Chapter Eleven: On Their Heels

"This place is disgusting," Dr. Graydon sneered. With Vesh by his side, the pair walked down the crowded streets of the Bonesborough slums. The pair forced their way through the throngs of witches and demons, shoving many aside as they neared their destination. "Let's finish this as soon as possible so I can go home and shower."

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad," Vesh replied. "Plenty of my Hunters came from here, y'know. They may not be the brightest bunch, but they're nothing if not hard workers. You'd pretty much have to be, with living conditions like this…"

Graydon wasn't really listening. He scanned the upper levels as they walked, searching for the address that Talus had provided for them. "There," he soon said, pointing up at one of the many houses all cluttered together. "Let's go and get some answers. And please, try not to let your…impulsions make things more difficult than they have to be."

Vesh scoffed. "What do you mean? I'm Vesh'tai of the Wild Hunt, man, I get results!" he said, climbing up a ladder. "Who cares how many bodies I leave behind?"

"I care," said Graydon, rolling his eyes, "and I think our employer does too. He'd prefer we draw as little attention to ourselves as possible, a sentiment that I share. So unless I give the signal, no bodies."

As they reached the top, Vesh pulled Graydon up to the scaffolding. "Alright, alright, whatever you say. But if the lady's family ends up passing it along to her that we paid them a visit, you know who to blame."

Letting out an irritated groan, Graydon led his bodyguard-slash-watchdog down the perilous walkway until they reached the location. "And here we…ah, I think I remember this place. What was that woman's name again? Van Gheist?"

"That's the one," said Vesh. "You know her?"

"Not directly, but I've definitely heard the name before. Let's see if my hypothesis is correct." He knocked on the door, assuming the poise of a kindly scientist.

After a brief pause, the door slowly opened to reveal a short man peering out. "Yes? Can I help you?" said Justice.

Graydon wore a big smile as he offered a polite bow. "Good day to you, my fine sir! My name is Doctor Everett Graydon, and this is my…good friend Vesh'tai. So sorry to bother you like this, but we were sent here on behalf of a Mr. Talus Archibald. You are aware of who he is, right? The head of this local A Guild."

For a moment, Justice just stared at the two of them, clearly suspicious. "Yeah, I might've heard the name," he said. "What's that have to do with me?"

"As a matter of fact, I'm afraid this concerns your eldest daughter," continued Graydon, his face shifting to mock sympathy. "Might we be able to speak with her?"

Justice sized up the two visitors, instantly deducing they were not who they said they were–or at least, more than they said they were. "She ain't home," he mumbled, closing the door, However, Vesh grabbed it before it could shut completely.

The pair forced their way inside. "Oh, I know that, sir, and you see, that is precisely the problem. Patience, that was her name, correct? I'm afraid I have some rather distressing news about her." The two made themselves at home, sitting on the couch in the middle of the room.

Sensing that asking them to leave would only make things worse, Justice decided to play along. "She better not've stolen somethin' again. I told her we're too poor to keep payin' for her hobbies!"

"Actually, it's quite a bit worse than that," said Vesh. "I'm sure you've heard the stories going around. Strange creatures have been seen around Bonesborough, even attacking some of the residents. This terrible creature is known as a revenant, and it's my duty to track it down and stop it from hurting anyone else."

Indeed, Justice had heard the stories going around about such a creature. "Alright. But what's that have to do with my daughter?"

"Well, you see, there is no easy way to put this," said Graydon. "A number of people have gone missing recently, but we suspect that they haven't simply been eaten. Our research shows that the revenant has the ability to entice innocent victims into its thrall, allowing it to create an ever-growing army of brainwashed lackeys with which to lay claim to its ill-gotten territory.

"And you think my Patience is one of 'em," said Justice, now becoming more than a little worried. "Well, you're the experts. What can you do?"

Vesh held up his spear. "Right now, the only lead we have is killing the revenant. In theory, that should free everyone from his control. Trouble is, he and his cronies are a bit more elusive these days. Any kinda lead you could give us would help out a lot."

"What my colleague means is, have you had any contact with Patience recently?" Graydon asked. "Has she tried to contact you at all in the past week? Month, even? Think back to the last time the two of you spoke: did she say anything at all concerning new acquaintances, or hearing voices offering suggestions?" In truth, Graydon barely had any idea how this supposed mind-control was supposed to work, leading to him making it up on the spot.

Justice was suspicious, but then again, he was always suspicious. "No, nothing like that. Just her usual chatter about livin' in the countryside. I don't think she has any friends, witch, demon, or revenant." His mind went back to the strange companion she had brought with her the other day. Could he have been the revenant? No, he was more than just some mindless beast…

"Well, that's…very sad," Vesh said. "Actually, that might just mean she was even more susceptible to its mind control. All of the people it's taken so far don't have anyone in their lives. It preys on the lonely and forgotten."

Lonely? Sure, Patience tended to go about her business alone. But forgotten? Not a chance. "So, what's this revenant do once he's got somebody? You said he doesn't eat 'em, but what's that leave? He can't have some big scheme if he's just an animal, right?"

"That's under debate," Graydon said. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a small child peering out from a doorway, but they quickly darted away upon realizing they had been seen. "What we do know is that the revenant is using these people for some nefarious purpose. It might just use them to help it hunt for food, or it might be planning a takeover of the entire Isles. Whichever, this monster is highly dangerous and must be dealt with immediately. Any information you have could be extremely helpful. You wouldn't happen to know anything, would you?"

While Justice had made up his mind not to tell these two about Patience's recent visit, some of the things they had said only reinforced his decision. "If I thought my daughter was bein' mind-controlled by some demon beast, don't you think I'da told somebody already? Thanks for your concern, but I don't know nothing–now go on and get her back! That's your job, ain't it?"

Graydon didn't know for sure that he was lying, but he did suspect. "Trust me, we're doing all we can. We have some of our finest minds working on a solution, but it isn't as easy as simply hunting the beast down."

"It isn't?" said Vesh, a touch sarcastic.

He received a brief glare from Graydon. "My point is, anything you tell us could be important. I know it's been a while since you last spoke with her, but–"

"Dad?" They all turned to see a young woman walking down the stairs. "Who are these people? Are they here for Mom?"

Justice looked up at her anxiously. "No, no, Charity, they're just here from the, uh, that guild. Asking a few questions, that's all. Go on back upstairs now."

Graydon observed Charity for a while, much to her discomfort, certain he had seen her before. "I'm sorry, have we met? Your face looks so familiar. You didn't happen to take part in a study a few years back?"

Charity froze, unsure of how to answer, or even if she should. "Uh, Dad, are you sure they're from the guild?" she asked. "They seem a bit…weird."

"Honey, upstairs now, please," said Justice. "Sorry about her, you know how kids are! Now, you were sayin' about me knowin' anything?"

"Hold on just a sec–what did she mean by us being here for Mom?" asked Vesh, standing up. He eyed Justice suspiciously, slowly approaching the man. "Your wife isn't some kinda criminal, is she? 'Cause if there's a reward involved…"

Before Vesh could threaten him further, Graydon slapped the back of his head. "Once again, I apologize for my colleague here," he said, as Vesh glared at him. "He's merely very enthusiastic about preventing crime. But the word of a child is no reason to assume she is an outlaw…correct?"

"Yeah. Correct," said Justice. "She ain't done nothin', she's just sick. Nothin' to concern yourselves with. I'd say Patience is the bigger worry here, yeah? I'll be sure to call you guys if I hear from her again." He went over to the door, ready to usher the two out of his home.

Graydon was not ready to go so soon, placing a hand on the door. "Just one more thing, good sir. Your daughter…she looks so familiar. Are you absolutely certain she didn't take part in that study?"

"For the last time, I don't know nothin' about no study!" shouted Justice. "Now go on, get lookin' for my daughter!" He shoved Graydon and Vesh outside, slamming the door behind them. But before they could leave, he opened it once more. "And tell yer boss my wife ain't a crook!" Then, he slammed it again.

The pair stared at the door for a moment, hearing him lock it multiple times. "That was, uh…illuminating," said Graydon. "Come on, let's go tell Talus the bad news." He began walking away, deep in thought. "I swear I've seen her before…"

"So, what, we're just walking away?" said Vesh, none too pleased. "That guy was clearly hiding something, can't we just rough 'em up a bit 'til he spills?"

With a slight grin, Graydon shook his head. "Oh, Vesh, Vesh, Vesh. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but your subtlety needs work. Besides, these are the slums–everyone is hiding something down here. You heard the man, his wife's probably just a petty thief or something. I would like to do a little digging into that family, though, I just know I've met them at some point."

It was Vesh's turn to be unimpressed, rolling his eyes. "Nobody cares how or when you saw them, least of all Talus. So even if you're not just being delusional, we should get back and tell him what we found."

"And what did we find? Just another poor family with their share of closet skeletons. I bet that guy doesn't even care about his daughter, he just wanted to get rid of us." Climbing down the ladder to ground level, Graydon resumed his remembering. "Now pipe down until we get back, if you please. I've had about enough mindless chatter for one day."

"You know, we could investigate a bit more," said Vesh, despite knowing that Graydon would never go for it. "We don't have to give up just 'cause we didn't find anything immediately. It's not like they're just sitting around wondering what's taking us so long."

"What's taking that doctor so long!?" hissed Baltheus, turning impatiently in his chair. He had been sitting in the empty room for almost twenty minutes by now, and was only willing to wait for so much longer. But as he got up to head for the door, he was overcome by a coughing fit, causing him to fall back into his seat. The noise attracted some attention from outside, and the door opened.

A demon dressed in doctor's garb hurried inside. "Seems I've come just in time, my Lord!" he said. He possessed our arms, five eyes, and a wide mouth filled with teeth. No hair to speak of, though he was carrying a bag of medical equipment. "So sorry to keep you waiting, the guards were rather skeptical of my intentions."

Baltheus removed his coat. "I'll have a discussion with them when this is over. Did you bring the serum?"

The doctor removed a syringe from his bag filled with a bright green fluid. "Bottoms up, my Lord." He jammed it right next to Baltheus' spine, eliciting a wince from the lord, emptying it all. "Aaaand, done. Give it a few moments, and you should feel right as rain."

"If only it was that simple," Baltheus grumbled. The doctor created a spell circle, holding it up to his back to check his vitals. "Be honest, doctor–how much has it progressed since last time?"

"Well…it looks about the same as last time," he replied, peering through his skin and into his organs. "Looks like mutilating all those unsuspecting peasants has really paid off. This serum really works!"

He scoffed. "You can spare me your backhanded comments, Doctor Grieves. And until the damage starts to reverse, we can consider this endeavor a failure."

Dr. Grieves began connecting magical threads to various points on Baltheus' back, as though sewing something up. "Oh, there's no need to be so pessimistic, my Lord. You know, many sufferers of your condition go on to live happy, fulfilling lives. And considering your vast wealth and power, I'm sure there isn't any reason for you to worry!"

"'No reason to'-have you forgotten what your purpose is!?" roared Baltheus, suddenly rising to his feet and turning to face the doctor. "You cure ailments, aid maladies, not tell your patient that their outcome is hopeless! I won't be told to simply live with–" Before he could continue lambasting him, he once more succumbed to a coughing fit, falling to his knees. Dr. Grieves leaned down to help him back into his chair. "It would seem your miracle serum is not as miraculous as we had hoped."

"No need to get discouraged, my Lord," the doctor assured him. "I'm sure that the next batch will be even more potent! Ah…" He went quiet, remembering recent events that put a damper on his reassurance. "That was the batch we were developing in the Tailbone Institute, wasn't it?"

Letting out a sigh that came out more like a growl, Baltheus resisted the urge to throw something. "Yes. The very same. All that testing, down the drain, all because a creature that doesn't exist decided it did. Might our friends down in Bonesborough have made any progress in capturing that revenant?"

Grieves wrung both sets of his hands. "My Lord, it's only been a few days. That thing's been very elusive before now, I think it's going to take a little while before we see any results. But be patient, I'm sure they're all doing their best. You know, if you're looking for a hunter, my daughter is always–"

"Yes, your daughter, I'm aware," said Baltheus, putting up a hand with the weariness of someone who's heard this a hundred times before. "Vesh'tai does not appreciate competition. I'd rather not have my underlings working against each other. But perhaps you could consult her for some ideas?"

"I'm sure she'd be happy to help," Grieves continued. "You know, she's brought in more criminals in this past year than I'll bet this Vesh fellow has in his life. I'll never understand why you put so much stock in his abilities." He resumed the task of connecting magical threads on Baltheus' back.

Having sufficiently calmed himself, Baltheus began to consider consulting another doctor. "Let's just say I admire his discretion," he said. "And Vesh is a hunter of magical beasts, so it stands to reason he wouldn't have brought in any criminals."

"All the more reason to bring in my girl," said Grieves. "The longer it takes to catch this revenant, the more it seems like it isn't your average beast. There's a cunning to that creature, mark my words. And every second we leave it out there is another person who could end up eaten!"

"Yes, this is certainly an urgent situation," said Baltheus. "I'll consider contacting your daughter about this job. For now, though, we'll wait and see how Vesh fares." He drew a spell circle in the air, which flickered and fizzled once it was formed. A glass of apple blood drifted over to him, but casting the spell seemed to cause him discomfort, placing a hand over his chest. "Two heads may just be better than one. More than just the public's safety is riding on that revenant."

Dr. Grieves moved to his front to check on his heart. "Oh, I wouldn't go that far. Not to get your hopes down, my Lord, but we aren't even sure that thing can help you. For all we know, this could be just another snipe hunt."

"Luckily for us, there's no better snipe hunter in the business than Vesh'tai Walpurgisnacht," Baltheus replied. "And one of those tiny birds is much more elusive than a slobbering man-beast. He'll get results, this I assure you. And it will hold the answers we seek, I have no doubt."

"Wish I could be as confident as you," said Grieves. "Where did you get the idea that this thing could hold the answer to your condition?"

Batheus smiled. "An acquaintance of mine happened to have some rather interesting expertise in the area. He assured me that the revenant has everything we're looking for, and much more."

"Ah, your acquaintance," said the doctor. "The one from 'far away?'"

"The same," Baltheus replied. "It's thanks to him that I know all that I do, especially as far as revenants are concerned. You know what? Perhaps we should consult him once more." He rose from his seat, moving to exit the room.

Dr. Grieves followed close behind, trying to continue the check-up as he walked. "Sure, the more the merrier! But after everything he's been through, I'm surprised that old bag of bones is still in a talking mood…"

"So–good news and bad news," announced Graydon as he and Vesh invited themselves into Talus' office. "The good news is, the family definitely knows more than they're letting on, as we suspected. The bad news is, of course, that they're not letting on. If you want my professional opinion, the revenant got to 'em, too."

Talus was troubled by this news. "If this is the case, then there's no telling who is and isn't infected by its vile influence. It is no longer simply gathering thralls, but leaving sleeper agents in place for when the time comes to… But what could a creature like this be planning?"

"Allow me to offer my professional opinion," Vesh said. He took his spot behind the guild head's desk, almost perched on his shoulder. "I've spent my entire life hunting magical creatures, and in that time, I've picked up a thing or two. No matter how big or small it is, from the ferocious scuttlejaw to the harmless antabbit, there are three uniting factors that all life shares: survive, adapt, and propagate. Now, our revenant is pretty good at the first one, which leads me to believe that its current goal is to remove any and all threats from its environment."

"Threats, in this case, would refer to us witches, am I right?" asked Graydon.

Vesh tapped his finger on his nose. "Given what we know about it now, there are two possibilities, and neither of them are pretty. The first is that the revenant is just removing competition or potential threats. That's actually our best-case scenario. That implies that once he sees his territory as safe, he'll stop. The other, more alarming possibility is that he's interested in spreading his influence as far as possible. Meaning he won't stop until the entire Isles are under his control."

Although that did seem to be a bit far-fetched to Talus, stranger things had been discovered, on and beyond the Boiling Isles. "A troubling hypothesis, to be sure. Have you come up with any ideas on who to avert either outcome?"

"I've been workshopping a few plans," Vesh replied. "Firstly, let's review what we know: the revenant first appeared in Bonesborough following the Siren's Song's return from its voyage."

Talus nodded, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Indeed, that's correct."

Vesh then made his way over to one of Talus' boards, clearing the papers present and pinning on some pictures of his own. "So far, the revenant has four confirmed followers. The first it acquired is this little demon here, one Kikimora. She and her husband were reported missing, until several others reported being freed from capture by a puppeteer demon. Get this: all witness testimonies say that a creature matching the revenant's description saved them from their captor."

"But why would it only take her into its thrall?" pondered Graydon. "Presuming it only saved the prisoners so that it could have them for itself, why not take one more physically or magically fit? There was no shortage of better people in that thing's cages."

"I was wondering the same thing, but then I thought: what if this was only his practice run? He'd want someone easy as his first mark, just to test out his abilities. After that, he moved on two good friends of mine: Alvin Grizzwold and Patience van Gheist."

"I still cannot understand how Alvin fell under the creature's sway," lamented Talus. "He always had such a strong will…"

Vesh went over to pat his back. "Don't worry, big guy. It could've happened to anyone."

Meanwhile, Graydon looked closer at the board, specifically the picture of Patience. "Hmm, she really does look so familiar. There's a family resemblance thing going on here, but where have I seen it before?"

"Back to more important business," said Vesh, pushing Graydon aside. "This ragtag bunch was recently rescued by this mysterious person here." He tacked a photo of the woman in the plague mask to the board. "She's been spotted around the city by a handful of individuals here and there, but who exactly she is, or what she wants, remains to be seen."

Graydon stepped back in front of Vesh. "If I may…this woman has been around for much longer than the revenant, with sightings going back years. It's possible that she is the one really pulling the strings behind this operation, given the secrecy surrounding her. I wouldn't be surprised if she somehow arranged for the revenant to get here."

The board now bore pictures of each of the five persons of interest: the revenant in the center, with strings connecting him to his allies. There didn't seem to be much connecting them, other than their apparent isolated nature. And even that did little to paint the creature as anything other than opportunistic. From that little they knew, there were no indications of any larger plan at play. It still seemed to be just an animal, operating on instinct.

"You know what?" Vesh said, examining the evidence. "I think I might have something. Boss, you remember that cawl you got from Alvin, right? He kept going on and on about the revenant, trying to convince you it wasn't that bad. Like, he was covering for it or something."

"Yes, that's how we arrived at the conclusion the revenant is taking thralls in the first place," Talus remembered. "Poor lad. I can't imagine how much he must be suffering now…"

"Actually, I was wondering about that myself," said Vesh. "It didn't sound in his voice like he was being forced into saying this. And that Kikimora had to interrupt him when he kept on rambling. All in all, what I got from that conversation, however brief, wasn't that he was suffering. I have a theory: however the revenant is able to brainwash people, it still leaves much of their personality intact. Meaning Alvin really did believe what he was saying when he spoke to you."

In a way, this was worse. Rather than being at the mercy of some creature, Alvin had essentially been swayed into joining its crusade. And should they clash, rather than saving him from a grisly fate, Talus would be forced to oppose his confused and heartbroken protege. "Please, tell me you've thought of a way to stop this," he said. His voice was steady, but he sounded desperate.

Vesh beamed with a look of pride. "Luckily for you, I think I've come up with something much better than our last attempt! See, we know now that the revenant's way smarter than some animal. That's why our last attempt at trapping it didn't work. Now, if we tried something more sophisticated, I think there's a real chance we could lure it into our clutches."

"Don't keep us in suspense, man!" cried Talus. "If you have a way to deal with this terrible monster, out with it!"

Glad he was able to build tension, Vesh grinned–but only as his back was turned. As he faced Talus, his expression turned to a somber one. "It's actually very simple…but I'm afraid you might not like it, sir. You see, this plan of mine, it involves Alvin."

Talus faltered. "In what way?" he asked, part of him not wanting to know.

"Like we've just established, the people controlled by the revenant retain much of their original personality," Vesh continued, strolling over to the board he had erected. "Young Mister Grizzwold was an idealistic and enthusiastic lad, was he not? Then it only makes sense that he would feel the same way about his new master. But that doesn't mean he's stopped feeling that way about you."

By this point, Talus started to have an idea of what he had in mind. "Surely you don't mean…?"

"I had a feeling you wouldn't like it. We'll need to contact Alvin, and convince him to meet up with us. I figure the easiest way to do that would be to take him up on his offer of a truce. None the wiser, he'll be all too eager to hear out his beloved Talus Archibald in person, and come to us right away."

"And that's when we nab him?" said Graydon.

Vesh snapped his fingers. "Exactamundo! This time, instead of just a bucket of bile, we use Alvin himself as our bait. From there, we'll be met with two possibilities. Either Alvin is crucial to this thing's plan, and it'll come rescue him, or send others to do so. If he isn't, well, at least we'll get some insight into how its mind control works. Whaddya say, boss? Sound good to you?"

Truthfully, no, it didn't sound good. "Are you absolutely certain this was the best plan you can come up with?" asked Talus. "I understand how crucial a matter this is, but surely there's a better way than treating Alvin like some infectious disease to be studied?"

Walking over to him, Vesh shook his head. "I wish it didn't have to be this way, too. But as someone who's hunted magical beasts all across the Isles, I've come to recognize the sad reality that you can't always save everyone." He placed his arm over Talus' shoulders. "Once we have Alvin in our custody, we'll do everything we can to bring him back to his senses. But…we, and by that I mean you, have to be open to the possibility that he might not be as willing to come back to us as we'd like…"

Talus looked away, gripping the edge of his chair as the idea seeped into his mind. "I…" With a sigh, he turned away from the board. "Very well. If this truly is the best way, then we have no choice. The revenant must be stopped at all costs."

"Ah-ah-ah, it must be retrieved at all costs," Graydon piped up. "Lord Baltheus was quite clear in that regard."

Indeed, none of them were keen on incurring Baltheus' ire. "In any case, this will take a good deal of preparation," said Talus. "We cannot simply ask Alvin to come here, and hope for the best. There are too many unknown factors that can throw a wrench into the whole operation. Give me a day–two, at most–and I will be ready to implement our plan."

"Take all the time you need, boss," said Vesh, heading for the door. "Just let me know when it's all done, and me 'n my hunters will be at your beck and call! You comin' buddy?" His question was directed at Graydon, who was not thrilled to be called his 'buddy.'

"Ordinarily, I'd say I have something better to do, but…in fact, I do have something better to do, and it may involve that family," said Graydon, joining Vesh in the elevator. "I'll let you know if anything comes up."

The elevator doors closed, and the pair made their leave, leaving Talus alone once more. Left with plenty of time to think, he turned once more to the board bearing everyone's pictures. Curiously, he removed the one of Eva, getting a closer look at the masked woman. "Just who are you?" he wondered aloud.

Was she really the true mastermind behind the revenant's rampage? Or was she just another one of its many victims? He was so focused on Alvin he hadn't really given her much thought. And he still didn't have time to, as he needed to get started concocting this plan of theirs. Pinning the picture back in place, he couldn't help but feel that there was more to this woman than any of them could have known…

"I see," Eva said gravely. "Look, just lay low for now. Don't go doing me any favors, and I'll try and stay away until this blows over. Okay. Take care." She let the crow she had been speaking into out the window before turning to the rest of the party. "That was Indie. Apparently, Vesh came to check out their club just before we left for the research facility. If they knew we were there…there's no telling what else they know."

Everybody took this news with varying degrees of concern. "Well, of course they know we were there," said Patience. "We were all dressed like you, and you saved us from them a while back. They're smart enough to make the connection."

"That's what we should be worried about," Alvin replied. "How long until they realize where we've been hiding this whole time?"

"We'll just have to take the fight to them before they get the chance!" said Kikimora. "With all of us united, we'll storm their headquarters, defeat Vesh, and clear Belos' name once and for all! Who's with me!" She stood on the table, fist triumphantly raised, but nobody seemed interested in her offer. Sheepishly, she sat back down. "I'm just saying, we could."

Belos was flipping through Mary's journal, absorbing whatever he could. Considering how busy he had been, he hadn't had much time to learn how to read yet, but she had done a fair bit of sketching in there. "Where will we strike next?" he asked.

"Next? Hmm…I hadn't really gotten that far," said Eva. "I sorta figured we'd still be recovering from raiding that research place, or at least still celebrating. Are you sure we're not pushing ourselves too hard?"

"Nah, if anyone can send Baltheus' regime crashing down, it's us!" said Patience. We made short work of that freak factory, didn't we? Whatever comes next, we can handle it!"

Eva consulted her map of the surrounding area. "Well…there is this prison camp I've had my eyes on for a while. It's located up here, just north of the Waistland. This is where Baltheus sends some of his most dangerous prisoners–and by 'dangerous,' of course I mean posing a threat to his rule. I'm not sure, but…I have a sneaking suspicion he may be holding my father there."

"All the more reason to take it down!" said Kiki. "If we save him, he could really help us in taking down Baltheus' whole thing, right? You did say he's been involved with it for a while."

Eva cleared her throat. "Um, yeah, most likely. But I don't want us getting too big for our britches now." This was met with silence. "Human expression. I know we're all very pleased with ourselves for destroying that research place, but this prison camp is a whole other ballgame. Not only is it way bigger, but it has more guards than you've ever seen in one place! We'll definitely need to prepare if we're gonna stand even a slight chance of breaking in…"

"If it's so dangerous, then why did you even bring it up?" asked Alvin. "Unless…do you really think we can handle it?"

She looked at everyone in the room, as though weighing their potential chances. "Yes, I do…for the most part."

"'For the most part?' What exactly does that mean?" asked Patience. "So, you think if we go through with this, we'll probably only make it halfway?"

Belos closed his book. Although it wasn't a particularly loud sound, it was enough to gain everyone's attention. "We'll need an army," he said frankly. It struck them as a very sensible idea, true, but one that was tough to put into practice.

"Okay…where are we going to get an army?" asked Kiki. "I guess we could hire some mercenaries… Do any of you have any money?"

"Maybe Russel and Indie could lend us some of their fans," said Alvin.

After a minute of thinking, Eva came up short. "Nothing's coming to mind. I mean, Baltheus does have his fair share of enemies–the Blights, the Meludiuses, and the Bloodreaper clan aren't so fond of him either. If we could just find a way to ally with one of them…"

"Yeah, I don't see that happening," Patience said, sounding somewhat disappointed. "Even if they hate him, Baltheus is upper-crust, like they are. They'll never ally with a bunch of commoners like us, even if it means taking one of their rivals out of the game."

Kikimora tapped her finger on the table as she thought. "Maybe if they think they're just using us, we can use them! …Oh, but then what if they know we're letting them use us to use them?" She continued to ponder this conundrum while the others tried to come up with more ideas.

Eventually, Eva came up with the best idea all day. "Alright, it's obvious we can't exactly rustle up an army at a moment's notice. Let's just focus on smaller-scale strikes for now; ones we can handle with just the five of us."

"What, you mean that base we snuck into was small?" asked Alvin, remembering how they had just barely made their way out. "I hesitate to ask what you consider large!"

"Yeah, well, however small or large our next target is, we'll need a plan," she continued. "So let's just lay low for a while. Even if we did have a plan, they'd most likely be extra cautious after everything that's happened."

With nothing else to do, the gang dispersed. Taking the journal, Belos returned to his nook, hoping for a bit of peace and quiet now that they were all in relative agreement. He didn't notice Alvin glancing at him with a concerned look on his face.

Once he had retreated, Alvin approached Kiki. "Hey, um, Kikimora…I just realized, I never asked you. Why did Belos save you on that day?"

"Huh? Oh, I never really gave that much thought," she said. "I assumed Adeghast lured him in, same as the rest of us, and he managed to come out better than we did. But then when he won, he opened all of our cages! He rescued me, so I didn't put much focus on the 'whys' of it." She wandered off, leaving Alvin to ponder things.

A monster, but at the same time a hero. Just what was the revenant? And what was he really after?

Following the destruction of Tailbone Institute, Dr. Graydon had set up a temporary lab at the Guild headquarters. It was little more than a room filled with whatever documents and research was able to be saved from the fire, but he considered it to be just as good as a top-of-the-line facility. A handful of researchers under him went about doing what they could to continue with the tasks Lord Baltheus had given them.

"Calum!" he said, snapping his fingers. "Calum? Where is he? Calum, get out here!"

The assistant in question hurried out from behind a bookshelf. "Yes, what can I do for you, sir?" he asked, stopping just before he accidentally ran into the doctor.

"Look through the records of all the studies we've done, and see if you can find anything on a 'Van Gheist.' I swear, I know I've heard that name somewhere before. And that girl's face, it looked so familiar…"

"Right away, sir." Calum went to scour through the various files they had on their various patients–or test subjects, as it were. They both assumed it would take ages to find one person among hundreds–and yet, it only took him mere moments. "Right here, sir, Prudence Van Gheist. She only came in for the abnormalities study a few months back."

With an air of only slight interest, Graydon took the file. As he looked at her photo, nothing about her face stood out. She looked fairly unremarkable, aside from her clouded-over eyes–those likely being the abnormality for which she had volunteered to have resolved. Unfortunately, they had been unable to extract anything of use from her condition. And then it hit him.

That little girl. She had looked an awful lot like this woman–likely her mother. Suddenly, everything began to slide into place. Patience was a bigger part of this than any of them had realized. He knew exactly why she was involved, which could only mean the revenant had scouted her out for a reason. "We need to inform Talus of this," he said gravely.

Calum looked over, not quite following. "Of what, sir?"

"She wants revenge," he continued, showing him the file. "That's why she's doing this. That's what they're all after. This isn't just some band of rabble-rousers with no direction: they're going after Baltheus."

AN: Another chapter down for my Belos backstory! Now, I'm gonna be honest: as much as I like this story, I feel like it isn't one of my more popular ones. For that matter, the same goes for my last Owl House one. People seemed to like it, but that all died down when I posted the finale. Do you think you guys would want to see the continuation of that one? I don't like leaving fics unfinished, but if they're not as popular, I'll probably focus more on my other stuff before getting back to them. Let me know!