The mission

By 1984, the immortal Jackdaw is living as journalist J.D. Zaubermann in a world where the old magic is fading. A fallen fragment of the DEM changes that. Joined with modern computing, it gives him Gopat, a synthetic spell-crafting intelligence housed in a silver glove. A prophecy arrives in binary, warning that the danger extends far beyond Earth.

Time travel brings J.D. into a devastated 2026, where singing creatures called Trebles have overwhelmed civilization. He accidentally brings survivor Sergio back into the past. Sergio wants a chance to prevent the catastrophe, but his presence in the wrong time creates problems of its own.

Meanwhile, actor Gary Baumgartner accepts a suspicious opportunity from Mr. Mercury. Expedition Red Leaf pairs him with archaeologist Vincenza. Gary’s inherited crimson mark can open a portal into the sunken magical lands, where a tree connected to Felgarath traps both explorers.

J.D. and the Beanwitch reach the tree with Sergio. Following instructions from the mysterious Adler, Sergio touches it and absorbs a flood of crimson power. J.D.’s attacks on the captives’ wooden cage finally let Sergio break free. Gary and Vincenza remain alive in stasis; Sergio survives with extraordinary, unsettling magical energy. The search also reunites the Beanwitch with Rightbeard, her long-absent partner.

How it ends

The Blue Messenger, Tiberius Plinth, brings the cosmic threat into focus. The collector wants the DEM fragment, and the Trebles become part of the confrontation. Bellissimo’s ghost turns music against them: her sorrowful singing, amplified through a blue gem, makes the creatures burst. The Messenger collapses and disappears in cobalt mist, leaving the heroes access to his ship.

Possessing a spaceship is considerably easier than learning to operate it. Sergio remains among the future’s survivors, spending five years helping rebuild while J.D. visits at intervals. Their recovery depends on other people’s skills as well as magic. Sergio grows into a leader and learns the alien vessel’s systems.

At last, J.D. and Sergio launch. The Beanwitch and Rightbeard stay behind to work toward restoring the sunken realms. Adler directs the travelers toward the Eagle’s Roost for upgrades, then toward Tatsrar. The Singhilarity threatens worlds while the hunt for the DEM continues: one piece is secured, and fourteen remain.

Where we leave everyone

• J.D. and Gopat: head into space with a prophecy, a powerful glove, and unanswered questions about who is guiding them.
• Sergio: is an experienced rebuilder and pilot carrying power acquired from the tree.
• The Beanwitch and Rightbeard: are reunited and remain on Earth.
• Gary and Vincenza: appear in a final glimpse of married life in 2001, expecting a boy they plan to name Sergio. The narration presents this as a possible future—the life Gary might have lived—not a settled resolution of their captivity.

The mission

J.D. and Sergio continue the search for the DEM with Adler’s help. On Echodore, recovering another piece draws them into the plight of the Under-Dwellers, trapped beneath a creature called the Cor-rand that drains magic. Sergio defeats it by draining its power instead, making escape possible and helping reunite the divided inhabitants above and below.

The victory awakens a dangerous inherited presence in Sergio. It carries ancestral impressions and an appetite for power, and begins overwhelming his own identity. With ordinary suppression too dangerous, J.D. seeks Shiradir’s help. The hermit separates the presence into another body, held in Adler’s sealed vault. This is not a division into a perfectly good Sergio and a disposable evil twin. Sergio remains himself, but loses a protection against related ancestral power and now needs an external ward.

Back on Earth, Rightbeard and the Beanwitch enter Mr. Mercury’s competition hoping for power that could restore their home. The contest is a trap. Mercury is Mercurius, bound to Felgarath by a broken promise, and the trials harvest the contestants’ magic. There is no DEM gear waiting as a prize.

The return to Earth

Mercurius raises the Beandom and forces a passage through the green restraint holding Felgarath. The Beanwitch fights his machinery, leaving a small green shoot that disrupts its flow of power. She sends Rightbeard away with a recording of what she has learned. Mercurius’s light consumes her visible form, and Felgarath enters a waiting golden vessel.

J.D. and Sergio encounter the resulting ruined future, then travel back to intervene. Gopat adapts equipment into three suits for a containment plan requiring three living operators. Sergio participates knowing the risks and insisting on safeguards.

During the battle, Rightbeard leaves his station to protect the Beanwitch’s surviving shoot. Felgarath breaks Sergio’s helmet and ward; the emergency extraction fails. Leaving the golden vessel empty, Felgarath enters Sergio. Sergio’s resistance buys a crucial interval, but does not free him.

How it ends

Rightbeard volunteers to become the living inner anchor of the seal. He remains inside the contained Beandom with Sergio, Felgarath, and Mercurius. J.D. escapes. Checking the future shows that the larger catastrophe has been prevented, but the prison is containment, not a cure.

The search for the Beanwitch remains unresolved: the records show no ordinary arrival in the afterlife, and an unidentified trace leaves an inquiry open. J.D. also bargains with Sergio’s separated counterpart, still confined in Adler’s vault. Any future reunification must have Sergio’s consent. Inherited clues, corroborated by a signal, point toward Tatsrar and another DEM piece.

Where we leave everyone

• J.D. and Gopat: continue toward Tatsrar with two DEM pieces secured and thirteen remaining.
• Sergio: is alive inside the containment, possessed by Felgarath and still in need of rescue.
• Rightbeard: holds the seal from within; the Beanwitch’s ultimate fate remains uncertain.
• Sergio’s separated counterpart: remains in the vault, communicating through an isolated receiver aboard the ship. The bargain grants neither escape nor automatic reunification.