[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/o4GEt67.jpg?1[/img][/center] [center]And[/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/NeeWKCw.png[/img][/center] [center]in[/center] [center][u]A Midnight Science Fiction Feature![/u][/center] As the Police came, and questioned Barron’s rather large arsenal which even he had to admit explaining why he had a mech suit was more than a stretch if he himself didn’t have the ability to influence others they might have actually gotten a straight answer from him. Lights hung by cords and a slot machine spat out coins intermittently with the last of the surviving guests taken to safety some still decided that staying was safer given how the hounds ran liking their ass, the ground floor was devastated chips lay broken chalk marked outlines of those who had not managed to flee in time and over forty lay dead Hounds and those who had not yet fled. Most of the body count had been in Hounds with a good twenty five people in tactical armor. However even the numbers of innocents he did have were unacceptable and as he finally was done with the police took off for his office up the only other working elevator this side of Gomorrah checking his watch as a glitter of gold reflected in his eye he tapped his foot while the elevator dinged to his penthouse floor. Passing into his office, he took a moment to water his plant with strange red branches as he set the bucket to its side as he took his seat waiting upon his guests to arrive. Setting his legs upon the clean table polished to a shine he could see the black of his soles as he fiddled with his bangs combing them with a slight bit of wax clinging to the teeth slinging out a pocket mirror to examine his mug tilting his chin left and right until with a pleased grin he folded the silverish case that contained the mirror and reached for his right breast pocket placing it back where it belonged. Sweeping his legs off the table he spotted a coaster inlaid with gold trimmings off center and carefully realigned it to match the others arching back and taking a proper view of the room ensuring not a detail was missed, kissing his fingers as he snapped them. [color=cd0000]”Perfect.”[/color] Six warm bodies swept the floor of Gomorrah, passing over the devastation as if floating, unseen by the lingering officers who surveyed the the grounds for remaining dead or injured patrons. Hekate led this midnight procession, draped in violet garments that flowed in an ethereal wind. At her side stood Circe, golden locks glowing in the neon light, basked in the same divine splendor as her mistress. Behind this pair walked the leading members of the remaining Four Families of Las Vegas; Genevieve Lachance, Syrenna Rowen, Aaron Wright, and Cassandra Loyal, each adorned in fine dress that spoke to and complemented their individual traditions. [color=palevioletred][i]”This is how your associate does business?”[/i][/color] Circe snided with an upturned nose, put off by the stench of rot. Such solemnity was not an uncommon sight for one such as she, but it was a far cry from the pleasures she had come to expect from a den of sin. [color=mediumpurple][i]”Come now, Circe,”[/i][/color] Hekate reprimanded her in a motherly tone, [color=mediumpurple][i]”Mr. Vanderbilt and his estate have fallen under attack. A pain we know quite well given the recent loss of Roman’s line. Let us stand in solidarity rather than mock his home. For now, he has our sympathy.”[/i][/color] The Four nodded to one another in response, agreeing with the sentiment. Eventually, the group came upon Barron’s office on one of the higher floors, passing the remnants of his cruelty. Despite the numerous injustices committed by the lot of them, none quite matched the depravity of Barron’s bloody machinations. They stepped over the threshold, each one offering their condolences in the form of a bow. [color=mediumpurple][i]”I see now why you were so insistent on our prompt arrival. My sincerest apologies for our absence. How do you and your wife fare in these trying times?”[/i][/color] Hekate decided to embody diplomacy, speaking like the woman the Four had once known, the cunning and silver-tongued Lydia Velis. Barron smiling with a gaze that lingered over to his freshly potted plant; responded. [color=cd0000]”Honestly frustrated, cost of repairs will be expensive and it’ll be hard to pack this place again for a while, still.” [/color] He said as the plant began to squirm and moan. [color=cd0000]”Quite well otherwise just got myself a new hobby too um what was that thing called again, the thing the Japanese do. YES yes, the bonsai plant. This little hound had the misfortune of lingering around. But his heart just wasn’t in him. [/color] Barron giving a short laugh as his eyes glimpsed the plant’s still beating heart in its branches. [color=cd0000]”And that is tame really. If you think that’s bad you should see my homeworld, people there are real depraved. But down to business. Have yourself a seat.”[/color] [color=cd0000]”With Roman Adessi gone and the recent attack on my home and hounds ramping up their weaponry we really aren’t the top pecking order anymore. We’ll need to remind them why we’re to be feared and respected of course. I always like setting an example and right now we need to bring in some big guns, bigger than spells than artifacts. A real legend. I came about an old Norse legend speaking of Hefilstein the Unliving, a Draugr. They say a mage raised him from the dead and gave him resistances to all tools that one could turn on mages and magic, a creature who turned against his creator and was banished with great effort.” [/color] Rubbing his hands together excitedly he continued. [color=cd0000]”Sounds exciting. I’d personally like to get something like that a good protector to defend against guys like these hounds. And I have quite a few ideas regarding what to do with its temperament. Took a bit of effort and I’ve been working on this project a while but I have found his resting place. With a slight issue. Whoever sealed him put the works on him, I mean no expense in regards to spells, traps and whatever hexes they left lingering. I’ve already cleared some and I’m working up a team to go in and finish the job. I just need to know one thing, Do you want a clear dome. Because I can change the opacity of the braincase. Right not the question just a joke, although there will be a braincase, got myself a fresh brain in biogel thing is already brainstorming as we speak. But honestly do I have your approval. And I can go over the plan in more detail if you want. I’d like to keep in good standing with both Ms. Velis and the Four.” [/color] Those in attendance looked to one another with no shortage of concern, obviously worried that Barron had made some oversight, and if not, that he would. Hekate shared their concern, but her expression didn’t betray her thoughts. [color=mediumpurple][i]”Well, I hardly think you require my approval, Mr. Vanderbilt, but I appreciate that you hold our opinion in such high esteem. I would be remiss, however, if I said I had no concerns.”[/i][/color] Hekate moved closer, pacing in front of Barron’s desk. [color=palevioletred][i]”You intend to create your own Frankenstein’s Monster from the corpse of a thousand year old draugr? Well, Mary Shelley would be proud . . .”[/i][/color] Circe sarcastically interrupted. Hekate glanced back at her companion with a knowing smile. [color=mediumpurple][i]”Forgive my colleague for her intrusion. This is a dear friend of mine, Kirke, or Circe as the Romans knew her and her preferred title. If it was a legend you wished for, one has stumbled right into your home. Circe is a legendary witch of some renown, although given your lack of familiarity with this world’s legends, I wouldn’t expect you to know all of this.”[/i][/color] Circe gave a half bow as Hekate introduced her. [color=cd0000]”I didn’t expect Circe anytime soon, you were big on turning your enemies into beasts and had been renowned for your potions. And Frankenstein's monster, close, I’m more thinking something along the lines of robotics. See the Gov in my world had quite the time experimenting on others. Put live human brains on top of robots and that is what I plan to do. A pairing of magic and machine.” [/color] Circe raised an eyebrow but remained quiet for the time being. [color=mediumpurple][i]”Ah, a student of classics I see, if only for your own benefit. That aside, I share my companion’s concerns, not because I doubt your ability to perform such an operation, but because I fear you have a fundamental misunderstanding of exactly who and what you’re dealing with.”[/i][/color] Hekate removed from her person a silver bullet and an iron cross, relics carried by the Hounds who infiltrated both the Gomorrah and Adessi’s restaurant. She loathed their very presence. [color=mediumpurple][i]”These do not belong to the Hounds proper, but a secondary group, one I believed long dead. They call themselves The Winter Court, a name stolen from the Good Folk of the British Isles, used to mock them. Witch-hunters and mercenaries make up their ranks, with blessed silver armaments and protective talismans almost unmatched in their potency. I led a coalition to destroy them centuries ago, erase all memory of them and their vile deeds, but somehow, they persist into the modern world.”[/i][/color] [color=palevioletred][i]”Fortunately,”[/i][/color] Circe interjected, [color=palevioletred][i]”Their numbers are all a fraction of the existing Hounds, and the blessings required to forge their weapons are arduous and difficult to mass produce. Should your monster find a home here, it is unlikely that you will face off against the Court again.”[/i][/color] [color=mediumpurple][i]”But should they return,”[/i][/color] Hekate resumed, [color=mediumpurple][i]”We have already taken measures to ensure our protection . . . and yours, of course.”[/i][/color] Cassandra Loyal walked forward, a younger woman in her mid to late twenties dressed in dark clothes that fit her well. She was a small woman, slender, with red hair arranged in a neat bun atop her head. She removed a small token from a pocket inside her jacket and placed it on Barron’s desk, smiling at Hekate before returning to the group. The token was a small coin bearing a strange symbol, something like a labyrinth or a wheel, fashioned from a heavy metal. [color=mediumpurple][i]”While you might be of the opinion that our spells are of little use in this instance, I have devised a ritual nonetheless that I believe will be to our benefit. This token is made from a vessel that we shall bless come midnight. Simply drive a nail through its center with your wife and whomever else you wish to keep safe present, and you will be immune to the Court’s tricks, for a time, at least.”[/i][/color] [color=cd0000]”I think you too misunderstand. Magic is powerful and I do not doubt that in the slightest. But I do not wish to be immune to their tricks. I want them hung. Their entrails lining the walls and heads rolling at my feet. I like to set an example and an example is all they’ll be.”[/color] Hekate stopped pacing, standing firmly in front of his desk, her posture very telling. [color=mediumpurple][i]”Do not mistake my intent, Mr. Vanderbilt. I too long for their demise. They have taken far more from me and my kind than you can imagine. But when last I met The Winter Court with fire and brimstone, some yet remained, rose again to join the ranks of the Hounds. We must be cunning as well as cruel. Which is why another of my associates searches for their leader as we speak, and why I am, at this very moment, staging a means to bring his financial ruin, to drain his resources that he and his troop may be rendered weak.”[/i][/color] [color=cd0000]”To that we have a common goal, as before you have my resources within reason. But if we are to meet them I’d like us to be better prepared. The Hounds under the Winter Court and the Witch Hunters did not expect to face such diverse means of offence. They were prepared for the building’s security, but not for those I keep in my employ. And I owe it to my men that turned the tide to my favor; in my home I had resources I needed, talented employees and the prior experience of facing a mentally superior enemy.”[/color] Setting aside folders of various heroes, Barron opened one. [color=cd0000]”Heroes, Champions, Enemies. These so far are all those I have been keeping tabs on. All powerful to some degree and all have potential to tip the balance. To keep order and business well I think we must ensure that our world should not be shaken just yet. Heroes like this Pendragon, White Witch, Van Helsing among others. Some are too new, others have bad blood with us. We’ll need our own champion if they decide to turn their sights on us, and Hefilstein the Unliving has that potential for that. So for as long as we keep these so called Champions focused on other efforts they, including Hefilstein the Unliving, will be useful tools.”[/color] [color=mediumpurple][i]”Do not concern yourself with The White Witch,’[/i][/color] Hekate replied fervently, surprised at herself. [color=mediumpurple][i]”She is of . . . particular interest to me for reasons I care not to divulge. I would request that she remain firmly out of your sights. Other ‘heroes,’ and champions, I have witnessed many in my time. If it is your desire to manipulate them into fighting your battles, I will aid you in the manner we have discussed, but their motions are of no concern to me. As for the draugr . . .”[/i][/color] Hekate mulled it over, convening quickly with the Four and Circe. They all shared concern for Barron’s methods, but he had been successful, for the most part, in thwarting the Hound’s attempts to destroy his establishment. For that reason, Hekate decided that he deserved more credit than they’d previously given. [color=mediumpurple][i]”If you think yourself capable of containing this monster, so be it. We offer our blessings. I would humbly request, however, that you not pursue The Winter Court too keenly. They are my enemy, and I shall be the one who reduces them to ash.”[/i][/color] [color=cd0000]”With all due respect, they are our enemy, and we shouldn’t race each other to end them first. Let us work together proper and finish them while they think us divided.”[/color]