Where the Wicked go after Death

[stealth_andsecrets]

Purple leans against a wall, inside the back-room of the Caritas. For the last hour or so, she has watched Winston (War) tend carefully to the ailing Lorne. Many of her siblings were around the bar, as one of Lorne's requests was for them to get acquainted with the business (so they could run it once he was gone from this world.).

It was almost too much to bear at times, to watch Lorne get sicker and sicker... and feel so helpless to help him. There were so many times when she was so close to tears... sick to her stomach with the thought of losing him.

Winston came to sit beside her. He smiled softly, looking at his younger sister. "Where is your boyfriend today?"

"You need to speak to him?"

"Yes. I do."

Purple pulled out her PINpoint, sending Niverian a message, asking him to come to the Caritas as soon as he was available.

Comments

[nonvillainouscipher]

"That's certainly something we should ask Lindsay about," he agrees with a quiet sigh. "Whether there's anyone else who might want to set him up for something like this..."

"I know it's hard, too. Maybe, once we've figured this whole thing out, we can just... take some 'us' time. De-stress a little, together." He smiles over at her and squeezes her hand again. "How does that sound?"

[stealth_andsecrets]

"You sure you want to wait until we figure it out? It might not be case closed right after we speak to Lindsay..."

[nonvillainouscipher]

Niverian laughs a little. "Good point. When we're done here, then?"

[stealth_andsecrets]

"That sounds much better... less waiting for quality time."

[nonvillainouscipher]

"Much better," Niverian agrees with a quiet laugh, leaning over to place a gentle kiss on her cheek. "I look forward to it."

[stealth_andsecrets]

The Fourth Circle is not as scary as the Ninth was... of course there is some things in it that might cause despair, or fear. Those whose attitude toward material goods deviated from the appropriate mean are punished in the fourth circle. It is here that Cerberus, the three-headed WarHound is the main Guardian.

Lindsay is tolling with a large sack of money, trying to roll it up a steep hill when Niverian and Anastasia arrives. Cerberus gives a loud bark, and he stops in his actions, turning to the two approaching figures.

"I saw you... in a dream..."

[nonvillainouscipher]

Niverian gives Cerberus a slight smile and a small bow of his head, then turns to Lindsay, thinking it would probably be kinder to let him think his time in the ninth circle was just a dream. Had he been in Lindsay's shoes, he wouldn't want to remember anything about such a trying ordeal. "Oh?" he asks, halting a few paces away.

[stealth_andsecrets]

"Can't truly tell you more... my mind can't seem to recollect the experience."

"But what brings you here?" Lindsay sits for a moment.

[nonvillainouscipher]

Cipher Nine gives him a small, somewhat apologetic smile and sits down across from him. "You've been accused of trying to break out of Tartarus," he says quietly. "I want to hear your side of the story."

[stealth_andsecrets]

"That is why I am here... right?" Lindsay can't seem to recollect being transferred to the Ninth Circle at all. And so it bothers him that pieces of his memory are missing.

"Well your parents found Eve... she was in Limbo. Her only reason to exist was to see me again."

"And I remember being upset... learning that she really never had a human body... or true spirit of her own until meeting me. And wondering about how could I help her..."

"I saw a Lethe Flower... one that would have great power in the Underworld. And they are just so rare... that I guess I left my post."

[nonvillainouscipher]

He arches an eyebrow, frowning slightly. "Where would those flowers usually be found?" he asks, wondering if it should really be considered an escape attempt when Lindsay didn't actually want to escape, only to see a rare flower.

[stealth_andsecrets]

"Along the Lethe River... a dangerous place to travel."

[nonvillainouscipher]

He nods gently. "That is very odd," he murmurs. "Finding something like that so far away from where it usually grows." He looks up at Lindsay solemnly. "Can you think of anyone here who might have a vendetta against you?"

[stealth_andsecrets]

Lindsay laughed, darkly. "It is a long list. I was a lawyer... for Demons and Vampires."

[nonvillainouscipher]

"I recall," Cipher Nine replies wryly. "Are any of them here in the underworld? Or have you made any new enemies since coming to Hades?"

[stealth_andsecrets]

"The Demons and Vampires would not get access... but the men and woman who were on the other side of the court room would be. Then there is the Senior Partners themselves... who have their own pull."

"New enemies? Not that I know of..."

[nonvillainouscipher]

"Ah, the Senior Partners," Cipher Nine muses. "I faced them once before. Hopefully it isn't them, since I'd rather not have a repeat experience." He exhales gently. "Suspect pool's a little larger than is useful, but... I do have some new information to bring back to Lord Hades. This shouldn't be treated as an escape attempt if you weren't actually trying to escape."

[stealth_andsecrets]

"Well, honestly I can not remember what happened when I reached the flower... I could have tried to escape for all I know."

[nonvillainouscipher]

Cipher Nine arches an eyebrow again. "If you can't remember... you may have been under duress of some kind. A spell, direct mind control... Something."

[stealth_andsecrets]

"The Lethe Flower..." Lindsay stated. "I thought I could handle it..."

"It enhances a person's emotions. It enhances their wants. Their desires. But it also makes you forget. It is quite powerful."

[nonvillainouscipher]

"You wouldn't have been thinking rationally," Cipher Nine surmises, nodding. "The fact that the flower was someplace it wouldn't ordinarily be is very suspicious. Someone may have put it there deliberately. The question is, who would have the ability to do so?"

[stealth_andsecrets]

"There is only one person in the Underworld who knows about flowers... and who can handle them."

"Persephone?" Purple assumes.

[nonvillainouscipher]

Cipher Nine hisses out a quiet breath. "I knew it," he says. He looks at Lindsay. "Would you be willing to testify to Hades about this?" He knows Hades will be able to tell if Lindsay is lying, and it is best if Hades hears the story from Lindsay himself.

[stealth_andsecrets]

"I will come if I am summoned... but I dare not leave without Hades permission first." Lindsay answered.

[nonvillainouscipher]

"Of course," Niverian assures him. "I won't ask you to jeopardize yourself further." He rises and lets out a quiet breath. "I suppose it's time to report in now. We should get going."