Chapter Summaries

Isaac learned that Carlo's ability could fail even at simple tasks, then received a Holy Silver sword cane Carlo had commissioned as a weapon for him. Carlo told Isaac to practice and pointed to Lessing's combat training and skill as reasons to trust his abilities.

• Isaac succeeded at heating water for tea after Carlo explained the risk of a critical failure.
• Isaac asked what Fenri ate, and Carlo joked that they could kidnap people before saying Fenri would not starve.
• Carlo showed Isaac an ebony cane modified to conceal a Holy Silver blade and explained that it could harm aberrants.
• Carlo told Isaac to carry the sword cane because he expected Isaac to fight if they encountered an aberrant.
• Isaac drew and tested the blade, then asked whether Carlo was worried he could not use a sword.
• Carlo said Lessing had trained Isaac well and had once killed a church knight in a duel.

Isaac learned from Carlo that his adoptive father, Edward Lessing, had killed a church knight in a duel before leaving Vista. Carlo then brought Isaac to a clothing shop to teach him to notice a deeply concealed irregularity, but Isaac could not yet identify it.

• Isaac asked Carlo about Edward's past, and Carlo explained that Edward had defeated a Church of the Golden Bough knight in a duel after being accused of blasphemy.
• Carlo said Edward had been exiled from Vista after winning the duel, while Isaac wondered whether he had later gone to Palmer.
• Carlo took Isaac to Harper and Sons Clothing and Hat Shop and told the shopkeeper to outfit him.
• Carlo explained that he had chosen the shop because something was wrong with it, though the problem was difficult to detect.
• Isaac tried on a dark gray suit and looked at the shopkeeper, but he still could not see anything unusual.

Isaac tried to learn whether Harper had encountered anything unusual at his clothing shop without making him suspicious. He used a clothing consultation as a pretext, and the chapter ended after Harper revealed the shop had been open for thirty years.

• Carlo advised Isaac to ask the shopkeeper about unusual incidents, leaving Isaac to find a natural way to raise the subject.
• Isaac studied Harper and reasoned that a direct question might make the cautious shopkeeper worry about damage to his business and family legacy.
• Isaac asked Harper what clothes would suit work that required both respectability and freedom of movement.
• Harper recommended a practical gentleman's hunting coat and offered to alter it for Isaac.
• Isaac praised Harper's service and asked about his regular customers, and Harper said the shop had operated for thirty years since his father's generation.

Isaac pretended to be a private detective to persuade Mr. Harper to explain a troubling incident at his shop. Mr. Harper described a returned suit that gave off an increasingly powerful stench, then revealed that a customer who entered afterward said he could smell nothing unusual.

• Isaac told Mr. Harper he was a private detective who discreetly investigated dangerous matters, while Carlo silently watched his act.
• Mr. Harper offered Isaac a commission and the clothes for free if he would hear out the problem, and Isaac agreed to listen without promising to help.
• Mr. Harper said a customer bought a black suit and returned it two days later, claiming it did not fit.
• When Mr. Harper inspected the suit, he found no damage or stains but detected a faint, unsettling stench that grew stronger overnight.
• The customer never returned, so Mr. Harper burned the suit; its stench intensified during the burning before finally fading after he cleaned up the ashes.
• Mr. Harper said a customer entered the shop later that day and told him he could not smell anything strange.

Isaac questioned a shopkeeper about a strange odor only he could smell, then Carlo identified it as a curse and offered the case as a commission. The shopkeeper hired Isaac for 20 pounds, leaving the curse unresolved as Isaac prepared to investigate.

• The shopkeeper explained that the odor began after a customer returned an ordinary black garment and had grown stronger, though no one else could smell it.
• Isaac asked about the customer and garment, then consulted Carlo about taking the case.
• Carlo told the shopkeeper that a curse had attached itself to him and offered to handle it for 100 pounds.
• The shopkeeper asked Isaac for a cheaper rate, and Isaac quoted 20 pounds for the commission.
• The shopkeeper paid a 10-pound deposit, and Carlo gave him written proof that the deposit would be refunded if they failed to solve the case.

Isaac and Carlo investigated the curse at the clothing shop and agreed on how private work and agency commissions would be paid. With Carlo’s help, Isaac used Spirit Vision to follow the curse’s aura into the shop, where he found a human silhouette surrounded by mist.

• Isaac examined the shop’s backyard for traces of the burned clothes, while Carlo explained that private jobs did not have to be shared through the agency contract.
• Carlo identified the smell and the customer who returned the clothes as possible leads, then directed Isaac to focus on the curse affecting the shopkeeper.
• Carlo helped Isaac succeed at using Spirit Vision and gave him a walking stick to navigate with his eyes closed.
• Isaac followed the gray-green mist from the yard into the shop and stopped before a mist-wreathed silhouette whose voice belonged to the shopkeeper.

Isaac used Spirit Vision to examine the curse affecting the shopkeeper while Carlo taught him how curses interact with a person’s spiritual layers. Isaac penetrated the shopkeeper’s Spirit Garment and saw his living internal structure, leaving Carlo to ask what he observed.

• Isaac saw the curse’s gray-green aura wrapped around the shopkeeper’s Spirit Garment, with strands already seeping inside.
• Carlo explained that the Spirit Garment protects people from curses and that the shopkeeper’s healthy habits had so far limited his symptoms to a foul odor.
• Carlo instructed Isaac to penetrate the Spirit Garment and inspect the shopkeeper’s Spirit Body.
• Isaac used the dice to see through the Spirit Garment and observed the shopkeeper’s bones, muscles, blood vessels, organs, and scattered colors.
• The shopkeeper covered his chest after Isaac described seeing his internal structure, and Carlo asked Isaac what he saw.

Isaac examined Harper’s spirit body and found that a curse was spreading through him, then prepared a substitute exorcism ritual to transfer the curse into a mirror. The ritual was set up, leaving Isaac ready to begin.

• Isaac used Spirit Vision to identify cyan contamination spreading through Harper’s head and learned that the shopkeeper had also been affected by the curse.
• Isaac concluded that the burned garment had only carried the curse and decided to begin by severing its connection to the shopkeeper.
• Isaac asked the shopkeeper for a full-length mirror, three white candles, refined salt, and a quiet room.
• Isaac explained to Carlo that he planned to use a substitute exorcism ritual, and Carlo judged the curse to be relatively inactive.
• Isaac arranged salt into a circle and triangle, set candles at the triangle’s points, and positioned the mirror to reflect the shopkeeper’s whole body.

Isaac performed an exorcism that drew the curse from Mr. Harper into a mirror and destroyed it, resolving the commission. As Isaac and Carlo left the shop, they encountered Cardinal Vilka.

• Isaac confirmed Mr. Harper worshipped Vicania and began the ritual with three candles arranged around the mirror.
• Isaac’s prayer turned the candle flames gold, and a faint gray-green mist rose from Mr. Harper and drifted into the candlelight.
• Isaac struck the mirror with his sword cane, shattering it into dull powder and purifying the curse.
• Mr. Harper confirmed the odor had disappeared and paid Isaac the remaining ten pounds of the commission fee.
• Isaac decided to leave the curse’s deeper source to the authorities, and Carlo greeted Cardinal Vilka across the street.

Cardinal Vilka confronted Isaac about invoking Vicania’s power despite not being a believer. She said the goddess had acknowledged him, so the church would not punish him, but warned him not to perform divine rituals in sanctuaries or in front of clergy.

• Carlo suggested Vilka had come to settle accounts with Isaac for using Vicania’s prayer and power.
• Vilka told Isaac she had sensed Vicania’s power descend nearby, while Carlo teased her and threatened to provoke her.
• Vilka drew her revolver on Carlo, then put it away and addressed Isaac.
• Vilka said Vicania had acknowledged Isaac, so the church would not hold him accountable for invoking her power twice.
• Vilka warned Isaac not to overstep in Vicania’s sanctuaries or conduct rituals requiring divine power when clergy were present.

Vilka told Carlo and Isaac that she planned to secretly hunt Mary the Shepherd and asked Carlo to protect her. Carlo accepted the commission and brought Isaac along, but Isaac did not know what kind of wondrous item to request as payment.

• Vilka said workers had reported encountering Mary the Shepherd in Lord Banbury's territory and explained that a public operation could strengthen Vesta's nobles.
• Vilka revealed that she planned to bring down Vicania's judgment and kill Mary herself, without involving the grand duke or the pope.
• Vilka asked Carlo to protect her, and Carlo agreed to take Isaac as his assistant.
• Carlo asked for a future favor and a wondrous item as payment, and Vilka asked Isaac what item he wanted.
• Isaac realized he did not even know what a wondrous item was.

Isaac learned how Wonders were categorized and why Mythic Grade Wonders were so powerful as he and Carlo discussed Vilka’s plan to confront Shepherd Mary. Carlo revealed that Vilka herself was a strategic deterrent and that their presence would let Section Nine claim credit for the operation.

• Vilka agreed to prepare Wonders for Isaac to choose from and arranged to meet Carlo and Isaac at the east gate at six the next morning.
• Carlo explained that Wonders included Holy Relics, Cursed Objects, and Relics, each with different origins, effects, and risks.
• Carlo told Isaac that Mythic Grade Wonders could let their holders rival demigods, but the Church of the Golden Bough’s six known examples required approval from the pope and grand duke to use.
• Carlo said Vilka was a strategic deterrent in her own right and could kill Mary without their help, while he planned to flee if the operation turned dangerous.
• Carlo explained that Vilka had recruited them partly so the public report could credit Section Nine and the Joint Investigation Bureau for killing the calamity.

Isaac and Carlo arranged for the Joint Investigation Bureau to take public credit for killing Mary while keeping the operation’s details secret. Isaac collected his equipment and met the Bureau’s aloof cat, Patch, whose reaction changed when Carlo approached.

• Isaac understood that Vilka wanted the Joint Investigation Bureau credited with killing Mary to avoid undermining its authority.
• Carlo explained that access to the classified Ninth Section files would be controlled and that he would deter anyone seeking details.
• Isaac and Carlo returned to 122 Red Maple Street, where Fenri agreed to help deal with the Shepherd’s sheep.
• Isaac collected his Bureau uniform, twelve holy silver bullets, and a shoulder holster from the logistics department.
• Isaac tried on the holster and uniform in Carlo’s office, then encountered Patch in the corridor.
• Patch hissed and puffed up its tail when Carlo approached with a pie.

Carlo sent Isaac to accompany Andrew Grayson on an afternoon visit to the clothing store, while Isaac learned that Grayson’s terse manner came from shyness. The chapter ended as Isaac and Grayson set out together, with Grayson hesitating at intersections as though he wanted to talk.

• Carlo wiped his greasy hands on Patch’s fur, and Patch hissed at him before running off.
• Carlo told Isaac that an agent would accompany him to the clothing store and introduced Andrew Grayson as the agent in charge.
• Isaac met Grayson in the cafeteria, where Grayson said they would meet at the Bureau entrance at two o’clock.
• Carlo explained that Grayson was shy rather than unfriendly and told Isaac to act normally around him.
• Isaac met Grayson outside the Bureau, and they headed toward the clothing store as Grayson repeatedly seemed to hesitate before speaking.

Isaac accompanied Agent Grayson back to Harper’s clothing shop, where Grayson investigated the curse case and taught Isaac the value of detailed questioning. Isaac collected his altered hunting suit, which fit well and seemed to reveal a bearing the owner wondered might be natural to him.

• Grayson told Isaac that Section Two would handle the follow-up and praised his ability to dispel the curse, while Isaac tactfully avoided promising future assistance.
• Isaac introduced Grayson to Harper, and Grayson inspected the shop before questioning Harper in detail about the suspicious customer and checking his answers for consistency.
• Grayson instructed Harper to report any similar customer or unusual activity to the Joint Investigation Bureau.
• Isaac asked for his altered clothes and tried on the gentleman’s hunting suit, which fit him comfortably.
• Harper admired Isaac’s changed appearance and wondered whether he might be of noble birth.

Isaac returned to the agency after Grayson finished making inquiries, then reflected on the gaps in his past and how Edward had never explained them. Fenri was missing from the living room, and Isaac had no way to know where Fenri had gone.

• The shopkeeper gave Isaac a tie and newsboy cap, and Isaac changed into them before leaving with Grayson.
• Grayson parted from Isaac at an intersection to ask nearby shopkeepers about the man who had returned the clothes.
• Isaac went to the agency on Red Maple Street and found Fenri missing from the living room.
• Isaac considered Fenri’s strange nature but decided he could not search the city for them.
• While looking at himself in the mirror, Isaac recalled that his memories began when he woke in a Palmer clinic at age twelve.
• Isaac remembered that Edward had never told him about his past, and that searching Edward’s study after his death had revealed nothing.

Isaac reconsidered whether his lost memories were worth investigating, but set the question aside to focus on his work. At the Joint Investigation Bureau, Carlo explained why Morris, the head of Section One, resented him and warned Isaac to keep his distance.

• Isaac decided that his strange dream and Vicania’s tolerance gave him reason to learn about his forgotten past, but he had no leads and put the matter aside.
• At the Joint Investigation Bureau, Isaac saw Patch perched on Director Patrick’s head, creating the illusion of a silver-haired beauty viewed from behind.
• Isaac noticed Morris staring at Carlo, and Carlo explained that Morris blamed him for ruining a resurrection ritual when a critical failure made the corpse explode.
• Carlo described Morris’s expertise in spirit research and warned Isaac that Morris was petty and might take his anger out on him.

Isaac and Carlo prepared to take Fenri into the wilderness to test his usefulness against calamities, then traveled toward the city gate by railcar. The chapter left them waiting on the platform after Isaac bought tickets for all three, including Fenri.

• Carlo and Isaac agreed to pretend they had not noticed Fenri sneaking out, while still taking him on the next day's expedition to test his combat ability.
• At dawn, Isaac set aside his last remaining bullet from Edward and loaded his revolver with fresh ammunition issued by the Joint Investigation Bureau.
• Carlo came downstairs, and Isaac leashed Fenri before the three left for the railcar platform.
• At the ticket booth, Isaac bought three tickets to East Gate Bridge after learning Fenri needed one too.
• Carlo explained that public railcars kept fares low so ordinary people would use them, and Isaac was surprised that such advanced transport was affordable.

Isaac, Carlo, and Fenri met Vilka to begin tracking Mary the Shepherd, and Carlo teleported their carriage toward its location. The carriage appeared high above the clouds and fell until Vilka’s blessing and the horses’ wings kept it aloft.

• Carlo explained that the wealthiest people had private railcars that could make public trains change course, and he and Isaac rode a railcar to East Gate Bridge Station with Fenri.
• Isaac and Carlo met Vilka, who explained that Carlo would use his dice to locate Mary the Shepherd’s approximate position.
• Carlo succeeded at a teleportation check but forgot to set a height limit, sending the carriage high above the ground.
• Vilka slowed the carriage’s fall, and Carlo showed Isaac that a blessing had given the horses glowing wings to carry them through the clouds.

Isaac and Fenri fought to distract Mary while Vilka prepared her ultimate, with Carlo using a check to support Isaac's shot. The chapter ended as the world froze and Carlo announced that Isaac had passed the check to hit Shepherd Mary.

• Vilka spotted Mary's flock from the carriage, but sheep launched from the ground and smashed through the carriage.
• Fenri killed one attacking sheep, while more sheep struck the carriage and forced the group to abandon it.
• Carlo sent Isaac and Fenri down to hold Mary off while Vilka prepared her ultimate, and they mounted one of the horses with Vilka and Carlo.
• Fenri ran around the flock's edge, drawing the sheep apart as Isaac prepared to shoot Mary.
• Carlo told Isaac to fire, then froze the world and declared that his shot had passed a check with a final value of 72.