All Kitty could do was listen, while her blood boiled.  If she could get her father within arm's reach she was not sure what she would do.

I won't be a mere crossroads dealer for long, that's all I will say she growls. Now since no deal can be made you may as well send me back. You'll get no more talk from me.

ooc: if you do exorcise her I will let you take a 20 but roll a concentration check to see how long it takes you.

Meanwhile Lily puts a sympathetic hand on Kitty's shoulder. I'm sorry you had to hear all that. I had no idea how bad it was. Are...you alright?

Simon nodded, "I will keep my end of the Bargain, and exorcise you as normal. I expect you will attempt some sort of reprisal, but know that God's divine light protects me and those I hold dear."

Taking 20

11:37, Today: Father Simon Cole rolled 19 using 1d20. Concentration Check.

She stood with her arms crossed and her shoulders tensed, obviously not happy.

"I am fine; it is just frustrating to hear all of this, and be able to do feck-all about it.  I looked up to my sister: she was older than me, much more worldly, so much more daring and brave than I.  It sickens me that my own father had a hand in her terrible death.  The world is hard enough without such things as demons and power-hungry fathers selling their children to realize their blasphemous ambitions..."

Kitty had endured a rough life thus far, but clearly there were those who experienced far worse.  How many more?  Who knew the enormity of this shadow world that actively reached out and affected the lives of others blinded by the sun?  It was all so overwhelming.

"If demons themselves cannot be stopped easily, then it must begin with eliminating people like my father, who bring forth the demons into this world by their greed.  We should find out who else they have in their thrall, and where they might be."

We will, don't you worry Lily assures you. Though from what I understand your father is likely in Europe? We have sister factions dotted here and there and I know we have some in Britain. Perhaps we could wire them on the situation, have them keep an eye on your father. Also, you will want to talk to Penny. She is the one who dispatched the Ripper who killed your sister. She is a bit tied up at the moment but tomorrow I imagine you can talk to her, see what she may know. I don't think she realized that the killings were tied into all this. It's a surprise to me too actually.

Meanwhile as you speak, Simon begins the exorcism. Lily bids Kitty to pay attention and informs her that it is something she will be taught to do soon. Simon does a good job and though it takes several minutes the process goes smoothly, despite the demon's screams and violent protests. In the end though a black smoke is expelled from her mouth and disappears into the ground, leaving the woman's body to fall to the ground. Should you investigate she is dead.

Simon knelt beside the poor woman's body and checked her for a pulse. Finding none he crossed himself and said a silent prayer for her soul before returning to the ladies. "What is our next move?"

Lily looks down at the woman sadly. Well, I suppose we had best leave her for the authorities to find. I'll have Ian place a tip and make sure she's brought in. Hopefully she has family nearby who can claim her. In the meantime we should take the carpet and go report back to Victoria. I think this apocalypse is getting out of hand don't you? she turns to Kitty then. There's a few things you should know Kitty. There is a demon named Belial who is planning to bring about an early apocalypse. If he succeeds he will be master over this world and demons and monsters will be set loose in even greater numbers than they already are. He uses his own followers but he has also manipulated a cult called the Hand of Baal, lying to them and saying he is supporting their master and trying to bring HIM into power when in actuality he will use it for himself. We are trying to stop him. The problem is that every nasty thing out there is eager to help him because they know success will mean freedom for them. We'll become nothing more than livestock for evil to feed on. You've fallen into quite a mess my friend. she shakes her head. But there is hope. I've been told there may be someone who can provide us with a weapon against all this. Two of our best agents are working on that as we speak. Call me an optimist, but I still think we have hope she smiles reassuringly. She turns to Simon then. Nice work with the exorcism by the way, though we should all watch our backs. I think she means to make good on her threat.

Before she could even take in the new information about Belial and the Cult of Baal, Kitty's mind whirled around the news that the Ripper was dead.

"A moment, please: the Ripper is dead?  By someone from your organization?  How?  When?  This is...I mean...of course, this is good news.  I only wish he had been dispatched earlier.  So he too was a demon, or something manipulated by them?  I wish I had killed him myself."

It was a lot to sort through: she was glad the Ripper was killed, but any dreams she had of vengeance for her sister, no matter how remote or childish, had been accomplished by someone else.  She decided she could easily live with that - and besides, there was still the matter of her father, he who sold her sister's flesh and soul for his own gain, to deal with.  He was the real Ripper, only the kind that did not make headlines.  Kitty vowed that she would make him make the headlines, alright, one way or another.

"I have already been subject to use by the whims of others; I shall not allow that to happen to me again; nor anyone else, if I can."

Actually she just joined our group recently. She went after the ripper all on her own. From what she tells us, he was an ordinary man, though if the demon is to be believed he may have had some unnatural motivations...We shall have to speak with her tomorrow, see what she can tell us. she frowns. I am glad you are so committed to the cause now, but you've had quite a shock and it is dangerous work you get into. Do you know how to fight? Defend yourself? I'm trying to decide if you would be a better hunter, like me, or if you would be safest in the library doing research on how to stop Belial and learning how to use spells and such.

Simon nodded and gave smile at the compliment. "I agree, she will try. God will protect us."

ooc: Ok, so go ahead and finish up here and let me know your plans the rest of the night. By now it's getting pretty late. Also let me know your plans for the morning. I'm thinking Kitty will want to talk to Penny about the ripper so I'm trying to line things up in that direction. If I'm wrong of course let me know.

"I can defend myself, if I have to; no offense, but library work does not appeal to me.  I am swift of foot, sneaky when I need to be, and am good at hiding and being silent.  I like to find things out, and go to places I am not supposed to be.  That is probably the incorrigible side of my nature that has lead me along the path I am on now.  But I am who I am, and I am ready to help however I can."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:45, Tue 20 Jan 2015.

I thought perhaps you would like to be more hands on the native woman smiles. Glad to hear it. We'll keep you as safe as possible and try to prepare you for anything in the meantime. There are many training opportunities I can help you with. In the meantime I suggest we get some rest. I'll report to Victoria tonight and we'll regroup in the morning. Sound good?

Kitty, later that night as you drift off to sleep you have nightmares of your sister, the ripper and the dark man from your previous dreams. It is all a jumble and you can't make out any faces but you wake with a start, covered in sweat. There is a soft knock at the door. Breakfast has been left for you.

After leaving Penny Kate headed off to find Father Simon. Victoria had been vague as to where to find him so she resorted to peeking into open doors and asking if anyone had seen him.

Depending on when she is looking for him, Kate might find Simon having a quiet dinner with Lily, pruning Victoria's garden, or he has retired to the local Abby.

Ooc: since it is morning I'm thinking the garden is good.

Garden it is...

Simon is currently pruning flowers and humming When the Saints Go Marching In.

"Good morning," Kate found Simon in the garden hard at work. "Victoria suggested I come and find you since Penny will be tied up for a while." She took a seat on a nearby bench and watched him pruning the flowers. "Did we miss anything exciting while we were gone?"

Simon smiled brightly, "Ah, Ms. Piper. A wonderful surprise to have your company this morning. Yes, Ms. Green gave her permission for me to prune her garden so that I might have something nice to give Lily." He stepped back, sheers in hand, looking at the large and growing basket of flowers. "I've no idea which are her favorite. I forgot to ask. A faux pax on my part, yes?"

"While you were gone?" He thought about the question. "Lily and I went out looking for trouble. We encountered a demon claiming to be Hecate, Queen of the crossroads. I asked for and received permission from my superiors to call a crossroads demon for interrogation."

He sighed, "We believe that Ms. Green's Father might be an impostor. There is a lot of that as I understand it. He sent people to follow us, we caught one of them...its all a bit of a muddled mess."

He stopped and looked, "What do you think, more roses or perhaps some of her namesake? So small is my experience with the opposite sex."

He went back to the topic at hand. "I get the impression that I am still not privy to all the politics going on about here. There is likely more to all these stories but I do not know it. We raised that demon last night. It confirmed that Hecate is indeed involved in all of this. How do demons keep their own politics straight?"

Kate blinked in surprise. "For Lily huh?" She grinned, "I'd say we missed a lot if you are picking flowers for Ms. Lily. Roses," she added "giving her name flower just seems cliche."

She sat for a moment enjoying the atmosphere of the garden. "So we can add Hecate to the list of bad guys," she mused thinking of their own meeting with Crowley. "I don't even want to get into demon politics. I think a lot of them are just brown nosers. They'll probably side with whoever gives them the best chance to gain power." She pulled a rose off it's bush and held it up to her nose.

"I can bring you up to speed on what I know if you'd like. But we should probably be careful talking around here. You never know who might be listening."

He nodded to her statement about roses. A woman knew other women. He finished cutting another half dozen roses. "Yes, for Lily." He stopped himself as he thought of her again. "I prefer headstrong women...obviously...but I also hoped to find someone willing to accept the pitfalls of being with a man who lives under the vows I do. I suppose I was charmed by Penny to the point that I did not see Lily. Once Penny left...and Lily and I worked together so easily things just kind of made sense." Once he had finished the flowers he sighed. "Likely overkill, but realize this is the most I am allowed to give her under my vow, so I should do my best when it comes to this at least."

He nodded fervently at her comment about demon politics, "Agreed. Demons are at best selfish creatures."

Since Kate wasn't bringing up Penny, neither would he any more than he already had. He looked at her when she made her cryptic statement about not being here. "If not here, where? Did you have some place in mind?"

"Wait...you're still under your vow? You cant..." Kate stopped short and grinned. "Good luck with that one." She didn't know Simon that well but she knew men, and Lily was pretty. He'd never make it. Standing she added her rose to the basket. "I'm guessing a walk would be good?"

Once they are out and about and sure they are not being followed she tells Simon about the events in 2013 starting Mrs. Bentley's soul and the apocalypse. "Belial killed Mrs. Bentley, which is part of what mucked up the time line. Penny and I have to find the body and put her soul back in and convince her to help us." She wrinkled her nose "He left her head at the hotel for us like some kind of sick game. Victoria is working on finding her body. In the meantime we have the case with her soul hidden, but there have been multiple attempts to steal in in 2013 and our Mr. Westbrook sent Fredrick for it last night." She added on that he was indeed a fake and they were hoping to use him to locate the real Westbrook if he was still alive. "Did I miss anything? I think that's everything..."

He smiled, almost laughed at her misconception. "A walk would always do me good. I fear I am too good an actor. I'm not a Roman Catholic Priest, though I grew up in the Roman Church and studied under the Jesuits, I met another priest of the Orthodox Order. He and I became good friends and our discussions of philosophy lead me to believe that I am a better fit for the Orthodox Church. Orthodox Priests do not take a vow of celibacy. We can marry once before becoming a Bishop, which is less than a Bishop in the Roman church but more than a priest. I live only under the God Ordained way of marriage, that we should all remain pure before accepting that Sacrament. So you see the vow I was speaking of was the vow of poverty. Poverty is far more troubling for women, in many instances, than celibacy. At least that is what I am told mind you."



He nodded, "So the temporal order has been disturbed." He looked far off, "And we must attempt a resurrection to put it back in order." He was moving the prayer beads through his hand quickly. "How can I be of assistance?"

Something stuck Simon suddenly as he had just remembered it. "The Demon said something else too. It was off handed, as if she did not really mean to divulge the information. She said they were going to use the 'Ripper Ceremony'. That is how she put it. It seemed ominous, and if Penny's suppositions regarding the Ripper are correct, the demons might be trying to make another like him...or more than one. Shudder that thought."

"Oh! I had no idea. I just assumed you couldn't... well that's so nice." Kate felt a little awkward discussing these things with Simon, especially since she'd been incorrect in assuming he was celibate. "A vow of poverty huh? Well Lily is Native American so I don't think she'll mind. If I remember my history classes right they didn't have much anyway."

Moving on to more important subjects..."Big time," Kate agreed to Simon's mention of the temporal order being disturbed. "Death himself brought her soul to us and told us what we needed to do. Right now we just have to wait for Victoria to find her body. I've never brought anyone back from the dead, have you?"

She frowned at the mention of a 'Ripper Ceremony' "Penny will not like that! She's a woman that's seen a lot of evil but I get the feeling the Ripper is a sensitive case for her. I'd hate for her to have to relive the past again."