Ford immediately went with June to see his brother.

Dipper and Mabel had wanted to go too, but Ford and June had agreed that they couldn't risk Bill seeing through the kids' eyes. Lee was currently unconscious; Bill couldn't see anything that was going on in the minotaur village. The minotaurs likely wanted to keep it that way. So, leaving Dipper, Mabel, and Gideon behind, June had taken Ford through the tree network to the minotaur village.

The minotaurs were doing their best to get back to work on reconstruction after the panic of Lee's intrusion. June pointed Ford to one of the less-damaged buildings in the village, then disappeared into the trees. At the hut was a crowd of minotaurs, including many of the elders that Ford had spoken to only three days before. The minotaurs spoke in a language that sounded somewhat similar to English but was largely foreign to Ford; then, when the elders noticed Ford, they switched to English. "Stanford Pines," said one elder whose name Ford remembered to be Twánat. "Welcome back."

"Thank you," Ford said. "I'm sorry about the destruction from the gravitational anomalies."

Twánat dipped his head in sorrow or acknowledgment or both; Ford wasn't sure. "It was necessary to bring the tenth Symbol here, was it not?"

"Yes," Ford said, "and he'll recover. It wasn't my brother on the other side of the portal, like we had thought, but it was still the last person needed for the Cipher Wheel. We found my brother in the Order, where he's apparently been imprisoned for the past thirty years." Ford took a breath. "June tells me he's here."

"Yes, in here." Twánat led Ford through a simple door (that was partly hanging off its hinges) into the small building.

There was Lee, lying unconscious on a simple wooden bench. Ford ran to his brother's side. "Lee," he whispered, kneeling down on the dirt floor and putting a hand on Lee's shoulder.

"We found him unconscious beside the entrance to one of our secure areas," said a female minotaur behind Ford. "He set off the warding spells, which is why he's unconscious. We thought he was you at first."

Ford looked back at the woman. She had a soft brown bovine face and round black eyes. Tied over one shoulder was a simple red dress that reached to her ankles (or, her fetlocks), and her hooves were black and shiny. "Sorry, I should introduce myself," she said. "I'm Moira, Andrew's wife."

"Nice to meet you." Ford got to his feet and held out a hand. She looked a bit confused at the hand, but then she nodded in recognition of the human custom and shook it. "Is Andrew here?" continued Ford. "Could I speak to him?"

Moira shook her head. "He left not long before we found your brother. He's just doing simple business to help with the village repairs, but this whole situation almost seems like it was planned for Andrew's absence."

Ford scowled. "That sounds like Cipher."

"What?" Twánat asked in alarm.

"Bill Cipher is behind this, I guarantee it," Ford said. "He and my brother have a deal that allows Bill to possess him at any time. Cipher probably learned that Andrew would be gone, and he brought Stanley here to steal whatever it was he was trying to steal."

Twánat threw his head back in surprise. "But Cipher doesn't know!" he said. "He doesn't know we have it!"

"Have what?"

"Andrew can explain it better than I can," Moira said, "but it's a dagger. A dagger that's linked to the Cipher Wheel. If Cipher gets his hands on it, then that's a major step towards his escape."

"But Cipher didn't know," Twánat insisted. "No humans ever found out, and we don't know of any human prophecies that link us to the dagger — or even identify the dagger as the needed object for Cipher to retrieve. How could Cipher bring your brother here if he didn't know?"

"He must have found out somehow," Ford said. "I don't know how, but I do know that yesterday the Order of the Crescent Eye spent the day researching the prophecies in their library. Maybe they found something."

"They shouldn't have," Twánat said. "We didn't even notice anything until your brother — or, Cipher — set off the magical defenses, which means he must have gone straight to the cave where we keep the dagger. He knew more about this than he ever should have."

"You'll have to ask my brother when he wakes up," Ford said, "and see if he knows anything. Do you know when he'll wake?"

"A few hours, perhaps," said Twánat. "What were you saying about Cipher possessing him?"

Ford took a deep, steadying breath and explained what he knew about Lee's and Bill's deal. "We don't know how Stanley can fulfill the Cipher Wheel prophecy," he finished, "because Cipher can force him out of his body and keep him from joining the rest of us."

Ford couldn't read minotauran expressions very well, but even he could tell that Twánat and Moira were horrified. "I need your help," Ford continued, "to help me find a way. Help me find a way that Stanley can be a part of the Cipher Wheel."

Twánat nodded solemnly. "We'll do what we can," he said. "But you do realize, Stanford, that we can't allow Stanley to leave? If Cipher can possess him at will, then there's no telling what the demon will do with constant access to a physical body. We can't allow your brother to give him any opportunities."

Ford hesitated, then nodded. "You're right," he said reluctantly.

"Twánat," said Moira, "forgive me for questioning your wise judgment, but wouldn't there be a danger of Cipher possessing Stanley and doing even more damage from inside our village?"

"There would be, if we gave him the chance," Twánat acknowledged. "We'll have to keep Stanley restrained."

Ford's eyes flared. "What do you mean? You're not hurting my brother."

"No, no," the elder assured him. "It's true that we'll use magic — perhaps physical bonds, if necessary — to keep him imprisoned. But we won't hurt him unless he deliberately fights against us."

Ford glanced down at Lee. The man was sleeping peacefully, unaware of the conversation about him. Ford hated the idea of Lee being imprisoned — but, well, wasn't he already imprisoned by Bill? Better the minotaurs than that demon. Ford sighed. "If that's the case," he said, "then I hope you'll let me visit."

"Of course," said Twánat. "You're the only human immune to Cipher's spying."

"I wish more could escape him," Ford said. "Juniper the hamadryad said that she probably could make Lee immune, too, but that it wouldn't stop Cipher from possessing him. It's. . . well, it's something, at least. Once he wakes up, we should talk to him about it."

Twánat nodded in agreement. A moment of silence passed; then, another minotaur came hurrying into the hut, nearly knocking the lopsided door all the way off its hinges in his haste. "What's going on?" asked Andrew. "What happened?"

Moira moved to her husband. "Stanford's brother came and tried to steal the dagger," she said.

"But it was really Bill Cipher," Ford corrected. "Bill was likely possessing him. I can't think of any other reason he'd come out here."

Andrew looked with wide eyes from his wife to Twánat to Ford. "But — but Cipher doesn't know."

"He apparently does," Twánat said heavily. "We'll have to ask Stanley what he knows when he wakes up."

Andrew glanced to Lee's sleeping form. "Stanley? Is that your brother's name, Stanford?"

Ford nodded. "He's known as Lincoln by those in the Order, but his real name is Stanley."

"We have to keep him prisoner," Twánat told Andrew. He and Ford explained what they had just been discussing: Bill's power over Lee, Bill's unexplained knowledge about the dagger, and the minotaurs' need to keep Lee imprisoned so that Bill couldn't use him as a vessel.

Andrew took in the information quietly, his large black eyes staring intently at Lee. "There might be a problem with that plan," he said after Twánat and Ford were finished. "If Cipher gets the dagger, then it's only a stone's skip away from one his Symbols, and he can use Stanley to start his journey. I'm not sure if we can risk that."

"Would he give up his vessel so soon, though?" Twánat asked.

Ford did not appreciate Lee being referred to as a "vessel," but he didn't say so. "Can you explain more about this to me?" he asked instead. "What journey? What does a dagger have to do with the Cipher Wheel?"

"That's a good idea," said Twánat. "If we tell Stanford about all this, then one of Cipher's Symbols will know how to defeat Cipher without Cipher himself knowing how to escape."

Andrew nodded. "Good plan." He turned to Ford. "The dagger is an obsidian dagger with all ten of the Symbols carved into its hilt. Once anyone uses it to harm a Symbol, then that Symbol is taken up into the sky and used to power Cipher's journey."

"What journey?" Ford asked again.

Andrew, Moira, and Twánat shared glances. Then Andrew gestured for Ford to sit down. Ford gently pushed Lee out of the way until there was space by his head to sit on the bench. The minotaurs stayed standing.

"Cipher is trying to escape," Andrew began. "You already knew that, but do you know what that escape would look like?"

"I don't," Ford admitted. "I was hoping to form the Cipher Wheel before I had to find out." He glanced at Lee.

"There may be hope yet," Andrew said, though he didn't sound sure of that. "Cipher's escape, the way the ancients set it up, is in stages. The first stage, getting all ten Symbols in town boundaries, has already happened. That's why the barrier went up."

"What about the time bubble?"

Andrew lowered his head. "The time bubble," he said slowly, "was supposed to be a time of preparation. It went up when the ninth Symbol came into town, and I should have felt it. We should have had time to prepare before the tenth Symbol arrived."

"Should have?"

Andrew looked up at him. "I missed it," he said, and he sounded ashamed. "I somehow missed the time bubble until it was already over."

The hut fell into silence. Then, Ford asked, "What are the other stages?"

"The next stage is to use the dagger against one of the Symbols," Andrew said. "See, the only way for Cipher to escape is to travel through the dimensions — 'multiverse' is the term they use in the Order — until he reaches his own. To do that, he'll have to take his entire prison with him."

Ford blinked, trying to visualize this. "What exactly does that mean?"

"It means this entire forest, and the human town inside of it, will be uprooted from its place in this dimension and used as a vessel to travel through the dimensions," Andrew said solemnly. "I believe those in the Order call it the 'township' — the town and the forest used as a ship. With the barrier, the township has already formed. With the dagger, if it's specifically used to cut one of the Symbols across the hand, the township can start moving."

There was a long silence and Ford tried to process all this. "So if Cipher gets ahold of that dagger," he said, "it means that this entire area will move through the multiverse."

"Yes," Andrew said. "The barrier would keep anyone from getting in or out — which would prevent any rescue attempts from people in the other dimensions. Cipher would use the Symbols to power his ship, and he would be on his way to freedom."

"How would the Symbols power the ship?" asked Ford.

"Life force," Andrew answered. "Once the dagger pierces a Symbol's hand, it entraps the Symbol in its magic and starts draining their life force to power the ship. Then, once the Symbol has been used up, it moves on to the next one. The trip is just long enough to require the life force of all ten Symbols."

Ford stared at him in horror.

"The prison will dissolve when Cipher reaches his dimension. I don't know what will become of the rest of us if that happens." Andrew gave a hollow laugh. "If we're still alive after the trip, I doubt that Cipher will be merciful against the people who kept him captive."

"Will he reward those in the Order?" Ford's tone was deeply cynical as he thought of the Corduroys.

"I doubt it." It was Moira who answered. "Cipher can't lie, and he has to keep his promises, but only as part of his prison. Once the prison is gone, I'm sure he'll be able to break whatever promises he wants."

Andrew nodded. "Those in the Order count his current inability to lie as a reason to have faith in him. They couldn't be further from the truth."

Ford looked down at Lee again. He tried to banish the thought that Lee had, in the past, had enough faith in Cipher to offer his soul to the demon. It was too painful of a thought to entertain. Instead, Ford went back to the topic of the dagger. "So you're worried, Andrew, that Cipher will somehow get the dagger and use it on Lee to start the township."

"If we keep Stanley captive, yes," Andrew said.

"But I don't think Cipher would risk that," Twánat said. "The trip is a long one; if Cipher starts it off by killing the Symbol that he can possess at will, then it'll be harder for him to run things. He needs Stanley."

This talk of Cipher killing Lee sent a shudder through Ford's entire body, and Ford protectively grabbed onto his brother's shoulder without realizing what he was doing. "Cipher has to kill us?" he asked. Then, as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized their implications. "That means. . . as soon as one Symbol is dead, the rest can't form the Cipher Wheel."

"Exactly," Andrew said grimly. "We only have up until the first Symbol dies — or, more accurately, up until Cipher gets his hands on the dagger — to form the Cipher Wheel. I suppose there would be a way to break the life force spell on a Symbol once they've been stabbed by the dagger, but I don't know exactly how that would work. I'll have to do more research on it."

Moira wrapped her hands around her husband's arm and glanced up at him in concern. Then she turned to Ford. "That's the type of thing we would have done if we'd known about the time bubble," she said sadly. "That and gathering the nine Symbols that were already here."

"Yes." Andrew's voice was heavy.

Ford thought about how things might be different if they'd gathered the Symbols earlier, and he felt a bit of the sorrow that Andrew felt. He took a deep breath. "Are you keeping Lee here, then?" he asked. "I agree with Twánat that I don't think Cipher will want to hurt him. It's better to take him out of commission so that Cipher can't use him against us." The words brought a constricting, burning feeling to his throat, but he did his best to ignore it.

Andrew and Moira looked to Twánat in deference. Twánat nodded. "I think that's the best strategy for us right now. We'll keep Stanley here and question him when he wakes up." He glanced to Ford. "Will he be willing to answer our questions?"

Ford nodded. "He's not on Cipher's side, not anymore. He should tell you whatever he can, unless Cipher takes over his body and stops him."

"We have to figure out how Cipher knew about the dagger, too," said Andrew.

"Agreed," said Twánat. He clasped his hands together. "Well, Stanford, we can probably send you home soon. But first, can you give us a report on the other Symbols? Beside Stanley's problem with Cipher, how close are we to forming the Wheel?"

So Ford told them the current situation: the five people staying at the Museum, waiting for the chance to form the Wheel; Fiddleford, who was, according to June, on his way to recovery; Robbie, whose parents were part of the Order but still seemed to be allowing him to join them; Wendy, who hadn't wanted anything to do with them, but whom Robbie would bring around; Lee, whose conditions the minotaurs already knew; and Pacifica, who seemed thoroughly on Cipher's side, but whom Lee may have convinced to join their side in the past few days. Ford had no idea what Pacifica was doing or what had happened between her and Lee since Ford had last seen his brother.

The minotaurs were quiet until Ford finished. "That's better than it could have been," Moira finally said. "At least we know who all the Symbols are."

"True," Andrew said, but he didn't sound very enthusiastic. "We'll have to ask Stanley more about Pacifica when he wakes. She could be a problem."

Ford thought back to the time that she had tortured him, not to mention the various kidnappings of Dipper and Mabel. Problem might be an understatement.

"We'll want to physically gather whatever Symbols we can," Andrew continued. "Your Museum seems like a good place. After Stanley wakes up and I get to talk to him, I'll come to the Museum, and we can place defensive magic around the building."

Ford nodded. "Should I expect you tonight?"

"Yes, or tomorrow morning, depending on when Stanley wakes."

"All right." Ford got to his feet. "Thank you for telling me about the township. Let Stanley know I was here and that I'll visit again. And don't. . ." Ford knew they wouldn't, but he had to be sure. "Don't hurt him."

"Of course not," Andrew said.

Ford nodded. "Also," he said, "Dipper and Mabel will want to visit with me. Would that be possible? What should I tell them when I get back? They're worried about their uncle, and they were heartbroken that they couldn't come see him."

Andrew gave a slow nod. "I want them to be able to come," he said, "but I don't know when or if they'll be able to. For now, they should stay at the Museum. Once we put up the defensive magic, that'll be the safest place for them."

Ford thought of how the twins would react when they learned that not only could they not visit Lee, but they couldn't even leave the Museum. They would hate that, but he could only hope that they would understand.

"As for what you can tell them," Twánat added, "don't share what we told you about the township. They already know the importance of the Cipher Wheel, so keep bringing the Symbols together by telling them what you were already telling them. I don't know how much Cipher knows about what we just told you, but we don't want to give him any more information than he already has."

Ford nodded.

"Go ahead and tell them that we're keeping Stanley captive," Andrew said. "Tell them that he's okay. Don't tell them exactly what happened, though. If Cipher really was possessing him, then the demon would have lost sight of the forest when Stanley fell unconscious."

Ford hated that he couldn't even tell his family what had happened without Bill Cipher knowing as well. "Should I tell them about the dagger? Are we assuming that Cipher already knows about it?"

The minotaurs shared unhappy glances. "I don't know how he couldn't know about it, if he brought Stanley here," Twánat said. "It's probably safest if you do, but only tell them that it's an obsidian dagger with the Symbols on the hilt that they have to stay away from."

"All right," Ford said. "Anything else?"

"I don't think so," Andrew said.

Ford glanced at the doorway, then back at his brother. Getting to his knees, he put one hand on Lee's shoulder and the other on Lee's forehead. "I'm sorry, Lee," he whispered. "It's for the best. They'll take care of you here, and I'll be back." Then he stood up and said goodbye to the minotaurs, thanking them for their help.

"Thank you for what you're doing with the Wheel," Twánat replied.

"I'll see you tonight," Andrew added.

"See you then." Then, ducking around the half-broken door, Ford left the minotaur hut. He headed for the tree line, planning to get June's help in returning to the Museum.

As he went, he couldn't help but think that although he had a lot more information now, he didn't have much more hope than he'd had before.