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The Magus Killers

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Post by Luner Fri Jul 06, 2018 6:47 pm

Sieg didn't seem to have a problem with taking point for Claude as his body language suggested that he was used to it.

He offered a smile to the boy before pulling his hands out of his coat pockets. "My name is Hart, his is Cohle. We came to town because we heard about some irregular weather and wanted to get a report on it from the locals for the Massachusetts paper."

The aliases and fabrication rolled off of Sieg's tongue without a second of thought or hesitation.
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Post by Debonaire Fri Jul 06, 2018 6:55 pm

"Yeah, the two of ya sure don't look like you're from around here," the boy laughed a bit, "that's okay, though. I'm not either. I've just been working here a few months. Shipping. Locals keep to themselves. I'm Mark, by the way." He offered a small wave.

Mark glanced at the stone-faced Claude for a moment, then quickly looked back to the kinder-looking Sieg. "The weather? Yeah... all sorts of weird stuff's been happening," he said, then, leaning forward, he whispered: "I saw lights... like glowy stuff... in the ocean."
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Post by Luner Fri Jul 06, 2018 7:03 pm

"What kind of 'glowy stuff'?" Sieg asked as he raised an eyebrow.

The boy seemed to be the main lead Sieg would have, so he took out his notepad and began to jot down notes about what he was saying.
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Post by Debonaire Fri Jul 06, 2018 9:27 pm

Once Sieg took out his notepad, Mark drew back. He itched the back of his neck nervously. "Listen, man, forget I said anything... people 'round here don't like it when strangers come in asking questions and stuff. I saw some lights, that's all. Nothing really to report on," he said.

Claude narrowed his eyes suspiciously at this boy's sudden change in behavior, then glanced over his shoulder. From behind, an old man was approaching. Some of the locals and dock workers exchanged anxious looks.

The old man stopped a few paces from Sieg and Claude, ignoring them and staring directly at Mark. "Still on lunch break, eh?" he asked with a gravelly voice, "I think you ought to get back to work, kid. Lots more to do."

"Yessir, Mr. Galway," Mark said, then scurried off.

Mr. Galway set his gaunt hands on his hips. He had sunken, wrinkled features that shadowed his dark eyes and a grey beard that hung a few inches from a protruding jawline. Scars marked his hands, face, and neck, likely from much time spent at sea. He looked between Claude and Sieg. "Something I can help you gentlemen with? Or are you going to keep bothering my workers?" he asked.
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Post by Luner Mon Sep 24, 2018 5:24 pm

"Just a couple of reporters here to get the scoop about the weather," Siegfried explained without his poker face faltering. Though, in the back of his head he wondered what kind of hold this town had over the residents.

The notepad was slipped into the inner pocket of his trench coat, and he adjusted either side of it. "Would you be interested in helping us out with that, sir, or should we move on to somewhere else?"
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Post by Debonaire Wed Sep 26, 2018 9:17 am

"The weather, huh?" Mr. Galway said incredulously; the creases on his winkled face multiplied as he contorted it into a suspicious scowl. He looked to Claude, who only stared at the man, impassive, then his scrutinizing eyes went back to Sieg. The old man spat on the ground, the phlegm landing between Sieg's feet. "It rains a lot. Write that down and fuck off."

He walked away, moving laboriously as the elderly often do, leaving Claude and Sieg standing alone on the dock.

"I saw a motel back there," Claude said, not looking at Sieg, but instead out at the vast ocean before them. It would be nearly impossible to get to the bottom of this with all eyes on them (and whomever they talk to) at all times. Lights in the ocean. Claude started walking back toward town, seemingly not caring whether Sieg chose to follow or not.

Gravel crunched beneath each step, until he came to an abrupt stop, staring into the distance, transfixed. Out upon a grey hill, behind a thin veil of fog, a little girl stood in a white dress. She lifted a tiny hand to wave at the mages, then disappeared. Claude rubbed his eyes. He had not been sleeping. He had not been sleeping.
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Post by Luner Wed Sep 26, 2018 11:49 am

Sieg turned to follow Claude, and shoved his hands into his coat pockets. The belt of the trench coat hung down limp on both sides. His shoulders slumped slightly as his less heavy steps made a lighter sound on the gravel. Then, his eyes widened in shock.

A disappearing little girl? He'd seen a lot of things as a mage, but that seemed like something out of a Stephen King-inspired book. He shook his head, and got back to his senses. He hoped it wasn't going to be anything like a King book, but one can never tell when dealing with the supernatural.

"Whether, right?" Sieg rhetorically asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
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Post by Debonaire Thu Sep 27, 2018 8:10 am

Claude blinked at Sieg's response, momentarily glancing in his direction. He saw it too? Claude felt the heat of anger rise in his heart, for this meant his mind was not playing tricks on him--as it usually does--but someone else was. Claude gave no answer to his partner aside from cold silence, and a new tension formed between them. Whoever that girl was, the sight of her seemed greatly disconcerting to the grizzled mage; her image was no stranger to him.

* * *


The inn was hardly in a better condition than the crumbling city around it, though it would have to do. It was practically empty likely because, aside from Sieg and Claude, all of the people here were locals.

The mages' rooms were side by side. Each containing little more than essential things for living. Having maintained his silence for the entirety of the journey, Claude finally spoke: "I'm going to draw a transportation rune in my room, your room, and another outside. If something happens, use it. Give me thirty seconds, and if I'm not outside too, leave."

He began drawing the proper symbols effortlessly. "Draw runes on the doors, too. Make them harder to break. Don't open them: if we need to see each other, knock on the wall three times, then teleport in." He was being quite transparent about his paranoia, which, even in a normal town, would be swarming around his head like a series of angry bees. Being careful is what kept him alive so long, and he had no intention of ever slowing down.
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Post by Luner Thu Sep 27, 2018 6:42 pm

Siegfried went along with Claude's plans. After all, Claude was the more experienced mage. The German gave a slight bow before he worked his rune magic on each of the hotel doors, imbuing them with the same resistance as his clothing. he did the same on each of the door hinges, as supernaturally strong people could rip those off easily.

Once the runes were drawn, he took off his trench coat and tossed it along his bed. His tie had been loosened by now, and he seemed like he was in a more relaxed state. The gloves stayed on, though. "All done."
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Post by Debonaire Fri Sep 28, 2018 9:01 am

* * *

After falling asleep, Sieg found himself standing in darkness, the shadows concealing everything around him, and he knew no magic would work here. There was a chill, as if a cold breeze had drifted through him.

A familiar voice called softly from deeper in the nebulous dark before him, a hushed whisper: "Sieg?" It echoed, like they were in a cave or corridor of some kind.

If he made an attempt to step forward, he would feel that the floor was wet. The stench of blood pervaded the space.

"Sieg?" came the voice. It was louder now, and the young mage would be able to discern exactly who had said it.

A red glow. Sieg was in an abandoned factory. Black feathers fell around him. Calin stood before him, his innards hanging out of him in shreds, and his eyes looked as if talons had scraped them from their proper place. He waved a bloodied hand, feeling for his friend. "...Is that you?"
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Post by Luner Fri Sep 28, 2018 3:28 pm

Siegfried stopped loosening his tie to stare into the darkness. Upon hearing the voice, he stepped forwards. His footsteps were slow and cautious, ripples being sent through the puddles of blood. His eyes widened upon seeing his deceased, blinded friend. It wasn't shock on his face, though, nor was it relief.

Siegfried's fists clenched tightly as his purple eyes narrowed and his face contorted into an expression of rage he rarely let out. Feeling that no use of magic would work in this room, he reared his gloved fist back and delivered a right hook into his former friend's cheek without hesitation.
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Post by Debonaire Sat Sep 29, 2018 8:45 am

The head of the living corpse snapped back unnaturally from the blow, a spurt of blood erupted from the broken skull, and it staggered a bit.

Then it started laughing.

After popping its head back into place, it looked back to Siegfried with a new face: cold blue eyes, bone-white skin, and a malevolent smile. The black feathers turned into crows that swarmed around Siegfried, obscuring all.

Then Siegfried would wake up.

* * *

Claude had not fallen asleep. Hours passed, the night deepened, as he lied awake in his bed, his mind taking him in circles. It had been his daughter on that hill. There was no doubt about that. And if Siegfried had seen it, that meant it was not a hallucination; someone had created an illusion, but how? How could they have gotten so easily into his mind? A mind that he had worked so hard to keep locked away behind dark, unfeeling eyes? No matter the answer, two things were certain: a mage, proficient in illusion magic, was there; and he knew of Sieg and Claude's arrival.

Quiet footsteps could be heard creeping down the hallway outside. Claude sat up, listening intently. Five or six people. Heavyweight.

Almost simultaneously, the locks on Sieg and Claude's doors started clicking gently. Someone was trying to get inside.
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Post by Luner Sat Sep 29, 2018 2:01 pm

Siegfried sat up in bed, his eyes wide. It was just a dream, and he should've been used to those by now. He slammed his palm into the side of his head a few times to try and jog his brain out of it. How could he let himself be so weak?

Upon hearing the footsteps down the hallway, he brought both legs over the edge of the bed and set them on the floor gently. He stood up, and straightened his fingers into a stiff position. He leaned on the wall, and used the magic he and Claude had set up to enter the room beside his, where his partner was hopefully waiting.
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Post by Debonaire Mon Oct 01, 2018 1:37 pm

Once Sieg appeared, Claude gestured with his hand to indicate approximately how many people were outside. He was currently moving the chair away from the door so that whoever was picking the lock could easily get inside. The transportation rune was ready for use, but it seemed the mage preferred to stay. Claude wanted to see some faces, and then hopefully get some answers.

He slipped a bowie knife from his trenchcoat--a bit unorthodox for a magic-user--then indicated to Sieg that it would be best to make as little noise as possible. He nodded for Sieg to hide himself by the door, for the group outside likely assumed that Claude was alone in his room, and Sieg alone in his.

The door was unlocked, and it gently crept open. Claude was "sleeping" in bed as three people stepped into the room: two men and a woman who carried a syringe with a glowing yellow liquid.

With the two men behind her, seemingly ready to pounce onto Claude, she stepped up to Claude's bed and moved to inject him in the neck. He flipped over, grabbed her wrist, yanked her down, then after taking his hand and knife out from under the pillow, sliced her jugular. Blood spurted onto the floor and as she gasped out and collapsed the syringe nearly fell with her but Claude caught it with an outstretched hand.

The men were stunned momentarily, for it had happened so quickly, giving Sieg time to take care of them.
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Post by Luner Mon Oct 01, 2018 2:07 pm

Siegfried kicked the ground, a knife coming from the toe of his loafer. He sent his foot into the back of one of their knees, and simultaneously covered his mouth with one hand as he pushed him onto his knees with his other hand. He raised the hand that he'd pushed the man down with to chop the man's windpipe. The runes on his glove were glowing brightly as he hit the mage with superhuman strength.

Next on the chopping block was the last man, who Sieg intended to keep alive and functional. He brought his hands around, and braced his forearm with his off-hand before firing a red and black Gandr shot into his knee to render him immobile.

After his knife was pulled from the man's knee, Siegfried walked over to the man he'd immobilized. He picked him up by the shirt, and presented him to Claude. It was very reminiscent of a dog showing its owner a dead bird.
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Post by Debonaire Mon Oct 01, 2018 3:01 pm

By this point, the others in the adjacent room had realized Sieg was not there.

Claude closed the unbreakable door and barricaded it again as three more people starting trying to force themselves inside. He teleported into Sieg's room, circled around, snuck up behind them, and cut them all open before they had realized what had happened. Only one was left barely alive, and Claude bound and gagged him and left him in the other room.

It seemed Claude's age wasn't a blister after all.

Once the mage had returned to the room with Sieg, he nodded in acknowledgement of his dog's dead bird gift. Claude crouched down to look him in the eye. "I'm going to ask you some questions," he said, his voice as piercing and grave as his eyes, "and your answers better be exactly what the guy in the next room says."

Claude took some time to question him, but soon realized it was useless. He spouted mainly nonsense and refused to answer-- even after Claude had removed a few of his fingers. "The Black Star will rise..." the man said, "the Black Star will rise with him."

Claude gestured for Sieg to dispose of the man, then killed the second man after a similarly unsuccessful interrogation. The Black Star will rise with him. What could that mean?

"Search the corpses," Claude said, examining the yellow syringe in his hand.
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Post by Luner Mon Oct 01, 2018 3:17 pm

Sieg nodded, having let go of the man for him to be disposed of. He kicked the knife shoe against the ground, shoving the blade back down into its hole. The dead mages didn't seem to faze Sieg, as he'd been used to bloodshed since his teenage years.

Sieg went through the mages' clothes, possible bags, and pockets as he searched for anything that could give him a clue. It vaguely reminded him of when his father had taught him to fight non-lethally, and he'd pick pocketed the poor saps. He figured that he was making Leonidas Winters proud at the moment, even though he was no longer living to tell him.
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Post by Debonaire Mon Oct 01, 2018 3:53 pm

Claude noted the boy's indifference to death. From what he had observed over the years, many mages have trouble with it, and those hesitations and fears would get them killed. None of that was in Sieg, at least not on the surface. Hopefully, he wouldn't grow out of it.

While rummaging through the corpses, Sieg would find: another syringe (likely meant for him) filled with yellow liquid, some cash, forms of ID, firearms, rope, and an intricate-looking iron key that radiated magical energy. There were also pictures: one of Claude, one of Sieg, and one of an ebon-haired woman who looked to be in her twenties.

Claude held up the syringe. "This is SB-0," he said. It was a serum that disrupted magic circuits, typically employed by high-level personnel in the Association. Though this was more primitive, in liquid form in a syringe, rather than employed as a gas, bullet, or other device. How could their target get their hands on it?

Claude wandered over to the transportation rune--the one leading outside--and said: "They might have people watching the exits. We'll go out this way."

Then he disappeared and re-appeared outside and started walking. The soft crash of the ocean could be heard in the night.
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Post by Luner Mon Oct 01, 2018 4:31 pm

Siegfried stood up, and kept the identifications and SB-0 on him. He put any money he found int their wallets into his own, and slid the fold into his back pocket. The iron key intrigued him, as did the three pictures. Who was this ebon-haired woman, and what relation did she have to them? Questions for later, possibly for Claude.

After he kept the important trinkets and details on him, he walked into his room to retrieve his trench coat. His gaze caught on himself in the mirror, noticing the specks of blood on his face and suit. Granted, he knew how to clean it with simple runes, but the image of him as a blood soaked murderer stood out to him. He closed his purple eyes before taking the transport rune out to meet his partner outside.

The calming crash of the ocean soothed the younger mage as he caught up to his partner. His gaze went to the water, watching the stars reflect off of the water. It wasn't often he got to look at the water around such little light pollution. His clothes, at this point, were cleaned off of blood.
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Post by Debonaire Tue Oct 09, 2018 6:46 pm

* * *

Claude walked with Sieg on the outskirts of town early the next morning. Questioning people had not served them well; everyone kept to themselves. Claude had asked repeatedly about the names of their attackers, the ones found on the ID cards, to see if anyone had noticed the disappearance of any of these six people. It was as if they never existed.

The mage hadn't spoken to Sieg since they left the inn. Dark thoughts clouded his mind. None of the pieces made any sense yet.

Then the duo would catch sight of a woman--the same one in Sieg's picture--fumbling with her keys then disappearing into a house. Claude walked over, knocked on the door, then waited.

The blinds shifted slightly, moved by someone wishing to view out while remaining unseen. Claude knocked again. They weren't leaving. "Come out," he said plainly, "we know you're in there."

The door creaked open slightly, a chain-lock and a sliver of the woman's face was visible. "Please, leave me alone," she said with a trembling voice, "I can't help you."

Claude kicked open the door. The chain lock snapped; the woman was thrown onto her back. She started to scramble to her feet and scream but Claude grabbed her and clasped a hand over her mouth as she thrashed in his arms.

It was clear the investigation had made him impatient.
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Post by Luner Tue Oct 09, 2018 7:19 pm

Siegfried blinked as Claude kicked the door clean open, and stared at the scene in slight awe. He followed Claude into the building, and crossed his arms.

This woman's significance was lost to him, but obviously not to the people that were after him and his partner. He slid his hands into the pockets as he watched Claude work with cold indifference.
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Post by Debonaire Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:40 pm

Claude used the rope Sieg had looted from the corpses to bind the girl. Terrified, her eyes darted between the mages. "We're not here to hurt you," he said, but she understandably had some trouble believing him.

He showed the girl the picture. "What did they want with you?"

The woman's eyes widened, and she closed her eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she shook her head.

Claude inhaled, then turned to Sieg. The kid seemed to have better people skill than he did. This was a situation that called for tenderness, not intimidation--the woman was clearly fearful enough already. With his dark eyes, Claude asked Sieg to take care of it.
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Post by Luner Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:45 pm

Sieg took note of the situation after he'd assisted Claude with his rope. He sighed lightly and walked over to the girl in Claude's stead. "We know this is a... violent introduction, but those men tried to kill us," he began calmly.

His thoughts collected as he slid his hands into his pockets. The girl looked scared shitless, and he could understand why. Two dashing, handsome men like them coming in and breaking her door down would terrify anyone. "We need to know why they'd be after you so that all three of us can make it out of this alive, alright?" he said while keeping his tone low.
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Post by Debonaire Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:49 pm

A few moments passed, a few gasping breaths, then a trembling voice: "They want me for the sacrifice..."

Her eyes opened and stared at Sieg desperately. What could this boy do? There was no hope now. "They took my sister, now they want me too!"

Claude stepped forward. "Where did they take her?"

She shook her head and looked to the floor. It was only a matter of time... and now the world was falling apart around her.
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Post by Luner Mon Oct 29, 2018 6:03 pm

Siegfried stepped forwards, and then he untied the ropes around her. He set his hands on her shoulders gently. "Listen, we can help you and your sister. You just have to tell us what's going on," he explained to her. "We can stop them if you tell us where you think they might have your sister. You won't get taken for any kind of sacrifice."
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