The fox has left. Chiri is left in the tent with … this … this thing. This Dagh-cursed thing from the bowels of the most accursed afterlife realm one could imagine. It resembles a digitigrade goat-morph, painted in blood-red hues, with eyes that glitter like rubies … and fangs that glimmer like something else entirely.

Dark green vapors pour out of its mouth. It breathes on Chiri … but she has had the foresight to cover her face with gauze that she dampened in the sink. The horrible fumes make her eyes water fitfully, and burn intensely. At least she can't smell it.

"So what kind of stupid demon would ally himself with a fox!" Chiri squeaks in a muffled voice at the creature, her hand searching frantically through her cash-box as she grabs at a handful of iron shekels and hurls them at the creature.

The coins rattle against the creature. The monster roars at the onslaught. The shekels clatter to the floor. The creature stands there … and laughs, as a smoky wisp curls up from the center of his forehead. Something shiny is there.

The goat-thing laughs, "IroN? OnLy CoLD-foRGeD iRon woRKs fOr tHat!"

The coin still sits on the goat's forehead, smoking. It's a tarnished coin. Not a rusty one.

Chiri scoops up another handful and pockets them, backing away and grabbing up the whole dagger drawer. "How do you know it wasn't cold-forged, horn head? Maybe all of these daggers I'm throwing at you have been dipped in holy water!" She coughs and blinks her watery eyes, trying to get out of the smoke.

The goat-thing pauses in place. He looks … agitated. "RarreRrr – DaGhh… taKe … iT!"

The rat blinks, and smirks to herself. She drops the drawerand makes another dive for her cash-box, pulling out a bottle of a medicine she hopes contains silver in it. She fishes out her few silver coins and throws them at the creature. "You must be a fox's demon! You're damned expensive!"

The creature shrieks and bellows, as it thrashes about, ripping the tent walls, smashing shelves, and burning everything it touches. The tent is soon aflame, which adds more smoke in addition to the creature's foul breath.

Chiri snatches up a dagger and retreats to the back of the tent, disappearing behind the flap. she pockets the dagger and pulls out the bottle, hurling it at the monster before spinning around to try and slash an opening in the tent wall and make a run for it.

The tent rips open, and the rat is free. Several Darkside denizens have crawled out of the woodwork to observe the spectacle, as Chiri's tent is leveled by the monster.

Chiri throws the cloth down and moves her strange plantigrade feet as fast as she can. "RUN! Everyone run! The cannibal fox sent a demon after me! And if someone finds my moron slave and his kid, tell them I'm at the College Esoterica and I'll share the reward with them! RUN!!"

The monster roars, rending the tent … but as he tears his way out of the tent … he doesn't look altogether himself anymore. His goat-head is now skeletal, the skin shriveled and burnt. One could suggest that it's the fire …

Three Jupani guards rush up to the spectacle of the blazing tent. A Zelak clacks its mandibles, following close behind. Darksiders scatter at the sight of the Guardsmen, though someone has the presence of mind to throw a bottle that shatters on the Zelak's head. It doesn't notice.

"Take that, Dagh spawn! NOBODY messes with the Lady and lives to tell about it! You tell Dagh that Chiri is gonna send his fox down to meet him when she sees him!" the rat screams at the monster, slowing her pace.

Following the guardsmen is a white Rokuga, dressed in a white mantle, black hat, and smoked glasses. His head quirks from left to right, surveying the situation. "That must be the source… Wait, that Skreek… I remember her… "

"Citizens, form a bucket briga – " calls out the Jupani, but he shakes his head, as the Darksiders just scamper away, minding their own hides.

The Skreek in question spots the snake and stops running… Or, better put, she stops running away and makes a beeline towards him. "You! You're that spirit mage! Are you with the College? I'd like to report one of your mages… He's a cannibal and a dark wizard!"

The demon-thing roars again … and its head begins to cave in. It claws at its own face, ripping off bits of charred flesh … which dissolve into red mist.

"Stay behind me, healer," hisses the white mage, watching the demon carefully. "The creature seems to be losing integrity, but we can't be sure. A black mage, you say? What did he look like?"

Obligingly the Skreek ducks behind the serpent. "I can describe him to you in excruciating detail… I even know his name. He's a gray fox with five tails named Francisco. He said he was an illusion mage at the College Esoterica." She pauses for a moment to rub her watery eyes. "He was wearing a cloak of Shiga skin, like the cannibal fox everyone's whispering about."

"But THAT," Chiri points over the snake's shoulder, "sure as Dugh ain't no illusion."

Qing's face tightens slightly, creasing. "I should have known… " His arms contort themselves into odd positions, and he begins murmuring under his breath.

The Skreek turns around and backs away a few steps, shouting at the top of her lungs. "X! Hey X! Where is your pathetic spotted hide? HEY!" She frowns… he must have seen the fire. He must have.

As if on cue … well, a bit late, actually … a large spotted feline works his way down the street, holding a smaller spotted feline in his arms. He looks as if he's about to drop.

"There you are!" Chiri runs up to the Savanite and looks almost ready to smack him… but eyes the cub in his arm and shakes her head. "What happened?"

X shrugs, his arms filled with the cub, and then he sets down the snoozing toddler gently.

The Rokuga continues his muttering, motioning for the guards to stay near.

X signs, "Little Reed run away. Chase fairy light or something. Saw it, but it vanish. Caught Reed."

The rat looks tired and puts her arm on the Savanite's shoulder. "C'mon… I think I know what it's about. We'd better go and stand behind those guards unless you want to be spattered with demon bits."

X nods, his ears low, as he picks up Little Reed again, and follows the Skreek's urging.

Qing completes his spell, concentrating for a bit… then curses, piling backward over his own coils. "Guards, get back from the demon. It's going to explode!"

"Aieeee!" Chiri squeaks. She turns tail and runs, doing her best to keep those armored bodies between herself and the monster.

X's ears shoot up … He runs after Chiri … overtakes her, grabs her under one arm, and sprints for all he's worth!

The Guards let out howls of alarm, and dash for cover. The Zelak just stands there, clacking its mandibles.

Chiri screams again… stops… and then shouts, "Run faster!!!"

The demon-thing lets out a horrible shriek … and then its form rips outward with a ferocious force, bursting into a ball of deep red flame that rolls upward and outward. Waves of heat surge across the street, shattering already broken windows, and obliterating what was left of the besieged tent.

The Zelak seemed to be about to figure out that it was meant to move as well, but it is caught up in the blast, and reduced to cinders in an instant. Perhaps it is just as well that the Darksiders weren't present to form a bucket brigade.

X throws himself to the ground, covering Little Reed and as much as he can of Chiri with his own body.

The rat's shouts stop abruptly as she realizes her tent is gone. She just hangs there limply bouncing in the Savanite's arms as she watches her life's work boil away in the fire.

"Ughn!" Having slithered partially away, the witchdoctor is carried slightly further, the blast driving him into the gutter. Slowly, he pushes himself back upright with the help of his six arms.

Chiri just looks at the fire, its light reflecting in her amber eyes. She slams her fist into the cobbles over and over. "Everything… gone. It's all gone." She breaks down into sobs.

X fumblingly tries to pat Chiri's shoulder. Little Reed, now quite awake, just cries in confusion.

Qing looks over the wreckage, pushing his glasses back up to shield his eyes from the glare of the flames. He glances at the guards. "The ritual presence is gone. I fear this is only the start of what the gate may bring forth. Secure the area. We'll be returning to the Collegia soon." He begins slithering wearily over toward the Skreek.

The rat raises her mud streaked face up. "He used a staff with a ruby in it. It changed… He somehow put it back in and then I hit him in the gut with a knife. Somehow he stayed on his feet… just like the wound on his neck he had me look at. He shouldn't even be alive with wounds like that."

She gestures at the smoldering wreckage. "The thing came from his staff. The fox was his master. Stupid piece of corpse excrement was threatening me with the thing."

The rat spins around and slaps the Savanite across the face. "And where were you? If you see that fuzzball again, I want you to rip his arms out, you got me?"

X looks down at the ground and nods obediently.

"Calm yourself, healer," hisses the snake grimly. "This fox had a staff with a ruby on it? You wounded him, or the demon? You must come with us. It is not safe here for you. You may be able to help us capture this rogue."

"I wounded the fox… The demon took two daggers and only growled at me." She pulls herself up and rubs a hand through the shock of red hair peeking out from her bandana, soiling it with the dirt on her fingers. "Francisco left after I pegged him, and he told his demon to 'take care of me'. I'd remembered that iron hurts critterslike that, so I made a dash for my coin-box and threw a handful at him. It didn't do anything, until I noticed I'd accidentally thrown a silver at him instead… a silver that was burning him. So I grabbed a bottle of silvernitrate and every last silver in my coin-box and chunked it at him. He caught on fire."

Chiri glares at the white serpent. "I want that fox dead. He already killed the Shiga for the skin he wears, and he tried to kill me over a joke that happened to him over a year ago! He's hurt… just have the hospitals watch for a fox with a wound on his neck and in his stomach. If he doesn't see a doctor about it soon, he won't be breathing much longer… if he ever was before."

Qing folds his arms, nodding thoughtfully. "He is already wanted for a dangerous situation he's caused in the graveyard. We will take that suggestion under advisement. For now, however… were your slaves with you at all times? Did they see anything else?"

The Skreek glances at the two slaves. "No. Something lured the cub away and X went after it. They didn't see a bit of what happened."

The serpent raises an eye-ridge. "What was the cub following?"

"X called it a 'fairy light'." Chiri glances over at the Savanite. "I don't know much about magic, but I do know when I'm being deliberately left alone. I was supposed to die this night, probably just like a hundred more will several nights from now."

The rat taps her chin, pondering something.

Qing lowers his glasses slightly to look at Chiri over them with ruby eyes. "A fairy light… luring him away. This… Francisco might have been after more than your death." Raising his glasses again, his expression goes neutral. "Atthe scene of the ritual in the graveyard was found Karnoran on an altar. Karnoran is blood taken from a sentient, used in spiritual rituals. Our observer sensed the blood was taken from a Jupani cubling."

X's eyes shoot wide open, and he clutches Little Reed close to his chest.

The rat's ears go flat against her head. "He murders children?" She chokes back several words that she usually doesn't say in the presence of the cub. "Mage Qing, I would like to make a request. I would like it to be reported that I did not survive this attack. My death may lure the monster into getting haughty or feeling invincible… or at least comfortable in knowing that there were no witnesses."

Qing looks slightly dubious. "It's highly irregular… "

The three wolves stumble back over to the Rokuga and the Skreek. They have singed fur here and there. Apparently they didn't conveniently slide into gutters, and weren't as fast as X. At least they're better off than the Zelak.

"Do you wanna catch him or not?" Chiri squeaks. "I can spread rumors around easily… If he even so much as thinks I'm alive, he'll probably go into hiding and you'll never find him."

The reptile looks between Chiri, then the guards. Finally, he nods almost imperceptibly. "Very well. Your survival of this confrontation will be kept a secret, and will only be known to the authorities involved in this investigation. Publicly, you'll be presumed dead. Is there a place we can meet should we need to contact you?"

Chiri folds her arms. "You got a place you can hide me? All my hiding places took shekels, and most of those got fed to the critter."

"I'm sure you and your servants can be quartered at the Collegia," hisses Qing, nodding. "Come. We have little time to waste. Let us go."

And so, the Skreek and the Rokuga, followed by the two Savanites and the three surviving Guards, swiftly leave the scene of destruction. The last bits of the goat-headed monster dissolve, blending with the blood red smoke that curls up from the remains of most of Chiri's earthly possessions.