SHILOH HOLLOWAY

Your name is Jericho Athame. One of Violet Moon University’s most faithful students. You might be coming off of a string of late nights studying gothic literature, but that does not curb your energy. You wake up, in your bed this time and not at your desk, and have been possessed by the spirit of seeking and knowing. Not the usual grogginess that is familiar in your mornings today. No, today, you buzz with a low hum, perhaps akin to anxiety but closer to excitement, and not your usual deep seated. Along with some violently colored energy drink you’re bound to open soon, this newfound mission drives you out of your dorm early in the morning and into the heart of Witch City. You have people to meet.You like to think that The Oracle has made you as some sort of conduit: a vessel with the message of a misunderstood spirit that needs more knowledge in order to save the city. The Oracle’s ancient exile will not be in vain after all, as long as you have something you can do about it.They seem to have left a letter on top of one of your textbooks. The paper, noticeably stained by time, is folded into a yellowing envelope.

“My dearest, Agent,The world might be new to you, yes? I understand that you have chosen your vessel, but has your vessel chosen you? Struggling to find yourself in a body already well acquainted and bruised by circumstance? I know the bigger picture. This vessel you've inhabited knows more than you, and perhaps you will come to conflict over it. But let me give you a leverage. Sometimes, a little bit of exposition comes in handy. After all, you're the one in control now, right? That funny word we love and hate, control! You can't be floundering around like you’ve never been here before, it simply will not do.Let’s talk formally and without smoke and mirrors for a moment: your job is to encounter the people of Witch City and learn all you can from them. Your main subject of interest is an emerging cult, known for working in the dark, using the forest as ritual sites, and traveling by catacombs. You must know what the people of Witch City know, and try your best to differentiate their biases from their truths. Of course, with personage and life comes the tricky matter of feelings and fears, but I trust that your own intuition shall serve you to sort the facts from fiction.The disappearances are worth noting. Over the course of the summer, now heading into autumn, many people have been reported missing in the city, the number steadily climbing, approaching thirty over five months. We are not a town known for people moving out or in for that matter, so these subtractions are noticeable and upsetting. I can't confirm whether all of these are related to this cult activity, but there must be a tie, right? They coincide with each other during these times, after all. It may be worth mentioning or asking about in your travels. You may meet someone closer to it than you want to.Now, let's talk about why this cult is such a go-getter. Witch City is governed by its tradition, which you should familiarize yourself with. Over half of Witch City is Pagan. The dominating religion will smack you in the face more than the cult probably will. The Coven Revolving, the judges and the juries and the executioners of this town. The devoted Renovacist ways of the Coven will come up at nearly every turn, so it’s best you know what you’re getting into. The main point of Renovacism comes down to death: we revolve. Reincarnation is the ultimate goal, to come back as another creation, and take your second chance at life. Otherwise, your spirit will be bound to the earth. So to treat the earth and its inhabitants as sacred, potentially even ancient iterations of what once was, and care for all things… All of this, just to amount to eternal life. Revolve and revolve and revolve. Not my thing, but we know this about me already.And what is religion without Gods? Dissiri, Karsia, Halycon, and Amasius. King, Queen, Knight, and Page. You’ll hear the names. They are… not big fans of me. Maybe it’s best I leave that information to you to find out. Gods. There's a whole holy book about it, Witch City has a fascinating collection at its library. But yes. The Holy Court. Four of them. Really riveting stuff.Now, do all Gods need angels? No, but people love a good right hand man. Witch City’s regulation has been conflated with its congregation in the form of The Tarot Court. These bozos, if I can say that, are the closest thing this place gets to a leader: four quasi-prophets each serving a Deity as some sort of mouthpiece. They're so mysterious that even I do not know much about them, but I'm more than sure you’ll find yourself tuned into the conspiracy grapevine that leads back to them somehow. The Tarot Court is lucky that the city’s crime rates are exceptionally low…Now, have I said too much? I'm sure you’ll find your way, but I’d hate to see someone as precious as you get lost in it all. Your job is to fill in the gaps, the missing links of knowledge that I cannot gather myself, being bound here alone. I may as well share what I do know to give you an upper hand. But not too much information, of course! You are still a seeker worthy of the hunt. I know this now.As you meet the people of Witch City, I will also help guide you to other sources of information that may help you. The Witch City news, the radio station, even newer inventions such as the internet will be beneficial. 2020 is such a revolutionary year, it appears!You will do good. I believe in that, truly.And, once again, I need you to find out everything you can about the one they call The Visionary.All the best, and may you be blessed,The Oracle”

You tuck the letter into your satchel and leave your dorm with a newfound sense of purpose. Despite your enthusiasm to get on the case at hand, you still take your time on the scenic route, admiring the cathedrals as you go by. The cathedrals, the temples housing the congregation of Witch City’s Coven Revolving, and the four deities that look over the cycle of life, death, and rebirth for all that honor it. As you walk, you take mental pictures of the glass windows, leaving a coin or some small button as offerings on the stone fences around various landmarks, and taking note of the people you pass. After all, the underbelly of the city is contorting, and you can see it in the face of its citizens. A subtle anxiety, furrowed brows, and quick eyes. And still, that very shakiness is not enough to dull the beauty that is Witch City.Despite the draw of the heavy center of the city, it feels wrong to dive headfirst into the busyness. No, you need a lead first before you take any major leaps. You can’t risk making your mission too known. You wander for a bit, thinking about your first move, your course of action, how you're actually going to do this. It’s so much bigger than you… and you realize you’ve been given control of not just your mission, but of this worry wart student that'll overthink all his options. You’ve got work to do.

While wandering the city, the scenery comes back into focus. You’ve found yourself rounding the edges of the Witch City Primeval Forest. The edge where the city ends, complete with The Bethesda Cemetery and the entrance to the forest, with walking trails and massive conspiracies all around. Something about the two landmarks feels important and haunting, but you can't quite place it. The watchful eyes of the cemetery and the dark allure of the forest might hold secrets you can bring back to The Oracle. Looking the other way, towards the greater scope of your town, you notice a small road, sunken in and adorned by overgrowth. It is marked with a worn sign, now caressed by vines. Dogma Grove Road. The sign has a light hitting it that reflects a rainbow iridescence into your eyes. Not a bad place to start, at least.

You make your turn onto the road without second thought and immediately come to face what rests here. A very short road, mostly home to small and worn down apartment complexes. Some of them definitely need more care than others, but you are drawn to the artistic nature of it all: graffiti splattered about on the buildings’ sides, painted hydrants and signs, various pride flags hanging over balconies and in windows, and faint music playing live from somewhere on the opposite end of the road. Sanctuary of the starving artist.Despite the life of its art, it is strangely void of people, except for one. At the end of a walkway leading up to a grayish apartment building is one person, drowning in a giant hoodie and taking frequent drags from a cigarette, sitting down on the curb with her attention on the ground. Her eyes are hidden by the scruff of her hair, but you can feel her exhaustion from the sight of her alone. She doesn't seem to see you at first, enraptured by the nicotine and watching some bug in the grass. She lights up in your vision. This is who the Oracle sent you for.You approach as nicely as you can without alarming her. But when you're close enough, she jumps a bit, crushing her cigarette into the pavement next to her and hopping to her feet and fanning some of the smoke away.

????: Little early to be out doing missionary work, isn't it?

You can't see her do it, but you can just tell she rolls her eyes at you. This only offends you slightly.

????: Can we make it quick then? I’ve got a gig up at the café I gotta go soundcheck for in a bit.

????: Shiloh. Holloway, if that matters.

> "And so, Shiloh..."

She flinches slightly.

SHILOH: Whoa, hold up. What's this actually for? You’re not a missionary, sure, but where are you coming from?

You might be a touch too eager for you to mind your social manners.And you can't give away too much so soon.

SHILOH: On the cult?

You tell her you’re doing academic research, yes, but personal research as well, in hopes of finding the cult’s roots so we can better understand it as a city.

SHILOH: Well, I’m not sure if you're in the right place. I don't know much. I've heard about it. Couple of friends of mine have had some small run ins. It's nothing that concerns me, believe me. Are you, like, headed up arms and battalions over it?

SHILOH: Do you have personal experience with them?

You catch yourself in your lie as it falls from your mouth. Maybe you’re inside too much, because the concept of this cult has only vaguely been in your proximity lately. A whisper here and there, but from classmates or colleagues just passing by. Too much writing and reading to do for you to get caught in the grapevine.… But telling her you're here on account of a vision in your dreams would get you nowhere.You give Shiloh a look of defeat, and gesture for her to give you something, anything, else. She doesn't seem to want to budge.

SHILOH: Right. Listen, I don't take nicely to acolytes, not exactly in the business of believing. I might be one of very few people in this town that don't take The Coven Revolving’s bullshit.

You think back to The Oracle. You’ve always been a Coven faithful, but there's something that’s rattling you about The Oracle and their story, hearing it from them… After hearing tales of venom and vitriol from the Book of Rebirth about deceivers and betrayals, being recited by High Priests, you thought you knew it all. But now, pairing the old Coven tales of one cast away with an actual person who has put their trust in you, something between a nobody and a fallen angel…Thinking you know it all, only for it to crumble over night and thrust you into the search for all that you never knew, and unlearning what you did. Maybe there is some bullshit after all.Your challenge rests before you.Shiloh keeps a respectable distance between you and her, hands firmly in her hoodie pockets, and avoiding looking you right in the eye. You keenly take note of her body language.

SHILOH: I believe that belief is not always a divine concept. I believe in myself and my guitar. I believe in art, and I find my faith in my little community. The artists here on Dogma Grove, we come from all different walks of life. But we are united in art and music. Dude at the other end did the artwork for an EP I’m putting out next month. Everyone is really excited for me! There's a nicer apartment down that way too, they have a bigger living room than me and they want to throw me an EP release party. It's really nice. It’s community. And I find it on this bumfuck street with shitty apartments more than I find it in The Coven’s cathedrals, even if they are pretty. I don't need Holy Dissiri and Karsia telling me how to live and die. And I don't need a newborn cult to promise me a heaven. I just need my people.

SHILOH: Damn, all that room in your bigass ears and you just use it to hear what you wanna hear.
But yeah. I had … I had a friend that had a run in with them. Some guy with some fancy name title who claimed to be of some big importance. He said that what the Coven lacked, they made up for. There was a paradise to be found if you chose to see it. Our spirits do not need to be bound to the earth if we look up and see the gate to someplace else. Some kind of heaven, I guess. Some shit like that.

SHILOH: You must be fun at parties, huh?

You notice her restraint on grinding her jaw, briefly speaking through gritted teeth, but loudly exhaling through her words instead.

SHILOH: Here's all I fucking know: the cult is running on a campaign of the promise of afterlife instead of a promise of reincarnation like the Coven. I know the cult is dangerous and preying on the vulnerable. I know the Coven is confused and scared as shit. And I know that both sides are eating themselves alive over empty divine promises, and chasing after answers we will never know. They hold no power over me. Do they hold power over you?

SHILOH: You’d be doing yourself a favor by minding your business, and maybe that would be doing Witch City as a whole a favor. Don’t you go to that Violet Moon school? Witch City needs people that know what they're doing around here.
Listen, I get it. Wanting to do something bigger than you. Taking down a cult sounds like a fuckin awesome party trick story. But I think, maybe, it’s more convoluted than you want it to be, and definitely not worth the effort. They’re all leeches. They’ll rip the life out of you.

She notices her voice raising, involuntarily, and clears her throat before bringing her voice down to just under talking level.

SHILOH: God, you’re fucking nosy, you know that right?

SHILOH: Stubborn. But respectable, I guess.
I don’t know exactly what this cult is serving other than an alternative. But it isn't exactly boding well. That people are being approached about it, as if to turn them against the city, or to rope them in. It’s manipulative. But that’s what religion is at the end of the day. All this talk of comfort and peace and paving the way for how we die, not giving a shit about how we live. Ends justifies the means and all that shit.

SHILOH: I have a former friend of a friend involved, don't know him all that well personally. And I know some people that have been approached by, like, higher-ups and stuff, but they’ve done their best to cut ties and not engage further. They just pop up in random corners. I'm shocked you’ve never been approached. Wonder if they’ve got sleeper agents at Violet Moon or something. Feels like a perfect demographic of impressionable young people to manipulate.

SHILOH: You’d be fucking shocked, buddy. I thought I was smarter too.

Shiloh goes to speak more before she pauses, flinching and realizing what she just said.

She lunges towards you and covers your mouth with her hand. You catch her eyes under her hair, wide with a glaze of fear you’ve never seen this close before. Her nose is heavy with rapid inhales, as if your words had drawn her blood. She quickly glances up and down the street, making sure no one else was watching. And you see the realization dawn on her that even if someone was watching, she likely couldn’t watch them back.And, this time with intention, through gritted teeth.

SHILOH: When they can’t see, they will listen.

She steps away from you, adjusting herself and centering herself. She nods as if to say sorry, but she seems cautious to speak. So much so that she resorts to a raspy grumble, bordering a whisper.

SHILOH: Do you need anything else?

You shake your head.

She takes out a tiny notebook complete with a little pencil from her jeans pocket. You watch her flip through pages of scribbles, presumably lyrics or poems, before she lands on a clean one. She jots something down, rips the page out, and folds it up before slipping it between your claws. Before you can even unfold it, she nods again and darts into her apartment, leaving you alone at the end of her walkway.You unfold the paper to find, scribbled in her handwriting: “ROMAN MARLOWE. SPELLBOUND MAGIC STORE, PENTACLE DISTRICT. HE KNOWS ABOUT THE LEGION.”The mission appears to contort before you as you depart from Dogma Grove Road more confused than you were when you arrived. But this works for you, for it only lights a fire under you to continue. In the name of The Oracle, of Violet Moon University, of Shiloh, and in the name of Witch City, you will help bring this cult to light, this… Legion…. and expose them for their serpents, and live to see Witch City at peace once again.You will descend into the city like lightning, and know what they know.

SHILOH: Justice is a hot commodity these days, isn’t it? You know, I bet the Tarot Court would love you. If anyone wants to do something about this cult thing, it should be them, right? Why not go to them?

SHILOH: I know they’re like these elusive tough guys and everything but you’d think, since they’re the ones we turn to for, you know, guidance and leadership, that they’d…. I dunno… guide and lead?
Actually, I know more about them than about the cult I think. I actually have a juicy story about one of them, you wanna hear?

Oh, but Jericho, you’re getting a little off base here, right?

SHILOH: So I do music and stuff, right? I have a show today over at Sol’s cafe, actually. I play local gigs but Sol himself really likes my stuff I guess. The rumor is that Sol is dating one of the Tarot Court, The Page of Cups, I don’t know his real name. But I guess the Tarot Court, the four of them go there kinda regularly? You wouldn’t even really know it was them unless you were really in the know of things, they’re just like you and me, except with massive magic and power. I don’t really know how that rumor started, but I hear it so much with so much conviction that I’m inclined to think there's some truth to it. There’s all kinds of gossip that floats through Sol’s, I’m shocked it hasn’t gotten back to him. I’m sure he’d just deny everything though, if you ask about if he has a boyfriend, he’ll always say he’s not looking right now. Never single, never taken, just not looking. I respect his privacy but I can’t help but wonder.

SHILOH: I’ve heard quite a few things about the four on the Tarot Court. But the most interesting one to me is The Ace of Swords. I guess he used to sleep around the gay scene, might have been a bit of a drinker once upon a time. Good for him, I guess, we’ve all got our pasts, but it means he’s probably got a lot of guys that know of him. At one of my shows, a buddy of mine named Maverick got all embarrassed because I guess Ace dude was in the crowd with Page and the other two. Maverick said that Ace and him had hooked up not that long ago. Or at least, the guy we think is the Ace dude, Mav said his name was Kas, or something like that, and just gushed about the nasty gay shit they did. Mav also said that Kas was sobering up because of an ‘important job offer’ and didn’t hear much from him after that, but he was very memorable, clearly.

SHILOH: When I asked Sol about this Kas guy, he described him as a friend of a friend and seemed hesitant to talk more about it. I’ve been waiting to see if I see him again, but that gig was a couple months ago now. Maybe he was found out. Imagine that, huh? Being one of the most powerful magicians in Witch City, an anonymous leader and decision maker, and some guy who gave you head on a random Tuesday night exposes your position. I’d go fucking postal or some shit.

Shiloh chuckles to herself.

SHILOH: Fanboy, much? I mean, they are kinda cool, when they’re doing shit at least. I think the Page of Cups is a musician too, from what I’ve heard. But I guess they kind of just are people like us. Just crazy talented. The King of Pentacles might be able to read minds or something too. Would be awesome if he could just read our minds and know where this cult is and take the precautions necessary or whatever. But it’s never that simple. Who knows, maybe it’s all a facade? Maybe that Kas guy is the Ace of Swords, maybe he’s not? What if they don’t even have that great of magic at all? The Coven Revolving is comfortable chasing a lie and the cult is built on selling it, who’s to say The Tarot Court isn’t one too?

SHILOH: Dude, Ace of Swords is NOT going to sleep with you, relax.

SHILOH: My point is that I don’t trust easily. I trust my little niche, for sure, but I know it’s because they know what I stand for and respect me. The Coven never fostered me. I know the cult wouldn’t either. If you’re looking for information around town, I would just take everything with a grain of salt if I were you. Because the whole city is starting to take after the rumor circle at Sol’s, and the grapevine is long. You’ll find someone that knows more than me, I’m sure, but not every word is gospel, and I know that better than anyone.

SHILOH: Now, I can’t say I trust him otherwise, but there is one guy I used to know who I know is very interested in cult stuff. His name is Roman, he works at Spellbound over in the Pentacle District. And he’s there constantly doing psychic readings and shit for people. He’s, uh, eccentric, but you might find something with him. He’s a little… volatile. I’m sure you’ll love him.

She flashes a big toothy grin at you.

SHILOH: And hey, if you're too spooked by him, hop on over to Sol’s for my gig or something, starts at noon, and it’s not that far from Spellbound. If you want. Maybe you’ll see the Ace of Swords there.

She clicks her tongue as she turns to head back into her apartment, leaving you alone on Dogma Grove Road.You want to think she was onto something when she mentioned going to The Tarot Court. You’ve admired their magic for years and have only dreamed of ranking among them someday. But you don't feel the tether. No, the tether places you between The Oracle and the citizens of Witch City; the regular, everyday people and their experiences. Deep down, you know their insights will enlighten you and that the Tarot Court would leave you in the dark. Much to your dismay, you have to take other routes.Still, one disappointment will not deter you. After all, you have a destination to make your way towards next.For someone so critical of trust and belief, you truly did feel as though Shiloh has pointed you in the right direction.You make your way into the heart of Witch City so that you may know what they know.

SHILOH: Eradication? For something barely alive? Seems a little extreme, don't you think? I wouldn't be shocked if this cult ends up dead in the water within the month, just fizzling out with no fall out, yeah? Even if "eradication" wasn't a super harsh idea, I want no involvement with religious movements of any kind. I make music and I believe in nothing but myself.

SHILOH: The cult is a scary thought, don’t get me wrong, but it's also so new. We don’t know enough. I mean, that's why you're here in the first place, right? A belief comes from somewhere or someone, right? And that belief needs to catch on. And it is, a little bit. But compared to the Coven, it’s microscopic. Coven’s got staying power. Priests that people love and cathedrals and culture entangled in it. The cult? It’s got catacombs and anonymous leaders. Not the same level at all.

Shiloh scoffs a bit.

SHILOH: I mean, yeah? Don't need to be that deep in the weeds to see it. I hang around people of all different walks of life. Hell, I have some friends that have had run-ins with this “cult”, they're pretty outspoken even if they're halfway hiding. People love believing. A new idea hitting the zeitgeist of our old ways will turn heads.

SHILOH: Putting words in my mouth. Alright, listen. I'm one of very few atheists this place has to offer so I might be able to give you my insight on this dichotomy. My hot takes, make of them what you will.
Witch City’s biggest vulnerability is its faith, which also happens to be its biggest strength. They love to sit and tell you that you are free to believe what you want, but once you stray from the path, you lose your path to reincarnation. We romanticize this idea of becoming a spirit bound to the earth, encouraging us to do good so that we can reincarnate. But is that it? We just wander the earth as ghosts until we reincarnate, over and over and over? I can’t entirely blame people for wanting a way out. People don't like this, but what if death is okay? And it's okay not because we just come back, but because it's okay to die?

SHILOH: And besides that, this ever-winding chase to the question of where we go when we die has brought this city to its knees not in worship but in surrender. The literal second someone offers a new perspective, it's chaos. It’s fearmongering and manipulation and coddling. No one knows what to do because they never really considered being opposed. They have so much power in the faiths of their devotees, the acolytes and the pious types, that the minute there's any sort of sway, it's a betrayal. It's mind control, at least in their eyes.

SHILOH: The cult is feeding on the same insecurities as The Coven: the fear that we turn into nothing when we die. Coming up with a sort of “after” protocol eases that fear, it's not hard to think of new things to do as ghosts or whatever. And I don't think preying on that is right either. But that's what's happening.
The cult and The Coven are very similar not in belief but in practice. People are afraid to die. How do we make life worth it then? By giving them a goal in death. A location or a way to continue or some sort of relief. The Coven calls it rebirth. The cult calls it paradise. It's kinda fucked up, if you think about it. Congregations are strengthened by their numbers, so why not align people to your cause with the hollow promise of salvation? Enforcing a sanitized purity for a vague reward…

SHILOH: So I don't subscribe to it. Any of it. But with a city built on this hollow promise, I guess I understand why it's new and exciting to imagine a newfound paradise.
I see some of the panic, sure. But I do also see the joy people get from religious belief. You can't deny that side of it either. I see the celebrations in the name of something bigger. I see people gazing at the sky differently. I get it.
I will not lock my head in a book that barks at me to be reborn when I can instead go find my people in record stores and playing music and doing art. But I will also not rip someone out and claim they're wrong when I was made to feel that way my whole life.

SHILOH: Sure.

Shiloh sighs.

SHILOH: Right. From what I know, the big draw for the cult is their heaven. Instead of reincarnating or being bound as a spirit to the earth, there's a place, separate, for the afterlife. Paradise, heaven, I dunno if they call it something else.

She sighs again, this time drawing out a shaky breath, heavy in the air around her.

SHILOH: Sorry for yapping at you, I don't mean to sound preachy or anything. That’s the last thing I want. Uh. I don't know what else I can offer you in terms of information.

SHILOH: Faith might be the strongest force on the planet, dude. I get it. Because I put my faith in other things other than religion. I think your faith might not be in religion but maybe just in this city. In that way, we’re alike. I wish to see a Witch City unbound from religious dogma someday. Where we can celebrate the same things but maybe in different names. Where we can be weird and goth and unapologetic and be united by all differences. Maybe it's wishful thinking. But faith is the strongest force on the planet, right?

SHILOH: Realistically? No. I don't think they want to or even should. I don't think the cult has staying power to even get to that point. I think it's got a couple months, give or take. If it doesn't get the support, it might disappear into the dark it was born in. But if it does, it can't stay in the shadows forever, and they'll have to make themselves known. It either dies or loses its anonymity, which is what is giving it the fear factor right now. And putting names to faces will help the Coven deal with it directly.

SHILOH: Maybe. I mean, personally, I'm just going to keep making music and letting that move me. I just got a big break and I have an EP out in a couple weeks. I'll put my energy in my art instead of in a prayer in a cathedral.

SHILOH: The cult?

Shiloh stiffens. You notice her head twitching, as if she wants to look over her shoulders, but is restraining herself.

SHILOH:I don't like seeing people scared. I'm nervous it's gonna come to a boiling point somehow. I'm scared innocent people are getting hurt. But I don't think this cult is… I don't think it's…. I don't think it deserves to die. Maybe dissolve is a better word. I'm inclined to believe that the cult is manipulative and that not everyone is there on… their own volition. It can't all be evil. I know there’s victims that can’t get out. Maybe the people being roped in will just. I dunno. Wake up or something. Take their power back.

She shuffles and takes some small steps back from you, gaze locked on her shoes rather than you.

SHILOH: It's wishful thinking.

SHILOH: Maybe if the cult dissolves, I won't feel like the only one here that's faithless.

She looks back up from the ground, and you swear you see the glint of her eyes under her bangs. Something like fire, little golden flares.

SHILOH: Sorry, for yapping and gettin’ all sappy on you. Not often I get asked to speak instead of sing. I… don't think I can give you much information you're probably looking for. Sorry, dude.

She gives you a small smile that you can only understand as shielding some kind of grief, but you should not prod further.

SHILOH: I know there's people that can help you though. This city is smaller than we want to give it credit for. If you're interested, I used to know a guy who may have gotten caught in some of that tidal wave, but he's a little… erratic.

SHILOH: His name is Roman Marlowe, he… was… a friend of a friend. He, uh…. He knows a lot. That's all I’ll say. He's passionate for sure, but I think he knows most of what he's talking about. He works as a psychic in the Pentacle District over at that Spellbound magic store. They open soon, I'm sure you'll get a kick out of him. I'm headed that way later for an afternoon gig at Sol’s cafe, if you need someplace to go after.

SHILOH: For sure. Good luck with your... your mission.

She turns and heads back into her apartment building. You notice this time that this building is one of the smaller ones on the block, probably home to two or three others, and Shiloh likely lives alone. You think back to what she said, about feeling like she's the only person around that's faithless. She's not, but isolation always permeates the truth.You begin walking again, bound for the Pentacle shopping district.You feel your heart ache, and your drive to find out this cult's secrets grows hotter. To see it dissolve so Shiloh may find some companionship in dissenters, and to uphold your promise to The Oracle… You must know more.You must know what they know.

SHILOH: This is about to disappoint me, isn't it?

You feel a tug at the center of your chest. You feel Jericho growing distant from you. Trying to rid himself of your control, for just a moment. He wants the power.

Jericho takes over. You don't want him to, but you lose control of your vessel. He speaks.

JERICHO: I am not saying this as a missionary. I am saying this as someone who wants to see justice served in this city. I was wavering on my faith too. I'm a full time student, my magic skills are subpar, and I’ve longed my whole life to do something more but never really knew what. Someday, I would like to approach The Tarot Court with my skills. The Tarot Court, who must be doing their own work to protect us from these unknown threats, who serve as the mediators between us and the sky, whose magic rivals the very deities we should be worshipping. I may very well worship and follow them more than anything from The Book of Rebirth. But learning magic has… not been working in my favor. My witchcraft studies at Violet Moon are my only under average grades. It's humiliating. My dream of becoming the King of Swords for the Tarot Court fizzles further everyday. I felt alone and lost. Not unlike you.
But last night, the most incredible and ridiculous thing happened to me.

JERICHO: I know you won't believe me. But I received what I can only call a vision. Or maybe I was astral projected somewhere, I'm honestly still not entirely sure. But in the form of a dream, I was sent to this dark, in-between place. I believe this might have been a prison for the spirit who was banished there. That spirit called himself The Oracle, and I have reason to believe that this is the same person from that Book of Rebirth myth about the dissenter. I read it when I was very young, but I remember how it struck so much fear into us as kids. The tale of the first person to ever dissent from Renovacism, who was beaten to death near the staircase near the Tarot Court’s very own manor. Their name was Kavalta once upon a time, but they told me to call them The Oracle.

JERICHO: They gave me a mission: to investigate the secrets of this cult so that I may know what they know. What I come back with might be enough to stop the inner turmoil. I can bring it to The Oracle and maybe even The Tarot Court and I can be of use to my city.
It was so vivid and possessive. Like a spirit has inhabited me and brought me here, to you, to begin this mission. And I know, it's all bullshit to you. But I had no idea who you were when I woke up, but I knew I had to go out and learn something, to meet someone important, and start my work. And I did that without anything but my soul knowing something beyond me. I was moved by some holy ghost. It felt both holy and natural. I did not land here, in your walkway, by accident.

JERICHO: So maybe your atheism will be tested someday. Maybe it won't. But mine was. And I was chosen for a cause far bigger than myself. Maybe it was my intense need to defend, but The Oracle mentioned my desire for truth and knowledge. I was chosen to seek and know. I will seek and I will know.
I know our meeting today meant something, even if you turn around and think I'm a fool.
I will seek and I will know.

Shiloh stares at Jericho, dumbfounded. You can't see her eyes but you can only imagine the swell of regret. Of humiliation.You wouldn't have let Jericho do that, right?

SHILOH: I really wanted to like you, Jericho.

She just stares and shakes her head, and does not bother looking you in the face again. She suddenly sounds exhausted.

SHILOH: There's a guy I know that works in the Pentacle District, at the Spellbound Magic store. He’s a good person to bother next. He had dreams too. I'm sure you'll get along. But I think you should leave now.

She turns on her heel and then stops half way up her walkway, projecting over her shoulder.

SHILOH: Be upfront next time. You might be just as delusional as the cult you claim is a threat to your city.

She disappears into her apartment and slams the door behind her.

You can feel that part of Jericho feels embarrassed, like he just screwed over someone who was genuinely trying to connect despite differences. Someone, whose loneliness drove a stake into all she did, who may have felt seen by the simple ask of an opinion, all washed away. He feels unclean. You feel ashamed.But there is something. There is a small part of Jericho, buried under his self disgust, that feels he was right to do it. A part that believes his loyal desire to this mission should triumph above personal engagements and anecdotes. That goal-oriented part of his mind, questioning why The Oracle had brought him to an atheist in the first place, that knew he was not going to change her mind no matter what he said. The small part of him that felt that putting it all out there despite her beliefs would cut the bullshit, and show her, truly, who Jericho is, before she got caught up in the reserved lie he was trying to play off. He feels the anxiety of his cause, and the distinct lack of information Shiloh really gave him, to be a fire under his humiliation. A fire that still pushes him forward.You feel Jericho connect back to you.You turn and hurry down the street, unsure of where it is you need to go but going there regardless.You know what you must do, and this interaction was a failure in that regard.You must descend into the city.And you must know what they know.