Chapter Summaries

Klein questioned Elaine about her past, habits, and Tracy’s abilities and dealings, then arranged for Elaine to travel under a new identity. The chapter ended with Elaine boarding a ship for Tiana Port while Klein watched her go.

• Elaine told Klein that Tracy had raided her ship and forced her into a relationship during her early trading voyages.
• Klein questioned Elaine about her preferences and habits, then learned that Tracy used stealth, curses, illness, invisible threads, and a protective bracelet in combat.
• Elaine revealed that Tracy had transported slaves with Mad Captain Connors Victor, but denied taking part in piracy or human trafficking herself.
• Klein used a gold coin to confirm Elaine had been mostly honest, then had her remove and reapply her disguise while he studied her appearance.
• Klein gave Elaine new identification papers and a ticket to Tiana Port, instructing her to continue on to Pritz Harbor.
• Elaine boarded the ship, and Klein watched her leave as Danitz struggled not to laugh.

Klein disguised himself as Elaine to infiltrate the Resistance’s scheme to capture her and get close to Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy. After Mithor King confirmed the disguise and took him aboard a boat, Klein reached the Black Death.

• Klein convinced Danitz that he would impersonate Elaine, then overcame his discomfort and copied her appearance himself.
• Klein and Danitz brought the disguised Klein to Kalat, who arranged to exchange Elaine for a thousand-pound bounty from Oz Kent.
• Mithor King arrived to verify Elaine’s identity, and Klein maintained the disguise while Resistance members cuffed and searched him.
• Mithor paid Kalat, took Klein away, and sailed with him from Bayam toward the Black Death.

Klein infiltrated the Black Death disguised as Elaine and used the experience to grasp the Faceless principle of being both immersed in a role and detached from it. He left off attacking Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy, having seized her protective bracelet and struck with Spirit Piercing.

• Mithor brought Klein, disguised as Elaine, aboard the Black Death, where the blonde maid ordered him to change into a dress.
• Klein dressed as Elaine and realized that treating the disguise as a role while calmly observing himself embodied the Faceless principle of being both immersed and detached.
• The blonde maid escorted Klein, handcuffed, to Tracy's cabin, where Tracy confronted him with a whip and approached without suspicion.
• Klein slipped one hand from the handcuffs with Bone Softening, seized Tracy's diamond-studded bracelet, and attacked with Spirit Piercing.

Klein, disguised as Elaine, fought Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy aboard the Black Death but failed to kill her before she raised the alarm. He escaped by leaping into the sea, carrying a pirate in Creeping Hunger as gunfire erupted behind him.

• Klein used mirror substitution and a barrage of attacks to pressure Tracy, but she countered with ice, black flames, and a wand substitution.
• Tracy cursed Klein with his blood and trapped him in spider threads, but Klein burned the threads and attacked her with sunlight and spiritual abilities.
• Klein provoked Tracy by claiming Elaine had revealed their secrets, then used her emotional reaction to strike her shoulder with an Air Bullet.
• Tracy recovered, enclosed herself in a cocoon of hair, ice, and black flames, and shouted an enemy alert, forcing Klein to abandon the fight.
• Klein refused to take Tracy's bracelet, escaped through the cabin window, used a paper figurine to evade two pirates, seized one with Creeping Hunger, and jumped into the sea.

Klein escaped the Black Death after his attempt to kill Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy failed, but he secretly left traces that could help him locate her again. Back in Bayam, he confirmed he could divine the ship’s location and summoned Azik’s Copper Whistle.

• Klein used the Sea God Scepter and underwater creatures to escape the pirates pursuing him beneath the sea.
• Klein reviewed his failed attack, realized he needed stronger offensive help, and planned to ask Mr. Azik about the documents related to Death.
• Tracy survived, ordered her crew to search for the attacker, and told Mithor to investigate Elaine’s origins in Bayam.
• Tracy ordered rumors spread that she was gravely injured and commanded the Black Death to set sail, then suspected Creeping Hunger was involved.
• Klein returned to Bayam before dawn, retrieved his belongings with a ritual, and blew Azik’s Copper Whistle after confirming he could divine the Black Death’s location.

Klein reported his investigation to Azik’s messenger, then returned to Bayam sick after nearly assassinating Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy. Derrick advanced to Sun High Priest, while Mithor began investigating Danitz; the chapter ended with Captain Elland warning Klein and Danitz that something major had happened at Bansy Harbor.

• Klein sent Azik a letter about Jimmy Necker, the documents concerning Death, Qilangos, Tracy, and his failed assassination, then told the skeletal messenger he already had a messenger of his own.
• Klein developed a fever from Tracy’s lingering disease and the cold, and decided to return to the Azure Wind Inn to meet Danitz.
• Derrick drank the Sun High Priest potion, endured its effects, and registered his advancement to qualify for patrol-team captaincy and access to more records.
• Mithor learned that Danitz had delivered Elaine on Vice Admiral Iceberg’s behalf, recognized Danitz’s rising bounty, and ordered Oz Kent to gather recent information about him.
• Klein met Danitz at the Azure Wind Inn, where Danitz gave him 700 pounds of the bounty; Captain Elland arrived and reported that something major seemed to have happened at Bansy Harbor.

After learning that the Church of Storms had destroyed Bansy Harbor, Klein visited an Apothecary in Bayam to buy medicine for his illness. He recognized the Apothecary from Backlund, accepted a commission to find the man’s teacher, Roy King, and left without realizing the Apothecary’s owl suspected he knew him.

• Elland told Klein that Bansy Harbor had been destroyed, and Klein wondered what had happened to its residents and Red Angel Medici.
• Elland recommended an Apothecary near the Red Theater, so Klein and Danitz went to the herb shop to buy medicine for Klein’s illness.
• Klein recognized the shop’s owner as the fat Apothecary from the Eye of Wisdom’s gatherings in Backlund, and Danitz paid four soli for medicine.
• The Apothecary offered Klein an aphrodisiac and then asked him to find his teacher, Roy King, for a hundred pounds.
• After Klein and Danitz left with a photograph of Roy King, the Apothecary’s owl told him that Klein might know him.

Klein recovered from his illness with medicine brewed by Danitz, helped deliver supplies to the Resistance, and parted ways with Danitz as the Golden Dream sailed away. Azik then visited Klein and revealed that the Angel King Medici had been killed by Blood Emperor Alista Tudor.

• Darkwill worried that Klein might recognize him, while his owl mocked him and asked whether his search for his teacher would succeed.
• Klein arranged for Danitz to brew the apothecary’s medicine, recovered by evening, and planned three ways to search for Roy King.
• Klein and Danitz met Edwina at a private harbor, where the Golden Dream delivered grain and cloth to Kalat and the Resistance.
• Klein told Danitz that Edwina had paid his hiring fee, and Danitz returned to the Golden Dream and bragged about his contribution to killing Steel Maviti.
• Azik arrived at Klein’s inn and asked about documents concerning Death; Klein also told him about Bansy Harbor and Medici’s descendants.
• Azik recognized Medici as the Red Angel and Angel of War and said Blood Emperor Alista Tudor had killed Him, reminding Klein of the Evil Spirit in Backlund.

Klein connected the evil spirit to Red Angel Medici and reconsidered the terrifying power struggles of the Fourth Epoch, while deciding to investigate Bansy cautiously. He and Azik traveled to the Black Death, where they arrived in Tracy’s cabin and heard an unseen woman recognize them.

• Klein wondered whether the evil spirit was Red Angel Medici and pieced together clues about Alista Tudor, the Fourth Epoch emperors, and the six gods’ possible involvement.
• Klein decided to have Miss Magician watch Bansy and to consult Miss Sharron before telling Azik, unless something urgent happened.
• Klein told Azik about his messenger, and Azik warned him that her existence could be dangerous despite their contract.
• Azik took Klein into the Spirit World to find the Black Death, where the spirits sensed danger, but Azik chose to proceed.
• Klein disguised himself as Qilangos, and he and Azik appeared in Tracy’s cabin, where an unseen feminine voice said, “It’s you?”

Klein confronted Vice Admiral Ailment Tracy with Azik and the ancient Demoness of Unaging Katarina Pelle, who recognized Azik as the Balam Empire’s former Death Consul. After learning that Tracy had passed the Death-related documents to her sect, Klein refused to tell Tracy where Elaine was.

• A mysterious woman recognized Azik, and he asked whether she could help restore his lost memories.
• Katarina Pelle appeared and recalled that she and Azik had fought the Church of the Evernight Goddess during the Pale Disaster.
• Katarina explained that Azik’s memory loss was unusual, while Klein suspected she was the white-robed woman who had guided Madam Shermane.
• Klein asked Tracy about wealthy merchant Jimmy Necker and the ancient documents he had collected; Tracy admitted she had handed them to the Demoness Sect.
• Tracy asked Klein to reveal Elaine’s whereabouts, but Klein refused.

Klein witnessed Katarina Pelle offer to help Azik recover his memories, then learned that Azik had remembered his daughter, dead for 926 years. After Azik left, Klein reviewed his operation and planned to pursue the missing persons case through Connors Victor while continuing to digest his Faceless potion.

• Katarina Pelle offered to help Azik recover his memories and gave him a way to summon her; she also warned that his restored self might be more terrifying than a devil.
• Azik took Klein away from the Black Death, and Tracy realized Katarina had arranged for Elaine to escape and was helping Tracy pursue demigodhood.
• Katarina used silent black flames to clear the Black Death as Azik and Klein traveled through the Spirit World.
• Azik found his daughter's grave and told Klein that she had been dead for 926 years.
• Azik returned Klein to his room, admitted he feared who he might become but wanted to find himself, and departed.
• Klein reviewed the operation, decided to approach Connors Victor about the missing persons case, and planned to contact Arrodes after checking the danger above the gray fog.

Klein used the radio transceiver to consult Magic Mirror Arrodes, learning why Roy King was being held and what it knew about Groselle's Travels. He decided against rescuing Roy and reconsidered the dangers of confronting pirate admirals, then remembered he still had Will Auceptin's paper crane.

• Klein divined that using the radio transceiver was dangerous, then brought it down from above the gray fog and contacted Arrodes.
• Arrodes identified Roy King as a prisoner in the governor-general's residence in Bayam and said Groselle's Travels first appeared among the dragons after Liveseyd disappeared.
• Arrodes explained that the School of Life's Mercury Snake had gone missing, prompting internal divisions, and that Roy King was arrested because he held an important Sealed Artifact entrusted to him by his teacher.
• Klein declined to risk breaking Roy King out of the governor-general's residence, since he had no personal connection to him.
• Klein connected the School of Life's troubles to possible support behind several pirate admirals and resolved to keep future hunts secret and make only one attempt.
• Klein remembered that he still possessed the paper crane folded by Will Auceptin.

Klein used Will Auceptin’s paper crane to send a message in a dream and was told to inform Darkwill, while Alger hunted a Blue Shadow Falcon on a dangerous island. Klein then visited Darkwill and told him he had found his teacher.

• Klein retrieved Will Auceptin’s paper crane from above the gray fog and wrote, “Roy King has been captured.”
• Alger used the Spirit Whip to kill a Blue Shadow Falcon, collected six crystalline feathers, and left the island for his ghost ship.
• Klein entered a dream of the black spire, where a portrait of Darkwill appeared beside the message, “Inform Darkwill.”
• Klein visited Darkwill’s herbal medicine shop and told him he had found his teacher.
• Darkwill reacted incredulously, noting that Klein had accepted the commission only two days earlier.

Klein collected his payment from Darkwill for locating Roy King, while Darkwill panicked and abandoned his shop without buying a ticket. At the Tarot Club meeting, Cattleya noticed that three members had advanced, and Derrick told Mr. World he had found the method for separating mental corruption from a Beyonder characteristic.

• Klein told Darkwill that the military had secretly arrested Roy King and was holding him at the governor-general's residence, then collected a hundred pounds for the information.
• Darkwill packed his belongings and rushed to the passenger liner ticket office, but turned back before buying a ticket.
• Klein moved from the Azure Wind to a cheaper inn on Ols Street and planned to rest before checking his believers' prayers above the gray fog.
• Emlyn received the remains of a Sanguine Baron from Mr. Fool and anticipated advancing to Baron.
• Cattleya joined the Tarot Club meeting and noticed that The Hanged Man, The Moon, and The Sun had all advanced within the week.
• Derrick told Mr. World that he had obtained the method for separating the mental corruption of someone who lost control from a Beyonder characteristic.

The Sun shared two methods for separating mental corruption from a Beyonder Characteristic, and The Hermit offered a third. The World then tried to sell Groselle's Travels to Justice, who also asked about a Psychiatrist Beyonder Characteristic.

• The World praised The Sun for keeping his promise, and The Sun offered The Hanged Man the knowledge for free as thanks for his guidance.
• The Sun gave The World two methods: steal the residual corruption before making a potion, or use a ritual and a powerful mystical item's response to shatter the Characteristic temporarily.
• Klein considered the risks of both methods and concluded that an angel-level response might be powerful enough to shatter a Beyonder Characteristic.
• The Hermit told The World that an Unshadowed of the Sun pathway could directly purify mental corruption within a Beyonder Characteristic.
• The World asked The Sun about Groselle's Travels, then told Justice that a Beyonder was offering the book for 8,000 pounds; Justice said she would consider it.
• Justice asked The World about a Psychiatrist Beyonder Characteristic, while Klein recalled that he had not found a suitable target to Graze.

At the Tarot Club, The World commissioned The Magician to watch Williams Street for dangerous anomalies and reported that the Church of Storms had dealt with Bansy Harbor. The gathering ended with The Moon asking whether Sanguine needed to use the Acting Method, and The Hermit began explaining the sequence requirements.

• The World asked the members to help find a powerful offensive mystical item, but The Hermit had none to offer and promised to watch for one.
• The World commissioned The Magician to check Williams Street every few days for anything unusual, warned her not to investigate it, and agreed to pay her one hundred pounds.
• The World told The Hanged Man that the Church of Storms had preliminarily resolved the situation at Bansy Harbor and that the harbor would not exist for some time.
• The Moon announced that he had become a Baron and asked whether Sanguine needed to use the Acting Method to digest their potions.
• The Hermit said The Moon needed to act for the sequences beyond Vampire, and Justice asked which pathway's Sequence 7 was Vampire.

At a Tarot Club gathering, Cattleya explained the Moon pathway and its Sanguine Sequences, while Audrey reported that the government examination had reached its final interview stage. After the gathering, Melissa met Benson and learned that he felt confident about his exam; Klein then considered how to separate the True Creator’s corruption from the Eye of All-Black.

• Cattleya described the Moon pathway’s Sequences and explained how they reflected the Moon’s domains, while Emlyn insisted that his people were Sanguine, not vampires.
• Emlyn asked whether advancing to Sanguine Viscount required acting as a Potion Professor, and Cattleya confirmed that it did.
• Audrey told the Fool that the second round of the government examination had ended and only the final interviews remained.
• Melissa met Benson at a café, where he said the arithmetic questions had been easy and she urged him to prepare for an interview; he agreed to go home after she said she had already bought food.
• Klein returned his attention to the gray fog and considered how to separate the True Creator’s mental corruption from the Eye of All-Black.

Klein sought a safe way to remove the True Creator’s mental corruption from the Eye of All-Black and decided to find a mystical item that could steal Beyonder abilities. A hint from Will Auceptin and Azik’s reply led Klein to recognize that Lanarvus’s mysterious badge might be the clue.

• Klein ruled out seeking help from powerful entities and planned to find a mystical item with a stealing ability, beginning by contacting Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina Edwards.
• Klein performed a Spirit Summoning Ritual to contact Edwina, who agreed to ask her third mate, Flower Bow Tie Jodeson, about such an item.
• Klein wrote to Mr. Azik and asked the paper crane where he could obtain a stealing item, then went to sleep.
• In his dream, Klein read Will Auceptin’s message that the clue lay with him, though Will did not know what it was.
• Azik replied that the Marauder pathway had belonged to the Amon, Zoroast, and Jacob families, and that some members formed the Hermits of Fate.
• Klein connected the message about fate and concealment to the mysterious badge he had taken from Lanarvus.

Klein planned to obtain a power-stealing mystical item through Leonard Mitchell while keeping his identity concealed, as Danitz delivered Edwina’s reply to him. Meanwhile, Fors gathered material in Backlund, and Elland brought Klein to meet a contact as bounty hunters discussed Danitz.

• Klein activated Lanarvus’s badge and learned that the Hermits of Fate would gather at the mouth of the Tussock River on June 6, 1350; he planned to ask Arrodes about finding a power-stealing item and, if needed, send Emlyn to approach Leonard Mitchell.
• Edwina told Danitz that she had no suitable item, then had him summon Gehrman Sparrow’s messenger; Reinette Tinekerr delivered Edwina’s letter and inspected her before departing.
• Fors visited Williams Street in Backlund to observe the neighborhood and record material for her writing.
• Klein read Edwina’s reply, then met Captain Elland, who offered to introduce him to a contact at the Fragrant Leaf Bar.
• At the Fragrant Leaf Bar, Mithor King asked Oz Kent for information about Blazing Danitz, and Oz reported that Blue Eyes Mith had seen Danitz with an unfamiliar adventurer.

Klein met military contact Oz Kent at the Fragrant Leaf Bar, while Oz and Mithor King investigated the unfamiliar adventurer they suspected of impersonating Elaine. When Mithor spotted Klein, Klein recognized him and opened fire, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• Elland introduced Klein to Oz Kent, who warned him that pirates could target his friends and ambush him at sea.
• Oz Kent showed Mithor King a portrait of a dangerous unfamiliar adventurer and ordered his men to find the man.
• A guard told Oz Kent that the adventurer was upstairs in the bar, and Mithor went to confirm the identity himself.
• Mithor spotted Klein, who recognized him as a 5,400-pound bounty and decided to attack rather than keep up his usual calm act.
• Klein used an illusion to make the bar patrons dive for cover, then aimed at Mithor and fired a real shot.