Chapter Summaries

Klein narrowly survived his sacrifice to Kalvetua and later divined that the Sea God was not completely dead. At the Tarot Club, Audrey and Alger asked Fors about outstanding requests, while Emlyn arranged to buy a Sanguine Baron characteristic; Klein left the gathering to resume searching for people as Kalvetua’s condition remained uncertain.

• Klein returned to the search party after his sacrifice to Kalvetua nearly pulled him through the illusory doorway.
• Klein divined that Kalvetua was not completely dead, then summoned the Tarot Club.
• Audrey asked Fors about the mirror dragon’s eye, and Alger asked her about the dragon-eyed sea eagle’s eyes; Fors had no news on either request.
• Emlyn told Alger that he had decided to buy the Sanguine Baron characteristic, and Alger agreed to contact the seller.
• Klein, speaking as the World, pressed Fors about the radio receiver; she promised to buy it by the day after tomorrow.
• After the Tarot Club ended, Klein left the washroom and returned to searching for people while worrying about how long Kalvetua could hold on.

Fors reflected on the Tarot Club gathering and waited for her teacher’s reply, while Klein confirmed Kalvetua’s death and explored its hiding place. After defeating the last priest and watching Kalvetua’s Beyonder Characteristics form a scepter, Klein saw the artifact vanish.

• Fors wrote to her teacher about her Trickmaster acting, urged him about the Beyonder Characteristics, and asked after his health.
• Fors reviewed the gathering, learning that Flower Bow Tie had killed Bonebreaker and that the Sun had found monster-hunting opportunities to repay his debt.
• Fors fell asleep on the sofa and tumbled to the floor when she woke, while Xio and Albert practiced combat nearby.
• Klein divined that Kalvetua was completely dead, then used his Spirit Body to locate and enter the Sea God’s ruins.
• Klein defeated the old priest who carried Kalvetua’s residual psyche, and Kalvetua’s Beyonder Characteristics formed a short scepter.
• Klein approached the scepter, but it suddenly vanished.

Klein encountered Lorry after Kalvetua’s Demigod Sealed Artifact disappeared, and learned that Lorry was an ancient being who had orchestrated events around Kalvetua. Lorry offered Klein the artifact in exchange for three future favors, leaving Klein to decide whether to accept.

• Klein found Kalvetua’s corpse and took a piece of flesh to bring Above the Gray Fog for divination.
• Lorry addressed Klein as a Fool, and Klein questioned him about the Seer pathway and his age.
• Lorry warned that Sea King Jahn Kottman might locate Klein’s physical body and said he had set the events involving Kalvetua in motion.
• Klein asked Lorry why he had taken the Sealed Artifact, and Lorry offered to give it to him for three future tasks that would not exceed his abilities or violate his principles.
• The Demigod Sealed Artifact appeared in front of Klein without him noticing how it had arrived.

Klein accepted the Sea God Scepter from Lorry in exchange for three promises to be fulfilled after he reached Sequence 2, and left with several recovered objects. Lorry then revealed that he had used a future promise from the Fool to resurrect the Sequence 5 in his White Bone Ring and began a ritual to move Kalvetua’s corpse.

• Lorry told Klein there was no immediate price for the Sea God Scepter and that the first future task would be helping resurrect someone once Klein reached Sequence 2 or higher.
• Klein warned that resurrection might have conditions, then briefly touched the scepter and experienced visions and pleas before letting it fall.
• Klein took the Biological Poison Bottle, Iron Cigarette Case, and a golden goblet marked with the name Cohinem, and suspected the being was the ancient elf Calamity Cohinem.
• Klein asked for Lorry’s honorific name and questioned why Lorry trusted him to keep his promises; Lorry said Klein would lose the most if he broke them.
• After Klein ended the summoning, Lorry said he had paid for the White Bone Ring’s occupant’s resurrection with a future promise from the Fool and began a ritual to draw Kalvetua’s corpse through a divine doorway.

Lorry finished dealing with Kalvetua’s corpse, weighed his next goals, and decided to delay returning to Backlund while he hunted pirates. On Dilinus Island, disguised as Flower Bow Tie Jodson, he asked the Breeze Bar bartender for news.

• Lorry used the White Bone Ring to analyze Kalvetua’s blood and reflected on his plans to restore the Lieutenant Colonel and pursue his other promises from Klein.
• Lorry considered digesting his Mystery Pryer potion, finding the person who controlled Parliamentarian Begat, and joining the Golden Dream, while the Beria Family searched for Gibson.
• Lorry decided to remain away from Backlund for a few days and mete out justice to heinous pirate captains before selling several Beyonder characteristics.
• Fors left home on Wednesday, the last day of her agreed period, while Klein complained that an object on his desk had cost thirty pounds and decided to look for pirates.
• Lorry, disguised as Flower Bow Tie Jodson, bought an undiluted beer at the Breeze Bar on Dilinus Island and asked the bartender for news.

Lorry gathered rumors about Wax Sculptor Damian and Bloodblade Savi at a bar, then deliberately left alone to lure potential pursuers into following him. He headed toward a secluded area, ready to turn the hunters into prey.

• Lorry asked the bartender for news and heard that Wax Sculptor Damian might have visited the Flower of the Plateau, while Bloodblade Savi and his men were searching for him.
• The bartender explained that Damian could disguise himself perfectly and said a drunk pirate had recognized his distinctive sweet scent.
• Lorry learned that Savi and his men had visited local big shots, then paid the bartender for the information and ordered food and beer.
• The bartender warned Lorry that several men had left the bar after him, but Lorry chose not to listen and finished his meal.
• Lorry left the bar conspicuously and walked toward a secluded southwest area, deliberately inviting anyone following him to attack.

Lorry killed Zamir’s crew in a forest ambush, then met Chandler, a self-described shadow merchant who offered three thousand pounds for Zamir’s head. Lorry refused the deal and wondered what Chandler was really after—and why he had not shot him when he first detected him.

• Lorry used a decoy to draw out Zamir’s crew, then shot and killed the five Beyonders in under thirty seconds.
• Lorry gathered the bodies and waited for their Beyonder Characteristics to emerge.
• Lorry detected a hidden observer and challenged him, prompting Chandler to reveal himself from the shadows.
• Chandler praised Lorry for killing Zamir’s crew and offered three thousand pounds for Zamir’s head.
• Lorry refused to do business with someone he had just met, and Chandler left without arguing.
• After Chandler disappeared, Lorry questioned the offer and wondered why he had not immediately shot Chandler.

Lorry collected the loot from Zamir and his gang, then brought their heads to the Breeze Bar to claim their pirate bounties. The bartender recognized Zamir and went to tell the boss that Lorry wanted help collecting the reward.

• Lorry sealed the five Beyonder Characteristics, stored them and Zamir’s Sealed Artifact in the Book of Dimensions, and gathered the gang’s cash.
• Lorry carried the heads to the Breeze Bar and asked the bartender to arrange the bounty collection.
• Lorry revealed the heads, and the customers recognized the bald head of “Death Vulture” Zamir.
• The bartender went upstairs and told the boss that Zamir and his gang were dead and that “Flower Bow Tie” Jodson wanted to collect their bounties.

Elland told Klein and Danitz that the search was over, Danitz’s bounty had risen to 5,500 pounds, and Jodson had raised his bounty to 9,900 pounds by defeating Death Vulture’s gang. Danitz decided to stay close to Klein in Bayam, while Klein asked him about Death Vulture.

• The bar owner learned that Flower Bow Tie had killed the vultures and went downstairs to invite him up personally.
• Elland told Klein and Danitz that they no longer needed to continue searching for the people they had been looking for.
• Elland revealed that Danitz was suspected of posting a notice at the Church of Storms and that his bounty had risen to 5,500 pounds.
• Elland reported that Jodson had defeated Death Vulture and his gang at Tirinius Harbor, raising Jodson’s bounty to 9,900 pounds.
• Elland warned Danitz to leave Bayam, but Danitz decided to stay near Klein until they returned to the ship.
• Klein asked about Death Vulture, and Danitz described the gang as gambling addicts who preyed on isolated pirates.

Klein relayed Miss Magician’s request to Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man, allowing Audrey to receive the Beyonder Characteristic she needed to advance to Psychiatrist. In Bayam, Alger struggled with a donation request and his plan to disguise his bounty spending, while Lorry prepared to contact Vice Admiral Iceberg about Chandler.

• Klein heard Miss Magician pray for him to inform Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man that she would sacrifice the mirror dragon’s eye, then relayed her message to both.
• Audrey received the Beyonder Characteristic she had been seeking and celebrated her imminent advancement to Psychiatrist with Susie.
• Alger balked at spending 2,500 pounds, planned to make his bounty spending look like gambling losses, and donated money after Ralph asked him to support the Sea God’s weak lambs.
• Alger lost more money at a casino and left to continue his plan at another establishment.
• Lorry learned that Chandler was a well-regarded black-market merchant known as the Shadow Merchant, then prepared a Star Mark ritual so he could consult Vice Admiral Iceberg.

Lorry reviewed his gains from the previous night, asked Edwina for information about three pirates, and then examined his suspicions about Shadow Merchant Chandler. He concluded that Chandler’s sudden appearance might have deliberately prevented him from spirit channeling Zamir’s gang, but he did not know whether the interruption had been planned.

• Lorry counted his money and Beyonder Characteristics, noting that the Archaeologist characteristic was the one that interested him most.
• Lorry asked Edwina about Wax Sculptor Damian, Bloodblade Savi, and Shadow Merchant Chandler, and she described their backgrounds and pathways while offering to provide Chandler’s contact codes.
• Lorry asked Sebastian how Chandler had approached him without a sound and why Lorry had failed to attack, but Sebastian could only suggest a Beyonder item or something left by a primitive god.
• Lorry told Sebastian that Chandler’s shadowy spying reminded him of the Demoness pathway and argued that Zamir’s gang seemed too poor for their successful hunts of Sequence 6 Beyonders.
• Lorry reasoned that Chandler’s arrival had interrupted his chance to spirit channel Zamir’s gang and asked Sebastian whether the chain of events had been deliberate.

Lorry waited to see whether the Shadow Merchant would contact him, then visited the Flower of the Plateau while keeping his identity concealed. After the venue’s security recognized him as Flower Bow Tie Jodson and let him stay, a carriage driver told him that Mr. Chandler had invited him for tea.

• Lorry decided to wait for the Shadow Merchant and fall back on his original plan if no one contacted him.
• Lorry accidentally fell asleep after handling the Nightmare Dagger, then woke at night and prepared a disguise.
• Lorry went to the Flower of the Plateau and noticed two people watching him.
• A security guard confronted Lorry as Flower Bow Tie Jodson, accepted his denial, and had a bottle of Green Fairy sent to his table.
• Lorry left around ten o’clock, and a carriage driver told him that Mr. Chandler had invited him for tea.

Lorry met Chandler at his casino, where the Shadow Merchant revealed that Damian had spread the rumor about the Wax Sculptor to target Bloodblade Savi. Chandler proposed that Lorry join forces with Savi to hunt Damian and presented a supernatural contract for him to review.

• A coachman took Lorry to Chandler’s casino, where Toga greeted him and led him to the boss’s office.
• Chandler welcomed Lorry, offered him tea and a cigarette, and explained that he had learned Lorry was looking for Damian.
• Chandler revealed that Damian had spread the rumor to target Bloodblade Savi, who had sought Chandler’s help.
• Lorry realized Chandler wanted him to team up with Savi to hunt Damian, and Chandler argued that their groups shared an enemy in the Blood Pirates.
• Chandler showed Lorry a black contract that he said would punish anyone who broke its terms after signing.

Lorry checked Chandler’s contract and agreed to help Bloodblade Savi hunt Damian, but Sebastian warned him that Chandler might secretly alter its terms. After Lorry signed, Chandler changed the contract so Savi would hunt Jodson instead, while Lorry slipped back toward the casino.

• Lorry divined that Chandler’s contract had no apparent flaws and strong binding power, while Sebastian warned that Chandler might be able to alter or control it.
• Lorry questioned Chandler about the spoils, then toasted with him and signed the contract.
• Chandler told Lorry to meet Bloodblade Savi at the private harbor before noon; Lorry sent an illusion onward in the carriage and secretly returned to the casino.
• Chandler altered the contract and showed it to his brown-haired student, changing the hunt’s target from Damian to Jodson.
• Chandler told his student that Savi would care more about the bounty than whether his target was Damian or Jodson.

Chandler taught Toga how Shadow Merchants used contracts and timing to control enforcers, while Klein delayed Danitz’s trip to Dilinus Island. Lorry and Sebastian discussed a dangerous honorific name before Lorry chose to act, and Jodson suddenly killed Toga in Chandler’s office.

• Chandler explained to Toga how contract terms and Savi’s need to advance made their plan against Jodson possible.
• Chandler described the Shadow Merchant and Prosecutor Sequences and told Toga how enforcers could support their work and help them receive boons.
• Klein used divination to postpone going to Dilinus Island and warned Danitz that returning there would put him at greater risk.
• Lorry and Sebastian discussed the danger of knowing a being’s honorific name, and Lorry decided to act.
• Jodson shattered Toga’s head as Toga approached the office door, and Chandler used Words of Order to accuse Jodson of murder.

Lorry used illusions to kill Chandler and his student, then disguised himself as Chandler to infiltrate a pirate vessel. He reached Giant and offered him an antique painting connected to a Giant King.

• Lorry’s executioner-sword illusion showed him how Chandler’s Prosecutor ability killed Jodson almost instantly.
• Lorry sent a Werewolf illusion to attack Chandler, who could not perceive any crime to prosecute and was killed.
• Lorry used Spirit Channeling to learn that Chandler had spent most of his fortune trying to buy influence on Dilinus Island.
• Lorry traveled to a private harbor and disguised himself as Chandler to gain passage to a pirate ship.
• Lorry, posing as “Qianlede,” met Giant and offered to sell him an antique painting linked to a Giant King.

Lorry, disguised as the Shadow Merchant “Chandler,” used the Giant King painting to distract and kill “Bloodblade” Savi, then punished the pirates and released the survivors in small boats. He imagined a crew to sail the captured ship and began considering how to sell it.

• “Bloodblade” Savi inspected the painting and became fixated on a shadowy shape he believed was the Giant King’s throne.
• “Chandler” pronounced Savi guilty of his crimes, conjuring lightning punishments that ended with Savi’s beheading.
• Two pirates found Savi’s corpse and fled, but “Chandler” pursued them and condemned the remaining pirates aboard the ship.
• Lorry spared the pirates whose crimes did not warrant death and sent the survivors away in small boats.
• Lorry imagined a familiar crew to operate the ship, then put on the White Bone Ring and considered finding a buyer for the vessel.

Klein and Danitz discussed their shared dreams about Jodson and agreed that Danitz would investigate him while disguised. Meanwhile, Lorry offered the owner of the Flower of the Plateau a deal involving three pirate heads and the Twilight Pirate Group’s ship, the Blackthorn.

• Danitz woke from a dream about cleaning toilets for Jodson and told Klein what he had dreamed.
• Klein said he had dreamed of washing blood from Jodson’s ship and suspected something had happened to him.
• Klein lent Danitz a Sealed Artifact to disguise his appearance and told him to investigate Jodson while continuing to listen in.
• Lorry returned to the Flower of the Plateau and asked the security staffer to arrange a meeting with the boss about a deal.
• The security staffer gained permission to see the boss and revealed that Jodson had offered the heads of Savi, Goliath, and Sagu, along with the Blackthorn.

Laokeli told Colonel Holmes that Flower Bow Tie Jodson had offered to sell him the captured pirates and the Blackthorn, forcing Holmes to negotiate despite suspecting a trap. After two days of failed attempts to catch Jodson, Holmes accepted his counteroffer.

• Laokeli returned to the banquet hall and told Colonel Holmes that Flower Bow Tie wanted to discuss a deal requiring a large sum of money.
• Laokeli described the captured pirates and the Blackthorn, and Holmes offered seventy percent of the bounty amounts plus ten thousand pounds for the ship.
• Holmes ordered five hundred-man companies to surround the address Jodson had provided and seize anyone who approached.
• Lorry realized Holmes planned to capture the seller without paying and had left a fake address to test his intentions.
• After two days of negotiations and protection from the Mandated Punishers, Holmes accepted Jodson's demand for an additional ten percent of the bounties and twelve thousand pounds for the Blackthorn.

Colonel Holmes concealed the Blackthorn’s ghostly return and alerted the authorities about Jodson, while Lorry counted the wealth and Beyonder spoils he had gained from the pirates. Meanwhile, an unseen voice tried to recruit a poor boy, and Danitz returned to Klein with news of Lorry’s massacre of a shipful of pirates.

• Colonel Holmes learned that the Blackthorn had returned without anyone aboard, ordered it disguised as a newly built warship, and had his aides use Secrecy on the soldiers.
• Colonel Holmes chose not to provoke Jodson directly and instructed his secretary to notify the Churches and their island colleagues.
• An unseen voice offered a dark-haired boy wealth and a cure for his mother in exchange for his belief, but the boy refused and vowed to seek purification at a church.
• Lorry reviewed his gains from selling the pirates and the Blackthorn, bringing his savings above forty-three thousand pounds and acquiring eight Beyonder Characteristics and two Sealed Artifacts.
• Danitz returned to the Azure Wind inn in a dazed state and told Klein that Lorry had killed a shipful of pirates, including Bloodblade Savi.