this is totally what Penelope asked for (no it isn't)

[molotovmartinis]

Who: Penelope, Balthazar, and two unfortunate NPCs
What: Balthazar made a deal with Penelope, and is now fulfilling his terms (sort of)
Where: an abandoned building in Serpolet
When: afternoon
Notes: this log is closed but there are planned consequences! However, if your character might become aware of the disappearance of 3 NPCs in the Spatters, and get proactive about it, it is totally possible for MOAR CONSEQUENCES to happen.
Warnings: mental and physical torture (no explicit detail of the process, but some description of NPC injuries); cannibalism; the obligatory Balthazar creepfest

Three to five business days, he'd said.

Perhaps, if this had happened in the LA of his world, Balthazar might actually have had the resources to do what he told Penelope he could do. It wouldn't have been anything mystical. He simply would have had dozens of underlings at his command, not to mention a vast network of informants and people who owed favors.

In Baedal, however, he rather enjoyed being nobody. It would certainly still have been possible to try to look for them himself, to hang around more or less invisibly and listen to people and follow leads. But frankly, that sounded boring, and also, a lot of work — definitely more than three to five business days' worth. That course of action had never occurred to him. Instead, after his conversation with Penelope, he'd set straight out for the Spatters.

He's explored it before, but it still takes him the better part of the day to choose and corral his subjects. It's the first time he's really put any effort into his illusions, and by the start of the second day, he realizes he's actually tiring and running out of energy, something that hasn't happened in years. If he's being honest with himself, however, it's not a surprise. Perhaps he's felt it coming, being completely disconnected from Hell and his 'father'. Knowing his limitations is useful. However, there's work to be done, and after brief consideration, he leaves the two more pliable subjects in their restraints, and carefully butchers the third in front of them. After that, he snacks as he works, putting them through the paces over and over, leaning on their minds and desires, running the illusions for them until they know his constructed version of the attack on Penelope like it's a real memory.

It helps, of course, that human memory is so malleable anyway. He probably doesn't even need to be this careful, but Penelope is some kind of psychic, so he tries to cover his bases. The mark of his demonic taint will be all over them, but their memories haven't been magically modified; he doesn't have the ability to do that. It's only been thorough persuasion, to the point where it feels, to them, like a real memory. Even a telepath might have trouble figuring out exactly what he did, if they can't look past roughly forty hours of torture and the confusing illusions. (If only he knew what Charles has seen!)

On the fourth day, they rest. Balthazar disposes of the remnants of the third body, and goes into the city to do business.

On the fifth day, he releases both of them back into the Spatters, then hunts them down again and repeats what he did, but with less intensity, and only for a few hours, while emphasizing that this is happening because of what they did to Penelope. This adds to their mental disconnect, reinforces their memories, and will confuse anybody who looks at their memories, if indeed Penelope is capable of such a thing.

That evening, they follow him obediently to Serpolet, to an abandoned building. They sit, patient and quiet, on a rubble-covered floor while Balthazar constructs (not without some difficulty, as he hasn't had to work with his hands in years) some makeshift stocks, and then they allow themselves to be restrained. They are not in good shape. One is a large man with thick, broken features, while the other is of average size, but with a particularly disreputable-looking stubble. They were both already the type to frequent the Spatters, which accounts for their borderline vagrant attire, but now they're both sporting minor injuries here and there — missing teeth, missing or broken fingers that may not have fingernails, that kind of thing.

They sit blank-eyed at the table, upon which Balthazar has illusioned up a red and white checkered tablecloth, hunched over in their makeshift stocks. It is, all in all, a cheery scene that Balthazar transmits to Penelope via CiD, along with the location and directions.

Comments

[meanwhileback]

Penelope arrives in very dark sunglasses.

This was calculated, and done for two reasons: One, so as to hide the obviousness of her facial bruising around her eyes that she couldn't entirely cover with makeup, and Two, so that it's harder to see Balthazar's stolen face. Aside from her casts, there isn't anything else out of the ordinary with her appearance, although she is obviously limping a bit, favoring her non-broken foot, which likely explains how fucking long it took for her to show up. She hasn't brought her crutch, because she'd be liable to use it as a weapon.

She had thought about it, though.

Entering the building as carefully as she can, Penelope takes deep, even breaths to orient herself. There is a chance-- just a chance, she knows-- that Balthazar may have actually done what he said he would do. But being who she is, and given the very short time frame, she has her doubts.

For good reason, it turns out, because the men at the cheerily-checkered tablecloth seem... a tiny bit worse for wear, to put it kindly. And then there's Balthazar, which, seriously, fuck him.

"What is this," she says. Even in the awful, busted-up, dirty, dark and dank abandoned building, she's not taking those sunglasses off. But god knows she's not facing Balthazar.

[molotovmartinis]

"Your attackers," he says, completely urbane, even down to the 'duh' in his voice. "You may question them to verify their identities, but you may not do anything until you've paid me."

He's leaning against the table, one arm folded loosely across his stomach, the other hand balancing an apple on his fingers. His suit is more understated this time, a dark and sober undertaker rather than the obnoxious businessman he usually wears. Yet there is a slight modification to his identity in that his hair isn't slicked back; he's experimenting with his appearance to see what, if any affect, it may have on Penelope.