Devil's Advocate

An Eye for an Eye, pt. 1

To Jurian Cornelissen Esq.,

Over the past few months, you have informed us about the specifics of two individual Warlock pacts. Despite their apparent differences, my spiritual counsel assures me that both Patrons can be classified as 'rebellious spirits'. With that in mind, we were hoping you might compile a list for us, consisting of traits shared among such entities. It is this council's hope that, with the aid of such a list, we may better identify cases of Warlockry- as well as treat such cases with the proper care. Furthermore, we hope that a list such as this might expedite our efforts to adjudicate on any cases of Warlockry we may encounter in the future.

In honoured service,

Annemiek Smalbrugge

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To the esteemed Councilwoman Annemiek Smalbrugge,

If my last messages gave the idea that Patron are in any way a monolith, then I apologise for the confusion. Let me assure you that Patrons are as varied as the Warlocks they deal with. As such, I will not be able to comply with your request to make any list of universal Patron traits. Nor do I believe it to be in your project's best interest for me to pretend otherwise. I will admit that, in my experience, Spirits ultimately all play by the same rules. Be they malevolent, benevolent, or anything in between or beyond, they all seem to be governed by the same system, and each of my legal altercations with them has taken place in that same featureless steel chamber I have described before- Or at least some incarnation of it.
But not all Patrons are spiritual in nature. There are those that obey a different ruleset, or none at all. Thus, it is important to enter each case with an open mind and a lack of presumptions. The best way to illustrate this is probably to talk about the mistakes I made myself, the first time I encountered a case like this. This was already several years into my career. By now, I had managed to turn my office from a place of work to a place of comfort. A secondary home where I'd spent just enough time to familiarise myself with the intricacies of Spiritual law, and just long enough to think that would be enough.

In the few months preceding this story, my career had relied on a steadily increasing stream of clients. The role that the Ghalaunach case played in this was twofold. It had made the greater public suddenly aware of the heretofore hidden potential of an extraplanar pact. And, it had emboldened already existing Warlocks to come forward to publicly ask for help. As such, though my career had been taking off, I myself could not, as any moment of free time I permitted myself might cost me my next big case.

As such, I was perhaps somewhat overworked by the time I met the people this story is about. They were two women, entered entering my office in single file. They clearly had a long road behind them, much of which still clung to their tunics, where it mingled with older stains of dirt from their own fields. Neither woman was particularly imposing, yet the one in front carried herself with a sturdy posture and proud gait that kept her from looking frail. The woman behind her, despite being marginally taller, lacked those traits. The only part of her silhouette with any discernible mass was the wide-brimmed straw hat she wore, from beneath which her sun-bleached blonde hair contrasted with her tan skin. Though she stayed behind her partner, who led her through my office by the hand, my attention remained on her. Or rather, the thin band of white cloth she wore over her eyes.

I welcomed both of them, offering them a seat and introducing myself. Rather than returning the courtesy, however, the taller of the two asked me a question, mustering a voice that sounded more solid than her wispy physique. "Thank you, mister Cornelissen", she started. "But before we begin, will Estelle- oh, this is Estelle, first of all."
"Estelle Bisett." The other woman confirmed, with a nod that sent a bounce through her voluminous brown hair. "From the New Old Granary."
"She certainly is." The taller woman continued. "So, will Estelle have to leave us alone?"