Recaps

Klein and Alger met at Pame's Divination Hut, used a tarot reading to coordinate a plan against Danitz and Maviti, and agreed on a discreet contact. Alger then informed Bishop Chogo and planted information about Danitz with a man at a bar, setting the trap in motion.

• Klein met Alger at Pame's Divination Hut and used the tarot spread to show he understood Alger's plan to involve the Church of Storms against Danitz and Maviti.
• Alger hinted that the Church's dream-inducing artifact and a Sun-domain item could threaten them, while Klein indicated he could prepare for both dangers.
• Klein and Alger agreed to use the aromatherapy contact point on Fragrant Tree Avenue, then parted after Klein teased Alger about his wizard-like outfit.
• Alger told Bishop Chogo that Danitz claimed Vice Admiral Iceberg's key was unrelated to Death's treasure and wanted Alger to watch for Maviti, then proposed using the information to trap them.
• At the Fragrant Leaf Bar, Alger told a thin, dark-skinned man that Danitz had said Maviti was in Bayam, and the man hurriedly left to act on the information.

Alger sold Steel Maviti’s group information about Blazing Danitz and was confined while they planned an ambush. Maviti’s pirates secretly watched the target house, where Danitz arrived at dawn and was joined by hidden adventurers.

• Alger met Calm Squall in an alley and offered information about Blazing in exchange for payment.
• Squall negotiated a temporary confinement for Alger and took him to Old Quinn’s windowless basement.
• Squall told Steel Maviti and Blood Brambles Huntley about the lead and suggested using it to lure Blazing and the adventurers into danger.
• Huntley flew Maviti’s group to a concealed observation point near 15 Fragrant Tree Avenue.
• Danitz entered house 15 at dawn, and several figures emerged from nearby hiding places and rushed into the house.

Cordova Roye used Sealed Artifact 2-37 to lure Blazing Danitz and the pursuing pirates into a dream, while Steel Maviti, Huntley, and Squall moved to capture Danitz outside. Their apparent victory ended when the real target emerged: Gehrman Sparrow had been posing as Danitz, and he attacked Steel.

• Cordova Roye ordered the Mandated Punishers to activate Sealed Artifact 2-37, drawing John Smith and the others into a shared dream while they attacked the apparent Blazing Danitz.
• Steel Maviti, Huntley, and Squall spotted the escaping Danitz and pursued him, leaving two pirates to hold their position.
• Steel froze Danitz’s shadow, Huntley bound him with plants, and Squall cut off his head, revealing that the body was a paper decoy.
• Steel sensed that the target was not Blazing Danitz, then blocked a compressed fireball with his arms.
• Gehrman Sparrow stepped from the flames in Danitz’s black cloak, revealing that he had been impersonating Danitz.

Klein swiftly defeated Steel Maviti, Squall, and Blood Brambles Huntley during the chaos at 15 Fragrant Tree Avenue. He escaped with Maviti’s body as the Mandated Punishers arrived to find the aftermath.

• Klein used Spirit Puncture and Holy Light to weaken Steel Maviti while Huntley and Squall tried to intervene.
• Klein planted a bottle of Sun Holy Water in Maviti’s wound and detonated it, killing him.
• Squall used a Screaming Charm, but Danitz’s fireball struck Huntley while Klein recovered and pursued Squall.
• Klein shot Squall in the head, consumed him with Creeping Hunger, and returned to collect Maviti’s body.
• Klein escaped in flames with the peacock-blue flying carpet, leaving the Beyonder Characteristics behind.
• Cordova Roye and the Mandated Punishers arrived to find scattered remains and the signs of the battle.

Klein used Creeping Hunger to Graze Steel Maviti, gaining three Beyonder powers before escaping the alley. As the Mandated Punishers investigated the scene, Alger anesthetized Old Quinn and his companions and broke out of the sealed basement.

• Klein Graze Steel Maviti's spirit and gained the strength of a Living Corpse, ice control, and the ability to control Living Corpses, but not Maviti's steel-like body or vitality.
• Klein took Maviti's cash, left the bounty notice over his corpse, and vanished before Cordova Roye and the Mandated Punishers arrived.
• Berg concluded that a powerful helper using a mystical item had assisted Danitz, while Cordova wondered whether Edwina was involved.
• Alger received the Fool's report that the mission had succeeded, then used Sanguine Anesthetic Gas to incapacitate Old Quinn and the others.
• Alger shattered the heavy stone door's lock with a Raging Blow and walked out of the basement.

Danitz accepted the flying carpet as his share for helping Gehrman Sparrow, while Alger received 6,000 pounds from the Church of Storms for the pirate bounties. Above the gray fog, Klein kept his promise to release a soul from Creeping Hunger and chose the Nightmare.

• Danitz realized Gehrman Sparrow owned Creeping Hunger and, fearing the adventurer's power, returned to the inn instead of escaping.
• Klein offered Danitz either 3,000 pounds or the flying carpet, and Danitz chose the carpet.
• Alger told Bishop Chogo about the battle, and the Church of Storms awarded him 6,000 pounds from the bounties.
• Alger planned to account for the 3,000 pounds owed to The World by buying a mystical item and adjusting its reported price.
• Klein decided to honor his promise to release a soul from Creeping Hunger and released the Nightmare.

Klein learned from David Raymond that the Nighthawk’s daughter lived in Connaught City and that the Death documents had been collected by Jimmy Necker, then reviewed his operation against Steel Maviti. He left to pursue a new lead and told Danitz he was taking him to meet his captain.

• Klein questioned David Raymond, who explained that he had been investigating Death documents when Qilangos attacked his ship and killed his companions.
• David Raymond asked Klein to tell his daughter Niel that her family’s murderers had been punished and that her father loved her, then named Connaught City and tycoon Jimmy Necker before disappearing.
• Klein decided to investigate Jimmy Necker and the Death documents, then reflected on his preparations and the Mandated Punishers’ response during the fight against Steel Maviti.
• Danitz asked whether he could leave, and Klein told him he was free before revealing that he was capturing him again.
• Klein told Danitz that he wanted to meet his captain, prompting Danitz to ask what he planned to do.

Klein traveled to Simim Island disguised as Wencter and acted out a farewell and marriage proposal to Renee, then left after seeing her reaction. He remained on the island overnight, waiting for the morning ship back to Bayam.

• Danitz suspected Gehrman Sparrow had powerful connections and decided to stay put to protect the captain.
• Klein arrived on Simim Island in a local disguise and calculated his wealth, considering what to do with the Nightmare Beyonder characteristic.
• Klein transformed into Wencter and told Renee he loved her, wanted to marry her, and was leaving to pursue treasure.
• Renee called Wencter a coward and selfishly struck at him with her broom, driving Klein away.
• Klein used a charm to make Renee fall asleep, then watched her wake and curse Wencter before he changed his appearance and left.

Klein posted a fabricated death notice for Wencter, then rented a room in Simim under Gehrman Sparrow and spent the evening observing local adventurers. During the night, his spirit intuition warned him of a venomous snake in the bathroom, and he killed it with a sudden strike.

• Klein mailed a false death notice to Simim’s sheriff, reporting that Wencter had died in Bayam, and reflected on how his impersonation might affect Renee.
• After a proprietor refused to rent him a room without identification, Klein changed into Gehrman Sparrow and secured a quiet room by presenting himself as a foreigner.
• Klein ate dinner at the inn and noticed a grayish-blue-eyed woman and her three companions, judging from their muddy boots that they had returned from the jungle.
• Klein went to bed early, woke during the night, and took the Sun Brooch with him to the bathroom to ease the cold.
• Klein’s spirit intuition alerted him to a venomous snake dropping from the bathroom vent, and he struck it, splitting it in two.

Klein kept watch after sensing that the adventurers had disturbed an evil spirit, then followed them onto a later passenger ship after divining it was safe. Back in Bayam, he learned Danitz’s bounty had risen to 4,200 pounds and greeted the pirate with a pointed congratulations.

• Klein divined that the inn was safe, stayed awake through the night, and sensed a spiritual disturbance fade from the adventurers’ room.
• At the Fragrant Leaf Bar, Danitz overheard that Steel Maviti and others were dead, and that his bounty had risen to 4,200 pounds.
• Klein changed his ticket to the ten o’clock passenger ship, divined that it was safe, and watched the adventurers during the uneventful journey to Bayam.
• Klein read about Danitz’s increased bounty on his way back to the Azure Wind Inn and found Danitz still there.
• Klein called Danitz “Mr. 4,200 Pounds,” leaving Danitz suddenly afraid for his life.

Danitz dreamed that Edwina visited him to teach him a ritual for contacting Gehrman Sparrow, while Klein entered the dream with a Dream Charm. The chapter ended with Klein and Edwina meeting face-to-face but neither beginning the conversation.

• Danitz dreamed that Edwina reached him through ritualistic magic and explained that she was aboard the Golden Dream, far from Bayam.
• Danitz recounted his experiences with Gehrman Sparrow, the horrors of Bansy Harbor, and the fight against Steel Maviti, while Edwina judged that Gehrman bore no ill intent.
• Edwina taught Danitz the Spirit Summoning Ritual so she could communicate with Gehrman through him.
• Klein sensed something unusual, checked the sleeping Danitz, and used a Dream Charm to enter Danitz's dream.
• Klein recognized Edwina Edwards, exchanged greetings with her, and then waited in silence as she looked back at him.

Klein questioned Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina Edwards about rare sea creatures, Beyonder corruption, ancient evil spirits, Death's Key, and the adventurers he had encountered. After learning more about the key and the secretive Element Dawn, he proposed that they work together to hunt the Admiral of Blood.

• Danitz interrupted Klein and asked Edwina to answer his questions, and she first assessed his education and knowledge of mysticism.
• Edwina described places where uncommon Beyonder creatures could be found and offered her hypothesis that a deity could shatter a corrupted Beyonder Characteristic.
• Edwina agreed to watch for ancient evil spirits and explained that Death's Key belonged to giants and might point to the lost Giant King's Court.
• Klein showed Edwina the image of Latiz Dorella, and she identified her as an archaeologist rumored to belong to the Moss Ascetic Order or Element Dawn.
• Edwina said Element Dawn opposed the Moss Ascetic Order and was rumored to have been founded by Bernadette Gustav.
• Klein asked Edwina whether she would join him in hunting the Admiral of Blood.

Klein and Danitz arranged to wait for Admiral of Blood Senor’s fleet to reappear, then went to meet a local resistance faction in Bayam. They reached a secret contact’s door, where a sea-serpent tattoo identified the group’s connection to Sea God worshippers.

• Klein asked Edwina to help him hunt Admiral of Blood Senor, and she said Senor’s fleet had vanished after fighting Vice Admiral Twilight’s crew.
• Edwina told Klein that Danitz would know how to contact her, but her dream projection faded before Danitz could object to staying with Klein.
• Danitz explained that the local resistance sought independence and worked with pirates, adventurers, and foreign backers, so Klein agreed to visit them.
• Klein disguised himself as a native, and Danitz led him through Bayam to a square where Sea God Kavithua’s believers fled from them.
• Danitz gave a password at a nearby house, and its door opened to reveal an arm tattooed with a sea serpent.

Klein and Danitz visited Kalat, a leader of the Sea God-worshipping resistance, and learned that they were searching for Latiz Dorella. Klein rejected a sinister bone sword and hurried away after sensing danger, leaving Danitz unsettled by the strange behavior of those around them.

• Klein followed Danitz into Kalat’s room, where Kalat recognized Danitz despite his disguise and asked about the deaths of Steel and Blood Brambles.
• Kalat offered a supernatural object as payment for finding Latiz Dorella and showed Klein and Danitz her portrait.
• Klein connected Latiz’s disappearance to an important item taken from a forgotten temple and declined to get involved.
• Klein touched a bone sword that triggered painful, bloody visions, then refused Kalat’s offer to take it.
• Klein abruptly left with Danitz after sensing danger, and they passed a worshipper whose flesh dried and fell away.
• After they left, Danitz saw the carriage driver kneel and kiss the ground where Klein had stepped.

Klein used the gray fog to disperse the Sea God Kavithua’s attempt to possess him after he touched the bone sword. He concluded Kavithua was nearing destruction, while the sword shattered and two of Kalat’s companions died.

• Danitz followed Gehrman Sparrow through streets filled with snakes and sensed a terrifying sea-like power around him.
• Klein entered the bedroom, performed a ritual, and watched Kavithua’s sea-serpent form dissolve in the gray fog.
• Klein realized the Sea God’s power had been contaminating him and inferred that Kavithua was trying to possess whoever touched the bone sword.
• Klein returned to Danitz and said the danger was resolved, while Kalat and Edmonton waited for the holy sword to bring their god back.
• Two of Kalat’s companions died as their bodies dried out, and the bone sword shattered into pieces.

Klein had Danitz post notices near Sea Waves Cathedral warning the Church of Storms about Sea God Kavithua and the resistance, then the pair left the area. In Backlund, Emlyn received a 7,000-pound reward from Lord Nibes for risking prayer to The Fool and was told to report anything unusual.

• Kalat ordered Edmonton to find the high priest and investigate why the holy sword had shattered, while Edmonton told his subordinates to keep searching and suspend rituals and prayers.
• Klein had Danitz post notices around Sea Waves Cathedral reporting Latiz Dorella's expedition, the strange bone sword, and Kavithua's failing body and deranged state.
• Danitz worried that the Church of Storms would identify him and increase his bounty, but he posted a notice on the cathedral doors and fled with Klein.
• Danitz and Klein discussed Bayam's nightlife and the abuses committed by pirates and the Loen navy as they walked away from the cathedral.
• Emlyn followed Kasimi to Lord Nibes, who rewarded him with a 7,000-pound banker's acceptance and instructed him to report anything unusual.

Emlyn White received 7,000 pounds from Lord Nibes and planned to buy a baron's remains, while Derrick and Alger pursued their respective investigations. Klein dreamed that the collapsing Sea God Kavithua would unleash a disaster on Bayam, but Jahn Kottman changed the weather and appeared to suppress the threat.

• Emlyn White left the Odora family's chambers with a 7,000-pound reward and planned to buy the baron's remains from The Hanged Man.
• Derrick sacrificed the Spirit Eater's stomach and Beyonder materials to Mr. Fool while the Chief was away exploring with Jack.
• Alger told Chogo that a young man wearing a crystal monocle had mentioned Bansy Harbor and the Medici Family, prompting Chogo to report the news to Jahn Kottman.
• Klein dreamed that Kavithua's collapse would bring a tsunami and cause its believers to commit extreme acts, then woke as heavy rain and rising seawater threatened Bayam.
• Jahn Kottman changed the weather, clearing the clouds and stopping the rain, and Danitz identified him as a Sequence 3 demigod called Sea King.

Klein considered the Church of Storms’ plan to let Kavithua die naturally and realized the Sea God’s hidden ruins might be found through the Spirit World with Azik’s guidance. After summoning his messenger and receiving a request from Elland, Klein agreed to help the military and Church search for the archaeologists before more people died.

• Klein reasoned that Sea King Jahn Kottman could keep Kavithua contained until the Sea God’s madness consumed him, though fanatical believers would likely die and the archaeologists behind Kavithua’s demise remained a danger.
• Klein wondered whether the Spirit World could lead him to Kavithua’s ruins and summoned his messenger to ask Azik for guidance, while Danitz watched in alarm.
• Klein sent Azik a letter describing Kavithua and the ruins, disguising his own encounter with the Sea God as part of a dream.
• Fair Elland arrived and told Klein that the military and Church were searching Bayam for several capable archaeologists, asking him to help find them.
• Klein agreed to assist in the search so the authorities could contain the danger sooner and potentially save lives.

Gehrman Sparrow, Elland, and Danitz searched Bayam under martial law for Latiz and the other archaeologists while the military hunted pirates and faced resistance. An orange flare led them to a house filled with supernatural cold, where a woman laughed and one of Latiz’s companions was thrown outside charred.

• Danitz disguised himself with an iron mask and joined Elland and Gehrman Sparrow in searching Bayam for Latiz and the other archaeologists.
• A Feysacian pirate named Golat fled from a house and was killed by machine-gun fire from a passing airship.
• The group passed a barricade where Loen soldiers had killed a charging group of native locals, while children watched from nearby.
• Fors advanced to Sequence 8 and became a Trickmaster, gaining several spell-like abilities.
• Elland ran toward an orange firework, and Gehrman Sparrow and Danitz followed him to a house surrounded by snow and supernatural cold.
• A laughing woman remained inside the house, and a charred body identified by Gehrman Sparrow as one of Latiz’s male companions flew out of a window.

Klein and the military attacked the corrupted Latiz, who had taken the Book of Calamity from ancient elven ruins. After Latiz died, Klein reasoned that the ruins’ collapse may have destabilized the Sea God Kavithua’s hiding place and that Kavithua had sought to possess him because of his connection to the gray fog and his uniqueness.

• Elland tried to rescue the frozen military personnel but had to retreat, so Klein used Danitz’s fireballs and his own matches to reach them and carry them out of the cold.
• An airship arrived, evacuated nearby houses, and bombarded the house where Latiz was hiding, but lightning struck the airship and sent it drifting downward.
• Latiz crawled from the rubble in a horrifying, corrupted state, and military Beyonders attacked until she disintegrated.
• Klein noticed the Book of Calamity inside Latiz’s abdomen, while one of the male adventurers revealed that Latiz had found it in ancient elven ruins and gone mad studying it.
• Klein suspected the ruins’ collapse had weakened Kavithua and concluded that the Sea God may have chosen him as a vessel because of his connection to the gray fog and his uniqueness.

Klein learned that the Church of Storms and the military were closing in on Sea God Kavithua, then found a way to locate its hiding place by sacrificing an iron cigarette case to it. He and Danitz prepared the ritual in an abandoned warehouse, where Klein was about to make the offering.

• Elland told Klein and Danitz that the target had been found, paid them to stay in the hotel, and the citywide search continued with gunfire and explosions through the day.
• Klein realized Danitz could read Elvish and considered how the Book of Calamity and the ancient elven ruins might help the authorities bring down Kavithua.
• Mr. Azik's messenger delivered a reply while Klein was using the toilet, and Klein rejected praying to Red Light Al Moria because it could expose his secrets.
• Klein divined that his plan carried manageable danger, then asked Danitz for the Sea God's prayer and directions to an abandoned warehouse.
• Klein told Danitz he would sacrifice an iron cigarette case to Kavithua so he could locate the Sea God's hiding place if it accepted the offering.

Gehrman Sparrow performed a sacrifice to summon the maddened Sea God Kavithua, and the encounter nearly killed him and Danitz. Kavithua swallowed the gray-fog-tainted iron cigarette case before the illusory door closed, while Klein calmed Creeping Hunger by sending it above the gray fog.

• Klein used the resistance's ritual materials and Thousand-faced Hunter blood to summon Kavithua, despite Danitz's doubts.
• Kavithua forced open the illusory door, battered the warehouse with a hurricane, and nearly struck Klein with its lightning-charged tongue, but Klein escaped with a Paper Figurine Substitute.
• Kavithua created a seawater vortex that dragged Klein toward its maw, so Klein used Creeping Hunger to command Steel Maviti's soul and briefly shield himself with ice.
• Kavithua stopped the vortex and unleashed a storm of lightning, destroying the altar and forcing Klein to use several more Paper Figurine Substitutes before the door shut.
• Klein realized Kavithua had swallowed the iron cigarette case tainted with the gray fog's aura, giving him a chance to locate its hiding place after it died.
• Klein ordered Danitz to close the warehouse door, then sent Creeping Hunger above the gray fog to calm its growing hunger.

After confirming that Kavithua had died, Klein used the Black Emperor card to keep Creeping Hunger docile and entered the Spirit World to find the iron cigarette case and Kavithua’s hiding place. He followed his divining cane through the strange realm until a disembodied eye appeared before him.

• Klein had Danitz burn away the warehouse’s remaining traces while he waited for news of Kavithua’s collapse.
• Alger watched the clouds disperse and hoped the end of the crisis would let him leave Bayam and pursue advancement.
• Klein divined that Kavithua was completely dead and found that exploring its hiding place posed a manageable danger.
• Klein entered the real world with the Black Emperor card, which suppressed Creeping Hunger, and prepared his mystical items.
• Klein entered the Spirit World and divined the location of the iron cigarette case, then followed his floating cane through the realm.
• Klein saw a sharply defined, bodiless eye watching him in the Spirit World.

Klein traveled through the Spirit World to Sea God Kavithua’s hidden ruins, where he found Kavithua dead and fought his way past its guards. In the central hall, he discovered a priest devouring the sea god’s corpse and realized the priest might be a dangerous survivor of the resulting loss of control.

• Klein crossed the Spirit World in his Black Emperor guise, passed several monstrous creatures, and used the Black Emperor card’s authority to drive away a skull-tentacled jellyfish guarding the ruins.
• Klein entered Kavithua’s hidden underwater ruins and confirmed that the Sea God was dead, while its dying roar still echoed through the site.
• Klein activated the Sun Brooch’s Sacred Oath and burned through the fanatical Sea God Guards as he advanced along the avenue.
• Klein entered the central hall and found Kavithua’s enormous wounded serpent body, with blue-green lights gathering at a fang as the corpse’s characteristics separated.
• Klein saw an elderly priest eating Kavithua’s raw flesh and noticed that the priest’s swollen belly pulsed like it contained an enormous heart.

Klein defeated the mutated old priest in the flooded ruins by exploiting the narrow doorway, holy light, and a delayed biotoxin. After confirming the priest had presided over human sacrifices, Klein let Creeping Hunger consume him and approached the scepter formed from Kavithua’s remains, where he heard illusory pleas.

• Klein threw the Biotoxin Bottle and used Purification Halo as the old priest attacked him with freezing cries and lightning-wreathed tentacles.
• Klein lured the old priest into the collapsed doorway, then struck him with a pillar of holy light and fought back with Spirit Piercing and icy blows.
• The Biotoxin Bottle weakened the old priest, allowing Klein to finish him with holy light and confirm through Spirit Channeling that he had presided over human sacrifices.
• Klein let Creeping Hunger consume the old priest, while the Beyonder Characteristics swept into Kavithua’s fang and transformed it into a scepter.
• Klein approached the scepter and heard illusory pleas as visions of praying believers and grieving resistance fighters appeared before him.