In reply to GM (msg # 45):

I'm stubborn, not stupid. 

Titus says as they walk he looks around at the dark road and the nobody around.

Why wait until we are in town?  There's noone here, where better to speak your mind Jack?

I heard a story of a demon who was bound to town because the podium on the town square was built on his cock and he could only travel as far from the square as he could stand to stretch it.  Is that true?

I want to know if the stories about demons are true...

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 46):

"That depends on what kind of a message he wanted to send," Brennan says to Deev. He watches the cart begin to lurch away and does a quick inventory of his own supplies and how far they'll take him...
This message was last edited by the player at 19:05, Mon 09 July 2018.

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 46):

The Dark Road

There is a sound from Jack like coals being stoked with a poker.

"The man wants a plan, is that so?  In no position to demand, but Jack can be gracious.  Talk about the way you departed my home, quite the scene, talk about why and Jack may reply."

In reply to GM (msg # 48):

Deev nods.

"Still..."

He dithers for a moment, then finally takes off after Ciryl.

In reply to Deev (msg # 49):

"So. Damn. Close," he snarls, stomping off after the cart. "You know the moment in the stories when the heroes shrug and ask 'who wants to live forever, anyway?' I do!"

He beckons for Bryce to follow.

"Come on. We can't make it as far as we need to go on our supplies alone. One way or the other, we've got to stay with the cart."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:07, Mon 09 July 2018.

In reply to GM (msg # 48):

Not a demand a request.  We are having a discussion.

In response to Jack asking about how he left...

C'mon Jaaack....

as if explaining something that is obvious.

I gave the people a bigger threat than either.  How has the town been since the display?  Has anyone at all come sniffing around at your priest or the children?  I'd wager no.  I'd wager they are trying to figure out what the fuck just happened.  People are easy to manipulate Jack, you know this.  When they are scared doubly so.  There is opportunity in panic.  You of all people should know this... er... uh demons?

he ends lamely.

/ooc: What time is it?  How far from town am I?  How long will it take me to get back?  I haven't seen anyone other than Jack right?  Is anyone else around?
This message was last edited by the player at 12:17, Tue 10 July 2018.

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 51):

The Logging Camp Road

"Tut, tut, glowing one.  Mind your manners, watch your feet.  The road back home is long."

OOC: It took you several hours to walk this far earlier today, but it is now dark and you are exhausted so it will take longer, likely until sunup.  There is nobody around, but the logging camp is right next to you.


Forest Road

"Madness..." Bryce mutters.  "You lot can head back if you wish, I'll go no closer than the logging camp.  If you make it back, I'll save a drink for you."

OOC: Sounds like everyone else is headed back toward DuckTown?

In reply to GM (msg # 52):

Let me leave a message Jack... it wouldn't do for you to ruin my plan by bringing my friends back into this.

Titus gathers up some rocks and makes an X across the path he also gets a peice of his paper and a charcoal and writes a note, folding it over.  On the outside he writes in block letters.  He stabs it into a conspicuous location on a tree easy to see from the path.



Why are you taking me back?  To what end?  I mean... hear me out... if its something that can be done quickly we can jet back and complete the task.  If its anything more involved than this you're going to have to let me sleep or I'm not going to be worth much to you.  I get sloppy if I'm too tired.  Let me sleep tonight and I'll complete the trek in tomorrow ready to be of service.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:30, Tue 10 July 2018.

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 53):

"The logging camp may be as far as we need to go," Brennan murmurs to Bryce.

I just need time to think...

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 54):

Logging Camp

Jack does not interfere with Titus' message-leaving.

"No," is the only response Titus gets to his request for rest or answers.

Forest Path

Bryce shrugs and follows.

In reply to GM (msg # 55):

Titus walks slowly, sandbagging as much as possible.

For once in my life I'll be happy to see the inquisition.

As he trudges he tries to make small talk with jack.

In reply to Titus Blackwell (msg # 56):

Forest Path

The bulk of the party begins the slow march through the darkness back toward DuckTown.

Path in the Open

Jack doesn't force Titus to move at any particular speed, as long as he's still moving.

Jack answers some questions, though usually vaguely and always flippantly.

"Demons are like Angels, and like you expect them to be."

"Hell is other people, Hell is just a Dream, pay it no mind."

"Who's trying to get out?  Maybe they're trying to get IN."

Often Titus cannot be sure if Jack is still with him or has wandered off for chunks of time.

OOC: what do you want to ask?
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:42, Tue 10 July 2018.

In reply to GM (msg # 57):

Forest Path

Brennan, Ciryl, Deev, and Bryce trudge slowly and carefully south, back toward DuckTown.

Going is slow in the dark, but not overly difficult.

Before the sun has started to rise, you see the dark silhouettes of loggers buildings.

Shortly thereafter, you find Titus' note.

OOC:  You are now ahead of Titus a little, FYI, though he's already long gone from here

In reply to GM (msg # 58):

Brennan scoops up the note and shares its contents with the group.

He is increasingly agitated, though his ultimate reaction at this point will depend on what the note actually says.

In reply to Brennan Otthild (msg # 59):

The note is as follows:

SHOW THIS TO BRENNAN OR CYRIL TRAVELING THIS PATH TO RECEIVE A CHIP

The inside of the note is written in Titus' flowery hand:

Turn back, go to Losthelm.  I'll find you... if I can.  Give the bearer of this note 1 chip.

It's signed with his usual flair

In reply to GM (msg # 60):

"There, you see? Titus has either decided to work with Jack after all or has the matter well in hand," Brennan says, passing the note along to the others. "There's no reason for us to get ourselves burnt at the stake after all."

"He thought he had the matter well in hand when he made his proposal in the first place.  Do you really believe he's any kind of judge of what condition he's in, or are you just that scared of an encounter with the inquisition?" Ciryl asks, not looking happy about having stopped, but appreciating that the others turned back with him despite themselves.

In reply to Ciryl Fontaine (msg # 62):

Brennan sighs, crumpling the letter into a ball.

"There's still nothing we can do to help Titus. And you're damn right I'm afraid of the Inquisition! They know what we look like. They know our names, where we've been, what we've done. They'll confiscate all of the materials I've collected leading up to journey to Losthelm, without which I will have great difficulty unraveling its secrets. On top of all that, we could easily be blamed for the cult activity despite evidence that we tried to help. This whole road is paved with folly."

He looks back over his shoulder at the road to Losthelm, clearly tempted to tug on his horses reigns and get on with it, but he restrains himself.

"I do not understand what you think we can achieve by going back. You've known Titus for less than a week. You'd die for him?"

"I've known the people in that town for less, I intend to save them from the demon too.  You say you can bring Titus back from whatever dream welcomes him in death, you'll have to excuse me if I don't believe it.  When I learned alchemy I thought  very similarly.  It was like magic.  I could cure disease, fix everything that ails man or woman.  Then I made a mistake, just a slip of the hand, but it blew everything I owned to hell.  I knew enough to stop the pain and the bleeding, but there was no medicine to fix my leg being charred and in pieces.  Some things can't be undone, and leaving Jack in that town is one.  Maybe meeting the inquisition is one too, and maybe I can't do anything to stop a demon, but I'm not the one who made my new leg either.  I wouldn't have this," he raps his wooden leg soundly, "If I just ignored my problems, and the carpenter who did make it would've done a damn shite job if I hadn't told him all I knew about how a leg was supposed to work.  Now you can either go, and stop slowing me down, or we can both fix this.  You keep talking about what you can't do to Jack how about starting with what you can?"

In reply to Ciryl Fontaine (msg # 64):

Deev's head bobs enthusiastically.

"Aye... what he said!"

In reply to Deev (msg # 65):

Brennan shoots a glare at Deev, then runs his hand over his face and pulls downward wearily.

"Creating a circle capable of binding Jack would take hours, and it might not even work. He's not a proper demon. If I knew how to banish him via any reasonable method, I would have already done so."

He grumbles as they continue to press on toward Ducktown.

"I was expelled from the Academy, you know. They have watch lists for people like me," he says after a moment. "And it certainly won't help that we are still carrying around equipment that used to belong to an Inquisitor and his Paladin. They...misplaced said items some time ago in Thorngate."

Brennan glances at Cyril dryly.

"Oh, did Titus decide against retelling that particular story? It was for a good cause, and it has a fascinating moral: We are going to be hung from the nearest tree and burnt alive. The only part that's in doubt is which will kill us first."

"What if he was a proper demon?  What would you do to him, exactly?  There's got to be something you can do to a demon other than send him home or hold him still," Ciryl suggests as Brennan brings up the subject of a binding circle again.

When Brennan mentions the inquisitorial equipment and spares him a glance, Ciryl rolls his eyes, "The both of you have barely told me a damn thing about you.  When we first met you lied about who you were and brutalized some boys on the road, I've never though you a bunch of saints.  What equipment are you carrying, exactly?"

In reply to Ciryl Fontaine (msg # 67):

"Oh, odds and ends. Clothing. Weapons. Poisons. Notes. Things that have proven helpful in the past, and will prove helpful enough in the future that I'm not willing to part with them."

He moves on to the more important conversation.

"Demons can be banished, bound, killed, or bargained with," Brennan says. "The most common application of this is with a summoning ritual. You bind them to this Dream and to your service such that severing one severs the other. Keeps you safe...relatively speaking."

"Jack doesn't make deals the way demons are supposed to. He uses the common tongue, for starters. And he deals in gold-for-service rather than obsidian, blood, souls, and such. It's almost like he's summoning humans, if that makes any sense, rather than the other way around."

"Making matters worse is that he's bargaining from a position of power. He's been here a while, he knows how weak and gullible and greedy humans are. He knows they can be bought, and he's got plenty to spare. And all he seems to want is a steady supply of virgin souls, which we are both unwilling and unable to provide him as collateral to a new bargain.

Here, Brennan frowns.

"Though...Ducktown isn't large enough to sustain the loss of a girl a week forever. These disappearances are a new thing. The town's not resigned to them, it's angry about them. So where was Jack up 'til now? Did he want the same things? There are many unanswered questions."

He snaps back to the present.

"But I digress. Whatever his motives, Jack wields real power in this Dream. He doesn't have a circle that binds him here. He probably can't be banished at all. So that leaves bargaining with him, attempting to control him (which is often just another form of bargaining), or killing him."

Brennan inclines his shoulders slightly.

"And I don't know how to kill something that looks and moves like smoke. We can't rely on immunity to his power by virtue of not taking him up on his deal, either. The girls he consumed didn't, and they died just the same."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:09, Wed 11 July 2018.

"You could hide the poisons in my cart. Probably the notes too, I've got some books at scratches of my own," Ciryl says with a shrug as Brennan moves on.

"So what goes wrong summoning demons?" Ciryl asks as Brennan explains the situation, "I mean with witches and demonspeakers, aside from being illegal and trouble with the inquisition, there's always stories of how demons run wild killing folk and turn against their masters, how do they do that if stepping out of line just poofs them back to hell?"

In reply to Ciryl Fontaine (msg # 69):

"Most people who summon demons are greedy, desperate, or both. They make hasty bargains and do not fully understand what they are asking for. Often when a demon runs wild, it is still technically within the bounds of its contract...though its summoner may disagree with that interpretation."

Brennan nods somberly.

"Some foolish souls forgo the circle entirely. It's evidence, you see, and it takes a long time to create one. But if you do manage to summon something successfully without a circle -- which is difficult -- you then lack the protection the circle provides by acting as a conduit for the ritual."

He blinks as an idea strikes him.

"I know of no circle that expressly banishes a demon, but I do know how to visit other Dreams. Summoning Jack to another Dream would remove him from this one, perhaps forever. Though I shouldn't think the denizens of his new home would thank me for that."