Jack Horner (Video Game)

"Look, people get desperate, and when you're drowning, anything that isn't sinking along with you looks like a life raft. The Crooked Man gives, and he wants things in return. And when you don't pay up, bad stuff happens. Why do you think I've never taken one?"

- Jack to Bigby about the Crooked Man's loans (Determinant)

Jack Horner is a Fable featured in The Wolf Among Us. He first appears in "Smoke & Mirrors", loitering at the Trip Trap bar and aggravating Holly and Gren, and often annoys Bigby to no end, often trying to trick him but always failing.

Episode 1: Faith
If you inspect the Tarot cards on Ichabod Crane's desk in the Business Office, Bigby will mention that Jack brought them back from a trip to Appalachia. But Bigby doesn't know specifically how he got them.

Episode 2: Smoke &amp; Mirrors
Jack is seen pacing in the Trip Trap when Bigby and Snow enter to tell Holly about her sister's death. He vies to get Bigby's attention, but only annoys him with his banter. After revealing that he, Grendel and Holly already know about the body TJ found in the river, Jack becomes confrontational about Bigby's lack of transparency regarding the body and Holly's sister. Fearing that Jack might anger Bigby and subsequently cause more damage to her establishment, Holly tells him to be silent, and Bigby is given the opportunity to throw him out of the bar. If he is allowed to stay, Jack continues to aggravate both Bigby and Gren. When Holly asks Gren to leave, Jack accompanies him.

Episode 3: A Crooked Mile
If Bigby visits Crane's apartment first, he notices a figure trying to escape from his bedroom window. He stops the man, who is revealed to be Jack. At first, he claims to be there watering Crane's plants, but Bigby sees through the lie and pins him against the wall. Jack then says he heard Crane was leaving town and decided to rob him. He tells Bigby he knows the name of Crane's witch, and will reveal it if Bigby doesn't tell anyone about his being there. If Bigby either agrees, refuses, or punches Jack, he says her name is Aunty Greenleaf, but he doesn't know where she lives. Jack attempts to leave again, but Bigby stops him and searches his bag. He finds a glamour tube, which Jack claims to want to sell at the Lucky Pawn, a shop owned by the Crooked Man which he occasionally works at. Bigby confiscates it and two others Jack had in his pockets. Snow then arrives, and Bigby can either go along with the deal and avoid telling her why Jack is there, or break it by either telling her about Jack attempting to steal Crane's stuff. Regardless, Bigby quickly moves on to his next location while Snow stays behind to question Jack.

Episode 4: In Sheep's Clothing
"Came to gloat? Since you had to go and tell on me, I got eight days work detail from Snow. She has me fixing leaky pipes. Like I even know what a c-clamp is."

- Jack criticizing Bigby for getting him in trouble. (Determinant)

If Bigby first visits The Cut Above, Jack is shown hastily leaving the Lucky Pawn while the conflict between the Woodsman and Jersey Devil escalates. Bigby asks what's going on, but Jack leaves without talking to him.

If Bigby visits the Lucky Pawn first, Jack is shown arguing with Mr. Toad and refusing to buy Faith's donkeyskin coat. Angered by his refusal to buy, Toad informs Bigby that the Lucky Pawn is a front for the Crooked Man before leaving. Jack hastily closes the door's shutters, claiming that they're closing early.

Jack defends himself if he already told Bigby he worked at the Lucky Pawn. Depending on dialogue choices, he informs Bigby that Bloody Mary spends her time at The Cut Above and that Jersey Devil is "a psycho," preferring to spend as much time away from him as possible. He then denies that Bloody Mary got the Woodsman's axe from the Lucky Pawn, swearing that it was never there, but allows Bigby to look around.

By the time Bigby finds the plaque confirming that the axe was there, the Woodsman and Jersey Devil arrive arguing. He is berated by Jersey Devil, who then tells him that the Crooked Man has Bigby under control in order to provoke Bigby. The Woodsman finds the plaque confirming that his axe was in the shop and threatens Jersey Devil. Jack quickly leaves before the fight escalates.

Episode 5: Cry Wolf
Jack is seen waiting in line outside of the Business Office the day after the Crooked Man's trial. It is possible he is searching for employment as it is unknown what happened to his employer and his pawn shop after he was left wounded in the Crooked Lair at the start of the episode.

Personality
"He fucking maimed you! Aren't you pissed?"

- Jack reminding Gren of Bigby ripping off his arm in Faith. (Determinant)

Although he is a manipulative and egotistical trickster by nature, Jack is incompetent, cowardly, obstreperous, provocative, selfish, self-serving, and stupid, so he earns the annoyance and hatred of most of the characters, particularly Bigby, Holly, and Gren. Despite this, he never seems to catch on to their hatred of him, and always tries to act polite and friendly towards everyone, even if his acts are over-exaggerated. However his politeness is usually an attempt to gain attention and money. Because of this, he tends to get himself tangled into The Crooked Man's affairs, and his fear with two of his minions, Jersey Devil and Bloody Mary, respectively. Despite this, he can be intelligent and helpful, as shown when he willingly helps Bigby find Aunty Greenleaf in Crane's apartment if Bigby visits there first. He also cares about other people, especially his friends Gren, Holly, and The Woodsman, and will openly speak up for them if Bigby ripped off Gren's arm and arrested the Woodsman.

Book of Fables Entry
"Jack is always up to something, but he's not nearly as smart as he thinks he is. His plans to get rich quick often backfire, but his confidence never wavers. He thinks he's the most important person in Fabletown, but everyone knows him as a mostly harmless smart ass."

The Wolf Among Us

 * "Smoke & Mirrors"
 * "A Crooked Mile" (Determinant)
 * "In Sheep's Clothing"
 * "Cry Wolf" (No Lines)

Fables: The Wolf Among Us

 * "Issue 10"
 * "Issue 17"

Trivia

 * Jack has the least variable screen time of all the characters in the game. If the player kicks him out of the bar in episode 2, doesn't go to Crane's apartment before Bluebeard in episode 3, and visits the Lucky Pawn second in episode 4, his screen time will be under 5 minutes, but making the opposite of these choices more than doubles it, but if all the choices were the opposite, he will have more than 10 minutes of screen time.