You’re not exactly Toppel’s biggest fan–her trapping your favorite Devil and subsequently trying to knock your block off will do that–but if she’s anywhere as stubborn as Oti clearly is, the ensuing spat will attract everyone in town!

Grabbing them both–Oti by his gaunt, pointy shoulder, Toppel by the scruff of her fuzzy neck–you drag them both deeper into the alleywa–

“Why are we leaving the alley? Are you stupid?”

“Yea, are you INBRED?”

D’oh! Look, you groan as you take a few steps back the way you came, both of them have decent reasoning, but there’s one thing they haven’t considered yet!

“Disintegration.” Oti mutters with a pointed look at his peer.
“Disintegration.” “Toppel adds with a fierce glare!

Y-you’re not talking about how to dispose of their BODIES, you whine! You still owe them something, remember? For a moment, all goes quiet… both mages stand like spellslinging statues as they struggle to recall!

The FORBIDDEN MAGIC, you hiss through clenched teeth, COUNSELING!

Their eyes go wide as the word leaves your lips.

“Right… RIGHT!” Toppel exclaims, bouncing on her tiny heels with excitement! “Y-you promised you’d share it with us! Extraplanar POWER!”

“Indeed…” Grunts a seemingly-disinterested Oti, but the flicker in his eyes can’t be hidden, “Exerting control over others, wasn’t it? I suppose I could tolerate her presence a while longer…”

Atta’ boy, you smirk, giving the Chytree a slap on the back! Let’s not do this here, though… the SAFEHOUSE--where was it again?

You spend the next few minutes knocking on random doors and placating residents before Oti takes the lead and swiftly navigates you back to your base! As the door swings open and greets you with a fresh whiff of mildew, a hint of trepidation takes root in your gut when you realize Morook and the others aren’t back yet!

“O-ho! More FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE for us, ey, Oti~” Croons Toppel as she sends him a wink!

“I’ll be scribing notes,” The Chytree explains as he takes a seat in the sitting room, “Spare no detail.”

Flinging Toppel across the room after she tries to climb into his lap, the mage looks at you expectantly as Obber gets to work gnawing what sounds like some loose upholstery. That’s when it hits you:

YOU DON’T KNOW SHIT ABOUT COUNSELING! You totally botched your last relationship, apparently, and you barely remember your parents and how they acted around each other! Just when panic starts to settle in, however, your brief stint as a teacher kicks its ass to the curb!

>CONTD.