In the Common Room

[young_tmriddle]

"Sorry I couldn't dally," Tom says to Andrew, as they step into the common room through the front gallery painting. "Only I do have some things I must attend to in the House, and, er, I'm on my best behavior in regards to spending my time wisely. Door and I've had a bit of a rough patch lately, and I'd like for things to run smoothly

Comments

[stilljustandrew]

*Andrew takes a deep breath.*

Okay, long story short.

... Actually I'm not sure I can do that. Um. How much do you know about the Slayers?

[young_tmriddle]

"Well, I know what Faith told me. I know you have many more now than in her younger days. Is something wrong with the Slayers?"

ooc: chat seems to drag the network down. I am here at least 30 minutes, though!

[stilljustandrew]

Not so much wrong with them as ... okay. Yeah, there's a lot more of them now. Hundreds if not thousands. We're still looking for them all.

About six months ago we found out that one of the major players on the evil side is also looking for them. Not to kill, but to recruit.

[young_tmriddle]

"Ah. Yes, that- can be an effective strategy. I take it a few of them have defected?"

[stilljustandrew]

You can't even really call it defecting. They were never with the Council in the first place -- Wolfram and Hart found them first. And offered them jobs and a convincing story.

[young_tmriddle]

He nods. "Wolfram and Hart - those are the villains in this piece? Are they magic users?"

[stilljustandrew]

Yeah. They're a demonic law firm. Multinational. They've got heavy magic users, plus perfectly mundane wealth and connections, and ...

You remember a couple of years ago -- I can't remember if you were in that one, but I was recruiting here for a battle against a demon army?

[young_tmriddle]

"I recall mention of it, yes. Wait, demonic lawyers? Well, that- makes a rather lot of sense, actually."

[stilljustandrew]

The senior partners are a triad of demons. Most of the lawyers who work for them are human.

They've got foot soldiers who aren't, though. And now they've got foot soldiers who're Slayers.

And one of them infiltrated the Slayer Academy, and stole the Scythe. The weapon mystically linked to the Slayer line.

[young_tmriddle]

He understands the importance of mystical weapons. "And you need to get it back."

[stilljustandrew]

We need to get it back before they use it for something worse.

We had a mole in their camp too. She broke her cover to wreck the ritual they had set up, but she didn't manage to steal the Scythe back, she barely escaped alive. And there's a good chance they'll be able to start it over.

And we just worked out what the ritual was. If it works, they're going to be able to kill every Slayer in the world except for their own.

[young_tmriddle]

Tom takes this all in, thinking over Andrew's situation.

He's promised Door. More than once he's promised her not to put himself in harm's way for others and their worlds. After the last bad business with Wesker, Tom's not willing to rush off, himself.

But this is Andrew. This is a friend.

"I can't- I can't be part of an attack force, if that's what you need. But I will offer what aid I can."

[stilljustandrew]

We're definitely gonna need an attack force, but help behind the scenes will be important too. A defensive battle is one thing, but trying to break into one of their buildings and carry something out --

I don't know how we're gonna do it, Tom.

[young_tmriddle]

He bites his tongue. He won't offer to open wherever is needed. He can't. He will hold by his promises.

"You've access to magic; surely that will help. I mean to say, Accio would do well enough, unless it's warded. I daresay it's warded. Hmmm. Magical problems I can help with. From the brief time I've been in your world, the magical energies felt close enough to mine to allow me to work something out."

[stilljustandrew]

Which is weird, since the method's totally different.

*He grins suddenly.*

Alcina still thinks that was some kind of trick, what she saw you do.

[young_tmriddle]

"You'd be surprised; magic is a capricious thing. As you might recall from our adventure in Paravia, it can definitely be changeable. I've been some places where it wasn't altered at all, some where it was altered just enough to make a difference, and some where I was reluctant to lift my wand."

He grins back.

"It's one of my favorite tricks, I have to say. Now that I'm an Opener, I can't imagine life without being one. Look, I'm sure there's much I can do to help without jeopardizing my life and/or marriage. Tell me more about Wolfram and Hart. What kind of place might they be keeping this artifact, and what kinds of enchantments are they likely to use?"