Blood Ties, Part 10

"I... haven't had the brand for very long," you explain. "The rate isn't constant, but... it seems like a new rune becomes active about once a month or so."

Ceriss tries not to react in a way that would frighten you. But even she has difficulty hiding how much your words unsettle her. Her inhuman amber eyes widen a little, as you describe the rapid timetable. "I see," she finally says. "That is... less time than I'd hoped, for something this serious. I will make sure to send word to my friend as soon as possible."

Then the tiefling exhales, centering herself. "For now, I can at least apply a basic seal," she says. "Plus a few... tricks... that I know for dealing with demonic energy of this sort." No doubt related to her own demonic heritage, though she doesn't say that out loud.

She snaps her fingers again, and a moment later a slender, elegantly carved wand comes flying in from another room, right to her waiting hand. Then she begins to study your brand in earnest, her fingers tracing across its lines as her brow furrows in concentration. Soon, she starts to weave magic of her own, glowing lines of energy tracing the path of her wand's tip. You let things proceed this way for a while, before finally speaking up.

"Are you... all right, ma'am?" you say hesitantly, injecting a note of concern into your voice. "You seem... tired."

Ceriss looks up from your palm, surprised that you even noticed. "Oh, don't worry, dear," she says, putting on a carefree smile that most people wouldn't be able to tell is fake. "I just had... a bit of a late night last night."

"Did it have anything to do with the news that guard brought you at the party?" you ask, realizing that you'll need to be a bit more insistent to convince her to open up. "I could tell that whatever he said... it upset you greatly. What is going on? Is there anything we could do to help? Anything at all? I truly wish to repay the kindness you're showing me, if I can."

The tiefling's eyebrows rise a little, and you can tell that your display of unexpected perspicacity has caused her to reevaluate her opinion of you a bit. She's realizing that there's more depths to you than just the sheltered, naive lordling you've been presenting.

Not that she's actually suspicious. You've given her no reason for that—not yet. But in gaining a bit of her respect, you have also sacrificed at least a bit of the underestimation that might have put you beneath suspicion.

You judge it to be a sacrifice well worth making, however. There's something going on here, and your gut tells you that it's not something you can afford to remain in the dark on. You hold her gaze, conveying how serious you are about this, until finally she nods. Then she looks back down and your brand, talking as her fingers continue to explore and trace glowing lines across it. She's silent for a while, before speaking.

"It's... because of something I learned recently," she says. "I have old friends among the sort of people that the nobility would prefer not to—publicly—acknowledge. 'Ladies of the night', to use your polite term. I... try to help them where I can. Among other things, simple spells like contraceptive charms, and wards against certain kinds of disease are easy enough for me to cast. And believe me, the difference those can make for them is immense."

You don't interrupt, allowing her to tell her story at her own pace. "So at least every month or so, I make sure to visit that part of the city," she says. "To catch up on old times. To make sure that the charms are holding strong. And to cast them for any new girls who show up needing the protection."

Then a shadow falls across Ceriss' face. "It was on my last visit that one of those new girls told me how a friend of hers named Helgi had been killed."

The sorceress pauses in her work on your brand, her thoughts clearly reliving those past events. "Their line of work is a dangerous one at the best of times. But what this girl described to me... she said her friend had gone missing almost a week before they finally found her. And given the condition of Helgi's body, she'd most likely been alive for most of that time. Raped. Tortured. And then murdered."

"Worse, this wasn't the first time it had happened. There's a killer out there. A monster. And he won't stop, not unless someone stops him. That's... what I've been trying to do. He usually takes women under cover of darkness. So I run patrols at night. I try to use my magic to keep an eye on as much of the city as I can."

Then her shoulders slump, and you can see the weariness return in force. "But... it hasn't been enough. The bastard is far, far more slippery than I ever imagined he could be. They... found another body yesterday. Which means I failed them, again." She takes a deep, shuddering breath. "It also means he'll probably be looking for another victim now. And he'll find one, too. Unless I can catch him in the act this time."

"The city guard hasn't been able to help?" you ask.

Ceriss shakes her head sadly. "Not much," she says. "Some of them have done a bit of investigation. Helped me search. But apparently, a dead whore every week or two isn't enough for a large mobilization. Whoever this is... he knows enough to pick victims not many in power will even notice. Let alone care about." You see anger flash briefly in her eyes as she speaks the words, though her voice remains controlled and composed.

An awkward silence falls. Eventually you speak up, as earnestly as you can. "Well, if... if there's anything I can do to help, please let me aid you. I've... I've studied a bit. And I might be able to figure something out if I could look at the evidence..."

Janessa nods in agreement. "And if you want me to light a bit more of a fire under the Guard, I do know a few people I might be able to lean on. Make it a larger priority for them. As much as I can, at any rate."

Ceriss smiles. "Thank you," she says. "But... for the moment, let's focus on this problem right here. Niko has enough to worry about with whatever those vile demons have done to you. I'm afraid this might well be apocalyptic all on its own."

Her explanation complete, Ceriss returns to her work, carefully studying every detail of the fell marking. From time to time she consults certain occult tomes that she pulls from the bookshelves of her study, though she seldom seems satisfied by what she finds in their pages.

Still, as the day wears on she eventually reaches the point where she is ready to begin casting the seal itself.

It's subtle at first. She uses her wand to trace out runes of ever-increasing complexity over your palm, softly murmuring incantations as she does so. Your skin starts to tingle with the sheer density of magical power concentrated there, winding around your hand in ever-tighter coils. Ceriss' face is furrowed in concentration now, her focus entirely on her task. The air currents in the room begin to pick up, as the pale blue glow of her spell fills the secluded study.

It takes a long time. Perhaps even longer than Ceriss herself expected. Sweat begins to bead on her brow, as she wrestles against the unholy sigil that has caused so much trouble for you. Minutes turn into hours, the arcane glow only increasing in potency as the heroine bends her full sorcerous might toward aiding you in the struggle for your soul.

Then, finally, the glowing pattern constricts, pulling tight around your hand and forearm. For a moment, you feel a fierce burning sensation, but then it passes, leaving your limb numb. Looking down, you can see that there is now a second ring of smaller runes encircling the original one, with nearly-imperceptible lines of pulsating blue light connecting them to the previous sigils.

"That's the best I can do," says Ceriss. She opens her mouth to say more... but then stumbles back a little, catching herself on the edge of her nearby desk. She was already worn down, and it seems the magic has taken even more out of her. It takes her a few moments to steady herself, but then she looks wearily up at you. "I don't know how much it will impede the progression of runes activating, but it should help shield your mind against the direct effects. For now, at least. How long it will last, though..."

Her voice trails off, uncertain, and it's a few moments before she speaks again. "What truly worries me are the two unique runes in the sequence. From what little I could tell, the different sigils represent different strengths of the curse's growing influence. You've already experienced both of the kind that alternate between themselves... but those two symbols are uncharted territory. I only hope Nevati and I can work something out to remove whatever those demons have done to you before either of them activate."

You're not so sure it will be that simple, but you can certainly understand her concern. "Thank you," you say fervently. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

Ceriss responds with a wan, tired smile. "That's what we heroines are here for," she says. "But... I must beg your leave now, dear. I still need to send that message... and perhaps get a little more sleep, if I can."

You nod understandingly, both you and Janessa bowing and exiting the room. Taking one last glance back over your shoulder, you see Ceriss slump against a nearby wall of her study for support, resting her horns against it. Reminding you that she had already been running herself ragged even before the exertion of applying the seal.

The maid guides you back to the main entrance, and then you find yourselves back on the streets of the city. By now it's getting toward evening, too late to make any further social calls amongst the nobility. Or at least, too late for any official calls. You could still slip out tonight once Janessa falls asleep, and do some skulking around of your own, under cover of darkness.

You could try to follow up on the girl you've begun seducing as a way to involve yourself in a tryst that Ceriss already seemed interested in. Perhaps you could sneak into the grounds of her mansion, and persuade her to let a handsome nighttime caller into her chambers?

On the other hand, in addition to progressing your seduction of Ceriss, there's also this matter of the killer she's chasing. It's obvious that this hunt is deeply personal to her, and even after you seduce her, you doubt she'd want to leave the maniac at large. And it's not like you don't understand the feeling. His murderous actions are certainly contemptible.

Especially his targeting of prostitutes! As an incubus, there's no profession more worthy of reverence, and the thought of them being singled out for slaughter is particularly repugnant.

One approach might be to simply ask around, spend some time working your charm to try and glean some extra information from the various members of the city nightlife. Try to find someone who might have seen or otherwise know more about these killings, seeing what useful clues you can glean.

Alternatively, if you wanted to be a bit more hands-on, you could supplement the patrolling that Ceriss discussed with some of your own. Your demon form has flight, and inhuman senses, which would allow you to—stealthily—cover a lot of ground. Even if you might not be a match for a killer like that in direct combat, if you can catch him in the act of trying to abduct his next victim, there are any number of options you could pursue. The trick would be if you can do it without Ceriss' own search noticing you.

Or—instead of asking around or searching from the skies—you could try to entice him yourself. He's trying to find his prey while ducking Ceriss' search, after all. If you shapeshift into the sort of target he prefers, and put yourself in exactly the sort of vulnerable position he's looking for, you might be able to draw him to you instead of hunting him down.