V1B1C4: The Exorcism of Shepherd's Well

Characters

• Casimir
• Gareth
• Nialas
• Michael
• Wendy

Creatures

• Demon (Ethereal)
• Memento Mori: Nialas (Egregore)
• Mage: Gareth (Eridanus)

Objects

• Censer
• Holy Relic: The Tunic of Saint George (Ethereal)
• Sylph Boots (Eridanus)

Substance

• Holy Water (Ethereal)
• Demon's Flesh (Ethereal)

Phenomenon

• Exorcism (Ethereal)
• Possession (Ethereal)

Locations

• Shepherd's Well
• Abandoned Roller Ring/Arcade
• Ennyn's Emporium
• Ten of Diamonds

Summary

They're at the police station. Cas is nervous and holding onto Gareth's pant leg. He scolds her lightly saying that she's a bit too old to be doing something like that. She's has nothing to fear. If her phone has glitched out because she dropped it in the water, then it might be that her mother is looking for her and has the poliece out looking for her. Cas nods and composes herself. Gareth explains the situation to the police.
Cas tunes in again as the officer tries to get her attention. She asks her some questions to verify her identity, and then tells Gareth that she's not getting any hits. No one has filed a missing child report for her so far, but if they do then she'll contact him.
The officer then takes her aside and asks further questions and to make sure that she's comfortable in her current situation. Gareth apologizes as the pair leave the police station. That was a bit of a bust. Cas just mutters that she's not surprised that her mother isn't looking for her. She's probably grateful that she's a runaway. Gareth seems like he wants to disagree, but he holds back. Instead he offers her that since she might be staying for a little while, maybe they should look into getting her some more clothing.
Cas complains that she has so little in the way of money that she's not going to be able to afford much. Gareth says that they'll go to a thrift store. And besides, he's paying. Cas tries to argue that she's already taken advantage of him enough. Gareth smiles "Nonsense! You could stand to take advantage of me a lot more!"
Cas and Gareth are picking out clothes in a thrift store. Cas thanks him for showing her this place. Cas tends to like a lot of black stuff.
Gareth asks Cas what her name is short for. Casper? Cassiopeia? Cassidy? Casandra? Cas answers that it's short for Casimir. "Huh. Haven't heard that one before." Cas hands him another black shirt. "Yeesh, kiddo. I've seen less black at a funeral." Cas is a little sheepish. "Well, it goes with everything." Gareth raises a brow. "Everything being, more black."
Cas gets white socks with red flowers on them to add a bit of color to her wardrobe. "Is this any better?" "Well, it's something at least." Gareth goes up to pay for Cas. She tries to put her own money on the table, but he pushes it back towards her. "I've got it kiddo. Save that money for an emergency." She promises that she'll find a way to repay him. Gareth smiles at her again, but this time it's more subdued and he replies almost somberly. "Just get back home safely. That'll be payment enough."
The two leave and are surprised to see Nialas waiting outside for them. Gareth asks how he knew that they would be there, and Nialas says the same way that he knew that they were at the hotel yesterday. The Librarian told him that they would be here, and it looks like she was right again. Cas wonders how could she have known. Gareth scratches his head "Ah, that's not too unusual for her. Miss Sterling always knows what she shouldn't." Nialas states that she's obviously a learned woman who understands the importance of his quest and is helping him along.
Nialas tells her that he asked the librarian if she had any ideas about the beast and what could be going on to make him attack Cas. She had suggested that there had been a weird sickness going on at high school lately and that they might want to try looking there. Cas asks what in the world high schoolers getting sick has to do with a giant deer thing chasing her. Nialas suggests that maybe whatever is making the high schoolers sick has affected his friend as well.
Cas states that it seems like a pretty desperate answer and he's the type of person that gets into a lot of trouble, isn't he? Gareth behind her jokes that she's not really in the best position herself to criticize him about that, which makes Cas blush in embarrassment.
Gareth apologizes that he hasn't been able to be of more help and admits that despite reading up on his own collection of fairytales and bestiaries to see if anything similar ever happened to anyone else, he hasn't found anything that matches her circumstances. He asks her if the Trump Cards have followed up with her at all, and she tells him that the 'exorcist' Nine of Clubs is supposed to be getting in touch with her later this afternoon to take a full report of what happened. "Mike's a good guy. You couldn't be in better hands."
They want her to fill out a form of basic information in the meantime on the website. Gareth says that he'll leave her to that as he has to get back to the store. He wishes Nialas and Cas luck while he takes her clothes back, and tells her to keep him posted. Before he leaves all the way, he turns back around and adds one more thing. Gareth thinks that Cybele is the culprit and says that maybe she should suggest as much to Michael.
Cas comments to Nialas that she wishes she could find a way to repay his kindness. "I'm sure we'll think of something, but for now let's work on capturing your pale pursuer." Nialas starts heading off again. "Where are you going now?" "To the high school! I think we should follow Miss Sterling's advice. She was pretty insistent." "Are you just upset that it did turn out to be the beast from the story? Even after you assured me that it totally wasn't?" "I'm telling you, this is very out of character. If he's wandering around out there not in his right mind, he could be a great danger to others and himself." "You really do care about him. Is he your pet?" "Would you call a friend a pet?" "I don't see why animals can't be both." "Animal!? He is an ancient spirit as old as the earth, a sacred beast of fantastic knowledge! Didn't you read the story?"
"I kind of skimmed it, actually." Nialas folds his arms and humphs.
Cas and Nialas walk through town, while filling out the online forum on Cas's phone. Nialas is looking around eagerly, as though he expects the questing beast to just run out in front of them at any moment. She hesitates in the section that starts asking personal questions. She wonder's out loud if all of this is really necessary, but Nialas points out that they are pretty basic questions, aren't they? She fills out her name, her mother's name, but hesitates when it asks for her father's. She starts to put a name down, deletes that, and starts putting another name down, then deletes that as well and just leaves it blank. She fills out stuff like her hometown and contact information. Now they just have to wait for a response.
Nialas notes that they seem to be getting close to the local high school. Summer classes are going on. Nialas notes that the kids running around the field look like they're having fun. Cas disagrees and thinks that they look miserable running in this heat. Cas grabs her arms and looks nervously up at the school building itself. For a moment she imagines that she hears the crackling of flames and the sound of sirens until she's interrupted from her musings by one of the kids resting in the shade coming up to speak with them.
"That's a really nice costume. Are you a re-enactor or something?" Nialas takes offense at that and insists that he's the real deal. Cas wonders if she could ask her and her friends come questions. The girl immediately gets suspicious and asks, "What kind of questions?" Cas says, you know, just if you've seen something. Nialas responds loudly 'the beast of legend who helped me and my lady slay the Leviathan'. This proclamation attracts the attention of others nearby. The girl gives them a weird look, and Cas clarifies to the gathering group that what her friend means is maybe an albino animal or something that chases cars off the road? Most everyone shakes their head or mutters no, except for one kid who says that there is a really mean bull up by old Hickory farm that charged at his older brother's car one time.
Cas says that she thought as much, "That's not really what I'm looking for," and starts thanking them anyways but she's interrupted by a young man stumbling over to the fence and commenting that he saw a pale spirit, many pale spirits of all shapes and sizes. He proceeds to describe something ridiculous, tell her that she has a ring of fire around her eye and that Nialas is invisible, and then takes a swig from a bottle before rambling about how good grass probably tastes. He continues muttering about grass.
Someone in the group asks what's wrong with him. Another classmate mentions to them that he's not the only one. Carden and Oliver were like this all day yesterday. The group talks amongst themselves. "Where are they anyway?" "Playing hooky. You didn't see them running up the hill after the first lap?" "I heard Wendy's selling some new stuff. They say it's really good. Carden's probably looking to get more." "It's literally just water. I can't believe those guys are stupid enough to waste thirty bucks on a placebo."
He gestures to the bottle, and Cas takes a glance at it. It has a picture of a goat's head with four horns on it. "Supposedly the new stuff is some sort of all-natural organic drink that's supposed to open up your chakras or some other nonsense." "I heard Mrs. Karmen tried calling the police on her, but aside from selling without a license, she wasn't breaking any laws by selling 'water', and got a slap on the wrist." "There's got to be something else in there Why else are people getting sick from it?" "Again, placebo. Do you not know what that word means?"
Just then, the teacher comes over and chews out the kids for standing around talking rather than getting to the rest of their laps. Nialas tried to boldly explain what they were questioning the others for, but the teacher interrupts him and Cas and Nialas that they need to leave.
They start walking away, but Nialas suddenly drags Cas down into a bush as soon as the teacher has his back turned. Cas asks what he's doing, but he shushes her and points to the end of the school's field where it meets the forest. Cas thinks that he might have seen the beast at first, but sees nothing herself and looks at him questioningly.
Nialas reminds her about the kids playing hooky. That's the direction the others say they went in. "So?" "So, you heard them. This is exactly the strange sickness that the librarian was talking about. If we find them, then we might find out what's been making people act weird, and the questing beast as well." "I doubt that."
Cas huffs and considers just letting Nialas go off on his own, but being in the shadow of the high school makes her uneasy, and it's not like she has anything better to do while waiting for Nine of clubs to call her back.
They follow the trail into the woods. Cas figures that if anyone is up there, then they'll hear them long before the pair meets them due to the clanking of Nialas's armor. Eventually, they come upon the two boys and the old stone well in a clearing in the forest. All the grass within a six-foot radius of the well is dead, and no trees, nor weeds nor anything else grown within this area. The only things that grow there are a giant tree, of which the well is situated at its base, and mushrooms that crawl up the tree and from the stone cracks in the well. The tree almost seems hunched over the well and is covered in orangish-yellow leaves despite the canopy all around being a vibrant green.
Cas can just barely overhear them now that Nialas has stopped moving. "Are you sure?" "I'm telling you, this is the direction she's come from every time before she meets us at the arcade! Maybe she uses one of these mushrooms." "They don't look any different than the ones you see growing everywhere else."
Before they can listen any more, Nialas jumps out with an "Ah-ha! We've caught you red-handed." Both the kids jump up in surprise, and one of them nearly topples into the well. The other one asks who the Nialas is. "I am sir Nialas, first in battle, loyal servant to her grace, lady Esmeray!" "What!?" the other finally pulls himself away from the well. "We weren't doing anything!" "Then why sneak off from everyone else? I know a guilty party when I see one!" "Y-you can't prove- Wait, have you been spying on us!?" "Do you guys work for Wendy or something? Are you guarding this place for her?"
Cas asks who Wendy is. "You don't know her?" "I'm guessing that you haven't heard of the water of insight then." His friend elbows him and tells him to shut up. Nialas asks for more information, but the other cuts in. "None of your business." Nialas threatens to pummel the information out of them if they don't cooperate, evildoers. Cas looks over at him. "I think you're getting a little too worked up."
The kid explains that they just wanted to see that famous shepherd's well, that's all. Cas asks what's famous about it. The boy and his friend share a look. He says that it's an old ghost story. There's a legend regarding the well. Many years ago there was a man whose sheep kept dying from a mysterious sickness, unlike anything he'd ever seen before. He suspected that the reason for this was because he'd angered the Cedrych, a powerful Warlock and that he'd cursed the man's sheep to be attacked by demons. Cas expresses surprise at the name Cedrych, and asks if he means the town founder. The other kid confirms that it was rumored that the man was a Warlock, anyway. The shepherd hired an old protestant minister to get rid of the curse, and so the man exorcised the demons from the sheep and drove the creature into a tree that grew by the old well in the fields, the very fields that the school is built on.
Cas catches movement on the rim of the well out of the corner of her eye. She thinks she saw long claws retreat back behind the stone. Her heart starts beating faster. The kid draws in close. It's said that the demon still lives in the well to this day, waiting for wandering students to pass by and drag them in to be eaten!
Just then something grabs Cas's ankles and she screams. Nialas jumps as well. The other kid starts laughing and gets up from the ground. Cas had been so wrapped up in the story that she hadn't even seen him slink off. "Well, that's enough sightseeing. We should be getting back." They start walking back down the path. Nialas points out that they're obviously lying and thinks that they should continue following them. Cas protests. Whatever they're doing, it's none of their business. Why should they care if people are poisoning themselves for kicks? Nialas starts to insist after all Miss Sterling suggested- "And you believe her? She's probably just annoyed that kids are showing up to the library all loopy, or something." Just then, Cas's phone goes off.
The person introduces themselves as Michael, the nine of clubs. Cas guess that he must be calling about the appointment and states that she'll be available till the end of the week, though she'd like to get in before then. "Actually I'd like to see you later today if that's alright." "Oh, sure! When and where?" Michael gives her the details. Michael will have to squeeze them in last minute. He's decided to have them meet him immediately outside the house of another case that he is on. Cas states how grateful she is that he agreed to see her so soon. There's a pause. Michael admits that something came up in a background check of her and that he thinks that it's best if this is taken care of sooner rather than later. He says goodbye and hangs up. Cas's blood runs cold at his words. She didn't think he'd be doing a background check on her. Suddenly, she feels uneasy about all of this.
Nialas looks out to where the other two kids left and vows that this isn't over, but now they have more important things to do. Cas now wishes that they were investigating those kids instead. Nialas looks at her location on the map image, says that it isn't too far, they'll get there in no time, and takes off in a hurry. Cas watches him in surprise before following, telling him to wait up.
Nialas and Cas head over to meet with Michael. Nialas admits that he's happy that Michael invited them over to his case and hopes that he isn't done yet. He wants to see an exorcist in action. Cas makes fun of Nialas for being easily excitable but is curious too. The pair find the address but no one seems to be there, so after double-checking that they got the location right, they sit on the curb and wait for a while. They don't see any cars parked on the street nearby, and wonder if Michael is even there yet.
Cas hesitates for a moment before glancing at her phone and messages from her mother. There's no response to the ones that she left, telling her where she is. Cas tries to tell herself that the phone is just glitched out from getting wet, and it messed up all the contact information. The numbers seem right, but she should easily be misremembering them. Just then, she notices that Nialas is leaning over trying to read her messages as well. She quickly pulls away. "Have you heard of private messages!"
There's a crash from inside the house, and the two hear something that sounds like a mixture between a scream and the cry of an animal getting slaughtered. Nialas immediately runs over to the door and tries it, but it's locked. The pair hear another scream, and so the knight spots an open window and climbers his way through. Cas protests that this is breaking and entering, they can't do this, but follows him anyways.
They run to the back bedroom where they heard the screams coming from. The blinds are all closed. It's dark inside the house. In the room, there's a girl shivering and muttering on the bed, and a very worried mother standing over her. The girl lets out another scream like bleat before vomiting up something yellowish-orange. The room is filled with the smell of wet leaves, old rainwater, and sulfur. The woman notices Nialas and Cas and asks them what they're doing in her house. Nialas answers that they heard screaming and thought someone needed their help.
The woman asks in frustration where the exorcist is, before asking one of them to go get her daughter a glass of water. Glasses are in the cabinet over the sink. Cas does as asked, and the water seems to help calm the girl down. She falls asleep. Cas asks the woman if she's taken the girl to the hospital, and the woman snaps that it's the first thing she did. The doctors said that it was just the flu and sent her back home. She was going to take her daughter to the hospital again, but that guy from the trump cards got into contact with her. He said that he'd recently performed an exorcism on a friend of her daughter's and that they'd had similar symptoms to what she was describing, so he'd asked to have a look at her. She's frustrated that he's late.
Nialas asks if there's anything that they can do, and the woman insists that they can get out of her house since she doesn't know them. She makes a comment about it being several months too early for Halloween, by the way, in response to Nialas's armor.
The girl then makes a sound and points to something over on the dresser. She seems to be trying to say something but is having trouble communicating. Cas notices that she's pointing to what looks to be an empty crystal bottle. Cas tries to push it into her hand thinking that she wants it, but the girl pushes it back. The mother says that she's been doing that all morning, and doesn't know why it's upsetting her. Cas tries to put the bottle back, but the girl gets very upset and then starts throwing up again. The light flickers. The girl starts screaming and bleating.
Frustrated the mother yells at them that if they really want to help so bad, then just get that thing out of the house. Nialas eagerly agrees, and the two set off.
The pair walk down the street. They get a text from Michael on Cas's phone apologizing and saying that there was an emergency and he's running late. He's been swamped with cases lately. He's already messaged the mother of the girl. He says that he'll meet them in a few hours from now if they're still free. She texts Michael back saying that they can meet him later.
Cas notices that there's a picture of a four-horned sheep and strange instructions on the back of the bottle that doesn't really make sense, and she wonders what was in it before. She admits that the instructions sound goofy and that she wouldn't do that. The label also makes strange claims like that it's raw, completely organic, and causes prophetic insights. There's also a warning that it needs to be taken continuously or else the user will suffer side effects. Cas wonders if it's some kind of over-the-top ad for a novelty drink.
Nialas comments that is it just him, or does that bottle seem a little bit familiar? Cas agrees, and points out the similarities with the bottle they saw at the football field earlier. There's probably some sort of connection.
Nialas is sure of it, and comments that he thinks that Nine of Clubs is making a mistake in his diagnosis. The sickness that's going around must linked to whatever was in those bottles, and he's treating the wrong thing. He thinks that's horrible and that they need to stop whoever is selling it or else she could make others sick. Cas further concludes that maybe if they get a sample of whatever this stuff is and get it to the hospital, then they can do a more thorough examination of what's in it and actually treat the girl. Nialas ponders how they're going to find the seller. Cas says that they mentioned a name, Wendy, right?
Nialas points out that a name isn't going to be very helpful if they don't know what she looks like. Nialas thinks that they should go look for those two kids again, but Cas points out that their class is over by now and that they have no idea where they might find them again.
Cas thinks deeply about it and remembers that they mentioned meeting the girl at an arcade. "Yeah, I think you're right." Cas decides to look on her phone for any arcades online. The closest one is in the next town over. Nialas points out an article below showing that there was another arcade in town that went out of business years ago. It's an old abandoned roller derby/arcade called Diamond Back, with a picture of a snake's mouth wrapped around the lettering. "Ah, the venom of the wicked serpent. Fitting!" Cas rolls her eyes at the comment.
Nialas notes that it fairly close by, excitedly says lets go, and then speeds off full sprint. Cas tells him to wait up and trails after him. "Can't we get a bus this time!"
They reach the arcade, panting, and Nialas has to stop and rest up against an old-looking streetlamp. "You know, when I saw all those kids on the track field, the first thought that popped into my head was how glad I was that it wasn't me running around on a scorching day like this!" "Sorry." pant "I got excited." "You sound sorry. And I thought I was out of shape. You don't need an inhaler or anything, do you?" Cas makes fun of him for this, but she's puffing just as hard. Nialas glares at her. "You," pant, "try sprinting in," pant "fifty pounds of armor." "Just take it off then." pant. "No."
Cas notices the abandoned building attached to the parking lot they're in. There's a giant snake on top of it, and the lettering on the outer sign is so worn down that she can't read them. She comes in closer to one of the doors and wipes some of the grime away. It reads Diamondback Arcade. Nialas mentions that he doesn't really like the design choice. Places of fun shouldn't be associated with wicked serpents. "That's right. You fought a giant snake in the story-" "It was the great Leviathan, foretold to be the destroyer of this world!" "-so it makes sense that you'd be biased against snakes." "Most people are, rightfully so. What, do you like them or something?" "I don't dislike them. Some of the smaller ones are kind of cute."
The front doors are locked, but they check around the back and notice some fresh fingerprints in the dust. Cas thinks this might be a lead because it means someone has definitely been here recently. They try the door, and it's unlocked. They wander around the abandoned arcade.
Nialas notices an old gumball machine once filled with candy-coated chocolate but is now so old that it's turned to chocolate dust. Nialas comments that he can't remember the last time he's had chocolate. Cas points out that if he's really a knight from medieval times as he claims to be, then he should have never tasted chocolate before, much less know what it is. "I got up for snack breaks every now and then."
Cas tells him to avoid the stuff in the gumball machine because it looks gross, but he ignores her and decides to try a handful of it anyways. Maybe it's a bit old, but so is he. He lifts up his visor a little, but angle's it away so that she can't see his face. Then he starts coughing and sputtering. The visor falls back down with a heavy clang and he turns around so that Cas can see the chocolate dust and spit leaking out of his helmet holes. He comments that it was terrible, and Cas tells him that she told him so. "Did you want to try some?" "You just said that it was terrible!"
The pair find a freshly abandoned schoolbag next to a bunch of old rollerblades, which only strengthens their suspicions. It's near the ladder to a hanging room that overlooks the old wooden derby arena. The room is in the mouth of a giant Neon snake that's been lit up. The rest of the snake is coiled in the roof of the building and trails down to the scale patterned carpeting. They have to climb up a ladder and over some beams to get to this. Nialas holds out his hand and together they walk across the beams.
The room is lit in neon blues and pinks from the lights. The two can see the whole arcade from the windows. Unlike the rest of the arcade, the room is dust-free, and there are several crystal bottles lining the wall that looks identical to the pair that the girls had. The only difference is that these are filled with a clear liquid and what looks to be dirt and dead leaves. Nialas notes that there's a bucket in the corner filled with slime and waterlogged leaves, and it smells like sulfur. Cas wonders what kind of stuff this is supposed to be, before coming to her senses.
She tells Nialas to back away from all this so that she can take pictures and they don't get any fingerprints on it. Nialas waves his gloved hand in front of her face. Cas blushes and says, oh yeah, but still, this is a crime scene and they need to call the police. Then Cas can feel the blood draining from her face as she realizes that they're probably going to think that she's responsible, so they can't call the cops. Nialas asks her why she thinks the police would blame her for this. Cas stutters never mind. They might not even believe them anyway since they didn't believe that teacher. "This was stupid! We don't have the authority to be getting involved in this kind of thing! Why did I let you talk me into this?!"
Nialas calms her down and assures her that everything is going to be alright and that this is important to find out because that girl's life may well hang in the balance. Cas hesitantly agrees but asks that they put the tip in anonymously and take a sample of this to the girl's mother before calling the cops so that they can make sure that she has something to give to the hospital.
Just then, the pair hears what sounds like a door opening below. They peer below and see a dark shadow coming into the building. They quickly hide. The figure comes up and they see a blond with a long braided mohawk and shaved sides counting money as she walks into the room. She casually goes to pick up one of the bottles, before pausing. She notices that some are out of place from Nialas touching them earlier, and begins to look around the room.
She bites her finger and draws a strange symbol on the wall in her blood. The shadows on the wall flicker strangely. She then turns to the room and threatens that if someone wants a refill they're going to have to pay.
Then she spots Cas and lunges for her arm, but Nialas jumps out and confronts "You must be Wendy." "Oh?" She seems a little suprised by Nialas. He says that they know that she's the one responsible for the sickness that's been going around due to all this vile liquid, and she's going to have justice served to her once they report this to the police. The woman laughs at them and insists that the only thing in those bottles is well water. They can have it analyzed by the authorities all they want. Nialas doesn't believe her and insists that this can't be the case, because people have gotten sick. "It's just a coincidence."
The woman just throws him a bottle. "The first one's a freebie. You can go ahead and have that tested by some stuffy guy in a lab coat again if you really want to waste it. Or perhaps, you can have a drink and test its effects for yourself." She winks. Cas states that they're not going to fall for her bluff.
The woman says that she's annoying and makes a motion to twist her arm in a way that hurts while pushing her over to the window and leaning her out. Cas cries out, and Nialas demands that she unhands her. "I'm in the middle of some important business transactions. You have three seconds to leave before I let your little friend take a tumble." "I'm not going to be intimidated!" "So, what are you going to do?" "Well, chivalry dictates that I don't fight fair ladies, but-" The woman picks up a huge detached claw from a crane game with her free hand and tried to use it as a cudgel, cutting Nialas off, but he catches it. "-you seem less like a lady, and more like a villain." The two struggle over the claw for a moment before it gets tossed out the window. Cas struggles out of her grip as well.
Nialas seems to have the upper hand at first. Suddenly, something invisible seems to attack Nialas, and knocks him out onto the beams. He manages to keep his balance but is struck a second time. His boots catch him in the air, and he tries to make it back to the beams but is struck a third time by this invisible force. He falls, only barely grabbing onto a beam. "Leave the rest to me. I don't want you killing him. That'll make a huge mess." Cas notices out of the corner of her eye that there are strange shadows dancing across the walls. They look inhuman, and she sees nothing moving that could possibly cast them. The woman starts to grind her heel into Nialas fingers, trying to get him to fall.
Thinking quickly, Che throws a bottle at the woman's head, who is caught by surprise and knocked off balance. Nialas grabs her ankle while distracted and drags her down. Wendy grabs onto Nialas as she falls. The extra weight is too much and he's struggling not to lose his grip. Cas starts to walk out towards him.
That same invisible force that attacked Nialas hits Cas hard and knocks her into all the bottles. She thinks for a moment that she sees the afterimage of a horrifying face right next to her. The bottles smash around her, and she has the wind knocked out of her. She then comes to her senses as she hears a crash and realizes that Nialas must have lost his grip.
Cas gathers her courage and forces herself across the catwalk. The woman recoverers first, and flees the arcade. Cas rushes over to Nialas. He seems disoriented, and she tries taking off his helmet to see if he has a concussion, but his hand shoots out and grabs her wrist before she can lift the helmet. He's alright, but a little bit shook, and moans that the woman got away. Cas starts asking about what that invisible force that attacked them was. Nialas states that he has no idea, and insists that they worry about it later. They need to get a sample of this to the mother.
Before they go leave, Nialas holds Cas back and says that they make an awesome team. Cas points out that this all could have gone horribly wrong, but Nialas insists that they're fantastic. The two head back. Nialas is still a little dizzy and stumbles a lot on the way.
The mother opens the door expecting the exorcist and is disappointed to find out that it's only Nialas and Cas. Her daughter's condition is getting worse and she's frantic. They show her the bottle and explain the situation, and she's grateful for their help. She's done waiting for the exorcist to get here, and she's going to take her back to the hospital now. She asks them for their help loading her up. Nialas starts up the steps but is still slightly dizzy from his earlier and slips backward. He falls into the arms of a man dressed in black shirt and pants with a white collar with a cross around his neck. Michael's face is reflected in Nialas's helmet.
The man cautions him to be a little more careful. Nialas seems stunned and stares at him, and Cas asks if he's the Nine of clubs. The man answers that his name is Michael. He has a very intense stare, Cas notes. His demeanor is quite friendly, but there's something about him that intimidates her. Even though he isn't as anywhere near as tall as Gareth there's something about Michael that makes Cas feel small next to him in a way that Gareth didn't.
He's part of the Trump Cards and he's here to see the mother. Cas looks to Nialas to help explain, but when he says nothing, she takes charge. She shyly mumbles the exorcism won't be needed any more since they already solved the case. The sickness was caused by whatever was in that vial, so he can focus on helping her with her problem now. Michael insists that her symptoms seem identical to all the others he's been doing this past week. Cas points out that they found the same bottle at the local high school, and that her sickness was likely caused by the same thing.
Michael relents that it's possible, though it would be the first time he wrongly performed an exorcism on someone who wasn't possessed, let alone multiple in a row. At the very least, he'd like to have a look. Michael goes into the house, where he meets the mother, who isn't very happy with him.
Cas starts to follow but notes that Nialas isn't following. In fact, he's being strangely quiet and staring after Michael. His hands are poised as though about to reach for the sword at his side, and he does a double-take when nothing is there. His body language is tense. Cas is a bit surprised by this, since she thought that Nialas was eager to see an exorcism. Nialas says “Oh, yeah.” But he seems subdued and wary. Cas asks him if everything is alright. "Yes, I'm fine. It's just... never mind." Cas wonders if they should have him checked out along with the daughter. That was a pretty nasty fall. Nialas laughs and brushes her concern off saying that he has a hard head.
Cas and Nialas follow into the house and come across the mother blocking Michael's way, insisting that she's taking her daughter to the hospital. She's interrupted by the girl giving a wail, and all the lights in the house flickering. Michael insists that an examination won't take long, and pushes past the stunned mother. Nialas, Cas, and the mother follow.
Michael introduces himself, and the girl watches him wearily. She especially eyes his bag with disgust. He performs a number of tests including checking her temperature and confirming that its warm (Ghosts possessions are cold). He offers her holy water as and drinks some himself, which she refuses. Some of it spills out as she pushes it away, and she dodges it. Michael asks for a name, but the girl can't seem to get anything out and instead then curses at them in a language that Cas is unfamiliar with. Michael asks the woman if her daughter knows any foreign languages at all and the woman responds that she's been taking french, but that's it. That definitely wasn't french. While Michael is distracted the girl's eyes flicker black. Her shadow grows horns, and the veins in her neck seem to be black.
Cas shouts to warn Michael as the girl picks up a chair with two fingers as though it were made of styrofoam and effortlessly throws it at Michael's head. Michael dodges it unphased, and it smashes against the wall behind him. Michael stares at the girl puzzled. He seems to be thinking about something.
Michael states that he believes that she is possessed in his honest opinion, and asks permission to perform an exorcism. The mother looks reluctantly at her daughter as the lights flicker again. She asks if it will hurt her, and Michael responds that it might, in the way that removing a splinter hurts. The girl will feel much better when it's done. The mother gives her approval, and Michael instructs her to restrain the girl.
Michael takes out his holy relic from the bag, holds it in one arm, and then dramatically throws his glasses back over by his bag with the other. He begins reciting prayers. She immediately starts cursing and screaming in multiple languages and saying profane things, and bleating like a sheep. The posters in the room start curling up and yellowing and the whole room begins to smell like wet leaves and rotting compost. The bed the girl is on starts trembling violently, and Nialas rushes over to help the mother hold the girl down.
The girl's eyes turn completely black, and for a second, Cas thinks that she sees something like a strip of transparent yellowish flesh with pulsing veins coming out of the girl's open mouth. It's gone so quickly that she's not sure if she saw anything at all. The lights return to normal and the girl sinks down into her bed looking pale and exhausted. Michael finishes his prayer. He sprinkles a bit of holy water over the girl just to be sure, and when there's no reaction he declares that the evil entity is gone now. The woman is shaken and states that she wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't just seen it with her own eyes. She asks what she owes Michael, but he states that he never charges for his services, and instead offers instructions for further care.
Michael, Cas, and Nialas leave the building. Nialas comments that this was intense, but Michael seems to think that it was milder than it should have been. Cas jokes that if that reaction was mild, then she'd hate to see what a really bad reaction looked like. Michael insists that there's something about this case that's still bugging him. According to what he knows, the possession was hitting all the red flags for being demonic in nature rather than simply that of an errant spirit, however, when he compelled it would start to, but them suddenly stop. Demons always give their names when compelled, so he wonders why this one didn't. It was the same thing with the others.
Nialas points out that, whatever the case may be, he and Cas were way off base with their raw water theory. Michael questions what they mean by that and they tell him in detail what happened. He stops them when they mention the woman, and asks questions about her, like if she had blond hair in a braid and heavy eye makeup. They confirm that she did and that they think her name was Wendy, and Michael states that he knows who she is. She's infamous for causing this kind of trouble.
He asks to see the vial and then sprinkles a few drops of holy water into it. The liquid immediately steams and fizzles as though he's just dropped water into burning oil, and Michael voices that the yellow patches in the water seem to have a demonic charge. He pours one out, and the air stinks of sulfur and rotting leaves. The yellow chunks seem to pulse in his hand as though it's alive. They're not leaves, they're demons' flesh. So that explains it.
Demon's flesh can cause hallucinations as well as other side effects that might appeal to those who didn't understand how dangerous it actually is. Since she wasn't actually selling a physical poison, Wendy wouldn't have gotten in trouble since any examination by the police wouldn't match their drug tests and would have just come up as regular water. It also explains why he wasn't able to get a complete name, since it's only corruption from the demon rather than the creature itself
Cas asks if that yellow stuff is really from a demon's body, but Michael corrects that Demon's flesh is just a name. Demons don't have a corporal body. It's just what people call objects tainted by their presence.
Michael explains that he thinks they were half right after all and that he probably wouldn't have discovered the source without them. Nialas laments that Wendy got away and that she'll continue to hurt innocent people if she's not stopped. Michael states that they can also stop her if he can exorcise the source of the demon's flesh and asks them if they had any idea where she'd gotten it. Nialas is puzzled and mentions that they found the stash at the abandoned roller derby, but Cas remembers that she'd said that it was water that she'd gotten from a well. The two kids they found were also by a well over by the school, right. Hadn't they said that they'd seen her over there?
Michael immediately concludes that he knows the spot. It has to be Shepherd's Well. That would explain the sheep-like bleating. He thanks them for all their help, promises that he'll get to Cas's case as soon as he ties things up here and then rushes over to his car.
He's a little put off when he hears his back seat doors open and Nialas and Cas hop inside. He gives them a look. Cas blushes and looks down at her feet in response, but Nialas boldly proclaims that he said himself that they've already been a big help so far and that they want to see it through to the end. Michael says that he supposes that he understands, but also scolds them for just hopping into a stranger's car. That's dangerous. Cas blushes deeper at that.
As they drive off, Nialas points out that Cas didn't want to look into whatever those kids were up to. "See, the librarian's suggestion was good after all." "You just got lucky that's it's barely related." "Nope. It was destiny guiding me!" She can almost picture him grinning under the helmet.
They arrive back at the forest over by the school. Everyone is gone now. As they walk through the forest, Nialas asks if it's possible that his friend was was possessed by this demon's flesh, and if Michael might be willing to perform an exorcism if he is. Michael asks if he's been displaying the same symptoms. "Well, not that I know of, but he has been acting strangely and even attacked the fair lady Cas!" Cas blushes a little at being given such a title. "You're talking about the creature she wants the Trump Cards to investigate? Does your friend have a name?" "He tried telling me one time, but I couldn't pronounce it, so I just call him the questing beast." "Like the one from the fairy tale? Oh, you're dressed up like the knight from the story too. I thought that armor looked familiar." "I am that knight." Cas comments, "Don't mind him."
To her surprise, Michael suddenly seems guarded "You shouldn't play around pretending to be something you're not. People here are superstitious, and some take that old story very seriously. You're going to cause trouble if they see you, if not for yourself, then for others." Cas tries to lighten the mood a little "You're a fine one to talk about superstitious, given what you do."
Nialas seems on edge too, angry. The air is suddenly tense though Cas isn't sure why. "I'm not pretending to be anything other than what I am. It's my quest to save the world." "You believe that nonsense about the three heralds of doom too then?" "Of course. They are my enemy and must be stopped at all costs." Michael just sighs and shakes his head, with that the tension also seems to dissipate. "Never mind. If your friend really is like the questing beast from legend, then is he also a spirit?" "He is." "Then he can't be possessed. There's no true body to possess." Cas comments "He certainly hit the car hard enough for not having a body, and Gus's truck." "Spirits can physically manifest and affect the corporal world. Still, even if he can't be possessed, it's possible that he was corrupted by a demonic influence. I'll have a look when we find him."
They arrive at the well. Michael walks over to the well and pulls up a bucket. Unlike the older parts of the well, the bucket seems relatively new. Cas and Nialas crowd around the water and see that it's the same as what was in the vile. The yellow flesh that looks like rotting leaves pulsates, and the air is filled with the smell of old rainwater, sulfur, and rotting vegetation.
Michael states that if God wills it, then they'll get rid of the demon for good this time. Cas asks if this is going to be dangerous. Michael states that, given what he's faced so far, he doesn't think that it will be too bad. Still, better to be safe. He tells the pair to stand back and keep their distance until it's over. He dramatically throws his glasses to the side, then picks up the encased holy relic in one arm, holds the other out towards the well, and begins praying.
Immediately the air seems to pulse and the ground starts shaking. There's a low roar, and two clawed footprints, each as long as Cas's own body, appear in the mud as though some invisible creature stands over the well before them. Michael continues to pray. The wind picks up and there's another sound that's like a mixture of a roar and the bleating of a sheep. For a moment it seems as though Michael is being shoved back by some invisible force, and the ground around him becomes sopping wet.
Michael's holy relic is then ripped out of his hands by a sudden gale, and lands close to Cas. He continues praying, uninterrupted. Cas rushes closer to pick it up and give it back to him. The smell of sulfur becomes unbearable. Michael stops praying and turns to Cas to yell at her to get back. Cas sees a terrifying demonic face, similar to what she saw for a split second in the arcade, but this time it's as large as a car hovering ten feet over the well. The reversed colors of the afterimage are burned into her retinas.
It speaks to her, in a voice that's barely more than a whisper, but rumbles like an earthquake through her bones. "You were right to hurt them. They all deserved it." "No." "If anything you didn't take it far enough!" "No!" "The heat, the crackling, the ruin, don't pretend like you didn't enjoy every second of it!"
Then she feels something wet and cold grab her ankles, and the next thing she knows she's on her back, being dragged through the mud towards the well. Nialas calls her name and she hears his armor clanking as he chases after her. Michael is chasing them as well. Cas tries to kick at the invisible force grabbing her but hits nothing. The backs of her bare legs get scraped up as she's dragged up and over the stone wall of the well. She manages to grab the edge for a moment under her elbow and sees Nialas running at her a few feet away his arm outstretched. She holds her other arm out.
The earth shakes. The leaves of the tree all start cascading down at once as though it's a waterfall of orange fire. Nialas's gloved fingers brush against hers, but the invisible force gives another yank and Cas loses her grip and falls down into the well. Cas gasps as she lands on her butt in the ankle-deep water. A cascade of leaves follows after her. Nialas calls after her asking if she's alright. Cas responds that she thinks so. She hears Nialas turning away and calling to Michael but can't make out what they're saying over breathing all around her.
As her eyes adjust to the darkness of the cavern, she notices how slimy it is and how badly it smells. She sees several shapes in the dark around her that are vaguely shaped like people, and her breath catches. She stumbles backward to get away and trips over something. When she looks down, she sees sheep bones. Something grabs her. What feels like a multitude of mouths and clawing hands pull her hair and clothes and bite her hard enough to draw blood. She screams.
She hears a huge splash. Nialas lands on his feet next to her. He jumps in front of Cas and puts an arm around her to potentially shield her. She hears what sounds like several dings and crunches as whatever was attacking her hits Nialas's armor. Then she hears Michael's voice above it all.
The well starts hissing, and hot steam rises up to their knees before making its way up the walls and pouring out of the top of the well. The dark tree above withers and becomes a sun-bleached white. The stones of the well start crumbling out of place and cracking. There's one last terrible roar, like the bleating of a sheep, that shakes everything like an earthquake, and then everything becomes quiet. The air smells cleaner, and fresh, like soil after rain.
Michael calls down to them and asks them if they're alright. Nialas calls up that they're ok, and asks if it's over. Michael confirms that the demon has been exorcised from the well and drops the bucket down. Nialas helps Cas stand on the bucket, and Michael pulls her up and out. She's blinded by the sunlight at first. She observes that the mist around the ground is starting to fade. The tree is dead and completely bare and the well is in ruins. The feet prints are still there, and the only mist remaining sits within its hollows. Cas hesitates, and comments to him "You're a very dangerous man, aren't you." Michael seems hurt by this and responds back softly, "Only to those who deserve it, I suppose." Nialas gets pulled up by Michael behind her.
She thanks Nialas for helping her, and in return Nialas scolds her. He tells her that she was being reckless rushing forward like that. Cas throws his words right back at him. "You're one to talk! You've been doing nothing but diving headfirst into trouble since we first met!" "It's different! I'm an experienced adventurer, while you're just a little girl!" Cas protests. What does he mean 'little girl'. She's fourteen and three quarters. He doesn't sound any older than her. Nialas concludes that he's 1345 years old. "No you aren't!" "Am too. I've been waiting a long time under that spell." "That doesn't count! What's your age without all of that nonsense?"
Nialas pauses and asks how many months is three quarters of a year. Cas tells him that it's nine. Nialas counts on his fingers for a moment before folding his arms. "I already told you, I'm 1345-" "I knew it! You're even younger than me! Aren't you, sir Nialas?" "No! No, I'm not. Who are you to decide that the years I was enchanted don't count! You don't stop aging when you sleep." "You obviously did!"
Michael cuts Nialas off before he can respond, sighing and claiming that they're both children. Michael casually puts on his muddy glasses and apologizes for what happened. He figured that the complete demon would be more powerful than its fragments, but he underestimated how much more powerful. He put them both in terrible danger by letting them tag along. Cas offers that they were the ones that kind of forced themselves into the situation. "Yeah, and you even told us to stay behind the line until you were finished, but Cas disobeyed you." Cas glares at Nialas. Michael states "That's no excuse. I was irresponsible."
At any rate, he supposes that he should get to the real reason why the two of them are here. Michael then sits over on a log, and motions for the pair to join him. Before Cas can say anything, Michael gently tells her that before he takes her testimony, he just wants her to know that he's not here to judge her for anything that she perhaps did or didn't do. He wants to help her, and in order for him to do that, he needs her to be honest with him. Cas is immediately on edge about what he means by this. He's found out the truth about her. What else could he mean by this.
The, to her surprise, Michael asks her if she lied about who she was when she filled out her application.
Cas gets a little upset by this. She states that, no, she didn't lie about anything. Michael asks if she's sure, and says that it's alright if she did. It isn't the first time someone has, and it's ok if she's scared. Cas again states that, no, she didn't lie. Michael nods. "Then we have a bit of a problem."
Michael explains that one of his colleges, Facedown, did a background check on her just in case it offered any relevant information to the attack on her. Michael looks at her gravely. "According to all public records, you, your mother, your hometown, your high school, everything you put on that form, it don't exist." Cas feels like a stone dropped into her gut.

Notes

• The entire asphalt parking lot around the arcade is covered in graffiti and surrounded by trees.
• When the group initially gets close to the well, something pulls Cas in and drags her down. There's a little cave below the well with bones inside. She feels multiple hands grabbing her in the dark and freaks out. She can just barely make out the vague shape of people.
• Nialas jumps in after her and protects her while Michael lowers the bucket down. He pulls up Cas, but the demonic force holding Nialas down is too strong, so he has to perform the exorcism with Nialas still inside the well.
• When Michael finishes, he and Cas lower the bucket down, and then they both pull it up. Nialas is a little shaken and dented, but otherwise fine.
• Cas scolds him saying that scaring her like that twice in one day is too much. Nialas counters that she scared him twice first, getting grabbed by that woman, then getting grabbed by the demon. Cas concedes saying that they both need to be more careful.