Prologue: Percival

Percival had been hired by a unknown client to preform a ritual for 50 people, that included a variant of Ayahuasca and was offering him twenty-thousand dollars, with half upfront.

Having accepted the job, he spent time preparing the mixture and preparing for the ritual ceremony.

In the week before the ceremony, Percival is visited at his workplace, Rare Reads, by a strange woman, named Morna Demarkov. She ask him if he was presiding over this upcoming ceremony and ask if he would add something to the mixture.

Fearing an attempt to murder the people participating in the ritual, due to the odd behavior and choice of words by Demarkov, Percival turns down her request.

... more to come

Once at the ritual space, a large cookie-cutter mansion in a gated community, Percival attempts to ready himself and prepare for the ritual, though his meditations and pre-rituals are constantly interrupted by the “security/stage-hands” who are working the event.

The event staging is ramshackle at best and contained a large symbol painted upon a wall that was a hodge-podge of mystical symbols; real, fictional, and made up.

Once the attendees arrive, many strip naked and they all kneel, and the “security” place four large vases with incense in them Andy light them. Percival pretends to drink his and pours the next drink for the attendees, and pours them for each to them give to the next.

As he drums and monitors the attendees, the incense smoke ke begins to get think, and the incense sticks appear to begin to spark, and a scream of pain is heard coming from one of the attendees, as Percival checks on the them he finds the two are scratched up and one has literally bitten the other. Percival begins to make his way around the room putting out the incense, only to succumb to its affects answer he passes out.

Waking up the next morning in his car, and luckily with all of his stuff and the remainder of his payment in cash. He gets dressed in his day clothes and drives to his place of work as a place to decompress and unwind before heading home.

... more to come

While at the bookstore Percival was asked by the owner, Rick, if he would be up to go out of town to review a private library collection and write up an write an estimate of worth, for the estate of Nathaniel Montgomery.  To which Percival accepted, and they agreed to discuss it further the next morning.

Percival returns home and is visited by two men, who place a laptop on his table, opening it to a video call to the new age “guru” Oltav Ventrill, where they discuss the failure of the ritual, which Percival insists was due to the hodgepodge quality of the preparation and a poorly thought out methodology.

Through this discussion Percival learns that the participants all died, which he assumed was due to the interference of Demarkov and which he tells Oltav that she had asked him to sabotage the ceremony, and that he had refused. Oltav showed immediate concern and distaste of hearing of her interference, and gave percival some background info on her.

The discussion wrapped up with Oltav asking Percival to be in his employ, searching for a book called the “Trill Quadraire,” and provided him a lot of money to work toward some that end, with and expected monthly expense and progress report required.

That night Percival did a bunch of preliminary research on both Nathanial Montgomery, the rumors of his collection, and the “Trill Quadraire,” eventually falling asleep while at his desk.

While asleep Percival dreamt that a man in corduroy rang his door bell, and then motioned for Percival to follow him, which Percival did after some resistance. Once outside Percival followed the man to where Morna Demarkov stood, over an unconscious woman, a over turned baby stroller near by.

Demarkov stands up and begins dancing and beckoning to Percival, as the song “Hush” by Blue Oyster Cult plays. The man in corduroy stand behind Demarkov and holds his arm out with a lit cigarette in his hand circling it, in a tight circle, to the rhythm of the music. Then Percival wakes up to the sound of his alarm.

... more to come

After awakening from his strange dream, Percival gets ready and heads into work.

Arriving a little late, he finds the shop open and his boss Eric working quietly while a customer is rummaging through the occult section.

Eric leaves to get them both coffee.

While Eric is gone the customer walks out, and see the Percival and freaks out exclaiming “it’s you!” and begins to breakdown a bit, dropping his drink on the floor. Percival recignizes him as the man, from his dream the night before.

They talk briefly about Demarkov and how the man can’t “escape” her and he wanted to know if the introductory book of magic geared towards teens worked. Then noticing two men at the shop door, he ran back into the back.

Two police detectives enter, who Percival recognize as police that work for a specialized department, funded by Christian fundamentalists, who follow up on cases that might involve the occult. As Percival has a brief discussion with the officers, the man in the back room walks out the front doot, stealing the teen witchcraft book in the process.

Percival asks the two men to sit down as they want to ask him questions about a mass murder they believe to be satanic in nature.

As they talk, an area transgender woman, who is a prostitute, walks in and asks if we have any copies of the book “two thugs in blue” then walks out.

Percival finishes speaking with the officers, and they leave unsatisfied and saying that they may have to question him further, which he agrees to.

When Eric returns they discuss the job of estimating the library of Nathaniel Montgomery and the rest of the week goes smoothly.