Curt Hasse was a scoundrel of a man, and not the kind that had a Robin Hood reputation. Known as a letch and womanizer of the worst variety -- the kind who was prone to cruelty and violence when his unwanted attentions didn't result in him getting what he wanted from whatever unlucky pretty face he'd fixed his gaze on -- Curt had landed in jail on dozens of occasions. His crimes ranged from simple harassment and thuggery to outright rape and murder; on seven separate occasions he'd turned his dagger on women and girls for "disrespecting him", twice with fatal consequence... and those were the ones brave enough to come forward. Everyone in the town of Vaerstone
knew Curt was untouchable in the end, for no matter how many times he was arrested his father, a sucessful businessman-landowner who ran in political circles, would "convince" the town's lawkeepers to turn a blind eye or mitigate his crimes. Rumors of bribes and "arrangements" were well known but never truly pursued; House Hasse's trade agreements and loans meant they had half the town in their pocket and the other half afraid. And so Curt ran wild, and 'justice' was just an act put on for show.
There was no way to know for certain that
she would come for him, even less so
when... but he fit her patterns. He was her type of prey. And so it was that when Curt's father Lars Hasse received a letter by courier -- itself containing another letter sealed with a strange black-wax seal -- regarding his son and a potential undescribed threat to the young man's life he took every precaution money could buy. Curt was placed under "protection" by the town guard and escorted wherever he went. This had the side effect of somewhat inhibiting his drink-fueled outbursts and the "liberties" he so often gave himself, if only because the town guard could
not be seen openly allowing his criminality or there would be riots. For his part Curt paid no heed to the threats against him and did his best to duck and run on his protectors every chance he got. The youth was going to wind up dead, his father feared, just as the letter warned:
Mister Hasse, it is likely that your son has inadvertently attracted the attention of someone who wishes him harm. As of the writing of this letter I strongly suspect his indiscretions will result in his death, and your enabling of his misbehavior may yet cost you yours as well. Should your son be killed or you yourself threatened, present the sealed letter herein to the killer without delay or hesitation. It may be the only chance you have to save your life.
Sincerely,
One Who KnowsOf course the man attempted to open the inner letter, but the seal bore a power that would yield only to the intended recipient. Even a local mage was baffled by it, utterly unable to crack whatever power bound it shut. Neither father or son would ever realize that there were almost two dozen letters much like theirs delivered to guilty men across Serendipity and Connlaoth alike -- the one sending them had a message to deliver to one whose actions were known but her whereabouts, not so much. Only
she could open the seal and read the message within.
Sooner or later, Mephisto felt confident, she
would get his... invitation.
(OOC: Feel free to have Belle do whatever in the course of acquiring one of the sealed letters -- the Hasse NPCs could be her targets or any other receiver you might wish to invent. Have fun with it! She almost certainly would recognize Mephisto's demonic power in the seal, sense it at a distance even. Once she's got one we'll take it from there. ^_^)
