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xp_logsTrevor Fitzroy finally reaches the library but is forced to leave empty-handed.
Fitzroy looked back at the end of the labyrinth, noting wryly that the arch around the door was carefully selected human skulls. He'd lost his guards to it, but they had been hired as fodder. Instead, the true prize was ahead of him. An immense cascade of water flowed to his right, disappearing down an abyss that the bottom was lost to darkness. He reached the door to find it open, the vault right in front of him.
And occupied.
Kevin sat on an rather ornate chair, clearly from the court of the Sun King, gilded and decorated with carved lions. Behind him, a dark haired woman dressed in Black Court attire stood, waiting for him with the calm of a business meeting long scheduled. He was about to step forward but his instincts won out and he stepped back instead.
"Trevor Fitzroy. Your plans for the Paris library end here." The man said.
"Do they? I still have several hundred hostages upstairs, and with my magic, I'm comfortable burning you down here."
"Here's the interesting thing about this library. As a safety measure with all these magic tomes and artifacts, the entire space is warded against magic. It's basically a dead zone where active magic doesn't exist." Kevin smiled. "Normally, I'd let you walk in but my people are still untangling that ward on your heartbeat from the bomb and need a few more minutes. I'm told it might set things off, so instead of killing you, I have to offer you a deal instead."
"And why would I take a deal? It is amazing what I can send through this door at you."
"Ah, the bluff. Fair enough. The lady behind me is very knowledgeable about magic, but she's a mutant."
Wanda leaned her hip slightly against the chair and stared down at Fitzroy. She looked like she was staring at some disgusting creature rather than a person. "Mr. Fitzroy, if you are considering that this might be a bluff, please understand that there are at least half a dozen ways in which I could extinguish your life. From here. That number would grow very quickly if I decided to potentially destroy my lovely gown by approaching you and getting..."
She glanced down at her hand, admiring her glistening nail polish with a bored air. Red energy sparked and crackled across her knuckles that the room did nothing to suppress. "More hands on. As for my friend here..."
"As for me," The pistol appeared in Kevin's hand like magic. "I know, a gun, how American. But I'm an extremely good shot and know exactly where to hit you to ensure you take hours to die while we defuse the bomb. So I'm willing to offer you a deal. You place all four of the Paris Court's rings on the floor. You follow this path continuing to the left and once you reach the stairway, you follow it up to the street. From the point you leave the labyrinth, all bets are off, but even I don't know where they exit drops you off in Paris. You get to escape with your life. I won't make this offer twice."
To Fitzroy's credit, it only took him a moment to run through his odds before he slipped the rings from his fingers and let them cascade to the floor with metallic pings. "You have just revealed yourself to an enemy you know. Revenge is ever so much better with a face to it."
"Those are terms I'm happy to accept." Kevin said with a nod and gestured with his gun. "Get out of here. If my team catches you before you get clear, that's on you. And next time you want to make this kind of play, if you cross us, don't expect the deal again. Just the bullet."
Fitzroy looked back at the end of the labyrinth, noting wryly that the arch around the door was carefully selected human skulls. He'd lost his guards to it, but they had been hired as fodder. Instead, the true prize was ahead of him. An immense cascade of water flowed to his right, disappearing down an abyss that the bottom was lost to darkness. He reached the door to find it open, the vault right in front of him.
And occupied.
Kevin sat on an rather ornate chair, clearly from the court of the Sun King, gilded and decorated with carved lions. Behind him, a dark haired woman dressed in Black Court attire stood, waiting for him with the calm of a business meeting long scheduled. He was about to step forward but his instincts won out and he stepped back instead.
"Trevor Fitzroy. Your plans for the Paris library end here." The man said.
"Do they? I still have several hundred hostages upstairs, and with my magic, I'm comfortable burning you down here."
"Here's the interesting thing about this library. As a safety measure with all these magic tomes and artifacts, the entire space is warded against magic. It's basically a dead zone where active magic doesn't exist." Kevin smiled. "Normally, I'd let you walk in but my people are still untangling that ward on your heartbeat from the bomb and need a few more minutes. I'm told it might set things off, so instead of killing you, I have to offer you a deal instead."
"And why would I take a deal? It is amazing what I can send through this door at you."
"Ah, the bluff. Fair enough. The lady behind me is very knowledgeable about magic, but she's a mutant."
Wanda leaned her hip slightly against the chair and stared down at Fitzroy. She looked like she was staring at some disgusting creature rather than a person. "Mr. Fitzroy, if you are considering that this might be a bluff, please understand that there are at least half a dozen ways in which I could extinguish your life. From here. That number would grow very quickly if I decided to potentially destroy my lovely gown by approaching you and getting..."
She glanced down at her hand, admiring her glistening nail polish with a bored air. Red energy sparked and crackled across her knuckles that the room did nothing to suppress. "More hands on. As for my friend here..."
"As for me," The pistol appeared in Kevin's hand like magic. "I know, a gun, how American. But I'm an extremely good shot and know exactly where to hit you to ensure you take hours to die while we defuse the bomb. So I'm willing to offer you a deal. You place all four of the Paris Court's rings on the floor. You follow this path continuing to the left and once you reach the stairway, you follow it up to the street. From the point you leave the labyrinth, all bets are off, but even I don't know where they exit drops you off in Paris. You get to escape with your life. I won't make this offer twice."
To Fitzroy's credit, it only took him a moment to run through his odds before he slipped the rings from his fingers and let them cascade to the floor with metallic pings. "You have just revealed yourself to an enemy you know. Revenge is ever so much better with a face to it."
"Those are terms I'm happy to accept." Kevin said with a nod and gestured with his gun. "Get out of here. If my team catches you before you get clear, that's on you. And next time you want to make this kind of play, if you cross us, don't expect the deal again. Just the bullet."
