The Final Testament of a Broken Man

Around midnight Glorius ran off. He didn't say anything. He just disappeared.

Lexi didn't want to look for him. She was shivering. I don't think she's seen much death. Especially by the standards of Master's servants. Acedia had shaken her.

I left her in a safehouse and went to find Glorius.

I found him in a mall.

Spike had a rifle with him, and I could see Scarneck behind him. She seemed... I don't know. Lost? Glorius had his own weapons and was firing at the two from across the hallway.

Spike took aim. And he fired.

Glorius went down.

Scarneck turned around and a Door appeared before her. She said something to Spike (I was too far away to hear it) and the two of them stepped through it. I rushed out of my hiding place to Glorius' side.

"Steward?" he asked, when I got there. His voice was barely above a whisper. "That you?"

"Hang on," I said. "I'll get you out of here."

He shook his head. "No... no... I'm going to go see Dana...."

It took me a second to realize who he was talking about. Dana. Acedia's real name.

"It was all so easy when she was with me. They gave us memories. I can remember losing my parents in the 9/11 attack... I can remember the Tall One finding me. I remember meeting her there.... but I remember meeting her three years ago too. I remember introducing her to my parents. Meeting hers. I remember we were walking down the street one day when He showed up..."

I was quiet.

"It was easier to just pretend that the fake memories were true... It was easier with her.... Dana...."

"Just hold on, Glorius. We're gonna get help."

"Gerald. My name is Gerald."

And then his breathing stopped.

I left him there. It was a quiet walk out of the mall. I tried to ignore the Eye's gaze upon my back.

Attack

Acedia is dead.

Spike found us. He had a gun. We didn't even know he was there until the window shattered and Acedia crumpled to the ground, leaving a cloud of pink mist in the air.

Glorius screamed. It was... it was a raw, primal thing. A howl of rage and of morning.

And then we heard Spike's laughter coming from the outside. And we heard him shouting "all you proxy fuckers need to die!"

Lexi and me had to drag Glorius through the Path. He was struggling to go find Spike. To kill him. To...

Oh God. I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry.

Wolves

Remember that Camper I met some time ago?

He showed up in my room last night.

I just turned around, and there he was. Same pale face. Same blank expression. Same damp black hair. Same fake smile.

"Hello, Joseph Steward," he said. "It has been a while."

"It has. Mind telling me what the fuck you're doing in my room?"

"You are indebted to us. We are simply interested in your continued health."

I nodded. I'd forgotten that part.

"How goes your search? Have you learned your foe's identity?"

"Not exactly, but I have my suspicions."

"Do tell."

I hesitated a moment. "The Wooden Girl."

That fake smile got bigger, though his eyes remained the same. "What are your reasons for suspecting her?"

"Her betrayal," I said. "She used the death of her Dolls as an excuse to betray Master. It's flimsy. And I know that she's never cared for those in her service."

"You have concluded that she purposely murdered her Dolls as part of some grand plan?"

I nodded.

The Camper was silent for a moment, and then spoke again. "Wolves."

"Excuse me?"

"It has been said that if you see a lone wolf in front of you, the rest of the pack is behind you. They are animals. Similar to dogs. But they are cunning. They hunt with finesse. They hunt intelligently. Do you know what apes, rats, and certain birds have in common?"

"...Warm blood?"

"Correct. But there is also evidence of the capability of metacognition. Thought about thought. Self-awareness. They are more intelligent than one would assume. Just like wolves."

This was getting annoying. "Is there a point to all this?"

A real smile this time. "There is." And then he was simply... gone. Back to wherever the Ichor needed him.

-STEWARD

GOD DAMNIT!

There was a massacre at the local police station last night. Everyone there was torn to pieces. I'm not even exaggerating. I used the Path to go see for myself, and after I threw up I went back through the Path, trying to push the images out of my head.

...And Spike's missing.

So I guess my mysterious foe has decided to make use of him? This is very bad....

-STEWARD

I'm Back

I don't know where I was. There was a woman who took me. She was African, had curly hair down to her shoulders, kind of slanted eyes... and there was what looked like a burn scar on the left side of her neck. She's the one who took me and stuck me in that cabin. Let's call her Miss Scarneck.

I can't remember much of my captivity. Mostly it just blurred by up until I woke up with Lexi, Glorius, and Acedia standing over me, and then I had to order them to tie me up and lock me in a room, since I upon waking I was suddenly overcome with an urge-- no, a need-- to kill them all.

That's how I spent the last few days. Tied up in a room, with no one to keep me company. Well, the eye thingy showed up once. It grew out of the wood on the door and stared for hours until I fell asleep, then it was gone.

So what have we learned? The Compulsion has a time limit. Within a few days, it fades away, which means that whatever causes it has to re-administer its orders every now and then. Interesting.

After I was free from it, I did a bit of research and also learned this: Spike, or "Sheldon Butters" (I'd change my name to "Spike" too...) has been in police custody for the last five days. Turns out that he was really bad at covering his tracks and left a trail for police to follow. Dumbass.

I also learned that a few of his murders don't match up. A number of the killings left no evidence. They were carried out the same way that Sleight's killings were carried out. I didn't pay much attention to them, because they weren't ours. Turns out they were the Wooden Girl's. That would explain why she's so mad (or at least, it provided her with a good excuse to turn against Master).

My guess is that Scarneck was using Spike to her advantage to cover up her own activities. Looks like we found Sleight's successor.

Pieces are beginning to fall into place.

Let's see what else we can learn, hmm?

-STEWARD

Rescue

We got Steward back.

Acedia tracked the girl next time she showed up, and we followed her through some kind of portal.

On the other side there was... a forest. It wasn't the Path of Black Leaves. The trees were all normal seeming. I'm not sure where we were. There was no sign of the girl anywhere.

We found a cabin nearby. It was sort of old-timey. It sat on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean.

Steward was inside. He was tied up and unconscious.

We took him and we went through the Empty City to get out of wherever we were. It wasn't long before the Dolls found us, but we left the City as soon as they did. The rest of our traveling was done with the Path.

He's still out, but he seems fine.

Please wake up soon.

~=Lexi=~

Possible Suspect

Glorius noticed that some girl has been following us. He didn't get a good look at her.

We found a note this morning saying that Steward would be returned to us alive and unharmed if stopped looking for Spike.

I... I don't know what I should do. Steward wouldn't want us to stop our investigation, but then again he probably wouldn't want to be hurt either. And for all his faults and emotional issues, he's a pretty nice guy when you get to know him. I don't want to abandon him.

But if we abandon the mission, what would the Tall One do to us?

~=Lexi=~