Ivy found a spot in the corner and got to work. Pricking her finger to get a drop of blood, she began chanting in an old, blasphemous tongue. The droplet hovered, multiplying and spreading until a red pentagram levitated around her, with sigils at the points written in demonic script. “Leviathan, old one, damned one, come before me. One who is not worthy seeks an audience.”
"Old One? Who are you calling Old, little boy?" Leviathan retorted, seemingly as a disembodied voice.
"Hmph." Ivy shook her head at being called 'boy.' "I mean, I know I'm flat as a pancake, but that's just insulting." The witch shrugged. "And I did think you'd recognize your own flesh and blood. But I digress. I take it you've heard what Madame Muir has planned for us, so I'd like to ask you a few questions about the whole situation."
"Alright." Ivy took a deep breath- she was about to lead with a big ask. "First off, I'm nervous about having a safe house on this plane. Too easy for her to find, and with enough time and effort, she could break the protective enchantments. So, what I'd like, if you can provide it, is a cottage on the shores of the Sea of Envy. Big enough to fit the whole class, and protected by an anti-scrying enchantment powered by you so she can't locate us. If you can't... I understand."
"Eh, no, I gotta better idea."
"Manifest me on Earth's Plane, and I'll help with your little Witch Bitch situation."
Well. This just got interesting. Ivy strained at the momentousness of what her father was proposing. Conjuring the physical embodiment of the Seven Deadly Sins in the mortal plane was a feat that would at least get you some consideration as a new Supreme. If you could survive, that is. If she tried manifesting any of the others on her own, she was sure all that would be left of her was a pile of ashes and a decent pair of heels. Even with the connection to her father's blood, she wasn't certain she could do it herself.
"I'll keep it in mind. Second idea. Madame Muir wants to steal our life force. If she's immortal, she won't need to do that. Question is, how do we get her to that point? I'm willing to work with her if it saves our lives.”
"I know all about how Madam Muir came to become immortal, and why she's dying. I will only tell you everything you want to know if you agree to a few stipulations."
"Oh, and I wouldn't suppose you happen to have any of her possessions or something like that would you?"
"No, I don't." Ivy sighed. A possession of the Madame's would be a huge boon in working curses on her. It wasn't a fight she could ever win, but maybe she could at least hurt her and make it easier for the others to bring her down. Alas. "What are these stipulations you ask of me?"
"Okay here's the thing. I need you marry Dagon."
. . .
"Dagon? Dagon?" Ivy's eyes narrowed as she tried to place the name- then she had a full-blown freakout as she managed to do so. "No. no. This is not happening. My father is not selling me like a horse to get hitched to a godly piece of seafood. And can you imagine the 'smells like fish' jokes? No way. Nuh-uh. Not. Gonna. Happen."
"Hon. . . " Leviathan began sardonically. "You know I'm a demon right? I'm not Father of the Year material. I've been trying to find some way to make use of you since you were born, and this is probably one of the best ways how."
"If you wanna get hitched with someone else, I suppose there is also Vlad Tepes. You've heard of him, right?"
"Ugh. You know what, Dagon isn't so bad. But you're paying for the wedding. I could use a couple of spare damned souls." The witch shuddered, but she was over a barrel and she knew it. "Now, tell me everything you know about Madame Muir."
"Oh, one more."
"Ahem, you don't necessarily need to um. . . you know, "Consummate the marriage"
"But you most certainly as his Queen, must give him literal children that you birth."
Immediately he changed subject.
"The Supreme Witch was born as Emma Muir, in the year 875, Common Era. She was born as the most beautiful woman in all Strathclyde."
"One day, the local Lord of her region took a liking to her, which would be prove to be a great curse."
"This Lord raped the fair Emma, took her child from her, and paid her for her "services" and also as hush money.
Emma rightly tried to tell everyone what had happened, but as the culture of the day wasn't exactly the most progressive, they shunned her as a wench and kicked her out of her home. Emma was hunted down in the forest and violated by several of the Lord's men, and died from her wounds.
Emma's powers activated after her murder, and her body magically restored it'self.
"She rightly hated the Lord and his men, and the village, but her curse was a terrible punishment. Three villages, the Lord's castle, and all innocents in the region fell under the shadow of a plague. Three thousand men, women, and children. First, there came an unbearable thirst, then unbearable hunger. All pleasant sensations left them, while their pain and discomfort from the starvation and thirst would heighten, and they would all age an entire year in one day. Soon, there were no living folk among the cursed places, and worst of all, their souls still hunger and thirst, in agonizing starvation as they have for more than a thousand years, and will continue to do so until Judgment Day."
"The key to her defeat lies in the damnation she torments her victims with every waking moment of every night and day."
"So, let me get this straight. Madame Muir gets her power from souls she trapped and tormented, and if we can free those souls, she'll probably age to dust. Correct?"
"Nope. It's more complicated than that. She not only gets power from the suffering she inflicts on her victims, but there is also the little matter of her only son."
"He was the only survivor of the incident."
"Okay. Tell me about Junior and what his role is in this fiasco."
"For one thing, Junior is either still around, or somehow has a role in taking Muir down. He has made some artifacts of enormously powerful magic."
"The so-called Jacob Stone, also known as the Stone of Scone of Scottish Kings is one. It's not just a gemstone, it can hold all power of all Scottish mages, both witch and warlock inside of it. Each time a witch from Scottland dies he or she sheds an insignificant portion of their soul into the Stone. Witches aren't the most common kind of person so even after a thousand years it might not seem like a lot, but then there's indirect gifts the Stone brings. Muir, for example, was so strong with her magic that her son constantly had nightmares of the screaming souls of her damned souls. When he created The Stone of Scone, he managed to blot out her power. This stone is said to have the power to protect from all curses."
"So if we can get our hands on the stone, we'll be able to protect ourselves from her magic."
"The kid, if you call someone a thousand years old a kid, is the one who made these things. These are things and things can be broken."
"Madam Muir still has feelings for both her children, even Emelia, there could be a way for her to avoid murdering them and still get what she wants."
"There could be a way to use Emelia and the other kid to give Emma Muir what she wants and avoid slaughtering anyone."
"I think I understand." Ivy smiled again- she had several more cards to play, and they could well be aces. "Anything else, or is that all you want to tell me?"
"Okay, well I think I do remember more than a couple of ways you can restore Madam Muir's immortality without massacring innocents, which, let's face is, a lot more boring than watching her do just that."
"The Holy Grail is actually still somewhere in The World of Avalon."
"It's the only object which is empowered by both God and Pagan gods at the same time."
"This object would be difficult to acquire. It's guarded by various Fairy deities."
"They're not malicious, but you'd have to earn it's use."
The tiefling went utterly rigid and stock-still. When she recovered her wits, Ivy said in a low voice, "The Holy Grail?! I... I thought that was just a bedtime story for kids! It's real?"
"Yeah. Like I said it's a little different from the traditional legend. Jesus did come into contact with it, and it's the only thing he's ever done in cooperation with Pagan gods."
"It basically has a portion of God's presence throughout and inside the chalice."
"Take the Holy Grail, with anyone that Madam Muir trusts, and have them give it to her in exchange for her agreeing to banishment to the Other World."
"An interesting proposition, but will she take it? Regardless, we have several options to pursue. I... I think we're in a good spot, dad." Ivy mentally broke her connection to her father- she could always summon him again later. “Okay,” she told the other witches. “I know how Madame Muir become immortal, I got a lead on the Holy Grail, and most important, I agreed to get myself knocked up by a glorified sushi plate.”
Shadow Dragon
Spike