Moonlit World Case File - The Devil Went Down To Jersey

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"What? A brand? Well... nothing, unless there was something waiting for it to be done on the other end. Then, well... It... and this is only a theory, nothing like this has ever been done to my knowledge, and believe me if this had been done you would have heard about it, It would technically empty out whatever body it was on. Pull the poor soul - literally - straight to Hell. But..."

He shook his head. "No, not possible. Because you'd need a Demon Prince or a big cadre of demons down in Hell, waiting for the exact right time, and a demon of sufficient power, or maybe a wizard, but not just any wizard. Council level, like. This person on this side would have to have enough control of their own soul for it not to get sucked in right after."

He stood and went to a bookshelf pulling several tomes out and laying them on the table.

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"This would be... an astral riptide, sucking anything around it in. A short term, uncontrollable gate. If you've seen this in action you've got to tell the Council, maybe those stuffed shirts over at the Watchtower too. Light, maybe even the Fae Lords would get off their bored asses long enough to take notice here. If it worked, which, well, is pretty unlikely. Real time communication between here and the below realms isn't possible unless you actually open a gate first. And no one is fool enough to open a gate when you already have one open. Why, that's not only bad at this end, but at the other end. It could collapse both realms. And crazy as demons are, they like having a realm of their own." He shook his head.​
 

"That more than anything was disquieting. Hearing Mallory urge me to warn as much people as possible told me how serious this was. This was more then some random murder or even one borne of the usual reasons. Lust, revenge, all the good stuff. This was an experiment and Rashid happened to be the lab rat in all of this."

"Second...A gateway. That was as far away from my summoning idea as anything else. I had to clarify."

"Astral Riptide- Could it have made an explosion, on say...Around industrial factory size?"

"At any rate, this was some major power backing these people, whoever they were. Made me wonder what the rest of the Big Fish out there was doing about it."

"As well as who was going to be next on the lab rat list of victims."

@Michale CS

​
 
"No. No, this is just a vacuum for souls, really. I mean for an explos-" He blinked.

"It would have to have been on a dragon or- You said Djinn earlier. I suppose if you did this to anyone with enough magic or elemental power in them... for that to suddenly go unattended... it'd be like popping a balloon. Whatever was held inside would just rush out." Mallory paced again.

"You see, when creatures normally die, their internal processes are just told to stop. If you suddenly remove a soul that violently, everything inside... wouldn't be. Especially if the victim was fighting for their lives. They'd be pulling on that power and if that power suddenly had no direction due to the soul moving it being sucked away..."

"You've got to find this thing, and destroy it. The more powerful a creature you brand with this monstrosity, the bigger the explosion. You hit a Council Wizard with this, or equivalent? It could flatten miles. I've seen what some of those people can do on purpose. Turning off all restraint on all of their energy at once?"

He stepped up and put his hands on Lucifer's shoulders. "Every magic user and elemental is now an explosive."

@Saint Guillotine
 
"If there was anything else I could rely on, it was Mallory's instinct for self-preservation. Knowing what he did now, meant he'd be first to hear anything at all regarding this. If only to prevent himself from being next. I figured I should remind him of that fact."

Lucifer brushed away Mallory's hands as they came, before speaking deadpan.

"Personal bubble man. Anyway, sorry about this. If they find out I'm investigating this, they'll go after everyone I've met if only to ensure silence. Is there any place you could lay low for a few days, as well as pass the word discreetly to the magus factions?"

@Michale CS​
 
He stepped back and nodded numbly. "I've got a standing invitation to Custer's Last Stand. The hotel, not the battle. I'll go there, and once I'm sure I haven't been tailed, I'll pass along the word." That last smacked of a lie, or at least a half truth. It was far more likely that he wouldn't tell anyone for some time. Not until he felt that there would be no way he himself could be a target.

"Well, time for me to wrap up my projects and shut down for the day. I've got things to do, and a very safe place to go. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." At the same time, all of his mannerisms were saying run along, but he didn't want to be rude to his potential savior.

@Saint Guillotine
 
"I left that place, gliding through the market and deep in thought at what had transpired. What a devastating method to use against elementals and magus. Just one brand and boom! The only question was why. Even as a possible weapon, it was just inconceivable. Branding everyone was just too slow and wizards unlike Djinn had the advantage of greater numbers and less weaknesses to take advantage of."

"Besides the idea of powerful demons backing this up though, I had a feeling either a human or tiefling was involved. Demons are bound to certain rules and if a Prince was around, the area would reflect his presence. Anyway, scarier then the Undertaker, I was meeting the Tiefling Matchmaker."

"I left the Troll Market and as I did so, checked discreetly first if I was being followed. If I was, I'd make a detour for Central Park."
​
@Michale CS
 
It was just past dark. Thankfully, Carol was on day one of her three days off. Night shift nursing meant four days of twelve hour shifts, 6pm to 6am. Which suited her fine, being half demon.

She had never disclosed where she lived to Lucifer, nor had he spent the time to find out. Thankfully, she was a creature of habit. The Starbucks near her house was where she spent much of her time.

So was the White Castle across the street, which is where Lucifer found her, spotting her as he headed for the Starbucks. She sat in a booth with a window seat, sipping on Diet Coke and finishing up some fries, her sliders already a memory.

"Hello, Sweetie." She said as he approached, and it was like melted chocolate wrapped in silk had suddenly covered him. That was her strength. That voice of hers had calmed a rampaging Minotaur in the Troll Market just four months ago with a single sentence, which is where Carol and Lucifer had met.

"You took a real chance looking for me during this time of day. I'm usually working by now. Thankfully, I've the day off and can spend some time helping you out. And it is help you want, isn't it?" She steepled her fingers, her elbows resting on the table, awaiting his response.

@Saint Guillotine
 
"I liked Carol. She was a lot like me, standing on the boundary between Monstrosity and Humanity. Compassionate too, which was always a plus. I was hoping that would help me here."

"Sorry. I promise, it'll just be for coffee one of these days. Umm- can we talk? I got something I'd like confirmed and some knowledge only you could assist me with."

@Michale CS​
 
"Conturbabimus illa verba." Carol said pointing at Lucifer and he felt the magic washing over him. "Relax, Babel spell. Otherwise known as the fill in the blanks spell. Anyone listening in will get what their own subconscious thinks we should be saying. Fools scrying too, in case you're wondering. Have a seat, please, and lay it on me."

@Saint Guillotine
 
Lucifer sat down gingerly, still somewhat disconcerted from earlier. Though focusing on Carols aura had him relax. Where Aaliyah felt warm and sensual in an exotic measure and Mallory felt like a slimy clock, Carols aura to Lucifers senses was akin to hot chocolate with a hint of spice- a lifetime of compassion while overcoming her demonic urges.

Getting to the point, he spoke.

"Two things. One, has there been an influx of magus bodies in the morgue lately and second, whats the word on the Infernal Front recently? "

@Michale CS​
 
Saint Guillotine said:
Lucifer sat down gingerly, still somewhat disconcerted from earlier. Though focusing on Carols aura had him relax. Where Aaliyah felt warm and sensual in an exotic measure and Mallory felt like a slimy clock, Carols aura to Lucifers senses was akin to hot chocolate with a hint of spice- a lifetime of compassion while overcoming her demonic urges.

Getting to the point, he spoke.

"Two things. One, has there been an influx of magus bodies in the morgue lately and second, whats the word on the Infernal Front recently? "

@Michale CS​
Click to expand...
"No more than usual, but both were summoners. There's been two deaths in the past two weeks. One was ruled an accident by the mundanes, natural gas leak in an apartment, and the other, just a flat out car bomb. The mundanes are trying to figure out why a city councilman's admin assistant merited a car bomb. What they don't know is that this admin would summon up imps for his boss to spy on people running against the councilman whenever re-election came up. Looks like someone got wise to the spying and took out the summoner. I don't think the two are related. As for the other..."

She leaned back. "There's a thing they do every now and again. I wish I could tell you it was every so many years, but these are demons we're talking about. Patterns aren't their thing. Anyway, once in awhile, they get an urge to shake things up in the command structure, and there's a power struggle. They don't want to fight each other directly, because if someone wins, their forces will be weakened and someone else will come in and take them out. Instead..."

Carol sighed. "Instead they go on what amounts to a telethon or food drive. Except this is for souls. For six weeks, six days, and six hours - clever huh? - they put up some sort of infernal tote board. The Princes are then ranked at the end of that period for the new pecking order. Until they do it all again. That six days starts four days from now, at the New Moon. So, maybe you have demons test driving new methods of soul acquisition? Most of the time they do it the standard way - hit up all the goths and wannabe vampires and witches with deals for their souls, because you can't really do that kind of thing en masse. It isn't like you can open a gate in the middle of Times Square, and any souls that went through that were innocent not only wouldn't count, the Infernals count them as negative points."

She shrugged and finished her Diet Coke. "So you don't have to worry about any sort of massive attack I don't think. Just a lot more naive people selling their souls to be the next YouTube celebrity."

@Saint Guillotine
 
"As I listened, I could practically hear my heart sink to a place around my foot. It wasn't really the concept of demons that offended my lawful sensibilities- Carol was a friend and I happened to know a few succubi who managed to get on by alright. One of my succubi friends actually worked as a hotel maid, taking a little from each guest to feed herself each night without hurting anyone. It happened sometimes, they'd get summoned and eventually, go native.

It was the more monstrous ones, those who embraced Hell wantonly that gave me the creeps. The Fallen, the Princes of Hell acting through agents that made things more worse for everyone."

"I'm thinking one of them is breaking the rules then."

Lucifer showed the picture before remarking.

"A reliable source gave me the lowdown- basically turns mages and elementals into explosives. Mean anything to you?"
​
@Michale CS
 
Saint Guillotine said:
"I'm thinking one of them is breaking the rules then."

Lucifer showed the picture before remarking.

"A reliable source gave me the lowdown- basically turns mages and elementals into explosives. Mean anything to you?"
Click to expand...
"That's a gate." She said instantly. "Explosives? No... how would a gate do that? You'd have to draw it on a body full of magic then activate it, and who in the Nine would stand still while that happened?"

Carol blinked. "Someone means to open an uncontrolled gate. But that would probably be a zero sum gain because unlike how many think, there's more good people in the world than bad. That really pisses a lot of demons off by the way. That means they're losing. Unless you were to open it someplace that you were sure was going to get you minimal negative points, like a prison or something, I can't see where drawing this on someone powerful enough to level an area anywhere else, unless they didn't care if they won or not, but... one thing that will overcome a demon's desire for random chaos, is its desire for power. I wish I could help more, but this..." She gestured to the symbol.

"This is really crazy. And probably suicidal for the symbol drawer too." Carol finished.

@Saint Guillotine
 
Saint Guillotine said:
That got Lucifers attention as he listened carefully.

"Suicidal for the brander? How so?"
​
@Michale CS
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"Brander? Someone made a brand and didn't draw this?" Carol blinked. "Well, in either event, unless the wielder of this brand didn't have a soul, they're getting sucked in too, being that close to that gate opening up. It's not like you can activate a gate without touching it. That's basic summoning rules. A drop of your own blood freshly spilled would be required to activate this gate. Which means, if they had a soul - whoosh, gone. If they didn't, they'd have to survive the bang that happens afterward once all that unused energy goes every which way. If something did this, and survived it? It's both got no soul, and can survive explosions." She chewed her lower lip for a moment, deep in thought.

"Good luck with that, sweetie. I can't think of many who- well, there might be an exception. If your soul was promised in a solid contract to someone or something that superseded this, it might not be sucked in since it's technically not there to be sucked in. Or, you've got enough control over your own soul to resist, but we're talking Goblin King or Fae Lord or Archangel level of control there. And still they'd have to be powerful enough to survive whatever explosion happened due to being that close to it when it went off."

@Saint Guillotine
 
"The plot thickens and I learned more about summoning and circles then I cared to consider. Moreover, from two different sources, enabling me to connect some of the dots, but the picture eluded me. If Rashid was involved, wouldn't he recognize the sign as dangerous? If branded, why not fight back? Drugged? Not too many things can do that to a Djinn. And so back to square one I was- And with more of a reason to be worried. Had me wonder what the big fish thought of all this."

"And off I went to find out."
​
@Michale CS
 
Saint Guillotine said:

"And off I went to find out."
Click to expand...
As Lucifer arrived at Patricia's apartment, a burly man was departing. He gave a smirk and a thumbs-up to Lucifer as he passed, and though he looked human, Lucifer could tell the man smelled like troll.

Patricia waved Lucifer in as she headed from where she had been at an oversized massage table over to her kitchen sink, where she started to wash her hands. "Business or pleasure today, Lucifer? If it's for a massage, give me ten minutes for my hands to recover. Massaging a troll is hard work."

@Saint Guillotine
 
Lucifer smiled wryly.

"Tempting offer Patricia, but I'll have to take a rain check. I'm here as a concerned citizen of our community. I was hoping you could help in your official capacity."

"Patricia didn't have to talk. I was a nobody, without the Church backing me up. But if there was a figure with a finger on the city pulse, it was the Fae. They get off on knowing things others don't, on deals and exchanges for the fun of it. They were also to a whole, alien in nature, incomprehensible and complete bastards to most folk, despite or in spite of Queen Titania having drawn up the Accords herself. So it was either her or Snow."

"I'd take the Fae any day. At least Patricia was still human despite everything."

@Michale CS

 
"Oh. Give me... fifteen minutes then? I'll go get this oil off of me more thoroughly. There's bloodwyne in the cabinet if you want some. It's a fae vintage. Don't tell me you don't want a sip of that..." Patricia offered, just to see what his response would be as she turned and headed toward the rear of the apartment and presumably a place to shower.

@Saint Guillotine
 
Lucifer eyed the cabinet indicated. Tempting, but he decided ultimately to decline. Maybe a donor or bloodpack later, but not now. He was still on the clock and while he trusted Patricia to an extent that she wouldn't use Fae entrapment on him, he had no qualms about her doing it if Titania ordered it.

So he listened to the shower and mentally calculated in his head everything he discovered so far.

@Michale CS
 
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