Markus and Josie sat in stunned silence, resting on the edge of the stage. The Drama Club had already left to… fight crime? Demons? Josie wasn't even sure what the Drama Club fought, except that they were mean and invading our reality. Neverlanders. Markus looked more broken than her, the big fellow struggling with the reality they now lived in.

"I don't expect you two to amount to much," Malty spoke cruelly, sitting across from the two of them. "But you're in a very dangerous position, now. The world those kids told you about? Rumors of its existence cannot leave this room."

"What would happen if things didn't go your way?" Josie asked. "What if we told someone about everything you do? Would you…"

"Kill you? Ha!" Malty slapped her knee, laughing as clouds of smoke escaped from her lungs. "Why would I do that, dear? I have no interest in your life, and the girls are quite serious about their job."

"Protecting Humanity," Markus whispered. "From demons."

"Neverlanders," Malty corrected. "And not just Neverlanders, either. Aliens and Witches as well. You never want to get tangled with a Witch."

"So, what, are we important?" Josie's eyes shone with a hint of excitement. Finally, she could do something for this messed up world. She could solve poverty, avert natural disasters, disintegrate the patriarchy…

"Ha!" Malty broke into a cackling fit. "The two of you think yourselves important because you've discovered magic exists? A mayfly could tell you that magic exists, but what could it do about it? It is a pitiful creature, doomed to die fruitlessly when the sun sets. Neither of you are Mages. Mayflies, perhaps, but not Mages. You will amount to nothing. You are nothing."

"I just thought… with everything that Betty said, that we were important! We figured out the secret! That must mean something, I—" Josie sputtered, interrupted by Markus placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Josie… nothing's changed. There's no difference between now and then, get it? We're still the losers who sit alone at lunch," Markus insisted. "You heard the teacher. Our efforts were for nothing. We're dirt. We're worms in the dirt."

"Worms that can't let their secrets leave this room," Malty confirmed. "Or they'll be scooped up by a dark, shadowy organization for 'knowing too much.'"

"So… what do we even do?" Josie asked, her voice trembling with despair. "What am I supposed to do with this knowledge?"

"Eat, breathe, drink, die?" Malty suggested in that order. The moon-elf uncorked a flask at her hip, leaning down for a sip. "If I had an obol for each Mortal begging for a purpose on their deathbed, I wouldn't be a teacher."

"Deathbed?" Markus murmured.

"Sure, deathbed. You Mortals are fragile, squishy," Malty insisted, taking a swig from her flask of moonwater. "You live a couple of decades and croak it. Chicago, America? They aren't long for this world. A couple of softies like you? You won't make it."

"That's dark," Josie muttered. "Do you have more alcohol?"

"Hm?" Malty blinked.

"You know. Alcohol for kids," Josie insisted, making a grabbing motion with her palm. "I better start now if I want to get ahead of the curve."

"Oh, this? It isn't alcohol, it's," Malty hesitated, looking down at her flask. "This is moonwater. Definitely not alcoholic. It's made from fermented magical berries grown in Luna's hydroponic chambers. Poisonous to children."

"That just sounds like alcohol with extra steps," Markus added weakly.

"Yeah. You're ruining our life right now, so… I'd like some alcohol," Josie insisted. "You're gods, right? You have to do what us dumb mortals say."

"Protect us," Markus agreed. "From depression. Alcohol!"

"You two have a very incorrect view of Divinity," Malty replied with narrowed eyes. "We do not serve humanity. You 'dumb mortals' serve us."

"It's your club's fault we're depressed," Markus laid blame.

"Gods these days, asking for worship without benefits," Josie snarked.

"You two," Malty spat, the old crone trying to retain her flailing dignity. "Are fascinating creatures. You seem to have recovered from your depression quite quickly?"

Malty removed two crystal glasses from the inside of her coat, setting them on her desk. She poured sparkling, clear water into each cup, fresh from a different flask in her pocket. Malty used a flask the children wouldn't possibly guess contained her patented headache cure: Earth water.

"I guess the hopelessness wrapped around into something funny, when I really thought about it," Josie took a glass of water, drinking from the cup and smacking her lips. "Moon-y. Is this really what adults are all about?"

"If we're doomed to fail, why try, right?" Markus laughed, taking a glass of water and downing it in a single gulp. "It's fated, so might as well give up."

"Yup. A toast to our demise!" Josie cheered, toasting with Markus. "Wow, this depression is way easier to process with alcohol."

"Yeah. It's like all my depression washed away," Markus agreed. "This must be why adults love drinking. Another glass, please?"

Malty (incredulously) poured water for the two teens, uncertain if they were attempting to play her. She was an ancient deity, the very visage of death, and these kids were trying to make a fool of her? Malty chewed the inside of her cheek, wondering what their end goal was. "You don't even want to change Fate a little? Alter the course of events so things weren't so hopeless?"

"If you could 'change Fate,' it wouldn't be Fate, now would it?" Josie gave Malty sad, puppy dog eyes. "It'd have always been like that."

"Oh, perhaps she means time travel?" Markus could feel their ears burning. "I love books about time travel. But that can't possibly be real, can it?"

"Of course it can't," Malty spat. "Time travel only works in the forward direction, unless you're establishing stable time loops or jumping between…"

Both teens looked at Malty with glittering eyes.

"I am not teaching you how to time travel," Malty emphasized. "Even talking about subverting Fate risks terrible retribution, don't you know? The Witches seek to upend Fate, and the Drama Club fights the Witches."

"Ah, how terrible," Josie sighed.

"Just terrible," Markus agreed.

"Those dastardly Witches trying to change the Fate of poor, miserable Mortals like ourselves," Josie emphasized.

"We wouldn't want to get on the Drama Club's bad side," Markus agreed. "They didn't tell us about all this world of magic for us to stab them in the back."

"Yeah," Josie agreed. "They didn't take our best friend from us."

"They didn't fill us with despair," Markus lied.

""We definitely don't need to know where the Witches live,"" Josie and Markus spoke in unison, holding hands in a show of force. They knew they had Malty on the ropes.

(Ah,) Malty thought. (So this is where they have been leading me… very well. Never let it be said my revolutionary spirit has died.)

"The both of you are forbidden from seeking out a Witch," Malty carefully emphasized. "One capable of solving your unresolved traumas, of bringing you happiness and great power in exchange for your servitude. Especially do not seek out the Enemy of the World, Calico Dearheart, for she resides in every dark corner of this city…"

"Just, out of professional curiosity," Josie began.

"And fully intending to stay away from forbidden places," Markus added.

"Where might the specific dark corner she lives in be?" Josie asked.

Both teens thought themselves clever, wheedling information from a recalcitrant Malty. The elderly crone leaned back in her seat, thoroughly amused by their antics. Willing to supply the answer they desired. "You would find her at the abandoned amusement park, Riverview. The one that's being razed to make room for a parking lot? You must avoid this place at all costs, children."

""We promise,"" Markus and Josie lied in unison.

(Mortals should really be more careful about the promises they make and don't keep,) Malty smiled in amusement. (It would seem we are to be graced with two more Oath-broken.)

FernGilly

"Ah! A bit late to teach you about Oaths and the consequences of breaking them, but…" Fern trailed off. "You remember when you promised to be the next Librarian? No? I'm sure you remember! It was very important. You told me 'I would like to be a Librarian' and I agreed to it!"

> I don't remember this at all.

"What if I gave you a kiss?" Fern fluttered her lashes. "Would you remember then? Oh, but my wife would be jealous… no kissies for you, not until you say the magic words… 'I promise to be your good librarian, Miss Fern.'"

> I promise to be your good Librarian, Miss Fern! (Receive one Kiss from a Witch and the Librarian's Oath.) (Poll)

[The Librarian's Oath][1♥] - I promise to obey the rules of the Libra Arcanum as they are revealed to me.

Fern's lips grace your cheek, the Witch not wanting to go too far. Not yet. "We can't have all the fun upfront, can we? There are still pages and pages to go..." (You have a feeling you've unlocked additional content later.)

"Just remember, breaking Oaths will have you branded by your Court as a traitor~! Oath-breakers are reviled by Neverlanders, with the exception of Witches. Witches love a good Oath-breaker… they're so fun to play with."

> …I know better than to kiss a Witch. (Poll)

Fern chuckles with amusement. "Oh, do you now? No Kiss for you, then."

You dodge the bullet. The Witch looks disappointed in your choice, but understands she shall have to hook you into an Oath by other methods. Her pink tail flicks lazily behind her, shimmering with flecks of blue and gold.

> Let Fate take hold. (Continue to Packing 2.)