Chapter Summaries

Elliot concluded that the Troy Society had orchestrated the East District plague through the Circle of Vitas and United Mining, while evidence suggested the hospital director was involved. He prepared for a Dream World expedition with Flora, unaware that Vanessa’s first-rank advancement would send her into the Dream World as well.

• Elliot reasoned that the Troy Society had directed the Circle of Vitas to cause the East District plague and used United Mining to carry out the purge.
• After Garrett left, Elliot reviewed the Difference Engine’s records and noticed the Rose Troupe had booked the floor below the Rose Cross’s room at the Claridge Hotel.
• Elliot learned from Allen’s report that a surviving orphan had seen people enter the sewers before the plague and heard their leader called “Director”; Bryce also reported a hospital carriage at the scene.
• Elliot suspected the former hospital director had planted the plague and planned for Vanessa to visit the Rose Cross and Doctor Norman.
• Elliot inserted his and Flora Belenga Lancaster’s Cards into the Dream Entry slot and hurried to bed for their Dream World adventure.
• After Elliot left, the Difference Engine sent Esoteric Cult Leader Vanessa’s Card into the Dream Entry slot because she had reached the first rank.

Vanessa and Elliot unexpectedly met in the Dream World and mistook each other for threats. Flora’s arrival revealed that Elliot had sent her on a mission, but Vanessa remained suspicious of the noble and warned Flora that he might be trying to control her.

• Damian found Flora dressed elaborately for bed and feared that her curse had returned, but Flora was merely preparing to sleep.
• Elliot woke in the Ruined World, saw Silver-White Threads with Spirit Vision, and urged someone in the nearby bed to get up.
• Vanessa woke angrily, and she and Elliot pointed their hidden weapons at each other while refusing to reveal their names.
• Flora appeared between them and proudly asked Elliot whether she had completed her mission well.
• Vanessa learned that Elliot was funding Flora and warned her that he might be scheming to control the Mourning Poetry Society and her soul.

Elliot equipped Flora and Vanessa for exploring the Dream World ruins, where the three searched for Supernatural materials. After finding eight materials and discussing how travel between surface zones worked, Elliot prepared to use the Pale Bone Flute.

• Elliot gave Flora and Vanessa armor, weapons, and tools, but Vanessa insisted that Elliot should follow her orders because she had become a Supernatural person.
• Vanessa used [Spirit Vision] to find a metal plate and claimed she could locate clues even better than Elliot.
• Elliot, Flora, and Vanessa used their tools to dig up eight Supernatural materials, and Elliot told Vanessa to keep his share for now.
• Flora explained that Spirituality could carry them underwater between surface zones, while deeper zones held more discoveries and beings but were beyond their current ability.
• Elliot took out [Relic · Pale Bone Flute], whose sound within a dream might draw a few gazes.

Elliot learned from Flora how relics and Formless Arts worked, then decided to test the Bone Flute despite not knowing what attention it would attract. Vanessa volunteered to use it in exchange for Elliot’s share of the supernatural materials, and he agreed to compensate her if the relic demanded a price.

• Flora explained that Formless Arts could fail even after their price was paid, while relics generally had fixed effects but required strict, sometimes dangerous, storage procedures.
• Elliot asked to inspect or rent Flora’s relic, but she refused because it was private and precious.
• Elliot said the Bone Flute seemed to attract attention and asked whether dangerous creatures lived in the Dream World; Flora said Surface Zone creatures were generally harmless.
• Elliot decided to use the Bone Flute, but Vanessa offered to try it herself because her [Restoration] ability could help her recover from injury.
• Vanessa agreed to use the Bone Flute after Elliot promised her his share of the supernatural materials and offered compensation if using it required a price.

Elliot and his companions tested the Pale Bone Flute in the ruins, where it summoned a harmless, eyeless creature that Elliot killed with repeated gunfire. After returning from the dream with spent ammunition but no building materials, he concealed his use of bullets and discovered an unfamiliar card beside the Difference Engine.

• Vanessa blew the Pale Bone Flute, and a large octopus-like creature emerged from beneath the ruins without attacking them.
• Flora said the creature had no weaknesses and that dream deaths carried no price, so Elliot opened fire until it fell dead without leaving any loot.
• Elliot and his companions divided the supernatural materials, submerged into another dream, and Elliot returned to his bedroom with bricks and stones that vanished upon waking.
• Elliot confirmed that his dream ammunition had been used up, fired more bullets at the Shooting Range, and told Conrad he wanted to sleep with a gun and keep people away from his bedroom.
• Elliot returned to the Difference Engine and found a card he did not recognize.

Elliot discovered that Dream Entry still worked during Submergence and used Vanessa’s body to visit Dorothea before sending her to meet Lillian. Vanessa reached the Rose Cross, where Lillian revealed that the group knew little about Elliot’s past beyond the name “The Frostmoon Uprising.”

• Elliot found a Dream Memory card after killing the Lord of Dreams and realized that he and Vanessa could enter their own dream worlds during Submergence.
• Elliot used Vanessa’s card to make her visit Dorothea, who fed her breakfast, then directed her toward the Rose Cross.
• Vanessa followed a hotel doorman through a hidden route into the same suite she had visited with Dorothea, where she met Lillian.
• Vanessa identified herself as Elliot’s representative, and Lillian said the Rose Cross had heard of his deeds but knew little about them.
• Lillian told Vanessa that almost everyone involved had disappeared and that the only name they knew was the Frostmoon Uprising.

Elliot learned that his predecessor may have been connected to the Frostmoon Uprising and suspected someone had tried to implicate him. Through Vanessa, he met Lillian of the Rose Cross, who revealed the society’s mission and risked approaching him alone.

• Elliot reasoned that his confinement might have been intended to shield him from the Frostmoon Uprising and grew wary of the Rose Cross’s interest in him.
• Elliot told Lillian, through Vanessa, that he knew nothing about the uprising and wanted the matter kept secret.
• Lillian showed Vanessa the divide between the prosperous Riverside District and the Harbor District, then explained that the Rose Cross helped the forgotten and judged the unpunished.
• Elliot had Vanessa ask why the Rose Cross approached him, and Lillian said she had come alone because she would be the only one to die if they had misjudged him.

Vanessa met with Lillian and learned more about the Rose Cross, then persuaded Director Norman to reveal that the East District theater was built to host an important person. She left with a lead on the person she believed was responsible for the district’s suffering and her friend’s death.

• Lillian explained the Rose Cross’s ideals and activities, and Elliot decided to judge the organization by its actions.
• Elliot resolved the Rose Cross’s gaze event and sent Vanessa to visit Director Norman at the asylum.
• Vanessa urged Norman to act and asked him to tell her what he knew about the former director and the East District.
• Norman revealed that the theater was built for an important person who would attend its premiere and meet privately in a top-floor box.
• Vanessa left determined to see the important person for herself.

Elliot learned that the theater premiere would have no publicly announced important guests, while Vanessa planned to investigate the mysterious visitor but agreed to delay taking revenge after Dorothea and Allen urged caution. Vanessa then revealed she had enough supernatural materials to advance Dorothea and Allen to first rank.

• Elliot asked Conrad about the theater premiere and learned it was on March fifth, with no important people expected to attend.
• Elliot considered why Doctor Norman had mentioned an important person and decided to prepare for the possibility of a private, unannounced visit.
• Vanessa told Dorothea and Allen she wanted to enter the theater box and might attack the person responsible for Winnie's death and the plague.
• Dorothea urged Vanessa to wait for a safer opportunity, and Allen offered to take action himself; Vanessa agreed to investigate first.
• Vanessa revealed she had seven portions of supernatural materials and brought Dorothea and Allen to the basement so they could advance to first rank.

Allen advanced to the First Rank of the Supernatural and gained Flash Blade, which let him blink through space and slash. He struggled with dizziness and exhaustion after using it, while Elliot prepared to advance Dorothea next.

• Vanessa warned Allen and Dorothea about the risks of obtaining the Ritual materials, then let Allen go first.
• Elliot considered Allen's three advancement options and chose Flash Blade for him.
• Allen advanced to the First Rank and discovered that he could blink several meters before delivering a powerful slash.
• Allen vomited after his first use, and Elliot realized that Flash Blade caused dizziness and severe fatigue.
• Elliot noted that Allen's Vitality could help him recover and prepared to advance Dorothea next.

Elliot chose a lantern for Dorothea’s supernatural path, expecting a healing or support ability, but the Tree of the Supernatural instead gave her [Rationality +1]. The chapter left Elliot baffled by the result and still pondering the nature of sacrifice.

• Allen quickly regained enough strength to sit up after his [Vitality] ritual.
• Vanessa prepared Dorothea’s ritual and asked what kind of power she wanted.
• Dorothea described her faith in reason, careful planning, knowledge, and unwavering principles.
• Elliot considered Dorothea’s starting options and chose the lantern, hoping it would suit her medical work and her sister’s needs.
• The Tree of the Supernatural granted Dorothea [Rationality +1], leaving Elliot unable to understand the lantern’s connection to the attribute.

After Dorothea’s first sacrifice awakened [Rationality], she and Vanessa used her new analytical ability to study the Theater’s plans and prepare an infiltration route. Meanwhile, Elliot learned how the Difference Engine Core worked and discovered that the Mansion’s shared core had added [Deduction] to his desktop.

• Dorothea entered a state of perfect rationality, assessed Vanessa as a threat, and surrendered before realizing how absurd her response was.
• Elliot stopped Dorothea’s advancement so she could explore [Rationality], and she returned to the Medical School to test it through studying.
• Vanessa obtained the Theater’s design plans from Lawrence, and Dorothea identified vulnerable structures and likely hiding places.
• Allen used [Flash Blade] to infiltrate the Theater’s upper level and reported that its suspended ceiling could conceal them, helping Dorothea map a route for Vanessa and Allen.
• Elliot confirmed that Dean Chandler would not attend the Theater’s opening and learned that the Mansion’s two Difference Engines shared one core.
• After the new Difference Engine was installed, Elliot discovered a new [Deduction] card slot on his desktop.

Elliot discovered that the Difference Engine’s [Deduction] slot could forecast events and reveal how to use unfamiliar Cards, though its results took too long to be practical. As he explored Dream Worlds and considered how supernatural people advanced, Flora warned him that rising beyond First Rank ultimately required sacrificing oneself, while the theater’s approaching premiere left little time to gather strength.

• Elliot tested [Deduction] and found that it could predict events for a Character Card, but even short forecasts took hours or days to complete.
• Elliot used [Deduction] on [Dream Memory · Study] and learned that Dream Memories could be recalled within his own empty Dream World.
• Elliot explained how [Dream Entry] let Characters explore shared dreams and planned to use its limited opportunities to collect supernatural materials before the theater's premiere.
• Elliot calculated that advancing from First Rank to Second Rank required dozens of portions of supernatural materials and asked Flora how supernatural people could progress.
• Flora told Elliot that sacrificing external materials was inefficient, that advancement ultimately demanded sacrificing oneself, and that even this could only bring someone to Middle Rank.

Vanessa returned to the Clock Tower District with the orphans and found the Golden Tax Court forcibly evicting residents over unpaid taxes. She rushed back to Rosin Alley and discovered that her home had been ransacked, ending on the old man’s picture frame as she tried to make the soldiers stop.

• Vanessa took several orphans to the outskirts to catch stray dogs for Elliot’s plans.
• Vanessa noticed secret society members flooding the streets and learned that the Golden Tax Court’s red-uniformed soldiers had arrived.
• Golden Tax Court soldiers evicted residents and ransacked their homes, and one man was shot dead after firing his pistol.
• Vanessa raced to No. 37 Pine Resin Alley and found the house’s belongings scattered outside and its contents destroyed.
• Vanessa recognized the old man’s picture frame and pleaded with the soldiers to stop.

Vanessa could not stop the Golden Tax Court from seizing her home after officials demanded decades of unpaid property taxes she could not afford. Flora used her noble status to secure Vanessa one day to pack, and Vanessa asked her for a favor concerning Winnie’s grave.

• Vanessa offered the Golden Tax Court her savings, but the tax official demanded more than seven hundred pounds in back taxes and penalties.
• As soldiers searched the house, Vanessa realized Winnie’s grave and remains were there and tried to stop them.
• Flora arrived with several orphans, showed her certificate of lineage, and identified herself as a noble of the Mourning Poetry Society.
• Flora questioned the retroactive tax rules, but Vanessa asked for one day to pack and the tax official agreed to postpone the seizure.
• Vanessa began gathering Winnie’s bellflowers, refused Flora’s offer of a place to stay, then asked Flora for a favor.

After Winnie was reburied at the Mourning Poetry Society, Vanessa returned with Dorothea, Allen, and the orphans to spend one last night in their ruined home and announced her plan to assassinate an important person. As Dorothea gathered information for the operation, they learned a prince’s senior adjutant would attend a gathering at Miskatonic University tomorrow evening.

• Vanessa and the others dug up Winnie’s coffin and carried it through the city to the Mourning Poetry Society, where Flora presided over a second funeral.
• Vanessa refused Flora’s offer to stay and returned to the damaged house with Dorothea, Allen, and the orphans.
• Vanessa said she intended to assassinate an important person, and Dorothea, Allen, and Vanessa discussed how they might escape and survive.
• Dorothea encouraged the group to make a proper plan, and they gathered in the basement after settling the orphans upstairs.
• Dorothea reported that the banquet and reception had been canceled but a senior adjutant from another prince’s faction would visit Miskatonic University tomorrow evening.

Elliot advanced Dorothea’s abilities through sacrifices, giving her control over light and mirrors and then a monocle that let her deceive and blind Vanessa. With the Theater operation approaching, Elliot considered whether to strengthen Vanessa further or choose [Distortion].

• Vanessa, Allen, and Dorothea planned for Allen and Vanessa to hide inside the Theater while Dorothea attended the dinner and passed them information.
• The group found that their concealed basement entrance and supernatural materials had survived the Golden Tax Court’s search.
• Elliot chose the lantern node for Dorothea, and she gained [Rationality], which let her break out of the state instead of following Vanessa’s taunt to surrender.
• Dorothea discovered she could create blinding flashes, emit light, and manifest hovering mirrors.
• Elliot chose [Radiant Mirror] for Dorothea, who summoned a monocle and used it to vanish from Vanessa’s sight before dazzling her.
• After the sacrifices, Elliot weighed advancing Vanessa against choosing [Distortion].

Elliot used [Distortion] to give Vanessa the Formless Art [Secret Art · Overdraft], which briefly amplified her abilities and restored her finger at the cost of twenty years of her life. As the Theater’s premiere approached, Vanessa and Allen moved the orphans to safety, and Flora decided to attend the performance despite suspecting it would be dangerous.

• Elliot discovered that [Distortion] required shared Sacrifice Offerings, then used it on Vanessa and obtained [Secret Art · Overdraft].
• Vanessa’s power surged, healing her severed finger, but the five-minute effect left her physically aged and cost her twenty years of life.
• Vanessa and Dorothea learned that supernatural materials could offset some Formless Art costs, though they could not replace the life consumed by [Secret Art · Overdraft].
• At dawn, the tax officer found No. 37 Pine Resin Alley abandoned, while Allen and Vanessa brought the orphans to Flora and left them money.
• Flora suspected the group was heading into danger and asked Damian for a ticket to the Theater’s premiere, taking [Mourning Poems] with her.

Flora received a startling letter from Elliot before the premiere, while Dorothea left her dorm and spent the day collecting information at Miskatonic University. At an evening banquet, Dorothea finally saw the important person she had come to meet: Holly von Strauss, Prince Sidney’s special envoy.

• Flora read Elliot’s thin handwritten letter, trembled, and put it in a pocket before leaving the Mourning Poetry Society.
• Dorothea packed her correspondence with Elsa, left her medical kit and Gold Pounds on her bed, and departed campus without locking her dorm room.
• Dorothea returned to the university in formal clothes and questioned people across campus to gather clues.
• At the banquet, Dorothea learned that Prince Sidney’s trusted representative had arrived and watched the entrance.
• Randall introduced Holly von Strauss of the Royal Guard Knight Order as Prince Sidney’s special envoy, and Holly stepped into the center of the crowd.

Holly von Strauss promoted the Third Prince’s commitment to advancing talent regardless of bloodline, winning the interest of Miskatonic University students. Dorothea pretended to be drunk and left the banquet by another route, while the premiere was set to take place the next day.

• Holly told the banquet guests that the Third Prince would provide opportunities and protection to people of talent, regardless of their birth.
• Students gathered around Holly, and she said that more than half of the knights under the Third Prince were not nobles.
• Dorothea listened to Holly, then questioned Professor Randall about the Third Prince and expressed admiration for Holly.
• Randall told Dorothea that Holly would leave the university the next day and advised her to focus on the matters they had discussed.
• Dorothea claimed those matters were settled, left the banquet pretending to be unsteady, and went somewhere other than the dormitories.
• The next morning arrived, the day of the premiere.