morvan with an untitled manuscript she said contained records of ancient history.

Charlotte asked Morvan to translate a manuscript about Fourth Epoch history, and he recognized its language and the Blood Emperor before finding a reference to the Rose School. Viève then summoned Charlotte to an investigation because the Machinery Hivemind suspected a Tamara Family member had murdered someone in the Harbor District.

• Charlotte told Morvan she had acquired the manuscript at a Beyonder gathering, and he identified its annotations as the ancient Southern Continent language Highlander.
• Morvan examined the Blood Emperor's portrait, discussed contradictions in accounts of Alista Tudor, and agreed to translate the manuscript for Charlotte.
• After Charlotte and the others left, Morvan reread the manuscript and murmured, "The Rose School?"
• Charlotte visited Saint Roch Cathedral to explain her ritual materials to Viève, but Viève asked her to join an operation investigating a Harbor District murder.
• Viève told Charlotte that the Machinery Hivemind had specifically requested her because the suspected murderer was likely a member of the Tamara Family.

Charlotte accompanied Viève to investigate two grisly deaths in a Harbor District warehouse, where the victims had been marked with the Tamara Family’s old coat of arms. The Machinery Hivemind prepared to use the Sealed Artifact Arrodes’s Mirror, leaving Charlotte at the scene as they began their inquiry.

• Viève explained that the Machinery Hivemind had requested Purification-ers’ help and brought Charlotte because she had encountered the suspected Tamara Beyonder before.
• Charlotte and Viève arrived at the warehouse and entered the crime scene with the sheriff.
• Charlotte found Roselle and Machinery Hivemind captain Pierce Dante examining the two murdered victims.
• Dante described the deaths and pointed out a blood-drawn coat of arms that Charlotte recognized as Tamara’s.
• Viève confirmed the emblem belonged to the Tamara Family, and Dante revealed the Sealed Artifact 3-0157, Arrodes’s Mirror.

Charlotte and her companions used Arrodes's Mirror to investigate the murders and learned that a Tamara Family Beyonder had killed both victims. The mirror exposed Captain Dante's affair and punished him, then Roselle began asking about the victims' identities.

• Charlotte learned that Arrodes's Mirror answered questions in exchange for asking its users difficult questions, and that refusals or wrong answers brought punishment.
• Pierce Dante asked who committed the murders, and the mirror showed a Tamara Family Beyonder killing both victims.
• Arrodes asked Dante whom he had once had an affair with, and Dante chose punishment rather than answer, taking a lightning strike.
• Charlotte picked up the mirror and noticed a fleeting glimmer on its surface before Roselle took his turn.
• Roselle asked the mirror to reveal the identities of the two victims.

Arrodes’s Mirror revealed the identities and purpose of the people involved in the murders, while Roselle disclosed his secret plan to modify textile machines. The group left the interrogation with the case largely solved, and Charlotte later confirmed Roselle’s invention to Green Randall.

• Arrodes asked Roselle for his biggest secret, and he revealed that he was secretly modifying textile machines to spark an industrial revolution.
• Viève asked Arrodes to identify the murderer and explain his purpose, and the mirror named him Tres Tamara and showed him at the Old Church Ruins.
• Arrodes asked Viève whether she was satisfied with her name, and she said she was striving to fulfill God’s expectations.
• Charlotte realized that the mirror had solved the murder case, and she promised the others she would keep their secrets.
• Green Randall asked Charlotte whether she knew Roselle was developing a labor-saving textile machine, and she confirmed it was his deepest secret.

Charlotte learned that Roselle’s new textile machine could threaten the livelihoods of tens of thousands in Sushit and provoke violent resistance, so she proposed using the Sushit Weekly to shape public opinion. Before they could act, a furious crowd surrounded the Green family’s workshop, demanding that the machine be dismantled.

• Green warned Charlotte that Roselle’s machine could disrupt Sushit’s textile industry and provoke workers who feared lost jobs and lower wages.
• Green asked Charlotte to persuade Roselle to slow his work, but Charlotte decided innovation was inevitable and proposed using the Sushit Weekly to address workers’ concerns in advance.
• Charlotte disguised herself and hurried to the Green family’s workshop in the Lower Korus District after hearing that events had taken a sudden turn.
• Charlotte found a large, angry crowd surrounding the workshop and calling for the new machine to be destroyed.