Episode 3: Prologue

--- Booker H. Freeman ---

“I do apologize my good sir but do care to repeat that?” He snarled as he grasped the little imp by the throat and slammed him into the wall.

The terrified little red man stuttered and wheezed, unable to repeat what he’d just told Booker.

(Envy: Killing the messenger is in poor taste.)

(Gluttony: Debatable.)

(Sloth: Less so when it means putting the work in to find someone willing to talk to us.)

(Greed: No. No. No. No! This little blighter just told us he lost all of our contracts. All of our deals. AlL oF OuR mOnEY!!!)

(Wrath: Of which he had no realistic control.)

(Envy: Given what we know it was likely caused by whatever shattered our mind. Scars that reach soul deep if you will.)

(Pride: Which just makes me all the more curious of what could’ve done this to us.)

(Lust: Does it really matter if we’ve lost everything?)

(Greed: Yes?!)

(Lust: But this is our chance to start over! To reinvent ourselves into something even greater than what we were!)

(Pride: Ooh, I like the sound of that.)

(Sloth: It sounds like a lot of work…)

(Envy: We’ll just end up being the monster we always were.)

(Gluttony: The monster we are you mean?)

(Lust: Eh, fake it until you make it… Also I don’t think Hemingway can breathe right now.)

He shook his head clear, before lightly pressing up on the Consortium Manager’s chin and releasing him.

With the voices in his head silent for the moment he took a deep breath before letting it out and turning to Hemingway, feet three feet from the ground and his body held up by the horns currently stuck into the wall.

“You know what? I think I’ll accept this challenge amicably.” He decided as he straightened out his crimson suit.

One of Hemingway’s eyes opened through the pain the imp was clearly in. “R-really sir?”

“Yes. Why this isn’t a setback, this is simply an opportunity to build myself back up to compare myself to the me of yesteryear and see just how long it takes me to become a self-made man once more!” He grinned, quite enjoying that idea.

(Greed: We’re really letting him off this easy?!)

(Oh, no! Of course not!) He chuckled to himself. “And the first opportunity will of course be with those lovely contracts you found me the other day… Though I will admit I’m not quite feeling up to collecting them after so much emotional turmoil today. You understand?”

Hemingway swallowed before nodding, or at least trying to. “O-of course sir. We’ll… we’ll keep the Contracts reserved and in stasis for… for as long as you desire… all expenses paid. Sir…”

(Greed: That’s no different than what we were already getting! I want more!)

He tapped a claw to his many fangs before asking, “And should any other contracts come up that I may be interested in?”

The Consortium Manger’s face twisted around a smile that was clearly forced. “We’ll… we’ll reserve those as well… sir…”

“Jolly good show old boy.” Booker smiled, before giving the little man a head pat that did nothing to dislodge him from his place on the wall.

(Greed: Well it’s something at least…)

With his business here done for the time being he made his way out of the consortium hall and towards where young Lydia had chosen to attend to her own bit of business of selling off the various goods they’d raided from the Smiling Man’s abode.

The shopping district that they’d been to the day prior was just as busy as before, a number of shops showing off their wares. Guards hired from the locals gangs keeping everyone -themselves included- from stealing in exchange for their security payments.

He briefly considered tracking down his companion, hoping that with his assistance at least one of them would be able to earn a profit this day.

(Sloth: Don’t. The point of minions is for them to give us less work not more.)

(Greed: She needs to prove she’s worth our continued investment.)

With little else to do he pulled out the Bone Charm he’d purchased during his little shopping trip, and began working his magic through the circular foci.

(Gluttony: The guards are watching us.)

(Sloth: Remember, as long as we don’t start anything they won’t either.)

Dismissing the security as a non-threat, he turned his attention back to the charm, testing it. Seeing how much he could actually do with it, as his magic flowed through the black markings.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

(Envy: You can feel it in your bones can’t you? The way calls on our magic to fill a void within it. All while flavoring it death and darkness, a curse upon those who we touch with it. A hex to make them pay for every sin they’ve committed as vengeance is paid, blood for blood and eye for eye.)

He couldn’t help but grin at that imagery, bits of black electricity dancing along the charm and his hand.

(Gluttony: Heads up. The girl approaches.)

Withdrawing his magic he turned his attention towards Lydia walking up to him with a curious eye. “What’s that?”

“A simple magic foci.” He answered, because while he could feel its power he got the distinct impression that…

(Envy: Magic is capable of so much more…)

(Sloth: Still she doesn’t know that, and just what we have is enough to keep her following us.)

He shook his head. “I believe it’ll make a good training tool for a newcomer such as yourself. I simply need to… familiarize myself with one of these. It’s been quite a while since I’ve used one of these after all.”

“So you’re going to teach me magic?” Lydia asked, a certain hunger to her eyes that made him smile.

“Of course my dear, I just need to figure out how best to teach you with the resources on hand.” He explained, buying himself time to learn whatever he was going to teach her. (All I really know is what I learned from mama but…)

He loved his mother -what could remember of her at least- but something told him that the magick she taught him…

(Envy: It was the work of a hedge mage trying her best.)

(Greed: She gave us the best she could.)

(Pride: Which why we’ll do her proud as our teacher.)

(Quite right!)

He gave Lydia a smile. “I’ll have you slinging spells in no time at all.”

“I can’t wait.” Lydia (beautifully) smiled back.

“For now though we should focus on getting you more acclimated to the world outside of Ira Invidia as we discussed last night.” He reminded his companion, before setting off a vague destination in mind.

“Right.” Lydia nodded as she moved to follow, trusting he knew where he was going. (The foolish girl.) “I still don’t have much of an opinion on any of that since I don’t know how things work out here, but I’m up for seeing more of the world now that we’re out of Ira Invidia.”

“As am I!” He agreed with a nod of his own.

“Yeah, so uh, if we’re going to check out those rumors Leslie told us, how are we reaching them?” His companion inquired with a wry grin. “I mean, I know they’re supposed to just be a district over but… given how far I’ve walked in Ira Invidia while getting nowhere…”

“An understandable question.” He admitted, as he considered the matter.

(Pride: Based on previous experiments, and evidence I’ve been compiling in the background. So long as we have a vague destination in mind it does in fact only take an hour or so to reach said destination regardless of what path we take.)

(Envy: Meaning somehow everything is under some kind of spatial manipulation… And we don’t have the memories to piece together anything else about it.)

(Interesting… Then by this merit it should be as simple as thinking about a rumor for us to reach it.) He figured.

(Pride: That is likely too vague a parameter to properly test.)

(Envy: Especially when dealing with unknown magic.)

(Really so simply wandering about and thinking ‘somewhere interesting’ won’t do anything?)

(Sloth: Nothing is ever that easy.)

(Shame.) He noted Lydia watching him curiously. “I wouldn’t worry too much. You’d be surprised how far you can get in an hour just so long as you’ve a destination in mind.” (Or no destination at all.)

His young companion slumped. “So we’re walking…”

“Come now, my dear…” He tsked at that attitude. “Exercise invigorates the body as well as the mind!”

“I’d still prefer to just take a taxi or something.” Lydia confessed, her eyes on the street where cars could occasionally be seen driving by.

He noticed something on the other side of the street. “Hmm, well while it’s not exactly a ‘taxi’” (whatever that is) “there does seem to be a bus on the other side of the street.”

“So we just go wherever their line connects?” Lydia (hideously) frowned.

“Ooh, a mystery!” He laughed, happily leaving her frown behind and making his way to the latest curiosity.

(Pride: As we should!)

Coming closer to the bus he read a bullet-pocked advertisement on the side, (Infernal Guides, One Hell Of A Tour.)

“Oh… it’s a tour bus…” Lydia grimaced, reading the same thing.

“Perhaps they can give us a tour of the area? Find us something interesting. After all, that is our goal is it not?” He smiled, amused by the discomfort she was showing her own idea.

“Yeah, but tour guides are scams.” Lydia pointed out, before gesturing around them. “Especially in a place like this.”

“Hey, hey, hey! We are not a scam!” A voice cried from above, drawing their attention to a short red skinned man leaning over the roof of the bus with a cap between his horns. “Why, we are the best guides in all of Infernus! We know this city better than the Morningstar himself!”

“Then why is your bus empty?” Lydia scoffed.

“Well… it’s our… union mandated lunch break!” The red man explained.

(Greed: Yeah, he’s lying. This is a business and it’s clearly floundering.)

“And when praytell will your break end?” He asked, more amused by this situation than anything.

The man blinked. “Uh, why are you asking?”

(Pride: Don’t admit our ignorance. Make it seem like we’re doing this for our young apprentice.)

“Well, you see my associate here is new to the area as it were and I felt giving her a lay of the land could only prove beneficial. Especially since she’s apparently grown tired of walking everywhere.” He underlined, giving the teenager a look. “Unless that’s changed?”

Lydia gave him a dry look back.

“Oh shit your actual customers!” The red man blinked with wide yellow eyes before hopping off the bus and landing in front of them. “Well you are in luck today! Our bus is running a special today and today only! Where we will offer a tour of wherever the fuck you want to go!”

“That is lucky!” He grinned.

(Sloth: Oh, he is desperate for business.)

(Greed: We can make this work for us.)

“Well, unluckily we don’t actually know where we want to go. Oh, we’ve a few rumors here and there that might be interesting to chase down but we’ve been having trouble finding anything appropriately… interesting.” He explained.

“Interesting you say?” The tour guide rubbed his chin with a growing grin. “Now when you say interesting do you mean ‘interesting’ or ‘interesting’?”

He couldn’t help but grin back. “I’m thinking something interesting.”