Swamped

You could probably back up into the dressing room. There might even be a window in there - your mind wasn't exactly focused on possible exits when you were looking around.

But then you'd lose the trail. And the human was worried about Nual catching on. You suspect you're close to your main objective. If you lose them now...

...then you're less likely to tip them off about exactly what that objective is, come to think of it. So catching them is less important than figuring out exactly what they were up to. And if your suspicions as to who the human was are correct, well, you know some people you can ask about him.

Still, you should probably make a good show of trying something first, in case they glance back.

Wait. The stool. You tossed it aside and it landed near the door. That might just do the trick. You slip back in and grab it, holding it towards the beast.

It bites off one of the legs. Fortunately, you can see the grebling witnessed your failed attempt. Should make you look sufficiently desperate that they won't have high expectations. You back up and look around for a window.

There is one, but it's closed, and rather small. And it looks like the beast is trying to follow you in - though it gets stuck on the door frame.

But you're not sure how long that frame will hold. You'll have to get the window open...

...except someone's just pulled it open from the outside. And by the looks of things, that someone is Mortimer Flame.

And he's shouting something at you.

"Help! Let me in!"

"Help me get in!" he shouts, reaching inside. "This window's a tight fit."

"I don't think that's a good idea. There's a whole cauldron of that stuff that drove you wild before. And a muckbeast at the door."

He frowns.

"Doesn't sound good, but I don't have much time to get away. So, in it is."

You relent, and pull him in. He wasn't kidding about it being a tight fit for him. He pulls his shirt up over his nose.

"Maybe not as good as that fancy mask of yours, but it's all I can manage," he sighs. Then he shuts the window.

"I was on my way out," you point out.

"Well, there's a gang of masked creeps looking for me. Theirs don't look like yours, though. Different color. But some other gang picked a fight with 'em and I tried to run. Not sure how long it'll be before they catch up."

Well. This is inconvenient for getting away, but you may as well make the most of it.

"Does your father resemble you closely? Because if so, I might have met him tonight."

"What?" Mortimer asks, baffled. "But he's supposed to be out of town for three days. Pops had to send a rider out to tell him what happened to us."

"Unfortunately, between that beast at the door and helping you in, I've got no idea where he is now. So it's not as if I can ask you to confirm..."

"No, now that you mention it, I can see he was definitely here," Mortimer says. He's looking at something.

a dead spiky terror looks squashed

And this is definitely his handwriting

Mortimer is looking at a discarded sheet of paper. There's a crude drawing of what looks like a spiky terror flattened by something, and some writing under it that you can't quite make out.

"Father has a poor memory. He often makes doodles and little rhymes. That's his art style, and his handwriting."

"Are you able to read it?" you ask. "Because I can't make head or tail of it."

"No wonder. Aside from how sloppy he writes, this is in Kandrian. No, wait, I think it's Lower Kandrian, even."

"Lower Kandrian?" you ask.

"It used to be the main language, but then the government changed a lot of the words - Brume knows why. Still in use because there's a few remote villages that they haven't enforced the new tongue in yet, so people who do business there call it that to distinguish it. Uncle Leo told me about it once, and I recognize a few of the words he mentioned."

"So, can you read it?"

He frowns.

"About half the words. Between Father's messy handwriting, and the fact I don't even know that much Kandrian of either variety... well, it's not easy to make sense of. But this is what I'm seeing here..."

Use ??? leverage over sea people (?) force cooperation (or else!)

"Something about 'leverage'... uh, I think these two words are 'sea people', which is just weird... 'force cooperation'? Maybe he's trying to blackmail the sailor's guild?" Mortimer scratches his head.

You suspect "sea people" means something else. And if your suspicions are correct, one of them was watching the show.

The muckbeast is here now, so the panic may have subsided. You might still be able to find that woman.

But there's a muckbeast in the door, and Mortimer says there's a roving band of masked people outside. Not to mention you aren't entirely sure it's safe to leave this cauldron unattended.

In the meantime, you decide it's best not to leave Mortimer without a response.

"The mixture in this cauldron looks a lot like the ooze in their guildhouse, so I suppose he might have something to do with that." You don't think it's especially likely that's what the message is about, but it's possible.

"Can't see how making a mess gives him leverage, though," Mortimer says, scratching his head. "I mean, it just made me attack you, right? Sailors get in brawls all the time, I doubt they'd even notice anything."

"Well, it gives me an idea or two for following up on some other leads," you continue. "But I can't really check any of them in here. So the question is, should I take my chances with the muckbeast, or with whoever was chasing you."

Mortimer glances around.

"You've got a mask. Doesn't look like theirs, but maybe they'll figure you're with them." He sounds a little doubtful.

But he's give you a thought.

"Well, this is a dressing room. Maybe I can borrow something from the wardrobe to blend in a little better."

"Oh, good idea. A few of them were in longcoats," Mortimer says. "I think I see one in there. Looks like the same color, even."

You grab the longcoat and put it on, then carefully slip out the window. Now you suppose you should get back inside through the main doors.

But as you approach the corner, you hear somebody talking.

It's Sunflower and Black they are discussing a plan to use  the masks  of the masked people against them a plan devised by the swamp rider

The voice sounds distorted, but familiar.

"You sure this stuff is going to work?"

"Well, not really, but that woman knows the make of the masks better than I do."

It sounds like Black and Sunflower... but Black was frozen in time. And there's still a strange effect to the voices.

You glance carefully around the corner and you see them. But they don't look quite right... they're translucent.

And insubstantial, apparently. Someone in a mask rushes right through them as though they aren't even there.

"Hey! Which division are you with?" they ask.

Before you can think of an answer, though, the illusory Sunflower and Black walk backwards into the spot where they're standing. Then they move strangely towards each other, and there's a flash of light.

After which, the masked person isn't moving either.

Except that now there's an illusory image of them a few feet away, doing something unusual.

They seem to be using some sorta of vapor jar a medical equipment(a tube connected to a jar used to give the patient medication when they themselves are unable to) except that this one is modified and seem to spread large quantities of smoke as more mirror images of the masked people close in the smoke seem to tighten the strap somehow and make them desperate to remove it

Specifically, the masked person looks to be confronting Sunflower and Black. But Black makes a motion of holding something up.

You can't actually see anything in his hands. But you do see the translucent image of the masked person reaching for their mask. It looks as though it's tightening?

And then, suddenly, the illusion leaves. It's the same sensation you had in the warehouse. As though it's moving through time somehow.

Right now, though, you're less concerned about what that means and more concerned with what these illusions actually are. What they did to the masked person just now... it looked like an attack, honestly. And the fact that you could see Sunflower makes you worry that he may have been a victim as well.

You think that what you're dealing with is uncontrolled time magic. It's freezing people it comes into contact with... and the illusion resembles the visions you had when you tried experimenting with time ether several hours ago. Perhaps it's playing out events that would have happened if not for its interference.

But you're not sure what to do about it. You're fairly sure it was your own time magic that unleashed this thing. You don't think you can safely handle the ether. Perhaps another wizard who wasn't displaced in time might, but you don't know of any around here...

...Except yourself.

Your younger self isn't aware of his powers yet, but he still has them. But merely waking him up would obviously disrupt the timeline, let alone explaining things to him. And without your experience, would he even be capable of controlling the ether that well?

Wait. You do know of another wizard. The woman at the warehouse used a spell. On the other hand, she'd hardly be cooperative... but if you could convince her, the timeline might be preserved. Assuming she's even where you left her - she might well have fallen victim for all you know.

Well. As far as you can tell, those are your choices. And whichever one you go with, you're going to need to think very carefully about how to approach them.

Better head to the warehouse lady. Contacting yourself is probably bound to fail, since you know it didn't happen, although who really knows how time works?

As for an approach, hmm... Maybe if she's patient enough you can try to explain a little of your situation. Might be enough to say that you're working for the gods and you're unstuck in time.

You decide that trying to persuade someone uncooperative is a good deal safer than trying to deal with the matters that would arise from having a conversation with yourself.

You left her tied up on a muckbeast in a warehouse, with an identical-looking woman frozen in time. And from what the lizard was able to translate, the beast was apparently supposed to meet with someone.

Well, the easiest place to start is the warehouse. Even if the beast left, you can try to pick up its trail.

But that requires getting to the warehouse. And it quickly becomes clear that won't be easy. There's a group with masks marching through the street up ahead, all carrying weapons. While you might be able to bluff, if it doesn't work you'll be in a lot of trouble. And how many more of them are there along the way? You can't be sure that taking another route won't just lead you into another group.

May as well figure out a way of dealing with this one, then. Looking more closely, the first thing you notice is that the group seems to be protecting two people in the middle. Two people who seem to be carrying something.

A cauldron, though you can't be sure if it is terror concoction or sleep mixture, better sneak by(if that's possible) if you end up caught that's no different from what they are up to anyway, not that the cauldron helps with the sneaking. Though that is a good opportunity to see what they up to just look where they go don't stray from your goal

It looks like another cauldron. You can't tell what's in it from here.

They don't seem to have a heat source, though. If that's the green concoction, then it shouldn't be active right now. They may be planning to use it wherever they're carrying it.

But it could also be something that produces fumes without being all that hot. Hard to say - it's not as if you're fully aware of this group's capabilities.

You opt to try to stay in the shadows. If they spot you, you can claim you had something especially sensitive to do and were trying to keep out of sight just in case. That should have some plausibility as a bluff.

You also make a point of watching where they're going, in case you find someone you can direct to follow them.

But you don't get very far in your sneaking efforts before you run into someone else skulking around in the same place.

Not her again! She's a witch!

It's yet another woman with the same face and hair. Or possibly one of the ones you've already met - she's wearing a long cloak, so you can't tell what she's got on under it.

You think it's about time for a more pointed interrogation. Except there's no way you can get one with that crowd over there.

And she's clearly as surprised to see you as you are to see her. She's sizing you up, probably trying to figure out if you're a threat.

Well, you're probably not going to be able to question her if she runs, or if she decides to draw the attention of the group. But if you make a sudden move, she might attack you, and you definitely don't think you're in any shape to handle that.

So you'll need to think carefully about how to approach this.

Let's gamble that she's trying to be as surreptitious as she appears, and appeal to her desire for continued subtlety. Hold your finger to your lips.

You hold a finger to your lips to motion for silence - really more of an offer. You'll be quiet if she does. Hopefully the mask doesn't mute the effect too much.

She simply glares at you without a word, then motions for you to get out of her way.

So she's not willing to make a scene. Or at least, not eager to. But you want to talk.

You can't remember any hand sign for "parley", so you settle for making a walking motion with your fingers, then mimicking a mouth opening and closing.

She responds with one finger and a narrowing of her eyes. Not interested, apparently. You could try to follow her anyway, but she probably wouldn't take that very well.

You can see one option left for persuading her. You have to convince her that the conversation has something to offer her, as well.

Of course, whatever offer you make, you'll need to be able to suggest it with just your hands.

Rebecca used to have a weird hand signal that she used to make when she had something to speak with the captain during specially bad storms, you never though much of it but considering recent events do the hand signal and see if she responds

Rebecca is the first person you think of when you see this face, probably because she's the one you actually saw the most. You didn't speak with her much - you were there for magic, not politics - but you both spoke with the captain often enough, so you have some idea of her habits.

And there were times when she didn't even speak. You saw her make a strange motion with her arm - it resembled a swimming stroke, now that you think of it. After which the captain would issue orders and then wander off with her. It mostly happened in the middle of storms.

So maybe it's meaningful to these lookalikes. You haven't exactly got a lot of other ideas, so you make the same awkward swimming motion, at least as best as you can remember it.

The anger in her eyes is swiftly replaced with confusion. She hesitates for a bit, then makes the "out of my way" motion again, but follows it up with a "come here" motion.

She's curious, at least. Well, it's progress.

You let her slip past, and then start following. She moves back to the hospital, then around it, and then towards the sailors' guildhouse.

She then hides in a dark spot. You follow.

"I don't know how in the hells you learned that signal," she says, "but don't think for a moment it means I trust you, wizard."

"I didn't imagine it would. I simply have some questions."

"And I don't have time or inclination to answer them. But if you help me out with something, I might be willing to reconsider."

Convince the local doctor or you yourself create a neutralizer it doesn't matter just follow this instructions and fast you have a hour that cauldron it's not going to fulfill its porpoise and I have to make sure of that

"But first, I need to know where you got that mask," she says, eyeing you suspiciously.

"It belonged to somebody else. I don't know his name. I'm very confident he had nothing to do with this whole mess, though."

She frowns.

"Well, time's short enough that I'll have to take my chances. Those masked hooligans were carrying a cauldron. Unfortunately, it wasn't the one I'm looking for - just some kind of sedative gas. I'm sure they're up to no good with it, but the one I'm looking for is more important."

"Is it filled with a red ooze from a spiked terror?" you ask. "Because if so, I can tell you where it is."

She blinks.

"I've been searching for it all day. How did you..."

"Stumbled on it while looking into something else. It's in a dressing room at Patterson's bar. What do you need it for?"

She hesitates for a moment before deciding to answer.

"The bar? Not here? I was sure I was on the trail when I found some inside... bah, no time to figure out what they were planning. The important thing is neutralizing it before dawn. I have a lot of other fires to put out, though, some of them literal, so if you can take care of that and bring me proof you did it, then we'll talk. Meet me back here in one hour."

"Wait," you say. "How am I supposed to prove it?"

"You say it's from a spiked terror. Bring me a needle from it, and I'll be able to confirm you did the deed," she replies. "And I think I've put up with you long enough. I've lost too much time finding Jack Flame already."

She drops a vial on the ground. It shatters, and then she vanishes. Well, so much for clarifying that Flame ran off with the terror. Perhaps you'll be lucky and you can find a stray needle in the dressing room... though you doubt it.

You also aren't entirely sure how to neutralize it, but you can at least see if the doctor's made any progress with his analysis.

Before you head off, though, you notice something on the ground. Perhaps she dropped more than just the vial.

It's... A timepiece? But also a shell. A message from Nual, perhaps.