many people move here to start families

[cross_and_bow]

Bella is hanging out in a Jarvis - the familiar one - handwriting a nonaggression proposal-slash-bribe. Has to be handwritten. Damn fussy demons. At least it's okay for her to conjure rather than personally harvesting the weird ink she's supposed to use.

Comments

[pythbox]

"Well, you did," she grumbles. "You should be very sorry."

[eversomuchfun]

[The bath lady's name is Glorificus, Glory for short; her alter ego is Ben, a perfectly ordinary human except for occasionally turning into her. She seems to derive power or sustenance from sucking... something... out of people's brains. Her past victims can be cured at a pentagon per, but I only did the most recent one. The rest are either dead or in mental hospitals.]

[cross_and_bow]

[How many victims are we talking about here? What does Ben know?]

[I am as sorry as I should be,] Bella asserts to Glory.

[eversomuchfun]

[Ballpark of two or three hundred so far. Ben knows a thing or two, and you might have more luck getting it out of him than out of her.]

[cross_and_bow]

[Can you tell what triggers the shapeshifting?]

[eversomuchfun]

[Mostly random, as far as I can tell.]

[cross_and_bow]

[How do the obsequious demons react to him if one's around when he shows up, then?]

[eversomuchfun]

[Obsequiously. But he doesn't like them.]

[cross_and_bow]

[I'll hang around and wait for him, then, unless she lines up another snack.]

[eversomuchfun]

[If you get impatient, you could always see what kind of coin it takes to force the change.]

[cross_and_bow]

[You don't think they'd notice, it's that random?]

[eversomuchfun]

[I don't think they would.]

[cross_and_bow]

Bella starts trying coins, but she's going to stop and reconsider if a pentagon won't do it.

[pythbox]

A pentagon does it. Ben rubs his head, sighs, checks his watch, and gets up off the couch.

[cross_and_bow]

[Hey you.]

[pythbox]

He yelps and looks around wildly.

[cross_and_bow]

[You can reply to me the same way,] she adds helpfully.

[pythbox]

[Who are you? What do you want? How did you find me? What's going on?]

[cross_and_bow]

[I found your alter ego, first, and I want to find out why she's been brain-sucking several hundred people and put a stop to it.]

[pythbox]

[That is not a complete answer!] he says, clutching his head in distress.

[cross_and_bow]

[My name is Bella, if that actually helps.]

[pythbox]

[Look, what I really want to know right now is whether or not you're about to do something horrible to me,] he says. [...And how you know anything about my alter ego.]

[cross_and_bow]

[I do not have any plans to do anything horrible to you. And I am very, very magical.]

[pythbox]

He relaxes. Slightly.

[I'm not sure I can be much help,] he says. [I don't control Glory.]

[cross_and_bow]

[I just need to know what it is she's up to, so I can see about handling her myself. Why do you turn into her?]