Occams Razor

It was late in the diner. Gary rubbed at sleep-deprived eyes as he looked around, noting a lack of locals. Good. He stepped up to the fireplace, then made a ruckus until he had everyone's attention.

"Considering the upcoming ceremony, and especially the subsequent pitched battle we expect, I have turned to my books to try to find a solution to a very specific problem: that of Ezekiel Parsons.

"I have a few ideas about how to put him down, the easiest of which would be a variation on the spell I used to slay Cethlynn. Unfortunately as this battle will undoubtedly be at night, I'll be forced to use the moon, a distinctly weaker resource. The ritual will certainly take much longer as well, and as the other members of book club are by far better fighters than myself I intend to be the only caster. As such I'm fairly confident that I can only fire this once. I'll need a good position and strong defense.

"This brings with it the issue about how to keep him down. I really don't want my efforts wasted. I could try to craft a spell to aid in that, but if not, how do we manage to keep the Darkened dead?"

For someone who should probably not be sitting in front of the fire, Billy St. Francis has been spending an awful lot of time there lately. Probably an unhealthy amount, when all things are considered.

Still, at Gary's statements, he is pulled from his expressionless reverie, and puts on at least a casually interested expression. He hears Gary's proposition out, nodding slowly at each point. When he finally reaches his conclusion, Billy lets the silence reign for several moments before breaking it.

"I would be surprised if Parsons took the field personally," he offers simply. "He is, by nature, someone more aware of the subtle ebbs and flow of potential. No, I think it is far more likely that Parsons will let his two more direct and powerful threats batter away at the defenders while he strikes at something else that is vital.

"He can taste the ash on the wind, and feel the earth holding its breath under his feet. He knows that this may be the year, but only if he does not push directly. We still have too many resources, and we will use them if he appears at the wrong moment. You do not reach his age and his power by taking unnecessary risks.

"Still, I think you may be onto something, and that may be more useful against the two threats we know we are facing."

Gary raised a curious eyebrow at Billy. When he opened his mouth to reply, however, he checked himself, held up a finger, and stared into space for several seconds before blinking and returning his focus. He looked annoyed.

"Okay, I'm a bit upset that I know absolutely nothing about half of what you just said. Just how old is Ezekiel? What's his deal? What two threats do we know we're facing, how do we know this, and why haven't I been informed of this? Does anyone understand how complex a really good spell is to craft? The more time I, and I suppose the rest of Book Club, have to prepare, the better the spells I, we, can make."

"About 180 years old, give or take," answers Billy quietly. "He died in a conflict with the Quebecois before the Civil War, and wound up serving the Darkness. He was of the Parsons family, and was... born different. Inherent shamanic ability, I suspect. Extremely polite, even when committing extreme violence. His deal is that he is probably the most powerful servant of the Darkness out there, and the architect of the last 50 years of misery around here.

"The two more direct threats are Adam Campbell, and the crawling mass of eyeballs unleashed at Parsons' place. I suppose other people know how hard a good spell is to craft, but I don't. I don't do magic. I just talk with things. As for why no one is keeping you in the loop..."

Billy trails off, and glances to look directly at Gary.

"Am I your keeper?"

It is an attempt at humor, if a poor one. Still, considering how quiet and distant Billy has been these last few weeks, at least the attempt has to mean something good?

Gary stared blankly at Billy and said 'Ha-ha' in the driest tone possible. After a moment he cracked a wry smile.

"A decent spell would not take much time to put together. An hour at most. A good spell, one with a solid foundation, components specially chosen and prepared, etcetera, takes at least a week to gather and craft. Please, in the future, apprise me well ahead of time when runework might be necessary. The more time to prepare and more information I have, the likelier chance of success on the first go around.

"Now, this eyeball... thing. I did spot it briefly. I'm aware that not much is known, but the very basic question someone might know is: was it summoned by circle, or released through a gate?

"According to the people who were around when it 'woke up'," offers Billy with a shrug. "Unable to be known. Parsons warned the people present that they were in a place where things 'best left to sleep' were, and being present might change them from sleeping to something else. It did not appear to be directly under Parsons' control, but it is not unlike him to be capable of controlling it and choosing not to. As I said, it will be a nice big distraction, but when you see a checkmate in four moves coming down the pipes, tell me... do you put the King in check? Or do you start removing potential moves from your opponent?"