Disclaimer: The characters within are used without permission for the sheer non profit enjoyment of fans of the Gabriel Knight genre. Part 4
"Move and you're dead." The voice was completely unfamiliar... a harsh whisper in his ear. Whoever it was had snatched a handful of hair with one hand the other gripped a blade which was pressed tightly to his throat constricting even the most subtle grimace. Despite the rage that built in him fear was prevalent so he grunted affirmation of the demand.
"Good, let's go." He was pulled back into the dark alley walking stiffly as neither hand nor blade let loose their grip.
He was violently turned and slammed into the cold brick wall of the pub, the knife searing his flesh and his body tensed in fear that he had met his end. "Wh-wh-what do y-you want... with m-me..." He stuttered, whispering in fear that any louder and he would be killed instantly.
"I have a few questions for you." The voice whispered to him again and his face was pressed against the bricks the texture painful against his tender cheek... he could smell mildew on the aged rock as fear began to numb his body.
"Who... who are you?"
"That's not important. What is important is that you answer my questions. Missing any members?"
"What?" The blade pressed against him tighter and his speech rose as his neck tensed.
"Wait! Wait!" He gasped. "There have been some members who've disappeared but they disappeared from town so we... we didn't pay it any mind!"
"I see." The man heaved a sigh. "Are you in the business of thievery?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" He suddenly came to some inner realization that he might not make it through the man's inquisition. Tears started to run down his chubby cheeks.
"Really?" The voice harbored a great deal of disbelief. "I think that you do. I think that your men set upon some travelers and killed them for their gold. Do you deny these charges?"
"Charges? What on God's Earth are you talking about? We've done nothing wrong!"
"I have one of your broaches found at the scene... clasped to the cloak of one of the men. Do you wish to deny that the Carpenter's guild had anything to do with it?"
"Indeed!" He felt anger rising in his stomach bringing his heart to bear. "We are not criminals sir and those men that disappeared from the town... well, they were believed to have been attacked while on the road. The broach you have is most definitely stolen."
Kail frowned and looked down. He believed the fat slob much as he didn't wish to. However, their were many wealthy men in the guild and certainly if one of them was working with brigands he would know that there was someone after him soon. A decision had to be made.
"Alright... Do you want to live?" His whisper was dangerous-- barely audible above the stirring of the street beyond.
"Of course." The man answered as evenly as he could.
"If you tell anyone of this... anyone I will find you..." He pushed his face to the wall painfully. "And it will not be so pleasant a visit." He hurled the man to the street and dashed away rounding the corner before the man even thought to glance back. With his heart pounding painfully in his chest, he clambered to his feet and rushed away.
Breathing... The soft sound of breath echoed in the tiny room interrupted only by the subtle ticking of a clock somewhere in the room. Gabriel was reading intently, pouring over a book lying on his desk. Mosely was dozing on the leather sofa, his mouth open wide.
"Ah!" Gabriel exclaimed turning to the SIDNEY terminal and flipping it on. A moment later, it prompted for his query and he dialed in 'Diary AND Wolfgang Ritter'. The machine politely asked him to wait and he sighed, leaning back in his chair looking at the book. It was on the demon called the 'Maliphrae', something which he had so recently been forced to deal with. The thing had been bound to a silver ring as it had once before by one of his ancestors. But before it could be banished away from Earth, the ring was stolen and the creature eventually escaped with more than a little vengeance in mind.
Grace had been researching the creature since the incident seeking out any information on how to get rid of it. Unfortunately, it had been proving nearly fruitless. They had a great deal of information on the creature itself but little on how to get rid of it. If they could just find the ritual...
But it was something that had to be put on hold.... Mundane affairs kicked in and Gabriel was called off to perform duties for the latest book and Grace had to expand Saint George's-- much to Gabriel's annoyance. Only Gerde had remained on duty studying.
He glanced at Mosely and wondered if he should have him involved. He didn't feel right about dragging his friend into something so dangerous... especially when he could get hurt or killed-- or worse. Dealing with the Maliphrae had taxed Gabriel almost as much as being tainted by Lycanthropy. He couldn't imagine nor bear the thought of Mosely being possessed by the thing. The talisman protected his blood but he had no idea how much sanctuary it would provide his close friend.
And a friend he had been even through the embarrassing stint with the fat Detective Mostly in the Backlash book... Certainly something he needed to keep in mind and remember that he didn't receive nearly as much flack about the whole ordeal as he expected. Perhaps that was the true test of their friendship and all the strange occurrences that surrounded his life were but the passing moments of forgotten necessity-- Everyone had them. His were just more difficult to explain.
SIDNEY brought Gabriel back from his reminisce and he blinked at the screen a few times before tapping the enter key. A scanned copy of Wolfgang's journal appeared before him and he called up a search string. He had glanced through the book before just after Wolfgang had died. The majority of his research had been set around the reclamation of the talisman so he had placed it aside.
He dialed in Maliphrae and it immediately brought up an entry dating back to when Wolfgang was a young man. It was a brief passage but Gabriel was intrigued nevertheless. The Maliphrae is a creature demon of some kind that was discovered generations ago to have inhabited a Russian priest who had come to Germany to find the necessary means to wreak vengeance upon the Russian nobility for the schism created within the church. The creature was drawn out of the man and bound within a silver ring, which was stolen before the proper rite could be found to send it back to hell.
And so I have found that a cult that worships the God of the Maliphrae seek the ring's retrieval and wish to wreak vengeance upon those who would so hold their lord's most loyal servant. I have found this through the attempt on my life, which I was able to foil. Plans must be in the works for another attempt but hopefully I will stay them long enough to find the talisman. This must be another implication based on the curse...
The entry ended there. Gabriel nodded and leaned back. So they've been after us a while now and all because of that stupid ring. He had to find out how to banish the creature.... If he did so, there would be a good chance that the cult would have little reason to pursue him any further... there was also the opportunity to snare the whole group of them together or as many as was possible along with it... They would operate whether or not the Maliphrae was still on earth...
Kail walked along the street nibbling absently on a ripened apple deep in thought. Enlightenment had been difficult to come by... He had no idea exactly what he was supposed to do next. He was certain about his suspicion behind the carpenter's guild but he had little to no proof... He smiled as a thought occurred to him.
Sliding the talisman under his clothes, he wandered off toward a tavern, lifting some dirt from the ground as he walked. He smeared some of the cold filth on his face and let his hair down from its ponytail. Perhaps subterfuge would work where investigation failed...