Welcome back to Thaumaturge!

Last time, we completed a full game loop by Discovering a card, Resolving a coin flip, and Journaling to add to our story. Today, we'll continue the story by repeating the loop. Let's Discover a new card.

[Image description: The Three of Swords. A red orb is bleeding from three swords stabbed into it. Some kind of green cloud is dripping down onto it from above. The card is on a backdrop featuring forest and animal imagery.]

It's so interesting how many threes have shown up in our game so far! We've seen almost all of them. That background is from one of Walter Wick's lush I Spy photos, by the way.

The Three of Swords is often thought of as the "heartbreak" card, though tarot numerology-heads insists its bad reputation is undeserved. I think the art on this version looks like a big berry under a cloud of moss, which reminds me that we left Bumble in the woods. I look at the prompts for the swords suit and two, next to each other, jump out: "a wizards’ battle" and "a forgotten library." What about a library that was forgotten because it was destroyed in a wizards' battle?

I skip the Resolve action because I don't think Bumble needs to cast any spells here. This is an abandoned place. Another rule triggers, though: Remember how I said there are two different ways to reveal new spells in the spellbook? One of them is this: "When you find yourself in a place where you are, for a moment, free from danger, you may decide to study a new spell in your book. Flip a face-down card in your spellbook face-up."

I'll show you the next spell card in a moment. First I'm going to Journal:

Dear Grimoire:
    —I normally address these reports to Master Ramos but I no longer think I can.
    Dear Grimoire, I apologize for the berry stains. And the grass stains. And the ash.
    I almost didn't notice this place until I stubbed my toe on a stone, which turned out to be part of a wall. Part of the part of a wall that still remains. Judging by the curvature, the full diameter must have been pretty big. Maybe even as big as the Library. It's only dirt, and ash, and a little bit of an old wall now.
    Well– and I don't want to alarm you, Grimoire– but there was something else as well: A book. A former book. I tried to see what was written in there, but the pages were all blackened and crumbled in my hands. Would they have held runes like your strange weaves, Grimoire? What happened to this place? Did an apprentice accidentally start a fire? Or was this one started deliberately?
    I spent some time comparing yesterday's spell with the next one in the book. In you, Grimoire, I suppose. And I noticed some subtle differences – different sequences of overs and unders in the weave. That must mean something, right?
    And I found something else stamped on your inside back cover, something I feel worse about it than the berry and grass stains. It's the rune for "fire" – our rune. Why did Master Ramos call me to bring you to his study, Grimoire?

As for our new spell:

[Image description: The four-card spread from earlier, only now a second card has been flipped face-up to reveal The Moon. The card image features a big yellow moon obscured by clouds and tree branches over a derelict-looking building. At the bottom of the card are a dog, a wolf, and a crayfish emerging from the water and onto a winding path that fades into the distance.]

Our first major arcana! What will this spell do? I'm excited to find out!

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