The Shub-Haramb Case

One Thousand and One Nights

This flow follows the agents from an initially opaque romance mystery through the discovery of a magical crime and the restoration of Della and Zaen’s future.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A New Assignment A New Assignment from "One Thousand and One Nights". A New Assignment The Call Lady Love sends Tad and Claire to investigate a friendship-to-true-love case involving Della and Zaen.

A New Assignment from "One Thousand and One Nights". A New Assignment The Call Lady Love sends Tad and Claire to investigate a friendship-to-true-love case involving Della and Zaen.

A New Assignment The Call Lady Love sends Tad and Claire to investigate a friendship-to-true-love case involving Della and Zaen. Tad expects a familiar romantic mystery; Claire suspects the premise itself may be misleading. Unequal Confidence The partners begin from opposing assumptions. Tad trusts Lady Love’s pairing, while Claire wants observable reasons for the couple’s estrangement.

Della’s Rejections Della’s Rejections from "One Thousand and One Nights". Della’s Rejections A Familiar Ritual The Magic globe shows Della answering Zaen’s weekly proposal, a pattern repeated for twenty years.

Della’s Rejections from "One Thousand and One Nights". Della’s Rejections A Familiar Ritual The Magic globe shows Della answering Zaen’s weekly proposal, a pattern repeated for twenty years.

Della’s Rejections A Familiar Ritual The Magic globe shows Della answering Zaen’s weekly proposal, a pattern repeated for twenty years. Her friends treat the thousand refusals as both romantic and baffling. The Unanswered Question Della insists she is content without marriage, making her apparent rejection look deliberate rather than enchanted. Tad sees a curse; Claire sees a woman whose choice deserves investigation.

Clues Beneath Gold Clues Beneath Gold from "One Thousand and One Nights". Clues Beneath Gold Suspicious Wealth Claire tests a gold necklace found among Zaen’s belongings and concludes that it may connect him to dishonest dealings.

Clues Beneath Gold from "One Thousand and One Nights". Clues Beneath Gold Suspicious Wealth Claire tests a gold necklace found among Zaen’s belongings and concludes that it may connect him to dishonest dealings.

Clues Beneath Gold Suspicious Wealth Claire tests a gold necklace found among Zaen’s belongings and concludes that it may connect him to dishonest dealings. Tad resists the implication but begins watching the groom more closely. A Wider Mystery A hidden treasure chamber, a guarded rug, and the phrase Open sesame make the romance case look like part of a larger magical disturbance.

The Lamp’s Secret The Lamp’s Secret from "One Thousand and One Nights". The Lamp’s Secret A Stolen Object Tad learns that Della’s father’s hidden fortune includes fairy gold and that a missing lamp may have freed the creature…

The Lamp’s Secret from "One Thousand and One Nights". The Lamp’s Secret A Stolen Object Tad learns that Della’s father’s hidden fortune includes fairy gold and that a missing lamp may have freed the creature…

The Lamp’s Secret A Stolen Object Tad learns that Della’s father’s hidden fortune includes fairy gold and that a missing lamp may have freed the creature behind the danger. The family has kept its fear secret while Zaen searches for answers. A Personal Threat The creature’s claim is tied to Della’s approaching twenty-first birthday. The case is no longer merely about whether two people can fall in love.

The Case Resolved The Case Resolved from "One Thousand and One Nights". The Case Resolved The Real Culprit Tad and Claire help expose Rumpelstiltskin’s role in the bargain and capture him with his family’s intervention.

The Case Resolved from "One Thousand and One Nights". The Case Resolved The Real Culprit Tad and Claire help expose Rumpelstiltskin’s role in the bargain and capture him with his family’s intervention.

The Case Resolved The Real Culprit Tad and Claire help expose Rumpelstiltskin’s role in the bargain and capture him with his family’s intervention. Della’s curse is lifted before the deadline can make the claim permanent. Love Reconsidered Zaen stops treating persistence and poetry as sufficient proof of devotion. His honest friendship gift lets Della answer him freely, and the case closes with a proposal she accepts.

At the beginning of the case

During the first review of the Magic globe

After the agents begin investigating in Shub-Haramb

Late in the investigation, after Tad reviews the hidden chamber

Near the climax in Shub-Haramb