FATE\Deus Decipit

Chapter 23: Special Delivery

11:25pm

Xander sat on the edge of a bed in one of the hotel rooms they had been provided. The two rooms were directly adjacent, and the connecting door between them was wide open. From the open door, you could hear the running shower that Chauncey currently occupied, despite it not being his. Each room had two beds, he and Filza would naturally share one as husband and wife, and Chauncey was to occupy the other. Quayyum and Radiya shared the other room. The reasoning was simply that the Arabs, between their shared traditionalism and his advanced age, wouldn't do anything untoward towards each other. Quayyum knew better than to try that with Radiya. Chauncey didn't, and the last thing they needed was for him to end up dead. He debated having Radiya stay in with him instead, but the constant bickering that would result from having Quayyum and Chauncey in the same room was enough to dissuade that possibility. As for himself, he absolutely would not share a room with Quayyum, so this was the best possible outcome all things considered. That said, if this job lasted any longer than a week, a third room would be bought as a necessity. He'd go insane otherwise.

Outside the room was an insidious enchanted fog. They had yet to test the fog to discern its effects, but protecting themselves was their first priority. The room had been all-but sealed through herbal magecraft and wards, effectively dispelling any fog that threatened to enter, but equally effectively trapping them inside. There was no doubt this was related to the mission, but for the moment they were trapped.

Filza sat at the foot of the bed to his right, a pile of books around her, studying the circle Quayyum was currently drawing in chalk before returning to cross-reference her large library of tomes. Radiya stood adjacent to the old mage, watching him draw with falcon eyes. As for the circle, it was something Xander was familiar with, as was anybody who often worked with the Alghuls. Using their Necromancy, they had devised a method of parcel-transport involving advanced spirit evocation. They imbued a spirit into an object, usually a package, making sure to tether the two firmly. Then a second mage would draw a circle that would summon the spirit to their location, bringing the package along with it. Finally, the tertiary aspects of the circle would sever the spirit's tether to the material plane, effectively exorcizing them. This could only be done if the spirit involved was properly analyzed and its origin effectively translated into the circle. It was a complicated, multi-stage process, but, to the credit of the Alghuls, not one that had failed due to anything other than user error. Quayyum, being the most familiar with this process, had volunteered to draw it.

The exact circle had been sent to him via email, likely forwarded through several different accounts, and contained only the sketch of the circle, nothing more, not even a subject. While this level of secrecy wasn't uncommon for the Alghuls, the method spoke for itself. When doing jobs in cities and urban areas, the Alghuls usually relied on magical communication as it kept their issues hidden from the public, and ensured there were no incriminating messages should he be arrested or something similar. They only communicated electronically when other mages were involved. Mages were conservative by nature, and tended to be quite useless with modern technology, and as electronic communication was so new, there were no well-known magical means of interference. Whatever was going on, Aisha had decided that magical communication couldn't be trusted. The reason for this was likely related to why they weren't meeting her in person despite being in the same area.

From the other room, the water turned off.

Quayyum was adding the final touches to the circle; retracing the circle to increase its strength and to ensure no mistakes had been made.

Chauncey appeared in the doorway wearing nothing but a white bathrobe; his dog behind him as it always was, making no noise despite its claws. Xander expected some form of frustration from the group but none came except in the forms of furrowed brows. They expected nothing less from the flamboyant Frenchman.