Chapter Summaries

Li Lin failed to recruit the Duergar as warriors but negotiated for their weapons and reduced arms trade with the Kingdom of Kudel. After confronting a Dark Elf priestess about her conduct and learning Kudel had not fully sealed the Black Road, he received urgent word that Nia had found something.

• Li Lin failed to persuade the Duergar leader to fight alongside the dwarves, so he proposed testing their weapons against those made by the dwarves.
• Li Lin restrained the angry Duergar leader with magic, secured a weapons trade, and offered diamonds in exchange for reducing arms sales to outsiders, especially the Kingdom of Kudel.
• The Duergar leader agreed to reduce those sales, with the Dark Elves overseeing the arrangement, but did not commit warriors to battle.
• Li Lin threatened the Dark Elf priestess for probing him and learned that Kudel had not sealed the Black Road completely and still allowed established merchants through.
• Fina hurried to Li Lin with news from Nia that she had found it.

Li Lin learned that one of the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys might be hidden in a dangerous cavern near the Duergar city and prepared to investigate with Nia and Angela. Meanwhile, Fina’s thirst for blood drew her out into the city to hunt, where an unseen book suddenly touched her shoulder.

• Nia told Li Lin that Dark Elf records pointed to a mysterious woman’s last appearance in a cavern beneath the Duergar city, and Li Lin decided to leave at once.
• Nia said she and Angela would move out as well, since the Dark Elves in the city were behaving themselves.
• Li Lin considered how finding a second weapon could help him activate his larger plan and prepare for the return of his forces.
• After meditation, Fina woke hungry and thirsty for blood while Mina stood guard outside Li Lin’s room.
• Fina slipped past the Dark Elf guards and prowled the city streets, eager to find prey.
• A book reached from behind and pressed down on Fina’s shoulder.

Li Lin brought Fina to an unconscious Dark Elf so she could feed, and Fina displayed a strange aura that suggested she was close to awakening something. As they prepared to leave, Fina blushingly offered to help Li Lin with his arousal.

• Fina admitted to Li Lin that her hunger for blood was stronger than Mina’s and that she needed to feed.
• Li Lin visited a Dark Elf priestess on official business, then used magic to put her to sleep.
• Li Lin let Fina feed on the unconscious Dark Elf while he waited nearby.
• After feeding, Fina briefly gave off a strange aura and seemed on the verge of awakening something before it faded.
• When Li Lin said they should leave, Fina asked why he had not slept with the Dark Elf and offered to use her mouth to help him.

Li Lin and his group reached a cavern filled with strange mist while searching for one of his former weapons. After ten Dark Elves entered to investigate, they failed to return, leaving the group waiting outside.

• Li Lin led the group from the City of Ten Thousand Stones toward the location Nia had indicated, while Fina avoided his gaze after an awkward incident on the journey.
• Li Lin found a cavern mouth swallowed by cold, unnatural mist that neither he nor the Dark Elves could properly sense.
• Angela arrived with the Eternal Library, and Nia warned that historical records described the cavern as dangerous.
• Angela ordered ten Dark Elves to enter the cavern after Li Lin protected them with spells.
• Li Lin sensed a faint response from one of his former weapons inside the cavern, but the mist interfered with his magic and prevented him from tracking the scouts.
• The group waited outside, but the Dark Elves showed no sign of returning.

Li Lin discovered that the strange mist was linked to psionic power and that Mind Flayers were behind the attacks. The group entered the mist, where Angela killed two Dark Elves who appeared to be Mina and Fina, and Li Lin identified the cave’s inhabitants.

• Angela ordered Mina and Fina to investigate the mist, and Fina agreed to go with her sister.
• Nia detected psychic energy in the mist, and Li Lin explained that psions used their minds to manipulate reality and create hallucinations.
• Li Lin cast mental protections and led Angela and the Dark Elves into the mist, where magic was weakened at an intersection of ley lines.
• Mina and Fina appeared and attacked Li Lin and the Dark Elves, but Angela stopped Mina’s strike, killed both attackers, and dispelled the illusion.
• Li Lin examined a dead Dark Elf and concluded that Mind Flayers lived in the cave.

A Mind Flayer manipulated Mina into attacking Fina by exploiting her desire to escape Angela's control, but Angela intervened and defeated it. Angela then offered the sisters blood that would grant them independence at the cost of permanent exile, and Mina moved to accept it.

• Mina cut off Fina's arm and demanded that Fina kill her or die so they could escape Angela's control.
• Fina refused to fight her sister and defended Angela and Li Lin for saving them.
• Angela shattered the Mind Flayer's psychic barrier and knocked it unconscious, ending its manipulation of Mina.
• Angela confronted Mina about the resentment the Mind Flayer had exploited, while Li Lin agreed to let Angela handle the sisters.
• Angela offered Mina her True Ancestor blood to free both sisters from her control, on condition that they leave and never return.
• Mina glanced at Fina and leaned toward Angela's dripping blood to accept the offer.

Angela and Mina resolved their conflict, while Li Lin learned that the Mind Flayers threatened the underground alliance and that one of his Seven Ring Spirit Envoys was nearby. Angela volunteered to draw the Mind Flayers away so Li Lin could target their Elder Brain, and she demonstrated her control by turning the unconscious Mind Flayer into a dead, dark-red creature.

• Mina declared that she was giving up her shackles, not her freedom, and Angela accepted her decision.
• Li Lin learned from the Mind Flayer's memories that one of his Seven Ring Spirit Envoys was in the area and that a mysterious woman had once crippled the Mind Flayer colony.
• Li Lin concluded that the Mind Flayers had to be eliminated because they threatened the Dark Elves and Duergar, and the colony depended on its Elder Brain.
• Angela offered to lure away the Mind Flayers while Li Lin dealt with the Elder Brain, and Li Lin agreed despite his concern about her facing its psychic power.
• Angela used her blood to transform the unconscious Mind Flayer, which thrashed and unleashed psychic power before falling still, dead and dark red.

The Mind Flayers captured Dark Elves and learned that Li Lin had come searching for a powerful object, while Angela attacked their psychic network to draw their forces out. Li Lin reached the Elder Brain, which admitted it knew where the object was but refused to return it.

• A Mind Flayer consumed a Dark Elf's brain and learned that the Dark Elves had come with a mage and now followed a new god.
• Angela invaded the Mind Flayers' psychic network, wounded the Elder Brain, and drew dozens of Mind Flayers into an attack.
• Angela and her companions faced the Mind Flayers, but their attempt to teleport failed when Li Lin's Isolation Barrier sealed the area.
• Li Lin searched the underground city with Nia, noticed the Mind Flayers' small numbers, and was confronted by four powerful Mind Flayers.
• The Elder Brain recognized Li Lin as an Arcane Mage and said it knew where the thing he sought was, but would not return the dangerous object.

Li Lin fought the Mind Flayer elders while Nia searched for the Elder Brain, but the arrival of three Beholders disrupted her search and shattered Li Lin’s defenses. As the Elder Brain focused on the battle, an emerald light broke through its seal and an ancient woman awakened.

• Li Lin isolated the area to prevent the Mind Flayers from teleporting or summoning reinforcements, then fought four elders and killed one.
• Li Lin cleared away Mind Flayer-controlled slaves, but the other three elders vanished from the ruined square.
• Three Beholders arrived and broke Li Lin’s protective shield, interrupting Nia’s attempt to locate the Elder Brain.
• The Elder Brain believed the Beholders would help defeat Li Lin, but emerald light broke through its barrier and a woman’s voice announced that she had awakened.

A long-imprisoned elven woman escaped and destroyed the Elder Brain while Li Lin and Nia fought the remaining Beholders. Her arrival ended the battle and reunited her with Nia.

• The elven woman woke from her magical containment, resisted the Elder Brain’s psionic attack, and fought back with wind arrows.
• The Elder Brain recalled how it had imprisoned her for centuries, but falling stalactites shattered its cultivation pool and killed it.
• Li Lin used magic runes to kill one Beholder, injuring himself, while Nia warned him not to cast more spells.
• As the Isolation Barrier weakened, Li Lin prepared to use a dangerous technique against the two remaining Beholders.
• The elven woman shot the remaining Beholders in their eyes, then greeted Nia after the battle.

Li Lin reunited with Kalin, who had rescued the enslaved elves by destroying the Mind Flayers’ Elder Brain, and learned how she had ended up imprisoned in the Underdark. The group returned to find Angela surrounded by massacred Mind Flayers, and Kalin misunderstood Li Lin’s relationship with her.

• Li Lin and Nia reunited with Kalin, who revealed that she had smashed the Elder Brain and freed the Mind Flayers’ slaves.
• Li Lin confirmed the Elder Brain was destroyed, then left the crumbling city with Nia and Kalin.
• Kalin recounted how she had accompanied radical elves to the Underdark, fought the Mind Flayers, and been trapped by their summoning magic.
• Li Lin and Nia told Kalin that nearly a thousand years had passed and that Li Lin planned to rebuild the Magic Empire.
• The group found a cavern full of mutilated Mind Flayers, where Angela greeted Li Lin and complained that her enemies had been too weak to entertain her.
• Kalin watched Angela leap into Li Lin’s arms and accused him of pursuing a little girl.

Li Lin returned to Kasos City with the Dark Elves and learned that the fat merchant had prospered under Maya’s protection, then decided to leave the Underdark. In the interlude, Lika discovered Grand Duke Moore’s abuse of Weijia and accepted a potion from her, while Weijia revealed she was acting under Angela’s instructions.

• Li Lin returned to Kasos City, where Kalin continued teasing Angela and the two argued until Nia took them to rest.
• Li Lin found the fat merchant thriving through trade in wooden goods, and the merchant credited Nia and Maya with helping him recover from the Dark Elves’ schemes.
• Li Lin told the fat merchant to prepare to leave and warned him that Dark Elf jewelry would become worthless in sunlight.
• Lika learned that Weijia was to marry her brother, then found Weijia in the north tower and overheard Grand Duke Moore abusing her.
• Weijia told Lika that the engagement concealed her relationship with Grand Duke Moore and gave Lika a potion to help her pursue her brother.
• After Lika left, Weijia told Angela she had taken the potion and vowed to carry out their plan.

Li Lin learned that Kudel’s troops had crossed into Lalia and forced the prince to flee through the Black Road, then struck a bargain to help him in exchange for an agreement supporting the Dark Elves’ return to the surface. As Angela reported that Weijia’s scheme was progressing, Li Lin and Angela prepared to move against their targets while ensuring the prince would not die too soon.

• The prince explained that his father had sent troops across the border and that Kudel’s escape route had been sealed, driving his party onto the Black Road.
• Li Lin stopped Angela from torturing the prince and offered to give him the heads of the people pursuing him in exchange for his support of the Dark Elves’ return to the surface.
• The prince agreed to sign Li Lin’s agreement, and Maya escorted him away to make it official.
• Angela told Li Lin that Weijia had awakened the Caseli Magic Core in an old man and had lured a girl into seducing her brother, setting up a plan to capture them all.
• Li Lin warned Angela not to let the prince die too soon, and the two prepared to set out.

Li Lin’s caravan left Kasos City with Kalin’s teasing disrupting the group, while Li Lin explained that they were traveling to find Suoxiate, the Spirit Envoy responsible for coordinating the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys. Nia and Kalin questioned Suoxiate’s past failure to summon them when Li Lin was in danger, but Li Lin insisted she had done her utmost and urged them not to judge before learning the truth.

• The caravan left Kasos City, and Li Lin reassured the merchant that he would have another chance to visit a dark elf city.
• Kalin teased Angela and the other travelers until Li Lin told her to stop, then Angela climbed into Li Lin’s arms and complained about her.
• Li Lin told Angela that they were going to find Suoxiate, who coordinated the Spirit Envoys and could sense and contact them wherever they were.
• Nia said Suoxiate had failed to protect Li Lin and summon the others, while Kalin agreed that they had felt no summons when he was in danger.
• Li Lin urged Nia and Kalin not to jump to conclusions and said Suoxiate had done her utmost to fulfill her duty.

Julian and Aikali, Kudel hostages trapped in the Underdark, hoped Li Lin would help them escape, but he arrived with Angela and forced them into his plan. After disguising two dead mercenaries as Julian and Aikali and taking their heads, Li Lin ordered the pair to follow him.

• Julian returned without finding Li Lin, while he and Aikali remained trapped in the Underdark with their mercenaries losing patience over unpaid wages.
• Li Lin and Angela found Julian and Aikali, and Li Lin immobilized them after revealing that the prince of Kudel was with him.
• Li Lin killed the two mercenaries when they tried to distance themselves from Julian and Aikali.
• Li Lin transformed the mercenaries' corpses into Julian and Aikali's likenesses, then pressured Julian into cutting off both heads.
• Li Lin preserved the heads, ordered Julian and Aikali to follow him, and left with Angela; Julian took Aikali after them.

Li Lin left Julian and Aikali in the Dark Elves’ custody, then had Angela deliver the prince two severed heads as a gift. Afterward, Li Lin decided to avoid the spy-filled City of Ten Thousand Stones and said he would arrange for them to be welcomed out of the Black Road.

• Li Lin ordered the Dark Elf priestess to take Julian and Aikali to Maya and keep them safe, threatening her if anything happened to them.
• Angela convinced Li Lin to let her deliver the two heads to the prince, whom Li Lin had left resting in a cargo wagon.
• The prince woke to the heads, screamed, and accidentally landed on them before Angela demanded he accept them as Li Lin’s gift.
• The prince thanked Angela, and she returned to Li Lin’s wagon while the others laughed at his reaction.
• Li Lin decided they would not enter the City of Ten Thousand Stones and said he would have them welcomed out of the Black Road.

The caravan emerged from the Black Road and met a Kudel cavalry force, whose commander recognized the prince traveling with them. After the prince passed an examination and insisted on staying with his protectors, the caravan continued toward Dragon Cry City under cavalry escort.

• The commander confronted the caravan and ordered the knights to aim their lances at it, but the prince emerged and identified himself as the commander’s superior.
• The prince ordered the knights to lower their weapons and told the commander that the caravan and its people had protected him.
• The commander arranged for a mage and a priest to examine the prince for curses or mind control, and they found no influence on him.
• The prince learned from the old mage that mages could not destroy a city and gave up hope of escaping Li Lin.
• The prince explained that the Dark Elves had helped him underground and insisted on traveling with the caravan to discuss important matters with the king.
• The prince and the caravan set out for Kudel’s capital, Dragon Cry City, accompanied by the elite cavalry.

Li Lin’s caravan drew attention as it traveled toward Booty Bay, where he planned to investigate a prophecy about Suoxiate. He decided to proceed cautiously against Kudel, while Angela and Kalin resumed their quarrel in the carriage.

• The royal knights and Dark Elves attracted wary attention, and the fat merchant lost business after the Merchants' Association threatened to revoke his membership.
• Li Lin pointed out Booty Bay on a map as the place where Suoxiate might be, and Nia recalled its legend about the Pirate King's buried treasure.
• Li Lin rejected making a move against Kudel for now and decided he needed to investigate the country more thoroughly before pursuing revenge.
• Angela urged Li Lin to put a collar on Kalin, who entered the carriage and traded insults with her about her attire.
• Li Lin stopped Angela and Kalin's argument while Nia watched helplessly.

Angela fed on a shepherd girl in the woods while Kalin watched and argued with her. As Li Lin prepared to use his role as Dominator of the Dark Elves to approach the ruling powers, a royal invitation arrived for him in Dragon Cry City.

• Angela lured a shepherd girl into the woods as a black cat, bit her, and drank her blood before Kalin confronted her.
• Angela and Kalin argued over Kalin’s nature and her place among Li Lin’s Spirit Envoys.
• The caravan was stopped outside Dragon Cry City, and Li Lin explained to Nia that he planned to use his authority over the dark elves to gain access to the country’s rulers.
• Li Lin learned that the Temple had killed everyone in a village in Lalia and blamed the deaths on a plague.
• A merchant brought Li Lin a gold-stamped invitation from the royal palace and said the prince was waiting for him.

Li Lin met the king of Kudel to discuss the Dark Elves and the kingdom’s plans, refusing to kneel and demonstrating his power when a minister challenged him. The king accepted Li Lin’s request to continue their discussion elsewhere and sent him to rest in the palace first.

• The king and his ministers considered reports that Li Lin had become the Dark Elves’ ruler and that the Dark Elves’ recent troubles affected their agreement with Kudel.
• Li Lin greeted the king without kneeling, and when a minister demanded that he show proper respect, Li Lin knocked him to the floor with a snap of his fingers.
• The king stopped the soldiers from attacking Li Lin and questioned him about his deeds and purpose in coming to Kudel.
• Li Lin declined to discuss confidential matters and said the king already knew why he had come.
• The king invited Li Lin and the young ladies to rest in the palace before continuing their discussion, and Li Lin left the hall with the prince.