Go over what happened (besides the BJ).

As everybody gathers again, Snow aids in your redressing--first your shirt, than your cloak. Eva, Amara, Xiaoqing, and Niki watch with great interest. You tug the fabric of your top to make sure it's straightened and proper, and watch as Monarch speaks to Kaelana and the others. You wonder about all that just transpired. It happened fast. But in this clarity you're now experiencing for reasons, you can't help but wonder about the implications of a umbrageist manipulating Monarch, but not necessarily to do anything crazy. It must have been trying to get the Crookblade Bandits to do something.

"You look radiant. I wonder what you and Monarch spoke about in there," Amara says with a fake-innocent smile.

"Not a lot, but she really ran her mouth," you respond.

Xiaoqing lifts her sleeve. It slips down to her elbow as she scratches her chin in deep thought. "Umbrageist... That sounds familiar. I guess it doesn't really matter, but I think I've heard of them before. You said they were pretty smart, right, Eva?"

The bunnyfolk nods. "Not like super-humanly intelligent. Just more than you'd expect from a sliver of darkness with a goofy face."

"So it was trying to get the leader of these bandits to do something. If it doesn't seem obvious at first, maybe it wasn't working alone? You already mentioned they'll often lure people into danger against other monsters. I guess they're used to teamwork, even if it's one-sided. Imagine if you could ally yourself with an umbrageist. You could do some crazy things, right? Even possess the ruler of a nation if you played your cards right."

"I feel like something to that extent probably wouldn't fly? So many people would have the chance to notice, and if you're a ruler without a skilled court mage, what are you even doing? But you're not really wrong either. I hope that isn't the case. As in, I'd be scared of somebody able to make a deal with an umbrageist."

"I thank you, Demon King!" Monarch's voice projects across the center of the camp. From over the unlit bonfire, her finger is pointed directly at you. "Only someone such as him could nearly equal my power, and overcome the curse bestowed upon me. In the privacy of my abode, he supported me in cleansing myself, and at last I am free. I will not rest until I find the source of the attack. When I found the one behind it, I will wring the life from their throat."

The other members of the Crookblade Bandits raise their mugs in celebrative cheer--exclamations such as, "Hear hear!" or "I'll drink to that!" or "That guy is the real deal!"

Monarch makes her way through the crowd as tensions decrease. Most don't know what to make of what happened, but all they need to understand anyway is that their leader is back to normal. She stops short of your party, and grabs her hips firm in a confident stance. She smiles wide. It almost makes you forget that only moments ago, her mouth was far too full to speak.

"I have far too much to do, so I cannot speak for long," she says.

"I imagine," you reply. "What exactly did that monster make you do?"

"Yes, that is the interesting part. Lethargy, odd relocation, questionable business decisions, new deals with strangers, cutting ties with others."

"So the umbrageist was definitely not working alone."

"Of course not. To what benefit would all that lead a creature who only seeks to devour?"

You inspect her for a moment. She's deep in thought--rightfully so. "I have a feeling you have a top suspect."

"It would be foolish to start guessing now. That being said, plenty changed after my meeting with the last Demon King."

William. But does this actually have anything to do with him? The guy is pretty sneaky. Strategic. It sound sound like something he'd do, know I don't know his goal. "Like Eva said before, I'd be worried about a person who could get an umbrageist to do their bidding."

Speak of the bunny, Eva looks over and shivers. "Yeah," she says as if she just picked up the call. "Creeps me out."

"If the same trick is tried on us, at least I know how to free you all," you say.

Eva instinctually grabs onto the button holding closed the window through her dress. "Tr-True..."

"Sending out evil spirits to manipulate the people sounds exactly like what I picture a Demon King to be doing," Xiaoqing chimes in. "I guess the question is, to what end?"

"No more senseless speculation," Monarch demands. She flicks her hair back by her well-groomed nails. "Crookblade Bandits! Begin preparations to leave immediately. We still have some hours of sunlight remaining, and I want us to make it as far west as possible before we sleep, even if such a time is well-passed midnight. There are many people I must meet with, and there is lost time to be made up."

"Yes, Monarch!" they shout in unison, albeit with a variety of timing and variations of the phrasing.

"That means you must depart soon as well," she says with eyes back on you. "But nobody will say that Monarch is ungrateful. Before I begin my own preparations, I will write you a letter. You will then bring it to somebody in Tanver's Crossing."

"That sounds more like a job than a reward," you say.

She rolls her tongue around in her mouth, recalling a recent memory. "You received a reward. Though perhaps something so mutual is not a proper thank-you, I still see that the greed of a Demon King knows no bounds. That may be why I like them so much. But regardless, this is not a delivery quest I have granted you. The letter will contain signed proof that you are my ally. This will open doors to you in these parts. Excuse me. I will write this immediately." Then without saying another word, or even turning an eye back, she steps swiftly into her hut.

Xiaoqing looks to you. "I suppose helping out some bandits was beneficial after all. I'm glad we came."

"I am happy we could help," says Amara with a smile as warm as always.

Eva looks to her own hands. "Though I don't like how it felt when that thing flew into my body. There are only a few things I like inside me."

"Like the honey mead they got here," Niki says, patting her belly.

"Y-Yeah. Exactly!"

Snow's eyes are on the sky. "We can still make it a ways down the road before nightfall. Even at a leisurely pace, we will likely get to Tanver's Crossing before noon tomorrow."

"We better stay even more vigilante than before," you say. "This could have been a one-off scenario, but thinking about it makes me really uncomfortable. We're technically in the domain of another Demon King right now, and knowing William, he already knows we've entered."