Chapter Summaries

Klein, posing as the wealthy Dawn Dantès, interviewed a domestic servants association about hiring a butler and calculated the high cost of establishing a household in Backlund. He then prayed at Saint Samuel Cathedral and made a conspicuously large donation.

• Beline introduced Klein to three butler candidates, and Klein arranged to interview all three at his hotel the next morning.
• Klein paid a three-pound deposit and told Beline he had arrived from Desi Bay to find a house and servants.
• In his carriage, Klein calculated his expected household expenses and worried about the cost of living as a rich man.
• Klein visited Saint Samuel Cathedral, prayed, and donated fifty pounds, impressing the bishop with his apparent wealth.

Klein left Saint Samuel Cathedral and dined at the Intis Serenzo Restaurant, where he unexpectedly spotted Bernadette Gustav. Elsewhere, Allen Kreis’s pregnant wife felt discomfort that subsided when they turned back, and Fors heard someone offer a Moon Puppet for sale.

• Klein left the cathedral after making a large donation and decided to visit the Intis Serenzo Restaurant for lunch.
• Klein ordered the fifteen-pound chef’s recommendation and recognized Bernadette Gustav at the restaurant before she disappeared into the stairwell.
• Allen Kreis’s pregnant wife felt unwell on the way to the restaurant, so Allen returned home with her, and her discomfort soon eased.
• Klein ate ice cream at the restaurant and sneezed.
• Fors attended a Beyonder gathering while seeking ways to earn money, and a participant announced they wanted to sell a Moon Puppet.

Fors identified Windsor Behring, a believer of the Moon Primordial, at a Beyonder gathering and decided to claim the bounty for a lead. Meanwhile, Klein questioned Arrodes about the Evil Spirit and his butler candidates, then received a rune for summoning the mirror.

• A hooded woman bought the Moon Puppet at Fors's gathering, and Fors used a mosquito to recognize her as Windsor Behring.
• Fors considered using the mosquito to collect Windsor's blood for direct tracking but decided to leave the gathering and claim only the bounty for a valid lead.
• Klein asked Arrodes where the Evil Spirit from the Williams Street ruins had gone, and the mirror showed the abandoned chapel where it had apparently dug its way out.
• Klein asked Arrodes to compare his three butler candidates, and it said Asnia was the most professional and ordinary while Ribac and Walter could bring additional developments.
• Arrodes offered to become Klein's butler, but Klein declined, and Arrodes gave him a rune to summon it while he remained in Backlund.

Klein interviewed three butler candidates and chose Walter, whose past connected him to Prince Edessak and the events surrounding the Great Smog of Backlund. Walter recommended an impressive North Borough house, but its annual rent of 1,260 pounds shocked Klein.

• Klein thanked Mr. Asnia with a bottle of wine and asked him to invite Ribac for an interview.
• Ribac explained why he had left Baron Sindras's household, and Klein considered the political connections his appointment would bring.
• Walter described his conflict with Viscount Conrad's butler and his connection to an important person who had died in an accident.
• Klein hired Walter, asked him to arrange professional contracts, and gave him a bottle of wine to deliver to Ribac.
• Walter recommended 32 Böklund Street, and Klein struggled to hide his shock when he learned the rent was 1,260 pounds a year.

Klein chose to rent 160 Böklund Street and learned how elaborate the household staff and expenses would be. Meanwhile, Emlyn suspected Ruth Báthory was pursuing a Moon puppet and decided to watch his rival; Klein then prepared to convene the Tarot Club.

• Klein compared rental options and accepted Walter's recommendation to rent 160 Böklund Street for a year.
• Emlyn realized the Moon puppet might be bait connected to Ruth Báthory and decided to watch the Sanguine Baron for a chance to find Windsor first.
• Father Utravsky told Emlyn to polish the candlesticks again after noticing his lack of focus.
• Klein confirmed the rental and discussed hiring a housekeeper and a large household staff with Walter, who also described the costs of servants and carriages.
• After returning to the hotel, Klein rested and entered his bedroom at two forty to convene the Tarot Club.

At the Tarot Club, Klein read a page of Roselle’s diary revealing how the Black Emperor could return and how Alista Tudor became a mad true god. Klein suspected Roselle had faced a similar choice, then identified Mr. Door as the diary’s other central figure and hinted that Fors should know Him.

• Cattleya gave Klein a page of Roselle’s diary, which described the Black Emperor’s resurrection and Alista Tudor’s path to becoming a mad true god.
• Klein speculated that Roselle might have attempted to switch to a non-neighboring pathway, helping explain his later madness and Bernadette’s search for the truth.
• Klein connected the diary’s account of the Tudor-Trunsoest United Empire to the paired thrones beneath Williams Street, but could not determine who had helped the Blood Emperor.
• Cattleya asked who else was central to the diary entry, and Klein answered that it was Mr. Door.
• Klein told Fors that she should be familiar with Mr. Door, leaving her bewildered.

At the Tarot Club gathering, Fors learned that Mr. Door caused the full-moon ravings, while the World offered two mystical items for sale. Cattleya agreed to buy the Lucky Scales after learning that Gehrman Sparrow had killed Senor, and the deal left Klein with a large payment toward his debts.

• Fors asked whether Mr. Door caused the full-moon ravings, and Klein confirmed that he did.
• The World introduced the Lucky Scales and warned that its dangerous backlash made it unsuitable for Beyonders with weak combat abilities.
• Cattleya recognized the necklace as Senor's and asked how the World had obtained it.
• The World said Senor was dead, shocking Cattleya, Alger, Audrey, and Fors with the news that Gehrman Sparrow had killed the Admiral of Blood.
• Cattleya offered four thousand pounds in gold coins and six thousand five hundred pounds in cash for the Lucky Scales, and the World accepted.

During the Tarot Gathering, Klein sold mystical items and a book of secrets while managing his debts and expenses. The meeting ended with trades and updates, including news that Bansy Harbor had been destroyed.

• Klein offered the Biotoxin Bottle for 5,200 pounds, but Audrey declined because she wanted a more directly offensive item.
• Klein sold Audrey a Book of Secrets for 1,000 pounds and warned her against praying to the Moon Primordial or other hidden existences.
• Klein offered an Interrogator Beyonder Characteristic for 1,200 pounds, but no one bought it.
• Alger asked Cattleya for a lead on Obninsk Sea Monsters outside the Church of Storms, and Cattleya agreed to ask around.
• Emlyn traded ingredients to Derrick for resources from around the City of Silver, then realized the information on Derrick’s list was valuable.
• Derrick said the new exploration team had arrived in Afternoon Town and that the Chief had approved of his progress; Alger then reported that pirates had found Bansy Harbor completely destroyed.

At the Tarot Club, Fors revealed that Mr. Door’s full-moon ravings might be pleas for help, while Klein sent Sharron a letter and Audrey received the Book of Secrets and considered investing in a bicycle company. Elsewhere, Alger sailed toward Passo Island, and Emlyn waited outside Ruth Báthory’s residence as someone slipped out into the night.

• Fors told Cattleya that Mr. Door’s ravings came through a Spirit World Traversal item and might be asking for help.
• Klein wrote to Sharron that the luck necklace had been sold and sent the letter with Admiral of Blood Senor.
• Audrey reviewed the Book of Secrets from memory, then agreed to pursue a ten-percent stake in the Backlund Bicycle Company with Earl Hall’s financing advice.
• Alger sailed aboard the Blue Avenger toward Passo Island, the Church of Storms’ headquarters.
• Emlyn waited outside Ruth Báthory’s residence under the crimson moon and saw a figure leave through a rear window.

Emlyn followed Ruth Báthory to confront Windsor, but the Moon Puppet attached itself to him after he killed her. Klein destroyed the puppet with lightning from the Gray Fog, and the chapter ended as a Blood Moon appeared over the city.

• Emlyn used potions to follow Ruth Báthory unseen to Windsor’s apartment in the East Borough.
• Windsor attacked Ruth Báthory in a monstrous, flower-covered form, and Emlyn burned the dried plants before helping kill her.
• A Moon Puppet fell from Windsor’s body, then appeared behind Emlyn in a nearby alley and began freezing him with crimson moonlight.
• Emlyn called on the Fool, and Klein struck the puppet with lightning from the Sea God Scepter, then claimed it as payment.
• Emlyn left the East Borough with the puppet, while Klein saw the crescent moon turn full and blood-red.
• Alger entered the Cathedral of the Storms as another Blood Moon shone overhead.

During a blood moon, Alger heard an ancient song answering the singing of his Ocean Songster Beyonder Characteristic and dreamed of a mysterious woman he suspected was Cohinem. After reporting to the Church of Storms, he was ordered to investigate Gehrman Sparrow; meanwhile, Klein began settling into his new home as Dawn Dantès.

• Alger heard two distinct songs during the blood moon and dreamed of a pointed-eared woman on a coral throne whose eyes flashed with lightning.
• Alger suspected the woman was Cohinem and resolved to ask Mr. Fool about possible lingering effects after leaving the Church of Storms.
• A Mandated Punishers deacon ordered Alger to approach Admiral of Stars Cattleya and investigate Gehrman Sparrow, warning that Gehrman had nearly destroyed Bayam and had a demigod-backed organization hostile to the Rose School of Thought.
• Dawn Dantès arrived at 160 Böklund Street, where his new housekeeper Taneja persuaded Walter to rent a high-end carriage rather than buy one.

Klein settled into Dawn Dantès's new mansion and examined the Moon Puppet above the Gray Fog, learning that it came from centuries of rituals to the Moon Primordial and was vulnerable to sunlight and lightning. He returned to the house as Walter began arranging his introduction to the neighbors and lessons in etiquette and dancing.

• Klein surveyed his new mansion, paid a year of rent and several household salaries, and considered the expense of maintaining its servants.
• Klein told Richardson not to disturb his nap, then went above the Gray Fog to examine the Moon Puppet Emlyn White had sacrificed.
• Klein divined that the Moon Puppets originated in a centuries-long ritual to the Moon Primordial and had absorbed the red moon's power.
• Klein inferred that the Moon Primordial's power had caused the blood moon and divined that sunlight and Storm-domain lightning could counter the puppet.
• Walter told Klein he would send calling cards and gifts to the neighbors and arrange etiquette and dancing lessons; Klein chose to identify himself as a Desi merchant.

Klein visited Saint Samuel Cathedral to build ties with its clergy and spotted Leonard Mitchell among a team of Red Gloves, while Leonard's hidden companion sensed an ancient aura around him. Elsewhere, Fors repaid Xio and learned about a new Beyonder gathering in East Borough, which she hoped to attend.

• Klein prayed at Saint Samuel Cathedral, observed an internal guardian, and donated fifty pounds to make a favorable impression on the clergy.
• Klein passed Leonard Mitchell and the Red Gloves without stopping, and Leonard's hidden companion warned that Klein carried an ancient aura.
• Leonard decided to investigate Klein while avoiding involvement unless he seemed dangerous enough to report to the archbishop.
• Fors repaid Xio the 220 pounds she owed and explained that she had earned money by selling mysticism knowledge at a Beyonder gathering.
• Xio told Fors about a new Beyonder gathering in East Borough, and Fors asked to be invited when Xio could bring new members.

Leonard searched Starling Summer’s dream for information about Sherlock Moriarty, while Klein practiced high-society etiquette as Dawn Dantès. The chapter ended with Sharron summoning Reinette Tinekerr and recognizing her as her teacher.

• Leonard entered Starling Summer’s dream and questioned her about Sherlock Moriarty, but learned little beyond details he already knew.
• Klein danced with etiquette tutor Vahana Haysen, who taught him how to converse subtly at Loen social gatherings.
• After Vahana left, Walter told Klein that he would begin lessons in history, politics, philosophy, music, and sports.
• Sharron received a letter, summoned Sherlock Moriarty’s messenger, and saw Reinette Tinekerr emerge from the candle flame.
• Sharron recognized Reinette Tinekerr as her teacher and began to ask what had happened to her.

Klein learned that Leonard and the angelic parasite inside him had noticed his connection to the gray fog, so he warned them off by revealing that he knew the parasite’s identity. Back at home, he prepared for his philosophy lesson with Mr. Hamid.

• Klein received Sharron’s reply that she was not currently interested in buying the Biotoxin Bottle, and Reinette Tinekerr told him there was no hurry to repay her without interest.
• At Saint Samuel Cathedral, Leonard Mitchell recognized Klein as the person the old man inside him had detected, while Klein realized the old man was an angel of the Zoroast Family and might have sensed the gray fog.
• Klein left the cathedral without confronting Leonard, then sent him a note reading “Zoroast; Parasite.”
• Leonard abandoned his plan to investigate Klein and told the old man to wait until he had recovered more strength; the old man could not confirm whether Klein was an old friend.
• Klein returned home and reasoned that he could threaten to tell Amon about the angel if Leonard and the old man continued interfering.
• Walter informed Klein that his philosophy teacher, Mr. Hamid, had arrived, and Klein went to meet him.

Klein settled into life as Dawn Dantès in Backlund, managing his household and arranging an inquiry into the Backlund Bicycle Company. When Mauri Macht, his wife Liana, and Bishop Electra visited, Klein gave an account of his past as a Desi merchant, and Electra asked who had led him to the Church.

• Klein spoke with Walter about his wife and daughter and learned how marriage affected the employment of maids.
• Klein asked Walter to hire a lawyer and accountant to investigate the sale of shares in the Backlund Bicycle Company.
• Richardson told Klein that Mauri Macht, Liana, and Bishop Electra had arrived for a semi-formal visit.
• Klein greeted his visitors and explained that he had come to Backlund after the mineral deposits he owned in Desi ran out.
• Bishop Electra asked Klein who had guided him into the Church.

Klein built connections with Bishop Electra and Mauri Macht while laying groundwork for Dawn Dantès's identity, then investigated the Backlund Bicycle Company and the conditions in the poorer districts. Meanwhile, Cattleya received a message about the Abraham Family, and Klein learned that Walter had received a letter before requesting leave.

• Klein told Bishop Electra that his father had died and accepted an invitation to attend the Moon Mass for the departed.
• Klein discussed Desi Bay and his fabricated-yet-grounded West Balam hunting stories with Electra, Mauri Macht, and Liana, strengthening ties that could aid his investigations.
• Walter reported that the competing offer for the Backlund Bicycle Company stake was at least eight thousand pounds, and Klein authorized negotiations up to nine thousand pounds.
• Klein rode through the Backlund Bridge Area and the edge of East Borough, observing the contrast between workers with bicycles and poorer pedestrians and reflecting on the limited improvements since the Great Smog.
• Cattleya received a letter mentioning two Obninsk near the Abyss Maelstrom and instructing her to find a direct descendant of the Abraham Family; she decided to ask at the next Tarot Gathering.
• Walter asked Klein for half a day off, and Richardson later told Klein that Walter had received a letter that morning.

Klein investigated Walter’s unusual behavior, then handled a Tarot Club exchange that linked the Queen of Calamity Cohinem to Alger’s discoveries and prompted him to check on Siatas’s remains and golden wine cup. Walter returned without explanation, and Klein left for the lunar mass at Saint Samuel Cathedral.

• Klein divined that Walter’s unusual behavior would not bring him danger, though he remained wary of getting involved.
• Klein relayed Cattleya’s request for leads on direct descendants of the Abraham Family to Alger, who suggested she ask Fors directly.
• Alger told Klein about the Book of Calamity and a woman from his Blood Moon dream, and Klein identified her as Cohinem.
• Klein asked Danitz to have Edwina check whether Siatas’s remains and Cohinem’s golden wine cup had caused anything unusual.
• Walter returned to 160 Böklund Street acting normally, and Klein chose not to question him further.
• Klein traveled with Richardson to Saint Samuel Cathedral to attend the lunar mass.

Klein attended the Moon Mass at Saint Samuel Cathedral, where the ritual let him see Dunn Smith, Old Neil, and Kenley resting among moonflowers and helped him release some of his grief. After donating 300 pounds and arranging further scripture lessons with Bishop Electra, Klein noticed an internal caretaker and began tracking the cathedral’s shifts; the chapter ended with him waking to sense an intruder in his home.

• Klein joined the Moon Mass and saw Dunn Smith, Old Neil, and Kenley resting beneath gravestones marked “Guardian.”
• Klein reflected on the Mass’s spiritual effects and donated 300 pounds to the cathedral.
• Bishop Electra invited Klein to the library and explained passages from the Revelation of Evernight.
• Klein noticed an unfamiliar internal caretaker pass the library and resolved to work out the caretakers’ shift pattern.
• Klein left the cathedral with Richardson and returned home before eight.
• Late at night, Klein woke when his spiritual intuition alerted him that someone had entered his house.

Klein witnessed someone sneak into Richardson’s room, while Leonard’s dream investigation led him to a terrifying presence that even the voice in his mind could not identify. Back in Backlund, Klein learned that Vahana Haysen was troubled and asked Walter to find out what was wrong so he could help her.

• Klein watched through Senor as a visitor entered Richardson’s room, then left while Richardson sat in fear and silence.
• Leonard questioned Dr. Allen Kreis in a dream about Sherlock Moriarty and learned that Allen hoped Sherlock would return for his child’s birth celebration.
• Leonard encountered a menacing presence in an unfamiliar neighborhood of the dream world and barely escaped back to his own dream.
• Klein continued dance lessons with Vahana Haysen, who mentioned that her husband had a minor disagreement with others.
• After Vahana left, Klein told Walter to investigate her trouble and offer help if she could not resolve it.