Chapter Three: Indecent Exposure

Seeing as he was in an unfamiliar land, surrounded by the unknown, the revenant felt it would be wise to scout out the area before making any major efforts to engage with the locals. Even if he could find a way to safely interact with them without causing a panic, there was still the matter of sating his bile cravings. As the sun rose over the portside city, stealth had to be his foremost concern.

However, stealth be damned, the revenant dashed through the city, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, feeling the wind in his face like he never had before. This new land, it was indescribably vast, this town being as large as his entire island–and he could see mountains in the distance. For now, freedom was at the front of his mind, all of his problems left behind. Any sleepy locals that he happened to pass by simply discounted the noise as birds or some other animal. He continued on, until a familiar sound made him freeze in his tracks.

Rather, it was a familiar voice. "And you're sure you don't need me back today?" it said. "I was there, so I feel like I'd be the best help for something like this…" The revenant peered over the rooftop to see a blond witch he was sure he had seen before. He was speaking into something black in his hand, but he couldn't make it out. "No, I understand. Should I call you back, then? Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

The black object, which turned out to be a crow, flew out of the witch's hand. The revenant briefly hissed at the bird, thankfully to nobody's notice. He then turned his attention back to the witch, following after him. He had little better to do, after all, and he was curious what he had been discussing. He continued to leap across the roofs, much more slowly and quietly, as he tailed the witch back to his home.

For his part, Alvin never noticed he was being followed. Though, in fairness, he did have a lot on his mind. Talus seemed very excited about his findings on the island, but he had yet to share with him the significance of the revenant. Partially worried, and yet partially relieved, he continued back to Bonesborough's residential area, up to the small apartment where he resided. He climbed up the stairs and opened the door to his room.

One would think that being a world-traveling adventurer would be a more lucrative business. One would be right, but Alvin rarely saw any profit from his expeditions. While at least part of this was due to a staunch refusal to take more than he needed, part of it was due to his insistence that he was a scientist, not an adventurer. He never sold any of the artifacts he found, nor took sole credit for his discoveries. He insisted that this was the scientific way…but the scientific way only allowed him to afford a dingy one-room apartment. He slumped down on his bed, thinking how lucky he was to at least have a window with a view…of a smoke-spewing crystal ball factory, but still.

"Maybe I should just give all this up," he said, his face in the pillow. "I mean, where is this getting me? Maybe that factory needs someone to shine the balls…" His train of self-pitying thought was interrupted by a humming sound coming from outside. He looked out the window to see a procession of monks wearing hooded brown robes chanting as they walked past. "Every week with these guys," he muttered, shutting the blinds.

Alvin was not the only one to notice the congregation passing by. From the apartment's roof, the revenant watched with curious awe as the worshippers continued their chant. As they passed, there was suddenly a commotion coming from within. "Crap, I overslept!" Someone was rushing around inside the apartment, and the revenant looked over to see. A window opened, and the person pulled a robe off of a laundry line hanging behind the complex. He rushed out, hurriedly donning the robe to join his brethren, but that wasn't what the revenant noticed.

The robe on the line was not the only one there. Several more just like it hung out to dry, seemingly with no regard to potential theft. Anyone who happened to be on the roof could simply grab one and make off with it. If they minded themself, they could pass for one of those monks completely undetected. With ideas forming in his mind, this is exactly what the revenant did, carefully removing one from the laundry line, and creeping to the ground to slip it on.

Thankfully, it fit him fairly well. As long as he kept his head down, and his arms together, nobody would be able to tell what he was. He wasn't exactly used to walking on his hind legs for this long, though, so he would have to be careful. Growling out an approximation of their chanting, the would-be monk set off towards town, hopefully to find something worth finding.

So far, his disguise was working. Outside of a few glances, there wasn't anybody who paid him any attention. That is, as far as he knew. Someone was, in fact, watching him quite intently. As he shambled into town, another robed figure took notice of him from the shadows. From behind a mask, their eyes narrowed in curiosity, setting out to follow him from afar.

Overall, the revenant was surprised at just how easily he was able to walk around unnoticed in these robes. He was certain that he would stick out like a sore thumb, but for some reason, his chanting, combined with his dress, had some sort of effect on the populace. He did draw a few eyes, but most quickly disregarded him, some even offering a friendly smile–a gesture he somehow knew to be comforting. He even avoided a confrontation when a burly demon bumped into him, quickly calming down once he saw his robes. "Hey, watch where you're–oh, excuse me, brother."

But, as he feared, his thirst was gradually becoming louder and louder within him. The excitement of seeing this city for the first time had pushed it to the back of his mind for some time, but it was steadily growing: he craved bile. Worse still, the scent of it was all around him, emanating from each and every witch he passed. The droning tone becoming just as much of a mantra to him as it was to the monks he was aping it from, he focused on the tones to keep his mind focused. If he lost control here, there was no telling what could happen.

But then he realized that the smell was far stronger coming from one way–as were the sounds. It was quiet, but there was some kind of commotion going on in the distance. Hundreds of murmuring voices all coming from mere blocks away, somewhere where the scent of that sweet, sweet nectar was much stronger than it should have been. Even with that concentration of witches, there was much more bile than they would have been able to hold. His chant continuing, he made off in that direction, focusing hard to slowly walk rather than sprint on all fours.

The sound grew clearer as he grew closer, and he saw that it wasn't so much a commotion as it was a large gathering of people milling about. Stalls of all shapes and sizes lined the streets, their vendors loudly hocking all sorts of wares. Once again, the majesty of it all made him forget the scent of bile entirely, taking in the sight. He was soon swept up in the throng of people, pushed along through the market like he had been swept up by a wave. The revenant was rendered speechless: he knew he had never seen a bazaar like this before, but something about it all felt strangely familiar.

"Fresh squeezed apple blood! Only the finest, locally-sourced apples slaughtered for your pleasure!"

"Who out there needs a new broomstick? Flying, non-flying, take your pick! But you won't know until after you buy…"

"Come and get your knicknacks and curios from the human realm! For a limited time only: delicious, nutritious film reels!" This stand grabbed the revenant's attention for a moment, before he was then buffeted aside by the sheer force of the shoppers.

Breaking free from the crowd, the revenant ducked into a side alley to catch his breath. As amazing as this all was, it was quite overwhelming. He sat down and laid his head against the wall, listening to the sounds of the hustle and bustle just feet away. Hearing it without being caught up in the chaos, it was almost relaxing. And, like so many things he had seen in the past few weeks, agonizingly familiar. A small growl escaped as the frustration built within him. He knew too little of this world to truly ask the questions that cursed him. And as his anger grew, so too did his hunger, until he was once again entranced by the scent of bile.

Guided by his nose, the revenant shambled through the crowd once again, only this time, he seemed to part the people much easier, as though willing them to step out of his way. That enticing aroma was all around him, but it was stronger at the other side of the street. As though in a trance, he followed it over to a stall, where a motley-looking demon was selling strange green oblong…things. He had no idea what they were, but their odor was absolutely salivating.

"C'mere and get yer bile sacs!" croaked the vendor, waving at unimpressed passers-by. "You sir! Ya need a new bile sac for you or a loved one? I've got all sizes! Available in used, very used, and extremely used! Y–" His attention was turned to the robed figure slowly approaching his stall. "Ah, brother! Can't say I expected ta see one of yer type 'round here, if you'll pardon me saying. Care ta spend some snails on a bile sac er two?"

The revenant was barely paying attention to him at this point. So, these were bile sacs, then? The same organs from within witches, as well as titans, that produced the lifeblood of magic. "B…bile…" he growled, hesitantly reaching out a hand to receive one. He eyed it warily as the demon continued talking.

"Yeah, I got me a pretty good gig goin' here," he said. "Lotsa people wearin' out their bile sacs nowadays, so I get some from people who don't need 'em no more. You'd be surprised what else bile can do for ya, too. Take cleaning, fer example. This stuff can cut through stains like…ooh. Ah. Er…can't say that's a use I woulda figured, but if it floats yer boat…"

The salesman was not quite sure how to react as his hooded customer bit into the sac like it was a ripe piece of fruit, greedily sucking down the juices right then and there. It was hardly fitting behavior for one of his faith. After a few moments of gnawing on the empty sac, he dropped the husk to the ground. "More!"

"Y-ye still need to pay fer 'em, brother," he said, a little confused and more than a little afraid. "I ain't runnin' a charity here, much as I wish I were. Ya got snails, or ye wanna trade?"

Unsure of what these 'snails' he kept on about were, the revenant picked up another sac and tore into it like the first. A small crowd had gathered now, aghast at this monk's conduct. The vendor gave them all a smile and a wave, for once trying to disperse rather than attract people. He leaned over the stand to address his ravenous potential customer.

"Look pal, do I gotta call security?" he hissed, slowly losing his patience. "I don't wanna do this to a believer like yerself, but trust me, I will if I gotta!"

"He can have as many as he likes; they're on me."

It was a woman's voice; less of a command and more of an offer, but still carrying a strict tone. The vendor looked up at the figure who had approached his stand. "He's with you, is he? All good, miss, all good. Though in the future I'd like the payment before your friend here goes to town…"

"Whatever you say," the woman said. "Enjoying those, are you?" The revenant could tell that this was directed at him. "I have to say, I wasn't expecting to see someone like you around here. Maybe we could go somewhere else and talk? Bring as many of those as you'd like, I'm not hurting for snails."

Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, the revenant stood up to greet his new benefactor. He couldn't tell what she looked like, because she, like him, wore a concealing robe, pure white to his brown. On her face was a mask that caused him to freeze: clear, empty eyes sat above a long beak that extended out from her hood. The revenant's mouth opened in a silent snarl, the mask's shape reminding him of something that made his blood boil.

Both the crowd and the vendor recoiled in horror as the revenant pounced on the woman, his hood coming down once he did. The woman was strangely unperturbed by both being attacked, and seeing her attacker. "You know," she said, still casual, "something tells me you don't actually belong to the Whispering Order…"

Frightened murmurs were now running through the marketplace. His anger at the birdlike mask diminishing in place of concern, the revenant stood up. This, however, caused his robe to fall down fully, revealing his true self to the populace. Worry turned to full-on panic as they witnessed the terrifying creature before them.

"W-w-what is that!?"

"No…it can't be…a revenant!"

"A revenant!? I thought they were a myth!"

"Someone, get the guards!"

The revenant's heart pounded, but was unsure whether it was from fear or anger. It very likely could have been both. He took a single step out towards the crowd, and they in turn took a step back. Their petrified faces made it clear that they expected him to pounce on one of them next. He turned around to the mystery woman, who had gotten up from the ground. She didn't seem all that upset, all things considered.

"Listen," she said, holding out her hand in a soothing gesture, "I don't know who you are, or who you used to be, but I can help you. You need to–"

"There! There it is!" Both of them turned at the shout to find a witch pointing out the revenant to two guards. They wore armor with an alternating red and white pattern, with splits running down their torsos, arms and legs, waist, and the front of their masks. There was some sort of symbol on their shoulders, but the revenant didn't have time to get a good look as he bolted the moment they started running over.

With no reason to hide his identity any more, the revenant clambered to the top of a nearby building and took off across the roofs. Many of the panicked patrons scattered as the two guards gave chase down the adjacent streets. "Halt! In the name of Lord Baltheus!" The woman stood where she was, watching the revenant disappear into the distance.

Once the commotion had subsided, the bile sac vendor reappeared from under his stall. "Well, that was…I ain't even sure what that was about! How 'bout you, miss, you o…kay…?" He glanced around, but the robed woman had disappeared, leaving no trace she had ever been there aside from a fat bag of snails. Not one to look a gift slug-rat in the mouth, the demon pocketed them, brushing this all off as someone else's problem.

And a problem it was for the guards. The creature they pursued was extremely agile, and far stronger than its emaciated frame would indicate. It effortlessly leapt from rooftop to rooftop, with the two of them relegated to taking the sidewalk. "We'll never get to it at this rate!" one of them said as he panted.

"Not unless we play by its rules," said the other. "You get to the alleyway on Filth and Main, I'll lead it to you. Be ready to spring a trap once it's there!" With that, the guard cast a fire spell with each hand, the twin jets of flame propelling him up to the roofs. After a brief stumble upon landing on some rotting shingles, he gave chase once again. His partner headed for the indicated location.

The revenant glanced over his shoulder at the guard chasing him, and was just in time to dodge a magical blast. He briefly considered fighting back, but he didn't have the element of surprise as he had on the island. Not to mention, it would be difficult to deal with that armor. He crawled from the roof down into a dark alley, hoping that would give him some leeway. Not so, as the guard landed right in front of him, sending another spell his way.

This time, the spell collided with the revenant's chest, knocking him to the ground. It stung a bit, but was clearly just a stunning spell. He tried to shake off the dizziness as the guard approached, readying another one. "You're coming with us, you…whatever you are!" He stood over his target, spell at the ready.

But the revenant was not ready to give up yet. With a snarl, he battered the guard's hand aside, the spell launching harmlessly into the wall. His eyes glowing electric blue, he repeatedly bashed the guard, who stumbled back helplessly at the vicious assault. With one final swing, he knocked the armored figure to the ground, before bounding over him and down the road.

Right now, the revenant's mind was on autopilot: he had to get somewhere safe to hide until the guards stopped looking for him. This was easier said than done, as he now found himself in the middle of town, in full view of hundreds more witches and dozens more guards. Not stopping for anything, he leapt onto a fruit cart, from there onto a hippogriff-drawn carriage, and back up to the roofs in a run for freedom.

His escape attempt would have worked were it not for the wall of fire that erupted before him. Hissing at the scalding barrier, the revenant turned around and ran back the way he came. The guard from before, who he recognized by the scuffed armor, threw more fire in his way. Had he been thinking more clearly, he would have noticed that the guard seemed to be leading him somewhere.

Ducking behind a chimney, the revenant ran on, hoping he had shaken his pursuer for now. The part of his mind not in panic mode desperately scrambled to come up with a plan. He would have to break line-of-sight somehow, but that wouldn't be easy with all the guards around. There was no way he would be able to fight his way out, and he had left the only person who wanted to help him behind. Maybe if he could make his way inside one of these buildings, then maybe–"

His train of thought was derailed as a blast of magic destroyed the portion of roof he was running on, sending him and debris careening into another alleyway. Running almost purely on adrenaline, the revenant picked himself up and tried to climb back up again, but he found himself unable to. There were no good handholds, and the roofs were too high to simply jump. He couldn't run, either, as he was met with a dead end. He was trapped, and he knew it.

"End of the line, freakshow!" The two guards from earlier had cornered him, now with reinforcements. A few of them stepped forward and created shields of energy, while others stayed behind them and aimed spell circles. For now, the revenant stood still, only growling.

The second of the two original guards eyed him curiously. "What exactly is this thing, anyway?" he asked. "I've been all the way up from Wriston all the way down to Heel City, and I've never seen anything like this guy before."

"Whatever it is, it's a dangerous animal," said the other. "C'mon, we can't have something like this running around in Lord Baltheus' territory. Company! Spells at the ready!" The fingers of the marksmen began to glow.

The revenant clawed at the ground, his eyes beginning to glow again as well. His teeth bared in a snarl, he hissed out a command. "Stay…away," he groaned.

"Eh? Hey boss, d'you hear that? Sounded like it said something," the second guard said.

"I didn't hear anything," the first one replied. "Just sounded like he growled to me."

Using this brief distraction as his moment, the revenant uttered his words again, thrusting his arms out to the side as he did so. "Stay…AWAY!" Something inside of him seemed to burst to the surface as he did this. The warmth he felt whenever he consumed bile boiled over, resulting in an explosion of magical energy. The revenant roared as debris and guards were tossed around like paper in a windstorm, the walls of the surrounding buildings collapsing as well. Witches for blocks around turned to the source of the explosion, seeing a cloud of dust rising above the cityscape.

Once the dust settled, the guards picked themselves up, shaken by the sheer magnitude of the attack. "What…in the titan's name…what that!?" asked the one in charge.

"Almost seemed like an explosion spell to me," said another guard nearby, wiping off his visor. "But I've only seen a Lord pull off a spell of that nature." He looked around at the destruction the creature had caused. "That little ghoul did all of this?"

"Then there's much more to it than we first thought," the head guard said. "Everyone, listen up!" A few of the guards groaned at being given new orders right after being thrown around like that. "With power like this, it is imperative that we capture this thing! Every moment that monstrosity is on the loose, innocent civilians are in danger! Now fan out–it can't have gotten far!"

Indeed, the revenant hadn't gotten far. It was right beneath them, his magical outburst having opened a way into the Bonesborough sewers. Waist-deep in water, he caught his breath, the explosion having taken quite a bit out of him. And it wasn't just that he was tired, either: he had just gorged himself on bile sacs, and yet he was thirsty again already.

Whatever had happened, he knew it had something to do with bile. Coming to this place had left him with more questions than answers; but he would have to ask them later. Right now, he had to get as far away from here as possible. It was only a matter of time before those guards realized he had slipped away down here. The revenant quietly slunk away through the water, doing his best to ignore the putrid stench.

"W-well, of course I heard about it, sir!" the voice on the other end of the crow said. "The explosion rattled my windows–you could see the smoke from the other side of town!"

"Yes. Luckily, it seems there were no casualties, save for a few Royal Guards' pride." Talus' mechanical limbs clanked against the floor as he paced, gazing out the window. "But that isn't why I called. It seems your worries weren't as unfounded as we both hoped they would be, my boy."

Alvin was silent for the longest time. He could be heard taking a long breath on the other end of the line. "I heard about that part too, sir," he said softly. "The creature that caused the ruckus, it…it looked exactly like my drawings."

Talus nodded, stopping himself when he realized Alvin couldn't see him. "I know this is hard to hear, my boy, but…it seems that this revenant of yours must have hitched a ride on your ship home. And now there's an untitanly beast running rampant around Bonesborough."

"I… Is there anything I can do?" asked Alvin. "If you need me to come in, I can be there in–"

"No, no, don't trouble yourself with all that," said Talus. "I have something much more important for you to work on. You see, Mr. Grizzwold, my knowledge of revenants is fairly limited, given that until last night, I thought them to be little more than legends. But knowing what we do now, we must arm ourselves. I need you to dig up everything you can on revenants, no matter how small of a detail it may seem. Let me know once you've gotten everything you can."

"I understand, sir," Alvin said. "I'll make my way to the library as soon as I can. I won't let you down, Mr. Archibald.

"Oh, I have no doubt of that, my boy!" said Talus. "When next I see you, the both of us will hopefully be knowledgeable enough to deal with this threat. But until then, stay safe." He released the crow, which flew out the window.

"Work stuff?"

Talus was not alone in his office. His expression grim, he turned to face a number of rough-looking witches assembled before him. All manner among them, they wore gear suited for expeditioning, and many of them carried weaponry. The one who spoke stood at the front of the gathering: he was the tallest out of them all, with pale skin and a mouthful of protruding fangs. His black hair was shaved off except for down the middle, and a single horn pierced out through his forehead. His clawed hand was wrapped around the hilt of a long polearm tipped with a serrated, pitch-black tip.

Talus cleared his throat. "I assume you all know why I've asked you all here, yes? But I'm afraid my job for you has changed just a bit. The revenant is no longer on the island: it is here, in Bonesborough."

"That doesn't change much," the leader said. "If anything, it saves us a trip!"

"That's one way to look at it," Talus replied. "Now, this contract is far more important than any I've set out before. This creature is not merely illusive: it is the only recorded instance of its kind in the modern era. Its retrieval is crucial–no, imperative. Bring it back to me, and you will be paid handsomely."

The leader of the band of hunters turned around to face his troupe. "Ya hear that, boys? The hunt's on!" He raised his lance as the group cheered, only to silence them with a wave. "And, do you have a preference for alive, or dead?"

"I will leave that to your discretion," Talus said, taking a seat at his desk.

Their leader grinned. "Dead it is."