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playby Wade Poezyn</div>
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			Devon Chase<br/>
<i>(click the arrow for a link to his character sheet)</i>
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<br/>
</span>​</div><span style="font-family: 'Georgia'">With one last mark, the chalk circle was completed. It was not just any circle, it was a tri-layered, inverted, bi-planar binding circle and it had taken me the better part of a day to prepare, but it was done, and the trap was set. I breathed into my palms not for the bitter cold, but to focus the heat of my breath into a ball of flame. Heat is easy, all you do is take a whole lot of it from a big space and clump it into a small space, and all of the sudden you have a knot of energy much ‘hotter’ than the surrounding space. The orb of coiling activity between my fingers burned with the hues of my will as I shoved it down into the activation point of the spell, and the tri-geometric prison leapt into our dimensions before me, with my quarry scrunched into a ball between its lines. “You fucked up this time Howell. That girl was being tracked, and they have the entire thing playing on every screen in the network.” I stood, shaking my head as I tracked my eyes to his as he spun in mid-air. “Good thing for you I caught you before they did.”<br/>
<br/>
Robert Trent Howell’s lanky form twitched in resistance, then hissed in pain at the sudden burns. His craven eyes bugged out when he realized he couldn’t move or speak, then centered on me as the expression on his face shifted from surprise to anger to realization, then descended into abject dread.<br/>
<br/>
“Ah, yes. It is true I will be sending you along to the Enclave if you are not able to make it worth my while, and undoubtedly you will be spending some quality time with that poor woman in the same state you put her in. She didn’t look like the merciful type, did she?” I smirked. “I sure hope she isn’t, I’m rather looking forward to seeing what she does to you.” The spell I had him trapped in bound his fingers, lips and tongue specifically. Howell was a wizard, like me in only the broadest definitions, and though I doubted it, I didn’t want him activating some spell that would get him out of his predicament. That meant no finger movements, no touching objects, no speaking. But there was something I wanted from him, and for that I’d built a sieve into my netting spell. “You have one way out of this, and I think you know what I want. Give me any and all information on any bounties you have, and if I see something more interesting than the bounty on your head, I’ll consider letting you go to pursue it instead.”<br/>
<br/>
Howell’s scrunched his face at me in confusion, then he looked down to see the basin of water under the planar prison.<br/>
<br/>
“One little tear, if you can manage it. If not, I’m sure I can help it along.” I let the heat running through the lines of my spell flare harmlessly, but suddenly enough that Howell leapt, or tried to, in surprise. He shuddered, but no tears emerged from his eyes. “Not sorry, huh? Let’s try this…” I sent a suggestion through the spell into Howell’s mind, one without words, just the recorded fear and terror that he had inflicted on his victim. I sustained it until three drops had fallen from his eyes into the basin, then ceased as I watched the secret thoughts gathering in the pool. Images of people and places and private moments flashed over the surface of the water, but nothing that was of interest to me, or to any active bounties that were more valuable than the one on Howell. “Well,” I said, “that is just too damned bad for you, isn’t it?”<br/>
<br/>
Howell twisted and jerked in sudden desperation, but the spell held, and burned him again.<br/>
<br/>
“Hey now, no damaging the merchandise. You know how this goes.” I lifted my hand to manipulate the spell, compressing the walls with a squeezing gesture, then flicked my fingers and watched as walls of light fully encapsulated Howell. Then I opened the satchel I kept at my waist, shunted most of the mass of the prison back into extradimensional space until it was small enough to fit in the bag, stowed my quarry in the satchel, closed it, then turned my back on the faded chalk circle on the roof of the building I stood atop of. I went to the stairwell door, but before I opened it I enacted a spell that would change the destination on the other side of it. I opened the door, then stepped into Gallavan’s tavern, closing the door behind me.<br/>
</span><br/><div style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia'">***</span>​</div><span style="font-family: 'Georgia'"><br/>
<i>Gallavan’s</i> was a dark, smokey place, all wood interior, and not a smudge of grime or dirt in the establishment. The crowd was thin during the day, but the usual regulars were there, nursing ales and waiting for jobs they thought they could do without too much trouble. Instead of heading over to my compatriots’ table, I went straight to the bar and asked for the bounty broker. The bartender lifted her eyebrow at me, then shrugged and buzzed the little man in the back room. I grinned when I saw Gallavan’s shock of wild, white hair bustle out to the bar.<br/>
<br/>
“Well,” he screeched, “what is it? I haven’t got all day.” He was short, just over four feet tall, wearing old, black suspender overalls and carrying a wrench. His scrawny arms were showing as he wore nothing under the overalls, and his face was smudged with black grease.<br/>
<br/>
I grinned at the rickety old mage as I set the satchel on the bar. “Bounty, Gallavan. What else?”<br/>
<br/>
“Bounty, huh? Let’s see then, who’ve we got here?” He set the wrench down on the counter then plucked up my satchel and looked inside, then whistled through his teeth. “That was fast, Devon, his bounty hasn’t been up for a day yet.”<br/>
<br/>
I showed my teeth. “I could come back with him tomorrow, if you’d prefer.”<br/>
<br/>
Gallavan scowled at me. “Right, I let you leave here with him and you take him somewhere else. No sonny, we’re in business. Now lets see here, what was the rank on this little rodent…” He pulled a phone out of his overalls pocket, opened an app, and didn’t have to scroll far before he found the bounty on Howell. “Jiminy, Devon, three five-digit favors? You’re set for the year! I didn’t know you were working at this level already.”<br/>
<br/>
I just smiled and said nothing.<br/>
<br/>
“Tight-lipped, huh boy? Good policy, but this won’t stay quiet forever. I expect you’ll be getting a little more attention around here before long.”<br/>
<br/>
I dipped my head at the man. “Nothing I can’t handle. You’ll broker the transaction?”<br/>
<br/>
“You betcha, Devon. We haven’t had a fiver in this rink-a-dink old place for a few years now. It’ll be a jolt to these old bones to be on the scene again.” Gallavan tucked the satchel away, then forestalled me with a hand. “Oh, I know, you’ll want this back, but we can’t have him rolling out on the floor now can we? Come back tomorrow night and I’ll have your satchel and your pay ready, with the writs of favor as well.”<br/>
<br/>
“Good enough for me, old man. See you tomorrow night. Spot me a brew?”<br/>
<br/>
Gallavan laughed. “Sure Devon, as long as you pay for it!”<br/>
<br/>
I chuckled as I put some money on the bar, and it seemed to me the bartender was a little nicer after seeing me chat with her boss. “Thanks gorgeous,” I said, letting my gaze linger on her wry face until I saw hints at what might someday turn into a smile, then I winked and took my cider to my usual table. “Afternoon boys,” I said, pulling up a chair.<br/>
<br/>
“Afternoon boys, he says,” Frank said, leering at me. “What’s all this about a bounty Devon? Pull another three digit trick did you?” Frank was a grizzled man in his thirties with enough magical talent to wrap me in a box and send me home to my mothers. He had a full, black beard, and beady eyes that didn’t miss anything.<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah, Frank,” I said, sitting down. “Just another trick, that’s all.”<br/>
<br/>
“Bullshit, Dev,” Charlie said, squinting at me over a mostly empty mug. “Old Galls doesn’t come out and mingle for a two-bit trick. He was fit to click his heels and do a jig when you left the bar. Who’d you get?”<br/>
<br/>
I grinned and winked at the young apprentice. “You’ll find out soon enough Charlie, soon enough.”<br/>
<br/>
Crazy John belched, then leveled his wizened stare on me. “Trouble, boy. It’s coming for you.” Crazy John wore an eyepatch, but the eye looking at me was glazed white and unmoving. He appeared to be in his seventies at least, but you could never tell with a wizard beyond a certain point. It was unnerving to have that dead eye fixed on me, and it was even more unnerving to know that it actually could see trouble coming down the time-stream for me.<br/>
<br/>
“Thanks John, think I can handle it?”<br/>
<br/>
Crazy John blinked, was quiet for a moment, then tilted his head in a noncommittal gesture. “Not alone.”<br/>
<br/>
I grinned. “Good thing I’m not alone then!” I lifted my bottle for a toast and the others joined in, but Crazy John’s eye didn’t move from me, and his stone-faced glare told me the trouble he saw was no laughing matter, and that a toast between friends wasn’t going to make it go away. He lifted an eyebrow at my studious appraisal, then gave me a small nod that I found far more reassuring than a simple nod had any right to be coming from anyone other than a prophet.<br/>
<br/>
Just then the opening riff of the Bounty Watch program resounded through the bar, and the program popped up on every screen throughout the tavern. “Greetings hunters! Two updates have just arrived, and we’re bringing you this special non-scheduled issue of Bounty Watch to keep you all appraised as the news comes in! First, as you all know, Robert Trent Howell was caught committing an act of mind manipulation on a protected citizen, and had a bounty of three fivers on his head! Well, ladies and gentlemen and other such folk, that bounty has been claimed, and the negotiations have started! Congratulations to the lucky puck who pulled him in!” A jingle for a high bounty cleared played over the speakers, then the announcer continued. “Now, for the news I’m sure you’ll all be salivating over! A seven digit bounty with favors to match has been set! The payor remains perfectly anonymous, as always, but the target is most certainly not!” An image of a face we all recognized popped up onto the screens. “Salvarion Rigonaldo is wanted for crimes against the Enclave, list extant on the bounty card should you choose to take it! Be safe and happy hunting!” The screen winked out, and for a single, held-breath moment, the tavern was silent. Then a commotion of noise and activity burst out as the patrons in the tavern launched into speculation and expressed their shock.<br/>
<br/>
Charlie was the first at our table to speak. “Salvarion Rigonaldo, isn’t he an incubus?”<br/>
<br/>
Frank grunted. “No, boy, he is <i>the</i> incubus. He runs their entire operation in LA. Aint anyone you know gonna be able to touch him with a thirty foot pole.”<br/>
<br/>
“But seven digits!” Charlie exclaimed, “And favors to match! With that we could live like kings!”<br/>
<br/>
“Charles, if any of us went after that bounty we’d be lucky if we had seven digits left between us. Leave it alone.” Frank lifted his beer. “Aint no use digging up trouble you can’t survive.” He took a swig, then his eyes shifted to me. “Howell, huh? He put up much of a fight?”<br/>
<br/>
“Huh?” I said. “Oh, nah, he was like a fly on paper. Couldn’t even twitch.”<br/>
<br/>
“Look here, Devon,” Frank said. “Just because you caught yourself your first big bounty don’t mean shit when it comes to someone like Salvarion. He will chew you up and spit you out and then grind you under his heel.”<br/>
<br/>
I slid my gaze from the presently blackened screen to Frank’s stern features. “I’m not your apprentice, Frank.” Then I grinned at him. “But you’re absolutely right, there’s no way I’m about to go ask for that bounty card.” I stood up, then headed for the bar.<br/>
<br/>
Frank’s voice was low behind me. “Look there, Charles. That is a dead wizard walking.”<br/>
<br/>
As I approached the bar, a huge man in biker leathers met my gaze as he matched my stride. “Got no call for you here, Chase,” he said as he took a bounty card from Gallavan.<br/>
<br/>
“Oh, come on Jackson, you’re gonna hurt my feelings.” Jackson Williams was a werewolf, a brutal, savage fighter with no particular fear of anything on two legs, magic or not. He was also blocking me from getting a bounty card on Salvarion.<br/>
<br/>
“Better that than your scrawny neck, boy. Go back to your table and sip your girly cider, and leave this one to more capable hands.” He tucked his card away then squared off in front of me, big and intimidating and in my fucking way.<br/>
<br/>
I gave him a placid stare, then smirked. “Oh, is mister wolfy Williams uncomfortable with competing with a man who likes a fruity drink? Maybe I’ll order you up a nice strawberry daiquiri and we can dance while the nice girl behind the bar mixes it up for you. Here, take my hand and let’s talk it over.”<br/>
<br/>
Jackson glanced at my offered hand, then back at my eyes. “Wrong move, wizard.” He ignored the hand, then turned away and moved off toward the door. If he had touched me, enough electricity to reduce him to a quivering heap would have lanced into him and put him flat on the floor.<br/>
<br/>
I felt like spitting, but I smiled instead and took a card from Gallavan. “Thanks, Gallavan.”<br/>
<br/>
“You sure about this one, Devon? I wouldn’t want to lose both my prime earners in one day.” The old man looked genuinely concerned.<br/>
<br/>
“Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan.”<br/>
<br/>
Gallavan pushed out his lips in dubious appraisal. “They always do. Good luck, Devon.”<br/>
<br/>
“Thanks.” I went back to the table to pick up my cider, nodded at my friends, then headed for the door.<br/>
<br/>
Crazy John’s dry rasp echoed out from behind me. “Trouble.”<br/>
<br/>
I tucked the unopened bottle into my jacket on the way out.<br/>
</span><br/><div style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia'">***</span>​</div><span style="font-family: 'Georgia'"><br/>
To catch an incubus I would need information. To catch Salvarion I would need a miracle. A miracle, or a conspicuously well-placed contact. I flipped the card over in my hand and read the list of crimes on the back. Murder, subversion of sentient will, destructive manipulation of social energies, blackmail, extortion, larceny, and embezzlement. An unsurprising list, given the nature of the target, but what I didn’t see on the card was a payor’s name. I’d never gone after a seven digit bounty, so for all I knew that was par for the course. It made sense. Someone as powerful as Salvarion would probably have enough resources to simply capture the payor and remove them from play, so they wouldn’t want their name publicized. That was what the bounty taverns were for. Put your bounty up on the network, and no one had to know your name or where to find you. All they’d have to do was bring the bounty back to the tavern they operated out of, and receive payment. Of course, it wasn’t as easy as that every time. When someone puts a bounty on your head, the bounty is just on your head. The bounty on Salvarion was on his person. That meant he needed to be taken alive. There was one piece of fortune for me, taking them alive was my specialty. I’m a summoner. I bend and fold time and space to move myself or others to places they either want to be, or don’t. Conjuration is actually quite a bit more nuanced than just that, but for the purposes of bounty hunting, that is a large part of what I do.<br/>
<br/>
I stepped out onto the street outside the tavern in downtown LA. The streets bustled with a steady current of people, perfectly oblivious to the fact that a mage had just popped out of a door that shouldn’t have been there before, and wasn’t there after it closed again. It's actually a lot easier than you might think to use magic in movietown. Do something completely crazy, and it’s probably a movie stunt, nothing to see here. Do something perfectly impossible, and all it takes is a magically laced suggestion, “Magic isn’t real. Didn’t you have something you needed to do?” People are so busy that there’s always something. Even when they’re not, they come up with something when you ask, and forget all about what they just saw. Trained eyes are a little different, like, say, police officers, but all it takes then is some subtle illusion work, and they’ll be at a loss. I flowed into the crowd of people with no incident, and hailed a cab. Tonight I was going to summon a succubus, and for that I was going to need a few things, including a fine wine.<br/>
<br/>
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