Day of the Full Moon: Strange happenings, a need for money, and a suspicious offer

The sign above the little block office said 'Pacer and Park Law Offices'. One of the countless drab, interchangeable little strip malls that mdae up the bulk of the city. Before a law office, it had been an accountancy office. Before that, a religious literature shop.

A frizzy-haired red-headed woman sitting at the front desk was speaking into the phone: "Yes, Mr. Park? There's someone here. She says she's a client of yours, that she needs urgently to speak with you? I told her that she needed to make an appointment but she insists it's important."

"Ah... Well, right now I'm waiting for the paperwork from the Esposito account to be delivered, so I can spare a few minutes. Send her in."

...

The cramped office was covered from wall to wall in impressive-looking clutter. There were too many diplomas, photographs, and other wall-hangings for such a small space. The desk, too, was just a little to small for all the paper trays and computer peripherals crowding it.

"Hi there. I really wish you'd make an appointment, but since things are a little slow right now I can have a word wiiiiAHHH?"

Approaching from beind the desk, words trailing off into an inhalation of shock, was Robert J. Park, partner at one of the city's many obscure law firms - a round-faced asian man with close-cropped hair and round-rimmed glasses. He stared in shock at the young woman who'd walked in - a tall, tan-skinned beauty wearing a cleavage-baring sweater dress.

"You - you're the girl from the club! Jewel! What are you doing here?!" he hissed, glancing past her and wondering if his secretary had heard.

"Like the lady said. I need to talk to you." Jules said severely.

"I have a wife, you know? Please, never come back here-"

"Listen!" Jules interrupted him with a sharp glare in her eyes. "You're literally the only lawyer I know. I can't trust any of these... these random strangers advertising online. I feel like I'm going to get scammed if I go to any of them. You seemed like a really honest guy to me."

There was an uncomfortable pause.

"I mean... I know it sounds kind of weird to say that, when how I got to know you was giving you a lap dance. But I remember what you were talking about before that part." Jules said matter-of-factly. "You left a bigger firm to start your own becaue you thought they weren't doing enough to help the ones who really need it, right?"

"Uh... I mean..."

https://orokos.com/roll/1011997 Jules fails a Wits + Empathy roll.

Robert cleared his throat. "Yes. That's right. I did.", noticing that it didn't seem to occur to the naive young stripper in front of him that he had just been making up excuses about being cut during hard times because his win rate was the firm's lowest. "But Miss, uhh... should I call you..."

"Oh," the girl said, "my real name is Jules. I picked a stage name that was close so it'd be easier to remember to answer to."

"Jules. I get the feeling this is your first time talking to an attorney? You really should call first."

"Sorry. I kind of... um." Jules awkwardly roved her eyes around the room, "got frustrated trying to look online, so coming right out to the one lawyer place I know about just made sense to me." It was always hard to explain her seemingly irrational aversion to electronic communication to other people.

"It's alright, it's alright... But, um, Jewel?" the unassuming lawyer folded his hands behind his back apologetically, "I think you should talk to a paralegal first and see if they can handle it. I charge $200 hourly, so if you need help challenging a speeding ticket or getting a restraining order-"

"No. No, it's, um." Jules began softly bobbing her head as she spoke, and cracked a nervous grin as if trying to lighten the mood somehow. "It's ****, actually."

"O-oh. I see." the attorney **** himself to smile. "Are you... ah, that is... have you been arrested?"

"Not yet. The police detective investigating it suggested I should come to a place like this, so, here I am." Jules said. "Listen... I know I put you in an awkward situation here. I'm not expecting that you're going to give me half off your fee in exchange for 'doing things'. Unless you want t-" Jules caught herself and aborted into a cough when she saw Robert's eyebrows starting to rise, "nevermind. I mean that I have some cash and we can work out a payment plan, or something."

Jules is rolling using her intellignce plus politics skill, adding her attractiveness in this case, to attain legal counsel. https://orokos.com/roll/1011999 Her skill here is low but at least she has it, and she manages 1 success.

....

Half an hour later, Jules had explained the details.

The round-faced asian man at his too-small desk was staring down for a long, quiet minute. "It's complicated. I think the main reason this detective is focusing on you is because you suddenly moved away from home and gave up your college scholarship." he looked shaken. "I'm really sorry. If I had known that that was the reason you were there, I..."

"Hey, man, I get it." Jules said, holding up her palms. "This depressing stuff isn't what you signed on for when you went to the cabaret. You just wanted a hot girl to grind her ass on your lap for a few minutes and let you get drunk and grab her tits, right? You don't want to think about how shitty her life might be." she blew air through her nose and shrugged. "Sorry. That came out kind of judge-y. I don't want to make you feel bad about the whole thing, I just want you to help me un-fuck this situation somehow. I wasn't even that down on life until that asshole detective showed up."

"Um... moving back to the facts of the case, Jules," Robert glanced down at his notes awkwardly, "Normally, I would say that the fact that you didn't know the victim would rule out any serious charges, especially ****. But - and you were right to tell me this in confidence - the fact that you've stolen from some other patrons-"

"Not you!" Jules said hastily.

"Right. Thanks for that, I guess?" Robert said with a half-smile. "That fact makes it a little more dangerous. But if you'd like my honest opinion, I really don't think the district attorney would take this one to trial, if you're smart about it and don't do anything suspicious like trying to flee. Partly because of the gender factor. If a girl who brought a guy home had ended up stabbed numerous times like that, and then the guy turned out to have changed addresses right afterwards, that guy would be in a much worse situation than yours."

He gve a strangled laugh, then winced. "Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to seem like I was joking around... I've never dealt with a case like this before, you understand. Anyway, if you give a good accounting of yourself at the pre-trial hearing and have competent representation to cross-examine any witnesses, we-"

"SHHH!" Jules suddenly held up a hand, her eyes going wide. "Is someone else here?!"

When the lawyer stopped talking, Jules could confirm it - there was a chorus of faint whispers filling the room. "Hmm? No, no one else is here except my secretary, Francine. She might have been taking a call, or... or..."

Suddenly, Robert stiffened up in his seat and trailed off. Jules felt a sensation of prickling pins and needles all up and down her back. Shivers ran through her as the temperature in the room suddenly seemed to drop even as the humidity rose. The air suddenly felt cold and clammy, like a deep, lightless cave.

And nothing could have prepared Jules for what happened next.

From within that crowded, cheap little desk Mr. Park whiled away his flailing legal career at, thick mist began to emerge. A seam appeared in it, as if it were as balloon being slit open from the inside by a knife. No... by a clawed finger.

Jules's breath caught in her throat as something arose from within the desk. It wasn't quite solid. The dim flourescent light passed through the shape, and Jules could still dimly see the cluttered wall through it. But there was no way this could be dismissed as an overactive imagination, or a trick of the light. In the past weeks since the incident, Jules had been seeing strange shapes and indistinct figures in the shadows, or in her peripheral vision, yet they always disappeared when she blinked tried to focus on them.

Not this time. No matter how many times the terrified girl blinked, the apparition didn't vanish.

Crawling out of the desk was one of the most horrifying sights she had ever seen. It was vaguely in the shape of a human being, but the resemblance was only close enough to make it more repulsive by way of the uncanny valley. The proportions were all wrong - the legs were short and stumpy and seemed to connect directly to the chest with no hips. Instead of human skin, the thing had slimy, pallid flesh. It was... like a snail. Indeed, there was an enormous spiral shell bursting out of its ragged business suit from the back. And yet, it had unnaturally long, thin, boneless arms that were more like tentacles, yet had a set of three sharp talons on each. The face was the worst part - the alien mouthparts of a snail or slug combined with the vague approximation of a human face.

As Jules stood wide-eyed, afraid to even breathe, the apparition slid behid Robert with weightless grace. "No, Robert. No." it gurgled in a nauseating, phlegm-laden whisper like that of a man stricken with pneumonia. "The brat must be lying to you, hrrrggglll... she's probably in a gang..."

Robert didn't react to it. Nothing indicated that he could see the horrific thing. But he looked down at his desk and rested his hands on it. His focus didn't seem to be on Jules. It was as if he'd forgotten she was even in the room. Sweat began beading on his forehead.

The hideous snail-man-thing continued its wet, coughing speech: "...and even if she isn't, think of how many things could go wrong. You might make a fool of yourself again. Imagine what James and Manny will think when they hear that you. ggllllkkkk, shit the bed again. Imagine this is in the papers, and tens of thousands of people read about this girl going to jail because of your incompetent defense..."

Still staring down at his desk, the bespectacled, round-faced man swallowed heavily. His lip quivered a little. "Miss Lopez, I'm considering what the firm is realistically capable of here, and, uh, we have a lot of irons in the fire right now, so... let me think."

Drifting closer, the apparition nodded its misshapen head. "Yes, Robert. That's right. Stick to what you know. The DUIs, the breakings and enterings, the, ggglkkkk, **** paraphernalia," the way it pronounced that last word was especially nauseating for Jules to listen to. "Know your place, and you won't embarrass yourself again."

"Mister... Mister Park... do you hear that?" Jules asked in a tiny, quavering voice.

Robert blinked rapidly and then looked up to Jules. "Huh? Sorry, I was considering my options. Like I said, it's just Francine at the front desk, taking a call quietly. She's really considerate, does her best not to bother me when I'm in a meeting. Listen, here's what I'm going to do - I just don't think this is the right place for you to go in your situation. So I'm going to give you a list of qualified-"

"Wait! No, it's-" Jules suddenly caught herself. What was she supposed to say? 'There is a horrible ghostly snail demon whispering to you'!

What will Jules do?

1-25 Try to ignore the demon and attempt to reason with him to help her (with a lenient payment plan, hopefully)!

26-50 Bluntly tell him what it is she's seeing and warn him it's controlling him (PROBABLY A VERY BAD IDEA)

51-75: Let the demon know she sees it and try to threaten it somehow.

76-100: Indirectly reference what the demon is saying in a way that will hopefully make Mr. Park wonder.

https://orokos.com/roll/1012309 77

Jules thought as quickly as she could - painfully aware that as far as the world was concerned, she was an unstable, potentially-violent schizophrenic, and that ranting about seeing demons puppeteering people wasn't likely to go over well. But maybe...

"Weren't you just saying that it probably won't go to trial? I remember what you told me, back at the cabaret. Aren't you better than DUIs and breaking and entering and marijuana pipes?"

Robert seemed a little startled and surprised to hear her use that exact phrasing. "Uh-"

But Jules kept talking, her brown eyes flashing as she glanced at the apparition behind Robert. "Please, Mr. Park. Please. I don't know who I can trust. Are you going to push me away just because you're worried what James and Manny will think?"

Blinking in shock, the man's jaw fell open. "How did you...?"

"Oh, you mentioned them. At the Moon Rabbit. You had a lot to drink that night." Jules said.

Social maneuvering. Mr. Park has two doors. Due to overhearing the words of the 'demon', Jules knows one of the man's Aspirations ["Prove I'm not a useless lawyer"], which opens one of those doors automatically. Additionally, the same cash that was used as equipment on the roll to convince her to start in porn yesterday is now hers, and she will use it to add another die. Mr. Park's disposition towards her is neutral. And wow, does she ever need those two dice, since her manipulation + persuasion roll starts at ONE die. The good news for her is that since he would've been inclined to help her before the spirit started influencing him [spoilers], it isn't a contested roll. Again, this would be a really nice time for Jules to have willpower since her pool is still a measly three dice.

https://orokos.com/roll/1012311 ...and yet she still manages an impressive two successes!

While Mr. Park seemed to be struggling, Jules reached into her handbag and pulled out the envelope of cash from yesterday, putting it down on the table. "There should be enough there for a retainer. And I can get more. I'm... acting in porn now."

Jules saw the crinkle of concern in the round-faced man's eyes. "What? That's gonna fuck my life up a lot less than going to prison would, and I think paying for a defense lawyer is a better reason to go into porno than buying pills and cocaine. I guess if you're going to get falsely accused of ****, it's better to be hot." she gave him a humorless smirk. "I'm not even joking, man. Go on 'frisky puppy dot com' and click on, uh, what did they call it... 'Hardcore Teen Castings #24'."

"I'd love to give you a discount considering the difficult circumstances, but you have to understand-" the lawyer started to complain.

"I'm not asking for a fucking discount, Mr. Park! I'm asking you to stop listening to... doubts, and help me through this! I'll pay the standard rate!" Jules said adamantly.

"...alright." Mr. Park took a deep breath and put his hand out. Jules grasped it and shook his hand. "I'll represent you, Miss Lopez. I know you don't have a cell phone, so I'll give you my card. Make absolutely sure," his words were laden with sudden forcefulness, "you don't say another word to that crazy cop without me there, alright?"

A smile spread across the young woman's face. "You mean you'll talk to him so I don't have to? Wow, this was already worth it." She decided not to mention that she'd already committed to meeting with the detective privately in a couple of days.

Suddenly, the snail-like specter turned its hideous face towards Jules as if noticing her for the first time. "You... you there... I can taste you... what is this trouble-making creature you have brought into my burrow?" it said in its horrible wet gurgling voice. "Show yourselves. Both of you. My master, hrrgkkk, will hear of this...!"

The feminine voice that was always appearing in Jules' mind suddenly spoke up from behind her: "Tell that fat toad whatever you want, Despairing Spiral." Again, those last two words had the **** of a name. "We serve masters who would make a feast of both of you, if you dare to interfere.

Can I kill it yet? I want to kill it. Came the rasping male voice, from behind Jules's other shoulder.

Eeheheheeee! Mmmm, I'm not sure, the flirty female voice said. Can he, Despairing Spiral? Will you interfere?

Rather than respond verbally, the apparition floated back towards the desk and its soft, molluscoid body retreated into its shell, tattered business suit and all, until one a single clawed hand-tendril remained. It 'opened' the desk again, and slipped back inside it. As Jules stared in wonderment, there was no seam or other sign the desk was anything but solid.

"Uhhh... Miss Lopez? Are you okay?" Robert sounded concerned.

"Oh. I'm alright. Thanks for agreeing to help." Jules blew air through her nose and **** a smile. "Just... trying not to lose my mind."

When she got home, Jules was just starting to relax when she realized they'd be expecting her to start her shift at the cabaret soon. She'd almost forgotten about it. In fact, there was some special event coming up in a couple days.

Just as she was grabbing her things and about to rush out the door, she noticed that she'd left her laptop running. When she bend over to shut it off, she heard the little cricket-like chirp of an email arriving.

That was odd. Being an anti-social person by nature, Jules barely gave her email out to anyone. Brianna was one of the first she'd shared it with, to send photos of herself to that porn company. Surely they wouldn't be contacting her already?

The message said 'Just saw your amazing work, Jewel! Have a BIG short term opportunity!' The email address it was from was weird, a string of random letters and numbers. But it hadn't gone into the spam box. She decided she might as well click on it.

Howdy there! This is a specialist producer just starting up in the area, doing special, high-end video that's a bit on the racy side ;) It's actually a little less hardcore than that scene the guys at Frisky Puppy let me sneak a peek at before it goes up on the website this Friday. I produce content for discerning gentlemen with particular, unique tastes. And I must say, Miss Jewel, you looked absolutely delicious in that little skin flick!
I know this is short notice, but I've had a couple sudden cancellations for a big shoot that I'm planning later tonight. Since this is a last minute kind of thing, I'd be happy to offer you $12,000 for just an hour or two of your time. RSVP now if you plan on coming! Or, heck, just show on up if that's more your style. Here's the address. This will be kind of an on-location shoot, so it's in a closed down supermarket I've rented out. Bring your cutest, sexiest 'girl next door' outfit! Now, I can't promise you won't get a little messy, but the money will be on the table before we ask you to do anything.

Jules stared in shock. "Twelve... thousand?" That was more than she'd earned, and stolen, since she started working at the Cabaret six weeks ago. Considerably more. "Holy shit. They really liked my video, huh?" she stopped and thought for a second. "Kind of creepy that he doesn't give any specifics, except 'messy'. Oh, Jesus... it's probably gonna be me getting pissed on, or something else really gross. Otherwise they wouldn't be offering so much." she rolled her eyes and sighed. "Well, whatever. I can take a shower. I could get a car that isn't about to fall apart with that kind of money."

She gave the Moon Rabbit Cabaret a call and told the manager, Jeff, that she wouldn't be able to make it tonight. He sounded disappointed, but when Jules promised that she'd still definitely be available for his VIP event the day after tomorrow, he relented, since business was a little slow this time of week anyway.

Briefly, Jules considered telling Brianna what she was doing. But she decided against it. That would be awkward either way - if there wasn't any demand for more than 1 extra actress, it'd make Brianna jealous, especially since she was the one who introduced Jules to the business all of one day ago.

'Does 7 o'clock work for you? ' she emailed the strange address back.

The reply only took five minutes: Beautifully! See you there, Jewel.

The tomboyish young woman went to the kitchen countertop. There, in the middle, was the bottle of anti-psychotic medication that the doctor had prescribed for her a couple days ago. Damn expensive stuff, too. Looking at them, she suddenly realized that she hadn't gotten around to taking them this morning.

That seemed like the rational, logical reason for why she had experienced such a grandiose hallucination while talking to that lawyer, Mr. Park. But the way that he'd reacted when Jules repeated its words back to him... it really made her wonder.

Jules decided to split the difference and took the bottle of pills and put them in her handbag as she changed into one of her old high school uniforms. "If I start feeling too weird, maybe then I'll take some. But I wonder what I'd see, on a set like that, if I went without them..." she muttered as she started preparing some food, keeping an eye on the clock for when she meant to leave.

"Seven o'clock... hmm. It'll be close to getting dark by then, but not totally dark." she shrugged. "Oh well. It's not like this is fuckin' New Orleans or something. I'm not going to get jumped just being out after dark. As long as the damn headlights don't start going out again... I don't want to have to find my way back here by moonlight."

For some reason she couldn't quite place, a shiver ran down her back. She was incredibly anxious and felt like she was about to burst with nervous energy. Must just be the prospect of such a large amount of cash...