Despite the all-encompassing darkness, I slowly advanced straight ahead. As I went deeper into the darkness, I began to hear voices, and they only grew in quantity and intensity as I continued forward. They called to me, attempting to convince me to light a torch: riches unseen, truths untold.

I kept myself in the unrelenting darkness, wary of what might hide behind the black curtain surrounding me. Strangely, I treated the dark as a shield of sorts, a means to keep away danger despite its insubstantiality—even a cloth curtain would provide more apparent protection.

When I walked face-first into the end of the hallway, the voices simultaneously stopped. As I fumbled around for any sort of opening, handle, or knob, I accidentally pushed some sort of tile into a recess in the wall, and all the voices resumed their calls with renewed vigor and volume as the room began to quake. Closing my eyes and covering my sensitive ears from the sudden onslaught for what felt to be a few minutes, all the violent commotion halted abruptly.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a sunny field, and as I became accustomed to and my senses acclimated to the new environment, I became aware of chirping birds and a faint breeze. She was in front of me, standing there with her back to me. Twilight apologized: "The world is not ready for the return of the witches. Corruption is rampant; the Theocracy fears our return, and it teaches others to fear us, too."

Twilight returned to how she was when we first met: a murky puddle on the ground, a sludgy ooze. Though, for what it's worth, she was in a place of her choice this time rather than some subterranean prison. But what does that mean for me? I went from having about an ally-and-a-fourth to half an ally in an instant without any say in the matter. I guess I'm just bad company? Haha, that's not a very funny joke, but it's not like there's anyone to tell it to anyway.

...Other than Silence, of course. No, not silence as in a lack of sound, but Silence as in my horse. Talking to silence is a pretty sad idea. Well, so is talking to Silence, but I don't really have many options. Or, well, any other options. Other than paper. I'm using paper. Right now. Haha. Ha. Goodnight.

So, I woke up outside of where never mind. I don't want to dwell on that. But that dungeon is still there if you look closely, it's just that the opening is shut so tightly that only a thinner-than-paper line can be seen where its grand opening once was. It would seem I won't be seeing her again any time soon. I think I'll leave the church now.

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I can't keep aimlessly running. I have traveled a great distance and found dead end after dead end, gaining a companion and losing a companion just as quick. I have to find direction in my search, because a purpose without path leads nowhere. Then, how to find a path? I have money, though James would probably kill me if he found out I used his emergency fund, but since he's already passed away it shouldn't be a problem, right?

How could money help me? Investigators? Inquisitors? Uh, no, maybe not—my current relationship with the Theocracy of Holy Day is... strained to say the least. I could go back and see if... wait, what happened to Quartz? I could've sworn she was with me, but then... okay, there's definitely something there, but every time I try to think about it my head hurts and I forget. I only know I was forgetting about anything because I don't remember writing what I just wrote. Strange.

Since I can't seem to remember what happened to Quartz, I should get a check-up from a cleric, but I did kind of murder several members of the church and am currently unsure of whether or not the church is aware of that. If anyone's reading this, everything about killing members of the Church of Nuntius Finis is NOT a confession of guilt and will not stand as evidence in court of law. As I am... unrelatedly unwilling to go to the church for help,

What is the point? Is there a reason? Does there have to be?

I could search for Ruz, but I doubt I'd be able to find him due to his wanderlust.

Victor is dead, James is dead, I don't know where Quartz is, the other Wanderers want to steal my journal, and I am currently... wait, where am I again?

Right, Osvin! Since I'm near the border, it wouldn't hurt to check out Effrost and Dryst, right? Or should I head to the capital of Auburn, the molten mountain fortress Munat? Maybe I should just stay here, settle down, hide from the world, and enjoy the rest of my life in peace. There's enough money in James's emergency fund to last me a lifetime, so why shouldn't I? Haven't I done enough? I could even work for the local branch of the Adventurer's Guild under a new identity and start fresh.

It only took them two and a half weeks to find me. Any semblance of peace I found in Osvin was wiped away in an instant when the whole city was surrounded by various undead, by a horde so grand that the local clergy barely had an impact, and then the great and noble Wanderers came to the rescue, razing the horde and my rented home to the ground before chasing me across the border. If I didn't have the Mask of Morphing, I would not have escaped.

I did get put in custody for trying to cross the border without paperwork, but few prisons can contain me, and a temporary holding cell is not one of them. Though I do regret not being able to see the look on those officers' faces when they go back to see the nutjob Granny Yesterday's cell empty because of how harmless yet insane I sold myself while disguised.

Exploring Effrost it is, I guess!