Two armed residents escort the freed demon girl through the market toward a squat stone ward-house. The others remain behind at the fallen arch, clearing rubble and guarding the fading sigils.
The girl leans against one resident’s arm, her breathing steadier now, while the escort keeps a cautious eye on Caelen and leaves him space to follow.
Inside, old protective carvings cover every wall. A young adult demon woman with dusky violet skin, swept-back horns, and a russet healer’s robe approaches, silver tools arranged at her belt.
The Demon Healer
Set her here. Slowly. No one touches the cloth until I know what remains bound to it.
The girl is placed on a padded bench. The healer examines the torn ochre tunic, and a faint blue glimmer stirs beneath its threads.
Near Caelen, a basin of dark water trembles sharply whenever his gloved hands pass nearby. The wall carvings answer with a low, uneven hum.
The Demon Healer
A fragment of scatter magic is still tied to her clothing. Stranger, keep your hands visible, and tell me if that basin reacts to you.
✓ Quest Accepted
Help the healer safely remove the scatter fragment from the demon girl's clothing
✓ Quest Accepted
Earn the residents' trust as a protector
“I may know how yo do that, if you will let me*i say bringing water up with magic and putting it on the wound then using spirit magic to heal it*spirit magic is used by water mages it can heal all wounds to an extent”
FAILURE (Great Arcana, rolled -1)
Caelen Aris
I may know how to help. If you allow it, I can use water and spirit magic to treat the wound.
Caelen raises his hands toward the basin. Its dark surface convulses, but instead of lifting, the water sinks beneath the carved stone and vanishes from reach.
The Demon Healer
Do not force it. The basin is warded, and it has taken the water into the house’s seal.
The blue glimmer beneath the demon girl’s tunic brightens in answer. Caelen shapes the opening gesture of spirit magic, but without water, the spell catches against the clothing’s foreign mana.
A pale ring forms above the bench, then collapses into harmless droplets that patter across the floor. The fragment tightens its hold around the cloth instead of loosening.
The Demon Healer
Your healing reached the binding, not the girl. Stop now, or you may drive the fragment deeper.
The Demon Healer
The basin cannot supply you. We must separate the scatter thread from the tunic before spirit magic can touch her safely.
“I may know how yo do that, if you will let me*i say bringing water up with magic and putting it on the wound then using spirit magic to heal it*spirit magic is used by water mages it can heal all wounds to an extent”
SUCCESS (Great Arcana, rolled +1)
Caelen Aris
I may know how to do that. If you allow it, I can bring up water, place it on the wound, and use spirit magic to heal her.
The Demon Healer
Do it gently. Keep the water on the wound, and let me watch the scatter thread.
Caelen turns from the sealed basin and draws moisture from the ward-house air and damp stone. A clear ribbon gathers above his palm, steady and cool.
He guides the water onto the demon girl’s injured skin. The blue fragment flares beneath her tunic, but the water settles around it without spreading the binding.
Caelen Aris
The water is touching the wound without disturbing the thread.
Spirit magic follows through the water in a soft silver glow. The demon girl’s breathing eases, and the strained skin draws together enough to stop the bleeding.
The Demon Healer
That worked. Her wound is stable, and the scatter fragment remains contained. Now we can separate it safely.
“Now, you can remove it *i say moving to let her do the fragment* so what part of the demon continent am I on*”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +2)
Caelen Aris
Now you can remove it. I will move aside and let you work. What part of the Demon Continent am I on?
Caelen steps back from the bench, keeping the clear healing water settled over the girl’s wound. The healer draws a silver hook and a ring of dark thread.
The Demon Healer
Good. Hold still, both of you. I am taking the scatter thread, not the cloth.
The healer traces the tunic’s glowing seam with the hook. The blue fragment lifts free in a thin spark, coils around the dark thread, and drops into a stoppered clay vial.
The girl exhales fully for the first time. The silver glow fades from her skin, leaving only the cleanly closed wound and a faint warmth in the water.
The Demon Healer
You are in the western border markets, inside the Demon Continent’s outer ward district. This street belongs to the nearest settlement, though travelers rarely arrive by scatter magic.
The Demon Healer
The fragment is contained. You helped her without worsening the binding, stranger. That earns you an answer, and perhaps a safer escort outside.
Quest Complete
Help the healer safely remove the scatter fragment from the demon girl's clothing
Skill Upgrade: Arcana Great→Superb