Elizabel narrowed her eyes. Perhaps she was wrong about the mission. If these were her assigned underlings, clearly she wouldn’t be needing muscle. Or height. One thing she wasn't wrong about, however, is she needed loyalty.

This would not do.

Elizabelsmiled serenely and glided over to the table. She slid daintily into the empty seat across from the red imp, and laid her folded hands upon the table. "I don't mean to be a bother. I can see you are in the middle of something," she said in the sweetest of tones. "I'm not sure you heard me before, so please let me try again."

The goblin started and looked up. He may well have actually not heard her. So long as he made sure to listen in the future, she supposed.

She paused, looking them in the eyes before continuing. Her voice lost the silken cover to reveal the edge beneath. "I am Dark Mistress Elizabel. You will address me as such. If you do not, there will be consequences."

The two demonkind looked between each other and Elizabel. The red imp's feet slid off the table as the words continued in inevitable cadence.

Elizabel continued, turning her full attention to the goblin. "Further, you will give your full attention to me when I speak to you. I don't know who you worked for before, but clearly their standards were a bit lax."

On the other side of the table, the little imp looked between Elizabel and the sheet of paper and back again. From her new proximity, she could now see it was building plans. Detailed to a perhaps usable level, though which building and why it was here, she still had no idea. She made note to address it later. Now was not the time.

The imp took a deep breath and let it out. “All well and good, boss, but-” He stopped at the sight of Elizabel’s raised eyebrow. “Mistre- fine, fine. Dark Mistress. But it really is good ya showed up. We need to get moving soon if we’re to get to Eisley before he disappears into the system. And trust me, that is one imp that will not last in there.”

With that, and not another word more, the imp hopped off his chair and disappeared up the stairs. Elizabel followed, eyes boring into the back of the figure before her. Judging by the hunch, he felt it, though he did not slow his pace.

A lone door awaited at the top. Not an imposing one, more, anticlimactic, though Elizabel couldn’t have said what more she was expecting. The imp opened it with a gesture and ushered Elizabel inside.

The revealed room did nothing to change that impression. Bare wood paneling framed a modestly sized room. A table dominated the center of the room accompanied with a single chair, discreetly tucked in.

A large blue sheet lay centered on the table. Small trinkets weighed down the corners. Elizabel might have been tempted to call them nothing more than paperweights if she couldn’t make out the subtle rune work etched into each. For all the care that seemed to be put into the placing of said sheet, it was curiously blank.

On top lay a small envelope bearing the seal of The First embossed in wax. Elizabel couldn’t hide a chuckle. Whatever else was said about the man, he loved theatrics nearly as much as he loved the cause.

She turned her attention back to the imp. “Thank you,” she said, trailing off as she realized she had not stopped to get the names of either of her new underlings.

The imp smirked and bowed irreverently. “Name’s Panos bos- ma’am. I’ll be your driver.”

“Wonderful. My car is down on Riverton, though I’m not sure where you will be able to keep it around here.”

Panos shook his head. “Not that sort of driver. Might be best if you read that letter from The First. Time is pressing.” He threw another sloppy salute which was designed, she was sure, to nettle, and disappeared back down the stairs, leaving Elizabel alone.

Elizabel raised an eyebrow but let it slide. This time. She found herself far more curious about what Dacien had to say for himself. She sat in the chair and cracked the wax. Inside was a letter and a modest stack of cash. The letter was handwritten, because of course he would.

I’m sure, my dearest lieutenant, that you are underwhelmed by what you have found here. Further, I would bet you are wanting to know what you are supposed to accomplish with these meager beginnings and perhaps you are even regretting your choice of boon.

Do not fret.

For this challenge, this audition, I will send a series of jobs that must be accomplished. These are not the jobs you are used to, but instead, to put it crassly, heists. The first of you to accomplish three tasks will ascend to the position of First of the Equalizers.

For you in particular, this will not be an easy feat. This boon is not as immediately applicable as the others and takes time to grow in strength and utility. To that end, your new minions have kindly provided an opportunity for you to test your runic before any official job begins.

Your third underling is currently in lockup with the local Arcanum Police Department. You will need to have your minions pay bail and return back to the hideout. After binding with the runic before you, you will be able to oversee the entire operation from here.

Good luck,

Dacien

First of the Equalizers

Melodramatic as always. Paying bail was hardly an opportunity or an operation. Still, the runic did sound intriguing, even with as little as she knew. She set the letter and money aside and studied the object before her.

It looked no different than before- a large, blank, blue sheet. Underwhelmed was right. Dacien wouldn’t lead her astray though, so with a shrug, Elizabel pulled out her athame.

The small tool was sleek and utilitarian, and, at first glance, looked all the world like an expensive pen with a cap on either end. She pulled one end open to reveal a short, thin blade.

With practiced efficiency, Elizabel sliced her thumb. She squeezed a few drops into wells on the trinkets at each corner of the runic and pressed her bloody thumb into the sheet near the bottom edge. The result was more of a smear than a print, but did just fine.

The runic flashed white and the blood sunk into the material, leaving no trace behind. Words flashed up on the formerly blank sheet. Absently, Elizabel recapped the bladed side of the athame and turned it around in her hand.

She pressed her thumb against the runes engraved on the end of the handle. A small heat spread and her wound knit closed. She tucked the tool away without looking and studied the information appearing before her.

A row of white boxes filled the screen with labels such as “storage”, “crew management”, and “base management”. Most immediately interesting, however, was “jobs” which was gently pulsing. She selected it.

Despite just being an overly complicated sheet of paper, the runic reacted to her touch and a small drop-down appeared. All but one option was greyed out, but the last, “available jobs” also flashed. Another selection and the sheet changed.

The blueprint of a building appeared, filling the vast majority of the sheet. Overtop, a box covered the majority of it.

Available job: Bail for Eisley

Description: Eisley is being held in the local APD station for unlicenced structural rune manipulation. Return him to the hideout to have him rejoin the crew.

Suggested method: Pay the bail with the provided funds.

That seemed, well, underwhelming for a task. But another minion was another minion. She selected the job. The box cleared away, revealing the blueprints unobscured and a handful of small boxes along the bottom edge.

The building, now clearly labeled as the APD station, was filled with notes. Marks on known guard positions, of Eisley’s likely location, of entrances and exits. It was also familiar.

These plans were of the same building she had seen the goblin studying when she entered, though these were much more detailed. Interesting. She’d have to test if that was a failing in her henchmen or the superiority of the runic.

Directly under the blueprint sat two small rectangles. One read “Specialty Required: Driver” while the other, “Specialty Required: Any”. Selecting the first box brought up a mugshot of Panos, cigar in mouth and all. Beside him read his name and “Driving: 45”. Elizabel selected him.

Tapping on the second box revealed Panos again, this time grayed out, and the goblin who had been downstairs. His name, apparently, was Cassmere. No additional information came up, but she wasn’t drowning in options and they were just going to pay bail. She selected him as well.

With both boxes filled, the runic view shifted in hue, and the word “Planning mode” appeared up top. The blueprint was mostly the same. The only difference so far as Elizabel could see was Panos marked out in the parking lot, and many of the previously marked security measures had arrows to indicate they had dropdown menus.

Curiosity taps revealed various options, most of them grayed out- hacking camera feeds, picking the cell locks, incapacitating guards. Interesting, but not helpful. The front desk had an option to pay bail. She selected that, and her two underlings appeared again. Panos was grayed out and the note beside him read, “Occupied: Driver”.

That was a whole lot of adu about handing some cop a wad of cash, but it seemed to work. A button appeared below reading “Execute plan”. Once selected, a soft chime rang through the hideout.

Shortly, Panos appeared. “Got the plan ma’a--Dark Mistress.” He grabbed the stack of cash and waved at her with it. “We’ll be off and have Eisley back in no time.” Another obnoxiously insincere salute and he was gone.

Elizabel waited until she heard the door click and the sounds of the two demonkin fade. She stood up and hurried downstairs- it wouldn’t do to show improper curiosity while her underlings were around, but she’d take what opportunities she could.

And what she found was underwhelming. Yet again. A small pile of supplies in the corner, a few cots- nothing of significant value or use. A small kitchenette of questionable utility tucked away into a nook. Aside from the runic, the most expensive thing in the place was the enchantment warding the door.

The hideout properly examined, she turned her attention to the blueprint that Cassmere had been studying. As she had noted earlier, it was much the same as the one that appeared on the runic, though this one had copious amounts of notes written on it. A few notes, however, didn’t seem to be the sort of information that would be publicly available. Perhaps her underling was competent after all, and the runic was just that much more a boon.

She didn’t put too much stock in that last, however, as surrounding the notes and plans stick figure drawings of a goblin fighting guards.

Elizabel frowned. How far would he have gotten had she not come along? Or more importantly, if she had not been provided with the bail money? She’d have to keep an eye on him, though she’d be hard pressed if she was hunting for signs of potential or warding disaster. Perhaps both.

Plans for improvement would have to wait. There was still, of course, one resource left unexplored- the runic itself. While she had played with it long enough to send the two minions out to retrieve the third, there were still plenty more options left to explore.

As she entered the room upstairs, she examined it much as she had the lower floor. It was a bit drab for a seat of power. And the literal seat was likely to wreck her back in the hours she’d spend sitting in it. She made note to address that as soon as possible. Good posture and a supportive chair would get one further in life than most would care to admit.

Resuming her position at the runic, Elizabel pulled other menus she had not looked at yet. Storage showed her nothing more than what her tour through the hideout had shown her- nothing notable of value or use. Crew management was a different story.

Tapping the option opened a new screen. Three small boxes with headshots lined the top. Two were recognizable as Panos and Cassmere. The last was the face of an imp, with large drooping ears and a look of vague concern.

That must be Eisley, the absent member of the crew. However, tapping it just brought up a message reading “currently unavailable”. She shrugged- it had been worth a shot. She tried Cassmere instead. A new screen opened below.

Name: Cassmere

Role: Infiltration

General Information

Health: 25

Speed: 15

Initiative: 87

Specialties

Stealth: 25 (15)

Gadgetry: 45

Hand to Hand: 30

Traits

Goblin: Small, green, and passionate. While goblins don’t have the technical finesse of impkind, nor the foolhardy persistence of gremlins, none can match them for sheer can-do attitude. Goblins will set out to accomplish whatever it is they have set their minds to, and won’t let facts or natural laws get in the way.

Aesthetic Life: Cassmere loves pomp and performing awe-inspiring feats. But what good is looking good if no one sees you do it? Minus ten to stealth specialty at all times, but up to ten points bonus to success chance when seen attempting feats of particular aesthetic.

Interesting, if mildly concerning. She switched to the other available minion.

Name: Panos

Role: Driver

Secondary Role: Mechanic

General Information

Health: 30

Speed: 10

Initiative: 57

Specialties

Driving: 45

Mechanics: 30

Jury-rigging: 25

Traits

Imp: Tails, no tails; wings, no wings; skin of all colors. Imps are a varied race, mainly united in their short stature and aptitude in their chosen field.

Unflappable: Things happen. Sometimes those things are great, more often they aren’t. Regardless, Panos doesn’t let it get under his skin. All temporary effects- negative and beneficial both- last half as long on Panos and he is not negatively affected by opposition surprise rounds.

That last trait seemed suiting for the surly imp. However, while much of the two descriptions quantified things were not normally so, the phrase “surprise rounds” is what really caught her attention.

If this was accurate, and given that it was provided by a runic, it undoubtedly was, the precision and quantity of information was a nice edge. And yet. It wasn’t a boon on par with the others, nor would anything she had yet seen scale tremendously with time.

There had to be more to it. She sipped at her tea, and frowned. It was beginning to grow cold. There was still one more menu she’d yet to explore- base management- and she would, but if it was on par with everything she’d seen so far, it still wouldn’t be enough.

She had to have missed something. Cursing at Dacien and his love of theatrics over clear instruction, she tabbed back to the jobs menu. That had provided actionable information that she couldn’t have garnered on her own. Plus, given the way Panos had appeared on his own, it was tied into her underlings somehow. That had to be where the potential lay.

And she wasn’t wrong.

As soon as the screen changed, she was greeted with a new popup message.

Switch to mastermind mode?

Absolutely. Elizabel grinned. This had to be it. The mode activated and the room hummed with power. The edges of the room blurred and the color drained. Meanwhile, on the runic, the map from earlier appeared. There were differences, however. A red dot strobbed gently in the parking lot, labeled Panos.

Within a certain distance around him, the map was a brighter shade, and more dots appeared moving in, presumably, real time. They were colored according to whether they were police or civilians. That was certainly helpful.

She turned her eyes towards the interior of the building, hunting for Cassmere. She found him and—

She groaned. Cassmere was in the ventilation system.