Family Business

[hammerofhell]

Hans had sent the servants away, down the to village, so that they would no have to bear witness to what was to come.  His first impulse had, of course, been to send Ingrid as well, but he ultimately decided that she was likely safer with himself, Ali, and Samus there as protection.  Far better she be in their company, even with the possibility of

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[hammerofhell]

There were several books, one small raven statue, a black bladed dagger, a ring with a black gemstone, and a few small amulets.

Hans busies himself checking his ammunition. Even if he is not going to try and be out of the way, he would prefer that his weapons be at the ready. He hands one to Ingrid. "For your own protection. If it comes down to it."

Their father had taught her enough to protect herself, determine that his children would all be able to take care of themselves if need be.

[onemorebounty]

*Samus stalks back into the great hall from one of the adjoining corridors, dressed now in a charcoal-gray garment reminiscent of her vacsuits, a harness accentuating her hunter's physique and carrying no shortage of knives and less definable implements. Her hands are left bare, one of them wrapped around the haft of a spear she carries over her shoulder (its business end shrouded in a silk-lined sheath for the nonce), the other holding a bulky duffel. Her feet are clad in armored boots that come up to the knee, and seem perhaps to have small circular vents in their heels and the backs of the calves. Her gaze moves quickly from Hans and Ali to Ingrid, then the Clutter of Doom.*

...what did I miss?

[vicioussweetie]

Ali? Does not look like her bullet-proof suit fits so well anymore. She'll be very glad to get it off. But she can still move, which is the important part, and right now she's busy looking (and being) more worried about the pile of stuff than the way anything fits.

"It seems the family's been collecting all sorts of interesting things over the years. We're going to have to burn the books. Necronomicons are never good things, and neither is anything written by demons. Don't ask about the other one."

[hammerofhell]

Hans nods. "A few other items of interest that my sister brought to our attention as needing to be kept away from our cousin," he explains.

If Ingrid is surprised by any of these recent turns of events, she doesn't show it. "I am quite ashamed to admit that we have been collecting these things. I cannot imagine what our ancestors saw in them."

[onemorebounty]

*Samus' immediate response is to look askance of Hans.*

Why didn't you tell me about these when we got the Claw?

*At least she has a possible answer for Ingrid that doesn't involve a family history of demon-worship and eldritch booty-calls.*

If they're collected in a basement here, they aren't in someone else's hands, being used. After all, that's what we're doing with them now, isn't it?

*And, finally, a glance to Ali: is it? Shall she haul whatever they aren't burning to Sasha for safekeeping, too?*

[vicioussweetie]

Ali has very few answers for Samus. She doesn't know what the other things are. Contrary to popular belief, she doesn't know everything about magic.

She just really, really wants to burn the books. If nobody stops her, she's going to throw them in the nearest fireplace and light them up.

"We didn't know about them then, Samus. Hans never thought to ask what else the family may have collected."

[hammerofhell]

Hans will certainly not be stopping her. "I simply assumed they were unusual items of no particular importance," he explains. "Though it would seem Ingrid paid far better attention than I."

"You had your interests, and I pursued other details," she says.

[onemorebounty]

*Samus doesn't necessarily expect Ali to know what all of them are, just to have an opinion on whether or not they should be allowed into her home with her wife and children. Since Ali's stated outright their plan with the books, though, Samus is perfectly willing to help start on that. Setting down her burdens, she'll fetch some tongs from the fireplace since she's not quite certain she wants to touch the condemned tomes with her bare hands. Evil could happen. And, given that Hans has been a little foolish, she'll tease him just a little.*

Mm. Next time, I'll know to ask her.

[vicioussweetie]

"Indeed. It's good to know somebody here knows what's going on." Ali's quite happy to join in the teasing. And she approves of the fire-tongs approach to handling the books, too. Leaving Samus to it, she turns her attention to the bag o' goodies, picking out a few weapons for herself--and a nice knife for Ingrid, just in case.

Not that she intends to have Ingrid stick around. "Ingrid, I hope you won't be offended if we ask you to stay in your room? I don't doubt your ability to protect yourself, but Samus and I have never seen you fight before, and having to worry about not hitting you in the cross-fire will make our job more difficult."

[hammerofhell]

Ingrid nods as she takes the knife--and Ali gets a small smile of appreciation from Hans for insuring that his sister will be safe. "If that is what you wish," she says. "I've little desire to bear witness to carnage any way."

"You should," Hans tells Samus. "She is quite knowledgeable."

And once Ingrid has taken her leave of them, he says, "Let us make our final preparations then. I doubt we have much time."

[onemorebounty]

Yes, let's. The first of which...

*Samus has stacked the books in the fireplace, but takes time out now to reach into the duffel and pull out a folded bundle of gray fabric the same color as her and Ali's suits.*

Hans, love, you'll be wearing this. You can put something on over it, if you like, but I won't see you go into this fight without it.

*Something tells her Ali will agree, if she isn't busy lighting the books.*

[vicioussweetie]

Ali glances over to see what Hans will be wearing, then nods approvingly.

"Yes, good idea."

Then she returns her attention to lighting the books. Her attention doesn't waver from them once they start to burn--who knows what might come out?--and she's got a hand on the hilt of her sword. Just in case.

[hammerofhell]

The books, fortunately, will burn without any noticeable effects or supernatural manifestations. It would seem, in this case, simply destroying them is quite sufficient to the matter at hand.

Seeing that that is done, Hans leaves briefly to change, before returning.

"Traps to lay... and then but to wait?" he asks, making certain he is on the same planning page as everyone else.

This is done in quickly enough and unremarkable enough fashion that time is not needed to be spent watching it, but sufficed to say, should their other means of defense break down, then it will go quite badly for Anton all the same.

They do not have long to wait, before their is the sound of pounding upon the castle's front door. Hans tightens his grip on his pistol at the sound. "That must be him," he says. "It begins."

[onemorebounty]

*Samus' preparations are many, starting with the holoprojector in the great hall. She's set up its transmitter in one of the rooms off the side, so Hans can play to the camera and watch Anton on a little screen while his double echoes his every word and deed in the open.*

*She also brought a couple of autonomous sentry mounts, simple robots built to hold whatever weapon is fastened into them and fire it at anything matching given parameters within sight. Placed at strategic points in the dungeons, they'll prove a nasty surprise should Arcane get that far. She also has sensors linked to various incendiaries throughout the lower halls, waiting to stun, burn, or shatter the errant mage. And in the vault itself, a hologram of the Claw waits as the bait at the focal point of more than a dozen shaped antipersonnel mines--enough to take out Arcane and everything in the room.*

Places, loves, it's showtime.

*The last thing she does is run several lines of mollywire across the door she and Hans used to leave the great hall for the dungeons

[vicioussweetie]

Looks like it falls to Ali to answer the door. Pulling on a loose robe that hides most of her "surprises" without greatly reducing accessibility, she opens the door with an almost-pleasant smile. Heck, she'd almost pass for normal. Maybe Anton will think she's one of the servants.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

[hammerofhell]

Anton Arcane is a vile man, make no doubt about it. There are few who would in find him handsome, and some might even refer to him as being faintly spider-like. His hair is thinning, his eyes close set and cruel. But the most staggering thing about him that, while he seems quite human, there is the strangest feeling of something not quite right about him, some undefinable quality of evil that would make all around him uncomfortable.

He leans slightly on a walking stick, perhaps a sign that he has never quite recovered from his various injuries. He sneers slightly at Ali. Not having been invited, he is unaware of his cousin's marriage.

His gaze is a lecherous one. "I am Anton Arcane. Here to see my cousin, the Baron."