Chase woke to warmth. Cuddly warmth. Fuzzy warmth.

Maybe a little too much warmth, as she felt sweat drip down her face. She sat up, dislodging a few furry, screeching things that skittered back into the firelight, and stared at her with wide eyes. They had tails and fur, and they chattered incoherent sounds.

Chase stared at the creatures. They stared back at her.

One of them offered a circus peanut, and she took it. Then she looked about, trying to figure out what had just happened.

She was sitting on the main street of Bothernot, that much was obvious. Up the road the inn burned still, releasing great plumes of smoke into the sky.

Behind her...

Behind her was a mass of wood and stucco, where the church had once stood. From it Thomasi emerged, dragging a human behind him.

“Vaffanculo!” Chase gasped, standing to her feet...

...and promptly falling over, as her head spun and ached.

Thomasi’s voice was wry. “Careful. That’s at least a concussion. You might want to heal yourself.”

“I...” Chase pulled her face up from the cobblestones. “Greta! And Renny!”

“Here!” Renny called as rubble shifted, and a human-sized tornado with eyes burst out, carrying both fox and halven with it. But Greta wasn’t moving, and Chase struggled to her hands and knees.

Unexpectedly, she found the furry creatures helping her up. For certain definitions of helping, anyway. They spent as much time swiping at each other and chattering as they did supporting her.

“She’s fine,” Renny said, as the tornado dropped them off at the edge of the street. “Once the church started coming down, I had my elemental cover her. And me too, for that matter.”

“The monkeys seem to have taken a liking to you,” Thomasi said, sitting down next to Chase and depositing Vaffanculo’s limp form to the side. Half of the furry creatures immediately abandoned her and swarmed over the Ringmaster. He reached into a pocket, pulled out a few more circus peanuts, and nodded absently as they vanished.

Chase handed him back the one she’d been given and stumbled over to Greta, hugging her sister tightly. Only when Greta belched in her ear and snored a thundering snore did Chase stop crying. She hadn’t even realized she’d been crying.

My goodness, the world is wobbly today, Chase thought. Oh. Right. The concussion.

“Lesser Healing.”

That put things mostly to rights. And with her brain no longer bruised came the realization that this part of things, at least, was over. The fight was done.

And with that realization came words. Words and power.

You are now a level 5 Archer!

DEX+3

PER+3

STR+3

You have learned the Demoralizing Shot skill!

Your Demoralizing Shot skill is now level 1!

You have learned the Far Shot skill!

Your Far Shot skill is now level 1!

You have learned the Razor Arrow skill!

Your Razor Arrow skill is now level 1!

You are now a level 7 Oracle!

CHA+3

LUCK+3

WIS+3

Active divergence detected and canceled.

Foresight is now accessible once more.

You are now a level 8 Oracle!

CHA+3

LUCK+3

WIS+3

You are now a level 6 Grifter!

CHA+3

DEX+3

LUCK+3

With wisdom came clarity, and Chase’s common sense reasserted itself. There were a few things missing from the scene. “Your wagons?” she asked, looking over to the Ringmaster.

“I shrunk them back down again. Some probably got ruined.” He shrugged. “I can make more, so it’s not a big deal. I’m more annoyed that my horses are dead. And relieved that I never got around to finding an elephant to tame, to be honest. That would have been messy.”

“You’re a Tamer, too?”

Thomasi snapped his fingers, and the monkeys returned to him. He chk’d noises at them, then gestured to the rubble. They spread out and started moving bits of it, searching, searching.

“We need to uncover the entrance to the cellar,” Chase realized. “The others are still down there! And... the undead, too. This could get messy.”

“Not with my new elemental and levels,” Renny said, moving closer. “Go clean up!”

The tornado spun over, avoiding the monkeys, and started hurling chunks of timber and rocks about.

After the third one nearly hit Thomasi and the fourth one put a hole in the general store, they decided to relocate back a ways and tell the elemental to go a bit slower.

Midway down they uncovered a wight. Three lesser healings and a swarm of monkeys later, the battered and torn undead was an ex-wight.

“Normally they’re more badass than this,” Thomasi said, not bothering to stand. “But all of the ones he made here were using clowns as a base. There’s honestly not many good things wights can get out of the Clown job.”

“The ones we fought were scary enough for me, thanks. I’ve no desire to see more, uh, badbutt ones.”

“Badbutt?” Thomasi shot her a bemused look. “What are you, eight or something?”

“My mother doesn’t believe in swearing. I learned what soap tastes like at an early age.”

His mustaches twitched.

The elemental finished its work a few minutes later, with no further undead uncovered. Then Renny directed it over to the front of the church, shifting bits aside until Gadram’s body lay, withered and battered, to his sight. Solemnly the fox started stripping him of items, and Chase gladly offered up her pack for use to hold everything. The last thing in was his glowing soulstone, and Renny’s sombre eyes followed it in, staring at the laces as Chase pulled them tight.

“Thank you,” he said, staring up at her.

“You’re welcome,” Chase looked down. “What will you do now?”

“I don’t know. I guess it all depends on whether or not the others are alive—”

A shout from back in the rubble, and the two friends looked over, to see Maddie come surging out from below, catching a fallen beam with ease and hoisting herself up. Then she reached down to help the next one out, and Chase’s breath rushed out of her in relief at the sight of her father standing there in the moonlight. He stood wounded, shield dented and slicked with gore, but he was alive.

And one by one, the survivors of the Battle of Bothernot’s Cellars wound their way out into the moonlight.

Baconator and Father Gronk.

Benjy Lapin and Danver Posey.

Grummer Gar and Mother Bloom.

And then, helped by the others, the sobbing, shaking form of Burt Crabapple, who was dragging a limp body behind him. Millie Wheadle brought up the end of it, helping to carry the corpse’s feet.

The body... that’s Susan, Chase realized. Susan Crabapple, who had sung so sweetly when they rested on the hillside and ate rolls to recharge their stamina after the long run. Chase stared at the wreckage for a good long while, but as the others started picking their way out, her heart fell.

This was it. This was all. This was everyone who had survived. She did the arithmetic, and faces flashed before her eyes, as she tried to account for everyone who had fallen.

But she was all cried out now. Three times that day she’d cried, and she had no more tears. She knew she out to feel terrible about that, but right now she just felt numb. She could mourn later, would mourn later.

Then she saw the glances that the survivors were shooting at Thomasi... no. The glances they were shooting at the still form next to him. The half-masked Necromancer, whose chest was still clearly rising and falling. She marked how Grummer Gar pulled on her father’s shoulder, and whispered in his ear. And she noticed that she’d lost sight of Maddie, but there was a brief blurred outline, moving in a wide circle around Thomasi.

Fortunately, judging by Thomasi’s reaction, she wasn’t the only one who had caught the mood.

“I know what you’ve lost,” Thomasi said, moving to stand over the Necromancer. “I know you have cause to end his life. And I’m begging you, don’t.”

His hand started to move up over his mouth...

But he froze as Chase charged up behind him, then turned, spreading her arms wide. “Don’t kill him!” she shouted. “Don’t kill either of them!”

“Chase,” her father breathed, and she realized that he hadn’t seen her back in the shadows. His shoulders lowered, and he seemed to lose some of the menace that she’d been feeling from him. “Greta?”

“Over there. Drunk.”

“What?”

“We’re getting off topic,” rasped Grummer Gar. “It hasn’t missed my notice, Mister Thomasi, that all of those undead guys were clowns. Circus clowns.”

“Yes. I had to supply him with clowns.” Thomasi’s mustaches quivered.

“He did it to save us. He cut a deal with Va— with the Necromancer, and the Necromancer let us go,” Chase said in a rush, looking for Maddie.

“As relieved as I am that you survived that, the fact is that a lot of good folks died here, Chase,” Stem Berrymore’s voice was calm and tight. He was angry, she could tell. The sort of quiet anger that he had never turned upon her, or Greta, or her mother. She quivered to hear it.

“I’m sorry,” she said and fought to keep her eyes from watering. Seems like I’m not entirely out of tears after all.

“What? No, we’re not blaming you,” Benjy Lapin said. Then his eyes fell, and his face hardened. “But that Necromancer needs to die. There’s no justice if he lives.”

Thomasi shook his head, hair blowing in the breeze that Renny’s elemental was kicking up. “You can’t kill him. He’ll be back.”

“Then we’ll kill him again,” Millie Wheadle shrilled.

And Millie’s tones, after everything else that had happened, roused Chase’s anger. She knew it was borne from irritation, so she avoided snapping at the girl. Instead, she shouted “No! No you won’t!” She turned and waved a hand at the remnants of Bothernot. At the damaged buildings, the burnt inn, and the fallen church. “Too many wins like this, and there won’t be a we. There won’t be a village left.”

Thomasi’s voice was calm by comparison. “She’s talking sense. And if you kill him here, he will be back to settle matters. He’s not as vengeful as Dijornos, but he’ll find a way to cause mischief. But if he lives...” he let his voice trail off.

“This is our fault for not capturing you,” said Stem.

“No. It’s all our faults,” Chase said, stepping in front of an approaching blurry patch. “Yours too, Maddie, so back off!”

“My sister’s dead!” Maddie barked, blurring back into existence, knives leveled at Thomasi’s back. The Ringmaster shot a worried look, then snapped his head back around as the halvens stepped forward, sending rubble shifting around them.

“Yes! Your sister’s dead, because you killed a lot of prison guards! You stumbled into a bad situation, made the wrong call, and boom, half your group is gone.” Chase said, mustering her courage.

Maddie trembled, then let out a great sob, as her daggers fell to the ground. She clutched her face and turned away. To the side, Baconator and Renny rushed for her, and Father Gronk hopped over, patting gingerly at her back.

“And you!” Chase yelled, turning back to the slowly-approaching halven. “It’s your fault too! You BUILT that stupid prison. We lived next to a... a... something horrible that was going to go off sooner or later—”

“Time bomb,” Thomasi suggested.

“—thyme bombe,” Chase said, wondering briefly what herbs and dessert had to do with it, but shoving it aside and focusing on the rant. “And you just shrugged and farmed and got on with your lives rather than do anything about it! Instead of preparing, you hoped nothing would happen. Spoilers: it did! So it’s your fault too, Dad.”

“You don’t know anything about it,” Benjy said, folding his arms. But he’d sheathed his sword, so that was something, and she was glad to see it.

“I know all about it,” she said. “Because it’s my fault most of all.” Her voice softened. “I poked around and tried to figure out what was going on. I went to the graveyard even though Thomasi tried to steer me away. He made the clowns for the Necromancer because I’d die otherwise. I let Dijornos and Speranza loose and threw them in the room to fight it out with Zenobia because it was the best of a lot of bad options, and it let us escape. And I...” she shuddered. “I didn’t go back and tell Mom. I didn’t tell Mom about the zombies before I went to the prison. She would have believed me. She would have evacuated the town. We would have been fine, and nobody would have died.”

“No. No, Sweetpea, it’s not your fault,” Dad put down his sword and let his shield drop. He approached, and Thomasi stepped aside, and Chase let him hug her.

“It is my fault, Dad. I can’t... I couldn’t live here. I wanted adventure. I wanted it so bad that this happened.” She closed her eyes, and it was good she was out of tears. She’d done enough of that. “I’m an Oracle now. I’ve been called by the god of travelers. He called me because I WANT to go. I couldn’t... Bothernot was killing me. That’s why this happened. It’s my punishment for wanting too much.”

Silence for a long moment.

“Only a bit, Sweetpea,” her dad said, releasing her. “Only a bit. It’s fate, that’s all.” He sighed. “Too much fate, and the world starts pulling you into the place you want to be. Why do you think we do this? Why do you think we keep our heads low and our gazes to the dirt? Why do you think we strive to be happy with humble lives?”

Grummer Gar cleared his throat. “In our case it was because we already had lives full of excitement and knew the cost. We wanted peace. And we got it, but only for a time, I s’pose.” he sighed.

“In the end it wasn’t you,” Thomasi reassured her. “So many advanced fate scores and obvious adventure opportunities, all in the same region... no, it’s a wonder the system let that alone as long as it did. It was bound to boil over. And honestly, young lady, it would have been much worse if you hadn’t been here. You and your friends are the reason this night didn’t end in total tragedy.”

Chase felt her nerves ease, just a bit. They eased even more as she watched the group around her nod and mutters of agreement rose up. She took in a deep breath, and looked down, ears twitching in happiness.

After a while, they fell silent, sitting or standing around, and looking at the unconscious Necromancer. “Well, what’s to be done with him, then?” Benjy Lapin asked.

Thomasi shook his head. “There’s no easy solution, I’m afraid. Although I might have an idea.” He tugged his goatee. “There’s a woman called Zenobia, and sooner or later she’ll be by to check on the prison.” He began but stopped once he saw their faces. “What’s wrong?”

“Let me explain,” Chase said, tugging on one of his coat-tails.

Five minutes later, Thomasi was sitting on the ground, clutching his temples and laughing hysterically. “Oh!” he grasped finally. “Oh, you beautiful little girl! Ah ha ha ha ha... oh wow.” He snorted and recovered. Renny brought him his hat, and he thanked the little fox with a jaunty salute. “You got them all together in a room without dying. Mmf. I am in awe of your manipulation skills, m’dear.”

“It almost didn’t work,” Chase confessed. “We had to haul Speranza out of there as a hostage, because otherwise she might be able to charm us. And that was pretty much death, right there.”

“Worse,” Maddie confirmed, with a shudder. “Her song... it fills your mind until nothing’s left but her. You think only of her. Everything you do is for her, everything is about making her happy or trying to figure out ways to make her happy. You’re worse than a slave. You’re a happy slave, grateful that she charmed you.”

“Which is why I’m really hoping she’s not the one who makes it out of there,” Chase said. “One of them is going to, I’m sure. But hopefully not her.”

“It won’t be,” Thomasi said. “Dijornos is too high-level for it to last long, and he’s got... protections, that you lot don’t. If she charms him, it will wear off eventually, then he’ll end her. He already swore to take her final life if she tried that. And Zenobia is wise. There’s no way she didn’t bring in some potions of silence or something of the sort, I’m fairly sure she has precautions against all of us lined up for every visit. Just no precautions against you.” He smiled at Chase.

“Oh, er.” She blushed, a bit. So many compliments, tonight! Then she sobered up. “But the problem remains. What do we do with him?”

Again, they looked down at the Necromancer.

“I’ll take him,” Thomasi said. “At the end of the day he’s a Necromancer, and unless things have significantly changed over the last two decades that’s a killing crime at any of the city-states around here.”

Chase was pretty sure she was the only one who caught the glances that the wandering adventurers shot at each other and the carefully blank faces they turned back to the conversation.

“Yes, it is,” Chase’s dad confirmed. “But what difference will it make if he dies here, or he dies there? Won’t he blame us for his circumstances regardless?”

“It’s complicated,” Thomasi rubbed the back of his neck. “The culture we’re from, we feel differently if there’s a chance to change our fate. A chance to escape.”

“He better not escape!” Millie Wheadle cried. For once Chase agreed with her.

Thomasi shook his head. “He won’t, not unless they get very stupid. But what I’m saying is that no, he won’t hold a grudge against you for turning him over to the law or whatever city executes him. Guards are supposed to punish lawbreakers. It’ll be his own fault if he gets killed for getting caught. But the point is, he’ll be far from here and unlikely to return. Especially since he’ll think Zenobia will be after him. And he might be right about that... I give her a sixty percent chance of walking out of that prison.”

“You think she’ll beat Dijornos? He’s a monster!” Renny said, shuddering.

“She’s a worse one,” Thomasi said. “And also the reason I need to be far from here, before all is said and done. That one... there’s more to her than I know.” He fingered the brim of his hat.

“How do we know you won’t just take him out of town and let him go?” Burt Crabapple snapped. “Why should we trust you?”

“Burt!” Chase gasped.

"We don't," Stem Berrymore said, picking up his sword and shield again. Thomasi tensed... then relaxed, as Chase's Father sheathed his blade. "Which is why we're going to take the Necromancer there ourselves."

CHASE'S CHARACTER SHEET

Spoiler: Spoiler

Name: Chase Berrymore

Age: 15 Years

Jobs:

Halven level 9, Cook level 4, Archer level 5, Grifter level 6, Oracle level 8, Teacher Level 1

Attributes / Pools / Defenses

Strength: 55 Constitution: 32 / Hit Points: 87 / Armor: 0

Intelligence: 53 Wisdom: 87 / Sanity: 140 / Mental Fortitude:30

Dexterity: 94 Agility: 57 / Stamina: 151 / Endurance: 0

Charisma: 117 Willpower: 43 / Moxie: 160 / Cool: 36

Perception: 62 Luck: 116 / Fortune: 178 / Fate: 32

Generic Skills

Archery – Level 1

Brawling – Level 7

Climb – Level 15

Dagger – Level 2

Dodge – Level 12

Fishing – Level 14

Ride – Level 10

Stealth – Level 14

Swim – Level 7

Throwing – Level 24

Halven Skills

Fate's Friend – Level N/A

Small in a Good Way – Level N/A

Cook Skills

Cooking - Level 14

Freshen - Level 10

Archer Skills

Aim – Level 6

Demoralizing Shot – Level 1

Far Shot – Level 1

Missile Mastery – Level N/A

Quickdraw – Level N/A

Rapid Fire – Level N/A

Razor Arrow – Level 1

Ricochet Shot – Level 10

Grifter Skills

Fools Gold – Level 1

Forgery – Level 1

Master of Disguise – Level 3

Pickpocket – Level 1

Silent Activation – Level 6

Silver Tongue – Level 3

Size Up – Level 1

Unflappable – Level N/A

Oracle Skills

Absorb Condition – Level N/A

Afflict Self – Level 1

Diagnose – Level N/A

Divine Pawn – Level N/A

Foresight – Level 21

Lesser Healing – Level 29

Omens and Portents – Level N/A

Transfer Condition – Level 3

Teacher Skills

Lecture – Level 2

Smarty Pants – Level N/A

Unlocked Jobs

Farmer, Herbalist