Chapter 1, Eliana’s point of view
Eliana, Attia, and Felerin are days north of the Citadel, tracking the advancing army of orcs. They
encounter and kill a group of scouts. During the fight, the forest comes to Eliana’s defense. Eliana is
shown to be far more ruthless than we’ve seen her in the previous books.
Chapter 2, Attia’s point of view
Attia, Eliana, and Felerin watch as the orc army comes into view. Horrifying giants are pulling a massive
supply sled using chains. The group is forced to flee when Attia senses an El’orin with the army of orcs.
She didn’t want to risk it sensing her and Eliana.
Chapter 3, Nesharon’s point of view
Nesharon and Chariden are discussing the progress of the orc army when an exhausted, emaciated
Selandra is brought into the throne room. Towards the end of Gathering the Fallen, Chariden planted a
desire in her and ordered her to travel to Nerreka.
Nesharon and Chariden discuss Plaguebringer, and their suspicions that he is infecting Derregain with his
sickness.
Chapter 4, Gunther’s point of view
Gunther is standing outside the Citadel, watching the builders rush to finish the massive boats the
people of the Citadel plan to use to flee the advancing army of orcs.
He realizes that they won’t finish in time. He organizes a team of Pathfinder archers and makes plans to
head north and delay the advancing army.
Chapter 5, Conner’s point of view
The group is in a library, gathering what books they’re planning to bring when they flee the Citadel.
Eliana mentions the book on the demon’s language, and that she’s done trying to read it. Conner and
his El’orin make a deal. The El’orin will help Conner read the book, but Conner has to agree to go out
and sample some of the seedier aspects of life, should they make it to Derregain.
Chapter 6, Russell’s point of view
Russell’s El’orin shares a dream with him, showing him a hidden library within Semilae. The group
discusses what route they’ll take to flee the Citadel. Liam wants to travel west, but Russell argues that
the group should travel through the cave system known as the Theleram. The ruins of Semilae are inside
the Theleram.
Gunther shows up and promises to arrange a guide for them. When he leaves, he uses a Portal spell,
which is something that should be impossible for Gunther to cast.
Chapter 7, Raelyn’s point of view
Raelyn reflects on how she took control of the House of Healing, and how hard she’s working trying to
keep up with all the sickness spreading through Derregain. Since she is an incredibly skilled healer, she is
personally helping.
Later, she summons an imp. The imp who answers her call, Daemenos, is rather famous. Cinderhorn is
paying him Daemenos advises Raelyn on how to handle introducing herself to Lamenica, the succubus
who is in charge of all demons in Derregain. He also warns her about the many demon assassins looking
to claim the bounty on her head.
Chapter 8, Felerin’s point of view
Felerin finds out that the group is traveling north, through the Theleram. They tell her she’s not going
along with them. People who travel with the group rarely survive. Both Constance and Vargus died on
the quest to the Darkwood. Attia and Eliana don’t want Felerin to share their fate. Felerin and Eliana
share a parting romantic kiss.
Chapter 9, Malcolm’s point of view
Malcolm and Russell search the alchemy lab for supplies. Malcolm takes a drake wing, which he can use
to make Runes of Containment. They also find several potions. The two of them discuss the negatives of
having El’orin spirits within them.
Chapter 10, Eliana’s point of view
Eliana tries to tell her mother not to come along with them, but her mother refuses. Eliana feels a
supernatural sense of calm wash over her. She realizes that her El’orin, who previously only made her
sad or angry, could also calm her.
Chapter 11, Liam’s point of view
The group is outside the Citadel, preparing to leave. They meet their guide, a Pathmaker named
Kostanus who specializes in cave exploration. Before they leave, Liam has a private conversation with
Gunther. He contends that Gunther is planning to throw his life away and die fighting against the orcs.
He begs Gunther to reconsider. He asks him to come find them in Derregain someday.
Chapter 12, Attia’s point of view
The group is choosing to enter the Theleram by going through a nest of giant spiders known as
Grottoweb. Kostanus thinks it’s a horrible idea, but they know one of the spiders in Grottoweb has an
El’orin in it, and they want to harvest its power.
They discuss giant spider nest. They are controlled by a queen spider that gains seemingly magical
control over the nest. The webs are largely fireproof, and spiders that are hatched within the community
evolve to fulfil specific roles.
On the way, they are ambushed by a group of three giant spiders. The fight is difficult, by they win with
minimal injuries.
Chapter 13, Malcolm’s point of view
The group gathers outside the web. They prepare by rubbing an herbal grease over the clothes and
armor. It will prevent the webs from sticking to them. Several of them use balance magic spells to
further enhance their ability to move across the web.
Malcolm summons an apparition and binds his sight to the spirit. This allows him to see life energy. He
spots an ambush, and since his spirit can float through the webs as if they’re not there, he uses the spirit
to chase the giant spiders out of their hiding spots.
Chapter 14, Cinderhorn’s point of view
Cinderhorn is meeting with Daemenos, and they are discussing Raelyn. Cinderhorn has finally found
where his brother, Erranaekis, is imprisoned. He wants to use Raelyn as a catspaw to bargain for access
to his brother’s prison.
Nesharon arrives and they discuss a growing religious movement among the neverlings. Many
neverlings believe that the Dark Lord has returned. Cinderhorn and his brother speculate that perhaps
Gallisandra, the Unicorn in the painting, managed to call the spirit of the Dark Lord, and it has inhabited
one of the kids who escaped the Citadel.
Chapter 15, Felerin’s point of view
Felerin is watching teams load the giant barges that are to ferry the people of the Citadel to safety. She
comes across Pathmaker Norinae, who specializes in scouting the swamps. She joins Norinae’s crew,
meeting Urgo, a healer, and his adorable pet fisher, Axel.
Chapter 16, Eliana’s point of view
The group battles several giant spiders as they navigate web tunnels. Kostanus, with his flaming staff,
proves to be a powerful warrior. Eventually, a giant tarantula attacks them. It rears up and fires clouds
of urticating hairs. The entire group struggles to breath, but Eliana’s El’orin calms her, and possibly
guides her to use a Winds spell to clear the stinging cloud of hairs from the tunnel. Once the group can
breath again, they kill the spider.
Chapter 17, Russell’s point of view
They are deeper in the nest, fighting a seemingly endless swarm of smaller, but highly venomous
spiders. Russell protects the group with magical walls of fire, but some of the agile web wielding spiders
manage to entangle Kostanus, and drag him through a pit down to the deeper parts of the nest.
Chapter 18, Liam’s point of view
With Kostanus gone, Liam directs the group to leap through the same hole Kostanus was dragged
through. Eliana and her mother use earth magic to seal off networks of tunnels, delaying the venomous
spiders from reaching them.
The queen spider charges the group from a hidden tunnel. The spider’s El’orin enhances her speed, and
she quickly impales Attia with one of her forelegs. Liam’s El’orin uses some of its power to save Attia,
and Attia’s El’orin heals her terrible wounds.
Liam and the spider fight, but it overwhelms him, delivering a potentially lethal blow. Fortunately,
Malcolm summons another spirit and sends it at the queen spider, forcing it on the defensive.
Chapter 19, Conner’s point of view
The group rallies and kills the queen spider, harvesting the power of its El’orin. When the queen dies, all
the other spiders become confused, as whatever magical force was controlling them is gone. They
harvest valuable reagents from the dead spider, and then flee the area.
Later, after Conner forced them to take a break so he could properly heal Liam, Conner and his El’orin
discuss demon magic. Conner consents to his El’orin’s plan to use the spiritual energy they just gained
from killing the spider to teach him the basics of demon magic.
Chapter 20, Raelyn’s point of view
Raelyn pays tribute to Lamenica, giving her magical jewelry with permanent illusions built into each
piece. Lamenica introduces Raelyn to many political figures in the city, including the Governor. Raelyn
and the governor have a private conversation where he urges her to avoid densely populated areas if
she believes she might be attacked by an assassin on her way home from the party.
Chapter 21, Gunther’s point of view
Gunther and his group of archers engage the entire orc army. It is night. The archers pepper the orc
horde with arrows and then flee back into the safety of the forest. A large group of orc scouts follow,
but are unprepared when they encounter Gunther. Using Portals, an ability he gained from killing
Arronhelm, Gunther slaughters the orc scouts.
Chapter 22, Raelyn’s point of view
Raelyn weaves her way through Lamenica’s party until she finds a group of demons watching her. She
approaches them, and using a spell Daemenos told her about, she identifies the most dangerous of the
assassins, Bonewalker. She tries to talk him out of hunting her, but he refuses.
She leaves the party, taking a route through High City to avoid traveling through populated areas.
Bonewalker comes after her. They fight in the street, but he is far too powerful for her. Using telekinesis,
she manages to slip away from Bonewalker. She flies away, but he follows, leaving a path of destruction
in his wake. They face off for a moment before Raelyn flies out over the ocean. Bonewalker summons a
few spirits to track her.
Chapter 23, Achillion’s point of view
We meet the Governor in this chapter. His El’orin was a beautiful woman in life. She has the ability to
project an incredibly powerful aura of emotion. The Governor uses this ability to lead the city, quelling
anger, and engendering obedience. His El’orin requires him to dress as a woman to recharge her power.
It takes extreme confidence on her part to use it. She gains her confidence when Achillion reminds her
how beautiful she was in life.
Chapter 24, Eliana’s point of view
The group is traveling through the Theleram. Four days have passed since they barely survived the
spiders. The come across a lichen-covered side passageway, and Eliana gets an unshakeable feeling that
they should investigate it. Kostanus tells her that it leads down to a grotto containing one of the
entrances to the deepest parts of the Theleram, the Abyss.
They journey down to the grotto and Eliana sees three tiny points of light. No one else sees them. They
recover one, and Kostanus recognizes it as an Elestone… a very magical stone that can be used to teach
a spell to someone else.
Chapter 25, Attia’s point of view
Kostanus uses the first Elestone to teach Attia the Breath of Battle spell. All Pathmakers learn it. It
automatically delivers a counterstrike any time an attack is dodged, and that includes when the balance
magic version of the Shield spell is used, since it effectively helps the caster dodge an incoming attack.
They recover two more Elestones, but one is close to the Abyss. Several of them believe they caught a
glimpse of something floating out above the Abyss. When they tell Kostanus about it, he seems scared.
Chapter 26, Gunther’s point of view
Gunther and his team of archers are trying to slow down the advancing horde of orcs. Since the orcs are
using giants to pull their military equipment, Gunther takes a risk and attacks the giants. It is a difficult
and bloody fight, but he manages to kill a few, and cripple some more before barely escaping through a
Portal. Gunther hopes it is sufficient to slow the army down enough to allow the citizens of the Citadel
to flee.
Chapter 27, Achillion’s point of view
The Governor is presiding over an emergency Council meeting. He is forced to use his El’orin’s aura to
convince the legislators to go along with his wishes. Afterwards, he meets with Vallon, the leader of the
Longshadows gang. Vallon has an El’orin, and is known to be a very powerful wizard. A rival gang, the
Downtrodden, is constantly attacking his people. The Downtrodden are led by a group of El’orin. They
are members of a treaty Achillion forged, preventing El’orin from hunting one another within Derregain.
Technically, since they are sending their gang members against the Longshadow’s gang members, they
aren’t violating the treaty, but Vallon is tired of it.
Chapter 28, Felerin’s point of view
Felerin learns about life on Norinae’s skiff. Later, they return to the Citadel to watch the launch of the
barges. Norinae introduces Felerin to all the swamp scouting Pathfinders. She discusses the Sustan, a
terrifying creature that is known to them. Slowly, Felerin realizes that they’re talking about the insect
swarm that killed Constance, and burned away half her face. Norinae encourages Felerin to tell her
story, so she does.
Chapter 29, Liam’s point of view
The group is fleeing the grotto, but they know that whatever is pursuing them won’t stop. Kostanus tells
them he believes it’s a mindcrawler. The wait for it, and it finally comes for them. The mindcrawler is
like an enormous stingray, with multiple venomous stingers. Its poison causes progressive paralysis and
crippling fear.
Chapter 30, Russell’s point of view
The fight with the mindcrawler isn’t going well. Attia is nearly killed by it. Russell convinces Conner to
ignore his brother’s wounds, and cure the poison that is making Eliana cower in fear. Once Eliana is
thinking clearly again, she kills the thing with lightning. After the battle, while they are resting, Kostanus
discusses the tower in Semilae. A community of giant batlike creatures live within it. They are nearly
blind, but they have excellent hearing. Kostanus is skilled in sonic magic, however. He can create a
bubble of silence around the group that should allow them to move through the tower without issue.
Chapter 31, Chariden’s point of view
Chariden is meeting with Nesharon and Cinderhorn in her throne room. She is mad it’s taking so long for
the orcs to claim the Citadel. The residents managed to flee, but Nesharon has a strong raiding party
patrolling the swamps south of the Citadel. Cinderhorn is asked to summon reinforcements for the
raiders. He lets Chariden know that he’s finally found where Erranaekis is imprisoned.
Chapter 32, Raelyn’s point of view
Raelyn reads the scroll of Banishment she found in the Citadel, learning the priceless spell. Demons
absolutely despise that spell, but she doesn’t feel she has a choice. She heads down to the admissions
center and finds out how poorly the fight against Plaguebringer’s sickness is going. Later, Raelyn
summons Daemenos again. She agrees to work with Daemenos and Cinderhorn to purchase access to
Erranaekis’ prison cell.
Chapter 33, Conner’s point of view
Conner and Attia are discussing the demon language book, and the fact that Conner has started to learn
demon magic. She promises to keep his secret. Later, the group makes it to the ruins of Semilae. They
notice that there is another entrance to the Abyss deep in the ruins.
Chapter 34, Malcolm’s point of view
Malcolm notices that spirits are now following him. His El’orin explains it’s a new ability, purchased with
the power gained from harvesting the El’orin spider. Using a spirit to detect giant trapdoor spiders,
Malcolm leads the group through the ruins of Semilae to the tower in the center.
Chapter 35, Attia’s point of view
Attia and the group are moving through the tower. It is pitched at a 45 degree angle, which presents a
lot of challenges. Some corridors are like climbing, while others are like falling. Although Kostanus’
silence spell is working, there is an El’orin among the sonkuon. It senses the group of El’orin moving
through its territory, and it sounds the alarm. Hordes of sonkuon attack, and although they are easy to
kill, their numbers seem unbeatable. Kostanus names Attia a Pathmaker before going off on his own. He
realizes that the sonkuon can track the group, but with his silence spell, he'll be invisible, and therefore
able to do a lot of damage.
Chapter 36, Felerin’s point of view
Felerin is with Norinae and Urgo in the swamps. They have been summoned back up north, to join the
barges. When they arrive, they discover that barges were attacked by demons. Wind demons
summoned several elementals to attack from above. While the defenders fought the elementals, water
demons snuck belowdecks and slaughtered hundreds in their sleep.
Chapter 37, Raelyn’s point of view
Raelyn is studying one of the quarantined victims of Plaguebringer’s sickness. He seems to have the
ability to look into the Astral Plane, as he notices a spirit tracking down Raelyn. A few moments later,
there is screaming from down below, in the admissions center.
Raelyn arrives to find Bonewalker. He has stretched his skeleton out across the admissions center and is
torturing dozens of people. He makes some shatter, blasting the room with clouds of bone shrapnel. He
demands that Raelyn surrender, but instead, she telepathically urges her assistant, Lehnai, to use his
power to send waves of Dispels at Bonewalker, in an effort to remove the massive demon’s magical
defenses. When the time is right, Raelyn casts her newly learned Banishment spell and sends
Bonewalker back to the Netherworld. Exhausted from her battle, Raelyn passes out.
Chapter 38, Eliana’s point of view
The group frantically races through the tower, fighting sonkuon all along the way. They eventually find
the path to the hidden library.
Chapter 39, Attia’s point of view
The group races to make it into the library before the sonkuon overtake them. There are solid doors that
will seal once the group is inside, but a group of sonkuon make it through before the doors close. Attia
uses her Breath of Battle. She manages to kill most of them, but one manages to make its way into the
library.
Chapter 40, Liam’s point of view
When the sonkuon enters the library, it triggers a trap. A giant, teleporting statue surfaces from the
ground. It slaughters the sonkuon and then starts attacking the group. Liam discovers that once the
statue locks onto a target, it stays with that target until it kills him, or loses sight of him.
Liam does battle with the statue, but it is simply too powerful for him. Eventually, it scoops him up and
gets in position to deliver a lethal blow.
Chapter 41, Conner’s point of view
Conner watches in horror as the statue kills his brother. He considers letting it kill him as well, but his
El’orin motivates him. Eliana and her mother use earth magic to slowly dismantle the statue. Conner is
knocked out when tumbling rocks crash into him. Conner wakes to discover that his brother is indeed
dead, but that his spirit has not crossed over into the Astral Plane.
Chapter 42, Felerin’s point of view
The refugees of the Citadel gather for the funeral for all that died against the assault on the barges.
Chancellor Falstaff determines their new path forward. No scouts. They’ll move slowly and keep all their
forces gathered and prepared to fight.
Chapter 43, Raelyn’s point of view
Raelyn is speaking with Daemenos and she reveals that she used the Banishment spell to win. Daemenos
reacts poorly, saying that he’ll need to step back and have a different imp deal with her. The damage to
his reputation would be too great if others were to find out what she did.
Afterwards, she heads down to the admissions center and surveys the damage. She interacts with
Lehnai. Even though she is covered in illusions, he knows who she is. He saved her when she passed out
after defeating Bonewalker. The Governor arrives and he confronts her.
Chapter 44, Achillion’s point of view
Achillion is wearing a magical monocle that allows him to see through all illusions. Due to the massive
casualties suffered during the Bonewalker fight, he threatens to kill Raelyn, or at a minimum, remove
her from the city. His El’orin urges him to reconsider and to hear Raelyn’s side of things.
Raelyn takes Achillion up to the floor where she’s holding the quarantine patients. She shares all she
knows about Plaguebringer’s sickness with him. He relents, deciding to trust her.
Chapter 45, Russell’s point of view
Russell searches the secret library and finds a special version of the Portal spell. This version will allow
him to transport other people to an Inscription. It is an ancient spell. All magic like it has long since been
forgotten. Eliana finds an Inscription in the tiny hidden library, and Russell memorizes it. Later, they start
hearing the sonkuon using some kind of sonic magic to batter down the door. They realize that the
sonkuon will eventually break through. When that happens, they’ll all die.
Chapter 46, Malcolm’s point of view
Malcolm uses the drake wing and components he gathered from the alchemy lab to create a set of
runes in the entry hallway. The runes will trap any undead within them. He summons spirits and throws
them into the bodies of the dead sonkuon, creating ghouls that he sends within the runes before
releasing them. When he is done, he has created an army of ghouls, all contained by a field of runes.
Chapter 47, Liam’s point of view
Liam is dead, but his spirit is still inside his body. He is being held their by his El’orin. They bargain. The
El’orin has the ability to bring Liam back to life, but he fears he can only use that power once before it is
lost. The El’orin makes Liam swear a binding oath never to lie again. Liam agrees, and is brought back to
life.
The sonkuon break through the door and encounter Malcolm’s trapped undead. The undead kill dozens
of sonkuon before they are destroyed. The group retreats into the much smaller hidden library.
Chapter 48, Russell’s point of view
The group fights a losing battle against the sonkuon. In desperation, Russell attempts to use his Portal
spell to return the group to the Citadel. The magic is too difficult for him. He backlashes and falls into a
coma.
Chapter 49, Malcolm’s point of view
As Russell falls, Malcolm finds a spell to summon neverlings. Even though the neverlings were
responsible for killing Malcolm’s El’orin, three centuries ago, they are out of options, and Malcolm risks
casting the spell. He is successful. A group of neverlings appear. They offer to save the group, but there
is a price. Malcolm agrees to pay it.
Chapter 50, Eliana’s point of view
The neverlings pull the group, and the attacking sonkuon, into the Astral Plane, where the sonkuon are
quickly destroyed. Malcolm is forced to choose one person to sacrifice to the neverlings. He chooses
Eliana’s mother, but she in many ways volunteers.
Eliana’s mother is whisked away while the group is transported across the world. They arrive at a ruined
tower, several days north of Derregain. Malcolm speaks with the neverlings before they depart. He is
warned that there is a neverling tower beneath Derregain, and that those neverlings will be hostile to
him. They also explain how their wormholes work. One end of any neverling Astral wormhole must be
connected to a tower, ruined or otherwise, but the other can go anywhere.
Chapter 51, Raelyn’s point of view
Raelyn summons a different imp, Horex, and they strike a bargain. She agrees to summon Novus the
Changeling, a very powerful demon. In return, Horex will arrange access to Erranaekis’ prison. In
addition, Horex agrees to find Bonewalker’s prison and purchase a year of silence out of him, in order to
keep Raelyn’s use of the Banishment spell a secret. Summoning Novus will require Raelyn to sacrifice a
family of five. She can find a suitable family amongst the patients in the House of Healing.
Chapter 52, Gunther’s point of view
Gunther watches from the Citadel as hordes of orcs flood the clearing. Although he planned to lead the
100 or so troops he kept behind to the bitter end, he remembers Liam’s words, and decides it’s
pointless. The barges were safely away, and Liam and his friends were safely in the Theleram. Speaking
with a Pathrunner, they hatch a plan to gather hollow reeds, and sneak out by crawling along the
bottom of the river.
Chapter 53, Chariden’s point of view
Chariden, Nesharon, and Cinderhorn discuss their next moves. The Citadel is surrounded, and should fall
to the orcs. The building will be given to the orcs as compensation. The demon raiders in the swamps
have all but stopped the refugees from moving, but they will require reinforcements. Cinderhorn is
tasked with summoning reinforcements. He is notable exhausted, but the Queen doesn’t seem to care.
Chapter 54, Raelyn’s point of view
Raelyn responds to an invitation to visit the Governor in his mansion. Before dinner, he gives her a
dress. Surprisingly, is a nearly perfect fit. They share a fine dinner and agree to work together in the
future. Even showing up, alone, at the Governor’s manner was an act of supreme trust. In many ways,
she considers it paying back the trust the Governor extended her when he confronted her the morning
after her fight with Bonewalker.
Chapter 55, Felerin’s point of view
The demons mount a late night attack on the boats. Felerin notices it first. She warns Norinae and Urgo,
and as a result, they are prepared for their portion of the battle. They defeat the demons, but there are
casualties on some of the other boats. Felerin realizes that, despite winning the battle, they are destined
to lose the war.
Chapter 56, Achillion’s point of view
Achillion meets with the envoy of a powerful demon. He has a trading relationship with this demon. He
trades five sleeping convicts for supplies. He offers another five for a new list of supplies. Everything on
the list is necessary for battling Plaguebringer’s sickness. Still, Achillion struggles with the morality of his
actions.
Chapter 57, Raelyn’s point of view
Raelyn sacrifices a family of five and summons Novus the Changeling. While performing the ritual, she
senses that things aren’t quite right. Normally, mosquitos and biting insects ignore demons, but she is
getting nibbled on.
She bargains with Novus when he arrives, but she is so tired, she is struggling to stay awake. Novus
seems to understand what is happening. He encourages her to sleep, promising to watch over her for a
few days.
Sensing that something is wrong, Raelyn uses her healing magic to cleanse herself of toxins. She
discovers that she is covered in insects, and their toxins were lulling her to sleep. She crafts an explosion
of telekinetic force, killing all the insects.
She realizes that a leeching demon, a servant of Plaguebringer, infiltrated her summoning chamber. She
forces Novus to defend her and he kills the leeching demon.
Epilogue, Conner’s point of view
Conner and Malcolm talk. They are in the ruined neverling tower, and Malcolm is studying the remnants
of the neverlings’ ancient machines. He explains how neverbeasts and night terrors are made, and
speculates that the neverlings are doing that to Eliana’s mother.
There is tremendous tension within the group. Eliana blames Malcolm, and many are taking her side.
Conner seems to be the one trying hardest to hold the group together. Malcolm seems content to be
ostracized.
The group leaves the ruins and heads south to Derregain.