@bishop-percival

(Previous) Mike nodded. “Heh, yeah, it’s apparently pretty common for some of the more powerful demons to haphazardly slap their physical forms together when they’re not in much of a mood to be summoned to a physical realm.” Mike then remembered another point of discussion he wanted to mention before getting too off topic. “Oh, and speaking of ritual preparation…” He looked at Teddy. “Bishop Percival is gonna start hounding you for his mitre now that you’ve been discharged from the medbay. Because he really wants it before this ritual.” He leaned back and folded his arms, disgruntled. “And if he’s as aggressively obnoxious as he was to me about my Eye of Merotamia, then, be warned…”

Teddy narrowed his eye as he warily met Mike's eye. “Was? You didn't hand it over, did you?”

(Previous)

@candbrp

Shamura flinches as the older woman slams the table, ones above, they suppose they were even more glad they had pulled all that off, they didn’t want Priestess Miriam to have been poisoned!!! They perk as Gloria starts to pull Miriam away, but at the invitation to join they get up, they could definitely stomach, and they might be helpful, they helped the Prior quite often in the monastery infirmary. They look over to Bishop Percival and Mike, feeling like they maybe needed permission to abandon the table.

@bishop-percival

The priestess sighed and rolled her eye. “That twerp. It is Lola we’re talking about here. If she can repeatedly survive weeks in the labyrinth dimension, surely she can survive poisoning and a visit from Cane.” “Ahem,” Autumn interrupted as they turned and leaned over the back of their chair. “Gee Miriam, I wonder where Lola even got such a thing. I wonder if your little quest for her to scour the tunnels for a forbidden mushroom of legend led her to it.” Miriam widened her eye at this realization of complicity and briefly gave an ashamed glance at Gloria before scowling back at Autumn. “I-I didn’t think she’d actually find something…” Percival felt some eyes on him and looked up from his second bowl of soup. “...I dunno what’s going on any more. I don’t really care.” He went back to eating. Mike didn’t care about that whole situation either. He’d become much too accustomed to disastrous Glornist dinners. Something like this happened nearly every week. Besides, he was busy watching Percival like a specimen, interested in how eating this much food in one sitting might affect him with regards to his demonic transformation. Miriam gripped her fists and continued toward the door and grumbled. “I’ll treat her.”

Gloria was about to make a snarky remark about what "Cane" would do when Autumn spoke up. Her rage simmered as she waited for a chance to speak, and when Miriam met her eye she was met with a rare glare directed at her.

"Thank you for informing me~" Gloria said to Autumn with a sickly sweet tone and smile to match. "I assure you that your pal will be in tip-top shape soon!"

Both were dropped the instant she turned back towards the exit as "Tsk tsk... I expected better from you Miriam." Then she let out a breathy sigh and rolled her eye.

"Buuut I suppose that's what I get for thinking that any of my babies would be safe here, isn't it? You must help me transplant it later." The edge in her voice made it clear that it was a demand instead of a friendly request. And transporting a mycelium network was no simple task...

After they had been walking for a little while Gloria spotted a fuschia puddle glowing in the distance. "Follow the trail of which she spewed and you'll find her at the end."

Then she started heading down a different hallway as she flatly said, "Come knock on my door once you do. Our chances will improve if I starting brewing the antidote rather than slowing you down."

@bishop-percival

(Previous) Urgh…” is what came out of Percy as he was pushed and wiggled by Peepers and Hater. Mike cracked a small smile. Watching him get treated like a doll was kind of hard… Yet very, extremely, unbelievably cathartic. Lola squirmed and slapped at Autumn to be released. “Fine! Get your ass sent to the labyrinth dimension, bitch!” Autumn said as she let go, and stormed away. Lola took in a deep breath before unleashing all of her knowledge. “BISHOP PERCIVAL CAN’T SING! He sounds like shit! His last name is Smith! What an underwhelming last name! No wonder why he doesn’t use it! Percival is way cooler! He’s allergic to cats and dogs! He’s a scorpio! His ma was a baker and his father a cobbler! He thinks lemonade is too sour! He HATES long walks on the beach! He…” If given the chance, she’d go on for a while like this. Percy frowned. He was relieved Blabber wasn’t revealing anything too damning, but he was still going to send her to the labyrinth dimension for dissing his singing.

Hater uproariously laughed at Lola's valuable intel. "BWHAHAHA! HIS DAD'S A COBBLER!? What, did his mom bake him too!? AND HE'S BISHOP SMITH!?"

He paused to wipe a tear from his eyes. "WHAT KIND OF WIMP CAN'T STAND LEMONADE ANYWAYS!?"

Peepers, however, wasn't nearly as impressed. He groaned as he wrote [email protected] down in his notepad, then tore the page out and handed to Lola.

"Shoot me a message when you've got something good, will ya?" Peepers scanned the crowd of Glornists before settling on his inside man. (Well, Doctor Walters never admitted that... But what better time to prove that he didn't actually believe in that nonsense?)

Hater smiled as he said, "Oh! I wanna hear!" Then he held Percy up and smirked. "Sing for us wizard nerd! Oh and blabber! Keep it coming!"

"I'll just take your straggler..," Peepers muttered he walked up to Teddy, grabbed him by the forearm, and pressed his blaster against his head. "Spill it or else!"

Teddy remained impassive as ever as he said, "Sir, I'm not the one who's seen him in combat."

"Oh so you're gonna act like a stupid smartass, eh?" Peepers stormed off while maintaining a vice grip. "Let's see how long that'll last!"

Teddy nervously looked at Bishop Percival and mouthed, "Better me than someone more knowledgeable..," before turning around and matching his commander's pace.

(Next)

@stuckinuniformdevelopment

[Revenard Mike received a text from Teddy Slornsday eve.]

Would you be able to meet with Bert in the observatory after service?

PS: PLEASE try to be nice. Don't mention how you blackmailed me either. It was hard to convince him that you were trustworthy.

!? Did you already tell him about my secret observatory? Ugh. Whatever. There're other things to be mad about. Sure, we'll meet there after service.

@stuckinuniformdevelopment

(prev) Great. It was good to know that there wasn’t a second magical watchdog that he used in a ritual or whatever… yet that explained her fierce loyalty. Would she believe even her brother if he tried to explain the truth? Teddy let out a long sigh. “Vaguely. This is Revenard Miriam McGregor, Revenard Mike’s sister and the most powerful natural magic-wielding watchdog I know of.”

Sherri Jr again seemed to perk up when Teddy said Miriam’s name. 

Bert leaned back and sighed as he continued looking at the sketch. “Yeah, it must be her. The priest’s sister, huh? Figures Percy got his grimy hands on her again. I’m surprised he hasn’t… I don’t know. Sacrificed her to get her powers or something.”

@bishop-percival

(Previous) Fidgeting with his hands, Mike hesitated before answering. “...Fire magic, mediumship, heightened witchcraft capabilities and expertise, supernatural strength… At least I think so… Not sure how else she could’ve gotten that strong.”

Teddy nodded. "Does she have any spells that can be activated over a long distance?"

@bishop-percival

(Previous) [text] Lol. [text] We never tried to see what would happen if you damage one. That’s why you can try it!

[text] Thank you.

The next question came a few hours later.

[text] Are there any safety precautions I should take besides the standard? And do you have any protection amulets I can borrow for a few minutes?

@bishop-percival

(Previous) Now that Sherri Jr was off of Teddy, she decided to explore this unfamiliar room. Mike amusedly watched as she waddled around sniffing surfaces and inspecting objects with her antennae. Bert meanwhile nodded at Teddy and said “Okay… I’m sure we can find something.” Now that Bert was on his laptop, he was able to pull up the plan document there instead of looking at his phone. After a bit he hummed and looked like he was hesitating on asking something. But finally he spoke up with “Have you guys considered the possibility taking away Percy’s magic capabilities?… Somehow?”

Teddy kept his eye on Sherri as he used his feet to slowly rock himself back and forth. After a long pause he let out a sigh and nodded.

“If memory serves,” And he wasn't entirely sure if it did. “...that was one of the first things I asked Mike.”

Well, about the assassination plot anyways. Or perhaps it was a preliminary question to see if Mike would be forced to share his goal...

Once he was done speaking he looked up at the man himself, proudly perched on the ladder. “Any news on that front?”

@candbrp

(Previous) Finoon chuckles at that and grins. “Then I’ll have to thank this Reverend Mike when he comes to visit us.”

Teddy smirked. "You'll take that back once you get to know him."

@bishop-percival

(Previous) Oh,” Percival nodded, “aboard, not abroad, I see.” He still didn’t think the difference would amount to much. And luckily for Theodore, Percy did not bother to make out what he said as he descended the pulpit stairs. Otherwise he would’ve kicked him down them for being sassy. So the bishop returned to his spot in front of the lectern and excitedly tapped his fingers along the Glorble. “Okie dokie! If everyone is done interrupting me, let’s continue~.” And the rest Slornday morning’s mass ran its course. As per usual, Percival slipped out the moment he uttered the dismissal “amen.” The congregation was pretty lively with speculative chatter about the morning’s confessions as they slowly trickled out. But of course, some of the newer faces who were attending were sure to swarm Mike with questions all about it. It seemed he wouldn’t be getting over to Teddy any time soon… But then, a minute or two later, Bishop Percival reappeared. He approached Mike to whisper something to him, which he in turn firmly excused himself from the inquisitive crowd. The two left through the Glornch hallway door. It seemed Mike wouldn’t be getting over to Teddy at all today. Sam, seeing now that the crowd was thinning out and Theodore was still seated in the pew, decided to make their move. They sauntered over and plopped down right next to him with a thud. “Well if it isn’t my apparent partner in crime,” she said with a sly smile.

Teddy didn't even notice that Mike had left until Sam threw herself down like a sack of potatoes. After a long pause he stood up and stared them down as he flatly said,

“If it isn't my beloved friend. Shall we discuss this in private?”

May as well get it over with.

@bishop-percival

(Previous) Teddy passed him, so Mike followed behind him to the vent. He shrugged. “All I’ve read is that other blood magic wielders are able to resist their own spells. But I’ll look into it more. Surely there’s another way… A powerful resistance spell or potion or something…”

"Hopefully... but how would we use the spell or brew the potion..?"

If only one of them was capable of magic... At this point making a deal with a demon for power seemed worth the risk.

[[Thank you Revenard Mike for your restraint. If only Teddy appreciated how hard it was instead of judging you for grumbling about it.]]

@bishop-percival

(Previous) [text] I wouldn’t rule out explosions, so take any safety precautions related to that. Getting infected with a curse is also highly likely, so you can borrow an amulet for that. Another thing that might happen is you might release some sort of evil spirit, beast, or ghoul. So watch out. I’ll give you some enchanted salt that might help.

[text] I appreciate it. In exchange you'll be the first person to see my results.

[text] Potentially only. Not sure how I'd publish that report even if I had time.

@bishop-percival

(Previous) Mike nodded. “A few. I suppose I can lend one to you.”

"Thank you. I'll transfer my supplies to it during my lunch break."

As Teddy spoke he had gotten out his usual notebook for Glornist notes and flipped to a blank page. "What others powers does Revenard Miriam have?"

Ideally Teddy would have written it down with the rest of his notes on her capabilities... But he had the good sense to not use the murder notebook for her in front of her brother.

[[If this wasn't about Percy their positions would be swapped.]]

@bishop-percival

@albertbutyoucancallmebert

(Previous) Bert put a hand to his chin and thought back. “I… think so, yes. He had you spy, and you found Percy develops magic capabilities by asking demons for power.” He sheepishly rubbed his head. “...Didn’t you give me a notebook about it? I think you did. What did I do with it…”

Teddy averted his eye and stayed silent for awhile. Should he insist that he chose to spy on the ritual? He had promised to tell Bert everything but... If he told him that Reverend Mike blackmailed him then he'd blow any chances of them working together. It wasn't relevant anymore anyways, was it?

Besides, it didn't really count, did it? Since if Mike didn't give him a great (technically coerced) opportunity he could have just killed him.

Eventually Teddy said, "I'll send you the digital copy along with everything else." Then his shoulders sunk and he rubbed his head.

"Did I mention that I fled? Because... erm... Once it sensed me the demon wanted me as an extra sacrifice. But that didn't happen so..." He glanced over at Bert to give his reaction before clenching his eye shut.

"He sacrificed two deacons without a thought. And that..," Teddy paused to move his popcorn out of the way and patted his lap to invite Sherri Jr.

"...was when Revenard Mike realized that he'd destroy the Glornch for the power he craved..." Then he looked to Bert and awkwardly chuckled.

"No shit, right? But he seemed to believed that he genuinely cared about them."