Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

[dmronny]

(You just recieved a new book from your collector, it's sitting beside your chair along with numerous other books he has found for you. The hospice worker arrived before you had a chance to look at it.)

The young man from Pilgrim's Hospice cheerily busied himself taking Leonardo's vital signs oblivious to the mutterings of the old man. As he finished writing the last vital down on his sheet, he smiled cheerfully before saying.

"Well that's the last of them Leo, now I think it's time for you to try and get some sleep. We need to keep up your strength for the treatment's after all."

 

[maikochan]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

The only way Leonardo could differente the workers who came to bother him on a regular basis was by gender. When they introduced themselves in their invariably overly cheerful manner, Leonardo made it a point to forget their name the instant it left their lips. Their faces were equally forgettable. With this lastest pest finally finished with him, Leonard fixed his gaze on the worker.

"I'll go to sleep when I damn well feel like it." He growled, his voice raspy with phlem. "If you want me to sleep then hand me that book and leave me to my reading." While it was almost impossible for Leonardo to get into his bed on his own, he'd detested the attention of the workers and had taken to sleeping in the recliner he was now sitting in.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

"All right, I guess you can read for a little while. After all my goal is to make things easier on you, Leo."

The young man answered as he glanced at the ancient book, before handing it over to Leonardo with a cheerful smile.

"Interesting looking book there, Rending of the Shroud by Claudius Giovanni. What's it about?"

 

[maikochan]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

Leonardo snatched the book from the worker's hands. "I won't know until I get a chance to look it over. In privacy." He added, pointedly.

He looked over the book's cover, running his bony fingers over the leather while he waited for the stupid boy to get the message.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

"All right then. I'll just finish up with getting your bed ready, for when you finish your reading. If you need anything just call me."

The young man responded as he moved out of the room to make sure everything was prepared for the night. Leaving Leonardo alone to look over his newest find.

The book was obviously very old, though of remarkably good condition. Despite the English titling, the book was written in Latin. What really catches his eye though are the additional handwritten notes jotted in the margins in a language completely unfamiliar to him. The book seems to mostly about necormancy, but there's something strange about it all. Something he can't quite place. It is quite different from most of the books his collector has found for him.

 

[maikochan]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

Leodardo frowned as he looked through the book. Latin wasn't a problem, he could read that. The notes are the most interesting though. There wasn't much Leonardo could do about them though at the moment, so he satisfied himself with reading what he could. In the morning he could call in some favors to see if he could find anyone who could decipher the notes.

He had read other books on necromancy, but most of those were now collecting dust with the other dead ends. This one however, seemed different right from the beginning, and Leonardo quickly began to study it, the hospice worker forgotten.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

With the hospice worker out of mind at least for a little while, Leonardo read the book closer. Most of the writing seemed to tell about ways to bind and control spirits to do your bidding. Not exactly what he was looking for, but the writing seemed as if it came from someone who could actually do these things.

He continued to flip pages devouring everything he could in search of some bit of knowledge he would be interested in. Suddenly a loud thump issued from the backrooms where the young man had disappeared to prepare things for the night! Almost as if someone had fallen to the ground unconscious or worse dead.

 

[maikochan]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

Leonardo frowned when he heard the sound. "You had better not have broken anything!" He yelled towards the bedroom, but then doubled over in his chair as a coughing fit took him. When the fit passed, Leonardo looked down at the page he was reading, now flecked with blood. With a snarl he set the book open on the nearby table, grabbed his two canes and stood up. "Boy, get over here!" He yelled to the worker, but when no response came back, Leonardo began to slowly walk toward the bedroom. He was more concerned about the paperwork needed if the kid had broken his head open than his well being.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

No response comes from the bedroom at all as Leonardo slowly makes his way to the back. All that greets him in the room where the young man should be is utter darkness and complete silence.

 

[maikochan]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

"Idiot. What are you doing working in the dark?" Leonardo angily flipped the lightswitch near the door.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

The light flickers on in the room to reveal the pale body of the young man lying in a twisted heap near the floor of the bed. He appears as if he has been drained of all the blood in his body most likely from the two ragged wounds on his throat.

From down the hall Leonardo hears the front door open and slam shut, followed by the heavy steps of someone or something proceeding to his study.

 

[maikochan]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

"What the hell?" Leonardo looked at the dead worker as though some animal had died in his room. He was more irritated than anything else. This was going to cause some problems, but there was a more immediate issue. The sound from the front confirmed his suspicion that whoever did this was still in the house. He moved over to the nightstand and retrieved the small .32 kept there. He likly wouldn't be able to keep ahold of the gun after the first shot, but that should be all it took to scare off some punk kid.

Walking slightly slower, his right hand gripping both the pistol and his cane, he made his way to the study.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

As Leonardo entered his study he found a fairly tall, well-set man dressed in a black suit seated in the chair opposite his own recliner. The man looked up and met eyes with Leonardo before smiling and saying in a Russian accent.

"Oh come now Leonardo is that any way to treat an old friend, you can put the gun away. Please take a seat I wouldn't want you to over exert yourself to another stroke or anything."

You've never seen the man before, but he seems to know you quite well. When he says to put the gun away you can't help but to do as he asks. Something about the accent seems off to you, almost as if it was forced.

 

[maikochan]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

Even though Leonardo had never seen the man before, the way he spoke, and the air around him even, made it clear this was no ordinary home invader. The fact that he was polite to Leonardo and seemed intelligent made a good first impression on Leonardo. Tucking the pistol into his housecoat pocket almost as an afterthough, Leonardo shambled over to his chair and sat down.

"You'll have to excuse me if I'm a little wary of strangers in my house." Although this man seemed reasonable, Leonardo was still suspicious of him. "Especially after finding a dead man in my bedroom."

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

The man continued smiling benignly as Leonardo sat opposite him.

"Oh yes I'm terribly sorry about all that, but I couldn't afford to let him get in the way of our meeting. Mortals have the unfortunate habit of getting in the way sometimes."

Picking up one of Leonardo's recent book deliveries, he flips through it idly while continuing to speak.

"I do hope you've enjoyed these books that I found for you they were so very useful to me in my pursuit of knowledge. I hope they will have the same effect on you, as their knowledge can be very powerful."

(((Most of the books you've been receiving recently have been about thaumaturgy. Though they didn't really make all that much sense to you. Since you didn't really understand them, at least not yet you haven't. The deliveries always come from Vincent as well.)))

 

[maikochan]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

"Vincent I presume." Leonardo spoke in a carefully measured tone, occasionally punctuated with coughs. "To be honest, I never expected to meet you face to face. Your contributions have been welcome, though I'm afraid not as fruitful for me as they may have been for you."

Vincent's use of the word 'mortal' suggested to Leonardo that this man has already trancended that label, and Leonardo wanted to get as much information from him as possible, but he was patient. His cancer wouldn't kill him in the next few hours at least.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

"Vincent it is indeed, I must say I like that, a sharp mind is always a joy to see especially in this day and age. Though I must confess some disappointment that they haven't been as helpful to you. Perhaps I could shed some light on their uses."

He says with a devious smile as he continues perusing the book he had picked up. Looking up from the book he asks in a condescending tone.

"So tell me how does it feel to know that you will soon be dead, rotting away in some box beneath the earth, with nothing to show for you're pathetic existence?"

 

[maikochan]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

Leonardo's lips twisted into a snarl. "That fate has not been decided yet. You speak as though you have trancended mortality, thus I know it is not a lost cause that I seek. If you do not wish to aid me in this endevour, then I will find the way myself."

 

[dmronny]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

The man continues smiling as he sets the opened book down, before answering.

"I'm afraid the fate is indeed decided. For the reason I came to see you tonight is that I'm now going to kill you."

 

[maikochan]

Re: Prologue - Leonardo MacIssac

"Is that so?" Leonardo's eyes narrowed, but he didn't move from his seat. "That doesn't seem like a particularly wise decision. In a few months, the cancer will have done your job for you. Or maybe I'm getting too close to my goal and you want to stop me? But then why facilitate my research in the first place? What could you possibly have to gain from killing me?"