Hellstone
Gabe followed quietly behind the mysterious woman, too nervous to say a word. He wandered into the middle of the store once they arrived, and stood there meekly as she locked the door behind them.
"Well, that could have gone better," she said to herself as she placed the stone on the counter. "May I ask what in the hell you were thinking?"
"What I was thinking? Look who sold me that damn thing!"
"You know full well I am obligated to my duties! I was to sell him the stone, and you were to purify it! Now Gabriel is dead, and I...what? I sold you the stone? But, then...fuck! I told him! I specifically told him not to touch the damn thing! But does he listen? Do those young bastards ever listen? No, this is just another random Hellstone, mistress. I can handle this myself, mistress. The council told me everything I need to know, mistress. You can't enchant a Hellstone. I'm not powerful enough to do it, therefore it can't happen, because I am law! The little shit ate hubris for breakfast, I'm sure..."
"Umm, excuse me..."
"...anything the council says is true! It's not like they're, ohh, I dunno, a group of fallible humans or anything, no...of course not. Council, can you wipe my ass for me? I'm too fucking stupid to figure it out for myself, and..."
"Hey!"
"Hmm? Oh, right, sorry," she said, breaking out of her reverie. "I suppose you have no idea what the hell is going on? Understatement of the year, I suppose- but you have to understand, this was not supposed to happen. Doug would be in serious shit were it not for the fact that he's already dead. To think how many non-mags we're going to have to rope into this..."
"I...dead! Then, it's true? But..."
"Look, Gabe, I know I'm bad at explaining things- I ramble too much. So let me start with the basics, and I'll try and do the best that I can. For starters, that stone is a Hellstone. Anyone who makes a claim of ownership to a Hellstone is bestowed with the powers of Hell, in exchange for damnation upon death. As far as we know, Hell stopped using them a long time ago- the damnation is nullified if you can give it to someone else. So, these things are quite remarkable for their rarity alone, not to mention their properties.
"Hellstones cannot be broken. Any sort of attempt, accidental or otherwise, results in death. I would assume that's what happened to Doug. They're also spell-resistant, which is why that particular stone is one-of-a-kind. Even spell resistance has no chance over magic that can never fail. But, most importantly, a Hellstone always knows its owner."
"Well, what does that have to do with anything? You took it from me, so as far as I'm concerned..."
"The damn thing is called a Hellstone!" she shrieked. "Do you really think it'd be that easy? You have to claim it as your own- something I have not done. The stone could care less if it gets stolen. If you can't purify this thing, you are doomed to damnation."
"What!?" cried Gabe. "But that's not..."
"What, fair?" she asked, glaring at him. "You're not grasping the one simple concept here. The thing is evil. Inanimate, and not very powerful, but still evil. It's an easy snare to avoid, but that doesn't make it any less powerful. Would you like me to tell you how to dispell this thing, or should I let you wallow in self-pity some more? You have to give it to someone who knows what it is. If you just give it away, it'd be the same as if it stolen from you."
"What that's it? Well, hell, that's easy! Just tell someone else what you've told me, and then we'll be golden!"
"No, it's not that easy. They have to believe it, not just hear it. Granted, if this was a normal Hellstone, it'd have been a cinch. Doug would have convinced you to give it to him, and we'd have been set. But dingle-douche decided to touch the damn thing, and now I don't know what to do."
"What, can't I give it to you? You can put it in another plastic bag, and you can take it!"
"There's one thing I haven't mentioned yet. Dispelling a Hellstone nullifies the magic of anyone or anything nearby. That's the catch. Once the stone is given away, the owner and the recipient lose their powers. Anyone who would know what the stone is wouldn't want to lose their magic, and those without magic don't know what the stone is. Doug was unique- no magical talent whatsoever. Hereditary freak, but he took it in stride. Certainly paid well. But the stone is not pure, and I have no idea how the hell it will be done."
"Okay, hold on," replied Gabe, overwhelmed. "So, I have to give the stone to someone who knows what it is? But, it's enchanted with some sort of body-switch-y spell thing, right? I mean, that's why I'm Doug right now...so what if I just use the stone again? I believe you, and I don't know magic. But I've experienced it, and that lets me know what the stone is without having anything to lose."
"You make a good point..." she replied, after a pause. "But not even I know the exact, how did you phrase it...'body-switch-y spell thing' that has been placed on the Hellstone. There's a reason I told you about the stone before the spell. Quite frankly, the only way to test it would be experience it. If you knew the magus who gave me this, well...there's a reason I only know it's capable of soul swaps. He was embarassed enough to admit owning the damn thing, let alone tell me he'd enchanted it. Damn fool, may he rest in whatever peace he can have, all things considered."
"But you made it sound like no one would want to own one! Why did this guy..."
The young woman laughed. "There's a funny thing about damnation- it can only happen once. I've given you all the help I can give. You've got a good plan, why don't you try it out?"
"What, without you?" said Gabe, shocked. "I barely know who I am now!"
"I'm a freakin' mage, Gabe. Trust me on this one. If I don't think you need to know, then you don't."
"What do you mean I don't need to know!?" he yelled back. "What, I don't have to know who I am because I'm going to die? I'm going to fail, aren't I? You know, just like you knew my reasons for coming in this place to begin with! What happens, dammit!"
She took a deep breath, and glared at him. "Look at me, you little shit. I'm only going to say this once. You will succeed. This will work, or I wouldn't make you do it. I cannot tell you anything else, but you have got to trust me. Do you know why this is going to work? Nobody knew who Doug was. Nobody is going to be suspicious if you don't act like Doug, because they don't know how Doug acts. Today was the first day he lived in that apartment. Hell, it was supposed to be the only day he lived in that apartment. It will work out for you, I promise."
"Well, that could have gone better," she said to herself as she placed the stone on the counter. "May I ask what in the hell you were thinking?"
"What I was thinking? Look who sold me that damn thing!"
"You know full well I am obligated to my duties! I was to sell him the stone, and you were to purify it! Now Gabriel is dead, and I...what? I sold you the stone? But, then...fuck! I told him! I specifically told him not to touch the damn thing! But does he listen? Do those young bastards ever listen? No, this is just another random Hellstone, mistress. I can handle this myself, mistress. The council told me everything I need to know, mistress. You can't enchant a Hellstone. I'm not powerful enough to do it, therefore it can't happen, because I am law! The little shit ate hubris for breakfast, I'm sure..."
"Umm, excuse me..."
"...anything the council says is true! It's not like they're, ohh, I dunno, a group of fallible humans or anything, no...of course not. Council, can you wipe my ass for me? I'm too fucking stupid to figure it out for myself, and..."
"Hey!"
"Hmm? Oh, right, sorry," she said, breaking out of her reverie. "I suppose you have no idea what the hell is going on? Understatement of the year, I suppose- but you have to understand, this was not supposed to happen. Doug would be in serious shit were it not for the fact that he's already dead. To think how many non-mags we're going to have to rope into this..."
"I...dead! Then, it's true? But..."
"Look, Gabe, I know I'm bad at explaining things- I ramble too much. So let me start with the basics, and I'll try and do the best that I can. For starters, that stone is a Hellstone. Anyone who makes a claim of ownership to a Hellstone is bestowed with the powers of Hell, in exchange for damnation upon death. As far as we know, Hell stopped using them a long time ago- the damnation is nullified if you can give it to someone else. So, these things are quite remarkable for their rarity alone, not to mention their properties.
"Hellstones cannot be broken. Any sort of attempt, accidental or otherwise, results in death. I would assume that's what happened to Doug. They're also spell-resistant, which is why that particular stone is one-of-a-kind. Even spell resistance has no chance over magic that can never fail. But, most importantly, a Hellstone always knows its owner."
"Well, what does that have to do with anything? You took it from me, so as far as I'm concerned..."
"The damn thing is called a Hellstone!" she shrieked. "Do you really think it'd be that easy? You have to claim it as your own- something I have not done. The stone could care less if it gets stolen. If you can't purify this thing, you are doomed to damnation."
"What!?" cried Gabe. "But that's not..."
"What, fair?" she asked, glaring at him. "You're not grasping the one simple concept here. The thing is evil. Inanimate, and not very powerful, but still evil. It's an easy snare to avoid, but that doesn't make it any less powerful. Would you like me to tell you how to dispell this thing, or should I let you wallow in self-pity some more? You have to give it to someone who knows what it is. If you just give it away, it'd be the same as if it stolen from you."
"What that's it? Well, hell, that's easy! Just tell someone else what you've told me, and then we'll be golden!"
"No, it's not that easy. They have to believe it, not just hear it. Granted, if this was a normal Hellstone, it'd have been a cinch. Doug would have convinced you to give it to him, and we'd have been set. But dingle-douche decided to touch the damn thing, and now I don't know what to do."
"What, can't I give it to you? You can put it in another plastic bag, and you can take it!"
"There's one thing I haven't mentioned yet. Dispelling a Hellstone nullifies the magic of anyone or anything nearby. That's the catch. Once the stone is given away, the owner and the recipient lose their powers. Anyone who would know what the stone is wouldn't want to lose their magic, and those without magic don't know what the stone is. Doug was unique- no magical talent whatsoever. Hereditary freak, but he took it in stride. Certainly paid well. But the stone is not pure, and I have no idea how the hell it will be done."
"Okay, hold on," replied Gabe, overwhelmed. "So, I have to give the stone to someone who knows what it is? But, it's enchanted with some sort of body-switch-y spell thing, right? I mean, that's why I'm Doug right now...so what if I just use the stone again? I believe you, and I don't know magic. But I've experienced it, and that lets me know what the stone is without having anything to lose."
"You make a good point..." she replied, after a pause. "But not even I know the exact, how did you phrase it...'body-switch-y spell thing' that has been placed on the Hellstone. There's a reason I told you about the stone before the spell. Quite frankly, the only way to test it would be experience it. If you knew the magus who gave me this, well...there's a reason I only know it's capable of soul swaps. He was embarassed enough to admit owning the damn thing, let alone tell me he'd enchanted it. Damn fool, may he rest in whatever peace he can have, all things considered."
"But you made it sound like no one would want to own one! Why did this guy..."
The young woman laughed. "There's a funny thing about damnation- it can only happen once. I've given you all the help I can give. You've got a good plan, why don't you try it out?"
"What, without you?" said Gabe, shocked. "I barely know who I am now!"
"I'm a freakin' mage, Gabe. Trust me on this one. If I don't think you need to know, then you don't."
"What do you mean I don't need to know!?" he yelled back. "What, I don't have to know who I am because I'm going to die? I'm going to fail, aren't I? You know, just like you knew my reasons for coming in this place to begin with! What happens, dammit!"
She took a deep breath, and glared at him. "Look at me, you little shit. I'm only going to say this once. You will succeed. This will work, or I wouldn't make you do it. I cannot tell you anything else, but you have got to trust me. Do you know why this is going to work? Nobody knew who Doug was. Nobody is going to be suspicious if you don't act like Doug, because they don't know how Doug acts. Today was the first day he lived in that apartment. Hell, it was supposed to be the only day he lived in that apartment. It will work out for you, I promise."