No human ever understood that Crossroads?gained prominence in their lives long before they ever reached the actual point of making a deal. In his human existence Rudolph missed that point as well, and learned it only later at the capable hands of his first instructor. Becoming himself the pearl maniacally thrust?by The Fates under the watchful glare of the proverbial swine that was Belial, he revealed?an unexpected?plethora of choices in his mortal existence, even if such revelations were accompanied by an unbearable pain and?ensuing emptiness. But now at least he could use his mortal experience to subtly introduce the realm of?Crossroads to the seeker who was not even aware of their search and of what path it would force upon their heads.
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Watching from the shadows a darkly lit room where an older woman?was wearing a kerchief and feigning the manners of the Romani, without ever seeing one in her life, Rudolph's handsome features opened into a sad smile when the first Tarot card in the deck to fall on the table in the three fold spread?landed?on its reversed side?and connoted?the meaning?he had anticipated. He didn't even cause it to fall?reversed with his minor telekinetic powers, nor tried the trick of persuasion on the fake psychic reader but he didn't need to employ such strategies. After all, he had designed this deck himself and?was attuned to its energy. It held true gates?inside, as was required by the letter?of the mystical law,?but Rudolph cleverly disguised them behind false leads and?of all the?querents who ever found his masterpiece, only one managed to escape the clutches of Hell.??That was how Crossroads approached, two choices presented themselves, and the wrong one was being made at every turn. And now, the person who?was asking for a reading, a?heavy set woman?with a Mid Eastern appearance,?trod her first step onto Crossroads, because the card she received?reflected her mental state and attuned her to the dark lure of a Hell gate. ?
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The?edges of the cards were purposefully golden and the client focused on those with some hope but the reader who may have been fake still was experienced enough to know better, looking at the dark images?at the center where an equally heavy set woman was regally reclining on?her throne and peremptorily regarding the youthful applicant?facing her on his knees. "Well...that hasn't happened in ten years," the psychic interpreted almost resentfully, anticipating the?ninety five dollars previously obtained being instantly?withdrawn. "It seems like all of your hopes?are currently denied..." she started, but Rudolph did not need to see the face of the client to know she was about to be broken in the area of family matters and proceed ever faster onto the path he had delineated until she arrived at a certain dark crossing where he would be waiting for her to bargain her soul.?With satisfaction at the?imminent conclusion, Rudolph Yerbler finally acceded to the wishes of his liege lord and began his own quest for information.
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Plunging?downward into?the never ending dust filled dessert terrain that was the Hellish domain of Abbadon the Ancient, after whom a famous demon knight was once inappropriately named, Rudolph envisioned a great?stone place?the walls of which were leaning conspicuously down yet never fell. Finding himself at once within the walls of the palace as if it was there at the dessert all along, Rudolph cheerfully smiled in greeting to the semi retired demoness, Lady Messalina, who smiled back with marked contentment.?
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Carefully?explaining his need, Rudolph?accepted a cup of refreshing tea,?giving?the old demoness who agreeably?supplied him with information the chance to?recover her wits and remember all the generations of the demoness involved with the angel.?Lady Messalina took her time?looking at the drawing and just when he expected to receive an answer, the Lady regretfully shook her head. "Hold on a minute though," she suddenly?got up and brought out a sad looking demon girl with piercing blue eyes and a surprising pair of antlers. Rudolph did not think such things were done anymore by demons who embraced modernity but was too polite to mention the fashion in front of someone who was supposed to help him. Unfortunately, whatever else the girl was supposed to know, she likewise shook her head in negation upon seeing?the drawing. "Not any of my generation either, my Lady," she mournfully told Messalina, pointedly ignoring Rudolph himself and tears began spilling down her cheeks.
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Taken aback, Rudolph was going to reassure the demon girl that it was quite alright, until he noticed?a glyph, shining green all over?the girl's forehead. "The Mark of Sorrow?cast on her by our Lord Belial," the older demon clarified, correctly interpreting his unspoken question. "We don't know for what reason, only what it does to poor Salome..." Messalina began, than trailed off when Rudolph unexpectedly even for himself began following his instinct. Quickly approaching the girl he carefully drew a green glyph of his own over her forehead, a tripartite shape reminiscent of a Chinese hieroglyph that he never?saw before.?Salome's forehead began glowing all in green, though Rudolph had only his fingers to use, no pen, markers, crayons or anything else from the human world, nor special ability to craft such sorcery either.?The demon began to wonder if the glyph showed up in his regular Belial dream but it seemed to hold no threat. Instead, the demon girl suddenly began smiling as if his action somehow negated the sadness imposed on her by her demon sire. Salome even reached for a hug when Rudolph was whisked out of the dessert by his liege lord to be questioned on his results.?
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?"I still have more leads, my lord," Rudolph attempted to reassure?the demon Crowley. "In the Circle of Treason most inhabitants are unusually talkative. If anybody there knows about that unholy coupling of an angel and a demon, they are bound to speak their minds openly, with or without a reward...' Rudolph speculated. He was not yet sure how his boss would take the news of his lacking progress, but for now his day went well, he decided, remembering Salome's happy smile, which?he guessed to be?the first in a while to grace her unusually attractive features.?
Kat