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Trading places “The document that the Boss had you read,” said War. “Mercy dropped it and he picked it up, suspected it was trapped, and had you read it.” “And it was trapped,” said Famine. “But not a particularly interesting or subtle trap. Even if the Boss had triggered it I don’t think it would have taken him long to break it. It was little more than an infinite loop.” “So what would be gained by having him fall into the trap then?” “Nothing? You might inconvenience him for half an hour.” Pestilence leaned forward, and the shadowy barbed wire around them curled around itself like a cat trying to get comfortable. Hilda, still sitting on War’s lap, eyed it hotly. “So who benefits from the Boss not being able to pay attention for a half-hour?” he asked. “We’ve said that this doesn’t look like Mercy’s doing, so let’s assume she’s either working with someone or for someone. Then why might she try and distract Death for a short period of time?” “Rumour has it that nothing escapes his gaze,” said War. “That’s not exactly true, he and I got drunk one time in Lima and he said that everything that happens is available for him to watch, but it’s like being sat in front of a vast bank of CCTV monitors. You have to know where to look to find the interesting stuff. You couldn’t stop him seeing what you’re doing once he knows what he’s looking for.” “But you could stop him looking for that half-hour,” said Famine. “You’d have half an hour in which to act, and if you thought you could resurrect the Infanta in that time, and then make her instruct him to look away…..” War gestured at the shadows around them. The barbed wire seemed to have things hanging from it now, as though something had tried to get over and been caught. “That might explain why there’s no living Infanta down there at the moment. They’re still waiting for the perfect time?” “Whoever they are,” said Pestilence. “Or they’ve got another trap they want to try and spring?” “This doesn’t seem like Mercy,” said Famine. He drummed his fingers on the back of War’s hand, earning him a frown. “She’s just providing the space to do this, I think. She’s got a shrine near where the Infanta was buried, so it’s convenient and…” “And?” prompted Pestilence after the pause had dragged on. “And… and she can be invoked as well, can’t she? War shifted, adjusting his seat and Hilda yipped reprovingly at him. A faint smell of cinnamon rose up around the three. “Mercy is being compelled?” he asked. “I don’t think she can be,” said Famine. “I’ve read some of the Accords, and generally there’s not much in there about compelling, except for the Boss. There’s a lot of quid pro quo stuff though.” “And Mercy appears in a lot of forms,” said Pestilence. “I think it wouldn’t be hard to find one of the older, obscurer forms and make the right kind of sacrifice to earn yourself her aid.” War sighed. “So let’s trade Mercy’s place… who are we really dealing with here?”
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Trading places
“The document that the Boss had you read,” said War. “Mercy dropped it and he picked it up, suspected it was trapped, and had you read it.”
“And it was trapped,” said Famine. “But not a particularly interesting or subtle trap. Even if the Boss had triggered it I don’t think it would have taken him long to break it. It was little more than an infinite loop.”
“So what would be gained by having him fall into the trap then?”
“Nothing? You might inconvenience him for half an hour.”
Pestilence leaned forward, and the shadowy barbed wire around them curled around itself like a cat trying to get comfortable. Hilda, still sitting on War’s lap, eyed it hotly. “So who benefits from the Boss not being able to pay attention for a half-hour?” he asked. “We’ve said that this doesn’t look like Mercy’s doing, so let’s assume she’s either working with someone or for someone. Then why might she try and distract Death for a short period of time?”
“Rumour has it that nothing escapes his gaze,” said War. “That’s not exactly true, he and I got drunk one time in Lima and he said that everything that happens is available for him to watch, but it’s like being sat in front of a vast bank of CCTV monitors. You have to know where to look to find the interesting stuff. You couldn’t stop him seeing what you’re doing once he knows what he’s looking for.”
“But you could stop him looking for that half-hour,” said Famine. “You’d have half an hour in which to act, and if you thought you could resurrect the Infanta in that time, and then make her instruct him to look away…..”
War gestured at the shadows around them. The barbed wire seemed to have things hanging from it now, as though something had tried to get over and been caught. “That might explain why there’s no living Infanta down there at the moment. They’re still waiting for the perfect time?”
“Whoever they are,” said Pestilence. “Or they’ve got another trap they want to try and spring?”
“This doesn’t seem like Mercy,” said Famine. He drummed his fingers on the back of War’s hand, earning him a frown. “She’s just providing the space to do this, I think. She’s got a shrine near where the Infanta was buried, so it’s convenient and…”
“And?” prompted Pestilence after the pause had dragged on.
“And… and she can be invoked as well, can’t she?
War shifted, adjusting his seat and Hilda yipped reprovingly at him. A faint smell of cinnamon rose up around the three. “Mercy is being compelled?” he asked.
“I don’t think she can be,” said Famine. “I’ve read some of the Accords, and generally there’s not much in there about compelling, except for the Boss. There’s a lot of quid pro quo stuff though.”
“And Mercy appears in a lot of forms,” said Pestilence. “I think it wouldn’t be hard to find one of the older, obscurer forms and make the right kind of sacrifice to earn yourself her aid.”
War sighed. “So let’s trade Mercy’s place… who are we really dealing with here?”
Greg - good for you :P
Who indeed. I am fully hooked now. I want to get to the bottom of this as badly as these three do, I reckon.
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