Swamped

It's a seashell... except, when you open it up, you see a clock.

Your first thought is that it's a fancy pocket watch... but looking closer, this is an actual seashell. And yet the clock is built into it.

Hmm. An object relating to both time and the sea. Could this be from Nual? You aren't sure what to make of it, but it seems important enough to hold onto. Then you walk back towards the hospital.

As you do, though, you spot the masked person frozen in time. Someone is poking at it - someone without a mask.

Well, Mortimer did mention another group confronting the masked people - and they might be working on the informant's orders. You're in a hurry, though. Perhaps you should see what the doctor's found out first.

Then again, maybe you can get help from this person. And you can't be sure if they'll still be around when you're done in the hospital.

Maybe just check on them? But don't linger too long and see if you can convince them to accompany you to save time also act a bit dismissive like you have all the answers(which you don't) and have a fell for what they know

There's a lot you could use help with. It's worth a quick conversation to see if they're willing.

You take your mask off to avoid causing a confrontation, and walk over.

"I wouldn't recommend getting too close," you start to say. Then you hear a rather loud noise as you get closer. It seems to be coming from your pocket.

The first thing you pull out is the seashell - that seems to be what's making the noise. And when you look at the clock inside, its hands are spinning wildly.

The unmasked person stares at you, and then at the shell.

"Who are you, and what is that?" they ask suspiciously.

"I'm a wizard, and I'm trying to figure that out." You back away a bit and the noise stops and the clock slows down. "I think it's reacting to whatever happened to that unfortunate fellow, though."

Which you definitely suspect you'll want to deal with. But not right now. Right now, your goal is to size up this person. Asking them a question would be a good place to start.

Have you seen anything unusual tonight?

Do you know about the masked fellas?

"Do you happen to know anything about what these people with the masks are doing tonight?" you ask, pointing at the time-frozen one.

"They're doing a lot of things. I can tell you what this one was doing, though - take a look at those gloves he's wearing."

You take a look at the strange shell first.

"I'm not sure I can get a good look without making this act up again."

The stranger sighs.

"There's blue dirt on their gloves. You ever seen blue dirt?"

"Not that I can remember, no," you reply. Even from this distance, it does seem striking now that it's been pointed out.

"Exactly. It ain't natural. But there's some unusual herbs that grow best with a mix of stuff in the dirt that turns it blue. So I'm thinkin' he was doing a little gardening. And you know what those herbs do?"

"I'm afraid I haven't the slightest idea."

"Really," the stranger says. "And here you are calling yourself a wizard."

You're a bit confused at first, but then you get an idea. You start checking for ether.

And you detect quite a bit of it right where the blue dirt is.

Which does, in fact, give you a rather clear idea of what herb is being talked about, even though you've never actually seen it yourself before.

Created by the Confederacy of Magnum a very very ancient order of mages deticated to the "perfection" a state of mastery of the mind, body and moral. At first being a group of scholars but becoming radically elitist and reaching a point of only allowing mages, Mana roots also known as Magnum Opus were their greatest creating siphoning ether from around them during growth and enchanting greatly a wizard magic capabilities, they are described in Magnum Folly a required book for all mages though first thought to have been destroyed when the Confederacy was stormed out of fear of the potential threat(a lesson on cooperation and numbers vs power that would shape wizard history) a lesser version started running around years later in areas with great ether concentration later being tamed by some it is still rare due to the difficulty of gathering that much ether all through it's growth

There was a story your mentor passed on to you, of an ancient order. They started as scholars who believed in achieving a "perfect" ideal in body, mind, and soul. But within a few generations, they considered only mages to be capable of achieving this ideal, and also that their order was the only one fit to rule the world.

It wasn't long before their group caught the attention of the gods, or so the story goes, and the members of the order were soon punished appropriately. It was merely passed down as a cautionary tale - a lesson that being a wizard doesn't make you better than everyone else.

But there was another part of the story. The order came up with a special herb, one that could draw in ether as it grew. It was supposedly able to enhance their magic. In fact, part of their defeat in the story involved a hero chosen by the gods taking the herb, and being able to use magic even though she never had the capability before.

If that herb were real, you can imagine a lot of people who would take an interest in it. And if it was drawing in ether, that would probably have some effect on the soil.

"Mana roots?" you ask. "I'd thought they were just a legend. How do you know about them - are you a wizard as well?"

The stranger shakes their head.

"You might call me a specialized historian. My, ah, employer suspected that one of his rivals was taking an interest in legends that could turn out not to be so legendary. Wanted someone to look into that sort of thing to give him an idea what he might be up against. And it's looking like tonight is the night they've been waiting to use all of it."

But why tonight? Flame is in the hospital, but that couldn't have been predicted...

Unless they made a move on him. You still haven't found anything about the actual incident that injured Flame and his family. On the other hand, you have more pressing concerns and his own people probably have a better idea of that than you do.

Speaking of which, this person's words suggest they work for Flame. But you should probably try to clarify that a little before advancing things too far.

Well, you have the crest, but that might be the kind of thing you wouldn't want to advertise to potential thieves. And Flame isn't really your employer, but you're certainly not counted amongst his enemies. Maybe you can offer a brief information exchange to get a better feel for their involvement in tonight's goings on.

Say, do any of those legends in your professional repertoire involve time magic? Or terror toxins? Or muck beasts? Or merpeople? Or sleeping gas or Laikenne?

Also try to get a feel for which Flame we talking about

Well, if your new acquaintance is interested in old legends, then it might be useful to shift the conversation to the most obvious legendary phenomenon.

"Has time magic come up in your research?" you ask. "Because it seems to suggest an explanation for what's happening to this fellow."

"I have a few books on it, but only one of them wasn't in a grebling language," they grumble. "For some reason, most of the stories told about it come from the greblings. And with no translation aids, I can't get anywhere with those. I tried asking some grebling contacts, but the ones who live in human cities have had to pretty much give up their languages entirely, and the colonies don't like talking to them."

"So did you learn anything from the one exception?" you ask.

"Not much. There was a story about a wizard who traveled to the past. It was a little hard to follow, but what I was able to grasp was that he could only use time ether until he returned to his home time. Then it got confusing... something about the magic running wild, but it was hard to translate."

Well. That's highly relevant to your situation, to the point where you actually find yourself suspicious for a moment. But then you realize that if a wizard discovered the means to use time magic, going back in time would be a likely first experiment. It would make sense if the old mages who had the power wrote a cautionary tale about the dangers of it.

Which suggests you're stuck in one. How comforting.

On the other hand, maybe you can learn something about how to get out of it. But you don't want to give up too much away about your situation - Nual warned you about that, after all. So you should pick your questions carefully.

Confusing or not, magic running wild might explain this bloke being stuck, and it might spread to others without regard for which side they're on. Did the legend have a happy ending? Any hints at all about resolving the ether imbalance of runaway time magic?

Also I know a bit of vak or as you said grebling language not much mind you is something I picked up rather recently I can help with that later if you want to mark a meeting place unfortunately I'm a busy wizard and I am afraid out of time for now, nice meeting you... Huh What may I call you?

"Hmm. I have some understanding of out of control ether in general. There's a chance that this-" you point to the frozen person in the mask "-is the work of time ether running wild. So if your story has anything to say about that, it might be best if you shared it."

"It was hard to follow, since I'm not a wizard myself. But my best understanding of the ending is that the magic followed him when he returned to his own time. It got... violent, I think? But he apparently was able to fight it off - something about needing another kind of ether, which he couldn't access in the past."

"Did it specify which kind?" If the ether could be stabilized in the present, then maybe it can be stabilized in the past - just not by the time traveler. But with most ether, you use its opposite to stabilize it - and you've never heard of an opposing type to time magic even in legend. What would that even be - place magic?

"The description had a word I couldn't translate at all," the researcher sighs. "Evinatso. It might be an ether type, or it might be a technique. Oh, but there was one thing I found odd about it... that word was the title of one of the grebling books. Maybe it was a loanword one way or the other?"

"That sounds like a Vak word, actually," you muse.

"Vak?"

"A grebling language. I learned a little of it during my apprenticeship... long story. I don't know offhand what it means either, but perhaps we can meet later and I can take a look at it."

The researcher looks a little nervous.

"In a place of your choosing, of course. There's a lot of other matters to take care of."

"Sure. Meet me at the hostel, assuming it's still standing once this is all over. What's your name?"

"You can call me Long," you reply. "Yours?"

"Just call me Badger," they reply. "It'll work for our purposes, at least."

You nod, and thank Badger for their time. Now you really have to see the doctor, though. You run into the hospital...

And immediately see someone you weren't expecting.

It is Mantis

It's the priest you met before. And he seems quite befuddled.

"Ah, good," he says. "I was hoping to see you again. Perhaps you can help to clarify something for me."

"Me?" you ask, a little baffled.

"You are aware, I am sure, that priests bear a connection to their god. The god can transmit their feelings, and sometimes even thoughts."

"Yes, I've heard that. What does that have to do with me?" you ask. "Is Nual taking an interest?"

The priest laughs heartily.

"Oh, he certainly is, and Brume too. As are the others. You see, it seems I have been blessed, or perhaps cursed - from an early age, I have held this connection with all of the gods. It is often confusing."

He never explained it so clearly to your younger self - he talked in strange metaphors that went over your head. You wonder why he's being so straightforward now, actually.

"So what do you hope to have me clarify, then?"

He pulls out a pair of knives.

"I am feeling an intense and violent hatred of you and I cannot tell which god it is coming from. It is a struggle to restrain myself. I am hoping you can enlighten me as to what you have done to draw such wrath before I succumb to it."

Explain the situation in full, the forgotten god, the time traveling, the conspiracy, honestly this is likely the one person that can help you find the traitor priest if everything goes south attempt rolling time backwards

I wonder if any or all the other gods here in the past might be upset about your presence and the implied time travel shenanigans. Though what seems more ikely is that the hatred is coming from the forgotten god. Assuming Mantis isn't confusing terror toxin with the will of the gods...

In any case, you'd better try not to get stabbed! Do a backflip, accidentally using some magic in your surprise.

You start backing away. He advances, seemingly on instinct.

"Are you sure this is a god? There's some toxin going around..."

"My own mind is clear. Indeed, perhaps the clearest it has been in years. I can tell these feelings are not mine - but they will not pass readily. It is rare for any of the gods to call for judgment like this. What did you do?"

Nothing, as far as you know. At least, not to anger any of the current gods...

"There's an exiled god," you say, backing towards the door. You aren't sure if you can get around it in time, but your odds seem better than if you try to get around him. "One the others cast out. I am on a holy mission to stop that god's plans. Perhaps it is able to connect to you just as the others can?"

Mantis pauses for a moment. It's enough for you to open the door and get out, but he starts charging towards you. You shut the door quickly, but you feel him pressing against it.

"That seems somewhat plausible," he says from the other side. "Unfortunately, plausibility alone does not seem to be enough to hold back my doubts. I am afraid it will take firm proof that this exiled god exists before I can stop myself."

Proof. Wonderful. It would be nice if you could find some, but it's not exactly easy to search while a priest possessed by divine rage is coming after you. If only you'd had some advance warning before coming in, maybe you could have done something...

Just as the thought crosses your mind, there's a loud noise coming from the door. You leap back on instinct, further than you expected to be able to go...

...and then you feel yourself doing the same move in reverse. And then several other things.

"What's your name?"

You think you just used some time magic without meaning to, and pulled yourself back to your conversation with Badger.

And... you feel something coming. The stray ether... your inadvertent spell must have attracted it.

"You can call me Long," you say, before you even have time to think about it. "Yours?"

That's what you said the last time. Is time unfolding the same way? Are your own actions set in stone now?

You think carefully. The last time you rewound, you cast a spell just a moment earlier, making a crucial difference. So you're not completely powerless - though you can't be sure if you can change things without using more time ether. And you still have knowledge.

You find your feet heading towards the hospital. You try to change, ever so slightly, but the moment you try it, it feels like you're swimming through thick mud. Some unknowable force is pressing you towards the same timeline.

Except the stray ether is getting closer, in some sense you can't entirely explain.

As far as you can tell, you have two options. You can use more time magic to try to alter what's been done, which seems extremely risky, or you can think of a plan for what to do when you catch up with the timeline you just went through.

You'd really prefer not to resort to the first option if you can help it, so for now you focus on the second. Perhaps there was something you noticed in passing that could aid you.

Well we still have the crest that stirred something in you with the visions and all maybe will do the same to him

Don't suppose you'll pass by any syringes of tranquilizers?

You don't see anything out here. But you do know your way around this hospital. If you can put some distance between yourself and him, you might be able to get in and find some sort of advantage inside.

Unfortunately, nothing seems to stand out as you step inside either. There's just the chairs you searched earlier...

You feel a dagger strike your stomach. But Mantis isn't attacking yet - in fact, your conversation is just starting.

Oh hells. The stray time ether is doing something. You can't figure out what, but it seems to be going directly after you. It feels like something is pounding on your head.

Is this how the fight is going to go? Is this your future? Can you even turn away from it after events play out again?

Now it feels like something is crushing your throat. It's very hard to concentrate. You're starting to think you might need to use time magic just to push it away... but that might make things even worse.

Mantis has drawn his knives now. Where did he even get those?

And come to think of it, why do you keep thinking his name is Mantis? That's not his name, that's a... Marshguard name? What in the hells is a Marshguard?

And why have you just noticed now that the shell watch is ticking?

You retreat again, and everything seems like a blur this time around until you start to leap backwards. But that's when you realize it... you're rewinding time again, even though you don't mean to. You're even trying not to, but your body won't obey.

There's no choice. You'll have to use time ether to break out of this loop. Just as you decide that, however, you feel as though your spine is snapping.

Is the time ether trying to dissuade you? To trap you in an endless loop, and threaten you with intense pain if you escape it?

"Come now, John," says a voice you recognize despite being certain you've never heard it before. "If that were unavoidable, how would you ever learn what a Marshguard is?"

Well. Nothing for it. You have to cast something with time magic or you'll have to do this all over again.

So you'd better make the most of the spell you use.

Maybe you could use time magic to pull in someone--a non-wizard!--to help you. Someone else who also happens to be unstuck in time, like that armored stranger who showed up (er, will show up) on the ship.

In most situations that would require more ether than it would be possible but this is not a normal situation if time work as a line someone cut part of that line and made a ring where you're forced to just go to the part where the the ends meet and restart again, now if you can just connect one end to that person and another to where the line suppose to continue that in theory shouldn't use more ether than disrupting the ring would, the only thing is that risks given more power to well whatever causing this since it is connected to time magic it seems

Your mind races, as you frantically try to think of what can help.

Maybe you aren't the reason for the rewind. Maybe somebody else has put you in this loop, and that's why you're not able to break it yourself. Maybe it's the stray ether, maybe it's another wizard with the power of time.

If that's the case, then trying to break the loop directly will pit your magic directly against theirs. You're not sure you can handle that - you don't even know how much ether you still have in you.

So you'll need to somehow put strain on the loop indirectly. How, though? You don't have the strength...

But maybe you can find an anchor. If you brought in another person, and connected them to you, the loop would have to carry them through time as well. That would take a lot more ether - maybe more than the loop can process.

And as it happens, you know somebody else displaced in time. And you have an object belonging to that person. There should be enough of a temporal signature on it...

You're now Corvus. You're back in the present, and you have a headache.

Captain Long is standing over you, gasping for breath. He's got his staff back, at least.

"Did you, ah, bring me back?" you ask, slowly getting to your feet. "Because I was trying to figure some stuff out, but I'm not sure it matters any more. It's all in the past, after all."

"So it is," Long says, nodding. "It seems someone was trying to keep you there. That said, I'm not the one who brought you back here. I just had to step in when it started getting complicated." He glances downwards.

You follow his gaze, and see Marshall unconscious on the floor. Oh.

"Sorry for the trouble," you say awkwardly. "I'm guessing I missed a lot."

"Indeed. I'm afraid there isn't time to fill you in on all the details, not least because I don't have them all myself. But there's one very important thing you should know about."