A/N:

So sorry for the delay on this chapter! I ended up pinching a nerve in my wrist while writing the last chapter. That's what I get for wanting a change of pace. Oh well. Is what it is.

Fun fact, this chapter was pretty spur of the moment…I'd intended to move on right to Phillip being back at Blight Manor, but - I felt there was an opportunity to do a bit of worldbuilding. Set up a thread or two to follow up on later. :P

Also, forgive if this chapter is lower quality than my normal stuff. I wrote all of this at 3 am and I wanna release it now instead of doing proofreading in the morning. Proofreading is for pussies! The quality of this fic is between me and god!

I really need to go to bed…

Phillip's sleep was short and, well, restless. Such are the consequences of laying your head on a snow-covered step. The sun wasn't even up yet, so- he only must've slept for a few hours at the most. He stood up, and dusted himself off. His outfit was slightly damp from the snow, of course, and he felt…Mildly gross.

He had to find Luz, King, and Amity…Wait a minute, where where they? They…didn't abandon him, did they? No. He told them to go ahead, they simply obliged. He would reunite with them soon, and for the moment he had all the company he needed in Currant.

But what was he going to do? He had no scroll nor crow-phone to contact them with…And there was no way he was going to be able to make it all the way back to Blight Manor on his own. He didn't know the route, and the wound in his hand was still fresh and dripping blood. He'd likely die if he braved it alone.

Should be try and go back to the mine and see if he could recover the backpack, which contained the map and a medkit? No, no, the Slitherbeast could still be lurking, and the group probably would've picked it up by now.

Ugh! The damn crystal of Fool's Blood stuck in his right hand hurt worse than hell itself. He needed to get it looked at, it was probably well on its way to being infected.

Alright. There was only one course of action that seemed obvious. He had to find the nearest settlement, get help, and find a way to contact his friends.

But where *was* the closest town? Wait, there was one they passed just before they started ascending the knee…He didn't recall the name of it, but he needed to find it.

The rest of the group was at the entire other side of the knee from where Phillip was. They'd decided to stop for the night at Abdoton, before searching for him in the morning. Plus, well- they kinda wanted to stop and see St. Epiderm…

As you can tell, rescuing him wasn't exactly high on their priority list. In fact, They'd gotten a nice cozy BnB with fluffy beds, so- they slept in well after the sun rose.

They discussed the situation over a light breakfast. "So, where do you guys think Phillip is by now?" Amity asked, cutting off a chunk of Apple-Blood Syrup covered waffles and sticking it in her mouth.

King perked up, to which Luz shot him a glare. "What? All I was gonna say is he probably got his just desserts." He finally said, with a shrug.

"Guys, If there's anything, ANYTHING I've learned about Belos is that nothing will keep him down for the count." Luz said, with a small sigh.

I mean, how pathetic of an end would that be? Losing his memories, spending every waking second working towards a redemption that was more likely than not unattainable, just to be unceremoniously killed off in a cave. Mourned by no one, and- in fact, most people would be relieved…

She shook her head sharply, snapping herself back to reality. "I really need to talk to my therapist about these intrusive thoughts…" She mumbled, under her breath.

"What was that, Luz?" Amity asked, cutting off another piece of waffle.

"Oh, nothing! Nothing." Luz squeaked, immediately changing the topic. "Where do you think he is by now?"

Amity sighed, tapping her napkin to her chin, "I knew I should've just bought him a Shoofly phone!"

King did at least try and be helpful. "Well, he's probably gone the opposite direction of the mine, right? And his injury is a ticking timebomb.. That means the most logical place for him to be right now is somewhere around…Gluteus."

"Yea, you're probably right…" Luz put a hand on her cheek. "That is, hoping he didn't try and make the journey home by himself…"

"We can only hope!" King said, with a chuckle.

"Well," Amity raised her finger. "It won't hurt checking if he at least passed through it, right? Maybe if he isn't there, we could get a clue to where he might be."

The journey was arduous. Descending a mountain was a daunting task in and of itself, but combined with his hand injury and lack of good sleep it was a minor miracle he made it down at all. Good thing Currant was there to keep him company. But, soon the snow gave way back to red grass, and in the distance he could see a settlement,

"Nearly there…" He grumbled to himself. The home stretch was always the worst of it.

The sun had just began to rise in the horizon, and the town began to awake from it's slumber. On the wind he could smell cooking breakfast.

Unfortunately, once he finally arrived in town, the reception he'd gotten was colder that the peak of the knee. People turned away, averted their eyes as he walked past. He swore, he could just barely make out one exchange… "Look, it's Belos!" One person gasped in a shocked whisper. "But he doesn't have the…stripe on his face!" Said their partner. "But look at those ears, it has to be!"

But Phillip tried his hardest to stay resolute. He approached a random person, holding his hand out and saying "Hello. My name is Phillip Wittebane. Could you kindly point me towards a Healing Coven outpost?" In his mind, introducing himself like that was just common manners.

They raised their eyebrow, confused at his phrasing, and- at him in general. Remembering old folk tales about the village they'd heard as a young'in… Of a trickster god, named…Phillip Wittebane, wearing a blue-coat with white and brown clothing, who'd take advantage of kind-hearted souls by leading them to their doom. They just shook their head, and squealed "I can't help you!" Before running off.

"Well, that was strange." He resigned, turning around to see himself face to face with a very tall and physically imposing witch. They were wearing a ten-gallon hat that casted a shadow well over Phillip - as well as chomping on a cigar. "We don't take kindly to pranksters, here, boy." His voice was deep and gruff, like a western sheriff. "You'd best be on your way now, if you knew what was best for you."

"B-but!" He held up his still injured hand. "I really need help. I promise- I'll be on my way after-"

The being leaned over him, and poked their sausage finger into his chest. "Leave, now, or we'll make it worse for you."

Phillip didn't need to be told twice, as he hightailed it the fuck out of there as fast as he could.

A few hours later, around Midday, the trio arrived at Gluteus. They stopped to talk to the first person they saw…The very same sheriff who'd ran Phillip out just a few hours earlier.

"Hey…" Luz said, tapping his back. "Have you seen a man, he's about yay tall…Blonde hair, blue eyes, blue coat…If not, then, uh- thank you-"

They scoffed, turning around. "We did. Ran his ass out of town. We ain't stupid."

"You wouldn't have happened to see the direction he was heading in, would you?" Luz said, her heart pounding.

"You dorks some kind of folklore historians, or something? Well fine. He ran that way."

"Thank you!" Luz squeaked, scooping up King and running off in that direction. Amity following in close pursuit.

"King, do you think you could use echolocation to make this search a biiiit easier?" Luz asked, as they once again walked through the Boiling Isles' dense forests.

King shrugged, "I can try." before letting out a loud 'WEH!' - shockwaves flying in all directions, shaking everything not planted in the ground. "Couple bugs…Lotta bugs, Hooty would love this place…Wait, I think I got someone. About… 5 miles, due north." It was right on the edge of his echolocation, so he couldn't quite make out any specifics, but - what other witch was just in the middle of the woods?

He hopped on Luz's shoulder as she hopped on her staff, Amity hopping on her's as well. They made a mad dash for him.

Phillip had stopped in the middle of the woods, sitting underneath the trunk of a large tree, just 'Resting his eyes.' His old age was catching up with him - his entire body hurt from the trip - not to mention his hand, he was hungry, and tired…So extremely tired.

His mind was racing. What did that person mean when they called him a 'prankster'? did…He have some history in that town?

"I had to change my name when Phillip was run out of too many towns."

What the hell was that? He swore he heard someone's voice… No, his own voice, but- ugh…He couldn't even focus on it. His head suddenly began to pound as his vision devolved into shades of white and gold.

Thankfully, it was fleeting - he was brought back to reality when he heard the loud voices of his friends. "Phillip!" Luz called. "There you are!"