Chapter 14: See No Evil

Part One
You are passing through the town of Hoffspren. It appears quite unremarkable, save a few unfinished large towers in the center of the town. As you are about to exit the town, an old woman frantically stops you. “Don’t take the road out! Devils with skinless faces and horns in place of hair congregate around the exit, and we dare not approach them.”

What do you do?

Part Two
After Ba'az tells Jack that he has no idea what the devils he described could be, Jack prepares to douse his candle. However, a trial of purple smoke winds around him, ending before his face in the shape of a horned snake’s skull. “Ba'az” a raspy voice says, “that couldn’t be you.” “How delectable, I almost didn’t recognize you in so small a form. Got yourself trapped by a mortal, have you?” “You’re looking pretty bound yourself, Ma'gog” Ba'az replies unamusedly. “What I have with Ibrizio is more of a partnership, which can’t be said of you, candle-bound as you are. What’s the arrangement here? This fellow trapped you?” “I have been trapped in this candle, by another,” Ba'az replies. “And if I kill the mortal?” Ma'gog's eyes flare. “I’m still here until this candle runs out.” Searing pain lights up Jack's chest. “Ah, well lucky for this one. I’ll be seeing you around, then.” The smoke dissipates.

Nick climbs the tower, but it isn’t high enough to see the exit to the village. However, through his falcon he sees that the exit of the town has nothing resembling a monster, but instead a group of huddled humans.

Michael starts climbing the stairs of the bigger tower, and overhears three people talking.

“-Without my lover beside me/ No heroic man shall I be,” says an elegant, charming voice. “I do confess the verse charmed me, but you’re leaning to hard on the allusions to Aciero. Who are you, Beatricia?” A woman’s voice says. They both laugh uproariously.

Michael opens the door to find two men and a woman reclining on feathered couches, all naked. They have identical tattoos on their necks. One of the men is standing up, facing out the window pensively. “Ah,” the woman addresses Michael, “we understand we are all here a little early, Sovyrus and I just decided to settle in, as Ibrizio will be finished soon anyway, and Dolis should be here in a week with the rest of the tower. We apologize, but we must demand that you show is your identification before letting you proceed. You know, with things as they have been lately.”

Jack, Niciole and Mika proceed to the exit of the town carefully. They see a mass of people in the distance. One child with a particularly keen eye spots them. “Oh, thank goodness you’re alright, travelers! We don’t know what came about in that town, but it’s not safe! Devils with skinless faces and horns in place of hair congregate there, and we dare not approach them!”

What do you do?

Part Three
Jack asks Ba'az who Ma'gog is and about getting rid of illusions. Ba'az answers that Ma'gog is another ifrit who he knew back in the Red Realm, a haughty and cruel fellow who enjoyed playing tricks. Ba’az also instructs Jack in the creation of an illusion banishing sigil, a very intricate and complicated circle to be drawn in the ground, with lit candles planted every four feet along the radius, wherein four illusion-affected persons would lie asleep for twenty minutes and awaken with their minds clear. Jack and Mika take two people from the town and two people from the exit and lay them down in the circle, convincing them they know how to stop the devils. When they awaken and realize they no longer see more devils, Jack tells them to repeat the process with everyone in the town. Jack then asks around about the tower. He learns it recently began construction by visitors, and one town resident said they believed it was for an astronomer’s guild, one a bank, one a library, and another a museum.

Jatin, Maolo, and Solomon hunt the cycle of animals outlined by the Rose Lady and lay them in a circle, dripping Jatin’s blood into the mouth of each carcass. Jatin then has Maolo stand outside the forest to keep watch. Jatin ingests a tonic of recollection, memorizes the Thanacross map, and summons his chaos horse, calling “Wojak. Wojak. Wojack.” after a while, the nearby woods stir and a massive shape emerges, with a wolflike face ending in a beak, an arching spine, the front legs of a panther and the hooved hind legs of an elk, with a bushy racoon tail. “who calls me?” it asks. Jatin, introducing himself as Sybiline Horseshadow, requests to bond with the Fauna Regalia, offering it the fastest flight and witnessing the birth of a legend, the spread of its spirit between the wolves if Jatin’s mana is not sufficient, and burning the map of Thanacross holdings, after explaining its value, and discarding the Rod of Piercing to show his commitment. As Wojak ponders silently, Jatin adds, “I will bleed for you, lord” and stabs himself right in the chest with a knife. Wojak laughs a deep, growling laugh and appears to grind into a whirling gust of bone and hair and flesh, which enters Jatin’s mouth. Jatin screams, not a man’s scream, for several minutes. He collapses on the ground. When he awakes, the stab wound is gone, as is the Fauna Regalia, and the wolves are on one paw, kneeling to him.

Michael removes his pants and produces his whip, trying to make a move on Sovyrus, Tiphonia, and Ibrizio. Sovyrus laughs and tell Michael to stay put and whip him and Tiphonia. They shriek and laugh ecstatically as Michael whips them. Eventually, Michael grows tired and frustrated, but Tiphonia tells him not to touch them, inquiring when the last time he bathed was. Michael asks them about the devils, and Tiphonia explains that they found this town where beautiful sunsets were visible, and the Lyric Society, a guild of poets, decided they just had to have a house there, to observe the sunsets and be inspired to write poetry about it. They would spend half of every spring there. However, there was too much noise in the spot to concentrate, as people were currently living in the town. So Ibrizio Morrowick, one of the poets, decided to use his prodigious sorcerous powers to make half the town see the other half as devils one day when a good portion had ventured outside the town’s borders, in order to have them all eventually kill each other in the most effort-saving way possible. Tiphonia tells Michael he seems like a man of good humor, and if he helps them clean the town and composes a nice poem on the spot, they might consider making him a cadet.

Jack, suspicious, runs to the shorter tower with Mika, intent on getting to the bottom of the suspicious activity occurring. In the two story tower, he finds Coco and Sol. They greet him. “We came here because I wanted to take a look at the ruins. But it turns out that’s not what these are at all. By the grooves between the bricks, they can’t be more than a month old. They just happen to perfectly mimic early Cavennish architecture. Whoever is building these is learned, and has questionable taste.” Jack explains his suspicions and why he’s exploring the towers. Coco and Sol, intrigued by his cause, decide to follow him. Jack, Coco, Mika, and Sol storm into the second tower, where they see Michael, Ibrizio, Tiphonia, and Sovyrus. “Hirakthe,” Ibrizio says, and his shadow stretches tall behind him, expanding into the shape of a serpentine exoskeleton made of purple flame. “Sojourno,” Sovyrus says, and he is suddenly fully clothed, holding a whirring, barely visible blade. “Johomu,” says Tiphonia, contracting into a tiny, almost infantile form, retaining only the size of her head, as her hair disappears and she begins hovering in the air, asleep and surrounded by a chilling wind.

What do you do?

Part One
Calen begins robbing stores with reckless abandon, acquiring what small money these town businesses have on hand.

Part Two
Calen continues to rob stores with reckless abandon, acquiring more money and scaring people.

Part Three
Calen is beaten to a pulp by the Smoke Riders and forced to return the money he stole.

Part One
After Ba'az tells Jack that he has no idea what the devils he described could be, Jack prepares to douse his candle. However, a trial of purple smoke winds around him, ending before his face in the shape of a horned snake’s skull. “Ba'az” a raspy voice says, “that couldn’t be you.” “How delectable, I almost didn’t recognize you in so small a form. Got yourself trapped by a mortal, have you?” “You’re looking pretty bound yourself, Ma'gog” Ba'az replies unamusedly. “What I have with Ibrizio is more of a partnership, which can’t be said of you, candle-bound as you are. What’s the arrangement here? This fellow trapped you?” “I have been trapped in this candle, by another,” Ba'az replies. “And if I kill the mortal?” Ma'gog's eyes flare. “I’m still here until this candle runs out.” Searing pain lights up Jack's chest. “Ah, well lucky for this one. I’ll be seeing you around, then.” The smoke dissipates.

Jack, Nicole and Mika proceed to the exit of the town carefully. They see a mass of people in the distance. One child with a particularly keen eye spots them. “Oh, thank goodness you’re alright, travelers! We don’t know what came about in that town, but it’s not safe! Devils with skinless faces and horns in place of hair congregate there, and we dare not approach them!”

Part Two
Jack asks Ba'az who Ma'gog is and about getting rid of illusions. Ba'az answers that Ma'gog is another ifrit who he knew back in the Red Realm, a haughty and cruel fellow who enjoyed playing tricks. Ba’az also instructs Jack in the creation of an illusion banishing sigil, a very intricate and complicated circle to be drawn in the ground, with lit candles planted every four feet along the radius, wherein four illusion-affected persons would lie asleep for twenty minutes and awaken with their minds clear. Jack and Mika take two people from the town and two people from the exit and lay them down in the circle, convincing them they know how to stop the devils. When they awaken and realize they no longer see more devils, Jack tells them to repeat the process with everyone in the town. Jack then asks around about the tower. He learns it recently began construction by visitors, and one town resident said they believed it was for an astronomer’s guild, one a bank, one a library, and another a museum.

Jack, suspicious, runs to the shorter tower with Mika, intent on getting to the bottom of the suspicious activity occurring. In the two story tower, he finds Coco and Sol. They greet him. “We came here because I wanted to take a look at the ruins. But it turns out that’s not what these are at all. By the grooves between the bricks, they can’t be more than a month old. They just happen to perfectly mimic early Cavennish architecture. Whoever is building these is learned, and has questionable taste.” Jack explains his suspicions and why he’s exploring the towers. Coco and Sol, intrigued by his cause, decide to follow him. Jack, Coco, Mika, and Sol storm into the second tower, where they see Michael, Ibrizio, Tiphonia, and Sovyrus.

Part Three
Michael quickly runs to Jack before any violence can erupt and whispers everything he knows. Jack puts down his weapon and feigns relief. He informs the Lyric Society members that the devils have gone away and he thought they might be hiding in the tower. Additionally, they have sent a messenger to the local baron to request reinforcements in case the devils come back. Hearing this information, Ibrizio and Sovyrus consult with one another, Tiphonia still asleep in the air.

The mob reaches the tower Jack entered and storms in. They see Ma’gog behind Ibrizio and come to the conclusion that Jack was in league with the real devils all along. Jack witnesses Ibrizio's slaughter of the mob and Sol's subsequent slaying of Ibrizio and Sovyrus.

Jack informs the townspeople of the truth, and they thank him for saving them, saying that they don’t have much, but give him a horse and a wagon.

Part One
Jatin has Maolo buy meat from the local butcher. He flies on Sovereign with Solomon and the Rose Lady to the forest on the outside of town, instructing the mercenaries to stay relatively low and inform him before making any big moves, as they do not know what is going on with the devil situation. He has Solomon fly back and forth between the two parties to convey messages quickly. In the forest, he has Solomon fetch Maolo on the horse. Jatin douses the meat in a Tonic of Tranquility and has the Rose Lady find wolves in the forest. He leaves the meat out and wolves begin eating it, sedated by the potion. He then begins to further douse the meat in a Tonic of Habit and begins feeding them and petting them, instilling a pattern of loyalty to him. He acquires five wolves through this scheme, and names them Prophet, Oracle, Vision, Truth, and Future.

Part Two
Jatin has Solomon ask Ba'az, through Jack, how to impress a Fauna Regalia and possibly bond with one. Ba'az informs them that he knows little, but they are impressed with people who have demonstrated that they are friends of the forest, and willing to make great sacrifices. Jatin, Maolo, and Solomon hunt the cycle of animals outlined by the Rose Lady and lay them in a circle, dripping Jatin’s blood into the mouth of each carcass. Jatin then has Maolo stand outside the forest to keep watch. Jatin ingests a tonic of recollection, memorizes the Thanacross map, and summons his chaos horse, calling “Wojak. Wojak. Wojack.” after a while, the nearby woods stir and a massive shape emerges, with a wolflike face ending in a beak, an arching spine, the front legs of a panther and the hooved hind legs of an elk, with a bushy racoon tail. “who calls me?” it asks. Jatin, introducing himself as Sybiline Horseshadow, requests to bond with the Fauna Regalia, offering it the fastest flight and witnessing the birth of a legend, the spread of its spirit between the wolves if Jatin’s mana is not sufficient, and burning the map of Thanacross holdings, after explaining its value, and discarding the Rod of Piercing to show his commitment. As Wojak ponders silently, Jatin adds, “I will bleed for you, lord” and stabs himself right in the chest with a knife. Wojak laughs a deep, growling laugh and appears to grind into a whirling gust of bone and hair and flesh, which enters Jatin’s mouth. Jatin screams, not a man’s scream, for several minutes. He collapses on the ground. When he awakes, the stab wound is gone, as is the Fauna Regalia, and the wolves are on one paw, kneeling to him.

Part Three
Jatin arrives in town with Solomon, Maolo, and the wolves, and regroups with Under-the-Valley, Siphon, and the Hanged Man. He announces his presence to the townspeople and asks them if there is evil that needs to be vanquished. He is informed that they recently saw devils, and that a man has been robbing their stores. Jatin finds Calen and summons Wojak. Wojak, the mercenaries, and the wolves overpower and knock him out, though the Hanged Man and Maolo are injured. Jatin returns the stolen money and tells the grateful townspeople to light a candle in Sybiline’s name every week to maintain the protection of his spirit.

Part One
Kate practices archery and asks Eleanor about the knight they avoided. She tells Kate that he is Sir Echrom rem Vardaheim, one of her father's knights and a notably powerful fighter. She then reads from her geography book.

Part Two
Kate continues to read and practice archery.

Part Three
Kate continues to read and practice archery.

Part One
Michael sends his Void Crawler to the top of the tower and follows it up the stairs. Michael then starts climbing the stairs of the bigger tower, and overhears three people talking.

“-Without my lover beside me/ No heroic man shall I be,” says an elegant, charming voice. “I do confess the verse charmed me, but you’re leaning to hard on the allusions to Aciero. Who are you, Beatricia?” A woman’s voice says. They both laugh uproariously.

Michael opens the door to find two men and a woman reclining on feathered couches, all naked. They have identical tattoos on their necks. One of the men is standing up, facing out the window pensively. “Ah,” the woman addresses Michael, “we understand we are all here a little early, Sovyrus and I just decided to settle in, as Ibrizio will be finished soon anyway, and Dolis should be here in a week with the rest of the tower. We apologize, but we must demand that you show is your identification before letting you proceed. You know, with things as they have been lately.”

Part Two
Michael removes his pants and produces his whip, trying to make a move on Sovyrus, Tiphonia, and Ibrizio. Sovyrus laughs and tell Michael to stay put and whip him and Tiphonia. They shriek and laugh ecstatically as Michael whips them. Eventually, Michael grows tired and frustrated, but Tiphonia tells him not to touch them, inquiring when the last time he bathed was. Michael asks them about the devils, and Tiphonia explains that they found this town where beautiful sunsets were visible, and the Lyric Society, a guild of poets, decided they just had to have a house there, to observe the sunsets and be inspired to write poetry about it. They would spend half of every spring there. However, there was too much noise in the spot to concentrate, as people were currently living in the town. So Ibrizio Morrowick, one of the poets, decided to use his prodigious sorcerous powers to make half the town see the other half as devils one day when a good portion had ventured outside the town’s borders, in order to have them all eventually kill each other in the most effort-saving way possible. Tiphonia tells Michael he seems like a man of good humor, and if he helps them clean the town and composes a nice poem on the spot, they might consider making him a cadet.

When Jack, Mika, Sol, and Coco enter the room, Michael sees the poets arm themselves with frightening magics.

Part Three
Michael quickly runs to Jack before any violence can erupt and whispers everything he knows.

Part One
Nick climbs the tower, but it isn’t high enough to see the exit to the village. However, through his falcon he sees that the exit of the town has nothing resembling a monster, but instead a group of huddled humans.

Part Two
Nick trains his falcon.

Part Three
Nick keeps training his falcon.

Part One
Nicole asks the old woman for the approximate number of devils, and she tells her there are around thirty to fourty. Nicole, Pippin, Jack, and Mika proceed to the exit of the town carefully. They see a mass of people in the distance. One child with a particularly keen eye spots them. “Oh, thank goodness you’re alright, travelers! We don’t know what came about in that town, but it’s not safe! Devils with skinless faces and horns in place of hair congregate there, and we dare not approach them!”

Part Two
Nicole trains in knife fighting with Pippin while remaining by the exit with the townspeople.

Part Three
Nicole starts stirring up suspicion against Jack, asking how he knew so much about the illusions, and tries to lead a mob against him. Pippin refuses to follow this scheme and stays behind. A third of the townspeople follow her, and a small fight breaks out between those who like Jack and those who are now suspicious, in which nine die.

The mob reaches the tower Jack entered and storms in. They see Ma’gog behind Ibrizio and come to the conclusion that Jack was in league with the real devils all along. As they begin to charge, Ibrizio, irritated, makes a twirling gesture with his fingers and Ma’gog, taking a snake-skulled humanoid shape, flies out of the tower and surrounds it in whirling inferno fifteen feet thick, cooking the mob alive. Pippin runs frantically to a burned Nicole and heals her with a tonic of recovery.

Ending
Michael quickly runs to Jack before any violence can erupt and whispers everything he knows. Jack puts down his weapon and feigns relief. He informs the Lyric Society members that the devils have gone away and he thought they might be hiding in the tower. Additionally, they have sent a messenger to the local baron to request reinforcements in case the devils come back. Hearing this information, Ibrizio and Sovyrus consult with one another, Tiphonia still asleep in the air.

Jatin arrives in town with Solomon, Maolo, and the wolves, and regroups with Under-the-Valley, Siphon, and the Hanged Man. He announces his presence to the townspeople and asks them if there is evil that needs to be vanquished. He is informed that they recently saw devils, and that a man has been robbing their stores. Jatin finds Calen and summons Wojak. Wojak, the mercenaries, and the wolves overpower and knock him out, though the Hanged Man and Maolo are injured. Jatin returns the stolen money and tells the grateful townspeople to light a candle in Sybiline’s name every week to maintain the protection of his spirit.

Nicole starts stirring up suspicion against Jack, asking how he knew so much about the illusions, and tries to lead a mob against him. Pippin refuses to follow this scheme and stays behind. A third of the townspeople follow her, and a small fight breaks out between those who like Jack and those who are now suspicious, in which nine die.

The mob reaches the tower Jack entered and storms in. They see Ma’gog behind Ibrizio and come to the conclusion that Jack was in league with the real devils all along. As they begin to charge, Ibrizio, irritated, makes a twirling gesture with his fingers and Ma’gog, taking a snake-skulled humanoid shape, flies out of the tower and surrounds it in whirling inferno fifteen feet thick, cooking the mob alive. Pippin runs frantically to a burned Nicole and heals her with a tonic of recovery. Sol, horrified at the wanton violence, leaps across the room towards Ibrizio, skyblades drawn, crackling with electricity. Sovyrus moves to intercept her, brandishing his invisible sword, and is killed instantly. Tiphonia returns to her normal shape and screams, kneeling at the corpse of her friend. A grief stricken Ibrizio tears at his hair and calls for Ma’gog, murmuring a spell with his hand directed at Sol, and flame begins to coat his body in a protective layer. Tendrils of flame erupt from his body, which Sol acrobatically dodges while Ibrizio chants faster, his every syllable distorting the colors and bending light in the air. He is unable to finish, however, before a skyblade takes off his head. The flames reconvene into Ma’gog, now standing as tall as the room, who shrugs and disappears. “That’s the problem with wizards,” Sol says, “they expect you to be polite and take turns in a fight.” Sol barely decides not to kill Tiphonia, leaving her be.

Jack informs the townspeople of the truth, and they thank him for saving them, saying that they don’t have much, but give him a horse and a wagon.