AROTD1 Chapter Summaries¶
Public ceiling: AROTD1 Chapter 94 (Story Day 123). Later books not published.
Book summary¶
Matthew and Miriam awaken in Nystria as Matthias and Miri — geis-bound to Kranos the Arcane, reunited with Tristan, Karla, and Milos, and caught between returning to the Original Plane and surviving a realm where magic, guilds, and throne politics are lethal. Bargains with Tranos and Lord Mayor Edward split the couple: Miri advances a regicide plot and betrothal to Robert toward queenship; Matthias marries Lilia, becomes Count Matthias, takes Langford Manor and Newtown, and raids Kranos's compound for the snowglobe anchor and planar device. Kranos is convicted after Prince Alfred's murder and Zoë's testimony; Razor Claw leadership falls; Miri weds Robert and, after Edward's deposition and hanging, is crowned beside a Knight-restored King. Matthias makes repeated OP transits for textbooks and technology, builds county infrastructure with Tranos as Minister of Science, and helps suppress Danian spies, Black Crows, and guild conspiracies while Miri governs with Jillian, Tyra, and church resistance from Titus. Book One spans Story Days 1–123: coronation, courier charters, mill battles, tournament honors, Titus's trial, redemption of Camilla, Michael and Sierra's wedding — and ends with a royal order to prepare for war, launching the Company toward Book Two.
Calendar: Story Day 1 = 1 Hewi 987 AHF (22 June 2024). Inferred date = calendar date in 987 AHF (story day = day-of-year while Book 01 remains in 987 AHF); month boundaries in Nystrian_Calendar.md. Part 01 Chapters 1–21 cover story Days 1–14 and 17–18, 20–21, 24, 31–32 (Days 15–16, 19, 22–23, 25–30 not chronicled). Part 02 Chapters 22–42 cover story Days 35–60 (Days 33–34, 36, 46–47, 54–55 not chronicled). Part 03 Chapters 43–65 cover story Days 61–85 (Days 82–83 not chronicled). Part 04 Chapters 66–86 cover story Days 86–112 (Days 90–91, 96–98, 102 not chronicled). Part 05 Chapters 87–94 cover story Days 114–123 (Days 113, 115, 118 not chronicled). Book 01 complete. Major events by day: Nystrian_Calendar.md § Book 01 — major events.
| Ch | Story Day | Inferred date |
|---|---|---|
| 1–14 | 1–14 | 1–14 Hewi 987 AHF |
| 15 | 17 | 17 Hewi 987 AHF |
| 16 | 18 | 18 Hewi 987 AHF |
| 17 | 20 | 20 Hewi 987 AHF |
| 18 | 21 | 21 Hewi 987 AHF |
| 19 | 24 | 24 Hewi 987 AHF |
| 20 | 31 | 3 Venne 987 AHF |
| 21 | 32 | 4 Venne 987 AHF |
| 22 | 35 | 7 Venne 987 AHF |
| 23 | 37 | 9 Venne 987 AHF |
| 24 | 38 | 10 Venne 987 AHF |
| 25 | 39 | 11 Venne 987 AHF |
| 26 | 40 | 12 Venne 987 AHF |
| 27 | 41 | 13 Venne 987 AHF |
| 28 | 42 | 14 Venne 987 AHF |
| 29 | 43 | 15 Venne 987 AHF |
| 30 | 44 | 16 Venne 987 AHF |
| 31 | 45 | 17 Venne 987 AHF |
| 32 | 48 | 20 Venne 987 AHF |
| 33 | 49 | 21 Venne 987 AHF |
| 34 | 51 | 23 Venne 987 AHF |
| 35 | 52 | 24 Venne 987 AHF |
| 36 | 53 | 25 Venne 987 AHF |
| 37 | 54 | 26 Venne 987 AHF |
| 38 | 56 | 28 Venne 987 AHF |
| 39 | 57 | 1 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 40 | 58 | 2 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 41 | 59 | 3 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 42 | 60 | 4 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 43 | 61 | 5 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 44 | 62 | 6 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 45 | 63 | 7 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 46 | 64 | 8 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 47 | 65 | 9 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 48 | 66 | 10 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 49 | 67 | 11 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 50 | 68 | 12 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 51 | 69 | 13 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 52 | 70 | 14 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 53 | 71 | 15 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 54 | 72 | 16 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 55 | 73 | 17 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 56 | 74 | 18 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 57 | 75 | 19 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 58 | 76 | 20 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 59 | 77 | 21 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 60 | 78 | 22 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 61 | 79 | 23 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 62 | 80 | 24 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 63 | 81 | 25 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 64 | 84 | 28 Hjerst 987 AHF |
| 65 | 85 | 1 Aran 987 AHF |
| 66 | 86 | 2 Aran 987 AHF |
| 67 | 87 | 3 Aran 987 AHF |
| 68 | 88 | 4 Aran 987 AHF |
| 69 | 89 | 5 Aran 987 AHF |
| 70 | 92 | 8 Aran 987 AHF |
| 71 | 93 | 9 Aran 987 AHF |
| 72 | 94 | 10 Aran 987 AHF |
| 73 | 95 | 11 Aran 987 AHF |
| 74 | 99 | 15 Aran 987 AHF |
| 75 | 100 | 16 Aran 987 AHF |
| 76 | 101 | 17 Aran 987 AHF |
| 77 | 103 | 19 Aran 987 AHF |
| 78 | 104 | 20 Aran 987 AHF |
| 79 | 105 | 21 Aran 987 AHF |
| 80 | 106 | 22 Aran 987 AHF |
| 81 | 107 | 23 Aran 987 AHF |
| 82 | 108 | 24 Aran 987 AHF |
| 83 | 109 | 25 Aran 987 AHF |
| 84 | 110 | 26 Aran 987 AHF |
| 85 | 111 | 27 Aran 987 AHF |
| 86 | 112 | 28 Aran 987 AHF |
| 87 | 114 | 2 Wyn 987 AHF |
| 88 | 116 | 4 Wyn 987 AHF |
| 89 | 117 | 5 Wyn 987 AHF |
| 90 | 119 | 7 Wyn 987 AHF |
| 91 | 120 | 8 Wyn 987 AHF |
| 92 | 121 | 9 Wyn 987 AHF |
| 93 | 122 | 10 Wyn 987 AHF |
| 94 | 123 | 11 Wyn 987 AHF |
Ch 1 / Day 1: Matthew and Miriam awaken as Matthias and Miri in the Grinning Griffin after failing Kranos's mind-control save. They confirm magic, rejoin Tristan, Karla, and Milos, eliminate five bandits en route to Fulham, and settle at the Soaring Falcon. Matthew wants to return to the Original Plane; Miri embraces Nystria. Karla infiltrates the Razor Claws; Tristan beds Lisette.
Ch 2 / Day 2: Party splits in Fulham. Karla joins the Razor Claws and is tasked with collecting Isaac's ransom and journal from Southham. Miri researches at the college. Matthew confronts Kranos the Arcane, who demands Miri as apprentice/concubine or Matthew dies in both worlds. Milos trains with Sir Lothar; Tristan upgrades gear.
Ch 3 / Day 3: Karla and Tristan depart for Southham. Tranos (Kranos's brother) offers Matthew a ward and geis release if he marries Lilia (fifteen) and fathers a child. Lord Mayor Edward summons Miri: regicide plot (murder Alfred, frame the Commander, kill King Ludwig), betrothal to Robert, and a path to queenship.
Ch 4 / Day 4: On a walk through Fulham, Matthew explains Kranos's ultimatum, Tranos's ward, and the snowglobe geis anchor tying their minds to Nystria while their OP bodies lie in comas; Miri reveals Edward's Razor Claws regicide bargain but withholds betrothal to Robert until a later private talk. They agree to cooperate while seeking the globe. Tristan and Karla secure Isaac's ransom and journal in Southham; Tristan reconnects with Rahel. Milos and Lisette hold the Soaring Falcon base.
Ch 5 / Day 5: Karla and Tristan return toward Langford with the ransom. Matthew stalls Kranos and obtains Tranos's ward for Miri at the cost of abandoning his return-home option. Matthew refuses to consummate with Miri (Kranos maidenhead risk). Tristan's dalliance with Dari angers Iosif.
Ch 6 / Day 6: The party learns the full truth about the geis and dual-world origins. Karla and Milos temporarily release their pledge. Matthew and Miriam consummate (pig-blood maidenhead ruse planned). Karla pays ransom to Pavel; Milos escorts Isaac home. Tristan commits to Lisette. Matthias plans a stealth assassination of Kranos using Lisette's knowledge of secret paths.
Ch 7 / Day 7: Karla completes Razor Claw initiation and learns the guild wants Kranos's planar-travel device. Miri and Edward refine the regicide conspiracy. Matthias and Lisette scout Kranos's compound and become lovers. Milos visits uncle Sean's farm in the Dal Valley. Brandon assigns Karla the device-retrieval mission.
Ch 8 / Day 8: The party raids Kranos's compound, drains his coloured mana crystals, and frees Zoë and indentured Lucas. Kranos escapes briefly and threatens Miriam in the Original Plane via a hidden iPhone. Prince Alfred is murdered that night; the Commander of the King's Guard is framed.
Ch 9 / Day 9: City Guard arrests Kranos after Matthias cooperates in the laboratory trap; Matthias recovers the snowglobe geis anchor and planar mechanism. Edward grants Kranos's estate to the band and schedules public betrothal for Miri and Robert in three days. Zoë is sheltered at the Soaring Falcon and offered compound wages; Lucas is manumitted with silver. Karla doubles the device price with Brandon and Pavel.
Ch 10 / Day 10: The group occupies Langford Manor and discovers extraterrestrial planar technology (device plus remote). Strategy revised: withhold the real device from Tranos and the Razor Claws. Midnight meeting with Brandon delivers a decoy; rooftop archers force Plan B and Karla enters alone with Brandon and Marcus.
Ch 11 / Day 11: Karla is blood-initiated into the Razor Claws and maps the guild headquarters mechanism. Matthias waits at the Soaring Falcon with Katherine and Karla, then refuses Zoë's proffered bed service; he commits to remaining in Nystria and tells Miriam so. Lisette tests a potency potion on Matthias. The party obtains a writ to bargain with Kranos, tails Razor Claws on the road, and prepares Zoë's testimony.
Ch 12 / Day 12: Brandon is killed by Karla; Marcus is killed after refusing to betray Pavel; Pavel is banished with vault loot and the planar device is recovered. Zoë testifies; Kranos is convicted for regicide, emasculated, and stocked (rape charge commuted via writ deception). Miri and Robert are publicly betrothed (Duke that morning); Miri names Matthias in fidelity talks with Robert. Zoë and Matthias become lovers on the eve of his wedding.
Ch 13 / Day 13: Milos returns; Matthias marries Lilia and is created Count Matthias; Countess Lilia is granted the Newtown domain (woods, fourteen farms on the Royal Way). Milos and Karla re-pledge. Miri will use a shapeshifting spell to preserve maidenhead for Robert. The couple will live at Langford Manor after the honeymoon.
Ch 14 / Day 14: On the first day of marriage, Lilia displays the consummation sheet and she and Matthias couple almost without rest. Matthias outlines Langford Manor layout, staff, forge, and guards; Lilia asks that he not take Zoë too often. At the Compound, Miri signs for the thousand-silver Razor Claw reward; Milos begins farm accounts and notes the need for men-at-arms.
Ch 15 / Day 17: After early seclusion at Tranos, the counts return to Newtown; Sierra pledges her farm for wolf help. Robert accepts Miri's bargain at the Lord Mayor's house (his customary liberties, her discreet tie to Matthias, wedding to follow). A wolf hunt kills three ambush archers; Lucas (shoulder) and Tristan (leg) are wounded; Miri confirms the woods are ungranted and secures Matthias's approval to hire two men-at-arms.
Ch 16 / Day 18: Robert, Miri, Matthias, and Lilia travel to Haven; Robert confirms discreet future trysts with Miri (she had bargained with him before the wedding). Tristan declines Sierra's personal thanks (pledged to Lisette); leg wound confines him to bed a half-moon. Milos hires Gregor (swordsman) and David (archer) for the Newtown Guard. King Ludwig grants Robert and Miri's marriage in the capital; Miri surrenders crystals in the Keep but keeps thirty more in locked boxes that do not discharge at distance.
Ch 17 / Day 20: Jorah (banker's aide, thirty-one) is hired Steward of Newtown with a woodland building grant. Karla, Milos, and Miri search the ambush woods; tracks end at the cliffs as a false spoor; Zoë's Gift is confirmed (crystals charged overnight). Miri casts a short ward on the party. Jorah reports the library is two paces longer than the storage room—likely a hidden space.
Ch 18 / Day 21: Matthias and Lilia move permanently to Newtown; windmill and forge plans go to Jorah (smith, tinker, carpenter). A messenger sets Miri's Haven wedding sixteen days hence. Miri and Matthias time Ludwig's death after the wedding and hunt Kranos's hidden wealth; Matthias tours fifteen farms with Karla. Milos declines Queen's Guard and confesses love for Miri on the ride to Fulham. Jorah flags a secret basement off the storage room.
Ch 19 / Day 24: Jorah breaks the wall; Kranos's hoard (~four thousand gold, ~ten thousand in gems) is found and twenty percent sent as death taxes. John Tinker takes windmill plans; Lisette tests gunpowder. Tristan urges Matthias to slow firearms introduction; Miri agrees—mills yes, guns incremental—and asks to be consulted before major technology changes.
Ch 20 / Day 31: After seven days' building (Krista cook, guard quarters, windmills and forge started), Lilia awaits confirmation of pregnancy. Miri plans Ludwig's regicide—a gunpowder clay jar in the Haven privy (primary)—with Lisette's slow wine poison and Kelvin as framed suspect; Tyra may replace Miri on adventures. The band approves; Matthias and Miri share a farewell kiss before her departure.
Ch 21 / Day 32: Lilia expects to confirm pregnancy if her courses do not come. Milos escorts Miri to Fulham, then Haven for her wedding to Duke Robert (Knights and Robert's household); he reaffirms declining Queen's Guard, confesses his love, and asks her to secure his Knighthood through Robert.
Ch 22 / Day 35: The Newtown party arrives in Haven for a private pre-wedding banquet hosted by King Ludwig for Duke Robert and Lady Miri. Ludwig stresses male succession: his brother Edward is Crown Prince, Robert is Edward's heir. Matthias reflects on Nystrian law and his Chaotic Neutral outlook.
Ch 23 / Day 37: Robert and Miri marry in the Great Hall; Miri becomes Duchess and they renew oaths to Ludwig. Miri recasts her shape-shifting maidenhead spell before consummating with Robert. Milos declines Captain of the Queen's Guard and reaffirms his desire for knighthood.
Ch 24 / Day 38: A chambermaid displays Miri's bloodstained wedding sheet. Matthias recruits Tyra to the band. Miri scouts the Royal Quarters and plans a gunpowder device for Ludwig's privy. Lilia's pregnancy is confirmed; Bella is hired as her attendant; the basement cell becomes Lilia's sewing room.
Ch 25 / Day 39: The band returns to Newtown. Tranos removes the geis from the snowglobe control device, freeing Matthias and Miri from external compulsion. A letter from Willa reports thugs threatening Milos's uncle Sean in Dal Valley; the company will ride south at first light.
Ch 26 / Day 40: The company rides to Dal Valley—a Royal fief with no noble overlord since the Peace of King Henry. At Sean's farm they investigate protection-racket thugs; Tyra becomes Matthias's lover that night. Bella begins decorating the Compound with Lilia.
Ch 27 / Day 41: Thugs are traced to the Cantankerous Tankard in Southham. At a Queen's mid-day meal Miri conceals a clay gunpowder jar in King Ludwig's privy (talisman focus, sealed lid); the blast that night kills him. Edward is proclaimed King; Robert and Miri become Prince and Princess; coronation follows six days of mourning; King's Guard briefly intrude the bridal chamber. At Dal Valley Fia (maiden) and Tyra share Matthias's bed.
Ch 28 / Day 42: Ludwig's death reaches Newtown; the company ambushes thugs at Sean's farm. Captive Oscar (Lindal) describes Black Crows as a loose terror campaign (no lord, no badge) and names five cell members plus a local chief he has never met face to face (innkeeper Alton, Three Diamond Inn). Edward names Sir Malcolm Lord Mayor, Miri Court Mage, and Robert Commander of the King's Guard. Willa beds Matthias; Milos, Tristan, and Karla ride to confront Alton.
Ch 29 / Day 43: The company returns to Newtown. Jorah reports an invitation to a pre-coronation meal in Haven and Sierra's report of men in the woods. Tristan and Karla scout her farm; Matthias plans a show-of-force patrol.
Ch 30 / Day 44: A woods patrol at Sierra's farm ends in a standoff that leaves her flock at risk. In Haven, Miri displaces Court Mage Melchior, masters the mana crystal detector and cantrips, and confirms locked magic boxes shield her charged crystals. Sir Malcolm authorizes City Guard for the woods and invites Matthias to dine before coronation.
Ch 31 / Day 45: Farmers Colin and Jerome seek Matthias's protection. Robert agrees to delay poisoning Edward. Matthias dines with Sir Malcolm and Beatrice; Malcolm offers two City Guard squads for the woods. Robert will summon cousin Jillian as Miri's attendant.
Ch 32 / Day 48: The Newtown contingent departs for Haven the day before Edward's coronation. Miri privately announces her pregnancy to Matthias and Lilia. At a private dinner, Robert agrees to recommend a Royal Patent for windmills; Matthias studies the crystal detector.
Ch 33 / Day 49: King Edward and Queen Ælfwynn are crowned by High Priest Titus; Robert is Crown Prince and Miri's pregnancy is announced—she squeezes his hand under her cloak while the hall sees only a blushing Princess. The Newtown windmill turns; revelry lasts until early morning.
Ch 34 / Day 51: After a rest day the Newtown party returns home. A two-person bathtub is commissioned. Jillian arrives in Haven to serve Princess Miri; Miri reveals she is the Realm's first female Court Mage.
Ch 35 / Day 52: City Guard and the company clear the woods: eight enemy archers killed; one swordsman is wounded, then killed by a second arrow despite Tyra's stun and protection spells. Matthias guards Sierra's household at the farm hearth (flock smell, loom shuttle). Evidence points to a Dania invasion plan and concealed cave entrances. Milos rides to Haven at first light.
Ch 36 / Day 53: Matthias and Sierra night-recon find a rope hidden behind a waterfall; the sour-sweet flock smell clings to her cloak as they become lovers in the observation hide. He orders ten sheep for her and asks Milos to find a retired-soldier husband. In Haven Miri urges Robert to patrol like Anton under King Ælfweard rather than drown in supply schedules. Milos rides to Haven; Lilia is invited to visit Miri.
Ch 37 / Day 54: Two nights later, Knights and City Guard assault the cave; Dania invasion orders are confirmed. Sir Percy arranges to seal the sea entrance; Sir Geoffrey and Sir Malchus stand watch. Milos rides to Haven; Lilia is invited to visit Miri and will depart with him.
Ch 38 / Day 56: Cave operations conclude; Milos reports to King Edward, who creates a county (Fulham walls, Narrow Sea, thirty miles south and west) and names Milos Sheriff and Knight of the Realm (ceremony pending). Army and Navy mobilize; Milos and Karla marry secretly at the Temple. Lilia visits Miri; Zoë joins Matthias.
Ch 39 / Day 57: The county is named Hamilton. Milos's knighting is set for four days hence; Matthias will join Lilia in Haven. Krista becomes Matthias's lover. Tristan grows restless; Matthias orders mercenary notices posted. Jorah plans Sheriff's office, jail, and deputy outside the walls.
Ch 40 / Day 58: Matthias tours new county farms with Milos and Tristan. Miri begins OP exposition with Lilia in Haven. Tyra, Zoë, and Matthias share a bed. Tristan is bored with estate routine and notices county maidens.
Ch 41 / Day 59: Tristan tells Lisette he signed on for Razor Claws and Kranos's compound, not windmills and shepherd taxes; she releases him from their pledge. Matthias tours county farms with Milos and Tristan; Miri continues OP exposition with Lilia. Tyra, Zoë, and Matthias share a bed.
Ch 42 / Day 60: Lisette has already released Tristan; Matthias counsels half a moon of sparring and mercenary notices before major decisions. Tristan rooms at the Soaring Falcon; Tyrone of the Wave Runner offers Master-at-Arms, and Tristan heeds salt and possibility over ledgers. Krista joins Matthias; Jorah will hire a Haven architect; shower and self-cleaning privy patents are planned.
Ch 43 / Day 61: Sir Milos is knighted in Haven (Miri's token under his breastplate); Lady Karla is created. Robert hires the Company to root out Dania spies in Wickham for one hundred gold plus expenses. Milos has carried his love for Miri through every ambush and oath since Matthias became Count and will seek Stefan as page. Lisette beds Michael; Tristan courts Paula, who demands ongoing contact he cannot give.
Ch 44 / Day 62: Robert confirms the Wickham contract; Captain Michael is hired as Captain of the Newtown Guard and Gregor named Deputy Sheriff. Tristan rides to Haven for a Royal Writ exempting Tyra from mage-robes law; Jillian beds him per Miri's order.
Ch 45 / Day 63: The Company returns to Newtown and plans a noble-son cover for Wickham. Tyra receives King Edward's writ; mission pay is half to the Company and half to the County Treasury. Lilia and Matthias bathe together; Lisette takes Michael as a non-exclusive lover.
Ch 46 / Day 64: Tristan returns with Tyra's writ; Filip the architect joins John Tinker and Lewis Smith on plumbing for the Manor addition. Jillian confesses her first kiss and coupling to Miri. Lilia confirms pregnancy and requests blue Wickham porcelain.
Ch 47 / Day 65: The Company departs for Wickham under the Kristof of Yorvik cover. At Telford they rent the Drunken Huntsman private room; Katrina (Dennis's sister from Langford) recognizes Matthias by his eyes and joins him discreetly.
Ch 48 / Day 66: Tristan beds serving girl Noëmi; Katrina stays with Kristof's cover. Miri explains Gift inheritance, sex/mana rules, and her forty enhanced crystals in Kranos' locked boxes to Jillian; she negotiates continued discretion with Robert.
Ch 49 / Day 67: The Company meets merchant Randolph in Wickham and learns of a Dania spy ring targeting the Royal Messenger Service. High Priest Titus demands Miri renounce magic; she refuses. Lilia rules on John vs Gareth's boundary dispute at Newtown.
Ch 50 / Day 68: Lisette copies William's cipher and a dusk meet with Priscilla; Karla will follow him from the Keep. At Wickham's open-air market the Company spreads coin—cloth, cookery, pepper, cured meat—and notes wool bales for the docks and local blue porcelain. Uma recruits Kristof for the Black Crows. Teresa and Tyra become lovers at the Full Moon Inn.
Ch 51 / Day 69: Uma and Kenneth assign Kristof to kill officials; Matthias kills Danian agents William and Kurtis and Tristan arrests Priscilla. Miri and Robert debate handling Titus; Robert hesitates on rapid ascension.
Ch 52 / Day 70: Tristan delivers evidence to King Edward, who orders Priscilla held for trial despite Matthias's mercy plea. Matthias contrasts OP republics with Communist soviet cells; Milos links that pattern to Black Crow organization. The Company surveils Grey Goose and Overflowing Tankard while Kurtis's body remains hidden. Tyra and Teresa continue their affair.
Ch 53 / Day 71: Uma accepts Kurtis's death as mission progress. Tristan reaches Miri through Jillian; Edward holds Priscilla on malfeasance. Lisette and Tristan share one room at Telford on the return ride.
Ch 54 / Day 72: Lisette and Tristan's night confuses him; Kurtis's murder is discovered. Priscilla's friends seek Tristan at the Grey Goose. Matthias and Lisette couple while he puzzles the cover story.
Ch 55 / Day 73: After pledging night in Telford, Lisette and Tristan ride the Royal Way in strained silence—she regrets the pledge; he admits confusion. Priscilla's friends confront Kristof at the Grey Goose; Matthias lists six cover-story constraints and no solution. Lisette distracts him from the dilemma. Teresa hopes Tyra will court Kristof for her.
Ch 56 / Day 74: A dawn message reports Priscilla hanged for High Treason. Matthias plans Edward's deposition with the Royal Warrant; Tristan gallops to Miri while she steals the Warrant from the Bailiff's office. Matthias tells Priscilla's friends the King used her and ordered her death. The Company revels at the Ugly Duckling while avoiding her friends.
Ch 57 / Day 75: Matthias tells John the "King's agent" version of Priscilla's death. Lilia orders Gareth released on oath. Teresa agrees to move to Newtown; Tyra and Matthias share a threesome with her.
Ch 58 / Day 76: The Wickham Bailiff refuses a staged death. Matthias briefs Priscilla's friends at the Grey Goose to agitate toward Haven; Lisette proposes dawn arrests at Uma's and Anthony's houses. In Haven Miri tells Robert he will be King within a moon via Matthias's plan. The Company drinks at the Ugly Duckling before the arrests.
Ch 59 / Day 77: At dawn Tristan and Lisette arrest Anthony; Matthias, Milos, and Karla confront Uma, who is killed when she resists Milos's sword. The Company travels toward Haven via Telford; Katrina and Matthias reunite. Noëmi offers Tristan her inn's cellar to hold the prisoner.
Ch 60 / Day 78: In Haven, Milos briefs sympathetic Knights; Rose (Priscilla's sister) beds Matthias and is hired as a clerk. Miri retrieves the Warrant; Knights authenticate it with Robert.
Ch 61 / Day 79: Matthias confronts Edward, who denies mercy and pays the mission bonus. Ulf petitions Robert and Miri; Paloma, Hannah, and Rose watch the Prince as the family asserts the Warrant was authentic and Priscilla was denied Knight trial and mercy. Milos and nine Knights accuse Edward of murder. Matthias plans an OP textbook run; Rose joins the household.
Ch 62 / Day 80: Edward refuses abdication. Matthias returns to Newtown and Lilia; Lisette reunites with Michael. Lilia commissions a coronation gown without revealing why.
Ch 63 / Day 81: Jorah reports mill revenue, Manor expansion plans, and Lilia's land judgments. Matthias issues hand-washing decrees and plans a new Keep with Filip. Miri prepares a murder charge against Edward using the Kranos writ contrast.
Ch 64 / Day 84: Knights fill Haven Keep—steel, torch-smoke, and red cloaks against drawn blades—and the Conclave deposes Edward, restores Knight crowning traditions, and revokes the sorceress-Queen ban. Edward is tried, convicted, and hanged in Pillory Square. Miri traps him via warded dungeon doors.
Ch 65 / Day 85: Milos and Karla return; Robert's coronation is set for seven days hence. Matthias tasks Zoë with the planar device—inert until ten mana crystals are placed—for a one-day OP run and iPhone callback. He orders a new Keep instead of refitting the Manor and teaches Lilia hand-washing and germ theory. Miri counsels Robert to let Titus complain openly while foreign threats loom.
Ch 66 / Day 86: Matthias's first OP transit overshoots the intended date by nearly a moon. As Matthew at Harvard he gathers library books, seeds, and supplies while seeing Lily Petranos; he leaves Matthew a confessing note and valuables while concluding planar travel forks the multiverse. Zoë operates Kranos' device from the laboratory; colored-light flashes mark each crossing.
Ch 67 / Day 87: A brief second OP transit strengthens the multiverse-fork theory; Matthias delivers rose/tulip gifts, farming texts, and OP crop seeds to Lilia and Lisette. Robert and Miri rebuff Titus; Wickham's Lord Mayor and Bailiff are assassinated; Robert names Sir Godfrey Lord Mayor and sends King's Guard to Wickham.
Ch 68 / Day 88: Miri begins teaching Tyra the shape-shifting spell in Haven. Matthias starts potato-sprouting experiments for experimental crops at Milos's farm.
Ch 69 / Day 89: Matthias and Lewis Smith plan printing-press type; Matthias will retrieve metric measuring tools on his next OP trip to improve precision.
Ch 70 / Day 92: In Haven's Great Hall, Tyra silences Titus with a spell while the Company removes him; Knight-Commander Garrick crowns Robert and Miri. Gala revelry lasts until dawn.
Ch 71 / Day 93: Lilia stays six more nights in Haven with Bella; Michael considers Sierra's marriage proposal. Tristan escorts Karl to his assassinated grandfather's Wickham funeral, then returns for the coronation.
Ch 72 / Day 94: Matthias's second full OP transit confirms multiverse forking and timed-arrival control; he acquires fencing practice, additional books (electricity, metalworking, steam engines, refrigeration), a stethoscope, microscope, aspirin, and thermometers for Lisette.
Ch 73 / Day 95: Matthias returns with tools and gifts; Milos buys Nelson's farm; Tristan is tasked to charter the Nystrian Courier and Security Service. Miri and Lilia ignore Purification chanters; Filip studies OP cooling designs.
Ch 74 / Day 99: Lilia returns from Haven; Matthias gives OP gifts and grants Bella permission to bed him when Lilia is great with child. Revelry with Zoë, Tyra, Teresa, Krista, and Rose while Lilia was away.
Ch 75 / Day 100: Harold is hired as farm overseer at Milos's Dal Valley farm. Matthias briefs Tranos on planar travel limits (eager for OP access; safe personal travel impractical) and names him Minister of Science and Technology for Hamilton County. Robert approves the Nystrian Courier and Security Service Royal Charter; Miri counsels tax-lien policy for tax boycotts.
Ch 76 / Day 101: King Robert's summons cites Black Crow murders and intimidation in Southham and Dal Valley; Matthias leads the Company south in two days with a Royal Warrant to seize conspirators' property (King's twenty-percent share). Terrence becomes Milos's second deputy; Tranos begins overseeing chartered companies.
Ch 77 / Day 103: The Company rides to Southham via the Shattered Shield (avoiding Tristan's ban from the Grinning Griffin). Tyra practices shape-shifting with Matthias en route.
Ch 78 / Day 104: Alton is arrested at the Three Diamond Inn; Matthias assures staff (Daphne) of wages and housing under Crown title. Dustin (City Guard lieutenant) agrees to operate and buy the inn if Alton is convicted. Coded ledgers fuel a Ludwig/Edward conspiracy theory; Miri counsels Robert on Titus's tax boycott.
Ch 79 / Day 105: Titus is confined to the Temple (escape attempts foiled). Karla, Lisette, and Tyra are ambushed; wounded Tyra casts magic missile; Casey attacks Milos with a poisoned dagger. Earl Fredrick of Stonebridge rescues the women; the Company adopts travel-in-pairs.
Ch 80 / Day 106: Five Knights try Alton in the Southham Keep courtyard; he is hanged in Pillory Square after refusing mercy Matthias would have offered. Robert refuses Titus parole. Lilia hears the Millers Guild pitch to join the Guild.
Ch 81 / Day 107: The Three Diamond Inn sale to Dustin is completed; Penelope beds Matthias. Tyra is on bed rest; Filip finalizes the new Manor/Keep design.
Ch 82 / Day 108: Matthias rides toward Langford, hiring scout Peter for the courier service. In the library, Tranos questions Zoë about the planar device (activation only; operating tomes locked to Matthias and Miri). Lilia messages Matthias; Tristan and Lisette search Alton's inn and house for a code wheel.
Ch 83 / Day 109: Tyra is carried downstairs to recover; Peter rides with Matthias to Newtown, then continues to Fulham. Matthias spends one night with Lilia before riding to Haven.
Ch 84 / Day 110: Matthias reports two Black Crow attacks to King Robert; Robert orders mounted patrols and an infantry battalion camp outside Southham. Lisette and Tristan find a code wheel in Alton's house; Jillian beds Matthias per Miri's permission.
Ch 85 / Day 111: Tristan decodes a seventeen-name Black Crow payroll list. Lisette proposes a Matthias/Lilia-style arrangement with Tristan; Michael and Sierra become engaged. Milos orders county land surveys and deeds.
Ch 86 / Day 112: Filip signs the new Keep design (stonework to begin in seven days). Michael and Sierra plan marriage after the Royal Tournament with Matthias officiating. Matthias rejects Philip and James of the Millers Guild on uniform pricing; Karla proposes an elite archer company for the Count's militia obligation; Tristan and Lisette link six Southham merchants to Alton's lists.
Ch 87 / Day 114: Matthias approves smuggling and tax-evasion charges for the decoded payroll list in Southham; Tristan and Lisette brief the Bailiff on reduced fines for coöperation. Laurel becomes house overseer (not consort) at Alton's seized house, introduces herself to Daphne and Martha, and keeps a ledger on the kitchen table while she will manage Bertram's cloth shop under Matthias's loan. Lilia orders emergency windmills on Sierra's land against Guild flour lock-ins; baker Nicholas reports intimidation; Milos rides to Dal Valley while Matthias stays under Army and City Guard protection.
Ch 88 / Day 116: The Company returns to Newtown; Lilia and Matthias will depart for Haven in two days for the Royal Tournament (Milos competes only in sword on foot). Lisette affirms Michael and Sierra's engagement; wedding planned after the Tournament; Michael was relieved Earl Fredrick aided Lisette, Karla, and Tyra during the attack.
Ch 89 / Day 117: Matthias predicts Millers Guild FUD, sabotage, and arson; Milos posts a crossbow guard at the cave entrance to protect the spring, with a visible warning sign—Karla calls it boring duty until it isn't. Stakes mark the new Manor House and Keep; Karla plans twenty-two archers; Tristan designs an inn-based courier network. Miri bars Robert from tournament combat and backs the Knight-Commander.
Ch 90 / Day 119: The Company (minus Tristan) arrives in Haven; Miri explains the restored Knight–King balance to Lilia, Tyra, Bella, and Jillian. Tristan and Lisette agree to exclusive-when-together partnership and a shared Newtown room. Titus refuses Tournament High Priest duties; Trevor alone accepts—a borrowed stole hangs too long on his neck, he swallows audibly before his oath—and is recognized as High Priest under Knight escort. Matthias negotiates a Greenfield mill for nine farmers.
Ch 91 / Day 120: Royal Tournament opens: squires chalk fighting squares on packed earth while vendors and practice blades fill the arena. High Priest Trevor blesses the Knights; Milos defeats Sir Nelson then loses to Sir Aidan (foot champion); Sir James wins the joust and overall championship after Sir Alban's grave injury. Count Morgan buys lump-sum mill licenses. Matthias plans a proclamation against brothel sales and Camilla's redemption.
Ch 92 / Day 121: Matthias plans a half-moon OP transit and will surrender the planar remote to the Crown. Titus is recorded, tried by seven Knights, and publicly castrated at Pillory Square with the crowd five deep around the frame after refusing mercy (Miri had urged castration after guilt). Matthias redeems Camilla from Peter; Lucas in Elite Archer's livery reunites with her.
Ch 93 / Day 122: The Company returns to Newtown; Sheriff Milos holds housebreaker Theodore of Elmsborough for Manor Court. The Millers Guild threatens a boycott; Count Morgan's prepaid mill license fees arrive. Karla recruits archers; Tristan considers hiring literate Camilla as courier booking agent at Helen's boarding house.
Ch 94 / Day 123: Manor Court shows mercy to Theodore (custody, labor, Oakton shelter); Tranos charters an exclusive paper mill. Matthias officiates Michael and Sierra's courtyard wedding—Lilia kisses Sierra and warns Michael not to let duty eclipse his duty to his wife. A Royal messenger rides in dusty tabard; Matthias reads Robert's letter twice and summons the Company to prepare for war.