[color=6ecff6]"Otto."[/color] Rune said as the two magicians headed down a alley in downtown Hells Kitchen. His eyes flickered between the mouth of the alley and his friend who carried the comatose Necromancer. Their little invisibility spell would not work forever. Saying the words, Rune made the door to the Red Devil appear. The two stared at it apprehensively.

"Yes my old friend." Otto said, not looking away from the door.

[color=6ecff6]"How screwed are we."[/color] Rune spoke, fidgeting with his collar.

"You seen that movie with the zombies" Otto inquired. Not taking his eyes of the door. Neither liked Puck much. The creature known as Puck was a born trickster. A deal maker. Neither of them thought they'd get out of this without paying a price.

[color=6ecff6]"Which one, they make like a hundred a month now."[/color] Rune said, finally looking to his friend. 

"You know. the one with the book of dead." Otto said as he took the first step towards the door.,

"[color=6ecff6]Evil dead? Yeah.[/color]" Rune said as he followed. 
"Well I think you are gonna have to cut your hand off and replace it with a chainsaw for us to have a fighting chance." Otto said deadpannd. Rune walked past him and lifted his foot high.

"Right. Fuck that."  Rune said and kicked the door open.

The two entered the Red Devil and the entire place went quiet. A sylph hid behind a chair, a nymph sunk back in her chair. Two men of middle eastern persuasion immediately cleared their cards from their table and reached into their robes. Rune stared at everyone gathered. He had a rep alright. Rune. Johan Winterchild. Lover of Elven Kings, champion of the Northern realm. A mean, angry vikin of a man with stick. It all depended on your perspective.

[color=6ecff6]"Awfully busy as of late, aren't you. Puck"[/color]

Puck turned from his station afront the tavern's patrons. His gaze fluttered quickly from the large crystal mirror to the The Red Devil's newest additions.

[color=CD5C5C][b]"Ah, welcome friends!"[/b][/color] Puck greeted them with a mixture of enthusiasm and sarcasm that made it difficult to divine his true intentions. [color=CD5C5C][b]"Yes, quite busy. The benefit of being in the business of magical contracts is that someone always wants something from you, and I see that even you, one of my more esteemed guests, is no different. So tell me, what brings you to The Red Devil?"[/b][/color] 

Of course Puck was familiar with Rune and his work. This world and the next were filled with news and gossip of the human who carried out the orders of the Elven King of the North. Puck had few dealings with the elves, preferring the company of Fey, witches, and humans, but he knew enough about the King and his servant to understand that the circumstances that would draw him here must be dire.


[color=6ecff6]"Who the fuck tore up New York?" [/color]Rune began but Otto, still carrying Hildebrand nudged him. [color=6ecff6]"Oh. And we need to stash a commatose Necromancer." [/color]

[color=CD5C5C][b]"Whatever do you mean?"[/b][/color] Puck tried to play it off. He knew exactly what they were talking about, but, as with any other exchange, he loved to stretch things out and see what else he could gain.

[color=6ecff6]"You know exactly what I mean you you goatfaced, slimey sucker. You better tell me, or I swear to gods, devils and the occasional snake that I will make sure not a single witch, nymph or fae will ever be able to look you in the face."[/color] People were staring, some with their mouth agape now. More then one was thinking there was serius problem brewing.

Puck didn't allow himself to be intimidated, though he knew that if he didn't comply, there would be trouble. 

[color=CD5C5C][b]"Alright, alright, you've convinced me."[/b][/color] he waved the two of them over to the bar, took a seat, and ordered a round of drinks. [color=CD5C5C][b]"I may have met with a certain embodiment of all of man's greed some months back, and he may have asked for my aid in some particularly ancient dark magic, which is, I suspect, what you're referencing?"[/b][/color] he took a sip.

Rune made sure they gave him the good stuff. That ancient fae meed that knocked lesser alcoholics cold. He drank as he listened and only barely kept from doing a spit take. His eyes flared open like to ice blue angry beacons.

"Please tell me you didn't just tell me Broker of all things has it..." Otto said before Rune could toss Puck across the bar in rage. His wolven hand pushed a straining Rune down into the chair. "Puck." He leaned in close. Not wanting the others to overhear. "He created a soulstone the equivalent of nothing we ever seen before." 

[color=CD5C5C][b]"So it would seem . . ."[/b][/color] Puck replied, taking a moment to think. [color=CD5C5C][b]"But, despite my vague involvement with the whole thing, this really has nothing to do with me. I provided Broker with information, nothing more. I then gave a certain employee of mine a choice. What happened next was an unfortunate externality beyond my control and, quite frankly, I don't care either way. I'm a neutral third party, as you should well know. I don't bend to one side or the other, I just sit in the middle and watch."[/b][/color]

[color=6ecff6]"Yeah. You are a regular swizz bank. Complete with a stash of Nazi gold."[/color] Rune muttered as he simmered down. "So. Mr Neutral." Rune leaned in. [color=6ecff6]"You could do me a favor now. I need to find people not completely mental with a eye for magic. Unless you wanna see Greed Eternal turn the world into his plaything?" [/color]

Otto chimed in. "We are gonna need all the allies we can get. Greed Eternal, Broker, whatever you wanna call him. He is a Judean Incarnation. One of THE demons. We don't have the firepower alone." 

Puck smiled, [color=CD5C5C][b]"Well . . . you could always find the witch responsible for creating the Soul Stone, though I don't quite know where she's gone off to at the moment. Alternatively, there are others floating about the continent. Ancient ones like Broker with powers that rival his own, ones that deal in contracts with witches . . . ones that rule over witches."[/b][/color]

"Rune" Otto said, carefully leaning away from Puck. 

[color=6ecff6]"Yeah... I think this is getting worse and worse. I don't need to make deals with ancient ones. I can't, I am beholden to my King."[/color]Rune spat the last word like it was venom. [color=6ecff6] "Although if you can help us find whoever helped Broker, that'd be worth my time here make no mistake. But... If you are talking about Hecate..."[/color] He said the name very, very carefully. [color=6ecff6]"I think I will pass even if I could make deals."[/color] He said, shivering slightly. Suddenly his face lit up. [color=6ecff6]"Hey Puck. Do you still have that magic Winchester I pawned to you?" [/color]

Puck shuddered at the mention of that damnable rifle. He was hesitant to take it in the first place, fearing that it might cause difficulties for him and his patrons were he to keep it in the tavern. Instead, he had disposed of it almost as soon as it came to him, kept it somewhere safe where he'd hoped it would never be retrieved. 

[color=CD5C5C][b]"Unfortunately, I am no longer in possession of said rifle, but I do know where it is hidden."[/b][/color}

[color=6ecff6]"Oh.. I see."[/color] Johan leaned back, running a hand troug his hair. [color=6ecff6]"And I suppose you want something in return for telling me where it is?"[/color]

[color=CD5C5C][b]"Indeed. In exchange for this information, I ask only that you grant immunity to the one who is truly responsible for the Soul Stone's creation. Ensure that no harm comes to her through either of your hands or through your aid, and the rifle's location is yours.[/b][/color]

[color=6ecff6]"...You know. When I said you were Switzerland. I didn't consider the fact that you would actually go to swing for the Nazis. But fine. I won't cut down your pretty associate. But if she lifts a finger to keep me from the Soul Stone or try to hurt me and the deal is invalidated."[/color] Rune shot back.

[color=CD5C5C][b]"Fair enough!"[/b][/color] Puck snapped his fingers and a thick piece of parchment appeared on the bar top, accompanied by an empty inkwell and a sharp quill. The parchment unrolled, reavealing the terms of their deal. Puck's name was already etched at the bottom of the page. [color=CD5C5C][b]"Prick your finger with the quill, sign your name, and the deal is struck. You shall have the rifle's location."[/b][/color]

Rune sighed and grabbed the quill. He wrote down his name, staring Puck in the eyes. [color=6ecff6]"Where is it?" [/color]

[color=CD5C5C][b]"Shortly after coming into contact with the rifle, I passed it on to a witch in whom I held great trust. He tasked his familiar with its desposal. As I understand it, the familiar carried the weapon across the sea to a place in the Old Country that sits between this world and the next, a rip in the Veil. The denizens of this place are strange indeed and still refer to their home as Albion. The rifle itself is buried somewhere in the remnants of old Albion in a charmed silver box. Your magic should be enough to open it, but be careful of what creatures reside between the Veil, and be sure that you have a way of tearing a hole back into this world .  . ."[/b][/color]

[color=6ecff6]"Albion.. Gods above and below. Where do I find someone to help me with that..."[/color]