Outside the town of Dugnix was a well, and tradition held that if one whispered a secret into it, that secret would forever be kept. A harmless custom until Crime Sage Rykel heard about it.
"I will employ my new water-breathing magic for the purpose of gathering blackmail material," he told himself. No one else wanted to talk to him. He traveled alone to Dugnix and lowered himself into the well.
"Now there is nothing to do but wait," he thought, and what a long time he had in that, for the townsfolk did not accrue secrets so quickly as that. Bored, Rykel sank lower into the water, lower, lower, till he detected a powerful presence when it yelled at him.
"I am the Eater of Secrets Guzabansh! Get out of my well! It's at full capacity!"
There began a ferocious battle of magic and monster. Unquestionably Rykel had earned the sobriquet of "sage" through his superior ability, no matter how unscrupously he applied it. The monster however was a powerful thing not easily vanquished, and hideous as well. Rykel was glad he was unable to see anything down there.
Ferocious power burst forth from Rykel and destroyed Guzabansh along with the well. The townsfolk came to investigate, the braver ones first.
"I am Rykel the Crime Sage, and since it's come to this, tell me your secrets directly so I can blackmail you!" Drenched as he was, he looked less intimidating than he might have.
"We can stop feeding that terrible Guzabansh? Hurrah for Rykel!" The townsfolk demurred when it came to blackmail, but they threw Rykel a banquet, bestowed on him the honor of civic hero, and gave him a discount on purchases at all local vendors. He had to be content with that.
Finis
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