CD-TIS04 (Dec 20, 1988)

CD-TIS04

Puzzle

"Looking ahead to what this way comes."
Knowledge | 3 Words

Clue

Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: 'What this way comes', huh?
Clue 2: 'Looking forward' has wordplay, by the way - it's not just a reference to 'in the future'.
Clue 3: What does the Wicked provide to Jean, allowing him to 'look', in the future?

Answer and Explanation

Answer: Blighted Second Sight
Explanation: The phrase 'what this way comes' is an allusion to the Cold Elder Wicked, based off the quote 'something wicked this way comes' in 'Macbeth'. 'Looking ahead, on the other hand, implies both the future and actual sight. Therefore, this puzzle references the Second Sight that Jean gains due to the influence of the Wicked and its Blight.

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⚠️BEWARE: THIS IS DECLASSIFIED INFORMATION. WARY EYES ONLY. ENTER AT OWN RISK.⚠️

Summary of Receipt

Summary

Transcript

AND RECEIPT
RECEIPT NUMBER: TIS04
RECEIPT DATE: 12 20 1988
EMPLOYEE TITLE: #18 #71
RECEIPT NOTES:

Oh… mon nouvel ami. What have you done to yourself? I hope this minor advantage is worth the cost. I can only imagine how la dame will react when she finds out. If she finds out.

S.O.T.

#64: Seventy-one.

#71: Hm?

#64: Your number. It’s seventy-one.

#71: I thought #8 gave me—

#64: #18? Yeah, no. That won’t work. It’s supposed to be #71. And Lucy? Well, I don’t expect her to stick around long enough for “#8811” to matter.

#71: What are you talking about, mon nouvel ami?

#64: Jack’s decided to keep the Cafe open through Christmas. It’s over. Or… maybe it’s only just the beginning.

#71: This again, mon nouvel ami? I thought you were finally moving past the… well… the past.

#64: I have. I am. But I can’t fight it anymore. Felix, what do you know about the Wicked?

#71: The Wicked? The Cold Elder? Not much.

#64: Mm. I can’t say I know much about the Wicked either. Or Phantom, for that matter. Phantom’s attention seems drawn elsewhere. She doesn’t see the same potential in this Cycle that Fate does. Wicked, though… Wicked sees potential in a lot of places.

#71: He’s the most drawn to mortal cults out of the four, isn’t he?

#64: Yes. But not just cults. He’s the most open of the Cold Elders. He shares his power quite freely.

#71: What are you getting at?

#64: You’re a warlock, right?

#71: Semantically speaking, I suppose. But I’d argue I’m closer to a witch—or a practitioner.

#64: What’s the difference?

#71: Not much. Practitioners call upon higher powers but rarely receive direct support. Warlocks tap into the energy of a higher power, while witches are given a fragment of that power itself—for a cost.

#64: So, just different ways for mortals to gain an edge.

#71: In a sense.

#64: Hm…

#71: What are you considering?

#64: Just how badly I’ve screwed myself.

#71: Jean… what have you done?

[#64 lowered his sunglasses, revealing a bright yellow eye with a double pupil.]

#71: You didn’t…

[#64 pushed his sunglasses back up.]

#64: I need to be able to see them coming. The Cold. Jack’s resigned himself to his fate. I haven’t.

#71: Why wouldn’t you just ask la dame—

#64: I did. She brushed it off until the new year. We don’t have that long. The Wicked, though… he’s quick with deals. Just have to read some of his prose, and—

#71: You gave yourself the Wicked’s blight?

#64: Just enough to get my second sight back.

#71: You’ll die!

#64: Eventually. And I don’t have God to save me this time. Not unless I can find Him. Might as well go out with a bang.

#71: What if you aren’t fated to die this time?

#64: If I get the Eight, I don’t see another way around it. It’s a curse, you know. Best case? My second sight lets me save Jack, and then I’ll worry about finding a cure for the blight. Realistically? It won’t matter.

E.O.T.