( His fingers tap along the black box in hand like he's questioning his decision. He reached back into his dad's store of (now, he guesses, ancient) magic he doesn't do, but desperate times. He carved out a minute percentage of his soul in the process (everything this dark has to be bound somehow), not privy to how that will affect him and maybe that's a part of how hard he went in on his sister, but either way they're all reaching a point of no return. They all are.
[He studies the box like he's trying to see the rest of the board, wondering what to make of Max's move here. He's certain he's not working alone, but he's also not sure he wants to give them what he has just yet.
"Not exactly. David Gainor broke my current bond - rather efficiently, actually - but close enough. Your sister was there."
He leans back on his couch. "Are you going to give it back?"]
["I don't need to open it to sense that that's a pretty powerful piece of witchcraft. Rather impressive, actually, for someone who's never made one before."
He's not going to touch it until he knows all the strings (18). And while he can feel the ties that stretch out to Max himself and someone else in the distance, it's hard to say that there isn't a sword of Damocles waiting to fall somewhere. This isn't his first day at the rodeo.
You hinted - unsubtly that you could turn the tide. That you know something. But, we had no leverage. Hallewell, meet leverage.
( He leans forward. )
Help us take down the asshole possessors, we won't round you up like the Colony tried to. And. ( He sits back, straightening out the cuff on his sleeves. ) You'll be free. You'll need to make it look convincing, I already have the alibi in mind - who knows about the Gauntlet better than a witch who survived the last one. Hell, admit it. Did you throw it?
( He's grandstanding now, talking to hear himself talk, standing up in all his bravado and everything his dad taught him. All his "wasted" yes-man potential. At least he's going rogue with his sister's benefit. )
I don't care about the Gaybands and as far as I'm concerned, Sierra is always out for Sierra, but whatever happens, you leave me and my sister out of it, we're square. I'd say that's a pretty airtight offer.
["I'm not interested in going anywhere. My freedom is pretty much assured one way or the other."
He had said that the first time they met, and the same reasoning holds true now - especially if they're going to start murdering the Inner Circle. Honestly, part of him is intrigued, wanting to see if they could actually do it. In order to stand any chance of success, they do need his leverage.
But Hallewell isn't just going to give it away for free.
"This is a lovely little present, and I'm quite tempted to take it. But what's to stop you from slitting my throat when all of this is said and done? I was born yesterday, Max. If you're going to take me down with you, I need to make sure you're invested in keeping me alive as well." Meaning if Hallewell gets caught in the crossfire, there are going to be consequences.]
( That sustaining magic - that thricefold connection - it connects everyone involved. )
I didn't even hunt you down. You were an op. You won't be after this. If the heirs and I come out on top. I don't know what our lying ancestors will do. Or why. I do know you're here and not dead for a reason. But, something tells me if we're all wiped out that reason won't be a reason at all. And like this? You have what? Ten years? Tell me who will bring you a better bargain. Deal with a devil. Whatever you want to call it. You want to negotiate? Let's talk terms.
( Ever the diplomat, he folds aqain, taking what he feels like is power and bending it to whatever is needed. )
["I'm only here until the Gauntlet ends and the Inner Circle decides they want use of my leverage." Hallewell leans back and looks at him carefully. "See, here's the thing you young kids never seem to get. You want to make a deal with someone, everyone has to walk away a little uncomfortable. Mutually assured destruction is a thing for a reason."
Hallewell eyes the box again, before glancing back to him. "I will acknowledge that this box of yours is a rather large gesture. And you want to make sure my skin is in the game. All well and good. And honestly, part of me wants to give you what I have, and see what happens. But I'm not that careless. You want me to say yes? Show that you're as interested in covering my back as you seem to want me to cover yours."]
I give you indifference, it's not enough. You want me to care? Let's do this all over again. You cover my back, I cover yours. Say we're both actively - what - protecting the other party? ( He runs his palm along his lips, head tilting. ) I can throw in a witchness protection spell. Keep you literally off the board. Attached to me - mutually assured. How does that sound?
( Kids or ancients or not, when does something give. He used to be better at this, not giving the cow and milk away but he's there. When did he get there?)
He reaches forward and pushes the box back towards him, allowing him to get to work while he speaks.
"While you do that, I'm going to tell you a little story. You see, there weren't eleven members of the Inner Circle when we first began. There were twelve."]
( He reveals a small glass vial, his own blood as a contingency as he pours it over the black box, working on dual concentration. The measures he's taken to preserve Hallewell and listening to the story.
He gets an (8) at first, trying to split his attention, but he will rectify on his next "turn". )
["When I first started doing what I do, they made a show of being horrified. Most of them just thought that they would find their own ways to live forever, ones that weren't messy and included other people. But time continued to tick by, and they started to age and sag, while I still looked like I did the day I began my little experiments. They started to get jealous."
Or at least he viewed it as jealousy, though it's hard to say for sure, given he's the one telling the story. "Now, as you know, they found their own way to stay alive. But what they didn't count on, was that one of their number would say no. That he would truly be appalled by their intentions and outright refuse. In fact, he almost burned them all to the ground to try and stop him, but the thing about a man working alone and emotional is that he didn't think the entire plan through. He lost the battle, and like most things, the Inner Circle decided death wasn't good enough, and they wanted to be vindictive."]
( He's distracted completely, trying to hear the story and everything underneath the story that his efforts end completely (1). He plays it off like he stops, like he'd better listen then set Hallewell up for success. He understands the unreliable narrator. )
He's still alive.
( Makes sense. Hallewell's ace is a former member of the inner circle. Who better to take them down than someone that almost did and knows them better than the historians who died before him. He assumes like all loose ends, any real recordings are in the fire along with their true intentions.
His efforts begin anew, magic manifesting as he does both again (10), Hallewell's story mingling and winding around his magic. )
["Kind of. They cursed him. He could live a full human life if he wanted. But in order to do that and die permanently, he has to make it to old age and die of natural causes."
Hallewell gives a small shrug in return.
"Every forty years or so, they make a habit of hunting him down, prolonging his suffering by killing him and starting the cycle all over again. In the 1880s, he started getting angry. Realized that if he wants to reach the end of the proverbial rainbow, he has to take them out before they take him out. My leverage is that I know where to find him."
( His efforts prove distracting - the story engrosses him as the embers of energy fizzle and the lights flicker. So, he tables it for now, setting his jaw. )
You're sending me after a witch they kill for sport. Why hasn't he made his move?
( Or has he tried? It feels like he's being pointed in his direction like a missile, but it also feels like that something volatile awaits him. Is this a boon? Real leverage? Or is this a grenade being handed to him? )
["Well, he has to grow up each time. And he doesn't always remember everything right away. But this version - he's pretty primed. If you get to him first, you might be able to do a lot of damage before they kill him again."
He's not going to promise success - that's on the heirs to achieve, for better or worse. But Rusty? Oh, Rusty can certainly kick down a few doors.
"And you'll have to get him to trust you. You're still a Malroux, even if you're planning on bucking tradition."]
[And Hallewell will lean back and wait until he's finished. He's a patient man, and he'll wait until a bargain's fulfilled before he'll hold up his end. So he waits, his head tipping curiously to the side as he watches him work his proverbial magic.]
( It takes a little time, he's not ancient-adept (14) but the spell seals, binding him, his sister, and Hallewell. He opens his eyes, fingers running along the ring's surface before plucking it out of the box and presenting it in his palm. )
[Hallewell lets him hang there for a moment, before leaning forward and writing an address on a slip of paper. He then holds it up to him, equidistant so that Max can take it when Hallewell takes the ring.]
His name is Russell DeBrande. These days, he mostly goes by Rusty.
["These days? Hard to say. But Rusty has always been discerning when it comes to the truth. This isn't going to be about persuasion and charm so much as the facts."
And, well, Rusty is a little crazy. He might be happy to just have help.]
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everyonelives2023-03-16 09:07 pm
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( His fingers tap along the black box in hand like he's questioning his decision. He reached back into his dad's store of (now, he guesses, ancient) magic he doesn't do, but desperate times. He carved out a minute percentage of his soul in the process (everything this dark has to be bound somehow), not privy to how that will affect him and maybe that's a part of how hard he went in on his sister, but either way they're all reaching a point of no return. They all are.
He holds the box out. )
My sister drained your life force.
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"Not exactly. David Gainor broke my current bond - rather efficiently, actually - but close enough. Your sister was there."
He leans back on his couch. "Are you going to give it back?"]
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( And that's enough for him. )
No. I did give it back. Open the box. ( he leans forward. ) Don't worry, it isn't Gwyneth Paltrow's head.
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He's not going to touch it until he knows all the strings (18). And while he can feel the ties that stretch out to Max himself and someone else in the distance, it's hard to say that there isn't a sword of Damocles waiting to fall somewhere. This isn't his first day at the rodeo.
"What do you want, Max?"]
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( He leans forward. )
Help us take down the asshole possessors, we won't round you up like the Colony tried to. And. ( He sits back, straightening out the cuff on his sleeves. ) You'll be free. You'll need to make it look convincing, I already have the alibi in mind - who knows about the Gauntlet better than a witch who survived the last one. Hell, admit it. Did you throw it?
( He's grandstanding now, talking to hear himself talk, standing up in all his bravado and everything his dad taught him. All his "wasted" yes-man potential. At least he's going rogue with his sister's benefit. )
I don't care about the Gaybands and as far as I'm concerned, Sierra is always out for Sierra, but whatever happens, you leave me and my sister out of it, we're square. I'd say that's a pretty airtight offer.
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He had said that the first time they met, and the same reasoning holds true now - especially if they're going to start murdering the Inner Circle. Honestly, part of him is intrigued, wanting to see if they could actually do it. In order to stand any chance of success, they do need his leverage.
But Hallewell isn't just going to give it away for free.
"This is a lovely little present, and I'm quite tempted to take it. But what's to stop you from slitting my throat when all of this is said and done? I was born yesterday, Max. If you're going to take me down with you, I need to make sure you're invested in keeping me alive as well." Meaning if Hallewell gets caught in the crossfire, there are going to be consequences.]
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( That sustaining magic - that thricefold connection - it connects everyone involved. )
I didn't even hunt you down. You were an op. You won't be after this. If the heirs and I come out on top. I don't know what our lying ancestors will do. Or why. I do know you're here and not dead for a reason. But, something tells me if we're all wiped out that reason won't be a reason at all. And like this? You have what? Ten years? Tell me who will bring you a better bargain. Deal with a devil. Whatever you want to call it. You want to negotiate? Let's talk terms.
( Ever the diplomat, he folds aqain, taking what he feels like is power and bending it to whatever is needed. )
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Hallewell eyes the box again, before glancing back to him. "I will acknowledge that this box of yours is a rather large gesture. And you want to make sure my skin is in the game. All well and good. And honestly, part of me wants to give you what I have, and see what happens. But I'm not that careless. You want me to say yes? Show that you're as interested in covering my back as you seem to want me to cover yours."]
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( Kids or ancients or not, when does something give. He used to be better at this, not giving the cow and milk away but he's there. When did he get there? )
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He reaches forward and pushes the box back towards him, allowing him to get to work while he speaks.
"While you do that, I'm going to tell you a little story. You see, there weren't eleven members of the Inner Circle when we first began. There were twelve."]
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He gets an (8) at first, trying to split his attention, but he will rectify on his next "turn". )
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Or at least he viewed it as jealousy, though it's hard to say for sure, given he's the one telling the story. "Now, as you know, they found their own way to stay alive. But what they didn't count on, was that one of their number would say no. That he would truly be appalled by their intentions and outright refuse. In fact, he almost burned them all to the ground to try and stop him, but the thing about a man working alone and emotional is that he didn't think the entire plan through. He lost the battle, and like most things, the Inner Circle decided death wasn't good enough, and they wanted to be vindictive."]
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He's still alive.
( Makes sense. Hallewell's ace is a former member of the inner circle. Who better to take them down than someone that almost did and knows them better than the historians who died before him. He assumes like all loose ends, any real recordings are in the fire along with their true intentions.
His efforts begin anew, magic manifesting as he does both again (10), Hallewell's story mingling and winding around his magic. )
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Hallewell gives a small shrug in return.
"Every forty years or so, they make a habit of hunting him down, prolonging his suffering by killing him and starting the cycle all over again. In the 1880s, he started getting angry. Realized that if he wants to reach the end of the proverbial rainbow, he has to take them out before they take him out. My leverage is that I know where to find him."
As he said, mutually assured destruction.]
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You're sending me after a witch they kill for sport. Why hasn't he made his move?
( Or has he tried? It feels like he's being pointed in his direction like a missile, but it also feels like that something volatile awaits him. Is this a boon? Real leverage? Or is this a grenade being handed to him? )
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He's not going to promise success - that's on the heirs to achieve, for better or worse. But Rusty? Oh, Rusty can certainly kick down a few doors.
"And you'll have to get him to trust you. You're still a Malroux, even if you're planning on bucking tradition."]
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( He can be very persuasive. He waits for a second to resume his binding - (13) as he begins anew. )
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His name is Russell DeBrande. These days, he mostly goes by Rusty.
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Any pointers on earning his trust?
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And, well, Rusty is a little crazy. He might be happy to just have help.]
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( And charm. But he can't help the charm. It's imbued, literally. Charisma was baked in.
He studies him for a minute. )
We're linked now. You. Me. Jaq.
( So don't fucking try anything. )
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( He's not teaching the class on magic Hallewell invented.
He smiles, cocky. )
You wouldn't have bargained if you thought we wouldn't.
( Maybe he would've. But, it doesn't matter, bravado wins out. )
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