Standard/Limited

Story summary for Limited / Standard:

The Ascended want to form an alliance with the King of the Fire Pagoda and the Queen of the Darkness Pagoda (more about that in Netherworld). To demonstrate their ability to manipulate the other factions, the Ascended arrange for the Dragons and Lotus to fight over The Red Lantern Tavern, a minor feng shui site in the 1850s juncture. The Unspoken Name sends his best Pledged agent (and secret lover), Adrienne Hart, to oversee the operation.

At the tavern, Jueding Shelun summons Thing with a 1000 Tongues to take the site. Mad Dog McCroun, Jack Donovan, and Iala Mane are on hand to counter him. The demon crushes Jack Donovan underfoot, and Shelun kills Mad Dog with a blast of sorcerous fire. It turns out that Adrienne was an orphan in the same orphanage as Mad Dog, and she has very strong memories of him. She takes revenge for his death by attacking Shelun. Sun Chen is observing things for the Guiding Hand, but he feels compelled to help stop the giant demon. The Thing casually breaks his back and tosses him away. Nirmal Yadav, an Architects agent, is at the Tavern as well—he is literally dragged into the fight by Sun Chen, and they are both roasted by Shelun. Iala cracks the demon's skull, but is blinded by its acidic blood. Adrienne pushes Shelun into the demon's path as it falls; he is crushed by the giant body. Mr. X, a Lodge agent, takes advantage of the situation to shoot Adrienne for the good of the Lodge (her love for the Unspoken Name wasn't so secret after all).

As this scene fades out, a badly-wounded Iala overhears Mr. X discussing the "demonstration" with the King and Queen...

This story summary was written by Stefan Vincent, and can originally be found on his website, here.