Jack, Reina, Olward, and Rune began to weave through the spacious underground cellar. Searching.
A faint, almost imperceptible fog began to emanate from Reina. Swirling around her feet. Signifying a subtle enhancement to her senses.
"The energy here is... thick." She commented dryly. "A desperate sorrow, overlaid with a grim determination. It clings to everything."
Jack, meanwhile, activated his own senses. He activated his [Eyes of Judgement]. Turning everything into data-driven information. He moved with a predator's grace. His eyes were missing nothing.
He looked at the crude wooden shelves, the scattered tools, the bags of sawdust, even the faint scorch marks on the stone floor around the central altar. Everything was a potential clue.
Rune, hovering near Jack's shoulder, suddenly emitted a series of rapid, pulsating green glows. She darted forward. Her tiny form moving with surprising speed. Zipping towards a large, heavy wooden workbench pushed against the far wall.
She oriented herself directly above a specific spot on the workbench. Hovering there, Her glow intensified.
"Rune's onto something." Jack observed.
He moved to the workbench. Running his hands over the aged wood. It was rough. Scarred from years of use. But beneath the grime and splintered surfaces, he felt a subtle displacement. He knocked on the surface. A hollow sound.
"Hidden compartment." Reina stated. She was already next to him.
She extended a slender finger. Tracing a barely visible seam along the edge of a section of the workbench. She activated her subtle and precise illusion magic. Highlighting the faint outlines of a meticulously crafted secret drawer.
"He was a master carpenter. He knew how to hide things." She commented.
Olward grunted. "Obsessive, even in his hiding."
Jack pushed, prodded, and finally located a well-concealed latch. With a soft click, a narrow drawer slid out from beneath the heavy surface of the workbench.
Inside lay a single item. An ancient, leather-bound book. It had no title. No markings on its well-worn cover. Its pages, yellowed with age, seemed almost brittle. As if they would crumble at a touch. A faint, lingering aura of primordial magic emanated from it. Heavy and foreboding.
"Well, well..." Jack murmured. His lips curved into a thin, humorless smile. "Looks like we found Teakarm's instruction manual."
He carefully lifted the book. Its weight surprised him. It felt like it held centuries of knowledge. And stories.
They moved to a less oppressive corner of the cellar. And huddled together under the soft glow of Jack's self illuminating orb. And Rune's constant illumination. Reina added the light by casting [Cold Light] cantrip.
Jack began to open the book. With Reina looking over his shoulder and Olward peering critically from the side.
The pages were filled with intricate diagrams, arcane symbols, and cramped, obsessive script. Fortunately it was written in a common tongue. Although the dictions and grammar looked archaic, they could still understand it.
The book spoke of ancient rituals. Many types of rituals. From a common good luck ritual they recognized to the strange sacrifice rituals. There were actually a lot of rituals about the binding, enduring power of a final, desperate wish in the book.
Hours passed. The quiet hum of Rune's energy wings, the rustle of turning pages, and the occasional soft murmurs of their conversation were the only sounds in the cellar.
Jack drew upon his fundamental knowledge regarding mysticism. The ones he gained from the [Encyclopedia of Mystic Study] he once gained in Ironpile library. He began to interpret the complex text.
Reina, with her keen mystic senses and understanding of rituals, provided invaluable assistance. Often anticipating the meaning of certain passages. Or identifying specific ritual components written in strange terms.
Olward, with his extensive experience, chimed in with his own insights. Confirming Jack's interpretations of the more archaic or dangerous elements.
Some hours later...
"The Eternal Wish Puppetry Ritual." Jack finally declared.
He traced a finger across a particularly disturbing diagram. Showing a human figure dissolved into a swirl of energy. Feeding into several puppet-like forms.
"That's what he did." He said. "Sacrifice of life and soul. Not just a part, but the whole damn thing. To grant his constructs eternal ability to fulfill one's wish."
"And his wish..." Reina added in low voice. "... should be to prevent the Cult of Purity from using blonde, blue-eyed, thin-lipped teenage girls as vessels. By eliminating the potential vessels himself."
"Twisted one, isn't it?" Jack scoffed. Shaking his head. "To protect the many by sacrificing the few innocent ones. Even if those few have potential to be world-ending threat, it didn't change the fact that they were currently still innocent. The irony would be laughable if it wasn't so morbid."
They continued to pore over that part of the book. Dissecting every line. Every symbol.
Jack's mind sought patterns, loopholes, weaknesses in the ritual's design. This wasn't merely about stopping the puppets. It was about fixing a deep, mystical phenomenon... without tearing apart the fabric of reality.
It felt like an eternity. But it was likely only a few more hours passed. Finally, Jack's voice resounded. Full of joy and satisfaction. "There. I see it."
Reina leaned closer. Her long black hair brushed against his shoulder. "What is it, Dear?"
"The loophole on the binding." Jack explained. Pointing to a series of intertwined symbols on a weathered page. "This shade alteration point. The wish isn't completely unchangeable. It's tied to the source of creation. The ritual itself states that the wish is sealed upon creation. But the method of its fulfillment can be... nudged."
Jack smiled. If it was with people from his past world, he would say that it was like a program. The core directive was fixed. But the subroutines can be re-written. Or rather, re-routed.
Olward peered. Squinting at the ancient script. "I see. Using the 'Painter's Shades' concept huh? I've heard alchemists mention that. It implies a degree of flexibility. A point of remodeling the non-essential parts of ingredients to change the taste or look but retain the functions."
"Carpenter Teakarm's wish... the core of it, is to protect this town." Jack confirmed. "That part should be unchangeable. But killing innocent teenagers to protect it... we should be able modify it."
He looked at Reina and Olward. "I can't change the puppets' core directive. But, I can change the way they achieve it. Changing their targets into the Purity Cultists for example. Nobody would care if they are the one getting murdered, right?"
Olward grinned. "That's an idea I like."
Jack tapped a specific passage. "But there are conditions. It's not that simple to achieve. If my interpretation of this part isn't wrong, to modify the wish, we need to capture all of the puppets. Not just one, but the entire family... father, mother, son, and daughter."
Reina nodded slowly. "Makes sense. They are aspects of a single, interwoven curse. One without the others would be incomplete."
"And..." Jack continued. His gaze swept around the cellar. "We need to bring them back here. To this very spot. This cellar. This is where they were animated for the first time. The point of origin, the nexus of the curse."
He tapped the book once more. "The ritual implies the re-patterning must occur at the point of initial binding. Or it will fail catastrophically."
"We'll need to work in tight time frame then." Reina warned. "They only exist for one hour before they vanish, remember?"
"Of course it has to be that troublesome." Olward groaned. "I miss those times where missions were simple and easy."
"Challenge is what makes mission interesting, Old Man." Jack grinned.
"What about materials?" Olward grunted. "Rituals always need materials. Not just a will and a place."
Jack nodded. "Exactly. To modify a wish of this magnitude, the ritual needs specific catalysts. Not a lot, but they're not common either."
He looked at the text and made a more specific plan. "Elder wood should be fine for grounding the ancient power. For reversal... well, nightshade herbs can redirect life through its poison. It will work."
"As for the essence for change..." He narrowed his eyes. "The only thing I could think is... mercury, the fluid metal. For its alchemical mutability and change. And we definitely need lodestone, for its magnetic properties. To focus the chaotic energies involved."
"Those are not easy to get, Boy." Olward grumbled. "Elder wood and nightshades are simple enough. But lodestone and mercury? Those are hard to get here. We might need to get them from Lonestone or Lotogear."
"Nothing worthy is easy, Old Man." Jack easily replied. A faint smile was on his lips. "Besides, we don't need to do everything ourselves. Let's talk to the Mayor about this."
The plan was set. Jack, Reina, and Olward left Carpenter Teakarm's house.
It was already morning then. The orange sun had begun its slow climb in the eastern horizon. People were already out on the streets. Walking to wherever their destination was. Jack could hear gears grind and steam hiss. The town had turned alive.
They moved to the Town Hall. Rejoining Mayor Glaiver and Sir Shellarrow who were already there. None of them had a wink of sleep, looking at the dark arcs under their eyes.
Jack updated them on their findings and the direction regarding the ritual modification. They learned from the mayor that Father Greythorn had also acquired a lead for sealing rituals from old church texts. Giving them another additional path to follow.
The Mayor decided that they would still tread both paths. Or actually all three paths. Because Mr. Spear and Lady Luther were still out there in the town. Conducting a survey to identify potentially endangered targets.
"There's a grove near the Southern Cemetery where nightshades grew. It's not far." Mayor Glaiver said. "But nightshades are poisonous. You need to take care of its collection yourselves. I can't risk sending normal people for it."
"No problem." Jack agreed.
"I can send people to get the required elder wood." The mayor continued. "It's easy. I can also get some lodestones. I remember one merchant in the Trade District possessed quite a lot. But I have no idea where to get mercury."
"I'll try to get it." Olward sighed and responded. "My contact should be able to acquire one. But, it won't be cheap."
"The town will reimburse your expenses." The mayor decisively said.
"You said that, Mayor. You two are the witnesses, Kids. I'm not bleeding my hard-earned little retirement money for some blasted mercury." Olward grumpily responded.
"Alright then. I'll contact you all later." He said as he left the Townhall.
Jack, Rune, and Reina also left the building. To a different direction. Following the mayor's direction, they soon reached the Southern Cemetery. They found the grove not long afterward.
They spent the better part of the morning in the grove. Carefully harvesting the dark berries and distinctive leaves. They knew the potency of the plant. They understood its dual nature as both poison and powerful mystical ingredient.