Hotel Bar
Corinth pulled into the hotel parking lot, annoyed at the lack of information they received from the bodies. It shouldn't have been no surprise really, they were dead. How much sense could a dead person make after being dragged from the afterlife? Mothman...man in black...swamp...nothing was making sense and he wondered if this was one of those situations where anima collected over time, creating a font that seeped into the real world, affecting those that came to close. Probably not...but it could have something to do with the Ley Lines.
Making his way inside, the scent of food overtook his want for a shower. It wasn't that he smelt bad, it was that Filth had a way of making one feel...well,filthy. He motioned for Lumina to follow him and he pulled seat out from the bar for her and took his own.
"What can I get ya," asked the bartender as he stereotypically tossed a towel over his left shoulder.
Corinth pulled out a red card and slid it over to him. "Bourbon for me and whatever she wants. If I have to ask for a refill, the cost is coming out of your tip. You read me?"
"Loud and clear." The bartender pulled out a tumbler and filled it halfway and put it in front of Corinth.
"Go ahead and hook me up with one of your large burgers and fries while you're at it. Whatever she wants, just put it all on the card." The bartender nodded and went to put the orders in.
Taking a sip of his drink, Corinth sat in silence for a few minutes before speaking. "All this stuff isn't adding up and it's making no sense. Mothman, murders, man in black, Ley Lines, witches, the manor, a freaking swamp 104 years ago? This is nothing but a ridiculous headache."
He took a longer sip of his drink and placed it on the bar a little harder than he meant to. "Here's my theory on this," looking over to Lumina, "I think the Mothman was doing what he always did. Warning people of a disaster. That's his M.O. He showed up in front of two women and then they died. Man in black is probably some magical serial killer. No one ever said magic was used only by the factions, so real creeps out there use it too." He rolled his eyes at her. "Look, nobody here is listening to us. If anything, they probably think we are talking about a movie or a podcast or something."
"Where was I? Witches. They're bullshit. After thinking about it, there is no way all three of those sisters had been accepted by Gaia. It is rare, very rare, to have multiple members of the same family be giving the gift by Gaia, much less three sisters. And then there is a half fourth one? Bullshit. I have a better chance of meeting Gaia herself than Her giving four sisters bees. No, they did something."
The bartender brought out the food and then refilled Corinth's drink. He took a few bites of his fries and then continued. "Ley Lines. That's the key. They tapped into the Ley Lines just like you did and I think I know how. Keep up. The Book of Shadows is a spell book and I'm sure it was passed down from generation to generation, but not because they were witches, but because they took it off a Magus or found it somewhere. They then found Ley Lines and tapped into them, thus allowing them to use magic. That's why the Halliwell Manor was built where it was, at the intersection of two Ley Lines. The house acts as a reservoir, absorbing all the residual magic that flows down the lines and the people that live inside it effectively slowly get charged up like batteries. This would explain why most of the event of the sisters took place on a weekly basis. It took a week for them to fully charge up and be able to use magic."
"You tracking so far? Alright, there are three sisters and three is the big magical number. Lots of things happen in threes and that's why it's considered to be important. If we factor that in with the sisters, three sisters pulling on the Ley Lines could create some type of impact. Magic would be stronger and all that jazz. For all we know, them screwing around with the Ley Lines for so long is what is causing all this. And this half sister nonsense...you work with three full blooded sisters and then one gets offed so you bring in a halfling who can only really work at 50% capacity...that's got to mess things up. Mess things up to the point that you need to start pulling in more magic than usual to get things done." He trailed off and took a bite of his burger.
"What's your take on it all? I personally think we should-" Corinth's phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw that Dalia was calling and decided to answer it, holding up a finger to Lumina. "Yes, Dalia?"
"I was just telling Lumina my thoughts on this investigation. No, I think it's a bust. The other factions are here and they are days ahead of us in everything. We're just picking up breadcrumbs at this point. Me? No, I think it's a waste of time at this point. I mean, we could stay but by the time we get anywhere, it would be less than pointless. Uh huh. Wait, what about Jack Stone?" He leaned forward and took another sip of his drink, his eyebrows furrowed as he listened to his handler. "That doesn't make any sense. He may have visited some questionable places, but he never would have stepped out on her. They loved each other. Oh, she did what now? Now that's interesting? Plus two more? One is weird, but three..." He muted the phone for a second and looked to Lumina, "see,, three."
Unmuting the phone he went back to listening. "That has gathered my attention more than this place. We can debrief you on what we found so far when we get back. How about some coordinates for an Agartha Gate? I don't feel like flying for another 15 hours. Just text them to me. Ok, thanks." He hung up.
Lost in thought, he took another bite of his burger, followed by a few fries, and then another hefty drink, emptying his glass. Even though he had eaten, his head was a little swirly as the bartender refilled his glass. He would sleep well tonight.
"Got another case back in London. Gonna leave this one to whatever faction is working it. You can come or you can stay here and finish up if you desire. Choice is yours." He flagged the bartender down to run his card and cash out for the evening.
Corinth finished his meal and waited for Lumina to finish hers. He was feeling good, but he still wanted, no, now he felt he needed a shower. Once everything was taken care of and a generous tip was left, the duo headed back to their rooms. Before Corinth entered his own room, he looked over to Lumina and said, "You did good today, Jennifer," then disappeared inside.