The man was simply lying on the bed inside the cell. It was getting close to sunset; whatever work he'd been doing for the day was long done, and they'd soon be settling in for the night. He was likely expecting for his evening meal to be delivered soon.

Praxius walked up to the cage doors, and glanced at his granddaughter. "So. I was trained to torture for purposes of breaking a victim. When a soul arrives in hell, me and others like me torture it for however long it takes for it to truly become broken, no longer at all once it once was; and when that moment arrives, it starts the collapse that eventually turns it into a Lemure; ready to start up the long chain of ascension to become a proper devil... or to stay as it is for eternity, depending on the strength of its soul. Torture can, eventually, break anyone. If that's your goal, it always works, just takes time."

The man hadn't responded at all as Praxius opened the cell door; only turning to look at him when, with a gesture, the devil looped chains around his shoulders and jerked him to his feet; there was a handy hook, with a lantern hanging from it, currently out, which he used to dangle the creature. "We have a bit of an advantage when it comes to securing victims. Our control over chains is... well. Useful. If we meet someone else that needs torturing, I'll let you bind the next one." A final loop around his throat, and he was ready to be bound properly; easily strangled or rendered helpless by the chains.

The man didn't seem afraid. He didn't seem concerned; he just dangled there from the chains, looking at the devil, wearing the simple long white shirt that went down to his knees; his pants and boots were sitting by the bed.

"If you want to find out something that can't be proven one way or another... 'who is your master'. 'Did you rob this man?'... That sort of thing.... its useless. Truth magic works immediately, torture just gets what they think you want to hear. The only thing its genuinely good for, other than breaking people, is learning information that can be verified in short order. Where is the loot? Then you can check it. If its not there, you get back to the torture... and if the victim knows it, he always eventually breaks."

He approached the man, focusing on him. He could look into the man's fears, get a good sense of his emotional state, what he was afraid of, and get... things...

The man appeared perfectly calm. Collected. But he was terrified. In absolute, horrific, agony. He was already almost completely broken, in such a way that, if he were in hell, he would already be a Lemure. Praxius was a fairly good judge of these things, and even the strongest of heroes, if he felt like this, would be shaking, crying, pissing themselves.

He shouldn't be able to do much of anything but wail in agony and twitch. Whatever was wrong with him, he was currently actively being tortured, before Praxius even laid a finger on him. The man's deepest, darkest fear was just living to see the next day.

"...This...." What could possibly cause so much pain? What was doing this? Killing the man would be a mercy. Fortunately, he wasn't particularly well known for his mercy. Whatever it was might be useful in the future, if it could be properly harnessed and not allowed to spread through mortals like this. "This man is already being tortured by someone else. I can't see any magic coming from outside. So.... its a parasite. Something living inside him. Give me the potion, and unchain that door. Get the guards."

As his granddaughter handed him the blue vial, he stepped closer; and reached down, grabbing an arm that was dangling limp; pulling the man's thumb outwards... and with a firm chop, sliced the digit from the man's hand.

A momentary rush of blood... which slowed after a few seconds..., and he could see it. A wispy blue trail of... something... stretching from the thumb back towards the hand, trying to reattach.

The man immediately started lashing out; and if the chain hadn't started to press tightly against his throat, would clearly have started shrieking and wailing; not from the pain; but from being discovered.

As the guards approached, confused at seeing the normally calm man swinging and lashing out at the devil despite his bound condition, Praxius turned to them. "The prisoner is attempting to kill me... but it isn't really the prisoner anymore. I'm afraid that we're probably going to need to put the lot of them down. Get your Lord Rockson. He needs to see this. And don't whisper a word about this to anyone, or you might start a riot among them before we're ready."

He grimaced. "We need to get those two youth here. This could get bad, and quickly." On the plus side... it seemed very likely they were about to be involved in a major combat with a substantial number of enemies. It would be helpful for the advancement of the trio, if possibly a bit disturbing. Still. A few bloodbaths at their age would help harden them for the trials that would await them, should they wish to continue on as adventurers.

***

Kylie and Derek were comparing notes; or lack thereof; at the Laughing Lass, the Bartender mechanically cleaning cups and neatly stacking them behind the bar, Lord Rockson calmly sipping on his wine; and a guard stepped in, hurriedly walking over to him... and leaned in, whispering something in his ear.

As the nobleman rose to his feet, he glanced at the duo. "You two. Come along. Your friend has caused a bit of trouble and is in the cells." He looked suddenly focused, and far less miserable than he had on their first meeting.

She looked at Derek; who immediately joined her as she rose to her feet. "He seems like the last one I'd expect to be getting himself tossed in the cells."

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They started following the man; a bit of a stumble, here; he was clearly a bit drunk. "Perhaps." She glanced back at the dull, quiet folk back in the bar. "I suspect he found something they don't want the possessed to hear.

The group was quiet as they approached the keep; and the lord glanced at the guards; one of them was a stoic sort. Either possessed or just generally unemotional. "You. Stay here at the entrance. The man in here is dangerous, I'll be changing up the guard routines a bit." He turned to the other. "I want to speak to every guard as they come on shift. I'll be either here or in my office. Pass the word around."

They filed in through the doorway... and into the jail. A tiny affair. Six cells. Clearly this place never had much in the way of crime, even before recent incidents.

When they reached the cell with the devil and his granddaughter, she could immediately see why they'd all been called; some sort of softly glowing blue string was running between a man's hand, and his severed finger, as he dangled immobilized and struggling from the ceiling.

The devil looked at them all, then the lord, and nodded. "Welcome. I've found the cause of the problem. The individuals are infected with a sort of plant or fungus that appears to run throughout their body, operating it like a puppet. We encountered a fungus that did the same to corpses, a few days ago, so I strongly suspect the latter. They appear to be healthy and normal, but are in fact in absolutely terrible pain. While the recently infected are likely recoverable if you can find some magic that only kills fungi, the first ones to be taken will probably be completely broken no matter what."

The lord stared at the blue line, moving and twitching... and then the devil smearing a bit of liquid on the finger, and pressing it back against the hand. "...Why... are you putting it back?"

A shrug. "You've seen it, and I said no permanent harm. If you want him dead, or any limbs permanently severed, simply ask. We need to figure out a way to deal with this. The only advantage we have here is that they don't know we know... yet. This one will undoubtedly tell the others; if not for the chain around its neck, it already would have. I need to kill it, or release it, soon; just holding it like this will kill the human part within a few more minutes."

"...He has a name. Or... had. Is... he really beyond recovery?" The noble looked into the struggling man's face; but he just kept fighting. He should be unconscious from lack of air... but was still fighting the chains. "...Deacon?"

The face just looked right at the lord without seeming to be aware of him.

"....What do you recommend?"

Derek stepped forward. "I know a spell that, while it hurts people, is far more damaging to plants and fungi. I have no idea how well it will work in this case... but its worth a try. If we're lucky, the prisoner will emerge injured, but the fungus dead."

Kylie glanced at him with a smile. Always full of tricks, huh. "Nice! Sounds like something to try first. I can heal him, after. If it all works out, we can try to single out the infected, start working through them."

The lord gave a quick nod. "Of course! Try it, please. Deacon isn't a model citizen, but he doesn't deserve this. He never really wanted to hurt anyone."

She watched as Derek opened his backpack; the rugged brown leather revealing a heavy black-bound tome with gold trim; just like his robes, classic Imperial Academy colors; and he set it down on the bench in the cell. "It will take a minute. I don't normally keep that one prepared. I didn't expect we'd run into another fungus creature so soon."

The devil frowned. "If he doesn't breath again, and soon, he's dead. Period. Someone gag him so I can let him breathe through the nose."

One of the guards stepped up; and between him and Terra, managed to wedge a lump of fabric into the man's mouth... and then tie a rope to hold it shut. Finally, the chain relaxed... and a muffled screaming started. Clearly, the fungus was trying to alert the others.

The cell was tense as Kylie watched Derek focus on the words; and after a few minutes, he rose up, placing a hand on Deacon... and then a vivid black-green flash.

The man started to convulse... and Derek reached up, grabbing the gag, yanking it from his mouth. "Heal him! Please!"

A vile blue-black mass was ejected from the man's mouth... more oozing from his ears, his nostrils... he was throwing up and leaking from every orifice, even crying blue-black tears as he twitched on the chains... Kylie focused for a moment, calling up the blessings of light, placing a hand on his side.

After a few more seconds, the convulsions stopped... there was a puddle of vile-smelling fluid on the floor of the cell. The prisoner was breathing normally... and crying. Audibly sobbing. The devil studied him. Relief. Incredibly intense relief. The pain was gone. The man would likely never mentally recover... but he wasn't under the thing's sway anymore. He released the chains.. and set him down on the floor, a few feet away from the... pile... of dead fungus. He coughed; a few lumps of it splattering onto the devil's legs.

Kylie laid a hand on Deacon's shoulder. Looked up at lord Rockson, then back to Derek. "Well. That seemed to work. How many of them can you do, Derek?"

He grimaced. "I can do a bit of a stronger one, that works in an area... and hit maybe six, eight people, packed in close, at once. That, I could do twice in a day. Then just a single person, maybe two or three more times. So... at absolute most, sixteen, eighteen in a day, and thats if we can pack them in for the first batch."

Kylie nodded. "I know a ritual I can use, heal everyone in a room at once. Its not as strong as a direct healing, and I can only do it a couple times a day... though I could actually do it a third time as well, if we did it at dawn, in the sunlight. And the shrine would make it stronger. Your priestess could probably do it as well."

Terra had dropped down to kneel over Deacon, examining him. He'd gone silent, after a minute or so. "I could learn that spell Derek has. It would take me a bit longer, since I've never done that one before, but I could probably cast it by morning, if I studied. Any other mages in town?"

The lord gave a slow nod. "...Yes. There's actually a class at our school that teaches basic spellcasting, with an old hedge wizard as the teacher. Is that just a first-circle spell?"

"Of course. If I make it second-circle instead, I can make it bigger, but anyone that can use a first-circle spell should be able to pull it off."

He studied the group. "...It will likely take days. Possibly even weeks... to pull this off. I know its quite a bit to ask.." He glanced at the devil. "But I can promise a reward. The best one I can manage. Please. Will you help?"

The devil glanced at Kylie. "My agreement was to protect this girl while she did a bit of adventuring, not a campaign to eradicate some fungus." He studied the limp figure on the ground. Whatever his motivations were, he seemed interested in either the prisoner, or the fungus. "But if she wants to stay here, I can help you corral the infected. At some point, I've got to warn you... the others are going to realize we're curing them."

He turned to the lord. "When that happens... its going to be a bloodbath."