Chapter 2
Genesis 12:3
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Tobias's Journal:
Once we arrived in Rome I was given a billet at the order compound. It was a smaller room, spare to the point of what would now be called “spartan” although that term never really meant much to me. I had no personal possessions anyway and The Order would be providing all I needed. The room was about 8 feet by 4 feet. It contained a bed with a pillow and blanket. Basically just a small sleeping mat or what would now be called a cot. There was a short table to the side of the bed with a Bible on it, although at the time I could not read it, and a small trunk at the foot of the bed to hold clothing. Once I was measured for my size, I was given a few sets of clothing. I was given a pair of slightly loose fitting pants and shirt for training, and a nicer outfit appropriate for church on Sunday and Saints days. I was allowed a week to acclimate and rest, wandering the compound a bit and familiarizing myself with the general layout. At the time it was a slightly sprawling compound, with a large building consisting of a communal dining room, a handful of rooms and a very large area designated for training. The large designated area for training would come to make sense in time.
Over the next few weeks and months we got into a reasonable schedule, all things being the same. I would be woken up just after sunrise, it was nice to sleep in a bit and I truly needed the rest with all the training. The day would begin with a reading from the Holy Bible and brief morning prayer. Then we would sit down and break our fast with the morning meal. Conversations during meal time would mostly consist of any members who happened to be at the compound imparting any wisdom they could think of to give an apprentice. “Don't be in a hurry to complete your apprenticeship. Enjoy this time now, although you are busy, absorb as much of the lessons as possible, now, while there aren't lives on the line". The advice would go on and on, much in the same spirit. Another thing that I noticed personally was the respect all the men showed towards Simon. I was also interested to hear that he had trained a few of the men. Over time, I began to puzzle a few things out. I found some of the dates mentioned or wars referenced to be really strange at first. Looking around at the men, none appearing elderly, speaking of events that took place several dozen and sometimes hundreds of years earlier, yet participated in themselves was very puzzling to me in the first few months in training. I didn't have much of a formal education when I began my apprenticeship, but I was being tutored every evening in history and reading. Once I had grasped the basics, I took to reading everything I could get my hands on. The freedom to learn about anything I could find a book on was absolutely intoxicating. I soon became quite the autodidact, not that the formal teachings of The Order were lacking at all.
Sarasota FL
Chrissy Maersk walked out of her shoebox of a dorm room ready to get an early start to her Monday. Thankfully her roommate wasn't into the party scene. The roommate also had an early class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday so Chrissy’s early mornings didn't cause any issues. She had lucked out and actually liked her roommate, they just clicked. She had heard horror stories from some of her friends who had ended up with some really odd ducks. Hopefully she could get her coffee and find something beautiful to shoot. She loved the dichotomy of shooting sunrise shots on the west coast of Florida. Something about the lighting just spoke to her. At the Starbux she normally frequented, she got her regular hot chai and then walked around the building and parking area. She started to walk down Indian beach drive toward Indian beach park. Along the road she found a star fruit on the ground. About half of it had been run over, and you could see the tire tread clearly in relief. There was a small trail of ants that were coming off the sidewalk and making their way into the sweet pulp of the fruit. The color contrast was perfect and the relief from the tire almost looked like the ants were going into an amazing new world. Chrissy stopped, placed her coffee on the sidewalk and grabbed her ever present camera from the strap hanging around the back of her neck. She was absolutely engrossed in her task, and walked around and got shot after priceless shot. What an AMAZING morning! She thought as she stood up to put the lens cap back on her camera. “Hello” came a smooth and rich deep voice from behind her. “ I'm sorry, I hope I didn't startle you miss. You seemed a little caught up in taking the photos. Are you a photography major?” Chrissy began to smile, as she turned to see a handsome man with caramel skin, in a late model white Cadillac CT6. “I guess it's kinda obvious isn't it, sorry if I was blocking the road, I just get caught up in the moment sometimes”. She trailed off sheepishly, her southern Texas accent confirming she wasn’t a local. With a broad smile showing beautiful white teeth he replied. “No, not at all my dear. I was heading to the beach to scout a spot for a shoot and stopped to let a fellow photographer practice her craft... I have no wish to impose, but can I take a peek at what you shot?” Chrissy was taken aback slightly, here was a man, obviously well off, and he was either a professional photographer or a very passionate hobbyist. “Sure thing, are you a pro or hobby photographer?” She asked, walking over to the driver window and bringing up the last shot on the digital display. The man took the Nikon from her gently as she leaned forward so the strap would allow the camera to reach the shade of the car's interior. “Well, a bit of both actually” He said with a deep bass chuckle. “I'm semi-retired, I still take the odd job here and there for some of my favorite clients, and sell the occasional print on my website. I moved down here a few months ago, so I'm still finding new things in the area”. He said, all the while scrolling through the shots. “Have you”... he started to say, then broke off mid sentence as he started to look at the tiny screen closer, turning the camera slightly... “I would never have thought”… He said trailing off again. Chrissy started to get butterflies in her stomach, she hadn't even had the chance to look at the images yet but she had a feeling she knew the shot he was looking at. “What is it?” she said with an excited giggle. “This shot, the textures you captured here, it's just beautiful”. He said with a broad smile. “Look” he said with a sigh “I have a studio a few blocks from here. I have all the editing software and commercial printers as well. I'm not saying I can get you discovered, make you famous or anything like that. However, I will gladly pay you for this photo and display a print in my studio. Who knows, if a client sees it and asks to buy it I'll gladly pass along your info, but I simply MUST have a print of this. Say two hundred and fifty dollars?” Chrissy just stared at the man for a moment. She was dumbfounded... 250$ for ONE photograph, AND he wanted to hang the print in his studio?? She didn't even know where to begin! “Two hundred fifty dollars?” she began to say. “No? Then how about five hundred? I won't pay a penny more, it's really good but I just can't see paying any more for a single print from an unpublished”.... She cut him off quickly. “No! It's not that, two fifty is more than enough, I'm just surprised is all”. She said with a huge smile. “I'm Hollis Parker, Please call me Hollis” he said, sticking his hand out the window. “I'm Chrissy” she said, taking his hand. “Well then, Please get in young lady, I can drop you back off here after we get done with printing. I need to come back this way anyway to finish scouting the beach up ahead. I am VERY glad we met just now”.
Tobias. Sarasota FL.
I pulled into the local Starbucks across from the art college and parked my Jeep. I went inside to order then sat down in a corner seat where I could see out the large window and look into the parking lot. Looking like any other college student, no one gave me a second look as I ordered my coffee and took a seat. My kit bag, a regular jansport backpack, was at my feet. I reached into my bag and grabbed my laptop, checked my load out briefly and made sure none of the Velcro had stuck or tangled with my spare change of clothes… It gets difficult to “blend” if you are wearing bloody clothes, even if I tend to wear black or other dark clothing.
Setting the laptop down and booting it up, I took a sip of my hot chai. I really don't like Starbucks coffee but the chai is palatable and I needed to buy something to justify sitting there. I know this may sound odd but, yes I did NEED to be there. Why? I had no clue honestly but I have learned over the years to always follow my gut and things tend to fall into place. I normally seem to end up exactly where I'm needed, especially when I'm out “hunting”. I started to go through the files and re-read everything we had on Hollis Parker. The Order got wind of his activity a few years ago but he had done an incredible job of covering his tracks. From what we have been able to piece together he has been active since the early 1950s and got into his current routine in the early 1960s. He has been moving around and never really staying in one place for very long. Nomads tend to be a bit harder to track unfortunately. From what we can find from the early days of his career he started picking off hippies in the 1960s. It was incredibly easy for him at the time and people were much more free spirited, joining cults, moving, etcetera. The point is, that finding 6 girls under 22 years of age and making them disappear without a trace was a relatively simple task. I'm not sure how he found the Rite, I truly thought all traces of this had been destroyed decades ago but I suppose rumor or word of mouth practices are much harder to track down. We do know he is the only Necromancer foolish, or brazen enough to practice The Rite of Tkawl in at least a century. Thank God for that at least. We don't know exactly what he has been asking for, but considering his birth certificate lists 08/08/1920 as his date of birth and the last known picture we grabbed from a security camera shows a man somewhere between 30 and 50 he either isn’t aging or is aging incredibly slowly... It's amazing how much technology has changed this job. Before everything became digital, The Order would never have a tenth of the information we have now. Don't get me wrong, things still go wrong and there will ALWAYS be something you don't know but it's nice to have a bit more information when we go after a target. It's also easier to track down a target and much harder for them to operate. There will always be a certain level of evil that has adapted and evolved as well, but that tends to be a minority for the most part. We thought we had found him again in 2020 but with COVID shutting down so many things it was hard to anticipate his next move. We scouted his usual target areas, music festivals, shooting galleries (heroin not guns obviously), and college campuses. We knew he was in Texas, but he never showed up to make his move. Turns out he just paid a coyote to deliver 6 Mexican girls aged 13 to 19 directly to him. All he had to do was drive a van down to the border and load them up when they ran across to the United states, and what they believed was going to be a better life. I HATE that we have missed him and that he has been sacrificing at least 6 people a year, but the only time he's actually “visible” is when he's out taking his victims. With this area having all the right conditions, I could understand why he was here now. Not to mention, on a personal note, I want to get the fallen as well, and put an end to this once and for all.
“Hi, can I get a Veneti hot chai latte?” asked a bubbly cheerful voice in a southern accent. I looked up to see a short girl, with blonde hair just past her shoulders. Camera hanging from a strap around her neck and a small messenger bag slung over one shoulder. She was wearing a tie dye hoodie with a large black peace sign on the back. Tight, but ragged blue jeans, and shin high boots with 4 buckles and flowers all over them. She had a curvy body, chubby I guess, short and stacked. My eyes lingered for a few moments on her, she was very pretty and had what some people would call a cheerleader body. To me, she seemed like a bubbly, happy and easy going college kid. “Order for Chrissy, Hot Chai '' She walked over and picked up her order, smiled and said “Thank you!” In a cheerful voice then walked slowly to the door. FOLLOW, Popped into my head. Not in a voice, but a sudden idea and a very strong urge as well. Knowing why I was here and who I was looking for, Chrissy's future didn't look good. I slowly packed up my computer and left the building. I really didn’t want this girl to think I'm some creep who's following her. Even though that's exactly what I was doing. Just for a very unusual reason...
I hopped into my jeep and cranked the motor, then reached over and unzipped the top of my bag. By the time I pulled out of the parking lot I'd lost her, but I had watched her head west on 25th so I slowly drove west as well. I don't see her anywhere but BEACH popped into my head just like the FOLLOW did. So at the stop sign I turned north and went towards Indian beach drive. I stopped at the next stop sign and looked left just in time to see her getting into the passenger side of a late model pearl white Cadillac CT6 with dark window tint. I followed the car, sunrise gleaming off of the pearl flake on the Cadillacs paint job. They continued to drive down Indian beach drive and take the bend in the road north as it turns into bay shore road. They turned right onto Myrtle then left at the light on U.S. 41. I got stuck at the light unfortunately. Thankfully I still had a few tricks up my sleeve to follow from a distance now that I knew what I was looking for.
Hollis and Chrissy drove around the corner passing the beach they had both been heading to. Hollis said with a smile “My studio is just north here on 41, we should be there in about five minutes. It's not much, but I'm not ready to open the gallery just yet. At the moment it's more of a workshop, but I do have a little get together or opening party planned in a few months. Being semi retired has its benefits, I get to do whatever I please really, and whenever I do a show I sell out quickly because people don't know when I will do another. Scarcity drives the market my dear”. Chrissy was so excited, she was heading to a professional photography studio! She couldn't wait to see some of his work! She also couldn't believe her luck, a chance encounter, 250$ and she is going to have one of her photos hanging up in his gallery when he does one of his rare openings too. It was odd, she really didn't do stuff like this. Ever. She would have never even considered getting into a strangers car back home in Anderson Texas, but she was in Sarasota Florida and everyone she had met here was just so chill and laid back. Besides, this wasn’t some creepy windowless van or some asshole from a jacked up truck. Hollering at her to “hop in baby we’ll have some fun” or some stupid shit like that. She really trusted this guy for some reason, his voice was smooth and deep, it almost sounded like Morgan freeman in that penguin Documentary she watched? They continued north past University drive and the airport and slowed down as they passed a used car dealership. The Caddy bumped softly into an empty parking lot adjacent to a pink building with a giant billboard in the lot. They pulled around back and parked. The building was a squat one story with oddly rounded edges on the front and a few small bare trees smashed up between the building and the parking lot. The parking lot was covered in pine needles from the bare trees. It was the strangest color too, a chalky pepto pink! Chrissy thought the structure was so odd, the shape and the paint, all of it! Perhaps she could get a few photos here as well. Hollis walked over to the back door and fumbled with the key ring in his hands for a moment before unlocking the door. The sun was at her back but it didn't illuminate much more than a few feet into the building, she could only see a narrow hallway. Hollis walked inside and Chrissy followed, stopping and holding the door slightly open. “If you would, please hold that open for a moment while I go in here and flip the breaker. The car dealer said they got struck by lightning a few months ago and had to replace all the computers in the office. So now I always flip the breakers off when I leave just to be on the safe side”. Said Hollis over his shoulder as he walked down the narrow hallway and opened the first door on the left. Suddenly a hand with a rag was smashed up against Chrissy's face. It was there in an instant and was as strong as iron. She smelled a sickly sweet aroma mixed with a mild putrefaction as her vision faded to black.
Tobias
I reached into my backpack and grabbed my computer while sitting at the red light waiting to turn north on 41 to follow the Cadillac. I opened it up and sat it on my lap bringing up the local traffic camera feed I previously hacked a backdoor into. The car was only a few blocks ahead of me at U.S. 41 and University parkway. I flagged the car in the system and turned left onto 41 as the light lit up green. I was at University and 41 stuck at yet another red light when the laptop beeped before I could come to a complete stop. The local cameras didn't have 100% coverage down U.S. 41 but it was probably close to 85%. The Laptop beeped to let me know that the car I had flagged had not shown up between one camera and the next, but the program had extrapolated that the vehicle had turned into a local car dealership. I drove north with the thick morning traffic in the right hand lane and slowed as I approached the Cadillacs last known position. The used car dealership just didn't feel right but I signaled to turn into the parking lot, just before seeing an oddly shaped pepto pink building right next door. I kept going a bit and drove slowly past the building before turning into a gravel tract that looked like it would bring me into the parking lot for the pink building. It looked as if the building had originally been constructed as a bar with frosted glass window blocks on the north and south rounded edges.
I parked Gypsy ‘my Jeep’ on the gravel strip instead of the parking lot, not wanting to alert my target. Plus I really wasn't positive whether Hollis Parker was the driver of the Cadillac or not. This could be something completely different. I have followed 'targets’ for over 48 hours in the past before the reasoning behind the command had ever become clear. Leaving the jeep running, I got out and peaked around the corner. There it was, the white Caddy, pearl paint gleaming in the sun. Standing by the back door, one on each side were two men. The way they stood there, blankly staring off into the sunrise and hardly moving, I could tell this was the right place. I walked back to Gypsy and turned off the motor, then stowed my laptop and cellphone. I grabbed my 2011 out of my bag and set it on the seat, then stripped off my Tool hoodie. I grabbed the USPSA style belt and holster and velcroed it into place around the matching inner belt that I've been wearing all day. I got a little nostalgic for the old ‘wild west’ days when wearing a gun belt was just commonplace. Damn do I miss my matching set of enchanted colt peacemakers, but I fell in love with the Colt 1911 working with the Americans in WW1 and with the modern 2011 version and extended mags, it's hard to argue with 26 rounds and one in the chamber... I checked the red dot and snicked off the 2011s safety performing a press check to make sure the round is still chambered. Then I put the safety on, and holstered the pistol. Once the belt, holster and 4 additional MBX 170mm magazines were stowed properly I started to sneak around the corner.
The guards were still in the same spot, not surprisingly. Revenants tend to be little better than regular zombies but they do retain some cognitive function. They can do some basic tasks but that's about it, they are commonly used as muscle, like now. Honestly I'm just glad it's not some humanoid flesh golem. As I snuck around the corner I rolled up my right pant leg and withdrew my push dagger from its sheath. Simon made this for me and gave it to me when I finished my apprenticeship in The Order. The blade is about 8 inches long and 2 inches wide at the base, sharp enough to shave with and ending in an incredibly sharp and piercing tip. Inlaid in the blade is a 5 inch long by 1/4 inch wide scroll of solid silver, free spinning, and engraved with unbinding ruins. The pommel of the dagger fits perfectly in the hand and has the seal of The Order engraved on it just below where the blade sits between the middle fingers, just above my knuckles. I love this blade so much... Slowly I crept up behind the revenant closest to me, grabbing his forehead with my left hand and driving the dagger deeply between his C1 vertebra and External occipital protuberance. This severed the spinal cord and drove the scroll of unbinding deeply into his brain. I watched as his bound spirit left his body as he crumpled, then I lowered him to the pavement as quietly as possible. Unfortunately the other revenant saw his partner collapse and started towards the door, from a kneeling position I pounced on him. I jammed the dagger into his nasal passage, through the thin bone behind the anterior nasal spine and deep into his brain. As soon as the scroll met his brain tissue he went limp as well. After wiping the bit of brain matter off the blade on the last revenant's shirt, I tucked the blade back in its sheath and covered it with my pant leg.
I entered the back door to a dark and narrow hallway which looked like an employee only section of a bar. Walking past cork boards with yellowing OSHA print outs pinned in place, I saw a door to the left that was standing slightly ajar. It was a cheap door with a placard that read OFFICE in all black on a dark brown background. I could hear talking through the slightly ajar door at the end of the hallway. Walking farther down the hall, I could see a flickering light spilling into the hallway from the bar area. It appeared to be candle light. Why is it always candle light? One of these days some dumb ass is going to ruin his ritual with an accidental fire alarm or something. I walked back to the mostly empty office space, there’s a chair with 3 of the 4 wheels missing and a filing cabinet with one drawer missing. I propped the filing cabinet up in the corner and slid the wobbling chair over to create a quasi step-stool. Stepping from the chair up onto the top of the filing cabinet, I pushed a ceiling tile to one side. I could see all the steel frame work of the drop ceiling, lighting and whatever else the building needed to keep hidden. Thankfully, this one had a small platform intended to support the ac duct work with a sturdy subframe. I was able to pull myself up and onto the platform. I crawled forward to where the wall ended and the a/c vent would attempt to blow some of the 2nd hand smoke out of the bar.
I Pulled slightly on the decades old duct tape to expose an eighteen by thirty six inch vent crusted with a lifetime of dust. Looking out of the vent panel I could see that I wasn’t too late and the ritual was just getting started. There was a large square slab of marble in the center of the floor. Surrounding the marble slab was a large circle of candles and grave dirt, with Eldritch symbols at the cardinal points circling the altar. Casting bizarre shadows onto the scene were two construction lamps, one to the east and one to the west, on each side of the altar. On the altar was a different girl than the one I had followed here. She was nude, tall with short raven hair and small but perky breasts. Her hands were bound above her head and her feet bound at each point of the altar spreading her legs. Off to one side was my target, Hollis Parker. He was standing with his back turned to me. Suddenly appearing from the summoning circle was a fallen angel. Now standing there, towering over Hollis in all its horror and glory was Tkawl. The beast stood seven feet tall at least. His body was mostly skeletal and some sort of self contained flames where skin and muscle should be. His head looked like one of the really odd Gavial crocodiles. An abnormally long and pointed mouth filled with sharp teeth butting up to a bulls head, horns and all. Large broad shoulders like that of a gorilla and legs resembling the hind legs of a bull, with backwards knee joints and hooves instead of feet. The most horrifying part, to me at least, was what was carved deeply into the bone of what would be his chest. It was the stylized DP we have been finding lately, and it was engraved right where members of The Order have our crosses implanted…
Tkal spoke “Greetings Hollis, have you taken time to consider the offer of my master? No matter your choice, I will be available to you in years to come, as I have been to all who call upon me. Mind what I'm telling you, The Dark Pope speaks true, and he will bring about the end of days soon. This hiding, cowering and trying to blend in with the sheep you have spent decades to elevate yourself above will finally be over”. The demon's deep rumbling bass voice made your stomach feel like it was full of eels.
Hollis took a moment before speaking. “I have been thinking about this for some time now. You said he has brought other Necromancers into the fold as well. I know of only a small handful who have been practicing as long as I have, and even fewer who have plumbed the depths of the dark arts as thoroughly as I have. I will not be a slave to him nor to anyone else if I decide to join. Does he seek help, or does he simply wish for another servant to go about doing his bidding?” Asked Hollis, knowing you never make a deal without having ALL the details. The devil is in the details, as he would often say with a chuckle.
Tkawl nodded and his snout almost poked Hollis on the forehead. “My Master has called many a necromancer into the fold, several of the damned have joined too. Similarly the Vampire, Wendigo, Litch, Lycanthrope, and many other creatures of the night. He does not wish to have you or anyone else as a slave, he wishes only to increase your power. He feels that Damned souls like ours have all been slaves for entirely too long already. All he asks in return is your help with preparations and to help him fight in the final battle. With the power you already have and the resources at my master's disposal, the power you could gain would be almost limitless”... Tkawl trailed off at the end to entice and temp just a bit, because what is a demon without temptation?
At this point I had heard enough. It was time to kill this necromancer, banish the fallen and get my report back to The Order. DP, Dark pope, Okay now I at least knew a little bit about what's going on. If the fallens recruitment pitch was even partly true, none of this was good news at all. The entire time they had been talking I had been busy, I found the sprinkler system and had blessed the water that was in the pipes and reservoir. I grabbed onto a roof strut and shimmied to where my feet were over the vent. My body was like a coiled snake ready to strike. I kicked out the air vent and extended my legs swinging my lower half out the hole before letting go of the support strut. I landed feet first on the floor in a slight crouch, then I drew my 2011 and shot the sprinkler head closest to the red exit sign by the front door. The fallen, Tkawl was doused in holy water and began to scream. I started the banishment rite and in less than 2 repetitions in Latin he fled the mortal plane. I looked back at Hollis with a smile, while the red dot of my site hovered slightly between his upper lip and nose, also known as ‘the human off button’. “Hello there Mister Parker, I have been wanting to meet you for years now, I have a few questions I would like to ask first, if you don't mind?” I said with a large smile on my face. Oddly enough Hollis didn’t seem to be too worried, he looked calm, but almost like he was concentrating way too hard on somethi... Woooooooosh!!!
With a sound like tearing cloth 2 Night Gaunts flew out of the rafters and grabbed me by the shoulders, claws digging in deeply. I must have missed them completely, looking out the small AC vent. The two creatures were as black as tar, tall and lanky, with huge clawed hands and feet. I hit the wall, then as I crumpled, my back hit the floor with a massive weight on both shoulders pinning me in place. Hollis walked up and kicked the gun into the corner, then stopped only a few feet from me with a smile as he adjusted his cufflinks. “Well, it would seem like you have made quite the mess here young man. I don't know who you are but you clearly know of me. Obviously we don’t run in the same circles or you would have known about my night gaunts... They are an exceedingly rare breed indeed. Controlled telepathically, great for body guards”. He said with a smug smile. The long toe talons dug deeply into my shoulders and biceps, I could feel the blood beginning to flow and drip into my armpit. While Hollis was talking I slowly brought my right leg up and reached down for the pommel of my push dagger. When Hollis stopped ranting I quickly drew out the dagger and drove it up above my right arm and into one of the night gaunts, with a slight twist and flick of the wrist the unbinding scroll hit what passed for its heart and the solid mass of weight became lighter as chunks a of rotten, tar like substance rain down onto my side and face. I gagged and started spitting the rot out of my mouth. Then there was a sudden sharp pain hitting the top of my head. I felt the night gaunts claws from one hand dig in deep and grip the top of my head as his toe claws dug deeper into my shoulders. The beast straddled me, talons digging into my shoulders, and claws grasping my head. There is a sudden twisting followed by an explosion of pain as my neck snapped with a loud pop. Everything faded away as I died… Again.