The Andre Miller Saga

Andre Miller 6 The Kidnapping

Kyle and Tilly arrived back at Andre and Caleb's office the day after the attack on Pumpkin Row, the local magic seller's area in town. Tilly owned one of the stores on the row, and Kyle was her brother, an instructor in defensive magic.

"Welcome back," said Andre, he was a summoner and the ad hoc leader of their group, "So what toys did you bring?"

Tilly set a large box on Andre's desk, "I got enough defensive talismans to keep a small god out. Kyle brought you guys some cots; we figured you would be staying here until we figure out what is going on."

"So how deep in debt are we going to be for all this stuff?" Frankie asked. He was a young man that was friends with everyone and was at the center of the attack the day before. He was learning to be a defensive mage and burning off a heavy karmic load he accrued when he was younger.

"Well, I figure your firstborn, a few limbs, a promise of eternal fealty, and a 12-pack of really good beer ought to cover it." She laughed, "Seriously though, we'll worry about the cost later. For now, you all need the protection and I have the gear you need. Most of this stuff is reusable and is easy to clean once we don't need them anymore."

Caleb started sorting thru the box, "You didn't skimp on the mojo, did you?" he was Andre's partner, fellow summoner, and friend. "I haven't even heard of some of these charms before and I've been around the block a few times."

Tilly started handing out pieces of gear and instructing the others on how and where to place them in the office. For the next hour, they attached talismans and charms to every wall and entry in the place. The summoning room was warded twice, once from the normal protection that Caleb and Andre had, and a second layer that Tilly provided.

"Also, everyone goes armed from here on out," said Andre, "Frankie, make sure you always keep your permit for your kris on you, it's rigged for inverted back carry, so we'll get you a rig for that. Just wear a jacket over it all the time. Your wand too. Caleb has his gun, and I'll carry one of my fighting knives. Are you and Kyle good for weapons Tilly?"

"Yeah, we've both got a few tricks up our sleeves now." She rolled up her sleeve and showed a pop-out dagger. Kyle had a pair of fighting sticks under his jacket.

They set the cots in the closet with Frankie's bike. "OK, back to work I think." Said Andre, "We've got spirits to summon and Tilly you have a shop to run. Frankie, go with Tilly and do your normal hours, we'll try to keep things as normal as possible. I did have one question for you kid, how do you feel about tattoos? Getting you some protective ink wouldn't be a bad idea."

"I'm not big on needles after all the cutting I did back when I was with the cult. I don't suppose they have temporary tattoos?" he said with a joking smile.

"Nope, it's needles or nothing. That's ok, we'll just go with the bracelets and necklace that Tilly gave you." Andre patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry kid, we'll get through this."

Frankie, Tilly, and Kyle left and Andre and Caleb pulled up the day's workload. Three summonings for Andre and 2 for Caleb. Andre usually worked with the Celestial Union, while Caleb worked with the Elemental Courts. Neither of them went near the Infernal Houses if they could avoid it.

After they had performed their work, the two men had small talk, handled some of the paperwork, and waited for something to happen.

At about 5 o'clock Tilly dropped off Frankie and then headed home. She and Kyle weren't in the direct line of fire unless Frankie was with them.

A small fire spirit appeared on Andres's desk, "I am Festus of the 6th house of Pyres and I bear one message for Frankie Hernandez and one message for Andre Miller. May I deliver them?"