When the party woke in the rotted and broken cabin in the woods, Gene decided to try to heal the corruption from the children and sorcerer.

It worked. The children were returned to health, and the sorcerer to sanity. That was a mixed blessing. It seemed that while the sorcerer was not under his own control at the time, he had ended up there through a series of very bad and rather violent choices.

He allowed himself to be brought back to Clear Creek for justice. The town was happy to have the children back, but less delighted to be saddled with an execution.

The town priest helped preserve the body of Muse and directed them to a more powerful cleric who should be able to raise her. 

The next day, they scheduled the execution of the mage. They heard his confessions the night before which were tragic. He was a victim of his own sorcerous heritage, accidentally killing a classroom at school and then living on the run for several years after. He had stolen and killed his way across the frontier trying to survive. 

In the end he had fallen prey to the promise of a release from his suffering from a powerful demon named Sheol. That is where the HILT found him numb to his own pain and doing the bidding of Sheol.

Gene volunteered to be the one to execute the man. The villagers had never done such a thing and gene felt obligated to save them from the task.

Just as the execution was about to be carried out, though, Tyrteus slid a knife between the Sorcerer's ribs, killing him and saving Gene from having to carry out the killing.