toss a coin to your witcher (dumb duck trio)

[lifesa_witch]

"She used her dark magics on my husband, and now he sees her shadow in the mirror every night!"
"He killed an entire farm-hands livestock, all for his own twisted amusement."
"They have a garden full of statues that were once children, now frozen in time forever..."

As Scrooge McDuck - world's richest duck, famed adventurer, and also expert monster hunter - continued his research into the "mages of the mountain", he found each new rumor was more outlandish than the last. Sure, there were a few things that were consistent - the two were twins, beautiful in their own way, and fiercely loyal to one another - but after that, each new round of gossip could make them sound like petulant children or gods themselves. Whatever troubles the villagers were having, be it bad weather or failing crops, it was surely the fault of the De Spell family.

And yes, perhaps the manor of the twins - lofted right into the side of the highest hill, with decaying greenery entwined all around the massive stone steps - was a little something out of a gothic horror novel. Dark colors, eerie structure, and maybe a cracked gargoyle or two. The cry of a raven could be found in the distance. But if these twins were as powerful as so whispered, why couldn't they afford to fix the twisted rafters from the windows, or cover the drafts from moldy holes? The land itself was probably pricey property, and many would pay handsomely for it... if some particular vermin was exterminated.

Comments

[richestduck]

Scrooge gave a laugh. "I'll let you get back to him then."

He then started to walk out the door, the ghost drifting along with him.

Irabella blinked at Magica before realizing what she was likely trying to imply. "Oh! Um, I've never seen it in person before, but Mr. McDuck can talk to spirits. He's one of the few that can actually Send them, too, not just talk to them." She shivered. "Honestly, ghosts give me the willies."

[lifesa_witch]

Mortals were really such cowards. What was the point of being afraid of something you could one day be?

"If something like that upsets you, I doubt you'll last long here." A blend of sardonic and sincerity. "This land is full of witchcraft and darkness. If you can't handle it, you shouldn't waste your boss's time."

[richestduck]

"They just creep me out," she said. "As long as I don't make them mad at me, I can do the job, right?"

She gave a nervous smile.

Meanwhile, Scrooge walked some distance away from the manor. He shook his head as Giancarlo looked up from where he was working on the final touches of the generator.

"Alright, Mr. Zorzi. Let's see about getting you out of here."

He spun on one foot, drawing a circle with his free foot. Normally he wouldn't bother with the extra step, but this entire area...something was wrong with it. He didn't want to summon the Door and attract every nasty in the area. (Once things were back under control, maybe he'd consider casting this without the circle if need be.)

Anyone with magical senses would send the sudden flare of whispering spiritual magic with a hint of fae influence.

He raised his hands above his head and began drawing the Door with his fingertips, even the mortal eye seeing an arched door of golden light.

[lifesa_witch]

Magica rolled her eyes before walking away. If this woman had to ask, she probably already had her answer. Just focus on the money and future happiness... and that all these interlopers would someday leave. Then it would just be her, Poe, and Ratface again. As it should be. As it always would be.

That's what she wanted - so she told herself.

As for Poe, he was certainly not expecting to feel a sudden rush of magic in the area - especially not fae magic. He and his sister had been warned about those sort of creatures, so he swiftly went to the window to try and figure out what was going on. Color him surprised to see that it was the old millionaire as the cause! He frowned, though the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. A long-lived adventurer definitely had more luck on his side if his blood was sprinkled with fae blends... was it possible Scrooge didn't even know what was part of him? Poe wound up biting hard on his lower lip - his curiosity was piqued. It'd been so long since he could learn something new, his brain ached for lessons.

[richestduck]

Unaware of his audience, Scrooge continued, finishing the image of the Door. He looked to his left where Zorzi stood beside him, now visible to anyone in the area...though being dead, he didn't cast a shadow.

"You ready, lad?"

Zorzi nodded. "Thank you, Mr. McDuck."

"Take care of yourself."

Scrooge placed his hand on the middle of the Door and gave it a push, opening it. Anyone looking at it later on wouldn't be able to describe just what they saw or smelled or heard coming from the open Door later on, their living minds blocking the memory for no living person was meant to see the Other Side. But Zorzi had beamed and dashed through the Door.

Scrooge hesitated, feeling that familiar pull to walk through as well.

Then, with great effort, he shut the Door, the glowing outline vanishing.

[nevermore_a_duck]

Scrooge would get a few quiet moments of solitude, but only a few - Poe was suddenly right behind him, his appetite needing to be sated.

"Where do I even begin?" He asked, hand under his beak, looking Scrooge up and down as if he could have possibly missed a gigantic clue about him before. "It seems you'll be making yourself even busier during your stay here."

[richestduck]

Scrooge blinked slowly for a moment, still half-lost in that urge to re-open the Door and step through it himself.

Then he gave his head a hard shake, clearing it. "Given whatever mess is going on around here, I imagine a lot of spirits are going to be showing up even without me calling them. Sorry in advance."

[nevermore_a_duck]

"Considering you're the supposed expert on these things, I can't see much cause to worry about it." Poe gave a half-shrug. "Besides, anything you can't handle, I surely can. I'd never let any of these things hurt Magica."

Because, clearly, that was the most important aspect!

[richestduck]

Scrooge chuckle and raised a brow at the younger(?) man. "I'm guessing you're the older twin?"

[nevermore_a_duck]

"Naturally." It was only five minutes, at most, and Scrooge could probably feel Magica rolling her eyes despite being a good distance away. "As such, it's my responsibility to protect her from all the evils of the world, no matter what form they take. So, as I said, there's no need to worry on my part. Only worry if something ever happens to her - then everyone suffers."

But Poe did manage to stop from getting anymore descriptive than that - he hadn't come all this way just to make the same point over and over. He shook his head, trying to get back to his original thought. "This... helpful thing you do. Is this a family business - something you inherited from your elders?" If so, it might explain the influence of fae blood.

[richestduck]

"You might want to specify which thing you mean exactly," Scrooge said dryly. "You mean what I just did for Mr. Zorzi, hunting the noonwraith and helping you all fix up your home, or the investment opportunity your townsfolk blew?"

[nevermore_a_duck]

Poe was about to answer but that third one threw him off. He paused, blinking rapidly. He assumed Scrooge was some adventuring goody-goody who went around helping those in need, like Robin Hood but with supernatural touches.

"I think we're both a little confused here," Poe finally responded. "What do you mean 'opportunity'? Weren't you just there to get rid of the noonwraith?"

[richestduck]

Scrooge blinked at him. "They submitted a proposal for McDuck Enterprises to invest in their town. It's no Pompeii, but they were trying to leverage the location so close to the volcano to potentially scoop up some of the tourists from there. An idea not entirely without merit.

"However, what I saw of them while I was working on the noonwraith issue was a bunch of people I don't want the McDuck name associated with, so I had my CFO notify their mayor that I'd declined to invest after I finished picking up my fee for the noonwraith."

Effectively adding insult to injury. Ask how much they'd hoped he'd invest, Poe. Go on. Ask.

[nevermore_a_duck]

Enterprises? CFO? While most of the Spells life was limited to their little track of land, Poe did have some ideas of what these words meant - and they were words of much wealth and power. This man truly wasn't ordinary in any definition of the word.

"... And exactly how much did you plan to toss their way in this investment of yours?"

[richestduck]

"Eh...let me think. There was about $5 million for that new luxury hotel, another $250 million to do some restoration of the surrounding area..."

And he started rattling off other numbers in American dollars, not euros, until finally...

"Grand total of about $3.5 billion dollars in all."

Y'know. Pocket change.

[nevermore_a_duck]

Poe's eyes were so wide and open they almost fell right out of his sockets.

Scrooge was saying these big, gigantic numbers as casually as if he was describing the weather.

And that fool of a mayor - who, if not the murderer of the Spell parents, was likely related to the ones who did the deed - cost the entire land all those big, gigantic numbers.

Poe tugged at his collar, suddenly feeling quite warm. Here he thought he had to protect Magica from Scrooge, but maybe he needed the protection... woof.

"... You sound like you could be the richest man on earth."

[richestduck]

Scrooge blinked at him. "...Don't tell me you weren't aware that I'm -- "

Ba-ding! Ba-ding! Ba-dingba-dingba-dingba-ding! The rapid-fire chiming from his pocket prompted Scrooge to pull out his cellphone, flipping it open. He grinned.

"Looks like Giancarlo got that generator and cell tower working. That'll help until we can get you and your sister set up with something more permanent. And it'll make getting the repairs done around here much easier."

He scrolled through a few of the messages, reading them over.

"Ah, those modern substitutes I mentioned earlier should be here tomorrow. Perfect timing while I work on trying to find someone who can make those pieces that aren't made anymore."

[nevermore_a_duck]

"Ah... right." Poe was rarely tongue-tied, but then a lot of rare things had been happening since Scrooge arrived. If Scrooge was going over business matters, he wouldn't be in any mood to answer Poe's endless list of questions. Instead of merely popping back into the mansion, he decided he'd walk, if just to settle his mind.

He'd need to meet up with Magica and exchange what they'd learned.

"I can't say I'm exactly eager to have more visitors on our humble grounds, but I'll make due."

[richestduck]

Scrooge snapped the phone closed and fell into step behind him.

"I can understand that, Mr. De Spell, but you've my guarantee I'll be putting some of my best on this. Particularly to ensure you're as self-sufficient up here as possible that way you're not dependent on the ingrates down there for basic necessities."

He cast a disdainful look towards the town.

"Giving them as little power over you as possible means you can focus properly on helping keep this place from getting out of control again if you or your sister decide to do so. Honestly, I wouldn't blame either of you if you wanted to pack up shop and leave your neighbors to hang by their own bad choices.

"Once the work is done, you won't have to see any of these people again unless you want or absolutely need to."

[nevermore_a_duck]

Well, cross one thing off that Scrooge definitely wasn't - a bleeding heart. A real "goody goody" probably would have preached about forgiveness and tolerance. It earned a little smirk.

"Tempting as it has been to give those mongrels exactly what they deserve, I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of being the monster they call me." But pack up shop? What did that even mean? Where could they go, and what could they do? They'd never thought about life beyond the mansion. It was where they were inevitably grow old and die. They didn't have a choice.

Boy, he didn't like going down that road. Time to distract. "And none of this 'Mister' nonsense. Just Poe will do." Then, a devious smile. "Although I wouldn't object to 'Milord Spell'."

[richestduck]

Scrooge laughed. "I may have been born in Scotland, but I've spent far too much time in the States, lad. Noble titles are a bit silly to my way of thinking nowadays.

"And given we'll be living together for the near future, you and your sister can just call me 'Scrooge'."

[nevermore_a_duck]

"Scrooge it is." Poe replied, noting there would probably be other things he'd like to call the old man under... certain circumstances. "I'll keep that in mind."

While Magica longed for emotional company, Poe ached for physical. Scrooge was, unknowingly, providing both.

[richestduck]

Giancarlo jogged over to them.

"Nice work with the generator and cell tower, lad," Scrooge told him.

"Thank you, sir. I also found a good location for that geothermal generator you were hoping to install." He turned and pointed. "There's an old well in that direction. The water's got some sulfur mixed into it, but a good filter in the pump should fix that problem. Once that's all installed, this place will have all the power and water it could ever need."

"How long would that take?"

"A couple of days. A week if the weather's bad." He gave a wry grin. "Or if Vesuvius decides to do a repeat performance of Pompeii."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Scrooge glanced at Poe as he re-opened his cellphone. "I'll recall the troops to see what they've managed to find out. Given how far of a drive it is, they need to start getting home."

[nevermore_a_duck]

Poe tried not to roll his eyes. Everyone made the same old worried notions about the volcano.

"The last time it erupted was in 1631," he informed the two. "So unless one of the 'troops' has astoundingly bad luck, I doubt you'll be suffering from lava and ash anytime soon."

[richestduck]

"It's your mountain. You'd know it better than us," Scrooge noted as he snapped his cellphone closed.

Moments later, the assessors Scrooge had had wandering the house exited, each chattering to each other.

Scrooge brought his fingers to his beak, silencing them all with a sharp whistle. "All right. You lot've got quite the drive back home.

"I expect to see some preliminary reports and plans by the end of tomorrow. We'll chat via phone and email instead of having you drive all the way up here. Giancarlo, you and your team will be the exception to that. I want that equipment up and running ASAP along with a better signal if you can manage it."

The De Spells were about to be brought into the modern age one way or another.

"I want repair and restoration plans in my inbox by the end of the week. Then I'll have Mr. and Miss De Spell look them over to suggest any changes they might want to make. They're the ones who are going to be living here when we're gone, and things need to be to their specs, not ours. Once the plans are finalized, then we'll start getting the crews out here to get the work done." He then glanced at the man who'd admitted his colorblindness earlier. "Something you'd like to add?"

"Just a question for Mr. De Spell, sir. I got your text before I could ask his sister." The man turned around and pointed at a large round window near the roof. "That window used to be stained glass. I found some of the pieces stuck between the floorboards. Is there anywhere there might be a reference for what the design originally looked like? Assuming you want restored, of course."