Cecil Stone
First appearance: Retribution, chapter 17
Last appearance: Armageddon, chapter 37
Appears in: Retribution, Evolution, Dominion, Hellion, ArmageddonLatest status
Alive
Cecil Stone is a gruff, independent enchanter whose expertise in crystal magic and explosives makes him an invaluable technical ally. Exiled from his home city after helping with a dangerous investigation, he finds a new place among Jason’s growing organization, first as a reluctant teacher and later as its chief engineer, building the infrastructure and defenses the community depends on. His insults and complaints mask genuine loyalty, and over time his practical craftsmanship earns him respect, close working partnerships, and a lasting home among people who value what he builds.
Book 2.5: Retribution
Cecil Stone is an independent enchanter running a shop in Vaerwald and the former mentor who trained Lily, the woman whose bow Riley now carries. When Riley arrives asking about the bow, Cecil reacts with hostility and threats until she proves her connection to Lily, after which he grudgingly agrees to help, his insulting language toward his former apprentice betraying real affection for her. He shares his records of the city’s magical trade, including intelligence on undead sales tied to the fire guild, and later reports the plague’s escalating spread to the investigation team gathered at Marie’s orphanage. When the group plans to infiltrate the Great Library, Cecil reveals he helped construct the building himself and supplies detailed architectural knowledge, escape routes, and explosive contingencies.
Cecil joins the infiltration as a hired specialist, providing crystal enchantments and fire-crystal explosives to clear a path through the sewers and open sealed sections of the library, repeatedly irritated by Melissa’s careless use of his equipment but pressing on through injury and depleting supplies to help the team navigate golem defenses and engineer an escape route. He fights alongside the team in the climactic battle against Clarence’s Mana Abomination, committing his remaining explosives and caustic materials to the group’s desperate last stand; the crystal-mana knowledge he had earlier taught Riley proves decisive in exploiting the creature’s weakness. Cecil survives the battle, but the library’s destruction and his role in the illegal infiltration lead the Vaerwald Council to strip him of his shop and exile him permanently from the city. Rather than despair, he accepts recruitment into Riley’s Twilight Throne operation, and the book ends with him resting under her protection as she takes him on for whatever comes next.
Status: Hostile toward outsiders, running his enchanting shop in Vaerwald → Alive — exiled from Vaerwald, recruited by Riley into the Twilight Throne, resting under her protection
Riley: Starts hostile and suspicious of her claim to Lily’s bow, becomes a trusted mission ally after verification, and ends the book exiled from Vaerwald and recruited into Riley’s Twilight Throne operation under her protection.
Key quote: “Fine. That damn girl was one of the least irritating people I’ve had to deal with in years. Perhaps I will do this one last thing for her.”
Book 3: Evolution
Cecil Stone, recently exiled from Vaerwald, is recruited by Riley into Jason’s Shadow Council and becomes interim headmaster of The Cauldron. He works to prove his value through his enchanting and crystal-magic expertise, teaching students and taking satisfaction in demonstrating his craft, though he is candid that some of his demonstrations go wrong. He later moves away from teaching to take on a hands-on engineering role for the council, applying his magical-engineering skills to design and construct an underground cavern complex intended for Eliza’s projects, including a lizardman-breeding program. He is glad to leave the school behind, voicing frustration with its academic inefficiency and a preference for practical, applied work, and in the process develops a growing professional working relationship with Eliza.
Status: Alive — exiled from Vaerwald, newly employed as interim headmaster of The Cauldron → Alive — working as an engineer for the Shadow Council, having left his school position
Eliza: Moves from no prior contact to a growing professional working relationship as he engineers the underground complex for her projects.
Jason: Goes from newly recruited employee proving his worth to a specialist engineer whose skills give him real influence on Shadow Council construction projects.
Key quote: “I’ve been meaning to get out of that damn school for a while anyway. It seems those twits can make anything explode.”
Book 4: Dominion
Cecil oversees construction of the Grove, an underground agricultural facility, delivering results Jason did not expect and pushing the reluctant Eliza to use her plant-growth abilities productively; he is willing to kidnap players with needed light-magic skills and to build extensive security into the facility to get the project done. He wants to show Jason a new invention at The Cauldron, but before he can, Thorn attacks the crafting school. Cecil is buried under rubble with severe burns and broken legs; with his voice nearly gone, he manages to identify Thorn as the attacker before losing consciousness, then falls into a coma and hovers near death, dependent entirely on Jason’s resources to survive.
Cecil recovers, though bandaged burn wounds mark him for the rest of the book, and he is visibly grateful to Jason for saving his life, acknowledging it despite his surly nature. Still shaken by the fire, he reluctantly returns to the ruined Cauldron to retrieve mana-sensing crystals Jason needs, and comes away impressed enough by the resulting drone project to call it workable.
During the siege of the Twilight Throne, Cecil works closely with Eliza: distributing combat equipment with enough discipline to smack away troops grabbing more than their share, supplying mana potions and tactical support for her magical trap networks, and directing minotaur zombies to build and repair barricades as the battle wears them down. Watching Jason’s escalating tactics against the feral undead, he grasps the danger fast enough to shout a warning and get people to cover. After the city holds, Cecil turns to rebuilding The Cauldron and takes on investigating a newly recovered air relic, resuming his role as chief engineer with visible enthusiasm for the challenge and a practical eye toward fair compensation for his work.
Status: Alive → Alive — rebuilding The Cauldron as Jason’s chief engineer
Jason: Shifts from a subordinate employee proud of his own results to someone who owes Jason his life after being pulled from the Cauldron fire, and grudgingly voices his gratitude.
Eliza: Becomes a close working partner, coordinating equipment distribution, magical trap support, and barricade construction with her throughout the siege.
Key quote: “I suppose I wouldn’t be feeling anything if you hadn’t saved me from the flames.”
Book 5: Hellion
Cecil helps gather fire resistance materials in support of mission preparation, working closely with Eliza, while deflecting questions about past workshop explosions and fires he is anxious to keep from being discovered.
Key quote: “That was, uh, just a ‘controlled burn’ to help clear out the underbrush.”
Book 6: Armageddon
Cecil sits on the Shadow Council as its craftsman representative, reporting that the city’s own crafters are now producing basic magic equipment for all troops, supplementing what is still bought from outside sources. He takes visible pride in the crafting community’s growing capabilities while flagging specialty procurement as an ongoing challenge. Later, he supplies Jason with gems and other equipment for a mission, providing so generously that Jason refers to him afterward as the ‘blessed little man’ and notes he erred on the side of overkill.
Status: Alive — productive craftsman leading city equipment production → Alive
Jason: Moves from a general council colleague to a direct, trusted supplier, equipping Jason so thoroughly for a mission that Jason singles him out with gratitude afterward.
Key quote: “We’ve purchased what our crafters can’t yet build. Although, they’re coming along. Our own craftsmen are producing at least basic magic equipment for all our troops now.”
Appears in
- Retribution — 11 chapters
- Evolution — 2 chapters
- Dominion — 10 chapters
- Hellion — 1 chapters
- Armageddon — 2 chapters