The silence in the room was damning and for a brief moment The Detective feared that the Lessers might just walk out. They didn’t know what they would do if that happened. As much as it pained them to admit, even to themselves, calling this group had been their last hope. Well, not their very last hope, but their last hope at getting a conclusion that was acceptable. Then Lesser Gluttony asked her question. It took a great deal of effort to not visibly sigh in relief. They weren’t walking out just yet. The Detective still had a chance to convince them to help.

They handed a folder to the witch, [color=ba303e]“Here are the names of the ones that I managed to identify. I located 19 of them. I suspect there are more victims but cannot be sure how many. They arrived in The City about 3 months ago. Then about two weeks ago my powers started to … falter.”[/color] They pointed at the Lesser Lust, [color=ba303e]“I have seen two individuals, one male and one female, that I believe may actually be Bob in two different shapes. In both forms they are practically perfect yet somehow completely ordinary.”[/color] They gave their head a brief shake, [color=ba303e]“I realized they were a threat about a week in. By then Bob had already figured out how to effectively hide from my magic which is doable but shouldn’t be easy. I do not think Bob was their original name. I think it is the name they are choosing to use now.”[/color]

Then they paused. How to answer the Lesser Envy’s question without revealing too much or too little. The Detective didn’t want to be unhelpful, especially since Setepenre, Albert, and Ivan had already shared, but they really didn’t him copying their abilities. That would be difficult. It shouldn’t be possible, but it also shouldn’t be possible for their powers to be blocked this completely. This was entirely new territory and for the first time in a long, long time they weren’t sure what was going on. They had taken a risk with the barrier. That made them inclined to be cautious now. That didn’t mean that could be deliberately mysterious. That wouldn’t be helpful at all and might even be detrimental.

They spoke slowly, [color=ba303e]“As for my powers specifically.”[/color] They sighed, [color=ba303e]“They follow a specific set of Rules. Within The City those Rules should be absolute. As such how much power I have or don’t have depends on how successfully I follow the Rules. It is possible that the Outcasts have managed to get me to break one of the Rules, but I doubt that. I know the Rules pretty damn well. It is more likely that they managed to craft or find a loophole. Right now, most of my power and magic is going towards keeping a barrier up around The City. It specifically keeps the three Outcasts in and beings of a certain power level out. They will not be able to flee nor call reinforcements. However, this taxes me greatly. Soon I will have to [i]Sleep[/i] in order to maintain it. I will not be able to do more.”[/color] There was another sigh, [color=ba303e]“I did not call you all to fight. I called you all to support each other in this battle. I was hoping.”[/color] For the first time all meeting they smiled as they pointed at the Lesser Sloth, [color=ba303e]“That one of you would offer protection to those that needed it, so that way those of you could fight would be able to do so without worrying about friends and family.”[/color] They turned back to the young witch, [color=ba303e]“Have you discovered anything useful?”[/color]

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July 31st, 2022
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