Too many Black Magic Women

by **Victoria Valentine** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:00 pm

Finally reassured that she'd mopped up the last of Nacho's mistakes, Victoria arrived at the Hellfire club, giving the man at the door a cool smile as she tossed her keys, a bit carelessly, to have her car parked. She was dressed much like she had been the last time, only this time with a delicate necklace bearing a pulsing blue gem on it. "I believe my mistress is within?" she said.

by **Narrator** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:14 pm

"Uhm... yes but... didn't you... She's inside, yes." the valet blinks and almost manages to drop Victoria's keys. As he walks to her car he glances back at her, shakes his head and mumbles to himself, looks back at her again and finally decides he'd better do as he's told and park her car.

by **Victoria Valentine** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:20 pm

Was there a bit of swagger in her step? Maybe a little. She was pretty sure that Nacho had well and truly flubbed his chances, and she'd cleaned his mess up. Still, she couldn't afford to be cocky. If she walked in all 'I'm the princess now,' she was going to get put in her place in a probably-humiliating fashion. so she afforded herself a little smirk along the way before she composed herself again. Showtime. Taking a deep breath, she let out a gentle magic thrum to signal her arrival, then settled in to wait for a signal to enter.

by **Margali Szardos** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:28 pm

There's muted voices coming from inside, followed by one of the other doors opening and closing. A couple moments later the door opens and Margali beckons Victoria inside with two fingers. Impeccable timing, my dear." she says as she eyes Victoria.

by **Victoria Valentine** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:46 pm

"When someone makes an entrance, they should do it right," Victoria said as she walked in. "I hope that I'm not interrupting anything, Mistress?"

by **Margali Szardos** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:52 pm

"Not at all." she says, her expression relaxing and her tone becoming somewhat amused as she seems to come to the conclusion that Victoria isn't aware of her doppelganger just having left. "I hear that you have been cleaning up after Ignacio."

by **Victoria Valentine** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 4:05 pm

"I suppose I have, yes. I thought about letting things carry through to their natural end, but... well, all of my things are in this country. I have a bit of a vested interest in it not being demolished by Mindless Ones."

by **Margali Szardos** » Thu Apr 09, 2015 4:11 pm

"A wise decision and it's refreshing to see that you know your own strength and didn't attempt to wrestle them under your thumb instead. Mere power is not nearly as important as to know how strong you are and when to back down. This is doubly true for those of us who walk the Winding Path. You've done very well, Victoria."

by **Victoria Valentine** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 2:30 am

"My mistress flatters me," Victoria said, a smirk quirking at her lips. "I'm afraid that I'm still fine tuning my project. Had I known that I was working on a time table accelerated by an extreme lack of caution, I'd have slept a bit less, I suppose."

by **Margali Szardos** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 2:40 am

"Most competitions get significantly easier with the other competitors out of commission, however."

by **Victoria Valentine** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 2:47 am

"Well yes. I really hate to win by virtue of no good competition, though. Seems such a... lazy way to win, yes?"

by **Margali Szardos** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 11:43 am

"Oh, I reckon you'd still want to finish the race. I'm just saying that hamstringing the competition is part of the game as far as I am concerned."

by **Victoria Valentine** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 10:05 am

"Still, the bulk of it is done. Now it's just a matter of fine tuning it to exactly what I want it to do." She stroked the gem at her throat idly. "Because I do so despise summoning and binding. Necessary sometimes, but everyone's always so quick to do it and incur problems like our dear little friend for no apparent reason. But conjuring help takes so much concentration that it's almost not worth it. So... I decided to find a work-around for that." As she stroked the gem, a shadow disengaged itself from the door and solidified, its shape vaguely her own (though it was a bit hard to tell without being able to see features clearly). Then another disengaged itself and made its way over to her, and another. This didn't seem too phenomenal, until one noticed that they were moving independently of each other, and in unison, while Victoria didn't seem to lose the pace of the conversation. "I've found the results to be quite... useful."

by **Margali Szardos** » Sat Apr 11, 2015 11:06 am

"Interesting." she says, walking over to where the shadows are congregating and eyeing them curiously. "Are they shadows bound to your will and image or are they infused with part of yourself?"

by **Victoria Valentine** » Sun Apr 12, 2015 1:33 am

"This is infused," Victoria said. "A bit of thought, a bit of intent, and it divides that intent away from your mind, protecting it into whatever you make the body from. So whatever you want it to do, it will do as well as you would do it. With fewer bodies it allows you more flexibility to give them more information to work with.". The necklace flashed, and the shadows disappeared. " sustained by your own magic. I'm still toying with the enchantment to find its limitations and open more possibilities. In theory if you can steal a mind or a spirit, you can bind that into a form."

by **Margali Szardos** » Sun Apr 12, 2015 3:33 pm

"Incredibly versatile." she nods approvingly. "But it can be dangerous to spread yourself out as well. Be careful with things that are infused with so much of your own essence because your enemies can and will try to use that against you if they realize it. But it capitalizes on your natural duality and stands to amplify your ability to approach things from several angles at once. It's never bad to be able to watch your own back. Do be careful if you try to bind other beings this close to your own self though, it's a blade that can cut both ways."

by **Victoria Valentine** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 7:37 am

"Naturally," Victoria said. "But it's a much less... costly method than, say, binding mindless demons to yourself. I'd need to work on an enchantment to make sure any spirit captured in the gem is bound and controlled, but if something becomes problematic, it can just be dismissed." She lowered her hand from the necklace. "As I said... it hasn't been tested as fully as I would prefer, but the theory proved sound in practice and it's functional. And didn't leave me a dying husk in Hyde Park, but I won't gloat over that part."

by **Margali Szardos** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:08 am

"I assume you already did your gloating over Ignacio or if you didn't I reckon you might now, because I am going to officially put your name forward at the next meeting of the Inner Circle. You already met some of the other members at the gala, but we should introduce you some time soon as the new Black Bishop of the London Hellfire Club. All that's left are mere formalities now."

by **Victoria Valentine** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 5:02 pm

"I believe I'll save further gloating for when he inevitably tries to assassinate me," Victoria reasoned. "Doing it repetitively is just... Classless.". She paused a moment. "Does the color have any real bearing on allegiance and duties, since you're the red queen?"

by **Margali Szardos** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 5:33 pm

"Not necessarily. Though I won't lie, it's somewhat deliberate. A token gesture to don't make the others too nervous about me consolidating too much power, even though the colors don't denote any particular allegiances. And if they did it couldn't hurt to have a spy among their ranks."

by **Victoria Valentine** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 5:42 pm

"So largely exactly as one would expect, good," she said. "I suppose I'll maintain a presence for the time being while things are being... considered."

by **Margali Szardos** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 6:05 pm

"Please do. It's a mere formality at this point and mainly depends on gathering everyone together. It shouldn't be longer than a couple days at most."

by **Victoria Valentine** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 6:54 pm

"I've no reason to be impatient," Victoria said easily.

"So... I do have to wonder, were our dear friend's supposed ancient treasures authentic? Or is he falling victim to the stories anyone will tell when they're trying to get a better price for their trinkets?"

by **Margali Szardos** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 6:57 pm

"At least some of them had to have been, which makes it a shame that he wasted them."

by **Victoria Valentine** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 7:14 pm

"Hm. I suppose I'm glad that I hung on to that dagger, then. We'll see, I suppose."

by **Margali Szardos** » Tue Apr 14, 2015 7:26 pm

"It is yours to claim. It will be a nice trophy, regardless of it's authenticity."

by **Victoria Valentine** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 9:13 pm

"A pity that the rest couldn't be recovered. I'd rather love to see that supposedly Babylonian opal he got his hands on," Victoria mused.

by **Margali Szardos** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 9:56 pm

"It might not be irrevocably lost, but that sounds like a project for another day. Let the Mindless Ones and their dimension have it for the time being."

by **Victoria Valentine** » Mon Apr 20, 2015 9:23 am

"Yes, I do believe I'm going to leave well enough alone on that one."

"If there's nothing else, though, I believe I'll go see to my own affairs. Do you have any particular disposition toward Ignatio's current and future fate?". Margali might be inclined to let him lie in whatever bed he'd made. On the other, Victoria reflected, he might know things she didn't want him bartering for his freedom. It seemed only prudent to ask.

by **Margali Szardos** » Tue Apr 21, 2015 11:18 am

"I can take him of your hands if you wish, but otherwise feel free to deal with him as you wish. It's your right as the one to have bested him after all."

"Oh and if you see your shapeshifting friend, please tell him to refrain from imitating my apprentices, yes? Your kind of look takes a certain attitude to pull off right." she adds as Victoria gets ready to leave.

by **Victoria Valentine** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 1:02 pm

Victoria froze in place. "May I, by chance, have a bit of context to that statement, Mistress?"

by **Margali Szardos** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 1:32 pm

"Someone who looked remarkably like you and behaved like, shall we say a bad caricature of you, came in here to talk to me. I humored them because I wanted to see why they would be so bold. I believe I shall leave determining the consequences of their behavior to you."

by **Victoria Valentine** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 1:43 pm

"Thank you for your indulgence, my lady," Victoria said, her smile bereft of all humor. "I do believe that I'll go see to that."

Making her way back to the door she'd come through, she fumed her way up to the man at the door. "Have I already come back out of here?" she snapped, obviously irate.

by **Narrator** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 1:50 pm

"N-not that I noticed, ma'am." he says, briefly loosing his calm exterior before noticeably pulling himself back together.

by **Henry Hereford** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 1:52 pm

That is roughly around the time when Henry Hereford storms into the lobby, sporting a bloody nose and a generally disheveled look, including a couple red strands of hair. "Where is that guy!?"

by **Victoria Valentine** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 1:58 pm

"Dare I ask, what guy?" Victoria asked, not shaken out of her own irritation.

by **Henry Hereford** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 2:06 pm

"Old guy, butler uniform except he probably doesn't look like it anymore. I think he's a shapeshifter. Knocked me out cold!" He nervously runs a hand through his hair which seems to make the colored streaks disappear, only for other strands to turn copper-red instead.

by **Victoria Valentine** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 2:18 pm

Victoria narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Henry. "Well, if a shapeshifter has gotten in here, then obviously someone needs to have a chat with security about their procedures," she said. What's going on here?

by **Henry Hereford** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 2:33 pm

Henry notices the suspicious look in Victoria's eyes and pinches his nose, which makes his whole face shift around faintly as if his skin was too lose and got pushed around by the gesture. "Okay, another shapeshifter." he says in a hushed tone and glares at the valet until he gets the point and turns to leave the two of them alone.

by **Victoria Valentine** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 2:43 pm

Victoria watched the valet go, then looked back to Henry. "Have yourself a bit more settled now, darling?" she asked mildly.

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