[attr="class","staffheadimg"]

[attr="class","staffpara"]


A NULL NECKLACE is on the table, and as soon as it is mentioned, there is a quick demonstration. [break][break]

Jeremiah displays the necklace— a thick, magically resistant material with thin spikes on the inside and larger ones on the out. The necklace is placed on him by another witch, and then removed, showing no signs of scarring or bleeding.[break][break]

"Completely safe," Jeremiah says. "Of course, the necklace would not work on me, as I do not currently have IMS, but the physicality of it remains the same. Think of it as like any injection. They can only be administered or removed by Cerberus personnel, who have been trained in their safe handling and protection, and are already worn by all cursed Cerberus witches whose familiars have been reunited with them."
[break][break]
Lead by example, and all that.[break][break]

Jeremiah blinks at the question about the New Dawn being confused with cursed witches and says, simply: "As always, those without magical licenses practicing magic are criminals." For a second he looks compelled to add some kind of condescension, before he bites it back and says: "Of course, there is no outward way to telling the two apart, but any persecution of the terrorist threat of the New Dawn does not occur so indsicriminately, either."
[break][break]
No one's been tackling someone to the ground for their familiar being invisible, or out of sight. At least, not that he's aware.
[break][break]
"Yes, as you've already witnessed with the in increase in Reserve presence in the city, license checks may become more frequent. Next question please."[break][break]

What if the necklace gets repurposed and used against them? Jeremiah fights the urge to roll his eyes.
[break][break]
"I suppose we will do more of what we have been doing since the beginning, against dangerous magical weaponry," he says, tone dry.
[break][break]
"Yes, please report any cases of potential stage 4 witches through the Cerberus hotline. In our routine city inspections, we will be closing monitoring those that enter and leave the city, but we are relying on you and the community to keep the safety of others top of mind. Thank you."
[break][break]
Jeremiah nods at the next few questions. "We understand the cases of financial burdens this may cause. For a long time, cursed witches have been struggling finding jobs and employment, and Cerberus itself is no longer employing a decent portion of its workforce in outside areas."
[break][break]
Here, he seems genuinely sympathetic—the moment will be circulated widely later, in anti-witch circles, as an instance of witches only really inventing policies that help themselves.
[break][break]
"We've worked together with Delphi city to expand the existing unemployment benefit* to include those affected by the lockdown as a stop-gap measure, and again, we want to stress that this will all hopefully be temporary."
[break][break]
A smile.
[break][break]
And then blinks at yet another question fielded. How the hell is Cerberus supposed to do shit about inflation? Sigh. This is why he hates press conferences.[break][break]

"Ah, we continue to look toward Delphi's Council for policies to deal with increasing inflation, and strongly discourage the immoral price gouging that is happening around Delphi. We look to our city's diplomats to determine the best course of action for maintaining supply routes even during the lockdown period. At the request of the city, our personnel are always availble to help assist—"
[break][break]
At this point, someone walks into the room, and crouches next to Jeremiah to relay some information into his ear. The expression on his face seems to tighten, and there is a silent pause from the room.
[break][break]
Someone else takes over answer the questions, as Jeremiah is presented with a new brief.
[break][break]
The other witch says:[break][break]
[break][break]
"Er, right. More details about the exact method of rollout will be available as we get closer to a proper cure, however, the cure will be made available to everyone at no cost. This is as much as we can disclose at the time, but please note that the public Cipher Corp website will continue to be updated with progress on the cure."
[break][break]
Ah, crap.
[break][break]
"Uh, yes, the stage five..." the man looks to Jeremiah, who thankfully looks ready to interrupt.
[break][break]
"My apologies. It looks like there's been an update from the Citadel."
[break][break]
The room goes quiet again—an update? About what?
[break][break]
"Thank you, indeeed, for thinking of Ms. Diane Timoria. What happened to Diane, and the events of Camp Trishula, have been the subject to many rumors and heresay," Jeremiah says. It vaguely looks like he is reading from a script, but a practice charm bleeds through, making it realer. More respectable. "Before I go any further, I would like to thank the Timoria family for their willingness to allow me to share their daughter's story."
[break][break]
It had taken them long enough. He had to visit them personally.
[break][break]
"I felt a personal connection to Diane, having mentored her for a week leading up to the past Novice Exchange Program," he says, lying. "After her temporary suspension from active duty, Diane volunteered her hours to helping Cipher Corp researchers better understand the fourth stage of the calling curse, which she was afflicted with."[break][break]

"However, that research facillity, known as Camp Trishula, was sabotaged. I've just received the all-clear to share the partially declassified report with you."[break][break]

Or so the story had gone, anyway. Jeremiah received the uncensored report from Lancelot, and also the version that had been used to explain its events. The fact that a crowd of non-Cerberus witches had gotten involved was...pesky, but it had worked out, in the end.
[break][break]
He gives a brief overview of the camp—ambiguous details about its location, and the fact that it was headed by the Lancelot. And then comes the kicker:[break][break]

"A witch by the name of Hesperaloe Cartier set off explosives inside the laboratory, and intentionally exposed Diane to the presence of daemons and ruptures, pushing her condition to the brink...."[break][break]

The report continues—Diane, a victim of the curse, their first recording Stage V, having lost her humanity. Her death in the ensuing battle. The terrorist by the name of Hesperaloe Cartier, wanted dead or alive by Cerberus.
[break][break]


*Unemployment packages in Delphi are tricky, as they often (but not always) are overidden by coven membership, esepcially for the larger covens. It's unclear whether or not Jeremiah is implying cursed witches who are active members of covens that treat their members as employees will also be given compensation.