The Abyss Stares Back - 13

“Lindon, Tollstock and now Dreinoff?” said Inspector Eldon as he tried to wrap his mind around the situation. “How could something like this have spread so far without anyone noticing?”

Sloan emerged from the bathroom of her rented room with towels for everyone to dry off after the rain. “Because you weren’t trained to notice things like this,” she said as she sat down and poured a bourbon in a glass for herself.

Hitch handed her an empty glass and smiled. Sloan rolled her eyes and poured him a glass as well. “Much obliged,” he smirked before taking a sip.

“But that doesn’t explain how no one, and I mean no one, noticed anything wrong was happening right under our noses!”

It was clear that the inspectors professional pride had been somewhat wounded by these revelations. Sloan understood the feeling well.

“The Veil of Modernity.” Said Ophelia.

“What’s that? Is that some art thing?” asked Hitch.

“It’s more of a state of mind or communal consciousness.” Added Sloan.

“You’ve lost me.”

Sloan leaned forward, looking over the map of the city she had splayed out over the floor. “The world is very old and full of terrors. There was a time when these old-world terrors were far more prevalent but times have changed. Intentionally so. The maps are being filled out and the mysteries of the cosmos are being recorded and studied. We as people have built vast cities, a network of civilizations and with it we’ve successfully driven the old world back into the shadows.

“The Veil of Modernity, as one scholar ones stated, is the only way the world can function and thrive. In order for societies to flourish they cannot live in constant fear of the darkness of the old world. So, in past centuries, governments have taken concentrated steps to stamp out all such threats. And they have been quite successful at it. To the point where once it was pivotal for folk to understand the signs of demonic corruption, now there is little reason for such knowledge to be passed on.”

There was silence in the room as Eldon and Ophelia nodded in contemplation.

“What counts as old world terrors?" asked Hitch. “Cause I have an associate who is an orc, in some communities he is considered a monster. Are orcs old world terrors?”

Ophelia and Sloan exchanged looks.

“Nnnnnno. Orcs are just people.” Said Sloan.

“It’s more like demons, undead, arcane aberrations and the like.”

“Things we blackguards kill. We don’t kill orcs.” Added Sloan.

“Alright, alright!” Exclaimed Hitch throwing up his hands. “I’m just asking! No harm in asking!”

“You said that some demonic godling was behind this.” Inspector Eldon interjected.

Sloan met his gaze and nodded. “The signs we discovered in Lindon correlated with her influences.”

“Who’s?” Hitch asked.

“Layanna. Demonic Lord of Plots and Deceptions. Or so they say.”

Sloan reached opened her suitcase and picked out a folder from a tied stack, along with a pack of cigarettes. She then handed Eldon the folder and lit up a cigarette with a meager flame conjured from her fingertips.

As Eldon viewed the files contained in the folder, with Hitch looking over his shoulder, Sloan sat back and continued her explanation.

“Layanna is a schemer. Many of the demonic godlings have aspirations and goals, but Layanna is sneaky in how she approaches hers. And she never does anything small. So if there was even the slightest possibility that the infestation in Lindon was her doing, I feared that it was not the only piece of the puzzle. Surely there was something bigger going on than just that. I told you as much when your partner Tiege tried to arrest me.”

“To be fair, I’m still not entirely convinced that you didn’t go overboard in Lindon,” said Eldon as his eyes scanned the documents of ancient scripture and sigils related to the godling in question.

“That makes two of us,” added Ophelia.

“It’s true, she is very violent,” said Hitch with a grin.

They all looked at him with puzzling expressions before looking at Sloan.

“What did you do now?” asked Eldon.

“Nothing, I swear.”

The half giant’s eyes scoured the blackguards gaze for hidden truths. It was clear he deeply suspected her of further violations of the law and Sloan was beginning to feel the proverbial noose tightening around her neck.

“In any case, she was right,” said Ophelia in an attempt to break the tension and bring the topic back on track. “With the charm you found in Tollstock and the one I found in Dreinoff, it is very clear there is a bigger plot afoot here.”

Eldon shook his head and continued reading the files. “So what is afoot?”

Sloan took a deep, long drag of her cigarette before blowing bluish, gray smoke into the air. “Demons are creatures deeply rooted in religious significance and symmetry.”

“Fuck does that mean?” asked Hitch.

“It means they do things that make sense to them. Kirkholm is a city with five districts. A primary sigil of power in demonic iconography is the pentagram. A five pointed star. If each point is represented by a charm then…”

“Then that means there are at least two charms left out there,” Eldon finished.

Sloan nodded. “Exactly.”

“But why?” asked Hitch. “For what purpose?”

“The charms, on their own, degrade and unravel dimensional boundaries, puncturing holes through the veil into Pentaghast.” Said Ophelia.

“Could you repeat that in normal speak?” Hitch grinned.

Ophelia rolled her eyes at him. “It means that each charm creates a portal to the demon world.”

“That wasn’t so hard now was it?” Hitch shrugged.

“But what’s the point of making five separated portals? Just to maximize their efforts? Redundancy?” asked Eldon.

“No.” Said Sloan as she leaned forward. “It all connects. Just like how each point of a pentagram connects to the others and all five are contained in a rune inscribed circle…I believe Layanna is trying to plunge the entire city into Pentaghast.”

The silence was deafening.

“C—could they do that?” asked Hitch.

“Yeah, no offense, but that sounds insane.” Added Eldon.

“Welcome to my world.” Sloan smirked.

“The arcana of it is sound. I believe she’s correct.” Said Ophelia.

“But…but we’ve destroyed three of the charms, right?” said Eldon. “Doesn’t that mean their plan has failed?”

“Slowed down, for now. And each of these charms can still tear a hole into Pentaghast and each opening would be catastrophic. Thousands of lives would be lost.” Said Sloan, exhaling smoke as she did.

Eldon’s eyes grew wide as the weight of the situation settled on him.

“I should report this in.” Muttered Eldon. “We need backup for this.”

“How long will that take?” asked Ophelia.

Eldon grew quiet for a moment. “After going through the proper channels and signing the required paperwork…”

Both Hitch and Sloan barked with laughter.

“…I could have a platoon of fifty watchers to aid us in a week.”

“We don’t have a week.” Said Ophelia.

“Whoever is killing the people of Kirkholm and using their parts to create these charms is just going to make more and make them harder to find.” Added Sloan. “We have to strike tonight.”

“Tonight?” Hitch seemed surprised.

“Who do you think it is?” asked Eldon.

Sloan shrugged. “Someone with intimate knowledge of demonology or someone who is most likely under the influence.”

“Does alcohol help with that sort of stuff?” asked Hitch.

It was now Sloan’s turn to roll her eyes. “The demonic influence.”

Hitch crossed his arms and pouted. “How was I supposed to know? That’s not how people typically use that phrase.”

“So we have to find the two remaining charms in Anshoff and Brumsfield and also find whoever is making them?” asked Eldon.

Sloan puffed her cigarette and nodded.

“And how will we even begin to find something so small in a city this big?” Eldon continued.

“Oh!” Hitch exclaimed and pointed at Sloan. “She has a thing that can help with that!”

The blackguard couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. “Now that I know what we’re looking for I can preform a rite that can point us in the right direction once we’re close.”

“And I can cast a spell that allows me to detect nearby magical effects like dimensional disruptions.” Said Ophelia.

“Right.” Eldon rubbed his chin in contemplation. “So we can split into groups of two at least.”

“But where do we start?” asked Hitch. “Having fancy magic is great and all but each district is still pretty big and I’m sure these cool tricks have a limited reach.”

Eldon looked at the large man with a curious expression.

“Why are you helping us in this endeavor, Mr Hitch? You’re a known criminal. A plague on this city.”

“Inspector! You wound me! I’m just a concern citizen who loves this city and would hate to see it fall into ruin! This is my home too and I love its people.”

“So you’re doing this for the greater good?” Eldon asked with suspicion.

“I do everything for the greater good.” Hitch smiled his yellow stained teeth and the inspector.

“U-huh.” Muttered Eldon.

“Watchers never understand.”

“So where do we start?” asked Eldon, turning away from the criminal.

Sloan looked at Ophelia.

The arcanist sighed. “Well, given that the charm in Tollstock was hidden under a municipal utility building and the one in Dreinoff was between bridge infrastructures and the one in Lindon was hidden within an occupied apartment building…honestly they could be hidden anywhere.”

“What bridge?” asked Hitch.

“Why does that matter?” asked Sloan.

“You all talk about connections and scripture and whatever, but earthly connections are just as important.” Said Hitch. “So, I ask again; what bridge?”

Eldon and Sloan looked at Ophelia who pondered it for a moment.

“Thowie Bridge.”

“And you found the charm in a closed off section behind some fences, yes? Do you remember any signs or names on the fences?”

“I don’t rightly know. I believe they had a logo of a wrench and hammer.”

Hitch slapped his thigh and threw his hands up in the air. “Revelations!”

“What are you on about?” asked Sloan.

“Connections. Everything is always connected!” said Hitch.

“Do you want to share the information with the rest of us?” asked Eldon.

“Addleworth Limited! The contractor who operated the municipal building also maintains many pipe junctions throughout the city, including the one under Thowie Bridge. Those pipes all lead to the city’s sewage treatment plant but the pipes themselves are maintained by Addleworth Limited.”

“How do you know this?” asked Eldon who’s steely expression betrayed a genuine sense of being impressed.

“Oh we’ve had dealings with them before.”

“You and the Tillbones?”

“I’m afraid that’s all I can say,” smirked Hitch.

“Alright, that might narrow the search down a little but we still have no idea how that fits with everything else.” Said Sloan.

“I believe I understand it.” Sloan looked at Ophelia who seemed deep in though, the expression of someone piecing together a puzzle. “I think I understand how it all fits together. Addleworth Limited has a depot in Anshoff and head offices located in Brumsfield. It all makes sense.”

Sloan peered her eyes suspiciously. “It doesn’t explain why one charm was hidden away in a random apartment building in Lindon.”

“I didn’t piece it together until now.” Ophelia continued. “Ailene Butler’s mother worked at the head offices in Brumsfield. That must be where she came across the demonic influence for the first time or…maybe it was in the depot. Because if something intensely demonic was happening in the head offices then others would have been affected as well and we would have all noticed that sooner…surely.”

Sloan slowly nodded her head. “That’s sound logic. So the depot is the originator of it?”

“That’s my assumption, yes,” said Ophelia with a look of determination in her eyes.

“Then we split up,” said Sloan as she stood up and put out her cigarette with her boot. “We’ll cover more ground that way and deal with the rest of them faster. Just, if you encounter the source, the individual under the influence, don’t try to fight them alone. You won’t survive.”

“I’ll go with you to the depot. I’m not leaving you out of my sight,” said Eldon. “I still don’t entirely trust you.”

Sloan smiled and nodded. “As you wish, inspector. But first we have to make a brief stop.”

---

Wulfgang Petersen lay unconscious in his hospital bed. Half of his face and most of his torso was bandaged and his complexion was pale, paler even than Sloan’s. His dirty blond hair was messy and his closed eyelids were bruised. It hurt to see him like this.

“Hey,” said Sloan, knowing that the man wouldn’t be able to hear her. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to drag you out of bed. You’ve earned your rest.”

Sloan grew quiet before softly placing her hand on Wulf’s shoulder. “I just wanted to see how you were doing and to tell you to rest easy. You helped put me on the trail and once I’m done your city will be safe…at least from demonic threats. And you helped get me there. And you helped get me out of that lair alive. I probably would have died if it wasn’t for you.”

Wulf remained quietly serene in his unconsciousness.

“Anyway, I’ll hopefully see you when this is all over.”

Sloan heard the door to the room creaking. She turned, expecting to see Inspector Eldon hurrying her up, but was surprised to find a young woman there instead.

“Who are you?” she asked, brushing her long brown hair behind her ear. Her eyes were intense with suspicion.

“Uh, Sloan, ma’am. I was…uh…” but her words faltered.

“You’re the one who put him there.”

“No I…”

“You dragged him into that gods forsaken building, didn’t you? You’re the blackguard that everyone is talking about, yeah?”

Sloan opened her mouth to answer, to defend herself, but her words failed her. This wasn’t the first time she had found herself in this situation and she had often fantasized about saying the right thing in these moments. About speaking her mind and showing these people, these mundane adversaries, the truth of the matter. But in this moment she knew it didn’t matter. This woman hated her and there would be nothing that could dissuade her. Because she was correct. Though it was not Sloan’s intent, Wulf was in this hospital bed because of her.

The blackguard sighed. “I just wanted to see how he was doing.”

“He’s alive. Is that enough?”

Sloan picked up her coat to leave. “I’m sorry. I won’t bother you anymore.”

“Good.” Said the woman as she rushed past Sloan to sit beside Wulf, gently cradling his hand in hers.

Mincing no words, Sloan simply walked out into the hallway where Inspector Eldon awaited her.

“I imagine that happens a lot to you.” He said, not unsympathetically.

“I’ve had my fair share of these encounters, yes.”

“Do you ever wonder if you might be working in the wrong field, if this is how others treat you?”

Sloan put another cigarette in her mouth before looking at the inspector.

“But the world needs evil devils like myself. Who else do you think does all the dirty work for you civilized folk?”

And the blackguard then pressed on, followed by the inspector, back out into the cold night of Kirkholm and the dark deed that awaited them.