howling tower, hungry tunnels

i did it.

i saved poe, eric, and clara. i have no idea how. well, the stealth i've honed as a mountebank, plus a touch of my magic, a dollop of fairy dust, and just a hint of dumb luck, but you get what i mean.

and then i heard footsteps.

i didn't know whose, at the time. but i had my suspicions. things got cleared up a bit when jack showed up. he wasn't wearing quite the same outfit as he was when i first met him, but he was instantly recognizable. for one thing, he showed up out of nowhere, for another, he introduced himself as jack, and for a third, he was wearing a red glove. still, this time around, he was wearing a nice suit, rather than the ratty old coat he'd worn to our first meeting. i'd gotten an... evil first impression of him, so to speak, but at the time, my suspicion of him was allayed. now, though, my blood ran cold anew.

for one thing, his suit was still clean, despite the circumstances. for another... well. jack.

"hey." that's what he said to me. "hey." what a loser.
"hello, sir," i replied. i think i managed not to sneer.
"what might you be doing down here?" he asked. "surely you didn't get lost." he laughed at his own joke.
"i'm doing what i'm doing."
"which is?"
"what needs to be done."
"you've learned from the master himself. myself, i should say." jack almost seemed impressed.
"yes, well. you've been such a good boss, haven't you?" i snarled.
fire, real fire, danced in his eyes. he seemed angry now. he closed his eyes, and the fire vanished. a cigarette appeared in his gloved hand and a lighter in the other. "calms my nerves," he explained before coughing.
"what are you here for, anyways?"
"for what i'm here for. since uselessness seems to be today's theme," he added. "but, nah," he said, staring me down with the eye he wasn't closing, "i've got something to tell you."
"which is?"
"your deal. it's gone south."
"already?"
he took another puff and said, "going, i should say."
"you mean to tell me what i'm doing right now, what i did by my own will, this decision i made to save them—it was your idea?"
"was your joining the mountebank club my idea?"
my fists were clenched, but i didn't hit him. just stared at him angrily for a few seconds.
"yeah. that's what i thought."

jack pulled a golden coin from his pocket. he showed it to me; it was the same coin he'd shown me when we first met. he had done a coin trick of some sort. i hardly remember what now.

the coin had his own face on one side, though it was different this time, to reflect the appearance he was using now, and it had the symbol of the mountebanks on the other. when the coin touched the skin on jack's bare hand, it burned away to ash.

jack continued speaking. "so, yes. to answer your unspoken question, in getting you to join the mountebanks, i ruined your life. big surprise, eh? big plot twist?"
i said nothing.
"yeah... not much of one, is it, really? this is more of a character study, your story. not a mystery, not even really a thriller, or an action novel. just a guy living out his sad little life and writing it down for the benefit of us all."
"something like that," i muttered.
"oh," jack said suddenly, "i nearly forgot." he pulled out the same coin he'd shown me earlier. it was burnt slightly, but otherwise undamaged. "keep this. it's a good luck charm." he leaned in close and whispered into my ear, "you'll need it." he pulled back and said, "the mountebanks are coming. are you ready? or will you perish, a fox cornered by wolves for stealing their food? think on it, little fox. think long and hard."

then he walked into the wall and disappeared.

i am alone, now.