Chapter Summaries

Lorry, Fors, and Xio attended a gathering where Lorry sought the Solar High Priest formula and asked Fors to watch for rare Beyonder Characteristics. After a teasing quarrel over Fors’s supposed underage daughter, Xio returned home and resumed keeping an eye on Fors and Lorry.

• The group entered the abandoned Medical Building for a gathering, and Xio told Fors that her frightening story had really happened to her.
• Lorry asked the gathering for the Solar High Priest formula, but no one offered it; afterward, the group split up to evade their pursuers.
• Lorry and Fors returned to their Hillston District home, where Xio worried about Audrey and the others before noticing the couple on the long sofa.
• Lorry teased Fors about her supposed underage daughter, prompting Xio to question Fors and storm out; Fors then realized Lorry had deliberately provoked her.
• Lorry explained that the Solar High Priest was Sequence 7 of the Sun pathway and asked Fors to discreetly search for a Lion-Man’s brain and an adult insect from a Bewitching Insect Swarm.
• Xio returned with iced tea as Lorry was about to explain Volume Two of Young Roselle, and settled back down while watching him and Fors.

Lorry finished and released his new book, Great Detective Sherlock, rather than the expected second volume of Young Roselle. Audrey, Melanie, and Viscount Glaint learned of the surprise at a bookshop, while the book itself mysteriously walked into a private room at a restaurant.

• Lorry delivered his completed manuscript to the publisher and spent the next day recovering before checking the newspaper announcement.
• Audrey accompanied Melanie to a bookshop, where the bookseller revealed Raven's new book was Great Detective Sherlock, not Volume Two of Young Roselle.
• Audrey sent someone to investigate the newspaper and publisher, while Melanie bought two copies of Great Detective Sherlock.
• Viscount Glaint arrived expecting to buy Volume Two of Young Roselle and was puzzled when Audrey and Melanie reacted strangely to him.
• A copy of Great Detective Sherlock rose onto four legs and walked into a private restaurant room.

Klein bought and read Great Detective Sherlock, only to discover that the author had killed off the protagonist; his attempt to divine the author failed. Meanwhile, Lorry realized that the feedback from deceiving Klein had greatly advanced his Swindler potion digestion, then heard someone urgently ring his doorbell.

• Klein overheard people arguing about Young Roselle and found Great Detective Sherlock displayed in a bookstore, so he bought a copy.
• Klein read the novel at home and used a coin divination to confirm that its plot was complete.
• After discovering that Sherlock had been killed off, Klein entered Above the Gray Fog and tried unsuccessfully to divine the author.
• Klein heard illusory prayers and decided to bring Miss Magician in first.
• Lorry reflected that Klein's feedback had pushed his Swindler potion close to halfway digested.
• Lorry heard the doorbell ring urgently and turned his attention toward the unexpected visitor.

Lorry’s late-night visitor turned out to be Lieutenant Colonel Vera, who complained about the ending of Lorry’s new detective novel before revealing that his mission had uncovered a major human-trafficking operation. Vera said he planned to keep investigating the missing-persons case, then asked Lorry if he had discovered something he had not reported.

• Lorry sensed that his Lucky Money Bag’s accumulated luck had run out, prepared to defend himself, and opened the door to find Vera instead.
• Klein used his Binary Ritual Divination Method to investigate the author of Great Detective Sherlock, then burned the result and decided to forgive the novel’s cliffhanger ending.
• Vera visited Lorry and complained that the protagonist died at the end of Great Detective Sherlock.
• Vera told Lorry that his mission had led him from earlier disappearances to human traffickers and a major target.
• Vera said he had earned enough merit to seek the Sequence 5 Disciplinary Paladin potion and advised Lorry to look for a suitable mystical item rather than spend his upcoming merit on pounds.
• When Lorry asked whether Vera would continue handling missions after advancing, Vera said he intended to finish the missing-persons investigation and asked whether Lorry had found something he had not reported.

Lorry told Vera he had stopped investigating because he sensed the case could lead to everyone involved dying, and Vera gave him the Curse of Knowledge before leaving. After Vera left, the Old Gentleman revealed that Vera had arranged for Lorry to take three exams in his place.

• Vera explained how he had risen from the streets to become a lieutenant colonel and asked Lorry what he had discovered.
• Lorry admitted he had sensed an immense danger and had withheld intelligence, including Hayes's whereabouts, to protect Vera.
• Vera questioned whether Lorry would return to the investigation, and Lorry said he would wait until he was strong enough to help more people.
• Vera gave Lorry the White Bone Ring, containing the Curse of Knowledge, and left.
• Lorry greeted the Old Gentleman, who told him that Vera still owed three exams and had arranged for Lorry to take them.

Lorry took Albert to the Ceramics Factory so he could act as an Arbiter and digest his potion. At the Tarot Club, the members discussed trades for Beyonder materials and formulas, while Fors added another request for Apothecary ingredients.

• Lorry reminded Albert of his Arbiter acting method and took him to the Ceramics Factory, promising he could see Susie if he made good progress.
• The World asked the Tarot Club members to look for a Sun Domain mystical item or powerful Beyonder weapon.
• Fors requested a Spirit Eater's Stomach, a lion-man brain, deep sea marlin blood, and an adult bewitching insect swarm.
• Alger offered to look for deep sea marlin blood and pointed out that Fors's proposed trade with Derrick was unequal in value.
• Derrick asked Fors for the Solar High Priest formula in exchange for Spirit Eater locations and other materials, and Fors agreed to seek Sun pathway formulas.
• Fors asked the members to find the supplementary ingredients for the Apothecary formula.

At the Tarot Club, the members discussed the author Raven and Mr. Fool warned Justice Audrey that he might have official connections. After the meeting, Lorry left his ceramics factory and headed toward a gathering where he hoped to find a Solar High Priest potion formula.

• Klein used the World to sell Fors the Apothecary potion formula for 230 pounds.
• Justice Audrey told the gathering about readers angered by Raven and said a friend had been upset by his incomplete novels.
• The World warned Audrey not to get involved because Raven was suspected of having official connections, and Mr. Fool explained that Raven might be a Sequence 8 Swindler.
• Mr. Fool told Audrey she could pray to him if she needed protection.
• At the ceramics factory, Lorry assigned Qiao responsibility for the product transition and Albert, then arranged to return each Monday.
• Lorry set out for Mr. A's gathering, hoping to find the Solar High Priest potion formula through a Sun believer.

Fors prepared food while Xio worried about Lorry’s safety and warned him that readers had placed a bounty on him. On the way to a Beyonder gathering, Fors told Lorry she had found leads on the materials he needed, but the seller wanted Solar High Priest potion formulas in exchange.

• Fors welcomed Xio home with apple pie and milk pudding, then admitted she was preparing for a literary salon with Lorry.
• Xio told Fors that readers had offered rewards for beating up Lorry or reporting his whereabouts, and urged her to warn him.
• Lorry and Fors left together, and Fors relayed Xio’s warning about the bounty hunters.
• Lorry explained that MI9 had recruited him as an informant after the Baron Percival Incident and said he had made arrangements for his safety.
• Fors told Lorry she had found leads on his needed materials and a Spirit Eater's Stomach, but the seller demanded the Solar High Priest potion formulas.
• Lorry hoped a believer of the Eternal Blazing Sun would attend the gathering and wondered why the Grayish-White Worn Money Bag’s accumulated luck had recently been depleted.

Lorry and Fors searched a gathering for the Solar High Priest formula, and Lorry found a commission that could earn it for Fors. The job involved recovering stolen ingredients from a Sun believer who had fled toward Midseashire.

• Fors found no one selling the Solar High Priest formula and submitted a request for a Sun Domain Mystical Item.
• Lorry offered to sell Fors his Sunfire item for 1,000 pounds, letting her keep anything above that price.
• At Viscount Glaint’s gathering, Audrey learned that Raven had official backing through MI9 and persuaded Glaint to hold a ball.
• Lorry told Fors that a Sun believer had offered the Solar High Priest formula and Sequence 6 Notary ingredients as payment for recovering stolen ingredients.
• Lorry explained that another Sun believer had stolen the ingredients and fled toward Midseashire, then asked Fors to work out what the commission meant.

Fors and Lorry sought Xio’s advice on finding a thief hiding in Midseashire, hoping to recover stolen Beyonder ingredients and obtain potion formulas. Xio suggested investigating slowly and introduced Roselle’s concept of entrapment.

• Fors realized that recovering the stolen items might reveal the Solar High Priest formula, and she and Lorry discussed the target’s likely whereabouts.
• Fors proposed asking Xio for help because Xio needed money, and Lorry agreed.
• Fors and Lorry returned to the house, where Xio was brooding over buying a copy of Great Detective Sherlock.
• Fors explained the commission to Xio, who suggested checking stolen-goods channels before learning that the thief might not sell the items.
• After hearing there were few usable clues, Xio recommended a slow investigation and asked whether Fors and Lorry knew Roselle’s concept of entrapment.

Lorry shared mysticism knowledge with Fors and arranged for Xio to help with a future commission after she finished her current work. Lorry and Fors arrived in Constant City disguised as wealthy Intis newlyweds, and Lorry revealed that he understood the locals’ insults before they headed to a hotel.

• Xio declined Lorry’s offer of twenty pounds per week but agreed to wait for his request after finishing her current commissions.
• Lorry agreed to share the Law of Beyonder Characteristic Convergence with Fors in exchange for her help and discretion.
• The White Coral docked in Constant City, where Lorry and Fors posed as wealthy Intis newlyweds.
• Fors felt uncomfortable under the onlookers’ stares, while Lorry reassured her and joked about how they would have acted if Xio had joined them.
• Lorry answered a group’s insults in Loenese and then requested a carriage to the best hotel in town.

Lorry and Fors posed as wealthy Intis newlyweds at a hotel in Wind City, where they settled in to rest and write. After Fors shared an idea for a pirate novel, Lorry suggested adapting their experience at the Mountain Estate instead.

• Lorry checked himself and Fors into a top-floor suite using forged identities and charmed the attendant with a generous tip and a compliment.
• Fors praised Lorry's convincing performance as an Intis man, and they joked about his flowery words and remembered Mr. Fool.
• Fors admired the view from their suite and planned to work on her manuscript while they rested to maintain their newlywed cover.
• Fors told Lorry her idea for a novel about a pirate captain and a female captive, and he noted that her sea-life details lacked realism.
• Lorry suggested that Fors adapt what happened at the Mountain Estate into a novel titled The Decameron.

Klein learned that a popular novel had made him famous as Great Detective Sherlock and used divination to decide to leave home. In Constant City, Lorry hired detectives to find the cultist Altair, reunited with Fors, and set out with her to make their first official appearance as conspicuous tourists.

• Reporter Mike told Klein that tabloids had linked him to the novel Great Detective Sherlock and arranged to return for an interview.
• Klein divined that staying home could bring trouble, changed clothes, and went out into the rain.
• Lorry teleported to Backlund to hire Sherlock Moriarty to find Altair, but found the detective's residence empty and hired two other detectives instead.
• Lorry paid a twenty-pound deposit for the missing-person search and returned to Constant City.
• Lorry reunited with Fors, ignored the Curse of Knowledge's insult about her, and proposed visiting the Municipal Square to strengthen their reputation as ostentatious tourists.

In Constant City, Fors questioned Lorry about their cover and plan to draw out a Sun believer, but he told her to go with the flow. In Backlund, Klein reunited with Old Kohler and hired him to show Klein and Mike around the East Borough.

• Fors outlined why she and Lorry were posing as an Intis married couple and staying near the port, then asked whether the act could lure their target.
• Lorry said the Sun believer was clever and had a tall, combat-skilled companion, so their investigation had barely begun.
• Fors asked where they would go next, but Lorry suggested sightseeing and told her to act according to their cover as a couple.
• Klein met Old Kohler at a cheap East Borough café and noticed that his circumstances had improved.
• Old Kohler explained that an old friend had given him money and promised him factory work, and Klein asked him to guide Klein and Mike around the East Borough for pay.

In Constant City, Fors and Lorry followed a guide to a supposed Lovers' Grove, where they were ambushed by bandits. Lorry revealed his Beyonder abilities, defeated the gang, and forced their leader to offer compensation and access to Beyonder gatherings.

• Fors and Lorry pretended to believe the guide's story about Lovers' Grove while secretly suspecting his intentions.
• The guide led them into woodland, where his accomplices surrounded their carriage and tried to rob them.
• Lorry used Sunfire to blind the bandits and shot six of them, leaving their leader alive.
• The leader revealed that he was a newly made Prisoner Beyonder who had obtained his formula at a Beyonder gathering.
• Lorry demanded that the leader take him to gatherings and pay compensation; the leader offered access to two gatherings and 70 pounds.

Lorry used a staged encounter to draw a local Beyonder into contact, then prepared to attend a gathering while discussing the Rose School and the limits of their commission with Fors. The White Bone Ring revealed that Vera had once gathered blood from Demigods and explained its ability to analyze Arbiter powers, ending with another insult aimed at Fors and Lorry.

• Lorry used Mind Reading to verify Hoorn’s statements, took his blood, and explained the Rose School’s Temperance and Indulgence philosophies to Fors.
• Fors realized Lorry had been attracting local gangs to gain access to a Beyonder Gathering, and Lorry admitted they might trade for the formulas rather than complete the commission.
• The next evening, Lorry told Fors that Hoorn had returned and that a gathering was likely, while revealing he had planted a Psychological Suggestion and could track him without the blood.
• The Curse of Knowledge dismissed Hoorn’s blood as useless and asked Lorry to bring back blood from a Demigod.
• The White Bone Ring recounted how Vera, while Sequence 8, had left it inside a Demigod’s corpse, allowing it to analyze the Fallen Earl’s Amplification and Arbiter abilities.
• The White Bone Ring said Lorry could use those abilities only if Vera replaced one of his current abilities, then mocked Fors and Lorry.

Lorry and Fors attended a gathering in an abandoned shipyard, where Lorry tried to obtain potion ingredients and bought meteorite crystal for Fors. Back at the hotel, he told her he would discuss her advancement formula after she digested her Trickmaster potion.

• Lorry, Fors, and Hoorn entered the boathouse gathering after showing their seals to the guards.
• Lorry asked the organizer to find elder tree rhizome crystal and deep sea marlin blood, offering 2,000 pounds and 300 pounds respectively.
• The host announced Lorry's request for deep sea marlin blood, but no one offered to sell it.
• Lorry bought meteorite crystal for 500 pounds and two health talismans after negotiating with the seller.
• After the gathering, Lorry gave Fors the meteorite crystal and said they would discuss her formula once she had digested the Trickmaster potion.

Lorry left for Backlund, entrusting Fors with the gatherings and the Sure-Hit Revolver. In Backlund, Klein, Mike, and Old Kohler stumbled upon a strange scene at a ceramics factory, while a half-giant cornered Hoorn and demanded information about an Intis woman.

• Lorry told Fors he was going to Backlund and left her the Shadow Ring and Sure-Hit Revolver for protection while he was away.
• Klein, Mike, and Old Kohler visited factories in Backlund and grew dismayed by the workers’ conditions.
• Klein heard singing at a ceramics factory, so he persuaded Mike and Old Kohler to investigate.
• The three saw women workers holding hands, but an enormous black dog caught them and the workers gathered, with one recognizing Kohler.
• A half-giant confronted Hoorn in Constant City and demanded everything he knew about an Intis woman from their Beyonder Gathering.

Hoorn told the Half-Giant about Fors and her companion, and the Half-Giant ordered him to deliver a ransom demand for Fors’s return. On her way back to the hotel, Fors was ambushed by the driver and the Half-Giant, who exposed her after she tried to escape.

• Hoorn told the Half-Giant that a wealthy Intis couple had robbed him, described the man’s abilities, and speculated about their Beyonder Sequences.
• The Half-Giant ordered Hoorn to tell the man that they had taken his woman and would exchange her for a Spirit-Binding Bird Tail Feather.
• Fors wondered why someone at the gathering had asked whether she wanted a Spirit-Binding Bird Tail Feather, then directed her carriage toward the Wind Whisperer Hotel.
• When the driver ignored her directions, Fors jumped from the carriage and ran, but the Half-Giant blocked her path.
• Fors fired her Sure-Hit Revolver and used Shadow to disappear, but the driver cast Daylight and revealed her.

Lorry revealed that he had secretly followed Fors all day and killed the coachman, then faced the remaining Giant-pathway Beyonder. He baited the giant into charging and blocking the revolver’s shots, leaving him exposed to Lorry’s final attack.

• Fors prepared to use a dark cyan bracelet stone to escape, but Lorry appeared and killed the coachman before she could act.
• Fors realized Lorry had been beside her unnoticed throughout the day and handed him the Sure-Hit Revolver.
• Lorry explained to the giant that he had sought either cooperation or a fight, then identified him as a Giant-pathway Weapon Master.
• Lorry taunted the giant about the time limit for Spirit Channeling, and the giant charged at him.
• The giant blocked Lorry’s first three shots with his broadsword and rushed in when the revolver seemed empty.
• Lorry revealed the gun was not empty and repeatedly pulled the trigger as the giant leapt into a vertical cleave.